((Sorry, friends, but it seems that I lost inspiration for this story. In light of no longer wishing to write it, I will cease for the time being, I apologise to those enjoying my updates and the story I had once really liked. I wish I could give you a conclusion but I cannot find it within me to continue and possibly be unable to write the story like I want it written. I hope that everyone can find it within them to forgive me. Though I do have the second part of the last chapter for you to enjoy.

Spy: Marceau))

Hours later the both of them had managed to get a little rest, enough that they were able to get up and start the day. Through the window came the bright morning light, probably around 6 or 6:30 A.M, rather late considering the schedule he worked on...that isn't exactly a great comparison though. These bright rays of light where what caused Rick to wake, eyes slowly opening only to see the blinding light and let out a groan, trying to bury his head underneath Dell to block it out. With a deep breath that pushed the canine back in the slightest, Dell shifted and pulled himself up with a groan of his own. Seems like they were on the same page about this morning. Dell soon stood up, walking to.. Probably get himself coffee, leaving Rick without the shelter he had used to hide from the sun. From in front of Rick, the mighty Duchess casted a shadow across him, causing confusion and mayhem as Rick lifted his head.

"Feeling better?" she asked with a pur, Rick taking a moment to wake up before nodding. Once he tried to move, being rather immobile, he remembered what happened last night and simply passed it off as he slowly slid out of his little cubby and onto the cushions.

"Little." he muttered plopping down outside his comfort nook. Compared to the past few days Duchess proved to be surprisingly more supportive as she came down onto the cushions pressing her head against his as if to comfort him.

"Now to talk as I promised-" she started but was interrupted

"The only thing to do is find this 'Voodoo man' and force him into turning me back." Rick answered simply.

"I'm really trying to be supportive, but is that really a good idea? Didn't your dream tell you any good information to go off?" she asked, obviously not content with Rick's forceful plan.

"Would you prefer it if I just ask him?" Rick asked getting an obvious look from Duchess, one that just shrieked her answer at him. "If I only ask him there is a chance he won't do it-"

"And if you go in there barking like a lunatic he will probably hurt you."

"Not likely."

"How do you know?"

"Because, he was the one that changed me to begin with, to-..." to learn a lesson. Wait, what he said back in those woods. Most of what he said wasn't retained "Learn through another perspective." he uttered the small phrase that he remembered, eyes looking to the window as he thought.

For a good minute they sat in silence, Dell making small noises in the kitchen every now and then to show he was both alive and possibly making breakfast for himself and his beloved animals. After these minutes passed, it became apparent that Duchess was getting impatient as her tail begun to move more frequently. "Learn what?" she whispered, plopping herself down at Rick's feet. More silence came from the canine as he tried to remember what this man had told him.

Rick sighed, his concentration breaking "I don't know, I didn't listen to what he was saying when we first met. I was…" Just trying to do his job, get it done with so he could go back home and relax by a nice little fire.

"You are being about as insightful as a wall." Duchess sighed

"But I know where to find him." Rick remembered, it was the only good thing that came from that dreadful party Dell took him to! If you can count horribly vague directions. The ringing of a house phone and the clatter of something in the kitchen reminded him that Dell still existed. "Just have to wait till he leaves." Rick mentioned as he hopped off the couch, walking to the kitchen entrance and watching as Dell finished putting food in the two feeding bowls before hopping over to get the phone.

"Dell speaking." he said as he picked up the phone, walking back to the kitchen to finish what he was doing. "Oh, Lenore-" he paused, grabbing the two bowls and placing one on the floor for Rick and the other on the counter for Duchess "A puppy party?" he asked with slight hesitation, Rick's ears flicking over when he heard that.

"Please no." Rick muttered as he walked over to his bowl, starting to eat his breakfast as he listened to what Dell was saying to Lenore on the phone.

"I suppose Rick could use the exercise… what's the harm in going to the park for a few hours?" Dell shrugged as he grabbed his coffee, walking to the porch to talk with Lenore a bit more. Rick simply ate what he had been given so he could think better with a full stomach, he would have to work around this park thing.

Above him Duchess' shadow shielded him from the artificial light "Hear that?" she asked looking down "The park, the dog park." she told him with a chipper tone.

Rick stood "If I could just slip out of the park for an hour to look around and get a better clue as to where everything is,"

"But Dell,"

"Was plenty distracted by this Lenore lady." Rick hummed, he really couldn't blame him though, that woman was gorgeous. "Plan A, slip out of the dog park and look for pine street." Simple enough.

"And if Dell follows?" Duchess asked "He's more observant than you are giving him credit for." Observant? Unlikely, but he'll humour her.

"Fine, plan B is I'll just take him with me, it'll just be like a little stroll through town or...whatever." He shrugged, tail slightly wagging as he thought of his plan. He was getting one step closer to having his life back, he just needed to find where this bastard lived.

The back door opened, Rick's head turning to watch Dell come back in from the porch, behind him his tail had begun to thud against a nearby chair, Rick slamming a paw down onto the puffy fur to make it stop moving. Eventually it did, when his mind once again blocked out the fact he was starting to enjoy Dell's companionship. Dell gave him a few pats, chuckling at the fact he just watched Rick catch his own tail. Rick's ears perked up before he realised what Dell was amused about. God damn it.

Nearly two hours later, possibly three, that bulky leather collar was in place and they were ready to head out to the park, as of currently there still were no dog tags but Rick had the feeling that would be soon, more or less soon that the collar wouldn't be removed at all. The clinking of Dell grabbing the leash signified that they were going to be leaving, to which Duchess watched peacefully from her place on the couch. "Just remember the plan." she purred, bathing in a stream of light coming from the window, her paws outstretched in front of her comfortably.

"Yeah, yeah, enjoy your sunbath, Cottonball." Rick replied sarcastically as he watched Dell open the door, waiting just a moment before walking through and toward the truck. Dell was quick to follow, shutting the door and locking it to ensure Duchess maximum security.

Once outside he could feel the cool rocks still heating up in the sun, the mist covered rocks dry but still cool under his paws as he waited by his side of the truck. Dell was just standing there a moment, taking in the surroundings. Surprising how he lived here and still did that, was he just that much of a country boy? Rick looked away from Dell, his eyes instead looking where his new companion was. Wow. His house may be surrounded by trees, but the way the light was being filtered through created a beautiful glittery effect upon the ground, though if you looked past the trees, which Rick just now noticed was possible, you could see an expense of open hill area stretching out toward the next county over. Rick stood, walking back over to Dell to get a better view. From where Dell was sitting, it just looked like an ocean of golden wheat, only broken by a few hills of green. He never thought to stop and look out at the landscape, even when he was walking past it on his way into town. Not when he arrived in this town, not when he was stuck in this town. Guess he never allowed himself to be distracted by such things, couldn't really, not in his line of work.

Dell's arm wrapped around Rick's back, laying a few rough pats to his side as they sat there a moment longer, blissful silence surrounding them as they just took a moment to enjoy the crisp morning air. "Come on, we got to go meet up with some chatty rich folk." Dell told him, though now that Rick thought on it, how the hell did Dell know so many Rich people? Was it just because he lived near one of them or was it his job? Wait, what does he do for a living? Landscaping? Nah. Construction? He doesn't come back dirty enough for either of those. Was it an office job? Rick walked alongside Dell, thinking to himself about how little he knew from being here nearly a week. Was he really able to learn much to begin with? Let's be honest, learning about people by being a dog is a little difficult, that is unless that person likes to talk to their dog. He hopped into the passenger seat of the car, making himself comfortable as Dell walked around to get in on his side. What he should be doing is preparing to be around all those dogs, it was bad enough at a party where they were limited, but a park? Can't be too bad on a weekday, right?

Wrong.

Despite it being a weekday, with Rick's luck, everyone took the day off from work and decided to come to the park with every dog they could find. Who the fuck wants to go to a dog park, hike a trail, there is literally a regular park on the other side of the trees, you chose a prison playground for canines to wander around. He felt Dell, tug at his collar while taking the leash off, standing right after. They both just stood there, maybe Dell thought Rick would run off to play, nope. No way. Dell scoffed, running a hand over Rick's head as he passed, Rick deciding to follow closely as he walked to a group of people who should be at work! Though taking Dell's words, they were all rich and smelled of expensive perfume or a damn dentist office. While Dell started to greet his friends, Rick slipped away. Off on the other side of the dog park he could see the white fur of Ludwig sitting in the shade, at his side was probably Tavish seeing as it was a small mound the same colour as the wood chips beneath their paws, and the little brat was nowhere to be seen. He had to be careful if he wanted to escape without much trouble.

He slowly walked to the fence, stopping a few times as though he was following a scent trail or just wandering. Just pretend nothing is going on, avoid that rag doll of a dog, avoid that Q-tip dog, avoid stepping on the pom poms running around. Rick jumped out of the way of two Pomeranians that were using him as a wall and jogged over to the fence. At least he made it, and from the looks of it, he made it without notifying the other "Well, hallo, I didn't know Dell was coming to this little get together." That was definitely Ludwig. Rick's head fell as he turned around to see Ludwig and Tavish standing behind him, the other had yet to show himself.

"Yeah, I decided to take him here while I ran a few errands." Rick said in a humorous tone as he assessed how tall the fence was. He could jump it easily, Dell's was taller and he managed just fine.

"Is that right?" Tavish asked with a huff "And how-" Just as Tavish was about to speak Rick jumped over the fence and caused the two to go into a silence before Ludwig started to react.

"Now, now, that's enough." the white dog said as he stood up, obviously not liking how independent Rick was acting "It would be no good if Dell realises you are gone."

"I'll be back in a few minutes, I just want to check out the ice cream girl...thing. That thing you said." Rick assured to which Ludwig relaxed but still seemed unsure. Rick needed to make sure that Ludwig wouldn't go trying to alert Dell of his absence after he leaves. "I'll come right back." he told him, trying to convince the other to keep his yap shut.

"Better." Ludwig said as he turned his back to Rick.

Finally, he can get going. One last look to Dell revealed a rather unpleasant sight. Was that who he thought? His ears pinned back as he stared in their direction, he had to get a closer look. He slunk through the tall grass that bordered the fence. Upon closer inspection, as well as hearing the voice, it was confirmed. That was Marceau Roussel, or at least that was the name he used with his boss and among his many aliases. That sneaky spy was here of all places… and smooching Dell's love interest, Leanore?

Knowing that someone this dangerous was around changed his plans just a bit, he doubted that the spy would do anything right now but he really didn't want to take a chance with leaving Dell with him, he could have been hired for any reason. Guess Dell is going to be following Rick today. Rick bolted from the tall grass, from which he stalked his prey, and proceeded to be as loud as he could. He barked several times, trying to be louder than the last until he knew his bark couldn't get worse, this exploration made him realise he had a terrifying bark. Don't get on his bad side.

As expected, his barking drew a lot of attention, including Dell's. Dell ran to the gate "Richard Conagher!" Dell scolded before bolting toward the gate "I'll be right back!" he yelled to the other guests as he quickly exited the gated area and briskly walked toward Rick.

"That's it, come on." Rick muttered to himself as he barked, jumping away from Dell and walking toward his destination, every time Dell got too close he jumped a bit further away.

"What in the hell is goin' on with you?" Dell huffed, as he followed. Dell had to prey nothing was going to happen because he had no leash, it was back in the park. Fuck. "You just feel like walkin' yourself?" Rick looked up to Dell, he knew that Dell was confused but this was probably safer than letting him believe Rick was playing with other dogs.

Rick paused, looking around, he knew they passed by an ice cream shop, where the hell was it? Dell looked around too, confused as to why Rick stopped, that is until Rick yipped and bolted off down the street a little further. This wasn't good at all. "Rick!" Dell yelled after Rick as he followed helplessly, he couldn't even get close enough to grab his collar, he was just along for the ride.

Eventually Rick did stop, but only when he found the ice cream girl that Ludwig had mentioned, nearby he could see a dirt road leading into a thicket of trees. Not exactly woods but more like a nature park or something? Yeah, he had no idea why there were so many trees in this one area, it's almost convenient for changing the atmosphere into an eerie one. Rick looked up to the street sign to see it said 'Pine Grove' rather than street. Convenient how close it was to the ice cream shop, but how creepy is this road? This may be closer to the edge of town, but that doesn't give this road a reason to be so overgrown.

Rick slowly started down the path, glancing back to Dell as he did so… Dell wasn't moving with him. He yipped a few times before Dell's eyes glanced down from looking off in the distance. "No, no, no," Dell said walking after Rick "I draw the line here, that is private property." Dell told him, snapping his fingers for Rick to come back. Sorry, Dell, you want Rick to go home, you are going to have to chase him. Rick took off down the path, soon followed by Dell. The trees themselves were not creepy, the aura around the area was. Though in broad daylight, it seemed dark, though there were normal trees, they seemed tall and eerie, almost like a fog was shrouding this little patch of forest. Behind Rick, Dell was feeling uneasy, this place didn't seem normal, no, it wasn't normal. Every noise had the boys on high alert as they followed the trail. At this point, Dell had stopped basically chasing Rick, now he was wandering after him, partially wondering where he was going. Only when they came upon a house did Dell know it was time to turn around, Rick knew this had to be the place he was looking for.

The house was just as he thought, the outside was moss covered and the wood looked old and rotting, outside there were odd trinkets and hanging dream catchers with bones weaved in. Literally everything you would expect from a typical witch hut. Rick started off at a fast speed toward the house, Dell following suit, before he came to the door, using his head to try and open it until Dell was able to reach him. "Haha, no. That is enough," Dell snatched Rick's collar "I've seen horror films and prefer to not be part of it." he huffed, starting to pull Rick away. So close just to turn back now? Just a little longer! A strained grunt came from Rick as he tried to resist leaving, up until Dell let go.

There was a deep growl coming from behind them, this wasn't Rick growling either. Upon turning around it turned out to be a huge pit bull...was this pitbull wearing a tin bowl as a helmet? So many questions, not enough answers, there were also more pressing matters at hand. The tin-headed pit, though seemingly blind, kept walking toward them. A split second decision had Rick hopping between Dell and this intruder, if this dog wanted to fight then Rick would give him one. He gave a threatening growl of his own, though not as deep as the Pitbull's it was still a good warning. Just hearing Rick growl had the pitbull backing down, sniffing the air for some odd reason. "You…" the pit said vaguely.

Just like a magic show, the pitbull disappeared in a sudden plume of smoke and out came a naked man. This was the 10 pm adult's magic show. The fact that the pit had just turned into a dude had Dell and Rick stunned to hell and back. "You. You smell familiar." the man said in an overly loud tone as he thought a moment before bolting past them and through the door of the hut. This guy knew who Rick was? Peachy. Upon turning around the inside of the witch's hut wasn't exactly what he had expected… at all. The outside was old and creepy and the inside looked well kept and beautifully furnished, was the outside just to keep people away? Rick looked up to Dell, who, in turn, looked like he was done for the day, rightfully so. Rick carefully stepped into the hut, following where the man had gone, soon followed by Dell, possibly only fuelled by curiosity and blaming it on wanting to get Rick to go home with him. He already saw a dog turn into a human, he was ready to see this human turn in for the night.

Following the noises of clattering items, Rick and Dell crept through the eerily beautiful cottage until they came to a doorless room to which both peered in warily. Yes, very normal. Before either had a chance to decide if they were leaving or staying, the naked man jumped from around the corner holding a hat in his hand. Immediately Dell's head turned to the side to avoid looking at him while Rick's eyes were glued to the hat, his hat! His ears pinned back as his eyes locked onto the man's. "Who are you and why do you have my belongings?" Rick growled, teeth baring at the stranger who really didn't feel threatened by Rick.

"My name is Soldier," he rose his hand into a solute which clunk against the bowl on his head before he looked at the hat "My master brung-... brought...my master bring... me this so I wouldn't kill you on sight! I woulda killed you right where you stood if my trusty nose didn't recognise ya!" Soldier said down to Rick who was struggling to continue looking… in his general direction.

Dell on the other hand, was confused as hell as he realised that this man, Soldier, was talking to Rick… the dog. At this point is was possible that he spoke dog and human at the same time. "You… can talk to Rick?" Dell asked slowly, Soldier looking up as though he forgot Dell even existed, which he probably did. Soldier merely nodded, kneeling- this is certainly not rated PG 13, please put pants on.

Soldier knelt, grabbing Rick's paws to Rick's distaste, before standing up. Rick barked, snapping at the man's hands. "Put me the fuck down!" Rick told him in a harsh tone, Soldier ignoring him as he continued with whatever he was going to answer with.

"You could too if he changes like me, why don't you change?" Soldier asked, Rick's ears twitching as he glared at the man still holding him up on two legs.

"Oh, I don't know… because I can't" he told him with a growl, getting irritated and just wanting to be let down, he wished he was his regular height but this wasn't the way to get back to that. At this point Dell was feeling fairly uncertain as to if these events were actually happening, especially if he could actually communicate with Rick.
"I think we'll just go…" he muttered easing forward to possibly free Rick. As much as Rick wanted this, he needed answers.

"Listen, I need to change back into a human. Do you or do you not know how I can do that?" he asked hoping he didn't get an echo. Soldier dropped Rick, who quickly moved away. The look on Soldier's face told Rick that this wasn't his day. "You were a human?" there it is, the echo.

He fled behind Dell who stood there confused with a side of denial. "What are you goin' on about?" Dell asked to which Rick could feel himself… do wolves sweat? Soldier didn't even bat an eye in Dell's direction in favour of thinking so hard his brain might implode.
"I didn't know humans could-" Rick interrupted with a growl but he already knew it was too late, Dell wasn't an idiot.

"What a waste of time." he huffed as he stormed forward and tore his hat from the naked man.

The hat was kept firmly in the man's grip as he knelt down, pulling rick close enough to see under the metallic bowl he wore on his head. For a moment he was silent, eyes empty though you could see the gears in his mind turning as he thought about something. Rick gave one more tug and the hat slipped from Soldier's hand before Rick quickly turned to leave. Suppose he could only go off what his nightmare told him, but how much truth did it hold? By the time Rick took a moment to look for Dell, he finally noticed the man was gone. For some odd reason, cold fear crept along his spine and churned his stomach.

Soldier stood thinking hard on the topic or just zoning out, he remained like this for a long while before he finally seemed to animate back to life. "Right, I.." he snapped his fingers, finally breaking from his semi-silent mostly grunting and humming trance as he glanced back to where he thought Rick had gone to see he was no longer there "I was supposed to tell him about the nightmares." upon realising that he was supposed to go over this with Rick when he came, he looked around for said person. When he finally realised that Rick had sprinted out the door, his shoulders slumped and he looked around not sure what to do now that he couldn't explain the nightmares as per his master's instructions. This was a predicament. "Eh, It's not that important! What wimp can't handle a stupid dream?" Soldier waved it off and headed further into the house, leaving the door open as he headed off to do god doesn't even know what.