Back at the Raccoondominium, Sophia was explaining to Melissa, Ralph, and Bert about the disaster that happened only moments before.
"I was wondering what ol' Hose Nose was screaming about," Bert said. "You could hear him all across the Evergreen Forest!"
"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Sophia," Ralph said. "Nothing can stand in the way of true love."
Melissa giggled. She loved it when Ralph got poetic like that.
"I agree," she said.
"So do I," Bert said. "Even if this conversation is starting to get a little mushy. Girls. They've always got to make a big, mushy production outta everything."
Both Sophia and Melissa took a couple of pillows from the couch and began swatting Bert with them as hard as they could.
"Ow!" Bert shouted as the girls kept smacking him around. "Hey! Quit it! Okay, okay! I take it back, I take it back! I surrender!"
"Never say anything like that about girls, Bert," Ralph warned. "And with that as an afterthought, don't get married, either."
"WHAT!" Melissa shouted. She picked up the pillow and began swatting Ralph with it.
"Hey, hey!" Ralph shouted. "I was just kidding, Melissa!"
Bert and Sophia burst out laughing at the sight of Melissa clobbering Ralph with the pillow, as all of Sophia's worries about Cyril and her engagement to Cedric melted away. She had a lot to do before the actual wedding, but with help from her friends, it was sure to go off without a hitch.
Or so she thought. What Sophia didn't know (and Cedric wasn't aware of it, either) was that Cyril was in the middle of plotting some matrimonial sabotage. He wanted to do everything he could to keep Cedric and Sophia from getting married. As he was doing his plotting, he called in his most faithful (and probably least competent) employees, Lloyd, Floyd, and Boyd Pig.
"I need you three to do something for me," he said.
"Yes sir!" the Pigs answered in unison.
"Do everything in your power to stop this wedding! Cedric insists on going through with it, and I don't want it to happen!"
"Yes sir!"
"Uhh, one question, sir," Lloyd said. "How do we stop the wedding?"
"I don't care! Sabotage things, don't let it get past the planning stage! Do whatever it takes to keep it from happening, you numbskulls!"
"Yes sir! Yes sir!" the pigs shouted in unison, and then ran out of the Sneer mansion as fast as their legs could carry them.
The first order of business was to figure out what exactly Cedric and Sophia were doing to prepare for the wedding. The pigs found them sitting by the lake, making notes of what needed to be done.
"So how big of a wedding is this going to be?" Cedric asked.
"A small one," Sophia replied. "We don't need to pull out all the extremes. Just family and friends."
"Maybe just friends. I'm not sure if Pop's going to show up or not. But if I know Pop, and judging by his reaction about this, I'd say he's not going to come."
Sophia nodded. Cedric had a very good point there. The two of them continued to make notes about the wedding. Even though they were going to keep the guest list small, they were going to go formal. Cedric had decided that he wanted Bert to be his best man, and Sophia was planning on asking Melissa to be her matron of honor. Both agreed to Broo being the ring bearer.
"I think that takes care of the wedding party for now," Sophia said. "We can talk about some of the other things that need to be done later."
"Right," Cedric said. "See you tomorrow, Sophia!"
And with that, Cedric and Sophia departed. The pigs decided to tail Sophia, since usually it's the girl who does more work than the guy does during a wedding. The Pigs went all the way to the Raccoondominum and ducked into the bushes. Then, they carefully climbed out and looked through the window. Two of the pigs had binoculars, and the other was holding a glass to his ear to hear what was going on inside.
"I've got a lot of magazines stored in the attic," Melissa said. "I got plenty of ideas out of there when Ralph and I got married."
"Great," Sophia said. "I think I could use all the help I can get. I'd like a formal wedding, but is it possible to do that on a limited budget?"
"Let me guess. Mr. Sneer isn't going to pay for this wedding?"
"Are you kidding? He practically blew a gasket when Cedric and I told him we were getting married, remember?"
"Yeah, what did I expect, right?"
Sophia nodded, and followed Melissa up a flight of stairs to get to the attic.
"Now what do we do?" Floyd asked.
"We go up to the attic and continue to snoop," Lloyd replied. "Come on!"
"How do we get up there without them seeing us?" Boyd asked.
"Hmm . . . . ."
The Pigs staid right where they were and thought it over. Finally, they came up with the idea of standing on each other's shoulders, and then maybe they could see inside the attic window. Lloyd was on the bottom, Floyd climbed onto his shoulders, and Boyd climbed onto Floyd's shoulders.
"I still can't see!" he shouted.
"We need to get up higher," Floyd said.
"We need something to stand on, but what?" Lloyd asked.
The pigs began thinking it over again. But before they could even hatch a plan, they heard some squeaky barking going on right behind them. The three pigs turned around, and saw Broo standing there, paws planted firmly in the ground, growling, and barking his head off at the pigs.
"Uh oh . . . ." Lloyd said.
"RETREAT!" all three pigs shouted in unison and they ran off as fast as they could.
Broo chased after them, barking like crazy. He didn't like trespassers. The pigs ran up a nearby tree, trying to get away from Broo. Broo stood at the foot of the tree, barking. All the commotion bought Schafer and Bert running over to him.
"Settle down, Broo," Schafer said. "There's nothing to get excited about."
"Yeah, he probably just chased a squirrel up there or something," Bert replied.
"Come on, Broo. Time to head back home."
Broo looked up the tree, and gave one final bark at the pigs, and then followed Schafer to their home. The pigs breathed of relief and climbed down from the tree.
"Now what do we do?" Floyd asked.
"I have an idea," Lloyd said. "Huddle!"
The three pigs huddled, as Lloyd whispered his plan. Then the three of them started laughing and squealing at the ideas they were hatching.
The next morning, Sophia and Melissa went shopping in their community. They had practically a million things to do. The first thing they did was stop in a bridal shop to look at wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses. The pigs followed them, but were careful enough not to get caught this time. However, Sophia kept getting the feeling that she and Melissa were being followed.
"I think you're just nervous," Melissa said. "I remember I was a little nervous when Ralph and I got married."
"I guess you're right, Melissa," Sophia said. "That's probably what it is."
The girls walked into the shop. The pigs ran to the window and began watching everything.
"So what are we gonna do?" Floyd asked.
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!" Lloyd shouted.
As Lloyd continued to think about what to do, Floyd andBoyd continued to watch through the window of the store.
At the time, Sophia and Melissa were going through a rack of discounted dresses. This was the only option for Sophia, considering the fact that she and Cedric were on a slight budget for the wedding.
"I can't believe you're reduced to looking for a discounted dress," Melissa said. "I always knew Cyril Sneer was a money hungry monster, but I never thought he was a cheapskate."
"I'm not at all surprised," Sophia said, as she pulled one of the wedding gowns off the rack to get a better look at it. "He's not happy at all with this whole wedding."
"I know, but still, Cedric's his son, so I think he should be a little supportive."
Sophia shrugged, and walked over to a full length mirror nearby. She held up the dress, and stared at it thoughtfully.
"I think this one would be nice," she said.
Melissa nodded in agreement. Then, she walked over to another part of the store to look for something for herself while Sophia went to try on the dress. A few minutes later, she came out of the fitting room, and twirled a little in the dress.
"Well, what do you think?" she asked.
"I think that it's perfect," Melissa said. "There aren't even all that many alterations we'll need to make on it."
Upon hearing that from outside (remember, the Pigs still had to use the glass against the wall method to hear what was going on), the Pigs got an idea. They raced to a costume shop right away.
Melissa and Sophia were leaving the bridal shop when they ran into three pigs, literally. Two of them were wearing business suits and berets, and the third was wearing a purple suit, a cape, monocle, and a purple hat with a feather stuck in it.
"Allo, bonjour, and allo, mademoiselles!" the garishly dressed pig said, in a French accent.
"Who are you?" Melissa asked.
"I am Monsieur Pierre LePourck!" the pig shouted (and he also pronounced "monsieur" like it's spelled). "Zee famous fashion designair!"
"Famous?" Sophia asked. "I've never heard of you."
"I design exclusively in Paree," the pig said. "I was hired by . . . . . oh what was hees name? Oh yes! A Cyril Sneer. Yes, zat ees hees name. He wanted me to design zee wedding gown to be worn by hees son's bride-to-be at zee wedding."
"Cyril Sneer?" Melissa asked. "I find that hard to swallow."
"Ah, but eet ees true!" the pig shouted. "Monsieur Sneer has had a, how you say, change of heart about zee wedding. Eesn't zat right, boys?"
"Yes sir, yes sir!" the other two pigs shouted in unison.
"Well, it's a very generous offer," Sophia said. "But I already found a wedding gown that's perfect."
"Hmm," the pig in the purple suit said. "Let me take a look at eet."
The other two pigs grabbed the box out of Sophia's hands, and flung the lid off it. Then they took the dress out of the box, and looked at it. "Pierre" walked around it, adjusting his monocle, stroking his chin thoughtfully as he looked at the dress. It was sleeveless, with a long skirt, and white of course. He continued looking it over, and finally shook his head in disgust.
"No, no, no!" he shouted. "Eet ees all wrong! You can not get married to anyone in zee Sneer family wiz a dress like zat! Eet simply weel not do! Mademoiselle, eet ees a good zing we found you. We will take zee dress, and we weel mold eet and transform eet into a Pierre LePourck oreegeenal! You weel not be sorry!"
"Exactly how much is this going to cost us?" Melissa asked.
"Ah, you do not have to worry about zee costs!" Pierre shouted. "All charges are to be covered my Monsieur Sneer."
"I don't believe that," Melissa said.
"Ah but eet ees true!" Pierre shouted. "Eesn't it, boys?"
"Yes, sir! Yes, sir!" the other two pigs shouted.
"Well, all right," Sophia said. "But will it be ready in time for the wedding?"
"Of course eet weel!" Pierre shouted. "I give you the Pierre LePourck guarantee! As we say in Paree, au revoir, and arevederci!"
And with that, Pierre and his two men stuffed the dress into the box, and ran off with it. Melissa watched them go suspiciously.
"I don't know if they can be trusted, Sophia," she said. "They're story seems kind of fishy to me."
"Oh Melissa, maybe Mr. Sneer really did have a change of heart about the wedding," Sophia said. "We can at least give him the benefit of a doubt."
"Still, I think I'll pay a visit to Cyril Sneer and see what's going on."
Back at the Sneer mansion, the Pigs had returned to Cyril, complete with Sophia's wedding dress, giving him a report of what they did.
"And we told her that you paid to hire a famous French designer to design the dress!" Lloyd shouted.
"And she bought it!"Boyd said with a laugh.
"Well, good to see you didn't screw it up this time," Cyril said. "I'd just like to see her get married without a wedding dress!"
Cyril began laughing over his whole scheme when the doorbell rang. He grumbled, and went to answer it, only to find Melissa Raccoon standing on his doorstep.
"Well, what do you want!" he shouted.
"I want to know about this Pierre LePourck," Melissa said.
"What about him?"
"He said that you hired him to design Sophia's wedding dress. Knowing you, Cyril Sneer, I find that very hard to believe."
"Of course I hired him! No son of mine is getting married to a girl wearing an ordinary wedding dress!"
"So . . . . you really did have a change of heart about the wedding?"
"Yes, now I have a lot of work to do, so if you don't mind . . . . . GET OFF MY PROPERTY!"
And with that, Cyril slammed the door in Melissa's face. Melissa went right back to the Raccoondominium.
In the meantime, Cedric and Bert were downtown, getting fitted for tuxedos for the wedding.
"You know, I think Pop's hiding something," Cedric said.
"If you ask me, he's hiding a lot of somethings," Bert replied. "And I think there's only one way to find out what."
"What's that?"
"We go do a little detective work. That attic of yours must have a lot of secrets!"
"I don't know, Bert. Pop's forbidden me to go into the attic."
"Why do you think that is, Cedric? Come on! We've gotta find out what he's hiding!"
"Well . . . . . okay, I guess."
Late that night, Bert and Cedric climbed up to the attic of the Sneer mansion. It was dark and dusty up there, completely covered in cobwebs. It was like no one had been up there in years.
"Boy, your dad sure doesn't keep this place clean," Bert said.
"I don't think he's been up here in awhile," Cedric replied. He came across a photo album and began looking through it.
Bert, in the meantime, walked over to a large steamer trunk, and pried it open. When he looked at the contents, he was shocked. Inside the trunk was a bunch of clothes, but that's not what shocked Bert. The clothes were all women's clothes.
"Hey Cedric," he said. "I think your dad's leading a double life."
"Maybe not," Cedric said. "Take a look at some of these photos."
Bert walked over to get a good look at the photos. Most of them were of Cyril when he was younger, and Cedric when he was a baby. But a lot of them had a girl aardvark in the pictures.
"Who's she?" Bert asked.
"I don't know," Cedric said. He pulled out one of the pictures and looked on the back of it. There was something written there.
"Sylvia and Cedric," Cedric read. "I wonder who Sylvia is?"
"Good question," Bert said. "But that's probably her stuff in the trunk there."
"WHAT'S GOING ON UP THERE!" a voice bellowed from the doorway.
Bert and Cedric turned around and saw Cyril standing right behind them.
"Pop!" Cedric shouted. "What are you doing up here?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing, Cedric!" Cyril shouted. "I thought I told you never to come up here!"
"Never mind that!" Bert shouted. "You've got something to explain, yourself you know!"
"Like what?" Cyril asked.
"Like who's Sylvia!"
Cyril sort of choked, and caught sight of the photo album that Cedric was holding. He grabbed it away, and started down the stairs.
"She's nobody!" he shouted. "Just . . . . . somebody I used to know. That's all."
"If she's nobody, Pop, then why are all these pictures up here?" Cedric asked.
"Well . . . ." Cyril said, trying to think of a good excuse.
"And that trunk there," Bert said. "If she's nobody, then why is that up here?"
"Let me give you a word of advice," Cyril said to Bert. "Keep your nose out of other people's business!"
Cyril turned, and started to go down the stairs when a photo fluttered out of the album, and landed on the floor. Bert picked it up, looked at it, and smirked.
"If she's nobody," he said. "Then why did you get married to her?"
Cyril stopped short. He turned around, glared at Bert, and reached for the photo.
"Give me that photo!" he yelled.
"Not a chance!" Bert shouted, jumping on top of a pile of boxes, out of Cyril's reach. "Not until you tell us who Sylvia is!"
"Why you . . . . . give me that picture or I'll make a fur coat out of you!"
Bert laughed and jumped off the boxes, trying to keep the photo away from Cyril. Cyril was about ready to explode. He growled, and began chasing Bert around the attic. The two of them began knocking into things in the attic, making not only a huge mess, but a huge noise as well. Cedric managed to get in between them and break things up.
"You two are gonna wake up the whole forest!" he shouted.
"Aw come on, Cedric!" Bert shouted. "You want to know who Sylvia is, don't you?"
"Of course I do," Cedric said.
"All right, fine!" Cyril shouted, giving up. "I'll tell you! Cedric, Sylvia . . . . . well, Sylvia is . . . . . your mother."
