"Say, Midas?"

"You have my attention Sophie?"

"You mentioned Meowscles earlier. Where do you think he is?"

Midas sits up, flower petals flying upwards with some landing on his hair, contemplating the thought.

"Actually... I don't know. The last time I saw him was before the flood hit. We were at the Agency, Shadow was coming for us, and I was forced to flee." He says, recalling the day. "I do remember that when he got the yacht taken away from him, he went to a box factory outside Lazy Lake and Misty Meadows."

"Well maybe he's there? We could go visit him if you want." The girl suggests.

Agreeing with a nod, the two of them stand up and begin walking to their destination. Somewhere along the walk, Sophie takes a glance of Midas' face:

For once, he actually had a genuine smile on it. He looks happy, more than he has been.

"Gotta say, seeing someone as serious as you smile is nice." She compliments him.

"Heh... thank you. I haven't felt this relaxed in months. Guess you and Jules were right all along."

*****************************************

A long walk later...

Eventually, after a long trek up the mountainous terrain, the box factory was clear in sight. But some things have changed.

A gas station, freshly built was on the right where Sophie and Midas were coming from. The box factory itself had a massive upgrade and no boxes were in sight.

"This place looks different than when I first visited." Midas tells her, showing he has been here before.

"Hey M look!"

Sophie rushes ahead of him deeper into the place. As Midas follows, he walks past a sign with cat pawprints plastered on:

" 'Welcome to Catty Corner.' "

Heading over to Sophie, she points at the main building.

"There's a bunch of yarn ball scattered around the place, and most of them are new, there's no doubt that he still here." She whispers.

"Wait, hang on." He puts a finger to her lips, shushing her. "Do you hear that?"

They crouch in silence, listening closely. It's very muffled, but the sound of a deep voice laughing and talking can be heard from inside.

"That's him, isn't it?" Sophie asks, in which Midas responds with a nod.

They approach the door, Midas knocking on it.

"Huh? I wasn't expecting any company. Sit tight Kit, dad will be back in a sec."

The door is opened by a very buff looking cat wearing blue overalls holding 2 pistols.

"Yes, how can I help....mew?"

"Wonderful to see you again Meowscles."

"...boss?!"

*****************************************

After a quick explanation...

"So what you're telling me is that you've been alive for the past 2 months and you didn't tell me?" Meowscles summaries.

"Well, yes. Forgive me for not telling you sooner about my whereabouts." Midas apologizes stroking the cat's head softly, making him purr happily. "To be honest, I was a bit worried that Shadow had got to you."

"Please, I'd know better than to bite the hand that feeds me." Meowscles smirks, leaning back in his chair.

"Yes, that particular action would end...pawfully for you." Midas sighs, folding his arms.

"Did you just...nevermind. So, what's with the kid? She a new agent or something?" The cat asks, looking over at Sophie who seems to have warmed up to Kit very quick, and are currently playing with a fish on string.

"I guess you can say that. She convinced me to step away from my work for the day." Midas explains, looking over to her.

"You definitely seem happy around her. You got a soft spot for the kid?"

"Meowscles, she is a child. She's merely an agent in training, a kind friend and great company."

"What were those last 2?"

Midas lets out a frustrated sigh, making Meowscles snicker a little. Sophie and Kit then return back to the two of them, the small kitten jumping into Midas' lap and snuggling up to him.

"I think he likes us Meowscles." She laughs, noticing a smile on Midas' face as he strokes Kit.

"He can be a good judge of character. That, or he just likes meeting new faces."

"Speaking of Kit, where'd you find him? Is he your son?" Sophie questions.

"In a way. The little guy showed up at my doorstep during a storm one night a few weeks ago. Gave him some tuna and a place to sleep, we've been inseparable since." Meowscles tells them, Kit jumping onto his shoulder.

"Sounds a lot like how we met my good friend." Midas chuckles, patting the cat's head.

"Little did you know you found yourself the most swole cat on the island." Meowscles adds, the two of them sharing a laugh.

"Hey Midas? Meowscles? I've been thinking." The girl suddenly speaks up, both of them turning to her.

"I know it's probably a touchy subject but... what happened to Midas' right eye? Was it some kind of accident?" She asks.

Meowscles simply shrugs, having no clue about the origins of his scarred eye.

Sophie looks surprised about this. All this time she thought it was an accidental scratch from Meowscles, and a bunch of other people probably thought that as well.

"I literally don't have a clue what happened to it, because it certainly wasn't me."

"It was my own fault." Midas confesses, making the others turn to him in shock.

"I'll explain what happened..."