Almost two months had passed since Edward Poltern, known as Bark, had been captured by authorities. Chomby was ready to testify in court against Edward. Since Edward didn’t see Chomby ever since Chomby got stabbed, he was terrified to see Chomby appear at the stand. He immediately admitted to what he did and begged Berithal to not hunt him down. He was found guilty of both kidnapping and attempted murder. Chomby wasn’t sure what happened to Emily, but he hadn’t seen her since that night. He hoped she would reevaluate her life choices a bit.

It didn’t matter to him now, though. Right now, he was just in the restroom at the train station, staring at himself in the mirror. He had half an hour before he needed to board the train, so he took the time to familiarize himself with… himself.

He still had two, black eyes with green pupils. He still had his long ears. He still even had his fur. But he couldn’t help but question his jaw. When he examined it in the mirror, he noticed two prominent creases that only became more prominent when he opened his mouth. “They’re going to think I’m a robot,” he grumbled.

Chomby’s phone rang. He picked it up and saw the familiar name of ‘Sarge’ on it. He felt immediate joy and answered the phone. “Hello, this is DJ Chomby.”

“Heya, Chomby!” the upbeat voice of Sarge rang in. “So, when does your train leave again? You sure you don’t want a ride to the airport?”

“Twenty seven minutes-ish, and no, it’s fine,” Chomby said. “You don’t have to come by, you know. I know you’ve got a lot to do.”

“Eh, I’ve got some errands there! I wouldn’t mind seeing you off. See ya in a bit!” Sarge immediately hung up.

Chomby rolled his eyes and left the bathroom. The cold air made him shiver. He rubbed his hands together and walked to the edge of the track near the parking lot. He waited for Sarge to arrive. The werewolf had pulled up wearing a big, forest-green jacket. When he saw Chomby, he waved heartily and dashed over. The two embraced.

“Heya, Big Guy!” Sarge said. “How’s the body feel?”

“Really… really weird.” Chomby groaned. “It’s all metallic, and I swear I hear hinges moving or something… and my mouth. Why does it look like I’m a puppet?”

Sarge shrugged. “Probably gotta ask the mainframe that one. I really can’t say.” Sarge smirked. “So the week of tests has worked out? How’s Unit… uh… what’s their name?”

“Unit_CHMB. And they’re doing fine. Though they update me on my schedule a lot.” Chomby groaned.

Chomby heard a robotic voice in his ear. “Would you like for me to stop with these notifications, Unit_Anomaly_Chomby?”

“No, you can keep doing them.” Chomby replied aloud.

The night after Chomby had been ‘sacrificed’, one of the mainframe’s unit drones appeared on the doorstep. It had requested for Chomby. Once Sarge zipped up, it started asking a bunch of questions that confused both the soundbyte and the werewolf.

Two weeks ago, the drone returned, but it had brought a robot of some kind. The robot called itself Unit_CHMB. It was humanoid in nature and, upon further explanation, said it was fully sentient, much like Unit_00 had been… only programmed to not destroy humans, but rather, protect them. It also had a directive of assisting Chomby with day-to-day tasks, especially if he ever needed to unzip himself.

Sarge and Chomby then realized that Unit_CHMB was the mainframe’s attempt at making a body that Chomby could use. It still made the two uneasy to have a sentient robot that was programmed to want to be a ‘vessel’ for Chomby. Unit_CHMB reassured them it was happy to do this.

“But why would the Mainframe do this? Why would YOU do this, Unit_CHMB?” Chomby had asked.

“There are exactly fourteen reasons the Mainframe would create Unit_CHMB. The reasons that best pertain to Unit_Anomaly_Chomby and Detective_Sergeant_Wolf are as follows: One. Protect Unit_Anomaly_Chomby and Detective_Sergeant_Wolf from hurt. Two. Unit_Anomaly_Chomby requested to see Detective_Sergeant_Wolf. Impossible if Unit_Anomaly_Chomby and Detective_Sergeant_Wolf are the same being. Three. Study Unit_Anomaly_Chomby to aid in answering questions that Caretaker_Xenon and Unit_Anomaly_Chomby had about Unit_Anomaly_Chomby.”

After a few days of mulling it over, Sarge and Chomby agreed to let Unit_CHMB test out zipping up. Sarge then instructed it on how to activate the transformation. After it did as it was instructed, Chomby appeared. He looked mostly like himself, except he had a few ‘robotic’ features to him. Sarge felt both excitement and confusion.

“Unzip before the four hour mark, and I will zip up immediately. This way, you do not have to share a body with Detective_Sergeant_Wolf,” Unit_CHMB instructed.

Chomby found it hard to keep calling the robot Unit_CHMB, so he gave it the nickname, “Choomb”. It seemed to like that name.

With the testing for Chomby and Choomb now underway, Sarge took this as an opportunity to enact his, ‘DJ Chomby Tour’. He originally planned the tour for the two to go to different venues around the country. Chomby knew this was Sarge’s thinly-veiled attempted to let Chomby experience theme parks, museums, circuses, and basically anything else he thought Chomby would like.

“You’re going to perform at the Cable Theater, which just so happens to be riiiight next to a Do Re Mi Land – a music-themed amusement park,” was one of the many sentences Sarge said while explaining the tour to Chomby. He went through several, carefully explained instructions for each venue, starting from where to start the performance, who to talk to about audio checks, and every other conceivable thing about directing a musical tour. Chomby had no idea how long Sarge had been planning this, but with how meticulous the plans were, and how excited he was beginning to become, he couldn’t say no.

And now, Chomby found himself here. Waiting at the train station, ready to go on tour with Sarge giving him instructions on what to do for each venue. At this point, the entire situation with Bark and trying to find Sarge felt like a bad dream. The werewolf, his best friend, was now standing in front of him with a big, silly smile on his face. Chomby loved that smile. He loved it even more, now that his memories of Sarge had started to return. He still couldn’t remember everything, but he knew most things about his and Sarge’s relationship.

A voice on the intercom interrupted Chomby’s reminiscing. “The Yellow-line train to the airport will be leaving in five minutes. Passengers are advised to get on board now.”

“Ahh, shoot,” Sarge said as he looked toward the nearest intercom. “Sorry, I was talking too much and ruined your twenty-seven minutes.”

“It’s fine, Sarge. Those minutes made me want to smile.” Chomby quickly wrapped his arms around Sarge. “I’m gonna miss you, Sarge.”

“It’ll only be three months.” Sarge returned the hug and patted Chomby on the back. “gives me time to get things back up and running. Stacy’s remembered me, and since no one took the paranormal investigator position, I can get it back immediately.”

“Oh, really?” Chomby released Sarge. “That’s great news!”

“Yeah,” Sarge nodded. “Well, I best let you go. You gonna be okay?”

“I suppose,” Chomby looked down at his belly. “I just…”

“You just?”

“Choomb is very gentle, and I appreciate him helping us both, but I admit that I miss the warmth of having you wear me.” Chomby scratched his arm. “I was… wondering, when I come back, could we-”

“If it’s okay with Choomb,” Sarge said softly. “He’s even told us his main purpose was to let you have a body. What will he do?”

Chomby heard Choomb speak in his ear. “Choomb will return to the mainframe to exchange information and create upgrades for your experience, Unit_Anomaly_Chomby. Do not worry.”

Chomby relayed the information to Sarge.

“Well then, yeah, we can.” Sarge chuckled. “I missed being able to talk to you in the mindscape. Been pretty empty without you in it.” Sarge looked past Chomby to the train. “Though, it’s not a bad empty this time. It’s a, ‘Chomby’s finally getting a chance to enjoy himself’ kinda empty.”

“What will I do if something goes wrong, Sarge?” Chomby asked.

“We’ll figure something out.” Sarge lifted his phone. “Just call me.”

“But what if I’m stuck as a jacket and can’t call you?”

“Call me every day. Keep your phone charged. Let me know how your day went. If you ever don’t call me, I’ll make sure to reaffirm that you’re okay. If I get no reply, I’ll come to you as soon as I can.” Sarge gestured to Chomby’s body. “Choomb has a tracker in him. Between myself, the mainframe, and Xenon, we will find you, Chomby. I promise.”

“You really are a cautious man, aren’t you?” Chomby smirked.

“Got your entire schedule memorized, if that helps.” Sarge pointed at his head. “You and Xenon went through so much. The least I can do is let you two feel at least a modicum of safety.”

“What about you?” Chomby asked.

“Certainly stressed. It’s a lotta stuff to fix,” Sarge said. “But, I’ll manage. Knowing you and Xenon are okay puts a big stress off already.”

“Xenon’s doing okay, then?” Chomby asked.

“Back at his home. Most his memories are back, thank goodness.” Sarge nodded. “Which, by the way, you’re gonna go visit him. In two months and three days. This is after your performance the day before.”

“The Yellow-line Train to the airport will be leaving in two minutes. All passengers, please board now,” the intercom announced.

The sudden urgency made something in Chomby’s chest flutter. Was it a heart? He didn’t know. The mainframe never said it put a heart in Choomb.

“O-okay, seems I gotta get going?” Chomby stammered out. “Are you going to be okay?”

Sarge nodded. “An upward climb, but I’ll manage. Sorry to keep you, again.”

Chomby felt his body shiver. He knew he was nervous, so it was possible that the shivering was because of that. He wasn’t sure, though. He did know that his hands were cold, so he lifted them up and rubbed them together.

“Cold?” Sarge asked.

“I guess?” Chomby said. He lifted his hands. “It’s hard to say when I’m a robot.”

“Well then, before you go,” Sarge said. He unzipped his coat and pulled out a long, green scarf. “Take my scarf. Hopefully it’ll warm you up a bit.”

Chomby raised a brow and tentatively grabbed the scarf. It was probably due to being in Sarge’s coat, but it felt warm and soft to the touch. He quickly lifted it up and wrapped it around his neck. It obviously didn’t warm up his hands. He knew that. But, it still made the air feel less chilly.

“Thank you, Sarge,” Chomby tried to say, but he instead choked the words out. He decided to give Sarge one last embrace. He fully planted his face into Sarge’s chest and felt his eyes water.

Sarge shook a little. He heard the werewolf’s breathing was staggered. He assumed Sarge was starting to cry.

“When I first met you, Chomby, you were so scared and confused. It took forever for you to warm up to me, but I’m so glad you did. I got to meet my best friend.”

“I’m so happy you gave me a chance, Sarge. I won’t ever forget that.” Chomby lifted his face out of Sarge’s chest and looked up at him.

Sarge tightened his grip. “Stay safe, okay? I love you, Chomby.”

With those words, Chomby felt a familiar warmth wash over him. It was the warmth he’d imagined for almost a year. He’d spent so long trying to find it that he almost forgot how it was supposed to feel. But he fully knew now that this was it, and it was real.

“I love you, too, Sarge.”

The two held onto each other for a moment longer. They then released their hug. Chomby took a few steps back. “Goodbye, Sarge!”

“See ya, Chomby!” Sarge waved.

Chomby turned around and began to walk away.

“Oh, and Chomby?” Sarge called.

Chomby turned around. “Yeah?”

Sarge gave Chomby a thumbs up. “I’m proud of you.”

Chomby did his best to smile again. He thought his lips at least curled up a bit, but he wasn’t sure. He decided to imagine himself smiling instead. “Thanks, Sarge.”

~~~~~

And, thus, the final chapter has come to a close. If you've read this far, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading this story. Hearing all your comments, seeing you all get so invested in my story, makes me feel like I did a good job. Being able to flesh out the story between Sarge and Chomby has been an incredible journey for me.

You may be wondering why this picture is different from the rest. That's because, it's actually a cover for a song. Twilight Express . I hope you all enjoyed! If you're willing, let me know whatcha thought of the stories down below! :D

~~~~~

Sarge/Chomby/Xenon/Art/Story (C)  Juntarhenogu Me