NOTE: This chapter contains some breakage of the fourth wall inspired by Animaniacs and Tiny Toon Adventures (Great shows, BTW). We also learn the identity of Kim's killer.

The next morning, all the main pets except Zoe were sitting in the main room of the pet shop. There was a long silence that was soon broken by Minka, "Can someone please tell me what's going on?"

Sunil hung his head. He didn't shed a single tear as he was saving them up for the funeral. Nevertheless, the expression on his face was that of pure heartbreak. Vinnie sighed, "We're holding a funeral. Someone...is gone..."

Minka felt tears in her eyes, "No, not Zoe. It...it can't be her! She-"

Russell shook his head, "Zoe is fine, Minka. She's on vacation and 100% fine. We found the body of a hamster in the walls."

"Kim." Sunil choked out as he squeezed his tail, "Her name is Kim Campbell."

Russell nodded, "Blythe said she's been buried here since 1972. Sunil told her so. He had a psychic vision."

Minka turned to Sunil, "Is that true?"

Sunil only let out a whimper in response and Penny put a paw on Minka's shoulder, "It's probably best not to talk with Sunil when he's this upset. Give him some space."

Russell turned to Pepper, "And don't even think about making jokes at the funeral, Pepper. I know we barely even know her but death is no laughing matter."

Sunil whimpered softly, "I knew her...I just cannot believe what she went through..."

There was a long silence before Pepper spoke up, "Guys, I've been trying out this black comedy routine and...if it offended you, I'm really sorry."

"You mean all those dead body jokes you cracked in the basement?" Russell asked.

Pepper nodded, "It was all part of a new shtick, I thought it would be a riot."

Russell shook his head, "I'm sure whoever wrote this fanfic was responsible for your out of character behavior."

Vinnie blinked, "What's a fanfic?"

"It's when someone writes a story about copyrighted characters in a copyrighted show doing things." Penny explained.

"Isn't that illegal?" Vinnie asked.

"Not really." Russell replied, "If it were, the prison system would be full of nonviolent fanfiction writers."

Suddenly, Blythe entered the room with the crate in her hands, "I've dug the hole, let's prepare for the funeral."

Minka gave Blythe a confused look, "We don't even know her? Why are we even holding a funeral?"

"It's what Sunil wants." Blythe replied, "He's pretty broken up about this whole thing and it would be nice if we could respect his spirituality."

Penny whimpered a little, "I haven't even met Kim and I think I'm going to cry already."

Sunil let out a sigh, "I already know I am. I made a promise to cry for her so she doesn't feel so unloved."

Russell just shook his head, "I just can't wait for this whole creepy saga to be over. I'm never looking at that basement in the same light ever again."

Vinnie nodded in agreement, "Me too. I can't wait for life to get back to normal after this."

They all headed out of the pet shop and went to a nearby shade tree with a freshly dug grave in front of it. Blythe sat down next to the crate and put her hand on it, "We are all gathered here today to mourn the death of Kim Campbell. She lived a tragic life in 1972 with no friends but we're all her fiends here at Littlest Pet Shop." Blythe pushed the crate into the hole, "So, let's pay our respects."

Minka was the first one to approach the grave and she tossed a paintbrush in it, "I never got to know you, but I sure hope you're having fun wherever you are, here's a paintbrush in case you get bored."

Minka then hopped away and Russell approached the grave with a notebook in his hand, "I have no idea what you've been through but maybe you can write all your memiors in this diary. Here, take this notebook." The hedgehog tossed the book and a pen in the grave, "May your story be brighter from here on out."

Russell left the grave and a sobbing Penny Ling approached it with a teddy bear in hand. She simply tossed the teddy bear in the grave and ran back to the group, sobbing.

Vinnie approached the grave and threw a deck of cards in, "Um...uh...sorry you had to go through...whatever it is you went through. Here's some cards if you get bored...in the afterlife, you know."

The gecko sadly slinked back to the group and Pepper approached the grave. She opened her mouth to speak but Russell's glare silenced her. Sadly, she tossed a bicycle horn in the grave and went back to the group.

Sunil was the final pet to approach the grave, "Kim...if you are out there, if you can hear me, listen to my words. The monster is gone. It can no longer harm you so you have nothing to fear." The mongoose took off his magician hat and pulled a bag from it, "The magic dust in this bag will protect you from dark forces and evil spirits." Sunil tossed the bag in as tears began to form in his eyes, "I am never one to break a promise so now I shall weep for you."

The mongoose choked back a sob as he thought about all the pain, torture and hurt the hamster went through. Sunil hung his head, salty tears rolling down his blue muzzle. One by one the tears dripped from his pink nose and splattered onto the crate below as he knelt over the grave. His soft, fuzzy blue body shook and trembled with sobs as he hugged himself and cried softly.

Russell stared in shock, unsure what to think when he saw Sunil weeping silently by Kim's grave. He knew Sunil had a good reason to cry but he couldn't help but pity the blue mongoose.

Minka looked more confused than anything. Who was this Kim and why was Sunil so attached to her? The monkey scratched her head, trying to make sense of it and came up with nothing.

Penny watched Sunil weep silently and it took every ounce of willpower not to run up to him and pull him into a warm hug. She knew Sunil needed his space but it was pure torture hearing those heartwrenching whimpers and watching the tears silently falling from the mongoose's face.

Vinnie felt like he had been stabbed in the heart. It tore him up to see his best friend in such a deep state of grief. He had never seen Sunil cry in such a painful way. It wasn't hysterical bawling. It was more like a series of gentle whimpers and sobs that just tore his heart in two.

Pepper shut her pink eyes against the sting of tears. Hearing Sunil cry like that...now she felt guilty more than ever over those terrible jokes she made.

Halfway through his sobbing, rain began pouring from the sky, drenching Sunil's fur and mixing with the salty tears on his face. Blythe opened an umbrella and all the pets stood under it with the exception of Sunil. His body trembled uncontrollably from the freezing rain as he shook with sobs. It was a sight that could break even the hardest of hearts. After about 24 minutes, Sunil got up, his eyes completely red from crying, his cheeks and muzzle soaked with bitter tears and drenched with rain. Blythe walked over to Sunil, picked him up and pulled him into a hug, "I'm sorry you had to discover such an awful thing, Sunil."

Sunil sniffled a bit, "I know, but I guess someone has to be the hero of every story."

Blythe let out a sigh as she stroked the tuft of fur on Sunil's head and thumbed a few tears from his face, "It's probably best we go inside and relax. I'll find a blanket to warm you up."

And so, Blythe covered the grave with dirt and she and the pets all moved inside and settled down. Blythe wrapped Sunil in a blanket and dried him off. The poor mongoose trembled and shivered uncontrollably as he tried to snuggle with the blanket.

Suddenly, Blythe's phone rang and she picked it up, "Hello?"

Youngmee was on the other end, "Hey, Blythe. Just found out the history of the Littlest Petshop back in 1972."

Blythe smiled, "Really? That's great, Youngmee. So, what happened?"

Youngmee let out a deep sigh, "Prepare yourself for a story straight from a horror novel. In 1972, an apartment complex stood where Littlest Pet Shop now stands. There lived a resident named Irene Whitman and let's just say that she lost it. Big time. She was a skilled surgeon but started to suffer a nervous breakdown when her husband divorced her for another woman. She found out she was pregnant with twins but it turned out, the twins were parasitic and one ate the other. She was so devastated, she began buying fetuses from black market traders and dressing them up in custom size outfits. Not long after, she bought a hamster and started breeding her with male hamsters and often performed surgery on her. She'd often do these experiments in the basement and most of the residents ignored her erratic behavior. She then took the hamster's unborn fetuses and fed them to her own daughter in hopes her daughter would give birth to her own parasitic twin. Eventually, this was found out by police and social services arrived. Not long after, she stabbed the hamster to death and hung herself."

"How on Earth did you find all that out?" Blythe asked Youngmee.

"The historian actually knew her. There was a story of it in the paper. The name of the guy who sold her the fetuses was Bob Open but he passed away from cancer a couple years ago." Youngmee replied.

Blythe nodded, "All right, thank you for the information. I'll see you tomorrow, Youngmee. Bye." Blythe hung up the phone and turned to Sunil, "It was a woman that killed Kim, Sunil. Her name is Irene Whitman."

Sunil blinked his golden eyes a few times, "So, you're saying that a woman killed Kim?"

Blythe nodded, "You see, Sunil, back in 1972, this place used to be apartments and she was a surgeon. She would often perform expeiments in the basement."

Sunil looked at Blythe with big, sad eyes, "Why did she hurt Kim?"

Blythe pulled the blue mongoose into a hug, "Because...she was ill. Irene had...problems. She thought she could bring back her daughter by hurting Kim. It's complicated..."

Sunil's ears wilted and his heart broke, "Blythe...everyone...I'm sorry I had to drag you all into this. If you do not want to be my friends anymore for discovering a dead body then so be it. I spoiled the happy image of Littlest Pet Shop and ruined the atmosphere. I am so sorry."

A tear exited Sunil's gold eye and slipped down his face but then he felt a tongue softly lick it away. He opened his eyes and saw Pepper grinning at him, "Don't be such a downer, Sunil, we're all here for you no matter what." The skunk pulled him into a tight hug, "Besides, crying is Penny's job. You've done enough crying for today."

Sunil smiled, blushing because Pepper kissed the tear away as he hugged her back, "Thank you, Pepper."

Russell nodded, "I'm actually kind of glad the body was removed from the wall. The basement somehow seems less creepy now. Still not a big fan of the place, though."

"Do you think we should keep this whole thing a secret to Zoe?" Vinnie asked.

"We probably should tell her at some point." Russell replied, "But probably not right away."

Sunil sighed, "Zoe is lucky, I'd rather go on a cruise ship than discover a body in the wall anyday."

"Me too." Minka nodded in agreement, "I wouldn't mind going to a pet spa on a cruise ship."

Pepper nodded in agreement with a sly grin on her face, "There's so many pranks I could pull aboard a cruise ship."

Sunil raised an eyebrow, "No offense but I do not think they would let a skunk board a cruise ship."

Pepper thought about Sunil's words for a minute, "Yeah, you're right. Couldn't keep a very low profile cause of my spray."

Blythe let out a loud yawn, "Well, the day is almost over. It won't be long till your owners all pick you up. Tomorrow, Zoe will come back and we'll have a karaoke breakfast in honor of her arrival. Hope you all picked your songs out."

And with that, the pets were picked up one by one from their owners and Blythe went home and had a nice, long sleep as she tried to put the whole incident behind her.

Sunil, however, didn't have a very pleasant sleep. The room he slept in felt...colder than normal. Shivers ran down the mongoose's spine as he felt like something was watching him. His heart raced as his eyes darted across the room. Suddenly, he felt an icy claw caress his neck and he let out a soft whimper, "Who...are you?"

"My name is...Irene Whitman..." The voice hissed back demonically as the shadow figure grabbed Sunil by the throat.

NOTE: Well, looks like Sunil is going to be in for the fight of his life. In case you're curious, I'm a big fan of the show Criminal Minds and a lot of stuff from that show inspired the villain of this story's character. In a way, Irene Whitman is like an unsub of sorts and Kim Campbell is her victim. Also, yeah, I'm a Sepper shipper (at the moment anyway) but I prefer to keep them in character as much as possible so as not to make Pepper look like a pretty little princess. Pepper is no princess, it's just not her thing.