FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"So let me get this straight," said the sergeant, "you pursued a citizen to the docks whereby you then saw him bribe a dockworker to grant passage onto his ship."

"Ah huh," replied Roy.

"And you have proof of illegal activity?"

"Righ' here, on mah recordin' tool."

Within the head office of the Toad Town guardhouse, the raptor recruit tapped a few buttons of his omni-tool and brought up the scene of the purple yoshi threatening Sher T. by the scruff of his neck. The dialogue could easily be heard by both him and the sergeant, along with Stul T. standing alongside Roy as the recording continued for the duration of the fight. It was only until the black shadow assaulted him and threw him into the ballast of the ship that it finally stopped. It also helped explain the fact that Roy was dripping soaked from head to toe, filling out a large growing puddle that spread around his feet.

"Firstly," began the sergeant, "why were you pursuing Sher T. in the first place?"

"I had sum questions to ask him concerning his missing property. He made an erroneous statement about thuh purchase of his Mailbox 3DS, which he claimed wuz standard issue from thuh TGA. However, after further investigation, I discovered thuh TGA does not hand out 3DS's to employees, an' ah also discovered he never purchased one from thuh Cloud Computing store."

"I see...well, as much as I can plainly see that he has become involved in SOME sort of unsavoury business, I am at a loss as to where we go next."

"Whut do you mean?"

"Usually none of us in the guards have recording equipment. That comes as a special order usually involving more complex operations, I did not authorise you to have such."

"It's...magic sir, I can't really leave it behind."

"I know, you explained to me on your initiation, but the fact is that recording is illegal. We cannot use it as evidence for anything."

"Wait are you serious?!" cried Stul T. "But sir, this proves that Sher T.'s up to something!"

"But because I did not authorise this, I cannot use it. You have the knowledge but you cannot present that in a court of law."

"Against who?! Sher T.'s gone along with that yoshi."

"That is what I want you two to find out. Gather information in the town concerning that of the Tricorvid, this suited yoshi or Sher T.'s activities. MacGregor you are not allowed to use that recording for whatever purposes, I'm sorry but I must demand that you delete it."

"Yes sir."

He swept his hand over the omni-tool in a vague sense of direction as it beeped.

"There, it's done. My apologies sergeant, I didn't realise-"

"That's fine, I'm very glad you are eager to help face crime but we must respect the legality of certain rules."

"No sir, absolutely. Whut are your orders?"

"You're almost off-duty so tomorrow I want you to go into town and trace Sher T.'s last movements, see if you cannot discover more about the Tricorvid and what trace there might be of its origin. Because nobody knows about this, we cannot say anything about Sher T.'s new disappearance to anyone or else we will have to answer for it. You are given free roam, but do not say anything about his activities, just treat your inquiries as simply follow-up to an investigation currently ongoing, and remember your duties above all to assist and protect the town inhabitants wherever possible. Now, understood?"

"Yes sergeant."

"Good, you're dismissed. And MacGregor, get your suit cleaned for Peach's sake, the last thing I want is a rusted guard walking around the place creaking like a broken clock."

"Yes sir, understood."

The two gave a salute before turning to walk out of the room like clockwork soldiers, firmly marching their feet until they were out of range back into the town street, with Stul T. adding:

"Man what a wash, you get the first real break in the case and he had to force you to delete the stuff."

"S'not all bad," said Roy, "least now we know whut we're lookin' for."

"And there's me trying to handle a cake robbery, I'm sorry I tried to leave you a message but I thought it would be a cinch, that guy moves FAST considering he robbed a three-tier cake, didn't even manage to spill it!"

"Ah woulda loved to have seen that, heheheh...ah wondered where you got to."

"It was real surprising to see you all wet with seaweed hair, I thought you got a new look. Too cheap to go to the barber's for a wig?"

"Thuh green never fit me. Ah wuz lookin' more for sumthin' blond, lahk it'd bring out mah eyes more."

"Shut up dino dweeb."

"Heeheeheheh!"

Making their way back to the town centre with all four directions available to them, the crowds in the late afternoon began to grow at the sound of 7pm calling through the streets. Sunset slowly had come to visit as the world became bathed in twilight, the throng of civilians ranging from every species of toads, goombas, koopas, the odd shy guy, boo, yoshi, bob-omb and even a piranha plant or two. Somehow the raptor never got over the sight of such smaller versions of the world's inhabitants becoming cuter by the age, bursting with excitement about the latest cool things or arguing about numbers in battle card games.

"Well I'm off," said Stul T., "time for me to head home chill out and watch me some Shell City."

"Alrigh' you do that...ahm wonderin' where ah can dry mah suit."

"You wanna clean off your chainmail, I recommend a dishwasher. It's just steel after all."

"Ah don't know anyone that has one."

"Welp I guess you're washing it off in the sink then. Then you just towel it down with a dishcloth and dry it out."

"Alrigh'...see you tomorrow then for our sleuthin'?"

"Awhaw yeah, Rex an' Toad bring it."

The two brofisted sniggering before they separated back to their homes. Roy debated on whether to head back to his home to try and deal with his wet clothing or head down to the Kennidons and see if they had better advice. But it wasn't long after making his way down towards the southeast exit of the town that he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Whu-huh?!"

He clenched his spear tightly in preparation before seeing who it was and instantly relaxed his grip. The orange yoshi from the other day wearing her work vest from the travel agency gave him a wave whilst slightly bowing forwards playfully.

"OH, h-h-hi uh...Yolanda, you uh, sumthin' you wantin'? Ahm uh, just about to head-ahm off duty but if you need-"

She brought out her DS and typed rapidly onto its screen:

Saw you swim out of the sea. WTH?

"OH....yeah um, ah wuz on a case, wuz chasin' sumbody an' kinda lost mah footing. Fell righ' into thuh sea, ahm alrigh' but uh, ah need to clean mah armour an'...ah don't suppose you know how to clean chainmail at all do ya?"

I clean any metal easy, need help?

"You...you sure? Ah mean you don' have to."

I'm paying you back for lunch

"...well...uhhh in that case s-sure, but mah clothes are still back at mah place."

Swing by your place, grab clothes then I clean you up?

"......okay!"

He felt the creep of his nervous blush crossing over his face as she grabbed him by the hand and walked him through the streets. Somehow in the light of dusk she became even more radiant to the raptor, watching the sun's rays glance off of her red saddle-like shell wedged firmly into her back. Roy had never noticed such features on a yoshi before, imagining it to be a strawberry placed upon a perfect carrot cake. This image only came to mind because Roy and Yolanda passed by a bakery on the way to his home, her eyes slightly wandering over towards the confectionery as she made a mental note to visit it tomorrow. Roy noticed a set of gingerbread boos and how they had just the right colour of crisp golden brown the same as Yolanda's eyes. The funny thing was that Roy had never even realised he noticed the colour of Yolanda's eyes.

Soon they arrived at his apartment building, and Roy briefly excused himself to head on upstairs whilst Yolanda waited at the porch patiently. He passed by Flo T. in the hall who peeked her head out from her living room door asking:

"OH, hello mister-"

"Oh, hey miss!" he cried out briefly stopping in half-turn. "Uh sorry ah just need to head out quick ahm completely soaked in mah guard outfit."

"Oh dear, are you alright?! It wasn't raining today."

"Naw ahm okay thanks, don't you worry 'bout it!"

She walked upstairs following him until he closed his door whilst hastily grabbing some of his favourite clothing inside. A small moment of pause gave him time to consider between choosing which of his clothes looked acceptable.

"Maybe this, n-naw, too punky, um...maybe this naw um...dammit jus' pick sumthin', shirt an' pants that's all you need! Aaaaagh!"

He stepped back out of his apartment holding a folded blue T-shirt and some dark cotton pants but not before resisting the urge to just swerve around the landlady standing before him.

"Goodness Roy, is something wrong?! You're looking all frantic all of a sudden."

"S-sorry, just um...ah need to...get to thuh cleaning place before it closes-"

"They don't do chainmail dear, you'll have to clean that in the dishwasher or something, you know I have one if you need it."

"I really appreciate that miss Flo T. but uh...a friend of mine is outside waitin', they're lahk an expert on cleanin' metals super good, lahk they got uh special shine for it an' everything. Ah don' wanna have to blow them off you know?"

"Oh, o-of course, don't worry about it then. You don't stay out too late now you hear?"

"Ah won't, ma'am, you know me. You alrigh' by thuh way, you don't need anythin'?"

"Oh no no I'm fine thank you, go see your friend. I'll see you back soon okay?"

"See ya later!"

He headed down the stairs trying not to rush out the door and Flo T. could not help but ponder on who exactly his friend was as she rose herself up towards the window of the upper landing. The sight of the raptor hurrying out to walk and speak with an orange yoshi who carried his clean clothes for him made her smile, yet oddly worry for him at the same time.

The raptor found himself standing outside another apartment building not more than five streets away, somewhat similar to his own as she opened the door to let him in. It was then he realised exactly where he was going as he asked Yolanda nervously:

"W-wait, are we going to YOUR place? Ah thought you knew lahk a dry cleaner's or sumthin'."

She put his clothes underneath his arm and typed out on the DS Mailbox:

My cleaning tools at home, where else?

"But...um, a-are you sure you alrigh' invitin' me up to your place, ah mean you hardly even know me."

You're a guard. I can trust you, right? ;P

Her expression mimicked the emoticon to show how foolish was the question he asked as he nodded realising.

"Heh, righ', of course sorry ah just...um, let's go."

The yoshi walked in first as they arrived at a long hall with stairs to the left as she was then greeted by her landlord, a rather kindly older koopa who waved and silently twitched his hands into a series of cryptic-looking gestures in front of them. Surprisingly the yoshi in turn also responded by tapping her palms with her fingers at incredible pace before making her way down to the end of the hallway. The landlord gestured towards Roy who only simply cocked his head asking:

"Um...a-are you alrigh' sir?"

"OH, haha I'm sorry I thought you were-...sayyyy you're a guard aren't you?"

"Uhhh yes, miss Yolanda's just helpin' me with sum suit cleanin'."

"Ohhhhh I see, hahaha, such a lovely girl she is, always ready to lend a hand. Wouldn't know what I would do without her let me tell you!"

"Heheheh, she's really nice."

"Well I won't let you tardy any longer so you two have fun now."

"Um, th-thank you sir."

He had no idea what to say knowing exactly what it looked like, so he thought the best course of action was to keep shtum and simply follow her towards her living quarters. It was surprisingly bigger than his own place was, having an entire separate kitchen as well as the bathroom with the central room acting as both bedroom and lounge. It wasn't as clean as he thought it would be, seeing small traces of what appeared to be oil and grease in the floor. A shelf in the far left corner was full of books, none of which were categorised properly, but there sat beneath three toolboxes in different colours all pristine and well-cared for. The bed laid in one corner of the room to his right and ahead of him next to the entrance of the kitchen. The bathroom laid opposite of it to his forward-left with a TV in the corner next to said room, one that looked more up-to-date than Roy's model was. Directly in front of him however, between the bed and the TV, was a window staring towards the sunset perfectly. He briefly wondered how much she earned until she stood in front of him with her DS after handing him his clothes, the light capturing her silhouette within ghostly amber.

You can change in bathroom. I won't look

"Um...th-thank you. Ahll just put my uh...things down here."

Nervously walking into the bathroom, which thankfully had a door on it unlike his own, he placed down his spear and shield outside the room before closing himself in, slipping off his chainmail and guard robe before glancing briefly at the sink mirror. The sight of his raw thickening black chest heaving slightly from worrisome breaths made him struggle to think clearly as he gestured with his hands to himself, trying to vent out his anxiety through them.

"Thuh fuck's wrong with you? Come on, calm down, you're just inside a girl's bathroom cuz she offered to clean your armour, nuthin' wrong with that! Nuthin'...you're a guard god dammit, she trusts you so there ain't gonna be any kinda shit happenin', nah-uh. Besides she...she prob'ly not into you lahk that, she just a nice girl who just...probably wanna hang out with sumbody who can......shit. Shit."

He looked down at his hands and realised something as he palmed his face using both of them. Briefly there came a rapid correlation of events flickering through his mind all relating to the yoshi as he groaned.

"Uuuuuurgh mah god how am ah so stupid not to have realised? ...hhhhhhh...look, don't matter, whutever, let's just get this done, alrigh'?"

He put on his regular clothes before putting his small standard guard toolkit to one side, emptied it of its tools thankfully safe due to the pack's airtight containment, and placed it along with his guard outfit neatly folded as he walked out, handing her the damp steel fabric gently.

"H-here, sorry about all this."

Yolanda simply grinned politely as she put his robe fabric and gloves into the sink, whilst his chainmail went into a dishwasher, but not before taking out various odd pieces of metal that resembled machine parts such as gears or casings as she emptied it. Once his armour was in, she tapped out a few buttons as the washer began to rumble into life. Yolanda offered him a place by the sink to help him wash his robe.

"Oh, o-okay. Huh, ah never knew a dishwasher could uh clean any kinda metal."

The yoshi nodded as she instructed him on how to wash his fabric, using very warm water and a detergent solution to get all the sea salt and stains off of it until it was ready to dry itself, by folding it over the radiator in the corner between the kitchen and the front door. She noticed his right hand entirely formed of steel with a silent gasp of interest, as she offered him her bed to sit down on before typing out:

Will take 1 hour to clean clothes, ok?

"Sure! Um, that's fine with me, absolutely."

Yolanda nodded as she carefully began to categorise her machine parts on the floor by what use they would give. Occasionally she would mumble to herself by instinct as she recalled different pieces, her voice rather off-key and slightly monotone. A question came burning inside his head but he feared it was too indecent to ask as he waited until she was done, turning to him with her Mailbox.

Do you want some food?

"Um...whut do you have?"

Fruit, ham, sandwiches, toast?

"Uhhhh...ah wouldn't mind sum toasted cheese an' ham, sure!"

The yoshi got up and quickly made some food using a sandwich toaster, not taking more than a few minutes to grill the mixture into a tasty evening snack as they both ate up. Once they were done eating, Roy started to make mental reminders to himself to speak in front of Yolanda always as he asked:

"So, you got a lotta parts all around here, whut's all this stuff for?"

Landlord's stuff, he has me fix things

"Really, why you?"

Studied engineering.

"Wow...where'd you study?"

U Goom

"You...goom? ...is that lahk a university?"

She nodded.

"Ohhhh wow neat. Ah never went to university, ah only got as far as high school."

Why not?

"Um...family problems, ah couldn't get in."

I'm sorry. What did you study?

"Well ah wanted to study bein' an officer, you know police an' such...guess ah ended up good bein' part of thuh town guard, so ah guess it's not too bad."

Could be worse. Mall security.

"HAH, hoohoo man that would be bad, only thing ah would be in charge of would be gumball machines."

HATE those things. Gamble early, kids!

"Hehehe, yeah you know whut you're righ', that's just a gateway drug to gambling ain't it!?"

Why not buy toys normally, just pick one you like, not same trash 5 times?

"YEAH righ'?! Hahaha, man ah bet you hate crane games too."

Don't get me started. Broken on purpose to cheat money from you.

"Really, they are?!"

New ones let you set payout percentage, claw grip and spacing of claws. Depends on the owner really.

"You sound lahk you used to operate one."

Worked in a funfair once. Hated it, owner was a jerk.

"Dahamn, no kidding. Wuz that your worst job?"

Yolanda nodded glumly, finishing her sandwiched toast.

"Mah worst job wuz uh...huh, never really had a job that ah hated, ah mostly just travelled, doin' oddjobs for people."

Out on the road?

"Yeah sumthin' lahk that. Drifted from place to place, then about uh...twenty years later ah just wound up here an' found mahself sum friends who helped me settle down."

I'm glad you found a home again.

Seeing these words especially before him made his heart warmer by the moment, the heat of the apartment raised slightly as the gentle hum of the dishwasher rolled on behind the wall in the kitchen. He felt a strange sense of humility all of a sudden as he spoke:

"Ahm sorry that ah don't...know any sign language, must be a real pain to type all thuh time."

I don't mind. You're very polite.

"Yeah but ah mean...ah dunno, ah hate bein' a bother first you clean mah clothes an'...ah just wanna say thank you again for all this."

Just repaying a favour

"Righ'...so uh, how did you get into engineering?

Mom was meteorologist, worked in a lab with MKOMA

"Em-Kay-Oh-Mah?"

Mushroom Kingdom Oceanic and Meteorological Association

"Woooooah damn, sounds big. Did you work there with her?"

No, she took me sometimes. I love machinery, really fascinating.

"You don't see a lot of it on the islands?"

Didn't even have a TV until uni. In mom's lab, I felt vibrations all around me.

"Vibrations?"

Machines can hum, tremble through walls and floor. I feel it because I can't hear anything else. I felt special, like the only person who could hear machines speak, even sing.

"Hahahaha, awww that's...pretty cute. Ah love that."

Can I ask you about your hand?

"Mah...hand?"

Yolanda nodded pointing at his steel right appendage, with Roy suddenly feeling conscious about it as he rubbed his fingers together.

"Um...a-a-ah mean sure if you want, but uh-"

I've never seen tech like that before, can I see?

"Uh...s-sure, go on."

The yoshi pulled in closer and cautiously inspected it, feeling along his claws just as lethal as his left hand's was yet they kept always tender in her grip. His fingers moved cautiously, slightly sensitive to her touch with all the same nerve endings as she sniffed, stroked and even pushed his hand up to her cheek and felt his touch. She smiled at him, and he in turn did the same whilst rubbing his fingers across her smooth hot leathery skin. Yolanda closed her eyes briefly letting him stroke her cheek, feeling the odd lukewarm caress of mechanical digits as she reopened them just to catch Roy's lips saying:

"God you're beautiful."

She blinked looking up at him curiously.

"UH-ah mean thuh VIEW is beautiful...yanno, outside your window."

The yoshi smirked widely, giggling quietly as she nodded before she brought up her DS.

Who made your hand?

"Um, a scientist team ah met with, far far away. Ah lost mah hand in a really bad accident so they made me up a new one."

I've never heard of Maverick Securities

"Lahk ah said, wuz all far away. Ah mean this wuz lahk...seven years ago, maybe eight?"

It's beautiful. Feels just like a real hand, matches your skin perfectly

"You think so? Aww thanks. Ah always felt a little um, self-conscious about it yanno."

I understand. But I think it's amazing, trust me on that.

"Well ah ain't gonna let you take it apart or nuthin' hahaha."

Don't tempt me, hahaha!

"Heeheeheeheh...ohhhh..."

The two found themselves talking throughout the whole hour to each other, Roy mostly answering questions she asked about his hand or his past life and what strange journeys he had, but within reason. Obviously he made no mention of being from another world and simply described the actions of his adventures, but never their locations particularly. Soon time was up, and Roy's clothes were now cleaned completely in perfect condition much to his gratitude. He left Yolanda's place, saying goodnight and thanking her for everything to which she replied in turn. Both of them felt spirited, energetic until they went to fall asleep, in their separate beds.

The next morning Roy was feeling feisty, fighting fit and ready to face fiends as he waltzed into the guardhouse with an all too eager-looking grin as Stul T. glared with bleary eyes up at him.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhh...mornin' big guy."

"Gooood morning, hell yeah it is."

"Ugh, you're awful chipper today. That means one of two things, either you got a lot of money suddenly or you got a girlfriend."

"Whut?! Naw neither of them, ah just had a really good night!"

"Suuuure you did, last time I saw a face like that was when I met my wife."

Early morning in Toad Town was always a busy affair, with people setting up shop as bakeries, coffee shops and general stores made their openings with the sound of shutters and doors opening across the entire street of the town centre. The smell of fresh-baked pastries and roasted coffee beans filtered throughout the day giving a refreshing boost, as Stul T. decided to grab some for himself just to perk up, the two sitting down on a bench with their shields and spears placed down.

"You look good!" said the toad. "Nice work on your armour, you got a blacksmith or something?"

"Naw just found a friend of mine who had a way with fixing steel to make it shine. That's all."

"Was this friend the one who also gave you that happy face you been wearing all morning?"

"Mmmmmmaybe."

"So it WAS a girl...lemme guess, that yoshi you can't keep your eyes off of?"

"A gentleman never kisses and tells."

"Woah woah woah there was KISSING?"

"Whuh-NO that''s just a figure of speech dammit!"

"Alright alright, whatever you say...hhheheh...so, what you wanna do? We can either check out over at the TGA and ask about Sher T., or we try to round up some info on Tricorvid."

"Ah could handle thuh TGA, but we ain't gonna get anythin' outta them by askin' straight up. Remember, far as anyone knows Sher T.'s not gone missing, an' as far as we know he got nobody else in town to call his family or nuthin'."

"He seemed a pretty lonely guy, might work to our advantage. Or not, you got any ideas big guy?"

"We got thuh docks, an' his office. Ah also wanna look up on a lead we got from that vid concerning Roy's."

"Oh yeah, that bar you own-"

"Don't you start, please."

"Heheheh, sorry can't resist, go on."

"That yoshi mentioned thuh place an' ahm jus' wonderin' if sumbody else may have saw him or whut Sher T. mighta been up to."

"That's not a bad idea. Tell you what, I'll go handle the docks, that leaves you to handle the other two places."

"You sure?"

"Oh yeah sure, my dad used to work the docks, took me down there all the time so I know the place like the back of my hand. I'll get plenty stuff outta there for ya."

"Alrigh' cool. Thanks man."

"Where are you gonna head off to?"

"Check out thuh bar Roy's first, cuz obviously it's closest, then ahma check out whut's up over at thuh TGA."

"Alrighty, you wanna meet back up at the guardhouse?"

"Sure, later Stul T."

The toad waved him off with a wobbly salute as they both parted their separate ways, MacGregor heading off towards the west side of town to find the bar mentioned with the coincidental first name. Roy admittedly knew nothing about the Koopa Kingdom, or how they even had a business chain to even operate within their opposing enemy's kingdom, but that was for another day. The gay bar was certainly very popular, attracting all orientations for its top-of-the-range beverages and quaint style reminiscent of an old log cabin's interior.

The walls were made of solid stone, hewn from granite to give a very cosy grey-sculpt look, the floors a sturdy wood that accented the tables and bar itself quite nicely. Pool tables to the right with various seats all laid out the moment one stepped underneath the rectangular archway, which itself was beneath the brazen pink name of ROY'S proudly emboldened. A huge pair of horn-rimmed sunglasses accented the R and O making the holes in them resemble the actual lenses as he approached the bar. A black-spotted toad stood primly waiting to serve at the counter in front of an array of bottles and pumps, whilst a young koopa was looking haggard with worry at the far right struggling to mix liquors together.

"Hi there, welcome to Roy's how can I help you sir?"

"I'm here to speak to thuh manager concerning an official matter."

"Oh, no problem I'll get him for ya. BOSS!"

"YEAH?!" cried a voice in the back.

"GUARD WANTS TO SEE YOU, SOME SORTA OFFICIAL THING!"

"Ugh, alright I'M COMING!"

But the head of the place was someone that Roy didn't expect, a brown-scaled creature that slipped out from the service doorway to the far left behind the bar, wearing a white sleeveless shirt and black slacks.

"Oh hey there Roy!"

"Whuh-...FG?!"

"Yeah, what you forgot I run this place?"

"Uhhhm, k-kinda!?"

"Take five Shann T. I got this."

The toad nodded and headed into the back areas of the bar, the strange velociraptor of green eyes and purple markings on his snout leaning across the counter giving a wink and a nod.

"SO...how may I help you today?"

"Man you really got back into bein' a bartender huh?"

"Hey it's what I do! I got a talent for handling drinks, plus the previous owner went to retire with his partner and left me the keys to this place."

"Heh, ah see Koopin trusts you handlin' all these customers."

"I already got the best person in the whole Mushroom Kingdom, I don't need anybody else."

"Never thought this place would be open so early."

"We don't sell the hard stuff until after 5pm, we also put a limit on how much you buy in the mornings, but other than that yeah we're pretty open. So what can I-...scuse me one moment."

Sidling over to where the koopa was behind the bar, James leant over him firmly and grabbed the glass he was mixing into.

"Konnor, what is this?"

"U-um...a White Fahr Fire?"

"What's in it?"

"...t-two...no, three parts fresh cream, f-five parts vodka."

"That is NOT...not, White Fahr Fire, that is the fourth time you have done this, you keep forgetting the base ingredient, what is it?!"

"...u-um, i-...i-i-is it-ohhh jeeez-"

"It's coffee. Coffee liqueur, you have literally done this mistake not more than two days ago, I showed you."

"I...c-come on mister Kennidon I just had to do like three different drinks-"

"So what!? God that's like easy mode, you know what I had to do the last time I worked in a bar?! I had to deal five different drinks to regular customers, four of whom had fatal allergies and if I mixed the wrong ingredients I would have KILLED THEM, do you know what dextro-amino acids are?!?"

"N-no, dude I didn't study chemistry!"

"What DID you study?!"

"...socio-political studies?"

"Ohhh jesus..."

The facepalm he made was palpable to Roy watching awkwardly.

"Listen I know you're just trying to pay your way through college, but if you don't shape up and bother to focus on this stuff then I am throwing your ass out as soon as your month is up, like down to the MINUTE Konnor, now you want to go tell people on your CV that you got fired from a gay bar because you literally couldn't remember THREE ingredients of one of our most popular drinks?!"

"N-n-noooo?"

"Then get back in that storeroom, do some inventory and read the damn book I gave you, please."

"Uuuugh, there's like a hundred drinks you don't even use like EVER, what is the

POINT-"

"The POINT of this, is that any job you go into, you learn the rules no matter how long you're staying in it-"

"UGH JEEZ could you just tell me what I gotta do already!?"

"...WISTERIA!"

From the service door there came a creeping set of ivy along the wall as a piranha plant peered its yellow head from around the corner.

"Could you cover for me while I deal with a problem?"

"Sure boss."

"Thank you. You, come with me, NOW."

The raptor almost dragged his assistant to the back with stomping feet whilst the piranha plant swung her potted stand over towards the centre of the bar like a trapeze artist. Her vines grew out easily to reach different pumps and glasses whilst Roy could hear faintly the sounds of his old nemesis lambasting his contained fury upon him. MacGregor almost felt sorry for the koopa, yet also had the strange sensation of blushing excitement that only children felt when teacher was punishing someone else loudly from outside the classroom.

"If you ever backtalk to me like that again in front of a customer then you are busted young man."

"Wh-what is your problem dude I am TRYING-"

"No, you're not, my problem is that you are a goddamn lazy shell-head who can't even bother reading a book to save his life! How did you even study in school with that attitude?!"

"Whuh-h-hey, you never studied, I know you didn't, you can't talk to me like that!"

"I wasn't lucky enough to get an education, unlike YOU, which is clearly wasted when you can't even pick yourself up! You come into a job, ready to LEARN whatever you're given, if you walk into a gym then you gotta learn how to operate every equipment. You walk into the guard, you have to learn every single rule in the lawbook and if you walk into a coffee bar, then you learn every single damn kind of coffee bean there is by the BOOK, and I know that because I had to do it when I was your age! I knew NOTHING about coffee and you know what I was given?! An entire god damn book and one single day to read all of it, so if I can do it without a high school education, then SO CAN YOU! Now take your feckless hide to the backroom and STUDY DAMMIT!"

"Y-YES, S-SIR SORRY MISTER KENNIDON!"

The koopa flinched with panic and rushed off back to the storage room whilst James returned back to the bar with cooling head where Wisteria was mixing drinks, handing a platter of them to her boss replying:

"Two Fahrs to table five, Smash an' Shine to table three and a Rainbow for number two."

"Got it."

Navigating once around the room, he placed down drinks and received his coins from the patrons. Almost everyone in the room seemed to be in pairs, couples joining together for drinks or meeting for the first time from the goomba being fascinated in his new bob-omb friend to the toad and piranha girlfriends tittering to each other about secrets. A feeling of emptiness grew inside of Roy realising he was the only one sitting by himself as James returned back to him.

"Sorry about that."

"...hmm?"

"College student we had recently, just-ugh no effort inside him."

"Maybe he got no drive, no motivation."

"Well he can find it somewhere else cuz he's sure not finding it here."

"Did you really work in a coffee bar once?"

"Yeah I did, back uhhh...musta been about twenty years ago, nice little village. Anyways, what can I do for ya?"

"Ahm lookin' into an investigation an' thuh name of this place popped up in a discussion between two possible criminals."

"Yeah? I'll tell you right now this place is one-hundred-percent legit, I wouldn't dare put anything shady down here what with the Koopa family owning this."

"Yeah uh, how can thuh Koopa Kingdom have a business down here in thuh homeland of their enemies?"

"Politics and finance are different things Roy. You should know that, I mean back home there's always plenty businesses in different countries despite all their feuds. Money is money."

"Ah suppose."

"So what do these guys look like? Maybe I might recognise them."

"Alrigh'...but just so you know, you are not supposed to know about this, ah took a recordin' an' it's technically not legal cuz ah didn't get permission to do this."

"Wait what? ...ooooooh Roy-"

"Sh-shush dammit, jus-ah had to get a reference of these two up to sumthin', ah can't use this in a legal way an' mah boss thinks that ah deleted it so as far as you know, you ain't never seen this recordin', alrigh'?"

"Alright alright just show me already."

MacGregor brought up his omni-tool discreetly hiding it with his body from the majority of the room as James watched carefully, a smile already creeping on his face from seeing the former prefect have to bend the rules a little to his own means. The image of the yoshi in the suit took only a few moments for his mind to blink upon realising.

"Wait...wait yes, yeah I seen this dude."

"You have?!"

"Yeah! I remember, sorta...it was about a year ago, we had a worker come in recent, a toad but he wasn't from Toad Town, said he came in from uhh, Petalburg. Then I found out that he was basically trying to set up some kind of drug deal."

"Drugs?!" squawked Roy whispering. "Really, in THIS world even?"

"It's the fucking Mushroom Kingdom Roy of course there's gonna be drugs. Anyways he was pushing Fuzzy or at least trying to, but he got careless cuz, I dunno, guy was an idiot and when I found out well I decided to wait on his deal being set up by his friends with the guards in back storage waiting for them. Woulda gone smoothly except for that one purple yoshi who took out half the guards and got his crew to escape."

"Wait, whut?! How'd he do that?!"

"I dunno, I just let the guards handle it but all I heard was this commotion outside, some kinda squawking and screeching like birds all over the place and before you know it...he was gone."

"Damn...yanno, that yoshi said Sher T. wuz responsible for sum kinda fiasco about a year ago. Mighta been just that."

"The toad in that vid?"

"Yeah."

"He doesn't look familiar to me. The yoshi does though, I made him think twice about coming round to my bar ever again. Especially with the threat of its owner coming down as this is one of the most profitable bars of the chain, before the guards came that is."

"You got a name?"

"......Yannis."

"Whut?"

"The guys he was with...they called him Yannis, he got really mad when they called him by his name though. Did like this little hand gesture to one of them and he just shut right the fuck up, face as white as a boo."

"Whut kinda gesture? Wuz it sum kinda gang sign?"

"Might be. It was sorta like he was making a bird out his hands, like this."

The raptor locked his thumbclaws together awkwardly to try and make his other four claws resemble a bird's wings, flapping softly. Roy understood immediately with eyes widening as he said:

"That's it. He did that shit to me too whilst we were fightin' off each other. You know anybody that knows anythin' about Yannis?"

"Hmmmm...the only one I know who's got any kind of knowledge about criminals is Koopin."

"Wait, Koopin!? For real, how would he know?!"

"Well one, he's a tour guide so he's done a lot of travel all over the place, he might have heard of something. And two...heh, well, he had some uh...I'll let you ask him yourself but if this guy was pushing Fuzzy, then it's more likely that Koopin might know who he was. He's back home if you wanna talk."

"He's not in any trouble is he?" asked Roy nervously.

"Oh god no," said James, "he's cleaner than you, I mean fuck he's so clean that he never lets me hop on top of him unless I take a shower first no matter what day it is-"

"Woah-woah, woah, tha-TMI dude whut thuh hell."

"Heheheh, yeah, sorry...I'm used to this sorta cheeky gay stuff around this place, my bad."

"S'alrigh', this ain't mah kinda scene anyway so uh ahll just head off. Thank you for your help, you gave me a lotta info."

"Anytime Roy. See you later."

The black raptor made his exit and decided to head down towards the Kennidon house, traipsing his way to Koopamuir as a gnawing worry began to eat away inside of him. Questions grew to a flurrying crescendo all across his mindscape as he clasped his hands together almost in prayer towards his lips, wondering on the right words to think, and of which ones that he deserved to think. Eventually, he found himself standing outside the Kennidon house where Koopin invited him in, much to the sound of Charlie barking his head off.

"Oh hey there Roy! Come on in."

Bowing his head as he made his way in, the chomp realised who it was and also greeted him by a gentle bark politely. A small red shape sat on the sofa to his right peeking over the top with little flippered hands, white mask with bare eye sockets and a little mouth.

"OH! H-helloooo um...you are Roy, aren't you?"

"Ummmm...yes, ah don't recall your name, you're Koopin's workbuddy right?"

"Yes, Shybert Bobunov, at your service hwoh."

They nodded to each other as Roy and Koopin sat down whilst watching a documentary about great entertainers and legends of modern show business. Shybert could not help staring at the raptor who was enormous to him, even when sitting down he outreached him by a good two feet with Koopin sitting between them.

"So what brings you here Roy?" asked Kennidon.

"Ahm here to ask about sumthin', not gonna be here too long just wanted to ask about sum things."

"Is anyone in trouble?"

"No, not really. Do you know someone called Sher T. at all?"

"You mean Sher T. employee of the TGA?" asked Shybert formally.

"Yes, actually ah do. Can ah ask whut he does at thuh workplace?"

"He works in administration, has been for over twelve years hwoh. Very dependable, keeps his head down, never bothers anyone."

"I worked the same office as him actually," said Koopin, "back before James returned, he never really talked to anyone. Did something happen?"

"Just formalities," stated MacGregor, "whut sort of work did he do?"

"He mainly just archived things, we have a whole floor dedicated to updating records and moving files from physical to digital format."

"But before that," said Shybert, "he used to work in finance. I never spoke to him much, except when I was with Yorick my former partner in crime one might say hwo-ho-hoh."

Tickling himself pink with his little joke, Roy simply cocked his head as Shybert began fiddling nervously with his tie.

"Th-that was a joke, I don't actually commit nefarious activities of any sort, I think you'll find."

"No worries, so this uh, Yorick, who's that?"

"He was a co-partner of mine, we worked on quite a few business projects together as supervisors of our sector. He also worked in finance along with Sher T. but then they slowly moved towards administration for some reason. Cannot think why."

"When wuz that exactly?"

"Ummmm...about a few months before Koopin came along to work was it-"

"Eleven years ago," said the koopa, "but you know more about him than me Shybert."

"I could look into his employee record if you like, I have access if you are certain you need it."

"Ah just want to clear sum issues up," said the raptor firmly, "ah can't say obviously whut our whole investigation is about, but Sher T.'s name popped up an' ah am sure this is just sum kinda innocent mistake, it's better safe than sorry."

"Well, right then, I will um get you your details tomorrow, do you have an email?"

"Nope, ah don't even have a computer."

"Oh, well um...just, maybe-"

"Why don't you email it to me," said Koopin, "and then I pass it on to Roy by giving him a call to let him know when I receive it?"

"Is that alright? That should be alright I think, yes."

"Ah think it should be," replied Roy, "thanks both of you. You just made mah job real easy. Alrigh' ah think ah better head out and uh, see whut else ah can-OOH, that reminds me. This is an unrelated case but ah need to ask you sumthin' Koopin. Privately."

"O-okay?"

Koopin became nervous, as he nodded towards Shybert to busy himself outside as he made his way towards the back garden with a random excuse.

"I think I should maybe um, check on those...sheds, yes that shed maybe looks a bit off, I should make sure its veneer is quite um...adequate, won't be long."

With that awkward leave, Koopin faced Roy firmly as the raptor brought up his omni-tool, giving a warning about never repeating what he sees to anyone due to its technical legality. Koopin understood nodding solemnly as he watched the image of a yoshi threatening a toad as something flickered in his memory.

"I...um...I THINK I know who that guy is."

"Wait, really? Cuz James told me over at his bar that, you might know sumthin' but...you do realise this guy is a criminal."

"I know...wait...wait, that's it, that's...he was in Rogueport."

"Huh?"

"There was this...something, I had an encounter and...I saw him in this group."

A fierce painful memory flickered through Koopin's mind. A dark room amidst thick meaty thuds of fists slamming into his face and stomach. Bruises burning deep into his abdomen, his vision blurring as he saw a doorway open.

"He was part of...a criminal gang I had um...I um..."

"Koopin?"

Roy became nervous as he leaned forwards.

"Were you involved in sumthin'?"

"No. N-no I wasn't, not that...I was...I never told you what stuff I went through when James...wasn't around."

"You didn't."

"There was a time when I became...a target by a criminal group in Rogueport."

"Wait whut?" stammered MacGregor. "Someone...targeted you? But why?"

"......I saw some things that I shouldn't have seen. That's all I can tell you, I could tell you the whole thing but it's gonna take a good while to explain everything and I don't wanna waste your day."

"You were a witness to criminal activity?"

"I was," responded Koopin. "And they tried to punish me for it, and in that moment I saw that guy there. He seemed like...the way he spoke, he wasn't like a PART of the gang itself...more like a higher authority. I don't remember what he was talking about but the way they walked to him was very strained and nervous...like they were kind of...afraid of him."

"Whut kinda stuff were this group into?"

"Mainly drug trafficking, Fuzzy pushing."

"Whut kinda thing is Fuzzy exactly?"

"It's a...narcotic that comes from Yoshi's Island, it naturally occurs flying like spores across the air and for the most part it's harmless in its natural state. Just causes some weird balance issues, your sense of orientation is all kooky and maybe the odd hallucination. Yoshis traditionally use them in various rites of passage in its natural form. But there are some people who try to make it stronger, they sorta crystallise and ferment it so you get a lot stronger kick out of it. If anyone talks about Fuzzy outside of the island, you can bet they're talking about the illegal stuff."

"Hmmm...that did come up in a previous statement ah got yes. Ah discovered this guy's name was Yannis, an' ah-"

"Wait...YES!"

Koopin pulled out his finger with sudden excalamation point.

"That was it, his name was Yannis! They called him mister Yannis he...he said he was from a mister...rombert or ronny or-"

"Rodin?"

"Yes! That...wow you really know this guy huh?"

"Not nearly well enough. Whut about this criminal gang who targeted you, where they at?"

"In prison. But they got extradited back to Delfino Island where they came from originally."

"Damn, outside of mah jurisdiction then. So uh you have any idea where this Yannis might be at?"

"Other than Rogueport no, but I think their operations were busted up and they had to leave Rogueport so if they were anywhere else...if I remember anything I'll let you know."

"Alrigh', thanks a lot Koopin. You helped me pin down sum ideas more and uh, when your buddy Shybert gets sum info on that Sher T. you lemme know."

"I will. Lemme just call him back in."

Koopin left the sofa briefly to bring Shybert back in which was Roy's cue to leave having got all his info that he needed. The shy guy waddled his way back onto the couch with an awkward chuckle.

"So, what did I miss?"

"Nothing for your ears Shybert," said Koopin.

"No I mean on the telly, what's happening in the show?"

"OH right um, they're just covering the first TV stars now."

"Whut sorta show is this?" asked Roy.

"It's about the history of entertainment in the Mushroom Kingdom. From travelling circuses to the modern celebrity, it's pretty fascinating!"

"Heh, any chance thuh Shyster Brothers are on there?"

"Actually yeah, the whole circus group they came from was in it, The Yakovich Family Troupe, they got a pretty neat segment! My mom went to see them once, she said they were really awesome."

"Ah didn' know she lahked that sorta thing."

"Well...actually it was because she had a major crush on the circus ringmaster, but she still loved it!"

"It's tragic really," said Shybert, "to think great entertainers like those brothers would resort to petty crime when the circus just ended up out of business!"

"I try not to think about that."

"Why did thuh Shysters become criminals?" asked Roy. "Cuz ah mean after catchin' 'em ah did wonder why."

"Oh it was awful. Whilst travelling across the sea for their next performance, a massive storm just tore apart the ship and almost everyone disappeared. The Shyster Brothers were thrown overboard along with many other people, and they were the only ones who managed to survive it because they managed to float back towards Monstro Town in the southwest and well, became drifters. None of their friends survived despite a huge search but the sea is massive...they couldn't even find the boat."

"Woah. That's terrible...man ah kinda feel bad about those two now."

"S-sorry, I didn't mean-"

"naw naw is just...ah did ask. Heh, thanks for all your help Koopin, ahll see you later."

"Later Roy!"

With farewell to both Koopin and Shybert, along with Charlie nuzzling his leg, he took his leave back towards Toad Town to see what his partner Stul T. had managed to come up with. Not even noon had passed and already he felt he had made so much progress, yet something was bothering him still as he walked slowly down the country path. With every new thought in his head, his pace became lethargic and by the time he reached back to his usual post, it was already nearing 1pm. Stul T. was already waiting for him with a smile eager to report his findings.

"Heeeey dino boy, never guess what I found."

"Hmm? Whussat?"

"New lead on our case! ...you alright?"

"Um, uh, yeah...sorry just feelin' kinda drained all of a sudden, mah head's not in thuh right place."

"Seriously, you were all chipper tweetin' like a bird this morning, did something happen?"

"No ah just...mmmm...ah dunno, got a weird...feelin' all tight in mah chest."

"Maybe eat something disagreeable?"

"Naw it ain't that...anyways, forget about it, whut you find?"

"So, get this, the Tricorvid? It originates from the southwest seas, it's been coming here at least twice every year for the past ten years, they sell mostly fruit, but nobody's ever seen the captain of the ship. People comment that the crew are oddly well-cleaned like super neat, and nobody under strict instructions is ever allowed into the hold, usually the local dockworkers help to offload but they never get allowed. I mean why get all cagey if it's all fruit?"

"Probably cuz it ain't, listen to whut ah found."

Roy explained from his findings about Yannis and Sher T., as well as possible follow-up leads on the toad's employment history.

"Sheesh, our missing toad's lookin' a lot more shady nowadays."

"Certainly lahk it, ah bet you that's why he lied about his Mailbox 3DS. It musta been stolen cuz it had possible evidence about his activities."

"This guy must be trusted to get that much attention, maybe he was their main guide into Toad Town?"

"Have there ever been any drug problems in this place?"

"Usually not, the place is run really strict about that, Rogueport is easy to get into with that but not in the Mushroom Kingdom, or Koopa Kingdom. There was this one time I remember a sting that happened on some fuzzy traffickers, we might wanna look into it."

"Sound lahk a good idea, let's go check out the archives over at HQ."

Looking over the archives with permission from the sergeant who was rather impressed by their leads, they found only what James Kennidon had stated previously. An incident concerning drug deals attempted at the bar, with the bartender collaborating for a sting operation, but nobody had been caught due to the unexpected ferocity of "an unknown number of shadowed assailants with wings along with a purple yoshi who wore a suit". There was however a name that did pop up in the police report that came from overhearing dialogue between the dealers concerning a "Mr. Rodin". The connection was now definite, but he wouldn't get anything further until hearing back from the TGA.

The only thing of interest to happen until then, was the day after when Roy returned from work to find his apartment building completely blacked out. No lights from the building whatsoever as he firmly gripped his spear with anticipation before making his way in. Not a sound could be heard apart from his claws clicking across the wooden floor as he put his shield up in front of him. Too close for spear, but he could easily bash someone across the face, carefully creeping past the landlady's door. Something rustled ahead of him from beneath the staircase which stood to the right of the front door. Soon the handle started to turn as Roy waited, bracing his shield in front of him with spear braced forwards and the moment he saw a shadow step forth he shouted:

"FREEZE!"

"HOH, OH STARS!"

"WHU-ARGH!"

Blinded briefly by the light that flashed in his eyes, he backed off at the sound of a woman's scream, blinking harshly as his eyes managed to focus. Flo T. stood in front of him with flashlight in hand clutching her chest with the other hand.

"Good...GRACIOUS Roy you just took a few years off my life!"

"Aww jeez ahm sorry, ah thought sumthin' musta happened to thuh place an' you mighta had a break-in. Can't be too careful."

"MISS FLO, YOU ALRIGHT?!"

A voice cried out from upstairs from one of the other tenants.

"YES I'M OKAY!" she cried. "JUST MISTER MacGREGOR CAME IN!"

"OH OKAY!"

"HEY!" cried another tenant. "THAT POWER BACK ON YET?!"

"DO YOU SEE THE LIGHT COMING ON IDIOT?!"

"KEEP IT DOWN I'M TRYING TO READ HERE!"

"This is just terrible," whimpered the landlady, "I've been trying the past forty minutes to get this thing working and I haven't the faintest idea."

"Whut exactly happened?" asked Roy.

"I don't know, the power just went, I see no problem with the fuses which I could replace easily but I don't know what's been damaged!"

"Call an electrician?"

"I can't, they all close at six!"

"Awww really? God damn......wait, ah think ah know sumbody that can fix this."

"Oh thank goodness, you do?!"

"Yeah, lemme just head out an' bring her, ahm sure she knows how to fix stuff lahk this."

"Alright, be careful then."

The raptor headed out over to Yolanda's apartment building several streets away, knocking on the door patiently as the koopa landlord opened with a grin.

"Wellll hello there sir. What can I do for you?"

"Is Yolanda in? Ah need sum help with an electrical problem an' all thuh places are shut."

"Mmmm she is in, what seems to be the problem?"

"Thuh lights have gone out at mah place, ah got no idea whut's caused 'em an' my landlady is freaking out with a buncha restless tenants."

"Ohhhh dear me, I know that problem all too well. Which building is it?"

"Twenty-seven Woodland Road, miss Flo T.? Ah dunno if you know her."

"No I don't, that's not too far away though, hahahah, alright then. I'll just ring her down, now you wait here."

The landlord closed the door and calmly went to his room, pressing a button on the wall. Within seconds there came a light flickering on in Yolanda's room clear as day as she hurried down to hear the news. It only took her two minutes to get dressed in a reflective yellow vest, a headlight and a toolbox greeting Roy at the door.

"Damn you're quick! Sorry for all this, mah landlady's havin' a real problem with this."

She waved her hand dismissing it as no problem at all as they walked back to his place. The koopa leaned slightly against the doorjamb wondering to himself with a small chuckle, heading back inside. Yolanda was greeted by Flo T. at the door, the toad forming an instant rambling at the sight of her vest with headlight on.

"OHH thank goodness, thank you SO much for coming please! Now, I see no problem with the fuses, the lights went out not more than forty minutes ago and the entire electricity to the place has gone, please could you-"

"Uhhh ma'am? You migh' wanna take a deep breath, take it chill, we got this. Ah know where it all is, you just let her do her thing."

"Yes...alright then, sorry, I just-ohh it's just always terrible when this sort of thing happens. Thank you once again."

The yoshi nodded as Roy lead her down into the basement underneath the stairs. Yolanda looked around the place with her headlight roaming across the walls seeing a surprisingly neat storage area, with just a few boxes and laundry machines tucked away against the wall. Just as Flo T. had said, the fuses were all in place within a large electrical cabinet of several switches, the circuit breaker. None of them had blown, and after making several tests flicking them, she began to look along the wiring with a trained eye scrutinising for any breakage. Roy said nothing knowing she couldn't see him anyway, until she finally found the culprit not more than twenty minutes later. A damp patch had grown downwards above a large length of cable as she turned to face Roy whilst typing into her DS.

GFCI switched power off, there's a water leak interfering with the current

"Wait, it turned ITSELF off? Why?"

Safety feature, it measures the current in a loop and if it's not equal to how it started, it turns off. Stops people getting electrocuted

"Damn...ah never knew it had stuff lahk that, can you fix it?"

Fix the water leak first, then I can reset the breaker, need to make sure the current is clear

After telling all this to Flo T., she called one of the tenants who thankfully had skills as a plumber, a rather hefty clubba with fat lips and burly green muscles. Yolanda pointed out the stain, to which he understood where it was coming from as being Flo T.'s fridge, which was now leaking water downwards due to a clogged defrosting drain. The raptor and the clubba heaved the fridge out of the way with their brutish strength, rippling muscles shining from the yoshi's light as both ladies couldn't help but blush at the sight of Roy's glistening black skin. The leak's origin point was discovered to which Roy began drying out all traces of moisture by a very cautious slow burning from his hands, pushing heat carefully into the floor to dehumidify it at the plumber's recommendation, then heading downstairs to do the same to the damp patch, which began to finally recede. The clubba unclogged the fridge's drain, the raptor placed it back, and finally the yoshi reset the circuit breaker to bring the entire world back into light as the entire apartment building cheered from upstairs.

"HEEEEEEY IT'S BACK!"

"WAIT wait wait, is it gonna hold? ...is it...it's not flickering is it?"

"THANK STARS I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA MISS SHELL CITY! THANKS FOR FIXING IT GUYS!"

They all met up back up at Flo T.'s kitchen, who gave them some biscuits and orange juice to cool off with. The plumber's girth forced his seat to creak, whilst Roy smiled at Yolanda as she gulped down her juice after eating half a plate of biscuits.

"Thank you all so much for your help," said the landlady, "you really saved tonight for me."

"Jus' payin' you back," replied the clubba, "fer bein' the best landlady a guy could have."

"Ohohoho, mister Cliff please! Thank you, and thank YOU especially young lady for helping us all the way through it."

"Yeah you really know yer way around a breaker, you a professional or sumthin'?!"

Yolanda shook her head modestly and simply shrugged, but Roy spared her the need to bring out her DS as he explained:

"She studied it in university, wuz gonna make it her job but yanno, couldn't find any positions out here."

"You sure abou' that? I think I migh' know a few guys who need someone savvy with electrics, wan' me to give you a referral?"

The yoshi nodded happily, mouthing "thank you" as they drank up and soon she made her leave. Cliff brought out two business cards to give her for places that he knew of, whilst Flo T. hugged her with deeper gratitude as Roy said:

"Ahm jus' gonna make sure she get home safe, alrigh' miss?"

"Oh of course, you two be careful out there and thank you for all this, dear. Sleep well!"

The two reptiles walked out with door closing behind them as they stopped to face each other on the corner of the street.

"Thank you so much for helpin' us out."

No problem!

"Seriously, I owe you big time, lahk for real, you are thuh best."

A limp-wristed flap of her hand came with a bashful look pleading him half-heartedly to stop whilst enjoying the compliment. It was at this point that Roy felt a sudden palpitation beating against his chest like a fierce drum as he struggled to ask:

"Um...m-maybe you wan'...ah mean, just if you wan-is there any way ah can repay you for all this, lahk maybe ah dunno take you out for sum food, ahll pay, buy you anythin', just ah dunno-"

You mean like a date?

She typed this out halfway through his stuttering before his heart braked, screeching to a halt as he felt not a single beat in his ears at seeing the last word. He crushed his hands together whilst pinching the knuckles between his fingers, struggling to meet her gaze of both playful innocence and a sweet curiosity.

"I-uh...um...i-it COULD be a date if you wannit, d-do you want it to be?"

What time is good for a "date" then?

"Anytime after seven, that's when ah get off work."

Six days from now, meet me outside my place around 8pm?

"S-sure! That sound great, ahll be there."

Yolanda nodded with a simple smooch to his cheek, reaching up on her tippy-toes just to do so for the fact that Roy was a full foot taller than her as they walked off back to her place. The raptor felt his head start to swim with dizzying warmth like standing on his head, a sudden rush of blood to the brain that almost left him giddy. Watching all of this, planting her cheek upon the windowsill was miss Flo T. who became slightly wistful, melancholy almost. She gave a deep sigh turning away back to her humble kitchen, feeling the light turn just a bit dimmer in her own house.

Around three days later, Roy and Stul T. entered the main branch of the tourism offices in Toad Town, a rather smart-looking building of solid white risen up towards five floors in the outskirts of the settlement. A piranha plant with purple and yellow spots greeted them at reception.

"Hi there welcome to the Tour Guide Association Toad Town branch how may I help you?"

"We have a meeting with a mister Bobunov concerning one of your employees, could you let him know we're here?"

"Yes sirs."

The two made their way to the fifth and final floor of the offices, seeing a great variety of creatures either walking, trotting, floating or phasing through the corridors of the TGA. Roy had always been curious about Koopin's workplace and was surprised by how normal it was. The beige walls, the vending machines, the rows of desks with computers and the sound of telephones ringing off the hook. It wasn't until they reached the office of Mr. Bobunov, which looked suspiciously like a broom closet with a small desk inside of it, that the strange veil of normalcy left the raptor enough to meet Shybert.

"Oh, good morning sirs! You are here about our problem I take it, hwoh?"

"Mmhmm, that we are."

"We'll need to talk to the CEO to square things away so if you follow me please."

Reaching the office of the CEO which was in its own quadrant of the building in wooden-cast floor and green imperial-fine walls, they were met by a rather staunch lakitu whose moustache matched that of his cloud behind his immaculate grand oaken carved desk, with various knick-knacks, photographs and relics of other places hung up around the office.

"Hello? What's all this?"

"Um, mister Lakitude sir," began Shybert, "these are the guards who have come to discuss the matter with Sher T."

"...what matter with Sher T.?"

"We are conducting an investigation," said Roy, "into one of your employees who is currently under suspicion."

"Of what may I ask?"

"We believe he may have been in contact with certain criminals during his employment with your company, as well as sending messages from here."

"I do not think so, our email system is secure and mandated only to a closed loop of employees."

"I understand sir, but mister Bobunov told us that we were able to come in and investigate his desk."

"I did not authorise this. I'm sorry but unless you have some evidence directly of Sher T.'s involvement I simply cannot breach one of my own employees' privacy in the workplace."

"But sir," cried the shy guy, "I sent you a form authorising it, it was in triplicate!"

"I never received it, I have no idea what you are talking abou-"

"Ohhhh really Cyrus."

A voice came hauntingly through the wall as a sad-looking boo floated through into the office. A deep, sombre voice reminiscent of the phrase "you only have three months to live, at best".

"You never really check your mail."

"What are you talking about, do you know anything about this Booratio?"

"I am aware of this, boocause I was the one who authorised it."

"Who are you exactly?" asked Stul T.

"Booratio, personnel resources. I manage all of the employee records, healthcare and wages."

"You were the one who gave us Sher T.'s records?"

"I was indeed."

"Wh-what is this?!" cried Lakitude. "You can't give them employee records without evidence, that's breach of contract!"

"I was within my legal capacity Cyrus, boocause Sher T. himself had breached contract already boofore this engagement."

"How?!"

"He has not come into work for a week. Without any authorisation of holiday or notifications, so I called his house, then the hospital, then the travel agencies and docks yet I found no trace of Sher T.'s excursions, and he had not requested any time off to be authorised with us. Section eight, article thirteen of the TGA Employer's Handbook states that if an employee should take absence without cause apparent for longer than three days, they will lose their right to privacy on working grounds until they return. It was specifically written to assist with investigations concerning employees who went missing, which as you know is a threat in our line of work as explorers of the unknown and treacherous."

The room became silent listening to the imposing boo, his face forever like the father who had outlived his son as he turned towards the guards.

"I will assist you in your search."

"Very well," said Mr. Lakitude defeated, "if we are legally binding to assist then I have no quarrels, but you are not to disturb our employees during your investigation, and you touch nothing except mister Sher T.'s desk."

"We will investigate his boolongings during lunch break, when our employees have vacated the room."

They waited until around 12:30pm as the employees soon filed out singularly through the halls towards the lunch room, the most open part of the entire building that more resembled a school hall than anything. Roy and Stul T. went to the office that their suspect had worked, along with Shybert and Booratio following to officiate matters. Six desks laid in the room, spread out nicely to allow space for everyone to move as Roy asked briefly:

"Did Koopin work on this floor Shybert?"

"Oh yes, that was his desk right over there before he moved up...or down rather, into another career, hehoh."

"Here is the desk."

Booratio presented Sher T.'s desk, looking just like any other desk with PC as Stul T. asked:

"You know his password for this thing?"

"I do not, but we have a master password that can override any account on the network."

"Neat, what is it?"

"I cannot tell you, but mister Bobunov is aware of it as chief supervisor of this floor, so he will input it for you."

"Allow me, hwoh."

Shybert typed in the password with everyone ordered to look away as he accessed Sher T.'s files. Nothing was out of place, just the same old archival stuff that had been piling up for years over the course of the TGA's long involved history with the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Seems to be all in order, nothing out of place."

"So we got nothing on his PC," said Stul T., "what about his desk?"

The toad quickly opened up the drawers looking through every one. There were paperclips, a few sweets, one stapler, basic office supplies of no interest. But then he noticed something whilst handling the middle drawer.

"Hold up...something's off here."

"What"

"This...it's not as deep as it should be. Look."

Putting one hand in the drawer and the other outside of it, they all noticed a strange thickness in the bottom of the drawer as Shybert noted:

"That's definitely not standard regulations."

"Is it perhaps modified?" asked the boo. "We don't allow employees to modify office furniture without permission or health reasons."

"Lemme try something."

Stul T. carefully felt around the inside of the drawer as he rubbed along a far corner feeling something click. The bottom of the drawer slipped out rolling sideways like a long thin tray revealing a secret compartment. Only one thing was inside of it. A small rectangular card the size of Roy's claw.

"What the heck is this?"

"An SD card it looks like," said Shybert. "But I'm not sure what it's fo-"

"A Mailbox 3DS."

Roy looked at Stul T. as something dawned on them.

"You don't think, the guy made a backup do you?"

"Only one way to find out. Let's head on back to HQ, may we have this?"

"Of course," replied Booratio, "it is not company property and as I said, this modification is illegal according to company rules."

"Glad we were able to help," said Shybert, "I hope you can find him, hwoh."

"Wait you know he's missing?" asked Roy.

"Company policy states that if an employee has not returned within a week on unplanned absence, they are regarded as missing. Actually it's more like three days, but sometimes it's a week depending on which job they're on."

"Righ' because of travel an' such. Welp, alrigh' then, let's hope for thuh best, thanks a lot folks."

With their duty performed they went back to the guardhouse where a small tech office allowed them to investigate certain pieces of data or files that needed decrypting. Luckily, Sher T.'s mysterious SD card was not encrypted, and all they had to do was pop it into a spare blank Mailbox 3DS that the guardhouse had for such purposes in order to find out what was on it. Both guards held their breath with excitement feverishly at what would be found, anticipation rising in their minds and hearts as the dual-screen handheld flickered into life. They weren't disappointed.

Emails, correspondences, and various allusions to meeting locations all came filtering in over the last four years, including the very encounter James had at Roy's bar with the mysterious Yannis. Had Sher T. still been in town, this would have put him away for half of his life expectancy just on the intent to supply alone.

"That's whut we needed."

"But...wait, why would he make a copy, wouldn't that incriminate him?"

"He wanted it for insurance. He might have wanted to threaten Yannis with it but never had thuh chance before he got chewed up an' spat out. Literally."

"Well, we got a lot of evidence but no one to accuse it of, now what do we do?"

"We wait until they pop their heads out of thuh sand...then we nail 'em hard for it...whut does thuh latest correspondence say?"

Y_rrr: Business ventures not taking hold in town. Rule of three.

Shroomancha: I just need a newer place to hook, I'll find something okay!?!

Y_rrr: You assured us you could get us a place in the bar.

Shroomancha: You keep pinning that mistake on me, it was Koopisten's fault, NOT mine!

Y_rrr: He acted on bad information, which YOU gave. Will discuss things with Rodin.

Shroomancha: I can make this right, just gimme a new location, I will fix this, I WILL FIX THIS I put too much into this operation for you to cut me out!!!

Y_rrr: He is willing to give you a chance. Koopisten will meet you.

Shroomancha: Okay, thank you. Why him?

Y_rrr: This will also be his chance to redeem himself. Rule of Three.

"Sounds lahk we got our perp," said Roy.

"Koopisten huh? So he met Sher T., gave him the whack then stole his 3DS. I'll get on the town registry and see where he lives."

"Whut's up with that 'rule of three' term though?"

"I dunno, probably something like 'three strikes and you're out'?"

"Hmmm...alrigh', look up this Koopisten an' see whut we can find."

But Roy had other matters to attend to whilst his partner looked up the registry. Without any other distractions in the case, he now had only one thing to think about which had been growing inside his mind like a festering boil ready to burst. He was excited, terrified and yet also strangely guilty. That was the worst part, he could handle fear and anticipation but not the guilt for some reason. Throughout the entirety of the week leading up towards the date he felt undeserving, as if committing a grievous sin that so burned his heart and made it twist uncomfortably. The night before the date, he went down to where James worked at the bar in need of desperate company, and perhaps also to grab a drink to steadily drown his confusion.

"Hey there Roy!"

"Oh, hey FG."

Sitting up at the bar, his face was obvious as the raptor leaned in slightly.

"Been having a rough day?"

"K-kinda, more lahk a week...you got anythin' to help me numb thuh brain?"

"Too many thoughts right? Hahah, sure I got something for ya."

He handed him a glass of Smash Bros. Brau, a simple lager that helped to stifle his mind's chittering notions and strange paranoia as Kennidon asked:

"You want to talk about it?"

"Mmmm...a-ah dunno, ah just...ah got this dilemma but ahm not sure if whut ahm doin' is thuh right thing to do."

"Is it some kinda legal thing?"

"No. More personal."

"Okay so you can be able to talk about it. If you want to."

"Ah dunno."

"Well, why did you come here? I mean you almost never come down here...actually I don't remember you ever really coming to this place, you don't seem like a bar dude to me."

"Never really drink much alcohol."

He took a drink softly, the lager oddly sweet despite a strong fierce undertaste.

"It...um...have you ever...wanted to do sumthin', or go someplace a lot, but you feel lahk you're morally obligated to not?"

"I'm not...sure what you mean."

"Lahk there's sumthin' you wanna do but you feel lahk if you do it, you disrespect sumbody, lahk grievously, disrespectin' their memory."

"......is this about Lizbeth?"

Roy's eyes looked up fully towards James. He made the connection instantly as he smiled down at him.

"Did you...find a girl?"

"Um, a-a-ah jus-"

"Awwwwww you diiiiiid! Awww Roy that's awesome, what's she like, who is she?!"

"Sh-sh-shush man! Ah don' have a girl, lahk, officially, ah jus'-"

"Wait you don't? So what's the problem?!"

"Ah dunno!"

"You wanna have a life here don't you, why should you be alone and miserable all the time?"

"Ahm not! Ah got you, an' Koopin!"

"We're like friends, not lovers to you jeez, what's wrong with going after a girl!"

"Because it's not even been nine months since Lizbeth passed away."

A solemn moment came between them, as if observing a silence. James already understood as he clasped his hands together.

"Alright, listen. I know what you're going through, like EXACTLY what you're going through."

"You...do?"

"Lemme tell you a story. Remember I told you how I worked in a coffee bar in a nice little village?"

"Yeah?"

"Sixteen years ago, I met a wonderful girl. She was sweet, she was kind, she was very innocent. I only knew her for a year before she was killed, and a lot of bad things happened afterwards most of which was because of me. I never got over her, until maybe about a couple weeks before I met Koopin. I found my closure at last before I came to this world, and yet even after I had gone past it, even after a long five years, three of which I remember after she died...I still couldn't bring myself to move on and when Koopin confessed he had feelings for me...I couldn't do it. I just froze up, and I panicked and I rejected him, gently."

"Really? Shit he never told me."

"And you know what? That was stupid, it was pointless because eventually I did realise that I loved him and I had to move on with things, like the entire point of me starting a new life was to let GO of old things, so this is what you have to do. Move on. Lizbeth is dead. I dunno anything about her, but I know she wouldn't want you to be clinging onto her spirit now would she?"

"N-no...no she wouldn't."

"So you know that already. Then why are you hesitating?"

"A-a-ah just...ahm just, at a weird point in my life, ah dunno whether it's good to step forwards or stay where I am."

"Speaking from past experience...go forwards. Always. If you like this girl, if you really like her, I mean how does she make you feel?"

"She...she, makes me feel happy."

Roy's fingers trembled across the glassful of drink.

"She's adorable, she's smart, she knows whut she wants, she's got this confidence about whut she does yet at thuh same time she also got this sorta...gentle piece to her, it's hard to explain but...whenever ah see her mah heart just...lifts up you know whut ah mean?"

"I do. I've known that feeling the past sixteen years thanks to my husband. Now I know not everybody's gonna have the same experience as me and him, but the same FEELINGS are there Roy."

The raptor placed his hand upon Roy's shoulder.

"You can move on. You want somebody to come out and give you permission well then I'm giving you permission. You can move on, you embrace this new life because I didn't want to have you stay here just so you would be living on your own miserably all the time. I want you to be happy, especially with someone who you feel those sort of things for. Don't make the same mistake I did, because I got lucky enough that Koopin stayed around. We both made too many mistakes."

"...you're right. You're...you're absolutely right about that...hhhhhh...thank you."

The two pulled in for a big hug across the bar counter with backpats aplenty.

"You know ah only needed sumbody else just to place it out in front o' me. Thassit, ah mean ah SHOULD know this but you-"

"Heh, s'alright. I would have wanted somebody to lay it out in front of me too, so this is what I'm here for. Keep you from making the same mistakes I did all those years."

"Thanks FG. James."

Curiously cocking his brow at him for hearing his name, James simply shook his head and gave Roy another drink before he headed back home in preparation for the big day. There were no news from the registry office, with Stul T. finding the address of a Mr. Koopisten, but he was currently on vacation and the company he worked for did confirm this. He wasn't going to be back until at least another month so for the time being their trail would end up dead. Not that this bothered Roy especially when he was all ready and dressed up looking smooth for his date.

He stood outside Yolanda's apartment building around 10 minutes before 8pm, making sure he was early whilst wearing a clean grey polo shirt and brown slacks with wallet at the ready. He had a box of shortbread in one hand whilst waiting, wanting to give Yolanda as much time as she needed without feeling rushed until it was 8pm exact. He only had to knock twice before the door opened to reveal the yoshi standing already and waiting.

"OH, h-hi!"

She waved back, wearing a gorgeous crimplene dress of soft amber tones, like the caramel wrapping of a delicious sweet as he offered his box.

"Mah landlady wanted to give you this as thanks."

A grateful smile before she put out her DS.

Thank you! But I don't like shortbread sadly

"Wow you don't? Hah, well uh, she don't have to know, why don't you just put this inside sumplace?"

Yolanda placed the box on the dresser next to the landlord's door, taped with a simple card saying "From Flo T." over the top of it as they headed out into the night. Toad Town had a whole different atmosphere at night, and despite the ever-so-slight increase of would-be thieves, the people seemed relatively happy to be out amidst the evening entertainment. A small movie theatre, a few restaurants, several dance clubs catering to different kinds of music and lastly the arcade all awaited them. The mall was only open in the daytime, but neither of them had any particular interests to do there since it was all mostly just shopping. The streetlights glinted faintly with soft yellow glows throughout the crisscrossing streets.

"Soooo whut you wanna do?" asked Roy.

You said you would do anything, right?

"Mmhmm...that's whut ah said."

I hope you got a fat wallet

"Uhhhh...well, ah DO have a spendin' limit of-"

She sniggered at his response and simply typed out:

Don't worry, we're just going to a restaurant

"R-righ', you already know thuh place well enough it seems."

I found a favourite spot

"Heh, alrighty, ah mean um, ah never really been to any restaurants around here, sorta not...fun to do when you on your own."

Don't you have friends?

"Two of them, but they're married, they got their own plans, ah don' wanna be this third wheel."

Yolanda nodded as they reached the place, a fine middle-class restaurant styled with the interior of a sea captain's cabin. Luxurious red carpet, tables spread out, portraits of old ships and spanning oceans in tasteful black and white, all with the back areas of the kitchen behind swinging doors in nautical fashion. Roy somehow knew she was going to take him to a seafood restaurant, but he didn't mind as they found a table, the cloth knitted to resemble a fishnet as they began to look through the menus.

"Mmmmm damn this all sound good. Heh, weird how some of this sounds French when ahm pretty certain that don't exist here...hmmmm."

Eventually a smart-looking goomba in a bowtie walked over to them, wearing a belt with notepad in the side of it like a holster.

"Good evening sir and madame, welcome to the Maiden Voyage, I shall be your waiter tonight. Have you decided on your starter?"

"Yes, I would like thuh shroom broth please, an' my friend here would love some spicy soup."

"Very good and for the main course?"

"Le Grand Pilaf, one for each of us."

"Excellent, aaaaand would you like dessert following after?"

He looked towards Yolanda as he repeated the question, seeing her nod vigorously.

"Yes um...whut would you like?"

She pointed to the menu in the desserts section as the goomba nodded, scribbling everything down with notepad between his legs and the pencil in his teeth.

"That is one shroom broth and spicy soup separate, two grand pilafs and the mousse, your food shall arrive shortly."

"Thank you sir."

The waiter waddled off to relay back the order as Yolanda smiled, already seeming hungry for anything as Roy asked:

"You got one hell of an appetite ah gotta say."

It's a Yoshi thing, I know

"Oh, ah wuzn't thinkin' that, just surprised wuz all."

What about you? I know nothing about Rexes

"Oooooh not much to tell, nuthin' special about mah species trust me."

Why did you settle in Toad Town?

"Mah friends, ah think ah mentioned them, they helped me get back on mah feet after a pretty rough time travellin'."

Yolanda nodded deciding not to press further as she typed out:

Do you like it here?

"Sure, ah luv this place, everybody so nice an' there's barely any crime so mah job is lahk super easy. All ah had to do wuz just be fit enough for thuh guards."

You work out a lot?

"Not really, just did a lot of jobs over thuh years that keep me strong."

Who are your friends, the married couple?

"They live over in Koopamuir, one of 'em works for thuh TGA, the other's a bartender. They helped me out with...everythin' honestly."

How did you meet them?

"Thuh bartender's a Rex ah met on thuh journey, we travelled together an' eventually he lead me down over to this place where now ah can live thuh rest of mah days."

Plan on staying here?

"Ah got no reason to be anyplace else...not anymore."

He spoke this with a warm tone but Yolanda felt something else from his expression as she smiled with a pitying glance. Their starters arrived soon after as they ate up their soups, feeling a wonderful zest of energy come to them as the hot liquid stews regenerated their appetite for the main course. Huge rice bowls with chopped up various types of fish sizzled to perfection, a luscious roast with the flavourings of beef kneaded into the rice itself that was simply mouth-watering to both of them.

Yolanda wasted no time devouring the entire thing, slurping clean the bowl almost with her tongue, and only ever using the cutlery when starting on the rice and fish. Roy took twice as long, but was still ravenous enough to enjoy his food at a moderately fast pace. Dessert would take a little bit to prepare as they allowed their dinner to soak into their stomachs.

"Mmmmm-MMMPH...god damn that wuz good, you got sum good taste!"

Wasn't sure what food you liked, glad I picked right!

"Aw ahm not too picky, though ah gotta say ah luv me sum ice cream, that is mah faaaavourite."

What flavour?!

"Mint chocolate chip."

Mine too!

"Haha, whuddaya know, we oughta share sum between us sumtime, maybe buy a tub."

I'll buy it for both of us, since you paid this time.

"Deal...so uh, how did you get into thuh travel agency then?"

Had a branch on my island, easy job for locals.

"So why'd you transfer?"

Bored, wanted to push up the ladder...maybe also find a job I liked more.

"Ahhh expand your horizons, ah see. You keep in touch with your family still?"

Yolanda shook her DS to indicate of course she did, the raptor rolling his eyes foolishly as she asked:

What about your family? You still keep in touch?

"...that...no, ah don't really have any ways of keeping touch with them anymore."

She could tell from his eyes alone, the way his shoulders sunk and his hands slipped forwards defeated across the table. She reached out with her hands in turn, clasping onto his in warm sympathy. The raptor smiled sweetly until his eyes almost creased as the mousse was finally brought through, to which they tore through with gusto until the plate had been licked clean. The thick chocolate texture garnished with cinnamon gave a cooling sweetness to the end of the meal as Roy paid his bill before the two left. They decided that 9pm was too early to go home as they walked along to the park to the northeast of Toad Town. It was a gorgeous sprawling cluster of trees just north of Forever Forest, beyond the dreaded boundary of the dark woods to still remain in the pleasantry of the main settlement, within perfect view of Princess Peach's castle standing perched along the northernmost point of the main thoroughfare. Fireflies gently flickered in and out of the woods like will-o-wisps casting the faintest lights across their cheeks almost kissing them as they passed before sitting on a bench. Crickets chirruped softly in the bushes as they stared at each other.

"You ever been to this part of thuh town?"

It's beautiful. I never knew about this.

"The park's looked after by thuh castle's staff, they call it a gift to thuh town citizens to respect an' enjoy thuh natural world we all got born into. Lahk a nature preserve."

We have places like that on the islands too

"Any good ones?"

All of them but you get so used to it the wonder kind of fades

"Heh, ah expect it would."

What about Dinosaur Land? Any special places?

"Not really, lahk you said, it's all beautiful until you get so used to it."

What part of it did you live in?

"Uh...Cookie Mountain."

The yoshi licked her lips with a look of glee.

Why are all the places so tasty-sounding in Dino Land?

"Ah got no idea, though there is that Forest of Illusion place, hoho you don' wanna go there. Ah mean hoo, ah hope you good at figurin' out mazes!"

I can memorise a wiring diagram, I think I can handle a silly forest maze

"Hahahahaha, alrigh' you got me there."

Yolanda tittered quietly, smiling at the large black "rex" as he smiled back bashfully in return. Her hand slipped over towards his, touching upon the cool steel as he grasped carefully, long metal fingers wrapping round her soft orange palm as he sighed happily. Eventually they felt sleep come close as they returned back to Yolanda's place, the raptor standing at the front doorstep as she typed:

I had a great time tonight. Wanna do it again?

"Totally, absolutely I'd love to."

Same time next week?

"You got it, I'll see you round. G'night Yolanda."

Goodnight Roy

She smooched him on the top of his forehead, getting the height advantage for once at her doorstep as she walked inside leaving Roy to head back home by himself. He couldn't stop clenching his hands close to his chest until he was inside his apartment, settling into bed with a book. The dinner conversation however had stirred up a tint of sadness, as he saw amongst his collection one of the most precious relics of his existence. The one book in the entire shelf that did not belong in this world.

"Awww...ah wish you could meet her. Is this good enough?"

He looked up towards the ceiling.

"Is this...whut you wanted of me? Maybe ah couldn't do anythin' you guys wanted me to be but...am I still..."

There came a struggling in his mind, conflicting with the warmth in his heart as he decided not to read tonight and go straight to bed. The uncertainty of his future began to gnaw at him, creeping into his mind like the mist across a cemetery on a long moonless night. He only wished that next week could come tomorrow.