Zoo Strife

Some time later, Steven and Mary made it to the walls of the city zoo, Steven giving Mary a boost over the brick wall before she helped pull him over. Looking around the two saw that they had landed in what appeared to be some kind of petting zoo, a few of the barnyard animals looking up as the sight of the naked couple.

"It is kind of a shame we don't have time to play tourists. I've always loved the zoo." Steven admitted.

"Me too." Mary said as she noticed a few lambs come up to her, petting one behind the ears.

"Get it out."

"Get what out, Mom?" Cassie asked.

"You know what." Mary stated, "I just told you that I was petting a baby sheep when we got to the zoo."

"I don't know what you're talking out." Cassie said, feigning innocence.

"Yes you do. So get it out of your system."

"You mean the fact that..." Cassie smirked as she asked with a chuckle, "Mary had a little lamb?"

"And there it is." Mary said with a roll of her eyes, a small smile of her own. "You really are your father's daughter..."

"Careful now, he might follow you to the campus." Steven said with a smirk, "Which I'm pretty sure is against the rules."

"Oh, ha ha!" Mary said sarcastically, rolling her eyes with a small smile as she stood back up and walked along with Steven to the entrance of the petting zoo. After a few second she gave a genuine snorting giggle. "Actually, that was kinda funny..."

"You have a beautiful laugh."

"What?" Mary asked, taken off guard.

"What?" Steven asked, blushing furiously as he realized he just said that out loud.

"You just said that I -"

"Ruby! I heard something coming over from the petting zoo!" A male voice called out. "Sounded like voices."

"Looks like we got ourselves some trespassers, Dylan!" A female voice called out.

"Crap! Not again!" Steven muttered as he grabbed a hold of Mary's hand and led her away from the petting zoo. "We gotta find a place to hide now!"

At another wall, Gus grunted as he climbed over the brick wall, taking a moment to observe his surroundings. From the looks of things, he was at a garden picnic area near the entrance. He smirked as he dropped down, an idea forming in his head.

"Why go 'unting for those streakers when Ah can just wait for them to show up at the gate?" Gus asked himself rhetorically as he walked towards the entrance, "Like Pa always says, 'Work smarter, not harder'."

As he walked past an exhibit, Gus was unaware that the hand of a capuchin monkey reached out and plucked the phone right out of his hands, silently hooting to his troop at the weird object he had collected...

At yet another wall, Dana grunted as she climbed over, looking around to see where exactly she was. From the looks of it she was next to a large building with a giant owl statue on it, a sign underneath reading, "The World of The Night".

Dana grunted as she dropped down into the bushes below. Popping her head out, she looked around for any sight of the streakers...

Only to spot them heading up the horizon and running towards the nocturnal house.

"You're mine now." Dana said sinisterly as she stepped forward...

**RRRRRRRIIIIIIIPPPPP!**

"Of freaking course." Dana muttered as she saw her undershirt hanging off a thorn in the bushes, leaving the security guard in just her g-string, bra, boots, and socks. Letting out a frustrated groan, the nearly naked security guard ran ahead to cut off the naked couple.

"Quickly! The nocturnal house!" Steven said in a hushed voice.

"Are we sure it's even unlocked?!" Mary asked.

"Too bad you two will never find out!"

Steven and Mary came to a halt in front of an empty exhibit as Dana stepped out in front of them. The security guard smirked. "Gotcha!"

"Why are you in your underwear?" Mary asked.

"Really, Mom? That was your biggest question at the moment?"

"Hey, last we saw her she was fully dressed while smelling like a landfill."

"That doesn't matter." Dana said as she stepped forward, "What does matter is this little game is up! You two have put me through the worst night of my life tonight, and I'll go home happy knowing I put you two streakers behind bars. But first... I'd like to introduce you two to the skunk that sprayed me at the hotel garden, and the skunk that sprayed me on the golf course."

"Look, maybe we can talk -" Steven began, only for Dana to grab his wrist tightly, causing him to yelp in pain.

"I'M DONE TALKING!"

"Leave him alone, you bitch!" Mary shouted, delivering a roundhouse kick to Dana's stomach.

With the wind knocked out of her, Dana stumbled back and lost her balance over the edge of the exhibit, falling backwards in it with a yelp and landing flat on her back.

"Holy crap, Mom! That was totally badass!" Cassie exclaimed, "A roundhouse kick?! Where did you learn that?!"

"Your grandfather and I would marathon Walker Texas Ranger a lot as a kid." Mary replied, "And, I don't like to brag, but I am something of a champion at Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... But that doesn't make up for me asking why the security guard was in her underwear, does it?"

"Nope."

"Holy - That was amazing!" Steven shouted, clearly impressed.

"Yeah, we can talk about it later. Right now, we gotta go!" Mary said as she grabbed Steven's hand, leading him towards the reptile house.

In the exhibit, Dana groaned as she sat up. "What the hell just happened?"

Looking around, Dana let out a squeak as she saw an entire nest of skunks beginning to stir awake, staring at her. However, her fear quickly subsided as she remembered one important detail about skunks in the zoo.

"Oh, so you little fart rats think you have the upper hand this time, huh?" Dana mocked as she got to her feet, laughing as a few skunks stomped their feet and arched their backs. "Oh, just stop with those empty threats. Even I know that zoo skunks have their little stink bombs removed, so none of you little craps scare me!"

"They went that way!" Dylan's voice rang out, causing Dana to crouch down and press herself against the wall; the irony of a security guard hiding from security guards not lost on her. "They probably went in -"

"Hold it!" Ruby shouted, "Don't go near that exhibit!"

"Why? It's empty. And even if it wasn't, it's an exhibit for prairie dogs, anyway!"

"'Prairie dog'...?" Dana muttered.

"That's an upcoming exhibit, you dolt!" Ruby snapped, "The zoo was gonna put them in, but a nest of skunks took up residence before they could. Now were just waiting on animal control to come out and relocate them into the wild before they get any ideas about breeding with our collection of skunks on the other side of the park."

"Oh... Okay." Dylan said awkwardly as the two fully dressed security guards continued their search...

Leaving the half naked security guard in the exhibit terrified as she looked forward to see a thirty skunk firing squad lift their tails.

"Mommy!" Dana squeaked as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Please be unlocked! Please be unlocked! Please be unlocked!" Mary chanted as Steven reached out to grab the door.