Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Chapter 11 and prepare yourselves: The final battle is just around the corner.
Before we get there, though, there is still one little matter that needs to be addressed: Why DID toons suddenly cut themselves off from humanity? Today, we learn that secret.
Before we go any further, I'd like to apologize for how long it took to post a new chapter. The best way to put it is: writer's block is a pain. Sometimes, nothing will pop up and it could take a while before I begin typing again. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish this story this year (trust me, there are a LOT more coming after this one is done).
Also, apologies for the language that comes from Big and his family's mouths and how long this chapter is (writer's block tends to have me type longer chapters due to so many ideas). The Warners put him through the ringer.
Anyway, it's the final countdown and our competitors will prepare for a battle, so here we go.
Chapter 11: One Last Hope
"So let me get this straight" Slappy began, crossing her arms after hearing what Big had told her.
In a nutshell, he had told her everything Scrooge had planned for Minerva, himself, and Rocky.
In a nutshell, she was not happy.
"….Minerva is pregnant, McDuck wanted to imprison Rocky again with no idea of how to free Bugs and Mickey, and wanted to scramble your brains so that you wouldn't be a threat to us. Is that right?" Slappy, finishing her statement, asked as Big replied "Basically, yes. Sorry to say, but somehow I don't think this will end peacefully. In the end, they ran into a fight with little-to-no plan thought out."
"Oh, so politicians basically" Slappy whispered to the reader before asking "So what happened to the toons that went after Rocky? If they went after him, more than likely it's over."
Big, however, shook his head as he replied "I don't think so. When I came to save you, for a short moment, I was able to sense Rocky's power grow which can mean two things: 1) The toons that went after Rocky have failed and are more than likely his new slaves."
"And the second?" Slappy asked, noticing Big beginning to leave the room, as he replied "If Rocky's a toon, why can I sense him but not any of you?"
"Hold it" Slappy suddenly demanded, stopping Big at the door frame as she asked "Ok, let's say I believe you're not a toon. How does that whole 'sense' thing work? This ain't one of those fancy-smancy 'anime' shows that just throws that in just as a deus-ex-machina."
Without turning around, Big replied "For one, a deus-ex-machina is used in stories for an easy fix for a nearly unsolvable problem. This isn't an easy fix. For another, I don't know why I can sense him but not any of you. If I didn't know any better, there's something about Rocky nobody knew about."
Finally walking out of the room, Big thought to himself "There is something I'm missing about Rocky, but what? There's a reason I can sense him, and there in is where Rocky's secret can be exposed."
Big soon began walking into the hall, only to hear something new.
The sound of something large and sharp scraping against the wall.
Something that sounded similar to metal.
Grinding his teeth, Big muttered "He knows we're here."
"Hello Yakko" he heard from right next to him.
Not bothering to turn around, Yakko already knew it was Minerva.
And yet, if he had turned around he would have seen the hurt in her face, and likely vice-versa.
Crossing her arms, Minerva muttered "So, I can imagine how many questions you have about the pictures you saw." Yakko simply huffed, crossing his arms over his chest without facing her as she continued "Well, it's a bit of a long story, but the short version is…"
She never finished, as Yakko asked "How long?" She stopped; a bit hurt yet confused as Yakko asked "How long have you been doing it? How long were you planning to keep it from me?"
Minerva said nothing, yet hung her head low.
"So?" Yakko asked, and yet she said nothing.
For that one moment, it was tense yet silent.
Yakko, always known for talking, said nothing as he refused to face her.
Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, she spoke.
"It was tough after the show ended" Minerva began, not able to look at Yakko as she spoke "A majority of us were fired and everything was taken away from us. We lost our insurance, we were never given our final paychecks, and whenever we tried to apply for other shows they shut us out."
Yakko still said nothing, choosing to stay quiet as Minerva continued.
"For some of us, we had no choice but to get jobs wherever we could, and believe me when I say I tried to do something else" Minerva pleaded with him, yet she sighed when he still wouldn't say anything let alone look at her.
"Believe it or not, I tried my hand at other jobs but nothing worked out, so one day I was offered a late night job as a…" She stopped, gripping her blouse before continuing "…well, you know, and it paid well so I was able to live off that for a while. Then, you happened and everything changed."
For the first time, she noticed his body stiffen as Yakko could have sworn his eyes were starting to go soft while she continued "I actually quit after our first date. To be honest, the money was good but I found something that was better."
For the first time in this conversation, Yakko finally began to turn around as he asked "What was that?"
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she whispered into his right ear "You" before locking lips with the surprised older Warner. Yakko was surprised for a moment before trying to speak in between the kiss "We still *kiss* need *kiss* to finish…" he finally stopped when she muttered "Later" before they just returned to their lip lock.
The whistling at the door stopped them as they turned towards it to see Wakko and Skippy whistling while Dot simply crossed her arms as she turned towards the reader and said "Boys, they get excited for anything."
The sound of Yakko and Minerva clearing their throats were heard as all 3 turned to them before Minerva asked "A little privacy, please?"
The sounds of crashing were suddenly heard making them all wonder just what was going on.
Soon enough, the sounds of something going through walls confirmed their thoughts: Rocky's 'kids' had found them.
Walking into the dark hallways, Big kept his eyes and ears open for whatever was making the scraping noise. He already knew he wasn't able to detect any toons if they were hiding in the dark, thus he would have to rely on natural senses such as sight and sound. What made it even more difficult was one simple fact, one simple irrefutable thought that ran through his mind:
So long as these toons were infected and under Rocky's control, he would not be able to find them.
Regardless, placing a hand on the wall, Big quietly walked forward and allowed his hand to feel for any vibrations that were to come.
Unfortunately for him, Big didn't expect to hear the click of a gun as he stepped back while a gun blast blew a hole into the wall. Turning to his right, Big noticed the figure of Elmer Fudd reloading his gun, except his clothes were now black and his eyes glowing yellow.
"Looks like I forgot about you" Big muttered, yet then realized "But then that means…"
He trailed off as a large needle came flying at him from the darkness, forcing him to duck as the needle struck the wall. On one knee, Big began to notice a new toon exiting from the darkness as the needle withdrew back towards its source.
A toon that, to the fans of Animaniacs, was once known as Dr. Scratchansniff, as he asked "Now what do we have here? A new patient, perhaps?" As Big stood up, he noticed the mutated doctor with two others. The much taller one, the mutated Foghorn, stared at him as well as what appeared to be Yosemite with more darker clothes yet with yellow eyes as well. "No" Dr. Scratchansniff finally concluded as he stated "You're not a toon. Not at all. You are a problem, one that must be dealt with."
"Oh really?" Big sarcastically asked, as he crossed his arms while adding "You base that on what, the toons you possessed earlier?" Dr. Scratchansniff, tilting his head in confusion, said nothing as Big added "Oh please, don't play the innocent act with me. All of you were mutated by Rocky's own DNA, so I'm willing to bet not only can he control you but he can also see everything going on in front of you."
The four mutated toons began to surround him, yet did nothing more before Dr. Scratchansniff began to speak again, yet not with his own voice "Well, you're apparently smarter than I gave credit."
Meanwhile, as he sat in the office chair of the CEO office of Warner Brothers, Rocky looked out the window, his eyes closed.
"Big, I presume" Rocky announced, seemingly talking to himself as he continued "I have to admit, what you did to my kids was quite impressive."
"You did what I thought was impossible: You managed to free them from my influence, yet in the end you failed to save them" Dr. Scratchansniff spoke, still using Rocky's voice, as Big stated "You're the one that killed them. When you take control of them, you damage their cellular DNA. You're basically weaponizing them for your own benefits."
"Oh, boo hoo hoo" Dr. Scratchansniff stated, pretending to cry while he continued on "I'm weaponizing my own kind so that way I get my message across to all the pathetic humans who can listen."
"What is your message: You're willing to sacrifice your own kind to accomplish your goals?" Big asked, as Rocky replied through Dr. Scratchansniff "Well hero, as the old saying goes: Sometimes you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet."
"You're sick" Big growled, wrapping his fists as Rocky stated "So what? In the end, their sacrifices will help bring about the end of humanity and the beginning of a new toon empire, MY toon empire."
"Stop this now, Rocky" Big stated, staring into Dr. Scratchansniff's eyes as Rocky asked "Or what?" Big simply replied "Or I put you down for good."
"Oh, I'm looking forward to it" Rocky spoke, before adding "But for now, I think I'll let the kids play."
Dr. Scratchansniff shook his head for a few moments before telling the other toons "Well, the master has given us our order." Pointing a needle at Big, he states "Let's operate."
Narrowing his eyes, Big soon softened them as something tapped Dr. Scratchansniff's back. Turning around, the doctor soon realized the arrival of Little as she stated "Sorry, I don't think so."
The next thing the mutated toons knew, Little had punched Dr. Scratchansniff through a wall before Foghorn rushed her, as Little grabbed his head before being slammed back first into a different wall.
At the same time, Yosemite and Elmer began firing at Big, who quickly began to dodge the bullets while closing the gap between himself and the toons.
Hearing the sounds of shooting and concrete breaking, Carlos and Sara look towards the medical clinic with the former's face full of worry as he slowly began to reach for his rifle only for Sara's hand to stop him. "Take it easy, sweetie" Sara whispered, cupping his hand as she told him "They'll be ok. Despite everything they've been through, they'll be ok. And besides, it's not like they're in danger right now."
Within the next second, the body of Foghorn was sent flying through the doors and towards them. Carlos and Sara quickly moved out of the way as Foghorn flew past them and landed just a foot away.
"Carlos, was that a giant chicken?" Sara asked, as Foghorn quickly stood up and noticed Carlos and Sara right nearby. Crossing his eyes, Carlos finally let Sara's hand go and pulled out his rifle, aiming it at Foghorn before replying "No, he's a rooster."
Foghorn slowly began to walk towards them, yet stopped as he noticed the look in Carlos' eyes. No longer were they concerned, just angry. Foghorn just stood there, staring at Carlos before muttering in Rocky's voice "I remember you" as he turned and began to leave.
Putting his rifle away, Carlos simply stated "I know my Looney Tunes, and I know who Foghorn is, but I recognize that voice and that wasn't him." Seemingly confused, Sara asked "Carlos, what are you talking about?" Not even bothering to turn towards her, Carlos replied "That, I think, was Rocky."
The next thing both Carlos and Sara knew, Yosemite and Elmer also found themselves thrown out through the door before quickly getting up to run as the human and dhampir simply seemed confused while Big followed them out into the sunlight only to see them disappear.
"You'd better run" Big whispered, not looking away while narrowing his eyes adding "Run to your master and tell him I'm coming for him. Your master made the mistake of threatening this world, so I will show him no mercy."
"Big?" he heard from behind him as Big whispered "Dad?"
Turning around, Big soon found his father and Sara staring at him as Big gave a small smile as he said "Hi dad."
Continuing her struggle with Dr. Scratchansniff, Little threw herself and the toon doctor through another wall resulting in them finding themselves in the same room as a strapped down Scrooge looked on and attempted to scream, all the while his mouth was still stuffed with a sock, something around the words "CURSE ME BAGPIPES!"
Separating from one another, the two rose and began to stare at one another until the toon doctor stopped, a message repeating through his head.
"Return to me! She is a threat to my plans. Regroup so that we may prepare for them."
Noticing his relaxed stance, Little announced "Don't tell me you're done yet. We're just getting started". Yet, as Dr. Scratchansniff began to back away, he announced "My master orders my return, thus I believe I shall take my leave, but be forewarned madame: My master remembers you, and your time has run out." Little, in response, growls her teeth as she states "Tell your master I'll be seeing him and you soon." Backing away into the hole, Dr. Scratchansniff soon disappears into the darkness as Little takes a sigh of relief while asking herself "What the hell is going on around here?"
Little soon turned to her left and noticed Scrooge still strapped down, as she asked "Let me guess: my brother did this to you?" Scrooge nodded, as Little then stated "You must have done something to upset him" before beginning to walk out as Scrooge squirmed while still attempting to free himself.
"So this Rocky is some kind of toon that can mutate other toons, correct?" Sara asked, as Big crossed his arms and nodded while Carlos replied "I'm afraid so, and if Rocky can do this to all of them, we might be facing the end of humanity."
Big, however, sighs as he adds "I'm afraid the problem is much worse than we thought."
Carlos and Sara gave Big their full attention as the three began to enter the medical clinic while he stated "Apparently, the ooze Rocky uses to mutate the toons into his slaves has some dangerous side effects." Blinking in confusion, Carlos asked "Side effects? Like what?" as Big replied "Death."
"What?" Carlos suddenly asked, Sara still confused as he added "That…that's not possible. I thought only dip could kill them." Big, however, shook his head as he says "Unfortunately, that doesn't seem true anymore. Something in Rocky's DNA can neutralize their own."
"So what?" Sara suddenly asked, as the words "Sounds fine to me" were heard. Turning their heads to the direction, the three saw Little appear as she smiled while quietly stating "Looks like the family's together again, so can we please find Rocky and get out of here?"
"We can't, not yet" Big suddenly stated, as Little growled while shouting "WHAT?" Wrapping her hands into fists, Little placed them on her hips before stating "In case you haven't noticed, we went halfway through the country just to save you and kill this jerk, and yet now you don't want that? Why not?" Big took a deep breath before muttering something unrecognizable.
"I'm sorry, what?" Sara suddenly asked, as Big quietly replied "We have innocent civilians that need our help." Little simply facepalmed before stating "Big, there's no humans anywhere in this city. It's just toons." Big, however, muttered "Exactly" before turning around to walk into a dark hallway. Shrugging his shoulders, Carlos soon followed him, as did Little and Sara.
"Despite all this, you still wanna be the hero?" Little asked her brother, as Big nodded before he replied "Right now, I don't have a choice. It's either this, or extinction and I don't know about you, but I'm not ready yet to die." Turning back around, Big grabbed the chain under the shirt before muttering "Not yet, anyway."
Meanwhile, still inside, Skippy stuck his head out of a doorway and looked around yet found and heard nothing. Going back inside and shutting the door, he turned to his aunt and said "I think the fighting stopped, Aunt Slappy."
"Good" Slappy stated before turning to the reader and adding "Too much action and too little plot makes me either bored or confused."
"Speaking of plot, what are we gonna do about Plotz?" Dot suddenly asked, turning over to Slappy before adding "If it wasn't for him, we'd probably be at the end of this story by now."
"I don't know, blame the writer" Slappy replied, as a knock on the door was heard.
Pulling their mallets out of the toon spaces, Wakko, Dot and Slappy began to carefully walk towards the door while Minerva hid behind Yakko.
"Who goes there?" Wakko asked, as he heard Big's voice reply "It's me, Big." Putting his mallet away, Wakko announces "Ok" as he opens the door to show Big on one knee as he asks "Is everyone ok?" A majority of them nod, except Dot who just as quickly appears on Big's shoulder and manages to hug his head, announcing "Oh, my brave hero who scared off those naughty toons. You deserve to be rewarded."
"Kiss me and you will get hurt" Big muttered, yet Dot didn't seem to care as she turned to the reader and stated "He SO needs a lady in his life." Turning back to Big, she then adds "Luckily, I volunteer as…"
Dot never finished, as she was violently ripped away from Big by Little, grabbing her from her back, before turning her around and stating "Don't. Even. Think. About It." Raising an eyebrow, Dot asked "Let me guess: Wife?" Little narrowed her eyes before replying "No, his sister." Dot huffed before crossing her arms as she said "So you're testing me then? Well, two can play that game." Pointing towards her brothers, she added "I have two brothers. Beat that."
Narrowing her eyes, Little used her free hand to point to two figures behind them before stating "We have them."
Right on cue, Carlos and Sara began to walk through the hallway towards them as Little turned towards them and said "They were right where Big said…"
She never finished as Carlos' eyes went wide before shouting "OH MY GOD, IT'S DOT WARNER!" Quickly running towards Little and Dot, Carlos continued "SHE'S THE YOUNGEST OF THE WARNERS! OH MY GOD, SHE'S CUTER THAN ON TV WHEN I WAS…." At this moment, Big, Sara and even Little were a bit annoyed as they shouted "DAD/CARLOS" as he stopped and looked at each of them before asking "Too much?"
All 3 of them nodded before Dot crossed her arms and muttered "Oh great, a fanboy." In response to that, Sara also muttered "You have no idea."
"So what now?" Little asked Big, as she added "If we stay here, sooner or later they're gonna come back." Big nodded before replying "We need a new hiding spot, if only temporary."
Suddenly turning towards the toons inside the room, Big soon asked "You guys wouldn't happen to know a place, would you?"
It didn't take long before Slappy gave a dark smile, as she replied "Well, it just so happens I know a place off studio grounds, and two mice that owe me a favor."
As this occurred, back inside the CEO office, Rocky walked away from the shattered window, recalling everything he had read online about just what Big is, and just how history has changed.
In a way, he was surprised how humans had evolved in terms of science, and yet they had continued the same actions as before when he was free: war, violence, hatred.
In the same way, he was also surprised at the more recent inactivity of the toons. He wasn't sure why, but for some reason toons had kept themselves separated from humans since the late 1980's, only a mere 30 years after he was locked away. In a way, he was confused.
And yet, something deep within his mind told him that mystery, and the inevitable battle, was just on the horizon.
As his mind wandered off, Rocky couldn't help but notice he wasn't alone. Looking up, Rocky saw the entire room filled with altered toons, each one different looking than the other as they all stared at him. Getting up from his seat, Rocky soon announced "Children, a fight is coming, and I intend to win!" The toons soon raised their hands and roared as Rocky continued "And when this battle concludes and we stand on top, it will show the world that we toons are the superior race. Then, and only after then, we begin our world tour over humanity."
The toons soon roared again, only to slowly be silenced over a much small sound.
The sound of clapping.
Stopping their cheers altogether, the toons turned towards the door and saw Plotz clapping along with their cheers.
Slowly, but surely, they soon began to surround Plotz as he stopped.
"No kids" Rocky soon announced, quietly adding "Not yet. I still need him as is."
The toons groaned, but began to disband the circle as Plotz breathed a sigh of relief before asking "So now what comes next, partner?" Rocky smiled before replying "We wait for the guest of honor."
Meanwhile, inside the remnants of Acme Labs, as Brain began finishing up a quadratic equation on the remains of a chalk board while Pinky once again had the television on, yet groaned as he continued to switch television stations.
"We're here outside Burbank as the military has quarantined the town of Burbank from…."
Click
"It is hour 5 of the Burbank crisis and…"
Click
"We are here at ground zero for what the media is calling 'The Toon Invasion'….
Click
"Coming up next on "Keeping with the Kar..."
"Shut that off Pinky" Brain demanded, as Pinky did so while Brain added "I must have silence to prepare for my next plan for world domination." As Brain continued his work, Pinky began to walk towards him as he asked "But Brain, what about everything going on outside? Zip." Brain rolled his eyes as he replied "As long as we stay in Acme Labs, it has nothing to do with us Pinky. Now then…" Turning towards Pinky, Brain finally announced "I have completed the equation for the ultimate plan of world conquest; a sure-fire way to…"
Brain never finished that sentence, as he and Pinky heard the front doors opening.
"Quick Pinky, hide" Brain whispered to Pinky, as the two quickly ran towards the nearest rotten table they could find and hid while Pinky whispered "Do you think it's that evil toon, Rocky, Brain?" Pinky asked, as Brain replied "Let us hope not, Pinky." Brain replied, yet shuddered as he added "For if it is, we may not survive this day."
As the door into the lab opened, however, they were not expecting who would enter.
"So what is this place?" Big asked, as he began to look around yet noticed the state of the lab before adding "It's looks like it hasn't been tended to in years."
The second person who entered, Slappy, replied "That's what cancelation will do to you. After Animaniacs was canceled, Pinky and the Brain went right after." She let off a small chuckle before adding "After that, they got stuck with Elmyra until that went south." Big, a bit confused, asked "Ok then, but what happened to this place specifically?" Before Slappy could answer, a third voice was heard.
One that neither Pinky nor Brain were familiar with.
"It was shut down" Carlos responded, quickly entering while dropping the bags to a side as he looked around and said "I can't believe how out of shape the entire building looks. It's like the entire place was just abandoned without any care." Rolling her eyes, Slappy said the words "Again: cancelation will do that to you."
"Brain, is that a human?" Pinky whispered to Brain, who silently nodded before asking "Why is there a human in Burbank? Nar-ACK" Pinky suddenly found his mouth shut by Brain, who hissed the words "Quiet Pinky. If they hear us, we might be dragged into some unknown laboratory and experimented on to see how toons exist. Maybe even worse." With his mouth still held shut, Pinky was forced to groan the words "Even worse?" as the Brain replied "They'll perform a dissection." Pinky immediately began to squirm and panic as Brain was forced to restrain him.
"Did you hear that?" Big asked, as Slappy replied "If I didn't know any better, it sounds like one mouse trying to restrain the other." Big raised an eyebrow, as Slappy simply stated "You don't have much of a sense of humor, do you?" Big huffed, yet before he could say anything Carlos replied "This one? A sense of humor? He doesn't even watch cartoons." Turning to him, Big muttered the words "Dad, shut up before…."
Unfortunately for him, the Warners had heard him and within the blink of an eye Big found himself instantly removed from the lab.
"Not gonna lie: I don't feel sorry for him" Slappy stated, turning towards Carlos before asking "So, you're his dad huh? He adopted or something?" Carlos sighed before replying "Yep" before turning over to Slappy, a small chuckle in his throat, as he stated "You are still as shrewd as I remembered from the cartoons." In turn, she asked "You watched them?" Carlos smirked before replying "Loved them, both the ones before and during Animaniacs."
With that statement, Slappy turned to the reader and said "Now this guy, I can stand."
The next one to walk into the room was Little, as she had an eyebrow raised while asking "So I just saw Big being dragged away by those three toons and I'm just wondering if that's something to be worried about." Carlos shook his head as he then asked her "How about the others? Are they ok?" Little sighed before replying "Well, aside from the 3 that just dragged Big away, the mink and other squirrel…"
At that point, Slappy cut her off by stating "Skippy." Little seemed offended as Carlos clarified "Skippy is her nephew."
Little rolled her eyes before stating "Ok fine. Anyway, Skippy and the mink are fine. The duck is tied up and restrained in another room, but otherwise I lost sight of Sara." Carlos sighed before stating "I'm sure she's around."
The next thing all 3 of them knew, something landed on the floor with a loud KLANG as they turned towards one of the rotten tables and saw Sara stand up with a small cage in hand.
Inside were Pinky and Brain as Sara pointed out "Never knew this place had a-CARLOS DON'T YOU DARE" she suddenly shouted, seeing Carlos was preparing to have another fanboy moment while he pouted "But Sara, it's Pinky and the Brain." Instead, it was both Sara and Little who shouted "NO!"
Suddenly finding himself strapped to a chair with toon rope, Big continued to struggle in an attempt to escape but found it futile as he shouted at the Warners "YOU LITTLE BASTARDS, LET ME OUT NOW!"
Instead, a bar of soap was shoved into his beak as Yakko tsk'ed before saying "Naughty naughty there, sir. We might be adults here but there is no need to have a potty mouth." Placing his hands on his hips, Wakko soon added "So we're gonna fix that with the best medicine toons can offer" before pulling out from his toon space his gag bag and began looking through it, pulling out several film canisters and a camera stand.
As for Big, spitting out the bar of soap, he soon growled "And what medicine exactly?" before attempting to spit any soap inside his mouth.
"Why, the gift of laughter sweetie" Dot replied as Wakko pulled out a projector from his gag bag and placed it on the camera stand as Yakko began preparing the film reel.
Beginning to struggle once again, Big stated "Thanks but no thanks. I'm not much for comedy. Got any Bruce Lee films?"
"Wakko, do we have any of that?" Yakko asked, as Wakko pulled out another film canister from the gag bag and replied "Nope, but we do have some Katie Kaboom cartoons." In response, Yakko stated "Throw them in the 'must watch' pile" before Wakko proceeded to do so along several other film canisters as well as a large white sheet as he passed it to Dot. Looking back into the gag bag, Wakko soon announced "We've also got some Hysteria clips" before Yakko and Dot shouted "NO!"
"It's ready" Yakko soon announced as Dot finished setting up and Wakko returned his gag bag into his toon space. Afterwards, forcing Big to face the screen, Yakko and Wakko dusted their hands as Dot turned the projector on and announced "Now you just stay here for a few hours and watch some cartoons while we figure out what to do with Rocky."
"Wait what?" Big suddenly asked, still attempting to struggle as he added "In case you've forgotten, while Slappy was the one that dragged me here to Burbank, the only reason I stayed was to help stop Rocky. So what are you suddenly making me watch cartoons instead if I don't even watch cartoons?"
"Bub" Yakko stated, as he turned the lights off before stating "You just answered your own question" before shutting the door.
"This is bull s**t" Big thought to himself before adding "Going from helping to being kidnapped in zero to sixty twice today. How else can this get worse?"
The film soon began.
"We're tiny.
We're tony.
We're all a little looney…."
Deep inside Big's mind, the word "F**K" sprung up as loud as a bullet train.
Returning to the lab, the Warners spotted Carlos, Little, Sara and Slappy looking through a map of the entire studio grounds in some hope.
What they found was the opposite.
"There's no way" Carlos muttered before adding "The front gate is the only direct way into studio grounds, but even that's risky. Any other way in, for example over the walls or by the sky, would get us spotted rather quickly."
"You bring up a good point" Sara stated, crossing her arms before adding "If we launch a full-frontal attack from the front gate, Rocky and those possessed toons of his will see us coming."
"Then there's only one option: a surprise attack" Little proposed, putting her wrapped hands on her hips before stating "If one of us goes in and can launch a surprise attack on Rocky, there's a chance the rest of us can sneak in undetected and deal with the rest."
"Ok, seems simple enough" Slappy stated, looking over the map yet had to ask "Here's the question: Who's gonna be the one to do it?"
"The way Rocky is now, plus the fact he's previously battled me and Carlos, leaves us with two options." Little sighed before adding "Plus, and no offense Sara, but I don't think a dhampir can match a toon's speed or power. That leaves us with one option."
"None taken" Sara huffed, yet was a bit upset by the statement before silently whispering "It has to be Big."
"There isn't another option" Carlos muttered, beginning to rub his temple before adding "It's gonna have to be an all or nothing assault."
Suddenly finding themselves pushed away, Carlos, Little and Sara watched as the Warners suddenly wore military-like helmets as Yakko made it clear "My fellow toons and non-toons, what we fail to realize is that our focus should not be on Rocky, but rather on Plotz. To do that, we need a plan that will force Rocky to come to us." Turning to Wakko, Yakko asked "Sargent Wakko, any ideas?"
Making a mock salute, Wakko replied "Sir, General Yakko sir, our best course of action would be to trick Plotz into thinking he won the lotto and lure him here with a lotto girl in disguise." Yakko raised an eyebrow towards the reader before turning to Dot as he asked "How about you, Commander of all cute things Dot?" In response, Dot replied "Well, I don't know." Pulling two different dresses out, one pink and the other a black shiny dress, she proceeded to ask "If we wanna catch Plotz, should we go with pink or black?" Dot proceeded to look at both dresses before deciding "Meh, I'll just give the black dress to Minerva. Pink it is!" Throwing the black dress aside, Dot proceeded to hold the pink dress out before Yakko announced "Good job, sibs. Once we have Plotz, Rocky will come to us and then we spring the trap."
Confused, Sara and Little turned to Carlos as the former asked "Carlos, what the hell did we just see?" Not sure how to respond, Carlos simply facepalmed and replied "I have no god-forsaken idea." Little soon asked "How exactly would you lure Plotz out anyway?" Dot, waving the pink dress, replied "Simple: We put her…" she stopped and pointed to Sara before adding "…in this dress to attract Plotz here."
Sara, however, crossed her arms and said "Not happening." Raising an eyebrow, Dot began raising the dress towards Sara as she said "Plotz has a thing for ladies, so yes you do." Narrowing her eyes, Sara said "Again: not happening" only for Dot to begin pushing the dress onto Sara before saying "Yes, you are." Pushing the dress back, Sara made it clear "No. I'm. Not."
Dot, in turn, pushed it towards her as she stated "Oh yes you will."
And thus began an argument of Sara pushing back and stating "No, I won't" against Dot pushing forward and stating "Yes, you will" for several seconds.
At the end, though….
"No, I-what the?"
Looking down, Sara suddenly found herself in the pink dress. She growled, enraged, while Dot smiled and said "See? What an improvement." That only made Sara angrier as she heard snickering. Turning around, she saw Carlos biting his lower lip and Little trying to cover her mouth. Pointing at the latter, Sara muttered "Not a word of this ever reaches anyone." Little raised her other hand before leaving the room to laugh somewhere out loud. As for Carlos, she simply stated "Don't you dare say anything."
Carlos simply raised his hands up and said "I haven't said a word."
Reaching over to him, she whispered into his ear "Especially not to Big, hubby."
In response, Carlos whispered "Yes dear" before Sara whispered "Good" and kissed his cheek.
As the 4th episode of Tiny Toons began, Big groaned in anger once more before shouting "I'M GETTING REALLY SICK AND TIRED OF THIS! LET ME OUT RIGHT NOW!"
"Hold on" a voice replied, one Big recognized as Skippy as he entered the room and asked "How come you're tied up in that chair watching Tiny Toons?" Big groaned before replying "Apparently the Warners thought that if I watched cartoons, I'll grow a sense of humor." Taking a deep breath, he soon added "Thus far, I'm more annoyed."
Slowly walking to Big, Skippy soon said "Well, I should help you just to spite Dot. But…" he stopped before heading towards the door and opened it.
"Skippy, what are you doing?" Big asked, beginning to realize what he was about to do as Skippy replied "….if Yakko and Wakko did this also, they must have a good reason. So, enjoy your marathon" before going through and closing the door, exiting the room altogether.
Growling in anger, Big stated "SKIPPY, GET BACK HERE! SKIPPY!"
No answer.
"DAMN!" Big soon shouted before leaning back and frowning, having no other choice but to continue watching.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the suburbs outside of Burbank, a knock was heard at the front door of a seemingly normal house.
Opening the door was a young woman with short, recently cut, blond hair wearing a t-shirt and blue.
She looked around for a moment before hearing someone shout "HEY, DOWN HERE!"
Looking down, she soon saw Bobby of the Goodfeathers as he announced "Hey, Katie Kaboom. Good to see you." Smiling, the lady known as Katie squatted down and said "Bobby! Oh my goodness! It's so good to see you. What are you doing here?" Bobby took a deep breath and said "Katie, there's trouble in Burbank. We need your help." Katie bit her lip before saying "Bobby, I don't know. Me and my family have been watching the news and everything going on in Burbank is freaking us out."
Bobby soon him "Katie, everyone's in trouble. Even the Warners."
At that moment, Katie's face said it all and her mind went back.
When she first joined the cast of Animaniacs, the Warners were the first to befriend her.
They were the first to show her the ropes.
When they learned of her issues with anger, they were the firsts to accept her regardless.
If they were in trouble, Katie knew what she would do.
"Let me get my travel bag" she finally decided, going back inside to pack some clothes for the trip.
In her mind, who or whatever Rocky was, he had threatened her second family, her friends from Animaniacs, and he was going to pay.
Suddenly being nudged awake, Big opens his eyes to find Minerva lightly shaking him.
"Huh?" Big groggily asks, starting to awaken as he adds "How long have I been asleep?"
"About two hours" Minerva replied as she begins to untie Big while asking "Big, why were you tied up in the first place?" Feeling the ropes loosen up, Big replies "You can thank your boyfriend and his siblings for that." Minerva lightly growled as she finished untying Big, allowing Big to finally get up and stretch his arms while she stated "I am SO going to have a word with all three of them for this."
"So am I" Big muttered, clenching his fists as he added "One smacking at a time."
Big soon followed Minerva out of the room and towards the lab as Minerva crossed her arms behind her back and stated "Oh, Big? There's something I need to tell you." Big raised an eyebrow before asking "Oh really? What would that be?" Minerva simply chuckled, as she warned "It's gonna upset you, just to give you fair warning." Big groaned before stating "Just tell me. Nothing could be worse than being strapped to a chair and forced to watch cartoons."
What he was not expecting was for Minerva to reply "You're still strapped to it."
Big suddenly stopped walking, confused, as he asked "Wait what?" as Minerva stopped as well, but without turning around, replied "Yep, you're still in that room. This is all a dream."
Big suddenly found himself opening his eyes again, still trapped in the chair and tied up in toon rope while a new film cannister had been placed in the projector, one of a cartoon hero named 'Freakazoid'.
As a result, Big finally screamed, enraged beyond his patience.
"THAT'S IT!" Big screamed, finally forcing himself to stand up regardless of being strapped to the chair via toon rope, as he added "I HAVE HAD IT WITH THESE STUPID CARTOONS!" Beginning to struggle once again, Big had finally made the decision to shout "I WILL BE DAMNED IF I'M GOING TO SIT HERE AND WATCH THIS CRAP ANYMORE!"
And then, throwing himself back, Big forced the chair to break, finally undoing the rope as a result.
Slowly getting up, Big kicked the rope and broken chair aside while seething in rage.
"I knew it" he thought to himself, adding "Even though they're toons, there are still restrictions when it comes to the law of physics." Cranking his neck, Big then says "And now, it's time for me to finish what I started" as he starts to leave the room towards the lab.
A loud knock was heard outside the pen of a rather large chicken coup. Walking out of said coup was a rather large chicken.
A 'Chicken Boo' if you believe.
Looking around, Chicken Boo soon noticed Squat of the Goodfeathers, as Chicken Boo tilted his head before Squat told him "Chicken Boo, it's time." Chicken Boo, understanding, simply shouted "BAH-KA" before leaving his home and began the trek to Burbank.
At the same time, flying around the alleyways of Burbank, Pesto became annoyed and complained "I can't believe I get stuck looking for these 2. Bobby looks for moody teen and Squat gets the chicken, but me?" he groaned before adding "I get the alley cat that can't help but sing and the dog with the IQ of a tree stump."
Flying down to land on a trashcan, Pesto once again complained "Trying to find two homeless animals, even in Burbank, is like trying to find an open trash bag with food in New York", unaware of who was lurking right behind him.
He wouldn't have to wait long, as Rita herself tackled Pesto off the trashcan and onto the floor while Runt appeared not a moment later and exclaimed "Gee Rita, you found Pesto. Yep, definitely definitely Pesto." Holding Pesto down, Rita added "Yea, a rather annoying Pesto for my taste."
Just as quickly, though, she released Pesto allowing him to fly up onto another trashcan. "So, what brings you here?" Rita asked as Pesto replied "Well missy, Bobby's trying to get the Animaniacs together to save the town."
Rita, closing her eyes to think about it for a second, quickly replied "Naw, not interested."
"Not interested?" Pesto asked, upset as he put his wings to his hips and added "What do you mean you're not interested? Are you saying you're too good for Burbank? Are you saying that you'd rather have Rocky make us look like villains and go into hiding from humans? Are you saying that…"
At that point, Rita finally shouted "ALRIGHT ALREADY" before groaning "Jeez, fine. We'll go."
"Finally, someone wiling to listen to good ol' Pesto" he proclaimed, but Rita held up a paw "Under one condition." Raising an eyebrow, he asked "What?" as Rita smiled and replied "I get to sing."
Pesto looks off camera for a second, before turning back to Rita and stating "The writer says no."
"Then I guess we're out" Rita stated, as she and Runt began to walk out of the alley before Pesto muttered "I can't believe this nonsense" as he managed to fly ahead of the two and landed in front of them before stating "Oh, alright. Fine. You win."
"I always do" Rita smiled, as she cleared her throat while Runt asked "You're gonna sing now, Rita?" while she replied "Of course. This is just such an occasion for it."
As Pesto groaned, Rita opened her mouth and prepared to sing….
…..only for the scene to change back to Acme Labs while Rita shouts off-camera "HEY!"
Inside the lab itself, as the cage holding Pinky and Brain was placed in front of the map of studio grounds while Carlos, Little, and Sara (who had previously left the room in an attempt to remove the dress, and yet was stuck in it), while the other side of the table had the Warners.
"So let me see if I understand correctly" Brain began, facing the non-humans as he stated "You three want to launch an all-out attack on studio grounds in an attempt to stop Rocky." He then faced the Warners and stated "And you three wish to lead Rocky here by capturing Plotz, thus leading to their capture."
"That would be correct" Dot stated before sliding over to the two and asked "So, who do you think has the better plan: us…" referring to herself and her brothers, who comically smiled with halos over their heads before pointing at the non-humans and adding "…or them?" Brain soon turned towards them as Little stated "This is ridiculous. If we don't act now, Rocky might lead them out of town." Adding to that, Carlos soon made clear "And once they leave town, we won't be able to track them."
"Then we go now."
Everyone soon turned towards the door, as they saw a clearly upset Big staring at everyone before he added "I don't know about you guys, but I'm not staying here to debate this any-Sara why are you wearing that ridiculous pink dress?" Big suddenly pointed out, as Sara's face went red before she screamed "BECAUSE THE DAMN DRESS WON'T COME OFF!"
Staring at the reader, Yakko and Wakko began to say "Goodnight every…" yet never finished.
It seemed three buckets of water spilled on them and Dot before falling onto their heads, comically trapping them inside.
"Hey Brain, where did those buckets come from? Narf" Pinky asked, as Brain simply replied "Pinky, considering how long we've known the Warners, even I'm not sure."
Only Carlos could Big quietly chuckle, having heard the snapping of fingers before thinking to himself "Gotta love magic."
"Finally, they shut up" Little muttered, yet Big pointed out "Hold on, not yet."
By the time the Warners got the buckets off their heads as Wakko asked "Hey, where did those come from?" only for Big and Little to smile before they both replied "It's magic." Big soon prepared to leave yet Carlos called out "Hold on Big, you're missing something."
Stopping, Big turned around to find a bag and something that looked like an oversized purple and green-striped gun thrown to him by Sara as she stated "Your father told me what happened and I figured you needed a reminder for who you are. There's also a change of clothes, which seems to me you're gonna need it." Noticing Big was confused, Sara smiled and said "Airmailed straight from Transylvania. Little helped me get the materials and I shipped the finished product to your dad."
Opening the bag, to his surprise, Big slowly removed something he had not seen in quite a while: a black cape and hat. "Sara, how did you…" Big began, but stopped. The tears slowly becoming evident.
"Don't worry about the how. Just remember what they represent and show Rocky how we do things" Sara finished, as Big soon began to look at the rather large gun. In turn, Carlos stated "The good doctor's last gift to you before…well….you know." Closing his eyes, Big nodded and said "Dad, thank you" as Carlos continued "I MIGHT have added something in just for Rocky."
Raising an eyebrow, Big removed the clip from under the gun and saw it: an entire clip of green bullets.
Green bullets that smelled rather odd.
"Bullets made out of dip?" Big asked, as Carlos nodded before he stated "Yep, but they can't be used until…"
Big suddenly saw the gun being taken away from him by a toon lasso, as he flew towards the Warners only for Sara to catch it. "NO WAY" Slappy suddenly shouted, adding "YOU ARE NOT BRINGING DIP INTO BURBANK!"
"We don't have a…" Sara began, throwing the gun back to Big, yet Slappy got directly into her face and continued "NO! NOT HAPPENING! WE'VE HAD TO BAN EVERY! SINGLE! CHEMICAL! TO KEEP THIS STUFF AND YOU BRING IT HERE AS A WEAPON? NOT HAPPENING SISTER!"
"I'm inclined to agree" Brain interjected into the argument, as he added "If we allowed even one non-toon to use dip in the city of Burbank, what's to say that others outside the city won't attempt to do the same? Our best course of action must be without the usage of it?"
"Is it because of that movie?" Big suddenly asked and the room became rather quiet.
"It is, isn't it?" he continued "Toons went into hiding after that movie came out, didn't they?" Turning to Carlos, Big asked "Dad, do you remember what you told me about the Roger Rabbit movie?" Carlos scratched his head before adding "Yea, the chemical used in that film actually killed toons, so original copies of the film were being taken out stores so they could remove the chemicals listed."
"That's right" Big points out before making it clear "You guys hid. One little mistake, even a deadly one, and you chose to hide in an attempt at preservation." Turning around towards the door, Big concluded "Well, you can't hide anymore. By now, the outside world knows where to look so you can either try to get along or try finding a new place to hide. As for me, I'm going to do my job and protect this world." Turning towards his family, Big soon tells them "I'll see you guys out there" before leaving the room altogether.
"And here we go" Carlos soon announced as he prepared to leave when a large cane seemingly grabbed him from off camera and pulled him back. Turning towards the direction, Little and Sara saw the Warners with the cane as Yakko pointed out "Woah, woah, woah. Sorry there bud, but no humans allowed in this one."
Unfortunately for him, Little grabbed the cane and stopped their pull, allowing Carlos to slide under it as she pointed out "We're going, rather you like it or not" before leaving the room. Agreeing with her, Carlos soon pointed out "We may not be toons, and yea we're out of our league, but this is still our world also and we're going to fight to protect it no matter what" before snapping her fingers as Sara seemed confused.
"Look down Sara" Little muttered before leaving the room. Looking down, Sara noticed her dress had returned to normal as she sighed and muttered "On thank god."
Taking a deep breath, Sara began walking towards the door when she heard the words "You may not survive." Stopping, she turned around and heard Brain point out "Even if you were armed with dip, the chances of you successfully using it on Rocky are one out of one-thousand." Sara, taking a second-deep breath, narrowed her eyes as she stated "That might be so, and you are right: the chances of us defeating Rocky are slim to none, but I am tired of seeing innocent people die. Believe it or not, me and my family are gonna do whatever it takes not only to protect each other but this planet and its people."
Walking backwards towards the door, Sara grabbed the other bag as she stated "So go ahead. Hide here for as long as you can, because right now we are going to kick some ass, save millions of lives from possible death, and hope to god stop a toon apocalypse." Finally leaving, this left the toons to think.
If only for half a second, before Yakko announced "Sibs, everyone, it's time to get serious."
By now, back on studio grounds, as Rocky's possessed toons began hiding around the area they began to notice something in black flying towards their leader's position.
Taking a walkie-talkie out of his toon space, a mutated Daffy began to speak into it "Leader, something is coming your way."
On the other end, Rocky watched as Plotz paced back and forth while he answered "Something or someone?" The response he got was "I don't know, something dressed in all black." Rocky groaned before stating "You'd better get the secret weapon ready. I'd like to be ready for anything." Turning his walkie off, Plotz stopped to look at him as he asked "Why did you give them walkie-talkies if you can control and speak to them all at once?" Rocky groaned before replying "Despite what you might think Plotz, it's exhausting if I were to talk to all of them from a distance. The more toons I infect and control, the more focus it takes to keep them under control thus I need more time for…"
Rocky never finished as a large metal staff flew through where the window once was into the room and struck Rocky's chest, sending him flying through the wall and several rooms.
In shock, Plotz turned to the direction it came from and saw Big draped in his black cape and hat hiding the clothes under as Big announced "Plotz, I presume. It's time for you and your partner to pay for what you've done to this world."
Hearing the sounds of cement breaking Big soon saw past Plotz and saw Rocky re-enter the room, throwing the staff aside as he asked "Big, I presume?"
Big replied "You guessed right, and I can assume you're Rocky." Rocky nodded as his right hand started to become an anvil, as Big soon asked "Care to step outside?"
In turn, Rocky smiled as he stated "I've been waiting for this" as he jumped forward towards Big, who in turn flew directly at Rocky and his right fist struck Rocky's anvil-hand, the result causing a shockwave that caused the entire area to either shatter windows or cause cracks in anything made of cement.
At last, their battle had begun.
And yet, as the two began to strike one another, somewhere watching nearby was Woz as he opened the book in his hands and spoke out loud "At last, it has begun. The hero and the rogue toon have started their battle, one that will determine the fate of all humanity. And yet, regardless of the outcome of this battle, another threat remains."
Looking into the skies, Woz gave a face of concern upon recalling the threat of Belial that awaited the winner.
To Be Continued…
Extra Scene
It had taken some time, but Scrooge Mcduck had finally managed to escape his bonds as he entered the lab in one last attempt to convince everyone to capture and lock up Rocky.
Unfortunately for him, the entire building was empty. Even Pinky and Brain were nowhere to be scene.
"Well curse me bagpips" Scrooge groaned, scratching his head as he added "They must have all gone after…"
Scrooge never finished his sentence, as a large needle struck his back while he begun to mutate.
From behind him, Dr. Scratchansniff muttered "It seems my patients have already left, so they must be coming directly towards Master Rocky."
As Scrooge's mutation neared completion, the doctor only smiled and said "Good."
Author's Notes
Whew! Finally!
With this chapter done, the stage is set for the ultimate showdown.
Before we get there, I might as well say this: Considering that the next chapter will feature the entire Animaniacs cast against the mutated toons, this WAS something I had planned for the climax of the story. The problem was how and when to bring them into the story, and yet while I was a fan of the series, I was mostly a fan of the Warner siblings, the Slappy cartoons, as well as Pinky and the Brain. As for the rest, they ranged from ok (Chicken Boo and Katie Kaboom) to meh (The Goodfeathers) to 'not a fan' (Rita & Runt and The Hip Hippos which were the only ones I didn't put in this chapter but they'll be here soon). As for Minerva, I couldn't rank her as she only had two cartoons on Animaniacs before being reduced to a minor character in the series.
For the record, I have seen her cartoons on the show and they're just meh. They're not terrible, but not anything that stands out.
Anyway, the next chapter will feature the following:
Big attempts to use his powers and different forms to counter Rocky's toon speed and strength, as well as try to free Bugs and Mickey.
Carlos, Little, Sara battle the possessed toons with some help from the Animaniacs cast.
Rocky unleashes his secret weapon against the Animaniacs, as well as Big and his family.
And finally: humanity responds to the threat of Rocky with a nuke. Will our heroes survive this peril to their lives?
Tune in next time to find out as we begin the Battle for Burbank. Until then…..