Chapter 1: Many Years Ago

It was around 10pm in Burbank, California. It was downpouring very hard with rain as far as the eye could see. The year was 1990. And this chapter, is when the Warner siblings first came to Burbank. The reasons behind it were a bit more complicated and somewhat dark than what most thought.

On this very night, Ralph was guarding the front gate at the WB movie lot as usual, when suddenly, a dark red SUV came crashing through the gates. "What the heck?!" he exclaimed, before running out of the booth. The SUV came to a screeching halt, right next to the water tower. Then, the doors opened up and out came 4 individuals. A man and 3 young yet familiar faces.

"Hey! Why did you do that?" Ralph asked as he approached the man. He then noticed 3 toons next to him. One that seemed no older than 5 years old, the second being approximately 2 or 3 years old, and the third one being only a baby or at the most, 1 year old. Turns out, it was the Warner siblings, but younger. "I'll explain it when I see Mr. Plotz," the man said, "Please tell me he is still here..." "Well uhh, he's still here for now," Ralph replied. The man quickly ran to find Mr. Plotz' office, with the 3 following from behind. Ralph followed them.

Meanwhile, Mr. Plotz was getting ready to leave for the night, until the man rushed through his door. This made him jump in surprise, "WHAT ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH???" "Mr. Plotz," the man explained, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but this is an emergency!" he then looked at the young Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, "I want you guys to wait outside the office, in the waiting room." Both Yakko and Wakko went to the waiting room, with Yakko holding Dot since she was practically a baby. Ralph came up to them, panting, "Sorry Mr. Plotz, I couldn't catch up to him in time." Mr. Plotz sighed in frustration, "Ralph, keep an eye on those kids in the waiting room. Clearly, whoever this is, needs to have a word with me about something in regards to them." Ralph left the room to check on the Warner siblings.

"Now, you better have a damn good explanation as to why you decided to barge in with those kids!" Mr. Plotz said sternly, "Wait a minute, aren't those the children of King William and Princess Angelina the second?" "Indeed they are, and I was someone who was very close to the Warner siblings parents," explained the man, "The name is George. I was a guard within their palace. Unfortunately, the little town of Acme Falls was taken over by an anti-toon group." Mr. Plotz thought about it and his angry expression fell, "So, that means the king and queen are...dead?" "I don't know, I really don't know," George said, "All I know is the eldest got his siblings out safely. They left the palace which caught fire, before finding me just outside of it. The middle child doesn't understand yet. And the youngest is just a...baby."

There was a bit of a silence, but it didn't take much to read Mr. Plotz' face. A mix of emotions were present. Shock, yet sadness too. He never knew the king and queen much, but knowing that an anti-toon group had taken away that town particularly was a lot to take in.

"Another toon civilization taken away by yet another anti-toon group," Mr. Plotz said, "If only our government would stop those groups, instead of making the toons move into human civilizations." "Trust me, I know," said George, "And since I couldn't find their parents anywhere, I knew that you guys would take care of the Warner's children if something like this were to happen." "Uhh, right..." said Mr. Plotz unsurely, "That agreement I made with the king and queen 4 years ago. Umm, what about it?" "I ask that you and everyone else here take care of the Warner siblings until they are old enough to venture out into the world," George explained, "I want you guys to take care of them very well. These guys are very special. The Animanic, also scientificly called the Cartoonus Characterus are unlike any toon that currently exists. They're a rare breed and require a ton of patience. Can I trust you with taking care of them?"

Thaddeus Plotz began to sweat like crazy. He didn't come prepared for this at all, despite the agreement he made 4 years ago. Truth was, he never took it too serious. Now the time has come and it looked like it was about to be a yes or no type answer. Then, Mr. Plotz got an idea that made him agree to taking care of the Warners. "You got yourself a deal!" he said. George leaned over to him, "You are sure?" "Yep! I am 100 percent sure! In fact, I know a place they can stay. They can stay up in the water tower!" The two shook hands before George left the office. "I am going to make a lot of money making cartoons of those 3!" Mr. Plotz said to himself enthusiastically.

In the waiting room, the 3 waited for George, with Ralph supervising them. Dot was asleep for now, while both Wakko and Yakko were still awake. Wakko had an unsure look on his face. "It's okay Wakko, we're all safe," said Yakko. George came back and explained the situation, "I have good news for you guys. Mr. Plotz said you can stay. He has a place for you guys."

The 4 went up to the top of the water tower and George opened up the front door, which was obviously the WB logo. There was absolutely nothing inside. No beds, no lights, not a single thing. "I thought there'd be something up here, but if that's what Thaddeus wants, then I guess it'll do," George sighed. The Warners looked around the place, until they noticed the man stepping out.

"George!" Yakko called as he ran over to him, "Your not leaving, are you?" Wakko came over with Dot. "Yakko and Wakko," George explained, "I'm very sorry, I really am, but I have to leave. I can't stay here with you guys. I know you guys probably don't understand, but let me put it this way. The people who run the WB movie lot will take care of you guys." "But what about mommy and daddy?" asked Yakko. "I'm sure they are still out there Yakko," said George, "And when I do find them, I'll bring them here. But for the time being, you will have to wait." George then smiled, "Just keep your head up, I'm sure everything will be fine in the end. Who knows, maybe you 3 will do well here in Burbank. Stay here till tomorrow morning." The door then began to close.

"What does that mean?" asked Wakko. However, his answer was left unanswered as the door closed. Yakko ran over to try opening it, but he couldn't open it. "LET US OUT!" he shouted, "PLEASE STAY HERE! DON'T MAKE US STAY HERE!" Then Yakko murmured, "Mommy and daddy need us..."

Later on, George was back to driving in his SUV. It was unclear where he was at, but it looked like he was exiting Burbank. He felt terrible leaving the Warners, but knew he didn't have much of a choice. He himself was unsure if King William and Queen Angela the second were even alive, but gave the sense of hope to the Warner siblings so they wouldn't think their parents were dead. "Did I give them false hope?" he asked himself, "Are they even alive?"

His thoughts were interrupted when a black van drove past him and then went in front of him. Before George knew it, the van slammed on it's breaks and George crashed into the back of it hard. 4 men came out, wearing all black, shined flashlights at George, who wasn't injured. "Is that the guy?" asked one of them. "That is indeed the man who helped the Warners get away from us," said another. The 4 of them pulled George out of the car and began beating him up with their baseball bats.

"That's enough," someone said. A tall man stepped into view who had black hair with grey on the sides, wore glasses, wore a black trech coat, black pants, and black formal shoes. "This is the man who helped the Warner children escape," said one of the men. "We have no clue where he took them Mr. Townly," said another. They then grabbed George's arms and put them behind his back. George who was beaten up and bloodied, stared into the eyes of their leader.

"Well," he said, "If it isn't Walter Townly. How's your brother Gavin doing? Last I heard from him, he was working with Acme." Walter smacked George across the face. "Shut the hell up about that!" he roared, "Where are the Warners?!" George laughed, barely intimidated by Walter, "They're in the Warner Bros Studio! They're safe! You can't get to them, let alone in Burbank, California! Toons get their rights here! Do you have any idea the amount of trouble you'd be in if you tried to kidnap or kill a toon in Burbank? You'd probably get a life in prison sentence or even get on death row!" George continued to laugh, feeling like he had just made an absolute victory of a choice. "Is that true?" asked one of Walter's men. "Sadly, he's right," replied Walter, "But that's fine, because at least their parents are likely dead."

Just as he said that, another black van pulled up. "Mr. Townly!" said the driver, "The king and queen hopped into an airplane and got away from us!" "WAIT, WHAT?!" Townly shrieked, "What was the plane number and it's owner? I'm sure we can track it down!" "It was unmarked sir!" said the driver, "We couldn't even see the numbers due to how dark it was and because of the weather! All we know is it was an older airplane with two propellers!" Townly growled furiously at the news. George however smiled his biggest smile at the news. "They're alive," he said softly, with tears of joy staring to form, "They're actually alive...they made it out...alive!" Townly turned back to see George happy as could be. He took out his gun, and shot the man right in the chest. The men let George go, as he bled out on the ground. "You...lost!" George whispered.

"Let's bury him somewhere here," said Townly, "As he's bleeding out too."

To be continued in the next chapter...

(Chapter 1 published 3/31/23)