Chapter 18: Pinocchio Part 4
Stripe pulled into the garage of his home before cutting the engine to his car off. The Dark Blue Heeler leaned back in his seat and sighed heavily to himself. He then turned back to Fenrir, who was lying in the backseat to avoid being spotted by anyone. "Alright, here we are…" He said to the black armored Mutant. "Before we go in, let's get one thing clear." Stripe said attempting to sound threatening and to intimidate Fenrir, to which he nodded in understanding. "If you hurt my family in anyway shape or form… I'll kill you myself, got it?" Stripe asked, to which Fenrir slowly nodded his head in agreement. "Okay then…" Stripe said as he got out of his car. "Stay. Here." He said to Fenrir before closing his driver's side door and making his way to his house.
"DAD!" Muffin shouted happily as she hugged her father's legs. "Socks learned a new thing today. Show 'im Socks!"
Socks smiled and nodded before rolling over onto her back before pushing her feet up against the wall behind her, getting into a brief handstand. She then rolled forward and landed on her bum. She raised her hands up. "Ta-da!"
Stripe clapped his hands. "Wow, way to go Rock Socks!" He looked at his youngest daughter, "Did your sister teach you that?"
"Yup!" Socks said, still smiling.
"Very impressive…" Stripe added, "Do you girls know where your mum is, I have to talk with her quick."
"She's in the living room tidying up the shelves." Muffin replied.
"She's dusting." Socks clarified, pointing toward the living room.
"Thanks girls!" Stripe said, heading to the living room. He found Trixie with a hand-duster, standing on tiptoe to reach the top shelf.
"Hey, want me to get that?" He asked.
She turned around, "You're back early. How'd it go? Are they alright?"
"It's complicated…" Stripe said.
Trixie frowned as she lowered the duster. "How so?"
"Well, as far as I gathered they're in an alternate dimension at the moment." Stripe explained, producing Thomas' note. Trixie quickly scanned it before looking back at her husband.
"Are they alright?"
"We can only hope." Stripe replied. After a moment's hesitation he continued. "There's one other thing…"
"Does it also have to do with alternate dimensions?" Trixie asked, still barely believing that it had become part of her everyday life to question if another universe was somehow impacting her family.
"Yes and no…" Stripe waved his hands nervously.
Trixie raised an eyebrow. "Stripe…" She warned. "What did you do?"
"Um, well, you remember that REALLY big guy in Black Armor that saved those college students last week?"
"The same one that tried to kill my nephew, yes, I remember." Trixie stated, crossing her arms. Stripe had shown her the video and they'd both been concerned about Thomas following it.
"I may have him in our garage…"
"WHAT?!" Trixie shouted. The girls poked their heads around the corner, leading to Trixie dragging Stripe into the laundry room and closing the door behind them. "Why on God's green earth would you bring that monster into our home with OUR CHILDREN?!" Trixie yelled in a hushed tone.
"Because, well, it's complicated…" Stripe sighed, "Look, he doesn't want to hurt anyone. He said so himself. Well, he wrote himself… I don't think he can talk…"
Trixie crossed her arms again, obviously unsure and not trusting what her husband had told by the Armored Behemoth.
"His suit has a built in self-destruct feature that his boss can use to kill him at any time, plus there's a whole squadron of others like him who can come here and take him out at a moment's notice. He's only going after Thomas because he has to be under
penalty of his own death." Stripe paused. "I made him a deal, I'm going to get him out of his suit and he won't go after Thomas again, or anyone else. We're going to just have a little chat once he's free and I'll send him on his way."
"How do you know you can even get him out? What if you accidentally set off the self-destruct and it kills you or levels the house?" Trixie asked.
"I know I can get him out because his suit is made of metal and some high-tech polymers and carbon fiber, stuff I have tools to cut through. As for the self-destruct mechanism…" Stripe paused, not wanting to reveal a fact.
"Stripe."
Stripe grimaced as he spoke quickly. "I may have been taking classes online on how to make pyrotechnics-including bombs."
"Jesus…" Trixie placed a paw on her forehead. "Why?"
"Because I'm sort-of Thomas' support guy and I figured he needs some heavier duty self-defense stuff and that some small explosives or smoke grenades might be useful."
"This is because we watched that new Bathound movie, isn't it?"
Stripe grinned sheepishly.
Trixie sighed, "This is what I get for marrying an engineer with a comic book obsession…"
"But you still love me?" Stripe asked, a small smile on his face.
Trixie softened, "Yes, I do." She paused, "Even if what you're about to do is certifiably insane."
"I'll be a few hours, just keep the girls busy until I'm done. I promise once I'm finished I'll explain it to them, but I need to concentrate to not screw up." Stripe held his wife's paws.
"Fine. But after the kids are asleep you're gonna…" Trixie said before whispering into her husband's ear.
Stripe's eyes widened and a blush came across his face before he nodded his head in understanding his wife's request, opening the laundry door and quickly returning to the garage, where Fenrir was standing there waiting for him. "Okay… let's get to work." Stripe said as he began to look for a tool, unbeknownst to the Dark Blue Heeler, something the size of a small spider detached from Fenrir's arm and began to crawl out of the garage and make its way through Stripe's house.
The Spider-like robot crawled up the wall and on the ceiling to avoid detection. It made its way to what was Stripe's computer room, the Arachnid Robot jumped down onto the desk and shot a USB cable into the Hard-drive and began downloading data.
Once it had all the data it needed, it crawled back into the hallway and carefully made its way to the Garage.
The Robot reattached itself to Fenrir's armor and the visor on his helmet blinked a blue color, before he raised his arm at Stripe. "Okay, let's get-" Stripe began to say as he turned around with a Crowbar before he saw Fenrir pointing his arm at him, as a little barrel came out of his gauntlet. "W-What are you doing?" Stripe asked the Armored Behemoth. "I thought you needed help! We had a deal!" He said before he was shot with something. Stripe dropped the Crowbar and stumbled around, he wasn't shot with a bullet. He was shot with a tranquilizer as he began to notice his vision going blurry. He suddenly felt himself about to fall, when he felt himself being caught, he looked and saw Fenrir had caught him.
"D-Don't… Don't hurt my family… please…" Stripe pleaded with him as he began to lose consciousness, he saw Fenrir nod his head before everything went black. Fenrir then picked up Stripe and carried his unconscious body to the trunk of his car and opened it and placed his body in there and left the trunk open. Fenrir then looked at the information his little Arachnid Robot had gathered for him before he pressed a couple of buttons on his left gauntlet. His body then disappeared in the form of a camouflage, if Stripe were awake he would have been reminded of the Predator movie. Fenrir opened the garage door while cloaked, and made his way to the city to continue his hunt for Thomas.
Eventually, Fenrir arrived still cloaked to a busy street corner and watched a bunch of dogs go about their daily lives from a rooftop. He looked to see a Satellite on a rooftop across from him, he raised his right arm and a cable shot out from his gauntlet to the nearby rooftop. The Armored Mutant was then pulled hard across the gap and landed on the rooftop before the cable retracted. Fenrir then walked over to the Satellite and began to hack into it.
He then started to search for Thomas Heeler through the Database, eventually found a match up with his target and downloaded the address. Suddenly, the noise came up behind him just as he had finished gathering the location. The Armored Behemoth looked to see an Australian Military Helicopter hovering above him, he then clicked a button on his helmet to patch into their communications. "This is Angry Palm Tree 7, (Angry Palm Tree is Australian Military Slang for Army or Navy Helicopter) we have a visual on an Alien target." The Helicopter called in on his radio headset.
"Angry Palm Tree 7, this is Baseplate. Can you confirm which one it is?" A voice asked. "It's that big Armored fella that attacked the Restaurant and University, permission to engage? Over." Angry Palm Tree asked. "Uh…copy that, the target is considered hostile and unpredictable. You are permitted to engage." The voice replied. "Copy that Baseplate, engaging target now!" Angry Palm Tree 7 said as the Minigun began to spin, ready to fire. A Shuriken (Ninja Star) popped out of Fenrir's Palm and into his hand before throwing at the Helicopter, slicing through the Minigun.
"This is Angry Palm Tree 7, my Turret's gone!" The Helicopter Pilot exclaimed in disbelief before Fenrir shot cable from his gauntlet that wrapped itself around the tail rotor and the blades of the Helicopter, before attaching its ends to two buildings across from each other. The Helicopter hung like a fly caught in a spider's web, "This is Angry Palm Tree 7, my chopper is disabled and hanging between two buildings!" The Pilot exclaimed in shock. "Requesting immediate assistance!" He pleaded to anyone listening to his communications.
"Copy that Angry Palm Tree 7, Tanks are rolling in and troops will be there to assist you." Baseplate replied. Fenrir looked to his right and saw Australian Soldiers running towards him with tanks following not far behind them. He jumped from the rooftop and landed on the street with a thunderous thud, shaking the ground beneath him. "Alright Civvies have been evacuated, let's show this cunt how we do business!" A Black Pitbull called out to his troops. "YES SERGEANT!" The Soldiers said in unison. Fenrir stood like a statue, waiting to see what they could throw at him.
"READY!" The Pitbull yelled out his order as the soldiers got in position, "AIM!" the soldiers lifted their guns in Fenrir's direction. "FIRE!" Suddenly, the once quiet street of Brisbane was now filled with the sound of gunfire. Fenrir could feel the bullets ricocheting off of his armor. "SERGEANT, BULLETS HAVE NO EFFECT ON TARGET!" One Soldier, a Dalmatian called out as he was reloading his rifle. "THEN IT'S TIME TO BRING OUT THE BIG GUNS!" The Sergeant replied as one of his soldiers came running up with a rocket launcher. "ROCKET'S READY SERGEANT!" A Black Labrador said as he positioned himself ready to fire it. "ALRIGHT, EVERYONE GET CLEAR NOW!" Sergeant Pitbull ordered as everyone did as they were instructed.
"SUCK ON THIS YOU ALIEN MOTHERFUCKER!" The Labrador exclaimed as he fired the rocket, the missile flew through the air towards Fenrir who stood like a statue. The Soldiers watched as the rocket hit the Armored Mutant's head right in the head. "WOOO! NICE SHOT MONTY!" A Tan Rottweiler cheered at the direct hit, their victory was short lived however as the dust settled to reveal Fenrir still standing with not even a scratch or dent on his helmet. "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!?" The Tan Rottweiler exclaimed in shock and disbelief. "SERGEANT, WHAT DO WE DO NOW!?" Monty asked Turning to the Black Pitbull. "I guess if rockets have no effect on it, then I guess we save our breath with the tanks…" Sergeant Pitbull said before pulling out his Radio, "This is Sergeant Butcher Pitbull, requesting permission to call in an AC-130 and a Cruise Missile. Regular nunitions have no effect on the target!" He explained to Baseplate, "This is Baseplate, your request is approved, but it's gonna be a little while for the Cruise Missile to get to your position." Baseplate explained. "In the meantime, Warhawk 7 will be in position in a few minutes."
"I guess we're gonna have to keep him entertained boys until Warhawk 7 and that Cruise Missile arrive Wardogs…" Sergeant Pitbull explained to his troops. "Sergeant, the target isn't moving, it's just standing there…" Monty said as he looked at Fenrir through a pair of Binoculars. "It's like he's taunting us." The Black Labrador said as chills ran down his back as he felt a sense that Fenrir was staring right back at him, to which he was. "Then I guess we'll stand our ground until Warhawk 7 arrives…" Butcher replied as they kept their guns and their tanks trained on the Armored Behemoth. Tension began to build up between the Army and Fenrir grew as the minutes felt like an eternity. "This is Warhawk 7 I'm in position and all guns are hot, mark your position with a flare Wardogs." Warhawk 7 called in on a radio.
"Copy that Warhawk 7." Butcher replied before he pulled out a flare gun and fired it at Fenrir. Fenrir looked down as the flare landed at his feet, "Warhawk-7 target is marked, rain some Hell from above…" Butcher said into his radio. "Copy that Wardogs, putting the hammer down." Warhawk-7 called over the radio as the giant war plane began firing his rounds at its target, soon the ground and the street were lit up with explosions and heavy gun fire as the AC-130 fired. After Twenty minutes, the plane departed and flew back to the base. "This is Warhawk-7, I'm running low on fuel and need to return to base." "Copy that Warhawk-7, thanks for the assist." Sergeant Pitbull replied on the radio as the streets ahead of them were still covered in dust.
"That was some heavy firepower that Warhawk-7 just unleashed on that big guy, there's no way he could have survived ALL that." A Saint Bernard said looking at Sergeant Butcher. "I don't know private… I have a feeling this isn't over yet. Just be ready, men." The Sergeant replied as the dust began to settle once again. You gotta be kidding me…" Monty said, shaking in fear. The dust settled to reveal Fenrir was once again unphased by the barrage of heavy machine gun fire and cannon fire. "Sergeant Pitbull this is Baseplate, the Cruise Missile is on its way to the target." Baseplate called in on the radio. "Copy that Baseplate, ready to rain some hell on this freak!" Sergeant Butcher replied on the radio as he looked up at something dropping out of the sky. "Looks like God's hammer is about to strike down boys!" Sergeant Butcher called out to his troops with a chuckle.
Fenrir looked up to see what was heading towards him, a 20 Foot Missile detached the wings before descending towards him. "Brace yourselves!" Sergeant Butcher called out as he ordered his troops to fall back as the Cruise Missile struck Fenrir, resulting in a huge explosion and a Shockwave following after. "HOLY SHIT!" Monty exclaimed in shock as he and the other soldiers looked on at the explosion. "There's no way he could have survived that!" A German Shepherd said before laughing at their victory. The cheers and cries of victory came to an abrupt end as the dust once again cleared to reveal a crater left from the Cruise Missile and saw Fenrir climb out with no dents or scratches done to his armor.
"N-No that's not possible! What the fuck are you made of!?!" Monty cried in disbelief. "OPEN FIRE!" Sergeant Butcher ordered his troops as they once again launched a barrage of gunfire, rockets, and explosives at the Mutant. Fenrir then turned his head towards the Angry Palm Tree 7 that was tangled in his cable and lifted his arm towards it. The Helicopter shook violently before the Blades detached from it, sending the Helicopter plummeting to the ground. Fenrir then lifted his other arm and stopped it, before slowly lowering the Helicopter to the ground, the Pilot of Angry Palm Tree 7 then got out of the cockpit and ran for his life. Fenrir then brought the Helicopter blades to him before attaching them to his Gauntlet on his forearm. The Human Behemoth then squeezed his hand and the blades began to spin faster then when they were on the Helicopter.
Fenrir then brought the blades in front of him as the bullets began to ricochet off of the blades. "Oh sweet mother of God, he turned those Helicopter blades into some kind of shield!" Monty exclaimed as he stopped firing his rifle. "FALLBACK!" Sergeant Butcher yelled as he and his troops began to begrudgingly retreat from Fenrir, One Soldier stopped and began to fire his F89 Light Machine Gun. "Private Scraps, I gave you a direct order to fallback!" Sergeant Butcher looked at the Red and Tan Kelpie. "I'm gonna hold him off! Buy you all some time to escape, now run Sergeant!" Private Scraps exclaimed as he began to empty his drum magazine into the Mutant Behemoth that was slowly approaching them.
Sergeant Butcher looked at him before looking back at Private Scraps before continuing to retreat. "COME AND GET ME YOU ALIEN BASTARD!" Private Scraps called out to Fenrir as he continued to cover his Sergeant and his brother's in arms escape. The Blades of the makeshift shield then stopped spinning before retracting into Fenrir's forearm, he then continued walking as the bullets ricocheted off of his armor. Private Scraps gun soon ran empty before he pulled out his sidearm and emptied his entire magazine of his pistol into the Mutant. Fenrir stopped in front of the Kelpie soldier and looked up at the other soldiers that were continuing to run from him. He then looked back down at the Kelpie and tilted his head in confusion.
Private Scraps body shook in fear as he continued to pull the trigger on his now empty gun, tears welled in his eyes as he knew what was about to happen next. The Red and Tan Kelpie clenched his eyes shut as tears flowed down his cheeks, "I'm sorry Abigail, I'm sorry Rusty, I guess I'm not coming home this time…" He said as he accepted his fate. Fenrir was confused by the dog soldier, he then picked him up and turned him towards the direction of where he saw the other soldiers run and pointed in that direction. Private Scraps opened his eyes and saw where the Armored Behemoth was pointing. "You're… You're not gonna kill me?" Private Scraps asked, baffled at what was happening, he saw Fenrir's helmet shake his head at him before he felt the Mutant's other hand nudge him in the opposite direction of him. Private Scraps looked at Fenrir before backing away and running off in the direction of his unit. Leaving Fenrir alone… or so he thought.
Fenrir heard the sound of crying, the sound of a child crying. He looked and saw a light brown Cavapoo or a Cavoodle pup huddled in a corner of a store that looked scared and confused. He walked over and kneeled down at the frightened pup, the Cavapoo pup then scooted away from him, a look of fear could be seen on his face. Fenrir brought his back down in front of the pup, to show him he wasn't going to harm him, but to help him. The Cavapoo looked at Fenrir's hand before looking up at the Armored Behemoth before slowly walking over to his hand and climbing onto it. Fenrir then slowly and carefully brought his hand to his chest and gently held the pup close with both of his hands. He then started to scan the area for any signs of the pup's parents.
"DOUGIE!" A voice cried out catching Fenrir's attention, he looked and saw a brown female Cavapoo looking frantically around in the middle of the street. "DOUGIE, WHERE ARE YOU HONEY?!" She cried out with tears in her eyes. It then clicked in Fenrir's mind, that this pup might be her son and that they must have gotten separated when his fight with the soldiers started. He then started to walk over to her to see if his theory was correct, The Cavapoo woman looked and saw a tall figure in black armor walking towards her. She froze in fear as it got closer and closer to her, "Please… don't hurt me…" She begged as the figure stopped in front of her. The Armored Mutant then slowly lowered himself down to her level and showed her what it had held to its chest.
"Dougie!" She said in disbelief, her eyes widening as tears rolled down her cheeks before grabbing the little Cavapoo pup and hugging him close to her chest and kissing him all around the top of his head. "I'm so glad you're okay sweetheart…" She said as their tails wagged in joy over their reunion. Fenrir stood up and backed away from them. "W-Wait!" She called out to him, Fenrir stopped before his helmet tilted in confusion. "T-Thank you… thank you for returning my Dougie to me…" She said smiling softly before Dougie began to make gestures with his hands. "Oh, he wants to say something to you." The Brown Cavapoo mother said as she set her son down before he started to make gestures with his hands at Fenrir.
Dougie said in Auslan. Fenrir stood quiet for a moment before gesturing back to the little Cavapoo Pup. he asked, looking up at Dougie's mother. "We'll be okay… Thank you so much." She said placing a hand on his helmet where she thought his cheek would be. Fenrir nodded before standing up and walking away from the mother son duo. As he got further away from them, thoughts began to fly around the Mutant Human's mind. Thoughts regarding his mission… thoughts about maybe no longer hunting Thomas and accepting his fate and letting Carson send the rest of The Hellhounds after him.
Suddenly he felt an energy that felt familiar, was it Thomas? He looked up at a building that was under construction, Fenrir thought maybe he could try and resolve what happened in the fast between the two and maybe… they could team up and work together. The only way Fenrir could get answers is if he went into the construction site and tried to talk with Thomas and so… that is what he did as he made his way inside, unbeknownst to him that it wasn't Thomas' energy that he was picking up…
Meanwhile in Pinocchio
Thomas, the girls and Pinocchio walked to the outskirts of the town, the girls making friends with the small wooden boy as they walked along. Soon they made it to the carnival with other townspeople who were also interested in seeing the advertised attractions. They walked up to the ticket booth with Thomas up front.
"One adult and three kids." Thomas said at the ticket counter. The man running the ticket booth looked at Thomas and the kids and smiled toothily.
"It's on the house for such unique guests," the man said while guiding them to the entrance.
"Really? It's not a problem I can pay…" Thomas said, not sure about not paying.
"Please! It's our pleasure! Save your money for the food! But I will give you this!" The man said as he pulled a black ticket out of thin air.
"Whoa!" The kids said, excited to see some magic.
"Be sure to use this at Mr. Blackwood's show tonight." The man said with a dead smile.
"Uh, okay," Thomas said, taking the black ticket.
"Just through that gate please," The man still had a wide smile.
"Alright," Thomas said as he and the kids went through the gate.
"Do you always get into places for free?" Pinocchio asked, looking up at Thomas.
"Normally, no." Thomas said as he kneeled down to Pinocchio's height, "Normally we would have to pay money-like this," Thomas said, showing him the money they would have used to pay. "And then we would get tickets to go on rides and play the games." Thomas explained so he would understand.
"I see," Pinocchio said understanding.
"But, let's have some fun, okay kid?" Thomas said with a smile.
"Okay!" Pinocchio said with a smile.
"Hooray!" The girls cheered.
As the four headed toward the fair proper a crow with red eyes was looking at them. Although most crows are perfectly harmless, and actually quite intelligent creatures, this wasn't a normal crow. This crow was a spy to keep an eye on the guests and look for any attempted escapes. The crow flew off to a large circus tent that was in the middle of the carnival, its black wings beating in the midday sky. It landed on Mr. Blackwood's shoulder, making a few clicking noises as it did so. The man grinned, his reflection staring back at him. The grimy mirror showing him smiling, knowing his unique guests had arrived at his carnival.
While the kids and Thomas explored the carnival Bandit and Chilli were cleaning up the living room as best as they could.
"How do cobwebs come back so quickly?" Chilli asked while cleaning.
"It's a fairytale; these things come back all the time." Bandit said with a smirk.
Chilli sighed in defeat. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she said sitting down.
"Look!" Bandit said pointing at where Chilli had just cleaned. The cobwebs magically came back in the same form of how they were before. Apparently the universe had decided that a few stray cobwebs were determined to exist in the corners of the house.
"I really hate his book…" Chilli said lying down on her back. "And this dress! It's too puffy!" She added.
"I think it makes you look hot babe." Bandit said, looking at his wife with a cheeky grin.
"Says the guy who wants his fur back." Chilli said with a look to her husband, rolling her eyes playfully.
"Yeah I miss my fur." Bandit said, now laying his back. "It shouldn't be forever until he's a real boy, right?" Bandit asked as they both stared at the ceiling.
"I don't think so." Chilli said, still looking up.
"I'm picking the next book we fall into." Bandit said with a chuckle.
"Oh? You like this adventure, huh?" Chilli asked, giving her husband another look.
"Well… I mean it's been cool I guess…" Bandit said nervously as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"You're definitely not the same dog when we first found our son again." Chilli said, pointing at her husband.
"Hey! We've been through a lot. I mean, we've dealt with aliens, superpowers, super villains, a magic fairytale book, and God knows what else next! It's just been a wild roller coaster!" Bandit said while putting his arms under his head. Chilli chuckled and kissed her husband.
"I will jump into any book or universe as long as it's with you and the kids." Chilli said looking into her husband's eyes. Bandit chuckled and kissed his wife softly.
They stopped kissing when they suddenly heard Gepetto's door close. Chilli got off Bandit and went to look out the window. "It's Gepetto, I think he's heading towards the ocean." Chilli said, still looking down the window.
"What?! We have to go after him!" Bandit said standing up quickly.
"Right! Just give me one second…" Chilli said as she walked away from the window.
"What are you doing babe?" Bandit asked, looking at Chilli.
"I hate this dress! And the tomboy inside of me is itching to get out of it!" Chilli said as she made a few adjustments to her dress. Bandit was surprised by her look and if he had a tail he'd be wagging it. "Alright!" Chilli said, putting her hair up. "Let's go make sure he won't get eaten alive by a whale!" Chilli said as she grabbed the dagger of cosmic energy that Thomas had given them earlier. Bandit couldn't help but stare at her, speechless, and more than a bit impressed-among other things.
"You coming Bandit?" Chilli asked, looking at her husband.
"Uh-er-yeah!" Bandit said as he collected himself and went out the door.
The couple chased after the woodcarver as he headed down toward the pier, the wind whipping against them as it seemed the universe was determined to have a storm start. Gepetto had unwisely placed his fishing rod and bucket into a small sailboat and had cast off from shore by the time the Heelers had arrived.
"Shit! What do we do now?" Bandit asked, looking as Gepetto drifted further into the open sea.
Chilli looked around a moment before spotting a small rowboat on the shore. She leapt off the dock and grabbed onto the side of it, pushing it through the sand. "We follow him!"
Bandit, glad he was wearing pants for once, nodded and jumped down, helping his wife cast off. A minute later the two were rowing. The sky was now grey and the wind had picked up. Gepetto's boat wasn't too far away, but there seemed to be a strange black shape in the water…
While their parents dealt with nature's impending wrath, their children were enjoying some fresh air of their own. They looked around, seeing rides and games. "Do you guys want to try some games? Or rides?" Thomas asked, looking at his sisters and Pinocchio.
"I don't know, I've never been to a carnival before. It all looks fun." Pinocchio observed.
"Why don't we play some games?" Bluey suggested, "That way we can all play together."
"Yeah! And if one of us wins, we all win!" Bingo added.
Thomas smirked, it was funny how saccharine his little sisters were, but he wouldn't trade their positivity for anything. "Okay, let's try out a booth then…" He looked around for one without a line. After a glance he spotted one. "Here, let's see what this is."
The four walked up to the operator, a thin man with a large mustache. He looked at them with dark eyes and spoke slowly, "Would you like to try your luck? Winner gets a prize." He gestured at the wall behind him. There were some stuffed toys and a few other trinkets on display. Nothing Thomas really cared for, but the girls immediately squealed.
"Oh! Look! They have a hobby horse!" Bingo pointed at it.
"Yes." The operator replied, a faint flicker of a smile crossing his face. "It can be yours if you win…"
"What do we have to do?" Pinocchio asked.
"Just get a ball into the blue cup." He stepped aside to show a large tilted board covered with cups. There was one blue one, many white ones, and a few red ones.
"What about the white ones?" Bluey asked.
"No prize." The man stated.
"And the red ones?" Thomas asked.
The man was silent a moment before he spoke. "No prize."
Thomas shrugged and he and the girls all tossed a ball, Pinocchio did as well after being shown how to throw a ball. Thomas got his in blue, but the others all landed in white. The vendor looked disappointed as he handed over the hobby horse. Likely because he just lost one of the best things on that wall. Thomas thought.
The girls happily took turns as they continued milling about. They never got around to going on the rides, the lines always seemed too long, and most of the games were fun enough. Thomas seemed to be on a winning streak, getting a few other trinkets and odds and ends as prizes. Bluey and Bingo each had a win as well, and Pinocchio was just happy to be included. They rested on a bench with some popcorn and looked at the other guests who walked past.
It was now the latter half of the day, nearing toward evening, and the crowd had gone from excited to lethargic and sallow. There were still occasional whoops of winners at the stands and cheers on rides, but it wasn't as active as it had been in the morning. Thomas suspected that the heat and excitement had taken their toll, but was a bit unnerved nonetheless. Something just felt off, but he couldn't place it. The girls and Pinocchio didn't seem to notice anything wrong, so he didn't mention it. I'm probably just imagining it. He thought as he ate some more and watched a woman with glazed over eyes trudge past. It was at that moment that an announcer walked past.
"Fifteen minutes until Mr. Blackwood's circus begins in the big top! The show of the evening! Black ticket holders get front row seats!" The barker called as he walked past.
"Thomas! That's us!" Bingo said, eagerly pointing at the ticket in Thomas' pocket.
"We get front row seats at a real circus?!" Bingo did a small happy dance before grinning widely.
Thomas chuckled, "Alright, let's head toward the tent." He smiled, trying to shake the feeling that something not right was going on…
Kodiwolf321 A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait we added loyalguard600 and we went through some rewrites to get things in order and ready for release. So next chapter will be more faster to come out I was also dealing with things at work and the holidays…. Yeah… that's a whole different story lol anyways hope you enjoyed this chapter and we will see you in the next one!
The-Suburban-Guy A/N: looks like the Heelers all have some things to deal with. Stripe has an unknown human to interrogate, Thomas and the girls have a carnival to navigate, and Bandit and Chilli have a boat to save. Stick around, we've got one heck of a chapter coming up next!
Loyalguard600 A/N: Hey guys sorry my part took so long I've been busy trying to get the next chapter of Life of Levon written and juggling my personal life and work. Hope you enjoyed this chapter focusing on Fenrir. I want to thank Kodiwolf and The_Suburban_Guy for allowing me to collaborate with them. See you all in the next chapter of Project New Era and in the next chapter of Life of Levon.