Disclaimer: Surprise! As a gift for your patience since April, I've decided to bring you TWO chapters for the price of one! Here we go, Chapter 2! This takes place a year after 'A Love This Strong,' in other words, the present, or their present, whichever. I own nothing so enjoy!

Chapter 2

Fifi LaFume woke up in her bed, she had that dream again and she still wasn't used to them, matter of fact, she thought she was done with them. These dreams started off as a once-in-a-while occurrence when Furrball disappeared two years ago and when she started dating Hamton she began having them regularly. After the Tiny Toons graduated from Acme Looniversaty the dreams sort of came here and there, but their impact still had their effect on the skunkette. Those dreams were always the same, they involved Fifi driving until she could go no further, searching for the blue cat only to give up when she had nowhere else to go. Sometimes they depicted her just finding him in the alley where he lived. But no matter where they took place or whatever the occurrence, they always ended the same, Fifi being alone with Furrball's sudden disappearance a mystery to her.

It wasn't just a mystery to Fifi alone, the rest of the Tiny Toons thought about him too. Buster, Plucky and Calamity wanted to file a missing's report but even though Furrball was a Toon, he was viewed more as a cat and by the law was considered one instead. This resulted in authorities not taking the case and because the blue cat had no owner, nothing could be done. The Toons tried their best but found nothing, their case became cold with nothing else that could be done.

His disappearance didn't just affect the Tiny Toons, the Acme Loo staff were just as confused. They couldn't find any traces of him and even after graduation they still had no leads. The staff tried passing a law for Furrball to be treated as a Toon as well so they could have a proper investigation but it never passed. After seeing no use in being at the school anymore, Sylvester Cat left just before spring on the Tiny Toons' Senior year and he called Bugs to tell him that he wasn't going to return. With Furrball gone and nowhere to be found, Sylvester couldn't continue teaching nor did he want a new apprentice. Eventually, he lost contact with the Toons but was called in for the new show. Even though he was with them, he remained emotionally distant from the rest of the Looney Tunes.

Fifi dressed in her bathrobe and went downstairs to make breakfast. She noticed that Hamton was in the shower and decided to make him some too. It had been three months since she moved in with him and so far, their relationship seemed stable enough. Fifi didn't let her dreams or whatever feelings she thought she had for Furrball get in the way of that. She came downstairs and turned on the TV to Babs' sitcom and began on making breakfast.

This became a regular morning ritual for the purple skunkette, wake up, watch reruns of Babs' sitcom while waiting for Hamton to get out of the shower so she could wish him a good day at work. A few minutes later, the pig came down the stairs and kissed his girlfriend good morning, "good morning Fifi," he said sweetly, "did you wake up okay?" Hamton usually asked how her morning was or if she woke up okay, whenever she had dreams, she had to lie through her teeth, "it vas' how you say, nice, no?" Hamton chuckled and sat down.

"Oh, Babs is on," he said, "what episode is this?"

"Ze' one vhere' she takes a job az' a waitress," she replied, "mon favorite part iz' vhen' she drops ze' dee'shes on ze' customers."

"Oop, there she goes." They laughed as they saw the aforementioned scene. The pig was now served, cream cheese sandwiches with mayo, no crust, he ate it up and prepared himself for work. "I'll see you tonight at work, Fifi," Hamton said as he kissed her goodbye, "Dizzy called me in to deejay again tonight." He was off and Fifi decided to head upstairs to shower.

Two years have passed since graduation. Everything seemed the same to everyone else since the first year but the second was when everything changed. Babs's sitcom finished within the year because she ended up with her own talk show, Buster now not only starred in his own cartoon shorts but he also owned his proper studio where he invited all of his friends to participate in occasional shorts. Together, the bunnies were now pregnant with their first child. Plucky and Shirley were now engaged but held the wedding for much later. Hamton inherited his family's cleaning business since his parents retired and because of his deejay skills, Dizzy Devil hired him to be his deejay for whenever possible at his bar. Fifi was indeed a model for a short time but she was always gone away from her loved ones so she decided to end that career and became a bartender and singer for Dizzy's bar and also to accompany Hamton.

Fifi stood in the shower as the water came down, "Furrball…"

…

Night came and Fifi prepared herself, wearing the proper uniform Dizzy picked out for her and left. She drove her car that was no longer her home, although she still treated it as if it were, keeping accessories in there that she knew she would forget at home. She drove to the bar and was ready for the night.

As she walked in, she met up with Arnold and Arnolda, she was a bartender too but she saw herself better as a bouncer for the bar instead. Fifi walked inside and met up with Dizzy's girls, "Fifi, thank GOD you're here!" exclaimed one of them, "vhat' is eet'? she asked.

"Those cats over there in table 7 are getting obnoxious again!" the first one pointed at the six alley cats slamming bottles on the table and yelling out stupidity.

"Dizzy said that if they're not dealt with soon they're going to scare away all the customers!"

"And from the looks of them, I don't think they're the type who likes being told what to do."

"Vhat' about 'er?" Fifi pointed to a female cat with a very long tail coiled around her waist, "she's with them but just keeps ignoring us," one of the girls replied. Those cats have been coming in the bar for a year now and Dizzy became very fed up with them. He wanted to eat them but he knew that would be even worse for business so he had his bartenders deal with them instead, but if things got out of hand, the Tasmanian Devil still had Arnold and Arnolda waiting outside.

"It's alley cats like them that give all other cats a bad name," said one of the girls, Fifi tilted her head at that remark but right away shook it off and headed to the table. Hamton was walking on the stage to set up his equipment when he saw the skunkette in front of the gang of alley cats, "I hope she knows what she's doing," he said to himself, "why does Dizzy keep letting them in?"

Fifi walked up to them, "excusez-moi," she cleared her throat loud enough for them to hear, "but ze' owner of ze' bar sez' zhat' if you are not quiet zhen' we are, 'ow you say, cutting you off."

"Aww how sweet," O'Wildec claimed as he reached for Fifi. She felt his paw on her and right away whacked it away with her tail, "ooh," whistled Clawz, "this skunk's…got spunk!" the other cats joined in as they razzled with him. Hamton saw from afar but turned his back for he knew what would happen, he's seen Fifi in action too many times that he felt he could miss it just this once. Dizzy's girls looked on as Fifi walked over to the cat in the camo vest, the skunkette gently put her hands around his face and brought him in closer, "try your luck to see if vous really does 'ave nine lives."

Lid finished her drink and walked over to them, "alright that's enough!" she used her tail and separated Fifi and Clawz, "it's getting late, Lious needs us back anyway." She led the others out while Fifi and the girls stood there confused, "zhat' vas' easier than usual," she stated.

"Yeah, usually they'd just threaten us or at least not give in so quickly and then leave."

"Well they haven't done anything to the place yet so at least we've gotten them under some control."

"Maybe Dizzy's right in letting them be regulars."

Fifi nodded in agreement, "az' long az' zhey' don't bring zhey're gang war in 'ere zhen' we'll be fine." She walked over to Hamton and greeted him quickly before reporting to Dizzy.

…

The alley cats made it to their usual hangout, under a sewer. Their place was dark and damp but it gave them the edge to take on water, something that cats couldn't stand. One of them said a word, they just kept walking until they reached their destination, with Lious sitting before them on a couch cushion. The look he gave them was intimidating enough, Nicus appeared from behind them, giving each of them a glare.

Lious stood up, "it's come to my attention that for some reason we've decided to be reckless," he announced calmly, "for the past year we've been protectin' our alley from other alley inhabitants such as the Possums, the Rats and especially the Raccoons yet for some reason we're still alive!" Lious walked around the cats while Nicus moved to the front where Lious just was, "now, normally that would be a good thing," the orange cat continued, "Hell, that would be a great thing but somethin's just not right, correct me if I'm wrong and I dare you to do that, but I've had Nicus keepin' track of your lives." Lious stopped in front of Feral, "this leads me to ask you all, how many lives do you have left?" None of them answered, they hoped he would get the message, "really?" he asked sarcastically, he looked around, "so after all the wars we've had this past year, I'm supposed to believe that you still have all nine of your lives intact?!"

He moved over to Tus, "I suppose you have that eye patch because you don't need a second eye, right?!" Tus looked down, "six," he whispered, "what was that?" Lious asked him, "I have six lives left, boss." Lious nodded and slowly walked over to Whisk, "take off your bandanna, the white cat obeyed and revealed a gashing cut, it was in the process of healing but it still looked hideous, it didn't match too well with his white fur. "One of the Rats gave that to you," the big orange cat told him, Whisk nodded, "cheap shot," was all he could say until he took a deep breath and answered that he had four lives left. Lious didn't continue this routine as the rest of his gang stepped forward and confessed, most of them didn't have less than three, the only one who did have all nine was the quiet Feral, this was because he was the cat who always 'finished the job.'

Lious motioned for Nicus to get ahold of Lid while he went for Mestic, "and how many lives do the both of you have?!" he demanded, "I ask this because I'm still wondering how long is it gonna' take until one of you kills the other!" Neither Lid nor Mestic said anything, "I've noticed the drama between you two," Lious stated, the restrained alley cats turned away from their gazes, "and whatever goes on between you two stays between you two, you're makin' the rest of us look soft!" The two cats looked up with scowls each other, "either get together, break up or whatever your status is, like anyone's still keeping track, and keep it away from the rest of us, it'll be our downfall! Now now many lives are still hangin' by a thread?"

Lid looked back at Nicus who shot her a glare, "five," she finally answered. Lious looked at Mestic, "I suppose you have five as well, Romeo?" Lious let him go and began to walk away, "four," Mestic answered, Nicus immediately let go of Lid's tail, the brown cat looked at him confused and Lious immediately turned back around to face the blue-shaded cat.

"I thought you had five," Lid stated.

"I took a deathblow when your back was turned when we fought against the Raccons," Mestic replied.

"Ahh," Lious mocked, "and so the plot thickens, well deal with it on your own time, right now we gotta' eat!" he turned to Feral, "go out there and get our food, since you still have all nine lives it's more safe for you to roam the streets." Feral nodded.

"Aw let me go, Boss!" O'Wildec shouted, "I still have all of my nine lives, I'll get the food! Anyone who stands in my way will get clawed!" The small orange cat ran up to them and removed his shades, revealing his 'sweet eyes.'

"Oh really?" Lious asked him, "you still have all nine lives?"

"Yeah, I'm a survivor," O'Wildec claimed, "pain is nothin' an' I've been cheatin' death forever!"

Lious narrowed his eyes and folded his arms, "so I suppose that car that hit you two weeks ago didn't drop your life count?"

"Nope, see? Still in one piece!"

"Or what about the time when you swiped a gun from one of the Possums and you dropped it and ended up shooting yourself in the chest?"

"It slipped, Possums were probably playin' wit' oil grease, besides, I have a strong chest." O'Wildec flexed his chest to the big orange cat while Nicus gave him a confused glare.

"How about the time when you guys were playin' darts at Dizzy's and somehow the dart ended up stabbed through your head?"

"Uh…it was a prop?" Lious looked him dead in the yes for a minute while O'Wildec tried his hardest to look honest.

"Alright then," Lious agreed, the other cats were confused, "you can go get the food instead." O'Wildec nodded and headed for the surface, wiping his hunger-infested drool from his mouth.

"Oh, and O'Wildec!" Lious called for him, "make sure ya' don't get jumped again an' have most of the food robbed from us again like last time, we missed you at that 'dinner table' ya' know?" The smaller cat nodded nervously and shot him a smile as he went up the surface. Lious dismissed the other cats so they roamed the sewers until they were called again.

"Duh, Boss," Nicus finally spoke up, "I've checked O'Wildec's records, he's only got one life left."

"Of course he does!" Lious shouted, "that idiot's the reason I called them in in the first place!"

"Den' I guess you already know he's also the one who's been holdin' out on us from the food?"

"That's why I sent him out there, what cat in their right mind wouldn't think I'd know?!

"No cat can survive all dat' an' su'vive," Nicus began to leave him there but he turned back around, "what if somethin' happens to 'im? Aren't ya' at least a bit worried?"

"He didn't care that he wasted eight of his lives, why should I care if it's just one more?" Lious turned back to face Nicus, "speakin' of lives bein' taken away, you have anythin' to report about…?"

"Nothin' yet, that law didn't pass an' it seems they've given up a while ago."

"Good, we still got away wit' murder."

…

It was dark, past midnight, and all of Acme Acres was getting quiet. Night had that effect, it was peaceful with a gentle breeze whistling through. It was then interrupted by the sound of a crow's wings flapping in the air and it cawing sound. The crow flew an abandoned house and landed on the mailbox, it wasn't sturdy enough so it broke off, leaving only the name nailed on it intact, Duff. The crow flew towards the house, flying by a pile of newspapers that have been stacked up for a while now, and through the shattered windowsill.

The crow directed its attention to what appeared to be a burlap sack and flew towards it, landing on top. It examined the sack and its surroundings, there were small clothes everywhere, too small to be for infants, they looked more to be pet-sized. Even the inside of the house looked rundown, the walls were warped, dust and cobwebs everywhere, and there was even a few paint cans by the doorway of the room the crow was in. It shifted its focus once again to the sack it was on top of and cawed as loud as it could. The crow continued cawing, it echoed throughout Acme Acres.

Then, the black bird started pecking at the bag and it began to rip open. It used its beak to try biting through the sack; the fabric on it was already old and weak that it was pretty simple to rip through it. That's when it felt movement, the sack moved and made a soft moaning sound. The crow flew off and onto the top of an open door to see a dark-blue furred cat slowly emerge from the sack.

The cat had a dirty brown-colored shirt on with ripped holes in it, he slowly got up and collapsed. The cat opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings, he gasped and shuddered at what he saw. Then he looked at his body, he touched his shirt and saw the ripped holes.

You're not goin' anywhere!

The cat cringed as he heard that voice coming from his head.

I've got you at last!

The cat held his head as another voice painfully went through his ears.

It means I'm gonna' do what I shoulda' done years ago!

This voice was accompanied with a vision, now his eyes were hurting. His head was throbbing but for the moment the visions and voices stopped. He opened his eyes and noticed something on the wall. He moved his overgrown head fur and brushed it back and slowly walked to it. The object was covered in dust, he touched it but before he could wipe it off he had another vision.

How does this one look on you, kitty-witty-kins?

He saw an orange-haired girl with a small skull on her head holding a small blue cat dressed in weird clothing, that was him! He yelped when the vision disappeared and punched the wall, barely missing the dust-coated object. The cat slowly wiped the dust and saw himself in the mirror! Furrball stepped back in utter shock as more visions and voices began filling his head. A few minutes later, he began remembering who he was and that's when he finally realized it, "I'm…home."

To be continued…

A/N: Furrball's back! You can do what you want to him but he's never staying down! Now that he's back, what now? Find out in next week's update, until next time!