Chapter One: In a Rut

Police officials are still on the lookout for the three missing individuals; Yakko Warner, Wakko Warner, and Dot Warner who disappeared last week on April 1…

…The CEO of Warner Bros. states that they are doing everything they can to locate…

… It has now been 3 months since the search has been on…

…investigators speculate the plane may have gone down somewhere between Orlando and Dallas…

… as we can see, several people have gathered around the Studio's water tower for a silent moment of prayer...

...Earlier today, police officials have just announced that they are calling off the search for the Warners…

March 20th 11 months later

4:00 PM

"Alright, go easy on those wings and you should be as good as new Squit." Mrs. Nurse stated while she finished wrapping the pigeon's wings into a cast. As she tended to Squit at her work desk, two other pigeons, Bobby and Pesto watched them from a nearby counter.

"Thanks," said Squit, gingerly flapping one of his wings.

"He wouldn't have to do that if Pesto would quit acting like a moron," Bobby complained.

"What? What? Who's acting like a moron here?!, he was grinding my beak as usual!" Pesto protested angrily.

"No I wasn't, I was just saying you ate little more bread than both of us this morning…" the bandaged pigeon began to explain until Pesto confronted him at her desk.

"What?! So you do admit that you think I'm a chubby chicken?! Is that it?!" he yelled.

"No, I'm not sayin that!" Squit protested. Pesto's feathers ruffled at his comment.

"That's it!" Squit wisely flew out a window just as the pigeon was getting ready to pounce on him. Pesto slammed into a pile of papers on her desk before he followed after him.

"Yo! You whack him again and I'll whack you!" Bobby yelled out as he flew off after them. Nurse groaned, she would have to tend those wings again very soon.

The clanking of her white heels was now the only sound present in the psychiatrist's office building. She bent down to pick up her papers and glanced at the clock.

Goodness, its only 4 in the afternoon? She quickly got started on sorting out her paperwork. On her desk was a small stack of folder recording all of her appointments from the current month. Had this been a while back when the Warners were still in town, the pile would have been five times taller, and a good quarter of them would have been from Ralph alone. Aside from her appointment with Squit, she only had two other patients today. It was just another long, boring, and dull day for her. She almost wished those Warner Brothers were still here to flirt with her, at least they always made her day more interesting.

"Let's see…" she said to herself before pausing for a moment. She glanced up at the wooden door at the far end of the room; the office of her working partner. Dr. Scratchensniff hadn't come out all day, not even during lunch break. Normally she would have ignored the whole thing. Scratchensniff was always more comfortable in doing work by himself anyways. He had his work to attend to, she had her own. However, recently fewer tourists and customers were coming in. This meant fewer patients to occupy their time. Like the rest of the studio, he had become very quiet. Always a workaholic, he wasn't used to not having much to do.

She may not have been a psychiatrist, but she knew his reclusive behavior wasn't good.

I don't want to disturb him. Maybe I'll leave this alone. Nurse quickly pushed that thought out of her head. Something was wrong, and she knew she wouldn't be helpful by doing nothing. Before she had any more second thoughts, she cautiously trotted over to the door. Slowly, she cracked it open, hoping she wasn't interrupting an important session.

"Dr. Scratchensniff? Hello?" she asked inside, she could see him lying on the couch talking to a regular patient.

"Why hello Mr. Puppet Head, how are you?" Scracthensniff asked, staring at a puppet likeness of himself on his hand.

"I am fine and you?" Mr. Puppet head "responded"

"How are you feeling?"

"With my hands" the felt puppet raised its arms.

"No! no! that is how you are touching, how are you feeling?!' the frustrated psychiatrist groaned.

"How can I touch? You never gave me fingers!"

" I'm not asking you to touch, I'm asking...!"

"Scratchensniff?" The sound of Nurse's voice immediately snapped him out of his 'session" He blinked for a moment and turned to her, his peach face flushing bright red.

"Ms. Nurse?" he asked. She opened the door all way and came inside.

"Doctor, you've been in here all morning, are you all right?"

"Of course, I'm fine" he waved dismissively.

"No, he's not, he's talking to a felt puppet!" Puppethead 'interrupted'. He raised the puppet to his face.

"Shut up!" Scratchensniff snapped angrily. Mrs. Nurse came over gently grabbed the puppet from his hand.

"Why don't we let Mr. Puppethead sit this one out?" she stated as she placed it on a nearby table. This was worse than she thought. After doing that, she sat on the edge of the couch, patiently waiting for his response.

"Really Ms. Nurse I'm fine. Got to be here in case anyone needs me ja." he replied. She still was not convinced.

"Well, I need you…" she began to explain, but not before Scratchensniff bolted out of the couch.

"What do you need, is the printer out of ink? do we need more folders? is Charlie Sheen trying to break down the door again?" he asked anxiously. Nurse sat him back down to keep him focused.

"Doctor this is serious; I need to know whats wrong. This isn't like you"

"Ms. Nurse I'm a psychiatrist, I think I vould know if there was something wrong me."

"Dr. Scratchensniff, you've been stuck in this room all day, you didn't even come out for lunch break, you look like you haven't had any sleep. This isn't healthy and you know it" Not known for being outspoken, she was a bit surprised at how aggressive she was. Her working partner guiltily hung his head down. "Now will you stop being in denial and tell me your problem?" Scratchensniff raised both his eyebrows and turned to the puppet at the table.

"Wait, Vhat? Mister Puppethead you say somvthing?" She guided his face back to hers.

"No, it was me." she corrected him. "Now Dr. Scratensniff, tell me your problem"He blinked for a few seconds as he sat up straight. He let out a heavy sigh as he stared off in a distance.

"Vell, it's about them…" he began. She didn't have to look far to understand who he was talking about. "It's been almost year now, but it seems like only yesterday when they disappeared. Those poor kids. They were still so young and talented. I just thought about the last words I said to them 'Go Get out of here!' Here I was worried about my job when those kids were trouble..." Nurse continued to listen as he explained. She could completely understand why he was so upset. After all the time he spent with them, the Warners had become like surrogate children to him. No matter how irritating or chaotic they could be, they didn't deserve to have that happen to them.

"It's, It's bad to lose someone, it feels even worse when you don't know what happened to them" he sniffed.

"There, There..." Nurse spoke softly. She rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Id give anythving for them to be here right now. Id even let them bonk me on head" he added. He lightly tapped his head to prove his point.

"Doctor, I'm sure they are still out there" she answered truthfully. Despite how unlikely it seemed, she was still convinced that they were still out there. Somewhere.

"Oh Nurse, I appreciate you trying to help, but Ive been around long enough to know that tings aren't always vat we vant them to be." She wasn't sure what to say next, it wasn't often they had a chance to talk outside of work. She got up from the couch.

"Well, okay. But I want you to get something to eat before you leave" Nurse headed back to to the door.

"Nurse..." She looked back at her mentor. "Thank you for coming in anyway"

"You're welcome, Doctor" A small smile appeared on her face after hearing that. After all, he always came to her if he needed anything, it seemed sensible for her to try and do the same. She didn't want Scratchensniff to go on acting like this. She had to do something to help him out, she didn't know how, she didn't what, but she would do something.

XXXX

7:30 PM

"Sir, Excuse me sir" a deep voice answered.

"Ello there, zort!" a higher pitched Cockney voice chirped. Ralph's eyes slowly reopened at the sound of the voices. He had finally fallen asleep just a few minutes ago. He grumbled as he sat up straight in his booth. This couldn't have happened at the worst time. "Woohoo, S.O.S! You think he already went home Brain?" Ralph slid down the booth's glass window with his hand.

"What?! Where are yous?" he barked irritably. He looked out only to see nobody.

"Down here" the deep voice answered again. He looked at down bottom of the gate to see the studio's famous lab mice. Brain stood with an impatient scowl on his face while Pinky was struggling to carry the edge of a burlap sack over his shoulders.

What are they doing here? They just left an hour ago.

"Ah what do you want?" Ralph asked.

"Excuse me, we like your permission to re-enter." Brain spoke.

"Dah...What for?" Ralph lazily scratched his chest.

"Pinky and I currently have some business to attend to at the lab"

"Okays" was his reply as he let them in. The classic long bar security gate had long since been replaced with an iron gate that slid open and shut on the command of the lever. Ralph faintly remembered how the first time he used it he nearly pinched the rear of Plotz's Cadillac.

"But Brain, I thought were going to pick up the cheese wheel from the fri-" Pinky spoke up just before Brain grabbed him by the mouth.

"Later Pinky, we have a few important issues to take care of at the lab first. It will be closing in an hour" Brain corrected.

"Oh right, then we'll get the cheese wheel?"

"Of course, why do think I brought the bag...?" Brain's response was interrupted by the guard clearing his throat.

"Yous guy comin in out or not? I'm busy!" Ralph asked, an impatient glare on his face. Pinky hurridly dragged the sack inside while Brain matched the guard's sour expression.

"Come on Pinky, let's leave this ignoramus to his profession" Brain muttered. They silently passed by and didn't even look at him. Offended, Ralph whipped his head outside the booth.

"Duh, I ain't Ignoramus I'm Ralph!' he angrily called out after them. The two mice continued onward without looking back.

Perhaps the most unsettling of changes was that of Ralph. The usually cherry persona of the dimwitted guard had slowly become very grumpy. Without the Warners keeping him busy, the overweight guard had more time to focus on his job. That didn't mean, however, that he got better at it. He started to become more distracted and careless than before. While he was more attentive to the people he let in and out of the studio, his greetings became harsher in tone, he started coming in late, and he would leave long after his shift was over.

It didn't help that today had not been the best day for him. He lightly patted his shirt, which was still damp from the early morning rain shower he got caught in. The tiny out of date television box in his booth showed nothing but static. And he had gotten into an argument with an unhappy employee earlier that day. His stomach rumbled.

Aw, now I can't sleep! Hungry though.

The security guard glanced at the box soggy rings that were supposed to be his doughnuts. They were still too wet from the rain to be edible. He decided to leave his post for a quick snack. He didn't feel a reason not to do it. At this point of the day, people hardly came in at all. He would be back before anyone, even would notice.

XXX

7:50 PM

Hrmph, Happy Birthday indeed

Thaddeus Plotz glanced at the crooked picture frames and furniture items he spent most of the day moving in his office. It was his birthday, surely they had returned just to play their stupid joke again. Every year he received his annual "present" from the Warners, a hidden spring laden custard pie ready to launch at the unsuspecting victim. Last year it was hidden underneath a stack of files on his desk. So far he had no luck. He wasn't too upset about that; after all, he never considered his birthday a festive event anyway. Just another reminder that your one year closer to the big dirt nap. Still, he couldn't resist knowing where they might have put it this time. The aging toon CEO slumped in his chair as he stared blankly at the walls.

How could have everything gone bad so quickly?

When the Warner's came up missing, he initially brushed the whole thing off. He figured it was all part of some stupid stunt or that they decided to make an unscheduled detour to pester someone else. But his concern grew more and more as each day passed. Soon enough, he quickly sent out a search party to look for them. He paid off several people to find them; police officers, detectives, military soldiers, he even attempted to get the National Guard in as well. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months. No one had any idea what happened.

It only got worse from there. The number of press interviews and conferences were starting to become exhausting. Every time the press always asked the same thing "Where are the Warners? Do you happen to know who took them? Do you suspect vandals at Disney to be the culprits?" There were numbers and numbers of questions that he didn't just want to answer, but he couldn't answer.

Two of his former TV stars were starting to take the heat as well. Pinky and the Brain were currently being probed by investigators as they were the last people to see the Warners. Apparently, an unknown suspect had booted them off their own plane shortly before they would fly the Warners to Orlando. The suspect managed to take control and flew off with the Warners into the night. No one had seen them since. The mice did everything they could to locate the plane, but they had no luck. Although no one was pointing fingers just yet, the aura of suspicion lingered.

Worse enough, Plotz's hasty decisions he made with the Warners were starting to bite him in the back. Without the Warners, that meant no more of their movies could be made. Most of the studio's main income was riding on the success of their movies. Plotz gambled for profits by putting as much money as needed into their projects; sometimes more than necessary. The average film budget would range from 35 to over 200 million dollars.

In the meantime, he made sure the studio ran as if nothing happened. All employees were ordered to keep working and not get involved with the search party. After several months, the search for the Warners was proving to be very costly time-wise and financially. Frustrated and tired, he had no choice but to go ahead and call off the search.

Plotz didn't understand. Why hadn't they come back? Didn't they know they were worth a lot to him? Was the Warner trio finally out of his life forever? Sure he disliked them thoroughly, but not to the point where he wanted them dead. This was just typical he thought.

Even in the death, those brats manage to ruin my day.

But regardless of how troubling this whole situation was, it was time to move on. He made sure everyone understood this, especially Scratchesniff who'd asked several times if they found anything about them yet. The Warners were gone period, and there was nothing to do about it, People come, people go. He stood atop his chair and checked behind the picture frame like he had done for the 5th time today.

I know those Warners had to have put it somewhere...

"Mr. Plotz?" the sudden interruption from outside his office caused him to topple off his chair. He hit the floor face first. The embarrassed CEO brushed himself off as his newest secretary appeared at the doorway. He often kept one around for at least one year before moving on to the next one. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?"

"Oh uh Corden, I was just looking for you" Plotz answered, regaining his composure. The lean secretary handed him a cup of coffee before he sat down on a chair facing his desk.

"There's a few things I need to tell you sir…"

"Don't tell me we have to do another press conference" Plotz groaned.

"Thankfully no, but I wanted to remind you that the Warner's new movie is set to be released in two weeks. We successfully reached our goal by keeping its budget under 20 million dollars"

"Perfect, I've got a lot riding on this movie" Plotz grinned for a brief moment. So far this was the best news he heard all day.

"Oh I'm confident that it will sell." the secretary replied. The movie wasn't "Gang of Four" like the Warners promised. Since production on the project was kept a secret, there wasn't much Plotz could do on it. Instead, they started on one of the Warners unfinished side projects, "Fowl Play" a romantic comedy starring Katie Kaboom and Chicken Boo. "And if that doesn't work out, our DVD sales are still bringing in a constant revenue."

"There is no if it doesn't work. It has to work! What else?" Plotz cut in.

"Mr. Globwobber won't be able to to make this evening's meeting". Plotz had almost forgotten about the meeting with the head Globwobbler studios, J.W. Globwobbler. Plotz had taken out a loan from his company a few months back to cover expenses for the movie. So far he had only paid a quarter of it off. If this movie didn't do well, they were in trouble.

"Oh good, I'm really not in the mood tonight" he sighed. "Corden, I'm sorry you had to be hired in such a difficult time." his secretary rustled his slicked down black hair.

"It's fine, personally I think experiences like this are great for interns. Gives them experience" the younger toon replied.

"That's good, cause we might have to take drastic measures," said Plotz.

"What measures are you suggesting?" Corden asked. Plotz folded his arms and took one sip of his coffee.

"Our studio is losing money, ratings have dropped, debt has risen. We might have to start laying people off now"

"What departments are you considering to start with?"

"I might start in the health department. They haven't been as productive lately anyway." Plotz knew Scratensniff and the Nurse was not getting as many customers as they used to. Corden simply nodded as Plotz took another sip.

"Might I suggest another one?" Corden proposed. "What about the security department as well? You've been complaining a lot about that security guard lately. What was his name?" The CEO slammed his coffee cup to the desk, nearly scalding himself.

"Ralph! Ow! Oh, of course! I'm really getting fed up with him!" Plotz fumed, his mind instantly going to the bumbling security guard. The growing number of complaints he was getting about him were really starting to get annoying. He didn't know what was going on with Ralph right now, and frankly, he didn't care.

"Maybe later on when this whole mess blows over, I can finally hire some decent security guards around here!"

"That sounds like a plan, but in the meantime, I think we should at least wait until we hear from J.W before you consider doing that," Corden stated. The CEO arched at eye his secretary, it wasn't often people on the studio board challenged his word.

"You questioning my authority Corden?" Plotz asked rose from his seat.

"No, I'm not. But I am saying that we are in a delicate situation, and we need to treat it as one. We can't rush this." he advised. Mr. Plotz paused for a moment, his secretary did have a point, another rushed half thought out decision would be disastrous for the studio.

"All right, all right. I'll think it over" Plotz huffed. Corden checked his watch.

"Its almost 8 o' clock, I'd really like to talk more but I have to get going. We'll figure a way out of this Plotz. We're just in a rut "

"See ya Corden" The secretary left through the door, leaving Plotz alone in the solitude of his office. He hoped Corden was right. The studio had fallen on hard times before, surely they could overcome this. Yes, he was just in a rut, a very very bad rut.

XXXX

Meanwhile, the two workers were completely unaware that a third person had unintentionally listened in on them. After overhearing most of the conversation, Ralph bolted out sight just as Corden went for the door. He breezed past the vending machine he initially came up for. His appetite was long gone now. As soon as he was sure he was out of range, he stopped to take a breath.

He wouldn't do it. That Plotz is a good guy, he wouldn't do it… would he?

Ralph didn't understand the entire conversation, but what he did understand was that if Plotz's words were true, his days at the studio were numbered. If he lost his job, it was going to be very hard to find another one. He didn't have years of psychology studying under his belt like Scratchensniff, nor did he have a degree in any type of profession like the nurse. To be blunt, his chances of getting another job were about as likely as convincing Slappy Squirrel to attend an anti-bomb convention. And he didn't want another job, he was fine with the one he already had.

Several thoughts lingered intensely within Ralph's head as he sauntered back outside. It was a little unnerving walking alone in movie lot. The guard suddenly felt a little bad for being so rude to Pinky and the Brain earlier. They were the first guys' from the cast who actually bothered to talk to him in a while. Everyone else always seemed to ignore him, and those that didn't usually had nothing nice to say.

He stopped in his tracks. To his right, the studio's water tower loomed above him. He gazed down at the concrete movie lot beneath his feet. If this were a year earlier, he would have been chasing the Warners until they tired him out. At least they somewhat nice to him; they didn't yell at him, they actually bothered to call him by his name, they even enjoyed his company even if it was at his expense. Maybe he could catch the Warners again, that would make Mr. Plotz change his mind...

Oh wait, the Warners aren't here.

He remembered how Plotz didn't want anybody to join the search. It was really confusing, his job was to find and catch the Warners if they disappeared from their tower, now that they were gone he couldn't go look for them? He had no idea what happened to those three, but he hoped that they were alright. Before he could dwell on this thought any longer, an odd smell drifted into his nostrils.

The scent of burning wood made him think of two possible scenarios, either someone had finished cooking some barbeque, or the Warners returned and were trying to give him another hot foot. He bent down to see his foot wasn't smoldering as expected. Then he remembered that he had already let the chef go earlier that afternoon. So what else could it have been? A flash of warm air crept up his backside. In a rare instance, a horrible realization came to him.

Oh no!

Within seconds he scrambled up the water tower's ladder. He huffed and puffed after climbing each rung. Finally, after a few minutes, he reached the top. What laid before him was unthinkable. To the far left of him, pillows of black smoke rose higher and higher into the night sky. Rooftops blazed bright yellow before disintegrating into glowing embers. Down below, several employees could be seen fleeing from the scene. Without hesitation, he pulled out his cell phone to dial 911. It was the last thing the studio needed right now, a fire.

Hope you all liked this one. It was really challenging since this is my first time working with some of these characters. The next chapter will feature a little more action, so stay tuned for more coming soon!