What was I thinking?

Would deploying a nano-tech weapon be such a good idea?

But the coyote and I shook paws/hands according to the agreement. There was no guarantee that she wouldn't panic.  Regardless, I would proceed.

As I stood up in place, towering over the anxious coyote interrogator before me, I extended my arm off to the side at a sharp downward angle.

By neurological command, I rearranged the particles along my forearm into a sharp nanoblade.  The coyote instinctively leaped back in fright, her adrenaline causing her claws to unsheathe, and not knowing what had just happened.  To her, the weapon seemingly appeared out of thin air.

Like a T-1000, I cycled through a wide range of weapons that came to mind. Rebecca was speechless and dropped her pen.  Eventually, I organized the particles into one of the weapons most feared by the ZIA.

It was the phaser rifle.  An extraterrestrial weapon that was technologically superior to any weapon of this world.   In my world, the same model was responsible for the death of many species in my world.   Tremendous guilt filled my heart as I wielded it.

As any good soldier would, I kept the rifle pointed downward. Though I was armed to the teeth, I had no desire to attack.  I did my best to maintain a nonaggressive stance.

But the young, female coyote had a paw over her mouth, not knowing what had just transpired before her. For an intern, I thought she handled it fairly well.

"Rebecca! Stay put!" the radio voice frantically sounded. "Backup is coming!"

The metal barrier slid open and three grey wolf SWAT guards entered the room with lasers pointed at me and teeth bared. Their weapons also appeared much sleeker in design and darker.

"Drop the weapon! NOW!" the middle one barked.

But I remained standing and kept the rifle pointed away. My interrogator had backed herself up into a corner while the wolves were ready to fire their high-pressured tranquilizers. Though it was tempting to disarm them, I didn't wish to repeat the lobby incident.

The wolves readily held their fingers on the triggers.  "Drop it!" 

"At ease," I gestured, trying to calm them down.

But these guards were heavily driven by their wolven instincts and were here to protect. Their stares were fierce, potent, and focused on the unpredictable threat before them, which was me. Instead of staring back at them, I looked towards the ground to avoid further escalation.

The middle wolf then took a bold step forward. "I said drop it!"

"Right now!" the other barked.

"Relax," I said calmly, holding my gauntlet out once more.

But they tightened their grips. "Final warning!"

As the wolves were nearly set on taking their shots, I turned to look at the coyote who appeared more dumbfounded than scared. The guards wouldn't take heed to my word but perhaps she still would.

"Rebecca...you made a promise. Keep it." I reminded.

She slowly looked at the wolves, then at me, and then back at the wolves. She took a deep breath but didn't say or do anything else. The wolves then looked at each other and nodded.

"Alright, drop him!" the wolf ordered.

But the female coyote immediately jumped in front of them with her paws out. "Wait! Stop!"

The wolves hesitated before they quickly lowered their pistols. They probably wondered why any sane animal would risk her life to stand up to an armed extraterrestrial.

"Rebecca?" the wolf unyieldingly questioned. "What are you doing?"

She briefly turned her head back at me and then back to the wolves. The middle wolf kept his pistol pointed downward while the other two wolves raised theirs back up again - ready to shoot me.

"Stand down!" she sternly ordered.

All three of them tilted their heads as if she had lost her mind.

"He's armed!" the middle wolf angrily defended. "Can't you see that?"

"I'm well aware," she irritably remarked.

"Then stand aside!" he motioned with his paw. The other wolves began to take further steps while two more rhino guards were at the door as a backup, followed by other animal units.

But the coyote firmly planted both feet on the floor and stopped them from advancing. "No! I said stand down!"

Despite the guards being much more muscular in size, they surprisingly stopped right in front of her. All I did was continue standing in the same place - with my rifle wielded - while the young coyote bravely held her ground.

Accordingly, my goal was to send them a message: That I would no longer attack and had no desire to do so. I gave a terrible impression back in the lobby but now was the time to set things right. The coyote could see that - at least, I assumed she did - but everyone else would take time.

The guards tried to advance again but she held up her paw. "That's an order!"

All the guards steadily glared at the unknown weapon before them and tried to process what it could be. They didn't know what it was, how it was made, or how it worked but they knew it was technologically beyond anything they've ever encountered.

The wolves looked at each other, then at me, and then at the coyote with great concern regarding her safety. "Listen, if he's unrestrained and fully armed, then there's a high possibility that--"

"--it'll be fine, lieutenant," she said firmly, placing both paws on her hips. "I can take care of myself."

Once again, the middle wolf didn't want to risk it but he obeyed her orders nonetheless and nodded at his fellow officers to exit the room.

He gave a low growl and approached me face to face while pointing at my chest with his paw. "You make one wrong move, so help me, I will--"

"-That's enough," the coyote declared.

I kept my head steady as the grey wolf gave me one last glare of intimidation. He tried to read my eyes but soon realized that they were static and unphased on the outside of the helmet. But for inside the helmet, I might've blinked a few times. Like most typical menacing leaders, he had scars on the left side of his muzzle that revealed his numerous past rough experiences on the job. I could care less about what those were and so could the joker.

He walked past the coyote, gave her a nod, and he finally departed from the interrogation room. The guards closed the heavy door and now it was just the coyote and the human in the room. A short furry interrogator and a tall armored interrogee. All was quiet again.

With the phaser rifle still in my gauntlets, I collapsed it back into my suit until it was fully absorbed again. The coyote blinked a few times, her mouth hung slightly open, and she couldn't believe that the weapon was gone again.

I looked at the one-way window - hoping we had an audience - and then back at the coyote with a nod. "Now you know."

"How...how did you do that?" she asked quietly. "Where'd it go?"

I said nothing and simply sat behind the metal table. She paced back and forth across the room while taking time to process reality. Perhaps she felt underqualified - especially as an intern - to interrogate someone of my type due to how otherworldly I was. However, she took the time to compose herself and sat down to join me.

"Clearly, we need... a peace treaty," she admitted, taking another deep breath.  "That's why I'm here."

I looked to her for a moment, paused, then slowly nodded in agreement.  "Proceed."

Anxious for answers, she leaned inward. "Who are you?"

"I'm a soldier from the Grand Army of the Intergalactic Stratocracy." I formally replied.

Her golden eyes widened and her right ear perked up. "Wait.... what?"

Clearly, she had no idea what I was talking about. I guessed these animals weren't too familiar with stratocracies. But the longer I silently stared at her puzzled look, the more convinced I was that I should say something else.

"You can think of it as...  an extraterrestrial military."

"An extraterrestrial what?   What's miller terry?" she didn't understand.

I clarified.   "Better yet, an extraterrestrial police unit for the galaxy."

"Extraterrestrial?  Galaxy?" she panted, trying to process it all. "You mean like... an alien? "

I looked at myself in the glass mirror and tried to imagine the animals' perspective. With hesitation, I nodded.

This made her stop and think.

"That would explain the crater... " she commented. "...which totally makes sense! So you crashed here, didn't you?"

We both looked at the forest images on the table again and then back at each other.

Her tail began to sweep back and forth with excitement. "...That means you really are from... another world?"

"I am,"

She speedily sat down and scooted her seat closer for a better view. Without further ado, she opened up her binder to a blank page and clicked her pen. Never had I ever seen a creature so eager to take notes. Therefore, it was time to resume the interrogation.

"How did you get here?" she asked.

I pointed up at the ceiling. "Fell from space,"

Her eyes widened. "Wait, you fell all the way down to Earth? Straight from space?"

"Sure did."

"But how? The chances of surviving such an atmospheric height are practically zero," she reasoned. "How are you not dead?"

I shrugged. "Plot armor,"

She let out a fake light chuckle. "Ha! There has to be a better explanation than that."

I then thought of what it might've been. I did recall my HUD giving me an error message two days ago for my suit's compromised flight systems. That means many nanoparticles were wastefully converted into thrusters to cushion my landing while I was unconscious, but at least I survived the fall.

Thus, without sharing all the physics technicalities, I replied, "Just luck."

"That's it?"

"That's all it was."

She stared in admiration and went into thought. "So, if you fell from space, what were you doing up there? What brought you to this world?"

"Fate brought me here," I said. "After my world's destruction."

The coyote was taken back in mild fear. "D-Destruction?"

I gave a firm nod.

"What exactly happened?" she innocently inquired.

"My species was wiped out by a spatial cataclysmic event," I explained. "Infamously known as The Big Crunch."

"The Big Crunch?" she wondered out loud. "W-What's that?"

"You familiar with the Big Bang theory?"

She thought for a brief second. "Ah... yes, yes I am."

"It's the opposite of that."

"Really?" she said with surprise and pondered the idea. "So instead of a massive explosion, you're saying that your world ended by a massive... im-plosion?"

"Basically," I acknowledged, not wishing to divulge all the intergalactic civil wars that were mutually involved with our decimation.

She scribbled down a few notes until a look of concern came to her. "B-But how did you survive? Weren't others with you as well?"

"All dead," I said flatly. "Some were on the teleporter with me, but none made it."

Her countenance filled with deep sadness and her ears dropped. "No one?" she stuttered. "Not even your family? Or your friends?"

My head felt heavy. "None, except me."

Silence took over as she shakingly stared down at the table. She then reached for my hand. "Mr. Cheribim... I'm... I'm so sorry...."

"Me too," I said, moving my hand away.

"I can't imagine what you're feeling right now... to lose a home... and to lose those you were close with."

I said nothing and only looked at the tabletop.

As kind as the coyote was, intimacy wasn't much of a thing from my world. The real family I once loved turned out to be nothing more than a virtual simulation. An illusion and a lie that lasted for over 110 years. Nevertheless, as distant as humans were in the future, having them around was better than nothing. Part of me still missed them but they were long gone.

"So you're the very last one?" she reverently asked. "The last of your species?"

The thought suddenly hit me deep. "I am."

The coyote's expression turned dispirited. "...And just when we discovered a new species such as yourself, we thought you were possibly endangered... but now you're telling me that you're almost extinct?"

"I'm afraid so."

After hearing this, she looked down in sorrow and said nothing for the next bit of time. Little did she know of how humans treated her species back in my world and yet, she somehow had feelings towards them. Admirable but mistaken.

"Apologies for not asking earlier, but what was the name of your species?" she wondered. "Or better yet, what are you exactly?"

I peaked at the glass mirror and then back at her. "Didn't Judy tell you?"

"She told us very little," the coyote scratched one of her ears. "Just your name is all."

"My species is mankind," I answered, thinking It might've been easier and more gender-inclusive to say 'human' but I decided to change things up a bit.

She had her pen in paw, eager, and ready to go. "Spell it for me please,"

"M.A.N.K.I.N.D."

After writing it down, she held up the slip of paper. "Man-kind?" she read. "Is that right?"

I nodded. "Or 'Man' for short."

She eagerly took a moment to examine me. "I've never heard of 'Man' or 'Man-kind' before," she said in wonder. "But, then again, I don't think any of us have."

Perhaps it was better that they never did, I thought to myself. The very thought of mankind's dealings with animals - especially in the final centuries of our existence - continued to haunt and disturb me.

While I continued sitting in place, the female coyote pulled out a tablet from her binder and began typing inquiries. After a minute of carefully studying the screen, her eyes widened in astonishment.

"Your species doesn't appear in any of our mammalian databases," she said. "Even with my clearance level, I can't find anything."

Now my curiosity peaked. "Try human or homo sapiens." I directed.

She then began typing away with an amount of curiosity that far exceeded my own. In her perspective, she and all other Zootopians had never encountered a human which would explain their thirst for answers. In my perspective, she and all other Zootopians were members of species that have already existed on my planet at one time or another.

However, one of my greatest perturbations is that we drove many of them unto extinction, never to be seen or heard from again; but now, I was talking face to face with one of them and she had the ability to talk back. It felt like being a hunter who had shot and mistreated animals his entire life until one day they kindly talk to him as if they knew nothing about his past.

As Rebecca waited one last time for the tablet to load, she shook her head. "Still nothing."

"I figured,"

"Never, in my life, had I spoken to a species that's unlisted," she gracefully pondered. "I thought I've met every one of them... until you showed up. There's so much we need to learn from you."

"Like what?" I asked doubtfully.

"Everything," she beamed. "Or anything that you can tell us. So, if you don't mind, I'm going to add your species to the database."

I hesitated, almost wanting to protest, but then I resented. "...Okay."

"Perfect," she smiled as her tail happily swept side-to-side. "One moment while I add a new entry."

While the coyote fiddled with the code, something briefly came to mind. In my world, captured animals never received interrogation from humans; instead, we'd just throw them behind bars - without even trying to communicate with them - and they'd be doomed to die in a kennel.

But this world was different. At least with Zootopia, a captured human - such as myself - was given an opportunity to communicate. In other words, they showed mercy. We, as a human species, struggled to do this with each other, and much less with animals. I didn't deserve it and yet, here we were.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked.

Her left ear perked up before she returned from her device. "Absolutely!" she affirmed with confidence. "We will need this information to better assist you while you're in Zootopia. Sound good?"

I nodded and folded my arms.

She propped the tablet in both paws and sat crossed-legged on the chair. "Alright, I'm going to ask you a couple of quick questions."

"Keep them brief."

She gave a thumbs up. "They'll be very brief, I promise."

The coyote swiped left to prepare the screen and tried looking me in the eyes.

"So, first off, your species is known as 'Mankind', 'Human'... or 'Homo-Sapiens'," the coyote recapitulated. "Is that right?"

"Yes, correct,"

She furrowed her brows. "What does 'sapiens' mean?"

I squinted my eyes, trying to remember. After a few seconds, it came to me. "It means wise,"

This seemed to fascinate her but I didn't feel the same way about it.

"Very good," she said as she tapped down a few notes. "Now, are you predator or prey?"

"Both, I suppose,"

"Both?" she asked in surprise. "That's not common here."

She tapped down a few notes and I tried to guess the next question.

"And what does your typical diet consist of?" she asked.

I knew it. That question always troubled me. "I'll pass on that question."

"Pass? That sounds a little suspicious to me, Mr. Cheribim."

She had a point.

"Fine," I resented. "Um... vegetables."

"And?"

I sighed. "... On pizza and pasta."

"Now we're talking. There's no shame in that... except for the carbs." she smiled while nodding in approval. "Anything else?"

Smoked bacon came to mind but I shook my head. "That's it."

As she tapped away on her tablet, my thoughts wandered and I was now craving breakfast. At least that annoying red fox brought me a birthday cupcake hours ago but that could hardly be considered a decent meal.

"So, if you're both predator and prey, then does that mean there were... other animals in your world? Perhaps a coyote, like me?" she wondered.

I tried to remember all the ones I've seen in my youth but so many were wiped out by the time I reached my adult years. Zoos, sanctuaries, and labs were eventually bulldozed away until our planet became nothing more than a large industrious wasteland filled with scraps and skulls.

"There were a few different types of animals," I answered. "But they all shared the same fate..."

Her ears fell back.

"...as my species," I quickly added.

Her face turned dejected. "That must've been... a terrible, terrible day..."

"Indeed, it was."

"But... I'm sure you all stood together in harmony on the final days," she said quietly. "For such a tragic event, I imagine the best thing was to face it as one animal family... right?"

"Yes... of course," I said uncomfortably.

I sat in my chair and continued to feel uneasy. It made me wonder if she was catching on but she wouldn't have a clear way of reading my emotions. Thank goodness I had a helmet because I couldn't bear to look her in the eyes. Thus, the only thing she had was my gestures and body language so I strived to keep myself unshaken.

"And how do animals in your world compare to the ones you've seen here in Zootopia?" she wondered. "I imagine they were very brave where you're from."

Now I felt stuck and words began to choke on my throat. Out of habit, I felt myself rubbing my lower metallic neck as if I wore a tight necktie. I didn't want to answer this coyote but the obligation increasingly weighed upon me.

"Well Rebecca, I'm sure some were." I paused before leaning forward. "But... that's the problem..."

She hesitantly lowered her tablet. "Wh-What is?"

I slowly inhaled and quickly exhaled. "In my world, animals outside my species lacked cognitive-communication abilities."

She gave me a confused look. "What do you mean by that?"

"They don't talk,"

This came as a great shock to her. "Don't talk? But how? All animals can talk, Mr. Cheribim."

"Not where I'm from," I said shaking my head. "Before I came to this world, I had never met a talking animal such as yourself."

"Never? So I'm the first coyote who's spoken to you?"

"You are."

She shook her head in doubt. "But that doesn't sound right. I mean, us coyotes are timid and shy - I'll admit - but we do talk.  Haven't you met coyotes before?"

"None, except for hunting season-- I mean-- back when I was hunting for seasonings." I awkwardly corrected myself. "But that's not the point. The point is, all animals, including coyotes, were physically unable to speak."

She briefly went silent and her expression filled with disappointment. "Really? Animals outside your species couldn't talk... at all?"

"Not one bit."

"So animals, like me, walked among humans but they were practically mute?" she concerningly asked.

"Not just that," I said coolly. "They were much different."

She lifted an eyebrow. "How so?"

I began to list examples with my fingers. "They didn't walk on two legs, wear clothes, use technology, attend college, hold interrogations... none of that," I explained with a gesture. "In other words, animals never evolved alongside humans."

"So animals remained primitive in your world? Unable to progress from the Stone Age?"

Their history was unfamiliar to me but there had to be some similarities. "I suppose, yes,"

"But I don't understand," she fretted. "Nature would never leave us behind like that. I mean, it's a major step away from all the mammalian fundamentals that make up Zootopia."

"I don't know what to tell you."

"It just doesn't make any sense," she discouragingly reiterated. "I imagine your species has been around for many thousands of years, but never in that time did animals even evolve alongside humans? They just... remained unchanged?"

She acted like it was a perfectly normal and 'expected' thing for multiple species to evolve together. A default setting programmed by the Almighty. But the truth is, it wasn't. Talking animals - at least for me - was completely 'unexpected' and abnormal in the human universe.

Nevertheless, the innocent coyote requested an explanation but there was none to give.

"I'm sorry Rebecca... but that's just how it was."

My interrogator still appeared desirous to discuss it further but she stopped herself and slowly took a deep breath. "So... if animals didn't evolve, then at least the human species did. Is that right, Mr. Cheribim?"

"Yes, only us."

"And what was your society like?" she asked.

"Industrious and utilitarian," I answered. "Hardly decorative... much like this room."

She looked around with me and nodded at the fact that this room was indeed dull.

"Which sounds like the opposite of Zootopia," she implied. "Here in this city, we spare no expense at patterning our cityscape with the rich history and culture of our ancestors coming together in harmony. I'm sure you've seen it!"

"I have," I nodded. "And it's straight out of a Disney movie."

She gave me a blank look.

An awkward silence passed before she cleared her throat for the next question.

"So what level of technology did your society achieve?" she asked.

"We were a Type III society,"

The coyote gave me a confused look. "Type... three?"

"Also called a galactic civilization," I clarified. "It means we could harness and control energy at the scale of our entire host galaxy. Because of this, we lived beyond the boundaries of our world and colonized celestial bodies."

She dropped her pen.

"Whoa, whoa, wait, are you actually serious?" she gasped.

"I am."

"You're telling me that humans lived beyond the atmosphere of Earth? And they built small cities on the surface of other planets?"

"Cities larger than Zootopia," I added.

She chuckled in amazement. "What? I've lived in Zootopia my entire life - ever since I was a cub - and never would I imagine anything bigger. So you're not joking then?"

"No," I answered honestly. "Everything I'm telling you is true,"

Her bright golden eyes widened in astonishment. "Wow, that's incredible! --- I mean, that's impressive, Mr. Cheribim."

Clearly, she was trying to remain professionally formal in her voice tone but the sweeping tail revealed just how excited she got. Her fascinated personality made me crack a small smile beneath the mask; however, it eventually reverted to a pensive face as I reminded myself that humanity's achievements were no more.

"I'd like to hear more," she requested. "If you don't mind."

I shook my head, "Can't."

She became mildly disappointed and seemingly sensed something was wrong. "Why not?"

"It's a painful topic."

She almost opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself. Perhaps she'd try to insist but ultimately decided to let it go.

Thus, she gently nodded. "I...I understand,"

Honestly, it was all truly a shame. Sharing further information on my species' intergalactic achievements would've been quite joyous if it weren't for our wicked past. All the lush worlds we've burned, all the precious resources we've exhausted, and all the innocent lives lost to achieve nothing more than galactic supremacy. All those megacities we built outside of Earth were mostly abandoned - left to waste away from solar radiation - and there were never enough visitors to keep the ghosts out.

"Mr. Cheribim?" she called. "Are you okay?"

I realized that I had just zoned out.

"I'm fine, thanks,"

She took a deep breath, trying once again to read my exact emotions, but was unable to. After a brief moment of her staring at the electronic tablet in her paws, she took a deep breath.

"Perhaps we should wrap things up," she suggested.

I nodded. "Good idea."

"Alright, I have just a few quick final questions," she said as she swiped up on the tablet with her paw. "What's your height?"

"Seven-three," I replied.

"Your weight?"

"Two-three-seven,"

"Your age?"

"Thirty-three," I guessed. Time travel caused me to lose track.

"And obviously, your gender's male," she said as she checked off another box. "Now, what's your marital status?"

"Skip,"

She tapped the tablet.

"Place of birth?"

"Earth-77,"

She tilted her furry head. "Seventy-seven?"

"That's what we called it," I nodded. "Don't ask me why."

"Alright," she consented, not questioning it any further. "Now, what was your occupation?"

"Data scientist and former soldier,"

"Impressive," she positively commented, "Very impressive, I must say."

I awkwardly gave a thumbs up.

She glanced at her tablet and let out a little giggle to herself as if she had read something embarrassing.

"Now," she directed. "Please bear with me on these next two questions."

I gave her a friendly gesture to proceed.

"So... is it actually true that you have eight blue eyes?"

"Just two," I clarified. "The rest are false,"

"Hm, very interesting!" she noted. "And here's another one: Why doesn't your mouth move when you talk?"

This question stumped me for a bit until I snapped my fingers upon coming up with an answer. "Ventriloquism."

She squinted her eyes at me. "Are all humans like that?"

"Yes," I nodded.

In my world, it got to a point that everyone had to wear a helmet at all times. That's when we lost our humanity because we couldn't see each other's faces anymore. We couldn't read emotions.

"Put your paw out and up," she directed. "Like this,"

She held up her paw in front of her and I reluctantly placed my hand palm to palm with her. Her paw was nearly a third the size of my hand and she tried to match her fingers with mine. However, she gave a confused look upon realizing that she had four digits whereas I had five. This caused my extra pinky to dangle off to the side.

"Very interesting!" she remarked, "It appears that your digit anatomy pattern has evolved with your species."

I quietly sighed.

Her comment was ridiculous. It felt weird hearing it from a coyote because they were only supposed to have paws without opposable thumbs. But here, some species evolved until one of their paw digits became an opposable thumb. Did this happen when phones were invented? I had no clue.

The coyote pulled her paw away and began to tap the inner palm of my gauntlet. "But why exactly is your skin so hard and... metallic?"

"It's scleroderma," I answered. "And it's metal-infused."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "...Is there a biologically sound reason for that?"

"Keeps out the solar radiation,"

"I see... So... was it some kind of surgical operation?" she inquired. "For all humans?"

"It was mandatory," I affirmed. My suit appeared strange enough for these animals and to divulge information on what lied beneath the armor wasn't worth the hassle. For now, they figured my suit was the skin of an exotic extraterrestrial animal so I wished to keep it that way. Anything beneath the armor would lead to unwanted questions.

"Mandatory?" she winced. "It sounds like you come from a pretty strict society - a well-disciplined one, that is."

"Indeed," I nodded.

With discipline, anything is possible. That's what saved our society from mass extinction events. Granted, it wasn't just the mandatory surgeries, but we had to observe stern adherence to suit protocol at all times.

First, it was just a mask, then gloves, then boots, and then it got to a point in which any exposed skin could pose a threat to our health. As uncomfortable and irritating as it all was, covering it all up proved to be the only sure way of reducing risk - whether that be from disease or the harsh elements of space. At the expense of what made us human, our preemptive measures preserved us for thousands of years until things were inevitably beyond our control.

Thus, as our world grew increasingly fragile, so did we.

The coyote then looked up as if to ask something but she waited. Finally, she opened her mouth. "Is there anything else you'd like to tell me about your species?"

I veered my head off to the side, trying to imagine all the things that were better off unspoken.

"No. Nothing," I murmured.

She gave a little friendly smile and we both suddenly made eye contact. I became lost in her golden eyes for they were bright, beautiful, and innocent. An animal who was unlike any coyote from my planet. I couldn't bear to look her in the eyes without thinking about all the poor animals who perished at the expense of mankind's ambitions. Back then, they were just quote-on-quote, animals, and nothing more. But on Zootopia, they were something more.

"And Mr. Cheribim?" she called.

I lifted up my head.

"Do you have a full name?" the coyote asked.

"No, only Cheribim," I answered with reservation. "...or Cherry."

Her face beamed. "Cherry, huh? I like that name. I think it suits you."

"Thanks."

She finished typing down some final notes before switching off the tablet and putting it away. Next, she sat on the edge of her chair, crossed her legs, and stared in admiration at the alien in front of her.

"And let me just say, it's truly an honor to finally meet you face to face, Mr. Cherry. You have no idea how much this means to us... how much it means to me... to come across an entirely new species that's never been known to this world. It's one of the greatest groundbreaking discoveries in my career with the ZIA. Truly, having you here is without a doubt a historical moment for all of Zootopia."

Her kind compliment made me wince. "I wouldn't go that far."

Upon hearing this, she paced back and forth while keeping her eyes on me. "Well, as much of a breakthrough these last few days have been, there are critical matters that we must address. Namely, your encounter with the ZPD in the lobby."

I said nothing and only sat still for I knew where this was going.

"First off, you seem like a nice mammal, Cherry. You really do. But I saw what you did to those ZPD officers. Everyone in my department reviewed the security footage... and it greatly disturbed us."

I felt my head start to sink.

"You must understand how difficult it was to find someone to interrogate you," the young coyote indicated. "No one would dare do it... so I volunteered."

Once again, I admired this coyote's bravery. She leaned forward to continue.

"Before we met, I didn't know who or what exactly we were up against. But I accepted that risk for the greater good of Zootopia. And now, here you are." she gestured to me.

The next thing I knew, she took a step onto the tabletop, catching me somewhat off guard, and firmly stood with both paws on her hips as if she meant business. What was she doing? It's as if she were trying to read my emotions, convincing herself they were there, but not finding anything. Silence passed, her serious face was inches away, and I didn't move.

"I wanna know what happened in the lobby," she said sternly with glaring eyes. "Why did you do it?"

She awaited my response but I couldn't craft a reasonable enough explanation.

"It was an accident," I answered, not knowing what else to say.

Her ear twitched. "An accident?"

I painstakingly nodded in shame.

"How was that an accident?" she strongly doubted. "You single-handedly took down over twenty ZPD officers! Not to mention you put them all in harm's way!"

I glanced downward. "I'm sorry."

"That doesn't cut it." she demurred. "We want the truth."

"Fine," I admitted. "It was a provocation."

"What exactly could've provoked you? Last I checked, you were well on your way to being written up and handed off for a small misdemeanor that day. A simple jail sentence that could've easily resolved itself in one night." she explained while disapprovingly shaking her head. "Nowhere in that footage did I catch anything egregious... except for you."

I clenched my fist and got ready to protest. "But the fox, he's the one that --"

Before I could say anything further, my conscience suddenly took over. I stopped myself and began to ponder the situation at hand. Though it was a shame to be processed by a fox, it would've been better for everyone had I just chosen to cooperate. I never did because I knew that I never stole the artifact and admitting defeat to a little animal was disgraceful in my world.

Truly, my transition from a human-militarized society to an animal harmonized society was never planned for.

But my world was dead. My military rank meant nothing and my dignity with the Intergalactic Stratocracy didn't matter anymore. Anything I did now could no longer factor towards merits in my society. Grabbing that fox by the neck would've generated plenty of merits in my world but such an action in Zootopia had destroyed my merits.

"...Nevermind," I concluded with overdue realization. "It was my fault."

The coyote tilted her head with a neutral expression. She said nothing and waited for me to continue.

"I don't know what got into me, Rebecca. I really don't. But I'm sorry for what I did and I deeply regret all my actions." I confessed while tightly grasping my helmet in frustration. "Perhaps my world being destroyed took a toll on me... but that was no excuse for my actions."

"Absolutely not," she affirmed. "I mean, I suppose you're traumatically afflicted with your past... but what you did in the lobby was completely unacceptable."

I stared at the floor. "I know."

"In Zootopia, we take public safety with the utmost priority, especially for our own animal officers." she reprimanded. "Because of you, the ZPD has been understaffed until they fully recover from their inflicted injuries. As a result, many of our nearby precincts are vulnerable as a byproduct of your irresponsible actions."

I shook my head in disbelief. Never did I consider how the civilians would've been affected.

"And not only that," she added. "But you also did the unthinkable. Somehow, you pulled an otherworldy weapon on those ZPD officers... and you discharged it. We surveyed the ballistic impact and we were completely baffled by the sheer damage it caused! Imagine what that could've done to the officers!"

"It'd be terrible," I imagined.

"And thank god no one got killed," she said. "Had backup not arrived on time, you could've wandered out in public and placed everyone else in danger."

"I got taken down by a bunny," I scoffed. "I'm not that much of a threat."

"Do not underestimate Officer Hopps," the coyote said with a stern tone. "She's one of the best officers the ZPD has ever known."

"That makes me feel better," I admitted.

"If she had to get involved when all other animal officers failed to apprehend you, then it proves the threat level we have on our paws."

I shook my head while looking down. "Don't say that. I'm not a threat."

"Is that so? Then tell me. How do you explain this?"

The coyote pulled up a black screen on her tablet with a large 'play' button in the middle. She passed me the tablet and expected me to initiate the video. I tried but was unable since I was wearing alloy gauntlets. I then tapped the 'play' button too hard which caused the screen to crack. How embarrassing.

The coyote sighed and rolled her eyes.

With shame, I handed the screen back to her, she pressed 'play', and held the tablet screen facing towards me. For the next six minutes, I saw the footage of my encounter with the ZPD in the lobby. It all came back to me.

The tranquilizer darts, the throat punches, the chest kicks, the tail crushes, the window throws, the head smashes, the tackles, the lightning, the property damage, and the violence were all there. Quite frankly, seeing it unfold from a third-person perspective proved to be far more disturbing than what I witnessed in first-person.

Finally, as the video clip progressed, I came to the climatic timestamp of when I fired my pistol in the lobby. The white armored alien appeared unphased but all the animal officers had faces filled with immense horror. Something I never really noticed until now. As soon as I saw that, I stopped watching

"Alright. That's enough." I said.

She paused the video and placed the tablet face down. "Now you know how we feel about all this. I hate to say it, but you're a dangerous mammal, Mr. Cherry."

"I am not your enemy," I solemnly declared.

"I never said you were," she asserted. "But your kind clearly has some unknown abilities that go beyond our safety metric."

She opened up the tablet again to reveal a blurry surveillance image from when I deployed my guns at the ZPD officers. Using her paw, she zoomed in at one of the nano-pistols I wielded with my gauntlet.

"A weapon like that has no place here in Zootopia," she said softly. A moment of silence passed before any of us spoke and the image seemed to haunt me further the more I looked at it. She glanced up at me and spoke. "We must get rid of it."

I shook my head, wishing there was a better answer. "It can't be done."

"Why not?" the coyote asked in surprise.

"Because it's infused into me, as I clearly demonstrated earlier," I argued. "Don't you see? It's a part of me. It can't go anywhere."

She glanced back and forth between me and the image. "What do you mean? I... I don't understand,"

"It's like this: Every particle you see on me is preprogrammed to perform key operations to ensure survival. Together, they can tighten, loosen, form shapes, or even form tools. Whether I want to regulate temperature, block the elements, or make tools, it can be done."

As an additional demonstration, I shaped my gauntlet index fingertip into a hexagonal Allen wrench tool and showed the coyote by removing one of the bolts from the metal table. It was a more subtle approach to present mankind's technology as opposed to deploying a lethal pistol.

As I collapsed the Allen tool back into my gauntlet, the little animal in front of me stared with incredulity.

"Between your weapon and that tool coming out of nowhere, how is all that... scientifically possible?" she asked.

"That's classified,"

"Classified? That's not up to you to decide." she declared. "With you being under our jurisdiction, only the ZIA can make such determinations."

"I understand, Rebecca. But I'm not the one who decided."

"Then who did?"

"My ancestors," I answered. 'The original designers of this technology from hundreds of years ago. I can't say how it all works. They never told me. But it helped my species survive and adapt to whatever nature threw at us."

She lifted one ear.  "Like what?"

"Heat surges, ice ages, pandemics, wars, and famines to name a few," I said. "We lasted until our luck finally ran out."

"You really do come from an advanced species, don't you?" she observed. "So everything you did to survive was practically already built into you? Like an artificially forced type of evolution?"

"More or less," I shrugged. "Were it not for our scientific achievements and cybernetic enhancements, my species would've perished long ago."

"This is a lot for me to process," the coyote said while scratching her head and falling into deep thought. "I guess what you're telling me makes sense... and it's beyond fascinating..."

She slowly paced back and forth within the interrogation room.

"...But hold on..." she continued before pausing. "...If the goal of your species was to survive, then you could easily make tools... but why would you ever need weapons of such power? The energy output we measured in the lobby was too much. It just seems... unnecessary."

"For your world, yes," I agreed. "But what you saw is nothing compared to what my species had invented in times past."

"Wait!" she interrupted. "You're telling me that your species designed weapons more powerful than what we saw? More powerful than what you showed me? I'm sorry but that... that's complete insanity."

"It depends on what you mean by weapon," I attempted to reason. "For my species, a weapon can also be used as a tool - to remove obstacles we may encounter."

The coyote placed both paws on her hips in what appeared to be a protest. "Some obstacles cannot be removed with a mere show of force, Mr. Cherry."

"I understand," I assented. "But when it comes to removing earthquake debris, stopping incoming asteroids, or opening locked doors, they're helpful."

The coyote gave me a few solemn nods of understanding but she still didn't seem fully convinced. Trying to justify the same tools that were - unbeknownst to her - partially responsible for the death of much of her species proved to be incredibly difficult.

"I see," she remarked, before pausing to go into deep thought. "But that doesn't change the fact that you put all those ZPD officers at risk. Whether you call your technology a weapon... or a tool, it's still a credible threat to all of Zootopia. If we don't address this, then it could lead to one of the largest public uproars since the Night Howler crisis."

I looked at both my gauntlets and then at the coyote in front of me. "I understand, Rebecca. And I don't want to put anyone in danger."

The coyote sat on the table and positively pondered. "There must be a way to resolve this. There has to be."

"What comes to mind?" I wondered.

"Well, we could... try zip ties, taking out the batteries if that's a thing, or maybe covering it up with some kind of an adhesive wrapping... so that the weapon doesn't come back."

I shook my head. "The only sure way to get rid of it... is for me to be dead."

Both the coyote's ears drooped down and she was in utter shock. "Wait... what?"

"Without brain activity, the particles cannot assemble."

She immediately stood up as if her heart were racing. "That's not gonna happen and I will never allow that to happen!"

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because that goes against everything Zootopia stands for." she reasoned. "It's not fair for you to die just because you're different from us. Yes, you've made a fair number of mistakes, and getting you adjusted to our mammalian culture will take time, but we're here to help you, Mr. Cherry. There has to be another way."

"I'm sure there is,"

"You've lived with this unworldly ability your entire life, you told me it cannot be undone, and only you know of its limitations," she said pensively.  "So what do you suggest?"

I stared at the one-way glass mirror and then back at her.  "You won't like it,"

She was fully attentive.  "Try me,"

"Basically, you'll have to trust me,"

"Trust you?"

"Yes. Trust that I won't do it again. Since you'll never be able to contain me." I sincerely stated.  "It's the only way."

She thought to herself for a moment before speaking.  "But... how can we trust you?"

I sat forward.  "Well, that's the question, isn't it? All you can do is take a leap of faith, Rebecca.  I give you my word and I swear my life that I will never harm an innocent mammal again."

"That sounds like a risky gamble," she said with hesitation.  "To set aside one of our greatest fears and concerns regarding your presence on Zootopia and to simply take your word for it?  It won't be that easy."

"I know it won't," I admitted.  "But I could use a second chance to prove myself."

The coyote didn't speak and only appeared to be contemplating for the next little bit.  With nothing else to lose and figuring that the only future I had left was in Zootopia, I decided to take an earnest approach.

Thus, I leaned forward and said, "I will do anything to help set things right.  I promise."

The room filled with continual silence and the coyote kept pondering my words.  Instead of an interrogation room, it felt more like a waiting room.

With a gentle smile, she then looked steadily at me.  "For now, the best way you can help with that is to honorably serve your jail sentence.  But I'll see what I can do."

She folded her arms together, another brief moment of quietude passed, and she took a step closer.

"Please know that under our laws, you're being charged for battery against multiple ZPD officers, disturbing the peace - which is a class B felony - and destroying city property.  In sum, your punishable offense will be up to three months in jail until further notice. Do you understand?"

Upon hearing this, I figured that it served me right. "Understood."

"Good," she nodded.  "So we'll start with that."

We both stared at each other and I waited for her to say something but nothing happened.

"Anything else?" I offered.

"Yes, absolutely." she accepted.  "That weapon you showed me earlier?  You must promise me that you will never ever  wield that kind of weapon again.  I don't want to see it, hear any news reports about it, and I do not, I repeat, do not want to hear of any mammal being threatened with it.  Ever.  Do I make myself clear?"

"Absolutely,"  I nodded.  "You have my word,"

"Very good," she finished with a pause.  "And I will do my best to vouch for you, Mr. Cherry. Please know that City Hall has been up the Chief of Police's tail for the last twenty-four hours and given that you're under ZPD custody, it'll take a while to get a reliable update on your sentence. I cannot make any guarantees but I'll do what I can. Sound good?"

I nodded in immense gratitude.

Following her warm smile, she kindly extended her paw out to mark the end of the interrogation. We firmly shook and it felt like there was a truce between humans and animals. Something that should've already occurred a long time ago. 

Better late than never.

Out of nowhere, there was a knock at the metal door.   I supposed it was more wolf guards to escort me back into the cell, or perhaps to the next phase of my detention.

The coyote pulled out her phone to check the clock. "It looks like they're right on time,"

However, as the door slid wide open, there was no one there. Not a single soul in sight.

Something felt off.

I looked to Rebecca but she simply smiled and nodded at whoever was standing behind my right shoulder. Thus, after pivoting myself in the chair, I was surprised to spot the famous fox-bunny duo standing next to me.

Judy then shifted her weight to one leg and placed a paw on her hip.  "You don't make my job easy, do you?"