Chapter Twelve

Dawkins began fiddling with his device, rapidly pressing buttons and flipping switches. Dylan looked at his younger brother in bewilderment, while Dolly asked, "You mean you found a way to send them back to their own time?" Dawkins responded without breaking his concentration, "Indubitably! I just need to calibrate it first."

Hunter looked down at Dawkins, "What on Earth is going on here?" Dylan's expression became anxious, "I'm sorry, Hunter, but this is a family thing. Let's hang out another time." Grabbing Hunter's jacket with his teeth, Dylan pulled the still-confused human through the back door and out of sight. Moments later, Dylan returned, "Well, that's one less awkward explanation we need to worry about."

Pongo and Perdita were visibly excited by Dawkins's announcement. Perdita asked, "You really found a way to send us back home?" Dawkins nodded excitedly as he flipped switches and pressed buttons, "Oh yes, it'll be as though you never left!" Pongo and Perdita's tails wagged enthusiastically as the device began to hum and its lights began to glow. Dawkins smiled proudly, "And just like that, we're ready to go!"

Just then, Doug and Delilah entered the backyard. "Hello, everyone, we're back from work," Delilah said. "Did everyone have fun while we were gone?" Doug asked in his usual chipper tone. Dolly spoke first, "Oh yeah, we had a blast today! We even taught our 'Aunt' and 'Uncle' how to skateboard, or at least that was the plan." Pongo blushed while Perdita couldn't help but chuckle at this remark. Dylan and Dolly snickered as well, with Dylan remarking, "And to end it all, Dawkins has finished his time machine."

Doug and Delilah's eyes widened in surprise at this revelation. "Really? It works?" Delilah asked. Dawkins nodded, with a look of pride still on his face. Doug smiled with a hint of sadness, "Well, lucky for us we got home when we did. We wouldn't want you to leave without saying goodbye." Pongo and Perdita's shook their heads reassuringly, though their obvious enthusiasm didn't dampen.

Doug's smile became wholeheartedly happy. Turning his head towards the backdoor, Doug shouted, "HUG!" A moment later, excited shouts of "HUG HUG HUG!" were echoing from inside the house. Another moment later, a spotted mass of 96 puppies surged through the backdoor and ecstatically smothered Pongo and Perdita. Flat on their backs under the weight of their descendants, the elder Dalmatians still couldn't help but laugh at the overwhelming display of youthful love.

Delilah smiled bemusedly, "Make this puppy pile a good one! I'm afraid your Aunt and Uncle have to be on their way soon." The puppies became visibly saddened at this news, with audible sighs of "AWWW" coming from the pile. Pongo and Perdita, sensing the children's sadness, did their best to wrap their forelegs around as many pups as possible in sympathy.

After several more minutes of affection, Pongo and Perdita managed to drag themselves out from under the puppy pile. Back on their feet, the elder Dalmatians walked towards Dawkins, who was still tinkering with his machine. Dylan and Dolly quickly joined them, while Doug and Delilah tasked themselves with keeping the other pups away from the goings-on.

Dawkins flicked one last switch. The machine began humming, its multicolored lights glowing brightly. Dawkins typed on the keypad, and when he'd finished the readout showed '1961'. The other four Dalmatians looked over his shoulders in enthusiastic curiosity, with Dylan asking, "Is it ready?" Dawkins's aura of pride seemed to grow threefold, "Ready and waiting, dear brother." Looking towards his great-great-great grandparents, Dawkins said, "Or rather, it's ready and waiting for the two of you."

Pongo and Perdita's ears perked up, while Dylan and Dolly backed away from the machine. Dawkins gently grabbed the fore paws of his elders and placed them on the top of the device. "Keep your paws right there, my invention will do all the work to get you back to where you belong." Dolly chimed in, "Don't forget to say, 'There's no place like home' over and over." Dolly snickered as Dylan rolled his eyes, while Pongo and Perdita chuckled bemusedly at the reference. Dawkins never broke his concentration, eyeing the large red button situated between Pongo and Perdita's paws. Dawkins reached out and pressed the button with conviction, "ENGAGE!"

The device's humming became even louder, and the lights began flashing rapidly. Tense from this sudden change, Pongo and Perdita placed both of their front paws on the machine for extra support. Around them, the world seemed to melt away. The grass, the buildings, the sky, even their own relatives disappeared. The couple exchanged gazes and simultaneously said "I love you," and were then whisked off into the space-time continuum…

Devonshire, England- Circa 1961

The sun had risen, bathing the countryside in a warm glow. In the middle of this sea of green was a humble farm. On the surface, it looked no different than any other, with a two-story house and a barn. But inside that ordinary-looking barn, there was something extraordinary. On the ground level, the 99 Dalmatian puppies had awoken and were scampering about without a care in the world. Meanwhile, up in the hayloft, Pongo and Perdita were sound asleep, with Perdita's head gently resting against her mate's.

The sun's rays peaked through the slightly opened loft doors and onto the sleeping couple. Perdita's eyes flickered at the streaming sun, and then she lifted her head up and yawned. Shaking off her sleepiness, Perdita instantly recognized the interior of the barn. Overjoyed, she began nudging her mate excitedly, "Pongo, Pongo, wake up! We made it!" The male Dalmatian muttered drowsily as he lifted himself off the floor, not fully comprehending Perdita's words. Pongo finally opened his eyes, and his energy levels rose instantly.

Rushing over to the hayloft doors, Pongo pushed them open with his nose. Perdita joined him, both gazing out at the farm with loving excitement. Laying his head on top of Perdita's, Pongo said, "Darling, we're home!" Perdita had tears of joy welling up in her eyes, "Our Dalmatian Plantation home!" Pongo chuckled at his mate's remark, but then got a twinkle in his eye, as if he'd suddenly formed an idea.

Smiling as he spoke, "Yes, and it looks even better after such aggravation." Perdita gave him a puzzled look, but then smiled understandingly, "Yes, that's a good summation of our latest vexation." Pongo kept smirking, "Despite the agitation, it was wonderful to meet our relations." Perdita's grin grew into a beam, "At this point, we should give our family a standing ovation." Pongo mirrored his mate's expression, and inhaled enthusiastically…

Pongo:

Here on our Dalmatian Plantation

Perdita:

Where the next generations can roam

Pongo:

Free from starvation and any predation, we love our plantation home!"

Both:

Our Dalmatian Plantation HOOOOOOME!

THE END