Chapter 6

Two days later, true to his word, Tyler got a call from Flippy himself around 11 AM

“Hiya Tyler, this is Flippy. I’d like for you to come on by to Toon Hall today around 5 PM, how does that sound to you? I’d like to ask you something in person.”

“Just me, or is anyone else going?” Tyler wondered.

“Yeah, actually, I’m calling everyone from yesterday, including Little Jenny Hulaswirl who wasn’t actually in my office with you guys. She’s already accepted.”

“Okay, I’ll be there, too,” Tyler said and grinned. Yes! Jenny will be there! I have another chance to talk to her. He looked for her the last couple of days but she didn’t seem to be around. Was she avoiding him? Why would she be?

“Excellent! See you then!” Flippy said and hung up. Tyler had a pep in his step as he went downstairs to see what was being made for lunch.

 

****

 

“Welcome, everyone!” Flippy cried excitedly once everyone had arrived. The office seemed a bit larger than yesterday, they actually had more room to sit this time. They sat in a circle in the middle of the room, with Flippy sitting in the center. As soon as Tyler had arrived, he smoothly and casually made his over to where Jenny was sitting and sat down next to her. She scooted over away from him a couple of inches when he did.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed the larger space. Loony Labs is already working on expanding my new office! They brought some room enlargement doohickey of theirs as a temporary measure while they build me a new office,” Flippy said.

“Build?” Jenny asked, eyebrow raised.

“That’s what Surlee said,” Flippy replied with a shrug.

“Anyway, the subject of this meeting is something else entirely. My good colleague Dr. Surlee says that the Cogs aren’t completely gone, but have been pushed back to the streets. Obviously, it’s better than them invading our playgrounds, but it’s not good enough if you ask me. That’s why I want to take the fight straight to the Cogs themselves and push them back further, so far back they don’t even exist anymore, if you get what I mean.”

“How do you propose we do that?” Nathan asked.

“Simple. Gather a team or two dedicated to risking their laughs and lives in order to attack them head on no matter the cost. That is why I’ve asked you all here today, to ask each of you if you’d be willing to be part of this team, which I’m dubbing The Toon Resistance. What do you say?” Silence met his words.

“It’s a neat idea, I like it,” Maria said after a couple of seconds. Tyler grimaced.

“Yeah, actually, I’ve seen what those things can do, and I don’t want it happening to more Toons if I can help it,” Jenny said, a dark expression on her face.

“Same here,” Gustavo said.

“Amen to that,” Nathan agreed. Five pairs of eyes turned to look at Tyler expectantly. He looked at Jenny, and she looked away, not meeting his eyes. He sighed and closed his eyes. I must be going nuts. On any other day I’d never risk my own neck for people I don’t even know much less care about he thought bitterly. But Jenny’s in on it and chances are I’ll never see her again if I say no… Tyler opened his eyes.

“I’m in,” he croaked, barely audible.

“I’m sorry, what?” Tyler cleared his throat.

“I’m… I’m in, I agree to be part of this group.” Jenny was looking at him now, with a blank expression on her face. What was she thinking?

“Perfect! So glad to hear you’re all onboard. Your selflessness, determination and ingenuity from two days ago is what made me decide you five would be perfect candidates for such a team. I reviewed the footage from then to make doubly sure and there is no doubt in my mind,” Flippy said.

“Footage? What footage?” Jenny asked. Flippy beamed.

“We have recordings of most of what happened at the Elections, because Dr. Surlee’s TV and its accompanying flying camera bots were recording and broadcasting it live to every TV in Toontown and the surrounding region. They were designed to follow Toons around as they were interviewed after the Elections, for their thoughts on the results. So, when things went chaotic instead, they still did their jobs and followed Toons around, recording everything. One of them followed you all from the playground onto Silly Street. I watched you guys battle those bird-head Cogs and save each other from their grasp. I also saw how you were all coming back to help everyone at the playground, despite all of the risks involved when the easiest thing would have been to leave and go home. But then there was a loud noise and you guys quickly went over to see what it was, again, putting the safety of your fellow Toons before your own. That showed me you guys are indeed qualified for this job I have in mind,” Flippy explained. Tyler flinched. Selflessness. That doesn’t apply to me… he thought, a bit of guilt building up in him as he glanced at Jenny.

“Jenny here, in particular, was especially noteworthy. There she was, helping two other cats fight against the Cogs despite being clearly outnumbered but she didn’t give up, and she wouldn’t let the Cogs get close to them. Even when she inevitably got separated from them, she fought hard and dove headfirst without pause when there was a cry for help from what I realized later was Gustavo. She is definitely a true hero, and a born leader.” Jenny flushed at Flippy’s words.

“Th—thank you,” she stammered. The door leading to the playground burst open, and in stepped a short green-suited Cog! Everyone let out a cry of surprise, and Jenny immediately sprang to her feet, fruit pie slice in hand, her eyes angry and unafraid. She raised it high above her head and prepared to throw it but then paused as she realized it wasn’t a Cog.

“What the heck?” Tyler asked. The head of a red dog poked out from where the Cog’s head should have been.

“Sorry I am late, this Cog suit was so hard to put on,” the red dog said as a way of greeting.

“Ahh, welcome! Guys, this is Sir Lowden Clear, my most trusted advisor and a great friend. I’ve appointed him as the leader of the Toon Resistance, AKA, you guys.”

“Howdy, team, how are you all?” Lowden said with a grin.

“Ooooo! Nice!” Jenny cried.

“What’s with the suit?” Tyler asked.

“So glad you asked! This was an experiment of mine. I asked Flippy whether we could try to find some way to infiltrate them sneakily like they sort of did to us, coming out of nowhere without expecting them. I wanted to find a way where we could approach them for a surprise attack without them seeing us, and I wondered… what if we dressed like them? Would that sufficiently fool them? Is it even plausible to do in the first place? So Flippy asked me to find out if it was. I gathered some pieces of the Cogs left behind from the invasion and set to work on a prototype suit. This was the result.”

“Lowden’s initiative is what made me consider him for Resistance leader,” Flippy said. “He demonstrated to me that he has brains and the curiosity and drive necessary to come up with things and try to make them work somehow. With his idea, we’re better equipped at fighting back the Cogs on an even playing field.”

“It’s nice and all to have a formal team under my wing, but, honestly, Flippy, six Toons, seven I guess if you include yourself, isn’t a lot to take on hundreds of Cogs. We need at least twice that number, maybe more.”

“You are absolutely right about that, Lowden. What do you propose we should do?”

“I propose we open up the Toon Resistance to more Toons, allowing those who are interested to apply and be considered to be a part of the team,” Lowden replied.

“Brilliant! I love it! Consider it done! Contact Toon HQ and have them run the story, asking Toons to sign up and participate.”

“Will do, right away,” Lowden said, and walked out the door. Flippy turned to the others.

“In the meantime, guys, I’d appreciate it if you kept that you’re Resistance members hush-hush for now, for security reasons mostly,” Flippy said.

“Security reasons? What do you mean?” Nathan asked, a frown on his face. Flippy did a half shrug, only raising one shoulder.

“Frankly, I didn’t quite get it myself. Dr. Surlee told me yesterday that it’d be wise to keep things on the down low because they ‘may or may not be Bad Toons out there that would like to cause harm to The Resistance before it’s even fully formed’, as he put it.” Stunned silence met his words.

“And why would there be Toons that would want to do that?” Jenny asked, a hard look in her eyes.

“When I asked him to elaborate, Surlee made it sound like the Bad Toons he meant were those who work with the Cogs and were on their side, not ours.”

“Who’d be on their side after what we’ve seen?” Jenny said with a growl, hands formed into fists.

“No clue. But Surlee says it’s not out of the realm of impossibility and as leader of the Toon Council and Mayor of Toontown, it’s my job to take his words into consideration. And so, I have. We’re keeping things quiet for now, at least until we’ve formally set up and are ready to roll.”

“Yeah, of course, makes sense. I won’t tell anyone,” Jenny said. The others except Tyler agreed. He wouldn’t tell anyone, either, but not because he cared about keeping things secret. He just didn’t really care very much about this whole thing in general. This is definitely out of my comfort zone. What am I doing?

“Okay, then. Thank you all, once again. I look forward to working with you guys. I know that together we can save this town from the Cogs... and bring back Slappy,” Flippy’s eyes teared up when he mentioned Slappy, and he wiped away the tears, sniffing. He cleared his throat.

“I’ll keep you posted. Loony Labs is working on some equipment for us to make it easier to fight these Cogs. And to communicate with each other, I hear. We’ll see, I guess. For now, I implore you to keep an eye out for any wayward Cogs and take them down before they do any damage to anyone.”

“You got it, Flippy. With pleasure,” Nathan said, taking a little bow. Everyone got off from the floor and walked out the door. Tyler followed Jenny out the door, trying to find some way to bring up hanging out with her casually. He came up blank, though, and she walked away quickly away from him, obviously not wanting to talk to him anyway, disappearing around the corner past Toon HQ and out of his view. He sighed.  What have I gotten myself into? And for what, exactly? For one girl? Angrily, he kicked a rock by his feet and watched as it soared through the air, hit the brick wall of the Toon HQ and bounce off, landing somewhere outside his view. He stomped away, dark thoughts in his mind

“I really hope I don’t regret signing up for this…,” he muttered.

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