The next day soon came. Cherry and Cathleen decided to take a walk around Storybrooke City as the Storybrookians tried to adjust to the Cartoon Network characters in their lives. Eddy was shown to be sweeping up the sidewalk in front of Mr. Gold's pawnshop, being the man's apprentice for after school, Double D was following Belle over to the library to get to work with her and Velma, Ed seemed to just be sitting around like a bump on a log... It really wasn't the same for Cherry and Cathleen to see such iconic cartoon characters reduced to such menial and unfulfilling lives with nearly no end in sight like when Regina had cast The Dark Curse, creating Storybrooke 28 years ago until she was stopped by Emma who broke the curse, waking everyone up and remembering their fairy tale lives. However, as they continued to walk, they soon saw what looked like a couple of school buses in front of the community church where Mother Superior AKA The Blue Fairy who helped Pinocchio and Geppeto was standing around while reading off of a checklist as the other nuns/ex-fairies were loading up a bunch of kids. Cherry and Cathleen looked at each other before shrugging and went to go over and see what was going on.
"Uh... Mother Superior, what's going on?" Cherry asked the woman in charge.
"Oh? Mary Margaret didn't tell you?" Mother Superior replied. "The orphans we're looking after are going on a field trip with Storybrooke City School over to the zoo."
"Oh... I guess that'll be fun for them." Cherry remarked.
"As long as they don't get made fun of for being orphans." Cathleen commented.
"Nah, the kids of Storybrooke wouldn't do that," Cherry shook her head. "Henry was adopted, but no one ever picked on him or made fun of him for it."
"Yeah, but that's because Regina raised him," Mother Superior reminded. "You know how scary she can be, being The Evil Queen and all."
Cherry just glanced at Mother Superior with a strange look.
"...What?" Mother Superior asked.
"...Forget it," Cherry shrugged. "Still, a field trip to the zoo sounds nice."
"Are you going to volunteer today?" Mother Superior offered. "You're welcome to if you want."
"Maybe we'll come around later," Cherry suggested with a shrug. "Besides, I didn't think Storybrooke had a zoo."
"It came with the new curse from whoever did this to us," Mother Superior explained. "I was quite surprised myself. Still, it'll be nice to give the kids something to do, especially these kids who are having a tough time getting adopted."
"We'll probably be over there just to take a look," Cherry shrugged. "We have jobs now, ya know."
"Yeah... Against my own free will..." Cathleen rolled her eyes. "But at least Ruby and Granny are cool."
"And Rex Salazaar has nothing to do with it." Cherry smirked slyly.
Cathleen glanced at her with a low growl as Cherry chuckled behind her hand a little.
"Suit yourselves," Mother Superior replied. "I'll be seeing you then. I gotta help Astrid and the others get ready."
"See ya then, Mother Superior," Cherry said as she walked away with Cathleen. "We'll be around town."
"All right then," Mother Superior said. "Farewell."
"Yeah. See ya." Cherry replied as they walked away.
"...Well, she seems nice." Cathleen said.
"Yeah... I hate her though." Cherry rolled her eyes.
"Why?" Cathleen asked.
"It's a long story," Cherry sighed. "The Blue Fairy was helpful to Pinocchio and Geppeto, but not much to anyone else."
"Blue Fairy?" Cathleen asked. "...Was she The Blue Fairy?"
"Yeah... She was," Cherry said like it was obvious. "I'll tell you later though."
"Well... Okay." Cathleen merely shrugged in response.
The two soon made it over to Granny's Diner.
Dylan was shown to be coming onto the bus with the other kids before he looked over as Cherry and Cathleen walked over to the local diner while he and the other kids began to line up for the bus ride to Storybrooke City's Zoo. He then sighed before he took out a secret locket he had and opened it up, showing a couple of adults. One with ginger hair and the other with brown hair. "I hope that The Toon Saviors don't go back on their word," he then said as he glanced at the locket's picture. "Anything to save the future of Cartoon Network, especially for you two. Henry says that it won't be easy, it took him a while to get Emma Swan to help... But I really hope that this will all be worth it in the end. I really miss you two and I really wanna right this wrong and I'm trying to be patient... We just gotta get through this. Together."
Eve soon came up behind Dylan and suddenly hugged him.
Dylan blinked with wide eyes before glancing over. "Oh... Hey, E," he then said to his friend. "You looking forward to the field trip?"
"I am, but I'm worried," Eve frowned. "Cherry and Cathleen have been in Storybrooke City for a long time now and nothing's changed. They don't even know who The Fallen Leader is and our situation is going to get worse and even more grave if nothing happens soon."
"Look. We got this, okay?" Dylan said, trying to calm her down as he put his hand on her shoulder. "We just gotta hold on together and stay strong on the inside. I know it's long, hard, and painful for us, but we just have to have faith in The Toon Saviors, especially Cathleen in your case."
"Yes... If the future isn't restored in time... I might not be around anymore..." Eve frowned. "My parents trusted her and Rex to give me a home and take good care of me even though I was told my mother died when I was born."
"I know, E, but we have to stay strong," Dylan replied. "Not just for the future, but for everyone else and all of our friends. The timeline has to be properly restored or we'll all be destroyed and this would've been all for nothing. Promise me that you'll try to stay positive."
"Dylan, I don't know..." Eve frowned. "I just feel that-"
"Promise me, E," Dylan emphasized, tightening his tone a little. "I know you're scared and trust me, even though I don't look like it right now, I'm pretty scared too, but I'm trying to keep it inside. We just have to hold on together and we'll all live happily ever after in the end. I promise."
Eve frowned, looking him in the eyes before sighing sharply. "Okay, Dylan... I'll try to stay positive," she then said softly. "It's just really hard right now."
"I'm sure that it is, but come on. Let's get on the bus and try to relax and enjoy our field trip," Dylan then suggested. "Maybe we'll see some cool animals like some wolves. I just love wolves."
"You sure do," Eve replied with a small giggle. "I do too a little, but probably not as much as you do."
Dylan smiled a little since he got Eve to smile and laugh a little.
"Dylan? Eve?" Mother Superior's voice soon called.
"Here!" Dylan and Eve responded as they put their hands up together.
"Come along now, you two," Mother Superior told the kids. "Go find a seat on the bus and remember to stick together for the field trip. I don't want anyone getting lost or separated."
"We know, Mother Superior, we know," Dylan replied. "The Buddy System never fails."
"No, Dylan, it certainly doesn't," Mother Superior beamed. "Now come on. Let's get on the bus so that you two can have some fun outside of the church today."
"Yes, ma'am." Dylan and Eve replied before they soon climbed onto the bus as Dylan looked back over at Granny's Diner one last time before heading inside with Eve as they joined the other orphans while another set was going on the other bus.
At Granny's Diner, Cherry and Cathleen sat at a booth together. Cathleen looked around as the patrons in the diner got adjusted to another brand new day in their home.
"Excuse me, Leroy," Mr. Clark from The Dark Star Pharmacy spoke up as he came over to the grumpy man who sat at the bar table as he ate his breakfast. "Uh, do you mind scooting over a seat so Walter and I can sit together?"
"If I wanted to sit there I would've sat there," Leroy scoffed. "If you want a seat, try dragging your sorry asses out of bed a little earlier."
"You're a real ray of sunshine as-" Mr. Clark scoffed before he suddenly sniffled and sneezed right onto Leroy's food by accident.
"...Congrats. Just lost my appetite," Leroy complained as he began to leave. "Seat's all yours."
"Joyful little man, isn't he?" Cathleen deadpanned.
"Well, he did used to be Grumpy the Dwarf." Cherry replied as she sipped the strawberry milk that she ordered.
"You mean he still isn't now?" Cathleen smirked.
"Watch what you say about Leroy," Ruby advised as she came by, giving them their breakfast as Cathleen had steak and fried eggs while Cherry had some scrambled eggs with bacon and pancakes. "But you make a pretty good point about him."
"Thanks, Ruby," Cherry approved at the breakfast as she took out a ketchup packet for her eggs. "Breakfast looks great."
"Only the best from Granny's." Ruby smiled and nodded before turning on the diner's TV which broadcast "Good Morning, Storybrooke" which was a very popular weekday morning block in the neighborhood because of, well, obvious reasons.
The two soon began to eat up their breakfast once they were ready to eat.
"So, what're you gonna do today?" Cathleen asked Cherry. "Before we end up going to the zoo, I mean?"
"Oh, you wanna go there?" Cherry replied.
"Yeah... Why not?" Cathleen shrugged. "Maybe we'll find something useful and interesting. Especially since we can talk to animals of course."
"Yeah... Hopefully they listen," Cherry said. "They seem to remember what's going on due to my conversation with Augie Doggy that an animal's memory never changes, so we might be in a lot of luck there."
"Sounds good to me," Cathleen replied. "Anything to save the future for Cartoon Network."
"So you wanna go to the zoo?" Cherry asked.
"Yes... I will," Cathleen nodded. "You'll come with me, right?"
"Sure, I suppose I could do that." Cherry agreed.
"Great! I'll tell Granny and Ruby, you tell Mr. Gold if he doesn't mind." Cathleen replied.
"Meh... He minds a lot, but he has a soft spot for me and Belle." Cherry smirked.
"Of course he does," Cathleen rolled his eyes. "Little Miss Popular."
"Eh... I dunno if I'd call myself popular," Cherry shrugged. "Though I guess we both kind of are around here if Henry told everyone about us becoming Toon Saviors."
And at that, Cherry and Cathleen split up, going to do what they were going to do for the day before meeting up in the afternoon for the zoo field trip with the children of Storybrooke City.
When Cathleen made it back over to the diner after getting her uniform back from the Bed & Breakfast, it was just her there, along with Ruby and the other usual waitresses and cooks since Bubbles and Buttercup had to be in school today. Right now as she was on her way, Ruby and Granny were talking with each other.
"So, you believe that Cathleen might be the one?" Granny asked her adult-aged granddaughter. "You're not just saying this to get out of work or letting me go easy on you for sneaking out last night, are you?"
"No, Granny, I swear," Ruby promised. "I mean, her father is Patrick Ross, so it has to be her, right?"
"Well... I suppose that's possible," Granny shrugged. "I know stranger things have happened around this town. I mean, we used to be cursed and not remembering The Enchanted Forest and then those cartoon characters showed up in our lives like they own the place and turning Storybrooke from a small, seaside town into a big city with a lot of strange characters."
"I know, Granny, I know, but Cherry's gonna help and so is Cathleen, so yes, I think she might be the one we've been looking for," Ruby nodded and urged. "I think we should talk with her tonight if we can. Like when my mother found me and tried to turn me against you and you took me away from her after I was born."
"I just wanted what was best for you and to protect you from that lifestyle, so it won't come down to that," Granny reassured. "Anita won't hurt any of us as long as I'm still breathing air."
"Right... Thank you, Granny." Ruby nodded calmly and patiently.
Eventually, the door opened and in came Cathleen as she yawned a little, but looked ready to work.
"Ah... Cathleen. So glad that you could make it." Granny said with an innocent and sweet smile.
"Hey, guys," Cathleen said. "I guess I'm ready for my shift right now."
"Good," Granny nodded. "Go get in your uniform and Ruby will be right with you to help you out."
"Thanks." Cathleen replied as she went to go and get changed.
Granny then looked over at Ruby before nodding at her. Ruby nodded as well, then walked on over to discuss something private with her newfound friend who was a fellow Lycan. Cathleen got changed in the uniform before washing her hands and stepped out of the bathroom before running into Ruby.
"Hi~" Ruby smiled innocently.
"Oh! Uh, hey, Ruby," Cathleen blinked. "What a surprise."
"Before we start our shift officially, there's something I need to talk to you about that's very important, but it's best to do it at night," Ruby informed. "So Granny and I want to meet you tonight."
"Oh? Uh... Okay," Cathleen replied. "What is it?"
"I have to tell you when you show up," Ruby said. "Meet us at the Bed & Breakfast tonight at 6:00."
"Oh? Are we going to have dinner together?" Cathleen guessed.
"Something like that," Ruby smirked before winking. "It's also very secret, so don't tell anyone. Not even Rex."
"Oh, uh, okay, Ruby," Cathleen replied. "I'll be there."
"Good..." Ruby smiled and nodded. "I knew that we could count on you."
"Well, this should be at least a little bit interesting," Cathleen shrugged at herself before looking over as some customers were on their way to get some food. "Oh. Looks like it's time to get started for the day."
"Let's do it then," Ruby replied before calling out. "Granny! Customers!"
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Granny said as she rushed over to turn the closed sign to open so that the people could come inside and she then unlocked the door, allowing them inside. "Let's get you all ready for lunch now!"
"Lunch rush," Cathleen noted before looking over. "Oh! Ruby, I'm gonna go to the zoo this afternoon with Cherry. Is that okay?"
"It's okay with me, but you should probably tell Granny first." Ruby advised.
"Okay," Cathleen nodded. "Hopefully I can find the right time then."
Ruby also nodded and soon, they got ready for the lunch rush as it was going to be busy, but not too busy since it was a weekday. Luckily, Cathleen managed to tell Granny that she promised to visit the zoo this afternoon and Granny seemed to be fine with that and let her go after about an hour and a half of work, thinking that would be a good enough time to meet Cherry at the zoo. Luck seemed to be on that side as Cherry texted that she would be on her way to the zoo so that they could try to do something. Cathleen nodded as this was going very well and she soon stepped out of the diner in her regular clothes before a blonde boy wearing a green hoodie with gray pants and black sneakers as watching her in secret before smirking as he looked like he had an idea forming, but decided to wait until the right time would come.
Cherry sat on a bench, waiting for the original CN City bus to come by before waving at Cathleen from across the street. Cathleen waved back, then walked over to her friend to sit and wait with her.
"Hey, Cath. Glad that you could make it." Cherry said to her friend.
"Hey, Cherry," Cathleen replied. "You weren't too bored at the pawnshop, were you?"
"A little bit, I guess," Cherry shrugged. "I had to sweep up a bit of a mess that Eddy left behind from his last internship down there."
"Eddy working in a pawnshop... I suppose that makes sense," Cathleen remarked. "Though it feels odd of him to not be working up plans with Ed and Double D for 25₵."
"Well, yeah, but you have to remember, he doesn't remember his Cartoon Network life and I'm pretty sure Ed and Double D don't remember their lives either," Cherry advised and reminded. "Though I guess on the bright side, I haven't seen those Kanker sisters around looking for them, not to mention certain cul-de-sac kids giving them trouble."
"Thank goodness for that," Cathleen agreed. "Cuz I'm totally gonna pound Kevin once I see him no matter what."
"Yeah... That doesn't sound psychotic at all..." Cherry rolled her eyes sarcastically as she thought that was probably a bad idea, even if Kevin was an annoying dick.
Eventually, the bus rolled by and The Mayor of Townsville of all people was the bus driver. The girls tried to just go with it, though it sort of made sense, especially since Regina was the mayor of Storybrooke before and was now the mayor of Storybrooke City. The girls then sat down and they soon made it over to Storybrooke City Zoo to join the kids who were already there for their field trip. Many kids looked excited as they scattered around. Most of the orphans looked familiar to Cherry and Cathleen, but they weren't positive of where they could had known them from as they explored the zoo.
"I can't believe they gave us the whole day off from school to come to the zoo!" Nicholas Zimmer beamed as he got cotton candy with his sister, Ava, and he rushed over to see one exhibit with a girl named Shelby.
"Check out the monkeys!" Shelby beamed at the monkey exhibit which seemed to hold Dexter's monkey, Blip the Monkey, IR Baboon, Magilla Gorilla, Lazlo, and even Bingo from The Banana Splits Show. "It's a Monkey Jamboree! A festival! A cornocopia of simians!"
"I'm not sure if I like the zoo," A girl named Sabrina frowned. "Zoos seem to just be prisons for animals who were minding their own business until they were captured and jailed for society's amusement."
Kevin was soon shown as he took out a peanut and threw it at a zebra, making fun of it. He also seemed to be with Nazz who was laughing at what he was doing. Cherry rolled her eyes at the sight of Kevin as he didn't seem to change much since leaving his world of Ed, Edd, n Eddy.
"That is so not true!" Violet Morgan told the blonde girl. "Zoos provide a safe environment where defenseless creatures can nap or eat or take a bath without all that stress of getting eaten by anyone with bigger teeth. Ya know, kinda like a spy for the animal kingdom."
"Yeah... They'll be fine." Henry nodded as he followed that group as they continued to explore, passing by a bear exhibit.
"Oh, yeah... A real spa this is," The bigger bear said to the smaller bear beside him, sounding very familiar. "What time's your pedicure, Boo Boo?"
"I'll have to check my schedule, but I'm sure it's after my fur exfoliation." The smaller bear replied sarcastically.
"Oh! Sounds like fun... Maybe we should meet for a smoothie after my pilates class." The bigger bear smirked.
The two bears then started to laugh together.
"Pilates class... Oh, good one, Yogi." The smaller bear replied before seeing he looked wide-eyed and quiet before he looked where he was looking.
Cherry was shown to be looking right at the two bears with her hands in her pockets.
"Oh... What's she looking at then?" Boo Boo asked the bigger bear. "Have you got a problem, Missy?" he then added to Cherry.
"Uh... Maybe." Cherry replied, showing that she could understand them.
"She can hear us!" Yogi gasped before looking at Cherry. "Can you hear us?"
"Yeah...?" Cherry said like it was obvious.
"GET US OUT OF HERE!" Yogi and Boo Boo then cried out, making Cherry wince as their shouts were so loud that her hair was blown back.
"Please, kid, we're desperate!" Boo Boo yelped.
"You've got to help us!" Yogi added.
"PLEASE!" Yogi and Boo Boo both cried out, practically spitting on her.
"Okay, easy! Say it, don't spray it!" Cherry winced and shuddered in disgust as she got soaked.
"Oh, sorry... We're very nervous," Yogi said. "Being locked up in this zoo is quite a hazard from what we're used to."
"We're not sure how Wally Gator even does it," Boo Boo added. "We weren't born in the zoo, ya know."
"Yeah, I know," Cherry nodded. "You both lived in Jellystone Park with Ranger Smith until... Well... Something happened."
"Yeah, the big change," Yogi replied. "One minute we were just hanging around Jellystone Park, minding our own business, looking for a pic-a-nic basket and the next, we just woke up here! Behind these bars!"
"And I can tell you're not just regular animals. You're from The Hanna-Barbera tribe that Mr. Gold told me about." Cherry said to them.
"All of us here are from the great William and Joseph!" Boo Boo told her. "The zookeeper did it to hide us from the rest of the Storybrooke City world to separate us and destroy the future of Cartoon Network's legacy."
"We're talking major trouble, kid." Yogi added.
"Don't worry, okay? I'll get to the bottom of this," Cherry promised. "Me and a very good friend of mine."
The others from CN City who didn't recognize or remember Cherry seemed to be staring at her.
"Who does that girl think she is? Dr. Doolittle talking with a couple of animals?" Nazz scoffed as she stood with Kevin.
"I think it's cute," Sabrina smiled as she walked by with Henry. "Besides, it makes animals feel good when you treat them like people. Ya know, like when plants grow when you talk to them or sing songs?" she then suggested.
"Oh, for the love of... She's not actually going to sing, is she?" Boo Boo groaned to Yogi.
"Hello, boys! How are you today?~" Sabrina cooed and waved at the two bears. "I think I'll call you Barry the Bear!"
"I am not Barry!" Yogi scoffed. "For your information, I'm Yogi Bear! Can you believe she called me that?" he then asked Boo Boo. "Man, some people..."
"Hey, ugly!" Kevin called out with a smirk. "I think you're 'beary scary'!" he then laughed and made fun of the bears. "NOT!"
Yogi and Boo Boo looked annoyed before Yogi roared loudly and swiped his razor-sharp claws, slashing at Kevin's shirt which scared him a bit.
Cherry put her hand over her mouth before she ran off to see the other animals locked up. She was able to meet Lippy the Lion, Wally Gator, Hardy Har Har the Hyena, and even Squiddly Diddly. All of them begging for her help to be let out as she was the only one could hear them, aside from Cathleen, who was bonding with Hokey the Wolf along with Ding-A-Ling and Loopy de Loop as she could talk to them too and since they were wolves.
"Cathleen, we have to help these guys," Cherry said. "We're gonna bust them out tonight."
"Tonight?" Cathleen asked. "Oh, I'm sorry, Cherry. I have plans tonight."
"Oh?" Cherry replied as she put her hands on her hips.
"I have to meet Ruby and Granny tonight," Cathleen explained. "It's very important."
"More important than saving Cartoon Network?" Cherry reminded. "We have a mission here or have you forgotten?"
"Cherry, relax," Cathleen replied. "We can help these guys another time, I promise, but tonight, I have to see Granny and Ruby."
"Hmm..." Cherry paused as she was a little nervous about leaving the animals alone here with no escape. "Well... I guess that's okay. Hopefully they'll be okay."
"I'm sure they'll survive just a little bit longer," Cathleen reassured. "Just let me do this. I think I'll finally be able to fit into Storybrooke like you did if I talk with them."
"...Fine," Cherry sighed. "I'll try to be patient. I guess while you're out, I'll find something else to do."
"I'm sure you can think of something," Cathleen smiled. "Let's enjoy the rest of the field trip with these kids before we go."
"All right... I'm gonna get some chocolate. You want anything?" Cherry asked. "Besides raw meat... I wish you would eat that more as just a wolf and not in your human form. I know you're a meatatarian and pretty much a carnivore, but that's not really healthy, even with your special genetics."
Cathleen glanced over as Cherry soon walked off. "She says she gets it, but sometimes, I don't think she understands." she then sighed to herself.
"It's rough... When friends don't understand you like you want them to..." A voice said behind Cathleen.
Cathleen jumped out and came into a fighting stance before seeing the blonde boy from before.
"Hello." The boy said to Cathleen.
"What the...? Who are you?" Cathleen asked.
"My name's Malcolm," The boy replied. "You're one of those Toon Saviors that Dylan, Eve, and Henry keep talking about, right?"
"Uh... Yeah, I guess I am," Cathleen shrugged. "What's it to you though, kid?"
"I've been watching you for a while and you're being slowed down by Cherry," Malcolm explained. "She's not gonna stick with you to the end. Face it, you don't belong in Storybrooke like she did."
"That's rough, kid," Cathleen scoffed. "You trying to make me feel better or worse?"
"I'm going to try to help make you feel better at least," Malcolm defended. "You have a chance to go back home and forget this all ever happened. You may know a lot about Cartoon Network, but you don't know much about Storybrooke like Cherry has and I've seen her on some of her adventures here. Without you."
Cathleen winced a bit. She began to feel like that was probably true.
"You don't have to listen to me, but I want you to remember what I said," Malcolm told her. "You just feel lost and lonely, almost like an orphan. You may have a family around here, but you may not either. Cherry has family here... Are you going to let her get away with that?"
"...I'll think about it," Cathleen said as Malcolm's words seemed to strike her somehow even if they didn't really know each other. "You don't scare me though, kid. You don't know what I can do."
"I'm not scared of you either," Malcolm retorted. "For you don't know what I can do. You can either stay in Storybrooke and be pushed to the background and be seen as unimportant while blindly trusting people like Rumplestiltskin only because Cherry told you to... Or you can try to make a difference and save the day. It'll be your choice." he then added before he looked her dead in the eyes.
Cathleen blinked before looking down. She then looked around before looking back, though Malcolm seemed to mysteriously disappear when she looked back to where he was once standing. She had a lot to think about right now especially since she didn't really know Malcolm, but decided to do some thinking after she would meet up with Cherry again.
