SFTP5 Search for the Past on the Road to the Future(part 5)
Author's note: I finally got around to typing up this story. Well, actually my friend Kaytlyn kinda typed it up for me, but hey, same difference.? Now let's get into the copyright junksigh>…all tiny toons characters(except for Lisa, Elsa, Bob, Billy, and Emily, who is not my character, so whoever's it is, I give you the credit) are trademarks of Warner Brothers. There. I said it. Now get on with the story!

Babsie and I rode the bus, quietly, back to our beloved hometown, Acme Acres. Ah, good ol' Acme Acres. A place of many many memories. I couldn't wait until I could finally see my old friends again! Shirley, Fifi, and Hampton would sure be surprised! But would I tell them about my…er-hem>…our little announcement? On this trip, I kinda, sorta…proposed to Babsie. Believe it or not, I did it. Finally.
Lisa yawned and lay down on my lap. Lil' sisters are so cute when they're asleep. Key phrase – when they're asleep. Don't get me wrong, I love the kid more than anything, but there are times when she is just too much.
"Buster, how much longer until we get there?" my twin sister, Elsa, asked.
"Not much longer, Elsa. Don't worry. I'll protect you from the demons of Acme Acres," I teased, gently.
"I'm not scared! Don't make fun of me!" she snapped. I didn't think she'd react like that to my friendly poke in the ribs. I don't blame her for being nervous. I was nervous when I first met my long lost family in a strange town. Very very nerve wrecking.
"Seriously, Elsa, I will protect you. Just give me a chance, okay?" She turned to me, skeptically. "Trust me." She gave me a weak smile and nodded.
Babs nudged me.
"Now where have I heard that before?" she hissed, mischievously grinning.
"Gee, I dunno."
"What are you bunnies whispering about?" Plucky demanded. We giggled. "You're despicable."
Nothing new." Again we broke out laughing. Just like the good ol' days.
Was I ready for this? I was taking a huge step. I would have gulp> responsibility. No more carefree living for me. And would I be able to take care of her? She would be dependant on me (well, actually not. She's completely independent.)
"When I get home, I'm gonna pig out at Weenie Burger! What about you?" Babs called, breaking my concentration. I snapped back to reality and turned to her, questioningly. "Well…."She grinned at me.
"Hmm…sit on my butt and watch MTV all day?"
"Why not?" I smiled. It would work out somehow. When all else fails – improvise. I awakened my sleeping sister and she stood, groggily. I tapped Elsa's shoulder, lightly. She glanced at me, nervously. Fear was in her green eyes.
"Ready?" I inquired. She held her breath and took my outstretched hand.
"…ready," she answered. Babs and Lisa went on ahead. Lisa had no problem getting off the bus. Absolutely no problem. She began jumping around, madly, as she pointed at anything she saw, shrieking excitedly. That's my little sister.
I led my anxious twin towards the door, but when the time came for her to step off, she held back.
"Come on. Does it really look that bad?" I comforted. She grasped my hand tightly.
"Don't…leave…me," she breathed.
"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere." She was crossing that fine line between anxiousness and madness. I could feel her trembling and whimpering. Boy, girls are sure emotional! "Chill, Elsa. It may be a big step, but you don't need to make such a big deal out of it."
"I'm calm," she replied, taking deep breaths. "I can do this."
"Hey! Just get off the bus!" the bus driver commanded.
"Shut up before I give you something to yell about!!!" she yelled, tensely. The bus driver turned back to the steering wheel, silently.
"OK, on the count of three, we'll both jump off. One…"
"…two…"
"Buster…"
"…three!" Elsa shut her eyes and lept off with me. We landed on the soft grass. "You can open your eyes now." She slowly opened them and peered around.
"I did it! I really did it!" The passengers on the bus cheered, not only for Elsa's accomplishment, but also for the simple fact that they could finally leave. Elsa hugged each of us tightly. It was surely a time of rejoicing. "Show me everything!"
"Let's go!" I nodded.
* * * * *

So I showed her all of Acme Acres. You know – the works. Acme Looniversity, my burrow, Wackyland (from a distance, of course), Acme Labs (Lisa accidentally set some lab mice free. Oh, well.), and last, but not least, Weenie Burger…
"And here's our last stop of the day! All aboard!" I shouted as they piled into the restaurant.
"Why do we have to go to this ol' shack? Nothing special here," Plucky complained.
"Stop complaining! Besides, I see a very familiar face over there. Could it be…?" I retorted, grinning.
"Shirley!!!" Plucky gasped as he rocketed over to her.
"Oh, no. He's, like, back," Shirley grumbled. Plucky put his arm around her.
"Did ya miss me, babe?"
"Totally." She rolled her eyes.
"I know you love me, Shirl, so just admit it." Shirley rolled her eyes.
"Dream on, mallard." All is right with the world…
"Fifi, Shirley, Hampton, I'd like to introduce my family," I began. "This is my twin sister, Elsa, and this is my little sister, Lisa."
"Vat about your parents?" Fifi inquired. I bit my lip, nervously.
"Well…" My eyes began to get teary so I lowered my head. I couldn't let them see me like this! Ever had one of those times when you wished you were invisible? This is one of those times!
"He doesn't like to talk about them," Babs stepped in. "I'll explain later," she whispered. What a life saver!
"Thanks. I owe you one," I hissed.
"I'll take cash. No checks, please." Babs smiled.
"How 'bout I buy ya dinner instead?"
"Hmm…good enough." We all sat down and ate our fill (and, of course, I had to pay the bill). Me and my big mouth. Oh well. I turned to Elsa curiously, observing her impression of my childhood home.
"So Elsa, what do ya think? Do you like it here?" I asked.
"It's all right I guess," she muttered, poking at her food with a fork.
"Just 'all right'?"
"Yeah."
"Don't worry. It'll get better. I promise," I winked encouragingly at her.
"Sure."
"So, Shirley, how bout' we go to my place so we can catch up on things, hmm? I promise I don't bite," Plucky leaned on her flirtatiously. She pushed him off roughly.
"Like disgusting."
"So you'll get back to me on the date thing?"
Then a large figure across the room caught my eye. I choked on my burger.
"Dad!?" I gasped. He turned to me.
"My boy!!!" he exclaimed as he hugged me, tightly. He squeezed me. I could feel his grip tightening. My lungs were about to burst, when he released me.
"Dad," I wheezed. "Why are you here?"
"To see my boy!" That's a laugh.
"I know you better than that. What are you up to?" I wasn't gonna fall for his tricks. I knew better than that.
"Nothing! I've decided to give up stealing completely! I knew there had to be a change in my life so I came here and enrolled Billy in Acme Looniversity. That principal of yours didn't seem to like the idea, but I er-hem> convinced him." Dad cracked his knuckles.
"You didn't hurt him, did ya?"
"Nah. Not much anyway." Poor Bugs! I could picture him already – fur all matted, arms and legs all mangled and twisted, his insides hanging out and dripping on the…I could feel myself getting nauseous. I think I'd better stop.
"Does he even slightly resemble his former self?"
"Well, one of his ears still sits on the top of his head."
"That's a good thing."
"Ewww!" Babs replied, sticking out her tongue.
"Why do you care, son? He's just a teacher."
"He was more of a father than you'll ever be." I glared defiantly at him. He smiled, broadly.
"That's my boy!" I didn't trust him. Not one bit. I could tell Elsa didn't either. We knew better. He's a master con artist. He wouldn't come back here for no reason.
Well, I brought my family back to the burrow so they could settle in. Billy was in an unusually good mood…
"So, Billy, you're starting school tomorrow, huh?" I asked.
"Uh-huh," he responded.
"You'll love Acme Looniversity. It's the greatest!"
"Uh-huh."
"Emily's gonna be in your class. She's Babsie's little sister."
"Uh-huh." He tossed his luggage into my bedroom and walked in.
"Hey, that's my room!"
"Uh-huh." He slammed the door in my face.
"Have a good night," I grumbled. Kicked out of my own room. This is the thanks I get for letting them into my burrow (it was either that or end up like Bugs Bunny. And I want to live).
I threw myself onto the couch, sighing. Might as well get comfortable. I was stuck here for the night. Elsa joined me in the living room and lay on the couch opposite mine.
"Hey Elsa! Whatsamadda? Too good to sleep in the guest room with Lisa?"
"Nothing like that, Buster. I just can't sleep, all right?"
"Oh."
"Buster, why is Dad here? What does he want? How does he plan to get it?"
"Easy, Elsa! Slow down! And will ya keep it down? Dad's sleeping in the kitchen, remember?" I hissed.
"Oh, sorry. Buster, I don't trust him. He's up to something."
"Well, you don't know that, Elsa. I mean, I have a bad feeling he is, but that's not the point."
"Yeah, I do! I've lived with him for eighteen years, Buster! I know! I know him!"
"I know, Elsa, but we have no proof, and until…"
"Forget I mentioned it, okay? Just forget it."
"Elsa…"
"I don't want to talk about it, Buster."
"What did he do to you, Elsa?" I sighed after a few minutes of silence.
"Nothin. Just nothin, okay? He just…we were…" She sighed. "You really wanna know? Or are you just pretending to care just like my other friends?"
"Yeah." I waited anxiously for her answer. At least I was getting her to talk. She was so…secretive. She never wanted any help from anyone, but I could tell she needed a friend. Especially now.
"Dad is a criminal, Buster. Imagine being dragged into that. If me or Lisa ever screwed up, he would beat us. He abused us, Buster. It was so scary… I was always so afraid to go home… especially after Mom died and you disappeared… it went downhill from there," she sobbed. "That was our life."
She took in her breath and continued. "When you found us, I didn't want you to know about Dad, so I forced Lisa to keep quiet. I thought maybe you would… save us from that monster." She burst out crying. I rushed to her side and held her tightly.
"Elsa, don't be afraid. He won't touch you. Not while I'm around." Dad watched us from the kitchen as he munched on a chicken bone, hungrily. He eyed us both evilly and plotted. Creepy. This show is turning into a soap opera slowly. Long lost family, evil father, distant twin…Babsie must be kissing up to Steven again.
* * * * *
I woke up the next morning, not to the sound of birds chirping, but to the sound of Billy and Dad arguing. Perfectly normal for them. After realizing I had slept most of the night on the floor, I stood up and yawned, sleepily.
"Billy, you are going to school if it's the last thing I do!!!"
"Try and make me, old man!" Billy snapped. Dad grabbed Billy and tackled him to the ground. They wrestled around the ground, but I, being in such a tired state, stepped over them and proceeded to the bathroom. In less than a second, I was out once again, wide awake, and prepared for school (since Babsie had a family to take care of, we decided to go to Acme College, which was a whole lot closer than Notre Bucksworth).
"Dad, if you want Billy to be able to go to school, I think you'd better let him out of that headlock," I replied as I gulped down a glass of carrot juice. Dad, reluctantly, released Billy. Billy took his things (along with mine) and strolled outside without saying a word. "Hey! Come on, Lisa, Elsa! Let's go!"
I ran outside only to bump into Babs.
"What's the rush, Blue Ears?" she questioned.
"Did you see Billy?" I asked frantically.
"Yeah. He went that way," Emily answered, pointing towards the Looniversity.
"Come on, girls! We gotta catch 'im!"
"Why?" Babs queried.
"No time for questions, Babsie! Let's go!" We took off after Billy. It wasn't the school junk that was important; it was the ring! Babsie's engagement ring was in that bookbag! I had to catch him! I just had to!
I tripped over a small rock and flew toward the ground. My face slammed into the mud and my nose whacked into a humongous sneaker. Billy's sneaker. Billy grabbed my collar and raised his fist…
"Stop!" Babs cried. Oh no. Rescued by a girl. The boys'd never let me live it down! This was the low point of my life. Babs reached into my pocket and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. "Okay. Go right ahead."
Well, that took care of that. No more worrying about being made fun of. Heck, I would never have to worry about anything ever again! Billy was gonna kill me!
Out of nowhere, Elsa jumped out and threw Billy to the ground. I flew into a tree.
"Billy, lay off him!" Elsa snapped.
"Who's gonna make me?" he demanded.
"Me," she growled. She tickled Billy and he chuckled, madly.
"Ok! Ok! I'll…ha!…leave him alone! Here! Take his…hee hee!…stuff!" he laughed. Elsa snatched my stuff away and handed it to me.
"Thanks, Elsa. I think." We dropped off Emily and Lisa at Acme Looniversity and me, Elsa, and Babsie continued onward.
"Hiya, guys! So you two are going to Acme College too? I heard it's the tops when it comes to cartoon education!" Plucky shouted as he skateboarded alongside us. Plucky's skateboard hit the curb and he crashed into a trash can.
"Hey, Pluckster! So what's the status on the rest of the gang? Or are we gonna be the only graduates from Acme Loo?" I questioned.
"Are you kidding? All of them go here!"
"Like old times again…" I smiled at the thought. "Just different," I muttered. I strolled into the college and glanced around at my new surroundings. Desks were spread over the room and a large screen was in the center of the room. A robot sat at a large desk at the front of the room and all of my friends sat at their seats, waiting for us anxiously.
"Settle down, class," the robot ordered. The talking ceased and the lights shut off. Bugs Bunny appeared on the screen.
"Welcome, students, to the Acme College! I'm gonna be your teacher dis year. Dis year ain't gonna be easy so study! Da robot is gonna hand you all your books. Read up till chapter 15 of each and I'll see youse guys at da end of da second marking period for da midtoim!" The lights flicked back on and the movie ended. The robot handed each of us at least ten textbooks! I struggled under the weight.
"Whatsamadda, Mr. Muscles? Can't take the pressure?" Babs teased as she lifted her textbooks with ease.
"Flurnt!" I gasped, unable to voice my protests.
"Come on, Shirl, Feef. Let's go!" Babs replied, giggling. They left the classroom, grinning. Once they were out of sight, Babs high-fived Shirley. "Nice work! We pulled it off!"
"Oui, oui! Ve fooled zem!" Fifi laughed.
"Like, totally! I can't believe they actually, like, thought it was you lifting those books when it was, like, me and my psychic powers!"
"Hey! I could've done it without you!" Babs protested.
"Oh really? Let's, like, see or some junk," Shirley replied as she snapped her fingers. Babs collapsed onto the ground along with her books.
"Okay, you've made your point." They giggled while we decided what we were gonna do with our burdens. That's all girls are good for. Nothing.
"Like excuse me?" Shriley's aura demanded. I cringed and timidly stepped away. "Like, I thought so." Her aura stalked away after Shirley herself.
"So what do we do with our loads?" Plucky asked.
"Well, we can't carry 'em back," Elsa observed.
"Maybe we can get something bigger to take them for us," Hampton suggested.
"Brilliant deduction, Watson," I replied as I spin-changed into Sherlock Holmes. "But how?"
A light bulb shined over my head.
"I've got it!" I shut the light off. Ya gotta conserve energy. I took off and came back with a truck. "Throw 'em in!"
Elsa, Plucky, and Hampton threw the heavy weights onto the truck.
"I wonder how Lisa and Emily are doing," I wondered out loud.
* * * * *
Emily swayed back and forth from the weight of her textbooks. She stumbled to her locker, clumsily. Billy strolled over casually and opened her locker for her.
"Uh, thanks, Billy," Emily thanked, suspiciously. She tossed her books inside and slammed the door. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Emily, I was wondering," Billy began, nervously. "Will you go out with me sometime?"
"Sure. How 'bout tonight? Babs is going over Buster's and I don't wanna be stuck babysitting again!"
"Okay. We'll meet by the theater, k?"
"Fine with me." I walked into the Looniversity to see how Bugs was doing when I saw my worst nightmare. Bily and Emily…talking…smiling…oh my goodness! Noooo! They liked each other! I knew something like this would happen! What could I do? Tell Babsie? Yeah! Babsie would know what to do! If she didn't, I was sunk. I mean, how could me and Babsie get married if we were gulp>… siblings?

Don't worry! There's only one more part left!