Yes, I know I have seriously been ignoring this story. Sorry about that, but hey! I have a new chapter to make up for it! So enjoy and don't forget to review! :)

Scorch whimpered and dug his paws into the ground as his Mistress, Valkyrie Cain, drug him up to the horror of horrors.

Valkyrie grunted as Scorch's paws got lodged on the pavement. She managed to pull him free and they continued up the path. "Come on Scorch, stop dragging your paws."

"Please don't take me in there!" Scorch cried desperately. "I'll do anything, please!"

Valkyrie ignored him. "Oh come on, it isn't that bad."

"I'd rather face Malevolent, Baron Vengeous, Lord Vile and Serpine then go in there."

"Scorch, you are exaggerating and you could kill all of them easily. So it can't be that bad."

They reached the door.

"Please!" Scorch wailed. "I'll do anything!"

"Scorch, shut up and act like a normal dog."

The door opened and a woman looked down at them. "May I help you?"

"Uh yes," Valkyrie said. "I'm dropping off my dog for a few hours."

The woman nodded. "And what is his name?"

"Scorch."

"Breed?"

"Uh…" Valkyrie looked down at Scorch. "He's a mix of German Shepard and Husky."

The woman nodded and looked Scorch over.

Scorch whined.

"Well okay. We'll feed and water him and come back whenever."

"Great, thanks."

The woman took Scorch's leash from Valkyrie and dragged him into the 'Sunshine Doggy Day Care Center.'

The woman led Scorch to a door and opened it. She unclipped the leash and shut the door. About thirty dogs were in the room and when the door shut they all turned to look at him.

"Um, hi," Scorch said uncertainly.

They continued to stare.

"STOP STARING, YOU'RE FREAKING ME OUT MAN!" Scorch cried.

The dogs jumped back, yelping in surprise.

"Sorry." Scorch said meekly and slunk off to a corner to go and sulk. He sat in the corner for a long time, well to him it felt like three hours when really it was only five minutes.

The woman came back in the room and clapped her hands. "Okay! Time to go outside!" She opened a door in the back of the room and all the dogs ran out into the backyard.

Scorch ran out after them, glad to be in the sunshine again. He looked around and saw all the dogs playing with toys and wrestling on the ground. Scorch looked for a place to lie down and saw a nice shady spot under a tree. He went and layed down and was just beginning to doze off when he hear a voice.

"Hey!"

Scorch looked up and saw a Doberman Pincher with a Husky, Great Dane and Rottweiler coming over.

"What do you want?" Scorch moaned. "Can't you see I want to sleep?"

The Doberman growled. "We just wanted to let you know who's the boss around here and just because you're big doesn't mean that you're the boss around here. I am. And there's nothing a mutt like you can do about it."

Scorch rolled his eyes. 'He reminds me of Thurid Guild.' He snickered as he remembered Valkyrie telling him about the former Grand Mage and how she and Tanith had one time planted stink bombs in his house.

"What's so funny mutt?" The Doberman snarled.

Scorch looked up. "Oh nothing, just imagining your face on a pig's butt."

The Doberman began to growl. "You don't want me mad, no one does. And I'm the boss here so you can't do anything about it."

Scorch felt his anger begin to rise and he narrowed his eyes. "Well then why don't you face me and show me whose top dog."

The Doberman thought for a few moments then curled a lip. "Okay, fine." He then turned to the dogs flanking him. "Watch me mess this mutt up."

"Are you sure Spike?" The Husky asked, uncertainty in her eyes.

"Yes, this mutt doesn't know the first thing about fighting."

'You don't know a thing about me,' Scorch thought to himself.

Soon the middle of the yard was cleared, all the other dogs sitting next to the fence surrounding the yard.

"You want me to go soft or hard on you?" Scorch called over. "I recommend soft, you won't spend as much time in the vet's office."

Spike snarled.

Scorch shrugged, "Suit yourself! Oh, and good luck!"

The Great Dane stood in between the two. "Let the fight commence!" He backed away and Spike lunged.

Scorch sidestepped the attack, his mind beginning to wander. 'How long have I been here?'

Spike snarled in frustration and went low.

Scorch moved again. 'I wonder what's for dinner, I hope its steak!'

Spike was getting frustrated as he continued to lunge and snap his jaws at the black dog, none of the attacks working or having an effect on him. Scorch yawned. 'Man I'm tired, what time is it?'

Spike was confused. 'How can this dog not already be hurt?' He watched in amazement as the dog yawned. 'He was bored?'

He growled. 'Time to show this mutt who's boss.'

With a snarl he lunged, his teeth met flesh and he bit down. It was like releasing a time bomb.

The other dog hurled him all the way across the yard, Spike smashed into the ground so hard he bounced and rolled. He sat up and saw the dog glaring at him.

"You don't know who you're messing with!" the dog called. "I'm giving you one more chance to back down. Otherwise it's going to get ugly!"

Spike growled and ran full speed at the dog.

The dog looked at him, pure calm in his eyes. And when Spike was about to crash into him, slammed a paw down on his head.

Spike yelped as he felt his head smash into the ground. Pain in his jaw and neck, and then he felt teeth sharper than a knife slice into his shoulder. He was once again hurled away from the strange dog and when he looked over, saw that the dog wasn't there anymore. Spike's eyes widened then something smashed into him, driving him into the ground.

Scorch held Spike down for another few minutes than got up and walked away. 'Sad I had to do that to him,' Scorch thought to himself. 'He seemed like such a nice guy.'

"Hey!"

"Wha-at?" Scorch moaned and turned back around. "What do you want from me? I just want to go and sulk and you keep annoying me!"

Spike glared. "This isn't over, I didn't forfeit."

Scorch cocked his head. "I thought that sitting on you automatically made me the winner. Wait, we aren't playing Tennis?"

Spike growled and without a second thought, drove his teeth into the dog's throat.

Scorch felt pain in his neck and when he looked down, saw Spike with his teeth in his neck. Black blood spilled onto the ground in a pool.

Spike grinned. He had won.

But then he felt red-hot pain in his mouth and he yelped as he stumbled away. When he looked up, he saw flames licking at the wound on Scorch's neck.

The wound closed over in a few seconds, healing completely.

Scorch growled. "I don't like it when I get bit in the neck, it isn't fun. And just to let you know, you can't kill me. You'd be surprised how hard it can be to kill a Hellhound. But then again maybe you won't. Bottom line is, I can kill you with only a glance and you can't kill me at all. Isn't that fun?"

Spike stepped back. "What? How?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm afraid I never introduced myself. My name is Scorch and I'm a Hellhound who likes steak and hates Day Care Centers. Also I like playing pranks."

Spike stared. "You're a…. Hellhound?"

"Yep! Now, if you would be kind enough to leave me alone I promise not to kill you. Okay? Great!"

Scorch trotted back to his tree and curled up, falling asleep immediately.

When he woke up twenty minutes later it was time to go back in. He sat up and stretched then trotted back into the place.

'Now what should I do?'

"Come on, come on. Come on."

He continued to stare at the clock, willing it to go faster so that he could get out of this place.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

"Gah! Why won't you go faster!"

Tick.

"Grr….."

Tock.

"No! It went backwards!" Scorch cried.

Tick.

Scorch snarled and smashed the clock. "DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!" He continued jumping on it until it was only bits of rubble.

"Scorch?"

Scorch yelped and whipped around. "You."

Miss Sparkles, Hannah Foley's Chinese Crested stood staring at him.

"What are you doing here?" Scorch asked.

"What are you doing here?"

"I asked you first."

She sighed. "I'm here while Hannah's getting her nails done."

"I'm here because Valkyrie ditched me."

"Why?"

"I don't know, girl things maybe?"

"Who's Valkyrie?"

"Stephanie."

"Huh?"

"She goes by Valkyrie too."

"Oh."

"Yeah, so do you know how to break out of this joint?"

"Break….. out?"

"Yeah, you know, bust this joint."

"Uh, no."

"*****!"

Five Minutes Later…..

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" Scorch broke the door to the yard down and ran outside. He immediately ran to the chain-link fence and began banging his paws on it.

"HELP! HELP! HELP!" Scorch yelled. "SOMEBODY GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

Dusk was just walking along the street when he heard someone screaming. He cocked his head and turned to where it was coming from and saw Valkyrie's pet Hellhound, Scorch, banging his paws on a chain-link fence and screaming for help.

Curiosity got the better of him and he walked over to the Hellhound. "Scorch?"

Scorch stopped screaming and looked at him. "Dusk?"

"What are you doing?" Dusk asked.

"I'm going crazy here Dusk, you got to get me out of this place."

"How long have you been here?"

"Forever."

"What time were you dropped off?"

"I don't know, around two."

Dusk checked his phone. "It's five to three. You've been here fifty-five minutes."

"Oh."

Silence.

"You still got to get me out of here. Otherwise I'll go native and burn the world."

Dusk sighed. "Fine."

"Yes!" Scorch cheered, pumping a paw in the air. "Now here's the plan. You go to the hardware store a few blocks away. Buy a screwdriver, a pack of gum, black paint, taxidermy eyes, a raw-hide bone and ten bales of straw. Meet me back here and make a fake me out of the straw, paint it black, put in the taxidermy eyes and leave it in a corner. They won't know the difference. Then we'll use the screwdriver to get the door off its hinges and escape. No one will even suspect I escaped."

"What about the bone?"

"That's for me later, escaping makes me hungry."

Dusk looked at Scorch for a long time. "Or," he said slowly, moving farther down the fence. "I can unlatch this gate and let you out." He opened the gate.

Scorch blinked. "Or we can do that," he conceded and walked out of the yard. As soon as he stepped away from his 'prison' he cheered and took off running. "YES! I'M FREE!"

He stopped. "What am I going to do? I can't go home. Valkyrie would know I broke out. I can't go see Angel or Omen or go to Skulduggery's house. OH MY GOSH WHAT AM I GOING TO DO!" Scorch began to freak out and run in circles hyperventilating.

"Scorch. SCORCH!"

Scorch froze.

Dusk sighed. "Come to my house than. After all I have nothing better to do then babysit my enemy's pet Hellhound," he said the last part sarcastically.

"Thank you!" Scorch squealed, jumping up on Dusk and giving him a big slobbery lick on the face.

"Blech," Dusk grumbled, pushing Scorch off of him. He sighed. "Let's just go before they realize you're gone and call Animal Control."

Scorch shivered.

Dusk and Scorch sat in Dusk's living room inside of the time-locked cage he owned instead of a couch. A bowl of popcorn sat in between them. Dusk had the remote and they were currently watching the Simpsons Movie.

Dusk grabbed some more popcorn and looked over in time to see a handful levitate out of the bowl and into the Hellhound's waiting mouth.

"That's a good trick," Dusk said.

"It's one of the perks of being a supernatural creature," Scorch said.

They continued watching until Scorch pulled the entire bowl over to him and dropped his head into it.

Dusk raised an eyebrow. "I'm not eating out of that."

A muffled reply was all he got.

Scorch lifted his head to reveal an empty bowl. He burped.

"Gross."

"Sorry."

Soon it was almost dark and Scorch knew Valkyrie was going to go to the 'nightmare house' to get him. He went to open the cage door and found he couldn't open it. Before he called out to Dusk he remembered this trick. Instead of 'push' he needed to 'pull.'

It still didn't work.

"Um Dusk," he called.

"Yeah?"

"How do you get out of here?"

"Through the door," Dusk said like he was talking to a child.

"That's what I'm trying, it won't work."

"Did you pull?"

"Yes."

Dusk frowned and walked over. He tried it. Nothing. "Oh crap."

"What?"

"When you came in did you press that button?" He pointed at a red button next to the door.

"Yeah, why?"

Dusk slowly drew his hand down his face. "Can you read?" He finally asked.

"Yes."

"Then didn't you read the sign above the button that says 'to lock cage press button?'

Silence. Then Scorch hung his head. "Yes."

Dusk sighed.

"Wait!" Scorch perked up. "Why don't we just press it again and unlock it?"

"Because I press that button to lock it when I turn into a vampire at night, if I could unlock it the same way I would escape and go on a rampage."

"Oh."

Silence,

"So we're trapped."

"Yes."

"And Valkyrie doesn't know where I am."

"Yes. And it's getting dark."

"Yeah."

"And I'm a vampire."

"Yes."

"And you're trapped in here with me."

"Yes."

"And my serum is on that table over there." Dusk pointed at the table across the room.

"Oh crap."

Silence.

"We're dead."

"Yes we are. Literally." Scorch looked at Dusk.

"Right."

Soon the sun was almost set and Dusk was going to turn soon. Scorch had busied himself with trying to get the serum.

"Come on, come on." Scorch was reaching as far as he could out from in between the bars and pawing at the air.

"Any luck?" Dusk called.

"No."

Finally Scorch gave up and sat down next to Dusk and watched the sun slowly sink below the horizon.

And then Scorch had an epiphany.

"I GOT IT!" Scorch cheered, leaping back to his paws and running over to the side of the cage that faced the serum. He smashed into the bars and flopped onto the floor. The cage moved a centimeter.

"YES!"

Scorch did this repeatedly until he finally reached the table. He strained against the bars until he finally managed to hook his claws around a syringe.

"I GOT IT! IT GOT IT!" Scorch cheered. Then it slipped from his claws and rolled under the table.

"NOOOOOOO! I HAVE NO THUMBS!" Scorch screamed.

"You." Dusk said. "Idiot."

Scorch banged his head on the bars. "No. No. No. No. No."

He continued doing this for a few more minutes. Finally he sighed and turned. "Just make it quick. Here's my neck." Scorch lifted his head, exposing his neck.

"You know you could just levitate it over right?" Dusk said.

"Oh right."

The syringe floated up and through the bars over to Dusk. Dusk grabbed the syringe and injected the serum into his bloodstream then relaxed.

"Well," he said throwing the syringe away. "What should we do now?"

Scorch thought. "Cards?"

"Scorch! Scorch!" Valkyrie called as she walked down the street. She had gone to pick up Scorch from Day Care the other day only to find him missing. She had quickly told Skulduggery who said that Scorch would turn up eventually but he never came home.

So that is why she was walking around looking for her missing pet Hellhound who was so stupid he probably just got lost and ended up in a garbage can.

Suddenly she looked at a house and realized that she was at Dusk's house. She knew this because she had gone by with Scorch pulling her on a sled in January and saw Dusk going into it and when asked what he was doing said that he was going in to get some money.

Valkyrie sighed and walked up. 'May as well ask him, hey maybe he kidnapped Scorch and is holding him hostage.' She knocked on the door but got no answer so she picked the lock and entered.

She froze.

Scorch and Dusk were sitting in a cage in Dusk's living room playing cards.

"Go fish," Scorch said then looked up. "VALKYRIE!" He squealed, running up to the cage bars. Dusk looked up and followed.

"Let us out of here!" Scorch said. "We're going crazy!"

"Isn't that what you said when I sprung you from that Day Care Center?" Dusk asked.

"Oh yeah, how long ago was that three weeks?"

"It happened yesterday," Valkyrie growled.

"Really? And why do you look mad?"

"Because I am mad."

"Why would you be mad?"

"You left the place I told you to stay at and didn't tell me."

"I was planning on going back right when you came to pick me up but I locked myself in here and Dusk didn't have his serum and then when I finally got it I lost it but then I got it back and since neither of us could get out so we decided to play cards and that is what we've been doing until you came here so please let us out."

Everything went quiet.

"Scorch," Valkyrie said. "You're grounded."

"WHAT!?"

"That's right, you are to stay in my room and you aren't allowed TV, toys, or any contact with the outside world until further notice. You also are not allowed any treats except for your healthy treats."

Scorch whimpered, he was down on his belly now with his ears back. "Not the healthy treats."

"Yes the healthy treats." She walked over, unlocked the cage and grabbed Scorch by the scruff and began to drag him out of the house. "Bad Scorch. Very, very bad Scorch. You should know better than to break out of Day Care and run off with a vampire. Very bad."

Scorch continued to whimper as he was drug away, Valkyrie keeping a good grip on his scruff.

Dusk stayed back for a few minutes, not wanting to be a part of Scorch's punishment. He did not want to go up against an angry Valkyrie right now. So he left his cage and went to go do something else. 'Maybe Sanguine doesn't have anything to do either.'