Later on at night, once Marie & Cliff checked out of the hotel & settled into their new home, the toons were all invited for dinner. Marie's made them spaghetti with meatballs & parmesan cheese.
The toons are all gathered at the table, along with Marie & Cliff, each with their own plates of spaghetti.
"So", Marie began, "how did swimming go?"
"It was fun", Buster replied.
"Oui, lots of fun", Cosette added.
Cliff then said, "Yeah, until Hamton got me all wet."
"I thought you liked swimming?", wondered Marie.
"Not really. I just wanted to read instead."
Calamity then asked, "How come you don't like to go swimming?"
"It's not that I don't like swimming, I just chose not to."
"Ah, I see."
"Then why did you invite everyone to go swimming, Cliff?", questioned Marie.
"Because it was really hot", Cliff replied, "and I wanted to hang out with my new friends."
Marie smiled & laughed. "But wouldn't it have been cooler in the water?"
"Yeah, but, I didn't mind."
Buster then spoke up. "Hey, Ms. Evans?"
"Yes, Buster?"
"What do you do for a living?"
"I'm a paramedic, and I just transferred here to Acme Acres."
The toons all exclaimed excitedly over Marie's occupation.
"That's very cool!", exclaimed Furrball.
"Wow, so you save lives or some junk?", Shirley asked.
"Something like that", Marie replied with a smile.
Fifi then asked, "How long have vous been a paramedic?"
"For a long, long time, ever since I was 23 years old."
"Wow", Buster said, "that's very interesting."
"Thank you. I really love my work. I like being able to help others."
"Sounds like you have a better job than us", Babs said.
"What do you guys do?", asked Marie.
"We star in our own TV show", Buster answered, "called 'Tiny Toon Adventures'."
"Oh, that's very cool!", Marie complimented. "Sounds like a lot of fun!"
"It is lots of fun indeed!", Babs commented.
Hamton then spoke up. "We have some friends in Burbank who have their own show, called 'Animaniacs'."
"Oh, wow!", exclaimed Marie, "Sounds like you guys have a pretty fun job!"
"It may sound like fun", Furrball said as he twisted his fork into his spaghetti, "but trust me, it ain't easy."
"No? Why Not?"
"Well, sometimes you'd have to deal with some pretty badly written scripts for certain episodes."
"Oui", Fifi then said with a face of depression, "like being, how you say, constantly pursued & captured by Elmyra."
"Who?", Cliff asked.
"Elmyra."
"Who's Elmyra?"
"Exactly", Furrball replied.
"What?"
"That's right."
Cliff raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Uhh, okay."
"Who is Elmyra?", Marie asked.
"Do we really have to talk about her?", groaned Fifi.
Furrball turned to Marie & answered her question. "She's someone who enjoys torturing animals. You know, keeping them in small cages, hugging them so tight they can't breathe, stuff like that."
"Oh, that's not very nice", Marie said.
"And the worst part is", Plucky then said, "she ended up being the more popular character than all of us. She even had her own spin-off show with Pinky & The Brain!"
"Oh my, really?"
"Sounds like someone I don't want to hang out with", Cliff said, taking a bite out of his food.
Shirley then told Cliff, "Like, if you ever see her, run for your life!"
"Okay. Advice taken."
"Goodness", Marie said in disbelief, "she sounds pretty awful."
"Can we PLEASE change zhe subject?!", Fifi yelled, pulling her hair. She's been having uncomfortable flashbacks about Elmyra hunting her down & dragging her home by her tail. It was, without a doubt, the worst day of her entire life.
Furrball could feel her pain. Right now he felt like going to Elmyra's house just to beat the life out of her for making his girlfriend miserable.
"I really think we should talk about something else", Furrball said. "Hey, Cliff."
"Hmm?", Cliff said, with a mouthful of pasta.
"You interested in attending Acme Looniversity with us?"
Cliff took a moment to chew & swallow his food before he replied, "Is that the school you go to?"
"Yes", Buster answered, "and it is LOTS of fun."
"You can learn a lot about being a toon", Babs commented.
"Also", Furrball then said, "there are many talented people at Acme Loo. I reckon you might even start a Rush tribute band there."
"Oh, there you go, Cliff", Marie responded. "Going to Acme Looniversity sounds like a great idea."
"Yeah", Cliff agreed, "I think that'll be a great place to find a drummer."
"Well, what about a guitarist?", asked Furrball.
"I already have a guitarist, Furrball. It's you."
Furrball opened his eyes wide in surprise at what he just heard. The other toons all turned to him.
"Me?", asked the blue cat.
"Yeah", Cliff replied, "after we've been rocking out earlier today, you play guitar better than anyone I know."
"You really think so?"
"Sure do. We sound great together." Cliff then turned to Marie. "Right, mom?"
"Yep, you sure do!", Marie responded. "I think you have definitely found your guitarist, Cliff."
Furrball was left completely speechless. "Wow, I...I don't know what to say. I'm at a loss for words."
Calamity then spoke to Cliff. "So all you need is a drummer, huh?"
"Yep", Cliff replied, "one that can play as good as Neil Peart."
"What weell you call your group?", asked Cosette.
"Uhh...I don't know. I haven't thought of that yet."
"Well", Furrball said, "maybe we'll come up with a name once we find ourselves a drummer."
Fifi, still feeling upset about the topic of Elmyra, saw a noodle strand hanging over Furrball's plate.
As Furrball took a bite out of his spaghetti, Fifi took the noodle hanging over the plate, and placed it in her mouth.
Once she saw the strand leading to Furrball's mouth, Fifi began slurping the noodle until her lips reached his, and kissed him.
Everyone in the room all saw this & laughed. Furrball blushed & smiled at Fifi, who smiled back.
"Aww, that was so cute", Marie said.
"I needed zhat", Fifi told her boyfriend. That kiss made her feel a whole lot better.
As Shirley took a bite of her spaghetti, Plucky took one end of a noodle & attempted to do the same thing. However, Shirley caught Plucky in the act and, with a pair of scissors, cut the noodle in two. Shirley scolded at the green duck before Marie spoke up.
"Shirley, are you & Plucky dating?"
"You could say that", Plucky said. Shirley then turned to Plucky & stamped on his foot.
"OWW! What was that for?!"
"Like, you darn well know why I did that! When will you get it through your thick skull that I am not your girlfriend & I NEVER WILL BE!?"
Shirley screamed so loud into Plucky's ears, that his eardrums literally popped out.
"Aah, jeez!", Cliff exclaimed as he quickly covered his ears, his fork flying out of his hand & falling to the floor. "That was murder on my eardrums, Shirley."
"You're telling me!", Plucky said, feeling woozy.
"Why do you say that, Shirley?", asked Marie. "Plucky seems like a nice duck."
"Like, I could give you several reasons why I would never date Plucky."
"Would you rather date Fowlmouth instead?", Hamton questioned.
"Eww! No!"
"Who's Fowlmouth?", asked Marie.
"Don't ask."
"Why?", Cliff said. "Is he as bad as this Elmyra person?"
"No, he's nowhere near as bad", Buster answered. "It's just that he swears a lot."
"Ah, I see."
Marie then said, "Yep, I can see where that's a turnoff."
"Mm-hmm", Buster continued, "Fowlmouth swears so much, his beak has been declared a toxic waste dump."
Plucky then wrapped an arm around Shirley & said, "So I guess this means I am your man."
As Plucky raised his eyebrows in a suave manner, Shirley used her telekinetic powers to whack Plucky on the head with a large wooden spoon. The green duck fell out of his chair & to the floor, unconscious.
"Little rat", Shirley said.
After dinner was over, Cliff invited Furrball & Fifi out for a walk around the neighborhood, to talk more about Rush & their plans for making a Rush tribute band.
"So, Cliff", Furrball said, "how did you become a Rush fan?"
"When I was a kitten", Cliff replied, "my mom would always play Rush songs for me. Every night I go to bed, she would pop in a Rush CD & I'd listen until I fell asleep. Then, a few years ago on my birthday, she gave me my first Rush album, 2112. It was the best gift ever, and I still have it today, as part of my collection.
"That's very cool, buddy."
"When deed vous start playeeng guitar?", asked Fifi.
"Not until I was 8. My uncle bought me my first bass guitar & taught me so much."
"Do vous steell have zhat guitar?"
"Nope. I sold it so I could get the Steinberger. Once I bought it, I was able to perform bass for a couple other tribute bands. I even tried working with a KISS tribute band, but wearing the makeup was awful. Gave me a terrible rash."
"Ouch", Furrball said, "sorry to hear that."
"It's alright. At least it gave me a lot of practice, playing in those other bands."
Cliff then reached behind himself & tried scratching his back, grieving a bit.
"You okay?", Furrball wondered.
"Yeah, I'm trying to get this itch on my back, but I can't quite reach it."
"I'll help", said the blue cat as he extracted his claws & began scratching Cliff's back.
"Oh, oh-ho, ohhhhh yeah!", Cliff said in relief. "That's so much better!"
"Happy?"
"Couldn't be happier."
Once Furrball stopped scratching, Cliff spoke up again.
"It would've been easier if I could use my claws."
"What's wrong weeth your claws?", questioned Fifi.
"Did you get declawed or something?", Furrball asked.
"No, I still have them", Cliff answered, "I just can't extract them. I used to when I was younger, but now I can't."
"It's not that hard", Furrball said as he held up his hand & extracted his claws.
"I know, but look", Cliff replied, holding his hand up for a moment, but nothing happened. "I can't do it."
"How come you can't use your claws?"
Cliff was about to answer Furrball's question, but Fifi interrupted.
"Sacre bleu!", she shouted. "Zhe moon!"
Furrball & Cliff turned to see that the moon is completely red in the sky.
"Whoa. What's going on?", Furrball asked, feeling a little frightened. "Why is the moon red like that?"
"Relax", Cliff told the couple, "it's nothing to worry about."
The cat & skunk turned to Cliff for explanations.
"Do you know why the moon is red like that?", asked the tan cat. Furrball & Fifi shook their heads.
"It's because we are in the presence of a total lunar eclipse."
"A what?", asked Fifi.
"Right now, at this moment, the Earth is directly between the sun & the moon. The moon is red because it is covered by the Earth's shadow."
"Really", Furrball said. "I didn't know that. But why is it called a total lunar eclipse?"
"There are 2 types of lunar eclipses: partial & total. A partial eclipse is when Earth is between the sun & the moon, but the three are a bit misaligned. Because of that, the moon is covered by Earth's penumbra, or outer shadow. A total eclipse is when the Earth is perfectly between the sun & the moon, covering the moon with its umbra, or central shadow. As a result, the moon has turned red."
"Wow", Fifi said in amazement, "zhat eez, how you say, tres interesting."
"People often refer to it as a 'Blood Moon'."
"I see", Furrball said, looking at the moon again.
"Say, Cliff", Fifi spoke up, "what's eet called when zhe moon eez between zhe sun & Earth?"
"It's called a solar eclipse", Cliff replied. "During a total solar eclipse, all you'll see from the sun is its corona, or outer atmosphere."
"Ooh, c'est magnifique, no?"
"Yep, it's magnificent all right."
The trio turned to the red moon again, staring at it for a moment before they resumed their walk.