Yay! Chapter Four! I'm so sorry it took so long to update, but it was a bit of work to deal with on this chapter. I hope ya guys like it!
AnonymousZGirl- Oh. I see. Well…I'm not sure if I'm up to a task like that. At least, not yet. It would be a privilege to write a story to honor a fallen writer if that's the case, but I would need time to think it over. I'll admit it, I'm a good writer, but I'm no miracle worker. If the rumors are true, which they may not be, I'll keep her in my prayers.
Anyway, I'm glad you like Psycho being overprotective. I hope that reading this chapter will cheer you up.
StoriesUnleashed- First of all, read the first chapter of your fanfic and I loved it! I can't wait for the next update. Anyway, yes, Psycho is looking out for the 'baby boss' cause AnonymousZGirl thought it would be cute and funny and I did too. So, there ya have it.
And I actually do like the idea of an old friend of Smart Ass and Pepper showing up to help them.
spannerette- I'm so sorry for your loss. I'll be sure to mention her in my prayers tonight. Anyway, yes, Pepper will give birth in six weeks give or take. It might be less. And you are right, in the last story, Smart Ass was the first to put the moves on Pepper when he had her kidnapped (or would it be toonnapped?).
I don't own WFRR or its characters. I only own my OCs. Hope ya enjoy the chapter!
"Okay. We know how he escaped. Now we need to find a trail," Pepper rubbed her chin as she and the rest of the group exited the asylum in a hurry. Warden Stickson already was in a foul mood on a regular basis, but that day he had been much worse. "I think we should go to his old hideout. Maybe he stopped there and picked some things up."
"Why don't we just go there and get'im?" Wheezy asked as he pushed open the gates.
"Because Dr. Lox isn't stupid, stupid!" Olive slapped him over the head as she walked past the gates behind Pepper and Smart Ass.
"Hey! He's not stupid! I'm Stupid!" Stupid objected, jabbing a thumb proudly to himself as he walked behind her.
"Of course you are," Olive patted his head. "Only an idiot would go back to the same hideout and stay there!"
"We did that," Greasy commented, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"I rest my case," the she-otter replied blankly, completely ignoring the Puerto Rican weasel's advances.
"All right, that's it! Olive, can it with the bashing! Greasy, put another paw on her, I'll break your neck! And you," Pepper bumped Smart Ass's shoulder with hers. "You're the boss! Control your boys!"
Smart Ass sighed heavily and looked over his shoulder, "Greasy, take yer paws off the otter! Wheezy and Stupid, shut up! Psycho, yer okay."
Psycho, who had his arms wrapped loyally around Pepper's arm, panted like a dog and nodded.
"Why is he off the hook?" Wheezy asked, angrily gesturing to the psychotic weasel.
"Cause I'm the boss! And he's the only one of ya not gettin' on my nerves!" Smart Ass snapped. "Besides, he aint' doin' nothin'…what the hell is he doin' anyway? Why's he all 'buddly' with ya all of a sudden?"
Pepper tensed a bit as she felt his eyes rest on her. She merely shrugged, which the lead weasel didn't think was a good enough answer. However, he shook his head and got off the subject.
Smart Ass slipped into the driver's seat of the Toon Patrol paddy wagon and Psycho pushed Pepper into the passenger's seat up front. After he jumped in, he closed the door right behind him.
"Hey! What the hell is she doin' up front?" Wheezy complained from the outside of the car.
"Just shut up and get in the back!" The Toon Patrol winced at the volume of their boss's voice and trudged to the back of the van. After everyone was present and accounted for, Smart Ass started up the car before driving away. Driving towards The Petrified Gulch not too far outside of Olde Toontown, where they had first discovered the lair of the nefarious Dr. Loxus Foxus.
Smart Ass and Pepper, both around the age of twenty-two and twenty-three, looked down into the dry, narrow ravine where no light could reach down. Granted, it was nighttime, but it must've been very deep for them to see no indication of there being a bottom.
"I'll go first," Smart Ass whispered as he turned on the light of his helmet, carefully stepping down into the giant crack. He was sure to set his feet down on the rocks before loosening his grip at all. Otherwise it would be a long way down.
Pepper went into her bag and pulled out her own coal miner's helmet, setting it on her head and turning on the light before following him. The two climbed down for at the very least an hour before landing upon more solid ground. With the help of their helmets, they were able to find a path leading further into the ravine.
"Ya know, Smarty?" Pepper whispered, though her voice did echo out anyway. "Maybe the cops knew where ta find Dr. Lox, but they were just too big to fit through the ravine."
Smart Ass couldn't do a thing to suppress the chuckle for that comment, "Maybe. I mean, come on. This place is the most 'desserted' place in all of Olde Toontown! How could they expect a crook not ta crawl down here?"
"I guess they think a mad scientist wouldn't go anywhere without technology."
"Then how the hell could there be a cable here?!"
Pepper stopped and turned to him suddenly, "A cable? Where?"
"Right there!" Smart Ass pointed ahead to a thick, dark cable running through the gulch. This meant that somewhere, something was getting power. The only problem was which way would they need to go?
"Okay," Pepper reached into her bag, grabbing two walkie-talkies and handing one to him, "We'll split up and whenever one of us see's somethin', we'll have this handy ta get a message through."
"Ya sure yer up ta this, doll? It's gonna be dangerous."
"I can handle myself, thank you," Pepper playfully scoffed. "So, how about you go right and I'll go left."
"If ya say so, Pepper. Just be careful," Smart Ass pulled out his revolver as he made his way to the right.
Pepper rolled her eyes and started off to the left path of the cable. From the looks of it, the cable went on forever and ever. That was, of course, until the cable stopped at a large rock wall.
"Smarty. I think I got somethin' here. Over," Pepper whispered into the walkie-talkie. The second she let go of the button, she got a response.
"Got it, doll. I'm on my way. Over and out."
"There's gotta be something on the other side of this wall. Maybe there's a secret entrance here," she felt along the wall, trying to find a hidden switch or trigger of some sort.
"OWW!" She suddenly yelped as someone from behind grabbed her forearm and ponytail. Her helmet was thrown off and was quickly replaced by a sack. She couldn't see a thing as she was roughly escorted to only God knows where.
By the sound of it, a heavy door was opened, she was pushed in, and then was closed.
"Hey, boss. Caught this pretty little thing snoopin' around outside," she heard a rough voice speak next to her. The one who had apprehended her, no doubt.
"Lift the sack, you buffoon," a smooth, male British voice snapped. "I want a good look at this one."
She felt a hand grasp the top of the bag and lifted up off of her head. She closed her eyes at the sudden brightness of the room…or whatever it was. Once her lavender eyes adjusted, she was greeted by a great surprise.
It was an entire laboratory inside a cavern, by the looks of it. Machines, mainly chambers, were scattered and in working condition. Research and models were all over the place, definitely making whoever made them worked hard and long on them.
"Hmm. A weasel. How…interesting."
Looking in front of her was a desk. And at that desk was the criminal himself. Dr. Foxus Loxus. He was an old toon fox that kept his black and white colors, thinking that coloring was for the intellectually impaired. He wore a fancy suit that did nothing to hide his long tail and a bowler's hat, though that was all she could tell from him being sat at the desk being indulged in his work.
"Tell me, my dear, just what did you think you were doing down here? A lady shouldn't be wandering around in such a dangerous place," Dr. Loxus asked, not taking his eyes off of the work on his desk.
"Lookin' for you. You've been hidin' from the law for ten years, now. Ya might as well turn yourself in, Dr. Lox," Pepper answered calmly, narrowing her eyes at the old fox.
She saw his eyebrows arch as he stopped his work, slowly lifting his head to look at her. Dr. Loxus set down his pen and pushed himself away from the desk, standing up as he did. He grabbed his cane and stalked away from his desk, not taking his eyes off of the she-weasel.
Pepper tried to keep her cool as he slowly approached her. She kept her eyes as hard as his were as he drew ever closer. He stopped about three feet away from her, using his cane and lifting her chin as if he were observing her.
His eyes brightened and he chuckled as he said, "Well, well. I recognize you, now. You're that 'Witty Weasel' of the Olde Toontown Police Force. I was wondering why they haven't sent you sooner. Tell me, what is your true name and where is that…erm, charming partner of yours?"
"Both of'em are none of your damn business, but if you must know, the name's Pepper Piper. That's all you're gettin' outta me," Pepper defiantly turned her head away.
"Well, I'm sure that your skills are as exceptional as I've heard, but your vocabulary leaves a lot to be desired," the British fox turned away from her in a snobbish manner, which only ticked her off more. "Bruce. Take our uninvited guest and be sure that she's well…taken care of."
"Right," said the large, toon badger as he pulled roughly on Pepper's forearm and dragged her away. She didn't know what he was going to do exactly, but she did know what 'taken care of' implies.
She was forced down a corridor and through a door, where there was nothing but a cliff. Bruce pushed her forward while letting go of her, nearly sending her off the edge. Pepper sharply turned around, but was faced with the muzzle of a revolver.
"Time ta go bye-bye," he sneered, pushing her onto her stomach and pinning her down with his foot. Her heart pounded wildly as she felt the muzzle press right between the shoulders where her heart was.
CLICK!
Bruce froze at the click and the feel of a muzzle being pressed right at his temple.
"Ya better get off of her in the next three seconds or I'll blow yer damned, ugly mug all over this nice cliff," Smart Ass hissed into his ear.
Bruce slowly lifted his foot off of Pepper's back and dropped his revolver. Pepper got up and rushed to Smart Ass's side as his finger went to the trigger.
"Look, I don't want any trouble. It's just business, kid," Bruce said, trying to keep his voice calm.
"Ya sure got a twisted idea of business, 'bagger'. Take a tip from me, pal, don't treat a lady like the dirt ya step on," Smart Ass brought back his revolver and slammed the butt against the badger's temple, knocking him out cold.
"PEPPER!"
The she-weasel shook her head, turning and glaring at Smart Ass for shaking her roughly.
"Get yer head outta the 'shrouds'! We're here!" he snapped.
"It's 'clouds', not 'shrouds'!" Pepper snapped back at him. "Sheesh!"
Psycho got out of his seat, leaving the door open for Pepper to come out before closing it again. Like Pepper had said before, Psycho had to be the most gentlemanly of the bunch.
"Are ya tellin' me there's a whole hideout in that crack?" Wheezy asked, reaching into his vest and pulling out three cigarettes. Just as he got a match lit, a shrill, panicked voice shrieked,
"NO SMOKE!"
A blur of white and brown pounced onto Wheezy, sending the two in a dust cloud of hitting, clawing, and apparently biting. The four weasels and the she-otter watched with mild interest and great confusion at the brawl. Soon enough, however, it was over.
When the cloud cleared, Wheezy was flat on his back, groaning and coughing. Psycho stood above him with the unlit cigarettes in his sleeve-covered paws. He was giving the smoking weasel a harsh glare as he exclaimed,
"No smoking!"
With that, he threw the cigarettes on the ground and madly jumped up and down on them. Everyone's eyes kept moving up and down in sync with the crazy weasel until he decided to stop. He wiped his feet on the petrified dirt and walked away, but what caused most of the eyebrows to arch even higher was when Psycho wrapped his arms around Pepper's waist, almost protectively.
Everyone's eyes went away from Psycho and straight to Pepper. Her lavender eyes scanned over everyone else nervously, except for Olive, whose look told that she knew exactly why Psycho acted the way he did.
"Take a picture. It'll last longer," the gray she-weasel finally snapped. She lowered her gaze and looked all around, "We definitely came to the right place. Somebody was here."
This caused everyone to look down around their feet. Footprints were scattered going either in or out of the large crack. They were small, yet a bit small to be anything large.
"Don't look too old, though. Only a couple hours," Smart Ass said, his golden eyes still roaming over the footprints. "There're four of'em."
Pepper arched an eyebrow at him, but had a slight smile on her face as he said, "That's right. I still remember how ta track."
"How do ya know there was only four of them?" Olive crossed her arms and furrowed her eyebrows at the lead weasel.
"Because mi querida, the boss knows everything," Greasy smirked, once again wrapping an arm around the otter's waist. Olive rolled her eyes, starting to get irritated at the perverted weasel's unwanted advances.
"YOOW!" Greasy suddenly pushed himself away from Olive, cursing as he grasped onto what looked like a bright green vine. Upon closer examination, however, they saw that it was a snake. Greasy desperately tried to get it off as it coiled around his arm, the snake's fangs still buried deep in it.
Pepper shook her head and approached him as she calmly chided, "Jade! How did you get out?"
She grasped the neck of the viper, gently removing the fangs and uncoiling her from Greasy's arm. She hissed at Greasy, her slitted, light brown eyes flaring with anger before she went silent.
"Ya okay, Greasy?" Smart Ass asked as the green-dressed weasel grasped his wound.
"Si, I'm fine," Greasy panted, sweat starting to form above his brow. He suddenly tensed and said, "Buenos noches."
These were his last words before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed flat on his back. Almost everyone looked in shock at him before turning back to Pepper for an explanation. Stupid was…well, being Stupid. Psycho was standing over the unconscious Greasy, nudging him with his foot and giggling when the Puerto Rican weasel groaned.
"Sorry. This is Jade. I got her not too long after the Judge Doom incident. I thought it would be nice to have PDS. Or as I like to call it, a GDS," Pepper explained, holding up the green viper.
"PDS? GDS? What are those?" Olive asked.
Pepper smirked, "My 'Pervert Defense System' or my 'Greasy Defense System.' He did inspire me ta do it in the first place."
Wheezy looked over at his fallen comrade before looking back at her and asked, "He ain't dead, right?"
The gray she-weasel shook her head, "Jade's venom doesn't kill. Greasy will just sleep it off for a few hours. Say goodbye, Jade. You're goin' back in the bag."
Jade glared at the unconscious Greasy, sticking her forked tongue at him distastefully before slithering out of Pepper's grip and back into the bronze bag. Pepper closed the bag and picked it up.
"Anyway, there weren't four of'em, there are four of'em. They're still here," Smart Ass observed.
"How can you tell?" Olive asked.
"The freshest tracks lead inta the Petrified Gulch. That means whoever's here didn't leave yet."
Pepper turned to Olive and asked, "Olive, why don't ya stay here and look after Greasy while we investigate?"
"Why me?!" the she-otter whined.
"Because we have more experience doing this stuff. That, and we can't just leave Greasy here all alone. Believe me, this isn't a place ya want ta be alone in," Pepper explained, reaching into her vest and pulling out her pistol.
"Here. Ya need this more than I do," she tossed the gun to the she-otter, who hastily caught it in her paws.
"Are you crazy?! I don't know how to use this thing!"
"Shoulda thought that through, Ms. 'All There is to it is Pointing and Shooting'," Pepper smirked at the irritation on her face. "C'mon, guys. It's already gonna take a while ta get to the bottom."
"Ya heard her, boys. Let's go," Smart Ass waved a hand for the rest of the Toon Patrol to follow.
Pepper brought out a flashlight and was the first to enter the ravine when she heard a whisper,
"Psst! Doll!"
Turning back, she heard Smart Ass whisper, "Why the hell did ya get a snake, of all things?"
Pepper barely suppressed a chuckle as she replied, "I should thank ya, Smarty. Pepper Viper really was an inspiration."
For the rest of the way down, Smart Ass kept completely silent.
Smart Ass pushed open the door and the weasels were immediately hit with the odor of dust and oil. They cautiously stepped into the laboratory, feeling almost as if a trap was waiting there for them.
"Okay, everyone got a light?" Pepper whispered. The flashing of three flashlights including her own answered the question.
"Everybody armed?" Smart Ass whispered and he was answered with the clicking of Wheezy's tommy gun, the zing! of Psycho's razor blade, and the whacking of Stupid's bat over his own head.
"All right, let's split up, then. Wheezy, yer with me. Stupid and Psycho, you two go with Pepper."
The two groups split up, Smart Ass's going to the left and Pepper's going to the right. The whole place seemed completely deserted of any research of any kind. In fact, the only things that seemed to remain where the machines.
"This place sure is creepy," Pepper whispered, Psycho covering her front and Stupid covering the back. The two hardly seemed interested in investigating, but kept a vigilant eye out for danger.
Pepper froze and stepped back a bit as she saw a reddish-brown blur rush between one of the machines. Psycho noticed as well and glared at the place, dropping onto all fours and growling menacingly much like a rabid dog. The swirls in his eyes were rapidly changing as he grew angrier and more protective.
The gray she-weasel patted his head to calm him down and slowly made her way over to where she saw the blur hide. Before she could make it to the spot, another blur rushed right by her, this time it was a dark brown, almost black. Psycho snarled and tried to bite at it, and even Stupid tried clubbing it with his bat, but it was too fast.
"I saw it go over there!" Pepper pointed off into the back of the laboratory. The two male weasels rushed after the she-weasel as she followed the sound of shuffling feet.
BAM!
"OOMPH!" Pepper and Smart Ass grunted as the two crashed into each other, the she-weasel landing right on top the lead weasel.
"What the hell?! Watch where ya goin', doll!" Smart Ass growled, shoving her off of him. She sent him a narrow-eyed glare as she picked herself up. "What are ya doin' here, anyway?"
"I saw something rush over here. We came to investigate."
"You too?" Wheezy coughed, standing at Smart Ass's side. "We saw somethin' go this way, too. It was…eh, red, but it was a blur."
"We saw two blurs, too. One was reddish-brown, and the other was dark brown. Maybe black. And they went-"
"-back here," she and Smart Ass echoed at the same time. Their heads snapped at the sound of a creaking door.
The weasel in pink slowly and stealthily moved towards the door, stopping only to gesture with his revolver to follow and stay close. The five weasels surrounded the door before Smart Ass kicked the door open carefully, also taking the first step inside with Pepper and the rest following behind.
"All right, ya sneaks! Come out and I won't give ya a balanced breakfast of lead!" Smart Ass called out, flashing his flashlight around the small room.
"I thought it was dinnertime!" Stupid said, earning a smack on the back of the head from Wheezy.
Pepper narrowed her eyes at something that caught her attention. She stepped forward, ignoring the tug of her arm from Psycho.
"Pepper! Get back here!" Smart Ass hissed out.
Pepper peeked over a knocked over table and shone her light down it. She looked back and gestured with her flashlight, "Guys! Come and look at this!"
Psycho and Smart Ass were the first to get to the table. When Stupid and Wheezy came over to look, they were greeted with an…interesting surprise.
Four little weasel kits were huddled together, trembling in fear. From the looks of them, they were all around the same age and looked to be seven or eight years old. From their clothing, it looked like they had a rough life, too.
The first was obviously male. He was the most defiant and the one trying to protect the other three. He had dark brown, almost black fur with a white muzzle and belly. His bright orange eyes were defiant as he glared at the five of them. He only wore a dark brown jacket, a dirty white t-shirt, and a black and orange newsboy hat.
One kit had arms wrapped around the first one's waist. This one was female. She had reddish-brown fur with a light brown muzzle and belly, and her hair was the exact same color as her fur and was held in spiky pigtails, held up with bright yellow bows. She had long bangs that covered her pale blue eyes, which were filled with fear as she looked up at them. She was only dressed in a dirty yellow t-shirt with a violet flower in the center and blue denim overalls.
Two of the kits were hugging each other, one had fiery red fur with a grayish muzzle and belly, and the other had honey brown fur with white on the muzzle and belly.
The fiery red weasel kit was obviously a girl. She had chestnut colored hair that reached just past her shoulders, but the bangs where held back by a green headband. Her bright green eyes were filled with fear as well. She wore a light green turtleneck that had a few tears in it.
The honey brown weasel kit was a boy. He wore a tattered red jacket and a blue shirt underneath. He had magenta-colored eyes that didn't so much as hold fear, but more of concern towards his friends.
"What are you guys doing down here?" Pepper asked softly.
None of them answered, and when they didn't, Smart Ass snapped at them, "Well? What're ya squirts doin' down here?!"
"Smarty!" Pepper scowled at him, roughly shoving her elbow into his side when they cringed away.
A rumbling sound filled their ears and they all turned to the reddish-brown kit, she herself looking down at her stomach. She looked back up at the adult weasels, almost as if she were about to be punished.
Pepper reached into her bag, pulling out peanut butter and jelly sandwich and offered it to the kit. The dark brown weasel glared at it while the others looked at it hungrily, as if they were looking at a whole buffet of ice cream.
The kit looked over the sandwich, then took it hesitantly. She sniffed it over before biting down a little. She smiled a large smile as she swallowed it, and then she offered it to the honey brown weasel. Pepper couldn't blame them. From the looks of their stomachs, they probably hadn't had a decent meal in days, maybe even weeks.
"Come on out, there's plenty to go around," the gray-she weasel said, reaching into her bag for more food.
"Some 'investation' that turned out ta be," Smart Ass grumbled to himself, he being the first to exit the crevice. Pepper was the next, followed by Wheezy, then Psycho and Stupid.
Psycho giggled as the reddish-brown weasel kit was crawling onto his head. She had told them that her name was Daisy. Stupid followed them while holding onto the fiery red weasel kit in his arms. Her name was Amber.
Finally, the two boys came out of the ravine, insisting that they didn't want to be carried. The dark brown kit was named Tucker, but told them to call him 'Tuck,' and the other was named Ace.
"It's about time you guys got back!" Olive yelled from the back of the Toon Patrol car. "Where have you been?"
"Investigating!" Pepper shouted back. "Where's Greasy?"
"I put him in the back," she said, jabbing a thumb behind her. She arched an eyebrow and gave Psycho and Stupid a strange look before asking, "So…whatcha got there?"
"Like'em? We found'em down in the laboratory," Pepper smiled, leaning back against the truck. "These are Daisy, Amber, Tuck, and Ace. They're comin' back with us."
"Great…I hate this place. Let's go."
"For once, I completely 'conquer'," Smart Ass said, walking over to the driver's seat. Suddenly, he fell forward, but not before grabbing onto the back door of the car.
"Are you all right?!" Pepper rushed to him, wrapping his arm around his shoulder to support him.
"Ya okay, boss?" Wheezy asked, resting his paw on his leader's shoulder. "Want me ta drive?"
"I'll be fine when all of ya stop 'crowning' me!" Smart Ass tried to push the two away, but nearly fell again in the process. However, the kits did look at each other at Smart Ass saying 'crowning' instead of 'crowding.'
Pepper took a good look at his face and nodded, "You're exhausted, Smarty. Even if ya could make it to the driver's seat, you'd probably crash as soon as soon as ya hit the gas pedal! Wheezy, you're drivin'!"
Wheezy took his paw away, slipping into the driver's seat. Stupid set Amber down in the back seat before walking back up to the front seat with Wheezy. Psycho jumped into the back and before the boys climbed in, Smart Ass objected,
"For the love of God, I'm doin' fine! I can drive just fine-"
He was suddenly silenced as Pepper wrapped a paw around his muzzle. She pulled his muzzle to hers and whispered lowly to him, "You're gonna get in the back and get some rest and that's final! Do I make myself clear?"
Smart Ass's golden eyes were wide, but he slowly nodded his head. Pepper gently pushed him into the back and closed the doors behind her.
The back was basically one long row that was pressed against the sides with a wide space on the floor. Greasy was laid out across one part, three of the children were sitting on another, which left one space left for Smart Ass to rest.
Pepper guided Smart Ass to the spot on the seats and laid him down. He looked like he wanted to fight back, but a loud yawn stopped him from doing so. His eyes drooped shut and he turned on his side towards the back, his breathing becoming calmer and calmer.
"All right, who else wants to take a nap?" Pepper asked, receiving five arms in the air, one of them being Psycho's.
The gray she-weasel sighed and reached into her bag and pulled out some blankets. She gave one large blanket to the children to share, another to Psycho and Daisy to share (they had become somewhat close in the two hours they'd known each other), one to Olive to put over Greasy, and she took the final one over Smart Ass.
Pepper smiled as he unconsciously grabbed onto the blanket, settling himself into it. She sat down next to him, setting a paw over his arm and kissed him on the cheek. Before she pulled away, she whispered to him softly,
"You're gonna be a great father, Smarty. I know it."