This Too Shall Pass

**"This Too Shall Pass"**is the eighth episode of *Contact* and the 43rd episode overall.

The episode was published on February 2, 2020.

In the episode, the Toons scramble to defend themselves against the newest threat coming from Lawbot Headquarters, and develop a counterattack that could end the Cogs for good.

## The Episode

---The Ingalls Estate---

-Present Day-

As Alice Carver and Bradley Wolfe set off to find Professor Patrick Prepostera, Eileen Irenic led Constance Miller, Slate Oldman, Barnacle Barbara, and Vidalia VaVoom to the Ingalls Estate. It was eerie, to appear on someone’s private property after midnight. The lights of the house were dark, but Eileen nonetheless rang the doorbell. Twice.

Minutes later, as the lights switched on from room to room, Pete Ingalls appeared at the door. He was wearing a set of very comfortable pajamas.

“Hey, Pete,” Eileen said, “I’m so sorry to bother you this late. It’s important. May we come in?”

Pete was not likely to refuse a former Mayor’s midnight request, so he beckoned them over the threshold. Before he could engage in pleasantries or ask if anyone needed anything, Constance began speaking.

“The Cogs have begun a takeover of the Brrrgh. The buildings are turning grey, and we can’t use gags to stop the wave. Cogs don’t live inside them, but Toons can still go sad. Clarabelle Cow and Blair Fawkes have been kidnapped by the Lawbots. We think that if we produce laff rain over Toontown, we can end Cog Nation for good. Can you and Prepostera make it rain again, like how you did for Exodus?”

Pete’s eyes were wide. He backed up so he could lower himself into an armchair. He was silent for a while, his gaze fixated on Eileen.

“I don’t know,” he said finally. “Cumulo…was the brains behind the rain and the Exodus. I simply provided the transport and Patrick crafted Fantasyland. The rain itself…”

“But you have his journal,” Constance said. “You had it when we left Fantasyland. It was empty when we were there, and we could never figure out whose it was. But after you and Slate activated the rain clouds over Fantasyland to bring us back, you brought that journal back with you.”

Pete frowned. He turned his head to look at his desk. Taking the hint, Barbara walked over and lifted a leather-bound journal from the wood.

“C.N.,” she read off the back. “This was Dr. Cumulo Nimbus’s.”

Pete nodded. When no one else said anything, Eileen spoke up, her voice grave.

“Pete, please. We don’t have time. Bradly and Alice are bringing Patrick here. We need the two of you, now more than ever. I know you have Ash to worry about, but we’ll all die here unless we stop the Cogs. We can’t live in a world of sadness.”

As if on cue, the front door was thrown open and Patrick Prepostera was led in. Alice and Bradley presented him triumphantly. He too was wearing pajamas. Eileen quickly filled him in, though it became apparent that Alice and Bradley had already given him the gist.

“Of course I’ll help,” he said instantly. “Pete has Cumulo’s journal, and we were there during much of the process. I don’t imagine it would be too difficult. We just need rain. No transport, no memory loss, no Fantasyland. The one thing we *will* need is gags. Lots of them.”

“I’ll tell the gag shops,” Vidalia volunteered. “Slate, will you help us melt them down like you did for the serum?”

“Absolutely.”

“Go now,” Constance ordered. “Wake the Clark family. They must start this instant.”

It was nearly 1am, but Vidalia and Slate teleported away at once.

“Ash,” Pete murmured. “I can’t leave him…not for a second.”

“We’ll watch over him,” Alice said. “Bradley and I. Toontown called on you once before and you successfully delivered us out of misery. We need you to do it one more time. Not just for the town, but for Ash. The Cogs did this to him. Molecule did this to him. If you stand idly by, you’ll be an accomplice to their evil.”

It was a bit much, but it stirred Pete. He reluctantly agreed.

“Let’s begin,” Patrick said.

---Toontown Central---

“Where is she?!” Tick Hunter bellowed, slamming his fist against the wall of Toon HQ. “You *promised* she’d be safe here!”

Rook and Jerockle attempted to calm their friend, while Cale and Evelyn stood to the side, dazed. The group had splintered, with half the Toon Council and Toon Resistance scrambling to assemble a plan to implement a deluge of rain, and the other half trying to discern where Blair and Clarabelle had gone.

Aleck Harding held up his hands defensively.

“Blair was taken by the Cogs. We’ll try to get her back.”

“But *why*?” Cale asked. “Why would the…quaggas…take her? She barely knows anything about this town.”

Aleck shrugged.

“Maybe they mistook Blair for Clarabelle, or couldn’t tell the difference so they just took both.”

“That could be,” Ichabod Irving remarked. “I remember a memorandum from the Cogs that implied they couldn’t tell which species was which.”

“Or,” Piggy Pie theorized, “Clarabelle convinced the Cogs to take Blair too because she is a fox and could get Clarabelle back to Bovo.”

Evelyn raised her head.

“Bovo?”

“What does she want from Bovo?” Cale asked. Piggy Pie frowned. She had never held a particular interest in history, but it was strange how the Cartonians possessed three centuries of knowledge that the Toons would never have been able to access otherwise. Piggy Pie only knew that Bovo was a Kingdom of Cartonia, ruled by cows, aligned with the Granite Bloc, and the ancestral homeland of Clarabelle’s family. She remembered the King of Bovo was assassinated during the War. There had been a gory reenactment documentary shown in class.

“She wants children,” Doctor said hurriedly. “She’s the last of her kind here. If she were to reach Bovo, she could procreate.”

Cale wrinkled her beak.

“Gross.”

“What has become of Bovo?” Doctor asked curiously. The Cartonians answered all at once.

“Subjugated.”

“Enslaved.”

“Destroyed.”

“Allies of Vulpus.”

“Brainwashed.”

Doctor bit his lip.

“Ah.”

Tick stepped up to Aleck.

“What are you going to do? How are you going to bring her back? She’s done *nothing* wrong, unlike your Clarabelle.”

Aleck pushed him back.

“We’ll put out a bulletin and launch another manhunt. I doubt it’ll do much good as it’s clear they’ve both been taken to Lawbot Headquarters. But our priority is to retrieve them both. As for her innocence, that is yet to be determined.”

Rook threw back his head. His scales clattered with the motion.

“How much longer does she have to sit in prison before you see she poses no threat to Toontown?”

No one responded.

---The Next Morning--

-Toontown Television Studios-

Declan was awoken early in the morning to record a broadcast that would air on loop throughout the day. His grogginess wore off as soon as he learned the fox was set free.

“Good morning, Toontown,” he began. He was in front of a backdrop depicting the grey streets of the Brrrgh. “As many of you are aware, the Lawbots struck yesterday evening and have inexplicably turned the serene blue buildings of the Brrrgh into hideous grey Cog buildings. But these are different than the ones we’re used to. We cannot fight Cogs within them. We cannot take them back. Gags are impervious against them. The situation is dire, and as of this broadcast, recorded at 6:32, the grey wave has reached Baritone Boulevard and Lighthouse Lane. It is expected that both Melodyland and the Docks will be entirely grey by the end of the day. Toons are encouraged to take only what they need to survive and flee to the Gardens and Toontown Central.”

Declan paused as he shifted his notes.

“Rest assured, the Toon Resistance and Toon Council have a plan. And we will not go quietly. Now, for urgent business: the Cogs have broken into Toon HQ in Toontown Central and have freed Clarabelle Cow and Blair Fawkes from prison. As you are no doubt aware, Clarabelle Cow is guilty of high treason against this town and cannot be trusted. If anyone has any information to her, or Ms. Fawkes’ whereabouts, they are encouraged to step forward. Neither can be trusted.”

---Polar Place---

Ensconced in a Lawbot Cog suit, Vidalia VaVoom glared up at the looming tower of Lawbot Headquarters. Her gag pouch rested inside her suit, and she was ready to fight. Eileen had advised against any violent action against the Lawbots, as the extent of their plans were not known. Vidalia could be walking into an ambush.

But she didn’t care.

Clarabelle’s betrayal of Toontown ran deeper for Vidalia than anyone else. For years, decades, Clarabelle had been Vidalia’s best friend. Her closest confidante. Someone who she trusted above all else. Somebody she loved.

In the course of the past year, ever since the Toons returned from Exodus, both had changed. Vidalia believed she changed for the better. She wasn’t an insipid gossip anymore who cared more about the latest trends than about real current events. She was a Councilmember, a leader of Toontown. Her run for Mayor had been foolish and fanned by ego and popularity, but she truly believed that she was making a difference.

Clarabelle had changed too. She joined the Cogs and turned against her town, all in an effort to achieve the impossible. Vidalia understood the importance of motherhood to Clarabelle, but Vidalia could not understand why she would go to such illegal and immoral lengths to have calves of her own. Perhaps Vidalia would never understand, as the horses were plentiful and she would never be faced with the same ugly reality.

At Clarabelle’s trial, Vidalia had spat at her and decried her treason. She said she hated her. In most senses, that was true. But Vidalia could not think of her old friend and not fondly remember the times they shared before Exodus. Before the Cogs. Before everything.

She took a deep breath. It was time to reclaim Toontown’s prisoners. Alone, if necessary.

But as she stepped forward, she heard voices.

Eileen waited in the shadows of Polar Place, a laff patch over her heart. Lawbots were marching in unison, smug in their reclamation of the Brrrgh. Flippy came up behind her.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I tried to stop it.”

“No,” Eileen turned to him. “Don’t apologize. You tipped us off to Clarabelle’s escape.”

“Not fast enough.”

“What happened to you?” Eileen asked in concern, taking in his damaged Cog suit.

“The District Attorney,” Flippy groaned. “I went to stop him. I wanted him to reverse the Cog conversion, but he must have known I’d try. He correctly believes there’s something wrong with my wiring, so he bolted me to the floor and that’s how they cracked the disabled maps.”

Eileen swallowed hard.

“Now what?”

“They made a copy of my brain chip,” Flippy said. “They’re eventually going to determine how to disable the Etiquette Algorithm, which will allow them to kill unprovoked. It’ll be worse than before Exodus. But it will only affect the Lawbots. When I was in Lawbot Tower One, I could hear the same buzz of an electrical terminus. Just like the one in Cashbot Headquarters that put Toons in the jury pool. The Lawbots have become independent and don’t care if the Cashbots die out.”

“I warned the Resistance against any attack on Lawbot HQ. We don’t know what defenses they’ll mount.”

“Good idea,” Flippy agreed. “Going in there would be suicide. But you said you have a plan?”

Eileen dropped her voice to a whisper.

“Yes,” she muttered. “I’ll let you know the day of. But I’ll need all of your Cashbots on the streets. They cannot be in the Mints. Do you understand? They have to be outdoors.”

Flippy nodded, more of a bob.

“Don’t tell me anything else. If the DA tries to interrogate me again by force, I’m not sure which information will leak. But let me know the date and time. And everyone will be there.”

Eileen smiled.

“It’s really good to have you back, Flippy.”

“*Flippy?*” someone gasped. Eileen whirled around. A Bottom Feeder with the head of Vidalia VaVoom was standing on the curb.

“Vidalia!” Eileen exclaimed. “What are you doing?”

“I’m…” Vidalia thumbed over her shoulder. “Well, I was going to go kill Clarabelle, but then I heard that Cog say it would be suicide. But then *I* heard *you* say that *his* name is Flippy? Like our Flippy?”

Eileen really did not want to have to explain all this right now, but Vidalia was crazy to storm Lawbot HQ on her own, so she had to keep her out of there.

“This is Flippy. Our Flippy. Mayor Flippy. He sacrificed himself on Loopy Lane to end Operation Sever. Somehow he was revived as a Cog, but he retained his toonity. He’s been working as a double agent ever since. He’s the seventh juror who broke the tie at Clarabelle’s trial. He saved us in Bossbot HQ.”

Vidalia approached and put out her hoof.

“Mayor Flippy,” she breathed. “It’s a pleasure. And…let me apologize for all the horrible things I said about you during your Mayorship and afterward. I…it was wrong of me. I do not stand by my actions and I hope you can forgive me.”

The Big Cheese glowered down at her, his face ever-unemotional. But he took her hoof and shook.

“Thank you,” he deadpanned. “Forgiven.”

Vidalia swelled in relief.

“We should go,” Eileen said. “It’s not safe for us here.”

Flippy bowed his head.

“Until the next time.”

“Stay safe,” Eileen blurted.

Flippy flew into the grey clouds. Eileen did not mention it to him, nor could she, but she wondered what would happen to him if their plan was successful and Cog Nation was destroyed. Did he want to live the rest of his life as a Cog?

---Toon Hall---

“Okay,” Professor Pete Ingalls said as he leaned against a blackboard. “Here’s the plan.”

Professor Patrick Prepostera, Dr. Kilo Byte, and Dr. Hyla Sensitive listened intently. They were in the basement laboratory of Toon Hall. Long home to scientific advisors, the most recent being Dr. Cumulo Nimbus himself, it now lay abandoned. Kilo and Hyla, the current advisors, had their own lab at home. Dust had settled over many of the surfaces, but Pete was pleased to find most of Nimbus’ sketches still on the walls.

“We have the resources, and the knowledge,” Pete said, gesturing at the laboratory and Cumulo’s journal. “We have unparalleled brainpower between the four of us. And we have a mission with a deadline. Toontown is counting on us to unleash a deluge of laff rain on the Cogs. So. Assignments.”

Pete pointed at Kilo and Hyla.

“Technology. You two will find a way to put the rain into the clouds. During Exodus, Cumulo developed a glass orb that contained the memory rain and storm clouds. When the orb was opened and the contents oxidized, they would assimilate into the climate and reach the clouds. I’ll be honest: I don’t know how he contained the rain to only Toontown. I’m not sure if that included the HQs, but I doubt it. I know it didn’t reach Chipper Acres because Bradley and Alice did not end up in Fantasyland. Last time, we drained the transport network to power the orb. Preferably we want to avoid that since many Toons were unable to flee as the Cogs attacked because their transport holes were disabled.”

Pete gestured at Prepostera.

“You and I will work on the contents of the rain. The gag shops are going to produce gallons of liquid laff we can infuse with the rain. The Toon Council is in charge of formulating a plan for implementation. We don’t have long, days at most. Questions?”

Kilo shook his head. Patrick raised a hoof.

“What about the BioFreaks?”

“Ah! Good question. Yes, Cale Metfin and Evelyn Quin will be utilized on the day of the deluge to power the storms.”

Kilo grinned.

“Is that what we’re going to call this? The Deluge?”

Pete chuckled. He never thought the name of the Exodus would go down in history, but the Deluge did have historical connotations to it.

Hyla clapped her paws.

“Let’s do this.”

---Gardens Gag Shop---

-One Day Later-

Clerk Clara Clark and her eleven siblings plus their parents had set up their base in the Gardens, in the neighborhood furthest from the Cogness. Melodyland’s Playground was now going grey, and by tomorrow grey would begin seeping through Lullaby Lane and Loopy Lane. The Docks Playground was not quite breached yet, but it would be soon. The architects of the Emergency Portal, or two of them anyway, were fast at work in Toontown Central on recreating the magnum opus of Dr. Cumulo Nimbus. Clara and her family had the easier task: melting a bunch of gags to liquid.

Some were easier than others, as Clara found since she and her brother Clark were assigned drop. The 1-ton weights took quite a bit of time to unsolidify themselves. She scowled at Doe and Ray, who had squirt. They finished hours ago.

The whole process reminded Clara of the Exodus, and how she and her family had been detached from the disaster. They had heard of the evacuation on the radio, and were shocked to hear the news. Now, Clara was so entrenched in the Toon Resistance that she knew breaking news before it had even broken.

“Clara,” Clark said. “You have to hold the anvil steady.”

“Can’t we just forget drop and double down on throw and squirt?”

“Probably,” Peaches Clark said, shoving a foghorn into the cauldron Slate provided. “But Slate said he used every gag for his Tog serum.”

Cork Clark, the patriarch of the Clark Family, ruffled Herb’s fur.

“I’m so proud of all of you. Our children: the heroes of Toontown.”

“I like that!” Kara Clark, the matriarch beamed. “Twelve little heroes!”

Clara didn’t feel like a hero. Heroes were only those who survived adversity, and though Clara had seen enough of that in the past year alone, she would only consider herself a hero if the plan worked and the monstrous Cog Nation was dead.

---The Ingalls Estate---

-One Day Later-

Alice and Bradley were both reading separate books—boring scientific journals—as Ash Ingalls mumbled. The former Chairman of the Cogs had been reduced to nothing more than an incoherent, unconscious cat.

“Bossbot. Lawbot. Cashbot. Sellbot…”

“Cog types,” Alice said, ticking a list on his bedside table. She was keeping track of what he said the most. It might hint to what his brain was thinking.

“Cog. Cog. Cog.”

“Will he be like this forever, do you think?” Bradley asked. Alice shrugged.

“Bunker. Monkey. Dog.”

Alice gasped. Bradley drew in his breath.

“That’s us,” Alice whispered. But Ash didn’t say more.

“Do you remember…” Bradley murmured, then laughed. It was a hollow laugh, forced. “Do you remember when Molecule brought us watermelon?”

Alice smiled. She did remember.

“I do. We hadn’t had watermelon in years, but Adam didn’t even realize. So when the food came down, there it was.”

“We were so excited.”

“It was so tasty.”

“You said we should have a watermelon party to celebrate.”

“We played that game,” Alice recalled, “where you would think of something and give the first letter it started with and I’d have to guess, and I could only get a slice of watermelon when I guessed correctly.”

“You came up with the most random things!”

“No, *you* did!” Alice retorted. “What is an inanition anyway?”

“Pfft! I can’t believe you remember that one!”

Alice crossed her arms.

“You never even told me what that word meant! A frame of mind that starts with I? How was I supposed to guess that?”

Bradley sighed.

“An inanition is a severe lack of enthusiasm or energy. Or…complete sadness.”

Alice frowned.

“That’s what life was like with Adam.”

“We shouldn’t call him that.”

“That was his name.”

“It makes him sound so familiar,” Bradley said.

“Because he was. We knew him better than anyone. He knew us.”

“Barely.”

Alice gazed out the window.

“I want to get married as soon as this plan is executed. As soon as the Cogs are gone for good. I don’t want to wait a minute beyond that.”

Bradley set down his book and went to his fiancé.

---Toon Hall---

-One Day Later-

Pete had not rested for an hour. Collectively over the past three days, he probably had six or seven total hours of sleep. None of the others fared any better. Dreamland, Melodyland, the Brrrgh, and the Docks had gone completely grey. Loopy Lane was gone, and half of Punchline Place and Maple Street were turning. The safest place became Oak Street, and some had indeed taken refuge in Sellbot Headquarters. Ever since the abandonment, the sunlight had returned and it was no longer the sad black place it used to be.

But after more than three long days of nonstop work, they had their rain. The gag shops had melted enough gags to fill Toontown’s largest swimming pool—which they did—and Pete took several gallons to fit inside what Kilo and Hyla had devised—a rocket.

It was enormous, and it took all four of them to move it. No one bothered to paint it, so it was ugly. They planned to launch it from the top of Toon Hall after sunrise; by the time they finished, it was nearly 5am.

Kilo and Hyla left the lab to inform Eileen, Constance, and the Council that the Deluge was ready. Declan would send out a broadcast encouraging all Toons to come to the Gardens or Toontown Central Playgrounds and prepare to fight. Eileen would tell Flippy to bring every Cashbot out of the Mints and the Cashbot Vault to ensure they were destroyed by the rain.

The rain was different from squirt, which was really just water. This rain was powerful, and was guaranteed to cause even a calculator to explode. With luck, the buildings would turn back to normal—not explode—and every Cog would burn. The second Tower of Lawbot HQ would collapse, and with it Cog Nation.

“Are Cale and Evelyn ready?” Patrick asked Pete.

“We’ll talk to them tomorrow. In the meantime, we have to get this rocket to the roof. When Kilo and Hyla come back, they can help.”

Patrick giggled.

“We should probably get our raincoats and boots.”

Pete laughed too.

“It never rains here. We don’t have high-functioning sewers. We’ll definitely need boots.”

---Punchline Place---

-The Next Morning-

The final pieces were moving into place, and the last thing Eileen had to do was tell Flippy. Thankfully, they already had a meeting scheduled early this morning. He landed on Punchline Place, on the line between the light and the dark. They were only a block away from the Playground.

“We’re going to sound the siren,” Eileen explained quickly. “The Cogs will remember that the last time the siren blasted, we went into lockdown. This is your chance to drag them out of hiding and lead them in an attack on the Playground. The Lawbots have already started setting up shop in the greyed out Playgrounds, but if they see you’re attacking Toontown Central and the Gardens they’ll follow suit. The Toons will be ready, and the Cashbots will fall. It is imperative you do not order them to retreat.”

“Then what?” Flippy asked. Eileen had grown accustomed to communicating with a stonewalling Cog, and so she imagined the emotions Flippy would have on his old dog face.

“Then we destroy Cog Nation. As long as the Cogs are on this peninsula, they’ll die.”

“Including me.”

Eileen sucked in her cheeks.

“Yes. Unless you hide. We can bring you into Toon Hall. We…”

“No,” Flippy said firmly. “If this is the day Cog Nation falls, then this is the day I fall with it. I’m no longer a Toon. You have to remember that. There’s no place for Cogs in the new Toontown. I already sacrificed myself for this town, and I was given a second opportunity to do it again. And I will.”

“Flippy…”

“Eileen, you can’t change my mind. This is all I have left to think about. I can’t find a new life in Toontown. Not like this. And you know there’s no restoring me to Toon form. My body was destroyed in that silo. I don’t want to be restored. I want to die for Toontown.”

Eileen began to cry, which surprised her. In his lifetime, she was not too kind to him. She resented him for bringing the Cogs, and for excluding her from much of the information necessary to act as Mayor. She had been reluctant to bring him along to Loopy Lane, and she was indifferent at his sacrifice. But now…

“Hey,” Flippy said, and used his metal hands to wipe away her tears. “Don’t cry for me. I’ve done more to help this town as a Cog than I ever could as a Toon.”

“Don’t say that,” Eileen gasped. “You were a wonderful Mayor. A great friend.”

Flippy stepped backward into the grey.

“May I make a final request?”

“Of course.”

“When your plan is put into place, and Cog Nation is destroyed, I don’t want to die with all of them. I don’t want to die as another Cog. And I don’t want an oblivious Toon to lob a cake in my face. I want you to be the one to destroy this Cog.”

Eileen cried out and buried her face in her hands.

“I can’t do that!”

“Then I beg you to do it.”

Her legs wobbled.

“Put me out of my misery,” Flippy said, which did not help. It reminded Eileen of the Euthanizing Elk from Cartonia, another tale in the Diary of War. A tyrannical King from Cervidium who would end the lives of ill deer to “put them out of their misery.”

“Why me?”

“I trust you more than anyone else. And I can die in peace knowing that the savior of Toontown ended the last Cog.”

“Then you want to survive until the end.”

Flippy thought for a while.

“Yes. If the plan fails, I don’t want you to lose your Cog insider.”

Eileen nodded.

“Bring the Cashbots as soon as the siren sounds. To Toontown Central. We’ll sneak you into Toon Hall. I’ll meet you at the back entrance. Make sure you bring *all* of them, and give a reason for why you’re slipping away.”

The Big Cheese bobbed his head, and Eileen fought back her tears.

“Please, Eileen. I’m asking for mercy.”

---Lawbot Headquarters---

The District Attorney swirled his oil drink and stared at his two guests: Clarabelle Cow and Blair Fawkes. Clarabelle had eagerly agreed to be the next Creator, and promised to expand Cog Nation to the edge of Cartonia. After that point, she would need a sabbatical to find a husband in Bovo, and then she’d return with him to lead.

Blair, the DA supposed, was like her sidekick. She didn’t really say much, and seemed eager to leave. But the DA didn’t buy Clarabelle’s story that Blair had been oppressed in prison. Toon jail seemed exceptionally tame.

“So,” he said, “do either of you know why the Toons have sounded their alarm?”

Indeed, in the distance, beyond the paneled windows of Lawbot Tower One, the blare of the emergency siren was reverberating across the peninsula.

Clarabelle shook her head. Blair stared.

“What’s the siren for?”

“Emergencies,” Clarabelle said quickly. “Like when you all showed up.”

Blair flinched.

“So what’s the emergency? Our Cog Conversion program has been an extreme success, but it began four days ago. This siren is belated. For what purpose?”

“I don’t know,” Clarabelle said nonchalantly. She sipped her martini. “Maybe the Cashbots have attacked.”

The DA stood with such speed that Clarabelle jumped, spilling a drop of her martini on a regal cocktail dress.

“DA!” she shouted angrily, and the District Attorney abhorred the casual tone with which she abbreviated his title. “This is brand new!”

Blair followed the DA to the window.

“Are you going to attack too?” she asked him. “If the Cashbots are striking…”

“Silence,” the District Attorney commanded. He didn’t like the fox. She was weak, and timid. Always asking stupid questions. Clarabelle had insisted they take her, and the DA knew it was because of the fox’s knowledge of Cartonia, and the cow kingdom that Clarabelle would not shut up about. She was not the best candidate for Creator, but unfortunately their only.

The District Attorney turned to a Backstabber.

“Assemble the phalanxes. We fly to Toontown Central.”

Clarabelle stood.

“Take me with you. I wish to see the Toons suffer for what they did to me.”

“Fine,” the DA grumbled. “The fifth phalanx will serve as your protection.”

He eyed the fox, who was craning her neck to see the distant colorful buildings of Toontown Central.

“Take this one too. She should not be left alone in the Tower.”

Clarabelle lifted an ornate dagger off the District Attorney’s desk.

“What is this?”

The DA paused.

“It’s a gift. From the Creator. To the first District Attorney.”

“The first District Attorney is dead, as is the Creator. As the new Creator, I’m taking it.”

Clarabelle cut the dagger through the air.

“I’ve got a maroon mouse I need to skin.”

## Production

### Continuity and Story Arcs

Eileen and the Toon Resistance enlist the help of Pete Ingalls and Patrick Prepostera to make it rain over Toontown again, just as it did before Exodus. After days of effort, they had created their storm.

The leather-bound journal that had been wiped of its contents in Fantasyland reappeared. After returning from Fantasyland and Exodus, the contents of Dr. Nimbus’s journal returned, allowing the rain clouds to be implemented again.

Following the disappearance of Clarabelle Cow and Blair Fawkes, the Toons launched an effort to find them, even though it was apparent they were taken to Lawbot HQ.

The grey wave spread into the Docks and Melodyland, with the entire Brrrgh consumed.

Flippy mentions the electrical terminus under Cashbot HQ that had been infiltrated by the Toons in “In the Sanctum of Hell.” A similar terminus was constructed in Lawbots, exhibiting their move to independence.

On the eve of the Deluge, Flippy asked Eileen to be the one to end his life, as there was no hope of him rejoining Toon society as a Cog. She reluctantly agreed.

As the emergency siren blared, the District Attorney ordered Lawbots to fly to Toontown Central. Clarabelle insisted she come too, determined to murder Eileen Irenic.

The King of Bovo is said to have been assassinated during the War.

### References

Eileen ringing the doorbell twice is a reference to the antiquated practice of a postman ringing twice on the home doorbell to inform the occupants that an urgent telegram had arrived and needed an instant response. Because telegrams were expensive in this age, urgent telegrams were only delivered in extreme circumstances, such as the sudden death of a family member. Thus, ringing twice was a foreboding sign. This reference was also used in the episode “Out in the Darkness.”

Cale mistakenly calls the Cogs “quaggas.” Quaggas are an extinct species that had the body of a horse and the striped legs of a zebra.

## Trivia

* The title of this episode is a Persian adage, commonly used in Western literature to reinforce a theme of ephemerality.
* This is the first episode to air in February.
* The Euthanizing Elk of Cervidium, a King who murdered his ill citizens, is an allusion to the Nazi Reich’s euthanizing of terminally ill citizens.