A couple of days passed since the day Sprig, Anne and Charlie had that crazy little adventure that involved the Boonchuy's restaurant and the Plantars were officially considered Bonnchuys when Mrs. Boonchuy saw how important Sprig is to Anne and Charlie and how Sprig is important to them. Mrs. Boonchuy was surprised at how Charlie's idea of making Ned the delivery guy to the restaurant as a compromise to help the business.
Anne, Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy couldn't believe that Charlie's idea worked while how amazed they were with how Charlie was able to help around the restaurant as the way he could cook, how wonderfully he could handle the customers, how fast he was on his hands and feet. Charlie even made friends with Ned.
Ned was happy with the compromise as well as how Charlie was able to get Ned's food truck all fixed up. Ned was glad he had the insurance and that Charlie got him to a great mechanic. He even relocated the stray turtle to a local zoo who could look after the turtle and relocate it back into the wild. Charlie and the zookeeper had named the turtle "Bud" as even those caring for the turtle consider him to be a little buddy with a friendly heart.
Charlie was filmed on camera for the local news at the zoo after checking up on Bud when the newsmen heard his story about why he took the turtle to the zoo which he left out how he got him there. A middle-aged Hispanic woman was talking to him as he was filmed on camera for the local news.
"Why did you drop off the turtle at the zoo? You just saw it on the road and your instincts told you to relocate the little guy?" asked the newswoman.
The microphone was near his mouth as Charlie spoke from the heart.
"Couldn't bear to see the little guy get clobbered by a vehicle. As someone once said: No one anointed us ruler of this kingdom. It's not ours to own. We are simply one of the animal species on our planet, not separate, not superior. We hold in our hands a responsibility to preserve harmony in the natural world. To demonstrate compassion towards all who call this home. So many living creatures have feelings. They know loss, they suffer pain. We must understand the mutual dependence between humans and animals. Only if we understand, can we care. Only if we care. Can all be saved." Charlie spoke from the heart. "We share this planet with so many as a home and the only way this planet we call home can remain a peaceful place is if we do our part to help each other. Help the animals as they can help us understand."
Charlie had a stoic face as the newswoman shed a tear at those words. Charlie and the zookeeper even shown the turtle that named Bud on camera. The zookeeper was a heavyset forty-year-old male adult.
"Say hello to the people, Bud." said the zookeeper.
Bud's way of greeting the people watching was by bobbing his head as if to greet them. After a few minutes. The zookeeper took Bud back into the zoo and Charlie rode back home with Kagura.
The Next Day
Anne, the Plantars and Charlie were in Anne's backyard. Charlie was on Anne's phone screen while sitting on a seat that was in front of the table. Anne was looking through science magazines. Sprig was playing soccer as he would kick the soccer ball and it would bounce off the wooden fence. Hop Pop was laying down on a patio seat and Polly was laying on a seat next to him.
Hop Pop was wearing sunglasses and Polly wore a straw hat as Hop Pop's shirt was opened. The two were drinking lemonade. What Anne was looking for wasn't found.
"Really? Science Mag Monthly? Not one article interdimensional portals? There's absolutely nothing! What science do you even do?" said a frustrated Anne.
"It's alright Anne. I'll admit. I found nothing on interdimensional portals. Apparently, we only seem to find that out in science fiction. But we're not looking for science fiction. That would be at a comic book convention." said Charlie as he was on Anne's screen.
Anne slapped away a magazine as it shown the science, they do was curing diarrhea and solving world hunger. Hop Pop was drinking up on the lemonade as he felt relaxed.
"Relax, Anne. We'll find a way back... eventually. Even Charlie has been going through the same difficulties and he's appearing calm about it." said Hop Pop.
"Trust me, I'm going through the same stress but my aunt Hayami has taught me quite a lot of ways to relax the stress. The Japanese have some kind of foods that helps with weight loss. We got a lot of secrets for that. But it always depends on the metabolism." said Charlie on a positive note.
Mr. Boonchuy came outside and poured another glass of lemonade into Hop Pop and Polly's glasses which Hop Pop was being hospitable or humble about the gesture.
"Oh, you don't have to do that." said Hop Pop kindly.
"Please, you're our guests." said Mr. Boonchuy kindly.
They suddenly heard a high-pitched beeping sound and smoke was coming out from the kitchen and Charlie knew what that was immediately.
"Mr. Boonchuy, your canapés are on fire." said Charlie.
"My canapés!" said Mr. Boonchuy in a panic as he ran into the kitchen.
"Charlie, what's that high pitched beeping sound?" asked Hop Pop curiously.
"Smoke detector. It detects smoke in the house to let us know when to prevent a fire." explained Charlie.
"Woo! I haven't been this pampered in ages." said Hop Pop.
"Hear! Hear!" said Polly slapping her feet together a few times.
"When was the last time you were pampered like this, Hop Pop?" asked Charlie.
"Last time I was pampered like this. I had hair. Our natural hair color is orange." answered Hop Pop.
"I guess back then. They used to call you curly." joked Charlie.
"Nope. They'd call me red." said Hop Pop with a chuckle. "Enjoy it now, kids, you know the old saying, guests are like noxious swamp gas. After three days, they start to drive you crazy. We've already been here two days, pretty soon we'll have to start pulling our own weight."
"Hop Pop, we've been here for twelve days. Less than two weeks." said Sprig.
Hop Pop and Polly both spat out the lemonade in shock. Both of them spat it out onto each other, twice, out of shock. Charlie laughed at their reactions as he couldn't help himself.
"Spit take!" laughed Charlie.
"No! That means we're not just guests anymore. We're freeloaders! Just like Cousin Stanley!" said Hop Pop shocked.
Hop Pop, Sprig, and Polly gasped in horror but Sprig mentioned how he's sort of already family.
"One, you guys are not freeloaders. You're family to both the Boonchuys and the Matsuda's." reassured Charlie.
"Also, who's Stanley?!" said Anne and Charlie curiously.
"He was the worst." replied Polly.
"He stayed forever." said Hop Pop.
"Ate all our snacks." Sprig added.
"Even used MY bucket as a footbath." said Polly looking disgusted.
"I don't even think he was really our cousin." said Sprig. "I once caught him painting his body the same skin color as ours. So I'm just assuming."
"But we were hosts, so we had to be nice. We just resented him a little more each day. Thankfully, he eventually left peacefully on his own." Hop Pop said with some optimism. "Just kidding. We threw him out the window."
Hearing this shocked both Anne and Charlie at the way they handled the situation with this frog they mentioned by name. Throwing this person out the window left the two human teenagers wide eyed with shock. They figured the reason why they didn't kick them out was because they're children and they were trying to keep the two of them alive and they pulled their own weight as well as bonded with one another.
"Whoa! What?" said Anne surprised.
"One, that's kind of cold. And two, I'm probably going to burn for it but the last thing you just told me. Why do I feel like laughing? I shouldn't be laughing at that. And three, I'm scared now." Charlie replied.
"We'd never kick you two out of our home. You're family. Family never does that. Stanley, it's possible he faked being related to us." said Hop Pop. "And I can only imagine what the Boonchuys wanna do to us by now. We got to find a way to contribute to this household."
"Hop Pop, I think you're overreacting. You guys took me and Anne in when we needed it most. You kept us fed and safe out of the kindness of your hearts. Family like that doesn't owe each other anything. You guys got nothing to worry about. Try talking to them about it. Me and my family talk about our problems to work them out and it's worked out for us." said Charlie reassuring them.
"Hey, Anne. It's time for your dentist appointment." said Mrs. Boonchuy walking outside with her car keys.
"That's probably my time to head out. Keep my girlfriend safe and sound, Mrs. Boonchuy." said Charlie as the screen on Anne's phone turned black.
"My what?" asked Anne.
"You have been missing for seven months and I have a feeling you haven't been brushing." said Mrs. Boonchuy. "Charlie already admitted to going to the dentist but he didn't say much about it because that's his business, not my business."
Mr. Boonchuy came outside again with a plate of canapés as the Plantars tried some which they tasted incredible. Anne was annoyed that she was having to go to the dentist.
"Aaaw, but mom! I'm supposed to take Domino to the vet today. Should've asked Charlie if he could do that. Domino's taking a liking to him." said Anne sounding annoyed.
"Maybe your father could take her." said Mrs. Boonchuy.
"No can do. I'm working at the restaurant today." said Mr. Boonchuy. "I'd ask Charlie, but I don't want to inconvenience him."
They were at a loss. Mrs. Boonchuy was taking Anne to the dentist, Mrs. Boonchuy was busy at the restaurant, Anne was going to the dentist, and they didn't want to inconvenience Charlie. That's when Hop Pop smiled with excitement and shook a little. An idea came to his mind.
"We'll take the cat to the vet!" Hop Pop blurted out.
The glass of lemonade fell on top of his head and it spilled on top of his head. Anne's parents were a little surprised but didn't expect them to volunteer.
"Really? Are you sure?" said Mrs. Boonchuy a little skeptical.
"Yeah, I'm sure. It's the least we can do to help." said Hop Pop.
Anne came over to Hop Pop and hugged him as she knew this would be a big help for them all but also knew they wouldn't be inconvenienced since they didn't want to leave Domino in the care of a stranger.
"You guys are lifesavers!" said Anne handing Hop Pop a slip of paper with the address to the vet written on it. "Here's the address to the vet. If anyone suspects anything froggy about you, just say "Boy, I could use some coffee", It's like code for "I'm human". Thanks, guys. Also, let's try to listen to Charlie if anything comes up." explained Anne.
Mrs. Boonchuy walked Anne into the house and towards the front yard where the car was in the driveway. Mr. Boonchuy handed Polly what appeared to be a clam cellphone. Polly took it with her.
"And I'll be heading to the restaurant. If anything go wrong, just give me a call." Mr. Boonchuy advised.
"Sweet. A burner." said Polly with a grin.
Mr. Boonchuy headed out the backyard door and closed the door. Both Anne's parents were now outside in the front yard. Mrs. Boonchuy got Anne in the van, even if Anne was protesting about her teeth but Mrs. Boonchuy knew that they couldn't take any chances. Mr. Boonchuy put on a helmet and drove off on what looked like a moped. Mrs. Boonchuy drove off to take Anne to the dentist while Mr. Boonchuy drove off to work.
"Wow! Our first solo Earth mission without Anne and Charlie. Big stuff. Do you really think we'll be alright? Maybe we should get some assistance from Charlie or one of the ladies of the house. They've volunteered to pet sit before." said Sprig showing some excitement at first but then shown some doubt.
"Sure. Also, let's not inconvenience Charlie, we can pull our own weight like Anne and Charlie do. Now, let's get that cat to the vet." said Hop Pop looking determined.
They uttered a victorious "Yeah!" as they figured this mission wasn't going to be too difficult. As they walked inside the house. They were thinking that taking Domino to the vet was going to be no problem. Hop Pop grabbed a pink pet carrier as they found Domino was in the living room.
Domino was purring as she was playing around with a ball of yarn. She looked content. She appeared to be having one of them peaceful, lazy cat moments.
"Looks easy enough." said Hop Pop.
"I'm having Domino two flashbacks right about now." said a worried Sprig.
"Enough talk. Seize the beast!" cried Polly.
Polly uttered a battle cry as she jumped forwards and landed on Domino's stomach. The feline opened her eyes and started to appear irate as Anne forgot to tell them that Domino gets angry when woken up or if anyone touches her stomach. The cat got angry and began to attack them while there was screaming coming from them.
At a Bus Stop
The Plantars got Domino into the pet carried but they appeared to have been shown to be attacked by Domino as they had some mild scratch marks and bruises. They were in their human disguises. They appeared to have been traumatized by their attempts to get Domino into the carrier.
"Well, we survived that." said Hop Pop with a sigh.
"Barely." said Sprig wide eyed. "Anne and Charlie probably been through worse before we met them. One of them admitted to being driven half-crazy in the forest when out there on their own for too long."
"Now all we have to do is take this bus to the vet." said Hop Pop pointing to the bus stop sign.
The bus Hop Pop spoke of slowly drove up to the bus stop and they weren't alone. There was a tough looking middle-aged man with a thick and bushy beard and mustache, an Asian female adult, a tanned younger male adult who wore a baseball cap, a thirty-year-old African American male wearing a suit and tie, a red-haired lady with glasses, a twenty-year-old Latina woman. They were getting onto the bus and used a card to scan and validate themselves and everytime they scanned their cards, and a beeping sound was heard.
The Plantars watched and observed the human's behavior which Hop Pop inhaled deeply and his mouth swelled up as he mimicked the beeping sounds that they heard. Hop Pop walked up the steps and mimicked the beeping sounds with his voice as him, and his grandchildren walked up and entered the bus with him. Sprig thanked the bus driver while Polly was impressed how they snuck onto the bus. They got up towards some nearby seats.
"You guys here too, huh?" came a male's voice.
The Plantars turned to see that the one who spoke to them was Charlie. He was sitting down on the row of seats that were on the sides of the bus and near the windows. They felt some sense of hope when Charlie was shown to be with them.
"Charlie!" the Plantars said in unison.
"We actually figured you were busy at the house." said Sprig.
"I already gotten everything I had to do be over and done with. Taken the garbage out, cleaned the dishes, silverware, laundry washed, dried, folded and put up. Well, everyone already did their laundry. I just got done doing mine. The ladies got their laundry done and good thing too. It would be too much if I was to be folding a woman's... undergarments." said Charlie as he was at first optimistic but shuddered in disgust about the very idea of doing women's laundry along with their undergarments.
"Charlie saw women's undies." teased Polly jokingly.
"Who said I saw a woman's unmentionables?" said Charlie blushing. "I got everything done and looks like I can assist you guys. Taking Domino to the, you know where?"
"Big time." said Sprig. "Getting her in the carrier was the hard part. Now we know how a cat's scratching post feels like."
"Taking the bus. Done." said Hop Pop.
"That wasn't that hard." said Polly.
"Careful guys. You may want to sit down or hang onto the pole." Charlie suggested.
"Why hang onto the pole?" asked Polly.
The bus started to move forwards which caused the Plantars to be sent flying through the air as if the force the bus was enough to make anyone light weight to go flying like they were the weight of paper. Charlie jumped forwards and grabbed onto the carried with his left hand, grabbed hold of Hop Pop with his right arm and used his left arm to grab hold of Sprig and Polly.
"Tsukamatte iru!" cried Charlie.
Hop Pop launched his massively long, thick and wide tongue out as his huge tongue accidentally gave a smothering hit to five of the passengers and around parts of the seats.
"Grab hold of the pole! Pōru o tsukamu!" cried Charlie.
Hop Pop's huge tongue wrapped around a pole that turned out to be the handrail. He pulled his way over as they swung around it and landed on their feet afterwards. Hop Pop retracted his huge frog like tongue in his mouth and they were able to stand.
"That's why." answered Charlie.
"Wow, Hop Pop! Great tongue action." said Sprig looking impressed.
"I take a kickin' and keep on lickin'." joked Hop Pop.
They all heard the passengers groaning in complaint as they were all annoyed by being smothered by Hop Pop's huge tongue and being covered in his spit. They all saw they were not amused.
"Not good." said Charlie under his breath.
"Did that creepy old man just lick everyone on the bus?" said a male adult with a red baseball cap.
"What do you have to say for yourself, dude?" said a middle-aged male with a thick and bushy grey beard.
"Boy, I could use some coffee?" said Hop Pop nervously.
"Ochitsuku!" said Charlie firmly.
Charlie gave everyone a stoic face as they all could see that he had a muscular body and he something about his muscular body, stoic face and something about him looked recognizable to them. They all looked as though they were visibly afraid to mess with him.
"This was all an accident. Retaliating will do no good for anyone. Was this situation fair to anyone? No, we're just taking my girlfriend's cat to the vet and this here is my family, they're foreign and still learning how things work in this country. I'm their guide and no harm will come to them. Also, what is that?" said Charlie as he pointed out the window.
Charlie pointed out the window and Charlie threw his voice to make it sound like a tiger's growl was heard from outside and everyone looked out the window, thinking there was a wild animal outside but that was the time that Charlie teleported both the Plantars and himself off the bus and they reappeared on the sidewalk where a famous singer's posters were on the wooden fence they were near.
"Well, that went well. At least Charlie got us out of there while they were distracted." said Polly.
"So, what do we do? Oh! Maybe Mr. Boonchuy can give us a ride?" said Sprig pulling out the cellphone.
"Absolutely not!" said Hop Pop as he took the cellphone which he gave the cellphone to Polly. "We're not asking for any more favors. We just need to focus on and get this job done."
"Hop Pop, don't climb up that fence. And two, I'll take the lead from here. You had my back. Now I got yours." said Charlie. "Just follow me."
"Good idea. Charlie knows his way around the city better than we do." said Hop Pop.
As they took off. They let Charlie lead the way. They went down one turn on a sidewalk and some teenagers on motorized scooters passed them, nearly running them over. All but Sprig successfully dodged them but Charlie managed to grab hold of Sprig to prevent him from being run over and to prevent him from being hooked on them and taking him along for the ride.
"Thanks Charlie." said Sprig looking relieved.
Later on, they followed a map on the cellphone while they would walk on the sidewalk up a hill while Charlie had the Plantars ride on his shoulders as he carried Domino who was still safely in the carrier.
"I think this is tiring Charlie out." said Hop Pop.
"I'm much stronger than you think. I ain't quitting you guys." groaned Charlie.
They walked through a park and saw what appeared to be a heron but the Plantars thought it was one that was big as the herons from their world as they panicked.
"Relax guys. It's not like the giant herons from your world." reassured Charlie.
They saw that the heron at a closer view and as it landed in a fountain. They saw the heron and it was no bigger than Hop Pop. Much to their relief. They laughed as they felt relieved that this bird wasn't a danger to them but it nipped at Sprig's right arm. Charlie managed to get the heron like bird to let go of Sprig when he began to sing acapella to it.
"Oh, the power to be strong. And the wisdom to be wise. All these things will come to you in time. On this journey that you're making. There'll be answers that you'll seek. And it's you who'll climb the mountain It's you who'll reach the peak. Son of Man, look to the sky. Lift your spirit, set it free. Someday you'll walk tall with pride. Son of Man, a man in time you'll be-e-e-e"
His way of singing acapella not only got the heron like bird to let go of Sprig's arm but it calmed the bird down while people nearby were wide eyed with surprise as they had their jaws dropped. The people nearby couldn't believe that Charlie tamed the bird the way he did.
"Whoa!" said Sprig surprised.
"Acapella pop music. It always tames the birds." said Charlie.
They'd take one turn after the other as they'd pass by a laundromat, a donut shop, a few other business establishments. They stopped to give Domino a treat that was shaped like a fish. Hop Pop attempted to open the door to the carrier but Charlie advised him to give the treat to Domino by slipping it in through the door bars. Domino eaten the fish treat and loved the taste of the tangy fish like treat.
"When you have a cat or dog in the carrier. Never open it up when in public. They always find a way out of it. Only open the door when you have the pet at the owner's house or when at the vet." Charlie advised.
"You learned this from pet sitting, have you?" asked Polly.
"Me and the ladies of the house have done that before." answered Charlie.
Later on, they finally arrived at the vet which was a building that had a mural painting of a rabbit, dog, rooster, cat, turtle and bird painted on the right side of the building. They looked like they were doing a conga line dance. It had an orange awning above the entrance. The sign above it had a vet in the middle that hugged a cat and dog while the sign below it read "Pet - Vet" in sky blue lettering while a pink paw print was in the center.
The Plantars looked exhausted as the Plantars and Charlie did a brief victory dance before they walked inside. The waiting room had eight people in there where six of them had dogs, all loudly barking, one of them had a pet python, one of them had a pet frog.
"Some of these pets look vicious." said Polly looking nervous as they sat down.
"Not to worry. I can calm these animals down." said Charlie telepathically.
The Plantars saw Charlie do something that they half expected but didn't expect at the same time. He saw the nearby radio that would play music on a timer. it was built into the wall but he adjusted the dials to as he turned it on. The music was playing instrumental J-pop and pop rock music that sounded like it was a relaxing version of the music which Charlie would be singing to the music which his way of doing this calmed all the animals down in the waiting room as his voice was beautiful yet it calmed the animals down.
"Dan dan kokoro hikareteku. Sono mabushii egao ni. Hatenai yami kara tobidasou. Hold my ha-a-a-a-a-and"
Not only were the animals feeling relaxed by the soothing music being played on the radio but they felt at peace when Charlie's beautiful singing in Japanese which this left the owners of the pets to feel surprised yet slightly entertained at the same time.
"Kimi to deatta toki. Kodomo no koro taisetsu ni. Omotte ita basho wo omoidashitanda. Boku to odotte kurenai ka. Hikari to kage no winding road. Ima demo aitsu ni muchu nano. Sukossi dake furimukitaku naru youna toki mo aru kedo. Ai to yuki to hotori wo motte tatakau yo-o-o-o! Dan dan kokoro hikareteku. Kono hoshi no kibou no kakera. Kitto daremo ga eien wo te ni iretai. Zen zen kinishinai furi shitemo. Hora kimi ni koi shiteru. Hatenai yami kara tobidasou. Hold your ha-a-a-a-a-and"
After he stopped singing. The musical tune on the radio was still playing as the music calmed the animals down and the waiting room was quiet and the owners of the pets looked at Charlie with wide eyed surprise.
"Whoa! How did you?" asked one of the dog owners looking shocked.
"Classical music always works to calm the animals down. That, and acapella pop music." said Charlie.
As they all sat there, waiting, a woman briefly lost track of her pet snake but Charlie immediately located the reptile as he mimicked the hissing sounds of the snake and it attracted the snake's attention. He made eye contact with it and he had a stoic expression as the snake appeared to be staring right back at him.
"Listen to your owner. She loves you and if you listen to her more. You'll have nothing to fear. Remain with your owner. She's got your favorite treats waiting for you after your appointment with the vet"
Charlie communicated with the python telepathically and it worked enough to calm the reptile and the lady who was its owner caught up to it and she carried her pet snake which the snake was much calmer afterwards. That's when Charlie put the radio on the station that played relaxing elevator music which kept the animals calm and relaxed.
"Hey kiddo, the second you walked in here. All the creatures have calmed down. How did you do it?" asked a young, dark skinned male adult who wore a turban.
"Always learn to how calm them down when you know they'll be going through a tough time throughout the day. Always look for ways to relax the stress from their minds and bodies." Charlie answered. "Incoming doctor, we're up in three, two, one."
Once Charlie said that. The vet came from the door that led into his office and it turned out the vet was a tall, slender man with glasses who had tan skin who appeared to be Hispanic but he had no accent. He had his brown hair short, neat and trim but they could see that the greys on his sides shown that he was close to middle-age.
"Domino. Uh... appointment for Domino." called the doctor.
"Over here, doctor. Kochira!" said Charlie. "Otōsan, Kyōdai, Shisutā. We're next. Sore ga watashitachi!"
The Plantars were relieved that they were next as they were nervous around the dogs. Charlie grabbed the carrier while him and the Plantars walked through the door. They were led down a hallway and into a room where the doctor led them into. The doctor examined Domino while Charlie kept the cat relaxed by telling her telepathically how she's a lioness whose queen of the African jungle. After ten minutes. The doctor was done checking her out.
"Oh. Domino looks healthy enough. Uh, a little on edge but she's starting to calm down. Must be how the young man is using a calm voice and calm behavior around her." said the doctor. "Yet you've managed to calm all the other pets in the waiting room with no problem. It's usually noisier than Time Sqaure in there on a daily basis. How did you do it?"
"Classical instrumental music, relaxing elevator music and acapella pop music. It worked for the birds at the zoo. I've done this before, Doctor Julio Manuel." answered Charlie.
"Do you have doctors in your family and you've learned a thing or two from them?" asked Doctor Manuel.
"Nope. I learned a thing or two about it from those who have experience in the field. For dogs with arthritis. They can try eating such foods like sweet potatoes, acorn squash, pumpkin, blueberries, peeled apple, cantaloupe, salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines, chicken, turkey, fresh ginger root, turmeric in fresh root or powdered form, cinnamon, parsley. How to treat arthritis in cats? Try giving them vitamin C and E, as well as dl-phenylalanine can have a great response for mild cases of arthritis. If the case is severe, adding sodium oxide dismutase, also known as SOD, can do the trick. It's an antioxidant that provides anti-inflammatory properties. Even Turmeric will do the trick." said Charlie as he shown some expertise.
Doctor Manuel was impressed that a thirteen-year-old boy had some knowledge in the field of treating animals of anything to help treat them with natural remedies.
"Quite knowledgeable. Have you suggested such remedies before with other pets?" asked Doctor Manuel.
"Sometimes. The Japanese have a lot of natural remedies in treating the body of all sorts of afflictions, diseases, viruses, lowering cholesterol, LDLs, restoration to skin, hair, nails, we even have secrets to faster weight loss. Both for humans and animals." Charlie explained. "As for why Domino is a little on edge. She's not too fond of vets or trips to the vet in general. But it's nothing personal against you. The trip along the way here was kind of a bumpy ride."
"For one, the Japanese sure know their stuff. Two, the vets are aware that pets are not fond of having to see a vet. For some, it makes them nervous or irritable. Other than that, do you four have any other questions for me?" said Doctor Manuel.
"Yes, actually. Do you know anything about frog biology?" asked Hop Pop curiously.
"What do you want to know?" replied Doctor Manuel.
"What would you say for an older frog who's complaining about back pain these days?" asked Hop Pop.
"I'm sensing a red alert." Charlie told himself.
"Uh, a frog complaining?" said Doctor Manuel with a raised eyebrow in confusion.
"Well, honestly, he holds it in and soldiers on. He's noble like that." said Hop Pop.
"I'd recommend turmeric." said Charlie to himself.
"Shush, Hop Pop. What we really want to know is what's the highest a frog has ever jumped? Does it seem beatable?" asked Sprig looking determined.
"My red alert senses are tingling." said Charlie to himself starting to panic.
"Frogs are more known for the length of their jumps than height." said Doctor Manuel scratching his head.
Sprig jumped up in front of the doctor and grabbed a hold of his shirt from the front. Charlie knew that them being found out about being frogs from another world is being put at risk of exposure. He had an idea on how to explain it all away if the doctor became suspicious.
"Wow! Your grandson can really jump." said Doctor Manuel.
"Give me numbers, man!" Sprig demanded.
"Question: Can a frog grow multiple limbs? Could there be hypothetically and uber-frog?" asked Polly showing interest.
"Do you have any medication that can make a frog look forty years younger?" said Hop Pop grabbing onto his pants leg length of his uniform.
"I- Do you have a forty-year-old frog? You know, you have very interesting skin, sir. And this is that a fake nose?" said Doctor Manuel growing suspicious.
"Uuuhh... I could sure use some coffee..." said Hop Pop growing nervous.
"Yameru!" Charlie sharply chimed in. "Doctor. There's some things I can explain to help understand a lot clearer."
Charlie got the Plantar's attention as he gave them a wink and telepathically told them "I'll take it from here" and he face the doctor.
"Doc, the reason for their questions is because they've taken an interest in herpetology since they've started to watch animal documentaries. They're relatives of mine from a foreign country. Old frog is their slang for middle-aged or elderly men and women. Sprig was born with a harmless condition that allows him to jump higher, run faster and move around better than anyone. He's taken up soccer and volleyball so he can see the fullest extent of those limitations. Polly asks such questions because she's found out that some reptiles had been capable of being exposed to mutations and she's found the topic to be rather interesting. Hop Pop here, well, this applies to all three of them. Other people from their home country have a harmless pigmentation condition where their skin color is not the natural race colors like Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, Oriental. The locals from their home country have this condition where their skin color is of such colors like orange, red, pink, blue, green, purple or other color shades of the listed. It's shown to be harmless and they can live a normal life with it. And it's their first twelve days in America so I'm kind of like their guide and giving them a first-hand experience on American culture." explained Charlie as he told a very convincing lie. "As for his nose. He lost his nose in an accident. He broke his nose when he was younger and it was an accident. So he wears a falsie. Same is said about one of his younger cousins. Cousin Randall. He lost his leg in an accident during the Vietnam War and now he has a prosthetic leg."
Doctor Manuel was surprised that what Charlie told him turned out to be a thing, even if he didn't know that he was lying to him. He looked at Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly. They nodded in response. Then the doctor looked back at Charlie who also nodded in response.
"You got quite the interesting family. And you're doing a good job at showing them around America." said Doctor Manuel kindly.
"Kazoku no tame ni nandemo. Anything for the family." said Charlie proudly. "Domino, time to go. Iku jikan. Shawaruma ni uete imasu ka?"
Domino appeared to obey Charlie as she crawled back into the carrier with wide eyed excitement. He grabbed hold of the carrier's handle.
"You have a nice day, doc. Hop Pop, Sprig, Polly. Let's head out. Ikimashou." said Charlie taking command.
They walked out of the vet's office in a hurry as they walked down the hallway, out the door to the waiting room but on the way out. The lock to the carrier's door was left unlocked and Domino easily pushed the door open, escaping from the carrier.
"Come on, kids, let's skedaddle. Let's get this cat back home." Hop Pop told them.
"Before your cover is blown." Charlie told them telepathically.
They walked out the door but had no idea that Domino escaped and jumped out an open window that led outside. To the Plantars. They felt like they were in the clear and have earned their keep.
"We did it! We aren't freeloaders!" said Sprig relieved.
"Yep. We finally earned our keep. Feels good, don't it?" said Hop Pop taking in a deep breath and letting it out.
"Guys, you were never freeloaders. The Boonchuys and even my family don't think of you as freeloaders. They think of you as family and when it comes to family. You do for family out of love. They don't owe each other anything because they do for family." reassured Charlie.
"Even Domino seems happy with us. She hasn't tried to scratch me once since we left the vet. Maybe Charlie calmed her down enough that she's asleep." said Polly.
Charlie stopped and signaled them to stop. He began to sense something wasn't right. He noticed that the carrier felt lighter in weight. Charlie could sense that Domino's mind and brainwaves were further away, not closer. He looked inside the carrier and seeing it was opened and empty sent a panic through him.
"Guys, we're missing someone from the group." said Charlie his eyes widening.
"Aren't we all accounted for?" asked Polly. "You, me, Sprig, Hop Pop and Domino. Who could we be missing?"
"I'll give you a hint. She escaped the carrier." said Charlie.
They all looked inside the carrier and Domino wasn't in there. The blue mouse toy she plays with was in there but Domino wasn't in there.
"Crap!" snapped Charlie.
"SHE'S GOOONE?" said Hop Pop panicking.
"We lost her! We lost Domino! Anne's gonna be devastated!" said Sprig in a panic.
"Maybe we can still find her. I can try tracking her telepathically." Charlie attempted to reassure.
"I'm calling for backup!" said Polly as she took out the cellphone but Hop Pop quickly took it.
"That's the last thing we should do! Quickly. Let's retrace our steps. She couldn't have gotten far." said Hop Pop placing the cellphone in one of his pockets. "Charlie, can you sense or track her with your mind ability?"
"I can try. A domestic cat couldn't have gotten too far away in a five-minute time limit. Just follow me and alert me in case if I'm about to run into someone or something." Charlie instructed.
They doubled back to where they last saw Domino. Charlie was using his mind and telepathy to track down Domino which there was a lot of minds he could sense but he was able to differentiate between who is who. Sprig was about to look through some bushes but Charlie informed him that Domino wasn't in there. Hop Pop was about to look up a tree but Charlie informed him that he didn't sense her up the tree ether. Polly found a possum and thought it would be a good replacement but Charlie warned her not to touch the animal when it shown it was about to attack. Charlie managed to calm it down and it ran off.
"I can still sense her somewhere but can't find out where." said Charlie admitting the truth. "Maybe we should call Mr. Boonchuy."
"And let them know we failed and lost Domino forever? They're think we're freeloaders and irresponsible. OK. Everything's fine. Nobody panic. We can figure this out. We still don't have to resort to calling Mr. Boonchuy." said Hop Pop trying not to panic.
Hop Pop turned to see that Sprig had the cellphone and was contacting Mr. Boonchuy. Hop Pop panicked lunged towards Sprig to take the clam cellphone from him when he tackled him and they rolled over twice, but Sprig fought back.
"Hello? Sprig? Something wrong?" came Mr. Boonchuy's voice over the phone.
Hop Pop took hold of the cellphone and spoke into it as he was about to reassure him nothing was wrong but Polly lunged towards Hop Pop, sending him flying into the carrier.
"Stop fighting right now! This isn't a football field on game day. Ten-hut and front and center, now!" cried Charlie taking command.
The Plantars immediately calmed down as Charlie pulled Hop Pop out of the carrier and helped them all up on their feet. Charlie handed the cellphone over to Sprig while he would also listen to the conversation.
"You were saying, Mr. Boonchuy?" said Charlie.
"What just happened? Sounds like you're watching wrestling on television." said Mr. Boonchuy over the phone.
"We almost dropped the phone. Gravity doesn't agree with everyone." lied Sprig as he and Charlie listened in on what Mr. Boonchuy told them. "Uh-huh... yeah. Yeah... We lost the cat. OK... "Sha-war-ma". Got it. Thanks, Mr. Boonchuy. You're the best."
Sprig hung up the cellphone and placed it in his pocket. Charlie began to lead the way as he scooped up Sprig, Polly and Hop Pop by having them ride on his shoulders. He ran towards where he could sense Domino was at.
"Boy, what's goin' on?" asked Hop Pop.
"He said Domino would be at the nearest shawarma restaurant. I guess it's her favorite food. He also said we was on this way to help find her." answered Sprig.
"I know where the nearest shawarma restaurant is." said Charlie with a sense of optimism.
"We gotta find that cat before he gets here. It's the only way to salvage this. Polly, put that thing back!" said Hop Pop.
"We'll talk to Mr. Boonchuy about this. He's a really understanding guy. When we pet sat for a neighbor. We almost lost the dog but found her. We explained the truth to them and they understood. They were just glad the dog was alright." reassured Charlie. "Polly, drop that animal. It might attack if we bother it more."
Polly let go of the possum's tail when she was told twice and knew that if she was told once more to leave it alone. Then she'd be in a situation like Charlie described in the three strikes system. She immediately obeyed. They made it to the shawarma restaurant when Charlie sensed Domino's mind and brainwaves as they sounded closer and louder. They peered through a window
There, they saw that many customers cheering and taking pictures of Domino eating a shawarma as they were even paying more money at the sight. They all found the sight to be adorable like watching a cat video on the internet.
"I don't know where this kitty came from, but I am keeping her forever. She's a shawarma-loving customer magnet!" said a male adult worker of the restaurant.
"He wouldn't think it was so cute if he knew where her mouth had been." said Polly under her breath.
"I see them tossing their lunch all over the floor right now if they knew. Domino sure loves shawarmas. I did promise her some shawarma but I was going to purchase some of it for her to eat." said Charlie.
"We've got to get that cat at any cost. We may have to give our lives." said Hop Pop getting dramatic.
"No one's giving their lives to do that. Also, a little dark, don't you think?" said Charlie. "I could just go in there and tell them that Domino is our cat and we were looking everywhere for her. Communication and reasoning always is key in such situations."
"All we need is a distraction." said Sprig.
Charlie sighed, knowing that there's bound to be some chaos but he knew that there was no other way out of it. He knew that even if he would walk in and ask for Domino back, there was a possibility of that plan failing.
"We're about to do something crazy, aren't we?" said Charlie rhetorically.
"Does Domino love shawarma?" said Polly.
They looked around the room of the restaurant for anything they could use as an idea till Charlie saw a smoke detector on the wall. He smiled.
"Light bulb." said Charlie.
Sprig chimed in and they all started listen to the idea that both Sprig and Charlie had in mind. Hop Pop cracked his knuckles as he shown a stoic expression for the first time. Hop Pop began to mimic the high-pitched beeping sounds of a smoke detector which made everyone in the restaurant panic and run right out the restaurant. After they saw everyone run out in a panic. The coast was clear for them.
"You can mimic sounds too, huh?" said Charlie with a grin.
"Like father, like son." said Hop Pop with a grin. "Now, kids!"
Sprig lifted Polly up through the window to get her inside and once she got into. Sprig entered through the window with her but fell on top of her. He quickly got off her and approached Domino who had already eaten a large portion of the shawarma. As Domino felt Sprig grab onto her, that's when the feline got irritated and let out a loud yet vicious hissing sound and used her back legs to kick Sprig a few times to the point he let go of her and almost fell off the counter.
"Well, that didn't work." said Sprig.
Charlie came into the restaurant through the front door and gotten an idea to get Domino to come to them.
"Polly, she loves balls of yarn. You know what to do." Charlie instructed.
"You got it! Hey, Domino!" cried Polly as she took off her wig with a cap and wig as she pulled on the lace from her vest all the way till it almost reached its end. She began to roll around like a ball. "Have some yarn."
Seeing Polly roll around on the floor like a ball while she held onto the lace all the way out caught Domino's attention and excited her, leaving her wide eyed as she meowed with delight. She started to think that Polly was a ball of yarn. She jumped down onto the floor to try and catch her but Polly rolled away from her as Charlie made a mad dash to the door and kept it open.
"Through here!" called Charlie.
Polly rolled faster towards the door as Domino chased her out the door. She made a hard left turn all the way towards the carrier cage till she stopped, Hop Pop caught her and Domino ran inside the carrier cage. He quickly closed and locked the door on it. Charlie managed to calm Domino down as he sang beautifully a verse from a song he remembered.
"Dan dan kokoro hikareteku. Sono mabushii egao ni. Hatenai yami kara tobidasou. Hold my ha-a-a-a-a-and"
Hearing Charlie's beautiful singing had worked to calm down Domino. They all uttered a victorious "Woo hoo!" as a fire truck was approaching the area but Mr. Boonchuy arrived on his motor scooter shortly afterwards.
"Time to go, frogs. Come on!" instructed Mr. Boonchuy.
"Just go! I'll make my way home." Charlie told them.
There was no time to argue and that's when the Plantars ran towards the motor scooter as Charlie gave them the carrier that had Domino inside. They climbed aboard the seating while they had Domino with them. Mr. Boonchuy drove off while knew no one was watching and he teleported in a puff of gold smoke and reappeared at his home.
"Thanks for bailing out, Mr. B." said Sprig.
"Yeah. You're a real lifesaver." said Polly.
"Don't mention it. I'll drop you three off on my way to the restaurant. Also, where's Charlie? I heard him over the phone." asked Mr. Boonchuy.
"He knew he wouldn't be able to fit on the seat with us so he had his own method of transportation to get home." lied Sprig.
"Once again we inconvenience you. How you must resent us freeloaders." said Hop Pop feeling ashamed.
Mr. Boonchuy stopped for a moment as he put on the breaks.
"What? Freeloaders? You three took my daughter into your home when she needed it most. You kept her fed and safe for seven months just out of the kindness of your heart. You did the same for Charlie who I consider to be a good son in law. You will never owe us anything. Ever. I even heard the ladies of Charlie's house say the same thing when I heard them talking days after you got both Anne and Charlie home. You all are a blessing from above. You'll never owe both families anything. Ever. You're family to both of us. Family doesn't owe each other anything because we do for family. And you three are family." said Mr. Boonchuy with a grin.
Hearing what he told them touched the Plantars deeply that it left them wide eyed with tears of joy and relief leaking out of their eyes. They found out that Charlie was right all along. Mr. Boonchuy is a nice man whose understanding and compassionate and wouldn't turn anyone away over an honest mistake.
"Wow... I... don't what to say. Thank you. Charlie was right about you being a nice, understanding, compassionate man who would understand and forgive when we messed up. Thank frog for you." said Hop Pop with a sniffle.
"Are you kidding? Thank YOU." said Mr. Boonchuy as he drove off towards home. "So Charlie always knew I was a nice, understanding, compassionate man towards others, even if they messed up by accident? It would be surprising if he could read minds, literally."
"Yeah, that would be something." said Hop Pop playing along.
Later on, at the Boonchuy residence
The Plantars sat on the couch in the living room while Mr. Boonchuy sat on the recliner next to them as they were relieved that everything was alright. Domino was healthy and okay, safe and sound at home.
"So Charlie provided assistance when you met him on the bus? And he had a way of calming down the animals at the vet?" asked Mr. Boonchuy.
"He figured we could use a hand or two." answered Sprig.
"I don't know how he does it but he's become great with people and animals. He reassured us that you're more of an understanding, compassionate man and that our original thought of being freeloaders was all a big misunderstanding. I'm proud to call him my son." said Hop Pop. "He did promise Domino some shawarma and looks like she had her fill of it."
"Pun intended." chuckled Mr. Boonchuy.
The door to the garage burst open and in came both Mrs. Boonchuy and Anne. Anne had a wrapping tied around her head from after her trip to the dentist. She appeared tired yet loopy from a possible heavy dose of painkillers. Her cheeks were slightly swollen which they would go down later on.
"Anne! You're back! Everything went great with Domino. Even Charlie kept an eye out for any possible trouble." said Sprig greeting Anne.
"You guys are everywhere. OK?" said Anne dreamily as she smiled. She appeared to be still under the effects of the painkillers.
Mrs. Boonchuy led her to the couch while the Plantars looked on with confusion.
"Anne? What happened?" asked Polly curiously.
"Eight cavities and a whole lot of cricket legs. She's going to be like this for a few hours so she'll be a little loopy. It'll wear off." explained Mrs. Boonchuy.
"Oooh cricket legs? Did you save us any?" asked Hop Pop.
"You wouldn't want to be eating them if they came out of someone's mouth." Mrs. Boonchuy warned.
"Yeah, you're probably right." said Hop Pop.
Anne took hold of Hop Pop's cheeks and slightly squeezed them as she was talking to the older male frog while her eye pupils were dilated.
"Listen, Domino is not just a cat. She's the alpha and omega. An interdimensional being beyond all time and space. And Charlie's a hot Demigod from another planet in a different universe far from our own. I'm dating a Demigod." said Anne dreamily.
"W- What's that now?" Hop Pop uttered.
"Honey, how much painkillers did the dentist give Anne? She's talking like she's under the influence of something she shouldn't be." said a worried Mr. Boonchuy.
"They made sure it was an appropriate dosage for when they treated her eight cavities and cleaned her teeth. While on the way home. She started to talk about Charlie being an alien from another universe and that he can turn gold. I figured that was the painkillers talking. I remember once going to the dentist and had two cavities. I was a bit loopy afterwards from the painkillers that I remember my mother later on telling me that I spoke of some awkward things involving puberty that even my father was saying how a man shouldn't be knowing that much about a woman's, you know, Aunt Flo being in town." said Mrs. Boonchuy blushing while shuddering.
"I don't wanna know, do I?" said Mr. Boonchuy blushing.
"It's a conversation no man can handle hearing without their ears bleeding." warned Mrs. Boonchuy.
"Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy, if you two are tired or are busy with something. We can watch out for Anne till whatever you're doing is tended to." said Hop Pop.
"Speaking of which. It would super helpful if you guys keep her occupied for a bit. We got to take of care something for now. We'll back to you later on. Try to get Anne to lay down on the recliner." instructed Mr. Bonnchuy.
The married couple rushed out of the room to tend to what they mentioned they'd tend to. While Anne kept playing around with the soft skin on Hop Pop's face.
"OK. Can you let go of my face?" said Hop Pop.
"Never. We are one." said Anne dreamily.
"Kids, let's get Anne to lay down, she could use a good rest." Hop Pop advised.
"On it!" said Sprig and Polly in unison.
While the Plantars got Anne to lay down on the recliner and watched out for her during the time being. Domino curled up on one of the seats on the couch and began to fall asleep as it was a long day for her.
Charlie as at home and he was laying down on the couch in the living room. He was tired out as well while the ladies of the house watched in adoration.
"He hasn't fallen asleep on the couch since he was nine. I kind of miss those days because I kind of liked carrying him up the stairs to his bed." said Kikyo using her inside voice.
"So that's what those seven weird balls with the stars on them are used for?" said Charlie in his sleep as he was apparently dreaming. "Let's go get all seven of them magical, mystical balls, Roku."
"He still has dreams of that anime he grew up with." said Kagura with a grin.
For a brief moment, they saw Charlie's hair briefly glowing a gold color for a good, long moment. Their smiles turn to worry as if they knew something.
"Should we tell him about, you know?" asked Elena.
"If we tell him. We have to find the right time to do so. If and when we do. We all have to tell him together about, you know, his abilities." said Kikyo.
They all nodded in agreement once. Whatever this could mean. It was possible that they knew about Charlie's powers and the origins about them. If they did know. The question coming to mind was how long did they know about it?