The repetitive screeching of the alarm on the floor had been going off for nearly fifteen minutes. The noise had slowly fallen into the background and was hardly noticeable. Putting the alarm on the floor was supposed to motivate Deputy Skids to get up. Although some days, the act of getting up, knowing that he had to go to work every day for the next forty years, was grinding him down. After some quick stretching, he managed the energy to roll far enough to fall off the bed. He reached over and slammed the alarm clock until it shut off. Looking over at the clock, then back up at the ceiling, he slowly got up. Ever since the cogs were finally expelled from Toontown, things had gone back to normal. The streets were alive with toons celebrating, throwing parties, and an atmosphere of peace after nearly twenty years of constant war. It was a glorious moment for everyone - everyone but Deputy Skids. A fifteen year veteran of the Toontown Police Force had been exciting, it gave him purpose. But now he was the deputy of a town with no crime. Toontown was a utopia. An exciting day would be if a cat got stuck in a gag tree trying to get an unusually stuck wedding cake. Defeating cogs was his life, and if there is one thing about old dogs, its that it's hard for them to learn new tricks. After a quick breakfast, he watered his trees and headed out, unbeknownst of what would lie ahead.

Cupcake Doggenbottom was one of Toontown's most fiercely beloved toons. A beautiful pink cat, she was well known for her outrageous outfits, and silly goggles. Of course being the adopted daughter of the president also helped her notoriety. She had been a crucial figure who helped to lead the Toontown revolution and the downfall of the cogs in Toontown. Her marriage to a Telemarketer was something that at one point been controversial, but was now celebrated as a modern day Romeo & Juliet story. She was truly an enigma. Today though, she was now in charge of planning the first annual celebration of Toontown's independence. It was a beautiful, sunny day in Toontown Central. At City Hall, a group of toons had gathered around, yelling suggestions, taking selfies, and wondering what the emergency speech would bring. Due to Cupcake's status as a political, and emotional leader, she was usually given a security team when appearing publicly. While Toontown had never been known for being a dangerous place, Flippy was an over-cautious father, much to Cupcake's disdain. Cupcake stepped up to a podium. Clearing her throat, the small crowd slowly calmed down and all eyes were on her.

"My fellow Toons! As you know, this Saturday is the one year anniversary of our defeat of the cogs!" the crowd burst out in cheers, before slowly calming down and allowing her to continue. "To celebrate such a historical event, City Hall has decided that we need a party. A great party! A wonderful party!" the crowd began cheering again, this time taking longer to dissipate.

From the background, Deputy Skids scanned the crowd. He was placed onto security duty for the event. His experience, and the need to get him out of the office so he'd stop asking for something to do, made it an easy decision. There was nothing going on. Mostly Toons talking among their groups. Some were shooting squirt guns and seltzer bottles to stay cool in the hot summer sun, but nothing suspicious. He yawned and took out a squirt gun, spraying his face, and wiping it off on his purple ascot. His mindless gaze was interrupted when the crowd erupted into cheers again. Looking up, Cupcake had finished her speech and was stepping off the podium to allow Flippy to take over. After exiting the stage, she walked back, escorted by her husband Mark. Brushing by Deputy and the other members of the security team, she looked over and smiled. Deputy smirked back, and followed along with the others.

As they walked down the stairs, towards the tunnel to Silly Street, one of the younger members on the force named Brownie spoke up. He was a short, brown mouse, and had the timid, squeaky voice to match.

"Mrs. Doggenbottom? That was a wonderful speech you gave today. It makes me real proud to be a Toon!" he stated, while blushing. "What I mean is, I'm really excited for the celebration this weekend. I'm going to bring my sweetheart, Jenny Guacamole! Well she isn't my sweetheart yet, but when I ask her to go with me this Saturday, there's no way she can say no!" stopping to daydream about his crush, he soon fell behind the group and ran to caught up.

"Aw, she sounds like a, well sweetheart" Cupcake laughed "It's going to be the biggest celebration in Toontown history. The Fungeneers are already expecting the Silly Meter to overload, and all sorts of wacky shenanigans." she stopped, mimicking an exploding Silly Meter "Toons have been fighting and fighting, when we should have been laughing, building, and living fun and happy lives. Someday there will be a new generation of Toons who will only know peace and happiness, as the way it should be."

Deputy Skids followed behind the rest of the crowd. Watching the youthful expressions, and optimistic outlooks of the younger Toons had given him pause. While fighting cogs, and a life of action gave him purpose, he needed to remember that for many this was not the case. Many toons had gone permanently sad through the great Toontown Wars, and his work had left him little time to have a family. Sweating in the sun, he reached for his squirt gun, but it wasn't in his holster. Turning around, he looked back and it wasn't anywhere in sight. Shrugging, he jogged to catch up with the group as they entered the Silly Street Tunnel. Behind a tree, to the left of the Schoolhouse, a hand in a white glove spun around a newly acquired squirt gun. Giggling maniacally, the hand slipped behind the tree and a figure disappeared into the fading sun.