AU inspired by Disney's 101 Dalmatians. I do not own Fairy Tail or 101 Dalmatians. Hope you enjoy!
It was a quiet London evening, fog resting on the eves of Grey Fullbuster's flat. The human pet was busy with who knows what, his dog companion lazily watching him with dull interest. The mutt- a long legged, muscular thing, with a strong bite and shaggy pink fur- was bored. Or perhaps bored would be an understatement. He was terribly oppressed by the lack of action within the flat. Here, there were things he couldn't break, things he couldn't do, hours spent indoors so he wouldn't harass the neighbors- it was hell compared to the wide open freedom of the moors. Of course Grey- being the droopy eyed idiot that he was, had paid no attention to his owner's protests when moving out of his family's household. Said owner dramatically moped upside down while glaring at his stupid pet, angry at how things had turned out so far, his white scarf draping over one eye.
Fullbuster stopped in his random activities to return the glower- "I told you Natsu, you mess stuff up again, I get kicked out." When his admonition was met with an even stronger defiant stare, he sighed and ran a hand through his own black locks. "I'm sorry, but rules are rules. Stop screwing up and I just might take you to the park more often." Natsu huffed and moved his angry eyes towards a corner of the room, intent on killing the plant that took hospice with a look. Grey shook his head and resumed his occupations; "Damn dog."
Damn human, Natsu thought to himself. The solitude and somber mood was getting to him. Would there ever be a time where he could run unhampered by a leash and collar? Or perhaps chase chicken and sheep to his heart's content? Dig up bones, bury scraps, chase cats? Would he ever be able to just be a dog? He sneezed and rolled over, pointed ears perking back up after being laid flat. He was going to die of-
A sound caught his attention- distant, desperate, dog. It was a dog, several dogs. Curious, Natsu rose from his position on the floor and plastered himself to the window, straining to hear. The message was coming closer- the same messenger? No, it was being carried, dog to dog to dog to- with wide eyes the mutt came to a realization; The Twilight Bark! He put his weight against the window's frame, busting it open and earning a sharp rebuke from Grey. Natsu paid him no mind- all his focus was on the message of the Twilight Bark- the system used to send news of dogs in need. Stretched as far as he could go in the freezing night air, it was with impatience that he gained the report- Golden female stolen. Eleven puppies stolen. Danger in the streets. Not dogcatchers. Dog-nappers.
Dog-nappers. Dog-nappers! With a growl, he passed along the message, ignoring the hands pulling at the nape of his neck. Twisting to retain some freedom, he continued to bark and howl into the city air.
"Damn dog! What's the matter with you? Some prissy purebred realize how stupid you are? Shut up before we get in trouble!" Struggling, Grey slammed the window shut and tossed his owner to the ground. "We're in deep hole as it is Natsu!" A banging at the door drew his attention. "I'm coming! I'm-"
It flew open on its own accord, revealing the scarlet haired landlady. "Fullbuster! That dog of yours-!" Nastu bolted. Here was his chance. Streaking past the devil-woman, even as shivers ran down his spine, he made for the stairway and tumbled down, busting out the door and tearing into the street.
"Natsu! Erza, help me catch him!"
"If he makes a mess of things again Fullbuster, it's on you!"
He didn't stop, even as Grey shouted insults at him. There were puppies in danger! Puppies! He couldn't just sit around- there had to be something he could do. Even as he ran further and further from his pet and the devil-woman, breathy howls rang out from his throat, passing the urgent news along. Lights turned on as his paws hit cobblestone, his determination growing with every step as other hounds caught and released the message. Natsu was nearly a kilometer away from his flat when he realized something crucial- the important thought was cut short when a familiar scent came across his nose.
"Gajeel!" He growled at the black wolf-hybrid who owned the pet that stalked Gray to no end. Usually, Natsu wouldn't hesitate to throw himself at him, but the Twilight Bark held him steady.
"Dumbass." Gajeel growled back, halting in his run. There was a certain tension in the air between the two, but with a snap, Natsu remembered why he stopped in the first place.
"You heard?"
"How could I not?"
"You know where?"
"Corner o' 21st and 8th." The bigger mutt turned down the street they met on. "I'll take this way."
"Fine. Guess I go this way."
"Hey, Dumbass!"
"Yeah, Kittylitter?"
"Give those retards hell." With a smirk, they parted ways
.../^\...
Natsu was once again racing alone in the dark, amidst the howls and barks of London. Panting, wary of busy roads and late night commuters, dark eyes roamed back and forth looking for anything out of the ordinary. Pink fur swayed slightly as his head roved back and forth, taking a step across the street-
Only to dash out of the way as a covered truck nearly made him road kill. Other cars made the same move to avoid it, the speeding vehicle groaning with the sounds of whines and yelps….. the puppies! The cries of distress were faint and growing fainter still as the truck made its way out of town. Without hesitation, Natsu ran after it, dodging cars and skidding around corners, even as his limbs began to tire. Soon enough it became apparent that they were in the countryside, Grey and the city long behind them. The pink mutt didn't take notice. His only focus was catching that truck.
A heaven sent opportunity arose when his prey nearly ended up running into another late night driver. As the two parties traded insults, he leapt into the back, using momentum to launch underneath the tarp. Black eyes met brown pools as Natsu found himself face to face with another dog, trapped beneath a wooden crate. Soon his blank expression was traded for a grin.
"Someone order a rescue?"
Astonished for a moment, the other dog, a beautiful golden gal, gave a soft smile. "Yeah." Turning to small pups bundled up in a tarp, her smile grew wider. "It worked-the Twilight Bark worked!" Her expression changed as she faced Natsu once again. "You have to help me get them off-"
With a buckle and a sputtering cough, the truck resumed its journey, and mutt-turned-rescue-party was reminded why it was a bad idea to jump on in the first place. With a whine, he fought to keep down his dinner, rendered immobile by movement. The other's face turned incredulous.
"You get motion sick!?"
"Didn't- urp! 'Spect them-" A groan. "to start back up…. so…. soon!"
"You've got to be kidding me!" Legs shaking, Natsu pushed himself upwards, grunts expressing the duress of the movement.
"Don't….worry- ugh! Get….'chu….out…." It was with a pained loll of the head that he spied the concrete block keeping the pups and their keeper trapped underneath the crate. Small voices piped up, encouraging him, even as the lovely lady herself still seemed doubtful.
"I don't think-"She was cut off by his glare of sheer determination.
"I got it." A war cry followed his attack, followed by another shouldering of that damn concrete block, over and over. Even though his legs felt like jelly, he couldn't feel his paws, his stomach threatened to abandon ship, and his head lost all sense of direction, Natsu didn't let up- cheered on by hopeful voices and his own righteous anger. A victorious crack! let him know that he had succeeded, though he still did not let himself fall prone. Long locks flowing as she tossed the crate off with viscous action, a thankful look was sent his way. But before any dog could take action, and angry voice- a human voice yelled out.
"Damn dogs! Bora, we got a stowaway!" A hulking brute of a hairless ape peered at the two menacingly from the window in the driver's cab.
"The pups still tied down?" The second voice was smoother than the first, though it did not go unnoticed how the golden lady bared her teeth at the sound.
"Yeah."
"Good." And then the truck swerved, the motion causing havoc. Natsu, helpless to the elements of inertia and gravity, tried to stay lucid in the chaos. The other dog lost her footing and crashed into him, even as she tried to free the pups. It was a terrible tumble through the back, until an ill-timed bump in the road sent them both flying into the cold open air, landing in a dusty heap as Bora and his companion sped away.
.../^\...
"…ke u… wa…up…Wake up!" Blearily, a foot to his gut alerted Natsu to a world outside the dark embrace of unconsciousness. Scrunching his snout in mild pain, he wondered why Grey sounded especially girly this morning. Maybe it was because Erza beat the shit out of him? Did that mean he got the two of them in trouble again? Was that why it was so cold? Surely the flat wasn't that cheap… so they really did get kicked out, didn't they? Damn, it was cold. And Grey wasn't making things any better by shouting furiously in his squeaky girly voice. With a puff of cold air, he growled, even though he knew his stupid, droopy-eyed pet wouldn't understand a thing.
"Shut up, Gray- it's your own damn fault for renting a place from that red haired monster!" The quip earned him another sharp kick.
"How stupid are you? Oh God, what if that fall knocked your bloody brains out? Damn it, Pinky, wake up! We've wasted enough time! I'm going to leave you if you don't." A kick. "Wake." Another kick. "Up!" A devastating blow worthy of Nastu's eyes flying open as he skidded across pavement.
"Hey!" he growled, only to be faced with someone that definitely was not Grey. Small clouds of breathy huffs encircled and emanated from the frustrated form of the golden girl from last night. Brown eyes glinted dangerously in the winter morning light as she loomed over him. His face fell as the mutt remembered what happened. "…hey… Damn, we gotta go!"
Before he could race off, she managed to grab him by the scruff, halting him in his tracks. "Do you have any idea of what you're getting into? No, of course you don't, you have motion sickness and you jumped into a truck. Slow down and listen to me for a sec!" He glared at her, a bit miffed at how she criticized his bravery.
"Don't need to listen to know somebody's in danger. Let's move, Blondie." She made a face at his address.
"It's Lucy." He paused again.
"Luigi? What kind of name for a dog is that?"
"Lucy! It's Lucy, you idiot! Lucy! God, I should've-" The rest of her rant was lost to the country air as she padded away from him in resolution. Perplexed, he followed her to a cross roads where she angrily stomped to the left. A quick sniff told him that the truck had gone the opposite direction, though the particular scent was faint.
"Hey. Hey what's your name. Hey! Hey, Lucy!" A smothering frown was pointed at him "The truck went this way." The frown continued as she shouldered past him and began to trot. Though she looked like a steam engine, the way her frustrated snarls blew out behind her, Natsu could tell she- this Lucy- was afraid. His longer legs allowed him to catch up quickly, scarf trailing in his momentum. With a sidelong glance, he coughed. "So…I'm listening."
She didn't bother to look. "I..I think these are the same guys that have been hitting up pet shops for awhile. I was put in charge of guarding for the night when they busted in and took the pups. God, those sweet things have been so eager to get humans of their own…..I'm- I'm afraid that they're going to… going to.." Lucy's eyes- those mysterious, enigmatic eyes- turned dark as she stopped, trembling.
"Going to?"
Her reply was hushed. "Going to take them to puppy mills…" Natsu had heard of the horrors that were puppy mills, but something told him Lucy had seen it herself. Coming closer, he risked brushing his own shaggy fur against her long, well-groomed locks. She looked at him, fears rising in her eyes.
Those eyes. Natsu couldn't even taste chocolate, but those eyes made him want to. If chocolate was as enticing as those eyes, it might be worthy to risk death. They ripped away from him and stared- focused on the road ahead.
"I could use some help. They overpowered me last night."
"'Course. Can't turn a good dog down, even if you look weird for a London breed." His smile popped up of its own accord, reassuring. She returned it- before realizing his insult.
"I'm a Hovawart!"
"That's a weird name for a Golden Retriever, Luce. If you're one of those crazy Americans, just say so. No need to be fancy."
"I-!" Her argument stopped short at the jesting look in his dark eyes. She rolled her own and continued at a clipped pace down the road. "Nice to meet you…."
He kept up with her, coming to lead the way with his superior nose. "Natsu. We can send another message tonight and get some help. Partners?"
She looked confidently at him, a small smile gracing her features once again, the mood brought up by his especial positivity. "Partners. Let's go!"
And they took off running, pink and gold streaking across snow.
And then they kicked ass.
This is something to start us off, and give myself a test of how long these oneshots might have to be to accomplish what I want. Tell me how I did! And leave me a prompt too. Lucy's breed is a working dog that looks akin to the Golden Retriever from Germany. The general temperament seemed like a nice match, and they look absolutely beautiful. I've got not the slightest clue what Natsu is though. A dog is a dog.- CC