It was around mid-afternoon on a hot summer day, a man lay unconscious on the ground in a small alleyway. With a grumble, he got up from the cold hard pavement and clutched his head in pain. 'What a wake up call, what happened?' he thought as he tried to calm his headache. It took some effort but eventually, he was able to find enough balance to get up and inspect his surroundings. A few feet away from where he woke was a familiar phone with messages on it. Noticing the massive crack in the screen that spanned across the length of the phone, he opened it and browsed to the messages app.

Hey, Bud, you want to stop at the cafe on Pack St. for lunch? It's on me! ~Ron

Yeah actually, that sounds really nice. I'll see you there! ~Nick

Half surprised you're up this early on our day off. ~Ron

Riiight, I'll see you there.~Nick

Nick put the phone into his pocket and walked out onto the street in front of him. He dusted off his black t-shirt and blue jeans then started looking around him, trying to find his bearings. Once he thought he had an idea of where he was he proceeded on his route to the cafe his friend had mentioned. Glancing at his watch to check the time, it read '11:45'. "I sure hope I get there on time." he wished as he headed down the road. It was a refreshing day outside as Nick stepped foot into the world once more, the temperature was moderate, the humidity was low and everyone was out enjoying their day. During his stroll down to the cafe, he took the time to notice the few oddities that seemed unapparent before. In his mind, he had a map of his route to get to the cafe but it seemed unfamiliar to him. Some permanent things like buildings seemed new, apparently, his confusion showed on his face. A woman walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Kid, are you alright? Is there something I can help you with?" she asked kindly though worry was detectable in her tone.

"No thank you, ma'am, I'm fine. I guess I'm just a bit confused with something," he said, followed with a slight laugh.

"Do you know where you are?" She replied as she stepped back.

"Yes Ma'am, I know where I am. I'm actually heading up to meet my friend at the coffee shop just up the road."

"Up the road...? You really are confused, it's two blocks that way." she said as she pointed down the road on their right. "If you have a map on your phone, I suggest you use it. You kids and your fan-dangled fart-phones, surprised you haven't taken over the world yet." She joked as she flashed a smile and walked off.

Nick turned his head and looked at the street sign. 'How could I really have gotten that confused…?' he thought to himself as he took the woman's advice and removed his phone from his pocket. Opening the maps application, he scrolled around and found the cafe in question and set his course.

After a bit of a timely hike, he had finally arrived at the aforementioned cafe. Entering the doors he began his hunt for his friend. In the midst of a crowded and bustling cafe, Ron was sitting in the back of the restaurant; dressed in a blue and white striped hoodie, blue jeans and his typical round-lens glasses. He was laughing silently while looking towards his phone as Nick made his way over to his friend. "Hi Ron, how are you?" he introduced himself, smiling as he sat down across the table.

"Hi, Nick!" Ron replied as he set his phone down and pushed a coffee over to Nick. "Dark and bold like you prefer your men." he teased.

Nick punched Ron in the arm before taking his coffee from the table and sipping it. "For coffee, yes. For the latter, I abstain," he replied with a smirk. Ron's teasing was one of the most familiar things he'd recognized. Everything around him felt new but looked familiar, it was only making his headache worse; he'd have to remember to take an aspirin later.

"So how have you been, Nick? It's been a while" Ron continued as he pocketed his phone and reached for his drink.

"I… uh, I guess it has. I'm alright, I've got a pretty killer headache though. How about you?" He replied. He didn't remember the last time he'd seen Ron. 'It must've really been a long time.' he thought to himself.

"I'm alright, sorry to hear that. Any ideas on what caused it?"

"Nope, I wish I did. I just woke up with it like this, I really should do something about it." He mumbled as he rested his head on his hands and groaned. 'Why- no, how did I wake up in the alley…?' he kept repeating inside his head. After a few moments, Nick felt his stomach rumble like an earthquake. "Hey Ron, do you want a bite to eat?" He said as he got up, for a moment the world drifted around him slightly. Once everything settled, he finished getting up as Ron addressed him.

"Nah, I'm fine. I got something to eat already. If you want something, I could buy it for you, though."

"No thanks, I got it. It's my food anyway." he replied as he made his way over to the counter and examined the menu. He eventually picked a cherry pie slice and returned to his table. "Sorry about that Ron, I just really needed something to eat." he said as he slid back into his seat. He took a few bites out of his food before stopping to carry on their conversation. "So, what's new?"

"Not much, Professor gave me more work to do this weekend. We're gonna drown!" He paused to sip his drink. "Speaking of class, how much longer before you put in for a college, I know you just graduated but still."

Nick paused for a moment, he tried to remember the details but his headache was making things blurry and hard to remember, he couldn't even recall what had happened the night before. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, the world around him began to drift again. "Woah… my head is-" was all he could say before a pain shot through his head. It crippled him onto the table, clenching both sides of his skull with his hands as he whimpered in pain.

Ron jumped at Nick's sudden reaction, he slid out of the seat and darted over to Nick, concern covering his face completely. "Nick, are you okay!?" he begged, worry and concern soaking his words. Nick only replied with a short whine and a shake of his head, his vision started to blur and he started to shiver. "It… hurts!" was all he managed to say before he clenched his mouth shut in pain. After what felt like dozens of minutes of agonizing pain, it slowly ebbed off and Nick relaxed visibly. As he looked up at Ron, eyes watering from the pain he'd just experienced. It seemed like the world was spinning around him. Despite what common sense might suggest, he tried to stand up. Bracing himself on the table he stood up "H-hey R-Ron… I th-" he never finished his sentence, his face went pale and his legs went numb. Giving way, he buckled and if it weren't for Ron's catch, he would've eaten a good chunk of the floor. 'Nick! Nick, wake-' was the last thing he heard as his vision went out and his body went completely numb.

"Hey, Nick, Nick wake up! C'mon Wake up!" Ron said as he laid Nick down on the ground and shook his shoulders. It was all in vain for Ron, Nick was clearly completely out of it. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called for help. After several moments past an ambulance came down the road, lights flashing and sirens blaring. When it stopped out front several paramedics jumped out of the back, two ran inside while two grabbed the stretcher and followed through doors. By the time the two with the stretcher had made it to Nick and Ron, the two that had advanced first had gotten Nick ready to be placed on the cot.

They quickly rushed him to the ambulance and placed a device on his arm, it had a cord with a bulb attached to the end. It caught Ron's attention, he tried to examine it from where he was. It had a meter and a cuff that enclosed Nick's arm. The medic was holding a small thing up to his arm, near the cuff. Ron could swear he heard the medic utter a curse as he pulled the device off Nick and closed the doors behind ambulance sped off down the road, leaving Ron alone at the coffee shop and the bill, the money was the least of his concerns however. 'What in the world just happened to Nick?!' He thought to himself as he walked inside, waving to the waiter as he placed the money on the table and began to walk off. As he was walking out he noticed a paper sitting in Nick's seat. He bent down and picked it up, upon closer examination it was simply a blank piece of paper torn from a larger sheet, it had two curved lines on it from end to end. Ron stared at the object, examining it for a moment before putting it into his pocket and leaving the cafe to head to the hospital.

"Sir! Sir, wake up! Are you okay?" I heard a voice shout, growing louder every second, the owner seemed worried but it didn't sound like Ron. I tried to get up but all I could manage were small movements and a groan of pain. "Sir, wake up!" the voice called again. I opened my eyes, temporarily blinded by the sudden burst of light. After my eyes adjusted and the world stopped spinning around me, feeling started to return to my body and things started to register again. Though I still couldn't move my left side from the neck down, I could feel everything once again; it felt… different. A darkened object stood over, looking down at me, "Sir, Do you know where you are?", the voice queried as I felt it push against my shoulder. 'What kind of mask is he wearing?' I thought to myself. My vision hadn't properly restored yet, all I could make out were shapes and objects. "W-huh? Y-yes, I think so… I'm at the cafe, right?" I stuttered, barely understanding the question. Before I could determine what was happening, the concerned citizen darted off in a single direction.

"W-what was that about?" I groaned as I found the missing strength that allowed me to sit up. I rested my head on my hands, shaking and confused; I sat there and looked at the ground waiting for my strength to return. After several moments, I decided to look up and explore my surroundings.

"Wha-" was all that escaped my mouth before I covered it with my hands, in an effort to hold back a shout. I felt my heart speeding up and I couldn't catch my breath. In panic, I ran behind the first object I could find, it was a rather large tree on my left. "I must be crazy! What was that?!" I thought aloud as I glued my back to the tree. When I caught up with myself and decided to take another look I felt something brush past my leg. I turned around to try to find it just in time to see it narrowly escape my line of sight, I turned again to track it; only to come to the same result. After several more failed attempts of catch the object I lunged at it.

"Got you now you stupid piece of- Hey!" I shouted as I yanked on the fur covered object, it yanked back. "What?" was all that escape my mouth before realizing that the hands I grabbed the object with weren't mine. They were orange and only had four digits instead of five. "What the hell!?" I said as I leapt away in shock, the object I was grasping followed behind. I felt my heart rate increasing again.'What's going on, am I in a dream or something!?'. In a panic, I clutched at my hand. "It-It's c-covered in fur!" I exclaimed in panic as I began to search for more fur. 'I'm covered in fur!'. My thoughts seized and I froze as I heard someone break out in laughter behind me, causing me to spin around and jump back.

It was a fox dressed in a red jacket, green cargo pants and wearing a striped blue scarf, I don't know what scared me more. The fact that there was a fully dressed fox standing in front of me; or the fact the fox was a fully dressed fox that was talking! Still, in shock, I leapt back as far as I could, away from the predatory animal.

"Haha, relax man. I'm not going to hurt you" the fox said as he clicked his phone to sleep.

'Was he recording that!? I thought to myself, still in disbelief that there was a human-like fox standing less than three meters away from me.

Keeping his distance he looked towards me. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed. I left to call for help, looks like you're fine now, though, right?" he said as he pointed towards my head.

I must've waited longer than I thought before I replied because he took a few steps closer before repeating his question. "Y-ye-No, not at all." I said as I took just as many steps backward as he took towards me. 'I've got to be dreaming! I'm covered in fur and there's a talking fox on two legs in front of me'. "S-s-stay back!" I shouted, putting my hand… or paws in front of me.

The fox stopped his advances and lifts his paws into the air. "I won't hurt you, I promise. I just want to make sure you're okay. I was walking down the path and I saw you passed out under the tree." he said as he motioned towards the tree I hid behind. "Is there something I can do to help?" The concern in his voice seemed sincere but it was hard to believe anything that was going on. 'None of this makes sense' I thought to myself, almost unaware of the nod I gave the mammal in confirmation of his offer. 'If it's a dream though, how am I thinking about this? I mean… you can't think in a dream, right?'

"None of what makes sense?" he asked again as he took a step forward tilting his head.

"Nothing! It's nothing!" I quickly replied, noting I had slipped up and spoken out loud. "C-can I borrow y-your phone?" I stuttered. 'Make it or break it? They say you can't see yourself in your dreams, right?'

"Uhm, yeah… I guess." he said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, slowly approaching me to hand it over. Subconsciously, I took a step backward during his approach; causing the fox pause.

"How about this." the vulpine said as he pocketed the phone once more. "My name is Ken, what's yours?"

I stared at him for a moment, before deciding to answer. "My name is Nick, it's uhm… nice to meet you."

"Now, when I try to step forward, are you going to step away again?" he asked, tone reflecting sincerity and sarcasm.

"Right, uh… sorry. I won't step back. I guess that was kind of rude of me, wasn't it?" I asked rhetorically as I took a step forward, restoring my previous position. Ken pulled his phone from his pocket once more and stepped forward, this time I didn't retreat from my position. 'I think… this isn't a dream' I thought to myself, the feeling of concern growing more and more vast. Ken handed his phone to me and I gratefully took it. "Thanks, I'll hand it back in just a second" I replied as I opened the face camera.

What I saw in return was heart-stopping, in the reflection of the phone was a fox in a grey collared shirt. His eyes followed mine, his mouth mocked my movements and the expression of shock on his muzzle matched mine. I felt my fingers grow numb again and my legs started to weaken. 'I-i… I don't think it's a dream.' I thought as I handed Ken his phone back. "I… can you help me figure a few things out?" my tone shifted from nervousness to mild fear rather rapidly after this discovery.

"Well, you do look like you really need some help." was the fox's reply, noting the semi-sarcastic tone and smirk that followed it.

"You're going to think I'm crazy but, Where am I, exactly?" The question appeared to take Ken off guard, he stared at me for a moment before replying.

"You are in Savannah Central Park, how do you not know that?"

"I, uhm, It's a long story. I think I don't know." I tried to think but all I could remember was darkness until moments ago. 'Why does this feel so… indifferent? Is that the right word?' It all seemed surreal but at the same time realistic.

"You think you don't know?" he repeated in a nonchalant tone. "Would you like me to take you to the hospital or something, maybe they could help?" Ken continued, his expression and voice showing concern for the forgetful fox in front of him.

"N-no!" I quickly replied, accidently raising my voice in doing so. After I realized the tone I took, I immediately followed my remark with another. "I'm sorry, Ken. I just… don't think that'd be such a good idea." I honestly didn't mean to raise my tone. 'What an awesome way to pay back someone that's done nothing but help' I thought, mentally bashing myself for my reaction.

Ken was taken back momentarily by my immediate outburst followed by the rapid regression of my hostility. "Then tell me, do you know what day it is?" he asked, gaze unshifting, still locked on the fox mere feet from him.

"It's Saturday! I know that!" I exclaimed, probably a little overjoyed that I had such a basic fact memorized. I felt reinforcement from that knowledge, no matter how small it was, it let me know I wasn't, completely, nuts.

"Nick, It's Monday at 6:43 PM. We should probably get you somewhere. Listen, I know a few officers that can help if you don't trust me too, they can. The hospital is just down the road, actually. Come on, I'm taking you there now." It was clear Ken wasn't going to negotiate any longer. He turned around and started to walk off, leaving me alone. "I take it you're coming." He said as he continued walking.

'The… wait, what? No, no hospital!' I thought, though as Ken walked away; the only chance I had to understand what is going on was casually walking away. "W-wait!" Before I realized it, my feet took over and I was in pursuit of Ken. "I-I'll come to the hospital, fine. Uhm, can you show me how to get there?"

"Where else would I be going, I'm not taking you to the movies or something." Ken replied with pure sarcasm. We started our not so distant walk to the hospital, as I walked I couldn't help but think about the many questions that racked my mind. 'I need answers!' I thought to myself as we walked to the exit of the park.

A/N: Hey guys, Fox here! Thanks for checking out my new fic! Sorry that 'Proving Grounds' didn't end up coming first. I had to stop working on that one so I could think of new ideas. In the meantime, I typed this up and had a great friend beta read it. Go check out his page at u/7910080/KeyToTruth12 he's got his own fic! Make sure to thank him for letting me use Ken Miller, his well-crafted OC!

A/N2: Ok, that was your good news, here's the bad news. I don't have an update schedule for this. Between college and my personal life, I don't have a dedicated schedule for this fic, check back bi-weekly (no guarantee) for updates if you're interested!

Special thanks to Blenderguy15 for his advice, Detroiter27 for his annoying enthusiasm and KeyToTruth12 for his much-appreciated work on this fic. These authors are really something because I'm a pain in the xxx to work with. Make sure you thank them!

u/8409963/Detroiter27
 u/5554226/Blenderguy15