Chapter One

A/N: I have several ideas for stories bouncing around inside my head. This is one of two that deal with Zootopia. There will be no set time table for updates as I will work on whichever story my mood (read: muse) may decide I need to work on. Please note that, while I encourage constructive criticism, trolls and flamers won't be tolerated. I will ignore and delete any messages without them being read.

Trigger Warning: I went back and forth over whether to add this or not. Just note that there will be romantic interactions between my OC and another OC, a Zootopian. If you don't like the idea, don't read my fic. You have been warned.

Update: The spell checker on my word processing program has gone haywire and has started underlining ALL the words in my documents, so I had to turn my automatic spell checker off and check it manually. This means I have to be double alert when editing my story. If anyone finds a spelling mistake please bring it to my attention so that I can correct it. Thank you in advance!

Obligatory Disclaimer: The only things I own are my OC's and my story line, everything else belongs to Disney. I'm just playing in their backyard. All I get is the satisfaction from writing this story and, hopefully, the joy my readers get from it.

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Dylan Ambrose, 21, recent graduate of MIT; Masters in Computer Science and Computer Programming,Bachelors in Game Design and Mathematics, and usually humble genius, drove North on US-93 headed for Henderson, Nevada. It was late afternoon and the heat rising from the sun baked asphalt tended to distort his vision depending on where his focus was.

He let his mind wander as he drove, listening to Bryan Adams Everything I do as it played over his stereo. Unfortunately, it reminded him of his ex-girlfriend, Alexis. The Alexis that had left him heartbroken after she had decided that she preferred jocks to geeks and had taken up with Richard Wynzinski, the Harvard Crimson quarterback. She had wanted the notoriety that would come from being associated with a potential NFL football player, something that a game designer could never give her. Their last conversation made it very plain.

"But why?!" Dylan asked, his face a mask of confusion and pain.

"Dylan, you're a genius, you could be doing so much more than being a simple games designer! You have such a great voice, you could be a country music star, invited to the biggest parties! You could be meeting other stars, important people, touring the country, even the world!" Alexis's blue eyes were wide and she was breathing a little quickly as she tried to push her point.

Dylan was stunned. He had truly felt that Alexis had loved him for himself, but now he could see how she truly felt. How could he have been so blind? There was a crushing sensation in his chest where his heart used to be. It was like he couldn't breath.

Dylan looked back up into her eyes and said in a very quiet voice, laced with his heartache "But that isn't my dream Alexis! I love singing and being in a country band, and I may be good at it, but I love working with computers more. It's what I've always wanted to do! I've always wanted to be a games designer! Music is fun, but it's just a hobby for me. I never planned on being a professional no matter how good I am at it. I never cared about going to the 'right' parties, or meeting the 'right' people. All I ever cared about was being with you and taking care of you. I see now that you don't feel the same, if you ever did."

Feeling as if he was wading through quicksand he turned and started to walk out of her apartment.

"Dylan..." Alexis called after him, a note of pleading in her voice.

Dylan stopped, hung his head, raised his left hand with his back toward her, and just shook his head before continuing out the door.

Oh well, the drive from Cambridge, some of which was along the famous Route 66, had helped him come to terms with it. Sort of.

His vehicle of choice, his fully restored 1990 glossy black Jeep Wrangler, was a gift from his parents after receiving his first Masters. The inline, 6 cylinder, engine had no problem going up any of the mountains he had crossed, even towing the tiny U-haul trailer that held most of his possessions. The ones most valuable, and dear to his heart, were lovingly packed in the cargo area behind the front seats.

Overall, Dylan was happy. He'd landed his dream job, working for the preeminent gaming company in the United States, perhaps the entire world. He'd sent in some code for one of his game ideas as well as some that modded one of their present games. His position as Assistant Lead Game Designer would pay well and was something he loved to do. As his dad used to tell him, "Son, find something you love to do and you'll never work a day in your life." His dad, Sean, knew what he was talking about. Sean had started working as a mechanic and worked his way up to owning a string of repair shops and auto/body shops all over Cambridge Massachusetts. He had been the one to restore the Jeep.

In no hurry, he had taken his time driving from Cambridge toward Irving, California. He could have driven faster as there seemed to be no cars on the road at this time of day but you could never be sure about the local law enforcement. Scanning the road ahead he saw nothing save for another mirage, a distortion in the air that made the road look like it was flooded with clear blue water. He smiled slightly, relishing the cold air coming from the A/C vents.

As he watched the mirage before him he began to notice something strange; this mirage wasn't fading away as any of the others did, it just seemed to get bigger as he got closer. Sensing something off, Dylan let up off of the gas pedal and started to put his foot on the brake. Unfortunately, he never got the chance as he passed into the mirage.

Dylan would have screamed if he had been able to. He tried, he really did, but there seemed to be no air for him to scream into. He seemed to be in a formless gray expanse. He felt like he was being rapidly pulled apart, his body stripped layer by layer, molecule by molecule, expanding into a gaseous form that seemed to fill whatever space he was in. Surprisingly, there seemed to be no pain, which helped curb his panic only a little bit. At the apex of his expansion, time seemed to slow down and then stop. He seemed to have reached an almost Zen like state as he realized he could, "see" everything around him except for his body; he didn't seem to have one.

He had no idea how much time passed, if any, when the space he was in seemed to waver like the mirage that had started this horrible set of circumstances. Dylan noticed a pinpoint of light that seemed to get rapidly larger. As it grew larger in his awareness he realized he was starting to coalesce, to be put back together in reverse order of being taken apart. His body seemed to be complete just as the blindingly white light encompassed everything around him. He felt as if he was being squeezed out of a tiny tube just before everything went black.

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Okay, I finished the prologue of my first ever Zootopia fanfiction story. I feel like it's a little short and I may re-write it later on. I tend to read a majority of my fanfiction on my phone so it's kind of a test. I promise that things will get more interesting when the story truly begins. As I stated in my author's note, constructive criticism is encouraged but flaming is not so be nice.