Bloople laid on the couch, his two young daughters Miko and Hula were sitting on his legs, messily eating popcorn and in a dead-stare watching the TV. The oldest, Miko, was a blue mouse. Only six, she was already almost as tall as Bloople was. The younger, Hula, a yellow deer was four and much shorter, and chubbier. Bloople was a lime green dog, something that caused a lot of confusion among other toons when the three went on family outings. Today they had decided to stay in and have a movie day. There was something magical about staying in on a cold day, with some fresh popcorn, hot chocolate, and a good family film. Although it was getting later, Bloople was easily persuaded to let the two stay up a bit late. Watching the two young girls laughing and chatting among themselves, dropping popcorn everywhere, and generally having a good time also helped. From the other room, a purple crocodile walked in.
"Hey Bloople, you gonna come help with these dishes? she sighed out, putting her hand on her hip. "I know you guys are having fun, but you know I hate doing these alone. You could at least lend me a hand every once in a while."
Bloople pulled himself into a seated position. "Sorry girls, I'm going to go help auntie Pickle with the dishes. You guys watch without me, okay?" Slowly dragging his legs from underneath the two young Toons did little to break their attention. Breaking out in laughter at the events on the screen the two were too enthralled. Deputy smiled and walked over to the kitchen.
Pickle walked over to the sink, where plates, bowls, cups, and silverware piled up in soap filled water. "Sorry Bloople. I don't mind cleaning up after you guys sometimes, but you have to chip in too." Grabbing a plate, she began to scrub it with a soapy sponge. "I'll wash, you dry." She calmly stated, handing the plate to Bloople.
Picking up a small towel, Bloople mindlessly wiped the plate. "Look at them, Pickle. They're growing up so fast. Probably gonna be bigger than me someday." He laughed sadly.
"Yeah, it's hard to know when you adopt. I mean look at us. Do you think mom and dad would have guessed you'd be so much taller even though I'm older?" she handed him a small orange coffee mug. "I mean, I can still beat you up, but that's beside the point." The two laughed, continuing the routine.
"Yeah, yeah. You pin me one time when we're kids and now you're the big, tough, older sister." Placing a bowl down on a drying rack he looked over, where the sink was almost completely empty. "Wow, this DOES go a lot faster with two people."
Grabbing the last few pieces of silverware, Pickle tossed them over to Bloople, who caught each one expertly. "Told you, bro. Four hands are better than two." draining the water from the sink, she wiped her hands on her orange sweater. "Look at that, already done."
Bloople looked over, squinting his eyes. "Hmm. I wonder if we have another sister?" The pair laughed and walked back into the living room. Looking over the couch, the young mouse and deer had fallen asleep on each other. Walking over to the sleepy young ones, he scooped up Hula, Pickles lifted Miko.
"Let's bring them to bed." Pickle whispered, tip-toeing their way to the bedroom upstairs. After tucking the two in, the siblings made their way back downstairs and sat on the couch.
"Thank you so much Pickle. You know they absolutely love you, right?" He reached for the remote and handed it to her. "I think it's your turn to choose what we watch, tonight."
Pickle grabbed the remote and started flipping through channels. "I know, and I absolutely love them too. However, don't you think they would be better off having an actual mom in their life? I mean they're going to get old enough to start thinking about boys, and you know, girl stuff. It would be good for them to have a woman to talk to about that. I mean no offense, you're a great dad, but I certainly didn't go to dad about my period."
"Okay. Too much information." Bloople picked up a loose piece of popcorn and tossed it at his sister who managed to catch it with her mouth. "Well you know how it is. Being a single dad isn't easy. I mean, trying to make enough time for the girls is hard enough between work, bringing them to school, activities, friends, and all that good stuff. I don't know how I'd make time for another woman in my life. Plus, there aren't a lot of young, single Toons who are looking to help raise two kids. I mean I'm twenty-six myself and sometimes I feel like I'm in over my head."
Pickle put down the remote and sat down by her younger brother, patting his arm. "Yeah, but you mean the world to them. Not many Toons would be willing to take on that responsibility at such a young age. You should be proud of yourself."
"Thanks, sis." Bloople looked down. "I guess I don't know how I would face mom and dad and tell them that I refused those two. I mean, who else was going to take them in? Seriously, mom and dad adopted both of us when they were younger than we are. I don't have an excuse. I was given a chance, I should be passing it on, right?"
"Just because they did something doesn't mean you had to. It's still a wonderful, selfless thing, and I know they would be proud of you if they were still here." Pickle reached over and hugged her brother. "Anyways, it IS my night to choose what's on. Let's check on the news. I heard they're building a new golf course in Acorn Acres, and I'm hungry for some information!" Clamping the remote, she flipped the channel back to the news.
On the television, a flashing red bar covered the bottom of the screen lit up as a graphic on screen gave way to the news anchor. "Good evening, Toons. We have received a breaking alert out of Animationville. Several hours ago, signs of cogs were reported in the area of Flippy Park. Information is still trickling in, but it appears that these cogs are different than the ones that were defeated many years ago. This is being treated as a threat! As of now, no Toons have been reported going sad, but we will keep you updated as we learn more." The image on screen changed back to a large red box, which listed alert in big bold letters.
The two sat in silence. The realization of what they had just heard had still not dawned on them. Bloople stood up and walked around the couch, placing both hands on top, he let his head hang down. Pickles slumped into her chair, her face completely free of emotion. The remote fell to the floor, making a loud thudding sound. Looking up at Bloople, she locked eyes with him, neither of them able to say a word.
Root Beer wiped her forehead with an old, flour covered rag, before tossing it aside on the counter. All around her was the hustle and bustle of kitchen workers baking cream pies and wedding cakes and other various pastries. As the head chef at Donald's Delicacies, the premier bakery of Donald's Dock, Root Beer or Rudy as she preferred to be called, was used to the chaos. Zigzagging her way through rolling pins, and hot ovens, the brown cat called out orders. "Bubblegum, get those cupcakes in the oven! Ziggy, please stop eating the pie filling! Sleepy, do you mind running to the pantry and grabbing some more eggs!" The ambitious feline was the youngest head chef in the history of the esteemed restaurant. At just twenty years old, she had already gained the respect of her peers, and had brought the kitchen to it's highest point since the end of the Great Cog Invasions many years prior. To her it was funny, she was animated shortly after the invasions and had never known gags for any other reason than silliness and enjoyment. Walking out of the kitchen, she stepped into the alley behind the building. Pulling out her whisper device, she typed in a quick message. "Hey cutie, I'm going to be off in twenty minutes. You still awake?" She placed the device back into her pocket and sat down on an empty milk crate near the door. Looking up at the sky, she smiled. Was there a more beautiful sight than the stars in the sky on a cold winter night? The light wind chill felt good on her hot, exhausted body. While she loved to bake, it did get a bit muggy in there. Her whisper device started to shake. Pulling it out, she read the message and smiled.
"Message From Sunshine: Me? Cutie? You don't need to butter me up! Although if you want to bring me one of those delicious cherry pies that you are so good at making, I guess I could be persuaded to give you a back rub later? ;). Can't wait to see you tonight, sweet thing. Love you!"
Rudy started writing back, when the door behind her flew open. An aquamarine monkey stepped out calling her name. "Chef Rudy? Chef Rudy? We got a problem back here!"
Rudy jumped off the crate, and walked around the door. "I'm right here, Sleepy. What's going on?" she pocketed her whisper device, grabbing the door handle and following her subordinate back into the kitchen. Walking over to a computer in the front of the kitchen, the rest of the bakers had gathered around.
"We just got an order for five hundred wedding cakes. They need them tonight." A young pink mouse squeaked out, loudly.
Rudy walked over to the computer and examined it. "Who is they?" she questioned.
"Toon HQ!" another baker, a white horse bellowed, his voice echoing through the near silent kitchen."
Rudy continued to read over the request again. "Yup, that is definitely from Toon HQ. Why are they putting in such a large order at this hour?" her voice perplexed. "This surely could have waited until tomorrow?" Turning to face her exhausted crew, she stood on her tip toes, trying her best to make herself heard. "Everybody, listen. You guys have busted your butts all day. Let's finish up our regular work and we'll take a break and do this first thing in the morning. If Toon HQ has an issue with it, well I guess I'll take the blame."The crowd of newly energized bakers lifted rolling pins, ladles, and other kitchen utensils, rushing back to their positions, eager to complete their work and head home for the day. Rudy put her apron back on and headed over to her station, when her whisper device started to rumble. Shaking her head, she reached in and yanked it out. "Come on Sunshine, it's been two minutes. How important can it be?" Reading over the message, her heart sank into her stomach, as the second and third messages showed up. "Honey. Get home immediately!" "Babe, please get home, as soon as you can. Safely though, please!" "Rudy.. The cogs have returned.. Please respond when you get this!" Rudy's arm fell to her side. The whisper device fell to the floor, becoming submerged in a pile of whipped cream. How could this be happening?
Raindrop placed his textbook aside, rubbing his eyes he looked over at the clock. "How is it eight already?" he yawned. "Feel like I've been reading for ten years." Picking up a small book marker, and placed it inside of the behemoth book to his left. He grabbed his whisper device and started typing a message. "Hey, did you finish the reading for Professor Rainbow's class?" Hitting send, he placed the device on the desk. Using his roller chair, he made his way across the room and opened a drawer. Pulling out a small diary, he rolled his back back over to the spot he had been reading earlier. Flipping through, he finally landed on a blank page. "Dear Diary.." he started writing when the whisper device rumbled against the desk. Picking up the device he looked over the message and chuckled. "Nah, man. I was kind of hoping you would do it and just let me know the answers tomorrow morning." Stopping to think, Raindrop opened his assignment notebook. "Uh, we don't have any questions to finish?" He paused for a second and snickered. Pulling up his response he messaged back. "Yeah definitely. Can't believe she gave us fifty questions! Although I don't know if I'll be there on time tomorrow, have a dentist appointment in the morning. I'm sure you'll be fine." Sliding the diary back over, he continued writing, when a knock on the door interrupted him.
"Honey, are you awake?" A sweet, feminine voice called out.
"Yeah mom, it's only eight. I'm not a baby who needs to go to bed right after dinner." He sarcastically responded. The door slowly creeped open. An middle aged red dog poked her head in, just barely visible from where Raindrop was sitting.
"Aw, you know you're always mommy's little guy!" She joked. "Anyways, dad wanted me to tell you he's not going to be able to come home tonight. I guess work is pretty busy tonight. He wanted me to tell you good night and that he loves you. Anyways, I know you're probably busy with your school or your friends. I won't keep you up. I'm going to head to bed. Some of us aren't so young and full of energy like you." Smiling she slowly disappeared as the door closed behind her.
"Night, mom." The younger dark blue dog quietly whispered. Looking at his diary, he continued his thoughts. "Dear Diary. Today in Mr. Bark's class, Pippy looked over at me and smiled. I don't know if she was actually looking at ME, per se, but at least in my general direction. I'm counting that as a win. I can't believe how pretty she is. Today she was wearing this really nice purple dress, and her hair was down. It's just not fair. I mean, I'm sure if I could get the nerve to talk to her, she'd realize how smart, and funny I am. But she's just so pretty. Cookie though, he's so good with girls. I don't know how he does it. He's my best friend, but sometimes I wish that he'd just disappear. Maybe then girls would pay attention to me too. Speaking of Cookie, today after school he threw a cream pie, meaning to hit Mandy, but she ducked just in time and it ended up hitting Mrs. Quackers. Man she gave him a serious lecture, and two weeks of after school volunteering to clean up the school." Stopping he looked over at his whisper device. He was a bit surprised Cookie hadn't responded yet. Usually they would be up all night talking and joking around. Standing up he walked over and laid down in his bed. As much as he loved Toontown, he couldn't wait to graduate high school and head off to college and get out of here. There was a whole world out there waiting to be seen and he wanted to see it. Checking his whisper device one last time, he placed it down and closed his eyes. Oh well, there was still a lot of time to think about things like that. That was a tomorrow problem. Right now he was exhausted. Fluffing his pillow, he pulled a blanket over himself. Letting the sweet allure of sleep take over..