Chapter 11

The sun shone brightly in the sky, its light spreading across the cheery town of toons. Activity was all around as cats, dogs, horses, pigs, and all other manner of Toontown residents hurried to attend to their duties, whether it be fighting cogs, running a shop, or delivering a package. Their eyes were bright and full of the bliss obtained from the purposefulness of their lives. After all, each cog defeated meant another enemy taken down, each sale provided profit, and each package contained something important enough to be delivered in the first place.

Amidst this hustle and bustle, however, one toon alone stood completely still. He stared off into the distance with a dull, vacant gaze, unhappy thoughts churning in his bitter mind. This toon alone did not have any purpose, or at least none that he could do anything in the way of.

Indeed, what could he do? His wife had gone missing, and his purpose now was to find her. But he had already searched everywhere possible, already asked anyone who may have known anything, already reported her absence. As much as he wracked his brains, he could think of nothing else that he could do to try and find her. His hopeless search had come to a dead end.

The lime cat closed his eyes, trying to gather his thoughts. The noise of the toons' activity buzzed around him in a frenzy, but he barely heard it. His mind was occupied by the memory of Magenta, such that he couldn't seem to concentrate on anything else. But at length, he finally managed to push her from his mind for a few moments so that he could focus on figuring out what he should do now.

The scientist had been staying in an inn since his estate had been burned down. He had been neglecting everything besides his pursuit of Magenta, including work. Loony had gotten in touch with him about his absence, and had been willing to excuse it. At some point, Electro supposed, he would have to go back. Or would he? He had already been considering quitting since the merge with Toon HQ, which was just being finalized. He had not been enjoying the changes during the transition.

And yet, the idea of work was a little comforting to the cat—he had a purpose there still. Perhaps he would be able to distract himself from his own distraught thoughts for a time if he had something meaningful to focus his attention on.

Making his decision, the lime cat opened his eyes and slowly started to move. Each step seemed a great effort, but he did not allow himself to quit. He had found a purpose once more, and he needed to accomplish something. He needed to stop feeling completely drained and hopeless, even if it was only temporary.

The walk felt much longer than usual, but eventually Electro reached Loony Labs. The lime cat managed a small smile as he saw the tall orange brick building with a variety of swirls painted on it in bright colors. Above the building's transparent glass front doors was a large sign that glowed neon green and proudly stated "Loony Labs" in a silly, loopy font. The sight reminded him of all of the fond memories he still retained from his past several years working there. Oh, if only it had not been merged with Toon HQ.

Electro pushed through the doors, stepping onto the main level of the building. There wasn't much there—Loony had always had some kind of idea as to what he wanted there, but so far it still remained largely unused. Electro had heard that this, too, would change because of the merge. One of his colleagues had told him that Toon HQ apparently deemed it "unprofessional". Most of Loony's practices could probably be viewed as such, but this had never bothered any of the scientists. Loony was not the most professional guy out there, and perhaps he was a bit lazy and reckless too, but he put his heart into his work and cared deeply about the organization he had created.

The scientist approached the staircase that led up to the higher levels of the building, and started to climb it. He would be coming in late, but Loony wasn't one to fuss over such things. In any case, the founder was probably still busy dealing with everything that went along with the merge.

Indeed, upon reaching the general floor of their research he could already see Loony talking to a strange purple rabbit who appeared as if she might be a Toon HQ authority. The short orange mouse didn't even notice the cat's arrival. Electro didn't know what his current assignment was, but felt that he shouldn't interrupt the conversation, so he decided just to go over to his desk.

There weren't many other scientists on this floor, and Electro guessed that a large project was being built on one of the higher levels. As he was approaching his desk, however, someone asked him, "Excuse me?"

Turning in the direction of the voice, the lime cat was surprised to see a chicken looking at him. He did not know this toon, but the chicken was obviously dressed in the attire of a Loony Labs scientist. "Yes?"

"Do you know what I'm supposed to be doing? I just started here today but I don't have any idea of what's going on," the chicken asked him uncertainly.

Now it made sense. This chicken was obviously one of the new scientists that had been hired due to the merge, as Loony Labs needed more workers in order to operate at the standards of Toon HQ.

"Have you talked to Loony?" Electro inquired.

"No. I've meant to, but he's been very busy talking to that rabbit," the chicken replied with a frown, nodding in the direction of Loony and the strange rabbit.

"Yeah, things have been a bit hectic since the merge," the lime cat told him. "I can't help you, sorry. I'm not even quite sure what I'm supposed to be doing right now." He paused for a moment and then said, "But, uh, welcome to Loony Labs I suppose. My name is Electro Keytwist."

"I'm Gyro Gearloose," the chicken returned briefly.

After staring at the chicken for a few moments, Electro asked curiously, "So, are you from around here?"

Gyro smiled knowingly, seeming to realize what the cat was thinking. "My parents immigrated from Funny Farms. I was born here."

Electro nodded. That made sense. Chickens were not a common sight in Toontown, being more commonly found in different toon civilizations; Funny Farms in particular. "Why did you want to work for Loony Labs?"

The chicken shrugged. "It's a job doing something I'm interested in, and I'm trying to save up some money right now. I'd like to go to Funny Farms—it's expensive, though, as you're probably aware."

"I've never wanted to travel anywhere myself, but yeah, I've heard how much of a hassle it is," Electro responded. "The pay is decent here, I suppose. It's gotten better with the merge, which is at least one good thing coming out of it, I guess."

"You're not happy about it?" Gyro asked.

"I don't think it's for the best. I'm not pleased with most of the changes."

The chicken frowned. "But you've enjoyed working here?"

"Yes," Electro answered. "And you probably will too, so long as Toon HQ doesn't mess with it too much."

As their conversation continued, the lime cat found himself thinking about Magenta less and less. A thin smile actually crossed his face as the misery within him was slightly relieved by the friendly chatter of a newfound friendship.