Pat Shimble of Channel 3 News reporting here. It is official; Wilson Way last night was subject to the absolute worst showerstorm in over three decades. I stand at Warhols Park as I speak; and pardon my brusqueness, but it's COMPLETE PANDEMONIUM.

The tall anthropomorphic hare clad in an expensive tuxedo/hat get-up sat on the desk of his spacious office, sighing as he paid close attention to the old antenna radio which stood right next to the edge. It was a very long time since he last pulled it out of the least opened drawers; even somebody anti-"new age" as him thought he no longer required the services of something so decidedly primitive.

So it was with embarassment that he leant closely onto the table and cradled himself around it as if it were a vulnerable child.

This is ugly, very ugly. The streets are flooded with water combined from the weather and the sewages, pouring just right over the sidewalks. The entire park is littered with leafs and even branches beaten down by the rain. And I'm not making this up, me and my crew spotted a fair amount of looters on our way here, and one of them actually tried an armed ambush on us. Fellow reporters are contacting me left and right, and they all indicate that it's the same thing on pretty much every single acre in this city. We are getting flooded with reports of injuries just like hospitals are getting flooded with the injured themselves. Sooner or later, the casualties are going to pile up as well.

And I'm only getting to the best part: City Hall is within my clear eyeshot... or, should I say, a mob-like gathering of angry residents surrounding it's yards, trying to seek entrance into it. Trusted sources confirm that the mayor is awaiting inside, and that he's planning to address the crowd regarding our current strife. But security guards have to calm down the crowd before he can do so, and unfortunately, that doesn't like it's going to happen any time soon. The residents are starting to resist the guard's authority; we have been ordered to back away a fair distance because, quite frankly, riot is expected to break out any second now.

"Herriman?"

The hare jerked around in alert, instinct ignited in a defensive high... and sighed relievedly when he saw it was Madame Foster.

"Eleanor?" he said blankly. "I guess you've heard...?"

"I can hear well enough from the distance, thank you." the old lady retorted somewhat harshly. "The city's a disaster zone. It horrified me to imagine..."

She walked right up to Herriman, raising an arm and gently pressing it against his left eye - where a makeshift bandage patch stood where his monocle once was.

"That poor Frances... out there..."

The hare's features contorted with grief--now, more than ever, his heart ached in vain attempt to find the right words. It seemed so deceptively easy; everything does when you're Mr. Herriman. Only passingly, through his long existence, did he fear that reality would eventually catch up to his trademark arrogance one day, and that it would be negligible when the moment came - which made right now only even more painful.

And right now, it was a nightmare for him to even meet the gaze of his creator. Those eyes, so beady and so beautiful - and they were now entwined in blatant shades of red. And the horror in her face, her quivering fingers and sedated glare--

Herriman laid an arm on her face as well. "Hope. That's all we can do now."

"Hope?" The old lady eyed her creation quizzically.

His voice began to crack as he cradled her in a tight hug.

"Just... hope..."

Their embrace would live for only a few seconds when another voice filled the hallowed room.

"Mr. Herriman? Madame Foster?"

The two of them flipped around in surprise. Quickly afterwards, though, Herriman recomposed himself as he saw a very tall stalk-eyed imaginary friend stride in. "Master Wilt?"

The friend sighed. "We need you in the foyer right now."

"Well, why?" Mr. Herriman inquired--when it came dawning on him.

And once it did, the expression in the red-stitched friend turned a deep pallid. "She's here."

- - -

A/N - Over three weeks of waiting for an update... for this? If you're angry at me right now, I can understand why and I don't blame you. But let me explain:

I have a general idea of where I'm going with this story, but when it comes to the full details, I make it up as I go - which is an agonizingly slow process for me. I took a bit of a break after Chapter 5... and it so happens that when that break ended, me and my family are set to head out to Disneyland for a week. I'd notify you in the A/N of Chapter 5; except that the trip wasn't confirmed until AFTER I posted it.

So, this isn't really a chapter but a small "bite" of what's yet to come. The REAL next update will come once I return from my trip - and maybe even sooner, if there are internet-capable computers available to me. To those who have been faithfully following this story, I can promise you that it will be a doozy.

I'm really sorry that there's been so many long pauses between updates. But I can assure you that I won't abandon it, and that it WILL be finished. I just need to take the appropiate amount of time. Right now, it's pretty much taken longer than I expected, but I will continue on. Again, this story serves to shake off my writing rust, and hopefully, future multi-chapter endeavors of mine will be completed in shorter time.

Thanks very much for your patience!