1Disclaimer: The Fox and the Hound is the property of Daniel P. Mannix and Walt Disney Studios, not mine.

The Next Political Dynasty: Lol, Okay I understand! It's okay, I love getting lots of mail! Keep reading!

narfgirl: Thank you! And as always, I'll have a blast writing!

Anonymous but Impressed: Okay, here's where the drama starts getting underway, so stay tuned!

The Fox and the Hound 3: The Next Generation

Part One: The Younger Years

Chapter Three: Natural Enemies

"I'm getting bored," Beulah complained as the three pups laid down by the house's porch.

"Yeah, me too," Ace nodded. "Too bad we can't go out exploring in the woods."

Smoky got a gleam in his eye. "Maybe we still can."

The other two perked their ears up. "What do you mean by that?" Ace asked him.

"I'm saying that if we want to go exploring, then let's go!" the black-and-tan hound explained. "Uncle Chief is asleep now, and he won't hear us leave."

"But what if he wakes up and sees we're gone?" Beulah asked worriedly.

"Nah, he'll just think we're playing behind the shed or something," he told her. "Besides, we'll be back before he misses us. He won't ever know we went."

Ace looked doubtful. "I don't know if this is a good idea."

"Look, all we're doing is going a little ways beyond the fence and around that little pond with the tiny waterfall," Smoky assured him. "Now let's go before Uncle Chief wakes up and it's too late!"

Smoky trotted on ahead of them. Ace shook his head and sighed before jumping off the porch steps and going after him. Beulah looked around, saw how creepy everything was when left alone, and jumped up to follow them. The three of them quietly eased their way past Chief's barrel, careful not to wake him up, and then jumped over a broken spot in the fence and entered the forest.

Swift and Autumn had wandered very far from home by now. Autumn was beginning to not recognize any of the surroundings that she was used to. And she was getting kind of hungry as well, and neither of the cubs had been properly taught how to hunt yet.

"Swift, maybe we should go home," she told him. "I'm getting hungry, and I don't know where we are."

"Stop worrying!" Swift said. "Home is just a straight shot from here. Besides, it can't be that hard to catch some breakfast."

He heard some rustling in the bushes, and they both tensed up. A second later a squirrel popped out, carrying an acorn in its front paws. Swift grinned.

"Watch this," he whispered, getting into pouncing position. He drew in his breath and leaped towards the squirrel, but the tiny rodent-like creature sprung before he could be caught—running at top speed and chattering in fear. Autumn started laughing, but Swift became aggravated and chased after it.

"Come on, Autumn!" he yelled behind him to his sister, who realized her brother was serious about this hunt, and reluctantly ran after him.

"Look at the size of this tree!" Smoky breathed with wide eyes as he stared up at a huge sycamore. "It's gi-normous!"

"Uh, Smoke, I think we've wandered around long enough," Ace told him, realizing how far they had strayed from the fence. "If Uncle Chief finds out we came out here after he said not to, he's going to be furious at us."

"I told you, he's not going to find out!" Smoky reassured him, snapping at a butterfly. "Besides, what could happen? We're not hurting anybody, and I haven't seen anything dangerous out here."

"But, Smoky," Beulah whined. "I'm getting kind of homesick, and I'm hungry."

Before Ace could comment, Smoky said, "That's no problem, we'll just hunt down food like the coyotes and wolves do. It can't be that hard; Mom, Dad, and Uncle Chief do it all the time."

Just then, a tiny bush-tailed squirrel came running up—looking rather out of breath—and when he saw the three pups, he let out a shriek and ran back towards the direction he had just come from. Smoky got excited when he saw the little animal, and bounded after it, barking his head off.

"Smoky! Smok—ugh!" Ace moaned, chasing after his brother. "Smoky, wait!"

"Hey, don't leave me!" Beulah called to them, running after Ace. "Slow down!"

The squirrel bounded through some bushes, the puppies following him every step of the way. When the squirrel got to the other side, he ran into the two fox cubs that were after him. Frantically looking about, the tiny creature made his escape into a tree. The two foxes were nearing the tree just as the three hounds came charging from the shrubs. When the five of them were suddenly nose-to-nose with each other they all let out short screams of terror.

"Whoa! What are you supposed to be?" Ace asked them, panting heavily after the chase.

"We're foxes," Autumn answered, and Swift nudged her hard in the ribs. "What?"

"Don't talk to them!" he hissed. "They're hunting dogs!"

"Not yet, we're just—ow!" Beulah yelped when Smoky punched her.

"Yeah, we're hunting dogs," the black-and-tan puppy smirked. "So I'd be afraid if I were you." He didn't really know what foxes were like, but he had seen the Master come home with several fox skins before, so he figured they must be pretty bad.

"Smoke, cut it out," Ace glared, but the hound wasn't listening, and neither was Swift.

"Well, I don't like hunting dogs," the little fox said in a low tone, putting his pointed ears back behind his head.

"Guess that makes us even because I don't like foxes," Smoky remarked back, taking a step forward. However, when he did so, he accidentally stepped on something which triggered a trap to release. The five of them had been standing on a hidden net, and when the pup had moved forward, the net had swung up—effectively trapping all of them in the mid-air.

"Nice job, genius," Beulah muttered, pushing Ace's leg out of her face. "Now we're stuck in here!"

Smoky looked sheepish. Swift glared up at him and asked, "Any bright ideas, hunting dog?"

"Just one," he answered. He stuck his paws through the holes in the net and yelled at the top of his lungs, "UNCLE CHIEF!"

(I probably won't update after tomorrow for maybe about three or four days considering my class schedule, and that my laptop doesn't get internet at my house anymore (since I'm on the school's system) but I will try to update tomorrow and then on Tuesday if possible!)

Uh-oh, the kids have all gotten trapped and it doesn't appear that they like each other either! Will they ever escape, or will they be taken in by Calvin's men?