Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This is a stupid idea, thought Diane as she scouted around a lonely area in the city. [1]

One moment she could have been resting at home and getting prepared for a speech regarding her first ever press conference, but instead, she muddled up her own schedule that she sacrificed half of her sleep time for a new mercenary-for-hire mission. 

Ever since she abandoned the criminal life as the Crimson Paw, she created a new business in order not to leave her talents and gadgets to waste. She is lucky that she was educated and passed university to get a position in the government of Los Angeles, but she kind of miss the good old days of when she was the tricky fox she used to be. Her secret business as a mercenary-for-hire doubled her profit which would give her more than 33 times the lifespan of a non-anthropomorphic fox. 

However, living a double life has made her feel more cranky than usual.

She got into contact with philanthropist Professor Rupurt Marmalade IV who she would be meeting at the Good Samaritans Awards He didn’t explain his reasoning why, but he hired her to spy on the Bad Guys’ HQ. There had been rumors on where they could possibly be with this place being the last anyone saw them on their last robbery. This would make things easy for Diane to arrest them, but she was told to be on a low profile and that they can’t go in there with the police if this group can outwit them.

“Maybe I should have been a detective than a politician,” thought the fox as she searched around the dark area. “That way, I can find the gaps more easily.”

Night time has already blanketed the entire sky, her new black ninja outfit blending in with the darkness. Everyone had already gone to sleep, making this area more like a ghost town. The bridge was unharmed aside from a few scratches and burnt cigarette ashes left around. One could imagine how the river beneath the bridge should look since it was flat out dry here. 

She wrinkled her nose before shaking her head.

This meant she would have to go to the only other option to search deeper.

The sewers.

She sighed as she found the nearest sewer hole, taking out a crowbar.

“OK,” she said to herself. “This is your moment. Hopefully, you will do everyone well. And…maybe for me as well.” She placed the tip of her tool onto the gap of the hole cover. “Find the HQ, scan the a-” [1s]

The second she lifted the cover up with all her strength, a huge cloud of smoke rushes up high in the sky. 

Diane immediately fell on her back, choking on the smoke. 

Good lord, what was that?! 

Is this poisonous?

Why does it smell like charcoal?!

She was wearing a full face mask, but this didn’t help protect her from breathing in unknown chemicals. She never ate burnt food before, so this must be how it tastes. 

As soon as she finished coughing and the smoke cleared away, she leapt back up and looked down the sewer hole. Hmm…it didn’t look like this connects with the underground water pipes and sewers. It could be anything dangerous, but she found a clue.

Rolling around her neck, Diane placed her glove-covered hands and feet against the walls of the deep hole, and slid down. [1]

It took a long time, roughly around 10 minutes for her to get to the bottom. She wished that she brought a flashlight with her because this could have helped her see better than wandering around doing nothing. But as akin to her Crimson Paw persona, she cannot be seen and she has to be cunning. She is not really afraid of the dark. 

She is just concerned about what she might bump into.

Her feet sensed the bottom…or at least what was at the bottom. She felt heat. Wait a minute. She looked down. Orange flickering ambers can be seen. A fire. Small but noticeable. Seemed to be dying out slowly. Planting her foot back on the wall, she could feel something shallow than the thick concrete around her. Must be a door.

She kicked it wide open.

“A fireplace,” she whispered to herself as she climbs out.

It seemed to be some sort of furnace room. Either as a power generator or acting as a heater to the Bad Guys’ HQ. The room was made from red bricks, making it more like something that belongs to a family than a group of criminals. Piles of wood logs decorated the sides of the room. Rolling her eyes, Diane carried on with her mission.

As she took the stairs upwards, she found herself in a room that made her think if she was dreaming. A garage filled with stolen cars and vehicles. However, upon further inspection, they didn’t really look like they came from someone else.

The cars appear to be out of shape. Tires have yet to be added to them. Messy paint splatter all over them. There were even logos on the hood with the letters ‘BG’ on it. 

A cart filled with wrapped candies was just nearby her. She felt like a child again when she picked one candy up. She didn’t fool herself into thinking that the golden stripes are made from gold since it feels like plastic. The thing that surprised her was that the same letters ‘BG’ were printed on all the wrappers of the candies.

There was even a clothes line, shirts hanging with the same ‘BG’ letters printed on them along with symbols of each team member.

Diane was stupefied. “Are they making their own merchandise?”

Well, she didn’t  know they have an interest in branding. [1s]

There was an elevator nearby, but the emergency staircase should be less noisy and to not alert any of the criminals.

She was blown away by the entire lair of the Bad Guys’ headquarters. [2]

It was the size of a warehouse, making up room for a shopping mall. There were a lot of stolen goods the Bad Guys collected over the years. Jewels, money vaults, priceless works of art and every kind of treasure known to humankind. It looked more like a treasure room than a place where criminals dump their collectables around. It even seemed to take the shape of a homey studio apartment as she could spot the TV area, the kitchen area and doors that led to individual bedrooms.

Diane was grateful by the hanging, glowing chandelier above that provided her illumination to see. The elevator nearby was opened where the Bad Guys’ main use of the vehicle is resting. Good thing she didn’t use the elevator, this could cause a high level of alert.

If only she could get the police here…

Oh wait. She remembers now.

She took out a small camera device Marmalade gave her. She is supposed to leave it somewhere hidden in a spot where the Bad Guys wouldn’t care to see. While they can’t make a full arrest at this spot, this camera will help track down their hiding space. Surely, a small device in the shape of half of a black plastic ball doesn’t look suspicious.

Seeing how high the ceiling was, she threw the device upwards. It instantly glued against the top corner, a red light blinking from the center.

A loud snore scared her as she whips around. In the middle of all the priceless treasures, she found the team’s hacker, Ms. Tarantula, sleeping in a dog’s house. Wearing a white dunce hat that fits her size. Though, it was so high that it touched the frame of the entrance.

There was another snore from above. Hanging from the ceiling wasan enormous golden bed. Mr. Piranha, the team’s muscle, was sleeping right there, nearly hanging off the edge that he could fall off. He was wearing a scarf in a shiny gold color, a big grin on his face.

Diane blinked, questioning her vision. What was even going on anymore?

Knowing that she has to observe more of the place, Diane wasted no time and quickly scouts out every corner of the lair. However, all she could find was all the stolen treasures decorating the place. The kitchen and TV areas were useless since they didn’t have incriminating evidence. This frustrated the red fox as she tried to think of what she should be finding.

Then, it hit her. Every criminal would have a plan. And they would need research, notes and map boards. Pinning which location to go to and finding out the pros and cons of their next mission.

From what she heard, the team’s leader and peacekeeper, Mr. Wolf is the one who calls the shots first. Perhaps he has something. And conveniently, his room was right near her. 

It was a bit messier than she thought. His own personal room was cluttered with pieces of paper, dirty clothes, stained cups of coffee and cobwebs. The cobwebs might have come from Tarantula. The white walls, while clean, had scratch marks all over as signs of previous anger issues. A window was left open with the curtains flowing. It could have been an easy place to be spotted, but it seemed that Wolf enjoyed the view of the city.

Diane didn’t notice how high the lair actually was.

And there, she found Wolf.

The exhausted leader flat-out crashed on his bed. It looked like he got into some rough night and knocked himself out. He hadn’t changed out of his clothes, smelling like hay. He even had a black eye. As he slept soundlessly, Diane noticed the way he was positioned. The blanket was already off, proving how much he was tossing and turning. He didn’t look peaceful in his sleep.

He looked…sad.

Diane frowned. She knew it. She had the feeling that the Bad Guys might not feel happy with what they were doing, but it must be Wolf out of all of them. She wasn’t sure if he enjoyed being a criminal, but knowing how he tried to mingle with the civilians casually in the past, it seemed that he couldn’t rest easily in this life.

He muttered something to himself, under either a dream or a nightmare.

Diane knew that she can’t really do anything about that. She doesn’t know how safe she is or if she can trust Wolf. Trusting a criminal can be suicidal since that would mean placing down all your cards and then later them being caught. She knows this from her experience as a criminal. Criminals can’t be trusted.

Turning her attention away from Wolf, she spotted a large desk with a pinboard hanging on the wall. Unlike the chaotic state of his room, the notes and maps were sorted out neatly. Enough for anyone to see them. The ones that were hidden behind must be the old ones, useless at this point. They were even listed with dates and names.

Diane placed a hand over the desk table as she feasted her eyes to the many noted heists the Bad Guys went on. She found at least five stapled paper notes that list down the future schemes Wolf planned the team to do. One is on the Golden Dolphin; now that is impossible. They can’t get it since they never invaded an awards venue or a show before. They may rather watch it. Another is the…Love Crater Meteorite, but that has been crossed out with more points about the disadvantages than the advantages. Looks like they have limits on what to steal.

As she took the five notes in a small folder, she found a notebook that stood out from the rest of the notes.

Actually, it looked like some kind of journal. A brown leather covering with scribbles that read ‘WOLF’S DIARY’ and ‘DO NOT TOUCH, YOUR ARSE’. 

She took a look at the very first page. The page was already filled, written in pen. An ink smear was seen on the top of the page. With only the provision of the moonlight from the window and the light coming through the opened door, she read over a few words...is this covering…?

Diane didn’t get the time to read further when she heard a bellowing sound. [2s]

“YOU MAKE ME FEEEEEEL!!! MIIIIIIIGHTY REAL!!! ”

A loud falsetto singing echoed through the entire lair. In the background, there were plitters and platters of water dripping down on the ground.

She didn’t hear anyone taking a shower before.

Her eyes widen when Wolf groaned.

“That noise…” he whined as he sat up. “If I find Shark showing at midnight once again…”

Uh oh.

Diane - her real identity hidden by a full-geared ninja set - stood like a deer in headlights as the wolf spotted his new prey….

“What in the universe?!” said Wolf, jumping upwards.

Diane didn’t think properly as she quickly placed the journal into her folder and attached it to her belt. The red fox went into instinct mode, charging in before spinning around and kicking Wolf right in the stomach. He crashed into the wall and slumped back into his bed with Diane using it as an advantage to escape while he tried to get up.

As she ran out of the room, she took a turn blindly. That was a huge mistake as she halt when a door swung over.

“Oh jeez!” said Mr. Shark, the team’s infamous ‘master of disguise’ and con artist, wearing a bathrobe. “I should probably leave the shower for about 5 minutes because…” Upon seeing Diane, he screamed. “AAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHH!!!”

“AAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHH!!!” screamed Diane. 

While she is supposed to be silent, the whole mission is crumbling apart in a messy end. She quickly bounced over Shark’s head before running towards the parking lift.

Red sirens started to flicker the entire room in a blood red color. A loud horn blasted through the room. [3]

“INTRUDER!” shrieked Wolf as he popped out of his room. “WE GOT AN INTRUDER IN THE LAIR!”

Diane was dismayed when she found a flock of security drones flying out from Wolf’s room. They were all targeted at her, buzzing towards her like a gang of angry bees. Since when did they get the time and money to buy drones?! The red fox forgot that she has to run and desperately tried to find the nearest weapon she could utilize.

A baseball bat.

Wait, what could a baseball bat do?!

One drone came flying in, brandishing a pair of metal claws and laser eyes getting ready to fire.

She hasn’t faced this kind of enemy before.

Closing her eyes, she spun around and swung her bat.

The drone went flying and crashed into a wall, causing a small explosion. It even accidentally hit an electric generator which made all the lights and siren go haywire. Diane and Wolf have to grab their ears as a loud siren screeched across the entire room. [3s]

Meanwhile, in his own room, Mr. Snake, the team’s crack-locker, was busy trying out a new game Tarantula encouraged him to do. He wasn’t one to be interested in catching chicks - he rather caught rodents and chickens - but after playing through a few levels, he was ADDICTED to this.

This is much easier than going out trying to find a girlfriend! 

No wonder why dating sims are so popular nowadays.

He flicked his tongue with a cheeky grin as he felt the final love confession he wanted to hear all night.

“ Senpai! ” said the anime girl on his computer screen. “ I…I LOVE Y-! ”

Unfortunately, the damage on the electrical generator nearby his room even boggled his internet router, causing the game to freeze. After a while, a message box appeared on the screen.

WE CANNOT CONNECT. UNSAVED DATA IN THE LAST HOUR WILL BE LOST. GO GET A BETTER INTERNET CONNECTION, SCRUB.

And Snake haven’t saved his game in the last 10 hours.

“ ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?! ”

The flickering lights going crazy were enough to blind Wolf and Shark, preventing them from coming close to Diane. She quickly activated the eye lens on her ninja masks to allow her to see better without the flashing lights harming her eyes. She already had enough of her eyesight being damaged! Clutching onto her baseball bat, she focused on the group of drones surrounding her. [3]

Another one came flying towards her.

She clenched her teeth as she swung her baseball bat.

THWACK!

It went flying like the previous one she destroyed. This time, it collided into another drone and this set off a chain reaction. Six drones exploded in close contact, their scattered machines and parts scattering across the floor.

This might look easy, but these drones have weapons that can outmatch her.

Diane gulped.

One gulp each from the drones.

She swung again and three drones exploded.

They started firing their lasers on her. Despite being nervous of becoming fried, Diane leapt backwards and bounced off a nearby money vault to charge back towards the drones. She grabbed onto one and threw her legs around at 180, kicking away drones that are above. She even used this spin to throw the drone she was holding onto, smashing it with her bat to the ground.

Two drones picked her up and she tried to kick her legs around to break free. This only succeeded in getting one drone to back off with only one holding onto her. She tried using her bat to whack it behind, but her swing was not strong enough. One drone was coming in, sharpening its claws. Diane hissed as she tried to find a way out.

Thinking quickly, she held out the bat to make the drone in front of her grab it. So predictable. She used this to swing the drone around and helped her break free from the drones who were holding her. She swung her bat around before throwing the drone towards another group, causing another huge explosion.

One drone fired at Diane once again. The red fox hopped around as she avoided getting shot. With one big jump, she leapt onto the drone and hung onto it, spinning it around. In a blind panic, the drone fired all around. Its lasers accidentally hit the other drones, causing more of them to explode. This helped with destroying the rest of the security drones, but this wasn’t a good thing for Diane who had no idea how to let go.

Eventually, the drone slammed her down on her back and scratched her in the stomach. Diane grunted, but found out that it only causes a rip in the stomach area of her suit. She wasn’t bleeding. 

She swung her bat again and the last drone found itself smashed like a pancake.

Diane slowly got up, rolling her shoulders around as she tried to forget the sore muscles from the hits. The flickering lights mitigated, allowing Wolf and Shark to see properly after running around headless. 

Shoot. Time to go!

That was when Piranha’s head pops up over her shoulder.

“Wakey wakey!” he said cheerfully. “Eggs and bakey!”

Diane gasped and swung her baseball bat. However, Piranha just jumped and bit through it, reducing the bat into two wooden halves. The red fox growler as she leaned back from his incoming punch before running around him and kicking her knee right in the middle of his legs.

BONG!

“Oooh!!!” said Piranha, patting on his groin playfully. “You got me right there.”

It appeared that this didn’t faze him at all and that came clearly when he clings onto Diane’s face.

Diane nearly went into a full-blown panic as Piranha scurried around her face like a small squirrel. Except that nut-cracking squirrels don’t usually pull the ears and noses of a face. Or keep punching them repeatedly on the head. She was getting it from every side as she tried to pull Piranha off. 

She managed to pull him off and about to throw him to the ground, but Piranha only threw her over his head and used his reflexes to wham her to the ground. Then, he spun around and kicked Diane in the face, nearly knocking her out.

The red fox groaned in pain, trying to not black out. Sparks entered her vision. She shifted her hands around with one feeling the folder attached to her. As she turned her head, she can see Piranha cracking his small hands. Wolf and Shark, joined by a furious Snake, slowly marched towards her, but they were far away.

She won’t go down like this.

Diane grabbed Piranha by the collar of his shirt, leapt up and spun him around like a yo-yo.

Wolf, Shark and Snake let out a battle cry as they came running.

She threw Piranha and he hit the three. They all go flying like bowling pins.

“Strike!” hissed Diane in glee.

With the four trying to get back up again, Diane skipped towards the parking lift and pressed the button panel. Well, maybe several times since she was in a rush. As Wolf gets up, he saw the doors closing.

“Wait!” he howled.

But the elevator closed and descended. [3s]

Shark moaned, hanging his head.

Piranha just growled, placing a hand over his forehead and shaking.

Snake was hissing away, filled with unwanted adrenaline.

Wolf could only slap his hand over his snout, shaking his head. This wasn’t the first time someone tried to raid their lair. They did come across other criminals before they tried to rise against their level. Someone must have been sneaky enough to get in. Now, that ninja got in and stole whatever they found.

However, none of the treasures around them were touched by the ninja.

“Ms. Tarantula!” he called. “Activate the safety protocols!”

“Wait, what?” cooed a small voice.

Tarantula yawned as she opens her eyes, lifting herself up.

“What happened?” she said.

“An intruder,” said Wolf. “We need you to activate the safety protocols.”

A sheepish smile crosses over Tarantula. “Oh…erm…my computer was on low battery, so…I wouldn’t be able to turn them on in time.”

Well, there goes the humiliation. 

“I knew we should have installed that firewall!” said Piranha.

“You mean computer firewall or literal firewall?”

“Literal gate of fire, literally!!”

Wolf just hoped that this won’t cause the authorities to find them.

Diane trudged the entire way back home. Kicking the door opened, she waddled, clearly tired from the intense fight and the lack of sleep. As she checked through the folder to make sure the notes she found weren’t destroyed in the fight, she slowly peeled her mask off.

Coming into her bedroom, she threw her mask to the side, taking the time to breath fresh air. She took one step, but tripped over after stepping on her untied shoelaces. 

A growl escapes her lips. Humiliated. Good thing she didn’t have any bodyguards at her house or she would suffer eyes looking at her.

Dragging herself to her desk, she let out a huge moan, slamming the folder on top of it.

“The gossipers were right,” she whimpered. “The Bad Guys ARE the baddest in fighting. And yet, I thought I am the only one in the city who knows how to pick up a good fight.”

Her computer that was charging on the desk - god, she has to remember to shut it off properly - suddenly turned on, blinding her for a few minutes. Beeping as a picture of Marmalade appeared. Placing her glasses back on, she hits the green button and was greeted with the guinea pig himself.

She tried to hide back a chuckle on the sight of how FRAZZLED Marmalade looks. His hair was messy due to not being gelled properly. Heavy dark bags under his eyes as signs of fatigue. He was wearing a dark red bathing robe, something you might not wear on a hot summer night when you are about to go to sleep. However, he kept a straight face without looking like he might black out.

“ Morning, Foxington, ” he yawned. [4]

“It’s actually 11:59 PM,” corrected Diane.

“ But in a minute, it would be early morning. ” A few seconds of silence. “ And now it is! ”

At least he was still upbeat. “What exactly happened to you?”

“ You know. Got a bit too tipsy, stayed up watching my favorite sitcom and ordered myself a chocolate cake. You know, the ordinary! ” He flashed a silly grin.

Diane smiled a little. “Well, I don’t usually stay up at night unless it is at parties. Speaking of which, I got the notes that you need.” She took the 5 note booklets and waved them around for her client to see. “These are the latest plans Wolf has.”

“ Good, ” said Marmalade, looking serious. “ I won’t be available in the morning, so drop them by my house at noon. ”

“Copy that.”

“ How’s finding your way into their lair? ”

“A bit hard,” admitted Diane. “Got my face blown by a hidden chimney. I went back outside the same way I went inside. I accidentally alerted the Bad Guys, but I wasn’t followed.”

Marmalade swore to himself. “ Did you implant the camera? ”

“First chance I had, yeah.” The fox pauses for a moment. “You know, we could have just stopped them and not prolong the problem. We can’t keep letting unwanted mayhem occur in our city.”

“ Negative, Foxington. It would be easy if we got them. These are dangerous people, remember. In order to get them REALLY down, we need a closer angle to finding their weak spot. I have plans for them. ”

“They better be good, Marmalade,” said Diane. “You’re on the nomination list for the Golden Dolphin, so I’m praying that you would do something great about this. If not, I don’t think you will have it.”

“ Don’t worry about me, ” said Marmalade. “ How was fighting the team? ”

“Crazy,” snorted Diane. “Piranha is tougher than I thought.”

“ He’s strong. He has the best quality of the knife. ”

“Tarantula is just resting.”

“ She doesn’t get into that much action. ”

“Shark is a bit of…a strange fellow.”

“ Oh, you know that he is a con artist. ”

“Snake looks pretty cranky. Heard that he is not a great guy.”

“ Probably has more sour venom in him. And Wolf? ”

“He’s…” Diane paused as she thought back to seeing Wolf curled up in his bed. “There is something about him that’s…sad.”

The guinea pig frowned. “ Never knew that you could be empathetic to criminals. ”

The fox nodded to herself, blankly staring out her window. Night was still around, surrounding her home in darkness. A place that makes her feel unsafe and rather into the safety of the light. Away from the badness out there. She used to be one, but now, she wasn’t comfortable with it. She never stayed in the woods agan. The Bad Guys probably run the night on their own. From all their heists, they mean business.

But seeing Wolf muttering in his sleep replayed in her mind. He must have been hurt. Maybe he didn’t like what he is doing. How he is seen. She never really knew about him as people have yet to collect their full criminal records. Wolf looked like the most conflicted of the team since a criminal wouldn’t try to be nice to others.

“I know,” said Diane. “Look, maybe I am being weird, but ever since I dropped being the Crimson Paw, I saw that I was on the wrong side. But…it isn’t wrong to relate to the bad side, right?”

“ Foxington, ” said Marmalade, narrowing his eyes. “ I am a philanthropist, but we have yet to hear if they genuinely want to be loved like you as you once mentioned before. Just because you were a former criminal doesn’t mean you understand everyone. I have my own plan and I actually know when is the best time to confront. If you try to get yourself into mingling with the Bad Guys, then you will be killed. ”

“Yeah, well it doesn’t matter, does it?” said Diane dejectedly. “I guess…that some of us are too different to understand others.”

“ Diane, ” said Marmalade, using her first name to make his point clear. “ I need to know that I can trust you. You are my eyes and ears for the public, got it? ”

The fox’s ears droop and her tail wrap around her waist. “Yes, mister.”

Marmalade nodded before his eyes darted towards the reminder of the folder. “ What is…that there? ”

Diane wasconfused at first. Funny, she got everything in the folder. She opened it up properly and empties it. A book in leather covering. Hang on, it looked kind of familiar. And those words on the front cover ring a bell for her…

‘DO NOT TOUCH, YOU ARSE’.

Oh no.

Diane felt her heart skipping a beat.

“ What is it? ” asked Marmalade.

At this point, she felt that the Bad Guys would be knocking down on her door any minute now.

“I…accidentally snatched Wolf’s journal,” chuckled Diane sheepishly. “Do you need it as well?”

Marmalade thought for a while. “ Negative, Diane. This can be used if it is required for their criminal records if the Bad Guys get arrested so that the buzz can examine their psychological health. However, I’m not going to go deeper into this one. It may not be relevant to their current situation. I already have an idea, but it’s not safe now to get into personal details. ”

“Then what do I do?”

“ Keep it for now. Just don’t let anyone take a peek at it. ”

“Fair enough.”

“ Yeah. Leave the notes at my place tomorrow at noon. I’ll see you at the Good Samaritan Awards. ”

“Copy that, Mister Marmalade.”

Once her computer turned to black, Diane sighed as she collapsed into bed. She doesn’t care if she was still wearing the bodysuit. She already got used to how comfy it was. Comfy in terms of feeling the leather material and the bumps of her pockets all around the outfit. While tempted to pull over the blanket and lie her head on the pillows properly, she opted to stare back at the infinite darkness outside her window.

A faint illumination of the moon helps her see a little. A ghostly reminder that the bad side was still out there, hunting. She could imagine Wolf howling to the moon on top of a mountain, but that might be due to her seeing too many werewolf movies and shows.

“ Just because you were a former criminal doesn’t mean you understand everyone. ”

She didn’t know why, but for some reason, that hurts Diane.

Sure, she is relatable! She has her own reasons for her upbringing. Her parents were slaughtered by hunters, forcing her to hide. After years of isolation and growing up in a miserable orphanage, she found it hard to trust people. A fox like her should be more cunning enough to get out of a hole like this. And so she did. It helped as her confidence booster. But her days of the Crimson Paw ended when…

The guilt set in and she hugged a pillow, trying to cry into it. But she found it a bit hard to cry since she was exhausted from the mission she agreed to help on. She knew how it would feel being stuck in a pathetic, worthless and wasteful circle of stealing and revenge. Every criminal should go through this, right? 

She wished that she would be able to know better from everyone. If she tried to fix things by going in instead of pursuing an equally worthless career as a politician. Something that gives her a degree of control over the society, but not enough to help change the hearts of those who rebel. There needs to be someone to reach out to those criminals since they would have no one to trust.

If only she wasn't selfish, then…

Angry, she slapped herself, telling herself to shut off that crisis in her head. She shouldn’t be thinking like this. She had a strong reason to be a politician and she accepted the role as a governor for a damn reason. She should know what is right. The burning desire of her old days should be just left behind when it leads her into nothing but empty holes in her heart. 

Marmalade is right. She doesn’t understand the other criminals.

Burying her muzzle into the pillow, she let out a quiet yet audible scream of frustration. [4s]

Chapter Text

Diane felt as if she lost a pound of weight as she dropped off the notes at Marmalade’s front door. She kept the journal in her car, but she felt that she should give it to someone else to spare the burden of holding something…personal. Also, she felt as if she was done with the delivery because the coyote bodyguard she met scared her.

“Good thing that you didn’t get yourself killed back there,” said Nathan gruffly. “The Bad Guys are known for their resourcefulness.”

Diane gulped a little, nodding. Nathan is no higher than she is and he doesn’t look that scuffy like a wolf. He had a bit of a look similar to a wolf or a fox, but there wasn’t any fur growing near his cheeks. Some say that he would look dashing due to his smooth orange-brown fur and his black and white tuxedo, but he looked completely dead in his golden eyes.

He looked more like he was on the hunt.

“I’ve been careful,” said Diane, crossing her arms as she placed an iron gate in front of her. “You know that a fox can be as cunning as anyone.”

“That’s true, but you never know,” said Nathan. “Times change. The drones you faced, people use more technology. You never know what they can do with it.”

“I know.”

“Trust me. You need to know that, governor.”

The coyote wasn’t being mean, but there was this growl in his voice that showed how serious he is. Maybe he smoked too much lately.

Shaking off this dread, Diane rode off, heading into the city.

She feels like taking a drink. [1]

For a position Diane was in, she shouldn’t be out drinking. However, after a rough night, she needs one. A way to sober herself up. Besides, no one is going to touch her since she is newly elected. She doubted no one would pay attention to a red fox wearing a gray blazer, matching trousers, a white shirt with a black tie and black shoes.

Though, she wished that she wore something more casual like the other customers.

Stepping into the bar, she could see that the busy lunchtime has attracted so many people. At least they were in groups, so no one was going to try to talk to her. Loud rock music filled the entire room, coming from a stage. Taking a quick glance at it, Diane smiled at who it is there.

One of her friends she made back in college is already performing. He called himself ‘Doom’ (he doesn’t like his original name). 

To see a black crow perched on a chair and singing into the microphone would look silly. Not to mention that he was dressed in a black leather jacket and had turquoise bangs combed to the left, covering his eye. Cheesy for an emo bird. 

However, something clicked with him singing the loud punk rock song with a soft and somewhat quiet voice.

At least she will have some company today. He would always come to her after he finishes his performance.

Doom was quite an oddball to say the least. Not in terms of being eccentric, but Diane found him a little strange. The crow was normally grumpy and cynical, but it took some time for him to warm up. He wasn’t cool with her at first, but after a while of chatting with him, he hung around with her more. She wondered if the reason why he was this way was due to his upbringing or taking interest in goth culture. 

They didn’t interact that much however, but Diane is interested in being his friend.

She wondered a little on how it would feel to be amongst friends because when she was the Crimson Paws, she was lonesome.

Sitting at the bar table, this is what she is calling since she would be near the drinks instead of waiting at a table, Diane called for a bottle of strawberry beer. Her drink came in, cold and icy. One sip of it and she could feel the sweetness mixed with the bitterness of the beer. It tasted like heaven.

“Hey there, little fox.”

Ugh, how many times already?

Diane turned her head to find a jerk. A burly human with a golden tooth. He grinned greedily as he stroked a hand onto her cheek.

“You look like you need someone to shotgun your jelly,” he said seductively. “For a foxy lady like you, I can trigger that switch.”

She heard this too many times. At this point, she was just done with all the drama.

“Well, as long as the bullet in your shotgun allows you to drop dead on the floor in a puddle of blood,” she snarked. “I would be really happy to see that instead of seeing you jerking off on the dance floor.”

The man’s smile disappeared. “What did you say?”

Diane didn’t have time for this, taking a longer sip. “Oh, I’m sorry. Maybe you already fired the shotgun that blew both of your ears off so that you cannot hear me making common sense.”

That set him off, grabbing her wrist. “What did you say about me?!” He reached a hand towards her neck. “You ugly, short-sighted v-!”

Being a government figure with high combat training, Diane wasted no time in overpowering the jerk. She used her elbow to block off getting hit in the throat before proceeding to do so at him. He yelped and choked as she stood up and spun him around. With a tight grip, she grabbed onto his ear and wrist. Though, he tried to use his free hand to attack her, but she was quick. Even though her leg was dragged, she used this as an opportunity to twist the guy’s arm again, nearly hearing a bone crack. She kicked him right in the leg, forcing him to bend down on one knee while holding onto his arm and another one underneath his armpit as a warning.

“Hey!” yelled a group of men. “What are you doing?”

“What was that next word you were going to say?” snarled Diane. “‘You ugly, short-sighted’ what?”

The man grunted, clenching his teeth through the clenched teeth. Trying to get a word out despite knowing that he can lose a bone.

As he opened his mouth to say the insult, Diane twisted his arm again, erupting a ladylike scream from his mouth.

One of the men in his social circle takes a step back. “Bro, that’s Governor Diane!”

“Any of you want to finish it for him?” dared Diane.

His so-called friends could only watch as they decided to rather breathe instead of feeling the fury of the fox. [1s]

Diane scoffed before throwing the jerk onto the floor, watching him drag his way back to his friends. There was some small applause as the music finished, but Diane humbly made her way back to her seat to finish up her strawberry beer.

“Yeesh, girl,” said Doom, flying his way to the bar table. “You could have started a bar brawl just now.”

The fox turned her head towards the crow, perched near her bottle. She smiled in return.

“A girl’s gotta do what she’s gotta do,” she mumbled.

“Well, you would have gotten arrested,” said Doom as he crossed his arms…wings…whatever he preferred to call them. “A self-proclaimed perfect governor wouldn’t be expected to get into a fight. The headline would have been ‘Local Politician Starting a Turf War on Janesworth Street’. Do you know how many protests might have happened if you got arrested?”

Diane rolled her eyes. “It’s fine. I just…like breaking out of the mold sometimes.”

“Well, you don’t really,” snarked Doom.

“I mean,” Diane explained, stuttering. “I, erm, do and don’t like to.”

“You can’t really have both.”

Another large sip. “Maybe I can.”

“Ah, geez, dummy,” said Doom, shaking his head. “We’ve become a world of delinquents still in our youths and living out our reckless teenage dreams. Thinking that the world revolves around us. Surely this year should be the time where people can wake up from their beliefs.”

Diane chuckled at how hypocritical he sounds. “You’re one to talk, Doom.”

“Excuse me,” said Doom, placing a hand over his chest. “I’m an artist. I mean, I have to find SOMETHING to produce more on what I love. And look at my latest album! The reviews are generally positive due to the roulette I played around with.”

“Repetitive pop albums get more scores.”

“Hey, I have my own industry I fit in with.”

Doom was famously known as an independent rock artist. He wasn’t really popular which explains his free gigs at several bars in Los Angeles, but his music was really nice to hear. Some of them covered maybe too many messages than one usually focused on, but Diane was actually impressed with the limitations he was breaking against. Maybe he might become a global superstar someday, but he was content with doing what he liked.

He rarely says it, but he does like talking with her.

A fluttering inside her chest, expecting her old friend to appear in time. She turned around to find a female panther walking towards her. Her hair was really loud as a huge afro, darker than her fur. She was still wearing the yellow jumpsuit she loved from her favorite movie Kill Bill. 

Despite being a panther, she had the look of a kind cat. [2]

“Diane!” she said. “Good to see you again!”

“Kitty!” exclaimed Diane, hugging her. The two women coed before Diane drags Doom into it as well. “Come here. You too!”

“AYE!” squawked the crow, trying to flap away. “Don’t pull me in like this!”

Diane laughed, ignoring Doom trying to peck on her. She is happy to see Kitty once again. They haven’t been in touch recently due to Diane’s job taking up her normal free time and Kitty needing to look after her two children ever since they were born earlier this year. You see, Kitty is older than Diane and the two know each other from Diane attending Kitty’s martial arts classes, but they formed a stable friendship together. 

Diane wished that she got to know Kitty more first. If so, then she wouldn’t be on the path of the Crimson Paw in the first place.

Finally, they let go.

“Just because you are girls doesn’t mean I can touch you two,” grumbled Doom.

“You’re speaking my language,” chuckled Kitty, turning to Fox. “So, my little student. How have you been?”

“Kitty, I’m doing good like I said in our chat,” said Diane.

“That is all TEXT chat. But now we are here, let’s get into face-to-face conversation. How is your new job as an elected governor?”

“It was…surprising.” Diane thought for a while. “I never knew that I would be elected. All the hard work must have paid off.”

“You know that you don’t really need to do this,” said Kitty, looking concerned.

“Well, it’s something I asked for, so why waste it?”

Kitty sighed. She knew that Diane was ambitious, but she should settle down. The fox is still young. 

“I’ve been thinking lately about your job as a politician and you starting a secret mercenary-for-hire business,” she said.

Diane’s ears straighten up in shock as she forced Kitty onto her seat. “I told you to not talk about that!”

“Well…” Kitty checked around to make sure no one was listening. The bartender was too busy flirting with a blonde lady. “I have to because I don’t know what other secrets you’ve been hiding from all of us. Always saying that you got things to do and the next minute, you end up looking like my husband.”

“She’s right, Diane,” agreed Doom as he rested on the fox’s shoulder. “A fox can run fast but not for too long. I never took a step closer to fame since I hate the paparazzi; too pressuring.”

“I know, you two,” reassured Diane. “Look, I just want to be a part of everything I can reach.”

“Maybe you’re overdoing it,” said Kitty bluntly. ”Sure, it looks good, but a double life isn’t really the best thing for anyone. Unless superheroes actually exist. It took me a while to accept not being single after I got married. I feared that would change everything, but…the changes aren’t bad and I stuck to that path ever since. What path are you exactly choosing?”

Diane hates it when everyone kept reminding her what she should be. She started her new business to not leave her talent in fighting and stealing to waste. Her power as a governor could help her with resolving some of the conflicts unsolved. She missed the feeling of getting to be the sneaky fox everyone knew. She hated the fact that it was impossible to balance.

But she has to try! 

“Any path that I can find, Kitty,” hissed Diane sassily. “A fox can find multiple prey to sneak on. So many choices.” She took another sip and her bottle became empty. “Look, being a governor means I can be in control of the team and being a mercenary means that I can search underground. Sorry that I have been going into too much and cleaning up EVERYONE’S lives. But one day, you’ll be grateful of me. And be grateful that I took martial arts lessons from you.”

“Well, I thought you took them so that you would go to Japan,” deadpanned Kitty.

“A teacher for all kids and you’re a little stereotypical.”

“Yeah, though this is your off day away from kids, Kitty,” joked Doom.

Kitty smacked her lips. “For sure.”

“So, what are you going to do today, Miss Governor? What plans?”

Diane smiled. Nice to change the subject. “Well, as you know, I’m hosting the Good Samaritans Awards tomorrow night, so you two are invited to come over.”

“And get into some crazy crap going on there.” Doom looked nervous.

“There will be music, food and several awards given out.” Diane gave her friend a wink. “You’ll love it.”

“Well, better put my party pants on,” said Kitty, looking excited as she hops off her seat. “You know that they once called me the ‘Fitness Teacher of Dance’.”

And there, she proceeded to do the most exaggerated belly dance everyone knew. Diane started laughing while Doom felt embarrassed, darting his eyes to see who was watching. But the former was breaking into chuckles, remembering fondly of Kitty’s funny dances.

“Stop it,” she wheezed between giggles. “I get it. I get it.”

“You’re embarrassing, grandma” whispered Doom.

“There is a speech that I will be doing in a few hours. It is something I’ve been waiting for as I want to address the huge criminals in town.”

“Which ones?” asked Kitty.

“Just in general,” said Diane, shrugging. Then, her eyes lit up. “Oh! But I have their criminal records in case you would like to see! Some of them will be used to help me with my speech about criminals. Half of them are still on the run or not doing bad things at the moment. Look at what the police gave me.”

Another folder of her from her bag. She placed it right on the bar table, spreading them out. Yellow sheets covered the trio’s vision, having colorful pictures of the rebellious-looking criminals to the worst and ugliest monsters.

“Let’s see…” said Kitty as she read through. “The Bad Guys are one major problem recently. Lux Lethal. Pig the Pug, well he got time off his hands. The Bucharest Bandits, Lucky Jim, El Nocturno. Wait, Scrappy-Dog?”

“That’s…something I didn’t expect,” said Doom. “Years of being annoying must have done something about it.”

“Wait, is that…Mr. Hornet?” asked Kitty as she picked up one sheet that displayed a picture of an orange and black hornet wearing a black shirt with orange swirls and a white lightning bolt, and an orange motorcycle-like helmet with his antennas sticking out. “What does he do again?”

“Hornet is a spy, look-out and con artist who has stolen small but valuable objects,” explained Diane. “He was first known and on the wanted list when he got himself caught on camera once. Despite this and his death threats to people he came across, he’s clear to go due to him helping out the authorities a couple of times.”

“The police must have been greedy,” grumbled Doom.

“Has he worked with the Bad Guys before?” asked Kitty.

“There was news that he worked with them on several occasions,” said Diane, shrugging. ”In fact, he became an honorable member of the group! There have been some rumors of him and Mr. Piranha dating.”

Doom looks interested. “Oh really?”

Diane smirked. “Yeah. Somebody tweeted that the two of them had a one night stand-off.”

Doom’s eyes widened. “They had a one night stand-off?” Incredulous, he shook his head. “I don't believe it!”

“C'mon,” said Kitty, nudging Doom. “It's common with guys.”

“Yeah, but wouldn't it be a bit dangerous for them? Hornet's much smaller and his stinger might either break or pinch Piranha!”

“Says the guy who had a night with a hippo the other night when you were drunk.”

Doom got right into Kitty’s face. “You what, mate?!” 

He suddenly lost concentration when he spotted a file with an intimidating picture.

This one had something that resembled a giraffe except with a shorter neck and mixed features on it. They were smirking at the camera to reveal their sharp teeth. Completely covered in black, red and orange colors.

“Who are they?” he asked.

“Those are the Flexi-Trolls,” said Diane. “Quite a feisty bunch.”

“Are they aliens or some kind of gods?” asked Kitty.

“Well, all we know is that they aren’t immortal because one LITERALLY perished into ash after being run over by a falling train.”

“Wait, really? Wouldn’t it be messy and filled with blood splattered everywhere?”

“Nope. Something to do with being hit in the heart.”

Kitty was rightfully baffled. “Strange, that wouldn’t be possible for one to turn into powder upon being struck in the heart. What did they do again?”

“They are responsible for mass homicide and war crimes. They are really hard to catch as they are hard to find in the world and they attack people in a quiet invasion.”

“Any minute now, they can attack,” said Doom sarcastically. 

“Dang,” said Kitty. “That is just cold.”

“They sure seem to be a heartless band of ruffians.”

“Well, not all of them,” muttered Diane, remembering back to reports from the police. “There is one who actually found a way to turn his life around and is now living the good life. I think his name was Sid if I remember.”

Kitty was understandably surprised, “This guy, living with a group like those bloodthirsty monsters, found a way to go good?”

“Yep,” said Diane, suddenly sounding jaded. “He had the chance to rewrite his own history. Much like Wolf and his friends did.”

If Sid managed to redeem himself, then why can’t the Bad Guys do that as well? If only they wouldn’t be so difficult, then…

Though, the bitter and sad feeling was moved aside when Doom speaks up.

“You don’t sound happy about it,” he said.

“What?” The fox chuckles sheepishly. “Sorry, I suddenly felt…” She shakes her head. “I am grateful that Sid found a better path for him.”

“Well, that is one down,” said Doom. “There are still…999 more I guess. Or 998 I mean. They are among us.”

“Oh c’mon,” laughed Diane. “Life is not a video game.”

“It might be,” said Kitty.

“Like see that dude over there?” said Doom, pointing to a man typing a…very explicit document on his computer. “He is sus writing down those things in public. That is exactly the type of guy who would send information to terrorists and smuggle drugs into countries.”

The man writing on his computer stopped and gave the trio a quizzical glance.

Kitty grinned sheepishly. “Sorry about him.”

Diane nearly hopped off her seat if it wasn't for the panther grabbing her wrist.

“No, don’t think about it.”

The fox’s ears drooped as she sat back down.

Doom took another look at the criminal records. “Who is ‘Splaarghön’?”

“What?!” said Diane, alarmed.

“This guy looks like-” [2s]

“That one is classified,” said Diane too quickly as she shoved all the papers back into her folder. “And we’re done here.”

Doom could only give her a disapproved look. He is just getting interested! Why hide from him?

Kitty checked her watch. “You said that around this time, you have to go, Diane. Need to get to the press conference. Prepare your speech. Be responsible .”

“Yeah, you’re right, Kitty,” said Diane, nodding. “Maybe I should get going.” Her eyes suddenly lit up. “Or…!”

Within the smallest of seconds, Diane, Kitty and Doom got to the karaoke bar and set up a game of Just Dance. Drunk, high and giddy over dancing together again just like they did during Diane’s and Doom’s graduation university party. 

“Keep those paws pumping, girl!” whooped Kitty as she and Diane danced to ‘Mama Mia’.

Diane whooped as she felt the tropical, Latin-influenced song moving her.

“C’mon, Doom!” she said. “Join along!”

“There are only two dancers required for this one!” said Doom, hiccuping and clearly not wanting to be involved in this one.

Eventually, Doom and Kitty danced together for ‘The Final Countdown’. Diane made sure to record a video of them doing the ‘jumping over each other’ move.

“C’mon! C’mon!” said Kitty as she rolled onto the floor.

Doom just flew over her. “Yes!”

Though, he received an ‘X’ score for that move, thus missing the gold move..

“What?! C’mon! I jumped over her perfectly!”

And then, it’s Kitty’s turn to jump over and let’s just say that Doom was TERRIFIED as he had to duck his head due to her only making a small jump. Her shoe nearly knocked him in the eyes.

Later on, Kitty took on a solo dance on ‘Sayonara’, burning more calories to this Kawaii Metal track. She was right at the part of the post-chorus, stomping her feet to the ground.

“Erm, Kitty?” said Diane worriedly. “You might not want to stomp too hard.”

“Who cares?” said Kitty cockily. “Let all the rage out-!”

SMASH!

Followed by her making a hole through the floor and falling through it. There was a loud crash and silence before…

“Oh,” said Kitty’s voice. “Hello!”

Two screams erupted from the room below.

Diane clenched her teeth, shivering.

Doom took another sip from his bottle.

Then, Diane took a solo dance with ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’. Though, it didn’t take long when she got to the second chorus and she had to do the…wiggle move.

“No, no, no,” she said after she first tried it out. “I’m done. I’m done.”

“What?” said Kitty. “It makes you look hot.”

“Not like this! I’m not a strip dancer!”

Eventually, the trio got wasted and ended up resting on the couch while the Just Dance idle music plays along. While they could still open their eyes, the effects of dancing too long and drunkenness probably made them feel more fatigued. This must be how it felt like to come walking out of a university house party. 

Diane managed to stay awake when she heard her watch buzzing.

“Thirty minutes left?!” she hissed as she jumped up, awakening her friends. “I have to go now!”

“Alright then,” chuckles Kitty, doozy. “Catch you up later.”

Without taking her time to check if she had everything, Diane hurriedly placed back on her blazer, adjusted her glasses properly and rushed out of the karaoke room. Alone, Kitty turned to the drunk Doom who kept blinking every three seconds.

“She is going to burn out,” the panther said.

“Yeah, totally,” agreed Doom.

Diane ended up running all the way to the spot of her press conference. She couldn’t drive since the effects of the alcohol would impair her concentration. Luckily, it wasn’t too far. She could rush back to her car later and it was locked. And by the time she arrived at the government house, the governor making a speech before her was still talking to the gigantic crowd of people. A few of her fellow workers and governors surrounded her, checking if she was alright.

“Guys, guys,” she kept saying as one of the governors - a human with tan skin and blonde hair - adjusted her suit nicely. “You know you don’t have to do this.”

“OK, so do you remember what we planned to say?” asked the blonde governor

“C’mon, Thomas!” said the fox, taking out her notes. “I know what to say. I mean, this is my first press conference I get to talk in. You know how much I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

“I know, miss. But if you’re gonna continue to go off making shady deals and appear nearly late for work, it looks like you got too much on your plate.” 

“Do not fear, my gentleman,” said Diane. “I got it all written down. Anything I highlighted are the main points that would strike up a realization.”

The blonde governor looked over her notes. “It’s ALL highlighted. Wait, you’re actually going to…”

“Well, it’s a way to tell everyone off how they embrace stereotypes too much. I can’t be like the other governors who only see the worse of criminals when there should be a voice about the more realistic side.”p

“I don’t think it’s THAT simple,” grumbled the blondie, pinching his nose. “And clearly, you didn’t think this through if you are going to be fair to all. Just PLEASE follow the talking points we went through.”

Diane rolled her eyes. “Promises promises.”

Thomas raised his eyebrow. “Every time you say that, you don’t make it a promise.”

“Keep it as a promise that I won’t tarnish the government’s reputation.”

He clicked his tongue. “Right.”

“Diane Foxington!” called a stage manager. “You’re up!”

Diane smiled. “Alright then.” She gave Thomas one last look. “See you soon.”

In her mind, she was actually nervous about this. She opened the door to be greeted with a gaggle of reporters. The flash and the chatter amongst the reporters right in front of her would be enough to break the shyest person. While Diane wasn’t really an introvert, she knew that some of them might not take her words nicely. 

She was probably one of the first animals to be able to take a government or a very high political position like this.

Stepping up near the microphone, Diane raised a hand calmly, asking for silence.

“We all know how dastardly the Bad Guys are,” said Diane. “Earlier today, they got into a small heist, but you would have already seen the mass destruction they did. Nobody was severely injured, so thank God for that. I wonder how many cops it would take to fight against the most outwitty crime gang of all time.” She snorted a little. “Well, if only the other American president can be arrested if the Bad Guys are up to his level.”

There was an agreement amongst the reporters as scattered chuckles spread around. 

Thomas, on the side, face-palms, sighing.

“I am aware of the shocking actions the Bad Guys have done in Los Angeles,” said Diane. “But more than anything…” She stopped for a moment, feeling a lump in her throat. “I feel sorry for them.”

There was a stunned silence from the reporters.

“These so-called ‘Bad Guys’ are really just second-rate has-beens,” continued Diane, laughing a little. “Behind their amateurish antics and, frankly, unoriginal capers, I mean really…” She paused for a moment, finding it a bit amusing with criminals these days. “...another bank is nothing but a deep well of anger…”

Some sort of anger burned inside her. A frustration. A frustration of what she had  gone through that led her becoming the Crimson Paw.

“...denial…”

It came without noticing, but Diane was hiding a lot while deciding whether to settle into her life as a politician or continue going undercover as a mercenary-for-hire.

“...and self-loathing…” She paused for a moment, smiling in depreciation of the Bad Guys AND herself. In honesty, it was more of her venting out her own struggles of being a criminal in the past. This might be a good way to reach out to criminals while also addressing the civilians’ worries, right? “And those are holes that no amount of cash or priceless art can ever fill.”

A mutter rose among the reporters.

“I mean, look at us,” she continued, dropping the ‘know-it-all’ smirk “Look at you. I mean, we can all be despicable, right? Some of us do it out of anger to hurt others when they hurt us back. I mean, isn’t that something we’ve all been through? Why else do you think they try to replace a scared mind with valuables?” She paused for a moment. “Some criminals took huge changes! Sid, of the terrorizing Flexi-Trolls, found a way to redeem himself. Mr. Hornet is still a criminal, but earns his freedom due to his partnerships with the authorities!” She tapped onto her diamond ring, making sure it shines. Kind of in a way of daring people to see that she might be the notorious Crimson Paw. “So, if those criminals had a second chance, perhaps we should stop taking them as bad threats because they are like us.”

Reporters started to fire skeptical questions at her, but she went on.

“We are in a mixed society,” said Diane softly. “Becoming gullible to the dominant point too quickly. And if you don’t value equality, then tyranny will start to try to influence you. Maybe try to imagine how it feels like to be in the outcasts’ shoes. The ‘cruelest’ people on Earth can be vulnerable, am I not wrong?”

Thomas on the side couldn’t really say anything to talk against that. However, someone walked by him, looking like he had ideas…

Diane sighed before wrapping up her monologue. “I want you to consider what I said for today. But for now, let’s forget about the ‘Bad Guys’ and focus on more positive things. And what could be more positive than the annual Good Samaritan Awards, where tomorrow night I will present the Golden Dolphin to this year’s ‘Goodest Citizen’.”

There was some sort of enlightenment in the crowd as many reporters nodded.

“There will be other awards coming in for tonight ranging from ‘Bravest Citizen’, ‘Tidiest Citizen’ to the ‘Empowering Citizen’. Nominations finish tonight and will be announced tomorrow morning so make sure to finish them! This will be a good night as we will address the great people around. I hope that this even shows to those who are hiding in the dark that light will be able to find you. There will always be goodness somewhere.”

The rest of her speech was just talking about the other subjects Diane is concerned with. This included climate change - in which she was REALLY passionate about - before she wrapped it up and let the next presenter take over. Diane wandered off, getting ready to make her way back to the bar.

“Foxington.” [3]

Diane yelped, turning around to find another governor wanting to talk to her. A man with an olive complexion and dark well-groomed hair in a smart suit.

“You might have gone emotional on your speech,” he said.

“What? No,” lied Diane smoothly. “I was clearly relating to the criminals around. I mean, you can’t help but notice.”

“Is it necessary? This might lead the public to question the government and this can place all of us in trouble.”

“I know that, but-”

“Foxington,” said the governor sternly. “I know you want to say that criminals in the city are like any other civilian, but we can’t have any more of those Bad Guys sniffing around every corner. The government has to look out for its people and stop the troublemakers from hurting more. Not PROVOKE them any further. So the best way for…our people to live in a good society is…to hear their concerns. We are not criminals, remember?”

It was clear that he had trouble saying this, but that was rather the harsh truth.

Diane was rather surprised at how much emphasis when he said ‘provoke’.

“ Just because you were a former criminal doesn’t mean you understand everyone. ”

Her workers weren’t anything like Marmalade, but she felt that it was rather condescending with everyone reminding her what she should be more concerned about. But then, the realism set in; someone could misunderstand it and people would start to act on it, protesting against her. Nobody would want an incident to happen and the governors would be in hot water and another politician would try to steal her power. It would be a quick one way ticket to hell for her after all.

Upset, she could only nod.

“Good,” said the dark-haired governor as he turned to leave, not noticing the dismayed look on Diane’s face.

The fox took a lot of willpower to regain her composure and shook her head. Either way, the Bad Guys wouldn’t be hearing her. They wouldn’t even think about what she said. They just cared about their own plans. Maybe cutting out comparing herself to the other criminals should be a good thing. She needs to stop thinking like a criminal.

She doesn’t want to get into another bootout.

Not another fight. [3s]

Chapter Text

The Good Samaritan Awards night came in a flash of a blur. Diane cannon't recall what else she did - the paperwork she went through seems to have turned into nothing ever since her press conference - but she felt that she was back in the mood when at the Fine Arts Museum, the venue of the awards show. [1]

Maybe it was because she was sulking to herself about needing to 'stop provoking criminals', but after thinking for a while, she decided that she wasn't really like the criminals.

When Kitty and Doom confirmed that they will be able to come after buying tickets, she thought that she didn't need to worry anymore. She was on the right path. With the right people. Maybe she should stick with being in a good life than trying to chase illusions. Besides, with Marmalade planning to confront the Bad Guys, it seemed that she didn't even need to get involved.

Unless he does something suspicious.

She thought to herself if she really want to go further, she might as well investigate the journal she stole from Wolf.

She waited by a fountain, tapping her fingers against the concrete. Several ambassadors and guests came over to her to chat. Half of them were fans. Welcoming them was the best part before they enter the front entrance. This was to reassure them that nothing wrong would happen. Besides, it felt good that they were happy to be around her because she helped them in the past.

Well, there IS already an army of guards watching over the place, led by the hot-headed Chief Luggins. Paranoid as they were with the Bad Guys and hoping not to lose their job.

At least Diane is working to make the city protected.

The entire ground of the Fine Arts Museum was spectacular. There was a huge grand staircase, covered in a red carpet and red ropes for famous celebrities to go through. Limousines often stop by at the bottom of the stairs to let special V.I.P come into the museum safely. Even without taking a look inside the museum, which was decorated with so many sculptures and paintings, there were already so many beautiful artworks in the open for display. Most of them were out there to show how unafraid the creators behind them were when it came to appearance.

A smaller limousine pulled up at the staircase and out came Doom and Kitty. To Diane's surprise, it must be Doom's personal limousine. The little rockstar didn't exactly have enough money to scrap for even a private jet, but because he was so well-known, he must be given this privilege to let his fans know that he was attending the event. And of course, it must be Kitty who goaded him into using a limousine for 'style'.

Doom was dressed up neatly, but retained his gothic style. His hair was tied up in a topknot bun with a newly dyed streak of purple with a golden chain wrapped around the hair tie. He was wearing something that made him look like Dracula; a red collared shirt, a black vest with white buttons and a golden chain hanging from it.

Kitty had gone with a mix of western and African wardrobes with a 1980s-styled hair comb stuck in her large afro. She was wearing a long multicolored African robe with half-sleeves and the most predominant color being orange, a short black dress with golden buttons, leggings that were striped with orange and pink embellishments on them, and golden high heels.

Doom remained perched on Kitty's shoulder. As the paparazzi surrounded them to take a photo of Doom, the crow looked away. While it could be interpreted as him being antisocial - a common emo stereotype - he was really shy when it came to meeting a large number of people.

The two reached up to Diane who waved at them.

"You two finally arrive!" she said. "And you two look dashing!"

"And you look beautiful right in this dress!" said Kitty.

Diane grinned. She was just wearing a simple pink dress that reached down to her feet, matching high heels, golden bracelets and silver necklaces. But it did make her look nice and proper for the awards show. However, she hated wearing contact lenses.

Curse her inhibited vision in reading!

"It's all I can find," she said. "Can't get the too-expensive ones, right?"

"I just can't wait for the party to start!" said Kitty. "Because you know how I do my way of having fun!"

She started to belly dance again. Diane chuckled before joining in as well while a disgruntled Doom shook his head in disgust. A few guests seeing this found it amusing to watch while some tried to mimic the dance.

"OK, OK, enough," said Doom, patting his wing against Kitty's face. "Save the dance when the music comes up."

"Speaking of that, are you going to perform tonight?" asked Diane.

"You just asked me yesterday that you were going to invite me. What do you think?"

"...yes?"

Doom rolled his eyes. "It would be awesome if so, but they said that my performance doesn't live up to their requirements for the awards." He looked down at what he is wearing. "You think this is too much?"

Diane shrugged. "Nah. It suits you. I wouldn't recognize you without all that broody attitude of yours."

"...yeah."

Kitty's smile faded a little suddenly. "Diane, may I be frank?"

"What is it?" asked Diane.

"That was a huge risk you did with calling out the Bad Guys like this."

"What? Look, it may be wrong, but I was just being honest. In a world full of diabolical people, is that a crime?"

Doom sighed. "No. It's not nearly a crime. It's more on…word choices"

"I was just…" The fox hesitates, remembering what the stern governor told her the other day. "...speaking my mind. I thought it would be a good opportunity to tell my opinions about the other criminals."

"You sounded a bit conceited towards them," pointed out Kitty.

"OK, maybe I did something wrong. Possibly provoke them. Though, on the other hand, it's a reminder that those criminals can be like us and…" The fox stopped for a moment, slapping a hand across her forehead. "Right then. I just don't want to be like one who doesn't acknowledge other things."

"I think you better need to watch how you speak about others," said Doom. "For all we know, we don't know what else it will spark from that presentation you made. And if you are really trying to pick a good way to get the desired outcomes, then do you really know the risks?"

Risks, huh? Diane was no stranger to risks, but with the Crimson Paw no longer mixing into the criminal world, she might not be of good service since she noticed how shaky she was when infiltrating the Bad Guys' HQ. Swallowing up her better judgment, she shook her head and got her mind straight that she should stop repeating that she can understand criminals.

"You're probably right," said Diane. "I-I'm sorry. I don't really know what came over me, but…I just really want to help."

Kitty nodded, placing a hand over the fox's shoulder. "I'm not saying that you aren't right, but I just want to make sure that you don't go too far ahead to get yourself in trouble. I am still worried about you."

For a matter of time, Diane might relapse, but she will see what she has to watch out for.

"Anyway," said Doom. "We have yet to confirm how the Bad Guys react to it. Do you think they are going to go nuclear?"

Diane snorted. "Maybe so, but they might not take me seriously. What are they going to do? Kill me?"

Before Doom could give a sarcastic remark, another limousine pulled in at the bottom of the stairs. A white one and the recipient of the 'Goodest Citizen' award made his appearance.

Professor Marmalade looked rather handsome in his dark blue suit, though there was something that made up for his quirkiness with the cute golden ribbon tied around underneath his chin. Carried down by his rather strange-looking assistant, he marched across the red carpet as all photographers and reporters turned to him.

He sank in being bombarded by many fans adoring his small size and good reputation. Tiffany Fluffit was already there, listing down the many things he did during this year. While obviously prideful for all the recognition, Marmalade showed genuine humbleness to these listed deeds, believing that there was a 'flower of goodness' inside everyone.

"I thought he would be taller," commented Kitty.

"Well, sizes don't make up to anything in real life," said Diane.

"For some reason, he looks sickening to me," said Doom, cringing to himself as the fans marveled around the guinea pig.

"Is it due to how much attention he gets?"

"Looks very true," said Kitty as Marmalade signed a squealing fan's forehead.

When Kitty and Doom made their way inside, Diane quickly made eye contact with Marmalade. She gave him a thumbs-up as if asking if he got the notes she sent her. He nodded, telling her that she did her task and it was left to him to figure out the rest.

So far, so good, hoped Diane.

With that out of the way, she might as well relax a little.

She didn't place her mind that much on the Bad Guys as she continued to greet the other guests arriving at the museum. For a while, she was left alone, getting the chance to see some of the artworks around. She was more drawn to the colorful sculptures around her.

She'll have to admit that she loves the more girly sculptures, but tapping into her tomboyish side, she thinks the winner is…

"Interesting piece," said a deep and smooth voice. "Trashy, pointless AND pretentious."

This came from the mouth of a canine nearby her. He seemed to resemble a wolf or perhaps a dog, but it was hard to tell due to his tail being tucked into his pants, his eyes covered by sunglasses despite the sky being nearly black and his ears covered by a white fedora with a black stripe. The gray fur might give her a clue, but she chuckled upon seeing his cool short mustache. His suit was something that resembled a sophisticated artist; a white jacket, a white vest, a black shirt with a purple tie, white pants and brown shoes.

Diane took one look at the sculpture he was staring at. It was an abstract work made from rusty metal beams, some additions of artificial, silver grass and barbed wire.

That was the one she considered the winner.

"They say that art reveals more about the viewer than the artist," said Diane, raising an eyebrow. "Mr…?"

"The name's Poodleton," said the canine politely. "Oliver Poodleton."

He bent over to kiss her hand. She giggled, feeling charmed by this person. She had to admit, he nearly got her.

"You know," said Oliver. "It's about time someone stood up to those diabolical Bad Guys. Though I've got to say, no one's succeeded yet."

Oh. So he heard about her first press conference? There was something strange that he thought no one really stood up to those criminals. Then again, Diane never knew what was more than meet the eye of the Bad Guys.

"Oh, I don't think it'll be that hard," said Diane.

"I have a feeling it will be harder than you think," said Oliver. "I'd say they're one epic job away from cementing their legacy."

Diane's pride strike up again as she got back to her original judgment yesterday. She laughed in disbelief, thinking that she might be able to take that challenge well. If there was one thing she learned as being the Crimson Paw, never back down on reality check and facts.

Though, Kitty would scold her again if she got a wooden stick with her.

"Mr. Poodleton!" she chuckled. "You're very funny!"

Oliver looks a bit offended. "I-I am?"

"The only legacy those Bad Guys are cementing is life in prison. Did you see their last job? Unsecured exits, crude disguises, compulsive showboating. I mean, it was a MESS. All the classic signs of a crew in decline."

She had to admit that maybe her Crimson Paw side came back since she suddenly felt a bit egotistic. Before, she didn't cause too much chaos when pulling off stunts or at least she did. But when you are a criminal, you must play your cards right for a clean getaway.

"Next, they're gonna make it personal. That's when you know the Bad Guys are toast."

She failed to notice the discomfort on Oliver's face initially until his smile changed when she looked back at him.

"Uh, that's your opinion, Diane," muttered Oliver.

"And I'm the governor," snarked Diane.

She paused when she noticed Oliver's discomfort.

Maybe she talked too much. Might also be a dead giveaway of who she used to be.

She quickly turned Oliver's eyes to the trash sculpture.

"As for the sculpture, I think it's about perspective. If you look closely, even trash can be recycled into something beautiful."

At first, Oliver didn't understand, but when she showed him the spotlight capturing its shadow, he understood. The rotating sculpture made the shadow appear as a graceful swan. He nodded, impressed.

"How about that?" he said to himself. "I guess some things aren't always as they appear."

After taking a selfie with Oliver, Diane walked off to enter the museum in hopes of finding her friends. The bright white colors help lifted her mood, making her feel hopeful that tonight will go well despite the paranoid guards all around. She couldn’t help but feel a bit bad about what she said, but at least she said it to just one person. Not someone she could fall into bad water with. [1s]

As she brushed her hands, she halt. That was weird.

She looked down at her fingers.

Where did her ring which was definitely not a wedding ring and contained the Zumpango Diamond she stole years ago when she was the Crimson Paw go?

...

…nah! Probably nothing!

She rolled her eyes and walked away. She wouldn't even need to worry about it since its price tag was deducted anyway after going missing for so long. Besides, while she kept it for nostalgia, she wanted to let it go since it was tied with her past.

All good things from bad habits would have to go, she said to herself.

Even though she should be backstage to get ready to prepare her presentation, she joined in with the other partygoers, mixing around with others. Some of the governors even joined in to chat with their own friends and families. Diane thought of talking with Marmalade, but decided to not worry about his plan for now. [2]

She managed to find Kitty and Doom at their own table, already ordering a huge feast for themselves.

While Doom was slowly chewing on his, Kitty was already digging into her meal. A full-cooked silver-scaled fish right in front of her. While some of those dishes usually had herbs instead of using salt, Kitty already found it really tasty. Her hands were already a blur as she slurped on her food.

Diane chuckled a little, reminding herself that Kitty REALLY love fish.

"So how is the food going?" she asked.

"Really good!" said Kitty. "This really beats the food they serve at the bar."

"I say it's alright," said Doom, wiping off a piece of fish that landed on his head. "Though, gourmet food is not really my taste."

"It's once in a lifetime," said Diane. "I mean, I get to eat a LOT of fancy dinners when out with other governors, ambassadors and politicians. It's not easy to get that."

"Worth it!" said Kitty.

"Doesn't really mean I'm going to hog all of it in the end," grumbled Doom.

As if on cue, a waiter appeared, pushing a tray of hot steaming food. On the top appeared to be a TOWER of mixed fruits. To be specific, a tower of pineapple decorated in freshly chopped and unrotten slices of apple, bananas, grapes, melon, strawberries and raspberries. It nearly looked like Hawaii on a plate!

"One Extra-Large Tropical Fruit Platter here, sir!" the waiter said, jolly as he placed the fruit plate right in front of Doom.

"OK, you're half right," said Doom, glancing at Diane.

"I can order something for you, Diane," offered Kitty.

"N-No thank you," said Diane politely. "I already ate my fair amount of dinner."

"Don't worry. It's not like you are going to gain weight. The pay is all on me."

"Wait, what? Oh no, no, no. I have a bit of a sore throat, so I don't want to eat too much heaty food."

"Might as well blow your throat," teased Doom with a smirk. "If you are living so fancy, it wouldn't be so bad if you do something crazy."

"Do you imagine a governor drinking a milkshake in her office and a bag of crisps flavored 'Flaming Hot'?" deadpanned Diane.

"Beats being too highly upper-class," said Kitty before turning back to the patient waiter. "I would like to have three more plates of the Classic Silver Fish Surprise."

"This is your FIFTH plate of fish and you're ordering more?" said Doom in disbelief.

"I think I like to take a bowl of murukkus," said Diane, finally giving in.

"Wait, maraca?" said Doom, confused.

"Would you like that to be sent to your table, Governor Foxington?" asked the waiter.

"I think I might change tables and sit here," said Diane. "Oh! I also like to try out the finest dish of tripe with the sesame oil sauce, the mac-and-cheese patty slider and a bowl of Vietnamese-Styled Mi Goreng Noodles."

"For the noodles, vegetarian or beef?"

"Vegetarian."

The waiter grinned before carrying the tray away. Diane sat down at one of the empty chairs and turned to see the smug Kitty.

"What?" asked the fox.

"Knew that you would want some more," said Kitty.

"I'll just blow up my throat since tomorrow I'm not going to be at work," said Diane as she took a sip of a lone glass of water. [2s]

All of a sudden, a table flied right over their heads. Doom managed to duck, but Diane and Kitty were welcomed by wine from the table's glasses sprinkling all over their heads.

The source was coming from a shark - or was it a dolphin? - in a bright red dress, shrieking like a banshee as she panicked on the floor.

"I'M HAVING A BABY!" she screamed.

Hearing that a PREGNANCY was happening during the awards, Diane spat out the water from her mouth right at Kitty.

Her older friend froze in shock, feeling the water mixed with the fox's own saliva splattering her shirt and near her mouth. She stared at her friend, accordingly disgusted.

Doom wasn't even safe from the spit considering his proximity to the two. With a few droplets splashing against his still-pristine vest, he darted his eyes at Diane. He glanced at his fruit plate, checking if there were any wet bits. He looked like he was suppressing the temptation to slap her across the face.

"Is there a doctor or perhaps several security guards who can leave their post and help me?!" cried the shark.

Immediately, a few of the guests and a couple of security guards rushed over to her in getting through the surprise labor. Before Diane could make her way to the dramatic shark, the waiter returned.

"Oh, I forgot," he said. "We don't have the vegetarian option. What would it be?"

Diane stared at the waiter, baffled. "...beef then! Because…that is all you have, right?"

The fox couldn’t really understand what was going on. While the waiter was just being sincere, there was something strange with that shark crying in public that she was pregnant. She didn't need to worry about it because there were already no less than 10 people comforting and trying to help her push through. Through that dress, Diane swore that the shark looks familiar.

Before she could think through it, her watch beeps.

"Crap," she said. "That is my time to get ready." Downing her drink, she stood up. "I'll be right back! Don't eat all the murukku please!"

"Oh sure," said Doom, already cutting a piece from his fruit dessert. "It will be waiting here and cooling down."

Kitty didn’t respond back, dazed.

Ignoring the shrieks from the pregnant shark, Diane made her way to the side. A couple of governors were already there, making sure that she was alright and ready for her speech. Thomas was there, patting her on the back as he helped her recite some of her lines for tonight. As soon as the announcer called all the guests for the main event, Diane made her way to the podium.

There was a round of applause as she makes her appearance, the spotlight on her. It seems that nobody held anything against her ever since her speech yesterday. In her mind, this felt good for her, liking how they like her as a person who was helping all of them. With the notes on the podium ready, she took a deep breath and spoke through the microphone.

"Thank you, thank you so much," she said. "As you know, the 'Goodest Civilian' goes to the civilian who has helped so many lives in Los Angeles. Tonight also serves as the very day that changed everything. The day one man helped us to open our eyes." She frowned, feeling…solemn. "Last year, on the same day, we faced our biggest test when a meteorite crashed into our dear city."

On the huge screen behind her, there was footage of a meteor flying across the sky in a flaming ball of fire before crashing right in the middle of a roadway bridge. That day, it could have killed so many people, but thankfully, no one was nearby when the meteor struck through those bridges. It could have destroyed a lot as it created the biggest crater that remained in the city.

However, it shook a lot of people and a few during that time were injured due to how powerful the blast was. Some saw it as something about attacking them very soon if they don't act. As one of the victims who got injured, Diane winced as she rubbed her hand. She remembered the rumbling of the explosion nearly got her killed in a car crash.

"That meteorite didn't just make a hole in our city. It made a hole in our hearts."

The screen changed to several people gathering around at the edge of the crater, watching in fear and worry. Some of them were crying while some of them looked angry. On the screen, Marmalade appeared in the crowd, taking a closer look at what was in the wreckage.

"But even in tragedy, Professor Marmalade did what he does so well."

On the screen, it switched over to the meteorite itself. It had strange turquoise spots glowing from it, but it was surprisingly shaped like a huge heart! A few scientists and authorities went close to it for a quick inspection, but Marmalade was allowed to get close to it. After staring at it for a while, he turned to the concerned people around him and told them what he saw.

They didn't have the audio of the video, but people remembered the beautiful speech he gave about the meteorite.

Tears were already shed from the guests watching and it was soon followed by a loud cheer.

"Thanks to Marmalade," said Diane, smiling. "The 'Love Crater Meteorite' will forever serve as a reminder that there is goodness, even in the worst places!"

The rest of the presentation was listing down the many great things Marmalade had done over the past year. While she would have been just reading things down from her notes, the guests were still amazed by his actions lately. She sometimes eyed the guinea pig himself who was grinning to himself from his personal table. He did notice that she was looking at him, but his smile softened and became a bit warmer.

Maybe she should stop looking at him too much and stress him out from his ideas of handling the Bad Guys.

She wrapped up her presentation and allowed Marmalade to take over. The guinea pig took to the stage and bowed to the guests as they all cheered for him. One guest yelled out that they all love him like a rockstar fan which received an eye roll from Doom. As Marmalade took over the podium to give a short speech, he turned to Diane with a grin.

"Thank you, Governor Foxington," he said, winking at her.

Diane blushed a little. This must be his way of saying thanks to her for helping him out with his plans. She noticed that the previous frosty attitude he gave her during their last meeting diminished and he was back to his goody self. Maybe it must be due to him having enough energy and feeling content at the moment. He wouldn't want to be too stern towards her in front of the public, but he seemed to have lightened up.

Then, things went weird.

The weirdness kicked in when Diane heard something thumping from backstage and machines whirring around.

A loud sound echoed through the room at one point during Marmalade's speech. It nearly sounded like a fart, but nobody brought it up again.

Especially since Marmalade nearly thought HE did the fart.

What nobody expected was that when the curtain opened, the Golden Dolphin was missing.

The platform was left empty. The red lasers were gone, but the additional protective system wasn't. And the red glow is absent from it.

Diane's eyes widened seeing this.

"No!" she screamed

This had a ripple effect in which all the guests started to clamor to themselves, panicking from the event of a possible robbery. It could have gotten worse if she didn't try to calm all of them down. As she tried to reassure them, they could only whisper to each other, looking around to check if there was anyone stealing the Golden Dolphin. There was also distress as well with some of them even worrying if the robbers were going to attack them.

She searched through the crowd to see Kitty and Doom looking worried about this. Along with being crowded, they were understandably horrified. While none of them could confirm how bad this crime scene might be, they could get hurt. Or worse, some people might turn to them as suspects for stealing the awards. Kitty was noticeably nervous, looking like she might scream. This was the first time she ever got into any sort of trouble like this.

In fact, seeing her distressed look reminded Diane very much of a fox she nearly got harmed during her last heist…

She had it. She had it close.

She managed to deactivate all the lights and the protective systems went down for at least a few minutes. She managed to subdue all the security guards. This was her chance to storm backstage. The Crimson Paw, hanging from a high balcony, watched the chaos rising from the frightened guests as they kept tripping over each other.

There weren't only humans there, but also other animals.

One group stood out to be a fox family. They were huddled up together, hoping that nobody hurt them. The face that Diane was able to spot was their daughter. She was the same age as her. They already graduated from university years ago. She suddenly looked…depressed. She looked like she wanted to be at the awards, but she knew that slithering off might make people suspect her.

Diane rolled her eyes. This wasn't about anyone. This was about the Crimson Paw. There was no way she should be concerned about the fox girl in the crowd. It wasn't her problem anyway, and since they were both foxes, she might not even get a good voice out of the people around them.

Without batting an eye, she ran and made her way backstage.

And there, she saw it.

The red lasers surrounding the award turned off one by one as she expected. The Golden Dolphin was right there. The golden shine reflected from the soft light in the room. It was everything she could have got. If she could get it out and escape, then she would be on the map. She grabbed it and grinned to herself.

It was hers now!

It was hers now!

Now, she could…

She could…

It didn't come to her what would happen after stealing the Golden Dolphin. Sure it would make her the best criminal America had ever seen. Possibly more police cops on her tail.

And then…would that enhance the stereotype of tricky foxes in the world?

Nobody had ever identified the Crimson Paw as a fox, but everyone was spreading rumors that it was.

She suddenly felt an emptiness inside her. All the compassion and desire to steal one trophy wore off upon grabbing it. She looked right at it. Her reflection. Her eyes through the shadow of her hood. What…would it mean to her?

She shook her head. No. This was what she was supposed to be. The fox everyone knew. If she could show that to them, it would mean that she took that DAMNING INSULT literally to become the greatest.

There was a scream from the other side of the curtain. Despite being unable to see what was through the curtain, she recognized the fox girl's voice.

She was crying and screaming for help. Several gasps arose as there was a loud bang that sounded like the fox girl hitting the floor.

Then, there was barking.

LITERAL barking.

It was coming from that same dog bully she and Diane knew very too well. He was often one of the first to insult them and label them as 'thieves of society'. He should be the one to be bullied, but due to his wealth and popularity and the hard work he did on his own, many people believed in him. And that made things worse for the foxes in the university.

"WHY DO YOU BLAME ME FOR EVERYTHING?!" cried the fox girl's voice.

"Because you're a FOX!" snarled the dog's voice. "You hear me?! A no-good, two-face FOX! My dad was right about them taking things from you! And now, you think you can try to get away with it all?!"

Diane could hear the fox girl already breaking down and letting out gibberish denial, unable to respond to this statement. It was then Diane realized what she was doing.

The worry.

The regret.

The guilt.

She could hear the backup security guards coming in.

She slowly turned to a wall that showed her reflection. She slowly took off her hood and mask in the mirror with a trembling hand.

A fox.

Like the fox girl being assaulted in front of the guests.

This wasn't exactly her.

Not the Crimson Paw as well.

All she saw was the tricky fox everyone told her she was.

Like all the other foxes.

If she got away with the Golden Dolphin, the foxes would have a much harder time living a normal life or achieving what they wanted. The worst-case scenario was all of them being discriminated against by society. That would be worse than being the bully.

As Diane finally concluded, it wasn't worth bringing everyone down with her just because of the stereotype getting to her head.

So, she left the Golden Dolphin behind.

No one would need to be hurt again.

Diane found it much harder to look back at it than she thought she could handle. Must be due to her being shaken to the very core when the fox girl she knew long ago was about to be mauled by the dog. She hadn't seen that other fox for a long time, so Diane hoped that she was doing alright without being stereotyped again. However, the many lashes the two of them and the few other foxes received from their bullies never really heal over time.

"I'm sure that there is an explanation for this," said Diane despite feeling that her mind was getting foggy with every passing second. "Please don't panic. Please don't panic. Please don't panic."

However, 'please don't panic' sounded more like a mantra to herself at this point. She wondered if she might pass out at this point. She blinked and noticed that there were a few tears in her eyes that threatened to pour down her face. A sob shook through her body as she felt her heart beating at a rapid pace due to feeling as if she was going to let someone down.

The fox clenched her fists. No. She can't break down like this. Everyone is relying on her. She can't break d-

"Diane, Diane," said Marmalade, pulling on Diane's dress like a child.

She paused her mumbling mantra to notice Marmalade, asking to take over the mic. He glanced at her before looking forward. She turned her head.

In the midst of the chaos, they found Oliver walking away.

Wait, what was he doing?

Marmalade made his way to the podium. Despite his size, he managed to climb to the top and grabbed the microphone, clearing his voice.

"If I may," he said. This calmed the guests down a little to some extent, but he needed to use stronger words. "You have to understand. This might be some kind of prank, but in all honesty, I didn't create the love crater and bring hope back to the city for an AWARD."

This finally got everyone to settle down and turn their attention to him. Some of them were a bit shocked with how he was taking the disappearance of his supposed award.

"I did those good things because of how they made me feel. That tingly feeling, the shiver up my spine, that SWAG in my tiny tail!"

Oliver suddenly froze. While the rest of his friend group seemed to be already making their way down the stairs, he hadn't followed them yet. It seemed that Marmalade's words swayed him. Diane took one look back at Marmalade. He was looking DIRECTLY at Oliver.

What is Marmalade doing?

"Because you see…" said Marmalade, grinning as if he was reminiscing about the time when he made a breakthrough with the Love Crater Meteorite. "Being good, just FEELS so good. And when you're good, you've loved."

Diane wasn't sure if it was due to how this impromptu speech made her feel happy about the path she took or if it was due to Marmalade relating to everyone, but the fur on her face turned to a reddish color. She must admit that even when stepping away from her criminal days, she was happy with what she was doing.

Helping people; it's more of the feeling of knowing that you did your best in making sure that they are safe and the gratefulness they later show to you to let you know how touched they are.

Looking back, she could see Oliver watching this, a smile on his face. Though, that was ruined when his tail popped out from his pants and started wagging. He panicked a little as he tried to make it stop moving while his friends called him to come.

The mustache slowly slipped off his face and his hat even dropped off due to Oliver's sudden movements.

Diane's eyes widened.

That was not Oliver.

"IT'S THE BAD GUYS!" screamed someone in the crowd.

The now- revealed Wolf-not Oliver - and his pack were suddenly swarmed with barriers of police cops, blocking their way out. Diane struggled to see through the gaps, but it seemed that the police cops have got them trapped.

It hit Diane. She looked back at her finger where her ring used to be. Then back at what was going on.

She had been tricked!

Though, a side of her told her that the Bad Guys were already toast after a botched attempt to escape using a grappling hook. It only shot a pair of white pants upwards the broken glass ceiling.

That made it easier for them to be arrested.

Chapter Text

The robbery that took place forced everyone to be outside in case there were any other robbers inside the museum. But it looked like everyone decided to watch the massive humiliation the Bad Guys faced. As Diane and Marmalade tried to settle down the furiously excited reporters, along with Kitty and Doom furiously taking pictures of the Bad Guys being arrested, Diane took a glance back to see the criminals being forced into the police van. [1]

Those guys really tried to make it personal. She realized that she did in fact provoke them. There was a sense of guilt in her upon seeing how some of the guests were freaked out by the turn of events. The governor yesterday was right. She shouldn’t be going out of her way to address criminals and her opinions about them. 

She couldn’t help but feel a bit more prideful. The Crimson Paw never got caught and she always had tricks up her sleeve. The Bad Guys kind of stooped a bit lower when it came to TRYING to escape. Even though they used the chaos to get out and attempted to use a grappling hook, it fell short when it came to TESTING their exits. Or if anything went wrong to the point where they need to improvise.

Even though it was only a side thought, she wished that they would do a better job in heists like these when they are released from prison.

“Excuse me!” called Wolf.

Everyone turned their attention to the ringleader of the pack. Diane raised a quizzical eyebrow at him.

“Sorry for interrupting,” said Wolf, looking right at Diane. “I just wanted to congratulate the governor here. Gotta say, you REALLY had us pegged.”

Diane placed her hands on her hips. Oh, he is going to be playing like this, huh?

“We’re just a deep well of anger, self-loathing-”

“Denial,” added Diane bluntly.

“Sure.”

“Narcissism,” snarled Diane, trying not to remember what happened yesterday. “Emotional emptiness.”

Wolf laughed humorlessly. “So we’re on the same page. We were never given a chance to be anything more than ‘second-rate’ criminals.”

Diane snorted a little, trying to act as if she didn’t have the time to dwell on it. With Marmalade nearby, she should just leave it to him to deal with the problem. And she didn’t know half of the Bad Guys.

“If only there was someone who could help the ‘flower of goodness inside us blossom’?” Wolf said mockingly.

The chief didn’t seem to want to listen to any of this as she grinned wickedly and tried pushing Wolf back into the van. That was paused when Marmalade raised his voice.

“Wait! Stop!” said Marmalade. “Mr. Wolf may be a savage beast. Basically walking garbage.” He pauses upon realizing what he said. “No offense. I’m making a point.”

“Do what you need to do, pal,” said Wolf sarcastically.

“But how can we say they’re hopeless if they’ve never been given a chance? I have approached criminals like you before. Teenage delinquents, mob gangs and con artists; all need breakthrough therapy. Some of them mostly came from horrible upbringings, social pressures and how they view the world. There is no excuse for their actions, but wouldn’t that be a reason to show that they never want to be criminals in the first place?”

A chatter in the crowd as they mull over this. Diane felt uncomfortable, shivering upon remembering why she became the Crimson Paw. Marmalade turned to Diane and nodded as if telling her that this was part of the plan.

“What if we tried a little experiment, Diane? He asks. “As you know, my Gala for Goodness, the hashtag charity event of the year, is coming up. If I can prove to everyone at the gala that the Bad Guys have changed, will you set them free and give them a clean start?”

Everyone gasped at this. Diane could hear Kitty whispering in doubt with Doom. The fox governor tried to think about it, wondering if it might be a good idea. 

This wasn’t what she had in mind. 

She thought Marmalade might do something or confront the Bad Guys before they were arrested or visit them in prison. But she didn’t really know that she is going to have another involvement in it. Which meant using her power to decide on letting them go or not.

Before she could even reply, the chief was already protesting.

“NO, NO, NO!” pleaded the chief. “Professor, don’t you see what he’s doing? He’s playing you!”

“But it was my idea!” stated Marmalade.

“It WAS his idea!” teased Wolf.

“Only because YOU put the idea in his head!” snarled the chief, whipping around to the criminal.

Diane wasn’t sure how to respond to this. She might as well let Marmalade do his thing, but she had to play it cool. Besides, she was worried about this.

“Professor,” she said. “I’m not about to put the safety of the civilians on the line for an experiment.”

“Excuse me, Governor,” said Wolf with a smirk. “I seem to remember that a wise person once said ‘even trash can be recycled into something beautiful.’”

Oh crap.

Diane didn’t respond back immediately this time.

She looked behind to see Kitty having a mix of being amused and disappointment. Doom was shocked, already having second thoughts about her role as the governor. She glanced at Marmalade who was nodding in agreement. Marmalade stared back at her.

“Just because you were a former criminal doesn’t mean you understand everyone.”

But at this moment, he looked a bit apologetic for saying those words. Maybe this was due to wanting to make sure Diane kept her governor status and not thrown under the bus. If she makes this choice, there is going to be a huge backlash. However, this may be her chance to help these criminals! This is her only chance in knowing them better and fixing things. 

Best of all, she didn’t need to use much of her criminal side to take drastic actions. 

And Marmalade might be the right fit to reach out to the Bad Guys.

Besides, she has to make up for what she said. Her attitude towards the Bad Guys was still virulent, but she couldn’t always be like that when she was a criminal in the past.

“Well?” said Kitty, raising her voice from the whispering crowd. “What is it going to be?”

“OK,” Diane whispered, barely non-audible. “We’ll do so. But we have to hold onto the Golden Dolphin until the gala to remove any unnecessary temptation. We have to see how far this experiment will go to help for goodness.”

“Of course!” said Marmalade as he pushed aside the retrieved Golden Dolphin award. “That’s why you’re the governor! Remember that.”

Diane smirked a little hearing this.

“Now that everyone’s happy!” said Marmalade as he proudly opened his full intention with wide arms. “I, Rupert Marmalade the Fourth, will turn the Bad Guys into…the Good Guys!”

Another gasp from the guests and reporters, and a flood of questions and admiration come right in. There was excitement, but also worry, wonder and curiosity on how the experiment would go since it was now allowed by Diane. Wolf was already digging in this response as he gave the handcuffs back to the chief who looked like she was gonna strangle someone. As he climbed into the van for the trip to the next step, he winked at Diane.

The fox returned the wink. “Not everyone gets a second chance. Make the most of it, ‘Mr. Poodleton’.”

A smile appeared on Wolf. This time, he looked much more friendly and genuine. For a moment, Diane though he looked cute like this, a blush over her cheeks. Maybe this might actually work out despite the Bad Guys looking like they can take advantage of things.

Diane turned to Marmalade. “We are not going to regret this, right?”

“Don’t worry,” said the guinea pig, grinning as he ignored the chief already pulling out a nearby water hydrant from the pavement in frustration. “I got this one in the bag. I am NOT kidding you!” [1s]

“YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!” shrieked Doom as he got up into Diane’s face. “THIS TOWN IS NOW GONNA BE SCREWED! WHAT DO YOU THINK THE LEADER OF THIS TOWN WILL THINK?!” [2]

“I’m a leader of this city technically…” corrected Diane softly.

“Either you’re really suicidal for Los Angeles or you’re crazy, you’re gonna be allowing the rest of the criminals to take advantage of us. If only you focus on using your HAND then your EARS!!”

“Well, if I have a hand attached to my ears,” deadpanned Diane. “Then I would guarantee that I could get a BETTER grab of what I hear.”

The Good Samaritan Awards continued after the fiasco. After waiting for 30 minutes to look through the place to make sure that there weren’t any back-up tracks, the guards confirmed that it was safe for them to enter. Diane didn’t offer out any more awards, so she was free to continue her dinner. That said, during the break time between presentations, she was met with a truly inescapable confrontation from her friends who weren’t pleased with her decision.

And she couldn’t really go back to her original table since it was already occupied with another guest.

“I can see why you made the decision,” said Kitty, more relaxed unlike the stressful Doom. “But we don’t know if this ‘experiment’ is gonna go well.”

“I’ll have to admit,” said Diane, rubbing her snout. “I don’t know what I’m doing for this one since Wolf threw my words back at me. However, if this is one way to reach out to the Bad Guys, then it would work.”

“What happened tonight might leave you gullible enough for criminals to try to ask for the same treatment,” said Doom, huffing.

“What makes you think that when we have eyes watching over us?” asked Diane.

“Say that it’s only Mr. Wolf who gets the experiment. Maybe he is pushed due to how savage wolves are portrayed, but he acts like a gentleman. He is really mischievous like that one dirtbag who tried to steal your lunch money every time back in uni. We might see that he wants to change, but we don’t know if his charisma is all a play. He might just leave us stunned until we realized he got away with it.”

“That is really true,” said Kitty, nodding her head.

Diane felt pretty flustered. She was a bit charmed by what Wolf said to her, though she didn’t know if he was as cunning as the Crimson Paw when it came to words. 

“So deep,” said Diane. “How many PhDs do you have?”

“About 6,” snarked Doom. “Philosophy is one of them.”

“So you’re a philosophist as well?”

“I prefer the term ‘psychiatrist’ because I took that subcategory when exploring my degree in philosophy.”

“If you’re a psychiatrist,” said Diane flatly. “We’re all screwed now. You could have been the one calling the experiment since you’re a little angsty egg.”

“...I was about to leave it right there,” said Doom. “But you have to bring that up. Technically, the topic of counseling criminals is something I’m not good at.”

“You might want to think this through, Diane,” said Kitty as she picked up another piece from her last fish meal. “That would require a lot of debating, changes to a few regulations in the city and the possibility of you losing your position as governor. Not to mention going off to more risky corners on the road.”

Diane sighed. She knew that Kitty always had her doubts. Doom already said his as he was the first to be scared of her choice in letting Marmalade take control of the situation. The fox knew that this was going to be tricky, but this might be the first time a government figure would get to do something right like this. She would be able to cross over into the criminal world properly with Marmalade’s help. This would help solve another conflict!

“I didn’t accept being elected to be a governor to have a good status in the first place,” reminded Diane. “I want to help people, but there are things that I would eventually need to do. And I can be in control of the team. Should be lucky that I don’t need to use my mercenary business for this one. I know the risks that are going to happen, but I promise you that if anything goes wrong, I’ll have to address it.” She paused for a while. “I meant what I said at the press conference and I meant what I said to ‘Mr. Poodleton’ before he stole my ring. And I don’t think and won’t stop for this occasion.”

Kitty thought about this for a few seconds. This fox was really dead set on taking the experiment and she was still young. However, it might be good that she was taking responsibility for it. The worst-case scenario would be Diane falling apart, but Marmalade seemed to be covering the heavy for her.

“I’ll let you go for this one,” said Kitty.

“I don’t think I would,” said Doom, shaking his head.

“Cut her some slack. If she and the government are taking part in looking for ways to support the Bad Guys, then it shouldn’t be too complicated. It’s a structured plan.”

Doom inhaled through clenched teeth. “OK then.” He still gave Diane a glare. “You better do freaking good.”

The fox nodded with a toothy smile as she grabbed a handful of muruku to munch on. She smacked her lips from the salty but spicy taste.

She believed that it might have something to do with later onwards. [2s]

BAD GUYS TERRORIZE ADORABLE RODENTS - FROM BAD TO WORSE

Just yesterday afternoon, an attempt to free thousands of guinea pigs from the long-running Sunnyside Labs had been granted, but not in the best way everybody would want it to be. Professor Rupurt Marmalade IV, this year’s recipient for the ‘Goodest Civilian’ of the Good Samaritans Awards, had conducted a risky experiment of getting the infamous criminal gang, The Bad Guys, to free the guinea pigs.

While they were freed, they were caught assaulting a couple of guinea pigs in animal onesies. From the image at the right, you can see Mr. Piranha and Ms. Tarantula punching and pulling on a guinea pig each. Mr. Shark could be seen with a mouthful of guinea pigs, nearly about to swallow them. And on top of that, Mr. Snake was the prime suspect for the chaos that happened in which Mr. Wolf squeezed all the guinea pigs out of him.

Neither Marmalade nor the Bad Guys were charged yet for trespassing, harassment of guinea pigs, attempted eating and theft as Sunnyside Labs is already under investigation due to the ongoing protests of their ‘illegal experiments’. However, authorities are concerned with the reformation experiment Professor Marmalade is leading due to the unexpected and aggressive actions of the Bad Guys, even questioning the professor due to his relation to the laboratory.

The spice hit back more than the salt.

A day right after the Good Samaritan Awards and the Bad Guys failed to even safely carry the guinea pigs out of the controversial laboratory. Diane would have planned the entire rescue mission first, but Marmalade just had to rush through and get them to save the guinea pigs without noting what the gang might do. Especially when it came to the subject of Mr. Snake; he would definitely be eager to have a free feast than letting them live.

In a meeting with the other governors the next morning, she could see that they were all disgusted and shocked with varying degrees of pity or impatience. They had to call over for an early meeting due to Sunnyside Labs slowly falling apart ever since the guinea pigs broke out in order to decide what they should do about the facility.

“The results given from the rescue of the guinea pigs are…a bit mixed,” said one governor. “But what the Bad Guys did to them can’t be ignored, even if unintentional.” [3]

“But that snake guy did mean eating the guinea pigs!” said another. “It’s what snakes do.”

“Do you think they might be able to improve from this?” asked a third. “We don’t know how effective Professor Marmalade’s experiment is going to be for the Bad Guys.”

Thomas turned to Diane. “Diane Foxington. You’re responsible for greenlighting the reformation of the Bad Guys. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Diane realized that everyone is looking at her.

She sighed. Of course, she did let Marmalade try to help the Bad Guys! And as Kitty and Doom warned her, she would be the one needing to have control of it as well. She should have taken the ‘no other easy way’ more seriously. The Crimson Paw settled down when she decided to leave the Golden Dolphin. With this crime gang, she wasn’t sure if the Bad Guys were honest about wanting to be reformed.

Marmalade might be right after all.

“I-I don’t know what to say about this!” said Diane, lifting up her glasses to rub her eyes. “This is a really messy rescue they tried to do. Just like their last heist.”

“Maybe this is just a misunderstanding,” said one governor. “As knowing how they pride themselves, they are probably not used to trying to do good before, so it would need to take time.”

“How can we take more time when we don’t know if their second mission for ‘goodness’ is going to go well?” snarled another. “They harmed the guinea pigs and could have crippled them. Is this the sort of heroes we can expect?”

“But this ain’t like a comic book,” said another governor. “There would be hiccups along the way.”

“Yeah, hiccups that can be fatal,” said one that was sitting near Diane. “Without careful planning, their ship can fall apart.”

“Is there anything else we should expect from the experiment of Marmalade’s?” asked a female governor.

“Foxington,” said one governor. “I believe you are loosening your standards.”

“I am clearly not!” said Diane, nearly raising her voice. Hearing all of them questioning her old intention to help criminals hit her pride. “This is our city. The Bad Guys are the high examples of the species being judged in our country. I don’t know what Marmalade is trying to do before the charity event, but there must be SOMETHING that can help change their image for good. For their own good. For like…what they want.”

“Look,” said one governor sharply. “We tried several times with others, but it always ends the way we all expect it to go; them rotting in prison.”

“But why not give them a chance?” asked Diane. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my good deeds. And maybe any other fox would have a harder time trying to be promoted in a role like this for how he, she or they are seen as. We should be a peaceful and fair society; why stop when helping the Bad Guys can lead to a positive influence on our city?”

“ENOUGH!” snapped one governor. “You don’t know what is at stake. More people might end up being hurt. Our people should be protected from the abilities and strengths of criminals, not cultivate them.”

Diane didn’t know why, but she felt hurt by this. Maybe it was because hearing this reminded her of how the Crimson Paw was viewed. A menace. Deceitful. What kind of government would want that?

Thomas sighed, raising his hand. “Diane didn’t do anything wrong with allowing the experiment. It is clear that it is Marmalade who offered the idea and is trying to run it. While what happened yesterday would be labeled as a violation, it should be up to Diane to see if it is for the best or for the worst.”

A couple of the governors muttered amongst themselves in a thoughtful discussion.

“I agree,” said another. “She should decide if the Bad Guys deserve a second chance. What do you say?” [3s]

However, Diane wasn’t in a good mood to decide already. She shook her head and got out of her seat.

“I-I’ll just…go tell Professor Marmalade about this,” she said quietly. “If I decide that this is no good, I am calling Chief Misty Luggins to apprehend the Bad Guys.”

Diane didn’t listen to the rest of the meeting as she decided to get out of the room before things could turn ugly. Diane knew that she could calmly tell them about what she wanted to do about the situation and was aware of how paranoid the governors are, but she just heard one of them belittling her for giving those criminals a second chance. Justified since she was newly elected, but since she used to be a criminal, it didn’t make her feel better about moving on.

Hearing all the different opinions from her co-workers made her feel really conflicted on thinking if the criminal world could be forgiven and turn into a new world for everyone, but the fear settled in with what if not all the criminals want to be a better person.

Arriving at Marmalade’s compound, she knocked on the door, tapping her foot impatiently. The same coyote security guard she saw the other day was also there, looking at her unimpressed.

“So, how did it go?” Nathan asked casually.

“As fly as a fly flying through the air,” snarked Diane before growling. “No, I’m NOT fine at this moment!”

“The Bad Guys screwed saving the guinea pigs yesterday,” said Nathan, shaking his head. “I saw them trying a few more practices earlier today and they didn’t seem to have learned their lesson that much.”

“You’re sure about that?”

Nathan thought about it. “..well, maybe more on Mr. Snake.”

Diane closed her eyes and tried to take a deep breath.

“You want me to go to their secret hideout and blow it the hell up?” offered Nathan, smirking.

“No way,” said Diane firmly.

Nathan shrugged. “Just trying to help.”

She was finally allowed to enter and she meets up with the sheepish Bad Guys and a nervous Marmalade. Spotting a nearby newspaper of the event, she picked it up and waved it around angrily.

She was mad.

Like REALLY mad.

“Trespassing! Mayhem! Assault with a deadly reptile?!” she ranted. “As if those poor rodents haven’t been through enough already! Look, Professor. I can understand what you are trying to do, but the government is already becoming uncertain about the future for the Bad Guys. I’m sorry. The best-case scenario for me is to call the chief.”

“Hold on!” said Marmalade as he tried to make his point. “Experiments take time. I’m sure that I can be able to find a new angle. I’m just not seeing it yet.”

“Well, you could have thought of another angle if you didn’t have them trying to do something similar to a heist.” Diane shook her head and bends down, keeping her voice to a whisper. It might not matter as the Bad Guys were already in a small argument of their own.  “I don’t know what you plan to do next, but it seems that it isn’t going well.”

Marmalade frowned. “Diane, I told you to not worry about me.”

“What about the whole ‘dangerous people’ and ‘empathetic to criminals’?”

“Well, this is actually part of the plan. I just don’t want you to get involved too quickly because that time wasn't the right time and…you’re kind of inexperienced for this role.”

Diane huffed. “Fair point, but doesn’t explain you asking me to break into their HQ.”

Marmalade cringed. “Don’t read further into this. I. Got. It. Under. Control.”

“Nice intimidation right then. So, where is this leash you have on them?”

“It is still underway. I might have full control by the gala.”

“I admire that you are trying to confront those criminals,” said Diane firmly. “But after that train wreck, there is no way the government or the people of the city are going to calm down. I’m sorry, but we might have to break off our deal.” She stood up and turns around. “I might as well inform the government what you did.”

“You don’t understand,” said Marmalade, following her. “They were TRYING to rescue them and with that, wouldn’t that open up a-?”

Before Marmalade could solidify his point, Wolf took over.

“Let me talk to Diane,” he said charmingly. “I got this.”

The guinea pig professor looked like he wanted to go against, but decided it might be the only thing to convince Diane to let the experiment continue.

Diane sighed, making her way to the atrium.

“Madame Governor Diane,” said Wolf as he flirtily blinked toward her.

“Do NOT try to Clooney me, Wolf,” snarled Diane.

“Oh, I see what’s going on. You think I’m still a Bad Guy! Just trying to bamboozle my way to freedom. But we’ve changed. That flower of goodness? It’s blossoming all over the place.”

If there was something she learned from entering the criminal world, Diane knew when a person was being honest or not.

“Don’t you ever get tired of lying?” asked Diane.

“No,” said Wolf. Though, he paused when he thought about it. “I mean…fudge. That’s a trick question, isn’t it?”

Diane rolled her eyes and sighed. They were nearly outside, so this might give her the right time to confront Wolf. She knew that it might not work out eventually, but she wanted to try. To see if she could find some sort of depth in Wolf. 

The memory of him being curled up in bed while having a nightmare came up when seeing his face. There has to be something to break the tide.

“I gave you an opportunity!” said Diane, exasperated. “A chance to show the world that you’re more than just a scary stereotype and…” 

She trailed off, nearly unable to say the next few words she was trying to form properly. She slapped Wolf in the chest. 

“But you’re too proud or too…” 

She pushed Wolf gently, clearly wanting to give her a piece of her mind. 

“...gutless to take advantage of it!”

Wolf looked as if he was seeing a stranger. “Gutless? I’M gutless?!” 

He laughed, though it was devoid of any humor. He was CLEARLY ticked off.

“I’m sorry, have we met?! I’m the villain of every story! The ‘Big Bad Wolf’ expected to eat up sheep and children alive for greed! The dog who is seen as the ‘monster’! Guilty until proven innocent, but if by some MIRACLE we did change, who’s gonna believe us?! HUH?!” He smiled sarcastically. “Of course, you wouldn’t know anything about that with your Little Miss Perfect power suits!”

Diane’s eyes widened a little, smiling a little in surprise as she crossed her arms. It hit her. Did Wolf actually play up the title of a criminal because he had nowhere else to turn to? When there were…people who ostracized him for him as a wolf?

Hearing this actually made her feel sorry.

Recalling back to her thoughts when she first saw him that night, she was starting to think that maybe Wolf genuinely want to be good or at least be left alone from being bothered. His ways of trying to mingle with the civilians seemed to look like less of a lie and more of him trying to be just…him. He was going through similar pressures Diane went through her entire life.

Thinking about it, Diane realized that the two of them had the same worries about how they were viewed. Even though Marmalade was still true about her not understanding criminals, maybe she could understand the Bad Guys. She wasn’t certain of revealing her identity as the Crimson Paw, but her just being her, she didn’t need to fight too hard to relate to criminals.

Besides, she just did something that Wolf might be impressed with.

“Is that so?” said Diane before revealing her stolen ring from seemingly thin air. [4]

Wolf was baffled. “Wait a second? Where did-?” He patted himself all around, trying to check to see if the ring was in any of his pockets before. “How did you…?”

Diane smirked as she rolled the ring around her fingers. “A wolf and a fox are not so different.” She flicked it right back at him. She still didn’t feel like fancying it, so she could let Wolf have the diamond. “I did use to play with the stereotype of foxes before. It worked out well for a while, but…I realize that it might hurt the other foxes out there in the world. And it doesn’t exactly make me how I want to be seen.”

Wolf nodded. “OK, maybe you’re right. Though, I don’t see any other wolves in Los Angeles. Have you?”

“There might be other wolves who are in your shoes,” said Diane sincerely. “Maybe they will believe you. Maybe they won’t.” She paused a second to consider saying the next few words, but decided that judgment shouldn’t overpower a person’s desires and wants. “But it doesn’t matter. Don’t do it for THEM. Do it for YOU. This is a chance to write YOUR own story. To find a better life for you AND your friends! Something that makes you feel good.”

Wolf could only gaze at her for a long time. Nobody outside his crew said things like that to him. They would just run away or give him the cold shoulder. He was a little jealous of the fox in front of him for seemingly having a better life, but noticing how good of a pickpocket she was, there might be more than meet the fancy glasses she wore.

Diane felt relief and joy that Wolf didn’t try to say anything back angrily or lie his way out of it. It looked like he had never heard someone telling him this before. Something he desired to hear. She was reaching out to him.

Letting people know that they will be OK because she wants to help them.

“C’mon,” said Diane. “What have you got to lose?”

“I don’t know,” said Wolf, still shocked. “My dignity?”

Diane raised an eyebrow at the sheep onesie Wolf was wearing. She looked down at his stomach. It looked like Marmalade placed him on an unhealthier diet yesterday.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Well, that ship has already sailed.”

A beep rings from her watch. It was from Kitty. Diane chuckled. She knew that her friend would call her when there was an issue. For this matter, it was regarding the Bad Guys. She made her way down the stairs and to the cars waiting for her.

As she got in, she rolled down her window to see Wolf, looking like a lost sheep.

“So, you’re not going to call the chief?” he asked. It wasn’t out of concern for what would happen to him and his friends. It sounded more like asking if she trusted him.

She smiled, not needing to answer. “Believe it or not, I’m rooting for you. I’ll see you at the gala.”

A smile appeared on Wolf. Like back at the awards show, he looked pretty nice. Not as smug or having the smirk he usually have. Just him being…him. He even looked bashful, touched by what she told him. 

As Diane rolled up the window and the cars drive her away, she thought back to what she was told.

“Just because you were a former criminal doesn’t mean you understand everyone.”

“Always saying that you got things to do and the next minute, you end up looking like a wreck.”

“A fox can run fast but not for too long.”

“Even trash can be recycled into something beautiful.”

A double life of being a governor and a mercenary?

Her past being of the infamous Crimson Paw and getting to use it for knowledge on criminals.

She could…understand other criminals.

Her heart was beating and she felt as if she was flying on a cloud. Her tail was already wagging slightly. She chuckled before hearing her watch ring once again. The fox pressed on it and the screen was filled by the panther’s eyes.

“Diane!” said Kitty. “Thank goodness you’re alright. Did you manage to do something about the Bad Guys lately?”

Diane beamed. “Yeah. I really did.” [4s]

Chapter Text

Diane wondered if she should wear a different dress since it felt too similar to the one she wore from the Good Samaritans Awards. But she has to look good and keep things simple. She heard that Kitty‘s outfit a few nights ago raised a few questions. [1]

The dress she was now wearing feels comfortable. A sky blue open-back along with blue leggings as part of the dress. She placed a necklace on as well. She made a mental note to stop being reliant on eye contacts, blinking by how wet and cold they feel. Overall, this dress would help her move around better as her skirt only goes along her legs.

Marmalade’s Gala for Goodness is coming up in a few hours. While offered to have a ride, she opted to drive in her small yellow car. It didn’t look too fancy, but she wanted to recollect her thoughts first before seeing the Bad Guys again instead of needing to converse with other governors.

Her conversation with Mr. Wolf last night went really well then what she expected. It wasn’t based on how she feels; she could sense that Wolf wasn’t lying when she gave him the advice he needed. The silent remarks from him explained a lot in contrast to his cocky, proud criminal persona. Thinking it all over again, it was like he never had a kind word about him outside his social circle. 

Maybe this might be her dream come through. A chance to really prove, even herself, that she could relate to those criminals. Letting them know that she is welcoming to them. It is too soon to be good, but this early chat with him might be the spark needed to blossom this ‘flower of goodness’ Marmalade believed in. 

It might even give the professor a reason to let her help out more. This could be another chance for her to not be the deceitful fox she used to be.

A smile crossed over her face as she leaned back into her chair. Usually, it bothered her since the cushioning wasn’t always in the right space and it made her back ache. However, she’ll call this one an exception.

The sunset shone through her window, nearly blinding her. A pink and orange gradient that would be followed by the infinite blackness to come.

Would the blackness mark something horrible coming soon? She couldn’t really know but the Bad Guys might pull something off. The Golden Dolphin is going to be presented at the gala once again to award Marmalade properly.

As she averted her eyes away from the sun, she saw something that had the white shine from the light reflecting off it. The small compartment storage from the right door washolding something.

Peeking out was Wolf’s journal she stole.

The fox frowned. She wondered why she didn’t return the journal back to Wolf in the first place. Maybe it was because Wolf didn’t worry about it. Maybe she forgot about it. Maybe because Marmalade said that it might not be relevant. She doesn’t know. 

Perhaps it was what was contained in the journal. Diane managed to win Wolf’s trust, so it would feel like betraying it if she looks into the book further. She knew that some things are better to be kept secret. She was aware of this, but her curiosity was getting the best of her. 

Wolf might be hiding a lot from everyone under the facade of being a thief. He didn’t show any aggression, but he revealed that he repressed it a lot yesterday. Something in Diane’s mind told her that he just wants to be normal. At least something close to being treated as normal. Somehow, she realized that he needed someone to lean out. He was crying for someone who could give him a new insight. 

She couldn’t take it anymore. This might help her understand a little. And it was a criminal to criminal information exchange.

With a low sigh - knowing that she might regret this later - Diane picked up the journal, ignored the crude warnings on it and turns to the first journal log. [1s]

[2]

Bought: October 19, 1991

Made in Melbourne, Australia 

The Adventures of Oliver Mr. Wolf

1/01/1994

First time writin this. New year day today. Maybe us may go outside.

3/01/1994

Mumy says naught two go outside. Monsters outside our house.

6/02/1994

Got two go outside. It’s soooooooo bright nad suny. Me can run around inn da woods al day.

10/02/1994

My forehead is hurt. Mumy had two use uh bandiad two cover It. Mean guys hit me with uh rok.

15/02/1994

Treid doin It agian. Them cal me uh ‘freak of nature’. Some ran away, sayin i’m ‘future big bad wolf’.

30/03/1994

Our window is broken due two somethin zoomin right in to us. Daddy went two work two find whoever broke our window. Mumy tels me naught two go outside agian.

7/02/1996

Mummy think that I can go to school. I excited!

9/02/1996

The kids are scared of me. ‘Monster’ they say. Sat alone today. Feels kinda lonely.

15/04/1996

Nobody sits next to me again. Feeling sad. When playing toys, nobody come around when I share.

21/08/1997

A nice fox girl. She invite me over to her table. Her friends look scared.

24/08/1997

Still feeling lonely. No other boy come near me. Fox girl told me that ‘what makes me makes who I am’.

31/10/1997

Found raw beef steak in locker. Smells disgusting. Kids nearby scream at the sight. Saw fox girl laughing at me. The teacher called Mummy and Daddy over. 

4/11/1997

Tried going back to the fox girl. She told me to ‘bug off’. I confused.

25/12/1997

None of them like me. All fear me. All call me the ‘bad guy’.

2/02/2003

Today is my first day of Grade 6. However, I am nervous. I have been transferred to a new school. Mum said that this should be much safer than the last school I went to. I just hope that everyone will like me.

1/07/2003

It was a magical day today. There is this one boy who sat next to me during lunch. He is rather quiet and I often see him alone. But he decided to sit next to me for today since he saw me lonely. Maybe not all the kids weren’t so bad.

10/09/2003

My next fight occurred. After a string of fights over the years, I decided to try to win one. I nearly bit him with my teeth if it wasn’t for the teachers coming in.

Stupid teachers. That jerk should be the one punished for, but he said he looked too innocent.

5/04/2004

I can't do anything at all. 

6/05/2004

We were just kids. Stupid kids.

17/07/2004

This is all my fault. I shouldn't have done that.

19/07/2004

My mum is mad at me. She doesn't love me anymore.

1/08/2004

A friend would never leave me. Friends should forgive each other. We were never friends. Never, never, never.

2/08/2004

All because I can't change. All because I'm just a 'bad wolf'. 

25/08/2004

Mum and Dad told me that they will never leave me alone. Where are they when I need them at school?

31/12/2004

Me, Mum and Dad. Oliver

23/02/2005

I want to let her know that she will be alright. Why doesn't she believe me?

2/03/2005

We are all broken.

3/03/2005

I am broken. Everyone is just fine.

broken, bRoKeN, BrOkEn, BROKEN

19/05/2005

I can't go up to talk to him. He is obviously scared of me. He would never come to me. It would never work.

20/05/2005

A jerk said that I am just stupid. Told me I should die in a hole. He doesn't say it to me or doesn't look at me directly, but I can see it when he says it. I know that he is directing towards me. He wants to hurt me.

1/07/2005

STOP HURTING ME.

8/09/2005

All I ever had was Mum and Dad, and then Mum left. LEFT, LEFT, LEFT, LEFT, LEFT, LEFT, [CENSORED]ING LEFT. Dad told me that she was killed, but I don't believe him. She shouldn't be killed. Why did she left us?

10/10/2005

I miss my BFF. I don't need him. Why would I need him? Friends stab each other in the back, right? All of them just lie. Every one of them [CENSORED] lie. 

31/10/2005

I'll always be with you, Oliver. 

I can't hear you. 

I'LL ALWAYS BE WITH YOU, OLIVER.

LOUDER, LOUDER. 

I'LL ALWAYS BE WITH YOU, OLIVER. 

Then, who is really there for me?

24/11/2005

Dad doesn't understand. He knows nothing. All he does is hide away in fear and never try to connect with the other people. Just with us.

6/05/2006

Can't believe I fell for this. Community service on a farm and somebody tossed pig's blood all over a sheep. I was working in the crops with sheep around me and they all started pointing fingers. No sheep was actually harmed, but they were too frightened by this that they called my dad to take me home. That means I won't be able to finish my assignment.

7/02/2007

I met this snake guy the previous day. He was sulking in the alleyway. I was nervous, but I eventually talked to him. He growled back, I stepped away. Maybe I shouldn't bother him too much. No one likes a wolf like me.

6/09/2007

Dad is really concerned about me. But I can't let him down. He shouldn't see me like this. The old Oliver is too much of a burden for him to carry.

10/06/2008

Punched a guy in the face when he was muttering things to himself. I told the principal that he was insulting me. But the guy claimed that he didn't say anything bad about me. Worthless, pathetic, two-face shrimp.

17/08/2008

The first to be called off for stealing her lunch. But I didn't even have my own lunch with me today. They made sure to check through my locker, but the real thief showed off and finished the entire lunch. A few kids got angry at me, kicking me in the ribs that I wasted their time.

11/09/2008

I can't stop hearing them. They are in my head. Where are they coming from?

20/09/2008

Oliver should be no more. He can't protect himself from all the punches and the bleeding. He can't even control his own temper. He should be gone. Ripped to pieces. He is nothing to me anymore. They call me the 'Big Bad Wolf', so I might as well do so.

31/10/2008

I can't do it. It's not right. I don't really enjoy this.

1/11/2008

Why do they keep pointing fingers at me when I'm not the suspect? I wouldn't even enjoy doing it anyway!

11/09/2009

I hurt my dad today. I...slapped him across the face when we were arguing about moving out. His nose bled. If you ever find this, Dad, I'm really sorry.

18/09/2009

Please come back, Mum. Where are you?

20/09/2009

No, she is not coming back. She died because she doesn't love you. She doesn't get it.

23/09/2009

YOU'RE A BIG BAD WOLF

YOU'RE A BIG BAD WOLF 

YOU'RE A BIG BAD WOLF

2/01/2010

Been a while since I've written anything here. I should make a habit of keeping things checked, but I haven't been feeling well lately. To...look back on this. I've been getting interested in dancing and a bit of acrobatics. I was also great at driving, so I am thinking of trying to be a racer someday. High school finally finished, so that means I won't have to see any of those idiots again. I managed to enroll for a university and got a scholarship; the money would also be enough to help my dad. 

But he doesn't want me to go to university. He keeps telling me that I haven't been honest with him for a long time and he decided that I wasn't really ready yet to be an 'adult'. He keeps asking me what is going on, but...I can't tell him. I find it more difficult telling him than my mother. I don't want him to worry about me and take a lot of things. My dad hasn't made any friends before and he is so used to being lonesome that he wouldn't even remember the last time he felt so alone. Him helping out with the police department might give him a few extra points and he would fit in with the tough ones, but he just doesn't get it.

9/01/2010

I feel like I want to die already. There was a shooting that happened at the university. The criminals identified were wolves from America. This led to a huge outrage towards wolves. This was proven when me and Dad tried going out to a restaurant and we were given nasty glares by people. Some of them ran away out of fear of thinking we would maul them. But mostly, a lot of them mistook us as 'criminals' and threw rocks at us. My dad was eerily cold to this. He looked...dead. Me? I couldn't hide my tears.

Just today, I got back the letter from the invitation. They said that...they can't take me in due to the ongoing controversy. If I go in, then the university would be questioned for accepting 'wolves' like me. This showed how bad the criminals were when they murdered people in cold blood. It breaks my heart to see my opportunity in having a brighter future ruined. Seeing this, my father bitterly rips the letter in half, but told me that he isn't disappointed that I wouldn't be able to go to university. 

He told me that he doesn't have high expectations for me, so I shouldn't worry. But why am I so worried?

1/07/2010

I found the snake guy again. I remembered him due to his gruff voice and the same hat he likes to wear. It was just me walking through the alleyway to find him in the corner, hiding from someone. He even recognised me, barking at me about what I wanted. I was a bit shocked by how scary he looked, but then, it made me feel as if I was like the other kids who saw me as scary. Feeling a bit sorry, I tried to approach him.

He was pretty grumpy to say the least, but seeing how I got a bit too touchy, he eventually gave up and let me join in. Apparently, he was trying to rob a bank after a failed attempt. I was shocked by this, but he told me that if I want to help him, then I would need to help him first. 

So, we got in. A few people were disgusted of me, but I decided to try to play it cool. I went up to one of the workers and tried flirting a little. He seemed calm despite seeing a 19-year-old wolf saying 'hi' and looking as if wanting to bite his face off. He seemed to be trusting me. And then, the snake managed to steal a money vault. The two of us ran.

The police chase was so scary, but when we hid back in the alleyway, I felt so...alive. After being put down several times, it actually felt good to be rebellious. Disobeying the law. Like disobeying the stereotypes people call me by! I was free like a bird! Doing my own thing! It felt really good! Nobody could tie me down!

The snake guy called himself Mr. Snake. I refused to tell him my name, so he called me 'Mr. Wolf'. He asked me if there was anything else, but I told him that we could meet up again.

Mr. Wolf. Sounds like a nice ring.

3/01/2011

I like the 'Mr. Wolf' me better. It makes me feel more like a REAL person. Getting to be myself. I am charming, polite, handsome, dashing. And most of all, confident. I am not really the Oliver everybody knew me for. I am technically not the Big Bad Wolf seen in fairy tales. Not really. 

Mr. Snake even seems to like me. He doesn't show it that much, but he saved me a few times when I messed up a few of our robberies. We were never caught and the police were lost in being able to identify us. Though, it would be a matter of time before they caught the right people.

Knowing that I had my dad, Mr. Snake decided to leave the country so that there wouldn't be too much trouble. I know that it is stupid, but...I can't go back to the regular life. I am shunned from entering another university until the fear dies down. I can't do the same life my dad has. I...don't even really know how to apply for a job anymore. That's why I am not writing all of this down before...me and Mr. Snake move to California.

I am really sorry, Dad. You deserve a better Oliver.

5/01/2014

Los Angeles is full of cowards. They are all the same except that they can't break the social norms. They all fear us. They don't try to come close to us. I am heartbroken by this reaction as it feels different to people hurting me. However, Mr. Snake is already jaded ever since arrival. He told me, 'The world only saw a pathetic powerless monster, hated and feared. They only see monsters and nothing else. We should be the monsters; not fear them.'

I...find myself hesitating. Mr. Wolf wouldn't want to be a full monster. He wants to party a little. I want to party. 

It would be nice if we make a few more friends around.

9/08/2014

We've been doing great so far. Managed to find a secret HQ all to ourselves. Stole some loot that managed to cover a quarter of this place. In a few months short, we would be able to fill half of the room! Snake had been much nicer around me, sometimes even buying some push pops for us to have. Though, he isn't the type of guy to share. He reminds me to just take what I want without too much asking.

Funny how the old Oliver wanted to share with people.

I've been discovering a few abilities of my own. With the freedom of driving around while being chased, I turn out to be a great driver! Who needs to be in a race when you can burn rubber all night? When it comes to pickpocketing, I became much better than Snake. Guess I can be mischievous at times which is something I rarely did when I was a kid. Even though my fighting is a bit rusty, I am slowly learning how to fight back in a fist fight.

1/07/2015

Our third member of the gang in which we agreed to call ourselves 'The Bad Guys'. Pepe, now called himself Mr. Piranha, is such a fun guy. And he is like a teddy bear when I held him up. He might be like a baby by the way he wiggles around happily, but he is smart. He can even speak Spanish! He notes that he is a little 'crazy' and he has dealt with fights against other thugs in the past which makes him one of the toughest criminals in the continent. Snake wasn’t willing to have him onboard at first, but I told him that we would need someone to help fight against our enemies, especially if he has the training required for us. 

I got to say, I am so happy another person is joining us! He even moved in! I learnt that he has been pressured by how piranhas are seen, but it's more of him unable to cool down his more rebellious ways. He told me that he is a little upset that his siblings managed to go to college with no worry about what some people would say. Besides, Piranha had a hard time staying still to listen and learn when he was young.

8/07/2015

Our fourth member is a biggy. Literally. Lou, now known as Mr. Shark, joined us upon seeing the three of us making our debut on the screens. He is a con artist, master of disguise. For proof, he showed us the painting of the Mona Lisa! Snake disliked him at first since he seemed a little 'childish', but I find him as the right man needed. Besides, it's nice to see another kind soul joining the team. Shark and Piranha immediately went along really well despite getting into some fights (mostly due to Snake pestering them). Surprisingly, Shark is also a huge fan of hugs like I am.

I learnt that Shark is actually the son of the 'Great White Shark'; a world-class assassin who is very dangerous and lethal. Shark was trained to be a criminal, but eventually left to be just a con artist since he felt it isn't right to shed blood. I am relieved by this because the Bad Guys shouldn't be too evil. He even told me that what made him 'good' was his mother who passed away.

She reminded me of my own.

Wait, wait, wait. I...I shouldn't be thinking about her.

I'll be right back.

2/06/2016

Our fifth member is Mata Hairy. She is cool with going along with 'Ms. Tarantula', but she prefers being called 'Webs'. She is probably the youngest of our group since she is very savvy with technology and the latest trends. This plays a part of her knowing how to hack through computer devices, weaponry systems and a few other things. She outsmarts the rest of us. I think she ticked off Snake and Piranha too many times as she always says what is on her mind, though she fits right in. It took quite a while since the other guys are afraid of a tarantula, though Shark warmed up to her after...a loud conversation between the two.

Webs told me that she chose to be a hacker as she is disgruntled with - not mostly being shunned out - the 'patronizing' system of the society. She knows she is a bit too impatient about her future, but she wants to live right now and enjoy her life. She thinks that being a hacker allows her to be a queen of her own. 

16/10/2016

Webs and Piranha are the ones who introduced me to Mr. Hornet. Mr. Hornet is already a successful and independent criminal, even getting away with the authorities! He has been running a secret small business of his own, so he told me that he wouldn't be able to work full-time with us. However, he is happy to help out on anything and gives us his number to call him. He has a keen eye like an eagle and is an incredible spy. When going on heists, he would be the extra pair of eyes we need. Seeing corners and incoming obstacles for us to face instead of bumping into too late. I'm proud to call him an honorable member of the team.

Hornet is a bit like Webs, except he doesn't joke too much. And he tends to face-palm whenever someone is doing or saying something stupid. Even though he is like a younger version of Snake, he is polite. He is also currently in a relationship with Piranha. He is nice to hang around since he often comes to visit us. This might be weird to say, but Hornet likes to be a part of the team all the time despite needing to do his own thing. He’s somewhat obsessed like we were like his family. It made me wonder what happened to his. Maybe I should ask him some day.

Hmm, maybe I should try to hang around with other criminals. That way, I can even expand…this circle. 

1/01/2017

A happy New Year, everyone! Even better, I just got back from a party. It’s actually an underground, super-secret party. So secret that nobody else know! It’s Tarantula who led me to it. I tried to invite the others, but only Snake could come along. The former was too busy watching a livestream - whatever it does on YouTube - so it was just the two of us. Snake told me that it should be safe that we didn’t bring a huge group or we end up bringing too much attention.

Though, he got it wrong as every criminal, villain and mercenary in the room welcomed us. They called us ‘one of the greatest heist criminals in the world’! Who knew that they would respect us like this? I even got to make a few new friends there. There were some that revealed to…have similar childhoods like me. For a lot of different reasons and differences. 

It was probably the most colorful thing I ever saw in my life. I never knew that being a criminal could even bring the best in you.

4/05/2019

I can't believe how much we did over the past few years as a team. We became one of the well-known criminal gangs in America! I feel that I finally found my place. My friends, my Bad Guys; they are my family. I think I'm a little in love with Snake, but that is another story for now. I would do nothing without them. They listen to me. They trust me. Gives the wag in my tail. I think the criminal life is more fitted for me.

7/07/2020

I can see him in my sleep. He is watching me like a hawk. He won't leave me alone. Even though I planned to send this journal over to him to let him know that I am doing alright, I can't even be able to remember his face without screaming! What's wrong with me? Am I seeing my father as bad as everyone else? Am I going crazy? Why do I feel as if I don't belong to his world?

1/09/2021

Mum suddenly appears right beside me, lying on the ground.

She is there!

SHE IS THERE

SHE IS THERE

YOU'RE A BIG BAD WOLF

YOU'RE A BIG BAD WOLF 

YOU'RE A BIG BAD WOLF

IGDNUbuigaKbjtasdbGdvyuDtftfguvukVUTFI FGtfibtsdYJfbTFftyf FBI8OTFfo FYVDTRweTR [2s]

25/06/2022

Mr. Snake's birthday is coming up.

Make sure to give him a nice breakfast, a birthday cake, a party hat and presents. I owe him. He deserves it.

Diane stared at the journal, long enough for her to suddenly loosen her grip on the sides. It was already growing dark, so she wouldn’t be needing the light to be able to read the next few pages which were already empty. As the journal slipped out of her hands and scattered between her legs, she felt as if she could only stare.

“I…never…knew that…” she thought. [3]

She only got to see a few journal logs since some of them usually look similar, but she took note of most of them. The Bad Guys, 8 years into their criminal career to make a name for themselves, and their leader was going through his own struggles. This really explained why he was struggling to sleep when she entered their HQ. This might also be why he exploded in her face when she prompted him the second time - third if you count her talking to his ‘Oliver’ disguise or fourth if you count her talking to Mr. Wolf during his arrest. 

The thing that shocked her is that Wolf’s name was actually Oliver. She picked up the book again and checked the front. While his real name was struck off with two thick lines - a childish yet violent way of using crayons - she found his full name. His first name was indeed Oliver. There was no question to that.

And yet, nobody really knew the real names of the Bad Guys.

While it seemed to be more of them trying to hide their real identity and personal details for their own sake, Wolf had a more personal reason. His persona as ‘Oliver’ at the Good Samaritans Awards waspathetic as not only it reflected the former shell of the wolf, but also how much he really changed.

“Was Oliver actually innocent?” thought Diane. “Is this why he changed over to being…a bad guy?”

The red fox thought he might also be lying to himself, but the journal showed proof. He had been venting out all his rage into that journal before eventually forgetting about it and starting writing less.

As she let all of that sink in, it was starting to come together. Why Oliver led the Bad Guys to become the ‘greatest criminals’ the world would ever see. Why he acted so cocky and charming as a way to get his way. For all of his reckless driving like a drunken person without losing a sweat and trying to lie to her on pretending to be good.

It was at this moment when she wondered what could have been if she didn’t talk to Oliver before she left the compound.

She even wondered what could have been if Oliver still retained his more innocent and polite self from his childhood.

Her stomach suddenly did a flip flop. She realized that they might be different in experiences.

She managed to get past university. Oliver NEVER did.

The final push seemed to be when those damn wolf terrorists inflicted horror and agony to the university Oliver was supposed to enrol at. Diane didn’t even think that it would be possible for a group of wolves to plan a terrorist attack in Australia out of all the countries. But then again, the world is still growing from racism.

The gut punch was that not only did this cost Oliver a brighter and simpler future, but it rubbed into his cheek when the stereotyping of wolves hurt him for no reason.

The reflection of wolves, from stories AND real-life crimes that could have even put HIM in danger, reflects what Oliver built himself up to be as Mr. Wolf today.

Hell, it was like when Diane nearly cemented the stereotyping of foxes if she actually got away with the Golden Dolphin!

Diane couldn’t help but feel overwhelmingly sad and guilty. She realized how out of depth she was with criminals. Perhaps being a politician might cut herself away from REALLY understanding the criminal world. Judging by how personal the Bad Guys took her speech, her competence as the Crimson Paw might have played a role as well. Even so, she had a much higher position than the criminals before she became governor, nearly feeling or seen as someone much better.

What a load of incredible luck.

A burn of jealousy ignites in Diane. At least Wolf was more lucky when it came to having relationships. Both of them had it rough when it came to trying to make childhood friends. Diane was always the aloof one in university. Kitty was her favorite martial arts teacher, but she never confided with her, even when they grew out of classes and had casual meetings. Doom never invested with her until she tried talking to him around graduation. She never even told a secret to her parents who are still dead. She never told anyone about her being the Crimson Paw. Not even other criminals.

To be straightforward, she had no one as the guiding light.

Oliver made several friends. Leading up to the Bad Guys. 

She understood a little why he was ‘gutless’ by taking advantage of being good. By going for a better life, he could lose whatever he had that made him feel like a real person. Those people stick by him, even having their own stories that make them more sympathetic than Diane thought. But she wondered if the friends he made were more selfish than him being genuine despite getting to see their motives. Diane even wondered if the Bad Guys think of wanting to turn their life around.  

“Just because you were a former criminal doesn’t mean you understand everyone.”

For once, Marmalade actually had a very good point about not allowing her to help the Bad Guys in the first place. If she became the mentor in the plan, then it wouldn’t achieve anything. Marmalade clearly had more experiences with understanding people more.

Resting her head to the left on her window, she let out a sob as tears silently rolled down her face.

If she was wearing make-up, she might see how ugly she turned out to be. [3s]

Chapter Text

As Diane drove to where the gala would be at, she realized that she hadn’t thought about the Bad Guys’ latest actions. Good thing that she had a phone holder. She didn’t have time to stop and watch since she needed to be there really soon to talk with the ambassadors and the reporters about her decision. When she watched the latest TV report, she couldn’t express how surprised she was. [1]

“We are just minutes away from Marmalade’s Gala for Goodness!” announced Tiffany Fluffit, already at the red carpet of the charity event. “Where the legendary Love Crater, the city’s symbol of hope, will be on display for the first time! But what everyone is really buzzing about is the Bad Guys.”

Her phone screen switched to a recorded live stream clip of Oliver rescuing a cat that was stuck in a tall palm tree. Diane nodded in appreciation. For all of his cockiness, he actually proved to be much gentler than she thought. She might think that video wouldn’t be enough to prove the entire team’s image, but seeing how Oliver talked to the cat, nearly looking to be in a pleading or sad tone, she realized that it was only if one revealed their more vulnerable side that can break through the mean stereotypes.

Diane wondered if by doing a good act, then she wouldn’t have been bullied when she was a child.

The reception from the civilians was really positive so far.

“I’ve never been a cat person or a wolf person, but now I’m both!”

“I have a cat and that video really brought us together. That could have been my cat. It could have been any of our cats!”

“I’m literally thinking about throwing my cat in a tree just so the Bad Guys can come rescue her! If loving cats makes you a Bad Guy, then lock me up!”

Diane wondered if it is due to Marmalade’s training or her giving Oliver the advice he needed to hear, but seeing how the people change their tune on the Bad Guys made her feel happy for them. She was still feeling sore after reading Oliver's journal, but if the good life was what he wanted, then it would be good for him.

Upon arrival, she locked the door and made her way to the red carpet. She made sure that the journal was locked up in the storage compartment of the console. There was no time for more drama as someone could easily see it through the window. As the stage came into view alongside the increasing crowd and the tables, she smirked a little, thinking how ironic it was for the gala set near the large crater.

The very crater that left a hole in their city and haven't even been reconstructed for a park.

She heard that there was some backlash against the choice of location, but it didn’t seem to bother everyone that much considering the damage the meteor has done.

Speaking of which, she spotted the meteor perched on the top of the stage. She smiled, catching its love shape. A reminder that even dangerous things can turn out to be beautiful. 

As she greeted some of the guests and reporters on the scene, she noticed that the list of guests invited to the gala was…strange. She recognized some of them as criminals. This time, she didn’t fall for their disguises. However, it was nice that they came here to support the Bad Guys and it was already clear that they aren’t going to rob anything since they were placing money into the donation boxes. Even one went out of their way to leave a huge golden block on top of it. That would cost millions.

Diane wondered if Kitty and Doom were here, but remembered that Kitty wasn’t comfortable with revisiting near the crater. She could come, but she didn’t feel that she should party there. Doom was already booked for another performance at the bar.

Shouldn’t be the least of her worries since she got the other governors at the gala to cheer for her and…

“They steal hearts instead of wallets now!” announced Marmalade’s voice. “Friends, meet the Good Guys!”

Diane quickly climbed up a few stairs to find the Bad Guys at the other end of the red carpet. Climbing out of the limo door in dark blue and white suits. There was a long pause as the crowd stared at them. The fox nearly thought of coming to them to make them welcome.

Eventually, she didn't need to when the crowd broke into applause.

“Uh…” said Snake, visibly confused. “This is different.”

“Is this a prank?” asked Piranha with a strained smile.

“What’s that sound?” said Shark. “It’s like screaming, but not terrified.”

Diane winced a little. Knowing that they didn’t align themselves to being by the law, it was gonna take a while for them to appreciate the happy compliments from the public.

Oliver looked a bit shy before inhaling sharply. “Just roll with it.”

Tarantula smirked, rolling her shoulders. “It’s crime time, baby!”

Diane tried to get through the excited guests, but it was already crowded when everyone swanned around the Bad Guys. So many of them wanted to ask for their advice and autographs. She could hear questions pop up about their species. She rolled her eyes, already done with humans judging animal stereotypes. And it was clear that Shark, whose uncomfortable look was visible as he rose above the many heads, didn’t really like it.

She found Oliver already being ogled by two fangirls. Poor wolf looking so shy about this, seemingly shaking things up from his charming persona. Diane had to admit that he looked adorable. He did once try to make her know that the Bad Guys were just cool as being villains. Though, putting aside him being a handsome figure, his vibrant yellow eyes and shy smile made him more endearing than she thought.

He realized that she was staring at him for too long, nearly trying to slink off. However, Diane let her mouth talk.

“Oli-” She quickly slapped her mouth, nearly saying Oliver’s name out loud.

This was what really captures his attention. “Huh? You…said something?”

Somehow, Diane knew that this is not the right time to reveal more secrets.

“I-I mean Mr. Wolf,” said Diane, clearing her throat. “Nice to see you and your friends here.”

Oliver cleared his throat as well before putting on a calm facade. “Well…nice to see you as well.”

Diane mustered enough willpower to not make her tail wag. She could tell that he had feelings for her.

“You mistake me for Mr. Poodleton again?” joked Oliver, trying to make things light-hearted.

“I don’t know,” said Diane.

“Just call me Mr. Wolf,” he said, ruffing his jacket. “I’m not Oliver anymore.”

It was meant that he wasn’t someone else in disguise, but Diane found it sad that Oliver-no, Mr. Wolf refused to use his real name here.

“So…” said Diane, trying to change the topic. “I see you lost the sheep’s clothing.”

Wolf grinned. “Yeah, I figured it was time I got comfortable in my own fur.”

“Well, it seems that you in the real flesh really brought out something.” She motioned to the guests around them. “I think I saw a few more familiar faces there.”

Wolf looked behind her and nods. “Oh. I didn’t think that the kids of the alley would come here.”

“You think they might follow you into having a second chance?”

“Unless you arrest them now,” teased Wolf.

Diane chuckled, all of her nervousness fading away. “And kill the vibe? They aren’t technically doing anything bad, so…I’ll make this an exception.”

“That is if the other governors agree with you,” said Wolf, noticing Thomas gazing at him like a stalker.

“They are paranoid, but they have their own reasons. Besides, they all have a job here and they want people to be safe.”

“A little stealing wouldn’t be unsafe for people.”

“Well, stealing something can be unsafe for a person’s salary, profit AND dignity.”

Wolf nodded. “Good point. Marmalade had to steal my dignity by placing me in that stupid onsie.”

Diane smiled. “So…no more lying.”

Wolf grinned. Seemed a bit too tight, though he looked a bit shy. “Yeah. No more. There is nothing invisible around here now.”

“EEEK!” screamed a lady. “A GHOST!” [1s]

The two canines turned around to discover a very bizarre scene. A large, gigantic silver plate carrying vegetable spring rolls - coated in a golden cylinder pastry made from fresh ingredients close to its expiration date - floated right through the bewildered crowd. Many were understandably freaked out by the sight of the plate moving on its own while some just stared at it, too drunk to comprehend if this is all in their head.

The plate only stopped when Wolf bends backward to see who was underneath the plate.

“Hornet~!” he said in a sing-song tone. “Stop hogging up all the spring rolls to have seconds!” [1]

A sigh from below and the plate was suddenly thrown up before being caught on the side by the strong, hornet criminal himself. The lookout, mission control and spy of the team. Surprisingly, he was even dressed for the occasion, wearing a black kimono with flower patterns and a white collared shirt underneath. 

He snorted. “Worth a shot.”

The fear of a ghost immediately vanquished as a bunch of ravenous people came RUSHING towards Hornet, taking the numerous spring rolls unintentionally on display. 

“HEY!” yelled Hornet. “That’s my dinner, you ruffians!”

By the time the crowd dispersed, Hornet was only left with three spring rolls. At least each of those spring rolls were a third higher than his height.

“Hey there, buddy!” said Wolf, making a reintroduction. “It’s good to see you again.”

Hornet smiled. “Nice to see you as well, Wolf. Though, I am rather surprised by what you are doing.”

“Well, it all took humility and strength to get to here,” said Wolf coolly. “But look at where we are! You can say that this ‘blossom of goodness’ is opening up inside us.”

Hornet curled his lips, a little worried. “Is it…really a good thing? I don’t know, I’m happy at what is happening, though I find it a bit hard about the change.”

“Nothing’s too hard when you’re trying something new.” Wolf then leaned towards Hornet and kept his voice at a whisper. 

Diane raised an eyebrow, but she decided it was best not to hear more.

Hornet’s discomfort mitigated a little when Wolf finished and he nodded.

“OK, that makes sense,” he said.

“I nearly forgot,” said Wolf, pulling Diane close. “This is the foxy governor that has given us the thumbs-up to explore our motives.”

“Uh, yeah,” laughed Diane. “I’m not really ‘foxy’.”

Hornet squinted his eyes. “Who are you again? Fenton?”

“Close, but no. I’m Diane Foxington.”

He gave a nonchalant shrug.

“You know!” said Diane, her pride hitting up. “Governor Foxington. Newly elected governor. Los Angeles’ number one politician for tackling climate change?”

“Eh, not big on politics.”

“Errr…I have some pickpocket skills as well!”

“That is true,” said Wolf.

Hornet thought about it. “Come to think of it, you look a bit familiar with someone I heard of. Whatever, I don’t have enough evidence in my research for that.”

Diane sighed in relief, grateful that she chose to hide her face when being the Crimson Paw.

“Perhaps you like to join us,” said Wolf. “We are thinking of doing a performance tonight, so we think we need some-”

Neither Diane nor Hornet get to hear what he meant on his emphasis on ‘performance’, when another fangirl comes swooping in.

“OOH!” she squealed. “It’s him! Give me some sugar!”

Wolf found himself tackled and his snout caught up in a cleavage cushion as a large woman pulls him in a very tight hug. As he squirmed around, trying to get away, the woman pulled him aside to her group of friends who look like they want to kiss him. With Wolf distracted, this left Diane and Hornet, dumbstruck.

“Perverts,” growled Diane to herself. [1s]

“That is the consequence of being good,” said Hornet. “I wonder how many times a celebrity would have to do all these tasks of pleasing people just because of their good publicity. At least Marmalade seems to handle it better.”

Diane thought back to the journal log about Hornet. Despite him already being known as a successful criminal on his own, Hornet was fond of the Bad Guys as his family. He valued being part of the team. So seeing him looking worried about the change of the group got Diane curious.

“Do you consider trying to be good as well?” she asked.

Hornet huffed. “I’m not really one who goes by a clean state. You know how that goes, so there might be a lot on your plate. I considered it somewhat longer than them, though it’s…scary to be a saint when you have monsters worse than you. Why do you think I decided to just get into so many deals with the police instead of needing to present to everyone else?”

“Fair point. You do try to help others at times.”

“Which is why I’m not offering my business open to the public. Only amongst the authorities and the other criminals.”

“This might sound a little weird right there,” said Diane, trying to make sure she doesn’t reveal that she saw Wolf’s journal. “It is…something that might be a bit…jarring to say. But with…Mr. Wolf and his crew, would…all of them be even willing to change or accept that their leader is taking the opportunity?”

Hornet was flabbergasted. “Excuse me?”

“So, a little coyote…might have told me a bit of yesterday,” lied Diane. “…there might be ‘baggage’ weighing Wolf down and preventing him from living a better life. I mean, I don’t believe that this ‘baggage’ is his friends, even you, but it got me thinking. Why do many people lead to others being what they are now? Because I actually think that Wolf doesn’t actually enjoy being a criminal and…tired of being seen as a villain.” She could feel Hornet giving her a small, disappointed glare. “It’s funny how I came to realize that.”

Hornet placed his hand on his forehead. “Look, Diane. I…don’t think it really matters that much about the kind of life people want. Justice or injustice. Good or bad. And this kind of ‘baggage’ is not a burden or people being selfish.”

“R-Really?” asked Diane. It wasn’t just insisting, it was more of asking for herself.

“The Bad Guys are some of the most honest people I ever know,” said Hornet. “They became my closest friends. I…never had friends before, so I came to them. I’m a bit afraid for Wolf because of what you said, I’m not sure if he is going to stick with the team for long. If he leaves, then the team might split up. It would be…sad if they go their own ways.”

Diane nodded. The Bad Guys aren’t like a pop group. They are a team. In fact, the way Wolf described them in his journal made them his family.

“But let’s say for example; I want to do…something different and it might look like it is the opposite of what the team would do. If I tell them, they might not be happy. But if I don’t tell them, then…the fact that I didn’t trust them hurts even more. And then, I told them since I can’t lie to them after what they did for me. They might be shocked or have opposite ideas, but they don’t get mad at me. I’m their friend, so they would take their time to think about it since they know me well. Who knows? They might understand how it can benefit me or even them! Perhaps find a way together to solve things.”

Diane knew that the truth is right in the journal, but those words were enough to help her realize. “So…they won’t turn their back on each other?”

“Of course not! We stick together as a team. We can’t really pick sides. Friends…like each other for who they are instead of WHAT they are. If they give a much bigger reason for what they are by lying, then that is more understandable.”

The red fox nodded once again. So this baggage was more on thinking about who would appreciate, not people. It can be unloaded if only all sides are understandable and accepting. 

Hornet didn’t remove his firm glare. “Look, criminal or politician, it’s all about who you choose to be HONEST with. Even if it’s seemingly for one’s ‘own good’, the guilt of breaking ties would never fade away. The Bad Guys are a family. My family as well. I’m still thinking about Wolf’s choice, so it will take me a while. What good reason do you think they would need to feel that they backstab each other?”

Diane was about to answer that, but after all she heard and discovered, she saw the Bad Guys as just people. Not good or bad. They weren’t as petty as she thought they were. She felt guilty again for asking the question in the first place, but she learned the most strongest point of a person’s choice. 

The two stood there (or in Hornet's case, floated) in silence before Hornet groaned. He was clearly reluctant, but he lifted up his plate.

“Take one,” he said softly.

“What?” said Diane.

“Take one spring roll. Consider this as a lesson that we criminals aren’t all ‘selfish’ as you think.”

She had already lost her appetite, but she took one in response to Hornet’s gesture. “T-Thanks.”

Before Hornet could turn to munch on his two remaining spring rolls, Wolf came rolling out of the crowd. His tie was already loose and his shirt wasn’t tucked in properly. Lipstick kisses covered around his chin and neck.

“Good grief,” he said. “And that is why I never use public bathrooms. Too many wet, sloppy things to be in contact with.” He turns to Diane. “Sorry I…took you long.”

“It’s alright,” muttered Diane, lost in her own thoughts. “Just…had a nice chat with one of your friends.”

Hornet nodded, smiling. 

He tilted his head upon hearing chatter about him.

“Hey, isn’t that the guy Piranha is dating?” whispered one of the partygoers.

“I think it is!” said another. “I recognize those antennas.”

“I heard that he got hooked with him one night”

“Wait, really?”

Hornet sighed, exasperated. “One more word of that rumor, I’m gonna go insane.”

“It’s…not a rumor,” said Wolf knowingly.

Hornet glared at Wolf.

The rest of the night seemed to go well except that Wolf tried to distance himself from Diane. She felt a little sad about this since she was now interested in Wolf. As she paced around the crowd, she managed to find that Marmalade’s team also arrived to join the party. 

Marmalade’s right-hand assistant, Cuddles, was there as well. Diane found him a bit adorable, though a bit odd given that he rarely speaks.

The coyote bodyguard was also one of the partygoers. Nathan appeared a little drunk as he waddled around. He remained frowning the whole time even when some guy threw up onto his nice, clean shoes. Diane tried to see if he was lively, but he still looked dead. And thinking about it, it was quite the contrast when she last visited her. 

Yesterday, he had a small smirk when he offered to blow up the Bad Guys’ HQ, but he returned back to being creepy.

What is up with this guy?

“LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK at me…!” [2]

A long vocal note echoed right across the gala. Well, actually from the speakers gathered all around the place. Almost everyone immediately turned their heads to find Piranha lowering his microphone to his height, sweating from an unknown stress Diane couldn’t identify. Even the performers on stage looked confused. 

Piranha continued to sing and it turned into Shark running onto the stage to get into the role of the drummer. Tarantula already got herself on the turntable with a computer open. The tune was already set as Piranha continued his impromptu performance, belting out his loud vocals. As the audience started to cheer from hearing his singing and the drums started to kick in, the crowd was already dancing and enjoying the music.

Diane looked across the crowd to find Wolf giving Piranha a wink, pleased with the performance. She decided to take this as for her to…ask him out.

“Mr. Wolf,” she said.

“Oh! Diane…” said Wolf nervously. 

She smirked, feeling a little flirty. “You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were avoiding me.”

“A-Avoiding you?” said Wolf, crossing his arms. “Why would I do that?”

Diane shrugged. “OK. But I have to say I’m a little disappointed.” She came close to fixing his bowtie. “I was hoping that you were gonna ask me to dance.”

Wolf’s eyes beamed. “Oh.”

Soon enough, Diane got Wolf onto the dance floor. He started by making a few classic moves, acting like the gentleman he was as a criminal. Diane followed, twirling her arms and legs around like a ballerina. It developed into them holding each other’s hands and spinning around. Soon, it nearly became a duet between the two. Diane didn’t know how they were able to perform so good without practicing together, but this was really fun!

She teased him once by tickling his nose with her loose skirt while he pointed at her. She burst out laughing, stopping being serious for once. She felt more like her younger self.

The people all around the place were already grooving and dancing to the song. The Bad Guys who were on stage jumped off the stage to dance around with the many screaming fans. It was hard to see at first, but it became more clear as Diane saw through the gaps. Snake was strumming the bass guitar, but also played around by spinning a couple around. Shark lifted up two kids like they were his sons, running around as they ride on him.

She nearly stopped to take a photo when Piranha arrived next to a grooving Hornet. The former pecked a kiss on the latter’s cheek before slapping a heart-shaped sticker over his face. The sticker was about the size of Hornet, so he looked around, blinded and dumbfounded, but the blush could be seen underneath the sticker. Piranha winked before getting back into the action.

The performance seemed to encourage more guests to add cash to the donation boxes held around by the children assistants. On screen near the stage, the donation count was growing higher at a pace as fast as a bullet of a gun. Not only it broke through 1 million, but it was slowly reaching up to 999 MILLION bucks!

“Not bad for the Bad Guys helping the charity event,” thought Diane before saying out loud, “I think I like the new you.”

“Well, that makes the two of us,” said Wolf with a smirk. 

The two continued to dance with Diane allowing Wolf to spin her around. She laughed as he carried her upwards, holding her in an embrace while she clutched onto his shoulders. For a moment, everything seemed to come to a slow pace as the two stared at each other’s eyes. Yellow spotlights covered all over them, the same color as Wolf’s.

“So, how does it feel to have everyone not fear you for a change?” she asked.

Wolf panted a little before looking around at the cheering crowd. His expression softened up, astonished. For a moment, she thought he appeared a little afraid of the new attention around them. Though, the nervousness seemed to fade away when he looked back at her, finding new comfort. He looked down to see his own tail wagging.

“It feels…good,” he said. “Real good.”

She smiled. He was already liking her. She felt a fluttering feeling inside her and her tail moves a little. As Wolf’s eyes turned to be more kind, she realized that she was at the point of succeeding. Even though she was torn from reading his journal, she felt that she might understand him after all.

He trusts her. He trusts her because she reached out to him.

“Diane,” he said, placing something into her palms. “It belongs to you.”

Diane gasped, shocked by his sincere gesture. She didn’t mind the diamond, but it was nice that he was willing to give her what he stole from her. Showing that he saw her as a good friend.

As the Bad Guys returned to their spots on stage, Diane and Wolf made their way to the stage and continued dancing. Wolf leaned back and she carried him up, spinning him around to the audience’s surprise. Even Wolf when they struck the final pose for the jazzy rock song. But for now, they were enjoying the moment while it last. [2s]

There was a smirk growing on Nathan, keeping his hands behind his back. Diane doubted that it was due to the music everyone was enjoying. 

Marmalade was smiling, but only at the donation count from the screen. It hit the billion landmark and the crowd went wild. Confetti sprayed all over the place. With the achievement of rising a high number for the charity, Marmalade made his presence known on stage.

“Outstanding performance!” he said. “Thank you to everyone for helping me reach up to 1 billion dollars! The money raised tonight will be delivered tomorrow to local schools, hospitals and other worthy causes across the city. Tonight is a significant event as we celebrate goodness of all kinds in the world! And what other way to have the Good Guys helping us for this occasion!”

The crowd cheered again, their attention towards the Bad Guys once again. Diane stepped to the side, seeing the group grinning from the welcoming applause from the people. As the leader, Wolf was given the microphone to give his honors for the night.

“Thanks, everybody,” he said. “You’re too kind.” He cleared his throat and tapped the microphone. “I…never really honestly believe that we are here tonight. I know that…there are probably still a few people who fear us. I mean, bad habits don’t die, right?” There was a collective murmur of agreement. “But…I don’t think we are going to give up on everyone who helped us get this far. In our good old crime days and now this. This is what heroes do, right? And I truly believe you too have a hero inside you. Someone…did let me know this. And I’ll never stop believing that.”

Diane couldn’t help but shed a few tears. He must be referring to her. She suddenly felt so thankful to be here tonight.

“I just want to take a moment to recognize the very one person responsible for our new outlook,” said Wolf. 

He opened his mouth, but he seemed to hesitate. He glanced at the guests who were still cheering. He glanced at Diane who gave him a warm smile. However, Diane seemed to notice that Wolf was nervous. Worry in his bright eyes. With one hand behind his back, she saw that his arms were trembling. 

And suspiciously, the Bad Guys were hissing at him ‘do it’.

“...our brilliant mentor…” stuttered Wolf. “...a paragon of enlightenment…the one and only…Professor…Professor…” 

He was already sweaty at this point. 

Diane could see his friends getting agitated by his wait, staring at…something behind his back. 

Snake was near the Golden Dolphin contained in a trophy case. 

“Professor Marmalade!”

As soon as he says this, Chief Luggins unlocked the trophy case and passed it to Wolf. He cradled it and handed it over to the grinning Marmalade. The other Bad Guys were stunned by this, whispering what was going on. 

Diane didn’t need to think further about this. In the crowd, she found Hornet - holding the sticker his love gave him - giving her a sad look. He was stoic, but he was understandably gutted with what was presented on stage. He kept glancing at Wolf and at the Bad Guys.

Diane frowned. Were the Bad Guys actually planning to steal? Did Wolf have a change of heart to the plan? was that why he was nervous around her?

She decided not to dwell on it, not wanting to give the criminals under any more pressure. She made a mental note to call the Bad Guys once the gala finished to prevent any more disasters.

“A…deal’s a deal,” said Diane, trying to lighten up the mood. “I don’t break promises. By the power vested in me, it is a pleasure to grant the Bad Guys a full pardon-”

CHUNK!

The lights suddenly went off and everything went pitch black. For a moment, nobody could see anything. But when the lights turned back on, Diane gasped.

Marmalade was missing.

However, the thing that shocked people was that the Love Crater Meteorite had suddenly disappeared from where it was sitting.

All eyes turned to the Bad Guys. This time, all the guests gave them hard glares. Diane turned to them, unable to believe it. There was no way they could have stolen it. From memory, she remembered that in Wolf’s notes, he decided not to steal the meteorite. Unfortunately, nobody was willing to call for an investigation and pinned the closest thing to blame. 

Even Chief was in no mood to listen anymore.

“Wolf…” she growled as she marched right up to them. 

“What?!” said Wolf. “We didn’t do it! Did we?”

“No!” agreed Snake.

“Chief, you can’t possibly think-!”

A bleep from the screen nearby. It was a GIF of Wolf's head. Sunglasses mocking flashing right over his eyes as the GIF let out an arrogant ‘SO LONG, SUCKERS’. The horrified expressions on the Bad Guys said enough.

They were going to steal the Golden Dolphin, but in the end, they ended up being framed to have stolen the meteorite. [3]

All hell broke loose as panic erupted when the police lunged forwards at the Bad Guys. They all scattered and ran for their life. Wolf was the only one who hangs around near the stage the longest as he hastily stole one of the fundraiser flyers. Diane could only stand there, trying to figure out who stole the meteorite. She only snapped back to her senses when Wolf handed the flyer to her.

“What are you doing?” she asked, uneasiness in her voice.

“I’m giving it all back!” said Wolf before sprinting off.

She could only stand there helplessly as the Bad Guys tried to escape. It didn’t end up well when they tried to ‘fight back’ and were arrested once more. In the midst of the chaos and guests running around to stay clear from getting hurt, Diane spotted a frantic Hornet spinning around. When he turned to her, he gestured at her and pointed to his right. 

The fox turns to where he was pointing at, managing to spot Marmalade, Cuddles and Nathan going down the stairs, hidden from her sight.

Before she could even go to him, she was confronted by the now-panicking governors, even some of them steaming at her. [3s]

Her mind was so wrapped up in confusion that she didn’t bother trying to find Marmalade once the Bad Guys were placed in handcuffs and forced to go onto the police transport. All the guests watched Wolf pleading to Chief to listen to him. It was rather distressing to her seeing this, bringing back flashbacks of what she heard from the very night she gave up the mantle of the Crimson Paw. The fact that most of the cops were frosty towards the Bad Guys and the criminals who came along to the gala disappeared does not help.

Diane nearly felt as if she was the only support the Bad Guys really need.

“Tonight’s headline,” reported Tiffany nearby. “Change is impossible. You should always judge a book by its cover and all stereotypes have been affirmed.”

Diane rolled her eyes. This was coming out of the mouth of a young reporter who didn’t read her lines properly. And none of the Bad Guys tried to reinforce the stereotypes everyone thought of them as! This was insane! [4]

Marmalade tried to go into the transport to reassure the Bad Guys for a sliver of hope. Though, it didn’t end up the way Diane wanted it to go. When the guinea pig went in and closed the door, she thought that he would be able to discover evidence that the Bad Guys are not guilty. 

Diane, herself, tried to come to Chief to reason with her. However, the Chief wasn’t having any of it and despite the lack of evidence of how the Bad Guys stole the meteorite and if they have it, there weren't any other suspects who were seemingly guilty. However, above her argument with Chief, she could hear another…argument inside the vehicle.

And then, the door slammed opened.

“YOU LITTLE POUNCH-CHEEKED RAT!” howled Wolf’s voice. “I’LL KILL YOU! DO YOU HEAR ME?! YOU’RE DEAD!”

Everyone gasped at the sight of Wolf trying to maul Marmalade, only being held back by the chain restraints. For once, Wolf actually looked feral with his fangs more noticeable than before, snapping his jaw repeatedly toward Marmalade. Even the rest of the Bad Guys could only watch in shock.

“HELP, OH, HELP!” cried Marmalade. “THE BIG BAD WOLF IS ATTACKING ME!”

Diane’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She cannot believe what she is seeing. This wasn’t the Wolf she saw. In fact, it was like he actually became ‘The Big Bad Wolf’. She wondered if Marmalade did something wrong, but the fact that Wolf went out of his way to resort to violence put him in a much harsher light. 

Like the rest of the crowd, she could only watch in horror. Unfortunately, this delayed her in stopping Chief from quickly taking action.

Wolf immediately realized his mistake. As Marmalade hopped off, the livid Chief slammed the door right in front of Wolf’s face. He could only look up to see through the windows, his eyes filled with regret and worry.

Nathan suddenly burst out into an uncontrollable giggle. He had a sickening smirk on his face as he watched all of this unfold.

Hornet was shocked at first, but he kept a close eye on Marmalade who melodramatically waddled off.

Diane didn’t know how to feel about this. [4s]

Angry?

Sad?

Scared?

Betrayed?

Heartbroken?

She didn’t really know, but she feelt like crying again. But as the police transport and the many police cars pulled away from the gala, Diane felt as if she has failed. Her ears pressed back and she stared at her own feet. 

“WHY DO YOU BLAME ME FOR EVERYTHING?!”

Her head twitched as she tried to keep it all in. Wolf wasn’t like her. He lived a different life. This was what he got into and it was Diane’s fault that she never tried to get him to trust her in the first place.

“Because you’re a FOX!!! You hear me?! A no-good, two-face FOX! My dad was right about them taking things from you! And now, you think you can try to get away with it all?!”

She wished that she reached out to criminals more. If that happened, as the Crimson Paw, none of this would have happened tonight. No one would have gotten hurt.

“Just because you were a former criminal doesn’t mean you understand everyone.”

She was just one step ahead. By being herself in a good way, being the governor, her control could have kept the Bad Guys safe. But no, she just stood there without doing anything like a coward. Because she wasn’t allowed to be near them now.

“Always saying that you got things to do and the next minute, you end up looking like a wreck.”

Years of being a criminal wasted and that costed her from ever helping criminals. Wolf lost his temper because she was too late. Marmalade’s experiment failed because she was too late. The Bad Guys refused to be good because she was too late.

“A fox can run fast but not for too long.”

Voices entered in her head, telling her that she failed everyone. She didn’t know where they were coming from, but she knew that they were THERE somehow. Ready to tear her apart. They were there to remind her how bad she actually was.

“Even if by some MIRACLE we did change, who’s gonna believe us?! HUH?!”

Hearing Wolf’s angry words, Diane wanted another crater to cave in and swallow her up.

“Diane?” said a voice. “Diane?”

It was Thomas. He kept asking her if she is alright, but she could only give him a broken look. She couldn’t even be able to speak. 

Fortunately, she was brought back to reality when Tiffany rushed past her to interview the shaken Marmalade. She couldn’t hear the words properly, but she observed Marmalade’s body language. Before was the near-death experience for him…but he suddenly changed his tune and condescendingly agreed that the Bad Guys were out of his control.

And then, he pulled out 5 slips of paper.

Notes.

Notes of Wolf’s plans.

Diane tilted her head.

That was strange. She thought he would have kept them for a while and not brought them along. She didn’t expect Marmalade to have brought them along. 

And then, it hit her. 

Wolf DID mention in his notes about the meteorite, considering whether to steal it or not. 

She noticed one of the slips – the paper that explained the meteorite – had…a couple of new drawings on them.

With that, it would be further ‘proof’ that the Bad Guys were guilty. He would act as if he found it from their visit at his mansion.

Her stomach did a flip-flop. 

Marmalade’s plan wasn’t to help the Bad Guys.

“E-Excuse me,” said Diane, walking away.

“Wait!” called Thomas. “Hold on!”

While the fox wanted to have some space, a small group of people followed her. Apparently, they even appeared doubtful that the Bad Guys were responsible for stealing the meteorite. As they surrounded her and asked questions while discussing to themselves, Diane took out the flyer Wolf handed to her.

She flipped over to the map page, finding a huge X in a specific area on it.

“I’m giving it all back!”

Diane gasped, thinking what this might be. Can this be…the way she can find the Bad Guys’ HQ? Is Wolf actually trying to be good?

Did she get through him?

“Foxington!” called Hornet as he flied towards her.

“Mr. Hornet?” said Thomas. “You…found anything or something?”

Hornet shook his head as he took off his helmet. “I scanned through everything. They only found ‘evidence’ that the Bad Guys are guilty; the laptop Tarantula left behind and the devices they planted on the electricity boxes. However, there is no clue how they stole the meteorite”

“And how do you know?” asked one of the guests, giving him a glare. “You’re in league with them?”

“I didn’t do anything else to participate!” snapped Hornet. “And it’s impossible for them to be able to steal the meteorite in plain sight. They would need a cart or a helicopter to carry it around, but they didn’t have time for that. And surprisingly, I cannot spot traps around the stage!”

Thomas blinked. “So that meant…the meteorite just went missing?”

Diane looked over the small group to find many guests aiding to Marmalade. The guinea pig acting like he was a victim while Nathan stuck by with a soulless look and Cuddles patting Marmalade, obviously holding back an evil laugh. 

She thinks she has a suspect, but this situation calls for something more extreme.

“Hornet,” Diane said. “I need you to do a favor for me.”

“No need for deals tonight,” said Hornet without hesitance. “What’s the task, chief?”

Diane looked back at the flyer. “I’m going to investigate something. I want you to keep your eyes on Marmalade and let me know what he is planning.”

“What are you going to do?” asked Thomas.

She gave him a firm look. “I ask that you trust me on this one. Don’t share this with the others.”

Chapter Text

The next morning, Diane had called over Kitty and Doom to join her. With the fundraiser flyer with them, they used it to find where Wolf wanted them to search for. Diane wasn’t sure at first, but once they came across the deserted area, she started to have a hint of familiarity. This was the place where the Bad Guys were rumored to stay at. Only she found a way through the sewer holes.

And oh, she took the same way back after she escaped through the elevator.

The trio searched around the area before taking a drive through one of the huge pipes. It took them a while as the whole underground room is like a maze. Eventually, they stumbled across what appeared to be a garage door with a few cardboard boxes lying around. 

Upon seeing it, Diane gulped. She didn’t know why, but she wondered if this was the best time now to enter the Bad Guys’ HQ. 

Since Kitty and Diane were driving in their own individual cars, Kitty offered to use her car to be brought inside the elevator. Diane noticed how nervous Kitty and Doom were as the elevator took them upwards. Diane wouldn’t lie; if she hadn't visited the Bad Guys’ HQ before, then she would be terrified on the assumption that they were walking into a trap.

Their anxiety turned into shock when the elevator stopped and the door opened to reveal the nearly illusionary sight of a warehouse room decked with priceless valuables, money vaults, paintings and other stolen items. It was nearly dusty, but the whole room nearly looked untouched from the last time Diane saw it. Though, the bed hanging on the ceiling already broke judging by the mattress and the golden blankets lying on the ground in a messy pile.

The black camera device she placed at the ceiling corner was gone.

Before she could worry about that, Kitty was already talking.

“Wow-wee!” she said. “Well, I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“No wonder why the Bad Guys nearly became the ‘greatest criminals’ as everybody called them,” said Doom. “...not like I like it or anything, but this looks…nice, I guess.”

“Hey, is that my sandwich toothpick set?”

“Hold on, I think I saw the Mona Lisa picture right there.”

“No, that isn’t the Mona Lisa picture. That’s the scream picture.”

“But aren’t both of them made around Renaissance times?”

“I’m not a history or art teacher. That one there looks like your guitar when you released your first album!”

“Wait, is it…oh my goodness! You’re right! They stole it!”

Diane barely paid any attention to her friends marveling at the stolen goods all around. She barely kept her head straight in the presence of her only friends. While she felt that she made the right decision to call Kitty over for help, she couldn’t look at her once again after the whole gala fiasco. She nearly drifted out again, only for Kitty to shake her a little while Doom flew off to inspect the amount of cash stolen. [1]

“Diane,” said Kitty. “Are you alright?”

The fox shook her head, clearly not fine. Kitty helped her to a nearby couch and the two of them sat down together.

“I’m…I’m so sorry, Kitty,” said Diane as she wrapped her legs and pull them to her chest. She didn’t care if she is ruining her trousers. “Should have listened to you in the first place.”

Kitty stayed silent for a while. “It’s not your fault. It’s not all your fault.”

“I thought…I would be able to do the impossible by using my skills for good. Even though I…run too fast like you said. But…the wish to change something is not so quick.”

“Diane, but if it weren’t for you…then Wolf wouldn’t give up the location of his crew’s HQ.”

Diane groaned. “I know, but…what else would I be able to do? I don’t know what is going to happen to the Bad Guys with the fact that Wolf is turning his back on his crew. It was a messy adventure here.” She paused, feeling angry tears welling up in her eyes. “Yeah, I said it. Messy. And I let my guard down when I didn’t know the other Bad Guys planned to steal the Golden Dolphin and it seems that Marmalade’s team took this as an advantage to take the meteorite. Even before, the Bad Guys STRUGGLED to do good to the point of making a scene at Sunnyside Labs.”

Kitty didn’t try to interrupt, letting Diane ramble.

“The crew nearly planned to backstab me all because I provoked them further as ‘Little Miss Perfect’. Because I said my opinion as the governor. Being too honest as the governor.” What Diane didn’t mention was that her competence as a past criminal led her to say this at the press conference. “None of us would be in this mess if I just knew what is right. Me and my big mouth. I overdid it and it turns out, I can’t really balance around having a double life with the two sides of me. I just want to help people, but if I am letting them down, then…it’s really unfair.”

Kitty could only stare at Diane, seeing the determination that once energized the young fox’s eyes had disappeared. Poor Diane. While she did try to take responsibility, someone took advantage of this and turned it into making things worse for the Bad Guys and impacting Diane’s relationship with them. Seeing her like this was something Kitty never expected to see.

However, she knew that Diane already learned her lesson. But that didn’t mean the end of the world yet.

“I would have said something else, but…you’re not wrong,” said Kitty, placing a gentle hand over Diane’s shoulder. “You overdid yourself. But what can I say? Choosing a path is not really easy right there and I have been wondering when you were able to know that. Sometimes, I guess you also have to be honest with yourself about what you can actually do.”

“That wouldn’t be the problem if I have the power to defeat even a god,” chuckled Diane mirthlessly.

“However, like I said, if Wolf didn’t give the flyer to you, then we wouldn’t be able to find proof that he wants to go good. If that isn’t enough, I still remember you telling me about your chat with him, the encouragement you gave him and I saw your dance with him.” 

That caught Diane’s attention, turning her head towards Kitty. 

“You two are like a match in heaven,” said Kitty with a small smile.

“Yeah,” said Diane, shrugging. “Though, do you think it’s a bit weird?”

“I don’t know.” Kitty placed her other hand on Diane’s shoulder, getting her to look at her. “Sometimes, you can’t really exhaust all of your options. Sometimes, the perfect solution is something fitting for one side instead of balancing it with two sides. You got through Wolf and I can see how he changed before everything went to hell last night. And with what happened, it is up to you to know what you can do to avoid any more disasters. The question is now that we know the Bad Guys are framed, Marmalade is highly likely to have stolen the meteorite and we found all of this, what do you think you’re gonna do?”

Diane sniffed, wiping the tears out of her eyes. However, new ones formed. She looked down, wondering what she could do to fix the problem. Confronting Marmalade by herself wasn’t going to work as by all means, she couldn’t press him for his association. Even if she tried to investigate, she would be questioned. And Marmalade might use their deal to turn on her. Her eyes lowered down to catch the shine of her diamond ring.

It hit her. She remembered when she managed to steal the diamond ring back from Wolf days ago. She remembered when she stole the Zumpango Diamond two times when she was the Crimson Paw.

The Crimson Paw.

She didn’t really want to come to this, but if the Bad Guys were relying on her to prove their innocence and to really take Marmalade down, it looked like she shouldn’t go with the pragmatic methods of her governor side.

She clenched one fist.

“Wolf showed me further what the criminal world is like,” she said. “Governors would need to do more than that to solve what is going on now.”

Kitty smiled. “So, you’re gonna turn to being the mercenary?”

Diane cringed. “Well…yeah, sort of.”

In truth, she actually planned to place back the mantle of the Crimson Paw. Even though using her mercenary outfit was safer, she had to find a way to let the Bad Guys know that she was REALLY on their side. After all, Hornet did tell her that she have to be honest as it might be the better solution than trying to cover everything. Even when Diane won Wolf’s trust. [1s]

Her watch buzzed. A new message. She took a look at it and found that Hornet had responded back to her.

I haven’t been able to find out what Marmalade is going to do. He kept bragging that he is going to do the biggest heist in the world, but I do manage to figure out more about what he is weaponizing. The Love Crater Meteorite has a huge source of power. So much power that it can even fuel the entire city of Los Angeles! If it is conducted through an array of ionized crystals, it will generate a massive psychokinetic field. Marmalade is building some kind of transmitting machine, connected with a mind controlling helmet. I don’t know who he is going to brainwash, but it is clear that the helmet can brainwash subjects who have similar DNA to the first user. I’m looking around to find a way to delay his plans longer, but I’m gonna need your help. However, please plan for what you are going to do next. - Mr. Hornet.

Diane narrowed her eyes. She knew what she must do. She took out her phone and showed Kitty a phone number in her contacts.

“Call Thomas and his small party to come over here,” said Diane. “If Wolf is genuine in wanting to give everything to the police, then it is safe for them to come and collect all of the loot back to where they used to be. Make sure to help him out. He may be likely to keep the destination of this place secret.”

“And what are you going to do?” asked Kitty.

“Well, I’m gonna need the Bad Guys to deal with Marmalade. Just leave that to me.”

Diane missed being the Crimson Paw. The mercenary-for-hire career kind of helped her reaccept her old criminal life, but the mercenary ninja suit wasn’t the same. It made her feel stiffer and kind of explained why she did poorly when fighting the Bad Guys earlier. [2]

Here, she got to wear the classic look.

A full jumpsuit completed with a hood, black gloves, a black utility belt and black elbow-length boots with yellow soles. Yellow stripes adorned the sides of her jumpsuit. The last remaining piece was a black mouth mask, resembling a ninja. She hadn’t worn this in AGES (other than that one time she got drunk at a party and started doing cosplay), so she got to hide behind the old deck. 

She nearly fell off the boat when it crashed into another small wave. It was already growing a bit dark as she progressed through the sea. She noted how miserable it nearly looked at this point. The ocean was a dark blue color, lacking any vibrance. The sky was fully gray, completely cloudy. Despite wearing a full bodysuit that could help her warm up alongside her fur, the cold kind of bothers her. 

If she had her mask off, one would see her gasping at the sight of a large tower. The entire prison came into view. Called ‘Super Ultra Crazy Max’.

Should have called this high-security prison something fancier or simpler.

But then again, they have to get creative with names.

Last she heard, the Bad Guys were transported to this prison island. Even though there was a lack of hard evidence that they stole the Love Crater Meteorite, they were still guilty of theft and some property damage. Labeled as dangerous criminals, they were sent to the one place where no murderer or life-long thief could ever escape to set foot into society again. Just even the image of the island sent a chill down Diane’s spine.

If she didn’t back down from her criminal life before, then she would have gotten into THIS place. She imagined being thrown into a cold and dirty jail cell, being forced to sleep on a hard bunk when night comes. She imagined having nothing but a shirt to wear that was the bare minimum to withstand the cold weather. She imagined walking through the rooms, passing by beefy thugs who were looking forward to grinding on some fresh meat. And of course, she imagined someone coming up to her and making her come out of prison with a…

Diane shuddered, not even wanting to think about it. In fact, she used it to think about the Bad Guys. They could get hurt any minute now!

Getting ONTO the island was a bit hard. She was growing a bit rusty with invading the special territory. It was nothing short of her waiting inside the boat and using a gun to take down all the security cameras at the entrance. When the guards on break come over, Diane quickly hid and used the distraction to sneak past them and roll into the nearest vent hole before they could turn around.

Diane had already formed a plan, but she wondered if this was a good idea. However, feeling more rebellious in her favorite jumpsuit, she thought maybe being a bit bloodthirsty wasn’t going to hurt at all. She got this and she brought her special belt filled with bombs. Bombs that could explode by her command. And she even brought something along with her that she REALLY wanted to test.

As much as she like to waste this prison as a trophy for herself, she decided that she will have to destroy the generators that are important, but don’t exactly bring the entire building down. She didn’t want to kill anyone here. Attaching the bombs to the chosen spots was quite easy and quick, though she had a hard time navigating her way through the vents.

Wearing the suit made her feel wilder. She wondered if she missed a lot of being the Crimson Paw. [2s]

She heard that the Bad Guys just arrived, so she managed to find them at the inmate room where all the new arrivals enter. She jumped out from the vents and quickly blended in the shadows. Once she saw that no one was around, she snuck towards the balcony and looked over. She could see the Bad Guys below with Wolf and Snake seemingly in an argument.

Diane frowned. Hornet was right. With Wolf lying to his friends, this painted a huge target and his friends think of him as willing to leave them behind for a better life. She tried to see if the others were against the thought of being good. However, it was only Snake who was heated and his words towards Wolf questions if he was going to leave his ‘lifelong friends’.

“Maybe you are!” yelled Wolf’s voice.

Diane flinched. She flinched again when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, you!” said a guard as he turned her around. “Were you the one who broke the coffee-?” It took him 5 seconds for him to realize who he was talking to. “WHAT THE F-?!”

Immediately, Diane kicked the guy in the nuts, followed by a high-pitched squeak from him. Then to the stomach and swiping her arm over his head, sending him falling off the balcony. He hit the ground, right in the middle where Wolf and Snake were held back by two guards.

Her presence was known.

Time to get into action. 

She jumped upwards and spun her way down, landing on the ground floor. She stood up, glaring at the guards.

“What?” said Wolf, confused. [3]

Two guards came in, apparently alerted by her breaking into the prison. Feeling her confidence renewed, she ran towards the first one and took a swipe at his legs before he could strike him down. Then, she rushed to the next guard, jumping over her baton, doing a spin in the air and landing on her feet. The guard swung her baton, but Diane pushed it back to send her flying onto the floor.

A few more guards appeared and she ran towards the closest she could find. She immediately grabbed him and yanked him by the tie. With one foot up, she proceeded to kick him repeatedly in the face before he looked like he was unable to continue fighting. Happy with that, she kicked him square in the face again, sending him tumbling into a cell. 

She was nearly caught off guard when one guard wrapped his baton around her, near her throat. At first, she tried to kick her legs upwards, but the guard resisted. Man, he was tough! At least he put up a good fight. She quickly elbowed him in the stomach to distract him before pulling his shirt over his head and throwing him into the same jail cell. 

Another guard came in and Diane responded by simply throwing her away. She quickly skidded across the floor to kick another charging guard before rolling over to the third. 

This was her favorite trick.

In a playful manner, she leapt into his arms and placed a finger over his lips to be silent. Then, used her knee to hit him right in the cheek before spinning around him and using her feet to throw him aside. 

Diane laughed underneath the mask, loving every second of this.

Without looking, she threw her fist backwards, sending the next guard falling back. Another guard came running in, swinging his baton to take her down. She quickly slid behind him and grabbed his arm. He tried to attack, but she grabbed his other arm. Twisting the arms together, she spun the man around and threw him right into a charging guard, sending the two of them falling down. 

There was just one more guard in the room. This one had two batons. She tried to get a good kick, but he was good at defending himself! That led to the ultimate distraction attack.

She leapt upwards and the guard crossed the baton across his head to block. Instead, Diane landed on the ground…and zipped down the guard’s pants by ripping off his belt. She couldn’t help but giggle under the mask as the manly guard screamed like a girl. She simply spun around and kicked him in the back, making him the next guard to be caught in the cell.

She heard grunting.

Oh wait, there were two more. The ones holding Wolf and Snake. This time, they weren’t having any of this and try to run off after everything they saw.

Not letting them get away, she kicked up a nearby boot like a soccer ball before doing a roundhouse kick, sending the boot flying right towards the two guards. They went down like her whacking a ball at the remaining wickets on the oval. 

With all the guards so far defeated, she locked the cell containing the guards and turned around to the Bad Guys. They immediately panicked, backing away. Diane sighed. She knew that this would be the response. The Crimson Paw was the most notorious criminal legend in Los Angeles, so they would be afraid of her fighting style. As Wolf tried to get in front of his friends, she took off her hood and mask.

“Hold on, guys,” she said, smiling. “It’s me!”

“DIANE?!” gasped all the Bad Guys.

“But…how do you know how to do all that kick kick punch punch?!” asked Piranha, impressed.

Diane smirked. “Got a few training exercises from my teacher. And…experiences as a…mercenary.”

Wolf didn’t even need to question further despite her jokes. “Wait a sec…YOU’RE the Crimson Paw?!”

Diane grinned, nodding.

“The queen of cons! Acrobatic Swiss Army knife! Stole the Zumpango Diamond twice!” said Wolf, listing down her titles and achievements to help refresh his memory. “Once for profit, second time just for fun! Never identified, never caught!”

“NOW I can’t believe I voted for her!” squealed Tarantula.

“I thought your reason was for climate change,” said Shark.

“Nah, this is better. Having someone from our world IN the government is a huge advantage for all criminals!”

Diane chuckled. Tarantula wasn’t wrong, but Diane felt more like herself as the Crimson Paw. Suddenly, she felt as if she was a part of the group. All of them trapped in prison together. Going back to being the thief she used to be, she felt as if this was a good thing for her to support her newly-fellow allies. And boy, they were impressed with her.

“Guess I’m still the best bad guy the world has ever seen!” bragged Diane before noticing that one of the guards managed to do a tiny rip on her sleeve. “Eh. At least I used to be…”

Before she could tell them anything else, the alarms went off. She immediately placed back on the mask and the hood. Guess they finally got the hint, but hopefully they didn’t find the bombs. An ARMY of guards arrived, circling all of them. Even from the other levels. And they didn’t look happy to see them.

Something told Diane that they weren’t here to give Diane a clean and stress-free mugshot.

She and the Bad Guys stood there, knowing that if they don’t do anything, they’ll be stuck in prison forever. 

“I’m getting you all out of here,” she said. “Maybe now’s not the best time, but we need a bit of cooperation here.”

“R-Right!” said Wolf. “Shark, be our defense! Piranha, stay frosty and attack anyone who comes too close! Tarantula, stick with me!”

“W-Wolf!” stuttered Snake, sounding clearly fed up. “Spin me around. L-Let me whip them.”

“You’re sure about that?”

“Trust me. Now I’m 85% sure that I won't get my head bashed. Let me at them!”

“No biting please.”

Forming a circle, Shark let out a battle cry and charged forwards with the rest following him. He rushed through the charging guards, knocking every single one of them out as if he was a football player. And good thing he towered over all the guards as he literally bulldozed through all of them, nearly dragging a couple of them around.

Diane and Piranha guarded the sides, quickly subduing those who try to grab them. Diane used her acrobatic and aggressive attacks to throw them back while Piranha continuously kicked, punched or headbutted them. While Piranha’s fighting style didn’t appear as flashy as Diane’s, she could tell that he was HIGHLY skilled in fighting. Even nearly at her level due to the strength he managed to take on at a short height. Diane couldn’t help but grin, fondly remembering back to how Piranha nearly took her down.

Wolf, with Tarantula perched on his shoulder, picked up the behind, trying to catch up. However, he was far from the least effective. On Snake’s trust, Wolf spun him around like a lasso, moving him around from every side. Every guard who got close to Snake eventually got hit in the head. They would be lucky that they weren’t bitten!

The crew had managed to dispatch a number of guards and quickly closed the door behind them as they entered the last room they need to get through to escape. A couple of guards were already there, looking ready to make some new food for the canteen. Even those who were on watch outside came rushing in.

Piranha hopped onto Diane’s shoulder, pointing a finger at the incoming guards.

“¡Arrojame directamente contra ellos, Crimson Paw!” he announced.

(‘¡Arrojame directamente contra ellos, Crimson Paw!’ means ‘Throw me right at them, Crimson Paw!’ in Spanish)

Diane was about to ask why, but hearing the enraged shrieks of the guards made her trust that Piranha wouldn’t get himself hurt. She tossed him, baseball-style and he started crashing into every guard like he was in a pinball machine game. 

By the time he dealt with all of them, he managed to give a good kick in a buff guard’s face who just snarled and tried to swing his batons at him. Piranha immediately blocked the baton using his hand before grabbing it and twisting it around, twisting the guard’s arm as well. As the guard dropped in pain, Piranha spun the baton around and jumped upwards, raising the baton over his head. The guard defended himself, however, Piranha hopped onto his shoulder and jumped behind, swinging his baton to strike right into the guard’s delicate booty, sending him flying.

With all the guards down, the rest of the Bad Guys quickly ran to the opened door that led to their freedom.

“This is awesome, chica!” said Piranha, giving Diane a high-five. “We should be a team together! I know a good underground fighting battle we can attend.”

“As long as you do not try to fight me,” said Diane, a sweat drop dripping down the side of her face.

“Wait a minute…” Piranha narrowed his eyes. “Are you…the same ninja who broke into our home days ago?”

Diane didn’t know how to respond to that. “Mmmmmmmmmaybe…?”

But Piranha showed no signs of resentment, grinning in awe. “Oooh! I’ll look forward to our next duel.”

Diane wanted to protest this. It would be good, but she would rather not have her face smoldered again. She raised a finger meekly before hearing the alarms again.

As the two met up with the others, Diane halted and pulled out something from her back. If her mask was off, you would see her crazed grin. A small rocket device with a small pin on the tip of it.

This is gonna be fun!

“What is that?” asked Wolf.

“It’s a Russian tank shell with a grenade attached to it.”

“Why can’t you just use a normal grenade?” asked Tarantula.

“A grenade can only take down a brick wall. This whole prison is made from hard-solid concrete! We need something bigger in caving the entrance.”

“So how much can this one blow up?” asked Shark.

Diane shrugged. “I don’t know. I was hoping to use this invention for 5 years!”

“What?!” said Snake, his eyes widening. Even for him, he believed that this was overkill.

After pulling the pin, Diane threw the modified grenade right inside the prison. The knocked-out guards were all already coming to, standing up and wearing fierce glares…only to notice a ticking rocket-like bomb rolling in front of them.

“Konnichiwa, you magnificent bastards!” snarled Diane in her best unladylike voice.

Like a gun shooting into a tree filled with birds, all the guards scattered away from the beeping grenade for cover. No one was willing to try to run towards the Baf Guys when Diane managed to place a trap for all of them. The best place for cover was inside the prison.

“Go go go!” shouted Diane as she made a dash for the boat at the docks.

The Bad Guys took a good chunk of 2 seconds to understand what was going to happen. Remembering that the entrance is going to explode, they screamed and ran after Diane, hearing the dreadful grenade ticking more slowly.

“OH SNAP!” screamed Snake. “OH SNAP!”

“IT’S GONNA KILL US ALL!” howled Wolf.

“FOXINGTON!” yelled Tarantula. “IF WE ALL DIE, I’M NOT GONNA VOTE FOR YOU IN THE NEXT ELECTION!”

“WE’RE SO SCREWED! WE’RE SO SCREWED!” cried Shark.

Piranha, on the other hand, was laughing the whole way. “HA HA HA HA HA! WE’RE IN DANGER!”

They all quickly jumped onto the boat, strapping themselves to the seats, and Diane hit the jets. Good thing the guards didn’t do anything else to the boat. 

KA-BOOM!

Just in time as Diane drove the boat away, the grenade exploded, engulfing the entire entrance in a fiery ball of fire and flying debris. So powerful that the flames literally disintegrated the flying, cracked concrete. It was huge. It was deadly. It was…wonderful. The once muted-colored prison was now glowing in red and orange flames.

This was followed by the other bombs planted in the prison going off, blowing at different parts of the building. This included the underground sections, leading to several explosions happening around in the water. It didn’t mean the crew was safe as they quickly ducked from flaming debris flying in their direction. 

It was only when far away from the prison island they lifted their heads, completely terrified by the near-death experience and the adrenaline still buzzing from them breaking out. Not to mention the feeling of getting to be back outside again after being cooped up behind bars for seemingly an eternity. The explosions continued back at the prison island. Diane couldn’t help but smirk as she removed her mask, knowing that she managed to get them all out.

“I’m still the best!” she said. “Just like riding a stolen bicycle!” [3s]

As the explosions went quiet, she checked again back on her watch and to her relief, no guards were caught in the explosions. Through the cameras, she could see that now they were focused on the damage done. That would keep them distracted for a while. 

She smelled burning. It was coming from Piranha’s head fins with a flame on the tip. Giggling a little, she quickly put it out by touching it. 

“Hold on,” said Wolf softly. “Why did you save us anyway?”

“After the gala, I knew something wasn’t right with Marmalade,” explained Diane. “So, Mr. Hornet helped me out with investigating his compound and it turns out, that meteor-”

“We know,” said Wolf. “It’s some kind of cosmic-mega-super-antenna-thingy.”

“And it looks like a butt,” added Piranha helpfully.

“Right!” said Diane, nodding. “Hornet told me that if the meteor is conducted through an array of ionized crystals, it will generate a massive psychokinetic force the size of a city!” She glanced back at Wolf. “Were you going to say that?”

“I was actually going to be a little more technical,” said Wolf bluntly. “But…you got the gist of it.”

"Got to hand it to Hornet," said Webs. "He'll never leave a case alone. Especially with us in it."

Diane checked back her watch again. “Hornet is taking a while. I don’t know if he is still searching or if he is caught, but whatever Marmalade is planning, this would serve no good since he framed you all. He needs to be stopped. But I can’t do it alone.”

Chapter Text

Diane let the Bad Guys think for a while. There was little word exchanged between any of them. It seemed that the situation suddenly felt awkward as nearly all eyes were diverted away from Wolf. At first, Diane thought that they were just trying to understand how they got into this mess, but she then remembered hearing Wolf shouting, so…something really happened. By the time they got to shore, she finally broke the silence.

“We need to stop Marmalade from using the meteorite for anything,” she said. “We can start planning what to do, but the first place we can search is his compound. You know his place better than me.”

“You can count on us,” reassured Wolf with a grin before turning to his friends. “Right, guys?”

None of the Bad Guys took a step further to their leader.

“Guys?”

Snake scowled. “What do you mean by US? There is NO us. We’re through, Wolf. Done. Finito!”

“Because of that little tiff back there?” asked Wolf, trying to change tune. “C’mon, that’s what we do. You serve, I volley. That’s our little dance.”

“Not this time,” spat Snake. [1]

Diane frowned, remembering back to what Hornet told her and his reaction when Wolf paused initiating the heist on the Golden Dolphin. She didn’t know what happened back at the prison, but seeing this, it was clear that Snake, Tarantula, Piranha and Shark felt that Wolf didn’t trust them anymore with his choice of being good. Wolf REALLY did show them what he was, like a traitor to his own team.

To prove it, Snake slithered off.

“Piranha?” asked Wolf, sounding desperate.

Piranha only shot a hurt glare at him before following Snake. 

“Webs?”

Tarantula was understandably bitter, but she found it hard to turn her back. “Sorry, Wolfie.”

She turned around as well.

“Shark?”

Shark glanced at Wolf for a while. He didn’t want to leave, but what he said and did with Snake hurt. He shook his head and turned away. 

“Hey…guys! Guys?”

Snake flinched and turned around, pointing his tail at Wolf. “You wanna know why I hate birthdays, Wolf? Do ya? When you grow up a snake, NOBODY shows up to your party.” He went quiet for a few seconds, trying to hold back yelling. “Birthdays are a constant reminder that out there, I’m just a scary, good-for-nothing MONSTER.”

Wolf was flabbergasted.

If Diane didn’t see the journal, then she would be clueless about what they were talking about. 

“Yeah…” continued Snake, obviously trying to hold back tears. “But nothing compares to having the one guy…the ONE GUY I thought I could trust…stabbed me in the back.”

This was what cemented the idea that Wolf seemingly betrayed his friends. Knowing that he didn’t tell them about his change of heart at the gala, Diane could only watch as Snake, Piranha, Shark and Tarantula walked away slowly. Unable to even look back at their leader who stood there in desolation. Wolf reached out a hand as they slowly became tiny in the distance, but he was unable to reinforce words to reach back to them.

He turned to Diane, having no idea where he was supposed to go or what he wanted to do. The two of them could tell that they wouldn’t be able to focus on Marmalade for a while. He glanced back at his friends before drooping his head. Now, he couldn’t make a decision on which side to choose.

Wolf silently walked towards her and she followed. The two of them made their way to her yellow car and Diane drove it away from the shore, avoiding anyone who could catch them.

Diane let Wolf take in the silence for a while. Even when she tried to speak, Wolf gave her a quiet, tired and distressed glare, not wanting to talk. They remained like this for a while as Wolf tried to maintain his feelings. At one point, he lashed out on the console before placing his face in his hands, sulking. 

Once they reached Diane’s house, pulling up on the driveway, Diane turned to Wolf. [1s]

“Hey,” she asked. “You OK?”

Wolf grimaced. “No. I’m NOT OK. I’m very, VERY un-OK!” He took a second to regain his composure. “I’ve just left the only friends I’ve ever had…what am I doing?”

Diane sighed, nodding. The gentleman thief Wolf used to be slowly reduced to the quiet, nervous and gloomy Oliver he was before. She saw that it was difficult for him. She wondered if she could help in any way to make him better because this was still a new thing for him to be going to have a good life. 

“I know this can’t be easy,” she finally said, deciding to tell the truth. “To leave everything behind. Though, you’re…lucky to have friends, but it’s always hard with deciding who you want to be.”

“Do you?” questioned Wolf. [2]

“I was the best thief in the world,” said Diane, chuckling to herself. “Fast, fearless, inventive. I just had one thing left to steal…”

She managed to deactivate all the lights and the protective systems were going down for at least a few minutes. She managed to subdue all the security guards. This was her chance to storm backstage. The Crimson Paw, perched from a high balcony, watched the chaos rising from the frightened guests as they accidentally kept tripping over each other.

“The Golden Dolphin,” said Wolf, remembering back to the criminals who tried to steal the trophy. “So you were after it.”

“I didn’t just go after it,” explained Diane. “I HAD it. And a clear escape route.”

The red lasers surrounding the award turned off one by one as she expected. The Golden Dolphin was right there. The golden shine reflected from the soft light in the room. It was everything she could have got. If she could get it out and escape, then she would be on the map. She grabbed it and grinned to herself.

It was hers now!

It was hers now!

Now, she could…

She could…

It didn’t come to her what would happen after stealing the Golden Dolphin. Sure it would make her the best criminal American had ever seen. Possibly more police cops on her tail. 

And then…would that enhance the stereotype of tricky foxes in the world?

Diane’s ears lowered, remembering how long she gave into the ‘tricky fox’ stereotype for so long. How that impacted her. How that impacted other foxes. How that said of a lot of what she was.

“All I saw in the end was the tricky fox they always told me I was,” said Diane sadly. “That night…changed everything…”

“WHY DO YOU BLAME ME FOR EVERYTHING?!” cried the fox girl’s voice.

“Because you’re a FOX!!!” snarled the dog’s voice. “You hear me?! A no-good, two-face FOX! My dad was right about them taking things from you! And now, you think you can try to get away with it all?!”

Diane could hear the fox girl already breaking down and letting out gibberish denial, unable to respond to this statement. It was then Diane realized what she was doing.

“If I didn’t leave the Golden Dolphin, then…” Diane bit her lip, trying not to cry. “...that would validate the prejudice against my species. Not only that, it would have cost the other fox girl’s life who was there on that night.”

She slowly turned to a wall that showed her reflection. She slowly took off her hood and mask in the mirror with a trembling hand. 

A fox. 

Like the fox girl being assaulted in front of the guests. 

This wasn’t exactly her. 

Not the Crimson Paw as well.

All she saw was the tricky fox everyone told her she was.

Like all the other foxes.

“So…you didn’t actually steal the Golden Dolphin?” asked Wolf, shocked. This wasn’t the legendary criminal he thought he knew.

“Yeah,” said Diane. “So now, instead of hurting people, I’m helping them.” 

She smiled, remembering back fondly the last time she saw the fox girl. Ever since that night, they hadn’t talked in a while. 

However, she did find her with her brother, walking across the streets. The two of them bumped into a couple and the fox girl cowered, thinking she might get hurt. Instead, the couple laughed it off and instead were generous toward them. Seeing that they were chatting with each other like…normal people, it made her proud to be a governor.

“I’m still me, just…me on the RIGHT side.” She placed a hand on Wolf’s shoulder. “You made the right choice, Wolf. And someday your friends…if they’re REAL friends, they’ll understand.”

Wolf was still uncertain, flinching. “Diane, please. They are my real friends. You want to know what really happened? These guys agreed with me when we decided to pretend to be good. However, I-I…I got so tired of being seen as a bad guy by others, but…I can’t lose my friends for something else.”

Seeing how close the team was and their reaction to Wolf’s seeming betrayal, it doesn’t take long for Diane to see where this is going. And since Wolf was too late in being honest with them, the damage done to the team was already too late to fix. 

Snake’s words - ‘the one guy I thought I could trust stabbed me in the back’ - echoed in Diane’s head. This brought another question since she remembered Hornet telling her that the Bad Guys were all honest with each other.

“What…would really happen if you DID tell your friends before the gala?” asked Diane.

Wolf winced. “I-I don’t know. I…I fear they would never want to talk to me again.”

“Was there…anything else?”

“Snake d-did say that if there was a change in plan, I had to tell them.” Tears were already forming in which Wolf easily wiped them away. “And when I asked if the world would not be afraid of us, he said that it would never happen. That is what I…”

Both of their ears lowered.

It clicked in Diane’s head. “If he didn’t ask you to tell him if there is anything going on, then he wouldn’t be too mad if you did tell him the truth.”

Wolf could only stare at her as if wanting to confirm that this was the truth. He couldn’t argue against that as she had a good point. What Snake might say to Wolf could have been changed if he didn’t lie to him. He rubbed his eyes, resting against the window.

“How come I got into this mess?” muttered Wolf. “Starting off being a criminal because it was the only thing I was good in, the only way I could make friends and the only way I could protect myself from reality itself.” [2s]

“Any path can have its consequences,” said Diane. “Life is tough with deciding who you want to be. If you didn’t move to Los Angeles, who knows what else would happen to you with the discrimination going on there.”

If there was music playing in the background, it would already fade out.

Wolf’s eyes widened, slowly turning to Diane.

“What…did you say?” he asked. 

Uh oh.

Journals are meant to be closed when their covers are closed as well, but it seemed that Diane’s mouth found one way to get through the closed lips.

“I mean…discrimination going on in this city,” said Diane.

“No, you were referring to something else,” said Wolf, placing a hand on the console. [3]

Eventually, he accidentally pressed the button of the console’s storage compartment. It opened up and a book comes flying out. A journal covered in leather covering fell between his feet. Wolf’s heart skipped a beat. He slowly picked it up and checked the last journal log. It was the note he made to remind himself to celebrate Snake’s birthday. With the journal now back in his hands, he turned back to Diane.

Her persona as the Crimson Paw allowed her to show more of her fighting skills. She was aggressive, acrobatic and crafty. Fully in black. With the mask and hood off, he could see her ears sticking upwards. And then, he looked back at her green eyes.

Wolf narrowed his eyes. “You…were the ninja who broke into my home, weren’t you?”

Diane’s heart was beating rapidly. She now knew that she was in huge trouble since Wolf was gonna find his lost-long journal here in the end. And how similar she fought during that night left her no other way to place the blame on another person.

“I…was hired by…Professor Marmalade to investigate,” said Diane, grinning sheepishly.

Wolf was shocked. “You…you were involved with this?”

“Well…well, this is before any of us met here!” said Diane, trying to make her point.

“So were you spying on us? Deceiving us?!”

“I didn’t know Marmalade was actually gonna trick us for him to steal the meteorite in the first place! He gave me the task of finding any notes from you to find a weakness. But I didn’t expect him to use them as proof that you were guilty.”

“Oh, I’m surprised,” growled Wolf, his eyes turning glassy. “Coming from you; the next governor who is going to be assassinated right here.”

He whipped his head around, suddenly barking at something.

“SHUT UP!” he roared. “I’m not gonna talk with you.”

Diane was hyperventilating. “I-I didn’t say…anything.”

“I wasn’t talking to you just then,” snarled Wolf, turning back to her.

Diane felt her hand already racing to grip the handle on the door, wanting to run away. However, she was too frozen to even move. Wolf’s sharp teeth clenched on sight wasn’t helping. Looking at his eyes, he didn’t look as feral as when he nearly mauled Marmalade. He was angry, but there was also sadness, regret and betrayal.

“Well, you know how I was before we really met!” said Diane. “I agreed on helping Marmalade out so that we would be able to figure out your team’s motives and defenses when we knew that you guys were dangerous!”

“Oh please,” said Wolf, throwing his hands in the air. “Everyone keeps fearing us and that isn’t an excuse anymore to me. You can’t just use that reason to be judgemental.”

Once again, his eyes turned glassy. He whipped around and seemingly tried to bite something, though he was just snapping his jaw in the air.

“Go away!” he yelled. “We are talking!”

Diane couldn’t believe what she is seeing. From that journal, Wolf wrote down a LOT of disturbing journal logs that seemed to be voices or random words not from him. What was going on?

“But with that journal, Marmalade didn’t tell me to use it anyway,” said Diane, glancing back at the journal in Wolf’s hands. “I don’t know. I-I.” She growled in frustration. “I was being curious! I don’t know how to approach you well!”

“I know that I was a liar, but I can’t really show everyone everything in my life,” pointed out Wolf. “Maybe you can ask, but this…this…!”

When his eyes turned back to being glassy, he shook his head and ripped out the first page from the journal. Diane immediately grabbed his hand and pulled the journal away. Even though she had no reason or excuse to keep it intact, it pained her seeing how Wolf was now willing to try to bury all of his horrible experiences to the ground when it was clear he couldn’t run away from them.

“Oliver!” she said. “Please-!”

“STOP calling me that!” shouted Wolf, his voice cracking. “It’s Mr. Wolf now. Oliver was shot in the head.”

“God, why is the world so cruel to us?” said Diane sadly. “You know that you don’t have to change your name for-!”

“STOP TALKING TO ME LIKE I’M A CHILD!” barked Wolf, pointing a finger at Diane’s face. “Is this why you accepted Marmalade’s stupid deal? All just to try to change our lives?”

Diane stuttered. “I-I wasn’t exactly looking out for change as if I’m controlling.”

Wolf just laughed mockingly. “No wonder why it is always rumored that the Crimson Paw never acquainted herself with other criminals. Lonely you are, huh? Well, I guess that makes you the one who is the lone wolf.” 

Before she could respond back, Wolf suddenly ducked his head and covered his ears.

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” he hissed, but he wasn’t saying this to Diane. “I need to think…”

He remained this way, trying to recollect his thoughts. All the memories of his childhood he thought he buried behind were coming back to him to haunt him. Diane didn’t know what to do, but she tried to reach out to him. She placed her hand on his back, but while Wolf flinched, he didn’t retaliate. The two of them were in this position for a few minutes until Wolf was able to calm down from his meltdown. It was a really shaking movement. It was an awkward moment. A moment where nearly everyone was out of touch.

After a while, the imaginary voices in Wolf’s head seemed to have gone away as he sits back up, frowning. [3s]

“But seriously, how come Marmalade turn to you?” he asked to Diane. “Did he know you’re the Crimson Paw as well?”

Diane placed a hand on her forehead, feeling she might explode. “Yeah. But that’s not the main reason. I…actually started to become a mercenary-for-hire in secret.”

“You?! A mercenary?!”

“Yes.” [2]

“You are so confusing, Governor Foxington,” said Wolf frostily. “You are sometimes hot, but you are cold at times. You broke into our home to invade our lives! You agreed to someone who played you like a fiddle! Are you trying to be the judge of everyone or being the Grim Reaper who has no idea what they are doing? Y-You…you are like…trying to keep up with your ‘Little Miss Perfect’!”

“I WANTED TO STOP CRIME IN THE CITY!” snapped Diane. “And for the past few days, the very thing I kept denying to myself, I want to solve problems every criminal in the city is facing because I know that you aren’t all ‘monsters’ like what other humans say! So I began my mercenary career to find answers for solutions to fix our society, our city…” She trailed off, trying to control herself from breaking down. “...during that time, I felt as if I can’t trust any criminals…since…I never…invested with anyone before. Not even on my own missions. Even when stealing the Zumpango Diamond, I didn’t and couldn’t…trust anyone.”

Wolf became somber, less tense and less jaded. “You can’t be serious. You…don’t have like some kind of crew? Or family as well?”

Diane shook her head. “My parents were killed a long time ago by hunters. That was my reason for becoming a thief. To survive for myself. To be able to LIVE in this world. And when everyone saw foxes as foul, I…decided to take that stereotype to protect myself. It remained that way and I can’t change that in me. And ironically, it saved my life because there were a lot of people I don’t even know who to trust.”

To her embarrassment, she was already tearing up. Angry tears were dripping from her eyes. She tried to wipe them away, but new ones took their place. Even Wolf, seeing her this ashamed, couldn’t be mad at her. He finally saw that Diane isn’t as perfect as she tried to make herself to be. After all they went through, it brought them here. At this point. And Diane had her support for the Bad Guys, even after she figured out more truths behind their backs. Nearly all of them were in the wrong.

“For the record,” deadpanned Wolf. “This is the dumbest thing you ever did. You COULD just go up to us to ask.”

“Trusting people is much harder for me I guess,” said Diane, looking down. “Thanks for showing me the ropes.”

Wolf could tell that she wasn’t able to muster up enough to form an apology due to how shameful she felt right now. However, he couldn’t tell that she wanted to say sorry for everything that occurred. At first, he hesitated since he had met many other foxes who stabbed him in the back before. But despite the voices whispering in his head, he decided that Diane was in the same limbo as he was in.

“You owe me,” he said. “But…look, I don’t really want to lose another friend and I trust you. Don’t break that trust next time, alright?”

Diane sniffed. “I guess…alright then.”

“No more lies as well.” He lifted up his hand.

Diane stared at it for a while before shaking it. “I’ll try to.”

“Maybe…maybe when all of this is over, you can…come along with me and my crew. If we are still on the run, you can come along if you want to.”

Diane blinked. “I’m…I have my hands tied.”

“Well, you need a helping hand for growing. And if it was up to me, I would make it the ‘punishment’. As you said, we…really need to be a bit more honest with others.” [2s]

Diane nods. This was probably the best thing she could do for now. She could feel the anger still buzzing around Wolf, but after all of this, he knew that they still have a lot of problems to clear and he could help her if needed. Diane wondered back if what she was told before had led her to this recklessness and nearly got Wolf to attack her, however, she couldn’t help but be astonished by what all of this placed them in.

And in a way, it was somewhat helping her get closer to Wolf.

Her watch buzzed again. It was from Hornet.

Sorry for taking too long. I decided to try to cause an electrical outrage and carry the meteorite out of the compound, but Marmalade always has an ace up his sleeve. However, I am lucky that he didn’t start earlier, though he is already putting everything in plan for the ‘greatest heist the world will see’. Strangely, I saw this coyote named Nathan being ordered to make his way to the Bad Guys’ HQ to explode it. I don’t know why, but Marmalade said something about ‘use the coordinates last seen from the camera device the Crimson Paw placed there’. I don’t like the sound of this. I tried alerting the others, but they haven’t replied back to me. - Mr. Hornet

A new wave of faint hit Diane. Not because of being emotionally down, but the realization of why Marmalade ordered her to place the camera device at the Bad Guys’ hideout at the start.

“Wolf?” she said.

“What?” asked Wolf.

“Do you…remember that black rubber thing I…placed in your hideout when I broke into there?”

“...well, Webs already took it down and dismantled it, disconnecting its connection to outside servers. We couldn’t confirm what it was. Why?”

Upon seeing Diane clenching her teeth in worry, Wolf realized that she did another mistake. 

He rested his head against the console, exasperated.

“Are you kidding me?” said Doom, him and Kitty understandably shocked by the task they were given. “You want US to do it?” [4]

Diane wished that it wouldn’t come to this, but if they needed someone to stop Nathan while stopping whatever Marmalade was doing. They were currently in the garage of her Crimson Paw hideout (in which Diane lied to her two friends that it was built for her mercenary business) and upon arrival, they were blown away by how much she had stored over the past years. They were also surprised to be meeting Wolf, never once did they meet a criminal AND a celebrity. 

“Hornet tried contacting the other Bad Guys,” explained Wolf. “He hasn’t received any word from them, but he managed to track them down by finding the location of Webs’ computer. Knowing her, she prefers going outside with all of us.”

“That means they are safe,” explained Diane. “But Nathan is on his way to expose and destroy their home.”

“Why call us?” said Kitty. “Can’t we ask the government?”

“We can’t risk it since the Bad Guys are out of prison for now. Thomas is also out since he would grow suspicious. You two are the only ones I can trust to get the job done.”

“But…the hideout is already clean!” said Doom. “Even all the personal belongings are confiscated until the crew finishes their prison sentence. There is no one or any manager looking after that place. Does it matter?”

“Of course, it does!” said Wolf. “If we lose that place, that means we lose our home. We won’t be able to find another secure place to stay in.”

“Why not just hit at Diane’s house?” suggested Doom flatly.

Wolf thought about it. “Yeah, but this is too nice of a small house. I don’t want to destroy it. I want to destroy things that are not in another person’s house.”

“But you do sometimes steal things, so that is considered destroying.”

“Bigger businesses. Not small ones like restaurants, diners and cafes.”

“So you don’t count food restaurants for money grabs?”

“This isn’t relevant now!” injected Kitty, turning to Wolf and Diane. “I can trust you with what is going on, but how are we gonna stop this Nathan guy?”

“Any way that you can,” said Wolf, tossing her a tranquilizing dart gun. “If Nathan makes it to the hideout, then we are all screwed for life and Marmalade is made the hero for this.”

Kitty held onto the dart gun, glancing back at Doom perched on her shoulder. The two considered taking this task. On the disadvantages, they might be killed by Nathan; a bodyguard who seemed to have experience in combat and stealth, possibly due to how many foes he fended off from harming Marmalade. Not to mention the bombs he might use on them. On the advantages…it could make them heroes.

Time to put their fighting skills from training.

“OK then,” said Kitty.

“I don’t like the sound of this, so…sure,” said Doom reluctantly.

Wolf smiled. “Thank you, you two. I owe you.”

“Not to worry,” said Kitty, striking a kung-fu pose. “You know that I used to be the best karate, martial arts and kung-fu teacher in the world for 10 years at my college, so I can get Nathan’s butt into the right gear!”

“But do you have the EXPERIENCE?” asked Wolf.

Kitty’s eyes opened. “...yes?”

Doom slapped a wing over his face. “No.”

“Oh god,” sighed Wolf.

“Well, technically, Kitty is an expert teacher,” said Diane.

“Has she gotten into a fight before?” asked Wolf. “I don’t get into a lot of fights, so I taught myself how to defend myself and it improved after every shenanigan I got into.”

“I’m sure that I’ll be fine!” said Kitty. “Like he said, this will add character.”

Diane nodded, now regretting it. However, the plan was already planned, so no turning back. She quickly gave Kitty a hug, resting her chin over her shoulder. The black panther was surprised at first before warmly placing her arms around her back.

“Thank you so much,” whispers Diane. “Please be safe for me.”

“Don’t worry,” said Kitty. “You be safe as well when taking on Marmalade.”

The two let go and nodded. Doom nodded as well, looking at Diane that told her that he trusted her now.

“We’ll let you know when we got Nathan down!” said Kitty as she and Doom made their way back to the surface.

“Good luck, fellas!” said Wolf, grinning.

“Yeah!” said Doom. “We’re gonna rock!”

“We’re gonna die!” chuckled Kitty. “Ha ha ha!”

“Hee hee…wait, what?”

With Kitty and Doom given the coordinates of where Nathan was, thanks to Hornet managing to track down his truck, Diane and Wolf got themselves in the car…the one Diane actually took for herself. It was something she couldn’t resist. She even wanted to try driving in it, though Wolf decided to take the wheel. He did tell her that he was impressed by her decision to keep the car.

Diane whooped as Wolf drove out of the garage, speeding wildly. She never went on a ride THIS fast! She did sometimes go on motorcycle rides, but nothing could beat this. With the laughter from Wolf, the thrill of speeding through the lights and the energy of getting ready to shove it right into Marmalade’s face, Diane was loving all of this.

She felt as if she was right where she belonged. [4s]

It didn’t take long for them to be able to arrive at Marmalade’s compound. With Hornet updating them with the news that Marmalade is already overtaking the trucks with the charity money over to him, they wasted no time in getting to their destination. Once they arrived, they got through the gates and made their way up to the roof, ready to sneak in through the gap.

“OK,” said Diane, repeating the plan. “Once we steal the meteorite, we take it straight to the police-”

“And all will be forgiven,” said Wolf.

Diane raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know about ‘all’, but it’s a start.”

“Well, you know how that goes. Marmalade recorded a video of me rescuing the cat, good for him. That one turning out to be popular and winning hearts? Yeah, that’s understandable. Us bringing the meteorite, now that will make the cops trust us that we won’t land in jail again.”

“That isn’t really how it works,” said Diane. “I mean, this is AFTER the experiment and the deal I made is broken. And by exposing myself for helping out like this…” She pointed around her entire Crimson Paw suit. “...all of us are going to end up in prison without anyone of authority to get you out.”

“But you can just ride away without needing to assist us later,” said Wolf with a cocky smile. “Bringing the meteorite on our own without a master showing us the right way is enough to show that I’m not really controlled.”

“Fair point, but you would still be questioned. Marmalade gets away with a lot.”

“And I’m sure that the officers will listen to me when I return the meteorite.”

“That is if you pass Chief Luggins. Don’t pretend that I don’t remember what she LIKES to do with you and your crew.”

Wolf’s smile flattened. “I don’t think I even want to hear what she is going to do to us.”

“Let’s leave that aside. We got a meteorite to steal!”

With Diane’s stealth skills and Wolf’s memory of the compound, they managed to find the room where the meteorite was kept. They were greeted by its raw energy, lighting up the entire room. The holes in it had the same cyan glows Diane saw from the footage back at the awards show. It was already perched on a transmitter running it like a battery.

Even though Diane didn’t enjoy stealing things anymore, she might make this an exception. Besides, wearing her old outfit and the knowledge of getting to rob something…again…was making her feel…crazy. Her instincts kicked in as she got near the meteorite first.

“Oh my gosh!” she said, wiggling her fingers. “This is too easy to be true! Like stealing candy from a child!”

“That’s strange,” said Wolf. “Why would Marmalade just leave the Golden Dolphin here, unprotected?”

He was already a few steps away from the Golden Dolphin, idly standing on a pedestal nearby.

“Maybe it’s a trap,” said Diane.

“Or maybe…” said Wolf.

“C’mon, Wolf! Now’s not the time to worry about one trophy.”

“If you ask me, the Golden Dolphin is worth a lot of dollars right there.”

“We got more important things here,” hissed Diane before embracing the meteorite. “This baby is coming with us…”

“Diane,” sighed Wolf, smirking. “You know that the Golden Dolphin is not always kept by the recipients, so we might as well also return it. Marmalade doesn’t deserve it.”

“But, Olly! The meteorite!” whined Diane like an impatient child, stomping her foot. “The meteorite!”

Wolf raised an eyebrow. “Whoa. Who are you?”

“We need to take this baby out now,” said Diane, placing her hands around the meteorite. “C’mon. It needs two people to carry this please.”

Wolf nodded. “OK, OK, I will.” He raised a foot up…before swinging it around and losing attention. “...OR…!”

“Wolf, DON’T!” cried Diane.

Too late.

The second Diane’s hand grabbed Wolf’s, his hand was also around the Golden Dolphin. An electrical current ran through their bodies and the next thing Diane know, they were humiliated, trapped together.

Caught, tied by rope and hanging upside down.

Wonderful.

“Yeah…” muttered Wolf. “It was a trap.”

Diane rolled her eyes. “Yeah, no s-”

“Well, well…” said a familiar voice, but it was one of bloodthirst and insanity. [5]

Marmalade appeared, wearing a full golden jumpsuit with several pockets and devices strapped to him. A huge helmet that contained several switches, tubes and wires sat on his head. Diane could see that he looked less innocent than how the world interpreted him to be. She saw it in his tiny pupils.

“If it isn’t my prized pupil,” he said before turning to Diane. “And you’ve brought the governor! Or should I say, the Crimson Paw.”

As she growled, Marmalade took out…her diamond ring! He observed it suspiciously. He flicked the diamond off the ring before inspecting its shine.

“I have to commend you,” said Marmalade, bewildered. “What an ingenious way to disguise the Zumpango Diamond. Hidden it in plain sight.”

Wolf was amused. “You gotta be kidding me.”

“What?” insisted Diane. “I’m the sentimental type!”

“You always did have panache,” admitted Marmalade. “And yet, you still fell right into my trap. I can’t believe a governor like you would fall for a little piggy’s plans all for ‘goodness’!”

The fox growled. “I agreed to it because you promised me a way to stop crime and help the Bad Guys. Wasn’t that part of the deal?”

“Yeah,” said Wolf. “Not only you manipulated us, but also her in your plans.”

“Yeah, it was. But I guess that the deal is over.” Marmalade laughed, nearly insanely. “The great Crimson Paw; smart, but headstrong. You know that this will never really end. Behind every smile, there is a criminal underneath which includes you. No matter how hard you try, you’re not going to be able to stop any crisis in the city ‘cause it’s inevitable.”

“There’s no such thing as ‘inevitable’,” spat Diane. “It’s either we find a way to slow it down or we just let the evil continue.”

“But why wouldn’t you want it to continue? Oh, I know! Little Miss Foxington trying to put her life as a thief behind. But you don’t even have a single clue about the criminal world. You’re so screwed up, don’t you know? You’re doing much but just stretching the thirst of criminals all over the world.”

Diane wasn’t able to talk back. After what everyone pointed out, it all mashed together to let her know that she didn’t really know much of what ‘bad guys’ would think and feel about. No matter how much she protests or attempts to reach out. It would just continue because criminals can be just…merciless. Even with her reputation as the governor, her presence couldn’t solve every single thing.

“After all, you’re a former criminal,” said Marmalade, repeating those words to rub it in. “You don’t exactly understand everyone. And look at where you are. You got outsmarted by an evil mastermind like ME - an innocent-looking, precious guinea pig - who TRIED to make it clear that you will be killed if you take another step forward.”

Diane was already steaming mad, growling through her teeth. If she could be feral, she would be like how Wolf tried to bite him.

“You vile, two-goody shoe piece of butt,” she threatened, shaking around to try to break free. “Tear off the ropes now or you won’t like what we will eventually do to you when you get arrested. Your double-crossing treachery ends here.”

“You want to talk about treachery?” said Marmalade, his smirk disappearing. “Let’s start with you going all over again with your ideas of our deal, now in front of your newly, rouge-turned-pushover boyfriend! I would have thought that qualified as treachery on two things: pretending to be sympathetic to those you call ‘garbage’ and intended prevention of their lives as ‘punishment’.”

Diane stared at him with cold eyes. “I never said I intended to go behind anyone’s back or pause their lives.”

“Neither did I. You should be lucky that Wolf is with you or you would have a much looser screw in your head.”

“Zip it, you dust bunny!” roared Wolf. “SHE is not lucky to have me. I’M lucky to have her. You want to know why I actually went back to save the cat? It was because I made the decision. Not from you. And Diane actually gave me the encouragement I needed to allow me to decide. Yes, she is socially stunted from criminals, she DID break into my home and breached our privacy! But at least she isn’t as selfish as you are; she is trying to help make a change in how we are treated. Far from what I usually know from people.”

Diane felt a fluttering in her chest when Wolf said that. Not only did he defend her, but he even pointed out that she was one of the first outside his crew to help him with what he was going through. The rage and frustration he kept inside. And as from the gala, he found newborn trust in her. She remembered that it wasn’t all for nothing, even if there were some things she shouldn’t change. 

Marmalade snorted. “Well, that isn’t what I predicted. Change of public opinion is hard to make. But, I predicted that you would come back here.”

“But how did you know we would be here?” asked Wolf.

“Oh, I got a little tip…from a friend.”

A shadowy silhouette appeared from the other side of the door. It slithered in and approached next to the guinea pig. Both Wolf and Diane gasped when it turned out to be…

“Hey buddy,” said Snake with an evil grin. “How’s it hanging?”

Wolf could only stare in horror. Then, he narrowed his eyes in coldness. He couldn’t believe that Snake would decide to turn on him like this. All after being separated from the Bad Guys and now Snake was paying him back for it? 

“Snake, but why?” he demanded.

“Because I’m a ‘bad guy’, remember?” stated Snake bluntly.

“Oh yeah? How’s it feels working for your favorite food?”

“You’re just jealous to be missing out on the heist of the century,” spat Snake. “It’s got everything: betrayal, a meteor, mind control…” He chuckled before turning to Marmalade. “Can I try it on?”

Marmalade grinned and gave Wolf a sickly smirk. “Of course, partner!”

Snake grinned as he placed the given helmet on his head. He concentrated a little, the lights on the helmet glowing. “Nice. All the crime with none of the exercise.”

“Maybe you’re just jealous that I sided with Diane,” muttered Wolf.

Snake shot him the nastiest glare. “Excuse me?!”

“I know that I screwed up and that time wasn’t the right time for me to be able to settle things with everyone! But that is just cold to go over onto the one guy who backstabbed all of us in the back. What makes you think he won’t do the same?”

Marmalade shrugged. “I don’t know. But knowing the Bad Guys for a long time and checking your motives, Snake is the cynical one.” He quickly turned to Snake. “No offense.”

“Er…none was taken,” said Snake hastily. “Just please continue.”

“And it is equally cruel for you to back out on your friends.”

“You prompted me to do so,” pointed out Wolf.

“Maybe, but what’s to say? Not everyone agrees.”

“You hypocrite,” snarled Diane. “If that isn’t enough to shove it right into our faces. And just because Wolf had to make a choice for taking a good life or not doesn’t mean he has to be separated from his friends. And all your talk of this ‘goodness’ wouldn’t even help a person in real life! You didn’t even care about what I or the government have to say about all of this.” She turned to Snake, scoffing. “And you…I thought you might be different from him.”

Snake lifted his tail in a way of shrugging. “Sorry, governor. I’m just a horrible person.”

“Why do all of this?” asked Wolf. “You’ve got everything! Is this all a lie?!”

Marmalade rolled his eyes. “Pretty much, yeah. You see, no one can turn out to be good. I never cared about what’s ‘good’. Only what’s good for ME. Like…say…a billion dollars!” His body tingled, giggling. “Oooh! I just got a tingle!”

Wolf and Diane could only watch in hopelessness as Marmalade and Snake mocked them one last time before leaving them at the mercy of Marmalade’s right-hand man, Cuddles. The weird-looking human grinned in sadism as he pulled a lever down. The circular shape on the ground beneath the two of them opened up to reveal a large hole of razor-sharp blades, spinning around menacingly.

Diane screamed before thrashing around, followed by the equally panicking Wolf. They couldn’t believe they came this far. Just when they tried to break in, they became so predictable and ended up turning into dog meat. If there was one way Diane would want her death to be like, THIS wasn’t the one for her!

Green gas suddenly poured through the vents.

Great, as if their deaths weren’t enough.

Cuddles took one whiff and immediately bolted away from the room.

“Poison gas!” she warned Wolf. “Don’t breathe it in!”

Wolf held onto his breath, though he took a sniff. “Wait…that’s not poison gas!” [5s]

A miracle occured as the vents popped open and Piranha, Shark and Tarantula appeaed, donning black suits similar to Wolf. Piranha let out a huge ‘SURPRISE’ while the other two tried to regain their composure from staying in the gassed vents for too long. [6]

“Guys?!” cried Wolf out of shock and joy. “I can’t believe it’s you!”

“You were right, Wolfie!” said Tarantula.

“We felt the wag, man!” agreed Shark.

“And the tingling!” added Piranha.

The trio were actually waggling. Shark’s and Piranha’s fins were wagging along with Tarantula’s abdomen. At the sight of this, Wolf smiled smugly. Only that he was proud and got to prove Marmalade wrong, but he was really happy that his friends didn’t leave him after his fight with them. Diane smiled as well, though she was more focused on what was happening below.

“This is super moving, but can we do this later?!” she shrieked as she and Wolf were drawing close enough to the blades.

“Feels like I got a rhythm section in my fin!” said Shark, dancing around before he and Piranha started beatboxing together.

Wolf was STILL smirking despite about to get his head grinded.

“SPINNING BLADES!” shouts Diane. “TURN IT OFF!!!”

“OH YEAH, right!” said Shark, quickly snapping back to reality.

Thank God Tarantula was here as she pulled the lever upwards. “I got it!”

The floor closed and both Diane and Wolf safely landed on the ground. Immediately, Wolf rushed over to his friends for a huge hug. Diane smiled, merry with this reunion. Hoping that they would support Wolf’s thoughts and wants, they do turn out to be good friends to him. For a moment, she felt jealous that they are a family together. The sight of them glomping on each other reminded her of what Hornet told her.

“We stick together as a team. We can’t really pick sides. Friends…like each other for who they are instead of WHAT they are.”

Though, she wondered how Snake would feel about this. All of his friends were technically going against him. What would he think? [6s]

And speaking of Hornet’s words, she heard a buzzing from her watch. It was a voice call from the hornet himself.

“Diane!” said Hornet’s voice. “You’re there?”

“Yeah,” said Diane, smiling. “In fact, the whole team is here now.”

“¡Estás aquí!” squealed Piranha, trying to jump up to the watch. “Hornet! You’re here as well?”

(‘¡Estás aquí!’ means ‘You’re here!’ in Spanish)

“Hi, Pepe!” There was a shy chuckle from Hornet. “However, I’m already outside and checking on the city. You guys better get that meteorite now since the trucks are already making their way out of the city.”

“You got it, friend!” said Wolf. “Now let’s blow this little piggy's heist down!”

Soon enough without falling into any more traps, the gang managed to steal the meteorite from the machine and revealed this in front of Marmalade’s face. The perfect way to catch him off guard before booking it on the car with the meteorite placed on the back. Though, they quickly backed up a little…since Wolf wanted to save a cat from the tree. A bit confusing, but at least they have another member on the team. 

The minute they drove right out of the compound, Marmalade was left screaming while Snake could only watch, impressed.

Chapter Text

Nathan was apathetic the entire time as he drove the truck across the road as the sun slowly rose during the very early morning. Just a couple of bombs he needs to plant in the Bad Guys’ deserted HQ and he will make sure to blow it the hell up this time. Marmalade gave him the task very clear they have to continue to ‘destroy their hopes’ to make sure they never get up again since their loot being taken away isn’t enough. [1]

Well, as long as he will be paid good money for this, Nathan was more than willing to do the job. Besides, the Bad Guys deserved what is coming for them. For all of their noise and blunder, they were just second-rate criminals after all. Taking them down would give character to him. Besides, it was better than just standing outside doing nothing and not getting to fight any intruders.

Rock music boomed from the radio. He was never really a music fan, but he found this song to be a good one. Surprisingly, he recognized the vocals singing it. It sounded like a crow he heard of from the past concerts he went to before. Speaking of which, he believed that he could hear this particular crow screeching right here and it was getting closer to him… [1s]

SMASH!

Kitty and Doom screamed as Kitty drove her fancy, red ferrari right into the car body of Nathan’s truck. 

It spun the truck around while also spinning itself out of control as well. 

Using a ferrari was not the ideal vehicle to do a head-on-collision course, though it was surprisingly resilient. Kitty immediately hit the brakes and twisted the steering wheel, braking the ferrari to a slow and burnt stop.

Nathan was unlucky. His truck went spinning along with the other half of the truck. Since the two were flimsily connected to each other instead of being merged together, they ended up hitting each other during their spin before tipping over on the truck’s right. 

A dumbfounded Kitty with a dumbfounded Doom hugging her face could only watch as the truck falls over, dumbfounded. It seemed that most of the damage happened to the car body of the truck, glass windows broken as evidential pointers.

“...I can’t believe we survived that!” said Kitty.

Doom realized how long he was holding onto her for, flapping back into his seat. “Yeah…”

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m good…because you are SO DEAD!”

“Don’t need to shout. At least we didn’t die!”

“We could have! You could have just used that dart gun and knocked the driver out. Now we’re in the middle of nowhere and we are making a scene!”

True to his word, they were in the middle of a ghost town. They were currently in a huge free space where cars could freely drive around. This should be one of the many passageways to the Bad Guys’ HQ. Though, this place looked like an empty car park as the nearest buildings were not so near to the two vehicles.

“I don’t exactly have good aim,” said Kitty. “Never bring a knife to a gunfight they say. That man could have had one!”

Doom glances back at the truck. “I can’t believe that truck didn’t explode. We could have triggered all the bombs.”

“That can’t be possible, knowing how they must be technologically advanced today.”

Steam started to pour out from the broken engine of the truck.

Doom squinted his eyes, trying to see if Nathan is still inside. It was impossible to see with the underside of the truck facing them. “Do you think he is dead?”

“I don’t think so,” said Kitty. “These coyotes, they are as tough as wolves. One hit, then they can use their ability to come back to life.”

“Uh, I don’t think so,” deadpanned Doom. “Canines don’t have nine lives.”

“Yeah, only the greats.”

“No, that’s not something that happens.”

“Yeah, it has. Coyotes are said to be known to be some of the creators of the world, saving it from the ten evil moons that cause an everlasting winter.”

“Animals don’t have superpowers!”

“Well, one or two probably have god powers. Nathan might have a couple if he is the descendent of the creator of all animals.”

“Nobody ever has the ability to die and come back to life!”

“Guys, come in,” said Hornet’s voice.

The Bad Guys, now along with Diane and the cat Wolf rescued, drove through the highway. Diane loved this part of the city. The highways outside of the city were composed of several bridges, all split into different lanes. The sun was slowly rising from the sky, early in the morning. And there weren’t many cars at the moment, so that gave them a clear path to drive to without worrying about being caught. In fact, it even gave them the right time to celebrate, whooping all the way.

Now, they could hear Hornet’s voice through Diane’s watch and Tarantula’s laptop.

“Are you sure that you stopped the heist?” asked Hornet, his voice laced with worry.

“Marmalade can’t control the guinea pigs if he doesn't have the meteor,” said Diane.

“If that is the case…why are the trucks still going?”

The crew exchanged confused looks before spotting many white trucks carrying the charity money in the opposite direction. All of them heading towards Marmalade’s compound. Inside each of them was a group of guinea pigs with glowing cyan-blue eyes, appearing quite stiff and robotic.

The Bad Guys looked back at the meteorite.

“The meteorite…” said Diane.

“It’s still transmitting!” said Wolf.

“I don’t think that is the case,” said Hornet. “The transmitter machine should be powered off by now, but I detected that there is a…similar energy power to the meteorite back at Marmalade’s.”

“Wait, if so, what is he using?” asked Shark.

“It’s either a backup power battery contained from the meteorite or Marmalade got an extra. I think it’s the latter since the power connected to Marmalade’s brainwashing helmet and the guinea pigs is REALLY high at this point!”

Wolf gritted his teeth. “We gotta stop those trucks first! We can worry about Marmalade later since we have the meteorite. Webs, is there some way to override the trucks’ navigation system?”

“Sure,” said Tarantula. “But we would need some kind of magnetized-cross-circuit interceptor. These trucks require much more power since they don’t exactly run on advanced technology.”

Diane smirked before whipping out a couple of metal discs. “You mean like these?”

“Yep! They should do it!” [2]

Wolf did a huge U-turn and they went speeding right after the trucks. It was easy to catch up to them as the car was much faster than the trucks, however, were still far away. They suddenly split into in two groups.

“I’ve sent coordinates of the trucks to your devices,” calls Hornet’s voice. “There are 12 of them, but they are split in two halves. Wolf, you’re driving to one group, but we have to deal with the other half as well.”

“Not a problem,” said Diane, taking out a silver suitcase from her suit. She turned to Tarantula-wait, it’s Webs with a smile. “Webs, you feel like a girls’ trip?”

Webs stared at her, surprised by this offer. “Um…yes!”

“Hold on tight! This will get really wild!”

With her hood and mask back on, Diane placed Webs onto her shoulder and climbed out of the car. As Webs said farewell to the others, Diane hopped off the meteorite and went flying towards the lane where the other half of the trucks are on. Quickly, she pressed a button on the suitcase and it transformed into a motorcycle.

She hadn’t ridden her motorcycle in months! Now she was back!

With Webs making a comfortable and hopefully strapped seat in front of her, Diane rode the motorcycle, catching up to their chosen group of trucks. Every time they passed by one of those trucks, Diane quickly placed interceptors on each of them. Webs got herself ready, pulling out her laptop and connecting it to the interceptors, checking the map of the 12 trucks Hornet sent to her. 

At the last few trucks, they nearly got hit when they got close to one truck.

The guinea pigs inside noticed and tried to steer right.

“LOOK OUT!” cried Webs.

“Hold on!” called Diane.

She jumped upwards in a spin as her motorcycle briefly turned back into a suitcase. Using it, she slid right underneath the truck and places an interceptor on its underside before emerging on the other side. As the motorcycle popped back into shape, Webs was shown to not be injured, looking no worse for wear. 

Finally, the entire team managed to place the interceptors on the trucks. Webs whooped before pressing a button on her laptop. Looking behind, Diane saw the trucks suddenly halting as all the interceptors turned red. They slowly turned around and drove right back to the city, hopefully heading back to where they were supposed to bring the money to.

“Great job right there!” said Diane, taking off her head. “Where did you learn to do that?”

“Oh, I’m kind of a natural,” said Webs, before shrugging. “Mostly YouTube.”

“But you did pretty well with cracking the code right there.”

“Oh yeah. Maybe we should have another girls’ night. Probably do…a heist?”

Diane thought about it. “I’ll sleep on that.”

She steered her motorcycle beside the Bad Guys’ car and helped Webs hop back into the car safely. 

“Nice work,” said Wolf, grinning.

Diane smiled. “Meet me at the police station with the meteorite. Don’t be late.”

She sped off, jumping off the bridge and racing across the mountain. She had to change, so she needed to find a safe space. As soon as she could confirm that she was out of the public eye, she stopped by a forest. [2s]

Standing up, she stretched her limbs before jumping up and down giddily. She couldn’t help it. She was already feeling giddy. There was still some leftover energy from all the moves she pulled off and needing to stay concentrated when catching up with the trucks. But she was excited that she managed to do all of this! All in her Crimson Paw outfit. Her outfit was shining brightly in pride.

While she felt sad that Snake hadn’t moved over to their side, she felt satisfied. She could do this all day. She even worked with the Bad Guys, said to be the most diabolical criminals in Los Angeles! This was pretty good since this was just like them doing their heists, but instead using their abilities for good. Though, when Webs did ask her if they could try doing a heist together, Diane wondered if she still have the ‘bad girl’ vibe to her.

This really beat being a mercenary-for-hire. She could do whatever she wanted as the Crimson Paw.

Her heavy breathing - one that might make her laugh to herself for no reason - slowly turned to silence when she looked back at the trees around her.

Those…trees. Those woods. She remembered that she used to stay in the forest before. [3]

It was the one place she felt at home when away from the busyness of the city.

She and her family used to stay in the forest. They didn’t set foot in the city unless it was for work or needing to buy food. While it was a bit hard considering their upbringing, they found comfort in their own makeshift homes and built a community for themselves. She remembered the kindness her parents gave and taught her, telling her that no matter how much the world wants to shake you, that doesn’t mean it isn’t going to change unless you make a change.

Her chest tightened when she remembered the last time she ever went into the woods.

They hunted foxes. For fun. Because they think they’re worthless dirty thieves who don’t deserve to live. All due to everyone seeing them as tricky foxes who lie behind people’s backs. Diane had no idea of that fact before; her parents were the last people to ever lie to her or anyone! But sadly, that was a fairy tale as she quickly hid behind the bushes, watching hunters on horses laughing quietly and searching out with shotguns in their hands.

Diane looked at her feet. Then at her outfit. She remembered why she chose to be the Crimson Paw. And remembered how the Bad Guys were treated in the public eye, they all must have gone through the same thing to a certain degree. Wolf and Snake must have gotten it much harder as Webs, Piranha and Shark had their own reasons for turning to crime. When it looked like they didn’t have what it takes, they turned to much more drastic situations. To make a name for themselves.

She lost everything. And for the longest time, she was angry. She kept going, moving into Los Angeles. The orphanage wasn’t so kind to her. The adults there did their best, but not enough to sway the other kids’ opinions about her. Even when going through high school and university, all everyone called her was the tricky fox that was going to backstab them. These insults went towards known foxes she came upon. Even the other fox girl she knew a long time ago.

It was a miracle what she did compare to how she started. Even surprising how she got elected to be a governor, hopefully to help foxes all over the world. She wasn’t sure if there were still hunters, but she hoped that all foxes will be alright. But if the fox girl showed to be having a good life with a boyfriend and welcoming people, then that meant she was doing something great.

Diane suddenly felt tired. She felt like she wanted to break down. She didn’t know why she won, but she couldn’t help feeling sore from all the hits she went through. As she closed her eyes for a few seconds and leaned against a tree, she spotted what nearly looked like another fox hiding in the woods.

She blinked.

That’s strange. There weren’t any strays hiding out here.

But this fox…he looked transparent. Like a ghost.

Diane recognized that fox as her deceased father.

He muttered something. It sounded like him whispering to her that…maybe the Bad Guys could become the new family she could turn to.

And with that, the ghost disappeared.

Diane wasn’t sure if she was hallucinating or actually saw the ghost, but she could see light in this dark forest.

With the Bad Guys, after getting to know them a bit well, Diane hoped that they could find the right path. She wasn’t sure now if they could continue to be good or bad, but she really hoped that they could find the path they feel is right for them and something that can benefit them. For helping others while not sacrificing what they enjoy. Either way, she now seemed to not mind anymore what they do.

“Ironic of what I used to think,” she thought. “Maybe just a few things I need to let criminals know what they are not allowed to do.”

Nodding to herself, she proceeded to take off her outfit and adjusted the governor suit she was wearing underneath. She hoped she wouldn’t be late too. [3s]

After several minutes of waiting, Kitty and Doom decided that they shouldn’t do nothing.

“Maybe it’s dumb for us to be waiting for him to come out,” muttered Kitty. “He is probably dying now.”

“Yeah,” said Doom. “I feel stupid for staying here like this.”

The two slowly went out of the car with Kitty checking the front. Aside from scratches of the paint, her ferrari didn’t look too banged up. From her back, she pulled out a long and sharp katana, raising it above her head. Doom flapped right next to her, bewildered.

“I thought you said ‘never bring a sword to a gun fight’!” he said.

Kitty shrugged. “Just in case.”

“Yeah, hopefully you can use it to block the bullets.”

They approached the truck quietly, hoping that Nathan wouldn’t pop up to attack them. They were surprised that they didn’t hear any breathing inside the car body. As Doom swooped over to check the cracked window, he could see that Nathan’s body was nowhere to be found inside. However, he noticed that the ceiling had a hole in it, pointing in the other direction.

Nathan broke through that to get out.

Kitty gulped once she saw that Nathan wasn’t inside. She and Doom exchanged looks before looking in front of them to find Nathan himself. The tough and creepy coyote was…

…crawling himself across the ground. Realistically, he was bruised up by the collision, feeling like jelly. While he couldn’t lift his face upwards to see where he was going, he still kept trying to crawl his way away from his two opponents.

“Stay where you are!” warns Kitty, slowly replacing her katana for a baseball bat. “Stop!”

But Nathan barely heeded, desperately trying to get away.  

“I said STOP!”

Nathan panted, his voice cracking.

Doom growled and flied towards the coyote. He swooped in, pecking repeatedly on Nathan’s head. With every peck, Nathan let out high-pitched, awkward squeals of agony, stopping from crawling forwards. Doom even started biting on Nathan’s ear, trying to make a tear in it. 

Not wanting the crow to be swallowing up any meat, Kitty pulled him back.

“What do you think you are doing?” she hissed.

“Making his fate more suffering,” grumbles Doom.

“Well, he already looks like he is dead.”

But Nathan suddenly kept moving, grunting in pain.

Kitty sighed. She swung her baseball bat right at his head. 

CLONK!

He dropped down for a second…

“Nergh…neEEERRGGHH!! Ergh…” squeaked Nathan, muffled by his face planted at the ground. His voice tended to go high-pitched as he squealed some more.

Kitty was anxious about this. “C’mon. Really?”

She hit Nathan once again in the head. 

She then quickly backed away.

“He isn’t going to explode!” said Doom. “He’s already down.”

“We don’t know that,” said Kitty.

They slowly approached the now still Nathan. Kitty pressed her baseball bat onto Nathan’s back, trying to see if he was going to respond. However, he was already out like a light. Doom landed and placed his wing over Nathan’s wrist. There was still a pulse. He was unconscious.

Kitty laughed, surprised that they managed to bring Nathan - a bodyguard - down! All without needing to fight!

“Kitty Kat, mother ducker!” bragged Kitty, pointing her bat at Nathan. 

Doom raised an eye at this. “Let’s just clear the trash now before he wakes up.” 

Diane arrived at the police station as soon as she can. Turning her motorcycle back into a suitcase, she found Chief Luggins fuming with Tiffany Fluffit and her camera crew at the scene. It seemed that they were confused and lost about the charity money being stolen earlier. She hoped that the charity money was now heading where it should go.

She felt a ring from her watch. It was from Hornet again.

Congratulations, everyone! The trucks are already at their destination and the guinea pigs are cleared from them. Looks like Marmalade won’t be able to get them again next time. - Hornet

Diane smiled. She owed Hornet this. It looked like Marmalade’s evil scheme was placed to a stop.

“Chief!” she called. “Thank you for getting here so quickly.”

“What is going on?” said Chief, obviously stressed out. “The Bad Guys broke out of prison, an apocalypse of guinea pigs was running across the city and the trucks meant to deliver for charity went AWOL! You know something about this?”

Diane shrugged. “I don’t know. However, I received word that it was the Bad Guys who didn’t steal the meteorite and now returning it here!”

“Look!” called Tiffany, turning the camera. “Can it be? The Bad Guys are RETURNING the meteorite! Perhaps this is the feel-good story we all need!”

Right on time, the Bad Guys’ car appeared around the corner with the large glowing meteorite still sitting at the back. Chief was understandably surprised by this. Diane watched hopefully, though she noticed that the Bad Guys seemed to realize something. They suddenly stopped before getting into a conversation together. 

The fox raised an eyebrow. What now?

She looked back at the meteorite. It was still glowing, so it might be transmitting. But Hornet said that there was still a power source back at the compound. And with Marmalade and Snake still out there, controlling the guinea pigs…

Before she could understand why the Bad Guys stopped, they suddenly drove away, sacrificing clearing their names. Chief yelled out Wolf’s name, angry by this second betrayal. Diane could only shrug, hoping that the Bad Guys would be able to finish what else they have to finish. 

It turned out, she didn’t need to find out when her watch buzzed.

Hornet! Are you still here? We need to get Snake back! - Wolf

Already on it, don’t worry. I found Snake with Professor Marmalade riding on a helicopter. They should be around the freeway nearest to you on your right. - Hornet

Diane gasped to herself, quickly hiding her watch before Tiffany turned to her. She was surprised by this. Despite Snake’s betrayal, the Bad Guys were returning to him. Remembering that the team was close to each other, she shouldn’t be surprised that they couldn’t leave one of theirs behind.

The police found the Bad Guys racing against a huge wave of guinea pigs trying to drown them down. A helicopter flew far from them before grabbing onto the meteorite. The news that they were going near the large crater of the city horrifies Diane. As she joined along the police and the news team to arrive where the action is taking place, she could only pray silently that they wouldn’t be killed.

When they arrived, Diane could see that the sun was already rising high and the sky was turning a bright blue color. She saw some sort of smoke streaming from the bottom of the crater. As she climbed out from the police car, she found Hornet - all geared up with his helmet and signature black shirt - arriving as well, buzzing around in worry.

“Hornet!” she said. “Thank, God, you’re here.”

“W-Where are the others?” he asks. “A-A-Are they O-OK?”

Their answer had come true when Wolf’s head popped up from the edge of the broken bridge. However, upon seeing Chief glaring down at them, he tried going back down. Judging by the mutters, the Bad Guys pulled themselves back onto the bridge to face the Chief herself.

“That’s it!” growled Chief. “There is absolutely no way you’re getting away this time!”

“Wait!” called Diane, stepping forwards. “Chief!”

Chief Luggins spun around. “Governor Foxington? Mr. Hornet?”

“Don’t do this! They didn’t steal the meteorite. They were bringing it back.”

Chief snorted, rolling her eyes. “How could you know that?”

In response, Hornet threw his helmet right in front of her feet. It displayed a large hologram screen, apparently recorded down the entire highway chase through the cameras of Webs’ camera. Everyone was able to see the Bad Guys planting interceptors onto the trucks before they were hijacked and controlled to drive back to their original destinations.

“We broke the Bad Guys out because I found out that Marmalade stole it,” explained Hornet, shaking his fists. “We went to his compound to return it. How could you explain how they controlled the guinea pigs if they never even used the meteorite before?”

There were some murmurs of agreement from the cops as they watched the footage. The Bad Guys all let out a sigh of relief with Piranha winking at Hornet.

However, Chief noticed something was off.

“What about you?” she asked Diane. “If you are agreeing to all of this, are you…conspiring with a bunch of known criminals?”

Diane gulped. She didn’t realize this might happen. After all she built, she neglected to turn herself in. She wanted to be healed, but she felt scared of entering prison. However, as her conversation with Wolf made it clear that she shouldn’t be lying anymore, she had to face the music. Sighing, she took off her glasses.

“Well…” She hesitated. She knew that she was going to lose everything, but this was for the greater good. “As a matter of fact, it’s time…I came clean about something.” She hesitated again. Why does it feel so scary to say the truth to everyone? “The truth is….I’m really…really-”

“Really a big fan of redemption arcs,” interrupted Wolf. “Yeah, Governor, we know.” [4]

Diane glanced at him. He gave her a look as if saying to trust him. As if it wasn’t enough, he passed the cat to her. The pet looked up at her, meowing in curiosity. Wolf calmly walked towards Chief and lifts his hands up.

“We’re done running away,” he said. “Chief, do what you need to do.”

Chief Luggins couldn’t believe what was happening now. “You’re…turning yourself in?”

One by one, the Bad Guys lifted up their arms, willing to do the right thing.

“We might not have stolen the meteorite, but we did steal a lot of other things. It’s time we take responsibility and start a clean slate. Take us in, Chief.”

Nobody could even express how surprised they were with the Bad Guys taking responsibility for all the heists they did in the past. Diane would have protested, but seeing this, it was a sincere indication of their own redemption. To start and figure out a new life instead of giving in to the stereotypes they wore for a long time. While Diane wasn’t sure if that would mean Marmalade would get away from it, it feelt less like a defeat.

As Wolf encouraged Chief to enjoy the moment, a stunned Hornet flew towards Diane.

“So…you’re actually the…” he said.

Diane nodded. “I…don’t understand why…”

Hornet shrugged. “I don’t know. Perhaps they need someone on the inside when they get out?”

That sounded about right.

As Chief makde a speech, Wolf exchanged a smile with Diane.

“I’m proud of you, Wolf,” said Diane.

“You know,” said Wolf. “A fox and a wolf are not that different. You’ve got a good thing going here, Governor.”

Diane smiled. After all that she went through, she found that maybe she could be relatable after all. It was not perfect, but she could have a better understanding of the criminal world.

Hornet appeared crestfallen, wiping a tear from his eyes.

“Don’t worry, Hornet,” said Wolf. “We’ll keep in touch.”

Hornet sniffed. “You better.”

“Make sure to write letters to me, my abejerro!” said Piranha, jumping up and down to catch Hornet’s attention. “Spread the word about our adventure! You even did a good job detecting those trucks and butt rocks!”

(‘Abejerro’ means ‘bumblebee’ in Spanish)

Hornet blushed, smiling. “Thank you. Call me as well.”

Wolf smiled before looking firm. “But seriously, Diane, Hornet. Don’t let us fall behind with the rest of the world. Don’t make me shake you by the collar.”

Diane nodded. “Promise.”

“Will sure do,” said Hornet.

“Me too!” said Piranha, jumping up to give Hornet a kiss on his cheek.

A loud whirring filled everyone’s ears and they could see a frazzled-looking Marmalade carrying the meteorite from his helicopter. When Tiffany turned the camera to him, he realized that he was being watched and orders Cuddles to land the helicopter. The helicopter landed onto the bridge for all of them to see. 

The look of insanity disappeared from Marmalade as he forced a smile and jumped off. [4s]

“It’s Professor Marmalade!” said Tiffany. “He’s bringing the meteorite back.”

“Yes!” said Marmalade. “Yes, bringing it back! That’s precisely what I’m doing!”

“Care to comment?” asked Tiffany.

As all cameras went on Marmalade, he put back on his ‘innocent’ look. “I tried to help them, but in the end, it’s the same old story: bad guys bad, good guys good.”

“So true. So wise.”

Diane shuddered. How could these people believe what he was saying?! Even the others were disgusted by this and could only watch in disbelief. Even though Hornet had evidence, Marmalade was always one step ahead of them. 

“Furthermore, for the good of the city, I have generously decided to take the meteorite back to my compound for safekeeping.” The people around them were already drinking the idea, cheering. “Thank! Gosh, you’re kind. Give it up for me!”

He clapped for himself…but as he did, the cyan spots of the meteorite flashed on and off.

What?

“Wait a sec!” said Chief. “This isn’t the meteorite!” She claps and the cyan dots turn on like lights. “It’s a lamp!”

“So…the meteorite is back at the compound the entire time?!” said Hornet.

Snake suddenly snickered. 

Diane couldn’t believe that Snake actually went out of his way to pretend to be betraying the Bad Guys. With the full story, he revealed that he actually decided that they shouldn’t be monsters for too long. He joined Marmalade to sabotage his scheme from within. Oh, the guinea pig was so gullible himself. When he got the mind-controlling helmet, he swapped the meteor with the lamp in the shape of the meteor - making sure to paint it to make it look like the real thing - then placed the real meteor back in the machine. To make sure that it would NEVER be used again, he cranked it up to overdrive.

“The old switcheroo,” said Snake, snapping his tail.

Hornet was definitely right that the meteorite’s power was REALLY high at this point.

KA-BOOM!

A large light beam shot up to the sky as an explosion rattled the entire city from far away. For the entire city to see. Guess that meant Marmalade’s compound was done for. Diane wasn’t sure how much damage it caused, but rest assured that the meteorite was no more.

Marmalade himself could only stare at the explosion in horror, his pupils shrunken.

As the shockwave cleared, Wolf went up to him and patted him on the head before joining the other Bad Guys as they entered one of the police cars. Even Piranha turned around and mouthed ‘butt’ right at the guinea pig. Diane and Hornet glanced back at each other, now satisfied by what they have achieved.

Marmalade could barely sputter another word as the Bad Guys were driven away. 

Out of nowhere, the Golden Dolphin, somehow still intact from the explosion, dropped out of the sky and hit the fake meteorite. It landed right on top of him, preventing him from escaping. The diamond he stole from Diane roll right out of his pocket.

Chief lifted it up. “Hold on…this is the Zumpango Diamond! But that was stolen…” She gasped. “The Crimson Paw?!”

“Wait, what?!” said Marmalade, confused.

A loud honk interrupted his attempt to protest. A ferrera appeared and Kitty and Doom came out with smirks on their faces.

“We even found something!” shouts Kitty. She unlocked the boot and pulls out a tied and gagged Nathan, dropping him on the ground. “He was found storing explosives, planning to plant them at the Bad Guys’ hideout.”

“What?!” said Marmalade once again. “Nathan?!”

Nathan could only grin sheepishly underneath the duct tape covering his mouth. “Sorry…”

Hornet smirked, making his way over to one of the cops to present the footage he recorded. “He’s a goner.”

Diane didn’t know how to respond to this. One moment, she was about to explain the truth and NOW they were framing Marmalade for being the much taller and stronger Crimson Paw? Well, she wasn’t sure if she was wrong for not doing anything about this, but she decided to let this one pass for now. Besides, Marmalades needed to be focused on because HE was the one who did all of this.

Their deal was now officially over.

“OMG!” reported Tiffany. “In a shocking twist, the notorious bandit known as ‘The Crimson Paw’ has been revealed to be none other than Professor Marmalade!”

As all the reporters crowded around in the shocking ‘reveal’, Chief grabbed the wailing Marmalade and tossed him right into the back of a police van nearby. He tried to scream that Diane was the Crimson as he was driven away, but nobody listened to him. Diane could only watch and wave in amusement. Looks like she got to keep her secret for long. Well, that is unless Hornet will spill the beans as he was already explaining what happened to a cop, writing everything down on paper. But knowing that Hornet was on Diane’s and the Bad Guys’ side, he wouldn’t reveal it for now as there was a bigger fish to fry. 

Nathan didn’t even know that Diane is the Crimson Paw, so she didn’t need to worry as he was apprehended. And Cuddles wouldn’t be able to give a clear answer as he was tackled by the police when he tried to run.

“Aww, that is a cute kitty right there,” cooed Kitty as she and Doom walked to her.

Diane chuckled, looking down at the cat Wolf trusted her to take care of. It meowed again and snuggled deeply into her chest.

“I don’t know about you, but it looks like you,” jokeed Diane.

Kitty laughed. “You know that I’m a different breed of feline.”

“I didn’t expect this to happen,” said Doom, perching on Diane’s shoulder. “Can you really believe that the Bad Guys actually turn themselves in?”

Diane just smiled. “It’s their choice. I just hope that they will be OK when they serve their life sentence. And I’m looking forward to helping them if they need me.”

Kitty patted the fox on the back. “I am proud of you, Diane. I don’t know what kind of craziness you did as a mercenary with them, but it really pays off.”

“I agree,” said Doom. “When in this business, it requires more action than behind microphones.”

“That’s true,” said Diane. “But I’ll be careful next time. You told me that I have to choose a path and well…I think I know which one would be suitable to use in these kinds of situations. But above all, no decision goes unpunished.”

Doom had a thoughtful look. “Diane, Professor said that you were the ‘Crimson Paw’. Is that true?”

Diane decided not to answer that. Someday, she’ll tell them. She wasn’t sure yet, but she’ll find the right moment to.

Chapter Text

One Year Later

It was two weeks ever since the Bad Guys were free from prison and returned to the city. Deciding to meet up with them again, Diane invited them over for a special lunch at the same bar she usually goes to. She even invited Kitty and Doom over despite their hesitation at first. [1]

As the trio wait, they were greeted by the Bad Guys coming in.

They could have been called the 'Good Guys', but they still used their old name since it would help them be more recognizable.

The good thing was that nobody inside the bar feared them. Sort of since some of them looked a little intimidating, more of the fact that they proved to be some of the toughest heroes and criminals around. Their fooling of Marmalade's plan erupted their reputation to a greater level which made everyone have nothing but respect for them. Half of the customers of them were surprised, but they continued with their day.

The one thing that they all agreed was that seeing them being humble was essential to earning their respect in the world and whoever the Bad Guys want to be.

The Bad Guys looked a bit surprised by this. They were still new to how people react to them, but it felt good to be treated as an equal.

Speaking of which, Wolf spotted another wolf sitting at another table. A teenage wolf who dyed his fur turquoise. He looked up from his phone and waved. Wolf was baffled by this before glancing back at Diane. She was right. There are other wolves out there and his actions probably helped improve the social life of wolves in America.

"Hey, guys!" called Diane. "Took you long."

"Sorry," said Wolf coolly. "We got stuck in some business lately."

"Coming through," said Shark, trying to make his way into the stall on Kitty's side.

Kitty chuckled and made way for him to take his seat. She sat down next to him, but she froze when she felt somebody ruffling in her afro.

"Hey!" she said. "My hair is not a seat!"

A head popped out from it.

"Oops!" said Webs cheekily. "Sorry, Ms. Kat."

Wolf made himself comfortable, sitting next to Diane. He shared a kiss on her hand. Though, he was also sitting next to Snake who was on his right, glaring at Diane jealously. And on Snake's right was Doom, staring at him in scepticism.

"You look delicious," said Doom. "You look more scalier up close."

Snake snorted. "Well, you look like a meal for me. I haven't even ordered fried chicken in months now!"

Doom responded by pecking onto Snake's nose. "Oh, sorry. Did I touch a sore spot?"

Before Snake could counter that or Diane told Doom to be on good behavior, Piranha arrived, carrying a huge tray of drinks and snacks to share. Some cocktails and chicken nuggets and fries. Whatever was on there, it was Piranha's choice.

"Drinks up, papa!" he called as he jumped onto his own seat.

This got a look from Kitty. "You might need to switch out from that baby seat right there."

"What? I'm short!"

There was some chatter about the gossip and new events all around in the city as they munched on their meals.

Of course, this lunch couldn't go on without some wackiness as Shark and Snake competed in a marshmallow-eating competition with the former ultimately winning due to how large his mouth was. They could have ordered 100 plates of the homemade marshmallows of the bar, but they had to stop by 7 orders since the bill was piling up and nobody was willing to pay more.

Doom, once again, casually ordered a tall fruit plate which Piranha was more than happy to tear down. Diane wondered where Doom was able to catch all of those fruit plates from. Guess she might never know as she shielded herself with a menu as Piranha casually sent the fruit tower down on her and Wolf due to his craze for the juiciness. And oh, Diane got some juice all over her, but at least she wasn't working today.

Wolf nearly fell asleep due to how many cocktails he took. They tried seeing who could stand the longest by drinking a variety of cocktails. Wolf, at first, seemed fine, but apparently grew intoxicated. At least he was fine now after he went outside to barf out everything in his stomach. His face wasn't pale white as his clothes now.

But above all, they were having a good time.

"Anyway, maybe we can talk a bit about business?" asks Kitty.

"Oh, right," said Diane.

"We heard about Marmalade," explained Wolf. "Upon looking through the evidence - most of them being burnt from the meteorite explosion including his little mansion - he is not labelled as the Crimson Paw. There wasn't enough evidence. Regardless, he is behind bars forever since he has been caught with other things, including work at Sunnyside Labs and contribution of illegal experiments."

"Then who is the Crimson Paw?" asked Doom.

"Nobody knows yet," said Snake. "We may never know."

Diane kept herself from laughing out loud.

"We even heard that Diane is funding your new career," continued Kitty without batting an eye at Diane. "May you explain more about it because the rumors aren't really enough?"

"The government tried to find ways of how we can integrate to normal lives," explained Wolf. "However, they looked through our files and we haven't really reached the point of gaining a bachelor's degree in education or eligible to have proper jobs, considering knowledge, safeness and integrity. The…only way we can continue what is 'normal' to us is to use what we do best."

Doom raised an eye. "Oh really?"

"Marmalade may be finished," said Diane. "But it will be a matter of time before a jerk would finish what he started. The Bad Guys have mixed around with other criminals, so they know how to think like one. Keeping an eye on making sure that nothing as large as harming people would ever happen. So, the Bad Guys started a mercenary-for-hire business and I funded it to help them kickstart."

"And returning us our personal belongings," snarked Webs. "We can't start from skeleton dry!"

"So…basically you are going to try to be good, but are you doing it for the law?" asked Doom.

All five Bad Guys shrugged.

"We don't know," said Shark. "We don't go for politics."

"Good point," said Kitty. "Besides, Diane still has a lot of spunk in her."

There was a loud rumbling from Piranha's stomach. [1s]

"Uh oh…" He leapt out from his seat and made a beeline to the toilet. "GANGWAY!"

Doom looked away, embarrassed. "Erm…I need to go take a whiz as well, but fish guy is using the bathroom, so…"

The crow flew right out of the window, but none of them bothered. Kitty stood up, deciding that they should pay the bill for the food already. While the rest of the Bad Guys chatted, Diane tapped onto Wolf's shoulder, pointing to an empty hallway. He raised an eyebrow before shrugging, following her. [2]

The two of them made sure that nobody is listening to them before Diane cleared her throat. She paused again, unsure what to say about all of this. As her ears flattered a little, she remembered back to the Bad Guys choosing to arrest themselves before Diane could reveal that she was the Crimson Paw. She was planning to, but with the work pile and the shock that the Bad Guys kept her secret, she hadn't even thought about it ever since.

"So, Wolf," she said. "I…appreciate that you did cover for me, but you…don't really need to."

Wolf frowned. "I know that, but it wouldn't be right. You…don't really have anything to do that is wrong."

"Except for the fact that I partially blew up a high-security prison island, yeah, I didn't do anything wrong."

"But…I think that you shouldn't give up on your good life," said Wolf. "I mean, you didn't even need to turn yourself in. You returned everything that you have, you already finished university years ago and now you're so high at this level."

"But I hid behind a mask as the Crimson Paw," points out Diane. "It would be a matter of time before someone finds out and people see that I was lying the whole time."

"But the people would love you still. You took responsibility for your own actions as well."

Diane sighed, knowing that Wolf has a point. "I'm still going to tell people about it eventually, Wolf. Maybe when I'm done being governor."

Wolf looked like he wanted to protest, but he paused as he thought about it. His eyes turned glassy as he raised one ear upwards. It was as if he was hearing something. Diane nearly came close to asking if he was OK, but Wolf raised his hand. His ears kept twitching until the voices around him seemed to have fade away. With a clear mind, his eyes were clear as well. Then, he finally came to a decision and let go of his worry for Diane.

"OK then. I won't stop you." He paused for a while. "You know…you can call me Oliver now."

The fox took a step back, surprised. "What?"

Wolf chuckled nervously. "It's…only Snake who somewhat knows my real name, but…you helped us a lot so far. And…it is…nice for someone who does care about us, even though all of us…messed it up." He pointed a finger at her. "I trust you on this one not to share, alright?"

Diane blinked. She wasn't sure what to say about this. She thought that Wolf would still be in denial of calling himself 'Oliver', but now that he had become more idealistic in his life…he must be learning to open up.

"Alright then, Oliver," said Diane.

Oliver smiled. His eyes seemed to soften. This was the friendly side of him that he hid so long ever since he was young. He leaned forwards and pecked a kiss on Diane’s forehead. The fox smiled. It kind of reminded her that the two of them were sorting out if they might have a relationship or not. However, Diane decided that they could take it slow, especially since Wolf have personal problems he wants to fix on his own.

Diane could only be happy that she finally found trust and even earned his. Maybe with him, she might have a guiding light in understanding more about criminals in the future. The road to solving all the problems is still long, but she felt that she might be on a right path she could travel on. [2s]

"So, what do you want to do now?" asks Diane. "Maybe we can set up Just Dance now?"

"Well…about the…other day," said Wolf. "Should we tell your friends about it?"

Diane thought for a while. "I think-"

VROOM! VROOM! [3]

The returned Doom and Kitty gasped in shock as they spotted Kitty's Ferrari speeding right past the window. To their dismay, Snake, Shark, Piranha and Webs were already boarded there with Snake taking the wheel. Right in front for everyone to see them driving away. Though, only half of the customers paid attention to that stunt as if they dropped ice cream.

"THEY STOLE MY FREAKING CAAAAAAAR!" screeched Kitty.

"WHAT?!" squawked Doom in disbelief.

Seeing this, Diane started laughing in bemusement. She didn't expect that to happen! When her two friends glared back at her, she stopped.

"Oh," she said sheepishly. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," explained Wolf calmly. "Some bad habits die hard."

Eventually, A Few Days Ago…

"So, with you undertaking this business, not only it will help you with using your skill set for good, but also getting intel into the criminal world and how to settle it down."

"Correct. You know, this isn't exactly our first time going into vigilantism."

"Oh really?"

"We got into some scuffles with other criminal gangs, but…we were trying to get the prizes before them."

"OK, that makes much more sense."

"Well, we never bargain for profit over vigilantism, but there will be more criminals around the block, so we can do that."

"You know that this 'mercenary-for-hire' might include assassinating people, right?"

"I know. But we are keeping our limits straight. And we aren't murderers…say, Diane, may I tell you a secret?"

"What is it?"

"Me and my team have been thinking about it for a while. It is nice that you are trying to help us, but…after a while of talking, we decided that…we may not be ready and we would want to try to figure things out now that the world doesn't see us as monsters."

"I know that…it's going to take a while to adapt to the new changes, but…you won't have to be feared or hurt again."

"Yeah…though…we are still figuring out and…we agreed that we might continue being criminals as well for the time being."

"..."

"...sorry, am I repeating history?"

"Not really. I heard that a lot of people are starting to like the Bad Guys more, even thinking that your crimes were in style. The police caught a few punks for spray-painting your names on a billboard."

"Oh really? Ohohoho! I didn't know that!"

"Yeah, but seriously. That might put you and your friends back at risk of getting arrested. Not only that, unless I managed to scrap a really strong reason, I may not be able to help to bail you guys out."

"I don't think we will be asking anyone for any protection now. You said that this is the chance for us to find a better story. Maybe we have one, but for now, baby steps. If what you said is true about people liking us, then would they fear us again?"

"No. You left a huge impact on the city ever since taking down Marmalade."

"Besides, it will take a while for these 'bad habits' to settle down. I mean, we are not and never will go along with the law. I know that it's not gonna be great, but we cannot lose that side of us. Not all of us are ready to change and sometimes, I wonder if there is still some bad in me. Believe me, I really want to be good, however, I haven't really thought everything through. I mean, I’m…actually unfit in taking other kinds of good jobs and stuff. I'll stay low, but there might be times when me and my gang are out. Also, you might think of it as remaining in the criminal world; if we still have the label 'criminals', then they wouldn't shun us out so that we wouldn't hear anything that is worse than what we do."

"OK then. I'm game. Though, I have to warn you. If the police catch any of you doing any crimes, then you're gonna have to be careful. I mean, REALLY careful. If I am called to action and if it becomes a thing, then we would need to discuss what we should do next or I would have to do what is fair according to the law."

"And what do you propose for us to do for now?"

"Just keep it subtle to not cause too much attention from the authorities on you and your friends. And if you can use your mercenary and criminal careers together and balanced nicely, that might salvage a good reputation for the police to not come after you. But choose wisely."

"We'll see about it. Got to keep the pack flowing with what we like and what we can do to help."

"So we have a deal?"

"Deal! And besides, I heard that you might want to do a challenge with us."

"I'm still thinking about it. However, I heard that from Hornet's department, there is a mission that requires…stealing. And some black-market trade. Maybe we can use that as our competition?"

"Sure then! Hopefully, Hornet won't mind us fighting over the mission. And he is on my team, so don't think of getting him on yours for the contest!"

"Well…you can say that one Crimson Paw up against six criminals is a fair fight."

Indeed. While Diane had funded the Bad Guys for starting a mercenary-for-hire business, that doesn't really mean that the Bad Guys are fully restricted. They are still a mischievous crew, except that they don't show how stereotypical their species are. They show more of themselves when being criminals. Not as 'monsters' like how everybody said them to be. Most of Los Angeles is already alright with them doing what they want due to knowing that they aren't exactly the type of monsters they think they 'were'.

Wolf thought of doing a bit of some small heists, graffiti and trolling with a few people, but for now, he and his team decided to simmer down on not going on larger heists that require more effort to be done or stealing a huge amount of money. Just on what they want for fun. Besides, Wolf still wants the opportunity of being good, so that door is still opened for him while he taps into both sides of himself. It is good that he informed Diane about it as they discuss about his idea for a mercenary business or who knows what she would do immediately when she found out that they were making chaos.

The whole adventure a year ago wasn't all for nothing. Diane knew that the Bad Guys were still figuring out their story, so it would take time and their crimes are not so harmful. And they get to run around the city without being feared now that they got respect from the people.

Diane knew that she might get into trouble, but at least the Bad Guys won't try to show off too much since that could cause too much attention from the cops and the government. After all, they are still needed to save the day when the call comes. Besides, Diane owes them for the things she did and they did plan to have a competition for who can be the fastest in stealing a diamond from a black site.

As she felt Wolf rubbing her shoulder as he reassured Kitty and Doom that his crew will return the ferrari, she believed that things are going to get better after all. [3s]

?

Stanley had been waiting for a while on the same steps near his house. His lonely house. Isolated away from the big city, the old wolf could wonder how he ended up being here. He wondered if moving here when he was a child was a good idea since he learned that this place isn't friendly to wolves. However, he grew over it and persisted in his life. He had a beautiful wife. He had a beautiful son. His family was safe.

Until…a few years ago.

His wife was killed by a hunter. His son, unable to grieve properly due to all the pressure going around them, fled away from the country. He hadn't seen Oliver in years. In fact, he didn't know where he was at all. He didn’t know if he is alive or dead. He thought that he could bring his family together despite everything they went through, but…trouble finds them.

He thought that he would be able to look out for his son, but due to taking too much time trying to scrape together enough money for a better school, he failed. Too much time was needed to give them a better life. He wondered where he went wrong and when Oliver accidentally slaps him, that made him feel more down than before. In fact, the trauma of losing his wife and Oliver lashing out at him for what he went through hit Stanley hard that he became insecure about doing his job right.

Stanley wished that things could go back to normal. Every night, he had been waiting by the door, hoping that Oliver might return and tell him that it was just a prank. But his imagination was not reality, so he was only associated with the silence. What once used to be the most calmful thing turned into the most depressing thing in his life.

The silence.

He didn't even know if he could remember Oliver's voice since the poor kid became quieter around him.

His ears perked upwards when he heard rustling in the bushes. Slowly taking out a shotgun, he left his house and entered the narrowness of the forest. He had already gone through those woods several times, so he was familiar with the different paths there.

The darkness had already become his friend since he gave into the silence. At first, he used to fear it. Pretty ironic since he was an animal of the night. However, it became like a sort of blanket for him. A place where he could hide, away from all the bright and overwhelming neon lights around him. It was the one place where he could let out his rage when he felt riled up. Even somewhere he could sleep in and watch the stars. Might be a risky thing, but thanks to the law, there was less activity of hunters around.

What he was not familiar with was two figures talking in the darkness, their eyes glowing.

They were obviously not human.

Stanley hid behind a tree, keeping his shotgun close to his smelly brown coat.

"You got to be kidding me!" hisses one of the figures, a man in his 20s. "Out of all the things, you decided to steal those boxes that can contain something that is supposed to be not of our business?!"

"What choice do we else have?" said the second figure, a woman with a British accent. "The world is growing smaller every day as the leaders leave everyone behind. It's about time we have our hands on their toys."

"Sunnyside Labs…wasn't that the American laboratory that closed down last year?"

"Yes."

"Isn't it government-supported?"

"I think so."

"Then why did you steal from them? If they found out that we have a couple of them, they are gonna be crazy and hunt us down."

"Then what's the alternative?" said the woman coldly. "We give it back? They never shared any of their treasure, so it's about time we use them for our own deeds. With Sunnyside Labs shut down, it's gonna take more than a warrant to find their leftovers."

"I still think it is still dangerous."

"Do I need to remind you again? You see…" The woman paused for a moment, placing two hands on the man's shoulder. "True power…doesn't come to those who are lucky enough or wealthy enough or strong enough or intelligent enough or even crazy enough. It comes to those…who would do anything to get it. Problem is that the world is already broken. Deformed into ugliness and privileged by higher ranks who took the high platform, forgetting all the good deeds that got them there. It is time…that we make our own system of society."

Stanley wasn't liking this. It seemed that whoever - or whatever - those two were, they seemed to be scheming something…much horrible. A revolution. He tried looking in the dark with his night vision, but it was already night-time that it was nearly pitch black at this point.

Surprisingly, he couldn't see well in the dark. It felt as if…those two were inhibiting his vision.

Or was it him seeing things again?

"You're sure that you'll be careful with those things?" asked the man. "Because I can't have you destroying things recklessly."

"Don't worry," reassured the woman, surprisingly sounding sympathetic. "I made mistakes. We will know what not to do when we experiment on them."

The two figures came to an agreement and walk away. However, they nearly tripped over each other, spilling a few…boxes from their cart. After quickly picking them up, they walked away, pulled their cart and into the thickness of the woods.

Only one box remained, forgotten.

Stanley brought it back to his house and placed it under the light of his kitchen lightbulb. It did come from a lab. It nearly looked like something from a sci-fi movie, having a stylish appearance and several buttons. He expected it to be in a grey metal material, but it was painted light blue with dark blue stripes on the side. Whoever made this probably wanted to make sure that the invention really stood out as cool-looking.

Stanley snorted. He might be old, but he sure knew how people these days wanted to appear 'hip'. He remembered one time when Oliver tried out wearing clothes that were said to be 'trending'. Though, the way he was heavily costumed and the slangs he tried to learn himself to say make it look like he grew up in the wrong country. It made Stanley think if he should try to catch up as well.

However, the old wolf was all too aware that pretty things – especially for a box that could be a product for a phone company – could hide the dangerous things.

He wondered what could possibly be inside that was considered a dangerous weapon.

He hesitated to press the large button.

He wasn't tech-savvy, so it would be too dangerous. If it turned out to be flashy, he might be caught by the two people before.

Would it be worth his life opening a small box like that?

But he have to find out.

After all, he was a police officer in the past, so he had the right to inspect suspicious items.

He pressed the large button and like a flower opening its petals, the thick walls of the box folded onto themselves. They opened to reveal something that was sitting on tiny, metallic arms. A sharp, electric zap made his ears pressed against his head.

Stanley gasped at what is right in front of him, glowing in an eerie teal color.

Something that was out of his range.

Or anyone else's range.

...

You're still here, huh?

...

Well, I guess that we all expect something else from this story.

Not gonna lie, it's still a stretch, but what good will come out of it when wondering about it?

And when you wonder, what are the good things will come out of it?

You know, we are all creators of this game.

Souls of creating the most enchanting, surreal or tragic stories of all time.

What is it like living under the impression that you're in the right?

...

You know that I'm not talking crap here. I'm serious.

An escape from reality and onto here, huh? Well, life isn't fair to say the least. And you're wondering when I will be able to continue this. OK, honestly, it is going to continue, but I want you to think for this moment.

Life can hurt a little, right? It may as well seem that it hates you so much that you keep burying into the dirt harder with every hit. Is it the gods who are doing that or is it you placing more pain on it when you should be thinking of how to learn from it and make it into something better? I despise how people sulk and second-guess since it is like there is no more faith in living anymore.

It hurts.

A lot.

And for those who really want things to go their way, a happy ending, you might as well face it. You will all go through ups and downs. An eternal world of happiness is fake. A fantasy world of happiness is fake. Fake fake fake. We are all growing up now, so there should be no turning back to being kids anymore unless you have an age-decreasing machine to turn yourself back into an egg.

Now try wondering if the world revolves around you or not.

...OK, I might have lost my temper right there. I didn't mean to shame people. But...in order to survive, to fight for what you need, you need to take an effort and strength to pull through this. It's going to sting, but whatever doesn't kill you, indeed makes you stronger.

Maybe I'm talking nonsense. Wait, what am I supposed to be consistent with?

Never mind. Inconsistency is one way of boggling our minds of what we expect.

Never fall for all of your expectations.

It makes me feel as if I'm weak.

I feel like I'm lying in my bed and wishing that I could go to hell to overrule all already.

Things that go to hell, however, can become the most devious beings.

But there are more devious people.

There are still bad people.

There are still bad people.

There are still bad people.

There are stillantiantiantiantiantiantiantia̶̩͛̉n̶͔͉͛̌̈́͜͝ẗ̴̩̠̥́̽̏̊͘ͅͅḯ̶̜̈́a̴͔͙̫͉͑n̴̦̺̐ṱ̴̨̠̀͜ì̵̃̈́͊̉ͅa̷̦͆͒̌͐ṉ̷̰͑̍͊̕͝t̵͈̀ḯ̸̱̻͖͕̻͋̃ą̵̢̃͂n̷̛͈͔͔̫͌̔̀͝t̸̮̆͆́i̵̛͇̙̒a̵̭͕͍̞̳͂͗̑̔͘n̸̘̪̲̭͋́̋͆̋ţ̶͓̍͂͌i̵̤͛͝

[CLICK!]

he is behind the keyboard

...

But you think the Bad Guys are 'bad'.

That might due to the new predator in the room

Well, let's say that...

T̵̠̯͓̰̟͚̱̥̱͚̒̽͋̿͒ͅh̸͖̪̐̊͐̍̃e̴̗͂̑̂́̿͛́̇͒̕͝ŕ̸̨̞͈̙̿̃͐̿͒é̵͚̖͈̒̽̒̌̔͘̚ ̷̧̹̠͉̥̻͖̭̦͉̙͑i̷̧̛̙͂͌̇͐͒͝ṣ̵̨̖̥̗͍͉͎͙͆͋͌͌͛͆͑̕͜͝͝ ̶̛͚̫͇̳͉̥͛́͐͒̇á̶̳̪̭̮̜̘͂̓̍͗̈́͒̄ ̷̗͉̜͉͇̇̇̓́̇͐̑͘m̵̯̯̤̤̗̯͋̉͛͝ͅṳ̵̧̈́c̵̡̧͍͚͔̱͚͔̗̣̞͒̾̇́̏̋̕h̴͉̤͕͈̖̣̹̱̎̾͑ ̶̡̦͓̮̫̙̰̯͎̖̞̓͒̎͗͛̿͆̎d̷̪̥̍̑̂́̋͂͘͝͝͝͠a̶̲͑͐̽̆͋r̴̹̘̎k̵̹̉̍ḛ̴̡̧̰͕̙̱͕͂̓̄̀̓͆̃̑͜ͅr̸͇̰̣̲̙͚̠̙͔̯͌̒͘ ̷̦̥̥͖̕s̸͙̼̤̫͍͆̅̅̇̕͠i̶̢͚̣̬̻̤̗̬͚̯͕̿̀̃̓̔̏̌̚̚d̶͍͍̂ͅẹ̸̢͉̜̜͍̥͇͇͍͂̅͂̆̀̓ ̸̧̯̟͔̱̺̯̥̣̊̀̈́͂̍̈́t̶̖̊̈́̐͗̓̽̉̎͜ò̵͙̼ ̸̰̼̔b̵̛͓̳͍̘̾̍̓̓̍͒͒e̷̞̖̣͙̣̤̹̽̐̊̈́̄̋̈́͘i̸͖̜̗̗̣̦̦̱̜͋̓͂́̏͆̏͠ǹ̵̜̭̗̠g̴̛̪̘̥̬͐͊̈́̄͋͛͂̇̋̒ͅ ̷̜̯̪̈̂̊̄̀̌͘͝͝ḃ̴̤̼͙͔͔̱̝͊̔̚͝ä̴̫̪̩̮̟́̌͛̽͜d̶̜̪͓̫͙̳̮̞̲́̀̽̂̅͌͘ ̶̹̯̗̱͖̰͖̖̭̝͑͆t̸̛͉̺̞̠̱͜ḩ̴̮̼͔̣͚̬̣̲̌͛͊̈́ȃ̷̪̗̭̤̞̲̖̈́̇̾̅̎̽̚͘͜͝͠ͅn̶͈̙̪͕̥̰̑̈́͊͛̂͒̂̑̀̄̒ ̴̲̫̲͙̻͕̦̠̋͗̈́́̾̚ẃ̵̡̡̧̛̳̗̰̬͙̹̩͈̏͗̕͠h̸̠͉̹͈̲̤̱̺̤͎̏̈́͗͌̾͊͐̎͜ą̷̢͖̝̻̮̳̭̍t̶͖͙͔̐̄̏̕ ̸͚̩̗̲̘̙̥͇͗̍̇̈́̈͐̄͐y̶̨͍̻̮̣̒ó̷̱̤̥̤̮̟ư̴̙̌͊̆̿̕ ̴̧̧̭̥̯͔̯̮͙̽ͅs̸̢̫̤̫̗̝͇͉͔̗̼̎̈́̚͘a̸̗͍͆͜w̴̨̠͍̕.̴̨̤͎̎͌͊̎͗̈́͒̿͛͂̚

...

and he is near

the new villain

Stay tuned for...

The Bad Guys - Bigger, Better, Badder

COMING SOON IN LATE 2023 (if we are rad enough, date is subject to change)

Once again, G̴̬͐̄Ȩ̷̉T̶͙͇͆̅ ̶̱̇̒R̷͕̜͝E̵̗̓̚Ä̴̙́D̵̺̍͋Ȳ̸̭͉͠ ̵̰̓͛ͅT̶̨͊ͅŎ̷ͅ ̶̝̓Ȩ̴͊̀X̸̢̩͊͋P̶̧̳̀̑L̷̩̀O̶̟̮̾͌Ȓ̵̜̳̕E̴̯̔̋ ̴̝̺̀A̸̳͆͌ ̵̢̻͂͌N̸̛͉E̵͉͔͛W̸̢̌̐ ̷̡̯͛̄S̷͎͇̔̎I̴̺͓͆̉D̵̺̝͑E̴̞̜͂̋ ̷̘͐̋Ō̴̦̈́ͅF̶̨̣͛ ̶̞̩͛B̸̨͉̾́A̶̤̔͘D̷̨͌.̶͔͓̑͠

Chapter Text

???, Melbourne, Australia

Wolf had been trying to push down the familiar feeling of being rejected. He thought to himself it was overrated to say 'rejected', but it was still painful to him. This morning, he tried believing that everything would magically become better, but when he saw Snake being quieter than usual, he knew something was up.

And to his misfortune, it was also the case with Wolf when he suddenly didn't have the motivation to ask Snake if something was up.

He didn't know why, but it felt like he couldn't get the words out of his mouth to tell him that it would be just him and Snake for the day. It came too late when he ended up paired with Diane and Piranha was assigned to work with Snake. Well, it could be anyone else, but Wolf doubted Snake and Piranha would get along as a duo.

Something was holding Wolf back. It felt like a decaying layer of cement he was wearing that he never got used to. Or in fact, a coat that he hung back in Melbourne for a very long time and was forced to put it back. Whatever it was, it was a burden that he couldn't really shake off.

He didn't really know what it exactly was. But he had a clear idea.

"You know that you savages were all created to start a REAL problem. I just cannot wait for the day where you'll fix them in the way WE should."

"That's why you have this change of heart coming back here; you don't give a crap about Stanley Chutney and everybody knows it!"

The words Thelma and Spalding exchanged to him yesterday were much like everyone else's in this city. The whispers seemed to die down a little, but he was on edge. Fearing that they would remind him of his place in the world, backed up by something going on with his father. Only a matter of time would it ignite.

He couldn't really find his voice, unable to tell the others that he wasn't feeling good. Wolf painted it over with a calm smile, letting his more charming side come in. Hide it away so no one wouldn't notice.

Diane seemed to notice. Once they were on their way with finding their targets, the fox held his hand. It felt weird walking like this on the street when Wolf was already engaged with Snake. However, Diane's presence was able to somehow make his fur not stand upwards. He felt a little safe around her.

She knew about his past before. It was a mistake; she saw his journal a long time ago and discovered everything he hid inside. While Snake knew about his past as well, Wolf didn't want to burden his best friend and love. Snake looked like he had a lot on his mind, even now.

Meanwhile, Diane was an outsider. Someone different who didn't have a lot on her back yet proved to want to understand him. It felt a little unfair to trust her instead of confiding with Snake, but he was calmer around her at the moment.

This was what got him prepared for their next heist, physically and mentally. Through an apartment building where several former Sunnyside researchers were hiding at. Neither of the two had mini spy robots of their own much like Snake's, so they had to do this manually.

With all the time they had with none of the former researchers having plans of moving the Eden Apples anywhere, they decided to go with the most safest option to ensure successful robberies.

Wolf made sure that he looked neat and dashing. He didn't need to worry when he had his white suit or his spy outfit, but he activated the disguise feature to appear more like a mailman. Except that it consisted of a baggy lime green jacket and a white hard helmet. Leaning against the brick wall, he patted down his jacket. He didn't want to appear too fat.

Once he could confirm that his jacket was free from dust, he sighed and knocked on the door nearby. The canine cleared his throat, lifting his chin high. His fluffy tail curled upwards, slowly swaying to show his calm demeanor. He wanted to make sure that he looked convincing enough to be an innocent mailman.

Even though people might be questioning why he was delivering the package to their doors instead of leaving it behind in the apartment mailbox, he had to get close to distract them for long.

He knocked again, waiting for a response.

There was shouting inside.

Despite his ears being covered by the helmet, he pressed his head against the door to hear properly.

Outside, Diane waited patiently, checking back on the window. She would say that her black ninja outfit would have given herself away to those outside, but nobody seemed to call her from below. It was nearly silent all around her. Even though she could hear the normal traffic, in the air, she had nothing to worry about.

She didn't need to use a grappling hook, her gloves and boots providing a special substance skin to allow her to stick to the walls. Being the Crimson Paw for a long time, she could do this all day without growing tired of being in the same position. What got her a little frustrated was that the former researcher didn't answer the door.

The Sunnyside researcher was too busy venting at her husband.

"There's new buyers from our previous contacts," she said anxiously, pacing from one end of the room to the other. "We haven't even tested the Eden Apples out to confirm they can be used as weapons! What are they thinking?!"

Her husband, a man with pale skin and a dark hoodie in contrast, shrugged, helping himself to a beer while sitting on the couch. He didn't seem to understand the problem despite his wife clearly distressed.

"Well, I think it's kind of a good thing," he said.

"A good thing?" said the researcher, scrunching up her nose.

"Well, it is, isn't it?"

The researcher faked a laugh. "Oh, you're so right."

"Right?"

"No, it's wrong," snarled the researcher, snatching the beer bottle. "None of this is normal."

"Sorry, darling," said the hooded man. "But I thought you were in it on the money."

"But not for something that the Eden Apples shouldn't amount to!" cried the researcher, swinging the bottle around. "Professor Fraken practically overloaded the last ever prototype and there's a rumor in my group chat that one of us is using the Eden Apples to power a second gigantic guinea pig!"

The hooded man rolled his eyes. "You know that sounds absurd. You're going crazy-"

"Don't c-call…me that!" said the researcher, sounding like she was nearly out of breath. "Do you have ANY other idea what this could mean if they sell them like THIS? And what this could mean for us?!"

The hooded man finally noticed the thoughts running through his wife's mind. Diane watched closely from the window, noticing his indifferent attitude slowly turning into sympathy. His eyes widened, showing some emotion. He stood up and grabbed his wife by the wrist, gently taking out the beer bottle and putting it aside.

"Listen," he offered. "We'll find a job here that will suit you. I don't care if it costs too much. I can even steal from the banks."

The researcher blinked a couple of times before shaking her head, resigned. "You don't have to, alright?"

"Well, if you're gonna complain about this, then what do you want me to do? I mean, you're a genius and I'm a sports team player. This isn't our first rodeo."

The researcher tried thinking, but she continued pacing around again. "I…I don't know. I just don't know. The Eden Apples weren't made for this, but their production is the only way to secure our lives. We cannot last long here and returning to America is too dangerous."

Diane had been merely going on orders, not caring one bit due to the Sunnyside researchers' front in being smug and dismissive. However, seeing this researcher breaking down made her feel sorry for her. The fox knew that these researchers weren't right in what they do, but it seemed like it wasn't truly easy for some of them.

Especially due to what the Eden Apples were capable of…

Wolf knocked another time and this time, the researcher answered it. The canine was leaning against the door frame, the parcel in his hands about to slip out.

"Is this…erm…" Wolf looked back at the parcel. "...Fatty Lamb?"

The researcher had a look of offense, but that was overwritten by the hooded man gleefully pressing into the name.

"Fatty Lamb!" he said loudly. "Right here! Boy, I didn't thought of using that. Shall we have that as your nickname?"

Even the researcher couldn't help but crack up, smirking. "It's Patty, first. And…I didn't know I have mail."

The couple didn't seem to question this. Diane hissed to herself with a grin underneath her mask. She snuck right through the window and made her footsteps as soft as possible. The chatter between Wolf and the couple was enough for her to sneak past them and made her search for the Eden Apple nearby.

"OK, who is giving me this exactly?" asked Patty.

"From your old fellow teammate 'Lucas Porter'," said Wolf with a confident. "He switched to a new mailing organization and asked to send you this 'secret package' to you."

"Lucas?" said the hooded man, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't he went missing a long time ago?"

Wolf didn't panic, but he noted that this was a flaw in his rehearsed lines. Diane just picked a random former Sunnyside researcher's name to be written on the package and they went along with it as the supposed 'sender'. To say that they didn't take the time properly to do their study on Lucas would be an understandable problem.

"…well, he just returned a couple of hours ago, safe and sound," improvised Wolf without missing a beat.

"And you're saying that despite the many months of his disappearance, the first thing he did when found was send me a strange and untidy package instead of sending me a text message?" questioned Patty.

"Yes."

Patty narrowed her eyes, leaning forwards while stroking her chin. Her face was coming too close to Wolf's that he had to lean back, still pretending to be an average mailman. She was about to realize something looked off, especially the scratched cardboard box Wolf was holding…

But she was none the wiser. "Alright."

Wolf's grin turned mischievous under the helmet. He pulled out a form and placed it on the package. Immediately, Patty got to work on filling the blank squares with a blue pen. A couple of scribbled words here and there.

To keep himself occupied, Wolf decided to try telling her what she needed to sign.

"Just sign here," he said flatly. "And here. And that's only optional. Put in your mother's name here. Your grandmother's name. Your great great grandmother's name. Your child's name here."

That part prompted Patty to grin, blushing. Of course, she wrote that gap in.

"But we don't have a child," pointed out the hooded man, confused.

"And your life insurance."

However, the next few scribbles were harder to read.

"Shoot," said Patty. "Out of ink. Just a minute."

Tossing the blue pen aside, she raced into the small hallway around the corner. The hooded man turned to Wolf, crossing his arms.

"You look familiar," he said.

"So do you~!" improvised Wolf. "I get around a lot!"

The hooded man was becoming suspicious. Wolf pushed down the temptation to swallow. The disguise feature helped change his fur to appear a light brown color, but he was worried it might not work since it left his yellow eyes unchanged.

Not to mention sightings of him running like a maniac yesterday. And there were already at least three people who knew about the Bad Guys' spy disguises.

Fortunately, it didn't last when the hooded man unfolded his arms and smiled kindly.

"Where did you get those new eye contacts?" he asked. "I must have them!"

Wolf was silent for a while. "Well, you see. My eyes are-"

A loud siren went off. Wait, no, that wasn't the right word. More like a jumble of loud, sleazy dubstep sounds. Wolf's ears flattened underneath the helmet, hearing the awful layers of different harmonies overlapping. He grinned tightly, trying his best not to wince. It was equivalent to when Moe tried playing piano keys for the first time.

"Hey, honey!" called Patty's voice. "Did you invite this hot chick over for your-?"

Wolf's confidence shattered when he saw Patty being thrown across the room, crashing into the couch.

The hooded man spun around and the canine's first instinct was to ram the cardboard package into the man's head immediately. His body dropped and everything was still. Until he heard the man groaning.

Patty's groaning was the loudest. She slowly got up and saw the fully clothed Diane entering the scene.

"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!" she declared.

And just like that, she made a dash to the window and jumped right out.

Wolf and Diane nearly slammed into the window frame when they got close to it. They looked down, eyes wildly scanning around. They thought the researcher might be already gone since they couldn't hear her body splatting against the road, but then…

"I AM STILL FALLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING…!" shouted Patty jauntily

With an annoyed growl, Wolf hung his head in annoyance, nonchalantly pulled out his grappling hook gun and shot it downwards. His catch of the day was successful, pulling the researcher by the leg right on time before she could hit the ground. Once he lifted her back up, Patty looked like she was already out of breath.

Lying on the floor and faced with the two mercenaries, she could only grin sheepishly.

"Does the package at least have poisonous gas?" she asked.

"No," said Wolf bluntly. "Only perfume bombs."

"...I'm sorry, what did you say?"

BANG!

Retracting back the grappling hook, Patty fell to the ground limply, stars already circling around the top of her head. Wolf couldn't help but give Diane a judgy look, eyeing the frying pan the fox weaponized herself with.

"...you're the one who slammed a cardboard box into that guy's head," protested Diane.

"But mine is lighter," said Wolf. "I hope. But I didn't know you would get caught."

"The woman accidentally crashed into her iPad and it came into my radius."

"So you can hold your breath when hiding in the shadows but not when you got a rock concert blasting in your ears?"

"The last time I ever went to one, I nearly had surgery to put my ear back into place."

"And just now, you didn't want your ears to explode?"

Diane snickered, rolling her eyes. "Geez, alright. Though, make that a lesson that you'll need to be sneaky. That's one way to becoming the Crimson Paw like me."

"Note taken," said Wolf, mocking a salute. "And I learnt to mask my feelings so I don't get crippled by the static noise and the walls that are about to crush me to death."

Diane sighed, embarrassed. "That's…a valuable lesson. By the way, I got the Eden Apple." She flicked around the small weapon in her hand. "We only got a couple more to go."

After collecting a couple of Eden Apples, the two decided to retreat to the top of the apartment. Allowing Wolf to take the time to recollect his thoughts, Diane checked over the amount of the small Eden Apples in her pouches. Several of them and enough to fill her pockets. She smiled to herself as she took off her headset, proud of another successful robbery for good.

Her eyes trailed to the stains on the pouches. Matching to the stained splatters on her ninja suit. The fox purred a little, brushing one of the stains on the robe. She doubted wearing it since the only reason was to find a suitable size for her. Looking at the red and blue stripes, she had no problem with it now. In fact, it looked quite fashionable much like her original Crimson Paw outfit.

The material of the outfit was even soft, especially the scarf around her neck. It didn't feel like any spikes poking into her skin. It felt comfortable. Besides, this outfit aged over time, so it might be a little easy to stretch around in this.

"What's with the stains all over your dress?"

"Don't ask me. This is the only size I can find. There's no laundry machine to be able to clean that up! Just make sure not to tell that to the leaders of the league. They are trying their best with the budget they have."

Remembering back to Shark's memory, Diane herself didn't know where the stains came from. It was said to be passed on by previous agents, but what they did was a mystery. The stains were dark brown, but it definitely didn't look like chocolate or mud. An ugly idea came to Diane's mind which spelled out sinister actions these agents did before.

Frowning, she shook her head. She shouldn't be worried about this. It was her own outfit now, so she could rename it into something better, right?

"Diane," said Wolf's voice, far away. "Remind me again. That one with Patty Lambs. We just made an open crime scene. Will we be in trouble?"

The fox decided to let that slide for now. She was involved with this, so Wolf shouldn't feel ashamed. She smirked a little to herself, remembering the call she made back to Buck and the many police chiefs in the city.

"Don't worry," she reassured. "I got this one already covered."

From where Wolf was standing, he was leaning against the balcony. She couldn't see his face, but she could tell he was in deep thought.

"You're sure about it?" he asked skeptically. "Because it looks like the police aren't gonna let us go."

"Wolf, it'll be fine," said Diane firmly. "I promise. Let me take care of everything."

There was an audible sigh from Wolf. "OK."

Diane didn't expect to feel immediately bad when she heard Wolf's low-key delivery of the word. He appeared to have an opinion that was the opposite of OK. Diane wondered how Wolf exactly felt about her saying she handled it. Not to mention if he did find out that she told the police to back off. The fox's ears lowered, imagining if Wolf wasn't too happy with the idea.

"As soon as someone finds out, they would know that you would have all that power covering up your crimes. And with that, people would be more willing to place a hit on you for this."

Hornet's advice to her meant a different thing before. Now, could this relate to more? Diane nearly broke Wolf's trust once. She didn't want to do it again.

"Did you… hear their conversation?" Wolf asked suddenly. "What was going on there?"

The fox pushed back her worries in a neat tidy box, walking forwards to join Wolf. This would be a topic she would be confident in talking about. She casually hopped on the top of the balcony wall, facing him.

"Well, the thing with previous contacts coming to buy some of the Eden Apples," said Diane casually. "I swiped Patty's phone to investigate what that was about. It's going to be at a black site tonight-"

"No, no," said Wolf. In full view, he was solemn. If his lowered ears weren't an indication, then his dull eyes were. "I…I know that. Sorry for interrupting, but the point is…she sounds really worried about it."

Diane was about to answer until she hesitated when she saw Wolf's eyes turn glassy again. His growing worry switched into the image of a leftover burning woodpile.

"Who am I kidding?" the canine growled darkly. "She got herself into trouble with being a part of creating the Eden Apples, causing this mess."

"Seems to be the case," agreed Diane, shrugging. "Though, it got me a little curious since it sounds like she had other ideas of what they would-"

"Sunnyside Labs is already an awful place with a filthy organization. I mean, who would root for them for holding a thousand guinea pigs hostage? It's their own fault that they will be in debt soon. They're the ones who will have their money gone."

Diane didn't need to ask further. The seething Wolf looked livid. If anything else, his ears were twitching in agitation, his fingers were tapping the top of the balcony wall and his tail was swaying in an attempt to feel like he was dominant over the rest of the pack. Then, Diane took note of him glaring at the city in front of them.

In Wolf's mind, he could already hear whispers in his head. He wanted to stare long at this city and see how it really changed. The buildings looked the same, with similar shiny skyscrapers and homely apartments. The sun was shining, but it couldn't overcome the cloudy sky with the faint drizzle. The breeze was cold, but nothing like he couldn't handle the cold. However, seeing it again reminded him negatively that he never even belonged here.

He closed his eyes, allowing the whispers to grow louder. A mouth came near with its hot breath brushing against his cheek, telling him he was better off dead from this forbidden excuse. He shook his head, wanting to pretend he didn't care. But for some reason, Wolf cared about what that voice said. It was trying to hurt him.

Diane hummed sadly, shuffling close to Wolf. "Don't listen to what Thelma and Spalding said to you. You know that, right?"

Wolf's eyes snapped open, fatigued. "Stop. Just…stop, Diane. Did you remember what they were right about?"

"Doesn't excuse them for hurting you and Snake," said Diane, gripping her hands into fists.

"No," said Wolf, holding one of Diane's fists and uncurling it. "And you were suspicious when my dad chose not to arrest us, even when he saw me earlier."

He felt mute, but with Diane in front of him, a nagging feeling encouraged him to spit it out loud. He couldn't with Snake, but the fox got close to knowing him on a deeper level. They had this confrontation before, but Wolf didn't want to make it too harsh this time.

He sighed, his hand stroking through his ears in a nervous tic. "I drove out of Melbourne because I thought my father was better without me. For…what I wasn't able to. And it's my fault. Sometimes, I wish that if we were more fortunate, then my father…wouldn't be on the streets."

The canine crossed his arms, considering curling himself. The whispers were starting to come back again and they were nibbling on his skin. He needed to say more before they remind him to.

"When you gave us the offer, I thought it would be another way to be a hero," he admitted. "To be better AND feel better like it was nothing. I'm still a mercenary, but I thought this was proof I grown up already. And…of course, so my friends don't stay in prison forever. I didn't want to sound selfish, which was why I came along anyway. And for some reason, I thought…it might help Snake and it didn't…"

His heart shook, feeling like it could break. But it couldn't. It was pumping from the pent-up guilt and sorrow he had towards Snake. The reptile was more vocal about not wanting to come to Melbourne. He was also the one who helped him calm down from his previous freakouts. But once up to an old enemy of his, Snake's shield broke into a million pieces.

And the worst part was Wolf nearly had no idea of how he could comfort Snake. When the two of them know what they said wasn't just biases.

Diane was already concerned. She hopped down from the balcony wall and held onto one of Wolf's hands, rubbing it gently in hope of comforting him a little. Wolf barely reacted at all.

"It's not easy seeing the curves up ahead," she said quietly. "You know I screwed up the last time I tried helping you."

"This is different," muttered Wolf. He let his arms drop before rubbing his eyes. "Who am I kidding? I shouldn't be telling you this. I don't want to pressure any of you."

"I can respect if you don't want to tell your friends yet," said the fox, careful with how loud her voice was. "But it's eating you. You can take the time, but you'll need to tell them. They DO want to help. And me knowing about everything before, it was a selfish move. But for now, I can try to listen if there's anything wrong."

A whisper hissed at Wolf that his friends were better off without them. However, Diane telling him that his friends would want to help him brought back a memory of when Shark, Piranha and Webs arrived to save him and her from Marmalade. And that was after he accidentally pushed them away from his argument with Snake.

It made him feel awful for not trusting them to understand, but Diane brought up a good point. She learned as well from hearing his and Hornet's side. Wolf's demeanor gradually changed, his shoulders rising in a returning sense of wanted dignity. Turning his head to her, he stepped closer to her.

His head was still in a blunder of emotions, so he blurted out what else he might be feeling.

"I don't even know what to do," he said sadly. "Oliver doesn't know what to do. And…"

He paused. He was shocked that he dared to say his real name. More along relating to 'Oliver' as his previous self. A new whisper came into his hearing, resembling his voice when he was younger. Crying that he wanted his parents. And so did his father's, who didn't even mention what state he was in.

"So if you ever want to visit me, you can…come over to visit, son."

Wolf could feel his fur bristling with a new sense of hope. He pulled out the paper card that had the written address. It had been a while since he last remembered, but he felt familiar with the place where he used to live at. And that was his offer to come home to see his father. Stanley was waiting to talk with him again.

The world brightened when he smiled. "I think I know what to do. How much time do you think we will have left for today's hunt?"

Diane already knew what he meant. "Only a couple of buildings left around and that's all we can find today. We have to discuss the black site later, but we got a lot of time after noon….and Kitty expects me for a 'special lunch offer'."

Wolf nodded, his original, confident persona returning. "Think she will mind bringing along takeaway?"

Stay tuned for...

From the creative minds of  TU4QU0I53T4IAN6L3  and  I.M. Rally

Coming soon…someday

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