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SAM VALENTINO'S JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS CONCERT CAPER
By Sam
DISCLAIMER: Josie and the Pussycats and the Archies are trademarks and properties of Archie Comics. All Hanna-Barbera and Looney Tunes characters and trademarks are properties of Warner Bros.- Discovery, and the Groovie Goolies characters and trademarks are properties of Classic Media/Universal. The Josie songs "Josie Theme" and "It's Gotta Be Him" are written by Joseph Barbera, William Hanna and Hoyt Curtin; "Lie, Lie, Lie" is written by Danny Janssen and Austin Roberts; and "Roadrunner" is written by Danny Janssen and Sue Steward. The Cattanooga Cats songs "Olly Olly Oxen Free" and "Johnny Johnny Jump Up", were written by Mike Curb, Jerry Styner, and Guy Hemric. Music. This is simply a work of fanfiction incorporating my original toon fox detective character, along with another one of my own fursonas.
It was another early Friday afternoon at my office. I was trying to put together a house of cards while waiting for another case to come to me. I'm a private detective, and Sam Valentino is my name. Sure enough, my phone rang – one of those old black candlestick-type landline telephones. (I have a cellular phone, but when I'm in my office I usually have it charging and powered down, as I find people calling my office on the landline phone more traditional for a gumshoe like me.)
I picked up the phone and answered, "Sam Valentino, Private Detective speaking."
I heard a male voice let out a frustrated groan, followed by, "Sam, this is Mr. Nichols of the Franklyn Concert Hall. I assume you've heard of the Josie and the Pussycats benefit concert tomorrow night?"
"Yes, I have," I said. "I've been seeing news of it all over Toontown."
"Well, they've gone missing!" Mr. Nichols wailed. "Even their manager and his sister and their roadie are gone, too!"
"Hmm, it's always the dames..." I wondered out loud. "Did they say they were going anywhere?"
"No!" Mr. Nichols answered. "They said they only planned to stay in the area, only being at my concert hall and their hotel. But when I arrived at their hotel suite this morning, they were gone, even though they said they'd be there when I called beforehand!"
I asked this because I had known the band had often embarked in several adventures and mysteries where they stopped a bunch of crooks, including supervillains bent on world domination, and wondered if maybe this was another example of that. "Did you try calling or texting any of them?" I asked.
"Several times," Mr. Nichols replied, "but I'm not getting any answers! It's like their phones are powered off or something."
"Very suspicious," I commented. "If they were on yet another one of their adventures, they would surely have their mobile phones on. OK, I'll take the case."
"Oh, thank you so much!" Mr. Nichols said over the phone. "I'll discuss payment after you recover them."
***
While I already knew about Josie and the Pussycats' tendency to go on adventures and defeat villains, I wasn't that familiar with the band. I'm generally not a fan of pop music, and I remember how during the time the band was on Saturday morning TV, several cartoons during that time tended to feature such bubblegum rock songs and sometimes even have their own band. Even Scooby-Doo and Mystery Incorporated had such songs accompany their chase scenes in 1970.
But I had a contact that was fan of that sort of stuff. My friend, Zak Wolf; he also knows his cartoon history and backstories like I do. He's also a music lover; he has a large library of vinyl records, CDs, and cassettes. He does enjoy digital music but likes having physical copies as well. So I called up Zak and asked if I could stop by his den to see if he had any leads. He said sure, and I headed over there.
...
I had driven my old BMW over to Zak Wolf's home and met up with him there. "So, what can you tell me about Josie and the Pussycats?" I asked him.
"Oh, they're a band that originally came from Riverdale, home of the Archies," Zak explained as he led me to his bedroom where he kept his music library. "They had some great early 70s bubblegum rock hits, and their TV series was also noted for being the very first Saturday morning cartoon with an African-American female protagonist!"
"Valerie, right?" I questioned.
"That's right," Zak replied as he pulled out a Josie and the Pussycats CD. "You already know the names of the members?"
"Indeed," I told the wolf. "You see, I'm on a case. The band, their roadie and their manager have gone missing; a kidnapping is suspected, and I need to find them in time for the concert tomorrow night."
"Good luck," Zak said. "I'm attending that concert. They've also got the Cattanooga Cats opening."
"Oh?" I asked. "What can you tell me about these Cattanooga Cats?"
Zak went to his shelf of records and pulled out an LP album of the Cattanooga Cats, featuring four hillbilly-looking toon cats on the jacket: three male and one female. "They starred in their own short-lived Saturday morning cartoon, also from Hanna-Barbera," he explained. "They too had their own bubblegum rock songs; some pretty groovy stuff. They're still around, largely doing opening acts for some other toon rock bands of the 60s and 70s."
"I see," I replied, as I jotted down some notes into my notepad. "Thank you, Zak, you've been a big help."
"Any time," Zak said as he and I hugged. That wolf sure likes hugs, and sometimes I too like a good hug as well, despite my somewhat tough demeanor.
***
I met up with Mr. Nichols at the Franklyn Concert Hall to learn a little more about the Cattanooga Cats. I needed to ask them some questions relating to the disappearance of Josie and the Pussycats.
"...so, do you know where the Cattanooga Cats are right now?" I finished.
"You're in luck," Mr. Nichols said. "The Cats are practicing in the rehearsal room. They shouldn't mind if you drop in on them."
"Thank you, Mr. Nichols," I replied, shaking his hand.
Mr. Nichols directed me to the rehearsal room, and I found my way there. I could hear some twangy late 60s-style bubblegum rock coming from the closed doors. I knocked, and I could hear them stopping.
"Come on in," a voice with a slight drawl called from behind the door.
I entered and asked the feline band, "Hi, are you the Cattanooga Cats?"
"We sure are," a tall lanky orange cat in a green stylized hillbilly outfit and hat. "I'm Country, and this here is Scoots, Groove, and Kitty Jo and her dog, Teeny Tim." The rest of the band members waved. I couldn't believe an anthropomorphic toon cat had a pet dog, but I guess it was a nice break from the usual formula. "Why do you ask?" Country said.
"Sam Valentino, Private Detective," I introduced myself as I presented my badge. "I'm here to ask you some questions."
"Oh, is this about the disappearance of Josie and the Pussycats?" Groove asked. His voice sounded somewhat like Shaggy of Mystery Inc. but with a slight drawl.
"We didn't do it!" Scoots cried out as he waved his arms.
"Don't worry," Kitty Jo explained to me. "He's telling the truth. We were just as shocked about their disappearance."
"It's a drag, too," Country added. "If Josie and the Pussycats can't perform, we can't go on and open for them. We'll have to wait for the next throwback bubblegum rock concert to open for. We don't play our own concerts like Josie's band and several others do."
I jotted down a bit of what they said. It could be useful. "Well, when did you last see the band?" I asked them.
"Earlier this morning," Scoots said. "We visited their hotel room to hang with them for a while. We had also planned to have lunch with them, only we then learned from Mr. Nichols that they had gone missing!"
"Oh, so you're on good terms with Josie and the Pussycats?" I asked.
"We're fans of their music," Kitty Jo replied. "I like the cat motif they go for, even if they are human toons. But their manager's sister does have a mischievous pet cat that's like a feline version of Muttley. And they like our music, too."
"OK," I said as I wrote something down, "so you wouldn't be suspects behind their disappearance."
"WHAT?!" the four hillbilly cat musicians said at once.
"We're innocent!" Country exclaimed, sounding not amused.
"Sorry," I said. "I need to get to the bottom of this mystery, and I need to know some potential suspects that could be responsible."
"Well," Kitty Jo began, "we do know a few others that are somewhat jealous and may be behind it all."
"Oh?" I asked as I raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," she replied. "We'll tell you after we rehearse this quick number."
"Would you like to stick around and hear a sample of our work?" Country asked me as he got out his guitar.
"Well..." I thought for a bit. "Sure, why not? I should familiarize myself with the genre a bit."
As Scoots picked up his stringed bass and Groove got onto his drum set, Country said, "OK, then. Ready, fellas? A-one, a-two, a-you know what to do!"
They began playing a very late-60s funky-sounding rock tune on their instruments. The three male members began to sing as Kitty Jo started to dance around...
"Olly olly oxen free
Come on, run on home with me
Just be nimble and be quick
We're gonna jump the candlestick
Hold me close and hold me tight
Ain't no bears out tonight
Kick the can and run with me
Olly olly oxen free
Hey, little girl starin' down at me
From your window, can't you see?
It's gonna be a groovy day
Why don't you come out and play?
Uh, one, two, three
Come on, run on, come with me
Olly olly oxen free
Come on, run on home with me
Just be nimble and be quick
We're gonna jump the candlestick
Hold me close and hold me tight
Ain't no bears out tonight
Kick the can and run with me
Olly olly oxen free"
I had to admit, they sounded pretty good. A very psychedelic, trippy-sounding song that was true to its' period. I could almost see the colorful psychedelic visuals that would accompany their music videos.
"Hey, little girl, don't be afraid
This little game for you was made
There's gonna be just you and me
No one in the world can see
One, two, three, four
Come on, run on, run some more
Olly olly oxen free
Come on, run on home with me
Just be nimble and be quick
We're gonna jump the candlestick
Hold me close and hold me tight
Ain't no bears out tonight
Kick the can and run with me
Olly olly oxen free
Olly olly oxen free
Come on, run on home with me
Just be nimble and be quick
We're gonna jump the candlestick
Hold me close and hold me tight
Ain't no bears out tonight
Kick the can and run with me
Olly olly oxen free
Olly olly oxen free
Come on, run on home with me
Olly olly oxen free
Come on, run on home with me
Olly olly oxen free
Come on, run on home with me
Olly olly oxen free
Come on, run on home with me"
They finished the song, and I applauded. "That was pretty good," I complimented. I guess that kind of stuff just gets better with age.
"So anyways," Country began, "one potential contact on the disappearance Josie and the Pussycats could be the Archies. They have their own bubblegum band as well, and had a few hits, such as ‘Sugar, Sugar'."
"Yep, I'm familiar with that song," I commented.
"Josie's band kind of eclipsed their popularity after a while," Kitty Jo added, "but nowadays they're about even, though both bands do have kind of a rivalry. Nowadays they both only really perform for throwback concerts and other nostalgia events, though the Archies released a new Christmas album in 2008. I don't think the Archies would be responsible for Josie and the Pussycats' disappearance, but you can ask them about it."
"Thanks," I said as I jotted down a bit of what she said about the Archies. "Oh, and also, thanks for the performance. It was actually pretty good."
***
Next I drove to Riverdale. If I knew the teenagers that made up the Archies, they often hung out at Pop's Chok'lit Shoppe outside of school hours. I figured they'd already be there, and so I stopped by to see.
Inside it was your typical retro diner/soda shop. I was in luck! There were the five teens, sitting together in a booth. Archie Andrews, Reggie Mantle, Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge. I approached their booth and cleared my throat.
Betty glanced at me. "What the... who are you? I've never seen toons like you here in Riverdale before."
"The name's Sam Valentino, Private Detective," I introduced myself as I flashed my badge. "I need to ask you Archies about the disappearance of Josie and the Pussycats."
"Isn't it terrible?" Archie asked. "We've got tickets to their concert, to support the band and their benefits going to the Cartoon Research foundation. I tried calling Josie to see if she was all right, but I'm not getting any answer." He held up his Smartphone.
"Do you have any idea on who might want to kidnap the band and their manager and roadie?" I asked as I got my pen and notepad ready.
"Hey, you fox!" the diner's owner, Pop Tate, called from behind the soda counter. "If you're gonna be here, you gotta make your movements more limited."
"Fine," I sighed, and turned back to the Archies, trying to not move much of myself except for my eyes, mouth, and arms, like a typical cheap Filmation cartoon character would. "As I was saying, do you have any ideas on who might want to kidnap Josie and the Pussycats?"
"Hmm," Reggie thought a bit. "I've got an idea. Maybe it was the Groovie Goolies, from Horrible Hall. Sabrina's a friend of theirs, and they too had a bubblegum rock band competing with ours, only they had one hit single, ‘Chick-a-Boom,' and they only made one album!" He laughed a bit.
Veronica gave Reggie a look. Then she told me, "They haven't done much since the 70s ended. I think they could be jealous of Josie and the Pussycats."
"And since they're monsters," Jughead added, "they might want to do, well, horrible things to them!" He shuddered in fear.
"Hmmm," I said out loud as I wrote down what they said. "If that were the case, they'd probably also want to try and kidnap you."
"US?!" the Archies all exclaimed in unison.
"But we don't have any public performances planned for at least a couple of months," Archie added.
"That gives me plenty of time to get to the bottom of things," I explained. "If the Groovie Goolies were indeed behind Josie and the Pussycats' disappearance, I can bring them to justice before they try to get you next."
"Whew, thanks!" Jughead said, sounding more relieved now.
"So, to get to Horrible Hall..." Veronica began to give me directions to get to where the Goolies lived.
***
I made my way up to Horrible Drive, where I was told the Groovie Goolies lived. I knew a bit about them. They were your typical group of wacky cartoon monsters, like in some of the 1980s Scooby-Doo productions featuring real supernatural creatures. They once did a crossover with the Looney Tunes, sans Bugs Bunny, and it was a real mess. It was like the Warner Bros. cartoon shorts of the late 60s, but with a lot less movement. At Filmation, they had rules. Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and the rest of the Looney Tunes involved with that TV movie still don't like to talk about the Goolies or the crossover. Zak Wolf had also spoken to the group's resident werewolf, the hippie Wolfie, and they were on good terms.
The sky began to darken with storm clouds as I got closer to my destination. Sure enough, I could see it: a colorful funky-looking castle with a big lighted sign above its' entrance: "HORRIBLE HALL." There was a Viking ship on top of one of the tower roofs, and parts of an airplane stuck in another. You'd think for a group of monsters, they'd go for a less-tacky appearance to their home, but they DID come from an early 70s cartoon show. Lightning flashed in the sky with a crack of thunder. The weather forecast on my phone called for a partly cloudy day through most of Toontown, but it was almost always stormy at Horrible Drive.
I parked my old Beamer near the front of the Technicolor castle, got out and rang the bell. It made an eerie church bell-like chime; expected for a place that's supposed to be haunted. The doors creaked open slowly by themselves, another cliché. I stepped in.
A weird-looking red cartoon bat with mouse ears flew down at me. Then with a strange twangy sound, he turned into a tall lanky vampire: Tom Dracula, also known as Drac. "Can I help you, sir?" he asked me. He didn't even have the stereotypical Transylvanian accent many cartoon vampires had; his voice was a dead-ringer for Phineas J. Whoopee, that man with all the answers that a few toons go to for help, most notably those mugs Tennessee Tuxedo and Chumley.
"Sam Valentino, private detective," I began as I showed Drac my badge. "If you don't mind, Mr. Dracula, I need to ask you and the other Goolies here some questions."
"Walk this way," Drac gestured me to follow him into the castle. He began walking in that usual stiff-looking repetitive walk cycle Filmation's characters were known for. But since he said, "walk this way," I figured I may as well imitate his limited animation walk after him.
Drac led me to the parlor room where three other monsters, Frankie, Mummy, and Wolfie, were gathered. "Guys," Drac told the other Goolies, "this fox detective here wants to as us some questions."
"Hey, that's Sam Valentino," Wolfie said. "That Zak Wolf dude told me about him, awoo-woo-woooooo!"
"That's right, Wolfie," I said as I got out my pen and notepad again. "First off, do you guys still do any musical performances?"
"I say, Sam," Frankie began, his voice predictably sounding like Boris Karloff, "we haven't given any public music performances for decades."
"Last time we ever gave a concert of some kind was in 1978," Drac added. "During that decade, there were so many Saturday morning toon bands, and not all of them were successful. We only had one album, and then one of our songs, ‘Chick-a-Boom,' was stolen by one of our agents and he made a hit single out of it!"
"Hmmm, who was this agent?" I asked.
"It's been a long time," Drac recalled. "I don't really remember. But I know we were the only toon bubblegum band he worked with."
Mummy added in an Ed Wynn-esque voice, "What a way to cheat us out of achieving musical fame, you know!"
"After our show left the airwaves," Wolfie added, "we've mostly just been appearing at conventions and whatnot, but they never want us to perform as a band anymore. They just have us give out autographs and pose for photos with our old fans, maybe host a couple panels, and that's about it."
"I see," I commented as I noted what they had said in my notepad. "Did you see any of those bands as potential rivals or competition back then?"
"Not necessarily," Drac said. "Sure, some of those bands were more popular than us, like the Archies, the Banana Splits, Josie and the Pussycats, the Junkyard Gang, even the Brady Bunch kids had their own cartoon band for a while."
"Any of you have some kind of grudge on them?" I asked as I raised an eyebrow.
"Heavens forbid, no!" Mummy exclaimed. "Why would we? They're not monsters like us, you know!"
"Josie and the Pussycats suddenly went missing this morning, along with their roadie and manager," I revealed to them. "I've been called on a case to track their whereabouts."
The Groovie Goolies actually looked shocked from my statement. I thought maybe I was finally getting somewhere.
But then Drac said, "That's the first we heard of this news. I hope they will be all right."
"I hope so, too," Frankie added. "I really like their music. It makes me want to get up and dance!" He began to stomp and flail around in some kind of cheesy limited animation dance that shook the room. Just then, a convenient bolt of lightning from the storm outside flashed through an open window and zapped Frankie, getting him to stop dancing. "I needed that," he said after the shock.
"Well, then, I guess you guys probably wouldn't be responsible for their disappearance," I said.
"Of course not!" Wolfie replied, sounding annoyed by my statement. "Though we're horror monsters, we don't go around attacking or kidnapping people or any of that jazz, awoo-woo-wooooooooo!"
"Wait a minute," Drac said me. "Are you here because of that crossover we did with the Looney Tunes gang all those decades ago? Let me tell you right now that we didn't enjoy working with them."
"Though I thought it was fun to work with Daffy Duck and his friends," Frankie admitted.
"What? Of course not!" I insisted. "Sure, I may look a little Looney Tunes-ish, but I'm on serious business right now."
"Sorry for the mistake," Wolfie said. "It's just that usually the only Warner Bros. cartoon character we're still on good terms with is that hip-talking tiger Cool Cat, awoo-woo-wooooooooo!"
"It figures. Well... thanks for your time," I said as I started to step back out of the room, before finally dashing out of Horrible Hall. Speaking with those Goolies was starting to make me somewhat skittish.
***
It was getting dark in Toontown, and I wasn't getting very far with my investigation. I needed more clues, more information, anything. On my way back to the office, I happened to drive past another soda shop that was simply titled "MALT SHOP." I knew it looked familiar, and I also recognized one of the vehicles in the parking lot: a turquoise 1960s-era panel van with green accents and orange flower colors and the lettering: "THE MYSTERY MACHINE."
What luck! Mystery Inc. was hanging out at the malt shop. Maybe I could get some leads on Josie and the Pussycat's disappearance from them. The Scooby gang had solved a mystery with the band before, and they've also had quite a bit in common. I learned that the group's roadie, Alan Mayberry, visually looked like Fred Jones, the leader of Mystery Inc. And their manager, Alexander, had a hairstyle, voice and cowardly personality akin to Shaggy Rogers. I had met up with Mystery Inc. on more than one occasion, but we never really worked together. Their mysteries were different from the ones I often took – they usually found their cases by chance, and usually involved human crooks disguised as ghosts and monsters trying to scare people away.
I pulled my BMW into the parking lot, got out and stepped into the malt shop. I scanned the place, and sure enough, in their usual booth, I found Mystery Inc. Shaggy and his dog Scooby-Doo each had their own impossibly tall sandwich to eat, while Fred and the girls, Daphne Blake and Velma Dinkley, were each sipping their own milkshake.
I approached their booth and began, "Excuse me..."
Shaggy and Scooby looked up from their sandwiches. "Heya, Sam Valentino," Shaggy greeted me in that scratchy hippie voice of his. "Like, what brings you around here?"
"I'm on a case, trying to uncover the disappearance of Josie and the Pussycats," I explained. "You seem to know them better than I do, so I was wondering if you could tell me what you know about the band."
"That's great you're doing so," Daphne said. "We've got tickets for their benefit concert tomorrow night, and when we heard about Josie and her band disappearing, we got worried."
"Yes." Velma added. "Josie and the Pussycats have often encountered really dangerous crooks and supervillains, some of which are willing to hurt or even kill them. Very different from our usual fare of real-estate agents, counterfeiters, poachers, revenge-seekers, and smugglers disguised as ghosts or monsters to scare others away. We've wondered if they are embarking on another one of their adventures against such a villain."
"I've got a hunch," Fred commented, "that this kidnapping could've been the work of at least one of the band's past foes, as sort of a revenge plot. Our gang has encountered a few such mysteries with culprits we've apprehended before."
"Well," I began as I got my pen and notepad ready, "do you know any possible foes that may be responsible for the band's disappearance."
"Let me see," Velma said as she got out her tablet and began pushing through some apps.
I sighed. "I liked it better when you used a notepad and clue book," I told her.
"Don't knock modern technology like this ‘till you've tried it," Velma replied. Then she found something. "Ah, here we go. One such foe was ‘The Shadow,' a mysterious masked supervillain that once captured the band and tried to do them in so that he could get the key that unlocked a hidden location hiding a microfilm list of his agents." She showed us a photo of The Shadow on her tablet. He was a sinister-looking figure in heavy navy-blue clothes and a black mask that completely covered his head save for two eyeholes showing his evil-looking eyes, making his head look almost like Marvin the Martian without his brush helmet.
"Zoinks!" Shaggy cried out as he and Scooby huddled each other.
"Ruh-roh!" Scooby-Doo agreed.
"Would you two calm down?" Daphne scolded the two cowards. "It's not like we're currently in a mystery involving that creep."
"Another noteworthy villain is ‘The Hawk'," Velma continued as she swiped to another picture on her tablet, showing another typical looking supervillain; he had a brown costume with a finned open-faced hood, dark glasses, and a sinister-looking mustache and beard. "He and his henchmen once used Melody to store confidential information."
"A lot of good help that did," Daphne added, "given how bubbly Melody can be."
"Like, look at that dude," Shaggy commented on the photo of The Hawk. "He looks like he came out of a comic book or something!" He and Scooby chuckled.
"Then there was Master Mind," Velma said as she swiped to a picture of a cloaked man in a wide-brimmed hat and a featureless blank mask that hid his true face. "He was a master of disguise that tried to steal a scientist's anti-gravity device that Josie and the Pussycats were able to foil."
Shaggy gulped among seeing the image of Master Mind. "Like, he looks like a cross between the Phantom Puppeteer and the No-Face Zombie we encountered in the past!"
"Yes, I do notice a resemblance," I agreed as I rubbed my chin.
"Another noteworthy foe that the band faced is the Serpent," Velma continued as she swiped to yet another photo, showing a sinister-looking balding Chinese man, complete with goatee and thin mustache. "He tried to take total control of Asia, only for Josie and the Pussycats to foil he and his henchmen's plan. Plus, he's also not happy that they took the episode he appeared in out of circulation due to dated cultural stereotypes."
"Wow," I replied as I wrote down his name amongst the other villains Velma had listed off. "I'll ask around to see if any of these villains have been sighted around."
"Actually," Velma revealed, "we heard on our police scanner some reports that The Shadow and The Hawk's henchmen have been wandering around Toontown. You might want to keep your foxy eyes and ears peeled. I'll email you photos of what these villains and their henchmen look like; I know you have a Smartphone... even if you don't often use it."
"Thanks, Velma," I said. "I might actually find this useful."
***
I returned to the office and contacted Mr. Nichols and the police the information I had gotten about the villains Josie's band had faced before. They said that was a good call, and police chief Flat-Foot Flanigan with a Floy-Floy said he'd keep me posted on any more sightings of the villains or any of their henchmen. I decided I could use this time to catch some shuteye, so I closed the window blinds, changed out of my classic detective trenchcoat and fedora into a nightshirt and cap, pulled down the murphy bed I disguised as part of my filing cabinets, and climbed into it to get some sleep.
***
The telephone ringing at my desk woke me up on Saturday morning. It was 7:45 AM, according to my bedside clock. I leaped out of the murphy bed and answered the phone. "Sam Valentino, Private Detective here."
"Sam, I got word on a couple of The Hawk's henchmen!" It was Mr. Nichols. "They headed into the abandoned castle on Vasquez Road. You should go see if Josie and the Pussycats are there."
"I'm on my way," I replied.
And after that call, I quickly got back into my trenchcoat and fedora hat, loaded my huge canvas bag of disguises into my car's trunk, grabbed an iced coffee and a donut from the nearby coffee shop, and drove to Vasquez Road. After some driving, I indeed found the old castle. I parked a little way further across the street from it, so it wouldn't appear so conspicuous.
I got out of the car and looked. Sure enough, I could see some toon human henchmen occasionally looking out the windows. A toon fox detective can't get into such a place very easily. Fortunately, I'm a master of disguise. Pulling out my Smartphone, I scanned through a few such images of the villains' henchmen, finding one I could easily masquerade as. I found a picture of one of Dr. Strangemoon's henchmen, and I could see one of them peering through one of the castle windows. That was it!
I took out a maroon jumpsuit, black belt and gloves and boots, and a matching aviator's helmet with green visor. Bundling them up carefully so nobody in the windows would see, I ducked behind my car and swiftly changed into my getup, including stuffing my thick foxy tail into the jumpsuit. Then I admired myself in the mirror. Aside from my foxy schnozz, nobody would know that this crony of Dr. Strangemoon was really private fox detective Sam Valentino!
Then I tiptoed over to the bushes near the castle and watched as another costumed henchman – one of The Shadow's cronies, dressed in dark blue – did a secret knock of some kind. The door opened for him, and he entered. After which, I went up to the door and attempted the secret knock. It worked! I was inside the castle.
It looked exactly like I pictured. The gloomy old type of castle that had very minimal furniture where a supervillain would use as his lair. As I walked around a bit, I saw another henchman of Dr. Strangemoon. He gave me some kind of generic waving salute, and so I did my best to copy it. He bought it.
Entering another corridor, I found Dr. Strangemoon himself approaching me! My heart began to race because this was it. This could make or break the case. Among the strange-looking elderly villain peering at me through his green-tinted glasses, I gave the wave I saw the henchman do earlier and said in a voice that the type of semi-bumbling henchman would have, "Reporting for duty, Dr. Strangemoon."
"Ah, very good," the Doctor said, and continued on his way.
Once I was out of his sight, I couldn't help but crack a grin. Dr. Strangemoon didn't know I wasn't really one of his cronies! My disguise was working.
I had also spotted The Shadow, complete with his dark blue clothes and black mask over his head, speaking with The Serpent. I overheard a little of their conversation, and it was all I needed to hear. This was indeed the place Josie and the Pussycats, and their roadie, their manager and his sister were all being kept hostage, and several of their past foes were working together on a conspiracy to do away with the band as a good old fashioned revenge plot.
After doing a little more snooping, I found another one of the Doctor's henchmen. I gave the salute and asked, "Hey, uh, remind me again where we've locked Josie and the Pussycats."
"They are in the basement dungeon," he said. "You going down to guard the place?"
"Sure am," I replied.
I found the basement stairwell and soon found myself in the dungeon. I waved to one of the henchmen of the Scorpion, another one of the band's old foes, and started looking around the cell. Sure enough, I found what I was looking for in a spacious cell: the three band members Josie, Valerie, and Melody, their roadie Alan, their manager Alexander, his sister Alexandra, and her cat Sebastian, along with their luggage carrying the band's costumes and instruments. I grabbed one of the key rings and was able to open the cell and get in.
Alexander gulped. "Oh boy, this is it," he said, still sounding very much like Shaggy of Mystery Inc. "We're done for!"
I shushed him. "No, you're not. I'm here to save you all."
"Huh?" they all asked in unison.
"There's something not quite right about this henchman," Valerie commented as she raised an eyebrow.
"Right you are, toots," I replied as I pulled out my badge. "I'm Sam Valentino, private toon detective. The concert hall manager hired me to locate you all."
"Really?" Alexandra groaned. "I was hoping if a detective were to find us, it'd be Dick Tracy."
"Just be glad it's not Duck Twacy," Melody said with a grin, and then giggled.
"Huh?" I asked.
"Don't mind Melody," Josie explained. "She's usually like that. But we have heard about you, and we're surprised. We thought you weren't that crazy about our music."
"Well, uh, I did have to familiarize myself a little with the genre," I answered. "But I guess it's not all that bad."
"Maybe if you heard a little sample of their music, live and in person," Alan suggested, "you'll like them even more." He began to open the instrument cases.
In less than thirty seconds, Josie was holding her guitar, Valerie her bass guitar, and Melody on the drum set.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked uncertainly. "They might hear you upstairs or whatever."
"We've already performed here once," Josie reassured me. "Just a rehearsal, but we also did it as a captivity song. But for you, we'll be playing one of our more uplifting soft songs. Ready, girls?"
"Ready!" Melody and Valerie said in unison.
"We're doing ‘It's Gotta Be Him', just for Sam. A-one, and a-two, and a-three," Josie announced, and they began to play. It had a nice, soft, and moderate introduction, and Valerie began to sing...
"I know who built the house that we live in.
He built that house with his own hands,
But who made the trees that house is made of?
Who made the ground where that house stands?
Ooooh,
I know the field, the field that we walk in
He plowed that field, he planted the grain.
But who gave it love that started it growin'?
When it was thirsty, who made it rain?
It's gotta be Him.
It's gotta be Him.
I believe there's a someone.
It's gotta be Him!"
I smiled as they played the song. It was actually pretty impressive for a dames' bubblegum rock band. As they did, I got out my Smartphone and saw there was fairly decent cellular reception from in here. As they sang and played, I sent a text to Mr. Nichols: "Josie and the Pussycats are indeed in the Vasquez Rd. Castle. Bring the police over quick!"
"Oooooh...
He bought the ring I wear on my finger.
He pledged his love, a man to his wife.
But who gave him love, that wonderful feelin'
Of knowin' he'll love me the rest of my life.
Mmmm, mmmm...
He knows the dream, the one we both dream of,
Planted the seed, a blossom of love.
But who made this miracle, this miracle happen?
This miracle of love must come from above...
It's gotta be Him.
It's gotta be Him.
I believe there's a God...
It's got to be Him!
It's got to be Him.
Yeah, yeah,
It's gotta be Him!
Don't you know... Him...
Yeah,
It's gotta be Him.
It's gotta be Him!"
They finished the song and I clapped. "That was a very lovely song! I never expected it from you band," I told them.
"Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera wrote it for us," Valerie explained. "But due to its' gospel theme, we couldn't perform it on our TV show, so we just released it as a B-side single and later on compact disc, and we try to work it into most of our concerts, as it does impress the fans."
"OK then," I softly said, "let's try to sneak out of here. I'm sure I can fool the guards..."
But then we heard footsteps approaching. Among turning my head, I was horrified to see Dr. Strangemoon, The Shadow and Master Mind right behind us, entering the cell!
"What's going on here?" The Shadow demanded.
"Uh... just getting them ready for the execution," I lied to the supervillains.
"Wait a minute!" Dr. Strangemoon realized. "I don't remember one of my henchmen ever looking like that!" He reached out and yanked off my helmet with visor, revealing my full fox face. "A fox?! What's going on here?"
"Oh, he's Sam Valentino, a toon detective who's come to..." Melody began, until Alexandra clamped her right hand over the blonde's mouth.
"Shut up, you dumb blonde!" Alexandra hissed. "Why do you always have to ruin everything?!" The rest of the band, Alan and Alexander all gave her a look of hypocrisy.
"Just as I suspected!" Dr. Strangemoon cried out. "He's a spy!"
I quickly whipped off the rest of my henchman disguise to reveal my trenchcoat and foxy tail. Then I reached into both the pockets on my coat and pulled out my fedora hat that I plunked back onto my head, and my Smith & Wesson 625JM revolver that I aimed at the three supervillains. "That's right. I'm Sam Valentino, private detective, and your band-kidnapping caper has come to an end!"
The Shadow laughed from behind his black-masked head and coyly asked, "Has it? Now in addition to wiping out the band that got our grand schemes foiled, we can also wipe out one of Toontown's greatest detectives!"
"This plan is getting even better," Dr. Strangemoon added. "The three of us, the Hawk, The Serpent, Mr. X, The Scorpion and The Laser all got together after breaking out of prison to put together this caper to permanently end Josie and the Pussycats for incarcerating us!"
"When we heard of their concert to be held tonight," Master Mind explained, "we knew this was the perfect time to put our scheme into action. My mastery of disguise was enough to lure those kids to our hideout, by posing as Mr. Nichols, the concert hall owner, and leading them here with the convincing story that they could rehearse here in total privacy!" As he spoke, he reached into one of his costume's pockets and pulled out something rubbery – a realistic full-head rubber mask of Mr. Nichols!
"And I knocked out the real Mr. Nichols with my sleeping gas through his office window," The Shadow added, "so that he couldn't stop Master Mind's impersonation!" He let out a sinister chuckle.
"And now," Dr. Strangemoon concluded, "you will all die!" He pulled out some kind of futuristic-looking rifle-shaped ray gun.
"Not on my watch!" I quickly said as I leaped at just the right angle and fired my pistol so the bullet would knock the ray gun out of Dr. Strangemoon's arms! "Everybody this way! Leave your stuff!" I ordered the dames, Alan, Alexander, and Sebastian as we all ran out of the cell and managed to shove the three villains aside!
"Guards!" The Shadow called out. "Josie and the Pussycats are getting away!"
The Scorpion's crony I saw guarding the dungeon leaped into out path. Since he had no weapons, I was able to leap forward and push him down with my fox footpaws, and the teens and their cat trampled over him after me.
"I think it's time for the romp!" Alexander said as we started out the dungeon doorway and toward the basement stairway. "But since they stole all our phones and electronics, we can't have any music accompany the chase!"
"Oh no?" I asked as I whipped out my Smartphone and slipped my gun back inside an interior pocket in my coat. "Which song of yours should I play?"
"In this case," Josie said, "I think ‘Lie, Lie, Lie' would be appropriate!"
"Ah, found it!" I exclaimed as I quickly located the song on the phone's YouTube app. Before beginning the song, I told the band, "I also already texted Mr. Nichols, so help should be on the way!"
"Groovy!" Alan replied.
Then I began the song, which was more or less the usual kind of bubblegum rock song the band would play, the type that'd often accompany a Scooby-Doo-esque chase scene like the one I knew we were about to embark in...
"I've seen your face, I've heard your voice before.
I know I've heard those same old lies before.
The rainbow that you paint, I've chased before.
But now I know I just can't chase you anymore!
Lie, lie, lie.
You told me!
Lie, lie, lie.
You sold me!
Lie, lie, lie...
Gonna live without your love..."
We all ran up the stairs, and among reaching the first floor of the castle, we slammed the door shut. But then we encountered The Serpent! "Take them!" he ordered his henchmen, and they began charging toward us!
So we started sprinting down another hallway through the castle with The Serpent and his stereotypical Chinese cronies close behind! Among approaching another stairwell in the foyer leading to the second level, we split up; I ran with Alexander and Melody still on the first floor, while Josie, Valerie, Alan, Alexandra, and Sebastian started up the steps, only to find two different henchmen working for The Shadow and the Scorpion blocking their path!
Luckily, we found a rope just lying around, and so Alexander and I were able to lasso it to Josie, allowing them to slide down to safety and continue the chase.
"The day we met, you swept me off my feet.
You were the boy I always dreamed I'd meet.
But when I finally found my head again...
I saw you as you really are, my friend.
Lie, lie, lie.
Don't hear you!
Lie, lie, lie.
I don't need you!
Lie, lie, lie...
I've got to be goin'..."
Our chase predictably took us to a hallway with multiple doorways, by which time The Shadow, Dr. Strangemoon and Master Mind have caught up to us! So of course, we did the old "run in one door and out another" bit, and it kept up for a bit until we tried stacking up on one another, to which we collapsed on the ground and resumed the chase elsewhere.
After we split up again, I found myself passing a convenient wall-mounted sword display. I grabbed a sword off the mount and struck a Robin Hood-esque pose at Master Mind, daring him to duel me. Sure enough, he grabbed another sword from the display and we engaged in a classic sword fight. After some clashing, he was able to push me with one foot against the wall, and I just dodged his sword blade coming at me! But I jumped back up and continued attempting to jab him.
Lucky for me, Valerie came up to us, nabbed another sword and helped me pin Master Mind to the wooden wall panel with both our swords, and we took off while the masked supervillain was stuck at the moment.
"Baby,
Watch me walk away.
Baby,
You just talk away.
Baby,
No more cryin' and
No more lyin' to meeeeee..."
Then Valerie and I reunited with the rest of the gang, and we all started up another stairwell. Among reaching the top, we turned to see The Shadow, The Scorpion, The Hawk and The Serpent starting up the stairs after us! So we each hopped onto the banister and slid back down to the first floor.
"Lie, lie, lie.
I can't hear you.
Lie, lie, lie.
I said I don't need you.
Lie, lie, lie.
I don't need you.
lie, lie, lie..."
As we ran towards the front door, I could hear police sirens in the distance. "I think the cops are coming!" I called back to the band. "Out this way!"
But Master Mind, The Laser, Mr. X and Dr. Strangemoon leaped out in front of us. We put our feet on the brakes, but we couldn't screech to a halt in time. We ended up ramming right into the supervillains, just as the four supervillains behind us dogpiled onto us as well!
Fortunately, the castle doors burst open as some toon police officers barged in with a battering ram. Following them were Chief Flat-Foot Flanigan, Sheriff Bronson Stone from Crystal Cove, and Mr. Nichols!
"Good lord!" Sheriff Stone exclaimed. "This could be our biggest bust yet!"
Me, Josie, the Pussycats, Alan, Alexander, and Alexandra made our way to the top of the pile and waved, not much worse for the wear.
"Sam Valentino!" Mr. Nichols exclaimed. "You did it! You recovered Josie and the Pussycats!"
***
Sometime later, we all gathered outside the castle's entrance. All of the supervillains and their cronies were placed in handcuffs, and two paddy wagons had come to take them away. Chief Flat-Foot said, "Great job, Sam. Your message to Nichols was a big help."
And in an astonishing coincidence, the Mystery Machine was driving by, but then Fred pulled the van over so they could get out and see what the hubbub was.
"Sheriff Stone!" Daphne called out. "What's going on?"
"We got the villains and their henchmen that kidnapped Josie and the Pussycats and attempted to do them in," Stone told the mystery-solving group.
"Only instead, we did ourselves out!" Melody added, followed by a giddy laugh. The rest of us all glanced at each other. We didn't understand her joke at all.
"Ri don't get it," Scooby-Doo said.
I filled the police and concert hall manager in, "It was indeed an old-fashioned revenge plot, as Josie and the Pussycats had foiled these villains' plans in the past and put them behind bars. They had planned this caper for some time and found that right before tonight's concert was the best time to pull it off!"
"And now," Fred added as he walked up to The Shadow, "we'll see who The Shadow REALLY is!" He grabbed the top of the supervillain's black mask, gave a firm tug, and yanked it off... only to reveal an identical full black mask underneath!
"Another mask?!" Mystery Inc. all exclaimed in unison.
The Shadow let out a sinister laugh. "When I say secret identity, I mean it!" he told us.
"Well, it's not going to help where you're going," Chief Flat-Foot Flanigan said. "In jail!"
"Curses!" The Shadow exclaimed.
"It was a brilliant plan," Dr. Strangemoon said. "We were going to do away with the band and have mechanical dummies take their place at the concert, only they'd perform awful music for some time until the crowd got sick of it and left! Then they'd think Josie and the Pussycats were all washed up after a while. No one would've been the wiser!"
The Hawk added, "And it would've left us free to try and dominate the world together! It would've worked if that meddling fox detective hadn't interfered!"
"Gee, does THAT sound familiar," Velma sardonically commented as she rolled her eyes.
"Take them away," Mr. Nichols told the police, and the villains and their cronies were all loaded into the paddy wagons and driven to jail.
I turned to Mystery Inc. and told them, "Thanks for providing me with info on the band's foes. Especially you, Velma." I shook her hand, to which she blushed a little.
Alan then walked up to Fred and said, "Hey, I like your style! Rocking that ascot and blond ‘do, I see."
"Thanks," Fred replied as he shook Alan's hand. "Looks good on you, too. Especially the ascot."
"Well, for a while I tried to do away with it," Alan said, "but somehow people liked me better wearing the ascot than without."
"Same here," Fred agreed. "Ascots are where it's at!"
Alexander then approached Shaggy and pointed out, "Hey, you notice that our voices sound alike?"
"Like, yeah," Shaggy answered. "And we've got similar hairdos, too! I wonder if we're actually related in some way?"
I chuckled and said to myself, "Surprised it took them a while to realize the resemblance."
***
After that, I met up with Mr. Nichols again back at the Franklyn Concert Hall. Partly for gratitude and partly to pay for my private detective services, he rewarded me with $200, plus a free front-row ticket to the concert that evening. I usually don't do concerts, but I had warmed up to Josie and the Pussycats enough that I was more than willing to attend. I already knew my friend Zak Wolf was still going to the concert, and the Archies and the Scooby gang were as well, so at least I'd know several of the audience members.
That evening, I returned to the concert hall, presented my ticket to the usher, and joined the audience of toons and real people in viewing the show. I made it in just in time for the Cattanooga Cats to open the concert. They played a few of their more well-known songs, including "Olly Olly Oxen Free," as they played for me the day before. The stage had already been decorate with the large yellow silhouette of a cat's head, like in the opening credits to Josie and the Pussycats's show. Then the four feline hillbilly musicians concluded their set...
"...Then Henny Penny ran himself skinny, yellin' that the sky might fall.
Everyone knew now, that wasn't true now
But that didn't save them at all.
Johnny, Johnny jump up, where you gonna go?
Johnny, Johnny jump up, don't you know?
Little Girl Blue is waitin' for you
Johnny, Johnny jump up, whatcha gonna do?
Johnny, Johnny jump up, where you gonna go?
Johnny, Johnny jump up, don't you know?
Little Girl Blue is waitin' for you
Johnny, Johnny jump up, whatcha gonna do?"
I let out a good cheer and applause with the rest of the crowd.
"Thanks, everybody!" Country said into the microphone. "It was great to perform for you all, but now we need to make way for the stars of our show, Josie and the Pussycats! Goodnight, Toontown!"
As we all applauded and cheered again, the Cattanooga Cats musicians left the stage, with a stagehand already putting away Groove's drum set as Alan brought out Melody's drum set with the band's logo on the bass drum.
Alexander then came to the stage, taking the microphone in his hand and announcing, "OK now, ladies and gentlemen. It's time for the main attraction of tonight's concert! Those pretty girls in leopard-printed leotards... Josie and the Pussycats!"
As he was announcing, Josie came onto the stage with her guitar, followed by Valerie with her tambourines, and Melody. The three already had their signature feline leotards with tails and their cat-ear headbands on. After Alexander finished his announcement and we all started cheering, the band began to play the intro to their theme song. As they started, Alexandra ran to the front of the stage with Sebastian following, and pushed Alexander and Alan away, just as she did in the show's opening credits, and gave a jealous stare at the band...
"Josie and the Pussycats.
Long tails and ears for hats.
Guitars and sharps and flats.
Neat, sweet, a groovy song,
You're invited, come along.
Hurry, Hurry!
See y'all in Persia
Or maybe France.
We could be in India,
Or perchance
Be with us in Bangkok,
Make no difference
Everywhere the actions at,
We're involved with this or that..."
The whole audience was cheering throughout, glad to see the band back in action. A little later into the song, I spotted a CG orange toon dog in a yellow shirt and checkered pants running for the stage. It took me a second to recognize him – Moxy, star of Cartoon Network's short-lived CGI animated series of the mid-1990s, The Moxy Show. It had been quite a while since I've seen that wild computer-generated toon. As he gripped onto the edges and leaped up onto the stage, Moxy cried out in his crazy voice, "MELODY! I LOVE YOU!" As he started jogging towards the band, Melody gave a slightly nervous look.
Alan quickly ran over to Moxy, grabbed him by the back of his shirt, and tossed him far enough towards the back of the audience, with him screaming like Bobcat Goldthwait usually would. This allowed the band to finish their opening number without worry...
"Come on along now!
Josie and the Pussycats.
No time for purrs and pats.
Won't run when they hear scat.
They're where the plot begins.
Come on and watch the good guys win.
Josie and the Pussycats!
Josie and the Pussycats, yeah..."
When they finished the song and we cheered and clapped (with Zak letting out one of his usual wolfish howls), Josie took the microphone and signaled for us to quiet down. As we did, Josie began, "Thanks, ladies and gentlemen. We're glad to be performing for you all, with the benefits of this concert going to the Cartoon Research foundation! But a funny thing happened to us before tonight; we ended up kidnapped by some of our old foes from the early 70s!" The crowd let out a few gasps, but Josie continued, "But then a very clever and handsome vulpine detective toon came to our aid... Sam Valentino!" She eyed me in the audience and motioned, "Come on up, Sam!"
As people began cheering and clapping, I quickly told Zak, "Come with me too, Zak! You had a part to play in my case. And you too, Mystery Inc!"
Velma looked kind of nervous among hearing that, but she reluctantly joined the rest of the Scooby gang, Zak and I up onto the stage.
"It's all yours, Sammy," Josie said as she handed the microphone to me.
"Uh, thanks, everybody," I said into the mic as I uncertainly rubbed the back of my neck. "It was a tough caper to solve, but I'm not ashamed to admit I got some vital help on this case. I couldn't have done it without Zak Wolf here filling me in on the band and the concert. He's a big fan of toon bubblegum rock groups!"
Zak took a bow as the audience cheered and clapped. I could see a few anthro animal toons I didn't recognize cheering and calling Zak's name. There was a dog that was a collie/shepherd mix, a brown-and-white raccoon, an older yellow wolf, a dark brown female boar with red hair, and a black-and-blue female saber-toothed cat. I also recognized a few other toons I'm friendly with as part of the audience – Wile E. Coyote, Slick McWolf, Mildew Wolf, Cool Cat, and Hong Kong Phooey. And of course, the Archies gang was there, and I also spotted Fat Albert and his Junkyard Gang, the Funky Phantom Crew, Speed Buggy and his human friends, and Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels in the crowd.
"I also want to thank Mystery Incorporated here for giving me information about the different villains the band had faced back then," I continued, "especially Velma. And I got away with it too, thanks to these meddling kids and their dog, Scooby-Doo!"
The audience got a good laugh from my little play on that old phrase several of the Scooby gang's culprits have said before, followed by applauding. Scooby-Doo got on his hind legs and took a bow, along with Shaggy and Fred also bowing and Daphne curtsying. Velma's face turned bright red, but after a sec, she seemed to find enough confidence to do a little curtsy as well.
"You were all great! Thank you so much for saving us!" Josie gushed as the redheaded dame in cat getup hugged me and kissed my schnozz, to loud whoops and cheers from the audience. I glanced over and saw that Alan didn't seem to mind, since I knew he and Josie were clearly in a relationship. Then Josie went and hugged Zak, followed by shaking the hands of the Scooby gang.
Then Alan and Alexander quickly gestured us that it was time to leap back off the stage, so we did. "OK, and now for our next number," Josie said into the microphone, "this one goes out to that Looney Tune that never gives up, Wile E. Coyote. This is for you, Wile E!" She waved, apparently being able to see the coyote in the audience. I turned back, and sure enough I could barely make out Wile E. waving back. The band started on their next song...
"Watch out
For the roadrunner!
Watch out!
Or he'll run you right down!
Watch out
For the roadrunner,
Fastest boy in town!
Watch out!
Watch out!
Watch out!
Watch out!
Hey girl, take my advice.
I shouldn't have to tell you twice.
He's a sneak, he's a snake,
He's a cheater and a fake.
And it's just not worth the price...."
Alexandra folded her arms and watched from the edge of the stage. I could make out what she was saying over the music: "Hmph! They think they're so great. Well, if the Cattanooga Cats could have a member that just dances and sings, then I can become one of the Pussycats as well!" She ran to center stage and started trying to dance in the same manner as Kitty Jo did earlier. The audience didn't seem to care much, and the band didn't even notice at first, until Alexandra tripped on a wire and began stumbling everywhere! As the crowd began to laugh, Alexandra started swirling around and fell rear end-first into a large spare bass drum. Her brother Alexander, along with Alan and Sebastian, began to laugh, and Josie and the Pussycats glanced over at what happened and they couldn't help but crack wide grins as they continued singing.
"That's a name the roadrunner.
Watch out!
Or he'll run you right down!
Watch out
For the roadrunner,
Fastest boy in town.
Watch out!
Watch out!
Watch out!
Watch out..."
And with that, another mystery had been solved by me, private toon detective Sam Valentino. Beforehand, I didn't care very much for toon bubblegum rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s, but this caper helped me appreciate them a bit more, and Zak and Mystery Incorporated were all pleased about that. We still don't know what The Shadow and Master Mind's real faces look like, as they still always wear their masks even in prison. But I guess it's better if certain mysteries like that don't get solved...
CASE CLOSED
-----------------------------------------
SAM VALENTINO'S JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS CONCERT CAPER
By Sam
DISCLAIMER: Josie and the Pussycats and the Archies are trademarks and properties of Archie Comics. All Hanna-Barbera and Looney Tunes characters and trademarks are properties of Warner Bros.- Discovery, and the Groovie Goolies characters and trademarks are properties of Classic Media/Universal. The Josie songs "Josie Theme" and "It's Gotta Be Him" are written by Joseph Barbera, William Hanna and Hoyt Curtin; "Lie, Lie, Lie" is written by Danny Janssen and Austin Roberts; and "Roadrunner" is written by Danny Janssen and Sue Steward. The Cattanooga Cats songs "Olly Olly Oxen Free" and "Johnny Johnny Jump Up", were written by Mike Curb, Jerry Styner, and Guy Hemric. Music. This is simply a work of fanfiction incorporating my original toon fox detective character, along with another one of my own fursonas.
It was another early Friday afternoon at my office. I was trying to put together a house of cards while waiting for another case to come to me. I'm a private detective, and Sam Valentino is my name. Sure enough, my phone rang – one of those old black candlestick-type landline telephones. (I have a cellular phone, but when I'm in my office I usually have it charging and powered down, as I find people calling my office on the landline phone more traditional for a gumshoe like me.)
I picked up the phone and answered, "Sam Valentino, Private Detective speaking."
I heard a male voice let out a frustrated groan, followed by, "Sam, this is Mr. Nichols of the Franklyn Concert Hall. I assume you've heard of the Josie and the Pussycats benefit concert tomorrow night?"
"Yes, I have," I said. "I've been seeing news of it all over Toontown."
"Well, they've gone missing!" Mr. Nichols wailed. "Even their manager and his sister and their roadie are gone, too!"
"Hmm, it's always the dames..." I wondered out loud. "Did they say they were going anywhere?"
"No!" Mr. Nichols answered. "They said they only planned to stay in the area, only being at my concert hall and their hotel. But when I arrived at their hotel suite this morning, they were gone, even though they said they'd be there when I called beforehand!"
I asked this because I had known the band had often embarked in several adventures and mysteries where they stopped a bunch of crooks, including supervillains bent on world domination, and wondered if maybe this was another example of that. "Did you try calling or texting any of them?" I asked.
"Several times," Mr. Nichols replied, "but I'm not getting any answers! It's like their phones are powered off or something."
"Very suspicious," I commented. "If they were on yet another one of their adventures, they would surely have their mobile phones on. OK, I'll take the case."
"Oh, thank you so much!" Mr. Nichols said over the phone. "I'll discuss payment after you recover them."
***
While I already knew about Josie and the Pussycats' tendency to go on adventures and defeat villains, I wasn't that familiar with the band. I'm generally not a fan of pop music, and I remember how during the time the band was on Saturday morning TV, several cartoons during that time tended to feature such bubblegum rock songs and sometimes even have their own band. Even Scooby-Doo and Mystery Incorporated had such songs accompany their chase scenes in 1970.
But I had a contact that was fan of that sort of stuff. My friend, Zak Wolf; he also knows his cartoon history and backstories like I do. He's also a music lover; he has a large library of vinyl records, CDs, and cassettes. He does enjoy digital music but likes having physical copies as well. So I called up Zak and asked if I could stop by his den to see if he had any leads. He said sure, and I headed over there.
...
I had driven my old BMW over to Zak Wolf's home and met up with him there. "So, what can you tell me about Josie and the Pussycats?" I asked him.
"Oh, they're a band that originally came from Riverdale, home of the Archies," Zak explained as he led me to his bedroom where he kept his music library. "They had some great early 70s bubblegum rock hits, and their TV series was also noted for being the very first Saturday morning cartoon with an African-American female protagonist!"
"Valerie, right?" I questioned.
"That's right," Zak replied as he pulled out a Josie and the Pussycats CD. "You already know the names of the members?"
"Indeed," I told the wolf. "You see, I'm on a case. The band, their roadie and their manager have gone missing; a kidnapping is suspected, and I need to find them in time for the concert tomorrow night."
"Good luck," Zak said. "I'm attending that concert. They've also got the Cattanooga Cats opening."
"Oh?" I asked. "What can you tell me about these Cattanooga Cats?"
Zak went to his shelf of records and pulled out an LP album of the Cattanooga Cats, featuring four hillbilly-looking toon cats on the jacket: three male and one female. "They starred in their own short-lived Saturday morning cartoon, also from Hanna-Barbera," he explained. "They too had their own bubblegum rock songs; some pretty groovy stuff. They're still around, largely doing opening acts for some other toon rock bands of the 60s and 70s."
"I see," I replied, as I jotted down some notes into my notepad. "Thank you, Zak, you've been a big help."
"Any time," Zak said as he and I hugged. That wolf sure likes hugs, and sometimes I too like a good hug as well, despite my somewhat tough demeanor.
***
I met up with Mr. Nichols at the Franklyn Concert Hall to learn a little more about the Cattanooga Cats. I needed to ask them some questions relating to the disappearance of Josie and the Pussycats.
"...so, do you know where the Cattanooga Cats are right now?" I finished.
"You're in luck," Mr. Nichols said. "The Cats are practicing in the rehearsal room. They shouldn't mind if you drop in on them."
"Thank you, Mr. Nichols," I replied, shaking his hand.
Mr. Nichols directed me to the rehearsal room, and I found my way there. I could hear some twangy late 60s-style bubblegum rock coming from the closed doors. I knocked, and I could hear them stopping.
"Come on in," a voice with a slight drawl called from behind the door.
I entered and asked the feline band, "Hi, are you the Cattanooga Cats?"
"We sure are," a tall lanky orange cat in a green stylized hillbilly outfit and hat. "I'm Country, and this here is Scoots, Groove, and Kitty Jo and her dog, Teeny Tim." The rest of the band members waved. I couldn't believe an anthropomorphic toon cat had a pet dog, but I guess it was a nice break from the usual formula. "Why do you ask?" Country said.
"Sam Valentino, Private Detective," I introduced myself as I presented my badge. "I'm here to ask you some questions."
"Oh, is this about the disappearance of Josie and the Pussycats?" Groove asked. His voice sounded somewhat like Shaggy of Mystery Inc. but with a slight drawl.
"We didn't do it!" Scoots cried out as he waved his arms.
"Don't worry," Kitty Jo explained to me. "He's telling the truth. We were just as shocked about their disappearance."
"It's a drag, too," Country added. "If Josie and the Pussycats can't perform, we can't go on and open for them. We'll have to wait for the next throwback bubblegum rock concert to open for. We don't play our own concerts like Josie's band and several others do."
I jotted down a bit of what they said. It could be useful. "Well, when did you last see the band?" I asked them.
"Earlier this morning," Scoots said. "We visited their hotel room to hang with them for a while. We had also planned to have lunch with them, only we then learned from Mr. Nichols that they had gone missing!"
"Oh, so you're on good terms with Josie and the Pussycats?" I asked.
"We're fans of their music," Kitty Jo replied. "I like the cat motif they go for, even if they are human toons. But their manager's sister does have a mischievous pet cat that's like a feline version of Muttley. And they like our music, too."
"OK," I said as I wrote something down, "so you wouldn't be suspects behind their disappearance."
"WHAT?!" the four hillbilly cat musicians said at once.
"We're innocent!" Country exclaimed, sounding not amused.
"Sorry," I said. "I need to get to the bottom of this mystery, and I need to know some potential suspects that could be responsible."
"Well," Kitty Jo began, "we do know a few others that are somewhat jealous and may be behind it all."
"Oh?" I asked as I raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," she replied. "We'll tell you after we rehearse this quick number."
"Would you like to stick around and hear a sample of our work?" Country asked me as he got out his guitar.
"Well..." I thought for a bit. "Sure, why not? I should familiarize myself with the genre a bit."
As Scoots picked up his stringed bass and Groove got onto his drum set, Country said, "OK, then. Ready, fellas? A-one, a-two, a-you know what to do!"
They began playing a very late-60s funky-sounding rock tune on their instruments. The three male members began to sing as Kitty Jo started to dance around...
"Olly olly oxen free
Come on, run on home with me
Just be nimble and be quick
We're gonna jump the candlestick
Hold me close and hold me tight
Ain't no bears out tonight
Kick the can and run with me
Olly olly oxen free
Hey, little girl starin' down at me
From your window, can't you see?
It's gonna be a groovy day
Why don't you come out and play?
Uh, one, two, three
Come on, run on, come with me
Olly olly oxen free
Come on, run on home with me
Just be nimble and be quick
We're gonna jump the candlestick
Hold me close and hold me tight
Ain't no bears out tonight
Kick the can and run with me
Olly olly oxen free"
I had to admit, they sounded pretty good. A very psychedelic, trippy-sounding song that was true to its' period. I could almost see the colorful psychedelic visuals that would accompany their music videos.
"Hey, little girl, don't be afraid
This little game for you was made
There's gonna be just you and me
No one in the world can see
One, two, three, four
Come on, run on, run some more
Olly olly oxen free
Come on, run on home with me
Just be nimble and be quick
We're gonna jump the candlestick
Hold me close and hold me tight
Ain't no bears out tonight
Kick the can and run with me
Olly olly oxen free
Olly olly oxen free
Come on, run on home with me
Just be nimble and be quick
We're gonna jump the candlestick
Hold me close and hold me tight
Ain't no bears out tonight
Kick the can and run with me
Olly olly oxen free
Olly olly oxen free
Come on, run on home with me
Olly olly oxen free
Come on, run on home with me
Olly olly oxen free
Come on, run on home with me
Olly olly oxen free
Come on, run on home with me"
They finished the song, and I applauded. "That was pretty good," I complimented. I guess that kind of stuff just gets better with age.
"So anyways," Country began, "one potential contact on the disappearance Josie and the Pussycats could be the Archies. They have their own bubblegum band as well, and had a few hits, such as ‘Sugar, Sugar'."
"Yep, I'm familiar with that song," I commented.
"Josie's band kind of eclipsed their popularity after a while," Kitty Jo added, "but nowadays they're about even, though both bands do have kind of a rivalry. Nowadays they both only really perform for throwback concerts and other nostalgia events, though the Archies released a new Christmas album in 2008. I don't think the Archies would be responsible for Josie and the Pussycats' disappearance, but you can ask them about it."
"Thanks," I said as I jotted down a bit of what she said about the Archies. "Oh, and also, thanks for the performance. It was actually pretty good."
***
Next I drove to Riverdale. If I knew the teenagers that made up the Archies, they often hung out at Pop's Chok'lit Shoppe outside of school hours. I figured they'd already be there, and so I stopped by to see.
Inside it was your typical retro diner/soda shop. I was in luck! There were the five teens, sitting together in a booth. Archie Andrews, Reggie Mantle, Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge. I approached their booth and cleared my throat.
Betty glanced at me. "What the... who are you? I've never seen toons like you here in Riverdale before."
"The name's Sam Valentino, Private Detective," I introduced myself as I flashed my badge. "I need to ask you Archies about the disappearance of Josie and the Pussycats."
"Isn't it terrible?" Archie asked. "We've got tickets to their concert, to support the band and their benefits going to the Cartoon Research foundation. I tried calling Josie to see if she was all right, but I'm not getting any answer." He held up his Smartphone.
"Do you have any idea on who might want to kidnap the band and their manager and roadie?" I asked as I got my pen and notepad ready.
"Hey, you fox!" the diner's owner, Pop Tate, called from behind the soda counter. "If you're gonna be here, you gotta make your movements more limited."
"Fine," I sighed, and turned back to the Archies, trying to not move much of myself except for my eyes, mouth, and arms, like a typical cheap Filmation cartoon character would. "As I was saying, do you have any ideas on who might want to kidnap Josie and the Pussycats?"
"Hmm," Reggie thought a bit. "I've got an idea. Maybe it was the Groovie Goolies, from Horrible Hall. Sabrina's a friend of theirs, and they too had a bubblegum rock band competing with ours, only they had one hit single, ‘Chick-a-Boom,' and they only made one album!" He laughed a bit.
Veronica gave Reggie a look. Then she told me, "They haven't done much since the 70s ended. I think they could be jealous of Josie and the Pussycats."
"And since they're monsters," Jughead added, "they might want to do, well, horrible things to them!" He shuddered in fear.
"Hmmm," I said out loud as I wrote down what they said. "If that were the case, they'd probably also want to try and kidnap you."
"US?!" the Archies all exclaimed in unison.
"But we don't have any public performances planned for at least a couple of months," Archie added.
"That gives me plenty of time to get to the bottom of things," I explained. "If the Groovie Goolies were indeed behind Josie and the Pussycats' disappearance, I can bring them to justice before they try to get you next."
"Whew, thanks!" Jughead said, sounding more relieved now.
"So, to get to Horrible Hall..." Veronica began to give me directions to get to where the Goolies lived.
***
I made my way up to Horrible Drive, where I was told the Groovie Goolies lived. I knew a bit about them. They were your typical group of wacky cartoon monsters, like in some of the 1980s Scooby-Doo productions featuring real supernatural creatures. They once did a crossover with the Looney Tunes, sans Bugs Bunny, and it was a real mess. It was like the Warner Bros. cartoon shorts of the late 60s, but with a lot less movement. At Filmation, they had rules. Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and the rest of the Looney Tunes involved with that TV movie still don't like to talk about the Goolies or the crossover. Zak Wolf had also spoken to the group's resident werewolf, the hippie Wolfie, and they were on good terms.
The sky began to darken with storm clouds as I got closer to my destination. Sure enough, I could see it: a colorful funky-looking castle with a big lighted sign above its' entrance: "HORRIBLE HALL." There was a Viking ship on top of one of the tower roofs, and parts of an airplane stuck in another. You'd think for a group of monsters, they'd go for a less-tacky appearance to their home, but they DID come from an early 70s cartoon show. Lightning flashed in the sky with a crack of thunder. The weather forecast on my phone called for a partly cloudy day through most of Toontown, but it was almost always stormy at Horrible Drive.
I parked my old Beamer near the front of the Technicolor castle, got out and rang the bell. It made an eerie church bell-like chime; expected for a place that's supposed to be haunted. The doors creaked open slowly by themselves, another cliché. I stepped in.
A weird-looking red cartoon bat with mouse ears flew down at me. Then with a strange twangy sound, he turned into a tall lanky vampire: Tom Dracula, also known as Drac. "Can I help you, sir?" he asked me. He didn't even have the stereotypical Transylvanian accent many cartoon vampires had; his voice was a dead-ringer for Phineas J. Whoopee, that man with all the answers that a few toons go to for help, most notably those mugs Tennessee Tuxedo and Chumley.
"Sam Valentino, private detective," I began as I showed Drac my badge. "If you don't mind, Mr. Dracula, I need to ask you and the other Goolies here some questions."
"Walk this way," Drac gestured me to follow him into the castle. He began walking in that usual stiff-looking repetitive walk cycle Filmation's characters were known for. But since he said, "walk this way," I figured I may as well imitate his limited animation walk after him.
Drac led me to the parlor room where three other monsters, Frankie, Mummy, and Wolfie, were gathered. "Guys," Drac told the other Goolies, "this fox detective here wants to as us some questions."
"Hey, that's Sam Valentino," Wolfie said. "That Zak Wolf dude told me about him, awoo-woo-woooooo!"
"That's right, Wolfie," I said as I got out my pen and notepad again. "First off, do you guys still do any musical performances?"
"I say, Sam," Frankie began, his voice predictably sounding like Boris Karloff, "we haven't given any public music performances for decades."
"Last time we ever gave a concert of some kind was in 1978," Drac added. "During that decade, there were so many Saturday morning toon bands, and not all of them were successful. We only had one album, and then one of our songs, ‘Chick-a-Boom,' was stolen by one of our agents and he made a hit single out of it!"
"Hmmm, who was this agent?" I asked.
"It's been a long time," Drac recalled. "I don't really remember. But I know we were the only toon bubblegum band he worked with."
Mummy added in an Ed Wynn-esque voice, "What a way to cheat us out of achieving musical fame, you know!"
"After our show left the airwaves," Wolfie added, "we've mostly just been appearing at conventions and whatnot, but they never want us to perform as a band anymore. They just have us give out autographs and pose for photos with our old fans, maybe host a couple panels, and that's about it."
"I see," I commented as I noted what they had said in my notepad. "Did you see any of those bands as potential rivals or competition back then?"
"Not necessarily," Drac said. "Sure, some of those bands were more popular than us, like the Archies, the Banana Splits, Josie and the Pussycats, the Junkyard Gang, even the Brady Bunch kids had their own cartoon band for a while."
"Any of you have some kind of grudge on them?" I asked as I raised an eyebrow.
"Heavens forbid, no!" Mummy exclaimed. "Why would we? They're not monsters like us, you know!"
"Josie and the Pussycats suddenly went missing this morning, along with their roadie and manager," I revealed to them. "I've been called on a case to track their whereabouts."
The Groovie Goolies actually looked shocked from my statement. I thought maybe I was finally getting somewhere.
But then Drac said, "That's the first we heard of this news. I hope they will be all right."
"I hope so, too," Frankie added. "I really like their music. It makes me want to get up and dance!" He began to stomp and flail around in some kind of cheesy limited animation dance that shook the room. Just then, a convenient bolt of lightning from the storm outside flashed through an open window and zapped Frankie, getting him to stop dancing. "I needed that," he said after the shock.
"Well, then, I guess you guys probably wouldn't be responsible for their disappearance," I said.
"Of course not!" Wolfie replied, sounding annoyed by my statement. "Though we're horror monsters, we don't go around attacking or kidnapping people or any of that jazz, awoo-woo-wooooooooo!"
"Wait a minute," Drac said me. "Are you here because of that crossover we did with the Looney Tunes gang all those decades ago? Let me tell you right now that we didn't enjoy working with them."
"Though I thought it was fun to work with Daffy Duck and his friends," Frankie admitted.
"What? Of course not!" I insisted. "Sure, I may look a little Looney Tunes-ish, but I'm on serious business right now."
"Sorry for the mistake," Wolfie said. "It's just that usually the only Warner Bros. cartoon character we're still on good terms with is that hip-talking tiger Cool Cat, awoo-woo-wooooooooo!"
"It figures. Well... thanks for your time," I said as I started to step back out of the room, before finally dashing out of Horrible Hall. Speaking with those Goolies was starting to make me somewhat skittish.
***
It was getting dark in Toontown, and I wasn't getting very far with my investigation. I needed more clues, more information, anything. On my way back to the office, I happened to drive past another soda shop that was simply titled "MALT SHOP." I knew it looked familiar, and I also recognized one of the vehicles in the parking lot: a turquoise 1960s-era panel van with green accents and orange flower colors and the lettering: "THE MYSTERY MACHINE."
What luck! Mystery Inc. was hanging out at the malt shop. Maybe I could get some leads on Josie and the Pussycat's disappearance from them. The Scooby gang had solved a mystery with the band before, and they've also had quite a bit in common. I learned that the group's roadie, Alan Mayberry, visually looked like Fred Jones, the leader of Mystery Inc. And their manager, Alexander, had a hairstyle, voice and cowardly personality akin to Shaggy Rogers. I had met up with Mystery Inc. on more than one occasion, but we never really worked together. Their mysteries were different from the ones I often took – they usually found their cases by chance, and usually involved human crooks disguised as ghosts and monsters trying to scare people away.
I pulled my BMW into the parking lot, got out and stepped into the malt shop. I scanned the place, and sure enough, in their usual booth, I found Mystery Inc. Shaggy and his dog Scooby-Doo each had their own impossibly tall sandwich to eat, while Fred and the girls, Daphne Blake and Velma Dinkley, were each sipping their own milkshake.
I approached their booth and began, "Excuse me..."
Shaggy and Scooby looked up from their sandwiches. "Heya, Sam Valentino," Shaggy greeted me in that scratchy hippie voice of his. "Like, what brings you around here?"
"I'm on a case, trying to uncover the disappearance of Josie and the Pussycats," I explained. "You seem to know them better than I do, so I was wondering if you could tell me what you know about the band."
"That's great you're doing so," Daphne said. "We've got tickets for their benefit concert tomorrow night, and when we heard about Josie and her band disappearing, we got worried."
"Yes." Velma added. "Josie and the Pussycats have often encountered really dangerous crooks and supervillains, some of which are willing to hurt or even kill them. Very different from our usual fare of real-estate agents, counterfeiters, poachers, revenge-seekers, and smugglers disguised as ghosts or monsters to scare others away. We've wondered if they are embarking on another one of their adventures against such a villain."
"I've got a hunch," Fred commented, "that this kidnapping could've been the work of at least one of the band's past foes, as sort of a revenge plot. Our gang has encountered a few such mysteries with culprits we've apprehended before."
"Well," I began as I got my pen and notepad ready, "do you know any possible foes that may be responsible for the band's disappearance."
"Let me see," Velma said as she got out her tablet and began pushing through some apps.
I sighed. "I liked it better when you used a notepad and clue book," I told her.
"Don't knock modern technology like this ‘till you've tried it," Velma replied. Then she found something. "Ah, here we go. One such foe was ‘The Shadow,' a mysterious masked supervillain that once captured the band and tried to do them in so that he could get the key that unlocked a hidden location hiding a microfilm list of his agents." She showed us a photo of The Shadow on her tablet. He was a sinister-looking figure in heavy navy-blue clothes and a black mask that completely covered his head save for two eyeholes showing his evil-looking eyes, making his head look almost like Marvin the Martian without his brush helmet.
"Zoinks!" Shaggy cried out as he and Scooby huddled each other.
"Ruh-roh!" Scooby-Doo agreed.
"Would you two calm down?" Daphne scolded the two cowards. "It's not like we're currently in a mystery involving that creep."
"Another noteworthy villain is ‘The Hawk'," Velma continued as she swiped to another picture on her tablet, showing another typical looking supervillain; he had a brown costume with a finned open-faced hood, dark glasses, and a sinister-looking mustache and beard. "He and his henchmen once used Melody to store confidential information."
"A lot of good help that did," Daphne added, "given how bubbly Melody can be."
"Like, look at that dude," Shaggy commented on the photo of The Hawk. "He looks like he came out of a comic book or something!" He and Scooby chuckled.
"Then there was Master Mind," Velma said as she swiped to a picture of a cloaked man in a wide-brimmed hat and a featureless blank mask that hid his true face. "He was a master of disguise that tried to steal a scientist's anti-gravity device that Josie and the Pussycats were able to foil."
Shaggy gulped among seeing the image of Master Mind. "Like, he looks like a cross between the Phantom Puppeteer and the No-Face Zombie we encountered in the past!"
"Yes, I do notice a resemblance," I agreed as I rubbed my chin.
"Another noteworthy foe that the band faced is the Serpent," Velma continued as she swiped to yet another photo, showing a sinister-looking balding Chinese man, complete with goatee and thin mustache. "He tried to take total control of Asia, only for Josie and the Pussycats to foil he and his henchmen's plan. Plus, he's also not happy that they took the episode he appeared in out of circulation due to dated cultural stereotypes."
"Wow," I replied as I wrote down his name amongst the other villains Velma had listed off. "I'll ask around to see if any of these villains have been sighted around."
"Actually," Velma revealed, "we heard on our police scanner some reports that The Shadow and The Hawk's henchmen have been wandering around Toontown. You might want to keep your foxy eyes and ears peeled. I'll email you photos of what these villains and their henchmen look like; I know you have a Smartphone... even if you don't often use it."
"Thanks, Velma," I said. "I might actually find this useful."
***
I returned to the office and contacted Mr. Nichols and the police the information I had gotten about the villains Josie's band had faced before. They said that was a good call, and police chief Flat-Foot Flanigan with a Floy-Floy said he'd keep me posted on any more sightings of the villains or any of their henchmen. I decided I could use this time to catch some shuteye, so I closed the window blinds, changed out of my classic detective trenchcoat and fedora into a nightshirt and cap, pulled down the murphy bed I disguised as part of my filing cabinets, and climbed into it to get some sleep.
***
The telephone ringing at my desk woke me up on Saturday morning. It was 7:45 AM, according to my bedside clock. I leaped out of the murphy bed and answered the phone. "Sam Valentino, Private Detective here."
"Sam, I got word on a couple of The Hawk's henchmen!" It was Mr. Nichols. "They headed into the abandoned castle on Vasquez Road. You should go see if Josie and the Pussycats are there."
"I'm on my way," I replied.
And after that call, I quickly got back into my trenchcoat and fedora hat, loaded my huge canvas bag of disguises into my car's trunk, grabbed an iced coffee and a donut from the nearby coffee shop, and drove to Vasquez Road. After some driving, I indeed found the old castle. I parked a little way further across the street from it, so it wouldn't appear so conspicuous.
I got out of the car and looked. Sure enough, I could see some toon human henchmen occasionally looking out the windows. A toon fox detective can't get into such a place very easily. Fortunately, I'm a master of disguise. Pulling out my Smartphone, I scanned through a few such images of the villains' henchmen, finding one I could easily masquerade as. I found a picture of one of Dr. Strangemoon's henchmen, and I could see one of them peering through one of the castle windows. That was it!
I took out a maroon jumpsuit, black belt and gloves and boots, and a matching aviator's helmet with green visor. Bundling them up carefully so nobody in the windows would see, I ducked behind my car and swiftly changed into my getup, including stuffing my thick foxy tail into the jumpsuit. Then I admired myself in the mirror. Aside from my foxy schnozz, nobody would know that this crony of Dr. Strangemoon was really private fox detective Sam Valentino!
Then I tiptoed over to the bushes near the castle and watched as another costumed henchman – one of The Shadow's cronies, dressed in dark blue – did a secret knock of some kind. The door opened for him, and he entered. After which, I went up to the door and attempted the secret knock. It worked! I was inside the castle.
It looked exactly like I pictured. The gloomy old type of castle that had very minimal furniture where a supervillain would use as his lair. As I walked around a bit, I saw another henchman of Dr. Strangemoon. He gave me some kind of generic waving salute, and so I did my best to copy it. He bought it.
Entering another corridor, I found Dr. Strangemoon himself approaching me! My heart began to race because this was it. This could make or break the case. Among the strange-looking elderly villain peering at me through his green-tinted glasses, I gave the wave I saw the henchman do earlier and said in a voice that the type of semi-bumbling henchman would have, "Reporting for duty, Dr. Strangemoon."
"Ah, very good," the Doctor said, and continued on his way.
Once I was out of his sight, I couldn't help but crack a grin. Dr. Strangemoon didn't know I wasn't really one of his cronies! My disguise was working.
I had also spotted The Shadow, complete with his dark blue clothes and black mask over his head, speaking with The Serpent. I overheard a little of their conversation, and it was all I needed to hear. This was indeed the place Josie and the Pussycats, and their roadie, their manager and his sister were all being kept hostage, and several of their past foes were working together on a conspiracy to do away with the band as a good old fashioned revenge plot.
After doing a little more snooping, I found another one of the Doctor's henchmen. I gave the salute and asked, "Hey, uh, remind me again where we've locked Josie and the Pussycats."
"They are in the basement dungeon," he said. "You going down to guard the place?"
"Sure am," I replied.
I found the basement stairwell and soon found myself in the dungeon. I waved to one of the henchmen of the Scorpion, another one of the band's old foes, and started looking around the cell. Sure enough, I found what I was looking for in a spacious cell: the three band members Josie, Valerie, and Melody, their roadie Alan, their manager Alexander, his sister Alexandra, and her cat Sebastian, along with their luggage carrying the band's costumes and instruments. I grabbed one of the key rings and was able to open the cell and get in.
Alexander gulped. "Oh boy, this is it," he said, still sounding very much like Shaggy of Mystery Inc. "We're done for!"
I shushed him. "No, you're not. I'm here to save you all."
"Huh?" they all asked in unison.
"There's something not quite right about this henchman," Valerie commented as she raised an eyebrow.
"Right you are, toots," I replied as I pulled out my badge. "I'm Sam Valentino, private toon detective. The concert hall manager hired me to locate you all."
"Really?" Alexandra groaned. "I was hoping if a detective were to find us, it'd be Dick Tracy."
"Just be glad it's not Duck Twacy," Melody said with a grin, and then giggled.
"Huh?" I asked.
"Don't mind Melody," Josie explained. "She's usually like that. But we have heard about you, and we're surprised. We thought you weren't that crazy about our music."
"Well, uh, I did have to familiarize myself a little with the genre," I answered. "But I guess it's not all that bad."
"Maybe if you heard a little sample of their music, live and in person," Alan suggested, "you'll like them even more." He began to open the instrument cases.
In less than thirty seconds, Josie was holding her guitar, Valerie her bass guitar, and Melody on the drum set.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked uncertainly. "They might hear you upstairs or whatever."
"We've already performed here once," Josie reassured me. "Just a rehearsal, but we also did it as a captivity song. But for you, we'll be playing one of our more uplifting soft songs. Ready, girls?"
"Ready!" Melody and Valerie said in unison.
"We're doing ‘It's Gotta Be Him', just for Sam. A-one, and a-two, and a-three," Josie announced, and they began to play. It had a nice, soft, and moderate introduction, and Valerie began to sing...
"I know who built the house that we live in.
He built that house with his own hands,
But who made the trees that house is made of?
Who made the ground where that house stands?
Ooooh,
I know the field, the field that we walk in
He plowed that field, he planted the grain.
But who gave it love that started it growin'?
When it was thirsty, who made it rain?
It's gotta be Him.
It's gotta be Him.
I believe there's a someone.
It's gotta be Him!"
I smiled as they played the song. It was actually pretty impressive for a dames' bubblegum rock band. As they did, I got out my Smartphone and saw there was fairly decent cellular reception from in here. As they sang and played, I sent a text to Mr. Nichols: "Josie and the Pussycats are indeed in the Vasquez Rd. Castle. Bring the police over quick!"
"Oooooh...
He bought the ring I wear on my finger.
He pledged his love, a man to his wife.
But who gave him love, that wonderful feelin'
Of knowin' he'll love me the rest of my life.
Mmmm, mmmm...
He knows the dream, the one we both dream of,
Planted the seed, a blossom of love.
But who made this miracle, this miracle happen?
This miracle of love must come from above...
It's gotta be Him.
It's gotta be Him.
I believe there's a God...
It's got to be Him!
It's got to be Him.
Yeah, yeah,
It's gotta be Him!
Don't you know... Him...
Yeah,
It's gotta be Him.
It's gotta be Him!"
They finished the song and I clapped. "That was a very lovely song! I never expected it from you band," I told them.
"Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera wrote it for us," Valerie explained. "But due to its' gospel theme, we couldn't perform it on our TV show, so we just released it as a B-side single and later on compact disc, and we try to work it into most of our concerts, as it does impress the fans."
"OK then," I softly said, "let's try to sneak out of here. I'm sure I can fool the guards..."
But then we heard footsteps approaching. Among turning my head, I was horrified to see Dr. Strangemoon, The Shadow and Master Mind right behind us, entering the cell!
"What's going on here?" The Shadow demanded.
"Uh... just getting them ready for the execution," I lied to the supervillains.
"Wait a minute!" Dr. Strangemoon realized. "I don't remember one of my henchmen ever looking like that!" He reached out and yanked off my helmet with visor, revealing my full fox face. "A fox?! What's going on here?"
"Oh, he's Sam Valentino, a toon detective who's come to..." Melody began, until Alexandra clamped her right hand over the blonde's mouth.
"Shut up, you dumb blonde!" Alexandra hissed. "Why do you always have to ruin everything?!" The rest of the band, Alan and Alexander all gave her a look of hypocrisy.
"Just as I suspected!" Dr. Strangemoon cried out. "He's a spy!"
I quickly whipped off the rest of my henchman disguise to reveal my trenchcoat and foxy tail. Then I reached into both the pockets on my coat and pulled out my fedora hat that I plunked back onto my head, and my Smith & Wesson 625JM revolver that I aimed at the three supervillains. "That's right. I'm Sam Valentino, private detective, and your band-kidnapping caper has come to an end!"
The Shadow laughed from behind his black-masked head and coyly asked, "Has it? Now in addition to wiping out the band that got our grand schemes foiled, we can also wipe out one of Toontown's greatest detectives!"
"This plan is getting even better," Dr. Strangemoon added. "The three of us, the Hawk, The Serpent, Mr. X, The Scorpion and The Laser all got together after breaking out of prison to put together this caper to permanently end Josie and the Pussycats for incarcerating us!"
"When we heard of their concert to be held tonight," Master Mind explained, "we knew this was the perfect time to put our scheme into action. My mastery of disguise was enough to lure those kids to our hideout, by posing as Mr. Nichols, the concert hall owner, and leading them here with the convincing story that they could rehearse here in total privacy!" As he spoke, he reached into one of his costume's pockets and pulled out something rubbery – a realistic full-head rubber mask of Mr. Nichols!
"And I knocked out the real Mr. Nichols with my sleeping gas through his office window," The Shadow added, "so that he couldn't stop Master Mind's impersonation!" He let out a sinister chuckle.
"And now," Dr. Strangemoon concluded, "you will all die!" He pulled out some kind of futuristic-looking rifle-shaped ray gun.
"Not on my watch!" I quickly said as I leaped at just the right angle and fired my pistol so the bullet would knock the ray gun out of Dr. Strangemoon's arms! "Everybody this way! Leave your stuff!" I ordered the dames, Alan, Alexander, and Sebastian as we all ran out of the cell and managed to shove the three villains aside!
"Guards!" The Shadow called out. "Josie and the Pussycats are getting away!"
The Scorpion's crony I saw guarding the dungeon leaped into out path. Since he had no weapons, I was able to leap forward and push him down with my fox footpaws, and the teens and their cat trampled over him after me.
"I think it's time for the romp!" Alexander said as we started out the dungeon doorway and toward the basement stairway. "But since they stole all our phones and electronics, we can't have any music accompany the chase!"
"Oh no?" I asked as I whipped out my Smartphone and slipped my gun back inside an interior pocket in my coat. "Which song of yours should I play?"
"In this case," Josie said, "I think ‘Lie, Lie, Lie' would be appropriate!"
"Ah, found it!" I exclaimed as I quickly located the song on the phone's YouTube app. Before beginning the song, I told the band, "I also already texted Mr. Nichols, so help should be on the way!"
"Groovy!" Alan replied.
Then I began the song, which was more or less the usual kind of bubblegum rock song the band would play, the type that'd often accompany a Scooby-Doo-esque chase scene like the one I knew we were about to embark in...
"I've seen your face, I've heard your voice before.
I know I've heard those same old lies before.
The rainbow that you paint, I've chased before.
But now I know I just can't chase you anymore!
Lie, lie, lie.
You told me!
Lie, lie, lie.
You sold me!
Lie, lie, lie...
Gonna live without your love..."
We all ran up the stairs, and among reaching the first floor of the castle, we slammed the door shut. But then we encountered The Serpent! "Take them!" he ordered his henchmen, and they began charging toward us!
So we started sprinting down another hallway through the castle with The Serpent and his stereotypical Chinese cronies close behind! Among approaching another stairwell in the foyer leading to the second level, we split up; I ran with Alexander and Melody still on the first floor, while Josie, Valerie, Alan, Alexandra, and Sebastian started up the steps, only to find two different henchmen working for The Shadow and the Scorpion blocking their path!
Luckily, we found a rope just lying around, and so Alexander and I were able to lasso it to Josie, allowing them to slide down to safety and continue the chase.
"The day we met, you swept me off my feet.
You were the boy I always dreamed I'd meet.
But when I finally found my head again...
I saw you as you really are, my friend.
Lie, lie, lie.
Don't hear you!
Lie, lie, lie.
I don't need you!
Lie, lie, lie...
I've got to be goin'..."
Our chase predictably took us to a hallway with multiple doorways, by which time The Shadow, Dr. Strangemoon and Master Mind have caught up to us! So of course, we did the old "run in one door and out another" bit, and it kept up for a bit until we tried stacking up on one another, to which we collapsed on the ground and resumed the chase elsewhere.
After we split up again, I found myself passing a convenient wall-mounted sword display. I grabbed a sword off the mount and struck a Robin Hood-esque pose at Master Mind, daring him to duel me. Sure enough, he grabbed another sword from the display and we engaged in a classic sword fight. After some clashing, he was able to push me with one foot against the wall, and I just dodged his sword blade coming at me! But I jumped back up and continued attempting to jab him.
Lucky for me, Valerie came up to us, nabbed another sword and helped me pin Master Mind to the wooden wall panel with both our swords, and we took off while the masked supervillain was stuck at the moment.
"Baby,
Watch me walk away.
Baby,
You just talk away.
Baby,
No more cryin' and
No more lyin' to meeeeee..."
Then Valerie and I reunited with the rest of the gang, and we all started up another stairwell. Among reaching the top, we turned to see The Shadow, The Scorpion, The Hawk and The Serpent starting up the stairs after us! So we each hopped onto the banister and slid back down to the first floor.
"Lie, lie, lie.
I can't hear you.
Lie, lie, lie.
I said I don't need you.
Lie, lie, lie.
I don't need you.
lie, lie, lie..."
As we ran towards the front door, I could hear police sirens in the distance. "I think the cops are coming!" I called back to the band. "Out this way!"
But Master Mind, The Laser, Mr. X and Dr. Strangemoon leaped out in front of us. We put our feet on the brakes, but we couldn't screech to a halt in time. We ended up ramming right into the supervillains, just as the four supervillains behind us dogpiled onto us as well!
Fortunately, the castle doors burst open as some toon police officers barged in with a battering ram. Following them were Chief Flat-Foot Flanigan, Sheriff Bronson Stone from Crystal Cove, and Mr. Nichols!
"Good lord!" Sheriff Stone exclaimed. "This could be our biggest bust yet!"
Me, Josie, the Pussycats, Alan, Alexander, and Alexandra made our way to the top of the pile and waved, not much worse for the wear.
"Sam Valentino!" Mr. Nichols exclaimed. "You did it! You recovered Josie and the Pussycats!"
***
Sometime later, we all gathered outside the castle's entrance. All of the supervillains and their cronies were placed in handcuffs, and two paddy wagons had come to take them away. Chief Flat-Foot said, "Great job, Sam. Your message to Nichols was a big help."
And in an astonishing coincidence, the Mystery Machine was driving by, but then Fred pulled the van over so they could get out and see what the hubbub was.
"Sheriff Stone!" Daphne called out. "What's going on?"
"We got the villains and their henchmen that kidnapped Josie and the Pussycats and attempted to do them in," Stone told the mystery-solving group.
"Only instead, we did ourselves out!" Melody added, followed by a giddy laugh. The rest of us all glanced at each other. We didn't understand her joke at all.
"Ri don't get it," Scooby-Doo said.
I filled the police and concert hall manager in, "It was indeed an old-fashioned revenge plot, as Josie and the Pussycats had foiled these villains' plans in the past and put them behind bars. They had planned this caper for some time and found that right before tonight's concert was the best time to pull it off!"
"And now," Fred added as he walked up to The Shadow, "we'll see who The Shadow REALLY is!" He grabbed the top of the supervillain's black mask, gave a firm tug, and yanked it off... only to reveal an identical full black mask underneath!
"Another mask?!" Mystery Inc. all exclaimed in unison.
The Shadow let out a sinister laugh. "When I say secret identity, I mean it!" he told us.
"Well, it's not going to help where you're going," Chief Flat-Foot Flanigan said. "In jail!"
"Curses!" The Shadow exclaimed.
"It was a brilliant plan," Dr. Strangemoon said. "We were going to do away with the band and have mechanical dummies take their place at the concert, only they'd perform awful music for some time until the crowd got sick of it and left! Then they'd think Josie and the Pussycats were all washed up after a while. No one would've been the wiser!"
The Hawk added, "And it would've left us free to try and dominate the world together! It would've worked if that meddling fox detective hadn't interfered!"
"Gee, does THAT sound familiar," Velma sardonically commented as she rolled her eyes.
"Take them away," Mr. Nichols told the police, and the villains and their cronies were all loaded into the paddy wagons and driven to jail.
I turned to Mystery Inc. and told them, "Thanks for providing me with info on the band's foes. Especially you, Velma." I shook her hand, to which she blushed a little.
Alan then walked up to Fred and said, "Hey, I like your style! Rocking that ascot and blond ‘do, I see."
"Thanks," Fred replied as he shook Alan's hand. "Looks good on you, too. Especially the ascot."
"Well, for a while I tried to do away with it," Alan said, "but somehow people liked me better wearing the ascot than without."
"Same here," Fred agreed. "Ascots are where it's at!"
Alexander then approached Shaggy and pointed out, "Hey, you notice that our voices sound alike?"
"Like, yeah," Shaggy answered. "And we've got similar hairdos, too! I wonder if we're actually related in some way?"
I chuckled and said to myself, "Surprised it took them a while to realize the resemblance."
***
After that, I met up with Mr. Nichols again back at the Franklyn Concert Hall. Partly for gratitude and partly to pay for my private detective services, he rewarded me with $200, plus a free front-row ticket to the concert that evening. I usually don't do concerts, but I had warmed up to Josie and the Pussycats enough that I was more than willing to attend. I already knew my friend Zak Wolf was still going to the concert, and the Archies and the Scooby gang were as well, so at least I'd know several of the audience members.
That evening, I returned to the concert hall, presented my ticket to the usher, and joined the audience of toons and real people in viewing the show. I made it in just in time for the Cattanooga Cats to open the concert. They played a few of their more well-known songs, including "Olly Olly Oxen Free," as they played for me the day before. The stage had already been decorate with the large yellow silhouette of a cat's head, like in the opening credits to Josie and the Pussycats's show. Then the four feline hillbilly musicians concluded their set...
"...Then Henny Penny ran himself skinny, yellin' that the sky might fall.
Everyone knew now, that wasn't true now
But that didn't save them at all.
Johnny, Johnny jump up, where you gonna go?
Johnny, Johnny jump up, don't you know?
Little Girl Blue is waitin' for you
Johnny, Johnny jump up, whatcha gonna do?
Johnny, Johnny jump up, where you gonna go?
Johnny, Johnny jump up, don't you know?
Little Girl Blue is waitin' for you
Johnny, Johnny jump up, whatcha gonna do?"
I let out a good cheer and applause with the rest of the crowd.
"Thanks, everybody!" Country said into the microphone. "It was great to perform for you all, but now we need to make way for the stars of our show, Josie and the Pussycats! Goodnight, Toontown!"
As we all applauded and cheered again, the Cattanooga Cats musicians left the stage, with a stagehand already putting away Groove's drum set as Alan brought out Melody's drum set with the band's logo on the bass drum.
Alexander then came to the stage, taking the microphone in his hand and announcing, "OK now, ladies and gentlemen. It's time for the main attraction of tonight's concert! Those pretty girls in leopard-printed leotards... Josie and the Pussycats!"
As he was announcing, Josie came onto the stage with her guitar, followed by Valerie with her tambourines, and Melody. The three already had their signature feline leotards with tails and their cat-ear headbands on. After Alexander finished his announcement and we all started cheering, the band began to play the intro to their theme song. As they started, Alexandra ran to the front of the stage with Sebastian following, and pushed Alexander and Alan away, just as she did in the show's opening credits, and gave a jealous stare at the band...
"Josie and the Pussycats.
Long tails and ears for hats.
Guitars and sharps and flats.
Neat, sweet, a groovy song,
You're invited, come along.
Hurry, Hurry!
See y'all in Persia
Or maybe France.
We could be in India,
Or perchance
Be with us in Bangkok,
Make no difference
Everywhere the actions at,
We're involved with this or that..."
The whole audience was cheering throughout, glad to see the band back in action. A little later into the song, I spotted a CG orange toon dog in a yellow shirt and checkered pants running for the stage. It took me a second to recognize him – Moxy, star of Cartoon Network's short-lived CGI animated series of the mid-1990s, The Moxy Show. It had been quite a while since I've seen that wild computer-generated toon. As he gripped onto the edges and leaped up onto the stage, Moxy cried out in his crazy voice, "MELODY! I LOVE YOU!" As he started jogging towards the band, Melody gave a slightly nervous look.
Alan quickly ran over to Moxy, grabbed him by the back of his shirt, and tossed him far enough towards the back of the audience, with him screaming like Bobcat Goldthwait usually would. This allowed the band to finish their opening number without worry...
"Come on along now!
Josie and the Pussycats.
No time for purrs and pats.
Won't run when they hear scat.
They're where the plot begins.
Come on and watch the good guys win.
Josie and the Pussycats!
Josie and the Pussycats, yeah..."
When they finished the song and we cheered and clapped (with Zak letting out one of his usual wolfish howls), Josie took the microphone and signaled for us to quiet down. As we did, Josie began, "Thanks, ladies and gentlemen. We're glad to be performing for you all, with the benefits of this concert going to the Cartoon Research foundation! But a funny thing happened to us before tonight; we ended up kidnapped by some of our old foes from the early 70s!" The crowd let out a few gasps, but Josie continued, "But then a very clever and handsome vulpine detective toon came to our aid... Sam Valentino!" She eyed me in the audience and motioned, "Come on up, Sam!"
As people began cheering and clapping, I quickly told Zak, "Come with me too, Zak! You had a part to play in my case. And you too, Mystery Inc!"
Velma looked kind of nervous among hearing that, but she reluctantly joined the rest of the Scooby gang, Zak and I up onto the stage.
"It's all yours, Sammy," Josie said as she handed the microphone to me.
"Uh, thanks, everybody," I said into the mic as I uncertainly rubbed the back of my neck. "It was a tough caper to solve, but I'm not ashamed to admit I got some vital help on this case. I couldn't have done it without Zak Wolf here filling me in on the band and the concert. He's a big fan of toon bubblegum rock groups!"
Zak took a bow as the audience cheered and clapped. I could see a few anthro animal toons I didn't recognize cheering and calling Zak's name. There was a dog that was a collie/shepherd mix, a brown-and-white raccoon, an older yellow wolf, a dark brown female boar with red hair, and a black-and-blue female saber-toothed cat. I also recognized a few other toons I'm friendly with as part of the audience – Wile E. Coyote, Slick McWolf, Mildew Wolf, Cool Cat, and Hong Kong Phooey. And of course, the Archies gang was there, and I also spotted Fat Albert and his Junkyard Gang, the Funky Phantom Crew, Speed Buggy and his human friends, and Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels in the crowd.
"I also want to thank Mystery Incorporated here for giving me information about the different villains the band had faced back then," I continued, "especially Velma. And I got away with it too, thanks to these meddling kids and their dog, Scooby-Doo!"
The audience got a good laugh from my little play on that old phrase several of the Scooby gang's culprits have said before, followed by applauding. Scooby-Doo got on his hind legs and took a bow, along with Shaggy and Fred also bowing and Daphne curtsying. Velma's face turned bright red, but after a sec, she seemed to find enough confidence to do a little curtsy as well.
"You were all great! Thank you so much for saving us!" Josie gushed as the redheaded dame in cat getup hugged me and kissed my schnozz, to loud whoops and cheers from the audience. I glanced over and saw that Alan didn't seem to mind, since I knew he and Josie were clearly in a relationship. Then Josie went and hugged Zak, followed by shaking the hands of the Scooby gang.
Then Alan and Alexander quickly gestured us that it was time to leap back off the stage, so we did. "OK, and now for our next number," Josie said into the microphone, "this one goes out to that Looney Tune that never gives up, Wile E. Coyote. This is for you, Wile E!" She waved, apparently being able to see the coyote in the audience. I turned back, and sure enough I could barely make out Wile E. waving back. The band started on their next song...
"Watch out
For the roadrunner!
Watch out!
Or he'll run you right down!
Watch out
For the roadrunner,
Fastest boy in town!
Watch out!
Watch out!
Watch out!
Watch out!
Hey girl, take my advice.
I shouldn't have to tell you twice.
He's a sneak, he's a snake,
He's a cheater and a fake.
And it's just not worth the price...."
Alexandra folded her arms and watched from the edge of the stage. I could make out what she was saying over the music: "Hmph! They think they're so great. Well, if the Cattanooga Cats could have a member that just dances and sings, then I can become one of the Pussycats as well!" She ran to center stage and started trying to dance in the same manner as Kitty Jo did earlier. The audience didn't seem to care much, and the band didn't even notice at first, until Alexandra tripped on a wire and began stumbling everywhere! As the crowd began to laugh, Alexandra started swirling around and fell rear end-first into a large spare bass drum. Her brother Alexander, along with Alan and Sebastian, began to laugh, and Josie and the Pussycats glanced over at what happened and they couldn't help but crack wide grins as they continued singing.
"That's a name the roadrunner.
Watch out!
Or he'll run you right down!
Watch out
For the roadrunner,
Fastest boy in town.
Watch out!
Watch out!
Watch out!
Watch out..."
And with that, another mystery had been solved by me, private toon detective Sam Valentino. Beforehand, I didn't care very much for toon bubblegum rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s, but this caper helped me appreciate them a bit more, and Zak and Mystery Incorporated were all pleased about that. We still don't know what The Shadow and Master Mind's real faces look like, as they still always wear their masks even in prison. But I guess it's better if certain mysteries like that don't get solved...
CASE CLOSED
Another new fanfic starring my private 'toon detective fox, Sam Valentino. In this loving tribute to cartoon bubblegum rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s, Sam is called on a case to find that feline-themed girl rock band, Josie and the Pussycats, after they disappear before their Toontown concert! While on the case, he meets quite a few other toon bubblegum bands of the era, and also gets a bit of help from other toons, including Zak Wolf, and another group of meddling kids from Hanna-Barbera.
Zak Wolf is co-developed by me and
blueeyedwolf, who came up with his visual design.
Zak Wolf is co-developed by me and
blueeyedwolf, who came up with his visual design.
Category Story / All
Species Red Fox
Gender Multiple characters
Size 120 x 90px
File Size 56.1 kB
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