The brothers were officially off to work. It was almost 9 A.M, but the shop usually opened around 8. This was the first time in their business career that they were ever late. They opened the shop around 9:30, over an hour later than usual. The burden of caring for a baby and going out to breakfast with best friends must've really distracted them. Like Rocko told them, there were going to be people who would yell and chastise them. Little did they know that the people would be this angry.
"You guys are never late!" a green mouse woman chided as she waited impatiently in a long line of customers. "What's the matter with you two?!"
"Where's my coffee?!" a red rhino man demanded as he tapped his foot angrily.
"We've been waiting for nearly 2 hours!" a yellow koala man complained as his equally angry wife stood beside him.
The line was so stretched out and crowded, that it ended a block outside the cafe. The chameleons were already worn out enough, and now they had to deal with a crowd of angry customers wanting their coffees.
"Iced coffee for order #1…" Chuck groaned wearily as he handed the coffee to an angry mouse.
"Order #2- Chuck, I can't do this anymore!" whined Leon, slamming the teaspoon on the kitchen counter.
"Leon, it's our job! We have to do it!" Chuck called from the other room, clearly begging Leon to keep doing his work.
"But brother, I'm tired! I just want a vacation!" Leon cried as he popped out of the curtains. "All these impatient customers are killing me!"
"Me too…" Chuck acknowledged faintly, staring wide-eyed at all the ranting people.
The brothers had enough. They clearly didn't know what to do now. They could simply do nothing but stare blankly at all of the customers. The angry cacophony was traveling into their ears, they were starting to become desensitized to it. Even Gemina felt intimidated by the increasingly angry mob. Her eyes welled up with tears and her frown turned wobbly. Chuck and Leon couldn't help but gape at each other with open mouths.
"Hey, I think I smell something.." a brown Basset hound man suddenly denounced as he shoved his way through the crowd.
The dog marched towards the brothers as he sniffed the ground. The two immediately began sweating and shaking profusely as the man came closer toward them. They knew he was looking for the baby. This day just kept getting worse. The hound continued to sniff every part of their bodies until he stopped at Gemina's belly.
"Is that… A HUMAN?!" shouted the dog.
The crowd fell silent. All of their faces went from scowls to shocked in a matter of seconds. Chuck and Leon's jaws fell to the ground, they were flabbergasted at what was happening right now.
"These two are smuggling a human!" The dog denounced as he swiped Gemina off Leon's back. He forcibly lifted up her hair to reveal her ears.
Chaos ensued. Tables and chairs were being flipped over, items were knocked off shelves, coffee mugs were being shattered... Everyone was on a huge rampage. The Chameleon Brothers' worst nightmare had come true.
"Give back our baby!" Chuck and Leon cried in unison as they tried to retrieve Gemina, who looked as if she was about to cry.
"Nope, too late," the dog said as he lifted Gemina away from the lizards' desperate hands. "I'll be reporting you to the police."
"NOOOOO, PLEASE!" both of the brothers began crying out desperately as they fell on their knees. "ANYTHING BUT THAT!"
Leon immediately swiped the crying baby girl away from the dog's arms.
"Let's book it, brother!" he whispered desperately. They dashed away from the partially destroyed shop as fast as they could. Police cars and helicopters were already catching up with them.
"Stop right there and unhand the human right now!" a light yellow beaver police officer commanded, holding a police megaphone.
The wailing sirens were grating on the chameleons' non-existent ears. The sound kept coming closer and closer, and they kept running faster and faster. Their lungs were worn out from all the anxious energy, but they didn't care. They just wanted to protect their baby from harm.
"I command you two to stop where you are! Unhand the human!" the beaver cop repeated.
"They're onto us!" Leon called out as he and his brother tried their mighty best to run faster.
Unfortunately, they had already been stopped. Police cars and helicopters were surrounding them from every direction and angle. A bright light beamed on them, even though it was daytime, not nighttime. Police officers pointed their BB guns at them, forcing the brothers to stay where they were. They've never felt more intimidated in their lives. Leon tossed the baby girl onto his back so that she felt safer.
"Put your hands up!" a teal alligator officer directed as he pointed his gun in a closer range at them. "You're under arrest!"
Chuck and Leon both whimpered like scared puppies as they hesitantly rose their hands up. Gemina continued to cry and sob hysterically.
"Hand over the human," a purple elephant cop urged as he waved his baton at them.
Leon tried to talk back to the officer, but he was too afraid to. Chuck was just weeping silently for his life. This made the cops start handcuffing them. The alligator cop swiped Gemina off of Leon's back. The baby girl screamed louder as she clung onto the chameleon's neck, trying to escape the alligator's hands. Chuck, who was leaning face-down on the dashboard of the police car, tried to escape the beaver cop's hands.
"Give back our baby! She's done nothing wrong!" Chuck pleaded in a desperate voice with tears in his eyes.
"Too bad, you shouldn't have broken the law." the beaver scowled as he fully handcuffed him.
Leon began crying along with Gemina as the alligator and elephant officers worked together to remove her off his back. A chorus of cries and pleads flooded the whole street, all from Gemina and The Chameleon Brothers. Her tiny fingernails scratched his back as the cops progressively pulled her away. Now she was grasping his tail tightly as if she was about to fall off a cliff.
"Don't let them take you away from us! Be strong! We'll always be there for you!" Leon cried out as he helplessly watched his own daughter get yanked by her legs.
Gemina sobbed as she glanced at his face through her foggy tears. One last yank made the cops finally take her off him.
"GEMINA!" Chuck and Leon cried as they watched their daughter get carried away by a group of police officers.
The baby cried hysterically as she reached her stubby arms out at them.
"Come on, get in the police car. You're going to see someone special," the beaver officer commanded as he opened the backdoor of the police car.
A brown horse officer escorted the two brothers to the car.
Slam!
Chuck and Leon look at Gemina one last time before the car drove off to the city hall. It was hopeless. They would never see their daughter ever again. The two chameleons faced away from each other with gloomy eyes. They both watched all the buildings and cars pass by as they sobbed quietly.
"Everyone does hate us.." Leon murmured quietly as he wiped a tear from his eye.