Another day in Camden. Karmi thought as she got ready for the morning. "Hey Dad, how was meeting the Dalmatian family parents?" She had forgotten to ask yesterday, too excited about the fact she had a new friend.
"Oh, they were great!" Zachary grinned. "Doug and I, we share a sense of humor."
Molly thought otherwise. "At least technology made communication much easier, which reminds me." She refilled their dogs' water dish. "After our trip, Domino can use a few online programs to keep in contact with his extended family, they gave us a list of apps the family uses."
Domino looked ecstatic at the news. "Yay! I don't have to say goodbye to my family anytime soon!" He bounced up and down, wagging his little tail. Karmi didn't need to be an animal whisperer to translate that.
Speaking of Eleanor… "Mother, Dad, is it alright if I go do my own thing for the day?" She requested. "I have plans."
"Of course!" Her dad said while her mother said "No." They both gave each other looks. "Molly, we talked about this." He whispered under his breath so the biotech major wouldn't hear. "Karmi needs her freedom, if you keep trying to put boundaries on her, it'll damage your bond with her."
Karmi didn't hear what was said, but whatever her dad told her mother had worked. "Yes, you can adventure out on your own today. But remember, tomorrow we're going to be going on a trip to the museum." Molly pointed out.
Karmi wouldn't forget, she'd never miss out on any plans with her folks. "Got it!" She packed up her things into her purse, and started to head out.
"Bye parents, bye twins, bye Baymax, bye doggos." Karmi waved as she exited the hotel room.
"Aw, why does Baymax get his own goodbye…" Domino pouted.
Diggs just snickered at the pup.
"Woah, you weren't kidding." Karmi exclaimed, ice cream cone in hand. "This stuff is good!"
Eleanor hummed as they took a bite of their sundae. "Yeah, that's why me and Kirby come here all the time." They explained. "Sometimes if it's just me, I buy a snack for Fergus, they make ice cream for dogs, but foxes count, right?"
"Foxes are both and neither cats or dogs, so I don't know." The biotech major shrugged. I wonder if any of the Dalmatians know about this ice cream shop, I bet if they did, this place would be rolling in dough from having an extra one-hundred and one customers.
Eleanor giggled, but then looked up. "Oh, speaking of the devil, they will appear!"
"Really?" Karmi turned around to see a teenager standing behind her. They had dark brown hair with an undercut, grey-ish yellow eyes, a bright pink jacket, and a small notch on their right ear. "Ellie, if I'm the devil, that makes you an angel, and we don't know who's shoulder we'd be perched on!"
The animal whisperer pointed to Karmi. "I made a new friend, this is Karmi."
"Hi." Karmi awkwardly waved. She had heard about Kirby a little bit, but didn't expect them to meet in person. Then again that should've been obvious, Eleanor seems like the type of person to introduce their new friends to their old friends.
Kirby hummed. "Hmm, well I'm Kirby." They shook hands. "How'd you meet Ellie?"
"Her friend Fergus got us to bump into each other, literally."
They raised an eyebrow, then turned to Eleanor. "Does she know about the-"
"Yep! I gave her a demonstration with one of her dogs, oh by the way one of her dogs has extended family with our local dalmatians!"
"Ellie… be careful of who you share that info with." Kirby shook their head. "There's a lot of bad people who'd like to have the power of understanding animals on their side, y'know?"
Eleanor didn't look scared at all. "That is if they believe me. Besides the Canal Crew and Dalmatian family, you and Karmi are the only humans that believe I'm telling the truth about my animal whispering powers."
"My friends believe you too." Karmi couldn't help but point out.
That got Kirby to glare at both of them. To Karmi they exclaimed "You told people?!" To Eleanor it was "Do you know about this?!"
"Yes." Both of them chorused. So far, Karmi could sense a bit of overprotectiveness over Eleanor. "She asked if it was okay to tell her friends and I said it was okay."
Then it clicked in the animal whisperer's head what Karmi said and they beamed. "Your friends believed me?!"
"Yeah, I mean we have sentient glob monsters, evil robots, and talking cats. A person that can understand animals is a tad on the normal side." Karmi explained.
"Sentient glob- oh you're from San Fransokyo, aren't you?" Kirby realized. "My aunt watches the news from there, it's gotten real nuts, hasn't it?"
"Technically I went to college in San Fransokyo, my family lives nearby though." Karmi chuckled. "But yeah, there's always something going on in San Fransokyo."
Eleanor, despite being puzzled on what their friends were talking about, was grinning from ear to ear. "Aww, you guys are bonding!" They exclaimed. "This can only mean one thing…!" They pulled out their phone.
Karmi's phone pinged, so did Kirby's. Both of them went to check theirs.
You have been invited to Friendship Circle group chat!
Accept/Decline?
"Seriously, Ellie?" Kirby shook their head. "You are such a goofball."
Eleanor just had a big grin on their face.
Friendship Circle group chat:
Eleanor M: I'm so excited this is the first group chat I've ever been in!
Kirby G: mood
Karmi K: This is actually my second gc
Eleanor M: Luckyyyyyy
Karmi K: It's a support gc one of my classmates made, but it helps me keep in touch with everyone
Karmi K: Hey Eleanor, can we invite ppl?
Eleanor M: Sure, why?
Karmi K invited Dawkins D to Friendship Circle group chat
Dawkins D: Uh, what is this?
Karmi K: Hi Dawkins! I invited you since it'll make keeping contact with you and your fam easier, and also I'm assuming you know of Eleanor by now?
Eleanor M: That's me n.n
Dawkins D: Yes
Dawkins D: It's honestly a relief knowing not everyone that can understand us properly isn't malicious at heart
Dawkins D invited Dylan D and Dolly D to Friendship Circle group chat
Dolly D: DAWKINS
Dylan D: What is happening
Kirby G: idk either
Kirby G: Wait you guys are the Dalmatian family aren't you?
Dawkins D: You both might as well be on here.
Dylan D: Fine but never inv us w/o a warning again
Eleanor M: : O hi new friends!
Eleanor M: hi Dylan!
Dylan D: Hi Eleanor. Dolly, do you have anything to say?
Dolly D: uhg, hey Karmi sorry I fired kibble at you the other day
Dolly D: Humans and I do not have a good history together
Karmi K: Understandable, have a nice day
Karmi K: Dawkins explained that you were mostly concerned for your sibs
Dolly D: He did?
Dawkins D: I did?
Karmi K: As an older sibling, you pick up a few things n.n
Dolly D: Well I was…
Dolly D: Last time my sibs befriended a human, we almost got shipped to Switzerstan!
Karmi K: Oof
Kirby G: Wait what?!
Dylan D: Long story. Very long.
Eleanor M: Is this related to the other human that can understand animals?
Dylan D: Yeah… I met a human named Hunter who was like you, but he wasn't very nice.
Eleanor M: I'm sorry that happened D:
Eleanor M: At least I'm not the only human who can speak to animals… but I'd like to have met a nicer one : (
Karmi K: There there
Dawkins D: Oh how is your robotic companion?
Karmi K: Baymax is fine n.n
Eleanor M: Wow I legit forgot about the robot ;-;
Karmi K: The original model is in the support gc I'm in, he helps moderate and keep the peace, so…?
Eleanor M: okay add him but no more ppl for now
Karmi K added Baymax2 to Friendship Circle group chat
Baymax2: Hello, I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion
Kirby G: y'know, when I wondered what'd happen if I ever was in a gc
Kirby G: Half the participants being different species was not one of them
"Dig, dig, dig, dig!" Diesel chanted as he was digging holes through the yard.
Dusty was trying to fill some of the holes, but each hole he filled, two more were dug. It didn't help that some of his siblings like Dakota were joining in. "Guys, Dylan is going to be very unhappy when he sees the yard is a mess!"
"But I'm trying to find something!" Diesel poked his hole from the ground.
His brother raised an eyebrow.
"Alright, I just wanna dig." Diesel went back underground.
"Uhhhhg." Dusty groaned.
That's when Dylan noticed what was going on and ran outside. "Guys!" He scolded his younger siblings. "It's not mandatory to-"
He was cut off by a cloud of mud kicked up by Diesel covering his head. "Dylan, are you okay!" Dusty pawed the mud off of his face.
"I'm alright-wait!" Dylan spotted a clay shard in the mud with patterns and picked it up. "It's Roman, look!"
Some of the pups froze from digging and looked over.
"Hey, I think I recognize that symbol!" Desiree exclaimed. "Isn't that Cerberus?"
"Who?" Dusty frowned.
"The mythical three-headed dog that guards the world of the dead for his master Hades!" Pups yelped as Dante popped up behind them.
Dusty had jumped a full foot away from him. "Gah! You should dress like a ninja because you are one!"
"Oooh, I wonder what other stuff is down here!" Dylan poked his head in the hole Diesel was in. "Diesel, anything else?"
Dante put his head in the hole too. "No! The dead must not be disturbed."
"Pffft, it's not like we've got a graveyard under our house." Dylan rolled his eyes.
"Touching sacred Underworld artifacts counts!" Dante protested. "I'm warning you Dylan, this won't end well for you."
The top dog glared at his brother as Diesel emerged to the surface. "Well unlike some dogs, I'd like to try and make a name for myself as an archaeologist!" Dylan turned to his younger and mud-covered brother. "Diesel, keep digging until you find stuff and bring it back up for me!"
"But I thought it wasn't mandalatory." Diesel frowned.
"This is different, because I'm giving you the green light."
"What does traffic have to do with digging?"
"Nevermind, I say it's okay to dig so you shall dig."
"Oh, okay!" Diesel went back underground to dig up stuff for his brother.
Dante's blue eyes glared at Dylan as he sulked back into the house. "Mark my words Dylan… you're playing with dark forces that were better off kept underground."
By the time Dylan had gotten all the pieces for the clay pot, Diesel and a few helpful pups had dug a massive hole in the yard. "I hope your brother fills that up soon." Diggs, who was visiting with Domino, pointed to the pit. "That does not look safe."
"I can't run around in the yard with that stupid thing there." Delgato complained.
Dolly shrugged. "Once Dylan is focused on something, you can't really make him stop."
"Dylan, we found something!" Diesel exclaimed.
The top dog emerged from the treehouse as the digging team showed him what they found.
Three dog skulls that had emblems attached to the head. "Did we dig up Cerberus himself?!" Dylan exclaimed, holding one of the skulls in his paw.
"What's that on their head?" Dusty questioned.
"It's the symbol of Cerberus worshippers!" Desiree exclaimed. "Dylan, what have you done?!"
"Find an archaeological discovery?"
Dante thought otherwise. "No Dylan, do you know how the worshippers of Cerberus used to bury their dead?" The top dog frowned, unsure of where his spiritual brother was going. "They only buried the head, believing that the mind would be taken to the Underworld and not the bodies, which they cremated. So leave their remains in peace or else you will disturb their ancient slumber!"
"Did someone say 'ancient slumber?'"
"AAAAAAH!" Dylan yelped, scrambling away from the figure in front of him.
"Who's that?" Domino pointed to the dog. It was a female poodle with dark black fur, bows, skull accessories, a few pink dye jobs, and cold amber eyes. She was accompanied by a dachshund with grey fur and darker spots, he was standing in the poodle's shadow.
"That's Portia, Dylan had a crush on her once, it didn't work out." Dolly explained. "Her sidekick is Spencer, he's a less snooty version of Clarissa."
"Whom?"
Dolly winced. "Let's save that for another day."
"Is that the skull of a Cerberus worshipper?" Portia gasped at the dog skull Dylan was holding. "Dogs that used to offer sacrifices and dark rituals to-"
"The ancient guardian of the-"
"Underworld." Dante and Portia chanted.
Spencer raised an eyebrow at their twinning. "Why did you dig up a skull?" He elbowed Dylan. "It's said that those who dig up their remains will be haunted by their spirits until they perform rituals to appease the restless dead."
Dylan scoffed. "Oh please, everyone knows that ghosts don't exist!"
"I don't know about that…" Desiree mumbled.
Diggs had to agree with Dylan a little. "Ghosts aren't real, but digging up remains is questionable, kiddo." Not to mention, it was making him, and a few others, a little uncomfortable. "C'mon, just rebury the bones and it should be good-"
"So not happening!" Dylan toyed with the skull, making it move like his mouth. "So not happening!" He laughed, walking back to his treehouse.
Dolly was also laughing, causing the trio of spiritual dogs to stare at her. "What? You guys gotta lighten up, there's no such thing as ghosts, Mum and Dad will just give him a talk later." She followed her brother, and the trio shared looks as they closed the windows.
"Um, Dante?" Domino walked up to the spiritual pup. "What's a-"
BOOM!
Thunder crashed and he squealed. "Aaaah, thunder's gonna eat me!" He ran inside the house.
Diggs shook his head. "That boy, I swear…" He twitched an ear to Dante. "I think he wanted to ask what a Cerberus worshipper is."
"Oh, I can tell him!" Desiree chased after Domino.
"Guess that answers that." The german shepherd shrugged. He twitched his ears as another boom echoed through the sky. "Strange, I didn't think there'd be thunderstorms in the forecast."
Dante had a grave expression on his face. "It's already happening." He placed his paws to his chest in a praying motion. "My older brother had invoked the wrath of the Cerberus worshippers, by disturbing their slumber, he will be haunted by their ghosts until he performs the ritual that appeases them."
"We can only hope that he learns the error of his ways soon, I hate to think if the ghosts will haunt the other members in your family, Dante." Portia also had her paws in a praying motion.
Diggs frowned. "Okay I agree on the whole digging up graves thing is a little disturbing, but I don't share the same supernatural beliefs as you."
"Not surprised, I'm one of the few folks in the family that's in touch with their spiritual side." Dante murmured. "Least you've got a good soul on your shoulders."
Something about the way the black-furred pup's blue eyes stared into Diggs was unsettling him. "What do you mean by soul?"
"I'm not as good of a reader as my littermate Deepak, but you've at least got some common sense." Dante replied. "Unlike my brother who is going to not have fun with that curse, I warned him, I really did."
"W-Well I'm going inside before it rains." Diggs shook a burr out of his pelt. He didn't want to stick around, seeing the trio of dogs give each other strange looks.
Whatever was going on, he'd have no part in it.
Besides, they were just saying that stuff about curses to scare Dylan off, right?
Later that night…
Domino shivered as a chill wind went through the Dalmatian house. "Brr, did someone turn the heat off?"
"Nope." DJ was also shivering. "I guess ghosts are real."
The pup paled. "Ohhh nooo! I don't want to turn into one of them!"
"Me neither, dog!"
"Why did Dylan have to dig up those skulls?!"
Diggs sighed. "Boys, I'm sure someone left the window open, ghosts aren't real." Why was he the responsible adult in this situation?
"You don't know that!" Domino pouted at him. "Monsters are real, why not ghosts?"
"Monsters are real?" DJ stared at his brother in horror.
He nodded. "Yeah, back in San Fransokyo there was-"
"Domino!" Diggs barked, the pup promptly closed his jaws. "Who told you about that?"
"Karmi…"
No kidding, considering how she's got her own monsters to deal with. "And did she tell you to share that info around?"
"Well no but-" Domino protested. "What's the big deal anyways? So she's taking a break from school, why is talking about the issue all hush-hush?"
I guess Karmi didn't tell him everything. Diggs sighed. He didn't blame her, the stuff he overheard from Molly and Zachary gave him nightmares. "It's complicated, and I doubt she'd appreciate you gossiping behind her back."
Domino pouted. "Okay…"
"No worries bro, I wouldn't want to tell people that the boogeyman army invaded my city either." DJ waved it off. "But man, I hope Dylan's okay, maybe Diggs is right, there's no such thing as-"
"My vase!"
A loud cry came from Dylan's treehouse, followed by screaming and the sound of paws rushing back to the house. "G-G-G-Ghost!" Dawkins made a mad dash for the couch, followed by his older siblings.
Dylan was still carrying one of the skulls he had Diesel dug up.
"What happened?" Diggs walked up to them.
"One of the skull heads s-started floating! After the vase fell down!" Dolly barked out.
Her brother was in hysterics. "D-D-Dante was right! The ghosts p-put a curse on me! What am I going to do?!"
It was kind of sad seeing the older dog in panic like a newborn pup. Domino felt bad for him, but then again, he was warned not to disturb the dead.
"Hmm, well I believe your brother's friend said there was some sort of ritual to appease the restless dead." Diggs reassured him. "The poodle, I think, Dora?"
"Portia!" Dawkins hopped up. "Of course! She'd want those spirits appeased before they take their anger out on the rest of the town!"
"But I doubt she'll be happy Dylan ignored her warnings." Dolly pointed out. "You've got some buttering up to do, big bro."
Dylan gulped nervously.
From what Dawkins understood, asking for Portia to help appease the spirits went successful, even Dante and Spencer were helping his older brother amend his mistakes.
What he didn't understand… was why there was a crowd of other dogs in the neighborhood watching Dylan go through the reburial process.
Portia was soaking up all the attention from the crowd. "Dogs of Camden, this is your warning to never disturb the graves of the worshippers of Cerberus, or you shall end up like this sorry fool here!" She pointed to Dylan.
"Ha!" One dog cackled. "Sorry alright, what a loser!"
Dawkins was mad at his older brother, but wasn't public humiliation too far?
"Ohhh, I told her not to grab a crowd." Dante was biting at his nails.
Dolly scoffed. "You're telling me, look at Dyl!" The top dog's spirit had broken under the weight of reburying the heads, and the recent ghost scares. "He looks like the worshippers took his spirit with them!"
"Brother?" Dawkins tapped his littermate on the shoulder. "Do you feel better now?"
Dylan did not, he had a mad look in his eyes. "Science has failed! The only variable is the whims of spirits, and I am but a mere puppet to their strings!"
"Ooookay…" He took a few steps back. "Good talk."
Dawkins gave his older sister a frown. "It's like he's… not-Dylan, it's creepier than when he tried dressing up to impress Portia, or when you went all-"
"We don't mention Camilla, Dawkins!" Dolly snarled at him.
"Hey guys?" They turned as Domino walked up to them. "What's going on?"
"Portia decided that the ritual should sell front tickets, and now Dylan's acting all weird." Dolly explained.
The pup gave Dante a look. "Why is your friend like that?"
"Because she has a flair for dramatics!" Dante exclaimed. "This is all my fault."
Dolly patted her little brother on the back. "It's okay Dante, stuff like this isn't new in Camden, after a self-care day or two, I'm sure Dylan will feel better."
"No, you don't get it, I was the ghost!" He barked out. "We were the ghosts!"
Dawkins blinked. "We?" What was Dante trying to say?
"Me, Spencer, and Portia, we messed up the house's temperature and did all those things to make you think Dylan actually upsetted the spirits. Portia was really mad he disturbed those graves. I knew that the spirits of those worshippers were long gone, but she wanted to teach him a lesson, I just… I didn't think I'd break him."
His older siblings glared daggers at him. "Are you kidding me Dante?!" Dolly exclaimed. "You terrorized everyone else in the house, not just us!"
"We get it, Dylan shouldn't have dug up those bones, but publicly humiliating him is a little too far!" Dawkins added. "We know you meant well, but you shouldn't have gotten Portia involved, she's not one to forgive and forget, y'know?"
"I know, I know!" He whined. "I'll fix it, okay?"
Domino shot a glance at Dylan. "You better do it soon, I don't think Dylan's a forgiving person either when it comes to being messed with."
Dante sighed, walking to his brother. "Dylan, you can stop now, it was just a prank to tell you off. Everything's fine."
"Ohh, I see, an evil spirit has messed with your head!" Dylan exclaimed.
"What?! No! Dyl you're not-"
"Portia, Portia! I think Dante has an evil spirit looming over him, we should perform an exorcism to cleanse him of the evil!"
Dolly and Dawkins facepalmed, Domino made a face. "He can't see reason thanks to Portia ritual-ing it out of him." The scientist realized. It would take more than a few words to rewire their brother back to normal.
Portia rolled her eyes at the scene. "Dante's just being silly, right Dante?" Her fangs were bared at him, a promise of a threat if he cut the show too soon.
He gulped nervously. "Right."
"And for our final act-!" She turned back to the crowd.
"Of the ritual." Spencer corrected her.
The poodle nodded. "Right. The final piece of the ritual! The sinner-" She gestured to Dylan. "Must bring an offering of atonement to the Ferrydog, if he accepts, he will return the souls of the Cerberus worshippers to the Underworld!"
"To the Underworld…" Dylan gestured with his paws.
Dawkins winced. "Oh kibble, Portia's planning a sequel."
"So we just interrupt the act and Dylan will see she's a con dog, easy." Domino barked.
"No, she's charmed the crowd, she'll pull a spin on us invoking the wrath of spirits and then mess with every dog in the neighborhood, she's that vindictive." Dolly warned him. "I should know, I accidentally stepped on her tail with my skateboard once, and she broke all of ours."
"Yeesh."
Dante wasn't going to let that happen. "I predict that it'll take a song and a dance to snap Dylan back to his senses, and prevent Portia from causing divine wrath." His blue eyes gleamed with amusement. "We'll need help though."
"As long as it gets us out of this mess, I'll lend a paw." Dolly raised one of her paws.
Friendship Circle group chat:
Karmi K: Hey Dawkins are Dom and Diggs w/ you guys?
Karmi K: They're not at the hotel, my mom called and she's worried
Dolly D: They can take care of themselves -_-
Karmi K: Tru, but they don't have phones.
Dawkins D: Yeah they're with us
Eleanor M: Hey where's Dylan
Dolly D: Funny story…
Dolly D: Uhhh, are you guys near the canals?
Eleanor M: Nope
Kirby G: I am
Kirby G: Wait WHY IS THERE SO MANY DOGS
Kirby G: pic,jpeg
Dawkins D: It's rude to take a photo of someone w/o their permission
Karmi K: Is there some sort of party going on?
Dolly D: more like the opposite of a party. Uch
Eleanor M: Can we come?
Dawkins D: Just stay out of sight. Most dogs in Camden don't have good opinions of humans
Karmi K: I never would've guessed! Do they also react by attacking with food?
Dolly D: Okay I get it, I used the kibble pump as a weapon
Dolly D: Enough already
"DJ, why are we playing music right now?" Domino questioned his brother.
"For the aesthetic." DJ smiled. "The rest is a surprise." He winked at Dolly, who winked back.
Domino shrugged. I just hope Dante's plan works.
He grimaced as Portia and Spencer appeared atop the canal bridge. "S-O-L!" She chanted.
Dylan, who mindlessly stumbled onto the lower level, mumbled the same thing.
"This is going to be simply dreadful!" Dolly shot a glare at Clarissa and her hench dogs, who were gossiping about her brother. Dog, I hate that corgi.
"Charon, ferry dog of the dead! I call upon you now!" Portia raised her paws into the air, Dylan did the same. "Take pity on this sinner, and accept his atonement for his crimes against Cerberus and the Underworld!"
Dawkins snorted. "Wow, and to think our brother had a crush on her once."
Dolly's response was cut off as her friend Roxy tapped her on the shoulder. "Look!"
In the fog, was a small boat rowing through the canal. Dylan whimpered as there was a cloaked figure steering it, all he could make out were its ominous eyes and dark fur. "The ferry dog…"
The dogs in the crowd gasped as the boat stopped, and the ferry dog reached a paw out towards Dylan. He screamed as he noticed a three-headed dog on top of their head, was it Cerberus' offspring? Here to take his soul after he messed with the bones of its father's worshippers?
"S-O-L… S-O-L…" He chanted, bowing down to the figure, praying it would grant him mercy.
DJ smirked, and pressed a button on his keypad.
"Ohhhhhhhhh-"
"Don't believe in all you see, this scary hound is only me." The ferry dog was… singing? Dylan opened an eye and-
"Dante?!" He exclaimed. The ferry dog was his brother? How?!
Portia growled. "This isn't what we rehearsed!"
"Three, three, three!" The 'Cerberus' pup leapt from the boat, revealing to be Triple D. "Three-headed dog coming through the mist."
Dante winked to his sisters. "Let me tell you now it don't exist."
"Stop it!" Portia lost her cool as the audience slowly realized the show was a farce. "Stop it now!"
They did not as Triple D circled Dylan. "It's a prank-" Destiny nosed his left side.
"To be frank-" Dallas nosed his left.
Deja Vu nosed the top of his head. "With your spooky spooky swank." She sang with Dante.
Her older brother smiled at the triplets. "It's a prank to be frank!"
Spencer scoffed. "Well this is a bust…"
"Ohhhh-"
"It's a prank to be frank with your spooky swank, it's a prank to be frank with your spooky swank-" The word wrapped around Dylan's head as he rubbed his eyes and it all sunk in. It… it wasn't real? Was it just a prank done by Portia?
"It was all a prank, your chain to yank-" His sisters' song seemed to answer his query. "She's an uber-crank."
"HEY!" Portia barked in offense.
Dante finished the song with jazz hands. "You can take it to the bank!"
"Word!" Even Dawkins chimed in as he crossed his arms.
Dylan just stared at his younger brother with a dumbfounded expression, Dante falling out of the boat and splashing him with water, Triple D shrieking as they were in the splash zone got him to snap out of his trance. "Wait… the hauntings were a prank?!" He growled at Portia.
"I prefer to call it performance with a purpose." She scoffed.
Dolly snorted. "Get a load of this poodle." She gestured to Roxy, who began cackling. Soon the rest of the dogs were laughing, not at Dylan, but the true mastermind behind the ghosts.
Portia let out a huff. "No one understands me." She shot one last glare at Dante, who gulped at the intensity of it, before walking away with Spencer at her heels.
"You do realize that canal water's full of highly dangerous bacteria." Dylan rambled as he lifted his brother out of the canal. "You're taking a shower when we get home."
"Annnd he's back to normal, what'd I tell you?" Dante winked to his sister.
Dolly rolled her eyes. "Define normal." But she and Dante gave their brother a hug, happy that he was doing a lot better.
"Aww, you guys-" He smiled.
"I'm sorry for pranking you." Dante bowed his head.
Dylan shook his head. "No I'm sorry for digging up those bones, hauntings or not, I shouldn't have done that."
"Yeah, you really shouldn't have." Dawkins muttered. "You're lucky no one told Mum or Doug what happened."
"I know, I know." He'd make it up to his siblings. Maybe I'll set up another frisbee tournament at the park! Diesel would love that, the least I can do for him.
The hug split apart just as Domino padded up to the group. "Uh Dante? Is Portia gonna be mad at you?"
"Define mad." Dante waved a paw. "I don't think she and Spencer are going to invite me to seances anytime soon."
His ears flattened. "Sorry to hear that."
The dark-furred pup shrugged. "Whatever, they're not the only spiritual dogs in Camden, I'll live, and I'd rather do my own seances than do one with dogs that publicly humiliate my family."
Domino nodded in understanding, he was just happy his brother's family were all well, and he got to see some of his brother's music too!
Meanwhile, across the canal…
"Eeee, that was amazing!" Eleanor squealed in glee. "I can't believe we got to see Triple D perform!"
Karmi lowered her binoculars. "Were they performing? Couldn't tell."
"Perhaps, we would've heard barks, but Eleanor heard something else." Kirby reminded her. From what they saw, things seemed alright with Dylan and friends, considering the top dog had a more animated expression then the start of the performance. "By the way, who's Triple D?"
Eleanor gasped in offense. "She's new in town, remember Ellie?" Kirby pointed out.
They sighed. "Right, well Triple D are actors that sometimes are in various commercials, and they do funny videos on MeowTube and Snapgram!"
"Ohhh." Karmi nodded. "So they're actresses?"
"Exactly! They're so cute and adorable, I wanted to win the contest where you could hang with them on set, but I didn't." They pouted. "Some other guy did."
Kirby turned to the biotech major. "Ellie would not stop complaining about that."
"Maybe you could ask Dylan if it's okay to schedule a meeting?" Karmi suggested. "He's their brother, right? And I bet he'd be comfortable if it was on their rules."
"Karmi you're a genius!" Eleanor exclaimed. They reached for a hug and she leaned away. "Sorry, but oh wow, I would love to meet them in person! Destiny is so sassy, Dallas is so silly, and Deja Vu is so dorky, they're so cute and cool!"
She had to admit, it was cute seeing her buddy happy about the idea of meeting their idols. "They did look well-coordinated."
"Welcome to my world." Kirby snickered, but they had a genuine smile on their face.
Karmi smiled back. "You guys must've been friends for ages."
"Not really, but it's been several months and those have been the best months of my life!" Eleanor exclaimed. "Kirby's the best!"
Their friend blush. "Thanks, I don't mingle much with animals so it's nice hearing the secret life of them from you, Ellie."
Karmi raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
"Well, I just don't want to get in their way." Kirby explained.
The biotech major placed a hand on Kirby's shoulder. "I'm sure they'd be happy to have some attention from a nice human."
"You think I'm nice even though I was snippy with you earlier?"
Karmi shrugged. "Yeah, you were just protecting Eleanor."
"T-Thanks." There was a blush on their face. "You're a nice person too."
Now Karmi herself was a little red, she had to admit, after everything that happened in San Fransokyo, her petty argument with Hiro before everything went wrong… She didn't feel like a nice person, a nice person wouldn't have hurt someone who was just trying to help then.
But still… Hiro, Ari, and the others there for her, even if it was just by text, they were always happy when she logged onto the group chat. It made her feel welcome, like she belonged for once.
Karmi looked up at Eleanor and Kirby, who were watching the stars glitter on the surface of the canal; it seemed like she belonged with them too.
Maybe she wasn't as alone as she once was, and Karmi was okay with that.
AN: Introducing Kirby! They're pretty cool and an awesome friend, I hope you like them!
Anyways this chapter is based off of the episode "The Curse of the Ferrydog" which is one of my FAVORITE 101 DS episodes, had to include it here as well!
Thank you so much for reading, be sure to check out Fallen From Power next week which takes place the same time as this fic, and see you next time!