Zack is Back

Zacks POV

As I walked down an alley between two of the larger buildings who's names I didn't properly recall I couldn't help but be annoyed with the lanky Warner with his stupid way of getting down a tower and dragging me along for the ride. Who lives in a water-tower anyway? if he was responsible he would have moved himself and his little siblings into a real home.

I realised that the pain in my leg was growing from not using the crutches correctly I was too preoccupied at being annoyed at Yakko.

But as I leaned against the wall to try and relieve some of the pain I realised that my outburst was stupid as well. These guys had been kind if a little annoying and persistent, they were kind and they didn't need or deserve my anger or hostility.

As I supported myself I heard a familiar voice up ahead, "so you always that good with people or are we just that special?"

I looked up and saw Slappy Squirrel with what can only be described as a very amused smirk, "I'm better with people who don't try and kill me, which doesn't include you so if you don't mind" I said as I turned back around. Maybe I'll just head back to the tower I need to find the library anyway.

"Common kid a little water slide was never gonna kill ya unless fun will kill you to be honest I wouldn't be surprised" said Slappy as she appeared a few feet ahead of me.

"No but high grade explosives will" I said annoyed as I turned around again

"Oh kid if you thought those were high grade your going to be blown away by what I'm going to show you"

"Unless its you taking a long walk of a short skyscraper, not interested" I said as I exited the alley. Only to see a cane come from the corner of my eye and the handle side to hook around my midsection and pull me to the wall.

I closed my eyes and braced for an impact but none came, after a few seconds I opened my eyes cautiously to find I was back in Slappys living room.

"I can't believe you fell for the old Vaudeville Hook, I have't got to use that in ages HA" Slappy said hanging up her umbrella and purse.

"What the hell was that? why did you bring me here? do you really think you can keep me here?" I shot back at her. I don't know what this ladys deal is but I am not one of these clowns that is fine with all the crazy things they do.

Narrators POV

As Slappy walked over to the kitchen she began "you don't listen so well do you Warner? I told you is the Vaudeville Hook, what you don't know the classics?" as she looked thought cupboards eventually pulling out a box of walnuts.

As Zack recovered from his first toon teleport he leaned on the arm of a chair while Slappy added the walnuts to a blender "shesh you remind me of human critics back in the day, don't know a gag when it's staring right at you. Anyway I brought you hear because you were just wandering the studio and I know you could use a lesson or two about toons"

"oh so its okay to kidnap because I was on the lot, I do hope that extends to all visitors and not just me" replied Zack voice dripping with sarcasm.

"It ain't kidnapping if I'm not taking you from anyone you made that quite clear to them kids back there, but hey if you want to roam Acme Acres without knowing which way to get back or how to open the door go right ahead. Do let the door hit you on the way out" Slappy said as she added milk and other liquids that Zack couldn't make out into the blender.

Zack folded his arms and tightened his tail around his waste, but slunk back into the chair before asking "how'd you get us here anyway if you can just pop in and out of here how come Yakko didn't do it when we try to get here?"

Slappy activated the blender as it sounds as if she was blending a thousand tiny steel pellets *churck* *crunch* *smack* *Bang* "what are you blending the last kid you abducted?" Zack had to half shout over the sound coming from the blender as Zack ducked behind the couch as he guessed the blender was about to exploded.

As the blender stopped Slappy gave Zack a worried look "your mind goes to some dark places kid you might wanna lay off the late night horror flicks, its just a bunch of guys in plastic masks anyway, you want a real monster try and get some privacy from Hollywood photographers oh any yeah them kids are good and since their not here I'll say great even but i got 50 years on em so I still got a few tricks that they don't know about" before pouring the grey matter from the blender into a cup.

Slappy held out the jug of whatever it was to Zack who quickly shook his head, Slappy shrugged before taking a sip from her glass. "ah walnut surprise just like daddy used to make"

"Whats the surpirse?" asked Zack

"That it tastes absolutely fowl" Slappy said smirking

"Then why..." Zack began "plenty of reasons gotta keep this Hollywood figure somehow ain't I" Slappy interrupted. Zack didn't believe her but let the matter lie, he already didn't want to be here and adding to the conversation didn't seem like it would get him out any sooner.

Slappy wandered to her favourite chair and slumped down with her glass of walnut surprise "So kid.." "not a kid" Zack said as she sat.

"Of course I forgot your a full fledged adult? hows the wife and kids? you got that money saved up for that car you always wanted?" Slappy asked sarcastically.

"You don't know.." Zack began

"Listen your a late teen at most you got all that teen angst with all your regular angst, your like a walking poster child for the pill or boarding school"

Zack slumped into the couch, he really didn't like this squirrel not only did she seem more bonkers than the others but she also had a strange read on him that he wasn't used to. Or liked.

"Listen kid I don't know your story and I'm sure its sad and heartbreaking but frankly if I wanted to I'd find some old feel good crap movie on the box and pretend it all has a happy ending." Slappy turned to look at Zack and followed with "so here's the deal I teach you a few toon skills maybe even make a halfway decent toon outta you and you stop blowing up at them nice kids who took you in"

"I told you before, not interested in pies and mallets" said Zack

"oh like the one you were going to throw at Yakko when you were at Acme lou?" said slappy

Zack POV

How did she know about that? was she keeping tabs on me or did she just get lucky and saw them pass, it wasn't too far from her home that it happened. Anyway that doesn't mean anything if anything it just proves how annoying that Yakko guy is who wouldn't want to throw something at him. Its not my fault that everything here is so wacky of course it would affect me I try to blend in that's all. That's right any jokes haven't been real its just to blend in that's not me. Not at all.

"So Yakko has a big mouth what about it? and how do you know about that?"

"your the talk of the town kid ain't that many of us here and something like this is big news and anything you do will get passed around, nice to know it was true though" she said as she took another swig from her glass.

Town gossip that's all it was nothing sinister, if a little annoying.

"So first lesson we got to get that hammer-space working right" Slappy said as she got up from her chair the glass of walnut surprise empty on the side table.

"hey I didn't agree to this.." i began before Slappy dropped a literal ticking time bomb in my lap. It was a couple sticks of dynamite with multiple wires of different colours connecting the dynamite to an analogue clock that read 05:00.

"you have five minutes before that goes boom, I suggest you make a hammer space and chuck it in there before then" she said as she sat back down and turned to watch TV. But as soon as she turned she found the bomb in her lap with the wires cut.

" yeah no" I said triumphantly standing beside her chair, if felt good to get one over on the old squirrel after seemingly being one step ahead this whole time.

"wow impressed most people just chuck it in the pond outside the first time, nice risk but you might struggle with this one" Slappy said chucking another bomb at me this one identical except all of the wires were grey.

I turned to throw it out the window like she suggested but found the doors and windows gone as if it were like a real tree, I looked around the room to find any other exit points but found them all gone the stairs, back windows even the kitchen gone it seemed as if i was trapped within a hollow tree with just the squirrel with her chair and TV which she seemed to be engrossed in.

"okay funny now bring the door back so I can go" I said giving a my voice a deeper resonance.

"It will come back in 5 minutes well more like four" she looked to the bomb "you best get that gone before then, oh I wouldn't use your personal hammer-space not only would it be bad for you but for whatever you have in there as well" as she turned back to the screen

I looked back around the room and found that it seemed to have shrunk closer to the size of a small room so no chance of throwing this thing to the other end and hoping for the best but there was also a bag like Wakko's on the ground.

Another hammer-space is that what she wanted me to make a new empty one and throw the bomb in? I could barely use my own but hey worth a shot as I opened the bad and dropped the bomb in.

I felt the bomb hit the bottom of the bag, so i grabbed it again and concentrated on how it feels to access my own hammer space but nothing, I tried again and again but it didn't work until 25 seconds until it was about to go off I felt the cool breeze when you access the hole to the hammer-space and dropped it.

Something was wrong as i went to close the bag I could feel stuff already in there, it wasn't empty I hadn't made a new one. I moved my own hammer-space and as a cold dread hit me the bag was ripped from my hands and Slappy grabbed the bomb from inside.

she grabbed the bomb and put it under her hat and I heard a huge *KABOOM* as she held on to the sides of the hat as it tried to fly up in the air but with Slappy holding it the hat just stretched upward almost hitting the ceiling before coming back down with black smoke coming from under the hat. "oh that is gonna give me a headache" she said flopping down into her chair.

I realised that the room had returned to normal as I yelled "ARE YOU CRAZY YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME"

"calm down kid it was a true toon bomb, you would have felt a stick and been covered in soot at worst give me some credit" she said rubbing her head.

"oh so that's fine to throw explosives because you think I will be fine, If you hadn't just noticed i couldn't even make a empty space!" I said trying to hold back any anger in my voice.

"kid were toons its what we do, the reason why we don't like to live together with humans is because toons do things like us its in our ink" she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world

She got up over to the hanger with her purse and umbrella "common lesson over I'll get you back to the tower"

"Great at least this proves I'm not like you guys" I said as i got ready to leave but Slappy gave me a strange look.

"oh no this proves it more than anything creating a empty space is easy moving a hammer-space is an advanced technique, the next lesson will have to be much more challenging" Slappy said as she opened the door

Somehow the return of the sun did nothing to spread the cold chill running through me as I exclaimed "wait next lesson?" as Slappy walked out of the tree.