Heheheheh... you guys are gonna love and HATE this chapter
Chapter 41: Goodbye...
Ophelia sat in her room, going over her stuff to make sure she packed everything that belonged to her.
'So this is it', she thought sadly.
She had gathered rather fond memories in the water tower, and now she has to leave for who knows how long. She could be gone for weeks, months, an entire year.
" Poor Warners", she murmured.
Being locked away, the Warners' greatest fear they had the courage to admit. Her heart wrenched at the idea of leaving them here to suffer. Just as she's gotten comfortable with being the closest thing they had to a mother figure after Miss Honey.
A knock on the door occurred and Ophelia quietly told whoever was on the other side to come in. The door opened and Bugs stepped inside, looking at her with a tiny smile.
" Hey. Car's ready. Do ya got everything?", Bugs asked quietly.
" Yeah", Ophelia said as she gazed around the room," I'm gonna miss this room".
" Well, I'm sure you'll get reacquainted with my bedroom again back at the burrow", Bugs said with a grin.
" Who says I'm sleeping with you?", Ophelia asked cheekily.
" I say you're sleeping with me", Bugs said grinning.
" Sounds like a demand", Ophelia said in a thoughtful manner.
" It could be, if you decide to fight it", Bugs replied.
Ophelia grinned," And what, pray tell, are you going to do to me if I decide to fight it, Mr Bunny", she asked teasingly.
" Well then, Ms Alleycat, I'm afraid I'm going to have to go through some drastic measures", Bugs crooned.
" UGH! Do you two have to flirt in the water tower?!"
" And the moods ruined", Bugs muttered as he and a giggling Ophelia turned to look at a mildly disgusted Yakko Warner.
" I wouldn't have ruined it if you two took your little rendezvous-es to places where there aren't little ears", Yakko huffed.
Ophelia rolled her eyes and chuckled," Yeah yeah. Help us with my bags, will ya?", she said.
Ophelia stepped onto the asphalt of the studio lot, watching Ralph help Bugs put her luggage into his car. Mr Plotz stood to the side watching the Warners passing the last of the luggage.
" You haven't left yet, Ralph?", Ophelia said walking over to him.
" Duh, Mr Bunny asked me to stay behind to help you both with your bags. And there's some last-minute things I need to do for Mr Plotz", Ralph replied.
Ophelia smiled," Well, don't work too hard too much, big guy. Maybe we'll bump into each other in ToonTown some day", she said before glancing to the side where Bugs stood," Unless Mr Bunny over there doesn't put me under house arrest for escape attempts".
She chuckled at the grumbling she heard from the rabbit.
" Alright, that's nearly the last of 'em, Ralph!", Bugs exclaimed.
" Where should this one go?", Ralph asked lifting the last luggage case," The trunk's full", he added.
" Eh, just put it on the back seat, doc", Bugs said as he opened one of the car's back door for the guard to slide the case in.
" Thanks for the help, Ralph", Bugs said with a small smile.
" Pleasure, Mr Bunny", Ralph said respectfully.
" Take care of yourself, 'kay", Ophelia said sweetly.
" You too, Ms Alleycat. Goo' bye", Ralph said before walking off.
Ophelia waved at him smiling before hearing someone clear her throat behind her. She lost her smile as she turned to look Plotz with a flat look.
" Well Ms Alleycat, it's been quite... an experience having you work here", Plotz said awkwardly.
" And it was certainly an experience working for you. I can say with certainty now that I've DEFINITELY had more pleasant experiences with all my other bosses in the past", Ophelia said with a smile.
Bugs snorted," Ever the blunt one, Ophelia", he said amused," Come on, let's say goodbye to the kids".
Ophelia nodded and allowed herself to be led away from the CEO towards the Warners. She weirdly still felt the presence of Plotz's gaze on her back, forcing back a shiver as she smiled down at the kids.
There was silence between the adults and the children, not tense but also not comforting. It was more an air of forced acceptance.
Ophelia despised it.
" So this is it", Yakko said speaking up.
Bugs shook his head," No, it's not. We'll come back to you. And when we come back, we're taking you there with us permanently", he said reassuringly.
They heard a scoff behind them.
" Plotz doesn't seem to think so", Dot mumbled.
" Who cares what Plotz think?", Ophelia said huffing.
Wakko smiled," I hope our new temporary nanny is as good a baker as you are", he said.
" Hopefully she'll know how to cook anything other than pasta this time too", Yakko muttered with a smirk.
Ophelia scoffed but smiled as she affectionately ruffled his hair," I'm going to miss you too, you little pain in my tail, my little defiant pouty boy", she said getting down on her knees," I'm going to miss all of three of you, so much", she said tears brimming and arms wide open to gather the kids in a hug.
The Warners wrapped themselves around her, their eyes closed and expressions peaceful, even as the tears rolled down their furry faces. Softly they whispered:
" We're gonna miss you too, Mama".
Ophelia choked up and she felt them leave her arms all too soon as they launched themselves at Bugs. She watched the four of them in each other's embrace and noticed they had hung onto him longer than her. She would be lying if she said she didn't feel a bit envious but she understood why. Bugs had been there since the beginning. He had mentored and parented them for more than 20 years, he most probably earned the longer hug and the title of 'Dadoo' a long time ago.
Judging from the faster flow of tears from his eyes, they may have actually called him Dadoo as well. He always did get emotional whenever they called him that.
They had let go of each other, though Bugs looked very reluctant to let go of them himself. It was difficult leaving your child, especially when it felt you were leaving them to the wolves. He moved almost robotically towards his car and slid into the driver's seat without another word.
Ophelia opened the car door and looked back at the kids wistfully, they smiled reassuringly at her though their eyes were begging her to not leave them, to abandon them here.
" Goodbye...", Ophelia said tearfully.
The Warners waved silently with sad smiles as Ophelia got into the car. She watched them out of her window as they turned away and headed back to the water tower, all signs of their trademark zaniness seemingly void. Warner Bros will wait a long time before it's wards were back to being themselves again.
Ophelia felt the last of her resolve break as Bugs drove further away from the infamous studio water tower, watching the children she'd come to love as her own close the door behind them, shunning the world from its view.
The moment the studio was out of view, this was when the REAL emotions were displayed:
" Phels...", Bugs started quietly," That... that... was...", he paused for a second before a smile broke out on his face.
Ophelia snickered, her tears seemingly stopped as she went from sobbing to softly crying to quiet maniacal giggling until she busted out in a full blown maniacal laugh.
" -An Oscar winning performance!", he said before laughing maniacally as he wiped a false tear away from his eye," Outstanding, ma cherie, just OUTSTANDING!".
Ophelia was full blown cackling now, her tears now not of sadness but of a evil glee that had been festering inside her since the previous night.
" WARNERS, YOU CAN COME OUT NOW!", Bugs exclaimed.
The luggage case on the backseat had burst open to reveal all three Warner siblings, large, crazy and ,most importantly, happy grins on their faces.
" FREEDOM!", the Warners exclaimed in utter glee before laughing their hearts out.
" You both were amazing!", Dot said cheerfully," Definitely Oscar worthy!".
" I can't believe we duped them!", Wakko said as he and Dot high fived.
" We're finally free", Yakko said softly, crying out of pure joy.
Ophelia squeezed his hand tightly as she smiled at him with utter happiness for him and his siblings and she felt her own happiness swell up even further when he smiled brightly at her
This was the happiest she's seen him since she met him.
Ophelia sat back in her seat in her seat with a blissful smile. She pulled out a remote from her hammerspace and pressed pause, everything around her freezing in time. She then turned and smirked at the readers.
" So you're all probably wondering: 'what the HECK is going on? I thought the Warners- what about all that emotional stuff-'. To put it short, my sweethearts, the Author duped ya. She's probably cackling like an evil psychopath just as she's writing this right now in her bedroom. Don't raise your pitchforks just yet, folks. Remember, it could've been worse. This whole thing could've been real, the Warners could've really been locked in the water tower with a possibly bad nanny with no way of escaping. But she loves them just as much as I do and wouldn't dare put them under that much stress. So she had us come up with a better plan- Oh but you guys don't know what the plan was- hmm. Guess this is as good as a time for a rewind as any", she said before pressing the rewind button, going backwards in time quickly until she reached the point of where the last chapter ended.
The family was still in embrace, even after the kids stopped crying. They stayed together to bask in each other's comfort.
That was until they were interrupted.
" Bugs! Ophelia!"
Mickey had burst into the room, the rest of the Looney Tunes along Jessica, Red and Betty following behind. Jessica was shaking excitedly as she was animatedly with someone on her phone.
" I'm so sorry for disturbing this touching emotional moment- and you all know I'm king of touching, emotional moments- but there's something we gotta bring to your attention", Mickey said as he grinned.
" What is it, Mick?", Bugs asked curiously.
" Don't ask me. Jessica's on the phone with Roger. He's got all the answer", Mickey said excitedly.
" Roger?"
" Hey everyone! Happy Creation Day, Ophelia! Sorry I couldn't make it to the party. SOMEONE forgot to call in the back up entertainment for Comedy Night at the House of Mouse", Roger said through the phone, tone half-amused and half-annoyed.
" I was occupied! Sue me!", Mickey exclaimed.
" Enough boys. Roger, Mickey said you had something to bring to our attention", Ophelia said.
" Yeah! It's about the Warners and their predicament. Remember the book my original creator wrote before my film came out, 'Who censored Roger Rabbit?' was its name"
" Yeah, we remember it. What about it?"
" Remember, original me was murdered in the book, but I had a clone who could help Eddie Valiant solve my murder, but my clone could only last several hours or so"
" Roger, where are you going at with this?", Bugs asked.
" Look, remember that old toon power the Council banned us from using and teaching to the juniors. You used it in one of your shorts, Bugs. The Art-"
" -Of Multiplication...", Bugs said softly.
" Why does that sound like a Sex Ed lesson?", Dot asked confused.
" Goodnight Everybody!"
" No, no! The Art of Multiplication is what the old lesson was called. We toons could make from one to numerous copies of ourselves that only lasted for a short amount of time before they blew up into confetti. Our creators called them doppelgangers... but we called them-"
Ophelia gasped," Doppels! That's it! The Warners can make their own doppels!", she said excitedly.
Bugs laughed," Roger Rabbit, you sly genius!", he said happily.
" Aw schucks!", Roger said a little flustered at the compliment," Anything to help you all".
" Wait... so we can leave? We can ACTUALLY leave?", Yakko said, sounding almost hopeful while his siblings vibrated with pure hope and excitement.
" Yes, yes you can", Daffy spoke up," If we can manage to teach you how to make them and how to control them within one night".
Bugs scoffed and smirked," I'm sure we can! I'll work with them all night if I have to. We'll run on pure adrenaline and desperation!", he said determined.
" That's the spirit", Mickey said laughing.
" We're actually going to get to go to ToonTown!" Dot squealed.
" Yes, sweetie", Ophelia said with equal happiness.
" Uh... don't mind me askin' but... how did that trick get banned?", Yakko asked.
" Like how most toon tricks gets banned: it's all Mickey's fault", Bugs replied.
Mickey sputtered," It's not mostly me!", he said.
" But that time really was your fault, doc", Bugs said shaking his head," Gave an entire animation team a stroke after they thought they all blew up Mickey Mouse".
" Ahh, memories", Mickey said fondly to the kids' amusement.
" And of course the maroon feels no remorse", Bugs muttered.
" I had no regrets that day. You should've seen the look on Milt's face when one of the animators thought I had been resurrected... that was a great day", Mickey said sighing.
In the Warners' head, their respect level for Mickey Mouse had skyrocketed.
" Alright docs. We got a few hours to make sure everything goes without fault. Let's do this"
" -And I'm going to spare ya the boring details. What matters is that it worked!", Ophelia said excitedly," That was exhilarating! Also this is the last time the Author will be writing new chapters for a while, she'll be rewriting chapters 1-9 if I'm not mistaken. I've read the beginning part of chapter 1. Not too bad, you guys and gals might like it. That's where most of the new changes occur, in chapters 1,2 and 3. Not sure about everything else but those three I'm sure about. Welp, better continue on with this chapter!", she said before pressing the play button on the remote in her hands, everything going forward again.
" So what do you three plan on doing when you're in ToonTown?", Ophelia asked.
" Ooh! We have a list!", Wakko said as he searched through his hammer as he pulled out a comically long scroll.
Ophelia chuckled," Of course you have a list", she said looking at them fondly.
" We wanna try a Krabby Patty", Dot said.
" Visit Glove World", Yakko mentioned.
" Ooh, Glove World! Can we go there someday, Bugs?!", Wakko asked excitedly.
" Of course, bud", Bugs said chuckling.
" Buy a dress from the Glass Slipper Boutique", Dot stated, eyes sparkling.
" Visit the original Gag Factory"
" BUY something from the Gag Factory"
" Go on vacation to the Inkwell Isles"
" Can we go there too?", Wakko asked.
" I'll see about booking two weeks there after Acme Loo closes for the summer", Bugs replied.
" FINALLY see Acme Falls"
" Spend a day in Wackyland and see if we can become its new rulers"
" I'd love to see that", Ophelia murmured.
" Attend Acme Looniversity"
Bugs smiled a little as he drove into the infamous ToonTown tunnel. The Warners didn't seem to notice.
" Try out a dish at Tiana's Palace"
" Swim in Mickey's pool"
" How do you know if Mickey even has a pool?", Ophelia asked.
" 'Cause he's Mickey Mouse and he just seems like the type to own a pool", Yakko replied.
" Hmm... touche", Ophelia said satisfied.
" Swim in Daffy's Lake- we can swim there, right?"
" Yes", Bugs replied as they near the end of the tunnel.
" Attend ToonTown Untied Rodeo Derby"
" Otherwise affectionately known as T.U.R.D", Yakko added," Goodnight Everybody!".
" They have got to change the name of that thing", Bugs muttered as they made it through the tunnel to a forest that seemed like it came out of an old Disney film.
" And we want to att- what happened to the lighting?", Yakko asked.
" Look ahead", Ophelia said excitedly.
The Warners looked out in front of them as the forests around them cleared before viewing the grand city before them.
It seemed to have everything, a vast clutter of many different environments; in many different art styles too. Like the harbour in the distance resembled the Ducktales 2017 style while the central city seemed more closer to Zootopia from the outside. Some places seemed more 3D while others looked like classic 2D
It was an basically an almagation of animation through the years and the Warners were utterly enchanted.
" So what do you think?", Bugs asked.
" Who framed Roger Rabbit did not give it any justice", Yakko said breathlessly as they drove into the city.
Bugs and Ophelia chuckled. They knew how the kids felt. They too felt enchanted at the sight of ToonTown in the very beginning. Enchanted by the idea of a life they could call their own.
As they made it into the city, the Warners looked out the car window in utter fascination and excitement.
They were finally in ToonTown after all those years.
" Can we stop the car?", Yakko asked.
" Sure", Bugs said as he pulled into parking space.
Wakko opened the car door slowly and looked around hesitantly. He stared at the ground nervously.
" Ugh! Move it, Wakko!", Dot said as she pushed him out, not forseeing him taking her and Yakko with him, leading to the both of them stumbling out of the car.
" Ooh", Ophelia said with a cringe as she and Bugs quickly came out of the car to help them up.
Wakko shook his head as his siblings sat up and continued looking around. He tentatively touched the ground, pulling his hand back the moment it touched the ground. He touched it again and began patting the ground. Passer byers paid no mind to him, but made sure to steer clear of the child on the ground.
Ophelia and Bugs watched as Wakko continued just patting the ground. They looked conflicted as to whether they should stop him or not. Yakko and Dot merely looked at their brother expectantly.
Wakko stopped and looked up at his siblings, a large grin on his face," It's real!", he said excitedly.
Yakko and Dot grinned back happily. If this had been another one of those weird joint dreams, they would've lost it.
Ophelia felt a pang in her chest as she watched Wakko's excitement. She glanced to her side and saw Bugs trying to hold back in angry scowl. They had really thought this was all a dream...
" Are you ok- ack!", Ophelia was cut when she felt the Warners wrap their arms around her and Bugs tightly in a hug.
The Warners looked up at them, eyes bright and sparkling and smiles wide," Thank you!", they said happily.
The two adults smiled sweetly at their gratitude as they hugged the siblings," Let's go home", Bugs said as he smiled fondly at his little kits.
Things were finally looking up.
End of Chapter 41
Aren't y'all glad I decided to end this on a happy note instead of a cliffhanger (: