Disclaimer: "The Fox and the Hound" is property of Daniel P. Mannix and Walt Disney Company, not mine...unfortunately.
The Next Political Dynasty: Okay, here's the followup of the cliffhanger! And be prepared for more action!
Forever Young: You'll have to keep reading to find out, mwahaha!
Anonymous but Impressed: Yes, I feel sorry for both of them too, but maybe that just comes from being a sympathetic doggy lover. Keep reading!
Cathy: Chief finding out about Tod was one of the points I wanted to highlight, b/c I think it would be impossible for Copper to keep that secret forever! No, I'll tell you right now that Amos won't find out they're friends. Yeah, Calvin is quite a hypocrite!
Frostbite Obsessive Idiot: Wow, thanks! Okay, here's part two!
A/N: I'm trying to make these chapters as long as possible, because I have to start getting ready for college soon and won't have time to update until I get the Internet up and running from the school!
The Fox and the Hound 2: Friends in Need
Chapter Thirteen: Feelings of Betrayal, Part Two
Hearing Copper say all this things caused something inside Chief's head to snap. He flew towards the pup with full force, sharp fangs gleaming, claws outstretched. Before Copper had completely comprehended what was going on, he found himself in a massive dog fight with his father-figure. Both of them were snarling, biting, clawing, practically trying to rip each other's throat out—Chief out of absolute anger and betrayal, and Copper in self defense.
Copper's mind went blank and he became a raging ball of fury as he attacked the older dog with equal force. He didn't even realize that their fighting had woken just about everybody else up, and it wasn't too long that he felt somebody grabbing his collar and trying to pull the two dogs apart—Amos.
"You two stop it!" the Master demanded in a gruff voice, and Copper obediently did as he was told in a split-second. But all in the same time that the man had grabbed the two dogs by the collar, Chief was still fuming mad and unconsciously buried his teeth into his Master's hand.
Amos pulled back, grabbing his now bleeding hand. When Chief realized what he had done, he shrank back and ran underneath the jeep for safety, whining the whole way, tail tucked between his legs in shame.
Copper's mind was in a haze while the men got Amos some first aid for his gashed hand. What just happened here? He felt absolutely betrayed, Chief had completely lost his mind and tried to kill him! He was a bit upset for a good five minutes, but he started thinking again–
It's my fault, he realized. I helped Tod out, which was a good thing, and I kept it all a secret. But–But I had to! It was the only way, I had no choice! Oh, this is almost as bad as the whole train accident thing! But it was MY choice to help Tod, so it's my fault...MY fault. I chose to keep it secret, and now look what's happened. Chief's mad at me and he's possibly going to get in a LOT of trouble, and the Master's wounded. Why is it that when I help one friend out, it winds up hurting everybody else?
He was so busy thinking these things, that he didn't hear Belle approaching. "Copper?"
"Huh? Who–oh, hi, Belle," he responded a little sadly. "You didn't–see all that did you?"
She nodded slowly. "What was all that about? I thought you guys were friends."
"Well...we are. It's just that–" No, he couldn't tell her about Tod, not yet. "Chief found out about something I kept from him intentionally and he blew his top is all. I don't blame him really. I would've done the same thing probably if it was all the other way around."
He saw his Master, hand now neatly wrapped in a bandage, storming over to the jeep where Chief was still claiming sanctuary. Then he got a thick rope out of the back and tied the dog up to the back bumper so he couldn't try attacking people anymore. The dog was still whimpering, extremely apologetic in what he had done, but Amos didn't speak "dog" so of course he didn't notice this. Copper sighed, and then he noticed that somebody was missing from the crowd.
"Hey," he started to ask Belle, looking around. "Where's your Master and Buster at?"
"Oh, they went hunting earlier this morning, to look for that devil cat," she told him. "The Master made me stay behind because he didn't want me getting hurt."
"They went to look for that cat? Don't they know they're going to get killed by the thing if they don't leave it alone?"
"I tried telling Buster, but he's stubborn and won't listen to anybody. I think they went up somewhere around the mountains, close to the borderline of the hunting ground."
Copper's eyes widened. The borderline of the—oh no. Tod and Vixey are right there! What if the devil cat gets to them? Or what if Buster finds them?
Belle noticed that something was bothering Copper, and she gave him a worried look. "Copper? Are you okay? Something wrong?"
"Sorry, can't explain right now, but—I've got to go do something!" Copper fled from the campsite, tearing through the shrubbery, leaving behind a perplexed Belle behind.
Buster was ambling through the rocky terrain, his Master–Calvin–quite a distance away. The Rhodesian was determined to find that devil cat before anybody else, and frankly he couldn't wait to get famous from this trophy he hoped to aquire. But so far, he hadn't even seen a footprint, and was getting discouraged—not a good thing. And being hungry didn't help either.
He was so hungry that it didn't take long to get a whiff of something...delicious. Kind of tangy, kind of sweet, and still...alive. Surely the Master wouldn't mind if he killed a little morsel to tide his aching stomach over until dinner. The Master wasn't anywhere in sight yet, so he followed his nose until he reached...a den. The closer he got, the closer he realized that what he was smelling was... yum, fox family sounds pretty good right about now. I wonder if they have any cubs...
The huge dog made his way towards the den, growling all the while, when suddenly out of nowhere a strange figure attacked him from behind, knocking the Rhodesian down on the ground by the nose. Aggravated that he had been interrupted, he looked up to see...
"You," he snarled, teeth bared. "Stay out of my way, pup, I'm getting me some breakfast."
"You can't do this, Buster," Copper growled back, positioning himself in front of the den's entrance, the fox family still sleeping. "You're not getting any fox today, not with me here."
"Then I guess I'll have to settle for you!" he threatened, jumping towards him aggressively. This was it...the fight to the death.
Dun dun dun! Buster vs. Copper has taken physical action, ladies and gentlemen! Who will win? Will Tod help out? Will the devil cat show up? Will Copper and Chief ever be friends again? Keep reading to find out, and PLEASE review!