Chapter Text
Do you know when the most important events of life happen? When the moments that we will remember the most come at us?
Well, here is something that a lot of people agree: they come when you least expect them to.
The things you will remember for the rest of your life are often the things that come when you are not ready for them at all. Like a tragedy in the family when you are on the gym exercising and then you receive that fateful call on your phone. Or when you are sitting on the coffee table with your wife and she suddenly tells you that you will be parents.
Suddenly, what started as any other day will become one that you won't forget for as long as you live, for better or for worse. And you never saw it coming.
This day was going to be like that, and no one in the city of Zootopia was the wiser as they woke up in the morning.
Certainly not Judy Hopps, who woke up early, stretching herself and then pressing the button on her radio so she could hear the news as she had her breakfast and prepared for another day of work.
"... and the changes in Zootopia's immigration laws continue to cause an influx of non-mammalian species into the city. The efforts of the city's council to house and accommodate the growing population has led to discussions for the creation of two new districts on the city, although such projects are still on their initial planning states and waiting for the approval of the local administration, with some defending those projects to be imperative to speed up their approval so the new species can he properly welcomed in Zootopian community. Others, however, question if such changes could be detrimental to the economy, as accommodating new species into the city's biomes could have great logistical costs and cause unpredicted social problems, and they advocate for a stricter regulation of the immigration laws, with a particular worry on the species of reptiles considered venomous as well as for large birds of prey..."
Judy heard it while eating from her morning carrot salad, followed by some testimonies of random mammals, most of them sounding like people who were worried about their and their families' safety with the presence of venomous and potentially vicious reptiles and birds in Zootopia, but who all ended up sounding mostly prejudiced with how baseless most of their claims were.
Judy sighed, and she then placed her plates on the sink and then proceeded to put on her uniform.
"Bucky, where is my jacket!?"
"Why do you ask!?"
"Because I need it to go to work!"
"And do you need your jacket for that? It is in the middle of summer!"
"Well, excuse me if I like to go out looking stylish! Those were expensive and I want to show them off!"
"And die from heatstroke while at it? Well, now that would be a nice thing on your gravestone, huh? 'Died stylishly'!"
"Oh, shut up!"
"No, you shut up!"
"No, you shut up!"
"No, YOU shut up!"
Judy continued to get dressed while they continued with their morning discussion, accompanied by the usual banging on the walls, and then she wished them a "good day, guys", and got out of her apartment.
She came across a frilled-neck lizard standing just outside of the apartment right by the side of hers', looking worried at the other door, from where the screams were coming.
"I still haven't gotten used to how loud they are..." the frilled-neck said when she noticed Judy there, to what the rabbit said:
"Give it time, you get used to. Gotta go now, see yah later."
"Yeah, me too. Got a job interview today..." The lizard said, standing by the door just a minute more before closing it and going back to get ready.
Meanwhile, Judy went all the way to the entrance of her building and found... nothing there.
Her partner was late to pick her up. Again.
"Alright then..." Judy said as she fished her phone out of her pocket and started dialing her chronically late partner.
"-and they want to let those scalies and featherheads on the city!? Are you serious!? Just because of that snake and those two cops!? Come on! I already deal with a lot without worrying about those invading species in our city! So, we let them in and what!? They take our territory! They take our food, our homes, our jobs! I'm not standing for it! We gotta show them that this is a mammal city! That this is OUR turf, and that if they want the privilege of being here, then those aliens better darn well know their place!"
The sound of that program on the tv continued to play. It was white noise, like pretty much everything else from that specific channel, to the fox, currently sleeping on his improvised bed on a drawer of an old cabinet, with a pillow under his body and a moth-bitten blanket over his body as he snored, an arm and a leg hanging over the edges of the drawer.
However, the fox was suddenly shaken from his sleep by a loud sound coming from his phone, which was charging right next to him, connected to an outlet.
And this was not your average ringtone, but one that the fox made for himself with the help of his dear partner, and one that rung out with the voice of a familiar rabbit yelling:
"WAKE UP, YOU DUMB FOX! YOU'RE LATE AGAIN!"
The fox snorted and his limbs flayed around wildly as he was suddenly shaken off the dream he was having by Judy's voice on his phone. And it continued to yell as the fox scrambled over to reach for his phone, slipping and face-planting on the floor before he managed to catch himself up and to answer to his phone as quickly as he could and, with a tone as even as he could, say:
"Hey there, Carrots. I was just midway getting dressed."
"Liar." Said the voice of the rabbit in an unamused tone on the other end of the call. "You overslept because you stayed up till late watching the late-night marathon of movies on that tv channel run by those bigoted jerks, didn't you?"
"Hey, they might be jerks, but those guys know how to pick their movies. Nothing beats the classics." Nick said with a smirk. "By the way, I didn't stay up till late. I simply-"
"Exercised my natural functions as a nocturnal mammal. Yeah, I got it the first thirty times." Judy said, "And yet, you are late."
"Oh, that's where you're wrong, dear carrot-cake. ~" Nick made sure to let his smile "Like I said, I was half-way through getting dressed, after a hefty breakfast, all so I could meet my favorite bunny in Zootopia for us to spend another day making this lovely city a better place."
Judy's answer to this eloquent delivery was a deadpan:
"I'll believe that if you arrive within the next fifteen minutes."
"Well, see you in fifteen minutes then." Nick said with a suave smile and voice, and calmly ended the call.
And then, he dashed like a furry red bullet across his apartment.
Back and forth. His uniform, deodorant (lots of it), cereal and soy milk (both dumped into his muzzle and swallowed in a hurry, as the fox hoped they would turn into mush together on his stomach in time to be properly digested), his keys and wallet.
With all of that, the fox dashed out of his apartment, barely reminding to close and lock the door behind himself and went down the road with the speed of a missile.
Foxes weren't built from speed, but it was amazing what one could be when they had the fear as a motivator.
Including the fear of being yelled at by their little rabbit partner.
And, of course, having been on Zootopia for long enough that you know a lot of shortcuts around the city certainly helped.
Nick was on the very corner of Judy's block, panting with his tongue all out of his mouth, taking in long, hard gulps of air while desperately trying to recover his breath on the one-and-a-half minute he had of the rabbit's deadline, and he knew she was counting it because he could hear her foot thumping impatiently from where he stood.
Luckily, he was able to recover his breath, and then spray another load of deodorant all over his body before, with all naturality a long-running former hustler could muster, turning the corner of the street and walking calmly towards his partner, making sure to wave at her as she turned to look at him with her paws on her hips.
"Told you I would meet you in fifteen minutes." Nick said to her. "Had to use a shortcut or two but made it easy peasy. ~"
"You know I can still smell your sweat over that whole can of deodorant you sprayed yourself with, right?" Judy said to him, and she sniffed him a bit closer. "Ugh, you didn't even bathe!"
"Okay, first of all, rude!" Nick said, "Second, foxes are known for being a type of mammal with a strong natural musk that the females of my kind consider attractive, and that just happens to be more noticeable when we are clean after bathing with unscented neutral soap, which I use due to allergies. Now, how about we stop wasting time and got to work? You're kind of holding us back now, Carrots."
The rabbit, although having a few choice words to give to the fox in answer to that, decided to just let an exasperated sigh instead and go along with the fox towards the subway.
As they were there, she did notice that some animals with a stronger scent of smell did made faces when Nick came closer, before turning away while pinching their noses.
And she also noticed how more "colorful" the subway was, now that it had animals with varied colors of scales and feathers in them. Like the group of chameleons having a breakdancing competition in one of the benches with a bunch of macaws, or like the flamingo leaning over an alligator so he could read the newspaper over his shoulder, what the bigger reptile seemed not to care so much.
I mean, he didn't seem like he cared about the hornbill literally sitting on his head as he too was readying the newspaper alongside him.
Zootopia really is becoming a more inclusive city… Judy thought.
Then she noticed how a lot of mammals, which still made up the majority in nearly any place of the city, scooted away from the reptiles and birds, and a lot of them whispered among themselves. And Judy, with her sensitive rabbit ears, could catch what they were whispering in hushed tones, and knew most of it was not nice.
We are moving forward... Slowly, but we are.
Soon, their train stopped on their station, and the two mammals came out alongside a myriad of other animals into the station, walking up the stairs and then going out to walk straight into the entrance of the ZPD, just as a peacock walked out.
"Thanks for the help, darling! ~" said the bird with a wave of his wing, before walking out of his massive tail lifted just an inch or two above the ground, the long feathers nearly hitting Judy's ears as he turned, causing the bunny to duck before continuing on her way towards the main desk.
In there, Clawhauser was sitting on his favorite spot, eating from a box of donuts while he greeted the bunny and fox like they were used to from him after months of knowing the bubbly cheetah.
"So, what the fancy bird there wanted?" Nick said, referring to the peacock wearing a tuxedo who just left the building. To what Ben said he had stopped to ask for information, as he wanted to know if he needed permits for a party on his new house near the center.
"Apparently someone from his apartment complex told him that birds needed special permit from city hall and the police to throw parties because of noise from their calls and of their feather shedding." The cheetah said as he put a thick book under his desk, straining a little under the weight. "I explained to him that there was no rule like that on the city's laws, and that he was free to throw a party and invite whoever he wanted, as long as he respected the condominium's rules."
"Yeah, everyone loves throwing parties." Nick said with a smirk, and Judy soon was talking to the cheetah and asking if everyone was already on the bullpen for the briefing, what the cheetah confirmed.
"Including the... new hire." Benjamin spoke the last part in a tone that was nearly conspiratorial, as if telling a secret to the two cops.
"He talked to me as soon as he arrived, and I swear the poor guy looked all lost like a cub. I mean, if cubs had green scales and thick tails that made three people trip when he was walking to the bullpen."
"Okay, C. Thanks." Judy said to the cheetah, and she and Nick were soon on their way to the briefing room, where they found most of the other cops already gathered. Including the "new hire" that Clawhauser just told them about.
And he was a figure who was hard to miss, even as he sat on the corner of the room, trying to look like he was trying to be as non-visible as possible, sitting there with his blue police uniform which contrasted with the moss-green of his scales, he played with his black claws, golden eyes flickering around the room as he sat very awkwardly, once those chairs were not exactly made for a crocodile's tail.
He seemed very uncomfortable there. A fact that seemed to be aggravated by the fact most other officers seemed to keep their distance from him, with some even casting glances his way before whispering.
"Looks like our fellow cops are not keen to welcome the new scaly brother-in-blue, are they?" Nick whispered to Judy, who looked around, and then at the crocodile who was sitting all alone and starting to look as sad as a kid being singled out during lunch.
"Well, I am!" she said suddenly, and she marched towards the crocodile, with Nick coming right after her.
The croc was surprised when someone talked to him, and even more when he saw it was a rabbit and a fox, both of which seemed friendly... and quite familiar.
Then he recognized them.
"Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde!" the croc said to them. "The ones who helped expose those two conspiracies! Wow, you two are legends!" he then offered a big scaly hand to them. "Craig O'Dile, graduated at top of my class on the academy and the first reptile of the ZPD. Wow, I can't believe I'm talking to the two of you!"
"Well, you can believe it, pal." Nick said, shaking the big hand with his usual smirk, and so did Judy. "And, as the first bunny and fox on the ZPD, we wish you all the best in our little piece of tax-paid heaven that is Precinct 1."
O'Dile nodded, and soon Chief Bogo was making it into the room, prompting Nick and Judy to rush to their usual spot by the front, so they could be in sight of the Chief as he got into his podium and started addressing everyone once they sat down.
"Okay then, we have a lot to do today, as well as we've had on the last few weeks." Bogo pulled out his glasses as he got ready to read from his files. "However, first there is a few announcements that I need to make. For starters, we are still looking for the one who doused the liquid soap from the males' restroom with blue fur dye."
Bogo made a pause and looked straight at Nick as he spoke those words.
The fox noticed his gaze, and he also looked to the side, seeing that some of the other cops were also looking his way. Delgato was growling at him as he rested his paws, both as blue as the sea, over the desk.
"Well, wish you luck finding whoever it was, sir." Nick said with all casualness of the world, which caused Judy to facepalm and Bogo's ear to twitch as he looked at the fox, before deciding it was best for his blood-pressure to just let it go and move on.
"On another matter..." the buffalo spoke a bit more seriously. "As part of the city's new non-mammalian integration act, the ZPD is now taking in applications from other varieties of animal species. And, as a result, we have a crocodile recruit." Craig got up, a smile on his face as he got ready to be introduced, however:
"Not that I care about it or anything, just mentioned because, you know, protocol. Now, for the assignments."
And so, with the casualness that everyone who had been there enough times already knew and expected from Chief Bogo, the buffalo passed the assignments. Delgato, Fangmeyer, Higgins and Rhinowitz were put to patrol the East Side, as there was were some protests on that area due to the great influx of birds moving there, and they were to ensure the safety. Wolfinzky and Grizolli would be investigating a case of some break ins that were, supposedly, the work of a chameleon, and Bogo told them to "trust their noses". And so forth.
"And O'Dile..." Bogo said, looking at the croc, who was sitting on his corner all alone, being one of the few animals left on the room. "Since you still don't have a partner, it will be parking duty for you today."
"Yes, Chief Bogo..." the croc said to the buffalo, looking down. "I'm used to be alone, anyways..."
Judy and Nick shared a look as they heard the croc say that.
"Now, for Hopps and Wilde, you two will be offering extra security for the public event on the central square. Gazelle is making a public speech on the pro-diversity rally, and you both know how those events can cause all kinds of wackos to gather."
With this said, Bogo was about to end the meeting, when Judy lift her paw and said:
"Chief, would it be okay if I requested for O'Dile to be paired with me and my partner?"
This caused the remaining animals on the room to pause and look at her, including Bogo, who had a raised eyebrow.
"Wilde and I could use some reinforcement in case things prove to be rough. Officer O'Dile would be of great help."
"Because I'm big and scary?" the croc said from where he'd been sitting, to what Judy said it was because, like he himself pointed out, he graduated at the top of his class.
"Besides, this would certainly help with the whole 'look how we can get along, people'." Nick said, trying to be helpful by pointing out how their newest reptile hire would make them look good for the public in an event like that. Bogo looked at the two, and then sighed.
"You know what? Fine. I don't really care. But you're both responsible if the newbie screws up on your watch." Bogo then simply walked out, leaving the fox and bunny to talk with the new croc recruit.
"Is it really okay for me to tag along with you?" the croc asked as the three of them made it out of the bullpen, still drawing a lot of looks with what a diverse little trio they were. "I mean, it is literally my first day, and you two are such famous officers..."
"No problem at all, big guy." Nick said to the reptile with a dismissive gesture. "Carrots and I don't mind some tagging along. Actually, it would be nice having a big lug like you around to help with the heavy lifting."
"Nick, cut it out!" Judy said, giving him a punch to the arm which made the fox visibly flinch. "Don't worry, Craig. Just stick to us and it will be fine. You will do great."
To the crocodile, it seemed that the rabbit was being nicer than she needed to be with someone she hardly even knew. Judy, however, was only being as nice to him as she wished someone else had been to her back on the day when she was the newbie.
She could certainly identify with being the new animal on a place where no one else was like you, after all.
Soon, the three of them were in a cruiser. Not Nick and Judy's usual ride, since Craig would not fit in it. Luckily, there were bigger cruisers available for megafauna-sized officers, although most of them still lacked the proper adaptations for long and muscular tails, such as the ones reptiles had, forcing the croc to sit awkwardly with his tail curled over himself and resting over his lap, while Nick and Judy had to sit a tad bit awkwardly on the seat made for a much bigger mammal than they both.
After a couple minutes of driving, which involved then giving a lot of instructions to Craig, who was new to the city and still didn't knew the roads right, they arrived into the central station, where a crowd was already gathered.
Mammals, reptiles, birds, all those types of animals were there. And, while many of them seemed to be there to get along, it appeared that some were keen on causing trouble.
"We cannot have those aliens on our city!" someone said, it was an old goat holding a sign saying "ZOOTOPIA FOR THE MAMMALS"
"We need to run them out! Who's with me!?"
And, surprisingly and worryingly, some of the present mammals, mainly the ones gathered around the goat, agreed with him.
"Uhh, excuse me?"
"Wha!? Whut!? What's it!? What do you want, alien!?"
"I'm a crocodile, sir..." Craig said meekly.
"You're an invading species!" the goat yelled at him, and a lot of the mammals around him agreed, all of them yelling and jeering at Craig, who shrunk under their tirade.
Luckily, Judy was there and, as assertive as Zootopia's hero bunny cop could be, stepped up to help, and she quickly put the goat on his place, while steering Craig away while comforting him while patting his leg.
"Don't worry. Some folks are just jerks." Judy said to the croc. "Sadly, a lot of mammals are still like that."
"It's okay... a lot of reptiles are jerks too." Craig walked alongside the rabbit back to Nick, who had just bought some food from a local store and was inviting the two to come and sit with him.
"Carrots, guess who I found just by the vending machine buying himself a whole friend fish?"
Immediately following that question, a blue scaly head in the end of a long neck poked from behind the fox.
"Judy!"
"Gary!"
"Uhhh... Craig?" the croc lifted his hand as he spoke that, quite unsure of this place there.
Just a couple minutes later, they were all sitting together on a bench, and the introductions were made.
"Wow... Gary de'Snake himself!" Craig said as he shook the snake's tail enthusiastically. "I-I can't believe I'm actually meeting you, sir! It's such an honor!"
"Oh, the honor's mine for meeting Zootopia's first reptile cop." Gary said with a smile. "So, you with Judy and Nick? You guys partnering with him?"
"Only until he can be assigned a more permanent partner." Judy said to the snake. "He came with us to give extra security to the event. And, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, overseeing everything." Gary said, "You know, since I have kind of become the unofficial reptile representative in Zootopia since the whole incident and stuff..."
"Well, no surprise, since you basically helped undo over a century of political turmoil between mammals and reptiles." Nick said to the snake. "How's the family, by the way?"
"Oh, just fine. Settling well on the city." Gary said happily. "Which is good, since that was basically the reason why that whole debacle started in the first place. You know, so my family could have a place to stay?"
Yeah, the cops remembered that part well. They both knew how Gary was, before anything else, a family-oriented animal. The type who would go through any lengths for his loved ones, even if it meant he would have to break the law.
That was how he, along with the two cops, ended up becoming heroes of the reptile community, which grew more with each day on the last months ever since their adventure.
And this included Craig O'Dile, a croc who moved to Zootopia and, inspired by what those three did, wanted to become a cop in order to fight for justice and make that city, and the world, a better place for everyone.
"I just want to do something as amazing as what you guys did." Craig said to the three of them. "Just... something big and good for the world, you know? Kind of like when I was a hatchling and dreamed of being a superhero. I used to run around the house with one of my dad's handkerchiefs around my neck like a cape, pretending to be 'Captain Croco' and fighting the big swampy monsters."
"D'awwwww ~" Judy and Gary both said, finding the mental image adorable, while Nick had a smirk as he memorized the name "Captain Croco" and though of how much material that gave him to work with for the coming months.
"Yeah, silly, right?" Craig said as he rubbed the back of his head, the scales around his neck standing up slightly in a reptile's equivalent to an embarrassed blush. Judy, however, told him that she knew what it was like to have a dream as a kid.
"Mine was to be a cop. As you can see, it worked wonders for me." She said proudly, and Craig nodded at her, saying how he really had wanted to be a superhero when he was a hatchling, but he changed it to become a cop as an adult, as it was, according to him, "the second-best thing".
"But it is being harder than I anticipated..." Craig said, looking down sadly, and the cops and snake all shared a look. Soon, they were all comforting him the best they could.
"Don't worry, it will get better." Judy said, "Mammals just need more time to get used to you and the other reptiles. Don't worry, things are getting better."
"Just stay strong, buddy." Nick said, "Oh, and don't let them see they got you. Try leaning on the 'I'm a big and strong reptile predator who is not shaken by anything' for now. It will do wonders to keep them away."
"And remember not to give up!" Gary said helpfully, with the same optimism and friendliness that made an impression on everyone he met. "Even if things might seem bad now, they always get better! Like Judy said, they are getting better as we speak! I mean, look around! See all those mammals and reptiles and birds all coming together! And they are getting along! ... Well, most of them. But this proves we are on the right path, and soon we will all be getting along as friends! Just keep hanging on a bit longer and it will all work out in the end."
Their words were all supportive, although on slightly different ways. They all, however, helped improve the croc's mood, as he smiled at them all, and he thanked them all honestly for the support.
He really believed them when they told him it would get better.
However, what neither Craig nor everyone else in there knew, was how strange everything was about to become.
And it all happened with someone pointing at the sky and saying:
"Look! What's happening to those clouds!?"
Soon, the eyes followed that finger which pointed at the sky, seeing how the clouds were acting in a very strange way.
They were being drawn to a single point on the sky. One right above the stage that was being set for Gazelle's show for that gathering, as she, as a defender of equality and understanding, was all in favor of a peaceful manifestation that promoted integration of non-mammals into the Zootopian community.
Now, however, even she and her tigers were looking at the sky, where the clouds were gathering in a ring above the square, spinning slowly as if caught on a breeze that kept them on that perfect circular formation.
"Look!" the old goat said, standing with the anti-reptile and anti-bird protestors. "It's a sign! It's a sign from above! From the Great Goat of the Sky! He is angry at those aliens in our city! He wants them to leave!"
While some people looked at him with varying looks, most people were too busy watching the ring of clouds. Which was... speeding up.
The clouds were spinning in counter-clockwise direction, and they were moving faster and faster. The wind was catching up speed, and now it was ruffling up the clothes and fur of present animals. Bolts of lightning, each one several dozens of meters in length, jumped across the ring of clouds, going from one end of it to the other, and they stroke with increasing frequency, until...
Gasps.
Dozens, maybe even a hundred, of gasps produced by mouths and by beaks all around. Furry, feathery and scaly animals all around gasped as a single organism as all of them witnessed something impossible happen right before their eyes.
"Uhhhh, guys?" Craig said, looking above with wide eyes, alongside the bunny, fox and snake, all of them with wide eyes and slack jaws that hang open. "Did the sky just broke?"
Well, there was no other way of describing it. Not when the very sky seemed to fragment. The blue being crisscrossed by lightning bolts and then, like a window shattering into a spiderweb-like pattern, opened and caved upon itself, revealing a hole that opened to a second sky, which nearly seemed like it was hidden behind the first one and had been revealed now that the panel of the first sky broke.
A sky that was made with pink, green and yellow colors, and dotted with black stars.
No one said anything about it. Not even the old goat, who seemed to be as at loss of words as everyone else. They all just stared at this hole in the sky, surrounded by a ring of clouds which were still letting out lightnings.
And then, something else happened.
Something was coming. From inside the hole. They all knew because of the sound, and because of the sudden breeze, as if negative pressure being released from the hole.
And this breeze carried the clouds, spinning like a hurricane, in direction to the floor.
At this point, someone screamed. Was it a goat? Or was it a bird squawking in surprise? No one knew, but that was what made all hell break loose.
"It's the end of times!" someone screamed as they ran, and so did everyone else. Suddenly it didn't matter if you were there for being in favor or against non-mammalian immigration. Everyone just wanted to get the heck out of there as fast as their four legs, or wings, could carry them.
"Remain calm!" Judy said. Seeing he panic of the crowd made her cop training kick in, and soon Nick and Craig were both joining her. "Please, leave this place in an ordained manner!" She said that to the crowd, but was pulled out of the way of a running, screaming bull as Gary pulled her towards himself with his tail, wrapping her on his coils just as the clouds, still spinning, hit the ground and spilled forward, with a wind that was strong enough to topple tables and cause smaller mammals and reptiles to be sent flying.
This would have included Nick and Judy, was not for Craig immediately using his own body to shield them and Gary from the strong breeze, effectively protecting them as the wind spread the clouds all over them like a thick, wet mist that made the mammal's fur uncomfortably damp and clinging to their skin.
It lasted for a couple minutes, but them it was over. The breeze stopped. However, the mist remained, and the air seemed... strange. Heavier, somehow.
"You guys okay?" Craig asked, and the three animals told the croc they were fine. However, they were all shaken.
"What the heck was that!?" Nick asked as they all looked around, trying to see anything past their own snouts into that thick mist that tickled the insides of their nostrils each time they breathed, and that smelled strongly of ozone.
And Judy was still in cop mode, as the first thing she did was to radio back at base and let dispatch know that they had a "strange situation" happening.
"Strange situation? What do you mean?" Clawhauser asked, his voice coming distorted and fizzling, as if there was a strong interference with the transmission, but it was still intelligible.
"Just send some reinforcements here, just in case. Me, Wilde and O'Dile will investigate the situation." Judy said before hanging up, and then confirming that her two cop partners were still there... but the snake was not.
"Where's Gary?" that question from Judy seemed to make the two cops realize the snake was not there as well. They looked around, trying to sight him, and even called his name as they continued forward.
As they did, they came across other animals. Animals who seemed like they had not run, either because they were too slow, because they were too scared to run, or because they tripped or could not make it out of there for some other reason.
They all were confused, as the mammals were looking around in alarm, the reptiles were perking to look, and the birds had frizzled, puffing feathers as if they had just been attacked. They were all on edge, however, and Judy, recognizing this, did what she could to tranquilize them, letting them know the cops were there and that they would be working on figuring out the situation and getting it under control.
They were in there for crowd control, after all. And, despite most of the crowd having dissipated, there was still control to be made when there was a situation like that one.
"There he is!" Craig suddenly said, pointing in a direction, and there's where they saw a snake, standing still while staring at... something.
"Gary!" Judy rushed to the snake, calling his name. He did not answer. He just kept looking at something. Judy didn't had time to think about it, as she was soon asking Gary if he was okay and telling him they should try to stay together until they could figure out what was happening.
Once more, Gary did not answer. He was still... staring. With wide eyes, a slack jaw with his forked tongue lolled out of it, staring at the space while Judy, right by his side, called his name while receiving no answer, and getting increasingly worried with is behavior.
"Judy..." Nick's voice caused the bunny to look towards him. And she saw her partner, standing stiff as a board, jaw tight as he stared up and ahead. The same with Craig, who watched with his jaw dropped and hanging open on the same direction as Nick was, as the fox pointed without saying a word.
Judy blinked, and then followed Nick's finger. And then she took was staring like an idiot.
And so was everyone else. For, as the mist caused by the clouds cleared, dissipating into the air as the moisture evaporated, they revealed something in there. Something that was not there a minute ago, and that demanded everyone's attention as it just stood there, with its metallic shell reflecting the light of the sun as it hoovered several feet above the ground without a sound.
"Okay, we are almost there." Chief Bogo said on his radio as he drove his cruiser, speaking to both his officers and Hoggbottom's unity. "Now, one more time, can someone explain to me what we are about to find there?"
That should be the fourth or fifth time Bogo asked someone to explain to him... again.
Well, can you blame him, when all the information he had came from vague reports from Clawhauser, calls to 911 and social media posts? All of which seemed to, either directly or indirectly, hint on... that?
I mean, wouldn't you want to hear some clarification on the matter?
However, soon Bogo would no longer be asking for clarifications, as he and his men would soon be arriving on the square where a minor gathering for mammals and other species would be happening.
It was not a big thing, despite the presence of one of the most mammals in Zootopia there. It was just a small gathering, probably with some minor protests happening at the same time, maybe some altercation between two groups with diverging opinions. That was why he felt that only a few cops on the place, with Wilde and Hopps (and O'Dile) as extra help, in there would be enough to keep things contained and quiet.
However, as Bogo arrived there, the crowd that had gathered did not seemed like the one that would be in there for a small event.
Animals were gathered densely around the place, with many of them with their phones out, either taking videos, or streaming themselves, or making calls and sounding frantic as they talked with whoever they were currently talking with.
They were certainly focused on what was going on, so much that, even as the cruisers arrived with their sirens blaring, very few members of the crowd even bothered to turn their heads to look their way, and only for a couple seconds before focusing back on what was ahead of them.
"Move!" Bogo said as he had to shove an elephant out of the way so he could pass, as he and his other officers cut their way through the dense, packed crowd. "ZPD, let us pass!"
And the people eventually did, moving out of the way and letting the cops walk through. Soon, they were reaching the front of the crowd, and they could see the thing that everyone was so focused on they could not spare even a second of their attention to the cops.
"What in the actual..." Bogo mumbled as he froze in place, his eyes widening in a rare expression of shock, which mimicked the ones of the rest of his officers, as they all took a good look at the thing everyone was so focused on.
It was big. Easily the size of two, maybe three warehouses. It had a sleek, aerodynamic design that was, if you stopped to admire it, quite elegant, although different from anything most of the animals gathered there ever saw in terms of style and form. It was, however, easily recognized as something artificial, as nothing naturally forming could be this... perfect. And it just floated in the air, around fifty feet from the ground, without moving nor making a single noise, like a balloon that was trapped into a pocket of air and could not escape because there was not even the slightest breeze.
The closest thing that came to mind was a blimp. However, that was no blimp. It was made of silvery, dull metal with varying colors on the length of its' shell, with blue glowing trims alongside the sides, and protuberances on the sides that, depending on the angle, could either look like fins or wings. And, on two sides of the aerodynamic vessel, there were panels of something that could be glass, which nearly seemed to make it into viewing ports, what made it hard to say which side was the front and which was the back.
It was... quite the sight.
"Bogo..." Hoggbottom came, standing by the buffalo's side and looking at it with the same expression as the bovine as she spoke.
"Is that thing what we both think it is?"
That question was left unanswered. Bogo could only look at the massive, floating vessel, his brain still trying to come to terms with what he was seeing, and what it meant. Then, he looked around, and it didn't take long for him to see his officers.
"Hopps!" Bogo's voice, still as strong as ever despite how shaken the buffalo was, carried across the square to the ears of the bunny and the other two. "Wilde! O'Dile! Come here now!"
The bunny, fox and croc all stopped the crowd control they had been doing for the past thirty minutes to report to the Chief, who was soon demanding an update on the subject. Judy was the one to give it, as she made a professional and detailed report of all that happened leading to that specific moment to the Chief, who listened to it all while nodding, his expression betraying nothing as he simply heard the rabbit's words and, at the end of it, said:
"And what do you think this could be, Hopps?"
"Wait, seriously?" Nick asked to the buffalo, looking with a raised eyebrow. "Chief, I think we all know what that is." He gestured to the floating vessel, clearly a vehicle, which continued to remain right where it was, despite the gusts of wind that carried pieces of paper, with some of it hitting square on the glass of the viewing port on one of the two ends of it.
Bogo said nothing to Nick's words. Not even to admonish Wilde for the insubordination. He simply looked at the three, and then at the thing, and then at the crowd gathered, all of which were looking at that thing as if it was the most interesting thing that ever came to their city. And Bogo was soon realizing that it was.
And that it was soon going to attract even more attention.
"Let's set a perimeter. You three, keep doing crowd control." The buffalo said to the three, and then he turned to the rest of his officers, some of which had to be yelled at so they would snap out of it and stop staring at the floating thing and start doing their job.
And it was right on time, as Bogo and Razorback's people, working together, managed to set the perimeter just as the crowd started to grow worryingly large. And, of course, that was when the reporters started arriving.
Van after van parked nearby, and out of it came spilling out teams with cameras, each one with at least one mammal holding a mic and having make-up applied to them by their teams, before they stood before the cameras, which then started recording, as they all started making their statements.
"Good morning. I'm Melvin Stagson, from Channel 9's Morning Report, and I'm here on an urgent transmission-"
"-where what was supposed to be a pro-integration rally sponsored by animal rights' activist and popstar Gazelle took an unbelievable turn-"
"-as you can see behind me, the still-unidentified vessel is hoovering nearly fifty feet above the air, where it has remained for nearly an hour ever since its mysterious and sudden appearance-"
"-and no official statement has been made yet, although, as more and more onlookers arrive, it becomes increasingly difficult to deny the nature of what we are seeing-"
At the distance, Bogo watched the reporters make their speeches to the cameras. Bogo had to recognize that most of then were only doing their job. However, there were at least three of them which seemed to be quite passionate (too much) while narrating what was happening, and at least one, which was quite infamous among the ZPD members, was making quite the inflammatory remarks as he pointed at the floating vessel.
"Bunch of vultures..." Bogo muttered under his breath, what was heard by a vulture perking on the police-line placed to control the crowd.
"Excuse me! I take offense to that!"
"Sir, I said you need to stay behind the line!" Bogo said to the vulture, who let out a caw at him before hopping off the line and getting back into the crowd, which was being managed by the cops, as some of them looked like they wanted to get a closer look. Be it the streamers who wanted closer images for their programs or the wannabe influencers who wanted pictures for their profiles. Or the reporters, who would like a close-up for the news, either because they were told to by their superiors at their stations or because they wanted to boost their image by getting exclusive close shots.
And, of course, there was the weirdos. Because there were always the weirdos.
"They are here!"
"Sir, please calm down and remain behind the line!"
Delgato's words were, however, ignored, as the gnu with a tinfoil hat shaped like a disk decorated with Christmas lights which kept flashing with a small battery kept his attention on the great hoovering form.
"They've came! I knew they'd come! I always knew, and I prepared for this!"
"Yeah, I'm sure you did. Look, sir, you really need to- HEY!"
The gnu managed to sneak past the cop, rushing forward as Delgato called him, chasing after the gnu, who was soon becoming the center of attention, as he remove his shirt, literally tearing it off his body, revealing that the fur on his chest had been dyed green, with the words "PRIME FOR TAKING" written on his chest in yellow.
"Oh, great ones!" the gnu said, his arms raised towards the floating vessel. "Far travelers! Visitors from the great beyond! Fathers and mothers from the cosmos! I have waited for you! I received your signals, and I prepared for your arrival! I am a believer, and I'm ready! Take me! Deliver me to the great Alpha Taurian constellation, where a new future awaits away from this doomed world! I am ready to be the first to be delivered, my lords from the stars!"
"By Minos..." Bogo said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can someone please get that guy! And run a psychologic test on him!"
Two cops were on their way to do it, both of them holding the gnu, who had removed his pants and revealed legs dyed indigo with white stars painted on them as he started to perform some kind of dance that he said it was "universal cosmic greeting dance" while only on his underwear, and trying to steer him back to the crowd while trying to cover him before he could remove his briefs as well.
And then, something happened.
The hoovering vessel produced a sound.
A loud, metallic and electronic sound, that was somewhere between an engine powering up and an old computer starting up. Real sci-fi stuff.
Everyone froze, all eyes turning to the machine as it made that sound, turning it into a hum that grew in intensity and pitch, pulses of light traveling across the blue trim along its length, from one maybe-that's-the-front to the other.
And then, the legs came.
We call then legs but, at first, they were like tendrils, long and segmented tendrils coming out from the sides of the great vessel, whipping around like the tentacles of a squid, moving around as if they were getting ready to lash out. And some people they could, because many of them backed away, the cops all getting in position as many of them pulled their weapons, which included both dart guns and actual firearms, and pointing it at the vessel with its lashing out tendrils.
And then, the tendrils whipped out into the air, bending and taking in angular designations, like the legs of a crab, their long, snake-like forms stiffening as they now looked like claws, which then slammed down into the ground, sinking ten feet into the soft soil, and then a couple more feet as the vessel came down, whatever systems were keeping it in the air powering down as it effectively landed.
Animals all around were getting riled up, with many of them staring in shock, all wondering what was going to happen now.
And the gnu, now free from the cops holding him, rushed to the front of the ship once more, and stood before it with arms open while starting to make weird sounds that sounded like a ritualistic song of some kind.
"What the heck is that guy doing!?" Bogo said as he looked over at the gnu. Meanwhile, some other cops, seeing this, decided to go forward with it. And, by some, we mean that Judy rushed forward, causing Nick and Craig to both rush after the rabbit.
"Sir!" Judy said as she arrived at the gnu, pulling the fur of his leg.
"Sir, you need to step back! It's not safe!"
"They've come for me!" the gnu said, an expression of sheer, unaltered jubilation on his face. "They've come for me, like they promised they would!" he was nearly crying. Judy was pretty much done with him.
"Can someone help me here!?" Judy asked, and the one who answer to that was Craig, who picked the gnu and placed him over his shoulder before walking back to the crowd the best he could with his relatively short legs.
Judy and Nick were both about to go after him, when then another sound came. This new one as sci-fi as the last one, causing the two to freeze and to slowly turn around, in time to see something else coming out of the ship.
Something long and flat, which moved in a way that made the two cops immediately think of a very long tongue. One that whipped up, and then down and, very gently, touched the ground just before the two cops, causing Nick to jump back right into Judy's arms, who had to hold her partner as they saw that metallic tongue stiffen, much like the tendrils did, and turn into the unmistakable form of a ramp, leading all the way back to the side of the vessel.
And, in there, a latch opened. Three pieces of metal opened, completely seamlessly, and spun around into the walls around them, revealing a circular door on the very top of the ramp.
"Wait, something is happening!"
"It opened!"
"What's happening now!"
"Man, I'm freaking out!"
"Me too! I think I'm stress molting!"
"I'm nearly shedding my skin with how nervous I am!"
"Guys, there's something there!" someone pointed at the entrance, where bright white light was coming from. "There's something coming out!"
"Wilde, Hopps!" Bogo said, on his radio. "What is happening!? Are you two there!? Do you have visual!?"
The answer took a while to come. So much that Bogo had to radio the two again and ask if they had visual on anything.
This time, the answer came, as Judy, holding her radio close to her mouth as she radio-ed back:
"Yes, sir... we do have visual..."
And they had indeed, as the figure, big and dark, stood against the bright light coming from the opening, looking at them, it's yellow eyes glowing with a light of their own as it glared at the two of them.
"Okay, I think now's the time to run, Carrots." Nick said, and he tried to get his partner to leave. However, Judy stayed. Nick, once more, despaired, as he saw the look on his partner's eyes and already knew she would not be just leaving.
What meant he would not be leaving as well.
"Oh, great..." Nick groaned as he face-palmed. And then, the figure on the top of the ramp started walking down it, towards the two cops who were at the very base. Its big body lumbered with each step it took while walking to them on four... no, on six legs.
And soon, everyone else who saw it tensed, as they saw that massive creature moving towards the two small cops. The crowd of mammals, reptiles and birds held their breath as one as they saw as the two cops stood there while being approached by the alien that juts came out of the starship.
Yes, for there was no denying nor sugar-coating it at this point.
That massive vessel was a starship. That creature that came out of it, and now stood before the two cops, rearing and standing on its hind legs while the four forelegs now looked like for arms ending in hands with talon-like claws, the spikes on its head rattling in answer to the rumbling growl it produced while baring its fangs at the two, was not from Earth.
Everyone knew that, as much as the two cops standing before the visitor from another planet who stood before them with a massive form that was two heads taller than Bogo himself.
This... was first contact.