Cromwell was making his way to Moff's house. His friend was very well aware of what had happened yesterday since he had left him a message soon after what happened. To put it lightly, Moff left a message in return, ordering him to come to his place as soon as possible. Cromwell was not looking forward to doing this, but he knew he had to. "Ugh, for goodness sake, let's just get this over with," he groaned.
The moment the mayor arrived, he noticed the door was wide open. He was very confused of course, so he walked right in. The door then slammed shut. It was Moff who was behind the door. He had a furious look unlike any other. Cromwell was not surprised in the slightest, this was pretty much what he expected.
"Can't say I am at all surprised," he said. "ARE YOU TRYING TO GET THIS WHOLE OPERATION IN JEOPARDY?!" Moff shouted, "I ASKED YOU TO NOT MAKE YOURSELF LOOK LIKE A FOOL AND YOU CONTINUED TO DO SO! WHAT HAPPENED TO LEAVING IT TO DONATIONS?" "Okay, I can explain," Cromwell said, "We were not doing well and I thought maybe I could help out low funds with going after businesses again but then-" "UGH! YOU IDIOT!" Moff yelled, "All you had to do was be mayor, lay low, get payed enough to help fix Steamgate, and so on!" "Alright then, how would you do it?" asked Cromwell. "If I knew those kids were foiling my own plans, I would stop going after what they knew I went after," said Moff, "Instead, I'd lay low, do my job, use my money for my plans, and everything would be just fine! That's my way of doing it! You however, just can't let go of that urge now can you?" "You know what? I could always just walk right out the door and leave my position," said Cromwell, "I have no troubles with doing that. In fact, before leaving, I could turn in all evidence I have regarding you and your plan. While you are sitting here in your home waiting for your money and parts to work on Steamgate, I am doing all your dirty work! So how about I leave this darn job since I feel like I am not getting my share and sink you in the process?"
Cromwell was about to leave but Moff quickly blocked the door. "H-H-Hey now," Moff stammered, "Let's not do that. I'll let you have some more money if you are not happy with it." Cromwell rolled his eyes at Moff. "Come on Marius," said Moff as he put his arm around the mayor, "We still have many dreams of ours to accomplish. And I am sorry for my lack of understanding." "Pfft, sure you are," Cromwell scoffed.
There was a bit of a silence, which worried Moff. The last thing he wanted was for Cromwell to turn him in. He knew he had to say something wise. "You remember my plan?" Moff asked. This got the attention of Cromwell because he immediately turned his head to face Moff, before nodding. "You, me, and Irving being heroes of Littlebark!" Moff explained, "Once we get Steamgate fixed, everything will go as planned. The Fredbots are already programed to go after everyone except you, me, and Irving. Their first and biggest target being Irving's wife and kids, ESPECIALLY Harvey! When he is on the run, he will come to us and from there, we'll destroy the Fredbots! Before anyone can track down the source, Steamgate will be destroyed for good once they're all out. Leave nothing left of it, burn it all. And when it's all said and done, the three of us will be declared heroes of Littlebark for putting the "unknown" robot invasion to an end! Irving will want to stay with us after this. Even if there are some lives lost and Littlebark is practically destroyed, it will all be worth it in the end! Think of the rewards we could receive. What makes it even better is your mayor! You could go down in history as the best mayor of Littlebark because of this!"
This made Marius smile. "That is the plan I do indeed remember," he said, "Now don't get me mistaken, you have told me that you got Steamgate to work after much trial and error. But what happened before I came here? What happened before those squirrels turned on you?" Moff figured Cromwell would ask this at some point. As much as he didn't like to talk about it, he knew that the mayor deserved answers. "So you want the whole story, from beginning till now Marius?" asked Moff. "It would be much appreciated to know," replied Cromwell. Without further of do, Moff told the story.
2016
Moff was doing yard work, making his way to Steamgate. After being lied to about it working, he believed there was no hope of going to another dimension left. Even though Harvey made it up to him, his happiness didn't last for very long. It was in fact rather short. "So much for all that hard work," Moff sighed. He then looked at Steamgate as he put his yard equipment down. He just stared at it for an uncomfortably long period of time. Moff then took out his quantum theory book and looked at it. "You lied to me!" he shouted, "I actually believed in you! Oh how foolish I was!" He then threw his book at the controls of Steamgate as it kicked on. "If only the reality of a world of Steampunks was true," Moff frowned as he sadly went into the steam.
When the steam settled, Moff found himself in the world he had desired for so long. At first he thought he was dreaming but after much observation and seeing all the folks in Steampunk style, he knew it wasn't a dream. "I-I am in it...I'm actually in it!" he said happily, "I'M IN THE STEAMPUNKS DIMENSION!" Moff then saw a sign saying: Welcome to Steamburg. "So, I'm in Steamburg eh?" he said to himself, "That's intriguing, but where is the way back home? Oh well, I'm here now so that's all that matters!"
Moff then walked the streets and observed everyone. He was so mesmerized by seeing folks with the same taste he had. It didn't even feel real, but it was indeed real. Moff eventually got the courage to speak to another individual. "Hello good sir! My name is Moff, what's yours?" he asked. "The name is Bob," replied the individual, "I already know who you are, your the mayor of Steamburg." This confused Moff, "I'm the what?" "Your the mayor of Steamburg, don't you remember?" asked Bob. Moff was incredibly puzzled but replied, "Oh yeah...I was just...joking. Of course I know I'm mayor..." "Umm, right," said Bob, "Well, have a good rest of your day Mr. Mayor!" "Oh yes! You too!" said Moff, then said to himself, "What does he mean mayor? Am I mayor in this dimension?"
Moff continued walking around for a bit and it quickly got weird. He went to Steamburg Park in the middle of the city and saw what seemed to be a Steampunk Fee and a normal looking Foo in Steampunk attire playing frisbee, accompanied by Bada and Grada who were also in Steampunk attire. "What?!" exclaimed Moff. He then looked around himself to see a Steampunks Harvey selling gears to folks, a Steampunks Kratz walking, a normal looking Steampunks Claire, and a Steampunks Blister. "What does this mean?!" Moff asked himself, "Is this dimension what I think it is?"
Before Moff could explore and process more, steam surrounded him and he was back in Littlebark. His thoughts were racing and he could barely comprehend what had just happened. "There is no way that just happened!" Moff said to himself, "It just can't be possible!" But it was indeed possible. Moff had gotten Steamgate to work and he soon began to realize that. He began to slowly grin, "I have actually made a portal to an alternative universe of my own!"
For the next several weeks, Moff did some experimentations. He slowly figured out how to work Steamgate's functions correctly. He then found out there was a time limit setting in case anyone wanted to come back after a certain period. He had it up to the longest period he could, which was around 5 to 6 hours. The only reason Moff did this was because he was still trying to get to know the area of the Steampunks world. At the same time, he told many folks about Steamgate and how he got it working, but no one really believed him. Supposedly, the only ones were Irving, Dr. Roberts, and Jeremy, but Moff didn't see it in they're eyes.
Moff was planning to move out of the world he was in, but there was a problem. The Moff from the Steampunks world was already around and he didn't want there to be two of him. Another thing was there was a second Irving who was already friends with Moff, so that only made Moff wanna leave Littlebark even more. However, he needed to get rid of the Moff in the Steampunks world before he could move in. This was when he resorted to Les Squirrels to help him out since he didn't want to do it on his own.
After making a deal with Les Squirrels, they went into the world but it got very weird very quickly. Immediately after they went into Steamgate, Moff couldn't find them. He eventually found them quite some distance away from Steamburg. They seemed to have no memory of Moff and claimed to be working with the Cogfather. It wasn't until the Steampunks versions of them that they seemed to finally snap out of it. The Steampunks versions of Les Squirrels took out pretty lethal weapons that almost blew them away. But luckily, Moff and Les Squirrels got away without injury.
While on the way to the mayor's office back in Steamburg, Moff was trying to figure out why Les Squirrels didn't seem to remember who they were until they saw their clones. Even Les Squirrels themselves were trying to figure it out. It was something that none of them were unprepared for. However, that was something they could worry about later. For now, they had to take care of Steampunks Moff.
They snuck their way into the building. This was due to security at the front desk and there was no way all of them would be able to get in without looking a tad bit suspicious. When they finally entered the mayor's office, Les Squirrels jumped on Steampunks Moff and regular Moff got a metal bar. He knocked the mayor out with a single hit. "What do we do with him now?" asked Jean Luc. "Get rid of him, any way possible," replied Moff. Les Squirrels took a knocked out Steampunks Moff out of the office, to wherever they could think of.
Moff observed the office and felt filled with joy being mayor of all things. "I would have never saw myself being mayor of a town within a dimension I was looking for!" he said, "Is it just a strange coincidence how that happened? Maybe, maybe not. But it don't matter anymore, because I am finally here!" Someone then knocked on the door. "Come in," Moff said. An individual in a top hat and suit came in. "Mr. mayor," he said, "When Steamburg is finally ready to go airborne, what are you willing to do with the remaining suburban neighborhood?" Moff remembered hearing about it being airborne here and there. "Well, umm...we'll just leave it for whoever needs them?" he said unsurely. "I see," the individual replied, "Very well then, I'll see you again soon." The individual left.
Some hours went by and it was uneventful, until the phone beside Moff rang. "Hello?" he said. "Hey Mr. Moff, it's your receptionist Maria," she said, which turned out to be a Steampunks version of Kratz' mom, "I'm leaving for the day and if I'm not mistaken, these are usually the closing hours?" "Umm yes...these are the hours," Moff replied. "Well, have a good rest of your day mayor and I'll see you the next morning," said Maria. "Ah yes, you too," replied Moff, before he hung up the phone.
Steam surrounded Moff and he as well as Les Squirrels were back in their world. "That...was...weird," said Jean Luc. "Indeed it was," said Moff, "By the way, what did you do with THAT version of Moff?" "Don't worry, we took good care of him," Jean Luc replied, "It's safe to say he won't be seeing his city again..." The other squirrels laughed. "Very good," said Moff, "We'll stay in contact. And if you want, go tell your Godfather or whoever he is about me and see if he wants to get involved."
After Les Squirrels left, Moff relooked in his Quantum theory book and found a certain section that read: When entering through your dimensional portal, it can make you or someone else forget who they are and essentially act the same way they would in that dimension. This of course depends on if there is another version of you or that person. It doesn't happen with everyone, but it is prone to happen to some upon entering certain dimensions. Luckily, it only happens the first time entering and it won't happen again upon second entry.
"Must say, I never even knew that was even possible," said Moff.
Many more weeks went by and now Moff began to spend more time in the Steampunks world than ever. After every 5 to 6 hours, he immediately went back in, until he felt tired and needed to sleep. It luckily didn't happen to him when he was in the middle of doing stuff or in the middle of speeches. His power as a mayor began to give him some pretty devious ideas. There were many who gave Moff bad memories and were straight up nuisances in his eyes. With all the power he had been givin, he was gonna start using it to his advantage.
It started when Moff wanted to make a giant slingshot, which he called the Steamshot. He wanted to get rid of any nuisances in his own personal way. All he had to do was falsely accuse someone he didn't like.
Many fell victim to this. Steampunks Harvey, Steampunks Fee and Foo, Steampunks Bada and Grada, Steampunks Randl, Steampunks Meryl, the list goes on. Sometimes Moff would even take folks in the middle of the night and slingshot them off of Steamburg himself. Even Les Squirrels began to help him with these duties. And anybody in Steamburg who spoke up against Moff would find themselves kicked out almost immediately. Nobody was safe from Moff or his wreath.
Present day
"What a story you have!" said Cromwell, "I would have never guessed it was that deep!" "Yeah, it was a lot to take in I know," said Moff, "A few months later, I had gotten rid of everyone I had disliked and Steamburg going airborne was almost complete. I was about to move into the dimension and ask Les Squirrels to destroy Steamgate so no one knows where I went and so no one comes looking for me. Then came one fateful day..." "What happened?" asked Cromwell. "Harvey made his way into Steamgate somehow!" Moff replied, "When I went in as usual and Les Squirrels went to do some work for me, Steamburg went airborne and I SAW HARVEY! He seemed to have no memory of what had happened prior, so I made Steamburg crash purposely and falsely accuse him of giving a fake cog! It worked very well until Jean Luc called me and said that Harvey was planning to come back to get Steamburg running, so I sent Fredbots to go after them. While on the way to get them, they saw where those who were kicked out have been. They had their own little civilization! So the Fredbots and Les Squirrels took care of them first, before they took care of Harvey! Just like that though, it failed!"
Cromwell was very interested in Moff's whole story. While he heard bits and pieces, he never got to hear the full scale of what it was actually like. "So this is when Steamburg turned against you?" he asked. "Sadly yes," Moff replied, "My hopes and dreams of staying in that dimension were tarnished. Me, Harvey, and Les Squirrels were out of there in no time. I didn't even care to be angry at Harvey, I was just too exhausted. He probably thought it was a dream anyway." "So how did you get your Fredbots back?" asked Cromwell, "If Steamburg likely took them away, where did you find them when you went back in?" "I went back in one day, found them in a storage facility, reprogrammed them under my power, and took the entire population of Steamburg out!" Moff explained, "Some of them ran off, but a lot of them had to...well...you know. From there, I fenced off Steamburg from everyone else and turned it into a Fredbot factory! Making more of them than there ever was for my next big plan! It was also around this time when Papa Jean wanted to turn down his position to work for me as well as the rest of Les Squirrels. Papa Jean had a ton of other squirrels to help us out and turned out to have a lot of money! I also placed Steamgate into the basement of my house, since I didn't want Harvey to go back in. It looked like my plan would work out with just me running as the head of the project with Les Squirrels only being assistants and doing some jobs to help things get rolling. Then came 2 squirrels from New York that turned everything upside-down."
"Yep...them," said Cromwell, "Les Squirrels betrayed you, Littlebark became a mess, and you had to start back from square one, if not, even farther." "It was something that still haunts me to this very day," Moff frowned, "Steamgate was destroyed and I had no one left!" "That was until you decided to get into contact with me," said Cromwell, "From there things only went up and up. Except for a few occasions, but that's besides the point."
There was a long silence. Until Moff spoke, "Alrightie then, in that case, let's continue to work on Steamgate and get the our opportunities rolling. But on one condition though, and that is if you can stay away from businesses." "Alright, I'll stay away from them," said Cromwell. "And I really mean it, because if you don't, there will be problems," said Moff. Cromwell agreed to this and he soon left Moff's place.
From now on, Cromwell would stay away from businesses indefinitely. Focusing on fundings for Steamgate and usual mayor stuff. It just wasn't worth the trouble anymore, especially if the kids kept foiling his plans. Laying low proved to work actually, since he didn't get into any more trouble. For now, the kids wouldn't really hear from or see Cromwell except in news letters or meetings. This was good for him and Moff, because now they could do their work without much issue.
THE END!