Fluffy skipped down the beautiful, sunny Donald's Dock street without a care in the world. Her boyfriend Soda Pop had just proposed, she received a promotion at work, and she had found a jar of jellybeans on the ground. How could this day get any better? Grabbing a light pole, she swung herself around a few times as she sang quietly to herself. Opening her whisper device, she double checked her message to make sure she was going to the right place. She wanted to celebrate her good fortunes by buying a cake and the hottest new bakery in town was sure to have a good one! She could even use the jellybeans she found! Hardly paying attention to where she was going she bounced right off a large steel container. Rubbing her nose, she stood up and watched in horror as the metal box slowly contorted into a figure. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. It had large white wings, and a rectangular head. It moved like it was alive but it didn't look like any Toon that she had seen. "Um, I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean.." before she could speak, two large, heavy arms reached out and covered her mouth. Wrapping her in its arms, he backed into an alley way, laughing quietly.

Reessess knocked on the large wooden door, and waited for a few seconds before entering. The dimly lit room was always a welcome sight after weeks out in the battlefield. Sitting down at a large desk, she stared across at the empty chair in front of her. Tapping her fingers on the desk, she looked around at the large portraits. Fortunately she did not have to wait long before a separate door opened and in walked Mayor Cupcake. Standing up, Reessess walked over and grabbed her hands, nodding and smiling. "It's good to see you Cupcake. It's been too long."

"Yes, it has been." Cupcake sat down and motioned for Reessess to sit down. "So how are things looking on the front lines. Everyone has been excited to hear some good news."

"Well, we have some good news and some bad news. Which one do you want first?" Reessess balanced her arms back and forth.

Cupcake rubbed her chin. "Better hit me with the good news first, it adds dramatic tension."

"Very well." pulling out a map from her pocket, Reessess laid it on the table. Grabbing a pen, she drew a circle around Animationville. " So the good news is that Animationville seems free of cogs. We have destroyed the teleporter interference allowing for quick access to and from the playground." dragging the pen across the paper she stuck it on Silly World. "A few small flare-ups, but it's been taken care of."

Sighing, Cupcake rubbed her temples. "How about the bad news?"

"So. While we know that the reports of the In-Sells have been inconsistent, we have a report that there is a new planned attack on Retroville, and we've heard there may be an attack on Donald's Dock, but nothing confirmed yet. I'm thinking we may have the go ahead to start pulling some units and putting them there to try and get the pre-emptive strike."

Biting her lip, Cupcake looked at the map. Lost in thought, the front door burst open and a yellow crocodile sprinted in, breathing heavily. "Mayor Cupcake! Mayor Cupcake!" doing his best to catch his breath, he watched the two cats run over to him.

"Ranger Chewy, what's wrong?" Reessess shouted.

Sucking in air, he hunched over, hands on his thighs. "Mayor Cupcake. We just received four verified reports out of Donald's Dock that Toons have been kidnapped!"

Covering her mouth, Cupcake looked on in horror. "Were these Toons all together?"

"No, these are all separate incidents. Apparently there was a witness for one of the kidnappings. A large cog-like being was reported to have taken a young Toon and just disappeared!"

Reessess looked at the Ranger skeptically. "Cog-like. What do you mean by that?"

"I'm not sure how to explain it myself, ma'am. All I was told is that it started as the form of a cog, but then it turned into some sort of device and disappeared!"

"That's ridiculous, Ranger. A disappearing cog? While we will certainly look into the missing Toons, it sounds a bit fishy to me." Reessess meowed out.

Cupcake placed her hand on her Captain's shoulder. "Reessess, didn't you say something about the In-Sells being in Donald's Dock? Do you think maybe this could be related?"

"Hmm." Reessess scratched her head. " I can't say that's completely out of the realm of possibility. However, I do wonder at what angle they might be involved? What if this whole thing is a farce to distract us and use resources tracking them down. However, maybe they are kidnapping the Toons? But these shifting cogs still sound suspicious." Looking at the young Ranger she grinned grimly. "Ranger, I want you to get in touch with Donald's Dock council and tell them to shut down all businesses and keep everyone at home until we can get things figured out."

"Captain, I think that may be a little premature at this rate. We don't know what is going on. Let's warn the council and have them beef up security around the streets. Isolating Toons may just make it easier to be picked off. Hopefully this way we can get a little more information on what's going on. If these cogs can really transform, then who knows what we are really in for? Plus we don't need to send everyone into a panic. Let's keep this under control until we know what's going on." Cupcake spoke confidently. Reessess smiled and nodded. Saluting to the crocodile, she sent him off to go pass on the message and the pair sat back at the table, ready to plan their next steps.

Mark sat at his home desk and stared down at some documents. Although he had been working from home for over a month now, he did not feel right here. He still longed to be in the office with Cupcake. As much as he liked and trusted Nightmare, he had been working there almost as long as she'd been alive and thought that right now it would be best for her to learn from him. But he also believed in Cupcake and trusted her decisions as well. If she wanted him to work here, she had a good reason. She just wanted him to be safe. There weren't many safer places. Standing up and stretching his arms over his head, he twisted his back in a pretzel like shape. Walking downstairs he smiled at the picture of Cupcake and Flippy that they kept on the wall that was visible as he made his way down the stairs. Walking into the kitchen he opened the fridge and bumbled around. Pulling out a chilled can of oil, he cracked it open and started making his way back upstairs. Sometimes he just needed to take a break and get his mind off of work. Something that when he was still in Sellbot HQ he never would have dreamed of doing. The days felt longer when Cupcake was gone. Even though she was never away for more than a few hours, the loneliness was palpable. Taking a few steps up the stairs, he was interrupted by a light rap on the front door. Pausing he checked his watch. "I wasn't expecting anybody today." descending backwards he walked over to the door and looked out the peephole. On the front porch there were two Toons, an orange rabbit and a red bear, the pair were holding a bouquet of flowers. He hadn't ordered flowers? Why were they here? Anxiously opening the door, he did his best to put on a smile. "Good morning, can I help you two?"

"Good morning sir!" the rabbit jumped forward energetically. "I'm Thorn and this is my partner Vinny. We own the "Every Rose Has It's Thorn Vinnyard" down on Oak Street. We are going door to door to show off our beautiful new flowers. We know it has been a tough time and well, flowers can cheer up even the most sullen Toon!"

Mark looked at them confused. He had never heard of that shop. He frequently visited Oak Street as it was near Sellbot HQ, and his and Cupcake's Summer Estate was located in Daisy Gardens. "Are you guys new to the area?"

"Oh yes." the bear stepped forward, his foot now in the doorway. "We actually just opened up shop and thought it would be a good opportunity to meet our new neighbors as well. Anyways, do you have a special someone in your life?"

Looking back inside at the couch, he shuttered. This was all too familiar of events from long ago. "Um. Sorry, yes. I'm married. Although I don't think my wife is a big fan of flowers. Well, except Sunflowers. He laughed nervously as the two toons whispered to each other.

"Well sir, today must be your lucky day! We just harvested a beautiful batch of Pink Sunflowers. They only grow under very specific conditions are are quite rare. I feel like they would look quite nice in your living room, if I may say so myself." the rabbit forced his way past Mark and gazed around the large, wooden room. Mark and Cupcake lived inside of a large, hallowed out tree that had sprouted where they had originally planned to build their estate. "Great house, sir. Very natural. Perfect place for some flowers. Before Mark could interject, Vinny casually walked in and closed the door behind him.

Scratching his head, Mark watched as the two meandered around, pointing to different locations and laughing to themselves. "I'm sorry Mr. Thorn, Mr. Vinny. I have a lot of work to get caught up on. Would it be possible if maybe I came down and visited the shop when I am done?"

Thorn narrowed his eyes, as Vinny walked over to the door, locking it and blocking it off. "Ah, Mr. Doggenbottom, whatever happened to that legendary kindness we have heard so much about? You can't take five minutes out of your day to help a small business?" grabbing a small necklace from underneath his shirt, he pulled it out and danged it in front of him. "After all, you are a fellow Sellbot, right?"

Nightmare sat on her hotel bed and bounced up and down slightly. Even the jiggling bed couldn't cheer her up. Watching her father get taken into custody was harder than she ever could have imagined. Growing up, it is something she feared, but she never thought she'd actually see it happen. Resting her chin on her fists, she watched as Benny rolled back and forth in the other bed trying to get comfortable. "Dad. You need help over there? I'm sure you know how a bed works, right?" Nightmare joked.

Benny looked over at her sadly and did his best to laugh. "Sorry, honey. You see, it's just I haven't slept in a bed without your father next to me in twenty-seven years. It's just going to take a little getting used to, I guess." grabbing a spare pillow, he tightly squeezed in with his arms and legs and curled up into a ball. "Guess this will have to do."

"Aw, dad." standing up Nightmare took a spot on Benny's bed and grabbed his foot. "Hey, do you remember when I was little and I would have those bad dreams? I would run into your guys' bedroom and you'd stay up all night listening to me talk because I was too scared to go back to sleep?"

"How could I forget. You and your dad are just the noisiest chatterboxes I have ever met. I couldn't have slept through that if I tried." tossing the pillow aside he got up and leaned back against the headrest. "It's no use. Looks like you're keeping me up again, sweetheart."

Nightmare looked at the red cat sarcastically. "Oh, of course. This is coming from the guy who took two hours talking to a waiter once about their tie because it was the same color as your shorts. But I'm the chatterbox." grabbing a pillow she tossed it at Benny who giggled.

"Young lady, did you just attack me with a pillow? You know what this means don't you?" Benny started slowly making his way off the bed, as did Nightmare.

"Oh yeah." Nightmare responded slowly. The two stared at each other before they jumped into action. Nightmare leapt and rolled over her bed, grabbing two pillows in one swift motion. Watching as Benny started to morph the large blanket into a pile covered with pillows she quickly followed suit. "Pillow fight!" The two spent the next few minutes scoping each other out, before Benny finally made a move. Quickly darting out, he dived into Nightmare's fort, quickly becoming tangled up in the mess. Seeing an opportunity, Nightmare began to wale on her dad's bottom as he shrieked in mock horror.

"I surrender! I surrender! I'm too old to die!" Benny shouted out. Slowly making his way out of the blanket the pair laughed. "It was a lot easier beating you when you were five. Why did you grow up for? I wanted to win!"

Placing the pillow on the bed, Nightmare laid down next to him and giggled. "I bet I could beat you AND dad at the same time!" she paused and looked over at Benny who fidgeted uncomfortably. The two didn't say anything for a few seconds before Nightmare continued. "So, dad. What are you going to do now? I mean, you can't go back to that old place in Dreamland, can you?"

Shrugging, Benny rubbed his daughter's cheek with the back of his hand. "I don't know sweetheart. I really don't know. I mean, I don't really want to go back to that big house alone. But where else would I go?"

"You can stay with me!" Nightmare leapt up and smiled. "Cupcake told me that she had worked out a nice estate for me in Toontown Central so I would be closer to work and wouldn't have to stay in this hotel. Come live with me!"

"Hmm. I don't know, Nightmare. As much as I'd love to, i don't want to intrude. I mean, what will your friends think if there's some stinky old man living there. What if there's a special someone" Benny winked and nudged Nightmare who turned beet red.

"Dad, you're not THAT old. Or that stinky! Besides, everyone loves you." she grinned as Benny turned redder. "Plus I already have two special someones in my life, and one of them is coming to live with me."

Benny started to choke up at his daughter's loving, caring nature. "Well if I'm coming to stay there, I want to contribute somehow. You shouldn't have to do everything yourself. I can clean around the house, walk the Doodle, anything you need!"

Nightmare's smile widened. "I was thinking.. maybe you could get a job too? I mean it would be great for you to get out of the house. Meet some new friends. You can't stay cooped up inside all day!"

"But hon, who would hire someone like me? Trust me, I have thought about this every day for years. Nobody is going to take an old, shut-in. Especially not one with a record." Benny stared up at the ceiling.

"You just leave that to me, dad. You just leave that to me."

Daron was lead down the long, solitary hallway. Everything was drab and gray. The floor was made out of cobblestone. The cells were made of hardened steel bars, and the Toons reaching out and laughing at him were full of bliss at seeing the notorious greener in a jumpsuit. "Hey.. Daron! Not looking so tough!" one voice called out. "Hey, hey Daron! You're looking pretty SAD" another joined in. Daron did his best to ignore them as he followed the lime green dog down to the very end of the jail cells, before the pair stopped and a line of bars. Inside of the cell was much different than the rest. The bed was brand new, and lined with fresh black sheets and fluffy pillows. The floor was carpeted, rather than the hard cobblestones that the other Toons endured. A large bookshelf was full of various pieces of literature new and old. Daron looked in confused, before turning to face the dog. "You sure this is the right one, Mr. Skids?"

The mature dog pulled down his sunglasses and laughed. "Yup. Mayor Cupcake was very specific about the details. It looks like someone up high cares about you." patting the black cat on the back he watched him enter the furnished cell. "Now, I was just here to escort you as a favor. "Officer Autumn, and Officer Inky will be here in case you need anything." turning around Mr. Skids placed his sunglasses back on. "Also don't let these guys bother you too much. They're all bark, no bite. Well except for Crazy Wally over there. He's in here for biting someone. So I guess avoid him. Anyways, I need to be heading back over. I guess there are some Toons missing in Donald's Dock and there aren't a lot of available bodies to look into it. Dinner is served at five, and visitors are allowed up until seven, so keep that in mind." walking down the damp walkway, the green dog turned around. "Good luck, Mr. Decavity."

"Hey Skids, when you gonna let me out of here! I didn't bite him that hard!" a voice screamed out. Daron walked over to the array of books and shuffled through. Compared to where he had spent the last twenty plus years, this wasn't too bad. Besides this was all for Benny and Nightmare.

Drowning out the chaos outside, he plopped himself down on the bed and began to leaf through the pages. "The Moonlit Vestige by Abigail. Sounds pretty good!" Smiling softly, he looked up at the light above. Twelve short months and he would be out of here. Plans began to race through his mind. Silly World with Nightmare and Benny. A nice spaghetti dinner out on the beach of Donald's Dock. The world would be his oyster.. in twelve short months.