The Western Discovery

Written by thecrazystorywriter14

"Breaking news: A recent discovery by Sean Furbank has us in shock. Humans exist. The anthropomorphic beings that stand on two feet and have opposable thumbs, no fur, and apparently have hair in some strange places have been discovered."

"Carrots!"

The voice echoed across the apartment into a nearby room. Judy Hopps' ears stood erect at the sound as she smoothed her paw over the bedspread. "What, honey?"

"You need to see this."

"Hold on," Judy said as she bent down to pick up a few pillows from the carpeted floor. She placed them carefully on the queen bed. "I'm coming." She switched off the light and hurried into the living room, looking directly at the television. "What?"

Nick unpaused the television. "Just look."

The reporter droned on. "Let's go to Sean for more details. He's on a boat right now with his discovery."

Judy walked backwards to the couch, her eyes glued to the screen. She dropped down right beside Nick. On the screen, a grey fox appeared. He was dressed in a black T-shirt and blue jeans. "Thanks, Lexi. Right now, you can see the coastline of the country." The camera pointed off the boat to the land. It was somewhat visible in the fog as the land drew closer. "For years, authorities would not let us off Zootopia. We were told Zootopia was the only land on the planet. There have been rumors for years and years on this topic; humans do exist."

The screen now showed two views: Lexi at the studio, and Sean on the boat. Lexi spoke first. "Sean, how can you be sure they exist?"

"I saw one jump from an airplane just above us."

"Did it see you?"

"I don't think so." He looked at the land. "We're approaching. We'll come back on in ten minutes for any updates."

The screen zoomed back on Lexi. "Looks like an amazing discovery—" The screen paused. Nick held the remote in one paw.

"See?" Nick said, looking at his wife. "It's all true."

Judy massaged his knee. "I don't know how to feel."

"How many humans are there? We're probably surrounded by them."

"Turn in back on," Judy said.

"What?"

"You heard what I said. Turn it back on."

Nick nodded and unpaused it again. The news droned through a few minutes of weather and national news before the screen turned back to Lexi. "Thanks, Sam. We just got an update from Sean. You've got the floor, Sean."

The screen turned back to Sean. "Thanks, Lexi. We're about a minute from the coast." The land was now clearly visible. There were boats parked along the coast, and the legendary creatures roamed the port. Sean ducked down as he approached. "We've got to keep silent." There was movement of the camera as the cameramammal crouched down to get a better angle. "You may not be able to see me, but we're coming up quickly."

A scream penetrated the air. "What the heck is that thing?"

"We've been spotted. Wait a minute, human. We've come in peace."

"You sound like you're an alien, Sean."

"Well, maybe I am to them."

"Don't talk that way. Try something else."

"Okay. Hey, it's all right. I know your language. I think."

"Smooth, Sean."

"What else could I say?" He looked up. "Look... one's approaching us."

The one approaching was a teenager, about sixteen years old. She wore a blue T-shirt and a pair of jeans. She smiled at the camera. "Aww... you guys are so cute. You have your own camera and everything!" She shrieked. "Wait... are there more?"

"More of us?" He paused. "Uh, no."

"Then why are you recording?"

Sean paused. "Uh, maybe. A few. Hundred. Thousand."

Her mouth fell open. "Mom! Dad! Look at this!"

Lexi looked at the camera. "Sean, how many do you think there are?"

"A few."

"Hundred thousand?"

"I'm not sure. I'll ask."

The girl rushed back up with her parents. They both stepped back at the sight. "Oh my word. What are those things?" the mother said.

"We're animals, thank you very much," Sean said. He looked at the girl. "May I ask you a few questions?"

She shrugged. "Sure." She smiled. "I'll help you guys out first."

"Oh, that's really not-" He stopped as the girl reached in and pulled Sean out. "Oh my. To be carried by a human, that's a different experience." He smiled nervously at the girl as she helped the cameramammal and the boat expert.

Sean looked at her. "Huh, I guess I'm not too small compared to her. I thought they would be gargantuan." He stood about a foot and a half shorter than her. "Okay, on with the questions." He cleared his throat. "How many of you are there?"

"Like, what?" She looked at her father. "Six billion?"

Sean's eyes opened to dinner plates. "Six billion? On this one land?"

"No, no... everywhere."

"Like in the universe?"

"No, I think just on Earth."

"Okay... how many people are on this land?"

"I'm not good with the numbers. Over three hundred million, I think."

"Three hundred and twenty-six million, actually," her father corrected.

"Wow, that's a lot. Tell me, what is this land called?"

"The United States of America," her father said. "We're celebrating Independence Day today. July fourth."

"Wow, you all somehow have the same calendar as we do. What time is it?"

"Nine fifty-two. You?"

"Two fifty-two PM."

"You're five hours ahead of us?"

"I guess so. Anyway, what is this 'Independence Day'?"

"It's a day we celebrate us becoming a country. Three hundred or so years ago."

"You've been here a while, I'd assume, then?"

"I'm only forty-five. We've been here for more than three thousand years."

Sean snorted. "You with your big numbers. Any other big numbers you want to share with us?"

"Our debt is twenty trillion dollars."

"Twenty tr—" Sean let out a sharp breath. "That's big. Anything bigger?"

"Not really."

"Well, sir, one more question. What do you do on this 'Independence Day'?"

"We eat, drink a bit, watch fireworks, all that stuff. Everything's red, white, and blue. Our flag's pasted everywhere you go." He reached into his pocket. "Here's a little flag I got a little while back."

Sean took it in his paws and showed it to the camera. "Wow, that's some flag. What do the stars represent?"

"All fifty states. There's one a few hundred miles off the coast, and another one next to Canada."

"Canada? Is that another land of yours?"

"Country. There's Germany, Switzerland, Russia, et cetera."

"How many are there?"

Sean produced his phone. "Let's see what the ol' Internet has to say." He tapped on the screen. "One hundred and ninety-three countries. China has over a billion people."

"Wow, another big number. A few, actually. So, you've never heard of Zootopia?"

"What, the movie?"

"A country."

The teenager shrieked again. "Wait... Zootopia actually exists?"

"Yep."

"So, Nick and Judy are real?"

Nick paused the screen. "They made a movie about us?"

"I'm not sure. How come they're so surprised that we exist?"

"I don't have the foggiest idea." Nick unpaused it.

"Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps?" Sean continued.

"Yeah, them."

"Yeah, they do. They're police officers at the Zootopia Police Department."

"I want to see them!"

"Unfortunately, miss, you can't. We don't allow unauthorized entrance into the country—"

"How about they come here?"

"You didn't let me finish. Or exit from the country."

"Oh."

"Well, it was nice meeting you three." He paused and turned back to the camera. "Humans are fairly exciting. There's so much to learn about them. Now that you've seen this, I recommend you go celebrate that fourth of July with your friends and family. Thank you, Lisa."

Nick turned the TV off, stood up, and looked at Judy. "You see what I mean? That's the craziest thing I've seen. And I've seen some pretty crazy stuff."

"I know, Nick." She smiled. "You know, maybe we should celebrate that Fourth of July."

"We barely know them! Why would you want to do that?"

"It's not like we have anything else to do. We've got the day off—it's Saturday."

Nick shrugged. "If you really think so." He pulled up his phone and typed into it. "Look." He showed the screen to Judy. There was a picture of the American flag. "They sure do work fast."

"Hopefully Sean can get more information on them."

"On all 193 countries? You're crazy, Carrots. You think he'll be able to interview all six billion of those humans?"

"Probably not. But at least he'll get some info from those he does interview."

Nick walked over to the kitchen. "Who knows what these humans even eat? They could eat nails, for all we know."

"Well, let's just guess."

"Veggie burgers, corn, watermelon, and blue popsicles."

"Sounds good to me."

Hey, everyone, CrazyWriter here. This is a one-shot of the Fourth of July combining humans and Zootopia, which I never thought I could do. If you want more on this, please tell me so, either through a review, Direct Messaging, or e-mail. Hopefully you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. Thank you for your continuing support.

Note: The title came from the United States' nickname, the Western World, just in case you were wondering.

Another Note: I produced this story for entertainment, not to be a target for its absurdity. I realize how unrealistic such an occurrence like this is.

Happy Fourth, for those who celebrate it.