HOME | DD

Description
Vincent locked his sight at the device on front of him.

He had made the calculations and set the timer, based on what? Trial and error had proven to be his only guides and allies. He knew a slight calculation error could break the thin line that stood between success and failure. With that in mind, he was ready to override the system if was necessary, no matter the cost.

A small droplet ran trough his forehead, it barely even moved. Time seemed to have frozen for a moment; it would happen any second now.

A ringing sound came to his ears. His face revealed a smile.

His task had been successful.

-

"Yay! I've finally done it!" The Lucario cheered as he raised a decently brown toast. Vincent had been trying several times to get it right. A pile of blackened breads lied next to the toaster but it didn't matter anymore, he had finally nailed right; which apparently gave him bragging rights. "Veruka! Veruka! Look what I-," The Lucario cried as he ran towards a female Infernape, but was lost of words at what he saw.

The Infernape opened the oven's door, revealing a huge cake. Without even lowering the heat she bent down and, bare-handed, she took out the boiling-hot aluminum cake pan and placed it over the counter with relative ease; unfazed by the heat for she was a fire type. Veruka then picked up a toothpick and inserted into the bread: it came out clean. "There, it's done, not burnt, not raw, perfect," She spoke to herself as a satisfactory grin appeared on her face.

"Why are you so mean to me?" Came to her a familiar voice. She was most puzzled by the comment so she turned around to see the Lucario holding a single piece of toast in a plate.

"Oh, Vincent, you finally managed to get that toast right."

The Lucario looked down in shame "Not really, you see... It's a bit too dark here and a bit light here and..." He said grimly as he pointed here and there on the toast.

Veruka didn't liked looking at him like this, it somehow made her feel guilty. She had been close to him ever since she could remember; it was almost like looking into the eyes of a sad little brother, even though she knew he saw her otherwise.

She picked up a corner of the toast and got it into her mouth, "Tastes good enough to me."

The Lucario revealed a small grin, "Thanks Veruka."

"Anytime," She said as she turned away, looking around for something, "by the way Vincent, any idea of where the whipped cream is?" The Lucario just pointed to his right.

-Somewhere nearby-

A shiny pink Lopunny was giggling most innocently. She had just put a bunch of whipped cream on the top of his boyfriend's head. The Floatzel wasn't really pleased by this but it seemed like she was having the time of her life.

"Napoleon you look so funny!" She laughed as she reached for a few cherries and put one over the whipped cream, making the Floatzel glare at her in annoyance, yet he couldn't help but to chuckle at his girlfriend laughing so hard, "There! You look even cuter like this!"

"Oh you think so!" Napoleon said in an mocking angry tone as he took the whipped cream can from her paws, tumbled her into the floor and sprayed it over her. He started laughing in a similar way instantly, "Aww, Cotton, you're so sweet" He chuckled, Cotton did the same. However the laughter eventually changed into something more, as his eyes showed yet another intention. His breathing suddenly became sharp, almost panting "Say Cotton, I once heard that sweet things tend to end up... bitter."

"Oh really?" The Lopunny toyed with him, clearly understanding the situation as she set herself at a more suggestive position.

Not another second passed before both lunged for the other. Their lips pressed firmly against each other, passion begging to overflow. Her soft, silky paws wrapped around his broad, muscular neck; and yet his collar felt soft to the touch, almost inviting.

He instinctively knew what to do; his own claws, usually sharp and vicious, moved graceful and gently trough the femme's body starting from her breast and slowly moving down to her lower hips. They belonged to him, he knew it; all he had to do was to claim them and-

"Alright Romeo, gonna need this so hand it over," Veruka interrupted them as she took the whipped cream can from his paws. The Floatzel gave to her what could as well be a deathly glare, for his "fun" had been interrupted even before starting. "You know, this is Jenna's whipped cream, I don't think she would like you to use it that way," Said that she walked away and got back to decorating her cake.

Yes, as hard as it was to believe, Jenna's Pokemon had gathered into the kitchen. Reason: none at all. Sure it was wintertime, yet the holiday season was over already. It was rather cold outside but nothing out of the ordinary, in fact not even enough to make it snow so there was little to do; which meant they weren't indoors to ward of the cold.

So the main reason why Jenna had allowed them to get into her kitchen was because the day was slow and in her last trip to a nearby town she had bought a slight excess of ingredients, towering out of the shelves. Even now with everyone working on something, they were still much left.

"I told you not to buy that many," Ina, her lifelong friend, said as she came into the room and noticed Jenna looking up to the still over-crowded shelves.

"How could I resist? It was a clearance sale. Plus, you can never too much when it comes to baking, so don't complain later on when you're having some of my cookies," She answered almost glaring back at her.

Ina remained silent with a serious expression. She looked as if she was about to say something, but knowing it would be of no use arguing with Jenna whenever it had something to do with cookies she decided to keep it to herself. Ina simply served herself a glass of water and went back to the living room to resume with her reading.

Jenna took a look around: everything was relatively calm, which she actually found unusual considering it was her Pokemon who she was talking about. She spotted her Infernape busy decorating a cake with the skill that could easily match an artisan. Somewhere nearby she saw her Lopunny and her Floatzel, doing... Some sort of cake mix for they were both in front of a bowl, covered in flour and poking each other playfully; she could guess it might take them a while.

On the other corner there were her Raichu and Leafeon busy on what seemed like an unfinished pie crust, making her wonder how had they done it considering she didn't remember having given them a recipe for that. On the living room they were her Honchkrow, Mathew, and Vespiqueen, Elizabeth sitting at a table talking with Ina's Empoleon, Jadis, and even younger but calm Glaceon, Iris, making them company and having some tea.

Jenna counted heads... they were still three of them missing. She looked around in confusion and found one she had missed. The breeder couldn't help but to facepalm as her Lucario passed by her happily munching on a single piece of almost burnt toast. He stopped, turned around and offered it to her. Jenna let out a small chuckle, "No thanks Vincent." Said that, the Lucario kept on his way.

One down, two to go. There was still a troublesome duo missing, but she didn't gave it much importance; they might as well be playing outside or at her computer.

As she returned to her own business she noticed a really small, white paw peaking over the bowl she was using for mixing. She chuckled lowly to herself for she knew who it belonged it to, yet no one messed with her cooking. "Hey! Paws off! This is MY cookie dough!" She yelled as she slapped the paw away, receiving a painful moan from her young Pachirisu.

He simply lowered his head in disappointment and went over to her Chatot; now both of them sulking about it. Jenna let out a deep sigh as they both came back to her with a puppy-stare pleading look. This was just too much for her to resist, she had a soft side for young Pokemon and they knew it. "Here, you can have these," She said as she went to the pantry and took out a small coffee can.

She took of the lid to reveal it was filled with cookies, making both Chatot and Pachirisu's eyes widen. Then they turned back to each other in confusion, then back to her trainer, seemingly demanding an answer. She let out a sigh, "I was saving them for me and Ina. It's my secret stash I did a few weeks ago. I only do these during the holidays tough," Said that she took out a tray, put it over a low table and put some of the cookies on it. That done she went back to her own bowl of cookie dough, now being assaulted by her Lucario. "VINCENT! I SAID PAWS OFF!!!"

The Chatot was the first to take a closer look. "Look Scratch! These things have a face on them!" He squawked in excitement at his own discovery.

Scratch followed to take one too and looked at it curiously. Indeed, it kinda looked like a person and even had a face; there was only thing that came to his mind. "Look! I is a cookie! And I is delicious!" The Pachirisu spoke in a mocking attempt of a deep, hoarse voice as he moved the cookie back and forth, as if it was the one speaking.

Sibelius laughed out at this, "LOL! But how does he know that he is delicious?" The Chatot spoke between laughs.

"Beats me, there's only one way to find it," Scratch said carelessly before sinking his teeth into the cookie.

"Ouch!!! What are you doing?! Put me down! NOW!" Scratch heard a deep, male voice. Confused, he looked at Sibelius knowing his mimicry abilities, but the Chatot seemed as confused as him.

"I said put me down!" The voice repeated, and it seemed to come from... the cookie in his paw.

Scratch looked at it and saw that indeed, the cookie's face decorations were moving. "You were thinking of eating me? You better think twice if you value your life, now put me down!" The gingerbread man cookie demanded.

Scratch's grasp released in shock, the gingerbread man fell to the floor. The Pachirisu's breathing became heavy. He looked back at his Chatot friend but he was out cold, his face even more pale than his own fur. The gingerbread man's face was still glaring at him, the eyes of pure hatred penetrating into his very soul. He was paralyzed, his voice, gone; there was no escaping this time, he could only do one thing. He took in a deep breath as a small hint of courage seemed to build inside of him, regaining control of the action even for a brief moment, just enough to act. There was only one thing to do. "BROTHER!!!" He ran as fast as he could, tears streaming down his face.

The gingerbread's man factions then reverted to their original form as a purple haze went out from it, slowly revealing the form of a Mismagius. A wide, zig-zagy smile formed on her face "Might have to deal with Mathew and Ross later on, but this was so worth it" She spoke to herself before starting to laugh at her own prank.

-Yet somewhere else-

A Raichu and a Leafeon were busy spreading the filling of their unfinished pie "And... There, I think that's enough. Now the next step was..." The Raichu hesitated for a moment, trying to remember.

"The top Ross, we have to cover it to make the top" The Leafeon completed, remembering the recipe that she had been cautious enough to memorize. She reached for a previously extended pastry dough on a plate next to the unfinished pie tray.

"Oh right, almost forgot about it" The Raichu admitted, scratching the back of his head. The Leafeon then tried lifting the dough from the plate with her paws, but it slipped from them. Her paws, even if small, were a bit too bulky to handle the dough. She looked at it thoughtful before trying to run her paw underneath it, but the results where the same. Sighing in the realization it was no use, she started poking the dough in defeat. "Need some help with that Saria?" Ross questioned as seeing her fruitless efforts.

Saria lowered her head in shame, "Maybe..." Ross, having the advantage of smaller fingers and an opposable thumb, lifted it from the plate with relative ease, earning a slight glare from the Leafeon.

That done the Leafeon took the dough from his paws and extended it over the pie. The Raichu easily noticed that it extended by much over the edges, but before he could say anything he saw her go to the cupboard and come back with a small knife on her mouth. "And now, we cut the excess out," She mouthed cheerfully as she placed the knife awkwardly between her front paws.

It instantly occurred to Ross that holding dangerously point-sharp objects with no opposable thumbs was not the best idea, "Umm, Saria... I-I think I better do that myself."

"Huh? Oh, sure," Said that she handed over the knife to him. Holding the knife in one paw he ran it around the edges of the pie plate, taking out the excess.

"Uh... It still looks like it's about fall apart, maybe we should press the edges?"

"Sounds like a good idea," She recognized, though she didn't remember the recipe ever pointing that out.

Both of them began pressing opposite ends of the edges. As Ross' paw slowly circled through the edges of the tray, something made him stop: he felt a familiar paw underneath his'. He remained motionless for a moment before feeling the need to turn around and run away. However, something inside of him stopped him from doing so and made him turn towards her instead. There she was, her face a fade shade of pink, yet she was actually smiling warmly back at him. She was lost into those brown eyes he had seen a thousand times before, yet this time they seemed different and he could even swear he saw a small spark in the back of them. Without even knowing it, his head began drawing closer to her, and her's did the same, as if attracted by something far beyond their understanding.

"BROTHER!!!" The young, terrified Pachirisu ran crying and hid behind Ross, shaking in fear. Both snapped back to reality and became aware that their paws were still holding each others. They pulled away instantly, too ashamed to even look back at the other.

Ross then heard a sharp breathing from behind, and recognized it was coming from the now trembling Pachirisu hiding behind his leg. "Scratch? What's wrong?"

"The cookie! It talked! IT SPOKE TO ME!!!" Scratch spoke in a distant tone, his breath becoming even sharper than before.

Ross sighed deeply "Scratch, have you been watching those horror movies again?"

"Only a few, but that's not the point! That cookie was possessed brother! And now it's coming to haunt me! To haunt all of us!!!" Scratch exclaimed, terrorized, earning nothing but oblivion from the Raichu, who simply turned around and resumed his work.

"Ross! How can you be so heartless?" Saria turned at him with a surprised and deceptive look. She then got closer to Scratch and wrapped her arms around him in an almost motherly embrace, "There, there, don't worry, everything it's OK" The Leafeon said in a soothing tone as she lightly stroked the Pachirisu's head.

Scratch tried to push her away, "I'm a bit old for that, you know?" He said rather annoyed.

Saria released instantly. Realizing it wasn't helping she tried a different approach, "OK Scratch, so, where is it?"

At the mention of that, Scratch's previously instantly forgotten fear came back to him, "O-Over there."

"Allow me then," Saria said in a rather valiant tone. She slowly walked over to the tray, closely followed by Scratch hiding behind her. It didn't took her long to notice a lone gingerbread man on the carpet near the low table. She turned her head back at him with a silent question. Scratch nervously nodded his head in confirmation before turning away.

As she drew closer to it Scratch turned around and covered his face, overwhelmed by what could happen. Saria lifted the gingerbread man from the carpet, looked at it curiously and simply ate it whole. "There, the evil has been vanquished," She said in a mocking "Heroic" voice as she munched happily on the cookie and walked back to Ross. The Raichu's jaw had dropped, he had never seen it coming from her.

As both of them resumed their work rather silently, she couldn't help but to think of what had just happened a few moments ago. They had been so close, and it wasn't the first time something like that happened. Deep down she hoped he would notice her feelings for him, and had the hope that he would feel the same way for him.

She couldn't help it, she wanted so badly to say three words she knew could change her life, But how? Her tongue seemed to go dry just by thinking of it. "Umm, Ross," The Leafeon said shyly as scooted closer to him.

"Yes, Saria..."

There was a moment of deep silence as Ross' eyes locked onto hers once again. She seemed puzzled about something, But what? Had he done something to her? The sight of her was always soothing for him, and he wanted his to be the same way for her. As his look became full of compassion, part of her confusion seemed to vanish away, yet...

"How do you spell "Happy Birthday" with this thing?" She asked with a curious as she held out a pastry bag, once again awkwardly placed between her front paws.

The Raichu facepalmed instantly, "Saria, first, you don't decorate a pie with that thing; and second, it's no one's birthday."

"What? Oh then I guess I don't get to use this thing once again," She threw the pastry bag at the floor in disappointment and sat on the floor looking down. Yet not knowing it, by doing that she sat over it and pressed the pastry bag against the floor, making the white contents spill everywhere, including her face. "Ew! Ew! This is sticky! Help me Ross."

The Raichu was left out of breath, one of the reasons was that he found that Leafeon girl incredibly gorgeous for a start; and the other one was that the white cream on her face made him think of something else. "Ross, why are you all red and...? Ross! Your nose is bleeding!" Saria cried in concern seemingly unaware of her own condition.

"Err... Y-you... W-white... Face..." Ross stuttered nervously, almost unable to word anything coherently at the moment.

"Ross! I don't understand, What do you mean by-?" Saria started, but at the moment it struck her. A shriek filled the kitchen and she ran away, her face beet red and crying in shame upon finally realizing her situation.

-Meanwhile, outside the house-

A deep blue shadow crept through the main yard. Making not a sound he swiftly approached at his objective, now in a visible range. The window was open, and no one inside was paying attention; this would be easy, too easy to be true.

He stopped for a moment and carefully examined his surroundings; no one in sight. Taking a few more steps he took a second glance and saw a Charizard in near the front and only door. Little did it matter, he wasn't going to be as foolish as to use the main door.

Being even more careful and silent than before he sneaked over to the window. He had to repress a low chuckle, he had reach his objective.

"What are you doing Rupert?" He heard the familiar voice of a certain Furret, in an almost humorous tone.

"Rick!... Um... I was just..." The Toxicroack trailed of, startled. Where had he come from?

The Furret was obviously enjoying this, "You weren't thinking of sneaking inside and eating everything which they forbid you to do, were you?"

Rupert had to quickly think of an excuse, "What? No, of course not, I was... just trying to get some soda. You know of my sugar addiction, don't you?" The Toxicroak tried to feign innocence, but also hit a valid point: Rupert, unlike most Toxicroacks (Or any kind of Pokemon) had a severe case of addiction to sugar, and went crazy whenever he ran low. It was because of this that Jenna had kept him outside in order to avoid breaking havoc with so many sweets being baked inside and eat all of their hard work, just like it had happened numerous previous times.

"Oh, then why didn't you simply said so? But then don't try to sneak in, just go to the front door like everyone and explain Leopold", Rick said in a lighthearted tone.

"Really? Just like that? Thank you Rick," Rupert exclaimed gratefully as he walked to the main door. He saw the Charizard standing guard over the front door and walked to him, "Leopold, please, I need to get inside; I just ran all out of soda."

The Charizard smiled at him comprehensively, "Don't worry, Jenna foresaw this in advance. Come over here," Leopold opened the front door and motioned Rupert to follow him.

As Rupert stepped inside he couldn't believe how much easier had been to get inside than he had expected. Both Leopold and Rick were amongst Jenna's most powerful fighters, going head on against them would have been suicide and he also knew that it was hard to sneak past them, but now nothing stood in the way between himself and all of those sweets...

However, as he paced through the living room into the kitchen he was stopped by Leopold, "Woah, woah, Where do you think you're going?"

Rupert gulped nervously, "To get some soda?" However, Leopold motioned for him to get closer to him. Rupert's expression went black the moment he saw Leopold go to a portable cooler that was right next to Ina's couch and take out a six-pack of Soda Pop out of it and hand it over to him. "I wanted a different flavor," Rupert tried to make an excuse.

"Well, it's all that I have so though luck," Leopold shook it of before signaling to the exit.

Rupert stood in his place for a moment as his sight trailed of in search of a better excuse, "Umm, well then I guess I'll just... GUYS!!! Please!!! I promise I won't eat everything!!! I'll leave the half for you!!! NOOO!!!" Rupert cried as the Charizard calmly stepped closer, lifted him by the shoulders with relative easy and began dragging him outside.

The Furret from before approached the door and closed it as Leopold stepped outside and let go of the Toxicroack. It was then when Rupert saw how Leopold and Rick's expression seemed to warp as they stared at him, "What are we going to do with you? Was Jenna's warning not enough?" Though their voices showed not a minimal sign of threat, their faces said otherwise.

Rupert then nervously took a few steps back, then slowly began to turn around and walk away at a slow, uneasy pace at first, then a bit faster, and then finally running away. Leopold then turned to the Furret, "Rick, get back to your post. This might do for a while but he will be back."

Rick let out a sigh in annoyance, "Again, why am I doing this?" The Furret muttered lowly.

"Need me to explain it again?" Leopold asked, having heard him.

"Not really, but you'll end up doing it anyway..." Not even that was said before Leopold started explaining it.

"As Elite Eight members its our duty to put our strength to use and assuring that no unusual threats affect Master Jenna's Pokemon; that includes Rupert going berserk due to a sugar rush just like it happened last time and the time before that. However, Marth and Hurley were the ones guarding last time so they deserved the day off. Trevor and me would be keeping guard this time, but today was the day of the month that he goes to visit his mother's grave. I needed someone to help me in his place but due to his enormous size, Alfonso is not really that helpful with guard duties. Stab and Pandora were taking care of their son, Wattson, and for once they seemed to be getting along so I didn't feel like bothering them. All of that left you as the only viable choice to help me with this."

"Alright, alright, I do get your point," He replied as he turned around and resumed his seemingly useless patrolling duties. It wasn't long before he let out another long sigh, "So boring. If only you had let me brought Pick along things wouldn't be this boring," Rick complained as he referred to his mate, a shiny pink Furret that usually kept him company.

"Actually, I never forbid you to do so. I really have nothing against bringing someone as long as it's not forcefully, not to mention she's actually nice. You could have brought her along if she wanted to."

"Really?! Oh, thank you!" Rick's eyes seemed to light up as his ears perked up. With those words he turned around and started dashing away.

"Hold it, hold it, Where do you think you're going?" Leopold motioned him to stop.

The Furret stopped at the moment and turned around, "To get Pick?" Rick replied slightly confused by the question.

The Charizard shook his head in denial, "I said you COULD have brought her along, but you didn't. Now get back to your post, we're not done yet"

The Furret sunk his head low in disappointment "Aww man, I hate this job."

However, unaware to them, someone had already trespassed his way into the house; two Ghost types to be precise...

-Inside one of the kitchen pantries-

"Danny, why are we still hiding in here? Wouldn't it be easier to take everything now that they're distracted?" A Rotom spoke in a feminine-ish voice.

"No Merry, we still have to wait a little more. Everything they're doing is worth by much more money once they're ready. We'll wait until they're done to cause a distraction and steal everything," The Sableye grinned devilishly, "plus, I could use some of master's cookies."

The thieve duo would wait patiently for the right time to strike...

-Later-

Jenna paced around the kitchen once more. Her cookie tray was long since finished but some of her Pokemon were still using her kitchen, and knowing her own Pokemon there was no way she was going to leave them alone and let them blow it off or something even worse.

She then found a circular tray lying on the table with a dark-brown cake. It was strange, she didn't recall any of her Pokemon doing brownies or any kind of chocolate cake. Not minding much of this she shrugged and helped herself a small slice; it wasn't as sweet and didn't taste anything like chocolate, it had more of a fruity flavor, but it wasn't half bad.

As Jenna ate the whole slice Ross stared wide-eyed from across the kitchen. "Rai, rai..." The Raichu poked her in an attempt to get his master's attention and let her know
that maybe she shouldn't be eating burnt food.

The breeder looked down and saw Ross pointing at her cake, "What is it Ross?... Oh, you made this didn't you?"

"Rai," Ross nodded shamefully.

"Then you gotta tell me, how did you do this?"

It was going to be hard to explain her that it was no chocolate cake but an apple pie burnt and blackened due to a mixture of an excesive pressing of the edges, avoiding the scape of hot air, and the exposure to the wrong, excessive time and temperature on the oven
. He knew he should have asked Saria for the rest of the recipe but after the last incident he had been unable to find her anywhere in the house; knowing her she would be perhaps too embarrassed to even face him for the rest of the day.

Somewhere else Veruka was adding the final strawberry decorations on top of her white frosting-covered cake, "There! It is done," Veruka watched her masterpiece finally finished. As she took a step back he stumbled upon a certain Lucario. She turned around almost instantly, "Vincent? Just how long have you been standing here?"

"Not that much really, just... the whole time?" As Vincent's ears drooped down and in shame she couldn't help but to facepalm. "Anyway, Veruka, you're amazing at this you know?"

"Oh come on Vincent, it's really just a cake," She said quite modest as she set down the . She really wasn't one to brag about her abilities and never actually hoped for anyone to acknowledge them, but it sure felt nice to receive a compliment every once in a while.

Jenna was bypassing the oven when she saw her Infernape seemed to have finished, "Woah! Veruka! Who'd say you had a hidden talent?" The breeder exclaimed upon noticing the towering three-story cake white-decorated before Veruka, feeling a bit jealous that a Pokemon had surpassed her in her own game.

The Infernape simply bowed her head in gratitude before she saw Cotton right behind her trainer. "It's such a great looking cake Veruka," The Loppuny praised her once more, she was starting to feel a bit uneasy about it by now so she once again nodded in gratitude. Cotton then nervously began fidgeting her fingers, "Umm Veruka... Now that you're done with decorating... Can I have the whipped cream back?" She asked her a bit shy with a pleading look that was hard to resist, and she was able to handle Vincent's.

Veruka let out a deep sigh as she reached for the can, "Seriously Cotton, if you and Napoleon are gonna do that do it in another room, or at least somewhere where no one else is watching you."

Cotton was left rather confused by the Infernape's advice. "OK Veruka..." After thinking about it for a moment she simply shrugged, took the whipped cream can, carefully took her tray of cupcakes from the oven, ready to be decorated, and took off to the bedroom with Napoleon following closely behind.

Veruka facepalmed as she saw the whole thing happening, it was now obvious that she had misunderstood and Cotton still held a hint of innocence in her. It was then when she felt a familiar paw touching her elbow "What is it this time Vincent?"

The Lucario gave her a sorrowful smile "It was such a beautiful cake..."

"Aww, thank you Vincent, that's really swee-... Wait, What do you mean by "Was"?" The previously warm smile on her face turned into a look of puzzlement and annoyance. The Lucario sunk his head low and pointed to his left.

Veruka was left motionless for a moment, then hear head flame grew drastically as he saw Danny and Merry get away from the kitchen along with her cake. However, this only lasted barely a second as Veruka simply took a deep, relaxing breath and began to get everything into the sink.

"Veruka! They're taking away your cake! How can you be so calm about it?" Vincent whined in a mixture of confusion and disappointment, he had really wanted to try that cake.

Veruka just revealed a devilish grin, "Are you forgetting that Leopold is watching the door and Mathew is also on the living room?" She spoke while grinning madly.

A smile came back to Vincent's face at the moment. No more than a minute later Danny's screams could be heard from the living room all the way to the kitchen... and every corner of the ranch.

Description
Vincent locked his sight at the device on front of him.

He had made the calculations and set the timer, based on what? Trial and error had proven to be his only guides and allies. He knew a slight calculation error could break the thin line that stood between success and failure. With that in mind, he was ready to override the system if was necessary, no matter the cost.

A small droplet ran trough his forehead, it barely even moved. Time seemed to have frozen for a moment; it would happen any second now.

A ringing sound came to his ears. His face revealed a smile.

His task had been successful.

-

"Yay! I've finally done it!" The Lucario cheered as he raised a decently brown toast. Vincent had been trying several times to get it right. A pile of blackened breads lied next to the toaster but it didn't matter anymore, he had finally nailed right; which apparently gave him bragging rights. "Veruka! Veruka! Look what I-," The Lucario cried as he ran towards a female Infernape, but was lost of words at what he saw.

The Infernape opened the oven's door, revealing a huge cake. Without even lowering the heat she bent down and, bare-handed, she took out the boiling-hot aluminum cake pan and placed it over the counter with relative ease; unfazed by the heat for she was a fire type. Veruka then picked up a toothpick and inserted into the bread: it came out clean. "There, it's done, not burnt, not raw, perfect," She spoke to herself as a satisfactory grin appeared on her face.

"Why are you so mean to me?" Came to her a familiar voice. She was most puzzled by the comment so she turned around to see the Lucario holding a single piece of toast in a plate.

"Oh, Vincent, you finally managed to get that toast right."

The Lucario looked down in shame "Not really, you see... It's a bit too dark here and a bit light here and..." He said grimly as he pointed here and there on the toast.

Veruka didn't liked looking at him like this, it somehow made her feel guilty. She had been close to him ever since she could remember; it was almost like looking into the eyes of a sad little brother, even though she knew he saw her otherwise.

She picked up a corner of the toast and got it into her mouth, "Tastes good enough to me."

The Lucario revealed a small grin, "Thanks Veruka."

"Anytime," She said as she turned away, looking around for something, "by the way Vincent, any idea of where the whipped cream is?" The Lucario just pointed to his right.

-Somewhere nearby-

A shiny pink Lopunny was giggling most innocently. She had just put a bunch of whipped cream on the top of his boyfriend's head. The Floatzel wasn't really pleased by this but it seemed like she was having the time of her life.

"Napoleon you look so funny!" She laughed as she reached for a few cherries and put one over the whipped cream, making the Floatzel glare at her in annoyance, yet he couldn't help but to chuckle at his girlfriend laughing so hard, "There! You look even cuter like this!"

"Oh you think so!" Napoleon said in an mocking angry tone as he took the whipped cream can from her paws, tumbled her into the floor and sprayed it over her. He started laughing in a similar way instantly, "Aww, Cotton, you're so sweet" He chuckled, Cotton did the same. However the laughter eventually changed into something more, as his eyes showed yet another intention. His breathing suddenly became sharp, almost panting "Say Cotton, I once heard that sweet things tend to end up... bitter."

"Oh really?" The Lopunny toyed with him, clearly understanding the situation as she set herself at a more suggestive position.

Not another second passed before both lunged for the other. Their lips pressed firmly against each other, passion begging to overflow. Her soft, silky paws wrapped around his broad, muscular neck; and yet his collar felt soft to the touch, almost inviting.

He instinctively knew what to do; his own claws, usually sharp and vicious, moved graceful and gently trough the femme's body starting from her breast and slowly moving down to her lower hips. They belonged to him, he knew it; all he had to do was to claim them and-

"Alright Romeo, gonna need this so hand it over," Veruka interrupted them as she took the whipped cream can from his paws. The Floatzel gave to her what could as well be a deathly glare, for his "fun" had been interrupted even before starting. "You know, this is Jenna's whipped cream, I don't think she would like you to use it that way," Said that she walked away and got back to decorating her cake.

Yes, as hard as it was to believe, Jenna's Pokemon had gathered into the kitchen. Reason: none at all. Sure it was wintertime, yet the holiday season was over already. It was rather cold outside but nothing out of the ordinary, in fact not even enough to make it snow so there was little to do; which meant they weren't indoors to ward of the cold.

So the main reason why Jenna had allowed them to get into her kitchen was because the day was slow and in her last trip to a nearby town she had bought a slight excess of ingredients, towering out of the shelves. Even now with everyone working on something, they were still much left.

"I told you not to buy that many," Ina, her lifelong friend, said as she came into the room and noticed Jenna looking up to the still over-crowded shelves.

"How could I resist? It was a clearance sale. Plus, you can never too much when it comes to baking, so don't complain later on when you're having some of my cookies," She answered almost glaring back at her.

Ina remained silent with a serious expression. She looked as if she was about to say something, but knowing it would be of no use arguing with Jenna whenever it had something to do with cookies she decided to keep it to herself. Ina simply served herself a glass of water and went back to the living room to resume with her reading.

Jenna took a look around: everything was relatively calm, which she actually found unusual considering it was her Pokemon who she was talking about. She spotted her Infernape busy decorating a cake with the skill that could easily match an artisan. Somewhere nearby she saw her Lopunny and her Floatzel, doing... Some sort of cake mix for they were both in front of a bowl, covered in flour and poking each other playfully; she could guess it might take them a while.

On the other corner there were her Raichu and Leafeon busy on what seemed like an unfinished pie crust, making her wonder how had they done it considering she didn't remember having given them a recipe for that. On the living room they were her Honchkrow, Mathew, and Vespiqueen, Elizabeth sitting at a table talking with Ina's Empoleon, Jadis, and even younger but calm Glaceon, Iris, making them company and having some tea.

Jenna counted heads... they were still three of them missing. She looked around in confusion and found one she had missed. The breeder couldn't help but to facepalm as her Lucario passed by her happily munching on a single piece of almost burnt toast. He stopped, turned around and offered it to her. Jenna let out a small chuckle, "No thanks Vincent." Said that, the Lucario kept on his way.

One down, two to go. There was still a troublesome duo missing, but she didn't gave it much importance; they might as well be playing outside or at her computer.

As she returned to her own business she noticed a really small, white paw peaking over the bowl she was using for mixing. She chuckled lowly to herself for she knew who it belonged it to, yet no one messed with her cooking. "Hey! Paws off! This is MY cookie dough!" She yelled as she slapped the paw away, receiving a painful moan from her young Pachirisu.

He simply lowered his head in disappointment and went over to her Chatot; now both of them sulking about it. Jenna let out a deep sigh as they both came back to her with a puppy-stare pleading look. This was just too much for her to resist, she had a soft side for young Pokemon and they knew it. "Here, you can have these," She said as she went to the pantry and took out a small coffee can.

She took of the lid to reveal it was filled with cookies, making both Chatot and Pachirisu's eyes widen. Then they turned back to each other in confusion, then back to her trainer, seemingly demanding an answer. She let out a sigh, "I was saving them for me and Ina. It's my secret stash I did a few weeks ago. I only do these during the holidays tough," Said that she took out a tray, put it over a low table and put some of the cookies on it. That done she went back to her own bowl of cookie dough, now being assaulted by her Lucario. "VINCENT! I SAID PAWS OFF!!!"

The Chatot was the first to take a closer look. "Look Scratch! These things have a face on them!" He squawked in excitement at his own discovery.

Scratch followed to take one too and looked at it curiously. Indeed, it kinda looked like a person and even had a face; there was only thing that came to his mind. "Look! I is a cookie! And I is delicious!" The Pachirisu spoke in a mocking attempt of a deep, hoarse voice as he moved the cookie back and forth, as if it was the one speaking.

Sibelius laughed out at this, "LOL! But how does he know that he is delicious?" The Chatot spoke between laughs.

"Beats me, there's only one way to find it," Scratch said carelessly before sinking his teeth into the cookie.

"Ouch!!! What are you doing?! Put me down! NOW!" Scratch heard a deep, male voice. Confused, he looked at Sibelius knowing his mimicry abilities, but the Chatot seemed as confused as him.

"I said put me down!" The voice repeated, and it seemed to come from... the cookie in his paw.

Scratch looked at it and saw that indeed, the cookie's face decorations were moving. "You were thinking of eating me? You better think twice if you value your life, now put me down!" The gingerbread man cookie demanded.

Scratch's grasp released in shock, the gingerbread man fell to the floor. The Pachirisu's breathing became heavy. He looked back at his Chatot friend but he was out cold, his face even more pale than his own fur. The gingerbread man's face was still glaring at him, the eyes of pure hatred penetrating into his very soul. He was paralyzed, his voice, gone; there was no escaping this time, he could only do one thing. He took in a deep breath as a small hint of courage seemed to build inside of him, regaining control of the action even for a brief moment, just enough to act. There was only one thing to do. "BROTHER!!!" He ran as fast as he could, tears streaming down his face.

The gingerbread's man factions then reverted to their original form as a purple haze went out from it, slowly revealing the form of a Mismagius. A wide, zig-zagy smile formed on her face "Might have to deal with Mathew and Ross later on, but this was so worth it" She spoke to herself before starting to laugh at her own prank.

-Yet somewhere else-

A Raichu and a Leafeon were busy spreading the filling of their unfinished pie "And... There, I think that's enough. Now the next step was..." The Raichu hesitated for a moment, trying to remember.

"The top Ross, we have to cover it to make the top" The Leafeon completed, remembering the recipe that she had been cautious enough to memorize. She reached for a previously extended pastry dough on a plate next to the unfinished pie tray.

"Oh right, almost forgot about it" The Raichu admitted, scratching the back of his head. The Leafeon then tried lifting the dough from the plate with her paws, but it slipped from them. Her paws, even if small, were a bit too bulky to handle the dough. She looked at it thoughtful before trying to run her paw underneath it, but the results where the same. Sighing in the realization it was no use, she started poking the dough in defeat. "Need some help with that Saria?" Ross questioned as seeing her fruitless efforts.

Saria lowered her head in shame, "Maybe..." Ross, having the advantage of smaller fingers and an opposable thumb, lifted it from the plate with relative ease, earning a slight glare from the Leafeon.

That done the Leafeon took the dough from his paws and extended it over the pie. The Raichu easily noticed that it extended by much over the edges, but before he could say anything he saw her go to the cupboard and come back with a small knife on her mouth. "And now, we cut the excess out," She mouthed cheerfully as she placed the knife awkwardly between her front paws.

It instantly occurred to Ross that holding dangerously point-sharp objects with no opposable thumbs was not the best idea, "Umm, Saria... I-I think I better do that myself."

"Huh? Oh, sure," Said that she handed over the knife to him. Holding the knife in one paw he ran it around the edges of the pie plate, taking out the excess.

"Uh... It still looks like it's about fall apart, maybe we should press the edges?"

"Sounds like a good idea," She recognized, though she didn't remember the recipe ever pointing that out.

Both of them began pressing opposite ends of the edges. As Ross' paw slowly circled through the edges of the tray, something made him stop: he felt a familiar paw underneath his'. He remained motionless for a moment before feeling the need to turn around and run away. However, something inside of him stopped him from doing so and made him turn towards her instead. There she was, her face a fade shade of pink, yet she was actually smiling warmly back at him. She was lost into those brown eyes he had seen a thousand times before, yet this time they seemed different and he could even swear he saw a small spark in the back of them. Without even knowing it, his head began drawing closer to her, and her's did the same, as if attracted by something far beyond their understanding.

"BROTHER!!!" The young, terrified Pachirisu ran crying and hid behind Ross, shaking in fear. Both snapped back to reality and became aware that their paws were still holding each others. They pulled away instantly, too ashamed to even look back at the other.

Ross then heard a sharp breathing from behind, and recognized it was coming from the now trembling Pachirisu hiding behind his leg. "Scratch? What's wrong?"

"The cookie! It talked! IT SPOKE TO ME!!!" Scratch spoke in a distant tone, his breath becoming even sharper than before.

Ross sighed deeply "Scratch, have you been watching those horror movies again?"

"Only a few, but that's not the point! That cookie was possessed brother! And now it's coming to haunt me! To haunt all of us!!!" Scratch exclaimed, terrorized, earning nothing but oblivion from the Raichu, who simply turned around and resumed his work.

"Ross! How can you be so heartless?" Saria turned at him with a surprised and deceptive look. She then got closer to Scratch and wrapped her arms around him in an almost motherly embrace, "There, there, don't worry, everything it's OK" The Leafeon said in a soothing tone as she lightly stroked the Pachirisu's head.

Scratch tried to push her away, "I'm a bit old for that, you know?" He said rather annoyed.

Saria released instantly. Realizing it wasn't helping she tried a different approach, "OK Scratch, so, where is it?"

At the mention of that, Scratch's previously instantly forgotten fear came back to him, "O-Over there."

"Allow me then," Saria said in a rather valiant tone. She slowly walked over to the tray, closely followed by Scratch hiding behind her. It didn't took her long to notice a lone gingerbread man on the carpet near the low table. She turned her head back at him with a silent question. Scratch nervously nodded his head in confirmation before turning away.

As she drew closer to it Scratch turned around and covered his face, overwhelmed by what could happen. Saria lifted the gingerbread man from the carpet, looked at it curiously and simply ate it whole. "There, the evil has been vanquished," She said in a mocking "Heroic" voice as she munched happily on the cookie and walked back to Ross. The Raichu's jaw had dropped, he had never seen it coming from her.

As both of them resumed their work rather silently, she couldn't help but to think of what had just happened a few moments ago. They had been so close, and it wasn't the first time something like that happened. Deep down she hoped he would notice her feelings for him, and had the hope that he would feel the same way for him.

She couldn't help it, she wanted so badly to say three words she knew could change her life, But how? Her tongue seemed to go dry just by thinking of it. "Umm, Ross," The Leafeon said shyly as scooted closer to him.

"Yes, Saria..."

There was a moment of deep silence as Ross' eyes locked onto hers once again. She seemed puzzled about something, But what? Had he done something to her? The sight of her was always soothing for him, and he wanted his to be the same way for her. As his look became full of compassion, part of her confusion seemed to vanish away, yet...

"How do you spell "Happy Birthday" with this thing?" She asked with a curious as she held out a pastry bag, once again awkwardly placed between her front paws.

The Raichu facepalmed instantly, "Saria, first, you don't decorate a pie with that thing; and second, it's no one's birthday."

"What? Oh then I guess I don't get to use this thing once again," She threw the pastry bag at the floor in disappointment and sat on the floor looking down. Yet not knowing it, by doing that she sat over it and pressed the pastry bag against the floor, making the white contents spill everywhere, including her face. "Ew! Ew! This is sticky! Help me Ross."

The Raichu was left out of breath, one of the reasons was that he found that Leafeon girl incredibly gorgeous for a start; and the other one was that the white cream on her face made him think of something else. "Ross, why are you all red and...? Ross! Your nose is bleeding!" Saria cried in concern seemingly unaware of her own condition.

"Err... Y-you... W-white... Face..." Ross stuttered nervously, almost unable to word anything coherently at the moment.

"Ross! I don't understand, What do you mean by-?" Saria started, but at the moment it struck her. A shriek filled the kitchen and she ran away, her face beet red and crying in shame upon finally realizing her situation.

-Meanwhile, outside the house-

A deep blue shadow crept through the main yard. Making not a sound he swiftly approached at his objective, now in a visible range. The window was open, and no one inside was paying attention; this would be easy, too easy to be true.

He stopped for a moment and carefully examined his surroundings; no one in sight. Taking a few more steps he took a second glance and saw a Charizard in near the front and only door. Little did it matter, he wasn't going to be as foolish as to use the main door.

Being even more careful and silent than before he sneaked over to the window. He had to repress a low chuckle, he had reach his objective.

"What are you doing Rupert?" He heard the familiar voice of a certain Furret, in an almost humorous tone.

"Rick!... Um... I was just..." The Toxicroack trailed of, startled. Where had he come from?

The Furret was obviously enjoying this, "You weren't thinking of sneaking inside and eating everything which they forbid you to do, were you?"

Rupert had to quickly think of an excuse, "What? No, of course not, I was... just trying to get some soda. You know of my sugar addiction, don't you?" The Toxicroak tried to feign innocence, but also hit a valid point: Rupert, unlike most Toxicroacks (Or any kind of Pokemon) had a severe case of addiction to sugar, and went crazy whenever he ran low. It was because of this that Jenna had kept him outside in order to avoid breaking havoc with so many sweets being baked inside and eat all of their hard work, just like it had happened numerous previous times.

"Oh, then why didn't you simply said so? But then don't try to sneak in, just go to the front door like everyone and explain Leopold", Rick said in a lighthearted tone.

"Really? Just like that? Thank you Rick," Rupert exclaimed gratefully as he walked to the main door. He saw the Charizard standing guard over the front door and walked to him, "Leopold, please, I need to get inside; I just ran all out of soda."

The Charizard smiled at him comprehensively, "Don't worry, Jenna foresaw this in advance. Come over here," Leopold opened the front door and motioned Rupert to follow him.

As Rupert stepped inside he couldn't believe how much easier had been to get inside than he had expected. Both Leopold and Rick were amongst Jenna's most powerful fighters, going head on against them would have been suicide and he also knew that it was hard to sneak past them, but now nothing stood in the way between himself and all of those sweets...

However, as he paced through the living room into the kitchen he was stopped by Leopold, "Woah, woah, Where do you think you're going?"

Rupert gulped nervously, "To get some soda?" However, Leopold motioned for him to get closer to him. Rupert's expression went black the moment he saw Leopold go to a portable cooler that was right next to Ina's couch and take out a six-pack of Soda Pop out of it and hand it over to him. "I wanted a different flavor," Rupert tried to make an excuse.

"Well, it's all that I have so though luck," Leopold shook it of before signaling to the exit.

Rupert stood in his place for a moment as his sight trailed of in search of a better excuse, "Umm, well then I guess I'll just... GUYS!!! Please!!! I promise I won't eat everything!!! I'll leave the half for you!!! NOOO!!!" Rupert cried as the Charizard calmly stepped closer, lifted him by the shoulders with relative easy and began dragging him outside.

The Furret from before approached the door and closed it as Leopold stepped outside and let go of the Toxicroack. It was then when Rupert saw how Leopold and Rick's expression seemed to warp as they stared at him, "What are we going to do with you? Was Jenna's warning not enough?" Though their voices showed not a minimal sign of threat, their faces said otherwise.

Rupert then nervously took a few steps back, then slowly began to turn around and walk away at a slow, uneasy pace at first, then a bit faster, and then finally running away. Leopold then turned to the Furret, "Rick, get back to your post. This might do for a while but he will be back."

Rick let out a sigh in annoyance, "Again, why am I doing this?" The Furret muttered lowly.

"Need me to explain it again?" Leopold asked, having heard him.

"Not really, but you'll end up doing it anyway..." Not even that was said before Leopold started explaining it.

"As Elite Eight members its our duty to put our strength to use and assuring that no unusual threats affect Master Jenna's Pokemon; that includes Rupert going berserk due to a sugar rush just like it happened last time and the time before that. However, Marth and Hurley were the ones guarding last time so they deserved the day off. Trevor and me would be keeping guard this time, but today was the day of the month that he goes to visit his mother's grave. I needed someone to help me in his place but due to his enormous size, Alfonso is not really that helpful with guard duties. Stab and Pandora were taking care of their son, Wattson, and for once they seemed to be getting along so I didn't feel like bothering them. All of that left you as the only viable choice to help me with this."

"Alright, alright, I do get your point," He replied as he turned around and resumed his seemingly useless patrolling duties. It wasn't long before he let out another long sigh, "So boring. If only you had let me brought Pick along things wouldn't be this boring," Rick complained as he referred to his mate, a shiny pink Furret that usually kept him company.

"Actually, I never forbid you to do so. I really have nothing against bringing someone as long as it's not forcefully, not to mention she's actually nice. You could have brought her along if she wanted to."

"Really?! Oh, thank you!" Rick's eyes seemed to light up as his ears perked up. With those words he turned around and started dashing away.

"Hold it, hold it, Where do you think you're going?" Leopold motioned him to stop.

The Furret stopped at the moment and turned around, "To get Pick?" Rick replied slightly confused by the question.

The Charizard shook his head in denial, "I said you COULD have brought her along, but you didn't. Now get back to your post, we're not done yet"

The Furret sunk his head low in disappointment "Aww man, I hate this job."

However, unaware to them, someone had already trespassed his way into the house; two Ghost types to be precise...

-Inside one of the kitchen pantries-

"Danny, why are we still hiding in here? Wouldn't it be easier to take everything now that they're distracted?" A Rotom spoke in a feminine-ish voice.

"No Merry, we still have to wait a little more. Everything they're doing is worth by much more money once they're ready. We'll wait until they're done to cause a distraction and steal everything," The Sableye grinned devilishly, "plus, I could use some of master's cookies."

The thieve duo would wait patiently for the right time to strike...

-Later-

Jenna paced around the kitchen once more. Her cookie tray was long since finished but some of her Pokemon were still using her kitchen, and knowing her own Pokemon there was no way she was going to leave them alone and let them blow it off or something even worse.

She then found a circular tray lying on the table with a dark-brown cake. It was strange, she didn't recall any of her Pokemon doing brownies or any kind of chocolate cake. Not minding much of this she shrugged and helped herself a small slice; it wasn't as sweet and didn't taste anything like chocolate, it had more of a fruity flavor, but it wasn't half bad.

As Jenna ate the whole slice Ross stared wide-eyed from across the kitchen. "Rai, rai..." The Raichu poked her in an attempt to get his master's attention and let her know
that maybe she shouldn't be eating burnt food.

The breeder looked down and saw Ross pointing at her cake, "What is it Ross?... Oh, you made this didn't you?"

"Rai," Ross nodded shamefully.

"Then you gotta tell me, how did you do this?"

It was going to be hard to explain her that it was no chocolate cake but an apple pie burnt and blackened due to a mixture of an excesive pressing of the edges, avoiding the scape of hot air, and the exposure to the wrong, excessive time and temperature on the oven
. He knew he should have asked Saria for the rest of the recipe but after the last incident he had been unable to find her anywhere in the house; knowing her she would be perhaps too embarrassed to even face him for the rest of the day.

Somewhere else Veruka was adding the final strawberry decorations on top of her white frosting-covered cake, "There! It is done," Veruka watched her masterpiece finally finished. As she took a step back he stumbled upon a certain Lucario. She turned around almost instantly, "Vincent? Just how long have you been standing here?"

"Not that much really, just... the whole time?" As Vincent's ears drooped down and in shame she couldn't help but to facepalm. "Anyway, Veruka, you're amazing at this you know?"

"Oh come on Vincent, it's really just a cake," She said quite modest as she set down the . She really wasn't one to brag about her abilities and never actually hoped for anyone to acknowledge them, but it sure felt nice to receive a compliment every once in a while.

Jenna was bypassing the oven when she saw her Infernape seemed to have finished, "Woah! Veruka! Who'd say you had a hidden talent?" The breeder exclaimed upon noticing the towering three-story cake white-decorated before Veruka, feeling a bit jealous that a Pokemon had surpassed her in her own game.

The Infernape simply bowed her head in gratitude before she saw Cotton right behind her trainer. "It's such a great looking cake Veruka," The Loppuny praised her once more, she was starting to feel a bit uneasy about it by now so she once again nodded in gratitude. Cotton then nervously began fidgeting her fingers, "Umm Veruka... Now that you're done with decorating... Can I have the whipped cream back?" She asked her a bit shy with a pleading look that was hard to resist, and she was able to handle Vincent's.

Veruka let out a deep sigh as she reached for the can, "Seriously Cotton, if you and Napoleon are gonna do that do it in another room, or at least somewhere where no one else is watching you."

Cotton was left rather confused by the Infernape's advice. "OK Veruka..." After thinking about it for a moment she simply shrugged, took the whipped cream can, carefully took her tray of cupcakes from the oven, ready to be decorated, and took off to the bedroom with Napoleon following closely behind.

Veruka facepalmed as she saw the whole thing happening, it was now obvious that she had misunderstood and Cotton still held a hint of innocence in her. It was then when she felt a familiar paw touching her elbow "What is it this time Vincent?"

The Lucario gave her a sorrowful smile "It was such a beautiful cake..."

"Aww, thank you Vincent, that's really swee-... Wait, What do you mean by "Was"?" The previously warm smile on her face turned into a look of puzzlement and annoyance. The Lucario sunk his head low and pointed to his left.

Veruka was left motionless for a moment, then hear head flame grew drastically as he saw Danny and Merry get away from the kitchen along with her cake. However, this only lasted barely a second as Veruka simply took a deep, relaxing breath and began to get everything into the sink.

"Veruka! They're taking away your cake! How can you be so calm about it?" Vincent whined in a mixture of confusion and disappointment, he had really wanted to try that cake.

Veruka just revealed a devilish grin, "Are you forgetting that Leopold is watching the door and Mathew is also on the living room?" She spoke while grinning madly.

A smile came back to Vincent's face at the moment. No more than a minute later Danny's screams could be heard from the living room all the way to the kitchen... and every corner of the ranch.