NOTE: Due to how freaking tired I am right now, as I upload this chapter, I have yet to completely proofread it. I'll get that done soon though. Excuse any spelling/grammar mistakes, I am far too tired right now to go over this chapter. I just wanted to get it posted.
What's this? An update that's not late as hell? Well, this is certainly a change isn't it?
I have nothing else to say, other than enjoy chapter 7!
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Chapter 7: The Truth
"Alright Buddy," Yakko said to his pupil. "Pay close attention." Buddy nodded at Yakko. They were both standing on a track at a football field. It had been a couple weeks since Buddy had completely mastered his first toon skill, pulling random objects from behind his back. Since he had first succeeded, Buddy had been practicing nonstop to master the new skill. Little by little, the amount of time between grabbing the pebble, and watching the pebble disappear had gradually increased. Soon enough, he went from pulling a pebble from behind his back to pulling pies, mallets, and various other objects. Overall, Yakko had been pleased with how his student had progressed. While he wasn't exactly a fast learner, Buddy was determined to learn as many toon techniques as he could.
Today was the day that Yakko decided to teach Buddy a new technique; toonspeed. Yakko knew that it wasn't going to be easy for him to teach Buddy the new skill. Toonspeed was a much more difficult technique to learn than pulling objects from behind one's back. A toon had to be well trained before he or she could run at incredible speeds, even for a few seconds. There was a lot more to it than stamina. The toon also had to be mentally prepped to be able to pull it off.
"So uh," Buddy began, "how exactly does this work?" Yakko pondered for a moment before answering.
"Well, the first thing you have to remember is that even the most skilled toons can't keep up their toonspeed for too long before becoming worn out. If a toon overdoes it, he or she will more than likely faint. I assume that you don't want that to happen?" Yakko asked with a grin. Buddy quickly shook his head.
"No Yakko."
"Though so. Now, as for how to pull it off, the first thing you must do is clear your mind." Buddy closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying not to think about all his worries. "The only thing you want to think about is your speed. You won't be able to pull off the toonspeed unless you really believe that you can run so fast. Now watch me." Yakko positioned himself to get ready for his demonstration. "What you're going to do is launch yourself forward and run as fast as you can. Remember, it's all in the mind. You have to really want it. Watch me." Yakko closed his eyes and took a deep breath. In the blink of an eye, Yakko took off like a speeding bullet. Buddy watched in amazement as Yakko ran around the track several times in a matter of seconds. The large dust trail he left behind made Buddy cough. Just as quickly as Yakko started, he stopped right next to Buddy.
"Wow..." Yakko flashed his trademark grin. Another reason why he loved his job was because it inflated his ego. Even though most of his students were kids, it was nice to be complimented on demonstrating basic to advanced Toon Theory techniques. He did a mock bow towards Buddy.
"Alright, now you try." Buddy looked unsure of his skills. Not surprising considering how much more difficult learning toonspeed is compared to grabbing random objects out of thin air. Buddy closed his eyes and thought of nothing but speed. He mentally saw himself running at an incredible speed. He took a deep breath and launched himself forward. Unsurprising to Yakko, Buddy didn't pull off more than a sprint. Buddy stopped in his tracks and ran back to Yakko.
"Well, so much for that," Buddy said, disappointed.
"Hey, come on!" Yakko said with enthusiasm. "Don't tell me I need to go through this with you again." Buddy said nothing in reply. When he first started to learn how to pull objects from behind his back, his frustration led him to nearly quitting learning Toon Theory. Thanks to Yakko, he reconsidered. "Don't tell me you're gunna give up already." Buddy looked at Yakko.
"I guess not."
"Hey, don't feel so bad. Did you really think you would get it on the first try?" Buddy shook his head. "Toonspeed is much more difficult to learn then the last technique I taught you. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you don't pull it off until next week, or even the week after!"
"How long does it usually take for a toon to learn how to use toonspeed?" Buddy asked.
"Well, for most of my students, it took them three weeks to finally run faster than a sprint. And even then they couldn't run for more than a few seconds before they got too tired to move on." Buddy seemed to be reassured by Yakko's statements. "Here, let's try it aga-"
He was interrupted by his cell phone going off. He wasn't the kind to take a call during a tutoring session, but despite that, he checked the caller ID to see who it was. It was Babs. Yakko sighed.
"I should probably take this," he told Buddy. "Keep trying, I'll be watching from over there." He pointed at the bleachers near where they were standing.
"Okay!" Yakko walked over to the bleachers and opened his phone.
"Hey Babs."
"Hey Yakko," Babs said through the phone. "I just wanted to make sure that we're still going down to your siblings' house."
"Of course," Yakko replied. "What, you think I would just change my mind last minute?" Yakko watched as Buddy attempted to toonspeed once more, only to fail.
"Nah, I just wanted to be sure. Are you going to drive or should we?"
"I'll drive, don't worry about that."
"Okay. What time will you be picking us up?"
"Probably around noonish. We'll be going to that restaurant where Wakko works some time around five or six."
"Okay, I'll make sure Buster's up by then." Yakko chuckled.
"Okay Babs, see ya tomorrow."
"Bye."
Yakko closed his phone and started heading back over to where Buddy was standing. Buster, Babs, and Yakko had all planned on visiting Wakko and Dot on Saturday. Yakko was glad that the week was almost over. Even though he had seen them less than a week ago, he had already started missing his siblings. He knew that he had been lonely, but he had never realized it so much until the night he returned to his empty apartment in Burbank. He couldn't wait to see his brother and sister again, and he was sure that Buster and Babs felt the same way.
"Sorry about that," Yakko told Buddy. "Let's continue shall we?"
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Geez, this place is a lot fancier than I expected.
Yakko looked around the restaurant, noticing the overly fancy decor. Buster, Babs, Dot, and Wakko were talking amongst themselves, catching up on each others lives. Yakko decided not to get too involved in the conversation. After all, he had already had a chance to talk with his siblings. He felt that Buster and Babs should have the same privilege.
Wakko brought up the idea of going out to eat at the restaurant that he worked at. It was a great idea. After all, since Wakko worked as the head chef, he could get everyone a discount. He assured everyone that the food was excellent, though Yakko couldn't help but feel that the restaurant was trying too hard to be fancy. Each table had a bouquet of roses and the restaurant had very dull, but somehow sophisticated music playing. Yakko could barely stand it. He wasn't the kind of person you would see at a fancy restaurant anyways. He'd take fast food over a real restaurant any day. It wasn't the food he didn't like, it was the atmosphere. He couldn't explain, not even to himself, what exactly it was about restaurants that made him uncomfortable. However, this was the restaurant that Wakko worked at, and he decided to grin and bear it.
Besides, the food might actually be good.
"So how long have you worked here anyways?" Buster asked.
"A few months ago. It took them forever to look at my job application though. Didn't get a call for an interview for almost two months after I sent it in."
"Well, what do you expect in today's economy?" Dot said.
"Well if it isn't Wakko!" a nearby voice said. Wakko turned to see a large buffalo toon standing by their table.
"Bill! What's up man?"
"Not much. I guess I'll be your waiter for tonight."
"You guess?" Wakko and Bill laughed in unison. He turned to his brother. "Yakko, this is Bill. I met him when I started working here."
"Glad to meet ya," Yakko said as he shook his hand. "Hmm... Bill? As in, Buffalo Bill?" he teased. Bill merely smiled.
"Go ahead and get your jokes in. I've already gotten used to it thanks to your brother over here. Anyways, it's nice to finally meet you. I've heard quite a lot about you." Yakko's face fell slightly.
"Hopefully nothing too negative?" Bill said nothing more. He turned to Babs and Buster.
"And I assume you are Babs and Buster Bunny?"
"No relation," Buster said while nodding.
"Yet," Babs commented. Bill laughed at Busters reaction.
"Glad to meet you two. I've seen your show before. Good stuff, especially while..." Bill quickly stopped talking after seeing Wakko quickly shaking his head. Luckily, it went unnoticed by the others. "Eh, never mind. Anyways, here you go." He passed out the menus to the group. "I'll be back in a few. Take your time."
"Thanks Bill!" Wakko said. They all buried their faces into the menus, trying to figure out what they wanted to eat.
-
Even though they had already finished their meals, the group was still sitting at their table, talking about who knows what. Occasionally a loud bout of laughter would come from their table. Yakko stood up from his chair.
"I'll be right back guys, need to use the bathroom."
"Okay," Dot replied. She watched as her brother headed for the restroom. Once he was out of earshot, she gave a knowing look to Wakko, who nodded his head. Now was the time.
"Hey guys?" Buster and Babs looked at Dot. "There's something that me and Wakko wanna ask you." Even though she didn't ask the question yet, both Babs and Buster knew what it was about.
"Shoot," Buster said. Dot hesitated for a moment.
"What kind of effect did we really have on Yakko when we left?" Nobody said a word. Even though they had expected something like this, Babs and Buster didn't know how to answer. The pleading look on Wakko's and Dot's face didn't help the issue.
"You mean he didn't tell you?" Buster asked.
"Well he did but..." Dot trailed off. What was she going to say? She couldn't find the right words. "Well, something tells us that he kept a few things out when he talked to us."
"Actually," Wakko interrupted, "he didn't really say much. All he told us was that he was lonely."
"Well..." Buster tried to piece together the right words. "Okay. First off, we had no idea what had happened on the day you guys left. We headed over to your house to hang out with you guys. We knew that there was some kind of tension going on between you three, but we didn't know why."
"It was that obvious huh?" Dot asked.
"During the month before you guys left, Babs and I could tell that something was going on. You two and your brother didn't really seem as close as before. Anyways, we knocked on the door and Yakko answered. He looked like hell. He told us to leave him alone and shut the door." At that moment, Babs took over for him.
"We knocked a few more times, trying to find out what happened, but he didn't open the door. He called us a few days later to apologize and to tell us that you two had left."
"Did he tell you why?" Wakko asked. Babs shook her head.
"No. After that, it was all downhill. Every time we tried to hang out with him, he would barely say anything. He rarely smiled, he never cracked jokes, and his personality was completely shot. After a few years of this, he started to get used to the new lifestyle, but he was never the same." She paused to take a breath.
"What else about him changed?" Wakko asked.
"Well," Buster began, "as you two have probably found out, he started smoking a year or so ago." Both Dot and Wakko nodded. "However, what he probably didn't tell you is that he... Well... Promise me that you guys won't tell him I told you this, because he probably doesn't want you to know."
"We promise," Dot and Wakko said in unison. Buster took a deep breath.
"He's become a bit of an alcoholic."
"WHAT?!" Dot's and Wakko's shout echoed throughout the restaurant. Every person at every table immediately stopped talking and looked over at their table. Dot and Wakko blushed, and returned to their own conversation.
"Yeah, I didn't think you would like to hear that."
"It's true that Yakko's had a drink or two every now and then, but him an alcoholic? That's NOT Yakko."
"Well, it is now." Buster sighed. "Again, don't tell him that I told you that." Wakko scratched his head in thought.
"Did he ever tell you why we left?"
"Well, kind of, but I don't think we got the whole story." Dot and Wakko looked at each other. Should they tell Babs and Buster? It was only right, but would Yakko want them to know?
"If we promise not to tell Yakko what you've just told us," Dot said, "then you have to promise not to tell him what we're about to tell you." Buster and Babs both nodded their heads. Dot and Wakko filled them in on what happened. They told them all about the phone call, and how Yakko had changed after it had occurred.
"A death threat?!" Buster asked. "Who would want you three dead?"
"That's the problem," Wakko said. "We have no idea. Yakko just thinks it was some crazed fan or something trying to get in a few laughs. Anyways, it doesn't really matter now does it? It was well over five years ago."
"I guess, but does it still worry Yakko?" Buster asked.
"As much as I'd like to say no, I'm not sure. In the back of his mind, he's probably still worried about it. I just hope he doesn't go back to the way he was before we left." Suddenly, Wakko spotted his brother starting to return to the table. "Here he comes. Remember, don't say anything about it."
"Right," Babs said. Yakko took his seat.
"Well, think it's about time to get out of here. Where's Bill with the bill?" Yakko chuckled at his own joke. Wakko rolled his eyes.
"Funny." Wakko then spotted a human man walking towards their table. It wasn't a waiter, nor was it the manager. He had a fairly big camera around his neck and a hat.
"Hey, uhh," he said nervously. "I don't mean to bother you, but aren't you the Warners?" Yakko grinned.
"Yep, that's us." He felt his ego rise slightly. It was fairly rare for Yakko to run into such an enthusiastic fan. However, every time he did, he couldn't help but grin.
"Not to pry into your lives, but I thought you guys were... y'know... on bad terms with each other?" As much as it annoyed Yakko, he knew that he had to be nice to the man. After all, as far as everyone else in the world knew, the Warners WERE on bad terms with each other.
"Well, we were, but as you can see we've settled our problems not too long ago."
"Wow! That's great! And you two are Buster and Babs Bunny!" He turned to them with excitement in his eyes.
"That's us!" Babs said. The man grabbed his camera.
"If it's not too much trouble, do you think I could get a picture?" The man asked. Yakko turned to the others. He nodded with them. After all, why the hell not? It wasn't like they were busy or anything.
"Sure," Wakko said. He signaled over to Bill who immediately started heading over. "Do you think you could take a picture?"
"Sure," Bill said.
"Oh, thanks so much!" the man exclaimed. He walked over by the Warners and the Bunnys and looked towards the camera. Yakko smiled as the camera flash temporarily blinded him. He might as well enjoy the moment. It was fairly rare to find such an enthusiastic fan back in Burbank. After all, he knew a lot of his fans personally anyways.
After a while of chatting with the fan, they all chipped in some cash to pay the bill and left the restaurant. Buster and Babs thought about heading home, but decided to stay. After all, Yakko was their ride home and they knew that he wanted to savor every moment that he had with his brother and sister.
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Well, it's currently five in the fucking morning, and I'm tired as balls. I'm not 100% happy with how this came out, but eh. It's not terrible. I'm just happy that I was able to get it posted in less than two months. I did enjoy writing this one though. Next chapter is gunna be a crazy one, so stay tuned!
Until next chapter folks!
-eaglefan101
