A well tended garden filled with professionally grown roses, hedges, and imported flora houses a lively gazebo. Lively for the dogs cradled by their pet humans as they lap fresh spring water, that is. The trio of dogs gab and gossip about here-say as they discuss what they have missed during the DVPI. However, Clarissa Corgi finds herself irritated, likely due to the cacophony of noise that explodes from her neighbor's backyard.

Clarissa places a limp paw over her head. "Ohhh, even with all of London stuck inside, Hugo and I could still hear the chaos that reigns from that awful house just across the fence!"

"Simply dreadful!" Prunella the pug adds.

"What ever happened to getting those spotty neighbors 'moved'?" Arabella interjects. "They appear to be as stubborn as ticks on a common street mutt," She snorts.

Clarissa's ears lower. "Er…well, erm…one's simply had to postpone that. Yes, yes, you see, Hugo had suffered a terrible injury to his head upon returning home around then, causing his hair to fall out. One simply did everything in one's power to uh, pamper one's pet."

Prunella and Arabella exclaim with surprise, looking over at Hugo's hair, which appears no different than it always has. They send praise towards Clarissa, who smugly puffs her chest out, happy that she successfully hid away that Hugo's injury was from one of her daily tantrums. As Clarissa goes to add on to her fib…

Whap!

A bright blue bone shaped chew toy smacked against the back of Clarissa's head, knocking her snoot into her bowl of water. Prunella, Arabella, and the three humans gasp, while Clarissa pulls her face up with a mean grimace. Face sopping wet, Clarissa waddles over to the fence dividing the two yards and begins scaling it.

Hugo stands. "Now, now, Clarissakins, one understands your fury, but-oh!" An alarm rumbles from Hugo's phone. "The tea must be ready, one moment ladies!" He disappears into the house as his guests simply watch Clarissa's stubby Corgi legs scramble up the fence. The Corgi perches her elbows on the fence, still bearing her fangs as she watches nearly a hundred Dalmatians run amok. She scans the yard for the usual two caretaker siblings, Dolly and Dylan. She notices Dolly on the trampoline, hardly opening her eyes as she bounces higher and higher.

"Hey!" Clarissa barks. "One cannot enjoy one's afternoon with these…these spotty shenanigans going on!" She growls, but notices that not a single dog turned to acknowledge her. "Are your ears full of mud? One is addressing you mangy mutts!" Clarissa begins yipping and yapping, demanding attention. Another bright blue chew toy flies in Clarissa's direction. She yelps as it barely misses her head.

Dolly stands defensively, frowning at the Corgi. "Back off, Clarissa! You may have helped us that day, but that doesn't mean you can boss us around!"

Clarissa gasps. "HOW dare you-"

Dizzy cuts her off. "Oi! Is the mean old Rotund Roundy botherin' us?"

"Dolly, make the Rotund Roundy leave us alone!" Dee Dee whines.

"N-now see here-"

Diamond, one of the other Dalmatians, joins in: "Oh, how dreadful. One cannot stand dogs who gab and whine about trivial affairs. Away with you, Rotund Roundy." She waves a paw at Clarissa, whose jaw drops.

"Y-y-you…you, RUFF-RAFF!" Clarissa yells, turning red in the face. "Pester moi at your own peril, mutts! Maybe this time, I'll have PC Pearl arrest all of y-waaah!" Clarissa's cut off by Hugo pulling her down. She wiggles and writhes in his hands, trying her best to break free from his grasp.

"Clarissa!" Hugo scolds. "What have I told you about the neighbors?! This simply won't stand, we have guests over!" He sits back down, placing an arm around Clarissa to keep her at bay. Clarissa continues to pry herself away for a moment, but stops when she realizes that her guests are staring. Prunella and Arabella butt in together, shouting choice words about Clarissa's neighbors while she sinks into Hugo's arms, ashamed she made such a fool of herself.

"Hah!" Dolly laughs. "Serves you right. Nice one, tellin' that Corgi off!" She looks at her siblings with a toothy grin.

Dante walks up to the group, frowning more than usual. "Dolly…isn't it Dawkins and I's turn to be top dog?"

"Positronly!" Dawkins adds from a distance, trying to untangle some of his siblings from a tugging rope. "The fam simply won't learn to stop depending on you, Dylan, or I if we solve problems for them, Dolly. Next time, let Dante handle it."

Dolly shudders, "Oh dog! Am I turning into Dylan…? Cuz if so, I think I'm gonna be sick!"

"I heard that!" Dylan shouts from his treehouse. "There's nothing wrong with being like me, guys. I mean, look at Dawkins and Dante! We have so much in common, they've been handling top dog pretty well until you interfered, Dolly."

"Says the dog with his telescope pointed at the yard," Dolly rolls her eyes. "But you're right, boys, I'll let you two handle it from here. I gotta grab my board and go, I have a dat-THING, thing with Prince Flapjack."

"Did somebody say they have a date!?" Dallas prances into the conversation.

"Mingling with royalty, Dolly? Ohh, do tell!" Destiny coos.

"You like dates?! Those shriveled weird thingies? Yuck!" Déjà Vu gags. The other two members of Triple-D look unamused. "And what's a mingle, anyway? …We're talking about fruit and stuff, riiight?"

Dolly furls a brow, and sighs. "Alright, I'm out." Dolly grabs her board in her mouth, jumps onto the trampoline and flips onto it in the air. "Dante, you got this! Dawkins, keep it up!" Her voice shrinks as she shreds the pavement away.

An hour and a half later, Clarissa and Hugo bid farewell to their guests as they step down the porch, leaving the premises. Clarissa ponders about being pampered by Hugo as a means to forget the embarrassment of earlier's events, but she shakes her head. She stands nose-up in front of the sliding door, knowing Hugo will let her into the backyard again.

"I beg of you, please do not engage with the neighbors, Clarissa!" Hugo slides the door open. "I will go freshen up, I trust that you will be on your most proper behavior."

Clarissa nods as she waddles out the door, sliding it closed. She turns away and shakes her head. "Ohh, one doesn't deserve such a self-sufficient pet! Now then, onto the plague that infests one's afternoons." Immediately, Clarissa scuttles up onto the fence, peering down at the neighbor's backyard with a frown. But to her surprise, the backyard is completely empty. She scans around the lawn. No dogs on the trampoline, none are playing with the hose, not even a single blade of grass excavated. She huffs in frustration, ready to go back inside and indulge herself. But a gleam of light catches her eye.

From the Dalmatian yard's treehouse, a telescope pokes out, pointed at the windows of their house. Ever so slightly, Clarissa notices the telescope twitch a little, as if somebody was moving it.

Clarissa smiles deviously. "Yes, of course! The weakest link, finally somebody to punish!" She clears her throat, and puts on the sweetest tone she can imagine. "Ohhhh, Dylan~ Won't you come out? One desires to speak with you!" She sighs breathily, hoping that caught his attention.

Suddenly, the telescope pointed upward towards the sun, followed by the screams of the space cadet. Dylan groans as he stumbles out the red door of his treehouse, looking around for the source of the voice. His ears lower when he realizes who called him. "Oh. Hello, Clarissa."

"Never mind that!" Her sweetness clicks to unbridled anger. "One demands that you take control over your rowdy family! Especially Dolly and the ruffians that called one such an undignified insult!" Dylan mutters something under his breath. Clarissa raises an ear. "What? Speak up, Dalmatian. One will not tolerate hesitation in this situation."

Dylan sits up straight and shivers. "I-I said, that's not my problem today."

"Wha-huh? You are one of the caretakers to your…extensive family, are you not?"

"Yes, but it's one of my off days. It's a new system we're trying out."

"You? Have an 'off day'?" Clarissa chortles. "One will believe it when one sees it."

Dylan groans. "Look, if that's what you wanted to bother me about, take it up with Dante and Dawkins. It's their turn." He turns to walk back into the treehouse.

Clarissa, not satisfied with his answers, decides to take things further. She wiggles herself across the fence into the Dalmatian's yard. She switches back to her sweet-ish voice. "Wait, wait, Dylan! One desires to erm, gab with you some more~"

Dylan swishes around, showing his fangs. "Would you quit it with that voice? If you're trying to pull another stupid prank, I-I'll chew you out like at the soirée."

To Dylan's surprise, Clarissa winces. "Now, now, no need to get nasty, Dalmatian. One simply wanted to ask about that rather busy collar of yours." She points at Dylan's space themed collar.

"…Really?"

"Yes."

"Um…okay…?" Dylan shrugs, but his tail wag gives away his true feelings about space-talk. "I added a moon and planet to my collar a little while after the DVPI. They're not based on any real satellites or planets, but I think they're neat."

Clarissa looks at Dylan's collar and sniffs them. "Ah. So that's where those aromas are wafting from."

"O-oh, do you mean the lavender and chamomile? Yeah, that comes from the new charms." Dylan lowers his ears. "I'm a little embarrassed by it. They're meant to help calm me down in case things get too wild."

"Oh." Clarissa finds her nose a little too close to Dylan's collar, prompting her to back away and rise her snoot into the air. "Well, one is impressed by a pleasant scent, unlike the usual odor coming from you Dalmatians."

"Hey! That's so uncalled for! If it were possible for nearly one hundred dogs to smell good all the time, we would," Dylan frowns. "Time for me to start askin' questions. Back when the DVPI happened, I remember seeing you of all dogs tailing that Devil woman's car. Why would you do that? Of all the dogs in London, I would think you'd have a laugh about that."

"Ohh, Dylan, one is proper mean, not pure evil. Even if I despise Dalmatians, one couldn't sta-"

"Clarissakins! Time for walkies!" Hugo's voice echoes.

"Oh! One must be going now. See to it that my grievances find the right ears, Dalmatian." Clarissa begins climbing the fence.

"W-wait!" Dylan grabs Clarissa tail on accident, causing her to growl. "Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to. If you want…maybe we could continue this conversation? After dinner and the pups are in bed, I can sneak you into my treehouse. Don't worry, it's spotless…not including me of course, but I think it was nice to fin-"

"Dylan!" Clarissa yells. "One cannot stand this! If it pleases you, one will be there. Hugo likely won't mind. In short, quit your yapping, one must be off!" She continues up the fence in a hurry, trying to hide the blush on her cheeks.

Clarissa lands on top of a boxy shrub, getting tangled in the leafage as she yelps. Hugo notices a rustling bush and runs over to rescue his dear Corgi. In an instant, Clarissa finds herself in the lap of Hugo, a huge dog-brush gently scraping through her fur. She doesn't notice when some fur snags a little too hard as she lies her head down, staring at a carpet while Hugo lectures her.

What was the reason for Clarissa deciding to help the Dalmatians in their time of need against the Devil woman? Though she never really thought about it, her jumping on the back of that car helped the Dalmatians find the vehicle, and innocent bystanders were able to contact the authorities just in time. Unknowingly, Clarissa potentially saved at least a few lives in a seemingly sudden act of kindness. But…why?

Has something awoken with the Corgi's heart, allowing her to realize that her neighbors aren't as bad as she deems them to be? There have been situations before the incident where Clarissa has gotten along with the Dalmatians, like Dylan when she believed he was a prince. Even if it was for her own potential gain, she was willing to marry the Dalmatian. And then there's the tail-grab from a few moments ago. No dog would ever dare lay a digit on Clarissa's fur, let alone her tail. They would be shred to pieces! And yet, while she was scaling the fence, she didn't feel a need to destroy the commoner handling her precious tail. Her growl was out of impulse nature and she felt her face burn red, not from anger, but something else. Clarissa shakes her head as she grabs the leash in her mouth, pulling Hugo down the steps. Maybe…meeting with Dylan again won't be so dreadful.

Meanwhile, a few hours later, Dylan is back in his treehouse deciding between a session of the Poodlewolf video game or revising his collection of books on Pluto and the dwarf versus planet debates. But suddenly…

Knock-knock-knock.

"Huh? Come in…?" Said Dylan.

The red door swings open, revealing Dolly and Prince Flapjack in the door frame. Dylan springs from his lying position and greets the prince with every respectful bone in his body, amazed to see him in his treehouse.

"Please, one does not indulge in formalities like this…Dylan, is it?" Flapjack tilts his head.

Dylan struggles to keep a smile on his face. "Yeah-huh, uh, I mean, uh, yes, your…Flapjack…sir."

"Uh…why don't you go wait inside with the fam, FJ?" Dolly begins pushing Flapjack out the door with her head. "I wanted you to meet Dylan, but I think he's in a weird mood right now."

"Oh! Um, it was nice meeting you anyway, Dylan!" Flapjack says as he descends the treehouse stairs. A knock on a door can be heard, followed by several excited Dalmatian voices. "D-don't be long, Dolly!"

"Okay!" She turns to Dylan with a frown. "I heard something strange from the fam. What were you doin' talking to Clarissa?"

"Huh? What's the big deal, bark-breath?"

"As if she's a friend of ours, slobber-face! You know she was trying to chew us out earlier. If I weren't hanging with FJ right now, I'd give her a piece of my mind…"

"Dolly, chill." Dylan sighs. "Unsurprisingly, Clarissa was being Clarissa. I just told her what the situation was, and she seemed to back off."

"Really? Well, good. I can't see that stubby snooty Corgi as nice, even if she did help us once! She's just as guilty as that devil woman!"

Dylan winces. "Maaaybe dial back the Corgi rubbishing. Not that Clarissa is innocent or anything. Your guest is a Corgi, if you haven't noticed."

"You know that's not what I mean! Ugh, c'mon! I invited FJ over for dinner, so I need you to be there in case things go wild! Or dad starts telling embarrassing stories. FJ likes things unplugged, but I think our fam's a bit more than that."

After a long, embarrassing dinner session filled with obnoxious dad humor and the prince reassuring everyone that he's fine with "street talk", Dolly skates the royal corgi back home. Back at the Dalmatian house, Dylan quietly supervises Dawkins and Dante help the fam get ready for bed. Though he has no reason to watch over the newer caretakers, Dylan couldn't help but feel nervous about his arrangements. Why was Clarissa so invested in him all of a sudden? What reason did she have to accept his invitation? The thought of her actions being another long-term prank creeps into his theories. So, Dylan waited for Dolly to make it back home, as she likes to check in with him before heading to bed. And when the final light in the house goes dark, Dylan sighs heavily. He sits on his bean bag and stares pensively at the red door.

Scratch-Scratch-Scratch!

Dylan's fur stands at points. He gulps as he reaches for the door.

Notes: Though I hope it is obvious, I do want to remind that this fic is a sort of hypothetical after Season 1's finale, at least an entire month after.

Featured Incidental Dalmatian: Diamond, written as an alternative interpretation to a snooty dog, unlike Clarissa or her friends.

Song: romantic broadcast by vcr-classique during Dylan and Clarissa talking.