Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any of the characters. Danny Phantom is the sole property of Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon and Paramount global.
Barked
Chapter 6: Fetching for Two
The Next Day
Danny and Star had finished helping with Star's grandparents move for the day.
"Wow...I never realized that your grandparents had a lot of stuff to move..."Danny said, tired.
"Yeah, Nana apparently mailed a lot of stuff to my house and she says that there is more on the way. Sooner of later, we're gonna have enough cardboard packages to build a castle with..."Star said, explaining why there seemed to be more stuff than yesterday.
"I see. Maybe we can let Danielle play with them before Sam suggests that we recycle them..."Danny said. "Well, since we're done for the day. Maybe we can work on trying to tame Cujo..."He said.
"Yeah, let's just hope that he's in a good mood and not in any trouble today..."Star said, ready to tame him.
"And while we're at it, we might be able to give him a bath soon. I love the little guy...but well...he kinda stinks a little..."Star said.
"Baby steps, Starlight. Let's at least train him to NOT go wild...or roll around in the garbage first..."Danny said.
"Agreed..."Star said. "First things first, we gotta find him..."She said.
"Oh, we'll find him. He's probably getting hungry again by now and if we're lucky enough, we'll find him at the nearest shop the serves meat..."Danny said.
"Maybe..."Star said.
Danny soon changed in a nearby alley, picked Star up, and soon took to the skies. They went to look for Cujo, hoping to find him and train him before he got into trouble again.
Both were unaware that the little ghost dog was currently thinking about a certain girl poodle dog.
Elsewhere
Unknown to Danny and Star, Cujo was still nearby Polter Heights.
He had spent the night sleeping in the nearby park to it. However, his mind was still clouded by thoughts about the pretty poodle that easily managed to steal his heart.
"I wonder how Fifi is doing. Probably playing with her owner and getting her pretty fur brushed right now..."The ghost dog thought, still lovesick over her.
Cujo felt his little heart beating fast as he thought about the poodle that he has fallen for her. The little ghost dog kept circling in place as he looked at the direction of the building, trying to think up an excuse to go up and see her.
"I wonder if she'd wanna play with me again...maybe I can get her to come to that butcher shop with me...or maybe we can both roll the dirt and maybe chase some cars together..."He thought, thinking of many things that they could do together.
He did hope that she'd say yes, but he was hopeful. He was lost in his thoughts about the pretty and pampered poodle, that he didn't even notice that someone had spotted him.
"Cujo, there you are!..."Danny said, as he landed in front of him.
He put Star down and she sighed in relief.
"Thank goodness that we found you..."She said, glad to see that he hasn't caused any trouble yet.
Cujo didn't seem to notice them yet, as he was still looking at the direction of Polter Heights.
"I can still smell her sweet, special scent...It smells so good...just like the rest of her. She smells sweeter than that yummy, sticky stuff that those bees make. Honey, I think it was called..."He thought, as the teenage couple went to him.
"I wonder why he's here..."Danny said.
"No idea, maybe he likes the leftovers in these dumpers around here. Either way, I'm just glad that no more cats are running away from him and that no more businesses are complaining that their meat supply is in danger due to his hunger..."Star said.
The teen couple pulled out their books and tried to get Cujo to listen to some commands and special noisemakers for getting a dog's attention, including whistles. However, Cujo doesn't seem to be paying attention to them at all.
"Cujo?..."Danny asked, now noticing that he didn't even look at their direction even once.
"This is weird. As soon as Cujo sees either of us, he usually tries to slobber us and demand our undivided attention, getting super hyper the entire time..."He said.
He tried to call him once more, but the ghostly pooch still didn't seem to be aware of their presence. Star was getting concerned.
"Do you think he's alright? He isn't sick, is he?..."Star said, as she went to him and placed a hand on his stomach and even his forehead.
"No clue. Green is his natural color as a ghost, maybe he's sick in a different way..."Danny said, confused.
They were half right, as Cujo was experiencing a form of sickness...just not the kind they were suspecting.
He was experiencing love sickness and he seemed to have a severe case of it.
"Fifi!~..."Cujo thought in a goody way, letting out a sigh.
Danny and Star raised a brow at that.
"Okay, this is probably the longest time I've ever been around Cujo and he's just...sitting there...barely moving much...does he look like he's just staring off into space?..."Danny asked, as he even waved a hand across his face.
No reaction at all.
"This is weird. This is probably the longest where he hasn't caused any mischief or minimal damage to the town..."Star said.
"Yeah. Do you think that we should just suck him inside the thermos before he suddenly goes feral again?..."Danny asked.
Star sent him a look, but wanted to help the little dog instead.
"We can't just leave him like this, we don't even know what's wrong with him. Shouldn't we take him to a vet or something to check up on him?..."Star asked, concerned about the little guy.
"I would, but I don't know any vet who takes on GHOSTLY patients. At least not any that aren't aware of Cujo's reputation around town..."Danny said, stating the facts.
"True..."Star said., knowing that the little ghost dog has gathered a rather infamous reputation lately.
"Maybe there is a vet in the ghost zone we can take him too?..."Star suggested.
Danny frowned.
"If there is, I'd be worried about running into the vet equivalent of Walker, or another North Mercy Hospital incident. I've even heard about some rumors from Frostbite about a ocean diver that's gone a little crazy from being struck in the bottom of the sea for so long that he began to resent land dwellers like me, you and pretty much everyone else that aren't part of the sea..."Danny said, getting strange looks from his girlfriend.
"So, I wouldn't be too trusting just yet. For all we know, they might attack us before we could even ask them to check on Cujo..."He said, aware of their usual luck with ghosts.
Star realized his point and sighed.
"True. But what about Frostbite and your other ghost friends? Maybe they could help figure out what's wrong with him..."She said.
Before Danny could think it over, his ghost sense went off and Danny soon saw something dangerous head their way.
"Look out!..."Danny said, as he grabbed onto her and Cujo, moving them out of the way.
A missile landed in the spot they had previously been standing, leaving a crater. Danny floated back down, released his girlfriend and the dog. He looked up and glared at who sent the attack.
"HAHA! Found you whelp, time to end this hunt once and for all!..."Skulker said, looking menacing at them.
"Not you again! We're kinda busy here!..."Danny said.
"Don't worry, I'm about to clear your schedule. Along with the rest of your life!..."Skulker said, as he aimed a missile at him.
"And I'm about to turn your oversized tin can into scrap metal!..."Danny said, as he fired an ice blast at it.
"And I'll help break you open with my saber!..."Star said, as she pulled out her saber.
The ghost couple went to deal with Skulker, while Cujo seemed confused by what was happening.
"What's happening? Is it playtime already?..."He thought.
However, the lovesick canine soon picked up a familiar smell and his heart started to skip a beat.
"That smell...that wonderful smell of sweet honey and and minty chewing bones. It has to be Fifi. She's gotta be close by!..."Cujo thought as his tail wagged in excitement.
The ghostly dog soon ran fast in excitement as he left the park to follow the scent of his crush. All the while, Danny and Star managed to defeat Skulker and turn his suit into scrap metal.
Again!
"This isn't over, you whelps! I'll rebuild my suit again soon enough and when I'm finished, so will the two if you!..."Skulker shouted, only top be smacked by Star's saber.
"Oh, shut up!..."She said, while Danny pulled out his thermos.
He then sucked the wicked hunter ghost inside, trapping him.
"Got him!..."He said, smirking.
"Is it just me, or is he getting more predictable with his attacks recently?..."Star asked.
"It's not just you..."Danny said, putting his thermos away.
The young couple were going to go back to Cujo and hopefully figure out what's wrong with him. However, they panicked once they realized that he was gone.
"Oh man, where did he go?!..."Danny yelled.
"He was just here a minute ago! There is no way that he could have gone too far!..."Star said in alarm, as they looked around.
"Don't panic yet, he's gotta be around here someplace!..."Danny said, as they began to look for the missing ghostly pooch.
Unfortunately, the teenage lovebirds haven't yet realized that there ghost doggy friend had just left the park to go meet up with a certain special someone.
Someone whom could use a little cheering up to be honest.
Meanwhile
Fifi had just returned home from her grooming appointment. She was also wearing a new bow and doggy dress that Stella had bought her, along with matching booties.
Fifi hated them.
"Ugh...Not again! I hate these tight, stupid things, especially these weird things on my paws! I just can't feel anything with them on!..."She thought, while her owner gushed over how "adorable" she was.
"Oh Fifi, you look so precious! Lord Winthrop is gonna fall head over paws as soon as he sees you!..."Stella cooed, while her pet wasn't feeling so happy.
Sure, she was somewhat used to wearing clothes, but this particular outfit was kinda itchy and the booties were tight around her paws.
She hated them!
"I feel like one of those poor stuff animals on display case wearing even worse outfits than me!..."She thought, as she tried to take her booties off.
"Fifi, NON! Those booties cost over a hundred dollars and they custom ordered them just for you on this special day, especially since we shall be meeting with the Barrington-Uphams at the country club's Platinum room later today. So, start acting like the purebred that you are!..."Jean-Luc scolded, making her stop.
"Don't stress her out! This is suppose to be a special day for her..."Stella said. "Speaking of which, we'd best get ready. We only have...6 hours before we have to meet with them and I still need to get my hair done for the special occasion..."She said.
"Agreed. I also have to get my mustache groomed and waxed and 3 hour moisturizing session to my body looking fresh like those gorgeous actors used for commercials ..."Jean-Luc said in a conceited way.
The wealthy couple soon left to get ready, leaving their dog alone. Fifi was upset, as she tried to pull off her uncomfortable new booties, but to no avail.
"This is, as the American dogs say, so totally uncool!..."She thought, upset.
Even worse, Pierre isn't here. That Alyssa lady came earlier to take care of him and Fifi didn't even get a chance to play with him even once today.
"I wish the little one was here, so that he can play with me or eat some tasty stuff and leave a mess on the floor so that lick the leftovers when Madame isn't looking..."Fifi thought, missing him already.
She felt lonely and uncomfortable in the her new outfit. However, her nose suddenly picked up a familiar sent that got her attention.
"That scent? Could it be?..."Fifi thought, turning around.
"Hey Beautiful. Miss me?..."Was heard.
Fifi turned around and saw Cujo phasing into the penthouse. Fifi saw him and gasped.
"Monsieur Cujo? I meant...Cujo. It's you..."Fifi said, getting up.
"Hi there, glad I managed to find you..."Cujo said.
"I'm so glad to see you, but what are you doing here?..."Fifi asked, confused.
"I came up here cause I wanted to see again..."Cujo said, before noticing her outfit.
"What are you wearing?..."Cujo asked, and Fifi looked embarrassed.
"My owners are making me wear it and I don't know why. I don't have any competitions or dog shows to attend to and they only ever dress me up for some sort of fancy occasion..."Fifi said, as she tried to scratch but couldn't get rid of the itch.
"You okay?..."Cujo asked, and Fifi sighed.
"Not really. These booties feel like my paws aren't even there anymore...and this new dress is itchier than that stupid sweater that the Madame made me wear for Christmas. It's like being covered with fleas but I can't even scratch! Especially with these stupid booties in my way!..."Fifi complained, hating this.
"Maybe I can help you get those booties off..."Cujo offered.
"You can. How?..."Fifi asked.
"I'll show you. Hold out one of your paws..."Cujo said.
Fifi did so, and Cujo touched her paw. He used his intangibility and soon that bootie was off. Fifi was amazed.
"Wow. How did you do that?..."She asked, amazed.
"I'll be honest, I'm not really sure. One day I just started doing these things and I've kept on doing it on instinct alone ever since and just never questioned it before..."Cujo said, before he went back to the other booties.
Soon, Fifi was free of them and let out a sigh of relief.
"Merci, Cujo..."She said, grateful.
"Any time..."He said.
Fifi, now free, managed to pull off her itchy doggy dress and was soon free herself of it. She felt much better as a result.
"Finally. Ah, that feels so much better..."She said, relieved that she was no longer wearing those uncomfortable doggie clothes.
"Yeah, I'll be honest. You look much better this way..."Cujo said.
Fifi smiled bashfully at that.
"Thank you.."She said, flattered.
Cujo smiled, as he decided that now was as good of a time as any to try and ask her out.
"So, Fifi. I noticed that your fur looks even cleaner than before. Did you do something new or did you just woke up like that?..."He said, trying to be flirty.
"Oh, is that so? Well, I did get groomed today if you must know..."Fifi said, with a canine equivalent of a giggle.
Cujo gulped a bit, as he was starting to feel shy around her when she giggled. He tried to remain acting confident and cool, as he tried to continue their conversation.
"I...uh...brought something for you...It's kinda...a present..."Cujo said, looking nervous.
"A present for moi?..."Fifi asked, wondering what it is.
Cujo nodded, as he soon presented her a pile of bones.
"Here you go, freshly dug up and polished off for you. A lot of them still have meat on them and are fresh enough to eat. Promise..."Cujo said, as he placed them before her.
Fifi sniffed them and raised a brow.
"Hmm...I don't think I've ever eaten this kind of meat before. Oh well, bon apetit..."She said, as she chewed on one of them.
She smiled and seemed to have enjoyed the taste of something that wasn't overpriced, tasteless or came from a different far away box.
"Mmm...this is delicious. Merci, Cujo..."Fifi said, as she continued.
"Cool. Glad you like them. Plus, you can use the bones as chew toys and to play fetch with someone whenever you don't want to eat or bury it..."Cujo said, remarking the many purposes bones can be.
"I see. Well, merci...thank you one again..."Fifi said, as she chewed on her new bone a bit, liking the taste.
"So...uh...Fifi. I was wondering...do you wanna...play with me? Maybe go outside and bark at some angry looking squirrels? Chase some cars? Or...maybe howl at the moon when it's out tonight? If you want to that is?..."He asked, looking shy as he asked her this.
Fifi thought about it, she looked in the direction of her owners room and realized that they might be busy. She also realized that she did kinda wanna go along with Cujo too.
"Well, Madame and her cranky mate have gone to their room and according to my nose, they are busy putting strange things on their hair and faces for their own grooming. That usually takes forever, so I think I have some time. Sure, why not?..."Fifi said.
"Awesome! This is gonna be so much fun!..."Cujo said as he jumped a bit and wagged his tail in excitement.
The ghost dog them floated right outside the open balcony and grew to his giant dog from and offered to fly his crush to the park, which the pretty poodle agreed to.
Cujo used intangibility and flight, and soon the two dogs were out of the penthouse, being careful to avoid getting any unwanted attention.
Both were unaware that one of them was being looked for by someone...and it wasn't JUST Danny and Star.
Elsewhere
Away from Amity Park
In a secret government facility, with the symbol of GiW on it, many men in white suits were marching around.
Some of them were scanning the area around them for readings of both the supernatural and potential filth that might stain their suits. However, someone within the facility had misplaced their cup of coffee and dropped it.
"Agent O, Agent K! Clean this up!..."One of the "elite" members ordered, pointing to spilled coffee on the floor.
Soon, two of the agency's lowest ranking grunt members appeared, with mops and a recently cleaned out bucket.
"What did you want?..."O grumbled, as he and his partner did as he was ordered to avoid any conflict.
"Clean this up. You know how the boss hates seeing any sort of filth. Though why he keeps you two around, I'll never know..."The elite agent said mockingly, as he went back to doing paperwork.
O and K gritted their teeth in anger at his mockery, but they knew that they had no choice but to listen.
Since their demotion and debt, they began working as grunt level 1 workers, which is just a glorified way of being a janitor here. All the filthy, unpleasant, demeaning, menial labor fell onto them and it felt degrading.
The very positions that they used to mock and ridicule others for having back when they were actual agents, but now they were the ones working the very job that they used to look down on.
How ironic.
Anyway, they began cleaning the coffee spill and the rest of the area, despite how much they didn't want to.
"O! K! The toilet is backed up again. Deal with it!..."Another member said, pointing to the nearby Men's room.
The two disgraced agents clenched both their teeth and grips as they were for to go clean the bathrooms.
Again!
Soon, they were in the bathroom and were forced to clean and unclog the toilets, until there were so spotless that one could see their own reflection on it. However, the two agents seemed to have reached their breaking point.
"I CAN'T TAKE ANOTHER SECOND OF THIS!..."O shouted, as he threw the plunger to the ground.
"Careful, now we have more to clean up!..."K complained, hating this.
"Shut up! I know that you're just as sick of doing this humiliating grunt work as I am! SO LET ME VENT!..."O yelled, hating what they have been reduced to.
"Ever since that Punk Phantom and his female sidekicks got in our way and how his little female framed us and destroyed the warehouse and the robot, our lives have gone down the toilet, literally!..."O complained, looking ready to break something right now.
"Don't remind me!..."K said, wondering how they got so unlucky.
"This is ridiculous. Ever since Phantom and his friends got involved, our pay has been cut, our bonusess have been cancelled, our vacation days have been stripped away from us, we lost our chance at our promotions and got demoted to being these toilet scrubbers! If they hadn't gotten in our way, the two of us could've been running this place by now!..."O yelled, looking ready to pull his hair out, if he had any.
"Not only that, our debt is still unsettled and these jobs can't even cover on 1/100th of that amount!..."K said, distressed.
"Even worse, we have to work over time, nights and weekends too, with no Holidays off! And everyone treats us like we're at the bottom of the pecking order. We work all night, sometimes until morning and with barely enough time to rest up...Not even time for a date..."He said, looking depressed.
O heard this and got depressed too, having recently been dumped by his now ex-girlfriend, since she dumped him after she found out about his demotion and debt, and got mad at him for lying about them.
"No women are gonna wanna date us, while we smell like sweat and bleach!..."O said, looking ready to break down right now.
The two men were both experiencing a hard knock life right now, as they both couldn't stand how much their lives have spiraled out of control and out out of their respective hands.
"What miserable men we are!..."K said, looking ready to break, just like his partner.
"We can't continue living like this! We gotta find away out of this debt, regain our old jobs and get back at that ghost punk and his friends for doing this to us!..."O said, determined.
"But how?!..."K asked, looking desperate to escape this.
"Didn't you hear? That ghost dog was spotted at Amity Park again..."They heard coming from the hall.
"Ghost dog?..."Both disgraced agents heard, as they went to eavesdrop.
They saw some of the elite agents talking among themselves, not noticing either K or O cleaning one of the empty stalls.
"Yeah, we just got a report that some ghost dog has been appearing around Amity Park and has been causing mass havoc there. Rumor has it that the dog belongs to Danny Phantom, since he always seems to be around him..."The elite agent said, making some educated guesses with the limited facts at the GiW's disposal.
"Ghosts...they're so much more troublesome than they are in the reports about them..."His fellow elite said dismissively. "That's almost as troublesome as the fact that Agent Alpha might be cutting the salaries of the whole lower lever section of the facility due to budget cuts..."He complained, but glad it was at the expense of his section.
O and K heard this and grinned, getting ideas.
"Did you hear that?..."O said.
"Danny Phantom has a ghost dog? Yeah and it's the perfect bait to lure him out in the open. We get his dog and then we get payback on him..."K said.
"This is our chance. If we get that ghost dog, we can use him to lure Phantom and his associates out too. Then, we can deliver both ghosts to Agent Alpha. We'll be seen as heroes for capturing both ghosts and the boss might be so impressed, he'd might give us our old jobs back. He might even give us a raise...or better yet, forgive our debt if we do a good job!..."O said, looking eager as the wheels turned in his head.
"And I heard that ghost dog is being seen as a menace, the public might be so grateful that reward us both handsomely for getting rid of it for them!..."K said, greed perking up.
"It wouldn't surprise me if they gave both of us a medal. Plus, no one ever did claim that million dollar reward for the ghost kid's capture. We might finally get a chance to collect it!..."O said, not seeing any downsides to this plan.
The two agents would have began plotting to take a trip back to Amity Park, but someone call out their names.
"O! K! Where are you?! The gutters outside are clogged again! Clean them up right now!..."Agent Alpha's voice was heard, and he knew that they can hear him.
Both agents frowned, but they both knew better than to talk back to their boss. At least not right now.
"Once this is done, we'll never have to clean another gutter or toilet again. Pretty soon we can finally flush away this nightmare life style for good..."O said, sounding like he found some hope again as he said this.
The two agents went to finish their work for today, and then made plans to get their old lives back.
They first needed to figure out how to get there with their limited funds...and figure out how to capture those two ghosts who were their meal tickets...and the tickets back to getting their lives back on track!
Oh man.
-To be continued-
Next time on Barked
Today has gone to the Dogs
A/N(1): I dedicate this chapter to my family, my friends and my love for God :)
A/N(2): Special thanks to Jay The Average Fanboy for all his help. You rock :)
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewer:
Invader Johnny: XD
Jebest4781: Thank you :)
RonaldM40196867:
1) Probably.
2) She probably doesn't realize it.
3) She is somewhat inspired by Lady and Ivana from Suite Life.
4) Yes.
5) Right.
Luiz4200: Looks like it.
JDF Legacier Morphicon Thank you :)
Here are my responses to your questions:
1) I loved how he got exposed and how Sam dumped him.
2) It would make his friendship with Danny a bit different.
3) I think that he used to live during medieval times and probably died of the plague or during battle.
4) Maybe Clockwork.
5) Danny might get tech based powers.
:) I hope you enjoyed this! Remember to read and review :)
