Hello everyone! I have a new update as always!

Here are some reviews I'll be responding to.

MaxTV1234: "Happy new year to you too! I'm excited to see more of this. But sorry if I keep asking these questions, but did the book ever gave the name of the city where Universal Dynamics is at? I'm just curious. I've been headcanoning that it's named Universal City since it's pretty much a futuristic city."

RE: Happy New Year. Honestly I don't remember if they ever give a name or not, so I just made my own: Mega City 7.

4ndr1: "I liked this chapter, thank you. I think that, sooner or later, Fink will have to go to the vet…"

RE: It's okay, he's got plot armor, haha! JK. I'll consider writing that into the story at some point.

Anyway, this is going to be a long chapter…enjoy!

Chapter 22: Mega City 7

We left the apartment complex by mid-afternoon and made our way out into the clean and orderly streets. The first thing Fink noticed was how the ground felt…it was like how rock felt under his feet on the island but strangely foreign at the same time…definitely artificial. He looked up at me…seeing me loosely holding his black leash. I gave him a quick nod of reassurance, which seemed to set the fox straight and give him confidence to proceed. After all, this will be how he will be able to walk around outside of the apartment. Can Fink even be disguised as a service animal? I guess we'll find out soon enough.

My parents, Fink, and I made our way down the street. The humming of Railpods and hovercars could be heard echoing throughout the skyline, and they only became more numerous as we approached Centennial Park.

The vulpine took everything in, and he was still overwhelmed by everything. I guess he figured he should try and fit in as best as possible in the meantime. The tamed fox saw all the different people walking around (people of different heights, wardrobes, colored hair, skin color…robotic implants…the usual.)

I decided he and I could walk ahead while Mom and Dad would talk and watch us from behind. We were on a dirt path…surrounded by sparse trees and other vegetation. It felt like a dream to Fink…such a small slice of woodland that dwarfs in comparison to the enormous skyline above and around…like a beautiful oasis in a desert. Regrettably, this park will be the closest he will be to nature in the city for the time being…might as well enjoy it.

I breathed in through my nose…giving a smile before he looked at me with confusion, "smell that? It's the smell of trees!" I said happily.

"Kid, you and me are smelling completely different things" he said, rolling his eyes before suddenly being startled by a dog. The canine was barking at the fox before being led away by its owner.

"What's his problem?" Fink brandished a free paw at the Golden Retriever trotting away. I crouched down and placed a hand on his back, "I guess that's the city's way of saying hi to you."

"Oh, haw, haw!" He scoffed playfully.

Our group continued down the narrow trail…Mom and Dad were walking ahead now…trying to find the Coffeehouse that's somewhere on the grounds. It was strange because not only could I hear the chattering of people, but now that I can understand animals they too were added to the mix. That meant that from now on every dog, every cat, every rat, every bird…or any other critter, that used to make unintelligible sounds, rang perfect English in my ear. That's going to be very confusing for me. I mean, oftentimes I'd get confused when I heard a voice behind me, but it turned out to just be a bunch of pigeons flying behind us. This will take some getting used to for sure…

As we were walking, I noticed Fink was earning a few awkward stares from people. They either tried to ignore him or were incredibly fascinated by him…but it made him nervous regardless.

"Just act natural" I crouched and said in animal language in his cone-shaped ear. Fink scoffed in response, "nothing natural about this place…"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're the one that's a fish of water now" I chuckled, hiding a smirk toward him.

"From MY perspective, you're all the weird ones" he barked in friendly banter.

Our conversation was interrupted when we heard clamoring in the trees…the scents are something Fink knows all too well. I looked up and heard them too thanks to my ability to understand what they're saying: it's a group of gray squirrels in the tree beside us.

"What kind of dog is that?"

"A Vizslas!"

"Irish Setter!"

"Fresh off the toy factory!"

The squirrels laughed in earnest, which earned a low growl from an already annoyed Fink. He soon threw an acorn at one.

"Whoa, okay, let's keep it moving, Fink…come on" I began ushering him forward to join my parents down the path.

"Yeah, listen to your pet!"

Suddenly I snapped my head up and shouted at them as the squirrels giggled, "pet!? Now that was quite a mean thing to say!" I said while checking to make sure there wasn't anybody nearby to hear my animal sounds (since it WAS the way I was communicating with animals since I learned their language.)

The squirrels were pleasantly surprised, "t-they can understand us?"

"No, you idiot, you're just hearing things!" The female leader said, smacking the back of the other squirrel's head in response.

"Uh…but that human is looking at us as if they DO understand…" the third member stated, pointing toward me.

"I do understand you" I said, giving a mischievous grin to them. Fink sat next to me and soon emoted the same expression, eyes half-lidded, "yeah, and I boss them around…so if I tell them to run up that tree to get you rats for me, I can…and I won't hesitate to tell them!" The fox warned. I snapped my head down, "Fink!?" He simply looked toward me and winked.

"Y-yeah? W-well, you freaks are outnumbered!" The female squirrel sneered…still resting on the branch above.

"You kidding? Have you SEEN humans…they're MADE to climb trees; they're primates after all!" Fink lied…at least about the part where we can climb trees like squirrels. I mentally facepalmed at that…what has this turned into!?

The three "stooges" just looked at each other in confusion and increasing worry, "h-have you ever seen humans climb trees like animals?"

"They can't! This is ridiculous!"

"What if this one can? He speaks our language!"

"I suggest you three reconsider messing with me and my pet again…tell all your friends about me, tell them we're off limits, and we won't have a problem" Fink finished by making a smooth turn away from them…flicking his tail as a sort of jest to the squirrels. I rolled my eyes as the vulpine began leading me down the trail again. The three rodents left behind were left speechless, funny enough.

Sure enough, we hear Dad calling us from the end of the trail, "is everything alright?"

"Yeah, Fink wanted to chase some squirrels but we're fine now" I looked down toward the fox after my parents turned away to continue walking, "you really know how to keep a low profile, don't you?"

Fink, amusingly, just shrugged his front shoulders in response with a toothy grin, "might as well make this trip interesting" he said.

We finally reached the small hut that sold coffee, which was beside a beautiful artificial pond with a backdrop of the skyline.

I was soon offered a small Ice Capp by Mom, "your favorite" she said as I gladly took it…giving a smile, "thank you!"

Fink was given a cup of water to drink from and we all soon rested by a bench to take in the scenery. Dad sat next to me, patting me on the back, "I'm so happy you're back, buddy."

"Feels…great to be back" I hesitated but soon found myself finishing the line…smiling back to him; however, it soon faded, "I just wish Mark was okay…"

Silence followed before he pulled me closer to him to comfort me, "I know, Terry…"

"I just…" I heaved a big sigh, "things won't be the same after what happened…" I whimpered softly.

"It never really is after such a big change in life, Terry, and it never will get any easier, I'll be frank. We just have to remember how much they meant to us and celebrate their impacts on us."

Fink could sense my despair…and examined the Father/Son dynamic. The fox looked away…finding himself in deep thought. Fink barely knew his father…left the den one day and vanished as the story goes…fathers were something so foreign to the fox. Even with his interactions with young Brightbill it seemed he acted more like a close friend than a parent. In that moment, I suppose it hit the animal just how much he wanted to treat Brightbill as his son now…always be there for him…maybe he could learn a thing or two from me and my dad.

"Is he…here?" I asked…looking up at my father who soon nodded, "he is."

"Can we go see him?" I begged softly.

Dad looked at Mom as if he wanted her permission…she did not hesitate.

We soon made our way out of the park toward the cemetery close by. It's quiet…and quite unnerving to say the least, but I wanted to see this through. By sunset, we made it to his grave…Mark's grave…

Judging from how we were all acting and the environment we were in, Fink knew this place had great significance, especially after I told him why we were here.

Mom and Dad watched from the sidelines, holding Fink by the leash as I held a bouquet over Mark's grave. I remained crouched…head lowered as I remembered those tragic moments…but I tried to lighten it with the good moments I had with my cousin. Mark had a special place in my heart and now he's gone…nothing I've learned in my young life could have prepared me for something so devastating…

"You were the closest thing to a brother I had, Mark. You always told me to keep my head high and it helped me survive on that island. If you're somehow watching me…just know that I'm alright…" I placed the flowers down on the grave before standing up with a determined face, "we're going to fix everything."

We eventually left the cemetery, down in the dumps, so Mom devised a plan: get us to tour the Golden Circle of Mega City 7 to help lift our spirits. I suppose we'll need it.

We had dinner early that evening at a boardwalk…and we were forced to eat on the patio due to Fink, but I think he enjoyed it…he wouldn't want to be indoors surrounded by dozens of humans he didn't know.

Speaking of humans, he often had questions throughout our journey.

"Humans are in always such a hurry!"

"Why are they holding a stick?"

"Why is there a plume of smoke leaving their mouth?"

"Why is everyone walking on paths like ants?"

These were some of the questions Fink often asked when he and I were just briefly separated from the parents.

The more time we spent outside, however, the more the fox adapted to his surroundings. Fink had to if he wanted to find his way around to escape (if it's going to happen at some point.)

When the sky finally turned completely dark all the lights in the city were on and illuminated the spot around us. We passed by a Universal Dynamics building Factory…or, where The Makers came from. Again, we stopped and quickly conversed while Mom and Dad were distracted, "this is one of the buildings where Rozzums and Recos are assembled."

"Roz…was made here?" He whispered back, eyes widened a bit.

"Maybe…but there are other places like this" I said softly in his ear before he nodded.

The parents looked behind, "I think allowing Fink in the family was the best thing we could have done for Terry."

Mom smiled a bit at her husband's statement, right after catching us running up ahead to meet them, "Terry is definitely happy around them."

"He's giving them the grand tour, pretending to narrate as well" Dad laughed. Oh…if he only knew how right he was.

As the day began to close, Mom bought me a new Holo PDA from a store…I'll have to synchronize it on my computer later. It made me think about how much was lost from the old one that I left on the island…oh well.

Walking back to the apartment complex was probably the most peaceful I felt ever since coming back from the island. Traffic had dwindled and the moonlight was bouncing off the tallest portions of the skyscrapers. For Fink, it reminded him of when the last of the sun's rays would hit the tallest peaks on the island and it made him nostalgic. The sky bridge barely had people walking back, so there was time to reflect on the events of today. The fox walked beside me…as if we were siblings…following the leaders: our parents.

We returned to the apartment after a long day to rest. Once it's time for bed, Fink and I tried the best we could to drift to sleep. The fox just kept staring at the window while curled up on the bed…I suppose he had a lot on his mind, which I understand. Sure enough, my eyelids got heavy, and I surrounded myself to sleep.

The next thing I know I sit up from my bed in a cold sweat…I gasped loudly from the sudden end of my dream…or nightmare…I clutched my stomach as I breathed in rapidly.

It was the same dream…the final moments of that crash…the final moments of Mark…the rush of water…the sea storm…

Unbeknownst to me, I felt something press against me…something warm. I looked down to see that it was Fink…he had witnessed the ordeal, and he came to my aid. He whimpered, ears folded behind him as he looked up toward me. His gesture seemed to make me feel better…much better as I composed myself. I lay back down on my back just as Fink rested his head against my chest, not daring to move an inch after what happened. He understood…he's had bad dreams like that in the past, and he sensed my despair. I lay my hand against his head and softly rubbed it. Thanks to the fox I managed to sleep easier that night. Fink stayed up…making sure he would be there to help if it happened again.