The very next day, the Sabers were finishing up with practice.
"Touchdown!" The quarterback threw down the football and
"Time to hit the showers!" the coach proclaimed.
The team headed into the locker room and began hitting the showers.
"So, you boys ready for the big game?" asked the captain.
"Yep!" the quarterbacks nodded. "Those stupid Brontos won't know what hit them!"
"Did you forget to feed the mascot?" asked the captain.
"No, Bonehead." A quarterback shook his head. "I gave him his food and put him in the basement."
"Good." Bonehead nodded. "Without him, we can't lose."
"Easy for them to say." The shower mammoth deadpanned. "I've got nothing to lose."
As the team continued showering, Barney (who was camouflaged to blend into the wall) took out his walkie. He pressed a button and you came a tiny bird.
"Pile of Rubble to Loudmouth Flintstone, the cat is in the basement." He whispered to the bird. "Repeat: the cat is in the basement."
The bird flew out of the walkie and flew to a towel wagon, where Fred was hiding. He then flew into Fred's walkie and repeated what Barney said.
"Pile of Rubble to Loudmouth Flintstone: The cat is in the basement." He parroted. "Repeat: the cat is in the basement!"
"Roger." Fred whispered. "I'm going in!"
Before Fred could get out of the wagon, the team threw their dirty towels into the wagon and then the janitor took it down to the basement.
As soon as the janitor got to the basement, he was about to turn on the washing machine, when he saw that the mammoth was missing.
"Hey, where'd he go?" The janitor wondered.
The janitor then started look for the mammoth. Fred peeked and saw that the coast was clear. He climbed out of the laundry cart and began looking for the cat.
"Here kitty, kitty..." He whispered. "Where are you?"
Then, he saw a saber tooth tiger inside of a small pet carrier.
"There you are!" He said. "Come on, kitty. I won't hurt ya."
The cat then hissed at Fred and showed his large saber teeth.
"You look a little cramped in there." He noticed. "I'll let you out."
Without a second thought, Fred unlocked the carrier and released the cat.
"Free at last! Free at last!" The cat cheered. "Great granite almighty, I'm free at last!"
The cat started running about as if he hadn't been released in days.
"Hey! Get back here!" Fred said as he chased the cat around the basement, knocking down a bunch of things in the process.
Just then, the janitor came back with the mammoth and saw the whole mess.
"What in the name of ground sloths is going on here?!" He demanded.
Before he could take another step, Fred and the cat knocked him and the mammoth down as Fred ran after the saber.
"And for this I went to college?" The mammoth deadpanned.
Fred continued chasing after the cat down the hallway.
"Get over here, you little scamp!" He shouted.
"Amazing how someone chasing you gives you a burst of energy." The cat remarked.
Outside, Barney was waiting for Fred.
"Where is Fred?" He looked at his wrist sundial. "I've gotta start cramming for finals."
Just then, the cat ran and jumped into Barney's arms.
"Hey, little guy." He pet the cat's head. "Where did you come from?"
All of a sudden, Fred crashed right into Barney, causing the two to dog pile right on each other with the cat landing right on top.
"I take it that you got the mascot?" Barney chuckled.
"What can I say? I'm a free spirit!" The cat shrugged.
On the night of the big game, Fred and Barney had a meeting with their fellow quarterbacks.
"Alright, everyone." Fred said as everyone was talking. "Excuse me! Excuse me!"
Everyone was still talking, not paying attention what Fred was trying.
"Guys!" Fred waved his hands.
Everyone kept babbling and talking.
"HEY!!!" Fred shouted.
Everyone finally stopped talking and listened to what Fred had to say.
"Thank you." Fred said calmly. "Friends, cavemen, my fellow Brontos, lend me your ears. It seems that I have figured the secret to the Sabers success."
"And what would that be, Flinstone?" asked one of the quarterbacks.
"Barney, remove the tarp!" Fred told Barney.
"You got it, buddy boy!" Barney gave a thumbs up.
Barney removed the tarp and revealed a pet carrier with a yellow saber tooth tiger.
"Presenting, Baby Puss!" He boasted. "The Sabers saber!"
"The one and the same!" Baby Puss bowed.
"You stole the visiting team's mascot?" the Brontos gasped.
"Yep, now they can't beat us!" Fred nodded. "You see, it turns out that this beast is what tells them all of their plays and strategies during the games, so if we have him, they don't stand a chance against us."
"Are you crazy? What if we get caught?" said one of the players.
"We won't get caught." Fred said. "This is in the spirit of our final game of our high school careers!"
"Yeah!" The team cheered.
"It's to have something amazing to fall back on!" Fred continued.
"Yeah!" The team cheered.
"So let's get out there and win that game!" Fred boasted. "Only for Bedrock!"
"Only for Bedrock!" said the team.
The team joined hands and all high fives each other as they ran out to fight those Sabers, ready to take them down.
"Yabba Dabba Doo!" Fred shouted.
Long story short, they lost and ended up getting pummeled.
"Nice going, Flintstone!" said one of the players. "Now I'll never get to take home the gold!"
"Yeah, you've ruined our chances of free college and fame!" said another quarterback.
"Now the head cheerleader will never go out with me!" said the captain. "Be ready for your extinction on Monday!"
"Aww, don't feel bad, Fred." Barney put his hand on Fred's shoulder. "I mean, how were you supposed to know that Puss wasn't the key to succeeding and the Sabers set you up! That, and changing their plays at the last minute."
"Zip it, Barn." Fred glared at Barney. "Let's just go home! I wanna enjoy my last few moments of living before they pound me for the rest of my life."
"Don't worry, buddy boy!" Barney said. "At least we've still got our adulthood and they'll leave us alone after graduation."
As soon as Fred got home, he was about to go to bed, when all of a sudden, he heard Dino's barking.
"Dino, what is it, boy?" Fred asked his dinosaur. "Kid fell down a well? Barn's on fire?"
"Ruff, ruff, ruff!" Dino pointed to what was on the couch. It was Baby Puss.
"You? What're you doing here?" Fred demanded.
"Relaxing, what does it look like?" Puss snickered.
"Beat it! You've caused enough problems already!" Fred threw the cat outside on the porch. "Scat cat!"
Fred walked back inside and shut the door. Noticing the open window, Baby Puss jumped and went back inside.
"Hey! I thought I told you to beat it!" Fred put the cat back outside. "Scat, cat!"
Before Fred could go back inside, the cat ran inside and locked the door and shut the window.
"Mom? Mom?" Fred banged on the door. "Come on, ma! Open this door! MAAAA!!!!"
Author's Note:
Well folks, looks like that since Baby Puss has followed Fred home, Fred has become the...cat's meow!
Stay tuned for the next chapter, where Fred and Barney graduate!