Tramp opened his eyes slowly. And groaned softly when he realized how early it still was. Not even bothering to try closing his eyes again, he started to rise up, but stopped himself when he felt the aching pain coursing through his body, namely in his hind leg.

The fight with Buster definintely did a number on his already aging body.

He closed his eyes, suddenly feeling tired again. As he did this, the image of his former best friend manifested itself into his head and he felt anguish at the fact that Buster was really, truly dead.

"...no...please!...I'm sorry!"

Tramp pulled his head out of the garbage can he had knocked over and perked his ears up.

"No one comes into my alley kid! Seems you need a little lesson."

He crept around a corner to see an aggresive German Sheperd towering over a cowering Doberman, barely older than himself. Looking at the puppy, though, he could tell who was in the better condition. He took pride in knowing that he could look after himself, it wasn't easy, especially considering that he used to depend entirely on humans. But he made it eventually.

Looking at the situation before him, he was unsure of whether to intervene or not. Yes, he used to find himself in situations where bigger dogs chased him away from whatever measly scraps he found, but at the same time these were the streets. And on the streets, he preferred to keep his nose out of others' business.

A yelp caught his attention and he looked on to see the Doberman puppy being pinned down by the German Sheperd. Finally he decided it was worth stepping in.

"Stop! Just. Stop."

The German Sheperd whirled around to face Tramp. "Oh great...another kid in need of a lesson."

Unfazed Tramp continued, "Don't move, you're dealing with a killer here."

At the words killer, the German Sheperd straightened up pridefully and looked down at the Doberman pup, still caught under his paw. "Yeah, you hear that kid? Killer."

"I'm not talking about you man." He gestured his head towards the trapped puppy. "I'm talking about him."

Confused, he let his paw off the Doberman. "What are you playing at."

"C'mon don't tell me you've never seen that kid's mom before. She does not play around."

"Yeah, but..."

He was cut off by Tramp dramatically sniffing the air. "Oh no, she's coming."

"I...I...don't smell anything."

"You've never smelled her scent before...oh boy! She smells angry!"

Now in a panic the German Sheperd looked to Tramp for help, "Quick! What do I do?!"

"Run! Run!"

The moment the German Sheperd ran out the alley, Tramp doubled over in laughter. So much so that he almost forgot about the puppy, still frozen in fear.

As he approached, the poor thing backed up in terror.

"Whoa! Relax buster I'm not gonna' hurt you." He said quickly.

"W...what do you want?"

He smiled, "I'm just curious is all. Where you from."

"A house."

"Owners got tired of you?"

"No."

"Ran away?"

"No."

"Baby moved in. You moved out?"

The pup sighed, "Maybe."

"You got a name?"

"No"

"Alright Buster it is. C'mon you look pretty hungry, I know a place..."

A tear escaped his closed eyes.