The Defenders of Dogville

by Kw6sTheater

Dogville is a small, thriving and peaceful town- but only until the Griefers of Griefertown get back into the game of hunting down Kw6 and his friends to ensure their capture and demise. With a hastily assembled group and then some, Kw6 and the team have to make a startling decision about the fate of Dogville as a whole.

I was milling around the new, thriving town of Dogville, with Taz— the resident engineer and road developer— being my tour guide. My brand new ship was parked at Dunkin Doughnuts, where Quarter was enjoying a donut or two with some other Dogville citizens. "We recently installed a sewage system, that is what the red flags stand for," Taz explained, looking down a road of red flags. Breck, who had a tiny rivalry with Taz, was also on the tour. We walked parallel to the original road of Dogville, until Mr. Dog, the owner of the town, greeted us. "Hey Mr. Dog," I said to him. "Hello, Kw6. We've heard a lot of good things about you all, you know… you stopped the Griefers with Breck and Lilo, and we are so glad they've joined us," Mr. Dog praised me. "It's alright, Mr. Dog. I do what I do to keep the Tooniverse in check," I responded humbly. "Continue your tour, I'll be working on the Walmart," Mr. Dog responded, walking past us. Taz shrugged. Breck said, "This was the first street completed in Dogville." I looked around at the place, noting the grassy areas with temporary electronic setups in them. However something caught my eyes; there were dark things in the air, high above us.

A black ship cascaded down from the sky, followed by another, and another, and another. Mr. Dog's eyes went wide, as he screamed in his tracks, "GRIEFER ATTACK! GET TO THE SHELTER NOW!" Everyone except Quarter, Breck and I bolted for cover. We stood together, as the Griefer ships stopped above the highway. "So what're we fighting to today, Kw6? 'Another One Bites the Dust'? Or 'We Will Rock You'?" Breck asked, wielding his pistol. I drew my dual P90s, which meant I was getting ready for some serious shredding. Quarter's hands emitted a red aroma. Breck snatched my Walkman and began shuffling through the titles. "Hall and Oates? Styx?" Breck was obviously immersed in my Walkman's artist selection, but Quarter yelled as a missile was fired towards us, "JUMP!" Breck let Van Halen blast through the speakers of Dogville, but was thrown to the ground from the missile's blast. I helped him up as another missile was shot. I blasted it with a P90 and began shooting up the outside of the front ship. Quarter shot a concentrated beam at another, causing its window to crack. And Breck fired off his pistol in one single shot, targeting the hull of the ship. The rear engine exploded, causing the pilot inside to hit the eject button and sail atop of GameStop. I chased them down, firing off the dual P90s and landing a few hits as they readied their sniper. I used a turbo jump to leap to the top of GameStop, battling the Griefer. They took a swipe at my P90, knocking one to the floor, but I began shredding them with the other and slammed them over the rooftop when they got close. Moaning, the downed Griefer crawled away from GameStop. I used the fire escape ladder to climb down, but when I reached the bottom, a handful of Griefers had already gotten me cornered. They began grabbing at my feet, out of all things. Thankfully Breck hit one in the head with a bullet, and body slammed another to the ground, cartwheeling himself back up. I pounced onto another Griefer, mercilessly whacking their head as they crumpled to the ground. The remaining Griefer began running away from GameStop, as a ticking sound filled the air. My senses detected an explosion, and so I ran like the wind. Breck caught on nearly too late, as he threw himself to the ground once the C4s detonated. Out of the smoke and rubble, Griefer trucks appeared. Quarter used his beams to throw one into the air like a rag doll. I grabbed my other P90 from the ruins and began shredding the other trucks' grills. Quickly the smell of gas surrounded us, and the trucks exploded. A figure was walking towards us, unrecognizable by the smoke surrounding them. As Quarter ran up to Breck and I, the figure was none other than my worst enemy, "Red" Nova.

"Come on! Why do you have to keep attacking my friends and I?!" I groaned. "Because I want to get my revenge, Kw," Red yelled. "What revenge? Don't see the point," I hollered back, as a bullet was clenched in my mouth (I was trying to reload my P90s.) "I want to get you out of my business!" screamed Red. "Then why do you keep attacking me and sending your goons to go kill me?" I hollered back. "That's like, what, been the plot points in the last five stories?" Oops. Too meta. "Because it's fun," yelled Red. "I want to make sure that little Dogville knows who not to mess with. You made them all hate me, and so I will make them all hate YOU," he continued; "First, we're going to take over Dogville, and then bring back Westwinds and Nova City! It'll be my big break and your huge loss." "Sounds stupid enough to be your plan," I fired back. "I mean, revealing your plan to the one that wants to stop it is hilariously stupid," I laughed. "That's because I was stalling you," he shot back with a grin. "Look around, it's obvious who won this battle."

I saw Breck and Quarter tied up to a lamppost, being eyeballed by a pair of Griefers. While Red and I'd had our smack talking showdown, the Griefers were searching for the Dogville shelter. Thankfully it was well hidden, under a road below the highway. Griefer trucks were speeding on the nearby roads, breaking the windows of the various different outlets, and shooting up vegetation to find any hiding civilians. I was surrounded, for the millionth time. The ships were ripping up the highway.

Suddenly, a lone Dungy Mungy appeared atop the highway. "STOP!" He hollered, distracting many of the Griefers. "Dungy?" Red and I both said aloud. "DON'T CORNER MY FRIEND!" Dungy yelled again. Most Griefers put their guns up and aimed them at him. "You're nothing but a little brat," Red barked. "You made us lose control of the entire universe because of your foolishness! CHARGE!" Then, the Griefers charged at Dungy, letting me untie Quarter and Breck. We scrambled further back into Dogville, finally panting at the Red Lobster. Its windows were cracked, and the sign hung lopsided, but it was a great place to hide out and eat some seafood- nevermind, just a hideout. Panting, Quarter stole a glass of nearly full water from a nearly table and chugged it down. Breck took an Arnold Palmer and did the same thing, whereas I just went into the kitchen and chewed a kids' hamburger on a tray. Snakes need more food than water. Then, we gathered inside the men's bathroom. "So, what to do?" I hissed. "We can't let Red just go and take over Dogville, but we also can't charge straight at the Griefer Army and expect a victory." Breck proposed, "How about we go warn Maplewood or catch a boat to Dogville Beach? The Griefers won't likely have conquered Dogville Beach or Maplewood yet, because they're still finding the shelter." Quarter looked concerned, then explained, "These are the Griefers we're talking about, Breck, not just some small group of fighters; they number in the thousands, AND they have ships! I wouldn't be surprised if they have already secured the highway perimeter to find the shelter and us…" "True, true, Quarter, but the only escape route we have is to hijack a ship and get out of this place! I don't care too much about the Dogville folks-" Breck cast me a mean look- "I mean, we can come back for them later, if we wish," I said. "After that merge the Griefers pulled with Dungy, I'm not too sure about our odds; three to thousands. I can pick off and get probably a couple hundred of them downed, but-" Quarter laughed, "Now you're just boosting your ego. Never knew you had that much of one, if anything us two combined can fight off a couple hundred, and a big if at that." A door opened nearby, and all three of us tensed up. The loud footsteps of a Griefer echoed through Red Lobster, turning and slowly cracking open a bathroom door. It sounded like it was the women's bathroom, but I braced to teleport us somewhere. I envisioned the top of Dunkin' Donuts, and as the men's door burst open, I grabbed Breck and Quarter and we teleported together.

A large exhale of my breath pushed me backwards, hitting my head onto… water? I looked up to see a flat, relatively high ceiling, and looked down to see loads of rushing water inside the grey, dim tunnel. Breck saw me, then began swimming towards me. "This is the Dogville Sewage System!" He yelled, his voice echoing off the walls. I thought back to that afternoon, when Taz had given me the tour and mentioned the new sewage system. I heard a large splash of water as my bulletproof jacket was drenched even more. We swam forth with the current, looking for Quarter and an exit. Finally, in the form of wires that spanned a bridge above the sewage system, I turbo jumped up and helped Breck onto the solid platform. I took my jacket off and began shaking it, then put it in my pants' pocket to hopefully dry. Breck and I walked in the direction of the wires, and for a while we were silent in the nearly pitch black tunnel. A little jaunt later, Breck stumbled into a ladder and I found a hatch. He climbed up it after me, and upon opening the hatch I was blinded by the light. I fell backwards, collapsing onto Breck, and then got back up. I was in a clearly off-limits area with wires snaking everywhere, two small buildings and a large trio of wire lines being held up by iron beams that stretched far into the distance. We traced these to a small, tan building marked "TELECOMMUNICATIONS CENTER." Inside we found levers marked with colors and letters, but had no idea as to what to do with them. "I think these go to Maplewood, now that I'm seeing these wires again," reminisced Breck. I flicked all of the levers, hoping to get the message across to Maplewood that we needed help. Then, the lights shut off as an explosion rocked the power plant. I heard the iron beams crashing into the earth, as lines snapped and civilian cars were hit. "What was that?!" Breck hollered. "KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN!" I hissed. "It's probably the Griefers doing some demo work, severing communications," I followed up with. "Oh, crap," Breck complained.

A Griefer opened the gate to the power plant cautiously. I heard many footsteps as they presumably circled the perimeter, and a few fizzes as wires were cut or severed. Breck and I hid right where the door to the Telecommunications Center would be when it was opened, and sure enough the Griefer inspected the inside. My jaw dropped in shock to see that it was none other than, the once reformed Griefer, SPURDOG!

He looked very nervous and scared, unlike what any other Griefer should be like. Spurdog examined the green lever, and toyed with it briefly before moving on to the next one. The entry gate made a shaking sound. "What's takin' so long?" Clode hollered. "Uh, um, uh, this is some complex stuff…" Spurdog stammered back. "I think someone was trying to send an alert across that wire line." He said with some confidence. "Yeah, dummy, that's why we broke it!" Clode roared. Spurdog turned around, and nearly headed out the door. I looked him in the eye, and he suddenly noticed me. We stared at each other for a few seconds, then Spurdog slowly crept out of the Telecommunications Center, shutting the door. Clode yelled for him to come out again, and I could hear a flurry of footsteps and the gate being slammed open. Breck's eyes were wide open, filled with shock and confusion. "Was that Spurdog?!" He nearly yelled, but I put a hand over his mouth. "Yeah," I whispered back. "He made me think that I'd reformed him for good, the liar." "So you were… friends with him? A Griefer?" Breck asked. "Well, yeah, for a while, but now, you saw what happened," I hissed.

We waited out there for a few hours. Breck's stomach grumbled, and I became parched. Both of us sat there, in silence, contemplating what to do next. I thought about where Quarter could be. "I think, I have a plan," Breck huffed. "How about we go to my house? It's not too far from here, in the Dogville Neighborhood." I responded, "Sure, but how will we get there? If you know where it is, but we don't know if the Griefers are, is it worth the risk of being captured?" "I know the place better than either of you," Breck rasped. Quarter nodded, then responding, "So it's settled. I advise we begin our trek at night, when Kw6 and I can disguise into the shadows. You'll just have to hide behind us." "Woah, you guys can do that?" Breck asked. "Yeah… about that…" I replied. "Bill Cipher taught me, and then I taught Quar-" Breck's eyes went wide. "That triangle guy?" "Uh, yes," I whispered. "Don't mention it."

We began our trek after taking a few donuts from Dunkin' Donuts. The Griefers had raided the place for the most part, so I just grabbed the one remaining chocolate donut and wolfed it down. We let Breck have two, because as he insisted, "I'm not as strong as you two." Quarter claimed that was just to boost my ego but I denied it. And so Quarter and I set off into the shadows, Breck hiding behind me. We were about two thirds along when Quarter stopped and whispered, "Look, Kw6. Isn't that Spurdog? Who's with him?" I crept close to Spurdog and saw him talking to another Griefer. "-was friends with him for a little while," said Spurdog, continuing with, "Healla, should I tell Red?" Healla looked puzzled. "No," he responded. I remembered something. Oh! So this was Spurdog's friend Healla that he'd mentioned to me all that time ago! I grimaced. "If you're still friends with him, then Red will fire you for that. Or he'll use you for inside information, which could get you a promotion…" I could tell that Healla was fantasizing for Spurdog. Spurdog frowned. "That wouldn't be nice at all!" He childishly pouted. "You know that the only reason I'm a Griefer is because you are too," Spurdog whispered. I laughed at his petty reason, but shut myself up instantly. "Who's there?" Healla looked around. I walked back to Quarter and Breck, who'd assembled in a far corner. "Okay. So, Breck, how far is your house?" I asked, trying to forget the discussion I'd overheard. "This way," Quarter whispered and motioned silently. We walked down a secluded road near the highway, and stopped at the gate. A pair of Griefers were guarding it, both with assault rifles in hand. A Griefer truck pulled up, pausing at the neighborhood gate. One of the pair of Griefers came up and examined it, and whilst that was happening Quarter and I climbed inside the cargo hold of the truck. Quarter snapped his fingers and Breck popped inside, suddenly freaked out. The truck shook with his impact, causing the Griefer inspecting it to come around to the back. Quarter and I laid on top of Breck to cover him. Thankfully that worked, as when the door opened the Griefer noticed nothing. The Griefer went back up to the front of the truck, and gave a thumbs up to the drive, opening the gate into the neighborhood. We looked around to shockingly see no houses raided or damaged, and the lawns well kept. A squad of Griefers jogged in the moonlight going past the truck. It stopped at a very nice, grey and white house. Three Griefers got out and walked up, then the fourth opened the cargo hold. We climbed out, quickly but carefully, and hit the pavement upon crawling off the edge. The door shut, then the truck hastily drove off.

We were left to explore the well-kept neighborhood, and found several things of interest along with clues as to why; it turns out that the neighborhood was being used as housing for the Griefers that were occupying Dogville. Nearly all of them were, including Red from what I could hear, but I didn't know where he was yet. Breck found his house, and no one was inside due to it being labeled as unfinished. We didn't care, as it was a place to rest for the night, and slept together in the attic. Quarter took watch for the night, because he insisted on it. By morning he was tired and Breck and I were not. We awoke to sirens, and a loud blaring message over the hijacked intercom; "FELLOW GRIEFERS OF GRIEFERTOWN, WE HAVE LOCATED THE DOGVILLE BUNKER. COME TO THE TUNNEL NEAR WALMART AND ASSEMBLE FOR A CAPTURE." This was really bad news for Taz, Mr. Dog, Lilo and the gang. "What should we do?" I asked Breck, yawning. He stirred awake, rolling on the floor. "Get breakfast and then we chase them," he moaned. "Find it in the kitchen downstairs." I crept downstairs and pried open a can of take and bake waffles, putting them in the oven and heating them. Then I called for Quarter and Breck to come downstairs to have some waffles. I don't like waffles so I skipped out on this, instead opting for some beef jerky I'd brought on the excursion to Dogville. We hurried outside, and to our disappointment, griefers had surrounded the entire house.

A pair of helicopters circled our house. "Quarter…" I moaned. "Okay, you might've been right about me not keeping watch. I slept for a few hours out of exhaustion, until you two woke up." He grimaced. "Any plan B?" I asked, looking to Breck and Quarter. "If B as in Breck's going to try to save us, sure," Breck sarcastically responded. I searched my pockets for anything, until I felt something hard. It was a homing beacon that Drago and Wookie had given us after they helped us stop Red and Dungy! I pressed the HELP button, sending an immediate signal to their new ship (hopefully.) "We're just going to stall for time, okay?" I told my two accomplices. A Griefer suddenly responded, "We don't have the time. Our trucks are coming in less than an hour, for you and the Dogville people." I turned around slowly to see a squad of Griefers behind us. "Shut up, Xeno!" Another yelled, slapping the other. Xeno smacked Breck from behind unexpectedly. "Don't make me get you two on the ground either!" He snapped, releasing his anger. Clode walked up to us, teasing, "Hi snakey." I hissed at him, "You shut up, ape." He nearly slapped me. Breck was writhing on the ground as a Griefer stepped over him. "You know Spurdog?" They asked, seeming familiar. "Yeah," I half heartedly responded. "I'm his friend, Healla," Healla said. Then it clicked, along with the sound of a Griefer's pistol pushed against my head. "Take them to Nova. He'll be very pleased," Clode rasped, dragging a flailing Breck to the gate and opening it. A truck was parked on the road with the cargo hold open. I figured that even though we were surrounded, I still had a shot at saving us. I didn't know whether to play that card yet though. Quarter wobbled as he walked, probably tired from not getting any sleep. I followed him slowly, with the pistol held against my head. Griefers trailed us from behind, guns at the ready. And sadly, I'd just realized that I had left my dual P90s inside the house. Quarter collapsed from exhaustion once we were pushed into the car, and Breck moaned. I pulled out the homing beacon and pressed HELP again. Right as I was going to slip out of the cargo hold a Griefer slammed the door shut. I kept trying to tell myself, This has happened a million times before. What makes this one any different? However Drago and Wookie were my last shot at a rescue, and even their new ship's candle held nothing to the raging wildfire of the Griefers' fleet.

We stopped at the Dogville Walmart, right next to where the Dogville Bunker was. Taz was handcuffed and being guarded by two Griefers. Lilo was being guarded by only one. Then came Mr. Dog, the owner of Dogville. Another truck drove up and the front door opened. I peeked through the hatch to see all of this, including what happened next. As I suspected, Nova came out and ordered the rest of the Griefers to go away. They were perched on top of the highway or standing in the road. Red uncuffed Mr. Dog, who was shaking in fear. I banged on the truck's back door, causing it to shake, and yelled, "OPEN UP!" Red ignored me per usual. "So, Mr. Dog, it has been a desire of mine to find a new, more normal home for the Griefers. Your small town is a great place for them to live, however I would like to reach an agreement where you all can still live here as well. What do you say?" Mr. Dog stopped trembling, pausing to think. Mustering as much firmness as he could, Mr. Dog barked, "NEVER!" Red whistled with a high pitch, and the Ripper jumped down from the highway. "Say yes or else you die," Red teased. I slammed into the car door with as much might as I could, but the door only shook violently. I cursed. The Ripper slowly crept closer to Mr. Dog, obviously as a terror tactic. I touched Quarter's head in a desperate attempt to wake him up. No dice. Mr. Dog backed away quickly, then began running down the tunnel as fast as he could. "After him!" Red loudly ordered, and so a swarm of Griefers began chasing Mr. Dog with a triumphant cry. Quarter stirred. Breck inched closer to the car door, then hit it with his fist. Again, no dice. But then our signal in the sky appeared; a tiny speck that grew larger and larger by the second. It soared over the highway, then blasts of pink mauled down many of the Griefers engaged in pursuit. The ship, of course, belonged to Drago and Wookie, causing me to cheer. "GO DRAGO! GO WOOKIE!" I yelled, causing Quarter to shake and get up. "What?!" Quarter hollered. "Break open the car door and let's get on that ship," I said, pointing to the sky blue colored ship with lots of rainbowlike decals. Quarter watched it closely for a second, then ordered, "Grab my arm." I grabbed Breck with one hand and Quarter's arm the other. Suddenly I felt a whooshing of air around me, and the three of us fell right from the ship's ceiling.

"OW!" Breck yelled, feeling the ground. "You seriously need to get used to teleportation, Breck," I said. Wookie came through the ship's cockpit room. "Woah… Drago, the snake is here!" "I'm not just a snake," I huffed, following up with, "Meet my friend Breck and my other friend Quarter." Drago stayed concentrated on keeping us safe, not paying attention. Then he blurted out, "Where's Spurdog?" I could hear lots of gunfire from the cockpit and slid from one side of the wall to the other. Wookie grabbed on to a handle from the ceiling. I got up and held another handle. "It's going to get rough for your friends, Kw6," Drago croaked. "We need to let them be for now." Suddenly, a shot ricocheted off of the hull of the ship, making a loud sound as it scraped metal. I began slowly walking towards the cockpit and held onto a door just as we began sliding in the other direction. A message via what I assumed to be a hacked intercom by the Griefers blared, "We've been expecting you, Drago. Since you got away with defeating us last time, we won't let it happen again. Goodbye!" Drago began freaking out as a swarm of ships ascended above his. He gunned the throttle, throwing the rest of us back and against the cargo hatch. I could see only the sky as we sailed above it, entering the planet's orbit… we were free! But the Dogville citizens still remained trapped by the Griefers on their home turf. "We need to go back for Dogville!" Quarter yelled over the whooshing sound as Drago hightailed it into space. Finally he stopped the vehicle, throwing everyone but him forward into the now-cramped cockpit. Breck moaned, then got up, rasping, "That was so dumb! You just flew away, when most of my friends are trapped by the Griefers!" Drago turned around with a frown. He chirped, "Well, it was what I had to do. I can't take on an entire army just for some little town!" "But they've probably captured Mr. Dog and rounded up the Dogville citizens already..." Breck groaned. "Who cares? It's not like the entire Tooniverse is at stake, like it was a few weeks ago…" responded Drago, trying to sound optimistic. Breck got up and stared Drago down. "THOSE ARE MY FRIENDS! LEAVE THEM, AND THEY'LL BE DEAD!" He screamed, causing the rest of us to cover our ears. "I'M NOT GOING TO SHOW APPRECIATION FOR YOUR LITTLE RESCUE UNLESS WE GO BACK THERE AND HELP DOGVILLE!" Wookie randomly mumbled, "Dogville is a weird name." "I want you to know something, mister hothead. I run this freaking ship, not you, and I can't just go fight against one of the largest gangs in the galaxy! Now, you shut up!" Drago was fed up. "Cool it, you two," I said, pushing both Drago and Breck back. "Some captain you are…" Breck grumbled. Quarter got up from the floor and walked up to Breck. "We can come back for them later," Quarter suggested. "As Drago said-" He was interrupted by a raging Breck. "I DON'T CARE WHAT CAPTAIN COWARD HAS TO SAY!" I facepalmed, waiting for his anger to subside. "Look, Breck. We can't just charge in there with only us. That's called a death wish. And Death Wish was the name of the leader of an evil, rival team against mine back in the day. The five of us alone, versus thousands of Griefers, equals failure. Failure equals death or imprisonment." I said this with a firm tone. Breck stayed silent.

Drago silently walked around and began organizing the ship, presumably to pass the time. Wookie sat down against the right wall. "Who's controlling the ship?" I asked. "We're just letting it drift through space for a while, to think," Drago croaked. "How did you luck out on ship upgrades as nice as these?" I questioned the duo, fumbling with the temperature dial. "We helped Firey deliver loads of his products and he gave us the upgrades in return," Wookie muttered slowly. I responded, "Yeah, he is generous like that. And I forgot to ask this last time… who does what in your partnership?" "I fly the ship, and Wookie fixes and upgrades it. He's the technology guru," Drago chirped. "We also have to sometimes fight off Griefers," Wookie murmured. "When?!" I yelled. "They've crossed paths with us a few times, at ship docks and fuel-up stations. But we were able to escape unharmed," grinned Drago. "How do you think the Griefers broke out, anyway?" I asked, since it had been on my mind for days. "You can't keep an entire army imprisoned for long," said Quarter. "They probably had some external help." I nodded, asking, "But who would even be desperate and/or stupid enough to help the Griefers?" Quarter suggested, "Maybe that Blake guy you told me about? The one that nearly killed you?" He had a valid reason, but at the thought of him slamming me against the wall AGAIN made me cringe. "Ooh, that sounds interesting! How did he nearly do you in?" Drago chirped. "Slammed me against a wall with no effort whatsoever and nearly turned me into a stain on the street," I mumbled. "Yeah, sounds like your two biggest enemies are partnering up," said Wookie. Drago sat down next to Wookie. "But how can we stop the Griefers for the millionth time?" Quarter asked the group. "How does pounding the Griefers to bits sound, guys?!" Breck yelled. "The Ripper is too strong," I groaned, continuing, "We can't get past him." Then, a weird fizzing sound spread throughout the ship, and two huge claws grasped onto the sides of it. I saw this from the ship's main window in worry. A strange, almost robotic voice echoed onto the speakers; "Of course you can't get past the Ripper. But I could."

I grabbed two blasters from the ship's gun rack. It shuddered and quaked from the pull of the claw arms. Drago drew out a blaster too, as did Wookie and Breck. Quarter readied his red beams. Suddenly, all went silent as the ship skimmed solid ground; except for the lowering cargo hull that Drago wasn't controlling whatsoever. We glanced down a long, futuristic hallway, made of steel. "Do you think that this is a ship?" I asked Drago, turning to his side. "M… maybe," he stuttered. The five of us began walking slowly down the hallway, then quickening the pace to reach a door made of reinforced steel. It was a large oval shape. I shook one of my blasters to check for ammo, and surely enough it had some. I took a clear shot at the door's center, but the blast just ricocheted off of it and cracked a headlight on the ceiling. The same voice I'd heard on the ship before, sounded again; "Please don't damage my stuff, Kw6, that cost a lot of cash. I'll send some guys to pick you all up." I yelled back, shocked, "HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?!" A projector cast an image onto the door. Studying it, I realized that it was the Toon Times newspaper cover of when we'd saved the Tooniverse. The title read, "KW6 AND CO. STOP THE GRIEFERS' TOONIVERSE TAKEOVER!" Drago smirked as he saw the picture Goofy had taken of the nine of us after the ceremony. "I've been studying you all. Shall I prove my knowledge?" The voice questioned. I was about to say "NO," but then Breck muttered, "Sure!" The audio feed crackled, then the voice responded; "Breck. Banned from the Palace Network for violence against others. Likes Queen a lot because h-" I interrupted, "That's enough!" Then whirring sounds were behind us. Looking back I saw multiple circular robots speeding at our pack. I aimed both of my blasters at the one in front, shooting; but as with the door they did no damage. The robots stopped about five feet from me. One extended claws out of their back, trying to pry me of my blasters. I tugged at them for a few seconds, but then they were wrestled loose and stashed into the… floor?! "As you can see, I'm very smart when it comes to automation. A genius as many would say. Oh! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Parzival, the human owner of this ship. The ship's name is J.D.H., after my personal role model. Try saying its name and a command for me, okay?" Parzival blared over the intercom. Within a few seconds of each other, the five of us said, "JDH?" The high ceiling opened up above us and a mounted laser popped down in no time. "ACCESS DENIED," a robotic voice boomed five times. "Deactivate!" Parzival hollered, right as the laser was charging up. "Don't try to attack me on this ship," said the powerful Parzival. The laser folded back into the ceiling and the hatch closed. Parzival said, "And while you tested my security, I've arranged a comfy ride via the robots to the control panel of the ship where we can meet for the first time. I'm so excited!" I turned around too late.

The robot's mouth (I don't even know what it was) had slipped right under my feet; when I tried to leap out of it, a pair of claws pushed me into a comfy white seat. The robot now resembled a slanted half-moon. Wookie giggled like a young child as the five robots whirred around corners and sped through the halls. "KEEP YOUR HEAD INSIDE THE BOT AT ALL TIMES," a robotic voice blared. Suddenly we ducked into a really narrow and low tunnel, as the robots lined up one-by-one. We rolled for about a minute, then the robots dropped through a ceiling and lined up side-by-side. The robots returned to a circular position as the five of us were bucked out. A tall and somewhat skinny figure, donning a white lab coat and black glasses that flowed with red electricity, stood in front of us. The room around him had a large half-circle with screens on the walls in front. A half-eaten salad sat on a nearby table next to an open computer. "You look pretty pale," said Quarter. "As do you!" Parzival strangely responded. "What do you even do in the galaxy? How did you score this massive, robot ship thing?!" I yelled. "Quiet down, Kw6," the robotic voice said. Parzival nodded, then explained; "I make technology! This is the pinnacle of my work, but I'll make stuff for anyone and everyone! I was on my way to deliver some ordered products to the Griefers, when I found your neat little ship." I fired at Parzival, "So you basically don't care who you help?!" Parzival muttered, "I prefer the term 'freelance dealer.'" The speakers amplified this over the intercom. "Whoever pays me the most moolah is who I help," explained Parzival. "Oh… so that's how you got this huge ship," Drago murmured. "Yeah," Parzival joked, then commanded, "JDH, scan these five for body language." The intercom (who I'll just call JDH now) responded, "Yes, Z. Scanning…" Breck began laughing heartily. Parzival asked in a firm tone, "What's so funny?!" Breck slapped himself, then responded through laughs, "That you have… to use a machine to understand us." Parzival rasped, "Well, try being cooped up in a ship, for weeks at a time, with no one but robots to keep you company."

"That would explain why you're so, antisocial," Wookie muttered. "What did you say?" Parzival asked, dashing up to the humongous control panel and pushing some buttons. In seconds, what I assume to be an audio recorder relayed and amplified Wookie's message. Parzival took a few more seconds to respond. Then, he finally huffed, "It's pretty sad. I know. JDH, play my mixtape." Breck and I cocked our heads at him, both in a grin. "You have a mixtape?" I asked. "I'm starting to like this guy," Breck commented. Parzival blushed, and nodded. "Song numero uno activated. Playing Tom Sawyer by Rush," JDH boomed. Breck looked confused. "Rush! You know Rush, right Breck?" I asked him excitedly. "Glad to see we have at least one thing in common," Parzival exclaimed as he stepped down from the control panel. "Oh, where were we? Yeah! The Griefers! I know that they're not— the most popular group, but some of them are pretty nice. Like Nova." At this moment I knew something was wrong. Very, very wrong. Therefore I hollered, "HE'S THE MOST EVIL BEING IN THE TOONIVERSE!" Parzival cocked his head, mocking Breck and I. "What about… Chernabog? He's pure evil. Or one of those older villains? Maybe Pete, sometimes? Is that just because Nova hates you a lot?" Parzival asked. I shook my head. "You don't know what Red's done to me, do you?!" I fired back. I tried to reach for my blasters, but they had been stolen by the robots earlier. "Lower your volume," JDH said. I was about to beat the crud out of Parzival's intercom system.

"Look, man, it's been great talking to you and all, but I got to deliver this shipment of firearms to the Griefers-" Parzival paused to scan the control panel, where a large screen showed that we were near touchdown at Dogville Beach- "And, we're already landing. Your ship has been moved to the storage unit. I'd suggest, given your reputation, that you all get the heck out of Dodge. Some robots will transport you to the storage unit, and then you'll be on your own. Adios, amigos!" Suddenly, the robots that had been creeping up behind us pushed us into the same comfortable chairs, and began whirring off through wide corridors. We were launched into the same narrow tunnel and lined up one-by-one, then cruised for about a minute. After an abrupt turn to the right, we dropped through another ceiling into what I assumed to be the storage unit Parzival had briefly mentioned. Then, all five of us were ejected from our seats and crumpled onto the floor.

Just as Tom Sawyer had ended, Hall & Oates started up. The robots puked out my blasters, and I gladly stashed them in my pockets. I heard a dissatisfying crunch of presumably foldable chairs and beach umbrellas being crushed as Parzival's ship landed. Drago was the first to get up, then myself. But what made everyone else rise to their feet was JDH's announcement; "The Griefers of Griefertown have boarded this ship. Engage introductory song?" After a moment's pause, Take On Me blasted through the speakers. I groaned at the choice, establishing Red as a now-cheeky yet longstanding jerk. Then everyone else pulled themselves up on two feet. Drago hurried to the ship as a keyboard sounded throughout the vicinity. He stumbled inside, fired up the engines and opened up the side door. Drago motioned for the rest of us to get inside, and so we did. As soon as the main singer— who I still don't know the name of— began singing about discussion, Drago peeked his head out of the open side door and croaked, "Hey Parzival. Open the cargo door." Within a second, JDH boomed, "Sure thing, Drago." I froze in my tracks. The Griefers now knew we were onboard this very ship! Crap!

Parzival's lack of social skills really showed at this moment. We only had a minute or less before the Griefers flooded into the storage unit and beat us to smithereens! "Go, go!" I hollered. "We got the beat!" Drago followed up with, smirking at me. I got his song reference quickly. The thrusters boomed to life as we lifted off of the ground, whilst the massive door of the storage unit creaked open. "Hurry up!" I hissed. Suddenly another door in the room opened, and a loud battle cry erupted from the ranks of the Griefers. Wookie peeked out from the still-open side door, and yelled, "MINE DIAMONDS!" Quarter used his magic to push open the unit's outside hatch, causing sparks to literally fly from the previously slow-moving mechanical door. The door popped off, letting us launch with only a few scratches and nearly clip a Dogville Beach hotel. The battle cries faded behind us, as we rocketed down the beach's boardwalk.

Everyone else began sliding to the side with me. Everyone but Drago, who was speeding our ship over Dogville Beach. "We need a plan," Breck yelled, continuing; "I want to rescue my friends, and I don't care what you have to say, Drago." Drago gave Breck a scowl. "Okay…" I said, sliding against the wall. Quarter piped up, "Hey, since I made the plan for last time, how about you do this time's, Breck?" Breck nodded. "Wow. Are your lives this eventful all the time?!" asked Breck. "Honestly, no. It's a huge burden to have to escape from and/or outwit the Griefers, but at least it gives you a thrill," I responded. Breck explained his plan; "Alrighty then, how about let's find out where the Dogvillians are first." Wookie asked, "What is a Dogvillian?" "Silly me, it's a term I created to combine Dogville and civilian. Do you get it now?" Breck responded. "Um, I guess," Wookie mumbled. "Back to the plan. Once we find the Dogville citizens, we're going to recapture Dogville and the surrounding areas. I think we need to check Maplewood first, honestly, they probably haven't been captured yet. But before we do anything-" Breck paused- "We should seriously land somewhere and get some sleep. Maybe look for the Taz-Dog National Forest along the highway?" "Sure!" Drago chirped, then yawned. I interjected, "Woah woah woah. We can't just recapture darned Dogville from the Griefers like that! Our best bet is to just help the citizens!" Breck paused for a minute, contemplating my reasoning. Then he said, to my shock, "You're right, Kw6. Dogville isn't a place, but the people within it." I applauded, and then silence filled the vessel. As time passed everyone else yawned as well, and soon the ship landed behind some trees far from the chaos of Dogville Beach. Together we finally slept, yet on the metallic floor of Wookie and Drago's vessel.

In the morning, I awoke to the grumbles of empty stomachs by my friends. "We need somewhere to eat!" Drago complained. "Don't you have food on this ship? It's part of the Tooniverse Aerial Code Of Vessels, or TACOV," I asked. "Um, no," responded Drago. I looked for where the refrigerator hatch was on my ship, and opened it up. "Which one of you likes… salads?" I asked, whiffing in a foul odor of expired edibles. Wookie looked shocked. "BUT DRAGO DIDN'T SAY WE HAD FOOD!" He yelled. "I guess Mickey left us some surprises for our own," I commented, grabbing a wrapped salad in a black tray from the hatch. The tomatoes on it were brown, so I unwrapped the see through foil and picked them out. I handed the tray to Drago. "It has your name on it," I whispered, pointing to the D on the wrapping. Drago smelled it, then held back a puke as he threw some dark green lettuce into his mouth. My breakfast consisted of nearly expired bags of potato chips (a favorite among our crew, resulting in shortages of seconds), sour grapes and a barely eaten burrito wrap found in the Taz-Dog Ranger Outpost close to where our ship landed. Afterwards we geared up for battle; Breck, Drago, Wookie and I donned dual blasters, while Quarter just wanted to use his magic instead of guns. Some of Parzival's shiny new weapons would have been VERY helpful. Eventually we decided and agreed to break into two small groups and search different areas of Dogville to round up the citizens. Wookie, Breck and Quarter were in the first group; while Drago and I were paired in the second.

Abruptly we departed, arranging to meet back at the ship by nightfall. Drago and I crept along the right side of the highway, quietly talking to pass the time. Surprisingly, no Griefers were to be seen for the first leg of our search; Dogville proper was empty, unclean and barren, looking like a post-apocalyptic town straight out of a horror film. Many buildings were cracked, windows smashed and cars crashed, adding to the bleakness. I noted these observations to my travel buddy, Drago. So about the second half of the trip; we saw a disgusting billboard on the highway, promising, "NOVA CITY IS COMING SOON!" It showed Red as a construction worker, with Clode and other Griefers helping him carry some steel. I scowled at the sight. This was only the beginning of what we'd see. Sooner than later, we reached the Spur Studios amusement park. I could faintly see a hotel at Dogville Beach in the distance. But Drago and I ended up climbing a billboard on the highway that was advertising Spur Studios. We sat on top. Drago offered me a bag of smuggled potato chips, and I couldn't decline out of hunger. And so we shared the treat, savoring every bite of the salty and crunchy crisps.

Keeping up with the real story, Drago and I watched intently down below as a Griefer argued with Red in the entry area of Spur Studios. Their hood fell off when Red was about to slap them, revealing Spurdog! "SPURDOG!" I yelled to my former friend. Oops, big mistake. Red turned his head, staring straight at the billboard where Drago and I were hiding. I dropped the empty bag of potato chips I was holding off of it, in sudden anxiety. Red looked right into my eyes, which made me realize how grave my mistake was. A faint grin formed on his mouth.

It took a minute for Drago to comprehend what had just happened. But when he did, oh boy, was he terrified! "WE'RE GONNA DIE!" Drago screamed, hustling to begin his descent down the tall billboard ladder. "Wait, Drago." I put a hand out to help him up back onto the top. He just continued climbing down rapidly. When Drago was halfway down the ladder, a Griefer helicopter was flying towards us and several troops were racing across the highway. It looked to blend in with the evening sky. Thankfully this one had no guns, but a Griefer stood on the side with a sniper rifle. I drew my blaster, and only then did I notice many things different about it. The color was different, and a throttle was on the underside presenting many unique settings for the gun's ability. Surely enough, Parzival had swapped our old guns out for his prototypes. I was glad that the mad genius had gifted us. Quickly shuffling through the options, I found the GRAPPLER one. An idea formed in my head, and bluntly I decided to go through with it. I selected the GRAPPLER option, aiming and shooting it at the nose of the helicopter. I swung across the sky in a sudden and jerky motion, shooting again to latch onto the pole connecting the helicopter's swirling blades. This caught the Griefers off guard. Drago smirked at me from what I could see, in the split second I was looking at him. After spinning around the helicopter like a lasso encircling its victim, I launched myself into the sniping Griefer. I snatched their sniper rifle and kicked them off of the helicopter. The pilot turned around to face me, now scared, and so I handled him similarly. I threw him off the helicopter as well, which was spiraling out of control; then I manned the controls and lifted the 'copter to help Drago. He jumped in, and I motioned behind me to the sniper rifle laying on the floor. "How did you do that?!" Drago asked, astonished. "Parzival isn't such an idiot after all," I responded, focused on steering the helicopter AWAY from Spur Studios and back to our friends.

The Griefers weren't far behind us. They were just out of firing range to hit me, thankfully. Drago breathed sighs of relief whenever he hit a Griefer with his snipes, which were common. We sped to Maplewood, our black 'copter blending into the rising night sky. In minutes we reached the faint glimpse of beaming, white skyscrapers and a monorail winding around the entire place. But not all was right; Griefers stood in the streets, mingling about and entering restaurants, shops and office buildings. "What the heck?" Drago asked me. "I don't know what's going on!" I yelled, swerving the helicopter left to miss a skyscraper. I began scanning the area around me, for a safe landing spot, finally landing on top of the flashy Maplewood Expo Center. Drago and I got out, looking under our feet through the giant plexiglass roof. We eyed lots of Griefers observing booths, showcasing what was likely weapons or food items. Some even purchased stuff from the stands. But in the center of the Expo Center, was three familiar faces stuffed in a large, titanium birdcage. And they were hanging right over a huge pot of boiling lava.

"He's got Wookie!" Drago screeched, frantically pouncing on the glass. No dice. "Quarter should be able to teleport his way out of there," I confidently said. "Titanium is the hardest substance available! If he even tries to break out, Quarter will be dead in seconds flat!" croaked Drago. I plugged in my Walkman to the helicopter's sound system. I was shuffling through my song selection to put on the perfect, action-packed tune: Blitzkrieg Bop by the Ramones. Pressing play and bracing for a crazy brawl, I flew the helicopter straight into the plexiglass.

"WHAT THE HECK?!" Drago screamed, as the plexiglass shattered under us. We were in! I just grinned at him, to the sound of the Ramones' opening guitar riff. Continuing with my plan, I flew straight at the birdcage, smashing into it and causing the cage to shake. "GET THE ROGUE HELICOPTER!" Red yelled over the sound system, and Griefers began climbing the booths to take a swing at our 'copter. The cage swung violently, but it slammed into our helicopter and caused it to veer off-course. We smashed up some more plexiglass, one piece of which got lodged in a rotor. The helicopter began falling, but suddenly we stopped in mid air to my relief. I heard the loud thump of a Griefer, as Drago took one out from his sniping abilities. I turned us around, to face Griefers' stacked booths and the like. Only the Ripper stood between us and the birdcage, to my dismay. Instead of taking a minute to think, I did the stupidly impulsive thing and flew straight at him.

The Ripper got hold of the 'copter's nose, spinning it around and pushing it backwards. Steam began to fill the cockpit, blurring my vision, but I tried to judge which direction was forward. Being able to faintly hear Quarter and Breck's cries of relief, I gunned the throttle and acted like a battering ram. Later I learned that I'd not only broken the birdcage chain, but also drenched the Ripper in the lava pot! I stopped us at the ceiling of the Expo Center, pondering what to do next. The birdcage was on the floor, as Griefers flailed their limbs to try and hit our friends inside. Drago, however, deserves full credit for this idea. He snatched the modified gun we'd gotten from Parzival as a surprise gift, and shot sticky webs at the birdcage. "Fly up!" Drago chirped, and I did what I was told. For the third time, we busted through the Expo Center's roof. But then the birdcage's sheer weight pulled us back a bit. We dragged it like a wrecking ball through the Expo Center, finally letting it break through the wall and onto the street. The helicopter was nearly out of fuel, however. Quarter teleported up to the cockpit, and proclaimed, "Thanks for saving us, Kw6. I'll take it from here." I handed him control over the cockpit, jumping out the open side door to free our other friends.

Again Drago called me insane; but I didn't care, for I was more than that. Turning, I saw that an army of Griefers was racing towards me with their fists. I engaged my P90s, taking down many Griefers within seconds. Blitzkrieg Bop ended, leaving the air to fill with the enraged screams of the Griefers. Then I remembered my task, to free Breck and Wookie. I aimed my P90s at the birdcage's top and engaged fire. The Ripper had emerged from the crowd, slowly walking towards me with lava dripping off of his massive body. He lunged at me, but missed and hit the cage door. The entire cage trembled and nearly toppled over with the impact. I held on for dear life, as the Ripper struck again. "Don't do that, Ripper!" Red yelled over the speaker system. Then Griefers began running towards the cage, and I knew that the Ripper had helped me greatly. Jumping down, I began blasting up Griefers with my P90s. I intertwined my hands with Breck and Wookie's, to their confused faces. "Hold on— I'm going to try to teleport us," I told them, blasting my P90s at the Griefers. I tried to tap into more energy than I had right now, and envisioned Dunkin Donuts. Then, my entire world went black and I felt a churning sensation.

Water was clouding my vision. Drenching wet, cold and exhausted, I could barely open my eyelids. "He's not dead!" A voice echoed throughout my head. Oh wait, that was Taz. I opened my eyes fully, observing my barren surroundings. "Welcome to the Dogville Sewage Plant," Taz said, gesturing to the room I was in. "Did we get away?" I asked groggily. "Your teleporting worked, for one," he responded. Breck, also drenched, slapped the side of my head. I rolled over, gagging. "You saved us, man!" He yelled, snapping me back into full consciousness. "So we did?" I questioned again. "Yeah," Quarter said as he came into view. Taz helped me up. "Mr. Dog is nearby, and he wants to thank you for saving us," said Breck. "Sure," I responded halfheartedly. All I wanted to do was rest, but alas this was not the time. I followed Taz into another room, glad I was able to help out a town or two. Soon, I met with the rest of the Dogvillians, who had escaped to the Sewage Plant via radio command of Taz. Each one of them thanked me greatly, but were very distraught to forever lose the Dogville they had been a part of for years. I humbled myself greatly at these notions. Finally using the ship we'd parked in Taz-Dog National Forest— and a lot of camouflage— we were able to escape into the rest of the Tooniverse.

Epilogue— On a chilly March night in "New" Horizons City…

Sitting in an illuminated, windowless brick room, Soister and Blakester looked over the former's plans together. "It's perfect," proclaimed Blake, continuing with, "When should we capture them?" Soister cleared his throat. He responded, "The Griefers' base is hard to infiltrate. But you can fly, no?" Blakester nodded to this question. "I feel like this is wrong," Blake said faintly. "Huh?" Soister boomed. "Nothing," Blake responded. "Just remember that Kw6 has done many wrongs to our fabulous city. And he persuaded others to view him as truthful! How horrific is that?!" Soister persuaded his lead security guard. "Yes, Soister," Blakester sighed. "Great! I think we can snag them tomorrow morning," answered Soister, a false, cruel smile beaming from his face. He was about to return the favor to the offenders, and it was going to be every bit as terrible as what they did.