Return of the Great Cat and Mouse Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The Old Colleagues


"Hey! I told you to drop me off back there!" Muta hissed angrily struggling to get out of Toto's grasp.

"Sorry Muta, but we are making no stops, right Baron?" Toto said smirking as he flew against a gust of wind.

"Indeed. We can't afford to lose second." Baron nodded staring down at the land below them from Toto's back.

"Still, you could have just left me there and left without wasting another second!" Muta growled angrily at the two.

"Stop being such a fraidy cat. You can handle the Dog Kingdom. . ." Toto said rolling his eyes.

"I'm not fraidy cat, I just can't stand dogs!" Muta hissed at Toto.

Baron sighed.

"Come now, Muta. . . not all dogs are like the one you've encountered." Baron said.

Toto frowned.

"Besides, that incident was entirely your fault." Toto mumbled.

"Hey! That punk put his wet, slimy nose on my mincemeat pie! He was asking for that swipe to his nose!" Muta retorted.

Toto sighed in annoyance and moved his head slightly to look at Baron.

"So, Baron, you sure you know where the Dog Kingdom is?"

Baron nodded.

"Yes, it's all looking very familiar." Baron said scanning the land below them more.

Toto looked down at the land curiously.

"So you really think this friend of yours might know where the Opal of the Hund is?" Toto asked.

"I'm not quite sure, but it will be worth the effort asking him. I haven't been to the Dog Kingdom in years. He could at least help us with some information on whom to ask or where to go." Baron replied.

"Jeez. . . I can't believe you two are forcing me into the enemy’s territory." Muta grumbled to himself.

"I can't believe that you’re still going on about this, Muta." Toto said.

"Shut up birdbrain! I don't want to hear anything from you right now!" Muta hissed.

"You better watch what you say, fatso, or I might accidently drop you." Toto replied coolly.

"I don't need to watch my mouth around a birdbrain like yo- Ouch! Don't clutch me so hard with those freakish claws of yours!" Muta angrily hissed some more.

"They're talons, blubber face."

"Shut up you big chicken!"

"Will you two, kindly not try to kill each other up here, we need to make it in at least one piece to the-. . . there it is!" Baron said pointing to the land ahead of them.

Toto and Muta broke from their angry dispute and looked in the direction Baron pointed to, and saw a large canyon up ahead.

"That’s the Dog Kingdom?" Toto asked in awe.

Baron nodded.

Muta bristled.

"That's my cue! Drop me off! Right now! I don't want to go anywhere near that kingdom! Let me go! I hate dogs! Release me! Now! Are you two even listening to me?!" Muta spewed, struggling in Toto's grasp.

"Faster Toto." Baron said completely ignoring Muta's protests.

Toto chuckled.

"On it!"

Once they got close enough, Toto made a swoop down to the earth below them and landed right outside the canyon.

Baron hopped off of Toto's back and looked at his surroundings.

"The scenery hasn't changed a bit." Baron said smiling to himself.

Muta then stood up and looked around also, only in disgust.

"Eh. . . don't see what's so great about this place-" Muta stopped in mid-sentence only to bristle as he caught eye of something.

Baron and Toto turned in the same direction to see a female Australian Shepard, wearing a bright blue summer dress come running towards them, with a gleeful smile on her face.

"Great! Let the chase scenes begin!" Muta growled ready to make a run for it only for Baron to get a firm grip on him.

"Don't be hasty Muta. I'm sure she means no harm." Baron scolded.

Finally the Shepard finally made it to them and laughed happily.

"New arrivals?! Cool! Welcome! Welcome to the Dog Kingdom!" she beamed at them between pants.

Baron smiled back and took his top hat off and bowed.

"Pleasure to be here, I'm Baron Humbert von Gikkingen, these are my friends Toto and Muta."

"Hello." Toto smiled, while Muta only snorted and looked away.

"Hey! I'm Freida! I'll be your guide if you need me! Boy I'm so happy I came in for work today! We usually don't get many visitors, which is why my job is such a drag. But you're here now and I'm so happy!" Freida said jumping up in the air happily.

Baron had to stifle a chuckle.

"We're glad you’re here to help us, because we're looking for someone. Perhaps you could help us find him."

"Of course I can help! That's my job! To be a guide! Come, let us go! Follow me!" Freida sang as she skipped towards the border of the Dog Kingdom.

Toto chuckled.

"Full of energy is she?" Toto smiled.

Muta snorted.

"Pfft! What do you expect? She's a dog after all. There nothing but walking time bombs ready to blow any second. I'm just surprised she hasn't tried to chase me yet, better stay that way. . ." Muta said with a frown.

"Muta, stop dwelling so much on the over used stereotype that dogs love to chase cats. The dogs here have better things to do than chase a lard ball like you." Toto remarked.

"L-Lard ball?! Why you-!"

"Please you two! I want you to stay on your best behaviors’, we are strictly here on business and we will stay strictly professional today, am I correct?" Baron said glaring softly at his friends.

Muta and Toto sighed.

"Right." they said in synch.

Baron smiled in satisfaction and looked ahead at Freida skipping towards the entrance of the canyon.

"Freida" Baron said walking in a fast pace to catch up to her.

"Do you happen to know where this address is?" Baron said pulling out a piece of paper from his coat and handing it to Freida.

Freida studied it for a second and nodded happily.

"Oh! You’re here to see him? Cool! No worries! I know exactly where he lives!" she said giddily and continued to skip forward.

The Cat Bureau walked along with Freida and watched. The more they entered the canyon the more they saw many houses, stores, and small buildings all around like dog made city. But what stood out the most was the huge population of dogs crowding just this small area of the canyon.

Muta shivered.

"This place gives me the creeps. . ."

"This place is a lot more crowded than the last time I was here. . ." Baron stated looking around curiously.

"There are so many of them, makes me wonder how many more are there in the rest of the canyon." Toto wonder aloud.

Freida looked behind her at the others and beam happily to them.

"Oh thousands more!" she giggled looking at the surprised looks on their faces.

Muta shook his head in disapproval.

"That’s it! I want to leave now. . ."

OOO

"Here we are!" Freida said holding her paw out to a small house in between two bigger ones on a quiet street.

Baron smiled.

'Just as I remember it. . .' Baron thought fondly.

"Thanks again Freida." Toto said turning to Freida.

"Don't mention it! I was happy to help! See ya!" Freida sang happily and without another word ran off.

"Finally she's gone." Muta smirked to himself happily.

Smiling to himself, Baron walked towards the front of the house, followed by Toto and Muta, and knocked on the door.

The three of them waited as they heard faint footsteps from inside. Finally the door opened to reveal lovely female Golden Receiver wearing a pink dress with an apron on, with her golden hair up in a bun.

Baron smiled gently and bow.

"Hello Mrs. Hudson. It's wonderful to see you again."

Mrs. Hudson stood at the doorway frozen for a second staring intently down at Baron (since she's half a head taller than him), till finally a bright smile lit up her face.

". . . Ah! Baron! What a lovely surprise! You haven't changed a bit." she smiled and took in Baron’s appearance.

Baron chuckled.

"I would be surprised if I had."

Baron then turned to Muta and Toto.

"I believe you haven't been introduced. This is Mrs. Hudson. Mrs. Hudson this is Muta and Toto."

Mrs. Hudson smiled and bowed slightly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too." Toto said bowing his head.

"Yeah, nice to meet you Chicky. . ." Muta said unenthusiastically.

Baron frowned at Muta than turned to Mrs. Hudson again.

"Mrs. Hudson, is Hound present?" Baron asked.

Mrs. Hudson nodded smiling happily.

"Yes he is. I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you."

Baron smiled as well.

"Great. I'm looking forward to seeing him again."

Mrs. Hudson opened the door wide and the three of them walked in.

"Come, he's just upstairs." she said starting to climb the stairs, as they trailed behind her.

Finally they reached a close door and she held a hand out to the three of them and put a finger to her mouth and giggled quietly, than opened the door enough for only her to peak in.

"Mr. Hound? I believe that we have-."

Before Mrs. Hudson could finish what she was saying, a loud explosion shook the air.

The Cat Bureau stood there is shock while green fumes surrounded the place.

"Gross! What is that smell?!" Muta gaged pinching his nose and while Baron and Toto waved the smoke away from them.

Mrs. Hudson gave a nervous chuckle.

"It appears one of Hound's experiment's hasn’t gone off as he planned again." she said waving her hand also.

"Gah! Open up a window, quick! Hound! You and your darn concoctions!" cried a deep voice inside the room in panic, along with the sound of running.

"Well, you have to say Watson, that I was nearly close this time." came another voice, chuckling.

Mrs. Hudson stepped into the room some more.

"Um. . . Mr. Hound, I'm sorry to interrupt, but you have visitors."

"Oh? Tell them to wait a moment, I don't want to subject them to smelling this odor." the voice said.

Mrs. Hudson only giggled.

"I'm afraid it's too late for that." she answered.

"Oh, well. . . send them in then." said the voice, only in a slightly embarrassed tone.

Mrs. Hudson turned to the others and beckoned them inside the room with a smile.

The three moved inside to see the room filled with thick green fumes and the outlines of two tall and short figures standing in front of windows.

"Terribly sorry for the foul odor. I was doing a small test in my lab and it didn't go according to plan." said the taller figure opening one of the windows.

"It's fine, but I must say, I'm relieved to know that this part of you hasn't changed." Baron said stepping forward.

The tall figure froze and then slowly turned away from the opened window and towards Baron.

". . . Baron?" the figure asked in wonder.

Baron smiled.

"Hello Hound."

The tall figure than quickly made his way towards them, emerging from the thinning smoke into the view of everyone.

There stood a male dog with a reddish fur coat and in a suit that looked almost identical to Baron's. A smile grew on his face the moment he caught sight of Baron.

"Baron, long time no see!" Hound said holding out his hand for Baron to take.

Baron took ahold of his hand and smiled back.

"Long time indeed, Holmes. Is that you Watson?" Baron asked peaking behind Hound to see a short grayish blue furred dog emerge from the smoke coughing.

"Indeed Baron, and as you can see, Hound is still trying to kill me with those concoctions of his." Watson said in between coughs.

Hound rolled his eyes playfully.

"Come now Watson, you’re exaggerating. A step outside will be just what you need."

"Indeed, in fact let’s all go out in the courtyard till this house is aired out." Watson said making a rush down stairs.

"Right behind you!" Muta cried following behind in haste, pinching his nose along the way.

Once all windows and doors were opened, everyone went into the courtyard and sighed in breath of relief.

Hound than turned to Baron.

"Now that we're able to breath, would you introduce us to your friends?" Hound asked looking towards Muta and Toto.

Before Baron could say Muta spoke.

"I'm Muta. Baron's already introduced me once today, so I'll just go and say it."

Toto nodded in agreement and spoke too.

"I'm Toto, nice to meet you."

"Pleasure." Hound and Watson said in sync, before Hound turned to Baron again.

"I see your Cat Bureau is doing well. For a moment there when you came today, I thought you were going to rejoin our group just like old times. I would, by the way, be happy to welcome you." Hound said smiling.

Baron smiled back while shaking his head.

"I'm flattered, but I'm happy with my Bureau."

"That's too bad." Watson said than looked to Muta and Toto who wore confused looks on their faces.

"Did Baron not tell you two? Baron used to work with Holmes and me a while back." Watson said.

"What?!" Muta exclaimed.

"Baron, you worked with these two before?" Toto asked Baron.

Baron sweat dropped.

"Oh. . . did I not tell you? Yes, I did. I worked with Holmes, Watson, and Mrs. Hudson long before I made the Cat Bureau and met you two."

Mrs. Hudson who stood by the doorway of the house gave a mournful sigh.

"I'll never forget the day you said goodbye Baron, and declared you wanted to return to Japan to fulfill your dream of making your own agency. We were terribly sad when you left, we missed you." Mrs. Hudson said giving a gentle smile to Baron.

"I missed you all as well." Baron said with a sad smile on his face.

"But since you are not back to join us again Baron and it seems you’re not back just to say hello, considering all the time that has passed since we've last seen each other. . . why may I ask are you here?" Hound asked curiously.

"I've come for some assistance." Baron said stepping forward.

"Assistance?" Watson repeated.

Baron nodded.

"You see, right now Muta, Toto, and I are in the middle of a case, but we need some help if we want to progress."

Hound tilted his head.

"And how could we help?"

Baron pulled out Haru's journal and flipped to a page in it and gave it to Holmes.

"Are you aware of a stone called the Opal of the Hund?" Baron asked.

Hound looked down at the book, while Watson and Mrs. Hudson also came behind him to take a peek at the book.

"No, I'm afraid I've never heard of such a thing. Watson? Mrs. Hudson? Have either of you heard of it?" Hound asked turning to his associates.

"I'm afraid I haven't heard of it either." Watson said.

Mrs. Hudson shook her head, in no.

"Are you sure?" Toto asked.

Muta crossed his arms.

"A magical stone associated to the Dog Kingdom, grants a wish? Ring a bell?" Muta asked.
Holmes, Watson, and Mrs. Hudson all shook their heads, wearing frowns on their faces as they continued to stare down at the journal.

"Magical you say? I can definitely say, I've never heard of such a stone. . . but I am quite curious why you need to find it, Baron?" Hound asked looking up from the journal to stare at Baron.
Baron sighed wearily.

"In a short explanation: we are trying to find the stone before it ends up in the wrong hands, who is probably pursuing it now as we speak."

"My. . . sounds like quite the adventure. . ." Mrs. Hudson said.

Hound sighed and closed the journal and handed it to Baron again.

"I'm sorry Baron, but I had no idea of the existence of this stone until you just told me now. And I would even love to help you find more information about the stone, but we ourselves recently have received a case from the Dog Palace and we’re going to have to leave for the palace in a couple of hours, " Hound said regretfully.

Baron lit up.

"The Dog Palace? Perhaps we should go as well. The stone is supposed to be from the royal family after all. We could go and seek answers there." Baron said turning to Muta and Toto who nodded in agreement.

"Oh then you’re welcome to come with us then." Watson said.

Hound then smiled at the group.

"Then it's settled, you'll join us to go to the Dog Palace then."

Mrs. Hudson smiled.

"Then you all must get ready, the house should be aired out by now, it's safe to come inside."

"Thank goodness. . ." Watson and Muta mumbled under their breaths.

As everyone began to walk inside the house Hound and Baron held back.

"I must say, I'm excited to be doing this Baron, it'll be just like old times." Hound said giving a small smirk to Baron.

Baron smiled back and began to walk inside the house along with Hound.

"Yes. Just like old times. . ."

OOO

"Finally! We're here!" Crisp cried out in exasperation, landing beyond the canyon and outside of the Dog Kingdom's border, with a huff.

Dawson smiled and leaped off of Crisp's back.

"All thanks to Peeters and Lukas." Dawson said folding up a map in his hands.

Haru smirked at Basil.

"See Basil? Good came out of helping Oona. If we didn't help her we would probably still be wandering aimlessly asking others on how to find this place." she said shooting a cheeky smile to him.

Basil rolled his eyes playfully.

"Yes, yes Ms. Haru. I get it. Now be careful before you get too much of a swelled head."

Crisp looked abruptly to his side.

"Guys, we've got company. . ."

Everyone turned to see a female Australian Shepard, wearing a bright blue summer dress come running towards them, with a gleeful smile on her face.

"Hot dog! More visitors?! All in one day?! Boy, the boss may even give me a bonus!" the female dog said once she reached them, punching her fist in the air happily.

"Err. . . hello there." Basil said with caution staring at the hyperactive dog in front of him that seemed more frenzied than Toby even on one of his 'days'.

After the Shepard finally calmed down, she gave them a great big smile.

"Hey! I'm Freida! I'll be your guide through the Dog Kingdom!" she said her tail wagging.

Freida giggled eagerly.

"More visitors. . .! I've never met this many visitors in one day before! Perhaps you all will run into the last visitors who came here just a while ago!" Freida smiled jumping in place excitedly.

"That would be neat!", she finished saying, before gesturing for the others to follow her as she guided the confused group to the Dog Kingdom's entrance.