It’s a big day for the Fluffy Cartel. The entire herd has been invited to Dr. Pierre Faucheuse’s School for Gifted Individuals, for a big barbecue party.
The dodos stayed at home, but Athena, the AI in Pierre’s cabin, is keeping an eye on them, the greenhouses, and the Brownie Palace, via drones.
As the angels summoned by Deston keep an eye on little Moonflower and the other babies, Tommy and Maria, in the smoking tent, catch up with two old friends, Greebo and Woodstock get acquainted. You, Annette’s fluffy, is currently with Tiff.
“Annie, June. Long time no see, ladies.”
Annette smiles at the Fondas.
“An’ you, Tom. Maria. 'Eard you two had a baby. Congrats.”
June beams at the couple.
“Ooh, a babby! You’ll have to introduce us later.”
Maria smiles too, as she and Tommy sit down.
“Oh, sure. I can’t believe a bunch of angels are actually babysitting for us right now. They must really like kids Up There.”
Annette nods in agreement.
“Well, they likes the innocent. You’se can’t gets more innocent than a baby.”
Tommy lights an atomica and takes a deep hit.
“Or a fluffy. First time I met Blueberry, I knew he was a groovy little dude. He’s come so far, but he’s still keeping it real.”
Tommy passes the atomica to June, who takes a puff, and passes it to Maria.
“If you two need any help with the babby, just holler. I’m the best babbysitter there is. Except our mates from Up There. I’ve got plenty of experience with caring for babbies.”
Annette says something under her breath.
“What was that, Annie?”
Annette smirks.
“I’s said, you’se got plenty o’ experience with makin’ babies, too.”
June laughs.
“Ha! That’s true. Did you see Judy’s new robe, Annie? If’n I had a robe like that in me younger days, the Baron family would be a lot bigger.”
“Aye, it’s probably fer the best that you’se diddin.”
“Wait, what’s that about Judy?”
Tommy and Maria are completely out of the loop regarding Judy’s lessons with her father Robert.
June and Annette are happy to fill them in.
Meanwhile, Dot, Blueberry’s daughter, is moping because there’s no dodos here to play with.
Paul Murphy walks up to her.
“What’s wrong, little girl?”
“Dawt am saddies cus siwwy biwdie fwends nu am hewe.”
Paul thinks. He knows about Pierre’s dodos.
“Hmm. I’ve never done an extinct species before, but they’re technically not extinct anymore. Let me give it a go.”
“Wut am mistah gun d-- Wut.”
With the trademark sound of chicken nuggets in a blender, Paul turns into a dodo. He laughs.
“Ha, look at that, I pulled it off!”
Pierre, walking back from the grills with a big plate of steaks, sees Paul.
“Oh, we must have blipped one here by accident.”
“Nah, Mr. F! It’s me, Paul!”
“Paul??? Very impressive. I wasn’t aware that you can do extinct species. But dodos technically aren’t extinct anymore.”
“See, that’s what I said!”
Paul only then notices that Dot has already started hugging him.
It makes her happy, so he allows it.
Meanwhile, the Deaths tuck into some of Victor’s excellent homemade pork sausages.
They don’t need to eat, but they can.
And they’ve got time to be here. They don’t have to show up in person every time someone dies. Though they are, in a way, present at every death. They just have to reap a few people in person here and there, to keep the momentum going.
And the Death of Tyrannosaurus Rexes is retired, so he hasn’t got much better to do.
ONCE THING I DON’T LIKE ABOUT VICTOR IS ALL THE WORK HE SENDS MY WAY. LIKE I DIDN’T ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH TO DO. BUT, I’VE GOT TO ADMIT, HE’S A MASTER CHEF. SO, HE’S NOT ALL BAD.
SKREEEOONK?
The Death of Humans grabs a bottle of barbecue sauce.
OF COURSE, DEATH OF TYRANNOSAURUS REXES. SAY WHEN.
SKREONK. SKREONK, SKREONK.
YOU’RE WELCOME. QUITE TASTY SAUCE, ISN’T IT? I UNDERSTAND THE BARBECUE SAUCE IS ALSO ONE OF VICTOR’S RECIPES.
EBEN DA ANGEWS SEEM TU WIKE VICTOW’S CUUKIN.
The Deaths look over at the playpen, where Samuel the angel is going to town on a steak, which Victor had marinated the night before with another of his recipes. Samuel is currently too busy to notice the Deaths.
Victor wouldn’t kill someone just to protect his secret recipes, but he would probably be willing to staple someone’s mouth shut again.
The Death of Demons grins at his fluffy counterpart.
IT’S THAT DAMN GOOD, DEATH OF FLUFFIES.
The Death of Humans takes a sip from a glass of champagne.
THAT’S TRUE, DEATH OF DEMONS. WANT TO BET HE GETS IN UP THERE, JUST BECAUSE OF HIS COOKING?
YOU’RE ON, DEATH OF HUMANS.
DEATH OF FWUFFIES WAN IN AWN DAT ACK-SHUN.
SKREEEEEOOOOOONK.
The Deaths don’t really need money, and they already know the outcome.
It’s just for the fun of it.
Meanwhile, Blueberry and his family are sitting with Marley, and his family. Yakko and Wakko are playing huggy tag with Dende, Ziggy, Breezie, Mayday and Wario, the latter of which was welcomed into the Korkea household with open arms. And open front weggies.
Judy is demonstrating some of her magic to them, and some of the Barons.
The Baron family’s matriarch is a witch, so it’s nothing they haven’t seen before, but they’re all happy that Judy is learning so fast.
“Levis!”
Everyone applauds, except Blueberry, the unfortunate target of the spell. He looks down at Judy.
“Yus, vewy nice, miss Joo-dee. But pwease put Bwuebewwy down nao.”
Judy gently lowers Blueberry back to the ground.
“Sorry, Blueberry. I just couldn’t resist. It’s been nice seeing you again, by the way.”
By now, Pierre has told Calvin and Judy that this Blueberry, is, in fact, the reincarnation of the Blueberry who Judy had as a pet before he joined the Smarty Herd. They were both amazed.
“Bwuebewwy nu mine, wuz ack-shu-awwy kinna fun, but nex time, wawn Bwuebewwy befowe miss Joo-dee du dat. An am nice tu see miss Joo-dee again, tuu. Bwuebewwy am sowwy dat Bwuebewwy wuz bad fwuffy in wast wife.”
Judy kneels down and pets Blueberry.
“I forgive you, Blueberry. I’m proud of you, you’ve come so far. You can call me mummah, if you want.”
Blueberry looks up at Judy with tears of joy in his eyes.
“Fank yu, mummah.”
Snowball smiles at Blueberry as well. Since they had the same hoomin mummah, she sees him as a bwuddah.
“Mummah am du dat fwoaty fing tu Snowbaww, tuu.”
Marley looks up from his plate of tiny burgers.
“An daddeh can du dat tuu. But daddeh nu am wizz-uwd, daddeh am Ess-Paw-si-tif. Wike Bwuebewwy, an Wock an See-mone, an Bweezie an Mayday. Wike aww da Kay-oh-ticks. Dey aww haf powahs, an dey twy tu yoos dem pwo-pew-wee. Tu pwotek hoomins an fwuffies. Dey aww am gud. Yu am pwetty smawt, Bwuebewwy. Yu am smawter dan Mawwey. Mawwey fink Bwuebewwy am smawtest fwuffy Mawwey eba meet. Weww, essept da Bone Fwuff.”
“Bwuebewwy knu dat, but fanks, Mawwey. Yu am pwetty smawt tuu. Bwuebewwy nu knu dat Mawwey awso knu da Bone Fwuff. Bone Fwuff am gud fwend tu Bwuebewwy. Haf awways bin gud fwend tu Bwuebewwy.”
The Death of Fluffies, who has excellent hearing, overhears Blueberry say this, and grins. If the Death of Fluffies had tear ducts, he’d be shedding a tear of joy, too.
Piccolo smiles at Blueberry too. They all like him.
“Piccowo awways teww Mawwey, if Piccowo an Mawwey wuz in hewd, den Mawwey wud be smawty. An Mawwey wud be jus as gud smawty as Bwuebewwy.”
“Fank yu tuu, Piccowo. If fwuffies wan feew-gud nummies, jus say da wordsie. Bwuebewwy can huk fwuffies up. Bwuebewwy am knu a gai.”
The fluffies turn to look at Rock, who, along with his daughter Simone, is playing with a ball. It’s a good bonding exercise, as Deston says.
The ball is Stretch. He really doesn’t mind.
Yin-Yang and Karma are chatting with Leslie and Helen Oldman, while Daisy and Rose play with Austin and Mercury. Yin-Yang’s been telling the Oldmans all about his job as the Fluffy Cartel’s Head Toughy, and they’ve been listening with as much fascination as Tommy.
Then Leslie notices that Lavender wandered off a while ago, after talking to Prometheus, and hasn’t come back yet.
“Have you seen Lavender, Yin-Yang?”
Yin-Yang points a hoof to the tent.
“Yin-Yang see Wavendew gu in dewe, mistah Weswie. Yin-Yang gu take a peeksie eawiew. It smeww wike da Mummahship in dewe. Wotta smokies.”
“…What’s the Mothership?”
“It am wut Tommeh caww Tommeh caw. Tommeh am smoke a wot of att-tommeh-cuhs in dewe.”
Leslie realises what exactly Tommy does in the Mothership, and that it’s the same thing everyone in the tent is currently doing.
“Oh dear.”
The Oldmans see Lavender stumble out of the tent, making a beeline for the grills.
Her eyes are already visibly reddish, but she seems alright.
“Ha, just like me back in high school.”
Back at the Deaths’ table, the Death of Fluffies see a mare from Blueberry’s herd walk by with her foals, to go talk to Mark, Rosa, Drew, and Erwin, who are with Cleo, Julius, Del, Phyllis, Adam, Eve, and all of their families, except Wario, who is currently with the Korkea household’s fluffies.
The Death of Fluffies notices one of the mare’s foals, a well-behaved little colt with a very pleasant shade of green fluff, who looks very happy indeed.
The Death of Fluffies smiles, and turns to his co-workers.
WUN HUNDWED AN ATE WIVES. ECKS-ACK-WEE. WOOKS WIKE SMAWTY FINAWWY WEAWNED HIM WESSON.
The Death of Humans shrugs.
YOU WIN AGAIN, DEATH OF FLUFFIES.
The Death of Demons smiles as well.
AND HERE I THOUGHT THAT HE WAS JUST LIKE CHRIS AND JAMES. OR THOSE THREE STOOGES. I THOUGHT HE’D NEVER LEARN. I THOUGHT HE’D BE DOING IT UNTIL THE END OF ETERNITY. BUT, AT LAST, HE ADMITTED THAT HE WAS IN THE WRONG. AND HE’S EARNED THIS CHANCE. HERE’S HOPING HE EARNS HIS WAY UP THERE, TOO.
The Deaths toast the puke green smarty who finally got a clue.
A short while later, Calvin walks up to their table with Seth, and gestures at the Death of Tyrannosaurus Rexes.
“Look, Seth! There’s your next album’s cover!”
The Death of Tyrannosaurus Rexes laughs so hard he almost falls out of his chair.