Never knew this damn day would come, me shackled from my golden-brown hind-legs to my left, normal forearm and my right, metal forearm, while walking upwards on these cold, cemented, stone stairs, and with six different guards surrounding me. One German Shepherd is leading me up the stone stairs, the other German Shepherd is behind me, two Dobermans on my left, and two Kangal Shepherds on my right, and they're all leading up to court. I can fuck 'em all up, easily too, even if I'm paw-cuffed, muzzled by a metal muzzle; not one of those metal wire cage muzzles; I'm talking a full-on metal muzzle mask. Oh, and I'm also unarmed, I'm pretty sure Ruffs taken it. But either way, they're just simply taller than me, the furless and not-so-strong German Shepherds, the prosthetic Dobermans, and one Kangal that is slim, and another Kangal that is big-boned. Shit, I'm big-boned too, plus I learned how to kick ass.
Their first mistake is having only one dog armed, and their second mistake is having the Kangal armed with a long shotgun on his back that points to his head, as I can easily reach up to him and pull the trigger, and blood will soon splatter. Though, I swore to myself that I would NEVER kill anyone who is a resident in Red Wire, so the fact I'm being framed of the murder of Klassic, it was never me.
About that slim Kangal with the shotgun, I can sense him looking at me deeply with anger from my right side, plus I can see him in the corner of my bright, blue eye. I look over at him, and sadly he can't fully see my face, but all he can see are my bright blue and red eyes, but I can reassure him that I'm just smirking. He starts to snarl at me.
"Brother." The bulky Kangal barked in his deep voice. "I said if you can't handle it..."
"I hope he rots..." the slim Kangal barked at me in his light voice.
"Don't worry 'bout it." The leading German Shepherd barked with a bit of squeak in his voice. "We got hungry criminals 'ere waitin' to maul him to death, and the judge-"
"QUIT BARKING!" The German Shepherd behind me howled with demand, and soon everything goes quiet, and the sound of paw-steps and chains rattling continue to flow in all of our ears.
Soon enough, for what's been like hours, the German Shepherd in front of me stops, and so did myself and the other dogs around me. I cock my head to the right to see why he stopped rather than to look at his tail swinging all night, and I can see a big metal door with a camera on top of it staring down at all of us, blinking a red light to signal that it is recording.
I stare at the blinking red light, getting some remembrance of the Red Sun, for what it has done to my eyes, my arm, and my sleeping habits, as now I have one bright, infectious red eye, one bright and cleanse blue eye, a robotic prosthetic that goes up to my right forearm, and the worst of all is insomnia known to dogmanity.
I soon break focus from the red light from the metal door that is slowly opening, and bright, electrical light start flashing down at all of us down the stairs, and the sound of barking and growling erupts inside the room me and the law-dogs are going to be inside of. And when the metal door opens up completely, the German Shepherd moves to the side to let me go in first, and he looks down at me with a growl. I look back at him, roll my eyes, and start walking up the stairs fully, and then move myself into the room as the rest of the other law-dogs follow me from behind.
Around me, besides the light blinding me viciously since I haven't been in light in a couple decades, are dogs most likely looking at me while howling, snarling, yelling, and barking at me, so many things that my ears are trying to pick up. And I probably know a lot of them.
Finally, my eyes get used to the light, and I can see a whole lot of familiar dogs left and right in these wooden bleachers with railings, as this place most likely holds over two-hundred dogs, and we have dogs as high as two-hundred living here of course. However, there are some dogs that are unknown to me, because they don't live in Red Wire, but from a different town, who are eager to now see the Big Bad Beagle. News gets around fast after all.
Everybody in Red Wire knew me from the strip club, Lusties, as Waves, even from our worst tavern, my favorite gun store, my favorite breakfast place, so on and so forth.
Anyways, I walk up to this small, wooden platform, and in front of me is none other but Diana, who is behind a podium on a bigger platform than mine, staring down at me, showing no remorse, and also Luzi, the cocker spaniel who's always ready to make a documentary, start a rumor, and to humiliate any dog who gets in her way, but she just makes daily news for the dogs in Red Wire and for other towns too while making profit out of it.
Did cha know me and the judge hit it off back in her place last weekend? It may have taken me a few months to get her, but we've talked throughout, then mated when his lapdog of a husband left for the city of Clazzies. Diana is a fluffy brown furred saluki, born tall and slim with small, black eyes, and if not, the most political dog I've ever seen and mated in my life, but she was to die for. She wasn't this political too sadly, she used to be a modeler back in Clazzies before she ended up in here, thinking being a judge would make a difference, but she's just wasting her time.
Lady Luzi is of course a journalist, author, and the only newswoman and cocker spaniel in Red Wire. Have I ever mated her? No, and she would've been part of the cocker spaniels I have mated too, but once again, get in her way, and she'll start humiliating or worse. She also carries a leather backpack, to which I forgot we have backpacks in this world, a modern typewriter, sketchbook, and a recorder. And now, she has all of those out on her small table right next to Diana, quite ready for anything, she even has me recorded as well for her records.
"Take the muzzle and shackles off the mutt." Diana barked loud but soothingly while sorting papers with her small paws, and a Doberman comes out of nowhere from my right to take the shackles off with a bronze key, then later another Doberman comes to my left to take the metal muzzle off my face. I start gasping for air.
"Finally..." I breathed, preparing to unleash my deep and old voice as the crowd suddenly goes quiet. "Fuckin' didn't have to put metal on my face and pretend I can breathe, pricks." I then look over at the Doberman to the right, who is struggling to take my shackles off with the keys. "I bet you also struggle to get cuffs off ya girl when you both finish some kinky shit, son of a bitc-"
"SILIENCE!" Diana snarled loudly. I look back up at Diana, then I deviously smirk at her with my teeth showing. The Doberman then finally removed the shackles from off my paws and legs, and he soon gets away from me with the shackles in his mouth. "You're morally disrespectful, Waves Young Waverly! Do you realize that? I don't need your disrespect! NO one does not need your disrespect in my court! You know why you're here too, for it's the public's eyes to look at you in regret, sorrow, fear, and hatred! Everyone knows who you really are now, but they don't know the crimes you've committed in these lands that makes us a target of not only being unsafe, but the best town to be used for your 'deeds' of killing dogs! And now, it's the public's decision upon changing their status of you, whether they may think of you as a friend, or a foe. But before I must remind you of what crimes you've exactly committed, do you plead guilty?"
"Well..." I scoffed, relaxing my paws and legs from all the walking and me being shackled previously. "Nope."
"Alright." Diana said with a now sophisticated tone. She starts to make noises under the podium, the sound of papers being shuffled that are most likely the "crimes" that I have committed. "Waverly-"
"It's Waves." I barked.
"...First off, don't interrupt me after I'm done talking." Diana warned with her black eyes glaring at me. "Second of off, WAVES, you are here today in court with no attorney, plus, you refused to be received of an attorney, but rather you will rely on not only yourself, but to the jurors, those who have been friends with you, friends that you have supported throughout your second life, from gifting blood Paws to moral support. Is that true that you are selfless of your friends?"
"Of course." I snickered gently.
"There is nothing to laugh about, nor for something to be taken lightly. Now, for starters, you were caught by our law-dogs of Red Wire, do you know that?"
"Of course, Sherlock." I sighed.
"It's Judge Diana." Of damn course she wouldn't get it.
"My bad, forgot..." I lied. From the corner of my blue eye, Lady Luzi raises her head from above the typewriter while she is still typing.
"Waves is saying you're stating something that is obvious, but in a rude way."
Diana soon lets out a loud sigh before looking down at the podium. "Once again, no morals." She barked with pity before looking back at me after looking at her papers briefly. "Two dog burglars tonight that were attempting to break into Red Wire's Bank, to which both of those dogs were nomads who ended up in Red Wire unannounced, and soon attempted to terrorize our bank. Did you know any of the robbers?" She asked, but then immediately says, "say 'yes' or 'no' your honor or else you're being fined."
I groan deeply in annoyance. "No, your 'honor'."
"Good boy." Diana barked politely. "Now-"
"GET ON WITH THE MURDER LIST ALREADY!" One of the dogs snarled aloud, and soon everyone else starts barking and snarling.
"Might as well, Diana!" I laughed teasingly.
"Fine!" Diana snarled out. "I'm impatient as well, but damn! First things first, the murder of Klassic, you killed her?"
"Bullshit!" I immediately barked. "I didn't kill her, I would never kill a soul in Red Wire, even for a billion Paws!" I yelled, but then the crowd starts barking and snarling at me. "Oh come on! Half of the population would've been dead by now if I so happen to want to kill most of y'all!"
"Calm down everyone!" Diana barked loudly, and everyone starts begrudgingly going back to a quiet state. "Even if you're telling the truth, or a lie possibly, then why the hell, excluding the owner of Lusties, but all of Red Wire think you're behind this? Where's your proof?"
"I don't even know how to physically strangle a dog, and I prefer keeping myself out of sight in the crowd, plus Casantro would've known that I killed her if I had reserved her in the same room she was strangled in, but according to Casantro's conversation between us, and no you cannot see it, that he sent me a picture of a book with a list of dogs making reservations for strippers who work at Lusties." I explained before looking over at the crowd to easily find Casantro behind his group of strippers, the very tall, black, cane corso grinning down at me with his dark, red eyes, and his He is visibly a pimp, the huge dog that I helped to make his life become noticeable, as I had to kill Lusties' previous owner, then Casanatro had to do the rest, which was controlling Lusties and making his "employees" more... slutty, except for a few he kept sane. Casantro and me obviously go back, but he knows that I'm the Big Bad Beagle since it was obvious of my way of threatening and beating different dogs up 'n shit. He even offered me to be his personal bodyguard for deals and also keeping the peace in Lusties. Like if a bar fight happens, I'm grabbing a bottle and smashing it on the dog's head before throwing that dog out. But in other words, I helped him get Lusties, in exchange of giving me a stripper of my choice, and that was how I found my beloved, Dasha.
Diana looks away from me to look over at Casanatro, then she sighs with regret. "Sorry Casanatro, but is he telling the truth about your book of reservations for your clients and... employees I hope you call?" Diana asked while holding her papers up.
"Why, yes your honor..." Casanatro snickered deeply, keeping his grin on me before finally looking away to look back at Diana, and I just sit there with a bit of anger towards the huge dog. "A book AND an app were hooked up for me to keep Lusties going with its notifications."
"Good to know." Diana said with a soft smile. "Was Waves the one who reserved for Klassic?"
"No..." He snarled in a bit of anger. "It was just a client from around here. But he's... gone. Yeah." Casanatro stops snarling to look back at me again to shoot another grin at me. "Gone..."
"Define 'gone'." Diana hissed lowly, looking back at me with her usual glares, and I stare at Casanatro and a few of his strippers that are growling at me, still blaming me of the murder of damn Klassic, I've never even heard of her in my life if I'm being honest!
"That's Waves decision to tell ya, not me girly. However, Waves reserved someone before, but then later cancelled it, my..." Casanatro and I'm still staring up at him with a slight growl, to which he just laughs. "Old perv gawking at my best bitches."
"And who in all of this fuckin' world is you calling an old perv, son of a bi-" I quickly stop myself, then look over at Diana, who is glaring at me because of my behavior. With a huff, I focus back on her while snarling under my breath with my old ears flat on my head.
"The murders you've committed in other towns like Rocks, Pawsies, Derkinstand, Furrlington, Doggystyle, and a few other towns known to Red Wire that we are alliance towards, are you guilty of the murders?"
With a sigh, I look back at the crowd of dogs watching me with their growls and disgust in their faces. "Guilty of all the killings? Yeah." I confessed, and soon the crowd gasps in shock and anguish, many sobbing... common, ain't it?
"Right." Diana sighed gently. "Did you had a sense of... joy, in killing them?"
"Over my twenties, yes." I barked, looking back up at Diana emotionlessly.
"And what about now and before you entered here?"
"Now I don't, and before I entered here, I stopped at least when I was around my forties."
"Valid reason to why you stopped?"
"I feel like I have killed enough bad dogs around 'ere."
"You do realize you could've been part of our law force, right? Or bounty hunters? We don't allow freelance hitmen work, not part of the job board."
"'Bout that. The police team and bounty hunters have rules that wouldn't have been sufficient for my work, especially since that now lots of baddies are dead, and the fact that a JAIL won't do shit about those fucks really means that the police force isn't effective of how they treat the bad dogs! So, if I end up in jail, I better have the WORST treatment so I can see if y'all have improved!" I snarled.
Diana raises an eyebrow at me. "Speaking of... jail and might I add, punishments." She barked before taking a deep breath. "You'll be having a life sentence, all of your currency taken away and given to all of Red Wire, your weapons will strictly stay in the evidence room before demolished, the public will have a choice to have you either executed, and..." Diana then glances down at the middle-aged Lady Luzi. "A life interview with the Cocker Spaniel. Sounds clear?"
I couldn't help but just snicker gently. "Wanna ask the public's opinion first? Not saying they won't say no to your idea of 'punishment', but I mean-"
"Diana, may I please speak to him?"
I perk up my ears high and immediately look over at the strippers in front of Casanatro, and my heart starts pounding fast at the sight of Birdy Fitz. He is a young, small, fluffy, black-furred male wolf, with the most majestic yellow eyes I've ever seen, and a smile believable to the world. Sadly, I have a huge crush on him, but the thing is, Casanatro isn't wrong about me being an old perv, as I am really... embarrassingly obsessive of him in particular. He joined Lusties a few months ago, I never got the chance of talking to him, but he is Casantro's "bitch", and he is not only real talented stripper, but a very good singer too! He had seen me before, gave me small smiles before drifting off to singing while I would listen to him. He is the only stripper in Lusties who doesn't hate my guts! At least, I hope he doesn't hate me.
Diana looks at Birdy as well with a warm smile. "Birdy Fitz, you may speak."
"Thank you." Birdy barked whimsically at Diana while his stripper friends nudge him to not speak for me, but instead, he looks directly at me with a small smile, and I listen to him while my face warming up, most likely flustering, even my tail is having a mind of its own as it wags slowly, and my ears twitch eagerly for the small wolf to speak. "I want to vouch for Waverly. He doesn't look innocent now, but he is an actual good boy. Besides, he did say he stopped his killing habits, and sure it doesn't make him go good automatically, but there can be a better way of him to prevent this to happen without execution or putting him in some jail." Is he really trying to get me to have a lighter sentence to the goodness of his heart? I ain't complaining, but... damn.
"Are you suggesting putting Waves in an asylum? We don't have that in here, Birdy, but if not, then what are you exactly asking him to be put in?" Diana asked with some concern in her tone.
"I'm saying to don't put him in jail or put him up for execution, but rather, now that we all know what he does, and we know that he will never hurt a soul in Red Wire, let's just... temporarily, but for a very long time, take away his right to kill."
"Hm... I'm getting what you're saying..." Diana said with hesitation before looking back at me. "Buuuuut... Actually." She later barked with reassurance in herself. "You know what? Fine. Consider yourself lucky, Waves! Forget about the punishments you were received, but now you will not only be prohibited to kill in Red Wire until next year, but that will go for the other towns and the city of Clazzies for next year too based on their preference of the idea! It is their choice whether they will allow your killing to be in their towns, but all of Red Wire will not stand for your 'services' that go against our rules, but also harming the public's stability. Do you understand, Waves?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever." I said immediately before looking down at my big, light brown paws with a lot of gray hairs intact. "Let's get this over with..." I really do want to get this over with, because I... it's embarrassing enough that Birdy is here, most likely even disgusted of my... old habits, but he's very kind to me of letting me live, there could be lots of reason why, like he needs me in his life, or just want me to spend all my Paws on him when I hit the club again, or maybe Casantro told Birdy to set me free. I don't know, but... I'll have to figure that out myself, just like I do for everything.
Diana's podium then starts lowering down to the ground to reveal her body standing tall in front of me and the whole crowd. "You know the rules!" Diana howled out. "Bark in agreement for Waves Young Waverly's punishment, or growl in disagreement!"
I listen to the whole entire room bark randomly, from the deepest of barks to the loudest of annoying squeaks. And as I just trying to get one thing straight... what the hell do I do next?