Ch. 30—The Conflict on the Cliff

    “So how do we get to that junkyard?” Danielle asked.
    “It’s simple,” Angel explained. “We just follow the path down. Then we’ll get to that horrible place. It’s not a short walk, but it won’t be too long.”
The parents turned a corner to face a long, street. The sun was vanishing. There was still a reddish tint in the sky as they walked down the path. The streets were completely abandoned.
“It’s beautiful,” Peg whispered. “I wish that…”
Then all of a sudden, she froze. She looked up into the bushes, and gasped.
“What’s wrong, Mama?” Angel asked.
“Oh nothing,” Peg answered, but she looked unfocused. She frowned as they continued to walk on.
Suddenly though, they were greeted with honking.
“Oh no!” Perdita gasped. “It’s Cruella!”
There was no mistaking the honking of that car. “Run!” Lucky screamed. The puppies and parents ran up the hill, trying to avoid Cruella’s glance. Just then, she parked her car, which was mended.
“Ha ha ha… so they think they can outwit Cruella,” Cruella laughed. “I saw all of their bloody little skins.” Then she yelled, “Jasper! Horace! Get down here this instant!”
A truck bumbled its way behind Cruella’s car. The puppies remained hidden in the forest.
“They went into the forest,” Cruella told them. “Get them! And hurry.”
"We'll be fine here," Danielle told them. "Or we better."
"I'll always be fine with my Dani," Puffball told her.
“We’ve got to keep quiet in here,” Perdita whispered gently.
“But what if we’d be caught?” Lady asked.
    “Shh…” Pongo whispered.
    “Come on Pidge, it’ll be fine,” Tramp consoled her.
    “Wrong again, Tramp,” came a cruel, vicious growl.
    The parents and puppies turned and gasped. Buster was standing there, leering at them menacingly. He was soaking wet, and seething with rage.
    “You… nasty pests! u humiliated me… and you’re all kibble!” Buster raged.
The parents and puppies once again growled at Buster.
    “Give me the children,” Buster growled to the parents. “Or else I’ll bark.”
    “Never, Buster,” Tramp told him.
    “We’re not scared of you, Buster,” Angel growled.
    “That’s right,” Scamp shouted. “We all know you’re just a jealous backstabber!”
    Buster smiled. He barked loudly. “You made your choice.”
    Cruella heard the barks. “Aha! There are the little mongrels!” Cruella announced. She, Horace, and Jasper ran up the hill.
    “Beautyful,” Buster smirked.
    But then, Scamp yelled, “Follow me!” They were standing at the edge of a hill.
    “It’s an escape route!” Patch announced.
    The group hurried down the hill, Tramp grabbed Danielle and Lucky door their necks. They all reached the side of the heuvel and escaped the forest. Buster tried to follow them. But he couldn’t keep up.
“You guys thought u beat me because u broke my leg!” Buster snarled. “I can win without it though,” Buster declared. He barked again.
    “Oh, get there, u old hag!” Buster snarled. “Take care of them.”
    Until then… “Aha! You’re mine!” Cruella declared. She then revealed…
    She got out a bow and arrow. “My special puppy-target arrows! It’s a good thing I practiced my darts. u puppies may miss my poisoned food, and my electric fence, and my orbs, but u can’t miss these! I practiced for this moment!”
    And then, Cruella quickly placed some arrows, and focused them in at the Dalmatians.
    “Ha ha ha!” Cruella shouted as she lobbed an arrow right toward Penny… but then, she missed. Penny just avoided the arrow.
    “Aw, it’s not that easy, just u wait!” Cruella shouted. She got into her car, and followed the puppies as they approached the corner of the cliff. Just as they were about to turn, Cruella’s car trapped them volgende to the cliff. Then, from behind the car…
    “There u are!” Buster announced. “Now, it’s time for the end. She weakened you… but now, you’re my kibbles!”
    Buster tried leaping onto the car, but it was difficult with his broken leg. He snarled as he tried to jump, but he failed at his success.
    “Lucky, hide!” Angel gasped worriedly. Lucky was walking close to the car. But then...
    “Lucky!” Perdita gasped. She guarded Lucky carefully, who didn’t move. She stood over him, trying to protect him from further harm.
    “Lucky,” Pongo growled. Then, he turned toward Cruella.
    “That’s it,” he told Cruella, and then, Pongo jumped onto the car roof and began pulling on her vacht, bont coat.
    “You spotted mongrel!” Cruella shouted aggressively to Pongo as Pongo pulled her furry pet, glb off. Perdita joined in, also jumping onto the car roof and ripping off her gloves while struggling to hold onto Lucky. Penny and Patch then went to the window.
“Let’s get rid of her weapons,” Patch advised Penny as they jumped in. Penny grabbed the bow, which Patch then snapped it in half. Then they threw the arrows out the window.
“You nasty beasts! u took all of my weapons!” Cruella raged. She pounded the zitplaats, stoel where Patch and Penny were sitting, but Patch grabbed Penny and they jumped together into the back. Cruella left her zitplaats, stoel and jumped into the back seat, trying to grab onto Patch and Penny, who dodged Cruella’s grasping.
Just then, Cruella grabbed Penny. Hurriedly, Patch jumped onto Cruella’s shoulder and then…
“You little beast! How dare u bite my hair!” Cruella shrieked.
Meanwhile, Cruella’s open window gave Scamp and Angel an idea. “Hey,” Scamp whispered. “Look down there! Don’t cars work with those wheel things?”
“They do,” Angel smirked. “Let’s puncture them. Then she can’t go anywhere.”
Cruella wasn’t paying attention to Scamp and Angel plotting. She yelled, “Jasper! Horace!”
    “Yes ma’am,” Horace answered. Their truck was rolling toward Cruella’s. Scamp and Angel meanwhile, walked on the side of the car, and began to puncture the tires.
    “Finish the job! I want those wicked beasts to be done with now!” she exclaimed.
    “Aye aye, ma’am,” Jasper answered. Their truck began to roll toward Cruella. Jasper brought out a club. “This will make the madame happy,” he began to say, But then…
    “Jasper!” Horace exclaimed, the truck continued to roll.
    “Oh, what now?” Jasper responded impatiently.
    “Well, I can’t stop the truck!” Horace exclaimed.
Scamp and Angel just finished puncturing the final wheel of Cruella’s car. The car sunk a few inches in the process. Cruella look down and cried, “You little beasts! How dare u stop my car!” She grabbed Scamp and Angel, but they bit her on both hands. Cruella shrieked with fury as Scamp and Angel escaped. The truck rolled on and on. Just in time, Pongo, Perdita, Patch and Penny jumped out of Cruella’s car.
    “Come back here...” Cruella began to say, but she then turned to find Horace and Jasper’s truck right behind her car.
    “You fools!” Cruella shouted. “Stop driving, and get me new wheels!” But it was too late. Cruella’s car tumbled off the cliff, being pushed door Horace and Jasper’s truck.
    “Aak! u idiots!” Cruella shrieked. Then, her car fell and crashed onto the strand far below. A big pile of rubble revealed the remains of Cruella’s car.
    “Hey Horace,” Jasper exclaimed, getting out of their truck.
    “Blimey, would u look at that?” Horace gasped.
    “Jasper,” Horace told him. “But… the puppies...”
    “Oh Horace, we don’t need to do that,” Jasper told him. “We won’t make much boodle now without the mistress. But… think of all the booty we can make from her property. We can sell it all...”
    “And then we’ll really be rich!” Horace smiled.
    “Come on Horace, let’s rob her house before the cops get there,” Jasper told him. Horace nodded, and their truck went bumbling back up the road.
    “So,” Buster drawled. “It’s just me now. No matter. I see she did the job for one of them,” Buster laughed, continuing to drip. Perdita walked up to a grassy patch, desperately trying to revive Lucky. Lucky did not move, even though she persistently pawed at him to wake him up. He looked as though he was sleeping.
    “You’re going to pay for this,” Pongo told Buster, and he went up to kom bij Perdita in trying to revive Lucky. Patch and Penny also joined in to attempt to wake Lucky up.
    “So,” Buster cockily told Tramp. “Here’s where the famous Tramp’s story will end. I don’t need bows and arrows to finish u off,” Buster told Tramp. “I’ve been preparing for this for days. You’re done for!”
    He lunged at Tramp. The two of them tussled with each other over the ends of the cliff. The whole group gasped. “Stay back!” Tramp announced. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of him!”
    “Aww, Tramp trying to play the hero again,” Buster laughed. He then managed to knock Tramp to the ground. Having a limp, Tramp struggled to stand up. “Well, this is where you’ll say goodbye,” Buster declared.
“No it’s not!” Scamp shouted. He, Lady, and Angel rushed at Buster, and knocked him away. Tramp managed to stand back up. He tottered slightly at the end of the cliff.
“You fools!” Buster shouted. “I guess I’ll change my plan. I’ll take care of that other job I started first.”
    “Other job? I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Lady told Buster.
    “Well, that silly Spunky didn’t die in a silly car accident. He didn’t get run over door a car. It was I who did that work. He wasn’t dog enough to kom bij my gang. I offered a spot for him after your limping friend refused,” Buster spat. “He wasn’t quite the Tramp, but I thought he’d be a prime junkyard dog.”
“But didn’t u just say he wasn’t good enough…” Peg began.
“He wasn’t good enough because he didn’t kom bij my gang! He could’ve been if he joined. But… how dare he refuse me! So that was that. I was already betrayed door that Tramp. And I had no mercy for other traitors. So I killed him in that haunted junkyard, and then put out a story to make it seem like an accident. The junkyard dogs loved the gossip, and they spread the news all over the place about the car. Little did anyone know the truth that it was really I who brought an end to him."
    “So, u killed ‘em,” Peg spat toward Buster. “I knew u were no good!”
    “How… dare you!” Angel told Buster furiously. “I don’t know why I lived with u for all those months! You’ll pay, Buster!”
    Buster prepared to attack, but abruptly, Peg, Angel, and Scamp walked right up to him boldly.
    “Beauty-ful,” Buster told his aggressors. “How easy this is to finish the job…you’re all coming to me. I’ll take care of u all, one door one!”
    He batted away each of his aggressors, but Peg, Angel, and Scamp continued to verplaats in toward him. Puffball and Danielle soon joined in, growling at Buster.
    “You ruined my life!” Peg shouted to Buster. “How could u be so heartless?”
    “I never saw my daddy thanks to you!” Angel spat at Buster bitterly.
    “I can't stand you!” Scamp shouted to Buster as he growled. “You lied to me, and tricked me… and u ruined the life of everyone I love!”
    Then, Buster gasped. Behind him, there was not much room to stand. But he smiled.
    "You're cornered, Buster,” Peg growled to him.
    “You don’t scare me,” Buster told them, though his voice trembled. He looked at him. Tramp was trying to walk over to Lady, but he was teetering at the edge of the cliff.
    “So,” Angel told Buster. “You better apologize for what u did.”
"Or else you'll be sorry," Scamp told him.
    Buster smirked. “I don’t think I’ll need to do that.”
    Then, abruptly, Buster leaped over Danielle and Puffball and lunged at Tramp. Tramp gasped, and he lost his balance. He nearly fell off the cliff, only tenuously gripping it with his front paws while the rest of him dangled from below.
    “Haha, beauty-ful,” Buster declared. Buster stood on top, boven of the cliff, watching Tramp desperately try to pull himself up. He walked right to Tramp, leering at him from above.     
“You’re doomed, Tramp,” Buster told him. “The queen of the kennel club set can’t help u when you’re in this much of a mess. None of those meek little house dogs can. Now it’s my turn to finish u off.”
    “Tramp,” Lady cried, running over to him. She began to pull on Tramp to try to help him up.
    “Aww, what does Miss Housedoggy want?” Buster told Lady mockingly, swatting her away. “Gonna say goodbye to your lying sweetheart?”
    “He may have lied to me once,” Lady explained, breathing heavily and getting back up again. “But he promised never to lie to me again. I forgave him. And he has not broken that promise.”
"No matter, u two are kibble anyway!" Buster shouted. But has he prepared to attack Lady, who gasped in fright, he was knocked down.
Scamp and Angel stood in front of Buster, blocking him from harming Lady, who was still trying to rescue Tramp. "So," Scamp told him, growling. "Apologize to us right now."
"We mean it," Angel growled.
"Ha ha," Buster snarled. "I won't apologize. I'm proud of it."
They leered at Buster, who asked, "Why are u defending those low-lives, anyway?"
"Because we love them," Scamp told Buster.
"Don't u understand what love feels like?" Angel asked.
"No," Buster smirked. "And I don't need to. Love is something only those who aren't cut out to live on the streets feel."
Buster was trying to think how to get past Scamp and Angel, who kept him trapped. But then suddenly…
    “What the? No! How…” Buster began. His eyes turned unfocused, and livid with rage. But as he took a step backward and a bit to the left, he lost his balance. He fell flat onto the edge of the cliff, which crumbled with his weight. “No!!!!” Buster screamed.
    The drop was very large, much larger than the one at the railroad. Buster sank into the water with a big splash.
Tramp was still dangling dangerously below thanks to Buster’s attempts.
    “Tramp,” Lady cried, continuing to bite onto his front paw. “I’ll save you…”
    Lady pulled and pulled, with Tramp gasping nervously.
    “Hey, I'm not used to being saved,” Tramp smiled at Lady.
    “I’ll do anything for you,” Lady told Tramp. “But… oh no!”
    Lady began to slip slightly herself. Scamp and Angel then rushed over.
    “Mom,” Scamp told her. “Don’t fall over.”
    “Yeah,” Angel told her. “We’ll pull u up,”
    “Thank you,” Lady told them. Scamp and Angel pulled Lady back onto the land. Danielle, Peg, and Puffball spotted Scamp and Angel to make sure that they would not be pulled over either.
"Thank u for saving me," Lady told them. Now firmly onto land, Lady pulled hard on both of Tramp’s front paws. It took a while, but at last, Tramp was half pulled over. He put a back foot onto the cliff, and pulled himself over the rest. “Pidge, I can finish,” Tramp told her. Lady, remembering how Tramp would never lie to her anymore, let him go. Tramp pulled himself up, and he stood back on the ground.
    “Thanks a million, Pidge,” Tramp told her.
    Lady smiled. “Anytime… I’m glad you’re all right.”
    Then, they turned to face Pongo, Perdita, Patch and Penny. They were mourning over Lucky.
    “Bless him,” Perdita told Pongo sadly, as they lay volgende to Lucky’s limp body.
    “I… can’t stand it,” Patch sighed sadly.
“Well Perdy,” Pongo told her sadly. “We did our best.”
    “Huh?,” came a voice volgende to them. “Did our best?”
    Lucky opened his eyes.    Pongo smiled, and then declared, “Lucky! Is that really you?”
    “Of course it is!” Lucky declared. "She only got me a little bit."
    “Thank goodness,” Perdita smiled. “I thought... u might have been a ghost.”
    “Yeah! You’re back!” Patch told him, and the two of them giggled.
    “Wow, great to see u Lucky!" Penny exclaimed happily.
The families reunited, and then Scamp smiled and declared, “Let’s go home.”