"WAIT TILL I GET MY PAWS ON YOU, YOU DAMN CAT!" D3 chased the black-furred cat, completely consumed by rage.
Just behind him were Desmond and his two brothers, trying to catch up to him.
"Can you guys… slow down a bit?!" D2 gasped for air as running on three legs was not only very difficult for him, but it was exhausting him rapidly. "I... I can't keep up!"
"If we do, we're gonna lose the cat!" D1 replied to him.
"Jump on my back, D2." Desmond told to him.
"Ya sure?" D2 queried.
"Yes! Just hurry and get on!" Desmond spurted, then stopped as did D2, and laid on the ground. "HURRY!"
D2 quickly jumped on Desmond's back.
"Hold tight." Desmond stood up and sprinted after D1, catching up with him.
"Good idea, Desmond." D1 acknowledged. "You good up there, D2?"
"I can catch my breath now." D2 answered his brother.
As they were nearing the end of the alleyway, the cat noticed a taxi passing by, and as it exited the alley, jumped on top of it. D3 sped up and went after the car. A second later, Desmond with D2 on his back, and D1 exited the alleyway.
"D3! SLOW DOWN…!" D1 shouted out to his brother. "D3!"
"No use, bro. He can't hear ya." D2 said. "He's totally gone mad."
After a couple of blocks, the taxi stopped by the sidewalk.
"Thanks!" a woman went out of the taxi, then turned to the driver. "Have a nice da—AHH!"
The cat abruptly jumped passed the woman and continued running.
"A cat?!" the woman wondered. "What's a cat doin—AHH!"
D3 rushed pass her, barking as he did, scaring the woman.
"COME BACK HERE!" D3 roared at the cat, he then put all he had in a sprint to gain on the cat.
The black-furred cat took a quick look behind itself and saw the furies dog, millimeters away from it. Just as D3 was about to bite down on the cat's tail, the cat made a fast turn to another alleyway, but not before D3 bit some fur of its tail, making the cat jolt in pain. It then jumped to a window and hissed at the dog. The cat started jumping from window to window until it reached the top of the building.
"That was a close one." the cat looked down at the dog then began hopping onto other roofs, quickly moving out of D3's sight.
When it thought it was far enough, it took a look at the scratchcard it stole. "Oh, yeah! I hit a jackpot… This money should do the trick. Heck! I'll even have enough money left to spoil myself!"
It then made its way down of the building and vanished into the city.
"PTUI! PTUI!" D3 spat out fur from his mouth. "EWW…! ARGGGH! DAMN THAT CAT!"
D3 ran out the alleyway just to bump into the other dogs, who finally caught up to him.
"Where were ya, guys?! Why didn't ya went after the cat, huh?!" D3 frowned at the three dogs.
D1 walked up to him and bumped him on the head. "We went after you! Don't just run off on your own like that, you airhead! That cat could've gotten you lost!"
"HEY! That blasted cat stole our card, and hurt D2! IT HURT D2!" D3 growled at his brother. "Ya tellin' me ya aren't mad about that?!"
"Of course I am! But getting mad won't help us, right now." D1 tried to reason. "… Look, let's just… Calm down, alright?"
D3 glanced over to D2's wounded paw. "… Easy for ya to say."
D3 composed himself as much as he could and walked up to Desmond. "Get D2 off ya back, Desmond."
"Why…?!" questioned D1. "D2 can't walk, D3. His paw's killing him!"
"I know, that's why I'll take care of his paw!" D3 declared.
D1 tilted his head in confusion.
"C'mon! Get him down!" D3 repeated.
Desmond laid down and let D2 get off his back.
"What're ya gonna do…?" D2 asked with uncertainty.
D3 grabbed his brother's wounded paw and started hawking.
"AH, AH, AH!" D2 yelped. "NO, NO, NO! Don't you dare spit on my paw!"
"We gotta clean the wounds, D2!" D3 claimed.
"That's just gonna make it worse!" D2 pulled his paw away. "Let's just leave it to mum."
"Gah! Fine!" D3 rolled his eyes. "If ya can't walk, get back on Desmond's back."
D2 glanced at his wounded paw and puffed out in irritation. "… Stupid cat!"
D3 then went to the black fur he spat out on the ground and began smelling it. "I'll sniff that cat out!"
After taking in the scent, he rose his head and started smelling the air. "… Argh!"
"What's the matter? Can't you find that furball?" D1 asked.
"The scent's too weak… I can't locate that cat." He exhaled in frustration. "Besides, I don't have the best sense of smell."
D1 tried sniffing out the cat's scent as well, but his sense of smell wasn't very good either.
"Desmond, why don't you give it a shot?" D1 turned to him. "Maybe you can do it."
Desmond tried but failed as well. "Sorry, D1. I can't locate it either."
D2 hopped over to them on three legs. "If one of us was a Bloodhound, it would've been a piece of cake…"
"… Genius, bro!" D1 exclaimed as a sudden idea spurted in his mind.
"Huh?! Me?" D2 wondered. "Why? What did I say?"
"Listen…!" D1 turned to Desmond and his brothers then grabbed some of the black fur from the ground. "I got an idea of how to find the cat!"
D1 then turned around and dashed out the alleyway.
"WAIT!" D3 shouted out to him.
"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" D2 fretted.
"D1!" They both yelled in unison.
"KEEP SEARCHING FOR THAT CAT, YOU THREE! JUST TRUST ME!" D1 reassured them as he ran off to the distance.
"Should we go after him?" Desmond asked the brothers.
"Dintcha hear him? D1 said to keep searchin' for that thief!" D3 chided at him. "C'mon! If we waste any more time, that cat's gonna escape with our money."
D2 bumped Desmond on the side. "Just do what D1 told us."
Desmond looked back at the direction D1 ran off to, though, he was gone. He turned his attention to the wounded dog. "Want me to carry you?"
D2 tried stepping on his hurt paw to see if he could walk and whimpered from the pain when he stepped on it.
Desmond laid on the ground. "Get on."
D2 sighed, but knew that was the best option and climbed onto Desmond.
"Alright." He looked at D3, then to D2. "If you're confident in D1, then I'll go along with his wish."
"Then come after me." D3 waved with his paw and headed for the other side of the alleyway.
"From what I remember, I saw it jump from roof to roof… That way!" He pointed to the right at a small park that was a couple of dozen blocks away.
"You think the cat went there?" Desmond asked.
"Not sure, but that's the direction I saw it flee to." D3 replied. "We can start from there and if the cat's not at the park, we'll just continue searchin' elsewhere."
"Okay, let's go, then." Desmond said as he with D2, and D3 went to the park.
The dogs searched every centimeter of the park, but there wasn't a single trace of the black-furred cat there. They then continued searching through streets, alleys, asked several dogs and cats, they even looked at Regent's canal, but Desmond and the two Dimitris couldn't find the cat. After an hour of looking all over Camden non-stop, they finally decided to pause for a quick rest.
"It's useless, guys! Useless!" bleated D2. "We looked everywhere there's to look, and found nothing… That cat probably took the card to the post office already and took the ten thousand pounds."
"C'mon, D2, you can't talk like that. I'm sure we'll find the cat before that happens!" D3 tried assuring his brother. "D1's probably comin' soon."
"What do ya mean 'soon'?!" D2 exclaimed. "It's been so long since D1 left and he hasn't returned yet…!
"I'm warned out from this, let's just go back home… I'm sure the others will understand if—"
"I can't believe ya, D2! Are ya seriously givin' up?! You don't even wanna find that dumb cat to beat the crap out of it for bitin' ya?! Quit your whinin' and start actin' like a real dog!" D3 scolded him. "Just give D1 time, he'll come, I'm sure… Whatever plan he's got, I'm sure it'll help us find that furball."
D2 moved his wounded paw a little, feeling slight pain which reminded him of the doer that caused this. "Gah! You're right… Even if we lose the card, I still wanna pay that cat back for biting my paw!"
"Attaboy!" D3 grinned, then giggled a little. "And… What do ya mean, 'I'm warned out'? Desmond's been carryin' your butt all this time."
"Mentally, I mean mentally I'm warned out, bro." D2 specified.
"I think we can all agree on that, D2." Desmond gave the dog an encouraging smile. "But we have to keep moving.
"Right, D3?"
"Speaking of which—C'mon, we've rested enough." D3 said with a determined look in his eyes. "Time to go get that damn cat!"
Desmond and D2 nodded, and the dogs continued their search with more determination to fine the black-furred cat.
There, it should be safe here. the cat thought to itself as it hid the scratchcard in a shrub that was located in Regent's Park, outside Camden.
"Now, to make sure those dogs aren't following me anymore." The cat headed towards Camden again.
As the cat was nearing the outer circle of the park, it abruptly paused when it saw the three dogs that it was trying to lose.
"There he is! Get him!" D3 yelled as he and Desmond rushed towards the cat.
How did they find me…?! the cat quickly started running towards the opposite direction, just to be met with a sudden burst of dirt from underneath him as a Dalmatian sprung out the ground.
"Ahh!" the cat got startled and froze in place when another Dalmatian exited the hole as well.
"Heya~" D1 greeted the cat through his fangs as he shook mud off his fur.
"Nice job, sniffing him out, Diesel!" D1 patted his brother on the head, then turned to the cat. "As for you…"
The cat turned around to try and run, only to be met with three dogs, growling at him in anger.
"H-H-How…?!" The black-furred cat's voice shivered in panic. "How did you find me?! I thought I got you off my tail!"
"Hehe!" D1 chuckled as he began approaching the cat. "You thought you could get away, but I bet you had no idea that we had a Bloodhound of our own, did you?"
One Hour Ago.
"Dolly! Where's Diesel?!" D1 spurt out at his sister. "It's urgent!"
"In the backyard." she pointed.
D1 dashed passed her and through the hallway.
"WAIT! Where are Des and the other Dimitris?!" Dolly shouted out to him. "And the money?!"
"I'll tell you later, sis!" he yelled back to her.
When D1 reached the backyard, he imminently started looking at the holes for Diesel.
"DIESEL! DIESEL, WHERE ARE YOU, SHOW YOURSELF!"
Diesel reared his head out from a hole, behind D1. "Yeah, D1… What is it…?"
D1 turned his head to face his younger brother. "There you are! Listen, I need your help, it's serious!"
"Here…" D1 dropped the black fur on the ground. "I want you to find someone for me."
Diesel looked a bit confused but quickly understood what his brother wanted. "Sure… I can find that someone…"
Diesel began smelling the fur, he rose his head and sniffed the air and instantly located the cat's whereabouts as well as the cat's appearance.
"… It's a cat… A Bombay cat… It's a boy… Right now he's… outside Camden." Diesel answered his brother.
"Outside Camden?!" D1 tilted his head in surprise. "Where, though? Where is he exactly?"
Diesel took another sniff from the air. "… Regent's Park…"
"GREAT!" D1 bubbled. "Can you lead me to where exactly in Regent's Park?"
Diesel nodded with a smile.
"Then lead the way!" D1 exulted.
"Which way now?" D1 asked Diesel as they were running through the streets.
Diesel took another sniff from the air. "To the right…!"
As the two of them were entering Oval Road, Diesel caught onto three other scents, familiar to him.
"D1… D1!" Diesel turned to his brother. "Desmond, Dimitri 2, and Dimitri 3 are somewhere around here…!"
"Huh?! That so?" D1 paused for a moment. "Can you locate them?"
"Uh-huh…!" Diesel began to smell the air around him and immediately located the three dogs. "This way…!"
D1 followed his brother, and it didn't take Diesel long to find the other Dimitris and Desmond.
"There they are! GUYS! GUYS!" D1 yelled out to them.
Desmond and the Dimitris turned around to see D1, along with Diesel, running towards them.
"D1!" D2 and D3 chirped in unison.
Took him long enough. Desmond though as he smiled at D1.
"What took ya so long, dude?!" D3 greeted his brother with a bump on the shoulder. "We got worried ya just left us."
"No way! I just needed a bit more time, that's all." D1 returned the bump.
"Thank dog, you're back D1." D2 said with huge relief in his voice.
D2 and D3 then noticed Diesel right behind D1.
"Diesel?!" D3 sputtered. "Why brin' him, bro?!"
D1 pocked Diesel on his nose. "We needed a Bloodhound, right?"
The three dogs quickly realized what D1 meant.
"Ah, yeah! Diesel can sniff the cat out!" D3 exclaimed. "You're a genius, bro!"
"D2 actually gave me the idea." D1 admitted then walked up to him. "Your paw?"
"Still hurts like hell, but I'll manage." D2 reassured his brother.
"Thanks for carrying him, Desmond." D1 looked him in the eyes. "I appreciate it."
"Don't mention it." Desmond smiled at him. "Anyway. You're telling me, Diesel here can sniff out the cat?"
"Yeah! He even told me some things about the cat as well." D1 walked up to Diesel. "But right now, it seems our thief's currently in Reagent's Park."
D3 slapped his forehead. "Well, no freakin' wonder we couldn't find him in Camden, The damn furball's outside the district!"
"So what do we do now…?" Desmond asked D1. "Do we just go directly to him or call the police?"
"No, no, no." D1 waved his paw left and right. "We pay him back first, then we call the cops."
"Now listen, here's how we're gonna do this…"
Present Time.
"Now start talking, cat! What did you do with the scratchcard?!" D1 pinned him down on the ground. "But first start with your name!"
"OKAY! OKAY!" the cat fretted. "Please! Just… Don't eat me…!"
"… Listening!" D1 frowned at the cat.
"M-My name's Bernard." He answered.
"Alright then, Bernie… Mind if call you Bernie?"
"… N-N-N—"
"WELL, DO YOU!" D1 shouted at him in anger.
"NO, NO, NO! I don't mind at all!" Bernard got startled.
"So, the scratchcard?" D1 pressed the cat's chest with his paw.
"I hid it in a nearby shrub."
"And… How do I know you're not lying, huh?" D1 extended his claws and pressed harder onto Bernard's chest.
"I'll… I'll show you! I swear, I'm not lying!" Bernard begged.
"… Fine." D1 got up from him then grabbed his tail. "I'll be holding onto your tail until we reach that shrub. You don't mind, do ya, Bernie?"
"Get me down." D2 muttered to Desmond. "Oh, and… Uh… D3, turn Diesel around and plug his ears real quick."
D3 grabbed Diesel by the head, spun him around, and put his paws on the pup's ears.
As soon as Desmond lied on the ground, letting D2 get off his back, D2 rushed over to the cat.
Bernard stood up, but as he was about to reply, he felt someone tapping him on the back. He turned around only to be met with a vicious headbutt from D2.
"That's for my paw, you furball-spitting prick!" D2 growled.
"Ahh…!" the cat moaned in pain as he rubbed his head. "… Alright… Alright, I deserved it…"
"Okay. Now, show us where the card is." D1 ordered as he still held Bernard by his tail. "And no cheap tricks, you hear?"
"Or else…" D1 pointed at Desmond. "See that tall guy over there? His favorite snack is cats."
Bernard took a look at Desmond and instantly got frightened from the dog's size.
D3 bumped Desmond on the side, dragging his attention to him.
"Play along." he whispered to Desmond.
"… Got you!" Desmond whispered back, then walked up to the cat and loomed over him. "How about I bite an ear off before you show us that shrub? I've been starving since the morning."
Bernard's ears dropped and his heart skipped a beat when he heard the dog, that towered over him say this.
"Hold it, Desmond!" D1 smirked. "Only if he tries something funny."
"Go on, Bernie. To the shrub." D1 yanked him by the tail.
Bernard walked them to the shrub where he hid the scratchcard, pulled it out, and gave it back to the dogs.
"Here… now, please let me go." Bernard beseeched the dogs.
"Well, well, well…" D1 waved the card and wondered as he played with the cat's tail. "We got our card back and D2 paid you back for biting him, but you still committed a crime… So we should call the cops on you, don't you think, Bernie?"
"OH NO! PLEASE, DON'T! I BEG YOU!" Bernard started sweating from dread.
D1 turned to his brothers. "Well? What do you guys think? Let him off or call the cops?
"Well… I got to smack him, so I don't care what happens to him." D2 nonchalantly replied.
"Whatever you wanna do with him, D1." Answered D3.
"Hmm…" D1 gave it a though. "How about this… We'll let you off if we never see you around Camden again. Got it?!"
"Yeah, yeah! Whatever you want! I'll even move out of London if you say!" Bernard shivered.
D1 let go of his tail. "Beat it!"
"Wait!" Desmond yelled to the cat before it could flee. "Why did you stole it?"
D1 turned to Desmond with a frown. "What do you think you're doing, Desmond?!"
"I want to know why he did it." Desmond answered him.
D1 rushed up to Desmond and glared him in the eyes. "Why do you care? He's a thief, that's why he stole it!
"… Don't tell me you want to defend some stupid thief?!"
"Of course not, don't be ridiculous!" Desmond sternly affirmed. "But there's always a motive behind an action, I want to know what's his."
"HUMPH! Do what you want!" D1 turned away from Desmond. "Whatever sob story he tells you, know that it's probably made up."
Desmond slowly approached the cat as to not scare him. "Don't worry, I wasn't really going to eat you, so tell me, why did you do it?"
"I… did it out of desperation." Bernard replied, his voice cracking a bit as he still was intimidated by Desmond. "… I did it because I owe some cats money, you see…? And I've been searching for ways of getting the amount I owe them myself, but nothing worked. And so…
"As you can see, I have no collar on me, I'm just a stray cat… Opportunities for jobs aren't… exactly opened for animals like me. Since those cats shortened the time I have to get them back their money, I got really desperate… That meant getting the money in whatever way possible… And if I don't make it until next week… I don't even want to think about it."
"…." Desmond paused for a moment as he processed all of that.
The three brothers were listening from the side and were frowning, not from anger, but pity, after hearing Bernard's story.
"Sheesh…!" D1 murmured out. I know I said it's probably a made-up story… But still…
D1 looked at Bernard and saw the sincere expression on his face. And that look…
D2 and D3 noticed it as well.
"Kind of feel bad that I headbutted him now…" D2 murmured to himself. Even if he did bite me…
D2 then glanced at his brothers. Desperation, huh…? We three know that feeling.
"Argh! Damn this!" D3 stomped on the ground in frustration. No collar! No home…! It's like looking in a mirror, curse it...!
"D1…?" D2 whisper to his brother. "What should we—"
D1 abruptly stepped forward, cutting his brother off. "Hey! Bernard!"
Bernard jerked his head at the dog.
"Come over here."
"What?" the cat cautiously walked up to him.
"Is… All that you just said true?"
"Y-Yes, I was honest" Bernard nodded his head.
GAH! I can't believe I'm gonna say this… D1 thought to himself. "We'll… We'll help you with the money."
The cat's ears pricked up in surprise. "You will…? Why, though?"
"DON'T QUESTION D1, YOU DUMB CAT!" D3 burst out at him.
"Sorry!" Bernard took a step back.
D3 composed himself. "Be grateful we're helpin' ya at all."
D2 sat down, thinking for a moment then eyed the cat. "Look! It's not as if we changed our mind about ya, it's just we… Umm… Kind of know where you're coming from… Ya know…"
D1 sat in front of Bernard. "Here's what we'll do…"
'Kind of know where you're coming from'? Desmond wondered at that moment to himself. Were they strays, those three? Earlier I was left with the impression that they may just like Delilah more since they didn't mention Doug when they were talking about their names, but… Hearing this now…
I might be jumping to conclusions, but did Delilah took them from the streets…? Desmond questioned. …Better not to question them about it.
"Hey, Desmond!" D1 yelled to him. "You daydreaming or something? Come on, we're heading to the post office!"
Desmond turned to Diesel, who was sitting next to him. "Come on, Diesel."
"Okay…" Diesel said as he followed Desmond and the Dimitris.
"… Err… I'm getting worried, guys." D2 told his brother as the three dogs, along with Diesel, waited outside the post office for Desmond. "He's been in there for a while now."
"Think he got into trouble?" D3 asked D1.
"Give him time, it'll be okay." D1 tried assuring his brothers. "There's probably some additional things he has to do before getting the money… I think."
The door of the office suddenly opened and out came Desmond. The trio and Diesel quickly ran over to Desmond when they saw him.
"Well?! Well?!" D2 spurted out.
"Did they tell ya to get lost?" D3 asked.
"Desmond, tell us!" Inquired D1.
"Well…" Desmond hesitated.
The three dogs perked their ears, awaiting with impatience for Desmond's answer.
"Seems that you won't be getting the money—"
"WHAT?!" the trio exclaimed in shock.
"Hold it… I didn't finish." Desmond told them. "You won't be getting the money right away."
The trio tilted their heads in wonder.
"When, then?" D1 asked.
"In three days!" Desmond told them.
"HAHAHA!" the trio chorused as they jumped in joy. "YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!"
"Oh! Wait, wait, wait!" D1 though for a bit. "So it did work! You fooled them then?!"
"Wasn't easy, but as Dylan said, my mature appearance did the trick." Desmond smiled.
"One more thing…" Desmond made a serious look. "You were right not to wait for your parents to come get the money for you."
The trio stopped jumping when they heard this.
"Why?" D1 questioned.
"The scratchcard had an expiration date, which ends today. This post office closes at 5 pm, the same time your parents' shifts end. So if you waited for them, you would've lost your chance for the ten thousand pounds." He told them.
The three dogs stood shaken by this revelation.
"Phew! Guess we dodged a bullet there, ah, guys?" D2 said nervously.
"Ya said it…" D3 agreed.
"Well, whatever." D1 said. "The important thing is that we managed to get the money in time, right?"
D2 and D3 looked at each other and nodded.
"So how about we show our gratitude to Desmond, you two?" D1 winked at them.
The Dimitris then jumped on Desmond, wrapping their paws around him.
"Ya know…" D3 smirked. "Don't let this get to your head, tower-dog, but you can be kinda cool!"
"We could make a fierce dog out of ya." D2 chuckled. "Ya really sounded like ya were gonna eat Bernard back there."
Desmond couldn't help but grin from the Dimitris' amicable attitude.
Hehe… What got into them all of a sudden? Desmond thought.
"Well, okay. Let's go tell your family the good news." Desmond told them.
"Yeah! Time to head home!" D1 stated.
"How's your paw, D2?" D1 walked into the backyard.
"Getting better… Still kind of hurts a little, though." D2 giggled. "So, what happened with the money?"
"As we said, everyone will get their share of the ten thousand pounds. Half of the money will be kept by mum and dad, however, since some of the pups are too young to be entrusted with that much money." D1 told him.
"Still can't believe mum fell for the excuse that you bit your own paw." Laughed D1. "I bet everyone now thinks you're stupid or something."
"Z-Zip it!" D2 frowned. "It was the only excuse that came to my mind at that moment."
D1 looked around the backyard, trying to find his other brother. "Where's D3?"
"Huh? Oh… Doing something with Diesel." D2 replied.
"With Diesel…?!" D1 wondered.
"Agh! What's takin' him so long?!" D3 was stomping on the floor in the living room.
Diesel then entered the room as he sniffed the air. His nose led him to a bone D3 place in his bowl. "Oh! Bone, Yummy…"
He then quickly noticed D3 standing over him. "Ah…! D3 is this your bone again…? Sor—"
"Nah." D3 interrupted him. "No need to apologize. Go ahead, you can have it."
Diesel wagged his tail. "Really…?!"
"Yeah, it's… for helpin' us today." D3 put a paw on his younger brother's head. "Without ya, we wouldn't have found Bernard, ya know?"
"Thanks, Dimitri 3…!" Diesel grabbed the bone and went back to his room.
"But only this once!" yelled out D3 to him. "I don't wanna see ya touchin' any other of mah bones, got it!"
D3 then headed to the backyard.
"And what's it that he wants to do with Diesel?" D1 questioned.
"He—" D2 paused when he saw D3 walking out the house. "Speaking of him…"
"Hey, what's up, guys?" D3 greeted his brothers.
"What were you doing with Diesel?" asked D1. "Better not—"
"Don't worry! I didn't bother him! Jeez!" D3 scowled at D1. "Just had a word with him."
"So… Err… Ya think givin' our share of the money to Bernard was a good idea?" D3 asked D1 as he sat on the ground.
"We agreed that we'll help him and in return he'd owe us, right?" D1 sat next to him. "Why are you still thinking about it? You agreed too…"
D1 started lightly banging D3 on the head. "Or did you forget?"
"Knock it off!" D3 shoved D1's paw to the side. "Ya can be such a douche sometimes!"
"You're the one to talk." Chuckled D1.
"But now, the three of us are completely stone broke, though." Sniffled D3 as he laid on the ground.
"Yeah… That sucks." D1 admitted.
"Though…" D2 sat next to his brothers as well. "I… For some reason… Don't feel that bad that we gave our share to Bernard…
"I don't know what it is, but helping him out makes me feel some kind of… satisfaction."
"Hah…?!" D1 wondered. "Guess I feel the same way."
"You, D3?" he rubbed him on the back.
"… I'm happy that our family got the money, at least." Said D3 then pondered for a second. "… Same."
D1 exhaled then looked at his brothers and made a small smile. "You two shouldn't worry about it that much. We'll find a way to get some money, right?"
"Guess so…?" said D2 and D3 in unison, tilting their heads in uncertainty.
"Hah?! What's with those faces, you two?!" D1 grabbed his brothers and pulled then in for a hug. "Cheer up, will you! 'the Dimitri Trio' always prevails, no matter what, RIGHT?!"
The two brothers eyed each other and nodded together.
"YEAH!" they affirmed in unison.
"That's my little bros!" smiled D1. "Now come on! It's dinner time."
"Alright! The adventure today left me starving." D2 said.
"Same here." D3 agreed.
The trio made their way back to their house, reassured that there's nothing the three of them can't accomplish if they faced it together.