Only one or two more chapters after this. I'm going to Europe for a month (yay!) but will be without wifi (boo) while I'm there so I'll try my best to wrap this up before I go in a few weeks. And again, sorry for the wait. I wanted to get this chapter right so it took a bit longer than anticipated. Hope you enjoy!
"Wakko! Don't run ahead!" he heard Yakko hiss to him as he practically sprinted to the door they had just seen a hoard of rats crowed through. Smokey, Tango, and several smaller rats holding prisoners (who he couldn't see) were among them- a positive indicator that they were hopefully closer to their sister.
Wakko stopped next to the door and waited for his brother to catch up. He went to reach for the handle when Yakko quickly slapped his hand away from it.
"What do you think you're doing? We can't just waltz in there and demand they give us our sister- that's suicide!" Yakko said. "We're going to have to wait out here for them or find another way in."
"Like through that loading dock?" Wakko pointed to the large roll-down door that was mostly closed, save for the gap between it and the floor that they could easily crawl under.
"Yes, like that loading dock. See how much easier things can be when you stop and think for a second?" Yakko pointed out. Wakko rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah..." he muttered and started towards the door with Yakko close behind.
He knelled down next to it and peered in through the opening. A large mound of boxes, trash bags, empty barrels, and an array of other items about to be thrown out blocked most of the door. He saw a small area still hidden by the trash that looked like it had enough room for them to hide behind.
"I'll go first." Yakko whispered. He easily crawled under it and looked around before motioning for Wakko to follow him.
Wakko crouched against an empty box and looked over it, making sure his form was still hidden behind the other trash. His heart skipped a beat when he saw his little sister across the room. They finally found her.
"Uh-oh." Yakko nudged him and he turned his attention to the toons around Dot. He didn't like seeing an intimidating looking rat holding her, and he didn't like that Bugs, Foghorn, and Daffy were all in similar positions. He especially didn't like seeing Smokey leering down at his sister.
"Looks like we got here just in time." Wakko growled. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Remember what I said before we came into the sewer, Wak? That if anything happens and I tell you to run, you run?" Yakko sighed.
"Yeah... I do." Wakko bit the inside of his cheek.
"You promised you'd do that. I'm expecting you to follow through," he gripped his shoulder harder. "Please."
Wakko looked into his brother's eyes then down at the floor. He didn't want to leave his friends, his sister, or his brother when they needed help, but he didn't want Yakko to worry...
"Alright."
Yakko sent him a small smile before turning back to the scene unfolding in front of them. They looked on as rat moved from each of their friends and Dot, growing angrier with each exchange.
"How are we gonna help them?" Wakko asked.
"I'm not sure. Just play it by ear, at this point," Yakko nodded. "If we go out there too soon we'll all be screwed."
Wakko looked back at Smokey and winced when he saw Foghorn and him in an intense argument. Bugs seemed to be trying to calm their friend down but to no avail.
"What's that he's got in his hand?" Wakko asked as Smokey pulled something out of his hammerspace.
"Nothing good, I'm sure." Yakko shook his head.
They looked on as Smokey moved closer to the rooster and smiled. With a swift movement of his wrist, black liquid splashed out of the small vile he was holding and down the front of Foghorn. Wakko's breath hitched when he saw the color drain from their friend.
"Things just got a bit more hairy." Yakko squeaked. Wakko nodded silently in agreement.
Dot stared at Foghorn in disbelief. Every part of him looked as dull as a sunless day; the gray covering his body in a uniformed bleakness. She searched his blank expression for any sign that he was okay, that he was still aware of the situation. But the playful twinkle that usually danced in his eyes was replaced by two stone-like orbs void of any life.
Smokey had been talking to Pete and some of the other rats about something for the past few minutes, but Dot wasn't listening. Her eyes were glued to Foghorn's lifeless shell and Daffy's shuddering form in front of him.
She didn't know what to do- or even think- at this point. Was she ever going to go home? Probably not, she thought. But what even was her home now? Everything she had ever known in her life as a cartoon star was gone. The tower. Her brothers. And now, most of her friends.
Where would it all end?
"Answer him, girl!" Pete snapped her out of her mournful trance with a bark. She blinked her eyes and looked up at him.
"W-what?" she croaked.
"He asked where your brothers were." Tango replied.
"I don't know." she said, shrugging her shoulders. Smokey walked closer to her.
"I think you do. Where did you last see them?" he said, staring down at her.
"I don't know- I didn't even know where we were then." Dot said. She looked up into Smokey's eyes, then back at Foghorn. He was still motionless and without his signature spark. She took a deep breath and looked back up at the rat.
"I don't believe you," Smokey tisked. "We found you in the Toontown district where you used to live in that orphanage-"
Dot raised an eyebrow at this. He knows what orphanage we lived at?
"-so don't play dumb with me, kid," Smokey seethed, leaning down in her face. "You'd know that place if you saw it. Give me an idea about where they are and no one gets hurt."
"You've already hurt toons." she responded through gritted teeth.
"Correct, and I still have more that I can hurt- yourself included," Smokey took a deep breath. "Tell me where they might be and we can avoid that."
"I don't know!" she shot back.
"You're lying!" he was only inches away from her face now.
"How can I be lying when I haven't been able to talk to them in weeks- because you've kept me here!" she shouted, her pent up anger and frustration now pouring out of her without control. "It's all your fault you don't have them. You could have taken them plenty of times, but you didn't- you let them go. Not to mention you're too dumb to keep up with them!"
"I ain't dumb!" he pushed his finger deep against her ribs.
"They could be anywhere by now, and all the places they would have gone to are pretty much gone because of you. If you really aren't dumb, you wouldn't have to rely on a six year old to help fix the problems you created," Dot heaved. She heard Bugs start to try to talk her down but she ignored him. "Why do you even care about finding them?"
"Because I thought I'd have you all by now!" he shouted with a more of a boiling rage than she had ever seen from him and shoved her against the rat that was still holding her, who also slightly recoiled at the rat's outburst. Pete hesitantly stepped forward before she could react.
"Boss, maybe you should take a few deep breaths," he offered with a nervous smile. "You know, go to your happy place or something."
"That won't make me feel better, dumbass!" he seethed. "Getting what I want will!" Dot shook her head at the rat- who currently resembled a three year old having a melt down in a supermarket, even though the anger rolling off of him was much more terrifying- and sat up straighter.
"You think you can take whatever you want, but you can't," she said, growing more angry with each word. "The world doesn't revolve around you, and wouldn't care about you if you didn't try to screw up Toontown!"
"Dot, don't push him!" Bugs half-commanded-half-pleaded before the guard shoved him to be quiet.
"Shut up, bunny. This doesn't concern you." Smokey spat at Bugs.
"Then why did you go to all that trouble to get him?" Dot asked with a cocked eyebrow. He moved in front of her again and leaned down.
"Because I needed him to get to you." Smokey grabbed the neck of her shirt and pulled her so close that all she could see were the darks of his eyes, which were swollen with rage.
"What are you talking about, doc?" Bugs said with a panicked edge to his voice.
"When I saw you with the girl after the earthquake, I figured that if I can get to you, I can get to her. You'd never leave a damsel in distress, so of course you'd watch over her and her snotty little brothers when they had nowhere else to go," Smokey shrugged. "I realized you could help our cause once we found you all, but I don't give a two shits about you in the end, Looney."
Dot cocked an eyebrow at the rat. Why would he want her and her brothers? They were just a bunch of kids. Famous kids, but still just kids. What value were they to him? Dot was about to voice her confusion when she heard one of the other toons softly speak up.
"What?"
She looked over and saw Bosko step forward with Oswald's hand on his arm. Bosko quickly shoved it off and moved toward Smokey. "I thought you were getting him as a favor to me."
Smokey looked between Bugs and Bosko before letting go of Dot.
"It doesn't matter how or why we got the bunny- we have him now, and when all of this is over you can do whatever you want with him," Smokey said.
"But you said you'd get him to help me." Bosko said slowly.
"Isn't the fact that we have him at all good enough?" Smokey snapped, looking annoyed at Bosko. "None of the rest matters now."
"But-" Bosko started before he was cut off by Smokey.
"Just drop it! We have more important shit to worry about than how I got you what you wanted," the rat turned to Oswald. "Go find Gonzo. He's supposed to bring up a few more prisoners."
Oswald nodded and sent a quick nod to Bosko before leaving the room. Smokey turned his back to Bosko and once again sent a chilling smile towards Dot. "One more try, girl. Where are your brothers?"
"I. Don't. Know." she said, exasperated. She swallowed hard when she found him looming over her once more.
Smokey bore his glare into her once more, scrutinizing the furious determination that she tried to maintain on her own face. He kept staring, kept rolling his gaze over her. Her heartbeat started to pick up, and she hoped the small shivers running down her spin weren't visible. He crept closer to her and reached up at her bow that sat loosely on her head. She tried to move her head away from his hand but he caught her bow with a swift swish of his hand. She could feel him finger the dirty fabric and wanted to do nothing more than run out of his reach.
"Fine," he said with a hollow indifference. "Maybe the rabbit knows?"
"I have no idea where they are." Bugs said, looking back and forth between Dot and Bosko's hold on her bow. His eyes were wider than usual, and an uncharacteristic pout pulled at his mouth. Dot frowned. Once the famously stoic rabbit lost his sense of calm, the rest of them were doomed.
"How do I know you're not trying to cover for them?"
"Because I would have told you they were in some random district, or would have told you to go to hell," Bugs said with a deep, almost desperate breath. "Believe me when I say none of us know where they are, doc."
"Don't worry rabbit, I believe you." he said and Dot saw Bugs visibly relax. Smokey let go of her bow and moved out of her line of sight.
"You know, it's a dammed shame you're going through all of this alone, girl. Without your brothers, I mean," she felt him pat his hand on her shoulder. "You three seem so close. It would probably be easier on you if they were here with you right now."
"What do you know?" she spat back. She glared at him when he began to chuckle.
"I know I would have loved to see your brothers go down with you too, but we're just gonna have to save that for another day."
"Wha-" she squeaked before he wrapped a strong arm around her torso and lifted her up in the air. Blood was pounding in her ears and she froze when she saw a syringe filled with black ink in Smokey's free hand. She heard Bugs yelling as she tried to squirm out of the rat's grip. Yet the more she squirmed the more he squeezed her against his chest. Running out of options, she resorted to Yakko's "sibs' rule number seven-" If a creepy guy ever got too close to you, kick him in the netherregions.
Dot wound up her leg and was ready to transfer all of her anger and panic swiftly into his crotch. But right as she was about to kick, she found herself falling to the floor and landing with a grunt. She turned around and found Yakko on top of Smokey while the syringe of ink rolled away.
"Yakko?" she called out, ready to run forward and help him before another rat grabbed onto her.
"Hey sis!" Yakko grunted back as he narrowly dodged Smokey's hand grabbing for his ears. "Woah! Nobody likes a Grabby Gary on the first date, you know!"
Dot watched Yakko struggle to stay on top of Smokey, shocked, thrilled, and terrified to see her brother again, especially here. Yakko had just missed Smokey's swipe for his tail when Dot felt herself once again fall to the floor and land on her bottom. She scooted herself around (her arms and legs still tied) and found the rat who had been holding her in a fetal position with his hands placed firmly on his crotch, and a smirking Wakko next to him.
"Rule number seven is the only one I like, you know." Wakko said and scratched the back of his neck. She smiled and shuffled towards him.
He wrapped her in a tight hug, then pulled out a small Swiss army knife- one she knew he had hidden from Yakko since Max Goof had given it to him last Christmas- and cut her bindings.
"Don't bother with the bracelet," she nodded to towards her ankle. Looking up at the spectacle still taking place in front of her, Yakko had retreated behind a stack of crates and was chucking pies, bombs, and other objects at the rats charging toward him. "We need to help him!" she called out.
Wakko grabbed her hand and ran toward their brother. She stumbled in the first few steps she took, and Wakko slowed so she could find her footing. It felt odd to be able to move so freely again. But when she saw the rats getting closer to Yakko, who now had sweat pouring down his face, she ignored the weird tingling in her legs and ran to help her brother.
"What are you doing standing around?" Smokey yelled over his shoulder as he dodged a dynamite stick. "Get them!"
Dot turned around and suppressed a shriek when she saw Bosko running at them. Several more rats were now moving in on them from the other side of Wakko.
"Wakko-"
"I know, I see them." she heard her brother say, panic ebbing at his voice.
Dot and Wakko were nearly next to Yakko when Tango suddenly blocked their view of their struggling brother. They skidded to a stop and looked up at the rat, who seemed ready to pounce on them the moment they took a step forward.
"Come here, kids. We don't got all day."
Dot craned her neck so she could see Yakko around the rat's hulking form. He was drenched with sweat and had resorted to throwing pies, too tired to chuck anything more substantial. Smokey and Pete were closing in on him, the custard fillings of the pies failing to slow them down as well as the bombs had. She watched Smokey swiftly hop over the feeble barrier protecting Yakko and pinned him down. He reached into his hammerspace as Yakko struggled under him and pulled out a small vile.
"Get out of here, sibs!" Yakko screamed. Dot wanted to run forward and help, but several other toons had joined Tango in barring them from the door. Panicking, Dot looked over at Yakko for some sort of guidance (though how he could help them right now, she didn't know). She felt ready to upchuck the little "food" she had in her stomach from what she saw happen next.
With a terrorizing grin, Smokey unscrewed the cap and let the smooth black liquid leak down onto Yakko's chest.
Dot closed her eyes. She didn't want to see another innocent toon fall victim to Smokey. She didn't want to see her brother fade away from her.
"You can't help him! Go!" she heard Bugs choke out with a yell.
She hesitantly looked up at Wakko. His eyes were wide and his mouth pulled into a small frown. She could tell he was thinking, but she was so rapt with pain and tired of feeling it she could barely squeak out his name.
"Wakko-"
Dot yelped when he jerked forward with a firm grip still around her wrist and took off toward the door, skirting out of the way of the rats that grabbed for them. They were nearly at the door when Pete blocked their path.
"Aww, you're brother is gonna miss ya if you leave," Pete chuckled. "Why don't you stay and... keep him company?" he smiled. Dot was about to back up when she felt Wakko put a hand on her shoulder.
"There's a ladder over there that goes to a catwalk or something-" Wakko whispered. "It's better than just standing here."
He started running again and Dot followed. He lifted her up and she clung to the rungs, moving as quick as she could up them with him closely behind her.
"Come back!" she heard someone shout and felt the ladder vibrate as someone else got on it. She didn't turn to see who it was, afraid that she would panic if she saw how high up they were. Her heartbeat was already getting faster with each step she took away from the ground.
She heard Smokey's chillingly recognizable voice call out. "Bosko, with me! Tango's to big too big to fit up there."
They finally reached the top and ran down the catwalk. The smell of the ink was nauseating up here, and she momentarily blanched when she saw the top of the massive vat of ink beside them. The cursed liquid boiled and bubbled with a nasty hiss.
Both gulping for air, Dot and Wakko turned around to find Bosko and Smokey slowly inching towards them.
"Follow me and we'll make this as quick as possible." Smokey stuck his hand out, inviting them to come forward.
"Why?" Dot asked.
"I don't feel like lugging your dead weight down the ladder." Smokey snorted. Dot took a small step forward, furrowing her eyebrows.
"No, why do you want to hurt us? What did we ever do to you?"
"It's not what you did, kid." Smokey tensed. She felt Wakko's arm brush her shoulder as he stepped into place next to her.
"It's what Herman did, isn't it?" Wakko said slowly. "Our Grandfather- You think he took your career."
"I don't think, I know!" Smokey hissed, shoving a pointed finger in their direction. "I was supposed to get that contract, not him!"
Dot saw the ink start to bubble even more intensely beside Smokey, who was standing next to the vat. Bosko was next to the catwalk railing, and the nervous shift he made when a steaming glop of it landed a few yards away showed he had noticed it, too.
"Why go after us then? We never even met him!" Wakko said, his voice growing louder.
"Because you've got his blood running through you!" Smokey yelled. The reflection of the ink bubbling in the vat danced in his eyes. "I'd rather have him here to ink- or better yet kill- but you three are the closest thing to him I can find. You'll have to do."
"I thought you killed him already!" Wakko raised an eyebrow. Dot had no idea her Grandfather's name was Herman, let alone how much her brother knew about him. "I heard a bunch of rats killed him."
"Everyone just assumed it was me, but I was in New York that night. Some robber popped him off- a freak shooting or something," Smokey took a deep breath. "If I had killed him, none of us would be here right now. So shut up and let's get this over with." He pulled out two more syringes and Wakko moved slightly in front of Dot. She put a hand on his shoulder and looked up at the toons in front of them.
"You're just like him," Dot pointed to Bosko beside him. "You're only doing all this because you're stuck in the past."
She saw Bosko's mouth twitch and something she couldn't read flash across his features. But Smokey's growing anger pulled her attention away from him.
"I'm doing this because I have no other choice, dammit! He took something of mine, so I'll take something of his. An eye for an eye."
Smokey started toward them with a determined strut, his glare turning into a sadistic smile as he got closer to Wakko and Dot. She wanted to close her eyes and pretend she was somewhere else, safe from the rat and the ink and the horrible things that came with them. Wakko squeezed her hand as tightly as he could, his fear finally obvious with the nervous shivers she felt run through him.
Smokey was only a few steps away now, his hands ready to stick those damned needles into them. He was about to jab one into Wakko when a toon suddenly jumped on him from behind, making him drop the syringes.
Dot saw Bosko's head bob over Smokey's shoulder. He kicked Smokey in the sides, successfully making him back away from Dot and Wakko. Smokey was thrashing, trying to get Bosko off of him. The smaller toon pulled on the rat's fur as hard as he could, and did so for several more moments. With a dramatic jerk, Smokey shook Bosko off of him.
"What do you think you're doing? You piece of shit- never think before you act, do you?" Smokey shook his head. He loomed over Bosko and kicked him in the side, making the toon grunt in pain. "How dare you try to go against me! You'll pay for- UMPH."
Bosko jumped up and charged into Smokey, rage painted across his face. The rat tried to shove him off but Bosko kept a firm hold around his arms and torso, pushing him closer and closer to the vat of ink. Dot held her breath as the two danced on the edge of the catwalk. With one last burst of energy, Bosko rammed against his body and Smokey lost his footing.
Time seemed to slow down for a moment. Dot looked on in horror as they began to fall, Bosko's eyes catching her own as he tipped over the edge with Smokey firmly gripping his forearms. For the first time since she had met him, he didn't glare at her or look consumed with hatred. His eyes were softer and more tired looking than she had ever seen. Then, as if they had been erased from the room all together, his body and Smokey's disappeared into the boiling pool of ink.
It took Dot several moments to process what had just happened. She and Wakko were supposed to be lifeless gray heaps right now, but here they stood wholly intact. Her eyes were locked on the spot where Bosko and Smokey had just stood. What felt like hundreds of questions swarmed in her mind, but she couldn't find the words to ask them. That and the biggest answer she sought after had just been swallowed by the blackness still bubbling next to her.
"Dot..." Wakko's soft voice snapped her out of her trance. She shook her head and focused on a new occupant on the catwalk. Pete was huffing his way toward them after somehow climbing the ladder without breaking it, or one of his swollen limbs.
"You kiddies... come here... nice and slowly," Pete breathed, sweat soaking through his fur and hideous green and peach Hawaiian shirt. He took one more step toward them before stopping and looking around in confusion. "Where's the boss?"
Wakko pointed at the vat wordlessly. Pete's mouth fell open, shock freezing him in place. The overstuffed toon didn't seem to know what to do or where to go, but with a mighty groan, the rusted catwalk decided his next position for him.
"Ahg-" Pete squawked as the thin metal floor gave out under him and sent him falling to the hard concrete floor below. But as if it were a planned gag on set, the array of ropes that hung above and below the catwalk wrapped around him, cocooning him in safety from the potentially fatal fall.
Dot and Wakko shifted forward and looked down at the toon. Dot, now realizing how far up they really were, stumbled back from the hole and shut her eyes.
"You alright, Dot?" she heard Wakko ask.
"Yup- just don't like heights." she squeaked.
"What's going on up there?" a gruff voice called out from below.
"Uhh... Smokey is... dead?" Wakko called back, still trying to process what had just happened. The other rats and toons in the room started to shout back up at them so loudly Dot could only make out some of what they were saying.
"What?"
"How?"
"Are you sure?"
"I'm coming up to check!"
"No you're not, Tango!"
Dot heard a crash and someone scream "Here's another syringe!"
"What's going on, Wak?" Dot called out, slowly opening her eyes and keeping her gaze from drifting to the ground below. She shuddered when she saw her brother leaning over the edge of the railing at the scene below.
"A bunch of the toons- even the rat ones- are going after some of the bigger rats? I think some of them used to be in cartoon shorts, but I haven't seen them in a while. They're really old-"
"Good observations, 'Sky News Four,' but what are they doing?" Dot sighed.
"One of them picked up a syringe and stuck it into the really big rat's calf- ooh, that's gonna look bad in the morning."
"What?" she called back.
"The rat kicked him in the face, but I think he's OK. Now the rat fell over and he's all gray," Wakko put his elbow on the railing and rested his chin against his palm. "Yep, he's a goner."
"What about the other bad guys?"
"They're all just standing there- wait, a few of them are starting to move. One of them is... untying Bugs?"
Confused by why the toons who had been actively trying to ink and/or kill her over the past few months were now helping her friend, she scooted closer to Wakko and strained her ear so she could hear better.
"Are you kids OK up there?" she heard one of the rats call out.
"Why would you care?" she shot back, really wishing she could finish the conversation on the ground.
"We ain't gonna hurt you. We're just as happy he's gone as you are." another voice added.
"Yeah, he was hell to work for. I haven't slept in weeks because he's been workin' me so hard! And in the boiler room of all places!"
Dot looked over at Wakko again. "Should we go down?"
"The alternative is rotting thirty feet in the air." he answered.
Dot stood up on shaky legs and shuffled towards her brother, who grabbed her by the shoulders and started to guide her around the hole in the catwalk. She didn't know why, but she suddenly whipped her head around and stared down the hole at the drop below.
"It's okay, Wak. I can do it." she shrugged his hands off from her shoulders and walked around the hole to the ladder. She took a deep breath and started her descent down; her fear of being so high up thankfully beginning to dwindle.
Her limbs started to ache and her head was pounding. The adrenaline that had kept her from having a full on panic attack was sadly draining with each step towards the floor. She wanted to sit down and properly process all that had just happened in this room; all that had been happening for months. As soon as her and Wakko's feet finally touched the ground, she felt an arm pull her tight against a grimy t-shirt clad chest. The same was done to Wakko.
"Are you two alright? Did they hurt you?" Bugs sputtered, holding them out so he could search them for any sign of injury.
"We're fine." she said, relieved to find the rabbit hadn't been inked in their absence.
Dot gave a meek smile that fell as soon as she saw Yakko's still form across the room. Bugs must have noticed this as he pulled them against him again. She rested her cheek against his shoulder and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to keep several tears from sliding down her face.
"It's OK, kids," Bugs said softly. "We'll straighten this out somehow."