When the Shadows Reach Gotham, a Batman / Kingdom Hearts / Final Fantasy VII crossover fanfic by Raberba girl

Alternate scenario: A Friend in the Attic - Part 3 (rough draft)

*If you're reading this on FFN, make sure you don't miss the update of the main story I posted earlier today.

o.o.o

About a week after the Drakes left, Riku started to notice that the days when Tim slept in later than usual were also the days when he seemed fatigued, dragging and spacey despite enthusiastically trying to rally himself every time Riku made an activity suggestion. At last, when Tim fell asleep at the computer while doing schoolwork even though he'd insisted that morning that he'd been perfectly fine, Riku resolved to get to the bottom of the mystery on his own.

He started taking naps during the day so that it would be easier to stay awake at night. (Tim seemed to really appreciate the nap idea, too, though simply because he was so tired.) It paid off on the third night. Riku was lying motionless in bed, thinking idly about his book list for the next time they took the bus to the library, when he felt Tim sit up and quietly get out of bed.

Riku tensed for a moment, then remembered to keep his breathing even and deep. He listened hard as Tim crept almost soundlessly across the room and out the door.

As soon as the latch clicked, Riku got even more silently out of bed and listened until he heard Tim's footsteps retreat. Then he carefully opened the door and moved down the hall.

Peering around the corner, he saw Tim changing into a set of sturdy clothes that he'd pulled out of a bag on the floor beside him. Once Tim was dressed, he went downstairs, briefly pulled a couple of cameras out of the bag to check over them, then heaved the pack onto his back and resolutely left the house, re-arming the security system behind him.

Since the security system would beep if it was disarmed again, Riku was stuck in the house until Tim was out of earshot, but he made sure to take careful note of the direction Tim headed in. He used the time to get dressed for an excursion and stock up on materia and supplies. Then he got the bike he'd been using out of the garage, cast Haste on himself for speed, caught up to Tim, and then began tailing him from a distance.

It was a good thing he had the Time materia, because Tim was on an electric bike. Riku kept running out of MP and having to pedal at a normal speed until his MP recharged enough for him to cast Haste again. He nearly lost Tim a few times, but it was pretty clear that the other boy was making a beeline for the city, and Riku luckily caught sight of him again just before they reached a part of town where the traffic started picking up.

Tim eventually hid his bike in a stranger's unlocked storage shed and continued on foot. Riku, mystified, kept following on his bike, glad that there were soon enough people around to keep himself hidden in the crowd unless Tim happened to look up and pay enough attention to spot him. He wished he'd thought to tie up and cover his distinctive hair.

Tim stopped outside a coffee shop at one point to check his phone, then grinned and rapidly tapped at the screen for a minute before swiping away and continuing to surf more leisurely.

Eventually, a taxi pulled up to the curb. "Hi, Jeannie," Tim said as he got into the back seat and shut the door.

Riku was exasperated. He cast Haste again in order to keep up with the vehicle, which traveled steadily closer to the heart of the city. At some point, as the buildings grew more and more run down and the pedestrians grew more ragged and sketchy, Riku started being catcalled, which alarmed and then angered him. He could handle himself in a fight, particularly against untrained thugs, but any encounter would cost him his chase, and he did not want to be lost and alone in the middle of Gotham City.

Thankfully, the cab stopped and Tim got out just before Riku ran out of MP again. Tim thanked the driver and immediately disappeared into an alley, where he found a service ladder and climbed up to the roof. Riku was forced to abandon his bike in order to continue the pursuit.

Several rooftops later, Riku finally discovered his friend's mission. Tim approached the sounds of fighting, crouched on the edge of a rooftop, and started taking photos. Riku, edging as close as he could get to the side of the roof while remaining hidden behind some kind of electrical box, peered over and saw Batman and Robin on the ground below, beating up a gang of thugs who seemed to have been attempting to rob a bank.

When the fight finally ended, emergency vehicles were on their way, and the Bats had taken off, Tim called another cab. As he was waiting for it, hiding behind a dumpster so as not to attract unwanted attention, Riku realized that he needed to reveal himself now or he'd be stranded. "Tim."

The other boy's head shot up. "R...Riku?"

"What are you doing?"

"Uh..."

A long silence passed.

"I had to ditch your bike," Riku finally said. "I don't think I'll be able to find it again."

"It's okay. We'll order another one online; Mother and Father won't notice."

There was another pause. "Tim," Riku finally said, "why are you chasing Batman and Robin around?"

Tim squirmed. "Because...they're cool, and I like...to get pictures of them...and stuff..."

"Why didn't you tell me? This is dangerous, Tim. I can protect you if anything goes wrong."

"I- Because, well..." Tim looked at him anxiously. "I can't tell you who Batman and Robin are."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Tim stared. "Don't you want to know?"

Riku didn't particularly care one way or the other. "Only if you want to tell me."

"No! I mean, I want to, but I can't, it's important to keep their secret. I thought...I just thought you'd be mad at me that I couldn't tell you, and I...don't want..."

Riku sighed. "I don't care who Batman and Robin are. Just take me with you from now on, okay?"

Tim looked so hopeful. "Really? You're not mad?"

"Just that you didn't tell me you were sneaking out alone. But it's okay, I won't be mad if you don't leave me behind."

Tim exhaled in relief. Then he grinned. "I'll show you how I develop my pictures. I take them on actual film, I like it better than digital. But I take digital pictures, too."

"Yeah, I know," Riku said, grinning back. He knew that Tim had a whole collection of photographs of him and their adventures, though he seemed camera shy himself - he always seemed uncomfortable whenever Riku wanted to take a picture of him, or a selfie of the two of them together.

The cab arrived, and Riku was surprised when Tim didn't ask the driver, whom he seemed to know, to take them to his house. Instead, they got dropped off on a seemingly random street, and Tim confidently led Riku up to another rooftop. "Now we're on stakeout," he explained, digging out snacks and bottled juice. "Whenever I lose Batman and Robin, I like to watch the GCPD headquarters, because they come here a lot, sometimes even if the Bat Signal's not on. I've got some good pictures of them, especially Robin, while they're talking to the commissioner."

They waited for over an hour, chatting and snacking. The Signal had been on for twenty minutes when there was a faint whizzing sound, and then two shapes alighted on the GCPD roof. Tim suppressed a squeal of excitement and snatched up his camera.

Riku wanted to laugh, because Batman looked both cool and amusingly dramatic, crouched like an animal above the waiting commissioner with his jagged black cape flowing in the wind. Riku couldn't hear anything that was said, but Tim was happily snapping away.

Riku did laugh right at the end - the commissioner turned away to reach for the Signal's switch, and the Bats instantly fled. Their speed was remarkable; by the time the commissioner straightened up and turned back, the vigilantes were nowhere to be seen on the roof. They were, in fact, swinging away out of sight, but it had been kind of hilarious seeing their mad scramble to get off the roof before anyone saw them (that they knew of). Robin didn't look too odd, since he was a kid, but seeing Batman's undignified hurry had been the best. "Have you ever filmed that?" Riku asked.

"I should," Tim said fervently. "Next time."

Now that the show was over, they took another cab to the entrance of the neighborhood where Tim had stashed his bike. They had to ride together on the way home, taking turns pedaling whenever the other needed a break. It was nearly 3:00 a.m. by the time they got back to Drake Manor and to bed, and this time, Riku slept in as late as Tim did.

o.o.o.o.o

The next time Riku was summoned back to Midgar, it was more forcefully than before. Tim, his heart pounding, watched from his hiding place as two silver-haired men dragged his friend out of the house. Luckily, they were slow closing the gangway, and Tim managed to sneak aboard their ship before they took off.

The flight was not a long one, but it was nerve-wracking once they landed. Tim crept out of the ship, but soon lost Riku and his brothers in the maze of corridors. There were also fewer places to hide in the sterile, military environment, and Tim was soon caught. The soldiers seemed to have absolutely no idea what to do with him, since he'd been found in a secure location and couldn't simply be released into the city without processing. Tim was locked in a bare holding cell, where he felt very small and helpless.

Finally, the doors whooshed open and a familiar spiky-haired man came in. "Mr. Zack!" Tim exclaimed in surprise and relief.

The SOLDIER smiled at him. "Riku's friend! Tim, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"You're pretty far from home. Did you come here with Riku?"

"Yes..."

Zack held out his hand. "Wanna come with me and see if we can find him?"

"Yes, please," Tim said gratefully, latching onto the man's hand.

It took a long time and a lot of asking, but Zack finally discovered that Riku had been taken to the medical wing for some kind of testing. "Hm. Well, we should be able to see him once he's done, but in the meantime...you wanna try some training with my squad?"

"Yes," Tim said cautiously, simply because he did not want to be separated from the one friendly, recognizable person in this scary place.

Though it turned out that the soldiers in Zack's squad were pretty friendly, too. They good-naturedly teased Tim and did a lot of hair-ruffling and shoulder-patting, and helped him dress in a set of armor that had apparently been originally designed for Riku. "Let's see how you do on an M-M64 run," Zack said with a twinkle in his eye. He led the way to some kind of simulator room, started up the holograms, and then came a couple of hours of what felt like an extremely intense and immersive game of laser tag.

Tim was both keyed up and exhausted by the end of it. Although he was a little leery of the glowing green bottle he was handed afterward, he decided to drink it when he saw everyone else downing their own 'Potions' without hesitation. The liquid was extremely refreshing, and had the added bonus of healing all the cuts and scraps he'd accumulated during the session. "This is really good! It's like those HP balls."

"Yeah, the molecular makeup and restorative effects are nearly identical," Zack said, "which is kind of weird, since we've been manufacturing Potions long before the first known Heartless ever showed up."

"Maybe the people were carrying Potions when they got turned into Heartless, and the Potions turned into HP balls instead of disappearing or getting lost."

"Huh. Maybe," Zack said, looking very thoughtful.

They all went to the communal shower area, where Tim tried not to stare. He'd never had a clear view of a naked adult before, much less a whole room full of them, but no one else seemed to care, so he tried to pretend he didn't care, either, and to not to be shy about getting undressed in public. Zack seemed to notice, anyway, and fetched a pair of shorts that Tim could wear while showering. "Then you can change into a full set of dry clothes afterward."

"Thank you," Tim said, both grateful and hugely embarrassed that he was obvious enough about his discomfort that someone felt the need to coddle him.

"No problem, kiddo. You're a guest, not a soldier, and it's okay to feel uncomfortable with things other people take for granted."

Once they got to Zack's quarters, they found Riku lying on the bed, half-asleep and looking pale and miserable. "Aw, kiddo," Zack said gently, sitting down on the edge and laying a hand on Riku's forehead, under his silkily sweaty bangs. "You okay?"

"No."

"You want some ice cream?"

"...Yes," Riku finally mumbled.

"Okay. Sit tight, I'll get some for all of us. Tim will stay here with you."

The three of them ate ice cream and watched part of a movie together, then Zack had to leave to fulfill some duties. Riku and Tim stayed curled up on his bed, watching the rest of the movie. "What happened?" Tim whispered. "Did someone do something to you?"

"Just some tests. I'll feel better in the morning, I did last time."

"But it hurts now?"

"Not hurts, just...not good." Riku hid his face against Tim's leg. "I hate going to the labs," he said, his voice muffled.

"...I think maybe they shouldn't be allowed to. Like...maybe it's child abuse."

"I don't count as a child, I'm a test subject. Because Mother is Shinra's property and Father is their SOLDIER, so my brothers and I are Shinra's property, too. That's what the law says."

Tim felt his eyes widen. "That's...that's...wrong. You're a person, you're not property."

"I don't feel like a person when they're strapping me down and injecting things into me..."

Tim was starting to feel sick and panicky. He climbed off the bed and crouched down so he could look at his friend's face. "Riku, does Zack think you're property, too?"

"No, Zack is nice. So was Angeal, and a lot of the soldiers. The doctors, though...most of them talk about me like I don't have a brain, even when they're touching me and doing things to me and I'm right there. I hate it."

Tim clenched his teeth. "Riku, we have to go back home, except maybe not my house anymore because they know they can find you there. Maybe...maybe Mr. Wa-"

"They can find me anywhere," Riku said wearily. "I have Mother's cells. It doesn't matter where I run, they'll find me."

Tim wanted to cry. "They shouldn't be allowed to hurt you, Riku. They shouldn't be allowed."

"I wish I was like you...I wish no one cared about me so that they wouldn't want to hurt me."

Tim really did start crying then, covering his face to try to muffle the sounds. Then Riku started crying, too, and Tim climbed back on the bed to hold him, and they clung to each other until they fell asleep.

o.o.o.o.o

Tim was restless all night, and jumped out of bed the instant a blaring wake-up call came out of the speaker near the ceiling. Zack, who'd slept on a mat on the floor because his bed had been occupied, groaned and pulled a pillow over his head.

"Tim?" Riku called, blinking groggily.

"Riku? Do you feel better?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"We have to go home. We have to go as soon as possible."

Riku seemed lethargic and Zack insisted on feeding them breakfast first, and then he had a training session with his squad and then a short meeting. Finally, though, he was able to fly the boys back to Prime Earth and the mansion, and Tim was never so glad to see Drake Manor in his life.

"Bye, Zack," Riku said, hugging the man.

"See you around, Ri," Zack said, hugging him back. He smiled at Tim, who returned the gesture stiffly. "You okay, Tim?"

"Yes."

"All right. Well, you guys look after each other, okay?"

As soon as they went into the house, Riku went back to sleep on a couch in the living room. Tim went to his father's computer and grimly started looking up child abuse laws. He knew, even before starting, that there was probably nothing a couple of eight-year-olds could do about it when the abused child in question was a citizen of an entirely different world whose powerful legal guardians would fight to keep their grip on him, but researching still made him feel a little better.

TBC

A/N: I'm pretty sure Tim here is younger than he was in canon when he started stalking Batman & Robin, but whatever; this isn't the main story, anyway, so I'll tweak things to fit. ^^;;

It's possible that there might be just one chapter left of this!