Chapter 3: Escape and Survive

(A/N: Hello once again my fellow readers and writers and welcome to yet another chapter of Zootopia: Project Paradox. As I'm writing this authors note, I hope that I have managed to keep my promise and update this story in a semi-reasonable fashion. I also want to take a moment to point out that I had a run-in with a friendly neighborhood troll that "reviewed" my last chapter. I realize that I failed to handle that properly and should have just simply not fed the trolls, but oh well, you live and learn right?

Anyways, I want to be clear that it will take much more than the verbal diarrhea of a common internet troll to drive me away from this story. I'm literally bursting with excitement over the surprise twists that I have in store for this story, and I am eager to want to share them all with you lovely readers and writers.

Anyways without further ado, I bring you the next chapter for Zootopia: Project Paradox)

As I lay in the bed of the dark blue pickup truck, I couldn't help but wonder what had changed since I apparently was propelled through time by the suit I stole from Vanguard. Animals were now sentient, capable of human speech, wore clothes and did pretty much anything humans were capable of doing it seems. Although I have only just taken my first few precarious steps into this unknown world, I had to wonder where humanity went. Did humans indeed live side by side with animals now in harmony, or were humans now subservient to animal rule like some sort of Planet of the Apes type of scenario? Only time would tell as I was now bound to head towards this "Zootopia" place, hidden away in the bed of a pickup truck owned by a family of Cheetahs.

The dirt country road was certainly not a great time to drive on while sitting up in a car seat, and I found out that lying down on a metal bed of a pickup truck with bags and luggage bouncing around and even onto me was even less of a great time. The suit seemed to cushion the impacts of my body on the cold car metal to some degree, but I could still feel the impact each time the pickup hit a bump. I groaned to myself silently as I couldn't believe I had thought that this was a good idea.

"Chronos, remind me that if I try something like this again that I've lost my fucking mind" I said quietly to the A.I. in the suit.

Chronos then responded back to me saying, "I'm thankful that I was programed without any protocol to feel discomfort or pain of my own. That said, when an operator is present in the suit, I'm able to read the pain that the operator feels when in the suit. So believe me Nate, if you try something like this again, you'll be the first to know."

Chronos then paused and said apprehensively, "So have you figured out a course of action for us once we get to this "Zootopia" place?"

To be honest, I really hadn't thought of it. I had no idea what "Zootopia" even was, so I had no idea how to even approach it.

"Not a clue in hell, Chronos. I don't even know where we are heading" I said in frustration.

Finally, the bumpy ride I was oh so reveling in right now ceased as the vehicle turned right and accelerated even faster. Nearly a minute went by with no rocking of the vehicle. Curious, I grabbed the side of the bed with my right hand and barely even braved a peak over the bed to see that there were other vehicles driving around us and that we were on a highway of some type. I contorted my body very uncomfortably to be able to peer through the back window of the pickup cab and through the front window that we were heading towards that huge city I had noticed before back up on the cliff outside of the forest.

I dropped down quickly, afraid that even the short time I was exposing myself may end up proving to be a fatal decision.

I then said to Chronos, "Uh, Chronos. I think I just found out what "Zootopia" is."

I lay back flat on the truck bed and watched as trees that peered over the edge of the bed and off to the sides of the road wisped on by.

Suddenly, I felt the vehicle swerve to the right as the pickup must have changed a lane or taken an off ramp. The vehicle nearly kept its original speed as it entered a tunnel. I saw lights hanging from the roof of the tunnel fly by my vision as I could only imagine how much further it would be before we reached the now presumable City of Zootopia. As the lights whipped on by my vision, I couldn't help but be reminded of the time that my squad in FoS had been tasked to assassinate a Vanguard army officer who at that time had recently led a Vanguard raid on one of our military hardware suppliers in Mexico. We were tasked to this mission with two other squads to spy on him, figure out his movements in the Mexican city, and finally to set up an ambush to kill him and his entourage of bodyguards when the time was right. The mission was a partial success, but his bodyguards, armed with high powered weaponry and evenly numbered with us had managed to overwhelm us. We were forced to lose the pursuing Vanguard soldiers guarding him in a high speed chase through the streets of the city. My mind flashed back to that day as the familiarity of the lights in this tunnel brought me back to that escape. Echoes of gunfire and engines roaring with power to outpace or catch up to their target played back in my mind. Bullets whipping by our vehicle and metallic clanging and pinging noises rang out in my ears as our van we were fleeing the pursuing Vanguard in was struck by bullets. My memory of the event came back to haunt me as the final few minutes of that chase played in my mind.

Our van was shredded to crap at that point. A Vanguard piloted AH-64 Apache flew by our view as the tunnel opened periodically on the right to reveal a cliff side view of the Gulf of Mexico at night. The moonlight reflecting off of the water and boats, most likely Vanguard or authorized shipping boats, had their lights shine out on the water as if little stars in the vast expanse of water; a picturesque scene if not for the soldiers trying to kill us. The helicopter was lining up a shot at us and in an effort to save our lives, I grabbed the steering wheel from Zhang in the passenger seat and steered us through the metal road barrier and sent us tumbling down the roughly 65 degree angled cliff side. I had thought that Vanguard wouldn't expect it, but in the end our vehicle slammed sideways into a tree and nearly killed us all. We only lost one of our soldiers but we escaped the mangled vehicle and hid in the foliage around the cliff face. We held on to plants so they, as well as the darkness of the night, hid us well enough from the Apache's searchlight that was trying to find us.

Even remembering it brought doubt and pain to my heart as my actions nearly killed my whole "family" that day, and I couldn't help but be reminded that my whole "family" was now dead in the past somewhere. Maybe if I had done more…fought harder? Maybe had I reacted faster, especially with Barry, then maybe some of my family would still be alive? Would my father be alive as well if I had been smarter then too? The faces of those I lost throughout my life to Vanguard faded into my thoughts, their images stood as still as statues and yet as intimidating as man eaters ready to devour me as I really had to wonder…was all of this my fault?

"Nate, answer me now? Are you alright" begged a voice loudly to me? I recognized this voice to be Chronos.

My thoughts came back to the real world as I still lay in the bed of the pickup truck. I blinked my eyes a few times to find out that I had been crying and hadn't even realized it.

I gasped quietly and cleared my throat a little. I then said a little shakenly to Chronos, "I'm here Chronos. What's going on?"

Chronos then paused and said, "I was trying to get your attention for nearing five minutes now. I detected a shift in the chemical balance in your nervous system and noticed you were experiencing deep psychological pain similar to that of regret and loss again. What's causing this problem?"

I again had to marvel at the advanced A.I. programming that vanguard had given Chronos to be able to exhibit emotional concern for me like that of what a human would. It was both equally comforting as it was unnerving.

I then said, "It's…it's something…." However, that was as far as I got as the vehicle had come to a complete stop and stayed so for a few seconds before the engine turned off.

We must have arrived I thought.

I then heard the doors to the pickup truck open as Chronos then said, "Nate, we need to disappear. Fast!"

I whispered to the A.I., "Chronos, I need…"

Suddenly I heard all the noise of the surrounding environment die out. The sounds of cars, animals, and the city in general became silent as back before in the grass by the dirt road. The fact that all these noises died out at the same time was still as unnerving as the first time I experienced it.

Chronos then said hastily, "I know what we need Nate. I've frozen the flow of time, but it won't last forever. We need to move now."

I rushed to stand up in the truck bed and quickly looked around me for an avenue of escape. The vehicle had come to a stop in some jungle area of the city. Tall, lush trees with buildings built on them surrounded us, in addition to the view of waterfalls in the distance towards a tunnel that we presumably came from. Droplets of water hung in the air as if stuck in a zero-G environment. I spun around quickly and found that we were parked in a parking lot and a ways from where we were, next to a tall wooden and concrete looking building was a dumpster. It was better than nothing, but it had to be more than a hundred feet from my position. With the parking lot full of cars and animals frozen in time to get around, this would be a challenge.

I jumped out of the truck and landed on the ground with a slight stumble due to my rushed nature right now. I started running for about ten seconds before I realized something.

"Wait! That hippo kid's camera! I need to get it" I cried out!

I spun around to see that the hippo child was barely out of the vehicle. His camera was in his right paw and I took a couple of steps back to retrieve it.

Chronos then said, "Nate, we don't have the time. I won't be able to keep time frozen for much longer. If you go back…"

I then shouted to Chronos, "If these animals see footage of my existence here, it could turn things horrible for us."

Chronos then raised his voice to me and said, "And if these animals catch you here, it could make things very lethal for us. We still don't know much about these creatures. Do you really want to risk our lives for footage that can only keep us off the grid?"

I stopped and looked back at the dumpster and then back at the kid. I looked down at the ground in deep thought.

Oh fuck it. Being exposed doesn't mean being dead here I thought.

I growled in frustration and took off sprinting towards the dumpster. I didn't notice it before, but when I had been running, I had been running into the frozen droplets of water in the air. It was to my surprise that the droplets only hit me and got pushed away by the force of my body. They still remained suspended in air, but I could feel the tiny impacts of hitting the suspended water. At least it seems that freezing time didn't necessarily mean that everything became completely immobile. I had no idea it would work like this, but then again I never even knew that time travel was even a possibility.

I worked my way between cars and around mammals as I sprinted closer to my hiding place. After about three quarters of the way there, I began to hear a deep pitched beeping alarm in the suit. I then asked, "Chronos, what's wrong with the suit?"

The A.I. then said panicked, "The suits power distributer is almost drained of energy. The reactor isn't able to provide enough power on its own to keep time frozen like this. Nate, we only got 10 seconds max before time resumes! Run Nate, run!"

I started sprinting faster than I ever have before in my life it felt as the dumpster was drawing ever closer.

I ran past the last of the parked cars and towards the dumpster that was between the presumably hotel like building and another building, the alley became ever more quickly a desperate place of refuge for me right now.

Chronos then said, "5 seconds Nate!"

I kept sprinting as my heart dropped into my stomach as I saw a group of animals that were walking past the alley when time had been frozen. If time resumed before I got there, they would spot me right away. What bothered me more was the mammals were mostly predator mammals such as jaguars and wolves. I had no idea what they would do to me if things went really, really wrong here.

My legs kept carrying me further as I ran closer to the sanctuary I needed.

I was halfway to the curb from the end of the parking spaces when Chronos then said, "2 seconds Nate."

I reached the curb after those two seconds and the unthinkable happened. My right foot had caught the curb and before I knew it, I went tumbling to the ground head over heels. The impact hurt like a bitch and the impact dazed me. I lay sprawled on the ground until Chronos then cried, "Nate, time stream has resumed. Do you hear me? You got to move before…"

"Is that someone on the ground in that alley" I heard a curious and light female tone ask?

"Oh no" said Chronos in despair.

Oh fuck my life I thought.

I lay frozen as I gazed at my surroundings out of the visor of the suit. I tumbled into the alley, but I was still close enough to its entrance from the curb that I had been spotted by the group of animals walking past the alley. I realized that my head was facing away from them.

I then heard another voice, this time male say, "Uh, you alright whoever you are?"

I was curious as to why they weren't reacting as terrified of a human in a military suit that didn't resemble anything else I have seen around here yet. The only thing that came to mind was that they must be thinking that my suit was a uniform or something somewhat benign and more familiar to them than I could realize at the moment.

The same male voice then said, "Are they even breathing…"

I heard footsteps (Pawsteps) come closer to me as the voice then said, "The fuck is this thing? I've never seen something like it?"

I then heard a different female voice then say, "Don't get too close Matt."

I knew that I couldn't stay here any longer. Despite my brain telling me 'no', my instincts realized that I was exposed and possibly in danger and I had to get out of here.

I oriented myself as fast as I could on the ground and sprung upright. I came up facing the group of animals, only to hear gasps and exclamations of surprise such as "woah!"

Through my visor, I saw several jaguars and leopards staring back at me, in addition to a deer and an armadillo. They bore looks of shock and fear, some even bearing defensive postures as if expecting me to try to attack them or something.

Chronos then said to me, "Nate, whatever plans you got in your mind right now, please try not to throw things into a panic here. We still don't know what these people are we are dealing with."

Easy for an A.I. to say all calm and collected I thought.

However, I knew that Chronos was still right. Things could get a million ways worse than they are now if I don't act carefully here.

I had no idea what to expect from these animals, especially after two of them took a step towards me and one of them said with a very curious tone that bore a slight hint of fear, "He…hello. Is anybody in that…thing?"

The two mammals, both jaguars, slowly crept closer out of curiously. It made me very uneasy, as would be expected to have two talking; meat-eating jungle cats approach me on two legs. I back away a few step as I raised my arms out a bit to my side and held my hands open, ready to eject the collapsed pistols from my palms and bear them at these animals. My breath hitched in my throat and my heart was pounding like crazy over the fear of what may end up happening here.

I had no idea how these animals spoke in English, let alone if they could even understand me if I were to respond in English, but I regardless spoke up and said, "Stay back! Don't come any closer!"

Chronos then said to me loudly, "Drawing weapons on them Nate won't make things much better."

The mammals in the group seemed shocked when I replied to them. Alas, the right jaguar that had approached me took another step closer when he then said, "Hey…whoever you are, we aren't going to hurt you." He then paused as he took a step closer still out of curiosity and said, "What…what even are you?"

His approaching closer put me over the edge of paranoia right now and I ejected both pistols from my palms as they expanded to their full sizes in mere moments. I held one in each hand as I raised them at the group and said, "Stay back, I'm arm…"

However, that was all I could get out as a female leopard shouted loudly in panic, "It's got a gun!"

This caused a chain reaction as the other animals scattered and ran away screaming through the parking lot, fearful of their lives from my actions.

It took me until now to fully realize what my actions had caused. My first face to face interaction with the peoples…animals…of this world turned into one where I had threated them with weapons I still didn't fully understand out of the fact that they were all too curious about me. I could only pray that my defensive actions out of fear of my own safety would not put me at risk, but I sure didn't want to stick around to find out. I retracted my pistols and said to my A.I. companion, "Chronos, I need you to freeze time again, I don't think we can afford any more of these animals from seeing us right now."

Chronos then said, "I can't do that Nate, the suits power distributer is still recharging after our last foray into time. I won't have access to any temporal powers until the suits distributer exits recovery mode."

This was the very last thing I wanted to hear right now.

I ducked behind the dumpster in the alley to avoid being spotted further as I had to come up with some sort of a plan. I had to go somewhere I won't be seen. I looked around the alley, trying to recall my training of staying concealed in enemy territory. I soon found a metal storm drain that seemed to be worth a look.

Going underground should be the best way to remain undetected I thought.

I ducked and walked over towards the drain further down the alley as I peered into the grate down into the black void of darkness. The only thing on the other side that even reminded me that there was something beyond this grate was the reflection of light off of water that had collected in the sewers beneath my feet.

I reached out and grabbed the grate and stubbornly tried to pull it out of the ground, but it won't move to any avail. I grunted and strained against the metal obstacle until I let go and groaned in frustration.

Chronos then said, "Nate, I suggest that you might want to give the Ether sword you have a try. According to my systems, the blade should be strong enough to cleave through solid metal armor. This shouldn't be a problem."

I had nearly forgotten that I had acquired a sword like weapon when I put on this suit back in the Vanguard research facility. I reached for myright thigh and grabbed the handle of the sword weapon. I hit the switch on the handle I had used to retract the blade earlier and I saw a clear purplish fluid extending from the handle. I could tell that the material was indeed clear as opposed to the rippling grey from earlier due to the fact that I saw the concrete and debris of the alleyway through the sword blade. That might explain why the blade looked like a steel color as it was due to the greyish background of the chamber holding the weapon system. The liquid expanded to a certain height and then formed itself into the shape of a sword blade, immediately afterwards becoming solid in appearance, but still a clear-purplish color. I swung the sword through the air a few times to get used to the fear of the weapon. It felt light and nimble, like as if it was lighter than the air around the weapon.

My curiosity and examination of the handling of the unusual sword was interrupted by the sounds of sirens approaching my position. No doubt that some of the animals from earlier reported to emergency services about my gunplay. I frantically looked around for the source of the sirens, but I could only tell that they were getting closer and closer by the second. I took the blade of the sword and swung it down to the ground in a slashing movement, and to my surprise, the metal grate didn't even stop the path of the sword. It was as if the cut, if a cut to the grate occurred, had never happened. I then swung the sword down in an opposite cutting motion as before, and it too seemed to ignore the ground.

I heard an engine roar as the vehicle came to a stop behind me by the mouth of the alley. I turned around and noticed a police cruiser that seemed rather large and more intimidating than the police vehicles that I remembered reading about in the age before Vanguard. Even though the vehicles lights were flashing and the siren had only now turned off, they couldn't enter the alley with the vehicle due to the dumpster blocking their path. I looked back and started another slashing move at the grate with the sword going horizontal.

I heard the doors to the vehicle open behind me as I then heard a female voice then say, "ZPD, freeze where you are and drop the weapon!"

I stopped and turned around slowly to see two police officers confronting me, and they looked rather harmless given their sizes. One officer was a fox with orange and white fur with green eyes. The other officer looked almost comical and strangely cute as she was a rabbit with grey and white fur and purple eyes. The two officers seemed both shocked and equally frightened when they saw my appearance in this suit. I must have really been scary and intimidating to them with the sword in my right hand and myself in this suit. They both took a step back, but still held their ground. The rabbit then spoke and said, "Wha…whatever you are…drop the weapon now!"

I retracted the blade into the handle of the sword as the two animals gazed on with curiosity at seeing a liquid metal blade for a sword. I still held the hilt in my hand though as I then said quietly, "Chronos, what's the possibility of breaking through that grate after the damage I inflicted to it?" I didn't want to coax the officers into trying to take me down, but I was still as ever determined to do only one thing…

Survive.

Chronos then said, "If sufficient force is applied to the grate, with another few attacks to it, probability stands at 71.85 percent."

Good enough for me I thought as I started to plan out my next move.

The fox then said, "Whatever you are, drop your weapon now or we will be forced to use force!"

It was only now that I realized that both animals had their right paws over what I could assume to be handguns of some sort. The posture of the animals delicately balanced courage and fear, as well as duty and preservation, as they seemed desperate to hold their ground as they instincts were probably telling them to run in the face of danger, danger unlike anything they have seen before.

I then said to them as I knew what I was going to do next and I replied, "I don't plan on hurting anyone."

Suddenly, I felt my left arm move without me wanting it to as something seem to take control of my limb. My palm faced outwards, pointed towards the officers, as it swiped sideways through the air and I was stunned to see what happened next. A distorted field appeared in front of me that went from the height of my head and expanded to the ground. The field couldn't have been generated from time manipulation, so what was happening? The field stopped expanding just as the officers both fired their weapons at me several times To my surprise, they weren't shooting bullets, but were firing some sort of dart at me. However, as the darts reached the field in front of the suit, they were stopped midflight by whatever this field was.

Chronos the shouted to me, "Nate, that magnetic barrier won't last long, whatever you're going to do, do it fast!"

I extended the blade of the "Ether sword" and knew I had to act fast.

Both officers were shocked to see their weapon's projectiles stopped in mid-flight by the field. I didn't have time to look further as I ran over towards the grate and did one final cut to the grate vertically and I stomped with all my might at the grate several times until most of the grate disintegrated into scrape metal, plummeting into the water below. I jumped down the grate about a few dozen feet before I landed in water with a loud splash. I was both thankful and surprised when I realized that I was unable to smell the air down here in the sewer through the suit. The smell would have been familiar however, as this wasn't the first time I needed to make an escape through a sewer.

I then heard a voice yell above saying, "Nick, after that thing. We can't let it get away!"

I knew that was my cue to run and I took off through the sewers, the movement of my legs only slightly inhibited by the knee high water. I heard splashes in the water behind me as both the fox and the bunny fell down in the sewer. The fox landed with a splash of his own and surfaced in the water, only his shoulders and head visible above the water. The bunny on the other hand fell into the water and didn't surface for a few seconds. I then heard a slash of water behind me and a gasp of breath as the bunny must have surfaced.

"After that thing, Nick; it's getting away" shouted the Bunny.

The fox apparently hesitated to take the bunny's command, though it was hard to tell in the limited light of the sewer. He then asked with frantic concern, "Carrots, you alright?"

The bunny coughed a bit as she then said, "Yes, now get that thing!"

I gazed behind me and tried to bring up the motion tracker HUD by wanting it to show up, but to my surprise it didn't. I had no way to be able to tell how close the duo was to me other than the sounds of splashing water behind me and their silhouettes. They didn't sound like they were keeping up with me easily, but they were still trying to give chase. I kept running through the drainage tunnel as I asked Chronos in a somewhat panicked tone, "Chronos, how much longer till the distributor recovers and time manipulation is available again?"

Chronos then responded, "A couple of minutes Nate and the distributor should be back at 25 percent power." He then paused and said, "Nate, my sensors detect a series of possible tunnels ahead down here in the sewer. It would be worthwhile using the tunnels to lose these pursuers."

Nate then said, "Gotcha."

Water meanwhile continued to splash frantically behind me as these two animals kept giving me chase. I heard them periodically shout, "Stop in the name of the law" and "ZPD, your under arrest."

I kept trekking through the water until I reached a series of branching sewer tunnels. I knew the cops weren't far behind me, so I randomly picked a tunnel and went down it. However, to my misfortune, it seemed that my efforts hadn't delayed them too much. It took about roughly 15 seconds before I heard a panting voice then shout, "It reeks down here. Carrots, which way did it go?"

I heard a gasping and equally panting voice then reply, "Nick, I can't do this much longer. The waters so high for me, I actually have to swim in the water…sewer water." I heard her gag and cough. The voice paused as I kept on moving, albeit more slowly to avoid making too much noise.

I then heard the voice of the Fox then shout to the rabbit, "I think it went this way, Carrots."

Within the next couple of seconds I saw a beam of light shine down my tunnel as one of them apparently brought out a flashlight. The fox then shouted, "Judy, it's over here!" He then said, "Stop you fucking metal freak!"

Fuck I thought in desperation as I tried to escape these animals.

I kept on running as the tunnels sides became narrower. I soon took notice of concrete outcroppings that functioned as walking paths, probably for maintenance workers. I could vaguely make out a steel set of ladder rungs that were installed into the wall. The bluish tint of my visor seemed to make the darkness a little more visible than it would have been without it, but it was by a miracle I had noticed it to start with. I climbed out of the water and onto one of the concrete outcroppings.

I heard the fox then say, "Crap, I think we're losing it. I don't hear it anymore."

The fox must have pulled out his flashlight again as a beam of light started scanning the tunnel. I knew he would spot me standing on this concrete ledge, so I made for the steel ladder rungs and started climbing.

The fox then shouted, "It's climbing up Carrots!"

Chronos then suddenly said, "Nate, the distributor is recharged enough to allow time manipulation once again. It won't last for long however."

I climbed up the ladder until I reached the top, which stopped at a manhole cover. I tried to force the cover aside with my shoulder a few times. The cover was shifting, but it wasn't moving.

"Come on" I screamed as I gave the cover a third go!

Finally, I managed to push the cover aside and then I shouted, "Chronos, freeze the time stream."

Suddenly all sound around me eerily died out again, including any noise both cops were making. I breathed a sigh of relief as I climbed up past the entrance to the manhole and then found myself standing in a concrete utility room of some type. The room was dimly lit with some industrial lighting, so it was easier to make out what was around me. I scanned my environment until I found an open metal door meant to seemingly be a secure door against flooding. I also took notice of the pipes and wiring running in the area. I followed the pipes to a large mechanical apparatus of some type. It was either possibly a generator or a water pump of some type. The pipes flowed around in large tangled menagerie, creating a place where I could duck in and hide from sight. I sprinted over to the piping and ducked into the darkness and visual cover that the cold metal piping offered me.

When I thought I was safe, I told Chronos to release the time stream.

Suddenly sound returned to assault my ears. I heard the splashing of water below and the humming of the mechanical device I was now near. It was loud enough that it masked out the sounds down below me in the sewers to a sizeable degree. I, however, could still hear the noises down below, but they were faint.

I then heard a voice then shout in curiosity and panic, "Wha…what…where did it go?"

It was the fox that spoke, soon followed by a response from the rabbit that said, "I have no clue, but it must have gone up the ladder, it was already on it when it vanished Nick!"

I then heard water splash below as the bunny then said, "Follow me Nick!"

I could faintly make out the dull thudding of something climbing up the ladder ring by ring. I then noticed the bunny climb up first, panting and gasping for breath as she appeared soaked to the bone. When she reached the top she climbed up and immediately fell over onto the floor, desperately trying to catch her breath.

I then saw the fox climb up as he clambered over the edge of the manhole cover. He stopped and hunched over, paws on his legs as he panted from exhaustion. I could make out in the light that both of the animals were shivering from the cold water.

"Damn it, why did that thing have to go down into the sewers? There's no way this water could possibly be sanitary" said the fox.

The rabbit coughed and then said, "At least you didn't have to swim through it Nick. I'll be lucky if I don't catch Hepatitis.

The fox looked around and asked, "Where did that thing run off to now?!"

The rabbit slowly got up from the ground as she said, "Nick, there's an open door. Go see if he went that way. I'm going to scope out this room and see if he isn't hiding around here."

Nick seemed to loth that idea as he then said, "Oh no Carrots, I'm not leaving you alone with that thing possibly around here. We have no idea what it's capable of. We stay together."

Judy groaned and said, "Nick, if we don't catch this thing soon, it may try to hurt someone else. We're cops and our job is to protect the people of this city from all threats foreign and domestic."

I had no idea why the animals still thought I wanted to hurt somebody. Then again, my gun play and my intimidating weapons didn't help anything. They were simply just trying to take me in custody for the fear of what I could do and the fact that my true intentions and what I am is completely unknown to them.

Nick then said, "This thing is definitely foreign Carrots, which means we don't know what it can…"

Judy then said, "Nick, I never thought I'd pull this move on you, but I'm a sergeant and I outrank you. You do what I say as my partner and as an inferior. I say that you go check beyond that door and I'll check in here."

The fox glared at Judy as he was really in disbelief that she seemed to try that move on him. He appeared to want to challenge her over her orders, but he sighed and said, "Fine Carrots."

Judy then smirked at him and said, "That's Sargent Carrots to you, foxy."

He groaned and pulled out his flashlight and started jogging towards the hallway. He aimed the beam down the corridor beyond the door as he pulled out his gun from earlier. He quickly began to move down the corridor. His light kept disappearing slowly from sight as his form faded into the blackness of the tunnel.

The bunny, Judy, meanwhile pulled out her own flashlight, a smaller one than the fox had, and pulled out her own gun as well. She then began to shine the light around the room looking for me. I ducked further behind the pipes that covered my position as she started her search for me. She started walking around the room as the fox now disappeared from sight. I didn't dare move or talk to Chronos as she looked for me. Her light moved past the pipes in front of me as she looked around.

Suddenly, there was a rattling noise that came from some pipes that were near me. She whipped around faster than I thought an animal her side on two legs could do without falling over. Her light scanned the area the rattling came from. She slowly approached my location as the rattling continued once more. I was panicked at the fact that I might be caught as there was now nowhere to run for me. She was now close enough that I had to duck my head away from a small space that I was using to view the whole exchange between her and the fox, Nick. I now had no more visual contact with her. What she failed to realize with apparently being so focused on my location was that she must have been near the mouth of the manhole entrance.

I suddenly heard a "Woah…ahhh" as the bunny sounded like she fell into the entrance. I heard the clang of her flashlight and gun on the concrete below, with one having fallen into the water because I then heard a splash. I looked back through my peeking spot to see the bunny holding onto the lip of the entrance, being unable to apparently reach for any of the ladder rungs as I heard straining and grunting to grab the rungs. I heard her then yell, "Nick! Help!"

I heard whimpering coming from her as she dangled from the lip helplessly.

I heard her then shout, "Nick, help me! I'm slipping!"

I knew in my brain that she was one of the officers that were looking to arrest me, possibly interrogate me and take me to some place where animals would do tests on me to find out what I was. I knew that she seemed very strong and capable if she was able and willing to swim through sewer water to chase after her suspect. I understood that my appearance in this world…this time…hasn't bided well for me so far. What with me accidentally threatening animals who were only curious about me, granted it was in self-defense, but it still got me in the mess to begin with. Plus, that cheetah cub and hippo kid had video proof of my existence as well. I knew that every part of my brain wanted me to stay hidden and keep myself safe from the cops.

However, my heart wanted me to save this rabbit. She was only doing her job and meant no harm to me beyond the duties of her job. She was innocent in this whole thing as it was never my intention to harm anyone here. Most of all, she appeared so helpless and vulnerable right now, much like the people of my time that encouraged myself to join FoS and try to protect the innocent peoples of the world from Vanguard's tyranny and cruelty. If I were to let her get hurt or die, it would go against who I am as somebody who tries to look out for the betterment of innocent people and wants to make a difference in the world.

Even if it means me getting arrested, I can be in a cell or a laboratory knowing that I made a difference in her life by saving her from getting hurt.

Damn my fucking morals I thought as I knew the dangers of this as well.

"Nick! Niiiiccckkkk" cried out the bunny!

I climbed out of my hiding place as my body wanted to refuse to do what my heart had decided for me, and ran over to the rabbit and stopped by the lip of the manhole. I gazed down at the helpless animal as she gazed up at me with shock and fear as I stood above her when she was defenseless. Her eyes were wide with fear of both falling and of me. She then said bravely, "If here to kill me, then get it over with. I can die knowing I did my duty."

I had to admire this rabbit for her fierce independence and courage in the face of fear. I squatted down to the ground as my face got closer to her. She visibly moved her head away from me as far as she could. I reached out my arms as she moved her head away and closed her eyes, a few tears managing to well up in them. I grabbed the back of her vest with my right hand and grabbed her left paw with my left hand. I lifted her up over the edge and was surprised to feel that she weighed a little more than I thought she would. She was still quite light as a rabbit, but it may have been her vest and equipment that weighed her down. I rose her up over the lip and held her in my arms outstretched. She opened her right eye as she looked at me and slowly became quite curious as to the fact that I didn't hurt her. I lowered her to the ground softly and set her down. Then stood back up to my full height and gazed down at her. I whispered to Chronos for his to open up the head part of the suit so I could look at her. The blue tinted view in front of my eyes peeled away and shrunk away from my face and head, the suit seeming to pull away like a living covering that moved into it. When my head was fully exposed, her eyes widened more and her nose twitched as if she smelled me. I heard a voice then yell, "Get away from her you metal fuck!"

I whipped around with one of my pistols drawn from my palm to see the fox standing in the door that was open with his flashlight and weapon trained on me.

I then said, "I just saved her. I never meant anyone any harm."

The fox then said, "Regardless, you're under arrest. Get down on the ground and put your paws behind your head."

I looked back at the rabbit that was now backing away from me, clearly unsure of what I was going to do. She walked over to Nick slowly and carefully, her eyes never leaving me. I retracted my pistol into my palm and stood there for a few seconds before I then said, "The vengeful and vigilant guardian never rests. With their rest fades the hope of the world. With hope gone…darkness shall ever reign."

What I just said was the motto of FoS, our recruitment message for those brave enough to join our cause. I figured that it was the best thing at the time I could show them to prove I mean no harm.

"Chronos, freeze the time stream" I said.

All sound faded away again as time froze to a halt. I then took off running past the officers and ran down the corridor where the fox had come from. I kept running for as long as the suits reactor could keep up with the time freeze. I made my way through tunnels for a few minutes before noise resumed and Chronos then said, "Nate, the distributor is recharging again. Time manipulation will be unavailable for several minutes.

I couldn't hear the officers, so I assume that I had run enough of a distance to put some ground between me and them. I looked around the chamber I had just walked into and found metal ladder rings leading up to a manhole cover, this time outlined in brilliant light.

I started climbing up the rings of the installed ladder and came to the cover where I pushed it several times with my shoulder before the cover moved. I climbed past the lip and slid the cover shut with a deep metal clang. I could only hope the cops hadn't heard that.

I gazed around and found myself in what appeared to be a warehouse of some type. It must have been abandoned quite a long time ago as the building seemed to be disintegrating. Scattered wooden boxes and crates littered the groups, coupled with actual trash in places as well. The metal support beams for the roof were rusting and the air reeked of mold, but if this place was indeed abandoned, then it at least offered some refuge from my pursuers. The manhole cover must have been an access point for the utility tunnels under this part of the city, and a way for city workers to access the sewers and the underground electric systems beneath the city.

With time to think, I realized that I was stuck in an unfamiliar time with no humans seen so far, in a world ruled by animals and with no way to contact FoS. I was on my own. As I looked around me at the warehouse, I knew I had to try to make the most of what I got. Right now, I only had to do three things:

Establish a safe house

Learn more about this world

Most importantly…

Survive.

(A/N: Well here's the next chapter after an unfortunately long time of waiting, much longer than it should have been and I apologize for the wait. My summer became a bit more erratic than I was able to handle, what with work, family and some deeper personal issues of mine. Don't worry; these will not affect the outcome of me completing this story. I hope to have the next chapter out wither this month or the beginning of next month. I'm back in college again, so my time is still divided up between my hobby of writing and my studying to major in writing and rhetoric. What this means for you readers is that me studying writing and rhetoric will hopefully improve the quality of my own personal works, as well as the what I will be writing in the professional world. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter, let me know what you thought or where it needs improvement. Until next time, have a good one all.)