Summary:

Zootopia part 7

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Secret Serum. Also feelings.

"Everything is gone," Judy murmured, staring down the burning wreckage of what was once a lab full of evidence. "We've lost it all."

"Yeah… " Nick replied. "Oh, except for this," he added dryly, slowly holding up the case with Night Howler serum and a pellet gun covered in hoofprints. He'd grabbed it when they'd fled the train, but Judy hadn't been able to see it tucked safely against his other side. He grinned, chuckling at his own joke and in relief at being able to salvage something.

"Oooh Nick!" Judy hollered, instantly perking up, feet drumming in excitement. "YES!" She leapt to her feet, giving him an enthusiastic punch on the arm. Behind them, Sora, Riku and Kairi cheered. The whole group scrambled upright as Judy took the case from Nick. "C'mon!" she called, "We've gotta get to the ZPD." Pointing, she took off and led them towards a flight of stairs. "Cut through the Natural History Museum!"

Nick ran at her heels, Sora not a beat behind them. Kairi and Riku brought up the rear, with Riku's ears flicking, listening.

They dashed around a landing and up another staircase, this one topped with a majestic brass sculpture of a spear-wielding mammoth. The ornate hallway beyond it was filled with scaffolding - the building was undergoing an extensive renovation. However, the workmen weren't at their posts, and the majority of the interior lights were off.

The group passed four massive stone staircases, two on each side, as they entered the main lobby. The walls were lined with dioramas, still lit from within. Blank eyes of mannequinned beasts followed them as they ran across the dusky marble floor, footsteps echoing off the surrounding stone. They were almost to the rotunda, daylight streaming in through the glass doors.

"There it is!" Judy exclaimed, ears perking up. Sora let out a whoop, pumping a fist in the air while Kairi laughed in relief.

"Judy!" a voice rang out. Instantly, the quintet skidded to a stop, ears pricked. From behind them, three sheep appeared. Two were burly rams dressed in police uniforms. The other was a short little ewe in a navy blazer and dress. Judy clearly knew her, ears perking up at her voice, but everyone else knew of her. She waved, trotting up to them.

"Mayor Bellwether," Judy called, running up to meet the sheep. The group padded over behind her. "We found out what's happening," she explained, relieved and eager to share all at once. "Someone's darting predators with a serum. That's what's making them go savage."

Bellwether clasped her hands together, beaming. "I'm so proud of you, Judy," she enthused, "You did just a super job!"

Behind Judy, Nick smiled, puffing up a little, proud to see her receive the recognition she deserved. Sora looped his hands behind his head, grinning ear to ear, but Riku was still tense, unsmiling.

Bellwether reached out for the case, and Judy moved to give it to her, still panting from their headlong sprint. But then she paused, frowning, looking at Bellwether's hands. They were outstretched, despite not being told what, exactly, Judy was holding. The officer's violet eyes flicked back up to Bellwether's face.

"How did you know where to find us?" Judy asked. Kairi shifted her weight while Sora dropped his arms. Riku bristled.

Bellwether hesitated for a moment, then darted forward. "I'll go ahead, and I'll take that case now."

Judy scrambled backwards, Nick copying her. The Keyblade wielders stepped aside, positing themselves to get in-between their friends and the sheep.

"You know what?" Judy said, tucking the case securely against her side. She and Nick kept backing up in sync. "I think Nick and I will just take this to the ZPD…" They turned, Judy trailing off as they spotted a third ram blocking the door. He menaced them, cracking his neck and snorting.

"Run," Nick and Judy said in unison, darting to the side. Keyblades appeared in hands, as Sora, Riku and Kairi dashed after them.

Bellwether clenched her fists. "Get them," she ordered, voice cold. Her rams darted forward, and heartless sprang from dark corners. They chased Nick and Judy through an archway covered in plastic sheeting. The heroes of light made to follow, but were cut off as a massive heartless rose from the floor in front of them.

Like the heartless by the lab, this creature was roughly ram shaped, except that it stood on all fours. However, it was easily double their size, and despite being a quadruped it stood a full two heads taller than Kairi. Two horns sprang from its forehead, jutting backwards, while two more curled down past its jaw, framing its large ears. Its eyes were golden, with sideways pupils. They glowed against the sanguine red of its face. An iron muzzle covered its maw, but sharpened yellow fangs were visible beyond it as it screeched at the Keyblade wielders. Darkness swirled about its body - a seething, living wool. Around its neck hung a large golden bell emblazoned with the heartless symbol.

Sora, Riku and Kairi scrambled backwards as the heartless finished emerging. Behind them, Bellwether grinned.

"Play nice with Herd Mind, now," she said in a twisted, saccharine tone of voice, "Wouldn't want it to break you." She trotted around the heartless unbothered, disappearing behind the plastic sheeting.

As soon as its master was gone, the dark creature sprang into action. It lunged forward, impossibly fast for such a large thing, head bowed, horns poised. Sora jumped backwards, nearly teetering over the edge of the large diorama sunk into the floor. He rolled sideways, avoiding being skewered, and then ducked under the creature's muzzle.

Meanwhile, Kairi was battering at Herd Mind's side, accenting her slashes and pummels with large blades of light. Though she was gouging into the darkness on the creature's side, it barely paid her any mind, not even flicking its fluffy dark cotton tail. Her blows weren't connecting to the heartless beneath the wool.

Riku had skirted around the center pit, safely out of harm's way. He circled, looking for an opening, but then spotted Sora, still penned in and dodging. Sora was struggling to get out, trying to dive under the heartless only to nearly be trampled by hooves as big as he was.

"Hey!" Riku yelled, trying to get the heartless's attention, "Over here!" He got the flick of an ear, nothing more. Sora caught another blow from the creature's muzzle on his Keyblade, the sound of metal on metal ringing through the wide space. It shook its head, smarting, but didn't give Sora any room to escape.

Riku snarled, hackles up, fangs bared. If you're a wolf, be a wolf, he thought. Wolves eat sheep for breakfast. He opened his mouth and howled, charging forward with Braveheart at the ready.

That got the damned thing's attention. It pivoted, nearly kicking Kairi in the process, and ran to meet Riku's charge. Sora sprang away from the pit, angling his dash to meet up with Kairi, who was in pursuit.

"Sora!" she called, holding out a hand. He grinned, taking it as she used their momentum to toss him up. He landed on the heartless's back, clutching onto turbid wool.

Riku caught Herd Mind's muzzle on his Keyblade, gritting his teeth. "Fira!" he spat, rings of fire blasting out between them. The spell shoved them in opposite directions, sending Riku skidding on his feet across the marble floor. Neither he nor the heartless paused, though, charging each other again.

On the heartless's back, Sora struggled to stand, trying to get his balance against the rhythm of the creature's galloping stride. He found his feet and carefully moved forward on all fours. Standing between its shoulders, he began wailing on the ram's head, strikes swift and punishing.

Kairi was still in pursuit as Riku led the thing around the rotunda. As he harried it, Kairi continued attacking its back and legs, mindful of Sora's position. She blasted light and fire, ice and water while trying to avoid its striking hooves. Her blows only landed once she'd burned the darkened wool away.

From across the room, Nick and Judy burst out of another tarp covered archway, Bellwether's rams and several heartless in hot pursuit. Nick had the case in one hand and was supporting an injured Judy in the other. She stumbled, and a ram took the opportunity to body check them into the display in the center of the room. They landed hard, the wind driven out of them.

The force of the blow also rocketed the case from Nick's grip. It went skidding across the marble floor, where a terribly composed Bellwether picked it up. She glanced around at the Keyblade wielders menacing her heartless and the animals in the pit and smiled.

"Herd Mind, hold them," she ordered, taking the pellet gun out of its case. The heartless paused its gallop. It started shaking its head back and forth, jostling Sora and ringing its bell. As the bell tolled, Riku, Sora and Kairi felt their limbs lock as their Keyblades vanished. The reverberating sound spread through their bodies, holding them in place upright with their arms locked at their sides. Slowly, they were turned until they could all see clearly into the sunken diorama blow.

Nick and Judy were curled on their sides, propped up on their elbows. The scene was a quaint little creek, with some rocks and tall grass. A stuffed deer "drank" from the stream. Bellwether paced the side of the display, followed by her rams. The smaller heartless had vanished at the ringing of the bell.

Bellwether chuckled, the bubbly sound far too mirthful for the situation. "Well, you shoulda just stayed on the carrot farm, huh, Judy?" She quipped. "It really is too bad - I did like you," the ewe added, folding her hands contritely behind her back. Contritely aside from the weapon she still held, that is.

Judy's breath was coming fast as she glared up at her captor. "What are you going to do?" she demanded, "Kill me?"

This only made Bellwether giggle harder. "Oh, oh no, of course not!" she chortled. "He is." She fired at Nick, catching him in the neck. He yelped, the force of the shot actually knocking him over. Above them, Sora gritted his teeth, groaning as he struggled against Herd Mind's magical restraints.

"No!" Judy cried, scrambling to Nick's side, resting her paws on his back. "Oh, Nick…" she murmured as he started to grumble, shaking his head. His eyes were closed, and he didn't respond to Judy's presence at all.

From above, the three teens watched, unable to move, eyes wide with horror. Riku, held in mid-air by Herd Mind's face, tried to say something and found he couldn't work his jaw or throat. The only things he seemed to be in charge of were his breathing and his eyes. It was the same for Kairi, standing by the creature's hind legs. Sora, however, was groaning, teeth bared. He was leaning ever so slightly forward, as if he was pushing against some invisible barrier. The heartless he stood on was still, fetid breath washing over Riku's face as it waited for orders from its master.

Bellwether was still gloating. She'd upped the ante by calling the police, faking sincere distress, "Yes, police! There's a savage fox in the Natural History Museum! Officer Hopps is down, and there's a huge monster! Please Hurry!"

Nick's grumbling had increased to growls and groans. His arms shook, back arching. Desperately, Judy whispered, "No, Nick, don't do this. Fight it!"

Sora shifted another inch forward, fists clenched. He raised his arms agonizingly slowly.

"Oh, but, he can't help it, can he?" Bellwether simpered, still pacing along the pit's edge. "Since Preds are just biologically predisposed to be savages," she continued, sneering now.

Nick started snarling, opening his eyes. They were small, the pupils mere pin-points. His hackles were up, lips peeled back from glaring white fangs. Judy gasped, scrambling backwards as Nick started advancing on all fours. Her injured leg slowed her down as she stood, struggling to run.

Taking one struggling step forward, Sora started to yell. As his voice gained power, he gained momentum, pushing past whatever held him in place. He staggered forward, pace increasing, until he could jump off of Herd Mind's back. He bolted then, skittering on all fours before breaking into a two-legged sprint. Bellwether stared at him in shock as he vaulted over the edge of the display.

Nick was slowly stalking Judy, but he had one ear trained on Sora, no longer yelling. He jumped back as the other rabbit landed, hackles raised and snarling. Sora wasted no time, lunging at the fox and tackling him away from Judy.

This was not what Nick had planned. He made a good show of snapping and snarling in Sora's face while Judy ran up behind them. She grabbed Sora around his ribs, dragging him off of Nick. "Sora, you need to stop!" she ordered, but she barely got the sentence out before she had to shove Sora's head down, ducking as well. Nick had lunged, jaws snapping where their heads had been a moment ago. "Crawl!" Judy ordered, hunkering through grass until they had enough distance to run.

Sora followed her, catching her when her limp tripped her up. "Heal!" he cast, Keyblade appearing in his hand in the same heartbeat.

Thinking as she ran, Judy tossed the deer mannequin from the exhibit at Nick. He yelped, tumbling over the stuffed thing. He started shredding the deer, snarling and kicking it before rolling back onto his feet. He bit onto its throat, shaking his head viciously to "snap" its neck. Stuffing flew everywhere.

Bellwether had been shocked. No one was supposed to be able to just break Herd Mind's control like that. She recovered quickly, though. "Wow, two for the price of one!" she chirped. "Gosh," she went on, putting a hand to her cheek in mock horror, "think of the headline! 'Hero Rabbits Killed By Savage Fox!' Of course," she drawled, turning to look at Riku and Kairi, "We should probably take care of you, too." She fired off two quick rounds, catching Riku across the muzzle and then Kairi in the sternum, just above the neckline of the shirt she was wearing.

"No!" Sora shouted, unable to see his friends, but hearing the shots all the same. He skidded to a stop, ears flicking. Nick growled, hesitating. He caught Judy's eye, then looked at the teenage rabbit.

Judy grabbed Sora's arm. "Run," she ordered, pulling him with her. Head tilted upwards, she called to Bellwether. "So that's it? Prey fears predator and you stay in power?"

Bellwether shrugged, gloating, "Yeah, pretty much." She turned to her heartless. "Drop them." The strange paralysis ceased, dropping Riku from where he was held in mid-air. He managed to land upright. Kairi stumbled, but righted herself quickly, feet still firmly on the ground. They looked at each other, waiting for the serum to kick in. Riku's nose twitched. Kairi ran a finger through the blue goo on her neck.

In the pit, Nick was advancing on Sora and Judy, still snarling menacingly. They reached the exhibit wall and turned around. Sora stepped in front of Judy, Keyblade still out. He didn't raise it, though. Nick inched closer and closer. At the last second, Judy took off again, running past him and hoping Sora would follow. Nick dove for her, but Sora got there first, catching Nick across the chest on the blunt portion of his blade. Nick backed up, shaking his head as he caught his breath. Sora took off after Judy again. "Your plan won't work!" she shouted up at Bellwether, trying to get her talking again.

Above them, Riku dropped to all fours, purposefully fluffing out the fur on the back of his neck. His lips peeled back in a snarl, and he looked meaningfully at Kairi, then at Bellwether. Kairi groaned, clutching at her neck before curling forward. A snarl, deeper than even she expected, rippled out from between her lips.

Bellwether watched them, smiling a deeply satisfied smile. She turned back to the pit, looking down at Judy. "Fear always works. And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way."

Sora was slowing down, ears pivoting as he tried to hear what was happening with his friends. Nick snapped at his hand, and he sped up again, still keeping himself between the fox and Judy.

Riku and Kairi were stalking forward, snarling and growling like anything. Bellwether was grinning even as she tried to keep her distance from them. If things got too out of hand, there was always the massive heartless behind her. She chuckled as Riku and Kairi leapt down into the pit, "Bye-bye, bunnies."

They landed side by side, teeth bared. Sora skidded to a stop, nose twitching. "No…" he whispered, frozen.

Judy stopped a few steps after him, taking in the scene. Behind her, Nick was watching the same thing. He hesitated, then dove, pinning Judy as carefully as he could. Sora whirled at the sound, turning just in time to see Nick bite down on Judy's neck. She let out a scream and something primal in Sora snapped. He bolted on all fours, pupils pin-pricks as his eyes rolled in fear.

Riku grabbed him, doing the first thing that came to mind - he tucked him against his chest, curling protectively around him. Sora stilled, crouched, all instinct and panic in the dark space under his best friend. Kairi moved protectively in front of them as she kept up her savage act. She and Riku watched Bellwether on the edge of the pit. The sheep had flinched at the sound Judy made, but now the only thing on her face was victory.

Next to them, Judy stopped feigning death as Nick carefully lifted his teeth from her throat. "Too much?" she asked in a whisper, glancing at Riku and Sora.

"Maybe," Nick replied, equally quiet, as he helped her up.

"What?" Bellwether squawked, not understanding. She looked at her weapon, utterly baffled.

"Oh, are you looking for the serum?" Nick asked, unable to help smirking at her expression. "Well, it's right here." He pulled the little blue sphere out of his breast pocket. Behind him and Judy, Kairi stood, summoning her Keyblade. Riku stayed curled over Sora, one hand on his friend's side, feeling his breathing slow from hyperventilating to just fast. He summoned Braveheart in his other hand.

Judy took up the conversation with Bellwether, "What you had in the weapon there - those were blueberries, from my family's farm." She glanced over her shoulder at the kids, checking on them.

Nick went on, exaggerating now, needing to keep the ewe's attention. He kissed his fingertips. "Mwah! They are delicious. You should try some sometime."

Bellwether glared at him, straightening her glasses. "You think you're so clever, don't you? But you've forgotten something." She snapped her fingers, and the heartless was suddenly leaning over the pit. "Herd Mind, hold them."

The creature went to shake its bell, but Kairi got there first. Throwing herself in the air, she shot a short burst of flame under her feet, propelling her forward. Her keyblade slammed into the creature's forehead. "Lightaza!" she shrieked, putting her all into the spell. Light arced from the end of Destiny's Embrace, making the creature glow for a moment before it burst, beams of white brilliance stabbing out in all directions. The sheer brightness made everyone shield their eyes.

Kairi landed with a thump, barely catching herself on her hands and knees before she blacked out.

"Kairi!" Riku called, stuck in the pit. Sora stirred, struggling out from his grip, also murmuring Kairi's name.

Bellwether was livid. "No!" she shrieked, composure finally broken. She stomped her feet like a spoiled child, then whirled to Judy. "I framed Lionheart! I can frame you too," she hissed.

"Face it," Riku said as he vaulted over the edge of the diorama, "You've lost." Sora came up behind him, looking more himself. They both rushed to Kairi's side, Sora moving to hold her hand. Riku passed him a glowing blue vial and he carefully held it to Kairi's lips, pouring the liquid down her throat as Riku propped up her head.

Bellwether sneered, "I'm the Mayor of Zootopia - you're just some podunk carrot farmer, a cheap con-artist, and three foreign teenagers. It's my word against yours."

"Actually," Judy said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the carrot pen, "It's your word against yours." The scrabbly mechanical sound of a tape rewinding filled the air for a moment, then Bellwether's tinny, recorded voice rang out:

"…And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way."

Bellwether paled, turning just in time to see Chief Bogo and a full squadron of ZPD officers entering the building.

"It's called a hustle, sweetheart," Judy quipped.

The officers cuffed Bellwether and her accomplices almost immediately. Ladders were found and used to get Nick and Judy out of the pit. Judy and Kairi were generally fussed over (as much as anyone could get near Kairi around Riku and Sora) until the EMTs arrived and they could be taken to the local hospital. Sora and Riku rode along with Kairi, mostly because Sora refused to let go of her hand and Riku gave the antelope nurse a look so otherworldly that they dropped the issue immediately.

Judy's leg wound was, of course, completely healed. She wiggled out of the ambulance ride after the EMT's had thoroughly checked her out (at Nick's insistence). Kairi's exhaustion was treated with IVs and sleep, as well as a few more ethers of varying potency dug out from the boy's pockets. She was released the following day.

Nick and Judy delivered their report to Chief Bogo that morning, with all three Keyblade Wielders as additional witnesses. The evidence against Bellwether was substantial. Once Riku informed Chief Bogo that they would not be staying for the trial, he made sure to get their statements recorded immediately.

That took all of the morning and most of the afternoon. Nick and Judy treated them to a late lunch.

"So how did you know what was going on?" Nick asked Riku and Kairi around a mouthful of sandwich.

"Blueberry's a pretty distinct smell," Riku said dryly, one eyebrow raised.

Kairi nodded, "I thought it was weird that nothing was happening. Once Riku started acting different, it all made sense."

Sora pouted between them. "Someone could've let me know what was going on!" He protested.

Judy finished sipping her carrot cake shake. "How exactly? Bellwether was right there."

"You did a good job keeping her talking," Nick praised, elbowing her.

"You're not a bad actor yourself, slick," she quipped, smirking and elbowing him back.

Riku resisted the urge to roll his eyes, while Kairi tried not to coo over them. Sora ate his food, stuffing his face in his usual scarfing, haphazard fashion. "It was cool how you finished off that heartless, Kairi," he said, somehow understandable around all his chewing. Kairi blushed, though you couldn't see it under the fur.

Riku was less impressed. "It was risky, too," he added, tone much more mild than he felt.

"I know it wasn't smart," Kairi admitted, deflating a little. "I won't push my limits, next time."

"Hey," Judy cut in, encouraging, "At least now you know where they are."

"Yeah, now that she saved our -" Nick bit off a mild curse, seeing the look Judy was giving him, "… tails." Still, his praise made Kairi smile again.

"Your plan was brilliant," she enthused, "Sorry we messed it up a little."

Nick and Judy waved her off. "It was fine," Judy said.

"Yeah, no harm done," Nick added.

They finished their lunch among general care-free chit-chat, then spent the rest of the day relaxing and wandering around. At some point, Judy elected to buy presents for the teenagers, as a thank you. They attempted not to accept them and failed miserably.

It started with Kairi getting excited over a garden store (Judy bought her a sturdy plant with variegated leaves in a cute pot, as well as everything she would need to take care of it,) and snowballed from there. Sora ended up with several joke items from Nick, which he adored once the jokes were explained, and a keychain from Judy. It was a stylized Oasis Hotel palm tree, with the word "Zootopia" in pink bubble letters going up the trunk. He didn't tell her, but he was excited to see what it did to his Keyblade once they got back to the gummi ship. He then helped her pick out ones for Riku and Kairi - a Tundra Town one and a Rainforest District one covered in flowers respectively.

Riku got a set of tracking chips (like the kind people put on keyrings for when they lose them) from Nick. "So you can keep tabs on those two," Nick told him with a knowing nod. Riku just laughed. Judy got him a set of lenses for his phone camera.

"So when are you going home?" she asked as they strolled through downtown later that evening. Kairi was trying to decide who was better at nonchalantly slouching as they walked - Nick or Riku.

Sora, hands behind his head, replied, "Tomorrow, right Riku?"

Riku nodded, "Yeah."

"Don't suppose we'll see you again then, will we?" Nick asked, "Kiji's a pretty long ways away."

"Of course we'll come back!" Sora said, sounding almost offended. "And until we see each other again, our hearts'll be connected."

"Awww," Judy cooed exaggeratedly, hand over her heart.

Nick chuckled. "You bunnies, so emotional."

Sora tried to trip him for that, but Nick saw it coming a mile away.

It was late when the trio finally made it back to the gummi ship. Kairi claimed the bathroom first, leaving Riku and Sora to lay out the mattresses. Riku dumped them out of the closets while Sora shoved them around the room. At first, he put the beds where they usually were with his and Riku's about a foot apart on one side and Kairi's all the way on the other. When Riku came back with his arms full of blankets, Sora was shoving all three of them in the center, leaving just a little space in-between. He raised an eyebrow at Sora, but said nothing.

He didn't have to. "I thought Kairi might like it better if we were closer," Sora explained, unprompted, rubbing the back of his neck once he was done.

Riku considered him a moment, then started laying out blankets. "Did you ask her?"

"Oh," Sora deflated, fidgeting, "well, no. I'll ask her when she comes back upstairs."

"She hasn't said anything to you?" Riku pressed. He'd given them a decent chunk of time alone while Kairi was in the hospital the night before.

"About what?"

Riku shook his head. "Nothing; I just wanted to know why you thought she'd like this better."

Sora frowned at him. "Why? Are you mad at her?"

Riku looked up, surprised. "Why would I be mad at her?"

"You know, for overdoing it," Sora replied with a shrug, tucking the bottom corners of his blankets under his mattress in a vain attempt to keep them on the bed.

"I'm not angry with her," Riku said neutrally.

"But?"

He was quiet for a long time, spreading Kairi's blankets over her bed. "She scared me."

Sora hopped over to help him. "Me too," he said, voice hushed. Riku, sensing he had something else to say, stayed silent. "You all scared me," Sora finally said, stilling. "I don't know what I'd do if -"

Riku cut him off, putting a hand on his shoulder. "That won't ever happen." Seeing Sora watching him from the corners of his eyes, he added, "We caught Bellwether. They're already working on a cure."

"Xehanort's Heartless is really gone?" Sora whispered. Riku's hand tensed on his shoulder; he almost jerked it away.

"Yes," he said, tone of voice barely neutral, "He's gone."

Sora saw the look on his face, "Sorry."

Riku did drop his hand then, walking over to the pilot's chair. "You didn't do anything wrong," he said, sitting down. Sora watched him for a moment, then went to go get his stuff out of his locker.

"I'm going to call Mickey," Riku announced a moment later.

"'kay."

Kairi came upstairs as the phone rang. She looked at the beds, then at Sora. He slipped past her and wordlessly headed down the hatch. "Everything ok?" she asked Riku, padding up beside him. He was about to answer, but then Mickey picked up the phone.

"Hiya, Riku! How are ya?"

"Hey, Mickey. We're good. We found out what was causing such a disturbance in this world; it's been taken care of."

"That's swell! Great job," The King beamed at him across the video feed. Riku gave him a small smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Mickey glanced at Kairi over Riku's shoulder, and decided not to mention it. "Hello to you too, Kairi!"

She waved. "Hi, Your Majesty!"

"Gosh, you all look so different. Must be an interesting world!"

Riku chuckled, "Yeah, it is. Listen, Mickey, I was calling to see if you had something else for us to do."

Mickey tilted his head, hand on his chin, while he stared at the ceiling for a beat. "Gee, I don't think so," he finally said, "but I haven't talked to Master Yen Sid in a while."

"Should we report to him?"

"Nah," Mickey shook his head, "I think now that Xehanort's gone and Master Aqua's here, he's going back into retirement, so we shouldn't bother him too much."

"Sora wanted us to meet some of the friends he's made," Kairi interjected. "Would that be alright?"

"I think that's a great idea! Just mind the world order," he punctuated his sentence with his characteristic laugh.

"Of course," Riku agreed. Beside him, Kairi nodded.

"Oh!" Mickey said, "I almost forgot! Aqua wanted me to tell ya to call her when ya get a chance. She had some things she wanted to talk about, 'Master to Master'. Think ya could do that, pal?"

Riku nodded, "Sure. Just send me her number."

"I'll have Chip 'n Dale pass it along. I'm not very good with these gummi phones yet," he laughed again.

"No problem," Riku replied, smiling fondly. There was some noise in the background on Mickey's end. It sounded a bit like a conversation, but at a distance. The King looked back over his shoulder.

"Welp, looks like I gotta be going. It was good to talk to ya! Don't be a stranger," he added, mock stern.

"Same to you," Riku replied.

"Talk to you soon!" Kairi chimed, waving again. Mickey smiled, then disconnected the call.

Riku tucked the phone back in his pocket. He glanced at Kairi out of the corner of his eyes. She was half leaning, half sitting on the arm of the chair with her back towards him, balancing her weight on her hands. He'd seen her lean that way against walls and logs and heaven knows what else a thousand times. Living with her these last few weeks had reminded him of a lot of little things like that. It wasn't too long ago that he didn't think he'd ever see them again. Now, he guessed, she was carefully giving him space. "The beds were Sora's idea," he finally said, when it was clear she wasn't going to cave in and talk first.

Kairi looked over her shoulder at him. "Really? Did he say why?"

Riku shook his head, "Not really."

"Did you even ask him?" she said, frowning.

"Yeah, but he didn't give me a real answer."

"What did he say?" she demanded, standing to turn and cross her arms at him.

Riku kept his face neutral, "Just that he thought you might like it better."

Kairi looked surprised, but not unpleasantly so. She really didn't think Sora would have been paying that much attention. "Well… it's not like I mind," she admitted, carefully studying the floor. "It might be nice," she added, peeking back up at him.

"Doesn't matter to me," Riku said, standing and walking away from her. That made her frown. She trotted after him, grabbing his arm. He stopped walking, but didn't look at her.

"Liar," she accused, no venom behind the word. "Why are you both upset then?" she added when he didn't deny it.

Riku worked his jaw, opening and closing his mouth once. He doesn't trust me not to be possessed again, he thought, but didn't say. It seemed too harsh of a sentence to say to Kairi… and he didn't want to admit how much it still stung.

"Riku…" she murmured, moving to stand in front of him, still keeping her hand on his arm. She looked so worried, he forced himself to smile.

"It's really nothing, Kairi," he lied, "We're probably just tired."

Kairi punched him on the arm, not as hard as she could but hard enough to hurt. She'd been learning from Judy. "Liar," she repeated. Turning, she walked away from him and grabbed her stuffed animals from her locker, muttering "Stupid boys" under her breath as she laid them out.

Sora came upstairs, and it was Riku's turn to wordlessly slip past him. He glanced at Riku, then at Kairi and flopped down on his bed, pulling out his phone for something to do.

Kairi could only stand the silence for so long before blurting, "You two don't have to hide things from me, you know," in a tone that was a shade and a half more harsh than she meant it to be. She was sitting on her bed, curled around a big purple monkey plush. If Sora remembered correctly, Riku had given her that for her first birthday on the Islands. It had been almost as big as she was, then. Now it was almost more grey than purple and the fur was all worn.

"What happened?" he asked, surprised at how calm his own voice sounded. He was anything but calm. His hands fidgeted with his necklace, now that he'd set down his phone.

"Riku's being Riku," she muttered, lowering her voice just in case his wolf hearing was better than her lion hearing. "Something's bothering him, but he won't tell me what."

The right-hand point of Sora's crown dug into his thumb. He pressed harder, just shy of breaking the skin. "It's Riku - who knows what he's thinking?" he muttered, also keeping quiet just in case.

"We do," Kairi insisted, "We're his best friends."

Sora moved his thumb to a different point. "We can't do anything if he won't talk to us."

"You're not sharing either," she pointed out, snuggling closer to the stuffed toy.

"What d'you mean?" He pulled his knees to his chest, wrapping one arm around them. His thumb started shuffling quickly between points.

Kairi gave him a look that instantly quantified how stupid she thought that question was - seagulls asked smarter questions. Jellyfish asked smarter questions. Sora wanted to crawl back into that stupid memory egg and sleep for another year until he could ask smarter questions, or, better yet, answer smarter questions. He pressed his thumb down hard, breaking the skin without noticing.

The stupidest thing was that he couldn't even think of anything to say. He laid his chin on his knees, ears flat against his back.

"Sora?" Kairi asked as he turned his head away. "I'm sorry. That was mean." She came over and sat next to him, just barely not touching her shoulder to his shoulder. She had carried over her stuffed monkey, who was very creatively named Violet.

Sora lifted his head, giving her a small, fake smile. "It's fine, Kairi," he said. Then, lowering his chin to rest back on his knees, he stared forward and added, "I've just felt weird since yesterday. It's no big deal."

"Because of what happened?" she prodded.

"Mmh," he nodded. Then, out of nowhere he laughed, wiping roughly at the corner of his eye with the heel of his hand. "Man, Roxas is usually the gloomy one."

Kairi chuckled, a little helplessly. "Do you ever miss them?" she asked. "I used to talk to Naminé all the time…"

"It's really weird," Sora replied, "Roxas and I didn't talk a lot, and I didn't even know Ven and Xion were there. But I still get this empty feeling sometimes."

"Me too," Kairi murmured. She bumped her shoulder to his, and he looked at her again, this time with a real smile.

"I guess we could call them," he offered.

She laughed, "Yeah, we should sometime - not tonight though." Then, quieter, "It's still not the same."

Riku came back upstairs. He saw them sitting together on Sora's bed, shoulders touching, and quickly turned towards his locker, putting stuff away. Sora and Kairi fell silent at his presence.

The silence somehow got louder the longer it stretched on. Sora was fidgeting with his necklace again; Kairi was fussing with a tuft of longer hair on top of Violet's head. Riku couldn't dawdle any longer. He schooled his expression and turned off the cabin lights, laying down on his back.

"Riku?" Sora asked quietly.

Riku rolled on his side, watching them both. They all tried and failed to make any sense out of each other's expressions.

"Are you ok?" Sora ventured again, after running a dozen other sentences through his head. This one seemed the safest, the least stupid.

"Why wouldn't I be ok?" Riku asked.

Kairi tapped his leg with her foot. "We know when you're upset, silly," she chided.

"Are you ok?" Riku turned the question around and pointed it at Sora.

"Yeah… no… I don't know," Sora responded, running a sheepish hand through his hair.

Riku's nose twitched. "You're bleeding," he murmured.

Sora was confused, then he looked at his hands. Rabbits, historically, do not have good night vision, and here Sora was no different. He couldn't see the blood on his thumb.

Kairi reached out and took his hand, saying, "Your thumb."

"Oh…" He looked at it for a moment, before sucking the blood off self-consciously. Riku and Kairi exchanged a look.

"So what's wrong?" Riku asked quietly. Kairi bumped her shoulder against Sora's again. He looked between the two of them, and they both tried to ignore the slight smell of fear coming off of him.

"It's stupid," Sora finally said, fiddling with the blankets under his hands. They waited. Eventually, after what felt like ten painstaking minutes but was really more like thirty seconds, he muttered, "I just know I'll sleep better if I'm by you," so quietly that they probably wouldn't have been able to catch it if it wasn't for their animal hearing.

"Me too," Kairi admitted, a firmness to her voice, "I don't like sleeping all the way over there by myself."

Riku bumped Sora's knee with his closed fist. "See? Not stupid at all."

Sora looked at him, surprised, "But you seemed mad."

Riku shook his head, asking, "Why would I be mad about this?"

"I mean… I didn't ask."

"It's fine, Sora." They dropped each other's gaze, falling into another awkward silence.

Kairi looked between the two of them, then tapped Riku's leg with her foot again. "Your turn," she ordered.

"No," Riku said flatly, patience up. He rolled back over, staring at the ceiling.

Sora frowned, then took his pillow and bopped Riku in the head with it, saying, "No fair! If I had to talk so do you."

Riku shoved the pillow off of his face. He had an entire arsenal of withering looks, and he fixed Sora with one that could shrivel a houseplant in five seconds flat. Sora completely missed it in the dark.

"C'mon!" he prodded, shoving Riku's shoulder.

"I'm fine," he insisted.

"If you don't talk, I'm going to sit on you," Kairi threatened, mock glaring. Riku rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, Riku," Sora asked, eyes wide and pleading, "What's wrong?"

Riku was almost tetchy enough to think he was doing that on purpose. Almost. He sat up with a sigh, running a hand through where his hair usually was - as a wolf, it was all empty space and short fur.

"I didn't expect you of all people to doubt me, Sora," he said calmly, face slightly turned away.

"Sorry," Sora murmured, tugging at the hem of his pajama shorts. "It's just… minus Xehanort's Heartless's long speeches… going savage really wasn't all that different."

Kairi and Riku both looked at him in surprise. "Oh…" Riku murmured. It wasn't like he didn't remember that fight. He did. It had just never occurred to him how it must have looked from the other end. He hadn't really wanted to think about it. Ansem had, without hesitation, wanted to kill Sora, or at least turn him into a good-sized heartless. Riku had agreed with his single-minded goal, mostly because it carried the promise of restoring Kairi. And he had been so angry then - at Sora, at Maleficent, at himself. He hadn't cared about the consequences.

The consequences were his best friend refusing to look him in the face.

"Really?" he asked, all quiet and still as he watched Sora's face and his fidgeting hands. Sora peeked up at him, watching for a moment.

"I didn't think it would happen to you again, not the same way," Sora offered, guessing.

"Seeing us like that must have been really scary," Kairi mused, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Sora nodded. "Seeing anyone like that was scary."

"You forgave me anyway," Riku murmured.

"You're my best friend," Sora said simply, then he lifted his head and smirked, "You're not getting rid of me that easy."

Riku shook his head, but he was smiling. "We should get some sleep."

"Yeah," Sora agreed. Kairi yawned, reflexively making it a long, loud, lion yawn. She put a hand over her mouth in surprise, even though this wasn't the first time this had happened.

"Those always startle me," she said, getting up and climbing into her own bed. Sora wriggled under his covers as Riku laid back down.

"Good night Riku, Kairi!" he chimed.

"Good night," Riku replied.

"Don't let the bedbugs bite!" Kairi said cheerfully.

"I thought it was 'dream of bedbugs tonight?'" Sora asked, forgetting that Timon and Pumbaa had taught him that.

His friends just laughed at him.

That night, as all three of them slept, Sora curled up facing Riku. His covers were still on in the morning.

There was a small gathering outside the gummi ship. (Still cloaked, but now to look like a small camper rather than just invisible.) Nick and Judy had brought Clawhauser, Francine, and Chief Bogo with them to see the kids off. Everyone hugged goodbye and promised to visit soon, and then Judy ducked back into the police cruiser and pulled out a sapling. She passed it into Kairi's hands.

"I know you texted me about wanting to leave something when you go, for us to remember you by. I thought a tree might be just the thing. And I mean, this city can always use more trees," she grinned.

Kairi beamed at her. "It's perfect. Thank you." She turned, but Sora and Riku were already holding her trowel and watering can. They'd ducked out to go get them while Kairi was distracted, having been tipped off by Nick. They passed them to her. In not much time at all she'd planted the little sapling in a good sunny spot, similar to where other trees were in the lots around them.

Later, when the boys asked her about it, she said, "I just want something to follow, in case we get separated, I guess. When I see one of our trees, I'll have to remember how it got there, and where to go next." It didn't surprise Riku at all that she was worried about forgetting.

Coda

The room is dark, but not just shadowed - there is no light, no walls, no floor, no ceilings. Just dark. Still, somehow, figures are just visible, shadowy shapes with flickering blue highlights. One, tall, the source of the blue light, is speaking. Well, more like shouting, "The little half-pint cheated! We had a deal. His soul is mine, fair and square."

Across from them stood an older woman. Even hunched from age, her stance is proud. Curly grey hair is coiled in a top-knot above her head. Under her lip and around her biceps black tattoos swirl. She glares at the first speaker.

"He is one of my people; I will go get him," she says, voice calm but brooking no argument. "You stay out of this," she adds, pointing. "I will make sure he pays what is owed." She leaves, and as she walks she stands a little straighter, then a little straighter still. Her hair turns black.

Notes:

And we're back! Sorry to deny you all a longer boss battle, but I didn't feel it would serve the chapter very well. Genuinely more upset at removing the victory toot-toots last chapter though. Much harder to feel victorious with there always being at least one ram in the lab with them.

Title this week actually does come from a song - Michael Giacchino's work is full of great puns, and the Zootopia soundtrack is no exception. I'm pretty sure that's not actually the track for this scene but... I don't care. It fit the chapter lol

Would you guys be interested in me drawing out the trio's new Keyblades from this world?

Special thanks to ShinXcrown, NightSora, and Jenmoon1 on AO3 for your enthusiasm and comments! I appreciate everyone reading this so much and really enjoy getting to interact with you. :) Thanks again and see you next week!