Gary sat at his desk which had been filled to the brim with maps, forms, and other files. The Glad Hander was known for being a meticulous planner, and it had gotten him far in his long life. The average cog only survived about six weeks, while he was now entering his twenty-first year. There was a reason that he was sixth in command in Sellbot HQ. While he knew he would never be able to rise above that position without an extraordinary accomplishment, he had convinced himself that this could be it. While there had been large scale invasions on the Toons before, notably each year on Halloween, a town had never been complete ransacked. This could be his magnum opus. After all, the VP had mentioned potentially opening up a new position to oversee Sellbot HQ operations while he focused his efforts on larger Sellbots work. Everybody had expected it to go to the number two, the head of the Mr. Hollywoods - Jack. Sliding papers into different patters and scenarios, the hard-working cog schemed his upcoming invasion. It would have to be perfect. He was going to be gambling his entire legacy on this task, and he could not fail. As he worked his way through, he received a message on his intercom. "Mr. Gary. Chris is here to see you."

Pressing the small red button on the device, Gary sighed and leaned over. "Very well, tell him to come in." A few moments later, a short, blue cog walked into Gary's office holding a large stack of tan files, each as equally thin and perfect as the last. "Good evening, Chris. You're working late tonight. Aiming for another promotion?"

"I wouldn't complain sir. But as a matter-of-fact I am just here to drop of the documents you requested. I spoke with Miss Mindy and she said that she has thirty-six Glad Handers currently about to graduate and be readied for battling Toons. She did say if you were able to wait a few days she had about seventy more coming in tomorrow." Gently placing the stack onto his bosses' desk, Chris couldn't help but be concerned at the amount of work that Gary had taken on. Even cogs had their limits, and most had already gone home by now.

"Thirty-six... Well combined with the two-hundred odd Glad Handers left over from last time, plus the six-hundred I will have from Sellbot HQ. Nope, that won't be enough. I want the largest invasion Toons have ever seen. We're going to need thousands. Let her know that I will wait if needed, as long as it takes." Gary grabbed the files and shoved them off to the floor in a neat stack. "Thanks, Chris. It is a good start, but we're going to need a lot more."

Taking a seat, the Cold Caller saw an opportunity to win some points with a high-ranking official. He had been working with Gary for almost twenty years, and had rode the Glad Hander's coattails the entire time. As one of the highest level Cold Callers, maybe his input would be appreciated. "Sir, have you considered doing a mixed-invasion? Mindy's current class has almost nine-hundred cogs. You did mention that the VP said he would let you utilize every resource available. Well just imagine the army that we could raise against the Toons if we truly utilized the Sellbots full power?"

Standing up, Gary nodded his head and kept his blank expression. "Ah, Chris. I appreciate the concern, but a cog of your stature would not understand my dilemma. Especially not a Cold Caller. No, this needs to be done by Glad Handers. Just imagine how things would look if an invasion of multiple cogs struck. Who do you think would get the credit? Well it surely wouldn't be Glad Handers. Even if I led the invasion, it would surely only add credence to the ridiculous notion that Glad Handers are inferior to other cogs. Besides, this is just as much about revenge as it is about advancing the mission. Glad Handers started this, and Glad Handers need to end this."

"Understandable sir. Well I will go and alert Mindy that Glad Handers will need to take priority in training. I think I could convince her to bump up to a few hundred at a time." Pausing, he watched as his boss seemed complete detached from what was happening as the superior was laser focused on the mission. "Is there anything else I can do sir?"

"No, Chris. I will go ahead and handle this. Why don't you head home? You've done enough for the day." The Cold Caller was surprised at Gary's almost hospitable attitude. He had never known the Glad Hander to be anything other than a somewhat ruthless, and goal-oriented cog. However, he was not going to tempt fate and quickly took the offer, thanking Gary and quickly leaving. "You poor naive fool. A mixed-cog invasion. If only things could be that simple. No. No, this must be done by Glad Handers. I want them to suffer." Sitting back in his seat he pulled out his giant map that he had constructed of Toonstone. "Alright, so if we come in here..." Placing small dots onto different positions, the high ranking cog began to feel his confidence rising. "Yes, yes this is perfect. Now I just need for that stupid Toon to bring me what I need. Toonstone, you will taste my wrath."


Rook stood behind the bar and finished washing up the rest of his dishes. The owner of the small saloon finished his nightly clean up as he eavesdropped on a trio of late-night customers who were sitting at a table nearby. Rook had found that gossip was one of the best pastimes in this small town. Since the white horse had moved here on Billy's word a year ago, he had learned secrets about almost every Toon around. The information he had could be used as blackmail for anything he wanted to if he were an evil Toon. "So, did you guys hear about that couple in Toontown. Apparently a Toon is dating a cog. I don't think I've heard a more ridiculous thing in my life" Pork Rind took a swig from his drink and slammed the glass down.

"Are you talking about Cupcake Doggenbottom? I actually saw her out on the town a few days ago with him. It was a Telemarketer! I almost had a damn stroke when I saw it. What's wrong with dating Toons? I don't understand this younger generation. Kind of makes me glad that I don't have kids of my own." An aquamarine dog shook his head in disgust. "I'm glad something like that would never happen here. Toontown's really gone downhill since Flippy was elected Mayor. I couldn't get out of there fast enough."

"No kidding!" A bright pink deer burped and rubbed the back of her head. "That's probably where that young thing got the idea? Honestly, would you be surprised if he was secretly a cog sympathizer? It's just... you know. Anyways, I'm still getting everything back in shape after the shop was taken over. Silver said she doesn't expect it to be at one-hundred percent until next week. Look how much business we could lose? We're already struggling to keep up with all the shops in Toontown. Those cogs are a menace. I think I'm going to talk to Billy tomorrow about setting up our own cog-enforcement. We can't just rely on Toontown and Billy to save us if something happens again."

The white horse shuttered at the conversation, trying his best to stay out of it. He couldn't help but think of what Billy had told him earlier. The Glad Hander who was staying in his home. What would the Toons in town think if their sheriff was harboring a cog? "Hey, Rook! Do you think we could get another round over here?" The aquamarine dog yelled out, waving his hand.

"Sorry guys, I think I'm gonna have to call it a night. I'll let you guys hang out a bit longer but I really should be getting home soon. I have a long day tomorrow." Wiping down the counter, he watched the trio with a look of longing. "Hey, so I have a theoretical question for you guys."

"Sure, Rook! You know I can't resist a good hypothetical." Pork Rind pumped his fist excitedly.

Stepping out from behind the bar, Rook approached the three and eyed over them all. "Well, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation and I was just thinking about it. What would you do if you found out your best friend was dating a cog, or if they were helping a cog, or something like that? I mean, do you think that would affect how you saw them? Would you still keep a relationship with them?"

"Kind of a funny question from you cog-killer." The pink deer joked, tossing her elbow out. "If I found out that Silver was dating a cog, I don't know if I could talk to her anymore, sister or not. I mean, first I'd be asking her what she saw in a cog? Like have you seen them? They're so weird looking!" This drew laughter from the other three. "Plus, I mean how could you do that without being an Anti-Toon? How could you be okay with someone who is willing to kill Toons?" Rook looked away sadly at the mention of dead Toons. "Oh, I'm sorry..."

"No, it's alright. Knight died doing what he loved." Rook muttered, gazing at the picture of a black horse that was mounted above the bar. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation. I guess I've just been bored and had too much time to think, y'know? Anyways, I think I'm going to get going. Pork, do you mind locking up when you guys are done for the night? Just leave your glasses on the bar. I'll take care of them in the morning." Grabbing his hat, the hose waved to the trio and left the saloon. As he walked back home, his mind raced with conflicting ideas. Was he doing the right thing? After all, Billy was his best friend. They had known each other for twenty years. But... That didn't mean that he couldn't do something wrong. Whether it was out of malice or a good place, it was still wrong, wasn't it? He promised that he wouldn't tell though, and he would just have to keep it that way.


Glen's condition became immediately apparent when he had to use Muffin as a crutch just to get to the dining room table. Helping seat the Glad Hander, the blue cat placed him down at the seat next to hers and slipped a quick smile when he father wasn't looking. "So, Glen. I don't really know how cooking is in Cog Nation, but I'll tell you that you are in for a treat. Muffin here is the best chef that I've ever seen."

"Thank you both for your generous hospitality. I cannot understate my appreciation." Chuckling he looked at the bowl of steaming soup that Muffin placed in front of him. "I imagine this will be much better than anything I have ever had. I have always made my own meals, and trust me when I say I was not programmed to be a chef." The trio laughed as the younger Toon continued to plate dinner. "Anyways, Mr. Billy. I haven't had much of an opportunity to introduce myself and to get a proper introduction of you."

"Of course, Glen. Everybody is a welcome guest in my home as long as they have a good heart. Or, er. Good gears? Anyways, there's not much to know about me. My name is Billy, obviously. I'm just a small-town sheriff who lives with his daughter. We live a pretty peaceful existence. Nothing like the hectic life of the big city that you're probably used to." As he spoke, Muffin finally sat down next to Glen and began slurping away at spaghetti noodles. Underneath the table, she placed her free hand on Glen's thigh, causing his gears to spin rapidly.

The Glad Hander began to sip away at his soup, pleasantly surprised at how delicious it was. "Wow, Muffin. This is the best spicy oil soup I've ever had. I don't think the best chefs in Cog Nation could do this, and on your first attempt? Magnificent!" Mimicking the chef's kiss he saw on a poster once, he generated more laughter from the Toons. "Anyways, you'd likely be surprised. My life was quite quaint until last week. I mostly just stuck to my own devices. I actually worked at an office processing documents. I never intended to become a fighter. When I was told that I was being taken off my assignment and sent to battle Toons it was, well horrifying. Even when I ended up here, I mostly just hid. I know it sounds cowardly, but the idea of fighting and potentially hurting someone or worse... Well I just couldn't handle it. Seeing what happened to some of the other Toons in town was heart-wrenching. I only hope you can forgive me for not acting sooner. Anyways, besides that I'm just a simple cog. I love to read and write. I've always wanted to publish my own novel. Although that would be difficult in Cog Nation. I actually spent most of the day writing and made some good progress!"

"Aw, that's fantastic news, Glen!" Muffin made sure to carefully craft her responses as if she wasn't already quite aware. The cog had let her know bits and pieces but stated that he wanted to finish writing it before she could read it completely as to not ruin anything. "So, dad. Now that I'm about to start my Toontasks, do you think that it would be okay if I started learning to drive? I mean, teleporting is fine but I won't have full teleportation access for a while. Trying to get to Goofy's Speedway earlier was a mess."

"Well I guess you are eighteen now. That would be fine. I don't really know how to drive myself so you're probably going to have to take lessons." Rubbing his chin he looked over towards Glen. "You wouldn't know how to drive would you?"

Shaking his head, the cog frowned. "I'm really sorry. I wish that I did. Cogs usually just fly if we need to get anywhere. Although I think there are a few cogs that have been known to drive vehicles that have been confiscated from Toons... Er. Sorry, I guess I shouldn't bring things like that up. I'm sorry." Glen lifted his bowl to his mouth and polished off the remainder of the soup. "Muffin, would it be okay if I had a second course?"

The blue cat feigned offense at the mere notion. "Gosh, you just plan on eating us out of house and home. How will there be enough oil for the rest of us?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" Glen began to speak but was cut off by a light giggle from the young Toon.

"I was kidding, silly. Of course you can have more. Nobody else here is going to eat it! Besides, I have enough to last a month or more in there! The guy I bought it from even gave me a discount." Muffin stood up and grabbed his bowl and walked over to the stove top. "So, Glen. You mentioned that cogs drive sometimes. I've always been kind of curious about Cog Nation. Like how things work there. It's just such a fascinating world. Would you mind sharing a bit more? If dad doesn't mind, of course."

Billy grinned, eagerly nodding. "I'd absolutely love to hear more. After all, basically everything I know about cogs has been from my interactions with them in Toontown and here. I've never been to Cog Nation or anything like that. What's it like?"

Shrugging, Glen looked at the two with disappointment. "Well, it really isn't that much different from your town. Well it is much larger, but we have shops, offices, and other buildings. We wake up and go to work, and then go home. Cogs are usually programmed for different tasks. Most are created for the sole purpose of battling, but there are many who handle the other necessary work. Things like paperwork, manufacturing, leisure, and the like. Unlike Toons though it is very uncommon for one to swap careers once they have been assigned a task unless it is being sent to battle. I'm not very sure how other cogs spend their free time though. I've always been a bit of an outcast due to my... well the fact that I have emotions. It has caused a strain between myself and my peers, unfortunately."

"I apologize, but that doesn't really make much sense to me. I mean, I've seen cogs get angry. I've even seen a few cogs show fear before. What about happiness? Jealousy? It seems like cogs have emotions, however just the negative ones. Is that purposeful?" Billy inquired, skeptically.

"You know, I have wondered about that myself. When I asked my instructor in basic training, they just told me that I should not ask such silly questions as it could lead to decommissioning. So, I have never brought it up again and just assumed I was built incorrectly." Glen finished off his second bowl of soup and leaned back in his chair rubbing his stomach. "Is there not something similar among Toons?"

Grabbing Glen's bowl, Muffin walked over and placed it in the sink. "Nothing that I can think of. Toons are generally free to be who they want to be. I couldn't imagine not being able to show emotions! Gosh, I would cry. Well I guess that could be showing emotions. So, I don't know what I would do!"

"Exactly. It sounds like you have had quite a rough existence, Glen." Billy found himself empathizing more with the android. As he spoke, he stopped and took a quick glance at the window. "Huh. That was weird."

"What was weird, dad? You see something?" Muffin questioned.

Billy walked over to the wall of glass and scanned outside. "Hmm. Must be my imagination playing tricks on me again. I thought I saw an orange monkey. Might have just been my own reflection though. Anyways, Glen. It certainly seems that you are different from the rest of the scum that you call brothers. No offense to you of course."

Tilting his head, Glen nodded. "Well, it is true. What cogs do is horrendous. I only wish that I could do something. While we do have certain rules about battling Toons and proper etiquette, many do not follow the rules and the laws are rarely enforced. I'm actually quite relieved that I'm no longer there for the time being. But as I mentioned to Muffin earlier, in my condition if I did return I would quickly be decommissioned. However, I cannot imagine staying here as you said. I would be a massive burden, especially in my current condition. I know that Toons don't trust cogs, and for good reason. I don't think I could live here, either. I guess I will just have to find a way to get back and hope that they are willing to offer an opportunity to continue my work without the use of my legs. After all, paper work just requires writing. I could still try and propel everywhere."

"Now, hold on a minute." Muffin scolded Glen. "You're not going anywhere in your current condition. Besides, I just found out today that the daughter of Toontown's mayor is dating a cog! Now, if a Toontown Toon could date a cog... why couldn't a cog live among us here? Why do you have to go back? Why not just stay here? I think once the town meets you they will realize that you are a wonderful, and sweet cog!"

"Muffin, I think you might be getting a bit ahead of yourself. Let's just calm down and take things one step at a time." Billy turned to face Glen. "Listen, I'm not going to sit by and do nothing and just let you be stuck like that. Hypothetically saying you were to live in Toonstone... Well you would need to be able to be productive. Everybody has to play their part, and it just so happens I think I have a friend who could use some help. However he would need someone with legs, and of course the town would need some convincing. I think we would need to get you fixed up, right? It just so happens I know of someone who might be able to help."

Shrieking in a high-pitched tone, the blue cat ran over and threw her arms around Billy's neck. "Oh, dad that would be wonderful! But wait, wouldn't that risk someone knowing that he is here? What if they tell someone before we're ready?"

"That's alright Muffin. If I am not welcome here, I am not welcome here. But if you could have somebody who might be able to restore me to working order, I would be quite appreciative regardless. I will say though. I would work harder than any Toon you have ever seen if I was given an opportunity. I would do anything needed." Glen did not want to return to Cog Nation, especially not with Muffin being here. This was his chance. While he would accept his fate either way, the cog quietly prayed underneath his breath that the monkey would continue his immense generosity.

"Don't worry, I'm pretty confident this would stay under wraps. Do you know Jeanette Guacamole? Well a few months ago she was telling me about her daughter on a visit to her home to get her doodle out of a tree. Well, she starts going on about her daughter's friend. A doctor, actually. She said that her daughter's friend knew how to work on cogs and had even worked on one before. That's probably what prompted the conversation. Anyways, I will try and get in touch with her and see what I can do. The only other Toon that I know of who can work on cogs that I would trust is Doctor Surlee... But I'm not sure about him. The guy has always been a bit sketchy, and I don't know if he'd tell anyone. If that is our only option, I'll reach out to him. But give me a chance to hunt down that Doctor... Mitzy I think? I will figure it out. I should be able to do that tomorrow. It is never too busy here anyways. Meanwhile, you'll probably have to hang out here a bit longer, Glen. Will that be alright with you?"

Glen flashed a million jellybean smile and looked to Muffin. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I will be alright."