FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The taking of the mall by the strange mammals was something that caught everyone by surprise.

Panic and screaming ensued as everyone was trying to get out of there as fast as possible, while avoiding the mammals who wanted to get everyone. A number of mammals managed to get out of the building before they blocked the doors, but only the ones that were on the lower floors, closer to the exits. The ones in the higher floors were not able to get out fast enough, and they ended up stuck in there with all of the crazy mammals, being either captured or on the run.

This was the example of two mammals.

"I told you we should have taken the elevator!" Someone whispered, to which someone else whispered back:

"They tell never to take the elevator in emergencies!"

"In the case of fire! Not in the case of psychos taking the building!"

"I think it also applies!"

"If we had taken the elevator we would have been able to get down and leave!"

"Or we could have been caught by these weirdos down there! There could be more of them! We don't know!"

"We also don't know if there are more! We could be out of the place now!"

"Oh, shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

Buck and Pronk Oryx-Antlerson continued to whisper for each other to "shut up" as they continued to sneak around. The couple had been among the ones who were unable to get out of the place before the weirdos down. They were on the upper floors as they were trying to get out, but soon the floor was take, mammals all around taken away by the mammals who were attacking.

Bucky and Pronk narrowly managed to avoid capture, and now they were sneaking around, trying not to be catch and trying to find some way of getting out of the mall while avoiding capture. Of course, during this time, they still have the time to argue with each other, in a low voice as not to call attention to themselves and not be catch.

"These guys are all around!" Bucky whispered, "And there are those walking statues as well!"

"As if the crazy mammals were not bad enough!" Pronk said, as he walked very near his husband, as both of them were trying to be as sneaky as loud mammals like themselves could.

"You know, it would be easier if you were not still carrying that!" Pronk said to him, and Bucky immediately knew it was about the luggage that he was carrying.

"Hey, it is from Misses Hopps!" The kudu said to his husband, letting him see clearly the luggage. "She said it was important, and she will probably want it back!"

"You insisted in carrying that, and this is probably the reason why we couldn't get away in time!"

"It is not!"

"Well, it is at least part of it!" Pronk whispered, and they continued to move around, "And you are still carrying it everywhere! You should just drop it! If Mrs. Hopps asks about it, we say that we lost it in the mess and we pay her back for whatever is inside!"

"What if it is something that money can't pay?" Bucky asked, as he peered over a corner, seeing if the coast was clear for them to keep moving. "It could be an irreplaceable family heirloom or something of deep emotional value! If we lost it she could be very mad at us, and then Hopps will be mad at us for making her mother mad at us! I'll feel really bad if Hopps gets mad at us!"

"We are basically risking our lives for that luggage!" Pronk whispered urgently at him. "It is not worth it! I'm sure that they will agree!"

"What if they don't?"

"Then they will be very petty!" Pronk said back. "Just drop that luggage already!"

"Shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"No, shut up! There are some of them coming!" Bucky whispered, and right after:

"Rock n' roll!"

The two antelopes discussed a probable way out, when they finally decided to hide in a nearby ice cream station. They were one of the type of food stations that there were around, where a mammal could stop to grab a snack.

The two were quick to jump the counter and crouch on the inside, getting themselves out of sight. It was not easy with their big horns, but they were able to put themselves very close to the floor, in a way that even their antlers disappeared behind the counter, getting them completely out of sight.

Soon, a group was coming, formed by three mammals and one golem. The mammals were crying out "rock n' roll" all the time, and the golem followed obediently. Meanwhile, the two antelopes continued to hide, practically praying for not getting find. However, even that did not stopped them from arguing in whispering:

"This was not how this day was supposed to be..." Pronk groaned in a whisper, and Bucky looked at him.

"Yeah, but it is how it is going!"

"It would be so easier if we could make a phone call!" Pronk said, and Bucky looked back at him.

"Yeah, but we can't!" The kudu said back at him. "I spent five minutes on my phone trying to call for help and it is completely out of area! There is no way that help will come through the phone!"

Following these words, they head a ringtone. Both eyes of the antelopes widened. Even the group that was passing by stopped as they also heard that.

"Rock n' roll?"

"What is going on!?" Pronk whispered urgently, as Bucky reached out for his phone that still rang. "You said it was not working!"

"It was not!" Bucky said back, "When I tried to use it was not making phone calls in any way! I even thought that it was broken or something! I don't know what is going on!"

"Turn it off!" Pronk said urgently, worried that the tone of ringtone could tip them off. What actually came very close to happening, but Bucky was able to stop it as he answered his phone, silencing the ring as he took it to his face and whispered:

"Who is it!?"

"Wow... that is quite rude." The one on the other side said. It was someone who Bucky didn't knew, but it was a male voice.

"I'm hiding and praying for my life, so sorry if I'm a bit rude now!" The kudu said in an urgent whisper. "Didn't you had a more convenient time that you could call? Maybe when I was using the toilet or having a heart attack?"

"Oh, Bucky." The one on the other side said, "Even in a moment like that you find time to be funny. You remind me of someone I knew."

"I'm not being funny; I'm in fear for my life!" The kudu whispered, as he continued to talk to the stranger on the phone while his husband looked at him and the group looked around, as if they were trying to figure out where that ringtone had come from. "Who are you, by the way!?"

"I'm someone who can help you out of the problem you currently find yourself into." The one on the other side. "After all, from what I heard, it seems that you really need it."

"What I need is for someone to send in reinforcements!" Bucky whispered back. "Can you send reinforcements? Are you from the army? Who are you!? And how do you know my name and how do you have my number?"

"I know a lot of things about you Bucky. I'd dare to say that I know you better than yourself." The one on the other side said. "That is why I know that you can get out of this if you actually put your mind to it."

"Really? How?" Bucky asked, and the voice on the phone soon answered:

"By fighting your way out."

"Oh, ha, ha, ha!" Bucky said in mockery at the one on the other side. "Look, I don't know who told you things about me, but I assure you that I can't 'fight my way out' of something like that!"

"Yes, you can." The male affirmed, "You just need to really put your mind to it. Like it was told during your lessons."

"My lessons... What..." The kudu said, and then his eyes widened as he realized what the one on the other side of the line was talking about.

"Wait, are you talking about the lessons on the website!?" He whispered. "How do you know that!? And how meditation classes will help me fight my way out of this mall!?"

"It is not meditation, Bucky." The voice said, sounding mildly annoyed, "That was said many times in the website."

"Who the heck are you!?" Bucky asked him, "How do you know about my life?"

"All that you learned in the lessons can be applied in the real life." The unknown male said, "It also said in the website. All that you learned can easily be apply to the real world in nearly everything that you might need. You just need to remember your lessons and use them if you ever find yourself in a moment of need. Are you in a moment of need right now, Buckminster?"

The kudu flinched as he heard that.

"No one calls me Buckminster!" The kudu said to the one on the other side. The antlered mammal always had a problem with his full name, as he always preferred to be call "Bucky".

"Are you?" The one on the other side insisted, and Bucky was already starting to lose his coll. He was able to keep himself from raising his voice to much, but he really was losing his patience with the stranger on his phone.

"Yes, I am!" The kudu whispered. "I'm in a moment of need right now! Me and my husband! We are both on the risk of being captured and mauled by crazy mammals and walking statues and there is no one in here to come to help us!"

"Hence is why you need to take it on yourself to help you and your husband." The voice said, "And you need to start by doing your best to remember what you learned on the website, starting with the most basic: the visualization."

"How will this help!?" Bucky insisted.

"Close your eyes and remember what you learned. Picture it in the eye of your mind and let this image be what let your soul release its power." The voice said, and Bucky was about to say something back. However, he stopped himself. He didn't quite knew why, but he somehow decided to follow what the voice was saying to him.

I must be going crazy. Bucky thought to himself, as he took a deep breath, closing his eyes and started to focus. He even was able to ignore when Pronk whispered to him a questions of what he was doing.

Bucky had done that many times before, and it became almost something natural for him to do. He started a picture on the eye of his mind, and he imagined his body filled with lightbulbs. Then, he pictured the light bulbs lighting up one by one. The first one was the one that was right on his heart, and then, the other ones started to light around it. All over his torso, going up his neck and on his head, as well as spreading across his members, from his shoulders and to his waist down to his hooved hands and feet.

As he did, Bucky felt that familiar feeling of heat that he was use of having when he was doing that mental exercise. It still amazed the kudu on how this simple exercise could induce his mind to feel his body like that...

"B-B-B-Bu-Bucky!"

Pronk's voice caused Bucky to open his eyes and look at him. The oryx was staring back at him with wide eyes.

"What?" The kudu asked in a whisper, "What, what happened? Why are you looking at me... like..."

The kudu's voice trailed as he noticed something in there that was glowing.

And it was himself!

"What the!?" Bucky exclaimed in surprise, as he looked at his arms, which now glowed, as they were cover by a pattern of light that seemed that it was coming from beneath his fur and skin. It had the form of circuits. So were his feet, and also the neck and head of the kudu, and even his horns. That is only the parts of him that were not cover by the clothes, for the ones under the clothes were pretty much the same way.

"Bucky?" The male voice came from the phone. "Bucky, are you still there? Bucky?"

"W-what is going on!?" Bucky said, talking to the phone once more, as he looked at his body, even raising a big the bar of his pants to see that it was also going up his legs. "I-I'm glowing! Why am I glowing!?"

"Because there are magical energy passing through your magic circuits." The voice on the other side said calmly. "This is causing them to react enough to become visible."

"My... My magic circuits?" Bucky asked, and he was about to ask something more, when:

"Rock n' roll!"

Both antelopes looked up to see a jaguar with a maddened smile on his face and a crazed expression on his glazed eyes. The two antelopes cried out in surprised and they were quick to jump over the counter.

It turns out that Bucky's outburst a few moments ago was what it took for the group that was looking for them, and they were able to figure out where they were hiding.

Now, Bucky and Pronk both had to take certain distance, but the group was now with their eyes on them. The two antelopes walked backwards, while the group of three mammals and one walking statue looked at them. The three mammals (one hippo, one jaguar and one tiger) all were looking crazed as they looked at the antelopes.

"What do we do now?" Pronk asked, and Bucky didn't knew how to answer, as they group looked at them as if they were deciding on how to kill them.

"Bucky!" The voice came from the cellphone, making the kudu blink and take it back to his ear. "Bucky, listen to me. You are able to face what is happening, if you focus and remember what you learned. Can you focus on the mental image again?"

Bucky was no able to form words, for he was far too nervous. However, he was still somehow able to picture the same image again of lightbulbs lighting up inside of his body, and this caused the circuits on his body to light up once more. Bucky looked at them.

"O-okay..." The kudu said, "My body is glowing again, what now?"

"Remember all that you were taught on your lessons." The voice said to him, while the mammals looked even more viciously at the antelopes. "Among your lessons, you were taught that one important fundament was to be able to focus the force of your soul into your body, sending it to a specific part to be able to surpass your normal physical limits. Think you can do it?"

"I-I guess..."

"Then do it, right now!"

Normally Bucky would have problems with having someone order him around like that, especially a strange, however, he right now felt inclined to listen to whoever it was, as long as it would take him and Pronk out of problem.

Bucky had just started to focus on it, imagining the lights inside his body increasing in brightness, as if there was a focus of energy flowing from the central one on his heart to the ones on his members.

"ROCK N' ROLL!"

The hippo cried out as he charged at the two.

"Bucky!" Pronk cried out as he immediately dove out of the way. Bucky would have done the same in a normal condition, but the fact that he was surprised, coupled with the fact he was focusing on his legs at the moment, caused him to instinctively jump.

Bucky jumped. He jumped around 12 feet up in the air, resulting into him jumping above the head of the hippo, who passed right through.

Bucky soon landed back, and he was shocked with what he had just done, as much as Pronk.

"Bucky?" Pronk said.

"Rock n' roll?" The hippo said.

"What the?" Bucky said, looking at his own legs, the telephone somehow remained on his face.

"Rock n' roll!" The hippo cried out, once more charging to Bucky. The kudu looked back at him and, in that moment of panic, the image came back to his head, but this time, the light was traveling from his legs back to his chest, and then to his arm.

Bucky instinctively swung his arm, and his fist connected with the face of the rhino with a resounding *crack* as the antelope was sure that he could feel something giving out under his fist.

The rhino flew five feet in the air before landing heavily in the ground, and staying there.

I... I am not that strong. Was all that Bucky could think, as he looked in shock at the unconscious rhino, and at his own fist, which was still glowing with his circuits.

"Rock n' roll..." Came ominously, causing the kudu to turn to look at the two big cats, who were snarling and with insane smiles as they approached the antelope, both of them almost looking like the primitive cats of the past, both getting ready to jump over their prey and taste its flesh.

Bucky definitely didn't liked the way that the cats were approaching him, even less as they both were unsheathing their claws.

"Bucky, you still there?" The male on the phone asked, and Bucky himself was surprised that he was somehow still able to keep the phone on his face. He was able to form an answer.

"Y-yeah, I just knocked down the hippo, but now there are two big cats ready to maul me." The kudu said; walking backwards as the felines advanced to him. "Should I try taking them on too?"

"Maybe you won't need." The voice said, "Remember what else you were taught on your lessons, about imposing your will over others by using the power of your soul?"

"Yeah, the thing of convincing others to do what I wanted." Bucky admitted, "I thought it was only a form of positive thinking."

"Well, it will be positive now." The voice said, "Focus your will and give a command to these two predators. Try to make it sound reasonable, it will increase the chances of working."

Bucky looked at the cats, who looked like they were practically foaming through their mouths. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to convince them of anything. Still, it was worth a shot at this point.

Okay, tell them to do something, but make it seems reasonable. Yeah, I can do that... I think.

Taking a deep breath, Bucky repeated the process, and he could once more feel his body heating, as he usually felt in moments like that. He remembered the exercise of the website, as he could mentalize the energy leaving his body and going into direction to someone who was in front of him, carrying a command from his will into it.

He looked at the two cats, who looked back at him.

"Don't attack me." He said, and the cats stopped, blinking as they looked at him.

Is it working?

The cats shook their heads, as if to shake away some thought. Bucky decided to put more pressure.

"You guys have no reason to attack me." The kudu said once more, looking the cat in the eyes. "You two have already won, and we are happy for it. In fact, you are so happy that you are going to make a victory dance. Dance to celebrate the fact you won."

That was far-fetched, and Bucky knew it. He knew that a person would not simply start dancing only because someone told them to. He was even expecting the cats to star laughing at his face before proceeding to maul him.

However, the cats looked at him.

"Rock n' roll." One of them said, as they turned to look at each other.

"Rock n' roll!" The other one said.

"Rock n' roll!" They both said, and started to dance in circles, all the while chanting:

"Rock n' roll! Rock n' roll! Rock n' roll!"

Bucky blinked as he watched at the scene unfolding before him. They were doing what he told them! They were actually making some short of victory dance!

"Wow!" The kudu said, "Pronk, do you see..." He started to say, but his eyes widened when he looked over to see his husband. In his worry with the mammals, Bucky had completely forgotten about the being made of stone. This one, however, had not forgotten about Pronk, as it was now trying to get him. It had cornered the oryx over the edge, and it was trying to get to him while Pronk tried to get it away with a trashcan.

"Get away!" The oryx said, "Get away! I'm gonna hit you harder!"

"Pronk!" Bucky said, and the voice on the phone heard it.

"What is going on? Did you managed to control the cats?"

"Yes, but now the stone guy is attacking Pronk!" Bucky said, "Should I do the same to it!?"

"It won't work." The one on the phone warned him. "It is a golem, it lacks free will. Mental interference will not affect it. You will have to fight. Do you have the gift?"

"The what now?"

"The gift." The one on the phone insisted. "I sent it to you and I should have arrived this morning. Do you have it?"

"Wait, do you meant the gloves and that cylinder?" Bucky asked, "You sent them?"

"Do you have them with you?"

"Yes, but what it has to do with it?"

"They will help you save your husband." The voice simply said, "Now, reach out for the cylinder and hold it in your hoof."

Bucky wasn't even sure why, but he did as he was told. He rummaged through his pockets and he found out the cylinder, and soon, he was holding it firmly in his hoof.

"Okay, now what!?"

"Now focus and imagine the energy of your soul flowing through your arm into the object you are holding." The voice instructed him. "You should get a reaction from the object, and then just use your imagination. Oh, and since it seems that your husband is in trouble, you might want to hurry."

Indeed, Pronk was in trouble, as the stone guy seemed to have lost patient and was now attacking with its weapon: an axe made of chipped stone. Pronk was defending himself as he could with the trashcan, but it was obvious that it would not last long, and that the oryx would be next.

Bucky did what he was told, he cone more focused on the image of the bulbs lighting up on his body, with it starting on his heart and going to his limbs, to the hoof that held the cylinder. Soon, the cylinder started to hum slightly, as it there was something working inside of it. Soon there was a reaction, as a jet of water shot up from the tip of the cylinder.

Bucky let out a curse in surprise, as he saw the jet of water took a stable form, and that it still seemed to be flowing, although it had a defined shape and it moved as if it was a rope tied to the cylinder.

Bucky moved the cylinder, and the stream of water moved in response to this. He even moved it sharply, and the stream of water would swip before producing a cracking sound. Bucky then realized.

Its... a whip! A whip made of water!

"Bucky!" Pronk's voice broke the kudu out of his reverie as he looked over; right on time to see the oryx have the trashcan he was holding be throw away from his grip with a swift movement of the stone axe. Then, with another movement, the blade of the axe connected with Pronk's stomach, causing him to gasp as his eyes widened in pain.

"PRONK!" Bucky yelled, as he saw the axe be remove, causing blood to spray out of the newly opened wound. On that moment, everything went blank on Bucky's mind, as he immediately rushed ahead.

He instinctively swung the cylinder; moving the whip of water and making it connect violently with the side of the head of the golem. This surprised the being made of stone and made it stumbled backwards. However, this was not enough for Bucky, who advanced and swung the whip once more, hitting the golem again, and again with a semi-solid stream of water, forcing it to move backwards.

Bucky was barely even thinking on what he was doing now. Seeing his husband being hurt like that made him go into a blind rage. Now all he was thinking was on getting that stupid statue for daring to hurt Pronk.

At some point, the golem tried to fight back, as it advanced to him and swung its axe. Bucky was faster, however, as he dodged the axe, which only narrowly missed his neck, and immediately swung his leg on a kick. As he did, his leg glowed under his pants, as magical energy passed through it, and it connected with the golem with a lot of force, sending the stone creature back.

The golem slammed into the rails that covered the ledge. Bucky barely minded the bruised feeling on his own leg, and he once more swung the makeshift whip that he now had. Hitting the golem one. Two. Three. Four. Five times in a row with violent lashes. The golem barely had time to react.

Then, with a cry of anger, Bucky thrust the cylinder forward, causing the jet of water to shot forward violently, like water from a geyser. This water connected with the head of the golem, forcing it to flip over and to fall from the ledge, all the way down the many stores until the floor.

As the golem fell, the stream of water retreat back into the handle, disappearing inside of the cylinder, as the sound of the stone creature hitting the ground floors below and breaking apart could be hear.

Bucky stood in there for a few moments, panting, as he was able to come down from his rage. As he did, his eyes widened in horror, as he looked over, to see Pronk kneeling on the ground, both hooves on his stomach, that was bleeding profusely.

"Pronk!"

In no time, Bucky had rushed back to the side of his husband, who was now looking pale, as he lost a lot of blood.

"No, no, no, no!" Bucky said, as he looked at the wound, and he knew that it was bad. The worst was that he knew nothing of first aids! Crap, crap, crap, crap!

"What is going on?" A distant voice said, "Bucky, are you alright?"

The kudu blinked, and looked at the object that he still had in his other hoof. He still managed to hold the cellphone. The guy on the line probably knew how to help! Bucky wasn't sure how much it was truth, but at the moment he was desperate, and he was willing to try anything.

"Pronk is hurt!" The kudu nearly screamed into the cellphone. "The golem or whatever it was hurt him! He is bleeding!"

The one on the phone insisted on Bucky to calm down, and asked if the kudu himself was hurt. Bucky continued to insist that Pronk was seriously hurt and that he was still bleeding and getting paler by the second, and that he needed help somehow.

"He might die!" Bucky shouted. "If you know a way I can save him than you better say it now!"

"Okay, okay. Calm down." The one on the other end said, "Do you remember what the website taught about using the force of your soul to induce your body to recover from injuries?"

"Yeah, I tried that with by sore thumb after I bumped on the table!" The kudu said, "I tried focusing like they told and my thumb was feeling better! Do you mean it can work here!?"

"The principle is the same." The voice said, "The only difference is that now you will be focusing not on yourself, but on someone else. For that, you will be projecting the force of your soul outwards in direction to the wound, and you will induce his body to heal. It is simple, and it should work."

Bucky nodded, and he looked at the wound. Pronk seemed like he was about to faint from blood loss. Then, the kudu placed both things he had on his hooves down, and looked at the wound. It made him feel queasy, but he swallowed up his uneasiness and he approached his hooves of the open wound.

Once more, Bucky focused on what he was taught on the website, and he focused the lightbulbs lighting up on his body, as the energy spread from his chest to his limbs, and from there, it projected outwards in direction to the wound, like the light and heat came out of a lightbulb.

Bucky thought he could almost see the energy flowing from his hooves into the wound. Moments passed filled with apprehension and worry. After a while, Pronk blinked, as his eyes once more focused, and they looked at Bucky, who was right in front of him.

"Bucky..." The oryx said, causing the kudu to stop.

They both blinked as they looked at each other, before Pronk checked on his stomach, where the golem hit him with an axe.

Where there once was a bad wound, now looked like something that was only a scratch, only a thin line that could hardly even been seen under the short fur of the antelope. It still tingled and ached, but it was nothing compared to what it was moments ago.

They stood in silence for a few moments, before they looked at each other, and immediately hugged each other.

For a long moment, they just hugged each other, without saying a word, only feeling thankful for being okay.

When they finally separated, they looked at each other, before Pronk said:

"What the heck was all of that!?"

Bucky looked at him as he demanded that.

"What was all of that!? What just happened!? Since when you can do these... things!?"

"I don't know, since today, I guess!" Bucky said back, looking at his own hooves.

"You did magic!" The oryx said to the kudu. "Or magecraft! Or whatever it was! But you did the same things that mages did! You... You are a mage!? And you never told me!?"

"I didn't knew!" The kudu said, "I just did what they taught me in the website!"

"What!? The website!? You mean that they were teaching actual magic in there!? You were having a magecraft course online and you were telling me it was just fancy meditation!"

"I thought it was meditation!" Bucky said in his defense. "I had no idea that it was anything truly supernatural! I thought it was only mindfulness and positive thinking! I didn't knew that they were teaching me how to do magecraft!"

"Then how do you showed so much skill just now!?"

"I don't know, I guess I'm just a good student!"

"If you were that good a student, than maybe you could have used your magic powers sooner!" Pronk said to him, "Maybe while I was being attacked by the mad statue with the axe!"

"Hey, I was being attacked as well!"

"Well, I don't see any axe marks on your body!"

"You don't have any either! Not anymore! And it's thanks to me!"

"Well, I wouldn't have gotten a mark in the first place if you had my back!"

"Oh, shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"No, YOU shut up!"

As the two continued to shout at each other to "shut up" they had seemingly forgotten about the phone, which was still on, and the one on the other side could hear pretty much everything.

"Bucky...?"

---

Judy was still not fully satisfied with all that was going on.

She was never one to stand back and wait for stuff to happen. She was a bunny of action. She had been since she was a kit. That was just one of the many things that made her stand apart of the other bunnies, as she was someone who was not afraid of going forward and fighting for what she wanted.

She had already insisted a few times for them to do something and to go forward to do something, only to be remind by everyone that they could not go inside without knowing where the hostages were, once it would endanger both them and themselves. That was surely a no go.

The enforcers made it perfectly clear that they were going to give their full support on the situation, once it was something that was directly relate to themselves and technically their jurisdiction. They made it as clear as the fact that they didn't intended to comply with any demands, unless they truly saw no other way to save the hostages.

The result was that they were all unable to act or do anything other than survey the whole situation and wait.

Now, under normal conditions, that alone would be enough to make Judy greatly dissatisfied with the situation. However, now there was the aggravation that her family and friends were all among the many hostages.

This urged her even more to try and do something to help all of them, who could be in mortal danger at that very moment.

Bad thoughts haunted Judy's mind as she imagined the fear and danger that her loved ones could be going through at that very moment. It made her pace back and forth, rock her body slightly as she stood in place, and even thump her foot on the ground in pure nervousness.

The only thing that stopped her from going up the walls was Nick, who was very skilled to come to her and talk with her in ways that helped ease her mind. The fox reassured her that everyone was probably okay. That Ben and the other officers all had official training and that they were able to handle things. That her neighbors were probably fine, if they were as fiery as they sounded through these walls. That her family, from what Judy described, was just as strong and determined as she was, and would probably do fine.

Now, Judy was not sure of some of these claims, but they helped put her mind a bit more at ease and be a bit more positive.

Nick was really good at comforting her and helping her feel better, even in moments like that, where she would only have reasons to feel distraught.

She truly admired him for this.

He helped her to keep her calm among the great lack of information that was developing in there. Even with the coming forth of one of the officers to make an official statement to the presents over the developments, which included the information that all doors were firmly blocked, and that they have already confirmed some kills, as bodies were found near the entrances, seemingly caught while they were trying to escape from the mall.

Judy got nervous at this, but calmed down as she heard that there weren't any bunnies or police officers among the confirmed casualties. There was an antelope, but it was not a kudu nor an oryx, so Judy was sure that it was none of her neighbors. Still, she was nervous by the possibility that the cop in question raised: that more casualties could be on the inside, and they were not aware of. This did nothing to help on Judy's nerves, and even having Nick by her side made her able to cope with it calmly.

She was a bit edgy with all of that, so it was actually no surprised that she actually jumped a bit as a sound resounded across the tent.

All eyes turned to the source of the sound, which was the phone give to Marceli by the golem. It was ringing once more, and the fox was quick to answer to it, under the watching and expectant eyes of all of the cops in there.

"Hello, Marceli Mieczyslaw talking."

---

The Oryx-Antlersons continued to walk across the mall, as careful as they were on the first time. However, now they had a certain edge of security as they walked.

Bucky was still unsure of how to use his newfound magic powers, however, he was pretty sure that he could use them well if the situation arose, if he remembered what he was taught on the website. Now he was walking on the lead, holding the cylinder in front of himself almost as if it was a gun (could he use it like a gun? He was not sure, but he was ready to try). He had eyes open and attentive to anything that could come, as his other hoof was holding on his husband's, and was squeezing a bit tight.

"Could you not squeeze so hard?" Pronk asked Bucky. "I have plans for this hoof later on."

"I'm nervous, okay!?" Bucky whispered back, making sure to keep the cylinder ready to be activate at a moment's notice.

"Why are you nervous!? You have magic powers and a magic water whip thingy!" The oryx whispered in return. "The most I can do is try to slam this luggage on them!" He said, as he showed the luggage that he was now carrying, the same one that Bucky was carrying the entire time. "Why do we even need to carry this now!?"

"I told you already! Because Mrs. Hopps will probably want it back!"

"Couldn't you just use your magic powers to make her forget about the luggage!? I mean, you did the crazy dudes start dancing, and they were still dancing when we left! Convincing her to forgive us by losing the luggage would be easy!"

"She asked us to take care of it, and we need to take care of it!"

"That was before the mall was taken and we had to fight for our lives!"

"Just shut up and keep carrying it!"

"Oh, you shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

They were so busy whispering at each other that they barely noticed someone coming their way, until they heard:

"Hey! Watch out!"

This made both of them jump down, and Bucky was quick to point the cylinder down to the one who spoke, who was a bunny.

The lapine soon raised both hands in surrender, looking nervous. Soon, were coming more bunnies on their meeting, apparently part of a group that the bunny was with. Bucky and Pronk blinked as they started to recognize these bunnies, the one who Bucky was pointing the cylinder in particular.

"Hey! You are Hopps' brother!" Bucky said in a whisper to the bunny. "Honie, right?"

"Harry." The dark bunny corrected, and he was looking at them. "Hey, you two were the ones Mom, Dad and the others were with! Where are they?"

"We don't know." Pronk said, "We haven't seen them in a while."

"Oh, you got lost when the mall was taken?"

"Before that, actually." Bucky said; giving a glare to Pronk, the oryx only rolled his eyes as he heard that.

"Damn..." Harry said, as he had been deadly worried with the rest of his family ever since he first realized that the mall was siege. He had been able to keep the group of nine bunnies who was with him safe while they sneaked around the mall, with Harry having immediately become their unofficial leader, guiding them across the mall to keep them safe.

The male bunny has been finding himself worrying more and more with his family, as now, that he met the ones that were with them, he found himself worrying even more. He had been hoping that his family would at least have someone with them to offer help, even if it were only these two, but now he knew that they were alone in the mall.

This caused him to get so worried that he barely noticed that the two were about to start arguing again.

However, he was not too distracted to catch out a familiar sound.

"Look, I'm just saying-" Bucky started, but was cut off when Harry shushed both him and Pronk. The two antelopes looked at the small bunny, who had his ears ready and moving, as if they were trying to pick up a sound.

"Do you guys hear this?" He said.

"Hear what?" Pronk asked. No answer, but one of the bunnies in the group said:

"I hear it to!"

"Is it someone crying?" Another one of the group said, a female. "It sounds like..."

"Cotton!" Harry said, "That is Cotton's crying!" He said, and his siblings soon were agreeing with him.

Soon, Harry was once more guiding the group, now with the Oryx-Antlersons coming right after them. They didn't knew what they were going to find, but Bucky was getting mentally ready. If they met problem, what he was sure would be the case, he was ready to use his new skills to fight.

The group moved, and the sound of the crying became louder, although it was still faint, like a sobbing.

The group stopped when Harry gestured for them to halt. The bunny was peering over the corner, and so were some of his siblings and the Oryx-Anlersons.

They were able to see a group of mammals that were surround by a group of golems. The mammals were all packed together as the beings made of rock surrounded them. Many of them looked scared. Among them, there was a group of familiar bunnies, which were the rest of the Hopps. Stu and Bonnie were among them, and they were both holding Cotton, who was sobbing softly.

However, there was another feature to the scenery that the group peering took a few moments to notice, and that caused horror once it was noticed. There were dead mammals in there, three of them, a wolf, a tiger and an elephant. All of them looked like they didn't had a nice end, if the dried blood on them and on the ground was of any indication, the elephant had a huge gash on the side of his neck, as if someone had unsuccessfully tried to cut his head off with blade blows.

These mammals tried to stand up to the golems and paid dearly for that, as the stone beings killed them without emotion or hesitation. All under the terrified eyes of the rest of the group.

"Don't look, Cotton." Bonnie said once more to her granddaughter, who was crying softly against her dress as she hugged the older bunny tight. Bonnie has a hardened look in her face, which greatly contrasted with the fearful look in the eyes of her husband, who looked sick and about ready to faint.

Bonnie was frustrated, for now there was really nothing that she could do to protect her own family.

How I wish I had not left my luggage behind. The female thought as she hugged her granddaughter closer to herself, and looked at the golems that still surrounded the group and had their stone weapons close by, as if they were daring anyone to try anything like these three had.

"Mom and the others are in danger!" Harry said, "We gotta help!"

"Help how?" Someone asked, as the group once more ducked behind the corner, out of sight. "Didn't you saw the dead guys in the ground? We might end up like them!"

"I'll go!" Bucky said, ready to go, when Pronk stopped him.

"Are you crazy!? There are like, eight of them! And they are armed!"

"So I am!" Bucky said, showing the cylinder. "I can deal with them!"

"They'll tear you apart if you try!"

"Well, someone has to try!"

"But why you!?"

"Because I have magic powers!" The kudu answered back, all under the eyes of the group of bunnies. "I'm the one who has the more chances to deal with them!"

"With powers that you just found out you have and with a magic water whip!" Pronk said to him. "These guys are armed with clubs and spears made of stone! One of them has a huge axe! You might have magical powers and that thing, but you will need more to face these guys!"

Just after Pronk said these words, a familiar tone started to ring. Bucky was shift to reach out for his pocket and remove his cellphone before the ringtone could call the attention of the golems to them.

"What is this?"

"Are the phones working again?"

"I checked mine just five minutes ago and it was still without signal."

"Who is it!?" Bucky said at the phone in a low voice, although he had a feeling that he already knew who it could be.

"Just checking on you." The voice said, "You hung up so suddenly that we barely had time to even say goodbye. I was quite worried, to be honest. So, are you and your husband alright?"

"Yeah we are." Bucky said, once more peering over the corner to look once more. "Look, I'm about to go into a fight with a group of... eight or so golems."

"Why?"

"Because there is a group that need saving."

"And, how is that your problem?" The voice asked casually, as it he truly didn't understood. Bucky would have discussed with him, but he had no time.

"Look, they need to be saved and I'm going to save them!" The kudu said, "So, my question is, do you know any trick that might help me fight better?"

There was a silence, and the voice sighed and said:

"Just like her... Okay then." The voice spoke. "Your gift included a pair of gloves, do you have them?"

"Yeah, in my pocket." Bucky confirmed.

"Place them in your hooves and do the same you did with the cylinder. The gloves will also produce a reaction. The gloves work by controlling temperature. The red one generates heat while the blue one generates cold. You can use them if you need. Also, you might combine their effects with the whip." The voice explained, and meanwhile, Bucky removed the gloves from his pocket, looking at them.

"They might give you a better chance on facing the golems, but if you have problems you better forget these mammals and run." The voice warned him. "There is no point wasting your life for strangers."

Bucky heard this and he placed the phone down. Soon, he was placing the gloves on his hooves, and he looked at them. Bucky repeated the process, sending the energy to the gloves to make them work. The red glove, that fit around his left hoof, started to glow softly and emit heat. The blue glove, which was on his right hoof, started to form frost over it, a clear signal that it was becoming colder.

The bunnies and the oryx all watched in amazement at this while Bucky only looked at it. Then, he picked up the cylinder with the hoof that had the blue glove, and he focused. Water formed on the tip of the cylinder, and immediately, it started to freeze, until it became a small spike made out of ice.

Bucky blinked.

"Okay, now that's pretty neat."

The mammals were still surround by the golems, whom looked at them with empty lenses for eyes and unmoving faces. The mammals were scared, and many of them were just waiting for something to come and save them from something that could be a horrible fate.

At that moment, a jet of water with an ice spike on top came and hit one of the golems in the head. The condensed spike of ice combined with the force of the water jet was enough to pierce the head of the golem, causing it to twitch slightly before it fell to the ground, its lenses going off, as it laid there unmoving.

As one, the group of hostages and the golems turned to look, and they were in time to see the jet of water flow backwards and return to the cylinder it came from, the ice spike going with it. Now, the cylinder looked somewhat like a dagger, with the water spike posing as the blade. Bucky stood in there, trying to look as threatening as possible as he held his weapon and looked at the golems.

"Bring it on." The kudu said, and the golems all turned to him and started to walk in his direction.

Bucky was quick to react, as he shot the spike forward again in a stream of water. However, this time, the golem dodged. Bucky recovered by flicking his wrist and causing the stream of water to wrap around the golem like a rope. Immediately, the glove glowed and the stream of water started to freeze. It froze all the way to the golem, who was envelop in ice, and the golem itself actually started to freeze, until it was no longer moving.

Bucky had to dodge as soon as there was a stone club coming his direction.

The frozen stream of water broke from the tip of the cylinder, allowing him to move out of the way and immediately materialized another stream of water in the cylinder. This time, he was able to aim this right on the chest of one of the golems, immediately causing the water to freeze on contact and release itself in an explosive way. The result was that a hole was open in the chest of the golem, whom immediately fell to the ground unmoving.

"Nice one!" one of the bunnies said, as everyone looked as Bucky used his new skills to fight the golems.

However, his advantage started to weaver, as it seemed that the golems had been quick to catch up on his tricks. They were able to dodge the stream of water and to avoid the freezing. This was proving to be a problem for Bucky who, despite his best efforts, lacked proper battle training.

However, the kudu still pressed on, either for his desire to help or for sheer stubbornness. He continued to fight, and he was actually able to use some good moves, like firing spikes of ice from the cylinder (one of which hit the golem in one of the lenses), or by simply lashing at the golems with the whip to force them to back away. However, it was clear that the golems would soon have the advantage over the kudu if no one did anything to help.

"Bucky!" Pronk cried out, getting out of the hiding spot as he saw that his husband had to quick dive out of the way not to be hit by the by axe of one of the golems.

As he did, he called some attention (luckily, not from the golems) as the group of mammals turned their heads to look at the oryx. Among them, was Bonnie, who had recognized the kudu nearly immediately, and now recognized the one who she knew was his husband.

Her eyes widened when he saw that he was holding her luggage.

Immediately, Bonnie let go of her granddaughter, assuring her that she would be right back.

"Hey!" Bonnie called, making the oryx look at her, along with the small group of bunnies.

"Mom!" Harry called, but he was ignore, as Bonnie was mostly focus on Pronk.

"Toss me the luggage!" She cried out, and Pronk looked at her.

"What!?"

"I can help your husband, but I need my luggage!"

"Bonnie, what are you doing?" Stu asked, as he now was the one who was hugging Cotton. He too was ignore.

"We don't have time! Pass me the luggage!" She said it with such authority and urgency that Pronk hesitated only for a second. He placed the luggage on the ground and pushed it hard, causing it to skid across the ground and stop in front of the female bunny.

Bonnie wasted no time as she unlocked the luggage and opened it, looking at what was inside.

Meanwhile, Bucky was trying to get the golem to get away from himself; however, it proved hard, as the golem was very strong. At a point, the golem simply batted his hand, sending the cylinder off his hoof.

Bucky tried to react, but the golem was quicker, and grabbed him by the wrist, causing him pain the strength of the stone grip. Bucky looked up in horror, as the golem was now raising its hand with the axe, getting ready to deliver a lethal blow to the antelope.

However, it never had the chance.

A loud sound filled the air, as both the hand of the golem and its head exploded.

Bucky turned his head away in reflex, as small fragments flew everywhere. The axe, now not held by a hand, fell heavily in the floor.

The golem remained in place for a few moments, before it fell to the ground, unmoving and defeated.

Bucky then looked over, along with everyone else, and he saw the source of it.

Bonnie was there, with a fierce expression, holding a shotgun that had fired the bullets that brought down the golem. However, this was clearly no ordinary shotgun, as in its tip there was a mammal skull, which had its maw open to reveal the barrel of the gun. In a second, the skull closed its maw, sealing the barrel inside.

"Mom?" Harry asked.

"Grandma?" Cotton said, still with tears in her eyes.

"Bonnie?" Stu asked, looking baffled.

However, Bonnie did not had the time to give proper attention to any of them, as the four remaining golems were not coming at her direction.

Quickly Bonnie reached out for her open luggage and pulled out some weird looking bullets. She was soon opening the shotgun and loading it, but it was clear that she was somehow out of practice, for she was having problems with closing it again. Meanwhile, the golems continued to approach her, some of them ready to attack.

As her relatives cried out for her to "look out", a stream of water came and swept under the feet of the golems, causing them to stumble into the ground, one of them even losing its weapon as it fell.

Bonnie blinked, and looked at Bucky, who had been the responsible for it, as he had recovered the cylinder and used it. A single look between them was all it took for a mutual understanding.

Bonnie then used this chance to reload her shotgun properly, and she turned to the golems, who were already getting up.

As she did, she raised the shotgun, pointing it upwards and then pointing it at the golems. As she did, pathways lighted up in her arm, as her magic circuits charged.

The maw of the skull opened, revealing the barrel of the gun.

"Gandr!" Bonnie cried out as she pulled the trigger. Four bullets flew from the barrel of the gun straight to the golems.

However, as it was already said, these were not common bullets, and neither did they behave as such. The bullets were slower than an average bullet, moving only at sub-sonic speed. Not only that, but they described arcs and curves in the air as they flew, and each one of the four bullets flew to the chest of one of the golems, hitting it with nearly surgical precision.

The golems stood in there for a second, before their limbs hanged loosely, and their bodies collapsed to the ground, inert.

Bonnie stood in there for a few moments, panting as she still had the shotgun ready. Then, the skull on the tip of the shotgun snapped its maw shut, once more sealing the barrel of the gun.

For a long moment, it was as if the scene was froze, before Harry and his group came forward.

"Mom!" The bunny cried out, making Bonnie look at him. She saw his expression, which was worried, yet surprised. She saw the same expression on the eyes of her other children. She then turned to look and saw a similar expression of worry and shock in the faces of her children and of her own husband.

No one said a word, and Bonnie simply looked down, as she knew that there was nothing to say in a moment like that. However, she knew that her family would most likely want explanations.

"Is everyone okay?" Bucky asked, as he too was surprised, but had to check on everyone. Soon it was clear that the rest of the group was not harmed, and that the only casualties had been the poor bastards who had tried to stand up to the golems. The fact that they were swiftly kill was enough to discourage all of the other mammals to try.

"Well, this is good." Harry said, looking around. "But we cannot stay here. More of them might come."

"The bunny boy is right." Someone from the group said, "We need to get moving."

"But this way we might bump into more of them."

"Then I'll take care of it." Bucky said, confidently.

"The heck you will!" Pronk was quickly to interject. "You almost got killed just now!"

"Well, I need to do something right?"

"But why you!?"

"Because I'm the one who has magic circuits and magic weapons!" The kudu said, and everyone was looking at them. "Someone has to cover the group, otherwise would be too dangerous for them to be in this mall! They don't have anyone to cover them!"

Bonnie looked at him, and she reflected on what he just said.

"Yes..." The female bunny said to herself. "We don't..."

She raised her eyes, looking at the dead mammals in there, and she had a determined look in her face.

Well, it looks like I have no other choice, then.

Reaching out for her pocket, she pulled out a handkerchief. With this in paw, she kneeled in front of her granddaughter, and she started to tie it over her eyes, like a blindfold.

"Grandma?" Cotton said.

"Cotton, do you remember that game of 'if you don't see a scary thing it won't scare you'?" The older bunny asked. "Well, we are going to do it now. A scary thing will happen, and you won't see it so you won't have bad dreams later." Bonnie said, all under the gaze of her husband, who looked at her confused. "Remember to not remove the blindfold no matter what you hear, okay?"

"... 'Kay." Cotton said after a moment hesitation, and Bonnie nodded, and she then started to move in direction to the corpses.

"I'm just saying that you don't need to take on yourself to be the protector of the group!"

"Why!? No one else can do it!"

"Why do you think no one else can!?"

"Because they don't have magic circuits like me!"

"You just found out you have magic circuits and you already think yourself better than others!? I thought it would take longer!"

"Oh, you know what I mean!"

"Yeah I do, but it doesn't mean that I like it!"

"Well, I'm not too keen on it as well, but since I'm the one who's got magecraft I guess I have to do it!"

"Oh, not with Spider-Ham's 'with great powers come great responsibility' thing now, we are not comic book characters! And besides, you are not the only one with magecraft, Mrs. Hopps got it too!" Pronk said, and he gestured at the bunny who had saved Bucky's life.

Bonnie was barely minding their loud bickering, as she was focused on the corpses. It seemed that she was checking on them, however, if someone looked closely...

"Yeah, but I can't ask her to fight, I mean she is..." Bucky was about to say, but he stopped to consider. He could not say that it was because she was a bunny, because it would offend the other bunnies and Hopps, once it got to her ears. He also could not say it was because she was a woman, for it would sound chauvinist. He could also not say that it was because of her age, because he learned that you should never call a woman old unless you were ready to face the consequences.

"She is what?" Pronk asked.

"S-she is... I mean... J-just shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"No, you shut up."

"No, YOU shut up!"

They continued to shout at each other to shut up, drawing looked from everyone in there, save for Bonnie, who seemed to have finished checking on the corpses and was now standing there as she looked at them, some blood on her paws.

She looked like she was trying to focus, but the bicker of the antelopes now was getting on the way of her concentration.

"No, you shut up!", Bucky said.

"No, you shut up!", Pronk said.

"BOTH OF YOU JUST FUCKING SHUT UP!" Bonnie shouted, with such power and authority that it made both of them just shut up.

Now, the two antelopes stared at the bunny, along with everyone else, including her own family, who looked at her shocked, both by the way that she screamed as for the language that she used.

"Grandma...?" Cotton said, sounding a bit meek. Her ears were fallen, and she was clearly scared for hearing her grandmother speak like that, it was possible to notice even though she had a blindfold.

Bonnie looked at her grandchild, and she was able to recompose herself.

"It's... It's alright, Cotton." Bonnie said, trying to be as soothing as she had always been. "Just don't take the blindfold off."

With this, Bonnie looked at her family, all of them looking at her.

For a moment, she hesitated, until she remembered that she was doing it for all of them.

With this, Bonnie turned back forwards, to the corpses that were sprawled in front of her.

With this, she took a deep breath, closing her eyes and focusing.

Magic circuits lightened up on her arms, on her head and up her ears, as she focused her magic power, and she rose both arms.

"Durch Leiden und Verzweiflung beendet deine Leben." She said, and as she did, she continued to focus.

"Bedauern und Groll wurden in Ihrem Gefolge zurückgelassen." She said, and for a moment, some of the presents could feel a slight shiver run up their spines, making the fur of their backs stand on end.

"Obwohl dein Herz stehen geblieben ist, bleibt deine Trauer immer noch in deiner Leiche." The ones who were watching were feeling uneasy for some reason. One of them blinked.

"Did that elephant just moved?"

"Ich rufe jetzt zu diesen Gefühlen auf, um deine leere Hülle in Bewegung zu setzen." Bonnie continued to chant whatever it was that she was chanting, and this time, the mammals gasped and stepped behind, as this time they did saw the elephant and the tiger both move, as they twitched sharply. Bonnie looked forward with even more determination than before, as she finished the incantation:

"Eine Marionette unter meiner Kontrolle, ein Sklave meines Willens, gehorche mir und erhebt euch!"

With this, the three corpses shook violently, as it almost seemed that they were trying to get up. This caused the mass of mammals, as one, to move backwards, as they looked.

"Erhebt euch!" Bonnie said once more, the corpses twitched even more, as the wolf had planted both feet firmly in the ground, and the tiger had flipped itself over. While the elephant rose its trunk high.

"Erhebt euch!"

The wolf was raising to his feet, while the tiger slowly put himself up. The elephant was raising from the ground with the help of his trunk.

"ERHEBT EUCH!"

With this, the three corpses now had rose to their feet, all under the wide eyes of the group of mammals, who all looked in shock and horror.

The three creatures turned to the group, their eyes were pale and empty, leaving their nature clear to anyone who looked.

Many of the mammals wanted to turn tail and run as fast as they could, two of them had fainted.

Meanwhile, the three dead mammals walked forward, making the group instinctively step back. However, it seemed that the three had no interest into the group.

As they approached, Bonnie fell on her paws and knees, and the three mammals, once reaching her, also got on their paws and knees before her.

Then, Bonnie rose one of her paws, a gesture that the zombies imitated.

"Obey..." Bonnie said, before slamming her paw on the ground, what the zombies imitated. Then, she rose her other paw, and so did the zombies.

"My commands!" She slammed the other paw on the ground, and the zombies did the same.

Bonnie rose her head and looked at the three undead.

Then she laughed.

It was not a maniacal laughter, but it was ominous, menacing and just as disturbing. The kind of laughter that no one of her family ever heard from her.

"For real?" Harry asked as he, along with the rest of the family, looked in shock. Save for Cotton, who still had the blindfold on, and for Stu, who had fainted.