Searchforthepast3 Search for the past on the Road to the Future(Part 3)
By Kelly Barina
Author's note: You know the routine! ? All of the characters are trademarks of Warner Brothers, except for Elsa, Lisa, Billy, Cassidy, Harley, and Bob. Enough said. Hope you like it! ?

"You're joking, right? It's not true…," I denied. Elsa continued to stare at me in shock. "…is it?"
"This is way freaky," Elsa breathed.
"No kidding."
"It gets worse."
"How?"
"You're my twin."
"Huh?" I gasped.
"My twin, " she repeated.
"Oh…," I acknowledged. A…twin. Right. I felt my knees get weak and I dropped onto the ground, out cold. Plucky peered down at me then back at Elsa.
"I do see the resemblance," Plucky nodded.
* * * * * * *
"Buster? Buster? Get up!" Plucky yelled.
"Plucky? Am I home?" I groaned, slowly opening my eyes. A huge figure towered over me, grinning broadly. "Aaah!" I shrieked.
"My boy!" the figure welcomed.
"Who are you?" I demanded in fear.
"Your old man!" the plump man answered happily.
My old man? Well, I suppose that was an accurate description. He left out on thing-extremely large old man. Well, I did it. I had my family back. Now can I pleeeease go home??
"Dad?"
"Give me a hug!" Dad strangled me tightly as I struggled for air. After what seemed like an eternity, he released me from his death grip.
"Buster, I'm gonna go check out the college with Elsa, okay? I'll be back soon so don't wait up for me!" Plucky called as he dragged Elsa out the door.
"Plucky, get your hands off!" Elsa snapped.
"I ain't staying here no more! I've had it! Besides, I wanna go see what the girls down here look like," Plucky grinned. Elsa rolled her eyes as she was pulled out the door.
"Well, I might as well show you your room then," he grinned cheerfully. "You'll be sharing it with Billy, your big brother. If you need me, I'll be in my bedroom. Or you can talk to Elsa. Billy's room is down the hall to the left." Dad retreated to his bedroom as I trudged down the hall to my new bedroom.
I dunno why Elsa didn't like Dad. He was a nice guy. Or so it seemed. I timidly stepped into Billy's room. Billy was sprawled across his bed, throwing darts a poster of Elton John.
"Uh, hey, Billy," I greeted. He responded with a snort. "I guess we're gonna be roommates, huh?"
Billy completely ignored me and continued to throw darts.
"Well, I think we can be friends. I'm Buster Bunny!" I held out my hand toward him. He just stared at it coldly then back at me. I nervously lowered my arm and reached up to scratch the back of my neck. "So…do you have a girlfriend?"
Billy grabbed my neck and raised me above the ground.
"Something wrong, Billy?" I choked out.
"You wanna talk? Ok, I'll talk. Here are the ground rules: if you go near my stuff, you die. If you think about going near my stuff, you die. If you tick me off, you die. If you go on my side of the room, you die. If you mess with my little sisters, you die. If I'm in a bad mood, you die. Got it?"
I nodded in response. He released me.
"He's very lenient," I muttered.
"Now get lost, twerp!"
"Yes, sir!" I acknowledged as I took off out the door. I peered into the room next door and spotted a lonely bunny lying on her bed. I smiled and strolled over.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" she asked in fear.
"I dunno," I grinned. "I don't bother asking questions."
"Who are you?" she repeated. "Daddy! Billy!"
"Shh! It's okay! I'm Buster. I'm not gonna hurt you! Just don't call…!"
"Billy!!!" she cried once again.
"Aaah!" I yelped as I leaped beneath the bed. Billy stomped into the bedroom.
"Where is that twerp of a brother?" he demanded. I crouched low nervously. "What's his name again? Booster…uh,…?"
"Buster?" she put in.
"Yeah! Where's he hiding?"
"Uh…he went down the hall, Billy."
"Thanks!" he rushed down the hall in pursuit.
"Buster, you can come out," she called. I crawled out.
"Phew>!" I sighed. "Thanks, kid. So what's your name? Who are you?"
"I'm Lisa and I'm ten and a half," she grinned proudly.
"Oh yeah? Well, I'm seventeen and a quarter. Beat that." She giggled.
"You're funny."
"Why thank you."
"So you're my big brother? Daddy talks about you all the time! You're Daddy's favorite. He always talks about finding you someday, but he's too busy."
"Does he? What does he do? Elsa told me he was never home."
"Nothing."
"You just told me he did something."
"Well, I don't know what he does," she lied. It was obvious she was trying to keep it from me, but why?
"How can you not know? You live here!"
"Look, I just don't!" Lisa buried her head into her pillow, trying to block out my voice.
"Lisa…,"
"I'll call Billy," she threatened. I was immediately silenced.
I wonder why she didn't want me to know. What was she hiding? My family was so secretive, but…why? It's not like they had some kind of criminal record or somethin' where they had to keep to themselves.
That's basically how it went for the next few weeks. I was spending all of my time with them, but I still felt like I knew just as much as I did when I first got there. Every time I'd even hint at the subject, they would shoot me cold glares, ignore me, or simply deny that they knew anything.
That's when my suspicions began to arise. Why was Dad never home? What were they trying to hide? What does chocolate pudding have to do with any of this? I had to know! Maybe a little snooping was in order…
"So Elsa, what do you do around here when there's nothing to do?" I asked.
"Nothing," Elsa responded dryly.
"Just be bored, huh? That's cool," I nodded. "So do you have a boyfriend?"
"No."
"Do you want one?"
"No."
"All righty then." I was partly expecting her to say 'no'. To my amazement, she spoke once again.
"Do you have one?"
"I…I'm not sure." Babs wasn't really what I considered a girlfriend. Gosh, I missed her. If only I could've seen her before I left…
"How can you not be sure?" She seemed somewhat amused with the whole concept.
"I dunno."
"So you were just friends, huh? Did you want to stay 'just friends'?" There were many occasions when I had asked myself the exact question. And I always came back to the same answer.
"Nah."
"Then why did you leave her?" I pondered my answer for a moment.
"Because I'm a hard-headed jerk," I realized.
"I won't argue with that." I laughed along with Elsa. It didn't matter now what I thought about Babs. I should've realized it before. She was gone and I wasn't about to go back. Besides, I gotta stay for college. I'm not gonna go back home so I can get a job at Weenie Burger.
I peered down the dark hall at a room that always remained locked-Dad's office. "So what does Dad do in there?" I nodded toward the door.
"Work," she answered vaguely. I wasn't getting anywhere with this family.
"Anything in specific? Does he surf the web or somethin'?"
"I don't know."
"Well, would he mind if I took a peek in his room?"
"Yes," she snapped. "He would."
"Oh."
"Take my advice-stay out of it, Buster. Trust me on this." I smiled. She even sounded like me. But I never listened to myself never mind my twin. As soon as Elsa left, I tip-toed to Dad's door and listened intently to the moving of crates and the sound of Dad's groans. Suddenly I realized I was leaning a little too much on the door and it flew open.
I stumbled into the room clumsily and whacked into a stack of boxes, which caused them all to crash onto the floor. I crawled out from beneath the carton sheepishly.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded.
"Uh,…I tripped?" Then his look softened.
"Well, I've been meaning to tell you the good news."
"News?"
"I want you to join me, son. I want you to be my new partner."
"Partner? Why do you need me?"
"I need help with my job. I'm getting old," he chuckled. "Come on. I'll show you the ropes. Let's go pick up a few things."
"Okay. Hold on while I get my wallet."
"You won't need it."
"Uh…why not? Are we gonna charge it?" Dad shook his head. "Check?" Again he shook his head. What was he getting at? "Then what are we gonna do? Steal?"
"I prefer to call it borrowing and not returning." I felt my jaw drop to the ground in shock. So that's why he was never home. And that's why they didn't want me to know. And that's why they were all so secretive. And that's why Jell-O is evil. Don't ask.
"Lemme get this straight. You mean to tell me that you're a thief?"
"In a word, yes."
"That's just what I wanted to hear. You could've lied just a little, but noooooo! Twist the knife even more!" I screamed.
"Well, let's get going, my boy!" he responded cheerfully.
"Hold on! I ain't going anywhere! I'm not gonna help you steal. No thank you! I'll sit this one out." Dad's hopeful face suddenly fell and was replaced with a more angered look. Plucky stood along the sidelines eating popcorn hungrily while watching our little quarrel.
"Wow! This is getting good," Plucky observed through a mouthful of popped kernels.
"What do you mean you're not going? You're going to go if I have to drag you the whole way! Your siblings refused to come with me and I made them pay!" I glanced at the open doorway and saw my twin staring in. Once she spotted me looking her way, she quickly left.
"What did you do to them?"
"Nothing. Much. Let's just say I used these," he held up his fists, grinning evilly.
"Well, sorry, but I'm not coming."
"I shouldn't have let your mother take you away from me." he shook his head. "She filled your head with silly morals. I'm lucky she died when she did."
"What?!"
"I remember the night clearly…"
"We're not gonna go into a flashback, are we?" I groaned.
"Yep and you'll like it," he snapped, holding up a fist.
"Heh heh. Please continue."
"It was a dark, cold night. Everyone was asleep when I got home, so I slammed the door a little quieter that night. When I went inside the bedroom to look for my wife and she wasn't there. I found that deceptive woman with her coat on in the kid's room holding you…

"'Where do you think you're going?' I asked that night.
"'Out,' was all she said as she put on your jacket.
"'What do you think you're doing?' I demanded.
"'Protecting my children!' she answered.
"'They belong to me too!'"
"'Like you even care about them,' she mocked. 'You just want them so you can corrupt them just like you did to Billy! Well, I won't have it! Not now-not ever!'"
"I was so angry that I lunged at her, but she was so quick she slipped through my fingers and rushed out the door.
I knew she'd be back for the rest of them, so I locked em' up for a while until I received news of her death. I heard that a wolf in the woods had attacked her. She didn't want me with my favorite boy, but now that we're together again, we can start over. Don't let her morals corrupt you. Join me."
I cast my eyes to the ground so Dad couldn't read the expressions on my face. Maybe I was never supposed to find out where I came from. Now that I knew, I just wished I could forget. I should've stayed with Babs. The only thing I was glad I figured out was that I had a family, but the kind of family I had…nope.
Well, maybe I was being too hard on them. After all, Elsa and Lisa never chose this life. They were kinda dragged into it. If only I could've done something to save them from their fates. Well, maybe I could save them now…
"No," I answered firmly. "I won't. I'm no thief."
"I'll give you time to think it over." He began to walk toward the door angrily.
"Dad, no! He said he doesn't want to! You can't force him!" Elsa yelled struggled to keep him from locking me inside.
"Outta my way! Just because you didn't want to help your old man doesn't mean he doesn't!"
he roughly pushed her onto the floor then threw Plucky in and shut the door.
"Hey! I wasn't even supposed to be in this episode!" Plucky protested. "I want my lawyer!"
"Now what?" I asked.
"Well, we could unscrew the windows and try to climb out. Now how does this work?" He pulled on the windowsill, trying desperately to open the window. I casually stepped over and unlocked the window, sending Plucky flying to the ceiling.
"I would've figured it out eventually," Plucky grumbled. I peered out the window at the 10-story drop below. There was no way I was jumping. No way. Not for nothing. So I shut it again. "Aren't you going to jump?"
"After you." Plucky glanced outside then immediately retreated.
"Let's revert to plan 'B'."
"What is plan 'B'?"
"I'm still coming up with it." I slumped onto the floor. Waiting for Plucky, I could grow old and die. I fingered my pendant, pondering of an escape…Wait! That was it! The pendant! I could call the loon for backup! But who knows how long that would take? Well, it was worth a shot.
"Oh, whataloonIam. Oh, whataloonIam (I feel incredibly stupid) Oh, whataloonIam," I chanted. Plucky looked at me questionably then turned away.
"I won't even ask."
"Plucky, I am not going crazy. I'm just trying to contact Shirley telepathically."
"Telewhatically?" Plucky queried.
"Telepathically."
"Oh," Plucky acknowledged. "What's that?"
"It's how psychopaths communicate." I grinned.
"Was that a backhanded insult?"
"Of course not, Plucky," I sighed.
"Well, that's okay then." I rolled my eyes and continued on with the chant. Suddenly, the door creaked open slowly. Elsa and Lisa quietly creeped inside.
"You are so hard-headed," Elsa scowled. "I warned you. But do you ever listen to me? Noooo! Nobody ever does."
"Are you okay, Buster?" Lisa asked. "I didn't want to tell you…are you going to leave us again?"
"I…um,…," I began. "I don't want to, but Dad is…"
"Dad is what?" Dad bellowed.
"Daddy, stop it! Buster doesn't want to do it!" Lisa defended.
"Who asked you?" he snapped. Lisa bowed her head humbly to hide her tears.
"Dad, there's no reason to get them involved!" I yelled. All of a sudden, a bright light shone before us, forcing us all to shield our eyes. I struggled to look, but I felt the blinding light destroying my sight.
"I'm heeeeeeere!" a familiar voice shouted.
"Babs?" I questioned, my voice full of hope. No answer. The light began to diminish and I could make out the figure clearer. "Shirley?"
"You were right the first time, blue ears!" That comment eliminated all of my doubt!
"Babs!" I cried.
"Right here! What an entrance, huh?" she affirmed.
"So…what are you doing here?"
"I was bored so I had Shirley teleport me here out of the blue…what do you think?"
"What was I supposed to think?"
"I don't know! I just…oh, never mind. Why did you bother us? We were playing a good game of monopoly! I was winning!" she whined.
"Well, excuse me for intruding in your life!"
"You're excused!"
"So this must be that girl you talked about," Elsa replied.
"Yep."
"You told her about me?" Babs demanded.
"Well, yeah."
"Who is she? Have you been seeing somebody else?"
"No! She's my sister," I protested. "Besides, why would you care? I mean nothing to you remember?"
"Well…then why did you call for me? You don't need me!"
"Are you just gonna argue? Make up already!" Plucky snapped. We frowned at each other. I don't know about Babs, but I was tired of this. I reached out my hand.
"Truce?" I inquired. She glanced at my hand, raising an eyebrow.
"No." She turned away. I was shocked. After I finally apologized she still refused me. Talk about stubborn! When she saw my expression, she smiled. "Just kidding."
She hugged me tightly. I sighed in sweet bliss. Ahhh…I could get used to this.
"Who are you? What are you doing with my son?" Dad barked. Babs pulled away quickly. Too quickly in fact. Being that I was in such a comfortable and peaceful state, I didn't notice Babs' movement and I was suspended in mid air for a moment. Then when I noticed something was wrong, I opened my eyes and realized I was leaning on air! I dropped onto the floor.
"I'm Babs Bunny!"
"Why do I care?"
"You will when you see me and your son walk out that door in a minute!"
"You will not! If I have to…!" He lunged for Babs in anger. Babs stood there and chanted to herself and holding her chain fearlessly. Was she nuts?!
"Babs!" I cried. Wait a sec! That chain looked an awful lot like my chain from Shirley…
Then it began to glow an evil shade of yellow and a barrier formed around Babs. Dad crashed up against it and he collapsed onto the floor.
"Never leave home without it," Babs grinned, fingering the pendant.
"Shirley right?" I asked.
"Was it that obvious?"
"So…how bout' it? Do you forgive me?"
"What do you think?"
"Uh…yes?"
"Hmm…could be."
"Those are good odds…right?"
"Pretty good."
"Buster, look, I'm tired of life with Dad and…well,…," Elsa started.
"Can we stay with you?" Lisa put in eagerly.
"Sure! I don't mind."
"And where my sisters go, I go," Billy informed. I gulped. This was going to be and interesting experience. If I ever lived through it.
"So Babsie, I was thinking…maybe I could go back to Acme Acres…you know, just for a little while and, um…would you consider…well, since we're both gonna be down there and…we like to spend time together and um,…drink carrot sodas at Weenie Burger…speaking of which, is it still standing?"
"Buster, just spit it out."
"Babsie, will you, uh,…marry me?" I stuttered.
"What did all of that other gibberish have to do with that?"
"Uh,…I dunno."
"Hmm,…will I marry him or not? Hmm…"
"I knew I shouldn't have asked! This was such a bad idea. Forget I ever mentioned it!"
"…yes." I glanced up in shock.
"What?"
"I said 'yes'."
"Oh…" I dropped onto the floor unconscious.
"Ya know, Buster seems to have a problem with that," Plucky observed staring down at me. Well, I finally said it. See? Thought I couldn't do it, huh? Well, haha to you! So after wasting all of that time, I finally had a family. And a new wife. So in short, every things great(for me anyway). Doncha love happy endings? Well, at least until the sequel. I can't leave ya hanging now can I? Maybe I can. I guess you'll have to wait and see, huh?
The End!!!!!!!!

Yay! Finally finished! Now I just have to work on the sequel. Oh, well. A writer's work is never done. Comments please!