Locked-in Leaders
The Pound Puppies were embarking on another mission. They were bringing a young puppy named Nicky to his perfect person. Along the way, they came upon an obstacle: a large warehouse, with lots of human workers around it.
"That thing is huge!" Squirt noted. "It'll take us all day to get around it!"
"Why go around," Lucky smiled. "When we can go through it?"
"Oh no." Cookie groaned. "You're not saying what I think you're saying..."
"You got it, Cooks." Lucky chuckled. "We slip in through the front door, then slip out the back way, and nobody sees a thing."
"Statistically, that seems unlikely." Strudel said skeptically.
"I'm not going in there!" Niblet trembled. "It's dark!"
"Relax, you scaredy dogs." Lucky shook his head. "I'll go in first, just to prove it'll work. You and Nicky follow after me."
Lucky stealthily made his way into the warehouse.
"Simple." He smirked. The smile slipped off his face as he looked around. "Wait, where's the back door in this place?"
"Lunch time, boys!" Called one of the humans.
To the horror of every dog there, the warehouse door was slammed shut, and locked with one swipe of a keycard. Once the humans had left, the Pound Puppies rushed up to the door.
"You okay in there, Lucky?" Cookie asked.
"Just fine, Cookster." Lucky said through the gap at the bottom of the door. "You guys just get Nicky to his person."
"Not without you." Squirt declared. "Strudel can crack that lock. Right, Strudel?"
Strudel hopped on Niblet's back and studied the door's keypad.
"A Tap 'N' Swipe 5000." She mused. "This may take a while."
"Hey, forget about me, guys." Lucky insisted. "Nicky's the top priority here. Get him to his person. I'll be fine."
"We're not leaving, Luck." Cookie said firmly. "We're gettin' you outta there, and that's all there is to it."
"Fair enough." Lucky sighed.
"Come here often?" A familiar-sounding voice asked.
Lucky turned, seeing a feline form coming out of the shadows, one that possessed the same color fur as he did. It was Ace, leader of the Kennel Kittens, a cat-based organisation that placed felines with potential owners, just as the Pound Puppies did with dogs.
"Ace." Lucky glared.
"Lucky." Ace sneered.
"To what do I owe the displeasure?" Lucky asked.
"I was scouting out a route for our latest adoptee." Ace explained. "Thought I'd cut through here. Next thing I knew, slam! I'm stuck in here... with a dog."
"Great." Lucky groaned. "Like this wasn't bad enough already."
"Back off, mutt." Ace hissed. "This ain't no bowl of kibble for me either."
"My team will get that door open soon enough." Lucky declared. "I hope."
"Great." Ace sneered. "My freedom's in the paws of a bunch of dogs."
"What's your problem with dogs, anyway?" Lucky asked.
"Other then the fact that you're smelly, you drool, and you're stupid?" Ace asked mockingly. "Nothin' at all. What have you got against cats?"
"Let's see." Lucky snorted. "You're lazy, you're selfish, you're sneaky, you got no loyalty..."
"Oh, like all dogs are saints, is it that?" Ace demanded.
"Well... not exactly." Lucky admitted, thinking of some bad dogs he had crossed paths with.
"There, see." Ace smirked. "You dogs aren't all that."
"Neither are you cats." Lucky spat. "This one time, my team found a bunch of cats pretending a pup was cursed, so they could trick dogs into getin' 'em fish in returning for 'breaking' the curse."
"Wait, did one of those cats have an eyepatch?" Ace asked.
"Yeah, he did." Lucky remembered. "Friend of yours?"
"Hardly." Ace snorted. "Couple of months back, they tried that same trick with a little black kitten."
"Their own kind?" Lucky asked. "And I thought they were rotten before!"
"Needless to say, my team had to put 'em straight." Ace smirked. "They won't be pulling any more cons for a while, that's for sure."
"Okay, I'll admit it." Lucky sighed. "You cats aren't all bad. In fact, as far as felines go, you and your bunch are... actually, pretty decent."
"Wow, that had to hurt." Ace sniggered.
"Not as much as what you're gonna say." Lucky smirked. "Come on, I'm waiting..."
"Fine..." Ace groaned. "Dogs aren't all smelly, droolin' idiots. In fact, you and me got a lot in common. We both help to find our charges their perfect humans."
"It's our calling, alright." Lucky agreed.
Suddenly, the door swung open.
"Got it!" Strudel yelled triumphantly.
"Yay!" Niblet cheered.
"You okay, Luck?" Cookie asked.
"Just fine, Cooks." Lucky smiled.
"Hey, what's with the special guest?" Squirt pointed out Ace.
"Relax, guys." Lucky smiled. "He's just passin' through."
"Yep, gotta get back to my team." Ace sauntered out of the warehouse. "I got a job to do, the same as you."
"Let's just try to stay out of each other's way, though." Lucky winked. "Right?"
"Right." Ace smiled.
"Okay, what was that all about?" Cookie asked.
"Nothing much." Lucky shrugged. "Just a little chat between leaders. Now, don't we have a pup to bring to his perfect person? Let's go dogs, go!"
And with that, the Pound Puppies returned to their mission.
The End.
(Pound Puppies and all associated characters are the property of Hasbro.)