Pumpkin Pie was quickly overwhelmed by everything he was taking in as he walked through the small village. While it was nothing impressive compared to the lavish and extravagant playgrounds that once stood in Toontown. The small town was filled with personality, as the surviving Toons did their best to make sure that it was hospitable and warm for the ones who had to live there. "So, over there you'll find our food storage. We're pretty well stocked for several years' worth of hiding. Feel free to eat when you need, but please don't eat more than you need. We do need to conserve after all. We've been trying to get a farm set up in here, but with the dearth of sunlight it makes things a little more difficult to do. If only we had gotten stuck in Funny Farms, we'd probably be set. I heard they used to grow ten-foot carrots there."

"Wait, they had ten-foot carrots? What kind of world do we live in where I never got to experience that? Forget everything else that has happened, if I could be mad about anything, that would be it." Pumpkin Pie had become accustomed to a darker sense of humor to help him navigate the horrific world he now lived in. "If it helps though, I do know a bit about gardening. My parents used to farm gags. Actually, where I learned a lot about gags and fighting in general too."

"I'm sorry, Pumpkin Pie. Actually, do you prefer to go by anything? Pie? Pumpkin? Or just Pumpkin Pie?" Churro whispered solemnly. While he had lost his mother long before the tragedy, he still had his dad around. He couldn't imagine how it felt to lose everyone. "At least now you'll have a community around to care about you. Maybe we can grow one of those gargantuan carrots. It isn't like we're short on time or resources."

The orange rabbit shrugged and bit his lip. "Eh, you can just call me Pumpkin. Although I guess it does sound a bit flirty when people say it. Or like somebody's grandma. Either way, you can just call me Pumpkin. Seems easier. Anyways, I appreciate everything you are doing to make me feel at home. Although I don't know if I'll ever really feel comfortable again. That whole impending sense of doom is always kind of on my mind, y'know?" The pair stopped walking outside of a large, dark green estate. It was much bigger than the traditional homes that Toons usually lived in, around the size of three-four combined.

"So, this is the main living hall. This is where everybody sleeps and relaxes and everything. This is probably where you'll want to be when you're not on guard duty." Opening the door, the chimp entered and smirked when he noticed Pie's reaction. The living room was filled to the brim with entertainment. There were multiple TV's, attached to video games, there were movies playing, and re-runs of old TV shows. There was several different couches and chairs, comfortably placed with plenty of room to spry out on. In the room there were two other Toons – a tall, brown monkey similar to Churro, and a short, fat, blue cat. The pair were discussing something, inaudible to the returning Toons.

"Churro, you're back early. I thought you had guard duty for another few hours. Is everything okay? The older monkey hardly took notice that there was a second Toon with his son. "You're the one always lecturing us about the importance of maintaining a strict schedule. Is everything okay?"

The short cat, much younger and observant than his friend pointed out Pumpkin Pie almost immediately. "Chip? Do you recognize this rabbit here? What's going on, Churro? Where'd this guy come from?"

Churro went to answer but was quickly cut off by the hare who was eager to converse with as many Toons as possible. Hopping over, Pumpkin stuck out his hand and grinned. "Nice to meet you guys. Gosh, it's been so long since I've seen another Toon and now three in one day? What kind of luck I must be having!"

"I don't like this Churro. This seems a bit suspicious if you ask me. Have we vetted this rabbit? What if he's working with the cogs? The Anti-Toons must surely exist. This would be their best method of finding us. What if you just led him in here and gave away everything. You could have killed us all!" Chip tried to stand up but was quickly struck back down due to his leg injury. "Argh, stupid leg. Punchy, can you check him for any cog technology?"

"Dad, it's fine. I found him out in Acorn Acres. He just destroyed a Business Angel right before I got there. If I didn't go and seek him out, he wouldn't even know we were here. I know you're a bit cautious, but we shouldn't just assume every Toon we run across is secretly trying to kill us all." Churro sighed. His father was a brilliant Toon, one who had been instrumental in Toon history for his actions saving Funny Farms, but it had left him paranoid, and the recent attack on Toons had done nothing but aggravate that worry. "Besides, there would be no reason for anybody to come searching here after this long."

Punchy narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "I don't know. It still seems too coincidental. We haven't seen a new Toon in what, six months. I highly doubt somebody would just show up out of the blue either. I don't really know what to think, to be honest."

Pumpkin Pie shrugged and slicked back his hair. "No worries, I completely understand. Nobody really knows unless they know." Emptying out his pockets, the pumpkin was determined to prove his innocence. "I'm down to nothing but lint and a pocket full of miracles. I barely escaped that Cog by the skin of my teeth. Heck, if Churro here didn't find me, I don't really know what I would have done next."

"Hmm. Alright. Well until I feel comfortable having you around, I think it would be best if you were with somebody when you do guard duty. Going to have to restrict access to the gags and everything else for the time being as well. Don't take it personally, it is just what we need to do to preserve whatever life we have left." Chip spoke sternly, yet fatherly. He didn't like feeling the way he did about the whole situation, but what choice did he have? It was worth the possible alienation if it meant keeping his community alive. "Still, quite crazy that you managed to make it here all alone."

"Yeah, what's your story, rabbit? You may talk the talk, but your whole story doesn't really add up to me. You've been alone for who knows how long, unarmed and for some reason decide to come and venture over towards this hidden village coincidentally? Oh, not to mention you killed a Business Angel with no gags? I'm not buying it." Punchy scowled and squeezed his arms tighter towards his chest. "I can't be the only one who feels this way, right?"

Churro interjected. "Punchy, you don't always need to be looking for a fight, you know. We're all Toons here. Not to mention, Pumpkin Pie is a brilliant strategist. He managed to use the geyser in the Acorn Lakers to destroy it. Lure him in and it worked amazingly. I think we're better off having somebody else who can fight. It will make it easier to defend against any attacks."

Nodding in agreement, Pumpkin Pie put on his best calming face. "Yeah, my mama used to tell me I wasn't the sharpest carrot in the basket, but I have a wrath for cogs that seems to fuel me. Anyways, I'm not offended at all. It does seem strange if you weren't in my shoes. I was hiding out in the old family home for a while. I exhausted all the gags we had and had to scavenge the best I could to stay alive. You wouldn't really understand as you all have a whole bunch of you, but I was alone. I just hid underneath the floor and thought and talked to myself. Wasn't a great life. I figured I'd head out one time to try and find someone else and if I didn't… Well, I didn't really care to make it much longer anyways. I was heading towards Donald's Dock when I was caught by that Business Angel and made a run for it. Was a stroke of luck I ended up where I did and when I got there? Although sometimes luck is all you need."

"Anyways, why don't we just move on, okay? We have an extra set of paws around here; we might as well show him around so we can get him set up before the day is over?" Churro tried to swap subjects, hoping to avoid further conflict with Punchy.

"Hey, wait a second. You're not the leader here. We all agreed there would be a group vote if there was ever any large changes needed, we need to have a vote on this!" Punchy growled, his voice screeching halfway through his angry comment.

Chip nodded and held up his hand. "Punchy is right, Churro. We did all agree upon this. I know you are eager to get going on things, but we put rules in place to protect everybody from the decisions of one person."

Frustrated, Churro went to argue but was held back by Pumpkin Pie who humbly nodded. "It isn't a big deal, Churro. I understand it. Can we get everybody together now? I'd really love to meet everyone."

"Alright. Well, why don't I go around and start gathering everybody. Can you three hang out here for a few minutes? I can't imagine that anyone is too far from here." The younger chimp adjusted his hat and began walking to another room. "Please don't kill him or anything while I'm gone." Churro wasn't sure if he was kidding or not, but knowing Punchy, he was leaning towards the ladder.

"No worries, man. I'll just take the opportunity to relax a bit. I'm still pretty exhausted after everything that happened." The orange rabbit plopped himself down on the couch and gazed upon the T.V. which was playing some old movie he'd never seen before. "Wow, I haven't seen a movie in like a year. Kind of forgot these existed."

Once Churro was gone, Punchy walked in front of the relaxing rabbit, joined by the hobbling brown ape who both stood over Pumpkin Pie skeptically. "Listen, kid. I don't know why you're here but you're not fooling me. I could smell your lies a mile away. Churro is a gullible fool, getting passed him would be easy for even the simplest of Toons. I recommend you leave now because there is no way everybody will allow you to stay." The blue feline barked out.

Rolling his eyes, the medium sized hare shot back at the short, fat cat. "Bruh, I'm twenty-two. You can't be that much older than me. Don't call me a kid. I don't know what your problem is, but I'm not here to cause issues."

"Alright you two, calm down. Fighting isn't going to do us any good." Chip knelt and looked at Pumpkin Pie in the eyes. "We're just going in circles here. He said, she said kind of stuff. Why don't we just change topics and talk about something else. I'm sure we have more in common than any of us think, wouldn't you agree?" The primate looked to Punchy who crossed his stubby arms and looked away. "Great. Now, Pumpkin, you must have a lot of expertise on fighting if you've lived alone. Why not tell us about some of your skills? It'll make it easier to try and find a good place for you. I'm not really sure what Churro told you, but we don't have a lot of fighting Toons here, so we'll take whatever we can get."

"Now that's more my style." Pumpkin leapt up and clapped his hands. Something about fighting sent a jolt of electricity through his veins. A lust for destruction was all he could do to keep himself motivated. "Fortunately, due to how I grew up, I'm pretty experienced with all gags. Although I don't really remember much about Zap, but I'm sure I would figure it out if given some time."

Both Punchy and Chip looked to each other, unsure of what the rabbit was saying. "Zap? What is that?" The blue cat snarked. "Are you sure you are talking about the same things? We're talking about gags. You know, throw, squirt, lure, sound? Stuff like that?"

Chuckling, Pie relished the opportunity to shut down the cocky cat. "Oh, I forgot that most Toons never got the chance to experience Zap yet. Well, a few months before the attack, Mayor Cupcake and the Scientoonsts were putting together a new gag – called Zap. It harnessed electricity to be able to destroy Cogs more easily. Certain Toons got to test them out, and since my parents got to grow them, we would sneak some away and use them for fun. Anyways, I guess it's a moot point now. It isn't like we could use them. Not without getting to Toontown Central, that is."

"Hey guys, sorry I'm back." From behind the three Toons, a voice called out. Turning around, Pumpkin Pie breathed a sigh of relief as he noticed the closest Toon, he had to a friend had returned. "I let everyone know we'll be having a vote later. Although, Wizard wanted to come and check out the new guy."

"Woah!" Pumpkin Pie's eyes nearly flew out of his head as he saw the other Toon who was with Churro. A somewhat short, big-headed, dark green mouse. Their face was covered in battle scars and the look of similar confusion that the rabbit displayed. "Wiz?"

Chip, Churro, and Punchy all looked at each other confuzzled. "Wait, you two know each other?" The blue cat exclaimed. Completely undercut, Punchy prepared to defend himself against a potential attack unknowing what to expect.

The rodent, generally emotionless and somewhat angry, let out an excited squeal and nearly flew across the room to greet the hare, wrapping her arms around the excited rabbit and hopping up and down. "Oh my, I can't believe you're still alive! I thought you all were wiped out! I even came by your house and didn't see any of you!"

"Wow, this is crazy…" Pumpkin Pie said in a hushed tone. Smacking himself, the Toon shook his head and realized he was actually awake and alive. "Well, it is just me now…" He responded.

"Hold on a second. Can you guys just slow down a second here?" Churro took off his sunglasses to get a better view of what was happening, as it seemed too good to be true. "How do you guys know each other?"

Wizard composed herself and stepped backwards. "Oh, sorry. I was caught up in myself for a moment there. I apologize for the outburst of emotion. Pumpkin Pie here is the son of one of my former colleagues. Well, friends actually. When the cogs attacked, they were one of the only Toons I trusted to keep themselves safe. Seeing that destroyed home was almost enough to make me give up hope before I ran into you guys." Wizard wiped a tear away. Nobody had ever seen the green mouse cry, let alone show any emotion really besides anger and annoyance. "So, Apple and Roxy, they didn't make it then?"

"Unfortunately, not." Pumpkin responded dejectedly. "They went out to search for survivors and never made it home."

"Well, that is how they would have wanted to go. They were great Toons, and they die fighting." Wizard tried her best to reassure the younger bunny. "Anyways, at least you're here. What an incredible turn of events. Maybe we can finally have enough Toonpower to finally go out and fight…"

Chip was having none of it, cutting off the mouse immediately. "Sorry, Guacamole. I know you're caught up in some tough emotions right now but think about what you are saying. We are in basically the same position we were in this morning, now with one additional Toon. We must continue to be diligent in our responsibility to all the Toons that we know are alive, not to the ones who may be."

Punchy was conflicted. He didn't care for this new guy, regardless of how others felt about him. On the other hand, the blue cat alongside Wizard, had been the biggest proponent of going out and seeking out survivors, to build a new army to overthrow the cogs. "So, we can just hide here for the rest of our lives? What good does any of that do?"

"What good does not dying do? Well, we're not dead. I assume that would be a starter for most of us who aren't crazy enough to think we can overthrow tens of thousands of Cogs. We'd need hundreds more Toons, and that just doesn't seem likely." Churro placed his hands on his hips and respond frustrated with the repeat of the conversation the group had went through dozens of times. "I mean, we have us four, Olive, Boing, and now Pumpkin. That's seven. That's not even a big enough group to sneak into the Vice President's office. I know how much this means to you, so I'm not going to go through all of these arguments and back and forth. I think between Wizard and I; we have made a sufficient argument for keeping Pumpkin Pie, don't you think?"

"Well, I do believe in Wizard's judgement. If she vouches for me, I'm going with her." Pumpkin joked, getting a laugh from everybody except Punchy who clenched his fists frustratedly. "Anyways, I'm pretty hungry. Couldn't we all talk about this later? It seems like a bigger conversation than just us five. Plus, I still haven't got to meet everybody else."

Churro agreed, thankful for an escape from the awkwardness. "That's a great idea, Pumpkin. Why don't we all go gather everybody and have a celebratory lunch? We can all discuss this together." Everybody began leaving the room, making small talk and in good spirits. That is except for Punchy. Scowling and staying behind, the cat walked over and began punching the couch cushions in anger. Once again, that stupid pair of brown monkeys made themselves the de facto leaders. He wasn't going to just sit around and take it anymore.