A/N: Hey all! Hope everyone's doing well! Man, we've been having pretty weird weather over here. Snowstorms. IN APRIL. What...

Anywho, a certain character makes an appearance here - or should I say RE-appearance? ;) Hm...

DISCLAIMER: I don't own. Ya' wouldn't get anything out of suing me, either.

Daroach stepped out of the Squeaks' apartment into the warm Summer air. The sun was still out and shining but it was quickly dipping into the horizon. Daroach walked down the hallway and held up to his hand to shield his eyes from the incoming sun beams. He went down the staircase and tucked his hands in his pockets.

He stopped for a moment, making a face. The necklace was still there. He removed his hands.

Daroach walked around the apartment building a bit, looking for any sign of Spinni. He began in more logical places, like the small field behind the building and the bakery next door (sweets were a cure for anything, Kirby had told him once), however when the teen was in neither place, he began thinking a bit more obscurely.

It was when he started looking in bushes and under cars (this in particular earned more than a few odd looks) that he decided he should probably search somewhere else.

"Hey Spinni!" he called a few times as he went. However, each time he called, he was met with the same thing: silence, except for the distant, hazy sounds of cars in traffic and the breeze rustling through the trees. After a few blocks, he called again but got a similar result. Sighing, Daroach began walking towards the nearby park that they sometimes passed by.

On the way, he passed by a small Asian style restaurant that Spinni liked (Daroach personally thought - and teased, a lot - that it was just because of one of the cute waitresses there; Spinni could never stop spluttering in embarrassment when Daroach asked) and peeked in the windows.

No Spinni.

Exhaling heavily, he continued walking. He suddenly had a thought and pulled out his phone, thinking why he hadn't thought of this earlier (or first, Daroach added). He clicked a 2 - Spinni's speed dial - and held it up to his ear. After several rings, it went to voice mail and Daroach frowned.

Hey, this is awesome Spinni - Daroach rolled his eyes and snorted - but I guess if you have this number then you're pretty awesome, too, so leave a message! Beep!

"Hey, mate. Just wondering where you are. Uh...call me back when you get this." He paused. "And is that seriously your voicemail?" Then he hung up. However, on an impulse, he called again and added a little awkwardly, "And...uh, sorry, mate for...yeah." He flipped the phone shut and shoved it back in his pocket.

Maybe the kid just needed his space. He could definitely recall more than a few times where that was all he needed – walk around a bit, get some fresh air, punch a tree...but this was for something so little. Daroach snorted. It wasn't like he made fun of him or anything - he stopped and shuffled uncomfortably at a stoplight.

Well, not directly, anyways...

Daroach crossed the street and got to the small, neighborhood park, Beanstalk Park. Only a few kids were still on the monkey bars, swinging and hanging all over them. Others ran along the small bridges and slid down the slides to the arms of waiting parents. Daroach hung at the edge for a moment, watching.

He looked around for Spinni, but didn't see him. All there was was a bunch of kids and their parents and...Daroach suddenly found himself drawn to a young man around his age, who was sitting on a few concrete blocks arranged in a modern design off to the side of the park. He had light hair that lit up in the fading sunlight and wore nice clothes. A loosened tie hung around the collar of his white dress shirt. He seemed to be looking at something in his hand carefully.

Daroach squinted. The man struck him as...familiar, but he wasn't sure why. Part of his head told him to go investigate, but it was quickly over-powered when he thought about Spinni, so he left the park.

It was quickly getting dark and although Daroach wouldn't easily admit it, he was starting to get worried. He checked his phone every so often to see if the teen had called back. He didn't. He knew Spinni could take care of himself - Daroach could see him rolling his eyes if he ever questioned this - but he still didn't like the idea of him out there after dark.

Twenty minutes later Daroach was ready to throw in the towel.

He had looked everywhere in walking distance from the apartment, so unless Spinni had sprouted wings and flew to somewhere, Daroach had missed him or he was already home. He made a quick call to Storo.

The next moment he was tempted to throw his phone.

As Daroach was running his hands through his hair, trying to think of where else to go, a car pulled up to the curb. He put his phone back in his pocket and peered through the window to see the driver waving at him. Daroach waved back and slowly a smile made its way onto his features.

Adeleine rolled down the window and it creaked shrilly. They both cringed, and Daroach laughed somewhat as Adeleine scolded her car.

"Hey, there! How are you?" she greeted Daroach.

Hungry, tired, and done with walking…, he thought. Outwardly, however, he said, "...alright. What about you?"

"Pretty good. Just heading home from the store actually."

Daroach peeked into the backseat and immediately recognized the obnoxiously bright yellow bags. They had little, very smiley bees on them with a motto below that said, 'A smile on the way in guarantees a smile on the way out!' He cracked a grin, remembering their last adventure to the infamous place. "I take it you went to Happy Bee, mate?"

Adeleine gave an exaggerated sigh. "You know, I just can't seem to get away from them," she said. Then, more seriously, "Of course, there aren't a whole lot of other stores around here - you know, that aren't Happy Bee. I always thought that was kind of weird..."

Somewhere, Zero Two's brother, head of Happy Bee Corporations and Dark Matter Enterprises, rubbed his hands together like an evil overlord.

Daroach laughed. "You're so right! That is weird..."

"I know right?" Adeleine laughed as well and as Daroach began pulling his hair up into a small ponytail from the Summer heat, Adeleine asked, "So, what are you up to? Out for a walk?"

Daroach tightened the hair tie a little bit. His smile fell slightly. "Sort of, mate..." When Adeleine rose a brow, he said, "Spinni went out awhile ago, but he hasn't come back yet, so I'm out for looking for him. Correction - still looking for him." He frowned, annoyed. "I think I've been out here for almost an hour."

"Oh. I'm sorry," Adeleine replied as Daroach glared at nothing in particular. "Well, I hope you find him."

Daroach nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, mate."

There was a pause, and just as they were saying their goodbyes, Adeleine stopped. "Hold on a second..." Her brows furrowed like she was trying to remember something.

"What is it, mate?"

"Spinni..." Adeleine said. "He has blonde hair, right? Real spiky?"

"Yeah, mate. Captain Porcupine, if you ask me."

"And big sunglasses?"

Daroach suddenly became interested. "Yeah! Did you see him?"

Adeleine nodded quickly. "Yeah! At Beanstalk Park! I was driving past there after..." she trailed off. She shook her head. "Never mind. Come on, I can give you a ride there." She leaned over and opened up the passenger's door from the inside.

Daroach hesitated slightly and Adeleine rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on Daroach! It's not going to bite you!"

"It's not that - well, not totally." Adeleine gave him a look. "But, it wouldn't take that long on foot..." he mumbled.

"I have fruit bars in the back."

"Did I say not long? I totally meant forever, mate."

"Uh huh. Sure..."

Daroach hopped in and immediately began digging through the bags. Adeleine rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Wow, Daroach. Sold just on fruit bars..."

Daroach returned with one in his mouth (it was strawberry flavored!) "Whu wuz shza?" he asked in between bites.

Adeleine laughed. "Nothing, Daroach..."

Daroach swallowed. "Right..." he said, rolling his eyes.

The car suddenly made a noise that was a cross between a wookie and a T-Rex. They both went silent for a second before Daroach cracked up laughing. "I told you your car was a dinosaur!"

"Oh, shut up!" Adeleine glared at him before turning to her poor car and patting the dash. "It's okay, baby. He's just a jerk."

"Am not-"

"...you were kind of a jerk about it."

Daroach paused and Adeleine turned to his quizzically. "Daroach?"

Daroach snorted in response. "Didn't mean to be," he muttered, returning to his fruit bar.

Adeleine rose a brow. "Huh?" She blinked. "Daroach, it's fine, I'm just giving you a hard time."

The thief snorted. "Gee, thanks."

"Hey, I'm giving you a ride aren't I?"

Daroach sighed. "Yeah," he said. Adeleine shot him a look out of the corner of her eye. "No seriously, Adeleine, thanks. I really do appreciate it."

Adeleine looked back at the road and Daroach could have sworn her cheeks looked a bit red. "I-it's fine. Not a problem."

They neared the park and Daroach was finishing his fruit bar, he suddenly thought of something. "Wait a second..."

"What is it?"

Daroach casually tossed the wooden stick out the window ("DAROACH!") and put a hand to his chin. "I definitely went to Beanstalk Park when I first went out and Spinni wasn't there. I looked all over. All I saw was…When did you say you saw him, mate?"

"Hm..." Adeleine thought for a moment. "It would have been...almost six, I think. Yeah, it must have been around then," she said confidently.

Daroach thought about this. He had left the Squeaks apartment around five-thirty and after walking for awhile, he would have gotten to the park around the same time Adeleine drove by. How did he not see him?

Adeleine parked and Daroach immediately hopped out, looking around.

The park was much more quiet since the last time he had been there. Almost the entire playground was empty except for three children playing tag. Their parent sat not too far away, enjoying a book. Daroach was about to give up when he looked over to the side and he gasped.

Sure enough, Spinni was there and Daroach breathed a sigh of relief.

However, he wasn't alone.

"What in the..." Daroach jogged over as Adeleine was getting out of her car.

"Daroach? Do you see him?"

"Yeah!" Daroach hesitated and faced her for a second. "Uh, thanks for the ride - you can go home if you want!"

"What?" However, Daroach had already sped off. She looked at her car and then at Daroach. "Hey, wait! I'm coming!"

Daroach slowed as he came to the concrete blocks he had seen earlier, and breathing heavily, watched as Spinni talked to a well-dressed man. Daroach immediately recognized him as the man who sitting there before. He grit his teeth.

"Spinni!"

The teen turned to Daroach and his expression went from surprised to slightly annoyed. "Daroach! What are you doing here?"

Daroach walked up to him and messed his hair. "Looking for you, you idiot!" he said as Spinni protested. "I should be the one asking you that!"

Spinni suddenly stopped swatting at Daroach and looked at the thief in surprise. "Really?" Daroach nodded and Spinni's face turned slightly red in embarrassment. "I can take care of myself, you know?"

Daroach couldn't help but smile at this. "Yeah, yeah, mate." He thought of something and frowned again. "Though it would have helped if you had returned my calls," he remarked, somewhat embarrassed himself.

Spinni rose a brow behind his sunglasses. "Calls?" he repeated.

"Yeah, I called you like twice, mate."

Spinni pulled out his phone. Sure enough, a message popped up reporting two missed calls. He checked the phone's volume setting and deadpanned for a second. He laughed nervously. "Woops...musta put it on silent."

"WHAT?!" Daroach exclaimed. He groaned, running his hands through his hair. "Of course it is..."

"What?! It is!"

"I believe you mate," Daroach said. "Now are you ready to head back or what?"

Spinni frowned. "After what you said?" Daroach winced and the teen snorted. "Sure. But only because Doc and Storo are there. I'm still mad at you."

"Mate, come on, I didn't-"

"I hate to break this up." Spinni and Daroach turned to the man. Daroach unconsciously glared. He still looked so familiar..."But, I'm afraid I must be going soon."

"Oh, sorry," Spinni said. Daroach shot him a bewildered look, so he explained, a little embarrassed, "When you made fun of that time - I'm not saying it was mine, okay? - I wanted to do better. So that's what I'm doing."

Daroach nodded and looked at the man suspiciously. "And he's been timing you?"

Spinni nodded. "Yeah." Then, seeing Daroach's worried look, he whispered in his ear, "I don't know if he knows what it's for, though."

"Well, Spinni, would you like to hear your time?" the man asked, twirling the stopwatch between his fingers a bit impatiently.

"Yeah-" His eyes flicked nervously to Daroach. "Go for it."

"Five minutes, and..." The man raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed. "And forty seconds! Impressive." He grinned and congratulated Spinni, who was currently jumping up and down in triumph.

Daroach gave him a fist bump. "Nice," he said.

"'Nice?'" Spinni replied. He rolled his eyes jokingly. "Whatever, mate, you're just jealous."

"Yeah, yeah. Maybe a little," Daroach admitted. "Still got nothing on my-" He stopped. Something was nagging at him at the back of his brain, something he was reminded of...He brushed it off.

The man's eyes suddenly lit up. "Why hello there! Don't be shy!" he entreated Adeleine, who had been staying back while they talked.

Daroach felt a twinge of guilt. He thought that she had left. "Oh, hey sorry, mate."

Adeleine shook her head, raising her hands. "No, it's fine! Is everything okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Just about to-"

The man suddenly interrupted him as Daroach hadn't even opened his mouth. The thief glared daggers at him as he greeted Adeleine.

"What's your name? I haven't seen you around before."

"Um, Adeleine," she replied, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you. Uh, what's your name?"

He held Adeleine's hand a bit longer before giving it a small squeeze and letting go. He laughed lightly. "Oh, Daroach and I are old...friends." Daroach snorted. "Actually, more like rivals. Aren't we...mate?"

Daroach was about to protest when the nagging feeling in the back of his brain finally made sense. He froze.

There was no way...

"PHIL?" Daroach exclaimed incredulously. "There's no way..."

"What, you think I live in that store?" Phil rolled his eyes. "Hardly."

"Coulda fooled me, mate."

"Like that's hard to do."

Daroach growled and Adeleine stepped in. "Hold on a second!" she said. "Phil...Daroach, how exactly do you know each other?"

Daroach focused on Phil, who was grinning smugly like a satisfied cat. "You remember that guy I told you about at Happy Bee? Who looked at me?"

Spinni jumped in. "You mean that - he's that guy?" he said incredulously. Phil sniffed indignantly at being demoted to the vague rank that guy. "Isn't he supposed to - I dunno - look like you?"

"Well, he does look a bit like Daroach..." Adeleine commented softly.

Phil looked at her and his lips twitched downward. He brushed some hair out of eyes as Daroach protested that there was absolutely no resemblance between them.

The thief turned to him. "Alright, Phil, what the hel-"

"Heck?"

"I can say whatever the he-"

Phil laughed. "Wow, you really can't stick with the rating!"

"It's T, mate. Not K, not even K+. T," Daroach emphasized. Adeleine rolled her eyes.

Phil shrugged. "The reason why I'm here?" he asked. "We're rivals, remember? I have a challenge for you Daroach."

Daroach frowned, but there was an undeniable spark of interest in his eyes. A challenge? "I thought you said you had to leave."

"Oh this won't take long." Phil smiled and nodded at Spinni. "He told me your record was five minutes, eleven seconds, right?"

Adeleine looked at Phil, then Daroach in confusion.

"Yeah, what about it?" Daroach asked.

Phil flashed a cat-like grin. "What if I told you I could beat it?"

What? You mean Phil actually had a purpose way back in ol' chapter...what, three? The Resident Daroach Imposter returns! And he means business!

Update-wise, I think I'm going to try to do a Tuesday/Thursday schedule but seeing as today is Wednesday (I wanted to get this up yesterday but was a bit busy) I think I might go ahead and update tomorrow as well before officially getting on the new schedule! :)

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

~Pyro-Link