Baa-Ram-Ewe!

by Darkonshadows

155. Dilly Dolly.

-Earth, Time: ???, Location: ???, Pom-

I groaned and came to looking at a white ceiling and slightly blinding light. I just sat here blinking the spots out of my eye trying to remember what happened.

What was the last thing I recall happening to me specifically?

Dolly attacking Hollow into the portal by leaping bodily into Lena’s magical beam of energy, the portal changing into a keyhole and Dolly forcing something odd to happen to Hollow and Shadow pom.

“… the amazing Quiverwing Quack, also some other guy calling himself Dark Ming Duck or something or other like that.” A voice was stating as I tried to get my bearings, the voice stopped immediately as if it was my moving caused it.

Groaning I tried to sit up, this was mistake due to the sudden onset of agony. I took to me a moment to notice through the tears that I had my right leg in a sling and the rest of my body felt like agony.

“Oh you’re awake, I’ll tell everyone to send someone up to help you!” Looking to my left I saw a screen with Ms. Shuttles bright, if worried, looking bunny face on it. “Sorry I didn’t help much, I got a little scared when so many people with guns were showing up and stayed well out of the way until the end when that nice little robot boy needed backup. Don’t try to talk, just lay back and rest. You’re safe here, though I think you will need water and some food. You really need to heal after taking a beating like that without rest.”

I slowly dropped my head and upper torso back onto the fluffy pillow.

“Does it hurt Pom? You were the most seriously injured out of everyone.” Looking to my right I saw Dormarch pressing his face up against his screen in worry, I simply gave him a nod. Hurt doesn’t describe any movement at the moment, in fact hurt would be an understatement. At least I knew I was alive. “We’re currently at Scrooge McDuck’s money bin, one of the safest places near the city out on the water. Also I would like to report that we will no longer have to deal with one of the mercenary groups, Rev Olver Ocelot was captured and jailed along with a majority of his forces. As for Blot and Magica, they both made an escape and Blot lost a large number of Eggheads throughout all the fighting that are also arrested. As for how long you’ve been out for… well you shouldn’t even be awake after all you went through and you’ve almost been out for two days. You still need to take your Arrhythmia medicine at a prescribed time, but we’re glad that it’s not for another few days. I’m upping the schedule as your heart is still showing scary irregularities, but sleep has helped with it somewhat.”

I sighed.

“In other news… well… you made the news again. You, Dolly, the McDuck clan and related allies. Quite frankly I’m glad you’re here for your safety and not in a hospital where someone can sneak in to poison you or gun you down. Someone caught videos of you fighting those shadow things and that monster. Not only that, Gizmo Duck and Gizmo Gal were seen helping you and accidentally hitting Dolly with a pie. Quite a few people are upset with Gizmo Duck for that… probably because Dolly is both adorable and awesome heroic dog.” Dormarch continued nattering on, it was keeping me relaxed to hear I was going to be okay. “Oh speaking of the others. Everyone had some injuries from that event, even Dolly had some nasty internal bruising, a bad case of whiplash and some cuts. I think the worst of it was being grazed by bullets. Speaking of bullet wounds, the leopard that was after you won’t bother you for a while. She was last seen leaving the area with a serious shoulder injury and a nicked neck artery that likely needs stitches. Magica also won’t likely be going after Dolly either according to Lena and Violet, but Blot still might try to steal her magic.”

Well that was some relief.

“That’s just the mercenaries and menacing locals, be glad you weren’t awake for the outbreak of giant ants, the kraken attack or the third wave of flying laser sharks with jet propulsion. There was also an invasion of magical pixie frogs, but that was dealt with quite quickly compared to everything else.” Looking on Dormarchs screen, I just stared in disbelief at some of the things that chose to attack Duckberg at the time of my convalescence. “As for the second wave of flying sharks… we’re not talking about what happened with the second wave of flying sharks... so many tentacles, but it’s a very good thing the APC had a decent caliber gun on it.”

“Catching Pom up on what happened Dormarch.” The voice sounded weary and beaten, it didn’t naturally belong to a usually peppy dog like Dolly. Dolly disappeared from the doorway, she was soon pulling herself up onto the bed, her head, legs and torso were all wrapped up in bandages and her neck had a small brace on it. Her ears and tail looked okay at least, her face had a few smaller bandages. “Ugh, my aching head and body… I only look worse than I’m feeling, trust me on that.”

I rolled my eye in response, I decided to send her exactly what I was currently feeling.

“Yikes, you really need some pain killers. I didn’t know being a hero or having magic would cause this much trouble.” Well get used to it Dolly, especially if you’re going to stick with me. “We still did a lot of awesome stuff, but my family kind of freaked out with all the weird stuff I pulled when I was fighting against… what was his name again?”

“Hollow.” I rasped out quietly.

“Okay his name and your voice just sent chills down my spine. Yeah, my family is definitely worried about me.” Crossing her paws and hugging herself, Dolly shivered violently and then looked at me. She carefully walked across the bed and rolled onto her back to lay next to me. “What I wouldn’t do for a good calming session with Deepak right about now.”

“I could call the family, though it is probably late evening or dinner time for the rest of your family Dolly.” Dormarch offered while looking thoughtful. “It’s up to you whether or not you want to disturb them.”

“Please do Dor.” Dolly didn’t hesitate, she didn’t know how much longer we would be in this world for and when we would be leaving. She was making an active choice to stay by my side despite how painful that choice was going to be for her in the long run.

“Calling the fam, I’ll ask for Da Vinci or Deepak if someone else picks up.” Dormarch immediately started doing so. Deepak I can understand, he was the quiet peaceful dog that likes to meditate. Da Vinci wasn’t bad either with being an exceptional artist that was a little meek, but had a peaceful disposition.

“Hello, you are the one that’s calling right Dolly?” The one to pick up was Delilah, the matriarch and nurse dog of the family. “Did you need something of us sweetie, I heard you called earlier with some disturbing news?”

“Hey mom, just wanted to let the ‘fam’ know that Pom’s awake. She looks as bad as I currently feel and I’m on pain killers for dogs, ugh they do nothing for emotional pain. Also what is taking them so long to get that water for her?” Dolly grumbled as she got up and looked about, she then moved over to pick up Dormarch from the bedside table and settled back down holding him up so her step mother could see us. “As dangerous as it’s been, I’m glad I was here to help. I’m not so happy at feeling as if my ribs were kicked in by a donkey, my face was hit with a sledgehammer and my entire body aches as if I was chewed on by Roxy and then spat out to be run over by a truck.”

“Well you don’t look too badly hurt and Dormarch is sending me a report of your current health.” Dolly glared at Dormarch in the corner looking innocent with a halo over his head. “Please take better care of yourself Dolly, Dylan and I can’t look out for your health from across the globe you know.”

“I know mom, it’s actually pretty scary considering all the stuff I did that morning. I’m still going to have Pom’s back and she definitely needs that right now.” If someone were to attack right now, Dolly would be the only answer to the situation. I can’t move like I am without feeling like my burned limbs were on fire again, good thing I know my wool at the ends of my legs will grow back at least. “I hope once my body heals up a bit that Pom will help me figure out what else I can do, I think I’ve only scratched the surface.”

“I know this is odd of me to say to you, but don’t push yourself too hard or too far too fast Dolly. I’m surprised I even have to tell you that.” Delilah looked proud of Dolly. “It’s frightening to watch you get into a fight and get hurt like you have, but your father is very proud you’re helping people.”

“Look if I can face at least five to six mercenaries armed with guns head on with just a skateboard, I think I’m overly qualified to be a police dog even without my new magical mojo being a factor. Even fought that duck biped cousin to Cruella for a short time and afterwards I got involved in a fight with a monster Pom helped put away and did something I still don’t understand. That duck was a lot more dangerous than Cruella, yet I still find myself more terrified of actually seeing Cruella again than I do of meeting Magica ‘kick-my-ribs’ De Spell.” Not the only one that wanted to know more about that Dolly, even I wanted to know what happened with Hollow Heart and that whole thing with the keyhole. As long as Hollow Heart wasn’t threatening this world, then I could rest a little bit easier even though I seriously doubt that was the end of him or that anything could actually kill him now. “I kind of want Deepak’s help to relax, or at least Da Vinci. I’d even take talking to Dante freaking out or Diesel going on about digging holes.”

“Understandable, the idea of Cruella still scares the pups and even Hunter is terrified of her, he’s been visiting us more and is rightfully paranoid. Even if this Magica was the strongest being in existence I’d still be more terrified of Cruella, that she even has a cousin as possibly demented as she is still boggles the mind.” Delilah tilted her head curiously. “Not going to talk to Dylan?”

“Yeah no, not happening, high strung and not exactly calm when even the littlest rock is out place. I’ll pass on talking to my bro when he could stress me out even worse than I already am. I’d like to think of myself as spunky and feisty, but… I’ve been through some eye openers and being unconscious for more than a day to wake up with bandages and a neck brace was one of them. I’d rather be in a good mood, and better health when I talk to Dylan. We tend to be a bit annoying towards one another, but without me around Dylan’s the main top dog again and is probably happier that I’m not causing trouble for him every other day.” Dolly sat up and looked around. “Where are they, are they making food or what? Someone better get water for Pom or so help me I’ll do it myself even if I should be resting too! Anyway, Feisty, yes, Courageous, maybe, fearless… definitely not! I got whiplash from a bullet just hitting my helmet, which did protect me and didn’t do any damage to it, but darn it if the bullet couldn’t have killed me from just the impact alone if it knocked my head in the wrong direction! I was almost fighting while like that the entire time.”

“That’s why I’m just happy hear from you and that you are still alive, you’re doing things I don’t think any of us could have ever expected of you.” It was a noticeable thing here Delilah that you weren’t asking or trying to get Dolly to come back home. Were you willing to let your step daughter continue helping me knowing how dangerous it was? “You’re definitely safer with Pom than I’d thought you’d be. You’re still our tough girl Dolly, but I would still like to think you’d want to talk with me and stay connected to the family while you can despite your unique bond with Pom.”

She smiled at me and I gave a weak one back to her.

“Don’t you think I’m getting in over my head or into too much danger?” Being the voice of reason sounded wrong when Dolly was really quite gungho. That she was acknowledging it made my head spin a little.

“Dolly, from what we’ve learned from watching you on the news and you calling to talk with the pups, the world was always this dangerous and the worst could happen to us at any time. It’s kind of funny that Dante can now accurately predict some of that.” Delilah was all heart even if she wasn’t the most physically affectionate mother. “It’s just that we’ve managed to ignore most of that danger for quite a long time aside from a few small minor incidents compared to what you’re running into head first. In fact the puppies are trying to come up with all kinds of strange things you’ll eventually be doing.”

“Heh, Dalmatians can do anything, we just have to go for it hard enough! Except… there’s something I’m still flip-flopping on mom.” Dolly ran her paws down her right ear looking a little flustered and upset with something.

“You can say it to Pom if you want Dolly, I don’t think it will actually change things. It’ll be just acknowledging what you already know and coming to terms with it.” Delilah seemed almost sad as she looked at Dolly.

What did Dolly want to say to me?

“But…” Dolly tried only for Delilah to hold up her left paw.

“The paw means pause.” Delilah stated gently and Dolly clammed up immediately. “Funny, I have an amazing daughter that can jump high into the air, zip about fighting monsters and dangerous bipeds. Yet I can still pull the parent card even from across the planet…”

“Mom-!” Dolly groaned.

“Right, sorry love. Now I’m just going to ask this, would anyone bat an eye if I were to stay a night at Dr. Dave’s place after a hard day at work and couldn’t make it home?” Delilah worked in a hospital as a nurse or therapy dog, not exactly a common position a dog could earn or actually be paid for. Whoever the biped was that took care of Delilah previously really set things up for her before leaving her to her own devices.

“No.” Dolly answered while rubbing at her left leg with her right paw, doing her heard to not look in my direction or me staring at her in curiosity.

“If your father stayed the night with anyone from the firehouse would anyone think it strange?” Delilah continued.

“No…” Dolly lowered her head, trying to hide her face with her ears.

“I’m sure our mailman doesn’t mind us either, he even asked around about you and thought it odd you weren’t around to chase him.” Delilah chuckled lightly. “A mailman worrying about his favorite pursuer, will wonders never cease? It is okay Dolly, you’ll will always be family, our family. What we have now wasn’t ever going to last forever, at some point the puppies would eventually want to go out seek their fortunes or start little families of their own. You know, it’s not every day you can talk directly to the person who wouldn’t mind what you wanted to ask.”

“Speaking of asking things. Dormarch… where is everyone?!” Dolly sounded angry on my account and I wanted to tell her to calm down, instead I lifted my agonized left hoof and stared to carefully tease her left ear softly. She sighed. “You’re really making this difficult for me Pom.”

I didn’t stop teasing her ear, mostly since she didn’t ask me to as Dormarch reflected her words to Ms. Shuttle.

“There’s a small problem going on in the lower levels of this money bin at the moment, apparently something involving a sword horse, a bag of holding and a rat flute?” Even Ms. Bunny Shuttle looked confused. “I’m not programmed to acknowledge that magic exists, but what I’m seeing right now is a pretty good indication of its existence. I’m… not going to think about this too hard, but Mr. Manny is on his way to see to Pom’s needs while everyone else deals with the ensuing issue in the lower levels. I would go back to Big Hero Six after this, but I’ve called them and asked them if I could continue assisting you for a little while long. They don’t mind.”

“Manny?” I asked still needing water for my parched throat.

“He works here, I don’t know everyone here that well and this is the longest time I’ve actually been out of San Fransokyo, but I’m meeting so many interesting people and making so many friends!” Ms. Shuttle seemed particularly chirpy like usual.

I turned back to a nervous looking Dolly.

“Well go on Dolly, ask her.” Delilah prodded still on the screen with Dormarch giving Dolly puppy dog eyes.

“I’m still thinking it through mom!” Dolly seemed to be blushing a bit.

“So you’re still dilly dallying or is it called waffling these days?” Delilah stated with a flat look, she shook her head with wry smile. “Oh my poor sweet daughter. Your denial is so adorable, it’s sometimes hard to imagine you’re a tomboy.”

“It’s more like she’s dilly Dolly-ing, it’s a term Dylan uses when she gets like this.” A voice sounded out and my younger brother Dante appeared on the screen next to Delilah. “Look, sis, nobody is going to think less of you for going for that siren’s call in your heart. We’re all kind of expecting it anyway at this point.”

“Look it’s not just a siren call for me and it’s really hard for me to ask!” There wasn’t much to guess about with where this was going with Dolly. “How can I say that I outright want to be her dog regardless of wherever it takes me without it getting entirely awkward in some deep meaning mumbo jumbo kind of way? I’m not good at feelings sometimes!”

Both the dogs on the screen gave her a smug look, did Dolly literally just forget I speak canine for a few seconds? I just sat there for a minute staring at her and she just sat there staring into space with her pupils shrinking when the realization kicked in, her left eye even twitched a little.

I turned to the weird biped thestral thing that walked in quietly, his long face was a little odd and his glowing eyes were slightly unnerving. He quietly put the glass of water he was holding to my lips gently, I daintily drank from it as Dolly continued to do an impression of a statue with her mouth open in shock.

I nodded to the slightly intimidating muscular guy with a smile as my throat felt much better and less like a desert moved into it. Motioning for him to step back with my left hoof, wincing at the motion, he did so quietly.

“Gee sis, was it really that hard for you? I mean, I know you have that whole Camilla thing stuck in your head making you abhor the idea quite a bit, but give it a rest. Pom likes you as you are and wouldn’t ask you to do anything you don’t already want to.” Dante seemed to be taking this with a lackadaisical attitude. “Besides you don’t have to ask to be her dog, you basically already are. Seriously Dolly, we don’t mind you making this choice when it feels right for you and everyone else agrees.”

Dolly slowly grabbed her ears with her paws and pulled them over her face as it turned red.

“Dolly, it’s okay. Dante’s right, I’m not surprised in the slightest.” I was still coughing a bit and took a few more sips of water. As many doubts as I knew Dolly had, things weren’t too bad between us overall. “Also I take it this is coming from the incident following what we discussed back in Ms. Shuttle on the way to Duckberg before I was nearly killed. There’s also what put me in this condition and that nearly killed me as well, I’m a wreck right now.”

“Pom you were almost murdered and there was nothing I could do to stop him. Nothing is scarier to me than being incapable of doing something or protecting anyone I care about.” Dogs were loyal, Dolly was a free spirit, and this inexorably caused friction. That and a previous experience with almost becoming a dog for someone else, only to reject that and stay with her family compounds onto it. I could hardly blame Dolly for having some jumbled thoughts in her head. “I spilled my heart out to you about every single brother and sister I have, all their likes, wants and dreams. Like I said before, I don’t like frowns and sure I may have gotten my brothers and sisters hurt every once in a while in the course of roughhousing or having fun, but I focused on mainly keeping a personal smile going at all times and making sure everyone is happy, even Dylan of all dogs. Being, happy, is, not, easy! Speaking of, how is Dylan handling things without me? Is someone keeping him from going overboard and making sure he gets out more?”

“Yeah, me and Spot, I find having a zombie chicken in the house honestly refreshing as it is weird that the zombie is from our step mom’s side of the family.” It was honestly not that strange that someone like Dante enjoyed the spooky or mysterious stuff. “Honestly expected that from dad’s side considering the immunity to fire thing and possible hell hound heritage. Also what is that next to you guys?”

“Do you need pain medication?” A gentle if slightly deep voice asked, Dolly and I turned to the person that had to be Manny.

“Are you Manny?” I asked. “And yes, very much so.”

He quickly got me some pills, Dormarch said they were safe and I swallowed them.

“I’m Manny the Man Horse of the Apocalypse. I just want to live as normal a life I can.” Uh… huh... how should someone respond to Manny’s awkward introduction? “I really don’t like the apocalyptic powers really and want to keep my day job. So… friends?”

“Sure.” I stated with smile. So apocalyptic capable guy aside, he sounded fairly conversational.

“You are so cool…” Dante stayed with starry eyes as he looked at Manny.

“Thank you, Dante was it? I will continue my endeavors to not destroy the world while there are people on it that I like.” Manny said in a completely sincere manner.

Author's Note:

The end of the year draws closer.

Manny the Man Horse = Horse Themed Goliath of Gargoyles.