*Chapter 6: Canceled*

Rem slowly and groggily emerged from unconsciousness, feeling especially crappy from earlier. As her vision came into clear focus, the first thing she saw was a dented ceiling fan that was sloppily put back together. Before she could bring her whereabouts into question, Sakko's face popped up in her line of sight.

"Rem darlin', are you feelin' alright?" he fervently asked.

Apart from a stinging sensation on her face, and her right wrist feeling odd, things could be worse.

"I'll live." the teen groaned. "...what happened?"

Sakko made a guilt ridden and sour expression.

"Well...as you might have guessed, ol' Buddy went really looney." he explained in a low voice. "Then the cousins came, and Ah carried ya off the lot to mah bungalow...and well, here we are."

The fact that he apparently fled from battle and took her away from her peers, did not help to improve the stinging sensation from her face. When she attempted to rub her cheek, she felt a gauze pad taped there. Then she noticed the ACE bandage on her arm.

"...what's all this?" Rem droned.

"Aww, well, you were hurt pretty bad, so Ah got out mah here First Aid kit." Sakko explained.

Rem blinked in surprise at his skill in medics.

"Ah played in one of them army doctors in one WWII short with the cousins." Sakko continued. "Heh...Ah guess Ah wanted to make an impression knowin' all the works."

There was a brief silence between them before the mustachioed Warner finally broke it.

"Ah'm awful sorry this happened, Rem." he said in a rather defeated tone. "None of it would've happened if Ah hadn't been such a coward."

"Well it's not like you were able to help it." Rem told him as she got to her feet.

"Yeah, Ah could have. Ah could have jus' told Buddy to mosey off an' warn you fellers...but Ah didn't."

Rem grunted as her legs were wobbly. Sakko rushed forward to help her.

"Will you be okay, Rem?" he asked.

"Sure, once I have my foot up Buddy's ass." the teen ranted.

"...Ah thought you'd say that."

(Now Playing: Let Her Go by Within Temptation)

Sakko went over to a wall and picked up a stick that had a blanket full of necessities tied to one end. Rem stared at him curiously yet anxiously.

"Wait, hold up." she said. "What are you doing?"

"Takin' an exit stage right, mah dear." Sakko replied.

Rem felt her heart painfully thump against her chest.

"What for?! If you feel bad about this, you can still help." she protested.

"No, Ah can't." he droned. "Rem, Ah've become a pariah, a liability. Even if Ah went back none of the other folks would take mah word for it."

That painful thumping got worse.

"Who the fuck cares what they think?!" Rem exclaimed. "I still think you can help. You can help a great deal!"

"Ah know ya do, darlin'." Sakko assured her. "But it wouldn't be any use. Believe me, it's for the best."

Another silence as an increasingly distraught Rem watched him go out the front door.

"Jus' promise me one thing, darlin'." Sakko asked.

"What is it?" Rem asked softly.

"Don't ever let yourself get hurt like that again. Ah don't think Ah could ever forgive mahself if ya did."

Rem felt her tear duct fill heavily and freely.

"Sakko..." she sputtered, her voice cracking.

"Now don'tcha worry 'bout nothin' dear." he assured her again. "Ah'll be sure to write."

Rem watched him leave into the setting sun until he was out of sight. A few drops of tears managed to fall, prompting her to quickly wipe them away and hold back a sob. The whole situation was almost completely unfair and a heaping pile of bullcrap, which made Rem feel more upset. Her thoughts were interrupted, when her mobile phone suddenly vibrated in her orchid vest pocket. Wiping away the remaining tears that rebelliously fell, she made a grab for her phone.

"H-hullo?" Rem croaked.

"Where are ya?" Yakko's voiced inquired.

"Suh-Sakko's bungalow. He's...he's gone..."

Yakko could probably tell in her voice that she was upset since he didn't answer her back right away.

"We're at the old, old, studio on Sunset Boulevard." he finally continued in a softer tone. "...just don't make us hunt your butt down. Okay?"

"No, I'll be there ASAP." Rem replied, straightening herself up.

She wiped her face again and breathed in deeply before setting off again.

(End Music)

XXXXXX

Twilight had fallen upon Burbank and Hollywood as shades of pink, violet, and dark blue graced the skies while fiery shades of gold and orange tinted the clouds. Rem, now clad in a grey hoodie she picked up from a sporting goods shop, walked cautiously through the streets with the hood up to avoid being seen. She couldn't use her studio hoodie because it would've been a dead giveaway if Buddy and his cronies were out looking for them. She arrived at last to the Old Warner Brothers Studio that had changed hands for decades. It was now occupied by a television business under the banner of 'Sunset Bronson Studios'. Rem knew that the old animation department building was on the other side. The main building that was settled beyond the iron-rod gated and fencing, remained unchanged since the Twenties apart from refurbishment here and there. The teen saw a plaque that designated it as a historical monument dated Nineteen-Seventy-Seven. To her, it looked like something of an old colonial mansion. As the streetlamps flickered on for the night, Rem carefully and cautiously went past the iron gates. She was halfway towards the front steps when a girlish voice suddenly stopped her in her steps.

"Rem!"

Rem swerved around and barely had a chance to see Dot zipping up to her before the Warner Sister grabbed ahold of her uninjured wrist and yanked her east of the studio grounds.

"Wait, I thought-"

"Basement." Dot hastily told her in a whisper.

...Right.

Rem was wise not to speak or question the situation until they got to their destination. They went inside the east wing of the aging yet carefully preserved studio and went down a staircase into the basement. There, the teen found not only her other two peers, but also Slappy and Skippy Squirrel, Pinky and the Brain, the Goodfeathers, and Rita and Runt who had come with Dr. Scratchansniff, who seemed to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"Um...what's with the pow wow?" Rem carefully and slowly asked.

"Good question." Slappy replied matter of factly. "You want the short version or the long version?"

Rem arched a brow at her, considering the options.

"...Alright, let's have the long version." she murmured.

"Right, then; Scratchansniff's condo was busted into and overrun by shrieking robots, same thing with my tree house. The buzzards and the other rodents here, somehow got an eviction notice from their places."

Rem let out a gasp.

"Is Roman okay?!" she exclaimed at the albino mice.

"For the moment, yes." Brain replied calmly. "And as long as he's able to keep certain material hidden and his head down, that mad man will never know about him."

"The short version?" Slappy continued. "Buddy's gone stark raving looney. In a bad way."

"I hate being homeless." Rita muttered.

"Me too. Duh-definitely me too." Runt echoed.

"Yeah, that Buddy has no respect. Ya know what I mean?" Bobby said irately.

"Man, oh man, I hope the Godpigeon beaks 'im!" Pesto angrily added, puffing himself up.

Rem was about to speak when her three peers suddenly surrounded her, examining her bandaged injuries very closely.

"I'm fine guys, seriously." she quietly told them.

"And that ain't the tip of the iceberg." Slappy went on. "If there ever was one."

"Whaddya mean?" Rem asked nervously, wondering how worse this could possibly get.

...Hell, do I even want to know?

"...Vell, Mees Roth." Scratchansniff began, trying to contain his anxiety. "Eet vould seem zat Buddy has done a leetle more zan just evicteeng."

"Freezing our contracts, paychecks, and royalty fees for one thing." Slappy ranted bitterly.

"And plans to incinerate the studio's entire archive and assets." Brain added. "Fortunately, Roman has tactfully and covertly locked that fiend out of the vaults and passing it off as a massive glitch in the system caused by external damage from today's earlier disturbance."

"But that won't last long unless we try and do somethin' about all this." Rita insisted.

"Yeah, duh-definitely do somethin'." Runt piped in again in agreement.

"...So we can just go and kick his butt, right?" Rem ventured.

"I wouldn't mind givin' that mook a good beakin'." Pesto said, siding with Rem.

Slappy, Skippy, and the Warners rather serious and uncomfortable expressions on their faces.

"Well...usually, if a toon is this far gone off the Richter scale..." Slappy began delicately. "We gotta put him outta commission...permanently."

Rem's face hardened upon understanding the elderly squirrel's suggestion.

"...No way." the teen replied lowly. "I'm not getting involved with that. I swore I'd never go down that road again."

"Nobody's askin' you to, kid." Slappy replied gingerly. "And besides, there's a better way."

"Like?"

"You're familiar with Weed Memblo aren'tcha?"

Rem blinked a few times.

"...The dude one our stained-glass window?"

"Yup." the Warners fondly responded.

"This delicate operation happens to be a trade secret amongst animators. We just need to find that yutz."

"Is the guy even still alive at this point?" Rem said, a bit flabbergasted.

"Of course he is." Slappy ranted as if Rem asked a silly question. "At least according to his retracted pension records."

"Which brings the other bad news; He's not in America at the moment. Let alone the state of California." Skippy added.

"Which also means we're gonna have to split up to the other lousy side of the Earth to track down his caboose."

"...all of us?" Rem squeaked, not sure if she like where this conversation was headed.

"Most of us, anyway. I'm gonna try to get up some needed reinforcements so we can wrench the studio from that slime's hands."

Rem's brain started going in eight different directions trying to think of alternate solutions.

"What about Frankeninni? Did Buddy bust him out of the slammer or something? I mean, how else was he able to get ahold of his shit?"

"An interesting and credible theory, Miss Roth." Brain replied. "Unfortunately, Burbank Correctional Facility has him in high security solitary confinement for relentless tinkering and babbling. Therefore, it's quite impossible that he'd be directly involved in this matter."

Rem could feel herself beginning to panic. Two years ago, she would do with being alone and away from her peers. Now, she couldn't even fathom the thought let alone conceive it.

"It ain't goodbye forever, Rem." Yakko told her softly and reassuringly.

"And we'll keep in contact." Dot added.

"By writing coded letters." Wakko piped in. "Just like in Mission: Impossible."

"Hopefully the TV show, and not the six million sequels that yutz Cruise is makin'." Slappy quirked.

"The good news is, that we've managed to narrow down all the places Weed Memblo could be." Skippy said helpfully, showing Rem a world map. "With us looking in different places at the same time, should make things easier for us."

It didn't do much to improve her mood.

...one could only hope.

"In the meantime, it would be prudent for us to disappear." Brain said. "Buddy's plans can't fully come into fruition unless he has his way with us."

"Mwah, goodnight everybody!" Yakko quirked, blowing a kiss.

"I'm not amused..."

(Now Playing: Here's To You by Joan Baez)

Rem was not liking this arrangement one little bit. It felt like her adoptive family was breaking up. But it served to fuel her determination to locate this old goat of an animator so they could finish what they started with Buddy.

'Here's to you, Nicola and Bart...'

"Alright..." she sighed heavily.

'Rest forever, here in our hearts...'

"We're still gonna be checking up on you, young lady." Dot tutted in a strict motherly tone. "So don't be doing anything silly."

'The last and final moment is yours...'

"I don't think you guys will have to worry about that."

'That agony is your triumph.'

XXXXXX

Back at the Warner Brothers studio, Mr. Plotz, the staff, and even the security, were effectively being held hostage by Buddy and the robotic army he had brought with him. Buddy wasted no time in putting himself in charge of all studio operations and making Plotz a figurehead and an errand boy.

'Here's to you, Nicola and Bart...'

"Have you found those infernal Warners?" Buddy demanded of the team of robots that entered the office while the deposed CEO cowered behind him.

"STILL SEARCHING." the mechanical being replied back in monotone.

'Rest forever, here in our hearts...'

"No matter. If I know those Warners, they won't hide for long. We'll just wait until they decide to come out and play again. Plotz! Make sure you have that dum-dum guard be on the lookout!"

"...Y-yes, sir." Plotz nervously agreed.

'The last and final moment is yours...'

"And another thing! We're gonna curb our animation output for the TV going forward! Starting with that Freakazoid bimbo; Too many couch potato adults are watching them anyway!"

'That agony is your triumph.'

The misfortunate CEO gulped hard and had no choice but to acquiesce. This had to be the first time he had greatly wished to have the Warners pummel him with their mallets, or mess with anyone in general.

XXXXXX

As dawn graced Burbank's skies again, the statue of Martin Scorsese was deserted and blocked off by traffic poles and caution tape, Slappy's tree house, and the Acme Labs were vacant, and for the first time since 1928, the Water Tower stood silent.

'Here's to you, Nicola and Bart,

Rest forever, here in our hearts,

The last and final moment is yours,

That agony is your triumph.'

(End Music)

TO BE CONTINUED


AN: Thus concludes Act XXV. Thanks for reading, and stick around for da big finale! ;)

=Song List=

Within Temptation

-Let Her Go

-What Have You Done

-Firelight (Featuring Jasper Steverlinck)

Evanescence

-Bring Me To Life (Synthesis)

-What You Want (Elder Jepson Remix)

-My Heart is Broken

Others

-Also sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss

-Llovera by Mia Maestro

-Only Time by Enya

-Tooi Michi No Saki De by Takekawa Ai