"The Bus Ride Begins"
(A.N. Fanfic reader Tortured Artist brought up a very interesting point in his/her last review, which I'm taking under serious consideration. Although the Dogcatcher is not the character in question, the evil veterinarian might make an appearance. Maybe.)
In the front of the Warner Bros. studio, Runt sat on the sidewalk. Next to him stood a greyhound. The greyhound was being cast for a role in an upcoming Warner Bros. cartoon. However, the front gate to the studio didn't open until 6 A.M.
"Hey, uh, what time is it?" Runt asked the greyhound.
"5: 30 A.M." was Runt's answer.
Runt sighed. "Hey, duh, can I ask you a favor?"
The greyhound eyed him suspiciously. "What kind of favor?"
"Would you like to go to Cape Cod, Massa-chew-socks?"
"Massachusetts?" corrected the greyhound. "Well, sure!" he said sarcastically. "I've always wanted to go there."
"Great!" exclaimed Runt. Without warning, he leaped onto the greyhound's back. The skinny dog abruptly collapsed from having so much weight on him. Now he was pinned to the sidewalk with Runt sitting on his back.
"Wha did ya do dat for?" grumbled the greyhound, his mouth pressed into the concrete sidewalk.
"I need to ride a greyhound to get there, and you're a greyhound, so let's go!" Runt woofed with excitement.
"That's true," moaned the flattened canine. "But wouldn't it be easier to get on one of THOSE greyhounds?" The greyhound pointed down the road to the left. Half a block away stood a Greyhound bus terminal. Runt eyed the enormous buses with the word 'Greyhound' printed on the sides.
"Hey, yeah!" Runt said. "That looks like fun! How can I ever thank you?"
"How about getting off me before my rib cage caves in?" whined the dog.
In a flash, Runt began racing down the road towards the buses while the greyhound went to go look for a dog chiropractor.
Runt looked around. There were a lot of buses! Which one would take him to Cape Cod? Runt remembered Rita saying it was near a city called Boston. Runt was pleased to discover a bus that had the word 'Boston' on it. Runt looked through the open bus door to discover a large black lady sitting in the driver's seat. The lady looked down at Runt.
"Hey, honey! You want to come aboard?" asked the nice lady.
Runt looked at her name tag which had 'Pam' written on it. Runt looked into Pam's eyes with sad, reflective puppy-dog eyes.
After looking at Runt for a minute, Pam finally gave in. "Oh, who cares about that 'No dogs' policy anyhow. Come on in!"
Runt woofed with joy. He made his way to the far back as he heard Pam say, "I'm such a sucker for them dogs."
Runt passed a few passengers. They looked at him oddly as he walked by. Runt found some space in the back to lie down. As the bus finally lurched into gear, Runt fell asleep.
The bus stopped for breakfast at Moe's Dine-R...which was in Zim's hometown! While everyone was inside having something to eat (including Runt), Gir happened to pass by the place in his dog costume. Gir was beginning to misinterpret the SOS. He was walking along trying to find "a vampire cape and a clod of grey hounds", when he suddenly caught sight of the Greyhound parked in the parking lot.
"Yippee!!!" squealed Gir. "I found it! Kudos for me!" He laughed to himself as he hopped onto the rear bumper. He couldn't reach the back window, so he stayed there until the people got back in the bus, making comments like, "The owner's a freak," and "Did you see that little black-haired boy with the glasses staring at us?" Gir also caught sight of a large, hairy dog following the passengers into the bus. Some of the younger passengers were petting him and talking to him as well. Gir was curious as to who that canine was.
When the bus began moving, Gir started crawling under it and hanging on. He crawled past the rear axle just before the bus got back on the interstate. It wasn't long before Gir spotted a hatch on the underside of the bus as dust and wind flew past him.
"Yay! I'm gonna sneak undetected by you!" he shouted. Using his robot fingers, he pried the hatch loose and climbed into the bus.
No one noticed him as he emerged up into the rear of the bus. As Gir put the hatch back, he bumped into Runt from behind. "Ssssshh," said Gir. "I'm on a secret mission. Hee-hee." He then turned around, locked himself in the bus's lavatory, and fell asleep in the sink.
"That dog didn't look too good," said Runt to himself. He had noticed how unusually green and buggy-eyed that dog had looked.
******
Food always made Runt a little sleepy, so he didn't see the sign that said, "Now entering Retroville. Enjoy your visit." Since this was a computer-animated city, all visitors entering the city limits were instantly computerized as well. Runt was asleep, so never saw himself as a computer animation. On the other hand, Gir woke up and saw himself in the lavatory mirror. He stood up in the sink and admired himself. "Hey! I'm all shiny and reflective-y! Just like a light bulb!" He laughed as he tripped and fell to the floor with a loud 'CLANK!'
At that moment, on the eastern edge of Retroville, Goddard's sensors picked up another robotic form nearby. Gir's memory drive told Goddard that they were both on the same mission! Goddard immediately turned around and saw a Greyhound bus zoom past him. The robot was on that bus! Instantly, a giant magnet popped out from Goddard's back and before he knew it, he had a seat on the bus.....okay, he was actually on the roof, but Goddard didn't mind. His body arched so he could become more streamlined as the magnets in his feet kept him attached to the roof of the bus. Goddard felt glad that he was finally on his way.
Three hours later, as the bus stopped to have lunch in CatDog's hometown, the two animals (or one, I'm not really sure) had finally discovered the Greyhound bus terminal. Unfortunately, their next bus to Boston was booked solid, and they didn't allow pets on buses anyway.
"What now, Cat?" asked Dog as they walked out of the terminal.
"I guess we take a cab or...hey, look, Dog!" Cat suddenly grabbed Dog and pointed towards a restaurant. A greyhound bus was in the parking lot. CatDog walked towards the bus. When they came up to the front fender, Cat looked up and gasped.
"Dog! I don't believe it! This bus is going to Boston!"
"Hooray!" exclaimed Dog. "Now we go save those poor doggies!"
"Yes, we can," smirked Cat. A thought popped into his head of all the dogs reuniting with their owners before the owners gave Cat a huge wad of reward money. Cat grinned greedily.
"Hi-ho-diggety!!" shouted Dog, who immediately ran into the bus and sat in a seat with Cat right behind him.
"Hey, where is everybody?" Dog looked around the deserted bus.
"They're inside the restaurant, Dog," said Cat. "C'mon. Pets aren't allowed in here, so let's sit in the back where no one can see us."
When CatDog reached the back of the bus, they noticed a metal cube lying in the rear of the bus.
"I wonder what this is," said Dog as he reached out to touch it.
"Wait, Dog!" warned Cat, but it was too late. The box began jumping up and down and shaking. CatDog jumped back as a canine head, legs and tail emerged from the cube.
"Wow, Cat, it's a robot dog!" Cat couldn't answer, since his jaw was hanging to the floor.
"What's your name?" asked Dog.
Goddard printed his name on his little TV screen as he stared at the bizarre creature talking to him. Goddard thought that either an experiment gone horribly wrong had just escaped from wherever it was being studied...or he had just come across the most unusual cartoon character of all time. Goddard was just about to compute the odds of a creature like CatDog being born naturally in the wild, when Cat spoke up.
"Well, Goddard," said Cat, amusingly, "What brings you here?"
'Classified information' was posted on the screen.
Cat and Dog looked at each other. What could that mean?
They didn't have a chance to ask, because the bus passengers came back onto the bus. They had been kept entertained by Gir and Runt in the restaurant. Gir was balancing things and break dancing on the restaurant table for the adults, while the kids were kept entertained by Runt, who did more simple dog tricks. The passengers got back into their seats as CatDog and Goddard hid in the back. No one knew they were there...until Gir and Runt spotted them.
It took several minutes for everyone to introduce themselves. Gir and Runt were surprised to see Goddard ("a metal doggie!" exclaimed Gir enthusiastically) but they were REALLY shocked by CatDog, who eventually convinced them that they were not aliens. Gir seemed disappointed by that fact. Only Goddard knew why. His sensors had scanned Gir and revealed that he was actually a robot with an electronics system that was far more advanced than anything on earth, albeit slightly defective. Goddard felt it was wise not to inform CatDog and Runt about Gir's secret identity.
Some of the passengers had reached their destinations already, so the bus was a little less crowded than before. CatDog and Gir decided to sit side by side in two seats while Goddard and Runt stayed in the back. Dog looked at the scenery lazily as Cat tried to figure out why Gir's eyes were staring in two different directions like a chameleon.
Late in the afternoon, the Greyhound finally entered Kansas. Pam, the driver, spoke up on the bus intercom.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we shall be making our first rest stop in the town of Nowhere, Kansas in one hour."
"Finally," said Cat. "At least then we could stretch our legs." Cat nudged Dog with his shoulder. "If we HAD any! Get it??!!" Cat began laughing hysterically until he saw Dog's blank expression. Cat resumed his composure.
"I like chicken jokes!" shouted Gir in Cat's ear.
Runt was glad they were stopping too. Goddard was in sleep mode since they left CatDog's town. He saw Gir and CatDog having a conversation. Runt sighed. He was beginning to miss Rita.
******
All day, Courage was running around Nowhere like crazy trying to figure out where the bus traveling to Boston was located. When the sun dipped below the horizon, it suddenly occurred to him that he should go to the Nowhere Information Center located in side the Nowhere Museum! Courage slapped his head. Why didn't he think of this sooner?
Courage soon arrived at the info center. He began pantomiming to the desk clerk, who took about five minutes to finally understand what Courage wanted to know. The clerk brought out a bus schedule and gave it to Courage. Courage saw that the current bus to Boston was stopping right here in Nowhere...right now!
"Yay!" shouted Courage. He could now get on the bus and save those dogs that were being held prisoner!
His excitement was short-lived. When Courage saw where the bus was going to be stopping at, Courage screamed with fright, dropped the schedule, and ran out of the building. He had to save the bus and its passengers...before it was too late!
******
In a small town in Missouri, right along the Mississippi River, Astro tried falling asleep in the bed. The events that happened to Astro today were a story by itself. To briefly summarize what happened: Astro wandered into a town and slept in an alley. When morning arrived, he entered a restaurant and received something to eat. Just then, a little girl wandered in, and mistook Astro for her dog who ran away two weeks ago. Astro was fed and well-kept by the girl's family...until the real dog came back that afternoon. Astro ended up on the other side of town and was taken in by a kind old man and his Great Dane, Sheila. Astro and Sheila got to know each other and, by the time night arrived, became instant friends.
Now, Astro was pacing around the room in the moonlight. The SOS had been gnawing at his mind all day. He needed to take a Greyhound, which he learned was a bus, to Boston. However, the nearest bus depot was five miles away in the next town! He had to go there.
Astro turned and saw Sheila asleep in bed with a smile on her face. Astro hated to leave her already, so he wrote her a note and placed it on the table.
Astro left through the window and onto the street. He knew he'd never stay awake all the way to the next town, so he found another alley and slept there, feeling mixed feelings about the whole thing.
******
As Astro wandered around town, Scooby was taking what he called, "his vacation". His human friends understood the fact that dogs needed their space too. So, if Scooby-Doo wanted to go off to save some dogs, that was fine by them. Scooby took the day off at a hotel in Indianapolis, where he spent most of the time at the buffet table. Still, when night came around, Scooby stayed awake in his hotel bed, wondering if those dogs were still okay.
Talking Dog, resident of Townsville, went through his uneventful day alright. He didn't even see the notice he had written the night before until he was about to head into bed. T.D. quirked an eyebrow before hopping into bed. He told himself that he'd get around to it tomorrow. (He doesn't procrastinate often, but he sure his now.)
The 100+ dogs being held in the Cape Cod were as worried about their masters as their masters were to them. Some more than others. The Dogcatcher smiled ominously as he observed his caged prisoners.
******
As the Greyhound parked in the motel parking lot on the outskirts of Nowhere, CatDog, Gir, Runt, and Goddard followed the passengers into the front lobby. Once inside, Dog started growling. Cat tried to figure out what was wrong with him, when suddenly, Runt started growling too.
Something didn't feel right.
Pam reached over the desk and rung the bell.
Strange, muted techno music started playing from somewhere. A tall figure stood up behind the front desk.
"Welcome...to the Katz Motel," said Katz in a deep voice.
To be continued...