"We were so worried." Yakko murmured as he rubbed his cheek against Dot's. Wakko nodded and squeezed his arms tighter around his little sister.
"I was, too." Dot responded and relaxed as her brothers held her close. She had never felt so happy and relieved. It almost felt surreal that they were actually here.
Although it had only been a week since they were separated, this was definitely the hardest situation she had ever had to endure. Even after their parents died and they were sent to that awful place, Dot still had her brothers by her side. They had made those terrible days bearable. Between Wakko's lopsided grin and Yakko's cheesy one-liners, the Warner brothers had protected and loved their little sister unconditionally and made her feel safe. Dot felt as though piece of her was missing when they were torn away from her.
But they were here now. She didn't have to constantly wonder where they were and what state they were in. She didn't have to listen to the countless "what ifs" that clouded her mind, and she could finally relax her nerves. After what felt like an eternity, Dot was whole again.
"Dot... Dot!" she heard Bugs call over the noise around them. Dot turned around to find large gray ears sticking out over the crowd. She watched Bugs as he pushed his way toward them.
"Is that Bugs Bunny?" Wakko stammered. The rabbit broke through the hoard of toons and looked down at Dot. She smirked when shocked expressions washed over her brothers' faces.
"What was that, doc? You can't just run off like-" Bugs trailed off when his eyes landed on Yakko and Wakko. He opened his mouth to say something but shut it quickly.
"I'm a bit lost." Wakko said slowly.
"Me too, Wak," Yakko said. "Dot, what's-" he continued before a loud bus horn interrupted him.
"Look, I know there's a lot of explaining to do, but our bus is about to leave and I'm not too keen on missing it. We'll fill in all the little details in a minute, okay?" Bugs gestured towards the bus. Dot took her brothers' hands and followed Bugs, who was shoving anyone in their path out of the way. She ran down the sidewalk and bumped off of Wakko when Bugs made a sudden halt at the bus's door.
"Ah, shoot. You two need tickets." he rubbed his hand over his face with the other hand on his hip. Yakko looked down at Wakko before widening his eyes and shoving his hand into his pocket.
"We already have those." Yakko pulled out two crinkled pieces of paper and grinned. He gave one of them to Wakko and ran up the steps.
"Thank you, Heather!" Wakko said as he followed him.
"Who?" Dot asked.
"They can answer that question on the bus," Bugs nudged her up the steps. He pushed past Yakko and Wakko and led the Warners back to the others. Dot was jostled by the other passengers as she trailed behind, and was impressed by how many bodies could be squashed into such a tight space.
"B-B-Bugs? The b-bus driver said that he was going to leave i-if you weren't b-back soon. Did you f-find her?" Porky said when they came into view.
"Yep. And these two here." he pointed to Yakko and Wakko, who gave small waves upon seeing Foghorn, Porky, and Daffy.
"You found them? Well good- I say- good for you little lady!" Foghorn exclaimed.
"So that's why you ran off..." Daffy started. "I thought it was because you dropped a toy or something stupid- OW!" he said, earning a sharp jab from Porky.
"Excuse him. You know how ducks are and all. Their filter-less brains are genetic," Bugs said. "I'll sit next to my little buddy here and you three can sit in that seat there. I know it's not ideal, but it's better than standing." he pointed to an empty seat besides Foghorn. The rooster was staring down a lanky flamingo who was squashed against the wall by two rhinos and eyeing the seat viciously.
"That'll work." Dot said and pulled Yakko and Wakko towards the seat. They squeezed onto it and she settled herself between her brothers.
"So, do tell us why you're with a few Looney Tunes in Cameron district, sister sib." Yakko said as he wrapped an arm around Dot.
"Sure, but only if you tell me about this Heather girl first. Is she your new girlfriend or are you just trying to replace me?"
"Ehh, not quite. She's our cousin," Yakko started. "Besides, we could never replace you. You'd blow us up with the biggest stick of dynamite in Toontown if we tried."
"I can't disagree there," she nodded. "And what do you mean she's our cousin? I've never heard of us having any aunts or uncles."
"It's kinda a long story..." Wakko muttered.
"We've got time," Dot said. The bus had just pulled away from the station and was stopped at the bottom of Climper Ave. A waterline had burst and a police officer was redirecting traffic through a small cramped side street. "Those cars are packed tighter together than deli meat, so we're probably not going anywhere for a while."
"True... alright. How 'bout I start from the beginning of last week?" Yakko said.
"Sounds good to me." Dot said. She sat back and eagerly listened as her brothers filled her in on their time apart. Yakko animatedly described their journey while Wakko added the few bits he missed.
"-and then we met Heather. She's great Dot- you'd love her. We stayed at her place for a few days until we ran here."
"Ran?"
"Well, we were, ah, introduced to some not-so-nice folks. We wanted to go out and look for you some more in the Towntoon districts but it was too dangerous. We even spent a day or two over in Cohlton district before coming here, since it's not that far from the lot. Heather said that the guys we ran into had stuck around the neighborhood after we got to her place. We really wanted to look for you, but she all but barricaded us in her apartment."
"Yeah. And Heather has a mallet-proof door. We couldn't get out even if we wanted to." Wakko said.
"Heather was kidding when she said that." Yakko rolled his eyes.
"No it's not. It didn't budge when I-" Wakko quickly shut his mouth when he saw Yakko raised an eyebrow at him. "I just wanted to see what would happen if I tapped the door with Chuck." Wakko said quickly and took his mallet out of his hammerspace. Dot rolled her eyes at the mention of "Chuck."
"You didn't try to mallet her door down, did you?" Yakko eyed Wakko.
"No- not really. She had this book laying around about toon physics and I read about some new ways to swing a mallet. The book said you could only really tell if you did them right by looking at the damage left on the object, and that a flat surface is the best thing to use for a target, since it's easy to manipulate... or something like that. Heather said she mallet-proofed her door after some robbers knocked it down and broke in a few months ago, so I figured why not try it out. Chuck didn't leave any damage, Yakko, I swear." Wakko said.
"I'm wasn't asking if Chuck did anything, Wak. I was asking if you did."
Dot listened to her brothers' banter. For once, she didn't mind their bickering, and was slightly amused by Wakko's curiosity. Maybe he could show her some of those new mallet techniques he had learned when they got to Bugs's house.
She remembered the day Wakko had gotten Chuck. It was tradition for a toon to receive a mallet between the sixth and tenth birthday from a parent, depending on the young toon's talent and capabilities. Yakko had hoped to give it to him earlier, but he couldn't afford one with their meager savings they had managed to save in the orphanage. So on Wakko's eighth birthday, Yakko had taken him and Dot out to dinner at a fancy restaurant in downtown Burbank.
He told them that this was where Dad had given him his own mallet when he was a little younger than Wakko. It was his favorite memory with their late father, and it was clear that he was determined to make Wakko's eighth birthday as special as he could in the absence of their parents. After ordering the most extravagant dinner he could afford with part of their first paycheck from the studio, Yakko gave the handcrafted mallet to his little brother.
Thrilled to finally have a mallet of his own, Wakko named it Chuck ("You know, like a woodchuck," he told them). Dot told him that it was a silly name, but quickly apologized after receiving a small kick from Yakko under the table and seeing Wakko's wild grin fade a little. Ultimately, if Wakko was happy then she was, too.
"Are you two done yet?" Dot asked.
"Yeah. We'll finish this later, Wakko." Yakko responded. He didn't seem too upset at his brother's antics, and Dot could tell he was trying to hold back a hint of a grin.
"Sure... So how did you end up here?" Wakko said as he shrugged off his brother's stare.
Dot launched into her account of the past week. She told them how she met Bugs and where they had been, leaving out a few minor details. They didn't need to know that she got a bit banged up after falling into the pit or about the creepy guy at the shelter. They had just found each other again and she decided that it would be nice to spend some time without having her brothers fret over her.
"And you just ran into a bunch of Looney Tunes and got all buddy-buddy with them? Do you know how many people dream of doing that?" Yakko said, trying to keep his voice low so Foghorn didn't hear him. The rooster was animatedly telling Porky about some trip to Cancun, so it was unlikely he even noticed they were talking.
"Quite the contrary, Yakko. I met them in the middle of a natural disaster, which isn't really the best timing for making friends," Dot started. "Besides, I didn't run into them all at once. I told you I met Bugs first."
"Yeah, but I don't think you realize how big this is. Do you know how hard it is to find them on the lot? All of their shootings are closed and they hardly ever socialize with guys like us unless there's a big event or something." Yakko said even quieter.
"Careful Dot. He might drool on you." Wakko snickered.
"You know what I mean! It's pretty cool. Skippy said it took him a whole year just to get Yosemite Sam's autograph! And Slappy's one of his best friends!" Yakko stated. Dot rolled her eyes and was about to respond when she caught Bugs glancing over at them.
"Hold that thought for a sec, Yak. I'll be right back." she said and went over to the rabbit. She ducked as a large feathery tail swung in her direction.
"Sorry sweetie!" the tail's owner, a large hen, called out to her. Brushing off her pants, she zig-zagged around the woman and approached Bugs.
"You should watch out for those things." Bugs chuckled.
"Yeah. You can never predict what a barnyard animal will do." Daffy added. Bugs sighed and rolled his eyes at the duck.
"You could try to be a little more politically correct, doc. You don't want the public to think you're as insensitive as you actually are. Besides, a duck is no better. They just swim around in filthy water all day." Bugs said.
"Excuse me, but a duck is more civilized than any-" Daffy started.
"Do you three need anything? I have the snacks from the hospital if you're hungry." Bugs turned to Dot, ignoring the scowl Daffy sent him.
"I think we're good for now, but Wakko might get a munchie attack in a bit. You never know when one of those are going to hit." Dot shrugged.
"Then take this in case," he handed her a brown paper bag from his hammerspace. "It should keep him over for a bit."
"Thanks. How long do you think it'll take to get to your house?" she asked.
"At least a few hours. See that woman over there?" he pointed to a young blonde woman who was holding a little boy across the aisle. "I overheard her talking to someone a few minuets ago. I guess her husband's a police officer and he said they're almost done making the roads to Beverly Hills usable again."
"Figures all the rich folk get fixed first..." an old man next to Daffy muttered. Daffy, surprised that the man had been listening to their conversation, frowned and shifted closer to Bugs.
"Anyway... I found this on the ground outside after you ran off the bus," Bugs reached into his hammerspace once more and pulled out her yellow flower bow. He leaned forward and tied it back around her ears. "It must have fallen out when you were running."
"Thanks! I didn't even know it was missing." she admitted. Dot was surprised that she hadn't noticed it was gone, but figured her eagerness to get to her brothers overshadowed any concern she had for her favorite hair accessory.
"No problem, kid. And I think you might want to get back to your brothers. It's not looking too pretty over there." he gestured through the crowd to Yakko and Wakko. Yakko was pointing to Chuck, who was still in Wakko's hands, while Wakko simply shrugged his shoulders and pulled the mallet closer to his body.
"They're probably just talking about Chuck and Heather's door." she said absentmindedly, earning a slightly confused yet concerned look from Bugs.
"Mind translating that, doc?" he chuckled.
"It's a long story," she sighed. "Thanks again for the snacks!" Dot smiled and turned back to her brothers, side stepping the giant mass of feathers once again.
"You're becoming a big softy, rabbit." Daffy said after Dot was out of earshot. Bugs rolled his eyes and sat back in his seat, looking out at the cars and buildings outside.
"I'm not that much of a softy..." he muttered.
Bosko paced back and forth in the small room he and Oswald had been given. Oswald had gone off with Gonzo about a half an hour ago and Bosko had been awaiting his return since. He really didn't care if he saw the bastard one way or the other. He just needed to talk to him, and hadn't been able to catch him so far today.
Oswald usually came back to the room before dinner so he figured that this would be the best place to find him. After what felt like another eternity and a half, the door finally opened and Oswald walked in.
"What's up?" Oswald asked.
"Nothin'. How was it playing mommy for those stupid rats?"
"Don't even get me started on it. It's like those kids are on an eternal sugar high. Well, 'cept one of the smaller ones is almost moodier than you. They're the worst little twerps... They can't do anything right and worship Tango like he's the second messiah. I can't believe Smokey threw them at me like this." Oswald said.
"Those dopes did catch Mugsy and Rocky yesterday. He must have thought it was best." Bosko said.
"I know, but they caught them on accident! Smokey told them to go to a specific address down near the pier but they got lost on the way. They just lucked out because they ran into them on the street on the way back. It's not like I asked to take these morons when I'm out on watch. Hell, I don't even want to be on watch! I feel like the cops are always breathing down my neck." Oswald threw his bag down on his bed.
"I'm sure you're just overreacting or somethin'. You'll get a better job sooner or later."
"I don't think I'm overreacting. Hell, I think we're rushing this whole 'revenge' thing, to be honest."
"What? How could you not-"
"Listen, it's not that I'm trying to go against you or something. It's just that it's nice being out of Clampett, and I'd at least like some time to recover from it before I jump back into risking my neck all the time again."
"You promised me you'd help out with this! And you know I'd help you if you asked me." Bosko said.
"I know, but there is so much more out there for us. We could be normal for once, even if it's only for a little bit." Oswald replied.
"Normal? This is normal for us. Look around. When was the last time you were able to walk down the street and not get chased by a fan or a cop. You haven't been normal since you signed on with that studio. In fact, you won't be normal until you're dead in the ground, rotting just like the rest of us," he pointed to the floor. "Here Smokey and his boys let us be one of them- be a part of something- which is the closest thing to normal we've had in years. They're not chasing us down. They're letting us have a shot at being successful!" Bosko said.
"But what is success, Bosk?"
"We've been over this a thousand times..." Bosko was becoming increasingly irritated at Oswald.
"I know, but what are we gonna do after all of this is over? I don't want to end up back in Clampett again."
"I- well, I didn't even want to talk about Clampett in the first place-" Bosko began to answer but stopped when several loud knocks rang against the metal door. He turned to open it but was stopped by Oswald.
"Look, don't go thinking that I'm walking out on this 'cause I'm not. Just consider what I said." he said. Bosko sighed and opened the door to find Shorty staring up at him.
"Smokey wants you two in the basement." the small rat said.
"Why?" Oswald asked.
"I don't know. He didn't tell me." Shorty turned around to go back down the hallway but tripped over his disproportionately long tail.
"No wonder." Bosko muttered. He shook his head and they stepped into the hall.
Following the rat, Bosko looked around at the bleak and depressing hallways, which were becoming increasingly darker as they moved down several flights of stairs. They reached large metal doors and walked into the cold room behind them.
Clangs and bangs rang off of the stone walls and a thin layer of steam clouded the air. An intricate system of pipes and wires ran throughout the room and was connected to a large boiler in the center. Smokey, Gonzo, and Tango stood by two figures, who Bosko couldn't make out, that were sitting on two metal chairs. Several other rats stood dispersed around the room.
"What's going on?" Bosko muttered to Oswald.
"Gonzo was going on earlier about a surprise... maybe this will explain what he was talkin' about." Oswald shrugged as Smokey turned around and came towards them.
"Come on in," he greeted them. "I haven't seen you two since you left for Fat Tony's. I heard that went well."
"It did. We took care of Tony and got his boys to talk. Turns out he got a big bootlegging ring that's bringing in a ton of dough. We found out where it is and got a roster with every name of the toons who are in on it," Bosko said as he took the list out of his hammerspace and gave it to Smokey. "There are a bunch of big names on there."
"Impressive work. This will be quite useful." Smokey grinned and flipped through the pages. Bosko nodded and stretched his neck so he could see the two seated figures behind Smokey. They both had bags tied loosely around their heads, and one was shaking rapidly. Was that a whimper he heard?
"What's that?" Bosko gestured to the figures.
"You mean our guests? It's Mugsy and Rocky. Tango brought them down a little while before you got here," Smokey said, continuing to flip through the roster. "Why don't you come say hello." Smokey snapped the stack of paper shut and nodded his head towards them. Oswald and Bosko stepped forward and gazed at the figures as two rats took the bags off of their heads.
"Are they-" Oswald started before the smaller toon called out over him.
"Oswald? Is that you?"
"Yeah... Hey Rocky." Oswald said.
"Look, you gotta break us out of here," Rocky dropped his voice. "Somethin' ain't right."
"Aw, I wouldn't say that." Smokey said and came towards them. Bosko couldn't figure out how the rat had heard Rocky's muffled voice from where he was standing.
"Why?" Mugsy asked, earning a "Shut up!" from Rocky.
"What do ya mean? Everything here is fine," Smokey said. "You even get to join us for a little experiment today."
"Whaddya talkin' about?" Rocky demanded.
"Well, I've been thinkin' of a way to get Toontown back after morons like you stole it."
"Whaddya mean stole? There's nothin' there to take! No one's ever had control over the whole city." Rocky said, straining his neck to try and find which direction Smokey's voice was coming from.
"No, but the damn place has never had enough to go around. Some guys take everything good and leave nothin' but bones for the rest of us. Guys like you." Smokey inched closer to the two. "I'm plannin' to change that."
"How? Take down every bastard in the city?" Rocky scoffed.
"Essentially, yes."
"Huh? You'd need a lot of people for that..." Mugsy tilted his head.
"Oh, I'll have the numbers. They'll bring the authority I need to do it. In fact, that's where you two come in."
"We ain't joinin' if that's what you're playin' at." Rocky spat.
"I figured you might say that... Thankfully, Gonzo has some methods of persuasion to help convince you." Smokey ripped the bags off of their heads. "Gonzo?"
Gonzo stepped toward the large machine and pulled a black pen out of his pocket. He put on a pair of heavy gloves and opened a hatch on the machine, revealing a black, watery substance. He opened the top of the pen and poured some of the liquid into it. Careful not to drop it, he walked back to Smokey and the others. Bosko watched as a sly grin etched itself across the rat's face.
"What are you gonna do? Draw on us? Ooh, I'm so scared of some ink." Rocky chuckled.
"Listen, if you don't agree to my conditions this 'ink' will make your life a living hell. This stuff makes the best toons become nothin' in seconds."
"Nothin'? You make me nothin'? I'd like to see you try." Rocky laughed. Smokey stared hard at him.
"Fine. Ink him."
Gonzo moved in on Rocky with the pen and jabbed him in the arm with it. Shocked, Rocky struggled as Gonzo pressed down on the top of the pen.
Bosko saw some of the black liquid leak out and run down the gangster's arm while the rest flowed into his veins. Rocky's face grew pale and he slowly lost his composure. Oswald stared in shock and, for once, Bosko shared his reaction. Rocky's color had completely drained from his body, and an expressionless, white outline of a toon was now hunched over in front of them.
"Boss? Whaddid they do to ya? Answer me, Boss!" Mugsy began to cry when Rocky failed to respond. He just sat there, staring blankly into space. Smokey walked over and placed a hand on the distraught toon's shoulder.
"It's alright, kid. Maybe this will help you from making the same mistake," Smokey said, making Mugsy look even more upset. "How about this. I'll let him stay with you if you help us out with a few chores. Sound good?" Mugsy seemed to calm down a bit at this, but still looked apprehensive.
"Al-alright." he choked.
"That's a boy. Tango, mind helpin' these two to their room? You can give them the one down the hall, you know, next to the others." Smokey said to the large rat.
"No problem." Tango undid their bindings and supported Rocky as they left the room. The small toon could barely walk and looked like he was frozen in a daze as he stumbled against Tango. Mugsy followed them and still appeared to be deeply shaken.
Bosko turned to Oswald, who mirrored the tiniest bit of Mugsy's emotions. To the naked eye, Oswald would appear to be fine. But Bosko could see that his mouth was pulled into a slightly smaller line and his eyes were just a bit wider than usual. Smokey nodded to Gonzo and the two moved towards them.
"What did that do to him?" Bosko asked.
"It took away his toon abilities. He can't open his hammerspace, can't toonspeed. Nothin'." Gonzo replied nonchalantly.
"All because of that ink?" Oswald said.
"Nah, that wasn't all ink. It's this special tar concoction I put together. Turns out tar, oil, ink, and some other stuff don't mix too well in toons."
"And you really made it?" Bosko said. He was having trouble seeing Gonzo being allowed within a 40-foot radius of a lab, let alone working in one. The fox scowled at him.
"Gonzo's smarter than you'd think. Saved me a lot of time and money with this stuff. Once toons see it in effect, they'll be jumpin' to join us. No one wants to go through what you just saw." Smokey replied.
"Sure, but why didn't you tell us sooner?" Oswald asked.
"It was a surprise. I figure toons should be kept on their feet, you know? Makes them tougher," he grinned. He glanced down at his watch and peered over their shoulders as a group of rats made their way into the room. "I have a meeting in ten minutes. I'll send Fritz up with some papers later." he said and left with the rats. Gonzo nodded to them and followed the group out.
"Wow..." Oswald said after the last toon had left the room.
"Yeah. That was... interesting. C'mon, let's go get a drink or somthin'. I don't like hanging around down here." Bosko said. Oswald nodded and they made their way to Smokey's makeshift bar on the second floor in silence.
For the first time, Bosko was a little disturbed by one of Smokey's actions. He understood why he would "ink" someone, but it was a little uncomfortable watching one toon destroy another toon like that. He would be absolutely devastated without his toon abilities. They were the only sure thing in his life, and remembering that he was capable of using them better than almost anyone else in the business was one of the few things that got him through Clampett. Being without his toon abilities permanently would leave him completely hollow, even if he wasn't inked. He knew that casualties often came with change, but this was even more cruel than death.
Yet by the time they walked into the cramped bar, Bosko had come to terms with what he had witnessed. In the end, he trusted Smokey. If this was the route the rat wanted to take, then so be it. He would back him. He sat down at the counter and ordered a glass of Scotch. Taking a swig from his glass, Bosko was almost completely recovered from the day's events.
Only one thing still scratched at the back of his mind. Rocky didn't scream, or do anything for that matter. He just sat there, watching the world turn without him and not even knowing it.
