DISCLAIMER: I do not own any original BPRD character. I just own the plot and the (many) OCs. I do not think I own Ruddy either, he has a kind of life on his own.

After many troubles, I finally managed to update! Hooray! All hail backup!
No warnings for this chapter again, ther is just some claustrophobia again and gratuitous cuteness.

Challenge's still up! (you know the rest.)

Enjoy!


Flying on a plane had its moments, in particular take-off, but was not so exciting as Ruddy had anticipated.
A plane, he discovered, was another kind of metallic vehicle, shaped roughly like a bird.
It made a tremendous noise and did not allow the passengers to feel the wind on their faces or to look outside.
In fact it had some tiny oval-shaped windows, but they did not allow a wide field of vision.

What was the purpose of flying if one could not enjoy the wiew and the wind?

His captors didn't look like they were enjoying themselves much, also.
They were strapped to weird cushioned chairs and looked bored: maybe travelling on a plane was such a common experience in this land that it didn't elicit much emotion from people anymore.
The only one who seemed genuinely emotioned was Rajeev, the dark-skinned agent, who was clutching desperately at his chair, pale and sweating, clearly frightened by the thought of the open air all around their vehicle.
The others were dozing off or looking idly out of the windows, as conversation was prevented by the noise.
It had been a boring day all along and his captors had been locked in almost as much as he was.

He had passed an awful night, unable to sleep, panic gripping him tightly.
His thoughts ran in circles: he considered calling for help, then he thought it was below himself.
Next, he bid himself to resist, morning was not far.
He counted the time but it seemed to run too slow and panic rose again in his heart, and again he thought about giving up and calling someone to get him out.

To kill time and keep himself company, he finally resorted to hum some of his favorite songs, but he quickly exhausted his repertoire.
Silence enveloped him again, filling him with dread.
He started repeating the pitagoric tables, then the conjugations of Greek irregular verbs, which he had always hated heartily, and eventually every piece of poetry he could remember.
Finally morning came: he welcomed dawn with heartfelt joy and thanked the sun for its warm light which illuminated a little the compartment, allowing him to see the walls, still in their original places.
He managed to relax a little and fell asleep.

He awoke a little later, when the doors of the compartment opened wide letting the bright light of the sun and the fresh air of the morning in.
Almost blinded by the sharp and sudden change in illumination, he heard the demon's voice.
"Hey doggy! Good morning." he saluted, exhalating his usual cloud of foul smoke.
As infuriating and unrespectful as the demon was, Ruddy felt like hugging him from sheer gratitude.
"Good morning, demon. - he said, almost pleading, unconsciously wagging his tail - Please, let me out of here."
"Don't like closed spaces, uh?" the demon sniggered.
Ruddy felt quite infuriated: was it so damn evident?
"No, I just need badly to water the plants. - he quickly replied, dismissively – Let me out or I'll do it right here and right now." he menaced, and in truth his bladder felt uncomfortably full.
"Don't you dare! - the demon exclaimed, outraged – I'm not going to do the rest of the trip in a place stinking like dog piss."
Ruddy grinned evil, satisfied with having found a perfect excuse to both get out and irritate the demon.
"Be quick, then. I do not know how much I can resist..." he admonished, hiding his laughter behind a look of concentration and suffering.
Hellboy raised his hands in front of himself and shook his head. "No, no, good doggy, hold on." he pleaded, looking around to find someone to help him.
Refraining from laughing cost Ruddy a great effort and hurt his injured ribs.
The demon localized some agents and ran straight towards them, turning once to call to him.
"Hold on!" he exclaimed, running away.
"I'm not going to make it..." Ruddy called back, grinning when his words made the demon run faster still.
He saw him talking excitedly to some agents, gesturing frantically towards the vehicle.
One of the agents, the young and brave one called Ash, dashed to a large box abandoned nearby, rummaged through its contents and returned to the truck with Hellboy, carrying something behind his back.
"Ok, doggy, we're getting you out. - the demon said, warily unlocking the his prison – But you have to behave."
"I promise. " he replied. His body instinctively tensed, ready to run away, it hurt and he relaxed: he was not going anywhere like that.

Ash smiled and revealed what he was hiding: a leash.
"Oh, no. - Ruddy protested indignantly – There's no way you're going to put me on a leash."
"Listen, doggy, - Hellboy said, quite annoyed – do not be so difficult. You get out like that or you remain in the cage."
Ruddy silently debated the possibilities in his mind.
He wanted out badly and he needed to relieve himself, he could sacrifice his pride once in a while, couldn't he?
"I guess I have no other option..." he admitted gloomily, allowing the youth to leash him.
Ash winked and grinned. "I won't tell anyone, I promise." he said.
"Thank you, Ash." Ruddy said, walking slowly out of the cage.

The boy was patient and allowed him to take his time, sniffing around to find a suitable place.
Walking proved painful and tiresome, but he needed it.
He needed feeling the wind on his skin and the sand under his feet once again.
It was a short interlude however, and soon they returned to the vehicle, where he was locked into the cage once more.
He didn't complain, too tired by the sleepless night and the exertion.
The soldiers boarded the vehicle and soon it started moving again.
Lulled by the motion, he slept like an angel.

Hours later the vehicle stopped, but the vibrations and noises did not.
He heard Ash talking with someone and giving him what looked like a password.
There was a noise much alike to creaking hinges, and the vehicle moved again at considerably lower speed.
Ruddy gave his captors a quizzical look.
"Where are we?" he asked.
"The military airport. - Abe the triton explained – It is the place where planes stay."
Ruddy wagged his tail enthusiastically and yapped in excitement. "We're getting on a plane? Right now? May I see it?"

Abe laughed: Ruddy looked pretty much like a child right now.
He had behaved tolerably well since he had been caught and in truth he felt a little guilty for his capture.
Last night, before returning to the well to sleep with that nice family of newts, he had talked to Daisy for a while and found that she shared his thoughts: whatever his real nature, Ruddy was an intelligent being and it felt strangely wrong to treat him like an animal.
They had debated about the topic and Abe told her he believed Ruddy was some kind of fey trapped in an animal form by magic.
He had arrogance and pride enough to fit in the character and his references to the human world were centered on antiquity as fairies' were.
Daisy appreciated much his hypothesis, and her approval gave him a warm happy feeling, but she still believed he was a Salaawa.
They were cryptids and little was known about them, after all.
This problem would be solved in due time, when they arrived at the HQ and began to question him.
Anyway, he clearly resented being a prisoner, even more because he believed he had done nothing wrong, which was debatable.
Abe turned to look towards Ruddy, who had completely forgotten his wounds and was presently straining to glance outside from the windows in the upper part of the compartment.
He glanced at Daisy, who was equally observing his antics with a look that showed clearly how much cute she thought Ruddy presently was.
He had his cute moments when he was not trying to be menacing, Abe had to admit.
And she was cute too.

Daisy giggled and glanced back at him, causing him to blush a deep shade of blue because of his thoughts.
She scuttled next to him and whispered: "He'd be very disappointed if he didn't manage to see an airplane."
Being so close to her sent shivers running along his spine, but he managed to act normal. "We could let him out and let him have a look." he replied.
"Do you think it is possible?" she asked.
"Hellboy told me they had let him out this morning at the campsite." he revealed.
"Would you do it?" she whispered, admiration glimpsing in her seaweed-coloured eyes.
"Of course." he answered, starightening up and feigning self-assuredness.
He was not exactly comfortable with the thought of approaching the creature, as reasonable as he seemed to be, he still was a dangerous and vicious fighter.
But Daisy's admiration and affection were worth some risks.
He gave Hellboy a questioning glance and gestured towards Ruddy and the cage.
Hellboy looked a question to him and Abe pointed out to the window.
Hellboy shook his head and sighed, tapping his temple in a gesture that meant "you're crazy" but grumbled something like : "Just be careful."

Abe nodded and kneeled next to the cage, tapping on it lighly to call Ruddy's attention.
The creature turned to him, puzzled.
"Do you want to have a look at the planes?" Abe asked.
"For sure, triton!" he exclaimed.
"I'll get you out, but..." he began to say.
"I know, I know, I have to behave. - Ruddy interrupted him impatiently, wagging his tail, which, incidentally didn't look as badly burnt as the day before – I give you my word. Now get me outta here."
Abe warily unlocked the cage and opened the door, letting him out, and he stalked towards the window.
He remained balanced on his hind legs, propping himself on the wall and looked out, eyes widening in surprise.

"It is a vehicle. - he sounded somewhat disappointed - It looks like a metallic bird."
"How did you imagine it?" Daisy asked, daring to get near him.
Abe positioned himself next to her, hand on the butt of his gun, just in case.
Ruddy noticed his move and grinned. "Do not worry, triton, I'm not going to harm your Margarita." he mocked, stressing the word 'your'.
He his face flushed and he felt like strangling the beast, but Daisy smiled and thanked him for the preoccupation, and his chest swelled with joy.
He could have sworn he had seen Ruddy wink in complicity.

After the funny interlude with the triton and the disappointing look at the plane, the travel so far had not been the occasion of much excitement.
They had boarded the plane with the whole truck, descending only after the gates of the plane were closed.
The team had allowed him to remain out of the cage while the plane was readied for the flight and he explored its contents thoroughly, sniffing every single object he could not recognize.
He also gave a good sniff at the truck, as the vehicle they had travelled so far was called.
It smelled like something awful and chemical, not unlike naphta or bitumen, absolutely terrible, which made him sneeze. The rest of the people on the plane laughed, thinking his annoyance was particularly comical.
After this incident, he returned to the place where the others were sitting and lay on a comfortable heap of rugs, curled on himself.

Later, a man wearing a strange hat appeared from a metallic door.
He greeted his captors and ga ve a cir cular glance at the area, spotting Ruddy.
"Aha! This is the creature you were hunting for - he exclaimed – Why is it being left free in my plane?" his pleasant voice held a hint of worry.
"It seems I earned this privilege." Ruddy said smugly.
The man gasped and paled to an ashen colour.
"It speaks!" he exclaimed, shocked, pointing out at Ruddy
"Yeah, he speaks. In Latin too. - Hellboy confirmed, laughing – And he has a bad temper."
Ruddy nodded, grinning.

The pilot, an army officer who had more than 500 hours of flight in his career and had seen a great deal of weird things, managed to quickly regain composure and professionality.
"Well, it does not matter. - he declared with finality – It cannot... You cannot stay in the cabin of my plane without being fastened to something, creature." he said, trying to be polite to the weird, red, talking dog.
The creature seemed curious.
"Why?" he asked.
"Safety issues. It is the law." the pilot explained.
"Well... - the creature said, both annoyed and resigned – I'll get back to the cage, I guess there is no other choice."
He slowly limped to a transparent cage and lay there, casting wistful looks to the plane windows.
One of the agents locked the cage and fastened it to the plane floor by the means of thick straps.
The pilot checked the straps by tugging hard at them.
Statisfied with his inspection, he controlled wether the other passengers had fastened their seat belts also.
Everything in the cabin was in order, the cargo was properly stowed and the plane was in perfect conditions.
It was time to fly.

The noise the plane made when it moved was almost unbearable, but the acceleration of the take-off and ascension was the most exciting thing he had felt since arriving in this land.
It was exhilarating.
He howled in enjoyment, much to the annoyance of the others.
The plane continued ascending for a while, reaching what he judged a considerable altitude, then it stabilized in a horizontal position and went on without much change.
Thus started the boring part of the trip.

After some hours, Ruddy heard the plaesant voice of the man with the strange hat, but the man himself was nowhere to be seen.
He turned around as much as he could in his cage, looking for him, without much success.
Then the plane began descending.
It was not as strong a sensation as the one he had felt in the previous ascension but he enjoyed every single moment of it.
It got even better when the plane eventually landed, touching the ground with a leap and decelerating sharply.
He barked in herartfelt joy.
Not everybody was enjoying himself as he was, however, Rajeev for example was as white as a linen cloth by now and groaned in despair.

The plane stopped completely and he watched his captors unfasten the straps which had kept them secured to their seats and stretch themselves.
Ash kneeled next to the cage and unstrapped it deftly.
"Hey, Ruddy! I'm gonna open the door - he called, joyfully – D'ya think you can get on the truck on your own?"
"Are you allowing me out again?" Ruddy asked, perplexed.
The day was getting better and better.
"Yeah! I'd rather not carry both you and the cage back to the truck. - he explained, laughing, while working on the lock – You're heavy, d'ya know?"
Ruddy snorted and walked stillfly and slowly towards the vehicle.
He thought about stretching, but it didn't strike him as a really good idea.
The careful leap to the rear compartment of the truck proved painful but bearable.
He curled quietly in a corner and watched the rest of the team embark.
When everyone else was in, Ash activated the vehicle, wich produced its usual symphony of vibrations and noises, and left the interior of the plane.
"Next stop home, my friends!" he exclaimed cheerfully.
Ruddy felt a thrill of excitement course his veins: the place Ash called home was the very same wher his future and status would be decided.


Did you enjoy this chapter? Was it horrible?
Do you have any guess about who Ruddy really is?
Please review!