FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The fire brigade came first to the scene, a duo of red trucks with thick hoses as a team of toads, koopas and lakitus dealt with the flames safely. The ambulance came straight after as Stul T. began to recover safely in the back of it, carefully given a good cleaning out of his lungs with a mobile ventilator, pumping oxygen thickly into his lungs through the mask on his face as he almost vomited up the smoke trapped within whilst Roy was given the same before finding that his lungs had not suffered such as terrible an exposure as his friend's had. The street was in a brief sense of chaos as public residents gasped and trembled in both fear and excitement at the chaos, the sergeant of the guards arriving to check on his own subordinates sitting by the ambulance.

"Are you two alright?"

"Bearing," said Roy, "it wuz a pretty tight situation sir."

"What in Star Haven is going on?!"

"Thuh house just went. We don't know whut happened, we were asking Koopisten about his routine thuh past month and...he just exploded, thuh kitchen just went."

"Did you question him about the emails?"

"I did. He let slip that he wuz at Sher T.'s house, an' it seems more than likely he wuz thuh one that knocked him out. Then thuh kitchen blew up, ah barely dodged thuh blast."

"I just spoke to the fire service. Koopisten is dead, completely incinerated in the kitchen. Are you both alright?"

"We're fine sarge," said Stul T. weakly, "just got a bit of smoke in...phhhhew...I'm bearing, don't you worry."

"If you're unwell you should go with the ambulance. In fact I think you should."

"I'm...I'm fine sarge, we need to i-investigate-"

"Ah can stay," said Roy, "you don't look so good Stul T. you should go with them."

"Aw...c-come on I can handle it."

"You almost passed out, we don't wanna take any risks. Ah got checked over by thuh medics, they told me ah wuz okay."

"Alright then," said the sergeant, "Stul T. go with the ambulance team. MacGregor you investigate the scene and work with the fire department for anything that might be left. If anyone from the media comes to speak with you, tell them it is an investigation of an accident and nothing else. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Now you both sit tight and recover while I deal with the press, when you're ready to investigate, you go speak to the warden over there and be careful. Both of you were lucky to escape from what I hear."

The sergeant walked off to deal with a small media circus approaching the barricade as a few newspaper reporters and TV crews came to investigate, smartly-dressed koopas with lakitus wielding cameras on the end of fishing poles rather oddly as Roy slowly got up a few minutes after catching his breath.

"You leaving me behind?" asked Stul T. quietly.

"Want me to stay 'til you leave?"

"I just...nnnngh...stars, I thought I could handle a little spark in my throat."

"It's alrigh' man, we both still on thuh case. Think of it as splittin' up to cover more ground, you compile thuh report in your head while I go check over thuh place. You got to go look for stuff about that boat."

"Yeaaaah that's true. I just hate hospitals, all that waiting, jeez...can't even...nnnngh breathing hurts already."

"You'll be alrigh' man. Just tell your wife to bring you sumthin'."

"H-heh...maybe a TV to wheel in from home. Be careful alright?"

"I will."

He carefully walked over to the scene of the incident, the gutted house a bristling ashen pastiche of grey, black and white like someone had sucked the colour out of its small world in the midst of such a colourful street. A sad sight for Roy to see the stark contrast as firefighters carefully examined the wreckage as toads, goombas and koopas checked every part of the structure meticulously. The leader of this group according to the shiniest hat with bristling chieftain's badge, was a grey bob-omb the size of a beach ball with wilted watery fuse on the top of his head.

"Scuse me, uh chief?"

"Hmmm?"

"Mah name's Roy MacGregor, ahm thuh guard that wuz on thuh scene."

"Ahhhh yes, chief officer Bombiano. You and your friend alright?"

"We're recovering. My sergeant gave me permission to investigate plus thuh medics gave me the okay."

"Very well, follow me and watch your step...do you need any protective footwear?"

"Uhhh...rex feet are very tough for handlin' debris, don't worry about me sir."

"Alright then follow me."

His little black feet trekked across the street carefully as he stepped into the remnants of Koopisten's home along with Roy behind him, the brass clockwork key winding constantly forever in his back . He wanted to ask how a bob-omb would even find employment in the fire department, but realised how insensitive it would be to ask before trying a different line of inquiry.

"How long you been working in this job?"

"Twenty-seven years. Started as a junior demolitions expert."

"Really? Demolitions are needed in fire service?"

"Sometimes you require a chemical burst to counteract against a fire, but usually it's to create a...shock wave of sorts that blasts all the air out of a fire, like a birthday cake candle. Very useful especially for wildfires, but mainly also to fight against oil and gas fires."

"Ah never knew. Damn. So uh, whut can you tell me about this one?"

"Our investigator's over there, Cadence!"

From the rear of the building was a huge female clubba, a thick snoutless reptilian with orange lips and a pale green skin that almost went yellow like a wilting leaf. The black fire-protective coat with white horizontal stripes around the waist made her look bigger than she actually was.

"This is Roy MacGregor," explained the chief, "he's one of the guards that was on the scene."

"Were you here when the fire started?" asked Cadence.

"I wuz," replied Roy. "I remember how it started but I wuz hoping you would help me complete thuh picture."

"Right this way then. I'll tell you what we found and if anything doesn't match up to what you remember just let me know."

"Alrigh'."

They headed to the kitchen first, which was the most blackened-out of all the building with shattered oven, broken fridge and one very suspect pile of ash, bone and brittle shell fragments piled up in the middle of the floor. Roy felt a slight twist in his stomach from the dread of mortality staring from the hollow koopa skull as Cadence explained:

"The fire started here in the kitchen, that's obvious. You can see the flash point from where the cooker just basically exploded and the one casualty is...there."

"He wuz standin' in front of thuh cooker...yes."

"The fire spread along the ceiling very fast, diverting out to both sides of the house. The fridge's generator overheated blasting the door straight over to where the front door was, which in turn created a reaction adding a blast effect to the kitchen."

"Perfect conditions," said the warden, "the narrow length of the kitchen creates an incendiary tunnel like a rocket launcher just straight through out into the open. The bedroom was last affected I see."

"The fire mostly spread forwards and outwards, then the window broke which pulled all of the smoke out and forced the fire right into this section."

"Ah broke thuh window," said Roy, "to escape because thuh front door was locked for sum reason an' ah couldn't force it open."

"We did notice that. Actually we discovered something very interesting about that front door."

"Wait whut?"

"Look."

The clubba pointed to the top of the front door's frame showing a very dry white shape amongst the burnt and blackened wood.

"See that marking? Someone placed a wedge there, when the wood expanded in the heat, the wedge would push the door down and force it to remain shut to make sure that you couldn't open it."

"...this wuzn't an accident," stated Roy, "so...someone wanted to get rid of me and Stul T.?"

"We don't know," continued the clubba, "but that wedge is not there anymore, we looked through the debris and nothing resembles it. Someone took it before we arrived, so that could prove that-"

"Sumbody tried to kill us. Burn us inside this house, thuh windows were hard to break too, lahk security glass."

"Hammerglass actually," said the bob-omb, "a very sturdy glass originally designed as a deterrent for hammer throwers."

"Hammer throwers?"

"Vandals, some places have them and this glass was designed to combat that. It's rather rare to see it in Toad Town since it's very pricey."

"Unbreakable windows, a wedged door, an' a whole kitchen designed to shoot fire lahk a rocket blast. This place is a goddamn death trap."

"Surprisingly yes. The wedged door would confirm your suspicions."

"Do you know why thuh fire started?"

"Not yet," replied Cadence, "we need to take the cooker out fully before we can properly investigate."

"Cuz...this is just me but ah remember sumthin' odd happenin'. He just clicked one of thuh dials really carefully lahk he wuz about to prime sumthin'."

"Wait, prime it?" asked Bombiano. "Are you certain of that? You sure it wasn't just a gas leak?"

"Ah don't remember smelling any gas sir. Ah definitely don't, ah would have noticed that."

"It would have been odourless," said the clubba, "the cooker uses ethylene so you wouldn't have smelt that."

"Hmmm...could you take thuh cooker away with you an' investigate it fully for me?"

"Alright. We need to clean up the remains here too which is gonna be...difficult."

"Why?"

"Koopisten has no next of kin. So we don't know who would want his ashes for the uh...funeral, if any."

"We'll handle his remains, as part of a potential murder investigation now that you found sumthin' new."

"I could excuse the hammerglass," said the warden, "but not the wedge. I agree, we'll take away the cooker and see what's inside."

"Thank you sir."

Further investigation of the house seemed fruitless, and Roy decided not to mention anything about the black winged shadow until he could speak with Stul T. again for a more cohesive report. The pile of ashes, bone and shell fragments was taken away by medics and handed over to the guards for forensic testing, whilst the fire team made one last stomping route to cover over every inch of the debris as much as possible. Roy would join them searching for any possible evidence but there was nothing. No Yannis, no Sher T., nothing that connected him to any criminal activities. Even more strange was the fact the house was very bland of all possessions. No photographs or personal items. It was only when Roy stepped into the kitchen to help move the cooker that he found an even stranger secret.

"Alrigh' let's heave this thing out, is the gas off?"

"All clear chief."

"Alright then. HEAVE!"

The strongest of the firefighters along with Roy began pushing the broken remnants of the cooker out of the kitchen, a fierce screeching sound from the steel scraping against the linoleum as they forced it into the remnants of the living room. The harsh vibrations made the kitchen slightly tremble as the closet door opened a touch. Roy admittedly became curious having seen the door briefly open wide enough to block the kitchen entrance itself, finding it to be just a cupboard for hanging clothes. The door had protected the clothes from mostly burning despite some ash disintegration, but then he felt a rather strange tingling feeling in his bare feet. He looked down to see the ashen debris slightly gather and drift across his toes, pushing them outwards to behind him.

"...there's a draft."

He gently bent down towards the closet's flooring and brushed away the soot, feeling around carefully with his gloved hands until a very distinct gap could be felt. He wedged his finger in and slowly lifted the floor upwards.

"...HEY, CHIEF! CADENCE?!"

The two rushed over hearing Roy's cry as they stared into the open closet. A hidden trapdoor with a small ladder reaching into darkness.

"How'd I miss that?" murmured Cadence.

"There wuz a draft," replied Roy, "ah felt it from mah bare feet, you're wearing shoes so you wouldn't have known. Is thuh house stable?"

"It's not gonna collapse if that's what you're asking."

"Ahm goin' in to investigate. Keep an eye out for me."

They nodded as they waited with Roy carefully descending into a narrow corridor beneath the house itself. Some soot and ash rained down from the brief glinting lights of the world above, the raptor turning on his omni-tool to activate its flashlight function. The passage had been dug out of the earth itself with lumber supports fortifying the roof like a mineshaft, heading towards the north.

"Whut is your damn deal Koopisten?"

He walked into the darkness, his light shining through showing nothing but an endless passage for him. The cool dusted earth beneath his feet gave him little comfort, his eyes focusing sharply ahead to the point he started losing his sense of awareness for the walls around him. The void opened up before him, and the longer he walked through into the abyss the further he felt himself drift away from civilisation.

"Walllking down thuh rabbit hole Alice...not a good idea to start with, but then whut adventure ever does?"

For a long seven minutes he felt an eternity. He wasn't even sure if it had been only just seven minutes with all daylight robbed from him. The deeper he went the more fearful he became. Sinister memories came creeping on his back as the flashlight began to shake across his vision. He started to doubt himself, wondering whether that spectre in the fire had been truthfully there or was simply some sort of smoke-induced hallucination. The last time he had been down a darkened tunnel as this was back in an old restless place, a town deep within the mist.

"No...no no, this-that's not whut we're here for. That's just old unhappy far-off things now, don't you worry 'bout none of that."

He steeled his resolve shaking his head clear as he finally saw the light ahead of him. He thought it had been his flashlight reflecting on a curved wall but it was indeed some sort of exit. Resisting the urge to run straight to it, the raptor found himself stepping out into what appeared to be just outside the town's borders. Turning himself round, the exit looked like a perfectly normal burrowing den for local animals to use as Roy turned towards the woods nearby.

"Did...sumbody escape outta this? ...Koopisten must have had this already but he...did he not make it out in time?"

"Roy?! Roy are you there?!"

"WHU-JUH-GUH! FG?! Where you at?!"

"Roy?! Pick up, please just tell me you're alright!"

The raptor pulled up his left arm that was screaming at him to see his omni-tool faintly switched on, shaking his head as he clicked on the signal to "transmit".

"Yeah ahm here. Jesus man you almost gave me a heart attack."

"Oh thank fuck. I just heard the news about the fire, what the hell happened?!"

"Just a real bad accident. One guard got smoke in his lungs but he'll be fine."

"Ohhh okay."

"Man thuh news travels fast around here."

"Yeah I'm seeing it live. Wow, looks pretty bad, what caused it?"

"We don't know. Seriously don't worry about it, ahll be fine."

"Okay. But if you ever need any backup, just come down to me or relay a message, you know I got your back."

"Ah know. Thanks for checkin' up on me."

"No problem, you uh take care and be careful alright? Bye."

The receiver clicked off from his transmitting omni-tool with a smirk at his friend's worrying for him, realising this was the first time James ever called him first through the device that they both obtained from a different universe. Without any further evidence and no lead to continue with for now, he walked all the way back through the tunnel and relayed his findings to the fire services. In turn he made his way to the hospital to check on Stul T. as well as to tell him what he discovered. The hospital was no busier than usual amidst various staff in bristling white, but he did notice one familiar face in the waiting room looking extremely frightened. Yolanda was hunched over clasping her hands until Roy walked up to her, but before he could ask anything, she jumped up and squeezed him tightly with hiccupping sobs.

"WHA-wh-what are you-hey hey!"

Her voice turned into blubbering gasps of relief and panic as she rocked him desperately from side to side, catching a few glances from folks in waiting as Roy turned with slight offence:

"Whut, she's mah girlfriend, she just worried about me!"

This sated their curiosity as she finally pulled back struggling to sign with shaking hands.

I-heard-a-guard-was-taken-to-hospital-I-was-so-afraid-that-it-was-you-are-you-okay?!?!

I'm-okay. It-not-me.

I'm-sorry-I'm-so-sorry-I-was-really-frightened-that-something-bad-had-happened-to-you-and-all-I-heard-on-the-news-was-there-was-a-fire-and-a-guard-was-taken-away-oh-my-stars-what-happened?!

Fire. Bad-accident. Guard-is-my-friend, had-smoke-in-lungs. He-recovering.

Oh-I'm-so-relieved. I'm-sorry.

She was still nervous, feeling somewhat foolish and overwrought as Roy gently clasped her hands and made her look up at him.

"It's alright. I'm here. Thank you for worrying about me."

The yoshi smirked tearfully as her voice bleated softly in a gentle sob, pulling him close for a tight hug as they embraced once again. When she had calmed herself, Roy went up to the desk to ask which room Stul T. was in and was given permission to go through as a fellow guard, taking Yolanda with him. The toad was now stabilising, given a cautious check with the respirator that pumped the smoke from his lungs replacing it with oxygen as both reptilians waved at him in his bed.

"Hey," mumbled Stul T. through the mask, "how'd it go?"

"Not too bad, you alrigh' dude?"

"Ehhh...they'll keep me in for a few days, just to make sure nothing broke."

"They call your family?"

"Yeah the doctor called my wife, she's at work but said that I wasn't serious and that she could come after work, no need to rush. This your girlfriend?"

"Yeah um, Yolanda this is Stul T. mah partner in fightin' crime. She came to thuh hospital cuz she heard a guard got taken in an' worried it wuz me."

"Awwww wow, nobody cares about me. Heh, I'm joking, it's nice to meet you."

She waved politely and brought out her DS to type:

Hello. I'm sorry, I hope you recover soon

"Awww that's great of ya. So uhhh...hey, I'm real glad you came but I need to discuss a private case with my buddy, official stuff."

I understand, I'll wait over there

Yolanda patiently excused herself and sat outside whilst Roy sat himself closer to the toad.

"So, what you find on Koopisten's house?"

"Well, um...he had a secret escape passage an' he tried to kill us...or at least sumbody did."

"Wait what?"

"Thuh fire services confirmed that we were trapped in thuh house. Thuh windows were made of this super-strong anti-hammer glass, an' thuh door we couldn't open? Wedged shut with sumthin' in thuh frame of it so we couldn't open it."

"Jeez...are you serious? Woah."

The thought was too disturbing to ruminate with as Stul T. laid back in shock.

"That is nuts...that's scary. Heh...that's the first time somebody tried to rub me out. Damn."

"Ah know. You okay?"

"Uh...I dunno. It's kinda scary, but...exciting at the same time, wow we really shook up a beehive here haven't we?"

"Sumthin' bad is going on. But ah just wanted to make sure we both remember thuh same things."

"Whysat?"

"Cuz o' everything. Help me go over whut we did."

"Alright...we went in, we talked with Koopisten. We had a little patter mentioning 'rule of three' and see what kinda reaction we could get out of him."

"Righ', then you went to thuh bathroom an' I trip him up with a little math thing."

"Then he...nearly almost confessed and then there was this...just explosion and fire everywhere and you dodged into the bathroom with me."

"And we try to escape. But sumthin' stopped us."

"Yeah...that thing. You saw it too then?"

"Black shadow with wings?"

"Bingo," murmured Stul T. "So that wasn't me hallucinating."

"Nah-uh," said Roy agreeing. "So we agreed that sumthin' tried to attack us, an' that sumbody wanted to stop our investigation dead."

"Right. I think we should just wait and see the results for now, we got pretty deep into something, let's let the heat cool off, and see what we come up with. We don't wanna go blundering into a trap by just running head-on into a cave without a flashlight."

"I agree. Ahm gonna get back to mah duties, ahll see you later."

"Sure, later big guy."

The two made a fistbump of solidarity before Roy left with Yolanda heading back into town. The fire was the talk of the town making him wonder just how often accidents occurred in such a place, which seemed relatively safe as houses could be. The yoshi was still on her lunch break and had another half hour before she would return to work, taking this time to ask Roy a few questions with her DS.

Did you mean what you said last night?

"Huh? You mean our um...special night?"

She nodded.

"Of course I mean whut I said. I love you."

Can I ask, why?

"Why? Why I love you?"

You've only known me for a few months, and we only really started dating for one month really. I just want to hear from you why.

"Well ah mean, do you love me?"

I do. But I want to hear your reasons.

"Because you're sweet. You're feisty an' smart, you not afraid to speak your mind about things. You're honest about yourself. You're not naive. You're beautiful. You really are thuh most beautiful girl I've ever met in all mah thirty-eight years. Plus...you make me feel normal."

Normal?

"It's...hard to explain but...ah walked a very long road before ah came to this place, an' it wuzn't a very happy one. When ah first met you...ah felt maybe I could finally be happy again, if not with you...then at least with this new life somehow."

The blush of her cheeks was almost burning red, slightly overcome with emotion as she focused on typing out her response.

Thank you. I just needed to know what you think. You're a strong, honest, considerate person. You're smart but you're not arrogant, you can admit when you need to learn, you can admit when you're weak. Your body is fascinating, it has so much history on it but I respect your right to not tell me. You're wonderful.

"Hmhmhm...thank you."

He gently leaned in to kiss her cheek. Then she came towards his lips and returned the gesture softly with a deeper smooch. From that day on their relationship deepened, now deciding to meet up at least twice a week after work and enjoying the night like they owned it. He was admittedly rather fearful of the fact that someone had targeted him and Stul T. who recovered fully the day after the fire with a clean bill of health and de-smoked lungs. Plus a few days later, the forensics department also confirmed their fears that it was indeed Koopisten who had been burnt to literal ashes, by a cooker that was programmed to explode by having a secondary switch to delay the igniting of a spark, long after the gas had been let out of the burners allowing the ethylene to fill the kitchen.

But he decided to not let that fear sully his life, for that was precisely what these criminals wanted and he refused to give them that pleasure whatsoever. Instead Roy continued learning to sign properly as him and Yolanda went out dining, gaming or simply enjoying their night walks. The first time she ever came to his apartment was two weeks after the incident, after a particularly fierce arcade night that let them sweating on their foreheads.

"Here we are, mah humble home."

Smaller-than-I-thought.

"Ehhh, it does everything ah need."

No-kitchen?

"No that's it over there."

Wow. No-wonder-you-like-my-place-more.

"Hahaha, naw ah just let you pick. OH, sorry um, mah landlady needs me for sumthin', just make yourself at home ahll be right back."

He rushed off downstairs at the sound of Flo T.'s voice, leaving Yolanda to gaze upon Roy's small intrinsic collection of things. She had no idea what to expect of him and his rather sparse belongings, as if he had no past of his own. Curiosity drove her to investigate, gently examining the place with cautious hands noticing also how remarkably clean he was. The only things she found interesting were his bookshelf and in one cupboard a medium-sized present wrapped up for someone whose name she did not recognise, next to a small bag containing various strange items such as a golden jigsaw piece, a scroll painted green, a bizarrely-gloved tool with three spinning hooks and a very tribal-looking doll made of straw with eyes and mouth sewn shut. Yolanda decided to quickly close the bag feeling as if she was trespassing before looking over at the books, recognising most of them by their title except for one tattered-looking brown book gilded along its spine.

"Hoo! Sorry about that, you would not BELIEVE whut happened with mah landlady, so, she just started datin' again, you'll NEVER guess with who-...oh."

Forgetting himself briefly as he walked in, he saw her sitting on the floor holding a rather well-worn book full of little paper notes and bookmarks poking out between the surprisingly thin pages. He stomped his foot to get her attention giving her a start from the floor vibrations as she turned bashfully.

"You uh...reading up a bit?"

I-hope-you-don't-mind-but-I've-never-seen-this-storybook-before.

"That's um...that's my family's book."

OH! I-am-so-sorry-I-didn't-know-

"No no it's fine, just...be careful with it, you can read it if you want just uh be mindful."

Okay-I'm-sorry. I've-never-heard-of-this...B-I-B-L-E-before-what-is-it?

"It's um...a storybook, lahk you said, it's stories of mah people. See, where ah come from, we don't believe in thuh star spirits lahk most people round here do, we got our own...beliefs."

You-don't-believe-in-star-spirits?! But-they're-real-everyone-knows-that!

"No no ah know, ah know they're real, but...whut ahm saying is where ah came from, we never KNEW about star spirits, so that's whut we believed in, all those stories inside that book."

Oh-now-I-understand. I-thought-it-was-some-sort-of-reference-book, the-only-time-I-see-paper-sticking-out-like-this-was-in-my-college-notebooks!

"Hhhhahahahaha...well it's a uh...reference book of sorts to me, it's more like um...spiritual guidance."

She carefully gave him back his book before he placed it on the shelf.

"How much of it you read before ah came back?"

Just-beginning. First-four-pages-very-strange.

"Yeah, well...ah could tell you more about it sumtime if you want, you're real curious aren't you?"

I-get-that-from-my-mom.

"Oh yeah you mentioned she wuz a scientist. Whut's your dad do?"

I-never-knew-him. Mom-was-young-and-fooled-around-a-lot-then-she-had-me.

"Oh. Heheh, um, sorry."

It's-okay! She-still-raised-me-good-she's-a-great-mom! She-really-encouraged-me-to-go-into-sciences-like-her-but-I-wanted-to-take-a-different-route. More-physical-than-just-theories.

"Ah really hope you find a job lahk that soon, ah mean every time ah go to your place you always got sum stuff just lyin' around gettin' fixed."

It's-fun-to-fix-things. What-about-your-parents, what-do-they-do?

"Um...w-well, mah dad delivered thuh mail, mom stayed at home."

Ever-keep-in-touch-with-them?

"They......they passed away."

Yolanda gasped with a look of shameful shock, clasping her hands over her mouth before she hugged him sweetly and pulled back to sign:

I'm-so-sorry. I-should-have-realised-because-you-barely-mention-them.

"No no it's...fine, it happened lahk twenty years ago."

They...died-when-you-were-young?

"Yes. Um, a-a-ah really don' wanna talk about it."

Okay. I-understand. Wanna-watch-TV?

"Sure...um, but ah don't know how to get subtitles on it."

I'll-figure-it-out, I-can-get-subtitles-from-seventeen-different-kinds-of-TV-including-your-model.

"Hah, alrigh' well go ahead an' sort it, ahll uh...make you sum stew?"

Sure-that'd-be-great!

She went to work on configuring his TV whilst Roy prepared some of his favourite stew. The recipe was difficult to reproduce owing to completely different crops in the Mushroom Kingdom, but he managed to make a rather delectable replacement with some frothy vegetables as they sat down, relaxed and ate up calmly. The first three days watching subtitled shows was rather odd for Roy, his mind constantly flickering between what he heard versus what he read, but by the next week it had become second nature to him. Eventually Yolanda's curiosity intrigued her enough to excuse herself to grab a snack and "accidentally" open the cupboard with the bag of odd trinkets.

Oh-what-is-this?

"Hmm? OH, um, d-don't mind that it's um just...relics from mah travels."

Relics? Sound-interesting-can-I-see? Please? Please?!

"Hhhahahahaha...damn you were not kidding about being curious um, alrigh' ah guess it's fine. Don' worry about that present, that's for mah friend's birthday coming up."

He opened his bag to reveal the various artifacts from his journeys, explaining as vaguely as possible to the ever-curious yoshi.

"This wuz a scroll given to me by a wounded man I saved from being attacked by hidin' in a cave. This...wuz from a guy an' a girl who always had adventures together an' we travelled all over a mountain...this little doll wuz from a tribe who helped me get back on mah feet after I um...lost mah hand."

What's-this-hook-thing?

"That. Is a skyline hook."

The raptor carefully pulled it out, the handle covered by a leather half-gauntlet that slipped over his wrist as the three hooks gently spun from his click. His fingers slipped into what appeared to be brass knuckles, designed for a five-fingered hand.

"I...one time ah went to this big place, an' thuh people there went allll around their town usin' one of these, these hooks would magnetise to railings, lahk you would just ZIP all around thuh place on metal rails lahk you were on wires."

That's-amazing! Is-that-thing-powered-by-electromagnetism?

"Whut? Sorry ah didn't get that last part."

She brought out her DS.

Is that thing powered by electromagnetism?

"I...have no idea, they told me it wuz magnetic, so there is definitely magnetism involved."

How do you move along the rail?

"Uhhhhh...ah dunno."

Were the rails also used by other vehicles?

"Yeah actually."

Must be some kind of electric propulsion. Can I borrow it?

"....you...you wanna borrow this?"

I'm really fascinated by it, it looks AMAZING and I would love to. If it's important to you I won't ask, because I was going to take it apart and look inside.

"Heh...you wanna just tinker around with a new toy don't you?"

A bashful look came upon her face, shameful and yet excited at the proposition almost positively bouncing from her knees. The more he looked at his old device, the less attached to it he became realising that he truly did have no other use for it now. Especially not in a world which operated more on simplistic trains and blimps than some magnetic sky-lines.

"You know whut? Here, take it."

He carefully handed it over as if offering a bladed weapon, sideways in his hands.

"But be VERY careful, those hooks will absolutely snap off your wrist and break your goddamn hand apart off from thuh body, it WILL twist bone if you let them hooks on any part of you."

Yolanda nodded and gently put aside the skyhook replying by her typing:

I've been burned before, I know to be careful around machines so don't worry.

"Righ'. Sorry, just ah want you to make sure how dangerous that can be."

Any tool is dangerous when you don't use it properly.

He nodded with understanding seeing her stern look of professionalism as they spent the rest of the night together. Without any further leads on Koopisten's case, Roy focused instead on a much happier event that came up the following week. The present from his cupboard was underarm as he approached the Kennidon household hearing excited voices and the odd sound of a gentle rhythmic slap.

"James get OFF, STO-HOP!"

"Come on now lemme give you 'em!"

"N-n-NO! S-stop IT hhhahahaha, AAH!"

"Fouuuur...fiiiiive-"

"A-AAAAH! J-jaaaaaaames!"

"Come on now, we've only got thirty-four to go!"

"N-n-nooooooo hhhhahahahhaha-AAIIIIE JAAAMES s-s-stopiiiiit ahahahaha!"

Roy decided to save Koopin from whatever torturous deed was occurring as he knocked politely but loudly.

"OH, TH-THE DOOR, g-get the-"

"Nooo they can waaaaait."

"Ah sure as hell can't!" shouted Roy. "As a guard I am entitled to enter this door by any means if ah hear any disturbances."

"Ugh...alright, we were on five, remember that."

Soon James opened the door bristling with fiendish glee as he hugged Roy.

"Eyyyyyy you came!"

"Course ah came, ah came for your birthday why wouldn't I come for his?"

"Well I thought you'd be working."

"Naw ah saved up mah vacation time just for this, speaking of which happy birthday Koopin!"

Koopin bounced towards him slightly giddy, whilst rubbing his rump slightly reddish as he took Roy's gift.

"Ohhhh Roy thank you, y-you shouldn't have!"

"Whut it's your birthday come on man. You got me a present for mine."

"Well...thank you, this is-gosh I wonder what it is?"

"Well why don't you open it?"

Carefully unwrapping the package he found three things inside. Two pink hoodies and a DVD collection wrapped neatly in the middle showing some brightly coloured cows smiling on the front.

"HHHHHH! OHHH my stars this is-thank you SO MUCH!"

"No problem."

"I can't believe, I-i-i-i didn't even know the new season was out!"

"Ah saw you didn't have it on your shelf so, yanno."

"Thank youuuu!"

Koopin almost jumped to hug him as Roy bent down to hold him tight, forgetting how short the koopa was even when next to James.

"Uhhh...why are there two hoodies?"

"Cuz that one is mine."

Roy took the larger pink hoodie and sweeped it over himself, wearing it gladly to show off for Koopin the stylised angel wings above the words "Friendship Is Life" embroidered neatly.

"Ah thought it looked cool so ah thought you know, why not get one for mahself?"

"Pffft...ohoho my stars you look adorable!"

"Yeah, you an' I can wear 'em together, we could be lahk Moonies."

"Awwww...wait, you only watched the first season."

"Ah been gettin' into it. Ah just need to find more, ahm actually halfway through thuh second season."

"You could borrow some of mine if you want, just to catch up."

"Aw sweet that'd be great."

"What no extra hoodie for me?" said James taunting.

"No cuz ah know you get all bashful wearin' pink, pretty boy."

"I-i-i just don't prefer that colour that's all."

"See, that's why ah didn't. SO, when we headin' off?"

"We'll head off around twelve so we don't have to wait at the station."

"Oh...alrigh' cool."

"You uh...you gonna be okay coming with us?"

"Yeah ah can handle it. Besides trains here are uh, pretty...well they're kinda slow an' cute an' look lahk big toys."

"Alright then. Well uh we just had our breakfast so if you don't need anything-"

"You wanna watch My Mini Moomoos with us?!" asked Koopin excitably.

"Hell yeah!" shouted Roy. "Moonies unite!"

The two gave a high-five with James looking gobsmacked at such a connection made as Roy and Koopin sat down to watch at least three episodes of the cartoon show, hitting off from the episode Roy had last caught up with as James tried his best to busy himself and not pay attention to the TV. Charlie at one point came bouncing along realising that Roy had arrived and went to nuzzle his leg clamouring excitably with happy panting.

"Guessh what!"

"Hmm?"

"We ish going on a walk, BIG walkiesh!"

"Mmhmm, you excited?"

"Yesh yesh, big walksh in the desshert, we going to shee granny and grandpa!"

"You don't mind deserts?"

"Ish very warm, that'sh good, very shunny! Makesh me feel all hot and shiny, waaaaah!"

"Hhhahahaha."

Soon enough it was time to leave as all four of them headed out to the Toad Town train station. Roy had only ever used the train in this world twice, both for the same reason that he used it now. He was not sure why that he felt less of a fear around the traditional steam locomotive with brightly flying colours of red and yellow emblazoned with stars golden on each side, other than what he had told James but he felt only the smallest of instincts delay his step with a trembling foot as he took a deep breath, and calmly walked aboard the train. Koopin spent the entire journey discussing the Moomoo show with Roy as a means to pass the time as well as to distract his mind from any possible fears of train riding. James pretended to look busy reading a pulp sci-fi book he always took with him on trips, sitting beside Roy whilst Charlie and Koopin sat opposite them on the seats. Despite the travel being surprisingly slower than he always expected it to be, they reached their destination barely in the same hour, which made Roy realise just how small the world was compared to most he had been through.

Not more than yet another hour later, there came a knock on the door of a simple two-story house within the desert town of Dusty Dunes.

"Happy birthday sweetiiiiie!"

"Hiiii moooom, thank youuuu!"

The koopa swiftly clasped his mother tightly before entering, the raptors and the chain chomp all receiving the same treatment. Wholesome round cheeks with tender wrinkles creasing around the side of her eyes, her brown hair tied up in a messy bun and her pink apron on her front, completed the image of Mrs. Klair Kennidon.

"Hellooooo!"

"Hehey there mum howsit going?"

"Ohhhh same as always nothing new as usual, you been behaving I hope?"

"Course I am!"

"Well I should hope so or else you won't get any cake. OH, goodness hello there Charlie!"

"WOOF-WOOF! Woof!"

"Hohohoho my someone is happy to see me, don't worry I have food for you too. And oh, hellooooo to you too mister MacGregor."

"Um, p-please it's just Roy ma'am."

"You're looking a LOT better since I last saw you, have you been exercising dear?"

"Hhhhahaha ummm maybe, ah mean I uh did get up to sum things since we last talked."

"OH well please come in come in let's hear all about it-ooh mind your head!"

Stepping inside the Kennidon seniors' household made him feel like walking into a houseful of hobbits. His stature made it slightly difficult to walk around the house's lower ceiling compared to Koopin's, which made him quickly search for a place to sit as he noticed the party decorations flitting around the household. Streamers hung from along the corners, the table set up with birthday hats shaped like cones and a delightful smell of sugary treats reaching from the kitchen as the birthday boy saw yet another friend bouncing happily with a wave.

"HELLOOOO KOOPIIIIN!"

"OH, Shybert you came!"

"Hehoh, course I came! Why wouldn't I come see the birthday boy on his special day, hwoh?"

"Or miss the chance to be a party planner again," said an older koopa behind the shy guy.

"W-well...you know me, I'm just a natural organiser hehoh."

The humble grocer Shelldon stood near the shy guy with bifocals balanced on his beak, deeper wrinkles than his wife and now developing crow's feet around his sharp eyes. Embracing his son with well wishes the two began to ramble on about wrestling events like always when they met as Koopin started:

"Did you see that awful fight on last week?!"

"What a disappointment that was, ending it with a cheap skylight trick."

"I KNOW, what the heck I hate when that happens!"

"I expected better from a newcomer like him. The only way to properly end a good match is with a haymaker, a flying kick, or a good old-fashioned tap-out."

"I'm starting to worry they're trying to make wrestling look like some sorta street beatdown rather than you know, a sport."

"Professionals do not use the environment, they do not NEED to use the environment if they have the actual training."

"Whut about usin' chairs?" asked Roy casually.

"That's just for comedy, they can take worse than a plastic fold seat. It's good to see you mister MacGregor."

"Please, just call me Roy, that's mah father's name."

"Hmhmhm, alright then Roy. You're looking very well, I've noticed a rather bold spring in your step."

"Well yanno, life just got better, but we can talk about that later."

"Yeah when's the food?!" asked James roguishly.

"James you know very well as I do that's a question you will never get an answer to."

"Awwww come on dad, it's bad enough I have to sit through Koopin's moomoo shows."

"That's called compromise, do you think Klair enjoys wrestling?"

"Two burly oiled men grappling each other in speedos?" said the lady passing. "No that wouldn't interest me why?"

Shelldon simply rolled his eyes and gave a brief chuckle as Koopin blushed gently. Roy could not help but smirk as Shybert greeted the two raptors in turn who were sitting down on the couch.

"Good trip coming up here?"

"Yeah it was," started James, "you doing alright Shybert?"

"Oh yes, it's been quite a rather quick week honestly, has it been a quick week for you?"

"Ehh, just like any other week except for this."

"And how are you um...Roy was it?"

"Yes," replied Roy, "ahm doin' great, just came for thuh food an' good times along with Koopin."

"Hehohoh, that's good. OH, Koopin I have a card for you from uncle Bobunov."

"Oh really?!"

The shy guy pulled from his coat pocket a small envelope, which Koopin opened to find a charming postcard from a snowy-looking town. Taped to one side of it was what appeared to be a coupon as the koopa read aloud:

"Hope you have a wonderful birthday, thanks for all the smiles you give to my nephew, from mister Bobunov. Awwwww that's so sweet!"

"Hehoh, I tell him all about you every time we meet up, that coupon can be used at any bookstore you want too!"

"Oh wow that's neat, tell him I said thanks! I think there was one book I was curious to get so this is perfect."

Soon dinner was ready as they decided to have their food first, then presents later. Sitting on the table which was exceptionally more crowded than usual, the raptors sat next to each other on the left side with Koopin sitting at the top as the guest of honour, parents on the right side and lastly Shybert directly opposite of Koopin himself. Charlie simply bounced around on the floor waiting for dinner scraps until Klair gave him a special bowl full of treats just for him. Fruity hamburgers, koopasta and koopa leaf salad were all on display as people ate up what they wanted, sharing and bantering away as Koopin started with:

"Sooo how's your protege doing dad?"

"He's doing quite well," said Shelldon, "just a few more years and I can leave the store in his hands.

"You retiring?" asked Roy.

"Yeees I'm getting rather old, I would like to enjoy my sunset years without having to worry about stock management. I'm training a young Sarasalese boy with lots of potential, the son of one of my suppliers. He was very eager to want to emigrate so me and his father suggested it and we did a trial period and well, next thing you know, Kennidon groceries is now safe in his hands."

"Aw that's cool, so uh how long this family business been running for?"

"Mmmm four generations. My great-grandfather started it in Rogueport, then my grandfather moved it to Petalburg once all the criminals started coming into the city and it became rather unsavoury, and then my father moved it to Dusty Dunes where it managed to thrive thanks to his business acumen. This will be the first time a non-Kennidon will take ownership, the name will of course remain but it won't be a family business any longer."

"Howsat make you feel? Ah mean, it's your family's business an' all."

"I'm not too sad about it. Truth be told I did not have an immense amount of passion for the shop, more a sense of duty. And because of that I'm able to hand it over to a reliable steadfast supplier who I know will treat it with the same respect, without any sentiments."

"You didn't wanna take over, Koopin?"

"Nah," said Koopin politely, "I wanted to explore the world, learn about things and educate people about what I had seen so I joined the TGA. I was kinda worried how dad would take it but he never made me and he was really supportive, wanted me to strike out on my own path."

"Of course I gave him work experience," added the father, "before he took his job and if he didn't want to pursue the family business then that was perfectly fine by me."

"So why did you pursue it?" asked Roy carefully.

"My father made me. But you hear plenty enough about our name Roy let's talk about you."

"Yes indeed!" said Klair swiftly. "You seem so much more...lively than before, have things been better for you since we last spoke?"

"Uhhh actually yeah, ah have a job now."

"Oh that's good! What sort of job dear?"

"Ahm a guard at Toad Town."

"Goodness, a guard?! Oho my...well you must be the biggest strongest guard in the place."

"Ehhhh, ah mean you not wrong technically but-yanno ah do mah best. It's a pretty neat job, work half thuh day so it's sum long hours of standin' around waitin' but we're thuh first people on thuh scene of a crime so-"

"May I ask why a guard?" inquired Shelldon. "Even though you do seem a perfect candidate for policing duties with your build."

"Well...I always wanted to be an officer, or a lawman, ah love being able to protect people, help people follow thuh rules and keep order in a place so everybody can be safe."

"I quite agree!" added Shybert. "People think it's rather dull and menial to be some sort of rule keeper but some people just don't understand how GOOD things can be when everything is neat, orderly and well-maintained so everybody knows where everything is and how everything works, hwoh."

"Righ', exactly! Ah mean ah know ah sound lahk sum kinda goody two-shoes but-"

"Oh no no I agree too," replied Mr. Kennidon, "responsibility is something we must maintain, I have to keep order in my shop, Shybert has to keep order in his company floor and there's you maintaining order on the streets."

"God," butted James, "I bet you three were like total prefects in high school."

"Wow you ain't never lettin' that go," said Roy retaliating. "Man every time you always gotta mention that."

"Well it's true, you started out as a prefect and you still keep yourself a stickler for the rules, I mean it's funny how long you kept that."

"That's nothing to be ashamed of," said Klair, "I think it's very noble to keep that sort of trait. At least you had the choice, not like Shelldon."

"Whut you mean?" asked Roy.

"Well he was on the wrestling team, he never made prefect, he wanted to be a wrestler until his father forced him to put his head down into the family business."

"...oh, damn that kinda sucks."

"Not for much longer," said the father firmly, "soon the shop will be out of my hands forever once Nokayim takes over fully. But I admit my high school dreams were simply but that, I don't think I would have made a good wrestler."

"Awww ahm sure you could have. Whut about you Shybert, whut did you do in high school?"

"Oh, I never went to high school," said the shy guy, "I was home-schooled, my uncle taught me everything, gave me a chance to apply to the TGA."

"Wow really? Ah woulda thought you would be all about thuh chance of a formal education."

"I lived in a very remote place, the Fahr Outpost doesn't really have any schools so I was taught at home about everything. SO, what else is going on in your life Roy?"

"He's got a girlfriend now," added James grinning.

"Wh-what?!"

"Oh goodness really?!" cried Klair happily. "Oh that's wonderful sweetie!"

"M-man FG," panicked Roy, "you could at least LET me tell them!"

"I know," said James, "I could have, but I decided this was more fun."

"You got thuh worst son right here, THIS one ah mean."

"We know," said Shelldon pithily, "but we didn't raise him so the blame is not with us."

"Ohhhh wow," said the brown raptor, "like wow, seriously? I run a bar and everything, I OWN it now, Koopin tell him!"

"No no he's right," said Koopin teasing, "the blame's not with us."

"Wha-you-muuum?!"

"Now now," said Mrs. Kennidon dearly, "James is a wonderful son and let's be frank, you have brought worse people home Koopin, like that Carl boy."

"Woah woah woah woah," stammered the youngest Kennidon, "that was like twenty years ago mom!"

"Mmhmm and don't you forget it, that was the RUDEST boy I ever met."

"I thought you girls liked bad boys, don't you remember Yakovich?"

"DON'T!"

A tender gasp came from Klair as she swept her hand over her forehead in grandly Shakespearean style.

"That wonderful beast continues to haunt my dreams."

"Ohhhh no," mumbled Shelldon, "you know how she gets like this son."

"That roguish glint in his eyes, those ruthless smooth cheeks, the rippling TIGHT trousers-"

"Klair, please there is a time and place for these sort of ruminations."

"Says the one who keeps a poster of David Booie up on his wall."

"I-i simply admire his production work!"

"He says whilst gently caressing his fingers across the image of his hair."

"K-KLAIR!"

Everyone started to snigger seeing Shelldon's blushing expression, burying his mouth into a salad as Koopin reached over to gently pat him.

"It's okay dad, everyone's gay for Booie, that's natural."

"Th-thank you...I guess."

"Who's this Yakovich guy?" asked Roy curiously.

"He was a circus performer from years ago, when Klair and I were expecting Koopin we went to the circus and-"

"My stars I will never forget," said the old wife dreamily, "that wondrous vision before my eyes of that strong handsome yoshi, blue as the sky and sea as he waved his staff and made magic happen before me!"

"It was admittedly a bad idea when she was going through the hormones."

"I will never forget that night...hhhhohhhh."

"We were just watching a documentary," said Shybert gladly, "about the famous circuses."

"Yeah actually," replied Koopin helpfully, "they went on about the Yakovich group, their big rivals the Bombastique troupe, it was really fascinating!"

"Oh really?" inquired Klair. "What did they talk about then?"

"Just how it started as a group of islanders fascinated with magic and they took it on abroad, beginning their shows and soon finding a rivalry, telling all the magic tricks and the people behind them before you know...the tragic end but let's not talk about that."

"Right, of course. I hope they mentioned everyone, it was a masterful experience I remember everyone. The Crushing Clubba who could break even a steel girder into pieces, the Shyster Brothers with death-defying acrobatic skills, the Three Ravens, the Clowns from the Clouds-"

"Wait whut wuz that?!" asked Roy suddenly alert.

"The various acts they had in Yakovich's troupe."

"Did you just say sumthin' about ravens?"

"Oh yes, three big ravens with grand black wings swooping across the scene, terrifying!"

"Whut were they lahk?"

"Big, they almost looked like they were wearing cloaks but the SCREAMS they made and those wicked claws they had, OOOOH! Gave me quite a scare as Yakovich would command them to go through rings of fire, fierce storms of lightning they made inside the big top, why it was as if nothing could harm them!"

"Huh...that sounds really cool."

James noted the odd expression on Roy's face, but said nothing as Klair soon had to stop herself from being too elaborate about her great circus passions from her youth. Once everyone had their dinner, they soon had the cake as one big dessert signifying Koopin's 39th year before stuffing themselves completely with fat chocolate slices. The youngest Kennidon swiftly unveiled his presents with rambunctious excitement receiving two new books, the original uncut edition of the sequel to Van Shellsing and also 60 coins to spend on himself. Roy spoke about his girlfriend to Shelldon and Klair after being gently grilled by the mother, whilst Koopin, Shybert and James got involved in watching 64 Questions. Charlie just ate up everything he was given, but sometimes chatted with Roy about how exciting everything was to be at his grandparents.

Soon it was time for everyone to head home as they left around 6pm, hugging and well-wishing each other before Koopin, James, Roy, Charlie and Shybert headed off back to Toad Town together, traipsing across the cooling desert in the eve of sunset. The long walk back was slightly difficult from their full stuffed bellies as they all parted ways at the town's train station. Roy came back onto his duties a few days later with a school folder under his arm meeting Stul T. at the guardhouse, during one early morning.

"Studying for a test?" asked the toad cheekily.

"Nah-uh, ah got a new lead."

"Hmm?"

"Look at this."

He opened the ring-bind folder to reveal several print-outs of old newspaper articles, advertisements and anything that could be related to one topic. Stul T. noticed the constant name of Yakovich being mentioned but what really caught his eye was the blown-up pictures of three shimmering black-winged beasts, commanded by a sky-blue yoshi wielding a staff whilst wearing nothing but a dark cape and tight leather trousers. The creatures swooped through burning fire unharmed with such speed they almost blurred as the toad asked whispering:

"Is...is that, what I think it is?"

"Whut do you think it is?"

"...that shadow we saw in Koopisten's place."

"Listen to this part here. 'The famous Yakovich troupe has been in service for the last twelve years as one of the most prestigious circuses seen in the Mushroom Kingdom. Hailing from the southern sea islands, Yakovich combines a myriad of hilarious lakitus, skilful shy guys and his great centrepiece, the Three Ravens. Known only by their names of Rodin, Ravel and Rembrandt, the seemingly-invincible winged beasts have only been wowing audiences for the last three years, but already they have become the biggest attraction of the yoshi ringmaster's circus of wonders.' Rodin, that sound familiar?"

"W-wait, wait...I don't understand the connection here, I mean what the heck does an old circus group have to do with a drug operation?"

"That's whut ahm gonna find out."

"You know they're dead right? They died when their boat sank, the only people that survived were the Shyster Brothers."

"Ah know...that's why ah need your help in findin' them, ah wanna ask them about their previous employer."

"Roy...I mean the coincidence is there but, are you sure they're not just...using the names, maybe they're just really big fans and are using the names because no one would ever think!"

"And that's why ah gotta look through this. If we follow their line of logic, we might be able to figure out their operation. Plus, that weird shadow we saw, sumthin' has to be behind that."

"That thing KILLED Koopisten."

"So why wuz there an escape passage in his house, why wuz thuh cooker he wuz at specifically wired to explode?"

"I don't know!" squawked Stul T. "But I mean...what are you gonna do when you get your answers from the Shysters?"

"See whut ah can follow up from there. This group has a connection to thuh Yakovich people, ahm sure of it. Thuh name Rodin, that thing in thuh cloak, there HAS to be sumthin'."

"You don't think some of the circus survived do you?"

"Did anybody ever find thuh sunken ship?"

"......I don't think so, but tell you what I'll chase up on it, see what the original report was about it, when was that?"

"Twenty-five years ago, here you keep onto this."

Roy handed over his findings to Stul T. who carefully pored over the rest of them, building up a sense of inquiry to pursue the old case.

"See whut you can gather up about Yakovich, it could just all be a coincidence but we got nuthin' else until then."

"I'll see what I can do...I hope you're right, it's not the weirdest case I've seen but definitely right up there. What are you gonna do?"

"Ahm gonna see sum old friends."

Heading out back onto the streets, the utahraptor began to search everyplace for the acrobatic brothers he had once met briefly almost half a year ago. Making his inquiries carefully on the possible sighting of two purple shy guys, he soon discovered them from various locals who pointed him towards the edge of Toad Town's western border nearing the goomba villages. It wasn't until he crossed over a bridge to span a river that he heard voices.

"YES, finally hwoh!"

"Congratulations, you found another boot."

"It's not a boot this time I swear!"

Walking down the riverbank's steep slope carefully, he found the two brothers sitting near a small tent with one of them struggling to pull fish from the river by his rod.

"I-...IIIIIIT'S COMING!"

"Five coins says it's a boot."

"SHUT IT, NNNNNNNGH! YES!"

Pulling hard on the line, the shy guy uprooted what was indeed a glistening silver fish. Not large but certainly enough to make a decent meal.

"Wow, took you an hour but you did it."

"You can pay me them five coins later, hehoh!"

Roy waited to let them fry up their food before approaching, seeing the glinting glow of the campfire spark itself to life as he spoke.

"Afternoon."

"WHU-OH JEEZ!"

"IT'S THE POPO!"

"Relaaax ahm not here to cause trouble, ahm just here to ask you sumthin'."

"I better hope not, I spent fifty minutes getting this damn fish and I'm NOT going to let you take that from me, I EARNED it! We went through two months of community service no thanks to you!"

"Alrigh', it's fine you haven't done anythin' wrong, ahll just stand here away from you, ah respect your space."

"Damn right."

The two seemed to acknowledge this and sat down to eat their food, sharing the fish in half between them after it had been roasted well enough. Roy decided to coax them into trusting him with a small offer.

"You know uh, if you guys need any good recipes, ah got a good one about sum vegetable stew."

"Why would we need that?"

"Well you two look lahk you're roughin' it out on thuh wilds and let's face it, vegetables don't require pulling hard on a rod."

"We can handle ourselves, hwoh."

"You know, you two are thuh first people ah've seen that are basically homeless."

"Well, whoop-dee-doo, you want to write that down on your scavenger hunt list mister golden boy?"

"Ahm just sayin', do you not have anyplace to go? Surely there's sum place in thuh kingdom that would take you in, hell you could go to Bowser's place ah hear his army got a great coverage an' give you lahk a home."

"Are you here to ask us something or just to preach your establishmentarian bull malarkey at us?"

"Well, thuh former. But that don't mean ah don't care."

"Pfft, like you really care. The moment you get what you want from us you'll just leave us here to rot under this bridge."

"Doesn't have to be that way. Ah could help?"

"Help?!"

One of them stood up with bitter little flippers curling into tiny fists.

"What do YOU think you can ruddy do to help us, you put us in jail!"

"Cuz you stole two blocks of cheese!"

"Well I'm sorry that we can't afford things like normal people, some of us don't have that liberty!"

"Whut is your problem, do you just not WANT to be part of society?"

"Society doesn't want us! Do you have any idea what it's like to be thrust into a new world, far away from everyone you loved and have no freakin' idea what to DO with yourself?! Do you know what it's like to have your entire world ruined because of a STUPID FIGHT?!"

"Yes. I do know."

The raptor walked forwards with a solemn look, his voice turning sombre as the Shysters look up curiously.

"I know exactly whut you have gone through. Where do you think I came from? Mah whole world wuz taken from me twenty-one years ago and for thuh rest of my life I have tried to find a place to be. It took me that long to come here, an' even though I came here with nothing...I found friends who helped me get back on mah feet, helped me find a home, helped me find a job, so why can't you? Whut's stoppin' you?"

"......we don't have any friends left."

They sat in front of the fire, their sharp white masks glinting pale amber as their black eyesockets gazed deep.

"Everyone we knew died on that boat...they were like a family to us."

"Thuh Yakovich group?"

"Yeah. We barely clung on to a pile of wreckage and floated all the way out to Monstro Town. We were hounded by the media, constantly in our face, barraging us with stupid questions we didn't have an answer to...except for what happened?"

"Whut did happen?"

"The Bombastique troupe sabotaged our ship. They did something with the engine, the whole thing just exploded out on the sea. We were miles away from anywhere, we woke up to see the water started coming in, people screaming from outside and we barely got a chance to leave the room before an explosion just knocked us out and next thing we knew we were floating out to sea...on our beds...or rather what was left of them, hwoh."

"Ahm sorry. That must have been hell for you guys."

"The worst part of it was that we KNEW why it happened."

"How do you know it wuz this...Bombastique?"

"We heard people screaming outside our room, crying about 'somebody sabotaged the engine' and everyone was shouting it was clearly his work, he's all about pyrotechnics. S-stupid Yakovich, the stupid moron he was he could have stopped this!"

"Why?" asked MacGregor.

"He wouldn't let it END! He could have stopped this stupid fight between him and Bombastique but he couldn't let it go, he had too much dignity, we TOLD him to stop it, we were the only ones in the entire group that told him this was enough but he WOULDN'T LISTEN! That ruddy fruitsucker got what was coming to him!"

"B-bro, watch your language seriously-"

"NO I WILL NOT!"

The angrier brother stood up stomping with fury.

"HE WAS A STUPID IDIOT, A WORTHLESS FRUITSUCKING OLD FOOL AND HE RUINED US BROTHER! HE RUINED EVERYTHING!"

A brief silence came over the little camp, with one Shyster looking shameful rubbing his flippers together whilst the other was shaking with bilious rage. Roy carefully asked:

"Whut wuz this fight between him and Bombastique?"

"It started out as just a silly thing, a little play rivalry between the two big circus groups, we would always one-up each other on tricks. They had a fire trick, we brought lightning in. We brought in clouds, they brought in an entire ocean before the audience. Always we would try to better each other and it started out just fine until one day...it went a bit too far when Yakovich loosened the safety net for one of the trapeze acts, not enough to fall apart but just enough that it snapped when someone landed on it and their trapeze artist spent a few month in hospital. Soooo Bombastique had his people fiddle with some explosives we used for like smoke and mirrors stuff. He said afterwards it was supposed to just not work at all but, for some reason it detonated too late and...Yakovich's wife lost her legs."

"...damn."

"So he paid back in revenge. They apologised and everything, they even paid for her recovery and wanted it to stop but he...he couldn't let it go. He got into their group and switched up all the locks for their escapist act that his son and daughter would do. Then everyone watched them struggling to escape from these big water tanks we had but they couldn't open the locks. They struggled, they panicked, people started to think they were going to see a live drowning and Bombastique had to BEG Yakovich who was watching from the wings to give him the key and in the end admit that he was...the better ringmaster. Yakovich wasn't going to let them drown obviously but he...he really pushed Bombastique over the edge so...he sabotaged our ship."

"But you blame Yakovich, not Bombastique?"

"He really changed after his wife lost her legs. She was...well, not taking it really well but Yakovich...something snapped in him. I blame Bombastique too but he...well, his circus didn't last long after either."

"Jesus...ah had no idea."

"Why would you? Nobody cares about the circus people, they only care if the show goes on. Is that what you wanted, popo?"

"It wuz, thank you. You helped me paint a better picture of whut happened."

"For what?"

"A case ahm dealin' with. And...in exchange for your help can ah recommend you sumthin'?"

"What, hwoh?"

"Both of you are lahk, incredibly skilled acrobats, you also real good runners, ah think you could both make real good guards."

"What?! HAH, you want us to become shiny boys like you?!"

"Ahm jus' saying, if sum nobody lahk me could do it when ah first came here, ah bet you two would NAIL that shit. Look, all it is, is just two months of trainin', you can sleep off at thuh toad house, thuh pay is great, ahm able to afford mah own place, you only gotta work half thuh day."

"And who's going to vouch for us, we don't have any friends like you!"

"I'll vouch for you."

He knelt down sensibly as if offering his sword to a knight.

"You guys don't need to be out on thuh road forever, you can make sumthin' of yourself. Come on, you guys are lahk famous, ah know people that still talk about thuh Shysters lahk legends."

"Heh, sure they do hwoh."

"Seriously. If you want any help, lemme give you an advance to prove it."

The raptor gave them a small bag of 40 coins, enough to pay for essentially a week's food as the shy guys gasped audibly behind their masks. Roy even gave them a small card with his name on it.

"You ever change your mind, head up to thuh guardhouse an' tell them ah recommended you. That'll help you fast-track a little, if you want to. Thank you for your help, citizens."

With a nod and salute he briskly strolled off back towards the central town leaving the two shy guys slightly overwhelmed by this act, the fire still roasting away as they simply stared at each other wordlessly.

Whilst Stul T. continued to pick up the case by himself and leaf through old cases gathering up any possible leads, Roy started to relax with Yolanda over at her place, the raptor aimlessly watching TV whilst she fiddled around in taking apart his skyhook with increasing fascination. He knew by this point not to interrupt her whilst she was handling machinery, the yoshi mumbling to herself quite audibly as she constantly fiddled with her tools, surrounded by a small militia of various bolts and sprockets and screwdrivers in a fanning half-circle in front of her. The sight of her white plump rear beneath the thick orange tail gave him devious ideas as he resisted his urges until she was finished, putting her tools away and sitting back up onto the bed as he signed to her:

Having-fun?

Totally. Your-skyhook-is-INCREDIBLE-technology!

Really?

She knew this next part was difficult to explain as she brought out her DS.

I've realised that it works on a miniature electric propulsion system, the hooks spin rapidly in order to build up the energy required to magnetise to something, then once they're magnetised they can latch onto whatever object you want them to.

That's-really-cool! What-you-want-with-it? There's-no-rails-here.

I've been thinking of an idea, something personal I want to make. I just need to figure out the voltage and amperage before I do anything.

What's-different-between-them?

Yolanda mused carefully on how best to explain the electrical measurements as she typed out more slowly than usual.

Imagine voltage is like the speed of a water current. If there's too much speed, it can knock you down or even kill you if there's not that much water but if you put it in a tight enough space like a sewer pipe. Amperage is like the volume of water, if there's too much water in one place, you can drown in it, even though there is no speed in it.

So-how-do-you-know-it's-safe?

You can have high voltage but low amps, which is like a focused water cannon that shoots you across the room. You can have low voltage but high amps which is like a wide flood that drowns your body in its slow current. It's more complicated than that but that's the simplest way I can explain.

She closed her DS and grinned feeling happy to educate Roy who simply responded:

I-had-no-idea, never-understood-electricity.

I-can-teach-you-if-you-want! Teach-you-to-at-least-fix-things-on-your-own?

That-would-be-great! This-show-sucks.

It-really-does.

I-gave-it-twenty-minutes, not-working-for-me.

Mass-Dysfunction-is-way-better-than-this, I'm glad-it's-coming-on-later.

They-should-call-THIS-show-mass-dysfunction, writing-feels-that-terrible.

"PFFFTHMHMHAAAA HHHHAAAAA!"

"Hhhhheehehahahahaha!"

But they wouldn't even get as far as seeing the commercial break between TV shows as Yolanda snuggled up closer to Roy sweetly, her arm wrapping around his sturdy back before pecking his cheek with a smooch. He offered the same gesture in turn pulling her body against his, pressing his thick chest against her slightly rippling pudgy belly as she started to climb onto him. He did not resist, simply laying back onto her bed as she straddled his body with her smooth fingers stroking along his pectorals. He slid his hands around her waist, his two rings glinting faintly from the left hand like always from the dim lights of her street outside the window. Roy reached for the remote and just flicked the TV to mute, his hands gliding upwards to her hair stroking along the back of her neck before pulling her closely. Her snout pressed thickly against his, their tongues rushing to embrace even before their mouths would meet, gasping shudders sizzling through like electric currents jolting through the other's body.

At one point Yolanda pulled back, snaking her voluptuous tongue out to slowly wrap itself around Roy's head, curling along his cheeks in one full circle before diving her bulbous tip into his throat as their lips met once more. The sensation was unbelievable, his entire skull felt her shivering gasps and sweet moans amplifying along her serpentine tongue, vibrating thickly with the yoshi's lust before she reeled it back. Roy was left gasping, his eyes struggling to blink clearly from how she took his breath away almost literally before signing:

You-are-a-gift, you-know-that?

You-just-realised-now?

I've-always-known, since-I-first-saw-you.

The two softly laid together, peaceful in each other's warmth as Yolanda spread her body out on top of his with her head against his shoulder. It was in that moment that he felt something different. Something that had strangely never existed inside him in all his life with Lizbeth. Content. He felt completely content to just lie there with his now-beloved until the end of time itself, feeling her soft breaths whisper across his cheek, her heart beat against his. He curled his arms gently around her as they fell asleep in her bed, the warm night sending dreams across their minds casting them away upon far forgotten shores. Happiness.

The next time Roy and Stul T. met up would be the first time Roy saw him start the day without a smile. Three days after his peaceful realisation that night with Yolanda, he feared the worst as the toad brought out his folder at the guardhouse.

"Your hunch was right. I dunno how, but your hunch was right."

"Okay. How?"

"I looked up the Yakovich people...first off, there are no employment records whatsoever so I cannot tell you who was who in the group."

"They're a travelling circus, ah don't think they really had any means to do that."

"Second off...I went to look up on Bombastique thinking you know cross-referencing...seems like him and Yakovich had a big rivalry."

"Thuh Shyster brothers told me that they would one-up each other. Yakovich pushed it, Bombastique went even further, they said that Bombastique people sabotaged Yakovich's ship."

"Right. But it was unproven, because nobody ever found the ship."

"....whut?"

"The only evidence of their ship sinking was debris that washed up on the shore, the Shyster Brothers' testimony and that was it. No bodies, no vessel, couldn't prosecute without a body."

"But surely people knew WHERE thuh ship blew up."

"They were never found, it was way off in the middle of the ocean, nothing has been found even by travellers but that's not the weirdest part."

Stul T. opened up his files to reveal some very disturbing articles, mainly involving the Bombastique troupe which he read aloud:

"'Troupe Bombastique suffered yet another casualty when, during their opening in Poshley Hights, the safety net disintegrated as the entire trapeze team fell to their deaths. The latest in a string of accidents that have plagued the circus group, the ringmaster himself demanded that the show would go on in memory of the unfortunate victims, claiming that true showmen like they were would never want the show to stop. Changes are to be made concerning health and safety following this event, despite insistence from the representatives that every act is carefully monitored with utmost precaution.'"

"Whut string of accidents?" asked Roy. "Also when WUZ this exactly cuz ah just realised we never set up a timeline for all this."

"Twenty-five years ago. The Yakovich troupe were lost at sea thirty years back."

"Alrigh', so whut string of accidents."

"Before the trapeze team died, mechanisms had been failing around the circus at least once a month. First thing was the cannon exploding too early, the fuse had been altered and a performer got hit by a loaded ball sending him into a coma. The second was a fire trick that set off incorrectly and burned a guy half to death. The third was a knife trick, the thrower messed up and almost severed his friend's arms off completely when the knives went through BOTH his shoulders."

"Wh-whut thuh...holy shit."

"Now here's the part that's really off. The reason why the circus shut down, was because of a string of allegations that five different workers had been found drugged on the streets. They were picked up for vagrancy but it was eventually found out they all tested positive for Fuzzy. We brought them in, two of them admitted to basically sabotaging their own people's magic tricks, but all of them...mention ravens. I got every one of their transcripts, they all panic like crazy about the ravens coming to get them which spawned this headline."

The biggest article Roy saw amongst Stul T.'s collection was entitled " THE RAVEN'S CURSE". They were visibly disturbed as he dared ask:

"So...these guys were drugged, somehow got tricked into sabotaging their own circus...because of ravens?"

"Rumours started flying around that somehow they got cursed by Yakovich, dooming their circus with the spirits of his ravens haunting them, avenging them. Bombastique's group were really superstitious so it did not help and then even his own daughter got affected. She suddenly developed this incredible fear of water, like anytime she sees water more than a glassful she just starts screaming. And she was like the master of escapism, that was her thing like escaping out of a water tank!"

"That wuz because Yakovich almost drowned her and her brother right?"

"No, this happened at the end of everything. She was still doing the trick even through all of the bad events that were happening, but on the week before they stopped, she was just frozen with screaming fear about the water. They took her to the hospital, she was fine, no drugs no nothing. She just never wanted to be near water ever again."

"God...so this entire circus got ruined."

"They had to close, following deaths and drugged employees they had to cuz their reputation got all shot to pieces. They disappeared, went to retire off somewhere, none of them ever seen again."

"Is there lahk a record of everybody who worked there?"

"I don't know, like you said circuses don't really keep employment records that we could access."

"But we COULD find them an' talk to them right?"

"...we could. There is-hang on, lemme just-"

Stul T. quickly pored over his notes and honed in upon one specific article, sweeping it open before Roy.

"Right here. Bombastique's daughter was taken to a care home where she's been living for...well, ever since."

"Wait, she wuz affected that bad?"

"Seems like it, she was taken up to the...Winter Pines Sheltered Housing up northwest."

"We'll have to get permission from thuh sarge about this, normally our jurisdiction only lies in this town."

"I know. I'll explain it to him okay big guy?"

"Alrigh'."

Not more than a week after they would get permission to visit the sheltered house. A gentle-looking manor made of solid mahogany and granite stone at the edge of some secluded pine forest between Toad Town and Shiver City geographically. It was a perfect place for solitude, not too cold yet not too warm, protected by the glens from harsh winds far away from the bustling towns as Roy and Stul T. approached in their off-duty clothes. Stul T. wore a brown suit with elbow patches and a green shirt underneath, whilst Roy had a pair of slacks and a grey polo shirt. No spears or shields were needed for this as they went up the steps and entered the lodge reception with its warm wooden colours and front desk, green soft chairs on either side of them in front of windows letting in the sun. The receptionist, a male shy guy called up to let his superiors know who arrived as they were soon greeted by a gentle-looking female toad wearing a nurse's smock, her pink spots glinting in the natural light.

"Hello there, my name is miss Sayf T., are you the guards from the town?"

"We are, my name is Stul T. and this is Roy MacGregor, we're here to speak with Bibi Bombastique."

"I understand. Please come with me."

The two walked through into the halls of the house, cream-coloured walls and teal floor carpeting whilst conversations filtered in and out of rooms from a myriad of creatures from 16 to 70 who all spoke amongst themselves or read books or simply watched TV.

"Whut are your residents lahk usually?" asked Roy cautiously.

"What do you mean?" asked Sayf T.

"Ah thought this wuz sum sort of uh...forgive me, sanitarium."

"Oh no no no, this is simply a place for vulnerable people to live. People who are suffering in ways other than a mental illness, we treat those who come from broken homes, suffer debilitating phobias or came from abusive relationships, in order to help them reaffirm their places in society...someday."

"So it's more lahk a shelter then?"

"Yes, absolutely. I only ask one thing, that you do not mention anything involving water around her. Not the sea, not lakes, not waterfalls, nothing vast. If you would like to drink something, you ask for a drink around her, that is fine but please do not specify it."

"Can SHE still drink water?"

"She can, very small amounts, basically a puddle's worth she can tolerate."

"Ah see. Well, we have structured our questions to be as...uninvasive as possible, is there anything about her past and thuh circus she will not talk about?"

"Her act mainly. Ravens also not acceptable."

"Right. Basically we need to know who wuz part of her group, lahk old friends an' such."

"I think we can make that work. Right, here it is."

They stopped just outside one plain-looking door as they prepared themselves, the nurse stepping in calmly towards the white frail-looking bob-omb that sat nestled within the sheets of her bed. The wooden plain room had a window towards the forest, the greenest view possible as they saw the pale Bibi, with laced string rooted from her fuse draping down like a widow's veil over her piercing oval eyes.

"Bibi? I have some guests for you."

"O-oh? Guests f-for me?"

"They're two people from the town, they want to ask you about your friends from the circus. Remember I told you they were coming?"

"O-oh yes. I remember, please come in."

Roy and Stul T. gently stepped in and sat down into some chairs nearby as the toad brought out his notebook.

"Hello, good afternoon, my name is Stul T. and this is mister Roy MacGregor."

"How do you do?" replied Roy politely.

"We're from a collective in the Toad Town Archives that is currently compiling a list of names of people who have worked in various industries across the history of the town. It's sort of like tracing names of your family back through genealogy, except a lot more boring haha. We would like to ask you if you could help us note down the names of people who worked in your family's circus."

"For historical reasons?" asked Bibi.

"Basically, it's...problem is, we don't have any employment records of circus entertainers, and well in order to properly assemble a record of such for archival reasons, we would need basically someone from the group."

"Could you...why come to me, and not my...family?"

"Your name was registered here, we put two and two from the old newspaper articles back in the day and we sadly do not know where your family went. We couldn't find an address for them on our records, do they still visit you?"

"Oh yes, at least once every two months. If you had come last month you would have seen them, papa is getting very old so he can't make the journey as often."

"Aww. I hope he comes see you soon. May we start asking?"

"You can, yes."

"Well, tell me how the circus first started, just so we have a starting basis, who began the circus with you?"

"U-um...let's see...it has been so many years give me a moment...when we first started, it was just papa, my brother and me. Mama left us for a bumpty she met in Shiver City so papa raised us in the way of his family. They used to be magicians and he always kept us happy with his fascinating tricks, teaching us the ways of the Bombastique clan. He scoured the land for various workers he considered trustworthy including acrobats, pyrotechnicians, comic actors-oh they were just WONDERFUL!"

"So who were the first people to join?"

"Well, let's see there was Chongleur, he was marvellous. He and his three brothers were simply perfect with their comic timing, Chirpee, Cheeki and Barry."

"Barry?" asked Roy.

"It was his stage name, he never spoke, always used a horn like some silly fool but what a scream he was! He always made me and my brother laugh with his flip-flop shoe tricks hiding them everywhere like-hhhhahahahahaha, ha ha ha ha! Oh it was so weird a cheep-cheep would even HAVE shoes but he was wonderful...ohhhh, I hope he's doing alright now."

"Four fish doing a comedy act? That's a new one to me, where'd they come from?"

"Oh they came from Lavalava Island, they used to work in the TGA I think but they got so bored and wanted to be comedians, the Cheep Shots they called themselves!"

"Hah! Nice, so uh who else?"

"Well, next we had these delightful acrobats, local toads who practiced street running and such, just friends who loved to run and do tricks so we recruited them, very excited people. They thought the trapeze was a little old-fashioned but oh they took to it SO well! Especially once we made it higher, they were such risk takers my papa loved them!"

The course of ten minutes flowed by as she spoke of every person she could remember in her family's circus. None of the names were coming up as flags in their minds and they dared not ask about the incidents allowing her to reminisce at her own leisure. Showmen and masquerades swept across her vision in memory of the greasepaint, the spotlights, the teeming rows of glorious smiles and brightly-coloured suits. But of course she would reach the end of the story with a gently saddened tone in her voice.

"People came and went, sometimes a few people left wanting to return back to normal peaceful days or to pursue a more stable life. We never became disappointed, we understood but...one thing I never, ever understood was why...why a few of us would even THINK of...ruining themselves with addictions."

"Addictions?" asked Roy.

"Oh you must have heard it, it was all over the papers...our reputation was ruined by our weaker friends, people who we thought had better standards but just simply let themselves fall into the fuzzy trap...we could have helped them if we had known how much stress they went under."

"These...people, whut sort of jobs did they do in thuh circus?"

"Th-they were technicians, one or two acrobats as well b-b-but..Goomaris was the first, she panicked and didn't set the fuse properly on a cannon, oh what a travesty. We didn't find out about her addiction until a month after so we had to fire her, discreetly. Then there was that fire trick...the pyrotechnician didn't set it up properly, that was entirely Lakisser's fault! I never really liked him anyway, I felt he never took the circus seriously, it was no surprise he was...huffing it."

"What else happened during this?" asked Stul T. nervously.

"Koopunio...I could not believe he went down that road, that was...just impossible, he would NEVER-I swear someone did something to him!"

"Who was that?"

"He was a professional knife-thrower. He was amazing, he could split a pea from a hundred yards away, he would never take fuzzy! He was my closest friend he PLEADED to me that he never took anything! ...I believe him still. He was so sweet. He even spent all of his money on his friend's operation just to make his shoulders work again, he almost went broke but he...nobody believed him outside of the circus. And even a few of us inside were distrustful, and my papa had to let him go."

"That's awful."

"And those...poor...p-p-poor boys on the trapeze I-i-i still don't know what happened! I-...I-i-i-i don't-Koopisten should have been on duty but he was sick-"

"Koopisten??"

"It was just one thing after another, he went down with the flu two nights before the show and we had to bring in someone else to tie knots! She SWORE she tied the knots, she KNEW she did and those poor boys! Why did they curse us?! WHY!?"

The frail bob-omb turned away from them in her bed, sobbing wretchedly into the pillow as the nurse gently motioned them to leave.

"Ahm sorry," said Roy, "we...we didn't mean to upset you, but...ah think we have everything we need for our records so we'll just leave."

"I-i'm sorry! I...I-i-i just...w-w-why did this happen to us? M-m-my papa, h-he apologised f-for what he did to Yakovich, i-it's not his fault they died on the ship!"

"Whut?"

"I know what people said, h-he never did anything like that! He would NEVER, I KNOW HE WOULDN'T, HE'S NOT A MONSTER! Not like...th-that Yakovich. H-he scared me."

"It's alright...it's all over miss Bibi. We'll just go, thank you so much for your time."

"A-alright...good...bye."

Carefully leaving the room they headed out towards the exit with nurse Sayf T. shaking her head in pittance for her resident.

"Thank you for your restraint."

"Ahm sorry about her...that poor lady she just got caught in a really bad rivalry."

"I know...was I able to help?"

"You did everything perfectly, thank you for not tellin' her we were from thuh guards, ah know she didn't want to think we were chasin' up accusations."

"Yes...well, I wish you both luck on your investigation, do take care."

The two guards nodded and left with Stul T. pressing the rubber of his pencil against his lips deeply in thought. Roy waited until they had left the vicinity of the sheltered housing to ask him, traipsing through the woods taking in the beautiful sweet sunlight glancing through the many coniferous trees that stood stately above them.

"Whut you thinkin' about Stul T.?"

"I think this is not a coincidence anymore."

"Thuh fact that Koopisten wuz involved somehow?"

"Yeah. He definitely got a connection to this, we got a big rivalry that ends with one circus group wiped from the sea and another group that got ruined publicly, we got a former Bombastique member who just happened to get burned to death in his own weirdly-unsafe house with a special surprise escape route...and then all this talk about ravens which judging from that nurse's warning miss Bibi also knows about."

"Plus Bibi wuz pretty damn insistent about her father's innocence, along with Koopunio thuh knife thrower that wuz accused of performing under drugs."

"But we have the reports that he did, they're in his system when we checked."

"Maybe he wuzn't takin' them willingly."

"...what?"

"Think. Someone wanted to destroy thuh Bombastique group, we got a drug smuggling scheme that use nicknames from thuh Yakovich group, one of them being a former Bombastique troupe member. An' he just happened to have thuh flu thuh week he was supposed to be on point makin' sure that thuh trapeze safety net wuz alrigh'? Come on, sumthin' shifty is up here."

"I agree," replied Stul T. You sure the Shysters are telling the truth?"

"They got pretty upset about it," said Roy firmly, "ah mean a ship definitely blew up, they came down to shore on debris, they still claim after all these years from whut they heard an' they got no reason to lie."

"What if they're involved?"

"They got busted for stealin' cheese lahk months back, plus they really did not lahk Yakovich, lahk they really tore into him when ah asked. Ah don't think they're involved, they're both vagrants an' thassit."

"Alright, so...where do we go from here?"

"Koopisten is thuh key here, we gotta find out whut his deal is an' start with lookin' over his employment records. Maybe we might find sumthin' there."

"I looked through it already."

"Well maybe now that we know he worked for Bombastique, sumthin' might come up."

Further deepening the mystery of this strange group, the raptor and the toad walked back to finish off their duties in the town before continuing their investigations tomorrow. They could only wonder at how many more twists and turns would they uncover in this before they could reach its conclusion.