The next day, Rita's Mother woke up, stretched, and got started her early morning hunt, hoping this time she'd won't be ambushed by the cats again.
She walked out of the den and waited for the train to pass, taking a different route to the city.
She thought of the marriage and how wonderful it would be and happy that Rita found someone to settle down with. Despite the fact she rejected him at first and abandoned him when they were getting chased by Conrad's bounty hunters and almost shot down Rita's hopes of seeing him again.
" I really need to apologize the little scamp. " Rita's Mother told herself, feeling guilty.
She followed the river bank and ventured into the city, hoping that she would find some new scavenging grounds.
She spotted some trashcans and darted to them and knocking them over, Digging into the spilled trash to find something edible.
Sensing that she was being watched, Rita's Mother looked back and saw somebody staring at her with binoculars.
Responding in kind, She lifted her tail and mooned the person before running off, A little pissed off that somebody interrupted her hunt again.
" Put that on the Wildlife Page! " She laughed at her prank.
Clearing his mind of that mental image, Conrad started the Professor's car to follow Rita's mother, thinking that she'll lead him to Hugo's hideout.
" Strix, I've spotted a fox digging around some trashcans, I think I have an idea on where she'll might be heading. " Over! " He radioed in.
" Was Hugo with it? No? Then move on! " Professor Strix yelled over his walkie talkie, hurting Conrad's ears.
Ignoring his boss's instructions out of spite, Conrad continued to stealthily follow Rita's Mother to her den.
Running as fast as she could to get away from Conrad, Rita's Mother tried her hardest to lose him in the alleyways and the heavy traffic and pedestrians.
Making her way downtown, running fast, faces past and home bound, Rita's mother stopped to check if Conrad was stuck in traffic, Not seeing him, she then double-backed to the den.
Speaking of, Conrad was about to give up until he noticed Rita's Mother in the crowd, grinning evilly, he put the car in reverse and continued his pursuit.
Using her route back, Rita's mother headed into the forest and finally reached her den, running into Rita and Hugo's room to wake them.
" Rita, Hugo! You gotta wake up! there's a man chasing me, I don't know what he wants. " She told them, panicking.
" Oh no, It' either General Maximus or those evil poachers! " Rita guessed.
" I thought they got arrested? " Hugo said, confused.
" I didn't see anyone other than some man with binoculars. " Rita's Mother corrected.
" Some man with binoculars...Cupmann! " Rita suddenly exclaimed.
" I thought he was put away? How'd he get out? " Hugo wondered.
" I guess you're way too valuable to him to be held in jail! " Rita's mother theorized. " Let's get you out of here! "
" Where can we go? " Rita asked her.
" On a hunters wall, if we don't get out of here! " Her mother barked.
" We can go to Dellekaj's, we'll be safe there! " Hugo told her.
" Is it far?...Oh never mind that, Let's go! " Rita's mother ordered, she signaled for them to wait behind her as she left the den. Checking to see if the coast was clear, she then signaled Hugo and Rita to followed her.
" Who's this Dellekaj you've mentioned? " Rita's Mother asked them as they ran.
" He's a nice human who took us in, He makes some mean frikadeller. " Hugo mentioned as he licked his lips just thinking about Dellekaj's cooking.
" Mmmm! yeah...Great Hugo, you made me hungry! " Rita chastised him, with him shrugging in response.
" That sound's delicious, Will he'll be okay with me? " Rita's Mother asked, abit nervous about this man she'd never met, but at the same time, glad that he's nice to her daughter.
" Sure, He loves animals! " Hugo told her.
" If that is the case, I'll trust him. " Rita's mother replied, her worries subsided.
" I hope he's not to worried about us! " Rita told Hugo.
Thinking the same thing, He thought about how lonely it must be living by yourself in a cabin by a lake.
Shaking his head to get rid of the negativity, Hugo replied to Rita's concern.
" I'm sure he's okay, Rita. he understands. " He told her.
Making their way further into the forest, the three of them stopped by a large tree by a lake to rest their feet and drink some water.
" *pant* I hope we'd lost him, because *pant* I'm tired of running! " Rita's Mother panted as she went over to the lake, drinking from it.
" I think so. " Rita checked behind her to see if anyone followed them as Hugo climbed up a tree to check as well.
" You two see anything? " Her mother asked them.
" No, nothing! " Rita and Hugo told her, shaking their heads.
" Okay, We'll safe for now then. " She said as she went to lay herself down.
Rita nuzzled her mother to see if she was alright.
" Are you alright Mom? you seem pretty tired. " She asked her.
" Maybe it's because somebody keeps interrupting me on my hunts! " Rita's Mother snorted angrily while her tail swished.
" I'll find you some food, don't worry. Come on Hugo! " Rita called her fiance.
" Thank you, Rita. " Rita's mother said gratefully.
" No problem. " Rita assured as she nuzzled her mother's nose. " We'll be back! "
" Coming, Rita! " Hugo answered as he swung from tree to tree to follow Rita to hunt for some food for her mother.
" Just be careful Alright? " She called out to them as she watched them leave, hoping that Conrad won't catch them before they could make it back.
Speaking of, Conrad was following Rita's Mother's trail to see where she could've went, parking the car by the bridge as not to alert Hugo and Rita of his presence.
Slowly making his way down the hill, Conrad spotted the den and peeked inside with a flashlight, seeing no one there, He dipped his fingers on the soil and sniffed them.
Pointing himself north, he climbed back up the hill and got back into his car to go pick up Professor Strix.
" Strix, you there? I've picked up a scent heading north, I'm coming to pick you up. Over! " he radioed in.
" Excellent! Oh by the way, Conrad? could you pick up some milk? We're out. Over! " The Professor answered.
" Yes...Dear..." Conrad grumbled sarcastically, annoyed by his boss's snootiness.
Hours later, Rita's Mother woke up from her much-needed nap to get herself a drink from the pond, lapping up some water to quench her thirst.
" Ahhh! that was a good drink, Now, to see what my daughter and her fiance are up to? " She told herself as she went the direction Hugo and Rita took when she last saw them.
Suddenly, She heard some footsteps behind her, causing to to pick up her pace as she then started to sprint to find Hugo and Rita to warn them...
Rita and Hugo ventured further into the forest, carrying some berries and dead rabbits courtesy of Rita's predatory instincts.
" I'll hope your mother would be impressed by our catch? " Hugo laughed awkwardly as he tried not to think about what Rita was capable of, if ever one of his antics should cause her to snap...
" I'm sure she would! " Rita told him as she licked the fresh blood off her lips, Almost causing Hugo to lose his lunch.
" Something wrong Hugo? " She asked him, her crimson breath reaching his nostrils.
" Hurk!, No, nothing at all. " Hugo tried to say without gagging over the smell.
" It's the whole predator thing, isn't it? " Rita figured out.
" Yeah...It's still a whole lot to get used to, You'd think I'd be used to it by now. " Hugo explained to her, Remembering the many times that he smelt Rita's breath from her many nightly hunts.
" I'm sorry Hugo,...I can't help it...I am a fox after all, I've gotta eat something other than fruit. " Rita apologized as she hugged Hugo.
" I know. " He assured her, holding her paws in his hands.
" Oh thank goodness, Rita, Hugo! He's found us! " Rita's Mother warned while she skidded to a halt in front of them, Covering the two in dirt.
" Shank Shoou Mawm. " Rita said sarcastically with a mouthful of dirt.
" Sorry honey! " her mother apologized, dusting her daughter and Hugo off.
" It's alright Rita's Mom, I don't get why everyone want's me so bad? Why am I so special? " Hugo wondered out loud.
" There's no time for pondering that Hugo, RUN! " Rita shouted as she spotted Conrad Cupmann and Professor Strix approach the three from behind, carrying large sacks and tranquilizer guns respectively.
The three animals then quickly took off in different directions to try to get away from the two nut cases.
" You get the vulpines Conrad, I'll get Hugo! " Professor Strix ordered, much the other man's brief confusion.
" You've could've just said foxes, Strix! " Conrad sneered as he tried to fire his tranq gun at Rita and her mother, missing them both as they dodged the shots.
" You go left, I'll go right! " Rita told her mother as they darted into the bushes, while Hugo climbed up a tree.
The two men pursued the three as they tried to get away from them, shooting darts and swearing.
Fed up with chasing them, Conrad spotted Hugo jump from a tree and took aim and fired, the tranquilizer dart hitting it's target on the thigh. causing him to fall into Professor Strix's sack.
" HUGO! " Rita shouted in terror and anger as she bolted out of her hiding place to bite Conrad in retaliation, sinking her teeth into his backside.
" GAH! " he shouted in pain, pulling Rita off by her scruff as she tried to take swipes at his face. " I remember you, Little Miss Feisty! "
He then tranqed Rita and placed her with Hugo into the sack and tossed them both in the trunk.
" Why are we bringing the fox? I just wanted Hugo. " Professor Strix asked bewildered.
" He never goes anywhere without this fox, With her present, He'll do anything we tell him to! " Conrad explained.
" Good thinking! " Professor Strix commented.
" Don't kiss my ass, Egghead! " Conrad snarled, with the Professor rolling his eyes in response.
Rita's Mother watched the two men get into the car and silently followed them to see where they could be going, using the forest foliage as cover to avoid being spotted.
" Where are you bastards taking my son-in-law and baby girl? " She snarled.
She made her way into the city following the car past busy traffic and all the way to the docks, seeing a large orange ship docked at the harbor.
Hiding behind some crates, Rita's Mother spotted some men loading some wooden boxes onto the ship with a forklift and she darted behind the unloaded ones, Opening one of them and jumping inside.
Making sure to bury herself in the straw to avoid being discovered, Rita's Mother felt her box being lifted and carried onto the ship, She then hoped that somebody don't place another box on top of hers, least her rescue mission will be over as soon as it begun.
Hours Later
Testing her luck, Rita's Mother pushed her box lid open and breathed a sigh of relief, crawling out of her box and sniffing the air for Rita's scent.
She scoured the ship's cargo hold and turned up nothing, much to her frustration.
" Damn! where the hell did they go? When I get my paws on that chump...I'll * Snap!* " She gnashed her teeth.
She sniffed the air again and picked up a scent, she then followed it up some stairs to a hallway with some rooms, sneaking into each one in search of Hugo and Rita.
Hearing someone coming, Rita's Mother ducked under a table and saw Conrad place something on a bed, it was a blue, long metal box with a handle.
" I wonder what could be inside? " She wondered to herself.
She waited until Conrad left and she jumped onto the bed and sniffed it, picking up Rita's scent.
Opening the box, Rita's mother discovered a sandwich wrapped in plastic wrap, tearing into it and eating the sandwich, Finally happy that she ate something without being interrupted for once.
After that, she followed Conrad's footsteps to see where he could be heading to, making sure she'd stick to the shadows.
" I hope nobody steals my lunch while I'm busy with that runt! Stupid Strix and his stupid demands. " Conrad muttered to himself. he pulled out a keycard and swiped it, opening a door infront of him.
Moving quickly, Rita's mother slipped behind him as the door closed afterwards, almost hitting a trash can because of her momentum.
" Okay, I'm here, what do you need? " Conrad asked Strix.
" I need you to bring me Hugo and my tools if you'd please? " The Professor asked of him.
" Oh for the love of- Fine! where are they at? " Conrad begrudgingly asked.
" In my living quarters " Strix answered.
" Bingo! " Rita's Mother smiled as she waited for Conrad to open the door so she could continue her mission.