AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, here is Chapter 2. Chapter 1 saw Bert leave the Forest with his bandmates, so Chapter 2 is another introductory chapter, introducing you to the band as they head to Vancouver (which they reach at the end of the chapter). Meet immature and brash Clancy, the alcohol-loving and just as immature Donny, and the misogynistic braggart Don Ringtail. Quite an...interesting cast, as you'll see.

Another Amazing Legal Disclaimer For Your Enjoyment: I do not own the rights to the Raccoons, they belong to Kevin Gillis...well, I DO own the right to three out of the four characters focused on this chapter, I created them. Don Ringtail, Donny Davis, and Clancy Rogers are copyright of myself and can only be used for my permission (though seeing how they will be characterized, I'm not sure you'd want to use them...)

And now...

CHAPTER TWO: Into The City

Standing on a stage.

Bert and the Flying Aces were backstage at a huge arena. This was to be the biggest concert of the band's career.

"Alright, fellows, are we ready?" Bert asked his bandmates inquisitively. They had rehearsed all day for this show, and they were about to give it their all. Bert already wasn't looking forward to heading out on the road again after this show-they had another big gig in Milwaukee in a little under 24 hours.

"We were born ready, Bert!" Donny Davis exclaimed jubilantly-Donny always was ready to put his all into a show.

"We certainly can't rehearse any further, they're expecting us up on stage any moment..." Clancy Rogers mused to himself-he was clearly suffering from pre-concert jitters. Clancy always was the nervous one in the band...

"I've done this God-only-knows how many times before, Bert," Don Ringtail remarked-he being by far the most experienced member of the band. "We'll knock 'em dead like we have every time before."

"Alright, gang," Bert said, with building anticipation to his voice. "Let's take this town!"

A loud voice came over the PA of the arena. "Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for, our headlining act tonight, live from here at the Finchfield Coliseum, THE FLYING ACES!"

The audience uproariously applauded as the spotlights shone on Bert and his fellow bandmates. Bert stepped up to the microphone to the unanimous approval of the crowd. "Thank you, thank you! Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and hello Cleveland!" Bert gleefully shouted into his mic. "Are you ready to rock, Cleveland?"

The audience cheered.

"I can't hear you!"

The audience cheered louder. It sounded like they were screaming something, but Bert couldn't quite make out what they were shouting.

"I said I can't hear you!"

The crowd cheered even louder, but this time Bert could distinctively make out the phrase they were exalting throughout the stadium.

"Wake up, Bert! Wake up, Bert!" the crowd cheered.

"Huh...?" Bert was confused. Why would the crowd be telling him to wake up...?

"Wake up, Bert! Bert, wake up!"

Bert suddenly found himself taking a punch to the arm. Not a massive punch, mind you, but more of a dull blow.

"Hey, what the-?" Bert found Don staring him in the face.

"Haha, doze off there, sleepyhead?" Don laughed. "Well, Bert, we're here at the gas station."

Bert didn't remember falling asleep-he could remember stargazing out of the window while they were out on the highway, and then suddenly the next thing he knew he awoke to find Don punching him in the arm. "Oh, I must have dozed off there...heheh...sorry, Don," Bert chuckled.

"Ah, no problem. Take it you must not have gotten a lot of sleep back at that Raccoondominium place or whatever the hell it's called you lived at?"

"I'm not exactly a daytime sleeper..." Bert admitted. "Dammit, Don. Why the hell did you have to wake me up? I was having a really nice dream about us playing a huge gig in Cleveland..."

"Well, that dream'll be a reality, soon enough. I played Cleveland before ya know...it isn't exactly as great as it's made out to be. Anyways, I woke you up because we're here at the gas station. This is your last chance to get some snacks or something before we reach Vancouver. Don't ask me to stop at Burger Queen or anything like that along the way because that food will clog up your arteries faster than you count to ten," Don explained.

"Aw, but I like Burger Queen..." Clancy moaned from the back seat. "What if I get hungry along the way?"

"Too bad," Don growled at him. "Yours truly is strictly vegetarian, and I will not be making any pit stops there."

"Hmmph," Clancy growled to himself.

"I've got something I gotta get, heheh," Donny laughed as he stepped out the car and went inside the convenience station.

While Don was busy filling up the Oldsmobile with gas, Bert and Clancy conversed with each other.

"Didn't get much sleep there, eh, Bert?" Clancy asked earnestly.

"'Fraid not..." Bert sighed. "Like I said, I can't really sleep in the daytime."

"Heh, me neither," Clancy chuckled. "Didn't get one lick of sleep before we hit the road...ah, first thing I'll do once we get to that apartment is probably hit the hay..."

"Same here," Bert agreed. "I think that's what all of us'll do except for Don there," he said, pointing to Don out the window.

"Oh, I know. Don is quite the night owl. Strange habits that guy's got. Sleeps in the daytime and stays up all night. Don't really know if I can live that lifestyle..."

"Well, we're going to have to learn to adapt to it, Clancy boy," Bert chuckled. "We'll be on the road all the damn time and we'll have to sleep at really odd hours. I just hope we can manage!"

"With time, I think we will," the beaver agreed.

At that moment, Donny came in from the convenience station carrying some things with him he'd purchased. "Heh, heh," he chuckled to himself as he opened the door and sat beside Clancy. "I knew they'd have this here!"

"And what, pray tell, might that be?" Don asked as he sat back in the driver's seat after paying for the gas.

"Why, none other than our nation's finest, Molson Canadian! Fresh on the shelves from the brewery. This beer makes me proud to be a Canadian. How would all of you like to try the best damn beer ever made?" the kangaroo queried his fellow bandmates.

Clancy scowled. "Ugh, you seriously bought that Molson crap? Oh, how I hate that stuff! Why couldn't you have bought the good kind of beer, like that Snoup's Beer?"

Donny was outraged at Clancy's remark. "Blah! Snoup's? That stuff? I wouldn't drink that shit in a million years! That stuff tastes like warm cat piss, y'know! What idiot would ever want to drink that stuff?"

Clancy glared angrily at Donny. "This idiot would, thank you very much!"

The two started angrily shouting at one another.

"You have no taste!"

"You wouldn't know good taste if it bit you in the ass!"

"You wish you had good taste!"

"Oh yeah? Well, you're-"

Don interrupted the two from their argument. "Alright, enough of this. Knock it the hell off, will you? You two are grown men, not spoiled rotten little children. You are acting like a bunch of brats over beer. Knock it off. I want to get to the city before sunrise and I don't need you two at each other's throats the whole way."

Clancy growled. "Sorry."

Donny grinned. "Well, now that that's settled, who here would like some of Canada's finest? Don, how about you? How would you like some Molson's?"

Don shook his head. "I'm sort of driving the car here, Donny, I really can't have alcohol while driving, can I? Didn't you ever see those videos they show you when you're learning to drive?"

"Uh, I think so. Are those the ones where they show the traffic accidents with the badly mutilated bodies?"

"Oh yes. That's exactly what I'm talking about. Would you like it to be us ground up all over the road?"

Don sneered at Donny, causing a look of unease to come across the kangaroo's face.

"No, no, I'd rather not."

"Good," Don grinned to himself.

Donny looked to Bert. "What about you Bert? Up for one of Canada's finest?"

Bert shrugged. "Eh, no offense there Donny, but I'm more of a Snoup's man myself..."

Donny did not like that answer. "I will never understand why you people would want to drink that crap..."

Bert decided to be polite and oblige Donny, for once. "But eh, what the hell. It's been a long time since I've had Molson's. Toss me one, if you don't mind."

"Here ya go," Donny said, tossing a beer can to Bert, as Bert cracked it open.

"Alright, let's hit the road," Don exclaimed. "It's a little bit past one o' clock in the morning and if we get back on the road now we can make it by sunrise."

"Good idea to me," Clancy said as they hit the road again.

The miles were passing by as Bert continued to sip his beer while Donny and Clancy had quieted down in the backseat and had gone to sleep. Bert knew those two had never particularly liked one another, maybe it would do good to separate the two of them from time to time...

"How are you holding up, Bert?" Don asked his fellow raccoon.

"Fine, I just can't wait 'til we get to the city..." Bert said.

"Eh, we'll be there soon enough. Give it about three more hours and we'll be there."

Bert had managed to get Don into his fold, but to tell the truth, he didn't truthfully know a whole lot about the elder raccoon. Bert figured he might as well take the opportunity to ask Don more about his past... "So, Don, you never told me," Bert began, "where exactly you're from originally. Where do you come from?"

Don thought for a minute. "Me? I'm from Willowdale, Ontario. That's just outside of Toronto, you know."

Bert thought that place sounded familiar. "Say, isn't that where-"

"-Adrenaline came from? Yes, that's the place," Don interrupted him. "Heheh, I actually went to high school with those guys. We were in the same grade, as I recall."

"Wow..." Bert was in awe of Don, as he had grown up alongside members of what was perhaps Canada's most infamous band of all time. He was already feeling quite envious of the older raccoon. "You actually went to school with Adrenaline?"

"Sure did," Don laughed. "Never really hung out with them, though. Talked with 'em a few times, though."

Bert didn't know how to respond to that..."Anyways, Don," Bert said, cautiously, "what made you want to take up a career in music?"

Don quickly glanced at Bert and returned his gaze to the road ahead as he spoke, "Well, I was raised by my mother and father there. I was about five or six years old when my dad got me a piano. It was 1958 or 1959, I can't remember. It wasn't something I wanted to pursue a career in at the time, though, I was actually debating following my dad into his career path. Dad was a cop on the local police force. I wanted to grow up to be like him."

"So if you grew up wanting to be a cop, what exactly made you decide to become a musician?"

"Well," the raccoon thought, "hmm...oh, yes. It was the spring of 1968. I happened to have some tickets to go see Coffee in the big city. You do know who Coffee were, right?"

Bert had heard of that band before. "That was the band Eric Clackton was in, wasn't it?"

Don nodded. "Yes, yes it was. It was the defining moment of my life. Eric, Jack Goose, Ginger Barker...that was the greatest band that ever existed. Bar none. One hell of a performance. Such a shame they broke up not long after that...ah, creative differences can be quite the undoing for a band. I knew right then and there, though, I wanted to be like them."

"I take it Eric Clackton was your idol then," Bert assumed.

"Absolutely! He was what I thought a guitar player should have been. I actually got to meet him once when I was on tour with Clawhammer. If I could have ever had one guitarist playing in a band with me, it'd have to be him."

Bert frowned. "I honestly never thought much of that guy. When I was a kid, I used to idolize Jimi Houndrix like you wouldn't believe!"

"Jimi was a hell of a guitarist, too," Don admitted, "never got to see him play though. Shame-he really was a hell of a guitarist. If only he'd have stayed away from those barbiturates..."

"I took it pretty hard when he died," Bert sighed. "Same when John Boneham died..."

"No offense, Bert, but you know, Steel Airship were a bunch of musical thieves. Stole a bunch of other people's songs and passed them off as their own. The thing that sickens me about 'em is that they actually got away with doing that bullshit." Don took this subject rather bitterly.

"That's what my friend Cedric told me," Bert replied, "but it can't really be true, can it?"

"Oh, you'd better believe Cedric was right about that. That was wrong and they should have been sued into poverty for doing that. I wouldn't have minded seeing them jailed for doing that-I have NO respect for musical thieves like that."

Bert looked saddened to hear this. "That's pretty cold, Don..."

Don sighed. "I apologize, Bert, if it bothers you to hear somebody speak bad words about your heroes, but sometimes the truth hurts, y'know."

"I understand, Don," Bert sighed. He still didn't want to believe that. His heroes couldn't be musical thieves...it had to all be a big misunderstanding.

"So anyways, we were talking about how I got into music. Well, after seeing Coffee, I took up playing the bass guitar for a time. I could show ya sometime if you'd like..."

Bert was impressed. "You actually played bass?"

Don laughed. "I did, for a couple years anyway. I'm way out of practice, though-haven't played a guitar of any kind since I was twenty. Hard to believe that was already a decade ago..."

"Time sure does fly! I can't believe I'm already out of college..."

"Can't believe I'm already almost thirty-one years old," Don agreed. "I remember I had this group together when I was 16 and we tried to get this record contract. We sent 'em a tape of us trying to play 'Hey Jude' while we were higher than kites!"

Bert had to laugh at that. "I can only imagine what they thought of that!"

"Well, needless to say, we didn't get it. They told us that was the worst shit they'd ever heard-well, in more polite terms, at least. I still got that tape around somewhere-I oughta show it to you sometime. A very old shame of mine-I thought we sounded damned good back then. Of course, we didn't..."

Bert nodded. "I'll have to ask you about that sometime. So what happened after that?"

Don replied, "I gave up playing bass and went back to keyboards right at the end of high school. We heard these records by groups like Queen Scarlet, Revelation, No...you know, the prog rock groups. And we thought they were the greatest thing in the world. I was impressed at how they were mixing classical and rock music elements together. So I decided that's what my group would be. And you know the story from there, I showed you our records, didn't I?"

"Oh yeah," Bert chuckled. "But you never made it big commercially."

"No, but it was worth the effort. We moved to London in '72 after we cut our first album-we spent three years living in England. Had the opportunity to hang out with many different popular rock groups-I wouldn't trade that for the world."

"Who all did you hang out with?" the younger raccoon asked, quizzically.

"Oh, all sorts of 'em-Eric Clackton, the What, No, David Crowie...but by far my proudest accomplishment was getting to play alongside Keith Emerson. That was back when that meant something, y'know."

Bert looked puzzled. "Keith who?"

Don wasn't quite sure what to say. "Keith Emerson...surely you know who he is, right?"

Bert was confused. "Never heard of him."

Don felt like punching Bert-he didn't care that he was driving. If he could have punched Bert right then and there, he would have. "He was one of the trio Emerson, Lark, and Pawmer...you have heard of them, right?"

Bert shook his head. "No."

Don was taken aback. "...Well, never mind then! Let me just say that aardvark was one hell of a keyboardist. I'd say he's the only keyboard player better than me. Quite an honor playing alongside him. I will have to show you their music sometime, I suppose."

"I suppose so. So what made you come to the Evergreen Forest of all places after your band failed?"

"Well, I was going to retire from the music scene altogether. Figured I'd missed out on my shot to make something big. I figured we came onto the scene just as prog rock was being killed off as a genre. We were considered a dead horse band. So I decided I'd come to the Forest to be closer to my cousin Maxie and her young daughter. I presume you've met them?" Don asked.

Bert nodded. "I vaguely remember meeting them, yes..."

"Well, I just figured it'd be nice to be close to some of my family, you know. Hadn't seen Maxie in ages, so it was nice seeing her again. I figured I would maybe settle down there and leave my old life behind; maybe take that job as a policeman my dad always wanted me to be."

"Say, wait a minute, Don," Clancy said, as he'd just woken up and overheard Don and Bert's conversation from the front seat. "Don, your last name is Ringtail, right?"

"Correct."

"Any chance you're related to the Ringtail clan?" the beaver wondered.

"You mean the business tycoon family?" Bert said aloud. He'd wondered that himself, but he'd never asked Don personally.

"Yes," Don replied, firmly, "I am of the Ringtail clan. My rich uncle actually helped finance Clawhammer and helped us get our record contract. I convinced him that we'd be extremely successful and he'd make a massive profit as our financier. However, he cut off support for us when our records weren't selling-he didn't want to lose all the money he'd invested in us, so he cut support. Said it was the worst thing he'd ever done in business...needless to say, I haven't been welcomed by him since as I'm thought of as a failure-close to being the black sheep of the family. But hey," the raccoon chuckled. "With this band, if we find success, I might finally get the opportunity to stick it to him and show him how successful I really can be, heheh!"

Bert and Clancy laughed. "You'll show 'em, Don!"

More miles passed. Bert was gazing out the window again. They'd been on the road about two and a half hours, and yet it felt they'd been driving a lot longer.

"Will we ever reach the city...?" Bert thought to himself. It felt like they would never get there. Bert couldn't help but find his mind wandering. His thoughts turned to Ralph back home at the Raccoondominium...

"I wonder how Ralph's going to take all this," he uttered, aloud, not aware Don and Clancy were listening (Donny was still fast asleep, still clutching his beer).

"Ralph? You mean that guy you lived with back in the Forest, right? The one who just got married?" Don asked.

"Yeah," Bert answered lowly. "We've been friends for ages...we haven't really been apart for too long...I wonder how he'll cope with me being gone?" Bert certainly had no way of knowing his friend had taken advantage of the opportunity to show his wife how much he loved her...

"Eh, I'm sure he'll do fine," Don said, idly. "Ralph seems to be an alright guy. I'm sure he can handle himself."

"I don't know," Bert sighed, "I wish he had come along with us..."

"Gee, I really do appreciate knowing that you would have rather had him in the Flying Aces over me, Bert!" Clancy remarked in the back seat in a voice absolutely dripping with sarcasm. Clancy knew that Bert had preferred Ralph to himself, and that he had only been chosen for the band as Ralph had refused to join.

"Well, he was a good drummer, you know...plus a good songwriter. He would have managed to fit in with us..."

"Look, Bert," the beaver remarked, "I have absolutely nothing against Ralph. Hell, my father and his father are drinking buddies, so I got to know him fairly well! He always had it hard in high school and I never really thought that was fair, so I am glad to see life is really turning around for him. But for Pete's sake, Bert, why the hell would you want him over me? He didn't even want to go on the road-he doesn't even like the rock 'n' roll lifestyle. What would you want him for? I mean, hell, if he wants to stay home with his wife, he has the right to do that, ya know."

"Good point, if he doesn't want to be the Canadian Keith Reed, he doesn't have to be," Don agreed.

Bert was confused yet again. "Keith who?"

It took all Don could muster to suppress the urge to scream his head off at Bert. "Lord Almighty, Bert, you really don't know a lot about the unsung heroes of rock and roll...you have a lot to learn."

Bert was still unsure what the elder raccoon was talking about. "Huh?"

Don sighed. "Never mind. Hey, Bert, if you really wanted to have Ralph come to the city as well, I know something you could have done that would have made him come..." he chuckled.

"Really now. What would that be?" Bert was quite curious.

"You know that new wife of his, eh, what's her name?"

"Melissa," Bert answered, "I'm glad to see Ralph got her. He had to go through a lot to get her!"

"Yeah, whatever. You know, Bert, if you had kidnapped Melissa and held her for ransom in the city, I'm pretty certain that would have made Ralph come to the city to go get her!" Don guffawed with laughter. "Haha! But of course, that would be illegal." He smirked. "Say, something like that would make a great idea for a song, don't you think? Bert, you have to remind me of that, I need to write that down!" the older raccoon chuckled.

Clancy and Bert were both surprised, completely unsure what to make of Don's disturbed statement.

"I couldn't do that, Don, Ralph would kill me if I tried to do that. He loves her, after all-and I'm pretty sure he'd have me locked up forever if I did something like that! Couldn't do that to him," Bert said, plainly.

"Heheh. Love," Don chuckled.

"Good grief, what the hell is wrong with you, Don?" Clancy exclaimed, more than a little disgusted at Don's snide comment. "That-that's messed up! What kind of depraved bastard are you?"

"I'm not depraved," Don laughed. "I'm just really, really eccentric. Special, if you will. At least that's what Cousin Maxie says I am."

"More like highly disturbed," the beaver sneered.

"Seriously though," Don said, trying to change the subject, "I have nothing against Ralph. I like the kid-I like the fact that someone of your generation has a genuine interest in poetry. Too bad he made the decision to get married."

"What do you mean, 'too bad he got married'?" Bert said, warily.

"He's made a bad decision. He's totally head over heels for her and he's just setting himself up for a big fall. He doesn't even realize she's only after his finances. You wait a year or two. Melissa will have poor Ralph completely cleaned out and he'll be a broken shell of a man. It's quite a pity."

Clancy scowled. "What the hell are you going on about?"

Bert didn't understand what Don was saying. "Why would Melissa do that? He loves her and I know she loves him too. She wouldn't do that to him."

Don laughed. "Well, then she really is the Great Deceiver!"

"What?"

"She has poor Ralph-and both of you-fooled. Look at him. All she has to do is bat her eyelashes at him and he's pretty much putty in her paws. Sickens me. She's leading him up to a fall. Getting married was the worst mistake Ralph could ever make, it could be a fatal one if he isn't careful..."

Bert was somewhat aghast. "You don't really think that, do you, Don...?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, I do. Seen it happen before, to one of my high school friends. He was in my band in high school, left right after high school to go get married. Never played music again. Come to find out three years later she had divorced him, taken everything, and he jumped off an office building and killed himself to keep her from getting it. It's happened too many times. She pulls at his heartstrings to get to his wallet. I think it's safe to say that's what'll happen here too, you watch."

Clancy was quite taken aback. "Don, are you a sexist?"

"No," Don firmly answered. "I just don't really have any respect for women. I have no time for one of them. Had a few bad experiences with them back in my school days, enough for me to realize they're not worth it. You can't trust them, not for a moment. The only women I trust are my mother-may she rest in peace!-and my cousin, well, as they're my family, and I respect all my family-except for my uncle of course. Bastard," Don growled.

"Holy shit, Don," Clancy groaned. "You really are a sexist!"

"And it sounds to me like someone's bitter," Bert said, observing something-for once.

"No, there's a difference between being a sexist and being what I am. I'm not against women having equal rights as us, I just don't like 'em to begin with."

"Ah," Clancy said, realizing something. "So you are a woman-hater."

"In a way, yes," Don said, not batting an eye, his gaze still intently focused on the road ahead. "I suppose I am. I mean, there's nothing wrong with having flings every now and then. Nothing wrong with 'em at all. It's when you get attached is when you're setting yourself up for a fall..."

"Don, if everyone in the world was like you," Clancy growled, "then nobody in the world would find happiness."

"You don't think that it might be possible that Ralph and Melissa might actually love one another?" Bert questioned.

"No, I don't, because love doesn't exist. It's a myth," Don tried to explain, "a myth created by those big corporations. They try to get you believe in that stuff-they don't know how much harm it causes."

"Good heavens, Don, that's enough," Bert said, not really wanting to hear any more out of Don.

"Sorry," Don apologized. "Got carried away there, but you get what I'm saying, don't you?"

Bert sighed. "I suppose..."

Clancy looked at Donny, who was still asleep. He was surprised the kangaroo had not woken up with all their racket-Donny must have been a heavy sleeper. "You better not write any songs about stuff like that, Don..."

"Hah, don't worry, I wouldn't write about that. I think I have an idea on what'll sell, and what won't."

Clancy, noticing Donny was fast asleep, saw his beer unguarded. He saw what he felt was an opportunity...

"Heheh..." he chuckled to himself as he grabbed the beer and rolled down his window.

"Bombs away!" the beaver shouted as he flung the pack of Molson's out the window as it crashed onto the road.

Donny woke up. "Huh, what the hell? CLANCY!" the kangaroo angrily screamed at his bandmate. "YOU THREW MY BEER OUT THE WINDOW, DIDN'T YOU?"

"Sure did," Clancy smugly smirked. "Tired of seeing that cheap Molson's crap when you could be drinking Snoup's..."

"I'll kill you, you bastard! I swear on my mother's grave when we get to Vancouver I'm going to shove your head so far up your ass I'll-"

Bert sighed. "Oh boy. There they go again..."

Don laughed. "They're almost like brothers fighting with one another. Don't worry, I know how to handle this...hey, Clancy?"

"What?" Clancy said as Donny briefly released the beaver from the headlock he had placed him in.

"Remember when you once told me you had a dream of running all the way across this country, from Vancouver all the way to Halifax?" Don sneered.

"Yeah, I do. I've always wanted to do that-don't ask me why, I just do."

"Well, Clancy," the raccoon laughed, "you may be about to get that chance. How would you like the opportunity to live out your dream?"

"No fooling? You could really make that happen?" Clancy's interest had definitely been piqued. Bert's was too. What was Don about to tell his bandmate?

"Sure, I can. All you have to do is make another peep the rest of this ride and I will be pulling over to the side of the road and dumping you off there. You can hitchhike your way to Vancouver-hope you don't mind the fact that most hitchhikers are serial killers!"

Clancy gulped. "Eh-heh, I'll be good, Don..."

Donny laughed at Clancy. "Won't be too much longer before you're out walking, Clancy..."

Don spoke harshly to Donny as well. "That goes for you too, Donny. If you two both don't shut up and stop arguing with each other at every turn, I'm pulling over and making you both walk there. You don't want that, d'you...?" he said in an ominous tone.

The rather frightened pair nodded their heads in unison. "Y-y-yes, Don..."

"Good," Don said as the duo in the back seat slunk back into their seats in silence.

"You sure know how to handle them, Don!" Bert complimented. "And I was told I was immature..." he chuckled.

"Heh-heh, I sure do..."

It wasn't much longer before they could see the bright lights of the big city ahead...

"Ah, there it is, gang!" Bert excitedly exclaimed. They were almost there. "Vancouver..." Bert's future was rapidly closing in on him.

"Always did love the city," Don admitted. "I sort of grew up in one-I'll always consider myself a city child. No offense to you Bert, but I don't understand how you and Ralph and that Cedric friend of yours ever managed to deal with living in that Forest. A few years there nearly drove me bonkers!"

"It's not bad at all if you grow up there, you get used to it," Bert smiled. "But still, there's such a big opportunity here that you don't have in the Forest!"

"Yep," Donny agreed. "I always thought the Forest sucked. It was even smaller than my hometown of Spruceton! There's like nothing there outside of a few millionaires! I only went to Evergreen U 'cause it was close to home."

"I'll say," Clancy added, "I don't hate the Forest but there's a lot more to do in Vancouver! What do I have to look forward to staying in the Forest...following in my dad's footsteps and working for J. Marvin Mills at that stupid upholstery company? That shady bastard? Pah! I have better things to do in life." The beaver smirked. "Plus there's a lot of beautiful women in the city, can't go wrong with that."

"Oh hell yeah," Donny agreed with Clancy-for once.

"You can never go wrong with a bunch of pretty girls," Bert smirked.

"Well, here we are!" Don exclaimed as they slowly made their way into the city.

Come along

Into the city

Where the girls are pretty

And you can't go wrong...

Bert was amazed at the sights of the city at night. Even at night time there was such hustle and bustle. Bert had been to Vancouver numerous times in the past, so this wasn't the first time he had set his eyes upon the sights and his ears upon the sounds of the city, but still, he was always amazed at city life. It was so different from life in the country, so...enticing...

Take your time

No need to hurry

Don't have to worry

'Cause it won't take long...

Bert looked out the window to see the sights that lay before him...

Well, you can surf in the sea, and you can swim in the pools

Do anything you wanna 'cause there ain't no rules

Drive your super-stock carbur to the long highway

And you can drag...

In the city, everybody's right

The kids are hip and they can dance all night

In the city, all the girls are pretty

And they go...

People gathered on the street corners. Merchants selling their wares on the street sides. Groups of girls gathered around each other chatting with one another, out early in the morning. People heading out to their jobs. Clubs blaring loud music that was audible to Bert. Billboards advertising the latest in great lines of products you simply had to have to be hip...

In the city, into the city

In the city, into the city

In the city, into the city

In the city, into the city...

Bert was tired from a lack of sleep and eager to get to the apartment so he could get some rest, but he could still hardly contain his excitement...

"My future is here..." he thought to himself...

END CHAPTER TWO

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, there's chapter two...not an outstandingly exciting chapter, but this was a rather necessary one-seeing as Bert's bandmates had yet to be introduced, I pretty much had to introduce them-would you like me to jump into the action without introducing them first? You get an idea of what their characters are like...The musical references should be expected to, seeing as Bert is part of a band...

Bert dreaming about playing in Cleveland...you'll remember in the episode "Sweet Smell Of Success" the pigs offering Bert and his friends a contract to work for Cyril Sneer that would lead them to play their music all around the world. Where was Bert most excited about performing? Cleveland. So I figured I would have him dreaming of playing there. I don't know why but it seems to be common in fiction for Cleveland to be admired for some unknown reason. I'm certain it's an alright place, but not as amazing as fiction would have you believe..."Finchfield Coliseum" is the Richfield Coliseum, which was the main place one would go to see a concert in Cleveland for years-it no longer exists, however, as it was torn down a decade ago.

Don's encounters with bands-figured I'd show him as a braggart. Bands he refers to include Rush (called "Adrenaline"), Cream (called "Coffee" here-the band Eric Clapton was in the 1960s-lasted only a couple of years but were extremely influential in the process), Jimi Hendrix (well, duh...), Led Zeppelin ("Steel Airship"-and no, my opinions do not match Don's opinion of them-I actually don't mind writing a character with opposite vantage points from my own-some people do, though), King Crimson ("Queen Scarlet), Genesis ("Revelation"), Yes ("No"), the Who ("The What"), and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer ("Emerson, Lark, and Pawmer"-an infamous progressive rock band that some music critic recently claimed to be the second worst band of all time behind the Insane Clown Posse. The same critic put the Doors on his 50 worst list of all time too, so, I wouldn't take stock in him...most famous for having written the song "Lucky Man", which appeared on an episode of the Simpsons as Homer sings along to that song on his car's radio (well, actually, he sings the infamous synthesizer solo at the end-thanks Homer, now every time I hear that song I'll be tempted to sing that part of it too and make an ass of myself...)). I also showed Don to be quite the misogynist...I didn't want to make him a particularly likable character from the get-go. I also realized with his last name that he had to be related to the Ringtail family from Kobe's fanfic...credit goes to him there.

And that song you see right at the end..."In The City" by the Who, a very obscure B-side of theirs from 1966. I felt this song was a perfect fit for Bert and his band arriving in the city as it shows a wide-eyed idealist view of city life, which undoubtedly matches Bert's at the time. (By the time of the series, it'll flip 360 degrees to where he hates the city, and this fanfic will DEFINITELY show why...) It sounds like an almost perfect Beach Boys knock-off-I'll never pass up a good Beach Boys knock-off. I almost wonder if this song is supposed to be sarcastic, considering the track record of John Entwistle (the song's writer)...

Anyways, that's chapter 2-chapter 3 will be coming soon, introducing Ralph's father Arthur's subplot.