Two Worlds (for Cimar)
.
Don't have a Howloleen story (yet), but this is about the closest. Enjoy!
.
She'd been getting eczema.
Her gaze lingered over the dry red skin, white lines peeling off, rotating her hands to find where it was happening.
On and on.
She couldn't help it.
Part of her didn't want to tell the therapist about it, she didn't want to confess why. She didn't know exactly, there were a dozen or so reasons if she was honest.
Trying to clear any lingering feeling of fur on her paws…
She closed her eyes. Hands, they were hands…
Breathing out, she got up and paced around her room, moving to the window and sliding it open to get some fresh air. The sunlight shone through the perforated grill and dabble on her pale skin, the warmth somewhat relieving.
Like one of the many, many showers she'd been having, trying to wash those phantom thoughts away. Or to get the soap over her hands, drying them out, cracking them…
It wasn't the craziest way to self harm, was it? By far and away not the craziest thing she'd felt or been feeling or…
A soft knock at the door brought her attention over to it, the nurse on the outside waving through the window before letting herself in. "You have a visitor, Miss Hobbs."
"It's…" She almost began before biting her tongue, hard. Because it was Hobbs, not Hopps. She was a human, in America, she was not a rabbit named Judy Hopps living in the city of Zootopia with her…
"-Five things you can see…"
The request cut through to her, Judy Hobbs breathing out. "You, my bed, my toe, that namebadge of yours where they… -Have finally fixed that spelling mistake. And Fiona there, just walking by past you."
The nurse looked behind her and nodded. "Well, I don't think we need to go through with the rest," she said, leading Judy up and on. Out of her room, onto the common area of the ward, into the small canteen where Nick was waiting.
A warm smile grew across her face as she saw that big silly mop of red hair, sitting down at the table across from him and reaching across, feeling his touch. "Hi…"
"Hi," he smiled, only for it to fade. "So… The whole voluntary section yourself thing…"
"Voluntary patient," she corrected.
"Means you can leave when you think you're better."
"That's the plan."
He looked at her with his green eyes for a second or two before staring down at his shoes. "They miss you, you know," he said. "We all do. Ben, Adrian, the rest of the force. Hey, they made this card!" He pulled it out and she had to laugh. A big collage picture of a car parked next to a fire hydrant, on double yellow lines, with a clearly out of date tax disk and busted lights to boot. 'They're getting cocky without you on the streets' was written bold across the top.
"And there it is," he smiled. "That Judy Hopps smile I know and love."
"Yeah, I…" She froze, stuck in the headlights then and there.
"Judy?"
What… What did you just call me?" she asked, reaching down and pinching herself.
He closed his eyes and began thinking back, a look of regret on his face. "Hopps, not Hobbs, I'm sorry, I…"
"You shouldn't even know that. How do you know that? Nick…"
"I've been having the dreams too."
The air between them was silent.
"Nick," she said. "This is not funny…"
"I know it isn't."
"Do you know what it's like," she hissed. "Dreaming you're this… This fluffy bunny from a dreamswork movie or something! Finding yourself twitching your nose, or starting to dig at the ground, or getting your names mixed up or your don't know what else! Do you think it's funny!?"
She realised she was standing up where she was, her chair kicked out back and behind her. A few of the nurses were waiting around, like vultures watching.
Nick put his hands up and waved them away, all as Judy collapsed down onto her chair. "I'm sorry…"
"Don't worry," he said softly, as she collapsed into him, his arms around her, holding her tight.
"I can't not…"
"Shhhh…" He said, patting her back. Slowly, surely, despite her wobbling lips and desire to yank down her damn non-existent bunny ears, she calmed down.
She calmed down.
She… Calmed… Down…
…
"If you eliminate the impossible, anything remaining, however improbable, is the solution," he said, looking up at her.
"Nick…"
"You're saying you're having these animal dreams, correct? Animal versions of you, of me…"
"Yes," she said.
"Have you ever told me… -And don't tell me now, what species I am. What my history was. How we became partners?"
"No," she said, "I don't think…"
"But you know, correct?"
She looked up at him and nodded. To which he tore out a piece of paper and pushed it over at her, along with a pen. "Nick, what…"
"We write everything we know about my animal self, and your animal self, from our dreams, down. Heck, anything about our city, homes, what we do, where we go, what species our friends, or the alternate versions of them are… If this is all just dreams and chance, they should all not match, be completely different, and if they do…"
"How many others?"
"Huh?"
"How many others have been having these dreams?"
"A few," he said. "Far less… detailed than I think I have, than you think you have, but the point still stands."
She looked at him silently.
"If these match up," he said, "then it's not chance. That's impossible…"
"-Highly improbably," she cut in, an edge to her voice.
"Less improbable than there being something else going on?" he asked. He leant forward, gripping her hands and holding them, thumbs running over the top, over the cracked skin. "Judy, I want you to make a promise."
"What?"
"If these match up… You check out of here, you go home, and we put that mind of yours to use to try and figure out what's causing it. Because if there's a big answer out there, it's doing no good stuck in here. Promise?"
She just looked at him, her lip wobbling slightly.
Eyes closed, he shook his head. "Sorry, I've…"
"I promise."
He turned up to her, looking for a second or two. "Are you sure?"
"No," was all she could say. "But… But what else am I going to do, huh? -Let's just get this stupid thing over and done with."
And with that she took the paper and began writing down all she could remember. Her name, where she grew up, the names of siblings, how that version of Nick was a fox with a love of blueberries (sure, he liked them here, but that version was CRAZY). -How he was previously a hustler with a fennec, everything she remembered about the nighthowler plot, Bellwether, Lionheart, Swinton and all the other politicians.
Mindmapping her delusions out until the page was a whole scribbling mess.
And then sharing it with his version, to circle all the commonalities.
After five minutes she gave up.
She needed to check herself out of here, after all.
Something was going on, and she was going to find out what.
.
.
.
The peace of the night cut was through as paws raced across the forest floor, calls and shouts echoing out as branches were torn away. No lights cast through the foggy gloom.
Why give your enemy an advantage when you were on your home turf.
A call to stop echoed out, a grey and brown toned wolf holding up a paw, his squad halting behind him. Canines and porcines, wet noses and scrunched up snouts raised to the air and ground, points given and the force cutting off in a new direction, following the trail onward.
Those with better night vision, their eyes catching the glint of the near-full moon, led at the front, picking up the subtle signs of their prey. Snapped branches, the odd tuft of wool on a thorn, a hoof indent in the soft ground. All before it was flooded over, the pursuit force racing forwards to catch the wayward sheep.
They halted in a clearing, freezing as the trail ended.
"Did she double back?" someone ask, with angry shouts from those on the flanks saying they hadn't seen anything split off.
The police trackers turned, staring and glaring at each other, shouts ringing out as their breath hung in the glade.
"Guys… GUYS!" They arguments were stayed, all mammals looking to one coyote, nose perked up high. "Do you smell that!?"
Up they lifted there's, ears perking as they picked it up.
"What the… It's everywhere…"
"-Look at these trees," someone else said, holding out a charred branch and wiping a hoof down the singed bark.
Looking around, their eyes turned to the floor. Moist, but warm.
They glanced at each other and slowly filtered out, retreating from the ground zero and into the woods. A fizz of radio static filled the air, the lead wolf officer speaking in. "Chief, we… uh… The trail ended."
"You lost her?"
"No sir, the trail literally just ended."
"So you…"
"Sir, the trail led to some kind of clearing. We smell ozone, there's signs of burning, something happened here."
A long pause came from the receiver. "I'll contact ACC, see if any light aircraft or helicopter was spotted. Meanwhile fan out, keep searching. Over?"
"Over," he said, pointing around and getting the trackers to pair up. "Radios on at all times. Frequent check ins and status reports. Bellwether and whoever busted her out is likely out there and dangerous. Do you copy?"
"Yes sir," they nodded, splitting themselves up and going on the hunt.
Not that it would lead to anything. The head of the taskforce knew it. The trail had ended then and there. This search was just for show.
Then again, so was whatever call to ACC.
Because unless they'd picked up some kind of flying saucer, he had no idea what kind of aircraft would do that.
.
.
"Officer Hobbs?"
"Yes sir?" she asked, looking up at the Chief. Despite his tough grizzled exterior, he managed a small, warm smile.
"It's good to have you back."
"It's good to be back sir," she said.
"-And if anything gets too stressful, just say. We have the resources; it doesn't have to get that far."
"I… I understand sir," she said. "Though this was more of a personal matter, I… I'll keep it in mind sir."
And with that she left the Precinct after her first day back on the job. Sure, it was the lightest of days with her partner. Parking duty, walk arounds one of the more deprived areas, making sure they were seen rather than being called onto anything potentially intensive.
But it felt good.
Back at her job, even if she still had the dreams.
Which were more than dreams.
At least that was the working theory.
"Come on, let's get home," Nick said, putting the car into gear and pulling out. The radio played on quietly, the vehicle rumbled as it went. "Anymore dreams?"
She looked over at him. "Bellwether…" She began.
He glanced over at her. "Escaped."
To which she nodded. "She was being evacuated to the Hospital after a suspected case of peritonitis."
Nick glanced at her, rubbing his brow. "Can sheep get that?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, don't they use the appendix, or…"
"It doesn't matter, it was a medical emergency. They rushed her off but her car was ambushed."
Nick nodded. "They found traces of a special drug in her cell. That allowed her to present the external symptoms."
"She had help escaping, but a rapid response split the forces. She made it into the woods."
"But she disappeared."
"A haze of ozone according to the tracking forces."
"Singed leaves and bark in the clearing."
They were silent, looking forward together.
"-She's out," Nick said. "Doug was never captured."
Judy nodded.
"Fluff…" He began before pausing, shaking his head. "There's something else I didn't tell you."
"What?"
He let a breath out and glanced down. "I didn't say it because you checking yourself out was your decision, for when you felt ready. Not on behalf of anyone else. Do you understand?"
"Nick?" she asked, an edge to her voice.
He looked forward. "There's been cases of people going missing, and then returning… Different."
"Different?" she asked.
"Savage."
She looked at him for a second, eyes narrowing. "What do you mean Savage?"
"You know what I mean," he said. "Nighthowler savage. Turned savage…"
"Except those things don't exist, they…"
"-I know, I checked it out myself," he said, pausing as he turned into their drive and pulled them to a stop. "But we know they exist in the world that…"
"Nick," she hissed, "stop it!"
He put his hands up in mock surrender, Judy glaring at him before turning, letting her head collapse onto the dash. "There is a rational explanation for this… Cover the case, what's going on, we find the real answer."
Nick nodded. "Sure."
And so they did. The case wasn't a secret, unlike the one under Lionheart. Instead, it had gathered somewhat of a curiosity from various scientific institutions. Four members of a large extended family, the McDowell's, had descended into a semi-uncontrollable rage. It didn't match up with rabies, though all other members had been given a shot just in case.
"From what they think, it's a chemical in the blood," he said. "They're trying to filter it out… Complete blood replacement. I've heard it's making some progress, there's some cases of minor lucidity but…" Out his hands went.
Judy just nodded, working her chin with her jaw. "It…" She said, closing her eyes and sighing. "It sounds like Nighthowlers. But why? Back in Zootopia, it was trying to start a race war. This is just a nobody family out in the hills with a sheep farm!"
Nick nodded, pausing. "Revenge?"
"Huh?"
"Revenge, maybe that's the motive."
"What… For?"
"For farming sheep."
Judy glared at him. "So you're saying Dawn Bellwether escaped, got into our universe, and is waging a war against sheep farmers?"
"I… -Maybe there's a Dawn Bellwether version in our universe, and these dreams are playing up with her?"
"This is all stupid."
"I know," was all he could say. "But however stupid it is, it looks, smells, sounds like nighthowlers. And we are the only people in the world who know what that is and could help."
"HOW?" She yelled out, her chair grinding back and tipping over, rattling as it slammed on the floor. "We're, what!? Going to say that there's this non-existent plant that we know about from our bunny and fox dreams! What are you even thinking we could do?"
"Try."
…
"Try?" she asked.
"Try," he said again, holding her hands.
She closed her eyes and stood up, wiping down her face. "I need a shower, I need a full lunch… And we need a plan."
"Anything else?" he asked, smiling.
"Yes. Punch myself for being so inspirational."
.
.
Black pawpads slowly traced down the yellowed paper, carefully folding one page of the sheet over and letting his green eyes trace along the next page. "Can you believe this stuff?" he asked, his voice a whisper.
Ears up, Judy nodded. "Not really… Then again, if you'd have told me that Dawn Bellwether was a criminal maniac before she tried to kill us…"
"I know, but secret societies, ancient codes… -Different dimensions?" He closed his eyes and groaned. "If Honey ever hears about this I swear I'll jump off a…"
He was cut off as a loud knock rang out, the pair looking up to the door of the evidence room as Bogo walked in. "So, Officers, have you found anything of interest or value from the cache?"
"Interest, certainly. Value…"
"Just because we opened up Bellwether's safe doesn't mean we expected gold bars or something Wilde."
"Sir, what kind of fox do you think I am?"
"…Do you want the list?"
He smiled. "Ah, my bad influence is spreading. Excellent."
"Can it Wilde."
"I'm more of a jar mammal myself…" he began, only to get an elbow in the side from Judy.
"-Anyway," the bunny said. "It seems that Bellwether's group have existed for… Well, potentially hundreds, even thousands, of years. From what the documents we've recovered seem to suggest, they believe in a parallel universe… One where all mammals were, generally, unevolved, and instead an omni-predator evolved as the dominant sentient creature."
"An omni-predator?" the buffalo asked, snorting.
Nick nodded. "Supposedly the end-product of an entirely different branch of mammalian evolution. Naturally bipedal, mostly bald like pigs, generally poorer senses with the exception of tri-colour vision, high stamina but otherwise no claws, big teeth or anything. But in the land of the blind, one eyed mammal and all that. -These creatures hunt and farm, they tame and redirect the evolution of entire mammals. You should see what it says they've done to some of the wolves they caught."
"All very interesting," he said. "And this has what relevance to this?"
"Supposedly," Nick began, recounting through the pages. "Some mammals in that world also started evolving, back in a time where there was a way to bridge through between them. They, evacuated, so to speak and recorded down these stories. Moreover, set up this organisation, that Bellwether became a part of. It's main objective, to stop this world from ever getting an omni-predator of its own…"
"And so we now know more fun facts about why Dawn did what she did," the buffalo snorted. "I'm after something relevant Wilde."
"Well, we know there's a whole organisation out there, for a start," he said. "Friends, helpers…"
"Which we could already assume…"
"-Ah, but if we can recognise any famous names from these… Find any links…"
"Right, understood. A tenuous connection, but better than nothing. Carry on."
That they did, a silence filling the room after the Chief had left.
…
"Slick?"
"Yeah?"
"Have you been getting… Dreams?"
He sighed, eyes lingering on a small metal sphere, a hammer held over it, before closing the book. "I was worrying if you'd say that."
.
.
Slipping under the police line and quarantine tapes, Nick and Judy crept on through the woods. The McDowell's sheep farm was far out and hard to get to, but with miles of woodland it was easy enough to sneak in to. They slowly crept through the forest, Nick leading the way with a pair of spare Nightvision goggles he had, Judy carefully following along.
Pulling their way over a barbed wire fence, the soft bleating of sheep rang out, Nick turning to face it before heading on.
"The farmhouse is up ahead," he said, looking over at the black silhouette figure. The fear was that the cause of whatever was affecting the family was lingering around in the environment. Undetectable, but there. So, while they were all quarantined, the house was off limits.
The pair reached the edge of the house, making sure to go gently along the grass to avoid making any noise. The back door had a half-ancient lock, that a quick pick would make light work of.
Not that it mattered, it was unlocked.
The duo stuck their heads inside, finding the place empty and dark. With a torch they crawled around, looking here, looking there… There was a no evidence that wouldn't be unexpected, only…
"Sheep prints."
Nick glanced over. "Yes, it's a sheep farm…"
"Look at them," she said. He leant over and paused.
"I'm not sure what…"
"Ah, of course you don't," she said, looking up to him and smirking. "City boy."
"Right, educate me farm girl."
"Those are sheep hooves," she said, pointing them out. "But the gate is all wrong."
He looked at them, eyes narrowing before they shot open. "Bipedal."
"Yes," she said, following them to a fridge. Opening up, she winced a little. Some things had been in there a little too long. At the same time though, there was a conspicuous absence. Salad stuff, vegetables, etcetera…
"Okay, any working theories?" Nick asked.
"So, let's say Bellwether is in this universe…"
"Right, and where would she be."
"The McDowell's have been having financial problems for years, the land just isn't that good," Judy began narrating. "They've even had a few offers from the parks and wildlife trust. Close the farm, rewild the place… Not that they paid it any notice without how much was being offered. Last I heard, triple or nothing."
"Right…" Nick began. "Though if they can't live in their home…"
She nodded. "Their home, or one of the old cabins they supposedly have in the forest. Back when one of them had the idea of trying to rent out the space as a summer camp."
"…And if you were a talking sheep."
They looked at each other before heading off. Judy only had a limited knowledge of the land, but it was the best they had. It felt like hours and was at least one to reach one of the old cabins, the pair freezing as they saw a dim light from the window.
The pair slowly crept up, ears up to the edge.
From inside they heard a very familiar voice. A very impossible voice. Complaining on about this or that.
The two slowly snuck up and looked down, inside.
There she was. Ever so faint from the tiny light they had, but Dawn Bellwether and a duo of other… talking… sheep.
"-And I mean even if we are happy to stay here the rest of our stupid lives, what about our mammals back in Zootopia, huh?"
"We can bring them back here…"
"Oh BRILLIANT! Share the log cabin…"
"Once we've driven the stupid sheep killer family out…"
"-You don't think someone will knock it down! Or be confused when people start looking around? Urgh, I told you we should have just laid low, not try anything with our nighthowlers."
"But they're all we have, all…"
"WHICH DOESN'T MEAN WE HAVE TO USE THEM!" she shouted. She face… hoofed, shaking her head and marching around. "We should have just been happy to lay low, pretend to be one of those primitive sheep or something if we had to, and return back home after three months. Wait until the heat is off and…"
"-And what if they got hungry?" one of them asked, snarling. "You're treating those monsters out there as if they're not omni-predators. I mean, you remember those stupid black and white canine things? Those used to be wolves! WOLVES!"
Outside, Nick and Judy looked at each other and slowly began stepping back. "Okay," Nick whispered. "So… We what, put in a report about junkies in the hut?"
"Seems the best we can do," she said. "And if the Chief knows we knew and is mad?"
"…Ask him how he' react if we'd told him it was full of talking sheep from another universe…"
"Right," she said, walking backwards, the pair starting to make their way… SNAP.
Judy looked down, blood draining from her face as she saw the broken branch under her foot. The cabin had gone silent, until sound of the door slamming open rang out, a torch light beaming out into the night. They turned and ran, flinching down as a shotgun blasted out just above their head.
"RUN!" Nick yelled, the pair starting to race down, pushing through the undergrowth, coming up to a fence and saddling over it and… With a crack it broke under them, sending them toppling forwards into nothing. Down they fell, hard rock slamming up into them and making them yell out in pain.
"ARGGGHHH!"
"Nick!?" Judy yelled, shakily getting to her feet and guiding him up. Teeth gritted, he was holding his shoulder tight, all as the bright lights cut through up ahead, footsteps getting closer and closer.
"We have to go…" He hissed, turning forward, Judy with him. They were in some kind of patio area, laid out in stone and with an old fire pit in the centre. Oh the stupid plan to turn this into a camp, they probably thought little kids would be here, toasting marshmallows over the…
She froze, a sense of Deja-vu washing over has as he saw the small iridescent sphere in the centre.
"Fluff!" he hissed, trying to drag her along.
"Trust me," was all she could say, gripping him tight and pulling him towards the sphere. It didn't have the hammer, but there was a stone on the ground, and if the dreams were true and what she read was right…
She picked up the stone and slammed it into the sphere, their world turning a bright white for a second, cracking and fizzing around them, before they hit the cold earth once more.
The two sheep aimed their weapon at where they'd been a second later, putting them down as all they smelt was a hazy lingering scent of ozone.
.
.
Nick winced back as a bright light burnt away his night vision, the world far darker than it should be as it faded. Blinking, waiting for it to adjust back in, he and Judy tenderly walked through the forest towards its source.
"Judy… What the heck was… -Okay, if what I think has just happened has just happened…"
The fox and bunny reached the edge of a small clearing and froze, two figures standing tall in the centre. They turned to see them, their eyes meeting each other.
"Nick?" the human Judy asked, looking up to the red head next to her.
"Yes, I see them too."
.
.
.
"Okay," the fox said, slipping inside the motel room. "Got you lot food, I… -I don't remember any bug burgers in your universe, but…" He trailed off as he saw the overwhelming look of disgust on the human Judy's face.
After discovering them, and a few awkward introductions, a plan had been quickly put together. Find a nearby motel, have the native Nick and Judy book a room for a few nights, sneak in the human versions through the window at the back.
It had all gone well, only for the issue of food to come up. Out in this part of the country, the options tended to be cheap herbivore restaurants or bug-burga, and from what they gathered grass was one of the few things humans did not eat.
"Wasn't there a pizza place, or a Chinese?" the human Judy asked, her face wincing up at the patty. "Do you even have a China?" Levering one corner of the bun up, she looked over the brown slab before wincing back, slamming it down on the ground.
"Sorry, it's all we could get,," was all the fox could say, as his human version took a tentative bite of the meal. Before relaxing somewhat, swallowing down and taking another.
The human Judy just looked on, unimpressed.
"Just, take the slice out. There's salad, fries, onion rings…"
"There might be bits of cockroach leg on it, or…"
"Cricket," Nick corrected. "And mealworm."
She glared at him, the fox feeling a shiver run down his spine. That was Judy, alright…
Regardless, she carefully began picking at the more suitable parts of their meal, the travellers from the other world filling their empty stomachs, an awkward silence permeating the room.
What else was there for them to say?
The awkward interaction had been gotten out of the way of in the forest, and on the hike back out what they knew from the dreams was confirmed and much of the rest had been filled in. Bellwether and her fellow mammals, using one of those devices, had fled to their world. Aiming to hold out there, they found a cabin and planned to use what few nighthowlers they had to scare a farmer family out of their home, letting the land lie abandoned and giving them a safe place to stay.
Judy, the bunny Judy, scoffed. Was Bellwether really that unoriginal.
To which the human Judy had said that she'd been grilling out her partners in crime over the same thing.
"So, she wants to get back home here, just after the heat has gone down," Nick said.
Their Nick nodded in agreement. "Try and work on some fake ID or something, sneak back in when the heat is off."
"Only," the human Judy followed through, "we stole their way back."
"But you'll have to send it back there when you go back. That's how it works, it seems."
The group sat quietly for a second or two before the male fox spoke up. "Okay, let's work this through. We want our Bellwether and co back here, under lock and key. Right?"
"Right," the human Nick agreed. "And we want to get back home, with the cure for that family, right?"
"Right."
"Well, we can get the first part done easily enough," Hopps agreed. "All four of us go in… Do they have any weapons?"
"A shotgun from the family farm…"
"Right, and we have tranqs. We dart them, haul them back… It's the cure part that's tricky…"
"-Can't they just wait until their scientists find a cure?" Nick asked. "Our ones did, and it's not like it's being covered up or anything…"
"How long did it take your lot to find the cure?" Hobbs asked.
"After they worked out what was doing it, and after they got rid of the two or three saboteurs Bellwether had put in, a week or two… But, do you have any nighthowler like stuff in your world?"
The human Nick shook his head. "No. So I'm guessing they won't have anything to look at for the cure either. -All I've heard is that they're literally trying to replace their blood over time, dilute out the toxins."
Hopps winced. "That… We can't just leave them like that."
"I know," Hobbs agreed, wiping her face. "Even if they're cured… They'll still think that it's a toxin around their home or something, they might end up thinking they have to abandon it all together."
Her partner scoffed. "Chances are that's going to happen anyway. Or what, we tell them about all this?"
The fox Nick nodded along, only to pause. "Why not?"
All eyes turned to him, Officer Hobbs speaking out. "I mean, I guess I'd be in possession of the portal stone when this is over. I could take them to this world." She gently tapped the canvas bag she was keeping it in.
"I mean you could," the vulpine began. "But I was thinking bigger."
"What do you mean…" Hopps trailed off.
In the end, it was the human Nick who spoke. "We go public. Take you back, show you off to them, the Chief." He smiled. "Okay, now I'm on for that just to see the look on his face."
The Fox shrugged. "Not just them, and not just us."
.
.
.
"This is ZNN with Fabienne Growley. Tonight. New mammals from a new dimension."
Officer Wilde had seen the news report a few times before, so let it trail off into the background. Having brought their human counterparts to a shocked Chief, who almost fainted from the sight, they'd explained their situation and plan.
To which he'd, with notable resigning, agreed to. In contact with ZNN, the news of a parallel universe, with alternate mammals, alternate versions of people, and Dawn Bellwether and co on the loose in had taken the world by storm.
The new mayor and multiple foreign dignitaries had bombarded their human versions, though what they had to say was always simple and clear. They needed the mammals to go back in, establish official contact, and get the fugitive sheep.
There was a lot of apprehension though, and so an agreement was soon reached.
A squad of ZBI mammals, along with Nick and Judy and Nick and Judy, would travel back through to the human world. Capture Bellwether, deliver vials of the Nighthowler cure which the human Nick and Judy would say they found at one of the cabins. The mammals would return home, taking the hopper-stone as it was now called with them.
All to prepare for the official first contact.
Standing in the forest, Nick, Judy, Nick, Judy and agents Jack and Skye held them close to the sphere. The human Judy brought up a rock and slammed it down.
Around them, cameras and science teams recorded a bright flash and then…
Nothing.
.
.
Feet hit the hard stone, the mammals and humans looking up and around at the campfire area and the woods around. Immediately, the ZBI mammals had their weapons drawn and up, quickly followed by those in the ZPD. It was the humans who took the lead though, marching back up to the run-down cabin, ready to…
They froze, seeing it empty, the door rattling in the wind.
"Well?" Jack asked, lowering his gun and glancing at the Nicks and Judys. "Got any backup plan?"
The human Nick looked down and smiled. "Hey, remember how your Chief reacted to seeing us?"
He brought out his phone and smiled.
.
.
Pulling up, the Chief got out of his vehicle, a few officers behind him. He was relieved. Extremely, extremely relieved. But also mad. No, furious.
Sure, Hobbs and Wilde getting back in contact with him after their brief disappearance was a damn relief… But hearing the damn idiot had gone off and encouraged Hobbs, after her mental illness… Scratch that, seemed to have caught it himself with how he was talking about an alternate universe with animals versions of themselves…
He could slap him.
He'd just settle to asking to do up his straitjacket and personally throwing him in the padded cell.
The cracking of branches pulled his attention off to the edge of the woods, breathing a sigh of relief as he saw them emerge…
And then he saw the walking, fully clothed, bunnies and foxes behind them…
.
"Well," the red fox said, looking down. "At least our Chief isn't a fainter."
.
.
"Tonight on CNN. Parallel universes, talking animals, interdimensional travel and far more. Diplomatic relationships have been established, but a hunt for the supposed fugitives that first made the jump remain ongoing."
The scene cut to a pair of officers. "Honestly, we don't have any trace of them. Sure, we've tested sheep at multiple farms, but I've had officers get cited or accused of animal cruelty. Honestly, at this point I'm wondering if these sheep in wolf's clothing, met their end from a wolf in wolf's clothing. Pretty fitting irony, to be honest."
"Yes, it would be," came a smoky voice, the man sitting back and turning off the screen. Placing the remote down on the rich dark wood desk, he gazed past it at the lit-up cityscape beyond. Finally though, knitting his ring adorned fingers he looked back at the… Unusual guests he'd received. Passed up from low level distributors, to regional bosses, to him.
The tiny talking ewe smiled as she walked up to him. Acting as if she didn't belong in some kind of petting zoo…
"So, all through your attempts to reach someone of my power, you have said that there would be a great prize for those involved. No?"
She nodded. "I have a list of those who brought me up to this point. I'd expect a fair reward, or if it's your style a quick elimination, for their work."
Coughing a little he smiled, glancing at the two heavy built bodyguards to his side, weapons holstered and ready. "I might reward them, and choose the quick elimination for you, little lamb." She gave no reaction. "I can see many people I know paying very much for… Some unique kebabs or chops. But I presume you have something of more value to offer me. A way into this other world for instance, a new market."
She smiled, glancing at the rams behind her. "No, something else. Sorry to be unoriginal boys, but desperate times call for tried and trusted measures." And with that, she stepped forwards. "In my time as a fugitive in your world, before being forced to flee by certain pests… I learnt enough from your news sources that this world is all too familiar to our own. Different bodies, different species, but at the end of the day it all comes down to power. And who has it. Who can rally who to their side, split up the enemies, bring the latest weapons to the battlefield."
He raised an eyebrow, looking on as she stepped forward with a burlap sack. Opening it up, he frowned at the site. "And so what, you bring me mouldy onions?"
"Oh no," she said, her voice overly sweet. "These are just a little few things called Nighthowlers. And once you can see what they can do…" A little giggle. "I am certain that a human with the power and influence of yourself will have no trouble in finding plenty of eager little customers."
A wave to his side and he asked one of his hench mammals a quick question, the person sifting through some files and returning him a report. He scrolled through it, reading the brief newspaper articles and medical reports. And as he looked up and saw the sheep, he smiled too. "Consider me, very interested."