Chapter 14 - Kuroimizu

The next day, back at the Griffin house, everyone gathered in the living room. Briana had an announcement to make. Piano music had played in the background.

"Everyone," she began, "I know it isn't much, but I have decided to stay with Arnie. Because he can't fight anymore, even after his wrist heals, I feel that he needs someone to care for him. I know it's early for me to move out on my own, but I'm old enough to give Arnie some comfort."

色は即ち是、空となって消えゆく (The color will definitely become empty and disappear)

人の営みすべて見透かすように (To make people's work all seen)

"But Briana," Lois replied as violin strings plucked, adding to the piano and vocals. "We already went through the loss of your father recently."

"I know, Lois," Briana replied. "But don't think of this as a forever goodbye. Just think of it as 'until we meet again'. Who knows? Maybe I can find a new home for Arnie and I to live in."

不安は人のココロ試すための交差点 (Anxiety is an intersection to try peoples' hearts)

何故にその方角を間違うのでしょう (Why do you mistake that direction?)

Barbara hung her head.

"Well, if that's what you want," she said, "then there's no way I can stop you. I'm going to miss you, sweetheart."

Briana shed tears of joy in understanding, and she hugged her mother.

"Don't worry," Briana assured. "I'll come back and visit sometime."

雪解け水のように始まる物語 (A story that begins like snow melting into water)

小さく弱いから色に染まるのかな (I wonder if it is colored because it is small and weak)

Briana then hugged Ollie, Jenny, Marcus and Vinny one by one.

Barbara then eyed Arnie.

"Now, Arnie," she began. "You must promise to be good to her, and take real good care of her."

"I will, Barbara," Arnie replied. "My fighting days may be over, but someday, if I sire a litter with Briana, any of them can carry on the legacy."

哀しみを抱きしめた人は誰? (Who hugs the sorrow?)

憎しみと握手した人は誰? (Who did you shake hands with hatred?)

堕ちてゆく自分が愛しすぎて (I fall too fast, I love you too much)

溢れだす言い訳に溺れてる (I am drowning in an excuse to overflow)

Arnie then eyed Vinny, who was still a little fearful towards him.

"You got lucky that you can live another day, Vinny," he said, offering a handshake. "Think you can start trusting me?"

Vinny looked unsure at first, but decided to shake Arnie's paw anyway.

"Okay, Arnie," Vinny replied. "We may go like water and vinegar together, but we don't mix just yet."

"Works for me," Arnie replied.

ねぇ、そのココロに溜まった黒い水を (Hey, the black water that accumulated in that heart)

今吐きだして痛みを土に還そう (Spit out the pain now)

As promised, Briana did find a place for Arnie and herself to live in; it was Vinny's old apartment in Providence. Briana and Arnie waved goodbye to the Griffins and walked off.

色は即ち是、空となって消えゆく (The color will definitely become empty and disappear)

"Maybe it's time for me to stop being afraid of fighting dogs," Vinny began, "and start showing some respect for them. After all, I have one for an in-law."

"I know," Barbara agreed. "And I'm glad that my puppies have an uncle they can trust. Perhaps it is time for me to start getting over Brian, because the best part of loving someone...is knowing when to let go."

And with that, Barbara and Vinny hugged each other, and Ollie, Jenny and Marcus decided to join in.

In the doorway, Stewie stood sadly. He looked at a photo of Brian he pulled out of the left pocket of his overalls.

"Brian," he thought.

To Be Concluded...

Hoster and Co-author's Note: The song used is "Kuroimizu (awairo mix)" by Mikio Sakai.

I hope all of you like this ending better than you did the sad ending hr45 wrote. Next fanfic is the "Christmas Guy" adaptation B4L really wanted, since she doesn't want anybody to be killed off. And she doesn't want the Family Guy character Death at all, because she hates the character, like she does depictions of monsters and demons; in other words, Death is fired.

Only problem is that I don't know what to name the fanfic. And B4L can't think of a good name, either.

Chapter 13 - Discovery

Arnie was brought into the operating room next to the still-unconscious Barbara. He was sedated, and was also rendered unconscious, for the vet was about to fix Arnie's wrist.

"Clear!"

Barbara's body jumped as the doctor shocked her, trying to restart her heart. The wires on her chest showed nothing changed on the heart monitor, making the doctor and nurses continue CPR. Briana and Vinny stood in the doorway and watched in worry. They each had to go through heartbreaking deaths, and they didn't want the same thing happen to either Barbara or Arnie.

"Can the both of you go in the waiting room?" the doctor asked. "We'll let you know how they're doing."

"But-"

Vinny sighed and looked at Barbara, then at the doctor.

"I have to stay with Barbara," he said. "I need to make sure she's going to be all right."

Briana also sighed and looked at Arnie, then at the doctor.

"And I have to stay with Arnie," she said. "I need to make sure he's going to be all right, too."

Vinny turned and watched the doctor press down on Barbara's chest, trying to get her heart to beat. A nurse put a mask over Barbara's face pumping air into her. Another nurse was injecting drugs into Barbara to help kick-start her heart, but nothing seemed to be working.

"Come on, Barbs", Vinny whispered, "Fight it. A lousy heart attack can't kill you, can it? You're stronger than that."

Briana turned and watched a nurse about to make an incision on Arnie's wrist, as she was going to reconnect his wrist bones.

"Please be okay, Arnie," Briana whispered. "I know it isn't much, but it's the least you could do for my bringing you here."

Just as the nurses brought a machine to pump all the excess fat out of Barbara, while she was still comatose, she had a vision...

She wandered around in a field after reading a road sign, that she was in Austin, Texas.

"What's going on?" she thought to herself. "One minute, Briana runs away from me after I explained my past to Vinny and the puppies, and the next, I feel pain and wind up in Austin. But why?"

The silence was broken when she heard two young boys' voices giggling. She followed the sound and saw two young puppies playing with each other. They looked exactly like how Brian and Vinny would look like if they were puppies.

"Boy, Vinny," the puppy resembling Brian addressed in a voice that sounded like Mokuba Kaiba. "It sure is nice getting to know you, and to play with you."

"You said it, Brian," Puppy Vinny addressed in a voice that sounded like Young Sanji (or how Ash Ketchum sounded if he were born in Brooklyn). "I wasn't sure about straying away from the mill so much, but I gotta tell ya', this is pretty fun."

"I don't believe it," Barbara thought, surprised. "Brian knew Vinny when they were just puppies?"

"So," Puppy Vinny continued, "anything else you wanna play, big brother?"

"Big brother?!" Barbara repeated in thought, shocked. It was when she realized in horror. "Oh, my God. The one dog who replaced Brian...is my brother-in-law? Oh, no. If I ever get out of here, what the hell am I going to tell the puppies, and the rest of the Griffins?"

Then, just as both puppies began to frolic in the field, jumping to catch butterflies, the vision faded. Soon after that, Barbara shielded her eyes from a blinding white light when...

"Clear!"

Barbara awoke when her body jumped as the doctor shocked her. Her heart has just been restarted. She saw wires on her chest, hooked to the heart monitor. She had just been saved through CPR.

She gasped in relief. "I've been given another chance at life," she whispered.

"You're lucky to be alive, ma'am," the doctor said. "We were able to pump out the junk food inside of you that caused you to go into a heart attack."

"H... Heart attack?" she repeated.

"Yes," the doctor replied. "Both your daughter and a friend wanted to stay close to you and Arnie, who came in here with a broken wrist."

Barbara looked in that direction and saw that Vinny was indeed in the operating room, smiling in relief that Barbara had pulled through. However, she was shocked at the sight of Arnie, who had his arm in a sling, and that Briana was hugging him, happy to know that he recovered, too.

"Briana!" Barbara shouted in horror. "Get away from that dog!"

"No, Mom, it's okay," Briana assured. "I'm the one who brought him here. And I already figured out that he was the dog who beat you in the organization. He looks big, but he doesn't look ferocious."

"That's right, Barbara," Arnie nodded. "While the doctors were able to fix my wrist, they advised me not to attend anymore dog fights, since I sustained my injuries from fighting a wolf."

"A wolf?" Barbara repeated. "But... you're the best fighter in the organization."

"Not anymore," Arnie shook his head in disagreement. "Your owners told me that James was arrested after your husband Brian, whom Vinny told me was your savior, testified against him. Therefore, the organization was shut down, and I had nothing to fight for anymore. I managed to fight Vinny in Providence one month after the organization's shut down. Time had passed, and I was the toughest dog in all of Rhode Island, until today when that wolf attacked me. Your daughter Briana was kind enough to bring me here. And," Arnie then hung his head in sadness, "I'm so sorry about Brian."

Barbara understood Arnie's sadness.

"I may never fight again after today," Arnie continued. "Oh, Barbara, can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me, and to accept my humble apology?"

Barbara couldn't help but smile sadly at Arnie.

"There's no reason for me not to," she replied. Turning to Vinny, she continued, "And Vinny, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. After all, your big brother Brian would want that."

Vinny's eyes widened. "Wait," he replied. "How did you know Brian was my big brother? I didn't tell you anything."

"I found that out while I was in my coma," Barbara answered. "I saw a vision of you two playing together when you were puppies."

Briana widened her eyes in shock as well. Barbara's discovery meant that Vinny was her uncle, and by extension, the uncle of Ollie, Jenny, Marcus, and the unborn second litter, and that would make them his nieces and nephews.

However, despite all that has happened, both Briana and Vinny smiled at Barbara.

"I do forgive you, Barbara," Vinny responded.

"Me, too, Mom," Briana added.

Barbara smiled, as she had finally made peace with Vinny, and that Briana not only made up with her, but finally forgave her uncle, too.

"Well," the doctor said, watching the whole thing, "I guess that explains everything. Shall I tell everyone in the waiting room?"

Barbara happily shook her head.

"No," she replied. "Let me tell them myself. You can let everyone know that I made it through, though."

Author's Note: I made a last-minute change to the previous chapter to better fit this chapter, which I have recycled and edited from the side story to my now-non-canon "Christmas Guy" adaptation, "Breakaway", thanks to Brian4life, who didn't like the fanfic at all due to my killing off the puppies.

Chapter 12 - Arnie

Briana ran and ran and ran, until she reached a rural seedy area in Quahog. She was all alone. She tripped on a rock and began yelling, removing her collar and throwing it at the ground. Briana then began crying. She had not only lost her father, but also learned that her mother was a fighting dog who never told her about it until recently. The sound of sirens and moving cars in the ambience aside from Briana's breaking down was added with what sounded like a male teenager being beaten, grunting, combined with wolf growls. Briana's ears perked up and she followed the sound.

It led her to a sharp alley, and she gasped at the sight of a white anthropomorphic Pit Bull being attacked by a wolf.

"And you call yourself the toughest dog in all of Rhode Island?" the wolf taunted the Pit Bull in a voice that sounded like a teenaged Ben Tennyson. "Well, you aren't tough enough!"

"I can still beat you, you damn lupine!" the Pit Bull replied in a voice that sounded like Ichigo Kurosaki.

"That's not only offensive, but to us wolves, it's racist," the wolf growled. "And I have ways of dealing with racism, coming from a racist dog like you!"

Before the wolf could lunge at the Pit Bull, Briana jumped in and attacked him.

"Leave him alone!" Briana shouted at the wolf, punching and kicking him. "Can't you see he's hurt enough already? And your attacking him is only making things worse!"

The wolf backed out, despite his many injuries Briana had given him, including the bite marks on his snout and left ear.

"This isn't the end, Arnie," the wolf addressed the Pit Bull. "I'll be back, and you're going to pay dearly for your stupid racism!" He then turned to Briana. "And that goes for you and your interference, bitch."

While the wolf ran off, Briana whispered, "I do take that as a compliment, though, since I'm a dog."

She then saw that the Pit Bull, Arnie, had started licking the wound on his right arm.

"Are you all right?" Briana asked him.

"I'm fine," Arnie replied. "Thanks for saving me, though I would have taken that wolf all by myself. But he said I wasn't tough enough."

"Not all dogs are," Briana agreed. "And you sure are lucky to be alive." Pause. "I'm Briana. No need for you to tell me your name, since that wolf said your name is Arnie."

"Nice to meet you, Briana," Arnie began to smile. "Where are you from?"

"Why does it matter?" Briana replied, narrowing her eyes. "I ran away and I am not going back."

"Really?" Arnie raised his eyes in surprise. "Why?"

"I just found out that my dishonest mother was a fighting dog," Briana responded. "And she never told me or my litter mates about it until today."

"Oh," Arnie moaned sadly. "That's awful."

Arnie then felt pain from fighting the wolf, and clutched his wrist.

"Careful, Arnie," Briana calmed. "You're still hurt. I'm taking you to a vet."

Briana led Arnie to the veterinary clinic, where, to her surprise, she saw the Griffins, her litter mates and Vinny in the waiting area. They were very worried. Briana didn't expect to see the Griffins at the vet.

"Guys?" Briana said, getting their attention. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Briana," Lois replied, "thank heaven you're here. Your mother had a heart attack and she collapsed. It must have been from all the weight she's been gaining."

"Mom had a heart attack?!" Briana repeated. "That's terrible! And I just brought my new friend Arnie here because he's hurt."

As soon as Briana brought Arnie in, Vinny was horrified.

"You brought him?!" Vinny gasped.

"Wait," Briana halted as Arnie growled at Vinny. "You two know each other?"

"Yeah," Vinny replied. "He beat me up one day when I was still Leo's dog. And he beat me up real badly."

"And I told you that if I'd see you again, house dog," Arnie replied to Vinny, "you'd be dead!"

Briana held Arnie back as he was about to charge at Vinny.

"Easy, Arnie, you're still hurt," Briana calmed. "Anyway, what happened that made you beat Vinny up?"

"Very well, Briana," Arnie sighed, calming down. "It all began when I was in Providence one day..."

We are treated to a flashback of what happened. Arnie stopped at an alley in Providence after a month of wandering.

Many of the alley dogs were intimidated when he entered. Many, except for one. And that was Vinny, and he was still Leo's dog then.

"Hey, dumbass!" he addressed. "You ain't welcome in this part of town. So I suggest you vamoose before things get really ugly."

"You think you can come here and challenge me, house dog?" Arnie replied. "I'm the toughest dog in all of Rhode Island."

"Oh, yeah?" Vinny growled. "We'll see just how tough you are."

Just then, a fight between the two dogs began. In that fight, Arnie showed no mercy when he punched and kicked Vinny in many places. He won the fight, but did allow Vinny, who laid all bruised up, to live.

"The next time I see you, house dog," Arnie addressed Vinny, "you're dead."

Vinny got up, grunting. Blood running from his mouth.

"The name's Arnie, weakling," Arnie continued. "Remember it."

Not long after Arnie walked off, still looking for weak dogs, Leo came and picked his dog up.

"And that's what happened," Vinny finished. "Even after Leo nursed me back to health, I still couldn't get Arnie out of my mind." He shuddered. "He's the main reason why I'm afraid of fighting dogs." This information stung the litter emotionally. "And he ain't just a dog... he's a monster."

"I see that you've gotten a new family, house dog," Arnie noticed.

"Yes," Lois replied, still worried. "We're here because Barbara had a heart attack."

"Barbara?" Arnie repeated. "You mean the Barbara from the organization James ran?"

All four of the puppies gasped in shock.

Hoster's Note: If I had to choose a voice for the wolf that attacked Arnie, it would be Yuri Lowenthal, who voiced deuteragonist Suzaku Kururugi in the English dub of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion and titular character Ben Tennyson in Ben 10: Alien Force, Ultimate Alien and Omniverse. And, like I said when I wrote "Revival 'BBBOJM'", I would choose Jonny Yong Bosch, who played Adam Park in Power Rangers and is the voice of Artemis in the VIZ dubs of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon and Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal, to voice Arnie.

Chapter 11 - Barbara

The puppies walked home in silence. Jenny continued to sniffle away her tears before stopping eventually. They looked up to see Barbara crying on the doorstep.

"Mom?" Briana said, getting her attention as they ran to her. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, puppies," she said, trying to pull herself together. "You were right about me all along. I've been a terrible mother. And missing your father hasn't made anything better for me. I thought if I had eaten to take the sadness away, things would be a lot better for me. Instead, it only made things worse. I wish I was never taken to that stupid dog fighting organization!"

"Dog-fighting organization?" Ollie repeated. "You never said a word about a dog-fighting organization."

"A fighting dog?"

Everyone looked up to see that Vinny had overheard. He had stepped outside to apologize to Barbara for calling her fat, but he shuddered in fear. Barbara lowered her ears and narrowed her eyes, growling at him.

"You're a fighting dog?" he continued. "Barbara, I... I never would have known. It's no wonder your puppies beat me up so badly that day. Why didn't you tell the puppies about this? Why didn't you tell me?"

Barbara had calmed down a bit and sighed.

"You're right," she said. "It's about time you all knew about my past."

Everyone had gathered around to listen to Barbara's tragic story.

"It all started when my mother was abandoned by her owners after they found out she was pregnant," she began. "I was born in a junkyard, third in a litter of three. My mother tried to take care of all three of us the best as she could, but my two older sisters, Laura and Nora, whom neither of you ever met, both died of malnourishment since there was very little food to come by."

Vinny and the puppies gasped in shock and sadness.

"My mother... also died," she continued. "She was looking for food when a truck ran her over. I was left all alone, wandering the streets and trying to survive. That is, until that jerk, may he rest in misery, picked me up and took me to that organization. It was a nightmare spending my childhood locked in a crate with about twenty other dogs."

"That's terrible!" Briana replied.

"And inhumane!" Ollie added.

"I became one of the best fighters in the organization," Barbara continued, "until a new dog was brought in."

This made Vinny freeze in fear.

"He was bigger and more ferocious, and I didn't stand a chance against him," Barbara continued. "He bit me, scratched me, and he did all he could to keep me down."

Vinny gulped.

"That jerk was so proud of the new dog," Barbara continued, "he threw me out onto the streets, saying that he had no use for has-beens. However, luckily, late that night, Brian found me and gave me a place to live."

"I had no idea," Vinny suddenly responded. "So, Brian wasn't just your husband, he was your savior?"

Barbara nodded.

"And after he died," Vinny continued, "it affected you so badly, you went back to your hostile fighting-dog behavior, right?"

Again, Barbara nodded, this time, sadly.

"Barbara," Vinny continued, "I know how you feel, but just because you lost Brian don't mean that you have to go back to being a fighting dog and linger in that hostile behavior, do you?"

Barbara shook her head. "No," she wept, "and I'm sorry, Vinny. I guess I should have known better than acting that way toward you. Oh, Vinny, puppies," she cried, "I just don't want to lose anyone else, not after what happened to Brian!"

Briana got up, glaring at her.

"I'm sorry, Mom," she said, about to go postal, "but you just did."

As soon as she said those words, Briana ran off, not looking back, eyes filled with tears.

"Briana!" Barbara called, about to follow her. However, before she could go any further, she breathed heavily, gasped for air, clutched her chest and collapsed.

"Barbara!" Vinny shouted, rushing to her. "Are you okay?"

"The pain!" Barbara grunted. "It...hurts!" She then began to lose consciousness.

"Mom?" Jenny cried.

Ollie, Jenny and Marcus started to panic once they saw she stopped moving.

"Not good!" Vinny gasped. "Kids, go inside and call for help."

"Is Mom going to be okay?" Ollie asked.

"Go inside and do what I told you", he said pointing inside.

The three puppies looked at Vinny and watched as he leaned over their mother. They pushed each other inside to get help. None of them wanted to see their mother like this. They hadn't felt this scared since their father's accident.

"Hang on, Barbs", Vinny said.

Barbara felt dazed as she saw Vinny, before the vision blurred and she passed out.

"Hang on", he repeated in the form of a whisper. His words echoed as her eyes closed.