Adrian was tired.

He was tired, he was cranky, and he was deadest determined. He knew that if he didn't see the stupid, annoying, troublemaking idiot of a puppy to his isolation room personally, he'd be in for a repeat of the day. It took a long time to catch up to him on that scooter. An even longer time to pry that stupid ball out of his mouth. He was fed up with him. He was gonna end this once and for all, and he was gonna sleep afterwards.

Mrs. Tusk was carrying Benny to his isolation room as he thought of these things. He followed close behind, eyes to the carpet floor and not making a sound. Benny was making clicking noises with his mouth, and he was looking as if he wasn't worried at all. Unbeknownst to him however, Adrian knew exactly why…

They reached the room. Mrs. Tusk placed the boy on the bed of the empty room, and looked at him with the sternest look she could muster. "The punishment this time is forty-eight hours. That's two full days in isolation for the shoplifting, and the violation of store property! Just keep in mind that this is for your own good!"

Benny stopped smiling, and put his folded his legs. "You know, I did help stop a robbery." He said in a 'matter of fact' voice.

"Uh, actually Collins, you didn't."

Adrian silently stomped over to the puppy, and all the sudden, he was holding him by the collar of his t shirt. Adrian suddenly tore it off, and flipped the puppy on his stomach to expose what was on his bare back: a piece of duct tape taped on.

RRRRRRRIIIIP!

"YOW!" The puppy shrieked. A fair amount of fur was ripped off with the tape, and Adrian secured what he knew the boy had. "I did!"

Mrs. Tusk watched the scene in disbelief. "I…I don't understand. Why would he have that on himself?" she asked.

"Let me see the key to the door." The grey kitten answered.

The elephant did as the ten-year-old instructed, and handed it to him. Adrian proceeded to close the door, and lock it. Then Adrian folded the tape until it was decently thickened, and put it in the space between the door and the door frame.

It took about a minute and a half until the door suddenly opened for the kitten. Mrs. Tusk was astonished. "Last month, I got in trouble for beating the bully Sean Sheepard. When I was put in Isolation, I used the same trick to get out of my room. Benny was being put in Isolation himself, so he saw what I was doing to get out. I knew that he had to be using it to get out so many times, I just didn't know where he was putting the tape…until I saw it under his shirt at the store."

Adrian then brought Mrs. Tusk out the door, and looked at Benny in anger. "You're not getting away this time, Collins!"

And with that, he took the key and gladly slammed the door, ensuring that the puppy would not be getting out. He then starting walking down the halls, when a knock was heard. "Hey Adrian…"

The kitten let out a long sigh, and went back to the locked door. "What?" he asked in annoyance. "When I get out of here, I'm gonna shave off half your mane when you're sleeping."

Adrian wasn't impressed. He just turned around, and resumed walking through the halls with Mrs. Tusk. Now that Benny was behind him, he was starting to feel a large sense of relief overcome him…like finding and killing a mosquito that's been flying in your room when you're trying to sleep, but couldn't see it until finally getting lucky.

It felt so good, Adrian started to have a smile creep up his face as he looked down at his hind paws. Mrs. Tusk took notice. "You seem happy." She said.

The two reached Adrian's room. "I am gonna sleep, and you're not gonna come in the middle of the night, and wake me up. I'm as happy as can be."

The kitten entered his room, and the elephant closed the door behind him. Now alone, he looked around the area to examine the one place he wasn't spending too much time in recently.

There were two beds, but thanks to a recent successful adoption, only one was being used. Adrian didn't care though, the other boy always kept crayons on the floor. To his left, was his wardrobe, which kept his clothing, and his pajamas. Speaking of which…

After buttoning up his sleep shirt, he saw to his right the desk he used from time to time for the sake of drawing pictures. Up above the desk was a window that had branches filling the view. In the windy nights, some of the branches would tap on the window. To his former roommate, the sound was scary in the night. But Adrian was not in the least superstitious. So to him, it was relaxing.

So relaxing, that he was letting out a long yawn that he didn't know he was saving up. He was tired, and he was gonna sleep. He got under the covers, and lay his furry head on the pillow with a smile. "Finally…I can relax…"

…

The tree branches were thick, but not even they could block out the morning sunlight. It shined through the leaves and into the window of Adrian's room, slowly waking him up. The kitten was hesitant to get out of bed, but as his mind started to awaken, he realized that there was something special about today: No Benny.

"No Benny…" He said aloud.

With a yawn, he slowly sat up, and rubbed his head. He remembered what Benny said about his mane, and smiled when he felt it fully intact. Adrian removed the covers and got out of bed. He did some morning stretches, and started taking off his sleep shirt. After he did, he took a small sniff of it. It smelled sweaty. "Hm. Think I need to get this washed."

He put the shirt aside, and opened his closet. A pale blue v neck t shirt, and a dark blue pair of jeans seemed good enough for the day. Even so, He also took his white zip-up hoodie as well. Best to be safe about it.

Adrian then gathered his sleep clothing, and looked at the small pile on the bottom of his closet. He took the whole thing with him and walked down the halls. The orphanage didn't have the most efficient management, but it was equipped with good quality features. So much so, it contained its own schooling, medical insurance, and of course, its own laundry machines.

At the end of the hall was the laundry chute that the children and staff used to send their unmentionables to be cleaned. The staff down below would take care of the rest. With that done, Adrian decided to go get breakfast. Classes wouldn't be starting until the afternoon, so he had plenty of time to enjoy the day.

…

Still sore.

Benny rubbed the spot where Adrian had harshly ripped the duct tape from his back. He had just woken up, and the feeling was his alarm clock. He remembered the promise he had made to the sour kitten, and he had full intention of keeping it. First thing was first however…

"How am I gonna get outa here?"

Suddenly, a knock came on the door. "Benny? You awake? You decent?"

Benny looked down to see that he was naked. He looked to his ruffled sheets to spot his pants and underwear. He quickly scrambled to them and put them on, doing his best to ignore the pain. "J-just one minute! Let me get my shirt on!"

He put it on, along with his pants. Although his shirt was backwards and inside out. He didn't notice though, and he knocked on the door to let the mammal outside know that it was safe to come in. "Benny? I've brought you lunch."

It was Keith. The nice Labrador retriever that supervised the staff. He was wearing a red shirt and blue jeans and had on a square shaped pair of glasses. In his hand, he was holding a paper plate. It had scrambled eggs, a potato, a cup of water, and plastic utensils. "Lunch? What about breakfast?" Benny asked.

"I came to bring you breakfast, but you didn't answer. I figured you were still asleep." Keith answered.

"Oh. Well, yeah. That's right."

Benny was about to take the food when he heard screaming coming from down the hall. "LET ME GO! I WASN'T THE ONE WHO DID IT! PUT ME DOWN!"

It was Sean Sheepard. The bully who Adrian got into a fight with that one time. He always did things to others and lied to keep out of trouble. Since he was on the staff's good side, they usually believed him. Someone must've caught him. "Shut it, Sean! The other children saw everything! You're in for twenty-four hours indefinitely!"

Benny had no idea what 'indefinitely' meant, but more importantly, he didn't care. He watched as the two mammals carrying him threw him into the room next to him. He took the plate and took a bite of the potato. "YOU CAN'T KEEP ME IN HERE FOR THAT LONG! I HAVE THINGS TO DO TONIGHT!"

He tried to run out of the room, but the staff just shoved him back in, and closed the locked door. "You are going to miss it!"

The two started walking out of sight, and Benny took another bite. "I'll be back in a half hour to get your garbage." Keith said.

Benny nodded to him and went back into his room, allowing Keith to close the door. Benny waited until he couldn't hear his pawsteps anymore, and went to the wall that separated him from Sean's room. "Hey Sean…"

He waited a few minutes, taking a bite of egg while he waited, before he heard a response. "Want something Benny?"

His voice was irritated, and disappointed. Whatever he was going to go to, it must've been important to him. This made Benny curious. "What exactly…were you going to tonight?"

Sean's hoof steps could be heard from the other side of the wall. "Why would I ever tell you?" he asked. "You would probably just leave me here if I told you, and then you'd go to it instead of me…and get your hands on it…and probably get into a lot of trouble since you…"

He paused. Benny had a feeling that he hadn't moved. "…on second thought, why don't you listen up, Benny boy? I'll even help you get out of your room."

Benny smiled. "I'm listening."

"Okay. You have any forks with your food?" he asked.

"Just a plastic one." The puppy replied.

"Okay, good! Now here's what you gotta do: Take the spike on the end, and pick it off. But only take one! If you take too many at once, Keith will be onto you…"

…

One hour ago, Adrian watched Lars, the chubby hippo that Benny stole from one time be kicked on the ground by Sean and his friends. They stopped soon enough however, and started to walk away laughing. "Fatty." Sean said under his breath. Adrian had his hood pulled over his head, and watched alone and in silence as Charlie the piglet came to Lars' aid. The poor hippo was crying, and more small mammals were coming to comfort him.

Adrian had expected the day to be a cakewalk now that Benny was in confinement. He was wrong. Sean must've been tormenting the others all along. Not that he was surprised though. He had been picking on the others ever since he and his older brother came into the orphanage. His brother had since been adopted, but Sean wasn't. Since then, he had just been getting to everyone, and telling the staff that others had been doing it instead of him.

Now that Adrian didn't have to worry about Benny, it seemed that he found another mischievous child to deal with. Adrian had seen enough however. Normally he couldn't care less, but Benny had soured him to the point where he couldn't stand another misbehaving child. Sean had to be taught a lesson.

The kitten didn't say a word however, he didn't need to. He already knew what to do, and when to do it. He just needed supplies.

…

Four pencils, five strong rubber bands, the tube of a pen, some of Benny's tape, and a long piece of wood thin enough to fit in the pen tube. Everything needed to build a makeshift crossbow. Adrian had his secret weapon ready, now he just needed to get to the place to make it happen: class.

The classrooms were much like a college room. Some seats were higher than the others, and arced into a half of a circle. Adrian made sure to get himself into a higher seat. He'd have to be for this to work.

Sean was coming in. He was with his friends too, none of which he knew the names of. There was the bear cub who was obviously the biggest kid in the orphanage. Sean kept him around for muscle. There was the little raccoon, which Sean kept around to help steal things. And of course, there was the female fox kit, who was the real reason why Sean was so good at telling lies. He just repeated everything she said for him.

Adrian was aware of where they sat. Now he just needed to wait until they did. As the rest of the students got to their seats, Adrian took notice of the teacher coming to the board. She was probably the strictest mammal in the orphanage. Miss Darcie. A tigress who always wore a dark grey suit. Not a whisper came from the class that she didn't hear. And whether it was because she could recognize the voice, or her fearsome demeanor making the others point to the culprit, didn't make any difference. She was a mammal that Adrian respected more than any other. Why she wasn't running the place, Adrian would never know.

The teacher began to speak to the class, and write across the chalkboard. Adrian however, good a student as he was, did not pay any true attention to her words. His weapon was ready, the environment was ready, and Sean was ready…to take the blame. He pulled back the rubber bands and lined up the shot, and he took a quick glance around the room. No one was watching…except for Lars.

Adrian froze, and the two locked eyes. Adrian looked to his weapon, still in mid-aim. Lars looked to Sean, who was scratching behind his ear, obviously paying more attention to that than the class. Lars then looked to Miss Darcie, and then back to Adrian. The kitten knew what Lars was thinking, and he nodded to confirm. Lars looked back to Sean, and narrowed his eyes. Sean had beaten him today. He bullied him in front of everyone and made him cry again. He kicked him in the dirt, and called him 'fatty'. He needed to pay for that.

Adrian never really was one who cared for others; always spending his time alone. But now he suddenly wanted to step up for the rest of children and put the bullies like Sean in their place? Who was he to stop him?

With those thoughts in place, Lars looked back to Adrian and nodded his head. That was all the permission Adrian needed. He took a deep breath, and released the bands. The wooden piece flew through the pen's tube, and sailed across the room, and over everyone's head. Now all the kitten had to do, was stick out his tongue, and blow a small raspberry. Everyone took notice of the piece flying, except for Sean. And that choice to ignore the teacher would cost him; because when Miss Darcie turned around to announce that she had heard the raspberry, that piece hit and bounced right off Miss Darcie's glasses. Her glasses blocked that stick of wood from hitting her right in the eye. Now her attention was immediately drawn to the students.

"WHO DID THAT!?"

All the children looked away on instinct, and Sean, also out of instinct, gave the teacher his full attention. Miss Darcie looked at all the students one by one, and noticed that only Sean was giving her complete attention. Her eyes narrowed, and she walked towards the students. Everyone was deadly silent at her approach. She could bite off any of their heads if she really wanted to; and now she was angered…at them. She ascended the steps, and approached Sean. "Did you throw this at my head?"

Her hiss prohibited any lie that he could muster up. Not that he needed one. This time. "N-No, Miss Darcie. I don't even know where it came from."

"Liar!"

Miss Darcie looked up, and made direct eye contact with Lars. "Say again, Lars?"

The hippo gulped. "I-I saw him, Miss Darcie. He did throw it at you! I…I-I saw it."

Then the tigress looked to Charlie, and snapped the piece in her claw. "Charlie? Is he telling the truth?"

Her tone told the piglet that she was in no mood for games. "Uh…" the piglet started.

His first thought was to say, 'I don't know where that came from'. But then he remembered what Sean did to Lars, and it was in that instant moment he knew just what to say. "Y-yes! That's-that's exactly what happened! I saw it too!"

"SEAN! CONFINEMENT AFTER CLASS!"

"W-WHAT!?" But! But I didn't do anything!"

"NOT! ANOTHER! WORD!

Sean shut up.

…

Class time ended soon enough. Adrian watched in silence as the staff carried a kicking and screaming Sean to confinement. Keith was watching the scene from across the hall, and approached with a paper plate carrying some freshly made lunch. "I don't even understand why they have confinement in an orphanage. It's practically treating them like prisoners, not children!"

Adrian looked up to the retriever. "It's what they deserve. They broke the rules, and they have to pay for it."

Keith looked to the kitten. "But they're just children! And-and doing this to them doesn't teach them a lesson! It only makes it worse!"

"How would you know that? Most kids who get sent to confinement never do anything again. Most never even have to go into confinement to begin with."

"I know because I care!"

Keith looked at the kitten with a serious look, and drew out a long breath. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go send your poor prisoner his food."

Adrian looked on as Keith started off down the hall. His attention however, was cut short when Lars tapped him on the shoulder. He had Charlie at his side. The three stood in silence for a moment, Lars and Charlie giving each other glances due to Adrian's uncomfortable silence, but Lars found it within himself to muster the courage to speak.

"Thank you."

…

Dinner time had just ended. Roach loaf; a Thursday special. Benny was still too young to understand why bug meat was the only permitted meat for mammals, but in time, he'd understand just fine. He already had the two pieces of plastic fork he was gonna need, but Sean told him that he couldn't leave in the middle of the day. He had to wait until dinner was over.

Now that it was, both Benny and Sean waited until Keith's pawsteps could no longer be heard. "Okay, he's gone. Now what?" Benny asked.

"Now put one of the fork pieces in the top of the key hole, and put the other one on the bottom."

Benny did as he was told, and looked to the wall that kept him and Sean apart. "Okay, got it."

"Good. Now turn both pieces to the right as if it were a real key."

Again, Benny did as he was told, and the door immediately unlocked itself, with the cost of both pieces of plastic fork snapping. Oh well. At least he could get out.

The puppy stepped out the door, and slowly approached Sean's door. He put his ear to the hard wood, and gently knocked. "Sean…"

A small moment of silence. "Yeah…?" he asked from inside.

"…you're wearing your clothes in there, right?"

"Just let me out!"

Benny rolled his eyes as if he was proven innocent after a long day in court, and unlocked the door. Inside, Sean was holding something in his hoofs, something small and red. It looked like a ticket. "What's that?" Benny asked.

"A ticket for Reggie's. I got a big package waiting for me, and I'm already running late."

Benny watched in silence as the black sheep pocketed the ticket. Benny had heard of Reggie's once before. Sean had gone there to buy one of those animal muzzles, which he put on Tammy Babs the day before she got adopted.

"Now all I have to do is get past you…"

Sean cracked his hoofed knuckles. Benny watched with a raised brow as Sean started to advance; but all the puppy did was smile…and take his shirt off.

…

The first sense that came back was his hearing, for he heard buzzing in the air. The second sense that returned was feeling, for he felt a tickle on the top of his head, like something brushing across it. Then the feeling was turned from a tickle to an itch. Adrian scratched at the left side of his head, only to find out that the cause of the itching was a large amount of loose fur. It felt like half his mane was shaved off…

Then all the sudden, a memory sparked inside of his dreams. "When I get out of here, I'm gonna shave off half your mane when you're sleeping."

Adrian sprung awake, and felt at the loose fur and shook it off. His fears confirmed. Half of his mane was indeed shaved off his head. Not bothering to change out of his newly washed pajamas, Adrian ran from his room, and darted down the empty halls. It was the middle of the night, probably around 1:00 to 2:00, so no one else would be in the halls. Everyone was asleep, and there were no monitors keeping watch in the night. Courtesy of Mrs. Tusk's poor management.

Confinement was easy enough to get to, and isolated as it was, he didn't have to worry about waking anyone up. He barged right into Benny's room, and not at all to his surprise, he was gone.

Adrian fell to his knees, and held his head in frustration. His shaved mane gave him all the proof he needed that the puppy was gone. He didn't just barge in because he wanted more proof however. He barged in because he had a small sense of hope that he was still here.

Now that hope was gone. And in that hopelessness…in that anger…in that frustration…Adrian couldn't help but scream. "BENNY!"

His scream was loud. Loud enough to echo across the hallway. Adrian expected it to do that much, he just didn't care. What he didn't expect however, was a sudden thumping in the room right next to Benny's. Thumping, and muffled shouting. Someone else was in here. But who…?

"Sean?!"

The kitten rushed into Sean's room, and there he was. He was tied inside of his bedsheets like a giant sack with his pants used for rope to bind him inside of the sheet, and inside of his mouth was none other than Benny's neon green shirt, gagging him.

Adrian was in no mood for games, none whatsoever, so he stomped right over to the lamb, and ripped out the shirt so he could speak. Or more specifically, answer.

"What?! happened?!"

Sean spit out the loose bits of dog fur stuck in his mouth from the shirt, and looked up at the kitten. "I let him get away!" he shouted in utter defeat. "Here's what my plan was: I was gonna trick him to get me out of this room, then I'd beat him up, and go to the thing I was gonna go to. But Benny was too fast! He just tackled me, shoved his shirt in my mouth, tied me up and left me here!"

Adrian had never seen Sean so upset. In fact, it looked like he was crying. Fresh tears were streaming down his already matted wool. Not only was he crying now though, but it seemed that he had previously cried himself to sleep. He truly was defeated, and he knew it too. "And…and the worst part…?" he said between sniffles and sobs. "…he s-stole my ticket!"

Adrian didn't know what he was talking about. But he did want to know. Not missing a beat, he slapped Sean across the face, claws exposed. His sobbing was silenced immediately. "I am going to ask you one time, and one time only. And you'd better hope that you're telling the truth, because if I come back here again tonight…you will have a lot more scratch marks on you than just across the face…"

As he spoke, he stood above the bound sheep and grabbed the collar of his shirt. The way he made himself tower above him…the furious look in his eyes…the sting of his claws…

Sean had never been so terrified in all his life…

"WHERE IS HE!"

…

Reggie was reading a magazine in his shop. His feet were up on the front desk, and his smile was greatly amused. Reggie was a chimpanzee who always liked to wear flannel shirts, and he always wore his favorite blue and green cap. He suddenly heard his bell ringing, and little thumps on the floor boards of his underground shop. The kid had arrived, he was sure of it.

Sean was somewhat of a bad apple, but Reggie didn't care too much. A customer was a customer, and if they had the money, he was fine with it. Sean however, had one of his magic tickets. A coupon that could buy one of his most high-quality items. Now the boy had come to collect.

He put his feet down, and put his magazine away to properly greet the boy. "Ah, there you are! I was wondering when you'd show up, I was about to close…up…you're not Sean."

Matter of fact, he had no idea who he was. He was certainly young, no doubt about that. In fact, he seemed younger than Sean. It was a small cub of some kind. Looked almost like a black wolf in the darkness of the night. "Uh, yeah…Sean couldn't make it. I had to come in his place, but don't worry. I've got the ticket."

Reggie watched as the small cub stepped into the light. He saw that it wasn't a cub, but a small puppy. He had black and white fur, and underneath his red cap, he had topaz orange eyes. He was wearing a grey sport jacket with a yellow zipper. Underneath that was a blue button-up shirt. His pants seemed black at first, but once he was at the desk, he realized that they were a dark shade of brown, not black. His jacket seemed to be supporting a small backpack. Reggie could see that it had the handle of a scooter inside it.

"My name's Benny. I heard that this ticket was worth something here?"

Reggie was presented with the little red slip. It was the ticket alright. Guess Sean really wasn't coming. Oh well. "Uh…yeah! Yeah, that's right. Worth one of my most valuable products. So, Sean ain't coming then?"

"Nope."

Reggie got on his arms and legs, and started off into the back room of the store. He motioned for Benny to follow.

Benny himself was excited. He had never been to something like this before. He had seen enough Crime TV shows to know what they were all about though. They always sold the coolest things. Things like car upgrades, pocket knives, fireworks…they even had guns sometimes! Not that he was hoping or anything.

"I'll be entirely honest, I wasn't too sure about Sean. He seemed like he'd be a delinquent for the rest of his life with the attitude he had." Reggie said.

"Yeah…that's what a lotta mammals think about him. That's actually why he's not here. They caught him doing something really bad. I don't know what it was, but they got him for it." Benny replied.

"Well, let's not worry about that now."

Reggie climbed up the shelf of the backroom, and Benny could hear him huffing. He must've been picking up something heavy. Benny was getting excited again. This was so cool! Sean had gotten something big, really big! And now he was gonna be the one to get it! What was it?! What was Sean so obsessed with getting?! Why was he starting to cry when he left him in his room with his shirt in his mouth?! The suspense was making him jump in place.

That's when he saw it. And it made his eyes sparkle. In Reggie's harry hands was the largest red firework rocket he had ever seen. Not just some firecracker for the backyard either. It was the kind of firework for real celebration. And the size of it. Why it was…it was larger than him! Benny was so excited! The things he could do with one of those! He was jumping even more than ever now.

"Heh…like a kid on Christmas. Two paws little guy." Reggie said.

Benny held out his arms to hug his new prize. It was so big…and so heavy. It took all the little puppy's strength to keep it from crushing him. Not that he minded. "Now, be sure to light it up in a safe area. This thing blows up around somebody, it could kill them. These things are the big boy boom-booms, you understand?"

Benny nodded as he hugged his prize, but as he turned to leave, Reggie suddenly stopped him. "Now now, not so fast, little guy."

The monkey leaned down and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a package of matches. You'll be needing some of these to light this big boy up. Let me show you how."

Benny nodded and set down the rocket. Reggie picked out a match, and showed Benny the black line on the package. "To light the match, you have to strike it on this black spot, or it won't light. Now watch."

Reggie struck the match across the black spot, and Benny watched with fascination as the match swung to life. "Aww…it's like a little flicker of life…" the puppy said with big eyes.

"Heh…it sure is, kid."

Reggie blew out the match, and handed Benny the package. "Now you try."

The puppy picked off a match from the package, and lined it up with the black line. One flick across, and the flame burst to life. "Well, would 'ya look at that? You're a natural."

The chimpanzee quickly blew out the match however, he didn't want to get the rocket started by mistake. "Remember, make sure it's in a safe area."

"You got it! Thanks, Mr. Reggie!"

The puppy pocketed the matches, and quickly started to drag the rocket up and out of the store. Reggie closed the door behind him, and sat back down in front of the desk, pulling his magazine back out. "Ah…they're sweet at that age." He said to himself.

…

The scooter that Benny had stolen from the store was going to be returned with the ball by the end of the week, after Mrs. Tusk had paid for the damages he caused over the last week. Benny had stolen back the scooter, and all his supplies from Mrs. Tusk's office. She really needed better security.

To make sure that the fire from the match would make it to the rocket, he set it on the sidewalk, which was just a little higher than the street. Benny had just lit his second match, and was now lighting the fuse. "This is gonna be so cool." He said. Then he sniffed the air, and his smile turned to a smirk. "Wouldn't you say so, Adrian?"

Benny, being a dog, had an excellent sense of smell. Not a single mammal could sneak up on him without him knowing they were there. It was one of the reasons he was so good at avoiding danger.

"I'd say you've been out for too long, Benny!" the angry kitten replied.

Adrian was still in his pajamas, and Benny couldn't help but snicker at his handiwork with his mane. Adrian could tell that that's what was so funny right away. "You think this is funny?!" he demanded, pointing to his head.

"Are you kidding? You've never looked better!" Benny replied, grinning smugly.

Adrian stormed right over to the puppy, and shoved him aside. "I'll bet it won't be so funny when I throw your stupid rocket down the drain!"

Benny got up and gasped.

"You should've…" Adrian picked up the rocket, and tried to start carrying it. "…let your stupid revenge slide. I wouldn't have come to find you if…urgh…you did!"

Benny ran to the kitten, and tried to make him let go of the rocket. Now they were both on one of its sides. "Wait, Adrian! Put it down!"

"Oh, no! You're not getting away with it this time! I've already lost a month's worth of sleep because of you!"

"No! You don't understand! I've already lit the-"

Too late. The rocket's fuse had made it to its destination. Now the large red rocket was ignited, and took off. Took off right out of the children's' grasp…and into the windshield of the incoming car.

"Fuse." Benny finished.

The two passengers of the car ran out of the vehicle as fast as they could. Judging by the silhouettes, Adrian figured them to be predators. Both of them. And big ones at that. Benny however, was looking at the actual car. "Uh…Adrian?"

Neither one looked at each other. "Yeah?"

The car exploded. And out of the now blazing metal, green and red sparks started flying everywhere. "I think that was a cop car." Benny finished. Just then one of the sparks caught Benny's hat, making it catch fire in seconds.

"GAH!" the puppy cried. He threw the now burning article of clothing off his head. "Whoa! That was a close one!" he said, wiping sweat from his brow.

Adrian wasn't looking at Benny's burning hat however; he was looking at the mammals. And in the light of the fire, he could make out the colors of the blue police uniforms of the tiger, and the wolf who were wearing them. Benny was right; that was a cop car. Owned by two large, and now very angry police officers.

"Hey! HEY YOU TWO! STOP RIGHT THERE!"

The tiger had a female voice, instantly reminding Adrian of Miss Darcie, making him freeze up. The tigress showed them both her badge, and her and the wolf began to approach them.

The kitten couldn't believe this was happening. He had just helped an equally destructive child blow up a real live police car. This wasn't just some stupid shoplifting theft, this was a real, actual crime. A crime that he was guilty of. He could hardly stand. He couldn't move. Until two small paws suddenly grabbed his arm. Adrian looked to see Benny yelling out to him. He couldn't hear what he was saying, but he had a good idea what he was trying to say. And he did what he figured he said.

Run. Run away. Run far away, and don't look back.

…

It was the night these two children had become aware of just how destructive they could become. More importantly, when the rest of the city learned just how destructive they could become. They were just two children, neither of which were in their teen years, and yet they had proven to be all it took to set a small series of events in motion that lead to the ultimate destruction of police property.

I'd soon find out that the next day would be spent on the run. Of course, they'd try to seek safety in the solitude of the orphanage, but it wouldn't matter. Because the next day would pave way for the headliner mystery that would be the talk of the town for months to come:

The mystery of the missing orphanage.