Chapter 3

Everyone around me screamed in horror. What the heck just happened?! What’s going on here?!

“Oh my goodness—he… he…,” Alec stammered, taking three steps back from the microphones. “Nonono. This isn’t happening.”

“Slappy, NO!” Flippy shouted and jumped off the stage onto the ground below. He ran right up to the brown-suited robot and it turned around to face him. “What have you done?! Where did you send him?! Where is he?!”

“Flippy, NO! Get away from it!” Alec cried. Everyone around me started shouting at Flippy, telling him to get away, too. I stood there in utter confusion, completely stunned.

“What… what are you?” Flippy asked after the robot just stared at him for a couple of seconds.

“I don’t like your tone. Perhaps you need a drop of Positive Reinforcement as well,” the robot replied menacingly and took a step closer to Flippy. Flippy took a step back, fear on his face.

“No… no, get away. I don’t need your help,” he said. The robot took another step closer to Flippy instead.

“Let me confirm our meeting to discuss this. I won’t take no for an answer.”

“Stop it, this isn’t fun!” Flippy cried, eyes frantic, taking another step away from the robot.

“Fun cannot exist without order,” the robot shot back menacingly. Flippy held out his hand and a pie with what looked like cream filling on top  materialized seemingly out of nowhere. I blinked in surprise. Was he just carrying that around with him?

“I’m warning you, stay back. Please,” Flippy pleaded, holding the pie out in front him.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t been wrong yet.” The robot took one more step forward, pushing Flippy right up to the Toontown Library.

“Stay AWAY from me!” Flippy cried and threw the pie right at the robot’s face. The pie made a loud SPLAT noise as it connected. The creature wiped off the pie from its face, wiped what had spilled onto its suit, and then it… started to explode?! Yes. The robot’s torso bent downwards, then it started spinning around uncontrollably, gears spilling out from its insides. BOOM. The robot exploded into a mess of gears and metal parts. Everyone let out a gasp, including myself, and stunned silence followed for a few seconds. Then everyone around me cheered.

“Woot, go Flippy! Way to go!”

“He did it! It’s over!”

“No!” the orange monkey from before, Dr. Surlee, shouted, startling me. I turned towards him. He was still standing in front of the Toontown Library, but his eyes were wide with fear.

“This isn’t over just yet. Everyone, listen. There’s no time to explain! Grab the pies, they seem to be the weakness of these…” Dr. Surlee said, taking a rather long pause. “…‘Cogs’. Now take up arms, there’s more on the way!”

“What?!” I cried as a wave of panic flowed through my body. Sure enough, the sky darkened quickly and from the sky dropped a bunch of small, round-shaped robotic creatures like the one Flippy had just blown up—“Cogs” as Surlee called them. I stared in complete and utter shock at these Cogs, which looked nothing at all like the one that just made Slappy disappear, other than a few of them that had blue glasses on their faces—those shared the same brown suit it had. Nobody moved, everyone staring at the oncoming wave of Cogs that were making their way to the stage.

“Come on, you guys! You heard Dr. Surlee! Let’s grab the pies and fight!” Jenny cried, taking action. She pushed herself past me and a few other Toons who were standing in her way and walked right up to the extra-large wheelbarrow that held the pies. She grabbed one, and a bunch of other pies automatically shrunk and flew toward her, disappearing somewhere over her skirt.

“These pies are equipped with special Auto-Refill cream filling, courtesy of Loony Labs,” Surlee explained when she gave him a questioning look. “As long as the original source never runs out, they will automatically keep refilling your Gag Pouch for you. Flippy, I’m going to need you over here to help with the pies, as the original source is your oven. Can you get cooking?”

“I can certainly try,” Flippy replied, and he stepped over the ropes to join Surlee by the pie stand. He pulled out a tiny oven out of his pocket, which grew to full size when he dropped it on the floor. Then he started working the oven, loading in pies two trays at a time. 

Gag pouch? Crud. I didn’t bring mine with me that day; actually, I never bring it anywhere. Rosie got me one on the second day that I’d been in town when I told her I didn’t have one. She was surprised, of course.

“What Toon doesn’t carry a Gag Pouch with them?” she’d asked me.

“Me, I guess,” I’d replied, shrugging. When she handed it to me, she explained how it worked when I told her I had no idea how to use it.

“This pouch holds all of your gags. It shrinks down to a tiny, easy to carry size which sticks to your clothing. It is mind controlled; when you have it on you and you want a certain gag, all you have to do is think about it and the Gag Pouch will provide, having it appear in your hand, assuming you’ve restocked it, of course. It can’t give you a gag if you never put it into your Gag Pouch.” I didn’t know what a gag was, and I didn’t ask because already Rosie had looked at me like I was nuts, and my lack of knowledge about the pouch was already raising her suspicions. So, I let the question go, and when  I got home that day I promptly threw the pouch at some corner of my house, never glancing at it again. I never told Rosie that I never wore it, and she never asked, I guess assuming I did, somewhere where she couldn’t see it.

I shook my head, clearing the memories away, and tried to focus on what was going on in front of me. The oncoming Cogs were now walking up the steps that led to Toon Hall, and people freaked out.  Some ran away from the Cogs and the pie stand, never even bothering to grab a pie. I felt like joining them myself.

“No!! Come on, guys! Help me!” Jenny cried, and threw the pie in her hand at one of the Cogs, which had a dark blue face and a maroon suit, hitting it squarely in the face. The cog’s torso bent downward, and it spun uncontrollably as it exploded. The Toons gasped and cried out in excitement.

“It works!” More Toons stepped up to the wheelbarrow and picked up a pie, and more pies automatically shrunk and flew toward the Toons, disappearing into their gag pouches I assumed. The Toons proceeded to quickly pie the Cogs and push them back, away from the stage and down the stairs. I took a couple of steps back in fear, my legs shaking, as some of the the Cogs managed to sidestep them and got closer. I bumped into Rosie, who was standing behind me.

“Kit! Come on, let’s grab some pies!” Rosie cried, giving me a push toward the pies, but I wouldn’t budge.

“No! Let me go!” I cried as Rosie’s grip on me tightened. I squirmed, trying to get out of her grasp.

“Kit, what are you doing? We have to help!”

“No! Are you crazy?! I’m not getting near those things! What if I disappear, too?!”

“We have to try! For Slappy!”

“I barely even knew the guy! I’m not risking myself for him!”

“Then don’t do it for him, do it for me! For us!” Rosie cried, motioning toward Jenny, who was pieing two Cogs at a time now. Her yellow skirt flapped as she threw one pie, then the other in quick succession.

“I barely know both of you, too,” I muttered, turning to face her.

“Please, Kit!” she cried desperately, giving me another push toward the wheelbarrow. I planted my feet firmly on the ground, refusing to budge.

“I said, no. Why can’t you just accept that and leave me alone for once!” I shouted angrily. Rosie’s eyes turned to confusion.

“For once? What are you trying to say?”

“You know full well what I mean! You’re always pushing me to do things I don’t want to do because you won’t take no for an answer. Do you have any idea how annoying that is?! I didn’t even want to come to this thing, but no of course you push me to! And look what happened! Thanks, a lot, Rosie, you’re such a great friend!” I gestured angrily to the fight behind me. I heard Cog explosion sounds, followed by WHOOSH and SPLAT sounds as the pies flew through the air and connected. More Cog explosions. I closed my eyes, trying to drown out the all the noise.

“Yes, that’s it! Fight for our town! Fight for Slappy!” Dr. Surlee cried as more pies flew. I opened my eyes and looked at him as he yelled at the Toons around me, encouraging them. He didn’t seem nervous or afraid at all. I turned back to Rosie, who was silent for a few seconds, and I saw the hurt in her eyes. I bristled, guilt building up in my gut.

“Is that… how you feel? That I’m annoying?” she said softly, tears forming in her eyes. I sighed, and closed my eyes for a couple of seconds before opening them again.

“Rosie, I—"

“Answer the question, honestly. For once.”

“Is this really the time for this?”

“You brought it up!”

“There’s no time for this conversation right now! Can’t you see what is going on?!” I sidestepped her question, and tried to step around her, avoiding her eyes.

“No! You’re not going anywhere! Get back here and answer me!” she grabbed my arm hard and pulled me back.

“Let. Go,” I growled. She flinched at my tone.

“Kit, just be honest with me. Please. You’re my best friend, and best friends are honest with each other.” The guilt in my gut rose. I never really saw her as a friend, much less a best friend. I was her best friend? She barely even knew me….

“I have nothing to say about it right now, I just want to get out of this craziness and go home. Now let go,” I said fiercely, giving her a cold glare. More tears formed in her eyes, and she wiped them away with her other hand.

“Fine. Be a jerk. And a coward. Just know that if you walk away from this, that also makes you a traitor,” Rosie growled, letting go of my arm. She stomped away toward the Toons fighting off the Cogs. I flinched at her words. Traitor. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard that word. I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to hear it again…

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