Trouble

**"Trouble"**is the sixth episode of *Justice* and the 24th episode overall.

It was published on July 9, 2018.

In the episode, Toontown's new Mayor instantly is faced with a scandal that can end their Mayorship before it's even started. Meanwhile, the quest to restore the Togs to their Toon form gets a new lead.

## The Episode

===Oak Street===

=Two Days After Election=

=Five Days Before Inauguration=

=Present Day=

Tori Dorrance grabbed another rock and loaded it onto the sled. When it was full, the Toons at the other side of the collapsed tunnel heaved the debris out. A transport hole was designed by Professor Pete Ingalls to dump the debris off the cliffs surrounding Chipper Acres and into the Bay of Toontown. The collapse of the Sellbot Headquarters tunnel was cataclysmic indeed. After weeks of letting the tunnel lay in its fallen state, Constance Miller—Mayor-Elect Constance Miller—ordered the beginning of an excavation project.

Tori wasn’t sure exactly what the point was—Sellbot Headquarters was abandoned, the two Toons that were inside at the time of collapse were obviously dead. There was no way they could have survived thousands of pounds of metal crashing down over their heads. Tori supposed that eventually they would want to go back to Sellbot Headquarters, especially if the Sellbots were rebuilding. But how could they, without power?

Now that Tori thought about it—she leaned on her shovel for a quick breather—she hadn’t seen a Cog in about a week. They had completely left the streets. For the first time in *years*, Toontown almost felt back to normal.

“Help me with this rock, Tori,” Horace Calves said and squatted to lift an enormous boulder. Tori hurried to help. By now, they were about halfway through the debris. The project had taken all yesterday and today. Nearing evening, the hard work was almost over until morning.

Tori and Horace lifted the rock and scampered down the pile of debris to throw it on the next sled. When Tori turned back, her stomach turned to ice.

A paw was sticking up through the rubble.

“Horace,” she whispered. He saw her concerned face and followed her gaze to the red paw reaching out for an absolution that never came.

===Toon Headquarters===

=The Next Day=

=Four Days Before the Inauguration=

“Just sign this form,” Aleck Harding said, “and you’ll be all set.”

Alice and Bradley signed the bottom page of their contracts with the Toon Patrol, pledging their service to solving the issue of the Togs. Aleck was the one overseeing the project for the past months, but now that he was being elevated to Chief, the duty was going to change hands. He said he didn’t want to burden Susan Fletcher, his new Deputy, with the responsibility, and he would rather leave it in the capable hands of those who had already worked on it. That would mean, Alice, Bradley, and Slate Oldman.

Slate himself was bent over his form, scribbling in his information. A Toon Resources officer was watching them earnestly, as if an error would automatically occur if she broke her gaze.

“You sure you don’t want to chair this taskforce?” Slate asked as he handed his completed paperwork to the Toon Resources officer.

Aleck shrugged. “I mean, I want to be involved. But as Chief I won’t have time to dedicate as much effort as I would like. As much time as this project deserves, I mean. Besides, I trust all of you.”

“I’m thinking,” Slate said, “of bringing Pete on board. He’s highly intellectual, as you know. He may have valuable insight. He helped get us out of Toontown. Maybe he can help the Togs.”

“Absolutely,” Aleck said, his ears perking up. “I’d be honored to have him. Do you want to reach out to him or shall I?”

“Nah,” Slate said, wagging his paw, “I’ll do it.”

Bradley shifted. He had not spoken to Pete in several weeks. The two of them had promised each other to commit themselves to finding Ash Ingalls. Bradley had been shown extreme kindness by Laura Ingalls when she had inadvertently helped free him from imprisonment. She had died in the Final Battle, and Bradley had been transported to Fantasyland. The human world. Where he had found Professor Pete Ingalls to apologize for the loss of his family.

That was back when Bradley was known as Clan Destine, his not-so-covert codename. His alias. How strange to think about how radically different his life had been these past years. After twelve years of confinement, he had spent his first year of freedom living under an assumed name, jumping from temporary housing to temporary housing, evading the Toon Patrol and Toon Resistance, harboring Alice, and then suddenly became a top advisor to the Toon Council on the Cogs and Dr. Molecule. It was wild.

Ultimately, he was thankful for the life he had with Alice and the Toon Patrol. He felt useful and vital and loved. He was still vehemently repressing the past and all of its horrors.

But he had made a promise to Pete to find his son. He had told Pete that Ash was alive, but that was more of a guess than anything. Pete knew that. They both knew that the most likely location for Ash to be kept was Bossbot Headquarters. If he was indeed being held there, maybe other Toons were alive as well. Bradley had not known Eileen Irenic long, but he had heard from many people that Eileen’s family had been lost in a Cog building. But maybe they were in Bossbot Headquarters too. It wasn’t an impossibility.

“Your paperwork has been approved,” the Toon Resources officer said with excitement suggesting that there may have actually been a chance that they would have been denied. “Good luck.”

“Well,” Slate said, clapping his paws together, “shall we begin?”

“I’ll leave you to it,” Aleck said, smiling and bowing his head, “I want an update by the time of or shortly after the Inauguration.”

“Will do,” Slate said and waved to Aleck as he walked down to his soon-to-be-empty Deputy office.

“Are we actually doing something today?” Alice asked excitedly. “I’m very eager to get started.”

“So are the Toons still trapped inside those bodies,” Slate murmured sadly. “It’s been far too long for them.”

“A year,” Bradley mused, thinking how horrible it must have been to be injected with the Tog serum on the battlefield of Chipper Acres. He remembered watching the Toonity drain out of Herb Clark. The light leaving his eyes.

And then the one called Soggy Bottom, whose heart was ripped out altogether and replaced with an artificial one without laff. The others just had their laff drained using a serum injection, but Soggy’s entire heart was missing. How the hell were they going to save them?

“First things first,” Slate said. “Observation. We have to record everything each of them do. Analyze the similarities, the differences, their mannerisms and habits. How they eat, how they sleep, how they speak. Keep your minds open because you never know where the breakthrough will occur.”

Slate sighed at the other two members of his taskforce.

“Let’s see if there’s any spare notebooks in the supply closet. Then we’ll head downstairs.”

===Toon Hall===

Constance Miller felt a mixture of eagerness and anxiety. Today was the last Toon Council meeting before the Inauguration. Which meant it was the last time she would sit here as Chief of the Toon Patrol. The last time Eileen would sit at the head of the table as Mayor. The last time she would ever have to deal with Ahab Ishmael and Paula Behr. The two of them had taken their losses hard. They spent the entire meeting grumbling about anything that they could. Ahab tried to have the election results annulled on the grounds of the Cogs causing a distraction, even though the Cogs had not caused any problems at all on the day of the Election. Heidi, however, had taken her loss with exceptional grace. She was overtly thrilled for her successor, and even brought her on a tour of Toon Hall shortly before the meeting started. Professor Mulaney Chortle had credited Heidi as an inspiring mentor.

Constance could not pay attention. She kept looking out the window and picturing herself at the head of the table. Looking at five competent Councillors and Mortimer Myles, plus Aleck Harding and Susan Fletcher. Knowing they were doing their best to serve Toontown.

Mayor Roy Law, Eileen, and *Mickey Elias* himself, wanted to meet with Constance on Inauguration night to have a nice dinner and discuss the role. That was the event Constance most looked forward to—not the Inauguration itself. To be in a room with all living Mayors of Toontown and be able to count herself among them would be an incredible indescribable experience.

“Now moving on to the last item of our agenda before we close…”

Constance felt her stomach knot again. It was almost done. She wondered how Eileen felt. She must be exhilarated. Eileen hated Toon Council meetings. She hated Ahab, Paula, and Mortimer. She put up with Ichabod, Heidi, and Christine, but she was always annoyed that no one on the Council was an active member of the Toon Resistance. Heidi and Christine nominally joined the ranks, but the Gag Shops said they had never purchased a gag.

The door to the Council Chamber opened and Sepulchra Rigor, the town mortician, walked in. She passed out a stack of papers to everyone present and then left, exchanging a few words with Eileen along the way. Eileen read over the paper with concern and glanced toward Constance.

Constance absent-mindedly lifted the paper and pretended to read it. It was an autopsy. Maybe it got lost on the way over? Usually all necessary paperwork was given to the Councillors with ample time to review before the meeting.

“Alright,” Eileen said. “In regards to the last item of our agenda—the Oak Street Tunnel Collapse—we have now the autopsy of the two Toons that were killed in the collapse. Their names were Dino and Xenia Grey; they were siblings.”

“They starved,” Paula Behr said.

Constance decided she should probably seriously read the autopsy. She hadn’t said a word all meeting and she probably should be a little more involved.

“They *starved*,” Paula repeated when the room was silent. “They weren’t killed in the collapse. Their heads weren’t crushed in. They survived. And then they starved. Because of *you*.”

Constance looked at Eileen, expecting to see her usual angry expression when Paula was talking. But Eileen was looking right at Constance. She didn’t look angry at all. She looked concerned.

Constance turned her head and saw Paula glaring at *her.*

“What?” Constance said.

Paula shook her head.

“You killed them.”

Constance was now confused. And scared. What was going on? Oh, why hadn’t she just paid attention?

“It would seem,” Ahab Ishmael said a little too maliciously, “that you had a serious lapse of judgement, Chief Miller.”

Christine Colette cleared her throat. “If I may,” she said. “I’d like to talk this out.” She shot a glance toward Paula. “*Civilly*.”

“Go ahead,” Mortimer Myles said.

“Well,” Christine said. “We know the tunnel collapsed about four weeks ago, right before the Election primaries. The two Toons were known to be about halfway through the tunnel when the structure collapsed. Because they were about a mile away from Oak Street and no one was in Sellbot Headquarters at the time, they were assumed dead because there was no way that anyone could survive the collapse and no way that we could dig out a mile of rubble in time to save them. Is that correct?”

“Yes,” Constance, Eileen, and Heidi Babel said all at once.

“Okay,” Christine said. “And then the Toons were found during the excavation project that Constance finally gave approval for a few days ago. They were dead, of course. And now Ms. Rigor has given us their autopsy, showing that they had in fact survived the collapse but died of starvation because they were not saved. Is that correct?”

“Yes,” Eileen muttered.

Mortimer Myles leaned forward.

“Why, Chief Miller, was the excavation not conducted immediately? If you knew that two Toons were trapped inside, shouldn’t we have done everything to save them?”

Constance could hardly move. She was horrified. The fall from her pleasant thoughts had hurt hard. She felt as if she was under attack. Not even her closest friend, Eileen, could save her right now. There was so much uncertainty going through her head. Susan Fletcher said there was a 0% chance anyone survived. When the bodies were found, Constance was told they were crushed.

*How could they have survived*?

“I…” was all she could muster.

“If I remember correctly,” Eileen said, doing her best to help, “I think the time it would take to organize a debris removal team and the time it would take to dig out the Toons, they may have succumbed by then.”

“Regardless,” Mortimer Myles said, “I think Constance is unfit to lead us. She couldn’t even save two Toons from a crisis. We are all able to deliver speeches and speak words to get elected, but our actions define us.”

Eileen scowled.

“Yes, they do, Mortimer.”

Constance stood. She couldn’t stay here any longer.

“The meeting is not yet over,” Paula said. “You should sit.”

“I need a minute,” Constance said and hurried from the chamber. Once outside, she slammed her back against the wall and slid to the floor. Was it true? Did she really kill those two Toons? Sealed their fate by refusing to give the go-ahead for an excavation mission. The horror that was overtaking her forced her eyes shut. She tried to steady her breathing, but she could already see her future. Mortimer, Paula, and Ahab would tell the media outlets. Declan Antlin would grab hold of the story and report the unbiased truth to the public. Her ability to lead the Toons would be called into question and she would be forced to refuse the office before she would even be sworn in. A special election would be held…Eileen would have no choice but to stay on as interim Mayor until a replacement could be found. Or was there some rule that would allow Vidalia to become Mayor? What would happen?

Relax, Constance told herself. She would have time to work this out. She should talk to Sepulchra to get all the details. She should talk to Eileen for sure. She should consult her closest friends. She should ignore Ahab, Mortimer, and Paula. They were vicious snakes anyway.

She never went back into the Council chamber. She sat in the hallway until it was over.

Eileen ignored the sly grins of Ahab, Mortimer, and Paula as she egressed the Council chamber. She had to find Constance. What the hell just happened in there?

“Eileen!” Aleck Harding called as he hurried after her. Christine and Heidi were behind him. “Is she out here?”

“No,” Eileen said, looking around the lobby. “She may have gone home to think things over. I can’t believe this. Constance would never jeopardize the life of Toons. It’s unbelievable they lived.”

“Exactly,” Aleck said. “Unbelievable. Literally it’s not believable. I think you should talk to Sepulchra. The timing of that autopsy was a little too coincidental.”

Eileen stared. “You don’t think it’s false, do you?”

Heidi shrugged. “I don’t buy it. How could all that rubble not kill you?”

Looking from face to face, Eileen had to agree. It was too fantastical. Too…convenient. She would talk to Sepulchra and see what could be made of the situation, but she knew that Ahab, Paula, and Mortimer would be on their way to the press. Clarabelle and Vidalia would grab hold of the story and not let it go, spreading the drama and gossip to every phone in Toontown.

Constance was supposed to help Eileen tomorrow organize the attack on Cashbot Headquarters. She’ll be worrying about this instead. It was certainly not the best way to lead into one’s term as Mayor.

Poor Constance. She must be devastated.

===Cashbot Headquarters===

=Three Days Before the Inauguration=

Horace Calves was assigned to lead the attack on Cashbot Headquarters. The plan was to raid the Cashbot Bullion Mint and attempt to bankrupt the Cogs. Mata Hairy was a part of the team, and Horace was eager to work with her. Eileen was really the only person who interacted with Mata. From what Horace heard about her, she was strange. But “strange” did not cover it. She was bizarre. Downright eccentric. She moved weird, she spoke weird, she acted like none other. Was she even a Toon? Of course she was, but Horace couldn’t understand her.

The twelve Toons walked casually through the tunnel into Cashbot HQ. They wore the goggles Dr. Sensitive designed so they could see in the darkness of the headquarters.

“I want you to be in my elevator,” Tori Dorrance said to Horace. “We work well together.”

“Sure,” Horace said. “Want to take the monkey?”

Tori looked almost frightened.

“I don’t know,” she muttered, afraid of being overheard. “We could.”

At that moment, Mata sauntered up beside them. Without even looking their way, she said,

“I’ll go with the pink cat, the yellow monkey, and the orange dog. They’ll need the most help.”

“Okay,” Tori said instantly. “Thank you.”

Mata slowed her pace to move to the back of the pack. Tori and Horace just kept walking, avoiding her piercing gaze.

They reached the steps leading up into the HQ. The twelve Toons ascended with ease and emerged into the expansive courtyard.

Horace doubled back in shock. There were hundreds of Cogs gathered. Waiting. Watching. Before they could stop, they had already engaged one of them in battle.

Hundreds. They couldn’t defeat hundreds. Not alone.

“Mata!” Horace called over the whirring of rotors as more Cogs lowered into the courtyard. “What’s happening?”

“It’s an ambush,” was the simple reply.

“How can they *see*?” Tori cried.

“They can’t,” Mata said. “Their attacks may often miss. But eventually they’ll wear us down. We don’t have enough gags to fight all of them.”

“Can we get help?” Tori asked, throwing her first gag. The Cog surprisingly ducked and the pie went soaring behind him.

“We’re doomed!” the yellow monkey screamed.

“Fight hard!” Horace yelled, “and don’t give up!”

He turned to the Toon to his left. The orange dog that Mata didn’t believe was strong enough. “Run back to the Playground. Tell the Resistance we’re being swamped. We’ll try to hold them off, but we need reinforcements.”

“Horace,” Tori said quietly. “We’ve already lost one.”

Horace turned toward Tori to watch as one of her battle partners disappeared into the emergency sadness portal. Over in Mata’s group, the same. Horace looked at the Cogs in his battle. They were all level 12s, the highest caliber.

The Cashbots sent their best. Reinforcements would never arrive in time.

“Abort mission,” Horace said loudly for all to hear. Not even Mata questioned it. The ten remaining Toons teleported back to the Playground.

===Toon Hall===

Constance sat back in her chair. Eileen’s mouth was agape. Roy Law shook his head in dismay. Horace Calves had his arms crossed over his chest, his resting pose, looking down at the floor.

“They knew we were coming,” he said finally. “They were prepared. They purposefully put themselves at the entrance to the tunnel knowing we’d bump into them and start a battle. They wanted to take out as many of us as possible, but we ran.”

“Are the sad Toons okay?” Roy asked.

“They’re being tooned-up,” Horace said. “Tori is seeing to them now. I’m going to go see if she needs any help.”

“Thank you,” Eileen said. “You did your best. I would have done the same thing.”

Horace grunted in lieu of a smile and teleported away.

As soon as he was gone, Constance began crying. She was miserable. She did not sleep at all the night before. She had been unable to locate Sepulchra, since the morgue was closed and the ghostly white rabbit was not home. Clarabelle Cow had indeed latched onto the story and had told so many Toons. Too many. Constance had earned many a glare on her way home last night. Surprisingly, Vidalia VaVoom reached out to offer her own personal support.

“I think you did your best,” she had said. “I think your actions are justified. And I don’t think you deserve what’s coming.”

“Your friend is telling everyone I shouldn’t be Mayor,” Constance instantly replied. Vidalia had sighed.

“We may be best friends, but I don’t see eye-to-eye with her on this.”

And now this. A failed Cog attack. What’s worse, it wasn’t just a ground invasion that didn’t go well. Twelve Toons could now definitively say that the Cogs were still a threat. *Hundreds* of Cashbots had coordinated a counterattack on the Toons. And they had waited on their own turf for it to happen. They were smart. They were calculated. And soon, they would be ready to return to the streets. The lights remained out, but the fire within the Cogs continued to burn.

“Oh, Constance,” Eileen said, and wrapped her arms around her friend. “Let it out.”

Roy pulled up a chair next to Constance and placed his wrinkled paw on hers.

“My dear,” he said with his elder charm, “you *will* get through this. You know this has never been about you. Being Mayor is never about you. It shouldn’t be. Many Mayors in our history have seen the office as a source of personal pride and achievement, but it’s about the *Toons*. But you are the first elected Mayor to have to handle Cogs as well. Your term as Mayor will always be marred by the Cogs. And there’s no rectifying that. That will be your fate. Your legacy. But if you were to destroy them in your tenure, you’ll have a better legacy. And that’s what you have to focus on. Not this scandal. Not this failed attack. But on bettering Toontown by eradicating the Cogs.”

Constance threw up her paws.

“I can’t help anyone—or Toontown—if I’m ousted from office before I even take the oath!”

“That won’t happen,” Eileen said firmly. “The Toons still trust you.”

Constance scoffed. “Not all of them. Aleck says there’s already a petition circulating.”

Roy rolled his eyes. “A petition with hardly any signatures, I’m sure. It’s just some ugly political move by Vidalia…”

“It’s not Vidalia,” Constance said.

“It may be Paula or Ahab,” Eileen said. “They were pretty upset about losing.”

“They didn’t collapse the tunnel and they didn’t kill those Toons,” Constance said. “I’m to blame for their deaths no matter how you paint it.”

Eileen and Roy were quiet. Constance sighed and stood. Without saying anything else, she left the room.

===The Morgue===

Hyla Sensitive did not believe one word of the autopsy. She had been one of the Toons to see the bodies when they were pulled from the rubble. They were crushed. Hyla had retched when she saw the female Toon, her head bashed in and caked with dried blood. It was an image she would not forget.

Hyla knew Sepulchra Rigor relatively well. They had studied at school together, were the same age, and were in the same class. Sepulchra had kept to herself, like Hyla, and the two had bonded over their shared isolationism. Sepulchra took extreme care with her work and prided herself on her efficiency and dedication, and accuracy. Sepulchra did not make mistakes. But something was up. After the Council meeting, apparently Sepulchra was no where to be found. Not home, not in the morgue. But Hyla figured that eventually Sepulchra would come back to work, especially with two bodies still on her table.

And sure enough, around noon, Sepulchra crept in the back entrance. To find Hyla sitting at her desk.

“Hyla,” she said in surprise, dropping her bag to the floor. “I thought I locked the outside doors.”

Hyla spun the key she nicked from Toon HQ around her finger. “Can we talk?”

Sepulchra swallowed and nodded.

“The autopsy is doctored isn’t it?” Hyla said. “It’s riddled with mistakes, for one. Typos, grammar errors, a general lack of medical terms. Someone else wrote part of it and forced you to pass it off as your own. Or maybe you did it willingly?”

Sepulchra stood silently in front of the desk. She looked frightened. Her dark black eyes were wide. Her usual ghostly aura was replaced with one of a spooked bunny.

“Which is it?” Hyla asked.

Sepulchra’s lip trembled. She looked through the window of the morgue’s main room, where she conducted all of her work. The bodies were lying on their slabs. Her eyes welled with tears.

“He made me,” she whispered. “I told him no. I said of course I wouldn’t do it. But he said…he said it was for the good of Toontown. I said no. He said I could get even with Constance—we’ve never really gotten along. I said no anyway. He said he would pay me. I said no. But then he said he had no choice. He would destroy me. He would get me fired, that he would have my medical license revoked. He has so many political allies. I believed him. I—I let him write up a second autopsy, an ersatz one, and I passed it out in the Council meeting to the Councillors so they’d believe those two poor Toons died by starvation. But they died instantly, Hyla. They were dead as soon as the tunnel collapsed. Their heads were crushed, their hearts had ruptured. There was no hope for them. Constance made the right choice. I should never have done it. I should never have believed him. I should never *never* have done this.”

Hyla didn’t pause. Didn’t offer comfort. Not yet.

“Who?”

Sepulchra began crying. “I’m going to lose my job.”

“Who was it?”

“Please.”

“Sepulchra.”

“Mortimer Myles.”

Hyla exhaled.

===Toon Hall===

“Eileen!” Piggy Pie called. She spotted the outgoing Mayor heading into her office.

“Oh, Piggy,” Eileen said, stepping back into the lobby of Toon Hall. “I was just about to call you. Did you hear about Cashbot HQ?”

“Yes,” Piggy Pie said. “That’s kind of why I’m here. What the heck happened in there?”

“Horace gave a report,” Eileen said with a disappointed shrug. “They beefed their security. They knew we were coming.”

“What does that mean?” Piggy Pie asked. “Like really? What are you thinking?”

Eileen chewed her lip.

“I hate to say it—like seriously hate to say it—but I think we may have another mole.”

Piggy Pie groaned, having dreading hearing this exact theory.

“How many moles do we have?”

Eileen counted on her fingers.

“Twenty-seven Togs…twenty-seven traitors and moles within our ranks. We were operating under the assumption that the only Togs are ones who were converted during the Final Battle or were surgically ‘upgraded’ like Soggy Bottom. There are the four Toons that the Chairman took…like Doctor.”

Piggy Pie winced.

“Maybe we missed something,” Eileen said. “Maybe there are more Togs. I can’t stomach the thought of making a list of all those who could be traitors. I want to believe there’s another explanation. Maybe the Cogs have something on us we don’t know. Maybe it was accident. I don’t know.”

Eileen sighed. She looked at Piggy Pie with apologetic eyes.

“We can’t find Doctor if we can’t trust that our information and intelligence is safe. We may have to postpone the search for Bossbot Headquarters until we can unmask the mole or otherwise find the breach in our information chain.”

Piggy Pie felt her heart tighten. Postpone the search? They weren’t doing enough! It had been a month and Doctor was still captive of the Cogs. Eileen was looking at her with an intense stare, essentially pleading with Piggy Pie to cooperate and agree.

“I guess,” Piggy Pie said. “But we start today. I’m not leaving Doctor with the Chairman longer than necessary.”

===Toontown News Report===

=Two Days Before Inauguration=

“Good evening Toontown. This is Declan Antlin speaking. I am delivering urgent breaking news from the central government of Toontown. Recently, it has come to light that the Oak Street tunnel collapse that claimed the lives of two Toons was in fact unavoidable and the two Toons crushed inside had died almost instantly. Any effort that could have been made by Constance Miller would have been moot, as the Toons would have been long dead by recovery. This news is in contrast with previous revelations, which suggested that Constance Miller deliberately withheld an excavation team despite the possibility the Toons would have survived. Then-Deputy of the Gardens, Susan Fletcher, who is now Deputy-Elect, had told Constance Miller that an excavation would be unnecessary, as there was a 0% chance of survival, especially by the time a team could be organized and dispatched.

Further complicating this news is the truth that I am about to reveal. The scandal leveled against Constance Miller stemmed from an autopsy report published by mortician Sepulchra Rigor and disseminated to the Toon Council. An autopsy we now know to be fabricated, forced into publication by Toontown Central Councillor Mortimer Myles. Mortimer Myles pressured Sepulchra into releasing the fabricated document, receiving aid from outgoing Councillors Paula Behr and Ahab Ishmael. These nefarious and cowardly actions were done as petty revenge against Constance Miller and her new government, as the Councillors have historically not gotten along with Constance Miller and Mayor Eileen Irenic in the new Toon Resistance era. Paula and Ahab were defeated in their reelection bids and will not be returning to the Toon Council.

Mortimer Myles, however, in light of these recent revelations, has tendered his resignation effective immediately and also will not be returning to the Toon Council, despite winning reelection. Mortimer’s actions would result in a lawsuit under the allegations of attempt to destabilize the government. Ahab and Paula would be tried as accomplices. However the three have decided to settle with monetary amounts which are so far undisclosed.

Mortimer’s sudden resignation now leaves a space open on the Toon Council. Toontown law dictates that in the case of a vacancy in the Toon Council before the Inauguration but after the Election, the outgoing Mayor has the prerogative to appoint anyone they wish, so long as the appointee belongs to the vacant district. If no appointee is chosen, a special election will be held after the Inauguration.

And so we wait to hear from Mayor Eileen Irenic, who in her final day as Mayor will either fill the vacant Council seat or pass the torch to Constance Miller to find someone else to replace the man who betrayed her.”

===Toontown Central===

Eileen found Constance sitting on the fountain’s rim in front of the schoolhouse. She was dangling her paws in the cool water, swirling the rapids with her legs. She seemed deep in thought. Eileen would imagine Constance would be feeling a wide range of emotions, from anger to relief to anxiety to excitement. The Inauguration was less than 48 hours away now.

The revelation that Mortimer was behind the scandal was surprising, but not all that shocking. Eileen had been extremely irate when Paula, Ahab, and Mortimer settled out of court and essentially paid their way out of breaking the law. But Eileen knew that the town would need to focus on the Cogs and couldn’t get embroiled in a pathetic political scandal. But with Mortimer gone, Constance would finally have a competent Council. Ichabod Irving would remain the apathetic vote, but maybe it would add some sort of balance.

“I thought I’d find you here.”

“Did you?” Constance said. “Or did you see me through your office window?”

Eileen snorted. “Okay, fine, the latter. It’s soon going to be your office window.”

Constance slapped the water with her paw.

“I wonder how many Mayors spent the week leading up to their Inauguration rife with worry.”

Eileen stared.

“Probably all of them.”

“You know what I mean.”

“It’s over, Constance,” Eileen said. “You can finally relax. You heard Declan’s broadcast. He told the facts. You are not to blame. Don’t forget over 70% of the town voted for you. You have high levels of support. And you can’t be voted out of office now. We have bigger fish to fry.”

Constance nodded. She pulled her legs out of the water and swung around to face the Playground. The sun was dipping over the Punchline Place tunnel.

“Have you given any thought to who you’re going to appoint?” Constance asked.

“Yeah,” Eileen said. “I figured I’d spare Toontown another damn election. Toontown Central has a lot of eligible candidates.”

“It’s the most populous district,” Constance pointed out. “Who are you considering?”

“Dr. Byte, Dr. Sensitive, Professor Pete, Mary Goround, Clara or Clark Clark, Professor Wiggle McDiggle…what do you think?”

Constance scrunched up her face, deep in thought.

“I think you should choose Vidalia VaVoom.”

A smile pushed itself onto Eileen’s face. Vidalia VaVoom. The most diplomatic choice. Constance was going to be a natural.

“Do you think Vidalia will be a good Councillor?”

“I do,” Constance said. “She knows all of her constituents already. She would be loyal too. She was one of the only people on the other side who supported me through my crisis. She was so cordial during the election too. I don’t know. I really like her now. She’s not just a flirty gossip anymore.”

“Praise be,” Eileen grumbled.

“It’s your decision,” Constance said. “Any of the ones you listed would be great too.”

“Nah, I think I’ll go with Vidalia,” Eileen said. “It’s your Council. It should be your choice. I’ll make the phone call later today. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled. You know, she’s been training her gags like crazy. She’s serious about joining up.”

Constance sniggered.

“I wonder what Clarabelle’s reaction will be when her friend goes from Mayoral loser to Councillor winner.”

“Whatever her reaction may be,” Eileen said coolly, “Clarabelle better stop making disparaging phone calls about you.”

===Mickey Elias’s Estate===

=The Night Before the Inauguration=

“Your home is so lovely!” Constance Miller crooned to Mickey Elias as he closed the door. Once he took her coat into the closet, Constance turned to Eileen and mouthed,

‘Do you see this?’

The foyer of Mickey Elias’s estate home was a towering colossus of opulence. It was rumored that Mickey Elias was in possession of a fortune that once could have rivaled the VaVoom’s, and now Constance could see that was true. The mansion was enormous, far too large for one mouse. It was an inherited house, Eileen said, and Mickey’s ancestors had not wanted their house on the “gaudy” Glamor Grove.

“Roy!” Eileen exclaimed as former Mayor Roy Law exited the parlor to greet the arriving guests. “How wonderful to see you again! I’ve never seen you in a dinner jacket.”

Roy scoffed at the fancy suit he was wearing. “My wife insisted.”

“Mrs. Law put you together real nice,” Constance said.

“The two of you look stunning,” Mickey said. “You’ll forgive me for making such a to-do about this. After Flippy died I decided that the former Mayors should really have better rapport. No one will ever know the burden we shoulder unless they themselves are elected to carry it.”

“Preach,” Eileen said.

“You weren’t elected,” Roy said with a smirk. “As I recall you were praised on high for being the anti-Flippy and just got the job.”

“Election by acclamation is legal,” Eileen said in her defense.

“She’s the only one,” Constance said, smiling.

“Dinner is ready,” Mickey said. “I made it all myself.”

“You don’t have a fancy chef in that triple-decker kitchen of yours?” Roy said sarcastically, then wheezed with laughter, his beak clattering. Mickey narrowed his eyes.

“I don’t,” he said before muttering, “I gave him the night off.”

Eileen, Constance, Mickey, and Roy sat around a square table draped in a white tablecloth. They dined on a delightful meal of various vegetables and cuisines from the various parts of Toontown. They discussed their childhoods, their favorite memories in Toontown, their first recollections of wanting the Mayoral office.

“I remember,” Roy said, “watching the news. This was before Declan Antlin, mind you. We had some tiny cat who did the announcing then. I can’t even recall her name, she was so boring. And Mayor Bolt Shockley had just been elected. I was an adult and all then, but I distinctly remember watching and being inspired to get involved with politics. Something about Bolt…I don’t know. I ran the next cycle for Toon Council and won, was reelected, and then put my name in for Mayor a few times.”

“I saw Alistair Maxwell,” Eileen said, “when Constantine—my son—was born. Alistair—he went by Sir didn’t he?—was just another Mayor to me. Then came you, Roy. Then Mickey. And then Flippy. And I was just a private citizen. It wasn’t until I was acclaimed to the Mayorship that I realized how much I didn’t want it. I don’t think I ever wanted to be Mayor.”

“And yet you were one of our strongest,” Mickey said, with a twinkling smile. “And tomorrow you’ll be done. You can join Roy and I on the sidelines and cheer for Constance.”

“What about you, Constance?” Roy asked. “When did you realize you wanted to be Mayor?”

Constance’s yellow face turned red.

“It was Eileen,” she said. Which was true. “I began working with her. And I was just…inspired. Eileen was everything I respected in a leader. She was honest and true, dedicated and responsible. She put Toontown at the forefront of every decision. She was unburdened by anything around her. And I started to see that I was similar to her. And I could see myself doing what she did. And I realized I wanted to do what she did. I wanted to be the Mayor of Toontown so I could help as many Toons as possible.”

Eileen was bashfully trying to cover her face. Roy lifted his glass.

“To Eileen! To Constance!”

“To Roy!”

“To Mickey!”

“To the Mayors of Toontown!”

“To Flippy!”

Mickey lowered his glass.

“For Flippy,” he said mournfully.

After a few moments of silence, Roy spoke. “I’m thankful to you Mickey for putting this evening together. I’m having a marvelous time. More so than Oswald Locke had at his Inauguration party.”

Mickey spat out his drink and laughed heartily. Eileen and Constance smiled politely and watched as Roy and Mickey lost their heads. Roy then looked at Eileen and simmered down.

“Oswald Locke,” he repeated. “At his Inauguration party!”

Eileen kept smiling.

“I don’t get it,” she said.

“Oh come now,” Mickey said. “You read the book.”

“It’s my favorite passage, I think,” Roy said. “It always gives me a proper belly laugh.”

Eileen shook her head. “What are you referring to?”

“Passage,” Constance murmured. “Do you quote the Diary of War?”

Roy and Mickey now exchanged glances.

“I’m talking about the Mayor’s Manifest,” Roy said.

“Eileen,” Mickey said, “surely Flippy shared with you the Mayor’s Manifest?”

“It’s the duty of the predecessor to share access to the Mayor’s Vault," Roy said.

Eileen’s mouth fell open. After a few seconds, she closed it.

“Flippy took his removal from office rather hard. He did not find time to mentor me in anything. What is the Mayor’s Manifest?”

Constance didn’t like the look in Eileen’s face. She seemed angry as if someone had just taken advantage of her. She was gnawing her gums, grinding her teeth.

“Um,” Mickey said uncomfortably, “every Mayor since Maximilian Walters have recorded their strengths and weaknesses, greatest achievements and pitfalls, advice and helpful hints and so on in a gigantic book. It’s called the Mayor’s Manifest. It’s supposed to help future Mayors through the office. You can read about landmark victories and crushing defeats, and a full history of the Mayorship.”

“And Flippy just failed to mention this?” Eileen demanded. “And neither of you thought to mention it?”

“Uh,” Roy said. He began shoveling food into his mouth.

“Sorry,” Mickey muttered.

“Where *is* the book?” Eileen asked. She was gripping her utensils with an iron fist.

“It’s in the Mayor’s Vault in the Toontown Museum,” Roy quacked. “Third floor of Toon Hall. The key is in the office.”

“Where?” Eileen asked, her brain clearly searching for its location.

“In the key box behind the door…”

“*That’s* what that’s for?!” Eileen cried. “I’ve been wondering about it since my first day in office! This whole time I’ve been supposed to be recording what I’m doing in office?”

“Well I mean,” Roy said, “I only used it now and then. I didn’t want to bore future Mayors. But there’s certainly space in the book to write a ton.”

“Enough room for centuries of Mayors,” Mickey said. “I don’t know why Maximilian started it, but it’s a tradition that’s stuck. I think it’s really cool.”

“I do too!” Constance said.

“Yeah,” Eileen spat. “Me too. Wish I knew about it sooner.”

Roy cleared his throat.

“I’m sure Constance would let you read it over and write in it before you pass it to her.”

“I would,” Constance said. “Please take it first.”

Eileen feigned half a smile.

“I can’t eat anymore,” she said. “I have to read that book.”

Eileen stood and grabbed her dishes.

“Oh,” Mickey said, “I’ll get those.”

“Thanks,” Eileen said.

“Wait,” Constance said, joining her friend by the dining room door. “I’ll come with you. I want to see the inside of the Mayoral Vault.”

Roy clapped his wings together. “This is great! First trip to the Vault! I hope you all have fun. Make sure to turn the light on before you enter. The switch is on the outside. One time I got locked in there with no light.”

“Just leave the door open,” Mickey said. “There’s no one in the Museum at night anyway.”

Constance and Eileen waved goodbye to Mickey and Roy and thanked Mickey for being such a hospitable host. Eileen apologized for storming out, but Mickey promised them they were not being rude.

“I’d be just as curious,” he said. “It’s gotten hold of you now. Commit to it.”

Outgoing Mayor Eileen Irenic and Mayor-Elect Constance Miller set off for Toon Hall’s third floor.

===Toontown Museum===

=Toon Hall=

It was nearly midnight when Eileen and Constance arrived at Toon Hall. They decided to walk instead of teleport and they had taken their time. Eileen had wanted more time to process what she might read, and how frustrated she was to know that all that vital information was not at her disposal when she held the office. Constance imagined that Eileen felt a mixture of anger toward Flippy and disappointment. But in Toontown, it was difficult to be mad at the dead. They were gone. Directing negative energy to the deceased had long been considered a source of poor mental health.

But when Dr. Molecule was found dead, it was widely agreed by doctors to be healthy to be mad at him. After all, his pure evil projects had led to the deaths of hundreds of Toons. If not for Exodus, the Final Battle, and Dr. Byte’s Etiquette Algorithm, the Cogs would have taken over Toontown long ago and instituted that horrid Cog Nation.

On their walk, they also discussed in serious depth the mystery of the lack of Cogs. It had been over a month since they had last been seen, with the exception of the bulked security in Cashbot HQ. In the election weeks, a Cog was not seen on any street at all. But they weren’t gone forever. They couldn’t be.

The best option still remained that all of Cog enterprises had shifted to Bossbot HQ somewhere in Toontown, hidden. Eileen and Constance believed the HQ would be an enormous underground cavern, somewhere deep beneath their feet. If the Cogs had managed to build Sellbot HQ on swamplands, Lawbot HQ in the mountainside of an unforgiving glacier, and Cashbot HQ in the dark mountain caves of the north, then Bossbot HQ being underground or underwater was not inconceivable. In fact, it was viable. There, they would find the Chairman and the other bosses, and the four Togs including Doctor.

If they weren’t already dead.

Constance had heard from Aleck Harding that the Togs beneath Toon HQ were no closer to being cured. There had not been a single piece of information that had helped Professor Pete, Slate Oldman, Alice, and Bradley. The situation was looking bleak.

All of this, Constance thought, was going to be critical in her first few weeks as Mayor. She would have to address all of these issues and commit herself and her Council to solving them.

“Here we are,” Eileen said quietly as they approached Toon Hall. She opened the unlocked public door and crossed the lobby first, getting the key from her office. Constance followed. They took the stairs up to the third floor. The Museum of Toontown.

The Museum was established shortly after the Hall was built. The original settlers instantly knew how historically important their voyage was and they wanted all future generations of Toons to be able to firsthand experience the life of the first days of Toontown.

The Museum was split into four exhibits: Early History, Toontown Through the Ages, Modern Toontown, and Culture of Toontown. The Early History exhibit was centered around its major attraction—indeed, the Museum’s most famous attraction—The Diary of War. The over 300 year old book was impeccably preserved, kept under constant surveillance in a glass case in the middle of the first room. It was propped open to a pre-selected passage, but in such a way that the front cover could still be seen. It was a simple maroon/burgundy color with not a single indentation or mark on the front. That was important.

The Diary was written anonymously by one of Toontown’s original settlers, known only by her species—pig. But not even that was explicitly stated in the Diary, instead implied by the author’s mentioned residence in the pig kingdom of Porcinia. The author received a diary as an ordinary gift shortly before the outbreak of the War, and kept assiduous details of every event in very small handwriting from the first shot to the daring escape from the Kingdoms to the founding of Toontown and the Inauguration of Maximilian Walters. After this point, the author ran out of space and concluded the Diary nondescriptly.

As the only surviving account of life before, during, and after the War, as well as the anonymity of its author, the Diary of War as it was later called became a groundbreaking artifact in Toontown. Every school student read the Diary from cover-to-cover, and it was talked about at length. The lessons within its pages were invaluable and most Toons abided by them. The Diary Pig’s identity was never definitively determined.

Eileen and Constance walked past the Diary, through the Toontown Through the Ages and Modern Toontown exhibits, to the final one. The one with the Vault.

The Mayoral Vault had a simple plaque explaining that it contained artifacts and notebooks from past Mayors. It did not mention that every Mayor could contribute to it, nor that there was a book inside called the Mayor’s Manifest.

Eileen unlocked the Vault and stepped inside the cool air. Constance flipped on the exterior switch and the Vault was illuminated.

It was not as grand as Constance would have expected, instead constituting a small grubby closet with peeling wallpaper and sagging shelves. There was obviously not much preservation done in the room, as the only thing that wasn’t too dusty was the Mayor’s Manifest itself, despite having sat there untouched for nearly four years. Eileen seized the book off its resting spot—a simple wooden crate—and wrestled with its weight. She opened it to the first page and breathed in sharply.

“Entry #1,” she read, “by Mayor Maximilian Walters.”

“Wow,” Constance said.

“Today I was inaugurated,” Eileen whispered, “as the first Mayor of Toontown. It’s a new position and a new form of government. We decided to abolish the system of monarchy and replace it with an institution centered around democracy and popular vote. It is a system unseen in the Kingdoms from which we have fled. Though it was originally our hope to establish a kinder, sincerer, unbiased monarchy upon settlement, some of our numbers advocated strongly against it, and I had to comply.”

Constance stared. “The original settlers wanted a monarchy?”

Eileen turned the pages, shrugging. “It was all they knew.”

She started laughing. She showed Constance the page, depicting a photograph of a long-since-extinct species in Toontown: the elephant.

“Mayor Card Tatum,” Eileen said, “wrote in the year 24: ‘I have just been informed by an unnecessarily enthusiastic librarian that upon the death of my fellow elephant, I am the last of my species in Toontown. I knew that when I arrived here as a child that I would not be destined for a life of little elephant babies. And so the first species in Toontown will die out with my death. But I’ll make sure to leave a lasting elephant legacy through my Mayorship.”

“Wow,” Constance said. “He carried a heavy weight.”

“He did,” Eileen said, shifting her footing to hold the book better. “Being the last elephant must have been difficult.”

“Clarabelle is the last cow in Toontown,” Constance said. “Soon the cows will go the same way as the elephants and crocodiles.”

“Hmm,” Eileen said. “Poor Clarabelle.”

She turned the pages toward the end, where she smiled sadly.

“Flippy,” she said. “His last entry was right before Exodus.”

Constance shook her head. “You should go home and get some rest. You can read tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow is the Inauguration,” Eileen said. “We’ll be a bit busy.”

“The book will still be there,” Constance said. “Come on, I’m tired. I’m going home.”

Eileen acquiesced.

===Toontown Central===

=Inauguration Day=

“Congratulations, Mr. Irving!”

Eileen reached forward and shook Ichabod Irving’s hand as the crowd erupted in applause. He was the last of the Councillors to be sworn in. The Mayor always inaugurated new Councillors, and the outgoing Mayor would swear in the new Mayor. Eileen’s throat hurt from booming into the microphone.

The Playground was, of course, *packed* with Toons. They spilled out of tunnels, windows, climbed to the top of the gazebo, stood in the pond. They surrounded the plaza with eager faces. In front of Toon Hall, on a stage, sat the outgoing Council next to the new Council. Ichabod, as the only incumbent to be reelected, sat between them. Eileen and Constance sat in the middle, and Aleck and Susan Fletcher (already sworn in by now) were on the far right. Past Mayors, Mickey Elias and Roy Law, sat behind Eileen and Constance on an elevation. Surrounding the stage itself were Toontown’s VIPs: Dr. Byte, Dr. Sensitive, Declan Antlin Clarabelle Cow, Vavarro VaVoom, who was beaming at his daughter, Professor Pete, the paid members of the Toon Resistance including Piggy Pie, Tori Dorrance, Horace Calves, the whole lot. It was a major affair and Toontown was rife with anticipation. Piggy Pie was thrilled to be a part of the ceremony, and she could see Hog in the crowd giving her thumbs-ups.

“With that,” Eileen said, “we have now concluded the Toon Patrol and Council inaugurations. Before we commence the Mayoral swearing-in, I will defer to Slate Oldman, Councillor from the Brrrgh, to deliver a statement on behalf of the new Toon Council.

Vidalia VaVoom, Mulaney Chortle, Barnacle Barbara, Doe Clark, and Ichabod Irving stood to let Slate Oldman pass them to the microphone. They clapped fervently for him.

“Thank you, Madam Mayor,” Slate said. “It is an honor to be the last to address you with that title. We the Council have found the model you have crafted to be one of honor and integrity and the highest worth. As the newly-elected representatives of Toontown, we must put our best paws forward to be an example for Toons both young and old. We must lead with the gumption and tranquility of our forebearers. We must not let scandal divide us, and will never be corrupt. We pledge to serve honestly, truthfully, justly.”

He cleared his throat. Piggy Pie saw some snowflakes tingling around his fingertips. Piggy Pie hated the term, but she often forgot Slate was a “BioFreak.”

“But we must also remember,” Slate said louder, “that the Cogs are a real and dangerous threat to Toontown. The Cogs were designed by a madman who idolized the power-hungry and vicious foxes of the Kingdom of Vulpus.”

Gasps rippled through the crowd. Never at an Inauguration had a fox been mentioned.

“Dr. Adam Molecule wanted his Cogs to act like how he imagined the foxes would. They are inherently evil, they are not mild or timid or a casual pedestrian any longer. Each Cog wants to destroy you. Each Cog packs the terror and malice that Dr. Molecule dreamt would bring about the end of Toontown and the rise of a Cog empire. This is *our* home and we will *not* let the Cogs destroy us. We the Council pledge our allegiance to the Toon Resistance, and urge every citizen to take up gags in arms against the Cogs.”

Slate gestured at Eileen.

“Our outgoing Mayor paved the way for us to destroy the Cogs. It doesn’t matter that it’s been a few weeks since anyone has seen them. They’re out there. They’re waiting. And they will return. You must be ready! No one can guarantee they’ll be there to protect you. You must protect yourself!”

The crowd cheered. Piggy Pie saw some people stare in disbelief or anger. It was hard for her to imagine that there were Toons who didn’t care about fighting the Cogs, but they were definitely there. Three of them had just been voted out of Council. Or two booted, one resigned. Piggy Pie now looked at the faces of Paula Behr, Ahab Ishmael, and Mortimer Myles. They looked downright livid.

Slate held up a paw, snowflakes swirling through his fingers.

“That is all we the Council wanted to convey now. And we do not mean to frighten or fear monger, but simply to warn. To educate. To put all of us on the same playing field. Now, in closing, we the Council want to thank Eileen Irenic for her service as Mayor to Toontown.”

Slate beckoned to Eileen, and Piggy Pie saw her hesitantly stand.

“Eileen took the job after we the people put her on the seat. It was the first election by acclamation in Toontown and I doubt it will ever occur again. We had just returned from the world of Fantasyland and the Exodus which saved us, and we were scared. We needed new leadership and we turned to the woman who had defied the Cogs the loudest. She has been one of the most exceptional Mayors in Toontown’s history and I think all of us owe her a display of gratitude.”

Slate stepped back from the microphone and began clapping. Vidalia and Mulaney Chortle stood next, followed by Doe Clark, Ichabod, and Barnacle Barbara. Mickey and Roy jumped to their feet. Piggy Pie leapt to her trotters. The applause became deafening as the entire Playground clapped and cheered and whistled for Eileen. The noise became so clamorous that echoes sounded like explosions. And it continued. For at least a full two minutes. Eileen stood with her face redder than her natural maroon color and bowed in appreciation. Tears welled in her eyes and she mouthed “thank you” over and over again. Finally, the applause subsided, but Eileen now knew just how grateful everyone was for her.

“Lastly,” Slate said, “we—no wait! Eileen don’t go anywhere!”

The crowd giggled as Eileen had tried to slink back to her seat.

“We want to make it known just how much we think Eileen deserves to be recognized. Until now, she has been known as Acting Mayor of Toontown. She only served eight months, one of the shortest tenures. But in that time, she accomplished more than most have done in eight years. It is for that reason that we the Council believe that she should be known as more than former Acting Mayor of Toontown. I propose to my Councillors now for immediate review that Eileen Irenic be henceforth known retroactively as the 52nd Mayor of Toontown.”

The crowd went wild. It was an extremely gracious gesture. To put Eileen in the official line of Mayors was such a technicality, but it obviously meant so much to Eileen, who instantly began weeping. The new Council stood and one by one gave agreement for the proposal.

“Then it’s official,” Slate announced, “Eileen Irenic is the 52nd Mayor of Toontown. I now invite the 52nd Mayor of Toontown to the microphone along with Constance Miller, who will be sworn in as the 53rd Mayor of Toontown.”

It took Eileen several minutes to compose herself before taking the stand opposite Constance.

“Constance Miller,” Eileen said with a cracked voice, “please place your paw over the Constitution of Toontown and recite after me.”

Constance did so. The two women faced each other, the power between them not unknown by anyone. They were the pinnacles of Toontown’s modern history. The history that paralleled the Cogs.

“I, Constance Miller.”

“I, Constance Miller.”

“Do solemnly swear.”

“Do solemnly swear.”

“That I will faithfully and impartially execute the office of Mayor of Toontown.”

“That I will faithfully and impartially execute the office of Mayor of Toontown.”

“With dignity, integrity, honesty, valor, and justice.”

“With dignity, integrity, honesty, valor, and justice.”

“I will not let my vision be clouded by forces that would do us harm.”

“I will not let my vision be clouded by forces that would do us harm.”

“And I will bring honor to Toontown.”

“And I will bring honor to Toontown.”

“Constance Miller, congratulations! You are the 53rd Mayor of Toontown!”

## Production

### Continuity and Story Arcs

The collapse of the Sellbot Headquarters tunnel was finally cleaned up, revealing the corpses of the two dead Toons. Mortimer Myles orchestrated a scandal against Constance Miller by forcing Sepulchra Rigor to submit a fake autopsy, thus shaming Constance for not saving the Toons in time and unseating her from office. The plan backfired and Mortimer Myles resigned in shame. He was replaced by Vidalia VaVoom on the Council.

Bradley prepared for his reunion with Professor Pete, pondering the ongoing search for Ash Ingalls.

An attempt to attack Cashbot HQ went south when the Cashbots surprisingly had beefed security at their entrance, even shocking Mata Hairy. The ambush on the Toons led Eileen to believe that a mole might still exist within the ranks of the Toon Resistance.

Mickey Elias, Roy Law, Eileen Irenic, and Constance Miller gather together for a dinner as the four living Mayors of Toontown. Roy and Mickey hint at the existence of a book passed down through all the Mayors, known as the Mayor’s Manifest. Flippy never told Eileen about it, and thus neither have heard of it.

This was the first mention of Mayors Bolt Shockley, Card Tatum, and Oswald Locke. Card later became a supporting character in *War.*

The Diary of War’s history was divulged more in this episode. As such, the Diary Pig was once again mentioned as the Diary’s author.

The elephants and crocodiles were once two species in Toontown, before they went extinct.

### References

The dead Toon reaching out for “an absolution that never came” is a reference to a similar line from the 1997 film *Titanic*.

## Trivia

* The title of this episode is not a reference to anything, but simply alludes to the overall theme of the episode.
* At 9,694 words, this was at the time one of the longer episodes of Storytime.
	+ The length of this episode was originally planned to be relatively short, but as scene after scene was added, it became the 3rd longest episode at the time of publication.
	+ As more and more episodes surpassed 10,000 words, this one is no longer considered a "long episode."
* When the author was writing this episode, “Toon resources” was written as “human resources” and had to go back and be changed to reflect the species of the series.
* Mayor Oswald Locke’s name is a reference to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the predecessor to Mickey Mouse.
* Bolt Shockley’s name is a reference to Shockley, a member of the Toontown Rewritten team.
* This is the first episode to be published from the West Coast of the United States. Techncially, it was published on July 10 on the East Coast.