Eyyy, I'm back, guys! This time with Chapter 13. Again, there's... really not too much to say besides, well... the plot of this chapter! So here it is: With Anne Marie back, and having reconciled with Oaklyn, Charlie decides to take them both back to the casino. However, as the three are walking through an outdoor food market, Carface begins shooting wildly at Charlie, which should've killed him; but since he has his wonderful watch, Charlie lives, and escapes with Oaklyn and Anne Marie into a building where they hide, and... you know the rest, right? Anyway, please enjoy!

(Also, to everybody leaving supportive comments, thank you very much! I really, really appreciate it, but honestly I'd just like to move on from the whole situation. Thanks for your support and kind words!)

Whew. What a morning, Charlie thought, leading Oaklyn and Anne Marie away from the neighborhood inhabited by Harold and Kate. First a nightmare, then having to act like a damn sucker to get Squeaker back, and solving the whole thing with Snowflake?

Sighing under his breath, Charlie put on a friendly smile and looked back at Anne Marie, who was skipping around happily as they made their way past a collection of signs, reading French Market and Loading Docks. Oaklyn, now in slightly better spirits than she was this morning, walked beside the girl after eyeing a crate full of apples. But she was only half paying attention; she was thinking about how Carface's eyes had glittered with delight as Killer was lowered into the piranha pit, and just how avid he was that he was going to savagely murder Charlie, however he could... Oaklyn shuddered.

Of course, even as she tried to push the thought of Charlie's possible slaughter away, Carface and Killer were watching the trio from not far away.

Carface, wearing an unlatched green army helmet, watched as Anne Marie put her hand on Charlie's back, grinning brightly at him, and he spotted Oaklyn walking behind the girl.

"Alright... alright... a little more to the left..." he muttered, staring at Charlie as he watched him trot along, look at Anne Marie, and then disappear behind a truck. He continued in that familiar gravelly voice. "I don't wanna hit the girl... steady, steady-" He stopped and put his paw on Killer's head with a cigar between his fingers as always. "Hold it, hold it..."

Killer had a giant ray gun squished against his side, and as it began to glow red inside the barrel, Carface's sadistic grin grew wider. "Goodbye, Charlie!" he whispered, poking Killer's head to make him shoot.

Charlie realized too late that they were in danger; as soon as the sound of shooting registered to his ears, his eyes went big and the triumphant smile he wore vanished. Then he felt something beatingincredibly hard against his chest, making him gasp in pain and surprise. He was pushed violently against several crates of tomatoes as many shots were fired. Horrified, Oaklyn yelped and leapt backward, and Anne Marie gasped and stumbled back as well. "Oh no, Charlie!!!" she screamed. Oaklyn was too shocked to say anything.

"GOTTIM!!!" Carface hollered, completely overjoyed. It was short-lived, though.

Anne Marie jumped over to a dazed and coughing Charlie. The squished tomatoes splattered across the ground, and on Charlie's fur, gave the appearance of blood, and Oaklyn thought she may faint. The ground seemed to dip under her paws. "Charlie, Charlie!!" Anne Marie cried, shaking him by the shoulders.

Charlie, finding himself able to think again, gave a bright smile of relief. Oh, thank you, shiny little watch!

He grabbed the watch that had rested against his shoulder, also putting a paw on Anne Marie's back to reassure her briefly as she hugged him. "Whew, you beautiful little ticker!" Rising, Charlie glanced at Oaklyn and then at Anne Marie again. "C'mon! We gotta get outta here!" Charlie let Anne Marie climb onto his back, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Before he leapt up to run away, he whipped around and grabbed a totally bewildered Oaklyn by her scruff with his teeth and took off.

"He's gettin' away!!" Carface shouted, outraged. He and Killer were perched on a confused and kinda scared looking mutt with paralyzed hind legs. He had a wheelchair for himself, and a strap around his stomach to keep it there. Carface grabbed it and yanked backward, also yanking Killer back in the process. Frightened, Killer began to fire accidentally in all directions.

Several of them nearly hit a poor guy who was just waiting for customers with his cart of watermelons, and he ducked behind more carts as the shots smashed a sign above him and most of his watermelons. They swung around a lamppost wildly as Carface started shouting nonsense in his fury.

Charlie quickly scrambled over the many food crates, tongue flopping out as he tossed Oaklyn onto his back. Scared, the Pomeranian grabbed onto Anne Marie's clothes to keep from flying off, and she held on for dear life as the shepherd bolted away. Heart racing, he leapt over one more before he ducked into the first building he saw with his two companions.

"MORONS!!!!!!" Carface screamed as Killer kept firing randomly. "I'M SURROUNDED BY MOROOOOONNS!!!!!!"

He kept shouting loudly, engulfed in rage, while Killer struggled to stop the gun's shots. "H-h-how do you sto-ah-ah-ah-op this thing?!" he yelped as they were flipped upside down.


The two dogs and one girl, all three spooked and surprised, had hidden inside the building Charlie had entered. Panting, Charlie very slowly poked his head out of a treasure chest inside a 'backstage' looking room. He was hidden under a pink blanket/sheet, which was also inside a small, pretend pirate ship.

Charlie, blowing out through his mouth, turned to Anne Marie's hiding place, under a table with a lavender table cloth. "You ok, Squeaker?" he asked, and Anne Marie finally revealed herself as well. As she did, Oaklyn squeezed out from under the girl and tumbled out, filled with confusion.

"Oh, Charlie!" Anne Marie said, "I thought they shot you!" Charlie leaned closer to her, concerned. He had an orange fire hydrant like-thing stuck on his head, along with a couple beaded necklaces. Anne Marie had Robin Hood's hat on, and Oaklyn shook off a few fake feathers from her fur.

"Heh... so did I. So did I!" Charlie replied, chuckling and raising one eyebrow at the girl. Then Charlie grew determined, and a smirk grew on his face. One of the necklaces fell off his muzzle. "But Mr. Carface... doesn't know who he's dealing with!" Charlie drew himself up and leapt out of the chest, sending beads falling from his head as he began to trot away across the room. Oaklyn hopped down to stare in shock at him, and Anne Marie climbed out as well.

"I got... I've got a little dough of my own! And I'm gonna take care of him right now!" Charlie half-whispered, mostly to himself, wearing a devilish grin. Oaklyn blinked. "How, uh..." She pointed at him. "How're you still alive?"

Charlie chose to ignore her. "And there ain't- nothin'- or nobody that's gonna stop me!" he vowed, throwing his head back and ejecting the orange thing. Then he finally answered Oaklyn's question.

"It's a miracle, huh?"

Still wearing that dangerous smile, Charlie grinned at the two, but suddenly a creaking sound made him stop and looking down, gasping. "Ooh!" The floor was starting to creak and groan under his weight. "Uh... Charlie...?!" Oaklyn asked, starting to panic inwardly as the cracking and moaning wood reached her ears.

Instantly anxious, Charlie stepped backward as Anne Marie and Oaklyn joined him. "Walk- walk softly, kid," he said to Anne Marie, heart starting to pound as his fear grew quickly. "Walk softly!" Suddenly, Oaklyn felt the ground dip for real under her feet, and she looked at Charlie for a spilt second; his eyes went huge, as did hers, as the wooden floorboards finally gave way, and all three were sent plunging way down. A terrified, high-pitched howl/scream rose in Charlie's throat."Yea-AHHHHOOOOWWWW!!!!"

Anne Marie screamed, and Oaklyn, just as horrified as Charlie, gasped and tried to grab onto his middle as they fell, but she missed, letting out a shocked scream as well. "AHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Charlie briefly felt the wind tug at his neck as he flailed his legs, and suddenly something felt missing: his watch!

The three all crashed onto the bottom of a dark basement sort of room. "My watch!!" Charlie cried, "where's my watch?!" Anne Marie gave a few coughs, sitting up. Oaklyn slowly did the same, looking around and trying to ignore her head pounding. Charlie looked around frantically.

"Where are we?" Anne Marie asked, looking at Charlie, wide-eyed. "I don't know!!" Charlie yelped, desperately pawing through the small ripples. "Oh- we gotta find that watch!!" Oaklyn coughed as well, wiping her snout gingerly. "Ugh... maybe it's in the water?" she suggested, and Charlie looked absolutely terrified, and even his tail bristled fearfully. "WHAT?!"

He took to scrambling around, searching with a racing heart (and mind) for that little golden watch. "No!!" he kept shouting, jumping around between his hoarse, wheezy coughs. "No!! (Cough, cough) NOO!"

Charlie leapt over to the royal-themed rug and nosed under it, and his shape came into view underneath. "No!! No! No!!" Coughing painfully again, he wrenched his head out again, panting heavily. "Let's- let's-" He stopped when he heard the ticking; however, it stopped abruptly. "Oh no!! No- it STOPPED!!"

Charlie dramatically flopped over into the water, splashing Anne Marie and Oaklyn, who really couldn't think at all given the circumstances. She just stared, frozen, at Charlie as he clutched his chest, panting. Anne Marie knelt over him, worried almost to tears. Charlie shut his eyes tight, wheezing. I'm gonna die...

"Goodbye... goodbye, Anne Marie!" he moaned, flopping onto his back to sadly accept his fate. Oaklyn startled; in her shock, she briefly wondered if he was having a heart attack or something by his panting and grabbing at his chest. Muzzle sticking out of the water, Charlie went mostly limp.

"Goodbye?!" Anne Marie shouted, grabbing at his fur and shaking him. "Charlie!! Where are you going, Charlie?!" She was just about to burst into tears when something whizzed by Charlie's head; surprised, he looked up. Oaklyn ran over too, pushing on Charlie's chest. "Hey!! Charlie! Get up!!"

"CHARLIE!!" Anne Marie screamed, grabbing his muzzle. She yanked his head out of the water, and the frazzled German shepherd starting shaking his head to make her let go. "There it is!" he said, voice cracking. He watched the heavenly watch float away, confused. Charlie sat up, and Oaklyn yanked at his chest again, fearful. "Are you ok?! Charlie, hey! What's the matter?!"

Charlie didn't answer her. "What's goin' on here?!" He looked at the little girl and shaking Pomeranian. "Gads... we're haunted!" He turned around to check behind them, but suddenly Oaklyn felt something jab her rear end. "What-? Hey!! Charlie!!!"

She and Anne Marie started getting carried away by something underwater. "CHARLIEEEEE!!!!" Anne Marie wailed, and then Charlie felt the same thing. "Ahhh!"


The next thing Charlie knew, he was stuck inside a claustrophobic, flimsy looking cage, and being carried by the cluster of rats! He gasped. "What're they saying?! Tell them to gimme back my watch!!" he said quickly. Anne Marie was in another, and Oaklyn was squished into another as well.

"I can't, Charlie... they talk funny," Anne Marie replied in a whisper. Anger burned in Charlie's belly. "I don't care!"

They were brought to the edge of a short but high up dock, and Charlie watched a rat place his watch against a wooden support post. Oaklyn didn't know why it was such an important little watch, but she gestured to Charlie as she saw the same thing, trying to warn him. He saw her gesture, but he didn't acknowledge it. Charlie pressed himself against the cage and struggled to reach the watch. Then he finally grabbed it, panting. "Ah! Got it!" Suddenly, he felt himself being lifted from behind again, and saw several rats beginning to push on his cage. "Uh-ohh!" he murmured, lowering his ears. He was promptly shoved over the edge, and in the rush of air, he felt his grip on the watch loosen. He tried to grab it back, but as he landed with the whiz of some kind of cable above him, he dropped it completely. "Oh!" he grunted as pain in his back made him grit his teeth. The watch went tumbling many feet away, and Anne Marie and Oaklyn landed beside his cage. They found themselves on a island of bones. "Oh nooo!!" Charlie cried, staring in dismay.

Oaklyn, also wincing from the hard landing, whispered to Charlie. "Psst! Charlie! What's so important about that thing?! We're gonna die here!!" Charlie swung his gaze at her, eyes filled with anxiety.

"Yeah? Well, I'll die faster if that watch gets destroyed!!" he hissed. "I'll drop dead right here if somethin' happens to it!"

Oaklyn was about to say something, but then the doors in the gray walls opened. Something unseen under the dark water began to swim over to the island, and although Charlie couldn't see what it was, he knew it was enormous.

Anne Marie was actually strangely calm. "Charlie, what's that moving in the water?" she asked. Charlie gulped. "I don't know!"

Of course it was an alligator. Of course it was. Oaklyn froze, beginning to tremble, as it climbed onto the island's surface. Charlie felt his belly turn cold. "Squeaker! Snowflake!" Both of them looked at him. "Yeah...?" Anne Marie whispered. "What?"

"We're gonna die."

"Sh*t!" Oaklyn spat, and Anne Marie whimpered. The huge gator stomped heavily over to the three, and he only drew closer to Charlie's gleaming watch that lay against the bones, crunching them in his path.

"PLEASE!!!! My watch!!" Charlie burst out, throwing his arms over his head and fully expecting to black out right there. The gator's foot barely missed the watch, sending it tumbling to the side. He eyed Charlie's gaze hungrily, smiling widely.

"Ahhhh! You look like a tasty New Orleans canine-COMBO!" he announced, picking Charlie up. To Oaklyn's horror, she realized that she was about to watch the alligator devour her friend. "Nooooo!!! Don't eat him, please!!" Anne Marie screamed. "Charlie!!!" Oaklyn yelped, suddenly snapping out of her horrified daze and grabbing the bars. Charlie coughed hard, grabbing the bars so hard his fingers went numb.

The gator opened his massive jaws wide. "NOOOO!" Charlie pleaded, but then he found himself inside the 'King Gator's' mouth. He began to close his jaws shut, causing the cage to bend. GAHHHH!!!!!!!

"AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Charlie howled. Oaklyn watched, unable to move, as King Gator's whole body shook with vibration from Charlie's petrified howl, and then he took the cage out of his mouth. "Ahhh!"

Charlie very slowly looked up, having had ducked as low as he could with his arms over his head. "How can you expect me to your voice, as sumptuous as this?" King Gator praised with a very deep and loud voice. He ripped the top of the cage off, letting a dazed Charlie slide off the bottom. He landed right in front of his watch, and with a big, immensely relieved smile, Charlie put it back around his neck.

"Whennnn acculah does it's tone like that..." he began to sing, "it gives me a big thrill!" He lifted his tail and brought it down with a big thump, rattling Oaklyn and Anne Marie's cages and causing Charlie to nearly fall over. "Ahh!"

Anne Marie's cage was sent tumbling over the edge and into the water. "Help, Charlie!!" She screamed, but once her cage broke open, the girl clung to a rock beside her broken cage. "I can't eat a singer!" King Gator sang, "I never could... I never will!" Suddenly a giant pearl fell down and onto the island, serving as a mirror to King Gator. He laughed, and the room was transformed from dark to colorful in a matter of seconds. The island turned to a large seashell with a pink bottom. As King Gator moved, Charlie was bounced upward, and he tried to keep still to avoid being launched anyway.

"Oh, what do ya call that voice, little fella?" he inquired as he stepped forward, sending Charlie bouncing into the air. King Gator slipped a flamboyant, blue flowered hat onto his head, smiling toothily at Charlie. "That a baritone or tinner?" Nervous, Charlie accidentally fell onto his back, looking up fearfully at King Gator. He... wasn't a huge fan of alligators, to say the least.

"It's, uhhh..." he started, but King Gator stopped him. "Oh... I don't care! It's just you and me!" He bent over and suddenly, wrapping his fingers around Charlie's body, lifted his new friend into the air. He began to sing, still holding Charlie like he was a precious gem.

"Let's make music together... let's make sweet harmony," he began, shortly pressing Charlie against his cheek. "Ohhhhh, let's make music to-geth-er, baby!" He jumped up onto his shiny pearl. "You take the 'doh,' I'll take the 'ray,' ya better hang onto me! Hahaha!" Suddenly he tossed Charlie into the air, and the frightened shepherd grabbed onto his hat to hang on. Then King Gator jumped waaaaaaaay down into the water, and Charlie suddenly felt totally weightless as they fell. He thought he might pass out; already he was quite dizzy, but it wasn't helped by the fact that, once they landed in the water, King Gator started swirling around.

"We are birds of a feather-" he sang, voice distorted by the water, "lookin' for the right key... ohhh, let's make music tooogether-"

He resurfaced as fast as they'd fallen, and Charlie had to hang on tighter. "Baby! 'Cause only music makes a man freeeeeee~" King Gator swam over and grabbed onto a bar that lifted him out of the water and high into the air again, and Charlie almost fell all the way down before wrapping himself around the alligator's tail, gasping for air.

"Gonna make a beautiful song- sing along! Gonna let that natural beat- move your feet!" King Gator, hanging by his belly, started tossing Charlie up and down like a toy. "When the music's deep down in you, there's nothin' that you can do-" he tossed Charlie again, who quickly grabbed onto King Gator's leg before he could fall all the way down again- "but believe!"

Charlie offered him a nervous smile, but then he peered down, remembering how Oaklyn and Anne Marie were still down there. Sympathetic to them, Charlie looked back up at King Gator with a pleading looked, but he didn't seem to notice. "Ohhhh, beee-lieve!" He sent him and Charlie both plummeting down again once he let go of the bar. Landing upright underwater, Charlie, completely dazed, let go and began to float upward, but King Gator grabbed him and placed the small (compared to his own size) dog onto his belly.

"There ain't nothin' like singin'... and our voices just blend!" The gator resurfaced once more, and Oaklyn watched, nervous, as he swam backwards with Charlie balancing on his stomach. Charlie, though, found himself slightly more relaxed, and he watched the lillypads as they spouted water all around them. "Oh! Let's make music together- baby!" King Gator sang, and Charlie finally joined him with a playful smile.

"Lift our voices together- partner! Let's make music forever, baby..." Charlie leaned in to keep singing with his musical partner, despite still being dizzy from the accidental front flip from when he'd been tossed up once. "And... we'll... always be-" Charlie was cut off when King Gator put a giant hand on his shoulder, dragging him under with him, and the alligator held that note until he finally resurfaced. "Friends--"

Slightly panicked because he hadn't had a chance to breathe, Charlie choked, and tried to kick his legs to free himself, but he gave up when they came up again. When they finally did, Charlie finally gasped for air, coughing violently. "We'll be friends..."

King Gator pressed Charlie's muzzle against his, and the dizzy, kind of shaken, and concerned dog finished his last verse.

"Let's make music together- (cough)...let's make sweet harmony..."

King Gator kept singing to finish the number, but Charlie turned his head when he heard a familiar voice. Anne Marie was kneeling on a rock, coughing. Charlie was filled with worry; she looked very pale, and she had begun to shiver as well. Then he saw Oaklyn, too, and she was shaking, having been splashed many times. She was several feet away from Anne Marie, sitting alone; her cage had broken with all the commotion as well. Her fluffy fur was now plastered against her frame, and her teeth chattered slightly. She just looked so little and helpless... they both did. Charlie took a cautious step toward them both while King Gator back-floated along, singing softer but still audibly.

"You ok, Squeaker?" Charlie asked, deeply concerned. He outstretched a paw for the girl, and gently he pulled her up with him. Anne Marie's skin was cold to the touch, and Charlie's concerned only grew. The little girl coughed a few more times.

"Charlie," she whimpered, leaning against Charlie's damp fur, "I don't feel good." She turned her head and buried it in his chest, shivering. "Oh, Squeaker..." he whispered, smoothing her hair with his paw. Upon reaching Oaklyn, he did the same; reaching out and gently pulling her on as well.

"Thanks, Charlie..." Even Oaklyn's paws were trembling. Saddened to see them both in this condition, Charlie, making sure Anne Marie was still stable against him, carefully pulled her close and wrapped his tail around her shivering form, and she welcomed the touch by leaning into his warmth as well. She sighed, looking tired and kind of anxious. "Charlie," she said, looking up, "I'll admit I'm not much of a kid fan, but I'm worried about her." Oaklyn glanced at Anne Marie, who was half asleep against Charlie's fur.

Charlie looked at Anne Marie as well; he lowered his gaze. "I know, Snowflake..." He sighed. "I am too." He bent his head to check on the girl; she had fallen asleep. Oaklyn pressed her cheek to Charlie's hind leg, eyes half closed. He put his arms around his companions, but sat down fully to stay stable.

I'm sorry, kid, he thought, full of concern. But I know where I can take you. She'll fix you up.

"Let's make music together, baby... let's make sweet harmony..."

Ah, that was fun... I'll just say, in case it was boring, that it was sorta just to advance the plot, but c'mon- I couldn't not include these scenes! They're a good part of the story! I hope you enjoyed, anyway XD. Thanks, everyone! I'll be back soon! (Also, I wanna include another shoutout to my friend, animationgirl89! You're amazing, buddy!! Thanks for being so supportive and sweet!)

-BoT