Amidst this world crisis I hope you all are safe and sound. Warning: this chapter gets a little emotional at the end.
I rest my case. Onto the chapter!
Chapter 40: A Grand (Pity) Party (Ophelia's Creation Day Part 2)
" Well dinner was lovely", Ophelia said grinning as she stepped into Bugs' car.
" I'm glad ya thought so, Phels. Though in my opinion the lobster was a little raw", Bugs said, grabbing the very much alive lobster whose claw clamped itself to the rabbit's whiskers and tossing it out the window," Never eating at a seafood restaurant in ToonTown again".
Ophelia giggled at the gag," Look on the bright side, now I remember why you're not a seafood lover", she said snickering.
" How you even convinced me going to a seafood restaurant was a good idea is beyond me", Bugs huffed.
" How could I convince you to go to a seafood restaurant if I didn't even know we were heading to one?", Ophelia asked with a raised brow.
" Your love for seafood drove me to go down that dark route woman!", Bugs replied.
" Aww! You went to a place you despised just to make me happy", Ophelia cooed," You're too sweet", she said kissing him on the cheek.
" Yeah yeah, just know I'm gonna be complainin' about the taste in my mouth for a while", he said with a huff.
Ophelia smirked," I could help you with that", she purred.
Bugs glanced back at her with his interest piqued and his own smirk growing," How can I refuse such a tasty offer", he purred.
However before they could even kiss, Bugs' phone rang. Ophelia pouted but perked up considerably when she saw the contact name on his phone.
" What's up Dot?", Bugs drawled.
" BUGS! WHERE ARE YOU AND OPHELIA!", the shrieking voice of Dot Warner crackled through the phone's speaker.
" We're nearly there, kiddo, just a couple of minutes away", Bugs lied.
" You better! Yakko's freakin' out over here!", Dot said.
The statement had left Bugs and Ophelia a little unsettled.
Dot's voice grew a little distant as someone else took hold of the phone.
" Hey Bugs", Yakko's voice pooled through the phone's speaker clearly.
" Yakko, kiddo, what's happening? Are you alright?", Bugs asked concerned.
" Of course, everything's grand", Yakko said.
" That's a lie! Bugs, he was losing his bloody mind again!", Dot shrieked.
" Shut up!", Yakko hissed.
" Dot, no cussing and Yakko, hand the phone to Wakko, I know he's there", Bugs said sternly.
" Bugs?"
" Wakko, how is Yakko REALLY?", Bugs asked.
" He's fine now. But he was sulking earlier...", Wakko said feebly.
" I WAS NOT SULKING!"
" LIKE HELL YOU WERE!"
" Dot Warner, stop swearing", Ophelia yelled," Just hang tight, we're nearly there", she stated.
" Okay", Wakko said calmly before hanging up.
" I swear Wakko is a saint sent from above", Bugs mumbled.
" So...", Ophelia started," Portable hole?".
" Portable hole", Bugs replied with a sigh," I'll get Coal to pick up my car later. Let's go", he said before he and Ophelia left the car.
Ophelia bit her lip, feeling extremely concerned over the eldest Warner. This wasn't something she was familiar with him.
Bugs slapped the black flimsy circle on the ground before jumping in, Ophelia following behind him. When they exited the otherside, they find themselves at the administration building entrance, a few feet ahead of them being the water tower.
" Has this ever happen before?", Ophelia asked worriedly.
" We swore we'd talk about this if it were to happen again", Bugs mumbled," The doc said he was gettin' better...".
" Bugs, what is going on?!", Ophelia yelled.
" You'll find out soon enough, Phels", Bugs said frowning as they reached the top of the the tower in record time.
Ophelia pulled the shield door open and stepped curiously inside the dark room, Bugs following behind her.
" Huh, I expected a party", Ophelia said to herself.
Suddenly the lights turned on," SURPRISE!", everyone screamed.
" And I did get a party, haha", Ophelia said as she awkwardly stood against Bugs.
" HAPPY CREATION DAY, OPHELIA!", everybody yelled, from the Looney Tunes to Jessica, Red and Betty to Mickey and his inner friends including his brother Oswald.
Ophelia smiled as she scanned the crowd of friends standing together, looking for the Warners, most particularly Yakko.
" Happy Creation Day, bestie. Again!", Betty cheered.
" Thanks Betty", Ophelia said sweetly," Have you seen the kids?", she asked immediately," It's kinda an emergency", she said.
Betty frowned," They're over by the gifts- is everything okay?", she asked.
" That's what I'm trying to figure out", Ophelia murmured," I'll be right back. In the meantime, enjoy yourself", she said in a reassuring manner as she and Bugs headed over to where Betty said the kids would be.
When they got to where the gifts were kept, they were relieved to find all three Warners huddled together talking to each other.
" So we've come to the agreement Yakko's gonna give her gift, right?", Dot questioned.
" Uh huh", Wakko said while Yakko merely nodded.
" Yakko, we really need to lighten up here please. Tell us what's going on", Dot said brows furrowed in concern.
" I'm fine", Yakko mumbled.
" No you're not", Wakko said firmly, surprising both his siblings," There's clearly something going up in that beautiful noggin' of yours. You know you can tell us anything, right Yakko?", he said softly.
" It's just something that I forgot to deal with for a while. I'll be better later", Yakko said standing a little straighter and sucking in a deep breath," I'll be fine, I promise", he said, throwing a small grin in for good measure.
" Kids?", Ophelia called.
Yakko immediately placed the small gift box back on the table before turning to face Ophelia and Bugs with his siblings. No one missed the look of mild relief when Yakko saw Ophelia.
" Is everything okay?", Ophelia asked concerned.
Dot attempted to answer but Yakko had beated her to it," Everything's fine now. All sorted out", he said reassuringly.
The two adult toons looked unconvinced," Really?", Bugs asked as he eyed Yakko critically.
" Really Bugs. I'm fine", Yakko stressed.
Bugs stared at Yakko a little longer before breaking his gaze," Mind lookin' after Wakko and Dot while I have a one-on-one talk with Mr I'm-Fine here?", he asked Ophelia.
" Sure...", Ophelia said hesitantly as she grabbed hold of Wakko and Dot's hands, taking them over to where the rest of the party was.
Yakko watched as Ophelia left with Wakko and Dot back to where all her friends stood smiling at her warmly with love. He frowned deeply as he felt a familiar pang in his chest.
Yakko felt a hand squeeze his shoulder firmly. He turned to find Bugs, bent in his knee, looking at him with concern, worry even etched into his face. It was one of those prime facial expressions that truly showed Bugs' physical age. It made the eldest Warner feel slightly guilty. Was he causing Bugs to stress? Was Ophelia stressing? Did he just ruin her creation day? And suddenly Yakko began to feel worse.
" Are you really okay, Yakko?", Bugs asked," Be honest with me now, kid. 'Cause I can see there are a million thoughts going through your head right now and none of them remotely make me feel at ease".
" It's stupid", Yakko mumbled.
" Nothing about this stupid, okay? Ya feelings aren't stupid, Yakko. Remember I told you last year that if ever you have a problem, you come straight to me and I'll help you. Do you remember that?", Bugs asked softly.
" Yes...", Yakko said quietly.
Bugs smiled weakly," Well now I'm here to help you, doc. But I need to know what's going on", he said softly.
Yakko went quiet and looked at his feet. He hated feeling timid and unable to express what he was feeling. What could he tell Bugs? The truth? What was the truth? All Yakko knew was that he didn't want Ophelia to leave. But yet the Warner felt there was something else that was holding him back. Something important that he should've asked a long time ago.
" Is this about Ophelia leaving?", Bugs asked quietly.
Yakko shrugged, feeling a little embarrassed.
Bugs smiled," It's okay to be able to miss her, kiddo. You two grew quite close in the amount of time you've been together, despite your (ahem) annoyed beginnings", he said with a playful grin.
Yakko groaned," Did you have to bring that up?", he asked, very embarrassed.
" Hey, everyone always has some sour first impressions. Ophelia tried to smash me into a pancake the first time we met", Bugs said before pausing shortly," Now that I think about it, you two have eerily similar ways of greeting strangers", he said jokingly.
Yakko huffed in exasperation before before breaking into giggles. He felt slightly better talking to Bugs, even if they hadn't exactly gotten to the real root of the problem.
" Do you think she'll miss us?", Yakko asked quietly as he gazed at Ophelia happily speaking with her friends and his siblings.
" I'm pretty sure she's just waitin' for everybody to leave so she can start cryin'", Bugs said chuckling," She loves you three a lot. Any maroon can see that".
" Yeah", Yakko croaked, his throat feeling constricted. Something that Bugs caught on.
" Kid?"
" I'm going to miss you both", Yakko said suddenly, his nose twitching as he gulped.
Yakko barely registered Bugs' hug for the first second before hugging the hare back, burying his face in his neck. It was an oddly warm feeling that led the Warner to wondering why he doesn't hug Bugs more often. He didn't let go and Bugs never made any hints of letting go either.
" You're purring", Bugs teased.
" Shush, I'm in a good place right now" Yakko mumbled, still purring.
Bugs chuckled as he stood up, but instead of letting go, he merely lifted Yakko up and the boy instinctively hooked his legs around the hare's body. With Yakko securely in his hold, he made his way back to main party.
Ophelia was the first to notice him and moved aside to make spice for him on the sofa. She smiled at the two softly.
" How's my little kit feeling?", Ophelia asked sweetly.
" Feeling great, thanks for asking", Bugs replied.
" I was talking to Yakko", Ophelia said dryly.
" Of course you were", Bugs said chuckling.
" M'fine", Yakko said said as he faced Ophelia.
" We're still gonna talk about what happened earlier", Ophelia said seriously," And I mean really talk. Okay, kitten", she said softly.
Yakko nodded and sent her a small smile, which she returned. She was still a little uneasy but the smile was a small step on good progress.
" So there are certain serious things we need to discuss right now", Betty said with a serious face despite her joking tone," And that is how the heck Mickey managed to convince Minnie to let him come here".
The mouse in question merely laughed as he swirled the drink in his glass," C'mon, you fellas know Minnie's not THAT hard", he said.
" Mick, baby brother, you're not fooling anyone. We all know how Minnie feels about Ophelia", Oswald said playfully.
" I still wanna know why you two have bad blood. You both never explained", Jessica commented.
" It's best you don't know", Bugs muttered.
" What Bugs said", Mickey replied.
" You never told us you knew what happened!", Red said flabbergasted.
" Didn't we tell ya? Oh well. Now you're never gonna know", Bugs said as he reached for the glass Mickey passed to him.
Red groaned loudly while everyone chuckled.
" Besides, their rivalry is a little tamer now that Minnie's got another enemy", Oswald said as he tried stiffling his snorts.
" What?! Since when?!", Ophelia exclaimed.
" Now look what you started. Ophelia was not supposed to know about Elsa", Bugs hissed.
" That queen from Frozen? What's Miss Minnie got against her?", Dot asked.
Mickey sat up straight as a smug, cheeky smile grew on Bugs' face. The mouse glared at him viciously.
" Don't you dare-!", Mickey yelled.
" Elsa's got the sweets for 'im and Minnie ain't too amused about someone making a move on her man", Bugs laughed.
Ophelia gasped," She's number 13!", she said before bursting out in laughter.
" I don't get it", Wakko said confused.
Mickey huffed," A lot of the Disney Princesses had crushes on me and these buffoons keep count", he said annoyed.
" To be fair, you don't have the besth of luck, pal", Daffy said patting him on the shoulder," At leasth we didn't count all the other toonettesth looking to get in your pantsth".
Mickey shuddered," So you remind me...", he said with mild discomfort in his voice.
" Anyhoo, Mickey's weirdly dramatic love life aside, how did you meet Mickey anyway?", Yakko asked, speaking up for the first time.
Ophelia's face twisted as she wracked her memory for the time she met Mickey.
" We met in 1933... or 34, I can't really remember"
" It was '33. We were both in New York City to visit Betty- well I was more there for Bimbo than Betty but details, schmetails- and I bumped into her while trying to find Fleishcer studios", Mickey explained.
" Yes! Yes! I remember Trickster and Chuckles were still with me that day... we were all heading to Fleischer's when their filming was done. You stepped on Trickster's tail", Ophelia said chuckling.
" He pulled that gun out so fast, you'd think he was really that eager to kill me", Mickey said dryly.
" While this discussion of Mickey's near death by Trickster Fox is nice and all, we still need to sing for the creation day girl!", Betty said excitedly as she grabbed Ophelia's hand.
" Heh, yeah. Let's get to it, fellas!"
" -JOLLY GOOD FELLOW! AND SO SAY ALL OF US- HAPPY CREATION DAY, OPHELIA!"
" Smile!", Wakko cheered as he snapped a picture, the flash so bright it stunned those in its crossfire.
" Ugh, Wakko, the flash", Bugs said as he rubbed his eyes to overcome his sudden blindness.
" Sorry", Wakko said sheepishly.
Yakko chuckled softly as he affectionately patted his little brother's head," You did good, Wak", he said softly.
" So, can I open my gifts now?", Ophelia asked giddy.
Bugs laughed," Go ahead", he said amused.
" Ooh! Open ours first!", Wakko said excitedly," Yakko, go get it!", he said excitedly.
Yakko shook his head and left towards the table where the siblings left their nanny her gift.
A loud knock on the tower door echoed through the room, earning weird looks from a few of the occupants. They wondered who'd still be at the studio this late.
" I'll get it!", Dot exclaimed as she skipped over to the door before opening it," Sorry bub, this party's invit- Plotz?", she said both surprised and confused.
The Looney Tunes stood a little straighter as they tensed up. Ophelia frowned as she eyed the short toon and Yakko froze at the sight of Plotz, a small memory zoomed in his head.
" I FORBID YOU AND YOUR SIBLINGS FROM ATTENDING THAT FUNERAL, YAKKO WARNER".
Yakko subconsciously touched his cheek, feeling an imaginary sting. His grip on Ophelia's gift tightened.
" Evening everyone. Looney Tunes, Mr Mouse...", Plotz said regarding Mickey with a nod.
" Thaddeus", Mickey replied.
" Ms Alleycat, hope you had a great creation day so far", Plotz said with a smile that was trying much too hard not to look like a grimace
" It was nice. Don't mind me asking but what ARE you doing here, Plotz?", Ophelia asked.
" Mr Bunny is why I'm here actually", Plotz said turning to the hare," The Warners' new nanny will be here first thing Monday morning".
" WHAT?!", the Warners shrieked.
" B-But Ophelia's our nanny!", Dot said angrily.
" YEAH! We don't want a new nanny!", Wakko raged.
Surprisingly, Yakko was quiet... too quiet.
' No no no no, this has to be some mistake. Is Ophelia getting fired? Why? Why? Why?! Ophelia can't get fired! She has to come back! She can't leave us here. She promised! She promised she'd come back", Yakko thought, his breathing growing rapid.
" I'll be back before you know it, sugar"
" Yakko... Yakko, what's wrong?", Dot asked nervously.
" It's been six hours, where is she?"
" Are you still waiting here, Yakko?!"
" Yakko...", Bugs said growing worried by the second.
" Yakko, I don't think she's coming back"
" NO! She's coming! She promised she'd come back"
" Yakko, sweetheart, what's wrong??"
" Warners, I'm extremely sorry. Miss Honey is dead"
" You're lying", Yakko mumbled.
" Yakko-"
" SHE'S NOT DEAD! SHE'S NOT DEAD! SHE CAN'T BE DEAD! SHE'S NOT DEAD-"
" SHE'S NOT DEAD", Yakko snapped before bolting for his bedroom before anyone could catch him.
" Yakko!", Wakko, Dot, Ophelia and Bugs yelled as they raced after the boy.
Everyone turned to glare at Plotz and was those glares filled with a lot of venom and fire. But surprisingly and unsurprisingly it was Mickey who spoke up.
" Get out", Mickey hissed.
" What-"
" I said GET OUT", Mickey shrieked, the acid green eyes of the Blot shining through.
That had sent Plotz running out the tower.
Oswald sighed," It seems another set of wards of Warner Bros studios has trauma", he said sadly as he looked in the direction Yakko ran in.
It was difficult to breathe.
He found it extremely hard breathing. Everything looked and felt extremely wrong to him. Here he was, in a pathetic foetal position trying his best to not to let his anxiety get to him.
It was almost laughable. Yakko Warner: smart aleck, show-off-y, annoying toon extraordinaire; had anxiety. The last toon anyone, human or toon, would expect to be this anxiety ridden child who never properly mourned for his grandmother, never properly got to say goodbye.
'Pathetic', he thought bitterly,' Everyone must be so disappointed in me'.
He tensed up as his bedroom door open ad at least four pairs of feet walk into his room and towarss his bed. He couldn't believe he could curl in further than he thought he could.
" Hi Kitty... is it okay for us to touch you?", Ophelia asked softly.
Yakko grew a little more tense but nodded. He felt his bed dip as they sat down. Yakko felt the lithe fingers of Ophelia on his back and felt rather relaxed at the touch.
" How you feeling, buddy?", Bugs asked.
" Pathetic", Yakko mumbled.
" Talk to us, Yakko. We're listening", Bugs said softly," We always will be".
" Can I ask something?", Yakko asked quietly.
" Fire away, kitty", Ophelia said softly.
Yakko paused," Do... Do toons go to heaven? When they die?", he asked.
Ophelia and Bugs blinked. It was a surprising question, but not a rare one. Many times they both of them found themselves hearing the nervous-tinted conversation of a toon's afterlife.
It was a question that truly baffled the toon community. In the past, they never gave a second thought but with things like thinner, murderous creators, anti-toons and wars the question suddenly became more relevant.
Adding in the factor that toons weren't really religious. They didn't have deities to worship or a certain way of living. Churches, mosques, synagogues and literally any place of worship were scarce in ToonTown. If a toon did become interested in religion, then the human world was the better option.
But still, it was quite a thought.
" I think they do...", Ophelia said after a minute of silence.
" Do you think Grammy's there? Do you think she's happy there?", Yakko asked.
Bugs smiled," I'm sure she's baking all sorts of treats up there", he said.
Wakko hummed dreamily," Treats...".
" But is she happy?!", he stressed. The 'without me' went unspoken but everyone could still feel it.
" I'm sure she misses you just as much as you miss her. Your Grammy loved you three to bits, that I'm certain of", Ophelia said sweetly.
" I don't want a new nanny", Yakko croaked.
" She's only temporary. Plotz and I talked about it but Ophelia will come back when the lockdown is over", Bugs said softly.
" But what if you don't? What if something happens?! What if the lockdown is never ends! What if we're doomed to be locked in this stupid tower forever?! What if we never see you again?!", Yakko said his breathing growing rapid again.
Wakko whimpered and shook as Yakko practically spewed out the question the siblings had let fester for some time.
" Yakko-"
" I'm TIRED! I'M TIRED OF EVERYONE LEAVING US BEHIND! Everyone left us the moment an opening came! Tom, Steven, Randy, Grammy! EVEN YOU'RE LEAVING US, BUGS!-", Yakko choked up as he started sobbing.
Wakko and Dot were crying now too, feeling their bodies curling but they tried to keep quiet about it as long they possibly could.
" Please don't leave us here", the Warners whimpered simultaneously.
Ophelia felt her own tears build as she looked in their eyes and saw only despair and exhaustion at being constantly abandoned by adult figures they had grown close to.
For Bugs... it was like staring in a mirror, a horrid accurate mirror. And that was enough to gather his sobbing children and girlfriend into his arms and hugging them tightly, letting his own tears slip and fall.
And they sat like that for a while, never moving even until the last tear drop was dropped, as they all basked in the radiance of love that was given off. Not knowing when they would be able to this again.
End of Chapter 40
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.
Between writing this and other stories, I've been taking trips to Archive of Our Own just to see what I could read during my breaks and I stumbled upon a little gem. An Animaniacs story called The Tallest Tower by SallyLovette. It's honestly a great read, it's worth checking out. I hope you all are safe and have a great day/night.