Chip had hardly been able to sleep through the night. That wasn't uncommon before the brown monkey took on a new job, but tonight it felt... different. Chip wasn't one for the supernatural, and he certainly didn't believe that monsters, aliens, or anything of the like were stealing and eating Toons, as Michael had suggested. However, even he couldn't ignore that such a large group of Toons all disappearing at once wasn't normal. Something was going on, and now he was responsible for figuring it out if he accepted the case. As he sat on the couch, slipping on his favorite pair of converse sneakers, he was struck by the feeling that somebody was watching him. "Hey, is that you Berry?" immediately a younger, dark purple monkey came teetering out of the shadows from the staircase and out into the dimly-lit living room. "You're up pretty early?" Berry was the youngest of the four siblings, followed by Michael, then Lana, and finally Chip. Only nine years old, the younger Toon was not quite old enough when their mother had died to understand, or the eventual departure of their father. Chip was never really a great father figure. He didn't really understand how to be a parent, and it certainly wasn't something he felt should have been placed on him from such a young age, however it was that or having all four of them split up.
"Michael told me you're leaving and going to Funny Farms." the purple monkey quietly muttered. She was unable to disguise the uneasiness in her voice. "There's a lot of bad things happening there. I'm scared. Michael and Lana seem scared too. They didn't want to talk about it though. Why can't you just stay here?"
"Come sit down." patting the empty cushion on his left, Chip waited for the younger monkey to meander over and hop onto the couch. "Do you remember when you and Michael were hopping on your bed and you fell off and bonked your head?"
Berry nodded, confused at what point Chip was trying to make. "Yeah, I got a real big bump and it hurt for a while. But I got to stay home from school the next day."
"Well sometimes we do things that we know could be dangerous because we need to. Wait, this is a terrible analogy. Let's start over." Chip covered his face and took a deep breath, pulling his hands away he put on a serious face. "Berry, sometimes when you're an adult you have to do things you don't like. You mention hat you got to stay home from school, because school is boring. But it is important to go school so you get smart and can grow up and not have to do jobs like I do. I don't go because I want to, I am going because I have to. Besides, it's not even a guarantee that I'm going at this point. I'm just going to go speak with them and get an idea. I know it is hard to understand, but you're just going to have to trust me, okay? This is really important. If everything goes well I can get us one of those really big trampolines and then we won't need to bounce on the bed and fall and bump your head." Chip reached over and placed his arm around his younger sister, squeezing her to him. "Everything is going to be okay. Michael and Lana are going to be here with you, okay? Plus I will have my whisper device. If anything happens, I'll give you guys a call. I've seen Lana when she gets mad, there is nothing scarier than that, so this will be nothing." Chip imitated his other sister who was a known grump in the mornings.
"Yeah, when I have to deal with you leaving your dishes all around the house I get upset, sue me." another feminine voice sarcastically yawned out from behind them. "Just look at this bowl here. When did we have soup? This has been here for like four days. You're going to get scary Lana if you don't get your butt going." a forest green monkey half up a half-full bowl and tilted her head with a look of apprehension on her face.
Chip looked at his noticeably empty wrist and chuckled. "Hey look at the time. I guess I better get going. If Michael wakes up tell him that just because I'm gone doesn't mean you guys can skip school. Lana, you're in charge. Don't burn down the house while I'm gone. Love you guys!" Chip had a shoe half on flapping as he quickly slipped out of the front door, off to meet with Flippy and the rest of the council.
Most of the council had taken the day off after being called off the previous day. The exception being Flippy, and Patches who was afraid not to show up as he was still new. The two sat in awkward silence at the meeting table as they waited patiently for Chip to show up. "So, how are things with you Patches. Anything going on with you?"
The multi-colored bear shook his head and shrugged. "Eh, nothing really. How are things with you and Lily? I heard you proposed? Congratulations!"
"Oh yeah, thanks man! Never thought I'd be getting married so young. But I guess sometimes you just meet the right Toon and its instant. However I don't think I'll be having any kids anytime soon fortunately. Can't imagine being a dad at this point y'know..." the awkward silence continued for a few minutes as each Toon messed around with their whisper devices. Fortunately for the pair, a knock at the door was the interruption they would need to escape the situation. "Come on in!"
A purple deer peered into the door and whispered. "Good morning guys. We have a Mr. Chocolate here? Are you expecting him or should I have him come back?"
"Go ahead and send him in, Miranda. Thank you!" Flippy took his feet off the table and sat in a more professional manner. A few moments later the tall brown monkey pushed open the door with a conman's smile on. "Ah, Chip. Been a long time, how's it going buddy? Go ahead and take a seat." Following directions, Chip walked over and took an empty seat across from the duo of Counciltoons. Lacing his hands together, he rested his hands comfortable on the table, not breaking his smile or his stare while he waited for Flippy to finish speaking. "So, let's not waste anybody's time. Have you given any thought to our offer?"
"I did, thank you. I think I'm going to have to turn you down, Flip." Chip spoke apologetically. "I mean, right now just seems like a bad time. I'm taking care of my siblings... I have another job that popped up. I mean, the pay seems great but it seems pretty... well not guaranteed. Pay-by-Toon works pretty well when it is a small job. But, we're talking one-hundred missing Toons. Something like this means there is a lot of work. I'm going to be gone a while. My family can't afford to wait what could be weeks, or even months to get paid. You might need to find someone else." the brown Monkey was well aware how desperate Flippy was. The light blue dog wore his emotions on his sleeve. If he was going to do this, he was going to get everything he could out of it.
Flippy was no idiot though. While a bit naive, he could see what Chip was aiming for. "You have three siblings, yeah? Brother and two sisters?"
"Yup, that's right. They don't have anybody else there to take care of them. Plus between all of recent issues in Funny Farms? Well I think you might need to bump up the payment a bit." Chip held out his hand and examined his fingernails, nonchalantly setting up a negotiation.
"Hmm. Well we are on a budget here. Anything I offer has to be accepted by the rest of the council and Mayor Mickey. We're already trying to fund four more trolley games, I don't know if they are willing to go above a million. How about this, we'll guarantee five hundred thousand. But, that is with the good faith effort and then the rest will be based on a per-Toon basis. Five thousand per Toon is still market value according to yourself." Flippy retaliated expertly, causing the brown monkey to recoil. The pair were not going to back down.
Pondering the offer, Chip spoke out confused. "Where exactly did you get that? I keep my prices private."
"Oh you know that family in the Brrrgh who had a lost son? That was just a test. That was actually our receptionist. We just needed to get a gauge on how much you would be asking for. What we're offering is more than fair. What do you think, Chip? Are you going to tell your family you turned down five-hundred thousand jellybeans? That's life-changing money. I wouldn't monkey around if I were you, no pun intended." Flippy blew off the smoke from his imaginary pistol before quickly placing it back in its imaginary holder. He had out-drawn Chip, and had him right where he wanted him.
Although only twenty himself, Chip was mature enough to know he had lost. "Very well. However, I'm still worried about my family. Lana is seventeen, but you know about Michael. Plus Berry is only nine..."
"No need to worry. We will have Rangers available for home checks and everything. Lana is mature enough to handle things though I'm sure. We will make sure they have everything they need while you are gone. Now that we have all of that out of the way, would you like to talk the case?" Flippy pulled out a large file stacked full of papers. Sliding them across the table, they landed expertly in front of his new hire. "So in there is every Toon who was reported missing for at least twenty-four hours after visiting Funny Farms. We have a range of ages from sixteen to one-hundred and fourteen. So, we have not seen any consistencies in the potential victims."
Chip flipped through the papers, trying to get a visual idea of each Toon. After about six pages, he stopped and paused. On this page was a pink monkey, one who looked very similar to Michael. "Sixteen? This one's just a kid."
"Well, I mean you're not that much older. Apparently he was out with his friends and they dared him to go into the town and he just didn't come back. I know his mom and she's devastated." Patches added, finally speaking up and reminding the other two he was there. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."
"That's rough. Well, I can't just sit by now knowing this kid is missing. So do we know anything about this Funny Farms place? Has anyone been able to tell you guys anything?" Chip continued to go through each page. Each one a representation of a grieving family, a worried parent, or a scared child without their parent. Even though this was just as much about money, the brown monkey could not help but emphasize with them. He couldn't imagine something happening to his family.
Flippy slunk his head and mumbled. "Funny Farms has pushed our best scientoonsts to their absolute limits. We are very sure Funny Farms was not there just several months ago when we sent out a group to explore for new playground locations. So, it was built in a very short window, and seeing how far along it is? It seems impressive. Other than that we only know what we have heard from those who have returned which is... well it isn't much. Most Toons that do come back don't seem to be able to recall any of their experiences, any details about the town, or really anything. It's like somebody erased their memories, or like they were under a spell? Although we did have a breakthrough. One of the crew members that disappeared showed up yesterday and we have him here for questioning. Can't be too sure, y'know? Anyways, you might be good to stop by and have a chat with him if you have time."
"Let's do it." was all Chip could state. He had to speak confidently to trick his own mind. The more he heard, the more his brain was bogged down with anxieties.
Reed Chord sat in a holding room. Shivering from the terrible memories that he had consumed over the last few days. His brain unable to comprehend everything that had happened. The red dog had driven the several-hundred miles from Funny Farms to Toontown without as much as a single stop. How could one stop after witnessing what he had witnessed? After his report to the Rangers he had been taken in for additional questioning at his request. While he was not in trouble, he still wanted to cooperate and help with whatever he could. The camera Toon for the film crew was the sole soul to get away. As he muttered incoherent words to himself, he was interrupted by a light rap on the door. "Hey Reed. This is Flippy, is it okay if we come in?" the blue dog was being extremely cautious not to send the spooked dog over the edge.
"Oh yes. Sorry, come on in." Reed spoke with the tenderness of a new mother speaking to her baby, but with the fearfulness of a new mother who was at risk of losing said baby. It was a conflicted tone that immediately set Chip on edge.
The trio of Toons entered the room slowly. Flippy had warned Chip not to take any extreme actions or movements, as the dog was still traumatized by whatever had happened. "Hey there, Reed. This is council toon Patches, and our friend Chip. He's a super great investigator and he wants to help find your colleagues. He's just going to ask a few questions so he can better understand the situation. is that okay?" Flippy matched the other dog's hesitant tone, with the gentleness of a father.
"Yeah, that is okay. Anything I can do to help." was all Reed managed to speak out as he eyed the trio of Toons on the other side of the table.
"Thanks, Reed. Well first I would like to start with the day of the event. You mentioned that you showed up to the set and nobody else was there. Was there any possibility that filming had wrapped up or maybe was not filming that day or at another location?" Chip whipped out a notepad and prepared himself to write.
Reed looked questioningly at the monkey. "I am the main camera operator. They wouldn't have started filming or moved filming without me. We had just started filming a few days before and were only about ten percent through the movie. So it seems quite unlikely. Plus when I went back to the hotel and spoke to the receptionist if they had seen the crew, they told me that there had never been a film crew there."
"Well that is certainly strange. Now, the entire crew was staying at that hotel, yes?" Chip furiously wrote trying to keep up.
"Yes. There is only one hotel in Funny Farms. Actually, most of the other buildings there weren't even able to be entered. Like me and a couple of the guys went to go get dinner at a local diner and it was locked. We tried going elsewhere and it was locked too. Most of the shops were locked. It was really weird. There was one small restaurant that was open but they refused to serve anybody. We had to have a crew member drive back to Toontown to buy food for everybody." the red dog stared up at the ceiling, breathing deeply and anxiously.
Chip looked at Flippy and Patches, who looked back at him just as concerned. "Did you try going to any of those other shops after your conversation with the receptionist? Maybe somebody else had seen them?"
"Well I did try. I went to the nearby restaurant that I knew was open and they wouldn't even talk to me. I did see another Toon in there at the bar, but they wouldn't even look at me. Honestly I was just so worried I got out of there. Didn't even grab my stuff. I jumped into the van and drove straight back." Reed mimicked his rapid driving through arm motions.
"I'm very sorry, Mr. Chord. I want to follow up on that. So you spoke to the receptionist and the restaurant employee, as well as a fellow Toon. Do you remember anything about them that stands out? Do you remember the name of either establishment?" hand shaking, Chip continued his best at recording everything given to him. He knew the most important thing was being prepared. To be prepared he'd need every little detail possible. He needed Reed to remember, which unfortunately he would be unable to do.
Closing his eyes and rubbing his temples, Reed thought deeply. A tear began to roll from his left eye. "I'm so sorry. I'm trying to remember but its just not there. When I think about it my head starts to hurt. I don't know what is happening to me!" the red dog began to shriek in intense pain. Flippy jumped up and started rubbing the other dog on the back.
"It is okay, Reed. Don't overdo things. We don't want to put you in any more pain than you have already incurred. Let's move on, shall we Chip?" Flippy had a look of concern as he tried to comfort the lone victim.
"Yes, I apologize Mr. Chord. Now, you mentioned you immediately left Funny Farms and came right back. Don't you feel that you may have left a bit prematurely? Were there other vehicles for the remainder of the crew if they came back?" balancing empathy and concern with pointed questions was something Chip excelled at. He couldn't afford to let anything get by. While he didn't feel that Reed was involved, he knew that all actions had a reason and there may be something in there.
Patches reached over and patted Chip on the shoulder. "Come on, do we need to be grilling him? He's not under arrest. Couldn't you go a bit easy on him?"
"No, it's okay. I thought about that a lot since I left. It is difficult to explain without you being there. It was just so... unusual. Those Toons didn't feel right. When I spoke to them I felt like they were not just ambivalent about my existence, but angry. Like they were offended that I was there. Like they wanted me gone. It was horrifying. The entire time we were there things felt off and when all this happened I guess it just hit all of those buttons to get the hell out of there. There were nine other vans there to carry cast, crew and equipment, and they were all still parked when I left. They're nothing special, generic white vans. If the crew did come back they would be able to get around just fine. But, if they did, why haven't they called? Nobody has come back. I'm worried. Please, do something."
"We believe you, Reed." Flippy continued to comfort the dog. "We will find your friends and colleagues. Chip here is the best in the business. Now, is there anything else that you feel is important to know? Anything that stood out to you?"
Thinking for a moment, Reed nodded. "Well there was one thing. I didn't really say anything because I thought it was just me, but now that you mention it? Well there were pumpkins everywhere. Not like growing in the ground. Well they were doing that too, but like decorating store fronts, in the hotel rooms, etc. Now if it was Halloween time? I'd understand. But in August? That's a bit strange to me. I don't know if it means anything, but just something I noticed."
"Well, thank you Mr. Reed. I think that's all I need." Chip stood up and patted Reed on the back. Stepping outside of the room he was joined by Patches while Flippy continued to fill their witness on what was next. "So, what do you think? Sounds a bit crazy to me."
"I guess, but even if he is that all still sounds pretty weird. I don't think a guilty toon would have run back and come straight for help. Maybe he really is imagining all of this and the rest of the crew was just gone for the day? But, I don't know. So... are you still willing to take this on?"
Pulling out a pair of sunglasses, Chip threw them on confidently. "Well looks like I have a six-hundred mile drive ahead of me. I'm going to go get to the bottom of this. Tell Flippy that I'll be in contact once I get there."