Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia, that honor belongs to Disney, I do, however, own the characters of my own making!
The Long Road Ahead
By THE DARK SOLDIER06
Chapter One: A Reason to Fight
January 2, 1944
20 Miles Outside Fort Pawing
Georgia
4:32 a.m.
The world was in chaos. To the east, there was the threat of Nazi Germany, which was ruled by a deer stag who decided that two little black boxes of facial hair made a nice mustache. To the west was the threat of the Imperial Pawanese empire and their undying devotion to give their lives to a monkey who thought he was a god. These world superpowers had started causing trouble back in 1939, when the Nazis invaded Poland, and then the Pawanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1940, thus dragging the United States of the Zootopian Mammals into the great conflict known as the second world war.
After the events that took place on December 7, 1940, the Army, Navy, Airforce, and the Marine Corp, all received a huge number of recruits. These recruits had come from all across Zootopia to fight for their country. There were city boys who had never even touched, let alone seen a firearm before. Then there were the more outdoor oriented group that consisted mainly of conservationists and farmers.
One such fox, who was riding on the bus towards the hell that was known as boot camp, came from such a profession. He had been living on a farm in the state of Texas for all his life, with his Mom, Dad, and his older brother Paul. Paul had a big influence on Nick's life, for you see, it was Paul who taught him how to shoot a rifle. Paul also helped Nick develop his moral compass, teaching him when it was time for a mammal to do something to make the world around him a better place. Hell, Paul would probably be right beside Nick on that bus, getting ready to unleash a can of Zootopian patriotism on those krauts and paws, if it weren't for the thief that shot Paul dead for his wallet.
As Nick watched his brother being lowered into the ground, he had come to a resolve. He didn't want to let Paul's teachings about life go to waste. Paul spent all that time teaching Nick about what was right and what was wrong. At that time Nick knew what was right, what he could do to have the most positive impact on the world around him. So, the very next day, he walked through that recruiter's door and signed his name on the dotted line.
That lead him to where he was now, sitting on a bus surrounded by mammals he didn't know, heading towards a place where his mind and body would be pushed to their limits, and then some.
In the little remaining time Nick could think to himself without having a drill instructor yelling at him, he started to question the real reason as to why he came here. He didn't do it for the glory, though if he was successful that would be an added bonus. Even though he loved the beautiful vixen that he was engaged to, he didn't do it for her. He didn't do it for the memorials or honor as well, because the fox was thinking of a much bigger reason as to why he was doing this. He would do it to rid the world of the mammals who threatened that which he and so many other mammals held dear, a precious thing that has to be fought for, freedom.
The bus all of a sudden stopped. Nick was so occupied with his thoughts, that he was unaware that they had arrived on base. The entry doors to the bus opened and a wolf dressed in the uniform of a drill instructor walked onboard. Everyone froze at the presence of the wolf, who gave each new recruit a hard and intimidating stare.
"My name is Sargeant Padfoot, welcome to Fort Pawing! When I say, and only when I say, all of you will stand up, exit the vehicle and line up outside on the yellow lines! Do you little shits understand?", the wolf bellowed out. He got almost no response from the new recruits who were stunned for the moment.
"Why aren't you low lives responding to a simple instruction, Sound off!", The wolf got a better response from the new recruits who resounded with a discordant chorus of, "Yes Sargeant!" He knew it was going to be a hard road for them, but he didn't have the time to think about their feelings or any of that crap. He was there to get this batch of recruits ready to fight for their country and keep it safe by any means necessary. So, wasting no more time, the drill took a deep breath and screamed at the top of his lungs.
"GET OFF MY BUS NOW, YOU MAGGOTS, OR I WILL KILL YOU AND ADD YOU TO TOMORROWS CHOW MENU! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!", everyone, not wanting to make the drill more upset than he seemed to be, got off the bus, lined up, and prepared for their 22 week-long stay in the devil's anus.
22 Weeks Later
Nick felt relieved that it was finally over. All the ruck sack marches, all the pushups, sit-ups, and planks, all the running, it was all over. Though there were times during Nicks training he wished he could have avoided, there would always be the good times that everyone would remember. One of Nicks favorite memories was how he managed to hustle the bunny doe recruit into doing something stupid in front of the drill that earned her a good long shark attack from Drill Instructor Padfoot. Nick had however underestimated the bunny, and she got back at him with a shark attack from Padfoot and a couple extra fire watches for himself. From then on, he had a respect for the bunny named Judy Hopps, and he went on to be great friends with her.
Nick stood tall and proud as he stood in formation with his brothers and sister in arms. Their uniforms were crisp and sharp, freshly ironed and any patches were within a millimeters difference from the set regulations. For you see, today was a very special day. Today was graduation day, the day that marked when another select group of mammals earned the title of a United States Soldier of the Zootopian Mammals.
It was a very big occasion, the stands in which the audience were seated were a testament to that. Nick could barely find where his Mom, Dad, and Scarlett (his fiancé) were seated, among the thousands of mammals who were in attendance to witness the occasion.
When liberty call was announced all the people in the stands became like water and moved in one giant wave of fur to hug and kiss the mammals they had not seen for 22 long weeks. Nick was surrounded on all sides by his family with a group hug. They left the parade grounds shortly after to head home and celebrate Nicks great achievement. The fox was very unaware at the time that somewhere, some higher ranked mammal was preparing to send him orders, that would make the fox and his friends a part of the biggest military operation to date.
A N: So, there it is, the first installment of my Zootopia/CoD crossover, I hope you enjoyed.
I know that in the time of WW2, females were not the ones to go and fight on the battlefield, but I decided I would let that one slide. On another note, I got all my dates right, so there's that.
As always, don't be afraid to leave a review and follow if you feel it's worth your time.
Wishing you Fair Winds and Following Seas, THE DARK SOLDIER06.