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.

6. Rising Tensions

Chapter 5: Rising Tensions

(A/N: Hello once again fellow readers and writers. I'm pleased to have yet another chapter for you all to read, and I'm grateful for the positive feedback I've gotten with my story so far. Even though this story is not garnering too much attention, we're nearing 1.7K views as of me writing this sentence. That is more than any other story I have written before. Even though that number is smaller than much of the other stories on here that have had their view count publicized, every comment I've received (with the exception of my friendly neighborhood troll) has been a positive one. I'm pleased that so many of you are enjoying this story and a bit more of a fresh take on a "Human in Zootopia" story. Fair word of warning that the end of this chapter won't make much sense as of yet, but there will be a third side to enter this grand first meeting between worlds, and this new side is tied into the big surprise I have in store for this story. We're not at the point of revealing this huge surprise in the story yet, as that will come later in the next chapter. For now, I hope you enjoy this current chapter.)

(Nate's Perspective; inside the warehouse)

"Alright, I got the gear I need. Should be good to go…I hope" I said to myself as I had just finished putting together my expedition gear for tonight.

Since this was the first of my many presumable nights here, I unfortunately didn't have a lot in the way of equipment. I found that somebody had apparently dumped a slightly torn backpack out back behind the warehouse, sitting in a pile of garbage. The damage was noticeable on it, but it was still in a usable enough state for me to carry equipment in. I wasn't bringing anything with me beyond my two pistols and the Ether sword. My whole goal tonight was to survey my surrounding area and begin to try to get a lay of the land in the city. Due to the amount of artificial light in the city since it was now dark outside, I knew I would have to stick to the shadows. That is until it got much later in the evening. If this city operated like any other city in the Human Era, then there should be the least amount of animals about after midnight or 1 A.M. Until then, I would have to stick to the shadows, and if I found anything valuable along the way, I had my backpack.

I slung the backpack that was empty over my shoulders and adjusted the straps to be able to get it to fit comfortably. It was clearly designed for an animal of a different size than me, so it took a bit to get the right size that worked for me.

I then started walking towards the front door of the building that I had barricaded shut with a wooden board to secure the place at night when I was "home". My footsteps echoed with padding sounds on the concrete as the echoing and eerily loud footsteps were only made a bit more unnerving by the fact that the only light in the warehouse was what came in through the windows from outside. I had to hand it to the building I stumbled into, it would take quite a while for the police to find this one specific warehouse to investigate, especially if I tried to make this building look as abandoned as possible, such as not turning on any lights at night. I knew this ruse wouldn't last forever, but it gave me hope that I could begin to study and learn about this strange new world while still surviving.

I reached the door and grasped the board that barricaded the door with both hands. I yanked upwards three times before the board came loose from the metal brackets that were already installed on the interior side of the door. The wood scraped and clattered against the door as I lifted it up. I set the board down gently to the ground with a dull clatter. I then said, "Alright, Chronos. How's the suits distributor doing?"

Chronos then said soon afterwards, "Power level is stabilized at 100 percent and ready to go, Nate."

I smiled under my visor as I was ready to take my first steps into the night air of the city. I opened the door with a slight metallic scape as the door grazed on its frame. The door opened inwards towards me as I peeked me head out the door and looked around. The perks of being in a warehouse on the edge of the ocean waters was that there weren't really any animals out and about immediately around me. A Polar Bear started walking towards my direction, which caused me to close the door slowly and almost completely. I glared out the crack of the ajar door as I watched the bear walk right by me, having not spotted me. I waited five seconds and opened the door again slowly and peered out, only to see no one else immediately about. I stepped out of the door and closed it shut quietly. I then looked around as the sounds of car horns and city life became louder to my ears. I took notice of an alleyway across the street as I then said, "Chronos, slow the time stream."

I then heard all the noises of city life die down to a slowed and unnatural tone as car horns lasted much longer and sounded deeper in tone. I told Chronos to slow the time stream rather than freeze it because he had explained to me that completely halting time drained the suits power distributor much more rapidly than just merely slowing the flow of time. When the only vehicles around me, once moving at 40 miles per hour, we now moving at less than 1 mile per hour, I took off in a mad sprint across the street and into the alleyway on the opposite side. When I reached the opposite side, I then said in a completely undisrupted tone of voice, "Chronos, free the time stream."

Instantly, sound returned once more to its normal pitch and tone to my ears. I ducked further down into the darkness and peered around the alleyway for anything that seemed of value. Scattered about the alleyway were abandoned boxes, trash, garbage cans, and a few dumpsters. I soon took notice of an antelope walking out of the back of a building carrying a box in his arms. The box had letters I was faintly able to make out on the sides of the box that ready, "Vegetable Soup, 12 pack."

I was now stuck in a conundrum. I had no food in my shelter and here was an animal that was carrying a 12 case of vegetable soup. The survivalist in me was screaming at me to steal it from him, but the rational part of me didn't want to as I had no right to take out people's possessions. If it clearly had an owner, then that would make me a common thief. I felt it was stupid to day this however, as I wasn't stealing from another person, but a sentient anthropomorphic animal. Were the morals different as such? Would stealing from an animal still be a moral crime?

I was relieved when I saw him not heading towards my direction, but rather towards a car that was parked outside the opposite exit of the alley. I watched him walk away from me, when I took notice of a form start to make its way out of the darkness near him. It was a rhino wearing a black hoodie and grey sweatpants. He started to creep behind the antelope, following him. I naturally became weary of what was going on, so I started to follow the rhino myself. I kept to the shadows as I gazed at the rhino that reached into the back of his pants pocket and pulled out something all too familiar looking.

He had a handgun. Granted it was much bigger than something I would use, but there was no mistaking what it was. The rhino shuffled his feet on the concrete by accident and kicked an empty can, which the antelope must have heard, because he froze in an instant and didn't move.

"Who's th…" he said shakily.

The rhino then said in a gruff and gritty voice, "Don't turn around, or I'll waste yo ass."

The antelope began to shake slightly with fear as he then said, "yeah, sure. Whatever you say, man."

The rhino then said, "Good…now drop the fucking box and give me yo money."

The antelope then said, "Sir, I don't have any money. Just ple…"

The rhino then walked up directly behind him and drove the gun barrel into the antelopes back and said, "Don't you lie to me you horn-headed fuck. How'd you get that Soup box without money then?"

I crept closer towards the rhino and took cover behind a dumpster that was near the two animals. I reached my right hand out in front of me and ejected my right pistol from my palm. I knew that this situation was going to get quite grave here soon.

The rhino then said, "Last chance, your money! NOW!"

The antelope must have been crying because he then said, "Please have mercy. I just spent the last I had on me buying food."

The rhino then said, "Pathetic. Should have had more…"

The rhino pulled the gun barrel from the back of the antelope and leveled it at the back of his head. I was watching the whole time and rolled out of cover at the imminent threat of execution that poor antelope was under. I raised my pistol and fired once at the rhino, the gun emitting a red ball of energy. The ball hit the rhino and immediately, his head I was aiming at and his upper shoulders exploded in a burst of blood and gore. I heard the antelope gasp and quiver as the rhino's corpse listed over to the right and hit the ground with a heavy thud. I peered at the antelope and saw that his entire back was covered in blood and organ matter from the rhino. He stayed frozen for several seconds before whispering, "What…?"

He looked at his arms and said to himself, "I'm not dead? Then what was that noise and why is my back…"

He immediately stopped talking as he turned around to see the half exploded corpse of the Rhino, to which he gagged and said, "Oh lamb above." He looked away in disgust and fear. He looked around for whatever had done this to the Rhino, but couldn't find the cause. This was because I had gone back behind the dumpster prior to him turning around. I was only able to just barely see his form as I peered around the dumpster. I felt like I should say something, but it might get me exposed. He looked around frantically when he couldn't see anyone and just dropped the box of soup and ran away screaming down the street. He must have really been frightened of what happened, but who could blame him. Between the attempted mugging and me exploding a rhinos head off of his body, I would run scared shitless as well.

I looked at the box of soup he had dropped and noticed that it looked damaged, but still intact. I ripped open the box to see 10 of the cans intact still, while the other two had ruptured. I decided to act fast before someone investigated why that antelope had run screaming. I grabbed the ten cans and crammed them into the backpack.

At least I got some food now…and it technically isn't stealing since I saved his life I thought as I tried to justify what I was doing.

With the cans in my backpack, I looked around the alley for another way out of here that didn't go the direction the antelope had run off to. I suddenly took notice of a yellow utility ladder that was attached to one of the buildings that formed this alleyway. It looked old and weathered, but it looked like it could support me. I ran over to it and started to climb up the ladder. I noticed that the ladder had different sized rungs spaced out apart as if to accommodate more a variety of animal sizes. The small rungs were positioned in between the larger rungs that were both comfortable and sized right for my own use. The ladder was clearly sized for small to medium sized animals, with me seeming to fit the medium size in this new world.

I finally reached the top of the building and climbed over the lip of the roof edge. I panted slightly from my exertion until I caught my breath. I looked around the rooftop to see nothing of particular interest up here. However, I decided that with the high ground, I should take a look from up here at the sights I can see and make a mental note of them for both tonight and for future expeditions. I crept in a crouched position towards the ledge of the building I was on and I peered over the lip of the building. Here I was awe struck by the beautiful sights of this alien looking city.

The building I was on was over 8 stories tall. Many of the surrounding buildings were as tall or even shorter in height compared to the rest of the buildings on the block. Over the visible buildings was the skyline of this metropolis, with skyscrapers easily 80 stories tall in the far distance. The surrounding visible skyscrapers all seemed to differ in architecture as they met up into a single focal point in the distance. I could only wonder what other fascinating treasures of sights that this city held for me. I gazed at spot lights in the distance pointing into the night sky, coupled with the beautiful vista of lights in the buildings at night that decorated and adorned the buildings like sparkling diamonds of light. If I wasn't in hostile territory on a mission of recon, I would almost think this sight made me feel like a tourist.

I snapped out of my gazing when I began to hear sirens in the distance, seeming to draw ever closer.

Oh fuck me again I thought in panic. I searched the roof top for a way to get away from here without being seen. If the police were on their way here, most likely from receiving a call from the Antelope whom I saved earlier, then I knew I had to cut my first expedition short this evening. I turned to run back towards the ladder I had come up before, when I found myself doing a double take and staring back out across the street.

On the sidewalk on the other side of the street was a parked van that belonged to a Cable T.V. company. It was parallel parked between two other calls across the street. I knew it would be a great place to be able to start with to find the tools I needed to finish my safe house. I looked back towards the ladder and then back towards the van a few times. I groaned in frustration over the dilemma I faced. I knew that if I tried to take the risk and search the van, I could be potentially spotted by either the cops or any nearby animals. I also knew that what I was thinking of doing was stealing. I felt my mind get heavy as I knew I would have to swallow my morals eventually if I ever wanted to acquire the resources I needed to survive, including the precious tools I needed to finish my remaining projects. I wouldn't always have luck like I had with the vegetable soup cans that the Antelope had dropped.

With a heavy groan, I decided to forgo searching the van in the spirit of safety and concealment. I could only hope it was still around here tomorrow. I ran towards the ladder and turned around to start climbing down it. I reached the bottom as fast as I could. I slipped on the ladder more than ¾ of the way down the ladder and tried to catch myself on the metal structure before I hit the ground.

I couldn't…

I felt myself fall about a story and a half and hit the concrete with a nice solid whack noise. I laid there dazed in a stupor from the pain and the impact for a little bit as my body cried for me to not move because it hurt too much.

I heard Chronos begin to cry out to me, "Nate, I know your hurting right now, but we got to move. Get up Nate!"

I tried to move my aching body to stand up and found myself to manage it. I assumed the only reason why I even survived that type of a fall was the protection this suit provided, but even that much force that much spread out on impact apparently was too much for the suit to protect me from the full force of.

I groaned out loud and said, "I know, Chronos. It hurts for fuck's sake."

I started painfully walking very stiffly towards the alley edge that led to the street where my safe house was on. I reached the edge of the alley and then said with a wincing noise, "Ah…Chronos, slow the time stream."

I almost immediately heard all sound around me slow down and die down to deep, drawn out versions of their normal pitches. I saw a car that had been driving towards the alley I was in and was somewhat close by when Chronos froze the time stream. It was only moving at about a mile and hour, but still I was afraid of being seen somehow. Regardless, I took off in as fast of a sprint as my aching body allowed me to be able to do. I reached the opposite end of the street and ducked behind a waste basket that was partly in the shadows.

I then said, "Chronos, release the time stream."

Sound once again returned to its normal pitch and tone as I quickly ran towards the warehouse door and pushed it open, making a little bit of a loud metallic whacking noise as I impacted the door to open it inwards. I mentally groaned at making the noise, but I got inside as fast as I could and closed the door behind me. I held off on barricading the door as my body was both aching and now in a panic if I had been seen at all by that driver of the car I ran so close by. I ran towards a nearby window that faced the street and peeked through the dirty glass as my fears were right. Soon after me getting in my safe house, two police cruisers pulled up along the road that my safe house was on. I saw officers get out of their vehicles with their weapons drawn as they carefully maneuvered into the alley where the dead rhino's half exploded body laid.

I mentally cursed as I had 4 cops literally now hanging out right across the street from my safe house. The emergency lights from their vehicles cast flashes of blue and red into the interior of the warehouse, which made me quite nervous about how well anyone outside could see in here now. I knew I had to find a way soon to block the windows in a none suspicious way. Without doing so, my whole operation in here could possibly be seen and compromised.

I said to myself, "Fucking damn me to hell" over the situation I was now in. I ducked away from the windows as I went back towards where my operation's center was. I grabbed my backpack and opened it up. I pulled out the 10 soup cans and transferred them gently into the wooden crate that I was using to store supplies. I then threw the backpack over towards the woodpile that would eventually become my bookshelf for any data and knowledge I gathered on this world. I ducked behind the wooden crate my supplies were in and sat down on the ground, my legs splayed outwards. I winced at the hardness of the floor as my still hurting body contacted it.

I remained here for a little bit, finding myself trapped in thought over when it might be safe to venture out again, or even if I could use the front door to leave again. I then heard Chronos say to me, "Nate, if it makes you feel any better, I did a check a quick scan of your body and my sensors aren't detecting any dangerous or permeant damage from your fall."

I shook my head slightly as I looked up at the ceiling, I then sighed and said, "Yeah, I guess that's a good thing."

I was trying to hide my frustration over my actions nearly compromising the location of my safe house from Chronos. I knew I had to save that poor Antelope; otherwise I would have been responsible for the loss of another innocent life due to my actions.

Clearly, I wasn't trying to hide my emotions well enough from Chronos, as he then said to me, "Nate, you did the right thing in saving that Antelope. So what if the police are hanging around here? There is no evidence to suggest that this warehouse is occupied by us."

I groaned and said quietly out of fear of anyone outside hearing me, "You don't think I don't know that, Chronos. The problem isn't what happened now; it's what might happen next time. This was way too damn close for comfort."

I became silent as my mind began to analyze how to limit the risks of these "expeditions" I was going to have to make. Chronos remained silent as well as if he was waiting for me to explain further, or maybe even offer a solution.

I thought quietly to myself as I tried to analyze what to do from any angle I could. I tried to contemplate the morality of saving people at my own risk, or if stealing was even something I should even consider as a crime here since technically no document says that I as Nate Robert exists in this world. Should survival come before civility? Morality? Honor?

The more I thought about it, the more aggravated and heavy my breathing was becoming as I felt myself become confronted with the ultimate dilemma and no way to be able to solve it…

Should I forgo my morals of the world of humanity to free myself of the restrictions in the challenge and goal of survival? Or should I continue to operate on the morality of the human world in a time now where humanity seems to be no more. Should these animals even deserve the mercy and mere thought of human principles?

I groaned as I began to cry softly. I was coming to the answer that I had no clue what to do here. The only logical solution remained to justify my next course of action…

I need to learn more about this world I thought in response to my own pondering.

I stood up from the cold hard ground as I wanted to go check to see if the police were still hanging around outside. I could still hear sirens outside, but these sounded like they were coming closer rather than leaving. In addition, the pitch of them was not reminiscent of the sound of the sirens from the police vehicles earlier. I could only wonder what else was coming.

As I walked across the dirty, cold and hard concrete floor, my mind was also deciding on another factor as well towards my own dilemma and battle in my mind.

Until I know more, until I can make an educated decision on how I should acquire what I need, based on practicality and morality, I have to blend into the shadows of this time. I had to walk as silent as an assassin scoping out his target in the dead of night. Until I know what to do, I can't endanger myself any more than absolutely necessary.

I felt myself mentally shudder at the ramifications my next thought could have on my own secrecy and life here.

…Even if it means that others around me must die so that I can live, I'll do it. Hopefully, I myself will never have to one to do the killing, but if I run into the same type of situation that I did tonight with the antelope…I can't get involved I thought to myself in pure misfortune.

"Nate, are you alright? I'm detecting evidence of frustration, stress, and sadness in your nervous system" asked Chronos in concern?

I blinked several times as I stopped at the front windows of the warehouse to see what the police were doing outside. I leaned my body against the window gently so as to not damage the window itself more than it already was. I stared at the blinking emergency lights of the vehicles as they cast their bright blue and red light into the warehouse. Outside, I could see police trying to lock down the area so they could begin an investigation. I was glad it was the dead of night; otherwise it would be easy for them to spot me this close to the windows, especially if they were already looking for anything or anyone that was suspicious looking. The lights from the vehicles kept dancing around me as I then softly said, "No amount of training I ever did with Zhang could prepare me for this high of stakes."

I gazed above the buildings across the street at the distant skyline of Zootopia. I chuckled and then said, "I know how to operate in this type of situation, but this environment has so much at stake. Chronos, I can't even be seen outside by the denizens of this world. This is nowhere like in the old human world where I could strip out of my uniform and go undercover in the population of a city. We all looked alike, all behaved similarly enough that no one would even bother to think twice about me, or any member of FoS."

I gazed at my right arm as I held it in front of my vision. I manipulated it, looking all around it as I clenched and unclenched my hand. I did this for a few seconds as I said, "But here? Here I look nothing normal. Even if I didn't have this suit, I couldn't go masquerading around the city. I would be spotted in seconds. Here, I might as well be a monster, one that can't step foot in day light otherwise he'll die."

I thought back to my earlier years in FoS when I was being trained by Zhang. My training was based around guerilla warfare, deception, and survival in a human world that had forgotten what the meaning of humanity was.

Here, I was in a world that didn't forget humanity, but rather forgot the human race.

I then said, "Chronos, for the first time in my life as a fighter…I don't know how to do this. I'm…lost."

Chronos paused for a bit as he had been listening to me. He continued to remain silent for a few more seconds, until he then said softly, "You're not lost Nate. I'm here with you, by your side every step of the way." He then paused and then said softly, "Nate, you like history right? Tell me then, how many times in history did people…nations…civilizations feel hopeless and lost when confronted by a gruesome challenge? Imagine the hardship that Abraham Lincoln must have felt being the President of the United States in a time when the country was divided so traumatically. Imagine the feeling he must have had knowing he was sending Americans to fight and kill fellow Americans in the name of unity between the two American countries of the time. Imagine the stress he must have had knowing that his presidency could keep the nation as one people united, or divide it forever.

Or imagine the peoples living in the Roman Empire at the time when the western half of the Empire fell to barbarians, the destruction of their training grounds, and the countless civil wars that were being fought. How terrified those who were alive at the end of the Empire must have been to witness the emerging dark ages. Imagine their fear and confusion.

Imagine the hardship that the Jewish people dealt with during the founding of the state of Israel. The Arab nations around them that wanted to destroy such a young nation before it could be truly established, all the hardship that was riding on a victory for the Israeli people. Even in the early 21st century, Israel was still under constant external threats.

I walked over towards where my makeshift bed was and laid down on the old mattress as I listened to Chronos speak.

He then said, "Look at what happened in all those situations. America remained united after the Civil War, Western Europe continued through the Dark Ages and into the Age of the Renaissance, and Israel survived several wars as the victor against nations that would have it so eagerly destroyed. Even in the hardest of times, life didn't simply stop…people didn't give up…time moved on and people persevered and came out at the end stronger. Each human holds their own personal history, a history that is shaped by their actions and inactions, so Nate…what will you do with your own history? What do you choose? Give up in the face of adversity, or stand strong and move on harder and tougher?"

I was amazed by the almost human-like traits of comfort and logical analysis that Chronos displayed. I had to wonder how he knew I liked history so much, but my mind realized that he was indeed correct. I shouldn't give up so easily, I shouldn't think that I can't find a way to survive despite such a huge challenge.

I sighed and said in admittance, "I don't plan on just lying down and dying Chronos, but I feel so…"

"…lost? Well, you shouldn't Nate. I got your back, and I promise that we will get through this and find a way back to the Human Era" said Chronos.

I smirked under my helmet and said, "Thanks for the pep talk, Chronos."

"Your welcome" he replied simply.

I saw the police lights outside continue to flash light into the warehouse as I felt my stomach rumble and hurt. I guess I hadn't eaten anything in a quite a while.

I went to grab a can of soup out of my storage crate as I knew I had to plan my next move here for trying to get to that cable van tomorrow…if it was still there.

(Meanwhile at Judy's apartment is Savanna Central; Judy's perspective)

I paced back and forth in my small apartment as Nick and I were trying to wrap our heads around further around the mystery of this mysterious and elusive creature that we had run into today. Nick had come over to my apartment after work to sit down and think this through. Nick had his laptop sitting on my bed as he sat cross-legged on my bed, searching the internet about any other sightings of this mysterious being. He thought that regardless if this thing was able to disappear from sight, that surely somebody else in Zootopia had seen this creature and reported about it. Nick spent the last 30 minutes searching on popular social media sites to see if anybody posted any photos, posts, and tweets about this thing. The results, much to Nick's dismay, came up empty pawed. Nick groaned loudly as he rubbed his eyes with his right paw. I gazed at him from where I had stopped pacing when I heard him groan and could tell he was very frustrated and tired.

Nick then said to me, "Carrots, rather than trying to dig a trench with your pacing, do you want to lend me a hand here? I have no fucking clue where to look anymore."

I know that he was implying that I should be helping him to find out more about this creature, but my mind was stuck in overdrive as I tried to piece the events of today, what the creature said, did, and acted, together in my mind. Plus, the fact that I had a triple expresso so I could stay up with Nick to work on this little case of ours didn't help in the slightest. It made me wide awake, but I couldn't sit still either.

"I'm sorry Nick, I know I should be doing more to help you, but I don't know where else to start you haven't already checked. It's like we are some of the very few mammals to see this creature before. After today, do you still think this thing is dangerous and…" I rambled on and on at a fast pace, the caffeine pushing my body into overdrive.

Nick waved his paws in front of him as he then said, "Woah, woah there Carrots. Bring it down a few miles so I can at least say something."

I scratched my chin and then my right ear, which was dropped behind my back as I then grabbed it and started rubbing it. "Sorry, Nick" I said simply.

Nick smiled slightly and said, "What do you say now, Judy?"

I gave him a curious look as I tapped my right foot rapidly in place. He could tell that I was clueless right now about what he meant.

Nick rolled his eyes playfully and said, "Maybe you should say, 'Oh Nick, you were right. It was a horrible idea to have a triple expresso at midnight. I'll listen to what you have to say next time.'" Nick spoke this in a mimicking tone.

I scratched my arm rapidly as I then said, "You were right" in a sullen tone, as I looked away from him.

Nick chuckled at my caffeine craze I was in right now as he went back to looking through the internet to see what was out there.

I took a deep breath and let it out as I tried to relax myself from my stupidity of the expresso I drank. I decided to try to sit down in the chair by my desk and start to look on my cell phone's internet for anything as well. My foot still kept tapping like crazy as I did this.

After loading up the first news website I knew of for reliable information, I glanced over at Nick and observed him on my bed. His digits were periodically tapping at the laptop keyboard as his eyes were glued to the screen. I gave him a look over as I felt my caffeine saturated mind begin to drift to another topic.

Nick and I have always been good friends since we took down Bellwether. We hung out with each other, shared laughs, stories, and obviously worked together. The longer I spent time with him, the more I realized how different he is compared to the fox I first dealt with on the nighthowler case. Nick was used to putting up facades to prevent people from getting into his mind. His old saying of, 'never let them see they get to you' came to mind again. However, after time when he finally started to let me in deeper into his life and mind, I began to realize just what a special mammal he is. He was funny, witty, intelligent, clever, and kind. He made me feel…happy spending time with him. I knew that that was certain, but yet, part of me thought that there was some other reason why I took a liking to Nick since the Nighthowler case. He's such a good friend, but the other reason was unclear to me. I felt I missed him greatly when we weren't hanging out together, so could that be a sign of great friendship…or something a bit…more.

I kept glancing at Nick as if my examining him was going to somehow magically give me answers.

Nick glanced towards his watch and looked back at the screen. He then looked up towards where I was and was about to look back towards the screen, when he did a double take slowly and then said, "Carrots, you feeling alright?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and then said, "Yeah, I'm okay. Why?"

He then pointed at me and said, "You've been playing with your right ear for the last 5 minutes, staring at me. Is something wrong?"

I felt my eyes go wide as I looked away for a second, ceasing my involuntary playing with my ear. I then said, "Nothing's wrong Nick." I managed a smile to try to convince him I was fine. My heart felt like it was racing a mile a minute as I was caught off guard by him noticing me, but the fact that I hadn't kept it as inconspicuous as I thought.

He then said, "Uh…huh" in a somewhat unbelieving tone. He then went back to his laptop as I let out a small breath I had held in.

Why did I just behave like that I thought to myself? Was I actually starting to…like like Nick?

I also felt the need to dismiss this as well as an option as much as I realized it could be one. The reason for this was that I knew I was very near the time my heat cycle would begin. So either this meant that I was possibly already in heat and only liked Nick cause he was a male, or that I wasn't in heat, which meant that I was really starting to think a lot more about Nick. I went back to looking at my phone as I knew that the ramifications of me starting to like like Nick when I go into heat, if I'm not already in heat, could be regretful if I didn't keep my…urges in check.

I decided that, against my own unsure feelings I had for Nick, that it would be for the best if I try not to dwell on those thoughts of him and keep myself in a purely platonic zone with Nick right now, at least for the next couple of weeks, just to make sure my heat cycle would be over.

I mentally groaned as I knew this would not be an easy task for a rabbit, especially since my own heat cycle makes me feel weird and makes me want to fuck anyone I remotely like with male anatomy.

We spent about ten minutes in silence as the only sounds in the room were Nick typing on the keyboard periodically, and me tapping the virtual keyboard on my phone. Next door, I could hear talking from my loud and annoying neighbors, Bucky and Pronk. Outside, I could hear the noises of the night scene of the city.

Nick clicked on something using his mouse pad. He must have only looked at it for a few seconds before he then shouted, "Judy?!"

I nearly jumped out of my chair and fell to the ground from the surprise. I panted slightly and said angrily to Nick, "For goodness sake, Nick. Don't give me a heart attack like that."

Nick was looking at me as his ears flattened a bit and he rubbed the back of his neck, clearly sorry. He then said, "I apologize, Carrots. But you got to see this post on Furrbook."

I scrambled off my chair and jumped onto the bed, landing next to Nick and nearly knocking him over. He then said, "I found some family posting on Furrbook that their son and his friend recorded footage of a strange creature or figure. They said that they showed the footage to ZNN, but the ZNN wasn't going to run it. They said it looked too 'unreal'. However, several mammals responded to this exact post Judy, saying they had a run in with the creature in the rainforest district."

"At least this proves we are…" Nick began, only for me to hug him tightly from the side. He froze when I touched him as I hugged him in gratitude for finding the next big break we needed with this mystery.

Nick then said quite surprised and curious, "What's with the sudden embrace, Carrots? You wanting to get close to your favorite mammal?"

I held him tightly as I said, "No…I mean yes…I mean, not that. Just…Thank you Nick."

He then put his left arm around my back and said curiously, "For what, Carrots?"

I felt myself involuntarily rubbing the side of my head on his shirt as I had my eyes closed. I then said, "For finding our next lead. I know the forensic team and the detectives can handle this, but to have a lead for us to be able to follow of our very own…just…"

I paused as I kept rubbing my head on his shirt.

"Thank you" I finished.

Nick smiled and rubbed my back. He then said, "eh, no problem Judy. That's what partners and friends are for, right?"

I paused what I was doing as my eyes opened wide when he spoke.

Partners…I thought.

I only now realized that I was maybe showing a little too much affection for what Nick did. I mean sure he gave us a huge lead, but I had to keep the thoughts I had for him secret until after my heat cycle.

Also, I only now realized a big fear and issue that these thoughts could have for the two of us…

Not only is fraternization frowned upon and restricted in the ZPD, but if I were to move on with my feelings even after my heat cycle, I could ruin our very friendship if Nick…didn't like me back.

I let go of him quickly and got off the bed. I rubbed my left arm quickly and looked away from Nick, who seemed quite dumbstruck by my actions.

It took quite a bit of my willpower to finally say, "I'm sorry Nick if that got…weird for you. I was only trying to than…"

Nick shut his laptop closed as he got off the bed and came over to me. He grabbed me and pulled me in for a hug of his own. He rubbed my back as he then said, "Don't worry Carrots, I get it. You're tired, hopped up on caffeine, happy for our find, and we had an insane day today. You're all good."

I looked up at him as he smiled at me. I gazed into his eyes for a second, only to find myself look away as I embraced him back.

Nick then said, "Since we both have tomorrow off, you want to pay this family a visit?"

I smiled as I looked up at him, bouncing slightly in place as I then said, "I never thought you'd ask…partner."

(Meanwhile, unknown location, unknown perspective)

Meanwhile, far away from Zootopia, out in the bay that extended to the ocean beyond Zootopia's nautical boundaries, everything seemed quiet and peaceful on the rolling waters. Beneath the water's surface, fish and aquatic creatures swam about their business as they normally would. Traveling far beneath the surface, light fading from the sun as darkness grew and enveloped the abyss of this deep expanse of water, there lay scattered metallic remains on the ocean floor. This metal was covered in algae and barnacles, but yet the black inky surface of the metal appeared to be only mildly corroded, a strange orange rust covering sparse areas of the metal. Lying near the wrecked metal fragments lay bigger chunks of metal. This metal had linear and geometric designs to it, as well as a nearly eroded Vanguard insignia; in addition, the metal chunks seemed to belong to something much bigger than what the remains of these metallic shards suggested. Lying about half a mile away from these metal chunks and fragments lay a white solid metal form, massive in scale. The damaged form easily a mile long, including the damaged and removed fragments of metal from it. The metal shape was half buried in the sea floor, only one side of it visible up in the water. The visible side revealed a half sloped back shape that extended towards the rear of the form until a metal wing extended off the side and up in the water, the metal curving forwards in almost a scythe shaped structure. The lack of corrosion on the surface of this form suggested that this structure was built to be able to easily withstand the pressure, temperature, and the erosion of the water, much like the metal fragments and forms that were black surrounding it. The white metal form had a hexagonal design to the metal, a pattern of honeycomb style hexagons much like that in a beehive. The metal form creaked and groaned slightly in the shifting tide of the water. Meanwhile, inside the structure, darkened and dusty hallways and rooms lay abandoned inside the structure. The structure of the rooms and hallways were hexagonal shaped as well, the rooms forming hexagonal chambers, with the chambers had unusual machines, furniture, and lighting in them. The chairs, tables, and other furnishings looked like they could be used by humans, but not comfortably. In the center of the structure was a single massive chamber, with a huge central mainframe built in the middle. The room was dark and lifeless, untouched for what seemed like millennia. Suddenly, a holographic panel of the mainframe flickered a few times and went out. A few seconds passed, until the screen flickered again and remained on, fuzzy in resolution. The screen was a green tint and remained there empty, until random characters, appearing as if taken from multiple languages, flashed and changed rapidly on lines in the screen.

"Brothers and Siste…what is going on" it read on the first line as the letters choose a particular language finally?

"Have we been in the Aracxt for this long" asked the next line?

Suddenly, another panel flickered online near the first as it said, "It would appear to be so, Acrolite Xero."

The first panel then had another line choose the same particular language being used and it said, "Have the dissidents died out yet?"

The second panel then said, "Certainty unknown, it had been thousands of years since we entered the Aracxt, and the humans have entered the Dream once more."

The first panel then said, "Admiral, you know they are no longer human, but are so much more than those on this world were."

The first panel then said, "If the dissidents have not died out, then why did the A.I. bring us out of the Aracxt and into the Collective sphere if not due to their death?"

A third panel then appeared on the mainframe as a line then read, "Admiral Ginvruk, as your XO, it is wise of me to suggest that we must learn more about the former human world. We must discover what became of the dissidents, they have indeed died out?"

"Silence, Forui" said the second panel to the third. "We must not let the dissidents know that we have weathered time unchanging in the Aracxt. Doing so may yield horrible consequences."

The first panel then said, "Unless the Devo weapon worked. It was made to target the forms they so choose."

A fourth panel popped up and said, "It was certain to succeed where we had failed."

The first panel then said, "Wait, brothers and sisters, do you feel that?"

The first lit panel then responded with an acknowledgement of agreement, "Why yes…it is one of ours. But…is it beyond the Aracxt?"

"I feel it too, but how can this be" asked the second panel?

The third panel then said, "I thought we were certain that our people left after the humans…"

The third panel then said, "Admiral, we must know more. We need to send one of the Operators to investigate, perhaps the Lotus would…"

The second panel then said, "She is asleep with the Operators, we can't awake her. You know this Forui."

The panel then had another line read, "But perhaps an Operator investigating would be a reasonable thing if one of ours is out there."

The first panel then said, "Shall we one with the metal frame of fire, or earth, maybe sound…?"

The second panel then said, "We will send the frame of electricity…the Operator can use its fast speed and electrical defense and offense to run, hide, or slaughter all who it needs to." It then paused and said, "And if the dissidents are still alive, the electricity is sure to fry their mangy pelts."

The second panel then said, "For the Hive, we serve with continuity."

The other lit panels then said, "We serve with continuity, for the Hive."

(A/N: That is it for this current chapter. I know that this last part was terribly confusing, but with it, we are no getting closer to the truth about what happened to humanity and the Earth, where the mammalkind of Zootopia actually came from, and how both the past, present, and future all come to shape this story. The next chapter will include the final reveal of the biggest surprise and secret I have for this story. I hope that some of you may have a guess as to what this surprise is already, but if not, I completely understand. I hope you all enjoyed reading this story so far and let me know what you thought of this chapter, the ending, and my first foray in WildeHopps for this story. Until next time, stay safe and creative everyone.)

(A/N 10-4-17: After reading my previous chapters I have posted for this story, I have taken note of multiple spelling errors, grammatical errors, and even missing words. My goal of writing this story was to do a Human in Zootopia story that was different from many of the others, and to create something truly unique, which you will soon see in the next chapter. With this in mind, new chapters for this story will temporarily not be released until I have gone back and checked for spelling, grammatical, and missing word errors. I hope that you readers and writers are not disappointed with this decision. This stems from the fact that I want to be proud of what I have made, and it is hard to when you see so many glaring errors reflected back at you in your writing. I am also going to be re-writing the last scene in this chapter as I feel that the unknown location; unknown perspective scene was not my best work. All in all, these corrections should not take more than a few days to settle out, and then the next chapter will be in the works for later this month if possible. Once again, I hope you all are not too upset over this decision, but I feel this is for the best for this story. Believe me; I'm kicking myself in the pants for how many errors slipped past me. Until next time, stay safe and creative fellow readers and writers.)