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

Lone Wolfdog: I love the dog to death, mainly b/c one of my favorite actors plays him (Pat Buttram) Lord rest his soul. Glad you like, keep reading!

The Next Political Dynasty: I was debating on keeping him alive or not, but obviously I chose to keep him alive! Keep reading!

Anonymous but Impressed: Yes, he's alive and fairly well, and isn't it about time those kids worked together, lol? Keep reading!

Sunrise19: Yeah, I noticed that, hee hee, but I LOVE hunting dogs, so you can't blame me for sticking three in there. Keep reading!

Cathy: I know he seems mean, but he's my 2nd fave character in the movie (next to Copper), plus one of my favorite actors plays him, so "so be it". Plus, he didn't know Tod was Copper's friend. Just doing his job. Ironically, I didn't think Big Mama or the other two birds played that big a role in the movie. In fact, they completely annoyed me. I fast forward through the caterpillar chasing scenes every time, so NO they will not be here. Sorry. Hope you keep reading anyway!

Forever Young: I know it seems that he coincidentally got better at the exact right time, but what's a family reunion and all w/out the WHOLE family? Keep reading!

The Fox and the Hound 3: The Next Generation

Part One: The Younger Years

Chapter Eleven: Teamwork, Part One

"Everybody pull!" Ace said as he, the girls, and Swift pulled on one of the loose baseboards with their front paws. It wasn't as easy as they had thought it would be. Their paws were killing them from the pressure. Finally, they stopped to take a break. "Okay, this isn't working. Maybe it was a dumb idea."

"Hey, it's better than nothing," Swift told him. "Maybe if we pull with our mouths instead. Then we can brace ourselves better with all four paws on the ground."

"I hadn't thought of that," Ace had to admit. "Good idea."

"Thanks," the fox grinned. He glanced sideways at Smoky, who was still feeling sorry for himself over in the corner, and rolled his eyes briefly before joining the others once more.

"Okay, all together, pull!" Ace said again, this time all four of them using their teeth to pull the two boards apart. After five minutes of tugging, the kids fell to the cement, totally out of breath. Swift caught his breath fairly quickly, and saw that Smoky still hadn't budged.

"Hey . . . you!" he called over to him. "A little help would be nice."

"Come on, Smoke, this would be easier if everybody was over here doing this," Ace added, sitting down to scratch one of his ears.

Smoky lifted his eyes and glared at him. Why would he want to help somebody who so obviously blamed him for everything that had gone wrong so far? Swift let out a groan of impatience, and Ace decided to go and talk to his brother.

"Look," he said quietly so the others couldn't hear. "I'm sorry I said all that stuff earlier . . . you know, blaming you for it all. I know you didn't mean for any of this to happen. Especially about Uncle Chief. That was uncalled for of me to say all of that, and well . . . I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

Hearing Ace say these things somewhat touched Smoky's injured heart. He looked up at his brother and saw the sincere look in his eyes. Maybe he really did mean it. Maybe his brother wasn't such a bad guy after all.

"Please, Smoky," Beulah said softly. "We really need a little more help."

He saw the begging look from the members of the group—even Swift looked like he had a pleading look—and got up from where he was laying. "Okay, let's bust this pen open!"

With that, he joined his siblings and the two fox cubs and they all once again began tugging hard on the baseboard. They tugged so hard, they thought their jaws might surely pop out, but they kept their grip and eventually—POP! The board suddenly gave way and tore loose from the chain-linked wall it was attached too.

"Yay! We did it!" the girls shouted, hopping up and down on their hind legs in excitement.

"Don't celebrate yet, we still have one more to do," Ace reminded them, positioning himself in front of the second board on the opposite side. "Everybody ready? Pull!"

The five of them began pulling on the second board, which seemed to be even harder to loosen than the first board, but with Smoky now helping they finally got it pulled away from the chain-link.

"All right, we did it!" Beulah squealed, giving Autumn a high-five. Ace thought it was funny how easily they seemed to get along together, yet it was difficult for the other guys to get along. Basically, he figured it all boiled down to prejudice (and sheer pride)—Swift learned that hunting dogs were overall bad (and Smoky's attitude didn't help the matter), and Smoky got it somehow drilled into his head that foxes were overall bad (and Swift's attitude didn't help the matter either). Oh well, it must be a girl thing, he figured.

"Hate to break to you girls, but Autumn, it's up to you to get out now," the oldest puppy said to them.

Swift gave his sister a look of encouragement, which she smiled at, before diving headfirst into the hole they had created. Having lived in a fox hole all her life, she was accustomed to small spaces, so it didn't take her little body long to pop through to the other side. They gave a cheer when they saw that she was all the way out.

"Okay, now what do I do?" she asked, looking back at them.

"Now you somehow have to get the latch off the big door," Ace responded, pointing his nose up near the middle of the door. "Do you think you can do that?"

"Sure, why not?" she shrugged, bouncing over to where the door was. She looked at it with a worried look when she saw how big the door actually was. She gave the others a blank stare of confusion, not knowing what to do. Beulah spotted a chair behind her.

"Hey, see if you can push that chair behind you up closer, then jump up to undo the latch," she suggested. She wagged her tail when she saw Ace give her an approving smile.

"I'll try and see," Autumn said, trotting over to the wicker chair and pushing on it with all her little might. But she was too small, she didn't weigh enough for the chair to really go anywhere. It scooted on the floor about one centimeter before she got out of breath.

"I can't do it!" she moaned. "It's too heavy for me to do it alone."

Seeing his sister growing frustrated, Swift took a glance at the hole they had created and determinedly set his mind on getting himself through it. He was a little bigger than his sister, but somehow he managed to pop himself through it as well. He rushed to his sister's side and together they eased the chair in front of the door, where the two of them hopped on top of it and jumped up to undo the latch.

The three puppies gave a little cheer, all right Smoky didn't exactly cheer but he did wag his tail a bit, and the fox cubs pushed the chair out of the way so that the pups could escape as well. The five of them were so excited about being free, they almost forgot what the rest of the plan was.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Beulah stated. "We're supposed to free the others too."

"Me too," Ace had to admit. "All right, everybody find someone to let loose, and do it quickly and quietly. We want to do it before the two men come back, so hurry!"

All right, the kids have worked together to get themselves free! But will they free the others before Jeff and Marty return? Will Tod and Copper get there in order to help save them all? And now that we know Chief is alive, will he arrive on the scene as well? All these questions answered and more when we return, lol. Please review!