5 Years Later
"This just in! The Toon Presidential Elections start tomorrow; who will win? Who will lo-"
The cheesy tone of the news reporter was cut off by static, also known as a channel change. Johnny was laid back on the chaise lounge in his room, watching the ridiculous bug-themed television that his mother had bought him when he was 12, citing, "Oh, but it's just so adorable!" Being 18 now, he still cherished the gift, even though he had a massive 70 inch flatscreen for his video games that he bought himself, yet never used. The dust on its screen was still quite undisturbed, even for being in a busy part of Johnny's room.
His room lay in a similar condition except for his queen-sized bed, it's four posts from each point of it's rectangular configuration rising to the near top of the ceiling and stopping before they made contact. He had a trophy cabinet filled with various knickknacks and old trophies he had acquired from middle school; these included an archery target with an arrow hitting a bullseye that also split another arrow in the exact same place, a proud (and insanely lucky) accomplishment that Johnny bragged about in archery club. Yes, those were good times...
Johnny realized he was still watching TV, but the channel now was a blue rabbit named Flapjack exposing various theories on the Toon Council. Boring. What else was on? Chad and Jimmy? Nah, Johnny already saw the whole first season over 500 times when he was younger. Johnny had heard rumors, however, that the creator would be bringing it back. Hah, what could he do? It's still a little kid's show anyways, Johnny laughed to himself. What else... Big Beans? Too gimmicky, and some are a scam; game shows in general were, anyway. They'd give you the prize money if you won (which already is an impossibly difficult feat), but most of it would have to paid back to the Toon Council, the greedy little robber barons. Why should I? I earned it all! Johnny was losing interest now.
He decided flip back to the news; nothing interesting was on anyway, and he had nothing better to do. Maybe they would cover another story like the giant air conditioner that caused the snow that covered every inch of The Brrrgh. He didn't believe it, of course, but it was good entertainment nonetheless.
There was an introductory graphic with a typical fanfare common of news channels recently, for a news channel called ToontownTVFromABC. What a long name, who will ever remember even half of that? Johnny criticized. As the graphic finished it's shine across the screen, there was a baritone voice you'd expect to find in movie trailers.
"This is ToontownTVFromABC, your source for action-packed news." The voice had a menacing undertone, yet it was quite cheesy, like most movie trailer VOs were.
Huh! Action-packed my backside. The only "action" we get around here is the occasional lunatic getting arrested saying he can get you unlimited amounts of jellybeans.
The camera showed an overhead shot of two reporters in formal evening wear at a table, notes in hand. One was an orange dog with a bump on his head showing around, the other a blue cat, her green eyes captivating Johnny. The camera panned to an eye-level shot of the reporters, giving Johnny a better look at the blue cat's eyes; like miniature emeralds trapped inside a layer of egg whites. The orange dog began to speak.
"Good evening, I'm John Starr." The orange dog spoke first, his voice suggesting he's an older teenager, possibly an intern.
"And I'm Anna Dunn." The blue cat spoke next, her more mature voice like honey; she was really cut out for this job, with a dialect like that.
"Our top story: Doctor Surlee will finally be making his first public appearance at the Elections after five years of self-imposed shut-in..." Anna's report faded, as Johnny phased out. He had heard the professor's name before... suddenly, he remembered something.
He remembered a blinding bloody light, the crash of scattering papers, and a conflicting white light; and most importantly, the muscular, bipedal, two-faced figure drawn on blue paper. He had broken into what he assumed was Surlee's house five years ago. This was the same Doctor Surlee that Johnny had remembered! Shaking his head to try and clear away his delirium, he focused on the television screen to hear what else Anna was saying.
"We have obtained a TTABC exclusive interview with the daffy doctor. Our reporter, Bobby Button, has more. Bobby?" Johnny was now on the edge of his seat; he would finally see the professor's face!
"Thanks, Anna." The reporter was a lanky brown horse, who had not formal evening wear on, but a company hoodie, work jeans, and white sneakers. He looked more like a person off the street who was handed a microphone and told to start an interview than an actual, professional reporter.
"I'm standing here with Doctor Surlee, who has-" Just as the reporter was moving towards what was presumably Doctor Surlee's figure, the television screen fizzled out to black, taking what contours of the professor's face Johnny could see with it. No. Did the doodle chew the cables behind the TV again? No, the wires were fine, and there were no doodle foot imprints in the carpet. Then what...?
"Johnny! For the last time! Fold your laundry and put it away!" A once pretty voice now chipping away with age sounded behind him. As he turned, he recognized Mother, her feathery hair disheveled after doing household chores for most of the day, and in her gloved hands was a basket of clothes, and sandwiched between one of them and the basket was what looked like a remote- no. He was so close to finally solving a childhood mystery, and he was foiled by pairs of his own underwear. Not even Purrlock Holmes could've seen that coming. Mother set down the basket.
"That's enough TV for you, anyway. Now fold this laundry and put it away, or else I'm going to have you wear your kiddie clothes from the attic for the rest of you being in this house!"
While he was having a temper tantrum in his head, Johnny could only sigh in the waking world, and disdainfully agreed. He was so close, yet so far. It was like he was about to find something history-changing, but his work was ruined forever by accidentally spilling ink over it.
When Johnny finally finished folding his laundry, it was an hour later, and the interview would be long over by now. He was kicking himself for not remembering to fold his laundry earlier, and he missed a once in a lifetime chance. But no matter, he had a backup plan; he would go directly to Surlee himself. How? He'd go to the Elections; Surlee was scheduled to be there anyway. Thankfully, it wasn't an event like a concert that required a ticket; it was a time of public celebration that decided the new leader. No fee would be required to see the new President of Toontown. Besides, if he missed it, the event would be on TV anyway.
Now all that was left was to wait 'til morning. Johnny set the basket down on the floor, and got into bed, pulling the covers over his head.
The grounds of Toontown Central were more packed than Johnny could ever remember. There were Toons of all species, colors, and genders here; he hadn't seen such diversity in color since 10th grade art class. And the sheer number of people here amazed Johnny; there had to be at least 1,000 people crowded in this one spot. That shattered the previous record of 100, where there was a marathon held to raise awareness for the 50th anniversary of the founding of Toontown Central. Then again, this was a historic event; after the loss of the previous President, Mickey Mouse, there was so much panic that even the Toon Council forgot to make plans for a new President. Simply put, nobody knew what to do. Unlike them, however, Johnny knew what to do; he was going to find Doctor Surlee and ask him what the meaning of the dream was.
Johnny moved his way towards the front of the crowd, up on the raised plaza. Something seemed to be in the way of Toon Hall; no wonder people were herded around this area. From what he could see, there was a rope fence surrounding a raised platform with a podium that had many microphones (although one was replaced with an ice cream cone, oddly); where the inaugurator would most likely be standing. On either side of the platform, there were two counters; one red and one blue, for the Repuglican and Democat parties, respectively. The most prominent feature, though, was the giant, floating screen that hovered above the platform via a propeller on the top. Right now, static filled what would normally be black, possibly because the event hadn't started yet.
Johnny looked around for anyone who looked like he could be a professor. Be it he wore glasses, a lab coat, or whatever. Someone who looked smart. Scratch the glasses; just the lab coat. Some regular people wear glasses nowadays, and it's a bad stereotype...
Suddenly, the doors from Toon Hall opened. The event was about to start! Johnny supposed he could find the professor after the event. Who walked out of the doors were not only the candidates, Slappy Quackintosh (a green duck) and Flippy Doggenbottom (a blue dog), but a tall, red cat, possibly the inaugurator. Flippy went to the right side of the stage, Slappy took left, and the red cat took center, walking up to the podium in a slightly hesitant way. There was brief feedback as he adjusted one of the many microphones, and waited for it to pass before speaking.
"Helloooo, Toontown!" The red cat finally spoke, in a voice you'd expect most game show hosts to put on before saying a contestant's won a new car. "As many of you know, I'm your hilarious host and eccentric elector: Alec Tinn! And of course, we can't forget about our two toonerific Toons who have been selected to fight for the Presidency..." Alec turned to Slappy.
"Slappy Quackintosh..." Alec said as Slappy waved to the crowd, then turned to Flippy.
"...and Flippy Doggenbottom!" Flippy seemed stone cold, almost like a statue. Even his face showed little emotion. Alec then turned to face the audience again. "I must say, this turnout is absolutely, positively, extra-tooneriffically astounding! It's truly an honor to be here on this day, and I'm sure I speak for all of us when I thank you for coming. Now, the votes are almost ready to be tallied! Flippy, Slappy, do either of you have anything to say before the moment of truth?" Slappy seemed eager to speak, so he took his chance. He appeared to be speaking in a more British accent, which surprised Johnny. He hadn't expected Slappy to be from that area, but it was more of a cosmetic thing.
"The only thing I have to say, no matter who wins... I know that Toontown is going to grow to be even more... "Toontastic" than ever before. All of you are truer-than-truly the best!" Johnny assumed 'all of you' would be his voters, and not the whole of Toontown. Slappy stepped back, allowing Flippy to voice his side. As soon as he stepped back, though, Flippy's face seemed to flood with color; as if he had woken up from a coma and was overjoyed to see everybody again. Although... he seemed too happy. Just a second ago he was emotionless as a pet rock, now it looked like he could run up and kiss Slappy if he wanted to (which probably wouldn't happen).
"Like Slappy said, I can't even begin to thank all of you Toontastic Toons for this. Even after all of this terrific time together, I'm still speechless that I'm here today. Here's to Toontown, Slappy, and all of you!" Flippy stepped back.
What a phoney. He doesn't care about Slappy, or Toontown... not with an attitude like that. I'm glad I voted for Slappy. Johnny crossed his arms.
"Well said, the both of you!" Alec resumed his role at the stand. Ooh, I'm just jittering with excitement. Are you Toons ready to hear the winners?" Almost immediately there was a thunderous cry of "Yes!" from the Toons surrounding Johnny, which almost blew his ears out. Now was the moment of truth. "Then without further ado, it is now time to start the Grand Electoral Counters!" There was a snare drumroll from somewhere behind the podium (possibly Alec playing a CD), and the counters behind each candidate started to move. Now, Johnny had to brainstorm on the pros and cons of who were to become President.
Slappy was Johnny's choice. Repuglicans were Johnny's choice no matter what; they would bring about change for all Toons, not just a minority. Slappy, in general, was a very likeable Toon. He actually showed heart and feeling, and genuine compassion for his fellow Toons. And, he was a duck like Johnny; he had emigrated from Duckburg with his family in search of a new life in Toontown. However, Slappy seemed like the kind of Toon that would say "Okay, what now?" after getting elected; like a publicity stunt gone wrong. Good thing Donald Frump wasn't nominated... he'd be the exact same, just more irritating.
Flippy, meanwhile, was the sensible choice for the not-so-sensible. Democats worked with the minority, and not all Toons, which irked Johnny deeply. However, Flippy came from a long line of politicians; his grandfather, Friedrich Doggenbottom, issued a policy that allowed emigration from anywhere outside Toontown, be it Duckburg, Looneyland, anywhere, and Donald's Dock was the place to do it. On the downside, Flippy, in general, seemed never to crack a smile in a normal situation; he'd, however, put on an act whenever a microphone and an audience was thrust in front of his face, and people fell for it. Whatever happened, Johnny begged the Artist that Slappy would be the winner.
"And the winner is..." The counters shrunk and sprung back to their original size multiple times, as the numbers seemed to suggest one thing one microsecond and another the next. Suddenly, they rolled to a stop, and the numbers picked out a clear winner. The crowd erupted in an outburst of celebration; cheers from everywhere around Johnny boomed, his already ringing eardrums getting another call on the line. "Well, there you have it. The new President of the Toon Council..."
5,131 - 4,821. Slappy had won.
"Slappyyy... Quackintosh!" Alec put on the game show host voice again; looks like Slappy won a brand new car. Slappy's eyes wide, he had his gloved hands to his mouth, and then started to dance with happiness.
"Holy smokes, I don't even know where to begin! I know without any doubt that I hereby accept my duty as your President, and will presently preside with full Presidential priorities of this Presidentliness! I will ensure-" Suddenly, a brown suited figure with a huge, unmoving smile and a balding hairline hovered down via a propeller attached on its head. What the...?
"Uhh..." Even Slappy was dumbstruck. Flippy still looked emotionless, although his expression betrayed the slightest hint of surprise. Alec was frozen in place, his expression quite funny for someone who was trembling in shock.
"Wha- what is that...?" Alec's teeth were chattering slightly.
Slappy approached the edge of the platform, and jumped down, turning to face the figure.
"Err... hey there, fella!" Slappy's nervous laughter suggested he was a bit cowardly, but no matter. What was that thing? It almost looked like a Toon, just with exaggerated features... wait, could it be...?
"My name is Slappy, the newly elected President of the Toon Council in this Toonerrific town."
"President, you say? Just the Toon I need to speak with." The figure spoke, it's speech almost... robotic. The pieces of the puzzle were now there, but would they assemble into what Johnny thought was... them? Slappy seemed to be more confident now, almost in humorous disbelief of what was in front of his face.
"Boy, that's some propeller you have there! You know it looks a lot like the one on that TV."
"Yes. Now as I began to-"
"Ooh, and the suit, too. Where did you come from, anyway? It can't be Loony Labs, they're off today."
"See here, Toon. I am-"
"No, don't tell me. Let me guess. Errr... Montana. Final answer. No, no, nevermind, they wouldn't have that fancy of a suit there. Hrmm..."
"STOP!" That did the trick; Slappy shut his beak. "I like your lingo, Toon. You know how to schmooze. However, you seem to need a sample of our Positive Reinforcement." The figure pulled out what looked like a... revolver! One explosive shot of green goo was all that rung across the empty air of Toontown Central, and Slappy was thunderstruck. Staggering backwards, a crater formed around Slappy's chest, rapidly growing, and, in a puff of lime green smoke, was gone just like that, an audible pop confirming it. The crowd started to scream and run away in terror, Slappy's possible death ingrained in their now PTSD-riddled minds. The ones who did stay were frozen in terror.
"Slappy, no!" Flippy cried out, now looking genuinely terrified.
"Oh my goodness- he...! No. Nonono, no. This isn't happening..." Were the last words of Alec Tinn before he quickly crouched down to hide behind his podium. A scaredy-cat, who knew?
Johnny knew. This proved that his dream was more than a dream. It was real. He had unwillingly predicted the future without even knowing. The robot, the Positive Reinforcement... Surlee! He had completely forgotten about Surlee the whole time! How could he find him now, though? It was like finding a sheep that was ever-so-slightly grayer in a flock of pure-white sheep. And knowing his dream, the professor was killed. It would prove to be virtually impossible, but Johnny was up for the challenge- wait, there!
An orange monkey with a white lab coat, sienna shorts, a blue undershirt with a green tie, holding a clipboard. That had to be him! Nobody else that was a professor was scheduled to be here that Johnny knew, and that monkey fit Surlee's possible profile to a T. That was easy. Johnny ran to him, already almost out of breath due to the breathtaking spectacle that was Slappy's possible death.
"What have you done?!" Johnny could hear Flippy scream as he ran.
"Surlee!" Johnny blurted out, and crashed into a muscular bodyguard, a tall, brown bear.
"Sorry, kid! No getting to him!" The bodyguard huffily said, his arms crossed. Dammit. So close. "Hey, what's Flippy doing?" The bodyguard's idle words prompted Johnny to look back at the platform. Flippy was now level with the rest of the audience on the floor, facing the Yesman head on.
"Where did you send him?! Where is he?!" Flippy was desperate now, he was trying to shake the robot by the collar of its suit, but to no avail. "What... what are you...?"
"I don't like your tone. Perhaps you need a sample of Positive Reinforcement as well." The robot walked towards Flippy, revolver in hand, making him step back in nervousness.
"No, no! Get away! I don't need your help!" Flippy had his arms up to try and defend himself.
"Let me confirm our meeting to discuss this. I won't take 'no' for an answer." The robot was still walking towards Flippy, about to corner him.
"Stop it! This isn't fun!" Flippy seemed about to cry; for a grown dog that was a Presidential candidate, it seemed quite humiliating. Although, to be fair, he was one shot away from instant death.
"Fun cannot exist without order." The robot had the revolver aimed at Flippy's chest now. Flippy noticed a pie on an adjacent table, and took it, aiming it at the robot in retaliation.
"I'm warning you, stay back! ... Please." Even for someone who seemed about to die, at least he had manners before he did. But why a pie? Wouldn't it just splatter on the robot's face and it would just wipe the cream off, then fire the fatal shot?
"Don't worry, I haven't been wrong yet." The robot appeared to be laughing, just in a monotone voice that his programming allowed. The revolver's hammer was clicked down; the robot was about to fire!
"Stay AWAY from me!" Flippy's roar was bloodcurdling, although the pie flung into the robot's face was less noticeable. For a bakery product, it had the knockback of a 50 pound weight, making the robot stagger backwards. The tie insignia on its chest changed into a flashing red circle, which was an odd feature. Suddenly, the robot began to laugh, but not in a monotone way, but in a... Toony way. It bent down, not able to control its mirth. Suddenly, it began flailing its arms wildly, in a helicopter-like motion, laughing like a madman. A gear or two began to fly from exposed parts of the suit. Its head began to squish down, like the opposite of a rubber band being stretched... Johnny suddenly knew what was happening; it was going to explode!
"Flippy! Get down!" The bodyguard dived over the ropes and onto Flippy, shielding him. The orange yet slightly purple (oddly) fireball vaporized the parts, and was about the same size as the robot. Surprisingly, it didn't go very far outwards; it dissipated almost instantly, saving both the bodyguard and Flippy from being treated for burns. The bodyguard got up, helping Flippy get up as well.
"Everyone, listen, there's no time!" Surlee spoke up for the first time, somewhat confident yet there was an unmistakable waver in his voice. "Grab the pies from Flippy's campaign stands! They seem to be the weakness of these..." Surlee looked around for something to call the robot. He found a gear laying at his feet.
"... Cogs. Now take up arms, there's more on the way!" Surlee seemed to know about the Cogs invading... But how? Sure, he might've created the plans for one, but that doesn't mean he's behind the assassination of Slappy... is he? Johnny's brooding would have to wait; his attention was taken by the sudden shadow that was cast across the playground, and the sound of helicopters. Although, the S.W.A.T. (Silliest Wisecracks and Tricks) team only had land vehicles. Then what...?
Then he saw it. The airborne army. Hundreds of Cogs of different shapes and sizes hovering in from different directions onto the grounds. This was real life, and it wasn't a dream.
Take up arms. Surlee's words rang in Johnny's ears; it was time. It was time to face his fears. He quickly found a campaign stand with Flippy's face plastered on it, the pies on it smelled delicious. This was no time for a sugary feast, however; save that for the end of the war. He packed ten pies in a bottomless sack, and went off, suddenly stared down by a giant bird-looking Cog with a gray suit. So much for facing fears; the heat of battle scared Johnny, and tried to avoid as much as he could. He thought he could hear a whistling noise through the air, and went to investigate.
It appeared to be coming from a tunnel that went to Punchline Place, the street that connected Donald's Dock and Toontown Central. Whatever happened, Johnny knew he had the Artist on his side; He had made Slappy win, after all. After walking past several closed shops, Johnny could see it; a totally gray building that appeared to be shaped like a tie; its eyes near the neck looking down in a menacing way. A Cog building. But this is where Dr. Pulyurleg's chiropractic office was supposed to be!
Who knew that Cogs could hijack our buildings just to put their own right on top? Not in my town, you don't. Johnny pulled up his sleeve a bit, and ran to the façade of the building. He could see an athletic-looking blue cat in white gym shorts, a white and blue pinstripe tanktop (a darker blue outlined number 19 emblazoned on the back), white tennis shoes, and a white and blue baseball cap, hanging around by the building's elevator that seemed to go to the different floors. A multi-instrumentalist. Interesting.
The cat seemed to notice Johnny approaching, and waved. Looks like social interaction would have to be implemented.
"Hey." Johnny huffed.
"Hey." The cat replied, his slight baritone voice giving very little clues on his age. "You noticed the whistling too?" Johnny was surprised, but then thought the whistling must've echoed across town. He nodded.
"Yeah. Did you see what happened?"
"The apocalypse? Of course; I saw it on TV. I don't live too far from there, and I was on my way to help fight them off when I heard this whistling from the sky. Almost sounded like a bomb!" Making a diving gesture with his gloved paw, the cat imitated the whistling, and made an explosion noise, which amused Johnny. Perhaps being social wasn't so bad after all.
"Yeah, I was wondering what it was too, so I came here." Johnny paused for a second, trying to think of what else to say. "You think there's Cogs in there?" He asked. The cat tilted his head, confused.
"Cogs? What are those?" No matter. Johnny would explain.
"They're the robots you saw on TV. The ones with the propellers on their heads." That seemed to strike a match in the cat's head.
"Oh, yeah! Those. Hmm, maybe; this building doesn't seem very fun, just like them." Johnny looked in the elevator. The tie insignia was on the back wall, and there seemed to be enough space to fill four Toons cozily inside the elevator. What if...
"We should find a couple other Toons to take this on. We can't just let it sit here forever." Johnny suggested.
"That could work. Although, where, do you suggest, we find these Toons?" The cat crossed his arms. Crap. I haven't thought of that.
"Uh..." Johnny had his pointing finger up to counter, but then put it back down. "Good point." They stood for a while, thinking of possible places they could find other Toons. Then the cat spoke up.
"Should we duo it?" Johnny was taken aback by his offer, but then thought about it more. If we duoed, then we wouldn't have to wait. Although, if it was just the two of us, then that makes us weaker than if it was four of us... Then Johnny noticed the cat in the elevator.
"Thirty seconds to second floor." An automated female voice sounded.
"Better get on, rubber ducky!" The cat teased. Dammit! Why wouldn't you wait? Johnny nervously searched the street, longing for someone else to come along, but reluctantly thought better of it. He sighed in resignation.
"I'm coming, geez." Johnny quickly shuffled on next to the cat. "I have a name too, you know." He crossed his arms. The cat just chuckled.
"Sure. And what would your name be, rubber ducky?"
"Johnny Featherton. How about you?"
"Omicron Aquarius." Johnny turned his head, eyebrow raised in a skeptical matter. "Oh, uh… some people get confused when they hear my name, so... sorry." Hell, no wonder. I'd be confused myself if I had that name.
"Ascending to second floor. Have a nice day." The automated voice sounded again. Her sweet, almost hard-to-hear voice contrasted the shutting of the doors, however. They shut almost instantly, creating a massive slam noise that almost deafened Johnny, and the light that was outside the elevator was quickly taken away, blinding Johnny and Omicron. The elevator shot upwards (along with Johnny and Omicron) but then quickly went back down, this time going up at a slower pace.
Virtually blind, almost deaf, and reeling with dizziness on the floor. Whatever this Cog building had to offer, it most certainly wouldn't end well for both parties.