The windows were gorgeous, overlooking the city, showing the rides 
and the bright cheery landscapes. The Frite Lite Roller Coaster 
whizzed past, and shook the room slightly. The committee sat in a 
terrible, pervasive silence. A couple sniffles, and some blows of 
noses, were the only sounds currently heard. Around the table sat 
many colorful individuals — Mr. Ribbit, Golly Molly, Mrs. Ribbit, Dr. 
Quack, Judy the Tongue, Cheese Louise, George Georgeson, Bob 
Bobson, Moccasin, George Bobson, Bob Georgeson, Smoke 
Ferguson, Tailor Itkin, Jetfuel, Jimmy the Jello Fellow, Forgan 
Meeman, Bill Sipmann, Vira the Party, Potato Reginald, Parry the 
Seamstress, Beryllium, and the current company head, CEO Holly 
Light (who held the honorary title of Dr. Wondertainment). Their 
usual goofy grins had all been wiped from their faces and replaced 
with various states of disrepair — some stared blankly at the table, 
others wept profusely, some twitched with anger, one leaned back in 
their chair and looked at the ceiling, but Holly was the loudest. She 
wailed and moaned on her big purple and yellow throne that 
stretched nearly to the cathedral high ceiling. Her usual well kept 
illustrious mile long white hair was entirely untouched today, matted 
and tangled in places and covering her face. The left armrest on her 
throne had an automatic tissue dispenser, which she was 
threatening to deplete. Leaning down and crying into her lap hid her 
face almost entirely in her hair, but her perfectly circular eyes 
showed when she looked up in another great moan. It was a long 


time before the meeting really officially got underway. Holly 
Wondertainment's right hand woman, Tongue, ultimately took over 
the meeting in her place. 


"It ith to everyone'th thurprithe that we gather today to discuth... 
Polly'th Grow-N-Know Piano Plant. She hath refuthed to continue 
working on it, and... and we have workerth who... we... have 
workerth that have no projectth to work on. We need to figure out 
how to... put them to work." ... "Any thuggethtionth?" 


"| don't like dodging around our problems, Tongue," Smoke spoke 
up, "just tell us the bad news and what we're going to do about it." 


Tongue looked at Holly for guidance, but just found her chugging a 
water bottle to keep the tears flowing out of her face. Tongue wasn't 
good at big crowds like this, but if she wanted to be Holly's 
successor — which she did — she was going to have to get good at 
it. Why did this have to be her test run? She cleared her throat, 
licked her lips, and shifted her tongue out of Tailor's leg space. His 
foot and her muscle had collided a couple times and it was getting 
uncomfortable at this point. 


"...Wondertainment, the company, ith arranging an honorary funeral 
for Brai- for, uh, for Brian Harding right now. It'th... not many people 
are invited. It'th eckthpected to be jutht me, Holly, 3T, and Polly. 
Anyone who knowth of it ith invited, but our main conthern ith that... 
people will dithrethpect him." 


"And why shouldn't they?" 


"We're all thtill people... we're holding a more public funeral for all of 
the kids we- he... he hurt. All of the families of those kids have been 
invited. We're still unthure what our public thtatement on the matter 
will be. That'th what we're all really here for. We're all here to figure 
out what we're going to thay." 


The room lay in contemplation for a long stretch of time. The Frite 
Lite Roller Coaster was making its second round, and shook the 
room once more. The sobbing had quieted down since the 
beginning of the meeting, but the room was flush with red cheeks 
and watery eyes. Mrs. Ribbit croaked, Smoke exhumed, Tailor 


hummed, Potato curled into a ball. Judy sat back down, and let the 
room sort itself out once more. Until somebody else was ready to 
say something, there was nothing to be said. Soon enough, Mr. 
Ribbit raised his head and his voice cracked as he spoke. 


“We're sorry'?" 


He looked gravely around the room, and then buried his head back 
into his arms. Mrs. Ribbit came up to him and hugged him as he 
silently shook in his seat. Then followed Beryllium, Jetfuel, and 
Party. After that, G.G., B.B., Cheese, B.G., Quack, Jello, Tailor, Sip, 
Forgan, G.B., Moccasin, Potato, Molly, Parry, and even Smoke got 
up and huddled around Mr. Ribbit. Judy took Dr. Wondertainment by 
the hand, letting Holly use her tongue as a tissue, and walked her 
over to the growing pile. Pulling up pillows, blankets and bean bags, 
the group entered a cuddle puddle for emotional support. 


« You Can't Win Them All|Vend-a-Friend Hub|Life's a Show» 


Life's a Show 


Hmmm. Hmmm, hmm hmmm. Hmmm... Hmm hmm hmm. Hmm hm hm hmmmmm. Hm 
hm hm hmmmmm. Hm hm hm hAmmmmm hmm hm hmmmmm hm hm hmmmmmmm. Da 
da... da ta da ta da dada da, a toddily da, a toddily dee, a toodily toddily a doppity da! A ta 
ta taa... A taa taa taaaaa... Hmm. Uh, hmm... 


...Bear necessities, those simple bear necessities... uh... Window, to the tulips, by the 
garden, by the willow tree... In a land of pure imagination, you'll be... uh... | was born a 
unicorn, something something, unicorns are people too! A da da da, a ta da ta daddily da, 
ya pa teedah bah doodily do... 


Golly gee whiz, being dead is boring. | thought, uh, that it'd just... 
poof. Gone. No more thoughts. This is different. This is super weird 
and not cool and | kind of maybe don't like it. Umm... 


There she comes, now in veil... she's walking down the aisle... so close, now she winks, | 
recognise that smile... a spider and I, a fly with white gloved hands, wait! Something's 
amiss, but this wedding has been planned... 


I'm gonna miss listening to music. 
How does she know that you love her? How does she know that she's yours? How does 


she know that you love her? How does she know that you love her? How does she 
know that you really, really, truly, love her? How does she know that you 


love her? How do you show that you love her? How does she know that you 
really, really, truly, love her? 


Whoops, sorry! I'm loud... 


Sunshine, on my shoulders, makes me happy... sunshine, in my eyes can make me cry — 


Okay, where am |? No, seriously, | am clearly not dead. I'd be super 
dead by now, I'd know if | was dead. This is not dead. | may have 
never been dead before, so | am not the expert on the matter, but 
this is most certainly not dead. | am very alive. Look! Those are my 
fingers. Hey! Those are my toes! That's my face, there's my chest, 
here's my hair — all my mentionables and unmentionables are 
where they should be, so | am not dead. Decidedly so. Good. We 
have that figured out. Step one to the puzzle, figure out if you're not 
dead. Check. Not dead. Did it. Good. Step two. 


Uh, step two. Step two, where is Brainy? Brainy is... purgatory! Step 
one, is Brainy dead? Checkmark. Yes, Brainy is dead. Step two, 
where is Brainy? Check, yes — | mean, uh, yes Brainy is... 
somewhere, Brainy's in purgatory! Awaiting judgement! Oh gracious 
gods, lords above, please bestow upon me your heavenly 
judgement, help me atone for my sins and reward me for my good 
deeds, | have always... worshiped you...? 


Step one, is Brainy dead? No. Step two, where is Brainy? Unsure. 
Step two point five, is there a god? No. Should there be? No. Not in 
purgatory. Start again. Step one, is Brainy dead? Unsure. Step two, 
where is Brainy? Brainy is in a place that is so empty it's not even 
dark anymore. It's just nothing. Only Brainy exists, and he's bored 
out of his mind, and really concerned. Where is Brainy? The world 
may never — ! 


Wait. 


Summon... let there... give me a... lollipop! Woah! And another 
one! And another one, and another one, and another one! Mmm, 
kiwi watermelon. Mmm mmm mmm. Step one, is Brainy dead? 
Check, heck no! Brainy is, in fact, enjoying some great lollipops right 
now! Step two, where is Brainy? Oh | am so glad you asked, you 
handsome young fellow, you see... Brainy is in his Headspace! My 
very own Headspace! Step three, how did Brainy get here? Simple! 
Backup plan! | forgot about this. Plan B! Of course Brainy wouldn't 
fail, Brainy never fails. Instead of fails, Brainy prevails! And his 
rhamms neva get stale, uh, unless he does! Bi... bi... bicycle! 
Shimmy to the right, unh, shimmy to the left, unh, shimmy to the 
shimmy to the shimmy to the left again! Yeah! 


What would Brainy be, without a Plan B? Brainy wouldn't be so 
Brainy, would he? Whenever he dies, he does what he please — 
because Brainy is named Brainy for a reason, ya see? With glorious 
speed Brainy does conceive that if he dies in the future he will need 
a release, so he builds himself a body out of spare parts he found 
and now he still can strut his stuff all around the town! Unh! That's 
right! Give me a... big house. Ooo! And a kiddy pool! And a 
landscape — think The Lorax. That's it! Give me a good song! Oh, 
Headspace, this couldn't be...? Oh my god, you know me like the 
back of your hand! Idiot Song by Idiot Flesh. Admittedly a guilty 
pleasure, but | have been a little indulgent as of late. 


| completely forgot about this. What did | call this project way back 
when? It was something cliche, | remember that much. Oh, yeah. 
The Lazarus Model. Tee emm. Trademark Brainy. Brainy did this. | 
did this while working side by side with people who didn't know how 
to shut stall doors in the bathroom. Brainy is King! Brainy is King! 
King Harding, master of the Headspace! Give me a Ferris wheel, 
and a roller coaster, and a space ship, and a... friend. 


Oh, hello, Thomas Timothy Thompson. 
"Brainy?" 
That's me! 


"Where are we?" 


We're in my Headspace, 3T! There are two possibilities right now: 
you are dreaming and I'm really talking with you, or you're awake at 
this very moment and what | am seeing is a figment of my 
imagination. Isn't that cool? 


"Brainy, aww, you didn't have to bring me out here! This is so good 
of you. | didn't even know you had a Headspace. How much did it 
cost?" 


Nothing, | made it myself. 


"That's cool. That's the coolest cool thing I've ever had the privilege 
of calling cool. You're really good, Brainy." 


Oh | know. Don't need to tell me twice. 
"You have no sense of humbleness." 


And proud of it — look, 3T? The thing about this, is, uh, you're not 
gonna like this, but I'm... dead. 


"Dead?" 


Yeap! Super dead. Took the gun to my head, and uh... Bang. Pretty 
100% certain I'm dead. 


"Oh my god!" 


| Know it sounds bad now, but | was in a pretty bad place. I'm better 
now. Being dead and all. Thing is, I'm not really dead. In fact, | have 
a new body. | look the same, but | took the liberty of clearing out a 
few cosmetic issues, you know? 


"Why did you go and do that?!" 


Shush, 3T, you're not letting me get to the good part. See, I'm in my 
Headspace, and my body isn't really... rea/. Right now. | only exist in 
my Headspace. Isn't that cool? 


"Why did you k-k-k-" 


K-k-k-kablammo my head right open? You'll find out, look, you are 


really interrupting my thought process, you know | think better when 
I'm talking, so please shush and hush alright? My Headspace, right? 
Usually the exit is where I'm dreaming from. But | ain't dreaming. 
That means the exit doesn't really... Know where to exist. For 
anyone but me, that'd be a bad thing, because you'd never be able 
to get out. But I'm not anyone but me, 3T, I'm me! I'm Brainy Brian! 
I've stumbled a few times as of late, but | am flying with adrenaline, 
and | have backup plans on backup plans on backup plans. | am... 
oh gosh I've been a bit mean, haven't |? I'm sorry. | was just so 
excited. | start losing all my sense of social workings when | get all 
excited like that. 


Anyways, the point that | am trying to make is that nobody will 
believe that this dream happened. Brainy couldn't possibly have a 
Headspace, you aren't going to get to management with the news of 
this dream before the news gets there normally that I've kicked the 
hay. They'll think you've either made it up or had it because of the 
stress of losing a friend. 


But believe me, 3T, | am not gone, and this is not the last time we 
will meet. Continue with business as per usual, make your toys and 
make them well like you always have, | have more hugs to give and 
kisses to share and | love you, Thomas. We will reunite. Wait 
patiently. | have a plan. | can't go back to Wondertainment — like | 
would want to. I've always been meant to perform, and that's just 
what | plan on doing, Thomas. | plan on living life to the fullest and 
going out and experiencing the world. Next time you see me, I'll be 
on stage. | love you like a brother. You know that. 


Happy trails. Smooches. Bye! 


Thomas Timothy Thompson awoke with a start. The world was 
never dark in Wonder World!™, but it was dim and hard to make 
things out. His bed teetered and tottered this way and that as it rode 
down the Sleep with the Fishes™ creek. He was in a long tunnel, 
and soft glowing caricatures of cartoon sheep glowed and blurred as 


they frolicked silently on the walls. 3T turned over and let his left arm 
dangle into the water, feeling a bed of moss and Sugar Weeds™ on 
the bottom of the canal. He picked one and began to chew on it — it 
was at once bitter and sweet, tasting faintly of some strand of 
persimmon. He tried to make sense of his dream. He wondered if it 
really was a dream, or if it was what Brainy had said. He wondered 
what could have driven Brainy to sh... sh... he couldn't even bare to 
think the word, the whole ordeal was a terribly alien concept to the 
innocent mind of 3T. He floated out of the tunnel, and saw the 
cityscape. The place glowed with faint pinks and blues. For a city, it 
had a very minimal nightlife — everyone had a bedtime and followed 
it religiously. 


3T sat up, and let himself be perplexed. He knew it was bad, but it 
just seemed to be getting worse. At the next convenient stop, 
Thomas crawled out of bed and onto the shore of the ride. He 
stretched and yawned, and guessed the time was something close 
to be midnight. He went to the lockers by the entrance and got his 
clothes out (the lockers had no locks, because of course nobody 
would steal; that would be indecent of them). He didn't bother to put 
them on, though. Still in his pajamas dotted with T's, which were a 
gift from Battery a year or so back, he strolled down the big grassy 
hill and past the Wonder World!™ suburbs' Lifesize Gingerbread 
Houses™. There were no cars to fill the streets, though bumper cars 
lay abandoned at every street corner, so he walked in the middle of 
the road. He had never been up this late. It was an odd feeling, but 
he simply couldn't fall back asleep. Not in a mood like this. He 
passed down all the candy stores, toy shops, Ferris wheels, mini 
marts (you sent tiny mouse people in to retrieve your goods for you), 
roller coasters (the Flying Fire™ in particular), and some other 
various rides. He walked by big curvy hotels and small pudgy 
motels, big fancy restaurants, small dingy diners, and the 
Multiverse's Biggest Ball Pit™. It really was, by the way. With the 
light outside so dim, all colors were muted and gave the place a 
lonely look. 3T had never seen the world so empty before. The pink 
and blue glowing orbs ((1 Wish | May | Wish | Might Wish Upon the) 
Bright Night Lights™) floating above the city cast only the most 
basic of light over the buildings. No logos of anything could be 
made, no real concrete details. Everything was only shapes and 
impressions. 3T had never thought he could feel that Wonder World!