Note: The Nut Job belongs to Universal Pictures and Toonbox Entertainment. The characters belongs to their respective characters except for Kokichi and Todd Lloyd as their belong to me and Dusk19.
"Ha…ha…ha…" Raccoon managed to get to the other van, where King and Knuckles were driving as he hid behind a bunch of bags, which contained the real ban money. Apparently, Fingers and Lucky discovered that the bags they had weren't money they stole from the national bank, but it was filled with nuts, causing them to realize that they were tricked by him, and that we was going to betray them since the very beginning of their heist.
Now, Raccoon and the rest of the park animals were caught up with this incident.
As the former park leader was trying to catch his breath after managing to escape from Todd and the others, he began overhearing King's conversation with his cohort.
"This is the life of luxury. Once we get out through the borders, there'll be no one to stop us." King laughed as Raccoon looked at the human with a glare before scoffing "Hmph! Ignorant humans."
"You!" Raccoon immediately turned around and became surprised to see Todd, who was glaring daggers straight at the park leader as he exclaimed "You murderer! How could you?! Surly was my friend and you!…You!"
"Friend? Heh heh heh…don't make me laugh, you annoying brat." Raccoon chuckled darkly before giving him the cold shoulder as he stated "Since did Surly ever cared about anyone? He only cared about himself since nobody bothered to be friends with him except for that annoying rat and that ignorant squirrel, Andie. So who cares?"
"I do! Andie does! Buddy too! We care about Surly! I'll admit…at first, Surly wasn't the type of hero-like thief I imagined." Todd admitted before making a serious and determined look on his face. "But over the past few days with him…he's been a great friend with me, and we've been through so much. He and I made a great bond with each other, and I'm so glad to finally meet him and the others. That's why…I'm gonna stop you and your plans! Your time of ruling over Liberty Park is over Raccoon!"
"You…!" Raccoon growled, almost ready to take him out until he gasped upon seeing someone else jumping down on the log with an angry and betrayed look on her face. "A-Andie?"
"Andie?!" Todd exclaimed, shocked to see her here. "H-how did you get here?"
"I managed to stay in balance from all that shaking from the van." Andie answered with a smile. "And then I followed you and Raccoon, and thought you needed help. Just thought I could pay you back for what I've done to Surly…" She then glared angrily at Raccoon, who flinched upon seeing her acting like this. "As well as for everything Raccoon done to me…no…everyone in Liberty Park."
"Andie…" Todd muttered as she walked over with an angry look as she said "You are nothing more than a dirty liar of a thief. Surly was right…I should've believed in him instead of having doubts…I should've been by his side the whole time, but instead, I wasn't…"
She put her paw on her chest and let out a tear. "I…caused all this because I picked over you, and not Surly because I thought if I sided with you and him at the same time, I could've made you both friends. But I instead ruined it, I've known Surly for years, but I wasn't able to feel what he felt from his heart!"
Raccoon formed a smirk and said "Well that's your own fault. If you were such an obedient little squirrel and actually listened to me, you would've been a useful successor into ruling Liberty Park with an iron fist, but instead, you chose to remain ignorant like Surly. So it's all your fault."
Andie winced from that comment before making a determined expression and said "Maybe you're right. Maybe I was ignorant and kept disobeying your orders. That would've been something Surly would say. At a time like this, I think he would've said: 'Just because I live in Liberty Park, I'm not gonna play by your rules! I have my own life and I'm gonna keep going on my own to the end!'. That sounds like something he would say, right?"
Todd smiled at her, seeing her standing up not for herself, but for Surly as well. "I think that's definitely something he would say, Andie! If Surly was still here, he would've been happy to see you say that."
"Thank you Todd." Andie smiled back before saying "And that's why I made up my mind! I'm gonna end all of this!"
"Hmph…you ignorant little brat! I knew I should have never picked you off the streets!" Raccoon snarled as he was about to pounce at her and Todd before they heard a gun clicking. They immediately looked back to see Knuckles raising a gun at them until King stopped him and said
"Whoa whoa whoa! Stop that! There's dynamite back there! If you shoot, it'll explode!"
"Dynamite?" Todd questioned before noticing a barrel of dynamite nearby. "Oh…how did we miss that?!"
Suddenly, before anyone could answer, the car immediately stopped when Knuckles hit the brakes as a whole squadron of police officers were blocking the borders to the other country. Andie maintained her balance before noticing a bag of nuts about to fall onto Todd.
"Todd! Watch out!" Andie warned, pushing him out of the way while she took the hit herself.
"Andie!" Todd yelled as he immediately ran to her and attempted to take the bag off of her. Raccoon noticed this as an opportunity to escape as he quickly made his get-away. Meanwhile, another squadron of cars were racing to the scene, with Surly on it. Apparently, he managed to survive the fall thanks to holding onto a bag of nuts before he was thrown out by Raccoon. He was trying to find a way to get to the others as quickly as possible until he heard a squadron of police cars heading his way, prompting him to have an idea. He somehow managed to get onto the cars and finally arrived to the scene.
"Hang on tight Todd! Buddy! Andie! Everyone! I'm coming!" Surly thought with a serious look before the cars stopped. He then jumped off the cars and rushed to the scene before hiding behind the second van, the one Fingers and Lucky were driving. He hid behind the car wheels before moving on towards the other van until he immediately stopped upon seeing Fingers and Lucky stepping out of the car as Surly managed to make sure that he wouldn't get stomped on.
"But all I ever wanted was a petting zoo!" Fingers complained.
"Get out." King demanded, holding his former associates at gunpoint. Apparently, after stopping, King went out of the car and forced his former associates to get out the car and threatened to shoot them with his gun, which forced them to do what he said.
"Let's go…" Lucky muttered as they both headed straight to the police, ready to get arrested.
"WAAAHAAA! I WANT MY MOMMY!" Fingers cried as he and Lucky kept walking with their hands up in the air. King smirked with satisfaction while Surly tried his best to avoid the man until he noticed Mole hiding behind a wheel.
"Mole? What are you doing here? And where's Todd and the others?" Surly asked in worried.
"T-the others are still in the van, but Andie and Todd are in the other van!" Mole answered. Surly looked over and gasped upon seeing Knuckles placing a box full of dynamite down in the front seat. Surly growled angrily at the human before dashing off to rescue Todd and Andie.
"S-Surly wait! Where do you think you're going?! Get back here! What's happened to you?!" Mole called, but Surly ignored him as he kept going to the van and climbed to the back, seeing Todd pulling the bag off of Andie and attempted to wake her up.
"Come on Andie! Wake up! Please!" Todd cried out.
"Todd!" Surly called, causing Todd's ears to perked up as he immediately turned around, seeing the purple squirrel still alive.
"S-Surly!" Todd exclaimed in joy before running over and hugging him, catching Surly by surprise.
"Well jeez, never thought of you as much of a hugger." Surly said, feeling embarrassed by it. "Anyway, what happened to Andie? And where's Raccoon?"
"Huh?" Todd wondered before looking over, seeing Raccoon was gone. "That dirtbag! He got away!"
"Seems like it." Surly sighed before running towards Andie and seeing her unconscious state. "Andie…"
"Oh right…she took the hit for me…I…I should've did taken it myself." Todd sighed sadly.
"No, don't blame yourself Todd. It's not your fault. She did it to protect you." Surly assured before turning to him and said "Now let's get out of here before we're blown to bits."
"Huh?" Todd asked with a surprised look. Before Surly could explain further, Knuckles lit up the dynamite before placing a brick on the gas pedal, causing it to start the engines as it roared out and blasted its way straight to the police officers in front of it. Some of them immediately hid themselves until one of them managed to grab his gun and shoot at it, aiming straight for the wheel, and causing it spiral out of control and hid the wall, nearly falling over. One of the police officers came out of their hiding spots and handing him a sprinkled doughnut, much to the officers' surprise.
Soon, Surly noticed the lit dynamite as he immediately grabbed both Todd and Andie by the arms before he ran out through the back door before the van fell down and exploded, and thanks to the powerful blast, it caused Surly and the others to fly farther up to the dam. Todd managed to grab onto the ledge before grabbing onto Surly's paw while he grabbed onto the red squirrel's paws'.
"Andie! Andie!" Surly called, attempting to wake her up. Soon, he managed to get through her as she slowly began to drift awake. She looked down and saw the waterfall, causing her to gasp in fright before looking up to see both Todd and Surly holding to her.
"Surly? Todd?!" Andie exclaimed in shock. "You two…saved my life."
"Y-yeah, just didn't want ya to die, that's all." Surly shrugged.
"But…thank you, you two." Andie smiled.
"Yeah, even if we got into the wrong start, it ain't right seeing you like this Andie." Todd added with a smile.
"Todd's right. After all…you are my friend." Surly smirked, causing Andie to giggle and said "Surly…thank you."
Suddenly, they felt the dam starting to break apart as cracks began to form around the place.
"Oh no!" Todd gasped as he attempted to life them up, but it was too late as the dam broke into pieces, causing the three rodents, including the other van from before to fall into the water.
"U-ugh…." Surly muttered as he looked around to find himself hanging onto a log as he looks around and sees that the water cuts into two paths: One that leads back to Oakton City and the other leads to a waterfall that could possibly lead someone to death. He then noticed that Andie and Todd weren't around.
"What? Todd? Andie!" Surly called.
"We're here Surly!" He turned around to see Andie and Todd drifting off in the water straight towards him. "Surly! Help us!"
Surly looked around until he noticed a branch near him. He managed to take it from its root and used it as an extension cord for Todd and Andie to grabbed. Andie grabbed onto it as they were lifted up to the log, and tried to catch their breath.
"Phew…thanks Surly." Todd said with a relieved smile.
"Anytime Todd." Surly smiled before turning to Andie and asked "How are you feeling Andie?"
"I-I'm okay. Thanks for asking for your concern." Andie replied with a soft grin.
"Sorry if I couldn't get Andie to the log." Todd sighed. "My arm is still sore due to Raccoon scratching it."
"Don't blame yourself Todd, all that matters is that you two are safe." Surly smiled.
"Thanks Surly." Todd smiled before looking around of their surroundings. "But man, are we sunk deep, eh?"
"You can say that again." Surly agreed. before he and Andie noticed how wet his headphones were wet. "Whoa Todd, are you okay?"
"Huh? Y-yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Todd asked curiously.
"Your headphones…they're wet." Andie pointed out. "Are you sure they're safe to wear?"
"Oh yeah…" Todd said, noticing how wet they are. He raised his hands in surrender with a nervous grin and said "Don't worry about that. I'll be fine."
"You sure?" Surly asked in concern. "What if they're water-damaged?"
"Nah, they're waterproof." Todd assured with a soft grin. "What's more important is that I'm glad that you two are safe."
Surly and Andie looked at him with surprised looks before they formed smiles at him.
"Well thanks Todd." Andie smiled before looking over the wreckage of the van. "Do you think the others are safe?"
"Yeah, of course." Surly shrugged. "Those guys are as strong as ever. I know they're alright."
"Oh…" Andie looked at Surly with a surprised look, which he and Todd noticed.
"What?"
"It's just that…I've never hear you feel concern for them." Andie admitted.
"O-oh…I was just saying, that's all." Surly rubbed his head bashfully with a nervous grin.
"I think Todd really did help you out. You've…really have changed Surly." Andie smiled, causing Surly to blush lightly at her. Todd couldn't help but smile softly, seeing these two finally getting along at last and not on different sides.
"Even if Andie was against Surly, she still tried to help him out by changing who he is. I'm…glad at least these two are finally getting along at last." Todd thought with a small smile.
Suddenly, the moment was ruined as they heard the door to the van slammed open, revealing Knuckles as he managed to get out of the van and started to get the log out of there while King started tossing sacks of money out of the van.
"Come on! We need to save the money!" King shouted, but his partner ignored him while trying to get the log out of the way. "W-what do you think you're doing?! There's more money in here!"
"Uh-oh! Looks like it's time to split, you two!" Todd shouted, which Surly and Andie agreed without hesitation as they immediately tried to get off the log until they noticed a familiar raccoon climbing onto the log with a furious look on his face while holding onto the dog whistle apparently.
"Raccoon!" Andie exclaimed in shock.
"You!" Todd growled, glaring at the former park leader.
"Surly! Let me at those brats! It's time for them to be taught a lesson about discipline." Raccoon snarled, ready to kill the two squirrels. However, Surly stepped in and stood in front of Raccoon, defending both Todd and Andie.
"No! You stay away from them!" Surly exclaimed, glaring angrily at him.
"W-what? Why are you doing this? Tell me why!" Raccoon demanded.
"Because…they gave me another chance! Todd has always been defending me since we first met! He always imagined me as a hero thief, but even after learning so much about me, he's still willing to defend me and always back me up! Along with Buddy! He started to make me realize that I shouldn't always be alone, not be arrogant and try to think for myself, but for others! After these past few days with him, he taught me compassion, think for others, and kindness. And…I think of him more than just a friend…"
"Surly…" Todd muttered, amazed by Surly's words.
"And Andie…she always been watching over me, trying everything to help me change into a caring squirrel and stop my thieving career. I never listened to her, and no matter what I've done to the park over the years, she tries her best to defend me. Even if she voted against me, you forced her to do so! Even if she tried to nearly threatened my life, she didn't knew what was going happened! She tries her best to make me change, but I never take her words. But after seeing her in danger…I realized that I can't let something like this ever happen again! I'm gonna protect my friends no matter what!"
"Surly!" Andie gasped, shocked to hear that coming out of his mouth.
"You!…Why I-" Before Raccoon prepared to attack Surly until he was hit in the back with a bag of nuts. Surly, Todd, and Andie became surprised to see that coming as the dog whistle landed in Todd's paws before they looked over where that come from, revealing to be Buddy and Kokichi.
"Heh heh, sorry Racky. Can't let you have all the fun to yourself." Kokichi said with a sly smirk.
"Kokichi!" Todd exclaimed with a smile and shouted "Thanks!"
"No problemo Toddy!" Kokichi chuckled.
"Ha ha! Buddy!" Surly chuckled, happy to see his best friend saving his life.
"Alright you guys, let's get out of here!" Andie shouted as the others began running to the other side of the log. Before Surly could cross, Raccoon regain consciousness and prepared to attack him. Todd noticed this and saw Knuckles almost ready to get rid of the log they were in. He soon realized that he's in possession with the dog whistle and that Knuckles seems to be affected by it too. Todd then blow into the dog whistle, causing Knuckles to cover his ears in pain, walking backwards towards the water fall. Before Raccoon could attack Surly, he noticed the shiny dog whistle, his instincts kicking in.
"The shiny! Give it to me!" Raccoon demanded until he noticed Knuckles about to fall on him. "NOOO-!"
Before you know it, he was fell on top of him as they both seemingly fell down the waterfall. Surly let out a sigh of relief before turning to the fox squirrel and said "Thanks for the save Todd."
"No problem Surly!" Todd gave him a thumbs up before saying "Now come on! Let's get out of here! Next stop! Liberty Park!"
Surly smiled at the fox squirrel, happy to see him getting excited at least. As Surly began running on all fours towards the van to meet up with everyone else, Raccoon re-emerged out of the water and grabbed onto Surly's legs, causing the purple squirrel to fall down and grabbed onto a small branch.
"Surly!" Andie called, seeing him in distress. Todd looks back and gasped in shock upon seeing Raccoon attempting to pull him into the waterfall.
"Well that just surprises me that he somehow came back and didn't fall down." Kokichi spoke aloud.
"How in the world did he not fall off?! Is it that hard to beat this guy?!" Todd thought in an irritated expression. "Surly! Hang on!" Todd yelled as he races towards Surly and used the dog whistle for him to use as a rope. Surly grabbed onto it and tried to shake Raccoon off, but no luck.
"Look! Surly, Todd, and Raccoon are about to fall off into the waterfall!" Mole pointed out, witnessing the scene.
"Everyone! We have to save them!" Andie declared.
"Don't have to tell us twice!" Kokichi exclaimed before he and the others rushed towards the scene and grabbed onto Todd. Andie, Kokichi, and Buddy held the dog whistle alongside Todd while Grayson, Mole, and Jamie held onto his tail as Mole held onto the tree branch to hold up the chain link.
"Come on you guys! You can do this!" Andie shouted.
"Let go! I-I mean don't let go!" Grayson added.
"Well this is certainly not what I expected." Kokichi muttered.
"Come on Surly! You can do this!" Todd yelled, trying his best to not let go. "You can do this!"
Buddy nodded in agreement, pulling off a sad expression of just thinking of the possibility of losing him after he finally accepted him as his friend.
"Surly! We'll get you out of there in no time!" Andie said.
"Never!" Raccoon hissed. "You back-stabbing vermin! Surly goes down with me!"
Surly looks back at Raccoon and then at his friends, realizing that if he doesn't manages to get back up to the log, they'll end up falling to the waterfall as well. Soon, he noticed the log slowly breaking in half. Surly then looks back at his friends, slowly forming a soft smile at them.
"Buddy…that was some heist, eh?" Surly asked with a light chuckle. "We nearly pulled it off."
Buddy looks at him with a surprised look as Andie and Todd widened their eyes in shock, realizing what Surly is planning to do, and it was most insane and suicidal! "Surly! Don't you dare let go!" Andie begged.
"Please Surly! Don't do this! Please!" Todd tearfully begged. "I-I need you Surly!" "Todd….It's okay. You gotta keep on going ahead without me." Surly assured.
"No! I can't! Why? Why can't you understand?! We've been together for a few days! We done everything together! And you…you!…Please Dad!…" Todd exclaimed in tears before realizing what he just called Surly. "…I-I mean, Surly! Don't let go!" It made his heart race too, and it's as if it brings him back to the day he watched his father die from cancer.
"Todd…" Surly muttered before forming a smile on his face straight towards the fox squirrel. He felt heart-warmed when the fox squirrel called him 'Dad' despite it being a mistake. "Heh, wow Todd. You just called me 'Dad'. Well then…stay strong for your old man….son…."
"What?!" Raccoon exclaimed, widening his eyes in shock.
And just like that, Surly lets go of the dog whistle and falls down on the waterfall with Raccoon.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Todd screams in agony, watching Surly falling down the waterfall. While falling down, Surly begins to reminiscing the days back when he was a little kit. All the heists he and Buddy been through, the times he faced in the trials, he was met up with Andie and how many times she tries to convince him to be good instead of bad, and everything.
"So it is true what they say about this kind of experience…everything flashes before your eyes…" Surly thought with a small smile as everything seemed to slow down from his fall. He then closed his eyes and heard a faint cry as he saw what it seems to be a human. But this human…it almost looked like…"Todd….wow, can you believe it? I was a squirrel…of a promise….."
And with that….Surly was nowhere to be seen as he was gone. Todd remained shocked while the others either held sad looks or tried to hold back their tears. Well…one of them isn't feeling the mood.
"Oh man…how?…" Kokichi muttered, not wanting anyone to hear. "This…this sorta reminds me when I remember seeing the old man's death by depression ever since…." Kokichi darkened his face and looked away and secretly let out a tear.
"Surly…" Andie whimpered, letting out tears. Buddy closed his eyes and let out tears while Mole looked away, trying his best to hold back his tears. Jamie wiped away his tears while whimpering upon seeing Surly's sacrifice.
"U-ugh…" Grayson whimpered, letting out some tears. Andie covered her mouth and looked away, not wanting to believe what happened.
Todd gritted his teeth and let out tears, seeing what transpired as he sat down at the other end of the log, depressed and heartbroken upon witnessing Surly's sacrifice, reminding him of his father's death.
"Surly….why?" Todd thought, letting out tears.
"Surly….I'm sorry for ever being mean to ya!" Jamie cried.
Buddy held onto the dog whistle, clenching onto it real hard.
As everyone mourned for Surly's death, Andie looked over and noticed Todd sitting by himself at the other end of the log, his face showing heartbroken and depression as she came over and knelt down to him before placing a paw on his shoulder, and said "Todd….don't blame yourself. It's not your fault."
Todd sadly sighed as he kept gazing down on the drifting water and said "I…I know it isn't. It's just…why couldn't you guys just believe me and Surly at first? Why did you have to frame Surly? Why couldn't you just understand him and his feelings since the beginning?"
"We know, we know…" Andie nodded, wiping away his tears. "But…we understand the bond between you two. You two were always together and thought of each other more than friends, but…as father and son. It was so heartwarming to see you call Surly 'Dad' and he called you 'son'." Andie smiled softly with tears still visible to her eyes. Todd smiled back at her and rubbed his head bashfully before replying "Yeah, I don't know why I did that…"
"Because you cared for Surly." Andie answered, causing Todd to look back at her with a confused look as she continued "You and Surly shared a strong bond. You both had each other's back and understood one another. You two were meant to be together…I wished I had that strength you carried Todd."
"Y-yeah…" Todd nodded. Jamie, Mole, Grayson, Buddy, and Kokichi overheard their conversation as they watched and smiled over to see those two bonding and making up.
"And I'm sorry for everything I've done so far. Those things you told me that I could've done…You were right…I should've done them to Surly in the first place."
"Well yeah, but I take those stuff back Andie. After what you said to Raccoon back there…." Todd chuckled with a soft grin and said "I guess I was wrong. You really did care for him. I'm sorry for saying all that nasty stuff back at the nut shop."
"Thank you Todd." Andie wrapped one arm around Todd, and gave him a soft nuzzle before asking "So Todd…how did you do it? How did you see the good in Surly's heart? You must've known that all along when you two first met, even when he tried to make you go away during the nut cart raid."
"You're…you're right…and to think, I chose Surly over the park…and it made me into someone I wasn't supposed to be. What was I thinking?" Todd thought aloud.
"Todd…" Andie muttered as she and the others Kokichi, felt sad for the heartbroken fox squirrel.
"In fact, back before my father had died, I had promise him that I'd become a great man just like him…" Todd started whimpering and let out some tears again as he continued "I-I'm so sorry. This isn't me. Because of what happened to Surly, I…I can't think straight and….My god, it's my father all over again…"
With that, Todd sobbed and cried through his tears as he sat on the edge of the log, and Andie and Buddy looked at each other before they nodded to each other and walked over to Todd as they both sat down beside Todd with the fox squirrel in the middle and hugged him that way, comforting him. Jamie, Mole, Grayson, and even Kokichi felt bad for Todd too, glancing at each other sadly and rubbing their arms. Andie shushed the fox squirrel while she and Buddy rubbed his back.
"I-I'm sorry…I'm sorry for everything. I was such a traitorous brat. How could I be so blind?!" Todd cried out.
"It's okay Todd. Again, what happened to Surly isn't your fault. You weren't blind either, and you weren't a traitor or a brat. You were a handful though to be honest, but still." Andie smiled softly at him before letting out a tear and said "We forgive you, and so does your father. In fact, I suppose you really should have kept the promise you made to your father, but its okay. There's still time and still room to improve. It's not too late to make your father proud. But for now, I'm sure he'd be happy that you had made new friends with one of them you could look up to."
Todd wiped his tears, sniffling a bit before smiling towards her and said "Yeah…to be honest, Surly kinda is like a father to me…"
"Yeah. Thought…you were right. It's not my fault that I couldn't be kind to Surly sometimes, yet it is my fault that I had lost your respect. I was too harsh on Surly especially with the whistle, and I could have still showed kindness to him. There really were other options I could have used, and I should have known that my actions could have consequences. I also should have believed you both when you told us about Raccoon." Andie sighed sadly.
"And it's me and my brothers' fault for not understanding Surly or knowing that he existed a long time ago." Jamie said, causing Todd to turn back to see everyone else mourning for Surly's death.
"Come to think of it, he sure did become a thief and all because of everyone else back at the park…" Mole admitted.
"Sheesh…can ya blame Surly and Todd now?" Jamie rubbed her head bashfully.
"No…" Mole replied, sniffling a bit.
Jamie sighed before turning back to the fox squirrel with a soft smile and said "Listen, Todd. We're sorry for everything, too."
Todd nodded before standing up and coming to Jamie while rubbing his arm and said "It's okay. In fact, I'm sorry for being too hard on you and your brothers. Mostly toward Andie though, but you guys as well. You and your brothers aren't immature as I thought…"
"Thanks kiddo." Jamie chuckled, giving him a noogie as it made the fox squirrel laugh. "Tell ya what Todd. Until you can get back on your feet and find your mother, I'll tell my brothers everything what just happened and ask them to let you be the fourth Bruiser."
"R-Really?" Todd asked incredulous.
"Yeah. We could use a new recruit like you. Besides, it's the least I can do. Also, since Johnny's the leader, it's up to him." Jamie rubbed her head bashfully with a sheepish look.
Todd softly smiled at her before saying "Thanks Jamie. I was wrong about you and your brothers. You're actually pretty cool." Jamie smiled back at him, happy to hear that Todd trusts her and the brothers again.
"And you can be my trusty sidekick!" Grayson announced, causing everyone to give the gray squirrel a deadpanned look, making the so-called 'park hero' to rub his head bashfully with a sweat-drop and a nervous smile.
"Really? At this time and moment?" Kokichi asked.
"What? What I'm saying is we could go around fighting crime, helping those who're in need, saving the-"
"Aaaaand….the moment is ruined." Kokichi shrugged with a deadpan look. "Yeah. Way to go Grayson."
"Hey!" Grayson yelled out of offensive.
"Actually Grayson…" Todd spoke up with a soft smile, gaining the park hero's attention. "I looked into it. Oh, and despite your…flaws, you're not an immature child. You're still a friend, and we should be grateful and thankful for your heroism."
Grayson chuckled as he rubbed his head bashfully with a grin. Jame then to Mole with a sweet smile.
"Oh, and Mole?"
Mole rubbed his head bashfully with a nervous smile while blushing, thinking as of Jamie could finally be interested in him.
"No! No!" Kokichi exclaimed, looking off-screen at the writers. "You stop that! No! She's gonna be interested in me! You stop that writers! You stop that! Besides, who would ship that ugly animal with miss Jamie? That's ridiculous!"
Everyone looked at the white squirrel with blank looks as Mole gave a glare at him and shouted "Hey! I take offense of that!"
"Riiiight…" Jamie sighed before turning to Mole and it wasn't before long she suddenly clenched her fist and punched Mole in the stomach. "That's for working with that backstabbing Raccoon and for nearly drowning my brothers!"
Todd nodded in agreement with Jamie while looking sternly at Mole.
"Yeah. I almost forgot about that. Thanks, Jamie." Todd said with a stern look towards Mole.
"Sheesh! I said I was sorry earlier! What will it take to get some respect around here?" Mole complained.
"Don't worry, Mole. We forgive you too, and you're still our friend. But next time, think twice on whose side you're on or who you work with." Todd said sternly.
"Alright. I get it. Geez. Can we please just drop it?" Mole asked tiredly.
With a smirk, Jamie turned away from Mole before answering him.
"Sure we can…" With that and right before he'd even know it, Jamie offhand-backhanded Mole, knocking him out and making him fall onto the log in a daze. As for Todd though, he was happy that he could be friends with the gang again but then he sighed as he was back to being sad about the loss of his father figure, Surly. The same can be said for Andie as she knew that Surly never deserved to die despite him being a former park criminal. Buddy was still sad too and heartbroken over the loss of his purple best friend, having no purpose in life without him as well.
"You know though, I'm glad we could make up, but it still doesn't bring back Surly." Todd said, rubbing his arm.
"We know…In fact, I miss him too just as much as you do. He never deserved this…Oh Surly!"
With that, a heartbroken Andie shed tears and sobbed. That made Todd feel bad for her as he came over to her and hugged her before everybody else except Buddy and Kokichi joined in, turning it into a group hug as they comforted her. Buddy, however, felt like he needed some time alone at the moment since he was just as broken-hearted as the red squirrel was. As for Kokichi…
"How traumatic…" Kokichi stated. "Oh well, everything will go alright."
"Huh?" Todd looked at the white squirrel with a surprised look, seeing the white squirrel not mourning at all. "You're not…crying?" "I was a minute before, but I stopped. I guess I should've expected Surly to fall to his doom in the first place." Kokichi shrugged. "After all, it was all according to plan…my plan, that is."
"Plan? What are you talking about?!"
Kokichi let out a tired sigh and said "Well…since we're near the end. You see Toddy, have you ever thought why I ever met you at the alleyway? Because that where's my first phase of the plan came to light."
"What?! Then that means…you were waiting for me…then that means…" Todd gasped before looking at the albino squirrel with a glare and said "You planned all this?! That fortune cookie!"
"Yeah and no. A couple of my friends gave you that little fortune themselves. All I did was carried out the plan, and well…I had to make some changes in it." Kokichi smirked.
"You kept mentioning it…what is that plan about Kokichi?" Andie demanded.
"….To make both Surly and Todd come together and make a strong bond with each other." Kokichi answered with a smile, causing Todd and the others to widened their eyes in shock. "See, as you know, these two faced different issues in the past. Toddy lost his own man, losing himself in the process while Surly felt lonely and did anything to gain attention which made him take a dark path. Not literally a dark path, more like a stupid decision. But anyway, this was a simple plan to make you two get along and become friends, and sooner or later, more than friends. You two would think of each other as father and son figures."
"You….did this all for me and Surly?" Todd asked slowly. "But…why?"
"….I have my reasons." Kokichi shrugged in a nonchalant look on his face. "Besides, just following orders from a couple of old friends. But anyway, when Surly got banished, I talked to him about you taking in the punishment as I used that to make him feel concern in the inside while I took your punishment in order for you to go after him. That's where Andie comes in, and I bugged her into like I usually do, causing her to feel so frustrated that she wouldn't think straight."
"So wait….that means! Back when I confronted Surly at the metal door…you annoyed me on purpose to get me and Todd become enemies?!" Andie exclaimed, feeling angry to hear that.
"Well yeah, to teach old Toddy to learn about who he trusts and how to regain that trust back." Kokichi replied.
"I don't believe it!" Todd exclaimed, glaring at the albino squirrel. "So was Surly falling down the waterfall your part of the plan?!"
"Come to think of it…he did say something about bonds having to be sacrificed." Jamie agreed, glaring daggers at him.
"…Well no. I was just exaggerating myself, so I guess not. Although, there was always a 50% possibility he would've done something crazy and insane like that. Which is ironic for someone like me." Kokichi chuckled.
"So wait…you thought this would happened?!" Mole gaped.
"More or less, but I did this all for Toddy and Surly to get along and one day, they both will conquer and leave their pasts." Kokichi explained before covering his mouth in deep thought while glancing away from them. "It's the same for me…I left everything behind since my demise…"
"You…you did this all…to get me and Surly to come together? Then everything…that was all you?" Todd asked in shock.
"Not necessary. Most of the stuff like planning the Nut Shop heist and such wasn't done by me, mostly by you guys. Although, my real intention of the plan was to get Racky out of his little throne." Kokichi smirked.
"What?" Jamie asked in confusion.
"I already knew that Racky was a crime boss ever since I came to Liberty Park. It's not that hard to know." Kokichi shrugged in a nonchalant look.
"What?! You knew?!" Grayson jaw-dropped.
"The whole time. I would've told everyone, but since you guys were so loyal to your park leader, I knew nobody would've believed me, along with Surly due to his reputation. He and I knew him, but we kept it to ourselves." Kokichi explained before letting out a chuckle. "Heh heh…but it was quite fun seeing him die like that…I hope."
"No way…" Todd muttered, darkening his face. "Then everything…when you told me about Andie's past, you did that to make me feel concern for her in order to gain me back my trust to her."
"And when you told me before the heist began about hoping to trust Todd again…you did that for us?" Andie asked incredulous.
"Sure, why not. I felt bad for you guys, so what?" Kokichi shrugged. "Although Toddy, I'll tell you more later. Just catch up with me." "Huh? Where?" Todd demanded.
"I'll give ya a little hint: It's where you gotten this." Kokichi pulled something out of his fur coat, shocking Todd while confusing everyone.
"The fortune cookie?! That's where you kept it?!" Todd exclaimed.
"Well yeah. It's magic after all! Besides, why else are you a fox squirrel?"
"What?"
"Duh! Your name stands for 'fox'. You didn't know?" Kokichi asked.
"No?" Todd answered with a raised brow.
"Whatever…" Kokichi sighed before forming a smirk. "But also, don't feel bad about Surly." "Why wouldn't I be?! Surly's gone!" Todd glared at him as he chuckled and said "Oh you'll see. You guys are gonna be in a big surprise."
This confused everyone by what he meant by that. Does Kokichi know something that they don't?
Soon, Kokichi put the fortune cookie back in his fur coat while Todd took off his headphones and looked at them while in deep thought.
"What are you talking about, Kokichi? Just…what? Do you know something? After all, you planned all this…just for me and Surly…it didn't sound like you were following orders…it sounds like you did it out of your own heart. Maybe you do have you a heart and soul after all." Todd thought, forming a small smile. With that, they began to head straight over back to Oakton City as their heist came to an end.
Later
Meanwhile, back at the park as the animals were waking up from their slumber and get ready for the day, one of them noticed a nut floating adrift towards the mill as a groundhog picked it up out of curiosity.
"Is this…?" The groundhog muttered as he and his other friends looked at each other in surprised before seeing more water rising up, causing them to back away from it as the mill started running crazy due to the amount of water it was coming. All the park animals witnessed this before one of them noticed the gang that participated the Nut shop heist drifting down the river on bags of nuts.
"Look!" One of the park animals pointed out. "It's Grayson and the others!"
"Ah ha ha! Yes! Thank you everyone!" Grayson waved at them, having all the praise and awe from others. "You can have my autograph, but please don't touch the tail."
Todd shook his head while Kokichi face-pawed himself at the gray squirrel's stupidity.
"This guy…has a lot to go." Kokichi thought, shrugging in exasperation.
Soon, Andie noticed the wheel spinning too fast as she realizes that it could possibly kill them.
"The wheel! Everyone! Jump!" Andie yelled, which the others did so without hesitation. Todd and the others managed to get back on the mainland as the other park animals stopped cheering and looked on, seeing Grayson not moving as he kept waving his arms at the crowd. "Grayson!" Andie called as Grayson soon noticed everyone stopped waving and cheering.
"H-hey…what's going on? Why are you all stopped cheering?" Grayson wondered before turning around and panicked upon seeing why. It was too late for him to get out of there as he was scooped out of the wheel and launched in the air as everyone watched him land straight at the Grand Oak Tree's stump. "Oww…"
"Hey! Grayson!" Grayson popped out of the stump, and looked down, seeing both Johnny and Jimmy down there.
"Wait…you two guys are here too?" Grayson asked before waving his paws at them and said "Hi!"
The two brothers waved back at him with smiles on their faces while the others raced back to where Grayson landed as a chipmunk let out a chuckle and said "Come on everyone!"
With that, all the park animals race towards to Grayson as they all thought he saved the day by delivering all the nuts to them. As for the nuts, they got scooped into the mill's wheel as well and before you know it, it was raining nuts all over the park. As for Todd, Kokichi, Buddy, and Andie, they remained where they stood as the three were still depressed of Surly's death while Kokichi just didn't bother with celebrating about Grayson 'saving the day' and all that.
"Well, gotta go. And Toddy, remember. Catch up with me if you want to hear more from me about my little plan." Kokichi said before walking off and letting out peace signs without turning back.
"Kokichi…" Todd muttered before putting back on his headphones with a heavy sigh.
"Well…that's it then." Andie sighed. "What now?"
"Well…if anyone needs me, I'll be somewhere else." Todd muttered before walking off with Buddy tagging along, wanting to comfort the fox squirrel more. Andie understood this and took her leave, wanting to give him more space to take this all in.
Meanwhile…a familiar criminal was seen getting out of the river with an exhausted look.
"Ha…ha…ha…" King muttered before getting up and tried to run out of the park until he was surrounded by a bunch of park animals running straight past of him. King looks around in fear before noticing a little blue mouse screaming and pointing straight at him, causing him to freak out as he immediately ran out of this crazy scene and finally managed to find the exit of the park, but unfortunately for him…the whole place was surrounded with police officers, who apparently knew where King was.
"Freeze!" One of the police officers shouted, causing King to raise his hands in the air before kneeling down and started whimpering.
"Oh please! Take me away officers! Away from those rodents!" King pleaded, but what he didn't expect was to see his former girlfriend and one of his co-horts former pet.
"Percy King Dimpleweed…" Lana spoke up, crossing her arms with a stern look. "You and I are officially threw."
King didn't bothered to answer her as he continued to cry in despair until the police officers came over and took him to one of their police cruisers in hopes of arresting this man for good. Lana crossed her arms, still angry for King ever lying to her until she noticed Precious walking off into the park.
"Hey Precious, where you going girl?" Lana asked, but Precious kept sniffing on the ground like she was trailing something. Andie was seen sitting on one of the park fences with a sad and depressed look on her face, thinking about Surly.
Meanwhile, Todd and Buddy were seen sitting on Surly's hideout tree, where he devised his plans and where they first met each other.
"It doesn't feel the same without Surly around…" Todd thought with a sad look.
"Psst! Buddy! Todd!" Buddy and Todd heard their names being called as they looked down to see Precious looking at them.
"Precious?" Todd asked, surprised to see her again.
"Come on. There's something you two need to see." Precious insisted, which the two rodents looked at each other in confusion, wondering what she's talking about. They soon climbed down the tree and followed after the pug until she led them to the river, where Todd and Buddy widened their eyes upon seeing a familiar purple squirrel laying down on the ground, washed up beside the river. The three were devastated yet heartbroken, especially Todd and Buddy.
"So…I guess this is it, huh? Surly's….gone…Dear god, it really is my father all over again…" Todd muttered, shedding a tear but held back his crying and remembered what Surly had told him before he had made his sacrifice.
"Well then, stay strong for your old man…son…"
The fox squirrel also once again started to remember what his father had told him, too.
"Become a great man like your old man. I know you will…I'll be watching over you…Todd…"
To Todd, all that almost meant that he should stay strong for those he loses. He understood those words from both men as he held back his tears and chose not to cry, staying strong for his purple friend.
"Farewell….Dad." Todd thought, holding back the tears before darkening his face. Buddy walked over to Surly's body and lied down next to the purple squirrel before letting out a tear as he spoke his very first words.
"Best….friend…" Todd overheard this and became shocked to hear the blue rat speaking those words as he came over to Buddy and knelt down to him as he placed a comforting paw on his shoulder, making the rat look up at him with tears before the fox squirrel gave him a small smile of encouragement.
"Buddy…it's gonna be okay." Todd assured. "I'm just as heartbroken over Surly as you are, but you remember what he told me before his fall, right? He told me to stay strong for him, and that's what you must do too. It was also one of the things my father meant, too."
Todd then sadly smiled at Buddy and adds "And besides, at least I still have you and everyone else from the park. After all, you kinda are like an uncle to me."
Feeling heart-warmed by that, Buddy sadly yet softly smiled back at the fox squirrel while still having tears as he nodded in response and understood.
Todd then helped Buddy back up before sadly looking back at the dead purple squirrel. Precious then howled in sadness and loss, seemingly gaining the attention of a familiar red squirrel, who was still holding onto the dog whistle she noticed on the ground when Todd took his leave. Todd, Buddy, and Precious sadly gazes at Surly before they started to take their leave so that the purple squirrel could be in peace. Just then…a sudden miracle happened.
"U-ugh…my head…" The three widened their eyes before slowly turning around and saw what they thought their eyes playing tricks on them. It was Surly…standing on his own two feet. Surly notices this and looks back, wondering why are they staring him like that. "What?" He asked.
Buddy slowly began forming a huge grin on his face as he rushes him to hug Surly, only to stop himself upon thinking that maybe he doesn't want to due to past experiences. But what Buddy didn't expect was Surly grabbing him and hugged him back with a smile. Buddy hugs him back, feeling joyful to see him once more and finally relieved to see Surly changing.
"S-Surly!" Todd yelled before running into the group hug as well, happy and relieved to see him still alive.
"Wait, Buddy, did you just…speak?" Surly asked in confusion.
"He did Surly, and I heard him." Todd chuckled. "He had called you…his best friend."
Buddy nodded in agreement with a smile, and Surly smiled at his rat sidekick before saying "Huh…okay."
That was when Precious came over and started licking the purple squirrel, causing him to chuckle as he said "Okay! Okay! I get it! You like me!"
"Hey, just thought I would be doing something nice as well." Precious smiled. "But anyway, gotta go. See ya later at the nut shop."
"Wait, that place?" Surly asked.
"Yeah! Lana's the new owner there." Precious replied.
"Lana? You mean that woman that released me and Surly? She's…gonna be owning the nut shop?" Todd asked incredulous.
"Yup! You guys can go there and hang out anytime." Precious insisted. "Oh, and next time, no bites. Just licks, alright?" Precious chuckled.
"Oh great…" Surly sighed. Precious then began walking away to meet up with her owner, bumping into Andie in the way as she gazed in shock towards seeing Surly alive.
"Oh hey Andie." Precious said, not noticing the shocked look on her face.
"S-Surly?" Andie muttered, which gained the three rodents' attention.
"H-hey Andie." Surly waved, feeling a bit awkward seeing her like this. Andie immediately ran straight towards him and looked at his body, wondering if this wasn't an illusion, but once she confirmed that it wasn't an illusion, she embraced Surly in relief and happiness as well, much to Buddy's joy while Todd couldn't help but form a small smile at them.
"When you went down the falls, I-I thought you were…" Andie muttered as Surly hugged her back.
"Hey, it's okay. I-I'm fine. Just as well." Surly assured with a grin.
"Surly's right. I'm glad you two are back together." Todd chuckled. "Also, sorry for everything I've said to you."
"Like I said Todd, I forgive you, and I apologized too about going too hard on Surly." Andie stated. "Besides, you were the one who helped Surly get out of his criminal ways. You're the real hero Todd."
"No, Surly is. He was the one that managed to get all the nuts to the park after all." Todd reminded her.
"Right…" Andie nodded before realizing something. "Oh right! We gotta go! Now!"
Andie grabbed Surly's paw and began dragging him, much to his confusion as he said "W-whoa whoa whoa! Wait! What's this all about?"
"You risk your life to save this park! Everyone has to know!" Andie exclaimed in excitement.
"Yeah Surly! You're a real hero!" Todd added with a smirk.
However, Surly shook his head in refusal and said "No."
"Huh?" Andie and Todd asked in confusion.
"W-what do you mean Surly? You saved the park from Raccoon and got the nuts here to the park. Everyone needs to know that you're a real hero and no longer the person who you were." Todd said.
"No Todd, we all did…as a team." Surly said with a smile, surprising the group. "We defeated Raccoon together, we got all the nuts to the park together, we all did it together."
"Well, when you put it like that…you make a good point." Todd rubbed his head bashfully.
Andie turned to Surly with a concern expression and asked "So…what are you gonna do?"
Surly looks down at the dog whistle on the ground. Once Andie saw Surly was alive, she dropped it in the process. He picked it up and gazes at it before saying "I'm gonna keep looking for food and give it to the park, but this time…"
He showed the dog whistle in front of Andie and finished "We do this together. Deal?" Andie formed a soft smile and said "This park will always honor your deals."
"Yeah, same here. I'll always help out Liberty Park with another food crisis. You can trust us on that." Todd smiled.
Surly, Buddy, and Todd soon looked at each other with smiles on their faces as the former two rodents started to take their leave. Todd followed after them as well too but stopped and turned back to Andie hesitantly, knowing that she might not be okay with this.
"O-Oh Andie, listen…umm…"
Andie let out a chuckle before smiling over at the fox squirrel as she said "It's okay, Todd. You can with them. After all, Surly is your hero, after all."
Todd smiled happily before shouting "YES!"
Andie then looked at Surly as she asked "Promise me that you keep Todd safe, please?" "Andie, don't you know who you're talking to? I am great with kids after all. You can trust me" Surly winked with a smile while Buddy waved goodbye to her. "We're just gonna head over to the nut shop to get a quick bite to eat from the nut shop."
"Alright, just good luck and be careful." Andie said with a soft smile. The trio nodded before giving her a two-finger salute before they took their leave from the park, leaving the red squirrel with the dog whistle as she smiles happily at them, knowing that they'll do great helping the park.
Surly, Buddy, and Todd were seen standing on top of a telephone poll and watching the park live on happily ever after, much to their joy as they were cheering on for Grayson.
"Alright everyone! Settle down. Stop. Don't touch the tail. STOP TOUCHING THE TAIL!" They heard Grayson yell in exasperation, causing them to chuckle a little.
"Ya know, kiddo." Surly turned to Todd with a smile and said "They say life's there for the taking, but truth is? Life's really there for sharing. Once you realize that, you might discover there's a little hero on all of us. And you know what else? You made me learn so much throughout the whole time. You even taught me what it feels like to care about someone and what it's like to not only have an admirer…but a son too."
Todd wore a look of awe and astonishment as he asked "Wow, um…really?"
"Absolutely, champ. Absolutely." Surly nodded.
Buddy happily nodded to Todd in agreement, and the fox squirrel smiled at the two before thankfully saying "Thanks guys. You're the best, and I'm glad I met you."
"Hey, what more can I say? We're all a little nuts." Surly chuckled. "Come on, let's go to the nut shop to celebrate."
"Actually…" Todd made a serious expression and said "There's somewhere I wished to go. It's very important."
"Oh really?" Surly asked with a curious expression. "Where's that exactly?" "Don't worry, I think it's not far, but I think there's a place where I can find more answers about why I was transformed into a fox squirrel." Todd assured. "So…are you in?" Surly and Buddy looked at each other for a moment before they each wore grins on their faces.
"Are you kidding? Of course! We'll follow you to the ends of the world! Right Buddy?" Surly asked his rat sidekick, who nodded in agreement. Todd smiled happily at them and said "Thanks you guys! Let's get to it now!"
"Lead the way, kiddo." Surly smiled. Todd nodded as Buddy climbed down the telephone pole first, leaving Surly and Todd to turn to the off-screen with smirks and winked at them before they left and went down the pole as well, heading straight to a place to catch up with a certain albino squirrel.
To Be Continued