Chapter Text
Ohkay city was too quiet. Too boring. Too well-behaved.
Sarah Hatoff was losing her mind. Newspapers weren’t selling. Her manager glared at her as if she caused the decline, and she was this close to getting fired. It was already evening and she just wanted to go home to her precious Zuzu.
Sarah stepped outside for a quick break. Fresh air never hurts. Especially after the suffocating tension back in that room. She dropped onto a bench and immediately went into problem-solving mode.
“No one else is as dedicated as I am. If this job is going to survive, it’s up to me.” She muttered it under her breath. Fingers tapping, eyes scanning the empty street, she started running through every possible angle.
It was either quit or find a hell of a story. It was absolutely going to be the latter. But how? Nothing bad had happened since Petey decided to go good. Not that anyone minded, Petey going good was a blessing, if anything. A blessing except when it came to her paycheck. If only she could spin “Saint Petey” into a headline.
Sarah’s eyes lit up. This could work.
One tiny problem: Petey might’ve reformed, but human interaction? Still a crime in his world. No pun intended. She couldn’t actually recall seeing anyone have a real conversation with him except Lil’ Petey and Dog Ma-
Dog Man! He could help me with a solution for this forsaken problem! If anyone could turn Petey’s goody-two-shoes act into a story, it was Dogman. Dogman could help show the world Petey is a real do-gooder, I could get more news, and Ohkay City will be rolling again!
And if this worked… maybe she’d finally survive another week at work?
It was worth the shot.
Dog Man’s phone rang.
He dashed downstairs, leaving a trail of chaos behind. He promised himself he’d clean it up later.
He stared at his phone, trying to remember how to pick up a call. The right button. He still didn’t entirely know how to read properly, but he answered anyway.
“Hey, Dog Man, it’s me, Sarah. Do y-”
Dog Man’s howl burst through, full of energy. He barked what seemed to be greetings.
“Haha. Missed ya too, buddy!” Sarah cleared her throat then took a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm. “Um… do you have a minute? It’s… important.”
Dog Man made a noise somewhere between approval and curiosity.
“So… gosh, this might sound weird, but bear with me,” Sarah continued. “Things have been… really quiet in the city lately. And… well, I’m having trouble with my job.” Her tone was anxious, sounding as if she were on the verge of breaking down.
Dog Man stayed quiet on the line, but his concern was obvious in the little hums he made.
“Anyway,” Sarah pressed on, “I’ve been thinking… if you’re not busy, could you help me with something I came up with? It’d be a huge favor, but I know you can handle it.”
Another approving bark from Dog Man, louder this time, more enthusiastic and completely on board.
“Yes! Thank you so much!” Relief washed over Sarah. “This is great! Alright, I’ll be there at your house in a bit. Crap- I need to go now, I’ll see you soon, Dog Man. Thank you, again.”
He also thought about her shared observation of how eerily quiet the city had become. It was strange. Too perfect. Like the calm right before something exploded.
Explosion. Petey…
Dog Man shook his head. He quickly pushed away that negative feeling. He was proud of Petey, of course. Really, he was. The cat had changed, and maybe even improved the city. The crime rate is the lowest it’s ever been! But, he couldn’t help but recall watching Petey in action, it was like that cat always discovered some new way to make the world interesting again. Petey had a way of making things happen, whether Dog Man liked it or not. He can’t give Petey that same treatment, especially now that he’s turned a new leaf.
Right now his main concern is helping his good friend Sarah Hatoff. What did she want Dog Man to even help with anyway? There has been no crime, as far as Dog Man knew. Well, whatever it was, he was excited to help.
Dog Man looked around his house. His jaw dropped. Just when did it get this messy?! He paused. Sarah was arriving soon. His disbelief quickly turned into panic. He spotted one of the empty boxes he’d forgotten to toss after moving in. Grabbing it, he started stuffing the chaos from earlier inside. From Lil’ Petey’s comics to half-eaten treats. Thankfully his late owner’s body was accustomed to being organized. He remembers when Knight cleaned up his doggy mess. There definitely used to be way more mess than this, which eased Dog Man.
Knight was perfect, really. At times, Dog Man suffered from imposter syndrome. Mainly whenever the city thinks of him as amazing, he can’t help but feel a little guilty he’s taking those compliments meant for Knight. It’s a strange feeling. The city probably had expected more Man than Dog when they'd first heard the news of Dog Man. Fighting Petey was easy, but living up to Knight’s reputation was difficult.
Knight really was Ohkay City’s toughest cop.
Dogman jumped as the doorbell rang. He barked as he yanked the box under the coffee table, giving it an extra shove for good measure. He glanced around. Not nearly as chaotic as earlier. He opened the door and saw Sarah.
“Dog Man!” Sarah’s face lit up the moment she saw him, like the sun finally decided to show up.
He barked happily as he shook his phantom tail. He wanted to jump onto her. But he remembered her tone on the phone, and figured that greeting might push her over the edge. He decided to casually invite her in.
“Come in!” Dog Man signed.
As Sarah stepped inside, she was pleasantly surprised. The house was clean. Well, mostly. A few stray things cluttered the floor, but nothing like the disaster it had been when he first moved in. Even better, it was decorated. It felt almost normal. Like a completely different house from before. Pictures of Knight, and Lil’ Petey’s drawings filled the walls. It was heartwarming to see.
“I see you’ve been getting used to this place,” Sarah said with a chuckle, eyes scanning the neat corners and carefully arranged furniture.
“Yup! Still working on it, though.” Dog Man signed, trying not to let her notice the small chaos he’d shoved under the coffee table. He let Sarah look around his place as he went to get a mug for Sarah and him. He barked to get Sarah’s attention, and signed to her again. “Coffee?”
“Oh, no thanks, Dog Man. Appreciate the offer. Just some water is alright.” Sarah clarified. She followed Dog Man to the kitchen. She unpacked her bag on the table. Dog Man placed the mugs down and he sat next to her, curious written all over his face. Sarah looked focused. It’s like she didn’t notice Dog Man was done making their drinks. He tapped on Sarah, bringing her back to her senses.
“So what did you need help with?” He signed.
“Oh, right. Dog Man, this might tough, but I know you can handle it. You’re the only one I can really count on for this.” Sarah sounded serious. Dog Man quickly put on his officer-attitude and nodded. “I need you to talk to Pe-“
Dog Man growled. Sarah looked at him, stunned. Dog Man looked confused, then quickly covered his mouth, suddenly aware of how obvious his reaction had been.
“Sorry. I did not mean that. Carry on.” Dog Man hastily signed, undoubtedly embarrassed of his outburst. His ears went down in shame, as if he were trying to hide behind them. Sarah softly giggled a little at this behavior. She never saw Dog Man this way. There seemed to be some unresolved anger Dog Man had towards Petey, which isn’t shocking in retrospect. Though, this might be a problem since Sarah was counting on Dog Man to convince Petey to star in her new headline.
“Are you sure you’re up for this favor?” Sarah examined Dog Man. Nothing hinted that the ex-criminal would be part of this favor. Maybe that’s what Sarah meant when she said it would be a tough favor. Regardless, he proceeded.
“Yes, I am. I just did not know he was going to be part of this.” Dog Man had a painfully biased reaction when he signaled “he”. Dog Man didn’t hear the entire plan so maybe he was just overreacting. “Talk to him about what, exactly?”
“I would like him to perform something good that I can report.” She stated.
“You want him to commit a crime again?”
“What?! Of course not!” She giggled at how bizarre that idea was, mentally noting that down if plan A doesn’t work. Anything to make that big buck. “I… want him to perform something good, actually.”
“Why?” Dog Man looked intrigued at this. The real question was why him.
“I noticed Petey always made the headlines whenever he went out to do evil deeds. It used to be simple. Go outside, talk about what was happening, write about it, and I was set. But now… it’s hard since the crime’s stopped.” Sarah sighed. “And I know the city is still warming up to him, even we’re in the same boat. We can kill two squirrels with one dog. Let him redeem my career and himself.”
Sarah looked at Dog Man for any sign of agreement. He looked like he was really thinking hard about this decision. It couldn’t hurt to help both of his friends.
“Okay! It’s a deal.” Dog Man signed in approval. Sarah hugged Dog Man straight away. He reverted to his doggy-instincts and licked Sarah’s face.
“Thank you so much, Dog man! You don’t know how much this truly means to me.” She pet his head as she kept giggling. As they calmed down she cleared her throat before adding on. “Could you keep this between us though? I wouldn’t like the city to know I’m over here struggling.”
“Understood.” Dog Man signed.
“I’ll best be going now, Dog Man. Let me know when you’ve talked to Petey.” Sarah grabbed her bag, getting ready to go.
“Wait. What exactly should I say to him?” Dog Man signed.
“Just ask if he’d like a way to show everyone he’s changed.” Sarah went towards the door. “And if that doesn’t convince him, maybe Lil’ Petey could intervene.”
“Got it.” Dog Man followed behind Sarah.
“Well, thanks again, Dog Man. I really appreciate you doing this for me. If you’d like any help as well, I’m always here.” She gave Dog Man a final pet on his head and turned the knob. “Talk to you soon, Dog Man!”
“Yes, of course! Bye-bye!” He closed the door behind her.
Dog Man felt troubled.
He was more socially inclined than Petey ever was, but even he was finding this favor to be tougher than he’d initially expected. Talking to Petey was awkward. There was lingering tension that filled the air, and worse of all none of them ever wanted to solve that tension. They both silently agreed to let it coexist every time they saw each other. It’s hard to believe Lil’ Petey was a clone of him. They act nothing alike. Petey was still a part of him though, so he couldn’t fully hate the feline no matter what.
Maybe this time they could resolve their tension.