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"So, you having a good day?"

"Yesh, very shunny, lotsh of good shmellsh today!"

"Hmhmhahah, no plans later on?"

"There ish a shmell near treesh I will inveshtigate, might be dangeroush!"

"But you not afraid aren't you?"

"Nope, I ish brave! I keep my daddiesh shafe!"

"You ever really go anywhere besides thuh back yard?"

"Go shee granny and grandpa in the deshert! Maybe go into town, shee lotsh of new people, lotsh of new shmellsh but I musht behave! Daddiesh tell me to be good when in town!"

"You're a good boy ah hope."

"Yesh, daddiesh tell me not to bark at new people, unlessh they ish bad people, waaaah!

The black raptor chuckled simply as he kept on working in James' little garden patch. Swinging down the hoe into the soft earth, he kept a cautious look upon the silted dirt to keep it down in line with how it should look. He carefully measured his strokes of sifting dirt to not upset the vegetables next to him, already well-planted and set in roots ranging from turnips to carrots to the odd lettuce. He hadn't the first idea on gardening itself, but James had left him vivid instructions which he kept in the pocket of his farming overalls. They were a little snug on the utahraptor, but the boots fit nicely as he turned towards the black chain chomp smiling at him from outside the fence wire around the patch.

"Your dads should be back later today by thuh way."

"Ish daddy okaysh?! He ish very shick!"

"Aww he'll be fine, trust me, NUTHIN' can take down your daddy James for long, ah seen him go through a lotta things."

"Like whatsh uncle Roy?!"

"Ooof, lahk big fires, nasty huge monsters, mean mean people. No matter how many try to take him, he always manage to survive so a little bug lahk this ain't gonna knock him down fer too long."

"Daddy Jamesh ish very shtrong, shtrongesht daddy ever!"

"You must have been with your daddies a long time huh?"

"Yesh, they adopt me! I wash happy to have new daddiesh, waaaah, now I hash YOU ash well uncle Roy!"

"Hahaha, yep you have me too, so how long you been with them?"

"Many MANY daysh, I protect my daddiesh every day even when I firsht came!"

"Really? Whut happened?"

"A fuzzhy! Shupah shmelly fuzzhy, very bad fuzzhy, tried to climb over fenshe and take my daddy'sh shiniesh but I shtopped him! Nobody takes my shiniesh OR my daddiesh!"

"You know, I knew your daddy James a good while, an' ah never thought he would have a boy lahk you."

"Daddy Jamesh ish very brave and shtrong! Daddy Koopin ish brave and shtrong too but daddy Jamesh ish shtronger!"

"How'd you figure that?"

"Becaushe, when daddiesh play, daddy Jamesh alwaysh on top of daddy Koopin!"

"Uhhh play?"

"Yesh in bed, they likesh to play, lotsh of wreshtling waaaaah!"

"...uh...I um...eheh yeah soooo uhhhh we never had much chance to talk so, why don't you tell me about whut you lahk?"

"I likesh to play in the shunshine, I likesh the deshert too when we shee granny and grandpa, the shand feelsh sho shmooth on my belly!"

"You lahk water Charlie?"

"NO! No I hatesh it! Water very bad, very VERY bad for chompiesh!"

"So how do you get baths?"

"Daddy Jamesh givesh me speshal oil, makesh me all shiny, SHUPAH shiny!"

"Ahhhh, ah see."

Roy finished up with one row of dirt after having dug small segmented holes systematically along the dirt. Wiping the sweat off his brow with a handkerchief from his pockets, he brought out a small packet of seeds and began carefully putting one into each new hole that he had made. Once he had covered them up with dirt, he picked up a small blue watering can near him and began to softly make the rain come over the buried seeds.

"Theeere, thassit. Alrigh', ah think that's good time for a small break."

"Yesh!"

The raptor turned to open the fenced door behind him as he took the watering can and hoe with him before locking it tight. He quickly went into the shed to take off his boots, overalls and also put away the tools before putting back on his clothes which hung on pegs inside.

"Thaaaat's more lahk it. Damn them overalls are sorta tight, keep cutting into mah shoulders."

"You ish MUCH bigger than daddy Jamesh!"

"Heh, you're right."

"You know daddy Jamesh really well, daddy Jamesh NEVER letsh me into hish veggiesh!"

"An' why is that?"

"Because I likesh to DIG! I bury my bonesh, daddy Jamesh tell me that it'sh not for bonesh, it'sh for veggiesh!"

"Least you got your part of thuh garden to bury things, righ' Charlie?"

"Yesh, but I won't tell yoush, it'sh a shecret to everybody."

The chomp grinned with a beaming pride of self-worth as Roy sat down on a garden chair to bask in the sunlight, with Charlie settling down beside him as his chainlink tail wagged behind him.

"So, how did you handle things whilst daddy James wuz away?"

"I wash shad! Daddy Jamesh wash gone for sho long, I wash very shad!"

"Awwww...ah know Koopin wuz sad too."

"Daddy Koopin wash very shad too, granny and grandpa help him too to make him happy but we waited for daddy. Daddy wash brave, sho I had to be brave too, like when daddy Koopin wash attacked and I protected him when daddy Jamesh wash away!"

"Wait hold on Koopin wuz attacked?! Really?!"

"Yesh, by a monshter! But I protectsh him because he ish my daddy, waaaaah."

"Huh...ah never heard that story, mind if you tell me?"

"Okaysh, I tell yoush. Did daddiesh tell you about the big trip to the shnowy plashe?"

"Yeah, they told me about that. Koopin an' you got taken up to Shiver City, then he got a job at the office, he met his friend Shybert-"

"Tiny man, sho shcared when we met!"

"Wait, you were scared?"

"No, tiny man he wash very shcared becaushe of me, waaaaah!"

"Hahahaha, alrigh' so...whut did happen with you an' this...this monster?"

"It all shtarted a long time back, very long time, many daysh after daddy left..."

Roy smiled patiently as he watched and listened to Charlie's story, curious to see what strange events the little chain chomp could possibly have known or witnessed in those odd four years as his tale unfolded from a different perspective. One that only he would ever know of.

---

The Rising Fallen Star

Chapter 3: Charlie

A wondrous spring morning greeted Charlie as he bounced out the front door with Koopin behind him. The smell of budding leaves, sweet pollens and freshly cut grass went spinning into his nostrils with a cool wet minty scent. It was a slightly warm morning, the sun glistening down upon his steel chain and black iron body as his daddy walked him out towards the town.

"Come on Charlie, daddy needs some new things so you better be good."

"Okaysh daddy!"

Charlie knew in some primitive sense that he could not understand everything the koopa said, and likewise he knew also that Koopin could not understand him but the chomp had other ways of knowing besides hearing. How he smelt was most important as well as other more instinctive senses without a name that told him how Koopin had been feeling more happy than usual. He bounced along the travelling road slightly behind his koopa daddy, watching him with pure adoration and a panting long tongue from his sharp curved teeth. People passed on by and Charlie smelt them all briefly in their passing. Most of them were happy, one of them was upset, and two were very angry at each other for some odd reason. Occasionally he met one or two other chomps, greeting and sniffing each other as he panted at one older grey chomp who panted back in turn beside his own owner, a female toad.

"Hallosh! Ish a lovely day!"

"Yesh, it ish, how ish you pup?"

"I ish good, going to town with my daddy!"

"That'sh good, I'm going home with my mummy, she hash bought food for me."

"HHHH! I wantsh food too! I hopesh daddy feedsh me my favourite later!"

"Hmhmhmhm, you should be careful pup, there ish more to life than food."

"Like whatsh!? What could be better than food, and play?!"

"Peashe. And love."

"I hash lotsh of love, daddy lovesh me every day, waaaaah!"

"Hmhmhm, I am shure he doesh. I hash to go, goodbye pup."

"Okaysh, bye bye!"

"You're a good boy aren't you?!" said Koopin.

"Yesh, I ish good!"

"Saying hello to that nice old chomp like such a good boy."

"Daddy getsh me food? YAY!"

Heading up towards town Charlie remembered little of the places that Koopin visited, constantly focusing on the smells of sweet patisseries, sweat and deodorant from people that passed him by as well as wafting scents from every direction of the main square. To the east was the smell of trees he had become so familiar with. To the west, the musk of goomnuts in the forests beyond. The north gave a cool mist and slightly perfumed odours that trickled down from the grand white castle in the distance, and lastly the south gave a rather jarring mix of steel rust, oil and salt from the sea. Charlie tried to lead Koopin towards the bakery but he knew better and pulled the chomp over towards a less interesting place full of steel shiny boxes and grey floors with a metallic scent. Words drifted back and forth between Koopin and the lakitu clerk as time passed in the blink of an eye before they left, with a new small bag Koopin held that Charlie prodded.

"That'sh not food, what ish that?!"

"Noooo Charlie that's not food, it's for daddy."

"But, I know ish not food, you cantsh fool me, waaaaah!"

"Mmmmm okay, it's not fair to take you here without getting you something, come on."

Koopin let Charlie lead slightly towards a butcher's shop, the wondrous meaty scents even when raw delighting him with excited bouncing as he watched Koopin order some beef slices in a bag before leaving the town. People reacted differently to Charlie ranging from the kind-hearted who cooed at him with gentle sounds to the squealing children pointing at him, as well as the odd disgruntled-smelling type who had no time for silly chomps. Charlie did not like those people, but he ignored them as they soon left to head back down along the road. It was only then that Koopin decided to divert them off the path and run briskly ahead of Charlie shouting:

"Charlie! Charlie come on, come on boy!"

"YESH daddy, I wantsh to play!"

The chomp bounced on towards his daddy Koopin, watching him run ahead and easily catching up to him as they started to pace each other's speed, running off into the sloping grasslands of the Mushroom Kingdom. The sun cast beautifully across the fields now stricken with summer light, as Koopin kept running alongside him down and down further into what had once been an old farmland, now long since taken back by nature as a slightly wild overgrown field of grass. The chomp chased after his daddy back and forth, the grass seeds spilling across his smooth black steel carapace with every flump and bounce he threw himself into. Koopin occasionally hid, but Charlie always managed to find him behind a tree, or even laying down in the taller grass by the smell of warmth and kindness. Eventually Koopin had tired himself out, and so rewarded Charlie by pulling out a slice of beef to throw at him,

"Here Charlie, CATCH!"

"YESH, DADDY FOOD!"

He snapped upwards as the beef flew over across his head, catching it perfectly as he chomped it down between his thick glistening white teeth. He watched Koopin throw another slice of beef which he caught easily as the first, gnashing it within seconds before swallowing until the third and final one he caught pre-emptively, which fell onto his face with a thick meaty slap.

"Hahahahaha, Charlie you're a silly boy!"

"Waaaaah shilly food, get in my belly, NUM!"

With a singular snap of his teeth he had finished eating his food almost instantly as he wagged his tail chain behind him staring up at Koopin expectantly who now sat under the shade of a tree. He soon realised he had no more food left to give and began to root around for more in the bushes. The sky turned a sweet amber pallor that gleamed on Charlie's head, snuffling around in the dirt intrigued by the smell of creatures local around the new scrubland. At one point Charlie lifted his head and saw something flickering in the forest nearby across the opposite side of the grassland. He caught a scent of someone familiar, a tinted strong musk that made his eyes widen.

"Who ish that?"

He ran off towards the trees by an instinct deep in him, sensing somebody was close as he watched a strange lean shadow of brown move between the forest trunks.

"Who...ish daddy?! Daddy!?"

The stranger disappeared as Charlie headed in, the forest turning darker by the sunset as the smell of summer started to fade from his senses. The trees smelt of rain, cool and sweet as the crunching of leaves underneath signalled to him a new season turning. The sky above had been replaced by an orange sea of leaves, twisting and billowing against the auburn woods as a cold breeze started following him in. The shadow continued moving deep into the forest as the chomp chased after him.

"Daddy! Daddy waitsh!"

He knew it was him, there was no mistaking that strong scent, something almost otherworldly that he could not quite comprehend but knew was something special. Something only he had, and with every step that he took deep into the forest, he lost his way just a little more as the shadow moved sleekly between the trees but Charlie was never fooled. He had his scent, and there was nothing to shake him from it as the wind began to pick up, scurrying a vicious storm of leaves to spiral round him forcing him to blear his eyes peeking between the streams of red and yellow streak. He burst through the breeze and chased after the shadow further as evening soon came upon him. Darkness was just a moment away with each new step he took as the world became a more burnt shade of auburn, monotone and crisp when he came upon a clearing with some strange object sitting in the midst of it. A long wooden cage with metal fencing across the front that looked so familiar to him as voices came from around him.

"You have any type in mind?"

"Someone that's easy to handle, but not like sleepy all the time, we want someone that needs to go out every once a while, something to give us a reason to stay home and relax."

"Hmmmm, well it's up to you really, I mean we've got some quiet ones and perky ones, one or two are REALLY excitable, I'm not sure which one you'd be more interested in-"

"Hey, look at this one!"

Spiriting above the cage was a dozen leaves full of dew from misted water droplets, glistening like pure stringed pearls that suspended in the air to form the shape of two creatures almost like ghosts. Pale clear outlines of foggy shoulders and hunched bodies bending over the cage.

"This one looks cute."

"Awwww he does, hi there little feller!"

"YAP YAP! YAP!"

"He's not too excitable right?"

"Mmmm no he's actually quite a gentle boy, actually that's the first time he's barked today."

"Awwww look he's licking me! ...I want him."

"A-are you sure?!"

"Totally, I want this one. He's a happy little boy and he just wants someone to show him that he can be."

"How do you know that?"

"......I just know somehow. I want to keep him like this. I want to keep him happy before...alright, we'll take him."

"Very well, you uh...got a name in mind, we'll have to sign the adoption paper."

"...Charlie. His name is Charlie."

The water and wind twisted through the trees as the chain chomp looked up, barking with surprise as he followed after the mist that lead him deep beyond the woods. Colder the world became as the trees turned barer around him with shedding leaves constantly. Falling upon his head he shook them off as he caught the sight of something flickering, glowing across the way. He chased off towards the strange light finding a whirlwind of fireflies all coalescing at one point. Upon his presence, they changed into another two clearer shapes above him as he gazed upon the stars through a small breach in the forest canopy. The stars became the eyes of his fathers.

"You think he's tired out yet?"

"Oh yeah, I bet he won't forget this day. I had no idea chomps liked the desert so much."

"We should take him up more sometime, my mom and dad love him."

"Yeah...Klair was right, he really does bring some kind of stable...feeling to this place."

"I guess it's like having a kid but...not as stressful."

"You sure about that? He is our baby now."

"That's what YOU call him James."

"What, he is! I dunno why but I love this little guy, I've never even seen a chomp before but god something about him just-"

"You feel a connection of some sort?"

"Maybe. Maybe I just understand him because I was adopted too."

"...you said something, when we were picking him up about...wanting to keep him happy. What did you mean?"

"I meant...let's just say I know what can happen to someone innocent like him."

"What do you mean?"

"I just...I just don't want him to lose his innocence like I did, when I was younger. I want to give him the family that I never had."

The stars burned out from the sky soon plunging the forest into a steady seep of darkness, dripping like oils from a fresh painting as the fireflies started falling before him. One by one, their lights began to flicker and die as their wings failed them. The last light glinted towards the east, and so Charlie saw the strange shadow once again with the scent he always knew.

"Daddy!? DADDY MY DADDY WAIT! I WANTSH TO GO WITH YOU DADDY! DADDY WAIT!"

The shadow did not stop as he chased after him, following the scent with flaring nostrils and panting breath as he reached a sudden slope that made him fall into a tumbling. His body rolled smoothly crushing branches underneath until he stopped landing amongst the snowdrifts. All around him the world had become pure ceaseless white coating the tree branches above as gentle snow fell upon his head. But Charlie felt afraid for some reason, feeling water underneath in the form of a frozen tiny brook once babbling but bade silent by the hushed voice of winter. Fearful whispers across the wind startled Charlie as he struggled to find the scent, the cold biting damp affecting his senses as he whimpered turning round in a brief circle to try and find the stranger, but there was nothing. Then, he saw something, a disturbed part of the snowy earth revealing a reptile's footprint. The fresh scent should have been clear upon its birthing but there was nothing, not a trace. Another foot pushed deep in front of him down into the cold dirt as Charlie followed the trace of an invisible footstep. Crunching down further ahead he struggled to keep with its long pace, as if someone were stretching out its legs in full uneven strides before him.

Slowly the prints made their way around another slope, easier than the one previous as it somehow twisted around what felt like a spiral hill down further into the midst of the forest depths. Deeper he went as darkness came, the chomp soon couldn't even tell where the trees came apart as his senses failed him, first his scent and then his sight. Eventually the footprints stopped forming but Charlie continued onwards in some vain hope that the one he sought would be waiting for him at the path's end. At the bottom of the hill, there lied an icy lake stretching far across in front of Charlie, pure crystalline black as a light shone thickly from above beyond the heavens it seemed. Bearing down on the other edge of the lake, the light came down upon the one he had been searching for. A brown-scaled creature wearing jeans of blue and a long thick tail.

"Daddy...daddy I'm here for yoush!"

The raptor turned with green eyes smiling upon him, the purple marks shining bleak from winter's light.

"Charlie. Come here Charlie. Come on."

The ice was too thin. Charlie could not even hear the crackling underneath as he plunged into the watery depths seeing briefly the vision of James fade from the other side of the ice, into a blue shimmering spark out of existence silently. The water was deep as he struggled to howl but nothing came from his throat, his piercing cries rendered mute by the water filling inside of him as he sunk weighted down by his own form. The light pierced through the lake showing only a fraction of the abyss as two mounds of sand. Charlie landed with a thud disturbing the mounds as they shook free partially, unearthing a hand from each of them that fell in front of him. One was of brown scale with three claws, the other smaller with four yellow fingers. Their hands were separated by only a few inches, never to touch each other as Charlie felt something sink deep within his heart. Something he had never felt until this moment truly. He nuzzled against the hands of his fathers, whimpering and licking them. They were cold and lifeless without their scents to guide him. Charlie had no words left as his body he pressed his head against the two hands and began to sleep, feeling the water seep inside and eat away at him like acid. He began to rust, losing his steel gleam of black and grey to become brown and flaking within minutes from his tail up to his eyes. The water burned holes into his body as he fell apart at the seams of iron, crumpling into pieces of worthless metal between the graves of his fathers. It was the day he realised that daddy wasn't coming back.

"Charlie? Charlie?"

His eyes opened up, blearing from his dream to see Koopin looking nervous.

"Come on Charlie it's time for food."

The bowl of food was offered to him. But Charlie turned away curling up with his chain in the corner of the room.

"...oh no."

The first thing Koopin understood about Charlie was that he was never off his food. Not once until this day had he ever refused food as he rushed to the phone and called for the vet. Charlie never noticed, turning away from the world itself to stare at the wall as time faded from his memory. It almost felt like a moment later that he heard the door open and the vet walked in, a female toad wearing a blue button shirt carrying a small medical kit. He hadn't smelt her in years, that oddly clinical scent of a dozen animals wrapped within a ball of sterilisation.

"Afternoon."

"Hi listen, thank you for coming out but my chomp is not...he won't eat."

"Has he ever refused food before?"

"No never, and he's never slept in the corner like that, it just-"

"How long has he been like this?"

"Since this morning, I thought he was just not feeling right but he's been in that corner not eating or drinking the entire day, I just came back from work and uh, my neighbour told me he wasn't eating."

"Has he been sick at all? Vomiting?"

"No, nothing, he just turned away from the food and went to sit in the corner."

"Okay let me see."

The toad made her presence clear with firm footsteps to not surprise him, but he did not care. Gently she peered over to his eyes, blankly staring and only looking at her once. The toad reached into her kit to pull out firstly a fresh slice of beef. Not even a curious sniff which made her frown as she then brought out a tuning fork and tapped it on his head hearing the soft key that rang out from it.

"Hmmmmm...has your chomp been through any distressing events?"

"N-no."

"Any recent sudden changes occurring in his life or yours even?"

"...there is one. See, my boyfriend and I um, he...he left to return home to fight in a...conflict involving his...family and I...Charlie was very close to him."

"How long has he been away?"

"...about four months it's been."

"Ahhh. Well, the tuner confirmed my suspicions that your chomp is suffering from depression."

"Wh-what?! Oh no!"

"The tuning fork registered D minor in the key of C. That's the second saddest key, or at least one of them."

"Wh-wh-second?! How did you-I-"

"Chain chomps have rather unusual bodies, their moods can affect their metallic structure in subtle ways and essentially create different notes like this. Normally a chomp should be registering C, F or G major in the key of C."

"I...I-i-i-i can't believe. Oh my stars Charlie I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel like this, I-i was in a...depression myself but I had no idea Charlie was going to pick up on it he's always so...blissful!"

"Chomps can be rather sensitive to other people's emotions. Some more than others, do you have any idea when your boyfriend will return?"

"No," said Koopin sombrely, "we...we're both still waiting for him."

"I see," replied the vet, "well clearly it is affecting him and obviously the most dangerous thing about his depression is him not wanting to eat, so what you need to do is to find what does make him happy and stick with it. Don't feed him special treats or lavish him with affection because he'll think you're rewarding him in this state, just try to coax him back."

"How?"

"Well, usually when a chomp is coping with the loss or absence of a companion or owner, a good way to bring them out of it is to either find another companion or take him out on more walks, spend more time with him. But not in a lavishing way, just let him try to be himself."

"A-alright. I just-it's just I work at the office now, my neighbour usually sits for him but I'll see if I can take him out for regular walks when I get home."

"That's good. If he hasn't eaten anything within two days, call me and we'll try to feed him."

"Okay. Thank you."

The vet soon left their house as Koopin knelt down beside his beloved chomp, carefully hugging him just for a moment as his smooth steel body shivered with a deep exhale.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Charlie, it...it's my fault, I should have...I should have realised you would feel this way too, I...I'm sorry."

His tears gently rolled off of Charlie's body until he got up and dried his eyes gently, before he went to the phone again and decided to make an emergency call to at least two people that could help. Time passed, the chomp barely noticed, huffing softly and sleeping where he sat with another day passing without food or water. Koopin struggled to bring him out the door into a gentle walk after work, taking him around the small town with soft sluggish pace. It felt as if he were going through the motions, numbing himself to everything, not even trying to sniff the trees or the grass. His body started to lose its lustre, the cool sheen of his steel carapace now fading to a dim softened glint as the longer the day went on, the more Koopin began to miss his smile, his bark, as if someone had kidnapped his Charlie and replaced him with this soulless impostor. The second day after the vet's visit, she returned to help Charlie eat, bringing out a rather smooth platter of chomp-safe food which had been mixed with certain spices that made it powerfully irresistible. He struggled, but he ate by the sheer will of his primal need to eat the bowl of soft meats sprinkled with herbs that his stomach begged to taste from the scent. The herbs were powerful however, the vet advising only to give him a mixture of such every two days. His strength was slightly regained the next week as a slight peak of his mood encouraged him to start walking further away from home, coaxed by his daddy Koopin until around two weeks after his initial state, that he managed to take him to the desert where his parents lived in Dusty Dunes. But even the hot sun and shifting sands underneath did little to improve his mood though his pace did quicken upon the sight and smell of his grandma and grandpa. He acknowledged them, but still no bark, no grin of warm bliss as he hobbled his way in with the family setting down to dinner as Klair pulled out the best of her culinary prowess to make food impossible for Charlie to refuse, even without the herbal supplements as he watched them numbly from beneath the table.

"Thank you so much for this," said Koopin gratefully to his parents.

"It's alright dear," said Klair smiling, "I know a thing or two about keeping a sad boy from an empty tummy."

"Y-yeah...I mean just maybe a week away from home might help him you know, stop thinking about him and what with all-"

"It's fine, no need to explain. Too many memories and whatnot."

"I just never thought Charlie would be affected like this, he's always so happy and...nnnngh, I guess this is taking a toll on both of us."

"How are you doing?" asked Shelldon. "Are you doing alright?"

"I'm great, well, better than usual. I got myself a new Mailbox around two weeks back so I can upload my music."

"That's good, and how's that going for you?"

"There's this site called Bandkoop where you can just make a profile, put up your music and see what happens. Had one or two people give me a thumbs up, saying they like it! My supervisor also-"

"He doesn't know who you are right?"

"Oh no course not I kept my profile vague."

"What was your DJ name again?" asked Klair.

"Koopa-Bloopa. I like the sorta rhyming thing it has, rolls off the tongue pretty good."

"I was hoping you'd go with that one I thought up, Terrorpin."

"Mmmmm that sounds more like a supervillain."

"Well why not your music is scary dear!"

"She's right," added Shelldon, "I don't know music like your mother but it definitely scares me. She tells me that it's good though, calls it...cathartic."

"It sure is," replied the son, "since I been working on music I feel a lot better and less angry about things but...now I have to help Charlie get out of this funk."

"If we managed to pull you out of yours, I'm sure we can help him out of his."

"I'm just glad the office let me have the week off, I told my supervisor and he was actually pretty nice about it, said I did so much work more than most in my office that he said I earned it."

"Hmhmhm...that's my boy."

The smell of pride came briefly from Shelldon as Charlie tried feebly to eat what he was given. His hunger waned like the moon but he tried his best, the desert temperature helping him surprisingly so with chain chomps being so affable to the scorching hot dunes. They did not leave the Kennidon house that day as Koopin decided to sleep upstairs in his old bed with Charlie beside him, feeling that a change of scenery in a house of pleasant memories would soothe his troubled mind. The chomp had rarely been in Koopin's old room but it still retained the rich scents of his koopa father from every walk of life he had been through. The old bed whilst clean and fresh in its sheets and blanket had kept the younger scents of Koopin upon the wooden structure, to which the chomp found himself being more sated with. The first night passed without incident, but Charlie stopped eating once again which worried Koopin at first, but Klair reassured him that he wouldn't resist her food on an empty stomach later on as both mother and son sat at home to relax and enjoy normality, whilst Shelldon headed off to work at his store. For the rest of the morning Koopin and Klair switched between doing house chores and watching TV, mostly by watching the catch-up episodes of Shell City from the previous week as they reminisced about their favourite characters. The chomp looked on from near the table seeing that strange box flickering its images of faces he had seen every day, but never becoming familiar to him,

"Remember when he used to be good?" asked Koopin.

"Oh certainly," replied Klair, "now he just can't stop trying to crash and burn in the most awful ways."

"He really never got over his wife, I mean, you'd think somebody would wanna reach out but-"

"He just pushed everybody away, now he...well, I think that he's going to end up as some odd hermit and never leave his house again."

"What about that bob-omb from the cafe, surely he cares."

"Ohhhh I don't think that will happen the boy is much too shy to help."

"But maybe one day he might."

"We can only hope. Ever since the killer bride came and caused a six-car pileup on the road, everything has been going off the rails."

"No kidding, you got the one witness who saw everything but he's all senile so, even if they find out, is it ever gonna get as far as the court?"

"I certainly hope so, that awful woman is just beyond redemption."

"At least she felt bad for, yanno, causing all those cars to crash."

"Because she hurt other people she didn't mean to after throwing her groom off the bridge, or because she was going to be found out?"

"I don't think she even knows the vicar saw her mom."

"Well we'll just have to see," said Klair emphatically. "You know I actually miss having this, you and me watching the soaps."

"Me too," added Koopin. "It's...nice actually to get away from the house for a bit and..."

Slowly the youngest Kennidon raised his head to look over at his chain chomp. They briefly acknowledged each other's existence as Koopin sat back down sadly.

"He hasn't moved."

"He'll be fine dear, we'll try again when it's lunch, let's not give him mixed messages, so long as he feels nothing has changed then it should all be fine."

The second day began blurring into the third. Charlie did not eat until the night of the third day when Koopin carefully mixed herbal supplements into the food his mother gave to the chomp which became too much for his stomach to bear resisting. When Koopin went up to his room to sleep, Charlie did not follow this time, feeling too morose as he slept under the living room's table wishing for the days to pass by faster than before. He was awoken briefly by the sound of a fridge opening, the light spilling from the kitchen as slipper-clad feet shuffled around the night.

"Need a little top-up?" asked Klair.

"Just a little," mumbled Shelldon, "brain's...ugh."

The sound of a bottle being unscrewed and pouring liquid did not intrigue the chomp despite his eyes blinking up towards the kitchen to see Shelldon hunched slightly over the kitchen table. Klair and him shared a small drink of something smooth with alcohol burning slightly in Charlie's nostrils as the husband sighed deeply.

"Unacceptable. This...is completely unacceptable."

"Hmm?"

"Dealing with my son is what I expected to do, to pick up the pieces when he left but now his pet is going through the same misery."

"That's hardly anyone's fault-"

"You know very well whose fault it is Klair. I trusted him. I trusted James to be a good and upstanding citizen but he can't even put his business in order and leaves our son broken-hearted, and now his chomp is suffering the same which only brings Koopin back INTO that state!"

"Koopin is dealing with his chomp and we are simply helping him as a member of our family-"

"You suggested they buy a chomp specifically to keep them grounded, now he's practically abandoned him like an unwanted child!"

"That's enough!"

The bottle came down firmly with a thunk on the tabletop.

"None of us could predict that James had a duty to serve his people, not even him. You can't blame him for this!"

"I damn well WILL blame him for this because if he wasn't such a short-sighted buffoon to disconnect himself from his old life then none of this would have happened! Koopin would be happy, Charlie would be happy, now all of us are wallowing in this cloud of misery that HE has left behind!"

"Why...what...what is this Shelldon? What..."

She gently shuffled around towards him as Charlie peeked closer to see Shelldon clench his knuckles hard against the kitchen table.

"What is this really about?" Klair asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You're never usually this...upset unless we are talking about James, is this something personal?"

"Of course it's personal! He left my son, broken-hearted, and now his pet is suffering the same so he has left TWO broken hearts in my son's house! Why are you not more upset about this?!"

"Because I know that pointing the finger at somebody who isn't there, or able to defend himself, is not going to help anyone!"

"What do we do then?! Nurse our wounds until he comes back, IF he does?!"

"Yes, that is exactly what we do, because our son is hurting and we must help him. Do you think I'm doing all this for James, I absolutely am not. I am doing this for our family, for my son and I want you to start thinking about helping him, regardless of what the future is."

Shelldon sighed deeply, his hands clasping together into thick white knuckles that shook with bitter fury as his voice shook to control himself.

"...all I want...is my son to find a man who would love and respect him. Is that too much to ask?"

"No, of course not."

"Then apparently it is for James."

"He RESCUED our son, how can you say that?!"

"And if he ever shows his face around here again I will make him learn dearly on what price he has to pay for ever hurting my son."

"Stop it. Stop. It."

She leaned towards his face with a look of quiet outrage.

"You are not some Mafioso, you are Koopin's father. Do you not think I feel insulted, hurt and betrayed? I loved James, he was a sweet and wonderful gentleman who always helped me whenever I needed it, no matter what time of day it was. He looked up to you, he respected you as the father of his love and you speak as if he threw our son off a cliff!"

"He's thrown my son's heart off a cliff. Now...now he's working in some soulless office because it's easier for him to just keep his head down and wear a tie and watch his dreams die on a stupid spreadsheet."

"......Shelldon."

Klair gently wrapped her arms around him as she realised his pain.

"It's not going to be like that. You know it won't be."

"N-no I don't. I don't, Klair."

Shelldon took off his bifocals as he clasped a hand across his eyes. His breath started turning funny as he struggled to control his tears.

"I d-don't want my son to lose his light...because of someone else's mistakes."

"He won't, dear. I know he won't."

"H-how? How do you know?!"

"Because we're not raising him the way your father raised you. This is about you isn't it?"

"......I'm sorry."

Slowly the two embraced fully as Shelldon started heaving with dry sobs.

"I h-hate this...I h-h-hate these clothes, I h-hate these numbers in my head and I don't want my little boy to turn into me. I love watching him wander out into the world, telling me all these things that I have never seen. I was so proud of him to strike his own path out into the wild blue yonder because I never wanted this wretched PRISON I call a grocery store to house my son and I will NOT let him be a prisoner in an office!"

"Shelldon. He's not a prisoner. He is still your son, look what he's doing now spreading music into the world."

"I just want my boy to be free...I just want him to be free...h-hoh...K-klair...I'm sorry. I'm...I'm sorry I let my-"

"Shhhhh...it's alright dear. I understand."

Shelldon began to calm himself as they went off to bed. Charlie slept once again, mulling over the conflicted sorrow and anger that he smelt from Shelldon along with Klair's frustrated anxiety. It was the first time he had smelt anything other than happiness from them, except that one time granny Klair came over with heartfelt sadness for his daddy Koopin.

"It wash becaushe of daddy," said Charlie knowingly, "that everybody wash shad, or angry that he left."

"Did you understand why?" asked Roy.

"Becaushe they misshed him, like I misshed daddy too. Nobody wanted daddy Jamesh to leave but daddy had to be brave, becaushe he ish sho shtrong he hash to protect other people!"

"So, how long did it take for you to uh, recover?"

"When me and daddy Koopin came back to our houshe, he found me a friend."

"A friend? Who exactly?"

"Another chomp, jusht like me, waaaaaah."

"Thank you for doing this," said Koopin gratefully.

"No problem," replied Lynn T., "I understand how a chomp can get, I mean I've had Terry ever since I was like a teenager."

"Really, wow."

"Hmhmyep, he's getting to be a pretty old boy right now so he's real relaxed and chill around puppy chomps."

"I just-Charlie is the only one left who's still living with me, both of us loved James, it just never occurred to me that he would be suffering the same as me."

"Well I think they seem to be getting along well, so I hope it helps."

Koopin sat at the park bench watching his black chomp feebly root around the grass next to the larger older grey chomp that Lynn T. owned. The goth purple-shroomed toad from his workplace exuded confidence which helped settle Koopin as the chomps investigated their surroundings cautiously.

"Thish tree ish very old," said Terry, "I ushed to bite it when I wash a pup."

He did not hear Charlie speak, the younger chomp staring at the blades of grass.

"You have been shniffing that for many timesh."

"Mmmm."

"What ish wrong pup? You do not shmell shick."

Terry hopped over with gentle nuzzling to coax Charlie into speaking. He smelt of a neutral sorrow as if trying to shut everything inside.

"You were happy when I firsht met you, going into town with daddy, I remembersh you. You hash sho much to shee, sho many daysh to live for. Why are you sho shad when you are sho young?"

Still Charlie did not speak. He laid down beside the tree and curled up waiting to be taken home as Terry followed and laid beside him. He did not push the younger pup into speaking his troubled woes and simply kept him warm by his presence. Every second day over the next two weeks, they would meet again at the park as Koopin and Lynn T. arranged better dates between them, bantering about their days in the office or odd stupid things that their co-workers did whilst Terry guided Charlie around the park area. A simple sprawling enclosed area for chomps to enjoy, the park laid somewhere out of the ways of the usual paths between Toad Town and the koopa villages for the sake of safety, both the chomps' and other people. It was a small slice of untamed beauty with large trees and overgrown patches of grass with thick bushes to hide in. It even had many sand pits for chomps to roll around in as Terry showed Charlie his favourite places.

"Thish wash where I dug up a shoe. It wash very tashty, becaushe it had a shock in it. And thish ish where I shmelt a raven for the firsht time in my life, big shcary black bird. ...thish park hash many memoriesh for me, little pup."

The younger chomp did little to pay attention, simply rolling himself into a sand pit where he found a small golf ball. He sympathised with its forgotten plight.

"Thish ish not my favourite shand pit," said Terry, "but it ish a nishe one. Perhapsh it will be your favourite too, one daysh."

"Mmmm."

The older chomp walked carefully around the small dip in the land to not hurt himself, taking the safer option to walk into the sand bunker.

"Why do you come to thish plashe, when you do not shpeak to me?"

"Mmmm?"

"Why come to thish plashe when all you want to do ish lie in the dirt and forget? You could do that at your houshe but you come out here every two daysh when you can lie at home and be shad all you wantsh."

"Daddy makesh me."

"Oh! You shpeak!"

"Daddy...I don't want to make daddy shad."

"And why notsh?"

"B-becaushe...becaushe daddy wash already shad wh-when my other daddy left."

"Oh! You hash two daddiesh?"

"D-daddy Jamesh...he had to leave. But I...I don't know why he wanted to leave. He made my daddy Koopin shad. He made my granny and grandpa angry. Wh-what if they don't want daddy to come back? What...what if my daddy doeshn't want ME back?!"

"Do you know why he left?"

"He...h-he-I don't know!"

"Wash he shad when he left? Wash he angry, happy?"

"No, no he wash very shad! Very very very shad even before he left, like he wanted...wanted to...h-h-he alwaysh played with me, even gave me hish food when he wash shad and shcared from hish big journeysh from the shea."

"He loved you then. You know he doesh deep down inshide that he doesh."

"No I don't knowsh that! If daddy loved me then he would have taken me with him, taken me and daddy Koopin, why did he leave ush!? I want my daddy! I WANT MY DADDY!"

Charlie began to whine with gentle sobbing whimpers as Terry nuzzled him, laying down beside the pup as his presence began to soothe him.

"You shaid that, your daddy gave you food?"

"Y-y-yesh."

"And did he lovesh you, when he wash with you?"

"Yesh, daddy took me out for walkiesh and, and, and we went exshploring too!"

"Then why do you shay your daddy doeshn't love you?"

"...I don't knowsh!"

"Where were you born pup?"

"I...I do not remember, I wash very shmall. I wash in a big plashe, with lotsh of cagesh and very nishe people, lotsh of other chompsh in cagesh too, lotsh of shmellsh."

"Ah, sho, your daddiesh adopted you?"

"Yesh, yesh they did!"

"Then that meansh they lovesh you."

"...whaa?"

"Good people do not adopt chompsh if they do not want to love them. Becaushe they know that a chomp ish for life, not jusht for birthdaysh."

"...I....I remembersh...daddy Jamesh wash...the firsht one who shaw me, and did not even...he did not even look at the other chompsh but choshe me."

"And why ish that pup?"

"...I do not knowsh. But I remember hish shmell...sho...shtrong but shweet...like he...like he really wanted to takesh care of me, like-"

"A daddy?"

"......yesh. Like...like daddiesh do. He wash sho shad when he left, and it...he did not wantsh to leave, I...I remember nowsh. He had a different shmell when he left. Like he wash..."

Charlie's eyes blinked with a new realisation. Something that hadn't clicked in the constant rush of emotions he had always felt since.

"It wash...like daddy Koopin'sh shmell too! Like he really wanted to shtay with ush! He did not wantsh to leave!"

"That meansh your daddy will come back. But now you musht know a very important duty you hash."

"What?"

"That your daddy, left you to protect hish plashe. To protect your other daddy from bad people. You told me your daddy ish very brave and shtrong, now you musht be shtrong too! You musht protect the plashe that he lovesh, sho he will have a home to come back to. That ish your duty, like every good chomp. That ish why we are here, to protect thoshe who keep ush shafe and give ush a family. Do you undershtand little pup? You musht protect your family, and they shall protect yoush."

Charlie sensed a great awakening of clarity down deep within his being as he felt a weight been uplifted off his body. A bold sense of duty came with it as he crawled himself out of the sand bunker to the voice of someone near him.

"Charlie! Chaaaaaaaaarliiiiiiiie!"

He heard Koopin's voice lilting across the green as he bounced his way forwards to greet him. The sudden change of pace almost gave him a head rush as Terry followed along after plodding with aged steps, both of them greeting the koopa with big panting smiles on their face.

"Wh-wha-Charlie, are you...are you alright? I heard you whining are you okay?!"

"RUFF! RUFF-RUFF!"

"OH...ohohoho my stars you're, you're barking again! Oh my gosh Charlie!"

Koopin hugged his chomp tightly with arms wrapped round his steel carapace as Charlie licked all over his face, snuffling against his ear as he muttered:

"I knowsh daddy Jamesh will be gone a long time...but I will protectsh you, becaushe we don't have to be shad together. That'sh not what daddy Jamesh would want."

"And that ish how I shtopped being a shad chompy," said Charlie proudly. "Becaushe we had to keep our home shafe until daddy Jamesh came back to ush."

"Th-that...awww d-damn Charlie."

Roy sniffled with tears stinging his eyes as he wiped them.

"Ahm sorry you went through all that, little guy lahk you ah ain't never upset you don't deserve that."

"But now I knowsh what I hash to do, and that wash to protect the houshe and daddy too!"

"So uh when does this monster show up?"

"Not yetsh! That ish later, becaushe there wash another exshiting day, for Charlie waaaah!"

Koopin arrived after work one day to greet his next-door neighbour along with Charlie now in good spirits once again. The chomp wagged his chain tail at his daddy coming home as they went out for their usual walks to keep their bond strengthened and also to prevent Charlie from relapsing just in case. The sky seemed more blue than usual, the trees a touch brighter and the smells more sharp even as Charlie explored around the chomp play park with Lynn T.'s older Terry. Little was said between the two chomps who simply frolicked and chased and sniffed around the undergrowth with increasing excitement of adventure. Strangely the younger chomp's enthusiasm rubbed off on the older chomp who started adding a spring to his step, running around with vigorous energy as both their owners pleasantly thanked each other for how much these small dates helped their chomps. They continued to schedule their dates once every two days with the exception of bad weather or clashing schedules until at least two months after Charlie's mental recovery.

"YES! HOOHOO YES, that's it! That's IT!"

The sound of his daddy crowing with excitement made Charlie look up to see him on the bed with keyboard flat across his knees. He never understood what sort of toy it was, it smelt strange to the chomp, and it looked much too large to throw and retrieve plus his daddy always put it away in the closet where Charlie could not reach it. Not that he wanted to even nibble it for its odd plastic scent.

"Okay, now to save it...and...there. Hoo, okay now uh where did I...ah."

The Mailbox 3DS he had right beside him was a very recent toy, and one that Charlie knew his daddy did not want him to touch for being very important. He always kept thinking about beef every time he saw that strange rectangular red device, but it smelt like the keyboard did so it always confused him as he walked over to Koopin who took a small black USB stick from the keyboard to the 3DS. But then he saw Koopin's face beam ever wider with excitement upon reading his messages

"Guess what Charlie," said the koopa gladly, "your daddy's getting popular!"

"Rrrrrf?"

"Somebody just messaged me asking if I wanted to DJ a party over at the Boo's Mansion...and...I think I finally got a handle on how to distort the music to make it sound cleaner. Clarity of tone rather than the purity of the source!"

"When ish food, daddy? I wantsh beef."

"Hahaha, sorry I know you don't get this, I'm just really excited, can you believe my FIRST gig?! And this is at the mansion I mean okay they're wanting somebody cheap and, somebody who's not currently busy at some club but you know just, baby steps. You don't think people are getting tired of dubstep do you Charlie?"

"I don't knowsh, where ish the beef?! Daddy I wantsh beef, waaaah I ish shtarving!"

"Hmhmhm okay okaaaay...I suppose you earned yourself a treat even if I did just feed you two hours ago."

Koopin got up towards the kitchen as Charlie watched the fridge open up. His eyes glinted with such wonder at how his daddy was able to make food just instantly appear inside that cold strange white box. Many a time he had tried to pry it open but somehow he couldn't. He wondered if daddy perhaps had some strange magic lock that only he and daddy James could open. Koopin made himself a few sandwiches whilst also leaving some beef to the side for Charlie who snapped it up. The two sat down in front of the TV to relax looking curiously up at the time, whilst Charlie in turn looked up at Koopin with pleading eyes towards his sandwich.

"Sheesh it's only six. I can't believe I got that song done soon as I got home. Course I did finish like a half of it yesterday. ...I'm gonna need some sort of disguise if I go out to that party, can't let anyone know it's me."

The TV was currently covering the prince of the Koopa Kingdom's birthday as the royal celebration went off in the form of an extravagant party, to which Bowser's son was at the very centre of as he danced and cavorted wildly whilst wearing his signature face-clothed neckerchief that had a crudely painted scary mouth in front of it.

"Daddy hash food?"

"Nooo Charlie that's my sandwich. You had your food."

"But, ish gone nowsh. I wantsh food."

"Charlie don't be greedy, I'll feed you your usual time now sit."

"But...awwwwsh."

The chain chomp obediently looked away and sat back down tasting the beef still on his breath. It was however going to give him the energy needed at the sound of a door knock.

"Who's that? Coming."

Koopin got up but Charlie followed on seeing breadcrumbs falling off the sandwich that he lapped up behind his daddy's boots. And then he saw it. A strange dwarven beast with glimmering mask of soulless eyes whilst in a robe of deepest crimson. The world went briefly in slow motion as the voice of the intruder distorted in Charlie's mind.

"HHHHHEeeeeeeeeeelllllooooooooooo Kuh-oooooooopiiiiiiiin."

The visitor put one single foot down inside the house perimeter. This was unacceptable, this was the very height of violating the great sanctity of his home, that treasonous filth who so dared to invade his territory and make advance towards his daddy would rue the day he ever came to face Charlie, the bravest chain chomp in the world!

"DADDY LOOK OUT ISSHA MONSTER!"

"CH-CHARLIE WAIT!"

"I WILL PROTECTSH YOU, BEGONE FOUL BEASHT!"

"W-W-WAIT, WAI-WHAAAAAAH!"

Before anyone even realised what would happen, Charlie dove between Koopin's legs and stormed through the front door chasing after the small strange-smelling intruder across the green fielded centre of Koopamuir. Hearing his daddy chase after them, Charlie assumed that Koopin was running with the pack as he kept his eyes pointed on the red stranger.

"WH-WAAAAAAH, WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"COME BACK YOU TINY BEASHT I WILL BITE YOUR FASHE!"

"CH-CHARLIE, CHARLIE COME BACK HERE STOP! STOP IT CHARLIE!"

But the chomp was lost to his own enthusiastic rush as he bounced all across the wide open plain of the town. The devious intruder was fast with tiny legs scattering like leaves on the wind as he dodged sliding underneath a wheelbarrow full of garden sod, but Charlie simply barged straight through which sent clumps of dirt flying all across his face much to the panic of the toad gardener pushing it.

"WHA-HEEEY!"

"S-SORRY, SORRY!" cried Koopin. "CHARLIE STOP IT, BAD BOY CHARLIE!"

With Koopin starting to flag behind, Charlie barked incessantly after the intruder, who hopped over a white fence into someone's front yard before falling face down into the pond on the other side of it. Staggering out whilst dripping wet, the red runner dodged various lawn ornaments in front of him like an obstacle course whilst Charlie splashed down hard into the pond which briefly flooded the small yard as he kept hot on the invader's trail. The stranger hopped over the next fence, then the next and the third after with adrenaline-fuelled acrobatics, staggering and rolling into the grass whilst keeping his pace up as the chomp leapt over each and every hurdle. At one point he stopped and jumped over a swinging tetherball that two children smacked wildly back and forth, the orb flying round the pole as the intruder began to frantically dodge the swinging sphere.

"AH, OOOH, EEEH, HWAAAH!"

Jumping over like a skipping rope, bending his body backwards like a limbo dancer, he quickly found his exit through and dove past to keep running with Charlie hot on his heels. The chomp ignored the ball and smacked the tetherball so brutally with his forehead that the ball went spinning wildly above the children's heads like a helicopter. Then the pole itself flew away like a helicopter much to the shock and chagrin of its two players. Scrambling over yet another fence, the red-robed robber would-be found himself being grappled by a wild snake leering up from the grass with vicious steel head and a long serpentine green body of banded rubber as he kicked the small bronze faucet it was connected to, before it suddenly burst with thick sluiced water from its mouth. The small shy bandit was nearly strangled by the hose as its wily coils tripped him underfoot and soon becoming tangled inside its wicked embrace whilst Charlie yelped with frightful panic.

"NOESH, NO ISSHA SHNAKE, BAD WATER SHNAKEY, WAAAAAAAAH!"

He suddenly altered his course to evade the jets of water spitting from the hose as he ran whimpering across the next yard to escape its deadly range. Meanwhile his target was being turned and tossed about by the water pressure bumping him every which way, his tiny arms flailing as his masked face screamed blankly.

"HEEEELP, H-H-HELP PLEAAASE THIS IS VERY UNCOMFORTABLE!"

"H-HANG ON, I'M HERE!"

Koopin rushed to the intruder's rescue as he dodged into the coiled wreaths of rubber that slowly squeezed their captive inside almost of its own will. He grabbed the nozzle and pulled it away as best as he could whilst reaching over towards the faucet to turn it off. But in his frantic wrestling against the faux-venomous "snake" in the yard he tightened its coils harder around the red intruder, so tight that he popped out the top like squeezing a roll of toothpaste.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The red dwarf went shooting up towards the sky and over the roof of the house that occupied the yard with the hose as he landed straight down into the chimney top with a smoggy cloud of soot bursting out of the top. The sound of frantic furniture being clattered and shoved straight out of the way whilst the owner's voice shouted and ranted with a furious indignance. Koopin finally turned off the hose fully and gently got up to knock on the door.

"WHO IS THAT?!"

"U-UMMM, it...it's mister Kennidon, sir, I live-"

"I DON'T CARE WHO YOU ARE I'M DEALING WITH A BLASTED NINJI IN MY HOUSE!"

"N-NOOO, NO I'M NOT A NINJI, HONEST ENGINES SIR!"

"GET THE SHELL OUT OF MY HOUSE YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SCRAP!"

The door opened as suddenly a black small mass went booted straight out into the garden, landing upon a thick puddle of mud which had been fully flooded by the hose. Charlie was nearby looking up both shameful and proud of what he had caused as he simpered with a foolish sweet look of innocence.

"I caught the bad man daddy..."

"...Charlie."

Koopin gently picked up Shybert from the mud who looked very dazed and confused before heading over towards his chomp.

"That was VERY bad, bad Charlie."

"B-b-but he, he wash in my houshe, I did not knowsh who he wash!"

"He is daddy's friend from work, do NOT chase after him, or else you get no treats! I'm serious Charlie!"

"Sh-shorry daddy..."

The look of pitiful whimpering softened Koopin enough to think he had learnt his lesson as he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat with foot-tapping glower. He dreaded turning himself round to see the devastation caused by Charlie's rampage through three separate yards and one single house which had a soot explosion all over the front of the living room as Koopin said:

"Alright...I'll help clean this up it...was my fault, let me just put my chomp...away back home so he doesn't get into any MORE trouble, oh-KAY?"

He said this last part to his chomp who looked sheepishly up at Koopin until he was walked back home with the door closed on him to think about what he had done. An hour and a half later after Koopin managed to help clean everybody's yard back to some normal state, he helped his supervisor clean off who then finally gave him the news that he had been wanting to deliver.

"A new office branch?"

"Yes," said Shybert, "we managed to open a new branch in Rogueport just last month hwoh!" "Um...a-alright but, what's this got to do with me?"

"Well we've chosen you, that is, I chose you, to represent our office and to get everyone all up to speed there. We would email them all the stuff but, they don't have computers yet so-"

"Wait what? They don't got computers?"

"No it's...very new and not especially well-financed, in fact we got the property rather cheap after finding some good real estate. Well, I say good but it's more like it was affordable at last."

"Is it that expensive in Rogueport?" asked Koopin.

"It's more finding a location period," replied Shybert, "rather than the actual price. But we need someone to send all the files and legal documents over to ascertain their status as part of our group."

"But I'm just in administration, why not get somebody from our legal department or-"

"W-well...they're all rather busy with other projects."

"What other projects?"

"Oh you know, the major branch opening in Port Prisma, the restructuring of Crescent Island's branch, the fiscal conference at our headquarters and-"

"So basically all the more important stuff."

"Yes. Hwoh."

"And you asked me because?"

"Well, I was handed down this it's actually for me but I thought that you would make a more suitable candidate for helping them get set up."

"Wait hold on, this is your assignment but you're offering it over to me?"

"Um, a-actually yes, that's about it heh h-hoh...sorry Koopin."

"Why do you not wanna do this?"

"Because I'm a supervisor, I-i-i don't know anything about handling people outside the office, I never worked on social interactions or office connections, it wasn't in my training!"

"But I've only done-I-i haven't done anything like this."

"I trust you to do far better a job than I would. Please, don't be upset, it's not some feeble pass-the-buck thing I'm trying here, I really do believe you would do a much better job of office integration than I could."

"Why?!"

"Because you're better at social connections than me! You were out in the field, you've walked and talked with over a hundred people every week and manage to keep up with it, I couldn't do that, that's just not what I was trained for and for that I think you would be a more significant candidate for our outreach to the new Rogueport branch, hwoh."

"Alright. O-okay, I...I understand, I know you wouldn't just pass the buck or something, you're not really that sort of person...are you?"

"No, of course not, I just love to work on new projects all the time except that...well, if this involved me just sitting at my desk and if they had email services I would but since they don't...I will vouch for you considerably as a star employee after this, I guarantee it, maybe you might even get promoted!"

"Heh, I've only been back at the office for five months Shybert I don't think I'm getting a promotion."

"You never know! You certainly do more work than most people under me, hwehoh. I would ask Sher T. honestly, he's had more experience than you for starters but I trust you. If anything I trust you more than I trust myself, hehoh."

"Alright. I'll do it, it's just me delivering some files right, that's it?"

"That's it and nothing else, you can get in and out of Rogueport in a single day."

"Then I'll do it."

"Thank you Koopin."

It was a strange thing for Koopin to arrive back in Rogueport, as he stood in front of the square with backpack covering his shell watching the clouds skim swiftly over the cracked roofs. He did not want to see this place again after a long three years since his last visit, not because of the fact that the city ran on an open-ended policy that crime does indeed pay, but because it would be his first time visiting the city on his own. That is until he remembered who was nuzzling at his leg.

"Now stay close to me okay Charlie? This place is not very safe, and there's lots of bad people."

"Bad people, waaaaah!"

"Remember, just behave like we're in the town."

"Yesh daddy, I will behave."

The chomp had never been to Rogueport in his life but already he found it a dreadful place. The stench of alcohol, sea brine and clothes unwashed brought together a very acidic musk to his nostrils that made him sneeze with discomfort. The people around him either walking or sitting down on the street peddling their broken dreams smelled different from the happier populace of Toad Town. So many smells of pity, anger and jealousy with the odd sorrow mixed in like a rotting fruit salad with only one good fruit left dying inside the whole mess of ingredients. The chomp drew eyes towards him but he turned away, not wanting to meet people's gaze as Koopin kept a tight hold of his chain like a leash. At least the locals knew not to mess with somebody who had a chomp in favour of other easier targets to pick, which Koopin appreciated as people kept a steady distance. The address of the TGA building did not at all help when he barely knew which street was what, trying to cross the central square of Rogueport in front of the harbour. The gallows stood in the very centre as a grim reminder of the city's ruthless history as Koopin and Charlie headed east towards a pink wiry-muscled yoshi loitering with hands behind him in front of a cafe. He smelt like powdered milk and dry grass.

"Daddy noesh he shmellsh angry."

"Um, excuse me?"

"......what."

"Do you know where Brittle Lane is?"

"...do I LOOK like a tour guide, kid?"

"No, but you looked like a local so I thought-"

"Wrong. Exactly, now git lost."

"Alright, fine jeez."

"I don't likesh you. Naaaaaah!"

Turning away without a word Koopin and Charlie went over towards the west as he caught sight of the Pianta Parlor where two yellow-skinned piantas wearing business suits stood outside of. He remembered some old advice given to him about such people and briskly walked up to them with a spirited surge of confidence. They smelt very clean and strangely calm which eased Charlie as he panted at them in greeting.

"Hallosh nishe people."

"Excuse me, sirs?"

They barely turned their heads but Koopin knew their eyes were watching him underneath their sunglasses.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know where Brittle Lane is? I'm from the Tour Guide Association and-"

"Oh, you one of them TGA folks?"

"Yes sir."

"Alrigh', see that road up there? Take the second right, then turn left, then when you gets to the junction, turn right again."

"Oh, thank you!"

"No problem kid, have a good day."

"You too!"

Taking the legitimate businessman's directions to heart both Koopin and his chomp navigated down towards the deeper backstreets of Rogueport, seeing very few people even cross paths with them among the narrow passages which not even sunlight could come through amidst the tall stone buildings of brown and auburn shades. After five minutes winding through the near-labyrinthine alleys of the city, they soon caught sight of the TGA Rogueport offices as a rather downtrodden place. The building looked like a crumpled wet paper towel stuck to the side of a bin in its faded crackled white exterior as Charlie sniffed the surrounding area curiously with the junction of four roads in each cardinal direction made only different by the placement of wide storm drains in the side of the buildings that channelled rainwater deep into the underground. It smelt cleaner than the rest of the city did up to this point, yet at the same time there was a bitter metallic scent he could not quite place as Koopin walked in with his chomp.

"OH, it shmellsh like clean clothesh!"

Surprisingly it was the cleanest place he had seen in Rogueport, the first room having a row of seats and a toad standing at a windowed receptionist's desk.

"Hi there," said the toad, "how can I help you?"

"Hi um, is this the Tour Guide Association branch?"

"Yep it sure is."

"Oh, good...wow it's really clean in here."

"Haha, yeah we get that, it used to be a dry cleaner's but they moved a couple of months ago."

"Ahhh gotcha, my name's Koopin Kennidon I'm here representing the Toad Town branch."

"OH, great can I see your ID?"

He walked forwards and presented his identification as Charlie sniffed round the wonderfully-fresh wooden floor taking in the old scents of detergent and lemony freshness. He heard something scratching beneath the floorboards which alerted him, sniffing out for rats or maybe fuzzies lurking underneath.

"Yep that's all good," said the toad, "I'll just let you into the back so you can hand over our papers."

"Thanks um...sorry I had to come with my chomp from home, do you mind if I just have him here, I won't be long."

"Sure no problem!"

"Great. Okay Charlie? Listen, I need you to stand guard and be a good boy, no running off. Daddy just needs to deliver some papers now you stay here, that understood?"

"Yesh daddy, I protectsh you from the fuzziesh."

"Alright, good boy."

The little he understood of Koopin's words came through clearly as his daddy went into the backrooms of the TGA office to do his business, whilst the chomp kept his eye around the floor looking for any possible treats or smells he might have missed. Occasionally he eyed the window leading to outside seeing the street corner was walled in with one alleyway in front of him that he came from leading west, and another alleyway that went up north to his right. No one came through except the wind, the sky strangely overcast as there came a sudden pressure from the air that turned Charlie rather sleepy. He yawned and decided to lay down slightly rolling his face closer to the ground as he kept waiting for Koopin, his eyes softly closing. Then he heard the scratching again which woke him into readiness, sniffing around the wooden floor as the scratching turned loudest at the corner next to the window that looked outside. There was something odd he smelt, a strange metallic tint as the scratching started up again.

"Now remember," said Koopin coming back, "I wrote down our supervisor's number so you can call him and he'll relay you to the department you need, alrighty? Right well g'bye then! And good luck! Charlie?"

"OH daddy, there ish a funny shmell!"

"Come on boy it's time to go."

They headed out after closing the door behind them whilst smiling down at his chomp.

"You doing okay?"

"Daddy, I shmell shomething, maybe fuzziesh in there!"

"Haha, okay then come on let's get out of this place. I know you hate it."

"This plashe ish bad, it SHMELL bad, waaaah."

"When we get back I'll make you some nice hot chicken strips for dinner just to warm you up-OH HEY!"

"WHU-HEY, WATCH IT!"

Startled by the presence heading up from the south, Koopin backed off upon seeing the pink yoshi from earlier snarl at him, which sent Charlie into a barking fit briefly.

"NO, NOESH, BAD YOSHI, BAD!"

"Watch where yer goin' shell-head!"

"S-sorry!" cried Koopin. "I didn't mean-"

"Whut you doin' round here anyway sneakin' round back alleys like sum punk?"

"I was TRYING to find Brittle Lane, which I did no thanks to you."

"Yeah? Whysat, lookin' to sell your mutt for a doorstopper?"

"Don't talk to my chomp that way!"

"You wanna backtalk me kid?"

The yoshi brought out his right arm which had been behind his back up to this point, giving Koopin a fearsome sight for the fact it had been amputated and replaced by a small wooden pulley that ended on a vicious hook.

"You best choose your next words carefully or else you'll be swallowin' your teeth."

"Are you threatening me?"

"I'll make it more than just a threat if you-"

"Ey-ey yo what's yo prob-lem?"

The voice of an infinite swagger came from behind the yoshi as he slowly moved away, revealing a gaudy-looking pianta of orange skin and white tank top. His hands glistened with pure bling, every single finger shining off a crack of gold glint from the ring on his pinky to the two bar-length fool's gold knuckles that read DELF JAM when put together. He also had a silver bangle on his right hand with a small bell dangling underneath He had the smell of fifteen different flavours to Charlie, all of which were disgusting and foul like some crude poisonous oil.

"Just a punk sir," said the yoshi. "I got this."

"Nah-ah son ah don' think you need to got this. Kid's just passin' through, ain' botherin' no one, werentcha koopboy?"

"Um...y-yeah I was," mumbled Koopin.

"See, don't gotta git all up in errybody's face, cuz anybody we meet is a potential customer."

The yoshi sighed bitterly through his nostrils and said nothing crossing his arms as the pianta walked forwards.

"You ain't from round here, arentchoo?"

"No, I'm just visiting."

"Then ah presume that you don't know who ah am on account of you not being so...starstruck."

"Can't say I do, no."

"Name's D-Mob, Delf Jam represent."

"I'm...K-kampbell. Nice to meet you."

"You'll has to forgive mah associate, he got 'imself a little ornery when sum goom don' get his order righ'."

"Uhhh it's...fine, no problem sir."

"HEH, sir. Lookit that, he only know me fer about one minute an' he already know how to address sumbody right. Ah hope you enjoy your stay in Rogueport mister Kampbell."

"I'm not staying too long unfortunately, I'm just here on business."

"Hmhmhm, all work an' no play makes Kampbell gone astray, that's a lesson you best remember. Why not enjoy yo'self, got sum good sights an' sum real good parties if you gots the need for speed."

"What...kind of parties?"

"Why don' ah start you off with a little sumthin' spesh?"

He slipped out a CD from his pockets and handed it over to the koopa, the bell jangling desperately from the pianta's right arm as Koopin looked at the single cover showing a faded monochrome photo of D-Mob looking his best to be mysterious and aloof. Charlie became distracted by the sound of scratching continuing again from nearby, hopping over towards a wide storm drain that peered deep into the darkness, a large gap beneath a building. Something further crawled within as the scratching sound came nearer, the glint of something white peering towards Charlie as he growled.

"Keep onto that kid," said D-Mob, "gonna make you money one day when I's famous an' you gonna have a sweet rare single of mah best hit."

"Um, th-thank you. So you're a musician, what kinda music?"

"Ahm a poet of the streets, music is mah paper an' mah voice is thuh ink that spatters across thuh canvas. We talkin' old school, we talkin' Lost Levels 'bout thuh hard-hitting truths of this ol' town."

"I...I never really heard much rap in my life but...first time for everything, thanks!"

"Heh, thas good, you wanna keep an open mind in this town, don' wanna get all stiff lahk them parlor folks in their suits."

"Heheh, yeah. Well um, I shouldn't delay you any longer you must be busy so I'll just go."

"Mmmhmmm, you know issall abou' the heller yeller coinage, righ'-"

"YIIIIE!"

The shrieking yelp from Charlie startled everyone as he suddenly backed off from the storm drain with something white and soggy slapped across his face, blinding him temporarily as he barked incessantly until Koopin ran over to help him.

"H-HEY HEY, hey Charlie calm down, c-calm down it's just a piece of paper!"

"DADDY I ISH BLIND, NOOOOOESH!"

The crowd around D-Mob simply laughed with derision at the chain chomp's staggering panic as Koopin managed to peel the paper off of Charlie's eyes, shaking his head free as the pianta cackled with his entourage.

"HHhhehehehehahahaa, awwww li'l ball boy got a fright?"

"H-he's just nervous," said Koopin defiant, "he's not been to Rogueport before this is all new to him."

"Heh, ahm sure it is, little wide-eyed boy he is, looks kinda lahk you."

"I'll take that as a compliment...sir."

"Heheh, alrigh' later kid. Peace out."

The pianta walked away towards the train station with his small entourage behind him, a motley mix of thugs who didn't look at all pleased to see a "new customer" as he waited for them to pass. Once they were gone, he started to head back towards the square as he looked down at his chain chomp.

"You okay Charlie? You got a fright didn't you looking for rats down that nasty drain?"

"But...daddy, it wash...I shmelt shomething bad!"

"Come on boy, let's go. I don't like this place either but hopefully we'll never have to come back here again."

"Awwwwwsh."

Charlie walked away listlessly and confused for some reason that he could not fathom. The paper strip simply blew back into the storm drain as the sound of scratching claws returned once again, followed by a crumpling noise.

The Boo's Mansion was always less terrifying than Koopin expected it to be, despite having not returned to it in a longer space of time than he had with Rogueport. The sense of loneliness that he felt from the city did not come to him here despite his memories of the place, a lone foreboding manor deep within Forever Forest as he stepped up towards the gate, wearing a grey cloth around his beak to cover up his face with a bigger backpack on his shell. Charlie had also come with him as Koopin became more fearful of leaving him on his own for too long.

"Now Charlie, I want you to be good. It's just like the town but...inside a big house, you got that?"

"Hmmmmf."

"...what's wrong? Are you sad?"

"Nnnnnnnhhh."

"It's okay, we'll get back home soon, just going to spend a night out is all. I know you don't like being out at night but daddy needs to do this so don't worry."

The gates creaked open amidst a dark rumbling sky with black deadened trees circling around the dreadful estate. He walked up to the front door and carefully knocked on the front door which was soon answered by a rather stiff-looking boo with pursed moustache and a cloth draped over one arm. Boos had a weird scent for Charlie, one that was fearfully cold and at the same time oddly almost-sweet like ice cream that had gone off.

"Yeeeeeees?"

"Uhhhh yo, I'm Koopa-Bloopa, you guys hired me for the party?"

"Aaaaaah yeeeeees. The disk jockey."

He said this with the same tone one would say "the ex-politician".

"Very well, please come in-...ahem, sir, is that your chomp?"

"Uh yes, yes he is."

"We do not allow pets inside our estate."

"Oh. Dang um, it's just I had no one to babysit him so, uh...is there a place nearby he can hang out until the show's over?"

"Perhaps sir may wish to try Professor E. Gadd over down the western path. He is also not permitted within our estate so I am quite sure that your pet and him shall get along swimmingly."

"Alright. I'll be back in a bit."

"Boo take your time. Sir."

They headed down towards the western part of the forest, a long dusty path that took at least a good two miles to reach a small homely shack, somewhat rickety-looking and more resembling an outhouse with an extension but he remembered the place well. Taking his face cloth and stuffing it into his pocket, he knocked on the door as he was greeted by the enigmatic professor himself. The white-clothed strange human had glasses with bizarre swirls and what remained of his hair looked like a wispy white flame as Charlie smelt a whimsical tint of sugar, ammonia and ink.

"H-h-hello? OH, goodness it's rather cold today."

"It's always cold out here professor."

"Yes well, um...can I help you?"

"Um...it's Koopin, Kennidon? James' boyfriend?"

"OH! OHOHO my yes of course come in mister Kennidon, how ARE you?!"

"I'm doing great, thanks. It's been a while since we last talked, and how are you?"

"Fantastic! I have discovered new means of tracking spectral resonance fields and it is QUITE exciting!"

"That sure sounds exciting...do the boos really not mind you way out here?"

"So long as I don't go within five-hundred yards of the mansion they do not mind me no. Don't ask, fwahahaha now, what can I do for you?"

"This is kind of an awkward thing to ask but, I need a favour."

"Oh, but of course anything for James' beloved, after all he has done for me I would be remit in not returning some small favour to you."

"He really helped you that much?"

"Why yes, indeed! Helped me get back my research and my old camera prototype which I lost in Himuro Mansion...did I ever tell you about that?"

"I think James told me about this, yeah. So uh, I really wanna go to this big party up at the mansion, they got a DJ that I'm a real fan of but they won't allow chomps in."

"Ohhhh yes, I bet that snooty Bootler was right at the door wasn't he?"

"Hahah yeah exactly. So, could you look after Charlie until I come back from the DJ party?"

"Absolutely, I will take good care of your chainine companion, fwahaha!"

"Hhheh, heheh, awesome thank you so much I'll make it up to you-"

"No no! Noooo repayments necessary, I am simply doing my duty as paying back what I owe, so please take care and enjoy your party."

"Alright, good. I'll be back soon Charlie, now be good and don't cause any trouble for mister E. Gadd."

"Daddy noesh, he shmellsh like wee."

"If you're VERY good I'll get you some treats, promise okay?"

"Food? Oooh I likesh food. Okaysh daddy."

Koopin made his leave as Charlie sniffed around the simple laboratory reluctantly seeing the odd various machines stacked up along the walls, as well as a large wooden table that reeked of blotted ink. The smell of steam and something close to the scent of boos but not quite was also apparent as the professor made his new guest welcome.

"Now little chomp, I don't think you are quite the academic as I am but I do hope that you appreciate respecting other people's property. That means noooo touching, no eating, no biting. I may have some food for you but first let me take you someplace warmer downstairs."

A trapdoor laid at the back of the small shack revealing what was the actual house he lived in. Beneath the ground itself, after a small flight of disturbing dark steps that echoed their footsteps, was a brighter set of living quarters that smelt much more pleasant to the chomp as he caught the scent of cookies wafting through the air. A small living room with two chairs and a sofa with TV at the back, a kitchen towards his left, a bedroom plus bathroom to the right, and through a twin set of halls in front of Charlie past the sofa, was the main laboratory itself. The smell of tingling electricity made his body shudder something fierce, but luckily Gadd had a small bowl of cookies to help keep his mind off.

"Theeeeere you are, now you just sit tight while I work on something in the lab my good pup."

"You ish very nishe man, you gave me food! I likesh you."

"Be back soon!"

He petted the chain chomp fearlessly before heading into his lab, the sound of generating forces beyond making the room throb briefly as Charlie began to wolf down the cookies. The soft cushiony sofa despite its slight mustiness was very soothing for him to lie on as he hopped up and laid sprawled out to snooze. He didn't know how long he slept, but it felt like a good hour after when he heard the sound of something scratching.

"W-waaaah?"

The strange familiar sound roused him from sleep, hearing it coming from the laboratory itself as peeked through the doorjamb to find the largest room in Gadd's house, which almost frightened him by its wide ceiling shaped like a dome for some odd reason. But it was the centrepiece of the room that made the chomp most wary of the subdermal vibrations he felt inside this place. A giant glowing green gate that was mounted on the wall before him, resonating some strange energy that would make hairs stand on end if Charlie had any to begin with. The gate was shaped like a circle and had some sort of energy inside of its ring with various laboratory equipment on six tables circling around the room from beakers to test tubes to Bunsen burners. The smell of ammonia was strong in this room as Charlie rooted around thinking perhaps he might be cooking some food, the professor now standing in front of the twelve-foot portal as he wrote things down into his notebook.

"Hmmmm...I'm missing some element here for this thing, now what could it possibly be, let me checklist this. The spiritual amplifier, check. The phantom attractor, check. The sub-spatial barrier transmitter, check and double check. The resonance chamber is all working fine at full capacity, what could POSSIBLY, there's something I have missed-"

"You ish making food, waaaaah!"

"Yeees yes I know there is some THING missing from my own blasted contraption but what?!"

"It shmellsh like wee, you ish shmelly!"

"I DID check everything, it all came together like a fresco painting it just clicked...but something is not there and I only wonder if-w-w-woah!"

Something shuddered from within the portal as Gadd stepped back into a clumsy fall next to Charlie. The chomp felt a presence come fleeting as the grand circular gate started to pulse with a deep trembling sound throughout the whole laboratory. He saw an image faintly in the green miasmic energy before it faded once again as the professor stood up curiously feverish.

"Th-th-that's it! That's it, what just caused it, who could have-......hmm. What's this now my boy?"

He bent down towards Charlie whilst pulling out a small device that looked like a remote control with pronged antenna, clicking like a Geiger counter with increasing rapidity as it scanned over the chain chomp.

"Well now, that's VERY unusual I must say. Fifty Eekawatts, that's very high resonance for someone to exhibit, it seems you have some sort of attraction my dear boy."

"I wantsh more food, shmelly wee man givesh food and makesh me hish friend."

"This will require some recalibrating to make certain you don't uh...suffer any side effects obviously, we must be VERY cautious even if you are a Catenus Dentatus, fwaha."

"You hash hair like a shilly birdie. Shilly birdie wee man."

"Would you like to become my temporary assistant Charlie? Hmmm? I will gladly reward you with more cookies."

"Yesh, food for Charlie, waaaaah!"

The professor pulled out a cookie from his lab coat as Charlie ate it up, gladly agreeing even if he did not truly understand what he was in for as they spent the next entire hour working within the laboratory. Charlie was simply told to stay put and be a good boy in front of the portal whilst E. Gadd shut it down before recalibrating his resonance chamber to focus on his new subject. He worked back and forth along both sides of the ringed steel gate cautiously turning with his wrench until the safety levels were set, before venturing over towards the main switch for reactivating.

"Now I'm certain that Koopin won't mind me borrowing you a bit, this won't do anything. But I simply want to know what sort of resonance one attracts, especially one such as you."

"Big shpinny thing ish too big for me to fetch!"

"Your daddy should be proud of you, why you're about to embark on a great escapade of scientific endeavour! Don't worry I shall credit you in my paper should this work."

"I getsh food shoon!? Daddy alwaysh feedsh me at night!"

"Now, are you ready?! I have made every precaution possible, I have tested this on a chomp before and he was completely fine! Except he lost his chain, just completely rusted off but THIS time I know what to do so here we GO!"

He turned on the spectral resonance gate, as Charlie watched the green portal start to pulse almost breathing with strange tenebrous energy. The sound of the universe came filtering into the underground as a deep ethereal hum but not one that he could hear. It felt like his soul was hearing it instead of his body, a primal reverberation that made him see things he had only dreamt in his deepest subconscious. Wild untamed hills of deepest red, valleys of stretching endless mountain cliffs, deserts beyond with shifting dunes that never stayed in the same place like a constant mirage but there was one thing that always remained. A scent on the breeze, something flowing from the gates within as something cold and metallic poured through to his nostrils. Something dreadful. Something sorrowful. Something so very, very cold.

"CH-CHARLIE?!"

The chomp heard his daddy's voice, turning to see Koopin with shock at the scene like something out of an old horror movie as Professor Gadd approached him. Behind Charlie the portal started to fluctuate with darkening tone as a voice came whispering across the room.

"WH-WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY CHARLIE?!"

"NOW DO NOT FEAR KOOPIN! YOUR CHOMP IS PERFECTLY SAFE!"

"DADDY LOOK, I ISH ALL TINGLY INSHIDE, ISH FUN WAAAAAAH!"

"SEE, HE'S VERY HAPPY TO help, IT'S JUST AN EXPERIMENT, NOTHING WILL HAPPEN-"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?! YOU DO NOT EXPERIMENT ON MY CHOMP YOU STUPID IDIOT NOW TURN IT OFF!"

"PLEASE, RELAX IT IS PERFECTLY FINE, YOUR CHARLIE IS HAVING A GOOD TIME!"

"HE DOESN'T KNOW ANY BETTER NOW TURN THIS DAMN THING OFF AND FIND SOMEBODY ELSE TO h-help YOU!"

"NO NO IT'S FINE I ASSURE YOU, I JUST NEED A FEW MORE MINUTES TO TEST IT-"

"THIS IS CHOMP ABUSE!"

h-help

The smallest word became the most deafening sound, as if the voice of a giant echoed across the room. They all turned towards the shimmering dark gate as the voice spoke again which silenced the portal's rumbling.

"...wh-what is that?"

"Is it possibly...c-can it be-"

Everything shattered at once as Koopin and Gadd were slammed into the wall by a screeching force, piercing through the entire earth as a thousand birds flocked through the sky above.

"WH-WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"CH-CHARLIE, GET AWAY!"

"DADDYYYY!"

Somehow the chomp was not affected, standing in the midst of the portal's path as something burst slowly through the ether of another plane.

"CHARLIE! CHARLIE GET AWAY!"

[

The voice screamed again with such strength that Koopin fell unconscious along with Gadd from a sudden shock through their nervous system, as if they were electrocuted as Charlie shrieked:

"DADDY!"

He looked back towards the trembling gate, as someone's image could be seen from within. A long face with horrendous gaping mouth, eyes sunken deep like the bottom of an icy lake. A foul scent of bitter agony coursed through the room sending Charlie into frenzied panic.

"WH-WHO ARE YOUSH!? D-DON'T COME NEAR MY DADDY, I WILL BITESH YOU!"

"WHAT!? WHAT DOESH HE KNOWSH, YOU DON'T HURT MY DADDY, NOW GO AWAY!"

Barking with fright and fury he stood against the trembling nether as it started to undulate, pulsing like water before a screeching blast of light shot towards Koopin. Charlie jumped straight into the light's path.

"DON'T TOUCH MY DADDYYYYY!"

Darkness blinded him. His eyes felt open yet the void was crawling in. He felt cold, and weighted like a sunken body rotting beneath a lake. A light shone above his head as he saw the crack of ice. A dream from long ago.

"Daddy? D-daddy where are yoush?! DADDY!?"

A shadow drifted in front of him, darker than he could see but its outline just faded across his vision. Skittering. Scratching. Sobbing. A cold breeze snaked across his chain.

"Daddy?! Isshat you daddy!? Daddy I'm shcared, pleashe daddy h-help me! I can't shee anything daddy help me!"

He felt someone's voice within his stomach. Crawling. Creeping. Crying. He felt sick as something lurched in his throat.

"D-d-daddy!? D-daddy, I feel shick, DADDY! I wanna go home, d-daddy I wanna go home!"

Charlie started whimpering from the pain that burnt up inside his body. Then he felt it. Something forced itself from his teeth as he started vomiting. His body heaved as something dug sharply into the sides of his pulsing throat like broken bone. Charlie started screaming, howling like a bleeding dog as the retching blocked his throat causing him to choke. Suffocate. Like the cold lake water drowning him.

"DAAAAAADDYYYYYYYY! PLEAAAAASHE MAKE IT SHTOOOOOP IT HURTSH DADDYYYYY! DADDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

But no one came. Charlie was alone until he felt something pull free from his throat. A hand scratched his face with bony fingers between his teeth, then another hand pulled through. Charlie couldn't see until finally the thing dislodged itself, heaving desperately for sweet air as he shuddered with one last retching push of his throat muscle. Something crawled in front of him, a pale long face with thin arms and gaping eyeless sockets and crooked mouth in the shape of a claw.

"WH-WHO ARE YOUSH!? WH-WHERE ISH MY DADDY, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY DADDY?!"

"GIVE ME BACK MY DADDY! I DON'T LIKESH YOU, SHCARY MONSHTER!"

The creature suddenly lunged towards Charlie as he dodged jumping upwards, crushing down on the strange skull before violently tearing his teeth into the spinal cord with vicious rending teeth. Crushing and twisting the bone, he snapped it clean in half as two giant hands came swooping from either side of him, like shrieking bats from within the dark punching Charlie both sides of his body as he yelped rolling to one side. He steadied himself as the hands plummeted down upon his head like a hammer, desperately evading the crushing blow as the torso suddenly lifted itself in front of him by its legs, ragged brown cloth being its only semblance of clothing left. Cracking the knees upwards, the legs twisted out to splay on either side of the body as the bony feet dug into the ground beneath. It began to crawl with insane speed, skittering like a horrid insect as the chomp barked furiously out of fear rising inside of him. The feet dove towards his face like daggers scraping his steel hide managing to cut deeper than he had ever felt, a pain newly awakened as he howled with shock of agony. Charlie dodged its fourth attempt at slicing his face by rolling halfway to the left before chomping ruthlessly down upon the exposed leg. Pure teeth cracked the lean-legged bone in three places, shattering and snapping as he shook his head viciously until he felt something twist into his tail cruelly. Yelping with a sudden anguish, he felt a deep razor-bladed edge carve slowly into his chain tail. The head and the spine had wrapped itself in between the links, the sharp vertebrae slicing through his metal tail as he turned and snapped ferociously to grab the head.

Slithering out of his chain like a ghostly serpent, the head reared itself and gathered all of its parts together once again by reforming its skeletal visage despite its now broken spine and mangled leg as it staggered clutching his stomach. It looked down, gasping breathlessly before inhaling a deep wretched scream before falling onto all fours and suddenly falling onto all fours with its body doubling in size. The darkness screeched as it charged towards the chain chomp with a swollen skull, leaking thick stardust from its eyes in deepening shades of crimson. Every touch of dust that fell upon Charlie was death to his outer body, hollowing through his hide like acid oxidising his steel carapace as he screamed and ran from the sobbing darkness. Tears of red continued to threaten him, the dust shining briefly before rusting parts of his body as Charlie could hear nothing but the scratching from behind ever constant. Scratching. Crawling. Screaming.

But then Charlie realised something. Running forever within the infinite void with no sight or scent of his daddy anywhere to be found made him think that he truly was now alone. Alone forever. But he knew what that feeling was like, and he despised that feeling. Hated it. Just like his father before him, he refused to go back into that dark place as he turned and stopped running. He wasn't going to be sad or scared ever again as he barked forcefully at the giant phantom. The creature stopped, rearing its tear-laden skull before swinging downwards to crush Charlie underneath its pale forehead. The chomp rolled himself backwards before a jumping turn, spinning his body to slice his chain link tail hard across the skull which made the beast react with startling pain. He watched the hands sweep trying to crush him between its palms but Charlie rolled out of the way before timing his ferocious bite, chomping hard upon one of the fingers as the monster tried to shake him free. Then it decided instead it would simply eat him, raising its hand above to shake Charlie free and send him down inside its eternal gullet. The chomp released his bite early and crashed down straight against the spinal cord beneath the lower mandible. It was too big for him to twist like before, but he incessantly crushed his jaws fiercely as if tearing somebody's throat, snarling with fury as the creature screamed before falling on its back. The moment its back landed into the darkness, everything turned to white.

"Charlie? Charlie, wake up. Wake up p-please. Please Charlie."

His eyes opened to see a strange room around him. Several shadows gently crowded him but one in the very centre was the one scent that he knew. A tender-hearted mint with the softness of a baked pastry that had been crafted with love. Warmth and kindness.

"Daddy?"

"It...i-it's okay Charlie. Come here. Come to daddy."

He hugged his chain chomp tightly as he nuzzled him. Charlie was confused feeling listless for a brief second, before he started to lick across Koopin's cheek, tasting his hot tears. His hands were shaking.

"I found you...hhhhoh stars I...I found you. Hhhhohh I'm so glad you're safe."

"I beat the monshter daddy. I shaved you. I will alwaysh protect you daddy."

"My brave sweet little Charlie...I am so sorry. I will never leave you. Never, I promise."

---

"And that ish how I shaved daddy from the shcary monshter. Theeee endsh."

The chomp said this with such a sage knowing nod that it caused Roy to nearly smirk from laughter suppressed in his gut.

"Hhhhmhmhmhm woooow whut a hella story that is."

"And to thish day, I protectsh my daddiesh alwaysh."

"Ahm sure they feel safe knowing you always around...but uh, whut exactly DID that monster do, an' whut kinda thing wuz it that came down an' attacked you-"

"Wah, wait! Ish my daddiesh!"

The sound of feet from the front of the house signalled that Charlie's daddies had returned as the chain chomp skidded through the place to sit right in front of the door as it opened.

"Daddiesh!"

"Hahaha hello cutie!"

Koopin bent down to smooch the chomp on his head with Charlie licking all over him as James staggered through with gentle pats on the steel body. The raptor was looking better than before, but still rather worn-out from just being outside as he slumped down into his bed.

"Heeeey Charlie."

"Daddy hash food?! You shaid, you promished you bring me foodsh!"

"Nnnngh hey Roy, howsit going?"

"Good!" replied MacGregor. "Got all your plants squared away an' kept Charlie company."

"He wasn't any trouble I hope," asked Koopin.

"Nawwww we just told each other stories an' such."

"Hmhmhaha, awww was uncle Roy telling you stories?"

"I told uncle Roy about when I shaved you, waaaaah!"

"Haha okay okayyy I know you want it, just let me put my stuff away. You gonna stay Roy?"

"Naw ah need to head off," he said, "promised two new recruits that ah would give them sum help round the end of their shift. two brothers actually, shy guys."

"Hah wow, I never heard of shy guys being in the guard before."

"Oh they do pretty damn awesome at it, should see their moves but ah better go. See you round FG!"

"Bye dude," murmured James, "thanks for gardening an' looking after my stuff."

"No problem."

The utahraptor headed off down the road with his thoughts turning over on the strange fearsome story that Charlie gave him. He did not think that it was make-believe, certainly far too vivid for such a chomp to be anything but reality. But he now wondered on the greater scope, thinking on what sort of creature would come out of the ether just to invade upon a simple chain chomp. He hoped at least one of his daddies would know the answer another day.