Chapter 1
It was dark. She was feeling claustrophobic. She couldn't breathe. She could barely see anything except the figure standing a few feet in front of her. She couldn't tell where she was, but she was scared. The figure started to walk closer, and closer. Finally it was right in front of her. The figure did nothing for the next few seconds. Then, it spoke those words. The words she's heard so many times already. "It's over."
The alarm clock started to ring. Neptunis started groaning as she opened her eyes and attempted to turn it off. After a few attempts, she finally was able to bring the ringing to silence. She got out of bed and walked over to the window. She opened it and looked outside. "It's beautiful today," she thought to herself. Those nightmares have been constantly happening for the past few days now, and they always ended the same. She shook the thought of the troublesome dream and decided that she'd go to her friend's coffee shop today to grab some breakfast. She quickly got dressed and poured some jellybeans and water into the doodle dish. Tide was still sound asleep in his bed, so she quietly snuck past him and walked out the door.
She quietly strolled down Maple Street. The Coffee Shop, known as "Petals" was all the way near the end of the street. Her friend Yellow Jessi ran it. It was definitely a great place to stop by if you were in Daisy Gardens. Neptunis looked around while she was walking. The sun was still rising out of the sky, and the butterflies were flying around the plants, making it a beautiful sight. Not too many people were up yet, considering it was a Saturday and a lot of people were off of work and the kids didn't have to go to the schoolhouse today. She waved to a few of her neighbors, nobody she has really become acquainted well with. Sadly, she had to be up for the day. Ever since becoming a member of the Toon Resistance, she had to be alert as much as possible during the day. However, she's gotten no calls for the past two weeks, making her useless and having way too much free time on her schedule. She sighed, but got rid of the thought in general. "They will call me when they need me," she thought to herself.
After a few more minutes of walking, she arrived at Petals. She opened the door and noticed that the place was empty, besides her and Yellow Jessi, who was at the bar. Yellow Jessi was scrubbing furiously at a stain on the bar. Neptunis sat on the seat closest to where she was. "Tough morning?" she asked. "You know it," Yellow Jessi replied. "Some inspectors are roaming throughout the shops today and I want to make sure the place looks clean as can be. " Yellow Jessi continued scrubbing the spot until it finally vanished. "Do you want the usual?" she asked. Neptunis smiled, she always ordered the same thing whenever she came here for breakfast. "Of course," she replied. Yellow Jessi scribbled a few notes on a sticky note and stuck in on the inside of the door that leads to the kitchen.
Yellow Jessi walked back up to the bar and started to prepare some coffee. "No calls yet?" she asked Neptunis. "Nope. It's nice having the free time to just be at home but it's turning into a struggle of trying to be prepared when nothing has been coming my way recently." Yellow Jessi laughed. "You'll be glad you had the time off whenever you are forced to work nonstop sooner or later." Yellow Jessi finished making her coffee and passed it to her. Neptunis took the cup by both hands and took a sip. Yellow Jessi was her only friend that resided nearby where she lived. She lived in the upstairs of her coffee shop. She also made the best coffee that she has ever had. "Food's ready," said Yellow Jessi as she passed her the plate. It was nothing too fancy, just a fried egg, a few pieces of bacon, and a piece of buttered toast. It was still a classic original that she loved to devour. She quietly sipped some more of her coffee as she prepared to eat her breakfast.
"Impossible!" screamed Professor Tinkersprinkles. Being the lead toon researcher for the Toon Resistance, it was hard for her to discover anything that could surprise her, but this was definitely a first for the young researcher. She quickly grabbed her assistant, Thistle. "Go get Lord Lowden Clear," she demanded. Thistle rolled his eyes. "I want to be out on the field gathering information, not in here babysitting the cog equipment." Professor Tinkersprinkles sighed. The faster we discover new things, the faster you get a new place to gather information from." Thistle's eyes lit up, and he ran out the door.
Professor Tinkersprinkles, more commonly known as Duchess, went back over to the microscope and viewed the cog gear. Most cog gears are typical cog gears, but very few of them hold on to amazing discoveries, this being one of them. Duchess felt accomplished. Ever since she was 8, she has been fascinated by the discovery of the cogs. She snuck out of her house in Donald's Dock and ran all the way to Lawbot HQ to watch the cogs, and was caught by Flippy. At first he was enraged, having someone so young and weak wandering around somewhere so dangerous, but then he took a look at her research. It was amazing. She was quickly introduced to Lord Lowden Clear and was taught even more about researching and discovery.
Now being 19 years old, she is the lead researcher of the team and has formed a good partnership with Thistle. Their skills complement each other, and they often work together on the field. Duchess gets all knowledge about the place they're going to, and she guides Thistle throughout the area to get what they need. She smiled, thinking about how much fun she has had in the past with this job.
A few minutes later, Lord Lowden Clear walked into the room. "What is it?" he asked. Duchess quickly ran back over to the microscope. "Sir, I have found a cog gear that shows more than most do." Lord Lowden Clear looked into the microscope. "What do you mean?" he asked. "I see nothing." Duchess was shocked. She looked into the microscope and saw what she's been seeing. "You don't see it? It looks like some type of energy rising from it. Like smoke?" Lord Lowden Clear looked at her and sighed. "Duchess, you've been working nonstop for the past few days with little rest. I'm giving you the rest of the day off to relax and take your mind off of work." Duchess was so confused. "How does he not see it?" she thought. It didn't matter too much; she was feeling exhausted recently and did want a break. She quickly thanked Lord Lowden Clear and grabbed her stuff and walked out of Toon HQ.
Walking outside, Duchess decided that she wanted to grab some lunch. She quickly ran home and packed herself a sandwich and an apple, and walked back out. She called her friend Eli, and asked if they wanted to eat together at Chip & Dale's Acorn Acres. He agreed, and quickly hung up. She decided to get a head start and start walking there. She and Eli have been friends since before they can remember. She was only a month older than him, and they both were in the same classes at the ToonTown School House when they were little. Nowadays, they don't get to see each other a lot, since she works at the Donald's Dock Toon HQ regularly, but goes to all the Toon HQ's all over ToonTown to work with other members of the Toon Resistance. Meanwhile, Eli spends a lot of time in Minnie's Melodyland, where he spends a lot of time experimenting with different instruments and learning new things. She was glad they could both have a picnic at Acorn Acres today; she hasn't really talked with him lately.
Finally, she arrived at Acorn Acres, only to see Eli sitting at a picnic table already. She ran towards him, screaming his name and waving. He started waving back and sat up. They both hugged and sat down across from each other pulling out their lunches. "It feels like it's been forever, how have you been?" asked Duchess. "Decent" replied Eli. "Nothing much has happened at all. Everything is pretty much the same. "He took a bite out of his sandwich. "How about you?" he asked. Duchess froze. She wanted to tell Eli what happened today, but she was told that nothing really happened. Was she really just that tired? It didn't seem like an illusion of any kind. It felt real. "Nothing much either," she replied. She didn't want to lie to Eli, but she wanted to make sure it was actually real. She'd take a look at that gear again tomorrow when she was well rested up and ready to work again. They continued talking about small, petty things. They caught up on each other's lives before Eli checked his watch. "I have to go back now, I'm glad we could have lunch together though!" Duchess smiled. "Me too." They both got up and hugged once more before Eli packed up the remains of his lunch and left. Duchess decided that she should go back home and relax. She packed up the remains of her lunch and set off back for home.
Neptunis was back home, reading a book in her bed. Tide was right next to her, laying his head on her lap. She didn't even know why she was reading this book. She had no interest in it. She was just bored, and wanted something to do. She closed the book and put it on her nightstand. Then she lay back down in bed and thought about everything.
She thought of the day when she could last remember, the day she woke up in the pond. She almost drowned that day, and she was put through hell afterwards when being seen on the security footage, walking from Oak Street out of the blue, walking like a dazed zombie. She was thought of as a spy, a tool, sent by the cogs. She couldn't remember anything before that day, and it still made her curious. As far as she knows, she's an orphan. Her only family is Tide, her doodle. That's why she trained so hard to become a member of the Toon Resistance. She believes that she has some purpose with the cogs, and she wants to find out what it may be. "Why am I even thinking of this right now?" she asked herself. "The past is in the past, this isn't necessary."
All of a sudden, her phone started ringing. She picked it up. "Hello?" she asked. "Yes, Neptunis, this is Lord Lowden Clear" the phone replied. "We need you at Donald's Dock Toon HQ in the morning, around 8am. Come alone." The phone hung up. She was silent, she finally got a call. She can finally do something. "I wonder what they need me for," she wondered. Whatever it was, it involved her now. She jumped off of her bed and quickly started getting ready for bed. After the struggle of a fast shower, tooth brushing, and pajama coverage in less than 20 minutes, she laid in bed. She smiled. "Tomorrow, a day finally begins." She then quickly dozed off to sleep.