Bloople streamed in out of consciousness. Piles of candy wrappers littered the floor around him. Laying on the couch, his leg flopped over the side. Shortly after the Officers had arrived, Clover had come by for their date, but had quickly taken control and called Sandy to come get the girls. Bloople had spent most of the night crying, and gorging himself on sweets. He could feel his body shaking from the pure sugar high. Laying in the dark, he stared at a blank TV screen. How was he supposed to tell Miko and Hula about this? That their aunt, who had promised to come home, was never coming back. How was he supposed to tell himself? He was still in shock. His vision blurring, he did his best to keep his eyes open. Looking over his whisper device, he re-read that final message. "I'll message you the second I get back. Love you guys." the words burned into his mind. how badly he wished that he could wake up and this would all just be a terrible nightmare. That Pickle would be coming through that door any minute. Closing his eyes, he finally let the weariness overcome him, as even the mounds of sugar could not keep him awake.

"As we lay our beloved Twinkle to rest, we will remember her, not just as a Toon, or a mother, but as an inspiration to us all. While she was taken much too soon, she will live on through the hearts and souls of those who knew her best. May she rest in peace." A blue dog in an orange striped shirt and purple shorts stepped down off the mic, wiping his eye. In the crowd in front of him, a crowd of grieving Toons watched as the coffin was slowly lowered into the ground. Stepping down he walked over to a young, lime green dog who was sitting by himself, crying. "Hey there, Bloople. Mind if I sit here?" Bloople looked up and nodded. Clasping his hands together, the older dog sighed. "Son, I can't tell you I understand that pain you are going through. I want you to know your mother was a wonderful and caring Toon. She has done so much for this community, and I know she loved you very much.: Placing his hand on his shoulder, he stood up and walked over to a small crowd gathered over near the coffin.

Walking over, a purple crocodile sat down next to the lime dog. Looking at each other, they quickly embraced. The dog continued to sob. The older crocodile patted his back. "I can't believe she's gone, Pickle. How is she gone? I just saw her. I was just talking to her!" the dog slumped down in the chair and looked up at the sky above him. How could it be so beautiful outside when his heart felt so broken?

"Bloople.."

"First dad, now mom? How does this happen!" Bloople covered his face with his hands.

Pickle sat down on the ground next to Bloople. "There's nothing we can do now, Bloop. Come on, let's go say goodbye and go home. Sitting here isn't going to do anything." Standing up, she helped her younger brother up and the two walked over to the place their mother was now buried. Several feet over, a small gravestone marked the spot that their father had been buried just three months earlier. After saying their final goodbyes, the two slowly made their way home. Making their way inside the large empty house, the two breathed in the situation. How many Toons lost both of their parents before their twenty-first birthday? Walking through their childhood home, the two finally settled down on the couch in front of the TV.

Bloople laid down and grabbed for the remote. "Remember when we were younger, how we would sneak downstairs after mom and dad went to bed so we could watch adult TV?" turning on the TV, he began to flip through channels.

"Remember? How could I forget? You wouldn't let me sleep because you would get scared so I had to come down with you. One time I ended up sleeping through school and I got grounded.. Don't think you ever paid me back for that."

For the first time in days, Bloople smiled. "You always bring that up. It's not my fault that Night of the Living Bloodsucker was on. What was I supposed to do, not watch it?" tossing the remote over to Pickle. "Because I am so polite, I will gladly let you choose what we watch tonight. But I get to choose tomorrow. Deal?"

"It's a deal." Pickle smiled and started flipping through channels.

Bloople's sugar induced coma was broken by the light sound of the knocking on the front door. Looking up, he drooped his arm over his head and groaned. "Go away." he managed to yell out, groggily. The door opened, letting in the freezing chill of the still brisk March air. Flipping over, face down into the couch, he listed as footsteps approached him, before finally halting next to him.

"Have you been eating candy all night? Look at this mess!" a familiar voice asked, a mix on concern and annoyance. He felt as the couch sunk lower as the Toon sat neat him. The smell of lavender perfume was feint enough to recognize who was sitting next to him.

"Clover, what are you doing here?" Bloople stuttered out. "Where is Miko and Hula?"

Clover started dragging wrappers into a pile with her foot, mentally counting them as they grouped together. "My cog, Bloople. Are you okay? I'm surprised you haven't passed out. We need to get you to a hospital!"

"No. No hospital. I'm fine. Where's Miko and Hula?" Bloople slowly rotated himself so his face was looking up at the bright green cat.

Sighing, Clover felt Bloople's forehead with the back of her hand. "They're fine. I was able to get in touch with Sandy and she's with the girls right now.." pausing she started to rub Bloople's head softly. "I'm so sorry, Bloople. I know the pain you are going through/ I'm so, so, sorry."

Bloople scowled. He wanted to accuse her of not being able to understand, however she had just lost her sister a few weeks ago. He was still angry, not with her, just angry. He wanted answers. He wanted revenge. He wanted to feel anything but THIS.

"I know you're upset. Trust me. It still hurts to think about Petals. But you have two young daughters who rely on you. They can't see you like this, Bloople." Clover continued to stroke the green dogs fur, softly. "They are already worried. They are scared and confused. Just like you are. They need you to be strong for them." This caused Bloople to start crying again. Angry at himself for how he was acting. How could he be so inconsiderate towards the two people in the world he still had? The people who cared about him most? Shortly after the officers had arrived, Clover had shown up to witness a broken down Bloople and two screaming, crying, young Toons. She had quickly taken over and brought them somewhere else while Bloople spoke with the officers. "I need you to be strong for me too.."

"Maybe it's better that they aren't here. I mean, how am I supposed to take care of themselves alone? I've been trying, but I still don't feel like I know what I'm doing most of the time. I love them, so much. But I don't know if I can do it alone. They deserve to be with someone who can be there for them no matter what." Bloople wiped his face on his shirt, and sat up. Watching as Clover's face went from a soft, caring one to one of frustration.

"Bloople. You're their father. They don't care if you don't know how to cook, or whatever other shortcomings you feel you have. They love you no matter what, as I'm sure you do with them. They will understand you are hurting, and they are going to hurt too. You can hurt together, but they need you. More than ever. Besides... you're not alone anymore." Clover placed her hand on Bloople's and managed to put on a smile.

Nodding slowly, Bloople put his hand on Clover's, who placed her other hand on his. They began to continue stacking them, to see who could get theirs highest. The two laughed quietly. "I'm sorry, Clover. You shouldn't have to see me this way and neither should they. Would you mind taking me to see them?"

"We need to get you ready to go first. You're in no shape to see them. How about we get you into the shower, get some new clothes and see how you're feeling. Sandy said she can handle them tonight if needed. Don't push yourself more than you need to. You need time too." Clover felt Bloople's arms squeeze her as he hung his head over her shoulder. She rubbed her hands up and down his back as she fell into his arms as well. The two swayed back silently for a short period, before going upstairs to sober Bloople up.

Raindrop ignored the searing pain in his foot as he sprinted towards the voice. The screaming had faded several minutes ago, but he had continued down the path and there were no other ways to go. Rushing forward, he finally reached a large metal door. Standing in front of it, he watched as it slid open vertically, then horizontally. His eyes widened as he watched the room. A large manufacturing area filled with even more vats, convenor belts, and other pieces of unrecognizable equipment with beeping lights. The room was mostly empty of other life, aside from a few goons who were meandering around. Tip-toeing across the room, partially to stay silent and partially to avoid putting pressure on his foot, he made his way across the room. Coming across a tall ladder, he quickly looked around and begun to climb. He would have a better view from here. Reaching the top, he glanced across the large area in amazement. There was a web of criss-crossing catwalks connected to other ladders. That's when he saw them. In a circle, about two-hundred feet away, a grouping of those new cogs had surrounded two Toons, Cookie and Mindy! Panic blasted through Raindrop's mind. There had to be at least ten, maybe fifteen cogs there and he only had a few gags. Even if he had more, they were well out of distance to hit, and he would likely be overwhelmed. However, Cookie was his best friend. He couldn't leave him, or allow anything to happen to him. Plus Mindy was the whole reason they had come here. Taking a deep breath, he got a running start and leapt making his way across the catwalks.

"Toons, why do you have to make this difficult on yourselves? All we want to know is how many of you are here, and what they are doing? It's a simple request, really." A tall, angelic looking cog stated in a soothing voice. "Cooperate and not only will we spare you, but there will be many opportunities to climb the corporate ladder."

Cookie looked up and spit at the cog. "I would never submit to you, cogs!"

"Ah, such defiance. I'm sure we can work something out with a little.. persuasion." nodding over to a larger than average Bottom Feeder, the imposing cog grinned. "There's always a light at the end of the tunnel."

Raindrop watched as a cog walked away from the rest, over towards a large vat filled with white liquid. Sweating profusely, he stopped to watch as Cookie stood up and began to yell. He couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but it didn't look good. Although his legs felt like jelly, he pushed on. He was now almost at the opposite side of the room. Making one final leap, he slid across one last railing and was now above the cogs who still had not noticed him over the chaotic sounds of the factory below. Watching Cookie's eyes widen as the Bottom Feeder approach, Raindrop slid down on his stomach to watch, planning his next course of action.

"Toon. You will get to experience first-hand what it means to defy us." the cog walked over and grabbed Mindy, who had been tied up and gagged. Her body was limp but her mind was active. Her eyes darted back and forth as the Business Angel grabbed a small cup from the Bottom Feeder. Ensuring that her hand was tightly locked into place, he laughed. "Watch and learn, Toon." before Raindrop could act, the liquid was poured onto Mindy's tied together hands. Even though her voice was muffled, Raindrop could hear the ear-piercing screams of agony. Him and Cookie watched as Mindy's hands began to dissolve until they were completely gone, and the rope slid to the floor, dripping with white liquid. Mindy waved her now handless arms around and fainted. Cookie, trying to keep his cool, could not help but scream in horror.

"What.. What did you do to her!" Cookie begged.

The Business Angel walked over and grabbed him by the chin. "Give us the information we request, and you won't have to find out. Otherwise you and your friend will get a much.. better look."

Raindrop could not wait anymore. This is the moment he had saved this for. Reaching into his pocket he yanked out his wedding cake. Closing his left eye, he stuck out his tongue and measured the distance. The cogs stood about forty feet away, well within his distance. Letting out a heroic scream, Raindrop winded up his arm and chucked the cake, watching as it flew into the distance.

Rudy looked at herself in disgust in the mirror. Shortly after her mistake with Berry she had ran into the bathroom to try and wash away the feeling. Had she actually just done that? She.. she cheated on Romeo. Locking the door behind her, she sat down on the toilet and buried her knees into her chest. Sticking her head into her legs she began to cry. The one person in the world she cared about the most and she betrayed him.. With Berry of all people. She had turned the shower on to drown out the sound of her sobbing. After a few minutes she composed herself. What was she going to tell Romeo? Was she going to tell him? It would kill him if he found out. But she didn't want to lie to him, she'd already done enough damage. Standing up she walked over to a cabinet to look for something to wipe her face. Opening the glass mirror, she was stunned to see several women's hygiene products. Without thinking she slammed the mirror, and stormed out into the bedroom. Berry was laying in the bed, watching TV, looking over at her he winked. "Back for round two?"

"Who does THIS belong to?" Rudy screamed, holding up what she had discovered.

"What do you mean? Nobody?" Berry replied casually, picking up the remote he turned off the TV. "Why does it matter to you anyways?"

Staring angrily at the purple bear, she hissed. "Does someone else live here?"

Berry slowly dragged himself from under the blanket and walked over, putting his robe back on. "Like I said. Nobody lives here but me. What's the big deal?"

"Then why do you have this!" Rudy screamed.

"Never hurts to have it when someone is over." Berry walked into the bathroom and pulled open the cabinet. "Not going to make someone go home for something like this, right?"

Rudy was in disbelief. "Wait. Are you saying you have other women over here regularly? How long have you been doing this?" stopping he looked around the room, for something to hit. "How long!"

Shrugging, Berry closed the cabinet and went and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Not sure, a couple years, probably? Still not seeing the big deal here."

"Were you.. were you doing this when we were together.. having other girls over?" Rudy crouched down in shock..

Struggling to come up with an answer Berry lied down and sighed. "Only twice." This was enough to set Rudy off. Walking into the bathroom she opened the cabinet, threw the things in and slammed it repeatedly until the grass shattered. This elicited a an angry growl from Berry who burst into the room. "What the hell is your problem?!"

"You CHEATED on me?" Rudy yelled back, stomping out. "You.. YOU."

"Helped you cheat on Romeo?" Berry retorted. "What were you saying, Root Beer?"

Quickly putting on her shoes, Romeo sprinted out of the front door and down the streets of the Villa. Stopping to catch her breath she pulled out her teleportation hole and hopped in. She needed to get away from here. There was only one person who could cheer her up when she was this upset. She was on her way to Donald's Dock. Landing near Punchline Place, she hardly noticed how cold she was. She had left most of her clothes behind and was running through the street in her underwear. She was so focused on getting away that she didn't care who saw her. Her mind was racing with possible explanations once she reached the restaurant, and unfortunately she couldn't think of a good one before she made it. Stopping to catch her breath, she slowly made her way inside. Peering around, she could hear the sounds of typical kitchen chaos. Sneaking into the back she stood outside Romeo's office and sighed. She would just have to tell the truth. Knocking she pushed the door open and inhaled deeply.

Romeo made his way through the Villa. He had never actually been here before and when he read that Allen was in trouble he ran without thinking. Fortunately for him it didn't take long to get to where he was looking for. "Slapstick Villa Jail." Dashing inside, he looked around. The lobby was mostly empty, aside from a counter where a single Toon was sat. "Good afternoon sir, how can I help you?" the officer licked placed a book down and took his glasses off.

"Um, Allen? I'm looking for Allen?" Romeo screamed out.

The officer rolled his eyes. "You're going to have to be more specific. I don't think I know an Allen."

Before Romeo could quip back, he watched the doors open and a struggling blue duck was dragged in by his arms. "Get your arms off me you pigs!"

"Allen." Romeo screamed out and ran over and dropped to his knees. "What happened?"

An orange pig snorted out. "Your friend here thought he was a tough guy and attacked two innocent Toons. Beat one with a platter. Then made his way over to a third party's house and was attempting to break in when we found him."

"Yup, looks like your friend here is a real dirt-bag." the pink pig oinked out. "Gonna be seeing some serious time after today."

Romeo and Allen's eyes met, he was unable to vocalize all of the thoughts that were blowing through his mind. He watched as his brother was pulled away, kicking and biting. "Romeo. Promise me you won't let him get away with this!" Allen screamed, as his voice became a distant echo. Romeo's fists clenched. First Rudy, now Allen? He could feel his world crumbling around him.