Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had been a year since Copper left Smashville. He missed it terribly. He missed how simple things were. He would wake up, eat a big breakfast, go for his morning run, take a shower, then stand at the town gate for hours. Most people would think the job was unbearable. And it kinda was. But there was one dog that made it enjoyable.

Booker. Copper’s very best friend.

But those days are over. A year ago, Copper was reassigned to Leafington, a town that was miles away from Smashville. And it was...subpar, at best.  His work schedule is awkward, forcing him to choose between a healthy breakfast, a morning workout, and a shower every morning. His new job of patrolling the town was even more unbearable since nothing ever happened in Leafington. Just villagers catching bugs, selling furniture, and having petty disagreements. Worst of all, there was no Booker. Sure, some of the townsfolk were nice, but none of them were Booker.

Not even close.

—————

Copper woke up. Groggy and disoriented as usual. He hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since he moved to Leafington. He went straight to the bathroom, showered, then to the kitchen, threw something together, ate it, went back to his room, and got dressed. He was already running a bit late due to his sluggishness. No morning run for him.

He stepped out of his front door and saw his neighbor, Eunice, a pink sheep with navy fur and orange striped horns, doing her morning gardening. Copper gave her the same smile and wave that he gave her almost every morning.

Eunice was showering her pink roses with her watering can. “On your way to work?”

Copper nodded. “Yes, ma’am!”

“Be sure to keep my roses safe, Mr. Copper!” the sheep said with a soft smile.

Keep her roses safe. Because there was nothing else in the town that needed protecting. “I’ll do my best, ma’am.”

The next of the townsfolk that he encountered on his morning walk to work was Tom Nook, the famous Tanuki that was self-made billionaire . From the looks of it, Nook had just sold a new house.

Nook noticed Copper first. “Copper!” Nook called out. “How’s that new mailbox we installed? Does all of your mail fit inside?”

Copper gave Nook a chuckle. “Yes, Mr. Nook. All of my mail fits inside.”

“Good, good.” Nook said with the clap of his hands. “And what did I tell you about these formalities of yours? Call me Tom, Copper. Tom! ”

“My apologies, Mr N-...Tom. My apologies Tom. See you later!”

Copper encountered one last villager on his way to work. Pascal, a red sea otter. Technically, he wasn’t a resident of Leafington. Sometimes he was  just... there . And would always be by the river. Copper theorized that he was some kind of river demon.

“What it dooo, my maaan?” Pascal said to Copper.

Copper looked very confused at the sea otter. He often didn’t understand slang, figures of speech, or anything deviating from the typical rules of their language. “I...do?”

Pascal laughed boisterously and slapped a flipper on Copper’s back. “You know what police dog? You’re a funny guy.”

Copper hadn’t said anything funny. “I...see…” Copper slipped out of Pascal’s hold. “Well, I’ll see you...whenever…”

“Whenever is right, police dog. Someday, our paths will intertwine once again. And when they do, I’ll be there to enlighten you.” Pascal did a somersault into the river. “Remember, police dog! Don’t just think outside the box! Think with someone else’s box! Okay, dude, I‘m drifting away! Can you still hear me? If you can…hand...ta...” And the river carried him out of earshot.

What a weirdo , Copper thought.

The rest of his morning commute was filled with the sound of nature. Birds chirping. Bees buzzing. Frogs croaking. It reminded him of Booker. Booker was an outdoorsman through and through. Copper was from Animal City, so nature was foreign to him until he met Booker. He still wasn’t the biggest fan of the great outdoors, but the memories he created with Booker gave him comfort. It’s been almost a month since he last called Booker. He should probably give him a call after work.

Copper didn’t realize he was lost in his own head, as he was now standing in front of Leafington Police Station. It used to be a small building that could barely fit 2 bodies, but with a little help from the mayor, it was now a massive facility. 

Copper sighed and stepped through the front doors. “Time to go to work.”

Chapter Text

Copper hadn’t been inside the police station for more than 30 seconds before someone was in his face asking him about something his brain was too tired to process. Luckily, it was just Wolfgang. One of the officers that Copper liked.

Wolfgang, as expected, was a wolf. He had navy blue fur that grew over his cream-yellow colored skin, leaving his muzzle, hands, and feet bare. One huge trait of Wolfgang was his attention to his appearance. He would come into work every day looking runway ready. Styled fur, subtle makeup, and as many designer clothes that the dress code would allow. On top of his looks, he was a rather straightforward soul. And that’s what Copper liked about him. Sometimes he was too straightforward, but at least he was always honest.

“Sup, Copper,” Wolfgang greeted. “You doin’ alright?”

Copper nodded stiffly. “Hey. And I’m fine.”

Wolfgang cocked his head to the side. “Are you really fine?”

“Yes,” Copper confidently reassured. “Why would I not be okay?”

“Where should I start? The bags under your eyes, or the newly-formed muffin top around your belt?”

Copper could feel the bags under his eyes. Was he ever going to get a good night’s rest? And his pants were a little harder to put on. Had he been rejecting his workout regimen for that long?

Wolfgang could sense the sad shift in Copper’s aura. “It looks cute on you though!” Wolfgang said to not seem like a complete jerk. “It’s big boy season too!” Now he sounded like a weirdo. “Anywho...if you need a sleep remedy, you should try my aunt’s special honey recipe. I dunno what she puts in it, but it works.”

“It’s worth a shot…” Copper said, still poking the roll of fat spilling over his belt.

“ COPPER! WOLFGANG! ” Another officer called, sprinting down the hallways. It was Chops, a pig who typically worked the front desk. When he made it to the two canines, he stopped for a moment to catch his breath. He was panicking. “THE CHIEF JUST CALLED! THERE’S BEEN A MURDER! ”

“WHAT?!” Copper and Wolfgang said in unison.

Chops was trying his hardest not to cry. “YES! A MURDER IN LEAFINGTON! I WASN’T TRAINED FOR THIS! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?! NOTHING BAD EVER HAPPENS IN THIS TOWN! WHY ELSE WOULD I BE WORKING HERE?! ”

“I literally came in 5 minutes ago!” Copper said. “Everything seemed perfectly fine!”

“THIS WAS REPORTED JUST TWO MINUTES AGO!” Chops continued. “YOU TWO HAVE TO GET DOWN TO THE FLOWER CLOCK! ROLF ALREADY LEFT TO CLOSE OFF THE AREA! PLEASE, HURRY! ” Chops collapsed to the floor, sobbing hysterically.

Wolfgang and Copper swapped looks of worry. Even though Chops seemed a bit over the top, he was right. Leafington was a town known for how safe it was. To think that someone was murdered in town...was unsettling. The two canines quickly grabbed their necessary belongings, and headed down to the Leafington Flower Clock.

After a short, uncomfortable walk, the canine pair made it to the crime scene. As Chops said, the white tiger, Rolf, was securing the area with yellow tape. And right next to the clock...a body. Face down behind the clock, out of view of anyone passing by. There was another villager there. Eunice the sheep. She was crying hysterically and...apologizing?

“MR. COPPER!” Eunice cried out. “CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! HOW COULD SOMEONE DO SUCH A THING?! ”

Copper went to comfort Eunice. “It’s okay, ma’am. We’ll find whoever did this.”

Wolfgang set his attention on the lifeless body. “Give us an update, Rolfy.”

“First off, never call me Rolfy .” he growled. “The victim was quickly identified to be Ms. Blazel Chestnut. According to Ms. Eunice, she found Blazel lying here 20 minutes ago. Her alibi is,” Rolf snuck a suspicious glance at Eunice, “that she was looking for gardening inspiration . We still aren’t sure the cause of death, but I noticed a strange, sparkly pink liquid on the ground.”

“Strange sparkly pink liquid?” Wolfgang echoed.

“Yeah, I’m gonna let the professionals handle that though. I’m just here to secure the area and make sure nobody tampers with anything…”

Copper was off to the side, still trying to calm Eunice. “I promise you, ma’am, we’ll keep you safe.”

“YOU CAN’T PROMISE THAT!” Eunice wailed. “WHAT IF I’M NEXT?!” Eunice plunged her face into Copper’s chest and sobbed.

Copper was still trying to work everything out in his head. The Flower Clock was one of the things that he usually saw on his commute. Maybe the daydreaming kept him from noticing? He had some pretty immersive daydreams. Or maybe the frequent interactions? This was between the area where he spoke with Tom Nook and Pascal. The body was out of sight too, so maybe there was just no way he would’ve noticed. The thought of it all bothered Copper deeply. He was carrying on about his day, more or less normally, and walked by a dead body on his way to work.

As time went by, a crowd began to form, and the professionals arrived on the scene. The body had no external signs of trauma, so an autopsy was absolutely necessary. The strange sparkly pink liquid was sampled and sent back to the lab to be analyzed, since it could be a poison of some kind. The officers took hundreds of pictures and gathered as much evidence as they could to start their investigation.

Wolfgang had just got off of the phone with the chief. “Chief says that he wants us to do some detective work, Copper.”

“Us?!” Copper gasped. “Why us?!”

Wolfgang shrugged. “Hell if I know. But what I do know is that he trusts us.” Wolfgang wrapped an arm around Copper’s shoulder. “We’ll start tomorrow.”

What was happening? Just a few hours ago, Copper was dreading his empty life. He was mourning the loss of his former partnership. He was always fighting the clock for just a little more time every day. Now he’s investigating a murder. With a new partner too. One that he actually liked. He probably wouldn’t have more time, and knowing that a murderer was snooping around Leafington wouldn’t help him sleep either. Maybe he could try some of aunt Wolfgang’s sleep honey? Copper was in for an adventure...

...and was only the beginning.

Chapter Text

That night, Copper was informed that Blazel’s cause of death was poison through the bloodstream through a gash found on her arm. The odd thing about the poison though was that it wasn’t the pink liquid. In fact, the pink liquid wasn’t poison at all. It was a mixture of water, pink rose petals, and an unknown ingredient. It wasn’t poisonous though. Another officer found a hole in the ground nearby the crime scene. The hole was deep. And it looked like something burst through the ground. They don’t think it’s related to the crime, but all evidence is evidence. Useful and useless.

Copper spent the rest of the evening doing as much research as he could on his living room sofa. He’d been at it for hours . He didn’t know what time it was, but the sun had set a while ago. He needed a little company, so he called his old friend Booker. Copper waited anxiously as the phone rang.

“Copper?” Booker’s voice emitted from the phone.

“Booker!” Copper yelped joyously. “How’ve you been? It’s been awhile.”

“How am I?!” Booker asked with concern. “How are YOU?! Leafington is all over the news!”

“R-really? I haven’t checked the news at all today.”

“Are ya scared? Are ya processing everything okay? How’s everything at work? Are ya getting any time-”

“Calm down, Book.” Copper said. “I’m fine. The chief actually put me in charge of the case. It’s scary, but also exciting?”

“ EXCITING?! ” Booker yelled through the phone. “You’re crazy, ya know that?”

“Hey, I’m not the one who eats caterpillars .” Copper remarked.

“It was one time! And we were out on a hike! Do ya remember how ya screamed like a little puppy when ya first saw the damn caterpillar?”

“It’s not my fault they look like little aliens !”

Copper could hear Booker rolling his eyes. “Anyway,” Booker transitioned, “I was gonna call ya, but ya usually call first.”

Copper set the phone down beside him and put it on speakerphone. It was kinda like Booker was sitting next to him. Minus the speakerphone quality audio. “I’ve been wanting to call you for weeks, but I have no time ever. I’m probably gonna have less time now, so I might as well try to multitask.”

“Yeah, you’ve been calling less frequently. Have things been okay?”

That made Copper sigh. “No, Book. Things haven’t been okay. I haven’t been sleeping well for...I don’t even know how long. I don’t have time for anything like I used to. And this town is just so boooring . Well...now it isn’t.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Booker asked genuinely.

Copper sighed again. “I don’t think so, Book. You can keep me company though. I’ve been doing some research on this pink liquid stuff.”

“Oh, I heard about that in the news. It’s being called The Probable Pink Poison .”

That got a laugh out of Copper. “I’m not sure if I’m allowed to disclose this, but it’s not poison. But I can tell you that I found a lead on what it is.”

“I’m all ears, Cop.”

Copper pulled up an article on his laptop. “June 9th 2013. Animal City’s Black Market Shut Down. A shady individual who goes by the name ‘Crazy Redd’ was caught distributing illegal substances. Among his catalog of illegal substances...a mysterious pink liquid that allegedly increases one’s lifespan. Redd later admitted that it’s nothing more than water, flower petals, and...urine…”

“That’s disgusting…” Booker sounded like he was going to vomit. “What happened to the guy?”

Copper scrolled to the bottom of the article. “He escaped custody. Handcuffs and all.”

“But what does this have to do with the murder if it wasn’t poison?”

“I dunno, Book. But it has to be connected somehow. The black market has been shut down for years. There’s no way someone held onto that for this long.”

“...Unless the black market is still there.”

Copper’s ears perked up. “You think so?”

“Well, yeah.” Booker said. “If Redd got away, do ya really think he’d stop? He was making money.”

It took a moment for Copper to process the new information. He was so focused on the murder that he never thought about Redd still being out there. “Could someone have been after the pink liquid?”

“Possibly. Maybe the victim bought the pink liquid from him?”

Copper’s head was starting to spin. All of these possibilities. All of this evidence. All of this responsibility. “I think that’s enough research for today. I should sleep on it.”

“I think so, too.” Booker agreed.

“Thanks for talking to me, Book. I know it’s pretty late.”

“No problem, Cop. If you ever need anything, just call me. Now you get some sleep. Ya sound tired.”

Copper stretched his body across his sofa with a loud groan. “I am! I’m up by 5 every morning.”

“It’s coming up on midnight. Go to bed.”

Copper chuckled. “Yeah, yeah. Good night, Book.”

Copper shut his laptop and hung up the phone, then moved from his sofa to his bed. Even though he was completely exhausted, he still couldn’t sleep. He was trying to connect the dots of the case in his head. Pink petals? The hole in the ground? A gash in her arm? Blazel not from Leafington? There was an answer in there somewhere. He just needed to find it. He was going to find it. But now wasn’t the time. Copper’s body needed rest. And eventually...it finally got the rest it needed. Copper’s thoughts came to a halt, and his breathing steadied. 4 hours of sleep is better than none, right?

Chapter Text

Copper got no sleep last night. None at all. Every time he thought he was asleep, he woke right back up. His morning routine? A blur. Chief’s orders? He remembered hearing his voice. Getting on the bus? ...Why was he on the bus again?

“ COPPER! ”

Copper jumped in his seat and reached for his nightstick. “ What, what, WHAT?! ” When he came to his senses, he saw Wolfgang in fear and confusion. “Huh...sorry about that.”

Wolfgang’s fear faded, but his confusion intensified. “Dude...you’ve been out of it all morning...did you sleep last night?”

Copper brought his palms to his face. “No, Wolfgang. I was up all night thinking about this murder. A friend of mi-” Copper caught himself. This case was supposed to be kept as confidential as possible. He couldn’t tell him anything about Booker’s involvement. “A f-friend of mine made me dinner while I was doing research.”

Wolfgang’s confusion increased even further. “Um...nice?”

Copper had to think of a transition. And quick. “Uhm...the food was so good...that it gave me a few ideas about the case.”

Wolfgang’s confusion maxed out. “Uhhh...yeah...the black market thing, right?”

“How did you know about that?” Copper questioned.

Wolfgang physically couldn’t look any more confused. “You literally told the chief before we left...that’s why we’re on this bus...Are you sure you’re up for this, guy?”

“Of course!” Copper said. “A little exhaustion won’t stop me!”

Wolfgang petted Copper’s shoulder. “We have about 20 more minutes until we get to the city. Why don’t you catch some Zs. I have a feeling you’re gonna need ‘em.”

Catch Zs? Oh, he means sleep. You know. Snoring is characterized with the letter Z. “I promise you. I don’t need to ‘ catch Zs. ’”

Copper indeed needed to catch Zs. His head was planted against the window and snoring away in less than a minute. He stayed asleep for the rest of the ride.

----------

“Copper!” Wolfgang said. “Hey, we’re here.”

Copper didn’t budge.

“Copper? Yo, get up.”

Still nothing.

Wolfgang reached to shake Copper, but before his hand made contact, Copper shot up and grabbed the wolf’s hand.

“ Don’t you dare touch him! ” Copper growled like a feral beast.

Wolfgang stood in astonishment. “We’re...here…”

It took Copper a moment to remember where he was. “Oh...yes. We’re here. I was just resting my eyes. Let’s get going.”

Wolfgang had no idea what was going on with that dog anymore. Asking questions wasn’t helping, and Copper insisted on continuing with the case. “Just go with the flow, Wolfgang.” he said to himself.

Animal City. Previously a booming, busy urban kingdom, now a calm, low-frequency area with small, blossoming businesses in every building. One of those small businesses was Jambette’s Cosmetics. Located in the very same spot where Crazy Redd’s black market fiasco occured.

Copper and Wolfgang walked down the alleyway to the building. It was well decorated. A pastel pink brick path, pink roses bordering the path. It was hard to believe a black market was ever there. The duo entered the shop at the end of the path. The building was a pastel green, but all of the outside decorations were pink. The interior followed the same pink and green pastel color palette.

“Why, hello!” greeted a small, green frog with pink lipstick and blue eyeshadow. “You’re not here to arrest me, are you? I admit it! I’m guilty of using extra Seafoam Cerulean on my eyes this morning!”

Wolfgang chuckled. “We’ll let it slide today, ma’am. We’re from Leafington PD, and we’re here to ask you some pretty serious questions. Are you comfortable with that?”

“Oh.” Jambette’s cheery mood shifted. “I’ll try the best I can.”

Copper pulled out his phone and scrolled to a picture of Redd. “Ma’am, do you recognize this man?”

Jambette examined the picture closely. “You know...he does look a bit familiar…” She examined it for a few more seconds. “Oh! I know! That’s the previous owner!”

“Correct,” Copper confirmed. “Do you know anything about him?”

Jambette shook her head. “Sorry, but no. I was in contact with him before I opened shop here, but it was only through text. He was a very strange individual though. He had me submit paperwork to him by sending it to other people, and I would go days without hearing from him. One day, I heard he got arrested, and the city just gave me this building.”

Copper moved on to the next question. “Do you know anything about a pink substance in Redd’s possession, ma’am?”

Jambette sadly shook her head again. “Nope. I never met the guy in person. The only pink substance I’ve seen is the Plush Pinkalicious that I’m wearing on my lips right now. Wait a minute,” Jambette gasped, “wasn’t there a murder in Leafington recently?! Do you think Redd could be connected to it?!”

Wolfgang nodded. “He’s a person of interest.”

“My goodness !” Jambette gasped again. “I wish I could be of more help to you! I truly do!”

“It’s okay, ma’am.” Copper said as he handed Jambette a card with phone numbers on it. “If you remember anything or find some new information, just give us a ring.”

“I most certainly will!” Jambette chimed. “By the by, I know my shop isn’t typically visited by men like yourselves, but would you care to buy anything?”

“What kinda eyeliner do you carry?” Wolfgang replied, ignoring the side-eye Copper was giving him.

“ Ooooo !” Jambette squealed. “I have the perfect thing for those pretty eyes of yours!”

Wolfgang ended up leaving the shop with a small pink and green bag of eyeliner, but no evidence, or even a new lead. “At least one of us got something out of that.”

“Did you have to buy eyeliner?” Copper asked, annoyed.

“Hey, I’m just supporting a small business. She had one hell of a personality.”

“Yeah... too much of a personality…”

Wolfgang narrowed his eyes. “Whaddya mean?”

“She just seemed...a little too bubbly for me...and the pink rose petals outside of her shop? Suspicious .”

“Maybe she just likes roses, Copper. Eunice has pink roses too.”

“Yeah, but she isn’t camping out in Redd’s former hideout.”

Wolfgang sighed. “Look, we know that Crazy Redd’s pink potion is somehow connected to all of this, so there’s gotta be a lead around here somewhere. Let’s split, and see what we can find out around the city.”

“Split?” Copper asked.

“Split up? Go solo for a little while?”

“Oh.” Copper mentally punched himself. “Split up . Affirmative.”

“Let’s plan to meet back at the fountain at the center of the city, k?” Wolfgang extended his fist to Copper.

Fist bump. That meant fist bump. “K.” Copper repeated, and clashed his fist with Wolfgang’s.

Chapter Text

It was time to fly solo. Two canines alone in the big city, asking around about the death of a young squirrel in their town. How hard could it be? The first challenge was...where to start? The city was just shops, kiosks, and a few city facilities. Wolfgang went straight to asking around, while Copper struggled with his first destination. He could go to the police department, but they’ve already been notified about the murder. And sadly...they know nothing. He finally decided it would be best to start with the fire department. They’ve gotta know something about Redd, right?

Copper strolled over to the Animal City Fire Department and saw two animals in uniform chatting on the stairway. A pink elephant with thick eyebrows, and a blue-maned lion.

“Hello, there,” Copper greeted. “I’m from Leafington PD conducting an investigation on the murder of a young squirrel named Blazel.” He pointed to his badge for clarification.

“Oh, we heard allllll about that,” the elephant said. “What was that you said, Aziz? Perilous Purple Popsicle?”

“I think it was the Probable Pink Poison,” the lion corrected.

“Oh, yeah! That!” the elephant jumped down the steps and pulled Copper into a brohug. “I’m Paolo, and that’s my bestie, Aziz.”

“Sup.” Aziz said from the stairs.

Copper was caught off-guard by the somewhat smothering hug. “Nice to, uh, meet you two. I have some questions for you guys regarding the murder. Are you comfortable answering them?”

“Questions for us?! ” Paolo gasped. “How could two guys like us have anything to do with such a heinous act of violence?!”

Copper pulled out his phone and swiped to the same picture he showed Jambette. “This individual right here. Ever seen him?”

Paolo squinted at the picture. “Nah, but maybe Aziz has. Yo, Aziz! Get down here and check out this picture!”

The lion jogged down the steps and took a spot beside his friend. “Look at wh-” Aziz choked on his words at the sight of Redd. “Uh...I m-might know who that is…”

“You do?” Both Paolo and Copper said in unison.

Aziz awkwardly nodded his head. “Uh...yeah...he used to own a shop here in town.”

“He did?” Paolo asked. “I’ve never been to his shop before.”

Aziz was visibly becoming more nervous. “Y-yeah, cause he’s not here anymore. He packed up shop one day and left.”

Copper found something. Whether or not it was related to the murder was the question. “Really.” Copper said as nonchalantly as he could. Which wasn’t very. “What kind of things did he sell in his shop? ”

“Gag gifts and other useless things.” Aziz answered, his voice calming down.

“That’s it?” Copper’s voice strengthened.

Aziz’s voice quickly began to quiver again. “Y-yeah. Why would I b-be lying?”

Hit ‘em Copper. Hit ‘em with cold hard facts. “Because Crazy Redd ran a black market. You know, illegal products?”

The cold hard facts didn’t fly as well as Copper had hoped. Aziz wasn’t phased at all. “He didn’t run a black market!”

“Oh, yes he did.” Copper had Crazy Redd’s article bookmarked in his browser. “Look at this article. What does that title say?”

And the cold hard facts finally set in on Aziz. “Okay, okay, I admit it! I know about it, okay?!”

“WHAT?!” Paolo exclaimed

Copper triumphantly pocketed his phone. “I wanna know everything you know about Redd.”

“Okay…” Aziz’s voice became dark and dreary. “I was going through a rough time before I landed a job here. I was almost evicted from my home because I struggled to make ends meet. I stumbled upon a request on some shady online forum, and I desperately took the job.”

“Aziz…” Paolo murmured under his breath.

Aziz began to sniffle from the sorrowful memories. “He gave me work. He asked me to make deliveries, hold onto packages, and pick up packages from people. And that was it.”

“How did you end up working here?” Copper asked.

Aziz pointed to Paolo. “This guy. I was finally making enough money to buy myself nice things, but everything about working for Redd felt...wrong. I went out to eat at this nice restaurant, and the whole place was out of tables. I had to share a table with Paolo.”

“He sure did!” Paolo chuckled. “We talked and talked and talked, then somehow I told him about a position here. He got the job a few weeks later.”

“And that’s the story.” Aziz concluded.

Copper had to hold back his tears. “I...I see…”

“I promise I didn’t do anything illegal.” Aziz pleaded. “And if I did, I didn’t know! Redd kept his lips shut. The only thing he ever told me was about this guy he hated. I think he just needed someone to vent to.”

That caught Copper’s interest. “A guy he hated?”

“Yeah. That billionaire guy. Tom Nook.”

Copper was really interested now. “He hated Tom Nook?”

Aziz nodded. “Yep. He’d go on and on about how dirty he was, and that he didn’t deserve all of the money he made.”

Copper wanted to know more. “Is there anything you can tell me about their relationship?”

Aziz shook his head. “Sorry, but no. I just know that Redd hated Nook.”

There was one last thing Copper needed to know. “Do you know anything about a pink liquid that Redd sold?”

“That piss juice?” Aziz gagged. “Yeah, it was just some natural medicine scam or something. Nothing much to it.”

“The very liquid was at the scene of the crime that occurred in Leafington.” Copper said.

“Really? Weird. I dunno why anyone would have that stuff on them. I think Redd actually stopped selling it after awhile and put it away somewhere.”

“He...stopped selling it?”

Aziz nodded. “Yeah. One day I came in and the whole shelf was gone. He was a bit of a hoarder too, so I assumed he just took it off the show floor.”

The rabbit hole just gets deeper and deeper. Copper got everything he could. “Thank you very much, gentlemen. You two stay out of trouble now, okay?”

The elephant and the lion both laughed. “We’ll try.”

--------------------

Over on Wolfgang’s end, he had gathered no information on Redd or even anything related to the case. He felt like he had worked hard enough, so a little treat from the local ice cream shop wouldn’t hurt. Flavor Flurry was the talk of Animal City. If you didn’t visit Flavor Flurry, you didn’t visit Animal City.

“Welcome!” greeted a snow white hamster as Wolfgang entered the shop. “Welcome to Flavor Flurry! My name is, of course, Flurry! How can I help you today?”

“What’s up?” wolfgang greeted back. “I’m just a cop from Leafington doing a little investigation, and all this detective work I’ve been doing has left me terribly hungry. What’s the most delicious thing on your menu?”

“Leafington?” Flurry asked. “Isn’t that...the murder town?”

“Yes, yes. We unfortunately had a murder take place there. Word’s been getting around like that?”

“It’s on every blog making headlines. Anyways, I know you came here for a tasty treat. It must be stressful doing all that detective work.” Flurry pointed to a tub of purple ice cream. “We have a wide variety of flavors, but people tend to gravitate toward the fruit punch ice cream.”

“Fruit punch?! What in the world?”

Flurry chuckled. “And that’s exactly why. You wanna try?”

“Please!”

“Cup size?”

“Medium.”

“Coming right up.” Flurry grabbed a medium cup and filled it with the purple dessert. “One fruit punch ice cream, sir.”

“Thank you very much!” Wolfgang dug right in and was not disappointed. “This stuff is amazing!”

“It’s a personal recipe,” Flurry giggled.

“Compliments to the chef.” Wolfgang said with a mouthful of ice cream. “So, I doubt you know anything about the murder. Is there anyone in this town who’s, I dunno, some wise, all-knowing shaman or something?”

Flurry paused to think. “We used to have a fortune teller, but she’s been gone for years. The only other guys I can think of are the Resetti brothers.”

Wolfgang shoved another mound of ice cream into his maw. “And who are they?”

“They’re two moles that have been living in town for at least two decades. I have no idea what they actually do, but they’re always busy with something.”

Wolfgang scarfed down the rest of his ice cream. “Any idea where to find them?”

“East side of town.”

“Thanks.” Wolfgang said with a wink. “I’ll be back for seconds before I head back to Leafington.”

Flurry giggled. “I’ll be waiting for you, sir! Enjoy the rest of your day!”

Wolfgang shot her one last wink, then was headed toward the city’s fountain.

Chapter Text

“C....r”

Copper found himself lying in his bedroom. He looked toward the door and Wolfgang was standing there. Strange.

“Cop...r”

The room began to darken, but there was no source of light to be found in the first place. Wolfgang remained standing there, but his lips were now moving. The strange air was transitioning into danger.

“Copper.”

Deep red fluid began to run down the wall. It was then that Copper realized that he couldn’t move. He couldn’t speak. He didn’t even know if he was still breathing or not.

“Copper!”

Wolfgang began to walk toward Copper. No pupils. No irises. Ice white scleras. He got closer. Blood-stained teeth. A matching blood-stained maw. On the outside, Copper was just laying there, stiff and motionless. But on the inside, he was screaming for dear life.

“COPPER!”

Copper’s body unfroze. He swung his arm with all of his strength and slugged Wolfgang in his face. Copper was panting uncontrollably.

“What the hell was that for?!” Wolfgang howled.

Copper took one more look at his surroundings. He wasn’t in his bedroom. He was sitting on the fountain. In the middle of the city. “Wolfgang!” he cried. “I’m so sorry!”

Wolfgang massaged the spot of pain on his jaw. “Are you sure you’re rested enough to handle this case? Cause it doesn’t look like you are!”

Copper rubbed the remaining sleep from his eyes. “I promise I am! No, I didn’t get much sleep, but I can handle this case! Wait until I tell you what I found out today!”

Wolfgang took a seat beside Copper, angered and still massaging his face. “Well? I’m listening.”

Copper pulled out his phone. He wrote down some notes in case he forgot anything. “First things first, I found one of Redd’s old workers.”

“Oh, really?” Wolfgang said, intrigued by the news.

Copper hummed in confirmation. “He told me that, his words, piss juice, was nothing more than a natural medicine scam. But an interesting piece of info that I got was that Redd...hated Nook.”

“Nook?” Wolfgang repeated. “Like...Tom Nook?”

Copper nodded and hummed again. “Yes. So, I was thinking. After we head back to Leafington, maybe we can ask old Nook what he knows about Redd!”

“I don’t see why not.” Wolfgang said.

Copper smiled victoriously. “So what did you gather from this solo mission?”

Wolfgang broke into a nervous blush. “Well...not much. But the nice girl from the ice cream shop told me about these brothers that have been living here since forever.”

“Ice cream shop?” The one phrase Copper pulled out of the statement. “What were you even doing there?”

“I, uh, heard it was a busy spot. Especially for tourists.” A nice save from Wolfgang. “Anywho, I wanted us to go together.”

“Good idea.” Copper agreed.

Wolfgang led the way to the east side of town. The east side looked completely different than any other part of town. There were less shops, and more housing. It reminded Copper of his hometown. Wolfgang had no idea where he was going, since he forgot to ask specifically where the Resetti brothers lived. But then he saw it. A small building resting in the eastmost corner of town. The Resetti Bros. Surveillance Center.

The canines walked right in, and saw a stout, round, brown mole typing away at the front desk. “Welcome to the Resetti Surveillance Center.”  the mole said. “My name is Sonny, how may I help you today?” His tone was raspy, monotone, and kinda robotic.

“Hello, sir.” Copper stepped up. “We’re with Leafington PD and we’d like to ask you a few questions about a recent murder that has taken place in our... previously humble town.”

Sonny didn’t move his eyes up from his computer. “What’s that gotta do with me?”

Copper was not prepared for that answer. “A local told us that you may be able to aid us in a mystery surrounding this murder.”

Sonny still refused to make eye contact. “I dunno who this local is, but I dunno anything ‘bout a murder. Now, is there anything related to my company that I can help you with, or are you just here to waste my time?”

Copper looked back to his partner.

“I got this.” Wolfgang stepped up to the desk. “Look, mole man. I get it. I think this is some BS too. But can you tell us anything about Crazy Redd?”

“Tch, that guy?” That seemed to get a response out of Sonny. “That con-artist blew town years ago. What could you possibly want with him?”

“A product from his store was found at the scene of the crime.” Copper chimed back in.

Sonny’s eyes remained on his computer screen. “Look here. Nobody in town really knew Redd. And the people who had the misfortune of knowin’ him, knew he was nothin’ but a lowlife filthy con-artist. With that bein’ said, I’m here to run a business, and I don’t appreciate my time being wasted by a bunch of IDIOTIC, MORONIC, UNINTELLI-”

Another mole emerged from a door behind the front desk. “Sonny? Did your computer shut off again? Did you remember to plug it-” the new mole paused and analyzed the room. “Oh, hi. Is...something wrong? Sonny, what’d you do this time?”

“NOTHIN’!” Sonny roared. “I WANT THESE PUNKS OUTTA HERE! HAVIN’ THE NERVE TO COME IN HERE ASKIN’ A BUNCH OF STUPID QUESTIONS!”

The other mole sighed. “Officers, I’d be glad to help you. Please. Follow me.”

Copper and Wolfgang swapped looks. Neither of them had a clue what was happening. But they just rolled with it.

The mole led the canines through the door behind the desk. Through the door, was a descending staircase. Down the stairs, the building suddenly expanded. Rooms all around. Monitors on every wall. This looked like a surveillance center. They were led through one more door. The three animals were now in a kitchen area of sorts.

“Have a seat, guys.” the mole said. “By the way, call me Don. Don Resetti. I apologize for my brother’s outburst. He has anger issues.”

“Clearly.” Wolfgang snarkily remarked.

Don set a kettle on the stove. “You guys drink tea?”

“Nah, I’m more of a coffee person.” Wolfgang replied. “And my buddy here could use a cup o’ joe, too.”

Copper rolled his eyes.

“More tea for me then.” Don happily chimed. He set up the coffeemaker on the counter near the stove. “Any preferences?”

“Black blend!” Wolfgang answered.

“I’ll have whatever.” Copper answered. “Although, I prefer a balance with the sweetness.”

“I hear you loud and clear!” Don said with a smile. “So what kind of questions did you plan on asking, boys? I promise you, I won’t flip out like my brother.”

“We just need some more information on Crazy Redd.” Copper said. “Word around town is you’ve been living here for a very long time.”

“Yeah, it’s been about 100 years!” Don joked. “But in all seriousness, we’ve lived here in Animal City since 2001. So...19 years!”

“Did you know Crazy Redd?” Copper asked.

Don stroked his fuzzy goatee. “Not personally, but we did a few jobs for him. Strictly business.”

Copper then remembered what the establishment was called. Resetti Surveillance Center. “What exactly do you do for work?”

The coffeemaker finished warming up and emptied out into a cup below. “I’m glad you asked! Here, we monitor towns all over the country that have a partnership with our business.”

That only raised more questions for Copper. “Interesting. But how did you end up doing jobs for Redd?”

Don passed the first cup of coffee to Wolfgang. “Crazy Redd was actually looking into starting his own town.”

“Really now…” Copper was all ears.

Don began to fill a second coffee cup. “Yep. Not many people know, but Redd was a very smart man. How else would he run a successful black market for so long? And even after being caught, he got away!”

Copper had to give Redd props for that. “Redd seemed to have a bright future ahead of him. He could’ve been on the level of Tom Nook.”

“Oh, yeah!” Don slid the sweetened cup of coffee over to Copper. “Those two used to be business partners.”

“What.” Copper and Wolfgang both said in utter disbelief.

“It’s true! Him and Nook were going to start their own town years ago. Sadly, they had a falling out. Tom Nook went back to his hometown, and Redd had the black market up his sleeve.”

This evidence was crucial. Tom Nook had to know something about Redd. But Copper needed all of the info he could get. “I apologize for jumping subjects, but what exactly do you guys do here? You monitor towns, but what action do you take?”

Don had to think about that question. “Hm...we’re like a security firm almost. But we don’t make any arrests. We just document what goes on and alert the town officials if anything is in violation with its laws.”

“That’s creepy as hell.” Wolfgang added.

“That it is.” Don agreed. “But it’s our job. And we make a good amount of money.”

Don’s tea was ready. He poured himself a cup and took a seat at the table with Copper and Wolfgang. “Lemon tea is so wonderful. Don’t you think?”

“I guess.” Copper replied. “I’m not much of a tea drinker.”

Don smiled and took a sip. “It makes you...relaxed…Do you feel relaxed, Mr…” he glanced at Copper’s badge. “Copper?”

Matter of fact, he did. Copper felt relaxed. He couldn’t tell if it was his lack of sleep making him feel like that or the hot beverage in his paws...But coffee wasn’t supposed to do that.

“How about you, Mr…” Don paused to read Wolfgang’s badge. “Wolfgang! Feeling good?”

Wolfgang’s head fell forward onto the table.

Something was wrong. Very very wrong.

“I’ll take that as a yes!” Don sang.

Copper tried to get up from the table, but his legs felt like jelly and his brain felt like mush. “What...did you...do to us…”

Don loomed over Copper. Smiling. Menacingly. “What had to be done. Now be a good boy...and fall...asl…”

Chapter Text

“YOU WENT AND DRUGGED THEM?!”

“What else was I supposed to do?! We might as well nip this in the bud right now!”

“YOOOUUU MIGHT AS WELL NIP THIS IN THE BUD! I TRIED TO BE A GOOD BROTHER AND COVER FOR YOUR ASS AND THEN YOU DO THIS!”

Furious footsteps were followed by the slam of a door.

Wolfgang began to move. Well, move as much as he could. His arms were bound with a heavy, cold chain. “Damn, damn, DAMN!” Wolfgang cursed. He was completely stripped of his clothes and possessions other than his underwear.

Don ran into the room where Wolfgang was chained. “You’re awake...” Don’s polite and upbeat tone was long gone, replaced by what sounded like the embodiment of malice.

“WHAT’S GOING ON?!” Wolfgang growled. WHERE AM I?! WHERE’S COPPER?!”

“Look beside you, mutt.”

Wolfgang whipped his head to the side, and there he was. Still unconscious. And equally naked. “YOU’RE THE KILLER! I KNOW YOU ARE! ADMIT IT! YOU KILLED BLAZEL!”

Don’s eye twitched. “I had no choice.”

Wolfgang felt his heart stop. He was chained up, underground where no one could hear him. Or find him. Any moment now, he could be disposed of.

Copper began to wake up. He groggily rose up from the floor, then dropped to his knees when he felt the weight of the chains. “Wha-...WHAT’S GOING ON?!”

“COPPER! HE’S THE KILLER!” Wolfgang cried out.

Copper gasped. “He’s...no way…” The same realizations Wolfgang had set in on Copper. But he reacted much differently. Tears began to roll down his face. “This can’t be it...no…” Copper flopped over onto his side and a puddle of tears began to form under his face. “This is just another nightmare! Please let this be another nightmare!”

Don’s eye twitched again. “Pitiful...and you call yourselves cops…”

“I never wanted to take this case in the first place!” Copper sobbed. “I never even wanted to move to Leafington! I get no sleep! I can’t do anything I enjoy anymore! I miss my best friend! And now I’m about to die and NOBODY WILL EVER FIND ME!”

That clearly struck a nerve with Don. A tear began to roll down his face. “I...didn’t want to do it…” he mumbled. “I didn’t have a choice...He said he would send people after me…”

Wolfgang instantly had a lightbulb moment. “Wait, so someone else sent you?”

Don wiped away the tear on his cheek. “Yes...he’s dangerous...He’s very, very dangerous…” Don was beginning to cry like Copper. “I hit her on the arm because I wanted her to live long enough to get a cure or something! I didn’t think she’d die! Please, this was all an accident!” Don dropped to the floor and broke into tears like Copper.

Wolfgang tried his best to calm his mind and steady his breathing, which is pretty hard to do when you’re chained in a murderer’s underground surveillance center. “Just tell us who he is, and we’ll make sure he goes away for-”

“NO!” Don shrieked. “NO, NO, NO! HE’S DANGEROUS!” Don grabbed a pickaxe that was lying just outside the room. “This will be over quickly! I’m so sorry!”

Wolfgang’s heart rate sped up, and Copper uncontrollable crying wasn’t helping at all. “I promise you, we won’t do anything to you as you tell us who did this.”

“YOU CAN’T PROMISE ME ANYTHING!” Don wept. “HE’S TOO POWERFUL!”

“We only want to help, Don. Please, you can end all of this suffering right now if you just...help.” Wolfgang’s eyes were full of understanding and sincerity. “Whoever did this to you...we’ll make sure he never hurts you, or anyone, ever again.”

Don’s arms and legs began to shake. He dropped the pickaxe and quickly began to unlock the chains around Wolfgang. “I DON’T WANNA HURT ANYONE ELSE! I DON’T WANNA HURT ANYONE ELSE!  I DON’T WANNA HURT ANYONE ELSE! I’M A CRIMINAL! A CRIMINAAAAAL!”

The chains dropped from Wolfgang’s arms.

Don unlocked the last chain. “I’m so sor-”

Wolfgang didn’t give Don a chance to explain anything. He punched Don in his face, sending him across the room. Before Don could recover, Wolfgang was on top of him, delivering a barrage of punches to his face. Blow after blow, Don began to struggle less and less. And before Wolfgang knew it, Don was knocked out cold.

Wolfgang took the keys from Don and began to unlock Copper’s chains. “No time to cry, Copper. We gotta get the hell outta here.” Wolfgang grabbed Don’s pickaxe. “If we see Sonny, or anyone else, we kill them!”

“N-no!” Copper sniveled, tears still running down his face. “That would m-make us n-no better than them!”

“We’re underground! In some big ass surveillance center! Naked! With no clue what lies up ahead! I say we kill everyone who stands in our way!”

Copper grabbed hold of the pickaxe. “I w-won’t let you!”

Wolfgang pulled it back. “I don’t give a damn!”

Copper pulled it back to him. “You’re being extreme!”

Wolfgang snatched it back toward him. “You’re not being extreme enough!”

Sonny walked back into the room. “Don? What the-” Sonny looked at the scene that was taking place. Two naked canines fighting over a pickaxe while his brother laid unconscious on the floor.

Before Sonny could react, Wolfgang was on top of him, giving him the same flurry of punches that he gave to Don until Sonny too was unconscious. Copper winced through the entire beating. He’d never seen a beating so brutal before.

Wolfgang stole the pickaxe back from Copper. “Now let’s go! I’m tired of sitting around waiting to be killed!”

Copper’s only option at that point was to follow. And follow he did.

The two canine cops exited the room they were in and found themselves in a completely different section of the surveillance center. They were now in a pentagonal room with a door on each wall. Wolfgang didn’t think too much about it. He just started moving. Kicking open doors. Unnecessarily breaking things off of the walls.

“This place is too big!” Wolfgang shouted.

Wolfgang continued his path of destruction. Childhood portrait? Smashed. 1800s glass figurines? Shattered. Signed, one-of-a-kind KK Slider vinyls? Okay, destroying those would be overkill.

Copper stayed behind and carefully analyzed the area. The underground was full of tunnels. There was the occasional hub room as well, but the best indicator of telling where he was going was the pictures on the wall that Wolfgang was savagely obliterating.

Before Wolfgang could jab his new toy through the wall, Copper stopped him. “I remember seeing that picture actually.”

“What picture?”

Copper pointed to a portrait of Sonny, Don, and presumably their parents. “That portrait.”

Wolfgang lowered the weapon. “If you have a hunch on where we should go, please lead the way! I’ll be the heavy artillery.”

Copper rolled his eyes, but took the lead. He made lefts. Rights. Backtracked a few times. But he finally saw a familiar hallway. Lo and behold, it was the same hallway that the kitchen was in. From there, he knew just where to go. More lefts. A right. Then it was a straight shot to freedom.

Copper and Wolfgang bursted through the door and finally had a chance to breathe air that wasn’t from the dirt.

“I’m...calling...Leafington…” Copper panted out.

About a half-hour went by, then helicopters and cop cars surrounded the entire east side of Animal City. Wolfgang explained everything to a squad of officers. Copper led the new officers through every underground hallway, but they found no trace of the Resetti brothers. They got away. On the bright side, Copper and Wolfgang got their uniforms and phones back. Back on the 1st floor, Copper and Wolfgang were escorted into one of the police cars; to their surprise, the moon was high in the sky. Also, Rolf was their driver.

Rolf gave them one quick glance. “Where are your clothes?”

Copper held up their discarded uniforms. “Long story short? We were drugged, chained, and almost impaled.”

Rolf didn’t know what to say to that. He looked to Wolfgang, and the Wolf gave him an affirmative nod. “I see.” Rolf said. “Hop in my car then. We got a loooong ride ahead of us.”

The ride back to Leafington was, as expected, long and silent. Rolf didn’t bother pressing the canines with any more questions, and Wolfgang was simply silent. That gave Copper time to just think everything over. Don did it. Don killed Blazel. But Don was simply a living, breathing tool. Someone made him do it. Copper’s mind first jumped to Redd. Redd was an intelligent, sneaky man. He managed to run a black market for years without being caught. Even after being caught, he got away. He worked with Tom Nook, and even had plans of starting his own town. Then there was Don and the whole surveillance center. Copper wished that he could’ve asked more questions, but given the circumstances, he simply couldn’t. 

Copper still couldn’t believe that happened. He almost died. He was seconds away from death, and if it weren’t for Wolfgang, he would’ve been history.

Copper put his hand on Wolfgang’s leg, which startled him a bit. “Thank you, Wolfgang.”

Wolfgang’s eyes were directed outside of the window. He was still processing everything. “Don’t mention it…”

Rolf looked at the canines through his mirror. He knew they must’ve been through something traumatic, so he let them have their moment.

There was really only one thing left to do, and that was find Redd. Given their relationship, Tom Nook had to have some kind of inside knowledge about him. The Resettis were gone. Redd is long gone. And Nook is their only hope.

They’ll go from there.

Chapter Text

Copper was chained to his bed. His limbs were completely immobilized. And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t blink. It was like someone was holding his eyes open.

Don.

The crazed mole stood at the foot of his bed with his pickaxe in hand. “I’m sorry...I’m so, so...sorry…” Don lifted the pickaxe over his head.

Copper went to scream, but nothing came out. Not even a muffle.

“This will only hurt for a moment. I promise.” Don’s pickaxe came down right between Copper’s eyes.

Copper could describe every detail in that moment. 

The shape of the pickaxe. It was like a finless dolphin.

The kind of metal it was made out of. Definitely titanium.

The smell of the metal. Like a jar of quarters.

The color of Don’s eyes. Absent of color.

The piece of lettuce stuck between his teeth. Right in his two front teeth.

Where the fish shaped tear of his overwalls was.  On the upper left part the right strap.

That moment was the most scared Copper had ever been in his life. 

——————————————-

He opened his eyes. His heart was beating in triple-time. His breath matched the pace of his heart. But his eyes were droopy. Almost lifeless. Slivers of morning light were casted on his walls. His pale white walls. Pale white walls stained with...red. Was this another nightmare?

Copper rose into a sitting position and squinted at the streaks of red. Was that his blood? It couldn’t be. He would be dead if he lost that much blood. Wasn’t he supposed to be dead? Copper pinched himself to ensure that he wasn’t dreaming. He wasn’t. The sleep clouding his vision subsided and he got a good look at the red streaks. It was writing.

Be careful, DOG, the walls read.

Copper jumped out of bed, grabbed whatever solid object was near him, a TV remote in this case, and bolted to his front door. He wriggled the knob, and surely enough, it was locked. He checked every window in his home. Each and every one was locked. Was the culprit still in the house? Copper checked every nook and cranny of his home and still, nothing.

Copper was mortified. Someone broke into his home, was in his room, while he was sleeping, and graffitied his walls. Nothing was stolen. Nothing was broken. This was all just a mind game. A sick, twisted mind game.

Copper grabbed his phone and called...Booker? Copper hadn’t even checked the clock, but it was around 6:30 in the morning. Booker wasn’t usually up at that hour.

But to his surprise, Booker picked up. “Cop? Izzat you?” Booker sounded like he just woke up.

“Booker?! Booker!” Copper panicked. “Booker, I’m so scared! Help me!”

“What?! What?!” Booker’s tone was equally as panicked.

“SOMEONE BROKE INTO MY HOUSE!”

“WHAT?!”

Copper struggled to steady his breathing. “BookerIdunnowhattodo!”

“Copper.” Booker calmed his voice. “Call the station.”

“NO!” Copper shouted. “What are they gonna do?! Send ME to play more detective?! This is insane, Booker! I just wanna go back to watching the town gate and doing my laps around town! Is that too much to ask?! IS IT?!”

Booker took a deep breath. “Copper...there’s nothing I can do to help that. I wish I could...I really do. But right, now you need to solve this break-in issue. You could be in real danger.”

“I WAS IN DANGER, BOOKER!” The fire in Copper’s voice roared. “I was drugged, chained up, and almost pickaxed to DEATH!”

Booker was lost for words. “Wh-...what? Was this the Resetti incident that happened last night?!”

The anger in Copper’s voice turned to sorrow when he had to relive that night. Immobilized. Helpless. Unable to fend for himself. At the disposal of a crazed killer. Stuck in a web of mystery, twists, and danger. “Yes, Booker...Yes...This is about last night…”

Booker was going to press Copper for more answers, but now wasn’t the time. “Is there anyone you can call, Copper? A close friend? Anyone?”

“Wolfgang…” Copper quietly sobbed. “Wolfgang is...good to me…”

“Copper. You need to call him. I’m sure he can help you.”

Copper nodded as if Booker could see him. “I...will...Thank you for talking to me, Book. I just needed to hear your voice. Usually I can keep it under control, but everything just keeps...building and building.”

“You don’t owe me an explanation, Cop. If you’re feeling stressed, down, or even happy...you can talk to me.”

Copper finally caught his breath. “Thank you, Booker. I’ll call Wolfgang. Sorry to disturb you.”

“You’re not disturbing me, Cop. I was just getting up anyway. And remember, if you ever need to talk, I’m here.”

“Okay,” Copper chuckled softly, “I’ll talk to you later.”

Copper hung up and felt calmer. He was still rattled, because someone broke into his place of zen, but he felt like a huge weight moved off of his chest. He had to solve this issue now, with the help of his new partner: Wolfgang.

Wolfgang immediately picked up when Copper called. “Copper? You good?”

“Uhm...y-yeah.” Copper hesitated. “I’m good. Well, not really. No, I’m not good.”

“Well that makes two of us.” Wolfgang said with a laugh. “I couldn’t sleep last night! That whole thing shook me up!”

Who are you telling? Copper wanted to say. “Hehe...yeah...Well, someone broke into my house last night and I need you to come over.”

There was brief silence on Wolfgang’s end. “I’m on my way.”

15 minutes flew by and Wolfgang was at the door, dressed in uniform. “Yo! Copper!” Wolfgang didn’t bother knocking or ringing the doorbell. “You in there? You still alive, buddy?”

Copper answered the door and practically snatched Wolfgang into his home. “Did anyone see you?”

“Uh...no?”

“Did anyone hear you?”

“I don’t think so...Also, you’re choking me, could you let go of my collar?”

Copper didn’t even realize he was holding onto Wolfgang so tightly. “My apologies...please follow me.”

Copper led Wolfgang to his bedroom, and the wolf’s jaw dropped when he read the walls. “Holy…” Wolfgang couldn’t even finish the thought. “This is the killer! I know it is! This is Don’s doing! No, Redd! Or even...Sonny!”

Copper didn’t reply though. Maybe it was them. Maybe it was neither of them. Maybe this was a stunt from a villager. Or just some kind of pointless threat. But the doors were locked. So were the windows. Redd has never even met Copper. And the Resetti Bros. were long gone...presumably.

“I gotta report this to the station, Copper.”

“Please don’t, Wolfgang.”

“Well why?!”

“Because this will only cause more issues!”

Wolfgang looked dumbfounded. “Dude! We’re on a murder case! The killer got away, and now someone tagged your bedroom! Issues are gonna come up!”

“I never even wanted to be in charge of this stupid case!” Copper barked.

Wolfgang was a little shocked by that statement. He was used to Copper doing the right thing because they had to. “Well...I didn’t either to be honest.”

That conversation ended with a mutual understanding of sorts. The next step was to find the culprit of the bedroom graffiti. 

“I gotta let the station know about this though.” Wolfgang said.

Copper was gonna argue, but he understood. “I know…”

“I’ll talk to Chief and see if you can get some time off too. If you want, you can spend the day at my house.”

“I appreciate the offer, Wolfgang, but no thank you.”

Wolfgang shrugged. “Suit yourself. I’m already late, but I’ll talk to Chief and get you a couple recovery days. K?”

Copper nodded. “Thank you again.”

Wolfgang winked and gave Copper a pat on the back, then was on his way.

Chapter Text

Wolfgang stepped into the station and was immediately greeted with cheering, clapping, whistling, howling officers. 

Wolfgang was severely confused. “C-can someone explain what in the world is going on?”

Chops pushed through the crowd and tackle-hugged Wolfgang. “You took on the very first murder in Leafington, that’s what! Your act of bravery has been noticed by the chief!”

Wolfgang was still a bit confused. And uncomfortable from Chops’s long hug. He understood why they were celebrating to a degree, but he didn’t feel like he accomplished anything. “That’s...nice?”

Chops finally released Wolfgang. “Where’s Copper?! I bet he’d love to hear what the chief has planned for you guys!”

“Actuallyyy…” Wolfgang elongated. “He’s not...coming.”

Gasps flew all around the precinct.

“Copper has never missed a day of work!” one voice said.

“Is he sick? Copper never gets sick!” said another.

Chops looked the most shocked of all. “Are we talking about the same Copper? The Copper that came to work with a gas mask when he had the flu? The Copper that comes into work at the same time on the dot every single day? The same Copper that is so responsible and dependable that even the chief himself trusts him?”

“...Yes…” And it pained Wolfgang to say it. All of those things about Copper were true. “Someone...broke into his house last night…”

Another round of gasps went around the room.

“T-t-that means!” Chops stuttered. “The killer is still here?! In this town?!”

Wolfgang shook his head. “We dunno. All that matters is we find who did this. I wanna talk to Chief and see if he’ll give Copper some time off. He needs it, and sure as hell deserves it.”

“Of course, of course!” Chops said. “I’ll talk to the chief. You should probably do a little more detective work since, clearly, that’s your strong spot.”

Wolfgang shrugged, and hoped nobody heard his silent sigh. “I guess. I’ll check on him throughout the day too. Let me go do this...detective work then…”

Wolfgang was off on his next solo mission. It felt weird though. Knowing that he was completely alone on this one was unsettling. What if he stumbled upon some evil cult or something. He’d be alone. Just him. 

Wolfgang shook off the absurd thoughts. He had to figure what to do and where to start on this one. The Resetti Bros. were gone. Could they have come back? Maybe. Redd was still missing in action. Could he be hiding under their noses? A possibility. Could this be a new face entirely? It’s on the table. 

Wolfgang had to think like a criminal if he were to catch one. If he were to break into someone’s house, he’d never repeat the same crime in the same place. Ever. But that would be if he stole something. This person didn’t steal anything. Wolfgang had to think like this criminal. This mystery animal wrote out a threat to Copper. That meant that, whoever it is, they were watching Copper.

Wolfgang’s mind went back to the Resetti Bros. They have an entire surveillance center. Even though they left the city, there could be a possibility that they have some kind of mobile tracking device. Copper and Wolfgang were also unconscious for a long period of time. The pieces were lining up, but there were still a few unanswered questions with this theory.

Wolfgang couldn’t think about this too hard or too long. He had to take some sort of action now. Maybe set up cameras at Copper’s house? Yeah. If the culprit came back, they’d be on camera.

Perfect.

Wolfgang took a trip to the shopping district to hit up the Nookling’s store. Inside, he saw the young twins, along with Tom Nook himself.

One of the twins looked past Nook to see Wolfgang. “Welcome to our shop!...shop!”

Tom Nook then turned around. “Oh, hello there!” he greeted with open arms. “You look a bit familiar. More familiar than usual.”

Wolfgang blushed at the recognition. “Yeah...I’m one of the cops from last night’s incident.”

“Oh, yes, yes!” Tom Nook exclaimed. “You must have been scared out of your mind!”

Wolfgang rolled his eyes. “Tch, it was no big deal.”

That got a hearty chuckle out of Tom Nook. “Good to know Leafington is home to such brave authority figures. I know I don’t technically run this shop, but how can I help you?”

“I’m looking for security cameras.” Wolfgang said.

Tom Nook stroked his chin hairs. “Do we have any security cameras in the back, Tommy?”

The twin that greeted Wolfgang nodded. “Yes we do! There’s a whole case of them!...them!”

“I’ll take 4.” Wolfgang said.

“Coming up!...up!” The mini Nook disappeared deep within the store then returned with four boxes. “That’ll be 7200 Bells!...Bells!”

Wolfgang pulled out his card, but Tom Nook took it instead. “I’ll ring it up for you. By the way, if you pay an extra 500 Bells, I’ll even set the cameras up for you!”

Wolfgang went back and forth in his head about the offer. “I’ll...take it!”

Tom Nook was very happy. “Alright. If you’re free right now, we can set up after I ring these up.”

Wolfgang nodded. “That would be perfect.”

The wolf and the tanuki walked from the shopping district to Copper’s house. Tom Nook was very confused when he saw Wolfgang stop there.

“This is...Copper’s house?” Nook said, puzzled.

“Oh, yeah.” Wolfgang gave his head a little slap. “These are for Copper. Someone broke into his home last night.”

Tom Nook gasped. “Oh, no! This town just keeps getting worse and worse!”

“Tell me about it.” Wolfgang agreed.

“Such a shame. This town used to be so beautiful. But you know what they say, officer. Beauty fades over time.”

Wolfgang didn’t know how to respond to that. “Uh...sure?”

Wolfgang knocked on the door and Copper stepped out. He was holding a steel bat. “Wolfgang? You almost got whacked.”

Wolfgang’s eyes didn’t leave the weapon. “I see...Anywho, I bought you some security cameras for your house, and the Nook Man offered to set ‘em up.”

Copper looked over Wolfgang’s shoulder to see Tom Nook. “Aw, Wolfgang, you shouldn’t have!”

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!” a feminine voice shrieked from afar. Copper, Wolfgang, and Tom Nook all ran toward the noise to see what it was. It was Eunice. Being apprehended. “LET ME GO! I DID NOTHING!”

“WHAT’S GOING ON?!” Copper yelled. But not as loud as Eunice.

A white chicken with a red comb and orange beak was the one arresting Eunice. His name was Officer Goose. “Oh, hey, Copper! We’ve narrowed down the possible suspects to two animals, and Eunice just happens to be one of them.”

“BUT I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING! I SWEAR! TELL THEM COPPER! I’M INNOCENT!” The look in Eunice’s eyes was similar to the look in Copper’s eyes when he saw Don grab that pickaxe.

“She’s…” Copper hesitated. He didn’t know for sure if Eunice did it or not, and his thoughts were still all over the place. “I think...she’s...inno...cent…”

“Really?” Goose said sarcastically. “You don’t sound too sure about that.”

Copper looked into the sheep’s horrified eyes. “I think she’s innocent.” he said more firmly, but the aftertaste of doubt lingered in his statement.

“Well, we have to be sure.” Goose said. “There’s only two animals in this town who could’ve done it! You mean to tell me that Ms. Pink Roses, aka the Pink Poisoner , just happened to stumble upon a dead body at damn near the crack of dawn?!”

Copper looked into Eunice’s eyes one last time. “She’s innocent.”

All was still in that moment. But it didn’t matter. Goose finished cuffing Eunice. “We gotta go.”

Copper, Wolfgang, and Nook watched helplessly as Goose walked Eunice to the police station. It was agony to watch. Each of them knew that Eunice had nothing to do with any wrongdoing.

“That was surely a sad scene to watch.” Tom Nook stated. “But I need to get these cameras set up. I have business to attend to later.”

The three of them awkwardly and quietly walked back to Copper’s house. Copper and Wolfgang went inside, while Tom Nook stayed outside to set up the first camera.

Copper flopped on his couch and buried his head into his hands. “What’s going on, Wolfgang? Everything feels like chaos.”

Wolfgang gave Copper a friendly pat on the shoulder. “I know, Copper. I know.”

“Eunice is the sweetest soul in this town. She would never hurt anyone.”

“I know.” Was all Wolfgang could think to say. “We’ll get to the bottom of all of this soon enough.”

“Will we?”

Wolfgang’s ears flattened. “I’m just trying to be positive...”

Tom Nook knocked on the door, but walked in the house anyway? “One camera set up and ready to go!”

“That was quick.” Wolfgang said.

“It’s quite an easy process.” Tom Nook replied. “Once you’ve been doing this as long as I have, it becomes second nature! I’ll go set up a camera out back, okay?”

Copper nodded wordlessly. The tanuki went back to work, leaving the canines alone again.

“Chief has something planned for us apparently.” Wolfgang said.

Copper shrugged. “Who cares…”

Wolfgang was all out of conversation to give. “I’m gonna go check on the Nook Man.” Wolfgang went out the back door and saw Tom Nook setting up a camera in the bushes. “Yo, Mr. Nook!”

Tom Nook’s head whipped around. “Huh? Oh, hello there officer. You startled me.”

“Sorry about that. You need any help with anything?”

Nook shook his head. “No, but I appreciate the concern!”

“Oh. Alright then!” Wolfgang went back into the house and sat down beside Copper. All he could think to do now is browse his phone. News article after news article, post after post, Leafington was being talked about all over.

Leafington? More like trash! Sksksksks

LEAFINGTON HAS NEVER BEEN SAFE! I’VE KNOWN FOR YEARS THAT THAT TOWN WAS DANGEROUS! YEEEEAAAARRRSSSS!

Breaking News: Is K.K. Slider the Leafington Killer’s cousin’s best friend’s uncle?

Is it just me, or is Don Resetti kinda hot? Like I know he’s a killer, but damn, he could get it.

Tom Nook returned moments later. “We’re all set up, gentlemen!”

“Great!” Wolfgang chimed. “Thank you very much for the help.”

“Thank you for shopping at my family business! Oh! And before I forget! I have to send you the Nook Surveillance app, Copper!”

“You have a surveillance app?” Wolfgang questioned.

“Yes, yes! All you have to do is pull out your phone, and I can send it to you remotely!” Tom Nook tapped through a few screens on his phone. “Isn’t technology just wonderful?”

Copper pulled out his phone, and instantly, his phone notified him of a new app. “Woah…”

“Woah indeed!” Nook sang. “Just confirm everything, and the app will download! Follow the instructions in the app, and everything should be working. If you have any questions or troubles, feel free to contact me! Now, I must run, as I have business to attend to. Farewell my friends.”

“Actually, I’m gonna go too.” Wolfgang said. “What Nook said. If you need anything, just shoot me a text, k?”

Copper nodded. “I will.”

Nook and Wolfgang left. It was just Copper and his phone. He opened the app, and was shown 4 different views. The front of his house, the back of his house, and each side of his house.

“And now we wait.” Copper said. “Now. we. wait.”

Chapter Text

Another day rolled by, partnered with another sleepless night. Every hour that passed through the night, Copper opened the surveillance app. If he heard a creak, he was looking at the app. If he saw a shadow, he was looking at the app. If he heard any kind of noise outside, he was looking at the app. 

The sun was peeking over the horizon. It would be time for him to get up and go to work, but thankfully, Copper was granted time off. That meant that he could enjoy losing his sanity in the safety of his own home. Great.

Copper vigorously reviewed the footage caught by the cameras. He fast forwarded through each and every frame one all of the cameras.

But he found nothing.

Copper threw his phone across his bedroom in a fit of rage. He was getting nowhere. He just wanted to know who the hell broke into his house. And who was he beware-ing? The Resettis were gone. Redd was gone. Eunice would never. What was going on?

Copper needed to clear his head. Desperately. He pulled on a pair of red sweatpants, threw on a white tee, and went for a walk. Being surrounded by the trees once again, he thought of his old friend Booker. Memories of his past began to soothe his frantic psyche.

Then he saw the flower clock.

The flower clock. The same thing that catapulted this entire stupid situation. Some dead squirrel girl. Purple? Periwinkle? Plum Poison? Whatever! Hole in the ground, roses, with a gash in her arm. Stupid… “STUPID!”

“Tell ‘em maaaaaan.” A familiar, and frankly unwanted, voice said from behind.

Copper turned around. Pascal. Pascal was there. “Hello...Pascal…”

“What’s up, maaaan! Long time no see! You’ve become a superstar since I last saw you, duuude!”

Copper had been getting better with understanding more casual speech since being partnered with Wolfgang. But Pascal? Everything that came out of his mouth sounded like a riddle. “A...superstar?”

Pascal began to laugh to Copper’s confusion. “ Maaaaaan, you’re always so funny, police dog!”

Copper didn’t know what to say after that. “Thank...you?”

“Heh, no problem, police dog. Maybe you should be a stand-up comedian. I would tooootally come and watch your shows maaaan.”

“Thanks…?” Copper said yet again.

“Did my god-tier advice help you catch that nasty evil-doer the other day?”

Copper took a moment to analyze what Pascal was actually saying. He’d never heard some say god-tier before, but he knew what an evil-doer was. And Pascal sounded like he was asking a question about his own advice. “Are you talking about the Resetti Bros.?”

“Yeah, them!” Pascal exclaimed. “Those guys! Y’know, I think actually saw them the night before the murder.”

Copper’s attention was snatched right up by that statement. “You saw them?”

Pascal nodded. “Yeah, maaaaan. For sure! I was just doing my midnight swim, y’know. Then POP! One came right out of the ground! I was like, ‘Maaaan, I must’ve eaten too many brownies.’”

Copper was back in detective mode. “What else did you see?”

Pascal shrugged. “Nothing else, maaaaan. I was just swimming and doing my thing, police dog.”

Copper couldn’t blame him. How was he supposed to know he witnessed the  prerequisite of a murder. “Thank you for the information, Pascal.”

“No problem, maaaan! Now, I’m gonna go now, police dog. It’s time for my 7:38am swim. You know how it is, right, maaaan?”

“Actually, I do.” Copper replied. “I used to go jogging every morning around this time.”

“I knew you’d get it, police dog.” Pascal turned and started walking toward the nearby river. But before he got too far, he turned and said one last thing to Copper. “Remember, police dog! Don’t just think outside the box! Think with someone else’s box! K? See you around, police dog!”

This time, some of that actually made sense to Copper. Think... outside the box. The box is my head. Boxes hold things. Your head holds your brain, which holds your thoughts. And if you think outside of the box...you think how you wouldn’t think. And if I think with someone else’s, then I’m thinking from their point of view! I got it!

Copper had some rethinking to do. He ran all the way back to his house, but stopped in his front yard.

His front door was open. Wide open.

Copper went to check the cameras, but then he remembered...he threw his phone. That meant he had to go in. He grabbed a thick tree branch from the ground, then creeped in silently. He looked around his living room. Everything was in place. Even his color-organized decorative bead bowl sitting on his coffee table. It was as if no one came in. Just like that night. 

Copper went to his bedroom next. The door was wide open like the front door. Now that was a sign that someone was in there. He took a deep breath, counted to three, then kicked the door in as hard as he could.

On the other side, a frightened, defenseless, Wolfgang. 

Copper lowered his weapon. “Wolfgang?! What are you doing in my house?!”

Wolfgang still looked like a deer in headlights. “I was worried...you weren’t picking up…”

Copper sighed, then picked up his phone from the floor. “I went on a walk and forgot my phone.”

”Ah...” Wolfgang said, finally able to take a breather. “Now that I survived another “whacking”, anything happen last night?”

Copper shook his head. “Unfortunately, or fortunately, no. But I ran into someone on my walk who...enlightened me?”

Wolfgang’s ears perked up. “Oh?”

Copper opened a new note page on his phone. “I wanna go over everything. Everything we know from the very beginning to now.”

Wolfgang was a tad confused. “Okay…”

Copper sat at the edge of his bed and patted the spot beside him, signalling Wolfgang to sit next to him. “First things first, Blazel. The victim was found at the flower clock by Eunice, who was looking for gardening inspiration. She had a gash in her arm that was filled with poison and a pink substance on the ground near her. There was also a hole in the ground not too far from the body. The time was 7:30 in the morning.”

Wolfgang hummed and nodded. “Yes, yes. Nothing new.”

Copper continued. “The pink substance was also sold by Crazy Redd, who was arrested 7 years ago for running a black market in Animal City. He took the pink substance off of display before his arrest, according to his old worker, Aziz the firefighter.”

“I didn’t know that.” Wolfgang said.

Copper cleared his throat, then went back to typing. “Redd had a grudge against Nook. They used to be business partners and had high hopes of starting up their own town. After falling out, Nook went back to his hometown while Redd ran the black market. After Redd’s arrest, he got away and hasn’t been caught.”

“Next, the Resettis.” Wolfgang added.

Copper nodded. “The Resettis, two brothers, Sonny and Don, who ran a town surveillance center in Animal City before escaping arrest. They worked with both Nook and Redd, who had plans of starting a town. They fell out, and those apparently plans came to a halt. Don admitted to killing Blazel, but also admitted that there was someone who made him do it.”

Wolfgang gasped. “I almost forgot.”

“And for confirmation, Pascal said that he saw one of the brothers the night before the murder.”

“What?!” Wolfgang shouted. “When did he say that?!”

Copper chucked. “On my walk. Now, let’s analyze every piece of evidence.”

“Well, now we know for sure that Don is the killer-” Wolfgang started.

“-but we have no idea who this big bad is.” Copper finished.

“Well, clearly, it was Redd.” Wolfgang said.

Copper shook his head. “I don’t think so anymore, Wolfgang. Redd wouldn’t have broken into my house. Redd couldn’t have broken into my house. He doesn’t know where I live.”

Wolfgang’s face lit up. “But the Resetti Bros! They run a surveillance center! And they were in town the night before the murder.” Wolfgang gasped from his realization. “The hole near the flower clock...it was them! It has to be!”

Copper nodded in agreement. “Yes. I think so too.”

“Maybe it was them who broke into your house?” Wolfgang suggested.

But Copper didn’t accept that answer. “Don was ready to kill us that day, Wolfgang. I don’t think he would have hesitated to kill me in my sleep. But one thing about this whole situation has been bothering me.”

Wolfgang was laser-focused on Copper. “And that is?”

“Nothing in my house was touched. The doors and windows were even locked when I woke up.”

Wolfgang had to take a second to process that himself. “That... is strange…”

Copper was really thinking now. Think with someone else’s box. “Whoever this was, they knew where I lived. They were able to get into my house without breaking anything or leaving the door unlocked. They left a threat, so they obviously didn’t want me to see them. And all of this happened in the span of a single night after the Resetti incident.”

Wolfgang’s mind was blown. “That’s...dude…”

“And there’s only one person who’s come up time and time again throughout this entire investigation. He has ties to this town. He has ties to Redd. He has ties to the Resettis. And he has ties to me.”

Wolfgang knew exactly who he was talking about now. “Oh...Oh no...no no no. It can’t be him…”

Copper nodded with a million dollar smile on his face. “Oh yes...the culprit...IS KICKS THE SKUNK!”

The bewilderment on Wolfgang’s face disintegrated. “WHAT?! NO IT’S NOT, IT’S TO-”

Copper forced his hand over Wolfgang’s mouth. “It’s...Kicks...the...skunk…” Copper turned his phone over to show Wolfgang the back. Nook Inc. , the logo displayed. He turned the phone back over and pointed to the Nook Inc. Surveillance App.

The bewilderment returned to Wolfgang’s face. “Oh, Sweet Baby Farley and Serena…”

Copper buried the phone under his bedsheets. “Now look,” Copper whispered. “We’re gonna destroy every camera around my house. Then we’re charging straight for Nook. We’re not telling the station, or they’ll probably arrest a streetlight for looking suspicious.”

Wolfgang snickered. “I like this new Copper. But I got it.”

Copper powered off his phone then discarded it inside of his drawer. “Today, we’re ending all of this.”

Chapter Text

Copper and Wolfgang did as they said. Every camera was destroyed. Smashed to pieces. Obliterated into unrecognizable piles of dust. Afterward, they went straight to the shopping district. 

The entire shopping district was near-vacant since it was so early. The other animals around were Luna and Blathers, who were known to stay up all night and sleep all day. But the Dream Suite wasn’t their focus, nor was the museum. Nook’s Homes was. The real estate firm, another thing owned by the billionaire Tom Nook.

Copper knocked on the door aggressively. Nobody answered, as expect, but Copper continued to pound on the door.

After a good few minutes, to the canines’ surprise, a short, blue sea otter answered the door. “Hey! You! Hello!”

Copper wasn’t in the mood for any small talk. “Where’s Tom Nook?”

“You just missed him!” the sea otter replied. “Yes, yes! You missed him!” 

“So he was here? At this hour? Before anything was open” Copper’s tone was becoming more aggressive.

The sea otter stopped to think with panic clear on his face. “Yes, yes! He was! Every morning Mr. Nook comes in an hour early! He’s such a responsible, inspiring individual, he is!”

Copper and Wolfgang swapped glances. This guy was full of crap.

“So where is he now?” Copper literally growled.

“I have no clue!” said the sea otter. “He should be back anytime soon though! How about a cup of coffee, boys! I’m sure you’re still very tired, yeah?”

Coffee. The last time he took a coffee offer, he woke up in chains. “Keep your stupid coffee.” Copper spat. “I’m gonna look for Nook. And Wolfgang?”

“Yeah?” the wolf answered.

Copper scowled at the sea otter. “Watch this guy and make sure he doesn't do anything funny.”

“Aye aye, Cap’n Copper!” Wolfgang said through a chuckle.

Copper marched down the shopping district to T&T Emporium. He remembered it was still too early for the store to open, but that would be the perfect time for Tom Nook to be in there. So, Copper did what anybody else would do. 

He shattered the glass with a nearby sign.

The first floor was empty. Everything was stocked up though. It felt...eerie. Copper felt like he was in some kind of monster survival movie and the monster was gonna jump out at any moment. The overcast weather outside wasn’t helping either. Copper looked over to the gardening section and saw an axe on display. Perfect.

Copper grabbed his new weapon then crept toward the stairs, analyzing every spot of the room like a computer. Out of nowhere, a small object came hurling at him and just barely missed. Copper dropped to the ground and rolled behind a display case.

Someone was in there. And they were ready for a fight. 

Copper grabbed a bug net off of a counter and chucked it like a javelin. Two more pellets came hurling from different directions. So there were two attackers.

“Come on out and I’ll play nice!” Copper warned.

But he was given no answer.

“Alright, then. No holding back then.” Copper growled.

The canine had to devise a plan to lure the attackers into plain sight. He couldn’t just turn on the lights. And he couldn’t just walk over to them and hack them with the axe. He needed to do something that would give them no choice but to come out and fight. And he had just the plan.

Copper grabbed a timer from the counter and threw it at a mirror on the wall. The mirror shattered to pieces. No pellets flew. 

Next, Copper crawled across the floor, flinging random items from the counters as he passed by. Pellets soared through the air each time he reached his hand up. Copper dodged them the best he could, but one hit his hand. 

Copper yelped in pain. Those pellets weren’t just regular pellets. Those things felt like steel-coated steel. But he couldn’t let the pain slow him down though. 

Finally, Copper ran and flipped over a display case of KK Slider records. Two more pellets flew, but thankfully, they missed. Copper was in a corner now, guarded by the fallen display case. He took his axe and started to cut the walls to pieces. Vandalism. He was vandalizing the store. They wouldn’t let Copper get away with that would they?

“STOP DESTROYING OUR STORE!...store!” a young voice cried.

Copper didn’t stop. He hacked a hole in the wall.

“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THESE WALLS COST?!...cost?!” said a second voice.

Copper recognized the voices. Timmy and Tommy. Tom Nook really set children up to fight someone. And they were actually pretty good. No wonder Nook trusts them with the store. But, alas, they’re still very young and underestimated the abilities of Copper.

The next sound Copper heard caused him to stop hacking entirely. No, it wasn’t a voice. No, it wasn’t a pellet either. It sounded like...a gun.

“Come on out, puppy.”

Now Copper knew for sure who that was. It was none other than Tom Nook. The alleged mastermind behind the entire case. Copper was scared to make any sudden movements. “T-To-Tom-m?”

Tom Nook hummed a chuckle. “Yes, yes. That’s me. Now could you please come out? I just wanna talk to you.”

Copper still didn’t move. He cornered himself. Literally. Now he had a gun pointing at him that he couldn’t even see.

Tom Nook hummed another chuckle. “What a smart puppy you are. Regardless, I’m gonna blow your head off, so why don’t I just explain everything. Y’know, like those old school cartoon supervillains, yes?”

Copper was still afraid to speak.

“I heard your little conversation with the wolf.” Nook said. “Congrats on figuring me out! Gold star for you! But I’m sure you want the whole story.” Nook theatrically cleared his throat. “It all started a little over a year ago. I made an announcement that I have something big in the works, yes? Well, I got approved, or as you know, reapproved, to start my own town on a deserted island. Wonderful, yes?”

Tom Nook waited for a reply, but got none.

The silence of fear gave Nook another chuckle. “Anyways, I had to do some dirty work behind the scenes. I took a page outta Redd’s book and ran my own black market. You might know Blazel, yes? Well, she was a business partner of sorts. But like the rest of them, especially Redd, she got a little too... antsy for my liking. Greed is a horrible disease, Copper, and these greedy, disgusting ingrates keep trying to take my money.”

Copper was listening. He was quiet and in complete fear, but listening.

“I sent Blazel out on a fake delivery run. That pink stuff? You know, the Professional Pink...whatever...But unknown to her, this would be her last run. The Resetti brothers were already working with me with the new island town and such, so I gave them a little tip to do a quick one-time job.”

“You...monster…” Copper mouthed.

Tom Nook gave Copper a full-on, villain laugh. “I didn’t know just how deep you lot would go with this investigation. Everyone in this town is a complete idiot. No crime has ever happened here because you all are too stupid to even carry one out. Let alone solve one. But I underestimated a couple of you.” Nook lifted his gun to the display case. “I thought my little threat would scare you away, and it did for a moment. But now I need to get rid of y-”

“FREEZE!” It was Wolfgang. And he had...a slingshot? “Put the weapon down...you filthy raccoon…”

“Ouch.” Nook said sarcastically. “For the record, it’s tanuki. Raccoon dog would even work, but a raccoon? That’s just plain rude. And what’re you gonna do anyway? Pellet me to death?”

“Shut your face...and step away from the display case, Nook.” Wolfgang was shaking. He’d never been in a situation like this before. He’d never been prepared for a situation like this. All the training he went through as a rookie, nobody even thought to prepare him for something like this.

Tom Nook’s eyes flashed with an idea. “How about I raise the stakes! If you come any closer, I’ll not only kill Copper, but I’ll have someone take care of his buddy too!”

“Buddy?” Copper said sternly. “I swear, if you’re talking about Booker, I’ll maul you to death, you disgusting creature!”

Tom Nook’s villain laugh came out again. “You’re not in the posi-”

Copper kicked the display case at Tom Nook with all of his force, knocking Tom Nook to the ground. Nook’s gun flew off to the side, and Wolfgang went to retrieve it.

“I got the gun, Copper!” Wolfgang cheered. “Now let’s take Nook down!”

“You think you won?” Tom Nook taunted. “I have eyes, ears, mouths, noses, and bodies, all over the world! And let’s not forget, this is Stupidtown! All I have to do is say you broke in and you two will be in prison cells by tonight!”

“That’s not true!” Copper barked.

“Oh, yes it is!” Nook retorted. “I own virtually everything in this town! Everything in this world! I built the buildings! I own the phone companies! I’m practically the strongest thing in the world! Even if you kill me right here, do you think anyone will believe I did anything wrong?”

Before either officer could come up with a response, two darts, one for each of them, hit them in their necks. They forgot about the Nooklings.

“Good job, Timmy and Tommy!” Nook praised. “You have learned so much from me! I’m so proud of you!”

Copper and Wolfgang immediately fell over, their bodies going limp, but their consciousness still intact. They could see, hear, and even feel. But they couldn’t move.

Tom Nook stood over the two officers, reminiscent of Don in Copper’s dream. “I could kill you both. Right here. Right now. But I’d rather see you two explain this mess to your peers. I can’t wait to see the news stories that this will create! Now if you’ll excuse me, me and the children have to go. Our island is waiting.”

The canine officers watched as the Nooks grabbed their belongings. Before leaving, the twins pulled their darts out of Copper and Wolfgang to hide the evidence. Tom, Timmy, and Tommy all had suitcases in hand as they trotted to the door. Tom turned around and gave them one last condescending wink. 

That was it. They were never seen in Leafington again.

---------------------------------------------

Neither of the canine cops knew how much time had passed, but they were startled by the sound of a young feminine duck screaming.

“OMIGOSH! OMIGOSH! WHAT HAPPENED TO THE STORE?! I’M CALLING THE POLICE!”

Copper and Wolfgang were still paralyzed from the darts. Those must’ve been some strong darts. How would they explain this? No, seriously, how? They were completely paralyzed, unable to form a sentence. And even if they could, what would they say? Copper did break in. Also, he was supposed to be recovering at home. And nobody would believe the most successful animal in the world was the brain behind the Blazel case.

The duck stood outside until the police came. Thank the stars, they sent Rolf.

“Oh. My. GOSH!” The young duck stepped into their sight. She was pink, had brown hair, and five huge freckles in the middle of her face. “Thank goodness you’re here! Today is my first day on the job, and I walk in to this?! What in the world! Like, ohmigosh! This reminds me of that time that I tried out for gymnastics in 8th grade, and there was this weird girl named Muffy. And-”

“Ma’am.” Rolf politely interrupted. “Shut up.” He impolitely finished.

The duck scoffed. “Tch, rude!” The duck stepped back outside, leaving Rolf to do his job.

Rolf poked Copper’s back. “Hey...you guys...okay?” He didn’t get a reply back. Their eyes were wide open. He immediately went to check their pulse. “You guys are still alive, what’s the deal?”

Wolfgang’s jaw twitched.

“Did you get...tranqed?” Rolf asked, as if they were gonna answer. He attempted to pick them up, but their bodies felt like a bag of bricks. “You’ve been tranqed…”

Rolf sighed and pulled out his phone to call for backup. Luckily, Copper gained enough control of his body to groan.

Rolf turned his attention back to the body. “Copper? You there?”

Copper groaned a ‘yes’

Rolf put his phone away and knelt down to Copper. “I’m gonna ask you some questions. Just make either a ‘yes’ sound or a ‘no’ sound. First question, is this person who did this still here?”

Copper groaned a ‘no’.

“Do I know who this person is?”

Copper groaned a ‘yes’.

“Is this the same person who broke into your house?”

Copper groaned ‘yes’. Copper also began to wag his tail.

“I’m gonna call for help, okay?”

Copper didn’t groan anything.

“Okay?” Rolf repeated, but Copper didn’t answer. “Do you...not want me to say anything?”

Copper groaned ‘yes’.

Rolf sighed. “Copper I can’t do that, this place is in shambles.”

Copper’s jaw regained some feeling. “Daam. Muk.”

“Pardon me?” Rolf said.

“Dom. Mook.” Copper repeated.

“...Tom Nook?”

“Ye…” Copper groaned. “Dom. Mook. Gill. Lalel.”

Rolf paused for a moment to decipher the code. “Tom Nook grilled ladles?”

“Gilled. Lalel.”

Rolf paused for another moment. Then it hit him. “Killed Blazel?!”

Copper nodded. He began to regain feeling in his neck.

“Oh, crap! Where is he?!”

“Gome.” Wolfgang chimed in. “He weff a he mot comi baak.”

“He’s not coming back?” Rolf clarified.

Both canines shook their heads.

Rolf was in disbelief. “Oh my...this is horrible!”

“You cand dell anymum.” Copper said, more or less. “Mook is damerous.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?!” Rolf snapped.

Copper and Wolfgang were lost for words. Mumbles in their current case.

“Ow hammle id.” Copper replied.

It took another hour for Copper to regain enough feeling to stand on his feet. The three officers taped off T&T Emporium and went back to the station. There, the entire police force was waiting outside.

“Are you guys okay?!” Chops yelled. “What happened?! Who destroyed T&T Emporium?!”

There it was. The question that nobody wanted to answer. How was Copper gonna explain someone breaking into a department store at 8 in the morning, vandalizing the entire place, and nobody being around, but him and Wolfgang?

Copper looked Chops directly in the eye. Not a shred of fear or doubt was present in his gaze. “It was Don Resetti. But he got away again.”

Chapter Text

Unknown to Copper or Wolfgang, today was the day of their celebration. The entire police department was decorated from top to bottom. Streamers, balloons, and confetti were all around the precinct. A custom mix of music, courtesy of Chops, played from speakers in every corner. The food, colorful soft drinks, burgers, pizza, hot dogs, tacos, and a big cake with Copper and Wolfgang cutely drawn in the center.

Standing in the center of the room, an orange wolf that could possibly be part fox. It was Chief Chief, the chief of the Leafington police department. “Officer Copper! Officer Wolfgang!” he rushed to give them firm but friendly handshakes. “Congratulations for taking on the first ever Leafington murder! I put together this party to show my appreciation of your efforts. And if I’m not mistaken, you two took on another incident as well?”

“...Uh...yeah!” Wolfgang said hesitantly. “Don Resetti...uh...came back and roughed up T&T Emporium. Turned out he was secretly working for Redd this whole time.”

“Are you serious?!” Chief exclaimed. “Well where is he now?!”

“He disappeared underground, sir.” Copper added. “That hole in the ground from the Blazel murder? It was him. He operates by underground travel.”

Chief was astonished. “No way! We have a real criminal mastermind on our hands! He’s like a supervillain!”

Copper and Wolfgang swapped looks with each other. “Yes...yes he is…”

Copper and Wolfgang still had no clue what was actually being celebrated. They failed to catch a murderer. Allowed an innocent animal to be arrested. Then let the mastermind behind the madness get off the hook consequence free. That got them a party? At least Eunice was let go. That’s a win, right?

“Copper!” Chops called. “You’re just standing around! Even though you’re not in uniform, you can still hang with us!”

Copper hadn’t realized he was staring off into space, an old habit of his. He also forgot that he wasn’t in uniform. He was still in his workout clothes. “I’ll be right over.”

Everything about this party was weird. Like an alternate reality. Nobody ever really talked to Copper, or showed him appreciation. He came into work every day, exhausted, and no one ever asked if he was okay. Wolfgang would talk to Copper on occasion, but their time together strengthened their bond. Rolf didn’t talk to anyone. He was usually distant from everyone, but the few interactions he’s had with Copper brought them a little closer together. Chops just liked to hear himself talk. If you have two ears and a brain, Chops would probably talk to you. Everyone else though? Nothing. Not a word. Not a ‘how are you?’ Nothing. Ever.

Copper had no idea what was happening in the conversation he was pulled into. The others were really into it though. Chops was reenacting something from a movie. Goose was laughing so hard that he choked on his pizza. Wolfgang was talking a little bit too. Even Rolf had a smile on his face. There were other officers around, but none of them paid Copper any mind anyway.

“Gather around everyone!” Chief said, standing on a table in the center of the room. “Copper! Wolfgang! Join me!”

The two canines awkwardly waddled to the center of the room with all eyes on them. 

Chief cleared his throat. “Today, we throw this celebration to commemorate bravery! Courage! Leadership!”

The entire precinct erupted into claps, cheers, and whistles. Copper and Wolfgang were just awkwardly standing there waiting for everything to end.

“Officer Wolfgang!” Chief announced. “I have been observing you since you began working here. Your honesty, directness, and ability to uphold the law has earned you my deepest respect. Is there anything you’d like to say?”

Wolfgang choked before he could get the first word out. “Uhm, thank you! Mr. Chief! I will continue to uphold the law and, uh, be a good officer!”

Another round of applause erupted. Wolfgang was enjoying the attention though. It almost made everything he went through worth it. Almost.

“Officer Copper!” Chief stepped down from the table. “You are, hands-down, the best officer that I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. Your honesty, punctuality, courage, and usefulness knows no bounds! You truly are an amazing officer!”

The round of applause that Copper got was ten times louder than Wolfgang’s. Even Wolfgang was applauding Copper.

“Officer Copper.” Chief continued. “Is there anything you’d like to add?”

This was it. Copper was finally getting the recognition he deserved. They knew he was a hard worker. They knew he was helpful. They knew he was honest. They knew he was punctual. They knew he was courageous. And still, no one ever helped him. Nobody asked if he was doing okay. Instead, he got sent on an investigation that gave him trauma that would take decades of therapy to calm. What was this celebration about again?

“Copper?” Chief asked. “Are you still there?”

Copper looked around the room. Every officer had a smile on their face, waiting patiently for words of wisdom to pass Copper’s lips. He looked to Rolf. His soft smile was still present. He looked to Wolfgang, who gave him a wink. It was now time for him to speak.

“I quit.”

The precinct was dead silent.

Chief found humor in it though, as he laughed boisterously. “You’re so funny, Copper!”

But Copper wasn’t laughing, smiling, or even smirking. “No, sir. I quit.”

The cloud of humor cleared from Chief’s head. “This isn’t funny anymore, Copper.”

Copper shrugged. “I didn’t intend for it to be funny.”

Chief was becoming angry. “You mean to tell me that I spent all of this money on a party for you ...just to... quit?!”

Copper looked around the room again. Everyone looked like they had just witnessed an exorcism. Except Rolf. Rolf looked amused. “Consider it a going away party.” Copper said.

That made Wolfgang laugh out loud. But he quickly composed himself when Chief shot him a disapproving glare.

“I’m disappointed in you, Copper.” Chief snarled.

But Copper put a smile on his face and extended his hand to the chief. “Understandable. But it’s been a pleasure working with you, sir.”

Chief glanced down at Copper’s hand, then back to Copper’s face. “Well, the party’s already here. Assuming Wolfgang’s staying, we have something to celebrate after all.” Chief walked out of the party, and never came back.

The party continued as one would expect. Awkward. Quiet. Uncomfortable. And it was over before they knew it. Copper went back to his house. He felt a little bit of freedom in that moment. Did he just burn a bridge? Nah, Chief will get over himself. What will he do for work now? He’s practically a celebrity now with all the news coverage he got. Someone had to hire him. Not only that, but Copper is a skilled, intelligent, responsible individual.

The walls of Copper’s home didn’t feel too home-y. They’ve felt like a prison, ever since he first moved there. He left his job. Why can’t he leave Leafington? Was he really going to leave behind the new formed friendship with Wolfgang? Or the acquaintanceship with Rolf. What about his morning wave to Eunice?

Copper pulled out his phone and called his old friend Booker.

The phone rang twice, and Booker picked up. “Hello?! Copper?! What in the world is goin’ on in Leafington?!”

Copper chuckled. “I don’t even know anymore, Book. But do you mind if I stay at your place for awhile? And move all my stuff into your garage?”

Chapter Text

The next morning was bright, sunny, and full of life. Honeybees and butterflies floated in the wind. The aroma of fresh flowers surrounded the town. Fish from the river splashed about. It felt like a new day. A feeling Copper hadn’t felt in a long time.

Copper rented a moving truck and spent the day before packing. He made his decision, and it was all or nothing. He chose all.

Eunice came around the corner and jumped at the sight of moving boxes all over Copper’s lawn. “Copper! Oh, my goodness!”

“Hello there, Ms. Eunice!” Copper bouncily waved. “You got my message?”

“I most certainly did! Why didn’t you tell me you were moving?!”

“Oh…” Copper nervously chuckled. “Well? I didn’t want anyone talking me out of this, or getting sad or angry.”

“But I am sad!” Eunice cried. “I’m gonna miss seeing you in the morning!”

Wolfgang and Rolf showed up just in time. Both officers froze when they saw a moving truck and boxes.

“Copper! What the hell?!” Wolfgang yelled. “You’re moving?! Is that why you quit?! You’re leaving Leafington?!”

Eunice brought her hands to her mouth. “You quit too? Oh my!”

“Calm down, everyone.” Copper said with a relaxed smile on his face. “Today is gonna be a good day! I’m preparing a big dinner for all of us, and we’re gonna eat together.”

Wolfgang took a deep breath. But it didn’t help. “Look, quitting in front of Chief like that? That took balls. But this?! Not cool! Not cool at all!”

“I have to agree with Wolfgang.” Rolf added. “On both statements.”

Copper sighed. “C’mon now, guys. I know this is sudden, but this is what I want.”

Wolfgang turned around on his heel and started walking. “We have to get back to work now…the station probably needs us...” 

Rolf followed behind.

Copper watched in silence and sighed. “That...didn’t go over too well.”

“No. It didn’t” Eunice agreed.

“I don’t know why he’s so mad though! We’re only friends because of that investigation! Before, he didn’t seem to care too much about me!”

“Isn’t that enough though?” Eunice suggested.

Copper’s gaze met Eunice’s. “I guess?”

“I can’t tell you how to feel, or how Wolfgang should feel, but what I witnessed were genuine emotions of a friend.”

Copper’s ears drooped. “You’re right…”

“Now, come on!” Eunice said cheerfully. “We’re gonna make the best sendoff dinner ever!”

--------------------------------------

Copper and Eunice moved to the kitchen and cooked all the food they could. Along with gardening, Eunice had a love for cooking. She cooked 3 pots of her family-famous Herbal Spice Soup and baked her special 5-Fruit Honey Cake.

Copper wasn’t much of a cook, but he tried his best. Back in his home city, there was a special kind of spaghetti that everyone used to love. In the city, it was simply: spaghetti, but visitors would always refer to it as Ruff-Style Spaghetti. It was cooked like normal spaghetti, but lightly seasoned with dried chili peppers and sprinkled with cheese.

“Why have we never done this before, Copper?” Eunice asked.

Copper, as usual, was lost in his head. “Hm? Oh. Um, I’m not sure.”

Eunice sighed daintily. “I’m having a lot of fun cooking with you, but under these circumstances...it’s bittersweet.”

Copper sighed as well. “I know…”

“You’ll come back to visit, right?”

“Of course.” Copper said confidently.

Eunice giggled. “That’s good to know. Your wolf friend would appreciate it.”

Copper stirred his pot of spaghetti. “You think so?”

“I know so!” Eunice practically sang. “The way he reacted? I would’ve thought he was your boyfriend or something.”

Copper couldn’t fight the laugh that bursted out of his system. “Boyfriend?! Wolfgang and I could never.”

“Never say never, Copper! You might come back to visit and end up stuck here by marriage!” Eunice giggled once more. “By the way, where are you even moving? You got a moving truck at last second’s notice. Do you have a house already?”

Copper began to season his spaghetti with pepper flakes. “My friend Booker is letting me stay at his place for awhile.”

“ OOOOHHH! ” Eunice said dramatically. “So tell me more about this Booker fellow. Is he tall? He must be fit like you. And I’m sure he’s very handsome.”

Copper nervously chuckled. “It’s...not like that. But Booker is a great guy.”

Eunice rolled her eyes and dropped the subject. “Whatever you say. Just don’t come back here with a wedding ring on, or I’ll tease you forever.”

More nervous laughter from Copper. “Noted.”

------------------------------------------------------------

The sun was beginning to set by the time the dog and the sheep finished cooking. Their day was full of laughter and conversation, something Copper hadn’t experienced in a long while. Another reason to feel guilty about leaving.

Copper set up a table outside. Perfectly sized for four people. The culinary pair began to bring out each of their delicious masterpieces. Walking in the distance, Copper spotted Rolf.

“Welcome to the party!” Copper called to the white tiger.

Rolf would’ve waved, but he had something in his hands. “I would’ve made something bigger, but, y’know, work and stuff.” When Rolf made it to the table, he sat a bowl of pasta salad in the center.

“I greatly appreciate it, Rolf!” Copper said, giving Rolf an unexpected hug. “Is...Wolfgang coming?”

Rolf shrugged. “He was very distant today. Didn’t talk to anyone.”

Copper’s mood deflated like a balloon. “Oh…”

“I’m sure he’ll be here though. Maybe he’s bringing food?”

Copper frowned and continued to set up the table. “I hope…”

Rolf took a seat while Copper and Eunice made the last preparations to the table. They draped a soft, red tablecloth over the table. They added gold decorative napkins, and various fruit-scented candles. The foods of their labor rested on top of the tablecloth. An enormous pot of herbal soup, a smaller, but still big, pot of Ruff-Style Spaghetti, a cake, and lemonade that Copper managed to make at the last minute.

The three animals were seated and began to talk amongst themselves.

“Anything happen at work?” Copper asked Rolf.

Rolf shook his head. “Surprisingly, yes. We had a meeting to discuss new safety procedures. Sadly, it went nowhere. Chops talked for 30 minutes about something that wasn’t even related to the topic.”

Copper laughed. “Sounds about right!”

“Well they better think of something!” Eunice huffed. “If I get arrested again, I’m turning everyone in there into lamb chops!”

Rolf and Copper both laughed at the sheep’s sudden anger.

“I apologize on behalf of them.” Rolf said.

“I appreciate the apology,” Eunice spoke, “but I doubt you had anything to do with it. That chief of yours hasn’t seen the last of me though!”

“Speaking of the chief,” Rolf took the conversation, “he’s been completely out of his mind lately.”

“How so?” Copper asked.

“He’s been screaming and shouting at everyone about not doing things correctly or whatever. After the meeting, I heard him giving Chops an earful.”

Copper confidently hummed. “He’ll be alright.”

Just when Rolf was about to continue, a certain wolf joined the party. “...Am I late?”

All three animals turned to the owner of the voice. “Wolfgang!” they all shouted.

Wolfgang was holding a present in his hand. “...I got you a going away present…”

Copper couldn’t resist his giant, goofy smile. “Thank you so much, Wolfgang.”

Wolfgang took a seat in the empty chair beside Rolf. “You guys haven’t eaten yet?”

“We were waiting for you, dummy.” Rolf answered.

“Now that you’re here, we can dig in!” Eunice sang gleefully. “I hope you like my food! I made it with extra love and care!”

The evening was going just how Copper imagined. No, better than he imagined. All of the friends he made. Eating together. Laughing. Talking. It was the family he needed in Leafington all along. And he was leaving them.

Copper abruptly got up from the table and went inside. Nobody knew what was going on. But Wolfgang was the one to follow him inside.

“Copper?” Wolfgang called out. Copper wasn’t in the living room. Or the kitchen. That meant he was in his bedroom. Wolfgang cracked the door open and there he was. “C-Copper?”

Copper sat at the edge of his bed with his head held low. “Yeah?” he replied in monotone.

“Wolfgang studied the lifeless eyes of the dog. “Talk to me, man. What’s going through your head?”

Copper let out a sigh that he felt like he had been holding in for months. “Everything, Wolfgang. Everything. I’ve been unhappy since I moved here, was sent on a suicide mission, failed to serve justice, and accidentally made friends that I’m leaving now.”

That was a lot for Wolfgang to process. He didn’t know where to start, or what to break down first. “I know I was angry at you before, but I was just...shocked.” Wolfgang took a seat next to Copper. “I’m happy I got to know you, Copper. But I want you to be happy wherever you go. If that means leave this town, then go. We’re both still healing from the murder case too...but we’ll be alright. Nook got away, but we did what we could...”

“We could’ve told the truth...I could’ve told the truth…Tom Nook deserves to die for all he’s done...”

“I get why you lied, Copper. You wanted to end the case and protect yourself and your friends.”

Copper felt a tear roll down his face. “I let a killer walk away free…”

Wolfgang put a hand on Copper’s lap. “Sometimes Copper, the right thing isn’t always the right thing. Protecting the people you love sometimes comes with depressing results. You made a decision that you knew would save yourself and the people you love. For all you know, this could’ve been the best way to end the case.”

“...What about you guys…” Copper whimpered.

Wolfgang melancholily chuckled. “We’re fine! We’re all here because we care about you, Copper! Is ita bold decision to leave? Uh, yeah! But we support your decision. If you ever change your mind at any point...we’ll be here.”

Copper needed that little pep talk. All the craziness that he endured led him to this moment right here. “Thanks...Wolfgang…”

“Anytime, Copper. Now let’s get you ready for your sendoff.”

Everyone helped clean up, disassemble the table, and pack it into the moving truck. They also packed the remaining items in the kitchen.

Finally, Eunice, Rolf, and Wolfgang stood in front of the empty, dark house.

Eunice had a bouquet of pink roses in her hand. “I also have a gift for you, Copper. I hope you’ll remember me every time you see pink roses.”

Copper happily accepted the roses. “Of course, Eunice. I’ll think of you, and not the Probable Pink Poison.” he joked, and Eunice seemed to get a kick out of it too.

“Uh...I didn’t bring a gift…” Rolf nervously admitted.

Copper didn’t care too much though. “It’s perfectly fine, Rolf. Your pasta salad was enough, and it was delicious. ”

Rolf blushed at the compliment. He was smiling a lot more.

Last, there was Wolfgang, holding his wrapped present. “Hurry up and open my gift!”

Copper took the box from Wolfgang and cracked the top open. A radiant golden light emitted from the top of the box. Copper froze and looked up at Wolfgang to see him with a wide smile on his face. Copper flung the box open, and inside: a star fragment.

“Wolfgang…”

“Nope, don’t get all mushy with me!” Wolfgang interrupted. “Just accept it.” Wolfgang began to get misty eyed. “I hope you like it…”

“I love it…” Copper whispered.

Copper hugged everyone before getting into the driver’s seat. He managed to fight off the emotions of sadness that continued to threaten his tear ducts. This wasn’t a ‘goodbye’, this was a ‘see you later’. He would see them again.

Copper started the engine. “I’ll try to visit as soon as I can!”

“You better!” Wolfgang shouted over the engine. “Or I’ll track you down and bring you back here myself!”

“I’ll see you all then!” Copper said. He put the truck in drive and was on his way. In his side mirror, he watched them all wave to him. Copper followed the dirt road all the way over the train tracks, through the shopping district, and passed the ‘Welcome to Leafington’ sign. His time living in Leafington was now officially over.

Copper finally had time to think about everything alone. He was done asking himself rhetorical questions, and wanted to give himself answers.

Did you do the right thing? Who knows. I made decisions. I’m still alive. No one else died. I’ll take it as a win.

Should I have just asked for my old position back instead of quitting? Maybe. That was a bit drastic, but I have options. I think I need a break from the whole police schtick anyway.

They said I was their best officer though. That’s great. I’m a good guy. I don’t need a badge to do great things.

Do you think your friends are sad? Yes. I’m sad too. But I’ll see them again.

Will Booker be excited to see me? I actually haven’t talked to him today. I was so caught up with preparing for the party. I know he’ll be happy when I show up though.

Where’s Pascal? Probably floating in someone else’s river.

What about Redd? Don? Sonny? They’re gone. They made decisions like I did and ended up in a place like I did.

And Tom Nook? Hopefully he gets what he deserves. But he’s gone. Doing his own thing. And there’s nothing I can do now but move forward.

Copper ran out of things to think about. It was just him, the open road, and the starry sky. Copper made his mark in Leafington. Hell, he even left a mark on some parts of the world. The bittersweet feeling never faded, but at least he wasn’t being harsh on himself. All he could do was wish for contentness over time. 

But now, this is where Copper’s story in Leafington ends, and a new story begins.