Author's Note: First off, thank you so much for clicking an reading my new project! I have a lot of big plans for this story and plan to post new chapters weekly or every other week. This work takes place in the same universe as Garouge Faux's amazing work and I highly recommend you read those works, you wont regret it! With Garouge Faux permission, one or two OC's from their stories will make appearances in this story. As always, please be sure to leave me your thoughts and comments! Feedback is always appreciated! I'm excited to start this story and I hope you guys are excited as well.
Prologue
It was cold. The kind of bitter, stinging cold that felt like needles on your skin, making you regret ever stepping foot out of your door. The accompanying wind quickly found any exposed skin poking out from layers of winter clothes.
Greyson Silver pulled his hoodie tighter around him, tugging the straps on his hoodie until he could barely make out the swirling, snow-covered sidewalk in front of him. His nose was ice and and his eyes were watering as the wind whipped icy drafts of snow into his face.
The skies above the great city of Zootopia were dark, the clouds and stars blocked out by the light pollution of the massive skyline. Cars of all shapes and sizes drove carefully over the reflections cast across roads by the street lights above. Cold winds whistled between the buildings and through the mammals that covered the sidewalks, eager to get home to their warm apartments and families.
Greyson continued towards his destination, carefully navigating through larger mammals as they passed by. He shivered again as a gust of wind blew through the packed street. This city seems more crowded than ever… Greyson thought to himself as he moved to avoid a large rhino as he roughly pushed past him. Scratch that, this city seems more rude than ever.
They had reason to be. Not even a week ago, Zootopia had been hit with one of the worst earthquakes in its history, the tsunami that followed had been just as bad. Thousands were out of home, job, and safety as the city struggled to recover. The coyote looked down at his shoes as they crushed the snow beneath them. I could've been here, could've done something. The guilt hurt a hell of a lot more than the cold did. He shook it off and continued down the road until he finally reached his destination.
A small, dimly lit cafe, adorned the corner of a skyscraper that housed the United Bank of Zootopia. Small bells tied to the door chimed as Greyson entered the space, sighing gratefully as a wave of warm air washed over him. The cafe was not terribly crowded, several writers of different species sat next to a warm gas fire, macbooks in their laps, a young couple sat by the window pretending to watch the snowfall in a vain attempt to keep their eyes off one another, and a lone barista waited at the register for Greyson, averting her gaze with a small blush as he made eye-contact. An older vixen sat in the corner booth of the cafe, her eyes trained on her coffee.
"May I take your order?" The fox barista asked shyly as Greyson approached the counter. Her apron was stained with different ingredients ranging from chocolate syrup to flour that covered the green fabric.
"Sure, let me get a mocha latte, decaf please." He responded, handing her his debit card. While the fox put in his order and began to work on the beverage, Greyson absentmindedly stared at the variety of muffins and pastries behind the brightly lit glass counter.
"You look familiar, do I know you from somewhere?" Greyson snapped out of his day dream and looked up to the other side of the counter where the barista was blending his drink. As their eyes met, an excited smile crept over her face.
"You're Greyson Sil..." Before she could finish, Greyson brought a finger up to his lips, motioning for her to quiet down. Realizing he was trying to be inconspicuous, she nodded knowingly, unable to wipe the smile off her face as she continued working on his beverage.
Greyson offered her a small smile and stepped closer to the counter, "Thank you for keeping it quiet." Awkwardly, Greyson shoved his hands into his pockets and tried to avoid eye contact.
The barista nodded before asking, "So what brings you back to Zootopia? Weren't you just on tour?" She twisted the ends of her hair shyly, unable to hide the growing blush under her skin.
Greyson smiled again, noticing her body language, "I was yeah, it was a lot of fun. Finished playing in London yesterday." He paused for a moment, thinking back to his european trip. London. Paris. Berlin. It was an amazing experience.
"So are you going to be playing around Zootopia?" The barista asked, pausing her work. Her deep blue eyes stared into the coyote's, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
Greyson shrugged. "I don't know, I might lie low for a little bit and take a break for awhile," He shuffled his right foot, struggling to control his own rapidly reddening face, "I don't know, maybe some time away from all the noise and attention."
The Barista smiled. "Breaks are important. You gotta have that time to rest and clear your head." With one final flare of whipped cream she held the drink over the counter.
"Thank you." Greyson smiled as he took the coffee from her. She brushed her hair behind her ears which were rapidly turning red. "No problem." She grinned shyly, "Let me know if you're playing anything around town?"
"Sure thing." Greyson said, unable to break eye contact. Realizing that he was staring way to long and unsure of what to do with himself, Greyson awkwardly gave her a curt nod and smiled before swiftly walking towards the booth occupied by the older vixen to hide his reddining ears.
The vixen smiled, and began to chuckle at the approaching coyote. "She likes you." Marian Wilde sipped on her coffee, her british accent light and playful.
"You think so?" Greyson asked sarcastically, trying unsuccessfully to play it cool as he sat across from her. Marian motioned towards his cup. Twisting his latte around, he found a phone number scribbled onto the cardboard sleeve of the cup, complete with small hearts. Greyson blushed and shook his head, changing the subject. "How are you Marian?"
"Better than most of Zootopia. This earthquake has torn apart so many lives. I'm just blessed to have everyone in one piece..." Taking another sip of her coffee, Marian smiled warmly at Greyson before jokingly remarking, " You're late. How are you of all people late?"
Greyson tried to take a sip of his coffee, but quickly regretted it as the hot liquid scorched his tongue. "It's hard to run over ice and snow, weird to see so much of it downtown."
"The weather machines have been broken since the quake, the Tundra Town regulator has been putting snow into all the other districts," Marian remarked, "Should be fixed in a couple of days, according to Nick." She paused, giving Greyson a hard but mothering look. "You should visit the team more often, we really do miss you Grey."
Greyson shook his head, trying his best to avoid eye contact with the older vixen. "I've been too busy to visit, you know that. Plus, it would probably be for the best that we remain apart, especially after what happened…" He stopped, giving Marian an accusing look. "You haven't told them you were meeting me here, have you?"
"Of course not!" Marian scoffed, feigning indignity, "What kind of mentor would I be if I broke that kind of promise?"
Greyson chuckled before changing the subject, "How are Nick and Judy? I heard that she's chief of precinct one now."
'They're just fine, both of them are busy with work and helping clean up the city. And…" Marian smiled, leaning across the table and beckoning him to do the same before excitedly whispering, "Nick is running for mayor!"
Greyson smiled at Marian's pride and excitement for her son. He whispered back teasingly, "Why did you have to whisper that?"
Mairan leaned back in her seat, rolling her eyes at the smugness of the young coyote. "Nick has asked me to keep it secret until he's officially announced it."
"Right, right…" Greyson nodded, taking a sip of his coffee, "a-and the team? How are they doing?" He kept his face emotionless, but his foot nervously tapped the tile flooring underneath the table.
Marian took a long look at Greyson before responding."Well, Spitfire is the only one running missions anymore, Robin is getting fed up with being stuck in the bunker and I'm where I've always been, behind a computer screen…" She trailed off, her mind wandering back to her days of vigilantism.
"And Luna?" Marian was broken from her trance at the question and stared at Greyson, his face was deadpan and emotionless, the tapping of his foot had stopped, but his voice had a slight quiver to it, something only an expert could pick up. Greyson attempted to hide his nervousness by taking another sip of his coffee. Marian squinted, trying to pick up any trace of feeling as she thought about how to answer the question.
After a long period of silence, Marian shook her head and sighed deeply before responding."Grey, she's left the team. She told me it wasn't because of you, or that night, but she made the decision that she needed to clean herself up before returning," Marian paused, looking at Greyson as he stared at his coffee.
She could hear his leg once again anxiously bouncing up and down underneath the table. "But I think she missed you. She wanted you back so much, it killed her when you left. She only blamed herself for you leaving. She needed her friend Grey. You left her - you left us with a note and broken hearts".
Greyson didn't respond, staring deeply into his coffee as tears started to build up behind his brown eyes. Guilt started to gnaw on his heart and his stomach was twisting into knots.
Marian took a moment to breathe and wiped away her own tear as she went on, "Did you find what you were looking for out there?"
Wiping away the tears that had begun to sting his eyes and taking a breath to collect himself, Greyson nodded. "I tracked down the rest of Madame Misdadd's connections. The tour provided the perfect cover for my operations there. I found the drug sources and took them out."
Marian looked at him, her eyes wide with surprise as she whispered, "You didn't kill them, did you?"
"Of course not." Greyson furrowed his brow, "Some of them got anxious when they heard I was coming and decided that they would rather die than confess to the law, but the ones that didn't were turned over to their police departments."
Marian sighed with relief and sat back in her seat, taking a deep drink from her coffee as she did. There was a moment of silence between the two, broken only by the bell of the cafe ringing as the couple by the window departed.
"So, what now?" Marian asked, "Now that you've accomplished your mission, what's next?"
Greyson took a deep breath before responding, "You know what? I have no idea. Maybe another tour?" Greyson laughed with anticipation. "Maybe another album? Who knows? Maybe I'll drop the vigilante act and finally focus on nothing but music."
"And I'm sure Zootopia's criminal underbelly wouldn't mind you retiring either," Marian interrupted in a motherly tone, "You need to talk with the team, we can help you find that next step." She placed a hand on Greyson's. "It would do everyone a lot of good, yourself included."
"I don't know…" Greyson sighed. He hadn't seen the team in over a year, he wondered how the team would react to his return...
Marian went on, "Come by the bunker tomorrow. If you don't like it, you can go off on your own, but you should at least come and visit."
Greyson looked into Marian's hopeful, caring eyes, and crumbled beneath them. "Alright fine. For you Marian, I'll consider swinging by for old-times sake." He would never admit it, but he was anxious to see his old friends again.
Marian smiled broadly. "I knew you would come around. Sundown tomorrow, be there." She stood up from the booth, grunting as her joints creaked and groaned into place.
"Getting old?" Greyson asked, smiling coyly, sliding his hands behind his head and laying back against the seat.
Marian shot him a look as she stretched. "Still young enough to teach you some manners." Greyson laughed as he raised his arms to block her purse.
Marian shook her head and smiled. "Do you remember where it is or do you want me to send you a map?"
Greyson smiled smugly, folding his arms across his chest. "Of course I do. I know this city like the back of my hand." Marian rolled her eyes at the cockyness that hadn't changed since he left. As she left the booth, she gave a knowing smile to the lone barista who was watching them from behind the counter as she worked. Tossing her empty cup into the garbage Marian opened the glass door and stepped out into the cold night.
Greyson sat alone at the boothe, his eyes gazing deep into his now empty coffee cup. It was true, he had decisions to make. He had accomplished his goal in Europe and avenged his family. Greyson leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, listening to the crackle of the fire and the clicking of the macbook keys.
He hadn't always been fast. But truth be told, Greyson could hardly remember a time he didn't have his speed. Running was always his go-to outlet, besides his music, and had led him to something more. His European "tour", was no exception. Taking down Misdadd for what she had done, unravelling her drug business, had not been an easy task...
Greyson opened his eyes. His life had led up to this goal. It was over. He needed something to work for, something new. As he stood up and left the cafe, he gave the barista a nod and a smile. She is pretty cute… He thought to himself as he slid his fingers over the cardboard cup holder he had stuffed into his pocket. He shook his head at himself with a smile as the swirling snow enveloped him into the dark streets of Zootopia.
The sunset cast long shadows from Zootopia's skyscrapers onto the mountains behind it, drenching the once green hills with orange light. A large mansion protruded out of the mountainside, modernly designed, its white marble stuck out like a sore thumb between the green trees. Trevor Darkfang squinted as the sunset glare from his window aligned with his face, blinding him as he took his seat at the long, wooden table.
Around him sat mammals of all different shapes and sizes, all of them dressed in well designed and tailored suits. Trevor looked out across the table and the 12 pairs of eyes stared back.
"Gentlemen, thank you for coming on such a short notice," Trevor began, his voice smooth and calm, "I'm sure you all know why I called this meeting today, but I'll cut to the chase as I'm sure we all have other matters to attend to."
Pressing a button built into his chair, the room darkened and a projector shot an image across the wall behind him. A well dressed fox in a police uniform standing in front of a group of mammals, talking with them.
"Our intel has proven our worst fear correct. Nick Wilde is running for Mayor of Zootopia." Trevor's voice oozed like velvet over smooth wood.
A long silence followed, the only noise being the occasional shift of weight in a chair. Trevor took the time to make eye contact with each one of the seated mammals before continuing.
"We all knew it was only a matter of time before an interspecies couple made their way into Zootopia's government, and that's not even the primary issue," Trevor stood from his chair and circled the table. "The issue remains that if our man does not win this election, our efforts to instate Project Mirror are setback majorly. The earthquake has already set our timetable back as far enough as is. We cannot let this street hustler become mayor. If he succeeds, Project Mirror will have to be postponed until the next mayoral election. Unless we figure out a way to keep him from office or work around the mayor entirely."
A weasel stood up, clearing his deep voice before stating, "My company has located underground locations for us to work on furthering Project Mirror without scrutiny from the government. We can work more freely without the nosy eyes of the city."
"That is career suicide!" A buffalo interrupted, his chair scraping the floor as he stood up, "This organization isn't a petty drug operation, we already have plenty of those going on as is." He eyed several members around the table. "We work to ensure our legality with the government for the betterment of mammal-kind. If we go behind it's back now, we lose our edge and gain a serious enemy."
"It's only illegal if they catch us and they won't." The weasel countered looking at the rest of the table for support. "Like you said, we are already running several large scale drug operations without being caught. We're professional business mammals with clean slates." The weasel straightened his tie. "I move to continue Project Mirror underneath the guise of my underground locations."
Trevor raised one eyebrow. "All in favor?" Nine hands raised into the air, including Trevor's. Those who didn't raise their hands, remained silent in their objections. Trevor eyed them and smiled. "Fear not gentlemen, Project Mirror will be for the betterment of all mammal-kind. Besides, look at all of the changes that have taken place in the past years that have supported our cause. The Bellweather incident, the legalization of interspecies relationships, the first of many interspecies offspring..."
Trevor slowly walked towards the window as the sun set over a dark Zootopia.
"The world is changing, and we will change with it."