Chomby was disappointed that he couldn’t see any of the exhibits. As much as he wanted to stay, no one would be giving him privacy after his stunt. Doctor Mesmerizer already came up to congratulate him on his heroics. The manager of the museum even offered Chomby a life-time pass to the museum for what he did. He accepted the offer, but he knew he wouldn’t get many opportunities to go back, especially given he was supposed to be leaving first thing in the morning.

After answering a few questions for another news station, that seemed to be separate from the one Tracey was apart of, Veronica offered to give Chomby a ride back to the hotel but still suggested he go to the hospital. He stayed vehement in stating he didn’t need to go. The paramedics had already left the scene, so they wouldn’t pressure him anymore after bending his leg back in place.

“You gonna manage?” Veronica asked as she pulled up to the hotel parking lot. “Need me to help you in, or…”

“If you’re willing. Dunno how easily I can climb the stairs.” Chomby lifted an arm and allowed Veronica to grasp around him. He sighed. “Thanks for the help, though. It’s awfully kind of you to drop me off.”

“Hey, not every day I get to have a personal talk with a famous DJ and folk hero,” Veronica chuckled. “You’re more famous than you were letting on earlier. Why didn’t you tell me you stopped a robot apocalypse?”

“Because it wasn’t too big an issue, I guess?” Chomby said, though he knew that wasn’t true. He wanted to say more on the subject, but he couldn’t think of what to say.

Veronica walked him to the steps and he hoisted his legs upward. “There an elevator?” Veronica asked as she continued to support him up the next few steps.

“Not that I know of. Place is pretty old. Wasn’t expecting to be dealing with a broken leg.”

“Wasn’t expecting what you did, either. Color me surprised, too. You were impossibly fast. I almost couldn’t even see you move.”

Chomby lowered his eyes. “Please don’t look too into it. It’s just something weird about me.”

“On top of everything else?” Veronica asked.

Chomby grumbled but said nothing. He decided to just focus on climbing to the top step. Once there, he told Veronica what his room number was and she walked him to it. He then unlocked the door with his key. Veronica then helped him inside to the bed and sat him down.

“You sure you don’t wanna go to a hospital? How are you going to manage?” Veronica asked.

“A friend’s coming by. I’ll figure it out from there, thanks.” Chomby said. He looked away for a moment before looking back up at Veronica. “And thanks for bringing me here, by the way. Was a bit afraid I wouldn’t be able to make it back in time.”

“Time? Time for what?”

“Uh… the friend coming by.” Chomby said hastily. He dropped himself backward onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. “I really can’t seem to catch a break.”

“Break from heroics?”

“And mysteries… and anomalies… and…” Chomby bit his tongue to stop himself from talking. He realized he needed to say something else to stop Veronica from wondering what he was talking about. “Say, could you go to my suitcase and grab out a baggy from the front pocket?”

Veronica stared at him for a long moment. She must have realized why he changed the subject and decided to walk to the suitcase. “Got a medicine stash in here?” She asked while unzipping the front pocket.

“No, just some VIP passes. You can have one if you’d want. Free backstage access for any of my shows on this tour.” Chomby closed his eyes. “Though, I’m not doing anymore shows in this town. I just… wanted to give it to you as thanks.”

Chomby saw Veronica open up the bag and pull out one of the cards. She looked it over for a minute before placing the bag back into the pocket. “Thanks, I’ll keep a hold of it. Where was your next show again?”

“Portland.”

“Oregon or Maine?” Veronica asked.

Chomby sat up. “Wait, there’s more than one?”

“I think so, yeah. Beautiful cities, from what I’ve heard.” Veronica flipped the card in her hand before putting it in her pocket. “Either way, they’re pretty far away. So, I don’t know if I can attend… but thanks. I appreciate it.”

Chomby dropped back to the bed and took a deep breath. His mind had started to properly process the events that happened since he’d been here. Rescuing someone while damaging his leg in the process was another thing he had to add on top of the current mystery of the tape recorders. At this point, he truly hoped there was nothing malicious going on, but doubt ebbed at the back of his mind. Even if his day had gone better than it had gone, he knew that the distraction of today was only a temporary remedy. There was still a big mystery underfoot, and he had somehow found himself in the center of it.

But Sarge would take care of it, right? That’s what he said. Sarge was good at taking care of things that Chomby was overwhelmed by. Sarge could take care of any problem Chomby had, no matter how dire. He’d always done it before. Why would now be any different?

“Chomby?” Veronica asked, interrupting Chomby’s thoughts.

“Yeah?”

“Did you need anything else, before I leave?”

Choomb chimed in. “Request for human Veronica to open the balcony door.”

“Could you open my balcony, please? I need some fresh air.” Chomby said.

Veronica opened the balcony door.

“Thanks. I can’t think of anything else I’d need.” Chomby sat up and tried to get himself to stand. “You best get going, though. I don’t want to keep you.”

“It’s no problem, Chomby,” Veronica said. “Just let me…” she looked around the room and immediately walked over to the desk with Chomby’s notebook, laptop, and the tape recorders. She grabbed the notebook and pulled the pen out from the binding.

“What are you-”

“Giving you my number, in case you need help while you’re here,” Veronica said as she scribbled on the paper. She then ripped off a piece and handed it to Chomby. “I can pay for another notebook if it’s an issue. Just didn’t have any paper.”

Chomby looked at the paper, then up at Veronica. “That’s alright. Thanks.”

Veronica smiled and flipped through the notebook pages as she walked back to the table. “These song lyric ideas or something?”

Chomby froze. “Uh, just my journal. Please, don’t read it. It’s private.” Chomby attempted to walk over to Veronica but his leg buckled. He ended up dropping back onto the bed.

Veronica saw this and immediately shut the notebook. “Oh, sorry. Privacy, yes. I’m being nosy.” She placed it back on the table. “Well, I’ll take my leave then. I hope your friend can help you soon.”

“Same,” Chomby said. He and Veronica waved goodbye to each other before she stepped our of the room and closed the door, now leaving Chomby to his privacy.

“Need to unzip, Choomb?” Chomby finally asked. “Sorry that took longer than I expected.”

“It is alright, Unit_Anomaly_Chomby. You have been advised to find friendships with individuals. This was a great opportunity to do so with the human, Veronica.”

“I guess.” Chomby placed a hand on the zipper. “Uh, need me to do anything else before I unzip? I don’t quite know how the delivery will work.”

“With the balcony door open, Aerial_Unit_Drone 89 will be able to enter and help with leg installation. I am also informed that the leg will be more durable to accommodate for catching errant humans who have fallen.”

“I don’t expect it to happen often enough to merit that, Choomb,” Chomby said.

“Happening once is enough to merit an upgrade. I look forward to it.”

“Oh, you do?” Chomby asked.

“Affirmative, Unit_Anomaly_Chomby.”

“Sorry for what I said, then. I didn’t realize it was something you were wanting.”

“Your kindness is noted, Unit_Anomaly_Chomby. Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Chomby said. He pulled down the zipper and let Choomb take control again.

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Here's the next chapter. I'm admittedly feeling like the story isn't too engaging, so I may need to reevaluate it or do something else. I dunno! We'll see how this goes.

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Artwork/Story/Chomby (C)  Juntarhenogu Me