I'm back with chapter 12! It's been a bit, but now I've returned to write part 12 of this thing! I've been a bit unmotivated lately, and I've sort of been having a hard time, but I'm doing better. Anyway, here's the plot of this chapter:

Feeling bad about stealing the wallet, hurting Anne Marie, and snapping at Oaklyn, Charlie goes to sleep, trying to rid himself of the guilt. However, he has a terrifying nightmare, and he goes to retrieve Anne Marie after she goes back to 402 Maple Street to return Harold and Kate's wallet to them. While on the way, he meets Oaklyn. She's apologetic, and Charlie, finding himself surprised by her apology, agrees to rekindle their friendship.

Well, long intro, huh? Anyways, here we go! Enjoy!

Flo came up beside Charlie, concerned. He had stayed where he was for a few minutes, looking up the stairs to where Anne Marie had disappeared. "Charlie?" she asked, looking at him. Charlie lowered his head, sighing.

"Is... what happened?" Flo inquired. Charlie inwardly slammed his head into a wall; he despised feeling guilty for something! He was glad he almost never did, but... it sucked. Charlie inhaled, looking back up at the collie and trying to appear fine. "It's, uh, it's nothin', Flo, I just..." He paused, glancing away. "I just did somethin' stupid, uh..."

Flo's face softened more, and she lowered her head to meet Charlie's eyes. "Are you ok? Can I help?"

Charlie lifted his head and forced a careless smile, but his ears dropped a bit as unwelcome feelings of regret and shame settled in his chest. "Thanks, Flo, I appreciate it... but, uh, no... it's nothin' important. I'm just gonna go get some sleep." Charlie turned away and went to the other side of the room as the puppies started to settle down, and before he knew it, they were all asleep. He was lying on a half-fallen curtain hanging from the ceiling, head on his crossed paws.

Flo came over and looked down at him. "Goodnight, Charlie," she murmured, being careful not to wake the sleeping puppies behind her. Charlie nodded shortly. "G'night, Flo." She crept over beside a pile of snuggled up pups and went to sleep.

Charlie uncrossed his forelegs, laying his chin between them and staring up at the window. Should I check on Squeaker...?

He glanced at the green stairs; then he turned his head away. Nah... she's probably asleep, anyway, he thought, closing his eyes. He was pretty tired, but as he almost fell asleep, he thought of the beautiful white Pomeranian that he cared so much about. He tried to ignore the memory of what he'd said during the fight, but her words echoed in his ears.

"You were always money-hungry, but now you're-... you're just... selfish."

"I never wanna see you again as long as I live!"

I'm sorry, Snowflake... but I've gotta keep the kid happy.

After several hours, Charlie was still asleep in the same spot. However, his watch, which was propped up against his paw, suddenly clicked open.

It began to glow on and off, and a voice Charlie hoped he'd never hear again started to speak from it in an eerie, echoing tone, along with the watch's steady tick tick tick.

"Charlie... you can never come back! You can never come-"

An explosion of black and red came the moment the watch ticked midnight, and Charlie found himself being rocketed through another tunnel- but it wasn't a heavenly one. Thunderclouds boomed all around, and green lightning bolts crackled in front of Charlie's face.

Charlie flew into a cluster of green bolts, and a horrible shock went though his body. He landed on the ground and instantly took off running, gripped with terror already. However, as Charlie tried to sprint away from the blinding electricity, another explosion went off behind him, but it only made him run faster. But as he tried to get away, wind blew into Charlie, and even though he struggled against it, he began to slide backward.

Gasping, Charlie tripped onto his belly and tried to dig his claws into the stone beneath him, but to no avail. A smoke-colored tornado was forming behind him, and there was no way to escape. The wind only grew stronger; Charlie found himself being turning around and around by the strength of it, and he tried in vain to paw at the ground to gain stability.

He was sucked right up to the tornado. As debris flew everywhere, Charlie desperately clung to the ground, gritting his teeth, but then he lost his grip, and he went flying into the wind current with a petrified yelp.

Around and around he soared, reaching out with his paws at nothing but air; a faint fearful howl reached his ears, and he recognized it as his own. He started to get sucked down to the base of the tornado, and the next thing Charlie saw was a burst of red/orange light. What's that- lava?!

Charlie spotted a old, broken down boat floating on fiery lava, with a long skeleton neck snaking upward at the front as it emerged. There was a demon with huge wings perched on the back; it gave a hiss as Charlie fell onto the boat. "Oh!" he grunted painfully, getting to his paws quickly.

The demon reeled back, and then forward into Charlie's face, hissing ferociously. Shocked, Charlie whipped around to run away, yelling out in fear. However, he found that there was nowhere to run; he halted as soon as he ran out of space, gaping down at the lava as it rose and fell around him.

Suddenly, in a cloud of green smoke, through the lava came a terrifying demon, much larger than the first one. The eyes on it glowed yellow, and smoke billowed from its whole body. Charlie thought it looked sorta like a... a dog?

Another explosion by its face gave it a real form; it leaned down to Charlie, baring its teeth menacingly. "Now you're mine!" it hissed, and Charlie gasped in horror as it reeled back up. He turned tail and tried to run away, but suddenly the Hellhound blew fire in front of him, and out of that came a bunch of little demon looking things. Charlie skidded to a stop, completely overwhelmed with fright.

He gasped as the small demons started chattering and jumping up and down, baring razor sharp teeth. Charlie whipped himself around again, but to his dismay, more demons appeared. Charlie let out a scream, and trying to avoid being attacked, he yet again turned around and tried to run, but as soon as he did something jumped on his face.

One leapt onto his ear and latched on, another on his snout, and several others everywhere else. The one on his muzzle bit down hard enough for Charlie to yelp, and he tried to shake them off. Failing, Charlie started to panic even more, screaming again, and ran to the front of the lava ship, leaping onto the long skeleton neck and struggling to climb up as it began to rapidly sink.

Charlie panted briefly as the demons pulled on his fur; he'd never felt a mix of fear and pain this strong before. Too fearful for words, Charlie jumped up the highest he could possibly be.

He winced as they kept biting, feeling one of them rip out some of the fur on his tail. "Ahh!" he cried, shaking his head as another yanked on his ears. I'm sorry!! I'm sorry!!!

"AHHHHH!!!"

"Charlie! Charlie!"

"Hey, wake up, Charlie!"

"Charlie, wake up!"

"Uncle Charlie!"

The bites of the demons turned out to be the puppies trying to wake Charlie up; he was hugging an upright broomstick, whimpering in his sleep. They tapped his snout, tugged his fur, and tried whispering louder when he didn't wake up.

"Charlie, wake up!"

One of the puppies latched onto Charlie's ear, causing him to finally wake up. His eyes snapped open, and he gasped. Then he started whimpering as the puppies played tug of war with his ear, pulling him backward. He wrapped his arms tighter around the broomstick, still very fearful.

He retracted his hind legs tight to the broomstick, but then the puppy let go, and he went careening forward. "Uhhh-ahhh!"

He crashed onto the wooden floorboards, wheezing. Charlie sat up, scared and dazed. He kept whimpering and started to look around; the whines sounded more like short gasps than whimpers, though.

"Did you have a bad dream?" the bulldog pup asked, and a hound puppy jumped down beside him.

"Was it a monster?"

"Did it bite?"

Charlie panted, trying to calm his pounding heart. He stood up, shaken. "Oh, boy... it wa... it was only a dream!" he muttered, looking at his watch. He sighed, shaking himself quickly. Then he perked up, remembering that Anne Marie was still upstairs.

"Anne Marie...?" he asked, going over to the steps. "Anne Marie?" He repeated it, but louder, and he trotted up the steps when he received no answer.

Slightly worried, Charlie jumped upstairs; he was surprised to see that she was gone. "Anne Marie!" Charlie came back down the steps rapidly, jumping down. "Where is that kid??"

A female puppy climbed up one, looking down at him. "She went to 40... 2 Maple Street. To see the wallet family!" she chirped, smiling. Charlie was shocked. "What? What?" He went over to the other wooden stairs.

He sighed. "Great..." Charlie descended and left as the puppies watched him go. Crap. What have I gotten myself into??

Anne Marie, though, was far from shaken and concerned. She was sitting at Harold and Kate's kitchen table in their fancy home. She chewed a mouthful of food, watching Kate put something in the waffle maker.

"Do you like waffles?" Kate asked, and Anne Marie beamed. "Oh, yes! Very much, thank you!" Harold looked up from behind his newspaper. "No, thank you!"

Kate placed a few on Anne Marie's plate, and the child looked around, amazed. "This is the most beautiful house I've ever seen!" Kate smiled warmly. "Well, thank you, Anne Marie... where do you live?" The girl took a bite of her breakfast. "I live with Charlie! He's my dog," she said, chewing.

Kate sat down, curious. "Ah... but what about your parents?"

"I don't have any parents," Anne Marie replied, and Kate startled, tapping Harold's shoulder; but he was paying attention. "Then where do you stay?"

Anne Marie continued enjoying her waffles. "With Charlie in the junkyard!" she said sweetly. "Oh my..." Kate whispered, standing up. "Anne Marie, you stay right there..." She took Harold's hand and led him into the hallway. "Honey! Come with me."

She turned to her husband. "You can't let her leave her with nowhere to go!" she whispered, and Harold nodded. "I know, honey... she could stay in the guest room," he said.

As they spoke privately, Charlie crept up to the kitchen window, and he perked inside; glad to see Anne Marie was still there, he ducked back down. "Hey! Hey! Psst! Get over here!" he whispered, and Anne Marie turned around to stand at the window. She looked around for a moment, and Charlie stuck his face out of the flowers outside. "Psst!"

Anne Marie smiled. "Oh, Charlie! Harold and Kate are really wonderful! They weren't upset about the wallet! They gave me real waffles with butter and syrup!" she gushed. Charlie was relieved, and he chuckled; she wasn't angry anymore! Yes!

"Oh, really? Aw, well, that's great..." Charlie mumbled, knowing he'd have to try hard to persuade her to come- Harold and Kate were stiff competition for him. Charlie cleared his throat nervously, not wanting to be discovered by the couple. "Look, uh, ahem, I'm glad to see you, uh... found a home for yourself!"

Anne Marie looked elated. "Oh, do you think so?" she whispered, grinning. Charlie put on a sly smile. "Sure, sure!" Then he cooled his expression a bit.

"In fact, uh... I... I just came over to... say goodbye..." he said, faking a sad face. "Goodbye?" Anne Marie echoed, confused.

Charlie sighed. "Yeah..." He took a breath. "Well, I guess you won't be... needin' me anymore..." he said, closing his eyes 'sadly.'

Anne Marie put her chin on and hand. "Maybe you could stay, too!" she suggested, and Charlie inwardly cringed. Humans? No way, kid.

"Oh, no, no. I couldn't stay, I mean- I don't wanna spoil it for ya!" He leaned closer to the girl. "They don't want a... dirty ol' dog like me in a nice... clean house, like-like this!" Charlie gave Anne Marie an innocent smile. She looked very sad for a moment. "But Charlie!"

The shepherd sunk down into the flowers a little. "Don't worry 'bout me. I-I-I'll make it out, somehow..." He hid himself from view, taking a deep breath; then he forced himself to cough, and he did so several times, glancing upward. "Ooh!" He looked up again so she could see him. "By the way... you were the... the best friend... I ever had!"

Charlie ducked down and kept coughing, but something caught his eye before he looked up again. He gasped. "Woah! S-Snowflake!!"

Oaklyn was crouching a few feet away, hidden in the flowers. She looked nervous, and her ears were low. "Charlie!" she whispered, looking slightly surprised. Charlie paused, distracted; he had to finish this before he talked to her.

"Enjoy your waffles!" he said quickly, coughing loudly again and sinking into the flowers. Oaklyn stared, confused. "Charlie?!" Anne Marie called, worried. "Charlie, wait!!" She swung her leg over the windowsill and landed beside Charlie. She smiled at Oaklyn when she saw her. "Oh! Hi, Oaklyn!"

The Pomeranian twitched her mouth a tad. "Um, hi, Anne Marie..." Charlie, really surprised to see her, led the two girls out of the flowers and a little bit away. Suddenly a splash of guilt washed over Charlie; he turned his head to Oaklyn as Anne Marie started to play with the grass.

"O-Oaklyn, I..." She looked up at Charlie, but she cut him off. "Wait, Charlie... I-I've gotta apologize." Surprised, Charlie blinked and stared at her. Oaklyn looked away, bashful.

"Charlie, listen. I-I'm sorry I got so mad before... I was just scared you were gonna... um..." Embarrassed, Oaklyn blushed and turned her head away. "Y'know, with... with Anne Marie, and having a casino all to yourself, I just... I guess I thought you were gonna... forget about me..."

Charlie was actually surprised, but then he flattened his ears, a little ashamed of himself. He didn't know what to say, but thankfully Oaklyn continued. "I understand if you don't want me around for a while, Charlie..." She quietly sighed through her nose. "I'd better go..." Charlie quickly stopped her. "W-wait, no!"

Now also embarrassed, Charlie cleared his throat. "I-I, uh... I'm sorry, too. I didn't mean it when I said that stuff about... you bein' a... uhhh... what was it?" Oaklyn smiled softly. "A prissy little broad."

Charlie blinked. "Yeah... anyway, I hope you know that I wouldn't forget about ya, Snowflake. You, uh... you mean too much for me to forget..." Charlie regretted saying that when she looked up, surprised. "R-really?"

His face heated up, and he became flustered. "W-well, uh, I... yeah... I couldn't just forget about you..." Oaklyn smirked, feeling like her old self again. "Look at that! Charlie B. Barkin, getting soft on me!" she teased, prodding him in the chest with one eyebrow raised.

Charlie blushed, quickly turning around and walking over to Anne Marie so she wouldn't see. "I-I... ain't gettin' soft, I'm just saying I wouldn't forget about you, th-that's all!" he said, and Anne Marie looked up at him. "Charlie, why is your face so red?" she asked, and Charlie shook himself, growing hot. "It's not!"

Oaklyn grinned, giggling to herself. Charlie glared and turned back to her. "So, uh..." For some reason, that's when he finally noticed the small pinkish stain at the corner of Oaklyn's mouth. "What's that from?" he asked, tilting his head. Oaklyn became slightly submissive. "What's what?"

Charlie poked her face. "That." Oaklyn rubbed her neck, anxious. "Oh, it's just, uh..." Charlie was startled; he came to the realization that Carface was very likely involved.

"It was Carface, wasn't it?" he said lowly, growing angry very quickly. "Oh, that dirty rat! I'm gonna pound his miserable-!!" Charlie snarled, neck fur rising. Oaklyn sighed. "Charlie, you're right, it was him, but don't worry about it."

Charlie's eyes sparked with anger. "Oh, believe me, I'm gonna take care of him!" he vowed, sitting down. Oaklyn did nothing, but she watched Anne Marie come over and crouch beside her.

Anne Marie hesitated. Oaklyn exhaled knowingly. "If you're gonna ask if you can pet me, then yes." Anne Marie smiled, putting her hand on the Pomeranian's head. Charlie watched, and his anger began to subside. Heh. Cute. Anne Marie began to scratch Oaklyn's back, and she wagged her tail. "Oh, that feels nice..."

Then she jumped and blushed after starting to smile. Charlie smirked. "Now who's gettin' soft?" he teased, winking at her. "Oh, shut up!"


Well, chapter 12 is finally done!! I had a lot of fun writing this one- thanks for the reviews, though! I appreciate it a lot! I'll be back soon!

-BoT