Chapter 12: Future's Past
It was cold.
He felt cold and empty, lifeless.
But then it got warmer, his limbs started moving and he felt his body wake further than ever.
He could hear hushed whispers and tried to block them out.
" Motion checking: 100%"
A strange jolt sent him awake, eyes wide open to reveal its green jewels. He sat up gasping for air, cringing at his body's stickiness from the strange fluid.
" It worked..."
He registered the excitement in the new voice as he gazed around.
' Did Wile redesign his workshop?', he thought. He rather liked the new futuristic aesthetic, he decided.
" IT REALLY WORKED! HAHAHA!", the man before him laughed joyfully.
He frowned, what worked exactly? Who was this new guy? Did Warner Bros send in another toon without telling him or the others? If so, Plotz was definitely going to hear a few colourful words from him.
He felt a feather get plucked from his body," Yeouch!", he wailed.
" Okay, reacting to pain normally", the man said before he pulled him to stare in his eyes.
" What wasth that for!", he yelled.
" And he speaks! Magnificent! It seems your brain is fully functional. The President will be so pleased", the man said as the guy pulled out of his grip.
" Bloody weirdo", he muttered.
So this wasn't Wile's workshop. It can't be Marvin's either, not even a speck of red in sight could tell him that as much. Where was he?
" Uh, excusthe me? Hello? What'sth going on here, bub?", he asked impatiently
The man looked at him and grinned sheepishly," Oh excuse me in the excitement. I'm Dr IQ High, lead scientist and head commander of the Galactic Protectorate", he said.
His frown pulled further. Galactic Protectorate? What sci-fi movie did his contract stuck him in now?
" And where, pray tell, Dr High, am I exactly?", he asked.
" You're on Earth"
" I figured that asth much. But WHERE on Earth am I?", he stressed.
" Capital City", IQ responded.
He frowned, there was no city named that he could remember.
" I understand you must be confused. It's natural after bring incased in ice for 351 years", the man said, attempting to be sympathetic," But I just know you'll fit in with this society".
" 351 yearsth!", he shrieked.
" Indeed. My good man, I welcome you to: THE 24TH CENTURY", IQ announced.
There was an uncomfortable as he stared at the scientist. Then, a laugh bubbled through him.
" Is thisth a prank? Did Warner sthet you up to thisth? Becausthe if it isth... it'sth not funny", he said humorless.
" This is no prank sir. You are really in the 24th and a half century", IQ said," I released you from your cryogenic sleep".
" Okay bub. I've heard a lot of outrageousth thingsth in my time: but thisth takesth the cake. Now if you'll excusthe me, I have to head off to the sthudio", he said," And find the jerk who sthet me up to thisth".
When he got out of the pod, he noticed the amount of pain his body was in, similar to how you move a stiff body part. If he wasn't going to rain terror on whoever did this to him, he surely will now.
" W-W-Wait! Where are you going?!", IQ said panicked.
" Away from here!", and left with a bang.
He growled as he slapped a portable hole against the wall and stepped through it, the hole closing up just as he stepped through. IQ burst through the doors and looked about.
" Where did he go?", he wondered.
" Alright Warner Bros! You better have a good excus-!"
He froze as he looked at the decreipt landscape. Dust layed frozen in the air and the air dark, tinged with a slight brown atmosphere. Not a single speck of life to be seenBefore him was Warner Bros Studio.
Or at least, what remained of it.
Ruined and broken sound stages stood before him, covered in dust and soot. He felt his stomach churn, something not settling right with his emotions. Everything looked too real to be a prank. And in the Real World, it's near impossible to get such effects without the help of CGI.
The Water Tower was barely standing as he walked past it, it's eerie silence brought no comfort.
" No...", he said quietly.
He didn't want to accept that this was his reality. This was his world.
This was his home.
He felt himself pick up speed as he entered the Animation Studio and made a mad dash for the safe.
This was not his reality, he said repeatedly. He wanted to say he wasn't falling for it. To hear someone chuckle or snicker at his pain. But all he got was silence and the pounding of his own feet against the ruined floors.
He made it down towards the basement, where a large vault door stood before him. This was where the studio kept toon employment information... along with records of deaths and sometimes... even the urns themselves.
He practically threw the door open and dashed inside. His eyes crazed and teary as he found what he was looking for. Towers of walls were built up, each had a drawer with a name plated in gold on it. His breath hitched.
There were never so many names in this room before.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, he searched around carefully. He saw names he remembered as clear as day surrounding him, chocking him in an air of emotional pain.
" No no no no. Thisth isth not happening", he murmured, when one name he recognised far too well entered his view.
His hand grazed the golden plate with the name 'Road Runner' just barely recognisable anymore. He opened the drawer and found an inkwell in its place.
An inkwell in toons' case was considered an urn. So not only was it the symbol of beginnings for toons... it was also a symbol of the end. The painful irony.
" Thisth isth not happening", he rasped as he slammed the drawer shut. And suddenly more names popped up. Names of people he cared about.
Porky Pig... Wile E Coyote... Honey... Gossamer... Yakko, Wakko and Dot Warner... Plucky Duck...
Bugs Bunny.
It slammed all into his head like a sensory overload. His body shuddered and his mind cried and mourned. Tears ran down his face and beak like waterfalls as he collapsed on the ground in shuddering and crying in pain.
Everyone had gone on without him.
They don't exist now.
They're dead.
How cruel of a reality this was for him.
Through teary eyes, he crawled to the last drawer, the plate looking much older and covered in grime and dust.
Daffy Duck
An empty drawer. Nothing to show for it.
He cried. He cried loud and it was even beginning to become more painful than ever. His heart broke to the point of no recovery.
Nothing would heal him. Nothing ever will. Not until he gets to his beloved brothers, mother, friends, students and protege's faces again.
Soon, the crying passed. Soon the tears were dried up. Soon... he felt empty. He got up, wobbly and unstable before making his way out of the vault. He didn't look back. He refused to look back, for he might start crying again.
He opened up the portable hole and stepped back into the hall he disappeared into previously. He let out one sniff before shaking the dust off his jacket and make himself look a tiny bit presentable.
After all, if this was his life, he had better start making good impressions.
He ripped the portable hole off the wall and stuffed it in his hammerspace for what felt like would be the last time for him.
" There you are! I was starting to get worried", IQ said as he grabbed the duck by the arm and started dragging him away," We're gonna be late for our meeting with the President of Earth and Captain Johnson".
He pulled an apathetic look on his face before boredly asking," Stho what am I going to be doing anyway?".
" You're going to be our new latest captain at the Protectorate and you'll be needing a ship, cadet and..."
He tuned him out for the rest of the talk. So this was his life now, he thought. From movie star to space captain. He sniffed, he would have still preferred the former but at least he'd be doing something to keep him on his toes.
" -Sorry for asking so late but... what is your name?", IQ asked sheepishly.
He opened his mouth, about to automatically reply but stopped. Did he want to do this?
" Do you not remember it?", IQ asked.
' It's not that I can't remember, it's that I don't WANT to remember it', he said inwardly.
He could see the pity of the scientist's face and resisted to hiss at the sight. How dare someone pity him?! This was a pity party of one and the one is him and him alone!
But if this man wanted a name, who was he to deny an introduction. It was quite fitting the name he had in mind, considering in what time he is in after all.
" Dodgers. Duck Dodgers", he said carefully," My name is Duck Dodgers..."
Because Daffy Duck died at Warner Bros Studio and there he will be laid to rest.
End of Chapter 12
That was an emotional one, even I felt like crying.
• So in the future, humanity was wiped out and what was left of that Earth was a desolate wasteland. I thought it would fit with Daffy's emotions after he left the studio. It's deep but I think it fits.
• This takes place before literally any other chapter in the story... this is legitimately how I think Dodgers backstory would've gone done had it actually been like serious kind of show.• So Daffy isn't in a good mental state here. Which is kind of fair since he literally lost everything. He's in mourning and trying to suppress his memories (which is the most unhealthiest thing anyone could ever do, even for a Looney Tune). Which is why in the first few chapters before heading back to the past, Daffy had trouble telling X-2 and Cadet from Marvin and Porky. It's kinda sad. But he will be getting better.
• Someone also noticed Bugs also seemed to have a sort of crazed and dazed behaviour when he was introduced. While Bugs didn't lose as much as Daffy did, he was still traumatized. You could put it to him being sick but you do lose a piece of yourself when a loved one is gone. (In this case, Bugs lost his sanity and Daffy just lost his whole... life).
• Depressing stuff aside, The Warner Siblings along with the Tiny Toons will show up soon. Then the future gang will witness that Dodgers is actually good with kids (under the right circumstances). Get ready for a whole lot of fluff.