Disclaimer: I don't own the characters nor the rights for Vivo, those rights are owned by Sony and Netflix and a few others. I DO own a few characters in this fic, though.

A song of the heart

The animals (plus Gabi) scuttled across the floors of this strange place.

They were trying to keep themselves from being spotted by any human eye with the exception of the contestants of the Neon Lights contest and concert, hoping to not only locate them but also help in freeing them before the group of animals took to fleeing themselves.

They tried to keep their steps light and their voices hushed.

Nobody could risk getting recaptured!

Vivo continued to ride Rufus like a horse, gripping parts of his long fur tightly to avoid slipping off, and he kept his eyes peeled and ear open to make sure there was nobody around whom could catch them in the act of trying to rescue the humans trapped in this strange building too —he peered around corners, surveyed his entire surroundings on a continuous basis and was quick to pick up one or two sounds…he left the noise checking to Marie due to her heightened sense of hearing.

Gabi followed them, looking way more nervous than anyone else did.

The twelve-year old girl with the dyed purple hair didn't know what was going on and she couldn't help but hold her breath as she feared someone spotting them. She could feel her chest begin to throb and her lungs felt as though they could catch fire at any moment, her face took on a slightly blue tinge as a result.

She was scared to even breathe at all.

In the meantime, Rufus had his nose down and sniffed the ground in order to track the scents belonging to the human members of their group —the golden retriever with white fur desperately hoped to smell his sweet little owner's scent, however. He was desperate to find out whether or not she was hurt in anyway by these people and he was eager to not only reunite with her but he wasn't going to be too anxious to leave her side again anytime soon.

Vivo, meanwhile, straightened his back in a similar fashion of a horses mount as he sat with both hands clasping fistfuls of shaggy fur and had leaned down towards his left ear and lowered the volume of his voice into a low whisper.

"Can you smell them, Rufus?" The male Kinkajou asked.

Rufus inhaled the floors scent a couple more times, his centuries of inherent canine instincts commanding his nose to inhale the collective scents of each human (with the exception of Gabi, Rico Avaro and his group) and he implanted his paws deep into the cold yet hard floor beneath his pads. His tail was erect and wagging slowly as he focused.

His eyes lit up when he caught the scent he wanted.

The dog smiled as he picked both his nose and head off the ground —he stood up straight and fought the instinct to raise his head high and howl

"Yeah!" He exclaimed, also whispering "Their scent is faint but it's getting stronger. We just need to pass through a few more of these labyrinthian corridors and we'll find the room they are stored in."

Vivo grinned brightly.

He couldn't help but be delighted upon hearing that.

He couldn't relax until Rosa and Esteban were safe too and he was just steps away from completing that very goal! He was eager to get out of here, especially knowing that tonight was to be that contest and concert —sure Rico Avaro was practically in charge of it but it was still going to be underway and the thought made his pulse pound like a drum.

He stood up from his seated mounted position on Rufus' back and pointed forwards, eyes narrowed and smirking confidently.

"Okay then. Lead the way, Rufus!"

The golden retriever gave a quiet bark before he started to gallop as quietly as possible, all the other animals following closely behind. Each animal looked slightly reluctant to follow but keeping their bodies flattened (except for the hedgehog whom found that difficult with his spiky back) and their eyes were wary and filled with cautious worry.

They kept silent, though, since this was their only chance to get away and back to their homes.

In the meantime, Marie was carrying Nick on her raised tail tip while the bird himself perched upon it. The blue jay preened his own feathers and plumage and that seemed to be his main priority other than trying to focusing on escaping this awful place.

"Graças a Deus…" Marie muttered whilst shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

"Have you ever thought of the possibility that if you and that human of yours share such an unlikeable personality, you won't have any friends in the future? Besides, all the people here are trying as hard as you to win."

"But…But that's not possible! Nico and I are el major de los amigos! We won't lose! We shall wipe the floor with our competitors and leave them crying and sobbing in the dust!"

Marie almost stopped where she was but forced herself to keep following the others, feeling the vibrations their multiple steps caused as she trailed right behind them. Her expression was overcome with concentrated focus and her eyes were forwards even if she couldn't see where she was going. She poured most of her focus into following the group but let what was left of that focus go towards listening to the pompous ramblings of the Spanish blue jay riding on the tip of her tail.

"There's still a possibility that one of the others could win. Some of them could hoping to win for important reasons such as to earn money to survive, others are hoping to help their families. Doesn't that matter more than winning?"

"Hmph! I don't care about those perdedores!" The blue bird let out a harrumph as he turned his head sharply to one side and folded both his wings across his white chest. "By the time we win the contest, they won't care whether we win or not. We will just be proving we're better than any of them!"

Marie jolted to an abrupt halt and turned to face the blue jay with her blind eyes narrowed in bubbling fury.

"So you are thinking of burning all the bridges you've got and then what?! Are you going to be shocked when those on the other side won't cross the river?" She demanded in an admonishing tone "Look. You're not royalty or anything and I'm going to give the truth to you straight —you cannot insult others and expect them to want to hang around you, pushing them away is only going to make sure you lead an unfulfilled life filled with loneliness."

The enraged tension began to melt off of her face as the blue jay grew silent.

Realisation dawned upon her as she recalled how she was doing the same thing to Vivo…pushing him away…when all he wished to do was help…

She felt her heart sink upon realising this.

Marie exhaled as her ears pricked up when she heard the abrupt clearing of the throat, more than likely coming from Nick; from what she could hear, there was a thoughtful tint to his voice. She wasn't sure if she was imagining it but she could have sworn that he might have even been mulling over her words which came from a source of hurt which made her lash out.

She tried to ignore the sudden guilt threatening to rip her heart to pieces as the blue jay spoke.

"….A-Ahem. Shouldn't we keep following the others? I don't know about you but I'd rather not get caught by those humans."

Marie didn't say anything but nodded in agreement and followed the faint vibrations of the loads of footsteps ahead that rumbled beneath her feet. She was determined to keep following them, even though the mixing scent of multiple humans made her feet itch as she felt her instincts scream at her to run and hide away in the nearest place possible. She tried to stave off her building anxiety at being blind and in an enclosed space, she felt like gravity itself was trying to crush her from above as well as from the sides.

The group of animals (and one girl) continued to make their way through the corridors and hallways until they stopped at hallway that split and led to two different directions. On the walls leading to each direction were two signs with an arrow on each leading down the two differing corridors with the right saying "Exit" and the left saying "Holding area".

Vivo knew exactly what to do here.

He knew full well of the fact that a lot of these animals had no humans here and probably knew their own ways home so he knew that it was time to go their separate ways for now. But, at the same time, he wasn't entirely sure if he should leave these creatures to get home by themselves encase they lived in different countries. If they were each captured from the Neon lights contest/concert participants then they probably had owners to go back to.

Nevertheless, in spite of his conflicting emotions, he dismounted off Rufus' back and dropped to the floor in a standing position with his arms spread wide and out to the sides as if he'd just finished demonstrating some sort of performance. He put his arms down by his sides after standing like that for a moment and he wore his most serious yet determinedly confident expression he ever wore…except for the night before Andrés…passed on…after the Kinkajou had finished brooding in the aftermath of learning about Andrés' intentions about going to Miami to reunite with his lover —Marta.

The reminder caused a painful pang in his heart but he shook it off and was determined to ignore it for now while he looked the entire group (even Gabi) in the eye and spoke slightly louder than before but still keeping the volume of his voice down to evade detection.

"Okay. This is where we gotta go our separate ways for now." He said, then he deftly raised one arm to point down towards the right corridor. "The exit is that way while the rest of us-" he then pointed down the left corridor mid-sentence "-have to go that way and free our captured families. I'm not sure where your homes are but I sincerely hope you get there and make your own lives your own when you get away from this place."

Vivo gave the animals his most sincere look while he spoke and he watched as they hesitated for several moments as if unsure. He fretted about how they could live freely and away from here and it didn't take even a minute before the other captive animals were now being led by the formally imprisoned Coati whom appeared to have been uncertain himself. He bowed his head while looking Vivo respectfully in the eye.

The Coati's scarlet red eyes met the Honey bear's warm golden brown with flecks of amber.

"Are…" He started off, hesitating to speak for a few seconds before finding his voice yet again "…Are…Are you sure you can be left on your own?"

Vivo didn't answer for a couple of moments before he looked back and his eyes landed on Gabi whom was still lagging along behind the pack, looking completely unsure of everything that had been transpiring before her. The male Kinkajou felt his heart quake at the sight of the poor girl (let alone the poor girl who meant a massive deal to him) being so nervous just like the other creatures that were about to split from the group and make a run for it.

He smiled gingerly at her.

He knew his answer now.

"Yeah. I'm sure. I have precious things I need to keep safe."

Unbeknownst to Marie, Vivo was taking about her too…but Gabi needed Vivo to be around as he helped her process the loss of her late father. He was technically her guardian when her mum wasn't around and it was gut-wrenching to see the twelve-year-old get so fearful of the unknown and being led by a multitude of different animals.

It was strange to see her so nervous like this when she was usually so optimistic.

Heck, it even hurt.

Vivo didn't know it but his voice was thick with emotion so he cleared his throat accordingly and gave a wave of his hand to signal the animals to go towards the exit and find their individual homes. His eyes were as soft as silk and his eyelids drooped slightly as he felt pride radiate from his own heart.

The animals proceeded to stampede straight passed and it was only after they all stormed passed him when Vivo began to made a skidding motion with his hands and feet as he dropped down to stand on all fours and started to make a mental preparation to get going.

But, before he could, he took notice of the fact that Gabi hadn't moved a muscle.

Vivo then got back up to stand on two feet and pointed at his pre-teen charge before he gestured up to the "Exit" sign whilst never breaking eye-contact with her.

He knew what the answer from her would be but he also refused to drag the innocent twelve-year-old girl into some dangerous situation. Not to mention she could go grab the police and rescue everyone else trapped here…wherever this was, anyway. He wore a stern expression on his cute little honey bear face while he continuously pointed from Gabi to the "Exit" sign over and over again before the twelve-year-old seemed to finally catch on to what he was trying to get her to understand.

Gabi didn't look scared anymore, she even looked slightly offended in-spite of the fact that she had a glint of self-confidence shimmering within her glasses while her eyes were alit like the brightest of fireworks exploding in the pitch black/navy blue nighttime skies. She straightened her posture and placed both hands on her hips while looking down at her best friend with a cocky smirk playing on her lips.

"Are you kidding?" She retorted stubbornly "I am not going anywhere, I'm gonna help you save my mum…and Esteban!"

Vivo shook his head in refusal and pointed to the sign again.

Gabi nodded her head in counter-refusal.

Vivo shook his head and Gabi nodded her head, their shakes and nods growing more and more intense and demanding as the seconds and then a full minute flew by.

Gabi stomped her foot down on the ground as an act of finality.

"I'm. Coming. With. You." She insisted to the Kinkajou whom looked confused and conflicted for five seconds before he finally gave in.

Vivo sighed in defeat.

There was no use arguing with her now.

But he was going to have to let her know of something, either way.

He put a finger to his lips in a "shushing" motion to signal Gabi to keep quiet.

Vivo then dropped back down on all fours and then he took off as quickly as a rocket on red bull.

He practically left a trail of dust behind where he made a mad dash, eager to get to the targeted room and free the rest of his family —then hopefully they could make it to the show in time! He didn't even give enough of an opportunity for Gabi, Rufus, Nick and Marie to try and run in order to catch up with him. They (probably Gabi especially) all huffed and puffed so hard that each of their lungs felt like they were about to pop like a bunch of balloons.

However, unbeknownst to any of them, something bizarre was happening with the kidnapped people.

ZHOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!

The kidnapped people huddled in the room and whirled their heads when they heard a strange whirring noise.

Nobody blinked while they watched the mechanical door slide open and their eyes widened in their sockets when they saw none other than Rico Avaro personally bringing them all food in a large silver tray with lids covering what sorts of food that the spread consisted of. The only way they could tell it was food at first was due to the delectable scent that made all of their mouthes water so much that the sight could compare to the Niagara falls.

The man announced in an overly-chirpy manner, he seemed to have forgotten the fact that he was the person who kidnapped them.

"Okay. I've got you lot some food, I'm not gonna let ya starve to death."

Nobody spoke a word in response, effectively giving Mr. Avaro the silent treatment while they stewed in their own anger which was directed towards none other than him. The anger in the atmosphere was stifling yet heavily palpable and it even made the man feel rather puny in the face of so much silent rage —he had a feeling that if he wasn't as careful as possible then he could inadvertently ignite the fuse of this unstable dynamite-like atmosphere.

Rico swallowed nervously as he placed the tray on the ground beside Esteban. The burly but clever man couldn't show his dislike for their captors any clearer and neither could Rosa as they both glowered heatedly at the well-groomed man; Esteban did feel a bit bad for the man after he explained what had happened with his late daughter and he was doing all this for her sake but he had lost quite a lot of his remaining sympathy with each second and it wouldn't be too much longer before it was all but gone.

However, before Rico had a chance to leave, he noticed something.

It was a sight that shook him to the core:

On the ground, where Gabi used to be, was a bunch of untied rope…

But how?

How could she have escaped!?

Those pretzel knots were ridiculously difficult to untie, he was certain, but none of this made any sense whatsoever.

"Where….Where's the girl?!" Rico demanded, looking both panicked and angry.

He felt himself beginning to blanch as his own feet rocked him back and forth a bit as he tried his best to fight against the urge to pass out and topple like a tree after being cut at the trunk by an axe.

Nobody said a word to answer his question/demand and just stared at him with daggers for eyes and silently seething distrust. If it were possible then their glares could have turned the entire room into the arctic circle within seconds. Not one eye shared a shred of panic or any emotion other than subdued and silent fury. Not even Rosa seemed the least bit worried about her own daughter's welfare ad she focused on sneering silently at the man stood in the doorway.

They weren't going to spill anything and that was crystal clear.

Esteban and Rosa exchanged a look which was indescribable and then went back to staring with the worst filthy look ever.

Of course they knew where Gabi was as they watched that female Kinkajou get behind Gabi's arms and legs whilst biting and nibbling on the ropes which untied her and it was only after she was freed did they order her to go grab Vivo and run out at the first chance she got so she could hopefully get a hold of the police…they prayed and hoped that she wouldn't come back for them.

However, Rico Avaro didn't know that and they had no intention of letting him find out either.

The man grumbled and muttered angrily under his breath as he trudged out the door, walking as if he were wading through a murky swamp bog…but the strange thing was that he didn't seem angry at any one of them but more than likely his rage was focused on someone or something else.

Upon making his exit, the automatic mechanical door slid closed behind with the accompaniment of the whirring sound from earlier.

ZHOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!

The man was seething with rage as he exited through the door and made his way out of the room and stalked along the endless-seeming hallways, his gaze empty yet holding a tint of concern. Nevertheless his facial complexion was red hot, he clenched his teeth so hard that it was a miracle that they didn't shatter like fine porcelain, his shoulders were bunched up, his eyes were fixed into narrowed slits while his facial muscles grew tighter and tighter like a spring with a continuously winding coil.

His brows had knitted themselves together and he cracked his knuckles in one hand to look more intimidating.

It worked.

If anyone happened to spot him, they would either try and duck out of the way or cower in his wake.

Rico stopped dead in his tracks when his gaze fell upon a young woman —inexperienced and sometimes bleated like a newborn lamb— and she currently lay back against some random doorway and was clearly fast asleep. Her snores were soft and her fiery ginger curls went down to her mid-back as she just snoozed the dat away. How this timid little thing managed to even land a job like this was beyond the imagination…

Right now, the former tycoon was the epitome of primal fury…

"YOU!" He boomed "Have you seen a young girl with purple hair and glasses pass by?!"

Upon being screeched at, the woman started to tear up and sniffle. She couldn't help but let her head duck in between her shoulders and she poked her lower lip out in a pouty manner, tears started to stream down her cheeks. She couldn't keep from breaking down into a series of sobs which sounded as though it was blended with some hyperventilating breaths. She couldn't seem to control herself as her body wracked and convulsed heavily with sniffles and hard sobs.

Avaro did feel a bit bad for scaring her so and his anger melted a bit when he saw how much he scared the young woman, she needed compassion but not a screaming boss;

Before Rico could open his mouth to ask his previous question again, someone else stepped in and intervened.

It was one of the men who was supposed to keep an eye on the exotic animals and stand guard to make sure no mammal crossed his path (clearly not realising yet that he failed at this miserably) and he was clearly doing a tightrope act as he hovered between being a child for one more year and going to be an adult in one more year. He was even chewing bubblegum idly as he spoke up while placing a hand on the timid young woman's shoulder while patting it in a reassuring manner.

"What does it matter if one kid gets hurt or anything, sir?" The guardsman asked dismissively, smacking the bubblegum against his lips.

Rico growled, how could he expect them to understand some very vital facts about how bad this situation is? He couldn't let Gabi get hurt since it was his fault that she was in this place at all. He couldn't help but wonder what his daughter would think if she were there…but she wasn't…and that reminder made his heart squeeze with pain.

"Don't you see!?" The man shouted at his underling "If that girl gets hurt then I'm the one responsible and I don't want anyone getting hurt!"

The man pinched the bridge of his nose in agitation and to fight off an oncoming headache. He was really worried about Gabi's wellbeing and he hoped to find her before she had the chance to either escape or get seriously injured here for whatever reason —she could trip or something! He just knew he had to go find her before any harm could come to her so that's exactly what he was going to do.

"Look. You guys have got to do your jobs and make sure they don't leave until I allow it, okay?"

He received a single yet simultaneous nod from the two adolescents standing before him.

He fought against the urge to give the two a withering glare while he stormed down the hall with a worried hasten in each strong step he made.

The two young adolescents looked to one another and blushed at one another, a tense silence brewed in the air for a couple of awkward moments before the young man spoke first as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder in a supportive yet reassuring gesture.

"Why don't you go to the bathroom and get yourself cleaned up, we can see about grabbing some tea and cakes later."

The young woman nodded, a small smile of appreciation gracing her lips.

"I…I dunno…I think I'd like that."

That was when the pair proceeded to make their temporary exit.

Meanwhile, not too far away…

The small group of creatures hid around a nearby corner as they watched the scene unfold, making sure to stay silent until the two guards left the scene.

"…..Are they gone?" Vivo asked, poking his head in through the now-empty doorway.

"Sounds like it. Lets go in and free them before they come back!" Marie replied, a hurried tone in her voice as she followed after Vivo and rushed into the room with Rufus and Nick following right behind them. She didn't really want to be around those other humans but she knew how important this was to Vivo so she decided to try and stave off her terror.

Upon arriving at the large mechanical door, the group of animals worked to unlock it.

Nick reached to a small panel with a bunch of buttons with numbers and stared at it quizzically.

"Hmmm…try the combination 4-7-1-8-9?"

Everyone looked down at Marie whom wore a blunt know-it-all expression.

The female Kinkajou shrugged nonchalantly and then folded her arms across her chest.

"What? I can smell their fingerprints on the buttons…now can you please stop staring? I feel all your eyes on me and it's awkward."

Nick, in spite of his shock, pressed the buttons Marie advised and a sudden "click" sound came from the other side of the door while a small light above the handle glowed green instead of the red it had been before now. Everyone found themselves in a sense of disbelief as they stared at her, not being able to actually blink for several moments…until they were forced to by the stinging of their eyeballs.

"A-Are you absolutely sure you're blind?" Rufus asked incredulously.

Marie clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and remained silent, saying nothing more.

Gabi, seeing how most of the creatures were all too small to reach the doorknob (aside from Nick but he was too small to use it properly), grabbed it and pulled it slowly open while both trying to be as quiet and sneaky as possible as well as the fact that it was a really heavy door that she was struggling with. She felt the muscles within her arm stretch as she yanked the doorknob as hard as she possibly could.

After a minute of struggling, Gabi managed to pry it open enough to allow not only herself but the other animals entry. She didn't waste a second before squeezing herself through that rapidly closing gap the door was making as it shut and soon enough found herself back in the room where everyone else was tied up.

"Gabi…!" Cried Bea in relief, but then she grew perplexed and confused "…Wait. I thought the door opened by itself? It worked with that Rico Avaro guy."

Everyone fell silent as that very good point was brought up. There was usually some sort of whirring mechanical noise that came when the door opened or closed so why didn't it sound off when Gabi and the other animals made their entrance? Everyone stared at Gabi as if expecting and answer and the only semblance of an answer the girl could give was a shrug of her shoulders.

"Oh. I forgot that it was an automatic door…my bad," Gabi grinned sheepishly.

All eyes rolled and heads shook.

After that moment of awkwardness passed, however, the animals made their presence known.

Ella and Nick's eyes both lit up with pure joy as they called out for their individual pets/partners.

Rufus galloped straight over to Ella and proceeded to lick her face all over until she was covered in dog dribble while the girl, in turn, wrapped both her little arms around the big fluffy dog's collared neck. Rufus made some high-pitched whimpers and whines as he nuzzled and licked the girl some more.

Nick flew straight over to Nico and perched atop his shoulder and nudged his small feathery body against the man's cheek, a relieved smile appearing on his beak as he let his owner tickle his tummy which elicited a light chirp from the blue jay.

Vivo hopped on to Gabi's shoulder, using it as a perch, while Gabi herself spotted her mother still tied up.

"Mum!" The twelve-year-old cried, tears glimmering in her eyes as she made a beeline straight to her mother and held her in a tight embrace.

Rosa couldn't stand due to her hands and legs being tied with rope so she did the next best thing as far as returning the gesture of affection and simply lay her head against her daughter's side and smiled a warm and loving smile as she closed her eyes, she wasn't angry or frustrated anymore as long as her daughter was safe.

However, she did cock both of her eyebrows at her.

"Gabi, we told you to get out of here!"

Vivo resisted the urge to say "I told you so" to Gabi but decided against it for now.

Gabi, in the meantime, just enjoyed being cocooned in her mother's warmth but that didn't stop her eyes from starting to well up with tears. Her voice began to tremble and her body started to shake as she clung on to her mother as though she'd disappear if she relinquished her hold even ever so slightly.

"I…I know. B-B-B-But I-I couldn't leave you, mum! I didn't want to leave you where you could get hurt!" She snivelled.

Esteban remained silent as he hung his head, looking slightly glum.

Gabi caught sight of that expression easily and she felt her heart squeeze with guilt upon seeing such a saddened expression on her mothers boyfriend's face.

At the beginning of this adventure she wouldn't have cared, she couldn't have cared less back then…but her sour feelings sweetened now that she had gotten to spend some time with him and gotten to know him. She still didn't know what to make of his role in her family, however, and she still felt a great deal reluctant to accept him as a replacement father…but she couldn't get cross at him when he not only inspired Vivo and her base performance but he also gave her the courage she needed when she felt ready to throw in the towel and give up.

She hung her head and sighed as she peeled herself out of her mother's arms (somehow) and knelt down next to Esteban and gave him a supportive pat on the shoulder but not before raising her glasses to sit atop her head so she could get to wiping her own eyes to rid them of any lingering tears and she grabbed a tissue from her pocket and blew her nose into it, freeing it from any tear-mucus, and stuffed the damp tissue in her sleeve to throw in a bin later.

A sincere smile graced her lips as she looked Esteban in the eye.

"….I couldn't….I couldn't leave you either, Esteban. You're important to me too."

Esteban lifted his head and his entire face lit up, clearly not expecting such a confession to come from the twelve-year-old.

Gabi's sincere yet heartfelt smile morphed into a bright yet teasing one as she added.

"Besides. I've gotta show ya more on how to play drums!"

Esteban chuckled rather sheepishly as he glanced away for a millisecond.

"Oh." He said "Uh, um…I'm looking forwards to it."

That was when Esteban felt something small, soft and fuzzy crawl up his back and he couldn't help but let a shudder tremble throughout his strong body. He couldn't help but let out a high-pitched yelp of shock when he spun his head around fast enough that it should have given him whiplash and saw that it was the same female Kinkajou who had freed Gabi earlier and had already started on trying to free him via the same method.

Marie had manuvered her way through the man's muscular arms and shoulders until she found herself perched on the man's left forearm and was blindly staring at the rope tying his wrists together, facing towards it. His expression brightened considerably when he spotted the female Kinkajou glaring determinedly at the rope. After taking a quick couple of cautious sniffs of the rope, Marie launched herself at it and started to nibble and chew away at it at a ferocious rate.

She was going at it as if the rope were made from liquorice!

Chew, snap, nibble, chew, snip, snap…

Those sounds resounded within the enclosed space as Marie kept up her efforts in trying to untie Esteban's wrists from their ropey binds.

Vivo, in the meantime, had started trying to work on Rosa's ropes.

Instead of biting them, though, he just worked on untying them with his tiny fingers working hard with the tight knot keeping the woman's hands bound behind her back. He couldn't help but wince a little when he saw the rope burns beginning to dig into her wrists and that made him work faster and harder. He skilfully worked hard and diligently through it —he remembered how Gabi had managed to learn about knots from her friends, the Sand dollars, when she tried to get some sort of patch and it was after she got said patch that Gabi taught Vivo in turn.

He also noticed, after looking around, that the other animals were busily trying to free the human members of the pack —Rufus had freed Ella without any difficulty whatsoever since she was the only one not tied up and instead sat in a playpen and had been occupied with playing with some stuffed plushies left in there to keep her occupied. Plus she was eating mashed potatoes slathered with gravy

All Rufus had to do was lift the latch of the playpen and she was loose.

After successfully untying Rosa, Vivo moved on to untying the others while Gabi did the same while she felt a huge wave of relief wash over her. She watched everyone else get freed and lifted her own hands up and then flexed her fingers while she proceeded to rub her wrists oh-so-gently due to the faint purple rope marks indented into her skin. She knew it wouldn't hurt forever and she was happy to see that her mum and Esteban were alright, but she also everyone else too!

However, in the midst of the flurry of everyone being untied, Marie noticed something that made her heart sink with dread. She didn't know what brought on such a feeling but it was so powerful that it made her go statue still with an expression of growing horror overcoming her facial features and her unseeing eyes were as wide as dinnerplates while her small mouth fell open.

She tentatively reached up to adjust her flower….only to find that it wasn't there anymore!

She felt her panic rise within her.

Her flower….her precious, special flower was gone!

WHERE!?

When did she lose it and how had she not noticed before now?

Flashes of childhood memories filled her mind as she remembered the kind and loving faces of her mother, father, uncles, aunties and other relatives —her family back in Brazil…or what used to be her family back in Brazil. Her eyes welled up with tears. That yellow and red hibiscus flower was her only reminder other than that lullaby her mother would sing to her, it was a miracle that flower even survived as long as it did and she was going to keep it alive, if she had any say in it!

She couldn't leave it!

Marie raised a forearm and furiously scrubbed the fresh tears out of her eyes.

She couldn't lose that flower, it meant everything to her!

It was her last attachment to her family!

She needed to go back and get it!

The frantic female Kinkajou started to run back in the direction she and the others came in —despite the unfamiliar yet conflicting surroundings, sounds and scents. That desperate desire to find her precious flower screamed in her ears and pounded throughout the entirety of her skull as she dropped down on all fours and ran as fast as her little paws and feet could allow. Her chest thumped and her heart was in her throat the entire time while her eyes overflowed with giant tears.

She couldn't lose her flower, she just couldn't!

The female Kinkajou zipped round corners and ran down halls, her feet ached the more she ran.

She hoped and prayed that the scent of her precious Hibiscus would reach her nose.

It didn't.

Not until a few minutes of blind and disoriented scurrying it was a wonder she even broke through the door and tore down the hallways and corridors without a single clue as to where she was going. That didn't matter right now, however, since needed to find that flower! She needed that reminder pertaining to her long lost family!

Just the thought of being without it made her heart shatter like the finest and most delicate of glass.

That's when she felt a presence behind her.

Vivo immediately popped into her head so she assumed he must have noticed her absence and went to go find her.

"Vivo! You've gotta help me, my flower is gone! I…I don't know where it-"

The desperation was thick in her voice before she froze mid-sentence.

Little by little, she began to realise something and began to shiver, as if the temperature itself had dropped.

She knew what this sensation meant:

Someone was standing right behind her.

Marie slowly yet reluctantly turned around and looked up at the person's direction, feeling their large and imposing shadow fall over her, and her unseeing eyes gradually became wider and wider and filled with terror as the realisation dawned on her that this wasn't Vivo…nor was this one of the people they freed, this person had a different scent and their intentions stank of askew morals…

"….Y-Y-You are not Vivo…a-are you….?" She asked shakily.

A/N: Heres a new chapter, everyone!

I am really sorry that this took some time to write, I had writers block.

Btw, when I wrote the songs (except in chapter 1, chapter 8 and the Mashup of songs in chapter 14) I used a website called Rhymezone to help me. Its really helpful.

Anyways, it seems that Marie is now in danger but who can rescue her?

-Chloemcg