Act 7, Scene 2- Meeting The New Boss

--- Avery Jones ---

The new boss was a little weird. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that!)

Then again, he probably didn’t know what weird was to begin with. (That’s right!)

Still, he had to admit that the five minutes of mad laughter was a little off putting. (He’s just happy to be here!)

Which was a good thing given how the Cabaret had been on its last legs before… (I don’t want to think about that.)

Shaking his head, he instead tried catching the new boss’s attention. “Uh, Boss?”

The boss immediately quit laughing, before blinking as if he just realized he wasn’t alone. Which was fair given how Avery was used to blending into the background. (Th-that just means I’d make a good stage hand!)

“Uh, right…” The boss coughed into his hand. “Sorry, you were saying something before that little… commercial break?”

“Oh, right! I was welcoming you to the Cabaret!” He smiled the way he did whenever welcoming a new guest to his home. (Though the boss isn’t really a guest, he’s something even better! He’s a new boss!)

The Cabaret hadn’t had one of those in a few years, and the shape of the place was sadly telling. (Because I’m such a screw up!)

He shook his head again, forcing away those thoughts so that the boss wouldn’t pick up on that detail just yet. (Not before he saves the Cabaret anyway…)

As long as the boss did that, he’d take whatever job the boss wanted him to even if it was just the Cabaret janitor. (Not like I’m good for much else…)

“Uh, Avery, was it?”

He blinked -(Crumb, I’m already screwing up!)- before forcing a smile on his face and asking, “Yeah, boss?”

“What can you tell me about this place?” The boss asked. “I mean, from what I know most Wonderlands are built up by their wonderlander and this place looks a little… well worn?”

He grimaced at that description, even if he did appreciate the boss’s attempt at tact. “That’s because you’re the Cartoon Cabaret’s second boss.”

“It’s second?” The boss repeated thoughtfully.

“That’s right, I’ll admit it was a little before my time but my father and grandfather both worked for the old boss during the Voodoo Wars.” He tried to helpfully explain.

“The Voodoo Wars? Like during the prohibition?” The boss frowned while looking around the cabaret. “That explains the speakeasy motif.”

“Y-yeah.” He nodded, before suggesting something he hated. “If you want we could, we could change the motif of things down the line… though that’ll cost a few resources.”

He hated the idea of changing the design that had been in place for almost a century, but if it kept the new boss around and the Cabaret running then it’d be worth it in the end. Though hopefully the resource cost wouldn’t be worth it, and his home could stay the way it was on that front.

“Nah, we don’t need to do that. I grew up in a bar, and this speakeasy thing screams class in comparison to the crossing.” The boss -(thankfully)- dismissed before smirking. “Wonder how Chris would react to me having a better bar than him.”

He didn’t know who ‘Chris’ was or what the boss’s relationship to him was like, so he just kept his mouth shut on that one. (Better than making a bigger fool of myself.)

“Either way, you mentioned something about resources?” The boss confirmed. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, um, that’s… complicated?” He honestly only knew the broad strokes he could remember his father and grandfather telling him about when he was knee high. “I, I mean, y-you’re the boss, surely you know more about resources than anyone else!”

The boss’s face scrunched up a bit in distaste -something he doubted he would’ve caught if he wasn’t so used to dealing with people from when his father ran things- and wondered how he could screw up so monumentally as to make the boss make that face.

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“Due to… circumstances, I’m a little late to the show on that kind of thing.” The boss admitted, though he didn’t look too happy about it. “So I’m hoping you can help me with a couple of the things I’m fuzzy on.”

“Oh! Of-of course boss!” He nodded, happy to redeem himself in the boss’s eyes. “W-where do you want me to start?”

“Resources.” The boss answered without hesitation.

“R-right.” He swallowed, trying to recall as much as he could on the subject. (Easy stuff first, hard stuff last.) “So, um, r-resources are the thing we use to build and power everything around the cabaret. They’re also a sort of currency between Wonderlands, and back our hay day the Cabaret would earn so many through our shows, drinks, and games that we were one of the richest wonderlands in all of black briar.”

Those had been the days he lived for, the days he was desperate to return to, when everything was good and the cabaret was filled with life and laughter rather than darkness and despair.

By the time he snapped out of his reminiscing he realized the boss was frowning, (though thankfully not at me.)

“Can resources only be earned through that?” The boss asked thoughtfully. “Because I’ve never heard about that with other wonderlanders, everything there was about gathering madness by spreading it.”

“Oh, that’s the main way of gathering resources.” He nodded, as the boss jogged his memory on that bit. “Our facilities to gather resources were built because the old boss liked the idea of making the Cabaret as self-sufficient as possible. I remember my grandad, mentioning something about the Cabaret being ‘nothing but profits to the boss’ in those days.”

“Yeah, if using certain things drains madness, having facilities to generate it would definitely be a go to upgrade.” The boss admitted appreciatively.

Something he took as a sign that the new boss was of a similar business mind to the old boss. (Which can only mean good things for the Cabaret!)

“Alright, so how many ‘resources’ is the Cabaret generating now?” The boss asked, continuing with his line of questioning in a direction Avery couldn’t help but wince at.

“I… w-we’re not…” He was forced to admit, unwilling to lie to the boss, though that didn’t stop him from adding, “Right now anyway! We just, we just need a bit of start-up funds to get everything back to the way it used to be! Then you’ll see just how much profit we can make you!”

The boss frowned at that before looking around the cabaret and eventually turning his eyes back to Avery. “You’ve mentioned that a couple of time, what do you mean by ‘back to the way it used to be?’”

He couldn’t help but grimace at that question, namely because it was the one liable to get him… fired. “I… The Cabaret has been on a down swing for the last few decades. I, I tried to keep things afloat, but out customer quit coming, and eventually we couldn’t afford to keep everything running and everyone staffed, and slowly… we lost everything.” There was a bit more to it, but those involved a lot of painful memories and people he might not ever see again.

(Which is why I need the boss.) He told himself, steeling what little resolve he had.

“But I can promise you with your help we can turn things around, I mean just, just look how much your help has gotten us in a week!” He said gesturing to the cabaret’s bar. “We’ve got the lights on for the first time in years, and the bar is stocked with drinks that can help heal you in a pinch!”

He’d been pushing his limits as manager to set that up, but he couldn’t let the boss die, not when he was the first real shot at saving the Cabaret in decades.

“And look at all the other facilities we have just waiting to be fixed up, the stage, the hall, the musicians, the projector, the costume department, performers, the stills, and so many other things just waiting for the chance to be useful!” He continued as passionately as he could, knowing that convincing the boss to stay was something he had to pull off.

“You said you were late to the Wonderland game, right? Well it took decades to build this place up, and while some of it may be a fixer upper that doesn’t change the fact that we could set you years ahead of any other wonderlander out there!” He wasn’t honestly sure about that part, but he’d make it true if that’s what it took to save the Cabaret. “And all we need is just a little bit of help to get there.”

The boss stared at him with a neutral expression, and he began to realize he might’ve overstepped his bounds. (What was I thinking yelling at the new boss?!!)

“Alright, I’m in.”

“W-what?” He blinked, feeling a wave of relief threatening to drown him.

“I’ll admit, I’m a little out of it when it comes to Wonderlands, but this place is a Cabaret, right? A place where people go to witness a performance they’ll forget, to see something they’ve never seen, and witness the unimaginable!” The boss told him building up a presence that Avery could only faintly remember from his childhood when the old boss ran the cabaret.

“So let’s make a deal.” The man before him offered with a gloved hand and the stylish flourish that only the Boss of the Cartoon Cabaret could pull off. “I’ll help you rebuild this cabaret from the ground up if I have to, just so long as you help me put on one hell of a show!”

He couldn’t think of anything but shaking the Boss’s hand.

“Well, then…” The boss laughed with a mad grin. “It’s showtime!”

Scene Consequences

-The Cartoon Cabaret has been unlocked.

-New Epic Quest: Cartoon Cabaret: Grand Re-Opening: The cabaret is in disrepair, but it’s ours and there’s nothing a bit of TLC can’t fix.

--Get the Cartoon Cabaret to a point where it can open for business once more.