Chapter Text
Chapter 1 - The Arrival
~~ Myers Steel – South Savannah Central ~~
"ARGH! Sunnovabitch, damn it!" Cursing loudly, Shiyo pushed the trolley back into his truck and securing it on the side wall, then he started rubbing his aching left paw, which he just ran over. Every other time, the cart detached itself from its base and got stuck when he wanted to move some parcel in the cargo area. And of course, this always happens in the least favorable way – the way which in the end had him injured or stuck beneath toppled-over boxes. Or worse.
Shiyo, the small silver fox was working as a courier and cargo trucker for "Tundra Mail & Logistics", one of Zootopia's biggest transport agencies. To him it seemed like he was always the one who got the most complicated, most tedious and longest trips of all his colleagues. And his tours mostly ended on the opposite end of Zootopia. Just like today! Being on the road again for almost 11 hours, he had just picked up an "urgent express delivery" from Rainforest District to deliver it to the headquarter of Myers Steel in southern Savannah Central.
"Urgent, my ass… They will just sign it and drop it in the bin most probably. If someone's still there, that is." he grumbled. Shiyo was desperately longing for his shift to end, so he could head home, take a relaxing bath, and then cuddle up on his comfy sofa, wrapped up in several layers of blankets and just forget the stress of the day. He could almost feel it already, the pleasant and warm feeling of … finding himself standing in a puddle of foul, muddy water, most probably a leftover from yesterday's rain showers. Or maybe that wasn't water at all? He was kicked out of his daydreaming, and angrily tried to shake the mud off his paws.
"Hell yeah, that was just what I needed. What a shitty end to an overall shitty day. This can't just get much worse anymore". With his mood reaching an all-day low, he trotted towards the building with his courier pouch tucked under his arm. As he reached the reception of the factory's office complex, he was almost surprised to still find it occupied. Taking a deep breath and trying to stay friendly and professional, he asked the ocelot lady behind the counter for his client.
"You may just drop it off here, young man. Mr. Sanders is still busy." the aged grey-tinged ocelot told him.
"I am sorry, Miss. But this is a confidential registered delivery, and I need the recipient's signature. Could you please call him and ask if he can spare a minute?" Shiyo tried to ask politely.
The receptionist sighed and told him to just take the elevator up to the top level. "Take a right out of the elevator. Second to last office on the left side." With that, she turned away from him again and didn't take notice of him anymore.
'What a cliché' he thought to himself. 'Now we just need a pimply, sweaty lift-boy, some third class entertainment music and some sinister-looking guys next to the office doors, and I would be totally convinced we are back 50 years ago and some trash mafia movie is just being recorded'.
"Thanks a lot for your assistance" he mumbled and turned to the elevator. Without having met the imaginary lift boy he arrived on the top floor and tool the corridor to his right. "Let's get this over with, and then finally go home."
Having taken a few steps towards the light he could see at the end of the dark corridor, he froze in his movements when he heard a bellowing voice from behind the ajar office doors.
"...told you last time that we're not kidding around. You are way too confident, my friend!"
The emphasis on the last word made a shiver run down Shiyo's spine. This had to be the office he was looking for. And he was totally confident, that he would not be welcome this very moment.
"First of all, I am not your friend" another, voice replied. Calm, but a little faint in comparison to the deep tremolo of the first voice. "I am far from being your friend. Furthermore, you know what will happen if you try to lay a finger on me or anyone else here. You will never get what you came for. I am pretty sure your boss wouldn't like that at all. So, get your furry butt out of my office and let me do my job. I will not let you and your companions intimidate me. And you are breathing away my oxygen."
A loud impact and an aggressive hue made Shiyo stumble backwards. "Watch out, Sanders. You know very well that you are only still allowed to live, because my boss has never-ending patience with you. Don't push it too far, or otherwise you might just find your fluffy tail shoved up your ass. After it has been removed from your back, that is!"
With these words the door flew open and a broad-shouldered, massy canine creature came storming out of the room, flanked by two no less powerful-looking henchmen. Shiyo threw himself through an open door behind him into a dark and deserted office. Only a few moments later the three bullies stormed by the door. He took cover next to the doorframe, so they would now find him and assume he overheard their little "conversation". As the last one of them passed the door, Shiyo was almost sure he witnessed a flash of an eye towards his direction. It was a fearsome, undefinable species. But the square-jawed muzzle and the folded, half torn ear he could see perfectly spoke "Don't mess with me, pup!"
With the fear of being discovered, Shiyo shakily waited the seemingly longest seconds of his life, until he heard the elevator doors close. It took him a few more moments before he was able to move again. He was pondering if he should just leave the delivery in the empty office and run away, but this would not be too beneficial for his career if his boss ever found out. He reassembled his remaining courage, patted down his courier uniform and stepped out of his hideout towards the office, which doors now were wide open.
"Mr. Sanders?" he called out, while knocking on the doorframe. "Tundra M&L, I have an express delivery for you."
"Come in please", a now very soft and trembling voice replied from the inside. Shiyo entered the small, sparse furnished office and saw a small, somewhat slim red fox behind a mighty pinewood desk, which does not match the rest of the room's furnishings at all. He wore horn-rimmed glasses, which slipped down his muzzle a little bit when he took his brown corduroy suit and checked the fit of his tie. He almost thought he could see the fox's ears still quivering slightly as he approached him and carefully placed the large express envelopes on the table.
"I need your signature, Mr. Sanders" he said and placed the clipboard with the delivery note on the desk in front of him. Doing so, he could clearly see a long crack in the desk and looking more closely he also could see the claw marks of the paw, which had just caused it. He quickly turned his gaze back to his clipboard and watched how the fox on the other side of the desk grabbed the pencil and hastily signed the waiver with waggly paws.
"Thank you very much. If you would like a refreshment, there is a water dispenser next to the door. Please help yourself. And if you could be so kind and close the office door when leaving?"
Shiyo nodded politely and hurried to leave the room, but without seeming hectic or anxious. Finally, outside, he closed the door behind him without even considering using the water and rushed to the elevator. Back at his van, he jumped on the driver's seat, and only now allowed himself to take a deep breath.
'O sweet Jesus' he sighed, 'there you thought it could not get worse anymore.' The silver fox still felt the adrenaline rush through his body. 'Now calm down, the villains don't know you were there, you only did your job, the delivery's done, you're off-duty now. So, leave that shit behind, and go home!"
With these thoughts, Shiyo started the engine of his delivery truck and slowly drove off the company's premises. He took the industrial road towards the highway which would lead him back to his home in Tundratown. The dark grey SUV following him went unnoticed.
~~ Meadowlands ~~
"If I hadn't just seen that train disappear before my very own eyes I would hardly believe that story", Judy stated a couple of minutes after lars was finished telling them everything that happened after he boarded the train in "his world", as he started to call it.
"I don't believe it myself, Officer Hopps", Lars confirmed the incredibility of the whole situation. "I mean, I've been using this very train route almost weekly for over 3 years now, and never ever something like this happened to me. I'd even say, 'happened to anyone', because this for sure would come up in the headlines if a train disappeared all of a sudden!"
"Well", Fero interrupted, "the train is gone again. Maybe it is back on its old tracks, riding along as if nothing happened at all!?"
The others pensively looked at him. Nobody could deny the most obvious fact, that apart from Lars being stranded in Zootopia, and some indents in the grass, nobody could even tell that just a couple of minutes ago, an alien train got transferred onto this meadow, and – in a similar mysterious way – disappeared again.
"And maybe", the flightsuit-clad fox continued facing Lars, "you, or another version of you, are still sitting in that train, alongside with all the other passengers. Looking forward to his weekend, happily ever after."
"Now come on, that's just ridiculous!" Nick retorted.
"As ridiculous as a train traversing dimensions, or universes, or wherever it came from?" Fero asked the fellow fox with a shrug.
"Guess he's got a point; I don't know if we can possibly rule out anything here!" Judy confirmed. "For now, we need to decide on what to do. You, Lars, will have to follow us to the ZPD precinct. I guess there will be a lot of questions left to ask."
Nick objected: "I am not sure if that's a good idea, Carrots. Do you really think it won't cause an immense public chaos, if we arrived at the precinct with an alien, fur-less creature like him? No offense, mate!"
"None taken," Lars quickly threw in.
"I think it would be better, if he stays out of the public eye for a while, at least until we gathered some more intelligence about what happened here", Nick continued. "Maybe we can consult our 'friends' from the Agency. You know they're trustworthy, and they would probably be the best resource we could use."
"Are you talking about Jack and Skye?" Judy asked, which Nick confirmed immediately. Judy pondered for a moment before agreeing with him. "Yeah, you're probably right. But still we'd need a place where he can stay. We can hardly leave him out here."
At this Fero stepped in again. "I could offer a place, where he could 'hide' for a while. That is – if no one is objecting. My hangars are way outside of any crowded parts of the Savanna Central airfield, and except for my technician, whom I would trust my life, they are completely deserted. What do you think, Lars?"
"Well, it doesn't seem like I have much of a choice here. Any help is appreciated, I don't really know what to do else. But if I could make a request – I'd rather find a place to stay sooner than later. I'm getting more and more tired by the minute. Maybe this 'dimensional travel' is taking its toll."
Judy exchanged some looks with Nick, and then they both nodded. "Okay, sounds fair enough. We need to think of something to tell Clawhouser though, Slick. He will be wondering what took us so long. And the chief as well. We'll have to let them in on this."
Turning to Fero, she added: "And for you – I hope you know that this is a very delicate situation. But you seem trustworthy enough, even if we maybe need to have a talk about safe flying altitudes later."
Nigh let out a deep sigh. "Come on Carrots, give him some rest. He was as curious as we were, right?"
"Still, we're ZPD officers and have been called to investigate on a suspicious scene. And he is …. well …. Oh, sweet cheese and crackers, Nick, don't give me that look!"
Fero snickered. "You sound just like my technician. He always picks on me for flying too risky."
"Seems I could really like him", Judy started laughing as well. "All right, everyone. Nick and I are going to think of how we can explain the situation to the Chief, and we'll try to reach out to Jack and Skye. Fero, you are taking Lars with you. We will visit you first thing tomorrow morning, and maybe we will have some more insights until then. Please, make sure no one gets to know about this, other than maybe your technician."
"Of course, Officer Hopps!" Fero acknowledged. "I will do my best to make our guest as comfortable as possible. Oh, and by the way: Lars, I hope you're not afraid of heights?"
Lars looked a bit puzzled, until he realized what the fox was implying. If he was to come with him, they were going to use Fero's aircraft.
"Oh, right", he said. "Now, I have never been on a plane, let alone such a small one. I think I'll be fine. I totally dig rollercoasters though."
Fero flashed him a bright smile. "Allright, I think we will get along just fine. Do you have anything to take with you? I mean, is anything left of your stuff?" He looked around on the almost empty meadow.
"I think I had my laptop bag with me when I jumped out of the train." Lars started scanning their surroundings. "Yeah, right. There it is!" He rushed over to the place where his bag was lying on the ground. He picked it up and returned to the others.
"Again, please take good care of him", Judy pleaded Fero as they parted. "And let's all hope we find a solution to all this!"
"I will, Officers, I will", Fero assured them as they walked over to the plane. Fero assisted Lars in boarding the sleek craft. "You can step on the black ribbons on the wing base here. Then just take a seat in the back, I'll help you strap in. Here, put your bag in the compartment behind your backrest."
With skilled paws he buckled his copilot up and handed him a noise-cancelling headset, before climbing in the cockpit himself. He flicked on some switches and the instruments came alive.
"Everything allright back there?" Fero asked over the intercom.
"You mean, apart from being stuck in a world, where I seem to be the only one without fur? Yeah, I'm perfectly fine!" Lars retorted.
Fero had to chuckle. "Hey, I really think I like you. Never loose your humor, as dark as it gets."
"Yeah, and it seems to be really become pretty dark out there. Literally. I hope you are night-flight certified!"
"Who needs a certification, when you have skill?" Fero laughed. "Hey, don't worry!" He added while preparing the engine for the start, as he saw Lars turn pale in the backseat. "I have all certifications needed, and night flights are my favorite anyway. ALL CLEAR! CONTACT!"
The radial engine came to life, and Fero taxied past the two ZPD officers, who were watching them with great interest. Especially the fox looked a bit jealous, as if he would like to be in the plane himself. 'Maybe, when this is over, I can take him for a ride' Fero thought. After reaching a safe distance from the police cruiser, Fero aligned his plane into the wind, set the flaps and sent a short 'goodbye' wave to the mammals waiting outside.
Nick and Judy watched the plane as the engine revved up and it started accelerating smoothly. Only a few seconds later it took off and climbed into darkening sky. Soon the humming of the engine faded, and they watched the flashing navigation lights disappearing behind the hills.
"Oh, I think the Chief is not going to like this!" Judy sighed.
"And I think, 'Agent Savage' will like it all the more. Another day, another mystery."
~~ Tundratown ~~
The sun had already set for a few minutes when Shiyo parked his van in the company parking lot a few blocks from home. 'It certainly has its advantages to live so close to his employer', the silver fox thought to himself, since he was able to walk to work and back home in just a few minutes. But it also had its downsides, since if one of his colleagues was sick, he was usually the one who was called to fill in because he could "just come over quickly", as his boss always put it so nicely. Today however, he didn't care about all this, he just wanted to go home. Especially after the last event at the steel factory, all his strength and enthusiasm had left him, and he only felt dull and tired.
Lost in thoughts he was groping through an alley when suddenly a heavy paw rested on his shoulder and pushed him roughly against a wall. The hard impact caused the air to escape from his lungs with a whistling sound, and before he could complain or even scream for help, another paw had settled on his throat and slowly squeezed it shut. A little blurred, he now perceived the huge, bulky figure that had built up in front of him. Fear flashed in his eyes when he saw the square-jawed muzzle and the torn ear.
"So you recognize me", Shiyo's offender noticed bitingly, and leaned in so close that with every breath he took Shiyo heard the soft rattle that came out of the throat of this fighting machine.
"What... have I done to you?" Shiyo whimpered.
"To me? Nothing. But you've heard and seen too much. And that's not good for you!"
"No, no... I didn't see or hear anything. What should I have heard? I..."
"Enough!" the bulky attacker barked rudely, as his free paw blew an uppercut towards Shiyo's chin, which made the small silver fox's jaws clash and his head hit the brick wall behind him. He would have collapsed immediately if it wasn't for the other paw was still pressing him against the wall. He was much too dazed to even try to defend himself, and so the next two blows to his jaw hit unerringly.
"I don't even care what you heard, or what you didn't hear. My boss wants you gone, so you will be gone. That's it!" Shiyo felt the coppery taste of his own blood running over his tongue and lips. A sizzling pain sparked through him as he took another blunt hit in the stomach, and another one in the neck, after his attacker had dropped him. He collapsed and fell onto the dirty asphalt.
"Time to say farewell, laughingstock!" the brawny canine laughed, as he put his hindpaw on Shiyo's chest and started pressing down. Shiyo was about to lose his consciousness as he heard another voice.
"STOP IT!" This voice sounded different from of the offenders. Softer, but authorative nonetheless. Apparently, it did at least unsettle the big canine, as he lifted his paw, allowing Shiyo to take some deep, painful breaths. The silver fox recognized a tall creature which had built up just a few steps away.
"Why are you beating up little ones? Why don't you try to find something in your league, fleabag?" The voice was clearly female, that much Shiyo could say for sure.
The thug started to laugh. "My league? That's a good one. What are you trying to imply here, you wuss?"
"Come at me, asshole. The kid won't run from you anyway."
With a deep, roaring laughter, the bully approached the other person, which was quite tall as well, but looked rather curvy than muscular. Shiyo was quite sure to recognize some feline features on her.
"Very well, if you're that keen on getting messed up, sweetie. Maybe I can still have some fun with you. Yeah, that sounds like a plan. First, I have your bones rearranged, and then I'm going to bury my bone in your cute blatherskite ass. Like it or not! It's been a long time since I've had any fun."
This being said, the bully took a hard swing. Shiyo couldn't tell what exactly happened after that, it just happened way too fast. Anyway, a fraction of a second later the big canine was soaring through the air and crashed muzzle-first into the wall.
"Better bury yourself, dumbass" the feline hissed. Before the beaten canine could recover from the impact, she was already kneeling over him and gripped him firmly by his crotch, claws extended. This drew a faint whimper from the bleeding offender. "When you wake up again, I'd recommend you get lost, and never come back!"
She pressed a claw to his neck, and Shiyo could see him suddenly turn limp. With a satisfied grin, she got up again, and walked over to the silver fox, who was still huddled up against the opposite wall.
"You're okay? Can you get up?" She leaned over and offered her paw for him to stand up again. This was his chance to examine his savior. She was some sort of feline, a tiger maybe, light-grey fur with darker stripes. As if this pattern wasn't unusual enough, she was saber-toothed. Something Shiyo did read about, but never had seen before. Bright blue eyes were looking at him, and he felt himself lost in that sight for just a moment.
"What… Why…. HOW?" he stuttered, while he tried to straighten himself up. This coaxed a dolorous groan out of him.
The tigress smiled at him. "First of all: Who! Name's Kyra. And yours?"
"Shiyo" he mumbled, still confused and dazed.
"Allright, Shiyo. I don't know who he was and what you did to rile him up, but I think we should get going, just in case he wakes up and gets some stupid ideas. Guess he'll be really pissed!"
"You didn't kill him, did you?" Shiyo asked carefully.
"No, not at all" Kyra replied. "He'll be out and gone for a while, and he'll have the worst headache of his life when he wakes up, but he is alive." She took the silver fox's paw and gently pulled him away from the scene. "And on the subject of 'how' … Well, I spent way too much time on the streets already, and you get to know some interesting people there. Some years ago I met an old panda, who took care of me and taught me how to stay alive. He was a master of martial arts, and this style is his own. A mixture of Capoeira, Silat, Nin-Jitsu, whatever. Anyway, he told me that mastering this way of fighting, you can easily kill without weapons. And I tend to believe that", she laughed.
"I do, too", Shiyo agreed with a slight hint of revulsion, which Kyra detected of course.
"Don't get wrong ideas, kiddo. I only use it for self-defense. Or to help when help is in need – like in your case. And I never, ever killed somebody."
Visibly relieved, Shiyo muttered: "I want to go home", and without further hesitation started walking towards his apartment. Kyra followed silently, keeping a close eye on him in case he would show any signs of a more serious injury. Due to her time on the streets, she could tell if somebody was just acting tough, and was rather close to collapsing.
Arriving at the front door of a 4-story apartment complex, Shiyo stopped and looked up to Kyra. "This is where I live. Err… What should I say? Thanks for saving my life. I would offer you a coffee, but that would come across totally wrong, and as a matter of fact, I don't even own a coffee maker."
Kyra started laughing wholeheartedly. "That's cool, kiddo. Don't worry about me, I don't fancy coffee anyway. You got someone to look after you? You still look like shit."
"No, there's no one waiting for me", Shiyo shook his head. "Except for my bed. I'm sure it did not run away."
This drew a warm smile out of Kyra. "Take care, Shiyo. You're an good kind of person. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. And – maybe – we'll meet again sometime. See ya around!" She waved at him and disappeared into the darkness of an alley.
Shiyo remained standing in front of his door, still confused. 'She disappeared as fast as she appeared. Very strange.' Still brooding, he dug his pants for his keys, opened the front door, and wearily climbed the stairs to his apartment.
~~ Savannah Central Airfield ~~
It was almost pitch black, as Fero and Lars taxied towards the hangar with the "AirVenture" logo above its doors, which were just being opened by a rat. In an elegant turn, Fero steered the plane towards the opening, and just before they passed it cut off the engine and rolled inside. Lars' gaze was fixed on the mammal outside, who noticed the unexpected passenger and looked curiously into the cockpit as well.
'He is quite tall for a rat', Lars thought to himself as he watched the rodent approaching them. 'I had the impression the different species reflect their normal sizes as I know them. The two police officers lokked like that was the case for all of them. Judy was significantly smaller than Nick. But this rat is even taller than the fox for how it looks.'
Fero stopped the plane and opened the cockpit hood before climbing onto the wing to help Lars disembark as well.
"Who… WHAT is this?" the rat asked as he saw Lars climbing off the wing. "Is that a HUMAN? I've read something about them in a science book, but I never believed they actually existed. Let alone here. Can he understand what we are saying?"
Lars tried to laugh, which ended in a deep yawn. "Hey, that's a first. Somebody to recognize me for what I am. My name is Lars, yes, I'm a human, and yes, I can understand you. So, you must be Dust?"
Fero had a grin plastered all over his snout. "Lars, that's the first time in ages I have seen that chatterbox of a rat totally speechless. Well done!" He turned towards Dust: "Come on, get the doors closed, I don't want everyone around to see our 'guest', that would draw some unwanted attention. And then let's get comfortable, I think we have a long night ahead!"
They closed the hangar doors, and then headed off to the back of the building, where the offices were located. After arriving in the lounge room, Fero waved towards the couch. "Make yourself at home, Lars. I'll be right back."
He slipped through another door into what seemed to be a small storage room, and just seconds later came back with some beer cans and a slip of paper, which appeared to be the menu of a pizza delivery service.
"I thought you could also take a drink now." Fero said while tossing Lars a can. "Do you have that in … wherever you are from?" He handed another can to Dust, before opening his own and drowning almost half of it in one take.
"Year, beer sounds just fantastic right now. I don't drink it too often, but today… Today's different anyway!"
After taking a few sips of the strange tasting, but nevertheless good beer, Lars took a glance at the pizza menu. The pictures looked just like he was used to, but the names and toppings were somehow different. There was a "Crusty Canine", which seemed to be at least 95% meat. A "Rodent's Delight", looking just like a Calzone, but stuffed with seeds and greens. And some other, even more exotic creations with seafood, crickets, and other ingredients, which Lars never would have associated with pizza.
"Well, this is … different. Oh, this sounds manageable." Lars selected a pizza called "Omnivore's Favorite", with a topping that looked quite like minced meat, but had mushrooms, tomatoes and cheese with it.
"That's a good one, number two on my top list! I'll have a Crusty Canine though. And Dust, what about you? Dust? HEY, ratface!"
Dust, who was still eyeing Lars with a mixture of suspicion, fear and curiosity, flinched as he had been called out. "Oh, uh, yeah, sorry … I'll have a Cheesy Champ please. Standard size this time!"
Fero grinned amusedly and grabbed his phone to place the order.
Lars turned towards Dust: "I have a question, if you don't mind. Aren't you quite tall for being a rat? I mean, I don't have too much experience with the different species living here, but the rats I know are about the size of a fox's head, if not even smaller. You however seem to surpass Fero by at least two inches!"
Dust just shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, typically we match the relative sizes of our feral ancestors. You have to visit Little Rodentia if you want a proof of that. Well, from the outside of the fence, that is. Don't want to have a shrug crushed beneath your toes, do you?"
A shiver ran over Lars' neck as he shook his head quickly.
"As for me", Dust continued, "I actually don't know why I am that tall. Of course, some other mammals stand out in sizes as well. As a matter of fact I know a hare, which is almost the size of you. But that's very very rare. I guess it has to do something with my heritage. Maybe we had some inter-species breed there. Don't know much about them though. Have been living on the streets for as long as I know, before that fox here picked me up. But that's not a story for tonight, I reckon."
Fero, who had finished placing the order, nodded. "30 minutes to go. So, Lars, I think we should enlighten Dust on what happened in Meadowlands, shouldn't we?"
Lars nodded and started to tell his side of the story. Starting at the train station in 'his world', as he referred to it, about the tunnel and the strange lights, up to his arrival in Meadowlands and the encounter with the ZDP officers and Fero.
"No shit, you met Judy frickin' Hopps out there? And her partner?" Dust busted out. "Now we're either in deep shit or about to become celebrities as well."
Fero tried to calm him down. "Get yourself together, mate. You're about to meet them as well tomorrow. They are going to visit us here and talk about what we're can do to help Lars getting back home. Which I think is still you top priority, right?"
"Well, as interesting as this world seems to be, I don't think I quite fit in, yeah. So finding a way back would be nice", Lars agreed.
Dust was still flabbergasted. "What did you just say? We're going to meet the HoppsWilde duo? Pinch me, that can't be true."
Lars looked at the overly excited rat. "What's so special about that? They seemed to be very nice and friendly officers."
Fero told Lars about the popularity of Judy and Nick after the infamous Night Howler incident, and that they are deemed to be Zootopia's heroes ever since. His telltale was interrupted by the ring of the doorbell when their pizza finally arrived.
Lars carefully took a small bite of the unknown pizza creation. Chewing on it, he not only liked the taste of it but he also discovered he was almost starving. This led to him being the first one to completely clean his pizza carton, while Fero hardly had finished half of his Crusty Canine.
"Hey, ratface, you've got competition!" Fero laughed, before apologizing to Lars. "You see, normally Dust over here is the champ of devouring everything edible in an incredible pace!"
"Shut up!" Dust grumbled, before finishing his pizza as well. "If you were as fast in eating as you are in wrecking your planes, …"
Lars watched the mutual teasing for a while, before he suddenly yawned loudly.
"I think you're right, time to hit the sack!" Fero said with a glance on the wall-mounted clock. It's pretty late already, and I don't know when the officers Hopps and Wilde – shut it, Dust! – are going to arrive tomorrow. Come on, Lars, you can have the guest room over there. I'm going to crash on the couch. Dust, you can stay here and take the air mattress, or you may head home, whatever you like."
"I'm going to stay as well, thanks. Don't want to miss anything!" Dust announced before disappearing in the storage room to fetch the mattress and some cushions and blankets. "Good think we stocked up on that stuff after the last late-night repair sessions you caused", he winked towards the fox.
"Yeah, I love you, too, shithead" Fero laughed and showed Lars the guest room. "I hope it's comfortable enough, there is some bottled water in the rack over here", he explained before turning to leave.
"Thanks, I think I'll be fine. Oh, and Fero?" Lars called after him, "Thanks, for picking me up, and maybe saving me? I don't know what would have happened if somebody, or something, else found me first."
"Don't mention it. Have some rest, the real fun is only about to start tomorrow", the fox smirked as he left the room. "Sleep well!"
Lars dropped onto the bed and closed his eyes. The confusing images of that day shot through his mind over and over again. The empty train, the whistling, the eerie blue glow, the emptiness, the silence. And then the awakening in this world where everything was so different.
'Talking animals' he wondered. And then he realized that 'animals' was probably an understatement. Sure, they looked like animals, but they were human. Or not. Because he was apparently the only human being here. He decided to use the term 'anthros' from now on, at least that's what Fero had called himself and the others.
He stripped down to his boxer and shirt and cleaned his face at the small sink. Then he looked at himself in the mirror. Was he really so different from Fero, Dust, Nick, Judy and the other inhabitants of this world? He imagined that his skin was covered with fur, and his nose longer. And his ears... No, that was too abstruse, even for what had happened already.
Lars lay down in bed and tried to calm down, but his whole body was tingling. He couldn't tell if it was from excitement, fear or whatever reason. Something was going on inside him, but after a long time, during which he rolled restlessly from one side to the other, he finally closed his eyes and was overcome by a deep, dreamless sleep.