Welcome back to the next chapter! The next several chapters will all be happening at the same time, but will be focus on different characters. Thanks to everyone for reading this far, and a special thanks to XLR8 the Fox for all the comments and help with writing and his OCs, which belong to him. As always, Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians and their worlds belong to Disney.

Chapter 35 – Do or Dive

Watching everyone heading over to their respective directions, Annette could hardly stand it. Everyone was placing their life on the line doing some dangerous mission. More than anything else, her heart yearned to join in immediately. However, with the pool being directly in the line of the vision of the guards, she knew that she would be acutely endangered by examining it. It was only after the guards laid their eyes on the adults and charged at them did she realize it was safe to check out the pool. "Please, let everyone be all right," Annette thought to herself.

Trotting over to the pool of mucky water, Annette couldn't help but to look down at its murky depths with great foreboding. She couldn't imagine the last time this pool had ever been cleaned. The water didn't look like water, rather, it looked like a deep pit of sludge and grime. Upon that thought, couldn't imagine what kinds of waste, pollution, and bacteria had grown in its depths. She had always hated dirty water just because she hated the icky feeling of it oozing through her fur, but she knew that this time, the dirty water was not only disgusting but also highly dangerous. Such a germ pit could make her seriously ill, which in the high mortal peril she was in could easily be an instant death sentence. Frantically, she tried to remember when she had her last shots, and wondered if they would help protect her in this situation. With this thought, she remembered that when she had gone to the vet, her family was always with her. The images of each of her family members, always at her side as she underwent through each painful shot, flashed through her head and warmed her heart, strengthening her resolve.

Wrinkling her nose to block the nauseating smells to preserve her clarity of thought, she walked along the edge of the pool. Scamp, Lucky and Puffball had mentioned that there was some sort of shine coming from wherever the key was. Peering into the pool, she squinted into it but couldn't see any shine at all. She took a few laps around the track, hoping to see if she could see the key from a different place, but she still was unable to find anything. Sighing, Annette lay down at the edge of the pool, staring down through the grimy water at her very faint reflection. "Maybe the key is not there," Annette sighed thoughtfully. "What am I to do then?"

As she continued to stare at the water, a feeling of deep emptiness flowed through her thoughts. "Scamp, Puffball and Lucky saw the key, but I didn't. What if the wild dogs saw them see it? What if they took it out of the water? I wouldn't know where to look then. Come to think of it, they must have realized we have been chasing after the keys. Then we'll all fail at finding our keys. Maybe it's worthless to even try. There's no way we can all get through this. Why don't we all just give up? That way, whatever the wild dogs have got in store for us, at least we can get it over with."

It was a cold thought, but she had to be realistic. There was little to no way that they would actually all be able to succeed, and that chances were, one by one, each of her family and friends would end up defeated at the wild dogs' paws. But thinking like this didn't make the throbbing pain and feelings of emptiness any easier. Preparing for the worst wasn't helping at all, and besides, what if the key was there? What if she did end up finding it?

"It wouldn't feel right just to give up," she said aloud. At once, her heart, so cold and empty, suddenly began to pump excitedly as a wave of energy burst through again. "They wouldn't give up for me. And I'm not going to give up for them," she said, determinedly slapping the water with her paw.

As she did, something else caught her attention. Some circular ripples emanated out from where her paw hit, and consequently, the water became a bit lighter before the area became cloudy again. "Maybe if I can unsettle the dirt enough, I can see through the water!" she thought.

Normally Annette would have preferred to do things more carefully, but there was no time for that. At any given moment, a bunch of wild dogs could suddenly appear and ambush her. Sighing, she knew that there was only one way to get the key quickly, to jump in the pool and swim to get the key herself. Taking in a deep breath and preparing for her nose to burn from the noxious smells around her, Annette closed her eyes. Imagining herself and her family safe and happy at home again, she didn't take any more time and lying on her belly on the pool's edge, she pushed herself off and slid into the water.

Instantly, every fiber of her body began to fiercely shiver, especially on her chin and belly, and all she could think about was the chilling water drenching her body. Even worse, she imagined the pestilence that could be accruing within her body with each passing moment. After a few seconds though, the initial bite of the water faded away as her body became accustomed to the temperature, and after pushing the filth of the water out of her mind, Annette was able to get back to the task at hand. Looking down, she saw copious amounts of dirt were spread around the pool's floor. But along with the inevitable waste and grime, there were large amounts of dirt that looked to be soil taken from the building's front yard and poured into the pool. As she thought this, a flicker of hope sparked in Annette's head, "They must have gotten that dirt outside to stop us from seeing through the water. Which means that that key is bound to be here!"

Buoyed with this optimism, Annette began to paddle back and forth across the pool. Looking behind her with each stroke, she left a path of clear water wherever she stroked but was unable to see any sort of glimmer before the water clouded over again. After a few times without success, she took a break to catch her breath, paddling in place as she pondered where to check next. Preparing to continue, Annette was about to return to paddling when a small splash from the other side of the pool caught her attention. There had to be something significant at that spot. Looking underwater for a few seconds, the water was far too cloudy for her to see anything. Her heart pounding, she knew that she had to investigate that spot. But knowing that she was still in hostile territory, she knew she had to do this with stealth.

Looking at the spot and seeing that the splash had subsided, Annette began to swim along the side of the pool. By keeping her paws well within the water's depths and pawing and kicking with fluid, graceful movements, Annette was able to swim without drawing any unwanted attention. Quietly rounding two corners, Annette at last was able to approach the spot. Diving deeper as she drew closer, Annette pawed the dirt out of her vision as she moved forward. Then, through the disgusting mixture of dirt, poo, and grime, Annette saw something … Something with a bright, shiny shimmer, laying on the floor of the pool …

Her heart beating excitedly, Annette paddled down to get a closer look, but before she could go two paces, something large, round-shaped, and dark came into view. Stopping with a halt, Annette held her breath as she let herself float upward to take a much-needed gasp of air.

"I should have known there would be guards," Annette thought, desperately hoping that she was undetected as she tried catching her breath, her heart pounding vigorously. "How do I get past them?"

But before she could think, a gigantic splash erupted from the water, pelting Annette with dense torrents of water. Shielding her eyes as the downpour rained onto her, the next thing she knew, a giant mouth lunged forward, viciously grabbing Annette's back paw as she shrieked loudly in pain. The sound lasted only a second though for she was promptly dragged underwater. Frantically pawing to get away, her efforts were futile as with a great push, Annette was pinned against the wall, trapped firmly in place as her body struggled helplessly. Through the murky water, she could see that a haze of dark, shaggy fur was in front of her, with its front paws holding her tightly in place. Looking at her captor more closely, she wasn't able to make out any other feature of it, except for a mad, sinister smile with razor-sharp teeth grinning right at her. She tried struggling again, but it was no use, for her captor's grip did not relent, and the eerie smile only widened.

"This is the end," she thought quietly, closing her eyes, anticipating a final blow to hit her at any moment. However, after a few seconds, the blow still had not come, yet the paw on her was firmly in place. Opening her eyes, she saw that the shadowy mass was still in front of her, but the smile was no longer. Instead, a series of ripples from above the water were in its place. "He must be taking a breath," she thought. However, her heart then panged as a new thought occurred to her. "He's trying to suffocate me!" she thought in alarm as the dog continued to tightly hold her against the wall. Kicking and flailing, Annette tried her hardest to escape, but the dog's grip was far too strong for her to break.

"Figures," Annette thought, her cheeks expanding as she desperately tried to hold her breath. "Killing me with one swipe would be too simple. They'd want the most painful way of doing it." As she thought this, however, she realized how much more tranquil the water had become, for in the past few seconds, she realized that she had not been kicking and consequently, the dog had begun to slacken his grip.

Seeing this gave Annette an idea. Clearing her mind, she allowed herself to think of happy things like warm fireplaces, cozy cushions, and the warmth of Darling's lap. Feeling her body slacken, she allowed her head to droop back lazily, and her paws to stop flailing so her whole body was still. Desperately hoping it would work and hoping her beating heart would not betray her, she lay there and waited. Nothing happened at first and Annette, knowing she had done her best, prepared for the end. Then, just when her eyes began to feel heavy and her vision became blurry and she finally had to release the breath she was holding, the paw's grip slackened just a bit…

Her body bracing for this moment, a surge of energy coursed through Annette's body, and in one quick movement, she leaned forward to bite her captor on the paw. Shrieking in rage, her captor recoiled as Annette shot up to the surface. Taking a few much-needed breaths, she knew had no time to waste. Sure enough, the water in front of her erupted again, but she was prepared for it this time. Without wasting a second, she shot down to the depths of the water, avoiding the guard's mouth so narrowly that she could feel his stinky breath creep on her back paw.

Pawing the dirt aside, her heart jolted as she saw that she was swimming right toward a bright blue key, hooked onto a chain which was attached to the pool's drain. Pressing down onto the chain's latch, she frantically began to wiggle the key to get it off the chain. As she felt a strong current, she looked up to see that the wild dog had dived right at her, his paws swimming ravenously as his open mouth reached out to grab her like a ravenous shark. Holding onto the key for dear life, Annette veered in the opposite direction. Like a ballerina, she gracefully glided out of harm's way while the guard slammed into the pool's floor, growling with rage. With her paw still pressing onto the latch, she continued to pull until at last, she felt the key break away from the chain.

Pushing herself up to the surface, she sprang out of the water with a spin, her front paws gripping the edge as she forcibly pulled her back paws out. Turning to see that the guard was still searching the water for her, she saw her chance and with key in mouth, she ran for it. "If this is the kind of excitement Scamp and Danielle like, then I'm not going to have any part in it!" she thought as she sprinted away, the adrenaline in her only just beginning to fade away. But at the same time, a feeling of great happiness flowed through her. Because she had not given into despair and her quick thinking, she held a piece of the puzzle to rescuing their pets in her mouth. And no matter what else happened, they at least had that going for them.