AN: Yeah, had trouble with this one. There were so many ways I could have started it and I tried each of them. It's amazing how many different ways one can say the same thing when you really try. More of an exposition chapter than anything. In one of my renditions, I explained what happened directly, but I decided to leave that for the next one. Finals done. More time to write. All that good stuff.

Cover art by Bosstwin

Chapter 15: Awake

Chaos, that's what John remembered as he drifted back and forth between the living and the dead, unable to focus on anything in particular in his current condition. The first time he lost consciousness was shortly after the female tiger screamed her head off. He was immediately surrounded on all sides by blurry figures who seemed to arguing amongst themselves, before finally coming to a decision.

As one of the figures leaned down to touch him, John tried to muster the clarity to tell the figure "fuck off!", but the only sound that came out of his mouth was a painful moan. Once the figure grabbed his shoulder, John was unable to resist as he started rolling him…

'GUAGAGAGUAHHH!' The nerves in his body shot off like fireworks as he was rolled, the pain being so intense that John moaned loudly before mercifully blacking out. When he awoke, he was back in the same supine position, but felt something was different.

Shifting his attention, he looked over to his right and found he was laying on top of a stretcher. Something in John's mind clicked just then. 'If I am on a stretcher, that means they are helping me…right?' John was not an optimist. For all he knew, he could be being taken to some other hellish place. Unfortunately, however the situation really was, he was powerless to do anything about it, so he decided to just focus on the pain, which was pulsing through him in unrelenting waves.

All around him, voices merged together in a kind of murky soup where it was impossible for John to distinguish anything useful. There was a ringing in his ears, and his vision was swimming, the amalgamation of colors around him making it hard to perceive anything.

Suddenly, one of the blurry figures came running into the room from the hallway, clearly agitated judging by the sound of his voice. He started conversing with the largest figure in the room, a big mammal with thick horns, before everything got suddenly quite.

John could only make out one word in their conversation, but it was the only word that mattered, the same word that caused everyone else to be silent: "Bomb"

The next thirty seconds were chaos, blurry figures moving all around him shouting out non-distinct things, clearly rushing. John felt the world spin as he was suddenly hoisted into the air, and began moving. Before he could even register what was happening, John suddenly fell back to the ground with a thud while almost rolling off the stretcher, and his hateful, damaged body painfully reminded him that there was a large gaping hole in his chest.

John once again lost consciousness from the fall, thinking about how he didn't need any reminders of something so obvious while at the same time mentally cursing the person…mammal…whatever, who had dropped him, assumingly by accident in their haste.

John, for the third time today, regained consciousness. By now, he found himself wishing that he could just stay knocked out, but alas, it was not something he could control. Cursing his body, John was reminded of his own ironic existence. While his constitution kept him alive, it seemed to extend the suffering, not dulling the pain in the slightest.

Bearing with the rocking as the two figures carried him, they stepped outside and John was suddenly assaulted by loud noises and flashing red and blue colored lights. His surroundings became more and more fuzzy, the lights and sounds merging together into a confusing orchestra. The only reason he could really tell he was now outside, was the smell of fresh air and the painfully bright beams of sunlight which only amplified the forming headache.

Just when John thought he was finally adjusting to his new surroundings, the world decided it was not done fucking with him yet, and an enormous "BOOOOM!" resounded, the shockwave spreading a concussive blast into the immediate surroundings. John felt his bones rattle all the way up to his skull. There was a lot of shouting, a lot of cursing, and the two figures carrying him seem to double their pace trying to create distance from the house, which was now engulfed in flames.

Eventually, John was taken to a truck shaped vehicle, one which he instantly recognized as an ambulance, and all of John's suspicions vanished.

'They are helping me…those two bunnies must have gotten help' John concluded. Relief flooded through him, and the knot of apprehension that had formed from his earlier suspicions vanished. Like opening the floodgates to a dam, the knowledge that he had finally escaped from his own personal slice of hell caused a river of exhaustion to wash over his body.

As he was loaded into the back, he looked over at the bright cloud of flames that was the mansion where he had been kept prisoner. Like a sharp needle in the arm, John suddenly remembered the talking mammals trapped underground with him and immediately felt anxious about their well-being. The anxiety was short lived though, as he came to an important realization. 'Oh wait a minute…they're deep underground, they should be fine'

The burning of the mansion would not affect those poor bastards underground, of that John was certain, but he was unsure as to whether or not they would be able to rescue them quickly thanks to the fire. 'Oh well, I did everything I could' John thought to himself as he laid back against the pillow on the chair he was on.

Hungry, tired, and in immense pain, John somehow managed to fall asleep despite the circumstances. Maybe god was merciful after all.

…

…

…

John remembered reading once that dreams were almost like a science. A sort of pseudo-science. For example, John read that when someone dreams of falling, it is the manifestation of a feeling of "lack of control" of one's own life, often happening in people with depression. Right now, he wished he read a little further, because he didn't know what the hell was going on inside his head.

John was feeling a constant sensation of falling as he moved from one bizarre scene after the next. Sometimes he was back home, other times he was once again among the pack he lived with during the harsh winter. There were more than a few times where he was once again chained against the wall suffering unspeakable torment.

And there were even times where he was chained to a bed in a white room, with bizarre creatures running around him. But every time he seemed to get a grasp of the situation, the sensation would take hold, and he would move on to the next confusing scene, losing whatever grasp on reality he had managed to obtain.

In this fashion, John continued to experience bizarre and unexplainable dreams, drifting in and out of self-awareness. When the sensation finally stopped, when the dust of reality finally settled in his mind, John finally opened his eyes.

Feeling for a moment the awareness of being lucid, he wondered if the psychedelic mind fuck he had been experiencing was what is was like for people who did drugs back home, and he was glad that it seemed to have ended.

As John slowly opened his eyelids, he immediately regretted doing so. The fluorescent lights hanging above him were a bit too bright for his eyes, which had gotten used to the darkness. As he inhaled deeply, he smelled the familiar scent of hand sanitizer which puzzled him.

'Where am I?' he asked himself as he found that he was strangely comfortable, a sensation he hadn't felt in a long time.

Lifting his head up, John looked down at his body, finding that it was covered in soft warm white blankets.

'Hold up…'

John spun his head around, and took in the unfamiliar surroundings. He was in a small white room with white countertops full of what appeared to be medical supplies. Above him, a large contraption which looked like a projector/scanner was swung off to the side, hanging idly. To his left, he saw a silver tray full of surgical equipment that gave him chills.

On the right, there was some kind of medical machine with wires and tubes leading under his blankets, which he felt were connected to him on his arms and chest; A bag of yellow fluid held up by a metal pole slowly dripping down into one of said tubes which most likely was flowing into him. Over in the corner, was a rather large double door with circular windows that led to somewhere unknown.

'This must be a surgical room of a hospital' was the conclusion John came to, and it did explain the sanitation smell. He sent a thought down into his chest to assess its status

'It doesn't hurt…huh' John thought, relieved that the constant burning sensation he had felt ever since he had been shot was no longer present. It was as if feeling normal was almost strange.

John tried sitting up…only to find that he was unable too. In fact, when he tried moving his arms, he found that they were unresponsive as well. Something was holding him down.

'Uh oh'

Panic started to build. John grabbed the blanket with his teeth and flipped it back revealing several black straps across his chest holding him fast to the bed.

'Oh god please no'

John started to struggle, pushing against the straps holding his arms and legs down with all his strength. The bed rocked and creaked, but the straps didn't break.

"Not again" John grunted out as he flexed once more, the bed beginning to make ominous cracking sounds. He hated being restrained, especially after what he had recently went through.

"Ahem, please stop that. You're going to break the bed" a voice in the room spoke up.

John immediately ceased his struggle, his eyes widening while spinning his head like a top to locate the source of the voice. Finding nothing, he was beginning to question his hearing before the voice spoke up again: "I know you can't see me and I apologize, give me a second…"

John waited with as much patience as he could muster while he listened to the owner of the voice fiddle around with something, eventually coming to a stop right next to his bed. John wanted nothing more than to lean over and look down, only being prevented from doing so no thanks to the straps.

Over the side of his bed, he saw a metal bar appear, and he immediately understood that the owner of the voice must have been grabbing a stepstool. The speaker started walking up the miniature steps, and when he finally poked his head over, John's mouth nearly opened in shock.

It was a beaver, a beaver in a lab coat, wearing glasses. John's face betrayed no surprise however, and he kept his face stoic as he watched the beaver get to the last step of the stool and gaze at him curiously.

The beaver began speaking. "Hello there, my name is Chuck Alder, a doctor here at Zootopia General Hospital. You took quite a bit of a… beating, before you were brought in. You are safe now. May I ask you for your name?"

To the beaver's credit, he seemed to be speaking and acting like a true professional, but John could see the signs. The beaver was clearly nervous, judging by his shallow breathing, and the slightly raised hairs on the back of its neck being an obvious sign of apprehension. His tight grip on the bar of the stepstool seemed to say that he was tense, and John could only guess why, but he really didn't care.

His eyes, however, told John something else. He was obviously curious, watching John's every move like an analyst, as if he watched John long enough, he would discover his secrets. It gave John a feeling of being "under the microscope", and John very much disliked that feeling.

John cleared his throat, and the beaver flinched in response. Speaking with the friendliest and most disarming voice he could muster, John replied "Why hello there doc, my name is Johnathan, but I prefer John"

The beaver was taken aback by such an enthusiastic response, and his posture relaxed significantly.

'Good' thought John.

"Say doc, you think you could do me a favor and let me out of these straps, they're very tight and itchy" John spoke pleadingly.

"No can do I'm afraid. Not my decision to make" the beaver replied.

'Damn, what should I do?' John asked himself. He kept a smile on his face though, not letting any deception be seen on his face.

"Well John, although I have many questions to ask you, now that you are awake I have to go inform everyone else. Luckily I was here for your routine checkup, otherwise you would have been waiting for a long time" the beaver said almost sounding disappointed.

The beaver began descending the step stool. "WAIT!" John yelled loudly.

Jumping from the outburst, the beaver nearly fell off the step stool before righting himself and adjusting his glasses. "W-What is it John?" he stammered in response.

John decided to come clean, seeing no other options. "Please doc, please just let me out of these. I… I hate being restrained like this. Brings back a lot of bad memories" John spoke with sincerity.

The doctor eyed him carefully, prudently choosing his next words. Taking off his glasses for effect, the beaver looked at him solemnly and said "I am very sorry John, but it really isn't my decision to make. You were strapped down because you were thrashing around during your…coma. At this point, I am not allowed to unstrap you without the presence of the police. I will be right back" finished the beaver before hopping off the stool and walking towards the double doors.

At first, when the doctor said the word "coma", John became a little dazed, wondering how long he had been out, but when the beaver uttered the word police, John's face paled, and he immediately became nervous. Right after the beaver walked out of the room, John began struggling as hard as he could, letting out loud grunts and roars of exertion while trying to break free. The straps wouldn't budge, however, and he only succeeded in tiring himself out.

Laying his head back against the pillow, he felt resigned to his fate, praying to god that he wouldn't be sent off to another lab somewhere. Time went by slowly, and John's nerves became more fried with each minute that past.

After almost thirty minutes went by, John began wondering 'What's taking them so long?'

Eventually, he heard the sound of other supposed talking mammals approaching outside the double doors. John lifted his head and watched as the doors swung open, revealing a huge cape buffalo in a blue police uniform. The buffalo had to duck to get into the room, and John noticed that there were several other types of mammals in police uniforms standing right outside the door.

Clearly, they were there to prevent him from doing anything stupid, and John frowned at the knowledge of their presence. The buffalo walked right up to the side of John's bed, and looked down at him with a bland expression on his face. John tried to get a read on his thoughts, but the buffalo's visage only informed him that the buffalo was angry.

John's eyes narrowed, this brute of a policeman gave him a bad vibe, and John did not appreciate the obvious scowl on his face. Despite having a different anatomy, the look of displeasure was unmistakable, as if seeing John angered him, and John was scowling in return. John never liked the police.

Chief Bogo walked into the operating room after being informed that the strange mammal had woken up from his coma. After receiving the call from one of his officers stationed at the hospital, he rushed over in order to deal with this mess.

As Bogo thought about the last week, he scowled in frustration and fatigue. The past week had been absolute hell, and the amount of paperwork, request for interviews from the piranha like news agencies, and general lack of sleep had put him into a bad mood, hence the unfriendly expression.

Now, walking into the room of the mammal who was the cause of it all, he wasn't able to hide it. The fact that this creature had also threatened the life of an officer some time ago definitely hadn't been forgotten, and Bogo already had a bad impression of this newly discovered predator. He was going to get to the bottom of this.

John though, had no idea what was going on in the large mammal's head, and the expression the buffalo was giving him was not giving John a good first impression either. Unfortunately, John was at his mercy, and John could only reign in his temper.

Bogo entered a sort of staring contest with the strange mammal strapped to the bed. If he was being honest with himself, he really didn't know what to say. There was too much to talk about, too many questions to ask, and Bogo had no idea what kind of mammal he was dealing with. He had read the hospital reports and even interviewed the doctors taking care of this mammal.

From what he had read and been told, the mammal before him defied the laws of nature and should be, from a medical perspective, dead. The situation was truly…bizarre, and although Bogo was by no means inexperienced, this was definitely something he had never dealt with before.

The silence persisted, and persisted, and persisted. The beaver who informed the police of John's awakening stood by silently, the tension in the air being an almost invisible force preventing him from speaking. Finally, after Bogo reached the end of his patience, decided to push forward with the most direct approach.

"How are you feeling?" he spoke in a deep gruff voice.

John raised an eyebrow. 'Not the first question I would have guessed he would ask'

"Fine…I guess. Still strapped down though…" John hinted his intentions in an obvious manner.

The buffalo replied after a brief moment of silence "… I can release you if you promise not to do anything stupid"

John glared at him, and the buffalo leveled the same look right back. Sighing loudly, John looked away and spoke with clear reluctance "Fine, just let me out…please"

The buffalo nodded and suddenly yelled loudly "DELGATO, FANGMEYER, GET IN HERE!"

John looked on as the double doors swung open revealing two more mammals in the same uniform as the buffalo, with a little less bling on their collars. John put two and two together and realized that this buffalo was either a chief or Captain or something. The two mammals who walked in were a tigress and grey wolf, and John scrutinized them both carefully.

The two mammals were also observing John curiously. Noticing how John eyes were two different colors, the wolf playfully said "Neat pair of eyes there, where can I get some like that?" with a warm smile on his muzzle revealing his fangs.

John just stared at the wolf, kind off thrown off balance by the random question. The buffalo only snorted in annoyance while the tigress smacked the wolf on the head, who whimpered in response. "It was just a joke, geez" he whined.

"Shut up, not the time" the tigress spoke coldly, but her eyes were filled with humor. John found the interaction slightly funny, be he was not in any mood to laugh.

"It's called heterochromia when a mammal had two different colored eyes" the beaver, who had been quiet the whole time spoke up, trying to be helpful.

"This is all fantastic…can you unstrap me now?" John spoke with false excitement, interrupting their little scene.

The two officers looked to their Chief who nodded. Walking to his bedside, the officers undid the straps one at a time starting with his legs leaving his upper body for last. When they were done, they backed off quickly and John slowly sat up, the covers coming off.

He discovered that he was wearing only a hospital gown, and felt very naked. Somehow, he was clean, which seemed impossible considering how disgusting he was before being taken here. There were tubes filled with fluid entering his arms and John carefully pulled them out, setting them aside.

Sliding his feet off the bed, he stood up, plating his bare feet onto the cold tile floor. Immediately stretching his taut muscles, John's body emanated a lot of cracking sounds as he popped several bones in his back and neck, relishing the fact he could move again.

Peering under his gown, he looked at his own chest, which he found was perfectly intact, as if it hadn't been blown open with a shotgun. Placing his hand on it delicately, he confirmed that he was truly ok.

'Amazing' John thought to himself. Even to him, surviving something like that seemed impossible, but his body didn't let him down, for better or worse. He looked up, and found all four other mammals in the room were watching him. All of the officers were on edge, their hands on their side arms, just waiting for him to try and run.

On the other hand, the beaver was alternating his focus between him and a clipboard, observing John's actions and recording them down on a piece of paper.

"Hey, can you please not do that" John voiced to the beaver with a hint of annoyance. The beaver looked up with an innocent look as if to say "What's wrong?".

"It makes me feel like a test subject, and I hate that" John answered his unspoken question.

Although the beaver didn't understand what John was talking about judging by the perplexed look on his face, 'How could he possibly understand' thought John, the beaver respected John's wishes and just observed quietly, committing every one of John's actions to memory.

John noticed that all three of the officers were not really looking directly at him so much as they were looking at his hands.

'Ah, I see' John realized. They were watching his hands for his claws. Feeling cheeky and impulsive, he extended his claws while he was stretching some more, in a way to make the action seem reflexive and harmless, just to see their response. The reaction was immediate. All three officers took a step back and their grips on their side arms intensified.

The wolf even growled lowly as a warning. The beaver on the other hand, watched in fascination as John extended his bone claws to their full length. It actually felt good to extend them, the muscles in his forearms relaxing, similar to stretching.

"Amazing" the beaver muttered under his breath

John expected some kind of reaction, but that was ridiculous, especially with the wolf. The wolf's reaction in particular had John re-examining him. Looking at him carefully, he noticed that there was a large bandage wrapped around his arm, covering the fur. It was stained slightly red.

'Oh, I see' John remembered how the beaver told him how he had been thrashing in his sleep. Retracting his claws while he stopped stretching, John noticed how the three officers looked relieved while the beaver had a face full of disappointment, as if he wanted a closer look.

Paying special attention to the wolf, John asked directly "Did I do that?" as he pointed to the slightly stained bandage on the wolf's right arm. The wolf stiffened in response, before subconsciously rubbing the bandage.

"Yeah, you had some kind of panic attack and went crazy. Someone had to hold you down…"

"Hmm, my bad then" John rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. Feeling a cold breeze down his backside, he decided to change the subject. "You guys got any clothes, it's a little cold…"

The three officers looked at each other before the large buffalo nodded at the wolf, who promptly left the room.

"Now that it's come to this…" John suddenly spoke directly to the buffalo. "I hope you can help me with something…"

The buffalo raised an eyebrow in curiosity before grunting "Oh? And what would that be?"

John, sitting down on the bed and crossing his arms, said "I need your help to get back home. I have no idea where this place is, but I don't belong here. In fact, if everything I have been told and seen is true, this…world…is not the one I call home"

If John could see his own face, he would feel self-conscious at how confused and uncertain he looked. Vulnerable was not a word he would ever use to describe himself, yet that was how he appeared to the three mammals still present in the room.

John waited for a response. The two officers looked at each other and seemed to be silently communicating. The large buffalo then sighed and stepped forward, and John watched with a hopeful expression as he began to speak slowly.

"I honestly don't know what you are or what to believe after what you just told us or what we have seen. However, that is not what is important right now. Since you are now considered a witness to a major crime, we are going to need you to come with us and answer some questions. As for everything else, while there is a lot to discuss, we can put that on hold for now…" The buffalo took a breath before continuing.

"As for you getting home, if you cooperate with us, I can promise that we will do everything in our power to help you afterwards. Will you assist us?" The buffalo concluded in a professional manner.

"Wait a minute…major crime…you mean…OH MY GOD!" John's sudden outburst stunned the surrounding mammals. "What happened to those mammals trapped in the prison? Are they alright? What happened after I passed out?"

Holding up his hooves in a calming gesture, the large buffalo said "Calm down, they are all fine" A grimace crossed his features as he recalled the bloody mess he and several other police Chiefs had to deal with after they received a call from two bunnies who had claimed to have been kidnapped.

"You have been in a coma for a week, you missed a lot. There are indeed many things we have to clarify, both pertaining to the circumstances we found you in, and to your… unique situation. That is why you must come with us"

'A WEEK!?' John thought as he eyed the buffalo very carefully. He did not trust them, but he was willing to listen to what they had to say if it meant the possibility of getting home sooner. Aside from the worry he felt for the fellow prisoners he had been stuck with, he was filled with many complex emotions.

So far they had been honest and up front with him, even letting him out of the restraints, something John was genuinely surprised at.

'Maybe I should give them a chance' John thought to himself as he sat on the bed with his arms folded, staring at the two officers. Finally, after deliberating on it for a while, he spoke up.

"I will go with you, but one condition…"

The Buffalo frowned, but asked anyway. "What condition?"

"The…erm…mammal's that were in the prison with me, I want to see them" John asked earnestly.

"That can be arranged, in fact, some of those mammals are here right now recovering. But before anything else, you have to come with us" was Bogo's quick reply

Pleased that they had agreed to his one request, John quickly assented "All right then, I will go with you"

The tigress and buffalo looked at each other and sighed in relief. This would have been very awkward if he had refused. After all, it's not like they could just let him go after everything that had happened. He definitely was a witness to a big case, and they were honestly interested in what he might know, and to a lesser extent, what he was himself.

"By the way, what do I call you two?" John asked. "I really don't want to refer to you both as the talking buffalo and the talking tiger"

The buffalo responded, his professionalism returning. "You can call me Chief Bogo. You can refer to me as either Chief or Bogo, I do not care. This…" he gestured to the tigress next to him "Is Officer Fangmeyer. Our colleague who left to get you a pair of clothes is Officer Wolfard. Once he returns, you can change, and we will go as long as you're feeling fine"

"I am feeling fine; I can leave anytime" John responded without even thinking. Bogo shook his head, not really understanding how he should feel about that statement. He had seen the pictures, and it went beyond a simple miracle that only a week later, a wound like that was completely healed.

'What kind of mammal is this? Is he even a mammal?' Bogo couldn't help but ask in his mind.

Eventually, Wolfard returned carrying a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt, along with a pair of briefs. After handing John the clothes, the three officers and the doctor stepped outside to let John change in relative privacy. They were not afraid of him running away, as there was only one way out to begin with.

Changing quickly, John was only slightly perturbed that the wolf didn't bring shoes and socks with him. After he was done, he walked over to the mirror and examined his face. As he suspected, his hair had grown longer, and a small beard had already formed. However, he was most concerned with his eyes, and when he looked carefully, they were indeed back to normal, no longer blood red.

He still wondered what had happened down in that prison. Having never felt something like that before, he was curious if it could happen again; A sudden and huge boost in strength and the heightening of his senses. Although, when he thought about it, it was probably the reason he went into a coma, as he had never been unconscious for longer than a few minutes (not including sleep).

Grabbing a sharp blade, he began to carefully cut off the beard that he had grown, the hairs falling into the sink. Although he cut himself many times in the process since he wasn't using a razor, the cuts immediately healed and he continued to work.

Once he was done, he slapped his face in the mirror and admired his own handiwork.

'Clean shaven is best' he thought to himself as he smiled.

Dropping the blade back onto the counter, he finally walked out of the room. When he pushed through the doors, the four mammals waiting outside all looked at him with surprise. After shaving his beard, John looked much younger than before.

The wolf spoke what everyone was thinking: "So John…I heard that your name was John correct?"

John nodded in response. The wolf finished his question "How old are you?"

"…I'm twenty-four, why does that matter?" John asked with a frown.

"Doesn't…just curious" replied the wolf. The other three mammals present were inwardly shaken at how young he was. His exact age wasn't something they could determine via looks alone, especially since he was a one of a kind mammal; It was hard to tell.

Looking around around, the hallways reminded John of a standard hospital back home. Long white tiles hallways and walls with both patients and nurses moving around to and fro. The thick smell of sanitation burned John's nose, and he quietly followed the four mammals as they escorted him to the front.

As they walked by, different mammals of all shapes and sizes, young and old, large and small, were watching the group with unconcealed interest. Being with the police was already enough to arouse curious stares, but the fact that the strange mammal was with them definitely had an amplifying effect.

Even the staff all stopped and stared, moving around so they could get a better look at the new type of mammal amongst them. John lamented his current situation, electing to just stare straight ahead and follow the Chief. He had a feeling that as long as he was here, he would never be left alone.

'That's him'

'The one from the videos?'

'Yeah!'

'Did you see the one where he…'

'Dangerous…'

'…predator… great'

'Why…no fur?'

'What is he…?'

'Finally awake…'

'…got to let them know…'

'…doesn't look very dangerous'

John heard a lot of different things as he followed behind the officers. He could see some taking out their phones and quickly snapping pictures while others were texting or calling others. John could tell it was only going to get worse.

As they proceeded to the front, John couldn't help think of something obvious he should have asked earlier. Speaking quietly enough so only the officers could hear him, which wasn't hard because the surrounding conversations were loud enough anyway, John asked "Hey, um, I forgot to ask before, but where exactly are we going?"

"To the station, where you will give your statement on what happened. It will be much quieter, and safer there, we promise" The large tigress known as Fangmeyer replied softly.

"Ok then…" John replied, having no further questions.

As they reached the front of the hospital, the buffalo gestured to the beaver over to a corner where they began to talk. Meanwhile, John and the other two officers planted themselves on the side, making John feel awkward as he stood next to the entrance, mammals walking in and out right past him.

John looked over at the two conversing mammals as their talked seemed to get a little heated. As time passed, John could see how the buffalo was antsy, clearly wanting to expedite the process and leave. However, the beaver kept arguing, and John was more than a little sure that they were talking about him, but he couldn't make out what they were saying due to the commotion around them.

After some kind of agreement was reached, the beaver handed Bogo his clipboard after signing it and the large buffalo headed back to John. Handing him the clipboard, Bogo said "Please sign this so we can leave"

John scanned the document, which appeared to be a release form for their records. Signing it quickly, he handed it back to Bogo, who then passed it back to the beaver.

"Let's go" the buffalo commanded with his gruff voice

As they exited the hospital under the attentive gazes of its occupants, John was utterly astonished at what he was seeing. Judging by the sun, it was sometime around noon, and the bright sun light was welcome as it bore down on his skin. It had been a while since he had seen sunlight, not including when he was taken to the ambulance.

All around, John marveled at the broad expanse of unorthodox architecture as he followed closely behind the buffalo. There was a mixture of large and small buildings, each with their own colorful designs and unique schemes. One building in particular had managed to catch his eye.

Further down the road, there was a brick building that looked strikingly similar to an apartment building. The only key difference was that this particular building had a zebra striped pattern, alternating black and white colored exterior paint for each floor.

'Call it a hunch, but I would guess that zebras live there…neat' John thought to himself, basically spinning in place as he looked around in awe. Everything was so unfamiliar and strange, but the clashing colors and architecture really gave John an artistic vibe to this so called city. It wasn't like anything he had ever seen back home.

Further down the road, he noticed how most other apartment buildings had their own special designs on the front, painted in the patterns resembling fur colorations. It was actually really cool, but John did not ask any questions or pause to admire the scenery as he followed the officers.

John could see mammals walking around going about their days like people would be doing. Some were jogging in fitness gear, some were wearing suits, walking and talking on their phones looking busy, and some were clearly shopping, heading into and out of various stores on either side of the street. There were even those who looked like they were taking their kids, cubs, kits…whatever they called them, on walks or wherever they were going.

For once, aside from the ones that directly saw him, most of the mammals walking around seemed to ignore their group. Their lives did not revolve around whatever John was a part of, and most kept their distance, electing to either stare from afar or go about their business peacefully, much to John's relief.

"You are lucky…" the wolf decided to comment as they walked.

"Oh yea, why is that?" John asked questioningly as he continued to look around.

"We got you out of there before the word spread that you were awake. Otherwise, things wouldn't be this quiet" he stated.

John felt his heart sink. "And why is that, dare I ask?…"

"Ha! It was impossible to keep it a secret that you were in Zootopia General. Everyone in Zootopia by now knows that you were being kept there. The public is really interested in finding out what you are…me included" he added with a wink. "I assume that you can figure out what is going to happen once the word spreads that you are up and about" He smiled back at John with his fangs.

"Oh great…something to look forward to" John replied with heavy sarcasm.

John knew deep down that he should probably be freaking out, seeing so much of…this.

'This is like the ending of that movie, Planet of the Apes, where the dude manages to get back only to discover he is the only talking human in a world of sentient apes, only instead of apes, it's all kinds of different mammals' John mused.

At some point, John just came to accept it, as he couldn't ignore reality. Putting a dampener on his internal musings, the officers led him to a parking lot where he saw two police vehicles sitting on the curb, ready to go.

Hopping into the back seat of the buffalo's cruiser, they began driving while John stared out the window, leaning his head into the window, his expression listless. So much had been happening to him over the past half-year, so much that had been out of his control, that John felt like he was a wooden boat on a raging sea during a hurricane, being thrown about to and fro with no control and the high possibility of sinking.

After many years of learning to adapt to being…well… himself, John felt that he had succeeded in living life like a regular normal person, at least before this all happened.

'Will things ever go back to normal?' He sighed quietly, asking no one in particular as he laid his head back against the seat and closed his eyes.

'Yea, well, when have things every been normal for us?' another voice retorted in his head.

The drive didn't last very long, the car stopping as John opened his eyes. After Bogo opened the door to let him out, John whistled as he stared at the enormous building in front of him. Large sandstone colored walls with large pillars spaced intermittingly held up a massive roof.

Over the entrance, John marveled at the unique design. Five pillars jutted out over a weather overhang and varying angles, making it seem almost like a crown over the entrance where the words "POLICE" hung. In his mind, he drew a loose comparison to the crown on the Statue of Liberty, only the pillars were not pointed.

*Slam*

"Welcome to HQ" he heard Wolfard say with a smug voice as he closed the door to his cruiser, enjoying John's surprise.

The loud slamming of car door behind him alerted John to the arrival of the other two officers.

"Yea, it's pretty impressive" John admitted.

"Damn right it is!" He confirmed with an arrogant tone, before being smacked on the head by the tigress who was right behind him.

"Damn it Fangmeyer! Stop doing that!" he whined pitifully.

John smirked. "That's cute" he said out loud, much to the embarrassment of the wolf.

"Let's go, stop fooling around" Bogo cut in curtly, and the three officers began escorting their "witness" to the building.

The four mammals walked through the double doors, which were large enough to allow even the biggest mammals to walk in with ease. As they entered, John took in the rather spacious surroundings and couldn't help but think 'Wow' at how clean and open everything looked. He figured how it probably was meant to look this way for first impressions.

The reactions of all the mammals present when John walked in were almost carbon copy of the mammals at the hospital, with one major exception: Most of these mammals were all in uniform. John couldn't help but think how he might have just screwed himself, figuratively throwing himself into the lion's den if they decided to act against him.

'Make that literally', he thought as he noticed a lion wearing a uniform watching him attentively.

Out of the corner of his eye, John saw a flash of red, and looked over to see a fox and a bunny watching him as they stood a little bit outside of what appeared to be their office. Memories resurfaced, and John recalled something Jacob had told him.

'That must be his sister, the only rabbit cop or something…what was her name again?'

When John couldn't remember the name, his train of thought switched to Jacob, and he wondered how the wanna-be Ranger was doing.

"Omph!" John coughed out as he accidentally bumped into what felt like a steel wall. The large buffalo had come to a stop in front of him. Focused on his thoughts, John didn't notice that he had stopped in front of a large desk, and therefore collided with the large brute of a mammal.

"Hiya Chief! What can I help you with today?" John heard a loud, high pitched, enthusiastic greeting from the other side of Bogo. Leaning to the left, John's jaw nearly hit the floor. It was a cheetah, or maybe the thing that ate the cheetah, he wasn't too sure.

Looking like a swollen water balloon with fur, the cheetah was also wearing a blue uniform, and John couldn't help but think of how oxymoronic the image in front of him was. A fat cheetah. Even worse was it reminded John of the fat cop stereotype, which made him all the more speechless.

The cheetah, finally noticing John who was hidden behind Bogo, inhaled sharply, and squeaked out "Oh-em-goodness! Is that him? That new mammal they have been talking about?" while almost climbing over the desk to get a better look, pushing a box of cereal out of the way.

Yup, there was even an empty box of donuts sitting in plain sight on the counter, something that would normally be placed on the desk itself. Looking closer, John could see a donut stuck in his…

'You can't be serious. This has to be a joke…where are the cameras?' John deadpanned mentally as he looked upon the comically obese cheetah. By now, John had stepped around Bogo and was in full view.

"Well I'll be darned! You look exactly like in the videos!" The fat cheetah said as he reached out his paw.

"Benjamin Clawhauser, officer in charge of dispatch, pleased to meetcha!" he exuberantly proclaimed, his bubbly personality on full display. He seemed like someone who was very hard to hate, regardless of his habits.

John inwardly rolled his eyes as he took the meaty paw in his hand and shook it.

'Names John, pleased to meet you. What videos?" John replied patiently, not understanding what he meant.

The large cheetah's smile widened many more degrees, and John was worried he might pop if he became any more excited. John looked to the other officers, but they all looked calm and unperturbed by this display. Clearly, they were used to it.

"Ahhmph…" the Chief cleared his throat "Clawhauser, find Fangmeyer's and Wolfard's work schedule and get them back on it. I will be in my office with him for a while. Unless it's an emergency, I don't want to be disturbed for the next hour"

"Sir yes sir! Leave it to me" the cheetah replied and set about loading something on the computer. Wolfard and Fangmeyer merely glanced at John before turning their attention to the cheetah. The chief turned and headed towards one of the offices on the side, and John proceeded to follow him.

Over his shoulder, John heard the wolf snickering, and he turned around.

John asked in confusion "What?"

"Alone with the Chief in his office for an hour…" The wolf shook his head.

"There certainly are better ways to go. I will be sure to send flowers to your funeral" he spoke with false melancholy while donning a sad expression.

John just looked at him blankly, before glancing at the tigress who had heard what he said. Immediately, she bopped him on the head while he whined in protest.

"Thanks" John said to her, and she replied a "thumbs up" before John continued to follow the Chief. Entering his office, the large buffalo walked around his desk and sat down into the large chair. Not waiting for his cue, John pulled up a wooden chair as sat down in front of the desk, leaning back into it with his arms folded as he eyed the buffalo.

The buffalo quietly grabbed a pair of reading glasses, placing them on the table as he reached further into his desk and pulled out a manila folder, quite packed with papers.

Placing it onto the desk, he opened it and pulled out several documents, placing them haphazardly around the desk space. Looking up, Bogo made eye contact with John before he began to speak.

"There are a lot of things we need to discuss here, but I am a busy mammal, and time is never on my side, so here is what is going to happen: You are going to sit there, quietly, and will answer any questions I have while I tell you exactly what has transpired in the week you have been...incapacitated. Afterwards, I will give you over to the detectives where you will give your official statement on what happened. Are we clear?" He spoke with authority.

John frowned, but consented with "Got it". Although he didn't appreciate the attitude, John really did want to know what happened, and the sooner he finished with this, the sooner he could solve his other issues.

Just as the buffalo was about to begin, a buzzing sound resounded throughout the room, the source being the phone on the Chief's desk. Bogo stared at his phone in shock, as if it had just committed treason, before a huge scowl formed on his face. Slamming a button, he growled lowly "Clawhauser, what…did…we…just…discuss" speaking each word slowly for emphasis.

"S-Sorry Chief, but I just had to let you know something"

"OH!? And what's that? He retorted.

"You are about to be interrupted" was the soft reply.

John swore he could see a vein bulge on the buffalo's head. If that was supposed to be a joke, John figured that would be the end of the fat cheetah as he knew him.

Fortunately for Clawhauser, his predication came true, as the door to the chief's office suddenly swung open. John turned his head around to see who the intruder was, and he almost choked on his own breath at what he saw.

Standing in the doorway was Jacob, only…he looked terrible! The plaid shirt he was wearing was torn in several places, stained with what John smelled to be coffee all over his pants and shirt. His brown fur was matted everywhere, and he was thinner than before with his ears drooping, something John had come to learn only happens when rabbits are sad or depressed.

There was mud all over his pants and feet, and his eyes were red. By John's best guess, he had just gone through a series of unfortunate accidents which put him in this state. Behind him followed the rabbit officer who was also followed by the fox, both wearing a concerned expression.

John made eye contact with Jacob who flinched, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. John, however, was feeling slightly different. His surprise turned into intrigue, which immediately turned into humor. John, to the surprise of everyone present, started chuckling. The chuckle turned into a giggle which evolved into full blown laughter.

As John continually glanced a couple more times at the disaster known as Jacob, his laughter grew louder, and he even wheezed a bit, finding that he could barely breath. None of the mammals who were present knew what to think, so they just watched in stunned silence as John lost control of himself.

Eventually, John calmed down enough to see that Jacob's ears were tinted red and he was clearly embarrassed from his expression. John had drawn a parallel from their first meeting, which is why he found it so funny. Feeling a lingering satisfaction that only laughter can bring, he pointed at Jacob with a smile and said "Hey man, it's been a while. You look like shit!" before he started laughing some more.

In an unknown location

"Sir, it took me some time to escape from the city, but I accomplished what you asked" reported the tigress as he stood in front of the desk of his employer.

"So I have heard…" The large figure behind the desk replied as he dropped the newspaper down onto the desk. The headline read Lumber Mill Explosion! Several Injured.

"Luna, you IDIOT!" The large figure screamed as he slammed his paws down onto the table, his claws shredding the paper.

'You had to go and get yourself killed and nearly drag down the rest of us in the process!?' The figure growled as he thought about how close it could have been.

'Luckily I was keeping tabs on her, otherwise…' The figures expression darkened as he glanced at the tiger who had been posing as one of Luna's bodyguards.

Pulling a cell phone out of his pocket, he dialed one of the saved numbers. After ringing for some time, the other end picked up.

"What is it Marius?" The voice spoke coldly.

"You know why I am calling you…" Marius growled into the phone.

"Yes, but you know, this…this will be difficult" The mammal on the other end replied carefully.

"I'll pay handsomely for your troubles" Marius stated

"…Fine" *click* The phone was hung up.

"Ugh" Marius sighed heavily while rubbing his temples.

"Sir, what are your orders?" The tiger who had been standing by spoke up.

"Oh yes, you…turn around" The Marius stated.

Slightly confused by the request, the tiger hesitated, before turning around…and finding himself staring down the barrel of a gun held by a lioness he didn't notice was there before.

"No loose ends" Marius commanded with an icy tone.

*BANG* The lioness fired her gun, and the body of the tiger fell limply to the floor, bleeding out of the hole in his head.

Marius nodded at the lioness who bowed before leaving the room.

Pressing a button on his desk phone, Marius spoke into it "Elizabeth, send up the janitor. Tell him to hurry before it stains the floor.

"Yes sir" was the reply.

Marius rubbed his eyes before standing up and walking to the window. Peering out, he wondered if she would be able to pull it off.

"This will be tricky" he muttered to himself.

AN: Any typos or blatant grammatical mistakes, let me know (Thanks Chlaco!)