Yakko leaned against a brick wall while picking at the frayed ends of his gloves. It had been almost a day now since Dot and Bugs had been taken by the rats, and each moment since had been filled with pain, frustration, and anger churning inside of him.
They might still be here if he had run a little faster or tried just a little harder to save them. But he hadn't, and he had never been so mad at himself before. Things were just starting to feel somewhat normal again. They had regular meals, had a place to temporarily call home, and most importantly, they were all together.
Now he was here, back at square one. They were at yet another shabby convenient store in another run down part of town. He had bought a small amount of food with the little cash he had left, since he didn't dare use the credit card after what happened last time, while Wakko waited outside and looked at the cracked sidewalk from behind a overgrown shrub with an empty stare.
Yakko knew his brother could be a quiet kid, but not like this. He was pretty sure that he had only heard him say three words in the past six hours alone, with two of them being "I'm fine" when he asked him if his head still hurt.
He had tried to get Wakko to talk, but the soft grunt he received from his brother confirmed that that wasn't going to happen. Besides, Yakko was the last person who wanted to emulate Scratchy's annoying, prodding tendencies.
He knew better than anyone else that if Wakko didn't want to talk, he wasn't going to say a word no matter how much you tried to get him to. The only time he would open up was when he was ready to.
But watching his brother reflect the pain that clenched at Yakko's own heart was unbearable. At least they had hope the first time they were separated from their sister. They weren't really being targeted by crazy rats then, and they knew that she was at least alive. Now, all they knew was that she was stuck with a bunch of violent, crazy lunatics.
He just didn't know what to do.
Letting out a small sigh, Yakko stared down at the copy of the L.A. Times he had picked up in the store, lazily scanning the bold headlines. One read Boy Scouts to Plant Trees in Burn Areas while another said The Rodney King Trials: Its Effects Two Years Later. He was about to flip the page when the last headline in the right hand corner caught his attention.
Toontown in Turmoil Thanks to Gang Boss.
He raised his eyebrow. Human papers hardly ever covered Toontown, or even toons in general. Shaking the paper to smooth out it's wrinkles, he started reading while Wakko munched quietly on a potato chip beside him.
In the several months since one of the most deadly and destructive earthquakes in the southwest's history, Toontown has been declared a code three crisis by California state officials after Toontown's city council members and mayor Doris Gunder fled to Burbank last week.
Hundreds of toons have been reported missing, and Toontown's police department has dealt with three times as many reports of robberies and arson in the past two months than they have seen in the past decade alone.
"The situation has become out of our control," said California's Toon and Human Relations Department Secretary Stephanie Henmore. "Toontown's emergency forces are still doing their best to stop the violence, but so far nothing has worked. We're hoping the support of the L.A. Police Department will help us bring order back to the city."
Several of the city's districts have been evacuated due to the damage caused by vandals, convicts, and known gang members who have been linked to the group supposedly responsible for the crisis. Over 300 toons have been hospitalized after being attacked, and almost 70 toons, all males between the ages of 16 and 50, have been found dead throughout the city by authorities. Many of the districts and neighborhoods where they were found are now marked as high risk areas for attacks. For the list of these areas, see page 5...
Yakko ignored the next few lines and skimmed to the bottom. He sighed when he read the last few sentences on the page.
Authorities believe that the mastermind behind the attacks and destruction is Smokey, a Toontown criminal who has been dubbed the city's "last hope" by many of his supporters. If the public has any information about this toon and his whereabouts, please call ...
Yakko shut the newspaper and placed the back of his head against the wall. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind, but found it impossible to block out the frustratingly painful thoughts scratching at his brain. It's not like he didn't know about anything he just read, but seeing it written out in front of him only reaffirmed the stress that was bubbling inside his stomach.
He sifted through his mind to find some sort of tranquil thought that could help distract him from the problems he faced. He managed to relax slightly after a few minuets, but the small amount of peacefulness that had taken the edge off of his worry was suddenly erased when a loud crash made him jump up.
"What's that?" Wakko asked fearfully as several metal trash bins clanged against the pavement.
"I don't know, Wak. Just be ready to run."
Dot opened her eyes slowly and blinked when a dim glow met her eyes. She wanted to clutch her head as her brain pounded against her skull, but a coarse rope was cutting against her wrists and kept her hands tightly restrained behind her back.
She felt sore all over and it hurt to move. The back of her throat tickled and the skin on her wrists burned from the rope, and it hurt to keep her eyes open for much longer than a few seconds. After taking several deep breaths, Dot opened her eyes and looked around at the stark stone cell she was sitting in.
Where am I? She thought. The last thing she could remember was sitting behind some shady Chinese restaurant with Bugs and her brothers. Then they were running for some reason, but she couldn't remember why. Granted, her and her brothers ran around a lot- whether it be from Ralph or Plotz or whoever they dubbed their "special friend" for that day- and she had a sick feeling that whatever happened to her then was what caused her to land where she was now.
"Dot?"
She whipped her head to the side and instantly regretted it when her neck tensed up with pain. Trying to ignore it, she looked at the wall next to her and saw Bugs with shackles on his feet and his hands tied behind his back. Looking down, she noticed that she had her own pair of shackles adorning her ankles along with a thin metal bracelet.
"What happened?" she asked.
"I don't know... I can't remember much. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I think so. Are you?" she said, wondering if he felt as sore as she did. He looked around the room and then down at his shackles.
"Yeah, but what were-" he was interrupted by a loud clang coming from outside the cell. She started to panic.
"What's going on? Where are we?" she asked, trying to hide the fear that threatened to drip into her voice.
"I don't know. I've been trying to get out of these things for about fifteen minutes now and no matter what I do, I can't." he said with a hint of frustration and panic.
The rusted door on the far wall opened with a bang and several large rats sauntered in along with three smaller toons trailing behind them. She looked up into the eyes of one of the larger rats and suddenly she remembered. They had been running from Tango.
Another rat stepped in front of him and looked down at her. Dot inhaled sharply when Smokey's cold stare met her eyes. Her heart raced and her mouth went dry when she was greeted with the same hard glare that had struck fear in her the first time they met.
She turned and stared at Tango. The furious glimmer that had clouded his stare at Bugs's house didn't glow as brightly as it had then, and she noticed how he stayed in the shadows of the other toons.
Now as she looked into his eyes, she remembered running with her brothers and Bugs from him on the border of Burbank and Toontown. They had been keeping a low profile in the days after they were forced out of Bugs's home and separated from Daffy and Foghorn, and had almost outran the rats when Dot felt something sharp pierce the skin on the back of her neck.
She faintly remembered landing on the pavement with Bugs sprawled out beside her and suddenly feeling too tired to even sit up. After that, everything was too foggy to remember. Now she sat here in the musty cell with no brothers in sight, a bunch of real life bad guys, and a rabbit who, since the first time they met, couldn't get them out of trouble.
She looked over at Bugs. A faint, green tinge had painted itself on his face behind his layer of white fur. His eyes were set firmly on the toon beside one of the smaller rats, and a similar effect washed over her when she followed his gaze and found Bosko smiling down at him with a twisted grin.
"Well, look at this! Look at who it is. How ya doin' Looney? It's been a while, mmh?" Bosko laughed. Bugs continued to stare at him in silence. "What, no happy reunion?" Bugs kept his lips firmly pressed against one another and Bosko turned to the inky black and white toon next to him. "It's been decades since I've seen him and he treats me like I'm invisible or something. Can you believe some toons?"
"Well I'd be a little shocked too, if I were him. You're not usually one for friendly conversation." the toon casually replied. He looked between Dot and Bugs before turning back to mutter something into a rat's ear.
"You don't give me enough credit, Oswald," Bosko said. "I love getting to know people. Especially when we have so much in common." he crossed his arms and smirked down at Bugs, who stayed silent.
"For such a gabby little bunny, you sure are quiet." Tango said.
"It's a shame. I was really looking forward to having a chat with you today," Smokey stepped forward. "I wonder if he's feelin' alright. What about you, kid? How you feelin'?" he turned to face Dot and smirked when he looked down at her.
She tried to look around Smokey to see Bugs, but couldn't. Taking a deep breath, she followed Bugs's lead and kept her lips firmly pressed against each other.
"You should know that it's rude to ignore company, sweetheart," said Smokey. "But then again, I shouldn't be surprised. Looney here isn't much of a good influence. Just takes whatever he wants without thinking of anyone else but himself. Isn't that right, Bosko?"
"Damn straight." Bosko replied, glaring at Bugs.
"And it's too bad he's not in a sociable mood. I have I favor I wanted to ask him." Smokey said.
"Not a chance." Bugs spoke up for the first time since they had entered the cell. Smokey raised an eyebrow and came closer to him.
"Oh come on, Looney. You're not even gonna hear me out first?"
"No."
"Well that's too bad... That's really too bad." Smokey came closer to Dot. He reached out toward her and she cringed away, any resilience she had left quickly fading.
She clenched her eyes shut when she felt Smokey's hand tug on her ears and undo the bow that sat loosely on her head. When she felt the hands pull away, she looked up to find him stroking the dirty satin with his thumb.
"You really don't have a choice at this point," Smokey said as he stared down at her bow. He chuckled before a serious expression replaced the smirk on his face. "I'm going to be frank with you, Loony. I'm aiming to fix Toontown."
"Fix? What do you mean fix? It's fine the way it is- or at least the way it was before you started messing it up." Bugs snorted.
"Hold on, rabbit. He ain't done yet." Tango said.
"Thank you, Tango," Smokey said to the rat before turning back to Bugs. "I ain't here to argue with you. But I know what I've seen and I sure as hell can't say I like it. Every toon used to be respected back when we first started out in Hollywood. Sure, some were more talented than others, but that's how life works. If every toon could throw the same god damned pie as far as you and I can, then how would we be special?"
"What are you getting at, doc?" Bugs said with a raised eyebrow, his lips pulled into a firm line. His stony eyes were flickering back and forth between Dot's bow and the smirk on Smokey's face.
"What I'm getting at, 'doc,' is that some toons are held above the rest and treated like they're gods or something. And when a toon isn't as 'perfect' or isn't as 'special' enough, he gets thrown out like a piece of old meat. The humans think most of us are just jokes, like we're mistakes. They just throw us aside and laugh at us when we hit the ground."
"That's not true." Bugs said.
"Oh yeah? Tell that to Bosko. You know, the toon whose life you ruined." Smokey tossed his head towards Bosko, whose glare hadn't softened one bit since the rat had started speaking.
"Ruined? How'd I ruin his life? He's the one who attacked me!" Bugs's voice rose.
"You stole my job at Warner Brothers. If it weren't for you, I'd still have a spot at the studio!" Bosko seethed.
"That had nothing to do with me- that was all you!"
"How dare you try to-" Bosko started to charge at Bugs but was restrained by one of the rats and Oswald.
"C'mon boys, play nice," Smokey smirked, not seeing the pout Bosko sent him. "Though Bosko's right. Toons like you have been ruining everyone's lives for years. You take opportunities away from honest toons who actually deserve them, and take all the credit for the hard work the rest of us have put in to make toons seem like we're something more than just goofy ink blots.
"Thanks to our methods of... persuasion, the government is in scrambles, and we have the support of thousands. But right now we're just a movement, not a successful revolution. I need to fix this, and who better to ask for help than the toon who helped screw it up in the first place. A lot of toons worship you. I can't tell why, but they do. If I can get you to help convince them that our cause is worth supporting, then I'll finally have enough power to make permanent changes to Toontown."
"What cause? You're all insane, bitter wash-ups who ruined your careers yourself. I'd never help you." Bugs spat.
"Hmm. I figured you'd say that," Smokey moved towards Dot once again and kneeled down beside her. He hugged her side against his grimy shirt, still staring at Bugs. She tried to squirm out of his strong grip, but he tightened it each time she jerked. A strong wave of cigarette smelling breath filled her nose when he laughed at her pointless struggle.
"This is a cute kid you got here, rabbit. Don't want to see anything bad happen to her, do we?" he said, pulling her closer to him. Dot's heart was racing and she nervously bit down on her lip. She had never wanted to be anywhere else more badly in her entire life.
"Don't you dare." Bugs growled. Smokey simply laughed.
"Don't get your tail in a twist, Looney. She'll be fine as long as you cooperate. But if you don't-" he squeezed down on her shoulder and a small yelp escaped her lips as pain rushed down her arm.
"Stop- don't hurt her!" Bugs pleaded, the hardness melting off his face as panic quickly replaced it.
"What do you say, rabbit? Care to join us?" Smokey chuckled.
Bugs paused for a moment and looked back and forth between Smokey and Dot. The tension that weighed down on him was evident in his expression. Dot held her breath as she waited to hear what he would say. She didn't want to spend one more second near the rat, but also didn't want Bugs to be sucked into Smokey's twisted world. After several more moments of empty silence, he finally spoke up.
"Fine. But you'd better keep your promise." he said.
"Don't worry, Looney. Just do what I say and everything will be a-okay," Smokey stood up and let go of Dot. She let out a silent sigh as he made his way towards the door. "I need you three with me." he pointed at Oswald, Bosko, and a fox who had stayed in the corner of the room throughout the time Smokey had been here.
"But I need to-" Bosko started.
"You need to come with me. I have some things we need to go over," he demanded. Bosko looked at him with a stony stare but reluctantly followed him out the door after sending Bugs another glower. Smokey turned to Tango just as he was about to leave the cell. "You know what to do." he said and left, closing the door behind him.
"Sure thing boss." Tango said, pulling two small darts out of his hammerspace. Dot raised an eyebrow at him when he looked down at her and Bugs.
"What's that?" she asked wearily.
"Some sorta tranquilizer darts. We had to use 'em on you when you were running. Not gonna lie, you're damn fast," Tango said. "Good thing Shorty here is a good shot. Though it's just about the only thing he's good at..." he grunted, ignoring the glare from the toon next to him. "And I have to say, seeing you flop on the ground like that just about made my day."
"Are they the reason why I can't get into my hammerspace?" Bugs said.
"Nah, that's the bracelets we picked up at Clampett. They make it so you can't do any of that kind of stuff," Tango said, pointing to the metal rings around their ankles. "And they're impossible to get out of, so don't get any ideas." he moved towards Bugs while one of the other rats came towards Dot, making her heart race even faster.
"You won't feel it a bit, kid." the rat said with a chuckle.
He stuck out the dart and she flinched away, bitter memories of the orphanage rushing through her mind. She could feel the sharp tip rip through the skin on her arm and she groaned. Her eyesight began to blur and the last thing she remembered seeing was Bugs's equally disoriented face as Shorty stuck the other dart into his arm. With a few final groggy blinks, Dot shut her eyes and cringed as the cold liquid pulled her into a restless sleep.
Bosko shut the door and followed the others down the dark hallway. He took a deep breath as he tried to ignore the moans, grunts, and snores coming from the other prisoners, moving in an a robot like rhythm due to the heavy thoughts swirling in his mind.
It had felt odd to see the rabbit after all these years. He had created so many different scenarios and so many different things he could have said that would have loosened the decades worth of hate and resentment that curled around his heart. But the moment he looked into the rabbit's eyes, every carefully planned retort or declaration had vanished from his mind.
Though it didn't even matter in the end. Smokey had cut him off before he managed to really say anything, anyway.
"Take a seat." Smokey said once they arrived at his office and pointed to the leather chairs in front of his desk. Bosko and Oswald sat down while Gonzo stood behind them.
"How long will this take?" Gonzo said. "I promised some of the boys I'd help them with the assignment you gave them yesterday."
"Not long. I just want to go over a few things." he said and leaned back in his chair. He looked between Oswald and Bosko before continuing. "I want to make sure that neither of you mess with that bunny unless I say so. I'd prefer it if you didn't make any contact with him for the time bein'."
"What?" Bosko sputtered, dumbfounded. Who did Smokey think he was telling him this? The rabbit was his problem, and had been for the last 40 years. He had gone through hell to finally see this moment. If he had to wait that long to finally have the cards in his corner, he'd be damned if someone tried to take them all away from him now.
"Don't worry, Bosko. You'll still get your way with the rabbit after I'm done with him." Smokey put his hand up.
"After you're done with him? I've waited too damn long for you to keep him from me." Bosko yelled.
"I don't want to make things any harder for you, really I don't. It's just that I have him right where I need him, and I can't risk jeopardizing that at the moment," Smokey said. "Just think of the big picture."
Bosko stared at him with a hard glare for a long, tense moment. Finally unable to look at the smirk on Smokey's face any longer, Bosko stood up and stormed towards the door.
"Hold on there, Bosko." Smokey called out.
Bosko turned his head just enough so that he could look into the his eyes. Any hint of sympathy in Smokey's features had been covered by an icy glower. He had never looked so intimidating, and Bosko would have spared him his furious glare had the rat not made him so angry.
"You heard what I said, right?" he said in a quiet, gravelly voice. Bosko continued to look at him with the same intensity as before, refusing to cower under the rat's harsh stare.
"Loud and clear." he said coldly.
With that, he turned and left, slamming the door behind him. Only after he was halfway down the hall did he notice that Oswald had followed him out of the room. He slowed down to let Oswald catch up, but remained quiet as they walked. Bosko eventually spoke up once he noticed that Oswald held his head down low and kept his hands firmly situated inside of his pockets.
"What's up with you?" he asked as the anger in his voice faded away.
"Nothin'. I'm fine."
"C'mon, I can tell when something's not right with you. What's really wrong?" Bosko asked and watched as Oswald hesitated.
"I didn't think there would be a kid with him," he sighed. "I know that Smokey had mentioned it, but I never thought he would actually followed through."
"Well how else do you expect us to get him to do what we want? He's a stubborn son of a bitch."
"I know, but she's so young." Oswald sighed.
"So what? You think the rabbit thought about that?" Bosko spat. Why should he care about some kid?
"I don't like him either Bosk, but it just doesn't feel right." Oswald responded after staying quiet for a moment.
"What do you think we should do then? Throw him a tea party and expect him to start kissin' our feet?"
"No... I don't know what we should do, but I don't think we should be draggin' her into this. It's not fair to her."
"Not fair to her? What about not fair to us, the two toons who got thrown away to rot in jail?" Bosko shook his head. "We need her to get to him, so just drop it."
"You're missing the point, Bosko." Oswald grabbed his shoulder. Bosko shrugged out of his grip and stepped back.
"I said to drop it." he snarled in a low voice. Turning away from his friend, he made his way toward the dented double doors at the end of the hallway and sulked into the shadows.
