As the Twist Turns Part 4: The Final Hour

As the Twist Turns Part 4: The Final Hour is a fan-made episode written by Rigsrigsrigs10918, CartoonLover Disneydude15 and Magic-is-cute. It is also the final part of the fan-made story arc, As the Twist Turns.

Premise
The heroes battle against Ricky as they try to find a way to convince him to reform. Unfortunately, things are about to go bad to worse for Tony and friends.

Part One
Narrator: Previously on the Pound Puppies Show, Cooler, Tony, and the rest of the rescue team were able to save their friends and family. Now, they are battling Ricky and Ricky alone. What you're about to see will change the lives of our heroes forever in today's episode of the Pound Puppies Show.

(At the hideout, Tony and Cooler are battling Ricky alone. Tony is badly hurt, covered in bruises, cuts and scars. The other villains are gone.)

Tony(Voiceover): Yes. It's all coming back to me. There I was. Fighting for my life against my own brother with Cooler. It seems that I have no choice but to fight back.

(Everyone else watches, helpless to do anything.)

Marcus: (Horrified) Soldier!

Tony: Cooler and I are fine. Don't worry about us.

(Ricky, still deranged, waves his knife around.)

Ricky: Come on, fight me!

Cooler: Ricky, put the knife down. This isn't worth it.

Ricky: Oh, it's not worth it, huh? Tony was always the favorite child.

Tony: No. You and I were treated equally.

Ricky: Wrong!

(Ricky lunges at Tony, but Tony gets out of the way and knocks the knife out of Ricky' s hand.)

Ricky: So, that's how it's going to be, huh?!

(Ricky pins Tony to the ground and mercilessly pummels him.)

Ricky: Do you know how much I HATE you? LOTS!

(TJ, Marcus, Tim Collie, Mr. Vanderfeller, Momo, and Cooler try to pull Ricky off.)

TJ: Ricky! Stop!

(Ricky was about to land another blow, but Tony kicks him and runs.)

Ricky: You can't run from me!

(TJ and Momo block Ricky.)

TJ: Don't you hurt my little brother.

Ricky: So, you're going to go ahead and protect the favorite brother, huh?

TJ: It's not worth the frustration.

Ricky: Get out of my way.

Momo: No!

Ricky: (Showing blood red eyes while grinning wildly) Fine. I'm going to kill all of you.

(Ricky starts to shake violently.)

Ricky: Gah! My heart.

Marcus: Soldier, just consider giving up your life of crime. We have to take you to the hospital.

Ricky: (Screeching) HOSPITAL! I don't need to go to no hospital!

(Ricky shakes even more violently as he clutches his heart.)

Elaine: I'm going to call 911.

Ricky: (In a demonic voice) GO AHEAD! Call the stupid paramedics! It's too late for them to save my life!

Nose Marie: Ricky, stop! You are going to kill yourself!

Ricky: (While shaking like a maniac) I DON'T CARE! I was always shunned as a child! No one ever cared about me! You always cared for Tony!

Tony: It's not my fault the fan girls thought you were an idiot.

Ricky: (An deeper, demonic, and violent voice while his face turns red) IDIOT! I'M THE IDIOT?!

(Ricky emits a loud, horrifying, violent scream as everyone covers their ears for a minute or two while flashbacks of Ricky and his family and friends are shown in the background. Just then, a sound of a bone cracking is heard. Ricky stops screaming. He then starts choking, wheezing, gasping, and coughing violently as ominous music plays throughout. Ricky's eyes turn white and he collapses while clutching his heart.  He is lying on his back while an emotionless expression on his face. His eyes are still white. Colette checks his pulse as the ominous music fades. Igor goes to Colette.)

Igor: Colette?

Colette: (Tearing up) Ricky... He's…

Part Two
Cooler: Is he...?

Colette: I'm afraid so.

Elaine: The ambulance is on its way.

(Tony is speechless. The others turn to him as the paramedics arrive and carry Ricky off.)

Cooler: Tony? Are you okay? (Sadly) Tony?

Tony: (Voiceover) Before my eyes, I saw my brother die. My brother has lost his career, his heart, his sanity, his mind, and finally, his life to a demon within him called jealousy.

(Tony has tears coming down from his eyes. Back at the Puppy Pound, as everyone is waiting for the results, TJ is on the phone with the doctor.)

TJ: I see. Goodbye.

(TJ hangs up.)

Gordon: So?

TJ: (Frowning) You were right. Ricky is dead. What was the cause, you might ask. High stress followed by a heart attack.

(For a few seconds, no one says a word. Then, Tony starts to shed tears. Everyone else sees Tony crying and comfort him.)

Catgut: We're sorry...

Tony: (Sobbing) We could have saved him! It's my fault that I called Ricky an idiot.

(Joshua enters.)

Joshua: Hi, everybody. What's wrong?

Cooler: Ricky died from a heart attack.

Joshua: (Sadly) Oh.

(The following day, everyone attends Ricky's funeral.)

Tony: (Voiceover) By the next morning, we held a funeral for Ricky. All of Ricky's friends and the last of our former fan girls were there to pay their respects.

(Cooler, Nose Marie, Elaine, Marcus, Momo, Violet, TJ, Joshua, Igor, Mr. Vanderfeller, and Mrs. Vanderfeller comfort Tony, who is sobbing hysterically.)

Tony: (Voiceover) I had to be comforted by those who cared. But then, right after we got back to the Pound, Joshua gave us even more bad news.

Joshua: Everyone, I'm HIV-positive.

TJ: What?! (Enraged) Who gave you that contaminated blood?! I'll kill them with my bare hands!

Joshua: No, TJ, please! It was an accident. The donor didn't know he carried the virus and there was a problem with the computer so it couldn't detect it. He didn't mean it.

Tony: (Voiceover) But over time, TJ insisted that the person was an old enemy of us. In retaliation, he sued the hospital for medical malpractice. However, the case was dropped after it was proven that Joshua's treatment was handled carefully, that the computers were unable to detect the virus and that the donor had no known knowledge that he was HIV-positive.

TJ's Voice: It was no error! That jerk deliberately gave my brother that contaminated blood and the hospital denies the whole incident. It's a conspiracy, I tell you! A conspiracy!

(One week later, at the Puppy Pound…)

TJ: Tony is quitting the Pound?!

Cooler: Yes. I overheard him say "I can't go on like this forever." That's all I've heard.

TJ: You don't suppose Tony would…

(TJ and Cooler get horrified looks on their faces.)

Both: (Shocked) He wouldn't!

TJ: Cooler, get the others. We have to find Tony!

Part Three
(At the forest, Tony sits alone.)

Tony: (Voiceover) The following week, I ran away from the puppy pound. I could not get the death of Ricky out of my mind.

(Tony sighs sadly.)

Tony: I wonder if I did the right thing. But, I guess I'll just stay here for now.

(Tony pulls out his guitar and starts playing. In another part of the forest, Cooler, TJ, and the others are looking for Tony.)

TJ: Tony! Tony!

(They hear Tony humming in the distance.)

Cooler: It's Tony! Let's follow it.

(Tony is then seen singing.)

Tony: (Singing to the tune of "Can We Still Be Friends" by Todd Rundgren) We don't go "Ready, Aim, and Fire", but will we still be friends? Some things will never be the same, but will we still be friends? Through the day and the night, wonder if you'll see the light. Romance in a shape and size, love is the actual, real prize! We've been through a lot together, so will we still be friends?

(TJ, Cooler, and his group enter.)

Tony: (Singing) Although nothing lasts forever, but will we still be friends?

All: (Singing) There is no doubt you're my friend, we'll be buddies to the very end. We can't be hatin' one another, 'cause we are friends like no other!

(Tony looks at the others.)

Tony: Oh, so you heard me singing.

Cooler: We've been looking for you.

TJ: We thought you were going to….

Tony: Uh uh. I'm not that crazy. But still, I can't believe that I lost my brother last week. I'm not sure if I want to go back to the Pound. Not after what happened.

(Cooler, TJ, and Elaine comfort Tony.)

Cooler: Tony, we understand your plight.

Elaine: But, will running away from the pound make things better?

(Tony shakes his head.)

Tony: No. But, I still feel uneasy. I mean, how can I get over the fact that Ricky is gone?

(Cooler rubs Tony's back.)

Cooler: Tony, please don't say things like that.

Tony: What else can I say? I'm so lost I don't know what to do or where to go anymore.

(Tony hugs Cooler. Tony cries softly.)

Tony: What should I do, Cooler? What should I do?

Cooler: Tony, you still have TJ, Josh and us.

Tony: (Wiping tears from his eyes) Well, I guess that's true.

Elaine: I'll always be by your side, Tony.

TJ: And Tony, we got your back whenever you feel lost or alone.

Tony: (Nodding sadly) Yes…

Cooler: So, Tony, do you want to come back to the puppy pound with us?

(Tony thinks for a while.)

Tony: All right. I know that I lost my brother, but the last thing I want to lose are those who really cared about me… my brother, my god sister, and my friends.

(Tony hugs Cooler, Joshua, TJ and Elaine. All of Tony's friends hug him.)

Tony: Thank you… everybody.

(Back at the pound, Tony, Cooler, Joshua, TJ, Elaine, Igor, and Bright Eyes are watching TV together.)

Tony: (Voiceover) Later that night, I returned to the pound. What Cooler and TJ said made me realize that I still have those who sympathized with me because of the plight that began with the stolen money and ended with the death of Ricky.

(Cooler puts his hand on Tony's shoulder.)

Tony: Cooler?

Cooler: Yes, Tony, oh palerooni?

Tony: I wonder if I did the right thing. I mean, I love living here in the puppy pound with you guys, but I'm still not sure about my future. Then again, I shouldn't say things like that. After all, I still have you guys.

(All hug each other. The next day, Joshua announces he's leaving the pound to live in New Mexico after getting a job offer.)

Joshua: Well, I don't know when I'll be back, but one day, I hope to see you guys again.

(As Joshua leaves, Tony is feeling depressed, only to be comforted by Cooler and Elaine.)

Tony: (Voiceover) And so begins a new chapter in my life.

The End

Trivia
This is one of the darkest fan-made episodes.

This episode has a theme: coping with a loss.

This marks the final appearances of Ricky Rigs. This is the first fan-made episode to feature the death of a fan-made character.

Next Episode Preview
Announcer: Next week on the Pound Puppies Show, the gang meets a strong but gentle-hearted dog named Samson. And later, the puppy pound hires Dabney Nabbit as a dogcatcher. Stay tuned next week for Samson and the Pound Puppies/Dab that Nabbit.

Japanese Opening Title
A picture of a screeching Ricky as the others look on in horror as the subtitles read "The Tragedy of Ricky Rigs! The Darkest Hour for Tony, TJ and Friends".