Chapter 16
101 Dalmatian Street Part 1
After their adventure in Mewni, Molly and Libby once again piloted their gummi ship in search of their next world. Throughout the ride, Molly noticed that Libby was strangely quiet, even by her standards. Knowing that Libby was still traumatized by what happened back on Mewni, Molly approached her in an effort to cheer her up.
"Who's ready for another fun adventure in a new world!" Molly grinned, trying to be as optimistic as possible.
Instead of answering, Libby let out a depressed sigh. "I thought I lost you."
It was at this point when Molly realized that this wasn't the best moment to be positive. She couldn't imagine what Libby went through when she thought that she died. To make her feel better, Molly placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"After what happened to you and Star, I thought I was never going to see you again." Libby continued before briefly turning to look in Molly's direction. "It's obvious that our adventure is getting more and more dangerous. Molly? Can you promise me that you would be more careful? I don't want to lose you again."
Molly nodded, wanting to reassure Libby that everything was going to be okay. "I promise. I'm sorry that I worried you."
"Well, it's good to know that we, well Molly in particular, won't do anything reckless." Chirithy commented.
In response, Molly gave Chirithy an annoyed glare. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
"I mean that you always act without thinking."
"What? No I don't! I didn't know Star was going to use the whispering spell!
As she heard Molly and Chirithy arguing with each other, Libby couldn't help but let out an amused giggle. Despite what had happened, Libby still found comfort in being with her two friends.
After flying the gummi ship for a few moments, Molly and Libby came across their next world. This new world appeared to have a street that led up to a neighborhood. The moment that they landed the gummiship, Molly and Libby stepped out to see that they were in some kind of house.
Neither of them knew why, but they couldn't help but feel tiny when compared to everything else in the house. That wasn't even the strangest part. The girls realized that they were seeing everything in black and white, and even walking in one direction was hard for them.
"What is this world and why can I only see things in black and white?" Molly asked. She then turned to Libby before the two of them suddenly screamed in unison.
Just like what happened during their visit to Duckburg, Molly and Libby found out that they just turned into animals. They were both covered in brown fur and had snouts with black noses. Their hair remained the same, but they rested between a pair of long droopy ears. Finally, Molly had a pink collar with her heart pendant hanging from it while Libby had her turtle pendant hanging from a green collar.
Surprised by her new appearance, Libby took a closer look at herself. "Molly, did we just turn into dogs?"
After getting over her surprise, Molly squealed in joy by her new appearance. "Oh my gosh! So cute! So cute! So cute!"
As Molly was getting excited over her new form, Libby decided to take a look around the house. She made her way into a nearby living room and was surprised to see that the room was filled with countless dalmatians. Upon noticing the dozens of dalmatians, Molly started to experience a cuteness overload as she couldn't get over how adorable the dalmatians were.
"Those dalamtians are so adorable!" Molly was about to approach them before Libby pulled her back.
"Molly, wait! I know that you think they are adorable, but don't forget that we are two random strangers who just so happened to appear in their house." Libby explained. "We can't just let the dalmatians see us! They would start to panic and-"
"Hey, you two!" Molly and Libby gulped when someone noticed them.
It was at that moment when they were approached by a dalmatian with black freckles on her face, two long droopy ears, and a purple, orange, and blue collar. She also spoke in a voice that weirdly reminded Molly of her brother, Darryl.
"I don't know who you two are, but can you time how fast I'm going on my skateboard stunt?"
Surprised by the unexpected request, Molly and Libby stared at one another in confusion. They had only just met this dalmatian and she was already asking them for a favor.
"Um, sure, I guess." Molly agreed before the dalmatian slid a stopwatch across the floor towards her.
With that, the dalmatian ran up the stairs before returning with a skateboard. As Molly pressed the button on the stopwatch, the dalmatian rode the skateboard down the stairs before falling to the floor. Surprised by what happened, Molly and Libby rushed over towards the dalmatian to make sure she wasn't hurt.
"Oh no! Are you okay?" Libby asked.
The dalmatian then stood up immediately as if the fall didn't bother her in the least. "Depends! What was my time?"
"Your time?" Molly repeated before taking a look at the stop watch. "It was 7 seconds."
"Alright! That's a new record! Thanks for the help! My name is Dolly, by the way!" the dalmatian introduced. "What are your names?"
"We're-"
Before Molly or Libby could reply, another dalmatian with a red collar with a grey star hanging from it ran towards Dolly.
"Dolly, what were you thinking?! You could have gotten one of our siblings hurt with your stunt!"
"Relax, Dylan! Our siblings would have been fine! Besides, my new friends here have kept an eye on everything!" Dolly introduced Molly and Libby.
"Huh? I haven't seen any dogs like you around. Who are you?" Dylan asked, noticing Molly and Libby for the first time.
"Hi, I'm Molly McGee!" Molly introduced.
"And I'm Libby Stein-Torres! We're sorry we just waltzed right into your house. We kind of got lost." Libby said, half truthfully.
It was at that moment when everyone heard a lot of noise coming from the living room. This was strange to Dylan and Dolly because even by the standards of their dozens of dalmatian siblings, this was too much noise. Suddenly, one of the dalmatian puppies came running from the living room trembling in terror.
"Dylan! Dolly! Help! There are monsters in the living room! We are really scared!" the dalmatian trembled.
Thinking that it was nothing more than his younger sibling's imagination, Dylan decided to accompany him back to the living room. "Oh, I'm sure you have nothing to worry about! If there really was a monster how bad could it possibly-"
The moment Dylan reached the living room, he took notice of his siblings cowering in fear of a group mysterious creatures. Molly and Libby recognized them as the Heartless, but something was off about them. They all took the forms of vacuum cleaners with the Heartless symbol at the front of them.
"Aaah!" Dylan screamed before hiding behind Dolly. "What are those things? They are monsters that look like vacuum cleaners! It's so unnatural!"
Dolly rolled her eyes in annoyance at her brother. "Way to keep things under control, bro!"
It was at that moment when Molly and Libby were caught by surprise when a black dalmatian a spiked collar and white spots suddenly popped out of nowhere.
"I knew it! This is the end for us and all of Dalmatian Street! We are all doomed!"
"Oh, don't be so dramatic, Dante!" Dolly told her brother. "I'm sure that we can think of something!"
As much as they didn't want to admit it, Molly and Libby knew that Dante was right. They would all be doomed if they didn't do something about the Heartless.
"It's okay, everyone! Libby and I can handle them!" Molly assured.
Both, Molly and Libby raised their frontal paws in the air to summon their keyblades. However, without opposable thumbs, their keyblades simply fell to the floor. Now annoyed, they tried to grab onto the keyblades with their paws, but to no avail.
"Something tells me that fighting the Heartless won't be so easy this time." Molly whispered to Libby.
"You're right, Molly, but I think I have an idea that just might work. Just follow my lead!" Libby then lowered her head towards her keyblade and grabbed the handle with her mouth.
Now that Libby was about to wield her keyblade even in dog form, Molly did the same thing and carried her keyblade in her mouth as well. They both swung their keyblades, trying to hit as many Heartless as they could. That was easier said than done since Molly and Libby were still getting used to their dog forms. While there were some Heartless that Molly and Libby were able to defeat, others dodged out of the way with ease.
As the fight continued, only one more Heartless remained, but it took Molly and Libby by surprise by blowing dust in their direction. This forced them to let go of their keyblades as they started to cough, both of them struggling to breathe. Before the girls could react, the Heartless charged towards them and knocked them to the floor.
As they got back up, they glared at the Heartless before running as fast as they could before grabbing their keyblades and slashed the Heartless at the same time. Once all of the Heartless were defeated, the dalmatians came out of hiding as they all cheered for Molly and Libby.
"How did you do that?" Dylan asked as he and Dolly stepped into the living room.
"Yeah, you two were awesome!" Dolly exclaimed. "Do you do this all the time?"
Molly nodded. "Yes, Libby and I always defeat those monsters to protect our friends."
"Well, we can't thank you enough for what you have done for us!" Dylan smiled.
Suddenly, everyone heard the front door open, revealing two dogs, one of them was a male dalmatian with a firefighter hat named, Doug. The other was a female dalmatian with a blue collar and a rectangle tag named, Delilah. The puppies stood up, all of their tails wagging excitedly.
"Mom! Dad!"
All of the puppies excitedly ran towards their parents, leaving them both surrounded in a sea of puppies. Despite how overwhelming it appeared, the parents seemed calm, as if they were used to going through this everyday.
"It's so good to see you kids!" Doug was happy to see his kids again after a long day at work.
"Okay, one at a time!" Delilah chuckled as the puppies leaping up towards her for her attention.
"Mom! Dad! You're back!" Dylan exclaimed, happy to see his parents.
"How was work today?" Dolly asked.
With a chuckle, Doug replied, "Oh, the usual! A firefighter's work is never done!"
"It has been pretty busy working at the hospital as well." Delilah said before taking notice of Molly and Libby. "Oh, hello! I don't believe we have met!"
Upon realizing that Molly and Libby hadn't met her parents, Dolly decided to introduce them. "Oh yeah! Mom! Dad! I would like you to meet my two supercool friends, Molly and Libby!"
"It's nice to meet you!" Delilah smiled. "Although, I wish that Dolly would have given us a heads up before inviting her friends over."
"We're sorry, ma'am. Molly and I were just about to leave anyway." Libby explained, wanting to see what the rest of the world is like.
"Actually, Libby and I are still kind of new around here. Are there any kind of popular areas that Libby and I can find so we won't get lost? Like maybe some kind of park?" Molly asked.
The moment Molly said that, all of the dalmatians stood up immediately, wagging their tails. Both, Dylan and Dolly shared nervous glances with each other as they knew exactly what was going to happen next.
"Oh no. This won't end well." Dylan said.
"Huh? What won't end well?" Molly asked with a confused look.
"We're sorry!" Doug apologized. "We should have warned you about the trigger word!"
"Park! Park! Park! Park! Park!"
Excited by the idea of going to the park, the dalmatian puppies pounced on Molly and Libby. As they were buried under so many puppies, Libby desperately tried to crawl out of the pile, while Molly giggled in joy at the idea of being surrounded by adorable puppies.
Eventually, the girls managed to get away from the puppies as Doug and Delilah led the girls outside before giving them directions.
"Just follow the road a few blocks down and you should be at the pa-" Doug stopped himself at the last moment before correcting himself. "At the you know what."
"Feel free to come visit us again when you have the time." Delilah insisted.
"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Dalmatian!" Libby smiled, grateful for their help before waving goodbye with her paw.
After saying goodbye, Molly and Libby looked around the city they were in. There was so much going on whether it was cars driving everywhere or animals fighting over scraps of food. Despite that, it still felt tame compared to the chaos Molly and Libby went through at the Dalmatian's household.
"Well, looks like we should head to the park first." Libby suggested.
Molly nodded in agreement before feeling a sudden urge to run. "I don't know why, but I'm thinking about having a race instead."
"Really? Me too! I think our new dog instincts are taking over. It's giving us so much energy!" Libby guessed.
"Then what are we waiting for? Ready, set, go!"
With that, Molly ran forward through the streets with Libby following shortly afterwards. As they ran through the city, Molly and Libby took in all of the wonderful sights of this new world. Thanks to their new dog instincts, they had never felt so energetic. All they wanted to do is run as fast as they could and not look back.
It wasn't long before they both reached the park. It seemed so much calmer compared to the rest of the city. After all of the running they had done, Molly and Libby laid down on the grass as they both panted, their tongues sticking out of their mouths.
"I never thought running could be so fun!" Molly started to calm down.
"Me neither! Not to mention all of the new scents we can find as dogs. Looks like the Bloodhound of Truth is able to find more scents than ever!" Libby joked.
Speaking of scents, there was one scent in particular that Libby picked up on. Confused, Libby continued sniffing the air, trying to figure out what the scent was.
"What's wrong, Libby?" Molly asked.
"I don't know. I'm keep getting this scent, but I'm still not sure what it is." Libby admitted.
"Want to see what it is?" Molly asked, curious about the scent herself.
Libby gave a nod before leading Molly through the park. They both ran through the park until the scent led them to a boy.
The boy had clothing that made him look rich, which consisted of a fancy red jacket that was draped over his white shirt and black tie, along with a pair of black pants and red shoes. He also had long pale blond hair that reached down to his shoulders.
The boy was speaking into a phone, looking as though hearing the voice of whoever was speaking was enough to terrify him. While Molly and Libby could still sort of hear the voice on the other end, all they could make out was a bunch of angry yells.
"P-Please. Just give me another chance! I promise I'll do better!" the boy begged, trying to hold back his tears.
Molly and Libby didn't know who this boy was, but they couldn't help but feel sorry for him. They weren't sure what was going on, but could tell that he was going through a lot right now. As the yelling continued, the boy let out a sad sigh.
"I-I understand. I'll meet you at 101 Dalmatian Street." the boy replied before hanging up the phone.
Upon hearing that name, Molly and Libby exchanged shocked looks. Whoever this boy was, he seemed to want to head over to the dalmatians' home for whatever reason.
"Isn't Dalmatian Street the home of the dalmatian puppies we met?" Molly whispered.
"It is. We should really warn them about this." Libby whispered back.
Unfortunately, the boy was somehow able to hear what they were saying, so he turned to face their direction. The boy stared at Molly and Libby in uncomfortable silence, leaving them both wondering if they should just run.
"You don't think he heard us, did you?" Libby asked.
Suddenly, a creepy grin formed across the boy's voice. "Yes, I did hear you!"
"W-Wait, you can understand us?" Molly gasped as she and Libby took a few steps back in fear.
"Don't be afraid, little puppies! I'm not going to hurt you!" the boy said, keeping his menacing grin.
It was at this point when Molly and Libby realized that the boy wasn't as innocent as they initially thought. Desperate to get away, Molly and Libby sprinted out of the park. Even after they had long lost the boy, Molly and Libby didn't slow down until they made it back to Dalmatian Street.
They both desperately tried to get the dalmatians' attention, to which the parents opened the front door for them. The girls immediately ran in before slamming the door shut, gaining the attention of everyone else.
"Hey, are you two okay?" Dylan asked. "You don't look so good."
"Yeah! What happened? Did you get into a fight with a dog who is bigger than you?" Dolly guessed.
"No, listen. Molly and I just encountered a boy. He was talking on the phone to some mysterious person. They said that they would be coming here soon." Libby explained.
The moment Libby mentioned the boy, the family looked as though they had just seen a ghost. After what they had all been through recently, they had a feeling that they knew exactly who Libby was talking about.
"Did this boy seem friendly at first, but was actually evil deep down?" Dylan asked.
"And was he kind of rich looking with long hair?" Dolly asked.
Molly nodded. "That's him! Do you know him?"
Both, Doug and Delilah shared worried looks with one another before Doug spoke up. "His name is Hunter. He is a relative of an evil woman who has been after our family generations ago."
"You see, several years ago, this woman has gone after my great-great grandparents and tried to make fur coats out of them, along with their puppies." Delilah explained.
Hearing this left Molly and Libby horrified. They couldn't imagine what horrors those poor dalmatians had to go through when they met that awful woman.
"That's horrible!" As much as Molly wanted to see the good in everyone, she was disgusted that there were people like that woman who existed in the world. She soon asked a question that she was almost afraid to learn the answer to. "So, who was that woman who tried to make coats out of your family."
It took Delilah a moment to gain the courage to even say her name. "Her name is Cruella De Vil."