Author's Note: Hey everyone! A big thank you to everyone who is reviewing/following/favouriting/lurking - I love you guys so much! But seeing as I can't respond to guest reviewers in PM messages, I figured that this would be a good place to do so!

MMM: I'm afraid to say you'll have to wait and see. I ain't giving away any spoilers ;)

Anonguest: I'm glad you liked Priscilla and Teddy! They were much more fun to write then I expected - I think I'll be doing more with them in the future. Yes, Chuck was listening to the Final Countdown - brilliant song! And hell yes, slowly evolving all the way - I adore slow romances, as we get to feel all the juicy feels in slow torturous agony! XD

misscraycraykitt: Don't worry, we will be having some romance elements very soon! :)

CROWPRINCESS: Can I just say that I love all of your reviews to all of my stories, as well as your multiple reviews for single chapters, your enthusiasm and dedication really makes me smile every single time. You are right, this is going to be a mystery story as well as a romance. Also, thank you for all your information on the wiki page, but I'm afraid that I'm not using information from the Rango Wiki page, as it seems a little... unauthentic to me. I also want to add some of my own elements to some of the characters and their backgrounds, to hopefully bring something new. Sorry.

Game time! Who can spot something special in today's song? ;) Please don't forget to review!

Back to Dirt

"All day I face the barren waste

without the taste of water, cool water…" Hank Williams – 'Cool, Clear Water'

It was only a few days after the mysterious fire when it happened.

As one might expect folks that live in the very definition of hellish heat to do, during the course of the hot day, everyone went out swimming in the lovely cool lake. After such a long draught the previous year, none of the inhabitants of Mud ever went a day without thanking god and luck for the water's return, or even wasted an opportunity to bask in it. It was filled with splashing children and diving adults that all wasted no time in almost drowning themselves in the luxurious natural resource. Women sat on the shore in their best bathing suits as if they were on vacation, whilst old pedlars filled up jars and bottles from the lake to carry away with them. The water had turned their once desolate town into a paradise in their minds, and they never wanted it to end.

Yet still, some part of them was always paranoid that the water might one day vanish, as if this had all been some fantastical dream, or an illusion or mirage made on their thirst-mad minds by the heat of the desert. But they were always comforted and their fears disbanded by a mere simple sight: bubbles. Upon the surface of the lake, in various different places, water bubbled up to the surface where it came shooting out of the tunnels that ran beneath the town fed by pipes down below. So long as those bubbles kept rippling, the water kept flowing. It was a simple logic that kept the people of the town at peace.

Until on that day, it stopped.

It almost wasn't noticed at first, like the constant sound that one just gets used to over a period of time until you can never tell when it stops or starts. So it took several moments before someone's brows creased, as if noticing that something was missing but couldn't quite put their finger on it. Looking up, slowly everyone became aware of this missing something, until they all turned they eyes towards the lake. And it was then that they noticed a still and clear surface, with no bubbles of any description.

Mrs Oats was the first to unleash her panicked scream, before others soon joined hers before everyone was clamouring and stampeding down towards the Sheriff's office. Poor Rango had been enjoying a soothing nap with cucumbers over his eyes and a facial cleanser on his scales, when he was suddenly bombarded with his friends and neighbours. Easy to say that the chameleon was very much bewildered as he was swarmed by panicked people.

"Sheriff Rango!"

"It's terrible!"

"It's a sign – the devil's coming!"

"Coming?! He's already here! He took it from us!"

"The end is coming!"

"It's happening again!"

Sheriff Rango was so swarmed that even if he tried to shout for attention, no one would have been able to hear him. So, he pulled his gun from his belt and fired it into the air – unfortunately putting a hole in his ceiling. But it did the trick, as the townsfolk became immediately quiet with the loud noise.

"Now settle down folks, settle down!" Rango ordered loudly as he holstered his gun. "Now… what seems to be the source of this civil unrest?"

"It's the water, Sheriff!" Spoons screeched. "It's stopped!"

"Stopped? Whatt'oya mean stopped?" Rango's beady eyes blinked as wide as they would go.

"Well, it… it's no longer bubbling! It's stopped flowing!" Buford spluttered.

"Whatt'a we do, Sheriff?" Willy asked.

"Perhaps we should go back and pray to the holy spigot!" A badger yelped.

"What day is it? Tuesday?" Sargent Turley asked.

"No I think it's Friday." Elgin muttered.

"Wait a minute, what we talkin' 'bout?" Waffles asked, the little horned lizard looking up at everyone in confusion.

"I said settle down!" Rango yelled again as the yammering of the crowd began to grow. "Right, now no one is doin' no such drastic measure in my town."

"But whatt'a we do?!" Someone whimpered pathetically and the crowd voiced their concerns with hers.

"I'll tell you what we're gonna do." The Sheriff told them firmly. "We're not gonna panic. I'm sure that all of this is just a little adjustment in the pipes somewhere, and soon everything will be back to normal. And if not, then y'all need to remember that we have a huge lake out there. That will keep us going until the flow returns, so long as we go about this in a civilised fashion."

The crowd muttered to each other with nods and shrugs as they all blindly followed the only leader their little community had.

"Now, everyone remain calm," Rango smiled, even if he himself was feeling more than a little anxious, but he was an actor, and so he played his role. "And everything will be back to normal soon."

It didn't.

Like the devil was laughing at their illusion of salvation, the water didn't flow again. As the sun beat down upon the desert and the heat slowly rose to ridiculous levels, the water steadily began to dry up. Despite Rango's speech of caution, the townspeople, desperate to not find themselves in the same trouble again, began to fill up any object they owned that could hold even a little of the water before taking it home to store it away from the sun. With the people steadily drinking it down and the desert sun slowly evaporating it, the lake began to shrink with worrying swiftness. The days rolled by and the townsfolk became more on edge as their precious water source began to dry up. By the end of the week, it was almost non-existent.

With summer now beginning, the furious heat of the day was slowly climbing, seeming to add more straws onto the proverbial camel's back, adding the weight to slowly break it. People began to grow tense, panic that they would go back to the miserable thirsty lives they'd led before engulfing them. People made regular trips to the bank, which steadily had to increase its security to try and safeguard what little water it had. As the bank had not prepared for this dilemma, seeing as up until a week ago they'd had a huge lake right beside the town, meaning the deposits in the bank were low at best.

Even out away from the town as they were, Grace's farm was also feeling the effects of the sudden depletion of water. The creek behind Grace's property had run dry days ago, and Grace found herself having to resort to old methods in order to try and keep herself afloat. She awoke early every day in order to move her pigs to new locations so that they could try and find a little moisture before the sun rose into the sky. Grace knew that she and Jake could perhaps last a little longer without much hydration if they kept themselves cool, but Teddy being a child was not so lucky. The boy felt the effects of the drought worst of all, and Grace was powerless to help it as she watched her baby grow desperate for even a little brief drop.

She tried to keep them hydrated by making any meal covered in a sauce as runny as she could make it. Even Jake was surprised that she went out of her way to make sure that he too got enough to help keep them all alive. Soon she was turning to vinegars and other liquids in the house to try and keep her son from succumbing, the mother slowly growing hysterical as she went to more drastic measures. A year ago during the huge drought, the change had been gradual, and she'd been careful and prepared; but this sudden change had caught her by surprise and like everyone else she hadn't been ready for it. And now she was paying the price.

Finally, Jake was called into town when Rango sent a message up to the farm. Jake clearly didn't like being summoned like 'a mongrel pup' as he called it, but didn't get the chance to complain too loudly when Grace (having overheard) suddenly announced that she and Teddy would be going with him. She wanted to go to the bank and get any water available, even if she had to take out a loan she knew she could never pay back. Jake had rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath but still agreed to let them come along.

So they all ventured into town. Despite it being early in the morning, the sun was still unforgiving, and even Grace was feeling its effects as her scales became flushed with the heat and her underbelly was stung by the too-hot sand, especially with her only just-healed burns. Perhaps it was the fact that she knew there was no water anywhere to be had, because for some reason the sun felt hotter then it normally did. Jake was ever stoic as if nothing ever phased him. But Teddy suffered worst of all. He stuck close to his mother, trying to stay in her shadow but not drawing too close for he couldn't stand the added heat of someone else's body warmth.

Grace looked down at her son with growing fear, unsure of what to do as her panic once more mounted in her throat until she thought she would gag. Finally, she caught sight of the huge shadow cast down by Jake, and without taking the time to think about her impulse, she used her nose and gently nudged her boy in front of her and closer towards Jake. Teddy was immediately enveloped in the larger snake's shadow, and sighed from the reprieve. Jake paused only momentarily in surprise at this new development as he cast a wary eye at Grace, before continuing on his way.

When they came into town, Grace became a little tense to see that the usually scornful glares of strangers were now filled with hate. When she'd saved the mouse family from the fire, many of the townsfolk had been won over to at least be civil with her, for she had earned their favour. But it seemed that the drought had caused them all to be angry and mindless, for they just wanted someone to be angry at for their troubles. Grace hovered protectively close to Teddy, which coincidentally brought her closer to Jake's flank. Jake sent the hated-glares a hiss of his own, and no one dared to approach them. As they made their way further in, Grace was surprised and concerned to see Chuck and a few others standing in front of the doors of the bank and armed as if prepared to hold off an invasion. Beans was on the steps to the bank, talking to Chuck animatedly.

"Jake!" They all turned to see the Sheriff waving his hand over to the rattlesnake. Grace heard Jake growl under his breath in growing aggravation, but before he moved to leave he fixed her with a glare.

"Stay outta trouble." He snapped.

"I got better things to do with my time." She retorted, not in the best mood herself. But Jake only gave her one last glare before he flicked out his black tongue and slithered off. Grace came up to the bank, ignoring the way the strangers tightened their grip on their guns at her approach, but she kept Teddy close on her other side as she came towards Beans and Charles.

"We was fine a week ago, not a peep o' this trouble." Beans was saying with clear frustration to the fox. "And now suddenly the town's all dried up? Don't that make ya just a wee bit suspicious?"

"I know Beans, but there's not much we –" Chuck cut himself off when he noticed Grace coming up to them. "Oh, hello Miss Grace."

"Hi ya Chuck, Beans," Grace greeted. "What's all this?"

"The banks gone down fast, Miss Grace." Chuck told her gravely.

"They ain't givin' out no more credit." Beans grumbled.

"What?" Grace gasped. "But… they can't! I need some credit!"

"There's a long line o' folks who need it." Beans muttered.

"No, look, please," Grace cast away all sense of pride as her voice turned into a desperate plea. "It's not for me, Teddy needs this – I can't go on without givin' him any water! Please!"

Their expressions softened a little as they saw the little snake beside his mother, usually so chipper and excitable looking withdrawn and sagging.

"I know ya need it Grace… I don't know what to tell ya…" Beans murmured, her expression clearly torn. "Folks round here are all desperate. My daddy's ranch is almost bone dry."

"Speak for yourselves, at least you're used to this." Chuck grumbled. "Where I come from we'd be lucky to get this hot on the hottest day of the year. Northern climates really don't prepare you for this…"

Grace was intrigued by Chuck's hint at where he was from, but she had more important things to deal with. "Miss Beans, please: I can't lose my son…" She begged.

"Well… fine. I think maybe Priscilla's mother has a couple o' swigs." Beans sighed.

"Thank you!" Grace whispered thankfully, tears gathered in her eyes.

"Don't thank me yet, by this afternoon it may be fer nothing."

"What do you mean?"

"Sheriff Rango's taking a posse out into the desert." Chuck replied a little eagerly. "He says the reason for our aquatic problems are there."

"How so?"

"He says one o' the pipes has been tampered with." Beans explained. "He's takin' a couple of us to go an' switch the shut-off valve."

"Who's he taking?"

"Buford, Spoons, Sargent Turley, Ambrose, Willy, and the Doc."

"He's not taking Jake?"

"For one, none o' us can stand that sonofabitch." Beans scoffed. "For another, Rango wants him here guarding the town whilst he's gone."

"Folks won't like that." Chuck murmured.

"Folks gonna have to get over it." Beans shot back.

"What if it's not the pipes?" Grace suddenly blurted.

"What?"

"Don't you think it's a bit obvious?" The glossysnake asked, a frown creasing her face as she thought. "Shouldn't we've checked the pipes before once this started? This's been goin' on too long for it to be someone tampering with it."

"What else could it be?" Beans questioned, clearly not believing her.

"I don't know…" Grace said slowly, suddenly feeling foolish, even if the slight niggling doubt wouldn't stop eating at her brain. "It just don't feel right…"

They suddenly heard the clatter of claws in the dirt, and all in front of the bank turned to see Rango's posse riding out on their roadrunners, whistling and calling to each other as they quickly sped out of town. Grace watched them go, that little voice in the back of her head not able to be silent as it continued to pester her. Her brown eyes narrowed, and she felt that little impulse stir.

"Hey Beans," She said quickly before she could stop herself or think better of what she was doing. "Could you take Teddy for me to get that water? I got some stuff to take care of, and I doubt Mrs Cactus-mouse will be happy to have one snake show up, let alone two."

"Priscilla talked with her momma about Teddy – she won't mind." Beans said.

"Still, I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"Sure thing." The desert iguana nodded.

"Where're you gonna be?" Teddy couldn't help but pipe out.

"I'm just gonna be by the lake if you need me." The mother told her son gently. "Now go on, you're a big boy now."

"But Momma…" Teddy whined, clearly not wanting to be separated from his mother so soon in his state.

"Hush baby," Grace whispered as she nuzzled her son soothingly. "It's alright… you go along now, I'll be with you soon."

Teddy hesitated for a few seconds, clearly torn on what to do. But when his mother gave him a reassuring nudge, he gingerly went towards Beans. The woman gave the boy a comforting smile, before nodding to Grace as she led the way across town. Teddy hesitated, before slowly slithering after her. Grace watched them go for a few seconds, her worried eyes following that of her son as she ground her teeth together nervously. Before finally, she gave Chuck her farewell and slipped out towards the back of town.

Grace couldn't afford to wait for the water to come back on its own, and she couldn't afford for the Sheriff to make a mistake. It was obvious something unnatural was occurring, and the glossysnake mother's instincts had never led her wrong before, so she decided to follow her gut and see where it took her. She didn't count her youthful foolishness, it was mandatory for a young person to screw up. But since she became pregnant all those years ago, she'd never been led astray by her own intuition, so she wouldn't doubt it now.

Slithering quietly out towards the lake, Grace reached where the shores of the lake had once been. She could see the many holes in the ground that led to the tunnels below, and the closest one was only a few feet from the ex-shore. Looking around nervously, Grace checked either side of her to see if anyone was watching, before she quickly slunk into the hole.

Darkness immediately enveloped her, and as the sun was taken from the world, Grace had to wait and blink as her eyes adjusted to such blackness. Once she could faintly see the tunnel ahead of her, she began to slither onward.

The world of the underground that Grace had found herself in was surprisingly damp. Considering the heat outside, she could feel the coat of slickness upon the ground on which she slithered, and the walls her sides brushed against. She didn't understand why it should be so moist, as the lake had been bone dry for days. The tunnel was made of earth that had been pounded so hard by rushing water as well as by the passage of time, that it had become almost like stone, even though it wasn't. The tunnel seemed to go on for forever, and the deeper she ventured, the cooler the environment became. Grace gulped with growing nerves, and instantly the sound echoed back and forth across the walls unsettlingly.

The tunnel curved and dipped and occasionally branched off to other tunnels that she supposed fed back to the lake. This one seemed to be the 'master' tunnel, so she decided to stay on the path following this one. But the light was almost non-existent, and Grace had to quint as well as flicking out her tongue to try and help her see through the black abyss. She could hear something faint in the distance, like a constant tapping of a spoon on a glass at a wedding. It was far off, but she could still hear the last echoes –

Her nose suddenly smacked into something cold and hard, and the glossy hissed, baring her teeth in a brief flash of anger at the pain exploding in the end of her snout. Whirling her head at the offending thing that had dared to be in her way, she tried to squint in an attempt to see in the dim light.

Grace spared a moment to sympathise for her son as she had to try and figure out what she was looking at. It was very large, cold and round from what she could tell, and a flick of her tongue gave her a metallic taste of the air – the pipe! It must have been a pipe! Yes, now she could see it better. It was the pipe that had been dislodged from the others so that the water could flow right through into the tunnels. But there was something strange about it… Looking into what should be the gaping maw of the pipe, Grace was instead met with a cold and hard surface.

There was something odd about it, and flicking out her tongue, Grace could feel the cool and moister aura around the solid surface stuck in the pipe. Hesitantly bringing her head closer, Grace realised she could hear the rumble of water right on the other side of this metal surface. So… this was a block? Someone had intentionally blocked the pipe? Why? How?

Looking up, the glossy snake squinted to try and see how this had been done, when she thought she saw a key at the top of the pipe. By some lucky light shining from far away, she could just make out a large triangular shape sticking out of the top of the pipe, like the neck of a corkscrew. Was it a key of some description? Perhaps it could be used to unblock this pipe.

Moving around the pipe to see if she could perhaps make her way up towards the mysterious object, Grace's attention was caught by a very small glow… she then remembered the light that allowed her to see the thing on the pipe, and realised that down here there shouldn't be any light what so ever. Instantly on guard she realised that someone else was down here… and that's when she heard it, that same tapping from before, only closer this time, echoing against the walls until it sounded like a whole army of glasses clinking.

Curiosity killed the cat, and Grace was just as guilty as she slowly crept her way along her belly towards a small opening in the wall where the light and sound was coming from. Slowly peeking her head around the corner, she kept herself low and pressed against the ground, her predator instincts trying to keep her as undetected as possible. She noticed that the opening immediately opened up into a bigger chamber, and she looked all about for what could –

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped at the sight she beheld…