It was quite the task, but somehow Doug and Delilah were able to herd their rambunctious group of puppies back downstairs once bedtime rolled around.

Though the unplanned bit of playtime was admittedly fun, the direness of the situation still weighed heavily on the back of the parents' minds, as well as Hunter's. It ate away at them, and it took almost everything they had in them to keep on a brave face for the pups.

Once the attic was finally empty again, Delilah dropped off a blanket and some pillows. She lamented over their inability to haul up a mattress for him, and she briefly considered letting him come downstairs to sleep on the couch. She felt a bit more at ease after seeing him interact so nicely with the pups, and so long as either she or Doug kept watch, it should be all right.

Hunter adamantly refused, however, claiming the attic floor was fine. The dogs had already done so much for him. He couldn't bring himself to impose on them any further.

"Are you certain you'll be comfortable?" Delilah fretted. "I'll have my little ones order you a futon first thing in the morning."

Hunter's face blushed a little at that. He felt terribly underserving, yet at the same time strangely warm inside. No one had ever coddled him like this before. This must have been what it felt like to actually have a mother.

A part of him almost wished he could stay with the dogs, but he knew good and well that that was being selfish.

"I'll be fine," he insisted. "Please don't worry about me."

Delilah frowned, irked by how little he still seemed to value himself. She took up a corner of his blanket with her teeth and began to tuck him in, much to his surprise. "Worrying is the sort of thing you simply can't turn off. You'll just have to get used to it," she told him warmly.

Again, Hunter felt a bittersweet tug at his heartstrings.

After switching off the lights and assuring him one last time that she and Doug were just a knock away should he need them, she was gone. The boy was left to stew in his thoughts, all alone in the dimly lit room. A small bit of moonlight crept in from the corners of the curtained window, giving the space a dull glow.

Nearby, Hunter spotted a full length mirror inconspicuously sitting against a wall. It looked like an old antique, with it's sturdy oak wood frame. Despite the lack of light, Hunter was still able to perfectly see his own reflection staring back at him.

It vaguely disturbed him just how impressive his night-vision had become after all the time he'd spent trapped in the dark.

While gawking at himself, it truly hit him just how recognizable he had become. Despite being back in some nicer clothes, he still looked like a complete stranger. The scraggly hair, sunken in eyes and thousand yard stare… he wasn't even remotely the same person he had been before getting trapped in that crate. And he never would be again.

He shivered, turning away from the mirror and wrapping himself tighter in his blanket.

If only he could forget, but the miserable memories persisted.

He tried in vain to think of something else, casting his gaze over at some of the paintings scattered about the floor gathering dust, in the hopes that they would provide a better distraction. Within the frames he found images of even more spotted dogs. Dalmatian after Dalmatian, all just as plentiful as the heaps upon heaps of dogs already sleeping downstairs. This family had always had a history of being ridiculously large, it seemed. Even more than he had previously thought.

The tallest painting, which appeared to be slightly elevated, as if holding a special place of honor amongst the rest, showed a portrait of two adult dogs, sitting side by side with two humans. They appeared to be the only humans in any of the portraits, Hunter realized.

Said humans were a tall, light-haired gentleman and a petite redheaded woman, both smiling warmly with their arms around their beloved canine companions. Hunter wondered if they were the family's owners. The clothing the couple wore looked to be a bit old fashioned, so it was possible they were either very old or long gone by this point.

If they were still around, Hunter knew they would undoubtingly hate the young de Vil's guts for what he almost did to their dogs. How even after so many generations, his wicked family still plagued theirs like an unkillable bogeyman.

For one brief, frightening second, Hunter's troubled mind imaged the couple's pleasant smiles morphing into glares of hatred.

It filled the boy with such an unbearable wave of guilt-stricken panic that he hastily threw his covers over his head.

He couldn't stay in this house a moment longer. He didn't belong there.

He had to get out, and never EVER trouble this family again.

Downstairs, Dylan was having just as much trouble getting to sleep. Honestly, how could anyone sleep while knowing what he knew? His nerves were completely shot, and all he could do was toss and turn restlessly in his dog bed.

His parents assured him several times that they had the red bus ready to get them all out of there at any given moment, but what if that failed? They needed a backup plan. Plus a backup plan for the backup plan. —and a backup backup plan for the backup plan!

Cop cars, perhaps? Taxicabs? A tow truck? Heck, he vaguely remembered that Roxy's owners had a motorbike in their garage that often sat there unused. Never dismiss any possible getaway vehicle, he quietly told himself.

A tiny whine suddenly shook him from his thoughts. He looked up to see Dorothy gently nudging his side. She had apparently sensed her big brother's turmoil and crawled out of her own tiny bed to snuggle him. "Aw… Dorothy," he softly cooed. "Can't sleep either, huh?"

She let out a high-pitched little yawn as she squirmed into bed beside him. Dylan weakly nuzzled her face, giving her a wistful smile. Her presence, plus the soothing sound of her heartbeat, was a small bit of comfort. Still though. Dylan's mind remained troubled.

"Dorothy…?" He quietly asked. "Is uh," his eyes darted upwards to the ceiling for a moment, not-so-subtly indicating their guest. "Is he… you know. Still shifty?"

She innocently stared back.

"Like… do you still get a bad vibe from him?" He continued.

Dorothy responded by giving his nose a small lick before closing her eyes and drifting back off to sleep.

He sighed, realizing that was the extent of what he was going to get from her.

Reluctantly, he closed his own eyes and tried to force himself to drift off as well, albeit with very little success. It took him a good hour or so until he was finally able to get any rest at all, but he was still plagued with familiar, nightmarish visions of cackling de Vils haunting his dreams.

…

…

…

…

"DALMATIANS!" Came a shrill shriek from next door, bolting almost every dog in the household awake.

A groggy Dylan rose up and staggered to the living room window, eyes bloodshot and twitching. Several equally tired looking younger siblings followed him. "Ugh, what?" He groaned. For all her gripping over his family constantly 'disturbing the neighborhood peace' and whatnot, Clarissa was certainly being a hypocrite this morning.

"I demand recompense!" The corgi in question barked, pointing angrily at a pile of crushed flowers in her yard. "Just look what your human did to Hugo's peonies!"

The pups at the window stared at her vacantly for a moment before a random one flatly replied, "…they're marigolds."

"WHATEVER!" Clarissa huffed. She gave an indignant stomp as she continued to rant at her neighbors from her pet's garden. "Figures you lot finally get yourselves a proper human and he's every bit as destructive as YOU are! Nearly scared me half to death when he came crashing down out of nowhere! Didn't even have the courtesy to offer up an apology before running off to who knows where! Why, it absolutely RUINED my morning tea!"

As she yammered on, Dylan's grogginess began to fade, and a certain word in her endless tirade suddenly jolted him fully awake. "W-wait, did you say human?"

Clarissa huffed again, even more annoyed. "Yes! Did I stutter?!"

At that moment Dolly also appeared at the window, shoving Dylan's face aside in order to get a better view. She and her now very worried looking brother exchanged a nervous glance before she hesitantly inquired, "Uh. …what did this human look like?"

"Ghastly! As if he'd never ONCE seen a comb in his life!"

The two eldest Dalmatian siblings gulped, their suspicions being proven true.

Behind them they heard their mother let out a gasp. She had caught the very last chunk of the conversation, and raced off like a bolt to the attic, their father following close behind.

"Hunter!" Delilah cried as she leapt into the dusty old room. She frantically looked about, hoping beyond all reason that their neighbor had simply seen a different human instead, but she was only met with the sight of an abandoned bedsheet. One end was tied tightly around the handle of the window, the other end rolled up and dangling from it like a rope.

Her heart sank.

"…oh no." she heard Doug mutter behind her, mirroring her expression of horror.

Forcing himself through the pain of his new limp, Hunter ran as fast as he could through the streets of Camden. He shook the last bit of lingering dirt and crushed flowers out of his hair as he went, still reeling over just how loudly that corgi had screamed. Sheesh. He just couldn't stop being a menace to dogs, could he? The sooner he got out of Dalmatian Street, the better. For everyone's sakes.

Ducking through alleyways and hiding behind the occasional dumpster, he was able to keep out of sight from the patrolling police horse.

The second the coast was clear he continued running, not stopping unless his lungs were so drained of breath, he had no choice but to temporarily pause. …but never for long.

Hunter knew his aunt was out there watching him. Possibly even right now. He knew better than anyone how her twisted, possessive mind worked, after all, so there was no doubt she was probably already on his trail.

Right now he was currently her main target for revenge, so he had to put as much distance between himself and the dogs as he possibly could. He prayed that they would use the time he gave them to get out of the city while his aunt was busy dealing with him first.

After several blocks, he leaned against a wall to catch his breath again.

As he panted, his bizarre canine-like hearing caught the faint sound of something rustling behind him. He whipped his head around, and from the corner of his eye he swore he saw a skinny blur suddenly dart by.

Something was following him. The feral young boy stood still as a stone and began sniffing the air, trying to decipher who or what it was. This gained him a few odd looks from random passers by, but he ignored them and honed in on the familiar scent tickling his nose.

Automatically, without realizing, he dropped down on all fours and began to slowly approach a road sign sitting just a few feet away. He continued to sniff the air, eyes narrowing as he closed in on the sign.

He let out a low, threatening growl.

Something small, lean and tanned shot out from behind the sign, and Hunter immediately gave chase. He barked madly as he clamored after it, chasing it straight into another alley. His former pet cat screeched to a halt, and with nothing else to do, viciously hissed at the boy as it was backed into a corner.

The two glared at each other ominously. After several tense minutes, Hunter lunged at the feline, throwing the alley into chaos as it echoed with the ear-splitting yowls of their dog and cat fight.

The two violently clawed and scratched at one another in blind fury. It didn't take long though for Hunter to overpower his former pet, and he pinned the cat down beneath him while viciously gritting his teeth. He shot Cuddles a bitter, resentful glare, thinking about how much he had once loved this cat, and believed him to be his only friend in the entire world. The pain of his betrayal still stung the boy deeply.

For a moment Cuddles thought this was the end. He flinched, turning away in fear when the mad boy lunged forward again, looking as if he were going to tear right into the frightened feline's very throat.

Fortunately for Cuddles, he was merely aiming for the camera in his collar.

Hunter sunk his teeth into the device and yanked it clean off. It flew across the floor, and Hunter stood back up on two legs in order to stomp it into the ground. It fizzled out a pathetic, glitchy wheeze as it was crushed beneath his shoe.

Cuddles scampered away the second he was released. The cat hastily climbed up onto the chain-link fence dividing up the alley and directed another venom filled hiss at the dog boy. Hunter growled back in return, finally scaring the feline off for good, and continued to snarl long after the creature had vanished back into the shadows with its tail between its legs.

Hunter then turned his gaze back down at the destroyed camera. Just for good measure, he gave it one last defiant stomp.

Elsewhere, miles away, Cruella watched as the screen on her dashboard turned to noisy static. She angrily drove a fist into said screen, shattering it upon impact as she let forth a scream of frustration.

"Now honey, let's not panic," Doug tried to reassure his wife. "He can't have gone far. His human legs are so skinny and puny, after all."

But Delilah wasn't listening. She was absolutely beside herself.

They shouldn't have left that boy alone. Now it was only a matter of time before— oh dog, Delilah didn't want to even think it. Racing to the nearest window, the fretting mother began to bark out an emergency plea to the world wide woof.

"MISSING CHILD!

HUMAN MALE.

LONG BLONDE HAIR.

ELEVEN YEARS OLD.

PLEASE NOTIFY IF FOUND!"

Within seconds she heard the woofs of their neighbors start relaying the message. Her nerves, however, remained shaken. She knew they couldn't just sit there and hope for the best. Right now it could already be too late.

Some of their pups had began to gather around them, many looking terribly distraught as well. The twins and little Dorothy in particular. "Why did Mister Funny Face leave?" Dee Dee asked in a quivering voice.

"Oh, w-well... you see, honey," Doug started, giving their daughter a strained smile. He turned to Delilah in hopes of getting some help, bet did a massive double-take when he saw that she was no longer sitting beside him.

His eyes nearly bulged right out of his head when he saw that his beloved spouse was darting down the entry hallway. They bulged out even more when she leapt through the doggie door.

"DELILAH!" He scrambled after her, face unable to mask his panic. "We can't be out here!"

Delilah turned to him with a look in her eyes that told him she knew that perfectly well, but she just couldn't stop herself. "You stay with the pups," she told him. "I'm going to find Pearl and try to look for him."

He shook his head, refusing. "We'll both find Pearl. I won't let you go out there alone."

Their family watched from the safety of the house, filing up the frames of every window. They all pushed and shoved against each other in order to see what was going on, with Dylan and Dolly managing to charge their way to the front somehow. The heads of the household gazed back at their puppies with solemn expressions.

"Not a single one of you is to leave this house!" Delilah instructed. "All of you stay inside and keep the doors and windows locked!"

Dylan pressed his face against the glass in disbelief, yet his mother continued on. "We'll be back as soon as we can! Keep watch on everyone!"

Thus, they were gone. The younger pups all began to break out into confused chatter, wondering why their mum and dad could leave while they were all still stuck under house arrest. It was making them all terribly restless. Some of them were even beginning to suspect that there was something their parents weren't telling them.

Dawkins hesitantly approached Dylan, who was now currently hyperventilating into a paper bag.

"Is.. is there something we should know?"

Dylan nearly inhaled the entire bag when he heard Dawkins' voice. "W-wha—? N-no, everything's great! Right, Dolly?"

Dolly's threw her paws up, wearing the same fake, stressed out smile as her brother. "Oh yeah, totally! Everything's super chill!"

The two broke out into forced laughter, but Dawkins looked anything but convinced. Neither did a trembling Deepak, a weirded out Triple-D or the doom and gloom aficionado himself, Dante, who appeared even more petrified than he normally did. He had a sinking feeling growing in his gut. Sure, that was normal for him, but something about this particular feeling seemed more troubling than usual.

Dylan and Dolly kept on insisting things were hunky dory though. The duo practically dragged their younger siblings off into the living room to play a game in order to hopefully deter them from asking anymore questions.

The pups, though still ranging from fidgety to suspicious, reluctantly complied, and soon the household slowly but surely began to settle back down.

Unbeknownst to the rest of them though, once the entry hallway had been left empty, little Dorothy waddled over all by herself to stare forlornly at the doggy door.

First Mister Funny Face, now her mama and daddy? Her eyes grew large and misty as she sat there, innocently wondering why everybody was going bye bye.

Back in the den, Dylan started setting up a riveting game of Poodlewolf, much to everyone's chagrin. He plastered on a fake excited grin, but it was secretly taking everything in him to keep up the bogus chipper facade. Things just kept getting worse, he quietly thought to himself. He forced himself to keep calm and simply crossed his paws, hoping that his parents would be ok.

An hour of so passed.

Dylan rolled his fancy dice with forced enthusiasm, not even noticing that most, if not all of the other players, had drifted off into a boredom induced coma. He pushed his tiny plastic Poodlewolf figure across the finish line and gave a dorky little cheer.

"Whoo, another win! That's, what, five in a row now?" He boasted with a fake laugh. "Man oh man, I'm on fire."

Dolly rolled her eyes from where she lay on the arm of the couch. She, like pretty much everyone in the house, was barely awake due to sheer dullness, but she was at least grateful that Dylan's plan of unwittingly boring everyone to sleep had worked in keeping them all distracted.

Her eyes wandered sluggishly over to the large grandfather clock in the hall. A look of worry briefly flashed across her face over the fact that their parents still hadn't returned, despite how much time had passed.

As she lay there, a random pup nudged Dylan in the back. Said pup gave a tiny whine, declaring they were hungry. That immediately brought practically everyone else in the room back to life, and they all began to echo the same sentiment.

"Ok, ok," Dylan relented. He and Dolly led the whining pups into the kitchen for dinner, having them all line up into their usual rows along each side of their excessively long table. Dawkins fired up the kibble gun and began diligently filling each of their waiting bowls.

As he did, Dylan checked off every sibling as they received their chow. Dante, Da Vinci, Dizzy, Dee Dee… Deepak, Delgado, the Dimitris… the Triple-D, Diesel, Dor—

Wait.

Where was—?

His eyes darted around the kitchen, but the smallest pup was nowhere to be seen. "Dolly?" He turned to his sister, desperately trying to sound as calm as possible. "Uh… where's Dorothy?"

Dolly looked up from her own bowl and gave a hard swallow. "Whaddya mean 'where's Dorothy?' She's right—" but she trailed off when she saw the pup wasn't sitting in her usual spot.

A wave of panic shot through them, but they gulped it down. "Uh, guys? Anybody seen Dorothy?" The growing panic in their stomachs only escalated as every other pup chimed in, claiming that none of them had seen her for some time either.

Dylan immediately called for a headcount. He meticulously got to counting, running up and down the line to double, triple and even quadruple check that everyone was present and accounted for.

21, 22, 23… 56, 57… 83, 84… 96, 97, 98…

Oh no. It was just as he feared. Only 98!

He could practically feel his own soul leaving his body.

How could they have lost Dorothy?! Why hadn't they been paying closer attention! He and Dolly threw the entire house upside down, frantically sniffing every single solitary inch of the building, but they just couldn't pick up their sister's scent anywhere.

With dawning horror, they realized she must have snuck out.

"Crud. Mum and dad are so gonna kill us," Dolly muttered.

The two eldest dogs looked at each other, silently agreeing that there was nothing else they could do. Reluctantly, they ran for the doggy door just as their parents had done earlier. "Dawkins!" Dylan shouted over his shoulder as they left. "You're in—"

"I know, I know," came the nerdy pup's irritated voice from the kitchen, already seeing this coming from a mile away. "Oh kibble."

The duo of siblings raced off down the street, hoping to find Dorothy before the unthinkable could happen. Dylan put his nose to the ground, wishing that his tracking ability were half as good as Diesel's at a time like this. Yet despite not being as skilled as his loopy, tunnel obsessed brother, he was still miraculously able to pick up the waning scent of their youngest sibling.

It was faint, but fresh. "This way!" Dylan cried. The scent led him straight towards the park, with Dolly following closely at his heels.

They hurried past the gate, nearly slamming into various other dogs in the process. Heck, they even very nearly trampled over a couple's picnic blanket spread out upon the grass, one of Dylan's paws just barely missing their bowl of potato salad.

Dorothy's scent grew stronger. They followed it, traveling further into the park, all the way down a deserted hidden path which led them to small area beneath a bridge. A stream peacefully flowed underneath it.

They called their sister's name, but still couldn't find heads or tails of her. Dylan's frustration began to mount. His stress morphed into vengeful anger as he thought about how all this trouble had started in the first place.

All because that creep Hunter had to come back into their lives.

Charming his parents and younger siblings. Throwing their house right back into total chaos. Oooh, if Dylan ever found that two-faced little jerk of a human again, he was going to give him a piece of his mind!

He didn't have to wait long though. Dolly abruptly stopped mid-dash to stare, stunned, at something over by the lake. She pointed over to it, and Dylan's body froze when he saw where the end of her snout led.

There, sitting right across the riverbank with his head in his hands, was Hunter.

Dylan found himself consumed by fear the second he caught sight of his former greatest enemy. All of his previous bluster disappeared on the spot, leaving him far too terrified to even approach, so Dolly did so instead, albeit cautiously.

Hunter didn't even notice them at first. He was too lost in his own thoughts. Though he had destroyed his aunt's camera, he knew she'd surely find a new way to track him soon enough, so he decided to rest for a bit before giving chase again.

It was only a matter of time until she caught him. And once she did, he knew his life would be over. She would throw him right into the madhouse, or possibly worse, but he honestly didn't care anymore.

He was tired of running.

Tired of putting off the inevitable.

He had no home. No family. Even if he somehow did manage to get away, all that was waiting for him was foster care, where he was certain no one in their right mind would ever want to adopt a messed up kid like him. Giving himself up was the only option he had left. He continued to blankly stare out at the water when he heard someone clear their throat. He gasped, startled, upon seeing the two Dalmatians slowly coming towards him.

"What are you lot doing out here?!" He blurted out.

"Um, what are YOU doing out here?" Dolly retorted, the irritation in her voice evident. "Our mum and dad are going ballistic looking for you."

Hunter winced, turning away.

This made Dolly soften her tone a bit, and she took another careful step forward. "C'mon, dude. Let's go back. I'm sure mum and dad won't be thaaaat mad."

The boy pressed his eyes shut and buried his face in his knees, curling into himself. "No… I can't… I don't want to put your family in danger anymore…"

Dylan perked up at this, surprised, but then shook the feeling right off, remembering just how good of a manipulator the human was.

His sister kept at it though, trying to convince Hunter to follow them back. She told him how worried their parents were, and how much the little ones already missed him, but Hunter still adamantly refused.

"So what're you gonna do?" Dolly demanded, beginning to lose patience. "You know your wackjob of an aunt is out here, right? Are you gonna just let her find you?"

Hunter didn't look up.

He hugged himself tighter, then solemnly answered in a small voice. "…yes."

Dolly and Dylan both gawked at him in silence.

"That's crazy," was all Dolly could say. She trodded over to his side, the irritated look on her face changing to one of confused, yet growing concern. She gently nudged him with a paw. "Won't she totally mess you up?"

"Most likely."

"Then hello! You gotta hide!"

Hunter quietly, yet firmly, explained to the dogs what his plan was. How he was willing to let himself get caught in order to buy their family time. He begged them to leave Camden and never come back, so that his wicked aunt would have to start her search for them all over. With far less resources, plus one less sap of a grandnephew helping her, it'd take her another sixty years to track them down again if god was willing.

"But what'll happen to you?" Dolly hesitated to ask, not at all liking what he was hinting at.

Hunter gazed back out at the water for a moment, his eyes heavy with unspoken dread, before softly muttering, "It doesn't matter."

Dolly's face fell. She had no idea what to do or what to say. She shot Dylan a desperate look, silently begging him to talk some sense into the kid, but Dylan was still skeptical.

He sat on Hunter's other side, a good distance away, fidgeting nervously. That long, angry tirade of insults he'd had prepared in his head earlier completely poofed from his brain, leaving him barely even able to look at the human, let alone speak to him.

The human in question raised his head slightly, casting his sad gaze onto the dog. Hunter recognized him right away as the space obsessed one he had tricked, and another wave of guilt washed over him. Made even worse when the dog flinched at the sudden eye contact.

Hunter turned back away, feeling disgusted with himself.

"I…" he muttered in a small voice. "…I.. never apologized. I'm sorry… I didn't know what she was planning to do, I swear… b-but I…"

The boy held his head, his fingers digging deeply onto his messy hair as he mentally scolded himself for trying to make up excuses, even now.

"No, I still never should have done it..! …I'm so sorry… I'm sorry…"

Dylan's ears drooped further down as the boy stammered.

It was just another act. It had to be. ...so then why did Dylan find himself feeling so conflicted?

All of a sudden they heard a tiny, high-pitched yip. The three blinked, coming back to attention, and turned their heads upwards. They then proceeded to gasp. Right above them, peering over the side of the bridge, was little Dorothy, looking quite happy to have found her lost friend. She barked again, smiling wide.

Hunter was horrified.

It was bad enough that so many of the older dogs were out here, but even her?!

Dylan and Dolly, for their part, were quite relieved, but also pretty peeved. "Dorothy!" Dylan cried. "You are in BIG trouble, young lady!"

Dorothy tilted her head, still smiling, and still totally oblivious. Both to her brother's anger, and to the fact that her rather top heavy frame was dangling quite precariously over the bridge railing. The dogs and human all grew anxious watching her.

Dylan cried out to her again, this time with concern, warning her to please, please be careful. That she should not move a single muscle until he got up there to grab her.

But to the absolute horror of all three of them, the little pup lost her balance and began plummeting down into the river below, letting out a helpless wail.

Her tiny body hit the water with a feeble splash.

The poor panicked pup flailed her frightened limbs about in the water, crying out for help. Dylan and Dolly both prepared themselves to leap in after her, but somehow the human between them managed to outrun them. He dove head first into the river and paddled over to the puppy quicker than both dogs had ever seen a human move before. They were left utterly slack jawed.

In no time at all Hunter reached little Dorothy and carried her safely back to shore.

Her siblings were elated. They pelted her with kisses and nose nuzzles, grateful that she was finally back safe in their arms. She cuddled them right back, but not before shaking herself dry and letting out the cutest, squeakiest of sneezes.

Both dogs and human let out a small laugh, the tension in the air temporarily subsiding.

Dylan stared over at the soaking wet human with large, disbelieving eyes. "You actually saved her," he said, bewildered. Beside him, Dolly mirrored the same look, a smile spreading across her face. Dee Dee and Dizzy had been right after all, she thought.

The boy pushed a strand of wet hair behind his ear, looking bashful. "…it's no big deal."

He then remembered the situation at hand and returned to his feet. "Please," he asked them, expression pleading. "Take her back home, and get out of Camden."

The Dalmatians were just about to object, but the human took off almost immediately. Dolly wasted no time in chasing after him, while Dylan took a second to place Dorothy on his back before following.

"Wait! You're coming back with us!" Dolly shouted.

"Forget about me!" Hunter cried back, quickening his pace. "Just go!"

He zig-zagged through the park, jumping over shrubs, ducking between trees, behind signs, through the playground— anything— in order to try and lose them, but the dogs kept up somehow. Well, mostly Dolly, with Dylan tripping up on almost every obstacle. Yet he picked himself up every time and kept going, now determined to help the boy who had finally proven he was no longer his family's enemy.

Dorothy cheered him on from his back as they went.

Eventually Hunter led them right out of the park and into an empty street. Seeing that they were both still persistently glued to him, the boy turned around to face them, face red in frustration. "Please, just go away!"

Dolly skid to a stop in front of him. "Forget it!" She declared. "We're all going back together!"

If he hadn't tripped and fallen on his face upon arrival, Dylan would have heartily agreed.

Hunter looked as though he were about to pull out his own hair. Why oh why could he never lose these dogs when he wanted to? He inhaled sharply, about to scream at them, demanding that they get away from him once and for all, when a loud engine reeving up drowned out his voice.

The thundering noise grew louder, soon followed by a blinding pair of headlights.

A familiar red and black car shot out from around a corner, coming straight for Hunter at breakneck spreed. The driver behind the wheel proceeded to slam on her breaks, halting the vehicle right in between him and the dogs. The startled young boy almost didn't have enough time to jump out of the way, coming horribly close to being run over.

The door to the car was roughly kicked open by a high heeled foot.

Cruella, still donning her disguise, glared at her grandnephew from behind her pointed sunglasses. The scarf wrapped around the bottom half of her face had begun to unravel, revealing a scar covered chin, cracking lips and a jagged line of snarling teeth.

Hunter backed away, face going deadly pale as he took in the sight of her.

He thought he was prepared for this moment, but found himself reverting back into the same scared little boy he'd always been when caught in her terrifying line of sight. He turned on his heel, ready to run again, but was pulled back by a hard, painful yank on his hair.

He screamed as he was dragged into the car, kicking his legs madly. But Cruella, fueled by her fanatic thirst for revenge, managed to overpower him. She clamped a spidery gloved hand over his mouth and slammed her foot back down on the accelerator.

Once again her car sped off, leaving a thick trail of tire marks in its trail.

Dylan and Dolly could only stand there, eyes as wide as plates. The entire thing had happened so fast. Their heads were completely reeling.

They shuddered, feeling their hearts drop into their stomachs.

Little Dorothy's eyes started to water. Her young mind was slowly beginning to process what she'd just witnessed.

The bad lady had taken Mister Funny Face.