Chapter 11 – First encounter

"Tell me you got something to save him!"

The scene that played out in front of Nick and me was extraordinary. We saw how a tiny little bunny grabbed a wolf by the collar of his shirt and pinned said Wolf to the bonnet of the police cruiser. I didn't think this was physically possible, but apparently it was.

"Uhm… Maybe?"

'Wrong answer, Mike.' it went through my head.

"That isn't what I wanted to hear! You got literally everything you can fucking imagine in that bag, but no antidote for my dad!"

"Judy, I don't know yet." He took her paws from him away.

"I might have something, but to make sure it doesn't kill him I need that bunny-thing that infected him."

Judy jumped from the car.

"Then let's not waste any time." She said.

We were approaching the airport; it was surrounded by a little Forrest. We stopped the car by the entrance even though the gate was open, we assumed 'them' were still here we didn't want them to know we were here.

We all got out. Nick and Judy got to the boot of the car. She got a tranquilizer gun and he a teaser.

Mike was searching in his backpack again and got something out that looked like a pistol … with a knob on the back?

When he turned the knob all the way to the right he noticed me starring at him.

"New model. Can't kill on the lowest setting, no matter how close you are." He said. I nodded.

So we went to the other two.

"Err… What' that?" she was pointing to the "pistol" Mike was holding in his hand.

"Tranquilizer guns. Absolutely harmless otherwise." Mike answered her swiftly.

"Ok, then. Keep together this time. I'll lead." She said.

So we went one after the other to the back of the big hangar, which was nearest to the entrance. I kept to the back, as the one without something to defend himself.

When we were at the front Judy pocked around the corner. She could see the tarmac in front of all the hangars, which formed one big line.

"All of them are shut, except one and in the door of that one there is a van parking." She said.

"Well, we got ourselves a candidate where to look first." Nick answered her.

We went along the front of each hangar, which were medium sized (maybe enough space for one small 2 seater plane) and quite old, until we reached the one that was open.

Judy again peeked inside.

"There are people in there. And they've caught the bunny."

Suddenly and without a warning or to discuss a plan, Mike went into the Hangar.

I couldn't see it and all you heard was what I think was the sound of the 'pistol' going off, exactly 4 times.

Then silence. Mike popped back out again.

"All clear, come on in." He said with a smirk. Judy just looked at him with an open mouth, while Nick had a similar smirk as Mike on his face.

I followed Mike, while Judy had to be dragged in by Nick.

Inside was a cage with the fur less bunny in it.

"Looks like they were just about to leave." Nick said.

Mike was searching the bodies of the 4 guards, which were lying on the ground. One wolf, two cheetahs and a cougar.

They were all wearing some sort of weird collar.

'That can't be the … No. Oh, please no.' went through my head.

"NEVER DO THAT AGIAN!" Judy suddenly started to scream and all three of us winced.

"Why not? It worked after all." Mike answered calmly.

"Well they could have killed you!"

"Let that be my problem, Hops." He patted her on the head and turned to Nick. Judy was redder than the fox of anger.

"You got something to tie them up?"

Nick had that smirk on the face as Judy was teased by Mike. He seemed to have no problem with Mike going 4v1.

"Yeah in the back of the car. I'll go and get it." And he turned around and went.

Mike turned back to Judy.

"Well let's save your dad then, shall we?" At that remark I could see Judy's angry face replaced by one of concern.

He put his backpack on the ground and after another bit of searching he pulled out syringe.

"What do you got all in there?" Judy asked him curiously.

"As you said yourself 'everything you can fucking imagine'." Mike just replied.

The bunny was already knocked out. A tranquilizer dart was still sticking in his butt.

Mike told us to keep some distance as he didn't know how contagious it was.

'Wait couldn't that Virus only be transferred by bite? Or am I thinking of the wrong movie?'

He then took some of the bunny's blood and had a closer look at her.

"Well, it is a female. We know that now." He said.

"And what now?" Judy asked him.

"Now to the lab altering it." And with that he essentially jumped inside his backpack and vanished in it.

Judy's jar literally fell to the ground. I just smiled. I already had suspected something like this the first time he got something out of there.

We were both now over the backpack starring into the hole at the bottom, where there was a ladder.

Mike poked his head out.

"So the Psychic Paper isn't the only thing you got from the doc?" I asked.

He chuckled. "Yes, but I added a few bits and pieces because of the weight. Would some of you please have a look on those guards. The stun effect should hold a few hours, but you never know. And the antidote will take some time." And with that he vanished once again.

Judy was still standing there with the mouth hanging open. "How?" was all she got out.

"Well, if I remember right the inside is in another dimension than the outside." said loud enough so Mike would hear me.

"You remember right." It came from the bag. "But, as I said, I added a few gravity manipulators so you can actually carry it."

Nick was coming back with the car. "Where's Mike?" he asked as he got out of the car.

I was pointing to the backpack.

He looked at Judy who was just shaking her head in disbelief.

So Nick trundled to the bag and stuck his head in.

He whistled impressed.

"Wow, cozy." He got back to me.

Judy just stared at us in disbelieve.

"How do you two keep so calm about it?" She asked.

"Well, it sort of makes sense." I answered.

"Sense? Are you out of your mind? That shouldn't be possible."

"She said while speaking to a bunny who wasn't born one and who isn't from this world." I reminded her.

"Carrots, to be honest." Nick started "That totally makes sense. He is searching for his home. Using some technology from another world to make it a bit easier is something I would do as well."

He got a bag of zip ties out of the boot of the car.

"Oliver would you give me a hand?"

"Sure."

We tied up the hands and legs of the 4 guards. While we did so I had a closer look at these collars.

"What do you think of these?" I asked him.

"Fashion accessory?"

"With a big white box on it?"

"Then probably for communication." He shrugged his shoulders.

I didn't want him to tell about that other story from Zootopia, that one that didn't made it into the movie, before I really knew what those were.

Se we got back to the entrance where Mike was talking to Judy.

"Mike, just said we should go over and close the rift. The longer it stays open the more damage it might cause." Judy said to us.

"Mhh, you two can go over there, I can watch the guards and Mike can make the antidote ready." came it from Nick. "You two did great last time."

"Aww, is foxy afraid of inter-universe travel?" I made a pouting face.

The annoyed look of Nick confirmed my accusation, but before he could say anything Mike interrupted us.

"Anyway," Mike interrupted us "This is one of my travel devices." He gave me something that looked like a smartphone.

"Don't worry, I already set it up where to go. When you have a massive rift between the two worlds navigation is easy, when you don't it gets tricky. And you know always where you came from, so going back as also no problem. And as a nice extra, if you compare the device of the Prof. with this, his is an Abacus and mine is a supercomputer. The 'ride' should be totally smooth, no nausea and blackouts. And no world destroying rifts."

I nodded. "So completely safe?"

"Hey otherwise I wouldn't use it all the time. Just … Judy you should take this." He gave Judy his 'gun.' "If it is night, you come back immediately! It isn't worth the risk. Just come back and we'll wait for it to be day over there."

"Wait, night?" Judy asked.

"Well, the times in different worlds do not inevitably sync up, so it might be night."

We both made an "Aha."

"You got the countermeasure?" I asked Judy.

"Yup. Ready?" She grabbed my shoulder.

"Ready."

Mike was right. His device was far more sophisticated and further developed than what 'them' used. Or what the Professor made, though his was only a first prototype, so they are hardly comparable.

Everything around you turned dark for a split second and you were somewhere totally different.

To our luck it was bright daylight.

"Where are we?" I asked "It looks like Zootopia, but like it was deserted years ago."

"Looks like Savannah square." Judy answered my question.

That's the big square in front of the Train station, but it was completely deserted and plants grew out of the joints in the ground.

There was a Newspaper stand at the entrance of the station. I got over there and grabbed one while Judy activated the countermeasure.

"21st November 286" it said. (Short AN: The rest of the story still takes place in 264. I'll just write it here, if you might forgotten this little thing.)

"Judy, look. That's a little bit more than 'Time doesn't sync up." I showed her the paper.

"286!? " She stopped herself before she got too shocked again "Never mind, I won't get to upset about that now. I'm ready to get back by the way; I don't want to stay longer than we need to. This place gives me the chills."

"Yeah, I don't want to meet the other infected as well. Let's go back." Judy pushed the little button on the countermeasure.

Back in the hangar there was no trace of Mike and Nick.

"Where the heck are they?" Judy asked.

"I'll go look in the bag. Just have a look on our four friends over there."

"Where the hell is that fox?." Judy remarked.

I got to the bag and climbed down the ladder.

I was in a big living room with two sofas opposite each other and a kitchen area at the other end of the room. There also was a door on the wall opposite from me. 'I wonder where that goes.'

From the sofas I heard snoring. It was Mike and Nick. Both Sleeping.

"Oi!" I poked Mike with a finger.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed, sprung to life and looked at me confused for a few seconds as if he had to remember where he was. Nick didn't move a bit.

"Trim those claws of yours. That hurt." Rabbits still have claws, although there quite tiny and you can't hurt anybody with them. But if you use them right you can still poke somebody with them.

"Didn't you want to finish an antidote? You know, for Judy's dad?"

"Yes, but that takes time and I was sleepy. Jetlag you know."

"Jetlag?"

"Yes, jetlag. Like I said, the times of the different universes don't necessarily sync up. So I'm decided to have a nap."

"But we weren't even five minutes away."

"You need to take every bit of sleep you can get in my business."

"Anyways, I wanted to know how long that antidote might take?"

He looked on a clock hanging on the wall.

"Well, let's have a look then shall we."

He stood up and went through that door. Behind it a small hallway, with three doors (excluding the one we just came through).

"That's storage." He pointed to the door on the left. "All the stuff I get on my travels. That's the lab … " He pointed to the door on the right. "… and that's the most important room in here." He opened the door. "Toilet and Bathroom." He made a slight pause.

"Very important, because you never know if they've got flushing toilets and running water where you are going."

He closed the door again and went into the lab.

"Looks like the room the chemistry teachers had at school." I said.

"Yeah, that isn't far off. Now, let's see." He got to one of the tables and opened what looked like a microwave.

He got out a little test tube.

"Looks promising. Let's go and test it."

We woke Nick and headed outside. "What happens with it if it works?" Judy asked Mike.

"Well, we will see it turn normal again. "

"And what do we do with it then?"

And so Mike turned to Judy and Nick.

"That's a good question. But one you three have to decide."

"Why we?"

"Well, it's your world."

"And why three?" I asked him.

"It's your world now as well, after all."

"Well, then ask her." I made a short pause. "Wait and ask her what she wants to do, before we discuss endlessly what to do."

Nick and Judy looked at each other.

"Well that is at least a plan, Carrots. Even though that's gonna be one of the most awkward conversation ever."

"You can bet on that the other universe alone thing is gonna give her the creeps. What will she say when we tell her she is in the past."

"The past?" Nick asked.

"Oh, yeah. Forgot to mention that bit." I grabbed into the back pocket of my pants and gave the newspaper, which I brought with me to Nick.

"Wow, 22 Years. That's more than 'doesn't really sync up', Mike."

"22 Years? Interesting." Mike answered. "Anyway, let's get cracking."

The bunny was still lying in the cage, knocked out.

And Mike just put his hand through between the bars and gave the bunny the shot.

"And now we wait." Mike said.

"How long will it take?" Nick asked.

"About 15 minutes for the first signs and about twelve hours for a full recovery. Well, without the fur. That will only grow at normal speed."

Judy looked at the bunny with a worried expression.

"Oh and by the way I found out why she has canines. I had a closer look at her blood."

He pointed to the bunny in the cage.

"So enlighten us, wolfy." Nick said to him.

"Stop that. I'm not a wolf, I just happen to look like one." He said with a smile. "But anyways, she is a crossbreed."

"A what?" Judy and Nick asked in Unison.

"A crossbreed is you know … when there is a child, but the parents aren't the same species." Mike explained.

"Does that not occur here?" I asked.

"There have been rumors that it is possible, but I guess nobody has tried yet?" Judy answered shrugging her shoulders.

"That or they've been hiding, because they don't want to endure all the attention they'd get." Nick added.

"So what is she then?" Nick continued "Bunny and … Badger, Racoon…?"

"… Fox." Mike interrupted him.

"Bunny and Fox." He repeated slowly.

Judy and Nick were locking at each other.

You could tell that they asked themselves something like 'Could we …?'.

"Did you get anything else on her?" Nick then asked.

"No, I guess you have to question her when she wakes up."

An explosion was heard. But like it was really far off.

"That must be the countermeasure." Mike said.

Judy checked her phone.

"I've got signal."

Judy requested some patrol to take in the 4 guards for a later interview. They were our best lead to 'them' at the moment.

Meanwhile Mike got the bunny-fox out of the cage and into the boot of the police car.

At the back of the car we were out of hearing distance even from Judy, as the two were waiting outside for the backup.

Mike grabbed me by the shoulder.

He handed me an ID.

"That's hers." He said in German. "Found it in one of the pockets, of whats left of her clothes. It's a wonder she didn't lost it already."

"First why the sudden language change? And second why didn't you told them?" I also changed languages.

"Just look." He he answered.

On that was the picture of a bunny with red fur and canine teeth. Her name 'Olivia Wilde-Hops'.

"What the hell?"

"That's why I switched the language.." He started. "So the two can't understand what we are saying if they should hear us. I mean I don't know how they, especially Judy, would react to 'Oh and by the way that is you possible future daughter right there'. Not to mention the problems with possible paradoxes if she tells them something they still would have done, even if its two different universes.'

"Well we need some time to explain it to her before she meets Judy and Nick."

"Yeah, you're right. I'll think of a way on our way to the Farm."

After about 10 minutes 2 patrols of the local sheriffs bureau came and took the 4 sleepy guards for transfer to Zootopia and we made our way back to the Hops farm.

"You are sure you don't want Mike to do this, Carrots?" Nick asked her.

"No, I'll do this myself."

She was standing in front of her chained up father, which was trying to get to her, but was constrained by the chain.

"Don't let him bite you." Nick added.

We didn't bother to get Mrs. Hops, we wanted to spare her from the scene.

Judy managed to ram the epipen-like injection into the arm of her dad without any other complication.

And so the wild beast soon fell to sleep. A little later he was showing first signs of healing from the virus and we brought her father inside the house. Hidden under blanket so the little ones wouldn't see him that way.

It was already very late and we wouldn't make it to Zootopia in time, so we decided to stay in Judy's old accommodation which she used before she left.

It was the attic of the barn, but modified as little apartment, with a living room and a sleeping room and so on.

Mike was sleeping in his bag, I was getting the couch to watch Olivia, who still was knocked out and we sat her in a comfy chair. And Judy and Nick would go in to Judy's sleeping room where Nick would supposedly sleep on an air mattress. Which Mike and I didn't believe one bit, but the two rooms were at the exact opposite of the building with multiple doors between them. So we couldn't tell what happened there.

I was shaken awake in the early morning. It took some time to really get awake, but when I did Olivia was standing in front of me.

She bowed down to me with her face right in front of mine and I could see that some of her red fur was already growing back.

She looked concerned.

"Am I dead?" She asked.


And yes, Olivia comes from the Zootopia version of 'I am legend'.

UPDATE: Sorry, I had to replace the chapter several times, but I kept finding mistakes after upload. I need to be more thorough when proofreading.