The plot thickens. Hard to believe its been a year since the last chapter...I'll try not to let that happen again.
Cogs © Disney
Pearl, Val, Taffy, Trevor, Sketch, and Victor are mine
Roxy and Sadie/Butcher belong to PoweroftheWol
Sarah/Fangs Atrox
Winky belongs to Winky Dizzypop/ lalalei2001
Edumacated, King Lollipop Rockenwoof, and Cyborg are owned by their creators of the same screen names on TTC Fourms.
Chapter 11
Absence of Hope
Three more black holes opened up throughout the playground, out pouring more Toon Cogs and the other variants of Cogs from the other three headquarters. They swarmed in droves and began going after the now frantic crowd trying to flee for their lives. Some were trying to fight, only to be out numbered and attacked by either a blast from one of the Toon Cog ray guns or an electric shock device. Pearl's eyes darted around at the chaos happening around her and remained rooted to the spot with disbelief. She had thought that Trevor would signal an invasion eventually, but not as soon as this! Everyone had been unsuspecting, even with all her careful planning she had been too.
A shake to her shoulder jarred Pearl from her thoughts; it was Valerie, "Pearl, come on, we've got to do something!"
"There's nothing we can do. There's too many, we'll never take them all," She muttered darkly.
Frowning, Roxy looked at Pearl and asked, "What about the Toon ray gun? It can counteract the brainwashing effect on the Toon Cogs and turn them back to normal!"
"It can but…what can one ray gun do against all this?"
"What about that cannon thing? Wasn't it modified to also act as one?"
Pearl shook her head, "It was but…I think it was dismantled inside before being stored in the museum. The cannon was more of a risk to leave operational than the ray gun…"
Valerie and Roxy bit their lips as the rest of the fan club gathered around them, also at a loss of what to do. Pearl thought about their other options for a moment and decided that perhaps getting the ray gun would be their best bet to make it through this. They had to try at least something, "Right…the Toon ray gun. Let's try for it…" she gulped uncertainly, "Let's hurry, guys."
As the fan club began to run towards the museum, Pearl stopped short as she saw Little Taffy walking towards the stage, a look of disbelieving horror on her face. Pearl called to the others not to wait up for her and she headed back towards her friend who was still advancing the stage, "Little Taffy, what are you doing? We have to go, now!" The pink Toon screeched as she made to grab her friend's arm to pull her in the other direction; she stopped when she noticed Trevor was standing in front of Little Taffy to listen.
"Trevor what's…" Little Taffy paused and looked around, "…what's going on?"
"Isn't it quite obvious?" He asked, an air of smugness surrounding his voice, "Your little friend tried to warn you about me, but of course Taffy you were so naively oblivious to what was really going on around you that you failed to realize my true intentions."
Still trying to make sense of everything, she stammered out, "B-but the Cogs when we first met…and that bracelet…" she looked down at the bobble still tied to her wrist.
"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this…actually, no I'm not sorry, but the Cogs that attacked you were a staged performance. One I think I pulled off quite nicely, if I do say so myself. As for that little trinket on your wrist, I have no idea as to its original owner, but you can ask my boss where he happened upon it when you meet him," the Toon grinned taking another step foreword holding out his hand for her to take hold of.
The gesture seemed to snap Little Taffy back to her senses slightly and she took a step back. Trevor frowned at this, "You refuse to come quietly?"
Trying to edge the strained tone out of her voice, so as not to appear as rattled as she felt, Little Taffy replied, "Sorry, but that's not my style…" The green feline rolled up the sleeve and exposed the watch that was on her wrist. She was going to need some backup here, and Brittany was the only person she could think of at the moment that might be able to help. She pressed the call button and waited, noticing that Trevor's smug grin remained. A sinking feeling enveloped Taffy's stomach the longer she looked at his expression as she realized that no one was picking up. Brittany always picked up when she called which meant something must be terribly wrong.
After several more agonizing seconds passed she mewled in distress, "Come on, pick up!"
A mocking chuckle from Trevor made her look up at him again, "Afraid that's not going to work my dear. You see, your creator no longer has the other watch. That too is with my boss."
"No…" Taffy's eyes widened as she realized this and more importantly, "What did you do to Brittany?"
"Another question my boss can answer for you. This is my last offer for you to go peacefully, and I recommend you take it. President Mc'Cogsworth isn't someone you want to keep waiting…"
Taffy faltered, not sure what to do until a hand grabbed her shoulder and yanked her away from Trevor. It was Pearl, "Taffy, come on, we've got to find a place to hide!"
Trevor watched as the Toons fled and smirked, "Hide? There is nowhere left to hide…"
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The rest of the fan club stood in the doorway of the museum and ushered Pearl and Taffy inside as quickly as they could. Once inside they shut the doors tightly and barricaded it with as much heavy furniture and objects they could find. Taffy, mind still a jumbled mess, looked around noticing there were other Toons who had taken refuge here was well. Thoughts racing, she looked back to where she'd last seen Pearl to find her gone. A moment later she had reappeared holding the ray gun that had reversed the Toon Cog brainwashing from before.
Taffy looked at Pearl like she had lost her marbles, "Are you insane? You can't go out there with just that! You'll be crushed in an instant!"
Frowning, Pearl replied, "Thanks for the concern, but I'm not going back out there. This is incase they get in here…and at the risk of sounding cliché, if you had just listened to me this would not be happening right now!" She turned to the rest of the fan club, "If that barricade starts to fail, come get me. I'm going to make sure everyone in here is alright…"
Glaring, Little Taffy bit back a retort when something large hit the blocked doors. When the barricade held, she quickly followed after Pearl as her friend hurried about checking the other Toons. Seeing the terrified faces brought her mind back to a darker place in time, when she had once been brainwashed by the Cogs. It was a state of mind she tried every day to forget about that had yet to leave her in peace. As the images of the past flashed by her eyes she heard someone calling Pearl's named and looked over towards the source.
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Expecting it to be one of the fan club members, she was surprised to see a red dog wading through the sea of other Toons towards her pink friend. Blinking in confusion, having never seen him before, she got closer to better hear what they were talking about as another loud bang sounded from the front door of the museum.
"Sketch? I didn't think I'd see you again. You alright?"
"I've been better…and I should be saying that to you. I've been trying to get a hold of you for a day or so now but you don't answer your phone."
Frowning slightly sheepishly, Pearl realized she hadn't been home very often since starting work with the fan club, "Sorry…I've been preoccupied of late. So why have you been trying to get a hold of me?"
"I found something that I thought was pretty peculiar in my old records that seemed relevant to one Mr. Trevor…"
Curiosity piqued, Pearl listened intently as Sketch began, "So a bit of trivia for you…Trevor actually went missing around the time of the murders. He's been missing for almost five years now…until recently of course," Sketch frowned as a look of surprise swept over Pearl's face.
"Five years? What's he been doing all that time?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. Hell, He looks the same as his police record file from then. Hasn't aged a day…wish I could say the same."
Now Pearl was quite puzzled, not only did he have a prior record with the police but he hadn't aged in almost five years? What was going on? Nothing was adding up and answers were only creating more questions, "Sounds like Mr. Mc'Cogsworth is a real Toon of Mystery, huh?"
Sketch nodded, "Yeah, except Mc'Cogsworth isn't his real surname…"
Pearl felt her train of thought come to a screeching halt as it careened off the tracks, "Wait…what? Then what is his real name?"
Screaming erupted from the front of the museum before Sketch could get a chance to answer and Pearl went racing to the source of the noise, powering up the ray gun as she ran. He and Little Taffy followed close behind her, arriving just as the barricade collapsed around the fan club trying to hold it up. Pearl engaged the ray gun, and prepared it to fire as several higher variant Bossbots and a smug-faced Trevor waltzed into the crowded museum.
"You step any closer and I fry those Cogs, you hear me," Pearl snarled. She stepped closer, brandishing the ray gun in a threatening manner.
Trevor smiled and narrowed the gap between them, "Now Pearl, there's no need for that. I'm only here for one Toon at the moment, and I think you know who that is."
Pearl's ears flattened against her head. She glanced back at Little Taffy, who returned her gaze with one of confusion and fear, and then back to Trevor, "She's not going anywhere. No one in this building is. You can just take your little friends and get out of here before I make scrap metal out of every last one of you!"
He smirked. "As you wish," Trevor said. As he prepared to give the command to the present Cogs Taffy stepped in front of Pearl.
"Wait! I'll go with you quietly if you promise to leave the others alone."
Trevor thought for a moment before he replied, "If you come quietly."
Pearl grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back a few inches, "Taffy, I know we aren't on good terms right now, but listen to me. I've only glimpsed his so-called boss a few times, and he is, without a doubt, someone you don't want to meet in person."
Taffy shrugged her arm out of Pearl's grasp and looked over at Trevor, "We have a deal?"
Trevor's grin widened, "Of course." He reached out a hand for her. The green Toon closed the distance and took it. His grip tightened more than Taffy thought he was capable of before. Trevor nodded to the Cogs, "As you were."
The red feline yanked Taffy by her arm and pulled her outside. Two of the present Bossbots followed them. Taffy's eyes widened as she saw the other Cogs begin advancing towards the other Toons. She struggled in protest, "You said you'd leave them alone!"
Trevor chuckled as one of the Bossbots took hold of her, "Who's lying? I said I would leave them alone and I am. I never said anything about my companions." The other Big Cheese scooped Trevor up bridal style before both Cogs took flight towards their home. Taffy struggled in the grasp of the Big Cheese and managed one last look at the museum. A few stray ray gun blasts fired out of the door. As she rose higher the blasts became fewer and the museum became lost in the clouds.
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A flurry of pies and water jets whizzed past Pearl's head in-between the shots of the ray gun. The fan club and various other Toons were fighting back against the Cogs. Some threw gags of lesser strength but the sheer number of their onslaught was more that enough to send the Cogs roaring into fits of explosive laughter. Pearl grinned and continued to fire the ray gun, only to find it was unnecessary. Within minutes the Cogs were destroyed.
Pearl sighed with mild relief. The fan club gathered around her, each wearing a mask of concern on their faces. She looked about them, her face hardening into anger before she turned to face the other Toons cheering at their victory over the Cogs, "We are facing a crisis here, now is not the time," Pearl shouted. Silence begot the crowds as Pearl stared them down, "Anyone in here who is able to fight should be out there helping our fellow Toons!" Pearl snorted.
"Hey now, that was uncalled for Pearl," Rockenwoof said as Pearl turned towards the door, "The other Toons didn't do anything wrong!" Pearl said nothing to his remark and stormed towards the back of the museum, fists clenched tightly around the ray gun.
"Pearl, wait a second," Prince Thunderroni called out. The red duck hurried out to catch up with her.
She whirled around, "What?"
"Pearl we…what are we going to do now?"
"Oh like I have the slightest idea what the heck we're supposed to do now! Taffy just took off on us to who knows where with Mr. Traitor, and we have Cogs and Toon Cogs attacking every playground from here to the Brrrgh! Please share any ideas you might currently have Princy, I'd love to hear them!"
Thunderroni looked taken aback by Pearl's brash tone. He looked down at his webbed toes, having nothing to say to Pearl. A shout from behind them was what drew the duck out of his stupor.
"Hey Pearl, you better come here!" It was Roxy who had called out, and she sounded near hysterical.
Pearl snorted and headed back towards the front of the museum, "Whatever it is, had better be…good." She stopped in her tracks and saw a large number of Toons piled on top of a Mingler. Despite looking perfectly fine, she struggled to get out from underneath the pile.
"We caught her trying to sneak in here, although more like waltzing in if you ask me," Winky said matter-o-factly.
"Get off of me, I'm here to help!" The Cog grunted. Pearl frowned and walked over to her. She bent down to the Sellbot's current level on the floor.
"What do you mean you're here to help" Pearl snarled. The Mingler looked up at the small Toon with a harsh glare.
"If you'll get your little friends off of me, I'll tell you!"
Pearl stared for a moment before nodding at the Toons to get off of her. When The Mingler stood and brushed off her suit, Pearl pointed the ray gun into her face, "Start talking, and maybe I won't shoot you!"
"Put that down!" The Cog said, pushing the barrel away, "There isn't time to be pointing fingers or ray guns at each other! I was instructed by my Boss to take Miss Taffy and her friends back to Sellbot with me because he requires your aid. I don't know why Mr. Trevor took her, but if we hurry we can get to Miss Taffy before anything happens to her."
Pearl brandished the ray gun at the Mingler once more, "Right, sure. How do I know we can trust you Miss…um…what's your name?"
"7-17-4…" She replied.
"Alright 7-17-4, I'll ask again. How do we know you can be trusted? I mean, it's not like the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer had anything to do with the last invasion or anything, right?" Before Four could respond, Pearl continued, "Or, you know, its not like he didn't almost kill my best friend or anything. Nope. Not at all! Oh wait. I'm pretty sure that large device in the other room is testament enough to what he wanted to do!"
Four sighed, "The V.P. said you wouldn't trust me. He said it would be best if you spoke to him yourself."
"Because handing herself over to the enemy worked so well a few minutes ago for Little Taffy.
The Mingler pinched the bridge of her nose, "As far as your options go right now, I'd say you're limited. You want a solution to this problem? The Vice President has your answers."
Pearl frowned and stood up. As much as she perished the though, the Cog was right. She was out of ideas and this was the best possible lead she had right now. She looked up from the Mingler's face and noticed Sketch was gazing at her with a thoughtful expression, "Something wrong?"
Sketch shook his head, "I have a few questions I want answered myself, and if the V.P. can lead us to them then I'm coming with you."
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Mc'Cogsworth frowned and tapped his chin. The device he was currently working on was almost operational, but there was something wrong with the wiring that kept causing the device to turn off shortly after it was powered up. He had the insides of it turned out and was currently working on reconfiguring the wiring system when the phone on the wall rang. Frowning, he got up and answered it. It was 8-29-5.
"Sir, Mr. Trevor has returned."
The Bossbot looked back at the machine innards that were lying at his workstation. He had wanted to have this finished and placed back where it couldn't get damaged by the insane Toon Cogs he had still roaming around. The one that had been Sarah destroyed everything she looked at, and the other was not much better, clinging to him like a deranged child at some points when he was trying to work. When he didn't respond for a while, Five began to worry.
"Everything alright, Sir?"
"Hm? Oh, yes, I'm fine. Tell Mr. Trevor I'll see him soon. There is something I'm attending to right now that's much more important."
"Alright Sir, I'll let him know," said Five before hanging up the phone.
Mc'Cogsworth returned his phone to the receiver and turned back to his rewiring with renewed vigor. It was, after all, part of the final stages of his take-over.
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Knock, knock. President Mc'Cogsworth looked over to the door of his office and smirked. It seemed his guest was finally here. "You may enter," He said.
Trevor opened the door, hauling Little Taffy behind him by her arm. "Here she is Sir, as you ordered," Trevor said. He thrust Taffy closer to the desk, the motion causing her to stumble. She managed to stay upright and gaze into the face of her captor. It wasn't that he looked much different than most Cogs, save for the glass dome on his head. That, he knew, wasn't what caused Taffy to flinch back. It was his fearsome red and black eyes that she herself had once bore not too long ago.
"The thwarter of my previous plans, we finally meet Miss Taffy."
"Previous plans…" Taffy paused, thinking, "No, that can't be true. The Vice President and C.F.O were the ones who-"
The Bossbot chuckled bitterly, "Who do you think that idiot Sellbot got the idea from?" Taffy only seemed more confused by this, so he continued, "The Toon Cogs were my idea, Miss Taffy. When discussing the unfinished plans, the Vice President took them from our board meeting. Why, I know not, but I would assume he was trying to get on my good side! Ha! If anything, he only made his standing in my organization much worse!"
Taffy backed up a few steps, "Your organization? Then that makes you the head Bossbot?"
He rolled his eyes, "Not only a hero, but a genius as well! You may call me President Mc'Cogsworth."
Her ears flattened at the remark, "Well aren't you just a basket of sunshine, no idea how you wound up working for this guy, Trevor. This Mc'Cogs…worth," Taffy frowned when a realization hit her, "You two have the same surname…why?"
"You catch on quick, don't you? Mr. Trevor's previous name was…inconvenient for my plans. I didn't need Toontown's police force looking into anything that might be traced back to me. So I gave him mine, because in a way, he's like a son to me," the Cog said.
"What about my creator?" She hissed, "I know you did something, tell me!"
The Bossbot reached into his pocket and pulled something out of it. Taffy clenched her fists when she saw it was Brittany's watch, "Unreachable at the moment, I'm afraid. Maybe if you leave a message she'll get back to you when she can," he sneered, tucking the watch away again.
Little Taffy eyed him for a moment before asking another question, "And why am I here? Trevor said you wanted to discuss something with me?"
"Ah yes, I read in the V.P.'s reports about the Toon Cogs he had under his possession. He spoke of you as a very competent leader, for the most part. I'm offering you a deal to lead my troops through the remainder of the take over, and I'll allow you to live."
"You must really have your wires crossed if you think I'd let you bring her back. I'd rather die than let Stonewall be reborn!"
Mc'Cogsworth shrugged, "As you wish. Mr. Trevor, escort Miss Taffy down to-"
The doors to his office burst open…
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Pearl, the fan club, Thunderroni and Sketch were led to a large set of doors that signified the entrance to the Vice President's office. 7-17-4 knocked and entered when she received permission. The group of Toons cautiously followed behind her. The office itself was a large, cavernous space filled with various knickknacks relating to the Sellbots. At the back of the office was a large metal desk. Behind it sat the Vice President who was gazing quietly out the large viewing window into the courtyard. His second pair of eyes, the ones facing the front of the office, was shut. And although he did not look at them, he seemed to know who it was.
"Thank you Four, you may leave now."
"Uh Sir, there's something you should know before that…"
The Vice President frowned before turning to face his second-in-command's sister. His eyes glanced over the Toons and hardened when he noticed someone was not among them, "Four, where is Miss Taffy?"
Four, feeling like she had failed her mission remained silent. Pearl answered in her stead, "Our good friend Trevor and some Big Cheeses took her away…"
The Vice President's eyes widened, "He what? Shoot, I should've seen this coming!" The group of Toon's exchanged looks of surprise and concern at this news, save for Sketch, who frowned.
"What do you mean by that," Sketch asked.
The Vice President's expression hardened, "If Mr. Trevor has taken her captive, then we don't have a lot of time, you're going to have to act quickly. When you return here with Miss Taffy, I will fill you in on specifics" said the Cog as he moved out from behind his desk, "Follow me."
"Wait, where are we going?" Pearl asked.
The Vice President paused on his way out and looked at them, "You want to save Miss Taffy? I can get you where you need to go."
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The Vice President led them down to Sellbot HQ's Maintinence and Repair. The rest of the group, Pearl noticed, had seemed relaxed save for Sketch. She and him were the only two whose guards had not been lowered. She looked over at the Sellbot Boss as he stopped near a familiar looking device. It was the same one she had used that had brought her to the Creator's world. Valerie, Pearl observed, must have done her homework. The rabbit's eyes were as wide as dinner plates with awe.
"Oh my gosh, i-is that what I think it is?"
Pearl sighed, "Yes Valerie, this is the same machine that took me to the creator's world. But what do we need it for, Vice President?"
"Surely you didn't think this could only take us to the Creator's world, did you? I'm going to set the coordinates to take you inside Bossbot Head Quarters. Find Miss Taffy, and get out. When you come back here, we will explain our plans."
Pearl blinked, bemused, "'We'?"
"The other Cog Bosses are a part of this as well, now then," the V.P. paused as the coordinates started the machine going, "I believe you have a friend to rescue?" No more questions were asked and no more comments made. The group entered the portal to begin their mission.
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The doors to his office burst open…and there stood that pink menace he'd been dealing with since the start of all this. His eyes locked with her's. They were filled with a fury and determination that came close to matching his own. She wanted a fight. The question was, had she realized she'd bitten off more than she could chew? He got his answer when she fired off a shot from the ray gun in his direction. While any other Cog may have been frightened by this situation, President Mc'Cogsworth was not worried in the least.
Trevor had turned when the door flung open. His eyes widened when he saw Pearl standing there. How had she caught up with him? His distraction should have kept her and her little friends from being able to follow him before he got out of her range of sight. Then he saw the ray gun. How could he have forgotten about that? She'd pointed it right at him. There was another screw-up to add to the list of reasons his Boss was thinking of getting rid of him after the mission. When he saw Pearl raise the ray gun towards President Mc'Cogsworth, his body acted before he had time to process anything. When the shot came barreling towards the Cog, Trevor launched himself into the path of the beam. It caught him in the shoulder and sent him crashing hard into the front of his Boss's desk.
There was a loud crash upon impact, much louder than Pearl had expected to hear from a Toon, not to mention the large dent he had left. Trevor was stumbling in an attempt to get up from the floor when the pink feline noticed it. His right arm appeared to have gone limp, and sparks were shooting out of his shoulder. Pearl felt her heart skip a beat and she dropped the ray gun out of shock. Prince Thunderroni quacked and tried to shake Pearl out of it. Little Taffy screamed and backed away from him. The town hero could hardly believe what she was seeing either, but the evidence was right there in front of her.
President Mc'Cogsworth chuckled, "Seems his protection protocols have a faster response time then I originally thought."
"He's…he's a robot?" Taffy felt herself go numb from the realization. This Toon who she had come to know and care about, then crushed her heart, was nothing more than an animatronics puppet.
Sketch felt as if he'd been kicked in the gut. He'd had several questions for Trevor when they caught up with him. All of which were now dying in this throat, only to be replaced by a growing anger, "If he's a robot, then where's the real one, Cog?"
Mc'Cogsworth sneered, "The real Trevor? You could say he's…indisposed at the moment. Not that that fact matters at all since none of you are leaving," said the Bossbot as his hand began sparking. The group that had come through the door only had a second to react before the electricity came barreling towards them.
"Look out!" Rockenwoof screamed as he ducked out of the way. The others jumped clear of the blast radius all save for one. Pearl was still stunned motionless from before and took the full brunt of the shock. She squealed and spasmed a foot or so off the ground before she collapsed on the floor, unconscious. Little Taffy screamed and made to run for her but was intercepted by Prince Thunderroni.
"We can't stay any longer, we'll miss our rendezvous!"
"I am not leaving Pear-Ah!" Little Taffy and Prince Thunderroni leapt to the side as another blast came hurtling at them. They looked over and saw the Bossbot closing the distance between them.
"Little Taffy, we can't! We…we have to go now!" Thunderroni choked out. Little Taffy looked at his face and saw it was hurting him as much as it was her to leave Pearl behind, but if they tried to carry her she would be a dead weight. Reluctantly, Little Taffy nodded and they stood up and made for the door with the others. Mc'Cogsworth watched them leave and frowned until he looked over at the unconscious body of Pearl that had been left behind. He smirked and walked to retrieve the newest addition to his army.
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Little Taffy wailed and pulled at her own hair. How could they have just left Pearl there like that after she'd stuck her neck out for her so many times already? The green feline slammed her fists on the ground over and over until Thunderroni grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into a hug, "Taffy stop! This isn't helping Pearl! We've only got a little further to go, I know you can make it," said the red duck.
"I should've gone back! I shouldn't have left her there! She came to find me even after I was such a jerk to her!" Taffy said as she wiped at her eyes, "I've gotta go back for her!" A group 'no' sounded behind her and several Toons latched onto her arm as she began to stand.
"Little Taffy, I know this sucks, but there's another way we can save Pearl. Just listen and follow us, please," said Roxy who was giving her best puppy-eyed expression as she could. Taffy looked around at the Toons grouped around her and sighed. Seeing her relax, the fan club released their hold.
"So…who is this contact you're supposed to meet," Taffy asked, wiping her eyes some more.
"That would be me, Miss Taffy."
The green Toon whipped around to see where the familiar voice came from and almost tripped over herself trying to back away. There stood the Sellbot second-in-command, 7-17-3. Before she could attempt to make a run for it, Roxy and Valerie had latched onto her arms to keep her from running.
"What's he doing here?"
"I'm here to escort you and your friends back to Sellbot Head Quarters," said Three.
Little Taffy was quiet a moment before she struggled against Roxy and Valerie's grips, "Oh hell no guys! There is no way I am going to Sellbot! The Vice President is the absolute last Cog I want to see right now!"
Roxy grunted, trying to maintain her hold, "Taffy please! We were all just there and we were safe! The Vice President is the one who sent us to rescue you! He and the other Bosses have a plan to stop this! If you want to save Pearl and everyone else then you have to trust us!"
She struggled a bit more before the thought of Pearl being left behind made her stop. Pearl had done everything in her power to try and get her to realize the truth before it had become too late. The least she could do for her pink friend was to give the plan the Cogs had a chance. And when she saw Pearl again, she'd make sure she knew how sorry she was. Little Taffy looked up at the Mr. Hollywood and gave a stern, but accepting nod. Ready or not, it was time to face her past.
