Author's Note: Welcome back, Its been months since I was able to get a good amount of chapters in, mainly because of College work has been killing me. I really am sorry for the long wait, making you all wait like this bugs the crap out of me. But hey, Its here now, so its all good and dandy. Cya next time, Hopefully next wont be next year.
It was getting late, the crickets were starting to make their usual repetitive sounds as they always did, It was more quiet in the county compared to Adventure Bay or Adventure City for sure, for obvious reasons being the lack of skyscrapers with lights that never seemed to go out or cars that were always on the road no matter how early in the morning. The silence was almost deafening, the peace and quiet was something nobody really complained about. Dixie and Dixon loved that quiet life, however, today was not the day to admit it's peaceful tone.
Dixon tapped his paw impatiently, standing near the window of the homestead. The tapping of his paw against the floor was some sort of lullaby, his brain tried to get him to just shut his eyes and go to sleep, but Dixon couldn't. Neither could Dixie as she was behind him, swiping her paw with a small toy. Of course she was a fully grown cat, playing with a toy was kitten behaviour, but she had nothing else to do as she waited for his brother for any sort of sign. "Nothing?" She asked
"I don't see any of them still, do you think something happened to them?" Dixon asked back, with a glimpse of doubt in his tone.
"They'll be fine, just give them some time" One female voice said from the side, coming from the kitchen area. Dixie and Dixon looked over to see the female feline, her fur very distinct with brown and orange patches of fur. She carried a mug that steamed with a hot brew, carrying it over to the couch. "Ummm…Whats your name again?" Dixie asked.
"Lily"
"Lily, right, how can you be sure they'll be okay?" She asked.
"Let's just say those dogs have a history of getting themselves out of dangerous situations" She stated, taking a sip from her hot drink.
"I can vouch for that, but I can't say I'm not a little bit worried too" In came another cat, this time it was Klaus. Coming out from the kitchen just like Lily did to jump up onto the couch and lay down onto his side. "You'll see, Atleast we know they got there. The Media is already reporting a large number of dogs running around the county, they must have gotten free" Lily stated.
"Oh man, I can't wait to see the look on the Sheriff's face when he has to take fault for that, He's already a joke to a lot of cats since the Prison incident." Dixon reminded, Dixie and Lily nodded.
Klaus shifted in his seat, a bit uncomfortable hearing his brother being mentioned, furthermore thinking about made Klaus's heart jump. How much trouble would his brother be in with the mayor for letting all of this happen, fearing that his life may be cut short if Griffin wanted to axe him out of his plans.
Surely that wouldn't happen, Klaus had to remind himself, but deep down even he wasn't sure anymore. Klaus looked at Dixon and Dixie who seemed to revel in the thought, however when he looked over at Lily, she was already staring back at him with a perplexed look. Klaus looked away, trying not to act to incriminate himself with such a blank face. "Uh huh, Cant wait" Klaus muttered.
Lily blinked away from Klaus, her focus turning to the front door. All four in fact noticed there was a burst of light coming in from the front windows, as well as what seemed like the rumble of an engine. "They're back, They made it!" Dixie shot up from her seat on the sofa, and sprang to the door.
All the others did the same as they saw Dixie push open the front door, in the front area of the Homestead was the Paw Patroller, all of the crew was getting out. Including Brax who she was extra surprised to see. "Yall are some tough cookies, We were worried that all of you were going to bite off more than you could chew, but I guess we were wrong" Dixon flicked his tail as he and his sister, one by one, patted and hugged each dog. Dixie and Dixon however hugging the mountain dog a bit more, Rocky, Rubble, and Chase knowing that they had a good friendship.
"Dixon, Dixie, Its good to see you both" Brax greeted, his body still aching with pain from Susanna's dog fighting games, although hurt and bruised, he was going to be alright for sure. It didn't take long for the two to notice all the marks, and cuts, and lashes across his body. "What happened to you?" Dixon asked.
"Susanna, She was hosting a dog fighting ring underneath her Slaughterhouse. It was brutal, she had the dogs drugged up on some…some gas that made you violent. It was horrible" Chase replied.
"That does sound horrible, I bet Susanna is going to have a lot to answer for when she goes in front of a camera" Dixon chuckled, seeing all of the crew look at each other, knowing that time wont come anytime soon, or ever. "That wont be happening Dixon, Susanna is dead" Rocky stated. Dixon and Dixie both felt shocked to their core to hear such a revelation, their shock turned to meaningless shrug as the feeling turned mutual between the two siblings. "Good Riddance" Dixie comment, spitting on the ground as if she were spitting on Susanna's corpse and everything she stood for.
"B-But what about the farm, the profits, you said Susanna was your biggest buyer to keep the farm going" Rubble asked. "Yeah, We'll have to figure something out for sure. But honestly, knowing what she was behind, I'll have no problems sleeping tonight knowing that shes gone forever. In fact, I'll sleep like a kitten" Dixie replied.
"You think Dash might actually thank us for getting rid of Susanna?" Chase asked toward Rocky, as they paced up the stairs of the porch.
"I don't feel like he'd be in a mood to come out of the barn" Rocky replied, catching Dixie's attention with a smirk, as if there was something on Dash they didn't know about yet. The two cats looking at each other with something dying to tell them.
"Okay, I know that face, What happened while we were gone?" Chase asked.
"Look inside and see for yourself" Dixon replied, letting the crew step inside, for some like Skye, Marshall, and Zuma, They still hadnt gotten used to the house yet, however for Chase, Rocky, and Rubble, as they looked around, nothing was quite out of the ordinary. That is however until they finally spotted what was so obvious. Inside the kitchen, was Dash.
The Trio could barely believe their eyes, the dog that had resented being near cats was not only within proximity, not only willingly inside the house. But it looked like he was helping do things. Although he didn't have a smile on his face when they saw him, it was still a surprising sight, they wouldn't have believed it if they didn't see it.
Dash locked eyes with all three of them, he scoffed as he glanced away. Not quite telling if he still thought low of them for being friends with cats or if he wasn't in the mood to hear their surprised talk. Nevertheless, Rubble stepped forward. "Well Well Well, Look who came out of the barn and into fancy cat life" Dash scoffed at the British Bulldog in response, only narrowing his eyes and going back to what he was doing before, sorting out what dishes went where.
"Don't patronize him, It took me forever to convince him to come inside, let alone help out with chores. Just leave him be" Dixie exclaimed, almost swatting the bulldog on his nose with her paw, Rubble backed away, looking back at Chase and Rocky for any say in the matter. They looked back with surprised faces, they were equally silent and just as surprised to hear such a tone come from Dixie of all cats.
"Chase, Rocky, Rubble, Its good to finally meet you both" The three turned around to see two cats come up to them, One male and one female. "My name is Lily" The female said, pointing with her tail toward the other male cat with white patches of fur. "This is Klaus" The male feline gave a short but welcoming wave.
"We learned about what you were up to, and I have to say, We're both extremely impressed" She stated. "And extremely grateful, Dogs being forced to fight each other for entertainment, not cool at all" Klaus shook his head.
"T-Thanks, H-How did you know our names though" Chase asked, Lily was about to speak, however Skye had chimed, walking right to the German shepherd. "Because she's FBI" The cockapoo stated.
Lily turned vex, frustrated and on the verge of popping a vein as she eyed the cockapoo with a fierce look that could kill. "What, They have to know sometime later" Skye replied, which was true, everyone else knew about it, so it only seemed sensible to get Chase, Rocky, and Rubble up to speed with everything.
Lily breathed out in irritation, It was too late in the night to argue and she had a lot more to focus on in the morning. "Whatever, Im going to bed, Where exactly am I sleeping in here" Lily asked.
"Hey woah woah woah, Theres not enough rooms and beds for everybody to sleep in here" Dixon pointed out, it was already tight with Chase, Rocky, and Rubble living in the guest room, but now more dogs, two extra cats, and a human. There was simply no way.
"Its okay, We can sleep in the Paw Patroller, Also Thank you Dixie and Dixon for taking care of Chase, Rubble, and Rocky, It means a lot" Ryder thanked.
"It was no trouble, Dixon and I were used to having at least one dog around." Dixie replied.
"Glad to see how much of an impression I made on you both" Brax commented with a hint of amusement in his rough tone, laying on his side on the carpet.
"Of course, now lets get you onto a good clean bed for the night" Dixon stated, already wondering how he was going to drag the mountain dog. "Im fine on the carpet, just get me and pillow and a blanket"
"Will do, Good night to the rest of you" Klaus wished.
"And tomorrow morning, we can recollect and figure out where to go from there. I feel like the Sheriff is the next one to be considered" Ryder stated, Klaus looked at the human at the mention of his brother.
Klaus once again hoping for the best scenario, hoping that it won't end up with his brother dead, whatever plan they were going to conjure tomorrow morning.
Next morning, Still dark from it being so early except for the shade of orange that cast over the horizon. Usually a new day was something to look forward to for a good portion of the cats in the county, however on this day, it was just another drop in the river of death. Around the Slaughterhouse of Susanna, Multiple patrol cars and vans littered the area. Their lights on but their sirens silent, some unmarked cars and some cats on scene weren't all police, some were sent from the coroners.
One at a time, Stretchers were carried out and loaded into the vans, no ambulances in sight, everyone know each body that came out of that hell hole was far from alive. Some were cats, but a good portion of them were dogs that had been apart from Susanna's handwork when one dog no longer served its purpose when it lost a fight. Sheriff Reno who was on scene, eyed each body that came out of the building.
His face was glittered with grief and a deep sting of betrayal as he saw each body with the white tarp being carried out by his deputies. It wasn't the sight of death that turned his stomach, more so at the realized-on Susanna had been doing with the prisoners. If Reno knew all along, he would have never let Susanna handle it in the first place, Reno wasn't a fan of dogs, but even the most barbaric of cats could open their eyes and see their was close to monstrous.
"Let me go, I need to see her!" Reno turned around as he heard a familiar voice, It was the Mayor, Griffin. He was being blocked by two deputies that refused to let him through. Understandably Reno knew why, It was a police scene, and no one unauthorized was allowed in, not even the Major. "Im sorry Sir, But I cant let you in" One deputy said. Both feline cops using their bodies to obstruct the Mayor, Reno knew why he was here and who he wanted to see.
"I'll have both of your badges laying down on the Sheriff's desk if you don't step aside" Griffin threatened, as Mayor he couldn't do anything, but being so influential to the Sheriff behind the scenes, he could do anything he pleased in his mind. Both deputies looked at each other unsurely, but nevertheless they persisted and stood firm. "Hey!" Reno shouted, feeling it was best to step in himself.
Both deputies turned around and turned white, thinking their boss was going to side with the Mayor and go through with Griffin's threat after all. "M-Morning Sheriff" One muttered.
"Morning, You're dismissed from holding the perimeter, go and help the detectives gather photos and evidence" He said to the two, both knew it was a lawful order and they couldn't complain, walking away from the two heading into the Slaughterhouse building to go down into secluded area where it all happened.
"Appreciate it, I just want to-" Griffin almost paced right past Reno, until Reno swung his tail right in front of him to stop him. It seemed Reno was serious about not letting anyone inside, no matter who. "You're making a big mistake Reno" Griffin hissed.
"I've made a lot of mistakes Griffin, One of them was trusting your sister" Reno spat back with as much ferocity. "How dare you blame my sister for this!" Griffin grunted in anger, trying to hold back such a comment about his sister who wasn't even alive now. "She was fixing the problem you couldn't contain" Griffin said.
"No, She was turning the problem into her own personal blood arena for dogs, Face it Griffin, Shes Dead, Theres more rabid dogs out on the loose, and whatever shred of staying unnoticed we had before is gone" Reno almost shouted, Griffin was taken back, Reno laying it all out in front of him was enough to get his brain ticking again, however it didn't stray him from what he was originally here for.
"Reno, Take me to her" He held his head low, knowing he was right and everything was falling apart around him, his regime of cat supremacy was blowing away like dust, he didn't want to think about it right, he just wanted closure.
Reno could partly understand his stubbornness, Reno thought of his own sibling, Klaus, he would be just as stubborn if not more if the roles were reversed and his brother was the one dead. Reno stepped away and motioned the mayor with his head to follow. Bringing him to a van that was no different from the others, opening the back and pointing with his paw to to one slide with a white tarp over it, inside they van were others the exact same, but Griffin took his word for it and padded forward to see, lifting the tarp slowly, knowing what he was going to see wasn't going to leave him until the day he died, under the tarp greeted him with a mangled and disfigured face of a cat, stubby nose was torn off in a brutal fashion, around the edges were bite marks and clear signs the cuts and tears weren't done with a knife. Some of her fur was crusted in a dark red but still black from the dried blood, teeth were missing, and there were parts of her bone that were openly exposed.
Griffin choked at the fine scene of his sister, almost getting the urge to curl up into a ball and remember the good old days of when none of this ever happened, both the two were just kittens. Reno placed a paw on Griffin. "What she did was terrible, and we both can agree on that, but Im still sorry you had to see her like this" Reno expressed.
Griffin didn't reply, only collecting himself briefly as he face his head up to the sky, his eyes closed trying to hold back emotion that just wanted to burst out of him. He agreed with what Reno had said. Griffin wasn't going to make excuses in his mind for what Susanna had done, lying about all of this and make dogs fight each other for entertainment, putting the entire organization at risk, she was stupid for doing it, but he just wanted her to be alive in the end.
"Hows Lou?" Reno asked, trying to shift the subject just a little bit. "Hes fine, He got beaten pretty badly"
"From what?" Reno asked.
"Paw Patrol" Griffin replied, Reno snarled at that name. Sooner or later he'd have all the details on how everything went down, but Paw Patrol's involvement was enough to make up his mind about something. "I want your department all paws on deck for Paw Patrol, they've crossed the line when it comes to my sister." Reno nodded, knowing it was going to take time to find out what he could do to properly get Paw Patrol, he didn't want to mention the legality of it all, knowing Griffin wouldn't even care at this point.
"I'll see what I can bring to the Judges so we can get a warrant finalized" Reno replied. Griffin didn't care for details, all he cared for was blood carved in with Paw Patrol's name.