1Disclaimer: "The Fox and the Hound" is the property of Daniel P. Mannix and Walt Disney.

A/N: SOOOOOO sorry for the super long delay in updating!! I am now done with all my finals, and I had to move all my stuff out of the dorm, so now I finally have free time . . . until January 13! Woo-hoo!

The Fox and the Hound 3: The Next Generation

Chapter Thirty-One: Danger!

"So, Loki," Swift said after a minute, standing knee-deep in the stream. He had maybe missed about five different fish in the past ten minutes, and things weren't looking up for him. "Loki!"

"Hmm, what?" she finally replied, her mouth full with a huge trout. Swift just stared at her, trying to figure out what he was doing wrong. Loki carried her prize onto the shore. "What is it?"

"Uh, it's just that . . . I don't think the fish like me."

"Oh . . . my . . . gosh," she muttered slowly, her eyes rolling back into her head. "Of course they don't. You want to eat them."

"I know, but how am I supposed to eat them if they don't stay still?" he wanted to know, just as another fish quickly escaped his paw. "I swear, I think it's a conspiracy against me or something."

"Here, let me help," Loki offered, stepping back into the water beside Swift. "Look, all you have to do is—HEY!!"

Swift had splashed water all over her face once she was beside him. He was trying hard not to collapse in the water from laughing at it. Loki gave him a hard look, but instead of lashing out at him, she started laughing too. In fact, she splashed him back!

"Gotcha!" she laughed, once she had him soaked.

"No fair, I'm gonna get you for that!"

"Not if I get you first," a deep voice came out from the bushes. Swift's ears perked up to their full height at the familiar voice.

"Swift, what was that?" Loki asked, edging farther back into the stream.

"Oh, boy. Uh, Loki, I kinda forgot to mention that I am on the run from this guy who mistakenly thinks I killed his brother."

"WHAT!"

That's when Smoky emerged from his hiding place. "I'm not mistaken about anything, Swift. I saw you there at the train tracks standing over and looking at my dead brother. You remember him, huh? Ace? You're old friend? The one you murdered?"

"Get out of here, Loki!" Swift instructed. He didn't want her to hear . . . or see . . . any of this.

"Swift, what is he talking about?" she demanded. "I'm not leaving until—"

"Just go!" he yelled. Loki looked a little hurt, but she did as she was told and bounded off to the other side of the creek and into the woods. But she was going to watch the action.

"So you finally caught up with me, huh?" Swift growled, still standing in the water. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever find me."

"It would have been easier if you had just stayed in one place," Smoky snarled, stepping into the stream and started circling the fox. "Then neither of us would have had to go through the trouble of planning out this ridiculous cross-country trek."

"You still don't get it, do you? I'm running because I'm innocent. Why won't you understand that Ace's death was an accident? Just because you're all ticked off at yourself over Chief's death, is no reason to go after me to make yourself feel better."

Smoky's eyes suddenly glazed over and without warning struck out at the red fox. Moving quickly however, Swift missed his jaws and grabbed a hold of the hound's front paw. The dog yelped at the piercing of the fox's sharp teeth. While the dog was somewhat distracted, Swift bounded out of the water and onto shore, running into the woods. Smoky was now even more angry than before, and loped after him.

Swift agilely flew over the fallen branches and limbs that decorated the forest's floor. Smoky, being more bulky and heavier than a fox, clumsily plowed his way through, an angry mass on the rampage. And being much slower than a fox, he also lost him.

"SWIFT!" he yelled, hearing the echo all around him as he stood in the middle of the forest. "Where are you?! I know you can hear me, so hear this! No matter where you are, I am going to find you, and you will pay for everything!"

He heard his words coming back to him from all directions, and a chilly wind started to blow. There was no sign of Swift anywhere. He was probably long gone by now, off to join his little girlfriend somewhere, or whoever that other fox was. Smoky began to feel the effects of the loneliness edging in on him, and he didn't like it. It made him feel . . . lost. He didn't know where he was. He didn't recognize anything anymore. He wanted to go home . . . wherever that was.

He backed up a few steps, when suddenly he heard a creaking noise . . . from beneath him. Confused, he looked down at his feet and saw that the ground was coming out from under him. And he fell into a dark empty pit . . . and no body was around to help.

Dun dun dun, so the two enemies have finally met up again, and now Smoky is stuck in a pit! Will he get out? Who will help him? Will the bobcat show up, and what will happen with Swift and Loki? What about Swift and Smoky's damaged relationship? Will they patch things up? Will they find their way home? All these questions answered and more when I return, mwahaha!