*Chapter 4: Reunion*
Rem cracked her eyes open when the scent of toast wafted through the air. Because Rem had gotten to bed quite late, she felt extremely groggy. Groaning and rubbing her eyes, she dragged herself off of Memblo's futon couch and sluggishly walked over to his kitchen table.
"Well good morning, sunshine." Memblo sarcastically greeted to which Rem mentally told him to piss off. "Sure hope you don't mind having a bit of breakfast before we leave."
Rem had the thought of protesting, until she felt her stomach heave and pinch at her.
"...Okay, maybe a little." she mumbled.
The teen shuffled over to a chair and resisted the urge to yawn.
...seriously, how is it possible for the elderly to be up and about early in the freaking morning?!
"So I'm curious." Memblo began. "Where'ja learn to speak fluent Japanese?"
"My Grams taught me." Rem replied. "I'm half Japanese on her side."
"Really? Ever been here before?"
"First time. I may come back if I get a chance."
Rem was a little surprised that the aging animator was being quite conversational right now. Especially when the night before, he was you typical jaded old man. Then again, it was probably that reaction that others got when they realized that she wasn't quite the Warners.
"Hmmm, that's rather interesting." Memblo said with a hint of surprise in his voice.
"Are you coming back here once this bul-nonsense is over?" Rem asked, arching a brow.
"Well, I do have a life here."
"Reasonable. What made you leave the States to begin with?"
Memblo became quiet when asked that.
"...I don't know. Probably bad memories. A studio here offered me an executive job during the Sixties, so I took it."
"Got into anime did'ja?" Rem inquired with a sly smirk.
"An interesting gig, I'll tell ya what. Higher standards every now and then. Now that I think about it, making cartoons will probably be my only legacy."
"Freleng, McKimson, Clampett, Avery, and Jones went out that way. Not exactly something to throw an egg at."
"Heh, Jones carried it with him till the bitter end."
There was something charming and heartwarming about how an old man reminisced about his past. It was almost like listening to Slappy Squirrel. Or at least Rem thought so.
XXXXXX
Later that morning, Rem went on her way escorting Memblo to the nearest airport in the city. The teen was getting slightly irate and unnerved by the busy crowds. She was keen to keep close to Memblo as much as possible. Something that he was quick to notice.
"Don't do well in crowded places, do ya?" he commented.
"I've got chronic claustrophobia. Bite me." Rem muttered.
"Now that's not a very nice thing to say to your benefactor."
Rem growled to herself, almost being reminded of someone very familiar.
"If you're wondering where they got some of their zaniness, I might be lookin' at it." she ranted.
"Oh, is that right little missy?" Memblo ranted back.
"Look, let's just get this over with! I'm already not looking forward to the freaking airfare outta here."
"What's the matter, you don't like-"
"No, I don't, okay?! Not only do I have claustrophobia, I've also got acrophobia. So cut me some-"
Then, the teen noticed that the aging animator had his attention caught by something that made him apprehensive. A few seconds later, she saw why. Amongst the crowd-and apparently not catching the attention of anyone else-was a Frankeninni robot. One of the very same that attacked the tea house the night before.
"They sure multiply quick, don't they?" Memblo murmured.
"Dammit, we don't have time for this!" Rem growled, gripping her blade.
"Now hold on there, young lady; You go after that thing right now, you'll create a scene, and a whole lot more of unwanted attention."
Rem could see his point.
"So what would you recommend?" she asked tactfully.
"Well...don't like the idea of it, but we should probably act more like a granddad and grandkid goin' on a trip." Memblo replied.
"Pfft, I never even met my gramps. Though I've been told he was a KIA during Vietnam-"
"Like I said, an act. You're part toon for pity sakes."
"Okay, okay..."
Rem pulled up her hood while Memblo donned a baseball cap. Then reluctantly, the teen took his hand. Sadly, as they headed into the terminal, it proved to be all for naught. The robot scanned the part of the crowd they were in, coming up with a partially conclusive match. It certainly prompted the mechanical being to investigate. Rem instantly noticed that they had a big metal shadow.
"Crap, it's following us." she whispered.
Her eyes darted around for any possible escape routes. Or a nice, quiet place to stealthily dispatch the robot. A few seconds later, she found one.
"Head for the bathroom." Rem quietly directed.
"What good will that do?!" Memblo exclaimed.
"Trust me."
...I'm priority one on their list. It'll come after me first.
The odd pair made a detour towards the nearest public restroom. By this point, Memblo figured it might be a good idea to take a break before they boarded the plane.
"Make sure you wait right here when you're done, honey." Memblo said aloud, putting the facade back on.
"Okay, gramps." Rem dutifully replied.
They separated into the respective restrooms while the robot behind them made a pause. As Rem predicted, the robot decided to go after her first. It entered the women's bathroom which appeared to be silent and empty. As the mechanical being attempted to scan the area, Rem suddenly dropped down from an air duct, and rammed her blade right into the crevice of its neck. Sparks spat out as wires severed. The robot dropped to its knees and then onto its face. Rem breathed in deeply before vacating. She found Memblo already outside waiting for her.
"Take care of the bugger?" he asked.
"Yup." Rem replied.
"Good. Then let's get going."
They resumed their course towards the terminal when something in Memblo's hand caught Rem's eye. To her horror, it was a cell phone.
"...Tell me you didn't use that thing." she moaned.
"Just made a quick phone call." Memblo replied calmly. "What's the big deal?"
"Buddy and his electronics could be listening in on us!"
"On a ten second call?"
"I've seen stupider shit happen!"
"Oh, will you relax? Besides, my contact had to give me a quick update. And in case if you're wondering, we both used coded phrases."
Rem blinked a few times in confusion.
"...what contact?" she sputtered.
"The same one that called me last night. Now don't worry, you'll see in a few seconds." Memblo assured her before becoming wary. "And I'm most likely not gonna enjoy it."
Now Rem's head was spinning. What the hell was he talking about?
...I better not question it until it's actually necessary. Otherwise, I'm just gonna end up giving myself a migraine.
Though she resisted the urge to have a nasty feeling that Memblo might be hiding something bad behind her back. The teen could already feel her claustrophobia beginning to rage to life as they approached the boarding bridge. She kept her eyes glued to the floor after getting her boarding pass processed.
"Ah, the least likely person I wanted to see before I croak." Memblo dryly cracked.
"So lovely to see you after all these years too, Weed."
Rem shot her head up, nearly forgetting to breathe. Standing near the entrance to the plane, was Yakko Warner.
"Just so we're clear..." Memblo drolled on. "I'm getting compensation for this right?"
"Hmm, not sure about the compensation part, but, eeeeeeehhhhhhhhh, I'm sure Plotzy wouldn't mind-"
Yakko was suddenly interrupted when Rem launched herself at him wrapped her arms around his frame, pulling him into the same bear hug that he and his siblings had given her a time or two. A reddish tint appeared on the elder Warner's face as her grip got tighter along with a warm gushy feeling.
"Hey there, Rem." Yakko awkwardly but heartily chuckled, patting her back. "Long time, no see."
Rem, realizing what she was doing, wrenched herself away from him. Her face redder than his.
"...uh yeah, wassup?" she sputtered.
"Come on, you two." Memblo grunted impatiently, walking past them. "Let's get this show on the road."
