Chapter 21: The Other Side (The next day 6:00 AM. In the Kennel)

The room was silent as cold air blew through an opened window. Slowly, Chase began to wake up and lift his head from the beanbag.

"Phew, guess it's about time." He said to himself before making his way towards the cage. "Hey, Leo?"

No Response.

"Leo..."

…

"Leo, wake up! It's almost time to go!" He whispered before Leo's eyes shot open.

"Huh!? Oh right! Sorry about that…!" He yawned before sitting up.

"It's fine, we've still got time, but hurry up though."

"Coming!" He replied before taking Rhino off his back. "Hopefully he's not having a bad dream…" He thought to himself before opening the cage.

"You ready?"

"Yeah, let's get to work. I'll get started on the front desk, while you... See if there's anything we missed in the kitchen yesterday."

"Got it! Then we'll meet back over here, correct?"

"Right. Let's try and finish before Rhino wakes up because I don't want him to go around looking for me."

"Okay, let's do this!"

7:00 AM (In the main hall)

"Come on… Go in already!" Leo grunted as he tried to close a crowded cabinet.

"Need any help?" Chase asked.

"N-No thanks! I've… almost… got it!" He replied before it finally slammed closed. "Geez! That took forever!"

"You know, if you clear your mind, it helps with your patience!"

"Yeah, I've been told…" He sighed. "Let's go see if there's any-" Suddenly, a loud crashing noise came from the chicken's pen. Followed by a bunch of squawking. "What the…!?"

"No, no, no! Not again! Get back here!" A voice followed after the crash.

"Sounds like they're in trouble! Come on!" Chase barked as he ran off.

"W-Wait up!"

Outside…

The ground was covered in feathers as the chickens scattered around the area. There, a worker stood with his hands over his head, staring at the broken pen door.

"Argh… This is the second time in a week! How am I supposed to bring them back this time!?" he whined as Chase and Leo arrived.

"Whoa! What happened here?" Leo gasped as Chase covered his nose.

"The stupid door fell over and now they're acting as if the sky is falling! The door is busted and-! Arrrgh!"

"Calm down, sir! Maybe we can help!" Chase offered as Leo's eyes opened.

"W-We!?"

"Yeah! I have an idea! Come with me!"

"Wait! You know I'm not a mindreader!" Leo barked as he followed Chase.

"Hey! Be careful! I haven't had the chance to clean yet!" The worker shouted as Chase pulled a scarecrow-looking figure near the entrance, then went for the chickens' eggs.

"Yoo-Hoo! I'm taking your eggs again! Come and get it! Ahh...Ahh-Choo!" He taunted before running off.

BAAAAAWK!

Within seconds, all of them started running after Chase. As Leo struggled to catch up, he noticed that Chase was luring them back to their pen.

"Block the entrance with the scarecrow when I pass through!" Chase said as Leo looked confused.

"What's that gonna do?!"

"Just trust me!"

"It's kind of hard if you're not communicating!" He replied before holding the scarecrow. As soon as Chase and the flock entered the pen, Leo pushed the scarecrow in front of the entrance to block it as Chase managed to jump out of a window in the back. Once they tried escaping again, they all stopped in front of the scarecrow and looked agitated.

"Ahh-Choo!" Chase sneezed before looking at the pen. "Phew! That was a close one! Better luck next time, you guys!"

BAAAAAWK! They shouted as he caught up with Leo.

"What!? They're afraid of scarecrows!? How did you know that!?" Leo asked with a puzzled expression.

"Oh, it was just a lucky guess! They're usually afraid of things that look like predators, so I figured why not trap them with that?" Chase replied.

"Seriously!? What if it didn't work!?"

"Well, aren't you glad that it did?"

"This guy…" Leo grumbled to himself as the worker approached them.

"This should buy me enough time to replace the door. I really appreciate this, guys!" He said as Chase smiled.

"No problem, sir! Just doing our best to help out!"

"Well, in that case, I'll be sure to call you guys again if you don't mind."

"Yeah, sure! We don't-!"

"What!? No! Dude, knock it off!" Leo interrupted.

"H-Huh? What's wrong?"

"You can't just assume I'll be okay with that! Don't include me in this!" He growled before storming off.

"Wha-! Leo, wait!" Chase called out before going after him. "Oh! Umm… J-just give me a second, sir!"

"No, it's cool! Take your time!" The worker awkwardly responded as he grabbed the broken door.

"Hey! Leo, wait! What's-!"

"No! Don't you 'Hey, Leo,' me! Our only job was to do whatever Katie said, and that's it! I'm not going to be dragged around just because you wanna help everyone on earth!"

"I-I'm sorry! I-I just thought that-"

"No! You don't think, you're supposed to communicate! You can't just assume I'll automatically go with what you say! If you wanna help out, just do it on your own time! And don't go running out on me like that!"

"I-I'm sorry! J-Just…! Please don't be upset!" Chase whimpered as his voice was beginning to crack.

"I-I…" Leo paused before noticing how tense he was. "I-I'm not mad. I just… L-Look, let's just go back to our chores. We've already wasted enough time.

"R-Right! Right…"

(7:45 AM In the kitchen)

"Alright, pups! Food is ready!" Mr. Jordan's voice announced as they all lined up.

"Hmm… It looks like they haven't finished cleaning yet, Rhino." Colten said as Rhino looked confused.

Meow?

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be done soon!"

Meow!
"Hey, where are you going? Get back here, Rhino!" Colten begged before chasing after him.

"Heh heh! I guess he's still not used to being around other pups," Mira giggled.

"Yeah, I guess it's going to take him a while to get used to us," Skye replied.

"It's probably just hungry! I'm sure Ms. Amelia will take care of that!" Avery said while scratching her ear. "So, what's the plan for today?"

"Well, I'm teaching Skye and Chase how to make their own hourglasses! They're not finished yet, but we should be done by tonight!" Rocky smiled as Skye nodded her head.

"Pfft! Why hourglasses? Couldn't you have done something better?"

"Well, his last one was ruined, so we decided to tag along while he rebuilds it!" Skye answered.

"Meh… Sounds kind of lame."

"Actually, I'm pretty curious! It's been a while since we've done arts and crafts! Mind if I tag along?" Sarah asked as Rocky's ears shot up.

"Wait… Seriously!?" He gasped.

"Yeah! It could be fun!"

"Ehhh… What have we got to lose?" Joey sighed as Peter agreed.

"Oh, me too! There's this pattern I've been meaning to try out, so this would be a great opportunity!"

"Well, I guess if everyone else is doing it…" Avery sighed as Rocky's tail began wagging like crazy.

"Whoa, give him some time to think!" Mira said before tapping Rocky's shoulder.

"I-! Hold on! The storage room might be too crowded! I'll bring all the stuff here!" He beamed before dashing out of the kitchen.
"Whoa! At least wait until you've eaten your…! Annnnd he's already gone…"

"Heh heh! He'll be back!" Skye giggled as Skipper smiled in the background.

Meanwhile in Roseville… (2 days earlier)

The city was cloudy as a man stood next to his house with a dalmation inside a portable kennel. His face was covered in a gloom that not even sunlight would be able to fix. As time went by, a car pulled up next to his driveway.

"You got him all set?" The driver asked as the man wiped his eyes.

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this…" He whispered as he put the cage inside the trunk.

"It's gonna be okay, Bruce. The bay is known to be a safe area, so I'm sure he'll love it there."

"I-I'm just worried about what he'll do when he comes to. I mean, I know I tried, but… I just can't help but feel as if I'm betraying him."

"Trust me, you're doing the right thing. After all, I'm sure he'll understand."

"... L-Let's just go before I do something stupid!"

"Right… Sorry," The driver responded as Bruce got into the passenger seat. "Let's just hope there's no traffic on the way to the docks."

"Yeah, I guess…" Bruce replied as they took off. It took them a while to spot the S.S Cromwell once they arrived. Eventually, Captain Rivera could be seen with his arms crossed waiting for them.

"Is that the guy?" Bruce asked.

"Yep… And he doesn't look too happy," The driver sighed.

"First, you call me on my day off, then you show up 15 minutes late, and now you're sending me back to where we just came from," Rivera scoffed as the man got out of the car.

"I'm sorry for the short notice, but this is kind of an emergency," He said.

"It's always an emergency with you, Bret! I hope you know that my ship is not some kind of personal vessel. I-"

"We just need this one favor, and we'll call it even. You won't have to do anything else for me."

"Tch... Whatever," He scoffed as he walked inside the ship." Turbot, get the dog! We leave in five minutes!"

"C-Coming!" Mr. Turbot replied from a distance as Bruce got out of the car.

"Geez… Did something happen between you guys?" He asked.

"I-It's a long story, but let's just wait until Marshall gets on board," Bret replied as Mr. Turbot arrived with a small carrier cart. Before he could grab the kennel, Bruce interrupted.

"W-wait! Can I give him a proper goodbye? P-Please…?"

"Oh, sure! Take your time!" Mr. Turbot replied as he backed away.

"Thanks…" He cleared his throat before looking at the dalmation. "Well buddy, I guess this is it… After this, we won't be able to see each other again. I know it's gonna be hard, but trust me, you're an amazing fire pup, and you're gonna do a lot of great things… I just wish it didn't have to come to this…" Bruce tried to speak as he was holding back tears. "I… I-I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm sorry I wasn't very useful in the end. I-I'm sure you'll make a lot of new friends in Adventure Bay, but no matter what happens, we're a family, and I'll always love you."

No response...

"Who knows…? Maybe we'll see each other again some time. Just… Please don't go dying on me before it happens. Until then…" He finished before standing up. "Okay… I'm done."

"Alright then, we'll be on our way!" Mr. Turbot replied before taking the kennel onto the ship. As the doors closed, Bruce could feel his body shaking even more. Once his emotions grew close to their peak, he quickly dove into Bret's shoulder and cried heavily.

"He's gonna be okay, Bruce, he's gonna be okay…" Bret comforted him.

"I-I know…! I know…!" He sobbed as Mr. Turbot could hear them from inside.

"Wow…. It really looks like they're going to miss you, little guy," He told the dalmatian as it didn't respond. A few seconds later, a small tear came from his eye.

"Bruce…" He whispered.