cornflakes are good

Part Nineteen

[Meanwhile in space]

Rat and Karen were happily dancing their #couplegoals dance routine in space. That is, until Another Child crashed into Rat and knocked both him and Karen over.

"Gah!" Rat screeched. He turned around and saw Another Child and screamed louder. "A child! An alive child!"

Rat hissed at Another Child and bared his teeth. Another Child also hissed at Rat and bared his teeth. Karen gasped and tapped Rat on the shoulder.

"Yes, Karen dear?" Rat asked his wife.

"Rat-Kun, that child has the same hideous teeth as you!" Karen said and pointed at Another Child. Sure enough, both him and Rat shared the same exact sharp pair of teeth.

Rat stopped hissing at him and looked at Karen. "Intriguing. Let's bring him into the ship."

They grabbed Another Child by the arms and carried him into their #couplegoals spaceship. They seated him at their dining table that they got for free at Torget with their #couplegoals discount. Rat sat at the opposite end and stared into Another Child's eyes.

"What brings you to space, small child?" he asked Another Child.

"I was yeeted here," Another Child responded.

Rat didn't respond. He turned to Karen. "What do we do?" he asked her.

Karen tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Let's adopt him," she said finally.

He turned back to Another Child and said to Karen, "I supposed we do have enough half-eaten cheese and dead managers to raise this child. . ."

"Woah, regurgitated cheese is like my second favorite thing after red water," Another Child said.

"Well, good, because we have a lifetime supply of it!" Rat said happily. He was starting to like this child. At least they had a good taste in food.

Karen smiled and said, "That's amazing! Then you could eat the same thing!"

"Anyways, dear, what's your name?" Karen asked Another Child.

"Another Child," he told her.

"Er, what?" Rat said with a confused expression on his rat face.

". . . Another Child," Another Child said again.

Karen and Rat deeply inhaled and exhaled. They looked at each other, nodded, and then Rat said, "How do you like the name 'Goldfish'?"

"Er. . . That's fine," Another Child responded. He paused and then said, "Also, I think I'm your kid."

"Well, yes, of course. We just adopted you, dear," Karen told Another Child.

Rat stroked his rat chin with his rat hand. "What do you mean by that, Goldfish?"

Another Child paused before he responded. "I think you're my biological father. . . At least, in some sort of alternate universe or timeline."

Karen's jaw dropped. She slowly turned to look at Rat, who seemed as equally astonished by this statement. Rat turned to her.

"I'm not sure what to make of this, Karen-Chan. . . But I think this is related to the time when I dated. . ." He gulped.

"H-Him. . .?" Karen finished for him.

"Yes, him, Karen-Chan," Rat confirmed. He turned to Another Child and asked him, "How did you live?"

Another Child awkwardly looked down at his shoes and responded, "It's a long story."

But still, he bravely explained everything to Rat. How most of his many siblings died when they were just born. How he lived feeling depressed all his life. How people thought of him to be lucky when all he could feel was dread. How terribly he missed his six unborn siblings. How he wished he didn't watch his two sisters and three brothers die in the hospital when they were just weeks old. How he felt so miserable when he watched his two remaining siblings get tossed into an endless abyss. Then he moved onto how he was kidnapped by time-traveling octopuses. How he lived in a dark basement for a good portion of his life. How he lived in fear with Child and Other Child. How the cruel octopuses tortured him. How they ripped him and what remained of his poor soul apart, little by little. Then he moved on to how when they all, including Sophia, finally escaped the wretched prison. How they fended off the octopuses all on their own. How they stayed brave together during all these difficult times. His expression grew grim again as he explained how he was flung into space. Did his friends even realize he was missing now. . .?