Cupcake's eyes opened slowly, doing their best to adjust to the daylight pouring in from the window nearby. Stretching her arms out forward, she yawned and rubbed her eyes. Looking over, Mark was still asleep, his arm wrapped around Cupcake's stomach. Pulling herself Up, she slowly lifted his arm and put it down. Even though they had been together for over twenty years, she still got butterflies waking up to see him each morning, realizing everything hadn't been a dream. Walking over to the bathroom, she turned the faucet on the sink. Slipping her hands under the cool water, she made a cup and collected a small bit of water, using it to splash her face. Looking in the mirror, she adjusted her fun and smiled. The last two days had been hard, but she was Cupcake. She had been through Hell and back and survived. She has defeated the cogs before, lost her father, lost her husband (temporarily), and faced many harsh Toons who only wanted her to fail. Well now she was the Mayor and she needed to act like it. Mark was right, her dad wouldn't want her to sit around feeling sorry for herself. When cogs initially invaded Toontown, did he sit around sulking? Absolutely not! He went out and fought and that is what she was gonna do.
"Good morning sweetie, how did you sleep?" Mark walked in, kissing Cupcake on the back of the head. Sitting down on the bathtub wall, he started preparing himself for the day ahead. "So I was thinking I could probably start with some paperwork, adjusting gag inventories or maybe notarizing draft papers.."
Interrupting him, Cupcake knelt down and grabbed his hands. "Mark. I don't know if it is such a good idea if you go into work today. Or for a while, actually."
"I'm not sure what you mean. Do you think that my productivity is lacking? I apologize if I am failing in your expectations. I promise I will do better." Mark's face soured with disappointment in himself.
Cupcake reached up and rubbed his thigh. "That's not it, babe. It's just..." she sighed and thought about how she would word what she wanted to say. "Mark. I think with everything going on, maybe it'd be safer if you stayed at home for a while. I mean, we don't have any clue what is going on right now and I don't need to risk anything happening to you."
Standing up, Mark adjusted his tie and cuff links. "Cupcake, I think you may be over worrying. I have been a Mayor's assistant for over twenty years and have never had any problems. Besides, I think Toontown has come to accept and trust me, finally. Why would now be any different?"
"This feels different, honey. I mean, when dad hired you, it still took a long time for people to accept you. Plus now there are freshly opened wounds with this new invasion, and a lot of Toons weren't around when the last invasions happened. While many know and love you, like I do, many don't and we're going to have a lot of new Toons around here. I think it's better to be safe. I mean, you can still do paperwork from home! I'll make sure to bring you a giant stack of things to keep you busy. I know you like to stay busy." She hugged Mark, running her hand through his hair. "Can you do it for me sweetie, please?" Putting on her most innocent fake, Mark started to giggle.
"I guess that would be okay. But you know I'm going to worry about you, right?"Mark contemplated the many ways that Cupcake could get hurt, his stomach clenching with anxiety.
Cupcake squeezed him harder. "You're just a worry-wart. I've never been able to squish you hard enough to get it out. I'll be okay, trust me." Finishing her morning routine, she gave Mark a goodbye kiss and teleported off to work. Today she would be looking for a new assistant.
Nightmare sat in the Mayor's Office Lobby. Twiddling her thumbs nervously, she looked around. There were a lot of high level Toons here. She recognized some, such as Franz Neckvein, and Lil Oldman, looking incredibly professional in their nicest shirt-shorts combo. Around her, Toons would stare daggers at her. Nobody would sit within ten feet. People would deliberately move their chairs away. She was used to it though. It had been this way since she was younger. When your parents were notorious greeners, that reputation carried over and it was hard to shake it off. She had come all the way from Donald's Dreamland when she heard that the cogs had invaded. Part of her wanted to stay in her home, but the other part knew that the distrust in her community would just make things even more tense with the ongoing threat. She needed a fresh start. Yet even here, all the way in Toontown Central, she felt like an outcast.
"Franz Neckvein, Mayor Cupcake will see you now." a voice called out over the silly speaker. Standing up, the short brown mouse plopped himself up and waddled over to the door behind the counter. He turned to look at her one more time and shook his head. Time continued to pass slowly. One by one, Toons would stand up and walk in, and come out with a disappointed look. One Toon, a purple bunny exited and walked directly over to her. Clearly agitated, he put his face directly near Nightmare's. "You shouldn't even be around here Anti-Toon.. If I, Riggy Marole II am not good enough, I don't know why you would think you are. Why don't you go save some cogs or something, traitor" he hissed out, storming out of the office.
Visibly shaken by the experience, Nightmare re-considered. Maybe he was right. How could a Toon like her be given such an important position when nobody could trust her? Besides, she had no experience. She had just barely completed the rest of her Toontasks a few weeks ago. She had been coincidentally walking by when she had seen the sign and figured she'd see what all the hoopla was about. She wasn't even dressed for the occasion. Dressed in her all-black, orange cobweb matching shirt and skirt, she looked like she was ready for a Halloween party, not an important interview. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard it. "Nightmare Decavity, Mayor Cupcake will see you now. Gulping, she stood up and made her way to the door. Reaching out slowly, she grabbed the knob and turned. Taking a deep breath she walked inside.
The Mayor's office was extravagant. The entire room was painted a royal pink. Filled to the brim with jars of Sunflowers and silly little knick-knacks. To the left there was a giant painting of Mayor Cupcake and former Mayor Flippy holding up a gigantic Bearacuda with a blue ribbon on it. On the other wall, a portrait of Mayor Cupcake burying a cog in the sand. She snickered to herself. What an inventive way to destroy a cog. Sitting down, she placed her hands on the table. Something that she now subconsciously did to make others aware she did not intend to hurt them. Mayor Cupcake was exactly how Nightmare had imagined. She was beautiful, yet tough looking. She wore a propeller hat, and the oil of her enemies. Presumably of course. Nightmare's heart raced. She was actually MEETING Mayor Cupcake. Something she had dreamed of as a little girl.
"Good afternoon, Nightmare!" reaching out, Cupcake presented her hand. Arm shaking, Nightmare raised her hand and placed it into her hopeful new boss. "It's a pleasure to have you in today. When I had seen your name on the list of applicants, I knew I needed to meet you!"
Nightmare's inner thoughts began to scramble. Was this turning into an interrogation? Was the Mayor no different than everyone else? Had she made a mistake coming here? Taking another deep breath, she responded. "Thank you Ma'am, it truly is an honor just to be here. I'm really sorry to be wasting your time, today. I promise I'm not a bad Toon or anything though. I didn't mean to waste your time. I just thought.."
"Calm down, Nightmare." Cupcake purred out softly. Her voice was soothing and comforting, like a mother's. "It's okay. You're certainly not wasting my time. Maybe that is my fault for seeming presumptive. Although your reputation does precede you. Also there's no need to call me Ma'am. Cupcake will be just fine. I'm the Mayor, not some cog!"
The two chuckled. Nightmare felt her body relaxing. "Thank you... Cupcake." Her heart exploded. She had just called the Mayor by her name! She couldn't help but smile. Even if she didn't get the job, she gained a great new memory. "I am very aware of my reputation around Toontown." frowning she looked over towards the wall where the painting of Cupcake and Mark hung. "You must have been a great warrior. You're literally burying that cog. No wonder they feared you so much!" Looking over, she saw the mayor giggling.
"That's actually my husband Mark. Don't worry though he's a softie." Cupcake was still amused by the younger Toon's comment.
Nightmare's face dropped. Her brain could not grasp what she had just heard. "You married a cog? But you're the mayor! But you married a cog? Do the other Toons know?" she could not withhold her shock.
"Yeah they do, actually!" Cupcake walked over to the painting and looked up. "Although it did take a long time before everybody finally accepted him, unfortunately."
"But Ma'- Cupcake. Weren't you worried that people will think you're.." using a hushed tone she whispered the rest. "Anti-Toon?" she shuttered at the phrase. The painful memories that word brought could never be undone.
Cupcake walked over to the tall black cat. "Yes, of course.. Changing my reputation took a long time. Even after I had helped to lead the revolution, people still hated me. But I had to do what was best for me, regardless of what anybody else thought."
Nightmare shed a tear, unable to ignore the similarities between the two cats. "Cupcake. I'm very sorry to hear that. I read all about you in history class and you truly are a hero. I can't believe anybody would dislike you."
"Well some people will always dislike you no matter what you do or how much you try and change. Sometimes people will hate you for things that are completely outside of your control. Something I'm sure you know well." Cupcake sat back down in her large rolling chair, across from her interviewee.
"Mayor, I hope you know I am not a bad person. I could never hurt another Toon. I am not my parents and I never will be. I just wish somebody would believe me." Nightmare's face contorted, doing her best to keep her composure. She could not cry in front of the Mayor, especially not in an interview. She would appear weak and embarrass herself.
Cupcake smiled softly, trying to maintain a calm demeanor herself. "Nightmare, how would you like to be my new assistant?"
Nightmare almost jumped out of her fur. "But Mayor Cupcake. I have no experience. I have actually just completed my Toontasks recently! Plus I saw the other Toons in here. Many of them much stronger and smarter than me. Plus, none of them have my parents, you know.." her words tailed off, realizing she was just burying a hole.
"Nightmare. When I saw your name I had already made my decision. Meeting you just sealed that decision for me, I would love for you to be my new assistant." Cupcake gleamed out a toothy smile at her new employee.
Nightmare finally broke. Tears streamed from her face as she leaned over the table. "Thank you Mayor. Thank you, thank you, thank you! But why me?"
Cupcake placed her hand on Nightmare's. "I know a thing or two about having a well known father." She pointed over to the painting. "Anybody can do this job, honestly. I probably don't need an assistant, but I like having someone to keep me company when I work. You have something that most other Toons don't, and that's Toonacity. Everybody deserves a fair chance." Looking up to the painting of Mark again, she smiled. "Plus have you ever talked to Lil Oldman? I almost fell asleep while he was in here talking about his pet frog again!"
The two giggled and spent the next few minutes making small talk. For the first time in her life, Nightmare felt like she had a place in the world where she belonged. The heavy weight that tugged down on her heart had been released. Reaching over she shook Cupcake's hand enthusiastically. "I promise I won't let you down, Mayor Cupcake!"
"I know you won't Nightmare. I promise I won't let you down either." She winked and escorted Nightmare outside. "I will see you tomorrow morning." Nightmare started skipping out when she heard Cupcake call out. "Also FYI, Nightmare" I am the Halloween Queen." winking again, Cupcake closed the door behind her.
Nightmare skipped all the way back to her hotel, whistling and singing. She hadn't even noticed the walk from The Mayor's Office to the Dew Drop Inn in Daisy Gardens. Nothing was going to crush her spirit today. Laying down in her bed, she tucked herself in and looked over at the clock which read 4:00 PM. "Guess I'm a little early." Laying in bed, she eagerly awaited the night so that she could sleep. Tomorrow could not come early enough.