Here’s a new story from me, written in exchange for some art! It gave me an excuse to write two of my characters interacting together plus it was just a fun project in general!

Editing was done by   Chuninlazyguy who also helped peer-review it. Thanks dude. ^^

And of course, special thanks goes to   XtremeRebel who came to me with this idea. He asked for this story in exchange for some artwork he drew and needless to say, I’m glad that he did! Both the art and this story came out great in my humble opinion!
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Dennis stood outside the gym, silently fretting as he stared vacantly at his phone. As snow began to fall on him, all he could do was panic over what happened earlier that day. He remembered strutting into the gym, banana-strawberry smoothie in hand as looked around at the other athletes as they worked out. Unfortunately, the canine should’ve looked around his surroundings more as he ended up tripping on a dumbbell that was lying on the ground! Dennis’s smoothie went flying into the air as he himself ended up crashing down onto the floor with a heavy thud! The yellow jobber clutched his foot in pain before a blood curdling scream sent a shiver down his spine! Looking up, he saw Lazlo the deer, seething in anger as the contents of Dennis’s drink ended up splashing down his backside. The vicious heel turned around slowly as he began to angrily scream at the top of his lungs. “WHOSE DRINK WAS THIS AND WHO WANTS TO DIE!?!”. The gymnasium went quiet as the psychotic buck’s eyes looked down at the petrified pooch sitting on the ground.

With fruit chunks and juice dripping off his back, the deer lifted the mutt up by the neck and slammed him into the wall behind him! “YOU THINK IT’S FUNNY TO SPLASH ME WITH THIS JUNK?!? DO YOU WANNA SEE FIRSTHAND HOW SHARP MY ANTLERS ARE?!?”. Dennis began trying to apologize, but Lazlo’s threats only caused him to stutter out in pure, pants-wetting fear! The overly muscular buck wrapped his hand around the canine’s neck, threatening to strangle him right then and there! Suddenly, a firm hand grabbed onto Lazlo’s shoulder, making him turn around. Turns out the hand belonged to the gym owner as he glared at the deer. “Mister…Lee, was it? I strongly suggest you hit the showers and go home for today. I would hate to make you leave by force…”

Lazlo’s eye twitched in response before he sadistically kneed Dennis in the stomach! The injured mutt collapsed to the ground, clutching his gut as the deer leaned down and loudly hissed in his ear. “I’M NOT LETTING YOU OFF THAT EASILY…SEE YOU IN RING NUMBER TWO, TOMMOROW NIGHT AT ELEVEN! DON’T MAKE ME COME GET YOU…”. As the smoothie-soaked heel stormed out of the gym, he yelled one last warning at the dog. “AND MAKE SURE TO BRING YOUR OWN CASKET!!!”

Those words twirled around the jobber’s head for hours as he wondered what he was going to do! He couldn’t tell if the cold breeze tingling down his spine was from the weather or because of the terror he was feeling. On the one hand, he didn’t want to anger the stag any more than he already had, but he also didn’t want to fight him! And to think, all this drama happening over a single fruity beverage! He wanted someone to help him, but who? He didn’t want to drag any of his immediate friends into this simply because he didn’t want to make them worried! He racked his brain trying to figure out who to call, someone he knew who would support him who also wouldn’t panic over this news. Suddenly, it dawned on him. Scrolling down his contact list, Dennis called “A. Greene”. After three rings, the dog heard “Hello?” on the other end, muffled by loud music being played in the background.

Dennis tried his best to sound chipper as he said “Rebel! How’s it going? Did I call you at a bad time?”

“Hey, what did I tell you last time?” the voice on the other end asked, “Only call me Rebel in the ring. Outside of it, feel free to call me Adam, dude.”

Dennis rubbed the back of his head as he paced back and forth in front of the gym. “Right, sorry about that. I was just…What’s that noise in the background?”

Adam chuckled over the phone as he apologized for the loud music. “Sorry I’m in a club right now, listening to a little concert going on. Don’t worry though, I can still talk to you. What’s up?”

The seven-foot-tall jobber let out a shaky sigh as he tried to explain the situation to his fellow canine. “I um…There was an accident today at the gym and uh…I may have accidentally splashed someone I shouldn’t have with my smoothie and now they’re really angry at me! They want me to fight them tomorrow and I think he’s gonna hurt me really badly!”. Dennis felt a lump form in his throat as tears started to well up in his eyes as he waited for Adam to respond.

The phone went silent save for the rock music playing in the background. After what seemed like minutes, Adam calmly asked the upset dog if he wanted him to beat up the jerk who was threatening him.

“N-No!” Dennis stammered out. “I-I don’t want you to beat him up! I just need advice on what I should do!”

Adam Green audibly sighed on the other end of the phone as he tried to come up with advice. “Well, if you ask me, you should fight this jerk. He can’t get away with threatening you like that in public.” The frightened mutt whimpered at that suggestion, causing his friend to revise his suggestion. “HOWEVER, I think you need a bit of support right now. Tell you what, I’ll referee this match for you. That way, you’ll have a bit of support and I’ll make sure you aren’t killed by this tool!”

The jobber rubbed his runny nose on his sleeve as he tried his best to compose himself. “Th-Thanks, man. Means a lot t-t-to me! The fights happening tomorrow at eleven. Do you think you can make it?”

“I know I can!” he said. “Oh, and Dennis? Cheer up. You’ll want to feel your best before a big match like this”. With that, he hung up the phone.

The next night, the golden-furred wrestler was outside the gym again just like Lazlo told him to be. He tried to open the door and sure enough, it was unlocked. Dennis looked around the empty building, not a soul to be found amongst the exercise equipment. Checking his watch, the mutt saw he had fifteen minutes before it struck eleven o’clock. Just enough time for him to change into his clothes and to pass out from fear if he needed to. He ran into the changing room, tossing off his street clothes and slipping on his typical fighting gear. He pulled up his black and blue trunks and slapped on his matching MMA gloves. Looking in the mirror, the distressed dog looked like he was about to be executed by a firing squad. Resigning himself to his fate, he hesitantly left the room. As he stepped out, he saw Adam standing by the doorway. He smiled at his fellow canine companion as he pulled off his jacket, showcasing his referee outfit. A black shirt and black pair of pants was all he wore aside from a shiny silver whistle dangling on his neck. Adam cocked his eyebrow before asking tonight’s combatant if he was ready to rumble.

Dennis was too fear stricken to say anything and could only raise a shaky thumbs up to reassure him that he was good to go. Adam stepped forward and put an arm on his shoulder, a difficult task considering the height difference between them. “Listen, man. You’re going to be fine! I know you got this! Besides, I’ll be there to save you in case this jerk goes too far!”. The two dogs smiled at each other before another light suddenly turned on. Right above the door to the right was a red sign that flashed “FIGHT IN PROGRESS''. Clearly a message for them to enter. After one last encouraging pat, the scruffy looking referee pushed Dennis towards the door before following right behind him.

The small arena was empty except for a single person, stomping around the ring like a madman. With unnatural muscles popping underneath brown, furry skin and wearing bright orange wrestling tights to act as an immediate warning sign, Lazlo paraded around with murderous anger in his eyes. His body twitched as drool dripped out of his mouth before his manic eyes settled on the two men walking into the room. The deer stomped forwards, clutching the top ropes as he violently shook them up and down! “FINALLY!!!” he screamed. “DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I HAVE BEEN WAITING?!?”. Suddenly, his crazed eyes turned to intently glare at Adam. “WHOSE THIS PRICK?!? YOUR BOYFRIEND?!?”

If the referee was nervous, he was doing a phenomenal job at hiding his fear. Without skipping a beat, Adam calmly smirked at the raging stag before saying “Nope, I’m just a friend, here to make sure no one gets killed during the fight…”

Lazlo took that news about as well as you could expect. He pulled the top rope towards his mouth, grinding his teeth on the rope before spitting it out to stop himself from chewing it in half! Once that was done, he stomped around the ring once more before calming down long enough to point an accusatory finger at Dennis. “RRRRAGHHH!!! I DIDN’T WANT A FREAKING REF!!! IF YOU THINK A STINKING WHISTLE IS GONNA SAVE YOU PUP, THEN YOU ARE DEAD WRONG! I’M GONNA GRIND THE TWO OF YOU INTO PASTE, BOTTLE UP YOUR REMAINS, SELL EM AS A NEW TYPE OF CONDIMENT AND MAKE A GODDAMN FORTUNE BY SELLING YOUR PULPY REMAINS TO PEOPLE!!!”

Dennis was mortified at that threat as he began shaking in his non-existent boots! Adam, meanwhile, just looked up at the Canadian canine and said “He seems nice…”. After prodding the jobber to get into the ring, the referee slid in as well. Despite being a little under a foot taller than Lazlo, Dennis looked like he was ready to give up right then and there. Meanwhile, the deer tried to get up close and personal with his soon-to-be victim.

Opening his mouth, Lazlo proceeded to speak at the top of his voice as per usual. “YOU SCARED, PUP?! YOU SHOULD BE! I EAT JOBBERS LIKE YOU FOR BREAKFAST BEFORE I SPIT THEM OUT!!! BY THE END OF THIS FIGHT, YOU’LL BE BEGGING FOR ME TO END YOU! YOUR EYES ARE GONNA BE SWOLLEN FOR MONTHS AND YOU’LL BE BLEEDING SO BAD, YOU’LL THIN-“. Before he could finish his thought, Lazlo began to wince uncontrollably as Adam blew a whistle right into the villainous heels ear! The noise of it caused the psycho deer to crouch down, hands to his ears as he began writhing in agony. After a solid ten seconds of blowing the whistle, the referee looked down at the distressed wrestler. “Enough!” he ordered, his voice strict and firm as he made sure to let Lazlo know not to mess with him. “You want to be a big, bad stag in the ring? Fine! But don’t cause shit under my watch! You will respect me and Dennis here if you know what’s good for you!”. After timidly getting up, Lazlo silently glared at the referee before turning to look at his opponent and folding his arms in frustration. Adam didn’t know it, but he just went way up on Dennis’s patented friendship scale for defending him like that.

With the two fighters so close to each other, Adam cleared his throat and addressed them. “Alright, you two listen carefully. This match is gonna be different than what you’re used to. I’m keeping an eye on the both of you but there’s going to be some freedom in what you do. If the other person submits or can’t keep fighting, that’s it. No ifs, ands or buts. If you step out of line, I’m gonna blow this whistle as your first and only warning.”. As he said this, the referee held up his painfully loud instrument to illustrate his point. “Trust me, you don’t want to see what happens when you ignore this thing. Rope-breaks, submissions and knockouts are going to be allowed. Any questions?”. Lazlo shot him a look that implied he had MANY things he could say to him but decided to bite his tongue for now. Backing up from the wrestlers, Adam Green threw his hand downward to officially begin the fight.

The deer snorted steam from his nostrils like an enraged bull as Dennis nervously raised his arms to try and grapple with Lazlo. He accepted and immediately locked hands with the dog. The angry stag began trying to squeeze Dennis’s hands to a pulp, crushing those big yellow fingers with his own! The dog yelped out in pain, causing him to collapse to one of his knees. The jobber shouldn’t have done that though, as Lazlo immediately let go of the downed canine’s hands only to immediately follow it up with a roundhouse kick to the muzzle! Adam winced as his friend went flying to the other side of the ring from the wicked blow. Dennis tried to get up right away, but Lazlo got to him first and tried to “help” the pup back onto his feet. Unfortunately, his idea of help involved grabbing a handful of his opponent’s trunks and giving the golden mutt a painful looking wedgie! Dennis cried out in pain as he was hoisted up by the elastic band of his clothes! Lazlo let out a sadistic laugh only to let go of the fabric and let the dog fall back down to the ground!

Dennis was in trouble. Not even a minute into the fight and the deer had already left him injured on the floor. Lazlo bounced around on his feet, taunting the dog to get up and fight him. To his credit, the injured pup lifted himself up using the ropes for support. After trying to nurse his injured backside and muzzle, the dog looked at the sadistic foe with renewed determination on his face. Lazlo could only laugh at this as he opened his mouth again to taunt Dennis some more. “WHAT’S WRONG!? DOES THE JOBBER NEED A TREAT TO STAY IN THE FIGHT?!? WELL TOO BAD!!! STAY DOWN MUTT, OR ELSE YOU’LL BE IN FOR A WORLD OF HURT!!!”. Dennis chose to ignore the words and clenched his hands tight to try and see if Lazlo could handle his fists. Seeing the pooch take on a boxing stance made the antlered heel laugh even more. What could this mutt do to him? Beg him into submission? Raising his own fists, he began to circle Dennis.

At first, it seemed like the buck was going to smash his face in. However, each punch Lazlo threw purposely missed their target to try and fake out the canine. Dennis flinched every time a fist flew by his head, and each cruel laugh only caused his anger to grow. Once he was pushed around enough, the dog shut his eyes and threw his fist right towards Lazlo’s face. Fortunately, that turned out to be more than enough to put the deer in his place! Thanks to the jobber’s impressive strength, Lazlo was caught off guard by a mean blow to the skull! The stag went stumbling back upon impact, causing him to collide with the turnbuckle behind him! Both dogs were genuinely surprised at this as the deer looked like he was barely hanging onto consciousness. His tongue hung out of his mouth, stars seemed to circle around his head and a noticeable bruise began to grow around his left eye. Adam walked over, observing the deer’s pitiful state up close and personal before asking if he was ready to get up. After a brief delay as the words entered his skull and into his brain, the hyper-aggressive deer shook himself awake and glared at the canine. “n-NO! NO!!! DO YOU THINK THE…THE GREAT LAZLO CAN BE TAKEN DOWN IN ONE HIT?! JUST LIKE THAT!?! YOU’RE DEAD WRONG, WEAKLING!!!”.

The enraged forest animal jumped off the floor and violently shoved the referee before he charged at his deceptively strong opponent! Dennis’s eyes widened as the deer lowered his head and ran right at him like an out-of-control bullet train! Before the larger fighter could even think about trying to leap out of the way, Lazlo rammed his antlered skull right into the dog’s belly and into the corner behind him! The air was knocked out of Dennis’s lungs as he was forced in-between the padded corner and the living battering ram, truly a classic example of being between a rock and a hard place! At this point, the deer’s left eye was completely shut as the bruise turned a hideous shade of purple. Deciding to pay Dennis back for what he did to him, he jumped on the bottom ropes to be the same height as the dog before spitting in his eyes as an act of petty revenge! Subsequently, he sent a couple of kicks and punches towards that big yellow belly just to rub salt in the wound!

To say Dennis was in a bad predicament would be an understatement! Eyes stinging, muscles screaming out in pain and his entire torso was starting to bruise! Unable to defend himself at the moment, He found himself pulled to the ground. Lazlo laid on Dennis’s back as he put the jobber into a hammerlock hold! The distressed mutt began kicking his feet and slamming his available hand onto the canvas floor like he was throwing a tantrum as the deer pinned the jobber’s other arm behind his back! Lazlo began to laugh hysterically as he taunted his opponent once again! “THAT’S RIGHT, LOSER! CRY! CRY AND SUBMIT! COME ON, DO IT! SUBMIT!! SUBMIT, SUBMIT, SUBMIT!!!!!”

The distressed canine was in a world of hurt to say the least! Every time he tried to free his arm, Lazlo would just exert his muscles and keep his opponent’s hand trapped behind his back! With one arm pinned and the other one planted on the ground to keep him stable, Dennis began kicking and flailing his feet to try and snag onto the ropes behind him and cause a rope break! Right when it seemed the pain couldn’t get any worse, the yellow-furred fighter managed to snag his foot onto the bottom rope. “R-ROPE BREAK! I DID A ROPE BREAK!!!” screamed Dennis, hoping Lazlo would give him mercy. The deer eyed his opponent’s foot like it was some diseased piece of trash before letting go of the canine’s hand. As he wiped his eyes and caught his breath, the half-blind stag interrupted the mutt's recovery time and immediately grabbed ahold of Dennis’s other hand to drag him across the floor and away from the ropes! Rage poured off the antlered fighter’s body like heat from a fire! Once they were far enough, Lazlo let go of Dennis’s arm and proceeded to violently stomp on it! The poor wrestler howled out in pain as the villainous herbivore proceeded to grind his heel into his victim’s hand, no doubt trying to crush his bones into dust!

Lazlo licked his lips in sadistic pleasure as he kept on abusing the hapless jobber’s hand! “YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT ME JUST LIKE THAT?!? DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY OPPONENTS I BREAK IN A WEEK!?!” he yelled down towards the whimpering mutt. “I’M LAZLO LEE, YOU DAMN TRASH GOBLIN!!! WELCOME TO-“ suddenly, another blast from the whistle caused the stag to convulse and writhe in pain as Adam stood behind him! The stag turned around, stopping just short of grabbing the loud instrument and chucking it out of the ring. “WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM, DOG BREATH!?! YOU’RE GONNA BLAST MY EARDRUMS OUT AT THIS RATE!!!!”. Meanwhile, the ref just stood there before pointing towards the nearest corner. “And you’re going to break Dennis’s hand at this rate so go wait in the corner while I check out his hand!”. Right as he was about to threaten the referee, Adam shot Lazlo down by pointing out he was already on thin ice after shoving him away before. Shooting daggers from his eyes, the stag slammed his foot down one last time on Dennis’ hand before walking away to the corner.

Checking his friend’s hand, Adam nudged Dennis towards the opposite corner as the deer. Slumping his back into the corner, the injured canine presented his hand. As the referee took a look at it, Dennis tilted his head up and saw Lazlo, clutching onto the ropes and looking like he was ready to launch towards his opponent at any moment. “This was a mistake! Why did I even think I could do this!?” he cried out, wanting this match to end already. “Because you’re a decent fighter.” Adam said, still looking at the canine's injured paw. “You won last time the last time we fought, remember? Besides, we both know I’m a way tougher opponent than Rudolf the red-eyed jerk over there…”

“But that was a fluke!” the jobber exclaimed. “Look at him! He’s barely injured!”. Adam sighed as he tested Dennis’s individual fingers to make sure he didn’t break anything. “You gave him a black eye. That has to count for something. Besides, you hurt him in an even worse way. You hurt his ego.” The golden fighter did a double take as the referee continued to offer advice and patch him up. “Listen, Dennis. If this was actually a hopeless fight, I would’ve stepped in and beaten him up for you. You got this, man. I know it, and deep down so do you.”

A swell of indescribable emotions began to bubble inside the canine’s heart but one stuck out from all the rest. Relief. The fact that this wasn’t a hopeless fight was such a relief for Dennis that he was ready to continue the fight. He may end up losing this match, but that wasn’t going to bring him down! Once the referee determined that the wrestler’s hand wasn’t broken, he backed up and turned his attention to Lazlo. The crazed deer rolled his head around his neck as his merciless excitement continued to build inside of him! Dennis stood up, continuing to lock eyes with the testosterone-fueled man as he silently told him he was ready to fight! Lazlo charged after him, fist raised as he swung it at his opponent’s chest! The dog winced after getting hit but managed to bend down and scoop the deer with his arms, hoisting him into the air! With his opponent in his grasp, Dennis wrapped his arms around the stag and began to squeeze him with a bearhug! Lazlo tried to squirm out of his opponent's grasp before making a less than elegant noise as the mixed-breed mutt began to crush the life out of the deer! The sounds of bones buckling under pressure entered the canine’s ears as he continued to squeeze tighter and tighter with each and every second! Desperate to escape, Lazlo managed to free one of his arms and began punching, slapping and strangling the dog with it! Despite the pain, Dennis continued to apply the crushing embrace until the raging buck’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and white foam began to pour from his mouth!

Not wanting Lazlo to get seriously injured, Dennis carried him over to the nearest corner and dropped him down to the ground. He snapped his fingers, causing the deer to stir. “Come on, man.” the canine said. “Can’t you give up already? I really, really don’t want to hurt you anymore!”

The knocked down stag tried to clear his head by shaking it around before looking up at the concerned dog. “I... I SUBMIT…” he yelled, tilting his head down in shame. Dennis turned to look at Adam, clearly happy he had won. Suddenly, Lazlo jumped to his feet to try and capitalize on his opponent's lowered guard! Dennis turned around right as a fist swung by him, missing him by half an inch! The psychotic heel looked ready to kill the fluffy wrestler at this point as he quickly pulled his arm back before throwing his other fist at him! The dog ducked as another punch went whizzing by him! Acting on his flight or fight response, the canine shut his eyes, pulled his arm back and launched it right at Lazlo’s head with full force! The stag’s head was forced to turn around as he was struck in the face! The shock and weight from the unrestrained punch caused two of his teeth to get knocked out of his mouth! The deer went flying towards the ropes and out of the ring entirely as Dennis peeked an eye open! The canine’s pose shifted as he covered his mouth in surprise. Only one thought went through his head as he wondered aloud “…Oh my gosh. Did…Did I just KILL him?!?”

The referee casually walked towards the other side of the ring and peeked over the ropes. “No.” Adam said nonchalantly. “He’s still twitching and muttering threats under his breath so I’m guessing he’s still alive. Still though, I think it’s safe to say you won, man!”
Relieved that he won without knocking Lazlo’s head off, the dog ran towards his friend with open arms! Adam quickly tried to object to the hug, remembering just how painful Dennis’s bearhugs could be but was surprised when the unlikely winner lifted him off his feet for a gentle, fluffy hug. “Oh my god! I won! I won and it’s all thanks to you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Dennis cried out as tears started to well up in his eyes. Adam just looked up and patted the golden jobber on the shoulder to show his support.

Putting the smaller pooch down, Adam told Dennis it was getting late and they should probably call it a night, which he agreed with. As the pair exited the ring, Dennis looked down to take a peek at Lazlo. The stag’s entire body was embedded in the hard concrete floor as he muttered incomprehensible nonsense and his eyes spun around in his head. “Hey, should we clean this up or something?” Dennis asked as they walked past the injured bully.

“Nah.” Adam responded as they made their way to the door. “When Lazlo wakes up, he can clean it up himself. After all, he DID lose fair and square. Besides, it’ll give him time to reflect on his recent actions.”. As the pair left the buck in his current state, Adam flicked the lights off, leaving him alone in the dark…