By Madison McGhee

John Adams Middle School

Once upon a time lived Prince Dog-inston, a Yorkshire Terrier who lived on Nathan Street. One day, Prince stumbled across Betty Francis. Prince was very confused by Betty Francis, so he went to see Apple Krisp, a very intelligent street mutt. Apple Krisp told Prince there was something mysterious about Betty Francis.

Prince was determined to know the secret of Betty Francis, so he went to Royal Night's barn. When he arrived, he found ectoplasmic bacteria! It looked suspicious and started to change shape. Slowly, it took the shape of the biggest snake Prince had ever seen! Quickly, he ran into hiding under a nearby bush.

The snake slithered across the dirt path of the barn, red eyes glowing in the night. Something seemed to be wrapped around its tail, though Prince couldn't make out what.

Suddenly, the snake hissed and quickly slithered into the shadows. A faint clopping sound on the barn's floor announced the arrival of Royal Night, an old Clydesdale horse. Prince immediately leapt out of his hiding spot and barked the strange story to his friend.

Royal Night, though clearly surprised, listened without a sound. Once Prince finished, he motioned for the small Yorkshire Terrier to follow him as he trotted off into the forest. With a nervous glance over his shoulder, Prince took off after the horse.

Hours later, the two arrived at one of the largest zoos they knew. Royal Night nodded at Prince to go ahead, and the nervous dog slowly stepped through the silver gate.

Almost immediately, something heavy fell down onto the poor dog's back. With a loud yelp, Prince leapt back, causing a crazy fit of laughter to start from the hyena habitat. Prince ignored it, and turned, growling, to face his attacker -- a young calico cat, who sat down purring, tail bouncing lightly up and down.

Royal Night huffed a greeting to the calico. She nodded politely back, yellow eyes still locked on Prince.

Royal Night explained the strange situation with the ectoplasmic snake. Once he'd finished, the calico bounced to her feet and started off down the path between habitats -- many of which seemed curiously empty. Royal Night and Prince Dog shared a glance before following curiously after the feline.

After turning down a dirt path, the calico leapt into the window of a large building secluded from the rest of the zoo. A loud crash sounded inside before the calico pushed the door open. The three then raced through the dark building until they got to the end of a long hallway.

The feline pushed past the door, leaped onto a table and licked on the light switch. The fluorescent lights made Prince squint for a moment before his eyes got used to the change. By now, the calico had bounded to the other side of the room and, standing on her back legs, pushed down a silver lever with her front paws.

Soon after, a rumble began and the ground shook violently below their feet. A small hole slowly appeared in the wall. Leaving the cat, Prince and Royal Night stepped in.

The new room was all white -- ceiling, walls and flooring. Animals of all different kinds were walking or flying around the room, going in and out through multiple doors. Royal Night started for one of the larger doors, and Prince following behind while taking in all the other creatures.

Royal Night pushed open the door with his hoof and stepped into a small office. Prince quickly squeezed through after him. In the center of the room was a large mahogany desk, and in the chair behind it sat a Rottweiler.

Prince and Royal Night explained the story of the ectomplasmic snake. The menacing dog, who was the leader of the strange corporation, listened without interruption.

Once they finished, the Rottweiler let out a loud bark, and the door opened to reveal a Chihuahua, a poodle, and a beagle. The frightening dog explained a plan to figure out the mystery of the ectoplasm.

A few hours later, Prince; the Chihuahua, Pedro; the poodle, Gypsy, and the beagle, Sam, had all set off. They had their noses to the ground, trying to sniff out the snake. Suddenly, Sam let out a howl and ran off, ears flapping wildly. The other three took off after him.

They ran through the woods and into the city. Eventually, a large mutt came into view in a shadow-filled ally, fighting the strange snake. Prince, Sam and Pedro leapt into the fight while Gypsy ran off to rally the other animals from the corporation. Within minutes, all sorts of cats and dogs, lions, tigers, horses and other creatures were fighting against the reptile.

Suddenly, a Border Collie named Apollo, who was known for his brains, ran over and tossed a green liquid out of a flask he carried in his mouth. Immediately, the snake began to burn, its tail thrashing wildly, until it was consumed in flames. All the animals backed away as the snake turned to a slimy, gray liquid and oozed down a drain into the sewer.

Prince, Pedro, Sam and Gypsy let out a sigh, but the moment of relief was short lived. A crazy half bark-half laugh sounded behind them. Turning, they spotted Betty Francis, the black and white Papillon who'd given Prince a bad vibe earlier. She had a crazed look in her eyes.

Once her laughter died down, she barked out, "This isn't over! It's only my first experiment!"

As she spoke, the ground shook. A loud crack sounded, making some of the creatures flinch. The ground started to split, and soon a big crack was between Betty Francis and the animals.

Slowly, the split opened wider. Betty Francis cackled again as a liquefied shape arose from the crack: a snake, 10 times bigger then the first, head shaking side to side, eyes venomously glowing. Suddenly, it slammed its tail down, barely missing a few cats. At once, all the animals leapt forward, kicking, biting and clawing.

Prince raced over to Apollo, who had frozen on the spot, tail shaking. Prince asked, "How can we stop this thing!?"

Apollo shook his head, ears back. "We'd need more of my chemical, Acid X, to burn this one down. It's in my lab, but I fear it may not be enough."

Prince growled in frustration. "We'll make more if we have to!"

After a moment of hesitation, Apollo took off, Prince on his heels. The two ran down the empty street, the sounds of the battle fading behind them. Finally, they stopped outside an abandoned building that seemed to have been an old seamstress shop. Apollo pushed inside through a few pieces of loose, broken wood. Prince was right behind him the whole way.

A lab had been set up in the small space. Apollo raced to a large pot and set to work, mixing different ingredients while Prince paced the room. Every few steps, he'd glance out a window that hadn't been boarded up.

A loud "boom!" sounded before the wall caved in. Betty Francis's crazed laughter started up as the ringing in Prince's ears died down.

With a growl of announcement, the Yorkshire Terrier ran full blast at the insane dog. They immediately got into a fight. Apollo quickly brewed the Acid X behind them.

"Finished!" he yelped out.

With a quick bite to the neck, Prince jumped away from a howling Betty Francis and helped Apollo push the giant pot through the building's opening.

They managed to get back to the others. The fight was in full swing, even more animals having joined in. Prince and Apollo pushed the pot over the side of the split that went across the ground.

The snake made a sound of pain as the green liquid took effect. First, its tail slowly bubbled up before burning completely. Its body soon did the same, and finally, its head.

All the creatures watching in shocked silence as the acid burned the ground, making the split deeper then before. After a few seconds, it subsided. Two red rubies were the only things left, the same shade as the snake's eyes.

There was an ear-splitting howl of grief, making everyone look up. Betty Francis took a few steps back, then turned and, with surprising speed, took of down the road. Several golden retrievers and a few horses chased after her.

Prince began to follow but was stopped by the Rottweiler. "You've done enough," he growled. "Head home for now."

**A WEEK LATER**

"We've had animals on the lookout worldwide," Berlin, the Rottweiler, said. "Betty Francis has gone into hiding for now. We can only guess that mutt's next move, and my guess is it won't be for a bone with a nice bow on top."

"Are you asking me to go on a mission?" Prince asked. He'd been asked to join the agency shortly after the fight against the snake (a battle that would go down in pet history), and he'd gladly agreed.

"No," Berlin barked gruffly. "You've done your job. It's time for you to take a break."

Prince smiled, glancing back over his shoulder to where a small Yorkshire Terrier and two pups stood.

"Yes, sir."