Just what they needed. A human to just come around and cause the whole rescue mission to come crashing down on its head.
Shaking off the annoyance at just how quickly everything went to heck in a heckbasket, RJ watched as the human who had discovered them slammed the door shut. He was obviously going to go and get some backup for catching them, and RJ did not want to be around to be caught by them. Whatever they did to Stella, they were most certainly going to do to them, and as much as he loved the other family members, he doubted they could pull off a rescue mission.
Noticing a cabinet near the door that seemed small enough to knock over, as well as a broom, RJ got one of those "lightning bug" moments. Heading over to the broom, he managed to drag it over to the door and, with a little bit of finagling, managed to wedge it underneath the door handle in such a way that the handle wouldn't turn. Just to make sure however, he went over to the cabinet, and started to push against it.
He would've loved some help from Verne or Tiger right now, but they were busy, so he didn't really question it. Regardless, all he needed to do was use his legs to push the cabinet over on its side, and with a bit of extra strength, positioned it underneath the broom to make sure it didn't fall out of its position. That should hopefully give them enough time, RJ thought, as his eyes fell on a small piece of paper that he just…couldn't resist to take. It would be worth it later, besides, they still had to get out of here.
"Uncle RJ, I'm sorry!" Quillo shouted, all while RJ could make out the sounds of Bucky and Spike panicking. He'd talk to them later.
"Apologize later, we gotta get out of here!" RJ exclaimed, grabbing the fishing pole and casting the line up. He watched as Quillo grabbed the hook and latched it onto a corner, before giving it a tug to signify that it was good. RJ let out a sigh of relief as Quillo confirmed this, before turning his attention to the main objective.
"Verne, Tiger, Stella better be ready to go!"
"She's still not moving!" Verne exclaimed. RJ was trying, he really was, but with the humans arriving back any second, and that makeshift barricade not being able to potentially hold out, there was no time to waste. Coming back to look at Stella, RJ saw that while she was no longer looking at the wall, she was still angry. They were getting closer, they just needed one thing to just snap her out of it.
"Wait, wait!" The beaver spoke. "My name is Arwen, get me out of here too!"
Really? She wants out too? She could've said that she wanted to go earlier. Heck, clearly she must've not realized what they were here for earlier, considering she didn't even ask then. Yes, they were here to just join their friend in captivity, obviously.
"Why should we help you out, all you've done since we met you is make snarky comments." RJ asked.
"I've done more than that, I promise!" Arwen replied, her voice trembling.
"Like what?"
"Uh…" Arwen hesitated, before letting out a sigh. "Yeah you got me there, but please, get me out!"
"What do you even bring to the table aside from that mouth of yours?" Tiger spoke up. Nice of him to join the conversation, even if he really should be helping Verne with Stella.
"Dam building skills of course." Arwen replied, with a smug, buck-toothed grin on her face. As if that was going to convince them.
"We have builders already." RJ replied. He's seen how Lou built, and sure, it wasn't exactly pure architecture gold, but hey, Lou was a builder, and at least he could build things that weren't just streams.
"Oh come on, better than me?" Arwen asked. "I'm betting they just put up some twigs and called it a house."
"You do realize you're supposed to be convincing us to let you go free." Tiger said with an unamused expression on his face. If RJ had to rank her plea on why she should come with them on a scale from "hey, you make perfect sense" to "I want one of those things called a restraining order and for you to never come near me", he'd rank her in a category so far under the latter that he wouldn't even be able to tell what category it would be. Whatever category it was, it was clear that Arwen was fumbling the ball more than Tom Brady during that one super bowl.
Actually, that category worked well.
"Look, I can build stuff like dams, I can be good in a fight with these teeth." Arwen continued to speak. "I mean for goodness sake, nothing's been taken from me."
"Arwen, shut your big toothed mouth up!" Stella suddenly shouted. Finally, Arwen contributed something of note, and even then he was sure Arwen had no intention of making that happen. Regardless, Stella was at least talking now.
"Stella, are you okay?!" Tiger exclaimed as the skunk got up.
"I just wanna get out of here." Stella grumbled, stepping out of the cage she was in. RJ could tell from the inflection in Stella's voice that this wasn't a happy Stella by any means, but more of a "fine, we'll go" Stella. It worried the raccoon, and from the brief glimpse he got of Verne, he was worried too.
Although, maybe it was because the vets had just shown back up, and were now trying to get inside. Thanks to RJ's makeshift barricade however, some time was brought, which RJ was going to absolutely make sure to pat himself on the back for. Of course, that was if the kids managed to pull them up.
"Kids, we're ready to go, get ready to pull us up!"
"Bucky, Spike, come over here and help me!" Quillo shouted out. RJ couldn't help but feel a bit of pride at the triplet, taking some initiative and proving herself. There was a reason he left her in charge that day they were filming, and clearly Quillo was not going to let them down.
"Stella, you first." Verne spoke, and the skunk would grab onto the hook and give it a some-what half-hearted tug. Again, some concern, but that had to wait as the vets were really getting closer to breaking in. Thankfully, Stella went up without much of a hassle, as did Verne, and while Tiger was a bit of a pain due to his size, Verne's help managed to get him up.
That just left RJ, and just as he was about to tug on the hook, something stopped him.
"Please!" Arwen shouted. "I'm begging you, don't leave me here!"
Great, just what he needed, a moral dilemma. Admittedly this one didn't seem too hard for the raccoon. Arwen, despite clearly being desperate, had not helped her case whatsoever with her sardonic attitude, as if anyone couldn't tell. As much as RJ knew he would feel guilty about leaving the beaver behind, there was something that was telling him that maybe he could get away with it this time-
"Look, I'm sorry I was a jerk, I just got so used to being stuck in here that it's the only way I can cope with it!" Arwen continued to shout. "I don't want to be stuck here forever, please help me!"
Oh great, now he has that urge to actually save her. He looked back and forth between the vent, recognizing the voices calling out for him asking if he's ready, the door with the vets still banging on it, and finally Arwen, who was staring at him with pleading eyes. Based on how the cabinet was shifting, RJ realized that he was running out of time. He could go now, stay with the group, and help Stella out, and really nothing would be lost.
On the other hand, there was a part of him that was now saying that seeing how Stella was affected by her time at the vet, he wouldn't leave even Vincent here.
He had to save her.
Stepping away from the hook just as the cabinet continued to shift further and further, RJ rushed up to the cage door housing Arwen. Thankfully, it was the same latch that was on Stella's cage, which meant that RJ could open it quite easily. In fact, it looked like Arwen could open it easily on her end, and why she didn't do that earlier, he didn't know. What mattered now was just getting her out of here, because with one last screech of metal, the cabinet moved, causing the broom to fall from its position and allow the door to open.
"Come on, hurry!" RJ shouted, pulling Arwen along and tugging the hook. He just really hoped that the gang would really put on the reeling of a lifetime. The two watched as the vets barged into the room, and one of them immediately made a beeline towards the two of them….
…only for said vet to trip over the cabinet and fall flat on his face.
It was enough for the two of them to climb into the vent, and without any words, they hauled tail down the vent.
After the close call they had, the gang were pretty much due a break.
Once they were all outside of the vent and got into a safe enough spot, they just decided to take a moment and relax. Needless to say, out of all the heists and break-ins they did, that was probably the closest they've come to getting caught and probably having their heisting careers ended for good. Again, RJ did have faith in the others, but not enough to believe they could feasibly pull off a rescue mission.
Speaking of which, as the others took a moment to decompress and catch their breath, RJ decided to check in on everyone. It was probably needed after the exhausting day they've had. Who knew that doing two heists (well, actually, a heist and a rescue mission) would've taken a lot out of them?
"Quillo, hey." RJ spoke. It seemed fitting to check in on Quillo in his mind, considering how much she really tried.
"Hey Uncle RJ." Quillo spoke. "Sorry about the hook earlier…I didn't mean to drop it."
"It's okay kiddo." RJ replied, reaching a paw out to pat Quillo on the head, before relenting. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to pet the porcupine, just a crazy thought. "You did your best."
"I know…" Quillo mumbled, still not satisfied with her performance. This prompted RJ to let out a small sigh, but luckily for him, he had a bit of a plan.
"If you want, I'll give you your own box of cookies." RJ replied, to which Quillo immediately brightened up. Food always worked.
"Hey, uh, RJ, right?" Arwen spoke up. Yeah, he figured he had to talk to her at some point unfortunately. Leaving Quillo alone with the other triplets (who were bound to be pretty upset at Quillo receiving special treatment), he decided it was time to see what Arwen wanted.
"I just want to say thanks." She spoke. "I know my first impression wasn't that great, but seriously, thank you."
"No problem." RJ replied, before putting his paws on his hips. "As the leader of the Camelot Estates heist crew, we strive to leave no one behind!"
"Just come up with that now?" Verne asked.
"Patent pending." RJ spoke, to which Verne rolled his eyes before turning his attention to Arwen.
"Hey Arwen, you know, you could join up with us if you really like." Verne spoke. "We have more than enough room."
Arwen's eyes seemed to lighten at this suggestion, which was very surprising to RJ. Part of it was because he was used to her relatively deadpan and emotionless demeanor. Seeing her happy was like seeing Hammy not hyperactive or Lou and Penny having more than one personality trait.
Arwen's face fell as he caught the glare from Stella however, and immediately the two of them realized that Arwen being with the group wouldn't work. They couldn't even imagine all the drama she'd get into, like, they were already thinking how she could probably find a way to get Lou and Penny mad at them.
"Yeah, I'll uh…pass." Arwen spoke. "Burned too many bridges, but I'll be careful what I say from now on."
Yeah, no surprise there.
"Although…I wouldn't mind staying in the area…if you know a place."
"Well, there's another gang nearby that we know of, they'll probably take you in." RJ replied. "Look for Luby, it'll be a fresh start with them.
That bright expression Arwen sported earlier returned, and that was all RJ needed to see to know what Arwen's next plan was. He just really hoped that Luby wouldn't be too caught off-guard with this situation. Then again, food always works.
But somehow, he could tell that just food wasn't going to help with Stella, who, aside from her brief glare at Arwen, was just staring straight ahead. She wasn't even looking at anything in particular, not even the bushes and leaves in front of her, no, she was just…staring.
"Sorry I went back for Arwen, I just…"
RJ stopped in his tracks as he realized that Stella didn't even acknowledge what he was saying. Part of him was expecting her to be furious that Arwen got out, with his help no less. Sure their interaction seemed brief, but he knew that she wasn't fond of the beaver whatsoever. However, instead of that angry bitterness he expected, he instead was getting just…quiet.
There was something else.
"Stella, what's wrong?"
"RJ, can you keep a secret?" Stella suddenly spoke, her eyes meeting his own. He could tell that she was about to get serious, something that RJ wasn't entirely used to seeing with Stella. Okay, he was used to her being angry about something (more often than not involving something he did), but her talking about something personal was new.
"You know me Stella, I'm great at keeping secrets." RJ replied, putting on his trademark grin to sort of put himself at ease. "It's what else I'm best known for."
The glare Stella shot him immediately stopped what he was saying in its tracks, and RJ made the wise decision to just shut his trap. Obviously not the time to go on a spiel and act like everything was okay.
"Sorry, go ahead." RJ said. Stella hesitated for a moment, which again, gave credence to the idea that something else was going on. Something that explained why she was acting the way she was in the cage.
"I can't spray." Stella spoke. RJ's eyes widened at this. Was Stella actually serious?
"What?" RJ asked, just bewildered by this. "You're a skunk, you should be able to."
"No, I made this big commotion', an' they put somethin' in my neck and now I can't spray." Stella replied, before going quiet again
He couldn't believe it. Stella, the skunk who, from the moment he met her had disliked who she was, but embraced it all the same, now had probably one of her key features taken away from her. It was something that Stella had early on criticized herself for, even though he and the others pretty much had no problem with it, and in fact, RJ had found use for it in other ways during the heist. Losing this was such a massive loss to heisting, but not only that, RJ could tell that it was a big loss on a personal level to Stella. It was like Ozzie having his ability to play dead taken away, or Verne having his shell taken.
"Stella, I, I don't know what to say…just…"
"I get it, and honestly I don't know what to think right now, all I know is that I'm going to be relying on Lou and Penny a lot more." Stella replied, cutting off RJ's stammering.
"For what?'
"The quills, I'm goin' be jabbin' some folks a whole lot more." Stella replied. RJ had the urge to laugh, but after what he just heard, he didn't even feel like it. He was just more relieved that Stella seemingly wasn't taking it as hard right now.
"I'm kind of surprised you're coming to terms with it…I'd be a lot more traumatized." RJ spoke, slowly mulling over his words as he did so in fear that the wrong word would set off the descented skunk. He didn't have to worry about the smell, but it was Stella, she would likely find a way to waterboard him, especially given the fact it was technically his fault she got deskunked.
"Thanks by the way." Stella spoke. "For being honest with me."
"Oh, it uh…" RJ paused for a moment, surprised that Stella was not as mad at him for what was, once again, HIS FAULT. "It was nothing."
"Good, because I hope you weren't expecting a gold star or anything."
"Don't worry!" RJ replied, beaming with a new sense of positivity. "Before we left I made sure to give myself one!"
Saying that, he puffed out his chest to reveal that yes, he had put a gold star on himself. When knocking over that cabinet, what fell out of it was a sticker sheet, and on there were what else, but gold stars. Yes, it was the wrong time to even consider grabbing that sheet given the circumstances, but come on, they were there. RJ, even when in danger, couldn't help himself.
And he was rewarded for risking his life getting that sheet with Stella grabbing that star and ripping it off his chest.
"Why?!"
"That's for not keeping watch."
Fair enough, RJ thought, as he and Stella approached the RC car. As they approached, RJ did briefly play with the idea of putting another star on himself, just so he could feel a little good about himself. He quickly abandoned that idea however, as he realized that with everything that happened, there was no reason or really any room for him to praise himself.
Plus, knowing Stella, she was probably going to tear it off anyways.
"Hey, RJ, you coming or do you actually want to stay?" Verne spoke up. That snapped RJ out of his thoughts, prompting him to approach the car. As he did so, Verne decided to strike up a conversation.
"You know, I'm glad you saved her." Verne spoke, before looking back at Arwen who ended up being seated right next to Stella. RJ could cringe at this seating, but he decided to keep a poker face and just focus on Verne.
"Hey, you want to expand the group a bit, why not?" RJ replied.
"You know, you didn't have to do that." Verne spoke. RJ's poker face broke a bit at this. He somehow doubted that Verne would go out of his way to leave a fellow critter behind. For crying out loud, even after RJ's lie was revealed, Verne tried to save him.
"Would you have?" RJ asked.
"I'm not going to answer that question, because I know you'll hold it over my head." Verne replied.
"Wow, Verne the Turtle, big family guy, would leave someone because they mildly annoyed him?" RJ asked with his trademark grin. Hey, he never once passed up the opportunity to poke a bit of fun at the turtle, and even with everything that happened, he had to keep at least some normality.
"You do realize you're not in the car yet."
Hearing that, RJ quickly scrambled into the car and plopped himself between Arwen and Stella before Verne decided to actually leave him. Of course, he knew he wouldn't leave him, but Verne's done crazier things before.
As the car started moving, RJ couldn't help but look over at Stella, and just remember what he caused. He caused Stella to lose not only her main method of defense, but pretty much part of what made her, her. Guilt was racking the mind of the raccoon, perhaps one of the most he's ever felt. At least with the time he betrayed the group, no one got seriously hurt or had something removed from them.
Yet, as he looked at Stella, he felt that there was something else going on. Something unrelated to the stink being removed, and yet, it was somehow even more distressing to the skunk. RJ just couldn't put his paw on it.
Maybe it was best to ask her another time.
Well, the gang have escaped the vet, and while they gained a new "friend" in Arwen, they lost a massive part of their heisting plan in Stella's stink...along with something else.
Not gonna lie, the original plan for this was much more light-hearted, where Stella just gets abducted by a crazy cat lady, but I decided that this would be a better time to start off Stella's main plotline.
But yeah, with one of the longest chapters, and one of the more troubled stories with fanfiction glitches, there's a possibility I'm gonna have to take a small break just to focus on my studies. I'll have the plans for the next story lined up at least, so hopefully things won't be too bad.
Anyways, see you later!