The Blizzard Wizards

**"The Blizzard Wizards"**is the tenth episode of *Rewritten* and the 10th episode overall.

It was published on August 7, 2017.

In the episode, the Toon Resistance discovers the source of the climate change and the Cogs reemerge, bent on revenge. In the past, Slate Oldman inherits an unworldly power.

## The Episode

=====Oak Street=====

==Present Day==

Several months had passed since the expedition to Chipper Acres, and Doctor was thankful for every passing day. What they had discovered out there had a drastic effect on Toontown. Toons rejoiced when the news of Molecule's death reached the public. Parties continued into the early hours of the morning. Doctor did not participate in the festivities. Too many people assumed that because Molecule was gone and the Cogs had still not reappeared, that all their worries were over.

Far from it.

Eileen Irenic was convinced the Cogs were still waiting, biding their time. Awaiting the perfect moment to strike. And that would be when Toons were most vulnerable, most exposed, most unprepared. So she had intensified training. Toon HQ was having difficulty keeping up with all the ToonTasks.

Doctor was glad for the new workload at Toon HQ. Before, when he showed up to work, it was mostly filing paperwork. It wasn't exactly a nightmare, but it got tedious. Now, he was working daily with fighting Toons, helping them level up their Gags, and get experience. Sure, there were no real Cogs to fight, but many shopkeepers helped construct dummies on which Toons could practice.

Doctor himself trained daily with Piggy Pie and Violet. Clara Clark used to train with them, but the time commitment to the Gag Shop was too great. When she had time, if ever, she trained with her siblings. According to her, Herb Clark was still traumatized from his time in the Final Battle. He had still not taken up his post at the Gardens Gag Shop, leaving Peaches Clark to work alone.

Through no misguided intentions or tactics, Doctor and Piggy Pie and Violet had become Eileen Irenic's favorites. She said they showed the most dedication and the most potential. That was a humbling comment to hear from the founder of the Toon Resistance, and Mayor of Toontown. In a few months time, Eileen's acting tenure would expire and a new Mayor would take her place. She had continued to make it clear that she had no intention of remaining in the post once Election Day arrived. With no serious contenders throwing their hat in the ring, and with Flippy having served his term limit, Eileen might end up taking the position by default.

"Doctor," Piggy Pie said, dragging Doctor out of his thoughts, "you're spacing again."

"Sorry," Doctor said, and focused on the task at hand. Nearly two dozen Toon Resistance members had followed Eileen Irenic and Professor Pete to the end of Oak Street. They were acting on a tip from the deceased Dr. Cumulo Nimbus. Apparently he had told Pete before his death that he had determined the source of the climate shift before Exodus to have originated from south of the Gardens, possibly behind Oak Street. This was confirmed in his journal that Pete had neglected to read all the way through since the Toons' return.

The Toon Resistance members were hacking away at the wall at the end of Oak Street, tunneling through it. Fog danced around the pinnacle of the wall. Part of the appeal of Toontown when it was first settled was that it was surrounded by fog. It was hidden from the outside, and therefore the enemies of the War would have an exceedingly difficult time locating them. To prevent the thick fog from entering the Gardens, the original founders had built walls around the edge of Oak Street. The fog was so thick that it tended to hover near the ground. Not all neighborhoods built walls like the Gardens. The Docks and Dreamland openly accepted the fog. It was part of their identity. The Brrrgh, however, hated the fog and similar walls were constructed at the end of Polar Place.

"What do you think they're going to find?" Violet asked as she hacked at the wall with a sledgehammer. A chunk of brick fell away. At the center, Eileen Irenic was leading the charge.

"I don't know," Doctor said. "Maybe a Cog hideaway."

"The heart of Adam Molecule," Piggy Pie said spookily, wriggling her fingers and making a heart pumping motion.

"Not funny," Violet said, her purple face almost turning green with nausea.

*Slam*.

The hammers continued to pound away. Shopkeepers came out of their shops and delivered water to the Toons.

"THREE MORE!" Coach Z, a fitness fanatic, cried, encouraging the Toons to hit in synchronization. Eileen Irenic was sniggering.

"GOT IT!" a Toon called. Doctor stopped swinging at once and stepped back to see who had just spoken. It was a navy dog, pulling bricks away from a hole he just created. Fog was drifting through.

"Stand back," he said and swung again. A huge chunk of the wall fell away. Others joined in, and soon a passage big enough to pass through was revealed.

"There's something back there," Eileen said, frowning. "It's grey."

"Cog-like," a monkey said.

"And..."

The dog's eyes widened.

"EVERYONE GET BACK!"

Doctor didn't hesitate. He learned early on to trust the instincts of his fellow Toon Resisters. He grabbed Piggy Pie's trotter and Violet's flipper and together they sprinted down the street. Behind them, they heard a mechanic voice. The voice of a creature hidden for so long.

"Kaboom."

The wall exploded. Shrapnel flew in every direction, striking the Toon buildings. Windows shattered, flower pots clattered from windowsills, and fog flooded the street. But it quickly dissipated. When Doctor looked back, he saw to his relief there were no injured Toons.

But the wall had completely been destroyed. Where there was once a street end, there was now an enormous archway. Grey, black, dark, made of gears and ironclad metal. Printed in perfectly neat and blaring letters were the words "SELLBOT HEADQUARTERS." Beyond the fog, now clearing away with alarming celerity, was an impenetrable wall of ash and smoke. The sky in the distance was grey.

"Dear lord..." Piggy Pie whispered.

"What..." Doctor managed to say, but he was lost for words. Of all the things he assumed they might find, it wasn't this. The Cogs had a whole headquarters? And only Sellbots? What did that imply? That there was one for each type, spread throughout Toontown? Among them the whole time?

"Look," Violet said. Her voice was braver than she probably felt.

Because Cogs were marching out of the tunnel. Sellbots, all of them. Every type. Every size, every caliber. Every level.

Cold Callers, Telemarketers, Name Droppers, Glad Handers, Movers and Shakers, Two-Faces, Minglers, and Mr. Hollywoods.

From above the tunnel, Sellbots were flying. They were coming.

The Cogs had returned.

Eileen Irenic was standing in the middle of the street, the Cogs streaming toward her. She removed her backpack and took out a Gag. Doctor could see it was a birthday cake. She raised it behind her head, ready to throw. The Cogs were almost upon her.

"Prepare for battle," she said.

The Toon Resistance jumped into place. Doctor, Violet, and Piggy Pie engaged four Minglers in battle. Shopkeepers joined the fight.

Eileen's voice carried above the rest of the clamor.

"It is begun."

===The Brrrgh===

Slate Oldman was finishing dusting his apartment. It was a menial task, but quite a necessity in this old house. It had been in his family since the beginning, the inception of Toontown. Now he was the only Oldman left. There were probably distant cousins scattered throughout the town, but Slate knew he was the only one who truly belonged to the long lineage of Oldman blood.

Below in the shop, Slate heard a knock at the door.

*It's Saturday*, Slate thought. *Read the sign. Closed*.

Slate went to the window and looked down onto the street. Of all the things he could have conceived seeing outside, it certainly wasn't this.

Cogs. Dozens of them. Walking on the streets like they did before Exodus. He watched two Minglers walk side by side down the street, moving slightly aside so a Head Hunter could pass them. In front of the shop, six Big Cheeses were standing on Slate's doorstep.

Slate turned on his heel and descended the steps from his apartment to the shop. The Cogs knocked again. Slate didn't see any way around it, so he opened the door.

The six Cogs strode inside.

"Please," Slate said sarcastically, beckoning them over the threshold.

"Careful," the biggest Cog said, slitting its eyes, "I know your expiration date."

Slate raised his eyebrows.

"Is that a cheese joke?"

"You will come with us," another Big Cheese cut in.

Slate crossed his arms. He could feel the frost springing to his fingertips, yearning to be used. But he was also eager to test out the Gags he had developed. If they were a success, he could present them to Dr. Byte and Dr. Sensitive.

"You will come with us," the same Cog repeated. "You are a threat to the Cogs and you must be eliminated."

Slate leaned forward.

"Grate me."

"ATTACK!" the largest Cog bellowed. The six Cogs sprouted golf clubs and raised them to swing at Slate, but he stepped forward and approached the first Cog. And he engaged it in battle, the Etiquette Algorithm working to his advantage.

Four Cogs fell in line and, as per the Algorithm they were oblivious was inside their body, let Slate have the first go. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a Gag of his own invention. Something more powerful than a birthday cake.

A wedding cake, in four tiers. He aimed and lobbed the cake at the Cogs. The tiers split apart and each struck one of the Big Cheeses. They all stumbled back in shock, then bent over in agony, and exploded.

The two remaining Cogs quickly filed into the battle. The door to Slate's shop opened and two more Cogs entered, this time Corporate Raiders. Slate dug his paws into the carpet.

He was ready.

===Centuries Ago===

Azure Oldman stood somberly over his father's dead body, wrapped delicately in the comfort of his bedsheets. Now he looked mummified, his eyes frozen open, gazing up at the crack in the ceiling that he never fixed. Azure's mother, Carolina, gasped for breath and hurried from the room, shrieking in sorrow. Maximilian Walters, the first Mayor of Toontown stepped forward and fixated a badge on father's pajamas, the metal gleaming in the rising sunlight.

His War medal. It was blue, the royal color of the former Kingdom of Leprolia. He had been an honorable noble, and a brave soldier. He played a part in the escape that led the Toons here, to the recently-founded Toontown.

Father was the first leader of the Brrrgh. But he had held the office for only a few months. There was hardly time to work out how succession would function. The only thing the Toons knew were the practices of their Kingdoms, which were never democratic.

Elections would have to be arranged, the Mayor said only yesterday, unless a suitable candidate could be found on short notice.

Of course, as it turned out that morning, that suitable candidate was Azure Oldman himself. Son of the valiant Glaucous Oldman, victor of the Battle for the Jewel, champion of the rabbit people, a noble of the Kingdom of Leprolia. For Toons desperate to start life anew away from the still-raging War, they were reluctant to shed the old habit of primogeniture succession. At least for now. Azure had no intention of letting himself become a monarch.

Perhaps, he thought, that did make him the best candidate.

As the final rites were read to the corpse of Glaucous Oldman, Azure tightened his grip on his wrists. He could feel snowflakes outside his window calling to him, begging him to summon a blizzard, a storm, even a flurry. Though his ability had once been a source of amazement for his fellow refugees, old attitudes were quick to return.

The BioFreaks were unwanted.

Azure was more angry about that than anything else inflicted in the War. The Kingdom of Cervidium was guilty of the absolute atrocity of using diseases as weapons. The true scope of their experiments was unknown. Azure Oldman was one of those infected, and Azure possessed an unworldly power to wield snow.

There were others like him, those who could harness the power of fire, sleep, darkness, snow, and they were branded BioFreaks by the Kingdom of Cervidium. The very people who made them what they were. They were hunted down, executed. Eventually the power would die away and Azure would be forgotten. As long as he kept his power hidden, he would be safe.

Azure looked away from the window, where snow was swirling at his command. He let it fall onto Walrus Way below. The last rites had been finished. Glaucous Oldman was now being removed from the bed and into a coffin.

"Goodbye, my soldier," Mother said dramatically, kissing her paws and lowering them onto Father's head.

"Thank you for your service," Mayor Maximilian Walters muttered. Then he turned to Azure. "And thank you for what service you are about to achieve."

Azure nodded and stole a glance to the doorway, where Celeste was watching him with frightened eyes. Their gazes traveled together downward, toward the bulge in Celeste's stomach. Three futures were uncertain now.

===Present Day===

Professor Pete Ingalls had spent the last few months mourning his family. After ensuring the return of the Toons from Exodus, he had dropped off the grid, resigning himself to his empty estate. To wander the empty rooms and painstakingly reconstruct the memories he had of his wife and son before they were wrenched away from him. He had no harbored urge for revenge, nor any hope that either had miraculously survived. The message was quite clear: Laura was killed in the Final Battle--numerous people witnessed this--and Ash was taken by the Cogs. No one could say more about it. They always seemed pained to speak of it. They couldn't possibly understand the pain Pete felt every hour when he thought of his family, each memory replaced with a hollow gash.

Only sorrow.

Pete noticed the breeze and looked up. Silly Street was bustling with Toons fighting Cogs. It was oddly peaceful. The sounds of Cog explosions had become a common white noise these past few days.

Heaving his grocery bag over his shoulder, Pete set off toward the Playground. He wanted to drop off a few things at the schoolhouse before he resumed his post next week.

Ahead of him, the door to a movie theatre opened and a dog scuttled out.

Pete halted and his jaw dropped.

It was him.

The Mystery Man.

The dog turned its red head and locked eyes with Pete. He took a step back, but Pete was prepared for this. He lunged forward and grabbed the dog's arm.

"You!" Pete hissed. "How did you find me in Fantasyland? Why? What do you know about Laura and Ash?"

"Let me go," the dog said with a hint of desperation. Pete maintained his grip. He let his groceries roll into the street. This was a moment he had been anticipating since their return. Constance Miller said the dog had cracked the case of Adam Molecule's disappearance wide open. He knew so much and he was sharing none of it. Now here he was, in the flesh, outside a movie theatre, and he would answer all of Pete's questions.

"Who are you?" Pete demanded.

"Let me go," the dog repeated. "Please."

Pete dug his claws into the dog's fur. He yelped in pain.

"What happened to my family?"

The dog looked directly into Pete's eyes. Then he diverted his gaze around the street, finally settling behind Pete. When Pete turned, he saw a Cog strutting slowly toward them. The dog looked frightened. He had dipped his head, eyelids quaking wildly.

"Not now," the dog gasped. "Not right now, but I'll find you. I'm sorry, just not now."

"*No,*" Pete asserted. "I have waited for so long for this. Please tell me what happened to my family."

The dog closed his eyes. Pete counted the seconds. A nastiness sprung up in him, a manic urge to use any means necessary to extract the answers from the reluctant dog.

"If you don't tell me I'll throw you to the Cog. You're scared of him aren't you? Unable to fight? Unwilling? That Cog will make you go sad like he did my son. You'll die like Laura on the battlefield. You know all about that, don't you? Maybe you had a hand in it? Did you? Huh? What happened to my family?"

"Laura's dead," the dog said. "Let me go."

"Ash?" Pete said, his voice rising. The Cog was almost upon them. The dog began to wriggle.

"LET ME GO!"

"ASH?"

"Alive," the dog blurted.

Pete loosened his grasp instinctively. An enormous wave of hope crashed violently through his body, filling every crevasse, every grave dug by the pain of his loss. In that one second of passiveness, the dog whipped out his transport hole and spun away.

The Cog passed Pete without incident. Pete could have jumped for joy, screaming "Hallelujah" down the street.

Ash was alive. Somewhere, somehow.

*I'll find you.*

===Centuries Ago===

Azure Oldman paced the living room, arms clasped behind his back. Celeste's screams had only just died out, and the midwife was busy ensuring the baby was healthy.

Azure turned over the baby names in his head, the options for both girl and boy: Cyan or Cobalt. Which would become the moniker for his first-born child?

The door to the bedroom opened. The midwife came out, her face oddly stoic.

"It's a boy," she said. "Cobalt."

Azure let out a cry of happiness and hugged the midwife, who stammered sheepishly into his shoulder.

"Azure," she said delicately. She then looked at him with such an intense fierceness that Azure understood what had transpired.

Their worst nightmare.

He marched into the bedroom, where Celeste was cradling their newborn. Cobalt Oldman opened and closed his fingers playfully.

And from the fingertips, sparks of snow burst with life.

He had inherited his father's curse.

===Decades Ago===

Zaffre Oldman demonstrated for his son, Slate, how to create a storm cloud. It was not a difficult maneuver, but Slate was having trouble controlling the nimbus particles.

"Concentrate," Zaffre said, knowing full well that such advice from his father, Cobalt, did no good when he was a young rabbit. Slate squinted at the cloud in front of him and focused all his attention on making snow fall from its wisps. To both their surprises and delight, a heavy snowfall began.

"Well done, son!" Zaffre said, clapping Slate on the back. The Oldmans smiled at each other in the comfort of their backyard on Walrus Way, the family home.

"Can I show this at school?" Slate asked, his face hopeful. Zaffre bit his lip.

"No," he said sternly. "Trust me when I say I know how hard it is to keep this from your closest friends. But..."

He knelt to look his son in the eyes.

"Our ancestor was hunted down for his power. I will not allow the same to happen to us. We must protect ourselves."

Slate nodded, though he looked disappointed.

"You are the next Blizzard Wizard," Zaffre said, pride resonating in his voice. "You will protect the Brrrgh from a thaw, and deliver upon it a blizzard if the day were ever to come when one is needed."

Slate nodded.

"I promise, father."

===Before Exodus===

=The Climate Shift=

Slate Oldman rolled up his sleeves and marched toward the Playground, his paws splashing in puddles on the street. Snow dripped off houses, water clogged the streets, hot and humid weather prickled Slate's skin.

He was steadfast now, on a course that was immutable.

The Playground was worse than Slate could have imagined. The fishing pond was overflowing, the glacial ice around the edges having melted away. The igloo encasing around Toon HQ was shedding itself, blocks crumbling to the ground. Icicles plummeted from the sky in a more severe torrent.

Slate positioned himself atop one of the walls around the perimeter of the Playground. He clapped his hands together and spread them out to face the sky. Instantly, white clouds formed in thick layers, pressing together to form the necessary moisture to create snow. The air got immediately chillier, and Toons looked appreciatively at the sky.

"It's Slate!" someone yelled nearby.

"THANK YOU!" another cheered.

Slate didn't break his focus, but thought with satisfaction to himself, *see, Dad, people appreciate what we do.*

The blizzard descended on the Brrrgh, undoing the Cogs' climate change, and keeping the neighborhood frozen.

===Present Day===

Eileen Irenic signed a new town ordinance and shuffled the rest of the papers into a folder to be presented to the Toon Council. She passed a glance at the picture frame on her desk, the faces of Paul and Constantine and Irene grinning innocently at her, not yet aware they would die in a Cog building. While their mother lay helpless below them.

Eileen folded her arms and went over it again in her head. In the last days of Toontown before Exodus, every building was consumed by the Cogs. Of all the Toons trapped in them, the majority were returned home safely. When everyone returned from Exodus, families reunited with those that they believed were left behind but had actually escaped.

There was no sign of the Irenics.

Eileen's family was dead. But why them? Was there any chance that one or all had somehow survived?

The light on Eileen's phone turned on. The receptionist's voice began speaking through the intercom.

"Madam Mayor, Professor Pete is here to see you."

"Oh," Eileen said, not expecting him, "send him in."

The door opened and a frightened-looking Pete sidled in.

"Are you okay?" Eileen asked. "You look spooked."

"I saw him," Pete said. "The dog. The Mystery Man."

Eileen nodded slowly. Constance Miller had mentioned him to her, though she had never seen or heard much about him. Apparently the dog who had a dark red head and lighter arms and legs was a constant presence for Pete, either physical or mentally.

"Where?" Eileen asked.

"Silly Street," Pete said quickly. "He didn't mean to run into me. He wanted to get away, but I wouldn't let him. He..."

Pete took a sharp intake of breath.

"He told me Ash is still alive."

Eileen now inhaled. If Ash was taken by the Cogs and still alive, then maybe her family was too. She had to hold on to that.

"Pete, dear," Eileen said, taking Pete's hand across the desk. "I know what it is to lose a family. I can understand what you're going through. It's important to hold onto hope."

"How do you cope so well?" Pete asked, not meeting her gaze. Tears were welling in his eyes.

Eileen waved her hands at the desk.

"I make myself busy. I've dedicated myself to avenging their deaths. I can hope they're alive all the while, but I know I am being practical. What I am doing is making a difference."

Pete made a noise that sounded like a scoff.

"We can't all be Mayors and leaders of rebellions," he said.

Eileen narrowed her eyes.

"That may be," she said, "but you can still train. You can still fight."

"This isn't a War," Pete said.

"No," Eileen said, not liking the way the conversation had turned, "it won't come to that."

Pete stood. During the past few minutes, he had not looked directly at Eileen.

"I'm going to find the dog," he said. "And force him to take me to Ash."

Eileen watched him leave, calling out to him with sincerity before the door closed.

"Good luck."

"She's here."

Constance Miller dropped everything and hurried downstairs to the interview room. She had left so quickly that she forgot her notebook. She doubled back to retrieve it from her office.

"In here," the Toon officer said, and opened the door for Constance. She entered with as much nonchalance as possible, but she doubted she was hiding her enthusiasm.

The tan horse with greying hair stood shakily and gave a simple bow of greeting.

"Dr. Guffaw," Constance said. "Thank you for coming to see me."

"Of course," the retired laffologist said, lowering herself slowly back onto the chair. She gripped her walking cane like it was an extension of her body.

"You have information for me about Dr. Adam Molecule," Constance said, preparing her notebook.

"Yes," Dr. Guffaw said. "Although when I knew him as my patient, he was known as Adam Avogadro."

Constance nodded.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner," Guffaw said. "I hadn't made the connection until this week when it was in the paper."

"That's okay," Constance said. "I'm glad you came in. Tell me about Adam Molecule--er, Avogadro."

"He first came to my office with his parents, Marie and Albert Avogadro, when Adam was only a few months old. Just an infant. He came on a referral from another doctor. No one could determine what was wrong with him."

"Wrong with him?" Constance asked.

"Mmm," Dr. Guffaw said thoughtfully. "His parents thought there was something wrong with him. So they brought him to all these doctors. Everyone said he was just a normal infant that wasn't as energetic as others. Apparently Adam would not smile, not laugh. It's not all that uncommon of a quality in children, but Marie and Albert were quite alarmed."

Dr. Guffaw paused to take a sip of water.

"I analyzed Adam, and determined in fact that there *was* something wrong. I was surprised myself."

She leaned forward. Constance seized her pen.

"Adam Avogadro had a severe laff deficiency. In fact, it was the most destitute laff I have ever seen. It was horrible. An actual handicap."

Constance let out her breath.

"What does that mean?"

"It means Adam was born without the basic laff quantities that a normal Toon needs to survive. It means that any emotional mood swing can make him go sad. Heartbreak would be too much for him. It was very possible that he would die young. For example, if his mother was close to him and she had died, he would have died from the simple heartbreak of knowing his mother was gone. His laff was never strong enough to recover. It was unprecedented. I wasn't sure how to help him. I just told his parents to keep him nurtured, loved, always."

"So," Constance said, "is it your opinion that Adam went sad and ran away?"

"Well," Dr. Guffaw said. "I don't know. When people go sad...it's...awful."

She shuddered.

"It's an indescribable experience that I would not wish upon anyone. I was put under a sadness simulation when I was studying for my doctorate and even that was...it was traumatizing. You can't think, you can't formulate thoughts. All you can think of is whatever made you sad. Colors literally start to leech from your vision. A weight like an anvil presses on your chest. You can't move, your upper body falls over itself, so you're staring at the ground. When you move, it's horribly slow."

Dr. Guffaw took another sip of water, her hand shaking.

"I don't know how Adam Avogadro could have gone sad and still acted like he did. Like a *functioning* Toon. That would also be unprecedented."

Constance held her breath.

"For the sake of the scenario," Dr. Guffaw continued, "let's say that Adam went sad and fled his home, and took up residence in those woods. When you're sad, you can't think of happiness. Everything is distorted. So maybe he tried to make himself happy by building Cogs, but he couldn't figure out how to make them cheerful and fun-loving because he himself was incapable of thinking that way."

"That sounds terrible," Constance said.

Dr. Guffaw sighed.

"I know. He would have been unburdened by thoughts of love and goodness. Laughter and joviality would have been out of reach, always. As the years continued, as the time wore on, and his heart continued to be subjected to the poisoned laff, his sanity would start to slip. Desperation would sink in..."

She looked at Constance.

"He would have been capable of unspeakable terrors."

Slate blew through the bullhorn. An opera singer's aria shattered the ears of the Cogs, who writhed on the ground before exploding. Four more, the last four, joined the battle. Slate grinned and planted another Level 7 Gag: a railroad track. The Cogs laughed at it and attacked Slate, who sustained some damage to his laff, but not enough to kill him. Slate pulled a blue box with a red button from his pocket and activated a presentation. The Cogs, entranced by the mathematical figures, moved toward it. As they stepped on the railroad tracks, Slate covered his head as a train appeared from nowhere and ran them over, flattening the Cogs in what must have been painful for them. They had exploded before Slate raised his head.

He stared around the carnage of his shop. The Cog attacks had damaged the walls. Several Cog gears lay around. Slate stooped to collect them. They would make an interesting study.

Slate passed the portraits on the wall and made sure to rectify their crookedness.

Glaucous Oldman. Azure Oldman. Cobalt Oldman...Generations of Blizzard Wizards.

Is that why he was a threat to the Cogs? His power?

Slate had no children, no one to pass the "curse" on to.

The line ended with him.

## Production

### Continuity and Story Arcs

Several months have passed since the last episode. Now, the Cogs returned to Toontown after being hidden for nearly half a year.

Fog surrounds Toontown, which explains why the four Cog headquarters have remained hidden.

Slate Oldman developed Level 7 Gags.

The Kingdom of Leprolia is mentioned for the first time. The Kingdom of Cervidium is mentioned again.

Slate's ancestors were the first and second Leaders of the Brrrgh. Slate's ancestors shared the same affliction he does in that they could control snow. This was due to mutation spread by the Kingdom of Cervidium.

Professor Pete met Clan Destine again, the first time since "Genesis." Clan revealed that Ash Ingalls is still alive.

Slate Oldman summoned the blizzard from "The Last Laff" in a scene in this episode.

Dr. Guffaw made another guest appearance, this time as an elderly retiree, to inform Constance Miller of Adam Molecule's condition.

This episode marks the first appearances of Maximilian Walters, Glaucous Oldman, Azure Oldman, Carolina Oldman, and Celeste Oldman. All five would appear three seasons later in *War.* Zaffre Oldman would make a special guest appearance in *Revolution'*s "For Tomorrow We Die."

## Trivia

* The original title for this episode was "The Blizzard Wizard" with a singular tone. It was changed to a plural to highlight the fact that Slate Oldman was not the only Toon who was able to control the snow.
* This is the first episode to feature flashbacks to a time before any of the main characters were born. It is also the first to feature characters that were alive during the War.
* All of Slate's ancestors, including himself, are named after shades of blue.
* This episode is rife with foreshadowing for the fourth season, *War.*