Gemwing2012: When coming up with the meeting in Toon Hall, I though Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse would make great co-leaders since they look like they can be the best of friends since their brief interactions in Who Framed Roger Rabbit while parachuting. I was greatly inspired by Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas when I thought about them being leaders and they would potentially be like parental and uncle figures to the Cup Brothers.
Nataliepthatsme: I have to say when we have all the classic cartoon characters together it's really a jam packed story. The town meeting scene in the movie is one of my favorite scenes especially when all the toons come together and for this story it's cool to see the cups interact with other toons, especially how some can be role models for them
LexieLuthor98: I definitely loved Kate's idea of making Mickey and Bugs become some kinda parent/teacher figure for the Cup Brothers. Granted all the stuff they've gone through (and have to contend with now), they'll need all the support they can. But what tricks do the Nerdlucks have on their sleeves? I guess we'll have to stay "tooned" ;P
"Boy, does that feel good." Alicia sighed as she stepped out of the shower and dried herself off with a brown towel hanging on a rake on the wall next to the shower.
John had already showered and was waiting in the hallway outside the bathroom for his sister while he put the harness on Duke. It was light brown with a patch on it showing a St. Bernard carrying a small barrel under his neck.
The St. Bernard wagged his tail happily as John reached for the gray leash.
"Yes, we'll go in a minute Duke, we have to wait for Alicia." John assured.
But the tail was still wagging. Even as Alicia came out of the bathroom drying her hair with a hair blower and with her clothes on.
"Sounds like someone can't wait to go for a walk." She commented.
Duke let out a howl making both siblings laugh.
"We probably shouldn't make him wait any longer, at least it's a little more comfortable outside now than before." John stated.
Dogs with long coats like Duke have a very hard time in the summer. John therefore always goes out early and in the morning, late afternoon or even in the evening with the St. Bernard.
Therefore, the two siblings went out of the house and were about to close the front door when…
"Woah!" Alicia exclaimed, shocked
"What was that?!" John added
Something flew past them in the sky. It wasn't a plane or drone or something like that. It looked like a small spaceship but both couldn't figure that out because the "thing" was moving fast.
"I guess I'll grab my shoulder bag really quick." Alicia said.
She rushes into the house to grab her shoulder bag with the Cuphead book inside, a wallet and her Smartphone and her brother's backpack.
At the Airport…
"Since we're here for two weeks, do you think Alicia and John would be interested in joining us to visit DisneyLand?" Katie asked. "I'd love to see what it's like here."
"Oh for sure!" Lexie beamed. "The more the merrier!"
"Amen to that, Lex." Natty chimed in.
Just as three women and their hidden companions were waiting for their taxi, something zoomed past over the airport, catching their attention as well as the other people about to enter or exit the building. At first, it must have been an airplane but it flew past the airport and kept on going. And it was moving so fast, it was difficult to see what it actually was.
Murmurs of shock, confusion and concern sailed throughout the crowd while the Dreamstones girls, kitten, hamster and Sprigon looked at one another.
"Whoa!" Natty gasped.
"What in the-?!" Lexie exclaimed.
"What the heck was that?" Katie asked as Lexie and Natty shrugged.
Meanwhile, in a hidden corner of Hollywood, California, was a wondrous place known as Toon Town. It was a bustling metropolis, filled with a variety of different, you guessed it, cartoon characters.
Any cartoon from the 1930s, to the 50s, 90s Saturday morning cartoons, and even more recent cartoons such as The Cuphead Show reside in this town. You name any of your favorite cartoons, trust me, they were there.
Everything was peaceful and quiet. The birds chirped, the tree rustled in the park and the flowers were smiling.
Nothing could kill this mood except for the sudden explosion and screaming.
The birds and flowers looked confused. Where is the explosion and screaming coming from?
Well, the answer to the question was none other than two certain cup-headed brothers being chased by the Devil himself pointing his pitchfork at the two cups.
Bursts of fire shot out from the pitchfork, almost hitting both Cup Brothers but they avoided the blast and continued to run away from the Devil. The birds trilled in terror as they all flew away while the frightened flowers sank down below ground to avoid getting hit by the flames themselves.
"Come back here, cup!" The Devil shouted after the Cup Brothers. "Expired debt or not, your soul is still mine! Stop running away and hand it over!"
"Aw banana oil!" Cuphead complained. "Can't the Devil take a hint and give it up already?! I mean, we still have yet to know if our show will be renewed for a fourth season or not!"
Just then, Mugman had thought of something as he stopped, yelling, "Hold it!"
Both cups stopped running as Cuphead looked confused.
"About that…" Mugman stated. "Why didn't the writers get back to us about a fourth season yet? I mean, it's practically yet another cliffhanger with you running off to play at the Devil's Casino at the finale of Season 3 with Chalice and me chasing after you."
"Hey… you're right!" Cuphead agreed. "The whole thing with the casino and the 'Here we go again' scenario does show a lot of potential for a Season 4. We oughta call our agent for a compliment on why that ain't happening yet!"
As the Cups were distracted with their conversation, they had nearly forgotten about the Devil as his shadow ominously eclipsed them, catching their attention. Freezing up in terror, the two brothers turned their heads, their eyes wide in horror as the Devil approached them, pitchfork in hand.
"I've got you now!" The Devil cackled as he loomed over the trembling Cups, holding them at pitchfork point. "There's no escaping from me this time, you porcelain brats! Your souls are mine!"
With a menacing grin, he clicked his pitchfork like a rifle, preparing to open fire. Whimpering in dread, the Cup Brothers hugged one another, trembling. They squeezed their eyes closed, clinging onto each other tightly as they awaited for the inevitable.
Looks like this is the end for Cuphead and Mugman for sure this time. Or is it?
*CLANG!*
Suddenly, a long metal ramp fell down from out of nowhere and slammed the Devil to the ground, making him yell out, "OW!"
The Cup Brothers, still holding onto one another, opened their eyes in surprise and confusion as they noticed all four of the Devil's limbs sticking out in a spread eagle formation, comically sprawled beneath the ramp that slightly flattened him, his pitchfork lying a foot away from him.
"Whoa! This is new." Cuphead commented.
Confused but also wondering why the Devil is now practically flattened like a fly under a flyswatter beneath a metal ramp that suddenly appeared, the two noticed only now the spaceship that stood before them. The door hatch in the side of the ship opens up to reveal a blinding white light and five aliens stepping out.
"Aliens?!" Mugman exclaimed in shock before he gasped just like in Carn-Evil.
Despite being just as shocked to see actual aliens himself (if you don't count Marvin the Martian), Cuphead was also most fascinated as he beamed, "Neat!"
Pound takes a couple of dramatic steps forward as he declares, "One step for moi!"
"Moi!" Nawt, Blanko and Bupkus piped up.
Bang then pulled out a flag on a pole, jumping beside Pound, announcing, "One giant leap for Moron Mountain!"
The moment he said this, Bang had unknowingly jabbed the bottom of the flag pole into Pound's foot, making him yell out in pain. Meanwhile, the Devil groaned in pain beneath the ramp as he slightly moved his arm about, fingers occasionally twitching.
"And one whopper bad back for Old Scratch." Cuphead winced.
"No doubt he'll be feeling that in the morning." Mugman added.
The moment Pound recovered from getting a stubbed toe and threw the flag pole away from a sheepish Bang, the Nerdlucks scampered down the ramp and stood before the Cup Brothers. In comparison, the aliens are much smaller and shorter than even the two cups, just barely above their knees.
"Kinda on the diminutive side, ain't they?" Cuphead whispered to his brother.
"They did seem a lot bigger from a distance." Mugman agreed.
"We seek the toon called Cuphead." Bang informed.
"Yeah, Cuphead." Nawt nodded as Bupkus looked around.
"Yeah, have either of you seen him? "Where is that guy?" Pound asked.
"Is he around?" Blanko added in.
The Cup Brothers glanced at another in confusion, and then to the inquiring Nerdlucks. Just then, Cuphead broke out in a mischievous smile, deciding to play a little prank on the aliens.
"Cuphead, huh?" Cuphead asked, looking thoughtful. "Hmm, let's see… Cuphead… Cuphead… Oh! Does he happen to have a bendy red striped straw like this?"
He grabs his straw and takes it out of his head to show it to the Nerdlucks, pointing at it for extra emphasis.
"Yeah." The Nerdlucks nodded.
"And is he always around with his brother and best buddy, Mugman like him?" Cuphead asked as he pulled Mugman over next to him.
Awkwardly, Mugman smiled and waved at the Nerdlucks who nodded in reply.
"And does he say 'I ain't too worried about it' like this?" Cuphead inquired. Getting into character, he gave out a bored look and casually said, "Eh, I ain't too worried about it."
"YEAH!" The Nerdlucks cheered, throwing their arms up in rejoice.
"Hmm… nope, never heard of him." Cuphead shrugged before turning around and started to walk away. "C'mon, Mugsy, let's go home."
Their hope deflated, the Nerdlucks slumped down and groaned in disappointment like children who were denied a trip to the amusement park as the Cups started to take their leave. Mugman couldn't help but feel a bit guilty about how seemingly mean Cuphead had been to them with his joke.
"Uh, Cuphead, I'm not so sure that was a good idea pulling their leg like that." Mugman pointed out.
"Aw banana oil!" Cuphead scoffed. "Lighten up, Mugsy. What harm could one little prank bring? Like I said, I ain't too worried about it."
Suddenly, just as Cuphead had said this, laser blasts shot out and hit a tree, incinerating it just a foot away from the Cups as they screamed in alarm as they jumped back and hugged one another. Shocked and terrified, they turned and noticed the Nerdlucks were now armed with dangerously loaded laser guns.
"Hold right there, Mr. Ain't-Too-Worried-About-It!" Bang demanded.
"Yeah, whaddya think we are? Stupid?" Bupkus sneered.
"Don't either of you move a muscle!" Nawt ordered.
Mugman frowned at Cuphead, who could only chortle sheepishly in reply.
Pound blew smoke off from the nuzzle of his laser gun as he sneered at the Cup Brothers as his colleagues kept them at gunpoint.
"Okay, Cupboy, you and big nose here better gather up all of your toon pals." Pound said with a sinister smirk. "We're taking all of you for a ride."
However, Blanko, being as innocently dim as he is, misunderstood Pound's sinister statement, assuming he meant that the Nerdlucks were going to take all of the toons on a road trip as he happily jumped up in excitement.
"Totally, alright!" Blanko beamed before he scurried over to an annoyed Pound. "So, like, where are we going?"
Irritated by his blue colleague's stupidity, Pound flung out his hand smack Blanko over the head, making him wobble like how one would pull back and let go of a wooden plank embedded into the ground halfway. After he had stopped wobbling, Blanko dizzily stumbled around, all disoriented.
"Are we there yet?" A distinctly dazed Blanko asked.
As the Nerdlucks were busy holding the Cup Brothers hostage, the Devil managed to pick up his pitchfork while still under the ramp and teleported away in a cloud of smoke.
Back in the Real World, the Dreamstones just arrived at the hotel they are staying at and went inside to check in for their room. Just as they entered the lobby, Katie's phone started ringing and vibrating.
"Oh!" Katie gasped as she reached into her belt bag and pulled out her Smartphone with the Lilo & Stitch cover.
She pressed the Answer button in the touch screen, switching the screen to video chat to show Alicia on the screen.
"Oh, hey, Ali!" Katie grinned.
"Hey, girl!" Lexie beamed, waving.
"Great to hear from you again!" Natty added. "How have you been doing?"
"Oh, I'm fine. Me and my bro are just on our way back home" Alicia replied.
She pointed her smartphone at her brother who waved at the camera and then to Duke who walked besides John. He looked up to the smartphone with a panting tongue and wagged his tail.
"Where are you guys right now?" Alicia asked.
"We've just arrived at the hotel." Katie answered. "We're just going to check in at our room and unpack."
"Sweet, we're almost home." Alicia smiled.
"And we make some hot chocolate." added John as he looked into the Camera.
Duke's barking could be heard through the Smartphone, making the three women giggle.
"That's nice, and you must be John." Lexie beamed. "Nice to meet ya. Your sister has told us so much about you.
"Well she told me much about you too and about your adventures in the book." John stated.
"Once we all settle in, maybe we could meet up somewhere to get a coffee sometime." Natty suggested.
Alicia thought about something before she replied, "Hmm sure. Should I take my Cuphead Book with me? There is actually something I like to show you."
Much to the girls' concern Alicia's face shows concern and no longer happiness.
"Everything okay, Al?" Lexie asked in concern.
"Yeah, is there something that's worrying you?" Natty added.
Alicia sighs. "We should talk about it when we meet you guys in the cafe"
The call ended.
"Okay…? That was kinda strange." Lexie commented with an arched eyebrow.
Katie's Smartphone vibrates and a message from Alicia appears on it with a link.
"She sent me a link? How odd…" Katie trailed off.
The link leads to a Google Page showing a cafe not far away from the hotel.
"Oh okay, it's the local coffee shop. Let's go ahead and get unpacked and we'll head over there." Lexie stated.
Katie and Natty nodded before all three of them headed over to the registration to get checked in as Lexie quickly got out her phone to deliver a text.
Back in New York, Lexie's boyfriend Liam and his little brother Matt decided to spend the rainy weekend relaxing in the living room, watching some cartoons.
"Lee, can we watch Looney Tunes? Wile E Coyote is funny!" Matt beamed.
"Sure thing, buddy." Liam smiled in reply. "Just got a text from Lexie to let us know that she, Katie and Natty made it to California okay."
He picks the remote and switches to a certain channel to show Wile E Coyote carrying an anvil while walking across a wire he had laid out across one side of a cliff to another like a tight wire circus act. However, due to the extra weight of the anvil, the wire stretches downward, bringing Wile towards the road below.
Just then, the Road Runner dashed up towards Wile E and stopped in front of him. Briefly sticking his tongue out, Road Runner gave out his trademark "Beep Beep!" before he zoomed away. But before Wile could react… Porky Pig suddenly rushes in, going up to the screen, waving frantically, much to the surprise and confusion of the two brothers watching the whole thing.
"What the-?!" Liam exclaimed.
"Hey, I don't remember Porky Pig being in this episode." Matt chimed in.
"Stop this c-cartoon!" Porky yelped frantically as Road Runner darted back while Wile E continued looking on in confusion. "We've an em-m-mergency Cartoon Union M-M-Meeting to go to!"
Both Wile E and Road Runner looked at one another before Road Runner sped off, leaving Porky to hurry after him.
"Hey! Wait for- wait for m- hold your horses!"
Wile E dropped the anvil to follow them, but he had forgotten he was still on the wire when it shot him up into the air. Right after the gag, there were no characters. Just the scenery. Both Matt and Liam looked at one another in confusion at this.
"Hey, Lee… where did they go?" Matt squeaked.
"I… have no idea…" Liam answered, unsure.
When they arrived home, both siblings were in the kitchen. John was preparing the hot chocolate, Duke was finishing his dog food in his bowl and Alicia was watching an old cartoon of Popeye.
"Here you go, sis." John said, handing her the cup which was black at first but slowly showed a picture of a wolf pack. John's mug had the logo of his favorite baseball team on it.
"Thanks." She took the cup and clicked on the video and the cartoon started. It was "The Paneless Window Washer" from 1937.
Both siblings watched the cartoon. Popeye was outside a window, staring confusedly at Bluto, who was inside the skyscraper.
The latter was supposed to hit him with his fist, but suddenly they heard a strange noise.
"What's that noise?" Alicia wondered as well as Olive Oyle who appeared next to Bluto also looked out the window in the same direction as Popeye.
It was a plane but not any Plane. It was a Conwing L-16 named "Sea Duck". Baloo's Plane from the TV Show Talespin.
"What the hell?" Alicia and John looked confused at the screen.
"Popeye, Bluto and Olive Oyl?" Baloo asked the three who nodded. "Jump aboard."
Popeye scratched his head in confusion.
"Cartoon Union Meeting!" That was Baloo's answer as the three jumped in his plane as it flew out of the screen. Only the building stayed on the screen and it was silent.
"Umm what is going on?" John asked, perplexed.
"I… don't know." Alicia answered.
Over at the hotel, Katie, Lexie and Natty were unpacking their luggage and settling in their hotel room while they had turned on the TV to listen to a cartoon. The TV was showing a Darkwing Duck cartoon. The scene shows Darkwing Duck on a fountain, running away from the villain, Megavolt, a member of the Fearsome Five, who was armed with a blaster.
"Hey! No fair running away!" Megavolt whined as he started to chase after DW around on the fountain while Launchpad and Darkwing's adoptive daughter, Gosalyn were atop of the fountain, watching them. "Stand still and fry like a duck!"
Katie was just placing one of her shirts in a drawer when she looked up to watch the TV when she noticed something that had never happened in the cartoon before.
"Uh… guys?" She uttered.
"What's wrong, Kate?" Natty asked as she and Lexie looked up from what they were doing.
Suddenly, they were just as surprised to see… Roger Rabbit and Benny the Cab zooming onto the scene.
"Wait, what?!" Natty gasped.
"Roger Rabbit and Benny the Cab?!" Lexie exclaimed. "They're not a part of this cartoon!"
Darkwing managed to jump out of the way when Benny was unable to stop himself in time as he accidentally ran Megavolt over, flattening him.
"Roger?! Benny?!" Darkwing exclaimed. "What are you doing?! You're not in this cartoon!"
"Jeepers! Sorry, DW! But we've got an emergency!" Roger cried.
"Bugs and Mickey had called for a Cartoon Union Meeting over at Toon Town Hall!" Benny added urgently. "Basically, Cuphead and Mugman had a run-in with some unwanted visitors! Get your kid and Launchpad over there ASAP!"
Without another word, Darkwing, Gosalyn and Launchpad hurried offscreen. Meanwhile, a groaning Megavolt wobbled up onto his feet as stars circled around his head before he shook his head.
"C'mon, Megavolt! Get in!" Roger called as Benny opened his door. "I'll drive us there!"
"But I wanna drive!" Megavolt pouted as he climbed inside.
"No, I'll drive! I'm the cab here!" Benny snapped before he drove off with his passengers in tow.
Once all the characters were gone, Katie, Lexie, Natty, Kaichi, Aya and Daisy looked at one another in confusion.
"Okay…" Lexie murmured, perplexed.
"That was weird…" Natty said as Katie awkwardly nodded in agreement.
Back in Toon Town that evening, over at Toon Town Hall, every cartoon character from beloved cartoon shows of every generation arrived for the emergency meeting.
Darkwing parks his motorcycle, the Ratcacher among the other vehicles parked outside the building before he, Launchpad and Gosalyn climbs out just as Benny zooms in with Roger and Megavolt aboard.
Baloo landed with his plane, the Sea Duck next to the building. He opened the door on the side of his plane from which different Fleischer cartoon characters walked outside. From Betty Boop to Popeye followed by Baloo and his crew.
"Well, look who is here." Baloo beamed. "If it isn't Darkwing Duck and his gang."
"Hey! DW!" Kit Cloudkicker waved.
"Hey, Baloo. Hello, Kit." Darkwing greeted.
"How've you guys been?" Gosalyn asked.
Just then, Wile E fell out from the sky and crashed through the roof of Town Hall, making everyone flinch.
"Jumpin' jeepers!" Roger exclaimed.
"And I thought I had it rough." Megavolt commented.
"We should talk about that after the meeting." Baloo said and followed the other Toons inside the building.
Inside, all of the cartoon characters, most especially the antagonists were gathering up inside in the grand hallway.
Baroness Von Bon Bon, Sally Stageplay and Hilda Berg walked inside the Meeting Hall to find a good seat to sit in. Werner Werman jumped onto Megavolt's shoulder as he was seated next to Quackerjack, Bushroot and The Liquidator.
Just as King Dice took his seat near Don Karnage, an annoyed Squidward Tentacles barges past, soaking wet as he was wrapped in a pink bath towel and wearing a flowery shower cap.
"What does a guy have to do to get a decent bath around here?" Squidward asked in annoyance.
Brineybeard rolls his eyes in annoyance while Bluto yawns.
The annoyed Squidward unknowingly and carelessly shoved past the Creeper from Scooby-Doo as the annoyed ghoul snapped, "Creeper!"
At his seat, Fat Cat from Chip & Dale: Rescue Rangers rolled his eyes as he asked, "Honestly! Before those meddling kids unmask you, is 'Creeper' all you can say?"
Glumly, the Creeper slumped as he mumbled in reply, "Creeper…"
More and more Toons walked inside the hall until every seat was taken. Well almost every seat if the Devil hasn't taken a seat from Droopy Dog.
"Life's not fair, is it, folks?" Droopy sighed as he broke the fourth wall.
"Jeez Boss, that was not nice." stated Henchman sitting next to the Devil.
"Of course it's not, Henchman. I'm the Devil, remember?" The Devil scoffed. "It's what I do. Besides, it's finders keepers, losers weepers. It's certainly not my fault that dog was too slow. And I need a clear view of those little miscreants who had hit me earlier. Just so I can see what we're dealing with and if they would work to my benefit."
Just then Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse came in onto the stage, looking sympathetically at Cuphead and Mugman who were chained up to each other as the Nerdlucks were close by.
All Toons look up to the stage to see the aliens and the chained up Cups as Bugs and Mickey approach the microphone.
"Gosh, guys, what's going on?" SpongeBob SquarePants asked.
"Yeah! What's the 'big emergency'?" Daffy piped up.
"Uh, these little guys would like to make an announcement." Mickey replied as Bugs passed the microphone to Pound.
"There ya go, half-pint." Bugs said.
The Nerdlucks pushed Pound forward towards the mic, cheering him on.
"All right, all right." Pound stated. He cleared his throat before he grinned evilly towards the toons as he announced, "You, all of you are now our prisoners!"
There was a moment of silence followed by laughing from the Toons.
"P-prisoners?" Tails whimpered, as he hugged Sonic who was sitting next to him.
"We're in trouble now!" Sylvester guffawed as Pound looked on dejectedly.
"Oh, don't make me laugh!" Baroness Von Bon Bon added before she nudged Sally's shoulder.
"Honestly, how could these small creatures claim us as prisoners?" Sally asked, rolling her eyes.
"We are taking you to our theme park in outer space."
"No fooling!" Blanko chimed in.
As Nawt continued to go on and on about taking everybody as prisoners, slaves, etc., there was a short pause when suddenly, Cagney Carnation started laughing even harder.
"Oh man, I'm gonna bust a stem, this is so funny!"
The Devil giggles before he and Henchman laughs too.
"Wow, and to think, I'm the funny one in the Underworld." The Devil chortled.
"Duh, yeah. And those little guys are kinda too cute to be taken seriously." Henchman agreed innocently.
"Oh, fear clutches to my breast." Bluto laughed as he slapped Popeye on the back, while Olive Oyl held her stomach laughing.
Then out of nowhere two Toons jumped on the stage. They were Yosmite Sam and Negaduck.
"Now, hold right there, varmint! We ain't a-goin' nowhere!" Sam remarked as he blasted his guns like mad and before pointing them at an unamused Pound.
"Cowboy's right!" Negaduck sneered as he pulled out his chainsaw. "And what are you little twerps gonna do about it?"
"Might as well leave while you can." Mario from Super Mario Super Show claimed. "You're not taking anyone."
"Yeah!" Sonic chimed in. "We're not going down without a fight!"
Just then Pound pulled out his laser gun and zaps Yosmite Sam and Negaduck, which left them charred with their clothes except for their underwear and Sam's moustache completely incinerated.
Seeing that, the toons became afraid and stepped back. Even the antagonists such as the villains from the Gargoyles rouge gallery were shocked and concerned by the hostility.
"Playtime's over!" Quackerjack yelped as his jester cap drooped down in dismay.
Every toon quickly raised their arms up in fear. Except for the Devil, who raised an eyebrow in intrigue. Of course, the Nerdlucks didn't pay any attention as they kept the rest of the Toons at gunpoint.
"Eh, not so fast, doc." Bugs spoke up, walking up to the Nerdlucks while both Cup Brothers freed themselves from their chains.
"You can't just turn us into slaves. That would be bad." Mickey added.
"B-but they sound serious." Mugman trembled.
"Y-y-yeah M-M-Mr. Bugs Bunny." Cuphead stammered.
"Oh, yeah? Who says?" Pound sneered as he turned and pointed his laser gun at Bugs, Mickey and the Cup Brothers.
As the rest of the Nerdlucks chimed in, Bugs had briefly turned his back to scribble something down in a book he had pulled out with a pencil. The book was titled "How to Draw Cartoon Characters", but he had crossed out "Draw" and wrote "Capture" in its place.
"Just a sec." He said, writing some more in the book before showing it to the Nerdlucks. "There. Read 'em and weep, boys."
"What's this?" Pound inquired.
"Huh?" the other Nerdlucks added.
Inside the book was a note that reads: "Give them a chance to defend themselves."
"Aw. Do we have to?" Bang groaned, rolling his eyes.
"It is in the rule book." Nawt pointed out.
"It is." Bupkus agreed.
"Okay. It is in the rule book." Blanko confirmed.
Then, Bugs Bunny opens a door while Mickey walks inside with the Cup Brothers.
"Uno memento. We have to confer." He said before closing the door behind him.
"What are we gonna do?!" Mugman asked as he and most of the toons gathered up in the room. "They want to take us to their crazy theme park and make us work there! I don't want to do that!"
"Don't worry, fellas. We'll think of something." Mickey said in reassurance.
"How about we hold a spelling bee competition?" Roger suggested.
"Say, we could have a bowling tournament." Scrooge McDuck chuckled.
"I'm uncertain it would be that easy." Goliath reasoned. "We really should think of a much more reasonable strategy against these creatures."
"Okay, let's analyze the competition here." Bugs stated as he pulled down a chart of the Nerdlucks. "What are we looking at here? We got a small race of invading aliens."
"Short arms. Short legs." Daffy said as he shortened his arms and legs, going as far as to warp his face a bit to look like a Nerdluck.
"And from the look of 'em, they don't look very strong." Roger spoke up as he flexed his arms to show some muscle, only for them to limp down like a wet noodle, making him chortle sheepishly.
"They can't run very fast…" Scrooge said in thought.
"Tiny little guys." Darkwing added.
"Not to mention they can't jump very high." Baloo agreed.
"And there's more of us here." Cuphead chimed in.
After a while of thinking, all of the Toons came to a shared realization of how they can challenge the Nerdlucks while having a full advantage of the situation.
"Hmm… fellas, are you all thinking what I'm thinking?" Mickey asked.
"I think so." Mugman nodded.
"Let's do this!" Cuphead exclaimed.
Later, the Toons returned to the stage as Bugs was holding a basketball while Daffy, Scrooge, Darkwing and Cuphead folded their arms confidently.
"We challenge you to a basketball game." Bugs announced as he spins the ball on his finger.
"All right, basketball it is!" Pound agreed.
"Basketball!" Bang added.
"Yes!" Nawt cheered.
"Boy, oh boy!" Bupkus piped up.
"Alrighty!" Blanko beamed. Suddenly, he looked confused as he asked, "Uh… what is basketball?"
That actually made the other Nerdlucks just as confused as they realized they don't even know what basketball is.
"What's that?" Bupkus inquired.
"Beats me." Nawt shrugged.
"We never had that in school." Bang sighed while Pound looked stumped.
"They have no idea what basketball is?" Sonic asked, his eyebrow arched.
"Gawrsh, maybe they could do a little… um, uh…" Goofy struggled with the last word.
"Education!" Donald Duck snapped.
"LIGHTS!" Bugs called out.
On cue, the big screen in the theater came to life as the movie started to countdown to start the film. Foghorn Leghorn was trying to find a seat, which was hard for some toons to see.
"Hey! Down in front!" King Koopa from The Super Mario Super Show yelled as he angrily threw his bag of popcorn at Foghorn's head, knocking him out so that the audience can watch the film.
"Nice throw, King Dad." Cheatsy Koopa, one of King Koopa's Koopalings commented.
The Narrator explains, "An exhilarating team sport currently growing rapidly in popularity is basketball. Unlike football and baseball, only five men can play on a team. It's a fast-paced, razzle-dazzle game that requires wits and even faster reflexes. Here's how it's done in the professional ranks, the national basketball association, featuring the best players in the world."
"The best players in the world…" Nawt echoed with a sinister smirk as he rubbed his hands together, intrigued.
"The best!" Bupkus piped up as Blanko made a dopey smile.
Pound and Bang grinned wickedly as they and their colleagues looked at one another. It would seem that the Nerdlucks are planning something really big that could provide them an advantage. An advantage that could benefit.
In the shadows, the Devil, along with Henchman and King Dice, was watching with intrigue. Perhaps these tiny little aliens could work to benefit that would allow him not only to get Cuphead's soul once and for all but also something else he greatly desired for so long.