A fantastic feast had been prepared for such an important and glorious night. Melville, the leader of the great islands, was going to be leaving after thirty years. For many it came as a great shock, as the horse had become a monumental figure to the Toons there. However, many understood that this was not his true home, even if they had hoped they could change his mind. Led by Melville's best friend, Big Monkey, almost every food a Toon could imagine was laid out on large tables. Unlike traditional feasts, most Toons did not sit at the tables. Rather it was buffet style. Toons would come and give their thanks and praise to Melville before grabbing their food and mingling among the crowd. Toons from all nine islands were here to celebrate and to thank Melville. Horsenado was shocked by the amount of Toons. While it was still smaller than a Toontown playground, there had to have been several thousand Toons. Many of species that he had only seen a few of previously, like elephants and other gorillas. Wearing a "party hat" that some of the local children had made for him, Horsenado sucked down his second cup of mango juice and shook his head quickly making a silly sound. "I can't believe I'd never had a mango before coming here. Can we bring some of these back to Toontown with us? Just imagine how Toons would react to such a magnificent fruit."
"No need to worry about that. I have made sure to specifically request that we have more than enough supplies for the trip, and some for back home. I would be lying if I said I didn't want to grow my own mango tree when I return home... Home..." Melville sighed as he gazed into the dimming light that blanketed the beach, kept alive by the small groups of fires that had been lit. "It sounds strange to call it that now. While this is my home, Toontown is also my home. It doesn't mean this is not also my home, it just means that my life belongs somewhere else now."
Horsenado was in the middle of biting into some sort of pastry, when he abruptly swallowed and nodded, nearly choking from taking on too large of a bite. Once he was able to breathe again, the red horse pounded his chest and looked at his friend sadly. "I think once you see Scurvy again and have a chance to be back in Toontown, you'll forget all about this place. Er, well not forget. But you know, it won't hurt as much. I mean, when I left Valentoonia for Toontown, I thought I'd never adjust. It took a while, but now I can't imagine living anywhere else. Although to be fair, I didn't live there for thirty years as a deity though."
"A deity? You know, it sure feels like it but you saying it is the first time that's really struck me. Although I would never wish to be viewed that way. I do appreciate what everybody here has done for me though. Anyways, I'd like to change topics if that is okay with you. When you return to Toontown, what is next for you? After all, you discovered what you were looking for. I know that you said you intended to look for a place for Toons to live, but I must ask you to please refrain. I hold no ill-will against the Toons of Toontown, but this place is nearly sacred. Untouched by the cogs, or by Toons who would only look to use this beautiful paradise as a place for their own ambitions." Melville twiddled his fork around into a bowl of a concoction of foods. "However, I would understand if you are truly unable to do so, if the situation is as dire as it sounds. But if it does come to that, please remember that for many this is their home too, and disrupting that would be doing to others what has been done to Toontown."
"Melville, I have thought about that a lot. Not just when I got here, but even before I left. I would never destroy the trust that has been placed in me, the kindness that has been shown to me, or the livelihoods that have prospered here. We will find a way to solve our own problems. It should not be these Toons burden to bear. Although, I would like to take the lessons I have learned here home. Everyone here is so sufficient with their smaller homes. It has made me think about my own life. Why do I need such a large place to live? Toontown doesn't have a space problem, it has a Toon problem. I hope that with my experience I can help to bring Toontown into the same sort of light that you all have been living in for so long." Horsenado leaned back in his chair, unable to eat another delicious bite. "What about you, Mel? I mean you must have a lot you want to do when you get home, right? Being gone so long?"
In deep thought, the brown horse pondered the question. "You know, as long as I can be with Scurvy again, that is all I could ever need. I would love to return to my shop, however that is now being run by somebody else. I would not wish to take that away from them. I think I would like to live as I have here. Maybe have a garden, and life off the land. To grow myself as a Toon. Read and write, to listen, to speak. I want to make a difference in the world. I want to experience the memories I have missed out on for so long. Plus with so much time passing, I'm sure I have missed much. I'd like to see old friends. Most of all, I just want to get there first. If everything you have told me is true, it is quite a harrowing journey."
"Didn't you say that these were the best sailing Toons you have ever met? I'm sure we'll be fine, right?" Five-o nervously.
"Of course, son. There is no need to worry there. We will have the best crew of Toons that any of these islands have to offer. Expert navigators, ship hands, cooks, etc. Speaking of which, I don't wish to be abrupt but I have planned for us to leave tonight. I am unable to bear with the pain of saying goodbye, so in order to avoid that I have instructed the crew to wait for us and we will leave whilst everybody else celebrates. It's a bit, er, not great. But they will understand. Sometimes you just have to rip off the band-aid and deal with the pain. Plus, if Scurvy is truly out there, I want to find them. I worry they will overshoot this place and then return home, spending more time away and enhancing their risk." standing up, Melville dusted himself off and grabbed a small backpack that had a few small belongings. "Are you ready, son? Once we leave, there is no returning."
Horsenado watched the various Toons. All jubilant, some dancing and some singing. A sight he'd likely never see in the more industrial and less social Toontown. It made him sad, but like Melville said, he needed to return home. "I'm ready." standing up and joining his friend, the duo of horses slowly slipped off into the night, waving one last goodbye to The Old World.
The Toons on the Melville were starting to feel the desperation. After almost a month out on the water, with only the one brief respite when they stopped on an island full of killer monkeys. They had ran out of stories to tell and games to play. Their resources were starting to diminish quicker than expected as they spent so much of their time eating to kill boredom. This was the final day before they would have to turn around and declare this expedition a failure. Mariner and Edmund had rationed the rest of their food supply so that there would be enough to cover thirty days, after which they would begin to feel the fire on their feet. "Okay everyone, so breakfast today is either pancakes or fruit. What's everyone vote for?" Mariner sighed out.
"Wait, can I just have some fruit on my pancakes, and then just not have breakfast tomorrow? Pancakes without fruit might as well just be eating a pancake." Cross, sitting flipped upside down in her chair pawed out at the bowl of fruit that had been laid out on the table.
"You already did that yesterday. We were excluding you from the fruit conversation, sorry Cross." Edmund replied, carefully budgeting each blueberry to the singular digit. "Plus I'm pretty sure you have already more fruit than anyone on this trip. You're going to turn into a blueberry, just like the character in that movie!"
Scurvy pulled out their aoogah sword and chopped down on the table, expertly slicing an outlier blueberry in half. "Thar ye go, there be yer fruit, Cross. Harr harr." sitting down at the table and joining the rest of the crew, the blue cat's stomach rumbled. "Arrgh, ye better eat it fast because me stomach be growlin' like a rabid dogfish."
"Captain, what is the plan? I mean, we can't go on like this right? We either need to find more food or something." face flat into the table, John groaned out in hunger as he watched the half a blueberry roll back and forth as the waves lightly rocked the ship. "I'm starting to see why those monkeys eat Toons. They must be starving!"
"Yer right, matey. I be startin' to get the craving for mouse. Ain't that lucky for us, we got ourselves a delicious one right here. All plumped with fruit and other vittles. What say everyone else?" a joking agreement caused cross to hop out of her seat and run back to get "work area" in the lower decks. She had finally perfected the perfect sleeping arrangement, one safe from being stepped on.
Calypso continued his writing. For the trip he had taken notes and carefully kept track of landmarks and other important details. Everything from the killer monkeys, to the smallest islands had been recorded. For Calypso, even a failure was still an opportunity for creation. A chance to influence others to take on their own ambitious dreams. Plus it had a pirate battle. A real life pirate battle. Not even in his wildest imagination could he have ever imagined such a thing. Up in the crow's nest, the blue duck soaked in the now warming, morning sun. While John was generally on outlook, Calypso liked to sneak up here when he could. Although the trip had been an exceptional experience (minus Horsenado's unfortunate death), even he had grown wearier by the day. Even now, he was so delusional that he was seeing what looked like a large island. "Wait, large island?" Calypso stood up and rubbed his slightly sleep-soaked eyes. Once the sandy particles had been removed, Calypso stared in awe. This was no illusion. Just several miles ahead in the distance, the brief image of sand was coming into view. "Land, ho!" Calypso screamed out. Jumping onto the ladder, the duck ignored the runs as he slid down, riling up the crew who all ran up to the second deck to get a better view. Sure enough, the rest of the crew yipped and hollered in excitement. While they had been burnt before, they were too overwhelmed by the sight to remember past failures.
"Everybody to yer stations! We need to be getting Cross some more fruit!" Scurvy chuckled as they flew down to the wheel. With a light wind behind them, the Melville quickly sliced through the water like a hot knife through butter. "Five minutes mateys and be prepared to land!"
Big Monkey stretched as he prepared for his morning walk. This morning though would be a sad one. This was the first morning in almost thirty years that he was not walking with his old friend, who had left the night before. Melville had invited him on the journey, but he was getting too old and his wife would have been quite upset. He had given Melville one of the greatest gifts that the horse had ever received, a hand-crafted wooden statue of Melville and Big Monkey holding up a fish. It was based on one of their first fishing trips together when the pair had caught a new species of fish - something Melville had called a Piano Tuna. Since that day, the islands had treated Piano Tuna as a delicacy and were served only on special holidays. "Okay, sweetie. I will be back soon." Monkey yelled inside of his hut. As the black gorilla ebbed through the light jungle, he took in the sights and smells. It was such a different experience being alone. Peaceful and quiet, but also a bit lonely. Maybe he could convince his wife to come with him. To pass the time, the Toon hummed to himself, imagined scenarios in his mind of his friend returning, and coming up with inventive new cooking dishes. After about twenty minutes he had reached his favorite spot; the outer beach. Island One had two distinct beaches, the inner and the outer. The inner beach is where the village rested. It was the typical tropical beach - soft sand, seaweed, palm trees. It was also on a lower plane than the village, to better ensure that water did not damage any of the huts. The outer beach was a bit different, while it retained the soft sand, it also had many large rocks and driftwood which were usually dragged to the inner beach for campfires. One could sit on the large rocks and watch the water with ease,
This is where Big Monkey had found Melville washed ashore so many years ago. At one time he had feared the horse, but over time they had become best friends. Melville had shared with him many of his secrets, as well as his former life. Something he had not told anybody else. His former love, about this place called Toontown. While he had explained there were other species, it still never quite clicked with the gorilla. It was as if someone had told him there were other colors that existed. While theoretically possible, his mind could not comprehend it. Over in the bushes was a light rustling. Nothing too unusual here, as the wind was usually carrying on its own conversation with the land. "I guess I should get going." the large primate whispered to himself. Lowering himself from the rock, he felt a sudden uneasiness. As if he was being watched? Could it be the village children pulling a prank? No, it was too early. They would likely be sleeping at this time. As he slowly treaded through the jungle, he picked up his pace as the rustling became more common while the wind had tailed off. "Ghosts don't exist, Big. Just keep walking. You're almost there."
Suddenly out of nowhere, the large monkey was ensnared in a large rope net that had flown overhead and caught him from behind. Trapped, the monkey fought like mad to escape. Biting and ripping at the ropes, he began to panic. Who would do something like this? Like a terrible nightmare, three shadows began to emerge from the bushes. As they came into the light, they began to resemble Toons, however they looked different. Unable to speak from pure shock, he watched as the two taller ones placed their hands on their hips and nodded. "This is already going way better than last time. Not letting those monkeys sneak up on us this time." one voice chuckled.
"Yeah, but I still feel kind of bad. I mean, we don't even know he's dangerous." a more feminine voice quietly added.
"Don't you remember that one giant orange monkey? This guys twice his size. I'm guessing he's probably important. I think maybe if we can communicate with him, we can get some information about where we can find some food. So far I've seen nothing but empty trees." the third voice cut over his two fellow Toons. Two of the Toons looked the same. They had long, floppy ears, the like that Big Monkey had never seen. Still trying to understand what was going on, he looked sadly at the third. It sort of looked like a deformed koala. A strange sight indeed. "Hey Cross, can you go tell Scurvy we found something? I think the rest of them will want to see this. We'll watch him and make sure he doesn't escape. We can't risk him running off and getting his friends. I don't want to become lunch today." with no further words, the strange koala darted off back towards the outer beach, leaving Big Monkey with the other two creatures. Closing his eyes, Big began to whisper a small prayer. If only Melville had been here...