The group managed to track Rocky and his thugs to the edge of the Evergreen Forest, at a peanut butter factory. Unfortunately, they had lost track of them.

"I wonder where they went?" Ralph asked.

"Never mind them," Reggie said, looking around. "I think we've just let a bull loose in a china shop."

"What do you mean?" Melissa asked.

"Well, we're at a peanut butter factory," Reggie continued. "And that only means one thing . . . ."

"Bert!" the others shouted, and they raced into the factory to find Bert before he could do anything crazy. Luckily, they caught him before he could get very far.

"Just one lick!" he shouted as Ralph, Reggie, and Cedric held him back. "Just one! I gotta have it! I gotta have some peanut butter!"

"Cool it, will ya, Bert?" Reggie asked. "Good grief."

"No sign of Rocky Calone and his thugs around here," Melissa said, looking around the room.

"Maybe some of the workers have seen him," Ralph said, walking over to one of the factory workers. "Excuse me, ma'am, have you seen three suspicious looking characters around?"

"No, I haven't," the worker said, nervously. She was trying to squirt peanut butter into the jars on the assembly line. "I haven't seen much of anything. We've got a ton of problems here."

"Look at this," Sophia said, indicating the jars on the belt. "All the jars are half empty."

"Or half full, depending on how you look at it," Reggie shrugged.

"That's the problem," the worker said. "We're trying our best, but we can't fill the jars up, and no one will buy half full . . . . or half empty . . . . jars of peanut butter."

"I know someone who would," Ralph said, glancing at Bert. He was trying to race for the conveyer belt, drooling, and Cedric was holding him back.

"The boss told us if we don't start filling these jars up," the worker said. "It's pink slips all around! The boss is spending tons of money on peanuts, and we're still not filling the jars!"

"Something weird is going on here, Ralph," Melissa said. "We'd better investigate."

"Right, Melissa," Ralph said. "Mind if we take a look around?"

"Go ahead," the worker replied. "We've got jars to fill. Hopefully."

The group began walking around outside of the factory. Unfortunately, they didn't have the slightest idea where to start looking. Luckily for them, they were about to get a lead. Slim and Muscles were just coming around the corner.

"Over there!" Cedric shouted. "It's Rocky Calone's henchmen!"

"Uh oh," Slim said. "Company. Let's make like the wind and blow!"

"Yeah! And let's get outta here, too!" Muscles shouted, and he and Slim took off, but the Raccoons and their friends ran after them.

Muscles and Slim ducked through a door, and ran down a flight of stairs. They found their boss, in a hideout underneath the peanut butter factory. Rocky had tubes attached to the machinery upstairs, which led to a giant tank. Peanut butter was being squirted from the tank into his jars. He was also counting his ill gotten gains.

"Hey, boss, we've got bad news," Slim said. "That weird lookin' raccoon we tossed out of line is snoopin' around upstairs with his friends."

"Yeah?" Rocky asked. "Well, listen, see. They ain't gettin' any of my peanut butter. Slim, turn up the pressure on the tank. Then, you and Muscles get those jars into the vault, see?"

"Got it, boss," Slim said. He walked over to the other wall, and turned a wheel. Peanut butter began squirting into jars on the conveyor belt. Then, he and muscles began to gather up the jars and put them in Rocky's vault.

Meanwhile, the Raccoons and their friends were still trying to find out which why these peanut butter thieves had gone, but they weren't having any luck.

"This is ridiculous," Melissa said. "They couldn't have just disappeared into thin air!"

"We'd better keep looking," Ralph said. "Maybe if we split up, we'll have a better chance of finding them."

But before the group could split up, the scent of peanut butter filled the air. Bert caught a whiff of it, and began drooling. He soon got a hungry look in his eyes, and a silly grin plastered on his face.

"Peeeeaaaaanut buttttteeeerrrrrr!" he sighed, dreamily.

"Cool it, Bert," Reggie said, holding his friend back. "There's a shortage, remember?"

"But if Bert is smelling it, there must be some peanut butter around here somewhere," Ralph said.

"And if we find peanut butter," Melissa said. "We find Rocky Calone."

"Okay, Bert, track down the scent," Ralph said. "But control yourself."

"Oh, don't worry, Ralph," Bert said. "I'm in complete control!"

And with that, Bert took off like a shot. The others raced after him, but they couldn't keep up. Bert rounded a corner, and the others lost him.

"Oh great," Reggie said, sarcastically. "Now we've lost Bert as well as Rocky Calone's goons."

"Let's split up and look for Bert," Ralph said. "If I know him, he'll get himself into trouble over peanut butter."

The others nodded. Ralph, Melissa, and Reggie went in one direction, while Cedric and Sophia went in another. Bert found a door, and threw it open, racing down a flight of stairs.

"I'm in control," he said. "I'm in control . . . . I'm out of control! I'm out of control! Peanut butter!"

At the end of the flight of stairs, Bert found a vent, and looked through it. He saw Rocky's vault full of peanut butter jars, and began drooling like Pavlov's dog.

"The Mother Load!" he shouted, and in a burst of speed, ran right through the vent, and into Rocky's vault, slamming the door behind him. Rocky and his goons didn't know what to make of it at first.

"Daaahhhh, who was dat masked man anyway?" Muscles asked.

"You moron!" Rocky shouted, whapping Muscles over the head. "Get in there!"

As Rocky, Slim, and Muscles began to get into the vault, Bert was opening jars of peanut butter, scooping the contents into his paw, and straight into his mouth, gobbling and slurping up the peanut butter as fast as he could. He was eating like a pig. But he didn't care. As long as he got his peanut butter. Finally, he grew full, and he collapsed on his back amid a sea of peanut butter jars.

"Ninety-nine jars of PB on the wall! Ninety-nine jars of PB!" Bert sang, way off key. Then he hiccuped. By that time, Rocky and his goons finally got the door to the vault open, and saw Bert lying there.

"You dirty rat," Rocky said.

"Uh oh . . . ." Bert said, nervously. He would have gotten up to run away, but he was too full.

"Daaahhh, what you want we should do wit him, boss?" Muscles asked, as he picked up Bert by the collar.

"Well, if he wants peanut butter, give it to him," Rocky said. "Show him the peanut butter tank, if you know what I mean."

"Sure, boss," Slim said. Then he began laughing. "That's a good one."

Slim and Muscles cracked up at that. Rocky turned to them.

"Shaddap!" he shouted.

Muscles and Slim "shaddapped," and proceeded to roll Bert over to the big tank of peanut butter.

"Bone appetite, Peanut Butter Ball," Slim said, as he and Muscles pushed Bert off the catwalk, and into the tank.

"Yaaaahhhh!" Bert screamed as he fell.

SPLAT!

Right into the tank of peanut butter. Bert swam in the peanut butter for awhile, and then he ended up somehow getting sucked down into it, and squirted into one of the jars.

(This is a cartoon, people, it doesn't have to make sense!)

As Bert was riding on the conveyor belt, Ralph, Melissa, Reggie, Cedric, and Sophia regrouped right in front of it.

"Any luck?" Cedric asked.

"None whatsoever," Melissa sighed.

Bert saw them, and managed to scoot himself off the conveyor belt. He rolled towards his friends, and ended up slamming right into Cedric's foot, hard.

"Ouch!" Cedric shouted. Then he looked down at the jar, and his eyes nearly popped right out of his head.

"Bert?!" he shouted, incredulously.

"Boy, how cartoony can ya get?!" Reggie shouted, picking up the jar.

"I knew this would happen someday," Ralph said. "Bert, I told you if you ate too much peanut butter, you'd turn into a jar of peanut butter."

"Come on," Sophia said. "Let's get him out of there."

Reggie took the lid off the jar, and Bert's tail sprang up out of it. But that was about all.

"This is going to take all of us," Ralph said, grabbing Bert's tail. Everyone else positioned themselves behind Ralph, and got ready.

"On three," Melissa said. "One, two, three, HEAVE!"

Everyone pulled as hard as they could until they managed to get Bert out of there. Thanks to the force of their pull, everyone stumbled backwards and fell to the floor.

"I've heard of packed under pressure, but that was ridiculous!" Reggie shouted.

"Bert, how in the world did this happen?!" Ralph shouted.

"Rocky Calone and his stooges, that's how," Bert said. Then he hiccuped, and groaned.

"No," Ralph said, poking Bert in the belly. "I mean this peanut butter gut!"

"Whoa, it's a long story," Bert moaned. "But after this, I think I'm ready to swear off peanut butter! Rocky Calone's got a whole vault full of the stuff. Let me tell you guys something, he's one tough customer!"

"I think I'll head back to the Standard," Melissa said. "I think we have a file on Calone there. It's worth checking out."

"I'll go with you," Reggie said. "Then we'll head for the police."

And with that, Melissa and Reggie left the factory to check into Rocky Calone.

"So what do we do about Rocky now?" Cedric asked.

"Well, I've got an idea," Bert said. "Now here's what we'll do."