Chapter 31: Third times the trouble pt. 1

(Author's Note: So sorry about the long time away. I have been contemplating between several different stories for a long time...again. Now that I have this settled. This story is approaching it's end as far as I can plot. Any suggestions are recommended and welcomed. This is the second to last chapter, but this one as well as the last will be separated into at least two parts.)

Despite being somewhat injured from his surprise capture the day before, Charlie decides to spar against Kitty again. Kitty was contemplating whether or not to go a bit easy on Charlie since of his condition, but Charlie quickly dismisses that before Kitty can even bring it up by stating simply and clearly, "Don't go easy on me. I'm tougher than I may appear right now." Kitty nods his head before both Kitty and Charlie bow to each other in respect before starting the match. Charlie runs toward Kitty and slides toward her after a while, aiming to sweep her legs. Kitty jumps over the kick, crouching before hand to do a spin kick. Charlie ducks under the kick and rolls away from Kitty as Kitty goes to land. Charlie and Kitty continue their sparring match for several minutes before an alarm catches Charlie's attention, diverting it away from Kitty who was in the middle of a roundhouse kick. Charlie remembers the roundhouse and readies himself for the impact, unable to avoid the strike itself but doing what he can to keep from being sent flying from the kick. Charlie takes the kick, getting pushed back by the force of the kick.

"No fair, I was distracted by the alarm." Charlie answers, cracking his jaw back into place from the force of the kick. Even though he was being somewhat a sore loser, he did have a point.

"A loss is a loss Charlie. It's your fault for getting distracted." Kitty answers somewhat teasingly as she wiggles her finger back and forth somewhat victoriously.

"I know, I know. I just wish I didn't have to coup with something like that." Charlie answers chuckling slightly as he bows before Kitty. "Distraction or not, I doubt I will ever really be able to beat you in a sparring match." He later adds on a mix of pride and disappointment in the fact.

"Maybe one day you'll get lucky. Anyways we should go check what the source of the alarm is." Kitty answers before she and Charlie head toward the separate changing rooms and come back out relatively quickly before seeing that it's a somewhat unknown individual at the front door. Kitty and Charlie head to the front of the large group of TUFF agents that have their weapons primed and aimed at the individual. Charlie takes a while to look at the individual.

"Dudley, is that you? What are you wearing?" Charlie asks curious and slightly scared of what the answer might be.

"Charlie! Finally, someone who recognizes me. My mom was getting worried about me getting injured so she made me put on all this protective gear. I don't see why. I never really got hurt before, so I don't see why I would be getting hurt any time soon." Dudley answers joyful of the fact that since of his identity being confirmed by Charlie, the TUFF agents were stowing away their weapons. By that being done, Dudley was finally able to relax from his hectic state being at the gunpoint for countless TUFF weapons. Charlie and Dudley work on getting all the excessive items off of Dudley, stowing them in Dudley's cubicle drawer.

While Charlie works on brainstorming ideas, Dudley wanders off in thought. "I need to make it so no one remembers me having to wear that protective equipment, but how?" Dudley mutters to himself over and over again until Keswick comes out of the dangerous weapons and technology storage area, being chased by the acid spitting waffle iron again.

"Hey Keswick, do you have any inventions that can help people forget about how I was dressed when I came in today?" Dudley asks oblivious to the fact that Keswick is being chased by the waffle iron.

"Can't talk right now agent Puppy. I'm a bit busy right now." Keswick answers as he keeps running from the waffle iron until he eventually manages to lure it into the storage area, the time travel watch rolling out, though Keswick is too busy with getting the door closed to notice. "Now that that's out of the way. To answer your question agent Puppy, it is possible, but not recommended as it may also erase other memories besides the ones that are wanted and that may be important." Keswick adds on as he contemplates the entire list of possibilities.

Dudley doesn't answer anything and Keswick takes that as an understand that he will not make or provide such an ingredient. Dudley looks down and eventually notices the time travel watch. "Risk yet an other trip to a possible messed up future or stop myself from arriving to work with protective gear on?" Dudley asks to himself as he looks back and forth between his right paw which doesn't have anything in it and his left paw which has the watch in his grasp. "I'm going with the watch." Dudley answers before using the time travel watch.

When Dudley finally manages to see where he is, nothing looks that much different. "Thank goodness, I thought that I was going to arrive in another area that has strangely specific rules." Dudley answers as he looks around.

He eventually comes into seeing Charlie, except that he is wearing a dark black cloak with a lowered hoodie. Charlie was cautiously looking around and taking notes for some reason. "Hey Charlie, what are you doing right now?" Dudley calls out to Charlie, running over to him.

Charlie gets startled by the fact his name was called, but he calms down quickly and looks over toward Dudley. "Yes, can I help you?" Charlie asks doing his best to keep his calm. He was startled by the fact that he was discovered, but as long as he could keep his cool, he can gather the necessary data that he needs.

"Don't you remember me Charlie? It's me Dudley, from TUFF." Dudley responds growing somewhat concerned that this reality doesn't have any TUFF organized in it just like with the other two realities that he has visited with the use of the time travel watch.

The name TUFF causes Charlie to flinch for a while. "Ah yes, sorry, I was just doing some recon. Searching to see if there was anything that I can deal with before it goes to an alarming point at TUFF." Charlie lies after a bit of hesitation having to devise it.

"Good thinking, that will make less work for us later on. Should've known that you'll be doing something excessive and somewhat pointless." Dudley says before walking off toward TUFF headquarters.

Charlie waits until Dudley has left outside of his sight before walking into an alley. He takes out a stop watch emblazoned with the image of a skull with four encrusted emeralds at the northwest, northeast, southeast, and southwest corners of the watch. He opens up the cover, revealing the watch to be a handheld and high tech communicator. Immediately, a voice spoke out from the other end of the communicator. "Yes sir? What do you have to report?" A formal and emotionless voice asked with cold precision.

"There's nothing of serious concern besides the DOOM supervillain group and the secret agent facility TUFF. Even then, I don't see them as much of a problem." Charlie answers into the communicator.

"Understood sir. Shall we prepare the strike?" The voice answers quickly.

Charlie thought over the pros and cons about starting the request immediately vice planning out and getting a better feel for the two groups that he mentioned. In the end, Charlie decides that the two of them aren't worth the time to investigate further. "Yes, prepare the strike immediately." Charlie answers as he pulls out a small disc.

"Understood sir. The leaders have been informed and have begun organizing the troops. They have requested an approximation of the forces that would be expected to be used for the operation." The voice answers after several moments of silence having to report it to the 'superiors' as well as having to transmit the request.

"Based on the size and capability of the enemy forces. I would suggest only a quarter of our general forces for the operation." Charlie responds as he sets down the disc on the ground.

"Understood sir. Message has been relayed. Appropriate number of forces have been made alert and are preparing for the operation. Superiors request that you return to base to state the plan for the operation." The person responds.

"All ready set up. I'll be back to base shortly. Inform the superiors and ending transmission." Charlie responds setting up the disc.

"Superiors informed. Aye sire, we'll be waiting for you back at base." The voice replies before the line goes silent.

Charlie closes the communicator and puts it into his pocket before heading onto the disc. The disc energizes and teleports both Charlie and the disc itself to somewhere outside of the city.

Meanwhile, back at TUFF, Dudley walks into TUFF headquarters and finds Kitty. "Kitty, your boyfriend is acting really weird today." Dudley says as he walks over to Kitty.

The statement catches Kitty off guard and she raises an eyebrow curiously. "Boyfriend? What are you talking about Dudley? I don't have a boyfriend." Kitty answers curiously.

"Did you forget already Kitty? I'm talking about Charlie." Dudley answers surprised and slightly shocked by Kitty's answer.

"Wait? Are you talking about Charlie Cheetah?" Kitty asks making sure that Dudley wasn't talking about Charlie.

"Who else do you think that I was referring to?" Dudley responds getting only more and more confused as to what is happening.

"Why would I be dating him? He works for HEAD who we are getting ready to fight against." Kitty answers angrily and confused.

"Oh, that explains why he was acting so weird earlier." Dudley responds finally starting to understand the extent of his mistake.

"Yeah, hopefully you didn't say to much to help him out." Kitty answers crossing her arms.

"Not as far as I know. I had just asked him what he was doing out of TUFF HQ when I spotted him." Dudley answers honestly, somewhat scared that might have helped him out in some small part.

"Nothing that could be of much use there. Nice thinking there agent Puppy." Chief says grinning glad that the problem isn't as bad as it might have possibly have been.

"I wasn't really thinking Chief, that was just out of curiosity. If Charlie had asked me anything while I was believing that he still worked for TUFF, I might have made a really bad mistake. It didn't seem like he was all that interested in what we are doing though." Dudley answers admitting as he spun around the time travel watch before it slips out of Dudley's hand and rolls along the ground over to Kitty, who picks it up.

"This is the time travel watch. Keswick, shouldn't this be in with the rest of the equipment that you made that is too dangerous to use?" Kitty asks as she tosses the time travel watch to Keswick. Keswick searches through the inventory list and sees that the time travel watch is in fact being recorded as being present.

"This is strange, it does in fact say that's in it's section of the storage area." Keswick says before the answer dawns on him. "This is the watch that Dudley used to get to this time line. It has been the main problem with the watch. It would explain why he thought that Charlie worked for us as well as him being agent Katswell's boyfriend."

"We will discuss your punishment for using a dangerous and unstable piece of equipment at a later point agent Puppy. Right now, we need our rest to prepare for the battle that will determine the fate of Petropolis." Chief answers and the entirety of TUFF all nod their heads.

Dudley, Kitty and the rest of TUFF all head to their homes to rest.