Daron darted inside of the front door, grinning from ear to ear, looking through the house for his lovely husband. Finally making his way into the kitchen, a short red cat was sitting at the table completing a small crossword puzzle, tapping the eraser from a pencil on his tongue as he looked down at the paper conflated. "An eight letter word for happiness and triumph. Hmm. It has a "U" in there? What kind of word is this?" standing in the doorway with his hands behind his back, holding a small paper, Daron waited to be noticed by his partner. After several minutes, he cleared his throat nonchalantly, catching the cat's attention. "Oh, I'm sorry sweetie. I didn't even notice you there!" standing up he walked over and planted a kiss on Daron's cheek. "You look super jubilant today!" pausing he smacked his forehead. "Oh duh, jubilant!" running over he began penciling letters into the small crossword.
Taking a seat next to the cat, Daron did his best to contain his excitement. "So.. I just checked the mail.." he lead, hoping that the other cat would catch on.
"We get mail here?" the red cat meowed confused. "Anything interesting?" unable to look up, still laser-focused on his task.
"Hmm. Well you know. Some bills.. some spam.. this.." he slowly placed the colorful letter on the table and watched excitedly as the cat grabbed the envelope and peered over it, his face bursting into a gigantic smile. "It's here, Benny! I wanted you to be the one to open it. I'm too nervous!"
Benny ripped open the envelope, both cats' hearts pounding as the seconds toiled like hours. Finally pulling the letter out, Benny slowly read over quietly, his eyes scanning the page, face showing no emotion which caused Daron to become even more anxious. "Oh my goodness..." Benny whispered quietly. Daron stood up and ran behind the red cat, panicked.
"Oh my gosh, what did it say?" grabbing the paper from his husband's hands he scanned the paper himself. "To Mr. and Mr. Decavity. The Donald's Dreamland Animation Agency has received and approved your application for a new Toon. We apologize for the late notice, but your application has been approved for one female black cat. She will be available on May Seventeenth at Three PM. Congratulations on your new daughter!" Daron dropped the paper, his face in shock. In Toontown, when somebody wanted to be a parent, they needed to submit an application to have a baby animated. As this ensured that parents were able to mentally and physically care for their children, the couple had been a bit worried due to Daron's checkered past. However, after weeks of waiting they had finally received a response. Daron's body began to tremble and butterflies filled his stomach. Looking down, Benny had burst into tears of joy. "We're going to have a little girl!" Daron shouted, jumping into his husband's arms and embracing the crying Toon. Daron wanted to cry with him, but he had all bust lost that ability when he joined the Anti-Toons, something he now regretted.
"Wait, Daron. This says May Seventeenth. That's today! How long has this mail been sitting in the box!" Benny jumped up, placing his hands on his head. "We didn't even get the crib finished! Plus we don't have a stroller or diapers. Oh my gosh, this is all happening so suddenly!"
Daron reached out and begun shaking the panicking cat, doing his best to calm him down, which surprisingly did not work as expected. "Babe. Just calm down. It's going to be okay. Remember, we took the classes. We can stop and get those things. We still have a few hours before we need to be there." watching Benny wipe his eyes with his shirt sleeve and nod at him. "How about we split up and get everything done faster. I'll get the diapers and the stroller, you go finish building the crib. If I'm not back by noon, send me a whisper and we'll go from there okay?" the two hastily made their way to finish their errands. Daron ran out of the house and down the busy Lullaby Lane street to the "Awake at Two AM? So Are We: Baby Supplies" he remembered when Benny had proposed they had a baby. Daron had never considered becoming a father. After all, his own family life had left permanent scars on his heart, did he really want to risk doing that to some innocent young Toon? But after weeks of wearing him down with his annoyingly cute smile, Benny finally convinced Daron.
Several hours passed as the pair completed their necessary errands. Dropping off the supplies at home, Daron and Benny had time to spare as they left the house. "Hmm. I was thinking maybe we could try and honor her Valentoonian roots as well." Daron pondered as the two discussed a name. Holding hands, the pair swung their arms energetically as they made their way towards the Donald's Dreamland Animation Agency.
"Aw, Daron that would be wonderful. Although I don't want to force a name onto her. I want whatever she is called to feel natural and fit her." the two continued the discussion until they made their way up Pajama Place. On the way, they were interrupted by a familiar looking green cat.
"Aw, lookie here. If it isn't Daron and, um. Whatever your name was." the green cat smirked at the pair. "Out for a nice stroll? How romantic."
Rubbing his temple, Daron scowled at the cat. "Chase what are you doing here. Don't you have some Toons to scam in Melodyland or something?"
"Daron, I guess you have been out of the game too long. Shame, really. I got promoted to a building administrator. Actually it's funny you're here because I'm sure you'll get a kick out of this. My first assignment is to take over the Animation Agency! Can you believe it? Isn't that one of the buildings that you were initially assigned when you became an Anti-Toon and failed miserably? Maybe you can come watch how an expert does it!" holding out his hands, he spread out his fingers and checked over his nails sarcastically.
"Hey wait a minute! You can't do that. We were just on our way-" Benny was stopped as Daron placed a hand over his mouth. While Chase was correct that Daron had one point been an Anti-Toon, he had left that life behind two years ago after he met Benny.
While most of the Anti-Toons simply shrugged it off as another weakling traitor, there were a few who held resentment at any who belt they were betrayed by. Chase was generally one of those. "Wait a minute. You were on your way.. Daron don't tell me.." laughing manically, the green cat rolled his eyes. "Gonna be a daddy Daron? You? That's a joke, right? That poor kid is going to be stuck with a worthless traitor as a father." pausing he rubbed his chin. "Well, maybe not. Maybe there will be an accident and that batch of Toons doesn't get animated. That would be unfortunate, wouldn't it?"
"Hey, you better watch what you say, pal!" Benny stood on his tip-toes doing his best to be intimidating. "If you do anything to that building I promise it will be the last thing you ever do!" Benny's high-pitched voice rang out through the mostly empty street.
Daron rubbed his husband's shoulder and glared at Chase. "Hucklefink, whatever your issues are with me, they stay with me. I've been out of the Anti-Toons for two years and I guarantee I still out-rank you. You've always been a miserable, scum-sucking Bottom Feeder. Actually, scratch that. Bottom Feeders laughed at you. Laundering jellybeans and small scale heists in Minnie's Melodyland? They probably sent you here so they wouldn't have to deal with you. You won't lay a cog damn finger on my family, or I will rip you to shreds."
Backing up, Chase laughed. "Geez Daron, when did you become so animated? Fine, I'll back off for now. But just remember that the Anti-Toons never forget a traitor. You better watch your back. Whether it's a day, a month, or twenty-five years, we will remember." turning, the green cat jogged away, leaving the couple trembling with rubbed Benny's back and did his best to put a smile on. "Don't worry about him honey, he's a nobody. Besides, we have better things to do." the duo made their way the rest of the trip, before finally stopping in front of the large, extravagant building. Taking a deep breath in unison, the two entered the building for the last time as childless adults.
"Good morning, fellas. Do you have an appointment?" a purple deer foiled with some papers as he spoke to the cats.
"Um yes, my name is Daron Decavity, and this is my husband Benny. We are here to pickup our daughter?"
The deer jumped in excitement. "Ah, yes! Mr. Decavity. One moment please!" the deer ran into a door behind him. He never tired of getting to introduce parents to their new children. Benny started squeezing Daron's hand nervously. Neither were able to speak, closing their eyes and imagining their new lives, and how their new daughter would look. The door slowly opened, and the deer emerged with a million dollar smile. Holding a small purple basket, covered in an orange blanket, he placed the basket on the counter. "Congratulations Mr. and Mr. Decavity. It's a beautiful girl." pulling aside the blanket, Benny nearly fainted. Sleeping inside, was a very tiny black cat. Wearing a white diaper and a small red ribbon, she gurgled as she rolled around.
Benny began to weep suddenly at the sight. "She's beautiful, Daron!" reaching in, he grabbed the kitten's tiny hand and rubbed it softly, doing his best not to wake her. Daron felt some welling inside of him, as the overwhelming nature of the situation finally hit him. Reaching into the basket, he grabbed the sleeping cat and held her up to him.
"She's the most beautiful creature I've ever seen." Daron whispered. A tear trickled from his eyes, slowly rolling down his face, he looked at Benny whose jaw dropped.
"Daron. Daron, are you crying?" Benny clasped his hands and began sobbing even harder.
"Haha, look at that. I am, I really am!" Daron laughed between tears. Holding his new daughter to him, he whisked back and forth slowly, cradling the young Toon's head to his chest. "Hi there sweetheart. It's daddy. Welcome to the world." feeling Benny wrap his arms around him, the three embraced. In one moment, all of the pain of his past, fears of being a terrible father, the scars, everything melted away. It was the happiest moment of his life.
Nightmare and Benny made their way through a surprisingly warm Toontown Central. Nightmare's heart was still pounding after her stirring speech. The pair had decided that they would use their lunch break to go visit Daron as the jailhouse was only a few minutes away from where they both worked. Benny did his best to withhold his jubilant attitude after Nightmare's burst earlier. Rubbing his sore arms, Benny recounted his first day to his daughter. "You know, I never knew those Toons worked so hard. They make it look so simple, just standing behind the counter all day. But boy, my arms are killing me. After all, me and exercise aren't known to be the best of friends." giggling, he watched Nightmare walking next to him. Even though he was twenty years older than her, she towered over him, much like her father. Looking at her always reminded Benny of Daron. Seeing his little girl grow up to be such an accomplished young woman warmed his heart. After all, it seemed like yesterday that she was animated. Making their way into the jail lobby they were met by a mature purple deer who grinned at them while slowly turning the page of a book.
"Good afternoon, guys. Are you here to visit?" the deer placed a marker in his book and sat at attention as the pair walked to the counter.
"Hello! My name is Nightmare Decavity, and this is my father Benny. We are here to see my father, Daron Decavity?"
Turning to a computer, the deer began to type, before slowly turning back to the pair. "Ah yes. Miss Decavity, I see we have an appointment. Somebody will be here to escort you shortly. A few seconds later, a large guard came out of a side-door and brought the pair through a line of visiting stations. Toons behind glass walls, wearing orange jumpsuits met with family and friends on Nightmare and Benny's side. Some were holding young Toons, possibly newly animated, some attempted to kiss through the glass, and others argued. Taking a seat at an empty station, the guard walked away promising to return shortly.
"You know honey, I never really thought about this, but thank goodness we work so close. I'm going to come visit dad everyday on my lunch break and on my days off." Benny grinned at Nightmare, who rubbed his head.
"Well I guess as long as you're doing it from this side, I'm okay with it." Nightmare joked.
The pair made small talk for a few minutes for a few minutes before the exhausted guard returned, breathing heavily. "Um, I'm sorry you guys, but it appears that Mr. Decavity is not in his cell and I wasn't able to locate him. Please bare with us while we try and find him, I've sent out a message to all staff to let them know you guys are here."
"What does that mean? Where is Daron?" the red cat jumped up, his face drained of emotion.
"It probably doesn't mean anything, Mr. Decavity. It's likely that Daron wasn't alerted he had a visitor so he didn't follow proper protocol. Please just wait here patiently and we will be back soon. The large brown dog ran off quickly, reaching for his walkie talkie.
Nightmare covered her mouth in worry. "Um, dad. he's okay isn't he?" she whispered. "He has to be okay, right?"
Mark jumped up as a knock on the door distracted him from his cleaning. Checking his watch, he nodded in amazement. Ten minutes on the dot. Jogging over to the door, he dusted his suit off and grabbed the handle, slowly opening the entrance to the house. In front of him was older lime green dog. Wearing a brown shirt with a purple ascot, and green shorts, the dog walked inside and pulled off his sunglasses as he looked around the house. "Wow, looks like they really did a number on this place." following Mark inside, he was escorted over to the unconscious pair and shook his head. "Should have known when I heard. The flower salesmen. These two have been a thorn in my side these last few weeks trying to track them down." Kneeling down, the dog checked their pulse to ensure they were still alive. "Well fortunately you didn't kill them. Or maybe unfortunately for the rest of Toontown." he chuckled at his dark humor. Turning around, he stared at the damaged house, large cracks and holes in the floor. "Interesting though. Looks like there were some dropped pianos. I haven't heard of In-Sells using gags. Generally it is frowned upon in the Anti-Toon community."
"Yeah. I had the same thought, Deputy." rubbing the back of his head Mark watched as the dog retrieved a pair of handcuffs from his pocket. "I honestly don't remember much besides that though. One second they're walking in the house, and the next I am standing over them with a piano leg in my hand."
"Well, you did the right thing Mark. have you already gotten in touch with Cupcake?" slapping the cuffs on Vinny's wrists, Deputy turned to watch Mark fidgeting with his whisper device. Shrugging, Deputy continued his work. "Gonna take that as a no then."
Checking his messages, Mark was discouraged by the lack of a response. Everything that had taken place had caused him to worry even more for his wife, who for all he knew could be in danger herself. Standing back, Deputy pulled out a notepad and started scribbling a few things, before handing the paper to Mark. "Well I told her what happened. But you know her, she's probably busy trying to keep things in check. She'll get back to me soon enough, I hope." grabbing the paper he pondered reading over it. "Um, what is this?"
"That's what you're going to tell anybody who asks what happened." pulling up the bear, Deputy tossed the limp figure onto the couch. "We've already gotten report that three council members have gone missing. We have reported kidnappings in Donald's Dock and several other playgrounds. If word gets out that a pair of In-Sells broke into the mayor's home and attacked her husband, well it could lead to more chaos." dusting himself off, Deputy put his sunglasses back on. "As for you two, I have already personally selected a security team that will be available for you guys until things die down. I vetted each of them and can ensure they are of the highest quality and trustworthiness. Anyways, I am going to haul these guys in. Until you hear anything from me, I don't want you to open that door for anyone or anything. I don't care if someone says they are a Ranger or mentions me by name. If you hear from Cupcake, tell her I will try and stop back in tonight to update you guys on what is happening." slapping a teleportation hole on the floor, Deputy rolled the two In-Sells in, and nodded to Mark, before jumping in, his sunglasses flying off and back into the hole right as it closed.
Glancing over the still destroyed property, Mark gulped. Walking to the door, he locked it and closed the window blinds. His worry for Cupcake had grown tenfold, and hearing that they would need a security detail made it worse. How would Cupcake react? She was very headstrong and very independent. She likely wouldn't be happy knowing that she was using resources that could be protecting other Toons, but Mark was relieved. She was the most powerful Toon in Toontown now, and they couldn't risk anything happening to her.
Cupcake gave orders to a unit of Rangers who had shown up to offer backup support and bring the kidnapped Toons home safely and get their stories on what happened. Standing with Cinnamon, she shook her head as she recounted what had happened. "A level sixteen. I've never seen anything like it. I hit him with two birthday cakes and it just rolled off him like it was nothing." sitting on the curb, she sighed. The cogs were seemingly getting more difficult to contain. Plus she had been debriefed that Devin of the Toon Council was the latest member to be reported missing. Worries flooded her mind. Were these Shapeshifter cogs responsible? After all, they had already targeted her. It wouldn't be too difficult for the cogs to hunt down cabinet members, especially if they had the help of the In-Sells. Speaking of which, she still had this threat to worry about. It was all so overwhelming. Her body was exhausted after her burst of silliness earlier. For most Toons, they were not aware of Cupcake's enormous power, and for the longest time, neither did she. Being the biological daughter of the cog's creators, she was animated with extra silliness and in dire situations was known to be able to unleash a powerful laughter. However, this usually came with the consequence of extreme exhaustion for several days after.
"Wow, Mayor Cupcake. That is.. wow. I can hardly believe it and we just witnessed it, kind of. So you can destroy cogs just by laughing?" Cinnamon stared in wonder at the pink cat.
Cupcake had sent the remaining pieces of the cog to be examined by top Scientoonsts, but the images still gave her pause for concern. if it could turn into a mailbox or a light post? Who knew what else it was capable of? How many of these were there? This was a whole new ballgame with the shape shifters, and Cupcake knew it. She had to issue some sort of emergency declaration. Resources were scarce in terms of Toon fighters. Most had been shipped from Animationville to Cog Nation after Animationville's swift victory. However, the cogs had responded by launching smaller scale attacks on other playgrounds, and with the In-Sells guerilla warfare, it made pinpointing these attacks more difficult and allocating fighters almost impossible. Leaning back, Cupcake took out her whisper device. In times like this, she just needed to calm down. Pulling open her messages, she looked down confused as a new message had been received from Mark. She had been sure she hadn't received anything earlier when she checked. Quickly pulling up the whisper, she nearly dropped the device in terror reading the message. "Honey. I'm sorry to bother you while you're at work but two Toons came to the house and I believe they are In-Sells. Please respond when you get this." hyperventilating, the cat stood up, followed by the red bear who grabbed her hand.
"Is everything okay?" Cinnamon inquired, trying not to panic.
Unable to speak, Cupcake shook her head and started dialing to call Mark. Tapping her foot anxiously, she listed as the first two rings passed by. In-Sells, in her house? Who knew what kind of awful things they could be capable of! Trying to stay calm, she finally breathed a sigh of relief as a clicking sound, a familiar voice spoke quietly. "Cupcake. Cupcake are you okay?"
Tears streamed down her face as Mark spoke. "Mark. Of course I'm okay. What about you? Where are you? In-Sells? There are in In-Sells in the house? Please tell me you're okay!"
"Yes, honey. I'm fine. Just, please get home as soon as you can. Okay? Please, be safe. I love you, Cupcake." when Mark called her by her name, she knew it was serious. Giving her love, she hung up and pocketed her device. Cinnamon had been standing there listening in shock.
"In-Sells? Oh my gosh, Mayor Cupcake. I hope everything is okay!" the red bear frowned.
Nodding, Cupcake watched as several Rangers investigated the scene. "Cinnamon. Let's keep this between us, okay? I need to get home. Can you please let the rest of the Rangers know I have something to handle and to please handle things from here. I'll be at the office later tonight, and I will have more answers at that time." ignoring the red bears questions, she jumped into a teleportation hole with home as her destination.