#I'm sorry this chapter took a little more editing than I thought 😞

[shy-nightmare]

The Toonz Twins: Toontown Sleuths

Chapter Five: Pattycake

Summary: Now that the show’s over, the twins and their employer snoop around to get the job done. However, they get more than they bargained for.

Credit for inspiration goes to @imaginarytoon1, author of “The Birchwood Twins: Toontown Investigators” and @its-metal-mistress, author of “Bendy and the Ink Machine: Learning How to Live”. Please check out their own wonderful content ^^!

Special Guests Tags 😊: @marinerainbow, @slashingdisneypasta, @weaselnerd, and @lastofautumn. Autumn, you have been officially honored as a special guest in the story. Congratulations! 😁

Warning: This chapter contains some sexual innuendos because it’s the 40’s, poor Roger in heartbreak, and some suspicious activity 👀

“AND DON’T LET ME CATCH YOUR PEEPIN’ FACES AROUND HERE AGAIN! GOT IT?” Bongo shouted after he literally tossed Eddie and the twins out of the club.

Tom rubbed his head gingerly, cursing at the bouncer while Eddie glared at the door and scratched his armpit, shouting “OOGA BOOGA!”

The gunslinger, who transformed back into his Toon form, glared up at his boss. “You just had to call him a chimp, didn’t you?”

“How was I supposed to know he was skulking around—Uh, Twyla, what are you doing?” Eddie’s glare faltered and Tom turned around to see his twin sister looking through a window. Then, she softly gasped and quickly ducked down.

“You found `em?” Eddie asked.

She nodded.

“Good.” Eddie fished down his pocket to grab his camera while Twyla quietly pulled out a milk crate and pushed it against the wall. The window was half-sealed by the dark rose curtains, but he didn’t want to risk it. “Not a sound,” he told his silent assistant, who nodded.

“Come, my dear Jessica.” Acme said, “I got everything arranged. Right here, on the bed.”

Bed?

“Oh, not tonight, Marvin,” Jessica replied groggily, “I have a headache.”

“But Jessica, you promised,” Acme whined.

Jessica sighed, “Oh, all right. But this time, take off that hand buzzer.”

Eddie angled his camera to the window, careful not to be seen. He took a shot.

“Pattycake.”

The twins’ ears perked up at the sound of…moaning?

“Pattycake.” Acme repeated, and Jessica moaned again.

“Wait,” Twyla’s eyes widened in shock, turning to her brother. “Are they…?”

Tom pulled himself up and nudged Eddie, ignoring his glare. “Valiant, get out of my way!” he whisper-shouted.

Tom carefully at the window, and his eyes went wide like saucers.

Jessica and Acme…they were…

“Marvin!”

“Pattycake, pattycake, pattycake!”

“Oh, Marvin!”

“Holy shit.”

Eddie’s jaw dropped, matching Tom’s state of shock. “You gotta be kidding me!”

_______________

“PATTYCAKE?! PATTYCAKE?!” Roger bawled miserably as he pounded the blinds of the window where the Acme Factory could be seen across the road. “I don’t believe it!” He jumped off the shelf and walked to Maroon’s desk, banging his head. “Pattycake?! Pattycake?! It’s not true!”

Seeing the poor guy bawl and weep in heartbroken betrayal can stab anyone’s heart. Even Tom, who was leaning against the wall, frowned sympathetically at the sight. You can’t not feel sorry for this guy after finding his wife cheated on him with his idol and literally had old-fashioned cartoon sex with him.

“Take comfort, son,” Maroon said with little sympathy, “You’re not the first man whose wife played Pattycake on him.”

He handed Roger his handkerchief and he blew his nose, emitting whoopee cushion and deflated saxophone sounds. “I just don’t believe it,” Roger whimpered. His brows furrowed, “I won’t believe it! I can’t believe it! I shan’t believe it!”

Twyla accepted the photos Eddie handed to her, and she handed them over to the heartbroken rabbit. “Believe it, kid.” Eddie told him, “I took the pictures myself, and the twins saw it for themselves. She played Pattycake.”

“No! Not my Jessica,” Roger shook his head, going through the pictures at rapid speed. “Not Pattycake. This is impossible. I don’t believe it! It can’t be! It just can’t be! Jessica’s my wife! It’s absolutely impossible!” he shouted, tossing the pictures away and looking at them in denial. “Jessica is the light of my life…” he whimpered, shutting his eyes tearfully. “…the apple of my life…the cream in my coffee.”

Twyla patted his shoulder comfortingly.

“Well, you better start drinking it black, ‘cause Acme’s taking the cream now.” Eddie said, taking a sip of his drink while ignoring the twins’ deadpan glares.

“Hard to believe,” Maroon agreed, staring at the Acme Factory. “Marvin Acme’s been my friend and neighbor for thirty years. Who would’ve thought he was a sugar daddy?”

“Somebody must have made her do it,” Roger sobbed.

Maroon walked over with a small glass of whiskey and handed it to him. “Drink this, son. You’ll feel better.”

Roger took a deep breath and swallowed the whiskey in one gulp.

Suddenly, his eye popped.

Tom rose a brow, slowly stepping away. “Uh, Roger?”

The rabbit started twitching, changing colors as the twitching became violent. His face turned steaming red, and his cheeks expanded.

Uh-oh.

“Take cover!” Eddie shouted at the twins, and they ducked beneath the desk before covering their ears.

Roger flew up high to the ceiling, screeching eardrum-busting steam whistles. He screeched and steamed with absolute heartbreak and fury, his limbs lashing out in violent fits of rage and sorrow fueled by the oxygen blowing out of his lungs constricted by the pain in his broken heart. As he screamed, the trophies shattered, and glass shelves exploded into little shards.  One of the pieces nearly stabbed Twyla and Tom swatted it off with his tail. “Roger! Calm down! We get it, OK?! She betrayed you! Now calm down before you shatter our ears!” he exclaimed, tucking his sister close to him.

Roger’s steam-whistle screaming stopped and he fell back on the chair, faceplanting the desk. The twins slowly got up and looked around to witness the office in chaos. It looked like a tornado had burst in the window, and the floor and desk were scattered with broken glass, papers, and other debris. They turned around to Roger, who slowly lifted his head up wearing a goofy, exhausted smile.

“Thanks!” He grinned, eyes spinning around. “I needed that.”

He slammed face-down on the desk the second time.

Tom gently touched Twyla’s shoulder, “You all right?”

She nodded.

“Son of a bitch,” Eddie muttered. “Look, Mr. Maroon. I think my work here is finished. How about that carrot you owe me, huh?”

“A deal’s a deal.” Maroon replied, pulling out a check for him.

Both men walked over to Roger, whose eyes were bloodshot and was wheezing with exhaustion. His hair and fur were a mess. He looked pitiful.

“Roger, I know that it all seems pretty painful right now,” Maroon comforted him, “But you’ll find someone new. Won’t he, Mr. Valiant?”

“Yeah, sure.” Eddie replied, standing on Roger’s left. “Good-looking guy like that?” he chuckled, “Heh-heh. The dames’ll be bringing his door down.”

Roger sprung up with gritted teeth, his blue eyes flashing with newfound fury.

Both Tom and Twyla recoiled. Oh, he’s pissed.

“Dames?! What dames?!” Roger exclaimed and pounced on Eddie. He grabbed him by the collar of his trench coat and sneered at his face, “Jessica’s the only one for me! You’ll see! We’ll rise above this piddling peccadillo! We’re going to be happy again! You got that?! Happy! Capital H-A-P-P-I!” 

Roger released him and burst out of the glass window. Maroon and Eddie walked over.

“Well, at least he took it well.” Eddie said.

Maroon pulled down the blinds, revealing an outline of the Toon rabbit.

_______________

Twyla walked over to stare at the window, then asked, “Do you think we should check on him?”

“So you can talk!” Maroon exclaimed, and Twyla only responded with a deadpan look.

“Yeah, he’ll be fine. He’s a Toon, he’ll bounce back.” He answered, but Tom suddenly cut in.

“Actually, that’s not a bad idea.” He stood next to Twyla, “Just because we’re Toons doesn’t mean we can’t feel the same heartbreak any fella or dame would feel when they just got their hearts broken.”

He looked at his sister, and she could tell he had something else in mind.

They left the studio, but Eddie stopped them. “Hold on, hold on,” he stopped in front of them. “What are you two up to this time?” he asked with a slight glare. He obviously has not forgotten about their little disguise trick back at the club.

“Any guy who just found out their lady’s had an affair is prone to make dumbass decisions like getting drunk off their asses or confrontin’ the guy who took their place.” Tom answered, “And now Twyla’s talking, she can handle Roger a lot better than I can.”

Eddie looked down, brows furrowed, then sighed. “Do you two have a place to stay for the night?”

The twins’ brows rose and glanced at each other in shocked silence.

“Sorry?” Tom asked, raising a brow.

The detective grumbled, muttering, “Do you kids have somewhere to go?”

They shared an uncertain glance, silently debating on whether or not they should tell him about their plan. However, their current situation brought back their sense of logic. This is exactly where they’re supposed to go, but they’re in the wrong time period. They need to get into contact with Adam and Echo and figure out how they’re going to get back to the modern world. And not to mention, they’re still new here.

After a silent moment, the twins shook their heads.

Eddie sighed, fishing his pocket. He pulled out a key and tossed it to Twyla.

“You know the way back to my office?” he asked.

Twyla shared a raised brow with her brother, then nodded.

“All right,” Eddie said, “Find the rabbit, make sure he’s not dead, and come back.”

The twins nodded and watched him go before Tom turned to her. “Hey, sis?” he whispered.

“Yeah?”

“How do you feel like doing a little…solo mission?” he asked.

Her ear twitched. “Solo mission?”

“Yeah,” her brother nodded curtly. “I think he might head back home in Toontown.”

Twyla’s purple pie-cut orbs widened. “Toontown?”

“Yeah. It’s right behind the Acme Factory, and there’s a tunnel called Mt. Hollywood in Vermont Canyon Road on the other side of town.” He leaned in closer, and his voice deepened with dark malice. “If she’s home, you know what to do.”

A low growl erupted from Twyla’s throat. “Shall I spare her?”

“Yeah. But don’t go easy.”

“Oh, trust me.” His sister held her hand up, and massive razor-sharp obsidian claws erupted from her fingertips. “I’m about to give her a brand-new makeover.”

Tom ran off to catch up with Eddie and Twyla ran in the opposite direction towards the Acme Factory. She had no clue where the tunnel was, so she decided to take a shortcut and jump over the brick wall near the factory. When the warehouse became present in her peripheral vision, she dodged in the dark, narrow alleyway between the two buildings and continued to run with flashing velocity. She reached out with her arms, extended her claws, and leapt high in the air. Twyla grabbed onto the brick wall, using her claws for stability before she began to climb. It didn’t take too long for her to make it to the top, and when she got there, she heard laughter.

She hoisted herself up and kicked her legs over to give herself relief.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

The wall suddenly shook, rumbling as if there was going to be an earthquake. Twyla nearly fell, but she grasped onto the edges to prevent her from doing so. She lowered her head down low enough to move her ear, and she heard something loud, large, and metallic coming. It sounded like the wheels of a bus.

It’s a Toon bus, she realized and rose to her knees, preparing to jump. Her tail moved around to check the altitude and was pleased with her results. She inched closer as the blare grew louder…

And louder…

Just a few more moments…

The Toon bus, painted bright red, zoomed in. And Twyla leapt in the sky of the Tooniverse.

She landed on the roof with a gentle thump and rested her hand on her right knee while she took some slow, deep breaths.

Twyla lifted her chin up…and her jaw dropped in astonishment.

Everything she had imagined about Toontown was beautiful, but dare she say her dreams cannot compare to the sights before her! The night sky was illustrated in shades of midnight and lapis, kissed by tiny little stars dancing around the crescent moon, and Toon cloud people sat in their puffy chairs reading their novels. Despite the cool evening temperature, a foreign sense of warmth welcomed the new traveler. Warmth, like sunshine. The streets were bursting with life and laughter, and the entirety of the environment consisted of a fantastical, dreamlike atmosphere. Cartoon characters known and loved by all around the world, new and old, smiled brightly and danced around with wild wonder. She could have sworn she spotted the Three Little Pigs dancing and playing, once again oblivious of the Big Bad Wolf prowling after them. As the bus drove on, Twyla noticed the buildings, cars, plants, and even the streetlamps were drawn with eyes and smiles. Jazz music filled the wonderful atmosphere with glorious passion. Everything was drawn and painted in colors, sizes, and shapes of all kinds, moving to the upbeat jazz music playing with rhythmic, stylistic movement.

Everyone was a Toon. And they all were so energetic. So happy. So lively.

This is Toontown. The promiseland.

A tear fell from Twyla’s eye and she cupped her hands together. “Oh,” she gasped dreamily, “It’s so beautiful.”

She caught a whiff of something sweet like lavender and lemon-scented carrots. “Oh, crap!” she exclaimed. “I almost forgot what I came here for!”

The horror Toon rested on her hands and knees as her ride was now driving towards a quaint little neighborhood called Sweet Sunflower Acres. It was a beautiful series of blocks of two-story family houses and duplexes on one side of the street and combinations of townhouses perched on the other side where the park was. The streets were lined with large trees that shadowed the sidewalks beneath them with leaves blossomed with little sunflowers, and Toons birds snoozed peacefully in their little nests.

Twyla’s nose detected the scent growing stronger, meaning she was getting closer. The scent led her to a two-story townhouse painted in pale lavender with roofs and shingles neatly drawn in dark violet. And good thing the tree was close enough for her to leap onto. The Gothic-clad vigilante stood on two careful legs, spread her arms open, and jumped off the bus…but then crashed in the middle of the tree quite roughly.

“Ow!” she cried out. She climbed up on the tallest and thickest branch, rubbing her head gingerly while stars moved around her head. Two angry Toon birds flapped their wings around, but their anger melted into concern when they saw her injury. “I’m sorry,” she apologized with a nervous chuckle before she reached down her pocket and pulled out a Toon box of birdseeds. “Here. Help yourselves.”

The birds took it, kindly rubbed her head to ease the pain, and flew away. Twyla chuckled, then focused on the balcony. It was close enough for her to get to, and this time she didn’t have to jump. The lupine ravenette walked across the branch with careful footing until she stepped over the railing. She walked over to the doors, and with a gentle push, the velvet purple curtains whooshed as she made her appearance. The pale light of the moon basked upon the floor, making it easier for her to observe the bedroom. Her shadow loomed over like a ghostly specter haunting the night, and her raven locks softly flew around her shoulders like a dark caped crusader. It was a large-scale bedroom covered in orchid wallpaper accented with tiny purple carrots, and the floors were carpeted in deep eggplant with rugs. On the right near the closet stood a vintage vanity mirror and table set with a tufted chair, and the mirror sides were adorned with neon lights. Nearby, a vintage three-panel room divider stood near the vanity mirror and Twyla blushed bright pink seeing a lacy embroidered crimson bra. And on the left stood a tufted upholstered queen-sized bed blanketed in silky purple pillows and matching blankets.

Twyla sniffed around the air for Jessica’s presence, but not a single trace of her perfume was there. “Damn it,” she cursed softly, then her eyes spotted a picture frame on the right nightstand. She walked over and gently picked up the frame before looking at a photograph. Roger stood on the left, wearing a tuxedo that was a little too big for him and striped trousers while holding a top hat. On his right stood Jessica, wearing a sweetheart dress and a veil. They gazed at each other lovingly, which only made the intruder’s heart burn with quiet rage.

“How could you break a guy like him?” she whispered to Jessica.

“Ey! Pipe down there, ya mugs! I can hear ‘im walkin’ and talkin’.” a nasally, old-style Brooklyn voice broke Twyla out of her thoughts.

Shit! Someone else is here, too!

It’s coming from the sidewalk, Twyla thought as she soundlessly leaned against the wall while resting her hand on her hostler.

“Duh, where, Boss?” another voice, one for a simpleton, asked.

“In the ‘bed-broom’, stupid!” the first voice barked.

Twyla picked up new scents. She smelled something reek of cigarette smoke, dandruff, and…cologne? She had no time; right now, she needed to get out of here. Reaching down her jacket, she pulled out a small grenade labeled ACME GAS POWDER, ripped off the safety pin ring, and tossed it out of the window. A Toon cloud emerged from the ground, followed by individual voices coughing and cursing. The cloud was thick enough for her to escape without being seen, so she darted out of the balcony and silently leaped on the roof before running miles and miles away until she leapt off the bridge out of Toontown.

[superblysubpar]

Chapter 8!!! Ahh!! You never miss! Just Steve being in love with reader for years and he just stayed bickering with you because at least it was some interaction with you and it was better than not having you in his life at all ahh The coffee and brown bag 😞 I was so sad to see it go to waste lol and both of them crying 😭 and just us being scared and wanting to just run and leave and hide 🥺

Ooh and since you love questions and I’m eager to hear your answers, what has been your favorite part to write in the series so far? And I remember reading your original first part and loving this concept, so it's been exciting to reread that first chapter and see the little differences. I’d love to know how this “re-release” differ from what you originally planned? Oooh ooh and if this bet didn’t happen, how do you think Steve and reader would eventually find themselves together?

don't mind me, just sobbing before 9am, it's cool.

This really did make my morning and week, truly. I'm so glad you loved chapter 8! And funny you mention steve just bickering for some interaction, I have a few lines about this in the last chapter actually, so I'm so glad you've already picked up on that's what he was doing! And right? I would fold if that boy brought me coffee and a treat and we just broke his heart and now it's in the trash?! come on!!

also questions!!!!!! oh these questions!! I'm so sorry, I truly can't shut up!

I don't know if I've had a specific part that I've loved more than the others. They all have felt really fun and good to write, even the sucky angsty parts. I did really love the flashback of the spin the bottle party, and the diner with steve, and also the car accident scene. But I think overall, I've loved the challenge and practice I made this out to be for myself. I wanted to not take it so seriously with editing and what not and just write and I have a good time, and I hope the fun and love I'm putting into it is coming out. I also challenged myself to do more "scenes", focus on my dialogue, and conveying a lot of different (and constantly changing) emotions in few words and back story. For screenwriting, I don't get to do so much inner head monologues for a character, and it's been a challenge for me to switch to that mindset sometimes!

As for the "re-release", so I actually did not have any flashbacks planned until I wrote the bike one in chapter 2 and was like...hold on...which kind of took my plot and twisted it up. Which, funny enough, a screenwriting podcast I listen to was like, sometimes you have this thought, and you have to keep throwing things up and questioning it and sometimes it sucks, cause it breaks your entire plot but you know it's the right move and you're back to square one. Which is exactly what happened haha. That flashback just sort of poured out of me and at the time, I was like, okay I'll make it work. But the more I tried to write the original plot, the more I was like, obviously this isn't the story I want or need to write. Originally, there was no "we've both been in love forever" plot, I was trying to strictly write an enemies to lovers. I wanted them to just hate each other and I wanted steve to fall while plotting against reader and I wanted reader to fall harder despite being plotted against. I wanted a big blow up of steve taking the money from eddie and reader thinking that's all he wanted and for steve to realize that wasn't all he wanted. But alas, here we are, and I'm so happy and proud of how it changed.

And oh my gosh, what a great question. I like to think that they're obviously forced to be around each other through work and friends, and the more time spent together, the more Steve falls and gets the nerve to do something about it. I do think maybe there'd have to be some sort of vulnerable moment still, like the very first storm and the hand holding in the basement - something that makes him seem not so annoying and evil to reader and something that shows Steve she doesn't hate him, not really. And then I think Steve would just keep trying to flirt - conversations like the one in the car when he asked "did you ever stop and think that maybe I've never even tried because I knew you wouldn't listen" and reader just 👁👄👁 at him. until they kiss and love each other because, hello, no bet and miscommunication about feelings! But that's no fun 😉

So, long story, not short, thank you so much for reading and thank you so much for letting me ramble and ramble and ramble some more, you're an angel. 💛