Now past the devastation in ToonTown Central, Clarke relaxed his shoulders and drove through the streets of Punchline Place with toons carrying signs and sleeping on the concrete, marbled sidewalks. One tall purple cat with an extended forehead carried a tiny light pink kitten in her arms as a short puppy-faced toon stood by her looking for his companion in the aftermath of a brief riot that wrecked the entire neighborhood. Horses were carrying some of their neighbors out of broken homes as a teal pig covered his green bear girlfriend with a blanket, protecting her from the cold elements in the area. Three medium, stocky-looking mice scattered to the demolished buildings and intruded properties for supplies and food. Some ducks were mourning the losses of their friends who stampeded near The Flying Pie to prevent the inciting protests.
Silver couldn't believe it – through his eyes everything played out as a documentary with the aftermath of recent disasters. He was immersed in the Great Depression within the memories of joy and humanity. Clarke didn't feel a ping of emotion but there was a small sentimentality he had for the world as he was 6 months shy from retirement of his life in the world of fun and games.
John Silver wasn't your typical everyday gamer. At 5 years old, the wacky Wednesday world was love at first sight for the boy. He was enjoying the thrills and fantasies of being the world leader of ToonTown aside with President Flippy Doggenbottom, who was awaiting his entrance and the welcome of several other toons in the next level of Cog-Busting. Throughout his 7 years of destroying robots and teaming up with the most valuable players, he left the field and went off into a journey unknown.
Now, he was 18 and ages away from reliving one of his most cherished memories. He was an athlete, at least 6 foot two, dark blonde and demonic yet internally friendly eyes. The young man had a lean physique with some muscle and endurance from all the training and walking he'd been done for years. Silver a brilliant fighter and a soft-spoken peaceful youngster. The young man had a thing for getting into action and not sticking to his Plan Z principles of running away from a fight. Stand your ground, Silver would say to himself in times of radically tumultuous moments of life he'd get himself into for discovering the world and getting to the top. Within his few years of destroying Cogs, he was ready to enter the competitions for cleaning out the streets clogged with trouble – only to get kicked out several times when he revisited the town because of low health and inexperience. He wasn't feeling too happy about the way things were until he ran into another rookie who didn't really rub shoulders to begin with.
It turned out to be Clarke Doggensoda – who was taller than Silver, but was skinny at the arms even though there was plenty of bulk on the chest and legs. Clarke had streaks of teal and navy around his body but his eyes were turquoise and shades of black hid within his persistence to fight and become a warrior. Standing at 6 foot four and 3 years older than Silver, Clarke was near the point where school was at his end. He was always a smart ass to everybody around him and would later go on to win "Loudmouth of the Year" for making many brash comments and sarcastic remarks. He'd always try out for the gym and spend his time getting involved with intense activities that made him move around a lot. Then one day, he was kicked out for bullying a toon and decided to join the Toon Resistance. Clarke was learning the basics of the Cogs even though he would often sneak out of class to steal important information and discover for himself the weaknesses of the robots.
But in the Cog battle training, Clarke and Silver were at each other with who threw the pie farthest, who had better squirt efficiency, and how much power the healing gags had. At times, the two rivals would go at each other with sneering remarks, with one: "Looks like all that slow throwing makes me wonder if you were born with a fat cow's legs!" Then came laughter from some bystanders as the latter remained silent and continued to do his own thing until the training sessions were over. Every fight that was closer to the end of their first tasks since Spring, more taunts such as "Spaghetti cakes", "Man-boobs breast milk in seltzer" and "Swollen lips" would be exchanged whenever a gag was effective or ineffective.
Until one day, when the Hollywoods invaded Silly Street, Clarke continued to egg the young man on. Then, without hesitation he spun and sharply commented: "Maybe if your Daddy was around he'd teach you some manners and remind you that you're still as dumb as a jackass and as ugly as roadkill." And that only pushed Clarke further. Except deep inside, the comments froze the alpha and compelled him to either strike back or keep talking.
Clarke ran at Silver and tugged him by his collar. "You better watch your tongue, rookie!" The hound remarked brashly. There was anger in his eyes with a slight surprise that the young man would respond in such a sharp way. With a forceful push, Clarke shoved Silver away from him and was met with a kick to the knee, dropping him to the floor. Keeping his guard up, Silver delivered another low kick from behind his kneecap and he missed. Clarke lunged at him, only for the youngster to step aside as the puffy hound's head met with the sidewalk and almost cracked his head open, nearly falling into a state of concussion.
"I hope you didn't forget your lines." A humorless voice emerged from behind the grazed dog, grabbing him by his knees and dragging him to the streets. Clarke stood but couldn't make out the level of the Cog. With the way Mr. Hollywood greeted the toon, it must have been a Level 10. Clarke removed a squirt gun that he had kept inside his pockets throughout his recent training sessions and fired at the man's face. The water barely wiped the smile off the Cog's face and fell to the ground with a depleting power trip.
Silver watched as the dog was getting bombarded with attacks and couldn't decide whether the Toon should stand his own ground against the higher cogs. But it had always been his dream to fight the tough guys at an early level to increase his skill set quicker. On the other hand, if he let Clarke die he would not be better than any of the bullies he'd face after his return.
The youngster jumped into battle and lifted Clarke up by his knees. The latter was still dazed and badly hurt by the Power Trip, but his wounds were healed with a feather, giving him enough time to get back up on his feet and use a Whole Fruit Pie. The toon swung with all his strength and shattered the man's teeth out. Mr. Hollywood pulled out his golf club and swung – hitting Silver with the golf ball. Clarke couldn't make out the situation from his eyes as everything happened so quickly. With so much bewilderment that went on, a duplicate appeared behind Mr. Hollywood and clenched his fist, ready to back up his comrade.
Silver didn't have time to think – he used another whole fruit pie and followed the attack with Clarke, bringing the cog down to orange. Just a few more lucky hits and they would have to deal with the next Cog and wait for rescue. Several dark stars shook the ground and both players reached for the sky. The clone has entered the battle, ready to finish off Clarke. As the clone pulled out a picket with glossy teeth, Silver pulled out his Cream Pie Slice and Clarke his last Whole Fruit Pie. While Silver threw right, the two cogs jumped simultaneously to their right, only for the original Cog to get hit with the pie and was brought down to red.
The earth quaked with yet another Power Trip and only Clarke was hit with a straight blow to the chest. He scrambled to the right while a ring of white sparkles shot straight at the dog. Silver defiantly kept his eyes on the clone while Clarke slowly regained his vision and found the youngster in battle with the dog. "What the hell are you doing here?" Clarke barked at John. "This is my fight!"
"No. Our fight." Silver replied, focused on readying his pie. What looked like a Fruit Pie behind the youngster's pocket disgusted the dog. He knew that the man would get themselves killed with reckless actions but went along with the plan, knowing the fight would be worthy in the long run. Paying attention to the teethless Cog on his right, Clarke pulled out a Seltzer Bottle and sprayed fluids on the man's face with an additional splash from Silver side. The red barely blinked red and the clone was getting impatient to kill both toons. With a Razzle Dazzle aimed at Silver, he was brought to the ground and blinded by a white background. The clone hurriedly used his club to hit the young man and he collapsed.
Clarke couldn't believe it – he was the remaining survivor in this fight and he ran out of his strongest gags. Then he pulled out of his feather and proceeded to tickle the dog back into battle. Getting back up and barely staggering, Silver aimed at Teethless and used his final fruit pie to knock him down and malfunctioned into a seizure. His chest twisted counter-clockwise as the arms flapped in all directions, gears flying out of the suit. The head shrunk as bolts and gears imploded from the top and Mr. Hollywood was no more.
The clone initiated a power trip, hitting both toons and only one of them would be sent back to the playground. The clone was dominating the toons as a bystander witnessed the events unfold before her eyes. She was unsure as to whether the boys where showing off. With her foot on the street, the duck jumped into battle as the Hollywood duplicate used another Power Trip and the two toons barely jumped over the incoming sparkles.
Silver and Clarke released breaths of relief, but the fight wasn't over yet. The duck had a megaphone in her hand while the two fighters carried the last cream pie slices, aiming at the head. Clarke looked at the youngster and he was no longer an enemy – instead a comrade in arms.
"Go for the head, like always?" Clarke asked.
Silver shook his head. "Hit him where his pair won't grow." At the slip of the word "pair", he let out a smirk and pressured Clarke into a small chuckle.
The duck ran out, slightly irritated with the two and proceeded to tell her own joke. "What's long, smooth but chewy?" A beat came along. "Hot diggity dogs."
The young man and the hound cried tears of joy at the duck's tone of voice in telling the joke, halfway healed. Silver aimed for the head, which the Hollywood acted quickly by ducking down, only for Clarke to release the pie from his hand as it hit the groin. Holly Clone backed down and was in the red zone. He pulled out his Razzle Dazzle in pain and struck at Silver, only for the man to roll aside and pull out a Fruit Pie Slice. Clarke and the duck used their squirt guns, aiming for the works. Silver tossed his pie and hit the Hollywood in the chest. Nearly missing by an inch, Clarke and the duck pulled the triggers and the water sparked his circular bar.
The Hollywood clone spun around, a robotic tornado with the whole world falling before him. Gears and wires were ripped apart, human skin flew out with the rest of the bolts and exploded. Celebrating their victory dances, the duck turned to the two men in a disgusted manner.
"Next time, boys – keep it clean." And that was the last they ever heard from the toon.
Silver and Clarke exchanged glances, smiling at their first ever battle against the tall Sellbots in ToonTown Central. Leaning over for an arm grapple, Clarke pulled the young man in for a chest bump.
"That was sweet!" Clarke cried out in a jubilant attitude. The blue dog's circular face met with the young man's oval jaw, occupied with nothing but impulse. "We should go again!"
"Hey, buddy!" Clarke snapped the 18-year-old out of his trance. The dark brown eyes caught up with the bad boy smile from Clarke. "still drifting off into space, Major Tom?"
"I'm just thinking about what it was like before everybody lost hope and were just living peacefully without stories of violence and trolls." Silver began. He was about to add to the melodramatics, but he stopped himself and smiled. "You remember that day we were showing off to that duck on Silly Street with the Mr. Hollywoods trying to kick our asses? We were both egging each other on to destroy the big guys alone without any help."
"Of course, I remember." Clarke barely remembered the day, but understood what really went down between the two nearly five years ago. "We were looked at as fools when we showed off to everybody at how good we were getting."
"I miss those good old days," Silver continued to reminisce as he peered outside the windows.
"You dig too much into your past, kid." Clarke responded, the streets growing quieter. Just about the entire city was evacuated as the ashes fell from the sky. toons nor Cogs were nowhere to be found. The morning was approaching noon and the sunlight dimmed as the white flakes peacefully fell to the ground.
"You gotta focus on what you want to do besides serve as a top-of-the-pyramid secret agent protecting presidents. Go soul-searching again, work in construction, grow a farm, be a Buddhist, damn it!" Clarke playfully punched his friend on the shoulder. He liked the young man, even as a brother. No matter how lonely he was, Silver was always free to provide company for him and the crew he hung around with. "I get that you're ready to go out into the TRUE reality, but you shouldn't be afraid to take chances…"
Silver was focused on the winter weather outside as his auditory attention slowly fell into silence. A beaming dot in the sky floated above all buildings, the mysterious star orbiting the Tooniverse with the young man's eyes leeching onto the star. The beam left a trail of red and yellow clouds in the sky – to John's disappointment it must have been a jet from that far a distance. He turned his head slowly and focused back on the front of the road.