Billow and Breeze

**"Billow and Breeze"** is the second episode of *Revolution* and the 77th episode overall.

The episode was released on February 6, 2022.

In the episode, the survivors of the attack at the House of Intended Design fracture into groups. In Toontown, the Toons bury the dead.

## The Episode

—Yefoxerinburg, Vulpus—

—March 28, 1051—

Vella Vixen peered over the edge of the mine shaft into the dark chasm below. The two cold bodies of Cornelia and Ulysses Caligari were dumped into their makeshift crypt. Both were extremely heavy horses, and Vella winced as they thudded against the bottom.

“Fill it in,” she commanded to the soldiers. They sprung to action and began tossing dirt into the hole.

Vella returned to the convoy of armored vehicles that had arrived overnight in Yefoxerinburg. It had been a long, tumultuous night. Yesterday was supposed to be Vella’s great triumph. She had orchestrated the death of the seven heirs to Cartonia’s fallen monarchies. All the pieces were in place, and then…

The Free.

Someone had replaced the gas canisters. The noxious fumes were supplanted instead with an incapacitating gas. The Free descended on the House of Intended Design and fought the Vulpine soldiers. It was extremely fortunate that Vella chose to remain in Vista for her portion of the broadcast; otherwise she could be among the deceased.

Cornelia and Ulysses were the only two Toon fatalities. One of the medics hypothesized that their older age and weaker immune systems exacerbated the gas’s effect and they suffocated.

The Free had managed to emancipate most of the others, spiriting them away in the darkness. There had been hundreds of the Free, of all species. Even foxes. Vella hated the foxes that turned on her. Disloyalty to the Skulkisch race was the highest form of sacrilege.

But Vella was not without her own consolation prize. Bradley Wolfe, Slate Oldman, and Doctor Smith were in her possession. They had not been lucky enough to escape the House of Intended Design, and were now with her soldiers. They’d be moved elsewhere for safekeeping while Vella tracked down the other eight Toons.

The only one truly missing was Mata Hairy. She wasn’t in the House, nor was she captured, nor was she seen leaving with the Free. Somehow she vanished, but it was likely the Free had taken her out of the city on a different road.

“Skulksmarshall!” Vella called to newly-promoted Tick Hunter, who saluted at once. “Show me the others.”

The tall deer led her to a row of bodies lying in the road near the House of Intended Design. Cats, all of them. Their faces had been altered to appear Vulpine.

“The Free were masquerading as villagers,” Tick explained with fury. “Lying in wait, living as foxes.”

Vella bent down inspected the faces of the dead traitors. The additional fur had literally been sewn into their own so that it wouldn’t come undone. They wore fake snouts that masked their longer whiskers. It was a curious sight, seeing the bodies permanently frozen between the natural and ersatz state. Where did they get this idea?

She straightened. The task at hand was finding the heirs. All of them, and their guests. The Caligaris were, admittedly, the most expendable of the 14 Toons.

“Skulksmarshall,” she said to Tick. “Inform Commandant Einfach that the Caligari family in Toontown is to be slaughtered. Every last one of them.”

“Yes, your Majesty,” Tick replied at once. “Shall I order Hans to take video of the executions?”

Vella smirked.

“For whom, Skulksmarshall? There is no need. Just have him do it publicly in Toontown.”

“Of course.”

Vella headed back to the House of Intended Design. The curator of the museum was angrily fighting with one of the Skulkscaptains about the damage done to her business. She paused her bickering to curtsey in direction of the Queen. Vella relished the feeling.

In the visitor center, operating out of a makeshift laboratory, was Dr. Czufran Monet. The Vulpine doctor was the Empire’s Chief Science and Innovation Specialist. It was Czufran who had developed the Whisper Chips that had been used successfully in subterfuge against the Toons. She also led the BioFreak programs.

“Ah, your Majesty,” Czufran said with a deep bow when she saw the Queen. “It is as you feared. The Free have hacked the Whisper Chips.”

Vella narrowed her eyes.

“I thought you said that was impossible.”

Czufran wagged a claw.

“No, no. I said the technology was infallible, but not impenetrable. Here, sit. I must remove your chip.”

Vella reluctantly lay on the ticket counter as Czufran inserted a contraption into Vella’s ear canal and removed the chip. The only people she could communicate subconsciously with were Tick and Rook, anyway.

“Majesty,” said Czufran. “I was wondering if I could go with the prisoners. I understand one of them is a BioFreak?”

Vella sat up and replaced the crown on her head.

“Yes. Slate Oldman is a BioFreak.”

“A legacy, no less. That is unusual. How has his affliction survived so many generations?”

Vella sighed. All this BioFreak stuff was lost on her. Who cared? They were circus freaks! That was the point.

“I really don’t know. I suppose if you wish to follow them, be my guest. But be warned: you know where they’re going.”

Czufran inclined her head.

“And what of the others?”

Vella balled her fists, determined.

“We’ll find them.”

—Somewhere—

Eileen felt a jolt and her eyes shot open. Cale Metfin was across from her. Everything jolted again, and Eileen jumped up. But she was strapped to her chair and fell back down.

“Where—?”

As the world came into focus, Eileen realized she was moving. She was on a truck, which was barreling across a barren terrain. She was wearing a seatbelt, which explained the restraint. The truck was open to the sky, and it was morning. Or afternoon. The sun was obscured behind clouds. The truck was huge, and surprisingly fast. It was driving through a remote countryside, which was probably still Vulpus. Eileen knew Cartonia was large, and she wasn’t sure where they were going.

Next to Cale were the Beckers: Katherine, Henry, and Mary. All three looked unconscious or asleep. Hyla was at the front of the truck, gripping an injured leg. Blood poured from her kneecap.

“You’re awake!” Piggy Pie cried. “We’re alive!”

Alice Carver and Mickey Elias were awake too, watching the scenery go by. Eileen counted the Toons on the truck, but six were missing. Where were Bradley, Doctor, Slate, Mata, and the Caligaris?

“They were captured,” Alice said, as if reading her thoughts. “They took Bradley.”

“And Doctor,” Piggy Pie moaned.

“And Slate and maybe Mata,” added Mickey. “The Caligaris are dead.”

Eileen tried to remember what had happened last night, but it was all so foggy. The last thing she recalled was the gas pushing through the vents. She looked at Cale, who had been almost avoiding her gaze.

“Where were you on the docks in Vista?” she hissed. Cale glanced at Eileen.

“My plan wasn’t well-received. The House of Intended Design was an easier target, and televised. Half the nation saw the broadcast end early, which means something went wrong.”

Eileen was incensed. The Toons were scared to death—and actually lost two of their own!— because the Free wanted the *optics* of a rescue?

“Whose bullshit plan was that?” Eileen exclaimed.

“Mine,” said a voice.

A middle-aged elephant was standing at the rear of the truck, the only person not strapped into a seatbelt. She was holding onto a metal pole jutting out of the back, from which two large guns were pointing beyond the bed. Eileen couldn’t help but gape; she had never seen an elephant before.

“Who are you?” Eileen asked, maybe too demandingly. The elephant, with perfect balance, crossed the bumpy truck to Eileen. They shook hands.

“I am Usa Uhuru. I lead the Free.”

“Oh!” Eileen responded on impulse. “You’re the leader of the resistance!”

Usa appeared to be admiring Eileen. Her eyes swept over her with interest.

“I am not *the* leader, but rather *a* leader,” she said. “Nonetheless, I organized your rescue. And before you continue to barrage Cale with your skepticism, it is thanks to her you’re alive at all.”

Eileen raised an eyebrow.

“Why? What happened?”

“I’ll tell you,” Usa said.

“*Really*?” Alice snapped. “You wouldn’t tell *us* shit! But now that *she’s* awake—“

“Eileen is your leader, is she not?” Usa interrupted. “You look up to her. You follow her. That is what Cale told me, that she was your, um…what was it? Mayor!”

Alice crossed her arms.

“Fine.”

“Cale sent word to the Free as soon as she got off *The Imperial Conqueror* in Vista,” Usa explained. “She wanted us to rescue you from the Rook of Vulpus, but we lack the resources to spring such a large number from that castle. As the day progressed, we learned of the Vixen Queen’s press conference in Yefoxerinburg. That was a target we could hit, with ease.”

“How?” Eileen pressed.

“The curator of the House of Intended Design is one of us. She replaced the poisonous gas the foxes had installed with an innocuous substitute.”

“Then what happened to the Caligaris?” Piggy Pie asked. “I saw them choke!”

Cale squirmed. Eileen was getting angrier with her, even if she did save them.

“The Caligaris were rescued last,” Usa deadpanned. “By the time we reached them, they were dead.”

Usa detailed how the foxes had managed to separate Doctor, Slate, Bradley, and Mata. The Free were unable to locate them and had to leave the House with the remaining eight Toons.

“The important thing,” Usa said, “is that you’re safer now. We have the Free leading the foxes in circles trying to find you. The trail goes cold behind us.”

“And you’re not in the House of Intended Design anymore,” Cale piped up. “Consider that a blessing.”

They had indeed escaped death yesterday. Eileen’s whole life had flashed before her eyes. The last time she came that close to her demise was when Clarabelle Cow had savagely stabbed her on the roof of Toon Hall. Wasn’t that just a few weeks ago?

“What is the House of Intended Design?” Mickey Elias asked. “That’s a rather ridiculous name.”

Neither Cale nor Usa spoke for a moment, but ultimately Cale deferred to Usa.

“It was once just a house. Long ago, before the War. Vulpus acquired it as an officer’s quarters for a nearby training camp. In 716, eight years into the War, the Mus royal family was imprisoned there.”

“Oh!” Mickey cried out. His paws flew to his mouth.

“Your friend must know the history. King Mickey and his family were not there long, for the house had been renamed with its special purpose. The intended design was a death trap. The Muses were all murdered in the basement.”

Alice gagged.

“But…we were in that basement.”

“The location of the press conference was not a coincidence,” Usa said. “The Vixen Queen wanted the public to see you die in the same place the Muses did all those years ago. It would have been a clear message; all un-Vixen royals will die at Vulpus’s hand.”

The House’s darkened windows, the covered plaques and tourist information…all to mask the massacre that had occurred there. The Toons were to be deceived up until the final moment. Vella had a sick sense of poetic parallelism. Eileen vaguely remembered the Diary Pig’s entry on the slaughter of the Mus royal family. Once again, she was stepping into history unknowingly. Every inch of this place, every blade of grass and every falling leaf, was saturated with unspoken memories. Growing up in Toontown, everyone had been told about Cartonia, and everyone had conjured their own images of what the place looked like. This was nothing like what Eileen had pictured.

“What do you know about us?” Usa asked to the group in general. “Cale said your town had purged most of its history, that your ancestry had been obscured.”

“Yeah,” Eileen said curtly. “That’s why we were so happy.”

“Where are we going?” Piggy asked. Usa pointed in the direction they were moving.

“North to the your respective kingdoms. Mallardia, Willie, Simeone, and Porcinia. What’s left of them, anyway. We keep the names of our homelands alive even though the foxes have erased them from the maps. As the heirs to the former Granite Bloc thrones, you will be the final push toward revolution.”

Hyla pulled herself away from the medic to join the conversation. Her knee had been thoroughly bandaged.

“What do you mean? When’s the revolution?”

Usa looked extremely proud of herself when she said,

“The first of May. Just one month from now. The revolution will begin on that date. On that date, we will fight to reclaim our country!”

Eileen crossed her arms.

“I’m assuming you’ve put a lot of work into this.”

“Yes,” Usa whispered forcefully. “Centuries of work have built up to this moment, and now we have the necessary fuel to carry us over the finish line. You.”

Eileen couldn’t help but scoff.

“Us?”

“The heirs!” Usa insisted. “The heirs born of freedom. The heirs cometh from a town of liberty! It is a sign from the universe, as if by providence! Your arrival coincides perfectly with our plan.”

Her face fell. “But there are still hesitant Cartonians that do not believe. They do not believe we can overthrow the Vixen Queen and instate a peaceful government in its place. Many cannot conceive of a world in which the Vixen Queen is not in domination. But you come from that world. You have lived in that world. And that world is not far from here. The walls between our realms have disintegrated, and you are duty-bound by your heritage to share your story with the people. With your people.”

The Toons exchanged glances. They all seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“But…” Alice said first, “how much could we really accomplish in a month? There are millions of Cartonians.”

“Word of mouth travels faster than you’d think,” Cale muttered. “It’s what our revolution is built upon.”

“We’ll videotape your encounters with the masses,” Usa explained. “They’ll be broadcast on our subwave networks. You’ll be undetected by the foxes, and protected by the Free. Each of you will pass through a series of safehouses until we can reunite you on the first of May.”

“No,” Eileen stated. “Absolutely not. You’re not splitting us up. We all stay together.”

“Eileen,” Usa said gently, “you are safer apart. The foxes are going to hunt you down. If they find all of you, it’s over. You’ll never return to Toontown.”

So what? What did she really have to lose? Her life didn’t matter, not even in the Free’s plan. She wasn’t royal, just a guest.

“Don’t you get it?” Eileen uttered. “There’s no point. Toontown is dead. It’s gone forever now that the foxes have it. I’d rather die here than see what’s become of it. You should have left me at the House of Intended Design. This life isn’t worth living anymore…”

Usa and Cale were stunned into silence. Once again, Eileen had disappointed them. It was clear that Usa, Cale, and indeed most of the Free had dreamed for years of a moment like this, and none of the Toons were up for the fight. They had been drained from years fighting the Cogs. What was left in their tank had been suctioned out by the Cartonian betrayal.

Mickey Elias unbuckled and got out of his seat to cross the truck and sit next to Eileen. At that moment, the Beckers began to rouse. Usa and Cale went to tend to them.

“Your life matters so much…” Mickey started, but Eileen cut him off.

“Oh, don’t fret about me, Mr. Mayor. I didn’t just survive a murder attempt to throw in the towel. But this isn’t our battle. Toontown needs us more than Cartonia. I don’t care about helping the Free. I care about getting home.”

Mickey gestured at Usa.

“She said she’ll get us home once the revolution is won.”

Eileen shook her head fervently.

“They won’t win. Vulpus has kept an iron grip on this continent for 300 years, and now they control every last scrap of land. If we want to escape Cartonia, we cannot rely on the Free. We have to do it ourselves.”

—Somewhere Else—

The cars had tinted black windows, and Doctor could hardly see. But the countryside was still just visible if he put his head directly against the glass. His left paw was shackled to Slate Oldman, who was sat between Bradley Wolfe and Doctor. Their driver was hidden, but assuredly a fox.

“Now we’re going north,” Slate said, leaning across Doctor’s lap to check for the positioning of the sun. Their route over the last few hours had been obviously circuitous. Probably to throw off the Free.

Doctor had been unlucky in Yefoxerinburg. The Free had broken into the basement wearing gas masks. They looked like foxes, but their catlike eyes were unmistakeable. Doctor was pulled in two directions, and ultimately was captured by the foxes. The whole thing was harrowing, and confusing. The basement was dark and foggy. The gas had made him both dizzy and nauseous.

Judging by the subsequent events, Doctor, Bradley, and Slate inferred that the Free had successfully gotten everyone else out. Doctor hoped that Piggy Pie was okay.

“Hey,” Bradley called out, “the windows!”

Doctor shrunk back from the glass as the tint disappeared. Suddenly, they could see outside clearly.

“What happened?” Doctor asked.

“They want us to see,” Slate said calmly. “They want us to know where we’re going.”

Doctor stared at the wise rabbit.

“Why would they want that?”

The car plunged into a tunnel. Doctor gasped at the immediate darkness. For a quiet, unnerving minute they passed through the tunnel, finally emerging in what appeared to be a hedge maze. As Doctor’s eyes adjusted, he tried to make out where they were. The car snaked through the hedges until it turned onto a wide paved avenue. Deer were strolling along the path, watching the car as it went by.

The car finally banked left and parked at the base of a set of stairs leading up to an opulent house. Slate leaned over, and whimpered.

“Oh…”

Doctor bent his head to look up out the window. It wasn’t just a house. It was a palace. Two curved, identical towers spiraled out from either side, stretching toward the sky. The towers were shaped like antlers.

“It’s Antlerstag!” Slate cried. “We’re in Cervidium.”

Bradley gasped. Doctor squeezed Slate’s paw. The rabbit’s fear was well-placed.

Antlerstag was the genesis of the BioFreak experiments.

—The House of Intended Design—

—Yefoxerinburg, Vulpus—

—That Night—

The House was finally quiet. Even the curator had gone, and so Mata Hairy unfurled herself from her hiding place. She had ensconced herself in extremely tight quarters, but pain and discomfort were nothing to Mata.

The room in which the Toon guests had watched the press conference was a wreck now. The Free and foxes had fought over the Toons, but ultimately Mata had no idea who had ended up with who. She saw the foxes take Doctor, but the Free definitely got Eileen. The Caligaris were dead.

Henry Yorcaster had shown his true colors when he tried to throw Mata to the foxes. It was then that she had hidden herself. The gas was so thick that no one discovered her. Besides, stealth was Mata’s specialty. She could hide anywhere, even in plain sight. The Toon Resistance found her valuable for this reason, as she had integrated herself successfully into Cashbot Headquarters. Now, she had to figure out what to do next. Finding the other Toons seemed the best course of action.

Mata ascended the basement stairs. Those strange tourism plaques were still hanging outside various doors. Numbers indicating stops on an audio tour. What was this place?

Outside, near the visitor center, Mata pulled a tarp off a placard.

“The House of Intended Design,” she read, “Site of the Vanquishing of the Mus Royal Family, July 716.”

She was horrified as she read the entire story. What a terrible place! This proved once and for all that Vella was just as evil as the original Vixen Queen.

Mata heard voices, and ducked into the shadows. Foxes walked by, on patrol. An armored truck went by soon after. She had to disguise herself.

In the downtown of Yefoxerinburg, Mata used a fur pin to pick the lock on a quaint little boutique. She’d need something less recognizable to wear.

Mata struggled with her options. Black was her favorite, but it would contrast with her stark orange fur and that would make her stand out. But Mata was colorblind, and couldn’t tell any other color apart. Nonetheless, she chose what seemed most muted. She removed all of her piercings and earrings and changed into her new outfit. She looked unrecognizable in the mirror.

Perfect.

She went out the back and began walking. It was safe to assume the foxes recaptured the vast majority of the Toons, which meant the most likely location they’d be was Vista. Vella would have pulled them right back into her jaws. If they weren’t already dead, their days would be numbered.

Mata mentally calculated how far it was from here to the capital, trying to piece together the timeline of yesterday’s drive to Yefoxerinburg. If she walked the whole way, it’d take a few days. She could probably finagle a quicker route, but there was no time to waste.

Mata set off down the road on foot.

—Somewhere—

It was night by the time the truck reached what Usa said was once Mallardia. There was no sign on the road, or anything. The infrastructure was crumbling, which was why the truck was on that road. It was not patrolled.

The Toons rode in silence. What was there to say? Usa and Cale had spent most of the day talking about their plans and plots and how the Toons’ sudden arrival magically fit into their vision. Eileen had grown tired of it. Annoyingly, she was in no position of power here. If the Toons categorically refused to help the Free, they’d be left alone, with no one to shield them from the foxes. They were in a strange land with no way of getting home. Usa was right as well that the Toons were safer in smaller numbers. As much as she hated the idea of splitting the group up, it was only a month. They would be reunited in a month, and with hope could return to Toontown.

The truck came to a stop in a shadowy vineyard. Two ducks were standing near the entrance of a barn. Their arms were crossed, and the woman looked nervous. Usa got down from the truck and conversed with them. All three then approached.

“Katherine, Mary, and Henry will disembark here. You’ll be looked after by Jackquez and Frances.”

The Beckers didn’t move, and it took a fair amount of coaxing to get them out of the truck.

“Eileen,” Katherine said to her once she was on the grass, “promise me we’ll see each other again.”

“Of course,” Eileen said, unsure herself.

A fourth pair of feet hit the ground, and Cale Metfin came up beside the Beckers.

“I’ll stay with you as well. We ducks will stick together.”

Katherine seemed reassured to have a familiar face with her. Eileen, Piggy, Alice, Hyla, and Mickey waved as the truck pulled away.

“Goodbye!” Katherine called out. “See you on May 1!”

“Goodbye!” Eileen called back, and hoped it was not the last time she’d say that to her.

—Antlerstag, Lyme, Cervidium—

Just as Slate Oldman feared, the experiments began immediately. All three of them—Doctor, Bradley, and Slate—were taken manacled into Antlerstag. They were led to a medical center on the ground floor where Slate was separated and strapped onto an examining table.

The deer standing over him wore a medical mask too big for his face. Hundreds of sensors and needles were hooked up to Slate’s body. There was no pain, but the fear was potent.

“You are an anomaly,” the deer said to Slate as if it were a compliment. “No BioFreak past the third generation is known to have inherited the disease…and yet you are a dozen generations removed from the originator.”

“The ‘originator’s’ name was Azure Oldman,” Slate seethed. “Prince Azure Oldman of Leprolia.”

The deer shrugged. Just a name to him.

“Your friend is interesting too. The red one.”

“*Bradley*.”

“His interspecies relationship with the monkey hasn’t resulted in a BioFreak affliction. Fascinating.”

Slate rolled his eyes. There was no point arguing with stupid.

The door opened and a tall fox entered. She too wore a medical smock, but no face mask.

“Nurse, you may go.”

The deer stalked out, leaving Slate alone with the fox. She began to unhook him from the table.

“My name is Dr. Czufran Monet. You are safe now.”

“Ha ha.”

“I am not joking, Mr. Oldman. The Free nearly got you, and thank the Vixens you are here. The rebels are savages.”

Slate highly doubted that. He kept this opinion to himself.

“What are you going to do to us?”

Dr. Monet frowned.

“I am not a monster, Mr. Oldman. I am going to do nothing to you. The nurse acted selfishly out of morbid curiosity. It is late. The three of you are to sleep. I’ll take you to your chambers.”

Dr. Monet led Slate out of the medical center. Bradley and Doctor were both in the hall, unscathed and unshackled. Dr. Monet ushered the three up a long spiral staircase to a single room.

“This is the room the Doe has designated for you during your sojourn. It is temporary. Soon, you’ll be returned to Vista.”

*To death*. Certain death.

The room was small, shaped like a hexagon with one window. There were three cots, a sink and toilet, and few other furnishings. A change of clothes had been laid at the edge of the bed.

“Good night,” Dr. Monet said. “I shall see you shortly. Especially you, Mr. Oldman. We have much to discuss.”

The door shut, and Slate heard the latch lock. He began to change into the pajamas, when Doctor gasped.

“What!” Bradley jumped.

“Sorry,” Doctor mumbled. “I thought…well, I thought I saw…”

He shook his head. “Never mind.”

—Somewhere—

This was Willie. Once again, there was no sign or marker denoting the former border of the mouse kingdom, but Usa knew where they were. Eileen wondered when these dilapidated roads were built. After the War? Or before? Or was this one of the supply chains ferrying weapons and reinforcements to the trenches? They had just passed through an extra treacherous portion of their journey.

The Diary of War never described Willie and what it had been like. The Diary Pig’s whole life was spent in Porcinia. Even during her escape they never passed through here. Willie’s starring role in the Diary of War was the slaughter of its royal family.

It was the middle of the night when the truck came to a rest outside the city. It was a walled city, patrolled extensively by foxes.

“Where are we?” Eileen asked. She knew this was her stop, as well as Mickey Elias and Hyla Sensitive. The three mice, with Hyla as the heir.

“Vannastadt,” Usa said. “Capital of the region.”

“Is this…” Mickey stammered, “Mus?”

Usa’s eyebrows went up.

“Yes! How’d you know?”

Mickey gaped at the walled city in the distance. The truck was hidden in a grove of trees.

“You said capital and…Mus was the capital of Willie.”

“It’s been renamed?” Piggy Pie asked.

“Most of the cities have,” Usa replied. “Vannastadt is named after Queen Vixen IX, born Vanna Vixen, the longest-reigning Vixen Queen. Reconstructor of the Dam, Rebuilder of Cartonia, yaddah yaddah. She reigned in the final months of the War, and for fifty years thereafter.”

Eileen supposed after all that someone was bound to name a city after you. She wondered why Mus was the one selected to bear her name. Had it ever been important to her?

“Here he is,” Usa said suddenly, squinting in the darkness. A hooded mouse was approaching. He gazed up at the truck’s passengers. The moonlight caught his face, and Eileen recoiled at the horrific scars embedded in his cheeks.

“Toons, this is Mr. Meesh. Mr. Meesh, may I present Eileen Irenic, Mickey Elias, and Hyla Sensitive, the heir to Willie. Mr. Meesh runs the safe house at the heart of the city.”

Eileen shivered.

“What do you mean, ‘heart of the city?’ That sounds too close for comfort.”

“It is,” Usa admitted. “But the foxes won’t expect you here, nor would they think to look right under their own redoubt.”

“Redoubt?” Mickey repeated. “You mean…a castle?”

“*Castle*?” Hyla whispered. “Not…”

“Musenzollern Castle, yes,” Mr. Meesh growled. “Summer home of Vanna Vixen, and once home of the mighty Mus dynasty. Your ancestors. That—“

He pointed behind him at the city. “That is your castle, milady!”

Hyla just stared.

“How are we going to get in?”

Mr. Meesh simply bowed.

“Leave that to me, milady. I wouldn’t call it a safe house if it weren’t safe.”

Mickey got off the truck first, followed by Eileen. They helped the injured Hyla down.

“Can you walk, milady?”

“Yes, Mr. Meesh.”

“Then we make haste. Follow me.”

“Wait!” Eileen cried. “What’s going to happen to us? We’re staying in Mus?”

Mr. Meesh seemed to appreciate that Eileen referred to the city’s former name instead of Vannastadt.

“You will reside in Mus for the next month,” Usa said. “Mr. Meesh will cycle groups of the Free through the safe house, so that they may meet you and learn about Toontown. All I ask is that you share your stories.”

Eileen wondered if the Free would like what they heard. They may be disappointed in what the three of them had to share.

She glanced at Alice Carver and Piggy Pie, still on the truck. They were going alone to individual kingdoms. It was hard to leave them, harder to leave Piggy Pie. Eileen had grown so attached to her. She was like a younger sister to her.

“I’ll see you soon,” Eileen called to Piggy. She nodded with a forced smile.

“Yeah. Take care.”

Mickey gripped Eileen’s paw, and together with Hyla they followed Mr. Meesh into Vannastadt.

—Cemetery of Toontown—

—Toontown—

Curfew ended at seven in the morning, but Constance Miller had acquired an exemption permit. An hour before the break of curfew, Constance left her home and met up with Vidalia VaVoom and Tori Dorrance at the gates of Toontown’s cemetery. Constance had convinced Commandant Hans Einfach that a death census was necessary to confirm the number of open graves for the many bodies accumulated in the invasion of Toontown. Counting the dead, or dealing with the dead at all, was undesirable work in the foxes’ eyes. Therefore, it was perfect for a Toon.

The sun was just rising as Constance, Vidalia, and Tori quickly counted the open graves. They had pitched the idea as a time-consuming effort, but in reality it only took a matter of minutes. The real reason the Toons wanted to come to the ceremony was to bury what they could of Barnacle Barbara. Their fearless Councilmember from the Docks, who had stepped up to face the evil Vixen Queen, only to lose her head. Her body was lost during the ensuing panic, but each Constance, Vidalia, and Tori had something of hers they wished to place into the earth.

“This one,” Constance indicated an open grave. “Her parents are buried near here too.”

Vidalia had one of her necklaces, which she nestled into the dirt. Tori set down a compass. Constance placed her folded certificate of honor for being elected to the Toon Council. It was the best they could put together so soon.

“Rest easy, Barbara,” Vidalia said somberly.

“Thank you for your sacrifice,” muttered Constance.

Their remembrance was interrupted by a sudden shout. Someone was sprinting toward them. The distant clocktower atop Toon Hall heralded the coming of the end of curfew.

“Constance!!”

“Aleck?”

Chief Aleck Harding of the Toon Patrol frantically threw his arms behind him.

“It’s Hans! It’s the Commandant! He’s leading a battalion toward Dreamland!”

Constance rounded on Tori and Vidalia.

“It’s the Toon Council! Hans is going to try to kill us!”

“What?” Vidalia cried. “How do you know?”

“I don’t know,” Constance said wildly, “I don’t know. But I have a feeling. Slate’s gone, Doe Clark and Barbara are dead…Ichabod is next! Aleck, we have to find him first!”

She began moving toward the cemetery’s exit. “Vi, hide yourself! Tori, find Mulaney!”

“What about you?” Vidalia screamed, but Constance and Aleck had already taken off running. It was frustrating not having the ability to transport anymore. Nonetheless, Constance ran with celerity.

She was wiped by the time they reached Pajama Place, where a large crowd of recently-roused Toons were gathering. They were dressed for work, but encircling a courtyard.

“That’s the Caligari estate!” Aleck whispered in a hushed voice. “And there’s Hans!”

Constance glimpsed him through a crack in the throng. She pushed her way forward.

“Ah, Colonial Governor!” Hans announced when he saw her. “You’ve arrived just in time.”

As he moved out of the way, Constance saw Cornelia Caligari’s four children and nine grandchildren. They were on their knees, bound and gagged. The thirteen yellow horses were petrified, many in tears. Behind each one was a fox, holding a gun. The youngest horse was only a couple of years old.

“What are you doing?” Constance gasped. “What is this? What crime have they committed?”

Hans laughed.

“The Caligaris are sentenced to death!” he bellowed to the crowd. “They are guilty by association for the acts of Cornelia and Ulysses Caligari in Cartonia!”

“What!” Constance cried out. “No, Hans! You cannot hold them accountable for something they didn’t do, or had no knowledge of!”

Hans smirked derisively.

“Then you know nothing of our laws. *FIRE!”*

The crowd, and Constance too, screamed as the foxes murdered the Caligari family. Their blood poured out onto the pavement. The foxes immediately dispersed. Constance’s mind was spinning. What the hell had happened in Cartonia?

—Cartonia—

And then there were two. It was just Alice and Piggy Pie left.

The Beckers had gone with Cale to a vineyard in Mallardia.

Eileen, Hyla, and Mickey had been taken inside Vannastadt, Willie.

Next up was Alice in former Simeone, which would leave Piggy Pie all alone on the final leg to Porcinia.

When Piggy was presented with the opportunity to select a guest to accompany her to Cartonia, choosing Doctor seemed like a no-brainer. Her four brothers were not the adventurous sort. They were not even Cog-fighters. Doctor was someone used to danger and braving the unknown. If the fortunes were reversed and Doctor had been named the heir to Ursus, he would have readily chosen Piggy Pie to be his companion north.

But now Piggy wished she had selected a pig so she wouldn’t have to go to Porcinia by herself.

Usa, the driver, and three other members of the Free rounded out the truck’s passengers. The sun was properly risen now, meaning Piggy had been traveling with the Free for a whole day.

“Are these roads really that far off the grid?” Alice suddenly asked. “I’m amazed we haven’t been caught by the foxes.”

“Hmmph,” grunted Usa. “The foxes have their superhighways. All other avenues are beneath them. You’ll find that in Cartonia, the Vixen Queen’s grip on the cities is ironclad. But out here, among the ruins and the Death Fields, that grasp is tenuous.”

Piggy wrinkled her snout.

“Death Fields?”

“The uninhabitable wastelands, a result of the War.”

“Oh…”

The terrain was changing to one of dense forests, especially as they veered away from the ocean.

“Are we in Simeone yet?” Alice asked.

Usa plucked a leaf off a passing tree, reaching up to the low-hanging canopies.

“I think so. If not, we will be soon.”

“It’s all so quiet,” Alice mused. “I haven’t seen any overt display of Vulpine authority. I thought there’d be flags lining the roads or something.”

Usa shook her head.

“Like I said, it’s different out in the countryside. Vulpus doesn’t focus its attention on the rural areas, where we can billow and breeze.”

Piggy shifted in her seat, facing Usa.

“So are people happier out here? Are they free?”

Usa did not answer at once. She stared at Piggy Pie as if the question was taboo. Piggy blushed and opened her mouth to apologize for whatever offense she may have caused.

“Take us to the pits,” Usa said to the driver. Piggy’s apology dried up in her throat.

“It’s not safe,” the driver rebuked.

“A quick look! Come on. Turn there!”

The driver acquiesced and headed westward to the water. The truck wove through the trees until it egressed the forest. Piggy peered over the truck’s edge, where a sandstone cliff dropped off to the beach below. The water sparkled in the morning sun, the horizon as far as the eye could see.

But Piggy’s attention was rapt to the moving figures on the sands. At first glance, there were thousands. It wasn’t the volume that startled her, but rather the way they were moving. Each figure appeared deformed, misshapen. And the sluggish pace with which they moved…something was not right.

“They’re in chains!” Alice cried. “Who are they?”

Usa’s gaze on the pit was unbroken.

“They are the discarded. The unwanted of the Vulpus Empire. Not useful as a BioFreak, not useless as a cripple. This is one of many of the slave pits.”

Piggy gasped in shock.

“*Slave pits*?”

“The leftovers from BioFreak experimentations, from labs and hospitals across the Empire. Orphans, misfits, the sick and dying. They come here, and die.”

Piggy was trying to formulate a response, to show some sympathy or emotion, when she heard a voice behind her.

“GET DOWN!”

Piggy lowered her head just as something whizzed above it. The driver put the truck in gear and sped away from the cliff toward the forest, but their path was blocked by another vehicle that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Two more trucks sped out of the forest and surrounded them. Piggy and Alice magnetized toward each other, gripping each other for support.

“Foxes?” Piggy whimpered.

“Worse,” Usa spat. “Bandits.”

She herself was armed with a huge gun, but the bandits far outnumbered them, and they had gigantic weapons themselves. Most of the bandits wore masks, but Piggy was surprised to see that they came from all species. One was a pig, two were foxes, a few deer, some ducks and elephants. Lots of dogs. And was that…a parrot?

“Are they the Free?” Alice murmured. Usa shot her a look.

“Don’t be so naïve.”

“What’s your worth?” one of the masked dogs called out. He was aiming a gun right at Usa. Piggy tried not to look as scared as she was.

“600,” Usa said, whatever that meant. “Just supplies.”

“And your truck?” the dog said. Usa clucked her tongue.

“It’s old.”

“Don’t look it.”

“Well, it is.”

The dog removed his mask, revealing a sinister grin. He was sizing up their lot, thinking about how much he could fetch for everything on board. Piggy only hoped her head was not included in that tally.

“Oi,” one of the deer yelped. “Don’t she look familiar?”

“Who?” the dog yawned. “The elephant?”

“Ye.”

“I’m nobody,” Usa insisted. “Leave us be. We’ll give you our supplies, some food. There’s nothing of worth here, not even the truck.”

The dog shook his head.

“Now I can’t unsee it. Something about you is familiar.”

Piggy’s heart was hammering. She just wanted them to leave!

“Have you come from Phantine?” Usa asked innocently. “I have a large family.”

Usa’s attempts to deflect were not working. The bandits were circling the truck. The lead dog put his mask back on.

“No, I’ve seen you somewhere else. And you know what they say; if you recognize a stranger on the road, you’ve seen them on a wanted poster.”

Usa fired her gun, taking out one of the bandits. She was quickly disarmed by bandits boarding the truck. Piggy shrank away, wishing she could disappear.

“That’s it!” the lead dog shouted. “Take them!”

## Production

### Continuity and Story Arcs

The attack on the House of Intended Design in “Aurora” split the Toons into four groups:

* Cornelia Caligari and her husband died, the only two Toon casualties.
* Doctor, Slate Oldman, and Bradley Wolfe were captured and taken to Antlerstag in Cervidium.
* Mata Hairy was left behind in Yefoxerinburg.
* All others were rescued by the Free. This group further split, as the Beckers went to a vineyard in Mallardia, and the mice went to the former city of Mus. Piggy Pie and Alice proceeded with the Free.

Cats in Yefoxerinburg masqueraded as foxes, a reference to a similar tactic used by the Cartonians as they fled the War in “Bless My Homeland.”

The Whisper Chips were removed from Vella, Tick, and Rook.

Eileen recalls when Clarabelle Cow attacked her in “Split the Heavens.”

Mus, Willie, has been renamed Vannastadt, after Vanna Vixen (Vixen IX).

Barnacle Barbara, who was murdered by Queen Vixen XXXI in “Into the Fire,” was memorialized in Toontown.

## Trivia

* The title of this episode comes from the traditional Scottish Skye Boat Song: "**Billow and breeze**, islands and seas, mountains of rain and sun..."
	+ The line was quoted by Usa Uhuru: "Vulpus doesn’t focus its attention on the rural areas, where we can **billow and breeze**."
* The Caligaris were disposed of in a mineshaft, similar to what happened to the Romanov Imperial Family after their execution in 1918.
* The rank of Skulksmarshall is based on the Nazi military rank of Reichsmarschall.
* Dr. Czufran Monet is loosely named after a reader.
* Usa Uhuru's surname means "freedom" in Swahili. Her first name is the abbreviation for the United States of America - USA.
* Renamed cities in Cartonia bare the suffix “-stadt,” which is German for “city.”