Housepets!

Yes please do Max. You know she is no good so you got to do something.

Don’t worry guys . Max, Joey, and Fido do help Bino with Duchess.

Good to hear the boys are on the case.

Also that they might be successful so that's a win also!

Thanks a lot for your compliments everyone, and thank you to everyone who read. Now, I don’t want to spoil things too much but the guys do succeed. Also, Duchess is one of the villains of the story, along with some flunkies, and, of course, the drunk driver who killed Jeff. I should have the next chapter up later today or tomorrow. Duchess will probably not make her first appearance until the chapter after this.

Sounds like you've got a lot planned out. Duchess really gets on my nerves.
I'm sure wherever you take this story in the future will be great

I hope she isn't one of the characters that gets pied also. Only characters that I LIKE get pies to the face.

Maybe she'll get hit with an éclair instead. They stain bad.

The kind of slapstick I reserve for characters I don't like is having large objects dropped on them.

Also trekkie wants me to give my input for the chapter so most likely it will be the K-9s that get plastered. XD

I'm not going to waste pies or any other baked goods on Duchess. By the time she gets her comeuppance she might wish she had gotten hit by pies but, no, i have the pies reserved for some of the K9s.

Chapter 16 Second Breakfast, an author writes, and Grape helps out. (This one will be a bit shorter than the previous chapters.)

Max woke up at eight in the morning feeling much better. Whether it was getting a good night's sleep or talking things over with Rufus, or both, when he awoke many of his anxieties had dissipated. Max got out of bed grabbed his fully charged cell phone, made his bed and brushed his teeth and went to the kitchen for breakfast. Jill Sandwich was in the kitchen putting away bowls and plates and she turned as Max entered.

"Good morning, hon, did you sleep well?" she asked

"Yes, thank you, mom, I think I finally got caught up on my sleep." Max said

"Well, I'm glad to hear that hon? What would you like for breakfast Cereal? Waffles? Eggs and bacon? " Jill asked

"Hm. At my old house I just grabbed some leftovers or kibble, because dad was usually at work by the time I woke up. If it's no problem I'll take the eggs and bacon." Max put in his breakfast request

"That's no problem dear, how do you like your eggs? Jill inquired

"Fried hard please, " Max said, "and could you not make my bacon too crispy? I'm not a fan of crisp bacon."

"No problem hon." Jill said as she got out the eggs and bacon and cooked them, "Oh, while you're here could you tell any allergies that you have? I don't want to give you anything that might make you sick or anything."

"I'm allergic to strawberries and carrots." Max said, "and I have a sensitivity to latex, I think. I know I'm allergic to strawberries and carrots because Bino always bragged that he could eat dad's 'famous' strawberry shortcake and I couldn't and dad warned me to be careful of carrots in salads and soups."

"Carrots, strawberries, and latex. Thank you Max. Now another question, what are your favorite meals?" Jill asked

"Favorite meals?" Max looked at Jill

"Yes, sweetie every Sunday i make a favorite meal of either Grape or Peanut, since you are now living with us, I'll add you favorite meals to the menu." Jill told him

"Oh. Okay. Well, I really like fried fish and chicken, roasted turkey and chicken , meatloaf, pizza, and lasagna. I also like crawfish but I know Peanut is allergic." Max said

"Well, it looks like we have one of your favorite meals every Wednesday. Don't worry, i won't count that as your meal. I'll put you on the calendar after Grape. Peanut has his choice this week I think he chose hamburgers." Jill looked at a notepad, "Yes,it was hamburgers. Just tell me what you want by Friday so i can pick it up when I do the food shopping."

"Okay, no problem, " Max said

"Here you go dear, eggs fried hard and bacon. Would you like anything for your eggs, and what would you like to drink?" Jill asked as she put Max's breakfast in front of the cat

"Oh, thank you. Um, Water is fine to drink and could i have some hot sauce if you have any?" Max asked

"Sure, hon, Earl has that on his eggs too." Jill placed the water and hot sauce on the table, Max thanked her and Jill went to the living room to read

While he ate breakfast Max checked his text messages, he found messages of sympathy from Joey, Dallas, Marvin, and Zach, but nothing from Bino. He got a little worried, Bino usually replied, even if it was just an "okay" or a smiley. Of course, Max thought, Bino hadn't gotten much sleep either so maybe he was still sleeping. Still Max, remembering what Rufus had said, made a note to check on Bino regularly. After doing that, Max checked the Pridelands homepage. The movie continued to garner critical acclaim and would be opening in theaters soon. Mrs Auburn, had also posted that she had made the final revisions to the final Pridelands book and sent it to the publisher. With luck, it would be published in time for the holidays. Max, as well, as Peanut, and Grape knew that the true author of the books was Auburn's cat Res, but Res didn't mind his mom being the author of record. Less stressful, the cat said. Max checked his e-mails and found one from an unknown address bearing the subject 'You have my sympathies' . Curious Max opened the e-mail hoping the note wasn't an ad for an insurance company or for something else for which he had no use. As he finished his bacon and stated on his eggs, he read the email This is what it said:

Dear Max,

Grape e-mailed me and told me of your father's death and that you are understandably struggling to deal with it. She gave me your e-mail address and said it would be good if I wrote to you. First of all let me say that I am so sorry that your father was killed, and that I am angry as you, Grape and Peanut are about how he was killed. You were a great teammate in the temple and Grape certainly thinks very highly of you. I know this e-mail may seem sudden and maybe a little strange, but I did want you to know that even if I can't be with you in person(cat?) I will always be with you in spirit, and i hope that this gives you some comfort during this difficult time. I consider you an awesome cat and a good friend so please don't hesitate to e-mail me back or to write to me at the address below. Take care of yourself, and of Grape and Peanut for me. Also, thank you for keeping my secret it means a lot to me, to know i can trust you guys.

Yours,
Res

Max was stunned. Res, the true author of Pridelands had seen fit to write to him. To him. What's more Res had called him a good friend and an awesome cat and said that Max could write or e-mail him any time. Max smiled slightly, and put his plate and glass in the sink and put the hot sauce in the refrigerator. He then went to Grape's bedroom where the purple cat was reading a Pridelands book. Max knocked on the doorframe to get her attention. Grape, looked up and smiled, and bade Max to enter.

"Grape, thank you so much for e-mailing Res. He wrote me a very nice e-mail. He called wherein me awesome and a good friend." Max said as he hugged Grape

"I'm glad he wrote you Max, and what he said is the truth, in my opinion you are awesome. Maybe I didn't show it, and that's my fault but I do appreciate the fact that you put up with my nonsense." Grape said as she returned the hug

"Hey, you put up with my nonsense, its only fair that I put up with yours." Max said then took a breath, " Grape I'm worried about Bino. He hasn't gotten back to me and last night, no, this morning, Rufus told me that Duchess was going to try and ruin his life." Max said

"So Rufus did come." Grape said, "Dad said he had a strange dream where you and Rufus were talking to each other, I almost said he wasn't dreaming but I decided not to. If I had he might of asked how I knew and scheduled me for more tests at the clinic." Both cats shuddered at the thought.

"Ugh. Tests. " Max said

"But back to the matter at paw, you said Rufus believed that Duchess was going to try and ruin Bino's life. For what it's worth I agree. i don't think Duchess cares for anyone other than herself." Grape said

"Yes, and thank you for helping me with this. I know you and Peanut haven't had the best of experiences with Bino, and he can be a jerk, but was kind of the same way and..." Max stated to talk but Grape cut him off

"No problem, Maxie. If you like him he can't be all bad, and don't beat up on yourself, like I said you are a much different, much more mature cat now. "
Grape said soothingly

"Thank you. I just need someone to talk to and Peanut says you give good advice. Fido is worried too, and so is Joey, and my late dad we've talked to Bino about Duchess multiple times, talked until it felt like Joey's and and my faces were as blue as our collars." Max said sounding frustrated

"Well, how about you guys get together and try and talk to him now. From what you told me, Duchess refused to take him in so maybe he'll be more amenable to listening to you." Grape said

"I hadn't thought of that." Max said. "Good idea, Grape. I'll text Joey and Fido and we'll meet. I'm sure they won't mind they love Bino as much as I do. "

"Good luck." Grape said, "You're a good brother Maxie. I hope you're able to make Bino see the light."

"Thank you." Max said as he got up to go,

"Maxie?" Grape said as Max stated to leave her room

"Yes?" Max turned in the doorway.

Grape walked over and kissed his muzzle affectionately. "Love you. Be careful, okay? As mom might say, I don't trust that saluki as far I could throw her."

Max smiled, "Love you too, Grape. Don't worry I'll be careful, as you know, I don't trust Duchess either. Maybe we can try throwing her somewhere later."

"Now that sounds like fun. Maybe we charge pets to do it. Probably raise a bunch of money." Grape said

They both smiled. Then Max returned to his room to fully charge his phone and text Fido and Joey. If Duchess had hurt Bino, she would regret it. They would see to that.

Wonderful job writing this! I look forward to writing to you about the pies and the K-9s getting covered.

As always excellent chapter. It'll be nice to see all the brothers together to help Bino.
Amazee keeps bringing up the pie throwing. When it comes to Duchess, I have to agree with Grape and Max, throwing her is the preferable option

Well pies are sort of my thing. Its very funny and humiliating at the same time. Plus I grew up watching Disney so blame them.

Well done, indeed ... pies or otherwise.

I can also do cakes but they have to fall into them.

Thanks, everybody! I should say that the end of this part/arc will be Jeff’s funeral. The next part will focus on Maxwell and some others joining the K-9s, with Jeff checking in on Maxwell and Bino, and Duchess putting a scheme into action (spoiler alert: she fails). This is the part that will involve pies and the K-9s.

Just message me whenever you want me to send the list of pies being flung and at which K-9 to you. XD

Chapter 17 Brothers United

Max texted both Fido and Joey and got a response from each. Fido had been allowed to take some time off to help Bino cope and was at home. Joey was about to leave his own home to join Fido. Both shared Max's concern for Bino, as he hadn't responded to phone calls or text messages, and hadn't been seen since the previous day. Joey added that his mouse girlfriend Squeak was spending time with Fido's loudmouth mouse Spo, so the two mice would be out of their fur. Max saw his phone's battery power had gone down a little and he plugged it in, in order to fully charge it. As Max waited for his phone to charge, he went over to Peanut's room and helped the dog with his Spot(Superdog) comics and talked with Peanut about who The Dark Cat's enemies should be. After giving his input, Max returned to his room and grabbed his now fully-charged phone. He headed into the living room where Jill was reading.

"Mom?" Max said, "I'm going to go over to Fido's house. I, well, we, Fido, Joey and I, are concerned about Bino. He hasn't responded to anyone and hasn't been seen since yesterday."

"Oh, dear. Do you want me to take you over there, hon? It's no problem." Jill offered

"No thanks, mom, I could use some fresh air and I did want to take a walk.' Max said

"Okay, hon. Be careful. Try and be home by this evening because it's supposed to storm. I hope that you guys are able to find Bino okay. Love you hon." Jill said

"Love you too, mom. I'll be careful, don't worry." Max said and departed the house

After exiting the Sandwich house max made the turn and headed for Fido's home to meet up with Joey and Fido. He hadn't had a walk alone since the day before dad died and Max decided to enjoy it. While he walked he thought about his current life, he loved his new housemates/siblings and parents but he still deeply missed his father, he was also extremely concerned about Bino. He hoped the dog was okay. Max was so deep in thought that he passed Fido's house entirely. he backtracked and knocked on the door.

"Hey, Max." Fido said as he let Max into the house, "glad you could make it."

"Hey, Max." Joey said as he got up and hugged Max, "so sorry to hear about your dad. My own father's been a wreck, I can only imagine how you and Bino are doing."

"Thanks, Joey." Max said, "I'm just dealing with so many emotions, grief, anger, fear. I mean I can't believed dad's gone." Max wiped at his eyes.

"We'll help you get through them, Max," Fido said as he also hugged the cat, "believe me"

"Thanks Fido. Erm, going off topic for a bit how is Spo, and how is Squeak, Joey?" Max asked

"Oh, he's still a pawful, but I'm glad Sabbie gave him to me." Fido said

"Squeak is good, she's getting better at D and D. She actually beat Lester in a battle. She passes along her sympathies" Joey said

"Good, guys. Fido, you know I had to patch up animals for Sabrina too. It wasn't easy hiding them from dad but I did my best to mend their injuries and I told all other cats to leave them alone. I knew what it was like to be scared for your life." Max sai

"That was nice of you Max. However, back to the matter at paw, how do we help Bino." Fido said

" I can't reach him but have either of you tried calling Duchess? She has my number blocked, didn't want a cat among her contacts." Max said

"No, both Joey and I are blocked as well, she considers Joey a nerd and me a cat-lover so she doesn't want to deal with us either. I checked his room, he is out. When he left yesterday he had this determined look on his face. " Fido said

"Well, where would he go?" Max thought, "The Good Old Dogs clubhouse, and maybe Duchess's place. Maybe we can search both?"

"I dropped by the clubhouse on my way over here," Joey said, "there was no one there."
"Fido, should we have your dad fill out a missing pet report? It's been a day since any of us has seen him." Max turned to the police dog and then his cell phone chimed, "Hold on. Bino just sent me a text message." He read the message for the two dogs:

Max,
Duchess had dumped me. She also held an emergency meeting of the club and had me removed from my position. I should have listened to you, dad, Fido, and Joey when you tried to convince me that she was no good for me. Don't worry though, because, despite being dumped and deposed I am okay. I guess with dad's death so many things are just unimportant now. After i clean out my office I am going home to Fido's house. Sorry, and I suppose I should have lead off with this, but I didn't get back to you. I got Fido's message but then went to sleep and didn't wake up til four in the morning, and I didn't want to disturb your sleep. Also, both dad and Fido were gone when i woke up. I hope to see you Fido and Joey soon.
Your Brother,
Bino

"That Duchess." Joey said in a cold voice, "Dumping Bino and removing him, right after your father dies. What a charming young lady."

"I know." Max said, "She certainly is charming isn't she? I never thought she'd be able to remove him from his office."

"Maybe it's poetic justice in a way." A voice said, all three turned to see Bino carrying a cardboard box, "She removed me because I dared suggest that cat-lovers be admitted to the club, and that was originally my idea."

"How are you doing Bino?" Fido asked as all three moved to hug the dog

"I'm doing okay." Bino said as he hugged his three brothers "It actually fells like a weight has been lifted of my shoulders. Let Duchess or whoever she appoints deal with the headaches of running the club. I won't have to do it anymore."

"I never thought I'd hear you say that." Fido said

"Honestly, I never thought I'd say it." Bino said, "But after dad died all three of you reached out to care for me even though I didn't always treat you guys that well."

"That's what brothers are for." Max said, "We may not always get along, but we will always be thre for each other and we will always love each other. Fido, do you have any root beer?"

"Yeah, actually dad bought a whole bunch for his D and D night. He said we could have some." Fido said, got four bottles and passed them out.

"Thanks, I propose a toast, " Max said as all four lifted their glasses, "To brothers."

"To brothers!" All four said and clinked the bottles together

What a great group of guys. Non-jerk Bino is chill, I wouldn't mind hanging out with him and the rest. Duchess will regret crossing them.
Outstanding chapter, trekkie, this story really makes my day.

Ding-dong! The ***** finally got put in her place! Yay! Bino is free! Bring on the pies meeting the K-9s faces. XD

Oh, Duchess will certainly regret crossing Bino, and being nasty to the others. It might not come for a while but as they say revenge is a dish best served cold. Thanks for reading and for the compliments.

Chapter 18 Of Mice and Duchess

The four brothers talked for a while as they drank their root beers. Fido told how every member of the K-9s and the police force as a whole was appalled by the crash that had taken six lives, and also told some more about his and Bino's reconciliation . Maxwell talked about being adopted by the Sandwiches, his new relationship with Grape and about his aspirations to join the K-9 team. Bino talked about being dumped by Duchess, and about the meeting that had ousted him as president, he also told of the almost liberating feeling that came with being removed as president, (he had been allowed to keep his membership, though) and the strange feeling that he had gotten out of a leadership position just in time. Joey told of how he had been comforted by Squeak after hearing of his uncle's death and of how he had tried to comfort his own father who was beside himself with grief. The four all promised to be there for one another, and each affirmed his love for the others.

"Fido, do you think that Fox would be willing to be friends with me again. I know I messed our friendship, but i would like to be friends with him again." Bino said

"I don't know. " Fido said, "If you want I could talk to Fox and try and soften him up for you."

"Would you?" Bino asked, "Thank you. I've made a lot of mistakes and i hope he can forgive me for being such a jerk to him and King and Bailey."

"He told me that if you changed your ways a lot of dogs would be more open to following you." Max said, "And Bino, we've all made mistakes, none of us are perfect. We all have good and bad traits. Now, let me tell you something my housemates have told me: We all make mistakes why should we hold them against each other."

"If Fox doesn't want to be your friend then that is on him." Joey said, "Because we all think you're pretty awesome." He then looked at his watch. "Carp. I have to get home. I have a date with Squeak."

"I'll go with you." Fido said "I have to reclaim Spo. Max, Bino want to come?'

"Sure." Max said, "I did want to get in more of a walk."

"Why not?" Bino said, "It'll give me time to think of what to say to Fox and others."

The three dogs and cat made their way towards Joey's house. As they did so, they continued to chat, and Fido told his brothers that the K-9 squad was opening its ranks to all pets and undergoing a massive hiring event, as they had been contracted to patrol not only Babylon Gardens but surrounding neighborhoods as well. All three of the others decide to try out and Fido said that the force would be lucky to have them.All four were, in fact, in a good mood until they saw four dogs headed their way. It was Duchess along with Griswold, Boris, and Yeltsin.

"Well, well well." the saluki sneered, "Look, boys four losers."

"What are you doing, looking in a mirror?" Joey asked

"Shut up, nerd!" Duchess said, "Bino, if you condemn these three I might let you back in to your office as president."

"I'm not doing that Duchie-poo." Bino said, "These are my brothers. They love me and I love them."

"You know, I can still have you thrown out of the club." Duchess said, "I can buy enough votes with my money So you'd better watch with whom you hang around."

"Wait." Fido said, "You'd toss Bino out of the club because he cares that's cold. Why not invest you're money in a personality transplant? You can afford it. Probably."

"You're proof, of the old adage Bino," Duchess said, "Birds of a feather flock together."

"That's funny," Max said, "you're proof of an old adage too. Money can't buy class."

"I don't get it." Griswold said, "none of them are birds."

"Shut up, you idiot." Duchess said, "Last chance to be with the dominants , Bino."

"Don't you mean the dimwits?" Max asked

"Duchess, you can take my membership and shove it. I'm not abandoning my brothers. Now, if you'll excuse us we have to check on some mice." Bino said as he and his brothers moved on down the sidewalk.

"Losers!" Duchess yelled after them, "I will have my revenge."

"Mistress, are you sure you want to do that? It seems to me that.." Boris said

"Quiet! I don't pay you to think." Duchess said

"You don't pay me at all." Boris reminded her

"Oh, shut up! Why am i surrounded by morons?" Duchess yelled

"Like you said Duchie-poo, birds of a feather." Bino said as he turned and faced his ex.

"Oh yeah? We're not birds." Griswold said

"Argh!" Duchess yelled, exasperated

The four brothers continued on their way to Joey’s house. Max and Bino talked with Joey about setting up some times to do some RPGs with him and Squeak. Fido, for his part enjoyed the fact that three animals he regarded as brothers were getting along so well. As for Fido, he was looking forward to seeing Sabrina the next night, and getting back on the job. The four were almost to Joey’s home when they heard someone speak.

"Well." They heard a crisp British-accented voice say, "I’ve never seen anyone handle Duchess like that.”

Really love this chapter! I can't wait until we get to the main event! That is gonna be fun.

This is a huge change in Bino, but it makes some sense given that he's been shocked to his core over the previous few days. He's been torn down completely and he's surrounded by those willing to build him back up.

Always figured Griswold for a bit of a Blockhead. Yeltsin, on the other hand ………

I am just hoping that Fox will be one who also wants to build him back up.

Also, Bino is gonna need a new girlfriend. Let me go find my OC box. XD

Amazee Dayzee wrote:I am just hoping that Fox will be one who also wants to build him back up.

Also, Bino is gonna need a new girlfriend. Let me go find my OC box. XD

I think that one thing we know about Fox is that he will always help. I think in the comic continuity he wouldn't hang out with Bino anymore, but if he was legitimately in trouble, Fox would be there. So in a story like this, where Bino has had one brick after another tossed at him and he seems to genuinely recognize that he needs to change, Fox wouldn't hesitate.

Fox will definitely give Bino another chance, and when he does it'll be super wholesome, like the rest of the story minus Duchess.

Amazee Dayzee wrote:I am just hoping that Fox will be one who also wants to build him back up.

Also, Bino is gonna need a new girlfriend. Let me go find my OC box. XD

Daisy?

Hey I said my OC box! I can't put Daisy in there because she is Rick's intellectual property.

… just a passing thought.

Shove Daisy with one of the other GODC defectors because you know that there are gonna be more now that Duchess is in complete control of it.

Thanks for reading and for the compliments, everyone. To answer a few things, Fox will be involved in helping both Max and Bino, Duchess will be further humiliated, and Bino and Max will get new girlfriends. That'll all be coming up in the second arc/part of the story. Terrance, and Kevin will also be helping, and we'll see Rufus again and he will meet Bino. The new K-9s will include (spoiler alert) Maxwell, Sabrina, Joey and Dallas, there'll be others in the team, but I am still trying to sort out who. Bino (spoiler alert again) will be a search and rescue dog.

I knew Fox would come around. Congratulations to the latest K-9 graduates, I salute their service. Maybe we'll see them in action?

Nathan Kerbonaut wrote:I knew Fox would come around. Congratulations to the latest K-9 graduates, I salute their service. Maybe we'll see them in action?

Fox usually does ......

Uh why do you need to break up Grape and Max? That is something I really don't get I have to admit. Even if the Sandwiches adopted Max legally, I don't think they would be averse to Grape and Max continuing to date. I don't even think that they would have had an issue if Peanut and Grape had dated instead. So I'm not sure what the point of splitting them up would be.

Also, if Fox also gets a new girlfriend, I wanna volunteer one of my OCs. XD

Amazee Dayzee wrote:Uh why do you need to break up Grape and Max? That is something I really don't get I have to admit. Even if the Sandwiches adopted Max legally, I don't think they would be averse to Grape and Max continuing to date. I don't even think that they would have had an issue if Peanut and Grape had dated instead. So I'm not sure what the point of splitting them up would be.

Also, if Fox also gets a new girlfriend, I wanna volunteer one of my OCs. XD

Oops, sorry I should’ve phrased that better. They’re not necessarily breaking up, they’re taking a break because it felt slightly uncomfortable. They’ll stay together, Max is just going to date someone else in addition to Grape.

Oh OK then. That sounds much better. I thought they were gonna split up permanently.

Also, still volunteering OCs for Fox.

Apologies for the delay. The next chapter will be posted this weekend, and it will involve appearances by Terrance, Squeak and Fox. Also I believe that Maxwell will date Tarot, sharing her with Peanut. In the second part of the story we will get to see the new K-9s in action.

So it would be like a foursome that someone on the forum at one point believed that they were. That should make that member happy.

Yeah, Max is either going to date Tarot or Sabrina, I’m leaning more towards Tarot at this point, with Sabrina being a good friend. Oh, by the way, Dayzee I’ll need one of your OCs for Bino.