NON Sam and max stories (mostly THSC)

The thief and the pilot (Stickvin) Part 1: Memories

(art by kalliewastaken on insta)

The military boys were having a fun night.

Charles was hanging out with some of his fellow soldiers, mainly his cousins, the Bukowski twins. (my hc lol) they were playing some icebreakers, and asking each other questions to get to know each other better.

"So Charles, what's your favorite food?" Calvin asks.

Charles thinks. "Ooh, that's a tough one." He smiles "I like pancakes, and chicken nuggets, and macaroni and cheese..."

As he listed foods, a couple soldiers said stuff like "ooh yummy!" And "ooh those are pretty good."

Charles then remembers something. "Oh! But my absolute #1 favorite food is apple cinnamon muffins."

Many soldiers went "mmm!" And others licked their lips.

"I dated a guy in high school who made the most delicious apple cinnamon muffins." Charles says, smiling.

"It was awesome, and he always made sure to make them for me when we were celebrating something."

Calvin smiled. "Woah Charles, you dog! I never knew you had a boyfriend."

Charles blushes a little and nods. "Yeah!" He smiles and sighs a bit. "He was cool. He was really funny and super sweet to me." he sighs dreamily, closing his eyes.

"He sounds awesome, Why'd you break up?" Konrad asks.

Charles looks away sadly. "Well, as it turns out, he was a massive kleptomaniac."

Some of the soldiers go "ooh..." and others cringe.

Charles nods. "Yeah... I told him if he didn't stop stealing stuff I was gonna dump his butt." He laughs. "Aaaand guess what happened."

Calvin giggles. "He kept stealing stuff and you dumped his butt."

Charles nods. "Eeeexactly."

He smiled. "It was a good 6 months though."

Charles then laughs. "Last I heard, he got arrested for trying to break into a bank."

A couple of the soldiers laugh. "Wow, Charles, what a daredevil! Dating a criminal like that." Konrad says.

Charles scoffs. "Dude I didn't know he was a thief until like a week or two before we broke up."

Then he laughs. "He never managed to steal me back though."

Everyone laughs.

A month or so later, The general had called Charles to his tent to discuss something.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" he asked, poking his head. In.

The general looks at him.

"Yes I did, Charlie. Have a seat."

Charles sits across from him.

"As you know, tomorrow is when we launch our operation to take down the Toppat airship." Galeforce explains.

Charles nods. "Yea."

"And you're still prepared to fly the helicopter, correct?"

Charles smiled. "Correct."

The general smiled back. "Good. Private price is gonna come too, for backup."

Charles smiled. "Cool."

Galeforce then looks serious. "However, us three aren't the only ones going." he says.

"For this particular mission, we're gonna need the help of someone.. Outside the government." he explains, looking away.

Charles tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

Galeforce gets a file out of his desk drawer, and slowly opens it, revealing a picture...

A picture of the man Charles used to love.

"Have you ever heard the name henry Stickmin?"

Charles's eyes widened and his heart dropped through his throat.

"What the- the thief who busted out of prison and stole that giant diamond!?"

Galeforce nods.

Charles then becomes angry. "Why on earth would you want HIS help!?"

Galeforce sighed. "Listen Charlie, I know it's kind of a longshot... but his skills are unmatched. If he's on our side, he could be a powerful asset in taking down those toppats."

Charles growls. "No he wouldn't! That guy is the worst! He wouldn't stop stealing stuff to save his life! I bet he'd steal the helicopter if he had a chance!"

He grumps. "Not to mention he's so secretive, and doesn't talk much..." he says, crossing his arms.

The general raises an eyebrow. "Charlie, you're acting like you... somehow know him. Have you two met before?"

Charles's eyes widened.

"Oh, no general, I don't know him."

He looks away. "At least, I've never met him personally..."

He clears his throat and looks back to him.

"However, I've heard a lot about him, through the news and his records and stuff." he says.

It hurt to lie to his commanding officer, but lord knows how awkward things would be if he learned the truth about him and henry.

"So yeah, the guy doesn't seem trustworthy.

The general nods. "I see."

He then looks Charles in the eye.

"While those are valid concerns, I firmly believe that with Henry's help is the best way to complete this operation."

He then gives Charles a serious look. "And I expect you to act professional to him."

Charles gulps, nodding. "Yes, of course sir." he says with a salute.

Charles then realized something.

"Wait... why would Henry agree to help us?"

Galeforce smiles. "We have all his criminal records on file. If he refuses to help, he'll go straight back to prison."

He then closes the file. "And to sweeten the deal, we'll even offer to drop all charges against him if he successfully helps us with the toppats."

Charles considers this.

"And what if he goes rogue?"

Galeforce smirks.

"If he goes rogue, I've given price permission to shoot him in the face."

This makes Charles giggle.

"Ok ok, i guess we can give him a chance."

But he knew inside this would definitely be Henry's last chance.