Imagined Away
 

Imagined Away
Written by: CG


?I don?t know why we gotta move, I mean we were really happy where we were, weren?t we? All my friends were there ?n you had good jobs there and don?t you know for the first time I ever get a bouquet it?s for a going away present! That is totally unfair and??

The young girl had been babbling for quite some time, in the back seat of her parent?s car. It was normal, really. The girl, wearing blue overalls with cowboy boots and beneath the overalls was a rainbow shirt, had a habit of going on and on when upset, or excited, and right now it was a mixture of both. Out of the blue her father had scored a new job in a new company, the down side being that the new job was one whole state away meaning one big road trip.

?Now Goo remember, Daddy bought you that rose for your birthday. And you loved it didn?t you?? asked her mother, who was sat in the passenger seat in the front of the car. Her hair was black like her daughter?s, but her skin was much darker by comparison. Normally you?d see her in a uniform, but given she had to give up her job in support of her husband she wore a leisure suit.

?Well yeah sure I did but that?s just one flower this here is a bouquet, Mom, not a single flower!? Goo insisted, shaking her bouquet to emphasize the point; then watched in shock as a lot of the petals began falling. ?Mom! Omigod Mom, my flowers are dying just lookit them they?re going bald already!?

?I told you not to smother them so much.? Her mother replied gently.

It was another hour and a half until the car finally arrived into the city, and once they hit the city the road maps came out. They had to find a new suburb in a new town, so this wasn?t going to be easy. Goo watched the scenery whiz past from her window, trying not to look as impressed as she was with the surroundings. The city looked nice enough. Busy, as most towns are, but not over packed like their last city.

?Look Goo,? her father said, glancing out the window at an upcoming building. He too, like his wife, would be normally seen in a business suit. But today he was happy to reside in jeans and a shirt. His skin was dark too, but not as dark as his wife?s. ?There?s your new school. It looks wonderful.?

Goo slowly lifted herself up from the slump she had pushed herself into on the backseat to merely glance out at the building. It was a red-bricked building, with a long tall flagpole pinned out the front with the American flag waving patriotically. It looked like the school had been there for years and the city had grew up around it. Goo voiced her feelings on the school with a raspberry.

The trip continued along without much fuss and bother, at least until the car came to an abrupt stop at the foot of a hill. Goo, who hadn?t been paying that much attention, sat up. ?What?s going on are we broken down?? she asked, leaning forward to see into the front of the car.

?No, nothing?s wrong. Dad?s just got us lost.? Her mother said, glancing around at the surroundings. It wasn?t what you?d expect to find in a city. Trees were everywhere; the road was turning into cobblestones? totally out of place.

?No I don?t, look.? Goo?s father pointed outside the window. Just above the greenery you could spot a row of houses. ?That?s our new house right there, the blue one on the end. This must be the turn off or? something.? There were ?gated? communities, why wouldn?t some communities have an entrance that passes through some woods? Seemed very welcoming and calming, really.

?All right then, but let?s hurry. We?ll miss the movers.?

The car started up again, and Goo watched as the greenery of the woods enveloped the car in shaded darkness. The trees rushed past, and for a moment she thought she spotted a strange statue amidst all the trees. It was round, and had a grinning face like a frog. If a frog could smile. She lost sight of it once the road got bumpy, and at the speed her father was travelling did little to help. The bags around the back with her began to shake as the road got bumpier and bumpier.

?Honey slow down you?re going to kill us!? Goo heard her mother scold, but right before he could say anything the car suddenly came to a screeching halt.

Very slowly Goo lifted herself up to see through the front window. There was the statue again; it looked just like the other one only this one was right in the middle of the road. And beyond it, was a huge red building that took up the pathway. The only way through was a single tunnel, big enough for people, but not for cars.

?What the?? her father said.

?I told you we were going the wrong way, and now we?re more late then ever-honey no, get back in the car.? Seemed Goo?s father had other plans besides listening to his wife chiding him for being wrong. He?d unstrapped his seatbelt and got out of the car. As soon as he did, Goo followed suit. ?Goo, no! ?fine.? With that a very reluctant mother got out of the car too.

By now her husband was stood by the building and put his hand to it. It wasn’t rock, or cement either. Or even brick. “This is fake.” He said as Goo came to a stop besides him. “But what’s it doing here…”

“Yeah it’s really weird isn’t it?” Goo asked, knocking on the red ‘building’ experimentally.

“Guys we don’t have time for this we have to make it to the house in time for the movers!” Goo’s mother started, coming to a stop behind the two.

“Relax, they have the keys they can start without us. Come on, let’s check it out.”

After a little persuasion the family began walking down the tunnel. At first Goo had protested, saying it was too weird in a ‘horror movie’ type of way saying she didn’t want to. Her parents said that was fine and she was free to wait by the car, or in it, whilst they explored instead. Appalled at the idea of being left alone, Goo quickly followed. The tunnel was longer then they all expected, it took them a good two minutes to end up in a big room at the end of it.

Shards of light splashed across the floor and walls from colourful windows. And taking up most of the space were seats you’d expect to find in ancient train stations. Wooden, old, some nearly rotting. It was dead quiet save for a few gusts of wind that managed to squeeze down the same tunnel they had been through, to burst through the door opposite it. Suddenly another noise filled the air; that of a tram. The chugging of the wheels was easily recognised, and the ringing of a bell.

“We must be near a tram station.” Her father said, “But why would one be all the way out here…” he stated walking again, his wife and daughter in tow, until they emerged from the exit/entrance of the building. What they saw was not what they were expecting.

Miles and miles of green hills everywhere. Various statues were scattered across the countryside. This really was not what you would expect to see in the middle of a city. In fact, you could not even see the city anywhere. The only signs of life were a whole ‘town’ of stores just across the way above a few hills. Goo’s father turned, to look up at the red building. It was larger and impressive on this side, with a tin roof and a large clock tower.

“I know what this is.” He finally said.

“Really?” Goo asked, looking up also. Massive clouds – bigger then any she had ever seen – floated serenely overhead making it seem the building was slowly moving forward. “Cuz what is it?”

“It’s an abandoned theme park.” He concluded. “They made so much of these throughout the years, but most of em went bust when the economy fell flat.”

It seemed like a reasonable explanation, so no one questioned it. Again after some more small talk the family began walking further into the new ‘world’ they had discovered. The breeze was cool and fresh, and the smell of the grass was unlike anything else. Eventually they came to what could have been made a river. Large smooth boulders cut right across the hills right before a set of stairs that led the way up to the chain of stores.

Whilst he was helping his wife across the rocks, Goo’s father caught scent of something. Food. Something was cooking.

“Hey smell that?” he asked as he took his wife’s hand. “Something smells… fantastic.” She too took a sniff of the air. She couldn’t place the smell (a cross between beef and chicken with some seafood maybe?) but whatever it was it smelt mouth-watering. “Maybe they haven’t gone out of business after all.” He said, and continued to lead his family up the steps. As they did, they passed another statue. This one was a big frog, as big as Goo, with it’s mouth agape. If you looked closely, it would appear like it had spouted water in the past, which had left green stains on the stone steps beneath it. But since the family wasn’t interested in looking at statues, they missed it completely.

The town really was nothing but restaurants. But not like the ones you see now days, with pimply faced teenagers behind the counters, specials or toys available with kids meals. They were actual stores, with glass panelling and sliding doors. Unlit lanterns hung around their rooves, and no signs were anywhere. It was deserted too. Not a soul to be seen, or be heard. But still the family continued on, following the scent on the breeze. It wasn’t long until they found what they were after.

It was the only one open, a huge buffet built in a square with all the stoves and cooking utensils (and meat) in the centre whilst all the food they had prepared on the buffet. There were huge fish heads (yum?), platters stocked high with food of all kinds. But nothing like Goo had seen before. She expected one platter was quail, since the birds were so small. Others had pieces of crayfish. It changed from platter to platter, and indeed all of it smelt so mouth-wateringly delicious even a super model would buckle at the knees and eat everything in sight.

“Oh wow. It looks delicious!” her mother took a seat at the buffet, looking at the bountiful food.

“Hello? Anyone here?”

When no answer came, the two parents debated. They couldn’t just ignore the food, oh no! How could they not? They hadn’t eaten anything decent since yesterday, having to feed off fast food chains along the highway. After a whole day of eating that you want something good and fresh and tasty in your stomachs. So they’d eat now, but wait until someone return so they can pay for him or her.

Goo wanted nothing to do with it, though. She didn’t want to eat small birds and fish heads! Gross! So each time her parents would ask her to try some she shook her head, and kept insisting they’ll get in trouble and they should leave. But still her parents continued to eat, passing food to each other, spreads, toppings, everything in sight.

After a few minutes of watching her parents consume everything in their path, Goo felt a bit sickened at the sight. Knowing they’d be fine, she turned and headed off down the street of the ‘town’ and kept going. She passed many a store, each as empty and deserted as the last. Until finally she came to the end of the stores, and before her stood a bridge. A large red bridge, and just beyond that was a house.

The house was huge, amazing since she hadn’t spotted it before. Its bricks were red and brown in colour, a large entranceway, windows everywhere and steam emitting from the side of it. Goo stood, transfixed for a few moments at the sheer scale of it, and also what it was. It was a bathhouse. But she had never seen one in America. One time her father went on a business trip to Japan, she had gone with him, and had seen them all throughout Japan. But in America it was unheard of. Bathing with other people? Oh no, hide your shames!

She smiled a bit before walking out onto the bridge, and looked over the edge. Far (and I mean far) beneath her was a tunnel. And almost like it was waiting for her to look for it, the tram that was three carts long, shot past beneath her. “Hey there’s the tram!” Goo declared in delight at having spotted it. She thus rushed to the other side of the bridge to watch it vanish. It was here she suddenly felt that feeling you get when someone is watching you. She turned her head.

Who knew how long he had been stood there? It was a young boy, at least a year or two younger then her, and he was staring at her as if he’d never seen a girl before. His hair was brown, whilst his clothes were blue. He continued to stare for a few moments before finally finding his voice. “Wha, what are you doing here?” he asked, sounding worried.

“Huh? Well my folks got lost ‘n then we found the way into here ‘n now…” Goo started, but the young boy cut her off and grabbed her arm.

“You can’t stay here, you have to get out of here and get beyond the river before night time!” he insisted, managing to drag her along despite their weight and height differences. Goo was in a state of shock, but then she realised just how late it was. Already the sun was vanishing into the horizon, darkness over taking the light. The lanterns along the stores magically began to light themselves. The boy gasped as he looked over his shoulder. “Oh shoot, they’ve started to light the lanterns! Go, run! I’ll keep them busy just go now!”

He shoved her, and still in a state of surprise Goo kept going in the direction he had shoved her. Even if he was kind of bossy he still seemed honestly concerned for her well-being. Maybe this WAS going to become something out of a horror movie? Goo’s blood run cold at the very idea, and ran through the stores back tow here her parents were. Already some of the shops were opening, the darkness bringing them to life. She was so concentrated on locating her parents she failed to see that the store vendors were waking up as well, if you could call them vendors.

They were unlike anything any of us would have seen. They were like shadows, living shadows. Black in colour, but transparent so you could see what was behind them. They even seemed to move through walls, the floor, anything. Their eyes were white dots in their heads, and that was their only feature.

“Mom Dad!” Goo shouted as she finally found her parents. The mess around them was astonishing. Plates and platters were over turned, food was on the floor, and the mess was astronomical. Goo tugged on her father’s arm, “Dad c’mon we gotta go now before somethin’ awful happens ‘n…”

She stopped. The head that turned to greet here was not of her father’s. It was a giant pig. A slobbering, disgusting, massive pig. Besides it also was another pig, this one a sow. Both were wearing her parent’s clothes. The male pig closest to Goo flicked an ear before turning away, to climb up onto the buffet to get at some more food. But suddenly it squealed as a snapping sound filled the air. The vendor had returned, and using a used flyswatter (gross), was slapping the pig away. After enough terrible lashings the giant pig fell onto its side.

This was enough for Goo to handle, she screamed, turned, and ran through the streets. Unlike before, this time she realised the vendors. They moved around her, as if she was the one out of place here. She cried for her mother and father as she ran through the streets, but remembered what that kid had said. Make it beyond the river. She finally found the stairs and the frog and began rushing down the steps but suddenly found herself waist deep in water!

“Waugh!” Goo screamed, “Water?!” she cried, turning and climbing back up the steps. She looked again. An enormous river took up where the hills had been. Beyond the river, she could see the tower where her family had passed what just felt like a few minutes ago. Shops now surrounded it as well, lit in the darkness. It reflected off the river, and she could hear the commotion coming from there where she stood.

But where was she? She didn’t even know that. Were her parents really pigs?

Just what was happening?

To be continued

~*~

Wow. I so have to stop writing so detailed. I get so little into one post, what with only allowing 1,000 characters. x_x Anyway. Enjoy! EXPECT FANART.

Whoa! Exciting, suspenseful, and a little bit creepy. What happens next?

Fanart?! *IS VERY EXCITED*

This is awesome. I never would have expected a crossover (of sorts... more like a plot-crossover?) with this awesome movie and Foster's, and never would have thought of Goo being the main character. Makes total sense, though, now that I think about it.

This is becoming intresting! And by aways, I own the movie "Spirited Away" on VHS!:D Cool, huh?

Chapter 2: A human!
 

Goo couldn?t even articulate properly right now, blurting out a string of ?wha? and ?huh? and ?uh? over and over as her eyes darted around what used to be the country side. The river was black, murky and deep with the reflection of the lights across the way and the stars over head. It also reflected the heavy clouds on the horizon, but Goo wasn?t really examining weather for future forecasts.

After a few moments she felt her whole body crumble and she hugged her legs, and shut her eyes tightly. This was a dream, it had to be a dream. She had fallen asleep in the car and this was her nightmare brought on by all those fast food chains, it had to be! This could NOT be real, she wouldn?t let it be real. Her parents aren?t pigs, they?re driving the car and talking about boring things, which is why she fell asleep in the first place.

?It?s just a bad dream you know don?t believe in this and it?ll all go away, everything?ll just melt away and you?ll see, you?re fine you?re?? Goo stopped when she pried her eyes open in vain hopes of seeing the back of her parents car seats. Instead she saw her yellow cowboy boots. But there was something terribly wrong.

They were becoming see through.

Goo was up again like a shot, her eyes wide in terror. She lifted her hands and then realised, they were see through too. Lifting her arms she looked through them at an oncoming boat that had been making it?s way across the river since who knows when. It was like one of the old riverboats that used to ride along the Mississippi River at some point. As it drew closer Goo took a few steps back, and when it finally boarded the steps and its passengers began to disperse did Goo run.

Where could she run to, really? Who could help her in this crazy place? Her parents were pigs, and she was becoming see through. This is NOT what Goo would call a good start to their new life in this new city. Not at all.

She soon took refuge by a brick wall, collapsing from exhaustion and just stared down at the ground as her body began to become more and more see through. Funny thing was, it didn?t hurt at all. She half expected it to at least tingle, or something like that. But no, she felt just like she normally did. Except now she was even more see through then before.

?There you are.?

The voice came out of nowhere, and Goo?s head snapped up to see the young boy who had tried to help her before. He was stood over her, but then crouched as he saw what was happening. ?Oh, yeah? that happens. Here.? The young boy fumbled in a pocket for a moment before holding out a small red berry. ?You have to eat something, or else you?ll disappear.?

?Gee really that would have been helpful to now before!? Goo?s brain cried, since she had lost her voice out of shock from before. But once again, could she trust this kid? Who was he? Yeah he tried helping her before, but now look where that help got her. At first she refused, but he then physically forced the berry into her mouth. ?Oh here, eat!? She shut her eyes tightly as she chewed the strange tasting berry, but swallowed it.

It took a few moments for Goo to finally open her eyes and take a chance look at herself.

?There see? All better.?

?T? thanks.? Goo managed to say finally. But suddenly Mac was against her,

?Shh get down.? Not really wanting to argue with the kid who saved her Goo did. Far overhead, a shilloute could be seen circling the skies. It was a bird, but you couldn?t really make it out from this distance. It continued to circle, until it finally vanished from sight to move onto another location. ?That bird?s looking for you, ?n that means Duchess knows you?re here.? He said as it finally vanished, and stood up. ?Come on, I have to get you to a safe place.?

After a few moments of Goo finding her legs locked and the kid fixing them, they were off. For a little kid the boy moved surprisingly fast. His strides were longer then his legs were, and soon enough they were running through stores, around vendors and the guests to the stores, even through a refridgerated area and one pen that was absolutely full of pigs. Goo hardly had any time to take in any of it, they were moving that fast. And just as quickly as they had sped up, they were suddenly in walking pace again.

?Now, you have to hold your breath.?

?What why?? Goo asked, glancing at the bridge she had been stood on not too long ago. Instead now it was populated by the strange ?guests? that had come off the boat. They were of all shapes and sizes, thin ones, fat ones, big, small, young, old, good, bad; they all seemed to be making their way past people who looked like humanized frogs; who were happily welcoming them to the bathhouse.

?Because I?ve placed a spell on you, hold your breath as we pass the bridge. No one will see you. But if you breathe, we?re in trouble.? The kid said, and he took hold of her hand. Goo stared down at their hands, and despite wanting to make a joke at this she kept quiet. Normally she?d never do what some kid was telling her, but so far things were working out pretty good. I guess. Despite her parents being pigs and being unable to get back to the car phone and call for help.

He led her up the path to the bridge, and whispered to her to hold her breath. Goo did.

“Ah, welcome back Master Mac!” someone greeted.

“Yup, back from my mission!” Mac answered. So that was his name, Mac. Strange name. Were his parents too lazy to add a ‘Donald’ or ‘Kenzie’ to his name?

But she continued to hold her breath as they walked along the bridge. It suddenly seemed much longer then it did before, when she had spotted the tram travelling far beneath the bridge. Now it was swamped with strange looking creatures she had never seen before, and she was holding hands with a kid named Mac who can run much faster then he should be able to.

They had almost made it, when a green stick (well that’s what it looked like) came running up to him. He had one large eye atop his body with a few hairs (eyelashes?) sprouting above his eye. “Master Mac!” his voice though, did not match him. His voice was a deep baritone the likes of which ladies would swoon over if he sung. “Where you been?” The voice had been such a shock that Goo actually gasped. The green stick froze, his one eye wider then before. “Human!”

Mac suddenly waved a hand, and a black bubble appeared around the small fellow, then he actually ‘flew’ while dragging Goo. His feet left the ground and he flew right through the group of welcoming people at the bathhouse. Goo was barely aware it happened until after it had happened, and the two were sat in the garden by the sides of the large building. Already cries of alarm were rising from within the bathhouse, cries of a human being spotted, and where was Master Mac? They need him!

“S-sorry I…” Goo started,

“No it’s okay. You did great! But listen, I have to go in there now.” Mac said, releasing his hold on her hand.

“What? Buh, but I can’t stay here by myself!” Goo started to complain, but Mac shook his head.

“Sorry but you don’t have a choice, if you want to save your folks. Look, I’ll tell you what you have to do.” Mac knelt besides her, “Once I’m gone and it’s safe, head down the back way. You’ll find a door, open it and go down all the stairs until you find a door marked ‘Boiler Room’. In there you’ll find Wilt, he’s the boiler man. Ask him for work.” Mac explained quickly, the cries for him becoming louder with every passing moment.

“Work?” Goo echoed.

“Yes, even if he says no, and asks you to leave as nicely as he can just keep asking for work. You’ll be safe if you get a job here. That’s all I can do for you.” Mac stood up again, and smiled slightly at her. “I’ll see you later, hopefully Goo.” With that he turned and ran out from the garden.

It took Goo a few short moments to realise he knew her name, even if she never told it to him.

[to be continued]

Spoiler Below

MacDonald! Hahaha! Priceless.

Chapter 3: Help

Goo finally began to feel the cold night air once Mac had left. The noises still continued to fill the night air from within the bathhouse, accompanied by the sounds of feet against the floorboards. She waited a few moments before gritting her teeth, and crawled on her hands and knees to where the doorway was. It was a small door, a good thing she was on her knees or she wouldn't fit. Opening it inwards she stuck her head out. The stairs were far more dangerous looking then she had suspected. Here and there cement blocks hung out from the wall, and linking them together was aged wooden stairs. She whined.

"Now that's an accident just waiting to happen." she thought, but what else could so do? Wait here to be found? Oh no. She crawled out into the even harsher cold air, which whipped her three braids around upon her head, and shut the door behind her. Very slowly she forced herself onto her feet, the wind being so strong it could probably blow her over the side and that would put an abrupt end to this story wouldn't it? For it was quite a drop to the rocky floor below.

Keeping one hand to the wall Goo began slowly making her way down the steps, one at a time. She knew if she kept this up she'd be doing this for days, but she'd rather be careful then reckless. But it seemed even being careful wasn't enough, since as soon as she settled on her fifteenth step did it suddenly break beneath her. Goo screamed, and continued to scream as her yellow cowboy boots carried her down the flights of stairs so fast she could have flew if she flapped her arms hard enough. But instead, a wall broke her fall and she slammed into it. After a few moments of pained silence (and checking to see if her nose was broken) Goo walked around the corner she had run into, and saw a door. It was deep read with the words 'Boiler Room' scrawled across it in black paint. This was a long time ago, for the paint and door was weathered and old.

Pushing the door open Goo stuck her head through the opened crack, to see a whole lot of pipes taking up majority of the hallway that greeted her. It was hot and humid inside, caused by the steam that was escaping the tight confines of the pipes every now and then. Beyond the pipes was a door way which revealed a large room. The only visible thing so far was drawers upon drawers stacked against the wall she could see, and a large shadow being displayed. The only sound was a cranking sound and mixed in with that was a roar of a fire.

Goo continued on past the pipes, careful so she wouldn't be burnt by the steam. Finally she came to the large room and sneaked a peek inside it. Indeed, drawers covered one entire wall of the whole room; the inside was a drop out though. A step down from the wooden floorboards you found a dirt ground that was empty. The wall opposite the drawers was a massive boiler, taking up the entire wall. Its size was monstrous, and it looked like an angry face that spewed fire whenever it's 'mouth' would open. This is where the coals would go. But the thing that caught her attention the most wasn’t' the boiler, or the room, or the small bed that took up a corner of the room.

It was the boiler 'man'. Mac had mentioned his name, what was it again... Wilt. He was crouched on a big wooden crate, designed to be a permanent seat for the, uh. Man. Along side it were three large jars, one of which was being used as a foot rest for the biggest foot Goo had ever seen. The leg connected to the foot was so skinny, and so long it went forward for quite sometime before finding its knee, and doubled back into the tiny body which Wilt held. His head was bigger then his torso and his eyes balanced atop stalks like a snail's. One was open and staring down at his work; the other eyestalk had been mangled long ago and left to reside in a bent shape, the eye small and dead. His face was a wonder to explain as well, it was like folds and frills at the same time on either side of his face. Another thing that caught her eye was one of his arms was amputated. The other one (and seemingly only one) was busy grinding something into powder. And to top it all off, besides being naked (don't worry he didn't seem to have anything that needed covering up), one armed, one eyed, scarred and long limbed; his skin was blood red.

Goo took a few cautious steps back to gain her courage all over again. This wasn't what she was expecting; Mac said it was a boiler man! That thing wasn't a man, farthest thing from it! She took a few deep breaths, before finally walking through the door into the room.

Still Wilt continued working, and just as Goo was about to say something another arm suddenly appeared. Now, suddenly having three arms, Wilt's third one dipped down to the jars one of his feet was perched on. Said foot lifted itself and with it took the lid. Seemed his toes were opposable just like his hands. The third arm then buried itself in the contents of the jar before lifting back and dropping the coloured pieces of straw into the grinder he was using as his foot replaced the lid. The third arm vanished back into his lap.

She stared even wider now. But then she remembered her mother's rule; staring is rude! And the last thing she wanted to be was rude to this man. Shaking herself out of her shock induced coma she coughed sharply to clear her throat, and grab his attention. It seemed to work since the one working eye swivelled around on its stalk until it was fixed on her.

"Uhm... a-are you Wilt?" she finally asked.

"That's me!" he answered, his voice surprisingly perky and welcoming for a boiler man. "Can I help you?"

"Uh... um, I..."

They were cut off as four things suddenly fell from the ceiling at once. They were pieces of wooden blocks painted, and hanging from purple ribbon. Wilt's eye zipped back to stare at the four tokens for a few short seconds before picking up a duster and pushing the powder he was working on down a long tube in front of him. "Oh shoot sorry, four soap tokens... guys?" the third arm returned but this time holding a small mallet. It struck down on the giant wheel that was connected to his seat. "Break's over, we gotta get to work again!"

Goo was about to ask who he was talking to, but then she saw. There were 'mouse holes' in the floor, and suddenly the workers appeared. They were tiny black balls of soot with legs and arms, carrying pieces of coal that were bigger then themselves. Goo watched in stunned silence as they carried the heavy lumps of coal over to the gaping mouth. They stepped onto what looked like a petrified springboard and waited until the mouth opened, and threw the coal into the fire. Once they do, they turn and all but fly back through the mouse holes to get more coal.

"Well you see...” Goo began again, walking over a few of the workers. "I'm here for a job."

Wilt continued making powder, sometimes his third (and a fourth!) arm extending to the drawers behind him to retrieve more straw. "Really? Oh then I'm sorry, but I don't really need any other help." Wilt explained as he pushed some powder down one funnel before retrieving another. "I've got a little magic in me so I make it so the soot does the heavy stuff while I have to do all the powders."

"Please, I have to get one!" Goo added, "My parents, they ate a buncha food so they got turned into pigs 'n I don't want them eaten for dinner by frogs or anything creepy like that and Mac told me I should come up here 'n-" Goo was cut off as one of Wilt's extended arms moved towards her.

"Sorry could you move please? Thank you!" as she did he pulled some salts from one drawer and returned to work.

Seeing that this wasn't working, Goo sighed and sat down in the corner of the room so not to disrupt any of the soot workers. She watched them carry coal out, and fly back in. After a few moments of this one of them came out, carrying a piece of coal at least three times its size. It wheezed and heaved for a few seconds before collapsing beneath the weight, and struggled and squeaked under the coal. Goo gasped, and quickly went to pick up the coal. But it was much heavier then she thought it would be, and when she finally did pick it up the tiny soot ball had vanished into the ground. It popped back into existence, before flying back into the mouse holes. Goo blinked. "Hey! Dun leave me out here with your work, get back here!" she said, needing someone to scold after the day she'd had. It didn't come out. "Fine I'll just leave it here mister lazy soot 'n then it'll be in your way and you'll be all 'oh no this big thing's in my way but I can't put one down or else more'll stack up' then you'll get in trouble, you'll see!"

"Oh I'm sorry but that's not okay." Wilt's voice spoke up, and Goo looked over her shoulder at him. His one eye had swivelled so it was staring directly at her. While he wasn’t angry, he still sounded demanding but polite at the same time. "You have to finish what you started, those are the rules. Is that okay?"

Goo felt herself nodding. Despite the weight and the heat, she felt she had a duty to do. So, carrying a piece of coal which felt far heavier then something of this size should be, Goo began to slowly walk towards the roaring boiler. She watched as the soot balls ran around and in-between her feet to deposit their own coal first, but some were lollygagging to watch the human trying to do their job. She finally made it, close enough so as when the angry mouth opened she felt the heat intensify and blast against her face. She took a deep breath, waited until it shut, lifted the coal and as soon as it opened again she threw the coal in. The boiler almost seemed to rumble with satisfaction as it received the coal. She ran back to stand behind Wilt's box, and wheezed from exhaustion. "Something like this shouldn't take so much energy!" her brain said.

It was then she realised she was being watched. Looking down she saw a million (or what it felt like) pairs of eyes staring up at her from beneath coal. Then one of them released its grip on the coal, and it collapsed on it. Once it did it began to painfully squeak, but for some reason you could tell it was play acting. Suddenly all the other soot balls began doing the same thing, all walking towards Goo and crowding around her feet and dropping their loads on top of their heads. Wilt finally physically moved, his whole body sifting to look down at the soot balls and Goo in shock.

"Hey hey now! Guys! Get back to work! Do you want to be turned back into soot again? I'm sorry but this is not okay! Look at what you did to them, now what are we gonna do?" Wilt flipped and flopped from concerned worrisome tones to slight annoyance and back again, banking the wheel again trying to restore order. He kind of did, for the soot balls got out from under the coal only to squeak angrily at Goo for not doing their work, and getting them in trouble with Wilt.

Off to the side, across from where Goo came in, a door was slid open from the other side. It was a small crawl space door, and the person coming through had to climb. And given she was carrying things didn't make it any easier, but she managed. The person was a human, a young woman, and no more then twenty five. Her hair was fiery red to match Wilt's skin, and her outfit was pink in colour. Shorts with tie offs, and a top with a white rope tied around her arms. She looked up as she set her haul on the floor. In one hand had been a tray with a small plate of food (probably Wilt's dinner), and in the other was a basket full of something unknown yet. "Hey guys, what's going on? You all fighting again?" she asked as she stood up, picking her goods up once again to walk over to the commotion. "Where's your bowl Wilt? I keep telling you to leave it out for me." she gently chided the boiler man whilst all the soot balls immediately forgot their quarrel to go and squeak around in front of the woman's feet excitedly.

"Sorry Frankie." Wilt sighed a bit but smiled all the same, as one of his arms extended towards her with an empty plate. They traded one for the other, and soon Wilt had his meal. Only then did the young woman named Frankie finally glance away and then did she spot Goo. Her eyes went wild.

"The human!" she cried, pointing an accusing finger. "So this is where you are?! You are in so much trouble; the whole house is looking for you!"

"Uh, um. Uh..." Goo didn't know what to say. Again. This place seemed to have a way of rendering her speechless. How could a grown up be calling her a 'human' when she was one?

"She's my creator." Wilt spoke up gently from between eating his meal which looked to be consisted of rice and some large shrimps.

Both Goo and Frankie stared at him blankly for a few moments.

"Your creator?" Frankie asked, weary of Wilt's answer. She had heard this story before; whenever a human was fortunate enough to bump into Wilt in his boiler room and they were caught he'd cover up, saying they were his creator. But Frankie knew the truth. Heck, he'd even tried to save her with the same excuse years ago.

"Yep!" Wilt replied brightly, knowing all too well Frankie wasn't buying it. "She said she's looking to work here," as he spoke, two of his spare arms began mixing the rice while another hand grabbed a piece of bread. "But I told her, I'm sorry but I have enough help. And sorry Frankie but I think you should feed the guys, they're growing impatient."

"Oh right." Frankie finally began throwing what was in the basket to the soot balls below. It was candy stars. You know, the tiny stars that you put on cakes, or fairy bread. The little soot balls rejoiced at the food being thrown from above they seemed to sing and dance in excitement at the food before grabbing what they could and scurrying away to eat. "So what're we gonna do with her?" Frankie asked.

"Well I think you should take her to go see Duchess. She's a tough little thing; I think she'll be fine." Wilt looked to Goo, smiling at her before realising he had rice on his teeth and quickly closing his mouth but still smiled at her.

"No way I'm not gonna stick my neck out for her!" Frankie said. Once again Wilt's one eyestalk turned around to look at Frankie for a moment, before one of his hands vanished beneath his seat.

"Oh really?" he asked, a sly smile on his face.

"Yeah really!" Frankie shot back.

"Not even for..." his hand reappeared and stretched itself to Frankie, in his hand was a cookie.”Foster's Famous Triple Chocolate Cookie?" Wilt asked, grinning like a loon.

Frankie stood there for a few seconds, staring at the cookie. Goo watched too. How could this work? Bribing an adult with cookies? Sure, maybe if Frankie was like, ten years or more younger this would work but a COOKIE? She was about to voice how much of a silly idea it was, but Frankie's hand shot out and grabbed the cookie out of Wilt's hand and pocketed it. Frankie glared at Goo for a moment, for some reason she just didn't really like this idea. The kid looked like trouble. But, at least she'd be taken to Duchess by her own choice then being dragged there like the frogs would do to her. "Fine!" Frankie snapped before dumping the whole basket of stars on the soot balls. "C'mon little girl," she said in a sing song voice, "Let's go."

Goo looked up at Wilt, who... somehow, winked at her. She smiled a bit before managing to climb over the little mountain of coal that was now surrounding her feet and stepped over to where Frankie was.

"...what, you can't even say yes ma'am or something?" Frankie asked, staring at the dark skinned girl.

"Yes ma'am, sorry ma'am." Goo shot back quickly, not wanting to step on any more toes. Or lift anymore coal.

"You don't need your shoes either, take them off and leave them." Frankie instructed, and for the first time Goo looked at her feet. Frankie had no socks, shoes, or sandals. She looked back to Wilt, who had shoes on. Maybe since it gets so hot here he doesn't want to blister his feet. But then why doesn't he wear anything else? That made no sense. But she didn't ask, so she pulled her yellow cowboy boots off and left them behind. The little soot balls gathered around the cowboy boots, having never seen such fine foot attire before. They would have made awed noises if they could, so instead they just squeaked.

Goo followed after Frankie, who had slid the crawl space door open and had already crawled through. Frankie then stuck her head back through, "Thank the boiler man kid, he's really putting his neck on the line for you here." she said, pointing to Wilt with one finger while the rest were busying themselves with holding the basket.

Quickly Goo turned around, so quickly she knocked her head something awful on the drawers above the crawl space. She cried in alarm as she did, and rubbed her head. But either way she smiled at Wilt, "Thanks very much mister boiler man." she blurted out.

Wilt had to smile. He'd done this so many times, helping out human children whenever they found their way into his boiler room, scared, afraid and lost. They all needed help, and if he could offer them some dignity with going to see the business woman behind the whole bathhouse by choice rather then being captured by the guards, and being dragged up to her rooms never to be seen or heard from again. If it kept the nice little girl from being turned into a pig, or coal, then he had done a good job by the end of the day. He smiled even wider at her and gave her three thumbs up. "Good luck!"

[To be continued]

I like it so far! Wilt is still his cherry self!:D

Sad.