-Petey: Cousin Franky-

"Come on! You got this!" Petey roared as he towered over another rhino who was laying on his back. "Push through!"

"Too much-" Came a winded whimper.

"You gonna tell them that at the academy?! Now push through that pain!"

The rhino on the ground winced as he tried to sit up and curl his body upwards. His large hooves behind his head as he tried to get one last sit up.

"That's it that's it! Beautiful!" Petey cheered. "You got one more in there I know it!"

"I don't!"

"Come on cuz, yes you do," Petey roared.

"I can't!"

"Do it for Gram Gram!"

The rhino on the ground froze and tilted his head to the side.

Petey looked in the same direction until both large mammals were staring over at an elderly looking rhino whose wheelchair was nestled safely in the shade of a large tree.

The older rhino noticed she was being stared at and shakingly raised a hoof and waved.

"Hello Peter, hello Francis," Gram Gram said in a wheezing voice, her age showing as she shook slightly.

"Hi Gram Gram!" Both rhinos shouted and waved.

Petey looked down at his cousin, lowering his voice.

"Come on give one more for Gram Gram."

The rhino on the ground nodded, shut his eyes, and then used what little strength he had left to perform one last sit up.

"Beautiful!" Petey cheered and put his hooves together. "Now on to pull-ups."

"What?!"

A short while later Petey and his sweat-soaked cousin sat underneath the large tree their grandmother had been occupying during their day out.

While Francis laid on his back and tried to convince his muscles not to ache Petey and his grandmother watched several younger mammals run by, chasing a soccer ball as they cheered wildly.

"Such a nice day," Gram Gram mumbled before smacking her lips. She then looked down at her wheezing grandson and smiled. "Petey, why do you pick on my poor Francis so? Look at him."

"I'm looking Gram Gram," Petey chuckled. "And I see someone who just broke their personal record."

"Think I broke more than that," Francis grumbled. "You know last I checked I'm going to the ZPD, not special forces like you."

"First off we weren't special forces," Petey chuckled. "Secondly you train for the worst so you are-"

"Always at your best," Francis finished the mantra between breaths. *Gram Gram?"

"Yes, my sweet Francis?"

"Smack Petey for me will ya?"

Petey roared with laughter as his grandmother turned in her wheelchair and gave her grandson a playful slap on the arm.

"You know Gram Gram once we are done training Franky we can get you ready for the ZPD academy too," Petey said which earned him another slap on the arm followed by a laughing coughing fit.

"Oh please, I think I would get to one and just keel over! I don't even think I could run a lap around this park at my age."

Petey chuckled as he stood up and brushed some grass from his shorts.

"Let's prove you wrong," The rhino said eagerly.

Petey got behind his grandmother's wheelchair and gave it a gentle push, as it picked up speed the older rhino let out a series of laughs.

"Petey slow down! Oh, goodness don't hurt yourself!"

"Come on Franky, Gram Gram is out running you!" Petey shouted over his shoulder at the rhino still laying in the shade.

"She can have the gold, I'll settle for silver."

"Gonna be bronze at this rate," their grandmother teased as she raised her arms in the air.

Franky groaned as he did his best to lift himself off the ground before jogging after his cousin and grandmother who was currently telling Petey to find a hill for them to jump.

After their little mid-day workout, the three rhinos made their way out of the park and down the streets of Sahara Square.

The sun above warmed their hides which was not exactly pleasant for poor Franky whose cousin took pity on him and led the little group to a local deli.

The blast of cold air from the climate-controlled store felt amazing to Franky who almost immediately sat down in a chair by the counter, the urge to simply pass out was almost too tempting.

Petey purchased them each a drink from the deli before joining his grandmother and cousin.

"So how much longer does Petey get to torture you Francis?"

"Just a few more weeks Gram Gram, then it's off to the academy. After that, I plan to write Petey so many tickets for what he did to me today."

Petey and their grandmother both shared a laugh before sipping at their refreshing drinks.

Franky eyed a large glass deli case which currently had an assortment of different cakes on display.

Petey noticed the hungry look and cleared his throat.

"You know I think it would be ok for you to enjoy a slice if ya want."

"Really?!"

"Sure, just gonna have to do another two laps around the-"

"Nevermind," Franky grumbled in a defeated manner which earned another laugh.

"Well don't you worry Francis, when you graduate I promise to bake you the biggest cake," Their grandmother cooed as she patted her grandson on the arm.

"Do I have to share with Petey?" Franky asked, sending a playful smile towards his cousin.

"No of course not," Gram Gram said which surprised both Petey and Franky. "He will already be getting so much sugar from sweet Ariel of his."

"Ooooooooh," Franky said, perking up and grinning at his now embarrassed cousin's expression. "Ariel and Petey sitting in a tree."

"Speaking of trees think we should practice some more chin-ups," Petey suggested which quickly shut his cousin up.

"How is Ariel anyway? She sent me the nicest card the other day and oh goodness you two looked so cute on your date from the pictures she was showing me."

As Gram Gram gushed about her grandson Franky made a few kissy faces which were met by a napkin tossed on his head.

"She is doing great Gram Gram, she just got promoted at her firm."

"So nice to hear, so when are you going to ask-"

Petey raised his hoofs to his ears before his grandmother could finish the question.

"Bahahaha, oh come on Petey, gotta lock that down sooner rather than later," Franky chuckled. "I mean if I got to be a stay at home boyfriend then-"

"I am not a stay at home boyfriend," Petey chuckled.

"Really?" Franky asked, raising a brow.

"I am merely a boyfriend whose girlfriend pays him not to go out and do something crazy like join the ZPD."

"Oh so now it's crazy?"

"She just wants to look after you dear," Their grandmother interrupted. "Goodness, whenever you used to deploy she was always in such a state. You know she would come visit me at least once a week and read the letters you sent her. She always got teary-eyed at the end. So worried about you."

"I know, and I feel bad about it," Petey said with a sad sigh.

"Never feel bad about it," Gram Gram said firmly. "We are all so proud of the choices you made but now that you are home I think Ariel wants to keep you here safe and sound."

"Think she wants to keep me safe and sound too?" Franky asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

Petey snickered at his cousin's suggestion.

"Sorry Cuz, but you know me and my expensive tastes. She can barely afford to spoil me."

"Oh yeah, so high class, when was the last time you replaced your cellphone again?"

"Don't need to, this one works fine," Petey said proudly as he pulled a phone out of his pocket and proudly flipped it open.

"Oh goodness Petey that thing is older than me," their grandmother teased as she proceeded to pull out her smartphone and show it off to her grandson.

"Well, when she buys you a new phone see if they are having a buy one get one will ya?" Franky teased, nudging his cousin's arm.

The three rhinos finished up their refreshing beverages before departing back into the warm sunshine in Sahara Square.

The days quickly turned into weeks and soon Franky was off to the ZPA.

While not exactly overseas it still meant he would be away from his rather tight-knit family.

Franky's parents threw a party and invited their whole block along with as many family members as they could get a hold of.

There were hugs, wishes of luck, and pats on the shoulder as everyone voiced their support for the young rhino who was about to take a big step in his career.

Franky was grateful to everyone for turning out. Especially Petey who he of course had to embarrass with a little speech.

The rhino stood atop an outdoor table that groaned under his mass.

"I wanna thank you all for coming out and wishing me luck on this big adventure!" Franky began before reaching down and grabbing Petey by the shoulder and pulling him up on the table which made a series of odd noises. "I especially wanna thank my cousin Petey who has been torturing me...I mean training me up over the past few weeks."

There was a combined roar of laughter as Petey raised a good and gave an embarrassed wave.

"If it wasn't for him i-"

*Crack!*

The poor table had tried to hold out as long as it could but the weight of the two rhinos proved to be too much and it snapped right down the center.

Petey and Franky fell to the ground, splintering the table and causing several drinks to go flying.

Everyone rushed the table, looks of concern on several faces.

"You alright Franky?"

"Wow did you hear that table snap?"

"Petey you got a cup on your head."

Petey and Franky sat in a heap on the ground for a moment or two before bursting out into laughter.

"Franky what did I tell you about putting my baby in danger?" Came a curt voice that made both Petey and Franky sit up nervously.

Ariel stood before them, arms folded, a look of fire in her eyes.

Though smaller than Petey and Franky she still had an intensity about her that made the two larger rhinos cower in fear.

It took a little while to clean up what was left of the table and the various spilled drinks.

Eventually, though the party got back into full swing.

As the night went on the many mammals that came to wish Franky well trickled out.

Soon it was just a small gathering of rhinos and a few neighbors who were enjoying the cool night breeze and picking at what was left on the catering trays.

Ariel was seated happily on Petey's lap, while Petey sat on the grass out of fear of having a repeat of the table incident.

"So, excited to start?" Ariel asked sweetly.

"Ya," Franky said happily as he leaned back in a large folding chair. "You know it's not too late for Petey to…."

Franky's words trailed off thanks to the look Ariel was giving him.

"You make sure to text me if you ever need help alright Cuz?" Petey said, a proud look on his face.

"You get texts on that phone of yours? Might be faster to just send a carrier pigeon."

Petey had a smug smile on his lips as he reached into his pocket and produced a brand new cellphone.

"Oh my gosh," Franky laughed as he put his hooves together. "Welcome to present-day cellphone use cuz. Is it still the same number?"

"Sadly didn't get to keep my number," Petey chuckled.

"You however just have to swap the SIM card and you get to keep yours," Ariel said as she produced a small white and black box from behind her back.

"What?! Oh no….no no...you didn't…" Franky looked at the box and then to Ariel and Petey.

"It was buy one get one," Ariel lied as she gave the stunned rhino before her a wink.

"I...I can't take this," Franky said, still sounding shocked.

"Well we can always give it to Gram Gram," Ariel said with a shrug.

For a rhino, Franky sure did move quickly when he wanted to.

In a blink of an eye, he had the new phone box in his hoofs and was shaking his large head.

"No I'm good, I'll take it," he let out a sigh as he looked from Ariel to Petey. "Thank you all so much."

"Now how do you send text messages again?" Petey asked as he twirled his new phone around and stared at the blank screen.

Ariel and Franky snorted at the larger mammals comment before Ariel leaned up and gave her boyfriend a gentle kiss on the cheek.


Hey all!

Happy New Year!

Glad you all got to meet Franky! Hope he makes it through the academy and makes it into the ZPD soon. Anyone know of a good bar to celebrate graduation? ;P

Get ready because we have lots of fun stuff coming sooner than you might think.

That goes for several of my stories by the way. Let's just say we are back in an Explosive way.

-Blue