Patch & Thunderbolt

Chapter Five: Patch Gets Angry

Back in the farm that night, Patch was in the pond, washing off all the grass that were thrown at him by the dogs in London. When he was finished, he got out of the pond, shook himself dry, and headed back to the barn to go to sleep. He heard Rolly calling him before he could set foot in the barn.

"Patch, wait, we need to talk to you--" said Rolly.

"Leave me alone, Rolly!" said Patch angrily as he sharply turned his head to look at his family. "I don't want to talk to anyone!"

"Please, Patch! Quitting your job with Thunderbolt was a big mistake you made!"

"Thunderbolt is your best friend, Patch," said Lucky. "He's been nice enough to help you become a better one-of-a-kind wonderdog. He's even been supportive enough to help you work on improving your voice to do his bark."

"Yeah," said Freckles, taking sides with Lucky. "Ever since you took the job with Thunderbolt, trying to improve your voice for that bark has been the most important thing to you. Now, how are you gonna get your voice improved for that bark?"

Patch remembered very well about the promise his siblings forced him to make after they said that they could not support him on improving his voice for Thunderbolt's heroic bark, just because pups do not have the voice to do that kind of bark. The thought of his family not supporting him on improving his voice for Thunderbolt's heroic bark was bothering him more than ever.

"Well, I have you guys, don't I?" snapped Patch. "You're my family, and you can support me, right?"

"Wrong," said Pepper, and this made Patch angrier. "Look, we're sorry if we're making you mad, but we told you before that we can't support you because we are just pups, and pups will get laughed at for doing that bark because they don't have the voice for it."

That did it for Patch. He now started to lose his temper with his siblings.

"HOW COULD YOU?!" Patch shouted. "You guys are supposed to be my family! Now, you're gonna be like those dogs back in London and laugh at me when I try to bark like Thunderbolt instead of support me, just because pups don't have the voice to do that bark?!"

Patch's siblings tried their best not to let his anger scare them.

"Now, Patch," said Rolly, shaking, "we're not trying to be mean to you like those dogs back in London did. You should be grateful that we didn't laugh at you at all for doing Thunderbolt's bark ever since we made you promise not to do it while you're still a pup."

"And you're not going to laugh at me for that, now," said Patch. "In fact, you're not going to laugh at me for that...ever! You know why? Because I'm gonna work on it right here at home! And you're all gonna support me, whether you like it or not!"

"But Patch, you promised not to do that bark while you're still a pup unless you're at work with Thunderbolt!"

"That is only because you guys made me promise that! I'm gonna break that promise! I had enough of my own family telling me that they can't support me on trying to get my voice right for that bark! It sounds like you're saying that you don't even care about me!"

Rolly shook even more, letting Patch's anger get to him.

"Take it easy, Patch," said Rolly. "Don't think of us as your enemies. We really do care about you."

But Patch was not going to listen to anything else that any of his siblings had to say to him. He was very fed up with not getting any support from his family on something that was part of his career. He now became angrier than he had ever been in his life.

"YEAH, RIGHT!" Patch thundered at the top of his voice to all his siblings. "NOT SHOWING ME ANY SUPPORT IS NOT SHOWING SOMEONE YOU TRULY CARE ABOUT ME! I MEAN, WHAT ARE YOU GUYS SUPPOSED TO BE?! NOT MY FAMILY! YOU ARE ALL THE MOST PITIFUL BROTHERS AND SISTERS THAT ANYONE HAS EVER HAD YET! AT LEAST I WAS BRAVE ENOUGH TO DO THUNDERBOLT'S BARK, UNLIKE YOU GUYS! YOU'RE ALL AFRAID TO DO THAT BARK BECAUSE YOUR VOICES MIGHT EVEN SOUND WORSE THAN AS IF SOMEONE SAT ON A SQUEAKY TOY; THEY MIGHT SOUND AS IF SOMEONE RAN OVER IT!"

On the emphasized words of the last thing he said, Patch violently swept dirt at his siblings with his front right paw, causing it to get in their eyes and sting them in the process.

"Ow!" Rolly yelled in pain. "My eyes!"

"Patch, what did you do that for?" Lucky complained as he and the rest of Patch's siblings rubbed the dirt out of their eyes.

All the other pups are now making complaints about Patch sweeping the dirt in their eyes.

"You all deserved that for not supporting me!" boomed Patch. "None of you care about me, but everyone at work did! They are my true family, not you guys! Unlike you, they showed me a lot of support! But I'm not going back to that family until I become big enough to actually do Thunderbolt's bark correctly! In fact, I'm not going back to that family at all!"

All of Patch's siblings were now shocked at what he just said to them.

"Wait a minute," Lucky gasped. "You're not saying that you are--"

"That's right, Lucky," said Patch, scowling. "I'm never returning to my job. It's all over. I'm quitting my job for good."

All of Patch's siblings became even more shocked, and now very disappointed in him.

"Patch, no!" Penny pleaded. "Thunderbolt's your best friend. He did whatever it takes to help you succeed. He really cares about you. You can't quit your job."

Patch now confronted Penny, their faces almost touching each other's.

"Don't you dare tell me what I can or can't do, Penny," Patch said through gritted teeth, and he pulled himself away to face his family. "That goes for the rest of you! I don't want anyone to tell me what to do about my job! I'm through being an actor, and I'm through being a hero! Actually, I never should've even rescued you guys from Cruella in the first place! After what happened on our last night at the flat, I should've just left you locked up in those cages at the warehouse in London and let Cruella and the Baduns turn you all into a fur coat!"

Patch's anger was now scaring his siblings even more.

"Patch, don't say things like that!" Lucky cried. "You don't really mean all that!"

"Yes, I do!" Patch roared. "If you all just showed me some support, I wouldn't be this angry with you, right now!"

He turned away from his siblings and sat by the pond, so that he could calm himself down and think things through. As he did so, his siblings heard him mutter something under his breath.

"What did you say?" Pepper asked Patch as she approached him.

"I hate this," said Patch softly, his temper starting to rise again. "I hate having the worst bark. I hate being laughed at for that. I hate being laughed at by all those dogs in London. And I hate that my own family won't support me."

Pepper then took a few steps back from Patch to avoid getting him angry again.

"Do you know what I hate the most?" Patch asked his siblings, trying hard to keep his temper under control. "Being a pup."

All of Patch's siblings felt hurt and even more disappointed in him. They all then saw Pongo make his way to the pond and sit next to Patch to talk to him.

"Patch, I heard everything you just said to your brothers and sisters," said Pongo.

Patch now had a feeling that what Pongo just said was used to make him feel guilty, and it really did.

"Do you even know what was the one thing you said to them that surprises me the most?" Pongo asked calmly. "It wasn't you quitting your job for good."

Patch looked up to face his father.

"Was it me wishing that I had never rescued my brothers and sisters from Cruella?" Patch asked curiously.

"Oh, no, son," said Pongo. "It was you saying that you hate being a pup. Please, tell me what's bothering you about being a pup."

Patch really did not want to discuss anyone with anything right now, after all the anger he had let out to his siblings. But since Pongo was kind enough to ask Patch why he hated being a kid, Patch had no choice but to explain.

"It's just tough being a pup," Patch began with a sigh. "When a pup tries to do a powerful, heroic bark like Thunderbolt's, they end up getting laughed at because their voice is too squeaky. I really hate it when pups like me have a squeaky voice, and can't do a good bark like Thunderbolt's because of that. Pups like me are too little to do those big dog barks. I hate being little, and I hate having a squeaky bark. That's what I hate about being a pup."

Patch turned his head away from his father after he had finished.

"Is that it?" Pongo scoffed at Patch. "Come on, Patch. You may not like being a pup, but you must understand that it's important that you enjoy being a pup while it lasts."

"I don't see how being a pup is so important or enjoyable," said Patch, staring at the pond.

"Well, while you're a pup, you have a lot of energy in you. And you use that energy to learn new things. You try to learn as much as you can to become a big, strong dog like Thunderbolt. And if you just sit there and let your life as a pup go by, then you'd be missing out on a lot of amusing things in life. Please, don't let your life as a pup go to waste. That won't help you be the dog you want to be. I know how getting your voice right to do Thunderbolt's heroic bark is important to you, but something like this takes time and can't be rushed. You've probably been trying too hard on that since we first met Amber, and that's why your voice had been getting worse lately. So, why not rest your voice every now and then? Give it time; it will come out right, just like you want it."

After hearing what Pongo had to say, Patch sadly turned around to face him.

"Okay," said Patch tearfully, and he dropped himself on one of Pongo's front paws in sadness.

"Don't worry, son," said Pongo gently as he pats Patch on the back with his other front paw to cheer him up. "Your voice will soon sound as great as Thunderbolt's. Trust me. You're gonna do just fine. Now, when we see Thunderbolt in London tomorrow, you two are going to work things out together as friends, and you'll forget about quitting your job with him when you get your problems solved."

Patch got back up in shock after he heard that he had to go back to London to face Thunderbolt again. He did not like the sound of that, after what he said to Thunderbolt that caused his feelings to get hurt. Another thing that bothered Patch about going back to London was that he might have to once again face the group of dogs that have been laughing at him for the way he did Thunderbolt's heroic bark, but he already had been pretty well fed up with them and could not stand them anymore.

"What?!" Patch gasped. "See Thunderbolt in London tomorrow?! No, I can't!"

"I'm afraid you have to," said Pongo.

"No, Dad! Thunderbolt will be mad at me for quitting my job if I show up in London tomorrow to talk to him! Besides, those dogs that have been laughing at me for the way I did Thunderbolt's bark will be there to laugh at me again!"

Patch's siblings, who now got over the fear of Patch's anger, stepped in.

"Patch, Dad's right," said Lucky. "You've got to go back to London tomorrow to work things out with Thunderbolt."

"Not with those laughing dogs out there, as well!" said Patch sharply as he turned away from his siblings to make his way inside the barn.

"But you and Thunderbolt are best friends," Rolly begged. "You don't want your friendship with him to end, do you? Patch, you have to come with us on our next walk in London."

Patch turned his head to glance at his siblings before he can enter the barn.

"I TOLD YOU, I'M NOT TAKING ANOTHER WALK IN LONDON WITH THOSE LAUGHING MUTTS OUT THERE!" Patch yelled at his siblings. "SO, YOU GUYS JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Some of the other pups tried to grab Patch and hold him back from going inside the barn to talk some more sense into him, but he spanked them all off him really hard, causing them to fall flat on their backs in pain.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Patch shouted. "I DON'T WANT ANYONE TO TALK TO ME FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT!"

Patch stormed off into the barn and climbed onto a hay bale to get some sleep.

"Pongo!" Perdita called as she went over to Pongo and Patch's siblings. "I heard what's been going on between you, Patch, and all our other pups. Things didn't go too well, did they?"

Pongo shook his head glumly.

"Things didn't go well at all," said Pongo, feeling depressed.

"Maybe I should try talking to Patch," said Perdita as she was making her way to the barn to talk to Patch, but Pongo stepped in front of her to block her.

"Don't, Perdita. Now is not the right time to talk to him; it'll only make him even more upset. He's already angered enough, and we can't risk making things even worse for him by trying to talk to him any further."

Perdita sulked in disappointment.

"Look, Perdy," said Pongo. "Even though Patch said that he's not coming with us to London tomorrow, he's still going to. Whether any of us want to go for a walk in London tomorrow or not, that's up to our pets, not us. So there's a better chance that Patch and Thunderbolt may have all their problems worked out. Now, let's all go to sleep."

The entire Dalmatian family fell asleep in the barn a few minutes later. Patch was the only one who was still lying awake, thinking over what he had done to hurt Thunderbolt; that thought caused him to forget his anger with his family. After realizing that quitting his job with Thunderbolt was the biggest mistake he ever made, he stared at the ceiling of the barn in regret, picturing how things would turn out when he would meet Thunderbolt in London again the next day.

"Oh, no," Patch said quietly, feeling ashamed of himself. "What have I done?"

Patch finally fell into a deep sleep after shedding a couple of tears. While asleep, he was trying to think positive about what would happen when he and Thunderbolt would meet each other on their next walk in London. Hopefully, Thunderbolt would not be too angry with Patch when they would see each other the next day, as they were best friends.

***

End of chapter five.