An: Note that this was uploaded at the same time as the last chapter. IF YOUR LAST MEMORY WAS NICK'S DEATH, GO BACK ONE CHAPTER!
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Also, I have a new fic out called 'Different'. Feel free to check it out.
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-One month later-
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Garnering a few stares from the border guards, the giant panda stepped through the gates of the Happytown collar free zone.
Where there had once been decay, there was construction work and materials strewn about, the dead district returning to life as predators flooded back to it, hoping to reclaim that which had been taken from them.
She wandered past them all, down close to the waterline.
There were more predators around here, all without collars.
She didn't fear them or care, instead joining with them as they walked towards the looming figure of a great warehouse, where this had all started.
She, like all the others, cradled a lit candle in her paw and, sheltering it from the wind, she slowly raised it.
A sea of fireflies, flickering and living, some dying only to be relit by their brethren, filled the air.
Bar the distant sound of the city and that of the sea, there was an unearthly quiet.
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Sniffs rang out.
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The odd cry.
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Looking forwards, towards a makeshift stage, she watched as a small, even for his species, fennec fox spoke into the microphone.
He talked about his friend.
About what they'd experienced together.
About how they'd rebelled together.
About how he'd be telling them to stop this mushy stuff, and to enjoy themselves at Wild Times… His Wild Times.
He told them to remember Nicholas Wilde as a friend, a fun-loving mammal, and the one they owed their hides to.
There was a brief chuckle, before the fireworks began. Behind them, the park opened, and despite its creator being dead, his dream lived on.
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She waited a few hours to get in and didn't go on any of the rides when she did. She appreciated the place, and its creator, before leaving. It was as she did so, though, that she heard an oddly familiar voice. "Leaving so early? What's the matter panda?"
She turned, a flash of recognition in her ears, before pausing as she looked at a familiar figure. Her eyes widened as she saw the fox, before she spotted his white ear and white tipped tail.
He blinked, before shrugging. "Ah, don't worry," he shrugged. "I get that a lot. I'm a second or third cousin from his mother's side apparently…"
Blinking a bit, Melony shook her head and bowed her head. "I'm very sorry. As for me, I just thought I'd appreciate the place… I've been promoting pred rights for a long time, and I thought I'd visit this place before I left Zootopia."
The fox nodded. "If it made you happy, I can't ask for much more…" He trailed off, his head then tilting to the side. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but were you with Gazelle on her last night?"
The panda pulled back with confusion. "How did you…"
She trailed off as her raised his paw, before giving her a wink. "I just know. I also know how important a good story is."
"I…" she began, before being cut off by the fox as he walked away.
"Little tip," he said, opening a staff only door and beginning to walk through, holding his white ear as he did so. "Freeze tattoos are good for that second bit. Keep it quiet, you understand?"
He closed the door behind him, leaving the panda alone, speechless with her finger out.
She blinked and walked away.
Out of the speedycare…
Down the road.
She was halfway to the exit from the district when she paused, beginning to chuckle. Then to laugh. Then to cry and pump her hands up and down. Falling onto her knees on the floor, she raised her arms to the sky and laughed out in joy.
He'd hustled them all.