Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 1

It moved like a liquid, the massive tide of black and white that nearly filled up the corridor. Upon noticing its approach, the few of those who weren't a part of the horde dove as fast as they could into the nearest room as the mass surged through the corridor and just kept going. They moved with as one with one mind towards one purpose.

"Ball! Ball! Ball!"

That being the bright yellow tennis ball that was bouncing away from them. All it took was for one pup to notice it bouncing away to raise the first excited chirp, one that was soon echoed by every other pup in the vicinity. Mere seconds later, the chase was one with nearly every dog in the house.

Three of those dogs were in the rear of the pack, easily distinguishable by the gold-numbered chains they wore in place of collars. Despite the house being full of chew toys, there was just something about the fuzzy little ball that made it the object of every dog's desire including theirs. They scrambled over each other and over the rest of their siblings wanting the ball all to themselves.

As the flow of pups raced down a flight of stairs in pursuit, Dimitri 1 suddenly slowed down, an act that caused his two identical brothers to crash into him and send the trio tumbling away from the crowd. The rest of the pups continued on unaware that three of their number were left in a tangled mess of limbs.

From underneath one of his siblings, Dimitri 2 pulled his head out and shot a glare at the cause of this mess. "Hey, D1! What was that about?!"

Wordlessly, Dimitri 1 pointed at a nearby door. Dimitri's 2 and 3 turned and saw that it was slightly ajar. From outside the room, they saw lights flashing and sparks flying from within; they could also hear popping and cracking that followed the flashes.

The ball forgotten and curiosity overtaking them, the triplets entered the room. Some kind of massive machine sat at the center, so big that the three of them had to crane their necks to get a proper glimpse of it. As soon as they saw the pointed tip and the fins attached to it, realization struck, and three jaws simultaneously dropped.

"Is that a rocket?!"

"Rocket elevator to be specific."

The slightly muffled answer came from a Dalmatian in a welding mask holding a blowtorch on the left side of the rocket. Putting down the torch, he pulled his mask off revealing a weary but proud Dawkins.

"Feast your eyes brothers; you're looking at the end of slowly trudging up and down the stairs every day." he announced giving his invention a few pats. "With this machine, all our lives will be much easier and more exciting." The Dimitri's shared an excited look before scrambling towards the machine.

"Is this for us?" Dimitri 1 piped up leaning on the rocket on his hind legs.

"How fast can it go?" Dimitri 2 questioned staring wide-eyed at one of the boosters.

"Can I be first to ride it?" Dimitri 3 begged stopping in front of Dawkins.

"Hmm...yes it's for the whole family, enough to break free from Earth's gravity and so glad for you to volunteer." The third triplet stuck his tongue out at his identical brothers. "I'm just about done with this bit of wiring, so as soon as I finish, it should be ready for launch."

The Dimitri's eyes and grins grew wider, but Dawkins wasn't finished yet. "As far as someone actually riding it goes, unfortunately that will still take some time. Dylan wants to inspect this first, and knowing him, that would take hours. He also insists I do at least 10 successful runs before I actually let someone in there."

The trio let out a collective groan; why did their eldest brother have to be such an overly paranoid kill-joy? He and his being a stickler to the rules had ruined their fun more times than they could count. Well not this time; the same idea coming to mind, the three of them shared a mischievous look and nodded.

This whole exchange went unnoticed by Dawkins who padded over to a nearby toolkit. "The control panel is behind the rocket. You can look if you want, but please don't touch anything."

Permission granted, Dimitri 2 raced over behind the rocket, his brothers right behind him. Once there, the three of them let out a gasp at the sheer number of buttons and flashing lights right in front of them. Needles and gauges lined up the sides inter-spaced between dials and switches; the whole thing reeked of nerdy, sciency stuff. Despite having no technical knowledge whatsoever, the Dimitri's couldn't help but be amazed by the display before them.

Especially when a large red button sat right in the middle of it all. It was bigger than their paws, shinier than their chains and practically begging to be pressed. The Dimitri's could see their reflection in it, almost being hypnotized into hitting it.

"There, all done!" After admiring the panel for some time, Dimitri 3's attention briefly turned to Dawkins who set his tools down with a big grin plastered on his face. The inventor yawned and stretched realizing just how sleepy he was. "Maybe...I'll just rest my eyes for a second then..."

Seeing him bow his head and start snoring, Dimitri 3 quickly turned to his brothers with an excited bounce. "Guys, Dawkins said he's done; that means we can go launch it!"

"I can't wait to see this fly!" Dimitri 2 exclaimed in response, Dawkins still to drowsy to notice.

"This's gonna be awesome!" Dimitri 1 cried out blood boiling with excitement.

"I'm launching this thing now!"

A sudden pause ensued among the three brothers after realizing they had all spoken at the same time. A glance at the other two told each of them that they had all adopted the same stance, with a paw in the air.

"Hey, how come you two get to launch it?" Dimitri 2 said lightly shoving him his brothers away from the control panel.

"Uh, 'cuz I called dibs on it." Dimitri 1 replied with a smirk still keeping his paw in the air.

"No you didn't. Dibs on launching it!" Dimitri 3 suddenly announced. "Ha! In your faces."

"No fair D3; you're already first to ride it." Dimitri 1 complained with a harsh glare.

"Dawkins said I can't yet, so I should get to launch it!" Dimitri 3 insisted loudly.

"Well I got here first!" Dimtiri 2 replied with just as much heat.

"I already said I'm gonna do it!" Dimitri 1 finally lowered his paw to yell at his brothers.

"Doesn't mean you should; it should be me!"

"You're gonna have to get through me first!"

"If it's that easy, then I'll be the one to do it!"

"Not if I beat you both up instead!"

"Well I can take you both on with my eyes closed!"

"Good; that way you won't see me kick both your butts!"

"You think you're better than me?!"

"That's 'cuz I am!"

"Who says you can take me down?"

"I'm the toughest one here!"

"No I am!"

"You're both wrong; it's me!"

With those words, a silent stare-off ensued among the brothers. Each of them stood low to the ground, their eyes rhythmically darting from each other to their shiny red prize. The honor of being the first to launch a rocket was on the line, and none of them were going to let anyone else have it.

Several more heartbeats passed as the tension mounted between them, Dimitri 1 smirking in his eagerness to fight, Dimitri 2 pawing the floor and snorting like a bull ready to charge and Dimitri 3 bunching his shoulders and hind legs ready to pounce. Seconds ticked by bringing the inevitable clash closer and closer.

And as one, they sprung at each other.

It was like a miniaturized tornado, a black and white whirlwind of limbs and tails. Many many hours of pranks and roughhousing had made the Dimitri's quite resilient to physical injury, so going nuts on each other shouldn't do anything permanent. Despite the many blows each took at the paws of their brothers, what was on the line was worth any pain and fueled every move they made.

"Quit it you!"

"Ow! That hurt!"

"You baby!"

"Hmmm?" Dawkins finally woke up, his nap interrupted by sudden shouting. Blearily, he turned to the left and saw mess of slaps and tackles ongoing right next to the control panel.

Just as he was about to open his mouth, the three fighting dogs broke apart and lunged for the control panel, a clear look of desperation on each of their faces. As if in slow motion, they flew closer and closer to their target; Dawkins' eyes grew wider and wider until grew to the size of dinner plates just as a trio of paws slammed into the big red button.

Before the Dimitri's could snap at each other, the panel lit up like a Christmas tree. They heard an engine revving and saw the rocket vibrate in place ready to blast off. Their anger forgotten, they could only watch with wide-eyed awe at what they knew was going to happen next.

"Wait; no! There's still a whole pre-flight procedure to fo-"

The rest of Dawkins' words were drowned out by a large crash coming from the rocket itself followed by a warning siren beeping on and off.. The triplets dropped their grins and looked up to it, watching tremble and groan uneasily. The lights on the panel all turned red just as the meters and gauges shot up to max readings and then kept going.

As the rumbling increase and chaos spread across the room, the Dimitri's finally looked to each other and gulped simultaneously. Removing their paws from the button, they slowly backed away as sparks flew from the rocket and the panel until they hit the wall and looked around. Their gazes finally locked with their smarter brother's just as bulbs burst and showered the floor with broken glass. The four brothers could only share the same look of of terror as the inevitable happened.

"Oh kibbles."

KABOOOM!

"Now can someone please tell me what in dog's name happened here?!"

The Dimitri's flinched at Dylan's raised tone. Then again, they could hardly blame him.

The good news was that the rocket hadn't exploded but instead blasted through the roof and soared off into the unknown. There was always the chance that it would crash into something or someone, but as far as the Dimitri's were concerned, it was a case of outta sight, outta mind.

The bad news laid in what the rocket and their actions left behind. The take off had not only punched a hole through the roof but also burst through the bottom all the way to the ground floor. A scant amount of lightly shaken pups were gathered around the hole in each floor staring up at the sky.

Thankfully, no one was seriously injured not even those in the room itself. The Dimitri's were covered in a bit of soot and ash but were otherwise fine. The worst off among all of them was Dawkins who laid groaning on Dolly's lap while she, on Dylan's insistence, wrapped a bandage around his head. The force of the launch had slammed him into the wall leaving him with a slightly bruised head but mercifully nothing else.

"It's highly unlikely that you three weren't involved, but to be fair, I'll hear your side of things."

Frankly, the Dimitri's would prefer being in his place instead of watching the other brainiac of the family angrily pace back and forth in front of them, anywhere where they could avoid punishment. All of their past stunts paled in comparison to the mess they just made.

"Well?" Dylan's sharp tone was enough to break the triplets out of their panicked silence.

"Dawkins was showing us this rocket elevator-"

"It was really cool; he said it almost done too-"

"He said I could ride it-"

"But he kept saying he had to do tests 'cuz you were being lame and-"

"We didn't wanna wait for that so-"

"He told us not to touch anything-"

Still stern-faced, Dylan nodded as they kept going; in a family as big as theirs, he had long mastered the art of comprehending several voices at once.

"The panel was so awesome-"

"Dawkins said he was done already-"

"We ended up fighting over who got to launch it-"

"And then these two hit the button!"

It took a second for the Dimitri's to realize that each of them had said that last thing simultaneously and while pointing at the other two. Dylan raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Is that so?"

But the three of them weren't paying attention to him and instead whirled towards each other, three identical sets of teeth flashing.

"Say that again." Dimitri 2 dared with a glower.

"Dylan, they're the ones who hit the button." Dimitri 3 repeated eyes never leaving his targets. "It was all them I swear!"

"Funny, last time I checked, you had your paw on it too." Dimitri 1 growled dropping into another fighting stance.

"His paw not mine!" Dimitri 2 insisted doing the same. "I was too busy kicking both your tails to push it!"

"If you think you were kicking my tail, then I must've hit you too hard!" Dimitri 3 countered lowering himself as well.

Sensing another fight brewing, Dylan cleared his throat loudly. "Excuse me, but could you guys-"

"GRAH!"

Dylan yelped and jumped back as just like that, the Dimitri's were at it again, but while their last bout only involved slapping, headbutts and tackles, this time they were kicking and biting and scratching and punching each other. For a second, Dylan could only watch them wide-eyed in horror and worry as his siblings tried to rip each other apart; the three of them were usually as thick as thieves. He had never seen them at each others throats like this.

That second passed, and he moved forward to split them up but was forced to dodge a stray limb swinging towards him. By that point Dimitri 1 had Dimitri 2 in a headlock while the latter's teeth were buried in the leg of Dimitri 3 who was grabbing Dimitri 1's shoulder with one paw and making a fist with the other. Each of them wore the angriest eyes Dylan had ever seen on them.

"Dimitri 1 stop-WHOA! Let go of him Dimitri 3-oof!" He could tell this wasn't a one dog job. "Sis!"

Dolly's pupils had shrunk when she saw the brawl start. She gently laid Dawkins down before darting towards the fighting pups before things could get any worse. "Alright, break it up you guys! Break it up!"

Somehow, she got her arms around Dimitri 2's midsection and hauled him out of the fray. Seeing an opening, Dylan jumped in and grabbed Dimitri's 1 and 3 prying them apart from each other. All three pups struggled against their older siblings still clawing and reaching to shred the others.

"That's it-GAH! You three are in time out!" Dolly shouted as the trio kept up their thrashing.

The next thing the Dimitri's knew, they were being dragged out of the room and across the house growling and snapping at each other the entire time. Reaching an empty room, Dolly tossed Dimitri 2 inside and, Dylan held up a paw when the pup made to run out.

"Stay here and chill out." Dolly said taking a struggling Dimitri from her brother.

"And don't even think about leaving until we say so." Dylan added holding back the other one.

He closed the door, and they did the same with the other two troublemakers. Glad to be no longer witnessing their brothers' aggression, both Top Dogs let out a frustrated and worried sigh and left to assess the mess left behind. With any luck, they'd be much more calm after some time alone.

Muttering angrily, Dimitri 1 paced around the room too agitated to settle down in one spot. His brothers' angry words echoed in his head taunting him and mocking him like mad. Did they really think they shouldn't listen to him? That it should've have been him to launch? He was the one with the gold number 1 around his neck for crying out loud. He snarled at the door, the knowledge that it'd just get him in more trouble was all that kept him from going out and finishing what he started with his brothers.

Dimitri 2 didn't even move from his spot. As soon as the door closed, he sat down with a humph and crossed his arms with a scowl furious at the injustice he suffered at the paws of those two. Why couldn't they just let him have his fun? Why did they have to be such jerks to him? He was already denied the chance to ride the rocket first and was the first to reach the panel; it was only fair that he get the privilege of launching instead of his brothers.

His room was the smallest of the three but Dimitri 3 didn't care as long as he was alone and nowhere near those jerks. He stalked towards the middle, laid down and curled up to brood. Already being first to ride the rocket didn't matter if he called dibs on launching. It was some unspoken yet unbreakable rule, but no; the other two had disrespect his declaration and get in his way. Some brothers they turned out to be.

"Pfft, Brothers..." they each spat out with equal amounts of bitterness. Honestly, Dylan and Dolly could take all the time they want; the longer they didn't have to see the other two, the better.

Sadly, their separation didn't last long enough. The trio were interrupted from their moping 20 minutes later and brought out by their eldest siblings both of which hoped that enough time had passed for their tempers to simmer down. Ironically, they were standing in one of the rooms where the rocket punched a hole through its roof, sunlight and leaves falling through the opening they made.

The Top Dogs were glad that they at least weren't throwing themselves at each other anymore. Instead, the Dimitri's merely waited in place occasionally shooting each other dirty looks. They were at least smart enough to keep their traps shut and didn't dare start anything with Dylan and Dolly eyeing them like hawks.

"Dawkins is fine in case you were wondering." Dylan spoke first to the frowning triplets. "He'll be in bed for the rest of the day, but he was well enough to tell me what happened."

Six pairs of eyes widened at that last part. "Not only did you disobey his warnings, trash his honestly dangerous invention-"

"I still think it could work!"

Dylan rolled his eyes and wave a dismissive paw at Dawkins' interjection. "Get him hurt, and scare your siblings out of their fur, you three also lied to save your own skins. What do you have to say to that?"

"If they'd just let me launch it, none of this would've happened!" Dimitri 1 cried out before his brothers could get a word in.

"And how come you and not them?" Dolly asked jerking her head towards the other Dimitri's.

"'Cuz D3 gets to ride it first, and I was the first to say I was gonna press it." the incensed pup continued further agitating his brothers.

"We said that all at the same time, and I was the first to get there!" Dimitri 2 shouted earning a growl from Dimitri 1.

"I'm the one who actually called dibs!" Dimitri 3 pointed out lowering his stance.

"Ahem." Dolly cut in before things could escalate. The triplets froze and shut up at her glare. They had been hoping she'd be the "good cop" to Dylan's "bad cop", but the face she made dashed those hopes instantly.

"Look, you all pushed that button and made all this mess." Dolly gestured to the hole in the ceiling. "The house is trashed because of you three; you think we're giving you a hard time? Oh, just wait 'till mom and dad get in on this."

Three throats went dry as the Dimitri's shivered in place. They'd never caused this much damage before, and if this got to their parents, it was game over; they were definitely getting their treats and chew toys taken away for dog knows how long. Not to mention that they'd be stuck in their rooms all day rotting in boredom. They'd probably never see the park again until they were old and gray and too tired to run around.

Once Dolly was sure her words had sunken in enough, she continued. "Buuuuuuut, we're offering you guys an out."

At once the Dimitri's froze ears perked up gazing upon their brother and sister this time with hope and desperation in their eyes.

"Anything, I'll do anything you guys." Dimitri 3's resolve broke first putting his paws together in a pleading motion that was also adopted by his brothers.

"Well the first thing you three are doing is marching over to Dawkins and saying you're sorry." Dylan began.

That wasn't so bad. "Uh huh. Sure; we'll do it." Dimitri 1 said nodding rapidly. "What else?"

At his question, Dolly turned to her nerdy brother looking a bit unsure. Dylan merely closed his eyes with a firm nod prompting the former to turn back to the begging trio.

"Alright, with enough cash, we can get this all fixed in a jiffy." she explained earning nods from the triplets. "Triple D can get us that today, but thing is, they got double booked." She shot them a sly look. "They can't do two gigs at once, so we're gonna need some triplets to pretend to be them."

Again, the triplets froze, dread once again consuming them. As grateful as they were for the chance to not get the biggest grounding of their lives, their blood chilled at the though of going all girly for a bunch of screeching humans to gawk at. Who knows what they would do to them? They might be forced to brush their teeth or put on frilly dresses or worse...make up!

"So what'll it be guys?" Dylan asked snapping the Dimitri's out of it.

"Well..." Dimtiri 1's eyes were still wide in disbelief.

"I'd love to..." Dimitri 2's nervous smile said otherwise.

"But..." Dimitri 3 cringed trying to think up an excuse.

"No buts." Dylan said firmly silencing the trio. "You can either take the job or face our parents."

The pups shifted nervously in place but then looked on in confusion as he let out a dejected sigh. "And to be honest, Dolly and I are hoping this'll help you guys get along again."

"Yeah bros, it was freaky how you all went bonkers on each other." Dolly winced as she remembered the brawl she had to break up. "We wanna get you three back in sync, and working together is the only way you're gonna pull this off."

The Dimitri's all looked at each other. Talking about how much trouble they were in and the rather horrific way to get out of punishment had admittedly made them forget just how mad each of them were at their fellow triplets. That anger came back full force as they gazed at each other.

They remembered their blows and their harsh words, the disrespect they were given, the unfairness they displayed, the refusal to listen to what they wanted. Things were already bad enough, and now they were expected to work together?

With a huff, the Dimitri's all huffed and turned away from each other, arms crossed, eyes shut and noses in the air.

"Really? So you'd all rather get majorly grounded for ages?"

Their other worries came back at Dylan's question. The Dimitri's all looked at each other this time with less hostility and more uncertainty. As much as they wanted to avoid each other as much as possible, even they couldn't deny this was their only chance to avoid the biggest punishment they would ever get. Certainly potentially never having fun for a long time was a lot worse than having to deal with each other. Beside, if they could pull this off, they could just go back to hating each other afterwards.

"Lemme put it this way." Dolly told the pranksters. "You could either explain to mom and dad about our new surprise skylight or..." She pulled out something from behind her and held it up for them to see. "You could put these on."

As the Dimtri's gazed terrified at the objects dangling from her paw, they realized that they were wrong. This would be just as bad.

Deja Vu was staring outside the window head in her paws staring at a cloud shaped like a duck when she noticed a pair of familiar limousines park right in front of the house. Tail wagging in excitement, she turned to call into the house. "Guys! Ride's here!"

Not too long afterwards the family's resident diva pups strutted out freshly groomed and ready to be fabulous. It had been a few days of relaxing after their last and rather exhausting gig, and now nails painted, fur brushed and teeth cleaned, the doggettes that made up Triple D were ready to get back in action.

"BTW, this is the last time we let you do the booking and scheduling Dallas." a slightly annoyed Destiny told the Dalmatian in the middle.

"Sorry, but I like, couldn't help it. There were just so many offers, so many ways for us to shine that I couldn't not sign up for all of them." There wasn't a hint of shame in Dallas' voice as she spoke. She sighed with a smile and rested her head on an open paw. "It really is hard being this wonder-fab 24/7."

Destiny let out a sigh of her own in exasperation at her sister's face. "I'm just glad we got one of the easier ones today."

"And we got one of the funner ones too." Deja Vu cut in bouncing up to the other two. "Maybe I can do the booking next time. There are lottsa fun jobs we could do together!"

"No offense sis, but you'd probably just pick the lame ones." Dallas interjected taking a step away when the third triplet got a little to close to her.

"At least I know not to get us double-booked." Deja Vu countered with a laugh one that was shared with Destiny. Dallas merely rolled her eyes in response.

"Uh hey, aren't we like, missing someone? Like," Deja Vu stopped and counted with her fingers. "Three someones?"

"Of course, how could we forget?" Dallas said with a giggle before calling out into the house. "Oh booooooys? Time to come out now!"

Three identical voices let out a collective groan before their owners stepped out.

The first to trudge out was Dimitri 1 eyes downcast. In place of the gold chain he always had, he wore a less shiny and more glittery pink collar covered with hearts. He honestly thought he looked ridiculous. He was supposed to be one of the toughest, coolest dogs in the house not some namby-pamby model all girly and cute. He hoped desperately that no pictures of him were taken in his demeaning state.

Dimitri 2 was next to drag himself out stopping for a bit to scratch under the diamond-studded collar he was forced to put on. Already he was missing his chains and the smooth feeling of metal on his neck. It was totally unlike the stuffy, chaffing choker he was being made to wear, but the illusion that they were the girls had to be maintained.

Finally, Dimitri 3 exited busying himself with glaring at the back of his brothers' heads to avoid thinking about his new collar with a circular pendant dangling off it. As unhappy as he was about his new look, he was much less looking forward to cooperating with his identical siblings. Maybe if they just shut up and went along with him, they'd have a better chance of pulling this off and getting out of trouble.

Grouchy, the unwillingly glamorous looking pups stopped at the sight of the two limos just as prissy and uncool as they appeared. "Oh lighten up you guys. I think you look totes adorbs." Dallas half teased half complimented with a giggle.

"Yeah; you three are all sparkly now." Deja Vu added sounding more sincere. "Hey, maybe we can call you guys Triple D-mitri!."

"Ugh no thanks." Dimitri 3 answered with an annoyed glare at his sisters. His brothers also did the same.

It wasn't that they hated the girls. In a family as big as theirs, it was difficult to spend time with all of them, so they had their preferences. Dolly, Delgado and Diesel were always down to wrestle, race or goof around with while Dylan, Dante and Deepak made great targets for their pranks. Every other one of their siblings were cool with them, but they were never that close to Triple D.

Frankly, they weren't too bothered by that. The girls were prissy and pushy at best and bratty spoiled nightmares at worst. At the same time, Triple D never really approached them to hang out with probably because they were too uncouth and rough for their pastel pink tastes. This the was probably the first time in a long while, or even ever, that the six of them were involved with something.

"Alright look, you three need to like, totally get your game together. You're trying to get out of trouble, but our reputations are on the line here." Destiny said earning a snort from her brothers. "I'm serious; you're posing as us remember?"

"Pfft, like that's any hard." Dimitri 1 replied with a roll of his eyes. "I just gotta be cutesy and giggly for the camera right?" He put on a sickeningly sweet smile and batted his eyelashes as he spoke. His brothers were quick to pick up on his tone.

"OMD I'm so fabulous and girly! I just hafta stand here, and all the humans love me!" Dimitri 2 mocked flipping his imaginary hair with half-lidded eyes.

"You taking my picture? How does this angle look? Make-up; I need more powder." Dimitri 3 posing for some invisible camera with a giggle. Finally, the girls had enough and pounced forward wearing matching scowls.

"You really think-" Destiny began.

"It's that easy-" Dallas continued.

"To be us?" Deja Vu finished.

"Yup." The Dimitri's gave simultaneous nods. The girls in turn all groaned, and Dallas even face-palmed.

"What-I-you-we-Ugh! Look, just try not to ruin things for us OK?" she said, jabbing a finger at them. "I swear, if we lose our jobs 'cuz of you three messing up, I'll get mom and dad to make you our butlers the whole time you're grounded."

At once, the brothers flinched at the thought of waiting paw and foot on their identical sisters and simmered down. "Fine, so what job is this anyway?" Dimitri 2 asked.

"Well the other ride's for Woof: Scent of a Manly Man." Deja Vu pointed at the limo nearest them. "This one's for Jump Jet Pizza-"

"Jump Jet Pizza?!" The Dimitri's suddenly leaped in front of her ears perked up and tails wagging. The loved Jump Jet Pizza both eating the food and chasing the guy delivering it. "Do you get to jump outta a jet?!"

"Well yeah but-" But the Dimitri's had already taken off before Destiny could finish. She and her sisters shared a look of panic before wheeling around.

"Wait!" But it was too late. The car's door opened by itself, and the Dimitri's jumped into its pink cushioned interior. The door slammed shut before any more protests could be made.

"Ugh, there's no way they can pull off Jump Jet Pizza!" Dallas exclaimed as the pups bounced around the limo exploring every inch of it.

"Guuuuuys! C'mon let's trade!" Deja Vu pleaded loudly. At that moment, the window rolled down revealing an excited Dimitri 2.

"This ride's awesome!" he cried out making the window go up and down.

"Ah these seats are so comfy!" Dimitri 1 wiggled his shoulders and reclined with his paws behind his head.

"Look what I found!" Dimitri 3 popped up with a pair of pink glittery sunglasses in his mouth.

"Hey those are mine!" Dallas yelled shaking a fist. "Don't get your slobber all over them!"

But the three of them ignored her and continued to romp around the limo. Destiny rubbed her temples while Dallas let out a frustrated grunt and Deja Vu made a worried pout. The smart one of the group had a feeling this would be a bad idea, but Dylan and Dolly insisted they go along with it. They were going to have words with their eldest siblings when they got back.

"OK look. Any old dog could nail Woof, and we're pros." she told the other girls. "All we gotta do is get it done quick, and then maybe we can step in for the boys before they do anything stupid."

"Little late for that." Dallas commented dryly as she heard something crash and break inside the vehicle. "But I'm game for it."

"So am I. Hey, who knows? Maybe they'll all be fine." Deja Vu hopefully said as they looked up at the limo.

"Hey, my turn to play with the window!"

"This drink's awesome!"

"Gimme gimme!"

"I'm not done yet!"

"You've been doing that since we got here!"

"That's why I should keep doing it!"

"Let me have a try!"

The limo pulled away cutting them off from hearing the argument going on inside. Triple D could only look on with flat faces as it departed carrying their trouble-making substitutes with it.

"Our careers-"

"Are like so totally-"

"Doomed."

Edited by:

NeversideFaerie

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 2

During the ride, Dimitri 1 couldn't help but admit that as annoying as Triple D could be, their nagging sure got them results; if they wanted the best, comfiest ride there was, then with enough brattiness, they got it. Ditch all the pink and girly junk, and he would be having the time of his life.

Just too bad he also wasn't alone at the moment.

"Let go!" he growled around the pink pillow he had sunken his teeth into. He had been using it to try to relax during their trip and forget the irritating morning he had when someone was stupid enough to swipe it from him.

That idiot was Dimitri 2 who responded to his brother's order with a firm tug of the pillow, a slight tear appearing in its side. With a grunt of effort, Dimitri 1 dug his paws into the seat, not budging one bit in their impromptu game of tug-of-war with that weakling. So what if he'd finished the last bit of the middle triplet's drink after snatching it out of his paws? Dimitri 2 had already drank up most of it, so any kind of revenge was as idiotic as he was.

"I said let go!" the first pup repeated with a good yank that further damaged the pillow. Forget being comfy; he wasn't going to let Dimitri 2 get away with his little stunt. Besides, it was stupid to think he'd actually get to relax with those two nearby.

"Make me." Dimitri 2 managed to form a smirk around the pillow. If he actually thought he could win at a test of strength against his older brother, then the latter guessed the beating he gave him earlier wasn't enough.

Just when Dimitri 1 thought was was going to win, the limo suddenly came to a stop, and the door opened causing the two of them to tumble out with a yelp. Both he and his opponent maintained their hold on the pillow as they fell and only pulled even harder when they recovered. The slightly dusty pillow ripped once more, Dimitri 1 hoping that if it did split, he'd get the bigger half.

"Oi! Knock it off!"

Dimitri 1 ignored the command, his eyes locking with his opponent's. In the middle of their stalemate, Dimitri 3 suddenly appeared, jumping from inside the limo and landing perfectly on the pillow, the force of it knocking it out of their grip and knocking them on their backs. Rubbing the back of his head, Dimitri 1 raised it and met the middle triplet's smirk before the latter tossed the ruined pillow back into the equally trashed interior of their ride.

"I wanna get this think over with. Don't you?" Dimitri 3 asked, Dimitri 1 and the other fallen pup scowling at him in response. As much as he hated it, even he couldn't help but agree with him that the quicker he got out of this mess, the better.

Without waiting for a reply, Dimitri 3 made his way towards the studio entrance, Dimitri's 1 and 2 picking themselves up and following suit shortly afterwards. Just like before, heart-collared pup walked sporting an angry frown and looking anywhere but at the two dogs next to him.

Luckily, there were plenty of other things to gaze at. Once at the entryway, the Dalmatians froze and, for the second time that day, stared in wide-eyed wonder at the sights before them. The studio was packed, filled with bright lights and speakers and cameras and dog knows what else. It wasn't just that; humans were everywhere carrying equipment, barking out orders, looking up forms, whatever it was they did to make a commercial happen.

It was at that moment that realization struck Dimitri 1. Even though it sucked having to work together with those two losers and get all dolled up, he was actually going to be on TV! So what if the whole world was gonna think he was Destiny? It would still be his face on the big screen, a feat only three others in their family had pulled off. It was his big chance to show everyone just how awesome he was.

There were just two things standing in his way.

"You two better not mess this up." he suddenly said, his brothers turning to face him neither looking happy at all.

"Could say the same to you." Dimitri 2 replied with a dismissive snort. "If you make me look stupid on camera-"

"You mean stupider than you already do?" Dimitri 3 cut in with a snicker. He then blew a raspberry when Dimitri 2 glared at him.

"Heh, you two should be lucky I got enough cool in me for the three of us." Dimitri 1 remarked puffing his chest out.

"Pfft, yeah right." Dimitri 3 shot back. "You two're just riding off my awesomeness."

Did he seriously believe that? Dimitri 1 figured that maybe he did hit him hard enough. "Your awesomeness? Get real." Dimitri 2 smirked in his brother's face. "We all know you're the worst one here."

"What?!" Dimitri 3 bared his teeth. "What makes you two think you're any better than me?"

"Well I am number one." Dimitri 1's smirk twitched upon lifting a paw up to his collar and remembering that it wasn't a 1 dangling off his neck at the moment.

"And I'm number two."

The third triplet rolled his eyes. "Please, I make you both in the bathroom every morning."

It took about five seconds for Dimitri 1 to figure it out. The instant it did, he thought he would literally explode from the white hot fury blazing in him. "WHY YOU LITTLE-"

"Girls! Girls! There you are!"

Before he could smack Dimitri 3 right in his stupid face, a man ran up to them. He wore a black sweater vest over a red shirt and a part of brown pants. He crouched over looking far more excited than the pups did. He must be one of the staff working at the studio.

"How're you girls doing today?" It was amazing how humans could never tell dogs apart, those lame idiots. He reached out and grabbed Dimitri 3 head with both hands scratching and rubbing all around cooing and babbling about how cute he was. It took nearly everything Dimitri 1 had to burst out laughing.

"Something wrong Deja Vu?" the human asked with a tilt of his head. The dog pretending to be Deja Vu forced out a grin. Dimitri 1 had to use a paw to muffle his snickers at the display, at seeing that loser being treated like some pet. From the corner of his eye, he could see that Dimitri 2 was doing the same.

"There we go." Finally, the man pulled away and stood up, Dimitri 3 looking away and making a retching sound. "This way girls; come now, we need to get you ready."

As he walked away babbling about whatever, Dimitri 2 padded after him pausing for a bit to sneer at Dimitri 3. Dimitri 1 waited until he thought the human was out of earshot before finally lowering his paw and throwing his head back.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Who's awesome now 'Deja Vu?'! HAHA!" he cried out pounding the ground in in laughter." He creaked an eye open to see a scarlet-faced, fuming Dimitri 3 looking about two inches away from snapping.

The sight only made Dimitri 1 laugh harder as he stumbled forward to follow the human. "W-Want me to scratch your head?! Put some glitter on you?! HAHAHAHA-OOF!"

His laughter suddenly ended when he tilted forward and painfully smacked himself face-first against the concrete floor. Head spinning, he looked up to see a cackling Dimitri 3 retract the leg he stuck out and run away. The pain was instantly gone as his rage returned full force.

"Get back here!" he growled through gritted teeth before chasing after him. As they left for a spot some distance away from the main studio area, he caught up with Dimitri 3 and leaped. The latter yelped as his brother crashed into him, the force sending the two of them tumbling into Dimitri 2. Through the tangled mess of black and white, Dimitri 1 found his target and prepared to give him the thrashing of his life when he suddenly took a kick to the side.

"Hey that hurt!" the second tripled yelled kicking Dimitri 1 in the side once more. In place of a reply, Dimitri 1 picked up Dimitri 3 and flung him at the middle pup before jumping into the fray the other two got into.

"Take that back!" Dimitri 1 wrapped his arms around Dimitri 3's chest and pulled him into the most crushing grip he could while ignoring the rain of furious blows Dimitri 2 was unleashing on his siblings.

"Make me!" Dimitri 1 let out a gasp as Dimitri 3 elbowed him in the gut and shoved him away. He recovered from the blow quickly, just in time to see Dimitri 3 get smacked across the face and shove Dimitri 2 away.

Face reddening and slightly sore, Dimitri 1 shook his head. In all of their past games, races and play fights, he always fought the hardest, never willing to admit that either of the two were any stronger or faster or cooler than he was. OK so he did wind up losing every now and then, but it was never any of his fault! Those two just got lucky sometimes.

Dimitri 1 glared daggers at the other two eager for another round. Luck was not gonna save the this time. Plus there weren't any Top Dogs to interfere either. This was the moment he showed them why he should've been the one to launch the rocket, that they were the reason they were in this mess in the first place, that they should just shut their traps and go along with who was clearly the best one among them.

With a roar, they pounced towards each other, Dimitri 1 ready to beat those ideas into their skulls.

"Girls?"

Dimitri 1 and his brothers of them suddenly halted in mid air for a split second, their faces frozen with alarm, then went splat against the ground. Legs splayed all over the place, his eyes traveled to the puzzled looking man who he just remembered was right next to them. "Everything OK?"

The Dimitri's instantly shot upright, each one grinning like the little angels they were trying and nearly failing to pose as. The instant the man smiled and turned around, they snapped back to normal, growling and baring their teeth at each other.

"Anyway, we're here girls." Again, Dimitri 1 was prevented from going another round with the others. "Chris'll take a moment to get here, so you three can relax for a while 'till he gets here."

Dimitri 1 scoffed when he pulled out his phone and sat down on a nearby chair. If he could just leave, he'd be able go back to teaching his brothers a lesson, but no. He had to actually behave in front of him to keep the charade up. Well whatever, but like in the limo, there was no way he'd get any kind of relaxation with those two dunderheads around.

Still bitter about everything, the three of them split up to explore the place. Dimitri 1 spotted a mirror and jumped on top of the table in front of it instantly frowning at the sight of the make up kits and fur care products surrounding him and shuddering at the idea of all of that being on him. As if things couldn't get any worse, he looked up into the mirror and groaned remembering just how lame he appeared.

"Ugh...Dog I hate this thing." he grumbled pulling at his collar and wishing he could rip it off and throw it in the trash.

"So how cool d'you look now?" Dimitri 2 called out mockingly. Dimitri 1 made to argue but was knocked aside when the former jumped on the table as well. Stopping himself from knocking a few bottles over, he saw him run digit over the diamonds on his collar looking proud despite how girly he appeared. "Well, even with this stupid thing, I still look way better than you."

"Pfft, that's not much then." Dimitri 3 leaped on top the table as well and shoved the middle triplet aside. "But stupid collar or not, you're both still jerks."

"You're the jerk for not doing what I want." Dimitri 1 shouted getting back on his feet.

"Why should I? Just 'cuz you're the oldest one here?" Dimitri 2 shot a glare at him.

"Uh...duh." he answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"That doesn't make you any better than me."

"Or me." Dimitri 3 added with a snarl. "You guys think you're soooo awesome, but you're both just big jerks!"

"Me?!" Dimitri 2 shouted incredulously. "You're the ones who wouldn't let me launch Dawkins' rocket. If you just let me do it, we wouldn't even be here!"

"You're the ones who wouldn't respects my dibs!"

"And you're the ones who should've listened to me!" Dimitri 1 cut in. His words were met with an eye roll and an angry huff from his brothers. At their display, he stomped his paw, the bottles surrounding him rattling slightly. "Both of you, I'm your big brother, and that means back that then and right now, I'm in charge!"

His words got no reply from the other two. He had never played his oldest triplet card before, never having needed it, but the two of them were driving him nuts. All three of them hated every time the Top Dogs (mostly Dylan) stepped in and ruined their fun. They had to listen to them simply because they were older,

Honestly, they should be grateful he wasn't pushy with the rules like Dylan was. He was a cool big brother who loved to get into hijinks with his younger siblings. He was the one who had the best plans, the mind behind all their awesome pranks, and they always listened to him then. Now they decided to defy him?

Seriously, was it really so hard for them to say they're sorry? That he was right and they were wrong? It was just two lousy words; two lousy words, and he'd let it all slide. They'd pull this commercial thing off, wind up on TV and get outta trouble. And then they could go back to stunts and pranking like they used to. Was all that not worth it?

Well that was fine. If they weren't willing to apologize to him for everything, then they weren't getting any niceness out of him. If they didn't want things to go back to like they were before, then that was all on them.

"Now there you girls are!"

A new voice interrupted Dimitri 1's brooding. Looking over his shoulder, he saw a new blonde human in a checked vest approach them. "Time to get you all rea-"

He suddenly paused right in front of him and the other two and sniffed the air before suddenly letting out a sneeze. "What is that on you?" he asked yanking out a handkerchief to wipe his nose.

Dimitri 1 lifted a foreleg and gave it a sniff as well and realized that there was a slight burnt scent and something dusty clinging to his fur. He must still have some ash and soot on him from when the rocket took off.

Thankfully there was a simple solution. Unfortunately it looked like Dimitri 2 thought of it first seeing as he stood up on all fours and, with his usual grin that always came before any mischief, shook himself from head to tail sending out a small dust cloud.

"*cough!*cough!* Hey watch it" Dimitri 1 yelled out sputtering. On his other side, Dimitri 3 covered his nose and backed away with a glare.

"Oops. My bad." Dimitri 2 said with a sneer. "Here; lemme-"

He merely turned around and shook himself again, sending another wave of dirt at his siblings. Dimitri 1 hacked and spat as he got a face-full and backed away some more while Dimitri 3 jumped off the table. "What's wrong guys? Can't handle a little dirt?"

He burst out laughing when they both bared their teeth. Hungry for payback and ignoring the tickling in his nose, Dimitri 1 reached out and grabbed the nearest bottle and took aim at the howling pup's infuriating grin. "Say you're sorry you...you...ACHOO!"

Dimitri 1 suddenly felt himself lose balance due to the force of the sneeze and right at the edge of the table too. His rage out and vanished replaced by panicking and flailing his arms about. "Whoa-Whoa-WHOA-AH!"

With that pathetic cry, he fell and once again got a face to face meeting with the concrete floor. Though his head was spinning, the laughter echoing in his head was clear as day. Forcing himself up, he saw those two rolling on their backs clutching themselves, cackling at his little tumble. He slowly rose glare, ready to leap when he heard a gasp.

"Destiny are you alright?"

The new blonde human with the black tie rushed over to him. To Dimitri 1's horror, a pair of hairless hands grabbed him and hoisted him up until he was eye to eye with the human. Panicking and resisting the urge to struggle free, he forced the biggest grin he muster at the man narrowing his eyes at him.

"Hmm...well nothing on that pretty face of yours." he piped up before scrunching his nose. "Though you do stink; in fact, all three of you do!"

Without warning, he scooped up Dimitri's 2 and 3, the two pups' laughter cutting off with a yelp. All three of them squirmed within the human's grip, clear looks of discomfort on all three of them. "Eugh, and I was petting Deja Vu all over Chris." the other human said grimacing at his palms and dusting them on his pants. "Just what were you three up to?"

"Don't wanna talk about it." Dimitri 1 replied wiggling a bit to get away from the other two dogs though to the humans it came out as a few grumpy barks.

"They don't look too happy; you know how they get when they get all filthy."

Dimitri 1 felt the human holding him shudder against his back at his words. "You're right; good thing we still got plenty of time help these girls out."

Dimitri 1 stopped struggling as Chris walked off with the Dalmatians in two. "Don't worry girls; I know just the thing you three need right now."

It took a few seconds for Dimitri 1 to realize what was going to happen before he froze in horror; in hindsight, it should've been obvious right from the start. The smell, the dust, Triple D's fussiness about being dirty, this was all leading to one thing, and judging by how the other two stiffened in, they figured it out as well.

"All right girls; bath time!"

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 3

He honestly didn't know which was the worst.

At first, he thought it was the water, how it left him shivering even after just a few seconds of being soaked. He wished he could say yell out some complaint or even do something like jump out of the oversized tub he was in, but the way his teeth were chattering and his body was shaking made neither of those things a possibility.

Then he thought it was the soaps or shampoos or whatever he was being slathered with. Strawberry, mint, vanilla, razzberry, all sorts of scents assaulted his nose, and no amount of snorting did anything to help him from smelling like he'd dove face-first into a fruit salad. He was half-tempted to take another bath himself, just to wash that "fragrance" off of him.

After that, he thought it was the hands and the feel of those human things rubbing and scrubbing all over him. The guy washing him, Chris if he was remembering right, wasn't even looking at him instead chatting with the two humans beside him; he totally missed the angry glares being sent his way whenever he pressed a little too hard.

But no. At the end of it all, Dimitri 2 decided that the worst part of the unexpected bath were the two equally drenched and fidgeting dogs on either side of him.

Seriously, of all the places to wind up in, it was right between those two as they struggled and shoved, Dimitri 2 himself being hit and getting soap splashed in his eyes from both sides. Bath time was always a nightmare back home, but they always found a way to make it a little more bearable for the three of them. This time however, trying to have a bit of fun with those two was the last thing he wanted to do.

After taking an elbow to the rib courtesy of Dimitri 3 who was getting one of his legs scrubbed, Dimitri 2 grabbed a pawful of suds and blew them right in the younger triplet's face sniggering as the latter yelped and rubbed his eyes. Not finished yet, Dimitri 2 looked around and took another bunch of bubble ready to do the same to the dog on his other side.

"Deep breaths you three."

"Huh-GAGLBLUGLERGLBLUGLBLH!"

Dimitri 2 felt like he spent an eternity yelping and flailing around before the freezing stream finally cut off. The room spun around him as he swayed and shivered in place, all sounds from the apology from Chris to the snickers beside him dulled and echoey.

"Whoops; sorry there Dallas. You ok?"

The diamond-collard pup shook his head only then finally being able to hear clearly and properly see the hand extended towards him. The sudden urge to chomp into it overtook him, but he forced it down, clenching his teeth as the hairless thing scratched his right cheek and sent even more shivers down his spine, the snickers next to him amplifying into light chuckles.

Oh, thank dog! Dimitri 2 internally screamed when the hand finally pulled away. If only the teasing laughter from both sides would disappear just as easily.

Actually, it really did stop quickly, but looking up, his heart fell as he saw why. Each of the three humans bathing them suddenly pulled out a pink and white striped towel with 'DD' sewn in black in the corner and approached them. Fighting every instinct to resist, Dimitri 2 merely gulped as he and the other two were picked up.

As fluffy and soft as the towel was, it did little to lessen his dislike for being carried around. It was suffocating, trapped in a straightjacket made of cloth and arms and unable to escape knowing that any attempt to would blow their cover. Again, he forced himself to calm down; as bad as this was, it was nothing compared to the grounding he'd get if he screwed this up.

Eventually, the trio were set down on a table much to their relief. Even with the towel, Dimitri 2 was still dripping wet, but he knew just the trick to fix that, make some trouble at the same time and get a little payback at the same time. He figured his brothers must've had the same idea as they stood up as one and braced themselves against the table.

"Girls? What're you-AH!"

The three humans shielded themselves for a shower of their own courtesy of the three Dalmatians shaking themselves dry. Once he was sure they had been soaked enough, the Dimitri's finally stopped, the dog in the middle watching the humans' startled faces with a smirk. A glance to his sides showed an identical one on his fellow triplet's faces who, now that he got a closer look, had fur so fluffed up, they could be related to Snowball.

With a playful smile, Dimitri 2 turned and opened his mouth.

"I'm the toughest one here!"

"You baby!"

"Gimme Gimme!"

"I'm in charge!"

"You're both still jerks."

It suddenly came rushing back, the harsh words, the furious blows, the sheer injustice of it all. In his bid to joke around like they always did, he nearly forgot that things were not like they always were and the whole mess he was in, a mess that was all their fault.

"Oi, what's with that stupid face?"

Dimitri 1's bore a mean-spirited sneer as he spoke. Dimitri 2 realized that his own mouth was still open in a playful smile. Grunting, he hastily closed it.

"It's 'cuz I'm looking at something stupid." he answered with a sneer of his own inwardly admitting he'd rather be Snowball's brother than theirs.

"Look who's talking." Dimitri 2 let out an "Oof!" as the dog behind him suddenly thumped the back of his head. "And I thought you two couldn't look any dumber."

Dimitri 1 put on a scowl at his words, but the back of Dimitri 2's head still sting from the blow. With an angry growl he shoved Dimitri 3 aside almost knocking him off the table in the process. Instead, the pup stopped himself right at the edge, his shoulders bunching up as if ready to pounce. Nowhere near finished with him, Dimitri 2 mirrored his stance ready to pound that jerk into-

"Dallas, Déjà Vu, what's gotten into you girls?!"

Both of them turned to their right and were alarmed to see Chris mere inches from them at eye level, a clear look of disappointment on his face. Dimitri 2's eyes followed his as the human stood up with his hands on his hips. "You girls've have been more unbearable than you've ever been, and I don't know why."

"Oh, they've always been like that heh heh heh." Dimitri 1 cut in with a smirk.

"I meant all three of you Destiny; don't think I didn't notice the dirty looks you've been giving." Chris' words shut him right up; Dimitri 2 had to suppress a smug grin of his own. "All three of you have been acting weird lately; did you girls get into a fight or something?"

"Not my fault." Dimitri 3 cut in.

"You're the one who's being unfair!" Dimitri 2 shouted rounding on him.

"Ahem." Dimitri 2 grumbled as he simmered down; this Chris guy was just too nosy for his own good. "Look, I dunno what's got you girls' tails in a twist, but you three like, seriously need to get in sync."

"Maybe getting some food into them would lift their mood. I'll go get their kibble." one of the other humans suggested walking off. Dimitri 2 had to admit that all this frustration was making him hungry. Maybe a full belly would make it easier to stand having to act around those two.

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long. He returned only a few seconds later, Dimitri 2 first grinning at the bag of kibble he had in one arm then groaning at the three pink bowls he had in his other. His disgust only went deeper when one of them was set in front of him giving him full view of not only the diamond pattern on it, but also its glittery surface. Dimitri 2 had to bite his tongue to avoid sticking it out at the sight of it.

"Eat up girls." All three bowls were filled to the brim with their favorite meal. From the corners of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of the oldest triplet licking his lips and the younger one rubbing his paws in anticipation. Unlike them Dimitri 2 wasn't so dramatic about it and leaned over to take a bite of that delicious-

"G-GAH! UCK! PFAH!

The three humans yelped and ducked to avoid the sudden spray of kibble that soared over their heads; Dimitri 2 would've laughed if he didn't have that horrid yet somehow familiar taste in his mouth. Just what did that human put in his bowl? Did get the kibble mixed up with grass and fertilizer or something?

He couldn't help but flail with his tongue hanging out until one of the humans wised up and came forward with a glass of water. Hoping it wasn't tainted as well, Dimitri 2 swiped it and downed the entire thing in one gulp. The taste was gone, but his lingering memory of it made him slam his glass against the table not caring if he broke it or not.

"What was that?!" he yelled though to the humans, it came out as a loud bark that made them all jump.

"Wha…B-But…" the human who'd tried to poison him stammered. "D-Dallas, I'm 100% sure I got the right bag! It's your favorite I swear!"

Dimitri 2 had opened his mouth to give him a piece of his mind when he finally got a good look at the bag in question, his eyes bulging out of their sockets once he recognized the particular brand and flavoring. They had a bag back home just like it, but he and most of his family never touched it. That "special" kibble only ever went into the bowls of three certain little divas.

"Eugh!" Dimtri 2 cringed and let out a shudder. He remembered how once one a dare, they had all tried out Triple D's special, organic kibble and got yelled at by Dylan for the mess they made on the kitchen wall afterwards. After that, they swore never again; whatever "benefits" it was supposed to give, they wouldn't touch any of that gunk even if it was the last bit of food on the planet.

"Yeah so not happening." Dimitri 1 said pushing his bowl away and crossing his arms with a pout. Chris rounded on the human who left with an eyebrow raised.

"Are you sure you got the right bag? You know how picky they are."

"W-well…l-look at Déjà Vu! She's eating it just fine."

That actually caught Dimitri 2 by surprise. A turn to the left showed Dimitri 3, his cheeks puffed out with the amount of kibble in them. While his mouth was turned as upright as he could with his mouth full, his eyes told a different story; they were scrunched up in pain almost watery as if he was chewing on garbage instead. Despite twitching and heaving, Dimitri 3 turned to his right, his crooked grin stained with brown flecks unnerving the other triplets.

"Yeah what's…ugh…wrong guys?" His teasing tone would've gotten on his nerves if he didn't look and sound like he was going to throw up any second. "Can't…Glurk! Can't handle a little kibble?"

With what looked like a colossal amount of effort, he forced the slop down his gullet and took several gasping breaths, his eyes wider than dinner plates. At the puzzled look from the humans, he gave them a sheepish grin and shakily took another bite.

"You sure you're OK?" Chris asked leveling his face with the chewing pup's. The latter gave him a thumbs up, but Dimitri 2 could tell he wanted to spray his face instead, a flash of sympathy reluctantly welling up inside him. "Well looks like the kibble's OK. Destiny, Dallas, why can't you be behaved like her?"

Chris' words caused Dimitri 3 to look at them with another sneer, one clearly pained, but a sneer nonetheless. That was enough for Dimitri 2 to push down that bit of pity he felt and replace it with irritation and determination. Was he really just gonna let Dimitri 3 show that he was way tougher than he was? As if!

"I'll show you!" he cried out grabbing his/Dallas' bowl, poured a good mouthful of kibble into his open maw and instantly regretted it once he was again assaulted by what tasted like damp, moldy plants. Powering through it, he swallowed and flashed a challenging smirk at the younger triplet.

"Ha! Now who's-URP!" The kibble threatened rise back up, but a quick pound to the chest fixed that right up. "Now who's the toughest one?"

"Me!" Dimitri 1 cried out, Dimitri 2 watching as he slammed himself face-first into the bowl, his mouth going to work and his body shuddering.

"Wow you girls were hungry. Don't worry, I still got plenty more!"

As Dimitri 2 watched his bowl refill, he honestly considered just giving up, saying he was full and ready to get on with the shooting, but as the dogs beside him kept at it, he knew he couldn't back down and admit he was any lesser than them. He was the best for dog's sake, and he was gonna prove it!

"There, all done."

The bowl was removed to be washed and then replaced now with some nice, cold water which looked like the tastiest drink ever to Dimitri 2. Suppressing a groan and the urge to throw all that kibble back up, He lowered his head to take a couple of weak laps.

He didn't feel like the best. Honestly, he wasn't sure if any of them knew who had won their little toughness competition, but he was too bloated with gunk to care. The two groaning pups on either side of him didn't appear to be in a bragging mood either. At least the humans look happy enough to drop their suspicions that something was off about them.

"Now that you girls are getting along again," Dimitri 2 at least had the strength to roll his eyes at Chris' words. "It's time to get you ready for the cameras."

Cries of alarm came from both sides of him as the other two Dalmatians were picked up. Dimitri 2 experiences a split-second flare of panic before he was scooped up as well in Chris' arms. Trying not to struggle while in some human's grip was already tiring enough, but now he had to do so after a bad meal. Still, he forced himself to stay still even as a hand reached up to scratch him behind his ears.

Eventually, the three of them were deposited in front of the same mirror as before. Slouching, Dimitri 2 could barely recognize himself in his reflection. Gone were his usual fur knots, dirt patches and stray hairs gained from many many pranks and games. He was proud of those things, proof of how rough and tough he was, and his usual bath back home couldn't even make a dent in all that, but those humans' hands and whatever he'd been slathered with had turned his coat smooth, shiny and…lavender scented.

He hated how he knew that.

Now we look like Triple D. His gaze travelled to the diamond-shaped pendant dangling off his new collar making him remember its original owner. For all their brattiness, he always found Destiny to be at least pretty clever and Déjà vu easy to talk into doing something fun. It was Dallas he had trouble getting; she was the prissiest of them all, the one who came after them the hardest when they would up the targets for their pranks. The threat of being her personal butler was still ringing in his mind.

She and her sisters may love this kind of life, but he'd hated almost every unbearable, humiliating minute of having to be here and not just from having to work with those other two. Getting all dolled up made him want to barf up all that nasty kibble, but the idea of being on TV and getting out of the biggest grounding of their lives would make it all worth it.

"Got your outfits right here."

Make that almost worth it.

In the mirror, Dimitri 2's heart fell as he saw something bundled in one of the human's arms, something in the most uncool, girliest shade there was. He turned around just in time to see the human hold up their getup for the day, a matching pair of pink pants and a pink collared shirt coupled with a pair of dark pink shoes, tied together with another pink belt and topped with, of course, a pink cap with that bore the symbol on his pendant.

"Eugh seriously?" Dimitri 1 looked like he'd gotten another mouthful of organic kibble.

"Just shut up and go with it." Dimitri 2 snapped as the humans closed in on them. Several uncomfortable moments later, he turned around once more.

It somehow still fit him despite being much bigger than Dallas, but that was the only good thing about it. This was what he was going to look like one TV in front of millions of viewers, all dressed up in this…thing? "Ugh…." was all he could get out to summarize what he felt, tilting his cap to block out his eyes.

"H-Hold still Deja Vu."

"As if!"

The shout caught his attention. He turned to witness Dimitri 3 dodging and fidgeting and doing his best to avoid the shirt the human was trying to force on him. "I'll do the dumb shoot; just don't make me wear that thing! Can't you guys make it any cooler?"

"What's wrong? Not enough awesomeness in you to do it yourself?" Dimitri 1 taunted despite already wearing that ridiculous outfit. The youngest of them whipped around with a glare but abandoned whatever he had to say to duck from another attempt to get him clothed prompting Dimitri 1 to start cheering the human on.

"Déjà vu c'mon." the human pleaded as the Dalmatian pup jumped aside. "You three have to match; we have the merchandise ready to go out once filming's done."

Dimitri 2 turned in the direction he gestured to seeing a pile of merchandise neatly arranged in the corner. The name Jump Jet Pizza was plastered all over every poster, button and shirt along with the image of Triple D striking a pose. There were even plush dolls of the girls in that ridiculous outfit alongside a stack of sadly empty and pink pizza boxes.

It was kinda funny; these humans had spent so much time around all this merch and with Triple D themselves, yet all the three of them had to do was slap on their collar, and no person could tell the difference. He imagined someone as dark as Dante or as colorful as Da Vinci in their place, wearing Triple D's collars and the humans still not seeing any difference. Dimitri 2 laughed at the mental image of them trying to scrub the darkness out of his goth brother's fur and force frilly clothes onto him.

"I'm not wearing that girly thing!"

His fun mood was interrupted by the younger Dalmatian. Again. "Look, just put it on already; ugh!" Dimitri 2 said with a stomp of his foot. "If we have to wear this dumb thing, so do you!"

"You two can wear it if you want, but I'm not gonna!"

Dimitri 2 was tempted to lunge at him and hold him down. That or smack him across the face. Instead, he kept himself still and merely glared at the display, Dimitri 1 behind him laughing the entire time. In any other situation, he'd do the same, but his temper had been cut short by that bath and then again by that meal and then again by this outfit. Dimitri 3 saying he wanted to film without that embarrassing thing? Temper cut yet again.

It was the whole mess from earlier that day all over again. No amount of horrid kibble or girly outfits could make him forget how unfair the both of them were. Dimitri 1 wanted to have his way any time and every time just because he was the eldest. Dimitri 3 was no better being a colossal jerk and trying to find a way out of this. Where did that leave him? Stuck right in between all that unfairness, and he was getting sick of it.

An idea came to mind, and he turned to the pizza boxes stacked. Dimitri 2 got up on all fours and made a big show of sniffing in its direction. "Hey, is that pizza?"

"Pizza?!" As though it were their very own trigger word, Dimitri 3, and Dimitri 1 too, snapped towards where he was pointing tails wagging, tongue out with a bit of drool and looking to fill their bellies with something other than Triple D's slop.

"Gotcha!" Dimitri 3's excitement died with a yelp as the human descended on him. In no time at all, he was joining them in looking as ridiculously girly as possible.

"Why you…" the now-dressed triplet whipped towards Dimitri 2.

"Hey, not my fault you're dumb enough to fall for that. And I mean both of you." he said bursting out laughing and feeling Dimitri 1 glaring at him from behind.

*Poof!*

"Ack!"

Dimitri 2 could only panic as something soft, fluffy and white collided with his face sending white puff of powder everywhere and turning his laughter to hacks and wheezes. Blinking rapidly, he could only watch in horror as Chris suddenly approach with a fistful of brushes.

"Oh dog…" Again, he stiffened as Chris worked on his cheeks applying who knows what on him. It…felt kinda ticklish actually, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly with every stroke. "Pfeh…Watch it will ya?"

"Heh…Ticklish as ever." the human remarked as he moved to the other cheek. Dimitri 2 merely rolled his eyes as he kept working. "Just between us Dallas; you three doing OK?"

There it was again, that meddlesome streak of his; Dimitri 2 shifted his paws as a low grumble came from his mouth. "D'you think they're hogging all the attention again? I know you love being in the spotlight the most, but you have to be fair to them."

"As fair as they are to me?" the pup muttered as Chris began working on his ears. Like he was gonna take advice from some human. What did he know about having to deal with annoying, stubborn, whinny little-

Oh right. Dimitri 2 would've face-palmed if he wasn't currently getting a manicure and trying to not scream because of it. Still, while Chris and everyone else here were used to his diva sisters' antics, but the three of them were a different storm altogether. A mischievous smile slowly spread across his face as he remembered all the props and equipment and stuff they saw on their way here. Oh the mess they'd make if they were free to run roughshod all over the place, the pranks they'd spring on those unsuspecting humans, the laughs they'd share-

Dimitri 2 winced quickly hiding it behind the discomfort he felt from getting his eyelashes done. No, he wasn't in any mood for any pranks, and even if he were, the only targets he had in mind were those two. They should be thankful he had to behave otherwise they'd be begging for forgiveness after he was through with them.

"There; perfect Dallas!" Chris backed up happily clasping his hands together. Rolling his eyes at the human's display, Dimitri 2 made to turn towards the mirror-

Nope. He snapped forwards before he could catch a glimpse of the damage done to him. He had been through a lot that day, losing a chance to do something as awesome as launching a rocket, watching said rocket nearly explode right in his face, getting an earful from Dylan and Dolly, having the half of the whole thing blamed on him, begrudgingly accepting the out they were offered, being unexpectedly bathed, fed rank kibble and forced into a girly outfit.

He'd been through enough humiliation already, and his trembled at what the sum total of all that looked like. Maybe if he just kept his head straight, avoid anything reflective and not watch the commercial when it airs, he could spare himself from-

"Oh dog I look stupid."

Hearing that voice tinged with dismay prompted him to turn to his side where he gazed in wide-eyed awe at what the humans did to Dimitri 1. His lashes were curly and his cheeks were rosy and not just from embarrassment. With the freshly polished heart-shaped pendant dangling from his neck, he could sorta see how Dimitri 1 could've been mistaken for Destiny.

Dimitri 2 left the elder triplet to stew to face the younger one who happened to be holding up his paws gazing with disgust the sickeningly pink tips of his paws. Dimitri 2 could've sworn he heard the pup muttering something that sounded like "Nail polish…" over and over again.

He couldn't help himself; he opened his mouth, a laugh building up from within-

"Good job guys; I could barely tell them apart."

Chris' words to the other two humans made the middle triplet's mouth snap shut. Dimitri 2 had totally forgetting that aside from a few spots, he looked exactly the same as the other two pups. And looking at them was practically looking in a mirror.

"Uuuuuughhhhhh…" Dimitri 2 lifted a paw to face palm but found it blocked by a furless hand.

"Now now be careful Dallas; don't want to ruin your make-up, do you?" The middle triplet opened his mouth, but whatever retort he had died at the thought of going through the whole humiliating process all over again. He lowered his paw and settled for grumbling under his breath. At least their own misery would leave the other two Dalmatians less willing to tease him.

"Can we just get this over with?" he asked hoping the humans would hear the impatience in his voice.

"Come now girls; can't leave the director waiting."

"'bout time." Dimitri 1 was the first one to hop off the table and pad after the retreating humans. Dimitri 2 went right after him, and Dimitri 3 joined them a few seconds after. The middle pup figured the other two were just as tired and irritated as he was, no longer in the mood for teasing and wholly focused on getting this commercial done and forgetting this day ever happened.

At last, he came across the set; a part of him was hoping they'd bring in an actual jet for them to jump out off, but disappointment seemed to be a constant thing for him that day. Instead, their ride for the commercial was just a buncha wood panels painted purple and covered in brackets and crosses. An arrow on a stand indicated the front end of their "jet".

The director lady, a purple-haired woman in a white long-sleeved top, wave to the three of them when they approached. Dimitri 2 inwardly hoped she wasn't as nosy as the last humans he had to deal with. "Destiny, Dallas, Déjà vu! You girls ready to get started?"

"Ready to end this actually." The director didn't appear to register the frustration in his voice. Instead, she just pointed at the set. Dimitri 1 immediately darted forward to claim the front most seat and hopped into it.

From behind, he heard Dimitri 3 scoff but said nothing. Dimitri 2 himself settled for rolling his eyes and hopping into the middle seat. Once Dimitri 3 took his place behind him, the director lady

took her seat. "Now then, lights on, fan ready, tether?"

"Tether?" Dimitri 2's question was answered when a trio of humans quickly attached some kind of rope to their belts and gave a thumbs up. His followed it upwards where it connected to some kind of mechanism on the ceiling.

"Alright triplets, camera's ready." the director called out glancing at machine in question one last time. "Stand by to save the day delivering a tasty Jump Jet Pizza."

"Huh?" Dimitri 2 turned his gaze downwards towards her seeing her hold up three fingers. Then two. wasn't mentally prepared for this yet. "W-Wait-"

"And action!"

A swift tugging sensation pulled him from his seat sending him flailing through the air.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"