Hi everyone!
I'm FoxFury, and welcome to my first ever FanFiction! I wanted to do something a bit different, and I love some of the ideas of the (orignal but slightly overused) 'Human in Zootopia'! So, I mixed it up a bit... You have a human, but they aren't human... It may be confusing, but bear with me! I hope you enjoy, and please review if you like it!
Chapter 1 - Awake
Jack Cloud screamed, starting bolt upright in bed as he did so. With a snap of his head, Jack took in the room. Although shadowy in the dawn light, it did look like his...
"It was only a dream, only a dream..." He muttered, taking several deep breaths as he did so. The dream definitely wasn't the pheasants of things that Jack had wanted to wake up to! Normally, his night routines did give much room for nightmares but, on occasions, a particularly evil thought would enter his head, twisting his peaceful slumber. "Clowns, always clowns..." Jack said, his voice calming him further still.
Jack quickly gave another casual glance around his room, to make sure that he was back in the real world. Wait a minute! Wasn't that hazy outline of what looked like a radio in completely the wrong place? That should be over on his dresser, not his desk.
Still slightly groggy from his terror-induced awakening, Jack staggered over to his desk, to move his radio back to its rightful place. Hhmmm... That's odd, thought Jack. My floor isn't creaking like usual. Jack waved out a hand, reaching for his light switch to illuminate the room. But his hand only encountered the solid and rough surface of brick. Jack began to panic again. He groped around, stumbling along, trying to find the switch that would light up wherever he was.
Finally, Jack found the light switch, but not before crashing about his room, knocking over what seemed to be a ball in the process. Jack carefully switched on the light, before turning around to survey his room. As it turned out, it was definitely NOT his room. Although the rough scattering of objects was similar, there were many things that didn't quite seem right.
What was happening? Questioned Jack, and he felt his heart rate increase has he continued to spot the small differences surrounding him. Had he been drugged? Abducted? Kidnapped? Or was this simply one of those dreams where you think you're awake, but really aren't. Yes! That must be it!
This thought calmed him yet again, allowing to (finally) commit some rational thought into his predicament. He reached to pinch himself... And screamed. For his hands were not hands. It were paws...
"No! No! No! I must be dreaming!" Shouted Jack, panic rising up in his voice. He pinched himself hard with his paw, causing him to give a yelp of pain. It hurt... And he didn't suddenly 'wake up'. He was still... well, wherever he was, and he wasn't human. It could be a suit... Thought a fearful Jack. Maybe some sort of sick joke?
But, he knew that he wasn't. Slowly, he reached up, touching the muzzle that protruded from his face. He could feel it and, Jack wiggled it a bit, move it. He looked down at the rest of his body for the first time. He had already deduced that he was some sort of Anthro, an animal that walked Bipedal like an ape.
So, what was he? Questions danced around his head, tempting him to sit on 'his' bed and cry. But a small shell of resolve was forming in his chest. The time for tears would be later. For now, he needed to be practical...
He started to study this new form in detail, his brain trying hard to match an animal to his findings. Black fur covered his paws, giving stark contrast to the pinky flesh of his pads. Each paw was tipped with four sharp, black claws, their fine tips flinging in the bedroom light. The dark fur continued up Jack's arms, slowly changing to a rust red at about the mid forearm point.
Jack's legs had become similar in colouring to that of his arms, although the blacker fur only extended to his knees, while the red fur again took up the rest. This same fur travelled right up to his head, where his newfound muzzle pushed out from the rest of his face.
Small tufts of fur above each of them framed his eyes, and his ears (pointed, by the feel of them) were also topped by a tuft. A white bib-like patch of fur descended from beneath his throat, and seemed to travel right down to in-between his legs. Jack couldn't tell for sure, as his form was draped in a t-shirt and shorts. He noted with some amazement that the clothes were similar to what he could last remember wearing: green t-shirt, and blue and grey chequered shorts. Jack never really followed the classic conventions of clothes. He preferred to stand alone from the rest of the crowd, rather than...
A rustling from behind startled Jack out of his clothing analysis. What he saw made him smile slightly to himself, despite his current situation. A thick, bushy red tail flowed out from his rump, extending about 40 or so cm, before being tipped with a fluffy white cap.
Jack couldn't help but let a small trill of happiness shoot through his body. He did rather like the idea of being an anthropomorphic red fox, for that was clearly what he was. And yet, now that the panic of finding that he wasn't human had subsided, Jack was yet again faced with the stabbing questions of 'So then, you know what you are, but where are you?' And, for the thousandth time in the last ten minutes, Jack couldn't answer the question. Not yet anyway. But, there was no better time to find out!
Jack strode over to the curtailed window, staggeringly at first, but with more and more confidence as he quickly got used to walking on his toes. He reached the window, and ripped open the curtains, daylight flooding into the room as he stared out through the glass.
Woah! Jack thought. What a place! The city that lay before him was like one that he had never seen. The buildings spiralled up into the sky around him, their glassy fronts and abstract shapes casting twirling shadows across the pavements and roads. Smaller buildings were nestled in-between, and from Jack's window view, seemed to be small shops and cafés, proudly announcing their wares with signs and slogans. A few apartment buildings took up the final spaces on the visible streets, ranging from small, hotel-like structures, right up to a similar height of the towering skyscrapers that made up offices and businesses. The apartments also followed the crazy, yet complementary colour schemes that seemed to permeate the cities buildings, transforming them into a sight that Jack had never seen before. Gone where the grey, monolithic buildings of London. Here was a stylish, and very charming city!
And yet, this information still didn't give Jack any clue as to where he was, although a tiny nagging feeling in the back of his head was trying to tell him something. He ignored it, and his eyes travelled downwards, away from the buildings, and towards the many bustling residents that crawled along the pavements, and drove along the roads beneath him. It was only now that Jack realized just how high up he was. A good 5 or so storeys were stacked beneath his feet... err paws, and the street below took on a 'smaller than life' look. From what Jack could make out, the citizens below him were definitely all animals, and all anthropomorphic. There seemed to be a wide variety of mammals milling about, be it rhinos trudging through the crowds and being given a wide berth by others, or tall necked giraffes striding along, their tall necks elevating their heads up above the throngs. Jack could even see even smaller animals, such as mice and gerbils, walking along by the paws and hooves of the larger creatures. But it was not only the animals and buildings that always seemed to be new and unique. Every car that whizzed past on the dark tarmacked roads was a new sight to Jack. Small cars and big cars, tall and short and coloured with every hue of the rainbow. The cars seemed to be as unique as their mammal counterparts, with the animal's distinctive needs taken care of in the structures of the vehicles.
A beam of sunlight suddenly rose up over the building opposite Jack's window, throwing the room into even brighter light and causing Jack to blink rapidly for a few seconds. He took a small step back, rubbing his eyes of the sunspots that hovered in his vision. Jack looked back out of the window, his eyes soon becoming accustomed to the rays.
It was only now that Jack realised how hot and stuffy it was getting in the small bedroom. He reached over to the window, opening it with a small grunt. A light breeze immediately started to waft through the window, filling the room with the intoxicating aroma of the city. Accompanying this, many sounds rose up from the streets below, entwining together into an oddly soothing chorus of city life. Jack suddenly remembered that a fox's sense of smell and hearing are far greater than that of the average human's. And these new senses were putting themselves to full effect, giving Jack a brand new look... Or smell on the city.
The tangy hit of car fumes blended well with the milder scents of the mammals, and both mixed with the concoction of flavours that wafted up from the many cafés and shops. A few street vendors could be heard calling out their wares, these voices entwining with the hustle and bustle of the city, a musical performance like no other. A new Snell suddenly rose up from the city below. One that made Jack's stomach protest angrily, demanding to be fed. To Jack, it was the unmistakable aroma of… Hotdogs!
Groaning, Jack looked back towards the wooden door that had, until now, defined his space. Could get enter this new city? Jack was torn between his head and his stomach. His stomach shortly won with another gargle, and now Jack found himself reaching a tentative paw out to the door handle. Grasping it, he gave a sharp twist of his wrist, the handle turning before Jack heard a quiet click. The door slowly swung open on silent hinges, and Jack stepped through into a…
Corridor…
Jack let out his pent-up breath. He still hadn't quite given up the thoughts of a mad, axe-wielding murderer lurking behind the door, ready to pounce and cut his… muzzle… off. But the corridor that jack had walked into appeared to be empty, the peeling paint and dusty cobwebs clear signs of neglect. 20 or so doors lined the hallway, each coloured a dull white. The end of the corridor was equally drab, a metallic-looking door leading into what looked like a stairwell.
Jack's room seemed to be at the end of the corridor, and a large, yet slightly smudged, window. Unfortunately, the view led out onto a charming vista of an alleyway, and the harsh brick wall of the building next to it.
Sighing, Jack started to walk down the corridor towards the stairwell, glancing at each of the doors in turn. "34...32...30" Jack muttered under his breath as he went. It was eerily quiet, and Jack's newly enhanced senses couldn't detect any living things in the surrounding rooms.
The deathly silence made his mind wander, and thoughts concerning his predicament came flooding through his mind. Why was he here? He wasn't some fox in a world of mammals. He was a human! With a life, and a school, and a family…
His family! An overwhelming pang of sorrow swept over him. He here was, maybe even enjoying being a fox, and his family was back home, probably worried out of their minds! No, no! Of course their were worried out of their minds! The alternatives were too much to bear. Thoughts of mass human extinction led that way, and that definitely hadn't happened!
"Ohh!" cried Jack, slumping down against the door of number 6. Jack wasn't overly sentimental, but the thought of being all alone in a strange world infested with mammals of all shapes and sizes, was a step too far. Jack covered his eyes with his paws, tears following down his cheeks as he cried over his lost family. "No" shouted a voice. It took a few seconds for Jack to realize it that the voice was his own. He looked up with bleary eyes, gazing out through a rare window in the corridor. The sight of the city hardened his resolve. He would get back to his family, no matter what the cost. He would get help. But first… Hotdogs!
With that, Jack turned and strode purposefully towards the stairs. He passed the final door, before swinging open, the heavy, grey exit door and stepping out into the stairwell. Thankfully, the stairs seemed to be in good condition, and Jack made it to the ground floor without any problems. Stepping out into the ground floor, Jack froze. An abandoned lobby surrounded him, complete with cobwebs covered desk and withered potted plants.
"Damn!" Jack swore under his breath. That way clearly was not going to give an exit. Thin beams of light stretched through holes in the boarded up doors, shadows flitting past cast by the animals outside.
Jack quickly turned around, travelling down another corridor as he hunted for a back exit. Out of curiosity, Jack stuffed his fear away and opened a door into another room…
Empty…
But why was my room furnished, and none of the others seem to be? Thought Jack. He tried to ignore his growing list of questions, instead focusing his attentions on escaping the building.
A light breeze wafted down the hall, tickling through his red fur in the process. Jack sighed, the feeling calming him. But then he snapped to attention. A breeze means an opening! Jack started to move down the corridor with renewed vigour. Turning a corner, Jack came to the source of the wind.
A window!
Eagerly, Jack reached a paw up to the ledge. It was small, but… He stepped up onto a small wooden crate, before he stuck his muzzle out through the window. Yes! His whiskers fit! That would mean that he could get out.
After much squeezing and squirming, Jack finally climbed out through the window. He quickly ran his clothes down with his paws, brushing off the dust and grime that now clung to them. Jack looked around. The high walls of buildings enclosed him in on three sides. The ugly red brick was a world away from the sights he had seen from his window. Yet the smell of hotdogs was still fresh on his nose. He quickly left the drab alleyway, following his nose out into the street beyond.
The smell got stronger as he ventured into the street. Mammals of all types surrounded him, creating a living river of bodies. Jack continued to walk along with the flow, before his nose and eyes located his target at the same time. A red and yellow striped hotdog cart stood in the pavement up ahead. A grey furred wolf stood next to cart, wearing a matching striped apron over his clothes. "Hotdogs! Hotdogs! Get your meat-free hotdogs here!" Called out the wolf.
The realization struck Jack like a bullet. Of course! Mammals weren't going to eat meat. That would be like cannibalism! And the more that Jack noticed, the more that he saw how this theory made sense. Both predator and prey animals were walking around together. Not quite in harmony, but definitely in a far more friendly way that the same animals would greet each other back home. That being, eating each other, thought Jack with a slightly sadistic chuckle. And although the lack of meat deterred Jack slightly, his hunger overroad those thoughts.
Jack slowly approached the wolf. "Hello?" The wolf started slightly, before looking over to the fox that stood before him. Jack shuffled his paws nervously. The wolf was a head taller than him, and the way that he was looking down on made Jack feel uncomfortable. "Yes? How can I help?" Although the wolf seemed to be friendly, Jack noted a hint of distrust in his voice. Is everyone in this city so judging? He hasn't met me yet, and already he doesn't trust me for some reason! Jack pushed these thoughts aside as he replied. "Umm, hi! i 'd like some food… Please?" The wolf scowled. "What would you like?" At Jack's blank look, the wolf raised a paw, and pointed towards a chalkboard menu at his side.
"Ahh!" Said Jack studying the board. "Uhh, I'll have the classic?" The wolf just gave a grunt in acknowledgement. Soon, the sizzling of a sausage added to the voices of the street. Jack couldn't help but give a small sniff into the air, the smell of the 'meat' almost nauseating to his hungry mind. The wolf fished the sausage out and into a bun, wrapping the whole thing in a napkin before smothering it in ketchup. Jack's mouth watered as he gazed longley at the food. He reached out to take the food, but the wolf stopped him, looking at him roughly, before holding out a paw. Ohh! Money! "Uhh…" Jack said. "I don't have any money…" The wolf whipped the hotdog back away, tutting angrily. "Well, what did I expect, you're a fox! Always trying to swindle those who make a honest living! Now, beat it! No money, no food!" He shooed me away with his paw.
Jack just continued to stand there, shocked by the behaviour of the wolf. He may not have payment, but he didn't have to be so harsh! Jack turned, starting to walk away, but a growl from his stomach, even louder than any of the others, caused him to look back over his furry shoulder. Back to the hotdog. His stomach and his mind yet again fought over the best solution. His stomach won out…
Turning, Jack slowly walked back to the stand, his eyes flicking to the hotdog, which the wolf had kindly left exposed on the counter. Give a quick check to see that nobody was looking, Jack turned back, lunging for the hotdog as he did so. His paw made contact, and he grasped the hotdog, slipping off the counter before running off and disappearing into the crowd. Jack looked back over towards the stall.
"THIEF! THIEF! HE STOLE MY HOTDOG!" Shouted the wolf, pointing at the retreating figure of Jack. "STOP HIM!" Jack broke into an even faster run. Around him, mammals leapt out of his way. None tried to physically stop the fox, but several were whipping out their phones, some to take pictures, and others to call the Police.
Jack avoided them all, running down the street, before turning into another alleyway. He collapsed against the wall, gasping, yet still keeping a smile on his face. It wasn't every day that you stole! Or ran from the victim! Jack wasn't one to break the rules. And yet, he'd been in this city for just half an hour, and already…
The sounds of Police sirens echoed on the road outside. Jack glanced up the alleyway. They may not of seen him yet. A car rolled into view. It was a 4x4, it's black paintwork framing the white lettering of 'ZPD'. Jack stared… Z.P.D… Those three letters had triggered a memory, something that Jack would never of expected. Suddenly, he knew where he was. Outside, Police were starting to search for a 'troublesome young fox', but in that dingy alleyway, Jack had forgotten all about his hotdog. He knew where he was! He mouthed one word:
"Zootopia…"
Well, that was the first chapter! What did you think? Please do review (any comments are helpful) and if you do like it, I'll get more chapters here shortly!
Thanks
FoxFury
[I don't own Zootopia and characters, but Jack Cloud is all mine!]
