"Jesus man, when did you get out?" Yakko said, looking his baby brother up and down. He was wearing a beat up jeans jacket, ripped jeans and a ratty hooded sweatshirt. It was standard apparel given to inmates who were re-entering the civilized world with absolutely nothing to their names except a criminal record. Wakko, too, got a good look at his brother, and noted without surprise that Yakko looked just as plucky, successful and happy as he had seven years earlier.

"I got out a couple of days ago," Wakko said simply with a shrug. "It's taken me this long to hitchhike my way back up to Toontown."

"Why didn't you call me? I would have come and gotten you."

"I don't know. I guess I just wanted this to be a surprise."

"Well, I'm surprised."

"Good. It wasn't a waste then." Wakko nodded to the interior of the house. "Nice new digs you got here."

"Thanks. Come on in," Yakko said, letting his brother pass.

"Where's Harpo?" Wakko said quickly, clasping his hands together.

Yakko very nearly spat, Why do you want to know? before he remembered that it was Wakko, not he, who was Harpo's father. "He's upstairs," Yakko said, jerking his head upward. "In his room." Wakko started to bolt up the steps but Yakko caught him. "Hold on. Let me break it to him that you're here, ok? I know him. He doesn't take surprises like this very well."

Yakko was a little surprised at himself for not welcoming his brother more warmly, but perhaps in the back of his mind he knew what Wakko wanted: to take Harpo away from him. This thought had kept him awake at night for years because it scared Yakko to think of his life without Harpo. The kid had become so much a part of Yakko and Babs' life that neither their lives nor them home would be the same without him. Yakko had to restrain himself from flat out demanding what Wakko's plans were.

To Yakko's surprise, Wakko stepped down from the stairs and nodded to Yakko. "All right. Go on and tell him. I'll wait down here."

Knowing that a huge emotional storm was brewing right in his living room, Yakko jogged up the steps to add the catalyst. He took a deep breath and knocked softly on the door. "Harpo? Kiddo? Can I come in?"

A muffled "sure" resonated within the room and Yakko entered to find Harpo on his bed holding a book and Jessica down by the bookshelf, looking through more titles. "Hey Yakko," Harpo said warmly.

"Hey buddy," Yakko said, sitting down on the bed. "Having fun?"

"Yeah," Harpo said quickly. "Learning about the wonders of literature."

"Good. Listen…there's someone to see you downstairs."

"Oh, should I leave?" Jessica asked.

"No, stay. It's probably just someone who needs the homework," Harpo said.

"It's not that." The seriousness in his uncle's tone made Harpo sit up and pay attention.

"Who is it, then?"

Yakko bit his lip. "Harpo, your dad is downstairs. He came a long way and wants to see you."

A flash of anger crossed Harpo's eyes that was rare for someone so easy-going as he was. Harpo stood up defiantly, clenching his shaking fists. "Tell him I don't want to see him! Tell him I don't want anything to do with him!"

"You need to tell him that, Harp. He needs to hear it from you." Both Yakko and Harpo looked at each other for a long moment, then Yakko said slowly, "You knew this day would come. I know there are things you want to say, that you need to say. It's your time to say them."

Harpo's gaze began to water. "You're not going to make me go with him, are you Yakko?"

"Not if you don't want to go."

"Promise me."

"I promise."

Harpo could feel his heart in his throat the whole agonizing walk downstairs. Yakko followed close behind. Harpo's eyes came to rest on a slightly hunched figure in the corner staring out of the window. Memories that he'd sworn were forgotten suddenly came roiling to the surface and it was all he could do to keep his knees from buckling beneath him. He tried to make his voice sound strong and tried to remember all of the things he thought he'd say when this day finally came, but all he managed to sputter was a weak, "Father?"

The figure at the window turned slowly and the face which had been half-forgotten except in dreams by Harpo suddenly met his gaze. Harpo gasped at the face staring back at him, for it was practically his own. No wonder his parentage wasn't any secret. "Harpo," Wakko whispered, a slow smile creeping across his face. He practically ran to the other side of the room where Harpo was standing and fell to his knees, embracing his son. "Harpo…you don't know how long I've waited for this day."

"Why'd you come back?" Harpo said sharply, not returning his father's embrace.

Wakko looked up at Harpo's face and smiled. "I know I've got some explaining to do. But let me look at you first. God, Harpo, look how you've grown!" Wakko ran his hands through his son's hair, down his cheeks, drinking in the first sight of him in what seemed like hundreds of years. He had all the awkward proportions of a kid about to become a teenager, but there was wisdom in those young eyes that spoke volumes. For Wakko, just to have Harpo standing in front of him was worth every second spent in a dank cell and he found himself laughing for the first time in years. "You'll never know how much I missed you, buddy."

"Why'd you come back?" Harpo repeated, looking his father dead in the eyes, and shuddering at the fact that his father had just called him "buddy."

Wakko shifted uncomfortably and stood up again. "I promised you I'd be back for you once I did my time. Do you remember? You were just a little guy then. But now I did my time, and I'm out. I came back for you, just like I promised I would."

Curious to see who was at the door, Babs momentarily left their guests on the patio and wandered into the house carrying her drink, which she promptly dropped upon seeing the one and only Wakko Warner standing in her living room. "Wakko?" she stammered, almost unable to believe her eyes.

Wakko gave her a soft smile. "Hey Babs. Good to see you again."

"What're you doing here?"

"Well, this is quite a reception," Wakko drawled sarcastically. "A fella comes back after seven years in the slammer and his own family acts like he's a total stranger."

"Sorry," Babs said, picking up the cup and the ice off the floor. "You just sort of surprised us."

"Apparently I did. But you knew I'd be back some day to get Harpo," Wakko pointed out sensibly. Harpo backed away several steps.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," he said in a trembling voice. "Yakko already said I didn't have to go if I didn't want to. They said I could stay here forever."

Wakko threw a momentary glance at his older brother, practically screaming Traitor! with his eyes. Wakko then smiled back at Harpo. "Look, I appreciate what your aunt and uncle did for me. But I'm your father. I'm your family."

Harpo retreated over to Yakko and held onto his shirt for protection. "We're a family now." Yakko couldn't stand the heartbroken expression on Wakko's face and turned away.

"What do you mean? You're only twelve, son. It's not like I've been away from you forever," Wakko said softly.

"I'm a very old twelve," Harpo said in a tired voice.

Wakko swallowed hard; he knew this wasn't going to be easy when he came, but it was getting more difficult with each passing moment. "Look. I spent seven years in jail making up for a lifetime of mistakes, but the biggest one I ever made was one I wasn't able to make up for in prison. I'm trying to do that now. I know I've made mistakes Harpo, terrible mistakes. There are many things about my life that I'm not proud of, but you're not one of them. I've always been proud of you."

"That's a lie," Harpo said in a quaking voice. "That's a lie, and you know it."

"Yakko," Wakko said pleadingly, "Help me out here!"

"It's like I've said all along, Harpo," Yakko said, not breaking his gaze with Wakko. "You can go with whoever you want."

"You," Harpo said, burying his face in Yakko's side. "I want you."

"Look, Harpo," Wakko said. "I'm sorry. Truly I am. I've had seven years to reflect on the mistakes I made. I shouldn't have given you the childhood I did. You deserved better. I know that. But I'm making an honest attempt to put my life back together, and I'm putting it back together so that you and I can have a relationship again. You don't know how I agonized over you in prison! Thank heavens for Yakko and Babs to keep you safe and well-fed, but I want you to be a part of my life again. I want a clean start. I want to make a fresh start, turn over a new leaf. I can't go back to that old life. Please, son, I need you in my life."

"Was I even really in your life when I lived with you?"

Wakko threw an accusatory glance at Yakko once again. "Haven't you taught him anything about me? I was messed up, I knew that even then. But Yakko, didn't you at least try to explain me to him?"

"Of course I did!" Yakko said strongly. "And he didn't want to hear any part of it. How the hell can you blame him? Jesus Christ Wakko, he was just a kid!"

"Look," Wakko pleaded with his son. "I'm a good man. I used to pay hotel bills for strangers. I used to perform in hospitals for free. I used to donate money to charity, and – "

" – and the other half to the crap table," Yakko said, his voice unusually metallic. Wakko shot him a are you on my side or not? look. Yakko shrugged. "It's true. You know I love you, bro. But Harpo's right. You were no saint."

"Yakko, what are you doing?" Wakko hissed to his brother. "I'm trying to tell Harpo what kind of man I am, because you obviously never did!"

"I am telling him!" Yakko said in a loud voice. "But we may as well not lie. The kid has a legitimate point. He deserves to know what exactly happened to his father to make you the way you were in his lifetime." He began to pace. "Harpo, I've been thinking about when you said you wished Babs and I were your parents. And you're right. I mean, why shouldn't you feel that way? If all you've ever seen of your father is the bad side, how can I possibly expect you to accept my ramblings for what he used to be before you even came along? And even if he was once that way, what does it matter to you, now? You never saw that Wakko Warner. So naturally it is meaningless to you. I'm sorry I even tried to tell you. It was pointless."

"What the hell's wrong with you!" Wakko exploded. "Why've you turned my son against me?"

"You turned me against you!" Harpo shouted to the surprise of all of them. "All Yakko and Babs did was to treat me well for the first time in my life! I may not remember everything about that time in my life, but I remember enough! In fact, I remember more than I wish I did! You treated me like I didn't even exist! And now you want to take me away from the only people who have ever treated me with compassion and respect! I don't how you expected to just storm back into my life and have me accept you, but it's not going to happen! I don't want anything to do with you!" he roared at the top of his lungs.

"I'm not trying to take you anywhere! Don't think I'm so ignorant to believe that this will happen overnight. I know it won't. All I'm asking is that you keep an open mind, and know that people can change!" Wakko looked at Harpo with a pained expression. "I said I was sorry, Harpo. I mean what I say. I also mean it when I say I want to turn my life around. I want to be a good toon again. I want to be a good father. I'm willing to do anything. Just tell me what you want me to do, and I'll do it."

"I want you to leave," Harpo said. "That's what I want you to do."

"Yakko?" Wakko said gently, hoping his brother might have some encouraging words for them all. In situations like these, the voice of hope and reason had always been Yakko's.

Yakko, however, couldn't speak or move. He was being asked to choose between his brother and his nephew, two of the most important people in his life. "Don't do this to me," he choked finally. "Please don't do this to me."

"Babs?" Wakko turned to Babs standing in the corner of the room.

She shook her head. "Don't make us do this, Wakko. We don't want to lose either one of you."

"I can't believe you're just going to stand by while he tries to take me away from you!" Harpo screamed.

"Calm down, kiddo. You're not going anywhere," Yakko said in a strained voice, giving a fierce look to his brother that all of them were unaccustomed to seeing on Yakko's face. "Your father doesn't quite grasp all the implications of his actions. Never has."

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Wakko cried in a hurt voice. "You're bringing up ancient history that has nothing to do with Harpo or my relationship with him."

"He needs to know."

"Then let me tell him."

"Why? I'm the one who always had to pick up the pieces. Who better to tell it?" The careless tone in his voice made Babs worry. What was Yakko doing? Yakko was not usually a heartless person, so why was he treating his own brother as if he were on the witness stand?

Wakko sighed painfully. "Yakko, I've made a lot of mistakes that have affected the people I love. I regret them. Why can't you understand that I don't want to do that anymore? Please, stop throwing my past in my face. At least not in front of Harpo. I want to make it up. To all of you. I'm not the bad guy. I'm not here to drag my son kicking and screaming back down to the hellish nightmare of what Alballa was, because I don't want that for him that either. All I wanted to do was to see my son and tell him that I'm going to be a part of his life now."

"You don't have the authority to call those kinds of shots," Yakko said, placing a hand on Harpo's shoulder.

Wakko took several steps forward until he was inches away from Yakko's face. "You know, you act like you're the father of this kid, Yakko."

"I may as well be," Yakko said before he could stop himself. "And you're a fool to think that Harpo would want anything to do with you ever again. He's happy here with us. That's something you've never been able to give him."

The vindictive tone in his brother's voice only fueled hurt and resentment from Wakko. He took a slow and steady breath. "All right, Yakko, you win," Wakko whispered. "You want me to say it? Here goes: You're better than me. You're a better person, a better spouse, and a better father. You are a better father to my son then I ever was and may ever be. You're successful and happy, two things I've never had much luck in. I admit it. You're better. You win. There! Will you stop degrading me in front of my only son now and let me try to explain myself to him?" A sense of shame began to creep up deep in Yakko's chest but he buried it as deep as he could for reasons of pride; the only person who had ever been a threat to Yakko's ego was Wakko, and for reasons of self-worth Yakko wasn't about to let any victory slide.

People had often secretly whispered that Wakko was the most talented of the trio and that Yakko covered up for his lack of talent by running his mouth so fast that no one knew the difference. Although it was said in the strictest of confidence by other toons in Toontown, gossip had a way of eventually reaching the ears of those concerned. It was a huge blow to Yakko's ego to learn what his peers really thought of him and only fueled his secret inferiority complex that was so easily hidden from others. Law was one place that running mouths were rewarded, and talent was not necessarily a factor in success. While Yakko genuinely enjoyed his work, he also reveled in the fact that it was one area where Wakko would never be able to out-do him. Partially, he felt that sibling rivalry was natural and a part of every family, so finding an area of talent that is lacked by other siblings was only normal. However, as he became more successful in law and Wakko because less successful in life, he felt sadness at the situation but not necessarily a strong drive to fix it.

But that didn't change the painful expressions on the brothers' faces as they studied each other. "Wakko, I don't want it to have to be like this," Yakko whispered, speaking just as much for the situation as for his own feelings of internal shame.

"You think I do?" Wakko whispered back. "I just want a chance to set my life right."

Yakko's patience snapped, feeling that any chance given to Wakko was as good as forgiveness, something he wasn't quite ready to impart. "You had plenty of chances, and at the expense of this kid's childhood! Once again, the older brother was left to pick up the pieces of his little brother's life! My God, Wakko, I've been taking care of your kid longer than you have! So how dare you come back after seven years and act like some goddamn martyr who deserves anything!"

Before Yakko even thought twice, he found himself throwing punches at his own little brother, using every part of his body to maim Wakko's. They had often tussled in the past, and had had plenty of verbal warfare, but neither Warner Brother had ever fought with the specific purpose of hurting the other. But that's exactly what was happening, and Yakko was horrified at himself for carefully striking each blow in areas he knew would cause the most pain to his little brother. From years of being in and out of jail, Wakko had learned to fight because it was the only way to survive in the toon prison system and he fought with the expertise of someone who was used fighting for his life. Though smaller and lighter, Wakko was a good fighter, and before either of them knew it Wakko had Yakko pinned against a wall. Blood poured from both of their faces and they were each panting heavily. Harpo stood frozen in the corner, unable to believe that his uncle could be that cruel to another whom he loved, while Babs practically tore Wakko off of her boyfriend.

"Stop this, goddammit!" she roared. "You're brothers, for Chrissakes."

Yakko spat out a mouthful of blood, looked Wakko dead in the eye and rasped, "He's no brother of mine."

Everyone stopped moving for a few seconds. Wakko looked like he'd just had his heart ripped from his chest while Yakko's expression remained deadly.

"Get out," he snarled in a voice that could have cut steel. "Get out, and never come back!"

Babs helped the stunned Wakko to his feet and whispered, "Leave, Wakko. Please…just go."

Wakko staggered to his feet. He turned to Harpo, who looked and felt more terrified than he ever had in his entire life. "Harpo…" Wakko whispered, reaching out to him. Harpo shook his head and ran the back door and into the yard, vomiting violently into the rose bushes. Wakko looked back at the scene he'd helped to cause; Babs watching him sadly, her eyes silently screaming that she wished it could have been different, and Yakko still prostrated and exhausted on the floor. If it hadn't been for the wall he was leaning against, Yakko felt he might faint. Wakko swallowed hard and silently took his leave, closing the door quietly behind him.

Jessica, who had heard the whole thing from the kitchen, hurried out into the yard to find Harpo on his knees and sobbing. She helped him to his feet slowly and held onto his left arm. He managed a feeble smile. "You know this is the first time I've cried in seven years?" he whispered to her.

Yakko stood to his feet unsteadily as a few of the dinner guests wandered into the living room to see what all the commotion was. Babs approached him with a Kleenex to dab away some of the blood but he smacked her hand away. "I don't want any help. I'm fine," he spat. Jessica left Harpo at the back door, waving goodbye with an uncertain look in her eye. Harpo re-entered the house that now seemed so much colder than it had just an hour before and witnessed the first fight he'd ever seen between Yakko and Babs. "And Christ, couldn't you have pulled him off me a little sooner?" he was still ranting, "The way he was going, he could've knocked me out cold!"

"Since when do you expect me to fight your battles?" Babs demanded. "The way you two were fighting, you're lucky I got in there at all."

"It doesn't matter. I'm bigger. I would have gotten the upper hand eventually."

While Babs seriously doubted this from the looks of Yakko's injuries, she wisely chose to stay silent on the matter. "Come on, let's clean you up," she said, tugging him towards the bathroom. Again, he ripped away.

"Goddammit, I'll do it! I'm not a fucking child!" he growled. Louis Van Buren, Yakko's boss, looked startled from his position behind the couch. He'd never heard Yakko speak that way to anyone.

Babs, despite her shock, was also a fighter who could stick up for herself. "I'm only trying to help! When I see the person I love covered in blood, excuse me, but I want to help!"

"I told you I'm fine!" Yakko stormed into the hall bathroom and grimaced at the sight of himself. His eye was swollen and turning black; no doubt it would be sightless in a few hours. His nose was still pouring blood and his lip was three times the size it normally was. His whole body was starting to ache and no doubt would be very sore in the morning. Yakko didn't want to admit it, but his brother – his littler, younger brother – had licked him fair and square.

He dabbed his cuts and bruises with water, then took off his shirt to find his ribs were already showing signs of bruising. "I should sue the bastard. At least I know I'd win at that," he muttered.

"Don't say things like that," Babs said, handing him some ointment and Band-Aids. She took his bloody shirt and threw it in the wastebasket. "Don't forget, you threw the first punch."

"Well why the hell not! He was asking for it! Don't tell me you don't think he deserved it?" Yakko cried, staring daggers at Babs and hoping she would tell him he was completely justified, because he wasn't altogether sure he had been.

"All I know is, I've known you and your brother for almost twenty years, and I'd never seen anything like that," she answered him seriously and looking him straight in the eye. Babs wasn't afraid of anything, least of all the God's honest truth. "You told me you were the Warners' protector, the Warners' own best advocate. So when I see the oldest brother throwing punches at the younger, I do have to question the ethics of that, Yakko. And I think you do too."

"Don't you dare throw that back in my face!" Yakko hollered belligerently and wandered out into the living room shirtless. Harpo sat on the couch watching all this silently while all the guests, sans Van Buren, filed silently out the back door, knowing the party was over. "You don't know anything about us!"

"Right, because I've only known you for seventeen years and have only been living and sleeping with you for fifteen."

"You know, you can be really irritating when you're sarcastic."

"And you can be really irritating when you're being hypocritical!" Babs sighed exasperatedly. "Jesus Yakko, we all make mistakes, but don't go around acting like you're justified in everything you do just because you're Yakko Warner." She sighed and disappeared back to the hall bathroom to clean up.

"I was justified!" Yakko screamed after her. He saw Harpo sitting innocently on the couch and for no other reason than he was there, Yakko turned to him and shouted, "And what the hell was with you today, huh?"

Harpo, who'd never been spoken to like that by Yakko ever, looked at him in a confused way. "What do you mean?"

Rage welled up inside of Yakko. It was not Harpo he was angry at, however, he had had enough of a scare today to provoke insecurity-driven comments. "For Chrissakes Harpo, you made it sound like I've been showing you anti-Wakko propaganda for the past seven years! And now I may never see him again!" Yakko was feeling dangerous now, and chose his words for effect. Lawyer training came in well when pinning the blame on someone else. He pointed steadily down at Harpo, and said evenly, "He may be an asshole but he's my brother. Get it?"

Harpo looked thoroughly shaken. "I…I don't understand, Yakko…"

"I mean you're responsible for destroying a relationship that was in place long before you were even a thought, kid!"

"I – I'm sorry, I – "

"You what?"

"But I thought you wanted me to tell him exactly how I felt," Harpo said. "I needed to get it out of my system. I needed to tell him what I'd been thinking all these years. If you didn't want me to say those things, then I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't bring my brother back," Yakko said quietly through clenched teeth. Harpo looked up at Yakko with an expression that could haunt angels, but Yakko's pride would not let him retract his statements.

"Well it didn't help when you made it sound like you had just gotten stuck with me, like I was just some useless appendage that you didn't want!" Harpo fought back, though on the verge of another round of tears. "I didn't know you felt that way."

"Now you do," Yakko said before he could stop himself. His stomach knotted up at his own words and he felt that he might vomit if he said anything else. Knowing he needed a drink worse than he ever had before in his entire life, Yakko quickly poured himself a glass of brandy and downed it all in one gulp. Harpo sat motionless on the couch while Van Buren brought himself up to his full height.

"Yakko, what the hell are you talking about? You adore this kid!" he protested, giving an accusatory glance at his employee. "How dare you speak to him like that, especially after all he's been through this afternoon!"

"He's learning a lot today, isn't he?" Yakko shot back in an acidic voice, downing another glass. He threw a scalding glance over at Harpo. "He's just Wakko's kid. That's all he ever was and all he'll ever be."

Harpo felt like he'd been socked in the stomach. He had long come to accept that he would probably always just be "Wakko's kid" in the general public's eyes, but he'd believed he was something more – perhaps something better – in his uncle's view. To discover that he was just a commodity to be taken care of and little else shattered his whole world in an instant. In the back of his mind, there had always been a little voice telling him that he was just like his father, just Alballa trash, destined for failure and an intrusion on Yakko and Babs' lives. Kind words and compassion from his almost-aunt and uncle had managed to keep those voices at bay for seven years, but now they came screaming back to life in full fury, stronger than they'd ever been before. All of his internal fears had just been totally, completely, and horrifically realized in an instant. Harpo silently made his way to his room, struggling with all the emotional strength he had left not to burst into tears right then and there. Yakko watched him go and burned with a hatred for what he'd just did and with a hatred for himself. The alcohol and the adrenaline leftover from the fight surged through him and gave the whole scene an edge of surrealism.

Before Yakko knew it, Van Buren was standing right next to him. "Yakko, I don't know what the hell happened here today to make you say the things you just said to a twelve year old kid who means the world to you. I don't know what motivation seized you. But it sure as hell ain't like you."

"Lou, you don't know anything about me," Yakko growled. "You don't know anything about my family."

"Knowledge or no, what I just saw was wrong. Jesus man, you're compassionate in the courtroom. I've seen it before. But if this is how you treat your family…"

"Oh, what?" Yakko said sarcastically. "You'll have to fire me? Well, go on then! Fire me over some goddamn kid that I've been taking care of who wasn't even fucking mine!"

"And when the hell has that mattered to you?" Van Buren shook his head. "What's gotten into you?"

"I saw the truth today, Lou," Yakko said, pouring another glass. "People always said my brother was better than me and I've proved them all wrong. I was the good brother. I was the one who cleaned up after my siblings. I was the one who picked up the tab after one of their rampages. I was the one who calmed down managers, people on the street, and bookies demanding money. I did all of it because I was the only one in the world who would."

"Yeah? And what do you want? A congratulations?"

"My brother comes storming back into our lives today and wants credit he doesn't deserve! And what's more, he wants his kid back who has practically become mine! I fed Harpo, clothed him, housed him, and sent him to school for the past seven years, and now suddenly Wakko thinks he can just waltz back in here and take him back? It shows my brother hasn't changed at all. I'm still just his fall-back guy. Nothing's changed."

"Yakko, I heard the whole damn soliloquy of your brother, and it didn't sound like he was using you for his fall-back guy. I heard a person who had made a lot of mistakes and who was ready own up to them and to repent for them. That's a noble thing, man. A helluva lot more noble than someone as smart as you trying to justify screaming horrible things at a twelve year old as simple anger towards his father's past actions. You can't live your life holding the past against people, Yakko. Especially against a kid who had nothing to do with it."

"I'm tired of playing the fool, Lou. I did it because – because – "He stopped short of saying what was really on his mind – Because Wakko had done something that not even I could do; he brought a kid into this world who became more precious to me than anyone. Wakko had upstaged him for the last time in a way that neither of them could have foresaw. With Wakko not present, Harpo was just the most convenient target for Yakko's anger. "Because it was high time he knew what he really meant to me!" Yakko said, not fooling anyone, least himself.

Van Buren shook his head. "You are a fool, if you let your anger towards Wakko override your love for Harpo." He looked steadily at Yakko. "Yakko, I don't think you shouldn't come in to work for a while. Take some time and figure things out."

"Things are crystal clear already, Lou," he said. "I quit."

"What? I didn't mean quit. You're the best lawyer in Toontown besides Babs. Why would you want to leave?"

"Because why should people ask my advice?" Yakko cried, throwing his glass in the sink and smashing it to pieces. "Let's face it, I've got an ego the size of a small planet and I'm so used to cleaning up after others that it's become easy to blame all my problems on other people. I didn't realize it before today, but I'm the worst guy on earth to ask for advice."

"That's not true."

"It's true enough. Now get out. You're not my boss anymore so I don't have to ask politely," Yakko said evenly, pointing to the door. "I won't darken your door again. Please extend me the same courtesy."

Van Buren stiffened slightly and made his exit, keeping his eye on Yakko the whole time, who averted his gaze. The door slammed and Babs finally emerged from the hall bathroom. "What was all that yelling?" Babs said, carrying bloody paper towels to the wastebasket. "I was in there cleaning up your carnage and I heard shouting."

"Nothing," Yakko said quietly with a downcast gaze. "It was nothing, Babs."