Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prologue: The Snap

In the vast expanse of the multiverse, many variants of realities suffered from a conflict that the Heroes of Earth (or Terra, depending on who you asked) referred to as The Infinity War. For some realities it was a single conflict or two, and for others it lasted years. Of the former, there’s a reality in which the constant antagonist of the event, Thanos the Mad Titan, followed suit with his goal: to unite the Infinity Stones and preserve the universe’s resources, by eradicating half of all life within it with but a snap of his fingers.

1: Dust in the Wind

Far from the epicenter of The Snap, was a planet not unlike the Earth. However, on this planet instead of homosapians, homosuperior, or some other form of humanoid reigning supreme, it was the entire class of Mammalia save for primates that evolved. Quadropedic mammals adopted bipedial structure, front paws or hooves developed carpometacarpal joints, and carnivorous mammals ceased consumption of herbivores. The evolved mammals, over time, integrated into a resemblance of a humanoid’s society, lacking most of the humanoid features. Predator and Prey came together to form a modern utopia in the form of a massive city, known by the inhabitants as Zootopia. Like any other society, they faced conflict within class and species, but united in times of peril. They were woefully unprepared for The Snap, and the chaos it would cause.

“The end is nigh! It’s all going to crash down around us!” A pika wearing essentially what amounted to rags and nearly frothing at the mouth was forced to the ground by a duo of ZPD officers. “Argh! Police brutality! Help! Prey oppression!”

The larger of the two, a red fox, sighed as he cuffed the smaller mammal. His ears flicked as the whispers of onlookers reached them.

“Fieldson, c’mon, don’t make this worse for yourself. You’re already drunk.”

“I am not Ossifer, drunk!”

“That only proves it.” The smaller officer, a grey-furred rabbit, pulled the smaller lagomorph to his feet. “This is the fifth time this week, Morgan. We can’t let it slide again. Drunk and disorderly, public drinking, you’re looking at serious jail time.”

The pika gave her a wet raspberry, before he started to struggle in their grip. The two police mammals wrestled the inebriated civilian into the back of their squad car, the fox recited the Miranda rights to him as they did. After the door was shut, the two officers climbed into their vehicle and drove back towards the precinct. Once the pika succumbed to a drunken daze and his raving ceased, the fox’s attention fell on his partner.

“Have to admit,” he said, “it’s a bit unusual for Fieldson to act out so many times in a week.”

“You think he knows something we don’t?” The rabbit asked.

“Oh, I’m sure he knows tons of things that we don’t, Fluff.” A sly grin spread across his face. He leaned against the middle console as they pulled up to a stoplight. “How to cook a piece of garbage just right to settle a sick stomach, for instance.”

Purple eyes rolled and the fox received a “soft” jab in the arm. He recoiled and cradled the assaulted limb.

“Cripes, Carrots, I thought after three years I’d get used to your ‘love taps’! Instead, they just hurt more and more each time.” A mock glower was thrown her way. “If you keep this up, that patch of fur is going to turn purple one day.”

“Stop being a goofball, Slick, and tell me what you’re thinking.” 

“Officer No-Fun Allowed…” the fox mumbled. A sidelong glare had him lifting russet paws in surrender, all signs of pain forgotten. “Relax, Carrots. I don’t think it’s another sheep conspiracy or another dam sabotage—”

“Language.”

“I was referring to the case involving the non-royal weasel.” He elaborated. “Y’know, the one we solved last year and became heroes of the city. Again.”

“Oh.” She felt heat rush to her ears and let them drop behind her head. Without looking at him, she knew that his lips were pulled back into a smirk. She kept her attention on the road, focused on driving and let her partner continue to speak, in order to calm down.

“As I was saying before the censor police interrupted me,” she refused to rise to the bait, but sent him a look of amused warning out of the corner of her eye. “I don’t think it means anything nasty is going on, but it’s suspicious. Fieldson is a repeat drunk tank visitor, sure, but doing it five times before a week’s out? It’s fishy, and before you say anything, fish can’t be offended because they’re not sentient like the rest of us.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything, Nick.”

“Sure you weren’t.” When she chanced a glance at him, he cracked a smile, just barely flashing his teeth. “PC Bunny.”

“Foul-mouthed fox.”

“Mm, not a bad comeback, but there’s a few things wrong with it.” Nick flicked up his index finger. “Furst of all, I don’t eat fowl. Far too gamy. I’m a vegetarian.”

“Since when?”

“Since I got a taste of my favorite Carrots’ cake last night.”

Her ears burst into two poles of fire.

“ Nick !”

“What? It’s an addictive taste. Must be my savage heritage rearing its head. It’s in my biology, you know.”

“You can’t just...That isn’t...Don’t talk about that while we’re working!” She couldn’t handle this level of teasing so early in the day. Cheese and crackers, she was probably releasing all kinds of pheromones judging by the muffled thumping of what had to be the fox’s wagging tail. Damned bottle brush pillow was mocking her.

“So after, then?”

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye in time to see his tongue flick out and wash over his muzzle while his attention was on her. Flashes of the night before went through her head. Memories of sensations that made her fur stand on edge and whispers that stirred up her heartbeat made her nose twitch furiously. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened. It wasn’t their first tryst, that had come months ago when they were still new to their off-shift relationship. It was still recent enough to leave a lasting effect on her, though. Emotion and instinct warred with logic and reason, and—unfortunately for the fox—the latter team won the bout.

She almost ran the next red light, and the hard stop jerked the drunk pika into the back of their seats, evidenced by the grunt that came through the window. Miraculously he remained asleep. Or unconscious. Regardless, that was a matter best suited for later. Her attention was on the fox that was readjusting his seatbelt.

“Nicholas Piberius Wilde.” His name came out as a growl. Her teeth grit together and we’re bared as she spoke. “You will stop talking about that right now. We agreed to keep that out of work . Biscuits, we have a mammal in the back seat that can hear you! You remember what Bogo said about PDA, don’t you!?”

She glanced at him to ensure that the message got across. His ears had turned back and his eyes were wide as he stared in her direction. It was strange to see him react so visibly to her, so she backtracked a bit. Her voice was softer and more relaxed.

“Nick, we can’t —“

“Get down!”

His arms encircled her head and she found herself tucked under the fox, argument stalled in her mind as the horrible screech of metal against metal tore at her ears. The noise was so much that she lost hearing for a moment, but that was the least of her troubles. The cruiser spun and glass shattered, she felt it pelt her skin. Her vision, previously full of her partner’s Kevlar, was suddenly occupied by vibrant green eyes filled with worry. Slowly, sound returned to the world. The first thing she heard was his voice.

“...rots, you alright? Are you hurt?”

“No. I-I don’t think so. Are you okay?” Judy gave him a once over. Uniform tie just slightly slack, sleeves rolled up to mid-forearm, and fur mildly ruffled. No visible bleeding from the glass. Her ears were twisting around before she was. “What the heck was—?”

The airbags deployed, eliciting a squeak and a yip from them. Enough force to kill smaller mammals, but only enough to be a mild, if not startling, inconvenience. Nick deflated them with his claws, grumbling about recalls, as Judy remembered their passenger. She tore away from her partner and pressed her face into the window, seeking the apprehended drunkard.

“Fieldson! Fieldson! Are you okay?!” She looked back to see the pika still unconscious. Snoring away, as if he wasn’t lying unfastened in the back of a police cruiser that was just hit by something. How much had he drank earlier? And what was it exactly?

“Carrots. Hopps! JUDY!” Nick’s voice was urgent, and it was only the use of her first name that got her attention. He’d hopped out of the cruiser at some point while Judy was checking on Fieldson, but didn’t take more than two steps from it. Judy hopped out after him, surveying the damage to the car before following his gaze. Her ears dropped and her paws flew up to cover her muzzle.

“Oh my gourd...”

Cars were piling into one another left and right. The small sized sports car that had slammed into them was wrapped around a light post across the lane. A plane flew into the Jackelson & Jackelsen building. The helicopter for Channel Nine was in a spiral and touched down with a bang.

Then there was the dust.

Mammals were crumbling away in front of her very eyes. A fleeing pair of timberwolves dissolved before they could round the corner. A giraffe was trying to get out of his car, but vanished as the door opened. She watched a frightened bear cub vanish from its mother’s arms before her radio’s chatter started to act up.

“ 10-78! Repeat, 10-78 at Mass. and Clemens!”

“10-4. 10-70-ei—”

“Dispatch, copy? 10-78 on Sweep St.”

“Dispatch?”

“Clawhauser, say something!”

“Carrots…” Nick’s paw was on her shoulder and she turned into his embrace. The tears didn’t register until his other paw stroked down her ears. She felt his tail wrap around her legs and his muzzle rest on her head. “Carrots. Carrots, you need to lock it up. Don’t let them see. Not yet. We’ve got to go help them.”

It was too much. He tilted her head up and smiled down at her reassuringly, but in his eyes she saw the same thing she felt: fear. The dissolving mammals, the chaos capturing their city, how could anyone expect the ZPD’s finest to hold it together?

“You can do it, Fluff.” He assured her. “I’m right behind y—”

It started at the side of his head, along his muzzle. Then his shoulder. His chest and the warmth of his tail left at the same time. His eyes were gone before it started to take his feet. The breeze swept him away before she could even think of tightening her grasp. Of savoring the moment. She fell once he was gone, unbalanced by his absence.

“N-Nick?”

This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be happening. Mammals don’t just turn to dust. It had to be a dream. She was going to wake up any minute now. Her alarm would go off and she would wake up in her bed. Or in his. Either way, he’d be there once she woke up.

…

Why hadn’t she woken up yet!?

It wasn’t a dream. She knew it wasn’t a dream. Just like she knew that her fellow officers were making the radio explode. Like she knew that her phone was vibrating in its pouch on her hip. Like she knew the mammals around her were screaming their own duress and she was ignoring her duties. Judy Hopps knew it wasn’t a dream.

Which meant that witnessing her partner’s death was no longer among her worst nightmares.

“ NIIICCCKK !”

Chapter Text

By the time Johnson and Grizzoli had found her, the sun was near set. No words were exchanged between them and her. Not for lack of trying on Grizzoli’s part.

When they explained what had happened to her later, it sounded as if she had shut down, possibly due to being overwhelmed. It was a defensive mechanism of sorts for smaller mammals, and bunny kits were especially prone to it when overstimulated. So, it was rather understandable if she missed something, not to mention miraculous that she hadn’t been harmed in all the chaos while in her state of shock.

It wouldn’t occur to her for some time that Johnson and Grizzoli weren’t even on the same assignment that day. That revelation led to more thoughts concerning the whereabouts of Delgato and Grizzolini, which took her back to thoughts of what happened to....

She dropped her face into her paws, too exhausted to keep crying despite how much she wanted to. Her head was a throbbing, jumbled mess. The fur on her cheeks had been matted from her tears, and the light blue of her uniform was stained grey by…

“Hopps,” Grizzoli gently jostled her out of her thoughts. Judy looked at him. The white wolf’s dark eyes were solemn, but other than the speck of hurt, of understanding, his experience gave him a mask that rivaled… Grizzoli spoke again, breaking her from her thoughts. “Chief called for a 10-19. Everyone’s in the bullpen.”

“For the most part.” The lion grumbled as he passed the wolf. 

“Johnson,” Grizzoli growled. “We lost our partners, too. Don’t try to play that pity party scat now.”

Johnson rounded with a snarl, what was likely a scathing retort on his lips dying as his eyes met with the senior officer’s. He chuffed and stormed into the ZPD. Grizzoli watched him go, unblinking gaze locked on the agitated predator, before he turned back to Judy.

“C’mon, Hopps. The others will be happy to see you.”

Fieldson had to have bolted, she realized as she walked into Precinct One from the garage’s entrance with Grizzoli. She voiced her thoughts concerning the apprehended pika.

“Hm? Nah, no one was in your cruiser.” He looked away as his shoulders sagged. “We checked.”

Looking for Nick, she thought. She put a paw on the larger mammal’s arm. He smiled ruefully down at her.

“Every officer might not be a wolf, but we’re all in a pack.” He poked her playfully in the ear. “Feel honored, Rabbit.”

“Thanks, Paul.” Her smile was genuine, but still small. It was reassuring, even now, to have someone there on her side. 

“I got your back, Fluff.”

Her breath hitched and she squeezed her eyes shut. Don’t let them see it get to you.

“More than half of our active duty officers are currently M.I.A., and a fifth are now undergoing treatment at Metro. All that we have here now is all that we have to patrol the city.”

Bogo’s voice was solemn, his strong visage haggard as he looked over his podium. He’d forgone his reading glasses and any sort of file or paperwork. His eyes closed and he let out a sigh. His shoulders drew up and squared, and the fire that drove them, a dutiful flame of justice, blazed in his eyes.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it, mammals. We’re facing a crisis the likes of which this city has never seen before. And it’s going to get worse, a lot worse, before it gets better.”

From where she stood beside Paul, Judy felt her nose twitch. Murmurs broke out in the crowd.

“We must remain vigilant and strong.” The chief rumbled to the listening officers. “You’ve got the training, you know the laws, but these are no longer Zootopians we’re policing. They’re scared animals, and they have every right to be. Whatever happened to...the others…”

More murmurs: “Poor Wolford was hospitalized after...” “Gonna explain this to Clawhauser’s sister…” “...Footage has her hanging onto Wilde-...”

Judy’s ear twitched towards the speaker of the last fragment. Dust in her paws, reassuring smile on his muzzle. Her heart clenched. Why did they have to keep bringing it up? What was she going to do now? How was she going to get through this without him?

“I’ve got your tail, Carrots. Figuratively, of course.” Smouldering emeralds stared into her eyes. He was geared up for their first raid. They were the second infiltration group, and his gear was better than hers. She was nervous, and knew he was too, but he hid it better. He always hid it better. “Literally comes later.”

“Quiet!” Bogo’s fist slammed onto his podium, jarring her from the memory. “Get your heads straight, Mammals! We don’t know what happened, but we will find out. In the meantime, get out there and do your Goat damned jobs!”

She was halfway to her cruiser when she remembered her phone. If it had happened to ...Was it limited to Zootopia? Her paw opened the iCarrot before she registered what she was doing. Messages from her extensive family members, missed calls still piling up. Another was coming through and she answered, after a rough clearing of her throat.

“Cotton?”

“Aunt Judy, thank goodness!” Her niece’s relief was palpable over the speaker. A swift memory took Judy back.

Cotton was just starting First grade, and carried herself as more mature than her siblings, being so bold enough to run up and greet the strange fox that Judy had brought home with her, a little paw raised and a big smile with her half-gaping buck tooth on full display. The tod greeted the little bunny, crouched down on his haunches, and shook her paw. That invited the fluffle over to meet him. Later in the day, after dinner and when stories had ended, the little kit had claimed the fox’s lap as her bed for the night. His paw, the size of her whole body, kept her warm, but it was the serenity one his face that made Judy realize how much she loved seeing his paternal instincts at work.

“You’d better watch out, Carrots. This one’s gunning for your spot on my favorite bunny list.”

The blubbering sobs startled her from her thoughts.

“Aunt Judy what’s going on? Colin and Clyde both just disappeared...and Uncle Dylan was sitting in his chair when he turned to dust...And-and-Daddy was just talking to Grandma when he-he-!”

Oh no. No. Nononono. Judy cupped the phone close and took a deep breath. The younger bunny kept speaking, her watery woes tightening the vice around her heart.

“Cotton. Cotton, honey, take a few deep breaths, okay?”

“O...okay.” Cotton sniffled. “Okay.”

A watery smile spread across Judy’s muzzle, she could practically see the kit rubbing her face with her arm. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The next part would be hard for both of them.

“Cotton, I need you to let me speak to grandma and grandpa. Can you do that for me?”

“Can I talk to Mister Nick first?”

Cheese and crackers, how was she supposed to answer that? She faltered, sounds failed to come from her mouth. A swallow. She had to power through. 

Never let them see that they get to you.

She could practically hear him, gourds of the ground, she could still smell him on her. His heavy musk lingered on her uniform, despite the Musk Mask he used on a daily basis. Amethyst eyes squeezed shut. She was not going to cry. Not now. It had to wait.

“H-he’s a little busy right now, Cotton.” Judy choked back a sob and slumped against the pillar. She did it, she lied outright to her favorite niece. Hot tears stung at her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Her grief was not important right now. “I really need to talk to grandma or grandpa, Cotton, can you get one of them for me?”

“O-Okay.” Disappointment was better than outright sorrow. Pattering and calls for one of the Hopps’ warren leaders faintly came through the receiver, but soon enough, a familiar voice followed.

“Judy! Oh thank the stars!” Her mother let out a sob of relief. “Oh, Bun-Bun, you’re okay! It’s awful! Derrick, Colin and Clyde all vanished in front of the kits! The E, G, and R litters were all …my b-babies are all gone, Judy what’s h-happening?! Is this an-an attack?! Are we being attacked by the Scale Coalition?!”

“I don’t know, Mom!” Judy shot back, her mother’s distress reaching out and tugging at something deep within her. They were too far away to help each other. She had a duty to the city, but her family was also in trouble. And her ma-partner was gone. She was frustrated and confused and all she wanted was to give her mom and dad and fox a hug. “I don’t know, okay! I’m just as confused as you are!”

She made an effort to calm down, waiting for her mother to speak again. Her mother was a little more composed, but still wrought with grief as she spoke.

“I’m s-sorry, Judy. That wasn’t fair. How’s the city? Is it-?”

“It’s happening here, too.”

“Oh goodness, how bad is it?”

Judy bit her lip. 

“Judy? …Judith, say something! You can’t scare me like this! I’ve been calling you and Nicholas for hours, but—”

“He’s gone, mom.” And here came the water works, come on floodgates hold out. Nope. Her futile effort to withhold crying lasted all of point three seconds before fat ugly tears rolled down her cheeks. “Nick’s gone ! He was there for a second, and then-and then!”

“Oh, Bun-bun, no! Shh, shh, shh, sweetie.”

The two bunnies cried together, unable to console each other for their losses. Eventually, they had to end the call so Bonnie could break the news to the rest of the family and finish getting her kit count tallied, and Judy had to get to work. 

She felt a large paw on her shoulder and looked up, daring to hope—Grizzoli stared down at her. His face is one of steeled determination. He had something on his mind, and his posture told her it was something she wasn’t going to agree with.

“Go home, Hopps.”

“Wh-what?” 

“This thing, it’s everywhere.” Grizzoli sucked in a shuddering breath. “T.U.S.C. Is being mobilized to keep rioting at bay. Bogo’s in his office. Tell him it’s in the commonwealth and go home. ”

“I-I can’t-Paul, I—”

“No one will think less of you for it.” He assured her. “We all lost someone, but…reports of produce going missing are coming in. If the picked apples and cabbages are going the way…mammals are—”

“Oh gourds.” The implications of that was horrifying. If mammals and produce alike were disappearing then. She stared down at her feet. “What could have done this?”

“Go talk to Bogo and go home,” Grizzoli said one more time. His voice was softer, and his gaze lightened. “You just lost family, friends, and your mate. You are in no shape to help anyone right now but yourself.”

Judy took a deep breath. She closed her eyes. She balled up her fists and her foot started to thump. She was Judith Laverne Hopps, the first rabbit police officer in the Z.P.D., and there was nothing she couldn’t face head on.

I’m right behind you, Fluff.

Her ears dropped to her back and the tension washed out of her body. More tears—sweet cheese and crackers how did she still have any to spare?—poured over her cheeks. It was starting to sink in how real it was. This was ten times worse than when she’d almost ruined everything. She’d thought never having him in her life before would be bad, how would she get through life now without him? 

Grizzoli knelt down and practically buried her in a hug. She sobbed into her brother in blue’s arms, no longer afraid of showing weakness. 

“He’s gone! He’s actually gone!”

“I know, Hopps.” She heard the hitch in his voice, and wondered how many they’d all lost. “I know.”

The void was dark.

Kkkaaarrrrrroootttsss!

Cold.

Kkkaaarrrrrroootttsss!

Lonely.

Kkkaaarrrrrroootttsss!

He trudged on, claws dug into his arms. His paws trudged through the heavy space of nothingness. Behind him and around him and above him and in front of him more souls called out. Some were mammals of different species, others were strange. His voice joined theirs, louder and more determined. 

Kkkaaarrrrrroootttsss!

He wasn’t sure why he cried for it, but he knew it was the right phrase to call. An ear flicked, and elsewhere a star exploded. Dull, vacant eyes stared into the blackness of unreality, ignoring the other shades around him. They didn’t matter.

Kkkaaarrrrrroootttsss!

The soul kept trudging on, searching for his thing. He couldn’t remember his name, but he remembered his thing. It was the most important thing in all creation. Beautiful grey melding with amethyst and white, sure to be easily spotted in the void.

Kkkaaarrrrrroootttsss!

He would find his thing . His most precious thing . He would find it and keep it for it was his thing . His most precious thing. His beloved, cherished, wonderful…

Kkkaaarrrrrroootttsss!