Castle on the Cliff

**"Castle on the Cliff"**is the twelfth episode of *Justice* and the 30th episode overall.

It was published on September 9, 2018.

In the episode, jury selection concludes, and the Toons explore their newest discovery.

## The Episode

===Piggy Pie’s Estate===

Piggy Pie held her breath as she watched the Bottom Feeder Cog fly away from her estate. It had approached her door, stuck something in her mailbox, and left. Just like that.

She slipped out the door and peered inside her mailbox. A single white envelope from Lawbot Headquarters was within. She carefully took it out and broke the seal.

“Piggy Pie,” the letter read, “you are hereby summoned to appear before the Court of the Chief Justice for jury selection.”

She exhaled. It worked.

===Lawbot Courtroom===

“Read that back to me,” the Chief Justice said. The stenographer, a Double Talker, rewound their notes and read:

“Jury selection will commence tomorrow afternoon from the existing pool of Cogs. Prosecution and Defense will question the summoned jurors who will receive notice in the morning’s post…”

“Thank you,” the Chief Justice said. He stared in confusion at the summoned juror roster—Toons and Cogs. “I didn’t know that Toons were eligible for selection.”

“Of course they are,” Atticus Lynch said, setting Eileen at ease. “They’re citizens of Cog Nation too.”

The Chief Justice opened his mouth to protest, which could be disastrous. If the Chief Justice declared a mistrial, Clarabelle was as good as acquitted. They needed to do this now.

Yesterday, Eileen had seen Clarabelle for the first time since her flight. She was led to the stand and asked to plead guilty or not guilty. She was wearing the same clothes as the day of her flight and she looked a bit disheveled. Cog Headquarters lacked the life of luxury to which she had grown accustomed. She had done her best to look presentable, but it was a pitiful sight.

And Eileen was surprised to see that despite all that, she pled not guilty. She avoided eye contact with the Toon delegation. She mostly looked down at her hooves. And she stated before the Cogs, the Chief Justice, her lawyers, that she was innocent of any crime against Cog Nation.

The whole trial was a play, and the lawyers mere actors. The fate of Clarabelle would come down to how many Toons they could land on the jury today.

“Toons were in the database,” the defense lawyer, a Big Wig, admitted. “It would only make sense they too would receive summons.”

“We are all citizens of Cog Nation,” Atticus reiterated. “We would like to serve our country.”

“Excellent,” the Chief Justice said, though he didn’t seem pleased. “Let jury selection commence.”

Atticus had explained the process to Eileen, Constance, and Aleck the night before. One by one, all the summoned jurors would be called in groups of 12 to the juror’s box. They would be asked simple questions about their knowledge of the case and the aim would be to find twelve individuals with no bias who would serve fairly. Constance had protested that they *need* biased Toons to ensure conviction, but Atticus had been adamant about finding the right Toons for the case. Atticus said that the Cogs would likely rig jury selection and the Toons mustn’t be as obvious or the case would be declared a mistrial.

“Bailiff,” the Chief Justice said to a Backstabber by the door. He disappeared into the waiting room and returned with twelve Cogs. They took their seats in the jury box.

Eileen wanted to shake her head at Atticus, but he was already making notes. She looked instead at Constance and Aleck, who were stone-faced. Trying to remain calm. Eileen took a deep breath and did the same.

She glared at Clarabelle, sitting with her defense team. Eyeing the potential jurors with pitiful eyes. It took all of Eileen’s self-control to not go over there and strangle her.

“Mr. Lynch,” the Chief Justice said. “You may now begin your questioning of Jurors #001-012.”

===Toontown Lighthouse===

Tori Dorrance met the keeper of the lighthouse, Bodie Currituck, at the base of the lighthouse. They ascended to the top together, climbing the rickety stairs.

“It’s so nice of you,” Tori panted as she climbed, “to let me use the telescope.”

“Of course,” the elderly duck said with ease, accustomed to the stairs. “It’s a mighty fine view from up here if you’ve never seen it.”

“I have not,” Tori said. “I look forward to it.”

She glanced up and whimpered at the height still to go. At long last, they reached the top. True to Currituck’s word, the view was outstanding. She could see the blue expanse of the Bay of Toontown. It was a clear day and to her left, to the southeast, was the crag. It was a small brown dot low to the water, small in comparison to the enormous rocks that enclosed the Bay. Tori grabbed the telescope and peered into it. After several minutes of navigating it around trying to find the crag, her eyes landed on it.

There it was. Bossbot Headquarters.

The island was surrounded by the jagged rocks that were normal in the Bay. And the black towers of the Cog buildings even looked like the rocks. If Currituck had skimmed over the crag before with his telescope, he could easily mistake it for just another rock in the Bay. Not the center of the Bossbot operation.

“Didn’t get a jury call, did ye?” Currituck asked, lighting a cigar. Tori shook her head.

“Did you?”

“Aye,” Currituck said. “But I ain’t going.”

Tori smirked. There didn’t seem any point to argue with him. Even though the Cogs would be displeased that he didn’t go. She was sure other Toons were ignoring the summons as well.

Currituck pointed. “Thar.”

Tori aimed the telescope. Several ships were heading toward the crag. Barnacle Barbara, Pete Ingalls, and Bradley Wolfe were captaining one of them. The exploration was to begin.

===Oak Street===

Mulaney Chortle sighed at the scene at the end of Oak Street. At last, the tunnel was complete. The Sellbots had reestablished the corridor between the Gardens and Sellbot Headquarters.

===The Bay of Toontown===

“Steady,” Barbara said to Pete, who let go of the oars. They were approaching the crag in a small rowboat.

“Okay,” Barbara called, “give me control!”

Pete handed over his oar and Barbara seized the boat’s steering mechanism. The boat slowed as they rolled into the small dock at the base of the crag. It looked like it had never been used. The wood of the dock was badly eroded by the sea. Several meters out, the ship on which they arrived was anchored. Several other rowboats were following them to the isle.

Last night, when Bradley, Pete, and Barbara had first spotted BBHQ, they were unable to dock due to the size of their ship. Today, they came prepared with the small rowboats. And they didn’t need to sail away, so it didn’t matter if the rowboats were ripped apart by the current. They could always teleport back to safety.

Barbara was first off the boat. She jumped onto the dock, which immediately began to collapse under her weight. She scurried to the rocks and beckoned for the others. Bradley and Pete jumped and followed. Three other Toons were able to get onto the crag. The third boat was unable as the dock was swept away by the waves.

“Alright,” Barbara said to the group, “let’s go.”

Together, they climbed the cliffs. A semi-passable path had been paved. They followed its winding crevasses up the mountainside. The roaring of the waves called to them forebodingly below. The din of the sea was so noisy that they could hardly hear anything else. The Cogs had chosen an optimal spot for their secret headquarters. The fog was almost always so thick that the crag could not be seen, and Bossbots could fly to and from the island without detection. They could also arrive by train, the mode by which the Chairman most likely transported himself.

Bradley looked at Pete, who had a determined expression on his face. He was here for his son, to find Ash. Though this mission was predominantly an exploratory one, if they had the chance to save Ash Ingalls, they would.

In all of Bradley twelve years of captivity with Dr. Molecule, he had never heard of any plans to build a headquarters in the Bay. He did not know where the kidnapped and murdered Toons had been taken, the failed products of Operation Sever. He imagined here, but where specifically? What *was* here? If Bradley had not seen Molecule’s decayed corpse in the river of Chipper Acres, his heart ripped out by Alice, he would be scared that he would find a revived Molecule here.

But no, the Chairman was the new enemy. The CEO. The Bossbots. The Cogs.

They reached the top of the cliff. Barbara squatted to look over into the courtyard. Bradley did the same.

Evidently this was more of a resort than a bustling downtown business sector. A small courtyard was directly below them, with a fountain spewing oil and dead trees encircling it. There were three golf courses with the entrances adjacent to the fountain. Cogs were riding around below on golf carts. A fourth entrance led to a long, straight path running parallel with hedged walls. It transitioned into a ramp winding up another hill to a towering castle.

“The Bossbot Clubhouse,” Pete read off a sign in the distance. “That’s where the CEO and Chairman probably live.”

Bradley looked at the eerie, spooky castle. It had thin towers jutting up toward the sky. It appeared evil. Lights were on in the upper floors. How would they get in there?

“Mark this spot,” Barbara said to Pete. “Get the coordinates. We’ll have Toons teleport here once we can add it to the transport grid. We can’t have Toons trying to dock down there.”

“Sure,” Pete said with hesitation. Never had a place in Cog Headquarters been added to the transport grid, usually for Toon safety. But Barbara was right. They would need an easy point of access for Toons to be able to storm this place. And here, high above the courtyard on a deserted path leading to the ocean, was as safe as they could get.

“We’ll have to return another time,” Barbara said, taking pictures. “Six of us is not enough for two fighting parties. Those golf carts hold four. We can attack their golf courses tomorrow.”

“I want to go to the castle,” Pete said.

“It’s too dangerous” one of the other Toons said. “We don’t know what’s in there.”

“Ash needs you alive,” Bradley agreed. “If you die today, he’ll never get to see you again.”

Pete’s shoulders slumped.

“Come on,” Barbara said to Pete, grabbing his shoulder. “Let’s get you back to the lab so you can add these coordinates.”

===Lawbot Headquarters===

Piggy Pie and Penny Clark, Gag Shop Clerk for the Brrrgh, waited for their group to be called. Jury selection was entering its sixth hour. It was now night. Hundreds of candidates had entered and filed out, some looking disappointed. The mix was half Toons, half Cogs. Their groups were randomly assigned. Piggy Pie and Penny’s had eight Cogs and four Toons. Rumors were circulating that the jury was only one juror shy of being complete.

“I wonder how many Toons are on it,” Penny whispered to Piggy Pie.

“Hopefully eleven,” Piggy Pie muttered back.

“Group number 73,” the Bailiff announced.

“That’s us,” Penny squealed. “So exciting.”

Piggy Pie did not respond. She wasn’t really sure what to expect from this.

The group filed into the opulent Chief Justice’s courtroom. Eileen, Constance, Aleck, and Atticus looked exhausted. Sitting with the defense was the traitor herself, Clarabelle Cow. She looked horrid. She was usually caked in makeup, but her natural self was bleeding through today. No where to hide her guilt. Piggy sat with the other eleven of her group in the jury box. One by one, they were questioned by both the prosecution and defense.

“Do you know who Clarabelle Cow is?”

“How many items did you order from the Cattlelog in the past month?”

“Are you a loyal citizen of Cog Nation?”

“How dependent on the Cattlelog were you?”

“How betrayed did you feel by the actions of Clarabelle Cow?”

“Do you have an opinion of Clarabelle Cow?”

“What is that opinion?”

“How would you describe your relationship with Cogs?”

Safe to say, Piggy Pie was eliminated quickly.

“Yes I know who she is.”

“Screw Cog Nation.”

“Very dependent. That's why we trusted her.”

“Very betrayed.”

“I hate Clarabelle Cow.”

“The Cogs are the scum of our town.”

Piggy Pie couldn’t remember which one of those quotes she said out loud or in her head, but she was dismissed by the Cog defense team.

“We move to disqualify Juror #876.”

“Approved,” the Chief Justice droned. Piggy Pie was escorted from the box. Eileen grinned at her and Piggy just shrugged.

Eileen peered over Atticus’s shoulder to look at his notes. He had been keeping track of the jury so far. Six Cogs, five Toons. To Eileen, that was a dead-end. Even if they could get a sixth Toon to join the jury, it would be a 6-6 tie. A surefire hung jury. And all the Cogs chosen were high-level: Legal Eagles and Big Wigs. It didn’t look good.

“We move to disqualify Juror #876.”

“Approved.”

Piggy Pie hopped down from the box and stalked out of the courtroom. She looked satisfied with her answers. Atticus and Eileen were not too optimistic about Piggy getting on the jury. She was too closely tied to the case.

“We move to disqualify Juror #877,” Atticus said, getting a Ambulance Chaser kicked off.

Soon, they were down to two: a Spin Doctor and Penny Clark.

“What is your opinion of Clarabelle Cow?” the defense asked Penny. She thought for a moment.

“I’m not sure. I don’t know her that well.”

The defense made notes.

Atticus stepped up.

“Do you believe already in your mind that Clarabelle is guilty or not guilty?”

“I have no opinion,” Penny said.

The head defense lawyer straightened.

“We move to add Juror #882 to the Jury.”

The Chief Justice looked at Atticus.

“Do you approve this request?”

“I do,” Atticus said.

“Motion granted. Juror #882 has joined the Jury. We have our twelve plus four alternates. Bailiff, dismiss the rest of the Jurors.”

Eileen exhaled. Six Toons, six Cogs. It wasn’t over yet, but their chances of turning a Cog were slim to none. What would happen when the jury resulted in a hung verdict? There would be another trial.

Constance seemed to be thinking the same thing. Her eyebrows were scrunched together. If Clarabelle was unable to be convicted, they’d have to find justice for Toontown another way.

===Bossbot Headquarters===

=That Night=

Clarabelle Cow was perilously close to going sad. The trial was wearing on her. She regretted taking this case to court. She regretted putting the bugs in the vases. No one had uttered a word to her about children. It was almost as if their promise had been empty. She told the Cog who attended to her room this, and he promised to report it upward.

The Chairman had personally extended an invitation to her to visit him at his office. In Bossbot Headquarters.

Clarabelle came by train. She had an odd sense as she arrived at the Bossbot station. This was the one Cog HQ that the Toons had not yet found, and here she was. She was the first Toon in Bossbot Headquarters. And no one would ever know.

The Cogs led her down a dark hallway to the Chairman’s office. She passed Lucy Tires, one of the Togs. She looked dreadful. Her eyes were bloodshot and her arm was metallic. The light on her chest was fading. Clarabelle ignored her and kept walking.

“Ah!” the Chairman said when Clarabelle entered his office. “Clarabelle! Come in, come in! Have a seat.”

Clarabelle sat tentatively on a couch next to the Chairman. He was in a smaller body than the last time she had seen him. He seemed to change at will. The other major difference was his head: it was cracked down the middle like a horrible scar. She could see his insides. Wires and bolts set against a purple backdrop. It was grotesque. She looked away.

“I have heard that you are distressed,” the Chairman said. “And that you believe that I have deceived you. You think that I have no intention of honoring my promise to give you children.”

Clarabelle didn’t say anything.

“Well,” the Chairman said, pouring them a pair of drinks, “I have to admit that our original plan failed. We thought we had the power to create life. When Operation Sever succeeded, we would have worked on your calves next. But alas, the project failed and we were left with nothing for you.”

Clarabelle swallowed hard. Then what was the point?

“I’d like to withdraw my case,” Clarabelle said. “And plead guilty.”

The Chairman ignored her.

“Cog Nation is a struggling nascent nation,” he said. “Trade is declining, exacerbated by a terrible tragedy in Cashbot Headquarters recently. The economy we have built is not enough to save Cog Nation from bankruptcy. Internal interstate revenue is not going to cut it.”

He swirled his drink and sighed.

“We need to look elsewhere,” he said. “We have to expand our borders. So…”

He downed his drink.

“We are going to begin assembling diplomatic travels to the Kingdoms of the North and reestablish contact with the other civilizations on this continent.”

Clarabelle’s heart began to hammer and her leg began to shake. They were going to *what*? War—war was all that existed in the north. The Cogs would drag Toontown into an even worse conflict. Contact could *never* be reestablished. That was the whole point of this town!

“We want you for one of these missions,” the Chairman said. “You will journey north by sea with a convoy of Cogs and act as ambassador of Cog Nation to the Kingdom of Bovo.”

Clarabelle suddenly stopped trembling and looked directly at the Chairman, into his cracked eyes.

“Bovo?” she whispered, in shock.

“Bovo,” the Chairman said, “The Kingdom of the Cows. You will speak to their leader, stay in their capital, and establish diplomatic and trade relations between them and Cog Nation. They are your people, and they’ll listen to you.”

Bovo. The Kingdom of the Cows. It was rumored to have been destroyed by the War, as all the losing nations were, but all the cows were not eliminated. The Diary of War had no mention of that. Maybe there was a new Bovo. Or at the very least cows. Cows she could love and have children with. It was worth it. No matter what it was worth it. She didn’t doubt the Chairman. He was going to send her north. To Bovo. Her laff soared.

“You will only get the opportunity,” the Chairman said, “to travel north if you are acquitted. So we need you to maintain your case and fight for justice.”

“I accept,” Clarabelle said. “Yes, I will. I will hold onto my case. I trust your Cogs. And I trust you.”

She beamed.

“Thank you so much.”

The Chairman just looked on, his face incapable of smiling.

## Production

### Continuity and Story Arcs

Jury selection concluded, with six Toons and six Cogs landing on the jury, almost ensuring a hung jury and a mistrial.

Bossbot Headquarters was preliminarily explored by a group of Toons, who marked a spot on the crag for easy teleportation.

The Sellbot Headquarters, which collapsed in "Dim as an Ember" finally reopened.

Clarabelle, wracked with guilty, attempted to withdraw her case, but the Chairman informed her that the Cogs were planning diplomatic missions north the Kingdoms. Clarabelle was preselected for a trip to Bovo.

## Trivia

* The title of this episode refers to Bossbot Headquarters situated on the cliffs of the crag in the Bay of Toontown.
* Though Clarabelle believed to be the first Toon in Bossbot Headquarters, that was untrue, as the Toons had just landed there hours earlier unbeknownst to her.