Partners In Crime

Partners In Crime - Entrenched Amongst The Shadows

"Excuse me! People! Move outta the way! We've got serious business to deal with and you do not wanna be stomped on by this fierce shark! I warn ya, if you get too close, I'll end up going to the beach and giving ya a fright when you least expect it! Move!" Shark escorted Diane Foxington alongside Snake and Wolf through this overcrowded mansion which had all sorts of illegal substances as well as drinks strewn out across the floor as extremely obnoxious techno music played in the background. "Come on, people! I know that you're celebrating news both big and small but your government is here and... THE COPS ARE ON THEIR WAY!"

Shark's decision to alert everyone inside of the building that none other than Misty Luggins accompanied by whatever was left of her intelligence agency after the fall of The Bad Guys and subsequently other criminal factions reduced most of their services to redundancy was a foolish mistake considering everyone started yelling and rushing to the doors. Shark nonchalantly turned around towards the rest of his crew and rolled his eyes all the while the music went from loud, impactful and obnoxious to the building's screams funnelling out into the streets as within a minute, the room had been reduced to nothing but the silence of the wind and rain outside.

"How on earth did you get them to clear out so quick? I've never been to a party before but does the thought of their favourite Chief Luggins coming along and screwing around with their business really set off these people that much?" Foxington inquired all the while her paw was nonchalantly tucked around Mr. Wolf's in an act no one except Mr. Snake was acutely aware of. "Let me guess, some criminal acts are prone to occurring at these parties..?"

"I've got way too many stories to share about those," Wolf remarked all the while he nudged his lover in the arm. "Although I think we've had enough time to reminisce and tell stories considering our massive flight throughout the air was frankly terrifying but I was able to keep my cool. Besides, most of the things that happen at these things are illegal anyways. Of course people are gonna bolt when they hear the wailing of those all-too-familiar sirens, Foxington!" Moe's chipper attitude was certainly refreshing considering the fact Snake and Shark felt as if they had been treated like a circus act up until that point.

"Best grab an umbrella or else we're going to get drenched out there," Snake coiled the tip of his tail around three umbrellas before flipping them up and into the hands of every member of the crew before grabbing a fourth for himself. "Seriously, Wolf, I'm shocked that you've come here with such negative news but I honestly think I would've gone insane had I stayed here an hour longer!"

"Is that so, buddy?" Wolf peered back all the while Snake slithered between the paws of Diane and Wolf, folding up his umbrella and unfolding it once he had cleared the two with his tail. "What's so bad about a place filled with humans and animals that love to party, hm? I don't see celebrating something as a bad thing, even though a lot of colourful memories come to mind when thinking about those celebrations," Moe further questioned his usually-enthusiastic comrade about parties as everyone made their way outdoors.

"Seriously? You're going to ask that when we've gotta put up umbrellas and hope that we don't end up turning into living hang gliders thanks to the wind and rain whilst also hoping we don't get fried by a passing storm!" Snake was mildly irritated but subsequently right as he was almost blown off the pavement as the rain practically hammered against Shark whilst Wolf and Foxington felt their latex suits become drenched in rain all the while the wind howled fiercely around them, ready to pounce on them and send them flying. "I felt like I was stuck in a circus with a crowd that wasn't paying anything! I had been contacted by a buddy of mine the moment I got my hands on a cellphone and installed my identification card again! A bunch of sweaty humans mixed with like five animals surrounding a pool when I ideally want to be drinking something as well as having a well-deserved slumber in a bed that I'm actually welcome in!" Following Mr. Snake's lash out, several armoured S.W.A.T vehicles soon rolled into the scene bearing jet black and navy blue paint jobs as the villa everyone had just passed through was now deserted, filled with incriminating evidence alongside flashing red and blue lights.

The wind served as nature's whiplash as a black limo reflecting the thunder from the skies above alongside the dim lights of the distant skyscrapers in the form of those lights staining the droplets of the rain hammering at the roof overhead whirred into view. The fog of rampant rain was soon cleared by the neon-blue headlights of this unconventional police vehicle and once the S.W.A.T teams had cleared out whilst bellowing their signature "HUT-HUT-HUT!" from within their throats, the limo stopped before the rest of the crew as their hearts sunk into their stomachs.

Not one soul could anticipate the next event, even Diane herself was mystified by the appearance of such an extravagant car as opposed to the regular police squad vehicle she had become accustomed to seeing as she felt her muzzle be soaked by another gust of rain. She re-adjusted her hood and took down her mask, following the footsteps of her canine companion as none other than Chief Misty Luggins with a pair of stylish sunglasses and a black policewoman's uniform strapped to her person with a golden tie accompanying it as she adjusted her hat before slamming the door behind her.

"Governor Foxington..." The tension contained inside of Luggins' voice could easily snap the back of the wealthiest ego California had to offer as Foxington reluctantly lowered her hood.

"Chief Luggins..." Foxington's voice followed the same pattern, a feel of intensity as Mr. Wolf felt himself becoming part of the backdrop surrounding the pair of them as a formal exchange loomed over the horizon. "I apologise for us meeting again under such unfair and frankly unfavourable circumstances, Misy," Diane persisted with her formality, reaching out for a handshake which was soon accepted by Chief Luggins.

"I was dreading the day we would meet again outside of a work-related event but here we are... A little sooner than I had imagined but this is California and as the news dictates and who dares to wake me up when it's late has informed me that this city doesn't have the most consistent reputation in the world," Chief Luggins tapped on the door to her limo and it soon was opened up by another member of the police department who wore nothing but black and donned a mask over his head. "Please, follow me into the Limo... I imagine this weather is soaking your crumpets more than unevenly spread butter," Misty's remark received a chortle from Mr. Wolf as Diane entered the limo and made note of the purple lights followed by the leather upholstery that followed the seats. However, what would catch her eye more was the shadow sitting in the corner as well as the important documents that appeared to be situated on the closest thing to a table that a reinforced limo could offer.

"We never got this sort of treatment in jail, lemme tell ya that," Mr. Wolf casually remarked as he wrapped his hand around one of the drinking glasses that sat on the table as he dipped part of his paw into the bubbling mixture. "Lemonade, seems like someone's feeling quite... Exquisite?" Wolf's charm and demeanour admittedly made Foxington's attempts to remain formal and as composed as possible even more challenging, especially when the door soon shut behind them upon Mr. Snake's and Mr Shark's entry.

"Wolf, I recommend you keep your hands off anything that doesn't belong to you in here; you are a day out of jail and I don't wish to arrest you for anything more stupid than breaking into a special operations lab owned by the F.B.I," Wolf's cheeks brewed up something fierce the moment he heard this devastating news. "Foxington, you have something to answer for yourself... How come you never inquired about The Forsaken Crater before searching it and going off on this chase?" Chief Luggins had certainly been doing great inside of her anger management programs for she had more patience for everyone's antics as the limo started driving off to a destination unknown.

"The Forsaken Crater? I've never heard of that phrase before, Chief. We saw that Marmalade had escaped from jail and we saw disruption on the traffic cameras leading up to the spot that once led to his villa... Our instincts were to track down Marmalade and to circumvent him. Unfortunately, Ms. Tarantula and Mr. Piranha were captured whilst undertaking such a mission but we were unaware of the nature of the base," Foxington's cunning soon proved to be useful when her impatience got the better of her. "I guess it would make sense that such a government agency is up to something as nefarious as building a bunker into a previously destroyed area when we believed it to be one of Marmalade's creations," Moe placed a paw on Diane's shoulder as she sought to rustle around her own ears.

"Well, I guess I can't blame you for what we subscribed to. We all agreed to frame Marmalade with the Crimson Paw alias once you were interrogated because of your suspicious connections to The Bad Guys to further keep Marmalade contained. Corruption is something that'll always reign supreme inside of Los Angeles and I would say this type of corruption aims to keep someone who is far more corrupt inside of containment except for when that system fails and we end up with escaped convicts. To our dismay, this is not an outcome we are completely immune to," Chief Luggins pulled forth the shadow lurking in the distance. "Hail, would you like to explain a little more to these former crooks and the Governor or must I do it for you?" Chief Luggins' attitude remained staunchly stern the entire time as she whipped out a heavy-duty black laptop and slammed it onto the desk in front of "Hail's" figure.

"You're not here for introductions but I'm Hail or Hailee if you have the time for it," Hailee's voice was noticeably comparable to Luggins' own except it was more chipper and higher-pitched. Wolf and Foxington were also immediately able to make out a pair of amethyst eyes from underneath her mask. "I was a former crook, quite like Foxington. I worked for heist crews in London, Manchester, Southampton before later hitting the East Coast of the United States by harassing New York; later moving to the midwest to strike against Chicago before being arrested. Long story short, I was offered parole in the form of handing over all of those I had worked with and later was able to obtain a job in the F.B.I working as a double agent-"

"Hailee... What did I say about backstories? You've been working under my command for what- six months? You're obsessed with telling people about yourself, at least serve your purpose!" Luggins' sternly warned Hailee all the while Wolf's eyes went from being dead-set on the mask to being captivated by Foxington's emerald orbs as the suburbs whizzed by through the immensely tinted windows of the limousine.

"Apologies. I have been tracking the movements of Marmalade's crew for a year now. As it turns out, all of the people who handled his fundraiser events for the charity were all registered with fake I.D's and were aliases; most of the people working for him were also criminals apparently tied to his name. This is some serious business and he was not just some greedy capitalist trying to make a fortune out of Los Angeles; he was here to make a statement beyond merely terrorising the city with an army of guinea pigs," Hailee took hold of the laptop in front of her, soon creating a satisfying set of clicking noises from the keyboard before flipping it over to reveal a bright screen to the crew sat adjacent to her. "A s you can see, when I reach around and flip through, you can note that they are attached to the same motives. Either something mild such as shoplifting or tax evasion yet they worked as volunteers for something in their lives. It appears Marmalade has promised these people a hefty sum of money or glory in exchange for his escape considering a tunnel was bore a mere month ago under a shady mining industry, was in operation for one day before reported as a cave-in and swiftly abandoned; we have reason to believe Marmalade has been on the run for approximately a few days, not twenty-four hours like the authorities would have you believe- apologies Chief, I'm making a point."

"So, what exactly does this mean for us? Sure, Marmalade's been out for a while and you're showing me all of this snazzy technology with people having similar motives but what's the catch? Did we fall into some sort of trap and now two of our friends are in danger or what?" Mr. Snake inquired all the while Hailee shook her head.

"Your friends are expert criminals that would not break easily under such pressure-"

"I wouldn't know about that, Hail... Piranha's been known to turn into a living gas giant whenever he gets nervous and his idea of being nervous is being inside of any form of stressful scenario... He gasses up the barbers shop when it's time for Wolf to get a haircut and Piranha doesn't even have fur or a reason to worry!" Shark jumped in all the while he was on the verge of biting his fins to bring ease to his shuddering nerves.

"Right. That might actually prove helpful if he is interrogated as it will remove any incentive for Marmalade or any of his clooneys to continue pressing on. If Marmalade is after anything, it will be information that your crew doesn't have but it is information that he has been lead to believe thanks to his crew stumbling across false statements that happen to deal with Chief Luggins and other officers and executives feeding The Bad Guys information in prison when you were left out of the loop; this will not work forever as an interrogation strategy before Marmalade catches on and begins asking more incriminating questions but it'll buy us some time," Hail grabbed hold of the laptop and punched something into the keyboard, grinning beneath her mask all the while Misty's face was filled with pride.

"Time? Time for what exactly?" Mr. Wolf and Snake remarked at the same time, thoroughly freaking out the rest of the crew in the limousine for a brief moment as Hail finished up with her typing.

"Here! We happen to have access to this base thanks to one spy working beneath the ranks of Marmalade. As the base that was built is operated by the F.B.I, they happen to own all of the blueprints and can override the security systems at will. You're looking for someone simply referred to as Wallace and I ask of you to spare him when you approach the mountain secured by guards from the Rocky Hill Security agency... Oh? I'm sorry... Did I forget to tell you about how you're going to get into the base again or how you're going to jump down directly onto Marmalade's control room with our C.I working as one of four guards?" Foxington felt her own sass being degraded by Hail as she soon flipped the laptop around. "We're escorting you to a helicopter as the only way to get in is either through a private flight or, more realistically, skydiving. Weather happens to be against us so we will have a chance to rest as we make our way to arally point that happens to be nearby and subsequently get some sleep before waking up to begin our great conquest; and that's all I have to say," Hailee slammed shut the laptop handed to her by Chief Luggins as Luggins perked up and soon stuffed the laptop inside of a holding compartment.

"Did everyone catch that?" She inquired whilst wearing an attitude less scarred by her impatience.

"Oh, yeah... We caught that. We just have no clue what to do from here on out," Wolf scratched his head in confusion all the while Misty placed her hand on a button.

"Simple! We'll sleep on our way to the rendezvous point and I'll brief you once we're there! We have to have absolute secrecy and so from this point forward, all gadgets, gizmos; what-have-yous... They've all got to be shut off and turned in-"

"BUT THAT'S MY WHOLE OUTFIT!" Diane and Foxington synced up at the same time as they gazed at one another with concern staining their muzzles.

"In that case, I hope you two are comfortable with sleeping accompanied by a fuzzy blanket and nothing but your underwear! Hahaha!" Chief Luggins' hearty laugh resounded across the limousine, creating an echoing effect which forced everyone to awkwardly chuckle along with her as she pointed towards a dark corner in the room and encouraged Wolf and Foxington to change under the veil of the dim lighting in that area.

All whilst this was happening, Marmalade was preparing to interview his newfound captives and subjects that he had managed to trick into chasing his trail a little too harshly purely with his existence alone. As the perspective melts from being within the limousine to being blurry as a rocky lair accompanied by grey cinder blocks, lights of all colours with buttons flashing surrounding none other than yourself as the reader; you find yourself being interrogated directly by Marmalade all before your perspective shifts back to Tarantula and Piranha, who currently bear the burden of sharing a cage with one another.

"Glad you could make it," Marmalade locks eyes with you for a brief moment before gazing back at Tarantula and Piranha, who are giving it their all trying to tip over their current enclosure as nothing but darkness and Marmalade's beady eyes can see through the black netting surrounding them. "Oh, hush, little subjects... You're going to be safe so long as you give me the answers that I wish for. It truly is a pity how easy it was to bait you in; then again, that's the power of a headline alongside pure instinct-fuelled rage compelling you to locate me. Well, peek-a-boo! You found me... With the consequence of being hunted by the one you sought out," Marmalade unleashed a compulsive blood-curdling laugh that only the demons of the underworld could tolerate as his attitude intimidated Webs and Piranha more than the veil of darkness covering their steel cage already did.

"You're lucky I can't see out of this cage and that I'm stuck in it or else I'd get the biting on you and would tear you to shreds!" Piranha retorted by bashing into the steel cage before realising it was clamped into a reinforced stand and was practically immovable. "What sort of barbarian returns from prison only to lock up the two smallest creatures of the former Bad Guys? We're not even bad anymore!"

"Nuh-uh! We're part of the Good Guys Crew now so you better get to letting us out of here until someone catches onto what you're doing and turns you into stew for Mr. Snake!" Tarantula's voice prompted Marmalade's mind to rattle as her voice was seemingly annoying and high-pitched enough to irritate him. "You must feel really proud of yourself taking out the hacker and the muscle man when the top dogs of our crew still happen to be out there!" Webs folded up her front two legs whilst glaring at Marmalade's sickened expression.

"Oh... Proud is one way to put it, little Tarantula..." Marmalade let off another disturbed chuckle as he spun around inside of his wheely chair whilst encircling the vice he was holding the cage in. "You see, the strong and the heavy tend to keep their secrets far encased inside of their minds; unrelenting and unwilling to surrender them as easily. The bigger the body, the more you have to work through when trying to get your answer. I know you're not just after me to put my head on the wall or to make sure my body rests inside of the pits of Mr. Snake's stomach; you're not here to kill me, merely capture me... You think I won't escape again?" Marmalade smirked as he clapped his paws together and ordered over Cuddles. "Give them some light," Tarantula and Webs were soon blinded by a pen-light beaming through the silk that wrapped around their cage.

"You two can look towards that light as a bargaining chip, perhaps a tiff to my taff considering it's the last ray of hope you're going to experience once you're locked in darkness. I know Chief Luggins and Diane Foxington have been feeding you two leeches information about the outside world, regarding my whereabouts and the relatively humble organisation I've been running behind the scenes. I'm also acutely aware that you may possess some knowledge that'll help me further my campaigns against the Los Angeles Police Department as let's be fair, anarchy has always had a nicer ring to it than law as everyone can decide their fate and be truly free... HEHEHEH~" Marmalade clapped his paws together once again, shutting down the light Cuddles was holding. "If you don't wish to be imprisoned in darkness for the rest of your lives as you're enslaved to my cause as you're syphoned out of every useful piece of information and remain as my intel banks, I recommend you start talking about this so-called info that my spies uncovered with Chief Luggins and that delightful Diane feeding you all of the juicy information about my upbringings, my backstory and the 'sinister' plot they uncovered ever since I was framed as the Crimson Paw... I've got to give Diane some credit there; I never knew she'd be capable of doing such a thing when I was using her as a pawn from the very start, now she's got to deal with other people filling her pockets and Mr. Wolf filling her-"

"What information and what crazy talk are you babbling on about? I'm hungry! I haven't eaten since I got out of jail and went to that restaurant! I'm all out of gas and that's a bad thing!" Mr. Piranha had a simplified way of seeing the situation and one that greatly amused Webs at the time. "The only thing we've been doing in jail is serving our sentences and learning how to be better people, something you should've been doing but you're instead worried about the world and how everyone will see you! - We haven't received any special treatment!" Piranha retorted as darkness started to settle over him once again, this time with Marmalade placing another blanket of silk over the pair that would sink them in darkness for good as he strapped on two clips to this massive cage he was using to contain them.

"Pish-posh! It's time for you both to go for a wash considering you can't seem to tell the truth!" Marmalade let off a sing-song as he hit a button that started twisting around the cage and even allowing it to roll around thanks to a mechanism designed to rattle around the cage aiding him. With him giggling like a psychopath lacking their medication as he held down the button and his tiny feet wiggled up and down, Cuddles aimed to arm the next device which was marked with a high voltage sign and glowed that familiar blue hue that was once seen from the meteorite. "You two really think I'm that foolish to the point where I'd fall for your white lies? The first rule of interrogation that you should be educated about is the fact that I take no prisoners and that spreads to the handling of information... If you're not telling me the truth then I am going to punish you for wasting my precious time. Ah, who am I kidding? I love doing this and it's been a while since I interrogated someone! Such a thrill!" The diabolical guinea pig watched on as the cage encased in several wrappings of silk spun around all the while he listened to Piranha's pleading for mercy.

"Dios mío- I do not feel well in here- I THINK I'M GONNA THROW UP," Piranha felt his body drain of life as Tarantula grabbed hold of him inside of the cage and pulled him in a web that she had personally made. "Hermana- thank you but I don't see how this is helping! The room is still spinning like we're stuck in a cyclone!"

"At least you'll stay in place instead of being rattled around! This has to be one of the worst ways to interrogate someone ever! I'm not complaining about us not needing to endure pain but at least we're not suffering! I still want to know what he's talking about, though," Webs did her best to focus her ruby orbs on Piranha's as his eyes were thoroughly spinning around inside of his head. "It's not like we were told about anything special inside of jail- we were just shown what's on the news and the same seven Dreamworks movies repeatedly whilst living our lives serving our sentence- the only time we got visits from Foxington was when she was talking to Mr. Wolf and who knows what they were talking about!" Tarantula and Piranha suddenly smashed up against the cage as it came to an abrupt stop.

"Aha!" Marmalade shouted as he lifted up part of the silk to reveal none other than his ginger fur as well as his messy hair and maniacal stare. "You do know something about dealings with Diane Foxington! I knew the sacred Governor was just as corrupt as the rest of them! Mainly because I saw her tiny political career and decided to give her a bit of leverage with the money I happened to have- heheh~ - Lying around..." Marmalade was weary of approaching the cage for he didn't wish to become victim of a ram attack from Piranha, who was surprisingly keeping his cool inside of this situation instead of losing his mind and his foundation. "Go on, spill; I'll make sure not to spin you as horribly if you cooperate."

"Why should we tell you anything?" Piranha's attitude did a total one-eighty the moment he found his footing and was able to lock eyes with Marmalade. "The only thing you've done to us is expose Mr. Wolf's soft side and irreversibly change our lives! Sure, being a not-so-bad guy doesn't feel half bad and I will give you credit for giving us that idea and influencing us but that does not right the wrongs that you're responsible for!"

"Uh oh-" Tarantula backed off into a corner for she knew Piranha was about to have a psychotic break or lash out at Professor Marmalade in levels never seen before, already bracing herself to be spun around or worse as she hung from a web that she produced inside of the cage.

"You're worthy of nothing, all of this villainy? You called us compensating for something and Foxington even laid out the fact that we were filled full of those emotions- that denial, that self-loathing, that anger and that urge to fill a void inside of our hearts, right? Look at what you're doing at this moment! You had an opportunity to do good but you let your ego get in the way of your ambitions and for what? Just so you could get a spot on some billboard or perhaps stain the history books with your tyranny? You're nothing! Nobody will remember you in the future, regardless of what you do! You'll only be a regional legend at best, a memory no more in five hundred years! You're irrelevant, meaningless... HONOURLESS!" The entire time Piranha was lashing out, Marmalade was taking in the information and admittedly felt his ego become slightly bruised yet smiled through it all to maintain the status quo. "When we were busy robbing people, stealing things, perhaps terrorising the population; we all knew that was temporary and we were more focused on the friendships we held with one another. You've got no friends! No family! I bet you were raised inside of a guinea pig testing lab and it wouldn't surprise me if Cuddles is your master! THE ONLY WORTH YOU'VE EVER KNOWN IS BEING AN EXPERIMENT!" For once, Piranha made a breakthrough as he slammed his fin into the cage and promptly triggered Marmalade to slam down the silk and shroud the pair in darkness.

"Is that all you think I'm here for..? That's cute. Out of all the things you could've listed, you never thought about my motives nor the purpose of what I'm doing... And you call me the ignorant one?" Marmalade soon started recovering the pieces of his fragmented and fractured ego as he pointed towards Cuddles as well as one of his armoured guards wearing nothing but all-black as they accompanied each other whilst keeping their hands pressed down on black and yellow striped levers with red tips connected to a massive machine that was charged with electricity. "I would make sure that I wouldn't stain the history books, not fall into irrelevance or become a regional legend; I may have wasted a year inside of that prison but that was a year not wasted by those surrounding me and those that worked for me; that was a year working on the downfall of the entire world. You should know that Los Angeles and California were only stepping stones to me. I would've used my guinea pig army to do a lot more than to merely terrorise the populace; the moment I would've gotten my hand on a viable human, a fox, a wolf, snake, tarantula, piranha... I would be able to enslave the entirety of the Californian population to my will and well; let's truly test the power of mind control, hm?" Marmalade pointed off into the distance as the red lights glowed against his eyes, illuminating his fur as another bodyguard dimmed the lights inside of the room as an intimidating rumbling sound spawned from the depths of the underworld rustled the ears and senses of those within its vicinity.

"Piranha- I think you angered him! This wasn't a smart thing! I think he's going to make us talk, even when we know nothing about what he's talking about! My hearing isn't the best in the world- I can't eavesdrop as well as everyone else, I've got no clue what Diane was telling Moe and how Marmalade might be involved!" Webs noticed the all-too-familiar stench of flatulence enter her nostrils at the time as Piranha stared at her wide-eyed. "Oh no-"

"Your hearing might not be as great but from the moment we got put inside of the can with one another... Hermana... I might've done a little bit of eavesdropping; a little too much eavesdropping. I might be a nervous mess- an angry mess sometimes but I've got incredible hearing thanks to spending most of my life underwater, you get used to those vibrations!" Piranha whispered as he backed up inside of Tarantula's web with a face filled with dread. "This isn't a good thing, is it? I'm going to end up telling him a lot of things both personal and professional, oh no... There's a chance Diane and Wolf may have discussed some affairs relating to the outside world," Piranha soon found himself being met with nothing more than silence as Marmalade's claws ground up against the colossal machine powered directly by a fragment of the Love Crater Meteorite contained within a glass case as his neck clicked thanks to his attention falling onto the cage sat before him.

"Piranha... You have one minute to speak up about what you've heard or else I'm going to force you to talk to me about what I'm looking for as well as all of the naughty secrets the pair of you have to offer about your life considering you're most likely hiding something from the world and it would be my pleasure to hear all about them considering how curious of a little piggy I can be," An awkward silence fell over Marmalade as within the cage, both Webs and Piranha exchanged glances filled with horror before Piranha was forced to swallow his pride. "Last chance until I make you-"

"Fine! Fine! I know a little bit! Just keep it easy with the levers and switches, hermano!" Piranha confessed as he felt himself be jolted by some electricity sent by Marmalade as a warning not to toy around with him or play him like a fool. "Listen, I have a guilty pastime involving eavesdropping on others and although I don't know everything... I know a lot more was said between Diane and Wolf than them exchanging personal anecdotes! Bear in mind, most of it was actually flirting between the two but between these tidbits of flirting, Diane let onto the fact that there were several strongholds around the city being occupied by the F.B.I to keep an eye on that prison island thingy and that your passageway to escape may have been planned! In another session filled with flirting and enlightening quips from Wolf that I won't get out of my head, she apparently told him that your entire escape may have been bait by the police department but even Foxington didn't know that much and she was just theorising during casual conversation!" During this whole time, Marmalade was taking notes as he tapped on the cage to implore Piranha into continuing his ramble about the pair of canine companions.

"Getting the pair of you to open up was surprisingly easy, I knew you two could be counted on considering you're the most prone to faltering mentally alongside physically... Right," Marmalade ordered Cuddles as well as as another armoured guard to unwrap the silk from the cage as well as begin transporting it around this massive room which was filled with buttons relating to several diabolical experiments. Screens filled with CCTV footage surrounded the pair of captives from all angles as the grey marble floor below them reflected their shame thanks to the dimly lit orange and white lights above them lighting their way. "Anything else I should know about?" Marmalade ordered the pair of them to be dropped down in front of a desk which housed a supercomputer containing databases correlating to certain events occurring inside of the city.

"I think I said enough but for the sake of not having my mind tapped into and my fins melted until I can't swim any longer... Diane admitted that framing you as the Crimson Paw was somewhat intentional yet she felt guilty according to her recounts to Mr. Wolf. It gets worse," Tarantula was tempted to restrain Piranha as he had given Marmalade more than enough information but she was intrigued to know about Foxington and her previously trustworthy nature. "I wasn't keeping my ears out for this specific conversation but it appears that she was playing you from the very beginning. She knew that you were investing in her campaigns and needed someone naive on board. She even confessed to finding your investment slightly suspicious alongside your preaches and trusted your idea as it would've let her continue fighting corruption as best as she could whilst not having to worry about The Bad Guys... She laughed when Wolf told her you seemed quite frightening only for her to turn around and say that you gave her friends and a purpose beyond being a politician as she saw through your wisdom from the start-"

"Okay! Okay! I get it! That vixen has a fierce ego and thinks she's unstoppable thanks to her washing her paws with my money and actually utilising it for good! Well, newsflash! Nobody's perfect! Even the likes of myself weren't destined to be a goody two-shoes! I may want to rule the world but I even admit that taking control of everyone's mind sounds a little mundane," Marmalade pulling up part of the database that he was looking for and securely opened up a latch which fed in a tiny keyboard. "Now, Webs... I warn you, refusing to cooperate is foolish of you but I need you to break into the security systems around the city; I need to figure out where Foxington, Wolf and Luggins are and need to know if they've connected the dots... I am admittedly running out of time here," Marmalade's final act as the sheer magnitude of the national database and security system fascinated her as she had always attempted to break into such an institution to no avail.

"Uhm... I don't know why you'd want me to do this but sure. I can get you in the national database and security systems in a tippity-tap-tap!" Tarantula brought her legs together and hammered away at the keyboard as she had one question to ask. "Professor Marmalade. You probably won't answer my question as we're kind of enemies that were sworn in from the day I discovered you weren't the world-changer that you sought to be but what's the point in knowing the locations of all three of them when you're expecting them to come back to rescue us? That's why you've held us hostage, right?" Marmalade let off a sigh as Tarantula finished breaking into the system on his behalf.

"Oh, I'm going to change the world alright... Maybe not the entire world but I'm definitely going to redefine your world... Cuddles, Pete; take the pair of them into solitary confinement and leave them there, their purposes have been fulfilled-"

"WHAT?" Tarantula and Piranha exclaimed at the same time as the silk was wrapped around their cage and they were picked up, destined for a fate unknown.

"If you two geniuses couldn't figure it out, you've just put together the remaining puzzle pieces to assemble an ambush on Diane, Wolf and Luggins! I have no clue how you were talked into something so foolishly but then again, social engineering has always been my sort of specialty- if only that had a degree... Maybe I wouldn't have to con so many people into understanding that the only way to build a utopia is to make a dystopia!" Marmalade unleashed a barbaric scream of mania as Tarantula and Piranha exited his vicinity for good.

"Now... It's time to see where the trio of you scoundrels are so I can bring you to me and depose you permanently..."

-"You hearing this?" - Whispered Wolf, huddled up next to Diane and a resting Hailee all the while their limousine carried them to their ambush point. "Marmalade actually thinks we're the pawns for once! I never knew he could get stupider until today!"