Chip was only in the lobby for a short period of time before the front door opened and a familiar orange cat ventured in, shaking off his jacket and folding it up in his arms. Not noticing the brown monkey, the employee walked behind the desk and placed his red round hat firmly on his head, taking his statued position behind the desk. Looking up, he finally eyed Chip who had his legs crossed behind the unfolded newspaper. Neither Toon spoke, as the minutes passed with an awkward silence. Clearing his throat and preparing for what to say. Standing up, mimicking the bellhop, he folded up the newspaper and held it under his arm. "Good morning." Chip scanned the Toon's uniform for a name tag. "I apologize, I never ended up catching your name sir." Once again, the cat was silent, as if he was unable to hear the Toon speaking directly in front of him. Keeping hie eyes forward, arms straightened, and unnerved by anything Chip said, the brown monkey nodded as if accepting a challenge. "Alright then. So, I found this newspaper over on the table over there. Does anything on this look unusual to you?" flattening the paper onto the reception desk, Chip waited patiently as finally the cat dragged his eyes to focus on the newspaper.
Scanning over the paper, the orange cat shrugged. "Looks like a newspaper to me."
"That's not what I mean. Is there anything about the text on the paper that seems... of to you?" Chip slowly slipped his hand to be over the headline. "Anything at all?"
Once again, the cat sighed and looked down at the paper, scanned over the text, and shrugged. "Looks like there was a fire. Fires happen sometimes. Unfortunate."
"This newspaper is saying that there was a tragedy at "The California." Now, I am certainly no expert on Funny Farms, it seems a bit strange that there would be two hotels with the same name in the same small town. Don't you think?" Chip was beginning to get more agitated at how nonchalantly the cat responded.
Once again, the bellhop brushed off Chip like the dandruff flakes on his shoulder. "I guess that must be true then. This place looks like it is pretty intact, yes?"
Grabbing and bunching his shorts out of the cat's view, Chip tried to take a deep breath and stay focused. He needed to get some information or else he was going to be stuck in a pit of mud. Nobody else he had encountered would even talk to him - aside from that one rabbit from before - he needed something. "Alright then. Well how about this? This surely can't be a coincidence, no?" Chip turned the page and shoved his pointer finger to the section where it was discussing the story again. "This cat here sure looks familiar. Don't you think Mr. Claws?"
"Your sense of humor is not appreciated, Mr. Chocolate!" the orange cat begun to raise his voice, seemingly matching the anger Chip was feeling which in turn had begun to cool after the cat's reaction. "Whatever forgery or gag that you have brought to me, it is purely ridiculous. Now I would quickly advise you to return to your room or to take your leave!"
"Something happened here and I want to know what it is!" grabbing for the paper again, Chip was knocked away by the cat's paw who interjected and ripped the paper away. "Hey, give that back!"
The orange cat shredded the paper in his hands and tossed the tiny pieces around the lobby floor. "Oops." he said with an obnoxious grin.
"Wait a minute..." Chip whispered. In a flash, he spring out and grabbed the cat's right arm and pulled him forward. "Ridiculous, hmm? That paper said that there was one survivor of a fire at the California! That survivor was an employee that looks just like you! Mr. Claws! I demand that you tell me what is doing on! Look at this!" With his free hand, Chip pointed to a melted patch of fur and skin typical of a scar that would one obtain through a severe burn. "Come on Claws, whatever you're hiding here can't be more important than a hundred missing Toons! I need to know what is going on!"
"Get the hell out of my hotel! I will not be interrogated by a guest! I will allow you time to grab your belongings and then you must leave!" for the first time since he had arrived, Chip felt like he was talking to a genuine, live, Toon. Claws had come around the desk and had stood up on his tippy toes to seem more intimidating.
Chip narrowed his eyes and shook his head. Fortunately he didn't have anything in his room that he cared to retrieve, and figured it would be for the best to just cut things off and leave now before he instigated things further and brought further attention to himself. Pulling out a business card he slid it on the desk in view of Claws. "Fine. If you feel like talking here's my contact information. Just remember, you are complacent if anything happens to them. I hope you reconsider." the brown monkey stormed out of the hotel and slammed the door behind him. Walking over to his car he jumped into the driver's seat and shut the door behind him. Pummeling the steering wheel, Chip let out some choice words before closing his eyes and leaning back. Now he had nowhere to sleep, nowhere to look for answers, and no clue what to do. Pondering his next actions, Chip quickly remembered that he still hadn't eaten. The sharp pains had been dulled by the momentum he had felt himself gaining with the newspaper find, but without a distraction he soon realized that he would be in trouble soon. That thought prodded him to remember once again the cream rabbit that had entered "Bibi's Burgers." Maybe she was Bibi? What had she meant when she had warned him to get out while he could? She knew something, and he needed to find out what.
After prepping himself, Chip exited his vehicle and stepped out onto the street. The weather had flipped a switch and a light drizzle had started to pepper the ground with streams of chilly water. Unprepared for the sudden desert storm, Chip had used his light jacket as a makeshift umbrella as he stomped through the forming peddles on the paved roadway, back to the minute shelter that was provided via entryways to different buildings. Hopping between each of the safety nets like a child playing a game, Chip shielded his backpack which was cradled under his free arm and partially saved by the protection from his jacket. Chip didn't know that it could rain in the desert. The brown monkey hated rain, and for him it was just another slap in the face from an already frustrating investigation. Unsurprisingly there were no other pedesrtitoons out walking on the sidewalk. Every once in a while a black car with tinted windows would pass by in opposite directions, but it was infrequent. After what seemed like an eternity, Chip finally reached the building he was looking for. The dark green bricks and the faded brown awning with the leather printed text "Bibi's Burgers" were unmistakable. As he stepped into the doorway the front door to the business shoved open, nearly knocking him backwards. A pair of dogs wearing orange robes and fedoras stepped out in sync and stopped just inches in front of Chip. Eyeing the monkey, they looked to each other and parted like the Red Sea around the inconvenience, and walked forward. Almost immediately when they stepped out from under the protection of the awning, the same black car had came rolling out of nowhere and screeched to a sudden halt. The back door flew open and both Toons entered with no wasted movement and seconds later the car was gone.
The Toons departure had left the door slightly ajar, much to Chip's benefit. Approaching the door slowly, he pushed it open and peered inside. The inside was mostly dark and empty. It kind of reminded him of the caves near his house that he would explore as a child. Kneeling he yanked off his backpack and dug through. Rustling around, he eventually found a flashlight. Flicking it on, he strew it around the room which surprisingly was quite large. There were no tables, no counters, no kitchen. Just a large, empty room. Chip could feel the hairs pricking on the back of his neck as he breathed heavily. What kind of restaurant was this? Why was nobody inside? Where was the furniture? Is that why those dogs left? Did they come here to eat too? "Hello? Is there anybody in here?" Stepping slowly into the abyss, Chip circled the room, keeping his light constantly moving as the silence overwhelmed him. His voice echoed slightly, ringing through his ears as he whispered to himself to keep calm. "Hello, miss? My name is Chip Chocolate? I am an investigator from Toontown looking for some missing Toons? I just wanted to talk to you about what you said earlier? Actually, I wouldn't mind ordering a burger either! It doesn't look like things are going too well financially, but I am a paying customer!" once again his hushed words fell on deaf ears as the brown monkey patted around for anything. "That's weird. Maybe they are re-modeling..." Chip whispered to himself as he patted around and eventually landed on a dead end brick wall. Turning around, he left his back against the wall as he pulled out his whisper device again. Placing the handle of the flashlight into his mouth, he aimed the light down onto his device as he checked for any sign of reception, to no such luck. Frustratingly shoving his device back into his pocket, he retrieved the flashlight from his mouth and began the trek back to the entrance. Keeping the light aimed at the ground to avoid tripping over anything, Chip racked his brain for ideas. Would he have to return to Toontown? He certainly wasn't having any luck. The Toons here were both rude and unusual. They made cogs look endearing by comparison, something Chip would never had thought. As he walked, the light soon revealed something. It was a foot? A cream foot. Hopping back he threw his light upwards into view to reveal... it was that Toon from earlier! But... She looked different.
"I thought I told you to leave." the rabbit stated bluntly. No longer with a fearful or anxiety-ridden tone. Rather it was blunt and emotionless. It reminded him of the waitress, or Claws when he first arrived at the hotel.
Immediately Chip noticed what was different. She had a pumpkin where her head was supposed to be. Just like the Toon from the desert! "I'm sorry ma'am for barging in like this. My name is Chip Chocolate, I'm an inv-"
"I told you to leave." Once again the rabbit stated their message without any sign of emotion.
"Ma'am, you don't understand. I am searching for missing Toons. I need help. Please! Please, I just need to know what is going on here! What did you mean earlier?" Chip stepped closed and held out his hand.
As soon as he approached the pumpkin-headed bunny, he saw a light gleam from near the Toon's hand. Jumping back, his eyes widened as the rabbit revealed she was holding a large knife. "You were told to leave. Now you will not be given that same opportunity." Pacing forward as quickly as Chip could backtrack, the rabbit held out the knife in a menacing manner.
"Lady, I told you I was sorry for coming in like this! Just put the knife down! We can talk this out like adults!" the brown monkey narrowly dodged a leaping jab from the surprisingly nimble bunny. "Gosh, what the hell is your problem! I'm trying to leave, just let me go!"
"You were told to leave. Now you will join us." Chip was unable to read the Toon's face as their face was gone. Rather just an empty pumpkin. How did this Toon see what they were doing? Wait, could they see? He was going to have to test it out. Standing silently, Chip pulled out a pen from his pocket and tossed it across the room banging off the wall. A small echo sound reverberated through the room. For a moment Chip got his hopes up as the Toon stopped. But unfortunately the slow-motion chase continued. "You were told to leave. Now you will join us."
Feeling backwards with his free hand, Chip soon felt himself reaching the same dead end that he had ran into just a short period ago. "Lady, you're crazy! I'm going to the local law enforcement and having you arrested!" Now fully against the wall he watched as the gap between the two closed. Suddenly the rabbit jumped forward, stabbing and narrowly missing Chip. The sharp blade grazed his t-shirt as he leapt to his left and did a tumbling roll, landing on his back. Before he could act, the rabbit was already upon him. Jumping forward, she stabbed out. Chip, ready for it, warped his arms around the oncoming death bringer and gripped the rabbit's wrist. Using his waning strength he pushed back her arms, looking for any momentum to free himself from the deadly situation. Too scared to speak, the simian breathed heavily as the battle for the end result of the blade was fierce. The rabbit had the advantage of a higher position, as she pushed down. She was surprisingly strong for someone without a head, and Chip could feel his grip loosening as his sweaty palms began to slip. His eyes focused on the the quickly approaching blade, the small part that he could see from the now askew flashlight. Taking a deep breath, Chip closed his eyes and used the last of his strength to push up the rabbit's arms to the side. Lifting his legs, he kangaroo kicked the rabbit off of him, careening into the darkness. Scrambling into a defensive position, Chip grabbed his flashlight and held it out like a bat, ready to strike if anybody approached. Sucking in air, he zoomed the light around, looking for the rabbit. After a minute of nothingness, Chip started walking towards where his foe had been dispatched to. Holding the light straight up, he walked nervously and frequently flipped to check from behind him. After a few paces the view of a foot appeared in the light. Jumping back once again, Chip breathed a sigh of relief as he noticed it was facing horizontally as the toon lay on the ground. "Lady, I'm not messing around here. You best leave me alone. I don't want any trouble!" slowly raising his arm the light began to reveal more and more of what had happened. The once aggressive Toon was now laying motionless on the ground. Face down, the Toons arms were underneath her. Breathing rapidly, Chip's heart flew around his chest like a pinball as he got closer. What if this was a trap? What if she was faking it and then attacked? unfortunately the monkey was a good samaritan and couldn't just leave her there. "You okay ma'am?" he whispered as he stood over her. A few moments passed and the rabbit didn't respond. Reaching out his foot, he slid it underneath the belly and kicked upwards, flipping the Toon over and leaping backwards.
Letting out a loud, agonized scream Chip stared down in horror. The Rabbit's arms had fallen inwards, leading her to land on the outstretched blade which had landed directly into her chest. Underneath her a large pool of blood which had been dammed by her body was finally set free and began to flow in all directions. "Oh my cog!" Chip screamed. Ripping out his whisper device he began to panic and type in for emergency help. Holding the device to his ear, he screamed out in horror as the device went to a busy line signal. "Damn it! Why couldn't you just let me go?" he shut his device and re-pocketed it. Crouching down he placed his hand on the rabbit's chest and felt no beat. Sure as it seemed, she was dead. Standing up, the brown monkey began to pace in circles. "Oh my, oh my, oh my! What am I gonna do! What am I gonna do!" stammering as he tried to think of any course of action, Chip did not see as the fresh corpse slowly began to dissolve. "Oh my-" frozen in place, eventually the monkey realized what was happening. Just like the Toon he had encountered in the desert, the rabbit began to slowly fade away, As quickly as she was there, she was gone, with the exception of a pile of sand and a pumpkin. Letting out one last scream, Chip sprinted towards the front door. Barreling through the loosely fitted wood, Chip tumbled out face forward into the street. Sucking in sweet, sweet oxygen, the chimp could hear the sounds if encompassing footprints. Slowly lifting his head, Chip looked on horrified as dozens of Toons, all with pumpkin heads began to surround him. Some held items or weapons; many wore orange robes. Reaching his head back, the desperate Toon let out one last horrified scream as he crawled to the middle of the crowd.