Truth Will Out

**"Truth Will Out"**is the sixth episode of *Contact* and the 41st episode overall.

The episode was published on January 19, 2020.

In the episode, five of the six Cartonians begin to assimilate to their new roles in Toontown's society, though the success of the Toon Council's sponsorship program is yet to be seen.

## The Episode

---Toontown Central---

-One Week Later-

“How was lunch?” Eileen Irenic asked Blair Fawkes as the latter handed back her empty platter.

“Tasty, as always. How are my friends?”

“Fine,” Eileen said, though she could only speak for Rook James. The crocodile was not exactly the most welcome houseguest. He was just far too extroverted for Eileen, who had grown accustomed to quiet home life. Though her apartments above the shop on Oak Street had once been lively every evening with her two little mice, the silence that had moved in after their deaths became something of routine comfort after days fighting off the Cogs. Rook felt like an unwanted breaker of that silence.

On the first night, he had asked her about her children. She had no idea how to explain to him that they had been murdered, along with her husband, and that her primary occupation in town was to stave off the harbingers of such misery.

Gratefully, Constance had moved into the guest room to help. Rook was staying in Constantine’s old bedroom.

As for the other Cartonians, they were assumedly doing fine as well. There was to be a meeting of all the sponsors either today or tomorrow to briefly go over how the program was progressing.

“That’s good,” Blair said. “I’d love it if one or more could eventually come visit me.”

Eileen glanced at Constance and Aleck, who did not respond.

“Maybe.”

All in all, Blair was a model prisoner. There had been zero issues with her since her arrival last year.

“I wanted to ask,” Blair said, approaching the bars, “is there anything I can do to help you defeat the Cogs?”

Eileen gaped.

“Who told you about the Cogs?”

“Clarabelle,” Blair said.

*Obviously*, Eileen thought angrily. Clarabelle couldn’t keep her damn mouth shut. Ever.

“If I’m going to be in here all the time,” Blair went on, “I’d like to be useful.”

“She can hammer license plates,” Eileen heard Constance mutter to Aleck.

“Thank you for your concern,” Eileen said curtly, “but we have the situation under control.”

That was kind of a lie. They had no idea when the Lawbots were going to attack. It had been months.

“Um,” Blair dropped her voice to a whisper, “could I be moved back to the Docks…? I don’t think I can tolerate Clarabelle’s gossiping anymore.”

Eileen barked a laugh and told Constance and Aleck what Blair had said, even though Clarabelle was assuredly in earshot.

“Absolutely not,” Constance cackled.

---Library of Toontown---

Doctor held the door of the library for Jerockle, and the chicken waddled in. Throughout his sponsorship of Jerockle Padraic, all he wanted to do was go to the library. That had been his occupation back in Cartonia: a librarian. He loved books and studying and researching, and being deprived of that during his imprisonment was apparently most difficult. Doctor ran the idea of a library card by Eileen, and she said it should be alright so long as he didn’t read anything from the Diary of War. So far, that was the one advantage the Toons had over the new arrivals; they did not know precisely what the Toons knew about Cartonia.

“There are so many books,” Jerockle gasped in awe at the selection. Doctor smiled and led his ward to the information desk.

“Shall we get you a library card?”

Jerockle nodded eagerly.

“Yes, please!”

Larry, one of the librarians, eyed Jerockle with suspicion as they approached.

“Hi, Doctor,” Larry said, not taking his eyes off the Cartonian. “What can I help you with?”

“I would like to get a library card for Jerockle. This has been approved by Eileen, and by me as his sponsor.”

Larry fulfilled the request, but was visibly uncomfortable. Jerockle sighed in frustration.

“I wish everyone wasn’t afraid of me,” he groaned.

“I wish we didn’t have reason to be,” Doctor said in response.

After Jerockle was issued his card, and given a rundown on the library’s policies, Doctor led him to the genealogy room in the back of the library.

“I usually come here to study my family’s ancestry,” Doctor explained, weaving through the fiction shelves.

“That’s an interesting study,” Jerockle mused. “Do you have a large family?”

“Not immediately,” Doctor frowned. “I’m an only child and both my parents died young. My father didn’t have any siblings, and my mother only had a sister who bore no issue. I’ve been tracing their ancestries further up the tree in hoping of finding some long-lost cousins.”

“Any luck so far?”

“Some,” Doctor smiled.

The genealogy room’s front facade was glass, and passersby could view directly inside. Doctor was usually fortunate to find the room empty, but today there was one occupant, who was gathering his belongings.

“Mister Mayor!” Doctor exclaimed in surprise. “How are you?”

Mickey Elias nearly dropped his books.

“Oh! Hello. I didn’t see…never mind. I’m fine. And you?”

“Fine,” Doctor said uneasily. “Have you met Jerockle Padraic?”

“Uh,” Mickey glanced at the chicken. “No. Hello.”

Jerockle extended his wing, but Mickey’s paws were too full to shake. Instead, he gave both of them curt farewells and scurried off.

“Sorry about that,” Doctor said, staring in confusion. “He’s usually far kinder. He must have something on his mind.”

Jerockle turned to look around the genealogy room.

“Maybe he discovered a terrible family secret.”

Doctor scoffed.

“We’ve all got those.”

Inside the room, Doctor unrolled the family tree he was working on and showed Jerockle.

“It’s impressive,” Jerockle complimented. “How long have you been working on this?”

“Several years,” Doctor replied. “It’s my favorite pastime.”

It was clear to Doctor that Jerockle didn’t want to spend much time in here. He wanted to wander the library’s halls. Jerockle wouldn’t know it, but the only book in the entire collection that was written before Toontown’s settlement was the Diary of War. That meant that every single title, every single work, and each item on every shelf was brand new. There was a wealth of knowledge out there to be discovered, but Doctor was keeping him in here.

“What’s the Diary of War?” Jerockle asked suddenly. “Declan brought it up in the interviews last week.”

Doctor did not answer right away. In fact, he remained silent, and Jerockle shifted uncomfortably.

“Is it a secret…?”

“It’s not for me to share right now,” Doctor said finally. He had called the head librarian before their visit today and asked him to shelve all copies of the Diary so that Jerockle could not gain access to one. The librarian had already stashed all public copies in a vault since the Cartonians’ release. No one was taking any chances.

Jerockle swallowed.

“Will I ever get a chance to see it?”

“I don’t know.”

Doctor distracted Jerockle by pulling up a digital copy of the family history of Clarabelle Cow. Hers had been carefully documented by her ancestors, from the first settlers to the end of the line. Doctor explained how crocodiles and elephants had gone extinct in Toontown, and cows were next.

“And…no chickens?”

“None.”

“Why?”

*Because chickens are cowards*.

Doctor did not have a proper response.

“It’s so crazy to me,” Jerockle muttered, “that we come from the same place. Not the exact same place—Ursus is quite far from Gallix—but you’re still Cartonian. In a sense.

The fur on Doctor’s neck prickled. He was *not* Cartonian. He was a Toon.

“What’s Gallix like?”

Jerockle snorted.

“There is no Gallix. There was, at one point. And the foxes still refer to it as the general area where chickens live, but the Kingdom has long since fallen.”

“What happened to it?” Doctor asked, even though he knew the answer.

“Our King didn’t fight for it. He let the foxes in, and the deer. There was no hope once he gave away our independence.”

Doctor furrowed his eyebrows. That was an interesting perspective on it. The Diary of War described the brutal public murder of the King of Gallix by the Vixen Queen. A surefire way to ensure the other Kingdoms of the Summer Sun alliance would not question the Vixen Queen’s might, and the terror she possessed.

“Could you show me the nonfiction section, please?” Jerockle asked, eager to go.

“Alright.”

As Doctor replaced his work in a cubby on the far wall, he noticed Mickey had left a notepad behind. There wasn’t much writing on it, which was why Doctor overlooked it when he first came in. He swiped it off the table.

Jerockle got lost in the nonfiction history books of Toontown. Doctor restricted him to only books that did not contain mentions of the time before settlement. One was the second volume of the renowned autobiography of Card Tatum, the last elephant in Toontown. It solely detailed his tenure as Mayor and his struggles in leaving Toontown without an elephant to carry on the species’ legacy. Another was a recent publication of an atlas of Toontown. That seemed like a harmless read.

Doctor sat in an armchair across from Jerockle and tapped Mickey’s notepad against his leg. Out of curiosity, he stole a glance at what was written on it. There were a few years, and a mathematical calculation. The word “Willie” caught Doctor’s eye, but not as much as the phrase at the very top, only three words, but ominously written in clear capital letters:

**TRUTH WILL OUT**

---The Pie Estate---

Lunch was eaten quietly, with Piggy Pie’s brothers completely silent around Cale Metfin. Only Hog would speak directly to her, besides Piggy of course. Muddy and Truffle acted as if she wasn’t there, and Potbelly and Hamlet would speak to her through Piggy or Hog.

It only mildly vexed Piggy Pie, primarily because it was an added chore for her. Cale was an easy guest in the home, and even contributed to the estate’s upkeep. Even though Muddy, Potbelly, Truffle, and Hamlet only held part-time jobs and there was always somebody on the estate, very few errands were actually accomplished. The pond was disgusting, and the paths were overgrown with weeds. Piggy Pie’s house was immaculately kept, and Hog’s was in decent condition. She had not been in Potbelly’s in years because the last time caused her to faint from the pungent smell in the doorway alone.

The Pie Estate was comprised of six one-bedroom homes arranged in a circle around a central house, or what Piggy’s father called the Den. The two-story house had four bedrooms and a large living room and dining space. It was where Piggy spent the majority of her time with her siblings. The house was overflowing with happy childhood memories, but not on the second floor. That was where Mom and Dad had died. Where her half-brothers’ mother died. Where all six Pie children were orphaned.

Piggy Pie would never forget watching her parents succumb to swine flu. Mom first, then Dad. She wasn’t there when Mom gave her last breath, but she was for her father. Boar Pie had recounted his second wife’s final words, which still made no sense to Piggy Pie.

“Mom said…” Dad had wheezed, barely intelligible, “she is….she was….and now…now, he is. Hog is. But then…then, you are.”

Piggy was almost certain now that she had misheard, and that Dad had been trying to convey something else but his words blended together, or he forgot to add some. It was very likely unimportant, and just Mom trying to say she loved them.

“Piggy,” Hamlet said suddenly. “Would Cale like a second helping?”

“Cale?” Piggy said, turning to the duck. She shook her head timidly.

“No, Hamlet. Cale would not like a second helping.”

Truffle smirked. The awkward lunch was interrupted by the phone ringing. Hog went to answer it.

“Piggy!” he called from the kitchen, and Piggy Pie scurried to the phone.

“Hello?”

“It’s Eileen. The sponsor meeting is today at Toon Hall. 3:00. Will you be able to make it?”

“For sure. I’ll bring Hog. He’s been helping out.”

---Ingalls Estate---

Professor Pete was bored. Taking care of his son was his top priority, but there wasn’t much that needed to be done on a daily basis. Ash never moved, and didn’t require as much assistance as someone who was cognizant.

So Pete was cleaning the house. All of Laura’s possessions were still around, and needed to be sorted through. All her clothes could be donated, and Pete threw out the makeup. He also got rid of the oriental rug that decorated the foyer. It was hideous, he always hated it, and he doubted Laura’s memory would be tarnished by setting the ugly thing on fire.

That afternoon, Pete found a stack of photo albums in the dining room hutch. He sat with his back against the cabinet and flipped through the pages. They were recent, and depicted Ash’s high school years. He marveled at a photo of Ash with his War History class presentation. He crafted a diorama of the Siege of Talonclaw Castle, a pivotal event in the War. The assignment was to create something in relation to a major moment from the War as if the student were a citizen of what would have been their home nation. Therefore, Ash had to choose a piece of history from the cat Kingdom of Felexa. The Siege of Talonclaw Castle was probably one of the historical moments that Pete found most interesting. It turned the cats against the foxes, with whom they originally aligned. After that day, the Felexan foxes joined the Granite Bloc, and as a result cats were a welcome addition to the expedition out of Cartonia. If not for that siege, there wouldn’t be cats in Toontown.

Pete turned the page, and sighed. There was Laura, Ash, and Dr. Cumulo Nimbus. Pete missed Cumulo dearly, as the two had been extremely close friends. Cumulo was without a doubt the cleverest Toon in history. In the span of a few years, he had developed the Emergency Portal and even lived to see its use.

Of course, it was gone now, and so was he. Pete looked up into the living room. He had died there. Laura’s transport hole, sacrificially given, had swallowed both Pete and Cumulo and taken them to Fantasyland. Cumulo’s body was still there, in that halfway plane. Only the living were able to return from Exodus.

Pete closed the albums and lifted himself to his feet. Outside, the sun was shining as bright as it was everyday. He remembered too well the dark rain clouds that took the Toons away. Shuddering, he returned to his son’s bedside, preferring not to dwell on the atrocities of his past.

---Toon Hall---

The five released Cartonians were taken to the Toontown Central gag shop, where Clara Clark and Clark Clark agreed to look after them for an hour. Though the five were slightly irritated to be treated like young children that were incapable of caring for themselves, Eileen ignored them.

In the Toon Hall council chamber, the sponsors of the Cartonians gathered.

Eileen and Constance for Rook James.

Piggy and Hog Pie for Cale Metfin.

Slate Oldman for Evelyn Quin.

Doctor for Jerockle Padraic.

Tori Dorrance and Horace Calves for Tick Hunter.

Aleck Harding and Susan Fletcher were present as well, in addition to Deputy Wiggle McDiggle for her jurisdiction over Blair Fawkes.

“Right,” Constance said, “well, shall we go around the table and say how we feel? I’ll take notes so I can bring the reports to the Toon Council this week.”

“I’ll go first,” Slate said. “Evelyn has been a fine companion to have around. She’s been learning bookkeeping in my shop, so that she may learn a trade. She was already an administrator back in Cartonia, so I’m just informing her on Toon customs. So far, she has not indicated any maliciousness and I feel perfectly comfortable having her in my home. I frequently bring her to the Pie Estate to meet with her sister. Both were hesitant to use their water powers, but I haven’t pried into that.”

“I’ll jump in,” Piggy said, “since Cale was mentioned. We also take her to Slate’s so Cale can see Evelyn. Long-term they’re going to probably want to live together, so it may behoove one of us to take in the other.”

“I’m willing to do that,” Slate volunteered with a smile. “We can work out a date for that later. I think it’s too soon, don’t you?”

“Absolutely,” Hog said. “Cale has not really warmed up to our brothers, but then again neither have they to her. Cale barely speaks, unless to Evelyn. We’re not sure what kind of career she’d want to pursue here in Toontown.”

“Well,” Doctor jumped in, “Jerockle only wants to go to the library. I got him a library card this morning. He’s interested primarily in nonfiction, and all copies of the Diary of War have been kept out of sight. I believe Jerockle will want to apply for any open position at the library, so I’ll monitor those for him.”

Horace coughed. Everyone turned to him.

“Tick Hunter is a strange fellow,” he reported. “He’s quiet, but not in the same sense as Cale. She’s just…timid and shy. He’s…broody. We can’t tell what he’s thinking, and that can be alarming. Tori and I have been assisted in looking over him by some of our friends, all members of the Toon Resistance. No one feels perfectly comfortable around him. There’s something dark in his mind, which I like to believe is from a troubled past, and not from a place of malicious intent.”

“Yeah…” Tori agreed. “He’s creepy. He works out a lot with Horace, but the look on his face…it’s as if he’s preparing for something.”

Eileen got chills, and shook her head.

“Do we need to reimprison him?”

“I don’t know,” Horace said truthfully. “I have more in common with him than Tori, so I think he’s best in my house. But I don’t know how best to proceed. Do you think we should start looking at part-time jobs for them? Maybe he just needs something to do during the day. He can work in the harbor or on a construction site.”

Hog Pie snorted.

“His antlers wouldn’t fit in a hard hat.”

The table was quiet, but then everyone laughed. It was a welcome break in the serious tensions of the conversation.

“I think jobs is a good idea,” Eileen said after everyone settled. “Just not yet. Maybe in a month or so. For now, we just have to assimilate them into society and determine what they want moving forward.”

“They want Blair freed,” Slate muttered. “Evelyn asks about it quite frequently.”

“So does Tick,” Tori added.

“And Jerockle.”

“Eileen,” Piggy said, leaning forward, “you haven’t told us about Rook.”

“Oh.”

Eileen sighed. “I don’t know if I can sponsor him anymore, honestly.”

She told them about how difficult it was to have him in the home, sleeping in Constantine’s bed as if he was his replacement.

“Would anyone be interested in taking him?”

Aleck immediately raised his paw.

“I’d be happy to take him off your hands. I’ll get him from the gag shop after this.”

“And I’ll bring over his belongings from your house,” Constance smiled.

Doctor looked around the table, waiting for anyone else to speak.

“So…” he began, “do we think the sponsorship program is working?”

Mild agreement floated through the room. No one was willing to commit to a resounding affirmation.

“Well,” Eileen said, “then I guess we continue.”

“What about Blair?” Wiggle McDiggle asked cordially from the corner.

“She stays exactly where she is,” Constance said, “until the Toon Council determines a release date.”

Eileen pictured the Toon Council, and where the six votes would land. She couldn’t see any of them voting in favor of releasing Blair Fawkes into society. It was very likely the fox would die in prison.

---Polar Place---

Deputy Paul Pickaxe closed his Polar Place office door and locked up. The last Toon Resources Officer was grabbing her coat.

“Any plans this evening, Karen?” Paul asked politely. She grinned goofily.

“I’m seeing Bjorn again. Dinner at the Downhill Diner!”

“Classic,” Paul grinned. “Have a nice time!”

“What about you?” Karen asked as the two exited the HQ.

“Probably just a movie. Maybe some paperwork. I have a meeting with Susan Fletcher tomorrow.”

Karen frowned.

“You’ll miss the catered ice cream Diane is bringing in. Oh well, we’ll save you one.”

“Much appreciated. Have a nice night!”

“You as well!”

Paul turned in the opposite direction and hurried back to his apartment. He lived above the Shovel Hovel. It was extremely affordable, and in such a quiet part of the neighborhood. As he rounded the street corner in the heavy snow, he bumped into Slate Oldman and Evelyn Quin.

“Slate!” he exclaimed. “Evelyn! Sorry I didn’t see you through the snowfall.”

“That’s alright,” Evelyn said cheerily. “I love how there’s so much snow here!”

“It’s the best part of the Brrrgh,” Paul quoted from a tourism advert. Those who loved the cold moved here.

“Do you know if Johnny is still open?” Slate asked. “I can’t remember if he closes early on Tuesdays.”

“He does,” Paul said with a frown. “Were you hoping to get the Sweater Lodge’s famous hot cocoa?”

Evelyn nodded eagerly. “It’s my new favorite beverage.”

“Ah,” Paul thought for a moment. “Well, I have some of his take-home powder mix in my apartment. I’d be happy to have you both in for mugs of hot chocolate.”

Slate turned to Evelyn.

“What do you think?”

“Works for me!”

The three entered the Shovel Hovel’s side entrance and climbed to Paul’s second-floor apartment. As they shrugged off all their layers, Paul got busy making the cocoa.

“Do you live by yourself?” Evelyn asked, bending over to look into one of the picture frames.

“I do,” Paul said. “I used to have a fish but she died from the cold. Here’s your cocoa.”

Evelyn gingerly took the mug and held it close.

“Does it snow in Cartonia?” Paul asked. Slate sunk into an armchair but listened closely.

“In the north, of course,” Evelyn said. “Everywhere in the winter. I worked on the Gulf of Cartoon and sometimes it would ice over. Des and I would ice skate…”

She trailed off, remembering her dead husband. She drank her hot chocolate to fill the silence. Paul, without a suitable response, drank his as well.

The floor rumbled beneath his feet and he stared down in confusion. Was it the boiler again? He had to talk to the landlord about that.

Slate gasped, and grabbed his chest. Evelyn dropped her mug on an end table and rushed to his side.

“Slate?” she yelled. “Are you alright?”

Paul felt his own chest contract, and knew at once it was his laff. Something was happening…

The floor turned grey. It started in one spot, near the kitchen, and then it spread, like cancer, across the apartment. The grey seeped up the walls, and over the windows, drowning out the crepuscular light. The furniture, everything, drained of its pigment. Evelyn was standing, watching, eyes wide. Slate slumped in his chair.

Paul moved slowly to the darkened windows, expecting the Shovel Hovel to turn into a Cog building. He knew this was the Lawbots’ doing. This was their strike.

But the Cog building never came. The grayness became so complete, and so suffocating, that Paul fell over in sadness. His laff depleted to zero. Slate fell to the floor.

Evelyn Quin ran for the phone.

---Toon Hall---

Aleck and Constance were laughing, reminiscing on old times when they were mere officers of the Toon Patrol. Now, they were Mayor of Toontown and Chief of the Toon Patrol. How far they’ve come.

Constance’s receptionist barged into the office, out of breath.

“Aleck!” she gasped. “Urgent telephone call for you!”

“Put it on speaker.”

The receptionist patched them through. Constance and Aleck gathered around the phone.

“This is Aleck Harding.”

“ALECK!” a shrill voice screamed. “I think they’re dead! They’re…well…they’re just slumped over! And everything’s gone grey! I don’t know what to do!”

Aleck stared at Constance.

“Who is this?”

“Evelyn Quin! I’m on Polar Place in Deputy Paul Pickaxe’s apartment. I don’t remember the name of the building. Something about shovels. And…I can’t see outside. The windows have gone grey. I don’t want to leave them. Slate is here too…Oh, blind me, what’s happened?”

Aleck and Constance gaped at each other.

“It’s gone grey?” Aleck repeated.

“Cogs,” Constance gasped. “Evelyn! Stay there! We’re coming!”

## Production

### Continuity and Story Arcs

The five non-fox Cartonians remained under the sponsorship program with mild success. With the exception of Tori  and Horace’s reservations about Tick Hunter, everyone else believed the others were harmless. Blair was kept in prison. Because of Eileen’s discomfort with having Rook in her home, he was moved to Aleck Harding’s charge.

Jerockle Padraic was granted a library card. During his first visit to the library, Jerockle asked about the Diary of War. They also encountered Mickey Elias, who appeared to be doing research.

This episode mentioned the public murder of the King of Gallix by the Vixen Queen during the War.

Piggy Pie references the death of her parents (“Six Little Pigs”) and her father’s cryptic last words.

Pete Ingalls found a diorama done by his son in school. It depicted the Siege of Talonclaw Castle, the seat of the Felexan cat government in Cartonia. The siege turned the cats against their fox allies, and joined the Granite Bloc.

Pete relived the moment he was sent to Fantasyland in “Rain,” and Dr. Cumulo Nimbus’s sacrifice.

The Lawbots struck at the end of the episode, turning Paul Pickaxe’s apartment grey, though not as a traditional Cog building.

## Trivia

* The title of this episode comes from Mickey Elias's notes that he left behind in the library. Doctor notices the three words written at the top of the notepad. The actual phrase "truth will out" was penned by William Shakespeare in *The Merchant of Venice*.
* The Siege of Talonclaw Castle is an allegory for Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union in that the foxes turned on their ally in the same way the Nazi Reich turned on the USSR in World War II.
* Both the siege of the Felexan house of government and the execution of Gallix’s King were original plans for the Cartonian history, devised during the early episodes of the first season.