A/N:

Hi! Well, there's not really much for me to say here, so all I will say is there's another cameo in here, and also a little twist. This is set the day after last chapter btw. Read on my friends! Read on and… I dunno, prosper? Lol XD

*Talia's POV*

I didn't know how long it had taken to finally get back to the studio yesterday; but it was a lot more complex than just going off to the right. Thanks a lot Marceline… No, it turns out that you had to head to the right, and then take about a million other maze-like directions to get out for real. But thankfully for us, Flynn had been shown the way by Dani the first time he'd gone to the town. All he needed was a step in the right direction and the rest of the path came naturally. I really should meet that girl, she seems like a good friend for Flynn. Maybe that's how it works. It's not just about remembering how you got there and the path back, it's that you have to be personally shown the way. Well I'd been shown the way out, and Flynn had taken us a good way there before. So with any luck, I could find my way there again.

Luck. It seemed to be hit and miss. When I had it, it was in great supply; when I didn't, it was lethal. Really, I should be used to it now shouldn't I? But that would just be depressing. The most I could do is remain hopeful, for the others sake. And this morning I was going to put my idea into notion. I'd figured that if I wanted to get some answers to exactly how much the town knew about us, the studio computers were a good place to start. But that either meant I had to use an official computer, or hack through another. My computer wouldn't be any good, they'd track it instantly and that wasn't worth my job.

So here I was, casually strolling through the studio corridors into the section where all the tech supplies were kept. Why was it that I spent more time in the studio when I was meant to have time off than I did when I was working? That's a prime example of luck right there. So lets see if it was going to change around anytime soon. I wasn't too far from the tech supply room and I hadn't been caught yet. I'd come across a few other employees here and there, but no one of authority so the company staff badge around my neck was enough for them. And soon enough, I reached the place I was looking for. And no one was around to see me enter it.

"So far so good…" I muttered, looking at the vast supply of laptops, TV's, hard-drives; you name it, it had it.

My eyes scanned the occupied computer cases and picked one at random. A label caught my eye. Reserved, J.V. Intern. Sorry, J.V, it'll be back by the end of the day. Well, I needed a computer that wasn't mine, and there were plenty laptops going here. I only needed it for a few hours, so it wasn't like it was going to go amiss. Not to mention these were reserved for interns, and interns didn't work during the summer, so in realistic terms, it wasn't going to be used any time soon. For gods sake Talia, stop trying to talk yourself in and out of this and just take it, it's hardly the worst thing you've done in your life!

So with that logic, as crap as it might be, I hoisted the case over me shoulder and left the room, heading back out into the main building and out into the open. I figured it would be best to head to the toon lot. That way it would look less suspicious if someone located the hacking, it would already be on studio grounds so the threat wouldn't be too bad. Oh god don't start the moral dilemma again. But I'd barely even gotten half-way to Slappy's when I felt like something was watching me. Normally, under the circumstances, I'd be panicking. But R.J couldn't make it beyond the town, he wasn't going to be anywhere near here. And this was the kind of feeling that I'd had before…

I stopped and turned on my heel and forced a half-smile, "Okay, what part of 'wait for me at home' don't you understand?"

Next thing I knew I had a set of arms locked around my neck and a familiar smirk looking up at me, "But you make us feel so much like we at home that we got confused."

"Sure." I scoffed, pushing Yakko off of me and noticing the four other pairs of eyes peering around the trunks of the trees, "Nice hiding place…"

Poppy giggled and pulled herself and Dot out from their hiding place while Flynn casually strolled out with an irritated expression as Wakko perched on his shoulders. Figures they'd follow. Luck, you got me again.

"And where do you think you're going, missy?" Dot asked knowingly.

"You know where I'm going and what I'm doing, madam." I returned.

"That's Madam Cutie to you." She pouted, "And I know we know; but we don't know why you're going it alone."

"It's hardly a full scale mission. I just have to…" Come on, girl I know you're not the most technological person but think, "Sort out the computer and get into the system and… you know."

"You don't know the first thing about hacking a computer, do you." Yakko scoffed, giving a statement not a question.

My shoulders slumped in defence, "And you do?"

"I know someone who can." Flynn muttered, "Some toon kid me and Poppy met yesterday. He said he found out about us through hacking into the outland network or something."

And he didn't mention this earlier because…? "Well great; do you know where he is or if he'll help us?"

"Uh, I don't know where he is; but he seems like he's got a thing for the weird so he'll sniff us out in no time no doubt."

Was that a dig? I wasn't sure, but if it gets things moving along then I was willing to go along with it. Poppy nodded, "He's really smart. He has to be to have a head that big…"

I think I know who they're talking about, and if it's right, then it really would take much to track him down. Or vice-versa, "That means we're going to have to go into the town, doesn't it?"

I figured that we'd end up there again at some point, but not when he was still hanging around there. But what choice did we have? Jack wasn't exactly helping, and frankly if I saw him then I'd just be getting more annoyed and it really wouldn't help. Plus, there was the chance that R.J still had control over him. I know that he says he hasn't been on main studio grounds… but I can't take that chance. Not again.

"I'd rather you guys stay here, just to be safe. He can't get to you here." I muttered.

"But he could get you." Poppy mumbled, looking wary.

That was true, but he couldn't touch me yet, he needed answers first. But like hell was I going to give him any, mainly because I didn't have that much myself. However my little answers outranked his none. He chose to ignore all info about the place, it was his own fault. The point was, he thought that I was actually going to help him out of fear. No, I wasn't scared of him per say, I was but that's not what makes me freeze. It's what he makes me do; that blackness that brings out something that isn't me. That's what scared me about him. And the fact that just like that, he could try and do the same to anyone that got too close to him.

"He's not getting me either." I clarified for her sake.

"You know, it'll be easier to keep an eye on us if we come with." Yakko mused, elbowing me in the side, "One for all and all for one times six, remember?"

It was a little late in the day to be arguing that one. And he had a point, "Yeah I remember."

*Jack's POV*

Mornings were always a mad rush, but what can you do? To be honest, I was still feeling terrible about what happened yesterday with Talia. I felt so guilty keeping the town a secret from her and the others for so long. I had been trying to figure out the best way to explain for a while, but things just kept getting from bad to worse. It was hard enough trying to gain trust of the town residents on my own let alone anyone else. I figured that if I proved I was on their side first, then maybe all of the history this studio had would be forgotten. Well the part where they know I'm here to help them was sorted, they seemed to really be interested in the idea of integration.

But trying to get them into expecting that Talia and her siblings were part of this too was tricky. It had to be done carefully, and frankly it was harder than it looked. Honestly I would have thought that it would be easier to let the Warner's loose in there. But apparently, things were more complicated than that. There was an unease in the town that because they are the ones R.J was after, letting them into the town will lead him there too. I could understand their fear, but was also doing my best to change it. Plotz had been content to ignore the responsibilities and felt it best that keeping everything in its own separate areas would make things easier. But it only makes things harder to face. I didn't want anyone being left out anymore. It wasn't fair.

I folded aside some papers and figured that the best way I was going to make it through this day was after a large dose of coffee. The staff room was thankfully empty and I was able to take in the quiet. I just needed to think for a minute. Okay, maybe it's time to bite the bullet and get it out there. Just openly say that the town and the main studio were in the same boat and that it was time to change things. R.J was in prison for good, no one had anything to fear from him.

That statement felt ironic. Because as I stood there planning how I was going to go about this, I was pouring something extra into my coffee. A foul smelling oil that made me sick to my stomach. But the caffeine helped with that. I promised them I wouldn't take this anymore. I promised I'd wait it out with them until we could find another reversal for it. But it wasn't that easy for me. This all just put me too close to him. I needed it. I needed the Rosehip oil. I'm sorry Talia, I really am. I can't stay like this, I never could…

As I forced the drink down, I looked out of the window and sighed at the view. But something in the ally below caught my eye. I leant against the glass to try and get better sight of it. It was a figure, tall and… sneering. He looked up at me and gave a mocking wave; following on to tap his watch with his finger as if telling me to hurry. With that, he casually walked away out of sight as he turned a corner. I wasn't breathing. I wasn't moving. It couldn't have been him. It couldn't! I had to warn the others. Before he got to them. Before R.J got them again.

*Talia's POV*

"We're lost aren't we?" Dot asked bluntly.

"We're not lost." Flynn groaned, "We've been in the park and now we're -"

"Not." Wakko finished with a subtle sense of smugness.

"Let's face it, we're in the middle of nowhere." Yakko shrugged passively.

We'd been wondering around here for so long I wasn't even sure if it was still morning or not. But wondering through the town had been, well to avoid all fan-girl clichés… amazing! I mean, it was okay. Sure we all were more of less sticking to the discrete side of things so that we didn't have any repeats of 'halfa' or 'misfit' labels, but that didn't mean we didn't come across some familiar faces. Some I knew, some the others did, some we weren't sure of, but that didn't mean we were any less taken back by exactly how many toons there were.

However that didn't take away the fact that we didn't know where the hell we were going. We'd gone way past the park and into the main town, but now it seems we'd gone well and truly into the unknown. It was like the surroundings changed at their own accord. One minute you'd be walking down a busy city-like street and the next you were in a dirt covered strip of isolation. Right now, we were wondering through the latter. I had to stop to tip some stones out of my shoe when something caught my eye. A signpost. How convenient…

"Hey, we really are in the middle of nowhere."

"Whose side are you on?" Flynn asked.

I pointed to the sign that literally read Middle of Nowhere. Yakko tilted his head, "How kind of them. We wouldn't want them spending money on telling us when we're somewhere."

He had a point. "So, we do keep going or head back?" I asked, really having no idea where 'back' was.

"Well we're already heading nowhere fast." Yakko quipped, "Start as we mean to go on right?"

"Or we could ask for directions." Wakko offered.

"Sure, I bet the dirt has a map handy." Dot snapped.

"Actually I meant him."

He pointed over to a broken looking farm house that I was positive wasn't there a second ago, but it was way to far gone to be surprised about it. And the fact that it was familiar to me seemed more surprising. Why did I know this place? I pushed that thought aside and turned my head to look at the 'him' Wakko was referring to. But all I saw was a dog digging the ground near the farmhouse. And it was… pink? And it kept looking over its shoulder as if he was scared something was going to sneak up behind him. Oh wow…

"Courage?" I blurted, a wave of nostalgia washing over me.

"You've heard of that quivering doodle?" Dot asked.

"Yeah, I used to watch his show all the time when I was a kid." I smiled a little, "Scared the hell out of me at times…"

"His name's Courage? I don't recognise him." Poppy muttered.

"Me either." Flynn added.

"Courage the Cowardly Dog. Before your time." I shrugged, "I'll show you online later."

"And I thought you didn't watch cartoons as a kid." He challenged.

"I used to, until I was banned due to apparent mental strain thanks to some people who shall remain unmentioned." I shot a joking look towards the Warners who just grinned.

"I'm sure whoever they are, they're appreciate the nostalgia you hold for them." Yakko nodded sincerely, "Come on then, if that's the best directions we're going to get around here, let's go for it." We followed suit, but suddenly he held out his arms to stop us in our tracks, tilting his head in interest, "Cowardly Dog, you say?"

I looked at him cautiously, "Yes…"

Yakko and his siblings glanced at one another wryly. They each held their hands behind their backs and casually side-stepped carefully until they was standing beside the pup, a sly smirk in place. They tilted either side of the pup so that their mouths was inches from the dogs ear; and ever so smugly whispered, "Boo…"

Because he'd been to occupied nervously digging, the toon didn't notice their approach and suddenly leapt into the air, pink fur on end and eyes bulging in fear, "Aggghhhhh!" he screamed, ending up clamping to my shoulder.

Ear ringing from the cry, I stroked the pups head softly and scowled at the wind-up merchants, "And that was for…?"

"Entertainment mostly." Wakko shrugged innocently.

Courage apparently noticed that it was a stranger he was hanging from and let out another panicked cry, jumping from me and vanishing inside the house, slamming the door behind him. Flynn rolled his eyes, "That went well…"

"Can we go see if he's okay?" Poppy asked.

"We can't just walk in to someone else's home." I answered.

"And we're kind of in a hurry remember?" Flynn added.

Just when I was going to agree, I noticed we were three members of the group down. I groaned inwardly and looked at the now open front door of the house. A face-palm was in order at this point. My eyes met my brothers who gave me a 'we're going to have to go after them aren't we?' kind of look, which I had to nod to. Poppy noted this and grinned, bounding up to the door and peering in.

We followed, I taking the time to knock the door for good measure even though it was pointless apparently. There was no one in sight. Maybe the elderly couple that cared for Courage were out, I remember some episodes that took place with them travelling. The sound of footsteps upstairs caught our attention and we carefully took one step at a time up the wooden steps. This house was exactly how I'd seen it in the show. But did that mean that the house had been animated; or that it had been built as a replica? I figured the latter as it would be very difficult to bring a whole house from the page to here. But then again, this entire town was animated…

Eventually, we found the Warner's in the attic, creeping up behind the quivering pink toon who was sitting with his back to them and typing furiously on a bulky computer. With each word he typed, he sounded it out; "Scary. Mime. Creatures. Monkey. Tails. Outside. The. House. HELP!"

So we could understand him, well that would make things easier. Before I wasn't sure if we could or not. I mean he talked in the show, but it was never clear if humans could understand him or not. But something I forgot, which surprised me because it was my favourite character as a kid, the computer openly replied, "I can help you by giving you their real location. They're right behind you. Twit."

He froze at the English accented words and frigidly turned his head, seeing the three looming by him. They beamed, "Hello!"

"Aaaggghhhhh!"

Thanks a lot guys now it'll take forever to calm him down. Me and my siblings entered the room where I tried to sooth him by offering a kind hand and a brief introduction to the six of us, but he continued trembling. To be honest I didn't blame him. From being on the receiving end of those jump-scare tricks many times, I felt his pain.

Yakko clapped him on the back, "Oh lighten up, we're messing with ya."

"Yeah no need to be so clammed up about it." Dot rolled her eyes, "Between us that's a great colour on you; you don't want to turn it white from fear do you?"

That wasn't exactly helping, "Knock it off guys."

Poppy crouched down and started stroking him behind his ears, "Its okay Courage, we're not going to hurt you. We're friends, see?"

"Yeah we're just looking for someone who knows how to use a computer." Wakko nodded, tongue dangling over his lips. He blinked, "Hey! You know how to use one!"

Courage nodded uneasily, teeth gritted. Flynn scoffed, "I doubt he knows how to hack into the studio system."

"Of course he doesn't." the computer interjected, "He's far too stupid for that."

"No need to get personal." Courage muttered, seemingly getting used to the affection Poppy was giving him and loosening up a little.

"Good puppy." She giggled.

"And let me guess, Mac. Or Windows. Or various fruit;" Yakko commented, folding his arms towards the machine, "You can get into the system?"

"Naturally. Warner-moron."

"To quote the scaredy-pup, no need to get personal."

The computer knew about them? Well, duh, obviously… Dot was right, we needed to stop being taken back by this fact, "Could you help us?" I turned to Courage, "Would it be okay with you?"

He glanced at the Warner's, "S-sure… But no more scares!"

Yakko held out a hand to shake his for a deal, as Courage took it, Yakko grinned, "You have our Warner-honour that we… make no promises."

"Huh?" the dog blanched.

Poppy scowled and scooped him up, returning her comforting gesture. Dot looked expectantly at the PC, "Okay, what's the trick here? How'd you work?"

"Tsk, Tsk…" it answered, "I can see you're the patient one of the group."

"Hey!"

"Anyway, I'm not going to hack into anything. Any computer that tries gets put into lock-down after a certain amount of time."

"Oh…" I deflated. Courage let out a puppy whimper in apology.

"However, if you're willing to part with that portable computer; I'll see what I can do."

"Really?"

"No."

Courage moaned, "Why not?"

Flynn scowled, "Help us out, or I'm feeding the plug to Wakko."

Wakko grinned and took a large chunk out of the wooden windowsill for either good measure or a genuine snack; either way it make Courage clasp his paws to his mouth in horror at the sight. I wasn't sure if he'd really do it or not, but it seemed to get the thing motivated, "Fine… No need to be so uptight about it."

"But it wouldn't be Slugger otherwise." Wakko scratched his head in thought, winking to show he was joking.

Pulling out the laptop, I saw that some coloured wires were dangling from the hard-drive at the ready. "Careful kiddo, you don't want to push his buttons." Yakko arched an eyebrow sceptically.

"Cheap shot." The screen stated.

Turning the laptop on, I was greeted with a colourful and elaborate collection of photos for the background. A colourful collage of adults and kids, young adults with half-posing half-playful expressions and characters. Friends and family I guessed. Scattered here and there were snap-shots of a brightly haired girl with… Bugs? My first instinct was confusion. The town was secret, no one else knew, right? But I figured by looking at the bold design of the collage, this girl must be really good at photo-shop, and a Looney Tunes fangirl apparently. But the ones of Bugs playfully tugging her hair, or the girl sticking two fingers behind his head to add an extra pair of ears were so realistic and detailed. No, I was just being paranoid again. And frankly I didn't have time for paranoia. Plugging the wires into the side of the laptop, I tapped lightly on the computer monitor.

"Ready when you are."

I followed my instructions carefully and waited while the computer transferred the links to the laptop. After seeing the pictures, it kind of hit me that I'd actually taken, and was now practically vandalising, a real persons computer. I sent a silent apology, too late to turn back now. And it was for a good cause… I also felt a little bad about putting Courage on the spot like this, but he seemed to be willing to do whatever was needed to get the Warner's out of the house and stop terrifying him.

It turns out that for a computer, hacking was easier than it looked. Soon enough, it or he rather, stated bluntly that we had a matter of minutes before the studio picked up on the intrusion. We gathered around and scanned through the pages on pages of documents saved here and there. Literally everything there was to know about the Warners, me and my siblings was on here in the more reserved parts.

The Warner's background with the Animator and Fleischers were there, the times they'd been involved with the Deactivator and memory erasing, even how they'd been singled out by R.J. My family's records stated mostly of background with the studio before actually moving here, moving onto history with R.J and… our current status and progress. Everything there was no know; it was here. No wonder the town didn't like the sound of us, the way we were filed on here was like we had a criminal record or something! No, they didn't have a right to present us like this. We did nothing wrong. It wasn't our fault R.J was after the six of us, and it wasn't like we wanted to endanger anyone else either.

Suddenly, the screen turned black with a thick red line surrounding the edges. Time had run out. The laptop was locked and of no further use to us. The wires were disconnected and the laptop placed back in its case to return to the tech room later. I felt numb.

Courage tilted his head and patted my shoulder to get my attention, I forced a smile to satisfy him and looked at the rest of the group, "Well, looks like we really are the talk of the town…"

"Why do we look like criminals on there?" Dot demanded, "Its R.J this and R.J that; we don't even like the guy!"

"Well," Wakko shrugged, "We like him away from us anyway."

Poppy shook her head, "We're not the bad guys! I mean, they didn't call us that but…" she shrugged.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm feeling the need for a system re-boot. Telling our side of the story." Yakko smiled wickedly, teeth on display and eyebrow arched.

"Yeah," Flynn rolled his eyes, "But how's Jack going to take it?"

"Like I know." The computer suddenly stated in a sarcastic tone as they were leaving the room.

"He was just asking in general..." I muttered, glad that I didn't type it for risk of getting another snark.

"And I was just answering in general. Twit."

At that I turned around to stare at the PC in bemusement; Courage flinched away from it and gave me a look as if to say he was just as taken back by it too. Yakko elbowed me knowingly, "Making friends; everywhere you go, just making friends…"

I scowled, but turned back to Courage, "Thanks, this really helped us a lot." A pang of guilt got me in the stomach, "Sorry for barging in on you like this… Are you okay here, on your own?"

"Uh-huh." He looked out the window, "They'll be home soon."

"If you say so, thanks again." I smiled, giving a light wave, to which he returned.

Poppy gave him another tousle on the head before rushing off to join the Warner's. I followed, frozen laptop over my shoulder, and tried to process what we'd just seen. Wow, literally everything about us was on there. And the town knew it all. No wonder they were do cautious of us. There were links to R.J all around us. It made me nervous being around us! But that didn't mean we were meant to be kept away. Although, with R.J still wondering around now, maybe it was a good thing. I didn't know anymore. It was so confusing.

However my thoughts were interrupted as we stepped out into the sun, and my cell started ringing. One look at the name seemed to force a grimace to my expression, "What is it, Jack?"

"Talia!"

At his exclamation I moved the phone from my now aching ear, "Yes, that's me."

"Where are you?"

Shit he knew about the hacking. Already? "Uh…"

"Are you home or near the town?" he asked, more urgently.

Exchanging a slight smile with the others, I answered him, "To be honest we're literally in the middle of nowhere."

There was a pause, "Okay, I know where to find you. Just promise me you won't go anywhere. Stay exactly where you are and I'll come get you."

"I don't need a babysitter, Jack." I scoffed.

"He's back, Talia!"

That stopped me, "Wh-what?"

"R.J's back. I just saw him outside my office and I don't know how but -"

"I know, Jack. I…" I cut him off. This was scaring me all over again. How did he get to the studio? He couldn't leave the town boundaries, he was stuck! How had be gotten there? This didn't make sense, "I know…"

A/N:

Courage and the computer are from the show Courage the Cowardly Dog; if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend looking it up XD And also, those of you who are reading 'Insanity Breach' in the Looney Tunes archive by Kisa sohma cookie will pick up hints of who that laptop belongs too. Again, something I highly recommend looking up.

So, Jack's secretly back on the Rosehip Oil to stop his toon-side, R.J has found a way into the main studio again and also the town see's the gang as trouble-magnets! Well… this is going to get worse before it gets better…