Chapter 11: Arrival

It was around 7 in the morning and Taz, Molly, and Jake woke up. They for the most part slept well, especially after how exhausting the day previously was. They were still on the plane and still in the air. Suddenly, a voice could be heard on the intercom. "This is your captain speaking," he announced, "We will be landing in California in less than 1 hour!" "Yay! California!" Taz said. He then got up from his seat and started dancing around but ended up falling and landing on a passenger. "Hey! Watch it!" he yelled. Taz spoke in his gibberish and then raspberried. "Taz, just sit down," Molly said.

Within less than an hour, a city could be seen, as well as a beautiful blue ocean nearby it. The sky was blue, unlike in Tazmania where the sky is always yellow. It was truly a beautiful sight for Taz and his siblings. And in a matter of minutes, their plane made it's landing. The 3 were officially at their destination.

The devil's as well as other passengers walked out of the gate from their plane. When they were outside, they looked for an available taxi or bus nearby. They saw an available taxi nearby. When they got in, the taxi driver asked, "Where to?" Taz spoke in his usual gibberish to the taxi driver, as a way to ask where the nearest hotel is. The driver looked confused, obviously not understanding it. "I'm sorry, where again?" Taz spoke once more to the driver in his gibberish. "Okay, now Taz is just being a smartass," Molly said to herself, she then said outloud, "What my brother who I love very much is trying to say is where is the nearest hotel." "Oh, I know a place," the Taxi driver, as he drove and left the airport.

While driving to where the taxi driver was thinking of, they crossed over a big bridge and saw the beautiful blue sky and ocean, accompanied by the city view and beach. The 3 were stunned by the view. "We never had a view like this in Tazmania," said Jake. In some instances Jake may have been right, although they had gotten views sorta like this in Tazmania. Whether it be a balloon ride or on a really tall mountain. Regardless though, they continued forward now entering the city. The devil's looked around through the windows and saw the busy city life. Much busier than Tazmania no doubt. Businesses, food stands, and various other stuff as far as the eye could see.

The taxi driver pulled up to a building that was smaller than most but stood out from the rest. "What's this place?" asked Molly. "This is the nearest hotel," the taxi driver replied, "It's got decent pricing, nice rooms, and it's all in all a generally good place. Anyway, here's the amount you have to pay." He then pulled out his calculator to show the amount that needed to be payed. Taz gave him the amount he needed, before he and his siblings exited the cab.

After checking into the hotel, the 3 went to their room. It looked nice, but it was nothing fancy. Taz vocalized, giving suggestions on what they could do now. "Hold on now," said Molly, "I think we need to go over some things first before we go and do stuff. First, we have to make sure we don't spend too much in order to stay here in the hotel. Second, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves and do everything at once. I think we need to get adjusted to where we are. And third, someone here is gonna need to find a job since he can't pay out of pocket the entire time..." She was no doubt refering to Taz. Taz scoffed, "Taz wonders who made Molly leader." "It's just some suggestions bro," Molly said, "After all, going to California was your idea, so I assumed you would be managing money count." Taz knew Molly was right but he wasn't a particular fan of the idea, especially after how Hotel Tazmania went. "Taz will get job...sometime," assured Taz, although he himself felt unsure of keeping his own word on that.

"Hey, I just remembered something," said Jake, "Remember that one gator? I wonder why he wanted to help us." "Yeah, I think I know who your talking about," said Molly, "It was really strange that he did help us. Especially when he and his friend trapped us a few years ago." Taz spoke in his usual gibberish, giving them more of a summary of Bull and Axl being partners and what he could remember about them. "Oh yeah, I've witnessed him get hit over the head with that thing by his partner," said Jake. "Do you think after all of what Axl has been through, he finally had enough of Bull?" asked Molly, "I understand he may not be the smartest, but do you think he is coming to his senses?" Taz shrugged in response and said, "Taz' guess is as good as Molly's." For now, all they could do is wonder if their theories were true or not. And in the meantime, get settled into their new life.

Francis was sleeping later than usual, after all the partying he and the Mudpeople did through the night. His father woke him up. "My boy, there's a strange man in a trench coat outside the tribe who says he knows you and would like to speak to you," he said. "I think I know who that man is," said Francis as he rushed out of bed and to outside. When he was outside, a spy with one of the black cars was waiting for him. "Francis, Mr. Chairman needs to see you," said the spy. "Can that Dingo just wait?" asked Francis, "After all, I just finished celebrating for achieving my manhood." "Trust me, he is NOT in the mood for waiting," replied the spy. Francis sighed, "Fine, but this better be good..."

Meanwhile, Bull and Axl were checking on Jean within the wearhouse. "Hey there, how was your night?" asked Bull. Jean didn't respond, she didn't feel talking. "Not a talker I see," said Bull. He then saw Axl with a sympathetic look on his face. "Something you got to say Axl?" asked Bull. "Oh no Bull, nothing to say," said Axl. Bull just glared at Axl, before turning his head back to where it was. He said to himself, "I swear, something weird is going on. Like really, what is going on with Axl?" Just then, a spy walked up to them. "Mr. Chairman needs you guys," said the spy. "But we just got our Tasmanian Devil," Bull replied, "Why does Dingo need us?" "He'll explain when you arrive," said the spy, "Just bare in mind, he's not in a good mood." Bull sighed and further groaned, "Again, we LITERALLY just did our job. But if he insists I guess."

Bull, Axl, and Francis ended up in the back of the airport where they were met with many spies, Townly, and Dingo. "Anyone know why they're here?" asked Dingo. "Because you forced us to?" replied Axl. "Thanks captain obvious!" said Dingo sarcastically, then became serious, "But besides that, Taz and his siblings have been found out in California! You guys and Townly are taking our fastest jet to get them! It is just under 6 hours! And also, give Francis some clothes for crying out loud! I don't like seeing a teen wearing a diaper..." A spy came up to Francis holding a white t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. "Please don't make me," sighed Francis. "You heard the chairman," said the spy.

"If you don't mind me asking Dingo, why do you want us go all the way out to California to get them if they're already away from us?" asked Bull. "I don't want to risk them going around!" said Dingo, "If they say a peep of our wrongdoings, this could reach not just us, but the headquarters which is also in California! Headquarters and every other Acme facility and property worldwide could be seeing a shutdown if this were to happen! It needs to be a clean operation, without the involvement of other Acmes and/or other parties. My father figure got the right-of-way to do this operation as long as it gets done the right way." "That's a lot of information that I am probably not going to remember but thanks away Dingo," said Bull. Dingo rolled his eyes.

Francis had the clothes he was givin on. "Father would not be pleased with this," he groaned, "The very thought of having to wear these clothes is disgusting." "It looks better on you," said Axl honestly. "Certainly better than wearing nothing but the diaper," Bull laughed. "IT'S NOT A DIAPER! IT'S A- Do you know what? Forget it." scoffed Francis. "Come on guys," said Townly, "The 4 of us have a flight to catch."

To be continued in the next chapter...

(Chapter 11 published 8/25/22)