Zootopia: Project Paradox

by SR2Turoka-1

In the not so distant future humanity finds itself under the tyrannical oppression of a globally reaching organization known as Vanguard. Enter one Nate Roberts a resistance fighter born in the age before Vanguard. On a mission into a research facility where things go terribly wrong Nate finds himself taken to a new world. Crossover with Warframe. Oc x Oc and wildehopps.

5. The Hunt and Expeditions Begin

Chapter 4: The Hunt and Expeditions Begin

(A/N: Hello everyone. I just want to thank you all for your feedback from the last chapter. It's nice to see you readers seem to be interested in this story still, and it's even better that there are new readers that are still interested in the development of this story. I look forwards to being able to write more content that you all can hopefully enjoy. So I'm at the precipice with this story that in order to make this story a bit more dynamic, especially after the introduction of Nick and Judy, that I will be including multiple perspectives into this and other coming chapters. This way we can get multiple perspectives into this storyline, Nick's and Judy's thoughts and actions towards Nate and this world of humanity that these animals have never, as well as the other animals of Zootopia. In addition, also being able to catch the future thoughts and perspectives that Nate has on Zootopia that he will be learning more about in the coming future. Without further ado now, onto the new chapter.)

(In the room above the sewers; Judy's perspective)

"The vengeful and vigilant guardian never rests. With their rest fades the hope of the world. With hope gone, darkness shall ever reign" stated the being in front of me and Nick that had just saved me from falling down the manhole opening and potentially getting hurt. My mind raced with so many questions as to what this thing was and why it had saved me, despite the threatening reports dispatch told us about it. The even stranger thing was that this metal machine was not completely metal after all. It had no natural scent to it only just mere minutes ago, but now, with the fleshy, odd looking head of it exposed, my nose detected a natural scent that the being had. It had the smell of sweat and a little dirt mixed in with its natural scent.

The being then once again seemed to talk to its self, or some unseen force, when it then said, "Chronos, freeze the time stream."

I reached my right arm out and shouted at the being, "Wait, don't…"

It was too late. The being vanished from sight once again, no trace of it being left behind. Nick and I looked around to try to see if it had reappeared somewhere else in the room, but it was unfortunately completely and truly gone this time.

Nick holstered his ZPD issued tranquilizer gun and he then looked over towards me as my own gaze veered off towards nothing as I was trying to comprehend everything I saw this being capable of doing. Nick then asked me, "Carrots, you alright? Did that thing hurt you?"

I then said with a half paying attention tone, "I'm fine, just trying to wrap my head around all of this."

I had no idea what to make of this being. First we get a report of an unknown creature threatening mammals at gunpoint in the Rainforest District, then this thing said numerous times it doesn't want to hurt us, then it saves me from falling and getting hurt. Sweet cheese and crackers, what one earth makes sense here?

"Judy, I swear that is the last time I ever leave you alone during a pursuit" said Nick with a sigh of relief. I gazed up at him slowly and looked at him.

I then said, "Nick, I can handle myself. I'm not helpless."

Nick then walked over to the ground where the creature was standing earlier and examined the ground to see if the creature had dropped anything before it suddenly vanished. He crouched down to the ground and looked around. He then said something that made me swell with joy as I remembered our situation together.

"I know you're not helpless, Carrots. You're far from it. I'm just glad that I didn't lose my best friend today" he said as he halfway looked back at me from his position with a smirk on his muzzle.

I knew that Nick and I made quite an effective team together. We solved the Nighthowler Case together. We took down Bellweather together. We made an effective team and I knew that our professional partnership also had created a friendly attraction between us. However, for Nick to call me his best friend made me quite content inside.

"I…uh…thanks Nick. I had no idea you thought that much of me" I said caught off guard by his statement.

I smiled at him as it seemed that my response made his smile grow bigger and his eyes emanate satisfaction at my response. He then shook his head slightly and said, "Anyways, Carrots. I don't see any trace evidence we can collect for forensics to analyze. I suggest that we find a way out of this sewer and report back to Bogo with what happened today."

I nodded at him and said, "No doubt he'll want to review our bodycam footage as well. But Nick, I do have one thing to say to you. Can you come here?"

Nicks expression changed to one of confusion as he walked over towards me as I suppressed a smile with what I was about to say next. Nick stopped in front of me and looked down at me as he said, "Yeah, Carrots?"

I then smirked as I said, "I just wanted to let you know that…you stink."

I chuckled slightly as Nick then smelled his forearm and drew his nose away quickly and wretched at the odor. When Nick noticed my laughing at his actions he then said, "Yuck it up Carrots, you were swimming in the same toilet water I was. You stink too."

I knew this was certainly true, but the only reason I wanted to pull this stunt on him is that Nick and I liked to joke around with each other. I can see why Nick viewed us as best friends, I started to recently realize more consciously the things we do with each other.

I then said, "I know, foxy. I suggest that we pay a visit to the ZPD locker rooms first for a shower."

Nick then snickered and said, "Or twelve."

I then said with a grin, "Twelve, that works too."

Nick and I went back down the sewers to try to recover whatever was still usable of my equipment I had dropped when I slipped and fell into the open manhole.

I discovered that my tranquilizer pistol was the item that had fallen into the sewer water. I knew I would get in trouble for losing ZPD issues equipment, but I really didn't feel like going for a swim in the toilet river again. I grabbed my flashlight that surprisingly still worked, but was noticeably scuffed, and then we went to climb out of the sewers once again. Once up top, we walked through the open door Nick had gone down earlier and we attempted to find our way out of this network of tunnels. I knew there were many questions left unanswered and many more mammals down at the precinct that would want to see our bodycam footage and get our statements. I knew however that there was only one way to be able to solve this mystery of this strange creature…find it and capture it. However, as it had clearly saved me from getting hurt, I had to wonder, was capturing it really going to be necessary.

(Meanwhile at the warehouse; Nate's Perspective)

I was grunting with strain and frustration as I continued to barricade the only entrance from the sewers that this building had with abandoned materials around the warehouse. Several wooden crates, metal scrap and several large rubber tires made up the barricade so far. It wasn't the most solid of blockages for the problem, but it would have to do. I hoped that if the police ever did investigating through the sewers to trace any possible routes I took to get here, that this would buy me enough time to escape. Plus, I didn't want anyone coming up from the sewers at night while I was sleeping either.

Once I moved the last crate to the mountain of debris that now blocked the manhole, I panted slightly from my hard work and let out a steady breath as my breathing started to return to normal.

Chronos then said, "Nate, I'm pleased that we managed to find some place safe to take refuge until we can find a better course of action. Do you want to…"

I then interrupted Chronos and said, "Zip it, Chronos."

I heard silence for a few seconds before he then said, "Nate, what did I do that is troubling you?"

"What did you do" I asked rhetorically? "How about for starters, I got an A.I. linked to my brain that can control my fucking body. I wasn't the one who deployed that magnetic barrier Chronos and you know that. So start talking, how much aren't you telling me about yourself and this goddamn metal case I'm wearing?"

I heard silence for a few moments before Chronos then responded, "I didn't control your body to deploy the barrier Nate. I rather controlled the suit itself, which I then used to protect you. My chief protocol as the A.I. operator for this suit is to ensure that the human operator is protected from harm as much as possible. Look, I did some digging into the data files stored on my mainframe and I discovered somethings…some rather shocking."

I knew this would be a bit, so I sat down on the ground with my legs extended outwards and leaned against a crate. I then said, "Go on?"

"Much of the files and operating programs in this suit and therefore me seemed to be damaged beyond recognition. What I found that was still readable was that I can override the mechanical actuators built into the suit to take control of defensive protocols if the operator is in danger. It would have taken longer to explain to you how to deploy the magnetic barrier than we would have had before the officers fired upon us. I therefore took control to protect you from harm. I am not programmed to control the operator in any way directly…in fact, there is even a verbal override command that you can use to disable automatic defensive measures. All you need to do is just say, 'override command sierra'."

I gazed out into the warehouse dumbstruck at the attention to detail that Vanguard had in developing this suit. They were truly trying to create the first in a series of deadly weapon systems. I could only hope that even if I was stuck in this time period, whenever this is, that me stealing this suit helped FoS and the other resistance groups in the long run.

However, something still didn't sit right with me. Why would an A.I. that seems quite complex and able of perceivable free will want me to know how to control it? Surely Vanguard would want as much control over their soldiers that would be commanding their newest and probably most lethal weapon system they've made yet.

"Chronos, why would you want me to know how to control you? That seems a disadvantage to you" I said in confusion.

I then heard Chronos then say, "Nate, I told you before that if the two of us are to survive this hostile environment, then we must work together. In order to do that, we need to build trust for one another. I want you to feel as comfortable around me as possible, for I can't function without an operator of my own will, and you can't have a true advantage against the denizens of this world without me. Think about it Nate, how many times already have you been able to survive, move about, and escape capture with my assistance?"

I knew Chronos was right. I owe this A.I. my freedom and my life so far. It may have been my paranoia about him being a Vanguard A.I. that made me not trust him, but we needed each other right now.

I then said, "Chronos, about those damaged files you mentioned. Do you have a way to repair those files?"

He then replied with a sullen, "No, at least not for some time. I'm attempting to initiate a full system recovery of the damaged files. Hopefully, I can reconstruct the missing data and return myself to full operating status."

I smiled slightly and said, "Well the sooner the better. It's better to be over prepared for the unknown than under prepared."

Chronos then said, "I completely agree Nate."

I stood up from where I was as I stretched my sore body out from the stresses of today. I felt my back pop in a satisfying way as I then sighed and said, "While you're doing that Chronos, I'm going to try to see if I can make this place somewhat livable."

I knew I needed to set up facilities here: a place to sleep, a place to store food, and a place to run operations from. I needed a place to store information on this world and its animal peoples, as well as draw up plans for scouting and salvage operations. Quite a daunting task for one man, but this one man has an A.I. companion, a suit capable of time powers and equipped with destructive weapons and defensive precepts. Perhaps biggest of all, this one man has guerilla warfare training, espionage training and survival training from his mentor and father figure in FoS, Zhang.

Zhang…I thought in remembrance.

I felt my heart grow heavy as I remembered the man that saved me from FoS and took me under his command to turn me into a warrior of humanity to fight back against the dark tide. When he looked at me and spoke as he was dying, telling me to finish the mission, telling me that he didn't want his sacrifice to be in vain, I realized that he spoke with not only authority as a squad leader. He also spoke with the protectiveness and care of a father, one who would give his own life to ensure his own son lives. I felt my eyes tear up as I knew that unless I got back to my own time, unless I helped finish off Vanguard once and for all, I will have not only failed Zhang, but everyone in FoS and indeed all the tormented and abused innocents of the world. I knew I had no other choice but to carry on.

I walked over towards a pile of discarded wood about 15 feet from me as Chronos then said, "Nate, were you thinking of them again?"

As I reached for a few 2 x 4's, I stopped and asked Chronos uncertain, "Yeah, why?"

He then said, "Nate, you shouldn't dwell on the past. It wasn't your fault."

I breathed in deeply and let out a breath as I said with a little quiver in my voice, "No, but that doesn't mean I should forget them either."

Chronos remained silent after I spoke as I grabbed the wood and began to figure out the materials I had around the warehouse, besides the wood, to be able to turn this place into a base of operations. I knew the hardest part would be seeing if there were any tools around to help me assemble what I needed. If not, I would need to…procure some from somewhere.

Even though I had only taken my first few steps into the unknown, I knew my journey here was only just beginning.

(Back at ZPD Precinct 1, Nick's perspective)

Judy and I entered the Precinct after we parked the cruiser in the secure, fenced off lot for the patrol vehicles. I'm glad that we got back safely after what had happened. Judy was complaining that she was exhausted from the chase in the day, and that she would need to let Bogo know about her exposure to the sewer water in case she got sick. I felt sorry for my bunny partner as she nearly got hurt by that creature and had to swim through sewer water.

As we walked through the building I noticed the other officers groan and gag as we walked past them, I being a little embarrassed at our offending odor. I saw officers cover their noses as we walked up to the reception desk. Our friendly Cheetah dispatcher, Clawhauser, gazed at us with a smile and said, "Welcome ba…"

He then went wide eyed and gagged as he covered his nose and said, "Um, I don't mean to be rude you two, but I have to tell you…you guys stink."

Judy then groaned and said, "Yeah, don't remind me. We had to chase a suspect through the sewers today."

I then added, "Well, chase isn't the right word, Carrots. I would have said more along the lines of swim through the sewers."

Judy looked up at me with a glare of anger and said, "Yeah, but you weren't actually swimming in that vile stuff Nick, I was."

I raised my paws defensively and said, "Easy Carrots, I meant no harm by it."

I then said, "Anyways, can you let the chief know that we need to see him right away, after we shower this stink off of us."

Clawhauser nodded and said with a nasally voice since his nose was covered, "You got it. Sorry about what happened."

We walked away from the reception desk past even more officers who unsurprisingly gave us a wide birth. Judy was about to enter the female locker room as I was about to enter the male one. I then said to her, "Judy?"

She glared up at me with a tired expression and said, "Yeah, Nick?"

I then said, "Glad you're alright."

She smiled tiredly and said, "You too."

We then entered the locker rooms. I got to my locker and stripped down to my bare fur as my clothes hadn't completely dried yet, so I had to peel my socks and my underwear off my body. I knew this uniform was trashed for now. I grabbed a towel and my shampoo. I then walked over to where the showers were and found a random showerhead. I set my shampoo on the little shelf next to the shower handle and I whipped my towel over the back of the shower head, out of the way so it wouldn't get soaked. I turned on the water and waited for it to get the right temperature. I stepped into the water and felt my body shiver, not from the temperature of the water, but rather how absolutely like pure bliss the water felt on my body. I let out a drawn out breath as I felt my body start to unwind from today.

As I started showering, I got into thinking back to how close that fleshy metal creature was to Judy. That is, if that creature indeed had a metal shell covering to it. Whatever it was wearing looked like metal at first glance, but thinking back to it now, the material of it was almost like a rough fabric it seemed. I remembered how that thing was holding Judy when I walked into the room. I was so terrified about seeing Judy unarmed and that close to the creature that I felt myself freeze up. I felt a chill run down my spine as I realized that my inactions could have cost my best friend her life as that think looked capable of hurting her, especially since its sword weapon was able to cut through industrial grade three inch thick steel.

However, it didn't hurt her. It claimed that it saved her, but I've learned through my years as a con-mammal that looks made or broke the mammal on the street. Even the most scheming and sinister of mammals can be putting up a façade to hide their true self. However, I recognized a look in that creature's eyes…its real eyes. Finnick always told me that the eyes always betray our true selves. I didn't believe him at first, but over my many scams, I learned how to hustle mammals from reading them: their body, eyes and posture.

That creature had a look in its eyes of fear at the moment, but deeper in them it had the eyes of something that unsettled me after it had let Carrots go…

It had the eyes of a killer. Somebody that had murdered people, but for what I couldn't tell.

All I knew is that its word couldn't be trusted, and that we need to learn more about this thing and this "Chronos" it kept talking to itself about.

I finished showering and turned the water off. I grabbed my towel and dried off, followed by putting on my extra uniform I had in my locker. I knew it was time to go try to explain things to Chief Bogo. I knew that Bogo would either think we're crazy or that we need a vacation. I took relief in knowing that the bodycam footage would backup our story.

I exited the locker room and looked around the immediate area for Judy, but she was nowhere in sight. Either she was still showering, or she was on her way to Bogo's office. I decided to head up there first.

Upon arriving, I saw my favorite bunny sitting in a chair outside of Bogo's office. She was so small compared to the chair that was meant for mammals like hippos and tigers. I actually found it kind of funny and cute. Of course, I would never use the later word in front of Judy, as she'd be liable to pull a Taser on me. Not really of course.

She casually looked around the hallway as she was most likely waiting for me to show up. She looked over to her left and noticed me, to which she smiled and said, "Nick, good to see you."

I walked over towards her and asked her, "How you holding up, Judy?"

She shrugged at me and said, "I'm fine, just still sore and praying I don't get some horrible disease."

I chuckled to her and said with a look of mild disbelief, "I still can't believe that you did that."

She then said with a cocked head and a raised eyebrow, "Nick, you really expect me to allow a suspect to get away? I'm better than that, even if better involves swimming in a toilet river."

Judy then looked at the door to Bogo's office and said, "Alright then, you ready partner?"

I then looked at the door said, "I am if you're ready, Carrots."

I knocked on the door and I heard Bogo's loud and commanding voice say, "Enter."

I opened the door for Judy since she had a hard time reaching the handle to Bogo's office. The door opened and inside was Bogo at his desk looking over several files.

He must have finished reading his current line because he looked up at us and he said with a straight face, "Enter you two."

We came into his office and closed the door. We then took our seats and waited for Bogo to speak. He closed up the files he had and then put his paws together and interlocked them on his desk. He then said, "Clawhauser said you wanted to see me? This had better be good, because I also received reports from other officers in the building that you two came in smelling like…oh what was Higgens' words." He then paused as if to equally toy with us and drive a point home. He then said with a realization, "Oh yeah. He said you smelled like rotting wood mixed with festering fish entrails."

Bogo then leaned forwards and glared at us, which made Judy slink back a little in her seat, but I held my ground. He then said, "You better have a good reason for smelling like a landfill."

Judy then stood up in her seat and said, "Yes, sir. We do actually. We got a call from Clawhauser about an unknown creature in the Rainforest district."

Bogo then said as if her words jogging his mind again, "Oh yes, the purported 'unknown creature'. So what was it, a prank? Was it a mammal in a costume?"

Bogo looked at us as if expecting a quite easily explainable answer to the strangest call that the ZPD received all week.

Judy and I looked at each other for a few seconds and then back at Bogo. When our eyes returned to him, his expression changed to one of disbelief. He then said plainly, "You can't be serious…"

I then said, "We did encounter a strange creature, sir. It had apparently threatened some innocent civvies with guns, which was in the dispatch call. When we arrived, it had a sword in its paw and was hacking away at a 3 inch thick storm drain grate with it. It…" I then paused for a second as I was unsure if Bogo would believe what I would say. "…It actually cut though the metal with its sword and fell into the sewers beneath the alley."

Judy then said, "Yeah, then we had to chase it through the sewers when it…"

She was however interrupted by Bogo shouting in a booming voice, "That's enough!" I swear I felt the walls of his office rattle after that statement.

We both shut up immediately and sunk in our seats at the fury of our supervisor. He then said, "I wanted to hear an explanation, not an excuse to why you smelled like the back end of a…"

Judy then scoffed and said, "But sir, it's not an excuse. Our body cams caught it on tape." She then pleadingly said, "Please just check the footage. Check the dashcam. Check the scene where we met the creature. I promise you that what we saw was real."

Bogo then snorted at us and then he rubbed his right temple as he was clearly in deep thought about what to make of this story.

He then said, "You two have never been known to lie or have ever been caught lying. I will take you up on what you say, but just know that the recordings from your bodycams and dashcam will be taken in for evidence pending this investigation. I also ask that you report the very exact same alley this occurred in to our forensic team so they can investigate it for clues. I also ask that you talk to Detective Howlstein and report what this creature looked like, sounded like, you know the drill."

Judy then breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Oh, thank yo…"

Bogo then held up a digit on his right paw and said, "Know this however, if no evidence indeed returns on the bodycams or the dashcam and forensics doesn't find anything unusual with the alley in question; then this will be taken as an act of lying to your supervisor and wasting department resources." He then leaned in closely to us and said, "If this is the case, I will tell you two right now, I WILL NOT hesitate to levy discipline on you two. You two may be the Nighthowler Case heros, but that doesn't put you above every other officer if you are found guilty of either offense. Do I make myself clear?"

I felt my heart beat quickly at Bogo's tone and threats of discipline, but I heard Judy let out a shaky breath of fear, most likely at losing her job.

We both then said, "Crystal clear, sir."

Bogo then said, "Good, you two are dismissed then."

Judy and I walked out of Bogo's office as we closed the door behind us. I groaned to no one in particular and said, "Well, that could have gone better…"

Judy sighed and said, "Yeah…but at least he's willing to take us on our word, provided the evidence backs it up."

I then said, "Come on Carrots, let's go talk to Detective Howlstein, then we need to get back on patrol."

As we walked down the corridors of the precinct towards the detective's offices, I could only wonder where this mysterious creature had come from and what it was doing right now. I could only hope that this creature was indeed not a threat to anyone as it had said to us several times earlier. Time would only tell…

(Back in the warehouse; Nate's perspective)

"Well, it wasn't easy, but that should hold for now…I hope" I said as I stood up from my crouched position as I dusted off my hands.

I had just managed to put together a primitive, cobbled together bed from wood and discarded tires. It wouldn't be the most comfortable sleeping arrangement, but it would be better than the floor, not by much though sadly.

I knew I needed to find some tools soon and I would need to leave this warehouse eventually to gather other materials…As I said this, I felt my stomach rumbling as I looked around sullenly at the lack of food that this building had been left behind with. I knew I would need to find food as well. My options were quite limited as how to acquire these things. If I stole them from the animals, then I would be labeled as a common thief, in addition to a distrustful freakish creature to them.

My mind started to drift towards the events of today as I tried to play back the events in my mind, hoping for all of this to turn out to be some sort of delusion or dream, but one thing stuck out first.

Curiosity peaked as I had asked Chronos so many questions earlier as I put together (or started to) my base of operations. I found out that Chronos had no remaining memory of his creators, though he said that that knowledge may be in some of the corrupted files he was slowly trying to restore. I had soon realized that this wouldn't be good for me for if he restored the files he had about Vanguard; it may cause him to remember that I'm not with them, and therefore a threat to him and the suit since both are Vanguard property. I could only imagine what he might try to do to eliminate me when he finds out. I found out that he was not restricted completely by his A.I. programing. He was an intelligence capable of learning and near limitless free will. His only restriction was that his free will could not jeopardize the Operator's life. Other than that, he had free reasoning, thinking, and observation of the world around him. The one thing that I never found out was how he knew my name.

"Chronos, got another question for ya" I said.

He then said, "That being?"

I then said, "How did you know my name was Nate to start with? I never told you, let alone even knew you were actually an A.I. or even in this suit before you first spoke to me."

Chronos stayed quiet for a few moments as if trying to process this question thoroughly. He then said, "It's…difficult to explain. The best answer I can give is that once I felt you bonded with me, I just…knew."

I cocked my eyebrow and then said, "Um…excuse me?"

He then said, "Like I said, it's hard to explain. This could be part of a surviving subroutine that got partly corrupted that allowed me to know this. It could even be something hardware based that I'm unaware of, though that is quite unlikely. Regardless, it was like I just suddenly…knew. Plus, you're the Operator and therefor when I knew your name, I had to make my presence known so I could start trying to protect you."

I then said, "I see…" as my question really wasn't anymore answered than before.

I then walked over towards a series of gritty and smudged windows and peered out into the surrounding city. The light of the sun, starting to show it was nearing early evening, was fading as the sun started to set. I gazed at the surrounding bustling and active city. I sighed as I started to slowly realize that not only was I probably the only human around here, but that I was watching people...er, animals, go about their daily lives free from the hardships I fought and watched my fellow freedom fighters pay so dearly for standing against. Here, it appeared there were no military imposed curfews, military patrols and roving death squads. There were no public executions and no tyrannical despots. Of course this was all based on assumptions, but it still was such a bittersweet feeling to gaze upon a world free from the evils of the one I came from, and to then realize suddenly that this world was no longer the one you were fighting for. Here, the peoples of this city were free. Free to choose who to love, where to work, where to live, and what to believe in. I felt tears begin to form in my eyes as I longed for such a feeling in the FoS. I sniffled as I tried to compose myself, but the beauty of freedom was as much equal parts majestic and tragic for me.

I had put my hand against the grimy glass window all this time as I gazed out into the city. I cried out loud and slammed my fist onto the glass window, breaking the one spot in the pane. I was only mildly surprised that I didn't hurt my hand or even feel the impact of the force applied, but that was only because of my attention out the window at the show of idealism playing in front of me.

I was also surprised when Chronos didn't speak up to me for the discomfort I felt, however that was quickly forgotten as the A.I. then soon said, "Are you alright, Nate?"

I looked out the window as I saw a wolf mother and her two pup kids walk down the sidewalk, the kids laughing and playing with each other as they strolled down the sidewalk. The mother was trying to keep her kids in control, while at the same time letting children be children. The sight of such innocence and lack of fear from the hardships I knew was gut-wrenching to me.

I looked away from the window and said, "I'll be fine, Chronos. Look, it's almost night time and I need to start making preparations."

I began to walk over towards another construct I made, which was what I called "The Prepping Area". I put this area, consisting of a workbench that I had rigged together with wood, but still needed tools to finish it and make it usable. It also had a crate that I would use for the storage of supplies used on my expedition trips out into the city for further supplies and materials. I also had gathered the materials for a bookshelf that I would put together when I got tools, with this being where I would store any documents, books, flash drives, any knowledge at all that I gathered on this strange world. My plan was to use these to better create future expedition plans for safe and more efficient excursions into the city for supplies and recon.

Chronos then asked me curiously, "For what, Nate?"

I then said with a weak smirk, "My first test of survival here…my first foray into the city. Question is, where do I start?"

(Back at Precinct 1; Judy's perspective)

"So how would you describe this 'weird creature', Officer Hopps" asked Howlstein, a Timberwolf detective.

I then said, "Taller than both me and Nick. It was maybe 5 foot 9 inches. I was wearing some sort of…covering. The covering was bright grey and red in color, and its face was shaped like a "Y" with a light blue color to it. However, we found out that its real face was beneath this covering" I said to the detective.

He paused writing down the notes of what I was saying and asked, "You're saying it had two faces?"

I then said, "Not really." I then paused and rubbed my chin and looked up towards the ceiling as I then said, "How can I describe it? Its real face was…furless. It had green eyes and it only had any visible fur on the top of its head, which was a brown color. Its nose was unlike any mammal nose I've seen before and its lips were a pink color. Its bare skin was a light tan color.' I then paused as I squinted my eyes as I thought to myself. I then said, "I'm not sure what else to say." I then looked to my partner who was sitting in another upholstered armchair like the one I was sitting in, one with an abstract green and blue pattern to it. Nick was reclined slightly in his chair with a leg crossed over his other thigh as I then said, "You want to add anything else to your description Nick, I can't think of anything else?"

Nick looked at me and then the detective and then stayed quiet as if thinking before he snapped his right paw digits and said, "It had a male voice, I think we forgot to mention that if this helps. The bodycam footage should have a recording of its voice on it. I would think anyways."

Howlstein wrote down his final notes and then looked at us and said, "Very well then officers. I'll get your details to a sketch artist and we'll see if we can get an image out there for our department to compare to the creature…and track it down."

Nick scoffed and said, "If any of our officers don't recognize this thing as an unknown creature on sight, I think we need to do mandatory eye exams. Come on, how many other creatures could there be like it?"

Howlstein glared at Nick and said, "Officer Wilde, what makes you think this creature is certainly alone?"

Nick's expression went wide eyed as he then asked with a stutter, "Yo…You think there are more of these things out there?"

The detective shrugged as he said, "I can't say for certain, but what I can say is that an unknown creature cannot simply have just came into existence. Nature, no matter how unusual she can get in her creations, simply just doesn't make a single creature exist out of thin air. This thing at the very least has to have a family, or maybe even a mate if one's out there. Hell, it may even have ancestors buried in the fossil records. If this is the case, this creature may not pose any threat itself, if what you're saying is true that it never wanted to hurt anyone, but that doesn't stop any others like it from posing a threat. Besides, according to scientists, there are still at least thousands of species out there in the world that haven't been discovered or even observed by mammalkind." He then paused and chuckled. He then sighed slightly and said, "That is of course if this thing is indeed a natural creation. If nature didn't make it, then someone else did. If this is the case, we'll find it and track it down, along with its creator and discover what this thing is and why that mammal made it."

I then said to the detective, "That's two totally different theories you got there, detective."

Howlstein shrugged and said, "You know as well as I do Officer Hopps that when confronted with the unknown, one shouldn't be afraid to embrace the many possibilities, to ultimately find the single truth."

I leaned back in my seat as I gazed up at the ceiling to only realize that he was indeed correct.

He then said, "Anyways, I must get these notes to our sketch artist. I assume the two of you need to finish your patrol for the day and head home, right?"

Nick stood up from his seat and stretched his back out. He yawned and said, "Yeah, the sooner the better. All that swimming today wiped me out."

The detective cocked his head at Nick and said, "Swimming?! You only said you chased this thing through the sewers. You mean you actually…?"

I then held up a paw towards the detective and said hastily, "Please!" I then slowed down and said, "Please don't ask."

Nick chuckled at my remark, which caused me to glare at him. When he saw this, he looked away quickly and pretended like he did nothing.

The detective seemed rather confused and unsettled by both or responses. He then said slowly, "O…kay. Well anyways, you two best get going. Have a good night."

We left his office and began to head back to our car to try to finish our patrol, which only had an hour left. As we walked through the building, I couldn't help but think that if what Howlstein said was right and that this creature was some natural living being that had a whole species of it, then it must be a member of an advanced species if it was capable of what we saw it do today. If this thing was this advanced, then it stands to reason that maybe we could try to find a way to better understand it. Through this understanding, maybe we could learn more about it and its goals. Heck, maybe finding this thing won't be so much of a hunt for a dangerous creature…but rather a quest to negotiate peace and cooperation with an advanced lifeform.

The pieces of this puzzle, this mystery, would start to fall in place soon…and it would change our very understanding of the world forever.

(A/N: Well here's the next chapter. I hope you all liked it and I'm pleased that I pumped this out so much sooner than expected. Let me know with a review how you all are liking this story so far, and where it needs improvement. I'm trying to avoid the usual "Human in Zootopia" formula that is witnessed so often on this achieve. Not that most of these stories are bad, it's just I wanted to do something different. As you will see, within the next three chapters, this story will take quite a turn from just a Human in Zootopia story, to something else quite different. One could say that it will be crossing the boundaries of a typical "Human in Zootopia" story than it has already done. I hope that you will enjoy this direction the story is heading and I wanted to also take the time to thank you all for nearly 2K views. This is the most ready story I have ever posted on here and a personal milestone of mine. I know that a story like this won't interest everyone, but I still think that's quite impressive. Also, don't worry, there will be WildeHopps starting to surface in the next few chapters, so that Romance tag wasn't just for the sake of it. Anyways, enough rambling like a broken record with dementia. Thanks again for reading and have a good day all.)