A/N: Hey Everyone! Glad to see you all again! Here is something I haven't posted in a long time, a brand new story. This, however, is the first time I've done a story with the addition of the Tiny Toons. This is my first time writing any one of these other characters, so hopefully, I managed to get them in character. Since this story very short, so will be most of the chapters. I've been debating if I should have posted this short story here, or in the crossover section. I don't know. Since this story takes in the age when the internet was in its infancy, I should warn you, this story gets very very dated!
March 1994
"Hey, girl! Let me see your face! I got only so long to live I don't want it to go to waste...!"
Yakko struggled to deliver Buster Bunny's lyrics with as much energy as he could stomach. His clear tenor voice managed to cover up the blue rabbit's slightly out of tune guitar beside him. Both of their sounds were being competed by Plucky Duck banging incessantly on the drums. And through it all, poor Hampton Pig's bass playing was drowned out completely.
"I can't tell you don't want me around, I look like a slappy happy clown!" Yakko voice cracked at every other word. So much that Plucky threw his drumsticks in frustration.
"Gahh! Stop! Stop!" Plucky yelled before rubbing his temples. Yakko and the other Tiny Toons stopped playing. "This smells like toon sewage!"
"I told you, we're not covering Nirvana again!" Buster yelled at him. Yakko turned around to face him, his face wrenched disbelief and annoyance.
"Slap Happy Clown?" he asked Buster.
"Yakko, it's a new song" Buster stated matter of fact. "I still gotta iron out the wrinkles."
"Please! What this whole song needs a facelift!" Plucky scoffed as he nearly tripped up on one of the four drum pedals he had. Buster stifled a chuckle.
"Well, let's see what our audience thinks." Yakko replied before he turned to their audience "So. Uh…. What did ya think sibs?"
Both Wakko and Dot said nothing at first. They did their best to force the brightest smiles on their faces throughout the whole song. But Yakko could see right through their façade. He crossed his arms.
"Come on, be honest."
"Um, I give a five for effort," Wakko said, giving a thumbs up. His sister gave a thumbs down.
"But a zero for execution" Dot spat.
Buster then chucked his guitar onto the Warners green couch sitting nearby. The loose springs made it bounce twice upon impact. The long piece of furniture once again been moved to the side so the band could rehearse, They had been working this new song several times for the past couple of days, and it still didn't sound right.
The band was a side hobby Buster and his friends picked up after 'Tiny Toons Adventures' ended two years ago. Buster let Yakko join the group just a few weeks ago in exchange for letting him use the water tower to practice. Aside from a few private parties, the group had yet to score any actual gigs.
"So remind me Buster buddy, what did Babs ask you to do for her birthday again?" Plucky asked Buster with irritation.
"She wanted me to play a new song for her next Friday" the rabbit replied. Yakko shook his head, knowing his friend was always notorious for not doing exactly what he's told.
"And you told her we'd have it playing on TV why?" The eldest Warner asked. Buster wrapped an arm around Yakko's shoulder.
"Yakko, when a girl asks you something to something special, you got to give her more than what she bargained for"
Dot shrugged her shoulders before commenting "Well, he's not completely wrong…"
"Sound like a lot of work," Wakko said while scratching his head.
"This is why I'm a bachelor bro" Yakko muttered.
"Oh, but at this rate well be lucky if Letterman gives us an honorary mention in passing" Buster sighed. "You sure your show wouldn't let us play a song in an episode?"
Despite the show being over, the Tiny Toons cast had made various cameos in 'Animaniacs' a few times. There was even an episode with Elmyra that was scheduled to be filmed soon, much to the horror of the Warners. So the possibility of doing a full-on crossover wasn't too far from reality.
"Buster, this is the same company that thinks us singing "Lake Titicaca" is risqué. Saying words like 'Slaphappy clown' and 'hard like a rocket' would give them a heart attack." Yakko replied.
"It still in the works!" Buster clenched teeth.
"Besides, all of our episodes are pre-planned in advance. We'd need another show that allows us to play live"
"Hey, guys" A meek voice answered. Everyone looked over to see it came from Hampton. He'd turned on the Warners bulbous TV set. "Why not try Public Access?"
Everyone else huddled around TV to see his point. On the screen were an unknown two-person group consisting of a man on a keytar and an off-key female singer with neon green hair.
"Yeesh! Cyndi Lauper's career really took a nosedive" Plucky cringed.
"Local bands play on these channels all the time. Maybe we could do something like that"
As if on cue, a light bulb went off inside Yakko's head. He had a brief flashback of the numerous times he stayed up late when nothing else was on watching public access. Just about anybody could appear on there, quirky singers, hungry salesmen, zealous pastors, wacky conspiracy nuts. The possibilities were endless.
"Hampton that's perfect!" Yakko beamed with delight. He pressed his hands against the pig's cheeks. "I always knew you were more than just a pack of bacon"
"Please, don't say bacon" Hampton shuddered.
"But where are we going to find a station that will let us play our stuff?" Buster asked.
"Who said anything about finding a station? We'll make one!" Yakko responded with a determined grin.
"Yakko we're just cartoon stars. We don't know anything about that!"
"Ah, how hard could it be? All we need are a few things. A few cameras, a TV signal, a microphone, and a sparkly bowtie!"
"What's the bowtie for?' Dot asked while she and Wakko were sliding the couch back into its original spot.
Yakko pointed at himself. "For the host of course! Who'll be making his debut Friday night!"
Dot rolled her eyes. "Of course…"
"I don't know Wak, public access TV gets kind of weird at night" Buster answered skeptically. Right as he said that, the screen switched to a man wearing a care bear mask on his head.
"Welcome to the beanie baby and plush collection show with me, Bill Mallory" a deadpan voice came out of the person on screen.
"So, we're weird enough already. We'll fit right in" Yakko reassured Buster before nudging his shoulder. "Don't you want to impress Babs?"
"We wouldn't have to worry about an audition" Hampton spoke up.
"And it's not like we have anything else to do" Plucky added before his eyes widened in realization.."Maybe this could be my next big break!"
Buster shook his head at his friend's delusion of grandeur.
"Says the duck that already had his own show!" he snapped at Plucky.
"Rehashing a bunch of old Tiny Toons shorts I did, does not make a new show!"
The rabbit rolled his eyes at him before he replied to Yakko "Alright, I'm in"
"I knew you'd see it my way," Yakko said, wrapping an arm around his friend.
"One question, where are we going to have it? There's no way Mr. Plotz is going to allow something like this" Hampton mentioned.
"Oh, right…" Yakko's smiled disappeared when he realized the gravity of the situation.
Warners Bros was probably the last company interested in public access programming. There was no way they could do something like this on the movie lot without the CEO catching on too soon. And they could forget about sneaking movie equipment off the lot without Ralph seeing them. They wouldn't be able to do the show on or off the studio grounds. Then he remembered what they were standing inside right now; the hull of the water tower, which technically wasn't on the studio grounds, but above it. At least if you ignore the legs. And better yet, the tower was soundproofed. "Wait! I know the perfect place"
"What is it?" his bandmates asked. The eldest Warner opened his arms out wide.
"You're looking at it!"
Everyone in the room was smiling except the younger Warner siblings. One of them dreading where this story was going.
"Should we try to stop this?" Dot whispered Wakko.
"Nah, I want to see where this goes," Wakko muttered back with a grin.