This is it folks, the finale chapter. Honestly I treated writing this like it was a movie rather than a fanfic, but a real Animaniacs movie would have way more songs than what I put in. This is my gift for the show and my closure for those three toons who taught me all about cartoon comedy when I was little.
Hope you all enjoy it!
With Yakko's deconstruction stopped, the Warner's still had some loose ends to tie up. The restored brother kept an arm around each of his little siblings as they left the building. "I'm just saying, between being mostly immortal and warping reality, can we technically be considered gods?" Yakko questioned as the doors opened and the trio stepped outside.
What awaited them was all their main cast members, new and old, looking relieved to see the stars of the show unhurt. Dot blinked, surprised by the crowd. "You're all really here? I thought you were just part of the glitching catastrophe?"
"Eh, the minor characters were." Slappy shrugged, walking up to the only toons around older than she was. "The rest of us got warped here. Which reminds me-" she smacked Yakko upside the head with her purse.
"OW!"
"That was for interrupting my retirement!" She then smacked him a second time.
"And that one?" Yakko rubbed his bruised head.
"That's for not telling us that your ding dang lives were on the line!" Once the chaos had settled, Slappy had been furious to learn the finale show they invited her to was going to determine if they were going to be frozen and put away forever. Nuts to living in peace, she would've flown on over in a heartbeat to keep those totally insaney kids from being locked up again.
More of the older characters approached, with Squit of the Goodfeathers perching himself atop Runt's head. "Yeah, if we'd known about the suspension, we would've all agreed to come back for the show."
The dog underneath him nodded, knocking Squit off accidentally. "Definitely, definitely woulda done it." Toon co-stars and human side characters alike agreed… except Starbox. He was mad Dot cut his epic battle short earlier in the fic.
Pushing aside various characters, Nora Norita marched up to the front and pushed her glasses up. She had to be the one to remind everybody of the side effects of this whole debacle. "This is really touching, but even if you got that finale of yours up and ready by tomorrow, it wouldn't do you any good."
The Warner's looked crushed. "But why?!" they said in unison.
"This entire catching the studio inside a dome of pure zaniness will not endear you to the board of directors. They will use this as an excuse to move up your suspension before word of what happened leaks to the public." Nora explained, pacing back and forth and using various hand motions as she spoke.
A ringtone that could only be described as the sound of a backwards man screaming broke through the crowd. People stepped aside to reveal Pinky and The Brain, the former of whom owned the phone the irritating noise originated from. "Ooh, I got reception again!" He quickly checked his media feed. "Egad! My livestream is trending!"
Brain was about to remind Pinky of the matter at hand, when he remembered one detail about Pinky's follower base. "Pinky, you are referring to the livestream you were filming when Wakko and Dot arrived, right?"
"Yup!" Pinky nodded.
"And it was the same livestream followers from that time I manipulated the lottery, correct?" Brain prodded.
"Zort!" Pinky confirmed.
Brain took the phone from Pinky and scrolled through the comments, his eyes widening. Yakko leaned over towards the mice. "Is this really the time to check his feedback?"
"It is when it's centered around you and your siblings." Brain responded, still shaking his head in astonishment. "See for yourself." He passed the phone to Yakko, who scrolled down as Wakko and Dot leaned over his shoulder.
Others were curious and looked up Pinky's livestream, including Nora, whose eyes bugged out comically when she saw the follower count "Three million subscribers?!"
Brain held a hand to his head. "I myself had forgotten just how popular his juvenile social media really is." He had to stop underestimating how many around the globe loved Pinky's antics. The two of them were popular enough to get their own spinoff after all.
The Warner's were starting to get emotional again as they skimmed through the comments. Pinky had filmed them explaining their situation and countless people had flocked to their defense against putting them in suspended animation indefinitely. There were also plenty of responses that were just photos of people pointing at butts. Yakko assumed Wakko was responsible for whatever that was. "I don't believe it… all of these fans…" The oldest was in total disbelief.
"They love us! They really love us!" Dot happily cried out, lightly shaking Yakko with excitement.
One figure made her way over to the CEO, a blonde woman who had Yakko and Wakko restraining their hormones when they saw her. "Hello Nurse! You're back from the border!" The younger of the two happily greeted her.
She chuckled sweetly, amused that he thought she was at an actual border. "Just for a short while-" She noticed the sheepish grin from the oldest of the trio. He hadn't known she would be warped over from wherever she was, so she didn't hold it against him. "Now then, Ms. Norita?" Hello Nurse addressed the woman in charge. "Wouldn't it be terrible press for the studio if the Warner's were suspended after such a public reaction?"
Nora got what she was implying. "Oh, it would be a PR nightmare. There would be no way to sweep it under the rug like in the 30s or 90s." Her scheming businesswoman mind could already picture the drop in stock if the studio continued to lock these child stars away whenever they felt they weren't needed.
The siblings perked up as they listened to the women. Yakko grinned when he caught on. "Considering the hits to WB's reputation after the merger, the board really can't afford to suspend us after the response, can they?" Wakko and Dot saw the gleam in their brother's eyes, the mischievous look he had when he knew exactly how screwed over someone was. In this case, it was a whole board that was screwed unless they ruled in their favor.
"I need to make a few calls. Ms. Nerz, would you mind vouching for these three before you leave?" Nora already had a line of numbers lined up. She would never admit it even under the threat of ingesting refined sugar, but she'd grown used to having those insane kids around. She supposed it was Stockholm syndrome.
"Of course." She waved goodbye to the kids as she left. "It was nice seeing you again."
Yakko and Wakko held each other by the shoulder and enthusiastically called out, "Thank yooooou Nurse!"
The camera panned over to show Mindy right beside them, also waving goodbye to the lady. "Okay I love ya, buh-bye!" Buttons came over and let out a sigh while scooping the toon child up on his back.
The Warner's grinned and linked arms. They hopped in a circle cheering in unison, "We're not gonna be suspended! We're not gonna be suspended!" Everyone else just gave a simple hooray. A handful wandered off, but some came closer to the Warner's.
Wakko was approached by Ralph. "Dah… so youse ain't gonna be suspended?"
"Guess not!" Wakko leapt up into Ralph's arms.
"Do I's still get to chase ya round the studio?" Ralph asked hopefully.
"Wouldn't have it any other way!" Wakko nodded.
"Oh an I'm sorry bout that show I greenlightning'd." Ralph referred to his earlier remark, chapter two, for those who forgot.
Wakko forgave him "Aw, I forgive ya Ralph!" the toon leaned in and whispered quietly "Between you and me, the three of us were the masterminds behind Thundercats Roar." he revealed his own dark secret, stupefying (as much as could still be done) the guard.
Dot exchanged pleasantries with a few of her old friends as she made her way through the crowd, heading towards the two mice that were wandering away. "Leaving so soon?"
Pinky and Brain were startled by the Warner sister, and that's when Dot noticed Brain swiftly remove his hand from Pinky's. "Hi Dot!" Pinky was ignorant to Brain's embarrassed blush at having been caught showing affection.
"I just wanted to thank you for rallying the fans. Even if it was an accident." Dot kneeled down.
"Oh, I make loads of accidents! My parents even called me an accident when I was born!" Pinky cheerfully revealed.
Dot's genuine smile turned smug. "So then, how'd your side plot go? I'd loooove to hear about it." She dragged out the love, Brain would not make eye contact.
"We made up for an early spat. That is all!" Brain sputtered.
Pinky, oblivious to a fault, hooked his arm around Brain's shoulder. "Oh, don't listen to him! He's just being shy now that we are-" Pinky was silenced with a smack in the gut.
"Come Pinky, we must return to the lab and prepare for tomorrow night!" Brain tried to save face and leave the scene.
"Why, Brain? What are we going to do tomorrow night?"
"The same thing we do every night, Pinky-"
"Give the shippers more fodder?" Dot cut in.
Brain ignored her. "Try to take over the world!" Dramatic lightning flashed behind him, which Pinky noticed and looked up at the cloudless sky. "Let's get going Pinky, it'll be a long walk to the lab."
"No need. I got you covered." Dot reached offscreen and pulled over the cannon that had been repeatedly breaking windows. She lifted them up and put Brain and Pinky in the canon. "Give it a minute. I only have the long fuse left." The toon girl used a magnifying glass to burn the fuse from a few feet away.
Stuffed inside the cannon, the two mice were smushed together. The brainier of the two fidgeted until he could see his partner's face. "Forgive me, Pinky, it will take some time before I am ready to use the… L-word."
"No worries Brain. I have trouble saying la-sag-narf too!" It was uncertain if Pinky really misunderstood or if he was just joking. He had no problem using the word love, but he was willing to wait until Brain was ready. "I bet by the time we get a sequel, you'll be able to say it. We still need to have a final confrontation with Julia. Bring Romy in for a cameo. Oh, and we really need to get serious about taking over the-"
BOOM
The two mice were sent rocketing across the sky, presumingly landing close to home. Dot seemed contemplative. "Hm, I wonder if I should have told them the author doesn't have any plans for a sequel?"
'They're dinky. They're Pinky and the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain.'
Yakko had stepped aside from the others and relaxed against a wall. He was completely worn out after everything that had happened, and now that he and his siblings had secured their future, he was able to relax again.
"Zhis is un surprise. I vould haff imagined you'd be yakking all ours ears off now zhat you haff your voice back." It hardly surprised Yakko to hear the voice of the old doctor coming from beside him. He'd figured Scratchy would come up to him sooner or later.
"Eh, Warping reality takes a lot outta a guy. Give me a nap and a jumbo sized chocolate bar and I'll have my zaniness recharged." The toon shrugged. He was fully serious about the nap and chocolate bar.
Scratchansniff could hardly guess just how drained his longtime patient was feeling. As much as he wanted Yakko to get some rest, he knew this would probably be the only moment they'd have to talk about what happened. "You know, if ve had finished our session earlier, zhis could probably have been prevented."
"Yeah, yeah, I got spooked that you were starting to figure me out, like a rubix cube that's one turn short of getting solved." Might as well be honest. He owed the doctor that much after everything they'd been through.
"Since our meeting I haff refined mine diagnosis of your psyche, vould you like to hear it?" Scratchansniff asked.
Yakko nodded, giving him the go ahead. Scratchansniff opened his mouth, but a gloved finger shushed him. "Upupup-how about you whisper it away from the readers?" There was no need to be THAT open with his audience. They'd already read enough about him than he'd like.
Pulling up a toon ear, Dr. Scratchansniff whispered his diagnosis to the boy. Yakko couldn't help but let out a dry chuckle. "Whaddya know? You got it totally right."
The doctor pulled back, astonished by the admission. "I did it… I finally did it…" he hopped up and clapped his feet in the air like a joyful schoolgirl. "Hahaha! After all zhese years I haff successfully psycho-analyzed a Varner!"
Yakko smirked. "Good for you doc… too bad no one's gonna believe ya."
The jubilation halted. It was true, no one would believe that he finally cracked what made a Warner tick. If he wouldn't even let the readers know, then Yakko would never back up his statements. "Oh, phoo… at least I know I am vindicated." He felt a sorta sympathetic pat on his hairless head. "You know I haff not seen mine twin brozher in ages, he might believe me. I vonder vhat he is up to?"
"I'm sure he's having a whale of a time." On that punfully cryptic note, Yakko stepped back out and crossed the lot to meet his siblings by the water tower.
"You talked with Scratchy?" Wakko wondered, climbing up a few steps on the ladder and letting himself hang upside down like a bat.
"Just handing out a little closure." Yakko sat on the bottom of the ladder, looking upwards at his little brother.
Not to be outdone, Dot walked up the side of one of the poles supporting the tower. She remained standing sideways as easily as anyone would stand on the ground. "Thanks to the fans, we'll finally be free! Now this is a better ending than a meteor!"
Yakko scratched his chin in thought. "You know what? We've almost wrapped this all up, and we only got half of a song in."
Dot sassily held her hands to her hips. "That's because the writer isn't confident she can write songs that live up to the show's legendary musical prestige."
"And it's all written so no one can hear it, anyway." Wakko added.
Scooping up his younger sibs, Yakko brought them both under his arms. "Right. But wouldn't it be fitting to end the series where it began? With a victorious reprise of the theme song?"
"Yeah!" Wakko and Dot eagerly agreed.
The three jumped up and pulled down a red curtain in front of the screen. The opening bars of the iconic theme song started up as the curtains whipped open to show the equally iconic water tower, and the family of toons who opened the door and started singing to the viewers, "It's time for Animaniacs"
The siblings 'boinged' from the tower and landed down in the lot where various people waved to them and viewed them with admiration, opposed to the running and screaming that had been the norm for decades "And we're zany to the max"
Scratchansniff and Ralph were speaking in the former's office, when the Warner's each popped out of a ceiling fan, under Ralph's hat, and from a potted plant. They leapt on their long time foils, one of which only rolled his eyes while the other prepared his net. "So just sit back and relax-" the net missed the Warners and caught Scratchy instead. "You'll laugh till you collapse! We're Animaniacs!"
Cutting away to the studio lot, Yakko and Wakko danced around, "Come join the Warner Brothers-"
"And the Warner Sister Dot!" The youngest Warner jumped out in front of her brothers and struck her cutest pose.
"Just for fun, we run around the Warner movie lot." The trio raced around like studio like Roadrunner before stopping back where they started.
An old newsreel of the stars shows the original locking of the tower "They lock us in the tower," The screen zooms out and shows the Warners watching the old film in a theater "-whenever we get caught."
The water tower roof launched into the air and its inhabitants escaped riding on some sort of flying bicycle. "But we break loose, and then vamoose, and now you know the plot!"
"We're Animaniacs-" The trio dropped down onto a stage. Two siblings at a time sang the lines corresponding to the one in the lyrics. A single spotlight shone down on Dot as she gave her sassiest pose. "Dot has wit, and Yakko yaks." The light went over to Yakko, who was acting out his countries of the world routine. Finally, the spotlight moved to the other brother who ate a kitchen sink full of various foods. "Wakko packs away the snacks. Our careers have made comebacks-" All three of them stood at a podium in fancy clothing, Dot held an award in between them "We're Animaniacs!"
Ralph and Dr. Scratchansniff are pulled on screen by the Warners, sending nervous grins to the camera. "Meet Ralph and Dr. Scratchansniff, say hi to Hello Nurse." The group moved aside to reveal Hello Nurse underneath a spotlight, surprised to be in the song. Nora was pushed into her, followed by Cora, Nils Niedhart, Jay-Pac, Flora Dora, and the animator from Yakko Amakko "A brand new cast who tested well in focus group research."
"Gender-balanced,-" Wakko flung the supporting cast onto a scale, separating them by gender "pronoun-neutral,-" Dot tossed an armful of pronouns into a blender "and ethnically diverse." Yep, Yakko was back at his world map, with tiny Yakko's of all different cultures standing on the countries. "The trolls will say we're so passé, but we did meta first!" A chatroom full of literal trolls are redirected by the siblings to the Animaniacs wiki page for the 'Please Please Please Get A Life Foundation'.
A gloved hand comes up and the music stops. Yakko pops up "Uhhhhhhhh.. Rewind!" The footage of the previous verse rewinds rapidly as they return to the top of the verse.
"Meet Pinky and the Brain who want to rule the universe!" The two mice were back in the lab. Brain plots out their next scheme while Pinky sits beside him and pretends he understands what he's talking about. A flash of inexplicable lightning outside reveals Julia's silhouette ominously watching them from the window.
"Goodfeathers flock together,-" The Goodfeathers are peacefully sitting in a nest, with Chicken Boo in the back disguised as the Godpigeon. "-Slappy whacks them with her purse!" Slappy comes over and whacks Boo with her purse, and the Goodfeather's get caught in the crossfire.
"Buttons chases Mindy,-" Buttons does chase after Mindy, who herself is chasing after Cindy, who is chasing after Starbox. "-while Rita sings a verse." The feline songstress belts out a ballad with Runt inside their forever home.
Inside the writers' room, The Warner's and the writers grabbed every script they could find and threw it up into the air while the toons sang "The writers flipped, We have no script, Why bother to rehearse?"
The toons of the cast marched down a stage like in the original opening "We're Animaniacs."
"You should see our new contracts!" Yakko, Wakko and Dot signed their names on a contract held by Nora. Guaranteeing that they will never be locked away or suspended ever again. They were free.
"We're zany to the max,-" The sibs huddled together like in the regular opening. "There's baloney in our slacks!" Decades of baloney erupted out of Yakko's pants like a geyser. Wakko, of course, kept his mouth open to eat some of the falling pieces.
The whole cast stood on stage together to sing the last bit "We're Animanie! Totally insane-y!"
Yakko took center stage "Illegal in Bahrain-y"
Wakko appeared over his shoulder, looking around for someone. "Where's Lon Chaney?"
Dot popped out over his other shoulder, holding a plethora of merchandise for their show. "Have no shame-y"
Yakko pulled out a sled "Citizen Kane-y"
Wakko held a hand to his head. "May cause migraine-y's"
Dot stood in front of her brothers, bringing it all in. "Here's the show's name-y"
Everyone gathered around and brought it to a close. "Animaniacs! Those are the facts!" The audience applauded, the cast took a bow, and the curtains closed on their show.
The curtains turned into the classic Looney Tunes ending backdrop, and Yakko, Wakko and Dot popped through the circle one more time. "Goodbye, folks!"