Ever since those Ship-girls fell into his house, Charlie Bucket's life had changed in ways he'd never imagined before.

"Hey Charlie, wanna join our Rounders team!?"

"Charlie! I'll snog you if you can get me one of those big-head dolls!"

"Charlie, remember me!? We pretty much live in the same area, so why don't we walk together? And maybe on the way we can pass by that store, eh?"

"Charlie!"

"Hey, Charlie!"

Charlie let their requests slide off him. He knew his father was an honest man, not the type to give special favours to customers just because of a friendship with his son.

Besides, now was his father's day off, as mandated by Ms. Akashi. A day off! Such a thing was nearly inconceivable to Charlie's father, and Akashi had to point out how he could help his wife with the housework for him to even agree.

He walked out of the school gates, and down the road.

Charlie was not enthusiastic about suddenly becoming one of the most popular children in his level. Others might eat it up, but Charlie would much rather stay back in the library for a reading spell, or rush home to hear his grandparents speak and tell tales

There was, however, one other thing. Something that Charlie valued above fame and fortune.

He no longer had to go hungry in school.

The gnawing pain he had to fight every class hour, which robbed him of concentration and peace of mind, was no longer there.

As far as he could remember, the pain was always a constant companion. The school's free lunches would take the edge off this pain, but after an hour or so, the hunger would return.

Like a background noise you never actively noticed until it suddenly stopped, Charlie had only realised it's presence when he started eating better, and it vanished for good.

Charlie shamefully remembered that he has yet to thank Ms. Akashi, who's generosity had made all this possible. He vowed to rectify it immediately.

He headed home using the usual route, making a brief detour near the very end. Instead of going straight home, Charlie went the opposite direction from where his house was, along the same street.

This was considered the "lower-class" part of town. The Buckets were the poorest of them all, but most families here weren't swimming in money either. Many of them worked alongside his father in the local toothpaste factory, though none were in a position as lowly as his father was.

At the very end of the street was the town's newest addition.

AKASHI'S ITEM STORE, it said on the front

The interior looked just as flashy. The floor sparked, and the shelves looked like they could burst and spill their contents at any moment.

Charlie passed between a free-standing shelf, and the right-most wall. Strange merchandise surrounded him: Model kits of ships and robots, plush dolls of unfamiliar characters, snacks, even little televisions!

Charlie was about to turn a corner, hands raising up to say hello, when he heard Javelin talking near the front.

"Akashi! We understand if it takes you a while to engineer a solution. That's fine. What's not so fine, is that you've been telling us nothing about how you're doing on the matter! How are we gonna do it? How far along is it? Do you need any help? But nothing meaningful in the seven days we girls have been stuck here!

You've only said: I'm working on it, nya.

That's the same thing you've been tellin' us yesterday, and the day before that! How do we know you're not just pulling our leg here, hmm?" Javelin ranted.

Wow, she… she sounded angry.

What could possibly have happened to wind her up like that? The Javelin Charlie knew was a very cheerful girl.

Charlie's curiosity got the better of him, so he held off surprising them with a greeting, instead pressing up against the shelf separating him from them.

Ms. Akashi said a few more placatory words, then went to the back of the shop to rummage through the backrooms.

When she came back out again, she held… something, in her hands.

He peeked over the side of the shelf, just enough for him to see it. His eyes widened at the sight.

It was a strange, scary thing that Charlie was at a loss to even describe.

On the counter lay what looked like the claws of a monster, akin to the illustrations he found in some of the more foreboding library books, except these ones were real.

They weren't just lines of ink and splashes of paint, arranged cleverly to look like things not of this world. This was real. Charlie could see how light bounced off it's chitinous scales, how strange purple patterns pulsated from various parts of it like open wounds.

Charlie felt it might lunge at them any moment now, and crush their throats.

The claws held a cube glowing with a gentle blue light, it's serenity in contrast with the monstrous appendage holding it.

At the base of the claw's forearm, was a metal sleeve of some kind. Folding out was a kind of tiny flat television showing all sorts of info.

He then overheard Ms. Akashi spout a bunch of complicated stuff, with big words that he didn't fully understand.

After some more exchange of words, he heard Javelin slam her hands on the counter and scold Akashi again. They argued over things that flew over Charlie's head.

He did understand one thing, though: Javelin did not like that strange, scary device on the counter. She thought it bode nothing but bad news. Looking at it, Charlie was inclined to agree with her.

It was, however, the next few lines that hit young Charlie the hardest.

"Don't worry, you won't have to lay your eyes on this ever again. After all, it's highly unlikely we're ever going back here again."

Highly unlikely we're ever going back here again.

Unlikely we're ever going back here again.

We're never going back here again.

We're never going back.

Charlie felt his stomach turn upside-down, like the feeling you get when you break someone's window by accident, but nobody is around to see it (yet). The same kind of feeling when you write an angry piece of mail to someone very important, and throw it into the post box before coming to your senses.

He felt dread gather in the pit of his stomach.

He may not know a lot of things, but Charlie did know this: Once they leave, it's all over for his family. They owed them that much.

Charlie may be young and poor, but he was certainly not stupid. Charlie didn't know a whole lot about anywhere other than his tiny town, let alone another world, but he recognised that the girls were very far from home, and wanted nothing more than to go back.

Charlie could sympathise. If he found himself hopelessly lost, wandering a strange street without a single familiar landmark, Charlie would probably curl up in a ball and cry (quietly, as he shouldn't cause other people trouble).

But the Ship-girls were also the reason his family were as well-off as they were now. From an early age, Charlie knew the importance of money far more than his peers at school. If they left…

If they left...

Charlie took several shuddering steps back, until his back hit a shelf, causing piles of merchandise to fall to the floor.

"Who's messin' up my merchandise, nya?"

If they left, father wouldn't be able to work in Akashi's Store anymore. That would mean he would have to go back to his factory job. Which means no more mashed potatoes and sausages every day. Which means no more full bellies. That gnawing, horrible hunger will return. Like a colony of rats slowly devouring his insides, gobbling up every scrap of flesh until he became more rat than boy.

Most of the conversation was gibberish to him. However, Charlie did understand one thing: They were planning to leave as soon as possible. Whether it be a few days, or a few years, they'd made it clear that the moment a way back to their home was discovered, they'd go without any delay.

They're going to go away, and leave him and his family all alone again.

All of a sudden, memories of a life not too far off in the past came rushing back to him: Sleeping on bare mattresses on the floor, the December winds howling across the room like the walls weren't there at all; near-tasteless cabbage soup, every day, every single day; the utter desolation of school, having to keep the constant ache in his stomach from ruining his grades...

Charlie felt his vision blur. Felt his eyes and nostrils dripping. He felt it. Cold, unrelenting. He made an undignified sound. He became dreadfully embarrassed at himself, at his useless sniveling.

"C-Charlie? Charlie, is that you?" said Javelin.

Charlie heard her voice, but couldn't make himself give a response. He felt like he was suffocating.

"Charlie, what's wrong?" said Z23.

Charlie felt two soft, lanky arms embrace him. He embraced her back.

"I…"

He sobbed. His mind was too full of things to speak, yet he managed to string some words together.

"I just heard… You were talking… getting home somehow, and I wa-was thinking about wh-what would happen to me… to my family, i-if you all left..."

"Oh, Charlie…"

At once, all four Destroyers pulled Charlie into a group hug. Charlie felt their warmth press in from all directions.

Charlie felt a soft hand pat the top of his head.

"Charlie, we won't ever leave you, or your family, alone. We promise…" said the purplette, affectionately rubbing the top of Charlie's head.

"..."

From the counter, Akashi spoke up:

"Don't make promises you can't keep, nya."

"Akashi, just shut up." Javelin said, still holding him tightly along with the others.

And yet, they couldn't deny that she had a point.