Disclaimer: Garfield and all related characters are the intellectual property of Paws Inc. and Paramount Global/Nickelodeon at the time this story was written.
Chapter 7: Misery Loves (and Needs) Company
One Hour Earlier…
Jon and Liz immediately step out of the car as soon as they reach the alley where the video was recorded. The area is now quiet, for the crazy dogman's fifteen minutes of fame has already come and gone. Desperate for any leads, the two humans scour the entire alley for any evidence that they can use to help them find wherever the two missing pets have gone to after the dust has settled down.
"Yep, there was definitely a struggle here." Liz said to herself, examining a torn-up piece of the crazy man's shirt.
"Anything that'll help us find Odie and Garfield?" Jon asks.
"Nada." The veterinarian replies. "It'd be a miracle if we find even a hairball around here."
"DAMNIT!" The cartoonist furiously shouts, kicking a rock out of the alley.
"Calm down, Jon." Liz insists. "We will find them."
"Yeah, only after they're roadkill." Jon said pessimistically, stepping out of the alley to take a breath.
Liz, deeply concerned for her friend's well-being, continues investigating the area for any useful evidence. After coming short, she steps out of the alley to find the depressed cartoonist sitting alone on the sidewalk…
…doubtful if he'll ever see Garfield and Odie, and their smiles, again.
"Anything?" He asks, still clinging onto a shiny speck of hope.
Liz only responds by shaking her head.
"Figures."
The veterinarian sits down next to him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"What's the use?" The cartoonist asks, his hands covering his face. "I'm a terrible owner! I always was!"
"Jon, how could you even say that?" Liz asks, shocked by what he just said.
"Because I am!" He suddenly shouts, startling her. "I swore to Lyman when he died that I'd protect Odie with my life, and I've done nothing but break that promise, just like how I broke my promise to Garfield when I adopted him!"
Liz watches the tears splatter onto the ground, as Jon struggles not to completely break down right in front of her.
"*SIGH* I always wanted a cat ever since I was a kid…
*SNIFF*
…but now I know why my parents never got one for me…
*SNIFF*
…because they knew I wouldn't be able to take care of it!"
Liz, for the first time in her life since her cat's death long ago, was at a complete loss of words, for nothing she can say will be able to help Jon, for she could barely handle seeing her best friend, her only friend, like this…
…so demoralized…
…so helpless…
…so…
…broken.
The veterinarian slowly and gently wraps her arms around the sobbing cartoonist, bringing him closer to her, and letting the tears fall onto her coat. For what seemed like an eternity to them, the two haven't spoken a word…
…for the hug is all Liz needed to prove to him that she'll always be there…
…just as he is always there for her.
Professor Smith's patience grows more and more thin by each passing minute, for the monitor relaying the camera footage being recorded by his drones is showing nothing but static. His blue dog watches him anxiously, bracing himself for when his master is about to lose control of his temper, which isn't pretty in the slightest.
"Those damn drones should've brought him to me by now." The scientist said, frustrated by the incompetence of his own machines. "I mean, how hard is it to catch one fricking dog!?"
However, instead of lashing out at everything else in a fit of unadulterated rage, the professor can't help but admire this canine's sheer determination, for it only makes it even more clear to him that this dog is the very one he needs for Project K-9 to finally reach its completion.
"He's clearly desperate as hell to find that feline companion of his." He points out to himself. "Assuming he hasn't already been burned to death when the truck crashed. Nah, it'd be all over the news if that were the case, and so far, no noticeable feline deaths have seem to be reported today, which makes it rather certain that he's still-"
And in that very moment, that's when a new idea is suddenly formulated into his brilliant brain.
"Hmmm, I ponder…
…if I send my remaining drones to…
…yes…
…yes, yes, YES!
With this new plan now fully cooked into his head, the professor proceeds to quickly activate all of his remaining drones from their slumber, his dog cowering in fear under the chair as he closely watches them all fly towards their master, awaiting their new orders.
"Soon, my cute, little doggie…
…you'll be back within my grasp…
…and Project K-9 will finally be complete!"
Present Time…
*YAAAAWWWWN* Odie stretches his paws, his body waking up from a nice, long nap inside what appears to be a bedroom of a little girl, what with all the toys on the floor contrasting with its rather refined interior decorations. Looking down at his feet, he finds them standing on top of a pillow placed on top of a pile of freshly scented bed sheets. Gazing around the room, the dog spots a young child imagining herself having a "tea party" with her "friends", as in, her array of assorted dolls and plushies "sitting" on a small table.
"Oh, you're finally up." Becky said, having just heard the dog's long-winded yawning. "How are you feeling, little puppy?" She asks, standing up from her seat and approaching him.
*EH* Odie shrugs, his body still recovering from the injuries, further evident by the small amount of pain still persistently lingering on his back.
"Are you thirsty?" The girl asks. "Would you like some tea?"
*MMM HMM* The dog nods, his stomach craving to have at least something to digest in there.
"Okay." Becky heads over to her table and pours a pinch of tea on a small teacup. "*GASP* Sally, what an awfully rude thing to say to our guest!" She suddenly scolds one of her dolls.
*HEH HEH HEH HEH* Odie lets out a chuckle, for the girl's rebuking words towards an inanimate object reminds him very much of whenever Garfield would scold Pooky whether he did something "reprehensible".
"We're gonna have a serious talk about this later, young lady!" Becky said, finishing her "conversation" with the toy as she carries the teacup over to the thirsty canine. The dog can tell the poor girl is very lonely just by observing her behavior with the toys.
"Here you go, little pupsky." She hands Odie the small porcelain glass. Immediately, he sticks his tongue into the cup, his tongue swooping in as much of the warm liquid into his mouth as quickly as possible, causing some of it to spill onto the clean sheets beneath his feet.
"*GASP* Puppy, that's not how to properly drink tea!" The girl said, swiping the cup before he could spill even more tea onto the fabric. "Looks like I'm gonna have to teach you some manners."
Becky places the cup down and picks up the dog, pushing one of her plushies off a chair and placing him onto it. "Alright, let's try this again."
Pouring another glass, she hands it over to Odie, whose stomach is ready for another chugging round of the girl's aromatic beverage.
"Okay, now hold your cup like this." Becky instructs him, grabbing an empty teacup and gesturing her fingers on the handle to showcase how to properly hold onto one. "Make sure that both your thumb and forefinger are pinched between the handle, and then…"
As she continues lecturing to him about the proper etiquette of teacup holding, the dog, once again, proceeds to chug the cup's entire contents in one large gulp.
*BUUURRRRRRRP* He lets out a loud burp, his mouth spitting out a portion of his drink right onto the table.
"Doggie!" Becky scolds, disgusted by the spilt tea on her otherwise clean table. "Now look what you did! If father sees this, he'll never let me have tea in here ever again!"
*MMM MMMMM* Odie whimpers, apologizing for his rude behavior.
"Oh, it's okay, puppy." The girl pats the dog's head, his adorable, little face preventing her from staying mad at him for very long. "We'll just start from the top, okay?"
*ARF* Odie happily barks…
*SLUUUUURP*
…and gives her a nice, big doggie kiss.
"Eugh!" Becky wipes the drool off her face before blankly turning her attention to the reader. "This is gonna take longer than I thought."
"There it is!"
"Finally." Garfield sighs in relief as they approach the air vent vital to their escape from the old lady's house. "It feels like I've been crawlin' this place for hours!"
"Alright big guy, break that thing loose, and you'll be all free!" The mouse said, squeezing himself through the vent.
*HURRRRRRRR!* The cat uses all his might to push the last remaining obstacle impeding his path to freedom…
…which isn't saying much, considering how tight the vent is screwed onto the wall, and his lack of energy needed to pry it open due to a shortage of proper food (i.e., lasagna) in his stomach.
"UGGGH!" Garfield loudly groans in utter frustration, for his freedom is so close, yet remains so far from his grasp. "Well, guess I'll just have to find another way out, or be contempt with eating nothing but gravel and low-calorie cat food for the rest of my life."
*ROOOOWARRRR* He suddenly hears a loud growling sound.
Turning around, the orange cat finds himself face-to-face with another cat who's been tracking him down through the vents.
"Oh great, as if this day couldn't possibly get any worse!" Garfield angrily shouts, becoming insanely fed up with everyone and their freakin' grandma chasing him everywhere he goes. "Listen ma'am, I know I've been a rude customer, but until you guys improve upon the quality and variety of the food on your menu, I ain't ever comin' back to this restaurant!"
*RRREEEEOOOWWWW* The other cat furiously shrieks, ready to lunge at him at any moment.
"Okay, seriously, I know you can actually talk." Garfield points out, rolling his eyes. "So just speak up already!"
"*SIGH* Fine!" The female cat said. "Just tryin' to play up the dramatics, is all."
"Yeah, well I'm not in the mood for your thespian audition right now!" Garfield said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a friend to find, and a nice home to get back to."
"Heh heh, that can be arranged." The other cat sneers, grabbing onto and pulling his tail to drag him back with her.
"Let go of me NOW!" Garfield growls, a scuffle ensuing between him and one the old lady's many loyal servants.
Outside the house, the mouse begins losing his patience as he's still waiting for Garfield to catch up.
"What's takin' him!?" The mouse asks. "I know cats like to take their sweet ass time, but this is gettin' ridiculous."
*BAM*
The vent's cover suddenly breaks apart from the wall and plummets all the way down to the grassy field encircling the front yard.
*RRRRRREEEEEOOOOOWWWWW*
…followed by the two shrieking felines clawing and wrestling with each other as they fall right onto the grille, the female cat landing on top of Garfield and clenching onto his paws to prevent him from escaping.
"And I thought cats always land on their feet." The mouse jests.
"Shut up."
*RRRRRREEEEEEEEEOOOOOWWWWW*
The femme feline lets out an immensely loud cry, alerting the old woman and all the other cats inside to their current location.
"Fluffy!?" The elderly woman immediately rushes out the front door upon hearing the cat's scream.
"Terrific." Garfield said, kicking his captor right in the face, causing her to lose her grip on him, and buying him just enough time to start running as far away from this place as possible…
*RRRROOOWWWWAARRRR*
…only to be surrounded by the old lady and her entire army of loyal cats!
"Even more terrific."
"Oh, my dear Fluffy. Why would you run away from me and your family again?" The woman asks, tears welling from her eyes. "*SNIFF* Don't you know how much I love you!?"
"Yeah, if you mean that in a crazy, murderous sort of way." Garfield replies.
"Ditto on that one." The mouse agrees with him, remembering all the times he's very nearly got his small head cracked open by that big, metallic stick.
"What's gotten into ya, Fluffy!?" One of her loyal feline subordinates asks. "You were just fine livin' here 'bout a week ago."
"But I'm not Fluffy!" The orange cat points out. "How can any of you be this stupid to not tell the difference, or see that she wants to kill me!?"
"Is it about the food, Fluffy?" The old lady asks. "Cause I'll feed you anything you want! Tacos, pizza, lasagna, anything! Just please don't leave me again!" She begs him, dropping her metal bat to the ground.
Garfield's conscience begins to feel a perceptible amount of guilt as his ears can pick up the cracks coming from her pleading voice continuously begging him not to leave her. On the other hand, this same crazy woman attempted to crack his skull open with a flippin' metal bat! Yet, she's willing to offer him all the lasagna he can eat…
…just like how Jon used to before the diet.
After pondering to himself for a moment, the cat finally comes to a conclusion.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but while your lasagna offer is very intriguing, I kindly reject your offer." Garfield said. "I already have a family that gives me all the lasagna I can eat."
"Wait, you already have another owner?" Another cat asks.
"Sure do, babycakes." Garfield replies. "And his name is Jon."
"So, you've been lying to her this whole time!?" Another cat asks, him and all the other felines shooting the orange imposter with angry glares.
"Hey, I've been trying to tell her stupid ass that she's got the wrong cat, but she wouldn't listen to me!" Garfield explains himself.
"*GASP* How dare you call her that!?" Another cat growls, all of them severely offended by his comments regarding her IQ. "After everything she did for your ungrateful, little ass!?"
"Like what, trying to kill me with a metal bat just for complaining 'bout the menu!?"
"Oh, you deserve that after what you just said!"
"GET HIM!"
All the cats proceed to chase after Garfield, who manages to escape the encirclement by leaping above their heads and making a run for it into the streets. Just outside the front door, Guido watches the chaos ensuing from afar.
"Well, so much for dinner tonight."
"And so much for that orange fella, too." The mouse said. "Oh well, he seemed like a nice guy."