Another update! Woo hoo! Quick note- I just realized I wrote Scratchansniff without an accent... sorry. I should have seen that, since I am taking German. I'm not going to go back to fix it at this point, so just read him with an accent (as I assume you have been doing). Oh, and thank you for the support!


"Single file line! Sir, please move away from the tuna!" a man yelled over the crowed.

Dot watched as hoards of people rushed at the table, which had just been loaded with trays of food. After nearly three days of eating watery soup, the refugees at the shelter were ecstatic to see emergency relief workers bring in a variety of meals.

The only person who actually liked the soup was Scratchansniff, and that wasn't saying much seeing that the guy's favorite dish was cow tongue. While Dot hadn't had the chance to try the soup, she could understand their desperation for new food. The chunks of mystery meat floating in brown liquid reminded her of the time the lot's sewerage line broke near the tower. Trying to shake that picture from her mind, Dot turned to Bugs and Foghorn.

"Do you think there'll be anything left by the time we get there?" she asked.

"There will be- I say- there will be if I have anything to say about it." Foghorn grumbled as he took off into the crowd.

"Lord help us all if something comes between him and his dinner," Bugs rolled his eyes and picked up Dot. "Let's get going before we lose him."

Dot, Bugs, and Scratchansniff followed Foghorn as he pushed through the mass of people. Bugs ducked when a hen's large wing flapped over his head, and rolled his eyes when Foghorn stopped and gawked at the her. A loaf of bread was sitting in a crumbled mess on the ground between her and another hen, and the two were engaged in a ferocious fight over it.

Dot held back a laugh as the smaller hen pecked viciously at the larger hen, who was squawking as loud as she could, and Foghorn's eyes were nearly popping out of his head. Bugs grabbed the rooster by his feathers and pulled him away from the scene.

"Aw, come on now, Bugs. That was just getting good! Did you see her-"

"There's a child here, doc." Bugs nodded towards Dot. A small red tinge appeared on Foghorn's face.

"Oh- right. Sorry."

The crowed became more rowdy as they approached the front of the "line." Scratchansniff and Bugs were getting thrown around like rag dolls, while Foghorn was simply shoving his way through the crowd. The man at the table began shouting even louder, ineffectively trying to quell the chaos in front of him.

"Women and children first, please!" he yelled.

"Women and children first? What is this, the Titanic?" Bugs muttered as he shifted Dot's weight. Scratchansniff shrugged his shoulders before being knocked down by an elderly woman next to him. He yelped when she walked over his stomach and whacked him on the head with her cane.

"You heard him, baldy. Outta my way!" she grinned, showing off a poorly fitted pair of dentures. Dot bit her lips to hold back a laugh as Bugs pulled the slightly disoriented psychiatrist off of the ground.

"What was that?" Scratchansniff rubbed his head.

"An unsavory dinner partner, by the looks of it." Bugs chuckled.

"You two- I say- you two are slower than a one legged dog on tranquilizers." Foghorn huffed as he pushed through a group of humans.

"We're going as fast as we can- AHH!" Scratchansniff screamed and ducked as a pie flew over his head. "Don't worry, we're coming!"

They ran to the table and grabbed trays. Shoveling whatever type of food they saw onto their plates, they grabbed bottles of water and turned back into the crowd. Bugs, being careful to not drop the heavy tray or Dot, dodged the rouge elbows of people trying to get to the table. But just as they approached the end of the crowd, a man bumped into Bugs and a cold bowl of pea soup spilled onto Dot.

"Watch where you're going!" she yelled as the soup soaked through her nightgown.

"You alright?" Bugs asked.

"Yeah, but I don't think my clothes are." she said as she looked down at the tattered, dirty, and now slimy green nightgown. But she was relieved to find Muffin, who she had been carrying, mostly unharmed by the soup.

"Don't worry. It looks like that table over there has some clothes," Bugs nodded towards a table stacked with coats, jeans, shoes, and just about any other thing you'd find in a closet. Several people milled around it and were trying to replace their battered outfits with new ones. "Besides, that thing looked pretty rough even before its new embellishment."

"You're stuff has seen better days too, you know," she teased. "They're filthy!"

"Exactly. Dirt is a fashion statement when you're a rabbit. The ladies love it," Bugs said and Dot rolled her eyes. Although many of the Looney Tunes cast members were usually "naked" on the show, almost all of them wore clothes off camera. "Hey Foghorn, could you take this tray back to our spot while I get Dot something to wear?"

"Sure thing. But you might wanna get something for yourself, too." Foghorn took the tray and went back to their cots with Scratchansniff, who still looked shaken from their unexpectedly hostile dinner run.

"I told you!" Dot exclaimed.

"Yeah, but he doesn't count. He hardly ever wears clothes." Bugs walked over to the table and set Dot down. He moved over to the girl's section and began sifting through the mass of pink clothing.

"Is this your size?" Bugs asked, holding up a tiny frilly dress.

"Are you asking me or Muffin?" she held up the stuffed cat.

"You! I don't know what you wear." he mumbled, putting down the dress. She looked over the clothes and picked up jeans and a white sweater. Moving over to the small selection of jackets, she chose a light blue puffy coat.

"I think these are more my size. Where's the stuff you're getting?"

"We've been over this. I'm quite happy with what I have, thank you."

"Oh come on, you need something better than that. Your stinky shirt definitely isn't helping your chance with the ladies." Dot nodded to a group of giggling women next to them. Bugs coughed and rubbed the back of his neck when one of the women blew him a kiss. Dot grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the men's clothing. After a quick scan of the table, she picked up a pair of light blue jeans. She didn't realize how big they were until she unfolded them, and found that each leg was about the size of her.

"And I thought I lost weight..." he chuckled. "Alright, I'll get something. But I wouldn't be caught dead in those."

"You sound like such a diva." she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not a diva, Warner. I'm just accustomed to certain standards of elegance." he trilled as he looked through the clothing. After several minutes of debating ("But the blue brings out your eyes!" "How? There's no color in them, doc."), they finally settled on his outfit.

"Let's go put this stuff on before I die of hunger," Bugs said and rubbed his stomach. Definitely a diva, she thought. He took his pile of clothes and walked toward the men's bathroom. "I'll meet you right here when you're done," he said and pointed to where they were standing. "Stay put if I'm not out here. I don't need you running off again."

Dot nodded and walked into the women's room. A short line of humans and toons leaned against the wall. Dot stood at the end and waited for an open stall. After changing her clothes and going to the bathroom, she took off her gloves and washed them in a sink. Two little girls stared back at her when she looked in the mirror. She turned around and smiled at them.

"Are you Dot Warner?" one of them asked.

"Sure am! What's your names?" she said, causing wide grins to stretch across their faces.

"I'm Kimmy, and that's Tara. Can- can we have your autograph?" the taller girl asked.

"Sure. Do you have a pen and paper?"

A women behind them, who she presumed to be their mother, handed them a notepad and pen. Dot scribbled a simple "To Kimmy and Tara, nice meeting you- Dot Warner" and handed it back to them. The girls were practically jumping up and down when they read it.

"Where are your brothers? Are they here, too?" the smaller girl asked.

"Um, no. We got separated." she said.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find them. Thanks again!" The two girls and their mother left the bathroom. Dot dried off her gloves under the automatic hand-dryer. She liked meeting fans and had never minded being pointed out in public as "that girl on Animaniacs," but the way the two women behind her were whispering and laughing at her was getting on her nerves. She left right as they started to approach her and went up to Bugs, who was leaning against the wall next to a group of teenagers that smelled like skunk.

"I see you ran into some fans." he said, gesturing to Kimmy and Tara as they giggled over the piece of paper.

"Yeah. They were nice."

"I'm sure they were, but try to stay under the radar more. We don't need any extra attention. I'm surprised we haven't run into the paparazzi yet." Bugs said as they started walking.

"Well, there was just an earthquake."

"I know, but those people are like roaches. No matter what you do, you can't get rid of them."

A boy walked past them carrying a large bag of newspapers and shouting the latest news. Bugs sneaked up behind him and took a paper from his bag, leaving a dollar in it's place. Unfolding the paper, Bugs read the headline as they walked.

"Hundreds dead, thousands missing or injured," he continued reading the story below. "Death toll rising as emergency workers search through wreckage for survivors. Read one man's unbelievable account of the earthquake on page four..." Bugs trailed off and turned to the toon section of the paper. Similar headlines lined the page and a large list of names ran along the bottom.

"Missing toons... Damion Durke, Franklin Frog, Tilly Yak... Porky Pig and Daffy Duck!" Bugs stopped. He scanned the rest of the list before putting the paper in his hammerspace. Looking slightly downtrodden, Bugs shoved his hands in his pocket.

"Were Yakko and Wakko on there?" Dot asked.

"No. Scratchansniff must have listed them as accounted for when they came to the shelter."

They turned past a group of rowdy boys and found Foghorn and Scratchansniff sitting on their cots. Bits of food spewed out of Foghorn's beak as he spoke, while Scratchansniff laughed and clutched at his sides.

"And that's when I said, 'No, Mr. Plotz. I didn't set that pizza on fire.' His eyebrows- I say- his eyebrows didn't grow back for two months!" Foghorn laughed.

Dot sat down and picked up a bowl of noodles. Bugs took a plate of carrots and a variety of vegetables, and the two began eating as Foghorn and Scratchy's laughter died down.

"Boy, I haven't thought about that story in a while," Foghorn chuckled. "Brings back good memories."

"Which one are you talking about?" Bugs asked.

"The one where Tweety and me set Plotz's hair on fire. The poor fella's hair still hasn't fully grown back."

"Ehh... that is a good one. But I've got a better story." Bugs said.

"Is it that time you fell off a set and landed right on Jessica Rabbit's- ah, bosom? Because the way- I say- the way Roger beat you around was funnier than a barnyard full of monkeys!"

"Oh yeah, that was just hilarious, doc," Bugs rolled his eyes. "No. I was thinking of the time when me and Daff convinced Plotz that James Dean and Bette Davis went over to MGM. It was right after he got promoted back in the '50s, and the guy spent two days making phone calls and readjusting contracts before someone told him they didn't actually leave. The best part was that he somehow gave me and Daffy a raise when he was trying to get more money for Dean and Bette. I still haven't figured out how, but the raises stayed."

"You should have gotten me in on that." Foghorn mumbled.

"I tried, but you were too busy kissing his as- ah, butt- for a raise. You said you didn't want to 'jeopardize' your chances. If someone asked me, I'd say you were a bit chicken." Bugs smirked.

"Why you bucked tooth rodent!" Foghorn said as he punched Bugs's shoulder.

"Hey, I just call em' as I see em'. You're a chicken, just like Plotz is an idiot."

"Now Bugs, Mr. Plotz is not an idiot. He is just a bit gullible." Scratchansniff added.

"That's an understatement, Scratchy. He's fallen for a lot of stuff we did to him." Dot said.

"I don't even want to know what you three have done to him... I know first hand how, ah, inventive you little monkeys can be." Scratchansniff rubbed a hand across his forehead.

"Now I'm curious. But stuff from your show doesn't count." Bugs said.

"Fair enough," she said and put down her bowl. "So one time, me, Yakko, and Wakko told him that Mel Gibson would only do 'Braveheart' if there were 55 pounds of this special Italian cheese in his dressing room. But this cheese is illegal in North America, so we got him to send his annoying assistant Tony to Italy just to buy it. Tony flew over to Europe and bought the cheese, but had to pay an extra 100 dollars in luggage just to bring it back. Then the airline company found out what he needed the extra bags for and customs got involved. He got in a ton of trouble for having the cheese, but wouldn't leave without it and tried to sneak it on the plane because he was afraid Plotz would fire him if he came back without it, so Plotz got caught up in this big international relations problem trying to get them both back. It was hilarious! There were lawyers in his office for weeks!"

Dot smiled at the memory. Although the Warners rarely pulled pranks on studio employees, the pranks they did pull were extravagant and, in their opinion, justified. They only did it when someone deserved it. Though they did backfire every now and then.

She thought back to the first time they pranked Scratchy. It was the second day of shooting for Animaniacs, and they wanted to leave a "surprise" on the psychiatrist's chair after he'd ratted them out to Plotz. They hadn't meant to break some of the set pieces while playing catch, but Scratchy had seen and told Plotz before they could apologize. Yakko was even prepared to pay for the damage, but never got the chance to offer during Plotz's loud lecture on irresponsibility.

After an afternoon of planning an appropriate "thank you" gift for the psychiatrist, her brothers assigned her to put the "surprise" on Scratchy's chair. But when she opened the door to his dressing room, she found Scratchy in the middle of changing. Even though his back was to her, Dot still wanted to throw up. She was no astrologist, but she knew a full moon when she saw one. The doctor, thankfully, never realized she was there.

"How did you convince him that Mel Gibson wanted that cheese?" Scratchansniff asked.

"Wakko can do a spot on impression of him, so he called up Plotz and demanded it," she said, and, looking at their skeptical expressions, continued. "Don't ask me why, he just can. It makes as much sense as his accent."

"Who's idea was this?" Foghorn asked.

"Mine, but Yakko came up with the Mel Gibson part." Dot grinned.

"An international relations problem... You my friend, are a genius. A tiny, cute genius." Bugs said, ruffling the fur on top of her head.

"Don't encourage her! The little monkeys will probably target me next!" Scratchansniff shrieked.

"Us? We would never dream of doing that to you, Scratchy!" Dot batted her eyes at him and he made an audible gulp.

"That's what I'm afraid of. You'll probably do something worse."

"Don't worry. I'm sure the little lady wouldn't hurt a hair on your head." Foghorn said.

"But I don't have any hair!" Scratchansniff exclaimed.

"My point exactly. Say, have you seen that boy with the newspapers around?" Foghorn asked.

"Yeah. I got a copy on the way back here. You can read it if you'd like." Bugs pulled the paper out of his hammerspace and tossed it to him.

Foghorn opened the newspaper and skimmed over the articles. Dot tried to listen to Bugs and Scratchansniff's conversation, but quickly grew bored. She was staring at a group of boys playing tag when she heard Foghorn start swearing.

"That low life cretin! Why, when I get my hands on him!" Foghorn yelled, throwing the paper down.

"What's wrong, doc?" Bugs said, turning away from the psychiatrist.

"Bosko and Oswald broke out of Clampett!"

The color drained from Bugs's face. He put down his tray and scooted to the edge of the cot.

"That's not good." Bugs gulped. Dot moved closer to him.

"What's not good?" she asked.

"Um, some bad guys broke out of jail, Dot. A few, eh, very bad guys." Scratchansniff responded nervously.

"They're gonna be dead- I say- dead guys if I have anything to do with it!" Foghorn yelled.

"Now calm down, doc. We'll figure this out." Bugs paused.

"Hello Nurse had the night shift at the hospital when the earthquake hit. It's in one of the least damaged areas, so I'm sure she's still there helping the patients. I was going to drive over there to help her and the doctors tend to the injured, so you three are welcome to come with me. It would be much safer than hanging around here with all of these... interesting characters." Scratchansniff said, shuddering as he looked over at a man across the row of cots who was sharpening a switch blade with a kitchen knife.

"Thanks for the offer, but I don't want to take up room at the hospital when I'm not hurt. " Bugs said.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Scratchansniff asked. Bugs looked down at Dot, then back at the psychiatrist.

"Actually, there is. Can you take Dot with you?" Bugs said.

"What?" she shouted. "Why can't I stay with you?"

"Because it's too dangerous. First we ran into Smokey and now Bosko's out there on the streets. I don't want to risk your safety anymore than I already have."

"Wait, Smokey saw you two?" Foghorn asked and Bugs nodded. "I thought he got locked up or something." he exclaimed.

"I guess not. But I hadn't seen him around for a while." Bugs said with his lips pulled tight.

"The little lady's gonna be in trouble- I say- in trouble no matter where she is. In fact, everyone in this room is," said Foghorn. "Everything is so topsy-turvy right now I don't know what's going on, and nothing's gonna get better until things start getting fixed and we can all go home."

"But we shouldn't just be sitting here like open targets!" Bugs jumped up, waving an arm at the toons around them.

"Boy, I'm gonna say this one more time to get it through your thick skull. Right now, everything's out of our hands and there's not much we can do about it, so it doesn't really matter where we are or who we're with." Foghorn said. Bugs slumped back onto the cot and placed his head in his hands.

"Am I really a problem?" Dot said softly. Bugs put an arm around her shoulders.

"No, you're not the problem at all, kid. Try not to worry, alright?"

"Ok." Dot said as Bugs pulled her in for a hug. There wasn't much else she could do but worry.

She was surprised to find that Bugs's hugs were almost as good as Yakko's. When was the last time she had gotten a hug? It must have been the night before the earthquake when Yakko tucked her in. But that felt so long ago now.

"Dr. Scratchansniff, Dot, is dat you?" a deep voice said behind her. Dot let go of Bugs and looked up at the large man and woman next to her. A smaller but equally plump boy stood in front of them.

"Hey Ralph!" she grinned.

"Hi Dot! Oh, hellos Bugs and Foghorn. I didn't knows you was here." Ralph said.

"We got here a few hours ago. I'm glad to see you're okay." Bugs said.

"Same to yous. Oh, this is my wife Karen," Ralph gestured to the woman beside him, who waved when he said her name. "and dats my son Tommy." The boy shyly nodded.

"Nice to meet you." Foghorn said.

"Say, did Yakko and Wakko bring the paper backs yet? I don't sees them." Ralph looked around the crowd.

"Bring the paper back? What do you mean?" Scratchansniff asked.

"Da, I rans into them the other night. They said they was going to gets the paper."

"Doc, the paper comes in the morning."

"Oh, then I guess theys weren't doing that..."

"Did you see where they went?" Dot asked, jumping up.

"They wents outside, but Is didn't see where they wents after that. Sorry."

"That's alright." Bugs said. Ralph strained his neck to look over the crowd.

"Ooh, they're bringing in more food. We gots to get going or else we'll miss it all. See yous guys later!" Ralph said as he and his family took off towards the table. For such large people, they sure could run fast. Dot figured food was a main motivator in this case.

"We should start packing up. I want to leave with plenty of daylight to get to the hospital. I could drive you somewhere, if you'd like." Scratchansniff offered.

"We're fine, thank you. But we should get going soon, too. Are you going with him, Foghorn?" Bugs said.

"Nah, I'll go with you," Foghorn said as he cleared off his cot. "I can't leave you and the little miss alone out there."

"Are you sure you three don't want a ride. I believe there is a bus station near the hospital. We could drive there together and then you could go your own way. I would feel much better if you weren't on the streets around here."

"Well- alright. Do you two wanna go put the trays back while we get the cots?" Bugs said to Dot and Scratchansniff. They nodded and took the plates back to the table; Dot giving him a curious look over her shoulder before they moved completely out of sight behind a group of humans. Foghorn leaned towards him.

"She's got you wrapped around her- I say- wrapped around her cute little finger, you know." he smirked as he picked up two of the cots. Bugs followed Foghorn's lead and grabbed the remaining cots.

"Shut up." Bugs said. He whacked Foghorn's tail feathers with the cots as they walked towards the gym entrance.


"You what?" Oswald exclaimed. Bosko scowled at Oswald before speaking to Smokey.

"How are you gonna do that? The city's pretty much in ruins."

"Exactly, this is the perfect opportunity to strike. Because the cops are so focused on findin' missing people and such, all the gangs and their leaders are walking around, you know, feelin' entitled to the place. My boys have already pinned down where Fat Tony and Rizzy's hideouts are, and they're close to findin' more."

"Whatcha thinking about doing once you find everyone's places?" Bosko asked, intrigued.

"I've made quite a few enemies over the years. Not to mention I have a few 'partners' who haven't found the time or funds to pay me back a few debts yet, so I intend on settling the scores."

"How so?" Oswald asked.

"Well, that's where you two come in. I have plenty of guys under my control, but I need toons with brains; toons like yourselves to get my more important jobs done."

"We're in." Bosko said.

"Hold that thought, Bosk. What exactly would these jobs involve?" Oswald said, crossing his arms.

"I need you two to lead the raids I'm planning. I'm turnin' over the smaller raids to Tango, so I'm trustin' you with the bigger ones. I already told you I found Fat Tony's place, so you'll be headin' over there tomorrow to pay him a little visit. You remember him, right?"

"How could I not... The guy screwed me over on a liquor deal before I got caught." Bosko muttered. Tony had also tried to steal Sylvia from him, but perhaps in retrospect, he should have let him have her. The girl turned out to be both clingy and flighty; two qualities he hated in a woman.

"Is it still by the pier?" Bosko asked.

"No. One of Tony's boys ratted him out to the cops a couple of years back. They left a ton a ton of whiskey and other stuff behind when they had to leave quickly, so we went in and took a bunch of stuff after the cops left. They only took the whiskey, so we made a nice profit on everything else," Smokey said. "Now, they're over by fifth and Main. I guess they're livin' in some old train station."

"So that's it? We just have to sell out a few guys?" Oswald said. He shifted and shot Bosko an uncomfortable look.

"Not sell out. Finish off. The only way my plan can work is if every other potential leader is permanently out of the picture. You get what I'm sayin'?" Smokey said.

"Yeah," said Bosko. "But what about Gonzo? What's his role in all of this?"

"And what do we do with everyone else there?" added Oswald. "Are we takin' them out, too?"

"I have him workin' on something else. And leave all of Tony's boys alone. I'll take care of them."

"What do you mean-" Bosko started as the office door swung open.

Several toons walked in. While most of them were rats that reeked of sewage, a tall, over-sized toon with black fur mingled among them. His multiple chins jiggled when he spoke and several large teeth stuck out of his mouth. A small grin pulled at Bosko's lips. Maybe he wasn't out of friends just yet.

"Oh yeah, Pete. The boss is gonna love that!" one of the rats said excitedly. His over-sized and torn cap bounced off of his head as he jumped up and down. He was about a foot shorter than everyone else in the room, and his face lacked the tired lines and hollowness evident in the other rats' features.

"Yeah, Pete! You just helped him out a lot- a real lot! Maybe he'll even give you a raise!" another rat said. His shirt was ripped and his pants were much too short for his awkwardly long legs. The rat towered over the others and looked like he was perpetually stuck in puberty. For once, Bosko didn't feel so self conscious about his short stature.

"Pete don't work for him, dumb ass." The largest rat said, knocking the tall thin one on the head. Unlike the other rats, he was muscular and intimidating. A pink scar ran across his face, running diagonally from his left eye to his cheek. A smaller rat emerged from behind him. His jaw was set in a firm, bitter line, and his eyes were hard and cold.

"Bosko, Oswald. This is Shorty, Mozes, Tango, and Fritz. They all work for me," Smokey said, pointing to the rats. "And this, of course, is Pete. I'm sure you're happy to see him, Bosko." Smokey said. Bosko moved in front of Pete and stuck out his hand. Pete shook it, his firm grip still familiar after 39 years.

"Well, look who's back. It's been a long time, Bosko." Pete chuckled.

"Sure has." Bosko grinned.

"Where'd he go?" Shorty asked, scratching his head through his cap.

"To jail, stupid. Don't you listen ta anythin' the boss says?" Mozes whacked the smaller toon with a long arm.

"Just tell him the news, assholes." Fritz snarled.

"Pete got Rocky and Mugsy's warehouse! Weapons, food, cash- any type of supplies, really. Some of the guys are over there guarding it now." Shorty said.

"Where are Rocky and Mugsy now?" Smokey asked.

"We ran them out of there!" Mozes said, smiling. Smokey shot out of his seat.

"What? I told you to bring em' here!" he shouted.

"I know, but they were too fast. Their boys would have gotten the goods if we chased them." Shorty said.

"I don't care about crappy supplies- we have enough of that around here! I needed them!" Smokey's nostrils flared as he yelled. Breathing heavily, he slumped back down into his chair. "You three had better go find them, and don't come back until you do." he heaved and pointed to the door. Shorty, Fritz, and Mozes scurried out of the room, leaving Tango behind in their spot.

"Do you need me to help those idiots?" Tango asked.

"No. Why don't you go with Gonzo and Pete instead. I'm sure they have some things to go over." he gestured to Gonzo, who got up and walked out of the room. Pete and Tango followed him, leaving Smokey alone with Bosko and Oswald.

"Sorry about them. Those bozos can barely spell their own names, let alone handle a job," Smokey muttered. "So, are you two in? A favor for a favor?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Of course." Bosko answered. Oswald glanced at the two toons before leaving the room.

"I'm sensing Oswald is a bit more... skeptical than I thought he'd be. Fix that, alright?" Smokey said. Bosko, slightly confused, looked out into the hallway.

"Don't worry, I will."