Project Gateway - Chapter 2

Standard disclaimer - Zootopia is property of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, I'm just warping their reality. I only own my OC's.

Update: I fixed an issue where the name of the mayor didn't match the name I gave in the epilogue of The Unplanned Detour. I also fixed some minor spelling and grammatical issues.

Guest: I'm unable to answer back to you as a guest except here. So I'll let everyone know that I'm working on chapter 3 of this story, but it's slow going. My muse decided to take off and churn out several chapters of Deathtouched. I'm slowly wrestling it back to this story though.

Gary was walking back to his office after a nice lunch of river greens from Babaloos, his favorite cafe. It was actually a little chilly today for the Downtown area and he was hurrying to get back to his warm office, staying in the larger mammal section of the sidewalk. Being a hippo, his thick skin helped insulate him from the extremes of the weather, but today it seemed he could feel it in his bones.

Out of habit he glanced at every crosswalk area for the small and tiny sized mammals. Little did he know that his day was about to get weird. He began whistling to himself when there was a flash of light and he heard an extremely loud tearing sound, like a huge swatch of cloth had been ripped in half, followed by a hollow roaring sound. Looking to the source of the sound, he could see a ragged rip in midair about 10 feet off the ground.

Something flashed from the rip and hit him right between the eyes. Even as thick skinned as he was, it still hurt. Looking down where it landed, it appeared to be some kind of technology. Gary heard a grunt nearby and saw a snow leopard stagger as some kind of pawheld device fell to the leopard's feet. He heard cars crash together trying to avoid even more debris as it spewed forth from the anomaly. Gary saw a set of steps fly out of the tear and watched it head for a mama rabbit pushing a stroller with her kits in it.

Without even thinking, Gary stepped in front of the steps, letting them hit him in the chest, causing him to stagger slightly but saving the family from serious injury or death. Wide eyed, Gary watched the rift in the air and saw a small to medium sized mammal fly out, tumbling as it came and landing at his feet. Looking down, he saw that it was a small to medium sized mammal with yellow fur on it's head and he recognized it as a human. The same species as the CEO of the company he worked for. There was a sucking sound and Gary watched as the rip shrank and then closed, disappearing as if it had never been.

Gary could see a blue tinge to the skin of the human and wondered if it was some kind of different species of human. He heard sirens and knew that ZPD was on its way, but until they arrived, he did his best to help any injured mammals. After the ZPD arrived, a wolf and a pig, Gary helped them get things settled. When other units arrived, he gave his statement and was thanked profusely by the responding officers and Beatrice, the rabbit mother, who gave her own statement praising Gary for his actions.

When he got back to his office, his supervisor chewed him out for being two hours late and threatening to fire him. Gary tried to explain what had happened, even showing his boss a copy of the police report, but his supervisor didn't care. Several of Gary's co-workers watched and shook their heads. He would be pleasantly surprised when, a week later, his supervisor was fired, he was promoted to the supervisor position, and he was given a certificate proclaiming his heroic actions along with a hefty bonus.

oooOOOooo

Dylan and Tara were playing in the pool with Amy and Grace when they heard the phone ring inside. Dylan tickled Amy whom he'd been holding, making her laugh, and handed her to his wife Tara, kissing her, and then climbing out of the pool. Picking up the extension at the outside bar, Dylan answered.

"Joe's pool hall, eight ball speaking."

"Dylan, it's Nick. We need you down near the train stop on Herd street."

"Why? What's going on that I need to be there?"

"There's been an event, and there's another human."

Dylan froze with the phone in his hand, a chill running down his spine. It had been almost three years since he'd first arrived in Zootopia, now another human shows up?

"Dylan?"

What in the name of the gods is going on? Had some other poor unwitting soul been thrust into a strange new world? At least they'd have him to help them get adjusted, but could there be more showing up eventually?

"Dylan? You there?"

What if it was the start of an invasion? Was the person a member of the military? A scout for a larger force waiting just on the other side of the portal?

"Dylan!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, my mind was running away with me. Are they alive and were they in a military style uniform?"

"They're the same as you were, in some kind of coma, and no, they were in normal clothes, but was wearing a lab coat. We found an ID card that has some writing on it along with her picture."

"Her?"

"Yeah. At least she has breasts. That's normal with your species right?"

"Yeah, just like most mammals my friend."

"Yeah, sorry, things are a little stressed at the moment."

"Alright, I'm on my way."

Dylan hung up and turned to Tara.

"Baby, I've got to go, somethings come up and they need my help."

"Hurry back Love! We're going to miss you! Wave bye bye to daddy Grace!"

"Bye bye daddy!" His two year old said, waving her paw at him. Tara held up Amy's paw and made her wave at him as well. Dylan's heart was so filled with love of his family, he just hoped that this event didn't presage something bad just over the horizon.

Dylan couldn't miss where the event happened, he could see the lights and crowds from blocks away. He parked as close as he could before proceeding on foot and then he saw Officer Pennington standing just behind the line of yellow police tape.

"Hey Francine! You okay?"

"I'm fine Dylan, but I have to tell you that both Chief Bogo and Mayor Hoofard are worried about this."

"Yeah, I am too." He said, ducking under the tape that Francine lifted for him.

Dylan had become friends with the entire department in the years since he'd arrived. He donated generously to their Benevolent Association and threw them a huge party every year. He did the same thing for the staff of Zootopia General Hospital, and had started a yearly fundraiser for them as well.

Dylan gave a fist bump to Officer Wolford as he approached what seemed to be the center of the disturbance. A small table had been set up with all manner of items from the easily recognizable to the esoteric. Dylan walked up to Chief Bogo and shook his hoof. If Chief Bogo was here, then things were tense.

"Ambrose." The chief greeted him.

"Chief."

It wouldn't look like it to the casual observer, but the two of them were actually friends, Chief Bogo and his wife were frequent guests at Dylan's house. Dylan waved to Nick and Judy, his brother and sister in all but blood. Judy had an angry weasel in paw cuffs.

"We caught him trying to take evidence from the scene." Judy explained.

"I wasn't doin nuttin! Youse got no right to arrest me!" The weasel growled.

The chief pulled Dylan over to the table with the items on it.

"At approximately 11:55, what has been described as a rip in the air appeared over Herd street. We have video from several phones showing the rip as well as traffic cams that saw it form. The event lasted exactly 20 seconds from the beginning to the end and, just before the rip closed, it deposited another human on the street. They've been taken to Zootopia General as a precaution. Can you look over the items and give us an idea of what some of them are?"

"Sure Chief." Dylan picked up a note pad with what appeared to be several mathematical and scientific symbols on it as well as notations such as 'seventh crystal unusual readings'. Some of the items he wasn't sure of. They looked like small camera's with glass lenses, but there was no aperture adjustment and only a small opening in the center behind the lens. There was a sliding switch, so he pointed it at the ground and moved it, but nothing happened other than making Chief Bogo take a step back.

Dylan tried the next one and got the same results. The third one he tried though, activated causing a thin red line to emit from inside onto the sidewalk. Officer Fangmeyer, the tiger officer nearby, seemed entranced by the red dot on the concrete, her head tracking the little dot before Dylan switched it off.

"Yeah, thought so. These are low powered lasers, but I'm not sure what they were used for."

Going through more of the items. A pen, a ladies watch, a ladies black Mary Jane shoe, along with a defunct handheld scanning device of some sort, and some kind of official badge. Picking up the last item, he inspected it. Katherine Grace Davies, GS15, Special Projects Division, Nellis AFB. A chill ran through Dylan as he read the last part, Nellis... Area 51. Special Projects Division. Dylan fisted the ID badge and turned to Chief Bogo. "I need to see some of that video."

Bogo took out his phone and soon had the video pulled up. Dylan could instantly tell that the portal he came through bore only a superficial resemblance to the one Katherine Davies had come through.

"Chief, we need to talk to Renard."

Dylan and Bogo walked into the Mayor's office as Kelly, the mayor's ewe secretary, opened the door to admit them. Dylan shook the mayor's hoof as the mayor said "Dylan, Chief."

Dylan took a seat in one of the comfortable vinyl chairs placed in front of the mayor's desk. Mayor Frank Hoofard had run uncontested for the office after Lillian had left along with her deputy mayor Carl Hopps. From that point, Frank Hoofard had continued his predecessor's policies and had seen Zootopia flourish. Him and Dylan were friends with Dylan even contributing to his re-election campaign.

"I've already been briefed about the incident. But Harry here tells me that you might have some insight about it?"

"It's mostly speculation at this point Renard. You know my history and what I suspected happened to me, but until I can talk to the female that came through the portal I won't know for certain."

"Tell me what you think, we'll go from there."

"Okay, here goes. There were several low powered lasers in the debris. A note pad with mathematical and scientific symbols and notations on it. One mentioned something about a crystal. There was also this."

Dylan placed the ID badge on the mayor's desk.

"It gives her name and pay grade. GS means she's a civilian that works for the government, 15 indicates she's a very highly paid, so most likely she's a scientist. Special Projects Division makes me think that it's Black Book project, a secret project using hidden funds. It's when the government is working on something they don't want anyone else to know. And Nellis AFB is the largest military installation where Area 51 is supposed to be. All this leads me to believe that she's associated with the group that opened the portal that I went through."

"But according to the initial officers reports on your entry, there was no sound associated with your appearance, just a flash of light."

"True, but I think that this event could have been accidental. The portal I went through was perfectly rectangular, the rip I saw on the video was ragged. I think they were trying to recreate the portal, and something went wrong."

Mayor Hoofard sighed heavily. "So, what would you suggest Dylan?"

"Keep her and the items that came through with her under guard. When she wakes up, let me talk to her. Believe me, having talking animals around was quite a shock when I got here."

"Good idea. Chief? Could you assign a pair of officers to guard our guest? Maybe the Wildes and the officers that were the first on the scene?"

"Yes sir!" "

Good. And Dylan? Thank you!"

"No problem Renard. Zootopia has treated me well and I like the chance to pay her back."

"You've more than paid back anything owed Dylan."

They stood and shook bye. "Tell those your wives that Dave and I said 'hi'!"

"I will and tell that husband of yours that Tara still wants that recipe for those roasted greens that y'all brought when we last ate together."

"He says that he'll keep that secret to his dying day because if you knew it, you might stop inviting us over."

oooOOOooo

By the time Dylan got home, Zoe had arrived before him. He kissed both his wives and helped to set the table for dinner. That was one of the things that they loved about their husband, he had no problem helping out with the everyday chores including dinner and dishes even though they did have a cleaning service to help take care of the house.

Tara had already fed, bathed, and put the children to bed, another chore that Dylan was all too happy helping out with. Nick and Judy had sent their daughter, Katie, over while they stood guard over the new human, and she had received the same treatment, snuggling up against her cousins.

"Word around the hospital is that another human has shown up, this time in Downtown Zootopia." Zoe informed him quietly as she looked down at her uneaten tuna melt.

Dylan still was no genius when it came to relationships, but after two years with his wives he'd picked up a lot of cues and this cue was telling him that something was bothering his first wife. Tara was watching, knowing how her sister was as well.

"It's a female." Zoe said, afraid to spell out her fears.

"And you're afraid that I'm going to want to be with her now that she's shown up in Zootopia?"

Zoe was almost crying as she nodded, too sick to eat. She didn't notice Dylan's paw under her muzzle until she felt him lifting her head to look into her eyes. She could see the love for her in his own and her heart twitched.

"My Love, you are my wife, and the mother of my children, I don't care if there was a flood of human women that had spilled through the portal, I would never leave you and I will never love you any less."

Then he kissed her and pulled her in for a hug, which she returned fiercely, her anxiety gone. Tara agreed with her sister, the same thought had crossed her mind and when she heard Dylan's words, she felt immensely better.

When he came to her, she hugged him and heard him say to her, "And Baby, I love you just as much. You and your sister have given me more love and happiness than I could ever have wished for."

Having comforted his wives, he sat down at the head of the table, and they began to eat. Dylan let them know everything he did regarding the newest member of Zootopia.

"So you think she's a member of this group that caused you to show up here?" Zoe asked him.

"Yeah, everything points to that. But I won't be certain until she wakes up and I can talk to her."

"At least she has you to help her adjust." Tara pointed out.

Dylan shrugged. "It may not help much; it depends on her mental makeup. Although, if she's a scientist, she may have an easier time of it, they're a curious breed."

"Breed? I thought she was human." Tara asked.

"It's a turn of phrase, humans use it on other humans when we classify ourselves to our personality types or who we tend to group with."

"Oh. Humans are weird." Tara said before she realized she maybe shouldn't have said that, given that her husband was human.

"So, anyway, if she starts to wake up, they'll call me and I'll head over to the hospital. I actually think she ended up here by accident. The portal she came through was about ten feet up in the air and was ragged, like someone had ripped the air apart. Not like mine at all."

"What happens then?" Zoe asked, swallowing a bite of her tuna melt.

"Depends on her and what she wants to do now. I'll help set her up with a place to live and try to help her settle into her new life."

"Why." Tara said a little harshly, her mouth speaking before she could run it through her mental filter. She was still a little defensive.

Dylan looked at Tara calmly and said. "Love, I will do all I can for her because if she is the one who sent me here, accidentally or on purpose, then I owe her more than I could ever possibly repay. After all, thanks to her, I met my two amazing wives and have two wonderful children."

"For now." Zoe muttered, not looking at Dylan.

Dylan's gaze snapped over to his first wife and noticed she wouldn't look at him.

Dit - dit - dit - ding!

"You mean...?" He asked, his excitement growing.

"Pregnant?" Zoe answered. "Yes, twins this time."

Zoe was surprised when Dyan had her in his arms so fast that it was like he teleported. His overjoyed expression raising her own spirits and banishing any lingering doubts about her husband and the female human. Tara joined in the hug, happy to have more nieces or nephews on the way. Yet sad because she wished she was pregnant again as well.

"Well my Loves, this means we need to celebrate!"

"What do you have in mind Baby?" Zoe asked.

"Ladies, after dinner is over and the dishes are done, you need to get dressed."

"Where are we going?" Tara asked at the same time that Zoe asked, "What should we wear."

An evil grin appeared on Dylan's face and both his wives hearts sped up and their breath caught in an identical fashion. They let out an explosive breath when he said the one word that they hoped they would hear.

"Collars."

oooOOOooo

Nick and Judy took turns standing outside the hospital room door while the other sat inside with the human female. They'd already caught two reporters trying to get in and get photos of her, as well as a zebra who identified herself as a humaphile, that just wanted to get a lock of the new human's hair. Dylan might have recognized the zebra's name if he heard it as one of the one's who'd sent marriage proposals after his arrival.

There were protesters gathered at the front of the hospital, carrying signs proclaiming a human invasion, but there were only four of them and they were a calm group, simply chanting without spewing any of the usual vitriol. Dylan's public works and donations to charities had actually won the city over except for a few die hards. And even they found it hard to keep hating him.

They'd taken Katie over to Dylan's house and dropped her off with Tara until they were no longer on special detail. 12 hours on didn't leave a lot of time for other activities, especially with a toddler to look after. Dylan had told them to come and stay in their usual room for as long as they needed to. This would allow them to be able to spend more time with their daughter.

Officers Wolford and Swinton were their reliefs since they were the first on the scene and Chief Bogo wanted officers familiar with the situation.

Judy was torn. She was a dedicated ZPD officer and did her best to follow orders. But her spirit craved to be on the front lines, patrolling the city and looking to serve and protect the citizens of Zootopia. Her husband Nick on the other hand, had no problem with this kind of duty. He'd quickly made friends with most of the staff on the floor and while doing that, he made note of their habits and routine, relating them to his wife as well as Liam and Peggy.

Judy wondered about this new human since Dylan was only in a coma for three days, yet this one had been here for a week and a half. Doctor Rheinhold had been in several times taking DNA samples and comparing them to the ones that had been taken from Dylan when he'd arrived. All they'd been able to get out of the beaver was that the human's DNA was 'in flux'.

Nick was frustrated as well. Not only was this special detail keeping him from his family time, but him and Judy hadn't really had a chance for any alone time, both of them a little leery of having sex in someone else's house, even if it was their brother's and the room had been given to them. Judy was a screamer and while wolf hearing wasn't as good as a rabbits, it was good enough. Maybe they could spend one night in their own house?

While not as extensive as the one Dylan had, their playroom was nothing to sneeze at, and Nick had some tensions to let out. When Judy saw Nicks expression, she felt herself start getting moist. She'd been getting frustrated too and wanted her fox time, ready for Nick to take her and take her hard. Their relief didn't come soon enough for them, and Wolford gave them a knowing smile when they hurriedly left.

"Well, that was kinda rude." Peggy huffed as she watched the fox and rabbit scurry down the hall.

"They had something important to take care of Peg."

"What could be that important?" Liam gave Peggy that look.

"Oh. Okay then." Now making plans of her own for when she got off. She just hoped her husband was up for it.

Liam and Peggy switched off just like Nick and Judy did since it helped keep each other from getting too bored. It was Liam's turn sitting with the human and, as he usually did, took his time to look at her. She was kinda weird, but it didn't bother him very much. After all, Dylan was human, and Liam considered Dylan to be one of his best friends. If you overlooked the lack of fur and the short muzzle, she wasn't really bad looking, and she even smelled good.

Liam shook his head, trying to keep his thoughts from going there. Maybe he should try asking Jackie out on a date. The petite wolf gray wolf down in Evidence had been giving him the eye lately and maybe he should see where it could lead. Besides, he was on duty, and it wasn't professional. But he couldn't help wondering what color eyes the human had.

Katherine was floating in no place. That's how she thought of it anyway, because it didn't seem like anyplace, she could imagine. At least she thought she was floating; she couldn't tell really. She seemed to fill the space she was in, much like when she fell into the portal, and she was curious that she felt no anxiety from remembering her trip through the portal. She knew that she had been in pain, she remembered pain, but it was more of an abstract concept at the moment.

It is species four one seven.

She heard, whether it was with her ears or in her mind she wasn't sure. Did it even make a difference?

It should not be here. Said another 'voice'.

Indeed. It is an unplanned variable. Should we terminate it lest it contaminate the experiment? Asked a third.

Negative. Precedence is set. A previous variable has already been introduced into the experiment and has been absorbed into the equation. Let us observe the effect this one has on the experiment. A 'voice' stronger than the others commanded.

This one has merged with two of the control crystals of the missing craft. Merger with the equation may not be possible. Even if merger is successful this one could skew the results. Said the second 'voice'.

Are we not scientists? We will observe and see if this one merges. The data is all. Said the strong 'voice'.

Recommendation. The first voice said. Re-visitation of planet four one seven in the 17 to the 8th power universe may be indicated. The species has acquired enough intelligence to begin experimentation of their own. Intervention may be required. Removal of the vessel may be necessary.

Agreed. Early Observation and Evaluation is in order for the species. Allow this one to continue. The strong voice ordered, and Kate felt herself beginning to coalesce.

Liam heard the female begin to groan and move slightly. Looking up at the monitors, he could see that they seemed more active than they had in almost two weeks. Not wanting to wake her prematurely, Liam opened the door and spoke to Peggy in a stage whisper.

"I think she's waking up. Let the staff know and call the Chief." Peggy got excited; it was about damned time!

The first thing Kate noticed when she began to wake was the antiseptic smell. It took a little while for her to determine that meant she was in a hospital. She correlated that with how sluggish her thoughts were and realized that she was probably still under sedation. She remembered the accident with the portal so she must have been injured when she was spit out, but was she still at the facility or elsewhere?

When her eyes opened, she was glad that the lights had been dimmed so that, while she had no problem seeing, they weren't blindingly bright. She could hear muffled voices coming from the other side of the door, but she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. She could smell a musky odor even over the smell of the antiseptic. It smelled almost like dog and she found it strangely comforting because she'd never had a pet dog before.

She hadn't been in a hospital as a patient before, but she'd seen some medical dramas on TV before she became bored with them. There was supposed to be a way to notify a nurse she was awake. And hungry. Very hungry. A Triple Whopper with Cheese would be really good right about now. And a shake, a huge, thick, chocolate shake. Maybe even a side of jalapeno poppers.

She found the cord that ended with a red button. She fumbled for a while before she was able to get it into her hand and press the button with her thumb.

"How may we help you?" A pleasant female voice answered a few seconds later.

"Yes. This is Doctor Davies; I just woke up. Could I get something to eat? A triple whopper with heavy cheese and a huge chocolate shake? And maybe a doctor. I think I got hurt in the accident. I need to know where I am, am I still on base?"

She was slurring her words slightly, and she knew that her thought process wasn't the best because finding out where she was located was more important than a triple whopper, but her stomach didn't think so. And her stomach seemed to be the more immediate need.

"Someone will be in shortly." They answered.

Kate lay back and closed her eyes. There was something nagging at her, something she should remember, but she couldn't remember what. Maybe when she wasn't on sedation anymore. She wasn't sure how much time had passed when she heard the door to the room open and a young man about her age walked in. He was neatly dressed in a pair of grey slacks and a black shirt. He had dark, styled hair and a pair of stormy grey eyes. He quietly walked in, and she could see he was looking her over, but not even in a slightly lecherous way and he seemed familiar for some reason. The thing that caught her attention, however, was the fast-food bag he held in one hand and the large fast-food cup he held in the other. He set the cup on the bed table before handing her the bag.

"I'm sorry, but there's no Burger King here, so I stopped and got you something from Bugaburger." He said.

"Thank you!" She remarked as she opened the bag, grabbed the sandwich inside, and tore off the wrapper. She'd never heard of Bugaburger before, but she was so hungry she didn't care. She took a large bite and moaned in pleasure at the taste of roast chicken. It was no whopper, but at this point it was food. She watched the young man as he sat in a chair positioned next to her bed.

"You're no doctor." She said with food still in her mouth.

If he was upset with her rudeness, he didn't show it.

"No, I'm not. I'm kind of an ambassador at the moment. What's the last thing you remember?"

Thinking while taking another bite, Kate thought back to what she remembered. She had to be careful because she was still required to keep what she was doing a secret, and until she could speak to Dickhead, um, General Hawthorne, she needed to watch what she said.

"There was an accident in my lab during an experiment and I woke up here."

Okay, that should be vague enough while still having a kernel of truth. The young man nodded, unsurprised. Kate wondered if he worked for General Hawthorne and was testing her ability to keep secrets. She knew that General Hawthorne would like nothing better than put her in a hole so deep that daylight had to be pumped to her.

"I understand. Before I go any further, I have to inform you that we're being recorded. Now, let me see if I can help clear things up for you. My name is Dylan Ambrose, and..."

That was as far as he got before the woman interrupted him, spitting food onto her hospital gown in her excitement.

"Dylan Ambrose! It's you!"

Unsurprised, he continued. "Yes. And from the debris that came through with you from the portal, I know that you're Doctor Katherine Davies. I suspect that you work for the government at Area 51 and used alien technology to create the portals that sent both of us here."

Wary now, Kate stopped eating her sandwich. "I cannot confirm your speculation." She said, her poker face up.

"You don't need to. Let me explain. About three years ago, I was driving to California for my new job after graduating college when I inadvertently drove through what appeared at first to be a mirage. I ended up in someplace... between. I felt like I was taken apart and then at some indeterminate time later, put back together again before being drawn to a white light before blacking out. When I woke up three days later, I found myself in a... new place.

I'm sure you're a smart woman, a scientist, and you must be among the best if my guess is right and you're working on an ultra-secret project for the government. That you won't confirm my guess is actually confirmation as well."

Kate had taken another bite of her sandwich while he talked, her body still telling her she needed fuel. But his description of what he'd experienced was eerily similar to her own trip through the portal.

"Did you experience any... pain?"

"No, just a sensation of being taken apart and put back together. I take it that you did?"

Kate nodded, chewing the last bite of her sandwich.

"Strange. Probably due to the accident. Okay. Now, being a scientist, I assume that you are analytical at heart, willing to gather facts before making a conclusion?"

"That's basically the scientific method every good scientist should follow."

"I agree. So, what I'm about to tell you may seem fantastical, but I assure you that it's the truth. First, the hard one, you are no longer on Earth. I'm sure you've heard of Multiverse Theory; I can tell you that it is now proved."

He stopped to let her absorb that piece of data. Kate had no way to confirm that yet, but the hypothesis was sound. She nodded so that he knew she was ready to hear more.

"Okay, that went easier than I expected. Second, as you can tell from the room, this reality is populated by an intelligent species, almost all of which are mammals."

"When you say, 'almost all', I assume you mean that they are other than human?"

"Yes. I'll hit you with the big point, and then I'll prove it to you. Third, and finally, you are now in a place called Zootopia. It's a huge city filled with anthropomorphic mammals. From what I've discovered, there are only a few mammals from our old reality that aren't represented here. The one that concerns you the most would be any simians."

The sedation must have been wearing off because she caught the reference almost immediately and paused in mid sip of her chocolate shake.

"There's no humans here." She stated simply.

"Other than you and me, that would be correct."

It was a... stunning revelation.

"You said you had proof."

"I do, and I'll show you shortly. I recommend you try and stay calm. I'm going to introduce you to my first wife who's a pediatrician here at the hospital."

"I thought you said that we were the only humans."

Well, it took him some time to come to terms with his new life also, so he'd give her some slack.

"I did." He said as he looked her dead in the eyes. The implication didn't pass her by. He turned and opened the door, the area outside the room was almost ominously quiet, not even a muted conversation could be heard.

"Baby? Could you come in?" He held the door open and, even though she'd been warned, she was still startled when a wolf in grey fur with bright blue eyes and wearing a lab coat over a pair of pants and a blouse walked in, looking a little nervous. Kate could see the name she wore on her lab coat, 'Doctor Zoe Ambrose'. The human female and the wolf looked at each other, each with their own thoughts of the situation.

"You married a wolf?" Kate asked, more curious than surprised.

"Two. I also married her sister, Tara. I fell in love with Zoe, and then her sister as well."

"I made him to marry her." Zoe pointed out.

"She encouraged me." Dylan clarified. "It's not common here, but it isn't unusual either." Dylan took the wolf by the elbow and escorted her to the door.

"I'll see you at home Baby. Let Tara know and give the kids a kiss for me if I'm not back in time to put them to bed."

"I will Love." The female wolf said as Dylan leaned forward and kissed her. Dylan closed the door, smiling at his wife, then walked back to the bed and sat back down.

"Kids?"

"Hooo. Well, here's where things get complicated. I'll explain, and then I'll introduce you to a friend of mine. When I first arrived here, no one knew what a human was, knew nothing about us. So, one of the things they did, once I got over the fact that I was now in a place populated by walking, talking, thinking non-humans, was to take periodic samples of my DNA. By doing that and comparing them to samples from other mammals, they determined that I was mutating slightly, becoming more wolf like.

Not much, nothing I really noticed at first. Once it was pointed out to me, I could tell that I could see a little better in the dark, and my sense of smell and hearing was increased slightly. The main effect that I didn't know about until later, was the change in my reproductive system."

Dylan barked out a laugh, confusing Kate until he elucidated. "Sorry. I was on my honeymoon with Zoe when she leaped out of bed and started throwing up in the toilet. I'd forgotten that I had been mutating given all the excitement of the previous couple of weeks, I'll explain later. But she told me that she hadn't. She'd been hoping that she could get pregnant, and she made both our hopes come true."

Dylan pulled out his wallet, opening it to show a picture of a wolf cub with a smiling Dylan and Zoe gazing fondly down at her. The cub was holding a stuffed animal to the camera. She had her mother's fur and her dad's eyes.

"So I'm mutating?" Kate asked. The idea didn't seem to bother her. She was already coming up with more hypotheses to explain what had happened to them.

"We don't know. Doctor Rheinhold, the person I'll introduce you too shortly, has been taking your DNA, but he says that it's in a... state of flux. It's constantly shifting like it can't settle on a path to go and you have some foreign nucleotides that don't correspond to anything in the animal kingdom."

Kate felt a chill go through her. She remembered the voices. Oh god, the voices!

"W... were there any... crystals found in the debris? Blue about 45.75 centimeters in length, one about 3.8 centimeters in diameter, the other about 7.75 centimeters?" Kate asked, her voice shaking a little.

Scientist or not, confirming the existence of an alien life form would shake anyone's objectivity.

"No. We've looked through all videos taken during the incident and have accounted for everything that came through. There were no crystals that exited the anomaly." Kate sank into the bed, her mind sprinting along different paths of thought, forming patterns, questions, probable experiments she would be able to perform, conclusions to be drawn.

"More on the mutations. Doctor Rheinhold postulated that the portal changed me mentally to be able to understand the language here, as well as my personality to make me better able to fit in. I've always been an open-minded person before anyway, so I never noticed that part. Before I introduce you to Doctor Rheinhold, I've an offer to make you.

When I first arrived, I had nothing except what I brought with me. The one thing I had going for me were the officers that found me, Nick and Judy Wilde. We became friends and, with their help, I was able to get my degree here. I met other friends, such as Rick, who helped me start my own business. Now I don't have to worry about money and I'm willing to help you get on your feet here. You can accept my offer, or you can do what I did when I first got here and apply for assistance. There's a fund that helps endangered mammals and, since I was the only one at the time, there was no one more endangered than me. I'm willing to help you get a place to stay and find work in your field, whatever you need."

"I appreciate your generosity, but I'm not sure yet if here has any openings for a Doctor of Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Field Theory."

"Hah! I think I need to introduce you to my friend Doctor Rheinhold. Be warned, he's a beaver."

"Was he the first mammal you met here?" Kate asked, curious as usual.

"No, the first time I woke up I there was a nanny goat, a female wolf, and a jaguar all standing by my bed. I screamed like a little girl and passed out. But Doctor Rheinhold helped me to adjust."

Dylan walked to the door and opened it again, nodding. Prepared by Dylan's warning, Kate didn't blink when a beaver wearing a lab coat entered.

"Good evening Doctor. I'm Doctor Rheinhold, a theoretical scientist, and I understand that you're something of a kindred soul." The beaver smiled, something that Kate found rather odd, yet amusing.

"Yes Doctor, you could say that."

A/N: Okay, Chapter two done. While this story ties in with The Unplanned Detour, I will be mostly weaning it away from my previous story. Dylan and the others will be prominent for maybe one more chapter before this story goes its own separate way with them taking more of a guest appearance role for later chapters. (Of course, remember what I said before about estimating...)

I've had a comment from one of my readers asking for a story describing Dylan, his wives, and the playroom from The Unplanned Detour that I mentioned in that story and alluded to in this chapter. I will not be writing that story here since the main protagonist is going to be Kate. I will probably write it as a one shot or a series of one shots at another time. I've pretty much decided who I'm going to ship Kate with, but I will still take suggestions.

Speaks With Spirits