A Whole New World
Chapter 1: No One To Tell Us No
Bright, ambient moonlight beamed down on the residents of the sleepy countryside of Bunnyburrow. Cascades of silver shone through the treeline from the resplendent orb that bore the burden of the night. Its lesser radiance a promise of the coming dawn once the stillness of night had faded away.
That promise made more real with the crisp, warm, midsummer air being so full of life. From the chirp of cicada's and glow of the fireflies to the soft sway of greenery for miles to see, it was the perfect time for evening activities.
This little fact alone was what brought one bubbly bunny doe to bound anxiously toward the tallest of the rolling hills near her home.
"Come on, guys!" Judy cheered, opting to hop backward and wave her party forward. "Starlight's a burnin'!"
The two rabbits and sole sheep that hiked with her all looked up at her with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
Her niece, a bright-eyed bunny doe with off-white fur and a floral dress, had to be the most excited with a cheerful smile and paws clasped to a colouring book. She dashed up the north face of the hill, giggling all the way. Her parents letting her stay out with her aunt was a treat indeed.
Behind her was a black sheep ewe and her best friend, Sharla. Opting to go with her usual summer shorts and pink flannel shirt as wool was too much to deal with in hot temperatures, she happily toted around a bag containing her telescope, several charts, a few comics, and her faithful laptop.
"Hey, that's my line," Sharla said with a little laugh, trotting just at pace with the silent bunny beside her.
And much like a fourth wheel, the bunny buck, Jack, calmly strode towards their destination. Striped grey fur meticulously well kept and wearing slacks and an orange, longsleeved shirt, he was far overdressed for the occasion.
To most, he looked bored. Judy could tell, however, that he was enjoying the moment. He was her partner in the sheriff's department, after all.
All arriving just before the moon was completely overhead, they set up their spot with ease. Sharla took her time in adjusting the telescope while Jack assisted her in unrolling a few charts. Cotton brightly smiled as her aunt picked her up and carried her on her shoulders to get a better view of the landscape.
Judy was elated to be out this late in the evening. The crisp air and wafting scent of forest pine on the breeze made times like this all the more memorable. It reminded her of the county fairs and good times with the family.
Eventually having to set Cotton down as Sharla called them over, Judy drew in a deep breath, thankful for this time. She just wanted to relax after a long day of booking perps and processing paperwork, and this was one of the best ways to ease her mind.
It was a little something that they all liked doing from time to time: to, at the end of each day - weather permitting and auxiliary chores completed - stargaze.
Thought the veil of night was always something ominous as no rabbit, sheep, pig, any mammal that she had ever heard of, could see well in the dark, she and Sharla loved it. Jack tagged along wherever Judy dragged him, and Cotton loved being up and about.
And for the night's activity, the hillside provided the perfect place to see the endless sea of stars above them. Not a twinkle would be missed, and every constellation could be traced and named.
After sitting on the hill for a moment with the sheep setting up, they fell into a humble silence. As it was after dinner, most of the conversation was already over. However, it didn't stop one curious little bunny from investigating all her own.
Stopping her paw from colouring in a carrot patch from her book, Cotton looked up next to one of the two role models she had in her life.
"Uncle Jack?" she half whispered, hoping that it was only him that could hear her.
Broken from his train of thoughts, the buck sat up and smiled at her. "Yeah, kiddo?"
Cover blown as they were now loud enough to hear - Judy heard them anyways, rabbit ears and all - the little kit asked her question, plain for all to hear.
"Are you gonna marry aunt Judy?"
His face froze and his ears dropped. Wide, yellow eyes carefully turning to the doe in question who had broken out into a laugh, he stuttered. "I-uh..."
They'd been friends for practically forever and he was close to the family. He hadn't, however, thought of Judy romantically, more of a best friend forever.
Judy could say the same. They were there for each other no matter what. Broken limbs, family losses, office pranks and punishments by their chief, they were inseparable; just not romantic.
"We're just friends, Cotton." her aunt confirmed.
"Oh..."
Not long after her inquiry was made, Sharla had called to them as the stars gave them a show. The ewe pointed out constellation after constellation, telling them a bit about each one as she had rehearsed for years.
She was far more eager than either of the elder rabbits, but Cotton kept her excitement burning with each new line she could trace to see what it was all about.
The little bunny was even able to look through the telescope after it was adjusted.
"OH! And see those three stars? That's Orion's belt!" came Sharla's elated bleat. She helped aim the lens of the scope at the three stars, telling the bright-eyed bunny about what it meant and how to draw it out; even providing a piece of graphing paper to show her.
Just a few feet below them, on the side of the hill, Judy looked up in awe herself.
The chirp of crickets and rustle of breezed grass added a little ambiance to the stillness of the night while the glow of fireflies danced with the heavenly luminaries in a spectacular display of beauty around them.
Staring out into infinity, Judy sighed and idly smoothed her paw over the grass. Being here, looking up, it left her to wonder about... well, everything.
"What do you think's out there, Jack?" Judy asked, halfheartedly.
For a moment, she thought that he either didn't hear her, or didn't want to respond. That was until he gave his usual grunt of 'don't really matter and I'm too stoic and uptight 'cause I'm a complete bore outside of work and have one friend and are we still up to our usual routine of going to that one place we both like that has cheese sticks and blablabla-'.
Her thoughts could have gone on, but she let them fade away. Instead, she leaned over, blocking his view of the stars.
"Don't give me that," she half sneered, half laughed before waving her paws up at the whole sky. "C'mon, what do you really think of all this."
His yellow eyes lingered on her for a moment before he sighed. Shifting his arms to be a more comfortable pillow, he shrugged.
"It's nice to look at, I guess." he finally admitted, "Though I'd say Sharla's more interested in it." the sheep agreed with a giggle, and Judy wanted to kick him for ruining this star watching night with his stoicism.
But as Cotton was there, she let him pass. Well, that, and she couldn't ever bring herself to hurt her work partner. He was good at what he did.
Answer given, Judy turned to her other (less stoic) friend. "What about you, Sharla. Any thoughts?
The ewe's brilliant blue eyes trailed whatever constellation she had been teaching the little bunny still in awe.
"I'm gonna go there someday." She drummed her hoof on the rim of her telescope, reverently. "I'd be the first sheep in space."
For as long as any could remember, Sharla wanted to be an astronaut. Her letter to the Animalia Space Exploration Program was still in processing and she was patiently (okay, anxiously) waiting for the results to come in.
The inflection of her voice lead her to trail form the stars the eyes of her friends. She smiled, "Maybe it'd be like some of those old comics I have. Who knows."
Judy had known about all the comics she had at home. It was a varying collection of old and new, mint, and bargain bin comics throughout the century. Most of them were about intergalactic adventures and whatnot.
Taking a deep breath, Sharla asked in turn, "What about you, Judy? What do you think of the cosmos?"
Taken aback, Judy hadn't thought of what she'd come up with. She took a chance and reclined back and stare up at the endless stretch of the heavens. The whimsical twinkle of stars kept exciting every little idea that she had.
Having lived in Bunnyburrow their whole lives, the farming culture was practically all the doe really knew. With stories of the places beyond and how the world was, anything that she could gather about anything beyond what she knew was fascinating.
She'd gone to community college and started her career, sure; that had been going on for several years now. But to actually be out somewhere beyond the boundaries of Bunnyburrow? To see more of their bright, beautiful world? She gripped the blades of grass in her paws. I want to see more than just pictures of it all. I want to know what's out there.
She had never been outside of the burrows, never. Not to the surrounding areas as well as the triburrow area was massive. Being nearly everywhere in your hometown was one thing, but anywhere else would be an adventure. There was so much life around, so many things she had heard of all under one sky that she wanted to know what her whole world looked like.
Slowly, she spoke all that was in her heart. "I think there's a whole new world out there, just waiting to be explored."
Half expecting a laugh or two, the doe waited. But when none came - only approving hums and wistful smiles - she felt a bit better about her answer.
There was so much to see, but in the sleepy, rural, densely rabbit-populated country of Bunnyburrow, nothing ever happened.
Taking this into account, Judy wanted to do something about the monotony of her town. Even after one raid - less of a raid and more so of a warren call about a few bunnies that didn't realize that the flowers they were eating were Midnicampum Holicithias - and quite a number of speeding tickets, it was still a somber place.
And for being a small rabbit in a large town, Judy never stopped dreaming. She dreamt that something spectacular would happen one day.
So, even now, under the starry sky and by friends and family, she looked up in hope. But unlike so many other times that she looked towards the sky, a luminous flash caught her attention.
She rose to her feet, watching it flicker as it drew near. Her heart raced, she gasped.
"OH! A Shooting Star!" Hopping in place, she pointed at it. The steady, speedy motion of the bright light excited her as she knew old legends. "We can make a wish!"
The trio of mammals beside her had different reactions. Instantly, Cotton was by her aunt's side, renewed fascination apparent in her bouncy form.
Sharla stood and eyed it, folding her arms scrutinizingly. "Actually, Judy, it's not a star at all. It's a small comet or meteorite that's entering earth's atmos-"
The bunny waved her off. "Oh hush and make a wish."
Lastly, there was Jack. He stayed enjoying his spot, the grass beneath his back as he watched the heavenly body streak towards them. He shrugged. "Judy, you know I don't believe in those superstitions..."
"Come on," Judy sighed, he was being difficult. She then clasped her paws together, pleadingly. "For me?"
Jack stared, his usual demeanor present along with a raised brow.
When that didn't work, she knelt down, bringing her niece into a deep, 'Jack's not gonna say no', hug. "For Cotton, then?"
The little bunny did as she had done many times and stared at her 'Uncle Jack' with glossy eyes and a faux-quivering lip.
Jack stared, his usual demeanor replaced with a slight smile and sigh. "Alright, alright."
Standing now, the four spoke out, Judy leading them.
"I wish that-"
Sharla went first, speaking boldly. "I could go to space and see everything!"
Judy made her wish next. "I could make the world a better place."
Jack, of course, tried. "They'd do something about that landfill up north."
His few words silenced them all while Cotton pondered what she wanted.
Judy, eye twitching, pressed the matter."Is that a real wish, Jack?"
"Well, yeah. It's a pile of pollution, a trash heap, Judy."
It was true and Bunnyburrow was famous for two things, really: the largest population of rabbits in Animalia and the large landfill up north. How or why the government decided to put such a place there was beyond their comprehension, but Judy figured that it had something to do with their town having over a hundred million residents, and the surrounding townships needing somewhere to pile their garbage.
It stank to the high heavens, was constantly foggy, and you didn't really want to drink the water from sound between here and there. But despite that, it wasn't too dangerous.
Just as Judy was sort of agreeing with him, Cotton jubilantly chimed in. "I wish Aunt Judy, uncle Jack would get married one day."
The little bunny kit proudly cheered as the shooting star zoomed towards them, but both elder bunnies stared at her in disbelief.
Sharla fell back laughing, Jack started a coughing fit, and Judy snickered.
'Aunt Judy' gently patted the kit's head. I told my brother to name you 'Sugar', but nooo...
Sharing a good laugh, they observed the star as it drew ever closer and, as if hearing their collective wishes, it shone brightly; twinkling in response to their shimmering eyes.
They felt at ease with the beauty of the heavens just above them.
...And then, the shooting star became a bit brighter, closer even. Its almost pure light became a spiraling array of yellow orbs and a trail of smoke.
"Uh... Sharla? What's that?" Judy's question was tossed into the air as the speeding object appeared to make a beeline towards them, she held her niece close.
As the ewe was the resident know it all, they kind of looked up to her for an answer with her varying knowledge. She usually came up with something profound.
This time, however, the sheep couldn't find the words. "I... I don't-"
Before she could get her sentence out, the object came closer into view, just barely over the line of trees and a hazy smoke arose from it.
"LOOK OUT!" came a shrill cry from one of them, all of them ducking down or falling back to some degree.
The wind rushed about them, yellow lights circled around and a high pitched screech caused them to cover their ears. It lasted only a second before it disappeared to the south, towards the denser part of the forest.
The noise faded, allowing the four to slowly rise. Though their ears still rang, Judy had to ask, "Is everyone okay?"
Jack nodded and Cotton looked up, confused. Out of them all, Sharla was the only one on the ground, dumbfounded.
In concern for her friend, Judy took a step forward. "Sharla?"
The sheep shook. Her wide-eyed expression bode ill for her psyche. "W-what was that?"
Rubbing his ringing ear, Jack answered. "I don't know... a plane?"
There was an ominous silence as the sheep slowly craned her head towards the buck. Her words slow and steady, "That... was... no... plane..."
Whatever it was, it was disk-shaped and flying at a higher speed than anything she had ever seen.
While they stood, contemplating what it was, Cotton shook the hem of her aunt's pants leg. "Can we see what it was, Aunt Judy? Please?"
Looking into her eyes, Judy knew the kit was serious. She was, after all, much like her aunt: adventurous.
Judy desperately wanted to chase after whatever the object was, and Jack looked eager to see what it was as well. But with Cotton's safety and Sharla's hysteria, she knew that it would have to wait until morning.
The doe shook her head. "We've got to get back," she said, looking at her two friends. Jack raised a brow, but Cotton gave her the pleading eyes that she used earlier. It never worked on Auntie. "Uh-uh. My brother'd have my tail if I didn't bring you back for curfew."
It was an excuse that Judy would have to take for now. Because there were old legends of the woods at night and why no bunny, or anyone for that matter, would venture out there then.
Even if they really, really wanted to...
The constant flash of lights adorning the dashboard and screech of navigational system saying 'maydaye', struck fear into the heart of the pilot attempting to keep the vehicle steady.
"C'mon, c'mon! Hold together!" he pleaded, hoping that his
A sudden explosion that rocked them both and sent him snout first into the protective glass pane caused his worry to increase.
"WHAT WAS THAT!?" the pilot half barked, holding his sore nose in panic while his friend knowingly smiled beside him.
As she wouldn't answer, he looked for a solution, but was horrified when he saw the console start to smolder. The light for the fourth engine had started to flash before it went dead, it told him their soon to be fate.
His ears fell.
"Skye, do something!" he hollered, feeling the rickety, spare part clunker nearly come apart beneath him.
Seated next to him with a huge grin on her muzzle, the vixen merely held her arms up and watched the foliage crumble before her masterpiece.
Do something she would, this was fun! This was her day!
"Raise your paws like this, Nicky!" she instructed, another treetop breaking against their vehicle.
Nick could only look at his crazed friend and wonder how she had skirted by for years as 'completely sane'. The assessor was clearly broken that day. How he was deemed unstable and then assigned hard labour while she was practically a prodogy.
The system was unfair, but that aside, the current situation got to him.
"WE'RE GONNA DIE!" he shouted, paws unable to release themselves from the flight controls.
Half expecting his companion to agree, he was disappointed to hear her shout, "WOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
He didn't look towards her, didn't have the time. But he mentally promised himself that, if they ever made it out of this, he'd definitely chew her out and question their friendship.
Bracing for the worst, he willed his eyes shut, thankfully in the last second as the rickety machine descended into the darkened foliage. The constant crack of greenery shook and rumbled the flying contraption as both hollers and cheers erupted from within the little bubble.
Nick couldn't tell when - not from all the screaming and kicking - but he instinctively (forcefully) managed to let go of the flight controls long enough to wrap his arms around his cheery co-pilot.
The second they made ground contact, they both flew out of their unfastened seats. Both tumbling and smacking against the glass while their fantastic contraption rolled around.
Waves of dirt were upturned along with various small shrubs along the forest floor. The stillness of the woodlands was interrupted with the breaking of bark plop of rocks meeting their new home on the shoreline. Had anyone been around, they surely would have heard the scream of terror along with the howl of one having the time of their lives.
In a short moment, it was over.
Huffing sporadically, the pilot blinked. Able to feel his elevated heart rate through the fabric of his uniform - and consequently the heavy, hopefully knocked out and not dead maniac of a co-pilot atop him - he trembled upon seeing the speck of brilliant blue beyond the unshattered glass pane.
It took him a moment of heavy breathing from both of them to realize what happened. "W-we're alive," he whispered, paw trembling as it reached out to the light. "We're alive!"
No sooner had he said this, he felt the vixen swish her tail. She shifted on top of him, unmindful that she was using his ribcage to support her pushing and standing up to observe the blue spot above.
She ignored his plight as the wondrous heavens caught her eye and she began to search for the way out of there. A second later, she remembered where the emergency hatch release was, well, where she put it anyway.
Finding his footing and rubbing his sore chest, Nick gasped when his pink-clad friend tried to pull on the escape lever that she had so cleverly hidden under her seat.
"What are you doing?!" He leapt into action, stopping her from getting them both killed for a third time since they left their planet.
But that didn't deter her, she used her hind paws to brace herself as she tugged the lever more. "Getting us out of here like I did at the hanger."
She only half got them out. They both knew that it was the todds charm that kept them both from execution.
He tried to stop her, even with her feet almost kicking him square in the muzzle. "We don't even know if the air is breathable," he protested, feeling her stop for a moment. He sighed in relief. "At least put your helmet o-"
The loud pop of the protective wall between them and the strange planet had come loose once Skye remembered that it was a 'lift and pull' mechanism that she installed.
Exposed to the open elements, Nick's panic returned. On an alien planet, no gear on to protect them from the harsh environment, he held his breath on instinct.
His thoughts raced a mile a minute. Was the air poisonous? Was the atmosphere unstable? Were the locals vicious and primitive?!
More and more his mind searched for questions as he felt the air sucked out of the cockpit. Skye was frozen, a statue standing still with an expression on her face like she had never had before.
She's dead... he shivered.
As he tried to think of what to do, the Skye statue moved. "WE'RE FREE!" it shouted, the vixen coming to life and hyper-excitedly leaping towards the newly made exit with all the speed that she could muster.
Taking a short breath as his jaw hung open, Nick watched as she escaped the confines of the now busted machine. Her arms were raised in victory while she bounded towards the greenery as if she had been there her entire life.
His eye twitched, but he carefully followed suit afterward.
The moment he left their wreck behind, he was astonished as to what he saw. Aside from Skye taking her victory lap, the dazzling deep blue and green left him speechless. Just above him was a silver sphere, gracing the land with its light.
As if drawn by some unseen force, he kept walking forward, only to stop when his pawpads stepped on something soft. He looked down and saw that it was some sort of green carpet, much like the houses of his previous oppressors in the Skyland. He was forbidden to tread on it.
Looking around, the stuff was everywhere, and not just the trees either. Beyond that, there was a light in the ground that shimmered as the stars above.
Curious as to what it was, Nick raced towards it. The air in his lungs was crisp and refreshing. It tingled like those places he was called to when he was under watch.
Though, when he got to where the light reflected, he nearly fell to his knees. It was water.
Not just that, but water he could see the bottom of as pristine as the abode of the horned ones. It didn't reek of decay or rust. He dipped his paw in it, and felt that it was cool to the touch before gently lapping at it to test it.
A tear nearly fell out of his eye. It was pristine.
A blue planet with clean water and green life as far as the eye can see. I-it's better than what the Aluminated one said!
They had seen pictures, read of other worlds out there and heard it spoken of in those old drum-fire stories by the Warden. But to see it face to face? A world untarnished, untainted, without monstrosities or cruelty - a world that had any green left?
All those years of oppression, hard labour, darkness, and fear, they were over. He was free, they were free.
He was about to express this when he was tackled to the ground by the jubilant vixen.
"NICKY! This is great!" Skye shouted, in his ear no less. He gracefully eased her off of him. "No more overlords, no more curfew, we can eat all we want!"
It was true. Well, it would be. When they found food, which, due to a water source, shouldn't be too far away.
Catching on, he smiled. "No more fight pit..."
Skye folded her arms. "It's not my fault that you were an amateur," she explained. "Besides, I got enough bread for both of us."
It was half true, she got the lions share of bread, he got stitches.
Still, he looked out into the silence of their new world.
Skye wouldn't have it, though. "You think our parents are gonna be okay?" she asked, a slight pang of guilt in her voice.
Nick felt it too. "We covered our tracks," he replied, thinking back to all they had to do just to escape. "They couldn't tell that it was us, I think."
Not that it mattered anymore, they were lightyears away.
She hummed, drumming her paw on the grass, and looking back to their wreck. It was fun while it lasted. "Do you think there are any aliens on this planet?"
Her question made him laugh a bit. "Wouldn't we be the aliens, Skye?"
"Nu-uh," She stood and sneered. Her pink uniform, the symbol of her status, on full display. "We look just fine."
He waved his paws "No, I mean... we're on someone else's world. That makes us the aliens here."
"Oh." She swished her tail, thinking of all that he said.
That was before she announced her plan. "Then we can take over!" she smiled, boldly standing tall. "We have technology they probably don't have."
Nick just shook his head. "Nope, not gonna happen."
He was done with uprisings and her antics for a while, he just wanted to enjoy peace.
Still, wherever they were, this world was just beautiful.
[A/N]
Huge thank you to Francesca-Ictbs for the amazing cover art for this story! Be sure to check out her DA page. ^^
A bit late, but it's here. This is the third most voted for story for the NaZoWriMo stories!
Where did Nick and Skye come from? What will Jack and Judy do when they see them? What is a predator?! Find out in the next chapter. XD
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Till Next Time
-DLW