Smaller, More Honest Souls: Arc of Redemption

by MasterCaedus

Jaune Arc would have done anything to get back the woman he loved. And he did do anything; he did everything and it still wasn't enough. He lost his way, and could only find it for the sake of his friends and family. Now he has a chance to fix everything: Sora & Oz send Jaune with Yang to find her mother's Nobody and protect the worlds. But even a past you confront can haunt you.

24. Truly Savage

AN:

Howdy. Sorry this took so long. There's been a lot going on at home that needed my attention. Let's see... Happy Belated Chanukah, and Merry Christmas. Probably Happy New Year, too if I'm being realistic.

Haven't had a chance to watch Volume 6 yet. I have seen some things on the internet, though. I kind of find it funny that what I put in the first SMHS for how Ozpin survived and how Salem survived is the exact opposite of the show. She's immortal of the body, he's immortal of the Heart/Soul.

Now for responses:

To Gamelover41592: Yeah, I really liked the Night Howler Heartless idea. It was the first concept I came up with for the Zootopia world.

To Remnant7: Thanks, I really want each world to feel like it isn't rushed even though you only see it for like 4-7 chapters at most.

To G3r1k: Oh, the puns must always be strong. And it is too bad I'm not sending Cardin to Zootopia. Though, if anyone in RWBY could find a way to suck even after being in a great Disney movie, it might be Cardin.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! See you later!

Chapter 24: Truly Savage

"Are we there yet?"

Jaune rubbed the bridge of his nose. "No, we aren't, Yang," he sighed as he answered the question for the hundredth time since entering this creepy, decrepit subway.

"Are we there yet?"

Judy groaned and shook her head. "No, Nick, we aren't."

The two traded a tired look and just shook their heads before following the trail of flowers again. There was an intake of breath from Yang and Jaune spun on his heel, eye twitching. "What?" Yang asked worriedly. "I was just going to ask who you thought we were going to find at the end of this trail?" She paused and tilted her head to the side. "You didn't you think I was going to ask 'Are we there yet?' again?"

"That reminds me – Carrots, are we there yet?" Nick asked, grinning with all the enjoyment he got out of Judy's exasperated glare. "Well, are we?"

"One of these days, Nick," Judy replied, deciding that trying to get on him for this just wasn't worth it right then and there. "One of these days..."

"Oh, Carrots, if I stopped you wouldn't know what to do," Nick pointed out. "It would almost be worse for Good Boy over there if Goldilocks stopped. After all, he's learned to give in and have fun with it, now."

"Not with 'Are we there yets,'" Jaune pointed out, rubbing his temple. "Never with that."

"Ah, spoilsport," Yang muttered with a grin.

"Adorable," Mercury growled, a good ten feet back. "Truly. But you guys overshot the turn back here."

The four others turned around to see the leopard was indeed right. Distracted as they had been by Nick's and Yang's poor attempts at levity, they had failed to see that the trail of bright blue flowers had angled up and off the tracks, towards a stairway leading out of the subway. "Oh! Thanks, Merc," Jaune said, rushing up to high five Mercury. The ex-assassin just sidestepped the attempt and moved towards the stairs, leaving a dejected Jaune to stare at his hand then look at Merc's back as he ascended. "He... left me hanging..."

Yang hopped up and gave him a high five. "There, now you're not hanging," she said, nudging his knee with her hip when she hit the ground. "Ignore him, 'kay?"

"..." Jaune shook his head and followed Mercury up the stairs, dog ears drooping to hide his eyes.

"Ah, I know that look," Nick said as he came to a stop beside Yang. She glanced over to see his eyes locked on Jaune. "When I was a kid, I wanted to be a scout, you know sell popcorn and get badges. The whole deal. So my mom saved up for months to get me that uniform and send me to the first meeting. When I got there, my 'friends' put a muzzle on me, all for being a fox." His gaze turned to Yang. "Not easy for a kid to deal with the people he trusts have it out for him."

Yang growled. "We're not kids," she hissed before bounding after Jaune.

Judy rolled her eyes from beside Nick. "I said the same thing when I was a kid."

"You too, huh? Glad it wasn't just me," he joked, giving her a pat on the back before the two began to follow their protectors. "Course, I couldn't cut a bus in half when I was a kid, so..."

"I shudder to think what you would have done, Nick," Judy said dryly, earning a scoff of false indignation from her partner. "If you had a key that could unlock any door, where would Zootopia's treasury be now?"

"Fair point," Nick conceded.

"Where are we?" Mercury asked as the group reached the top of the stairway, crossing his arms and looking around. They had followed the trail of flowers into an abandoned building with a huge open space. There were objects of various size all around them, all covered in massive white sheets. A huge mammoth with a spear stood at the top of the stairs, glaring down at those entering from the subway. Scaffolds near unpainted or unfinished walls sat silently, waiting for someone to come. Massive lights dangled from stone arches, flooding the entire building with light. The ceiling was glass, though no light came in from outside. "Night already?"

Judy checked her phone. "Not for another few hours," she muttered worriedly, her eyes drifting up to the glass ceiling.

"Then that means the Heartless' strength is peaking." The group turned to Jaune, his blue eyes steeled like his Heart for the coming battle. He turned back to Judy and Nick. "I'd feel better if you stayed back with one of us."

"We're seeing this through to the end," Judy resolutely said, standing taller.

Nick grimaced, significantly less enthused by that road. "Eh..." Judy elbowed him in the gut. "Oof! I mean, yep! All the way through."

Yang laughed. "You sound like Jaune, Merc, and me back when we got mixed up with Sora," she exclaimed, mirth growing.

Judy frowned. "And now you regret it?"

Merc shrugged. "I mean, a little."

"No," Yang growled at the leopard before turning back to Nick and Judy. "Just wished I'd known what I was getting into."

Nick laughed nervously. "And, uh, what was that?"

"Oh, end of the World, apocalypse, brainwashing type stuff. And that was before we got sent off on our own to deal with -"

"That but with an evil twin," Merc said, gesturing at Jaune.

Judy and Nick traded a glance. "Then... let's keep going," Nick said for the both of them.

Jaune sighed. "Okay. If that's your decision," he said. He gestured at the trail of flowers. "Let's go." He took off, Keyblade reappearing in his hand as they moved, all getting ready for what was coming.

They followed the trail to its end, the ledge above a large, open space in the ground leading to an exhibit of animals acting like – in Yang, Jaune, and Mercury's experience at least – animals. Walking on all fours, stalking through grass. The models were very detailed, both predator and prey. The group looked over the ledge, peering down. "But where's the trail go from here?"

"I doubt too far," uttered a voice from the other side of the hole. The group glanced up to see a small sheep come out of the shadows, her pink glasses and white puffball atop her head giving her a very non-threatening look.

Everyone gasped. Well, except Mercury. He looked around at the shocked faces of the others, then gasped as well. "Oh, God! It's you? You're the villain?" he asked dramatically. "You... uh... The... er... Ewe Sheeperton?" He sighed and shook his head. He threw his hands up in exasperation. "No, guys, come on. I have no clue. Who the hell is this?"

"Mayor Bellwether?!" Judy shouted, surprise echoing.

"Right... Uh, wait... no, that doesn't help," Mercury sighed, rubbing his thumb between his eyes.

Nick scoffed. "But you helped us."

Mercury nodded. "Ohhhhhh... Okay. Okay, that makes more sense, now. You thought she was a friend!" he said. He turned to Yang and laughed. "Jeez, that happens to you a lot."

Yang turned an eye on him, narrowing both. "Really? You are going to bring that up?"

Mercury glanced at the ground, then back up at her. "Yes?"

"Being ignored by a pred," Bellwether spat, drawing their attention again. "Of course. How normal for me... Ugh, Get them."

Jaune and Mercury reacted before any of the others, the smell of Darkness filling their throats before any of the others knew what was happening. A wall of Darkness exploded towards them. Jaune and Merc jumped in front of the others, prepared to take the blow. Still, the force of the attack managed to catch the entire group and sending them tumbling off of the edge and into the exhibit below, the outworlders suffering the most. The ground rushed to meet them with a series of thuds that melted together, the result of landing in a single large heap in such quick sequence. Bellwether looked over the edge, her pet Night Howler floating menacingly beside her, its blue petals dripping with Darkness now.

Judy and Nick pushed up first, having landed on top of everyone else. Judy glared up at the sheep. "Why are you doing this!?"

Her eyes locked onto Judy. "Oh, if only you could have gone with the lines you were being fed," Bellwether sighed, brushing her hair back with one hand. "Maybe then I wouldn't have to have your stupid little fox kill you."

The Night Howler's petals grew excited, dancing and casting off more Darkness like pollen as an unspoken command filled its broken thoughts of hunger. The agitated dance from side to side quickened, and the Darkness congealed in a stream shooting from the Heartless emblem on one petal towards the surprised fox faster than he could react. Judy could react fast enough, though, seeing as she was a bunny. She leaped into his shoulder, sending Nick tumbling across the ground as she took the full brunt of the Heart altering attack.

Jaune and Merc jumped up just after the blast hit her, having finally recovered from taking the brunt of the attack, and Yang clambered out from beneath them. "Carrots!" Nick was screaming, crawling towards the unconscious rabbit. "Carrots, come on!" He put his hands on her back and began shaking her. "Judy!"

Jaune and the others ran over, casting healing spells to try and fix what had happened, but it was no use. The rabbit remained unconscious. "Huh. That's certainly different from what I expected," Bellwether said, placing one hoof on her hip and tossing a glance to the Night Howler. "I kind of want to see how it plays out."

As if in response, the stream of Darkness connecting the rabbit and Heartless congealed, strengthening and solidifying into an aura around the unconscious bunny. The others were tossed back by a pulse of energy, spread across the exhibit by the radial force. Various animal replicas splintered as bodies crashed through them, grass was flattened by tumbling forms, and jagged trenches were carved as weapons were summoned and dug into the ground. Jaune came to a stop first, catching Nick, who had been sent flying the same way. Yang and Mercury were next, their weapons not as useful for stopping without a surface to rebound from. Both kicked off of the walls where they had landed, concrete cracking from the force as they flew towards their new opponent.

"They can't hurt her!" Nick begged, his hand clenched tight around something. Jaune didn't know what; he had more important things to deal with.

"I don't think that's going to be a problem," Jaune muttered dryly as the massive, fanged, clawed, flaming form of a bunny made of Darkness swatted Yang to the ground, then lashed out with its powerful hind legs in a blow that overpowered his own kick and sent his knee right into his face. The tiny gray bunny in the core of the creature moved in sync with the larger shadow, though the Darkness seemed to be slowly encroaching on Judy. Snuffing out her Light, ever so slowly.

Jaune put Nick down carefully, then braced and pulled the Keyblade from the ground. "Nick, find -" he began, trying to implore the fox to hide while he tried to figure something out. A bolt of pure Darkness flew from the shadow's maw towards Jaune before he could finish, and he was forced to bring his Keyblade down to block the attack. The Keyblade collided with the bolt of energy, naturally summoning up a small wall of magic that held off the force coming his way, while Nick was sent tumbling into the wall by the winds whipping around the room.

"Ooh, this is good so far," Bellwether said, an evil grin on her face.

Jaune ignored her and tried to put one foot in front of the other to approach Judy. Losing that second point of balance was not the answer, it turned out, and he lost control of the block, sending him back first into the ground. The bolt of energy flew over him and crashed into the wall above Nick, vaporizing it completely. Nick yelped and clutched at his tail, which had almost been in the way of the attack. "Watch it, Carrots! I'm not as indestructible as our weird friends!"

Yang leaped up from behind the rabbit, fist glowing with Light magic. "Come on, Judy! That wasn't nice!" And she brought her fist down on the head of the shadow, the Light magic burning through it for a moment, only for the Darkness to surge once more. Energy flooded out of the wound, solidifying and colliding with Yang's head. She grunted in pain, flipping midair before Judy leaped up and swatted the golden rabbit effortlessly to the ground. Yang hit the floor with a loud thud, the flames of her hair flaring briefly as her semblance absorbed the force before extinguishing. The shadowy rabbit's claws glowed with deadly Dark Blizzard spells and she hopped off of the air to attack the prone brawler.

Mercury and Jaune rushed forward, kicking up and raising the Keyblade respectively. The ice magic exploded around them, freezing the ground but leaving the three safe. Judy rebounded, spinning out of control for a brief moment before the pair jumped up after her, grabbing hold of the large ears flopping about on the shadow's head. With a mighty heave, the duo brought her around and tossed her at the ground, where a recovered Yang waited with a fist of Light readied. The rabbit's legs hit another invisible wall and it bounced out of the way of the punch, and the bright glow slammed into Jaune and Mercury. The duo yelped as the bright energy burned across them. They lost control of their fall and Yang jumped forward, groaning as she tried to get in the right place to catch them. She managed to catch them, though that just meant all three could get hit by a the claws of Judy's shadow as she jumped off the air again. The trio slammed into the concrete wall, then hit the ground, breathing heavily. "Is it just me, or is she stronger than Finnick?" Yang groaned, pushing herself up and into a defensive position.

"If you three can't stop a rabbit under the control of the Night Howler, then imagine a cheetah or a tiger like this! Zootopia is mine, now. Predators, those – ha – savages, will never be trusted again."

"Could you stuff a wool sock in it!?" Mercury snapped at the sheep. "You creepy sheepy!?"

"... Kill him first."

"Of frickin' course," Mercury growled under his breath as the glowing yellow eyes of the rabid rabbit turned on him.

"I'm just glad it's not me for once," Jaune whispered to Yang, eliciting a barely contained snort.

The rabbit's legs tensed, readying to leap ahead and shred her friends. Claws began to glow with sickly, green magic that burned the false grass beneath them. "I never once thought the face of death would be a bunny rabbit," Yang muttered.

Jaune glanced at her, looking her up and down before turning away. "I expected a bunny rabbit to be the face of death," he admitted.

"Really? Wh – hey!" Yang snapped.

"Great. I die next to that," Mercury said, sounding utterly defeated even while he got into a ready position. "... Whatever it is."

"Carrots, wait!"

The rabbit turned and glared at Nick, who was standing with his left paw palm out at Judy, his right one clenched at his waist. He licked his – er, Jaune supposed 'lips' was the best analogy at the moment – lips nervously as the rabbit shadow cocked its head to the side. "You could kill him first, too. Playing with my wool without my permission!"

Nick shook his head. "Yeah, probably should've asked, but like Chester over there said, could you stuff a wool sock in it?" Nick growled. "Unless your evil plan is complaining us all to death." He turned back to the rabbit. "Carrots – Judy... come on. You're going to let Smellwether control you?"

"Don't call me that!" Bellwether snapped, her voice growing unhinged.

Nick glanced at Yang, Jaune, and Mercury and motioned with his eyes towards the Heartless. The trio made no acknowledgment that they had understood him, but he knew they had. "Carrots, come on," he mumbled as the rabbit began to advance on him, claws digging into the ground. The fox held his paw out, palm up, offering it to her. "Wake up, for me."

The rabbit leaped at him, maw gaping wide. Nick felt his Heart plummet to his gut, and a sadness spread through his limbs. The others turned and rushed towards the scene, knowing they wouldn't make it in time. Nick bared his teeth, enraged. "Carrots! I'll fight for you even if it kills me!" he screamed, rushing her as well, like an idiot.

A Light flashed from his chest and from Judy's, and the shadow vanished. The stream of Darkness flew back towards the Heartless and it screamed in pain as the energy rebounded through its core. A small, unmoving creature slammed into Nick's chest and sent him to the ground. He grabbed her head and pulled it up. "Carrots? Carrots! Wake up!" His right fist clenched tighter on her back. "Carrots!"

"Oh, well this has turned out better than I could have hoped!" the sheep shouted from beside the Heartless She reached into her pocket and pulled out a phone, quickly dialing for the police. "Hello? Oh, dear, a fox has gone savage and is attacking Officer Hopps at the Natural History Museum! Please come quick, there are bystanders! Oh, God, I think she's about to die!"

"So, what? You're going to sic that monster on us now that you've killed Judy!?" Nick screamed at the sheep as the call ended, tears running from his eyes.

Jaune felt his Heart sink. She was... dead? He turned with rage up to the Heartless and Bellwether. They were going to pay, they were – He stopped when Mercury pulled him in tight for a hug. "Wait. Plan," the former assassin hissed under his breath.

"It's not like she's the first animal I've killed through all this," Bellwether said dismissively. She pocketed her phone and laughed. "And once I pin the blame on you, a fox, a predator, for the murder of hero cop Judy Hopps? Ha! Well, I won't even have to make another predator go savage. The prey of Zootopia will take care of everything themselves, call for me to make changes. Changes I will, of course, make. It'll protect animals from those nasty, evil, savage predators."

"But the only evil animal is you!" Yang growled. "Framing and hurting predators so you can have power!"

"... And respect," the sheep laughed.

"We'll tell the cops everything when they get here!"

"Even if you survived," Bellwether told them, smirking. "It'd be my word – Mayor Bellwether, who called in the crime, witnessed everything and is so shaken by it – versus yours."

"Actually..." Jaune froze and pushed out of Mercury's grip. A woozy, half-unconscious Judy Hopps was sitting up next to Nick, a triumphant grin on her face. "It'll be your word, against yours."

Nick grinned and raised his right hand. From between his fingers came the sheep's voice: "It's not like she's the first animal I've killed through all this."

Bellwether's smirk slowly disintegrated. She slammed a hoof on the ground and shrieked a command at the Heartless. "Destroy it!"

The creature flew into action, a horrendous shriek echoing as it charged the defenseless rabbit and fox. Darkness sparked in its hands, and a large pair of garden shears appeared in its hands, only to split apart into a pair of blades. The blades arced towards the pair, and they could do little but prepare to die. Except that the Heartless was moving so slow, Mercury thought. He was in front of it in a flash, his heel planted firmly on its face. There was a momentary pause as the monster's momentum was immediately frozen, and then reversed. It flew away, soaring over the edge of the pit until it hit something large and fragile, accompanied by the clatter of shattering glass or crystal.

"You two stay safe. We've got this," Mercury said, tossing a grin over his shoulder. He tensed his legs and leaped, bouncing from wall to wall until he was out of the exhibit. Nick had done it. He'd somehow saved Judy from the Darkness, a Darkness so powerful it could rip holes in time, or something. Which meant, for the first time since Em had been kidnapped by Ja – by OJ, Mercury felt hope bubbling up in his gut.

He reached the Heartless well before the others, and gave the stupid sheep a good nudge in the small of her back as he passed so she tipped over into the exhibit. Nick and Judy might not have the strength that those from Remnant had, but they could have fun fighting one weak sheep and getting some justice along the way, right?

He slid to a stop just before the Heartless' shears would have sliced off his head, and the solid darkness passed by him without hurting him. The purple Dark Balloon flying from the shears was another matter, and the magic that hit him was overwhelming. Mercury felt his Aura fluctuate wildly as the spell exploded, burning his skin as his Aura worked overtime to heal it almost immediately. He roared in pain and was thrown back, saved only by Jaune catching him as he ran up, a Cure spell bringing his Aura back up to stability. "Okay. Weaker, not weak," Mercury growled. He shoved Jaune away from him as Yang sprinted by them both, hair aglow with power and rage.

"You know what happens to a flower in a fire!?" Yang shouted as she leaped up, fist glowing with red hot embers. "Same as everything else!" Her fist came down, colliding with the garden shears as they came up at the last moment. Fire exploded from the point of contact, and the Night Howler was sent skidding backwards, the shears staying crossed in front of it. As it forced itself to a stop, it became obvious that Yang's attack had done far more than it had expected. A thin crack appeared on the outer shear, snaking along the blade's width until, with a sharp and echoing clang, the weapon shattered in the Heartless' left hand. The form was now formless, the separate parts of the weapon drifting upward as black smoke and eventually vanishing.

The three warriors pressed this advantage, sprinting forward in tandem before splitting off to confront the Heartless from every side. Yang attacked from the front, having firmly locked its attention on her with her last attack, while Jaune and Merc attacked from opposite sides. She lashed out, fist driving towards the monster's head. It floated to the side, her attack and tiny, rabbit body flying past. Its dodge took it into the path of Mercury's attack, forcing the powerful Heartless to pivot the remaining half of the garden shears to catch the boot. Ice shot out from the point of contact, spreading along the blade and extending to the ground and over the creature's hand. The Heartless was stuck, giving Jaune more than enough time to get in close, blade coated with Blizzard energy as well, and deliver a pair of quick hits on its head. Ice exploded across the Night Howler's skull just as its powerful form tore the shear from the ice.

The now blinded Heartless swung the shear around, catching Jaune on his armored shoulder as he fell. He was tossed by the glancing blow, crashing through glass and into another exhibit. Jaune made a whining dog noise as he hit the foot of some animal or another. He slowly opened his eyes and groaned, forcing the noise to be more human as it started to come out as another canine whimper. He shoved the tip of the Keyblade into the ground and pushed himself up before opening his eyes.

The Keyblade was glowing.

Jaune swallowed anxiously.

The Keyblade was glowing a brilliant gold. And it wasn't because of him. He glanced around nervously, the fight he was part of no longer of importance to him, just the Keyblade's spontaneous activity. He was in an exhibit, standing in the middle of a false river that separated a pride of bipedal lions in cavemen clothes from a tribe of anthropomorphic zebras in loincloths. The leaders of the tribes had their hands clasped, and their weapons lowered or unready for combat. Jaune realized what this was, and why the Keyblade was glowing, all at once. This was an exhibit that was the core of Zootopia: the birth of peace between predator and prey, both conquering their Darkness and fear to join each other. The most core concept of the world itself, a place that represented the world's very Heart.

Its Keyhole.

The clasped hands were glowing now, pulsing with white Light in time with the Kingdom Key.

"JAUNE, LOOK OUT!"

Jaune turned, bringing the Keyblade with him. The Heartless had escaped from the beating of Yang and Mercury and was charging him, now. No, not him – the Keyhole. Jaune tightened his grip on the Keyblade. The monster was worse for wear, with the remaining shear left buried in the ground and various patches of flame or ice eating away at the petals of its lower body. Half of its head was still frozen solid from Jaune's attack, and the remaining eye had gone scarlet with rage. It was no less dangerous despite these injuries, and this last gasp of power might have made it more dangerous. Jaune didn't know. All he knew was that he had to stop it. No matter what it took, he couldn't let this world die. He sprinted towards the Heartless, Keyblade raised. He got closer and closer, the danger growing with every step. Jaune brought the Keyblade around, the glow turning into a blade of Light as it moved, and slammed it into the monster's aura of Darkness.

There was a pulse of energy as Dark and Light began to fight for dominance, and Jaune fought through it, resisting the power that wanted to throw him back. He shoved as hard as he could, driving the weapon into the Heartless' aura. The glow pushed deeper, getting closer to the creature's core. Jaune pushed down on the Darkness in his Heart, the hate of the creature before him. He was going to win, he was going to save his friends. If he drew only on the Light, he could –

And then the blade shattered, and Jaune felt a hollow coldness spread throughout his body. The Heartless stopped its advance immediately and floated above the him, who was now panting on his hands and knees. It was hungry for his Heart, the Heart of a Keyblade wielder. A meal rarer than even a world's Heart. And, in its hesitation, its fate was sealed. From the left came Yang, a fireball coated chandelier between her hands, and from the right came Mercury, a massive metal spear charged with Thundaga held in front of him. The chandelier and spear crashed into the Heartless with a massive explosion that barely gave Jaune time to summon a Reflega wall as it expanded towards him.

As the dust cleared, Jaune felt a pair of tiny hands pull him to his feet. "Not bad, Good Boy. You stopped it in its tracks all by yourself," Yang said, clapping the back of his leg in approval. She crossed her arms and nodded at the smoking crater. "Believe me, it was annoyingly fast, even weakened and blind. So, good job giving me and the Pu-"

"Don't call me that again," Mercury growled as he walked up from within the crater, eyes narrowed. He pulled his hand from his pocket to reveal what he had been in the crater for: a bright blue sphere, perhaps the size of a fingertip. The blue within the orb was... wrong, almost. As if it was sucking the Light out of everything around it, or would be if it were not for the thin but strong surace containing it. Mercury's face curled into a smirk. "I got the thing."

Jaune and Yang began to grin and a feeling of accomplishment began to flood their Hearts, something they had not felt in what felt like a very long time. They had just gotten to one of the four remaining Items that OJ needed, before he could even find it. If they could get it to Sora and Ozpin before OJ could find them... they could stop him from ever achieving his goal. Saving Emerald and stopping that monster were one step closer, visible on the horizon. Yang grabbed the sphere to examine it, then passed it off to Jaune – which made Mercury flinch nervously.

He examined it for a moment, then handed it off to Yang and returned his attention to the exhibit. The Keyblade was bright white again, like a small sun. Jaune took a deep breath, then walked towards the exhibit, stopping a few feet from the river where the zebras and lions had met. He slowly raised the Keyblade in front of him, a magical wind filling the air. The tip of the Keyblade slowly created a swirling vortex of Light, summoning the image of a keyhole into being between the lions and zebras. The air behind Jaune, Yang and Mercury noticed as they approached, was glowing with the rising sun of the Arc family. And then the light on the Keyblade and in the insignia flashed in time, and a thin beam of Light traveled from the tip of the Keyblade and into the keyhole. The world shuddered for a moment, before the echoing noise of a lock tumbling filled the museum. Jaune stared at the fading Keyhole and removed his left hand from the Keyblade, letting it fall to his side.

"What are you three doing?"

Yang yelped and quickly pocketed the orb before looking towards the source of the voice, a massive water buffalo. Standing beside Chief Bogo were Nick and Judy... and a handcuffed Bellwether. "Nothing much, Chief," Jaune said before dismissing the Keyblade. Yang's gauntlets vanished and Mercury's boots returned to their non-threatening appearance before the cop could ask for their permit. "Just waiting on you."

The police chief rubbed his nose and glared at Yang, the ghost of healed scratches and bruises becoming visible on his features. She grinned at the him and he flinched back. "What? Terrified of a tiny bunny?" Yang asked. The chief elected to ignore her rather than risk another incident.

The water buffalo instead turned and looked down at the struggling sheep. "Assistant Mayor Dawn Bellwether, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, public endangerment, inciting criminal actions..."

"I think," Nick said as he walked over, hands in his pockets, "this is going to be a while."

R W B Y

And it did. Hours. Not just the reading of charges and Miranda rights, that only took about ten minutes. But interviews, taking statements, gathering evidence, taking the footage from the museum security cameras, and dealing with the reporters that had congregated outside of the museum. That all together had taken the rest of the time. Eventually, though, the re-hired Officer Judy Hopps and freshly accepted Cadet Wilde were alone with Jaune, Yang, and Mercury were near the destroyed barn where they had first encountered the Night Howler. "I get the feeling you're hiding something from us," uttered Judy, drawing an anxious look from Jaune. "Or are you just trying to avoid witness duty?"

"Wh-whaddya mean?" Jaune chuckled and glanced from side to side. And ever the bad liar, his voice basically snapped in two as he said, "I've never hidden a secret in my entire life!"

Yang and Mercury glanced at each other over his head, then returned their gazes back to Nick and Judy. "Do you really want to try and explain flying flower monsters in court?" Mercury wondered with a shrug. He gestured at the dog. "Or aliens with magic, a weapon that appears out of thin air, or spaceships?"

"Better to be under oath and be able to just say... 'Er, brainwashing?'" Yang suggested with a scoff. "And we as witnesses would be... bad."

"It's not perjury if you don't know if it's true," Jaune supplied, glad Yang and Mercury had saved him. "At least, I think so."

"It doesn't matter," Judy said with a sigh.

Nick laughed. "That's an understatement, Carrots. Between hero cop here testifying and the recording the police downloaded from the pen, we're almost as golden as Goldilocks," he explained, gesturing at Yang.

"That is really gold," Yang muttered, looking down at her leporine body with an impressed look on her face.

"So, I guess you guys are leaving," Judy asked with a sad smile.

Jaune and Yang sighed. "Yeah."

"Forever?" Nick wondered, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Well, we have big problems to worry about. And Zootopia is mostly safe, now," Jaune explained. He laughed dryly: "If you see us again, it means things are going to get way worse."

"Or we got really weird, really fast," Yang said, causing Jaune's ears to roll back in embarrassment while Mercury guffawed at the fox and rabbit's confused glares.

"What does that mean?" Judy wondered, vaguely concerned.

Nick shook his head. "Please don't tell us," he muttered, disgust permeating his voice.

"Really, though, we'll drop in eventually," Mercury said. He looked around. "I think Em would like it here. I wonder if she could pickpocket the dogs here."

"Wha –?" Judy asked, unsure if she had just heard what she thought she had heard.

Nick put his hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Carrots. Just leave it."

The rabbit glanced at him, then sighed. "Fine." She looked up at the group. "Look, before you go, we wanted to give you something to remember us by." She reached into her pocket. "I mean, you gave us so much help. We couldn't have saved Zootopia without you."

"Understatement of the millenium," Mercury muttered.

"Anyways," Judy said, pulling her hand out and tossing a glare at the leopard, "I think you guys should have this." She opened her hand and held out a small, carrot like pen to Yang. The brawler carefully took it. "We're really going to miss you guys, so..."

"Think of it as a promise. You guys have to come back some time. It's a loan, not a gift," Nick finished. He patted Jaune on the head. "So be a good boy and come back, Homeward Bound."

"I... wait, how do you get that reference?"

"What reference?"

"Anyways... I think we better go," Judy explained before rushing forward to hugging each of them. "And you guys should, too."

"Give that evil twin of yours a punch for me," Nick said to Jaune, slapping his back. "And if he has one of those Keys, could you –?"

"Nick..."

"Eh, nothing, Carrots!" Nick said, jumping away from Jaune, but making hand signals that he wanted a Keyblade anyways. Jaune laughed and shook his head; now was not the time to get into Keyblade theory. It was way too convoluted and unclear to bother with in the last ten minutes. Instead he just gave Nick a thumbs up.

"Then, I guess this is goodbye for now," Yang said, smiling softly at the others.

Jaune sighed. "We'll see you soon, guys."

Mercury nodded. "I am in the market for a new home."

Judy and Nick frowned. "We're going to miss you guys," Judy said.

"So I guess we'll just have to see you later," Nick finished. He waved, and turned. "Try not to bring a world ending monster with you."

"No promises!" Jaune said as Judy turned and waved off, walking away with Nick until, eventually, the offworlders were alone once more.

They stared after them for a few moments, a sense of finality coming over them. If they ever did come back here, none of them would truly be the same people anymore. All three suddenly felt an urge to stay for another moment more, to avoid this change in their lives. Yang looked down at the carrot pen in her hand, then held it up to the sky. It caught the sunlight and there was a subtle glow coming from within the pen. The Keyblade appeared in Jaune's hand, unbidden, and the pen disappeared.

In Jaune's hand, the Keyblade had changed its form. The Keychain had been replaced by the pen, connected to the base of the weapon by a trio of red paws. The body of the weapon was about three and a half feet long, formed out of an interlocking series of red, used popsicle sticks. The teeth jutting out were yellow parking tickets. The handle of the weapon was red and blue, a police siren, and surrounded by a perfectly rectangular basket made from carrots that came together, green to green, ad the base of the blade. "Well... it's different," Yang supplied as they stared at the new Keyblade. She looked at Jaune. "Does it got a name?"

"Animal Accord," Jaune said, eyes locked on the weapon. He turned back to look at where Nick and Judy had left. "I'm going to miss them."

"Of course you are."

The entire group, instead of turning around, just rolled their eyes. "Why do people keep appearing behind us and speaking cryptically?" Yang wondered. "Like... what's the point. If you're an enemy, just attack. If you're a friend, greet us from the front."

"It seems a bit dumb," Mercury agreed.

Jaune shook his head. "Like they're just trying to add dramatic effect to real life, which just makes you weird."

"SHUT UP AND TURN AROUND!"

The trio sighed and did as requested, finding themselves faced with a... black cat in a black coat. He had yellow eyes and was about the same size as Jaune. "Uh... do we... know you?" Jaune asked haltingly, his confusion echoed in the grunts and nods of his team mates.

The cat blinked and glanced between all three. "You're... joking." He sighed and shook his head.

Yang shrugged, still nonplussed. "I mean, you're familiar. The voice at least."

"Then let's see if this jogs your memory," the cat snarled. He held his hand out in front of him, and black energy flashed in his palm as the Kingdom Key D burned its way into reality.

"OJ!" Jaune and Mercury snarled.

"Hm, so you're a pu-"

"Yang!" Jaune growled, slightly exasperated. "Be serious, just for now?"

She rolled her eyes and, annoyed, growled out, "OJ... Happy, Jaune?"

"Why aren't you a dog?" Mercury asked, his brain trying to come up with a reason that two of the same person could be so different on the same world. As different as night and day, black and gold... cat and dog.

"Don't know, don't care!" Jaune snarled before launching at OJ. The Keyblade in his hand glowed for a moment, then the dog's speed suddenly doubled. Mercury could barely see how quickly the Keyblade wielder was moving, and he knew he would have trouble keeping up with speed of that level. Animal Accord slammed into the Kingdom Key D. The maddened mutt and the cool cat pushed close against one another, faces close. Jaune's voice was strained from effort. "If I kill him now, it's over! We're safe from this madman!"

OJ laughed, the noise even and his single arm holding the Keyblade barely wobbling. "Careful, Jaune, that almost sounded Dark," he mocked before bending his arm and spinning. Jaune fell forward, throwing his foot out to catch himself while OJ stopped back to back with him. "And if you go Dark, everyone else will see there's no difference between us." The cat's left leg lashed backwards, catching Jaune in the middle of his back and causing him to tumble to the ground.

OJ turned his attention to the stunned Yang and Mercury. The yellow eyes lingered on the leopard last: "Now I can complete the set." Mercury's eyes widened in fear, then rage, and he rocketed towards the Keyblade wielder, Dark Thundaga trailing his every step. He roared and leaned forward, bringing his legs over and around one after the other like a windmill. The rust and gold Keyblade came around quickly to block each attack, then swung around a third time to catch Merc in the shoulder. The ex-assassin yelped in pain as he felt something in his arm give to the metal before his back suddenly hit the base of a tree.

Yang was already behind OJ, her feet colliding with the small of his back while he was distracted. A massive blast of flames exploded around them, and OJ was sent flying out of the smoking crater. He spun, out of control for a moment, before righting himself. He swung his Keyblade out to the side, teeth first, and they dug into the side of a tree. It dragged through the trunk, spinning around and slowing him until his feet came to a stop on the ground on the other side of the tree. He yanked the Keyblade out and walked towards the panting Yang, not even looking back as the tree slowly tipped over and hit the ground behind him. His feline teeth were bared and a low hiss was coming from his throat. "I vaguely remember promising to kill you first," he growled, the Keyblade glinting with murderous intent as he brought it up to point at her before Dark Blizzaga shot out. Yang shot a pair of Firagas at the first two projectiles, but the third came in too quickly and slammed into her outstretched left hand. She screamed and her semblance picked up. Eyes became red, the fur all over her body ignited, and the ice gave way.

OJ stopped for a moment, genuinely surprised. "Looks like this world is a good one for you," he observed, unsure of what to do with that information for a moment as it forced him to change his plans. Yang capitalized on this moment, rushing forward with her left hand trailing through the dirt. As she got close she threw her fist up, sending dirt flying towards the cat's eyes. A burst of Aero and a swing of the Keyblade caused the dirt cloud to vanish, but Yang continued with her assault. Her fists flashed upward, passing by the Keyblade wielder's stomach as he dodged, a look of effort on his feline features. He lashed out with his knee as she overextended, catching the rabbit in the face. Yang's vision turned into flashing stars and she stumbled backwards. OJ spun and brought the same foot around, slamming it into her head. She crashed through the wall of the barn, and what little remained of the building crashed down as its last supports shattered. Yang threw her hands up, a flash of a Reflect wall expanding. It hit before Jaune or Mercury could be sure she had successfully saved herself.

OJ turned to the pair, now struggling to their feet. He pulled his right hand and leg back, then raised his empty left hand to them. He barely had time to blink before Jaune was on him again, Mercury at full speed trailing a distance behind him. Keyblade met Keyblade in a flash of sparks, white and black cascading through the air. Jaune brought the locked Keyblades around so their tips hit the ground, then rushed forward with his shoulder, planting it firmly in OJ's chest. The cat was forced backwards, a look of surprise on his face. Mercury jumped over Jaune, lashing out with his left foot and a Gravity spell. OJ brought the Keyblade up and slapped the attack away, sending the spell spiraling towards a tree and flattening it like a pancake. OJ's other hand came up and grasped the assassin's right ankle, then swung him like a bat at Jaune. Jaune ducked beneath the attack, barely managing to avoid Mercury's head, and shot forward. Keyblades clashed again and Mercury was tossed away, crashing through rubble until he collided with an injured but conscious Yang.

"We need to get the Ship ready to leave," Yang said, grumbling as she pushed wood and iron off of her. She groaned and pushed up to her feet, ignoring a piece of rebar sticking out from her gut. The bleeding wasn't stopping; her Aura – much like Mercury's own, he noted – was depleted. He tried to push up as well, but quickly found himself face planted onto the ground. When he looked back, it was obvious why: his right ankle was warped, the metal of his prosthesis crushed in the shape of OJ's fist.

"He wanted us out of this fight," Mercury realized after a moment of glaring at his ankle. He turned his head to the fading Yang. His eyes widened and he pushed himself across the ground. "Get the Gummi Ship here now, Goldilocks! Now!"

Yang came to the same realization. "We're sitting ducks," she hoarsely whispered. She glanced over at Jaune and OJ, pushing against one another, snarling, arguing. But the cat's attention was divided, glancing occasionally at the pair of defeated warriors. She pulled out her scroll, thankfully undamaged, and called the Gummi Ship. Bright green light appeared on the ground near the edge of the rubble, waiting to pull them into the ship and stabilize their wounds.

OJ shoved Jaune back. "Well, I guess you can choose," OJ hissed. "Get that trinket to Sora, give it to me, or..." His left hand shot out towards Mercury and Yang, and a Dark Firaga sprang into being, shooting towards them. The sheer strength of the attack would annihilate them both.

Jaune didn't even have to think about this decision. He dove in front of the attack, and the explosion slammed into his chest. He screamed in pain as the fire surrounded him, burning at his Aura and biting at his flesh. He hit the ground and rolled through the remains of the barn until he came to a sudden stop a few feet from Yang and Mercury. Jaune heaved a heavy grunt and slammed the tip of the Animal Accord into the ground, using the weapon to push himself to his feet. "Who... hits a dog?" he wondered aloud.

OJ ignored the question. "That was disappointing, Jaune. Mercury has been treating you like he treated Pyrrha," he sighed, slowly advancing towards his doppelganger. Jaune snarled and readied to fight, ignoring the dangerously low levels of his Aura. Yang was pulling weakly at his sweatshirt, trying to get him to follow her. He ignored the pull. Even if he went, even if they all went, OJ would just move fast enough to get between them and the portal. They were fighting a losing battle, but it needed to be fought anyways.

"Unlike you, I know something important about Mercury and Emerald," Jaune explained coolly. He fixed his grip on Animal Accord and took a deep breath to steady himself. "They've been trying. They're good people, underneath it all. Unlike you."

"Then they're also unlike you, Jaune," OJ said simply as he reached them. He snarled and raised the Kingdom Key D above his head, his black Aura flowing into the weapon. His semblance would make this attack unblockable, and then he could just take all three of them away. Yang and Mercury to be slaves, Jaune to become his true self. The blade came down.

Jaune roared, the sound echoing of defiance, and brought his Keyblade up. There was a bright flash of Light... and the two stood with their Keyblades locked against one another. Jaune pushed, trying desperately to overcome his mirror.

And then OJ leaped back, Keyblade vanishing. He smirked at the confused Keyblade wielder and his friends. "Then take it to Sora," he said, a dark laugh escaping his voice. "It will be so much more fun to take it from you." And with that, he summoned another Aero, this one blasting the trio away and into the portal of their Ship.

It was only when the light vanished that OJ let his fear run through him.

"What the hell was that!?" he snapped to himself, glaring down at his palm. His Semblance, it hadn't worked. Why hadn't it worked!? His Keyblade should have passed through Jaune's like a hot sword through butter, so why the hell didn't it? He tossed his hand out to the side, summoning a corridor of Darkness. This brought up a whole new set of questions and concerns. If Jaune could nullify his Semblance then... then his plans needed to change.

R W B Y

Jaune was holding Yang down, trying to keep her still in the cockpit of the Gummi Ship. "Why'd he let us go?" Mercury asked, staring out of the ship at the world glistening below. He wasn't really seeing it, instead just OJ. His cruel laughter in Merc's ears. He had wanted them to escape, afraid of his power. He had -

"We can wonder that later, for now we have to heal Yang!" Jaune snapped, drawing Merc out of his own thoughts. He pushed the now human woman's arms down. "OJ's last attack hurt her too much. We have to take the rebar out and use a Curaga spell if she's going to live. Which job is yours?"

The former assassin gulped, then hobbled over on his knees to the pipe. He wrapped his fingers around it and nodded.

"Okay. On three. One, two... Three!" Jaune commanded. Mercury pulled up as fluidly as he could, flinching after it had left Yang's body and her scream of pain filled the cockpit. At the same time, Jaune's Animal Accord rose above their heads and flashed with green light, filling the entire ship. Yang's screaming continued, though it continued to drop in intensity. After a few minutes, it finally ended. The blonde's head drooped to the side, eyes shut and breathing shallow. Jaune stood up slowly, wobbling in exhaustion before dropping into one of the chairs, Keyblade vanishing. "Okay. She's safe." The blonde shook his head and stood up again, ignoring his tunneling vision as he walked over to Mercury. "Let's get you into a chair and get home."

Mercury stared up at Jaune's outstretched hand, then sighed and took it. The Keyblade wielder heaved and pulled Mercury's arm over his shoulder, supporting most of his wait before dropping him in a chair. Jaune took a few deep breaths, then bent down and lifted Yang in a bridal carry, softly placing her in a chair and buckling her. He took his place in the pilot's chair and let his head rest against the back of the chair for a few moments, exhaustion evident in the purple rings around his eyes and the sweat dripping from his hairline. Merc watched him for a few moments, thinking. Finally: "Thanks," he muttered half under his breath.

Jaune turned his head to Mercury and opened one eye. "Wha?"

Mercury sighed, then more clearly repeated. "Thanks. For, you know, saving me back there. It looked like it kind of hurt."

Jaune laughed. "Kinda," he agreed. He shut his eye and rested against the chair again. "But what else was I going to do, let you and Yang die? Please, Ruby and Emerald would never let me hear the end of that. It would be a real gem of a time, dealing with them." Yang laughed in her sleep.

Mercury sighed and decided to ignore the bad joke. "Look, I... I'm sorry how I've been treating you, Jaune. It... it wasn't right." He stared down at his knees and said, "It's just... every time I looked at you, I saw OJ. Dismantling us, toying with us... taking Emerald. I felt like I was looking at him."

Jaune sighed and pushed himself up, buckling and grabbing the wheel. "Imagine wearing his face," he pointed out sadly. "Imagine being him."

Mercury stared out the cockpit and buckled up. Jaune pulled up on the controls and the ship twirled away from Zootopia, eyes heavy as he angled the ship towards Remnant. All in all, this was a... victory, Jaune supposed. They had taken the Night Howler's core, one of the five items needed to pierce the wall between timelines. A key part of OJ's plan, and they had taken it from him... because he had basically given it to them. Well, until they found out why, Jaune would take whatever victory he could get. Chalk that one up in the win column.

"Jaune, you aren't him," Mercury stated, turning away from the cockpit window. "He attacked two defenseless enemies just to get to you. Meanwhile you took a fireball to the face for us." He held his fist out to Jaune. "You're a good guy, Buddy."

Jaune glanced over, surprised by what he was seeing. Then, he grinned. "Thanks, Man." He let his fist collide with Mercury's. "Let's get home."

"Are we there yet?" Yang asked,voice barely more than a whisper. She opened one eye and grinned at Mercury's pained groan. "Not too shabby, Good Boy."

"If I wasn't unbelievably relieved you woke up, I'd be mad," Jaune said, smiling softly over at Yang. "But I'm so happy I'll the 'are we there yets' slide until we get back."

Yang grinned. "In that case... Are we there yet?" she asked, earning an even wider smile from Jaune.

Mercury groaned again. Why couldn't she have just stayed unconscious?