A crowd of hungry, freezing Toons eventually made their way to Horsenado's Pizzeria. Stomach growling, John grinned as he knocked on the locked door and reached his hands close to his mouth, breathing warmish air in an attempt to keep them thawed. "Can't tell you how much I've been craving one of these. Horsenado can make a mean pie. Would put my old grandmother to shame."
"Man, at this point I think I'm more excited to get inside. How do people deal with this year-round?" Mariner responded, shivering heavily as the low temperatures drove through to his soul. "Hey Horsenado! Open up!" The blue dog shouted out.
"Sorry everyone." A voice called back from the other side before a myriad of different clicking sounds of unlocking brought some mild relief. Opening the door, the short, chubby horse beamed a massive grin at the sight of all of his friends. A scrumptious aroma immediately emanated through the air and into the pleasured noses of the Toons. "I was upstairs getting ready. I thought you'd all be a few more minutes. My apologies, come inside and relax by the fire." Nobody needed an excuse to barrel inside, narrowly knocking over the rotund steed. Scurvy waited by the door as the rest of the freezing creatures went and found warmer areas to relax in. "Thanks for coming by Captain. I haven't seen everybody in too long!"
Winking their good eye, the dark blue cat maintained a positive mood, even though in the back of their mind they were still caught on the news of Calypso's disappearance. "Ain't a good time without the crew around. Anyways, I'm gettin' a bit tired of the sea-salt spaghetti and figured I'd come and grab a bite here instead with me matey!" The two short Toons put their arms around each other's shoulders and hopped over to join their friends.
Southern Cross, who had made her way into the kitchen where several gargantuan pizzas had been arranged, drooled over all of the possibilities. "Hey Horsenado, do you need somebody to test these out? It would be a shame if one of them wasn't up to your usual snuff, right?"
"Geez, Cross. Do you ever think of anything besides food?" John inquired, drawing a chuckle from the group.
"Cut her some slack, B. She also likes to sleep on the job." Horsenado cracked, drawing a further eruption of laughter from everybody, including the yellow mouse who scowled and stomped from the kitchen. "Anyways, we're waiting on a few other Toons, so we'll just have to wait patiently."
As the group joked and teased each other, soon there was another knock on the door. Excitedly, most of the Toons leapt up and looked over to the front with expectations that their other pal had arrived. "Oh good, Edmund must have finally gotten here." Mariner exhaled a sigh of relief.
Adorned in his nicest converse, and extravagant top hat, Horsenado galloped over and began unlocking the door. Heart pounding, he knew what the others did not. This was no brown dog, instead it was a handsome horse. Hands sweating, he rubbed them on his burgundy shorts and took a deep breath. Opening the door, the stallion's eyes were immediately blessed by a gorgeous hunk of Toon. The opposite steed was dressed much more casually, in a bright pink shirt/shorts combo, and blue converse. "Hey there, sorry I was running a bit late. I got the address wrong and showed up at Dime and Quarter Back Bank. Dude was trying to get me to run Toontasks for him and wouldn't let me leave. Long story short I need to bring him some eyeglasses. But I'm here now!" Looking over the other horse's shoulder, he grinned. "Looks like a party in here. I didn't know you were into groups."
"Haha, we're not that kind of group. These are just my old crewmates I was telling you about. I hope you don't mind them joining us for lunch. They kind of showed up last second." Horsenado dug the tip of his shoe into the hardwood floor, worried he had already ruined things by being overdressed and over-grouped.
"Woah, woah, is that Captain Scurvy?" The light blue horse lit up at the sight of the notorious sailor. Jogging over, the thick Toon reached out his hand to introduce himself to the famous cat. "What an honor to meet you, Captain! My name is Cotton Candy Cutie. I'm actually a huge fan of yours!"
Melville rubbed his partner's shoulder and guffawed. "Look at that hon, you can't escape your adoring fans even hidden away in here. You'll just have to give in to being a celebrity."
Scurvy shook off their husband's hand jokingly and smiled. "Argh, nice ta meet ya Cotton Candy Cutie. Although I hope yer just as big of a fan of these limey crewmates. I'd be nowhere without em'." The blue cat turned to Horsenado and nodded. "Ain't he the handsome type. Unfortunately, fer me, I got an affinity fer me own horse." Scurvy wrapped their arms around the senior horse and rubbed their head into his chest.
"So, wait, where is Edmund? I thought he was going to be here too?" Cross inquired, looking around the room.
"Um, well we're not sure if he's actually showing up." Mariner quietly responded. "Anyways, I don't want to worry about that. We're all hungry! Why don't we sit down, and all catch up! I for one, have a bunch of boring stories I've been looking forward to sharing with everyone!"
Everyone agreed and took a seat at a large, hexagonal table that had been neatfully set by Horsenado. The restaurateur had also invested in a massive drink fountain that could dispel almost every kind of drink, much to the joy of John and Melville who were both determined to have every possible drink combination. "Horsenado… You are truly a horse of great character. This will not be forgotten." John managed to get a few words in-between gulping down his fourth glass of mixed soda. "Although don't forget me either when I die of sugar overload!"
The red horse rubbed his snout in an embarrassed manner. The chonk steed was never the best at receiving compliments. "Ha-ha, anyways, how did the pizza turn out everybody?" Reaching down to grab a slice of the delicious food, Horsenado felt a brush of anxiety as he noticed Cotton Candy Cutie grab his first slice and take a large bite. Chewing slowly and delicately, the blue stallion had an emotionless face as he contemplated his feelings on the carefully prepared pie. He needed to impress the handsome horse and would never live to regret failing.
Swallowing, Cutie nodded his head and looked to Horsenado with a gargantuan smile. "This is the greatest pizza I've ever had! This puts Pete Za's Pizzas to shame! I know where I'm going when my club needs catering!"
"You run a club, Cotton Candy Cutie?" Melville inquired, soon joining everyone else at the table after having his fill from the fountain. "So, both of you are entrepreneurs it seems?"
This time it was the other steed that was turning red as he stumbled over himself to make an excuse to get out of answering. After all, nobody would really understand the type of business he ran, and he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of the gorgeous stallion he had come to impress. Fortunately for him, he was saved by a question from the dark blue cat. "Aye, Melville. Why don't ya dig into a slice of the pizza 'afor you start diggin' into his guest. Harr Harr, ain't no manners in this un'." Scurvy joked, looking over and winking at the blue horse.
"You two aren't old enough to be squabbling, or whatever old Toons do when they get old." Mariner joked, before retreating behind the table with a half-eaten slice of pizza. "Anyways, how did you two meet?"
"Do you want to tell it, or should I?" Cotton Candy Cutie inquired to his cute companion.
Horsenado shrugged and grinned. "I'll tell it, after all I probably remember things more clearly." Standing up, the red horse cleared his throat and gathered attention. "Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to story time with Horsenado. Today we will be hearing a thrilling tale of a pair of dashingly good-looking horses who by chance of fate encountered in the most unique of situations."
A draw of applause broke out, with a high-pitched "woo" from Southern Cross who snuck around everybody and grabbed another three slices while they were distracted. "Yeah – um, you tell us just like that." Stuffing her mouth with an entire portion of the pie, she got on her knees and crawled back to her seat, speaking with a full mouth.
"As I was saying. It was a dark, gloomy day. I was off doing my daily run to Cashbot HQ. You know, gotta stay in shape and all. As I was galloping along, I saw a lone blue horse standing near the Coin Mint. Well me, being a good samaritoon, went over and offered to help. The next thing I know, I am face to face with the spectacular specimen that you all see. Now, I'm certainly not the most, er, trained fighter. Plus, being an uber makes things a tad more dangerous. However, we were joined by a green dog, some big guy, offered to help us. We go inside and things start well, but it turns out that the dog was a greener and we both went sad." Horsenado scowled, remembering the story. "Anyways, we got out and decided to put our bad fortunes behind us and go get some coffee."
"Geez, whatever happened to that dog? Did you get his name? We should do something about this!" John shook his fist half-angrily, half-jokingly.
Scurvy nodded and reached for their sheathed Aoogah sword. "Ain't that be the truth. I'll find em' and make im' pay for doin' a thing to me matey! Unlike what Mariner'd have ya believe, I'm still as spry as a kitten!"
Cotton Candy Cutie intervened, not really sure if the salty sea Captain was joking or not. "Er, well it actually wasn't a dog. It was just someone in a dog costume or a temporary re-write. I'm pretty sure it was a rabbit that looked a little familiar, although I thought he died a few years ago. Anyways, he used to troll around and hated me for some reason. Just a nuisance though, nothing to worry about. I think I was a bit too caught up in trying to show off my strength and should have did better about authenticating who I went with."
"Yeah, it wasn't a big deal. I actually ran into Edmund later that day and he offered us both a Toonup." Horsenado looked a little dejected at the mention of the brown dog. "Has anyone tried giving him a call to see what is going on? It just isn't the same without him here. I mean, otherwise who will pick on Southern for us? I'm too afraid of her." The steed hopped out of the way of a flying olive from the direction of the mouse.
"Hey watch it! I'm enjoying the peace and quiet!" The yellow mouse shifted her eyes back and forth and quietly whispered. "Fine, maybe we can call him."
The royal blue dog pulled out his whisper device and sighed. "I'll try to give him a call. I'm not sure if it will do any good since he didn't answer earlier." Mariner stood up and pulled out his whisper device. "Man, I hope he does." Dialing in the number, he allowed the device to ring a few times, before much to his surprise there was an answer from the other side.
"Mariner? What's going on? You usually don't call me. Um, what's going on?" The dog stumbled over his words anxiously, repeating himself and struggling for coherence. "You never call. Is something the matter or something?"
"Man, I've tried calling twice today. Plus, I haven't heard from you in a while. We were getting worried. The whole crew met up at Horsenado's place. We sent you a message, did you not get it?" From the background the rest of the pals chimed in with their own hellos before the hound took the whisper device back in his own control. "I should be asking you what is going on, you never disappear like that. Scared me, man."
Edmund paused and sighed. "Listen guys, I'm really sorry. It's just… I guess I've been pretty depressed lately."
"Aye, what be naggin at your heart matey? Ye know that we all be here for you anytime." Scurvy always had a parental tone when speaking to the crew, even John who was older than them. "Why not come join us fer a drink and lunch? Be good fer ye to get out of the house. Dead Toons tell no tales, and neither do ones who be cooped up alone. Come on matey!"
"Yeah, whatever Captain said!" Southern Cross teased, knowing she would be subject to teasing herself from the brown dog. "You're just going to let me sit here and eat ALL of your pizza? I guess you are just as foolish as I remember!"
The voices from his old friends seemed to rejuvenate the former sailor slightly. "Yeah, I guess that sounds good. I guess I've just been bored with life. I mean, after everything we all went through together, how could anything like that ever happen again? What could compare?"
Melville rubbed his chin and tilted his head. "Almost dying? I mean, if you want to do that, I'm sure it can't be that hard. Seems like an odd thing to miss though."
"You know what I mean, Melville." Edmund chuckled. It was always difficult to stay in a bad mood around such a great group. "I guess I can come on down for a while. Although I have some things I need to do. Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to stop by. I'll be there in a few minutes. Just need to get dressed." Pausing, Edmund breathed in dramatically and exaggeratedly. "Oh yes… One more thing."
"What is it, Edmund?" Mariner inquired.
"If Cross eats the last of the pizza, I will make sure to never stop making fun of her for throwing up at the theater during the movie premier! Can't believe she ate fourteen bags of popcorn still. Right in front of Quentin Tarintoono, too! How embarrassing! Anyways, I'll be there soon!" Before the mouse had a chance to retort, the device clicked and hung up.
A heavy weight was lifted off the hearts of the friends. While they still wouldn't be complete without Calypso, the ship had been patched up a bit further.
Quentin was always the first one on set. While the black cat could be a bit of a hard ass on his actors and crew, he held himself to his own incredibly rigorous standards. Opening the doors to the studio, the frustrated feline reached over and clicked on the lights, immediately brightening the gargantuan room. The actors wouldn't be on set for another thirty minutes. It gave the detail-oriented director plenty of time to prepare for the day. The first thing to do would be trying to look over things from the day prior and figure out what happened. "Stupid rabbit. Probably messed all of this up." Walking over to the set where the chase scene had taken place, Quentin picked up the fallen light and tossed it aside. "Whoever that was, they'll pay. I'm going to make a movie about them, show how stupid they are. Yeah, that will teach them." After deciding they would just re-shoot the entire thing, Quentin wandered back towards his director's chair where he was met with a surprise.
On top of the script that he kept for emergency use at his chair, was a neatly folded yellow and periwinkle colored paper. It was certainly an unusual color, and for some reason triggered an anger inside of him that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Picking up the paper, a polaroid photograph fell to the floor. "What the heck?" Adjusting his thick, square-framed glasses, the cat narrowed his eyes and bent down to retrieve the portrait. Immediately upon noticing the subject of the picture, Quentin's stomach churned, and adrenaline hit his body like he had just drank a lifetime's supply of energy drinks. "No…" Crumpling up the picture, he tossed it aside and put his attention on the handwritten note. Feeling woozy just thinking about reading whatever was on there was making him dizzy. Taking a seat, Quentin was hit with the brilliant antics of a whoopee cushion as it let out a flatulent melody. "Argh! What the Hell is going on!" Ripping out the flattened pink latex, the director tossed aside the squashed cushion towards the picture he had tried to rid himself of. Scanning his eyes over the paper, he growled between words.
"Dear Quentin. You thought you could make a mockery out of me. However, you forgot one thing. I am better than you. I will not let you forget me, although it doesn't seem like you have any issues with that. The only comedy from this movie will be how badly you fail. Also, you're poor." There was no signature or no indication who the letter was from. However, combined with everything else that had happened, Quentin only had one suspect. It seemed ridiculous though. Like Crayon had said, Anti was dead. He had verified it with his own eyes. It was one of the greatest days of the black cat's life. It was possibly a troll, possibly someone from the crew, was doing this in retaliation for how Quentin had put them through the tedious work of filming a masterpiece, but it seemed too perfect. It was planned down to the most minute of details.
"I'm not looking forward to shooting today. After everything that's happened, I fully expect to be set on fire or something." The yellow rabbit moaned, unsure if even he thought he was joking. "Like, what the heck was that yesterday?" A pair of conversing voices echoed through the mostly empty studio as Quentin sat on his chair reading, no longer alone.
Boxer nodded and agreed "I actually think that would be better than whatever that dude hit me with yesterday. That was disgusting. I showered for two hours and don't feel clean." The purple dog shuddered at the thought. "Hopefully we can just have a normal day. I have stuff to do tonight and don't want to spend it all stinky."
Tossing aside the note, Quentin leapt up and walked over to the actors, stopping in front Aussie, and crossing his arms. "So, I found the little note you left for me." Even the director wasn't quite sure if his accusations were correct, but he needed somebody to blame to ease his mind from the other possibilities. "After all of the opportunities I've been giving you, you want to try messing with me. I could ruin your career!"
"I'm not really sure what you're talking about, Quentin." The kangaroo disguised as a rabbit was stumped, trying to figure out what he could have possibly done.
"Don't play dumb, dummy. The letter that was on my chair, with a picture of a rabbit? Who else could it be? You're the only tall yellow and periwinkle rabbit around here that I'm aware of. Not to mention all of the stuff that has been happening! The pie thrower? The lights? You're mad you have to play such an idiotic character and are taking it out on me! Well, I won't stand for it!" Frothing and hyperventilating, Tarintoono looked back and forth at the pair of actors. "Well, what do you have to say?"
Boxer shifted uncomfortably and looked over to Aussie who matched his confusion. "Yeah, man. That doesn't even make sense. I was over there when Boxer got hit by that rancid pie. Think you're getting in your own head a tad, mate. A role is a role, I'm not taking anything personal or anything."
Quentin closed his eyes and allowed the blackness to envelope his mind. Was Aussie telling the truth? Everything he said made sense, but nothing about this scenario made any sense to him. "Why don't you two go home for the day. We're done filming. We'll start again tomorrow. Let everyone else know."
"Um, are you sure? I mean we just got here. We can at least run a few takes if you want?" Boxer inquired, before a glare from Quentin shot down any possibility of continuing their day at the studio. "Alright, alright. Well, I hope everything works out. We'll see you tomorrow." The pair quickly turned and speed walked away, doing their best to get away from the mind-bent cat.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid rabbit. I'm going to prove you are doing this. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but you're back and I'm going to prove it." Removing his blue, yellow-billed baseball cap, Quentin rolled it up and squeezed it tightly, as he did when he was anxious. "I'm coming to find you, Anti."
