Red lights, the sound of machines whirring and the pained cries of his siblings. He couldn't tell if the tiles were red because of the lighting or red because of the liquid pouring from the machine.
Mountains and mountains of spotted fur that belonged to his family were piled at the end, and all he could do was watch more of his kin be fed into the maw of death.
He felt his bones shake as a shadow loomed over the prison he was in. It had black and white fur on the top of his head, just like a dalmatian, but the creature looked human.
If he could call it that… with green eyes that pierced his soul, it smiled cruelly as its claws reached for him-
"DANTE!"
A gasp came from Dante's throat as he jolted upwards, as he blinked he saw that there wasn't a strange monster in front of him, but his littermate Deepak.
It had been his brother's voice he heard in the nightmare. "You were thrashing in your sleep." Deepak murmured. "Was it another dream?"
"It felt more like a vision." Something in his gut told him that there was this danger looming over the family. It wasn't the first time he had nightmares of blood-red rooms and mountains of fur, but this was the first time he saw anything resembling a living being in those dreams. "Whatever bad thing that's gonna happen, it's gonna happen soon."
"Oh dear." Deepak winced. He wished he could soothe Dante's stress over these string of visions, but he was equally terrified of whatever visions his brother was having of the future. "Maybe some food in your belly will give you the energy to help figure out what's going on."
The dark-furred pup frowned. "You always say that."
"Come on, let's get you downstairs, everyone else is at the table." Deepak nudged him off of the bed. "Dizzy and DeeDee were worried about you when you didn't wake up at the morning stampede."
Dante twitched an ear in acknowledgement. "Mhmm."
"And then Dylan sent me up to go check on you, I would've done it regardless but our older brother could use an attitude fix-"
Even if he wasn't sure what the future had in store, having his family there in the present brought some comfort to Dante, but it also made him more scared of whatever danger was going to happen to them.
"Bye Mum! I'm off to Kirby's again!" Eleanor waved to his mom as he prepared to head out.
"Hold on a moment there, Ellie." Eliana had something to say to that.
He gulped nervously. Oh no don't tell me they figured out I've also been going over to grandpa's a lot! When Eleanor wasn't over at the Greens household to help Karmi with her superhero training, he paid a visit to his grandfather to learn a little more about their family history.
It made him feel good, seeing the proud expression on his grandfather's face when practicing the fighting moves that had been passed from generation to generation. He'd even been sharing some of those moves with Karmi, telling his grandfather that made him give the animal whisperer a big hug.
"Yes, Mum?" He squeaked.
Eliana didn't comment on his nervousness. "Calm down, I just wanted to say I'm happy you've been out of the house more nowadays."
Eleanor relaxed. "Oh…"
"I was getting worried, you used to say you could talk to animals all the time." His shoulders tensed at his mother's words. There it was. No matter how many times he or his grandpa Davidus told her, Eliana never believed in his animal whisperer abilities.
Don't say anything. His brain reasoned, but Eleanor never listened to his consciousness anyways. "Mum, I can speak to animals!"
"There it is again." Eliana rolled her eyes. "Ellie, animals can't talk."
"Yes they can!" He protested. "Just not in the way people do, Karmi even told me there's a cat that speaks human back in the states."
Eliana frowned. "Of course she did, I'm starting to think that girl is a bad influence."
That got him to growl. "She's not! Karmi is awesome, she believes in me unlike you!"
"Ellie, just because she indulges in your animal whisperer fantasy doesn't mean she's a good friend." His mother crossed her arms. "When will you let it go?"
Normally, that would be the point where Eleanor dropped the subject, but after hearing everything his grandfather told him, he had one last thing to say. "Maybe when you tell me I had another aunt that moved to San Fransokyo!"
It was so silent after that, a pin dropped. "Where did hear about-?" Just as her face turned to shock, Eliana's face turned into anger. "Did your grandfather tell you?!"
"Mhmm, why didn't you ever tell me about Aunt Elizabeth?" Eleanor demanded.
His mother pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm not discussing this with you, it happened years ago and there's no point talking about her."
"You're just mad because Aunt Elizabeth wants to remember the family history." The animal whisperer crossed his arms.
"I am not, this topic is over."
He'd drop it, for now. "Fine, but I'm telling the truth about the animals!" Eleanor huffed. "Why don't you ever believe me? Do you know how it feels that your own mum thinks you're lying when you're telling the truth?"
She didn't respond. "Eleanor, just get out of the house." Eliana murmured, turning the other way and going back into her room.
Eleanor sighed. Not again… Whenever he pushed too hard, his mom always turned tail and refused to talk to him about the subject. Mum can't avoid it forever.
But there was no use talking about it, he had to go to the Greens household.
Friendship Circle group chat:
Dylan D: Hey guys our other dad is gonna be around for a few days, so if you come over you can meet him
Karmi K: Coolio! What's he like?
Dolly D: More fun to hang with
Dawkins D: very chill, he's a yoga instructor
Kirby G: Hey uhhhhhh Karmi my aunt was checking on the SF news again and uhhhh
Kirby G: Do you know of a school called Bridgeton? Did you go there?
Karmi K: I go to college at SF not high school but yeah some of my friends go there
Kirby G: …
Dawkins D: did something happen
Kirby G: article,png
Karmi K: FJSDIJISFI9SJDFIJFIAJDIADJISADJDIASJADIJADI
Dolly D: uh… is that some human language
Baymax 2: It is a common human texting thing called "keysmash"
Karmi K: I HAVE TO GO MAKE CALLS BRB
Dylan D: Well you broke Karmi
Kirby G: Mistakes were made the look on her face is Big Concern
Eleanor M: Uh… what did I miss?
Dawkins D: Nothing!
Baymax 2: Keysmashing
When Eleanor got to the Greens household he became aware that some of the Dalmatian family were also visiting today, and by some it looked like almost all of the pups were in the backyard having fun on the obstacle equipment.
"Why is the entire family here?" He frowned. Not that it was great seeing the Dalmatian family, but was Kirby's mom and aunt okay with them coming?
"I might be a snake person, but I do enjoy the company of dogs." Cobra's cooled reply snuck up on the animal whisperer.
Literally, Eleanor had jumped up in shock that the retired supervillain had snuck up on him. "Why do you always do that when I come over?!"
"Because you haven't learned to be more aware of your surroundings." They sharply replied.
Eleanor made a face, he was plenty aware of his surroundings! Except that time I got nearly run over by that jerk on a bike, or that time I crashed into Karmi… Maybe Cobra had a point. Am I that oblivious?
"Hey Ellie!"
"Gah!" He jumped again as Kirby popped up.
The jock snickered at his reaction. "You're usually not this jumpy, wake on the wrong side of the bed?"
The animal whisperer scratched his sleeves. "Sort of, my mum made a comment about me 'imagining' talking to animals again and I got mad at her n' stuff. She didn't even explain why she never told me about Aunt Elizabeth or the family history!"
"Jeez that's rough." Kirby winced. "You gonna be alright?"
"Eh I'll be fine!" Eleanor lied with a smile that was too wide. "So what's everyone up to?"
Kirby pointed to a set-up of a skating course, where Dolly was showing off some of her trips and the pups in the crowd cheered. "Someone's doing good after the talent show." He was worried that the skater would be bummed out since her act had been sabotaged by Clarissa, but luckily Dolly wasn't letting that bring her down.
"Probably has to do with the fact that Clarissa got in big trouble for what she did, and she won't bother the Dalmatians in talent shows for the rest of the year." Karmi explained as she walked up to them. "Because she got banned for the rest of the year."
"And it's still early into the year, serves her right for the stuff she pulls." Kirby crossed their arms. Anyone who messed with a peaceful family just because their members had different origins deserved to get banned from any and all competitions.
"Oh and I almost forgot!" Karmi nudged Eleanor over to a dalmatian that was the size of an adult. "Their other dad came over too, he's really cool!"
The dalmatian blushed at her words. "Aw, that's really kind of you kiddo." He chuckled.
Eleanor could see that this dog is where Dawkins got most of his looks from, he had scruffy, unkempt fur, but the spots on his forehead were similar to the scientist. He wore a necklace that had a sharp fang wrapped around a string, his eyes were a warm red, and he had a scar on the side of his neck.
"Names Dandy, Dandy Dot." Dandy introduced himself. "It's great hearing the kids met some nice humans, especially after the last time they met a human who could understand them…"
"Yeah we heard about that Hunter kid, shame that he uses his gift for evil." Eleanor crossed his arms. It was disappointing, the only other person he knew of that had the same power as him, and the guy tried kidnapping an entire family!
"Still can't help but wonder where he went." Karmi placed a hand to her chin. "Dylan told me that guy got stuck in his own crate, I hope he got out of there eventually."
Kirby smiled a little at her words. "Classic Karmi, already acting like a superhero if she's worried about bad guys."
"I'm sure that kid is back home playing Fortright or whatever it's called." Dandy shrugged it off. "He's nowhere in Camden, especially after learning not to mess with my family."
Meanwhile…
Hunter cracked his knuckles as he picked up a net gun. "Ooh it's good to be back! Those pups aren't going to know what's coming!"
But then he got distracted by the smell of a hot dog stand. "Food!" He was jumping for joy, his tongue sticking out as he drooled at the thought of food. But to anyone walking by, they would only hear his words as barks.
Cuddles hissed at the poor boy, smacking his head to get his focus. "Sorry Cuddles!" He squeaked. He couldn't get distracted by food, even if it had been months since he'd eaten anything that wasn't kibble.
He was on a mission to snatch some Dalmatians, to make his great-aunt proud.
"Hey Eleanor, you look a little down." Karmi picked up on the bummed out look in his eyes. "You okay?"
"I'm okay, don't worry!" His smile was a little too wide for her comfort.
It even worried Kirby. "Okay starting to think that argument you had with your mum bothered you more than you'll admit."
Karmi's reddish-brown eyes turned to the jock. "Wait, what happened with Eleanor's mom?"
"Nothing, everything is fine." Eleanor grumbled through gritted teeth.
Dandy made a face at him. "Kid, bottling it up is just going to make you feel worse. Your friends are just worried about you, take it from me, as a yoga instructor, it's better to let that stuff out."
The scruffy dalmatian had a point, but it was hard to talk about, so Eleanor gestured for Kirby to explain. "Eliana doesn't believe that Eleanor can talk to animals, no matter how many times I tell her she thinks I'm just 'encouraging' his imagination."
"Yikes." Karmi made a face. "If only there was a way to prove it to her…"
Eleanor could just see the lightbulb turning on in his friend's mind. "You're going to make a crazy scheme to make my mum believe I can talk to animals, aren't you?"
The future superhero clapped her hands. "You got it! Even if I have to hit her metaphorically in the head with it, I will not stop until your mum finally believes you!"
"Good luck with that." Cobra commented. "Momakases are prone to be stubborn."
Karmi had a funny expression on her face from that statement. "Sometimes I forget that the sushi supervillain back home goes by her last name."
"Hey Ellie if you become a supervillain and go to San Fransokyo, can you go by your last name too?" Kirby teased. "We could have double the Momakases!"
"Just because my aunt is a supervillain doesn't mean I'm going to spend a year fighting color-coded heroes and stealing from rich jerks." Eleanor crossed his arms.
The jock pouted in a playful manner. "Aww, but we could be sidekicks together! My aunt says that if they ever find their old enemy I could go be their evil sidekick while they have revenge!"
"You guys probably shouldn't say evil plans in front of me, since y'know I'm going to be a superhero?" Karmi reminded them.
"My aunt is teaching you the ways of superheroes, it'll be a conflict of interest for you, sucker!" They cackled manically.
If looks could kill, Kirby would be obliterated by her glare. "I hate that you're right."
Deepak could sense that something was bothering his littermate. Even if his aura-reading skills didn't tell him that Dante was troubled, there was a gloomy expression on the dark-furred pup's face.
"Did you get a vision that Dolly's going to fail her next trick?" The guru carefully approached him.
"No, ever since I keep getting warnings about a danger, my visions haven't been accurate lately." Dante whined. "Now some pups are saying that I'm just making up the whole 'seeing the future' thing."
Normally Deepak didn't get angry, but hearing some of their own family was making his littermate upset made his aura flare red. Even if he considered all the pups in the household family, it was an unspoken rule that littermates protected each other. "Should I talk to those gossipers?"
"Don't, the last thing the family needs is more in-fighting." Dante put his paws over his muzzle. "And these bad dreams keep getting worse, like whatever's about to happen is going to happen soon."
"Hmm…" Deepak wanted to help, but he wondered how? His brother was clearly stressed about the situation, maybe there was a way for him to help his brother relax and help him with his prediction problems.
A loud groan from Dylan got his attention. "Diesel and Dusty stop digging in the yard, this isn't our house! Dimitris I see that paint bucket you got there! Denver and Devon would you quit fighting?! And so help me Dakota if you try to swing around the equipment again-!"
He could sense deep strains on his older brother's aura, even from this distance. "I think I know how to help your predictions come true…" Deepak murmured. "You know how you think Dylan is going to snap if he doesn't go to the spa?"
Dante nodded. "Yeah but unless you tie him up and drag him over he isn't going to take a break."
"Well Dolly likes to do schemes to cheer us up, so what if I sell the idea that you're really bummed out about your prediction problem and persuade her to fake stuff to make stuff come true. Then you just have to make a vision about Dylan going to the spa… and she'll do it!" Deepak gestured, it was a foolproof plan!
His littermate was looking at him with wide eyes. "Deepak… this is the craziest scheme I have ever heard from you in my life, let's do it!"
Sure it sucked his visions were spotty nowadays, but if he could use his power (or lack of it) to get their older brother the rest and relaxation he deserved, he'd do it.
"Okay, so here's the plan!" Karmi had brought a whiteboard and had written on top "plans for convincing Eleanor's mom" on top of it. "I can have Diggs or Domino help out in convincing Eliana, remember when you helped me translate Domino trying to dig at the park for me?"
Eleanor nodded. "Yeah, but we tried that once with Fergus and Mum thought I had it planned."
"Well not today!" Karmi declared, and started drawing on the whiteboard. "I thought of some simple plans to convince your mom."
"By simple she means crazy and hare-brained." Kirby stage-whispered to the animal whisperer.
"All you have to do is bring my doggos over, saying you have to dogsit and at some point have your mom walk one of them, then my dogs can tell you what happened, maybe the Canal Crew could do some shenanigans during the walk and boom! Your mom will believe you." The biotech major had made little chibi drawings of her plan while she narrated. "And if that doesn't work maybe a trip to the zoo?"
It sounded like a good idea, but Eleanor was still worried. "Do you think it'll work?"
"It better!" Karmi crossed her arms. "We're going to convince your mom or die trying!"
That's when Kirby's mom decided to chime into the conversation. "What are you kids up to now?" Felicia frowned. "It better not involve dying."
"Karmi is trying to knock some sense into Eliana." Kirby shrugged. "I hope it works, if you and I couldn't get her to believe Eleanor, I don't know what will."
"Maybe I should get a hammer to literally knock some sense into her…" Karmi murmured.
Eleanor started whining. "Nooooooo-"
Ding-Dong!
It felt nerve wracking to return home so soon after such a tense morning, but the excitement of his mom finally believing him steeled Eleanor's nerves as he rang the doorbell.
Eliana had a tired expression on her face as she opened the door. "You're back already?"
"Hey uh… Mum." Eleanor sweatdropped. "So one of my friends is busy with her folks today, and she doesn't really have anyone to watch Diggs here?" It felt cold lying to his mom as he gestured to the german shepherd.
"Hello ma'am." Diggs twitched his ears.
"So is it okay if we watch him for the day?"
His mom had a deadpan look on her face. "You know I'm allergic to dogs, right Eleanor?"
Oh feathers! He can't believe he forgot one simple detail! "Oh uh… right! I can ask Kirby to watch after Diggs then!"
He glanced over to the bushes next to his house, where his friends were watching. Kirby was facepalming and shaking their head, and Karmi looked like she swallowed a lemon. Sorry guys.
"Do plan B." Karmi mouthed to him.
Eleanor blinked. Oh right, that. Now was not the time to panic! "Well maybe after I drop off Diggs we could go see the petting zoo at the faire? It's going to end soon and when's the last time we went to the petting zoo?" For extra persuasion he batted his eyes pleadingly at his mom.
That got Eliana to cave. "Alright, it is a day off from the diner today, and I do feel bad for this morning… it's not easy to talk about my sister."
"Because you got into a big fight before she left?" Eleanor questioned.
"How do you- it's not that." Eliana shook her head. "It's the fact she's risking her life to chase after the past, Elizabeth thinks that she can bring back the way things used to be if she finds our mother's old blades, but that time in the family is gone now."
"That doesn't mean it's okay to insult her." Eleanor muttered, but his voice was so quiet that either his mom didn't hear or she did and didn't comment on it. He could understand where she was coming from, you can't bring the past back.
But that didn't mean his mom was right for pretending the past didn't exist at all, or never tell him that he had an aunt in San Fransokyo.
Teen Dorks Squad group chat:
Karms: Hey I have a hypothetical question, how would u convince ur parent u can talk to animals if u could talk to animals
Hiro: Is this actually a hypothetical question
Karms: ….no
June: I would just tell my mom
Karms: sadly that is not working w/ my friend bc their mom does not believe them so hijinks shall ensue, until I have to knock sense into them
Karms: With a stick I found in the park
Meg: Hiro you've corrupted her
Hiro: I DID NOTHING?
Rach: First my sister now this Hiro is a bad influence confirmed
Meg: Tragic
Hiro: YOU GUYS ARE THE WORST
"Hey Dolly!" The skater was picking up toys when Deepak came barreling in, there was a concerned expression on his face.
Dolly immediately stopped what she was doing and put her full attention on the young guru. "Is everything alright? Were the Dimitrio bugging you again?"
He quickly shook his head, the Dimitrio hadn't bothered him since that time he snapped and moved to his mentor's place for a bit, which was fine since his parents were okay with him taking some space. He couldn't help but smile at the memory, even if he had felt angry and stressed at the time, his siblings had gone through fences to make him feel more at home. "It's not that, I've just been noticing Dante is really bummed out lately."
"Is it because of his whole prophecy mumbo-jumbo?" Dolly twitched an ear.
"I'm not sure." The guru felt bad for lying, but less guilty than he'd usually be since it was for a good cause. "I think he's upset because his visions haven't been working lately."
"Wait you think they're real-" Dolly was cut off by a glare from him. He knew Dante's visions appeared to be hit-or-miss at times but they usually came true in some weird way! "Okay, so he's upset, have you tried doing your guru stuff to make him feel better?"
Deepak resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "If that worked, would I find you for help?"
"Hmm, good point." Then a lightbulb appeared in his sister's eyes. "Oooh what if we fake stuff to make it look like his predictions are real, that should cheer him up!"
The guru used all of his power to hide the grin on his face. "Dolly you're a genius!"
"Wow, first time you've called me that." Dolly chuckled, she picked up the rest of the toys and ran out of the room to see where Dante was.
However, as soon as she left, the black-furred pup poked his head out from a floorboard he had been hiding under. Diesel's digging habits could be costly, but he also made a lot of good hiding places or emergency panic corners. "So she bought it?"
"Hook line and sinker, as the pranksters of the family would say." Deepak nodded.
Very soon they would get their big brother to finally get some rest, Dylan did so much for the family, it was about time the family did something for him.
Eliana was staring at the arctic giraffes with a strange expression on her face, Eleanor wondered if his mom was having the same thoughts Karmi did when they saw the giraffes together.
"Hey Mum?" It couldn't help to ask, right?
But he must've spoken too quietly, as his mom didn't reply. "Mum?" He tried again, and that's when Eleanor noticed the distant look on her face.
It was a look he had seen on her a few times, whenever she thought he wasn't looking or paying attention. Sometimes he saw that look when they were at Grandpa Davidus' house, or with the rest of the family.
"Are you thinking of someone?" He questioned, his voice a little louder.
That got his mom to turn around. "Oh uh, I was just thinking about work at the ice cream parlor." Eleanor might be naive, but he could pick up some lies, and Eliana was clearly sweating a lie there. "Speaking of that, I think I'll go get some ice cream for us."
Before Eleanor could question his mom's behavior, she began walking to the direction of the ice cream stand. "Well that was awkward, and I've had plenty of awkward conversations with my mom." Karmi poked her head out of a nearby bush to comment.
Kirby popped out of the same bush to nudge her back down. "Shhh you'll blow our cover!"
"Who's gonna snitch? The giraffes?!" She gestured to the thick-furred animals, which were glancing in their direction.
"Maybe Eliana can speak to animals too? Who knows!"
Eleanor snorted. "No she can't, she always gets Fergus' name wrong no matter how many times we both correct her."
Karmi had a frown on her face. "Dunno how we're gonna get your mom to finally believe you, I mean the petting zoo animals could help, but…"
"Starting to second-guess your plans there? Been there." Kirby patted her on the shoulder. "Sometimes parents are just too stubborn to believe you on things, the amount of times I've seen parents deny their 'precious wittle angels' being bullies at school…"
The biotech major snickered. "I know, my old high school's principal looked like she needed a nap, or five cups of espresso for dealing with the parents of the kids that like to make me do their homework 'cuz they're slackers."
"Thanks for trying to help anyways." Eleanor murmured. "I think my Mum is just… never gonna believe me."
It was nice of Karmi to try, but if Kirby and their folks couldn't convince their mom, he didn't think his new friend would be able to, no matter how determined Karmi was. Eleanor would rather give up than stress both his mom and his friend with trying to get Eliana to believe him.
"Eleanor… it's not okay that she doesn't believe you." Karmi was still tempted to metaphorically whack it over Eliana's head, but she knew that it wasn't a good idea no matter how tempted she was to do it.
Eleanor could only smile in response. "It's okay Karmi, I'll be fine." He did his best to ignore the looks of sympathy from both of his friends. But in the corner of his eye he noticed that his mom was coming back with ice cream. "Oh my Mum's back, you guys should hide."
"On it!" Before he could blink Kirby was dragging Karmi back to their hiding spot and leapt into the bushes.
Eliana had a vanilla ice-cream cone with oreo bits in it that she handed to the animal whisperer. "Funny enough the stand was run by some of my co-workers, they made sure to make one of your favorites."
"Thanks Mum." Eleanor mumbled before taking a small bite into his ice cream. The sweet mixture of crunchy oreos and cold vanilla helped keep his mind off of things.
Things like he had several questions and no answers because he could never get them from his mom! At least Grandpa told me about the family history… but why would Mum not wanna talk about her sister?
Then again, if Eleanor had a sister and they had a huge fight before they left for a city he had bad memories of, he wouldn't want to talk about her either. "Your mother still has that ice around her heart."
"Huh?" Eleanor glanced around, wondering who had spoken. His eyes met the arctic giraffe's pen, and he saw one of the giraffes staring at him with an all-knowing look in their eyes.
"That ice never healed, not even Norbert could thaw it completely, and it refroze after he was gone…" That was all the otherworldly mammal stated before going back to munching on the grass.
Before Eleanor could stop and think about what the giraffe said, he looked up to his mom with confusion on his face. "Mum, who's Norbert?"
Immediately Eliana stopped eating her ice cream cone, her green eyes widening as she turned to him. "What did you say…?"
"Who's Norbert?" Eleanor repeated. "One of the giraffes said you knew someone named Norbert and that he was gone."
It felt like time had frozen, as his mom stared at him with those wide eyes, only moving once a chill breeze went past them.
"How… how do you know that name?"
Meanwhile with the Dalmatians!
Dante glanced from left to right as he walked past Dylan, his older brother doing the dishes. He didn't need his nose to sense Dolly was nearby as his ears picked up her paws tapping the floor. "Boy, I predict that'll end in disaster." He muttered as he stared at the pile of dishes Dylan was cleaning.
Dylan scoffed. "Oh please! I'm the best dishwasher of the family, what could possibly go-"
Crash!
Unfortunately, Dylan didn't notice Dolly throwing a tennis ball onto the pile of dishes and sending them, plus Dylan, crashing onto the floor.
Some of the nearby pups poked their head into the kitchen to see what the commotion was, Dante couldn't help but snicker at the exasperated expression on Dylan's face. "I predict you're going to pop a blood vessel if you don't go to the spa soon, or today." He commented.
Predictably, Dolly popped out of her hiding spot. "Oh em gee Dyl! We gotta take you to the spa, you need a break!"
"No way! I need to clean up the dishes again!" Dylan protested.
Dante bit back a groan, his brother's workaholic habits struck yet again. "Y'know, the rest of us can help with chores y'know."
That's when one of the watching pups, Dumpling chimed in. "Yeah, I clean the dishes whenever I cook, so I can help!"
"Me and my sisters can help, we're pretty used to cleaning our room." Debbie-May added.
"And then we can get snacks after we're done!"
Debbie-May grinned at her fellow pup. "That's what I was gonna say!"
Dante chuckled at the two. Leave it to food to motivate his siblings to help with chores. "See? You don't have to worry about the house being set on fire while you're gone."
"That wasn't a prediction was it?" Dylan eyed him warily.
The black-furred pup was this close to placing his paw over his head. "Unless someone lets Dakota in the kitchen again, it's not gonna happen!"
"Hey!" The aforementioned pup yelled from the hallway. "It was one time!"
"And you burned water, no one does that, no one!" Dumpling yelled back.
Eleanor was staring at his mom in confusion. "I told you, the giraffes told me that name-"
"No, Eleanor I've told you once and I've told you a million times, you can't speak to animals." Eliana was shaking her head. "It's impossible."
"Hey if humans can go to other planets then it's possible for me to speak to animals!" He protested.
But his mom was still shaking her head at him. "No, humans can't speak to animals, when will you ever stop with your imagination and grow up Eleanor-"
"Okay that is it!" Karmi popping out of her hiding spot interrupted his mom. Kirby was glaring at Eliana as the biotech major stomped over. "I have heard a lot of things about you Ms. Eliana 'I never tell my kid anything' Momakase and I have words to say about it!"
The look on Eliana's face would be hilarious, if it was under better circumstances. "Excuse me?" She narrowed her eyes.
"Eleanor can speak to animals, he helped me figure out a problem with my dog and he helps translate whenever we're not talking to our canine friends on our phones!" Karmi pointed a finger just as Eliana was about to speak again. "And before you go 'but dogs can't use phones' the Dalmatian family uses phones and they've even met someone who also speaks to animals just like your kid!"
"You're just making it up." Eliana huffed.
Kirby spoke up next. "We're not! Maybe if you stopped putting your heads in the clouds and listened to your kid you'd know we're telling the truth! Didn't he just prove that by mentioning that Norbert guy?!"
Saying that name got his mom's eyes to darken. "Hey uh guys I think you said your piece you can stop now-" Eleanor tried to speak up.
But one look from Karmi made him clamp his mouth. "It's not okay Ellie, your mom deserves to believe you!" She glared back at Eliana. "What kind of mom are you?!"
If looks could kill. "How dare you try to teach me how to parent!" Eliana snapped. "You have no right!"
"Neither is always telling you that your ability is just a thing in your imagination!" Kirby pointed out.
Eleanor was moved by his friends' support but. "Guys stop, she's not gonna believe you…"
"See what I mean?!" Karmi sounded more angry at his mom. "Look what you did your kid! He doesn't think you'll listen to him ever!"
"Eleanor, is that true?" Eliana questioned.
He didn't respond, the animal whisperer just buried his face into Kirby's shoulder.
The jock didn't comment anything about their jacket getting soaked from the smallest of tears, but they did glare at Eliana. "Shame, shame on you."
"C'mon El, let's get out of here." Karmi walked over to him. "We could go watch TV at the hotel I'm at and order pizza, would that be okay?"
Eleanor lifted up his head to nod slowly. "Yes." His voice was so tiny she barely heard it.
As the trio left the festival, both of his friends sent one last glare at his mom before they went out of sight.
Eliana just stared at the spot her kid and his friends were standing, their words echoing in her head and the defeated look on Eleanor's face burned into her eyes.
One of the white-furred giraffes looked at her with a haunting look in her eyes. You messed up, you shouldn't have lied to him. A voice sounding like someone long gone echoed in her head.
"I know." She stared at the ground. "I know Nor…"
Teen Dorks Squad group chat:
Karms: someone will die today
Baymax: oh no
Rach: well it was nice knowing you Hiro
Hiro: HEY! Is this pick on Hiro day!?
June: that's every day for me
Hiro: Why am I still here? Just to suffer?
Ari: u made the gc
Baymax: Karmi, my twin has informed me that you are very stressed, would you like to talk about it?
Karmi: I am just fuming at one of my friends parents
Meg: the one that can talk to animals?
Karms: Yeah and it sucks I can't convince his mom and I feel bad bc i can relate to having mixed relationship with your mom but at least mine doesnt think I'm lying about things!
Karms: I'm just so mad hgfhdhfhdfhdf
Ari: we believe your friend, if that helps
June: its ok Karmi, you can't fix stupid : )
Meg: omg juni
Karms: hahahahahaha thanks guys
Rach: do you need help hiding the body?
Ari: SIS WHY
Hiro: RACH
Baymax: murder is illegal
Rach: you guys never let me do anything fun :/
"Man I thought Dylan would be back by now." DJ was chilling in the yard watching Da Vinci paint, while the pups caused chaos.
Da Vinci didn't seem bothered by said chaos. "Triple D would make sure he's getting the best treatment."
She had a point. "Man good call on Dante for using his powers for good and not chaos today."
Speaking of Dante, he had mentioned a small rain prediction and both pups could see Dolly on the roof using the hose to make it look like rain.
"I wonder what that's about." The artist stared at the scene of their siblings hopping around.
"I heard from Dubaku that it was some scheme of getting Dylan to go to the spa." DJ waved it off. "Guess he's just having fun now."
But when both of them turned to Dante, they saw he was staring in their direction, not at them but above them.
Whatever Dante saw was gone by the time the two looked up, there was this strange look in their brother's eyes when looking back at him.
"Dante Dante! Do you have another vision?" Dizzy questioned.
"Tell us Dante, tell us!" Dee Dee was bouncing up and down around him.
His blue eyes widened with dread as he opened his mouth and screamed.
"HUNTER'S CAT!"
"Who does that lady think she is!?" Karmi ranted as she held up a slice of the pizza she ordered, which had some chicken and red curry on it.
"Karmi I know you're mad but don't wave your spicy pizza around." Kirby had tried a bite and it was good, but too spicy for their tastes. "Also maybe don't complain in front of Eleanor."
Her eyes widened. "Sorry El!"
"Hm?" The animal whisperer had been too busy eating their garlic-cheese pizza to pay attention.
"Hey dude, you gonna be okay?" Kirby asked him. "We probably shouldn't have chewed out your mom, but it sucked seeing you all mopey again."
That always happened to their friend when their stupid mom didn't believe them and Eleanor came over to their house in tears.
"I think so, but I might ask Grandpa if I can stay over at his house for a while." Eleanor curled into a ball and hugged his knees. "I just wish she would stop saying that, it'd be better if she pretended to believe me than say it's just all in my head…"
Kirby scooped him into a hug. "Aw c'mere, I'm there for you."
Even Baymax joined the hug, the healthcare companion had been sitting and charging, but got up to deliver a warm hug to Eleanor. "There there, you will be alright."
"Thanks." But the animal whisperer still looked sad.
Karmi couldn't stand that look on his face, because she couldn't do anything about it. "Hey, what do you think those giraffes meant when they said the name Norbert? Is he like… an ex of your mom or something?"
"Dunno, couldn't tell you." Eleanor shrugged. "She won't even tell me about who my dad is, let alone anyone she used to date!"
"Maybe you just don't have one, I don't, my mom had me from a donor." Kirby took another pizza from the box.
The biotech major did not know that about Kirby. "Does that bug you at all?" She asked the jock.
They shook their head. "Nah I don't care about that."
"It kind of bugs me a little." Both of her friends were staring in confusion. "Not that you don't care if you have a dad!" She quickly clarified. "But sometimes it bugs me that I don't know mine."
"Isn't your dad the goofy guy that says too many dad jokes?" Eleanor narrowed his eyes.
She made a wavy gesture with her hand. "He's technically my step-dad, I love him to bits, but I do wish I knew about my bio-dad outside of what his family told me." Wait, why was she talking about this now? "Sorry, I shouldn't talk about this after the whole thing with your mom, Eleanor-"
"No it's fine, I need a distraction." The animal whisperer waved it off.
"My mom doesn't talk about him because my dad he uh… kind of was a bad guy? Like he wasn't a supervillain but he was one of those scammers that trick people." Karmi winced, but it was fine talking about him to her friends, who also had relatives with criminal records.
"I'm kind of confused. Why do you want to remember him if he sounds like a not nice person?" Kirby frowned.
They weren't wrong. "I know, it's stupid, I just used to hear that he was nice from his family n' stuff." Karmi mumbled, staring at her wrists. "Dunno, I just wanna know why he was such a scammer, just wanna know if he really was a good person or not…"
"Hey, it's okay, we don't think it's stupid." Eleanor reassured her.
"Honestly the answer is that there isn't really a truly good or bad person, people do good and bad things all the time." Kirby added. "Maybe he was a cool dude except his job was kind of bad."
That got Karmi to smile. "Yeah, it felt nice to get that off of my chest, Mom's usually okay with listening but it's a sore subject for her."
"At least your mom listens, mine could learn to." Eleanor bitterly muttered.
Bark-Bark-Bark!
BARK-BARK!
Sounds of distressed barking from a distance got their attention. "I sense that there is a call for help." Baymax took note of how the barks sounded.
"Eleanor, is he right?" Kirby turned to the animal whisperer, only for their eyes to widen in fear. "Eleanor?"
The animal whisperer had a look of horror on his face. "They're… they're talking about Hunter."
"Hunter?" Both of them frowned.
"The same Hunter that had tried to abduct the same Dalmatian family in the past?" Baymax questioned.
Eleanor nodded. "Yes! We have to go, the Dalmatians are in danger!"
"Oh no!" Karmi gasped. Thank goodness Diggs and Domino were at the park with the twins, but they would hear the call for help and come running.
Kirby was already grabbing their coat. "Well there goes pizza night." They turned to Karmi. "Hey Lab Lady, are you ready to fight your first supervillain?"
"Not really but considering this kid tried to kidnap an entire family…" She cracked her knuckles. "Let's go get this punk."
Meanwhile with the Dalmatian family…
"You have got to be kidding!" Dawkins was glaring holes at the window. The day we gave Dylan a spa day, THIS happens!
He was doing his best to get everyone upstairs alongside Dolly, which was hard as everyone was panicking and he'd be tearing his own fur out if Dafydd wasn't helping him out.
"It's doomsday, it's doomsday!" To make things worse, Dante had started prancing around like a human kid in a candy store when they saw Hunter by the window.
It was… creepy to say the least. "Dante, control yourself!" Deepak was trying to calm him down with no avail.
A yawn coming from the basement made Dawkins turn his head and see his dad rubbing one of his eyes as he poked his head up. "What's all the yelling?"
"Dad!" Immediately Dafydd ran to hug him. "That scary Hunter kid is back!"
Immediately he saw the sleepiness fade from Dandy's eyes. "What?!"
"Ohhh puppies!" On cue, Hunter made another threat. "Don't make me go in there! You don't want me to make a mess of your house, do you?!"
They all winced. "That kid needs better hobbies." Dandy murmured.
"No kidding!" Da Vinci shrieked as his face came into view. "What are we gonna do?! Mum and Dad aren't here!"
"Neither is Dylan, it's the end I tell you!" Dante cackled.
Deepak looked more concerned about his brother's mental health than the situation at hand. "I really should get Dante those herbal medicines that help with dreams."
"I'm going out there." Dandy stood up. He wasn't going to let that snobby rich teenager torment his kids any longer.
Both Dawkins and Dafydd clung to his legs as he tried to walk out. "Dad no! He'll get you like he almost got us!" Dafydd cried in protest.
"We'll never see you again!" Dawkins clung to his dad as hard as he could.
"Kids, I'll be fine." Dandy tried to comfort them. "I've dealt with bad humans before."
But another word from Dante got them to worry. "If Diggs and our newest brother can't stop him, you don't have a chance either Dad!"
"What?!" They exclaimed. Looking out the window, they saw the two dogs sprinting down the street, charging at the teenaged terror and bald cat.
To their horror, Hunter fired his net gun and trapped the duo with one shot. "Ha! Hashtag busted!" He boasted.
"Oh no!" Da Vinci gasped.
"Well we didn't think this through, did we?" Diggs didn't even try struggling against the net, he knew it'd be useless.
But Domino was still trying. "Gah! Why does he have a net gun?!"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Both dogs froze as Hunter stepped towards them.
Diggs could only gawk at the very long-haired blonde. "Did he just understand us?"
Hunter ignored what he said and turned to Domino. "You're one of them, aren't you?"
"Oh sure, assume every Dalmatian in Camden lives on 101 Dalmatian Street, how cute." Domino scoffed.
The bald cat looked up at Hunter. "I saw him with the family earlier." He stated.
"Wow, stalker much?!"
Hunter kneeled down so he was at eye-level with Domino. "When your family locked me in that container, I spent six long months in there! Munching kibble, getting my hair optimized…" Hunter rambled, not noticing the looks of pity and empathy from the captured canines. "But now I will have my revenge!"
Domino didn't care about that part. Six months? He spent six months in a cage?! Now that the teen was close, Domino got a good look at him and how he did not look like a healthy teenager.
Hunter's eyes were swollen and sunken in, his clothes were tattered and looked too big on him, his skin was a shade of pale that screamed "I haven't seen sunlight in forever." Despite this being the same human that terrorized his family, Domino just felt bad for him.
He knew what it was like to be trapped in a suffocating darkness with no way out and no hope.
"I'm sorry you went through that." Domino murmured softly.
The teen heard his words and was staring at the pup with a strange look in his eyes.
For a brief moment as the pale teen's brown eyes turned angry in a flash. "I don't your pity! I don't need anyone's, I'm a De Vil and I don't need anything from a dalmatian!" Welp there goes the idea of trying to persuade him to stop. Domino winced as his face turned into rage. "Now you're going to sit there as I get the rest your stupid family-"
"Hiyah!" Whatever he was going to say was cut off by a blue blur kicking his net gun out of his hands.
"Ow!" Hunter gripped his wrist in pain.
A person dressed in blue was staring at him. "So you're the famous Hunter I heard about." Domino perked up as he recognized that voice. Karmi! "Don't you know kidnapping is illegal?" She was in her Lab Lady attire, ready for action.
Hunter scoffed at Karmi. "Are you their new pet or something?"
"I'm their friend, and Domino and Diggs are my dogs, release them or you'll feel my wrath." Karmi crossed her arms.
"You don't scare me!" Hunter reached for his net gun and fired, but thankfully Karmi dodged the shot.
The cat beside Hunter hissed. "She's just some stupid girl! Get her!"
Snap!
Domino's eyes widened as he felt the net trapping him and Diggs fall apart. "We gotcha bud." Turns out Kirby and Eleanor had cut it loose. "Now get that jerk!"
He nodded, both him and Diggs pounced at the screaming bald cat. "Gah!" He hissed.
"I get that cats and dogs don't usually get along but trying to kidnap dogs? That's cruel." Diggs growled as he pinned the cat down.
Hunter briefly turned around. "Cuddles!" He aimed his net gun to try and shoot at the canines, but one swift tackle from Karmi knocked him over.
"Not so fast!" Karmi held up a fist, as if she was going to punch him if he tried going for the net gun again. "If you surrender, maybe we won't turn you to the police."
The pale teen scoffed at that. "The police?! They're just dogs, you'd think they'd arrest me over a bunch of ownerless dalmatians?!"
"Those 'ownerless dalmatians' are prized members of the community, some wannabe edgelord trying to snatch them up isn't going to get away scot-free." Eleanor crossed his arms.
Domino barely held back his snicker at that. "Uch Hunter you're pathetic!" But then frowned as Cuddles hissed at the boy, who winced. "Being beaten by teenagers, your great-aunt would be ashamed of you!"
"Okay you shut up." Eleanor glared at the cat. "Don't talk to him like that." Even if the boy was trying to kidnap the Dalmatians, nobody deserves to be belittled like that.
Hunter was staring strangely at Eleanor. "Did you understand him?"
"Yeah, you're not the only one who talks to animals." Eleanor huffed.
"And Ellie here doesn't use his power for evil." Kirby added.
Hunter let out a grumble. "You don't know me!" He went for his net gun again, and before Karmi could stop him, this time he fired at the duo.
Both Eleanor and Kirby yelped as they fell because of the tight net. "Gah!" Kirby hissed.
"Oww my everything!" Eleanor whined.
Karmi glanced at her friends in worry. "Guys!" Then she glared back at Hunter. "Oh you are going to pay for that!"
"Oh no I'm so scared, hashtag terrified." Hunter's voice was dripping with sarcasm.
"Did he just say a hashtag aloud?" Diggs questioned.
The biotech major had an equal expression screaming cringe. "I think I lost a year of my lifespan from hearing you use the term hashtag aloud."
"Sounds like someone's a hater!" Hunter aimed his net gun again but thankfully Karmi dodged the next fire.
I have got to get that net gun away from him… It was game over if she got hit with that, she glanced at her two dogs who were thankfully keeping Cuddles in place. That's it! "Guys go for the net gun, I got the cat!"
"Excuse me?!"
But that was all Cuddles said as Karmi grabbed the cat and held him up like a misbehaving kitten while Diggs started charging at Hunter. This time the pale teen panicked as a large dog was charging at him and got his net gun stolen by the smaller Domino.
"Karmi, catch!" Domino tossed her the net gun, and she used it to capture Cuddles.
If looks could kill the cat's glare would murder her over a dozen times. "You will pay for this!" He hissed.
"I think you said a threat but I don't care." Karmi tossed the cat at Hunter and he scrambled as he barely caught the cat. "This time I'm letting you get away easy, but if I ever see you trying to terrorize the Dalmatian family, I will make sure you're locked up."
Hunter squeaked in terror. "You'll… You'll regret this!" Was all he said as he sprinted away, Cuddles hissing as he retreated.
"Well that guy wasn't as scary as I expected." Karmi brushed her hands. "Now to get you guys out of the-"
But when she turned to Eleanor and Kirby, they were already free. "How did you guys get out?!"
"That would be my doing." A voice she did not want to hear spoke up, and Karmi saw Eliana standing to the side.
"You! What are you doing here?!" Karmi demanded with the net gun.
Kirby held up their hand before the biotech major could throw hands with the woman. "Chill, she helped us get out."
She was not chill about this. "She made Eleanor upset! Helpful or not, I am still mad at you lady!"
Eliana didn't look bothered by that. "That's fair, I came here to apologize." She turned to Eleanor. "However, you never told me your friend was a vigilante."
"Is that the part you're really commenting on, Mum?" Eleanor huffed as he crossed his arms.
"You're right." She took a deep breath. "Eleanor, I'm sorry for lying to you for all these years."
That got all of their attention. "Lying? Lying about what?" Kirby raised an eyebrow.
She sighed. "I knew for a very long time that you weren't lying about your ability to speak to animals, and it was very wrong of me to deny that part of you and make you feel that you couldn't speak to me about anything."
"WHAT?!" Everyone exclaimed, even the canines.
"You knew?! You knew all this time?!" Eleanor looked like he wanted to cry. "Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Yeah, not cool!" Kirby added, glaring daggers at Eliana.
Both Diggs and Domino winced at the argument. "I'm gonna go check on the Dalmatians and see if they're alright." He stepped towards the house.
Domino ran after him. "Wait for me!"
"It's because of your father."
They turned back to Eliana. "My what?" Eleanor questioned.
"Your father Norbert had the same ability, I was scared it meant I'd lose you like I lost him, but all I did was push you away." Eliana rubbed her arm. "I don't expect you to forgive me, but I can't lie to you anymore."
Eleanor wasn't sure how to take this, he had a dad? The reason he could speak to animals was because of his dad? So that's what the giraffes meant… "I think I might forgive you, but not anytime soon, is it okay if I spent some time at grandpa's?" He mumbled. "I think I need space to process this."
"Of course you can." Eliana reassured him.
Kirby let out a breath they didn't know they were holding. "Oh thank gosh the drama is over."
But despite things being okay… well as okay as they could be for Eleanor and his mom, there was still something on Karmi's mind. "That Hunter kid…"
"What about him?"
"He called himself a De Vil, I can't put my finger on it, but something about that sounds familiar to me." When Karmi glanced back to the jock, she saw a look of horror in their eyes.
"De Vil…? He's a De Vil?" Kirby's eyes were wide and their breath was shaky.
Immediately Karmi felt concerned. "What's wrong?!"
"If he's a De Vil… then that means he's a descendent of Cruella, Cruella De Vil." Kirby realized. "The same woman who tried to kidnap dalmatians all across Camden to make a fur coat out of them."
Karmi gasped. "Oh no…"
Now she remembered why the name was familiar, she hadn't thought much about the famed dognapper as she had been stopped decades ago, and honestly it was way more cool learning about the ancestors of the dalmatians than the woman who tried abducting them. But finding out that she had a descendant running around trying to finish her work?
It meant that the kidnapping of dalmatians could happen all over again…
AN: We are officially in the endgame for this fic! Anyways lot happened but at least I got to introduce Dandy! He was meant to appear earlier in the fic but I couldn't find a good time to slide him in, better late than never though!
This chapter takes place during the episode "Dante's Inferno" it's one of my favorite episodes.
The Norbert situation is something that'll be talked about in future chapters, but now you know where Eleanor got their powers from! (makes you wonder how Norbert was able to understand animals... ;))