KidsWBYungsta Presents Looney Tunes & Sailor Moon: Sailor Space Jam! – Chp. 18: Time Keeps on Slippin'
KidsWBYungsta Presents Looney Tunes & Sailor Moon: Sailor Space Jam! – Chp. 18: "Time Keeps on Slippin'"

KidsWBYungsta Presents Looney Tunes & Sailor Moon: Sailor Space Jam!
Chapter 18: "Time Keeps on Slippin'"

A/N: Well, it looks like there is another new chapter in store for Sailor Space Jam, but this time around, this is going to be the final chapter that reflects on the practice sessions and the growing relationships between the characters before we finally get into the Ultimate Game! Anyway, the days are still winding before the Tune Squad suits up for the special Ultimate Game against the Witches 5, played on the same day the original Tune Squad battled the MonStars 20 years ago. After a weekend of reflection and review of the skills they had learned during their practice sessions, they have arrived at the last day of practice, ready to put all their skills to the test.

Chapter Synopsis: After almost a week's worth of basketball practice, growing relationships and newfound bonds among the Looney Tunes, the MonStars and the Sailor Guardians, it all comes down to the final day of practice for the Tune Squad. Hoping to show their new player-coach / team co-captain what they are capable of, the Tune Squad decides to host a series of special training games to prepare for the biggest game in Looney Tune Land since the original Ultimate Game in 1996. During this practice session, Bugs has set up another special surprise for Usagi, this time in the form of someone close to her heart showing up in Looney Tune Land to check up on the Tune Squad before the Ultimate Game.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Looney Tunes or Sailor Moon characters who appear in this story as they appear under the ownership of their respective companies, Warner Bros. Animation and Toei Animation. Also, this story will be set in the year of 2016, 20 years after the release of the original Space Jam. Also, the title for this chapter is a two-way reference: a reference to Seal's cover of "Fly Like an Eagle" from the original Space Jam soundtrack and a reference to the Futurama episode of the same name.

Dedication: A tip of the hat to NBA legend and the basketball GOAT, Michael Jordan; Bugs Bunny as his Jordan Brand alter-ego, Hare Jordan; and the 20th anniversary of the 1996 Warner Bros. sports-comedy classic, Space Jam.

KidsWBYungsta Presents Looney Tunes & Sailor Moon: Sailor Space Jam! – Chapter 18: Time Keeps on Slippin'

Date: Monday, November 14, 2016 – The Schlesinger Gym – Looney Tune Land, Animation Multiverse

After a weekend of reflection and an opportunity for some of the Tune Squad stars to get in some extra hours of practice time before the Ultimate Game, it had finally come down to this: the last day of training before the Ultimate Game against the Witches 5. All of the Tune Squad players knew that their hard work would eventually pay off as long as they kept their minds to it and they had a high level of confidence. Even if things did not work out to their advantage, they knew that they had given their best effort on the court, but they hoped that they would manage to defeat the Witches 5 tomorrow night, so they would avoid a fate that had almost befallen the Looney Tunes 20 years ago: endure an eternity of slavery on Swackhammer's Moron Mountain without the possibility of ever working in new Warner Bros. animation again—let alone, getting the opportunity to work on their contracts that would make them eligible to work on future Looney Tunes-related projects.

However, for the Sailor Guardians, this week in Looney Tune Land was more than just helping their new allies—not to mention, childhood heroes—avoid an embarrassing defeat against their old enemies, but it allowed them to gain new friendships in the form of the MonStars. The fact that Bugs Bunny and Marvin the Martian had gone the extra mile to call up the Sailor Starlights and have them join the Tune Squad was also a nice call on their part, seeing as how they did not expect to see the trio again after their battle against Sailor Galaxia.

In the morning hours of Monday, November 14, all of the Tune Squad players and the cheerleaders had come together in the Schlesinger Gym, where Bugs Bunny, Jimmy Butler and Jasmine Shay would meet them for their final practice session before the Ultimate Game. Once they had all gathered inside the gymnasium, Bugs walked up to the center of the court alongside Jimmy and Jasmine, announcing to his Tune Squad teammates, "Well, docs and doctresses, this is it. Tomorrow is the big night and today is our final day of practice before we show the Witches 5 what we are really capable of. I gotta say, when we first laid down this basketball challenge, I was a little concerned about how our skills would stack up against those witches, especially since it had been so long ago since we played that fateful basketball game alongside the legendary NBA megastar, Michael Jordan ..."

Bugs then looked at the audience and said in a sotto aside, "Eh, Warner Bros. paid me to say that last line, folks."

He proceeded to continue addressing the Tune Squad, saying, "Anyway, I just want to say that Jimmy and I have been proud of your training and dedication over the past few days—and we would like to send our thanks to our new teammates, the Sailor Guardians, for stepping up and helping the MonStars get back to that classic basketball-playing shape they had back in 1996."

The Tune Squad all applauded for themselves, as well as the combined efforts of the MonStars and the Sailor Guardians, then Jimmy stepped up and said, "You all have really amazed me with what you all have brought to the court during the past couple of days. If there was any doubt in my mind that you all still had those original Space Jam skills, I can say that you all put my doubts to rest, so, for our final training session, we are going to have a series of special basketball games to prepare ourselves for the big one that is looming over us."

Marvin then walked up to where Bugs, Jimmy and Jasmine were standing as Bugs said, "Marvin here will be reprising his role as the referee, but he doesn't seem to be the type to blow his whistle at the sight of a foul or anything over-the-top—unless it is something heinous—though he will call a fair game."

"Well, at this point, I have to, Bugs," Marvin said to Bugs while wiping his whistle. "All of our animated lives are at stake, you know?"

Before the game started, Bugs and Jimmy proceeded to split everyone up into two teams, each with ten players; for Bugs' team, he decided to recruit Lola, Seiya, Bupkus, Nawt, Daffy, Wile E., Usagi, Makoto, Michiru and Taz, while Jimmy chose Pound, Blanko, Bang, Ami, Rei, Minako, Haruka, Pepé, Sylvester and Foghorn. While the other Tune Squad players sat in the stands to watch the first game taking place on the court, Marvin walked up to the center of the court with the basketball, looking at both Bugs and Jimmy, then he asked both players, "Ready, gentlemen?"

With a respective nod of their heads, Marvin threw the ball into the air between Bugs and Jimmy, then Jimmy proceeded to knock the ball away from Bugs with ease and Haruka caught the ball as she ran down the court while being defended by Wile E. Coyote. While she was being defended by Wile E., Haruka decided to play some mind games with the coyote by saying, "You know, Wile E., if you happen to be a super-genius coyote, how come you never caught the Road Runner or even defeated Bugs Bunny in a battle of wits?"

Wile E. was surprised to hear that Haruka would ask him a question of this sort, but he quickly caught up with her game as he said, "Well, my dear, far be it from me to fail at catching such a speedster like the Road Runner, but I think the question should be: how does it feel to know that you let a super-genius coyote outsmart you in a game of basketball?"

While Haruka was left confused by Wile E.'s answer, the genius coyote proceeded to steal the ball away from Haruka, making his way down the court with ease while quickly passing the ball to Makoto, who managed to pull up for an easy 2-point jumpshot. Although she was initially annoyed by the genius coyote's trickery, she could only give a smile in response as she said to herself, "I guess there's more to that Wile E. Coyote than what I've seen from him in his old cartoons ..."

As the trick play from Wile E. Coyote and the subsequent jumpshot by Makoto, Bupkus ran up to Haruka and said, "I gotta say, Haruka, I'm surprised you took that trick play from Wile E. Coyote so well. I would've thought you would have taken that a lot more seriously than you did."

Haruka could only raise an eyebrow as she playfully said, "Oh, really? What makes you say that, Bupkus?"

"Trust me, I've heard stories about how you and Makoto used to play basketball in Tokyo ... and the stories I've heard about those games were not pretty," Bupkus said, giving a playful smirk as he ran down the court to catch up with Rei.

As Haruka caught up with the rest of the players, Rei managed to pass the ball to Sylvester, who ran up to the hoop and performed an easy layup. As Sylvester and Rei exchanged high-fives, Bugs inbounded the ball to Daffy, who unintentionally crashed into Minako when she was trying to set up a screen, but the ball was picked up by Nawt, who scored a long 3-point shot while Daffy and Minako helped each other up from the floor. Daffy dusted Minako off as he chuckled a bit and said, "Uh, sorry about that, Minako, I guess I should've watched where I was going, huh?"

Minako just smiled in response as she pet Daffy's head and said, "Don't worry, Daffy, just make sure you keep your head in the game instead of getting all the glory."

After the rest of the game continued, it was all going well and Bugs' team was 3 points ahead of Jimmy's team. Once Nawt inbounded the ball to Seiya, the leader of the Sailor Starlights noticed that Bang and Foghorn were hot on her tail, but she managed to slide underneath the two while bouncing the ball, causing the MonStar and the Southern-fried Looney Tune to slam their heads into each other. Seiya proceeded to pass the ball to Michiru, who gave an alley-oop pass to Taz, who used his signature spin to jump up and catch the ball for a slam dunk.

Once Taz made the alley-oop slam dunk, Marvin blew his whistle to signal the end of the game, declaring Bugs' team the winner as Bugs and Jimmy exchanged high fives, with Jimmy saying while wiping sweat from his forehead, "Man, Bugs, I gotta say, you Looney Tunes know a thing or two about putting up a good fight when it comes to playing basketball!"

"Hey, I appreciate the compliment, J.B.," Bugs said as he took a bite from his carrot. "You really stood out on the court, what with all of your 3-pointers and super slam dunks. Hey, you still have a chance to win a game because we're about to get into another game right now!"

"Alright, Bugs, you've got yourself another challenge!" Jimmy said as he shook hands with Bugs.

For the second game, Bugs and Jimmy decided to switch up their team lineups for the second game of the day: Bugs kept Bupkus, Lola, Daffy, Makoto and Michiru for his team while he chose Taiki and Elmer from the stands, even getting Pepé, Ami, Pound and Rei from Jimmy's team. As for Jimmy, he decided to pick Setsuna, Chibi-Usa, Hotaru, the Road Runner (an obvious game breaker), Wakko, Yakko and Yaten while picking up Nawt and Taz from Bugs' team.

When it came down to the second game, things were looking up in favor of Jimmy's team, thanks to the help of his secret weapon, the Road Runner. The Road Runner managed to chalk up all of the steals and assists, then there was the Warner Brothers, both of whom stepped up for a few 2-pointers and standout trick moves that kept the players on Bugs' team on their toes. However, the standouts came in the form of Taiki and Yaten, both of whom put their training to good use by performing a series of 3-pointers that kept the second game as intense, yet so engaging as the first one.

After the second game, Marvin declared Jimmy's team as the winning team, but Bugs couldn't complain. After all, he did give Jimmy another chance at winning a practice game against his team. Just as the Tune Squad prepared to take a break, the team was surprised to hear a familiar voice saying, "Well, I see that Usako has really proven herself as a formidable asset to this Tune Squad ..."

Usagi jumped up in surprise as she said, "Huh? Mamoru, is that you?"

Her question would be summarily answered by seeing Mamoru standing near the gym's double doors, wearing sunglasses and pulling them down a bit as he said, "The one and only ..."

Usagi proceeded to rush over to her boyfriend and wrap him into a hug, saying with a smile, "Wow, Mamoru, I'm so glad that you showed up! What are you doing here in Looney Tune Land?"

Bugs, Lola and Daffy walked up to where Usagi and Mamoru were as Daffy said, "I think the better question is: just how did he get down here anyway?"

"Well, Daffy, I happened to get a call from Bugs about checking up on you guys before this big basketball game tomorrow night, so I wanted to see what was going on," Mamoru said while shrugging his shoulders.

Daffy was surprised to know that Bugs was also behind Mamoru's eventual arrival in Looney Tune Land, glaring at the rabbit as he said, "First, it was the Sailor Starlights, then you call Mamoru down here? How did you get into contact with a lot of these people in the Sailor Moon universe?"

"Hey, what can I say, Daffy?" Bugs said with a smirk as he took a bite from his carrot. "It helps to have a lot of connections across these animated universes."

Daffy could only fume in response as Mamoru chuckled and said to Usagi, "So, Usagi, aren't you going to introduce me to your new friends?"

"Oh, yeah! Bugs, Daffy, Lola, I would like for you all to meet my boyfriend, Mamoru Chiba," Usagi said, introducing Mamoru to Bugs, Lola and Daffy. "He's quite the Renaissance man."

"A Renaissance man, eh?" Bugs said as he walked up to Mamoru and shook his hand, saying with a smile, "Pleased to meet you, Mamoru. I'm surprised I didn't get to see you the last time the Looney Tunes and I had met the Sailor Guardians. Were you gone doing some business somewhere?"

"I was studying overseas at a local college," Mamoru said. "I did remember Usagi mentioning something about you and the other Looney Tunes. I still ponder what Taz ended up doing while you guys were in Tokyo ..."

"I would tell you about that, but if I do, it would just get Taz in more trouble than he really deserves," Bugs said with a light shudder. "Besides, we already cleared that up before we came back here."

"I see," Mamoru said with a light nod of his head, then he shook hands with Lola as he said, "So, this must be the beautiful Lola Bunny, huh?"

Lola smiled in response as she said, "Why, yes ... what a nice gentleman you are!"

"Well, I can say you are lucky to have such a legendary superstar like Bugs Bunny as your significant other," Mamoru said, causing Bugs and Lola to smile warmly.

Suddenly, Daffy cleared his throat, obviously waiting for Mamoru to acknowledge him, but Mamoru could only chuckle as he said, "Don't worry, Daffy, I wasn't going to forget about you!"

"Thank you, Mamoru," Daffy said with a smile. "I'm glad you are willing enough to acknowledge a true superstar in your presence."

Lola could only roll her eyes as Bugs just palmed his face, saying, "Oh, brother ..."

"Still the same old Daffy, huh?" Mamoru said to Usagi, who proceeded to giggle in response.

Daffy just sighed as Usagi proceeded to introduce Mamoru to the rest of the Tune Squad teammates. Bugs and Lola walked up to Daffy as Bugs said, "Well, that was a good first impression on your end, Daffy."

"Oh, shut up!" Daffy said in an annoyed tone. "This is our first time meeting the guy anyway! I'm surprised it took us this long to meet him in the first place!"

"Well, I see that he is getting along pretty well with the rest of the Tune Squad," Bugs said upon watching Mamoru interacting with the other Tune Squad players and even the MonStars. "I'm amazed he's so relaxed with the MonStars, though I guess it's not too surprising ..."

Date: Monday, November 14, 2016 – The Warner Bros. Pavillion – Looney Tune Land, Animation Multiverse

Later that night, everyone in Looney Tune Land had gathered for another big meeting in the Warner Bros. Pavillion where Bugs Bunny would make a major announcement about the Ultimate Game that was going to occur in Looney Tune Land tomorrow night. Bugs walked up to the podium and looked at the Looney Tunes and Sailor Guardians present in the building, saying, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'm glad to see that all of you have made it to this press conference tonight. As you all may know, tomorrow night is the big basketball game against the Witches 5, which also happens to be on the same day as the 20th anniversary of the original release of the film, Space Jam."

Amidst mumurs of interest and excitement, Bugs continued to address the audience in the pavillion, saying, "Anyway, as I had mentioned during our training session this morning, you all have done so well in training over the past couple of days that it really speaks volume to the level of determination and confidence among all of the players in this incarnation of the Tune Squad. Hopefully, all of that hard work, determination and dedication will pay off when we show our skills against the Witches 5 during the Ultimate Game tomorrow night. Now, I will step aside and let Jimmy Butler here step up to the podium and give his thoughts about the hard work you all have put in during practice."

As Bugs stepped away from the podium, Jimmy Butler walked up to the podium to the sounds of thunderous applause, allowing the basketball player to give a genuine smile as he said, "Everyone, as your new player-coach / team co-captain for the Tune Squad, I can honestly say that Michael Jordan would be proud to see all of the hard work that you all have put in during our practice sessions this past week. Even with the odds stacked against us, you all have shown that you are willing to buckle down and get your heads in the game, knowing that your animated lives are at stake. I was so amazed to see how you all came together and train to the best of your abilities for such a big event in Looney Tune Land. Coming from the Chicago Bulls lineage myself, I can safely say that it is an honor to be teaming up with not only the world's most-popular cartoon characters of all-time, but also teaming up with their former rivals turned good and one of the most-famous magical girl groups of all-time."

The players and cheerleaders of the Tune Squad all smiled and applauded as Jimmy continued to address the audience, saying, "Without a doubt, I can easily say that this is one of the best teams I have ever played on in the history of basketball. Even though I have a long career of basketball ahead of me, this is practically what I would envision a modern-day 'Dream Team' looking like in the Olympics—I mean, it would be filled with other star basketball players instead of cartoon characters, but still the same concept nonetheless."

The audience proceeded to laugh as they applauded for Jimmy while he stepped away from the podium and Bugs walked back up, saying, "Anyway, this game coming up is not only important for us, but it is important for all of the Looney Tunes and the Sailor Guardians. Tomorrow night, we have to play our hearts out there, with the knowledge that all of our animated careers are at stake, so let's go out there tomorrow night and win this one not only for the Looney Tunes and Sailor Guardians, but for the Animation Multiverse as a whole!"

The audience proceeded to stand up and hold their fists in the air as they all applauded while Bugs said to the audience, "I just love a good rousing speech scene before a big event, don't you?"

Date: Monday, November 14, 2016 – The Acme Industrial Basketball Complex – Looney Tune Land, Animation Multiverse

Back at the Acme Industrial Basketball Complex, the Witches 5 and Kaolinite were having a meeting of their own—unfortunately, Swackhammer was still trying to push his SwackStars onto the Witches 5's basketball team, even though the girls were visibly uncomfortable with playing alongside such bloodthirsty basketball players like the SwackStars. Anyway, Swackhammer did take note of the Witches 5's efforts over the past couple of days as he smiled at them and said, "Alright, ladies, I know I might have been a bit too intimidating—"

"Understatement of the century, if I ever heard one," Eudial said under her breath, causing the other members of the Witches 5 to giggle in response.

Swackhammer just growled as he continued addressing the Witches 5 and Kaolinite, saying, "Anyway, I just want to say that I am really proud of you girls and all of the hard work you have put in to defeating those Looney Tunes and Sailor Guardians tomorrow night. After tomorrow night, once you girls win the biggest basketball game the likes of which Looney Tune Land has ever seen, those Looney Tunes and Sailor Guardians will forever be my new attractions and my Moron Mountain amusement park will live to see another day!"

While Swackhammer laughed evilly, the SwackStars joined in as Busta Buss said while palming his fist into his hand, "Hey, Swackhammer, when are you gonna let us go out there on the court and give those Tune Squad players the real business?"

Swackhammer walked up to Busta Buss and pat him on his shoulder, saying, "Easy, easy, Busta Buss, you and the SwackStars will get your shot on the court ... if the Witches 5 don't deliver, you guys can have all of the Tune Squad blood you want!"

Upon hearing the Witches 5 and Kaolinite give shocked gasps in response to Swackhammer's comment, he quickly changed his tune as he said while laughing nervously, "Uh, but promise me you'll go easy on them, fellas! I mean, I don't want to see any serious casualties during the game!"

"Wait a minute, Swackhammer, I thought you had set us up to—" Zilchtastic began to say before he was interrupted by Swackhammer stomping on his foot, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Oh, stop it! You know what I mean!" Swackhammer said in an annoyed tone. "Just do as I say!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Swacky, let's get something straight here!" Wild Sauce said, standing up to his boss in the name of his fellow SwackStars. "Now, I know you had given us the team name in your namesake, but you need to learn to have some actual respect for your players! I mean, look, you had us pull off this bloodthirsty, unstable front when you introduced us as the Witches 5's new teammates, but you can't keep pulling this off any—"

However, Wild Sauce was stopped by Swackhammer grabbing his throat while saying, "You got any more smart-aleck comments, Wild Sauce?"

Wild Sauce was choking, but he managed to croak out a simple, "No, just let go of me and nobody gets hurt."

"Good!" Swackhammer said as he threw Wild Sauce down to the ground, allowing him to catch his breath, then he looked at the rest of the SwackStars, the Witches 5 and Kaolinite. "Now, the rest of you, you all better be ready for the Ultimate Game tomorrow night because if any of you try to defy me, then I will turn all of your bones into earrings! Do I make myself clear?"

The Witches 5, the SwackStars and Kaolinite all nodded their heads quickly as Swackhammer said, "Good!"

Once Swackhammer left the Acme Industrial Basketball Complex, Wild Sauce got up from the floor as he said, "Listen, man, I'm sorry, but I can't put up with a prima donna like that! Listen, I was all for giving the Tune Squad the business, but this is just ridiculous! I'm sorry, but I'm going up to Moron Mountain to start up our own basketball league! What do you say, fellas?"

The other SwackStars were surprised by their teammate's declaration, but they decided that it would be better than having to put up with Swackhammer's unsustainable desires. Zilchtastic just shrugged and said, "Hey, man, whatever floats your boat. At least we could set up our own league akin to those old NFL Blitz games."

As the SwackStars proceeded to leave the Acme Industrial Basketball Complex, Eudial called out, "Wait a minute, guys! What about the Ultimate Game tomorrow night?"

"Hey, sorry, ladies, it was nice working with y'all, but we've got bigger fish to fry!" Bupkazoid said in response as he left the gymnasium.

"Just let us know what happens after the game," Blanked Out said in a reassuring tone. "If not, just send Swackhammer back up here when he loses his mind. You know it's bound to happen ..."

Once the SwackStars left and prepared to go back up to Moron Mountain, the Witches 5 and Kaolinite were left with a dilemma: how would they break the news to Swackhammer that his own creations defied him and went back up to Moron Mountain? Mimete seemed to be the most-stressed as she said, "Oh, no! Girls, what are we going to do? Swackhammer is going to kill us when he realizes that his secret weapons are not participating in the Ultimate Game tomorrow night!"

The girls tried to figure out how to remedy the loss of their secret weapon, but Eudial decided to raise their spirits by instilling a motto into them that would hopefully benefit them in the Ultimate Game, "Let's play to our heart's content. At this point, things can't get any worse right?"

Well, folks, here we are: the final chapter before we get into the Ultimate Game between the Tune Squad and the Witches 5! In other words, Chapter 18 of Sailor Space Jam! is completed! Good thing I had found enough time to complete this chapter, compared to previous ones where it took at least 2-3 days to finish them all the way to the end. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the surprise appearance of Mamoru Chiba in this chapter; this is actually my first time writing him into one of my fanfics, so this should be a good indicator as to how he will play into the later parts of this story.

Also, I feel it was pretty anti-climatic to have the SwackStars be built up as the ultimate evil the Tune Squad would have to go up against, then have them just up and leave Swackhammer in this chapter, but it does allow the Witches 5 to really step up and prove their worth as basketball players against the Sailor Guardians. Maybe Swackhammer might be reasonable enough to not even worry about switching them out for his SwackStars, but with a person of his character, you just never know ...

Anyway, now that both teams are ready to throw down in the biggest basketball game in modern Looney Tunes history, there are a few questions left to be answered: how will the Tune Squad perform against the Witches 5? Will the Witches 5 be good enough to sustain an entire game against a basketball team consisting of the Looney Tunes, the MonStars, the Sailor Starlights, the Sailor Guardians and even Jimmy Butler? Who will know the secret of the Witches 5's basketball success? Well, as always, "Stay Tooned" for the next chapter to find out, folks!