Act 2: The Napper and the Napped

After the balls stopped bouncing, Fillmore, Ingrid, and Ed pulled themselves out of the ball pile they were in and recovered.

"Guys, that ball stampede was no accident." Ed informed. "I saw someone's hand take the crowbar away from me. I didn't see who it was, though. They used the balls to cover their tracks."

"Looks like someone doesn't want us to find Duappy." Ingrid said.

"And they left us with nothing." Fillmore said.

"Not entirely." Ingrid said. "I didn't see who our new playmate was, but I did see them grab the crowbar. As soon as Happy Cathead flashed in front of my eyes, I reached out and got this." She held up a torn-off piece of paper.

"It's blank." Fillmore said.

"Not for long." Ingrid said. She headed over to a table and pulled out a wooden pencil, which she used to rub onto the blank surface.

"Ah, the old trick where you trace a lead pencil over it to discover what was written over it." Ed said with a proud smile. "Now, I'm impressed."

"Thanks." Ingrid said before finishing her tracing. "Crackers. 577… something. The last number is cut off. But the rest reads Memming Lane."

"So that's the address of at least someone who's associated with the crowbar's original owner." Ed said.

"At least we know the street." Fillmore said before he and his friends left the mall.

"So we got two choices." Fillmore said as he and his friends found themselves in between two houses. "5775 or 5773. One or the other. Play it like we're looking for someone who knows something about Happy Cathead. For now, let's keep Duappy in the downlow."

The other two nodded in agreement before heading over to 5773 Memming Lane. Fillmore rang the doorbell, and a couple of seconds later, a girl answered wearing a sombrero and a Mexican scarf over her shoulder.

"Buenos dias, people. How can I help you?"

"We're conducting an investigation that requires a knowledge of Happy Cathead merchandise." Ingrid said. "Do you know anyone who can help us?"

"Well, see, my friends here and I are really partial to Spanish stuff. And I'm not even sure what a Happy Cathead is. Mis apologias. That means 'I'm so sorry'."

"That's not really the Spanish translation." Ed corrected under his breath.

After that, the kids headed next door to 5775 Memming Lane. This time, it was Ingrid to rang the doorbell, but unlike last time, there was no one who answered the door.

"Nobody home and the clock's ticking." Fillmore said.

"Looks like we wait." Ingrid said before noticing the mailbox which looked like a fish. She pulled out her camera and took a picture of it.

"You got an interest in weird mailboxes, Ingrid?" Ed asked.

"No, but my sister does." Ingrid said. "She collects pictures of them. This one looks cool."

"Man, I didn't know you had a sister, Ingrid." Fillmore said. "I should've."

"Huh. You have any sibs?" Ingrid asked her partner.

"Nope. Got a dog. A good one." Fillmore answered.

"I should've known it." Ingrid said feeling despondent over the lack of things she knows about her friends. "What about you, Ed? Any sibs of your own?"

"Just one sister and…" Ed suddenly stopped himself and shook his head. "You know what. Forget it."

"Why are you so closed off?" Ingrid asked.

"Just forget it." Ed groaned. "It's none of your business."

"Hiyas!" A girl called out to the trio from the front of the house. They turned and saw a blonde girl in a red cheerleader uniform waving to them. "Can I help you?"

"Hi. We're from the X Middle School Safety Patrol." Ingrid said.

"Well, they are." Ed said pointing to Fillmore and Ingrid. "I just tag along in case they miss anything, which happens more often than you think. So is this your house?"

"Uh, huh. It's my house." the cheerleader answered. "I'm Biana Bully, X Middle School cheer captain. Listen, we didn't steal those cheers. They're totally, like, public domain."

"We're not here about cheers." Fillmore said. "This might sound a little whack, but do you know anyone who buys a lot of Happy Cathead merchandise?"

"I don't know anyone in school who still likes Happy Cathead." Biana answered with an amused smile. "No one from class. No one from the cheerleading…" Her smile faded. "Wait."

"Who is it, Biana?" Fillmore asked.

"Lorraine Almaden."

"How do you know her?" Ingrid asked.

"She USED to be on the cheerleading squad." Biana said. "It's kinda pathetic. She's a Happy Cathead fiend."

"Is that so?" Ed asked rubbing her chin. "Looks like my suspicions are getting closer."

"Wait. You already suspected her?" Fillmore asked Ed.

"I'm surprised you didn't." Ed said. "Winn's only friend goes missing, and right after, someone else comes by to take their place. Coincidence? Hardly. The universe is rarely so lazy."

"Then we should question her about it." Fillmore said.

The trio headed straight to Lorraine's house and rang the doorbell. A man answered (her dad) wearing a chef's hat, red oven mits, and a white apron that read "CUE THE BARBY".

"Well, hiya, officers." Mr. Almaden greeted. "I thought you might be the cheerleading squad again. They're selling fried cheesesticks door to door to raise money for…"

"Mr. Almaden, we're looking for Lorraine." Fillmore interrupted.

"Well, sorry, but she's out with Winn, I'm afraid." Mr. Almaden said. "But I'm here. What can I do you for?"

"Can you allow us to take a look at Lorraine's room?" Ingrid asked.

"I suppose."

Mr. Almaden led the three of them upstairs and stopped when they reached a bedroom. When they looked inside, they found a bed, a couple nightstands, a few desks, and a closet. The walls had a lot of lighter, square-shaped places which Ed noticed and observed.

"I take it posters were removed recently?" Ed asked.

"Yeah, they were mostly about Happy Cathead." Mr. Almaden said.

"So she's a fan?" Ingrid asked.

"Not for a while."

"When did Lorraine give up Happy Cathead?" Ingrid asked.

"Oh, hoho, geez." Mr. Almaden said trying to remember. "Just after breakfast."

"That's a 'while' for you?" Ed asked. That's when he gasped upon realization. "Wait. If that's true, then…" He ran across the room and stopped in front of the closed closet door.

"Ed, what's on your mind?" Fillmore asked.

"Think about it." Ed said. "Lorraine collected a LOT of Happy Cathead merchandise. If she stopped after breakfast, that means she got rid of everything she owned today. But I saw the trashcans when we entered the house. They should've been overflowing with Happy Cathead merch, but they weren't. So if they would be anywhere…"

He didn't need to explain any more. He grabbed the doorknob handle and turned it before opening the door itself. Much to his surprise, though, what spilled out was an avalanche of merchandise belonging to Happy Cathead. It happened too fast for Ed, and he got crushed under the merch.

"Ed! You okay?" Ingrid asked.

Ed groaned poking his head out of the pile. "Admittedly, I didn't wake up this morning expecting to be crushed by Happy Cathead toys, but I think the results speak for themselves." With a smile, he pulled a certain product from the pile. It was a Happy Cathead crowbar identical to the one the kids lost in the mall.

Ed twisted the top of the crowbar and popped out the address book inside. Ingrid took it and opened it up until she found a page with a piece missing. She then pulled out the small paper she already had and fitted it on the torn page.

"Disco!" Fillmore said just as Lorraine returned with Winn beside her. At first, she was happy, but her smile dropped when she spotted the investigators next to her spilled pile of products.

"What's going on?" she asked worried. But once they gave her a suspicious look, she immediately turned around and took off as fast as she could.

"Again with the running?" Ed asked chasing after Lorraine along with Fillmore and Ingrid.

They chased Lorraine outside to where a clothesline of cooking aprons stood. She ran right past them and climbed up a wooden playground area. After that, she entered the house next door and continued to run straight across. She was about to leave through the open front door, but she was stopped by Winn Schott, who stood in the doorway with a disappointed glare pointed at her. That's when she realized she was in his house.

"Winn, please! You've got to understand!" Lorraine pleaded with a sob in her tone.

"Where's Duappy?" Winn asked.

Lorraine gave a silent stare to her "friend" as well as Fillmore, Ed, and Ingrid. She then lowered her head before finally answering…

"I don't know."

Lorraine was immediately brought back to X Middle School where she was sat in the interrogation room. Ingrid took charge of the interrogation while Fillmore, Ed, and Vallejo behind her.

"I just thought he was always so cute and nice and smart and… he was wasting his life with a toy." Lorraine explained. "So I took it. And then, we became friends."

"What happened to Duappy?" Ingrid asked.

"I don't know." Lorraine answered.

"You took it, but you don't know where it is?" Ed asked.

Lorraine nodded. "I kept Duappy in my closet. I've been taking care of him. I was going to give him back. I was. But when I left to feed it yesterday, it was gone. And this was left in its place." She pulled out a square piece of paper.

Everyone stared in horror at the paper. On it was a drawing of a virtual pet console with a dead face on its screen. Underneath it were the words, "R.I.P. Duappy".