"Wait, you're serious?" Manik asked. Annette nodded. "Well, if you really want to, I guess I would love that. I was beginning to wonder if I would have a serious time saying good-bye. Go inside and tell your family. I'll wait out here." Annette nodded and walked inside.

             It seemed it was quiet. Was it her why it was always noisy? She took a deep breath, and looked for Lady and Tramp. She bumped into Scamp. "Oh, Hi, Annette..... ANNETTE!!"  She stepped back, Scamp seemed so happy he shouted it. "Wow. Okay, no need to-" She stopped in mid-sentence when Lady showed up. "Oh, thank goodness, you're okay!" Tramp appeared  also. "See? I knew she would find her way back. Now she will be safe here."

           Annette winced. "Yes, that's the point. I'll be right back." She stepped outside. "Manik? Could you come in for a second?" Manik nodded and walked in. "You see, I met someone. Manik, this is Mom, Dad, Scamp, Collette, Danielle, and Angel. Mom, Dad, Scamp, Collette, Danielle, Angel, this is Manik. He is my best friend. He helped me get back here. Which comes for me to tell you.. I cannot stay."

          Lady raised her eyebrows. "Well, Scamp felt the same way. Now you?" Annette shook her head. "I like having a family. I do. I want to leave because, well, I had a choice. It was either come home or stay with Manik. I had to choose Manik. He is so brave. He risked everything to get me home. Even if he if Buster's son, he isn't like Buster at all." Tramp rasied an eybrow himself. "Is he Buster's son?" Annette nodded. "Yes. But like I said, he is not like Buster at all. He's-" Annette sighed. "More like, Dad. Brave, and a good leader."

         Tramp sighed. "Well, if he makes you happy, than go." Lady seemed surprised. "Tramp, sheis too young to be out inexperianced, alone on the streets!" Tramp nodded. "That is true. But she is not alone, she is with an experianced streed pup who will take care of her. I know he will."

               ****************************************

        "Well, That went well." Manik said, jumping over some stones. Annette laughed. "Yeah, it did." Manik chuckled. "I never thought I would ever meet the Tramp! He's amazing!" Before Annette could finish, a black lab pup bumped into her. "Oh, I'm sorry." Annette got up. "It's fine. No harm done." The lab smiled. "My name's Tucker, what's your's?" "Annette.And this is my friend, Manik." "Hello. These are my friends, a collie, Linka, a dalmation, Jip, and a german shepherd, Drake." Annette smiled. "My friends call me Tuck. Do you need a place to stay? My gang usually stay in an abandoned hotel. It's so old, there is only one room left, and it is underground. We have a bit of a tunnel to get through."

       When arriving  at the hotel, they went through the tunnel. "Wow, this is incredible. Nice place to pick." Manik commented. "You may notice that this is surrounded by trees. This hotel dates back to 1856.  Back then, this place used to be a big city, where my great-grandparents lived. My parents showed me this place before- they were put down." Tuck seemed sad for a moment, but then smiled. "You seem like a house pet." Annette smiled. "I used to be. I left it to be with Manik." Tuck nodded. "Nice choice. You will like being a stray. Which brings us to our question: Would you like to join our gang?"

       Annette looked at Manik. "Should we?" Manik smiled. "I say yes." Annette nodded with a grin. "We'd love to." Tuck smiled. "Great! Allow me to show you around. Jip here get's the food. I'm the leader. Linka brings us stuff to put in our keepsake spot, over there, where we keep things we may need in the future, and Drake keeps us from arguing. All together, we keep us alive, together, we depend on each other. We avoid the dog catcher, most importantly."

     "The Dog Catcher?" Annette asked. Tuck looked over at her. "You've never heard of the dog catcher? If you are staying here, you need to know. He takes dogs toa pound. If you have a collar, he calls your owner. If not- you'er there until someone adopts you- or you escape. If you are there too long, he puts dogs to sleep, like mt parents. Avoid him at all costs." Annette nodded. "Just one question. I left my parents and family behind. Can I visit them sometimes?" Tuck nodded. "Sure. As long as the dog catcher doesn't find you."
 

              ****************************************

 

                                                          THE NEXT DAY  

       

       Tuck yawned. As usual, he was the first one up. He was by, waking everyone up. when he got to Annette,he nudged he snout. "He, Annette, Jip is out looking for food." Annette yawned. "Could you ask him for rabbit?" Tuck chuckled. "Could you wake up Manik. I think Jip is hunting rabbit today." Annette shook herself. Then she jumped off the slightly-ripped couch and nudged Manik. Manik got to his feet. "Good Morining, Annette." Annette smiled. "Good Morning Manik. Jip's out hunting for rabbit."  Manik chuckled and yawned.

        Manik walked towards the tunnel. He yawned and crawled through. Annette followed him. "On a nice day like this, Scamp and I used to run and play nonstop. I've always loved it. We used to not get along, but when he was missing, it took a while for us to realize that family matters for everyone- even annoying brothers." Manik chuckled. "Am I any different?" Annette laughed. "You're better that Scamp, Manik."

       "We'd better hope so." Manik said. Annette laughed, just as Jip returned with six rabbits, one for each. After they ate, they went to the park. Jip raced around trying to catch a chipmunk. Then a bird. Linka sighed, "Why can you catch rabbits but can't catch other animals?" Jip snorted. "Maybe because I wait before striking." Linka shook her head. "Why can't you do that with other animals?' Jip rolled his eyes. "Because other animals I'm chasing and rabbits I'm hunting." Linka just shook her head and sighed. Tuck sat thinking. "Linka, do you think Annette's father is the Tramp?" Linka looked confused. "Why?" "She looks a bit like him." Linka nodded. "A bit. Let's ask her."

            They walked over where Annette and Manik were sitting, leaving Jip to his chasing. "Annette, is your father the Tramp?" Annette nodded. "Yes. But he isn't a street dog anymore. He lives with my mom." Tuck  looked surprised. "Tramp? That's weird." Annette smiled. "Yeah, you wouldn't expect a dog like the Tramp to move to a home." Linka chuckled. "I expected to see him one day stealing the dog catchers hat."  Annette shrugged. "He fell in love with my mom, and, well, he decided to stay with her."

                ****************************

                                                             One Week Later

               Annette walked over to Manik. "Do you want to grab some lunch together today?" Manik nodded. "Sure. Where do you want to go?" Annette thought. "I was thinking Tony's." Manik grinned." "Sure. Want to go now?" Annette grinned. "Lead the way!"

               When they got there, they were given bones, which they took to the junkyard to eat. "Nice place, huh?"  Manik said. Annette nodded. "Yes. I'm just glad Buster's not here. It's so much better now." Manik smiled. He stood up. "Come with me. I want to show you something."

                "What's this?" Annette asked. "It's a spring. You jump on

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