-SIX-

Revenge

RJ didn't know how many days had passed since he saw the dump site trio. They weren't too much of a concern to him, as he didn't put any weight to their threats, but he wondered why they didn't continue to harass him about the debt. Shane wasn't one to give up without a fight, and Ray and Larry would do almost anything to get others to do their work for them. RJ had expected them to pester him about it for much longer than they had.

It was odd, but definitely not his biggest concern at the moment. Right now his parched tongue and aching belly were his immediate priority.

RJ watched the heavy, dark clouds above him with longing. How he wished they would release a shower of cool, wet droplets to relieve his burning throat. He had been tempted to sneak a sip from the pond where the hedgies lived that afternoon, but he dissuaded himself in hopes that it would rain soon. It was much better to rough it a few hours than risk seeing any of them. He had almost completely blocked all thoughts of them; seeing them might break that wall, releasing a torrent of unwanted emotions.

C'mon clouds, rain already!

RJ was growing impatient. His ears laid back sourly, but shot back up as a thought struck him. Eagerly, the raccoon began digging through the garbage for something to hold rain water…some kind of bowl, or cup, or-

"Hello RJ."

Time stopped as RJ's body tensed and blood drained from his face. It wasn't… couldn't be…not here…

"What's the matter? Didn't think I'd keep my promise? Or did you honestly think distance could keep us apart?"

RJ's skull buzzed as blood course through his head, causing a numb, tingling sensation. RJ didn't need to look to know who owned that deep, gruff voice. He could hear Vincent's lips form a smile.

"Don't worry. Our time apart gave me plenty of time to plan out my revenge."

RJ felt claws grab his head and bring him eye-level with the bear.

"You're awfully quiet." It was true; RJ was so rigid with fear that he couldn't think of anything even remotely intelligible to say. This just wasn't supposed to be happening.

"That's alright, though. I prefer that you shut up and just let me do the talking." Vincent chuckled, relishing RJ's terrified expression. "This is going to be fun."

Vincent tossed RJ into the air and swung a fist so hard that it sent the raccoon flying several yards away until he crashed into a pile of garbage. Vincent laughed, licking blood off his knuckles as he walked over to the pile. "I've waited a long time for that."

Vincent picked the raccoon up by the scruff of his neck, holding him in place as he raised a paw. The gesture brought RJ's voice back. "Oh my God, Vincent! No! Stop! Stop, please!"

The plea fell on deaf ears; Vincent began to deal a series of blows that knew no bounds. In a futile effort against the bear's brute strength, RJ shot his hands up protectively; but it did nothing to deter the ruthless onslaught. Blow after blow RJ hung helplessly, waiting for it all to end as Vincent's paw rose and fell mercilessly.

Caught up in the thrill of vengeance, Vincent dropped RJ and continued the beat-down with both fists. A scream rose and died in RJ's throat as the bear began tearing at him with his claws. Involuntary tears pooled under RJ's eyelids as his body reacted to the torture. RJ gritted his teeth, wondering if he was about to die

But just when RJ thought he couldn't endure it any longer, Vincent stopped and drew back, panting from his own frenzied exertion. RJ could hear his own breathing… it was ragged and heavy. In some places his fur was wet with his own blood.

"Heh, almost got carried away there. I have to keep you alive so you can watch me kill your family."

"Not…my * koff*…family…anymore," RJ whispered hoarsely.

Vincent looked with disgust at the red substance the raccoon had coughed up. "Eh…what was that?"

RJ's voice quavered as he endeavored to repeat himself, "They're…not my family anymore. I left them."

Vincent blinked. "You… left… them?"

"Yes."

"Ha, let me guess. Loner finds out he's not the family guy. What a surprise. Glad to see you finally decided to listen to me."

"No-"

"Wait, you're not lying to me to protect them, are you? Cause if you try to pull a stunt like that, I'll-"

"No! No no no. I'm not… *koff*…I'm not trying to pull your leg," RJ replied hastily, staving off another attack. "I left them because I…"

"Because what?"

"They…don't trust me," RJ said quietly, casting his eyes downward.

"They don't trust you?" Low rumbles of amusement. "Well, that's no surprise. So they finally saw through your disguise?"

RJ glared at Vincent. "I was being genuine with them."

"Watch your tone," Vincent snarled, kicking the raccoon in the gut. RJ gasped and curled up to ease the pain. "Genuine for you is a lying, thieving, dirt bag. Which are good traits if you're on your own, but lousy if you want friends."

Vincent knelt down next to the prone raccoon. "You know, I find it ironic that you live in a junk yard with all the other discarded and worthless trash. It's very fitting. I was seriously starting to worry for you, disillusioning yourself with such unrealistic hopes. I mean, you in a family? C'mon, life is hard enough without other people screwing things up. Guys like you and me don't need friends; they just tie us down. We need the freedom to live how we want, take what we want, and cut down anything that gets in the way. I'm glad you got to see what families are really like, and get a taste of rejection. Hopefully it'll help you make smarter choices."

Vincent smirked and watched the back of RJ's head as he paused to let his words sink in. "So when did they realize who you really are? I'm curious to know what they had to say."

RJ was silent, except for the whistling sound of difficult breathing. Vincent raised an eyebrow. "Why aren't you answering me?"

"I can't breathe, you idiot!" RJ yelled suddenly. His eyes burned with hate, but that quickly diminished as he realized the rashness of his outburst. Stupid move. Stupid, stupid, idiotic move.

"I see you still have some fight left in you," Vincent chimed in an unsettling manner, drawing himself up to his full height. He walked over to RJ's bag and selected a golf club, testing it against his palm. "That's nothing I can't fix."

"No, Vincent, please! No!" RJ pleaded frantically, eyes wide and hand out-stretched.

"Wow. You don't even have enough dignity to take a beating without begging for mercy like some gutless idiot."

Vincent raised the golf club high in the air. RJ shut his eyes tightly. The club fell. Hard. RJ let out a cry. The club rose again, and fell. Again and again. Pain. Fear. RJ released a strangled sob.

"Huh. You think this is bad? This is nothing compared to what I'll do to you if you steal from me again."

Stop. Just stop.

The grey clouds over head rumbled. Vincent paused and glanced at the sky. "You're lucky I hate getting caught in the rain," Vincent mumbled. "I'm going to let you lie here and dwell on just how helpless you are. No family to protect you, no friends to help you, just you and a large debt to pay." With every word, Vincent hit RJ harder and harder. "Nowhere to run, no place to hide. If you so much as talk to the others again, I will know that you were lying to me and I won't hesitate to kill them. Either you're going to get enough food to replace what you've stolen from me, or I'm going to kill you." Vincent gave one final swing, and then tossed the club aside. "And trust me, you don't want to pick the latter."

RJ watched Vincent leave through the one eye that wasn't swollen. He really didn't have much of a choice but to lay there; his whole body was racked with bruises and gashes. It would be awhile before he could get up.

Slowly, the wind picked up, weaving through the raccoon's fur. The sky steadily grew darker, occasional flashes of light coursing through the sky. Rain began to fall, mingling with the streams already falling from RJ's face.

Rain and wind soaked through RJ's fur, stealing his body heat. RJ shivered and curled up tighter as the rain started falling heavier, clanking off of metal scraps and aluminum cans.

It was going to be a long night.

Verne started at the crash of lightning. Rain drummed against the hollow log as his family breathed rhythmically in their slumber. It was very warm and snug because everyone, even Tiger and the opossums, had decided to sleep in the log to stay dry. Everyone seemed to be sleeping soundly but him.

It wasn't the lightning keeping Verne awake, but his tingling tail. Something was definitely amiss at the rate his tail was going, but Verne didn't know whether his it own guilt or some external thing that was causing his tail to prickle so uncomfortably. Verne stood up and gazed out the entrance of the log, wondering if RJ had found somewhere dry to sleep that night. Of course he has…he's RJ. Probably found someplace to sleep way more dry and cozy than this.

But in spite of his inner dialogue, Verne couldn't shake off the feeling that RJ was in some kind of trouble. He felt terrible that he was the reason RJ wasn't sleeping with everyone in the log, safe, warm, and content.

As Verne turned to return to his spot, he noticed two eyes watching him. They belonged to Hammy. It was the first night in a week that the little squirrel chose to sleep with everyone else, his fear of lightning being his main motivation. Now, unable to sleep with the crashing thunder, he sat vigilant, staring at Verne. Unspoken words passed between the two as Verne met the squirrel's gaze.

"Tomorrow we're going to find RJ," Verne said, quietly but resolutely.

Hammy was satisfied; he crawled over and curled up next to the turtle and soon fell asleep.

I just hope it's not too late.

I hope you are all having a better day than RJ. :s

Gothic princess: Believe me, I'm thankful OTH fans are still around too. I actually only saw the movie recently, like a month or two ago, so it was kind of a gamble getting on here and writing a fanfiction for a fandom that was possibly dead. Glad to see that that isn't the case, and that in spite of being 4 years late, I still have an audience who can enjoy my little story. Every time I get a notice from FF that my story got another review, I jump up and do a victory dance. Complete with whooping and hollering. True story.

Chicky: Glad you like it! I'm planning on 15 or so chapters, take some give some.