Chapter 9 - Back to the Now

Wakko raced through the now dusky Warner movie lot, heading for a certain spot in it. He knew that there was only one person who could help him get to the bottom of those puzzles that had been haunting him for the past weeks.

Only one person has the brain to help me, he thought, and that's The Brain!

He turned sharply around a corner and fest his eyes on the house before him: The Acme Labs building. It had been the first time

Wakko had set foot in the place, as a result, he had no idea where to

look for the two mice he was thinking of. Still, he took a deep breath and opened the front door.

As expected, there was nothing but lab equipment to be seen. Whether if it were boxes, microscopes, notebooks, tiny knives, thin glasses – you name it; it was there. Wakko slowly walked through the main room while looking amazingly at all those things. Though he wasn't only admiring the stuff. He was also trying to set eyes on the mice.

"Egad, Brain! Narf!"

Bingo! Wakko smirked. Pinky's signature random exclaims were very hard to miss if one was in the same room as him. Wakko kept on walking until he saw a huge chalkboard which had mathematic formulas written all over it. On the left side was a big ladder and there stood the mice. Brain was writing on the chalkboard while Pinky watched adoringly. Wakko smiled and tapped the ladder. "Hey, you guys."

At first, neither of the mice saw who had joined them. Wakko tapped the ladder again, but a little harder – perhaps too hard, because it began to wobble. The mice waved all their limbs trying to keep their balance, but to no avail. Before they could react, they were falling down. Thankfully, Wakko had already reached out his hands to catch them, so they didn't fall straight to the ground. The two stood up in Wakko's palms and brushed some dust off their fur.

"Busy night tonight?" said Wakko and put the mice on a table next to him.

"Yes, in fact it is," said Brain in his usual deep Orson Wells tone. "You just barged in on the wrong moment after hours of solving those problems. Do you realize how much time that took?"

"Um, no," Wakko said sheepishly. "But don't you think you're overreacting a bit? I mean, it's all still there on the board, right?"

"Well, yes, but do you honestly think I'll be able to remember exactly what I was doing when you bothered us?" said Brain.

"Aw, come on, Brain. Narf!" said Pinky. "He wouldn't come in like that if it weren't something important. He never comes in here!"

"Hmm . . . indeed," said Brain. "What are you doing here, Wakko?"

"Well, it's a long story," said Wakko and sighed. "Think you can handle it?"

"I know some people won't," said Brain, eyeing Pinky. "But since this night is already ruined, I guess I'll give you a chance. Go ahead, tell the tale."

"Troz! Oh, boy! Storytime!" Pinky exclaimed and reached for a blanket from nowhere and sat down, looking excitedly at Wakko.

"Okay then," said Wakko. "Here goes."

And so, Wakko told the mice all about the survey, Dot's tantrum, her eating disorders, the modelling, and finally the blogs. During the telling, Brain had nodded understandingly at every fact, while Pinky's expression became sadder by the word. By the end, he was using his blanket to dry his tears.

"Oh, the agony," he said between his sniffles. "Oh, the pain. Oh, the sadness. Oh, the drama. So, how does it end?"

"That's what I want to find out," said Wakko. "You see, I went to the 'Here and Now' building the other day, trying to get an answer to those results. It turned out that people actually had voted me the cutest one. It's just so fishy, you know?"

"Well, I understand you concerns about your sister," said Brain. "But why would you bother our night for something like this?"

"Let me finish," said Wakko. "I saw the results myself, and as far as I know, it hadn't been dealt with. And that's where you come in."

"Go on," said Brain, suddenly very interested.

"Well, I was wondering if you could maybe hack your way into the system and take a look at the document yourself," said Wakko.

"Now why would I do that?" said Brain and crossed his arms. "You just said that you had taken a look at them yourself. Why do you want me to do it again?"

"Because I think someone dealt with the results just after they were counted and before the article was written," said Wakko. "I think someone hacked themselves into the system and changed the results. I really want to know if I'm right, but I don't have any experience as a hacker."

"Nor do I," said Brain.

"But Brain, you are smart," said Pinky. "Even if you don't have any experience, you can just make one!"

"True," said Brain, put his hand on his chin and started pacing obviously in deep thought. He walked around in circles for a while, making Wakko a bit impatient. Brain kept pacing, and sometimes stopped to say something, but just opened his mouth, turning back to pacing.

"Well?" Wakko finally had to say. "Will you help me or not?"

Brain stopped in his tracks and let go of his chin, pointing at Wakko as if threatening him. "Very well," he said. "I except this challenge. Just take me to the place where the files are kept and I'll see what I can do."

"That's so great!" said Wakko and went for a hug, until he remembered it would be quite hard to hug a mouse. "Can we go now?"

"Fine by me," said Brain.

"But what about me?" said Pinky. "Don't I get to come along?"

"Not this time, Pinky," said Brain and hopped into Wakko's now reached out hand.

"Why?" said Pinky and sounded pleading.

"Because this causes for special knowledge for technical things," said Brain. "Knowledge that you wouldn't have even if you tripled your brain in size."

"Why, thank you, Brain," said Pinky and bowed. "I'm honoured by your compliments. Narf!"

Wakko giggled a bit before he started walking out of the house. Pinky and The Brain sure were a couple of goofballs.

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Another perfect shoot was just about to draw to an end. Dot was so proud of herself; she could've exploded! As usual, Hello Nurse sat next to the computer guy and had a look at Flash's photos. But something was different today.

That morning, Hello Nurse had simply woken Dot up, told her what to wear, and got her a ride to 'Cable cameras'. During the shoot, she hadn't really looked at Dot herself the whole time, only the pictures. Normally, the nurse would've given Dot thumbs up, winks, smiles, or some other kinds of feedbacks, but so far, nothing had come from her but some unconvincing grins.

Also, for some odd reason, Flash wasn't acting like himself either. Dot had been his model for quite some time, and she knew him well enough to see that something was wrong. During the shoot she was just finishing, Flash hadn't used his body language, he hadn't exclaimed anything in a high-pitched voice, and he hadn't said any long sentences without breathing. He wasn't even behaving in his usual weird, zany way. Something was definitely troubling him.

"Okay, I guess that's it for today," he said when the shoot was indeed over. "So, pack your stuff and I'll see you tomorrow."

Usually, he would have let Dot see some of her photos from the shoot, but he didn't this time. Dot was beginning to get suspicious, and decided to talk to the man face to face. She waited for everyone to leave the room, and took an extra long time to get out of her modelling clothes and into her own. When the room was almost empty, Dot looked into the computer's direction. Flash was sitting there, still looking at his photos in it, so Dot sat down next to him, making him look up from his progress.

"Oh, hey Dottie," said Flash. "What's up?"

"What do you mean 'what's up?'" said Dot. "I should be asking you. You haven't been yourself all day. And the nurse hasn't so much as looked at me. What's going on?"

Flash hesitated a bit, but then sighed. "Well, I can tell you my reason. I'm just having a few personal problems right now. You know, hard decisions, huge deals and such, and it's starting to get to me. I'm just a little tired, that's all." He smiled, and Dot had a feeling she was seeing another side of the Cable man.

"But what's with Hello Nurse?" Dot asked. "Is she still mad at me?"

"I don't know about mad, but I think she's a little upset still," said Flash. "I wouldn't worry too much about that if I were you. Just talk to her if you want answers from her. I mean, I'm not her messenger or lawyer."

Nothing else was said. Dot stood up from her chair, took her portfolio and went outside of the photography room. There stood Hello Nurse waiting for her.

"What took you so long?" she said sort of coldly.

"I was just talking to Flash about stuff," said Dot. She didn't like the nurse's tone, and when they silently walked down the corridor, she decided to speak her mind, "What's wrong?"

Hello Nurse looked at her, but didn't seem as angry as before. "I'm hurt, Dot," she said in a more soft, sincere tone. "I can't believe you're actually doing this to yourself. Like I've said a million times: you're seven years old – you're not supposed to be clubbing."

"I know, I know," said Dot, and immediately understood why the nurse had been so cold that day. "I just don't know what got into me. One time I was jogging with you, and then I was just going out. I don't even remember what happened!"

Hello Nurse smiled and bent down to Dot's height. "Listen, Dot," she said. "I'm going to be completely honest with you. I may have acted a little angry towards you, but that's only because I was shocked that you actually did those things. But really, I want to be at your side, trying to sort out what's best for you. So should you ever do this again, I'm going to be with you and make sure you don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"Even if you're cold as dry ice?" said Dot. Why did she say that, though? It's not like she was going to do it again.

"Even if I'm cold as the wind on Pluto," said Hello Nurse.

Now that that was sorted out, the two kept walking and were soon out of the building and in front of the nurse's shiny, new Corvette (which had just recently come back from the repair shop). The ride back to Hello Nurse's house wasn't nearly as awkward as the ride to 'Cable Cameras' that morning, so Dot felt a lot better being with her this time.

When they arrived at the nurse's house, the girls stepped out of the car and went in, wanting to have a little snack (not much, of course). Because they had just gotten out of a miniature argument, they decided to treat themselves with juice instead of the usual water for a drink. Hello Nurse volunteered to mix some while Dot sat down in the living room, opened her portfolio and had a look at her photos at Flash's so far.

By simply comparing her earliest photos to her most recent, she noticed that she had both gotten a lot skinnier, and become a natural in front of the camera. She smiled widely as she realized she had in fact always been one of the best.

Darn, I rock! she thought. Who cares about being cute when you can be hot?

She looked up from her photos, only to let the sunlight from outside burn her eyes. It got to her head, so she started to get a headache – again. What was it about the stupid sun that always made her so weak?

"You okay?" said Hello Nurse who had just arrived with two glasses of juice.

"Yeah, it's just the blasted sun again," said Dot. "I'm beginning to think that I may have migraine. I always get a headache when the sun shines in my eyes."

"Really?" said Hello Nurse and sat down next to Dot and offered her the juice glass. "You don't get a headache when you're in front of all those lights at Flash's. You think maybe you have sun allergies?"

"I don't know," said Dot, holding on to her head with one hand, while accepting the juice with the other. "It could be, but wouldn't it I have noticed by now?"

"Maybe," said the nurse and shrugged. "Still, I think this is pretty weird. You're delicate to the sun, but not to those bright lights. Do you want me to test you for allergies?"

"Heck no!" said Dot and almost spilled her juice. "If I do have sun allergies, maybe Flash won't work with me anymore!"

"Hey, I'm just trying to help," said Hello Nurse and sipped on her juice. "Hey, this is some good stuff! I forgot how good I was at making these. You should start drinking yours."

Dot looked at the glass in her hands. If she had a sip, maybe she would want more and more, and end up getting fat again – considering how much sugar one glass can consist of. But she hadn't had a decent drink since forever, and since she was already holding one, she went for it.

Boy, was that nurse ever right! The juice was probably the best drink Dot had had in ages! She had another sip – and another – and another. She gulped the rest of the juice at once, and slammed the glass on the table.

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "You make some mean juice!"

"I know, right?" said Hello Nurse, who was just finishing her own one. "You want me to make some more?"

"Are you kidding?" said Dot. "Yes! Make some! Please do!"

Hello Nurse giggled. "Okay, madam. Since you ask so politely," she said and skipped off to the kitchen once more.

While the nurse mixed some more juice, Dot had to hold on to her head again. By talking so loudly and slamming the glass, her headache had become worse. She felt like her eyes were spinning in place and she began to feel drowsy, as if she had been staring at a white wide-screen for two hours. Her eyelids struggled to stay upright, but kept failing. Finally, Dot closed her eyes and lay down on the sofa, trying to rest them for a bit. She had managed to get to sleep if the nurse hadn't poked her with another ice-cold glass of juice.

"Wakey-wakey," she said and sat down. "Don't go to sleep now; it's only two PM. Here, at least finish your juice."

Dot lazily took the glass and sipped on it. It seemed as though it tasted better than before. "Did you do something to this?" she asked.

"Well, I put less water and more taste, if that's what you mean," said Hello Nurse and drank some of hers. She then looked at Dot again. "Are you sure you're alright? You look pretty sick."

"I don't know," said Dot and rubbed her face. "I think I need some rest; maybe some painkillers too. You know, for the headache."

"You read my mind, Warner," said Hello Nurse. "Too bad you didn't do it the other day too. But hey, let's try and put that behind us, okay? I'll get you some medicine and you just go to bed."

"Okay," said Dot, stood up from the sofa and went to her room, wobbling a bit as she walked. Could it be that my sickness is finally getting to me?

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As Wakko walked down North Buena Vista Street, holding Brain in one hand, he kept thinking if the mouse would actually be able to find out more than Wakko himself had. Sure, he was smarter than any other one of the cast, but would he be able to solve this?

"Where is this 'Here and Now' building?" said Brain, while trying to make out exactly where they were. Though it was daytime now, he couldn't really see where they were heading.

"Not much further," said Wakko. "Just don't talk when I talk to the people, okay? It'll look weird if you help me get to the point of why we're here."

Brain frowned and mumbled. "Everything in this plot is weird . . . "

Finally, they reached the huge building and Wakko went inside. Just like before, the slim, brown-haired Ray was at the reception desk. When Wakko walked towards it, Ray recognized him immediately and smiled.

"Hey there," he said. "What brings you back here? I thought you already did what you wanted to . . . what's with the mouse?" he added and looked strangely at Brain.

"Well," Wakko began, but couldn't continue. Something told him that Ray wouldn't let him in the writing department again if he told the truth. "Here's the thing: I didn't really find what I was looking for last time, so I thought maybe this mouse could help me. He's really smart, you know."

Ray was still looking at Brain with a funny face. "A mouse?" he said. "How can a mouse be smart?"

"He's a lab mouse," said Wakko. This wasn't what he had had in mind at all. Talking to Ray was a total waist of time. Who knows what Dot might be doing?

"Oh, I see," said Ray, possibly satisfied with the explanation, since his face instantly went back to normal. "I'll give Sheila a call, alright? If she gives you permission, you can go in. Alright?"

Wakko nodded, and Ray began phoning Sheila. The few seconds of the tone felt like forever, but finally, Wakko heard someone speak on the other line. Ray talked for a moment, but Wakko wasn't very interested in that. All he could think of was to get Sheila's permission.

Brain was listening too, and scanning the room at the same time. Wakko was pretty confused about this strange behaviour, but figured it was just a mouse thing. Suddenly, though, Brain leaped out of Wakko's hand and ran across the room, heading for the door to the main corridor. Wakko was going to yell after him, but his voice failed to work, so the mouse simply kept running. Weird. He didn't even tell me he was going to do that.

Wakko snapped out of his thoughts when Ray slammed the phone back in place. Ray sighed and looked at Wakko. "I'm sorry, kid, but Sheila won't let you in now."

"What? Why?" Wakko exclaimed.

"I don't know, she didn't say," said Ray. "I think it has something to do with the fact that you were never supposed to go in there in the beginning. I guess it was just a one time thing," he added and shrugged.

"You mean there's no way I'll get in there?" said Wakko, who still couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I'm afraid not," said Ray. "So, I guess you can go now."

"Yeah, I guess," Wakko said lamely and walked slowly towards the main door. He couldn't bear to stay there much longer anyway. But he was a little worried about Brain. He couldn't just leave a tiny mouse in such a huge building all by himself, could he?

Wakko walked out of the building, but instead of keep walking, he simply leaned against the front wall, pretending to be waiting for someone. Of course, he really was waiting for someone, but he still pretended.

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After an hour and a half of waiting, Wakko was beginning to lose his patience. He was even considering giving up waiting and just going back home. But he quickly changed his mind when he heard several women squeal for their lives from inside the building. He perked his ears and looked in the main door's direction. He heard someone say something (couldn't quite hear every word), and then shout "And stay out!" A kicking sound followed and a tiny white mouse came flying out of the house.

Wakko thought quickly and dashed to Brain's falling direction, catching him firmly with his hands. Brain sat up in Wakko's palms and rubbed his head. Only then did Wakko notice that Brain had a stack of papers along with him.

"What's all this?" he asked.

"Well, since you weren't able to come with me, I decided to print everything I could encounter, including the seen results of the survey," said Brain and picked up the papers.

"But, how did you know which file to take?" said Wakko.

Brain pointed at his head, and said: "I'm smart." He then cleared his throat and signed Wakko to begin walking back. Wakko did so, and while he did, Brain organized the papers a bit, probably putting them in the right order. "Okay, Wakko," he said. "You said that you hadn't seen any signs of someone having dealt with the results, am I right?"

"Yeah," said Wakko. "I couldn't find anything wrong it."

"You obviously didn't look close enough," said Brain and put the papers in Wakko's eyes' direction, flipping them fast. "Do you see the amount of votes Dot gets in the beginning of the survey?"

"Yeah, so?" said Wakko, trying to keep track of the results.

"So, don't you find it odd that all of a sudden, here, when it's almost gone halfway through you seem to get the most votes?"

"What?" said Wakko and stared at the paper, trying to see what Brain had clearly found out. "No, I . . . I didn't even notice that. All I did was count the votes."

"As I said, you didn't look close enough," said Brain. "Also, I find it very odd that the project's history is flawless."

"What do you mean?" said Wakko, a bit confused again.

"There were no signs of typing errors, wrong names for a vote, spelling errors in foreign names; nothing," said Brain. "I don't know how good the writers of that magazine are at typing, but I just thought this was worth pointing out."

"Okay, so have you found out what's going on?" said Wakko, excited to hear more of Brain's sightings.

"Not quite," said Brain, making Wakko's mood drop. "I want to go back in there tonight, when everyone has left the building, and see if I can do some more research."

"I don't think that's possible," said Wakko. "Some of those people probably do shift work. There'll be people in there tonight."

"Perhaps," said Brain. "But I still want to give it a try. I need more time than I got now, and I think tonight is a perfect time to slip in there. After all, there are fewer women working at night."

Wakko chuckled. "Okay, I'll help you get here tonight, but only if you promise to find something out."

"Oh, I'll uncover something, alright," said Brain. "After all, I am a genius."