Chapter 4: To The Forest!

It was Bentley's idea to take his parents and the kids to Canada, for there might be a chance that the Bomb Bandit would go after them, too. And it was also Bentley's chance to show Clark what the Evergreen Forest looked like when he was younger.

They arrived in Toronto, in Ontario. They did not know that they were being followed by Gerry himself, but he had kept himself hidden until the right time came. As they walked out of their jet, who should meet them there was the Snooper family--Alphonse, his wife Holly, Nellie, Tiny Tim, Siren, Jack and Jill.

"Hey, bro!" said Nellie. "You came just in time! We were on a vacation, and we'd thought you'd just come by to join in some fun."

"Sorry, Nellie," answered Snooper. "But we have no time for breaks. We gotta get over to the Evergreen Forest, and defend it from the Bomb Bandit."

Alphonse said, "Excuse me?"

"You know who he is--Gerry O'Ringtails is the Bomb Bandit. We locked him up a long time ago for his crimes, but Chris let him escape and now he's out for revenge. First, he struck the house of Xochitl and Disco Bear. Then, he attacked Alex II and Fifi's home. The next target he has in mind is the Evergreen Forest itself, which is the main reason why we're going to Canada."

"That is so messed up," said Siren. "But still, you guys have to save the world--if you can ask us, we'll help you protect it."

Alex II said, "Then follow us."

Soon, the TTC and the Snooper clan arrived at the beautiful Evergreen Forest. Bentley smiled--this whole place hasn't changed a bit, and there hasn't been a single forest fire in years! Walking along a road, with Clark and Maeve toddling by his side (and Maurice flying behind him), Bentley said, "When I was a kid, my family moved to the Evergreen Forest. There has been so many memories in this place--memories that I'd like to share with the three of you."

They came upon a little red schoolhouse up ahead of them. Maeve pointed to it and said happily, "School!"

"That's right, Maeve," replied Bentley. "Evergreen Elementary. I used to go there a lot. Bert, Uncle Ralph, Aunt Melissa, and Cedric used to go there, and so did old Cyril Sneer himself."

"Daddy school?"

"Yep--it's your daddy's school. And if it's still open, maybe you can go there, too."

The next place they came upon was the old general store, operated by Mr. Willow. Bentley continued, "This is the general store. It was operated by an old friend of mine--good old Mr. Willow. He sells all kinds of things that you can even name, including peanut butter soda."

"What's that, Pa?" asked Clark. He had no idea what peanut butter soda is.

"You'll see when you come inside."

When they entered the shop, there was Mr. Willow at the counter, sorting the items in the shelves. Bentley cleared his throat and said, "Mr. Willow?"

Startled, the old grey bear stopped what he was doing, turned around, and said, "Hi, Bentley. What can I do for..." As soon as he had looked at him, he realized he had made an error. He muttered, "Oh...you're not Bentley."

"I am," answered Bentley with a friendly smile. "You don't recognize me, do you?"

"Well, all I know is that your voice sounded familiar. But you look so...different, now."

"Yes. That's what I wanted you to know."

"I haven't seen you since your departure from the Evergreen Forest. How are things going down there in the United States?"

"Oh, things have been so excellent. I became a Time Toon Cop, then I went on to become a movie star, and I live in Hollywood. And by the way, it's the United States of Canerica--it isn't 'America' any more."

Spotting the three children beside him, Mr. Willow asked, "And who are those three? I haven't seen them with you before."

"Those?" said Bentley. "Well, they're my kids. This is Clark, the little alien/hillbilly/cow/robot/engineer hybrid. And here is my daughter Maeve and my second son Maurice."

"I didn't know you were a family man."

"Well, I certainly am. Oh, and I have a wife named Vanessa--she's with the TTC crew."

"I see."

"...Mr. Willow, I don't have time to carry on this conversation any farther. Once this mission is over, we'll have plenty of time to talk then. Can I buy four peanut butter sodas, one for each of us, before we leave?"

"All right."

Meanwhile, Chris found out from Gerry that the Time Toon Cops found out about his hiding place. But it didn't matter to him--they would probably be too late to stop him. He said, "They found me out! Gerry, you'd better kill them now or I will put an end to your lifeblood!" Then he continued to chant in the Dark language.

Back in the forest, the TTC were devising a plan. Bertha said, "Now, if we can split up, this would be a piece of cake. One team will guard each section of the forest--the president and I will be lookouts to see if the Bomb Bandit ever decides to arrive to do his deed. Let's go!"

And the cops split up, each team going to guard the parts of the forest--the Tiny Toons team in the north, the Raccoons team in the south, the Road Rovers team in the east, the Pound Puppies team in the west. The rest just went out the guard the other areas--Bentley, who had just returned from the general store, left the kids with George and Nicole, before starting out to join his colleagues.