Edward confidently walked to the front steps of the capitol building. In front of him were hundreds of angry cogs. Generally cogs avoided this kind of action as they felt it was unprofessional and that action was best done through the proper channels of bureaucracy, however under Edward's leadership cogs felt more comfortable with showing their distrust or discomfort. Edward had never seen anything to this extent. Usually cogs would just not show up to work, or write strongly worded letters. The fact this many had gathered showed they were taking this seriously, and were in need of strong leadership from the Big Wig. Clearing his throat, Edward waited for the hub-bub to wear down before he spoke. "Good afternoon fellow cogs. I have just recently become aware of the unfortunate tragedy that has occurred on Business Boulevard. I assure everybody that we are going through the proper protocols to ensure that justice is brought to those responsible!"
The President's words did little to quell the fear and anger that his constituents were feeling. More rumbling, grumbling and frustration reverberated throughout the crowd. "Get Toons out!" someone screamed out from the middle of the crowd.
"Now. I understand how everybody is feeling. It is only natural that cogs would be distrusting of Toons. After all, many of us have suffered loss at the hands of the Toons. But I will remind everybody that the Toons are no longer our enemies, but allies. They have given and helped us to re-build as much as we have helped them. Please do not hastily associate the actions of what appears to be a single individual, or a small group with all Toons. We need to stay united, we need to show that nothing can break this new link between Cogs and Toons! Expelling Toons from Cog Nation would be a decision made emotionally and not logically." Edward had years of experience in cog leadership. Even before he came president, he was a high ranking official in previous regime. He understood cogs. He knew how cogs thought, how they acted and what they wanted. Most cogs didn't want violence, they just wanted to be productive members of society. Many wanted to be re-assured rather than re-aggravated. However this crowd was not going for what he was going for. A rain of boos rung down on Edward, shaking his confidence a little.
"Ban All Toons! Expel All Toons!" the crowd begun to chant. Edward began to sweat a little. It was still a small group, but it had the potential to spin out of control. He still had several Toons who worked in Cog Nation, and he had the mayor of Toontown in his office. He had to walk a thin line. He couldn't risk alienating either side too much. He began formulating his words before suddenly the crowd began to go into a tizzy and screaming. One threw an empty oil can up. Edward turned around to see Wacky standing directly behind him.
The yellow monkey showed no fear. Surrounded by many who wanted nothing more but to rip into him. He had dealt with the spotlight many times, and he couldn't allow Edward be thrown under the bus for actions of Toons. "Edward, please let me handle this. They need to hear from me. They need to know that I take this just as seriously as you are." The Big Wig nodded and closed his eyes, exhaling he grabbed Wacky's shoulder and thanked him. Wacky stepped forward and allowed the cogs jeers to bounce off of him like thousands of crumpled up pieces of paper being rejected from the office waste bin. Once the cogs seemed content with their insults and threats, they allowed the Toon to speak. Wacky had gone through worse, or so he told himself. A murder trial, running for mayor of Toontown? Those were much worse, or so he told himself as he anxiously spoke. "Good afternoon my cog brothers. I first want you to please accept my most sincere of apologies for the pain and fear you must all be feeling. I promise that not only myself, but the Toons of Toontown share your pain, because your pain is our pain too now. I would not blame anybody for not trusting me. I'm just some Toon from Toontown who is trying to tell everybody how to feel. Toontown is on high alert from the culprit and we have threatened severe consequences for any Toon involved in anti-cog behavior. I cannot lie and tell you there are not many on both sides who do not have open wounds, but we are better off not re-opening these by acting rashly. I assure you the culprit found will not only be punished severely in Toontown, but will face consequences in Cog Nation."
The crowd warmed up a bit, but was still hesitant. Some more chants attempted to ride the waves of tension, but quickly died off. "We're tired of leaving in fear!" did elicit a small reaction but like the previous jeers was quickly dispatched.
"I will not rest until this perpetrator is caught, because this criminal is a Toontown problem. I know you are all scared and it's understandable. I will be working with President Edward to establish a safety plan. If I am not able to stop this, I will take personal responsibility for these crimes!" Wacky immediately regretted what he said, although this seemed to bring the most positive reaction.
Edward leaned over and whispered in his cohort's ear. "Wacky, are you sure about this? You do know that the punishment would be at best life in prison, and at worst... well you know."
"I need them to believe in me, Edward. Its easy to make promises when you have no skin in the game. I need them, and you, to realize how importantly I take this. I'll have Matt book me a hotel room, because it looks like I'm going to be here. For now I guess we should get back inside and figure something out. No more of these cog deaths."
"Okay, that's a wrap. Everybody go home for today. I guess you have all embarrassed yourselves enough for a day. I'll see everybody on Monday. Be ready, because we're not going to take any time getting back into the next scene!" Boxer pulled off his werewolf mask and smiled, wiping a heavy sheet of sweat from his forehead. He had rocked things. His reading of the script from front to back had shown as he easily made his way through his lines. While he was a bit shaky and nervous, he eventually came into his own. The crew had to make him a mask because he didn't look like Hog, but it was close enough.
"Great job today, man." Caramel walked over and put his arm around Boxer's shoulders. "Me and some of the crew are going out to get some seltzers, did you want to come with? You haven't gotten a real chance to see everybody outside of here. A lot of great Toons here. You can hear some funny stories about Quentin too."
Boxer felt a warm fuzzy feeling in his stomach. While he had always had friends at work, he never had friends OUTSIDE of work when he got to Toontown. That feeling, everything was going amazingly. That his hard work had paid off. "Yeah, absolutely. I guess I should probably get out of this costume."
"Keep it on! Can you imagine how funny that would be? Just walk into the bar with the costume on?" Caramel acted the part of a horrified old Toon seeing a werewolf walk down the street.
"Yeah, you wish bud. I'll be quick, just gonna head to the changing room real quick. I'll meet you guys outside." Boxer carried the wold head under his left arm as he walked through the mostly empty studio. There was a few crew members cleaning up, but they generally kept to themselves. Whistling a tune, the purple dog turned a corner into a dark hallway. He had finally gotten down the layout of this place, but was still uncomfortable walking around alone. He felt like he didn't belong here at times. Especially as he walked past the movie posters of famous Toons and highly acclaimed movies that stood throughout Toontown history. "Ah, changing room." Boxer pushed open a door. Reaching over he flipped on a light. It was completely empty. Caramel wasn't kidding about everybody wanting to get out before Quentin could find them, as he was famous for dissecting performances hours after shooting had wrapped up, sometimes even after the movie was finished. It appeared Boxer was out of the woods as he quickly undressed and hung his costume into his locker. Throwing on some deodorant, the purple dog smelled his armpit and nodded. As Boxer turned around he was faced with a slightly taller, more muscular, brown dog. "Oh hey Hog. You headed out for the night?"
Before another word was said, the brown dog walked over intimidatingly and glared directly into Boxer's eyes, uncomfortably setting a tension that Boxer was not familiar with, let alone since he had started here. "Listen here punk. I'm the star here. I'm the one people are coming to see this movie for. Nobody gives a flying duck about you. That hack director has had it out for me since the beginning and he's using you to get a point across. I suggest you kindly absolve that role back to me. It'd be unfortunate if you ended up missing out on things due to... an accident."
"An accident? What, are you trying to threaten me? Listen, I'm just here to act and do whatever helps best get this movie made. If Quentin things that me doing this will help, he's probably doing it to help you too. It's been one day, just calm down." Boxer tried to speak confidently, but the shakiness in his voice and his knees gave away his true feelings.
"Help me? You should be on your knees thanking me for you even being here. If it wasn't for me this movie wouldn't even be getting made right now. They built this movie around me, and I'm not letting some skinny legged nobody come in and pretend that he is anything but the scum on the bottom of my shoe. Listen here, and listen good. You and me? We don't gotta be enemies, but if you don't give up that role? Yeah, there's gonna be some issues." the brown dog roughly jabbed his finger into Boxer's chest, pushing him backwards slightly.
Boxer was not normally the aggressive type, but having this younger pretty-boy who likely never had to work for anything speak to him like this had set him to a new level. "Listen here, kid. I don't care who you are. I've worked my butt off to get here. It isn't my fault you're a terrible actor. You can't always skate by in life on good looks. No wonder Quentin dropped you. I'm not scared of you, and I'm not only going to keep the role I'm going to excel, and if you don't like it than too bad!" the purple dog was huffing with anger, adrenaline rushed through his veins.
"Big mistake, punk!" Hog clenched his fist and cocked his arm, but was stopped by a hand reaching out from behind him and yanking it backwards into a painful angle.
"Hog, you go laying a finger on my friend here, and you'll be out of commission for a while. Pixie-dust isn't going to fix a dislocated elbow. Would be mighty hard to act like that, wouldn't it? drop the tough guy crap and get out of here. Actually, don't drop the act, because it'd be the first time in your life you've ever actually acted." Caramel stood fuming behind the handsome Toon, carefully pinning his arm back just enough to cause pain without doing any actual damage.
Hog finally ripped his arm free and rubbed it, keeping his tough charade. "Whatever, two against one is cowardly anyways. Just get out of my way." without another word, the dog pushed through his co-actors and exited the changing room.
"What the heck is his problem?" Boxer rubbed his arm confused.
"Exactly what you think. Dude is treated like a king and nobody ever really says anything about it. The studio LOVES him, and gives him everything he wants. I'm sure he'll be complaining to the execs upstairs. Quentin is one of the few directors I feel has the power to really tell them to back off with credibility behind him. Anyways, let's not worry about him, we have a group waiting to go have some fun."
Smiling, Boxer quickly forgot the confrontation he had just been a part of. "Yeah, yeah you're right. It's the weekend, let's enjoy it!"
For the second time in a week, the crew gathered around the large dining table that was usually filled with raucous laughter, stories, and merriment to discuss a troubling development. Although instead of blood-thirsty Corporate Raiders, it was a dead horse. The previous night's drenching rains had given way to bleaching sun, which had quickly evaporated any signs that a storm had just pummeled the crew relentlessly mere hours before. Scurvy as the leader, decided to take the lead. They had not slept, instead staying up and replaying the events through their mind. They had sent Horsenado up to get those supplies. They should have gone themselves. They had lost somebody close to them due to their own carelessness for a second time. "Ain't no point moseying around tha seaweed here mateys... Looks like we lost Five-o. I be sick to me stomach and if we're bein' honest I be angry. Angry at meself. Angry that such a sweet, caring young lad be taken from us. Life is cruel, he saved us and now he be gone." Scurvy had left their hat in Horsenado's spot at the table, rubbing their rarely empty scalp harder, rubbing down the skin anxiously as they watched a silent, weary, and depressed crew try to cope with everything. "Now, I be remiss if we didn't have are selves a conversation on what's next. Continue or go home? I won't be holdin' any decision against anyone. If anyone wants to head back, then we all be headin' back. We're all for one and one for all. We be goin' around the table and I want everyone to give me their honest dealings whether or not they feel comfortable going." Scurvy exhaled and looked over to Calypso, his next in command after Horsenado. "What be you, Calypso? You be our chief matey now."
Calypso had spent a lot of time on the voyage in thought about this. What would happen if things went wrong. It wasn't uncommon for him. He had always been overly anxious. Throw in his life back home to worry about, and it would only be natural to worry. As he gazed at the empty seat where his friend had once sat, all he could think of though was his book. He had spent years cultivating, researching, and writing. Yet it had resulted in failure. He hadn't given up, and in the end it didn't matter. There was no reward for persevering. Why bother doing anything? Life was meaningless. "Horsenado wouldn't want us to give up." Calypso looked up to see Cross who sat with her arms crossed. "Come on guys, we have been out here for two weeks. We've come so far. We can't turn back now. Not when we are potentially this close to finding what we came looking for to just give up? How could we face him again if we did that? I vote we go on."
"I agree with Cross." Mariner joined in "When we find the Old World, I want to make sure that it it is named after Five-o. I want the world to know that he was a great friend and a great Toon!"
"I'm glad I didn't have to speak up first, I thought you'd all be against it. To be honest I want to keep going. We still have weeks of supplies easily, and I guess I just have a feeling. It's always darkest before the dawn. That storm was our challenge and we must overcome it. We can't let it beat us. We have a crew capable of doing anything if we put our minds to it, and dang it if I'm going to be beaten." John, usually the quietest of the group spoke passionately. This set off a chain of agreement from everybody, everybody except Calypso.
Scurvy notched the votes and looked to the blue duck. "Aye matey. Ye be our last decider. Don't let that be pressurin' you into a decision. Whatever you choose we be followin' it."
Calypso was conflicted. On one hand, he desperately wanted to go home. He wanted to see his son. He wanted the normal chaos of Toontown, rather than this deadly chaos of the sea. The pessimistic angel on his shoulder was yanking him away. On the other shoulder though was an optimistic one. The one that had heard the stories from these Toons. Some younger and some older, all of them who had failed before. Who had lost. Who had no reason to keep going. But they were. Why? What was the point? They would likely fail too, but their enthusiasm was infectious. He had his decision. "I believe if my calculations are correct, we're about two days out from where the Ancestoons left. We must be close. When we get to the Old World, the first thing we're doing is having a feast in Horsey's name!" cheers erupted from the crew.
The old sea captain walked over and placed their arm on Calypso's head and smiled. "Ye made the right choice, matey. Yer a salty old sea dog like me self now. Let's go find ourselves hope."