*Hey guys! I'm not finished with this episode yet but hopefully, later I will get it done as soon as I can. I'm halfway through it. How's everyone doing? Good? So-so? Well, I will make an announcement later about my current situation later because this is midnight from where I'm at...lol! This is published on May 21, 2020.  The next part will be published either later on today or tomorrow and the next episode will come out...somewhere two weeks for now. I'll explain in the announcements. If you like this part, please vote and/or comment. That would be highly appreciated. See you all later! Enjoy!*

Michael sat on the curb outside of the B.A.D.G.U.Y.S. precinct with a blue blanket wrapped around him that a couple of paramedics gave him. The paramedics just took Dylan, the fox criminal that he shot, to the hospital. His gaze was set on the blacktop streets, tears running down on his cheeks. Jean, the mouse, was sitting on the fox's shoulder while patting his friend's cheek.

"Don't think about it too much, mon ami," Jean soothed, comforting in his tone.

Michael sighed heavily with grief. "I-I just murdered my own kind, Jean...and-and Goat took the blame for something that he didn't do. Why would he even do that?"

"Because he cared about you...as a friend...I think."

They heard hooves clattering up to them, knowing that it's Goat who's approaching them. Michael turned around to see Goat with a sad look on his face.

"Jean," Goat began, his voice lowered. "You'll handle the case from here. You got leads that will be able to help you."

Jean bulged his eyes out wide. "Wait, are you guys--?"

"We're only suspended for a couple of weeks," Goat reassured Jean. "We'll come back to work...eventually."

Michael took in what Goat said, pondering. "I should've been the one that was suspended. Why did you take the blame for me, Goat?"

Goat twisted his mouth while gazing down at the ground. "I just...didn't want anyone to think of you as a monster. You told me in the past that people always saw you as a monster and-and I don't want anyone to look at you like that anymore. I just want you to be accepted instead of being stereotyped because you're a fox."

Michael gazed at Goat softly. "Goat...I could care less about what other people think. I mean...yeah, I had some people looking at me like that or even screamed at me...but...that's until I met you."

Goat raised his brow in surprise. "What about Guy--?"

Michael smiled and laughed a little. "Guy and Sam were scared of me the first time they met me...and they did have a good reason to. Back then, they did have a good reason."

Michael frowned at remembering that stupid farmer fox...but...now things changed. "Guy rescued me from prison because he saw me as a friend because he got to know me. And when we met...you weren't scared of me at first sight. You're probably the first person who didn't see me as a monster."

"Do you want to know why I didn't see you as a monster, Michael?" Goat inquired, sitting next to Michael.

Michael nodded his head while scooting closer to his friend.

Goat exhaled slowly while staring out into the streets. "Because I've done worst things with horrible intentions than what you did back in the interrogation room. In the past, I-I was the monster...I abducted and killed animals. I would kill anyone who stood in my way, even if there were women and children in it. I would steal, lie...all kinds of horrible crimes that you could ever imagine. Michael, you were raised in a good environment and you are a good person. I don't know if you ever killed anyone but by your reaction when you shot Dylan...you never killed anyone before. You never committed horrible acts or--"

"I tore up the sofas in my hole and steal all the eggs."

Goat chuckled and glanced at Michael. "That's just because eggs are delicious."

"Right?! They are so good!"

Goat smiled warmly at Michael for a moment but then sighed. "What I'm trying to say, Michael, is that I've done worst things...and I've seen myself as a monster."

"But...you're not a monster," Michael uttered. "I mean, you don't do that stuff anymore...right?"

Goat nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, right."

"You've changed but...what if that stupid fox whistle happened again and I can't make better judgments? What if I ended up hurting either you or Jean?" Michael threw the questions. "Just because I haven't done the things you've done--"

"Michael, Michael, the things I've done were not controlled...it's free will. You, on the other hand, are controlled by whatever that thing told you to do."

Michael sighed. "You have a point."

Goat pondered for a moment. "Do you have a home to go back to?"

"I-I don't want to go home...I'm too scared to go home," Michael responded.

"You can stay at my place," Goat offered automatically...then cleared his throat. "If you want to."

"That-That sounds nice."

Goat noticed Jean listening to the conversation. "Jean...you can go back to the precinct--"

"No."

Goat and Michael had their eyes bulged out wide.

Jean crossed his arms. "You both are my partners. I will not solve this case without you guys."

Goat arched a brow. "Meaning...?"

"Meaning that I will wait for you guys."

"Uh...okay," Michael muttered.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go home to my wife and my daughter. I'll catch up with both of you later."

"See you."

"Bye!" Michael responded as Jean headed away from them.

Goat and Michael exchanged glances at each other.

"Ready to go?" Goat asked while standing on all fours.

Michael nodded his head. "Yeah."

~.~

Goat opened the door to his one-room apartment with his keys, revealing to be only a huge living room and a small kitchen. There's no television or anything that would entertain anyone. Michael looked around the apartment with awe.

"It's not much but at least it puts a roof over our heads," Goat uttered as he set the keys down on the wooden small table next to the doorway and shut the door. Michael explored the living room and noticed the big sofa that could fit two people on it.

"Ooh, sofa," Michael gasped as he jumped on top of it and snuggled it. "Wow...this is super comfortable."

Goat smiled softly at the fox. "I'm glad you like it, zorro." Then he frowned and glanced around his small apartment. "If I get paid more...maybe I'll buy someplace better and nicer than here."

"This place seems comfy to me."

"Well, it has spiders, cobwebs, leaks, and...mold. It's not the nicest apartment to live in."

"Oh...well, I got those too...except mold," Michael responded, trying to relate to Goat's living conditions.

Goat chuckled. "Trust me, amigo...This is the worst condition to live in...but this is durable for now."

Michael rolled over the big sofa with a satisfied sigh. "It's still comfy to me."

"Hmph," Goat responded with a smirk and then circled around to lay down on his side.

The fox noticed his goat partner laying on the floor instead of on the sofa. "Aren't you going to sleep on the sofa?"

"Nah, I'll sleep on the floor. Goodnight."

Michael looked at the big sofa, knowing that it could easily fit both him and Goat, and scooted himself over to the other side. He grabbed the pillows on the sofa and build a pillow wall in the middle of the sofa.

Goat bent his ears to listen to the commotion behind him and then turned his head to glance at the fox. "What are you doing, zorro?"

"Building a pillow wall," Michael presented the small pillow wall with a childish grin. "That way I don't roll on top of you and you don't roll on top me. We got pillows to stop us from rolling on top of each other."

Goat twitched his brow at the small pillow wall. "I don't think that will--"

Michael patted the empty spot. "Come on, please. You deserve to be comfortable."

"No! No, you're taking the sofa. You're the guest. I'll sleep on the floor and--"

Goat suddenly noticed Michael using his big puppy eyes while biting his bottom lips with a dog whimper.

Goat arched his brow higher. "What are you doing? Why are you doing that?"

Michael folded his hands as if he's pleading Goat to sleep on the sofa with him.

"No! That's not going to convince me!" Goat flat-out denied the tactic Michael was using. "No! I'm not falling for that--!"

Seconds later, Goat laid on top of the sofa with Michael with pillows divided between them.

Goat had his arms crossed with a small pout. "I can't believe I fell for that."

"See? Now you're comfortable," Michael explained with a grin and then turned his back on the pillows and Goat. "Goodnight."

Goat smiled softly at him for a brief moment and then turned his back on the fox. "Goodnight, Michael."

With that said, Michael fell asleep but Goat stayed awake. Thoughts have been running through his mind that kept him up. Of course, he had the main reason why he didn't fall back asleep. Every time Goat fell asleep, he always saw his family in the fire...and he had to watch them be burned alive all over again. It's not something new. It just happened all throughout his life. So, Goat tried his best to not fall asleep but every once and awhile, his body would put him to sleep if he didn't sleep for too long.

Two hours passed by and Goat still didn't fall asleep. His eyes were becoming droopy, tempting him to close his eyes and fall into a deep sleep. However, he heard a whimpering behind him. He turned his head quickly to notice Michael tossing and turning while shedding tears and whimpering.

"Michael?" Goat called out softly.

"I-I'm so sorry," Michael uttered with his eyes sealed tight and tears gushing out.

Goat threw the pillows out of his way and hugged Michael. "It's okay, amigo. It's just a nightmare."

Michael held onto Goat unconsciously, crying into his shoulder. That shocked Goat before realizing that Michael had a tight hold on him. But, surprisingly, Goat didn't mind it. It felt nice to hug someone that needed comfort. Or was it something more? It didn't matter to Goat, at least his partner knew that he's right there...even when he slept. Little did he know, Goat slowly fell asleep while holding Michael. Michael stopped whimpering in his sleep and Goat just fell asleep while holding the fox.

The morning arrived finally as both of the fox and the goat were both holding each other close unconsciously while laying on the big sofa. Unexpectantly, Jean crawled through the small hole in the big living room across from them, unaware of Goat and Michael sleeping on the same sofa.

"Man, your address is hard to find. I didn't know that your first initial had the letter A in it and Goat was your last name--" Jean stopped mid-sentence when he noticed Goat having his back turned on Jean. The mouse looked around the living room for Michael but Michael wasn't anywhere. He climbed up to the bedside table by the sofa and saw that Michael was laying with Goat on the sofa.

The mouse had his eyes bulged out wide and cleared his throat. "Uh...guys. D-Do you want me to come back another time?"

Both Goat and Michael were still sleeping. Jean crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall, not knowing that there's mold behind him. The wallpaper was torn open, causing the mouse to fall through the wallpaper. With an irritable groan, he climbed through the wallpaper and towards the ceiling. Suddenly, the ceiling was busted through as Jean was hanging onto a single black wire above both Goat and Michael.

"Um...guys?" Jean uttered while watching them hugging each other without noticing. The mouse twitched his ears and scratched the dust and dandruff off of his head, letting them fall on Goat. Goat twitched his muzzle with a quiet sneeze. He fluttered his eyes open and realized that he's been holding onto Michael. Goat glanced up at the ceiling from where he felt the dust and dandruff fall from and saw Jean hanging upside down with a brow raised and arms crossed.

The mouse smirked at both Goat and Michael.

Goat scooched out of Michael's loose hold and glared at the mouse. "This is not what it looks like, amigo."

"I'm not making judgments...I'll keep it a secret for you if you don't want me to--"

"Whatever you are implying, it does not look anything like that," Goat growled lowly as he got off the sofa and grabbed the blanket to cover Michael, who's curling up like a little cute ball. Jean let go of the wire and landed on top of Goat's head while itching his head to get the dust and dandruff out of his fur.

"You need to fix your apartment, mon ami," Jean commented while dusting himself off and not noticing that it's on Goat's head now.

"Agh! Now you're getting dust and dandruff on me, amigo," Goat snarled while walking to the kitchen.

"You brought this upon yourself," Jean stated plainly.

Goat rolled his eyes while looking through the fridge. "Is there any reason why you're here? Just to say hi or something?"

"Yes and no. I actually found something last night."

"I thought you're waiting for us to help solve the case."

"It's not about the case actually," Jean stated while scurrying off of Goat and climbed onto the table.

"Then...what is it about?" Goat asked as he got out the green egg carton and placed it on the counter.

Jean took a deep breath in and then exhaled slowly while taking out a small folder. "I know something about the fox whistle."

"Huh?" Goat turned around to notice the small file. Jean opened the file in front of him so that he could look into it. However, the print and the paper were super small, which Goat couldn't read.

Goat flicked his ears in irritation and then took out his reading glasses so that he could read the information better. However, it didn't help.

"I can't read this, amigo," Goat informed sternly.

Jean sighed a bit. "The fox whistle apparently works on foxes."

"No duh," Goat muttered underneath his breath.

"Apparently...the fox whistle isn't like a dog whistle where it makes the dog stop doing the things they weren't supposed to do...in fact, it does the polar opposite."

"By...what?"

"Remember how Dylan and Michael acted out yesterday?"

Goat nodded his head slightly.

"The fox whistle could drive a fox absolutely mad to the point of outbreak and violence. Basically, most foxes were convicted of murder because of the fox whistle. Their testimonies stated that they heard something...like a well of screams, a screeching sound, and whispers."

"Whispers?"

"Yeah."

"What's with the whispers? What do they say to those foxes?"

"I don't know, mon ami."

"I-I heard whispers," A voice stuttered which caused both Jean and Goat to glance up at Michael.

"Michael, you're awake!" Jean exclaimed happily.

Goat arched his brow at his fox partner. "How much of the conversation did you hear?"

"I heard the whole thing about the fox whistle...I-I don't know when to step in," Michael uttered with a nervous chuckle.

"At least you heard the whole thing," Jean responded while clearing his throat. "I actually have some reports that stated about the crimes committed by foxes. The first one we got was from a vixen named Vicky and--oh, dang," Jean uttered while reading one of the reports.

"Wait for a minute, I know Vicky...she's that vixen I saved the other day while chasing after Dylan!" Michael blurted out while his tail was wagging in excitement.

"Ah yes, the vixen," Goat droned a bit while sighing deeply. "What does she have to do with anything?"

"Well, she worked at Darrell's Bar," Jean pointed out as a matter of factly tone.

Michael widened his eyes in shock. "That's where Dylan said to go to question the tattoo artist named...uh, Stargood or--?"

"Daniel Stargood...hmph." Goat huffed while pondering deeply. "This case doesn't look like it can wait two or three weeks to be solved. Dylan was right. This case will become more complicated the further we explore into it."

"I want to solve this case," Michael blurted out his determination.

Both the mouse and the goat gazed up at Michael in shock.

"Are you sure, zorro--?"

"Look, I know what happened back in the interrogation room and I know that we're suspended. But I can't just sit around and do nothing while a case is just lying around unsolved. We got to solve it or something bad will happen...I don't know but my gut feeling is telling me that we have to solve this before things get worst."

"I concur with Michael," Jean responded to the fox's statements. "So...here's what we'll do."

The three animals leaned in to hear out the plan that Jean was about to speak.

To Be Continued...