The Stray
Jimmy walked through the Frosty Forrest with his hands shoved in his pockets. He wasn't really here for any particular reason, mostly just to clear his head. He knew when he took the crown that there would be lots of work to be done, especially after the whole Garry incident. But even though things had cooled down considerably, it was still a very stressful job.
So, every now and then he would sneak out and clear his head. Sometimes he would drive around in his kart, sometimes he would simply walk around. Today was the latter. He stretched his arms out and then turned back around. He supposed he should get back before Larry comes looking for him and started nagging him out.
As he began heading back he heard a low growl nearby. He looked over his shoulder and saw a giant Waffle Wolf slowly approaching him. He turned around with a smirk. "Oh, you looking for a fight? Cause honestly I'm rearing to go right now." He said hitting his fist together.
The wolf growled and then lunged at him, but Jimmy jumped back. He watched as the mouthful of ice cream the wolf bite down on was melted by the hot fudge in its mouth in mere seconds. "Wow, don't want any of that stuff on me." He said taking out a Jaw-bomb from his jacket. "I say we play a little fetch."
The wolf lunged at him again and he threw the Jaw-bomb and then rolled out of the way. The bomb landed in the wolf's mouth and it swallowed. The wolf stood for a few seconds before suddenly blow apart into pieces. Hot fudge and waffle cone bits began raining down around the area. Jimmy ran his way through his hair and smirked. "Another bits the dust."
He turned and began walking off again, but then heard a bark. Jimmy scowled. One wolf was simple to deal with, but the whole pack might be a little more than he could chew. He turned around and then saw another Waffle Wolf. But this one was… it was just a puppy. It barked and then wagged its tail back and forth. "Waffle… pup? Didn't even know these guys had puppies."
He walked over and towards it, and then began taking in the oddity. The puppy looked at him with equal curiosity. He bent down and looked it in the eyes. "Are you a glitch or something?"
The puppy responded by licking his face. Jimmy looked annoyed and wiped his face with his sleeve. The pup had fudge around his mouth, but it wasn't nearly as hot as the others wolves he was used to. It was warm as best. "What am I doing fooling around with you? I have a throne to get back to." He said standing back up. "Well, it was fun."
He started walking off, but then heard footsteps behind. He turned and saw the pup sitting behind him. He began walking again, and more footsteps. He whipped his head back around. "Stay." Jimmy said. He turned back around, and again more footsteps. This time when he turned around it was sitting right behind him.
"Look, I can't keep you. Even if bringing a Waffle Wolf back to the kingdom was a good idea, I don't have time to rule a kingdom and look after a pet. And frankly even if I did, I wouldn't want too. So just shoo now little mutt." He said turning back around. More footsteps again.
Jimmy whipped back around. "Hey! Are you not listening to me?! I'm telling you to scram! Stop following me already!" He shouted annoyed. The puppy groaned and then lowered its head, finally seeming to get the message. "Good." Jimmy said walking off once more. This time he could tell the thing wasn't following him.
Honestly, he didn't like being so harsh with the thing. It wasn't like it had tried to eat him or anything. But he simply couldn't be bothered with a pet, and after all the things he had with lately, his patience was running a bit thin. Besides, the thing would be fine on its own.
"You have a meeting regarding the berry recent shortage this afternoon, the citizens are getting a bit restless." Larry explained. Jimmy sat on his throne with a bored expression. When weren't the citizens restless? "Then there is a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new art museum."
Jimmy grunted. "An art museum? This is a racing game! Why are we even opening an art museum?!" He asked annoyed.
"One of the citizens brought it up a few weeks back. He wished to express himself artistically, and you approved claiming you could care less what he does."
"Didn't he understand the 'I don't care' part?"
"As king, you are obliged to attend such an event, even if you're not an art fan. It's one of the many responsibilities of-"
Jimmy leaned back in his chair. "Ah! Why couldn't Sydney just have stuck around and taken this job! Why did I have to get stuck with it?!" He said.
Larry frowned. "You've been really grumpy lately hermano. Is something up?"
Jimmy sighed. "I just don't think I'm king material. All I ever remember Garry doing was relaxing and ordering people around, but I'm stuck with all this work. It sucks."
Larry patted him on the shoulder. "It's only because of all the recent happenings. Once we finish cleaning up Garry's mess, things will lighten up tremendously."
"What about all the citizens and their orders huh?"
"They're just excited that they finally have a king that will listen to them. Garry never concerned himself with the wants and needs of the citizens before. But you, you're actually giving them what they want. I know it's a big burden to bear, but the people love you hermano. You're like a hero to them."
He leaned on his hand and then groaned. "Well being a hero sucks, I wish I could just go back to being the local troublemaker." He mumbled under his breath.
Larry chuckled. "So do I amigo."
Jimmy looked curious. "Hey Larry, you know a lot about animals, right?"
Larry looked at him confused. "Well, I suppose so."
"I want to know about Waffle Wolves."
Larry rubbed his chin. "Well, those are a bit trickier. No one can really get close enough to get any information on them. They move in packs, and they have a very strong sense of smell, so the moment you cross into their territory they'll be one you in spades." He explained.
"You mean do tell me there isn't a single bit of info on them?"
"I'm not saying there isn't any. Just very little. Of course, that's just what I know. You could check the library and see if the game designers put anything on them in there." Larry said. "But, why are you so interested them anyhow?" He asked curiously.
Jimmy looked up at the ceiling. "No reason…"
Later Jimmy did something that he never thought he would ever do. He went to the library, and he looked for a book. It wasn't like he didn't like reading, but only about racing. Looking up something about animals felt foreign to him. "Waffle Wolves, Waffle Wolves…"
He flipped thought the pages and then stopped. "Ah, there we go." He muttered. "Let's see, live in packs, hot fudge, hard shells… puppies." He quickly skimmed through the pages.
Not much is known about the growth and development of Waffle Pups. They are usually hidden away within the den of their packs. Occasionally one may stray from the den or attend it's mother on the hunt. Once away from the pack, this will most likely lead to the pup's…
Jimmy put the book down and then sighed. No, he wasn't going to let this get to him. He wouldn't have this on his conscious. This wasn't his fault. Mother or not, that wolf attacked him, he was only defending himself. He balled his fist up.
"Fudge!"
Jimmy walked through the Frosty Forrest carrying a large bag of Candy Dumplings over his shoulder. He wasn't sure what Waffle Wolves actually ate, but he hadn't met a creature in the game who didn't love Tea's cooking. He set the bag down and then looked around. "Alright you stinking mutt, come on out!" He called.
Nothing. He scowled. He had let his conscious get to him and figured he could at the very least give the thing some food, but now that he thought about it, this was stupid. For all he knew the thing had been found by its pack already and was long gone.
He suddenly heard rustling in the bushes. He turned around ready to reach for his Jaw-Bombs, but was tackled to the ground by a figure. The Waffle Pup began licking him all over the face as he struggled to pry him off. "Hey! Get off me already! Get off! I said stop you gobstopper!"
The pup stopped and then jumped off him. It stood beside him panting and wagging its tail happily. Jimmy stood up and wiped his face. "You mutt, you don't even look hungry. I shouldn't have brought you anything." He said picking up one of the dumplings.
He took a bite out of it and then heard a whining sound. He looked over and then the pup looking up at him sadly. He scowled. "You have to be kidding me. You're not hungry, you just smelt something good." He said tossing it up and down.
The dog whined and lowered its head to him. Jimmy sighed. "Little beggar." He tossed it to him and the pup raised up and then snatched the dumpling out of the air. It then looked back at him expectantly. "Oh, so you want another one huh? Quite the greedy little pup aren't you."
He reached into the back and tossed him another one, but he taking one for himself. "I figured you'd like these things. Tea is one of the best cooks in the entire arcade." He said. "But, then again, I also figured you'd be starving, so I wasn't expecting you to be all that picky."
The pup looked back towards him. Jimmy rolled his eyes. "Just take the whole thing." He said knocking the bag over. The dumplings spilled out onto the ground and the pup quickly began eating. Jimmy knelt down and looked over the wolf. It was so… small. Fragile. Nothing like the fierce creatures he was used to dealing with.
He took another one of the dumplings and then began eating. What was he going to do now? If the pack hadn't come back by now, it was unlikely they would return anytime soon. Plus, they were close to the Sweet Tooth kingdom, the wolves were smart enough to know not to get to close to the kingdom. The fact that the pup and his mother were here in the first place was off.
He could try and lead it back to the pack, but he wouldn't even know where to start. And there was no way this pup would last more than a few days out there, even if he stuck with him. He could bring him back to the castle… no way. Everyone would totally freak out. And there was the risk that the pack may actually track him back. He'd be putting the whole kingdom at risk.
The pup suddenly crawled up top of him and began licking his face. "Hey! Would you cut that out already?!" He said trying to push him away. The pup nuzzled his face. Jimmy sighed before sitting up and scratching the wolf under his chin. It began panting happily. "Stupid mutt…" He muttered. Jimmy decided he would just have to keep bringing him food until the pack returned.
Sending anyone else was a risk he wasn't willing to take. Besides, he had more than enough food to spare in the kingdom. And one more chore wouldn't be too bad he supposed. The pup began barking happily. "Tch, what a lame woof… woof… wolf… waffle… Okay, I decided on a name. You're Walf from now on." He said petting him.
Walf wagged his tail and began licking Jimmy once again. "Hey! I told you to knock it off! Ah, forget it. Do whatever you want." He said sighing.
"Jimmy!"
The frosty haired king shot up, looking shocked. "What is it?! What's wrong?!"
Larry frowned and then held up a piece of paper before him. "You have to go over these documents and settle a property dispute." He explained.
Jimmy sighed and ran his hands through his hair. A property dispute, really? Everyone in the game had their own house! How could there possible be a property dispute?! That didn't make any sense! He was just about up to his limit with this stuff. He had spent week after week settling petty little disputes that didn't even really need his attention.
The citizens were happy to have someone who listened to their problems, and he didn't want to just ignore them. But some of these issues were just downright foolish. The only time he got any relaxation time was when he snuck out at night and visited Walf.
The pup had grown up some size now, big enough for Jimmy to ride like a hoarse, and he was beginning to learn how to hunt on his own as well. But without the rest of the pack his odds at survival were still pretty low. Besides, as much as he liked to deny it, he liked visiting the waffle wolf. He no longer saw it as a chore, but as something to look forward to.
He would gather together some food, wait until everyone was asleep, and then sneak up to their hiding spot. Walf was always there, faithfully waiting for his master. He would teach him tricks, go foraging for food with him, and sometimes just relax. Unfortunately he would have to wake up the next day and resume his kingly duties.
"There's also been a Waffle Wolf sighting." Larry said snapping him out of his thoughts.
"W-what?!" Jimmy said shocked.
Larry looked at him surprised. "Nothing big, some of the citizens said it was still an adolescent. But I still think it would be wise to send Manny or Fang to exterminate it before it becomes a problem." He said flipping through the book her was holding.
Jimmy gritted his teeth. Was he talking about Walf? "Where did they see it?"
"Over near the Rocky Roads."
Jimmy balled his fist up. "W-why bother sending anyone out there. I mean there have never been any packs there before, it was probably just a loner that strayed off. It'll be long gone by now." He said trying to dissuade him. "It didn't even attack anyone."
Larry shook his head. "We should take it out to be safe. Waffle wolves will naturally become more territorial and aggressive as they grow. It only takes about a month or two for a pup to become a full grown monster." He said walking off.
"All of them end up like that?" Jimmy asked.
Larry nodded. "It's just in their programming I guess."
Jimmy sat against a tree while Walf laid beside him sleeping calmly. He looked down at the wolf with a frown. Was he really going to become all vicious like the other wolves? He had gotten way faster and stronger, but he assumed it was because of all his hunting. But if he did turn out like the others… would he even still recognize him?
He shook his head. "No, no way. There is no way you could turn into some monster. I won't let it happen." He said petting him on the head. Jimmy suddenly heard footsteps. Walf's eyes shot open and he began growling. "What is it boy?" He asked standing up.
A large Waffle Wolf made its way around from behind a nearby tree. It growled viciously and was dripping hot fudge from its mouth. Jimmy began backing away. Maybe this was one of the wolves from its pack. The wolf opened its mouth and roared loudly. Walf roared right back.
Okay, maybe not. The larger wolf ran at Walf, and Jimmy prepared to jump in. But, with blinding speed, Walf jumped up and then tackled the other wolf to the ground. The two tussled for a while, and even though Walf was at a clear size disadvantage, he was wining. He attacked with a fierceness that Jimmy had never seen, not even by other wolves.
After about a minute of scrapping the larger wolf found an opening and ran away whimpering. Jimmy looked absolutely amazed. "Whoa, that was fudging awesome!" He said running towards Walf. The wolf turned around and then growled at him. Jimmy stopped. "Walf?"
Walf barked angrily at him. He charged at Jimmy, teeth bared and ready to strike. Jimmy stood completely stunned. "Walf…" He stopped in front of Jimmy and then lifted its claw up in the air. "What are you doing?" Jimmy asked stunned.
Just before he swung, Walf's eyes suddenly softened. He laid down in front of Jimmy and began whimpering. Jimmy still stood there, completely shocked. Walf was about to attack him. He had serious tried to kill him just now. Larry was right, he had been changing.
Jimmy leaned down and began petting Walf on the head. "Hey, don't worry about it. You got into a little scrap and got overexcited, that's all." He said trying to reassure Walf, who had clearly expected to be scolded. Jimmy hid his fear from the wolf. What was he going to do? At this rate he really was going to turn into a monster. He had to do something.
Jimmy angrily threw the book across the room. "Fudge! I don't believe this!" He shouted kicking the table over. This was pointless. He had scoured the entire kingdom for anything that could tame Waffle wolves or alter programming, but found nothing. Meanwhile Walf was growing more violet with every week.
He had attacked Jimmy multiple times, never doing any serious damage. He knew that Walf was still there, but his control was slipping day by day. If he didn't do something, and soon, he would go totally wild. He ran his hands through his hair. "Come on Jimmy! Think of something!"
Larry suddenly busted through the door panting heavily. "Jimmy! There's an emergency in the kingdom! Some waffle wolf has gone on a rampage! He's tearing up everything in town!"
Jimmy grew wide eyed. "No!" He got up and then rushed out of the door. Larry followed behind him. "This can't be happening! I thought I had more time!"
"Time for what?" Larry asked confused.
Jimmy ignored him and began making his way towards the town. He could hear howls and all types of ruckus down there. Once he got to the town he saw Fang and Manny standing near a chocolate milk well. "Jimmy, good. We could use some help."
"Where is it?!" Jimmy said quickly.
Manny looked around trying to spot it. "I don't know. It's moving way to fast, even for me. I haven't been able to get a clear shot at it. And Fang can't get close enough to hit it."
Jimmy began walking forward. "You guys stand back, I'm going to handle this." The others looked confused, but decided to let him go. Jimmy took a deep breath and then yelled out. "Walf! Come here boy! C'mon!" He called.
"Who is Walf?" Manny asked looking to Larry. He shrugged.
Suddenly the wolf made his way out from behind a large building. Manny notched his arrow and Fang prepared to charge, but Jimmy held his hand up. "I said I got this!" He shouted. Manny and Fang exchanged a glance. "Back off!" Jimmy repeated.
Manny scowled. "Fine." He said lowering his arrow. Fang lowers his fist at well.
Jimmy walked towards Walf. "Walf, I need you to calm down. Come with me to the castle. I can keep you safe and under control until I-" Walf swung his paw knocking Jimmy aside. He tumbled back until he hit a nearby wall.
Manny and Fang both prepared to attack again, and Larry pulled out his whips. "Don't move, stay right where you are!" Jimmy yelled. He stood up and made his way towards Walf again.
Larry frowned. "Jimmy! I don't know what connection you have to that thing, but it's severed now! That thing is nothing but a monster! We have to destroy it!"
Jimmy shook his head. "I can't! I can't give up on him! I can still help him!" He said running back towards Walf. "C'mon Walf, I know your still in there somewhere!" Walf's eyes softened for a moment. He looked down at Jimmy with a saddened expression. Jimmy smiled. "It's okay, I'm not mad at you. Just come with me. I can take you back to the castle and-"
Walf eyes sharpened once more, and he lunged forward biting Jimmy on the shoulder. "Jimmy!" Larry yelled running towards them. Manny and Fang followed behind him.
Jimmy stood completely stunned. He frowned and then reached up and patted Walf's head. "I am so sorry." He said biting his lip. "I really am pathetic. I couldn't even save one stupid mutt." He heard Larry and the others approaching from behind, the last thing he saw was a blue flash of light.
Jimmy slowly woke up and let out a groan. What in the world had happened to him? It all came rushing back to him. "Walf!" He yelled sitting up. A set of paws suddenly pushed him back down to the bed and a tongue began licking his face. "Hey! Stop it! Knock it off!"
He looked up and saw Walf sitting in his bed. "Walf?! You're alive, and…" He grabbed the wolf's face and looked over him. "You're not all crazy! What happened?!"
"I think you did something with the source code back there." He looked over and saw Larry sitting in the corner of the room. "Before we could get to you, there was this flash of light. And next thing we know this guy is rolling around like some puppy. We figured you must have done something to… break his programming I guess."
Jimmy looked down at his chest and felt it. He knew how to activate the source code, but apparently controlling half was a bit trickier than the whole thing, at least according to what Vanellope had told him. Still, he must have been able to tap in to it somehow.
"He's been waiting at your bedside all day." Larry said.
Jimmy looked at him and smirked. "Heh, you big baby. Can't you even go a few hours without tagging along behind me like some lost puppy?" He said petting him.
"Hours? Hermano, it's been week."
Jimmy looked shocked. "Weeks?! Aw fudge! I missed so much stuff, I have to get back to-" Larry pushed him back down to his bed.
"Don't sweat it. Me and the other racers have been splitting up all your responsibilities, like we should have been doing from the start." Larry said.
"What?"
Larry nodded. "We all realized we've been putting way too much pressure on you. It's not fair that while you're giving your all, we get to slack off. So from now on we're going to do our best to help you out with your royal duties." He said.
"What about the races?"
"We rigged it so you wouldn't be chosen." Larry explained. "Everyone was worried about you, but I told them you'd be fine. You're too stubborn to stay down for long. For now though, just sit back and relax."
Jimmy smirked. "Relax huh…" Sitting back and doing nothing wasn't really his style. Then again, after the pat couple of weeks, he deserved at least one day of relation. He jumped out of bed and then hopped onto Walf's back. "C'mon boy! Let's go hunting!"
Walf barked and then went running off smashing through the wall as he did so. Larry sighed and shook his head. "A waffle wolf huh? I guess that's a fitting pet for him. After all, they're both strays…"
A/N: This is my first of the Sweet Tooth Stories, series. I already had this idea for Jimmy bouncing around in my head, so it was a given he'd be the first one I did. Tell me who you guys want me to do next! I'm open to some ideas in reviews!
As for the Sugar Rush High school fic, I am working on it. Literally as we speak... well, not as we speak, but after we're done speaking... technically we're not even speaking, I'm typing... either way, it'll be updated soon, I promise.
