And so, they went to the Maroon Cartoons studio, where they rummaged through a dumpster full of old model sheets...until they found what they were looking for.
"Here we are, boys! A model sheet of da Judge!" said the lead weasel.
"Now what?" The dopey weasel wondered.
"Now we visit da evil Ink & Paint lady!" The lead weasel said like it was obvious.
And so, they did just that, seeing the "evil Ink & Paint" lady who helped them out so that they could bring back Judge Doom for the ultimate revenge. The lady went straight to work, puffing on her cigar as she helped out the weasels in need since she was on their side.
"Thanks, toots!" A weasel grinned as they took the new and improved model sheet before paying the lady handsomely.
"Where to?" The dopey weasel then asked as they got away in their car.
"Von Rotten Manor!" The lead weasel exclaimed as they drove their way there.
Soon, they arrived at a creepy-looking castle that was spooky enough to give even the toughest of tough guys pants-wetting nightmares! The weasels made their way upstairs until they reached a door labeled "FILM LAB".
"What's this?" asked the dopey weasel.
"A multiplane camera!" declared the lead weasel.
"Ooohhh..." The other weasels reacted in awe.
"We put da cell on here... t'row a sheet over it so it don't blow away... STAND BACK!" The lead weasel began to instruct before he shouted at his fellow weasels. He then did what he said what he had to do and soon pulled a lever as they began to reenact a Frankenstein movie of their own.
Soon, the machine powered up through banging, making an awfully loud racket as the lead weasel pulled more levers and outside, a lightning strike began to help make the creature come to life.
The weasels reacted in even more awe until they were about finished up.
"Okay, boys! Let's check it out!" The lead weasel grinned at the others.
Lowering the platform to the ground, the lead weasel used a stethoscope to check for any sign of a pulse. "Hmm..." he murmured, as unbeknownst to him [but not to his two colleagues], a lump had begun to rise underneath the sheet.
Darting away, the other weasels left their de-facto leader by himself, as the lump emerged from the sheet, revealing itself as an arm, clothed in an inky black sleeve.
To say the lead weasel was surprised when he found himself being strangled by a human-looking hand would be nothing short of an understatement. "He's alive... ALIVE!" he croaked before the arm threw him into some machinery, and then pulled the sheet off itself, revealing the red-eyed, white-haired, sneering face of Judge Doom AKA Baron Von Rotten.
"OF COURSE I'M ALIVE, YOU DUNCEBUCKET!" he bellowed.
The weasels then backed up a bit to give him some room.
"Where am I and how did I get here?" Baron demanded dangerously.
"We re-created ya from an old model sheet from Maroon Cartoons!" The lead weasel explained calmly.
"Maroon Cartoons? TOONS?!" Baron scowled at the name. "TOONS! ROGER RABBIT!" he then continued to rant and nearly foamed at the mouth.
"Yeah, remember?" The lead weasel reminded his boss. "You an' my brother got killed in a puddle of Dip?"
"YES! Now I remember!" Baron replied before squeezing and shaking the lead weasel since he was the closest to him. "AND NOW IT'S TIME FOR REVENGE! Revenge as only I, The Toon of a Thousand Faces, can inflict upon that carrot-sucking rabbit and his bottle sucking pal, Eddie Valiant! GRRR..." he then snarled once he was ready to attack and let go of the lead weasel for now.
"Here's the newspaper, Boss! Tells all 'bout it!" The lead weasel said, taking out a copy of The ToonTown Tattler newspaper with the headline of: "ROGER RABBIT FOILS DOOM WITH HELP FROM HIS PALS EDDIE VALIANT AND KIDS NAMED CHERRY AND ATTICUS WHO SQUEEZED THEMSELVES INTO THE STORY".
"Hmph! Roger Rabbit!" scowled the Baron as he crushed the newspaper in his hands. "I'll kill him! KILL HIM! I'll—" he suddenly stopped as an idea began to form in the crafty crevices of his miscreant mind. "...no, wait! I've got a better idea!"
He jabbed a finger at the snout of the lead weasel as he explained. "I'll ruin his reputation; I'll destroy his career!" he then grabbed him by his suit lapels. "I'll fix it so Roger Rabbit won't be able to do anything funny!"
"CARTOON CHARACTER ASSASSINATION!" crowed Baron von Rotten as he yanked the lead weasel's tie, making his eyes bug out and his face turn blue due to a lack of air. "It's worse than DEATH!" He then slammed the weasel on the floor, face-first, and stood triumphantly over his bashed, battered body. "When I get through with him, he'll just be begging to die!"
MEANWHILE...
"So, uh, do you guys have anywhere to stay?" Jessica asked Cherry and Lionel as she and Roger met up with them eventually.
"We're probably gonna stay in a hotel." Cherry replied.
"Jeez, Atticus, ya look different," Roger said as he observed Lionel. "Did you get new glasses?"
"Atticus never wore glasses." Cherry rolled her eyes.
"Oh! I know! He shaved his beard!" Roger then suddenly said.
"I'm not Atticus," responded Lionel. "My name's Lionel Schwartz, it's my birthday, and it's very nice to meet you. Big fan of your work, Mr. Rabbit!"
"Oh! Hi!" Roger smiled.
Cherry and Jessica both rolled their eyes slightly before smirking.
"Good to know one of my loyal fans." Roger smiled as he took Lionel's hand and shook it rather vigorously.
Lionel shook back, equally vigorous, to the point it left both him and Roger shaking in place. "You've got a really strong handshake, y'know that?" he commented amidst his wobbling.
"Heh, I try my best," Roger chuckled. "Sometimes it comes in handy, but other times not so much, especially with babysitting Baby Herman."
"Though those babysitting cartoons might come in handy, Honey Bunny~" Jessica reminded her husband as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"Ooh... Right you are, Jessica!" Roger nodded.
"Wait, are you guys meaning to say that...?" Cherry began to ask.
"Yes, we're expecting." Jessica nodded and looked very excited.
"Hey, congratulations!" beamed Lionel. "That's pretty awesome!"
"Do you know when?" Cherry wondered.
"We never really know when," Jessica replied. "It's complicated for Toons sometimes when it comes to making a schedule."
"Well, congratulations either way," Cherry shrugged. "It should be nice to meet the new bouncing baby Toon."
"So say we both!" Lionel gave a firm nod.
"Thank you!" Roger and Jessica beamed.
"I'm looking forward to your visit, Cherry," Jessica smiled warmly. "Your friend here seems like a Toon himself."
"Yeah, Lionel's really something else compared to the other people I've met on my adventures." Cherry admitted and nodded.
"Aw, gee!" Lionel smiled in response. "I appreciate that a lot!"
"So are we gonna stay in a hotel or with the Rabbits?" Cherry asked Lionel. "I'm fine either way, but if we pick the hotel we'll have to look out for someone known as Lena Hyena." she then advised, remembering that experience.
"I guess with them, then." Lionel replied.
"Would you mind?" Cherry asked Jessica and Roger.
"Of course we don't mind," Jessica smiled. "Besides, this would be a good chance for us to all get to know each other better."
"Especially since you never really had a chance to bond with Jessica before." Roger added with a grin.
"Opportunities for everyone!" Lionel remarked. "So then... shall we go?"
"Come along then," Roger smiled. "We'll give ya a ride."
"Thanks, Roger." Cherry and Lionel replied.
Roger whistled with two of his fingers and then stuck out his thumb. Many cars whizzed by until one stopped right in front of their feet, but luckily not running them over.
"Hey, Roge!" Benny the Cab beamed once he saw his old friend.
"Hey, Benny!" Roger smiled. "Lionel, this is a good friend of mine, Benny the Cab!" he then introduced.
"Nice to meet'cha, Benny!" Lionel responded.
"Nice to meet ya too!" Benny replied. "Hop on!"
Cherry, Lionel, Jessica, and Roger soon got into the living cab and he began to take them down to the Rabbit residence.
"So, how's Eddie been since our last adventure?" Cherry asked Roger.
"Oh, I haven't seen him much, but the good news is that he found the motivation to become a better detective." Roger explained.
"That's great to hear." Cherry responded.
"Yeah, it's still a shame about his brother though." Roger nodded.
"A brother is a male sister." Cherry told Lionel in case he didn't know.
"I know what a brother is," said Lionel. "What happened to him, anyways?"
"Sorry." Cherry said bashfully.
"Eddie's brother?" Roger asked Lionel. "He told me the story if you need to know." he then added.
"It's a very sad story." Jessica remarked softly.
"...well, go for it." responded Lionel.
"All right, Lionel, just try not to get too emotional." Cherry replied.
Lionel nodded as he looked at Roger and Jessica to hear about the story of the legendary Teddy Valiant who was Eddie's brother and best friend, not to mention detective partner.
"Eddie told me the story when we were hidin' out once," Roger then started to say as he began to tell the story to Lionel of what he knew about the detective formerly known as Teddy Valiant. "They were investigating the robbery of the first national bank of Toontown. Back in those days, Eddie and Teddy liked working in Toontown. Thought it was a lot of laughs. Anyway, this guy got away with a zillion simoleons. They trailed him down to a little dive down in Yukster Street. They went in. Only he got the drop on them. Literally. Dropped a piano on them from 15 stories. Eddie said it broke his arm, but Teddy didn't make it."
Lionel winced. "Pretty janked-up way to kill somebody."
"Yeah, and for a while he had no idea who the Toon was until the end of the adventure." Roger nodded.
"I think you can probably figure out who it probably was." Cherry added to Lionel.
"Ah, right... that Doom guy." commented Lionel with a nod.
"Yeeeep," Roger nodded. "We didn't know it until we faced him in the final showdown with his plan to turn our world into the freeway he had desired to create only to be thwarted by folks like Eddie and Cherry." he then added.
"You were so brave out there." Jessica told Cherry kindly.
"It wasn't easy, Jess." Cherry replied as she gave the redheaded seductress a thumbs up.
"Wow! Sounds like a real rip-roaring escapade of an adventure!" commented Lionel. "Boy, do I ever wish I could've seen it!"
"Well, hopefully you can get an adventure over here," Roger smiled. "Oh, Jess, we should buy some groceries for our new guests."
"Sounds good, but I'll make you a carrot cake for dessert~" Jessica smirked and winked at him.
"Ooh, lucky me~" Roger cooed and tittered in excitement.
"Alright, sounds pretty solid," said Lionel. "We'll stop, get groceries, and then go to your place."
"All right!" Roger and Jessica replied.
"We'll help you put them away too." Cherry then said.
"Won't be necessary." Jessica said with a knowing smirk.
Lionel gave a confused glance at Cherry, who simply shrugged in response.
Soon, Roger and Jessica pulled up to the local grocery store.
"Welcome!" Clarabelle Cow greeted them at the door.
"If you guys want something, feel free to say so." Roger told Cherry and Lionel since they were his and Jessica's guests.
"Will-do!" Lionel gave a thumbs-up in response... before he let out a little squeal. "...this is so cool~!"
Cherry smirked at his excitement as she began to look around for any groceries that she might like. Lionel went along, and decided to get a few bags of tangerines. Cherry picked up some chips and some drinks she liked while Roger and Jessica got their usual groceries. Eventually, they went to pay for them at the front counter. Clarabelle Cow rushed over to the front counter and grinned as she began to ring them up.
"You busy today, Clarabelle?" Cherry asked the cow.
"You could say that." Clarabelle replied sheepishly as she began to scan and bag their items with help from Horace Horsecollar.
"I guess everyone's getting groceries." shrugged Lionel.
"More or less, yes." Clarabelle nodded as she continued to ring them up.
It took a little while, but Clarabelle soon asked for the price, so Roger and Jessica both paid her.
"Have a moo-velous day!" Clarabelle told them on the way out.
"Thanks!" The group replied on the way back over to Benny.
"We'll help put the groceries away if you guys want us to." Cherry offered.
"That won't be necessary." Jessica reassured her.
"How do you figure, I wonder?" asked Lionel.
"I guess we'll find out when we get back to the house." Cherry guessed.
Lionel nodded as he got into the car and buckled up. Cherry did the same as Roger and Jessica began to tell Benny to take them home.
"I just hope Eddie Valiant is doing well these days." Cherry commented.
"Oh, no doubt," Roger smiled. "You know Eddie and me are the best of friends."
"So I've noticed," Lionel commented.
"Yeah! We're very close!" Roger smiled before he sighed. "He just doesn't visit ToonTown that much and he's busy with clients in his part of the world." he then added.
"Hey, Roger!" A neighbor called out, showing to be an aqua colored anthropomorphic dog in an orange and red striped shirt with purple shorts, and white gloves.
"Heya, Flippy!" Roger called back to his neighbor.
"That guy looked familiar to me." Cherry commented to herself.
"Who's that?" Lionel pondered.
"Flippy! He's my neighbor and another good friend of mine!" Roger explained with a smile. "He can show you guys around ToonTown if ya want! He's a good helper with that sorta thing."
"I still feel like I know him from somewhere." Cherry pondered.
Soon, Benny pulled into the driveway and parked.
Roger clamored out and went to the back as Benny's back end flipped open. "Alright, everybody into the house!" he instructed, and the grocery bags hopped out and ran towards the door.
The grocery bags then cheered as they hopped out of the trunk and began to put themselves away.
"See? You didn't need to help that much." Jessica told Cherry and Lionel.
"This place never ceases to amaze me." Cherry commented.
"Now I'm just going to do some chores while you guys get settled," Jessica told Cherry and Lionel. "Feel free to look around and if you need help-"
Suddenly, a black hole appeared in the middle of the floor and the same dog from earlier popped out. "Just call for Flippy!" he then added with a large grin at Cherry and Lionel. "Are you Toon enough for ToonTown?" he then asked them.
"Yeah, I'm Toon Enough!" Lionel exclaimed.
"Let's see what ya got, kid!" Flippy smirked. "I sense potential in ya."
"This should be interesting." Cherry smirked as well.
"It really should be, maybe Lionel can help spare some of that Toon Potential on us too to help spread the love of Toons." Roger agreed before he sounded sad all of a sudden.
"I assume that Toons aren't exactly well-liked, is that right?" Lionel asked.
"It's a complicated story." Roger remarked before he smiled inside his home.
The furniture soon came alive, startling Cherry at first as she moved around to see as they began to talk to the man of the house.
"Hi, Roger!" The bear skin rug smiled.
"Hello, Roger!" The lamp greeted.
"Hi, Roger!" The picture frame smiled from inside his frame.
"Hello, Roger!" The mirror smiled, having a face in it like Queen Grimhilde's mirror.
"Hey, Roger!" The vacuum cleaner smiled before Jessica would use him.
"Hiya, Roger!" The stool beamed at Roger.
"Hi, Roger!" The boot concluded.
"You would think after meeting Beauty and the Beast I'd be used to talking furniture, but it feels odd anywhere else." Cherry commented to Lionel.
"I think you'll get used to it eventually." The toaster said to her.
"A talking toaster?" Cherry deadpanned. "Really?"
"Well, it can't be that bizarre," shrugged Lionel.
"Yeah, I guess so..." Cherry shrugged before she put in some Eggo Waffle minis in the toaster. "You guys didn't seem to buy a whole lot of groceries this time around." she then told Jessica and Roger.
"Uh, yeah, about that... it was just as much as my unemployment check could buy." Roger explained.
"Unemployment?!" Cherry and Lionel asked in concern.
"I gotta find a job soon!" Roger cried out as he began to help Jessica with the laundry. "I haven't done a movie in so long! My fans probably don't remember who I am!"
"Fans never forget, Roger." Jessica advised her husband.
"I hope you're right," Lionel said right before the phone rang.
As Roger came inside, the phone told him, "Oh, Roger! It's for you!"
The rabbit picked up the receiver and answered. "Hello?" he asked.
"Roger, this is Velma, R.K. Maroon's old secretary." A female voice answered on the other end.
"Hi, Vel!" grinned Roger. "How are you? How's everything? What's goin' on?"
This should be good," Cherry noted. "...I hope." she then added.
"Could you come down to the studio at 3:00 to meet the new Head of Maroon Cartoons?" Velma requested. "He wants to talk to you about work!"
"Oh, boy!" Roger cheered.
"New Head of Maroon Cartoons?" Cherry shrugged. "I thought Marvin Acme signed over ToonTown to you guys in his will."
"Maybe they found someone else to put in charge in the meantime?" Jessica suggested.
"I guess..." Cherry shrugged at that as Roger took off to go ride Benny into Hollywood.
Well, Maroon Cartoons isn't in ToonTown," responded Jessica. "And we do need to earn a living somehow."
"Oh, okay, I guess that makes sense," Cherry replied. "I just smell something fishy about this."
"Hey! I'll have you know I was invited here!" A grumpy anthropomorphic black fish with gloves, underpants, and Mickey Mouse shoes snapped at her.
"Sorry, Fester Fish," Cherry rolled her eyes before she faced Lionel. "I dunno, something about this feels kinda weird to me."
"I suppose that's fair," responded Lionel. "But Roger is definitely hurting for work."
"I know." Cherry replied.
"Maybe you should go and keep an eye on him if you're that concerned for my Honey Bunny." Jessica offered.
"Consider it done!" Lionel gave a little salute.
"All right, Jessica, we'll make sue Roger stays out of trouble." Cherry decided.
"Thank you both," Jessica said with a smile. "I knew there was something trustworthy about you two even if I have known Cherry longer technically." she then added.
"Yeah, Lionel's a lot more loyal than you'd think." Cherry agreed.
"And I try my best, yes'm!" Lionel responded.
"You're both so good," Jessica said with a smile. "At least we have people like you in our lives."
"We do our best, ma'am." Cherry replied.
"Hey, Roger! Wait up!" Lionel called out as he and Cherry headed after Roger and Benny as they began to pass the barrier between ToonTown and The Real 3-D World.
As they ran off, a monochrome-colored teenager watched them go. Cherry glanced over at the monochrome teen before shrugging at her as they went down to Maroon Cartoons Studios.
"Hi, Gil!" Roger greeted the man at the door as he left Benny after parking.
The man waved in response before he glared at Cherry and Lionel.
"Easy, buddy," Cherry said to him. "We're with the rabbit."
"They sure are!" Roger beamed with a nod and a thumbs-up.
Gil relented, and let them through.
"Thank you, Gil." Cherry and Lionel grinned.
"You're welcome." Gil mumbled as he waved them off.
Soon, they came inside and saw a Toon bobcat security guard.
"New guy?" Cherry asked about the security guard.
"Yeah! That's Bonkers." Roger replied.
"Bonkers... right..." Cherry mumbled before they found a human woman waiting for them.
"Hiya, Vel! Gee, it's good to see ya!" Roger greeted the woman and kissed the back of her hand.
"You too, Roger!" Velma smiled at him as she came to get the door. "Mr. Maroon is ready to see you!"
"Oh, boy!" Roger gushed as he strode into the office. Imagine his surprise when he, Cherry, and Lionel saw, sitting in the desk, a man who looked like the spitting image of one R.K. Maroon!
"RK Maroon?" Cherry asked out of confusion. "We thought you were dead."
"Sorry, gang, but I'm CB Maroon, RK's twin brother." The identical stranger explained.
"Twin brother?" Cherry and Lionel repeated out of slight disbelief.
"Now there's a very strong family resemblance!" Roger told CB out of amazement.
"I want you to know we're going back into production," CB continued to tell Roger. "The studio is in financial trouble! I can use you, but all we can do right now are some low-budget, stylized cartoons!" he then added, leaning back into his seat.
"Fully-animated toons are all I've ever done!" exclaimed Roger. "But I haven't worked in weeks! My fans need me! I'll take it!"
"Fine, Roger! Report to Stage 2 at 6:00 AM tomorrow." CB ordered.
"Yahoo!" Roger cheered since this meant a lot to him.
Cherry and Lionel soon faced each other.
"I wanna be happy for Roger, but I just feel suspicious." Cherry said to Lionel.
"I guess I can't exactly blame you," replied Lionel. "I mean, a twin brother? If that's not contrived, then I dunno what is."
"Tell me about it," Cherry nodded. "But I don't wanna burst Roger's bubble, look at how excited he is."
"I see what you mean," said Lionel. "Maybe we'll at least keep an eye on things before we decide to take action."
Cherry nodded. "That's a good deal by me." she then agreed.
"Fine by me too." Lionel agreed.
Soon, Roger rushed inside his home after Benny dropped him off as Cherry and Lionel also stepped out after the Toon rabbit. "I got the job!" he then beamed once he found his wife. "Let's celebrate! We'll have dinner at The White Derby! We'll sing! We'll dance! We'll hold hands!"
"Is this true?" Jessica asked Cherry and Lionel.
"Yeah, we saw it with our own eyes." Cherry nodded.
"Pinky swears!" Lionel said as he held up both of his pinkies.
"Aww... thank you~" Jessica told Cherry and Lionel warmly.
"You're welcome." Cherry and Lionel replied.
"Now, uh, if ya don't mind, me and Jessica would like a little bit of privacy." Roger said with a small smirk at his wife.
"Oh! No problem!" Lionel said with a nod as he and Cherry left the room.
Cherry shut the door behind them as they went to get settled in the guest room.
"Now, where were we?" Jessica asked Roger with a smirk.
"I think I know," Roger smirked back as he clicked the lamp off to make the room dark. "Patty Cake. Patty Cake..." he then started to say with his wife.
Cherry and Lionel saw that there was only one bed in the guest room.
"Well, I guess we better share." Cherry shrugged.
"Awrighty," Lionel shrugged. "It's only weird if you make it weird."
"You're weird." Cherry smirked.
"That's why we go so well together!" Lionel smiled back.
Cherry just stuck her tongue out at him. Soon, the two went to get some sleep while Roger and Jessica played Patty Cake until the next day came.
Eventually, it did as Cherry groaned and heard the faint ringing sound of an alarm clock.
"Why are you getting up so early?" Jessica asked her hyperactive hare of a husband.
"Morning exercises! Gotta get back in condition!" Roger told her as he darted over to the gym and began to do exercises such as banging himself in the head with mallets, zipping around the room and boinging when he would hit the walls, whacking himself on the head with a frying pan, stretching out his tongue, stretching out his eyeballs in a Tex Avery fashion, hitting himself with a safe, and even made his arms and legs pop off of his body.
"Well, I think Roger's awake." Cherry snarked from the guest bed.
"That's great to hear!" Lionel responded. "So we'd better go after him!"
"Well, all right," Cherry replied as she stretched a bit. "I just hope this is worth it."
"Even if it isn't, we gotta be supportive for Roger." Lionel advised.
"Gotta dash!" Roger told Jessica as he had some coffee before kissing her goodbye to get to work.
Jessica beamed in excitement for her husband as she also kissed him as he darted out the door.
"Where's-" Cherry began to ask Jessica only for her point right out the door as her husband headed for Benny.
"Question asked, question answered," commented Lionel.
Jul 7, 2023Jessica nodded.
"See ya, Jessica!" Cherry and Lionel said as they went after Roger.
"Farewell." Jessica told them as she waved them off.
Benny soon drove them away from ToonTown and right into Maroon Cartoons Studio.