I got a few heart-warming reviews this time around. I'm so glad there are people out there who like this story as much as they do. I'm happy to write it, even if the updates take a considerable long time to come out. It's great to hear from everyone and I'm glad you enjoy my writing style Hailey813.

Chapter 21: The Carnage Ahead

The water tower was pouring out torrents of unidentifiable red and black ghastly air. It didn't resemble anything that was truly of this world any longer.

"We can't hold any of them off any longer." One of the army men stood a bit ahead of the pack of soldiers that were stationed near the entrance of the city. It had been who knows how long since they had gotten here. All of them had their weapons in hand but a lot of them were lowered in confusion or raised in anticipation for something to happen. No one even knew whether they'd be okay with firing until they were face to face with an attack that could take their lives.

Even that felt wrong though. This place was going crazy. The toons and the people all over were. They all had crazed looks on their faces and were going around destroying everything, blowing up cars, and setting fires to buildings. The soldiers, when entering the city, had to wade through several splotches of blood and scattered bodies before reaching this particular point where the slough of black and crimson red aura from the tower could be seen jettisoning into the sky.

Their orders were to subdue to crazies and fix the situation as best they could but this was impossible. The whole city was going crazy. What were they going to do? Kill everybody?

"What… what even happened here?" One of the soldiers spoke up as he watched a few of the men finally decide to continue their advancement and rush ahead to try and stop the torrent of insane people. These people were abnormal in more ways than one. Their bodies were a lot more resistant to clubs and tasers too. Whatever that energy from the tower was doing, it was turning them into something that had transcended being mortal.

"I don't know… some sort of… tragedy that spread to the minds of these poor folks. Who's to blame for all this?" The man next to him asked as he stared ahead. One of their men was trying to hold down a crazed, laughing five-year-old boy. His hair was matted and full of red blotches.

"I… I can't-" The guy began speaking before a light shined behind them. They saw a vehicle coming in fast and skid to a sloppy stop behind them. They had their hands clamped on their weapons and waited to see who was inside.

When the figure stepped out they were instantly surprised, as well as confused as to what they were supposed to feel next. What does one truly think and do when anything new happens in a situation like this?

Surely, the arrival of this man, Detective Shorenay, would guide the way to some answers.

The man was angry and his usual professional style of dress was tattered a bit and dirty. He stomped toward the soldiers angrily.

"D-Detective Shorenay? Wh-What…? What happened to you? Why are you here?" The soldier on the right asked him as he walked right between him and the friend he was talking to.

"The prison isn't too far away from the city and the vehicle I rode here was a bit special. In that I managed to escape from there first. Now, you tell me what's going on right now." Shorenay never minced words and he certainly wasn't above giving demands. The soldiers knew the guy from his records. He had quite an interesting reputation…

Enough about that though, he deserved an answer to his question. Even if they didn't exactly know it themselves.

"I… the city… everyone in the city is… they've all lost their minds. I… don't… I don't know what t-" The man began before Shorenay waved the back of his hand in his face.

"What were your orders?" He asked with an unamused stare ahead at the carnage.

"I… well… well we were supposed to subdue the-"

"Then why haven't you done that yet?"

"We don't know how-"

Shorenay wrapped his hand around the neck of the man's gun and tugged it toward himself. "There's nothing more disgraceful and reckless then someone with a gun who doesn't know when to use it."

The soldier looked down at him, dumbstruck by his undaunted assertiveness. He truly seemed extremely unapologetic about the context behind this malicious hint. The soldier was so surprised that he barely reacted when Shorenay fully yanked the gun from his hand.

"What needs to happen is a suppression of this crazy opposition against the serenity of this city. You lot need to realize that a situation like this deserves quick witted attention and on the spot decision making." He said, pointing the gun out at the child one of the soldiers had been holding down.

"What? Are you crazy? You can't just shoot an innocent child!" The soldier shouted back at him. A quick snap of realization hit him when he saw this man make his move. He didn't care what this detective said anymore. Something was up here and it clearly wasn't the fault of a five-year-old boy.

"There's a clear problem and it needs a solution. The one you have of standing around, looking pathetic isn't working. Clearly." Shorenay said putting his finger to the trigger. "Let me show you…"

BOOM!

The goings on stopped right there as one of the police vehicles behind them blew up without an inclining of warning. The detective and the two soldiers ducked out of the way as the car's remains slammed down at the space they were standing at.

Shorenay slid across the gravel and groaned, beyond annoyed by how much he was being made to bleed and jitter just being a part of this setting now. He grated his teeth as he looked back at where the car had been ruptured.

At the side of one of the vehicles stood the crazed oldest Warner. He looked down at the beautiful freshly painted portrait of carnage ahead of him and belted out a loud howl.

"It's so great to be home! Here in Burbank where the town is always so ALIVE!" Yakko shouted at the sky, loving the demonic sound of his own echo. He couldn't take how little of it there was though. He needed more. More that was literally beyond what his eyes could see. He simply had to have it all!

Yakko jumped from the top of the car and slammed into the street, sending a minor shockwave through the street as he did so. His body was certainly abnormal now.

"You followed me did you…?" Shorenay, unwisely, spoke toward the mentally lost Warner brother. Yakko tilted his head disturbingly towards the side and shifted his gaze with his shrunken red pupils at the man.

"Followed? No. No. I just went where the crazy told me to go. Hehe. It was right. This place is perfect. Well, almost. I need to get to that tower." Yakko said, clutching his axe with fierce intensity. His gloves turned a bit red because of just how hard he was clenching his fists around the axe's handle. He began to drool out the side of his mouth. "Just thinking about it is making my teenage hormones act up."

The army men at his side were officially creeped out by the words and actions of this child star. They stood their ground though. The soldier that still had his gun raised it and pointed it at Yakko.

"Alright. No funny business. I can see that you still have the ability to speak normal words in cohesive sentences unlike the rest of these people." The soldier said. As if on cue, one of the crazed citizens ended up slamming into the downed vehicle that Yakko had destroyed. Where he was originally running or why he was, no one knew. Why he was laughing as his body was burned to a crisp, no one wanted to know.

The soldier sweat-dropped and very quickly refocused on Yakko. "Y-You know something… tell us how to stop it!"

"Me? Well yes. I can speak just fine. That's only cause I'm reeeeeal special." Yakko poked his finger into the barrel of the soldier's shaking gun and stared right at him. "I could tell you… but what does it matter? You monsters would just find a way to spin it so that toons will take the blame anyway."

The soldier looked at him, confused for a second before it hit him. "You're Yakko Warner… I see… I get it now. You're the mastermind here. Out for revenge?"

"What else? Everybody likes revenge!" Yakko's eyes widened in excitement when he said that. "It's funny being called 'mastermind' though. Has a nice ring to it. Sorry but I can't take all the credit. I'm just a vehicle. I'm a vehicle for all the hatred of the ghosts of the past's injustice against the toons to use; a vehicle who had just enough hatred and contempt within himself to be just right for them to choose."

The soldier put his finger to the trigger. He didn't exactly get it but he could summarize that what Yakko was saying to him was basically him admitting that this was his fault.

"What are you waiting for?! Put a hole through the bastard!" Shorenay shouted monstrously at the guy, a trickle of blood sliding down the side of his face.

The soldier looked at Yakko. He recalled seeing him on TV. Dancing, singing, laughing, joking, and bringing him and his child in on the fun as well. He thought back to that little boy who was almost shot by Shorenay and came to another conclusion all on his own.

"I see… you're being possessed too… what a tragedy…"

The soldier who no longer had his gun, the fallen detective, and the axe-wielding kid all looked at him in shock.

Yakko mulled that word over in his head.

Tragedy. Him?

It was one thing hearing it from his friends. But from this… random… soldier guy…?

Yakko felt his heart pulsate. He grunted in pain and clutched his head with both hands suddenly.

The two soldiers stared at him confused as he suddenly belted out a large cry of pain. Shorenay growled and raised the gun at Yakko's head. He had seen enough. This kid was supposed to be dead already anyway.

He fired the gun!

The bullet struck Yakko in the head!

Blood came out the side…

All the Warner did was stumble. The soldiers were shocked; they turned to the detective who was shaking in despair.

Yakko's cry of pain turned into a hearty, toothy, loud bellow of laugher. He let his hands drop before pointing at the small hole at the side of his head.

"Sorry buddy. No go. Told you I was special now."

Shorenay panicked and went to fire again but Yakko grabbed the gun barrel and crushed it with his fist!

"Whoa now. Too many of those and I really will bite it. Hahahaha!" Yakko thought this was hilarious. He shifted his gaze to the soldiers despite his physical focus being on Shorenay.

"Y… you're…" One of them spoke up.

"… Tragic… yeah I know. But so long as I'm having fun, who cares?" Yakko shut his eyes and smiled a huge smile. It made them all feel cold despite how everything around them was on fire.

Yakko yanked the gun from Shorenay's hand and tossed it to the side. He then raised his axe over the detective.

"Yakko! Wait!" The soldier without his gun went to talk to Yakko but was very quickly shut down when the Warner effortlessly swung behind him and cut into the poor man's leg.

"ARGH!" He screamed out and fell to the ground as the axe was violently yanked out.

"Wait your turn. This'll mark quite a big success for me." Yakko said preparing to strike again. The detective just stared at Yakko's red eyes, his own eyes watering a bit, unable to make of exactly what he was seeing. To him toons might as well all have been monsters. So why did he now see Yakko as something elevated above even that?

Pang!

Yakko's axe was shot from his hand and made to slam onto the ground. He turned his now frowning face to the side to spot the offender.

Max stood in his line of sight with a huge grin on his face and a laser charging up for a second shot.

"Found you."

"There it is! I see it!" Brain shouted forward as the van burst across the landscape. The city was upon them and it was coming in fast!

"I can't believe it was this close. This whole time…" Slappy grumbled.

"That's what we get for leaving in a huff without a map." Plotz snarled as they came up on the town. "Whatever. I need to see if my studio is okay."

"Forget the studio. Just look at the place." Rita chimed it. Indeed, from this distance, the city was all but falling apart. The sky being the way it was certainly wasn't helping anything. The atmosphere itself felt like it was trying to suffocate them.

"What's that up in the air Brain? It's huge. And shiny too! WOW!" Pinky shouted. Everyone raised their gazes just an inch above the top of the buildings and made out what Pinky was seeing. It was certainly a sight for sore eyes.

A huge battleship. That's what it looked like. That's what it had to be. It was hovering directly over Burbank too. At the side they all started to notice the destroyed army tanks that were scattered all about the roads and land leading toward the city.

"If I had to wager a guess…" Bobby spoke up.

"What? What? Lay it on us Bobby!" Pesto sounded finicky.

"That big battleship is the thing that did this to all these advancing tanks." Bobby finished. It was something that they all could've guessed on their own really. When they drove past several military copters and ships, it was confirmed. That thing was stationed in the sky solely for the purpose of making sure no more outside help came in.

That could only mean…

"LOOK OUT!" Scratchnsniff shouted as a large pink blast shot from the sky straight at their moving vehicle. He saw Brain's panicked reaction take hold and the result left the van making a very sharp swerve to the right. The blast blew into the Earth and made their vehicle rumble a bit, almost lifting it a tad off the ground before it slammed into the dirt on its still spinning wheel.

More blasts came down at them and more sharp turns had to be made to avoid them which almost left themselves careening off to the side and flipping over. Brain was able to make the thing stay stable but just barely. Mice were shockingly really good drivers.

The cannons of the large ship started to shift and rotate before a larger one was at the forefront. They all saw this and flung back as Brain had Pinky hit the gas as hard as he could.

"They're having a bit of trouble hitting us because of the size of our getaway van. It's not huge and bombastic like all the stuff the military has." Slappy informed.

"That's why they're switching to a larger cannon? I just thought they wanted to be even bigger jerks." Plotz shouted, pensively waving his fist at the sky.

The ship charged a large radiating blast and didn't hesitate to blast a large moon sized blast down at them all! All the people within the van started to freak out and jump around a bit.

"Hey! Don't make me turn this van around!" Brain shouted.

"Won't you die too then? Yeah. Definitely!" Runt inquired, poking his head up behind Brain. The large headed mouse growled.

The blast was rocketing right down at them as Brain shifted the lever into high gear and let Pinky press his body onto the gas as hard as he could once again.

"Almost. If I time this right I can make it so that we can ride the explosion into the city!" Brain shouted.

"That's fine. Just keep focus on keeping us alive." Scratchnsniff said pressing his face to the front window.

Then the blast hit. It was as though a miniature nuke had gone off behind them. All of their bodies violently jolted as the van was sent spiraling across the ground, soaring just inches above the ground and into the city. The destruction the blast laid in its wake was enough to destroy a good chunk of the area.

However, the residents within the vehicle had more to worry about then just that. The van flipped, slammed across the ground, bounced and skidded down the broken and flame ridden road, bashing through cars and anomalies in their way before slamming against the back of a military jeep.

The soldiers in front of them and at their side were all confused, just as they always were since entering this place.

"What's happening now?!" One of them asked.

"This place is trying to kill us unconsciously, I'll bet…" Another one spoke up.

Their group was a bit spread out but one specific feature was noticeable on all of them. They were all extremely jittery and looked pretty unstable themselves. One of them approached the toppled over and destroyed van, intent on opening the door to see what was inside.

He never got to though as Yakko's body was flung into his head which ended up making him slam against the outer shell of the vehicle and topple over. Yakko climbed on top of it, shaking off the minor alteration with the soldier, and grinned as he stared ahead.

"Nice throwing arm." Yakko smiled conceitedly. "Let me show you mine next."

"I'd just as sooner rather you let me kill you." Max laughed as he stepped through the wreckage, his wrist smoking due to how extensively he was using the laser blaster. "You're really scary. I have to admit that. But I feel really cool in this city for some reason."

Yakko looked around at all the soldiers as Max spoke. "Hm. Really now? I'm guessing it has something to do with the atmosphere. Are you guys feeling the pressure yet?"

The soldiers were starting to sweat and groan among themselves. What was going on?

"Don't fight it. You see this?" Yakko pointed at the sky. "It's the aura of the future and it's spreading around the whole world as I speak. Everything is going to be wallowing in my hatred and revenge forever and it's also going to be your fault. All of you are to blame. Take your lumps like men." Yakko grinned.

One of the soldiers fell onto his knees and others followed suit. Max grinned brightly, his own eyes flashing with a bit of crimson red in his irises.

"The effect of this place must have just gotten stronger…" The soldier on the ground scrambled for a better hold on his gun.

"He says it's… our fault… what revenge…?" Another soldier spoke. None of them knew what this was truly about and the idea that they didn't made Yakko feel a bit irritated. Of course when oppression is the norm they don't see anything wrong with the initial state of affairs. That's just how this former life they lived worked.

"Stupid. He's talking about-"Max began before a grumbling voice behind him cut him off.

"He's insinuating that as a toon he deserves to walk the same plain as we do." Shorenay walked up behind Max, holding his arm which was bleeding out and his head which still sported a fresh wound. "He somehow thinks that the way the studios and people treat the toons of this world is unfair. That they die of depression and homelessness in the long run because we fail to provide equal opportunity for their livelihood."

Yakko stared down at the man. It seems he did get it. Ignorance was bliss but he wasn't ignorant to this situation at all and yet he continued to take solace in the suffering of all these toons. Yakko's face was suddenly unreadable.

The soldiers processed this new information. They were soldiers. They didn't know how the entertainment industry treated toons or why the processes of what happened, happened. Was everyone in the world at fault or was there something more to this?

"We… I don't understand what you mean by equal opportunity… aren't toons supposed to want to remain within the entertainment industry?" One soldier asked.

"Yup. That's true. We do." Max said, stomping on his hand, making him scream out in pain. "But the fact of the matter is, shows get cancelled eventually. No matter what the next 'Animaniacs' or 'Tiny Toons' is, it's going to be cancelled at some point and the novelty of seeing those characters again wears off if they ever try to do much of anything else. Sometimes it'll work, just like it did for Slappy, Mickey, and Bugs. Most of the time it doesn't, in part because of the audience not feeling gracious for our services, the studios screwing us over for the next big thing, and the rest of the world not granting us a chance to make a living doing something else because toons are "just the entertainment" as someone once had the nerve to tell me. I stabbed him in the eye."

"… Funny Max. I thought you didn't care. Someone with as much money as you-" Yakko began before Max's eyes widened in anger.

"Shut up, fucking Warner-brat!" Max fired back at him. He always lost his cool when the subject of his money came up now.

The soldiers themselves were dumbfounded. They had no idea. Was this something that people just didn't really think about much? Was there really no hope for any of these toons or was the problem of awareness the issue? Could things be different should others acknowledge that toons could serve as more than simple entertainment?

A public statement or a new article could serve as help. Anything could work if they tried to push it forward hard enough. Maybe there was a way to change it all… then again, not many of them knew how the general public viewed these toons. Perhaps they really did see them as just peons to dance for them when they were bored.

That sounds dangerously close to some sort of form of slavery when they thought about it.

"Regardless," Shorenay began to speak again. "It's not as if your treatment wasn't deserved." Shorenay spoke out. The soldiers looked at him in shock.

"Excuse me? And what the hell did we do to you ass-wipe?" Max growled. His mission to kill Yakko was suddenly taking a back seat in his mind for some reason. This aura was indeed getting stronger.

"Don't take what they say to heart men." Shorenay spoke with reverence, as if he was being sound and noble in his manner of disposition. "Take arms and fight off the threat that lay before us. These toons… they cause all these problems and thrust their misfortunes on us, the people, who rightfully view them as what they are; tools for our entertainment. Of course, I've never found them to be very funny. This is the epitome of "not funny" if there ever was one."

Max was fidgeting where he stood, completely lost in his sudden fury. "Tools… my money… is… you… sick bastard…"

Yakko grinned devilishly. "Oh man. You're breaking my heart. But please sir, tell us how you really feel?"

"He still has time to crack jokes despite how much worse the situation has gotten. Do your duty and kill them. Rise up against their needless existence and silence them for good." Shorenay said with a manner of serious conviction.

The soldiers all managed to look ahead. They saw the destruction, the suffering, the insanity, and the enemy that lied ahead…

They all began to stand up, clutching their riffles and fixed them all at Yakko.

"Good. Now let's take care of-" Shorenay began before the door to the van flew off!

"That's enough out of you!" Plotz jumped from the van, ran, and picked up a brick. With a quick toss he pelted Shorenay right in his bleeding arm!

"ARGH! D-Damnit! What the-?!"

The soldiers stopped moving all of a sudden when the tiny man came from the van. Soon, other toons started to burst out the sides of it, destroying it to crawl out and make themselves known.

"Ah. Here we are. A war zone if I ever did see one." Slappy chimed in first.

"I feel very weird. This place is making my heart pump in an odd rhythm." Skippy remarked.

Shorenay felt exceedingly vexed. "You guys again?!"

"Don't go spreading lies about our existence. The only troublesome existence I see is standing right before me." Brain came out and pointed his tiny finger at Shorenay. When Scratchnsniff emerged next he stood as tall as he could in front of the injured detective.

"You're done here good sir. Please go away and never be seen again yah?" Scratchnsniff waved his hand at the guy, as if he were a fly acting evasive to being shooed away.

The soldiers didn't know what to make of all the new arrivals. Their hesitation increased when Shorenay spoke again.

"Them too. They're on his side as well. Kill them now." He didn't care who outranked who. He knew he was in the right and that they weren't doing their duty if they didn't take this chance.

"His side? Who?" Dot asked, as she pushed forward.

Yakko looked down at them all from on top of the demolished van. He pressed his hand to his face and began to belt out a hysterical round of laughter. All of the toons who had just arrived, along with the detective, and the soldiers turned to look up at the axe murderer before them. Max didn't. He was hunched over on the ground, feeling extremely sick all of a sudden…

Dot's reaction was the heaviest. Her heart felt like it had iron chains suddenly shackled to it and tied down. Every time she saw her brother it just felt worse and worse.

"Y-Yakko… P-" Dot began before Yakko thrust his axe down at her. She yipped in surprise, stepping back as it cracked against the ground. The soldiers readied their guns, feeling that ominous aura increase suddenly and reach all of their bodies simultaneously. The murdering intent in the air was getting uncomfortably thick.

"We're not doing this shtick again sister dear. No more fun awaits us ahead." Yakko jumped down and landed in front of her.

Dot stammered and tried to continue talking. It was always out of this vain hope that Yakko would respond the way she wished he would to her advances. "P-Please… Yakko, stop th-"

"I'm going to kill you." Yakko jerked the axe from the ground.

"Yak-"Dot began to scream at him

"Out of the way!" Rita, kicked Dot's leg and made her topple over as the axe flew by and nearly took her head off! Dot hit the ground in a daze, shocked by how close that was.

"… The toon girl is asking him to stop…" One of the sweating, fidgeting soldiers said. Their minds were already clouded due to how the atmosphere was starting to get to them. Max was shivering and clawing at the gravel on the ground, cutting into it and bloodying up his fingers…

"So… so they're not working together then…" Another soldier asked.

"They're brother and sister! She cares for his well-being still!" Shorenay shouted at them. He couldn't believe that they were even considering holding back! Did they not see the madness?

"Of course I care for his well-being! He's my brother!" Dot yelled. "But he still needs to be stopped! Stop it Yakko!"

The soldiers stared at her, dumbfounded.

Yakko's leg was bitten by Runt. The Warner kicked the dog off and made him slam into Ralph who was on his way to try and grapple Yakko into submission. It just sent his tub of lard body toppling over.

The Goodfeathers flew all around the Warner as he inched closer to Dot and eventually successfully swatted one of them into Slappy's face. He then used the hilt of his axe to jab the shaft of the axe into Squit's stomach to make him spiral into Pinky's body.

These guys watched the scene and started to contemplate their decision once again…

"YAKKO!" Dot clenched her fists and shouted at him.

Yakko raised his axe over her head.

"Sorry. Can't hear ya."

Bang!

Yakko stumbled to the side. Dot's eyes broadened significantly and her face froze in horror.

Yakko began to chuckle as another hole was in the side of his head. It bled out and the Warner could feel the blood dripping down his side. He was still grinning.

"Finally made your move eh?" Yakko snarled at them. The soldiers had their guns pointed at Yakko and Yakko only.

"Wait… d-don't… kill…" Dot muttered. That scene of the bullet hitting Yakko in the head replayed over and over in her mind. She felt her face stream with sweat and she belted out a sudden high-pitched scream of terror.

Slappy regained her footing and went over to Dot, quickly pulling her back and covering her mouth. "Sorry kid but we can't let him draw attention to you anymore." Dot continued to freak out, jolting with random spasms as Slappy held her tightly. The horror of seeing her big brother, crazed or not, getting shot in the head…

"You idiots! All of them! Kill all of them!" Shorenay shouted.

"Enough with your whining!" Scratchnsniff dared himself and stepped up to the scene. "I know good and well the toons have done nothing to you! So kindly lay off!"

"Never, you pink-headed toon sympathizer! Show a little pride for your own species for once in your pathetic life! A P-sychiatrist on a studio lot for toons! What the hell is the matter with you?!" Shorenay inched closer to his face.

Yakko began to laugh once again. The soldiers watched the scene unfold with their guns all pointed at the oldest Warner, who wouldn't stop marveling at the scene before him, not even caring about the guns in his face.

"For a so called detective, you haven't done much 'investigation' on what it means to have human decency." The doctor said back, rather sharply.

"Human decency is for humans and humans alone, you traitorous scum!" Shorenay pressed his finger to Scratchnsniff's coat. The man lost it at that. Maybe it was the air of this place or maybe his life and death adventure had truly made him more impulsive but he couldn't stomach speaking to this man any longer.

"You're the traitor, forsaking your own humanity for a misplaced sense of pride. It's always a shame when people like you are put into positions of power, especially if it has any dictation over other people's lives." Scratchnsniff put his hand to the detective's chest and pushed him back. It wasn't done with excessive force. Not one bit. He treated the guy as if he had just brushed off a worthless piece of lint from his clothes.

Shorenay stood there, stupefied and amazed by this action. He clenched his fists… then he grabbed his stolen gun. The soldiers and the people in Dot's group all gasped in shock as he pointed it at the doctor. Scratchnsniff gaped at the gun barrel. What was he to realistically do about it?

"Dictation over people's lives matters not. My ideal vision… all of you will see it as I do and if you don't… then you all have to die! Even the collection of cowards in uniform over there! All of you! Disgraceful!"

Shorenay pulled on the trigger…

Or he thought he did, but the gun was out of his hands.

He blinked in shock and awe as he realized his weapon had been pilfered in the blink of an eye. The soldiers, whose attention had been divided by that scene, placed their full attention back on to Yakko. He was no longer in their line of fire.

"Yakko Warner… he's-"

"Faster than a speeding bullet?" Yakko stood behind Shorenay. The detective's heart pulsed as the Warner brother tore off the barrel of the gun, making it's sharp edges stick out. It was now officially a spear.

The detective slowly turned around to face the crazed axe murderer, but the instant he did the newly dubbed spear shot through his chest and came out the other side!

His mouth stood agape and he fell to his knees as his heart had been all but obliterated by that unreal throw.

Dot, Skippy, and Mindy were covering their eyes again. Squit, Ralph, and Runt winced. The others simply watched the deed unfold, eyes as wide as saucers.

Shorenay was now on his knees, looking up at Yakko with his jittering eye balls. Yakko smiled down at the detective as he grabbed his axe once again.

"Imagination is where the head is. Seeing as though you've never liked toons, I can't imagine there'd be much in there."

Shorenay kept looking at him, wide-eyed and bleeding out.

There was a nasty slash heard after that. The sound alone made Mindy scream. The soldiers all did their own double take.

Shorenay's head bounced across the ground before rolling into one of the mounds of fire created by the destruction. His body slumped entirely now, only being held up by the spear through his body.

Yakko's axe dripped as he held it nice and tightly over the carcass. "But you know, I'm not one to break tradition despite anyone's lack of imagination. Plus, I just love seeing heads roll."

He belted out the most sickening laugh he had conjured up yet, not caring about the faces of his friends or the guns that were being cocked at him yet again.

"Are you guys seriously gonna keep going?! AWESOME! This is so much fun! Oh man, that felt great! More! Come my way folks! Gimmie more!" Yakko's shrunken red pupils, drool ridden mouth, and wide-grin were making them all feel physically ill. It was painful just being around him now.

His laughter was the only real sound that filled the air before they all heard someone snap their fingers. Yakko stopped laughing for a brief second to figure out who did it before an explosion shot him spinning backwards! The blast hit everyone and made them all topple over the gravel and cars.

"Ugh! What the-?!" Plotz managed to get a hold of himself before he looked up at the sky. He saw a flurry of toons with laser weapons in their hands firing down at them like some sort of rain shower.

"Where did they all come from?" Runt asked running around in circles.

"The ship in the sky. Those are the Masked man's goons. They found us." Rita snarled.

"Sure did."

The voice ahead of them rung out loud as the deranged figure of Max stood against the firey backdrop. His fingers were pressed together in a snapping position. That must have been his signal to them to attack. They must have been watching in secret the whole time.

"I know when my buds are near all the time. It also helps that this laser weapon doubles as a communicator." Max looked out at all of them, letting his hands drop to his sides. The toons from the sky all landed around them, fidgeting and jittering just like Max was before.

"Something's odd about these guys…" Hello Nurse noticed something strange as she backed into Ralph while they were surrounded.

"They're all crazy." Rita spoke up.

"No duh." Plotz grumbled.

"No. She means the more extreme kind of crazy!" Brain pointed out. "Look at their eyes!"

The group did so and noticed that they all had that same red shine in their eyes, the same as Yakko.

"This place must have finally corrupted them." Slappy spoke with her teeth clenched.

"If we stay here too long the same thing will happen to us." Bobby inquired.

Max began to laugh. "No need to worry about losing your minds guys…" He lifted his head up and showed them all his eyes. The fluid in his eyes were now black, but his pupils were red. He had gone right off the deep end too. "You'll all soon be losing your heads instead!"

A fist slammed against the ground.

It was in pure frustration not intimidation. The Warner Sister looked around, scanning the area to make sure she wasn't missing anything. But it was true. He was gone.

"… Yakko… he ran off again…" Dot's voice carried through the air.

Max, despite the new look of his eyes, was still able to make a confused face with them. "What? Still going on about him?"

"How many times… has he been right in front of me…? And I still… I still didn't do anything!" Dot screamed and stood straight up, her fist still clenched. She took small, baby steps toward Max shivering in obvious fear as she did so, but nonetheless, she still moved.

"What do you think you're gonna do missy?" Max asked, genuinely curious.

Dot looked up at him with her teeth clenched. "We've got a lot of garbage to clean up guys! Let's hurry and get to it before everything we've worked for goes down the crapper!"

Everyone in her group nodded, all at once with complete understanding. This wasn't over. They all agreed back at the prison that this didn't end until they were all dead.

"Wha-?" Max blinked before Dot shot a surprise fist to his face! Max skidded back a bit and grabbed his nose. It didn't hurt that much thanks to his newfound aura of ghostly vengence but he was still shocked by her bravado. "Y-You're… not serious… are you?"

"Note the serious face." Dot pointed at her face. Not a smile to be seen.

Max blinked now truly astonished.

"This ship is going to be a big problem! Yo Brain. Pinky. Help me conjure up a means of jumping super high so I can reach that ship and take it apart from the inside out!" Slappy ordered.

"Certainly. There's tons of stuff laying in the street we can use even." Brain rushed off.

"I'm the master at finding stuff! Let's do it!" Pinky saluted and followed Brain.

Plotz, Scratchnsniff, Ralph, and Hello Nurse were surrounded by the new arrivals from the battleship from above.

"Dur, sir. Maybe you should stand back and allow me-" Ralph began.

"No way. I'm not happy Ralph and I can tell you right now, I won't feel any better until my fist gets in on some action too!" Plotz boasted.

"Can't say I'll be of much use fighting but, if anyone gets injured…" Hello Nurse said.

"Oh yes. Greatly appreciated. Don't worry now, we'll make sure to protect you." Scratchnsniff smiled at her.

Rita, Runt, and the Goodfeathers were going ahead, circling around all the flames and destruction.

"Mission objective, find and save as many of these guys as you can! The craziness may have made them mad but they're still fragile to fire and falling debris!" Bobby shouted.

"Loud and clear boss! We'll do our best and make the God-Pigeon proud!" Pesto chimed in.

"Thank goodness! We're finally making a difference! I feel like a movie-star!" Squit grinned.

Rita ran right next to Runt.

"The birds will be good for spotting civilians from high up. You can carry the ones we find to a safer place. I'm sorry for asking so much from your strength right now Runt." Rita said.

"Nope. No worries Rita. I'm a good dog. A very good dog. Yeah." Runt grinned.

"Right. Yeah, of course you are. And should anyone run into Yakko in any kind of peril, feel free to try your hand at saving him too." Rita stared ahead.

Dot and Skippy stood in front of Max while Mindy and Buttons hung a bit of ways behind them.

"We'll… we're just kids but-" Skippy began.

"So are you." Dot stared Max down. "Let's finish this."

Max grinned devilishly and prepared his laser weapon. "Alright. If you don't mind spilling your brains on the sidewalk earlier than expected then that's fine with me!"

The soldiers who were still conscious watched the scene unfold in front of them. They were truly astounded by what was happening here.

No matter what Shorenay insisted, this was the opposite of toons seeking revenge.