Disclaimer. I don't own Animaniacs. They belong to WB. Dee Peg and Psykko are mine. Just read the thing.

This is a rewrite of a previous fiction that didn't go so well. I ditched the comedy and went for a more serious tone. Humor is still somewhat intact though. This is my first real try at this so if you can't offer constructive criticism then don't review this story. I expect that I made a great many mistakes and I realize I need to improve but ripping me a new one is not a good way of ensuring there will be future chapters. Scratchandsniff's accent is intentionally intermittent in this. Explained somewhat in the story but it was also like this in the show that I remember.

New Arrivals Chapter 1

"Seven AM. This better be good.." Yakko cracked open an eye glaring at the clock beside his bed. He had been awakened rudely by frantic knocking at the tower door. Unusual in that no one ever came to visit and annoying because no one ever came to visit. Especially at seven AM.
"Yeah yeah one minuet!" Yakko growled tossing on his pants from the previous night he made his way to the door cursing as he stumbled over a discarded toy. He would have to talk to Wakko about that later. Cracking the door open he squinted into the morning light his eyes slowly focusing on a harried looking Doctor Scratchandsniff.
"Doc? What the hell? What do you want? Its seven AM i was trying to-"
"You need to get your brother und sister up Yakko. Somezing big has happened und...vell i zink you should see for yourzelf."
Yakko groaned rubbing his eyes. He really wasn't in the mood for riddles. But the Doctor was looking more animated than he was accustomed to seeing. That at least piqued his curiosity. "Look can't you just tell me so I can go back to bed? We were up late last night and-"
"Nein! No time!"
"Hey that rhymed." Yakko smirked. "And don't interrupt people it's rude." There was always time for a wise crack.
"If you have ze time for ze jokes then you have ze time for zis." The Doctor scowled crossing his arms his mood resolute.
Yakko sighed. He knew the Doctor could be nearly as stubborn as he was, and honestly didn't feel like fighting with him for once. It wasn't often that Yakko was this malleable.

"Ok fine just lemme get some clean clothes on and wake the sibs. When Dot starts screaming I’m blaming you Doc." The Doctor simply nodded and stepped inside without a word. His mood seemed odd to Yakko who was now awake enough to notice these things. His body language suggested anxiety and for once he wasn't trying to analyze him. He pulled a sour face as the Doctor brushed past him.
"Oh do come in. Me casa es su casa." Yakko scowled closing the door behind him. It wasn't like the Doctor to barge in uninvited ether. Bad enough that they couldn't have a real house now they have to deal with irritable invaders to boot.
"Fine fine you wake your brother und sister und I vill make zem somezink to eat. Zere is little time to vaste."
Yakko simply raised an eyebrow as the Doctor made his way quickly to the kitchen kicking toys and wads of paper aside as he went, the kitchen becoming a den of noise as he quickly threw something together for them to eat.
"Ether hes flipped his wig or something is very wrong." He mused aloud to himself.
After changing, Yakko made his way to Dot's room first. Despite his warning she was actually easier to wake up than Wakko without getting bitten. Peeking his head in he called out her name softly at first shaking her foot when she didn't respond. This got a grumble and some movement but little else. He sighed and settled on shaking her more assertively while calling her name finally getting whole words out of her. None of which should come out of a cute little girl.
"Yakko I swear if the tower isn't on fire or someone is dead, you soon will be." She growled sitting up from her nest of stuffed animals and glaring at him, her hair a disheveled mess.
"I know sis but the Doc is here and he's being all stubborn about it. Says something big has happened and he wants us to see it." He shrugged. 
"I can't imagine why they would want us there. We didn't do anything for once." She huffed finally sliding out of bed while Yakko handed her a dress.
"Lets just make this quick so he will stop trying to destroy our kitchen- This isn't Iron Chef Doc! For gods sake slow down! Never thought I would say those words to another person, let alone him."
This at least got a smile out of Dot. Nodding to himself satisfied that she would stay up he made his way to Wakko's room to repeat the process.
Wakko proved a tougher nut to crack and predictably had to be drug out of bed by his tail while clinging to his pillow whimpering and kicking the whole way.
"Come on Wakko get some clothes on you so we can get this over with. The Doc is making breakfast..." He tried to bribe him with food. Which usually did the trick.  
"Scratchies food tastes like crap." He grumbled into his pillow. At least he was on his feet now glaring at his closet but still clinging to his pillow. "He can't cook Yakko. Everything he makes is bland and gloopy. Ive pulled tastier things out of my nose then he-"
"OK EW! Let's stop that thought there and get with the clothes wearing. I think I'll skip breakfast now." Yakko scowled at the thought sticking his tongue out in disgust. At least he was fully awake now and from the sound of it so was Dot.
Making his way into the kitchen he saw the little angel in question brandishing a large wooden spoon at Doctor Scratchandsniff who was defending himself with a pot lid trying to justify why he interrupted her "cutie sleep".
"-and another thing-!"
"Dot! Don't kill the messenger! At least until we get more information and if it's something stupid then you can have him." Yakko rushed to her side to swipe the spoon and scoop her into a chair. She huffed and sat there with her arms crossed but at least she wasn't trying to kill anyone. None of them were morning people, and waking up was a hassle even under normal circumstances.
The doctor sighed in relief putting the lid aside and resuming the process of scooping eggs and toast onto plates. Dot could be a little terror when she was upset, and he could sympathize even. He had been awakened at 5 AM to a screaming Plotz. If he didn’t need this job so badly he would have given the histrionic pygmy an ear full as well. At least these three had time enough to eat a decent breakfast.
"This crud better taste good." Wakko had finally ambled out of his room dragging his pillow behind him as if to threaten a return sleep if breakfast wasn't up to his standards. He looked like an unmade bed but at least he wasn't naked.
Yakko started grabbing plates and handing them off to his sibs, then took a piece of toast for himself. It was the most his stomach could handle right after waking up, though he knew come brunch he would be ravenous. Sitting at the table and leaning back regarding the Doctor with his keen dark eyes.
"Ok we're up, and eating. Wanna tell us what this is about or do I let Dot have the spoon back?" Yakko waggled it near her head while she ate, glaring at the doctor the whole time.
The anxiety returned to the Doctors face with the reminder his eyes becoming shifty as he seemed to try to think of the right words to say. "Vell I don't have all zee details...Mister Plotz vas adamant zat you all be in his office as soon as I could get you zere. He only zaid it vas an emergency. I didn't ask to many questions and he sounded angry." He smiled sheepishly.
Yakko groaned. He could see the situation now. Plotz got his britches in a knot over some simple thing, screamed at Scratchandsniff and he came running like a loyal bloodhound without a second thought about it. This was not worth waking up for, but since they were awake already may as well see what this is about. Then he would let Dot have the spoon back.
To Wakko’s surprise breakfast wasn't to bad! Fried eggs and toast. Simple but hard to screw up. After an initial taste test Wakko downed the plate in one gulp burping loudly. This earned him a glare from Dot and Scratchy but he ignored them and just smiled to himself. 'That was a good one!' "S'cuse me." He drawled still grinning.
"Wakko you pig, can't you do that somewhere I don't have to hear it?" Dot pushed her plate aside apparently finished, or to grossed out to keep eating.
"If I do that then no one will know how loud it was." Wakko smiled his tongue sticking out of his mouth.
Dot gritted her teeth. "That's the point! You don't do that at the- ARGH! Boys..."
The trip to the office was uneventful in contrast to just getting everyone together and out the door. If Otto ever wondered why he never had kids, he had only to look to these three. Even the simplest things had to become an ordeal that made him want to beat his head against a wall. He sighed to himself and wondered what Plotz had been like as a child. Was he this bratty and difficult? He supposed he was more spoiled than anything. A child that got everything he ever wanted and demanded perfection. He probably didn't see his parents much ether.
His reverie was broken by Yakko opening the office door and uncharacteristically stalking up to Plotz in a dark mood rather than the usual jumping and yelling and jokes. He must be truly upset about having been awakened so early.
Yakko stepped up on top of the CEO's desk and leaned over poking the him in the chest with a gloved finger glaring at him with an uncharacteristically dangerous glint in his eye. "Ok mac, whats this about waking us up so early huh? We haven't had to get up this early since the show! Why I have half a mind to-"
"It's about your family." Plotz interrupted, strangely calm about having one of the most powerful toons in Burbank staring daggers at him.
Yakko blinked and raised an incredulous eyebrow, looking to his siblings who simply shrugged and stared back blank faced.
"No not those two. Your other family."
For once Plotz wasn't screaming or throwing things. He didn't even look the least bit upset. Which for him was strange in its self. He had a melt down when his coffee wasn’t right, typically he would be pacing on his desktop issuing threats and proclamations, not faking a calm demeanor that a trickle of sweat down his temple, and an elevated pulse that all the Warners could all hear belied. None of the humans on the lot had any idea just how much they noticed, heard, even smelled from them.
"We are our only family." Yakko pointed out matter of factly, arms crossed as he stared cooly at the CEO.
'Everyone is acting so strange today. Totally out of character. Scratchy isn't asking stupid questions, Plotz isn't screaming about money, And where the hell was Ralph? For that matter where is the nurse? She's never far behind Scratchy.' Yakko mused.
"Ehhhhhhhhhh ok this has gone on long enough.” Yakko put on a saccharine voice and a faux sweet smile as if talking to a toddler. “What is this about? Why was it worth getting out of bed at the butt crack of dawn? And why are you two acting so weird? Scratchy looks like he's about to have a breakdown and you look sane for the first time since - well ever.” His smile faded back to a neutral expression. “Answers. Now.”
"Do you remember anything about your animator Yakko?"
This earned the CEO a sidelong stare. 'More stupid questions.' Yakko thought. 'Did these two switch brains or something?' "What are you getting at?"
"The man was a genius. One of the best. And one of the most insane after he created you three." He glared at Yakko looking more himself for a second.
He continued without waiting for a response. "We found out this man had a family of his own. His great grandson has continued the family tradition of animation. He was obsessed with his great grandfather's works, including you three. He is also every bit the mad genius his great grandfather was."
Yakko was growing more impatient by the second. His foot began tapping on the desk top, long hidden claws starting to poke divots in the smooth surface. ' Why can't people just come out and say what they want?' "Well good for him! A man needs a hobby. Now if there is a point? Make it." His jaw clinched as he fought the urge to let his fangs show.
Sensing things were about to get out of control Plotz tried to wrap things up. "The long and short of it is he created something. He poured his madness and obsession into it. He spent months creating these toon's and well...you will have to meet them. You are probably the only three that could keep up with them anyway. We tried. It’s not going well.”
Yakko was not amused. There was no toon who couldn’t humiliate a human in every physical mental or esoteric category so this did not come as news to him. And bringing up Lon was not eliciting the planned reaction as Yakko scraped deep gouges in Plotz’s desktop. If this was the best they had...
"Uh huh. So you brought us all the way here to tell us sonny boy went and made something you can't keep up with and you want us to keep them under wraps like you have been trying to do to us for the past 78 years. Is that about the size of it?" Yakko sneered disdainfully at the man. He couldn’t figure out why this was pushing so many of his buttons but he had gone from annoyed to ready to flatten this man in seconds. It was bringing out a side of him he had long supressed.
Plotz seemed to think for a second before responding curtly. "Yes. And since you are in a way related, we have decided you are responsible for these three."
"Oh so there is three of them? Look sibs some useful information for once! I do declare." Yakko snarked earning another glare from Plotz that he met with his own, and giggles from Wakko and Dot. Yakko’s expression strongly suggested ‘Don’t.’ He was at his limit with this entitlement. Still the news of new family members was flooring. Worth getting up in the morning for even, though wouldn't let Plotz know that.
"They are in Doctor Scratchansniff's office by now. You three are to go meet them and get them settled in. Living arrangements will be made to cope with the extra crowd and the same agreement made between them and the studio that we have with you."
Plotz sneered at the oldest Warner. "And any trouble they cause is YOUR responsibility Yakko. It's bad enough that you three run rough shod over the lot. With six of you...the thought makes my head hurt."
Yakko smiled. ' Ah he needs something from us and its killing him to ask. Finally room to haggle.' He thought to himself grinning. "Fine Plotzy leave it to us! But in return we would like some ehhhhhhhhhhh concessions made. A compromise if you will."
This enraged the little man and his calm facade crumbled. "Yakko Warner are you blackmailing me!?"
"What? Nooooooo nonono. Yes. Just think of this as an allowance for the extra burden this will put on us, struggling to get by as we are thanks to you." He smiled daggers back at the red faced pygmy.
Plotz thought and grumbled to himself for a moment. "Fine! We will discuss this later! Now go! Get out of my office! And get those crazy toon's under control!" The three Warner's all jumped on Plotz kissing his head, becoming more themselves as they ran out the office door with him screaming at their backs.
"Thanks Plotzy! You won't live to regret it! We promise." Yakko called over his shoulder with a deranged grin, fangs on full display. A reminder. They were on a leash, but they weren’t property.
Doctor Scratchandsniff sighed and followed the three out gesturing down the hall for them to follow him. It was going to be a long day. He was curious himself to meet these new toon's the CEO had spoken of and wondered what they would be like. Though Yakko’s exchange gave him pause. It was not a side of him the doctor had ever seen, and if their Warners were suppressing that much hostility how much worse could these new ones be? The thought made him shudder.
It didn't seem to take as long as it normally does to reach the office. Being carried by three hyper toon's running at full speed didn't hurt things ether. Otto could do nothing but cross his arms and let them have their way. At least it was faster than walking, and he wouldn't be out of breath. He had a feeling he would be doing a lot of talking to soothe frayed nerves. If not the Warner's old and new, than his own and the rest of the staff. Which were prone, as rich people tended to be, to panicy cowardly crulety that often inflamed more problems than it solved. He couldn't predict how this meeting would go and frankly it had him a little more than worried since Plotz had mentioned it. Six Warner's in one room was unprecedented, and more insanity than he thought one structure could handle.
It isn't every day that a new toon walks onto the lot. Let alone to live here. He didn't blame the Warner's for resenting it if that was the source of Yakko’s newfound hostility. He wouldn't want to live in a water tower ether. Their arrangement had always rankled the three and skirted the very edges of legality, providing a large source of friction between WB and Toon Town at large. The only reason it had been allowed to persist was their enhanced freedoms and the resources WB provided the three. It was still an ongoing situation, and debates on toon rights and new legislation trickled in at a slow but consistent pace over the decades, trending toward greater freedoms and rights for what had been previously considered property, little better than indentured servants.
He was once again brought out of his thoughts by a screeching halt. This time by being dropped in front of the door to his office. "Oh thank you, I appreciate being discarded like a sack of potato's."
"You’re welcome!" The trio responded in unison grinning widely. He scowled as he stood and opened the door walking in ahead of the trio. Mostly to get a feel for the room and what the situation was. He could hear conversation screaming and laughing coming from beyond the door which grew louder as it opened. He stopped in his tracks horrified at what he saw. 'Oh no. This is worse than I thought.' The likeness was uncanny.
"Whoa when Plotz said junior was obsessed with his great grand dads work he wasn't kidding." Yakko commented taking in the scene before him, as he pushed around a frozen Scratchandsniff.
The three looked almost exactly like them save a few minor and some major differences. The apparently oldest was reclining in the doctors chair, his hands behind his head grinning widely as the second oldest, a girl in this case? was clawing at Ralph who was struggling with and failing to dislodge the toon beating the crap out of him. The eldest wore what from the door looked like denim jeans and was chewing on a piece of grass or perhaps a toothpick. His hair was a bit longer than the Warners, and stuck out a bit at different angles as though it hadn’t seen a brush since he jumped off the page. He appeared taller and broader of chest than Yakko, but seated as he was it was hard to tell.
The girl in question was Yakko’s height, and looked like she could be maybe in her teens, and wore a pretty yellow sun dress, covered by a black leather jacket covered in patches and metal spikes that looked like it came right out of an 80s punk band. Yakko could imagine that when her face wasn't twisted in sadistic rage as she throttled Ralph she would actually be quite attractive.
The third had the nurse backed into a corner and was leering at her. At least they knew where she was now. All Yakko could tell about him was that he was a little taller than Wakko, and wore a gray hoodie and no pants. His hair was also wildly spiked and his voice was higher than the other two, if his warning growl was any indication.
As the trio and Doctor made their way in the oldest glanced over to them, and his fangy grin grew wider as something passed behind his eyes. Recognition perhaps? Scratchandsniff cleared his throat and everything all at once stopped.
"Ahh. Well ya don't say..." The oldest drawled. His voice had a slight hint of a southern accent but it wasn't that strong. It was also a bit deeper than Yakko's own, but similar in tone. He leaned forward in the chair propping his chin on his hands his own brother and sister looking up from their mutual distractions and turning to the Warner's in slow unison, who regarded them just as closely, Wakko and Dot staying close to Yakko's side.
Yakko was finally able to get a look at the youngest of the three and cringed a little. He looked insane, which for them was saying something, with his mouth curled into an almost to wide grin full of shark like  teeth, claws on his fingers and toes fully extended, with his eyes full of unhinged malice. His hair was indeed spiked and a grey hoodie was all he wore. He looked like a criminally insane taller version of Wakko. He seemed to be staring almost through him his head tilted slightly askew.
Yakko and all other eyes turned to the Doctor as he cleared his throat and spoke. "Ahem. You are zee new arrivals Ja? I would like you to meet your, um, cousins? Zhis is Yakko, Wakko, und Dot. Zhey vill be your room mates und guardians vhile you stay vhis us."
Yakko noticed that when Scratchy was nervous or upset his accent seemed to thicken and he tended to ramble.
With this the oldest one stood and stepped over the desk rather than around it landing deftly in front of Yakko his hand extended. "Well well. We’ve heard a lot about you. The name is Dee. That's my sister Peg and my little brother Psykko. Don't worry hes harmless really, until hes not."
Yakko grinned as he took the new Warner's hand, a bit more in his element. He was indeed about half a head taller than Yakko, broad shoulders and tight ropy muscle hidden more or less by his fur that spoke of someone accustomed to physical labor, his gloves stained a subtle black around the fingertips. His demeanor seemed no less at ease, in contrast to the situation at least. The easy mood he was trying to create however was broken as the one he called Psykko spoke.
"Guardians? So you are our wardens now? Have you come to lock us away?" Psykko barely hid the growl in his high pitched voice his fur standing on end and drool dripping from his chin as his grin grew wider. He seemed to be made of naked hostility. Everything about him was simply unnerving. Yakko couldn't imagine this guy ever being on a kids show. ‘He would probably eat the camera crew.’ Yakko thought.
"Psy be nice now we're all family here apparently." Dee drawled. "I'm sure the studio had a reason for asking us so nicely to come stay on the lot."
"Ask meaning capture and incarcerate us in the middle of the night." Peg finally spoke. Jumping to her brother side leaving Ralph alone for the moment to gasp for air. Her voice was pleasant enough even slightly on the husky side, alluring eyes taking them all in with an almost cold, distant stare. The sadistic rage was gone from her face at least, but she clearly resented the situation. "But Dee is right Psykko, if we have a warden it's that Plotz guy."
At this Psykko seemed to calm a bit, if reluctantly, claws thankfully retracting as he morphed from a pointy fur covered razorblade to something approaching cute. Yakko could feel himself and everyone else in the room relax some in response. He was certain the little guy was about to attack. At least he wasn't drooling any more and some of the hostility left his eyes as he cut his gaze to the floor. Though he still didn't seem at ease. None of them did Yakko noticed. Even Dee seemed at least mildly on edge. Though he did a decent job of hiding it behind his grin, his eyes said otherwise. Humans would miss the cues. Hell Yakko almost did, but it was there, at the edges of a talented but still largely untrained toon trying to shut the world out. At least he was trying to be nice.
"I apologize for my brother, he can be a little emotional before lunch. Tends to bite too. Your guard dog here found that out." Dee thumbed toward Ralph who was cradling his right hand looking none to pleased as his face returned to something resembling a proper color. The poor guy looked for the world like he had been in a prize fight with Mike Tyson bite marks and all.
'None of this feels normal.' Yakko thought. 'Even at our darkest we weren't violent like these guys seem to be. Maybe this Dee guy can keep the other two in line. Or at least keep them from hurting anyone else. I gotta impress on them that much.'
Explanations were made and some mumbled apologies offered as the hours wore on. The Warner cousins weren't a bad lot after all really, even Psykko was somewhat reasonable after getting some food once the adrenaline wore off. And the situation wasn't quite as dire as Scratchandsniff or Plotz had made it out to be to Yakko's ears. Just that their creator was more insane than had first been eluded to. He was currently enduring a stay in a hospital mental ward due to psychosis and mania. Which explained why they were here. Since the animator could no longer take care of his creations they were now the property of his employer (or in this case great grandfather's employer) and would have to stay on premises.
The cousins all agreed to the same arrangement the Warner's were under and after some extended and heated talks with Plotz concessions were made to expand the living space in the tower and give the Warner's and cousins more freedom to roam as long as they didn't destroy to much or interrupt any filming. Which was fine so long as they were allowed to leave the lot to do more interesting things and come and go as they saw fit. They were even able to negotiate several computers and internet connection. Which was something they had been wanting for a while now.
It was a unique situation to be sure but as long as they held to their end of the bargain the Warner's all felt things would be livable at least if not an improvement over their current situation by virtue of said expanded discretionary powers. However Dee had warned Plotz if they tried to back out even a little the studio would pay dearly. They were accustomed to being free to do as they liked without someone looking over their shoulder. It took a lot for them to allow even this much constraint.
The studio for it's part was not entering into this without profit and it was decided that when they knew more about them the company would put the cousins to work in whatever field they had the most talent for. But all this was again to be discussed later.
Chapter 2:
_____________________________________________________________________________________

"He he! Oh Yakko you're so funny." Her voice is like music. She is so beautiful. Long blond hair glistening in the sun, clear blue eyes, full lips curled sweetly into a perfect smile. Her pale flawless skin seemed to radiate light, and she had curves in all the right places. More importantly she laughed at all his jokes.
Yakko sighed happily. 'Maybe she really is the one. I think this time I’m going to ask her for sure.' He thought grinning to himself. His grin widened as she giggled at a joke he just told, his heart among other things swelling as they both leaned back on a red and white checkered picnic blanket on a hill overlooking San Fernando Valley. The wind blew lightly carrying sweet scents of nature to them and playing through the large curls in her locks.
She leaned over staring at him with bedroom eyes, her hand rubbing his chest softly. Her touch sent waves of electricity and warmth through him and made him reflexively curl his toes. She leaned over, her full pouty lips leaving no doubts to her intention. Yakko sighed again contentedly, leaning his head upward, his lips to meet hers. His heart pounding, his body was primed with excitement. He could feel her warmth radiating through him. Her lips hovered mere fractions of an inch from his, the sweet smell of her perfume filling his lungs!
Their lips lightly brushed before finally-BAM!BAM!BAM!BAM!BAM!
"Aw! What the!?" Yakko sat up like a bolt from his bed, his dark sanctuary broken by the repeated knocks against the heavy metal door.
"I swear I’ve heard this joke before - ARGH! Doc that better not be you!" Yakko growled as the incessant rapping continued. He grumbled groping in the dark his pants, again, finding them a little more difficult to get zipped up than he had anticipated. Now embarrassed and cranky he made his way to the door again stumbling over...something hell he didn't care. Yakko kicked at the offending object wildly losing balance in the process and falling over. ‘Oh! Oh this is rich.’ He thought sourly.
This did nothing to improve his mood and he cradled his head as the booming knock continued, sending a look to the front door that he was certain would burn twin holes of hate through it with his barely working eyes. "Yeah I’m coming hold your horses!" Yakko reached the front door finally stumbling the whole way and throwing it open.
'Yup just like I thought.' He glared at Doctor Scratchandsniff through squinting eyes. His hair was a mess and his ears crooked at odd angles. He couldn't imagine that he posed a very intimidating figure to the elderly Austrian. "Do you have any idea what you interrupted doc? I was having the nicest dream until you came along." Yakko bite the words out through clinched teeth.
"Nein but I have zum idea." The Doctor scowled pointing down. This got a start from Yakko who half hid behind the door covering his obvious indiscretion. "S-shut up! What do you want? Don't you ever sleep!?" Yakko blushed infuriated. This is not how he hoped his day would start. But since their little meeting he was there every damn day at 7 on the dot if not earlier.
"I’m here about zhe contractors. Zhey are here. You have been told ja? You vill be moving to temporary living quarters till zhe renovations are done?" Yakko groaned shaking the fuzz from his mind and lingering images of his dream and what was about to happen in it.
"Ok ok but its going to have to wait a few hours. I am NOT about to drag those two out of bed again. Besides we will have to move a lot of stuff anyway and-"
"Zhat is already taken care of." Scratchandsniff interrupted. "Und until zhe work is done you vill be staying vhis those other Warner's on zhe back lot. Zhe place is already furnished und stocked so you von't need much." He seemed all too pleased with his self as he clutched a clipboard flipping through papers back and forth as though examining an itinerary.
Yakko glared at him. This guy had been eating this up since that first day, using every opportunity to get revenge on the Warner trio and embarrass Yakko for driving him crazy in the past. Yakko never though the old man would hold a grudge for so long. 'Serve him right if I had answered the door naked. Maybe he wouldn't be so quick to darken my doorstep again.' Yakko scowled.
"Give us three hours. It will take that long to get packed anyway." Yakko held up a hand to stop the Doctors protests. "We aren't morning people you know that. Now if you will excuse me I have something to go take care of." Yakko closed the door to the Doctor mumbling. "Oh ja I bet you do."
"Shut up!" He called through the door once again embarrassed. He had never blushed so much in his life. 'Be careful bub or you are making my special friend list for the week.' Yakko thought making his way to the bathroom and stumbling over another unidentified thing in the floor.
Three hours, some quality alone time, and two whining sibs later the tower was a den of noise as the three rushed around trying to find everything they would possibly need for the temporary move.
Wakko for his part had decided to simply throw everything in his room into his wacky sac. Which Yakko thought a good enough idea and that they should all do the same. The current argument though was about why Dot thought it was important to bring along all one thousand of her plush toys and why Wakko couldn't bring his movie collection.
"There won't be room!" Wakko protested.
"There would if you wouldn't bring your entire stupid movie collection! Yakko tell em!" Dot stamped her foot stubbornly.
"Guys there’s plenty of room in an unlimited bag for everything. Just bring all of it, we don't have time for this!" Yakko called from his bedroom door. "We aren't going far. We aren't even leaving the lot so we can make several trips if we have to. It isn't like we are moving to Figi or somethin." 'Though I wouldn't mind a trip to Figi about now. Sun, sand, hot island girls, and no creepy old man waking you up at insane hours, mid wet dream.' Yakko's thoughts were interrupted by Dot poking him in the belly.
"We're done." She beamed at him. "And Scratchy is outside again. He said he brought a truck to hold everything."
"Of course Scratchy is outside again. Why wouldn't he be? The man practically lives here anymore." Yakko huffed as Dot looked up at him quizzically.
"Ehhhh never mind. Just tell him we are on our way and I still need to grab a few things." At this Dot zipped out of his room. He could hear her high voice and the Doctor's mumbling through his door.
This situation was driving him nuts. He was becoming more irritable than Daffy Duck without top billing. Yakko shook his head and decided he needed to look on the bright side of things. This at least gave him plenty of motivation for his impending revenge on Scratchy for interrupting his dreams every morning for the past week and a half. He grinned to himself at the images that sprang to mind. "Oh yes. It will be sweet." He mumbled to himself wringing his hands.
The actual move was much easier since nearly everything, furniture included, in the tower had gone into Wakko's sac. He had a knack for overkill. The whole trip took less than thirty minuets and that was with delays and weaving through pedestrian traffic. It would have gone even faster had they gone on foot but Yakko took the opportunity to drive the Doctor a little nuts along the way.
The accommodations weren't grand but they weren't that bad ether. A bungalow of sorts used for some animation project that had been rebuilt with the intention of turning it into a museum. It had never panned out though and the new structure simply sat ignored for years. But it was nice enough he supposed. A bronze plaque sat atop a small pedestal in front of it.
"Termite Terrace. Sounds lovely." Dot quipped reading the plaque.
"It's just a name Dot." The Doctor responded. "I’m surprised you don't remember it. This is vhere you vhere born."
"Will there be enough room though?" Yakko mused aloud. Six people were a lot for one small house. Six toons were a whole nother thing.
Wakko for his part stared blankly at the space. He got bored easily and he wasn't interested in a history lesson. All he wanted right now was something to eat. His head swam with images of things he wanted for lunch. Which comprised most of the menu at the studio cafeteria. He hoped this didn't take to long. Standing there with a dreamy look on his face his tongue hanging out of his mouth he was awakened by being pulled into the old house by Dot.
The animation equipment and displays had all been removed and furniture put in its place. Still the space seemed bare. Most of what was there had come from the studio ware house or sets from other shows. A few suitcases and instruments littered one corner of the room along with amplifiers, cords and stools. Yakko wondered if those belonged to their cousins or if the studio had provided them. The air still smelled stale and felt heavy. And it was strangely quiet. Where were the others?
Soon enough they found out. The three were curled up in the middle of a large bed in the first bedroom snoozing peacefully without a care in the world. Yakko grinned as the chance to pester yet another source of irritation presented it’s self. ‘They look so peaceful, so serene, so what?’ The Warner's weren't allowed to sleep in lately so nether would they.
Standing beside the bed, grinning broadly, Yakko was about to pull out a bucket of cold water when Dee reached up from his spot at the side of the bed pulling him down to the blanket with him, and nosing in his ear his arms wrapped tight around his chest much to Yakko’s dismay. ' Is he awake?'
His question was answered when Dee began giggling in his sleep and mumbling into his ear. "Mmm hey where you goin baby? Heee hee...Come back here and gimme some ...gotta present...Zzzz."
Yakko panicked, flailing pulling on Dee's arms trying to get away from the amorous dreamer. He knew that dream and he wasn't going to stick around for the part where he asked him to sit in Santa's lap. But did his sibs help? Oh no. No. They just sat there laughing and pointing making him look like a jackass. 'The world hates me this week.' Yakko thought sourly.
"Little help here!? This guy is stronger than he looks!" Yakko reached for Wakko who took his hand and started pulling. Eventually Dee released his grip to roll over and the two landed on the floor in a heap. 'At least there is no risk of sodomy here.' Yakko thought to himself, laying in a heap.
In the meantime Dot was trying everything she could think of but nothing seemed to work. Even threats about Baloney got no reaction. These guys were harder to wake up than them. She was finally able to get the youngest one who was curled into a tight ball on the far side of the bed awake by simply whispering the word "Food." in his ear. It worked for Wakko it had to work on one of these chuckle heads eventually.
Psykko woke to someone whispering in his ear. He couldn't tell what it said but the voice sounded familiar. He couldn't place yet. He cracked his eyes open blearily to see the face of the youngest Warner swimming in and out of focus. ' Dot. I think that's her name? '
He groaned and rolled onto his back rubbing at his face stretching before finally sitting up. Sleep had been deep and dreamless. His head felt like someone had stuffed cotton in it. He looked to the small crowd standing in the room, little more than vague shapes on a light background in his state, and grimaced. He really didn't want an audience.
"Whadda ya want? What time is it?" He looked around for a clock but couldn't focus on anything.
"Its almost Eleven AM silly. We're moving in now. Remember everyone talked about this?" Dot responded smiling at him sweetly.
'This was worth waking me up over?' Psykko grunted and slid out of bed oblivious to the fact that he was in his underwear and there was a girl in the room. He stumbled his way to the bathroom pushing past the weird human whom he didn't recall the name of and stepped in closing the door behind him. 'Eleven am...It doesn't feel that late.' He wasn't sure what time it felt like but not eleven. Maybe seven or eight?
He stepped out of the bathroom some thirty minuets later popping his jaw joints and feeling more himself. A shower and some toothpaste worked wonders for his powers of perception if not his mood. He hated how vulnerable all this made him feel. All these new eyes staring at him brought conflicting emotions to the surface. Frankly the whole situation had him on edge. What would become of them?
As movers rushed in and out depositing the Warners belongings wherever there was room, Dee came ambling into what passed for a living room, looking for the world like he just lost a fight with a vacuum cleaner. Usually once one of them was up the rest soon followed automatically. His hair was sticking out at every angle and his ears were crooked. He at least had the presence of mind to throw on a robe though it was sitting crooked on him. Something Psykko didn't much care about at the moment as he was still in his boxers. Someone barges in your house they have no right getting embarrassed about your various stages nudity. But Dee always was the thoughtful one. Bah.
"Put some clothes on will ya?" Dee poked his little brother in the head earning a glare. "And get some coffee going. Feel like I lost a fight with the Tasmanian Devil."
"You look and smell like it to." Psykko grumbled heading back to the room to get dressed.
"Hey now, I took a bath two days ago." Dee muttered looking behind him as movers finally finished their task vanishing as quickly as they appeared. The Warners looked about their new space curiously, not that there was much to see. It would be nice to have some company he had to admit. They would have to get used to this arrangement anyway since, as soon as the tower was done they would be moving there and this place would become a museum again. 'Maybe this time they will actually do something with it instead of let it rot.' WB had no idea the gold mine they sat on.
A couple hours and several cups of coffee later the three were showered dressed and approaching consciousness. Dee was in one corner of the room conversing with the Doctor and Yakko. He had donned a pair of baggy jeans but neglected to procure a shirt. Psykko was off in another corner of the room plucking at a bass absently and staring off into space, and Peg was left with Wakko and Dot to try in vain to find something worth watching on the small television the studio had hurriedly provided. But without cable and no VCR or DVD player it was virtually useless. They settled for HGTV, since Dot seemed the nesting type.
"Zo until zhe tower is finished you six vill all be staying here." Scratchandsniff finished explaining.
"That's fine we all tend to sleep in the same room anyway. Most of the space in here is wasted. This was all explained already though. Just the details are a bit sketchy. Any idea when the renovations will be done?" Dee was back to his self again. Lazy grin, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his baggy jeans. His easy demeanor was hiding, Yakko knew, whatever was really going on in his head. Time enough to puzzle that out later.
Yakko may be young but he wasn't born yesterday. He could spot subtle cues here and there. It was his eyes. It was hard to pick up on but this was the kind of guy that liked to keep his emotions and thoughts to himself. He couldn't tell much though beyond the minor annoyance or other vague expressions that he displayed in their previous meetings. The coming weeks would tell if what Yakko was picking up on was right or not. Till then he would watch this guy, all of them really, carefully. Until he knew them better, relatives or not, he was not going to risk his or his siblings safety. The last thing they needed was a lot wide mallet fight. Or worse.
"It should only take about a month. Most of zhe major work is prefabricated anyvay und zhe contractors vill have only zhis project to verk on. Mr. Plotz vas very clear he vanted zhis done quickly." Scratchandsniff responded. "Till zen make yourselves comfortable. Oh ja, und food vill be delivered shortly as vell. In zhe meantime please get to know each other. Make friends! No fighting, ja?"
"Fighting? Why good sir we are the very picture of diplomacy order and decency." Dee grinned and gestured to the room. If the looks on the others faces were any indication nothing could be further from the truth. He only saw boredom and sarcasm and in Wakko's case hunger.
The Warner's themselves fought a lot in the best of circumstances, and they had been together since the beginning. The Doctor couldn't imagine or even begin to guess how they would all get along with this new dynamic. Maybe he was just being silly. He didn't know for sure. Even other toons had trouble predicting the Warner's.
"Ja...vell if you need anything Yakko you call, ja? I have other appointments so i cannot stay much longer. Good bye now. Und no monkey shtuff!" The Doctor waved as he walked out shutting the door behind him.
'Oh it's going to be a long month.' Yakko thought looking to his taller cousin who just smiled back at him without a word waggling his eyebrows. The new found silence broken only by a single bass note played absently by the youngest cousin.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter three: Breaking the ice.
Music again. Yakko groaned stuffing his head under his pillow. It had been one week since they moved in. Since then they had discovered the cousins true talent lie not in comedy or acting but in music. And they played constantly. At the moment it sounded like Dee fiddling around with some blues riff. But if he was up then it must be late.
Yakko reached from under his nest of blankets and pillows and fumbled for his his alarm clock glaring at the thing. Sure enough it was almost nine am. He groaned and rolled out of the bunk bed he shared with his siblings. There were only two rooms in this place and nether were very large. The studio had delivered the triple bunk that they had used on their show to save space. Seeing it again had brought back a lot of memories from those days. He had to admit he missed them.
Yakko rolled out of his bunk careful not to smack his head against the frame again for the hundredth time. It was smaller than he remembered it being. Slipping his pants on he made his way toward the living room and the source of the music.
Sure enough there was Dee laying back on the couch alternating between a conversation with his sister who was sitting in the one easy chair provided across from him, words broken only by his occasional picking on a faded and beaten Fender Telecaster that was among the few possessions they had with them. The television babbled on in the background unheeded, left on more for the background noise than anything interesting to watch.
Dee looked up from his place on the couch and saw Yakko stumbling in rubbing at his eyes and grinned.
"It lives! By all that is high and mighty I had my doubts. Come on over and have a seat. Engage us in stimulating conversation. Tell us all your best yo mamma jokes." Dee waved to Yakko a little to cheerily to suit him.
'I'm not awake enough to deal with this right now.' Yakko halfheartedly waved at the taller cousin. "You know you would think I would get to sleep in now that Doc isn't beating down my door but ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh no apparently not."
"Yakko Warner you are to damn lazy, and coming from me that's saying something chief." Dee responded with a frown waggling his finger. "When you did your show you never slept in this late. And you were never this grumpy."
"When I did my show I was being paid. I didn't have three annoying cousins keeping me up at all hours of the night ether." Yakko shot back gritting his teeth. "And I'm not grumpy I'm just tired."
"No you lost sleep all on your own back then. I heard your siblings stories about your little late night parties. Oh and the doctor was all to ready to dish too. Romp romp romp ring a bell? Come on old man." Dee chuckled, his eyes half lidded as he idly plucked at his guitar. Even half assed it sounded intricate and flawless.
"I'm not old ether. I'm still just a kid." Yakko frowned.
Dee clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, non plussed."Uh huh. You're ninety years young, you act like a grumpy old man in the mornings, and I’ve seen your little book collection. Didn't see a single coloring book in the pile unless you're drawing in war and peace."
"I'm sorry, is there a reason I'm taking shit from you this early? I'm half awake and hungry, and going to get food now. Keep the noise down or Dot will eat your face for breakfast when she wakes up." Yakko turned on his heel and stalked into the kitchen followed by the sound of Dee muttering “Grumpy.” at his back.
They weren't bad people, Yakko supposed but GOD were they ever annoying. Thinking back on it they reminded him a lot of how they were before Animaniacs. The feel was different though. The humor was darker and more random, the mood on the surface more laid back but under it all they felt like any other toon. Whatever their creator intended when he made them, it didn’t seem that bad.
Dee wasn't as wordy as Yakko but he always seemed to have a comeback or some annoying remark to make at exactly the wrong time, right when it was the most annoying. He and his sister often played off one another bouncing dialog back and forth till it made your head spin. And with the youngest one in the mix it was even worse. Nothing he said ever made sense and he was just unnerving to be around.
Wakko seemed to like him though. Yakko had found the two trading weird faces and showing off their mallets the other night. It was the first time he has seen Psykko genuinely smile and laugh. Which gave Yakko some sense of pride.  Even Peg had opened up readily to Dot. She was crazy, but friendly enough in a female misogynist sort of way. She reminded him of Slappy in a lot of ways only less explosives and more blunt force trauma.
Those little memories gave him hope for these three. If he could only get past that facade Dee kept up constantly. Aggravation wasn't working, he just ignored it or turned it back on him. Joking around and lengthy conversation hadn't worked ether. He got little more than non sequitur, and subject changes whenever he tried to get to close. Yakko was running out of ideas and if they were to live together stably he needed to know he could trust them and that they could get along. This was going to take a lot longer than a month.
He sighed and rummaged through the pantry deciding that he didn't have the presence of mind to make anything more complicated than a bowl of cereal. Grabbing the lone box from the pantry left after the other five eradicated their supply, and sitting at the small round table the studio had provided, he began choking down the sugary confection. He cut a look to the happy obnoxiously colored box. A toon saber tooth cat grinning and flailing his arms wildly while extolling the virtues of "Acme Sugar Things" stared back at him blankly. “They’re food like!” the box exclaimed.
'And they wonder why kids today have so many emotional and weight problems.' He caught himself mid thought shaking his head. Dee was right about one thing. He was acting like a grumpy old man. He needed to calm down and get back to his old self. The whole situation had affected him more than he was willing to admit.
The noise and conversation from the living room had died down. Dee may be a weird jerk but at least he took a hint. Yakko could respect that at least. It was more restraint than he had shown in the past. Quite the opposite. He had lived to drive people who acted like he had been the past week insane. Still did! Maybe that fact alone should tell him more about why his approach was failing.
He sighed and ran his free hand through his hair his musings broken by the now familiar slightly deeper voice at his back. "Hey. We need to talk."
Yakko looked up with a start at the taller cousin. Something about his expression gave him pause. The eyes again. Focused, serious, but something else he couldn't place. They regarded each other for a moment before Yakko spoke.
"Sure what is it?" He watched as Dee stepped a little closer and leaned against the cabinet his arms crossed in front of him.
Dee thought a moment before finally speaking. Yakko looked a bit uneasy at the sudden engagement. He couldn't blame him for that considering the previous conversation. Their relationship had been a bit more antagonistic than he had planned on. He just couldn't seem to stop himself though. Whenever Yakko left an opening he just...took it. He knew their situation hell he could empathize. He would be uncertain too in Yakko's place. Three strange new people just step into their lives after ninety years of just being the Warner trio and they are supposed to be related? Yeah bad week. He had decided to take things easy on the old man from now on.
He and Peg had been talking about that very thing when Yakko had stumbled in bitching and moaning. He still couldn't stop himself from getting a few digs in but after Peg cut him a look that would peel paint he sighed and decided to be a grown up about it. This sucked.
"Yeah. I've talked to Plotz about this already and he ok'd it but I don't really want to bring my sister or brother along. They ain't ready for this but I don't wanna go alone so-" Dee sighed and rubbed his eyes then ran his hand back through his hair. He felt weird. This was harder than he had thought.
Yakko puzzled at this new development. This seemed to sudden. Dee was acting nothing like what he was used to seeing. The smile was gone and his posture slumped. Even his ears seemed to droop.
"Where are we going exactly?" Yakko shoved his half finished cereal aside regarding the fidgeting Warner.
"I’m going to visit our animator." Dee finally spit out. "But like I told you the man is in a hospital and hes out of his mind. I don't want Peg or Psy exposed to that. It never had a good effect on ether of them before he was interned and he's worse now. You don't have to go I just thought I would-"
"Ok." Yakko interrupted.
"Ok?" Dee cut Yakko a sideways look. "Just that easy?"
"Look you said you want someone to come along I'll do it. Come on a psych ward? If it were me I wouldn't want to go alone ether. So ok. I'll go along it's no big deal."
Yakko's smile was genuine for the first time in what felt like days. That he trusted him with this information was no small thing. To any toon their animator is like family, closer even, so he knew it had to be hard on the lot of them to have theirs locked away in a little room somewhere and not know whats going on.
Vague memories of their animator returned unbidden. Yakko recalled his spiral into insanity and how they had carted him off screaming and ranting about corruption and greed. He shuddered as he tried to suppress it. Images of a tortured man bare patches on his scalp from where he had ripped out his own hair, foaming at the mouth and screaming his voice ragged, his face drawn and pale. It had been a bad day for everyone.
It was shortly after that they had been locked in the tower. The studio placed the blame squarely on the Warner's for Lon’s madness and escaped liability themselves. They made a convenient and believable scape goat. Who wouldn't believe that a trio of hyper toon kids could drive a man mad? They had done it a thousand times before to people they hadn't been around a fraction of the time. 
Yakko knew different. It was the studio it's self and the tremendous pressure they placed on the man in their endless quest for profit that eventually drove the man insane. The Warner's made an easy out legally and plausibly. It was cheaper for the executives to lock the three away instead of paying the man back wages or covering for his stay at the asylum. This more than anything is what had fueled the Warner's rampage on the lot. Still did as far as Yakko was concerned. They owed that man, owed the them to. 
Being reminded of these facts in the Warner's gentle fashion is what had prompted the creation of the show. And a contract that had given them the lions share of the profits and a permanent home regardless of the studio's financial condition hadn't hurt ether. Not even Plotz knew the whole truth of it, and Yakko was not about to tell him.
"Say that again when you meet him. This won't be easy for me Yakko. I don't really want to get into this right now but when we are out of the house I'll tell you more." Dee's face looked strained. Something was definitely eating at him.
"Whats this?" Yakko smiled. "Straight talk from Dee?"
Dee chuckled his own easy smile returning."Don't get used to it chief. It don't happen often."
His expression turned serious again as he stared at the wall contemplating the few odd nick knacks the Doctor and Nurse had kindly donated to try to make the space feel more homey. It reminded him of their old place. He missed it but he knew they could never return. That fact alone made all of this, the trip, their relationship, even more important.
"We are leaving tomorrow. Seven am sharp and don't give me that look. Get to bed earlier tonight and you won't be dragging ass in the morning mister grumpy." Dee cut the scowling Warner a look.
"Oh boy." Yakko responded sourly propping his head up against his hand. "Gonna be a day."
"You have no idea chief." Dee grinned momentarily. "I just hope his condition has improved some so I can make sense of him. Scratchandsniff will be by to pick us up and hes going in as well. He said he was curious about our animators psychological condition. Whatever makes him happy as long as we get this over with."
"I wouldn't worry about Scratchy to much. He may be a shrink but he is still clueless enough to keep at arms length if you don’t want to let him in. We never have." Yakko grinned. "He won't dig up to much that you don't want him to find."
"So you do that to eh? So much for my unique groundbreaking approach to shutting out the world." Dee half muttered and half spoke.
Dee's admission caught Yakko a little off guard. It was almost like something he had mumbled to himself several times in the past when things didn't go well or when he let people get to him. Maybe this weird friction really was just a misunderstanding. It wouldn't be the first time Yakko had gotten off on the wrong foot with someone.
The rest of the next days plans were tentatively laid out. Yakko decided he would leave Wakko and Dot behind as well. After some extended explanation from Dee he felt it was for the best. He didn't doubt their ability to cope but it simply made the logistics of the whole affair easier to deal with.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 4: Visitation.

"Wait what- No. Yeah I- Lady I am the next of kin. No- Transferred? To where?" This was pissing him off. He had called simply to confirm if his animator could accept visits and now this squeaky voiced human. Her voice drilling into his ear like a thousand angry termites she droned on at him that they had moved him to a new facility and she couldn't tell him where because that was privileged information reserved for next of kin.
Yakko watched from the couch as Dee's mood began to move from mild annoyance to anger. He couldn't make out what she was saying from where he sat but it couldn't be good. Again the cues were all in the eyes. He hadn't raised his voice at all. If anything his voice went lower and his hands became more mobile gesturing sharply to the unseeing voice on the other end of the line his tail tip lashing from one side to another.
"I just told you I am the next of kin. Check the paperwork my name is on the damn admission form. Dee. Yeah. Fine I'll wait." Dee drummed his fingers on his leg waiting impatiently for the receptionist to pull up the paperwork.
'This is stupid.' He thought coiling the phone cord around his fingers. 'Why did no one call us or at least call the studio?' His thoughts were broken some minuets later as the high voiced woman returned.
"Yes. No it's ok. Toon Town? Why there? I see. Hold on a second." Dee fumbled for a pen and piece of paper scribbling in the corner to get the ink flowing. "Ok now. Eight seven four two? Ok. Extension eight. Ok got it. Thanks." Dee's mood soured further as he placed the phone back on the hook casting his gaze to the floor as he grasped for some control of the situation.
"Whats the verdict?" Yakko broke the silence tilting his head aside.
"He was transferred to an asylum in Toon Town. Apparently a shrink from some place called Loopy Acres volunteered to house him." Dee spat.
Toons were the only ones that still used the old asylum system to care for the mentally ill. Some of the places weren't pretty ether, more like prisons than hospitals simply because a mad toon was too dangerous to allow within arms reach. He really had wished someone had asked him first. Toon Town was a nearly five hour drive from Burbank with traffic this time of day. He would have to tell the Doctor since this little trip just turned into an all day event.
"They gave me the number so I'm calling there to let them know we're coming." Dee sighed rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Stupid bureaucracy.” 
"Why would a toon shrink want to deal with a human? For that matter why would they house one in a facility made for toons?" Yakko puzzled. "Seems like overkill for a single man."
Dee spoke as he dialed stabbing at the buttons causing the little table the phone rested on to wobble. "Dunno chief. I'm going to find out though."
He put the receiver to his ear staring at the wall. "Like why they never bothered to contact me about it in the first place."
Speaking first to some automated answering machine and finally to a nurse Dee was finally able to get some details about the transfer and arrange a visit with the understanding that they couldn't stay more than an hour at most. All visitors required escort for their safety and there weren't enough people to provide everyone with an unlimited chaperon. And no effort to contact him had been made because they had not received the proper paper work. Feh.
Calling the Doctor next he made him aware of the situation and finally looked to Yakko. "Better pack a change of clothes chief. Unless you want to spend ten hours in a car both ways this just turned into a weekend thing."
While Dee was outside tossing his suitcase in the powder blue minivan Scratchandsniff arrived in. Yakko took the opportunity to tell his sibs what was going on.
"We're gonna back tomorrow morning so try not to panic without me. I know how lost you would be." Yakko grinned embracing his sibs who eagerly returned it. "Try not to bug the cousins to much ether. Till things settle down they’re going to be prickly and unpredictable."
"They aren't that bad Yakko." Wakko looked up at him a concerned look on his face. "The only two having trouble getting along are you and Dee."
"Yeah if you two would just relax and stop chest thumping for a minuet you might actually get along." Dot interjected poking him in the chest. "Really you two are a lot more alike than ether of you want to admit."
"That's what I'm afraid of." Yakko muttered. "Just don't do anything I wouldn't ok?" Getting twin nods from both siblings he smiled and hugged them again standing finally to step outside.
Beside the van Dee was talking to his own little brother as he packed. He seemed to be staring up blankly at him his posture a little off center. Weird kid. Apparently finishing whatever he was saying he leaned down and embraced him and kissed him on the nose. To Yakko's surprise Psykko returned both and even smiled without menace. Maybe he wasn't quite as far gone as he seemed.
Yakko slung his own duffel bag over his shoulder and started toward the van passing Psykko on the way who looked up at him, his teeth producing a sound not unlike scissors opening as he spoke. "Be nice to him. He’s got enough shit to deal with." Psykko warned.
"Ehhhhhhhhh yeah I'll miss you to." Yakko cocked an eyebrow at the shorter cousin.
He watched as Psykko turned and walked back toward the bungalow without a word to lean against his sister who stood in the door her yellow sun dress gleaming in the morning light. At least she waved to him. Yakko smiled and returned the wave stepping up into the van's back seat followed by Dee who shut the door behind them.
"Are ve ready?" The Doctor seemed a little to happy to be making this trip. But when he found out they were going to toon town instead he was elated. He couldn't help but express interest in the chance to compare notes with a toon psychologist and study toons who were at the extremes of emotional distress. He hoped he could gather enough material to even write a paper on the subject. Not to mention the chance to network with toons who worked in his field. This had become much more important to him than simply escorting a couple nutty toon kids to see an animator.
"Yeah man. Just wake me when it's over." Dee lay his head back resting it on his arms while propping his feet against the center console. He hated long road trips. To boring, to noisy, and the vibrations always made him have to pee.
"Ok here ve go then ja?" Pulling out of the lot they made their way quickly into what was predictably a nasty traffic jam. Dee and Yakko both had to chuckle at the irony.
"Hold us back Doc the excitement is killin us." Yakko grinned.
"Whoa slow down there chief you might get pulled over." Dee snickered to himself.
"I think I just saw a snail pass us." Yakko added.
"Are you two done? I thought you didn't like each other ja? Zo what happened to zat?" The doctor drummed his fingers on the steering wheel annoyed.
Both glanced at one another grinning and shrugged in unison. "Change of priorities?” Yakko responded, the doctor grunting in response.
Some thirty minuets later they were at least closer to their exit and merged onto the interstate heading toward Toon Town. After putting up with them this long the Doctor was ready to fling them out a window, but chose instead to drive faster. The sooner the trip was over the sooner they could get back home and Scratchandsniff could get some peace.
Still he wasn't willing to let them ruin the potential this trip promised to further his research. He was giddy at the idea of getting another paper published. He glanced in the rear view mirror to see if they were up to anything but they were talking to each other for once. So much the better. The less he was involved the more sane he could stay.
"Ok so what's got you so bothered about this? Come clean Dee somethin's on your mind, and has been since you asked me to come along for this little field trip." Yakko leaned in looking Dee in the eyes. They had to speak low to keep the Doctor from overhearing. Dee had insisted he stay in the dark about as much as possible.
Yakko could understand that much. They never really had dropped more than subtle hints about their own motivations to Scratchandsniff. If he wasn't smart enough to spot them it was his own loss. Warner's weren't gabby about their personal lives to anyone.
"Ok but you ain't gonna like it chief." Dee sighed rubbing the bridge of his nose again. It was becoming a habit of late, a subtle tell that he had a lot on his mind. Truth was he hated keeping this stuff from his own brother and sister and really did need to get it off his chest.
"Alright. David's mental health had been decaying since before he drew us three. He was obsessed with his great grand dads work, you three, since he first heard about you as a child. You were told all this already." Yakko nodded and Dee continued.
"Well he found a chest in their attic when he was 16 or so that belonged to Lon. It had notes, scribbles, concepts, and some cells from those days but it also had a journal and several letters he had written but never delivered." He waited a second letting this sink in before he continued.
"Well there were things written in his journal that David took kind of personal. When he made the three of us he always said we were destined for great things, that we would change the world. He would ramble on about it for hours. Frankly over time the things he said got more militant and random. He was losing focus and becoming more fanatical."
As Yakko listened Dee went into detail about his animator David's spiral into delusion and psychosis. The story sounded so familiar. A family history of chemical imbalance combined with an angry disenfranchised and highly talented teenager disowned by most people his own age. It was a perfect storm that resulted in these three. His obsession made manifest. The only missing piece, the one that Dee himself couldn't answer was the why. To what end? Change the world how? Dee couldn't answer but he had some clues.
"The situation was affecting Peg and Psykko in ways I didn't like. He was always getting them wound up too tight. He advocated murder Yakko. He tried to make my little brother a killer. Do you know what they do to toons who kill humans? I didn't want to see that happen to him, I-"
Dee paused and took a deep breath and prepared himself for- he didn't know what. A punch in the face or a screaming match maybe he didn't know how Yakko would react to what he was about to say. This sucked.
"I'm the one that called the police and the hospital and had David taken away. I'm the one that called the studio and told them about us. I'm the reason we barged into your lives and why your home is unlivable right now. If you have anyone to blame for all this it's me."
Dee slumped back in his seat idly rubbing his fingers over his palms staring at the floor. Yakko couldn't respond. He sat back and regarded his cousin carefully looking for any sign of deceit but he found none. He sold out his animator, this David guy, to save his family. What kind of sick joke would put a toon in that position?
Yakko thought back to their meeting and the events of the past week. In the office Dee had been the only one not fighting, Dee had always tried to fade into the background, as toons go, and never answered any real questions seriously even Yakko’s. It made sense but it still struck him as the worst twist of fate he had ever heard. Could Yakko have made that choice and remained so calm about it?
He thought back again on their relationship with their animator and how things ultimately ended. How many times they had broken out simply to visit his grave, how many sleepless nights he had spent quietly crying and cursing everyone who had anything to do with their situation. Dee had no one to blame but himself. Yakko couldn't imagine what was going on inside him right now. How do you make that choice between family and creator and ever remain sane?
"Your not lying...are you?" Yakko's question was purely rhetorical. He knew he wasn't. No toon would joke about this, even the most unhinged toon loved and respected their creator.
Dee didn't speak. He looked deflated and beaten. His eyes glistened as tears threatened the last vestiges of his dignity. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath some semblance of control returning.
"I wish I was. You see now why I couldn't bring Peg and Psy along. I can't let them be a part of this. They wouldn't handle it well. Especially Psykko, he was his favorite. But I had to get them away from him. If we're gonna have any kind of future David can't be a part of it. It doesn't mean I don't love him, but I can't let him be around them ether."
Dee's voice grew resolute. Yakko was betting he had told himself this a million times.
"So that's the reason for the visit? To tell him that?" Yakko's own voice remained low, careful not to alert the doctor. He couldn't think of anything to say that would make this conversation more comfortable for ether of them. Anything he could say would come off as sentimental claptrap. He decided at that moment however he would do whatever he could to help.
"Partly." Dee confirmed. "And I wanted to see if he would improve any but the way the Doctor at the asylum talked he was worse if anything." Dee sighed. "Yakko I don't know what to expect when we get there. I don't know what he will say to me or you. If you're not comfortable with this you can stay with the doctor. I've made my bed and I'll lie in it but I don't see any sense in dragging you into it."
"I've come this far I'm not about to leave you hanging." Yakko half smiled nudging his cousin gently. "Family doesn't back out on family."
At this Dee smiled and nodded. He couldn't form words anymore so it would have to do for the time being until he settled down.
Loopy Acres wasn't too bad as toon asylums went. At least it didn’t give off Arkham vibes. A large white wall broken only by observation towers and a large solid iron gate enclosed a pleasant looking yard dotted with trees and an expanse of green grass that rolled gently up a hill upon which the asylum sat. The building its self was featureless. It looked like a giant white lego block someone dropped on the top of the hill, its surface dotted with windows he knew were barred. It's perfect white facade marred by streaks of rust around each window. It gave the otherwise picturesque scene a disturbed look that tugged at his nerves.
Dee cringed inwardly as the building slowly filled his view. He hated places like this. Hospitals, prisons, asylums, they all felt the same to him and he fought down butterflies as his stomach tied its self in knots.
Outwardly he tried to give no sign that anything was amiss. He had learned long ago that situations only escalated out of control if you let them get to you. Show the first sign of weakness and the circumstance controls you. You can only react instead of acting. It's a dangerous position to be in. Things never went well when he lost it, and he couldn't afford that here. Things had to go smoothly. The meeting would be stressful enough without him getting emotional.
This place gave Yakko the creeps. Oh it looked pleasant enough on the outside, clean at least, but there was just something about the place that made him want to turn around and go back the way he came. There had been a time when Scratchandsniff wanted he Wakko and Dot interned in a toon asylum. It had only been when they opened up to him a little and toned down their craziness a tiny bit that he relented. Yakko couldn't imagine spending a day here let alone years locked in some tiny featureless room with a bunch of screaming loonies as your neighbors.
As they pulled up to the buildings entrance he reminded his self to keep a closer eye on Scratchandsniff when they got back. No way was he ever going to a place like ever.
Scratchandsniff for his part thought the place was beautiful. Perfect white walls framing a pleasant yard where the staff coordinated activities for the patents and made sure everyone got in plenty of fresh air and physical activity. The facility was large and no doubt well supplied with a rotating staff of doctors and nurses. They had access to all the latest therapy methods and attracted the best of the field to provide the cutting edge in mental health treatment.
Arriving at the front door he sighed wistfully stepping out of the van. If only he could arrange a tour of duty in such a place. The things he could learn from the experience would be priceless in his pursuit of understanding the Warner's. Understanding after all was half of the cure. He caught Yakko's gaze as he stepped out of the back, white gravel crunching underfoot.
"Don't even think about it Doc." He warned.
Dee stepped out shortly after cutting the Doctor a similar look but didn't speak. He looked up at the large sterile entrance and fought down another shudder. It was his fault David was in this place the least he could do is walk in the damn door and tell him why face to face. He owed him that much.
Shortly after stepping out of the van the door creaked open and a small rodent toon of some kind stepped up to Doctor Scratchandsniff extending a hand.
"You are Doctor Otto Scratchandsniff I assume?" His voice was devoid of any inflection. His personality as sterile as the building he just came out of. Scratchandsniff took the offered hand graciously feeling in his element for the first time in years. "Ja I am Doctor Scratchandsniff. How do you do?"
"I am fine thank you. Gentlemen if you will come this way I will arrange an escort to take you to see your friend as soon as possible." He stepped evenly back through the door his every stiff movement seemed calculated and cold.
'This guy is a slime.' Dee thought sourly. ' Prissy little bastard probably has a bdsm dungeon, and likes to get flogged while dressed in women’s lingerie just to feel some kind of emotion." He cut his eyes to Yakko his expression telling of similar thoughts.
The creepy rodent thing lead them into a central waiting room each wall and the center of the room lined with rows of stainless steel chairs that looked about as comfortable to sit on as a rusty nail. Dee and Yakko opted to stand while the Doctor perched his self on one of the monstrosities daintily. The air smelled like sanitizers but little else. Everything felt to clean and there was a slight chill in the air.
The three made uncomfortable small talk while waiting. They didn't have long to wait however as a burly irritable looking bison toon in a white uniform ducked through the door and motioned them to follow him.
"You got one hour with the guy. If he flips out he goes back to his room right then and there. No arguments." His voice boomed in the bare hallways echoing off of every surface like thunder. His uniform barely fit him and every muscle and sinew was visible under his shirt.
'Another slime bag.' Dee thought. 'If someone ever tries to put me in this place I'm just going to get Psy to chew my head off right then and there.'
They finally came to a door marked "Visitation" and the bison slid a card through an electronic lock beside it. The door opened with an audible click and he motioned them inside. The inside of this room was equally sterile but slightly darker which wasn't saying much. The far wall had a large window but the glass was frosted opaque and the surface crisscrossed with a steel grate. The room was split in half. Much like a visitation room in a prison the patent was separated from the visitor by a thick glass wall broken only by voice activated microphones and speakers. Chairs were arranged in front of the glass wall at regular intervals. There was no one else in the room.
If rooms had emotions this one would be screaming. It just felt unsettled. Even the Doctor looked uncomfortable. He spoke quietly with the bison who nodded and motioned him back out the door. He wouldn't be present for the meeting but everything was probably being recorded anyway. The bison toon remained.
Yakko and Dee looked to each other and swallowed hard. Nether liked this place one damn bit and it showed. There was another audible click though this time from the other side of the wall. A door opened and Dee's breath caught in his throat. 'David what did they do to you man?' David was escorted in by a large Grey wolf toon with a slightly more pleasant expression than the grumpy bison had.
His once long black hair had been shaved close. Bare patches shown on each side of his head where he had been pulling his own hair out. He wore a one piece white uniform with a number stamped on the left front pocket that identified both patent and room number. His skin was pale and dark circles under his eyes spoke of insomnia and distress. His hands were bound in front of him.
Dee could feel Yakko cringe at his side as he slumped into the nearest chair his whole body numb. It's cold unyielding surface doing nothing to comfort what was going on inside him. He may as well be sitting on a block of ice.
The wolf toon placed David in the seat across from Dee and stood behind the human leaning against the far wall. Till then he had nether spoken or even indicated that he had seen his creation. He slumped in the chair wordlessly his head slowly rocking from side to side. Dee swallowed hard at the knot in his throat and finally croaked out his name. It's his fault David was here.
"David? David its me. It's Dee." The head stopped moving but he got no further response. "David we came to see you. I - we wanted to talk. We haven't spoken s-since-"
"Since you sold me out." He finally spoke his posture stiffening. His voice was hollow and ragged. He sounded as if he had been screaming and his voice hadn't completely returned.
"Well well well if it isn't the little traitor Dee. My greatest creation. My greatest disappointment." With every word Dee cringed his hands visibly shaking. He tried to put up a strong front but between accusation and his own guilt he couldn't manage it.
"You know I had so much hope for you three. You most of all. You were special. You were unique." David snorted laughing to himself bitterly now. "But now what? Brutus kills Caesar now he weeps over his grave? Tell me do they haunt you at night? Those ghosts of what could have been? Can you feel my disappointment? How can you answer for that Dee? How do you atone?" Davids drawn face was twisted into a hateful snarl as he looked down at his creation, his son. "Thou hast sinned against your creator. I should never have drawn you."
Dee let out a ragged breath unable to stop emotions he had held back for to long. Looking up finally with tears staining his cheeks he spoke in as clear a voice as he could manage.
"I atoned by saving my family from you David. You would have gotten people killed, so I made a choice. You will never get close to them again. Do your own dirty work. I came here to tell you that." Dee's voice grew only slightly more stable as he spoke. This was the worst case scenario. He hadn't expected him to be this far gone.
"And to ask you why. Why us? Why did you try to twist Psykko like you did? Why did you make us look like the Warner's? Whats the point behind all this?" Dee's voice grew from a whisper to a near yell with each question the Bison in the corner uncrossing his arms and standing upright scowling.
"Why? Why. Yeah." That laugh again. "He knows."
David looked past Dee staring at Yakko. His penetrating eyes and full of accusation. "He's the original. The master mold, the genesis, the prototype. He is our families retribution, our revenge. Him and the other two. Something you wouldn't know anything about."
Yakko spoke up without thinking. "Look pal I don't know what got you so screwed up and frankly I don't care, but don't talk about that man like you knew him. You didn't. I did. We aren't tools we're toons. The last thing he ever wanted was for any of us to hurt anyone. And stop talking about me and my sibs like we're some kind of weapon."
"Aren't you? What better weapon than a toon? What better revenge than to turn a toy against it's child?" David didn't look at Yakko again but his face was curled into a sick smile. His teeth were stained with blood from chewing a holes in his own cheeks.
This poor excuse for a human was making Yakko sick and he fought down his own anger at someone speaking so freely about his animator. Feelings he thought long suppressed boiling to the surface like an open wound. The only thing keeping him from flattening this creep was the glass divider and that dopey bison. He was sure he could handle both but Dee broke his concentration by holding up a now steady hand.
Dee's own expression grew cold. He regarded the tortured human through the inch thick glass as if studying a specimen in a lab. He felt the emotion drain from him. His respect for this person lost. 'He's just another man now. Nothing more. The David I knew is dead. I can live with this.'
"If you ever manage to get out of here David I'm giving you fair warning. Stay away from us. I won't let you get to them. I'll do whatever I have to to make sure that doesn't happen." Dee stood looking down his nose at David who had resumed staring at the floor, weaving his head to and fro mumbling to himself incoherently.
He looked to the bison toon who eyed him warily. His voice held an edge it hadn't before that matched his mood and made the larger toon flinch. "We're done here. You can show us out now." Never had he so desired to leave a place. This would be the last time he came here if he had anything to say about it.
It was another three hours before Doctor Scratchandsniff was ready to leave. And even then he was reluctant. He had spoken to only a handful of the other Doctors at the facility but it would have to be enough. Dee and Yakko had opted to wait outside as far from the building as possible.
He spotted them sitting under a nearby tree, Yakko speaking to a distraught Dee his hand resting on his back who simply nodded staring at the ground. This gave the Doctor pause. It was rare that he ever saw Yakko's sincere side and had to wonder what had been said to cause the till now inscrutable Dee to appear so depressed.
The two looked up and saw him watching and immediately stood. The Doctor cleared his throat and motioned back to the van being too far out of earshot to call to them without yelling. He felt in this setting it would be inappropriate. They simply nodded and followed him climbing into the van without preamble.
The drive out felt awkward and something hung in the air that made the Doctor uncomfortable. It was only after they were well away from the asylum that the mood relaxed at all which wasn't saying much. Dee leaned against the window staring out at the ever changing view while Yakko sat deep in thought his brow knitting occasionally.
Scratchandsniff decided against trying to make small talk. It was too soon for that. He reached into his pocket running a finger along the small stack of business cards he had been given by the various Doctors he spoke to. He would be making further trips here in his free time.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 5: The Hotel Yorba.

"You take us to all the nicest places Doc." Yakko scowled as they pulled up to the motel.
It was a small motor lodge affair at the edge of Toon Town that looked like it had seen better days. Like the nineteen sixties. Trash littered the cracked asphalt parking lot and the building looked like it hadn't seen any maintenance in years. Fortunately they would only be staying the night and leaving out the next morning.
"Ja vell this is the best I could manage on my budget Yakko. And it’s close to the exit." Scratchandsniff replied relieved at least one of them was acting normally now.
He had been concerned about Dee since they left. He wasn't as talkative as Yakko for certain but he hadn't said a word since they left or even moved. For any Warner this simply wasn't normal.
"Remind me never to take up psychology as a career choice then." He shot back. "This place is the pits."
'I've seen worse.' Dee thought to himself.
This was his first trip to Toon Town. He wasn't impressed. Honestly he had expected more, but aside from the population being all toon it looked like any number of other smaller towns and cities surrounding the greater LA area. This part of town especially seemed a bit sparse and run down. Aside from the ratty motel the only other structures around were an equally run down gas station and a small fast food restaurant. Further into Toon Town things were more dense and wealthier but on the edges it got ugly fast. Mono markets were never stable economically.
"Welcome to casa de cucaracha people." Yakko muttered as he climbed out of the van carrying his bag.
Dee followed suit pulling his own suit case and guitar case out of the back. He was starting to wonder why he had bothered to bring it, he hadn’t had a chance to play at all. He still hadn't made a sound even though his body language showed some normalcy. Yakko decided he was probably putting on a brave front for everyone else’s sake.
'This guy is going to wind up having a breakdown if he doesn't get this out of his system.' Yakko thought. 'I just don't know if I should push him this soon.'
They followed the Doctor into the small reception area. A bored looking wart hog toon reclined behind the worn counter idly watching the television and swatting at flies. He barely looked up when the three arrived, and even then only long enough to push a book toward them.
"Sign there. How long?" He belched crudely scratching his bulging gut through a stained worn wife beater that barely contained his girth. Dee refrained from turning his nose up at the guy. Hell it wasn't his fault he was ugly. It didn't make him any worse than a lot of 'pretty people' he had known.
"Eh one day. Ve vill leave in zhe morning." Scratchandsniff replied as he produced his wallet. The hog waved it off however while he successfully smashed a fly all over his tv screen.
"Don't need that yet. Pay when you check out." He reached from his chair for a room key picking if off a peg board mounted on the wall behind him at random. He unceremoniously tossed it to the Doctor who fumbled and promptly dropped it. Dee leaned over and retrieved it from the grimy floor grabbing his luggage and starting out the door as the Hog called after him.
"On this side third room down on the right. And keep the noise down." Dee simply nodded and continued shouldering past the door without a sound. Yakko and the Doctor exchanged a look and followed him out through the squeaking portal. The Hog simply shrugged and went back to watching his television without a thought.
"What, is he afraid we'll scare his flies away?" Yakko quipped trotting up alongside Dee.
This at least got a small smile out of him. He had been trying to get something out of him since they left but without knowing how far he could push without starting a fight he was reluctant to do much more. There was still a lot he didn't know about Dee and despite his nature as a snarky motor mouth, he really did want to get along with the guy. God knows he had been through enough shit he didn't need anyone else giving him a hard time.
Dee was the first inside the room and it really wasn't that bad. It was old certainly and the carpet had a few stains he couldn't identify and there was a hole in the far wall by the sink but again he had seen worse. At least it had its own bathroom and two decent sized beds with no bed bugs and it didn't smell bad.
Tossing his suit case on the nearest bed and more gently his guitar case he stepped into the bathroom leaving the others to get settled in. Closing the door behind him he settled down to the floor placing his head between his knees. He had been on the knifes edge of control for way to long and it was beginning to break down. His breathing grew irregular and rapid losing the battle he had been fighting since he saw David again. His head swam from a mix of months of repressed emotion and hyperventilation. The room spun around him as finally relenting he lost consciousness.
"He has been in zere a long time ja?" Scratchandsniff had a talent for understatement Yakko thought. But he could understand why he might be. He just didn't want to clue Scratchy in about it if he could help it.
"I dunno I haven't been keepin up. Hey Doc if I give you some money could you grab us some food? We didn't even get lunch and its almost dark out now. I think I saw a burger place just down the road."
Yakko was hungry true enough, but he was also desperate to get him out of the room long enough for him to check on his cousin. He hid it well enough but he had heard the faint thump from the bathroom and surmised what happened.
The Doctor nodded suddenly remembering he hadn't eaten ether. In all the excitement he had forgotten. Smiling he accepted the two twenties Yakko handed him and grabbed his keys."Anyzing in particular you vant?"
"Whatever they have that's good. And fries. Lot's of fries. Can't go wrong with fries." Yakko grinned as the Doctor nodded again heading out the door. Once it was closed behind him and Yakko heard the van start and pull out his smile faded and he made his way quickly to the bathroom door. He knocked several times but got no answer.
"Dee? Dee its Yakko are you ok in there?" Pushing the door open slowly he felt it come to rest against Dee's backside. Sure enough he had passed out the second they got in the room. Fortunately he fell in a way that allowed Yakko enough room to shimmy through the gap.
Slipping inside he kneeled beside his cousin lifting his limp head and lightly slapping his cheeks as he called his name. Getting still nothing he propped him up against the wall shaking his shoulders and pushing open his eyes. Still getting nothing he settled on producing a water gun from behind his back. Aiming it at Dee's face he squeezed the trigger and doused the comatose Warner until he sputtered and mumbled incoherently his hands feebly swatting at the stream.
"Welcome back to the land of the living." Yakko smirked, putting the toy away. 
Dee looked up at him his expression confused. He was disoriented and nothing would come into focus properly. When he passed out he slumped over and his head had impacted against the hard ceramic floor leaving a small bruise under his fur and a giving him a mild concussion. Not as dangerous for a toon as a human, but they still disoriented him.
"What happened?" He croaked looking around as if the bathroom walls would give him some clue.
"You passed out. We are in a motel room in Toon Town. You are Dee Warner my loyal servant and pastry chef." Yakko grinned as Dee focused on his face and his expression turned sour.
"Chef...The fuck am I wet? Did you pee on me?" Dee looked at his soaked shirt and pants. Dammit the only other clothes he had were his denim overalls. Everything else he packed was guitar equipment. Things were coming back to him now. The trip, The Doctor, David, That funky hog and his damn flies.
"For free? Oh a first date? Hardly. It's water you perv. And you're welcome by the way. I just saved your life. Well ok your dignity, but still." 
Yakko chuckled as he helped Dee to his feet half carrying the wobbly Warner to the nearest bed.
"My underwear is wet...I hate wet underwear." Dee mumbled flopping down on the corner and slumping.
Before Yakko could reply Dee began stripping right there his modesty long forgotten. Stumbling out of his clothes and tossing them aside he motioned for his suit case. Yakko balked, turning a bright red and tried not to look as he opened his cousins suit case and tossed him his overalls, and the only spare pair of boxers he brought. Everything else was cables and effects pedals and a small practice amp.
"Next time we make a trip we need to have a conversation about priorities Dee." Yakko scowled at the contents. He turned as he heard a thump but Dee had only lost balance and hit the wall. He wasn't unconscious again, just naked and cursing while rubbing his shoulder.
"Ehhhhhh and how to get dressed while sitting." He quipped.
Remembering his modesty he turned again having already seen Dee’s everything a second time. ‘H-holy-!’ He thought, fidgeting. He couldn’t help his self. Curiosity got the better of him as he glanced, as subtly as possible, over his shoulder taking in the tableau. Dee’s body was well toned under all that fur, by design and by conditioning. David really had thought of everything in excruciating detail. Just the right hint of pecs, broad shouldered but not so much so that it was unsightly, and a hint of toned abs, a sparse salt and pepper treasure trail lead from beneath a tantalizing belly button to a neat white triangle of fur above a heavy looking dark gray endowment that would make even a straight man feel something. And Yakko was, despite what their show had implied, very not straight. More like a bisexual disaster. So he felt a great many things in that moment. Dee didn't seem to mind, if he noticed Yakko peek at all. Yakko assumed for the sake of his own sanity that he was still suffering from the blow to the head he received and hadn’t seen him looking.
Finally in dry clothes Dee sat back on the bed laying down to keep the room steady. The mattress was stiff but it still felt nice to be laying down after the day they had gone through. He looked toward Yakko who still had his back turned his arms crossed in front of him. For someone who had done nothing but fight and argue with him since they had met Yakko had gone through an awful lot for him in the past month. It told him all he needed to know about Yakko Warner. He felt he could trust him now. He smiled to himself and looked to the ceiling. Nether had expected this trip to be as informative as it had been despite the disaster that wrought it.
"Yakko?"
"Yeah?" Yakko’s back stiffened.
"Thanks." Dee looked at the pattern of cracks and swirling stucco on the ceiling feeling a strange mix of release and guilt. He supposed the latter would always be there to some degree. He would have to learn to cope with it. He felt lucky in that regard. Few people got the kind of closure he had. Was it closure? It was still ongoing. But whatever, he still felt he had made the right choice.
"Don't mention it." Yakko responded turning to him as he visibly relaxed.
Both heard as the Van pulled up again the lights glaring in the window. It had turned dark and Yakko remembered food. His stomach gnawed at him at the thought. It would do them all some good to get something in them. Yakko opened the door for the Doctor and helped him get things inside turning the dead bolt once everything was settled. He doubted there we're any people around here dumb enough to break into a motel room but you couldn't be too careful.
"Vhy are your clothes vet?" The Doctors question grabbed Yakko's attention. He wished he had hidden that. Or found a drier way of waking his cousin.
"I fell in." Dee replied wobbling over to the table and grabbing a fist full of fries as Yakko ripped one bag open to lay flat against the table using it as a makeshift plate.
The response caught him off guard and Yakko laughed for the first time that day. He was glad he could make jokes again. The silence was really starting to get to him. The Doctor simply shrugged and stepped over the mound of clothes and into the bathroom.
"He's a strange misguided little man. But I think his heart is in the right place. Just needs to learn to relax." Dee mumbled grabbing a burger and taking a large bite. They were all the same so it didn't matter which one he grabbed.
"Yeah good luck with that, we've been trying for years. His girlfriend loves us though. It drives him nuts too." Yakko grinned and winked.
"Wait someone is dating that? Humans are weird." Dee mumbled past a mouthful of fries.
"No arguments there. Still there is hope for them yet. Well some of them." Yakko sighed wistfully. "What the world might be like if everyone thought more like Warners."
"The news would be more entertaining." He replied grinning.
"Yeah could ya imagine?" Yakko grinned back.
Both went back and forth most of the night talking about whatever came to mind, joking jibing and laughing. Yakko knew they both needed the emotional release that only toons truly felt from laughter. Dee especially seemed grateful to have something to talk about that wasn't dire or life altering and for a moment things seemed normal. Even the Doctor seemed to relax even though he sat off by himself watching the television as he ate.
Things continued like that till none of them could remain awake. It was still early but everyone was road weary and emotionally drained so with Yakko and Dee taking one bed and Scratchandsniff taking the other they turned in. Dee and Yakko passed out almost the instant their heads hit the pillows, quietly snoring. The Doctor fell into a deep and dreamless sleep a short time later.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter six: Homeward bound.
Waking up was hell. It was becoming an ongoing theme of late. Yakko cracked an eye open as the one single gap in the heavy curtain over the motel rooms window focused pure glowing evil straight into his eye. He tried to turn his back to it only to discover that in the night Dee had rolled over and he was being spooned from behind, naked as a newborn, with an arm and leg coiled around Yakko, breathing quietly against the back of his neck.
'Whats with this guy and the concept of personal space?' He blushed for the third time in the past twelve hours, feeling an acute warmth and pressure against his back alarmingly far up his spine.
For once Yakko was the first one awake in the room. The Doctor had done all the driving so he was even more tired than they were. Dee showed no signs of being anywhere near consciousness ether. No he just lay there breathing in Yakko's ear now, clinging to him like a cheap suit. Peeling Dee's arm and leg from around him Yakko slid carefully out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. His mouth tasted like old burger and he was on the verge of having a potty emergency Wakko would be proud of. Damn soda.
Dee awoke sprawled out on an empty bed the morning light boring into the back of his skull via his retina. He never could sleep very well by himself, it just didn't feel natural. And it didn't help that light focused from the window like a laser right on his face. He sat up slowly, carefully testing the sore spot on his head. The bruise wasn't as bad as he had feared but it still sucked. Yakko was in front of the small sink on the far wall brushing his teeth. The Doctor was still curled in a ball sucking his thumb. He had to shake his head at that. Nothing 'inner' about that mans child.
Rolling out of bed he stumbled toward the bathroom waving numbly as he passed Yakko and kicking aside his still damp clothes from last nights little episode. He had to scold himself as he recalled the previous nights events. Normally he was able to keep a lid on even the most difficult situation but he had noticed that ability slipping of late. He knew all to well the consequences if he couldn't keep his emotions in check.
Yakko spit a mouthful of toothpaste foam into the sink then grinned up at his disoriented cousin. He was no more a morning person than Yakko was. "Try not to fall in this time."
"No promises chief." Dee muttered. "Gonna hit the shower. You need one to?"
“U-um?” Yakko sputtered, looking to the doctor then back to Dee.
Dee simply shrugged and grinned. "Saves time and water." He offered. He had slept naked, and that state hadn’t changed when he roused. He leaned in, looking at the doctor’s prone form as he spoke low. “Besides, I thought you might want another look.” He reached over Yakko grabbing his own toothbrush, his chest pressed against Yakko’s shoulder just a little too long as he popped it into his mouth with a wink, turning to the bathroom, his tail swaying just so as he stepped in.
Yakko dithered in indecision as the shower water started to run. He fidgeted as Dee finished brushing his teeth while the water warmed. He looked back to the doctor several more times before, biting his lower lip, he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
It seemed like Dee was back to his annoying self which was a relief actually. Otto was learning it was when he was quiet and normal acting that something was wrong. He really had been worried despite their constant sparring.
He watched as both toons bantered and quipped, both seeming a great deal more relaxed than in the previous day. Dee especially seemed like he had a great weight removed from his shoulders. And while Yakko still seemed nervous he was a lot less irritable than he had been.
He took the opportunity to tend to his grooming, since both had showered while he slept. They must have roused early if they both had time for that. He wished they had awakened him as well, though part of him was glad they hadn’t. It had been a long road trip and promised to be another long one back.
“I am going to shower as vell. Then we can check out und get breakfast, ja?”
“Ja!” Both responded in unison.
“Okay, zhat’s a new one.” He mused, mostly to his self, as he stepped into the bathroom.
Dee and Yakko both watched him close the door, listening for the water to start, as Dee’s arms went around Yakko from behind, hugging him warmly. “Are you ok?” He was genuinely concerned. 
“I am.” Yakko replied softly, leaning back against him. “I don’t think he will bother us much after this. Hopefully all those contacts he made keep him out of our hair for a good long while.” He jerked his head toward the bathroom door. Turning to face Dee he whispered in his ear, earning a smile from the taller toon. “Yeah, we have time.”
The sound of running water ceased some 20 minuets later as Yakko was packing. He heard some muttered curses through the door as Otto stepped out wrapped in a soaking wet towel and frowning holding up another towel that was little more than a glorified wash rag. “Why is zhis the only dry one left? How much does it take to dry off? You’re not even zhat tall!”
"Dammit Otto put some clothes on." Yakko rolled his eyes turning to look at the wall or anything else really. Geez of all the things he didn’t need to see.
“I’m wet!” He groused, trying to get the most out of the microscopic towel as he could. "Und zhis thing the only dry alleged towel in the whole bathroom! I'll be lucky if I can get halfway dry vhis it, so you just have to bask in mein glory till I'm dry."
"Yeah that's great but could you please go be naked somewhere else?" At this point Yakko was certain he was doing this on purpose.
"You would never make it in a high school locker room chief." Dee shook his head making his way back to the bed pulling the top sheet off handing it to Otto to use as a towel. It wasn't terribly absorbent but it was better than nothing.
"Well it's a good thing I'm not in school then isn't it? And seriously if I have to look at his junk one more time I'm gonna spew." Yakko scowled.
Scratchandsniff huffed indignantly and accepted the blanket, turning on his heel to return to the bathroom, the door closing behind him once again as Yakko sighed in relief. “Finally. That’s an image that will linger.” Old man boobs were not on the itinerary.
Dee couldn’t help but laugh at Yakko’s sour expression, content to spectate as the two sniped at each other. In his own way the doctor had managed to learn to loosen up and meet Yakko on his own terms. Something that likely took Yakko years to train into him. He doubted Scratchandsniff even noticed he was doing it.
“You know what he’s doing, right?” He pointed to the door.
Yakko paused before the irritated facade melted and he turned to him with a wicked grin. “It’s working. It’s taken a decade, but it’s finally working.” He wrung his hands like a comic book super villain. “And once I’m done with him, I’ll move on to Plotz! Muahaha!”
“Not the nurse?” Dee tilted his head quizzically. 
“Nah she’s already looney. She’s actually one of his patients believe it or not. Ralph is too, but for different reasons.” Yakko gestured to his head with a twirling finger.
“That one came off like he needs training wheels and a helmet.” It was Dee’s turn to make a sour face, remembering the guard. It had taken the better part of a week for him to recover from the ass beating his sister gave him, and he still somehow managed to act like it had never happened, putting on a tough face when they were moved into the Termite Terrace replica. One had to question how he managed to get by with so little object permanence. 
At that moment Otto emerged once again, mostly dry and thankfully dressed this time, discarding the blanket on the nearest bed. “Thank you Dee, your idea vhas not perfect, but it vas better than drying off vhis ein rag und prayers.”
"Told ya chief." Dee's grin widened as he tucked his gloved hands in his pockets. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to empty the tank before we head out.” He stepped past the doctor, closing the door behind him.
The last time he had been in here alone he had to fight to keep from hitting the floor. He still had a slight headache from his short fall in the bathroom but sorting things out with his cousin and a decent nights sleep had improved his mood greatly. Enough that he felt he could face his sister and brothers questions when they got back at least.
‘Ok he’s a lot cuter than the last guy at least.’ Yakko crossed his arms looking at a young male cat toon that was now behind the desk accepting the Doctors money. 
A nights sleep had not improved Yakko's opinion of the small motel though. It still looked grimy and worn and even the air felt dirty. He would shower again when they got back to the lot. He badly wanted the smell of this place off of him and his back ached from the unyielding mattress he had lain on.
The Doctor even seemed to notice the damp mustiness the place exuded. He had been dry after just a few minuets of standing in the bathroom with a blanket wrapped about him, he had no fur to contend hair for that matter. Yet even in the California heat it felt strangely moist here. There had to be some strange tick of physics at play for the very air to have a flavor.
Two Hundred dollars left. The Doctor examined his dwindling resources and sighed. He had enough for breakfast and gas for the return trip but he wouldn't have much left over. He would have to remember to make a withdrawal from the bank this week to cover his work week expenses. He just hoped Plotz would reimburse him like he said he would. To say the little man was tight fisted with his money was an understatement. Scratchandsniff was beginning to think he had an obsession with money that bordered on neurosis.
Thanking the toon behind the desk he made his way out the door followed by Yakko and Dee. They were discussing what to eat for breakfast. Dee had suggested the same place he went to last night, but honestly who wants to eat greasy meat first thing in the morning? They all decided to find a place outside of Toon Town once they got underway.
The drive back was fairly smooth sailing until they got off the interstate. Back in Burbank things were again hopelessly snarled and the Doctor let a few choice words fly that amused the Warners to no end when someone cut him off. They laughed hysterically as he weaved through traffic struggling to get in the right lane for the next exit.
"Gotta love the traffic here it never fails to entertain."" Dee mused with a grin, watching cars plod weave and speed around one another.
"Or maim." Yakko added, as a guy on a motorcycle buzzed past them at an inadvisable speed straddling the lanes. “How does a species population get this large when they have no sense of self preservation? At least when we do it, we know we can’t die.”
"I think vhen I get back I'm going to take up drinking." Scratchandsniff muttered gripping the wheel so tightly his hands ached.
"Do that and we really will mess with you." Yakko warned. He was having none of that. He had seen his share of substance abuse and what it did to these idiot hairless monkeys.
Something about his tone told the Doctor he wasn't kidding. Thinking back on it the Warners always did seem to go after actors and staff the most at parties where alcohol or worse was served. They had always employed a zero tolerance policy concerning substance abuse of any kind. It was one of the few things about them he took comfort in. They would never be alcoholics or drug addicts. They had always been to strong mentally to fall back on self destructive behavior as a coping mechanism. But if he didn't get out of this traffic soon he couldn't promise the same for himself.
Arriving finally at the lot Yakko let out a sigh of relief. Home again. Well not precisely since the tower was out of commission but close enough. Just three more weeks and the place would be theirs again. Even now he could see the tell tale flickers of welding torches and if he listened close enough he could even hear the screech of grinders. The structure was being cut in half and raised and a second floor created inside. They assured them that it would look no different from the outside if you didn't know what to look for. He would notice, but it hardly mattered.
After sitting in a van so long all three opted to walk from the Doctors parking space at his office back to the bungalow. A bit of a workout for Scratchandsniff but just a brief warm up for the Warners. Anything to get the blood flowing again even though they had to lug around their luggage.
"That's it. Next time I’m leaving my guitar behind. I never even got to play the thing." Dee pouted.
He didn't feel right when he went a day without playing something. Since his birth he had always had a fanatical love of music. It came to him as easily as breathing and was just as integral to his existence. More to the point it helped him cope and express himself when when things got hard to deal with. He still sang to his little brother when he had trouble sleeping. A fact Psykko was loathe to admit in front of others. He was a far more sensitive toon than he liked to show. Dee however took comfort in the fact that there was more to his brother than rage and violence. David hadn't drawn him quite as insane as he thought.
There was another thing that gave him some hope. If at the height of his madness David couldn't complete what he had set out to do and create a toon that would kill, then maybe there was a chance he could recover too. Maybe there is a shred of humanity left in him. Despite his words at the asylum Dee couldn't bring himself to totally give up on his creator. Even if he had given up on Dee.
They finally arrived at Termite Terrace with Scratchandsniff lagging behind puffing like a locomotive. It was a brisk walk for a toon sure but for a human it was decidedly more strenuous. Especially if he was as old as Scratchandsniff.
'Back again.' Yakko had begun to appreciate the virtues of a house you didn't have to climb to get into but he would be glad to be back in his own room and his own bed. 'Three more weeks and this debacle will be over with.' He reminded himself. Its not that he hated the situation that much really, he and his siblings lived in tight quarters for decades, but as their situation had improved since the show, he found that he missed having his own space.
Dee barely paused stopping only long enough to open the door turning the knob with his toes before stepping inside. The only one there though was Peg, curled up in the chair reading some magazine with teen idols on the cover flashing their perfect artificial smiles at the reader. She looked up only long enough to ask how it had gone.
"Not good. He's pretty messed up. I'll tell you about it later, we've been on the road since this morning. Where are the others?" Dee asked leaving his luggage against the far wall. It had taken them a lot longer than five hours to make the return trip because of all the traffic. All he wanted right now was lunch and a nap.
Yakko came in closing the door behind him. Scratchandsniff was on his way to the studio office to drop his receipts off and give Plotz any details he could about the short trip. He was certain he would be showing him tapes or transcripts of the meeting brief as it was. Toons being created as weapons may not be very effective but the concept still carried ramifications studios everywhere would need to be made aware of. There were a lot of skeletons in executive closets that could easily be outed by a determined toon with a grudge. Or worse.
"They walked over to the tower to watch them chop it up." Peg idly flipped a page sneering at it's contents. "Yeesh. They'll be back before dark. Your little brother is in trouble with the studio by the way."
"Why is he only my brother when he's in trouble? What did he do?" Dee really didn't want to deal with this right now.
"He tried to eat the tutor they introduced us to this morning. Flemheel, Flamiel, something like that. She tried to write something on his head and he swallowed half her arm. It took three people to pry him off of her." Peg grinned flipping through another page. She thought it was funny really. After all she had tried to warn them not to touch him.
"I'll talk to him about it later, right now I need food. Go get the little heathen would ya? I'm going to get supper going." Dee sighed rubbing the bridge of his nose. Can't leave them alone for five seconds.
Peg frowned but complied, tossing her magazine aside. Since coming here Dee had become such a Pollyanna. It didn't help that he was hiding things from them. She could see it in his face. Frankly it was insulting that he couldn't trust them with it. Stepping past him she approached Yakko, surprising him as he was distracted with his luggage.
"Welcome back sweetie I hope the trip was ok." She smiled at a confused looking Yakko as she walked toward the door and gave him a quick hug on her way out turning back long enough to stick her tongue out at Dee before closing the door behind her.
"Yeah I missed you to sis." Dee watched her leave.
"What was that all about?" Yakko looked between the door and Dee. Now that he thought about it she hadn't said much to Dee when they left ether. She was mad at him about something, Yakko could guess what that might be.
Dee sighed looking at the kitchen. "Pissed I didn't take her probably. You know on second thought maybe we should just order something. I really don't feel like cooking ether. Hope you got money chief I'm tapped."
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 7: Sold my soul to the company store.
"You want us to what now?" Dee looked at the tiny man, trying to figure out if this was some trick. It couldn't be that easy. And, as it turned out, it wasn't.
"I want you to work in the recording studio, doing soundtracks for some of our shows, among other things." Plotz stated matter-of-factly. "If you are to stay here you must earn your keep. And frankly this job is what you are most qualified for. I have heard about your unique abilities with all things musical. This job is tailor-made for someone with your talents."
Dee simply stared as he sat back, reclining his feet on the tiny man's desk. He regarded the man closely.
"And not just you either. All three of you." Plotz pointed to his brother and sister as well. "Also, if it turns out you three have any other talents the studio can utilize then your duties will expand accordingly. In plain English, your abilities are the property of the studio to use as we see fit. Even the original Warners still work for us in other capacities, on occasion."
Plotz sat back, resting his finger tips against one another. Insane or not, the Warners had turned out to be a gold mine back in the nineties and still managed to turn out material in the form of jokes, cartoon plots, and song parodies for other shows. What's more they showed their value during the writers strike when every human writer was renegotiating their pay.
The Warners' wages were scaled, based on the amount of chaos they caused and they had no direct control of material they produced. The studio came out ahead during those difficult times when others suffered or made painful concessions. Three more indentured writers would definitely help matters. He could afford to let go of another twelve human writers and have these three pick up the slack... if they showed a talent for it.
Thinking of the money they would save compared to the honestly minor annoyance the cousins may pose made Plotz giddy. He remained inscrutable however. Best not to tip your hand 'til the opponent folds.
"Alright chief, you win. It's not like we have much of a choice anyway." Dee shrugged. He tried to put up a good front for his brother and sister but he knew where this had been going from the start.
Their talent pool would be exploited for basically pennies on the dollar, and in exchange he and his family stayed off the streets. He knew they were painted into a corner long before this conversation took place. They had been the moment he called the cops and had David carted off. All that was left was to sign the contracts and make it official. He felt like a tool, but the payoff was worth it. At least to him.
Peg and Psykko thankfully remained quiet on the matter. He had spoken with them before the meeting about what might happen and pleaded with them to let him do all the talking. He wasn't certain they would agree to it. Especially Peg. Lately she had been as cantankerous as Slappy Squirrel and half as restrained. He knew she was stressing out over this whole episode. He also knew that sooner or later she would figure things out for herself. If he didn't let her in on this soon things could get very loud very
 quickly. They still might. Altruism it seemed was in short supply of late.
Plotz grinned pushing a folder forward on his desk. "I was hoping you would say that. Within this folder are the contracts the three of you will be required to sign. Once this is processed then you will start. A schedule will be provided within the week."
He smiled pleasantly as Dee lifted the folder, flipping through the forms with a resigned expression. He knew, by the end of the day, he would have them. This whole affair could be hushed up and locked away, just like the original Warners had been when they signed their contracts.
Dee was the first to sign. He flipped wordlessly through each form indicated, numbly jotting down his name and providing a thumb print. Peg was more vocal but still she then Psykko followed suit. And just like that it was done. In the span of fifteen minuets they had signed their lives and talent away to a faceless company for the grand sum of fifteen thousand a year per sibling. It was a pittance compared to what any human in their position would make and receive credit for. But this way the studio was bound by irrevocable contract to tend to their well being regardless of their own fiscal responsibilities. Being a toon wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
Dee sighed and leaned back on the couch, rubbing his eyes. This whole thing was far from ideal but talking with Yakko after the signing made it seem at least a little better. They would be getting more living space and money than they had living with David. And a lot more security, freedom to express themselves, and an opportunity to be heard, even if their names would never be known. It was more than they could have gotten alone. He was a noisy little snot sometimes but he made a good point. Still what if's hung over his head like a dark cloud.
Scenarios played out in his head like a bad drama, every time the subject of David was broached. He agonized over the right words to say to his sister and brother but no matter what he thought up he knew the end result would never be pleasant. He knew the sooner he said something, the quicker it could be resolved; but still he decided to wait until they had some money saved up, and Peg and Psykko were settled before he stirred things up again. A cowardly approach perhaps, but he didn't want to make a bad situation worse. Still, it all left a bad taste in his mouth.
"You know, if you keep moping like that, people are going to assume something is wrong." Dee cracked open an eye to see Yakko perched on the couch next to him.
"Oh, nothing wrong here, man. I just cheated my brother and sister out of their creator, and now I've cheated them out of any recognition for their work and enslaved them to a company they have hated since birth, is all. Oh, and I've been lying to them both, since the beginning. Hope I haven't left anything out."
"Yeah you left out the part where you possibly saved their lives. Oh, and left out the part where you found them jobs and a home, can't forget that. Self pity doesn't become you, cousin. You aren't giving your siblings much credit, ether." Yakko frowned, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Though he could hardly blame him, all things considered. Still, he knew as well as Dee that he had to keep himself together. It would be a long time before Peg and Psykko were stable enough to handle things nearly as well as any of the original Warners. A sad side effect of David's intent in his creation had been that Peg and Psykko were decidedly more volatile without the presence of a more stabilizing personality around. Things could easily spiral out of control. Still, the Warner siblings seemed to have the same effect on them that Dee had. Albeit in a different manner, they were still nevertheless in control.
Wakko's easy going personality had the most dramatic effect on Psykko. Wakko never seemed intimidated or put off by Psykko. He simply accepted him for who he was, flaws and all. They seemed to be around each other most of the time now, and he took the edge off Psykko's temper by showing him how to vent without seriously hurting anyone. Yakko had been concerned at first, but after watching them over the past two weeks, fears of assault had largely proven unfounded.
In similar fashion, Dot had taken much of the edge off of Peg. She had become a sort of refuge for Peg over the past few days, when she had blown up at her brother finally. Dee had warned it was coming and she still wouldn't talk to him if she didn't have to.
Yakko wished there was more they could do but, honestly, the rifts in their personalities would need time to heal. Destruction is easy. It's the rebuilding afterward that's hard. Still, these recent developments gave him an idea.
Dee simply shrugged and returned to watching television. As usual, there was never anything good on. Same lame ass cartoons and boring sitcoms. No adult channels ether. Bunch of goody two shoes running this place. Sighing, he turned the television off and tossed the remote aside, looking at his cousin. So much alike, but worlds apart. He envied how much more settled things must have been for them. Or maybe he just wished things were.
"What would you do? Humor me." Dee rested his head against the back of the couch, watching his cousin.
"For one, I would tell my sibs the truth. But mine are different, so ehhhhhhhhhhhhh... just do what you think is right. I can't pretend to dictate to you, and if you really are anything like me, you wouldn't listen if I tried." Yakko shrugged.
"He only copied your appearances and, if you haven't noticed, he even got that a little wrong. He had other intentions for our personalities." Dee rolled his eyes. He was growing tired of this clone business.
"Yeah I was there remember? I heard enough to get the general idea. Still, he should have known it wouldn't work. From the moment a toon is born, their mind is their own. You could never make one crazy enough to do what David wanted. Oh, there are some toons out there now that would do that just for laughs, but they weren't made that way. They came to it on their own." Yakko realized Dee knew all this but he also knew he needed to hear it from someone else. If anything, he could distract him enough to get him out of this funk he was in. He would rather have the grinning jerk back that invaded his personal space and constantly annoyed him. That Dee was a lot more fun.
Yakko sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Look, I understand some of what you're going through, ok? We are different, yeah, but we went through some of the same stuff. And yes, the contract sucks, but you will live a lot longer than any human could hope to. Fifteen grand a year for seventy odd years will get pretty big, pretty quick, if you put it all in savings. How much do you think we have saved up after this long? It's not like you will have a lot of expenses, anyway. The studio houses us, feeds us, provides just about everything we need. You won't be spending much."
"Besides, even if the humans don't know who wrote the jokes, or music, or whatever you have a hand in, everyone in Toon Town will. The studio is required to give all toons credit for contributions that are aired in Toon Town. So it's not like you'll be forgotten or anything." Yakko forced a smile but he really could empathize with him. He recalled their own contract signing and how much he wanted to strangle the board. Assholes seemed to gravitate to executive positions.
"I think our mutual friend neglected to mention that." Dee eyed Yakko.
"Yeah he's not prone to volunteer information. I should have gone with you guys, it could have saved everyone some misery and angst." He would have if he hadn't been in the middle of a project, too. Plotz must have taken this into account when he scheduled the signing. "Vicious bastard. Our special friend list is growing by the day."
"Is that him? I think I remember him." Psykko peered around the corner, looking over Wakko's shoulder.
The human looked like a heart attack waiting to happen. Almost as round as he was tall, he somehow managed to squeeze himself into the uniform that designated him as the head of security at Warner Brothers. Ironic name, now that he thought about it. Maybe it's fate after all.
"Uh huh." Wakko grinned, his tongue sticking out of his mouth.
It had been a long time since he had a reason to prank Ralph, but today was special. He had a new cousin to teach after all. Yakko's instructions had been pretty simple. Show him how to get revenge on someone without killing them. Wakko figured they should start with something simple and work up from there. And Ralph is about as simple as they came and still have a pulse. He could do this in his sleep.
"Now watch what I do." Wakko grinned wickedly as they watched Ralph leave the gate house on some errand or another. Motioning his cousin to follow him, they slipped inside, gag bag in tow.
He had to admit, Psykko had a solid grasp of the basics, and he was pretty stealthy when he wanted to be. His problem was restraint. He didn't use comedy cannons or anvils... no, he used the real thing. That, and his tendency to draw blood when he bit someone. With his teeth, that was way easier than for a normal toon with much more dire consequinces.
Satisfied with their work, Wakko motioned to his cousin to withdraw and they quietly slipped out of the guard house. It was Psykko's idea to chain several pranks together in a strange Rube Goldberg-esque sequence. They had even set a few hidden traps for whoever had to clean up the mess. Nothing they hadn't done before but never on a scale quite this big. Wakko had to wonder if it was too much but frankly the studio deserved it.
The two found a vantage point atop one of the nearby set buildings and watched as the lumbering oaf occupied his post. Psykko giggling madly behind him, Wakko watched with a set of binoculars produced from his bag. It didn't take long for the screaming to start. Wakko had forgotten how much fun this was. This was so worth the cost.
"Excuse me? What did you call me?" Peg leveled her gaze at the grinning human.
"What? Don't like being called a hottie, babe? What about chick? Hoochie? Bitch?" He and his small group of friends laughed.
"I have a name, you slimy little-" Peg interrupted.
They were all teenagers... she couldn't determine what age exactly. Actors or something, from the look of it. She hardly cared; a jerk is a jerk, regardless of station. Like all jerks, they tended to be shallow and weak-minded. This one would fold with the proper application of strength.
"Peg? Maybe we should go over there, where the gene pool isn't so shallow, hmm?" Dot tugged on her cousin's hand, trying to get her away from the jerk-wad. She couldn't blame Peg for being irritated at the cat-calls, but she looked like she was about to slug the guy. 'Definitely has a temper Slappy would be proud of.'
"One second, Dot." Peg held up a hand, sauntering over to the still grinning human. 'Dude can't take a hint for shit. His loss, my gain.' Reaching the giggling menagerie, she smiled sweetly, lightly pushing her index finger under the guy's chin and leaning in close. "Peg. My name is Peg. And next time you fail to use it? I'll flatten your sorry ass." With that, she slipped her hand behind the jackass's neck and turned into him, flipping him over her hip and sending him sprawling onto the pavement with a grunt. "Are we clear now sweetness?" Peg smiled down at him, her hands clasped daintily behind her back, her foot pressed firmly against the side of his neck, claws extended just far enough to press against his larnyx. She looked like she was enjoying this.
"Y-you're crazy! I'm calling security!" The guy stammered, as he stumbled to his feet, running toward the gate house. His friends had long since taken off in different directions, abandoning him to his deserving fate.
"You do that! I'll put him on the ground right beside you!" Peg called after him, waving and smiling brightly.
Dot had to shake her head. Not exactly lady-like, but living around two boys can do that to a girl. Dee warned her Peg was a tomboy through and through. She took no crap from anyone and had a surprisingly low tolerance for disrespect. At least she didn't mallet or anvil him. Dee had also warned her about Peg's predilection for physical violence. Dot felt she might have to call in some help on this one. She would talk to Yakko about it tonight.
She was about to lead Peg away when they heard a low explosion and screams from the direction of the guard house. They exchanged a look and quickly trotted within eyesight. What they saw caused Peg to instantly burst into laughter and Dot to rest her face in her hand. ' Wakko...'
The second the offensive teenager had opened the guard house door, a low grade explosive filled it to overflowing with a ridiculous amount of whipped cream, blasting both Ralph and the guy. Both were cursing, flailing and covered head to toe in foamy goo as the California sun quickly baked it into a sticky, smelly mess. In quick succession, two more small bombs went off, showering the whole gate house in sprinkles and fudge, startling the two victims who slipped and fell into the expanding puddle below. That's when Dot spotted them; Wakko and Psykko, running down the side of a building at full speed, carrying two jars. As they ran by, they flung the contents into the air at Ralph, covering him in cherries and juice before anyone could tell what was going on.
At this point Peg was in tears, watching the two hapless humans flop around on the asphalt like fish out of water. She had never laughed so hard in her life, and this just kept getting better and better. Even Dot had to laugh. She didn't know where Wakko had acquired food bombs, but that was going in their repertoire for certain. Dot had to wonder if Yakko was having as much trouble reigning Dee in.
"What were those things?" Dot asked Wakko. They finally caught up with them back at Termite Terrace. The terrible duo were rolling on the floor laughing, and recounting their exploits to an amused Dee and Yakko. The pair had been far too fast to even be seen, let alone identified, by either Ralph or anyone else.
"Psykko calls them condiment bombs." Wakko finally responded, gasping for breath between guffaws. "I kinda ran out of ideas for stuff to do to Ralph, and he pulled those things out. You missed everything else we did."
"They used to contain propane and gun powder." Psykko chipped in, likewise out of breath. "But Dee said we can't use stuff like that so I rearmed them. I make them out of soda and shaving cream cans, whatever is lying around. If you do it right, a toon can fit a whole lot in a single bomb." Psykko grinned wickedly.
'Great. I'm living with the freakin' uni bomber.' Dot thought sourly. It was going to be a long week, for certain. Dot had a feeling things were going to get more interesting once Plotz caught wind of it. He had all the humor of a baked potato sans the butter.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 8: You Load Sixteen Tons.
The schedule was, in a word, grueling. In part, because of the series of pranks the lot of them had been pulling on the studio since the contract signing, the schedule had grown to monstrous proportions. Cleanup, therapy bills, medical leave for staff members, the six Warners took their toll for each trespass Plotz dared to make, and in return he tied up more and more free time, till there was little left to do but sleep and eat. Dee knew there would be a price to pay but, in all honesty, it was worth every bit of it.
He and his siblings were learning valuable skills from Yakko, Wakko, and Dot in the process that they never thought they would need or use, but they discovered themselves more capable of than they could have imagined.
'Siblings.' Now that he thought about it, Yakko was right. It was a catchy word. Dee was beginning to think Yakko slept with a thesaurus, the way he rattled off obscure words and phrases with such ease.
Their exchange of knowledge was by no means a one-way street however, as Dee, Peg, and Psykko learned their musical abilities far and away exceeded the original three. Of course, they were talented in their own right, and often found themselves in the position of music instructors in advanced practice, theory, and history.
Dee's knowledge in that area proved as encyclopedic as Yakko's vocabulary. And his wit was becoming just as sharp as well, now that he had a chance to hone it. Yakko was showing him how to use it well. He was a quick study and it caught Plotz unpleasantly by surprise when Dee began to pick apart everything the CEO said and shoot it back at him, or worse yet when he and Yakko teamed up on the belligerent pygmy during one of their target practice sessions. He had been their first target since he was so easily unsettled and remained a favorite of both.
Wakko continued to work with his cousin and the results were promising, if not out right destructive. Psykko's more violent tendencies were better directed toward pranks and 'toon stunts that at least didn't put anyone in a hospital, and he almost never used his teeth on them lately. That would always be a part of his nature, Dee knew, but at least he had other options now. Wakko even gifted him one of his mallets for showing him how to make condiment bombs. The two were conspiring to make a ranged version using a 'toon cannon as well. Their first experiment caused it to rain ketchup over half the corporate office during an open air press conference, showering everyone involved and their equipment in the process.
Peg was having a little more trouble holding back. Dot had to call in a favor with Slappy Squirrel and explain the situation in detail before she would agree to come down to the lot. Slappy enjoyed her retirement and wrestling with an irritable 'toon wasn't her idea of a relaxing time. Once they met though she learned they had a lot more in common than not. Her instruction was still ongoing, and it would take longer for Peg to learn the subtle art of aggressive re-education as opposed to flat-out murder.
Dee recalled Slappy's account of the previous day...
"Hey Carrie, how're they supposed to learn anything if their dead?" Slappy had admonished Peg.
She'd learned to hate the sundry nicknames Slappy had grown fond of giving her. She was surprised at first when Dot proposed the idea, and a little put off, but it grew on her when Dot had shown her footage of Slappy's shows. She had no idea she would be such a smart ass though.
"You got lucky little boy... Run from me." She sneered, releasing the human's shirt collar and letting the coward run away, screaming and cradling a bloody nose. The same snotty slime from before at the gate house. She wasn't sure why Bucky Deathwish didn't take the hint, but she ached to end him.
She could have flattened him, wanted to flatten him, but every time she got close, the cranky squirrel or Dot jumped in the way. She wasn't interested in teaching him anything except what the business end of a mallet looked like, up close. Apologies meant nothing coming from these people, and she wasn't interested in explaining why calling her a bitch, or showing anything less than complete respect, was a fatal mistake. They should know already.
Still, she knew better than to insist. Slappy was old, but a lot more experienced than her and the last time she tried to push her limits the old bag stuffed a bomb down the front of her dress. She didn't understand why Dee insisted on these stupid lessons. If she wasn't going to learn how to use bombs that did more than blacken or daze the person, then she would stick to her fists and "Mister Stump".
It's not like humans understand anything less than a severe beating anyway. You have to be heavy handed if you're going to get anywhere. Her brother persisted though, and repeated for the thousandth time that he didn't want to see his sister in prison for killing some poor shmuck for a minor offense. As if any human prison could hold her...
'Poor Slappy.' Dee thought, shaking his head. Still, it was paying off. The guy was still alive and he hadn't said a cross word to anyone since his last run in with Peg. They never did learn his name though. However, she still hated having to hold back.
Dee, on the other hand, was pleased to no end that they were finally beginning to act like normal 'toons. This was what they had been missing, the life they should have had from the start. The simple joys of making someone laugh or scream or pull out their hair was more precious to him than any wage, any level of fame. This is the lesson Yakko intended to teach from the start. It took them several painful years to come to it and Yakko would rather have spared his cousins the misery.
'This is who we are. We aren't weapons, or tools for someone's petty revenge, we're 'toons. We have to be true to that or we wind up like those nut jobs in the asylum.' Dee recalled Yakko's words and sighed as he adjusted the tuning on his guitar, awaiting the verdict from the control room. He felt in his element, despite the extra work. He could smile without forcing it, and be himself.
The recording studio quickly became their second home, as each of the three cousins found the various instruments they were most comfortable with and proved that the studio's faith in their abilities well founded. Even the original Warners were impressed with the broad reach of genres they could master.
It was hard work, to be sure, and they were all sweating and cursing at the moment. But the act of creation and outlet it provided was its own payoff. Dee also relished the astonished looks he garnered from the human musicians as they went through various instruments, with levels of expertise even practiced players had a hard time achieving. They couldn't be happier to perform. Though this schedule was pushing it a bit.
"Lemme guess, again from the top?" Dee asked the recording room. Normally each person would record individually and they would mix the tracks together but for this piece they had everyone in at the same time.
"Yeah if you wouldn't mind and try to give us a little more on the high end, it's getting a little bassy for what we need." The bearded human behind the window responded.
"Can't you take care of that on your end?" Yakko chimed in. Lately they had been getting a lot of the same jobs. Yakko suspected it was Plotz' doing, so in the belief that they would stay out of trouble if they were all together and kept busy.
'Yeah, keep going with that theory see how far it gets you.' Yakko thought, as he popped his knuckles. He had never played so long in a single sitting and he was reaching his limit. He wanted dinner and a shower. He wanted to push Plotz head into a toilet and flush it. He wanted a leggy blonde to rub his sore shoulders and kiss him just so behind his ears. 'Sigh.'
"We will have to do it ourselves, or it won't sound the same." Dee responded.
He insisted that they not use digital enhancement for the work they did, when possible. It took the soul out of the music, so everything had to be done by hand. It made every step that much more laborious, but the end product sounded fuller and more organic.
Yakko sighed, rubbing his eyes. Dee couldn't just let it go. Everything had to meet his exacting standards and it was dragging this out a lot longer than it needed to. He was nearly as demanding as the studio had been, sometimes more. Yakko never imagined he would be such a perfectionist.
The others groaned in unison, startling Dee. Everyone was tired, and getting cranky. Even his own brother and sister were complaining. Maybe it was time to wrap this up.
"Ok Wayne, I hate to do this but I think this is our last take." Dee sighed, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.
It was getting late, he noticed, glancing at his watch. They had been at it for twelve hours straight, doing nearly thirteen songs for everything from commercial jingles to symphonic pieces for other cartoons. The one they were working on now was a more blues inspired piece, for a show called Chowder, that the original Warners seemed familiar with. Simple enough to pull off, but with everyone already tired it affected their playing.
Wayne nodded sympathetically, mashing at various controls on his console. He had been right there with them through the whole ordeal. Dee had to wonder if Plotz was pissed off at him too, or if he simply drew the short straw today. He never complained though, and he had a good ear which Dee could appreciate. He would like to work with him again if possible.
The group finally stumbled into Termite Terrace, exhausted and hungry. The sun was getting low in the sky, and it hurt to move. This would get harder when they had to climb a ladder to get to their new home. It wouldn't be much longer now before that was the case. The contractors brought in the extended section today, and were hoisting it in place when the Warners left this morning. It was up now, but they were still welding and grinding on the thing. It was noisy, hot work, and made their own task seem minor in comparison.
Still, it was good to sit down. They were surprised to find their dinner had been delivered by the studio cafeteria, and there was a lot of it. Someone out there was thinking of them at least. Psykko and Wakko quickly ate themselves into a stupor while the rest ate more moderately. It took most of the rest of the evening for everyone to take turns bathing, again except for Psykko and Wakko who were asleep in a mound on the couch. Dee decided not to disturb them and simply turned out the lights when everyone went to bed. It would feel a little strange not having Psykko in the same room but he at least knew he would be ok so he didn't let it bother him.
Yakko thought he would have to remind them to bathe tomorrow. No way was he sitting in a recording studio with two ripe Warners doing another repeat of today. Hard work he could handle, but body funk in stereo wasn't in their contract.
Morning brought the promise of leftovers for breakfast and more long hours.
The coming weeks were much of the same. Long hours of the same routine flowed into one another seamlessly. Days blurred into weeks, and the Warners stayed so busy they barely had time to think, let alone rest up for the next day. Still, they would not relent. Their limit was much higher than the executives that pushed them, and they refused to let it break them or slow their steady march toward a normal life. Normal as 'toons go, anyway.
Before they knew it, a month passed and it was time to move again. This time, back into the tower, and into a more permanent home for the Warner cousins. The process of packing proved as chaotic as the first time, Yakko remembered. No one could seem to get their heads on straight; everyone dragged their feet until the last minute and, finally, help had to be called in to get everything moved back into their old home.
Plotz had been right, though. You almost couldn't tell the difference. Almost. The outside now had the addition of a spiral staircase, wrapping around a taller tank and leading to a new exterior door, near the top. It was covered and painted the same color as the tank, so it was hard for passers by to spot, but Yakko's keen eyes picked it up instantly. The tank its self sat slightly lower within the support beams, which had been painted brighter shades of blue, red and purple. They had always intended to repaint the exterior, and this was a convenient enough excuse.
Likewise, Wakko and Dot spotted subtle changes and were pointing them out to their cousins. The down pipe from the tank was much thicker than it had been. They soon found out that they had used it to install an elevator, to reduce the risk of visitors falling to their doom and to give the overworked 'toons an easier method of entry.
Within the tower, things were again the same but different. The walls were lined with sound absorbing materials, and an extra room was added to the lower floor, to accommodate the internet room they hounded the CEO about. Another spiral staircase followed the far right wall though a door to the second story, which contained a small living room, kitchen, and three bedrooms for the cousins.

The living room contained a low wooden coffee table, flanked by over-sized bean bag chairs and a brown fabric couch. Off to one side were a small flat screen television and a DVD player. The floor was bare, but covered in a variety of rugs some of which were, in Dee's opinion, unfortunate choices of color. The kitchen was separated from the living room by a small breakfast bar and three stools. The walls and floor were lined with red and white tiles, much like the ones covering the floor of the downstairs kitchen. Along one wall, a massive built in shelf followed the sweep of the tower wall and contained an endless series of cabinets, shelves and cubby holes for various things they didn't yet own. Peg complained it would be a dust trap and she wasn't going to clean it up. Always the sunny side with her...
The bedrooms were fairly neutral and sparse, containing only a full sized bed and end table and a modest closet. It was obvious they weren't planned for anyone in particular. It would be up to them to decide who slept where and decorate accordingly.
The bathroom was fairly nice, everyone had to admit. A large walk in shower with multiple heads dominated the far wall, and the whole space was covered in travertine tiles that brightened the space. The toilet had its own small room with its own door and ample ventilation. Dee found out later, Yakko had arranged this as part of their remodel as well. Apparently there had been some issues with Wakko leaving their bathroom unusable for hours after he occupied it, so theirs was redesigned as well. He had a feeling the vent fans would be seeing a lot of use now.
All in all it was a lot of projects for the short period of time the contractors had to work with. But working round the clock with several crews they managed to pull it off.
'They are going through a lot of expense to hush all this up.' Psykko thought, as he poked around the tower. 'Even Bugs doesn't wield this much power in the studio. This can't be all Yakko's influence, so what is the missing piece?'
Everyone sort of ignored him, either because they didn't think much of him or because he just plain creeped them out, but Psykko wasn't nearly as dumb as everyone seemed think. He had been relatively quiet and compliant since they arrived. Oh, he caused his share of trouble, sure, but mostly he watched and listened. No one told him anything, least of all Dee. He knew he was trying to protect him from something, but he was determined to find out just what. All that was missing were the rest of the pieces to this twisted puzzle.
Dee may be willing to settle, and strive for normality, but as far as he was concerned there would be no lasting peace until he found out exactly what happened to David, and why they were being locked away. A prison is still a prison, no matter how gilded the cell. He swore to himself that, when he found out who was responsible, food bombs would be the least of their problems.
He smiled broadly to himself, his multitude of teeth grinding, eyes gleaming and predatory. Complacency was his enemy right now. No level of comfort would chain him. Soon enough everyone would learn not to underestimate Psykko Warner. Least of all those pigs in corporate, or that stump of a man, Plotz.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 9: Life's Little Lessons.
Peg awoke to the sound of her alarm clock. Seven thirty came early, and her entire body ached. Groaning and rolling aside, she reached over her baby brother to turn the infernal contraption off. 'Poor Psykko...' She mused, looking down at him curled up at the edge of the bed. He wasn't the only one that had trouble sleeping alone, and in the middle of the night he had come into her room, unable to find sleep. Needless to say, it was a bit of an adjustment for all of them having so much extra space to rattle around in.
Life with David had been cramped, frantic and crazy; but it had been all they ever knew. Concepts like modesty and privacy were luxuries they could ill afford and never concerned themselves with. Things were changing far too much, far too quickly for her tastes.
Peg leaned down and kissed her baby brother on the head, and gently stroked his ears as he whimpered and squirmed in his sleep, his face scrunching into a cute grimace before he slipped back into his dreams. She smiled down at him. He put on a tough face, but she knew how sensitive he really was. This all had to be affecting him worse than either herself or Dee.
Dee. He used to tell her everything. They held nothing back from each other, but lately, since David was gone, he became so secretive and distant, preferring instead to confide in their oldest cousin Yakko. She saw the stress on his face, she heard it in his voice. 'Why won't he talk to me anymore? What has him so bothered? Asshole better speak up soon or I'm going to beat it out of him.'
Peg sighed and rolled out of bed, her back and neck cracking in the process. They were supposed to have the day off after working for a solid week in the sound stage. She was sore all over, but their end product had gained the attention of several notable artists that recorded there as well. A fact they were all inwardly proud of, though none of them showed it. But no day off for Peg. Today held the promise of yet more lessons in restraint with Dot and that damn squirrel. Psykko at least got to have fun with his lessons, and Dee and Yakko simply hung out pissing people off.
Everything that involved her always seemed to be about not beating people up too badly and talking too damn much. 'Have fun with it.' They said. 'It's more fun to drive them crazy!' They said. To Peg, it sounded like a lot of trouble for the same end result.
"Your cartoons would be very, very short... And boring." Slappy said pointedly. "You're about as funny as a funeral. You're a 'toon kid, learn to have fun with it."
"I don't have a cartoon and I never will. Dammit Jim, I'm a musician not an actor." Peg shot back.
"Oh! A pop culture reference! That was almost funny there! You stay up all night writin' that one?" Slappy grinned, her eyes carrying both appraisal and threat of escalation. If she could draw Peg into some kind of dialogue, at least she could teach her something.
"At least she's trying." Dot chipped in, trying to soothe a glaring Peg.
She was right about that, at least. Slappy had noticed a gradual change in Peg over the weeks. She still had a lot of anger in her, but that wasn't much of a problem as far as Slappy saw. Hell, people accused her of worse. But it had been days since she had attempted to flatten her with that monstrous mallet of hers. She always failed when she tried, of course, and got herself blown up for her troubles.
Slappy didn't think that was what had made her stop though. Fear never factored in with people like her. It wasn't humor either. Peg was stressing out about something, Slappy knew it, and it was distracting from everything she did lately. Or maybe she just knew her well enough now to recognize the signs. All of these new cousins kept things close to the vest, it seemed. The oldest especially. 'Mister cool eh? Yeah, if you're anything like your sister here, something is very wrong. And if I'm gonna keep this up then one of you mugs is gonna tell me what.'
Peg growled, but finally relented with a sigh, waving the squirrels comment off. It didn't matter really. People can talk shit all they want but she didn't care. It wasn't as bad as some of the things she said to her over the past week. 'It's like she wants me to attack her.' She thought, looking away from them both. Needing to think about something else, she turned her attention to the weather.
It was hot outside today. Hot, and too damn bright. Seattle, or perhaps the north pole, were starting to look more attractive to her at this point. At least she wouldn't go blind from the sun trying to bore a hole in her visual cortex. Pondering the weather at least distracted her from her current task, dealing with Dot and miss wrinkle factory, both of whom were staring intently at her. She cut her eyes back to the small group, annoyed.
"What? What do you want?" She stared back.
Her thoughts kept straying back to her brothers and her friends. Everything Slappy said lately ran together, unless she antagonized her first and even that only got cursory attention. She couldn't drum up enough anger or hate in herself to attack the old woman anymore. She just wanted her life back. She wanted to see David and her friends again, and hang out at the corner store like they used to. Change never came easy to her and she valued her friends and family above all else.
Slappy simply shrugged, and started back into her lesson as if the whole interruption never happened. She was sometimes as inscrutable as Dee and could play it cool just as easy. It was a quality Peg had always been jealous of in Dee, and often wished she could do the same. She was always the one to throw punches first and ask questions later. She couldn't be what was not within her. So stand there she did, listening to the gray squirrel drone on about anvils and when to drop them and how.
Some three hours later, Peg sat against one of the set buildings downing bottled water and wishing she could blot out the sun for a couple months. Rain. A couple solid weeks of rain just so she could see without squinting or wearing shades. That would be nice.

Dot plopped down beside her suddenly, offering a piece of fruit she pilfered from one of the catering carts inside. Often anything meant for actors and staff during a shoot was left unattended or flat out forgotten so it was no great task. Still, the gesture was appreciated. Accepting the proffered apple, Peg briefly smiled for the first time that day. In some ways they shared some traits. Dot had a nasty temper herself and Peg had seen it first hand a couple times, though it took much more to push her that far. It was impressive that such a small girl could handle herself so well. Much of the staff on lot actually feared her or found an excuse to be elsewhere when she showed up. It was something Peg wished she could do, but she knew it would take time before she built up such a formidable reputation here.
"So what's on your mind, kid?" Dot smiled back at her irritable cousin. "Slappy got you down? Don't let it bother you too much, she's like that with everyone."
Peg shook her head, staring at the apple just to have something to focus on. "No, it's not that, I'm getting used to her. I just... miss my friends, ok? I miss David. Hell, I miss that tiny little room we all slept in even." She signed in frustration. "I don't even know why I'm telling anyone this. I just want to go back home is all." Puzzled at her outburst Peg shook her head. She never told anyone what was on her mind. Even her own family rarely got a glimpse into what she was thinking. She was the fixer, not the problem. It all sounded so stupid coming out of her mouth and she hated herself for it. Cursing under her breath, she took a bite from her apple before she said anything else to make herself look dumb.
"This is home now." Dot responded pointedly. She could understand though. She tried hard to make her cousin feel at home but she knew nothing could replace her old life. Ultimately, it was up to Peg to adapt and cope with the changes. But change doesn't come easy for anyone, least of all a Warner. Watching Peg and the others had been like getting a glimpse into their own past. Remembering how hurt they had been, the revenge they plotted against the studio and their inevitable incarceration. The elder Warners found themselves talking about it a lot recently. She had forgotten how angry they were. Being around their new cousins dug up a lot of long buried emotions.
"I know that. Doesn't make it easier to swallow. I still get lost in this place, and...people stare. It pisses me off." Peg muffled past a mouthful of fruit. Dammit, she did it again. What the hell was wrong with her? Where is all this coming from?
"You know us. You have your family still. That's all that really matters right? Besides, everyone stares at us, too. It's not a bad thing is it?" Dot smiled again, flashing her dimples at her cousin.
She had a way of disarming her that Peg found irksome. It really annoyed the hell out of her that it had any effect at all, let alone to this degree. It was like she just absorbed all the anger and turned it into something else, something more unsettling. Sort of like the feeling she had this morning, staring down at her baby brother. This left no doubt in Peg's mind that of all of them, Dot had to be the most evil entity on the entire lot. The realization sent a faint chill down her spine. She wondered if Slappy ever felt this way around Dot. It wouldn't surprise her if she did, since she seemed to have a soft spot for her. Enough so that she endured Peg's temper on a weekly basis, trying to teach her something about what being a "normal 'toon" is. Suddenly, Peg's opinion of the Squirrel softened a bit. 'Shit. As if she has a choice.'
Psykko wandered about their kitchen in his underwear, poking about for something to eat, when Wakko popped his head in, his tongue hanging out of his mouth and a big silly grin on his face. Dee waved to him from the living room as he idly picked out some tune on his worn Telecaster, barely decent himself. With Peg gone, there was no one to yell at them for being lazy about decency. Wakko waved back and turned back to his cousin, grinning and holding up a soda can, the business end covered in electrical tape and a familiar black mass.
"Izzat what I think it is?" Psykko grinned widely.
Even though he had shown Wakko how to make them last week, it still took a lot of practice using his 'toon abilities to fit so much into such a small space. It had taken Psykko countless months and tests to master them, and still flubbed enough that making a stable one was an accomplishment. Wakko had only recently begun to make them himself, but with his greater experience he was proving to be a superior engineer and learned quickly.
"Uh huh. Made it yesterday. This ones full of gravy." He beamed.
His first solo models had been less than successful, more often than not showering him with their contents through premature detonation or simply not going off at all. The fuse was a complicated mechanism, full of small parts, and it took some real concentration to get the quantity right on the contents so it would have the desired effect. He was proud of this one, though.
Psykko grinned wider still, his multitude of shark-like teeth glinting in the fluorescent light overhead. Remembering his own engineering endeavors, he jerked his head toward his bedroom. "Come on, I'll show ya somethin' else I'm workin' on."
He liked Wakko. They both had an aptitude for mechanics, and Wakko possessed a capacity for destruction that rivaled, if not surpassed his own, when he had a determination to do so. He could appreciate that in a person. Wakko, much like himself, was also neigh unstoppable when angered, though unlike Psykko it took herculean efforts to make him so.
He was currently working on an over sized repeating catapult device that would fling anything he could think to place on it as far as he liked. Their cannon idea had proven less than stable, when, on the last test, it backfired and exploded, covering both with soot and setting Psykko's hair aflame. He had decided on a less combustible solution instead.
"What do you think?" Pulling the blueprint from under his bed, and setting it atop the sheets, he unfurled the roll, drawing his cousin's attention away from the results of his recently redecorated room.
On moving in, he had decided that the first thing he needed to do was repaint the bland walls, ceiling, and floor, which now looked like aged brass with a patina that seemed to run down the walls and collect on the floor as if water ran along it for an extended period. His walls were covered in posters of Tim Burton movies and some of his own art depicting his favorite villain, The Joker. The space was dotted with various lamps, strobe lights, and plasma balls, some of which he pilfered from the studio warehouse. They provided more subdued lighting that didn't hurt his eyes. He and his sister both were photosensitive, and the sun irritated them to no end. The effect was, in his brother's words, 'disturbing', but he liked it.
"Ohhhhhhhhhh Faboo! What's the range?" Wakko took the blueprints, holding them up in the low light, looking them over as he crunched the numbers in his head. He wasn't nearly as dumb as everyone (save own his sibs) thought, and figured quickly they could probably fling a hundred pound projectile at least half a mile with this. He could also guess what his belligerent cousin ultimately planned to do with it, which was fine by Wakko, as long as it didn't take it too far.
"Don't know yet. We gotta build it first. Probably take a lot of tweaking to get it right though. I got plans for this baby, so I want it to work right the first time." Psykko shrugged, glancing over his plans again and going through the measurements for the tenth time that day.
"It'll take a while to get the materials for this, too. Can't do this cheap or it'll go all ACME on us." Wakko replied, thoughtfully rubbing his chin.
"Wonder how far we could fling Plotz with this." Psykko grinned, looking over Wakko's shoulder and confirming his cousin's suspicions. Without missing a beat, Wakko replied with his trademark lazy grin.
"Three hundred fifty two meters. Depending on windage and whether or not he indulged at the cafeteria. He's quite fat you know."
"Aww I was hoping he would clear the lot... Maybe if we beef up the tensioners..." Psykko idly rubbed his nose. He had intended from the beginning to plop that pompous wind bag onto this thing the moment he could prove his involvement in their detention. It would serve him right if he flung him clear out of Burbank.
"You don't want to take it that far, Psy, trust me. Besides, if he's gone who will be left to torment?" Wakko grinned wider.
Beneath the grin he could sympathize with his cousin. Not for the first time that month, he thought about their own rampage on the lot, and the debt the studio still owed them. He had been horrified back then, when he found himself on the edge of control, and what he almost did to the then CEO. Visions of his own face reflected in shattered glass strewn about the floor, twisted in rage, his mallet raised high overhead with the cowering human at his feet. The sense of control he felt at that moment had been terrifying and intoxicating all at once, and for an instant he knew what it was like to be a human. It was only by his own brother's hand that he stopped short. The look on Dots face that day still jerked him back down to earth when he felt his temper rise too far. Inwardly he shuddered.
"Maybe...We will see. Either way he's gonna pay." Psykko again bared his teeth as wrath bubbled to the surface.
Wakko had been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise less than ideal situation for Psykko, and made their detention more bearable if not acceptable. A few times they talked about it, and Wakko didn't seem to mind the studio or Plotz too much. But as Psykko discovered it took a lot to really get under Wakko's skin. He couldn't say the same for himself and he fought hard to be like his brother and be calmer. He wanted to be in control and wanted Dee to be proud of him. But sometimes he couldn't contain it and lost himself, despite his best wishes to do otherwise.
A few times, Dee had to hold him back when people would stare or insult him or his family. Lately, he found himself becoming just as reactive when people messed with his cousins as well. He knew they could take care of themselves, but logic never factored in when family was involved. He had run on instinct so long that it took real effort to think things through before he acted. He wished he could be more normal like his brother, but it always seemed to elude him, no matter how hard he tried. He hated the way people looked at him, always recoiling or stepping away, refusing to even look him in the eye. He wasn't a monster, he thought, just over passionate sometimes. The realization came to him at that moment that Wakko was probably the first real friend he ever had, and looking at his cousin, examining his blueprints, he felt the rage drain from his face.
"Say what now?" Dee asked again. Plotz muttered something on the other end of the line he couldn't make out, and repeated himself for the fifth time. Dee grinned to himself. This was more fun than irritating Yakko.
"There is a meeting of our recording staff and some other industry movers on the lot tomorrow night, and I want you six to be there. They have been asking about some of your work, and frankly anything that gets the studio attention will draw in investors." Plotz had to consciously stop his eye from twitching. He never thought it was possible to hate the Warners more than he did, but this Dee character filled him with incomparable dread every time he heard his voice. Frankly, any level of conversation at this point was unbearable, even over the phone. He could feel his smug little eyes staring at him, waiting for him to leave an opening, with that big dumb grin of his. He ground his teeth, and waited for his response, swearing if he said "what" again, he was going to scream.
Dee sighed, feigning exasperation, running his hand through his hair for effect. Even if Plotz couldn't see it, he could hear it in his voice. "You know if you keep mumbling like this no one is ever going to understand you, chief."
"What is it?" Yakko chimed in, as he stepped into the room. He caught the look on Dee's face, and grinned to himself. He recognized that look now. 'Ah, but they grow up so fast.'
"I dunno man, something about a studio thing, be there tomorrow night... the details are a bit fuzzy. How do you ever understand this man when he talks?" Dee winked at his cousin, as his little brother giggled from his nest of pillows and blankets in one of the beanbag chairs in the living room.
"Dammit, you heard me just fine! Tomorrow night! Eight o'clock! Building five! Suit and tie! All of you be there!" Plotz screamed into the phone turning red in the face. Oh how he loathed that toon.
Dee held the phone away from his face, jerking his thumb at it to Yakko and his brother, before turning back to his conversation.

"Wait, what? I couldn't make out that last part." Dee couldn't keep the smile out of his voice this time as Plotz screamed incoherently into the phone, and slammed the receiver down.
The three Warners laughed, shaking their heads at the inflammable man, Psykko rolling out of his bean bag chair in the process. He had been there for the whole thing, and his brother was getting good at driving people insane, especially Plotz. And people said he and Peg had a temper.
As if on cue, his sister came up the stairs with Dot, both shooting Dee a questioning look.
"What's going on?" She and Dot asked in unison.
"We got a job that doesn't involve breaking our backs for once. Tomorrow night there is some industry shindig at building five and they want us all there. We gotta dress up for it though." Dee smiled, stuffing his gloved hands in his pockets.
Peg groaned. Great, more people. "A whole lot of trouble getting fancy, just to impress people we don't care about so we can stand in a room full of them and talk about nothing?" Peg frowned.
"Oh yes, but we get paid." Dee responded.
"Fun times." Yakko chipped in.
"Can wait!" Psykko beamed, flailing his arms and legs from the floor in a vain attempt to escape from his cocoon of bedding.
At least they looked good. Psykko admired his suit in the mirror, adjusting his hat, his brother towering behind him. The black and yellow pinstripe zoot suit looked nice, he thought. A yellow button down shirt, and black tie brought it together as well. He even got a matching hat and gold pocket watch. The clothes had been provided by the studio shortly after the contract signing for this express purpose. Plotz hadn't been to keen on the idea of them dressing up like prohibition era gangsters, but they thought it looked cool. 'If you gotta be fussy about clothes you might as well wear what you like.'
Dee likewise looked snappy in his suit. Black and red with a red shirt and black tie this time, but exactly like his brother's in every other respect. They hadn't bothered with shoes. Frankly none of the ones the studio could have made would fit properly or be terribly comfortable.
He posed in front of the mirror he shared with his brother, running a gloved finger along the wide brim of his hat dramatically, making Psykko giggle.
"Who's ya daddy?" He winked at his reflection and slid across the bathroom floor, stepping out and into the living room before stopping in his tracks. "Whoa..."
Peg stood impatiently next to the couch, tapping her foot and staring at the clock. She looked stunning in her twenties style aquamarine 'one hour dress' covered in sequins. She had a silver sequin purse and a long aquamarine and topaz bead necklace to complete the look, with diamond earrings that Dee knew had to be fake, but still looked great on her. The overall package was breath taking. He wasn't used to seeing his sister like this, and felt a small pang of protective instinct creep up on him.
"What? What took you so long? And I thought girls spent a long time in the bathroom..." She frowned, noticing his stare.
"You can grouse all you want sister, but you look beautiful." Dee walked up to his sister, placing his hand under her chin gently taking her in.
She stifled a smile with some effort and pushed his hand away, looking to the door, then to the lower floor, suppressing the blush that threatened her stoic demeanor.
"Yeah well, we're gonna be late if you two don't get the lead out. Everyone else is waiting downstairs, and I'm headin' that way too. So move it!" She stalked out the door, slinging her purse over her shoulder and closing the door behind her with a little force for emphasis. Allowing herself to smile finally, she headed down the stairs, blushing lightly. 'Big jerk had to go and say something sweet.'
Yakko and Wakko were talking animatedly in their living room, Wakko's arms flailing about, as Peg descended the stair case, but that stopped as soon as they saw her. Yakko's mouth hung open mid-sentence, his powers of vocabulary failing him as all that escaped his lips was a goofy 'duuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhh' sound. Wakko pointed and laughed at his brother until he looked behind him and saw her for himself, his jaw going slack, the finger he pointed at Yakko deflating like a leaking balloon.
Yakko was in a fetching black and white tuxedo, and for some reason had donned a monocle, while Wakko was sporting some muskateer-esque number, complete with a cape and a wide brimmed hat. 'Boys...always with the theatrics.'
"Whoa..." Both muttered in unison.
"Articulate bunch, the lot of ya. Better learn more words than that if you're aimin' to bring anyone home tonight." Peg found herself once again fighting the urge to smile. She really didn't want to let it show, but she was flattered at their reactions. But if you give a man an inch he will take a mile. She was worried she would look stupid, and didn't feel comfortable in this monkey suit. She certainly wasn't of a mind to be seen in public in it. But this was for money, and she intended to grab every red cent from the studio she could get. If for no other reason than to take it out of Plotz's hands.
She jumped, as she heard a high pitched squeal to her right and turned to see Dot in her own pink evening gown rushing toward her. Peg thought she looked cute in it, but that red might be more flattering. She shook her head, wondering where that came from.
"Oh my god, look at you! You're beautiful! I love the earrings! And the purse! Where did you get that!?" Dot was all over her, a million questions and compliments spilling out uncontrollably as she looked her over from every conceivable angle and then some. Peg blushed under the scrutiny, as her brothers finally descended the stairs, both grinning widely.
"Told ya, sister. You'll have to beat the men offa you with a stick!" Dee beamed at her.
"And she will, too." Psykko chimed in, hopping over the remainder of the staircase to land next to Wakko and Yakko, showing off his suit and pocket watch.
Dot looked up, cast an appraising eye over her cousins and smiled broadly. They looked like extras from The Goodfellas. Theatrical perhaps, but still the effect was nonetheless hot. Besides, when was a Warner anything less than attention grabbing? These three were showing they were no different in that respect. Were they not related, she might even be tempted to 'hello nurse them'.
"And you two. Look at you. Where did you get these outfits?" Dot couldn't contain her enthusiasm. She wanted a dress like Peg's now; it was so shiny and pretty.
"Studio provided. They had wardrobe make them in whatever style we wanted. It was one of those days when ya'll were off doing some other project." Dee smiled and spun, showing off his suit. He liked this kind of stuff and he was having fun with it. Everyone looked so nice and he was excited to show off at the party. He rarely put much effort into fashion, or clothes in general for that matter, so this was a pleasant change. He couldn't do it every day though. He was sure his brother and sister would revolt if they tried to make them anyway.
"Yakko, I want one to!" Dot pouted, pointing to Peg. "Oh! But in pink! And sparkly to!" She was an unfettered ball of excitement, and it was infectious. It wasn't often they were invited to any studio function. By the time they got out of the tower, everyone was buzzing and they drew looks from the staff that wandered to and fro, many on normal nightly business, some of it related to the function they would attend. Dee hammed it up with Dot, basking in the attention and waving, while Peg shot glares or blushed, covering her face as she received the odd compliment from the few studio hands they knew.
'Come on, how far away is that damn building? I wanna get this over with!' Peg's mind reeled; she was unaccustomed to this kind of attention. She felt like she was under a microscope with a million eyes peering through it. How Dot or the others dealt with it, she would never know.
The party for Warner Brothers records, as it turns out was shockingly, unexpectedly, BORING! At least as far as Peg was concerned; it was exactly as she thought it would be. A small function with dull and poorly played music, bad food, bland drinks, and old men in fancy clothes, talking about money and the people they could make more money from. Everything was green with these people. How can you live your life so fixated on an inanimate object? She wasn't entirely comfortable with some of the looks said old men were giving her either, and didn't hesitate to shoot a withering 'go to hell' look at anyone she caught staring. She would behave, for her families' sake, and not cause a scene but that did not mean she would allow herself to be visually molested by a bunch of rich old perverts.
It didn't take long before Psykko vanished with Wakko, and Dot set off to God knows where. Peg trusted those two could handle her baby brother though if things got to out of hand, and didn't give it a second thought. If they caused trouble it could only make this snore fest more entertaining.

For Dee's part he was having a ball it seemed, chatting with some 'toon from one of Toon Town's major record labels. A young male rabbit of some note, or son of someone of note, or some shit... He had introduced himself to her, but it slipped her mind at the moment. She wasn't really keeping up with who was who and frankly, at this point, her give-a-shitter was damaged beyond repair and her crop of fucks to give were fresh out. She leaned back in her chair, nursing her punch simply to appear busy to passers-by, and tried to avoid as much attention as possible. The last thing she expected to hear was that woman's voice.
"Some party eh?" Peg rolled her eyes and turned to see the aging gray squirrel smiling back at her. 'This lady gets around to be pushing ninety.'
"What are you doing here? Thought this to-do was just for record labels or some crap like that." Peg sulked back in her chair, regarding her beverage.
"Yeah well, I pretty much go where I want, and it's free food. Ok, theoretically food, but still... Who's gonna argue with me?" Slappy grinned and slid into an adjacent seat, casting an appraising eye toward her. She hadn't seen anyone in a dress like that since the nineteen thirties when she was still a fixture in Hollywood night life. They were never such an eye catching color then, either. In the low shifting lights every stray flash reflected off of her, making Peg frankly impossible to ignore. She must be hating this.
"The dress looks good on you. So there's a classy lady in there after all. Who knew?" Slappy grinned wider as Pegs face twisted into a variety of expressions, finally settling on a grimace. 'This broad would be horrible at poker.' She thought wryly. "So, what's on your mind there? You look like you're about to face down a dragon, or watch a Chevy Chase movie."
"I don't belong here. These people give me the creeps. Eyes keep crawling all over me like grubby little fingers. I'm only here for the pay check and to keep an eye on Dee." Peg responded with a shudder. She knew if she so much as raised her voice, her brothers would be at her side instantly, but these people still made her skin crawl. Before coming to the studio, the only people she knew that acted like these guys were pimps and drug dealers. She had no doubt some of that was going on here as well.
"You belong wherever you are, kiddo. The sooner you learn to own the room, the better off you'll be. Can't argue with ya about the creeps, though. Some of these guys could use a bomb down their pants." She cast a look around the room, taking in the crowd. Not all these guys were on the up and up. Matter of fact, most of them weren't. But this was the business, and everyone has to learn to deal with it sooner or later, young or not. Reality does not favor innocence, if anything it abhors it. It takes a strong personality to survive Hollywood unharmed. Sadly, most don't make it out unchanged.
"I think their pants are combustible enough on their own. They need a good punch in the eye." Peg muttered sourly.
Slappy's expression changed for a moment and she glanced at her student. "Any of these people so much as look at you crooked and I'll blow 'em to kingdom come. Look I've been around the block a few times. Got the dents to prove it too, heh, so I know how these people work. It don't matter what they're sellin', it's the same anywhere ya go. I'm there if you need backup, is all I'm sayin'."
Peg raised an eyebrow, looking at her teacher and tormentor. 'Why does she care?' Deciding not to argue, she simply nodded. They needed friends, true enough, and aside from being an annoying old bag Slappy had shown saint-like patience with her attitude. If she lasted this long, maybe she was genuine. Time would tell. Taking a swig of her drink, Peg instantly regretted it. The expression the sour watery concoction elicited earned her a cackle from Slappy, and the attention of her oldest brother, the sound of Slappy's laughter drawing his gaze.
Dee sauntered over to the table, smiling at his sulking puckered sister before addressing Slappy. "Didn't expect to see a friendly face here. What brings a classy lady such as yourself to this little soirée?"
"Keepin' your sister here from clobberin' one of these goons. She don't fancy bein' ogled if ya get me. Nice suit, by the way. Does Capone know you're wearin' it?" Slappy eyed the older cousin. 'I could be wrong, but I'm sensing a theme here.'
Dee chuckled and tipped his hat, putting on his best gangster accent. "I'd appreciate if yous didn't tell 'em jus' yet. The night is too young to contract a case of lead poisoning, if you catch my drift."
"Heh heh, you're a funny kid. Would have been popular back in my day. You and me need to have a talk later." Slappy pointed her umbrella at his chest to drive the point home.
Watching Dee and Slappy go back and forth with one another Peg, envied how easy her brother seemed to make friends. He flowed so easily into this crowd, drawing attention, making people laugh. Hell, even Yakko, or especially Yakko knowing his reputation, worked his brand of magic on the room. Or, whatever he called it. Peg felt so out of place here, hob-nobbing with Hollywood elite. She thought of how these people would react, being in a room alone with all of her friends, and smiled inwardly. Maybe then they would understand how she felt in this moment.
She was brought out of her reverie by a nudge from Slappy.
"You brother's a real charmer there. Reminds me of a young Bugs Bunny. Hunky too. If I were a bit younger..." Her sentence trailed off as she watched Dee walk across the room to fetch them fresh drinks. Finding something palatable and non alcoholic was a daunting task with this crowd, but she knew he could hack it. She still needed to have a serious conversation with him though.
Peg wrinkled her nose at the thought."If you knew him better you might not say that."
"He seems like a good guy to me." Slappy replied, watching him bend over to pick up a dropped napkin. ‘Nice ass too.’ She suppressed a grin.
"He is. And he's also stubborn, bossy, secretive, smart mouthed, annoying, won't shut the door or lift the lid when he uses the bathroom, has a fit when anyone squeezes the toothpaste tube from the middle, and still he won't tell you what's on his mind anymore, no matter how much you ask, even though you used to share everything..." Peg fumed, propping her chin up with her hand, noticing the look Slappy was giving her.
"Uh-huh. We talkin' about Dee still?" She cocked her head knowingly.
"Don't start with me..." Peg cursed under her breath, not for the first time that day. It was becoming a habit. 'What is wrong with me lately? Can't keep a damn thing to myself anymore.' She thought.
"Hey, it's alright, everyone has flaws. You love 'em anyway because they're family. None of the rest of that junk really matters. Besides, if it bugs you that much, I can show you how to make him stop." Slappy winked opening her purse, revealing the black metallic curve of one of her infamous bombs. Perhaps there would be a use for 'toon explosives tonight yet...
The party wrapped up as lethargically as it began, with a slow trickle of attendees out the door, thankfully without further incident. The Warners were the last to leave, simply as a precaution. Plotz would take any excuse he could get to weasel out of paying them for their time tonight, so they took no chances proverbially clocking out.
Slappy had gone long before that, stating 'I'm too old for this crap, I'm goin' ta bed.' But not before another lengthy lecture about how 'toons are supposed to cope with their problems, and that she had to find resolution to her issues before they ate away all her joy yadda yadda. Whoopie.
Their own walk home had been equally lethargic and uneventful. She was eager to be out of the dress and into her bed, and sleep came gratefully rapidly and dreamlessly.
The next morning Peg woke to the sound of the phone ringing off the hook. Hoping it would stop, she groaned and stuffed a pillow over her head, but it did no good. Psykko could sleep through a hurricane and Dee probably just didn't care, so after much cursing and throwing of pillows she stomped into the living room snatching the receiver off the hook.
"WHAT!?" She snarled into the line, ready to throw the damn thing across the room.
"Do you have any idea how much the cleanup is going to cost for your little stunt last night!?" Plotz yelled back, fuming on the other end of the line.
"You? What stunt? What the hell do you want from me? I spent the whole night sitting at a fuckin' table trying to keep your shady perverted friends from molesting me with their eyes, which by the way you will answer for!" Peg returned his venom with interest, stunning the man into momentary silence. None of the original Warners ever yelled back like this. He might have to adjust his strategy.
"You, or one of you, set off another one of those damn bombs in the limo belonging to the CEO of Virgin Records! Virgin Records! It was a two million dollar Bentley limo! Bentley! And we have to pay for the cleanup! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get gravy out of brushed leather!? Gravy!"
"You're repeating yourself Plotz. I get it. Fancy car, gravy, cleanup. What the fuck do you want me to do about it? Cry a river for you? Call back when you have something to say worth listening to." Peg slammed the phone down on its base, yanking the line from the wall. She had no intention of listening to that jowly little mutant again if she could help it.
Making her way to her little brothers door she knocked twice before entering finding him curled into a tight ball, sleeping soundly, an oddly content smile on his face. 'Oh, yeah. He had something to do with it.'
Plotz sat at his desk, stunned, staring at his phone, his mind racing. 'She hung up on me... She hung up on me!' Plotz dialed their phone back several times but no one picked up. Beet red and fuming, he decided to dial the original Warners instead. Someone would answer for this if it was the last thing he did.
Yakko woke with a start as the phone beside his bed rang out, causing him to flail and roll off the edge, in a shower of pillows and blankets. "Oh what the hell? Can't I get a decent night's sleep anymore!?"
Struggling to his feet, he snatched the phone off the hook, glaring at the receiver before speaking pleasantly into it. "Hello, Yakko Warner speaking; make this good or you shall pay." His left ear instantly regretted picking the damn thing up, as Plotz screamed and cursed a blue streak, nearly incomprehensible in his rage.
It took the better part of an hour simply to calm little humpty down enough to glean the major details from him. Not surprisingly, the blame was placed square on all the Warners, despite not having any real proof they were involved. Ah Plotz, so predictable, so judgmental, so annoying.
With a lack of security footage and no eyewitnesses, it was becoming harder for Plotz to make his case that the Warners pay for the damages rendered, and after some smooth talking from Yakko, and a lengthy speech about due process, the CEO relented grudgingly. Yakko could guess what really happened, and it took real effort to keep the amusement out of his voice. The slightest indication that he was being less than genuine and he knew they were looking at a two million dollar clean up bill. They could cover it easily, but still he wasn't willing to part with what he didn't have to. Why give the studio such an easy out? Besides, it was just a car. No one was hurt; no one even saw it happen, so he saw no reason to pay for it.
After two more hours of talking the little man in circles, and finally agreeing to talk to his cousins about the incident, as if he would, Plotz temper was at least abated enough to let Yakko off the phone so he could get dressed and eat. He had been surprised to hear about Peg's reaction though. It took balls to hang up on Plotz, even more to cuss him out before doing so. The only other person to have pulled that stunt off without reprisal was Bugs himself. He doubted Peg or any of them would get away as clean as Bugs did though.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Chatper 10: Face The Music.
"Ok kid, time to have that talk." Slappy eyed a very uncomfortable looking Dee from across their kitchen table. It took some shrewd maneuvering to get him this far and she wasn't going to let him weasel his way out of it now, just because he didn't like being cornered. Regardless of what Yakko said, she wanted in on this whole thing. His words played back through her memory like a cheesy melodrama...
"Slappy you don't know what you're asking from him." Yakko had eyed the aging woman in his living room.
"Then why don't you tell me then? From where I'm standing all this is more than a little fishy. You get new family all of a sudden, they don't act like they want to be here, and I have to be the one to teach them how to act like 'toons? They should know this already! If you haven't noticed there, Sherlock, Peg is more than just zany. She's pissed. And don't even get me started on that little one there. I've stayed in the dark long enough. Either you owe me an explanation, or I owe you a bomb up your can." Slappy had found herself genuinely irritated for the first time in years.
It wasn't the task, or even the aggravation it posed. What was insulting about this whole thing is that no one felt they could trust her with whatever big secret these six felt the need to keep a lid on. She had gone out of her way on several occasions to help them out and all she asked in return, aside from being paid scale for some cameos, was honesty and some gratitude.
"Look kid, the grace period is over. I gotta know what you got me into." She'd narrowed her eyes at the shrinking Yakko as she stepped toward him.
"Look... ehhhhhh it's really not my place to tell you. That's Dee's job. I don't know everything anyway; just what he's told me and a little personal experience. I was kinda hoping to hear the whole thing to, so if you want me to come along..." Yakko had trailed off, holding his hands up attempting to placate the elder squirrel. He shouldn't be surprised by her reaction, honestly. No one had expected Peg to be as difficult to rehabilitate as she had been. She was more than angry. She was bitter and downright hateful.
Not long after her little episode with Plotz she had actually physically threatened him during an office meeting about that very subject. No pranks or mind games, just outright rage. Dee had yet to ever raise his voice in Yakko's (or anyone's) presence, but that day he had. Between his and Peg's screaming match, and Plotz trying to dodge the wild kicks she threw, even being restrained by Dee and himself, the day went pretty miserably. He was just glad the others hadn't been there to see it, lest they get any ideas about joining in. He knew how his own siblings felt about Plotz. As it was, they owed him a new desk since Peg had, in the course of her tantrum, thrown it across the room shattering it to splinters and sending the secretary screaming from the office. They were lucky Plotz didn't have a functional phone handy at that point to call security.
"Oh you'll be there. I'm tired of bein' out of the loop. I'm gonna find out what's goin' on here if it kills ya." She had poked the older Warner in the chest with her umbrella painfully.
It took some creative reasoning to get the others out of the house. Upon meeting Slappy at the foot of his bed of all places, and a hushed but heated discussion, Dee got them to relent to keep his own siblings out of this. The reaction puzzled Slappy and only made the whole situation more intriguing and infuriating. What could be so bad that he wouldn't even tell his own family?
Reaching behind him, Dee brought forth three thick folders bound together with string. The bundle looked as if it had been through a war. Tattered edges and coffee stains littered the covers along with David's illegible scrawl and some strange doodles put there long ago. With a deep sigh, he pushed them across to her, the bundle lying there like a physical manifestation of David's madness. His accusations came back to haunt him, his gravelly tortured voice almost real in his mind. 'I told you, little Dee-Dee, that you're a traitor. You know she won't stay quiet. You can't save them.' He shook the voice from his head, focusing on the faces staring back at him.
"After our talk you need to read these. It's all of David's animation notes on us, and then some. His journal is in there too, and some of the pages from his great grandfather's diary. Even Peg and Psykko haven't seen this. If I have my way, they never will."
Slappy's eyes went wide as details were forthcoming. It seemed so unreal. Experimenting on your own creations? 'Toons without psychological limitations? This was bizarre stuff, and the story sounded more miserable as it wore on. Yakko also listened intently, as much of this he hadn't heard either. But the more Dee talked, the more the picture filled in for him.
Slappy's face went from anger to disbelief to outright panic as both Yakko and Dee related the rest; their animator's spiral into madness, their arrival at the studio, and their ill conceived trip to the Loopy Acres asylum. Slappy groaned inwardly. Loopey Acres. She had an uncle go there once when she was a young woman, and knew it wasn't a pretty place. He came out of there a shadow of his former self, not an ounce of joy left. Even today he seemed as pale and sterile as the building from which he emerged. She couldn't guess how an emotionally fragile human would endure.
However, Dee was far from through, and saved the worst bit for last. She recoiled and nearly fell out of her chair when he told her the rest. He wasn't joking. She wished he had been, for it threw yet another ugly wrinkle into an already difficult situation. Slappy had to wonder what unseen hands were involved in this situation.
"I'm the one that did it. I called the cops, the hospital, the studio, everything. We are here because of me. My animator, my father, is in a 'toon asylum because of me. And you are going out of your way to try to help my sister who is pissed off because of me. I understand fully what all this means. I would have spared you having to deal with it." He hated keeping all this from her after all the trouble she had gone through to help, but again he repeated to himself that he would do it all over again.
"I need a drink...Yakko be a gentlemen and get an old woman something. I don't suppose you keep anything stronger than lemonade around eh?" Slappy rested her forehead in her hands.
Her mind couldn't wrap around it completely. What kind of choice was that? What kind of animator would put his creation in such a position? What kind of toon could make that choice without going insane? This violated every agreement the animators' guild had with toon town. It violated every code of conduct toons imposed on themselves. Near 100 years of animation tradition and toon law down the toilet. She understood now why he was so hesitant to say anything. In Toon Town he would be branded a traitor. Neither he, nor his family, would be able to set foot outside without bearing that scarlet letter. Outcast, even among outcasts. His own creator would face far worse in the human court system, insanity or not. Certainly, the details of his crime would be made public and throw a monkey wrench in human and toon relations. His incarceration in Toon Town made a lot more sense now. No one stood to gain anything by letting the situation play out, and likely both sides arranged this in the hopes it could be quietly covered up.
This was too big to allow out of this room. Ultimately Dee probably did the right thing. Politically and morally inconvenient, but the right thing nonetheless. He sacrificed everything he had to save his family risking life and reputation in the process. He was right to keep this under wraps.
"How many others know?" Slappy leveled her gaze at the oldest cousin as she took the soda Yakko offered her. She wished for the first time in almost 40 years she had some rum to accompany it.
"Just me, Yakko and his siblings, and now you. Plotz has some details but nothing linking the events to me or my family. I used different voices and called from different pay phones, so no one can trace it back to me. I'm certain I don't have to tell you what's at stake here." Dee watched the woman intently. If she was going to air this out, he had to know, now. Some toons would, without thinking. Any that did might be considered a hero by the rest. Ambition pulled as powerfully on the hearts of toons as in men, he knew.
Slappy waved his comment off, rubbing her eyes. "Look kid I'm not that kind of toon. I got no desire to be a statue, and I don't rat out a friend. Besides, I don't wanna be the one to turn society on its head any more than you do. But this makes my job a lot harder."
"If you mean Peg, don't worry about it to much. She's irritable, violent, and downright mean but she's no human. She's just as toon upstairs as you are." Dee replied tapping his temple for emphasis.
"That's not very reassuring." Yakko pointed behind them where Peg stood, quiet as a statue, her eyes boring a hole straight into her brother.
"Oh Fudd..." Slappy sighed, throwing her hands in the air in frustration. That girl never did listen to a thing she said and had been suspicious about her early morning visit from the beginning. This was bad. Knowing her temper, and the sensitive subject matter they were discussing, Slappy fully expected the dining room to be turned into a war zone the second Peg spoke.
Dee sighed inwardly, bracing for what he knew was coming. He should have anticipated this and taken their impromptu meeting elsewhere. His sister always had been the most headstrong of the three. Time and tide did little to diminish neither her stubborn streak nor her inflammatory temper. However it had, apparently, taught her stealth. He began to think it would take more than simple separation from their creator to bring her any semblance of peace. But how, and to what end, he would have to puzzle out later. For the here and now he had a storm to weather. One he had hoped in vain to postpone but a little longer.
Every inch of her felt like screaming. How in holy hell could he? This had to be a lie. It had to be some kind of sick fucking joke that she just wasn't getting. She waited for something. A sign, an explanation, anything to tell her he wasn't for real. That what she overheard wasn't what she thought. It wouldn't be the first time he shocked her with some con or another to get them out of a tight situation. But for the life of him, he just sat there, calmly returning her gaze, everything about his body language confessing his sincerity. She wanted to scream, cry, hit him with something heavier than most toons could hold... She wanted to ask him why, she wanted the one thing he would not easily let her have. But she was not going to back down from him. No matter how much his stare scared the hell out of her right now.
With a shaky voice, she gritted out through gnashing teeth, her eye twitching under the effort. "I. Want. To. See. David."
"I kept you in the dark for this very reason. You don't know what you're asking." Dee replied, his voice low and even as his stare. No one should be this calm in this situation.
Peg snapped, slamming her fist down on the breakfast bar hard enough to fracture one of the tiles lining its surface.
"Don't you dare deny me this, brother! How long have we gone along with everything you said? How often have we never so much as questioned you? And how do you repay us? You keep...this, of all things, from us? He's our father! My God... do you know how much Psykko looks up to you? Did you think for a second what this will do to him? Dammit, Dee, how could you!?" She fought hard to bite back the tears that now came unbidden as she threw the full weight of her rage at her brother.
Through it all, he said nothing and didn't so much as move from his seat, showing no sign of what could be going on behind those inscrutable, penetrating eyes. She screamed and cursed a blue streak, throwing every hurtful word that came to mind at him. Her temper broke against him with all the sound and fury of waves against a cliff face, yet within her, insecurities doubled and redoubled and she felt her mind retreating. She couldn't tell anymore who her real brother was. Was Dee the over protective older sibling that sang to his little brother and held her when she cried as they hauled David off? Or was he this man sitting in front of her now? She had to know, and seeing David for herself was the easiest way to find out.
Yakko and Slappy were caught between a rock and a hard place. Peg covered the only exit, and there was no place to go in the kitchen that was not in Peg's line of fire. Neither were they willing to get within arms reach of the raging teen for fear she would turn on them. The look on Dee's face didn't exactly make them want to cozy up to him either. In all their years, neither thought they had anything to really learn from the younger generations. They had seen and done it all. But in the span of just an hour, Yakko and Slappy both learned more ways to cuss someone out than they thought possible. Some were funny, most painful; they would cringe as some were directed at them. Their ears rang and the walls resonated with the full fury of a Warner slighted. Peg had an impressive temper and an even more impressive set of lungs.
Dee heard and felt every word she said. But, volume aside, it wasn't anything he hadn't said to himself a thousand times since the day they left. He had wished he could tell her, wished he could have shown her what David really was and know she could handle it. Perhaps the only way to move forward and be done with all this would be to do just that. She wouldn't just let this go. He would have to call Plotz again and endure asking that screeching, weaselly man dumpling for another favor. Another trip to a place he swore he would never return to. Another long night at le hotel du fly-paper, hopefully this time not inspecting the bathroom floor up close.
"Fine." He responded finally cutting her off mid sentence, punching a hole in the wall of sound Peg was building. The word hung frozen in the air for a few, long seconds, wrapping up even their unwilling spectators in it.
"Fine? What fine?" Peg shot back, though much more quietly than she had been. His look had grown darker, if that was possible, and something behind it stopped her in her tracks. Even for her, he was hard to read when he got like this.
"You win. You want to see David? You got questions? Fine. I'll even let Psykko come along. You both seem so intent on crucifying yourselves, the least I can do is show you what for." His voice held so little inflection or emotion it was difficult to hear. Yakko recognized it as the same tone he adopted shortly after their first meeting with David. Stress, hurt, he wasn't as good at hiding it from Yakko as his own siblings. Not when they had literally decades of experience on him and infinitely more control.
Though he may not be invited, Yakko decided to go back with Dee if Plotz would green light it. Someone had to be the objective one and wrangle that wild woman. Dee couldn't do that if he was passed out on some bathroom floor again. Besides, Yakko couldn't help but feel somehow responsible for this man and his siblings. More so in the months since their last trip. Another year of this and he would wind up as grey as Slappy.
In the span of a few seconds, Dee had managed to flip the entire argument on its head. Peg's pride bristled at the insinuation that she had done something wrong. Peg was the slighted one, and now she was supposed to feel bad for getting pissed? No, this dog won't hunt. She pulled her will up around herself, her voice once again resonating with a confidence it didn't possess.
"Damn right fine. I'm sick of this too, Dee. I'm sick of you hiding shit from me, I'm sick of you lying to me, and I'm sick of you airing out family business to everyone but fuckin' family. You want to play mister cool? You want to be a martyr? Fine by me, but don't drag us along without so much as an explanation. At least give me an option here."
Dee simply nodded once, and continued to stare down his belligerent sister who, despite her rage and bravado, shrank under the weight of it. His silence spoke volumes more than his voice and more often than not served as a more effective foil to her foul attitude than meeting her on her terms. The brevity of his response doused her like ice water, and rather than stand there and look foolish she stiffened her back and spun out of the room, slamming the door behind her as hard as she could, leaving the trio staring at her wake.
"Well that went well." Slappy finally spoke up, wiggling her pinky in her abused ears. "Look, kid, if you really are planning this little shindig then I'm comin' along. I wanna see this guy for myself. Besides, I got a score to settle with Loopy Acres."
The next week promised to be interesting to say the least.
Wakko paused a moment before knocking on the scarred and painted door. He knew he wanted to be alone but after three days without so much as a sighting he worried that his cousin may be dead. Well, not that you could kill a toon but starvation still hurt. When they finally told Psykko everyone expected him to...well no one knew really but Wakko thought more would happen than what did. Staring off into space as Dee reluctantly told him everything, Psykko simply stood, and stated that he needed time to think. With that he quietly vanished and no one had seen him since. Dee told him not to worry, that his reaction wasn't that bad considering what he just learned about himself and his father. To hear Dee tell it, things could have been much worse than even when Peg found out.
For her part Peg seemed to be much calmer now. More embarrassed than angry that she blew up in front of her cousin and teacher the way she did. She admitted some time that night to them that she realized she needed more control than she had. She even apologized to Yakko and Slappy which was something no one had heard her do until now. Wakko never got a chance to hear the rest of the conversation since, with a much softened expression, Slappy shooed everyone out of the tower so they could air out the rest without an audience. Wakko figured Peg had a lot more going on behind her bitter facade than she let on.
Hesitantly he knocked, uncertain of what to expect from his fragile cousin if anything. "Psykko? Psy are you ok? I brought you some snacks." Snacks always made him feel better when something had gone wrong in his life. It had become his catch all solution over the years from breaking the ice with a stranger to covering awkward silences. He hoped in this case it may work but he wasn't sure. Until a few months ago Yakko and Dot were the only family he had. They never had to tip toe around each others emotions since they largely shared the same experiences.
Wakko was brought from his musings as the door cracked open and stopped. He figured that was about as much invitation as he was going to get so cautiously he pressed forward into the dimly light space. Psykko's room had changed again. He kept himself busy apparently decorating his walls and floor with graffiti and mural's. His bed was a mess of shredded sheets and broken springs, covered in claw and teeth marks, the wall behind it similarly scarred. Wakko knew now what Dee meant when he said it could have been worse.
Psykko sat huddled hugging his knees to his chest in the far corner of his room his dark eyes reflecting the few sources of light in his room as he regarded Wakko. He understood why Wakko hadn't told him. He wasn't angry at any of his cousins really. Dee however, and even more David. The more he thought about it the more his thoughts turned to their tormented father. He knew the moment Dee told him that everything he said was true. He could feel it. He had known that on some level something about the three of them wasn't right. Other toons never had this much trouble coping with their emotions. He wished he could be more like his cousin. He never let anything get to him. Everything seemed to roll right off him no matter what people said or did. He wondered if Wakko even had a temper. He wondered what would it be like to be normal instead of Frankenstein's monster. He watched as his cousin approached and sat on the floor in front of him setting an armful of bags in between them and smiling, his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth.
"I thought you might be hungry..." Wakko smiled shrugging his shoulders.
Wakko never so much as cringed at Psykko. Even at their first meeting he was just as at ease with him as his own brother. Nothing seemed to get to him, even with all the world falling in on their collective group. Psykko thought that maybe he should be. He certainly felt nothing approaching the calm Wakko exuded. Especially with the way Slappy drove. He gripped his seat a little tighter and watched in horror as they drifted slowly toward the eighteen wheeler she had been racing to their next exit, feeling as though they might be sucked underneath.
Slappy grunted and took another sip of coffee before slamming it down in it's holder and flipping off the irate truck driver to her left. "HA! Beat that ya road hog! Take yer freight and stick it! Heh heh heh heh heeehhh!" She cackled as they swerved in the exit lane, moving to and fro as she over corrected one way then the other. She heard people in the car gasp or make small startled sounds but for the moment ignored them. They had been complaining since they packed and pulled out of the lot. Slappy didn't know what they were so afraid of. In seventy four years of formal driving she had only had ten or eleven accidents. Only five of those were her fault. Tickets were another story, but she didn't worry about trifles like that. Besides, the sooner they got this over with, the sooner she could get back home and sleep in her own bed again.
At first Plotz hadn't been to sure about her going with the kids. Diplomacy won out in the end, heh, it didn't hurt that she threatened to blow up his office if he didn't agree. This little shindig wasn't all about them or that nutty hack Dave, or whatever his name was. She had other reasons for going along, and not all of them involved Loopy Acres. She had a lot of things to cram into their three day weekend and she wouldn't let that stunted little toad, some dirty truck driver, or speed limits for that matter get in her way. Slappy wasn't certain about a lot of things lately but of one thing she was. Their tiny circle had gotten a lot louder recently and she was damned and determined to shut it the hell up again. If that meant dealing with their issues head on then so be it.
She sneered and jerked the wheel to the left jinking around a slow driver while blowing her horn. Buzzing through traffic as they were they would get to Toon Town a full hour early, provided they didn't hit any traffic jams along the way. Skippy got her one of those new whiz bang GPS things for Christmas last year to help her avoid those, but damned if she knew how to use the thing. Besides, if she wanted someone to tell her how and where to drive she would get married again. Skippy wanted to come along but she had to refuse the poor boy. He was old enough now sure, but she still didn't want him exposed to the places or people they would, inevitably, be exposed to.
Slappy soon spotted the tell tale sign notifying drivers they would be approaching Toon Town. It had been ages since she had been here. Not that she didn't like that place, one town was as good as another, but the politics and noise drove her insane. Besides the idea that toons should or would want to live separately from the humans stunk of segregation to her. She had her fill of that from the twenties to the sixties. Or was it the fifties? Eh ether way she didn't care to be on the receiving end of it. Intentional or not. She jerked the wheel to her right dodging in front of some yuppie jerk in a convertible gabbing on one of those infernal cell phones, taking the last exit off the beltway leading into Toon Towns center. For the first time since they pulled out Dee looked up noting the exit number cutting her a quizzical look.
"I aint goin in the same way that quack Scratchandsniff did." Slappy answered his unspoken question. "Got other places to go besides Sing Sing there." This seemed enough for the only Warner in the van to have remained quiet throughout the trip as he returned to his previous position of quiet introspection. Peg and Psykko had been mopey to at first to but got over it quick enough once she hit the highway. She thought for a moment about slowing down, but nah. They deserved a little terror once in a while. Kept em on their toes. Put things in perspective real quick to. Maybe they would remember this for a while the next time they let some little thing send them flying off the handle.
Soon enough the speed limit lowered and the structures around them grew more dense. The crowd noticeably changed to as she saw a toon in an orange jumpsuit picking trash up from the side of the road under the gaze of a police officer. Poor shmuck probably got caught stealing or some other minor thing. Prison sentences was less common in toon town than good old hard labor for petty stuff. For the most part it worked. Oh there were still nasty bits here and there where you shouldn't walk around with your wallet in your back pocket, or your purse unprotected. Still it was a far cry from human neighborhoods like Oakland or Compton. At least no one here got shot, not that kill them anyway. Blackened perhaps. But dazed and a few bucks poorer was still a bad day over all as far as she saw it.
Finding her turn, Slappy continued directly toward the center of town. Traffic quickly thickened to a noisy snarl and slowed to a snails pace, seemingly coinciding with the height of the buildings. They were in the wealthier parts of town now and toons thickly lined the sidewalks moving about their daily lives oblivious to the world around them. None to soon for Slappy's taste they found their destination, and she pulled in front of the Hilton Toon Town. Again Dee looked up and shot her an incredulous look. Yakko, Wakko, and Dot seemed to take it in stride watching as a valet approached her rented van.
"I'm old! I'm not sleepin on some concrete mattress in no roach motel." She answered Dee's expression again. "And stop cuttin me looks. You got somethin to say then open your noise hole and say it!"
"Looks...expensive." Peg spoke up as the crowd trickled out of the van. Slappy surrendered the keys to the valet as porters unloaded their luggage. They all addressed her by name in a formal manner Peg was not accustomed to hearing applied to the elderly woman.
"Perhaps you forgot there kiddo, but I'm rich. Better be, I’ve been in the game long enough heh." Slappy smirked watching the youngest stumble out of the van and cling to his sister wide eyed, the last to emerge. She didn't know what went on between him and Wakko, but it seemed to do the trick. He hadn't been completely himself but at least he was talking and eating again. She had known a few humans like this one. Eventually she would drill it into his head as well that the world didn't exist solely to torment them. In the grand scheme of things no individual is that important. Toon or not you could be dead tomorrow. Wallowing in self pity and angst is no way to spend what time you have. Get mad sure, but deal with it and move on. All this emotion and pathos was enough to make her gag.
Slappy approached the front desk tapping the metal prong of her umbrella against the counter top edge gaining the attention of the toon behind, a domestic dog of some sort with a stiff practiced demeanor."Hey Mister Belvedere, some service over here!" He turned toward the motley knot of toons and nodded his head slightly, the motion almost seemed as forced as his attempt at a smile. Turning to the computer beside him, he pulled up their information.
"Ah yes, Miss Squirrel. I have your reservation here. You will want the double suite as usual I presume?"
Yakko fought hard not to laugh at the poor toons speech. He talked and moved like he had something jammed sideways up his ass. He wondered if they made him act this way or if he was like that all the time. He felt a great swell of pity for this mans wife and clapped his hands over his mouth to late to contain a quick bark of laughter at the images that sprang to mind, his siblings smiling up at him knowingly. Slappy glanced back at him and smirked, shaking her head as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. But then again she had always been good at getting inside their heads in a way few people could.
"You're way to pure to be thinking those thoughts young man." Slappy nudged Yakko in the elevator on their way to their room.
He grinned mischievously half heartedly attempting his innocent act. "I don't know what you could possibly be talking about."
"Yeah try that on someone that don't know you better." Slappy grinned. At least half the group seemed in good spirits. The cousins looked lost in their new surroundings however.
Peg had balked when they found out she had just taken what amounted to this hotels presidential suite. Initially she was only going to get a double room but decided it would be more fun to blow the cousins minds with this little indulgence. Besides this arrangement came with unlimited access to the spa, and she thought she could use a good massage from something tall dark and handsome. She was old after all, not dead.
Psykko simply looked confused and lost and Dee hadn't so much as cracked a smile. He simply stared blankly at the elevator door. That one Slappy reckoned would be a tougher nut to crack. This whole thing was a sore spot for him. Far to much so to be able to deal with his own feelings about it. Yeah she knew the type. Play it cool, stay in control, never let em see you sweat. He had all the practiced mannerisms of a card shark but none of the experience. She would crack him eventually to. Better to get all this crap out in the open and dealt with and stop beating around the bush.
The bed felt nice. Yakko sighed as he settled in to it remembering that sorry excuse for a bed he was on the last time they came this way. The room was the size of a house, occupying most of the top floor, with no less than four bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a Jacuzzi, and an impressive view of the Toon Town sky line. Granted it wasn't LA, but for a town comprised entirely of toons it was still a pretty good size. Enough so that the view was worth seeing.
"This is the life. Why don't we stay in places like this more often?" Yakko settled further into the plush comforter on the king sized bed he would be sharing with Dee.
"Something to do with people like that guy behind the desk?" Dee replied wearily. His shoulders slumped as he sat at the edge of the bed looking out over the multitude of lights that was Toon Towns skyline at night.
Yakko chuckled remembering the hushed jokes that were exchanged between him and his siblings on the way to the elevator. Moving on his knees behind Dee, he wrapped his arms around his shoulders hugging him gently. "Guys like him are easy enough to deal with. He's paid to kiss our asses no matter what we do. You think we're the only toons that ever gave this hotels staff a hard time? Remind me to introduce you to Daffy some time. When Bugs isn't around he's a real nut job. Oh speaking of Bugs he's pulled some doozies here to."
"You know Bugs?" Leaning into the hug, Dee looked over his shoulder cocking an eyebrow at Yakko. He seemed engaged for the first time today. They hadn't known about very many toons but Bugs presence was nearly impossible to ignore for the eldest. Yakko couldn't blame him. He was a great role model for any toon to look up to, and Dee needed all the role models he could get.
"Oh yeah, he even did a cameo on our show back in the day. We don't hang out much lately though, he’s been too busy. But we still stay in touch."
Yakko smiled, regaling his cousin with details about their associations with all the greatest toon actors over the years, dishing out some dirt on them in the process. In his own way he subtly tried to reinforce the idea that all toons were, on some level, irreverent screw balls. None of them really took themselves too seriously, none of the functioning toons anyway. They play their roles sure, but when things got too heavy even the biggest names in the business weren't above pranking an irritable director or flooding a producers car for a laugh.
Slappy popped her back with a grunt. Room service was running a little late. She hadn't felt like dragging the whole menagerie down to the restaurant and fussing over suitable clothes for the ragamuffins. Plus this gave her an excuse to lay on the couch and channel surf. Naturally there wasn't anything on. Even in Toon Town, ever since they took Looney Tunes and her own shows off the air, the boob tube had been in a steady decline. Nothing on anymore but reality shows news and fear mongering disaster predictions disguised as educational programs.
"Eh...maybe I shoulda brought Skippy."
"Whats the matter? We aren't entertainment enough?" Peg's sardonic tone broke her reverie. Slappy answered with a loud burp flicking through the channels uninterrupted.
"Thanks for sharing..." Peg responded sitting heavily in the chair across from the aging squirrel. Slappy was hard to figure. Sometimes she reminded her of her brothers. Sometimes she reminded her of things she shouldn't repeat. The old woman had her moments though, and despite fighting the sentiment tooth and nail, she had earned Peg's respect.
"Eh room service is runnin late. I'm gonna go see what the hold up is. Stay here and keep your brothers from destroying anything expensive." Slappy heaved and grunted hauling herself off the couch mumbling obscenities under her breath as she stepped out of the room followed only by Peg's amused gaze.
Stepping into the elevator and pressing the lobby button she was startled by a familiar voice behind her. "So that's them eh? There really is a family resemblance."
"So it's you then. I can't say I'm surprised. Who picks your wardrobe anyway? That disguise isn't foolin anyone." Slappy eyed the tall figure suspiciously. He smiled, his face hidden by a pair of corny sunglasses, and a wide brimmed fedora, his brown overcoat doing little to hide his feet or that ever present tail she knew was conspicuously peeking from behind it.
"Eh, people here don't care as much as they would in LA." He paused his expression changing. "You've been out of the loop too long Slappy. Things have gotten messy. We Didn't catch this one soon enough."
"I'll say. Whats going on here? Why dump this lot off on me? I wouldn't have taken this little project if you hadn't called when you did. We're even now by the way." Slappy crossed her arms scowling at him. She was tempted to let em have it right here and now but she didn't want or need the attention explosions in an elevator shaft would inevitably bring.
"Probably more than even Slappy." He admitted. "For this we probably owe you one. Things could have been a lot worse than they turned out to be. Still could be! Too messy, too many loose ends to tie up here. I hate to repeat myself but I don't think I gotta tell ya whats at stake."
"Yeah yeah save me the sermon." Slappy waved him off. It wasn't the first time she had defended the fragile agreements between toons and humans, and it wouldn't be the last. But he was right. Nothing had ever come this close to going public and throwing their whole world into chaos.
"This meetin with David, It's dangerous. We figured Dee was safe enough, and we were fortunately right. But his siblings Slappy..." He trailed off looking into space for a second, collecting his thoughts.
'He looks tired.' She thought, watching him lift his hat to run a gloved hand through his hair. She wondered how much sleep the rabbit had been missing in the past few days. The job, she knew, came with a price. And he was the latest chosen to serve. For a moment her heart softened and she, for a moment, almost caved.
"You know why they gotta go through with this though. How did you feel when your fathers passed away? Hell you were there when Yakko and the others lost theirs. They never even got to say goodbye. We, at least, did. Right or wrong he is their creator, and they deserve this much. You would never forgive yourself if they didn't."
He sighed as she spoke nodding slightly. He knew that this, like many of the facts of life often clashed with what was most expedient or logical. "I know. I won't try to stop ya-"

"That's wise." She interrupted.
"-Heh, just be careful with this Slappy. We will be around to help after this. My term is ending soon anyway, so I'll be gettin more involved myself. I’ve kinda missed the kids anyway. Gettin ta know their cousins could be fun to." He smiled donning his fedora again as the elevator doors opened on the lobby. "See ya around Slappy."
"Yeah." She waved half heartedly. "See ya around Bugs." She mumbled as the doors slid shut between them. Since the call she had known the toon council was involved, but she didn't suspect it would be this intimate. The semi autonomous toon government, that in her time had strove for a modicum of anonymity and unobtrusiveness, had apparently changed. Though so to had the times.
She was brought from her thoughts by the gentle beep from the elevator, the doors sliding quietly open on her floor. She discovered as she reached their room that room service had, conveniently, just arrived. She had to wonder if the delay was intentional. This was going to be a strange, trying weekend.
"Are you sure this is what you want Doc? Do you have any idea what you're doing?"
"Just help me get in will ya?"
"Your funeral. Don't say I didn't warn ya."
"You! Stop!"
"This is where you scream...father."
Dee woke with a start, sitting upright with his heart pounding in his ears. Oh, what had he done? No, David. Images returned unbidden. Bloody hands about the throat of his creator, his father. His hands. His own twisted laughter reverberating off the walls of his fathers sundered cell. The sound of boots, and panicked voices thundering behind, his every step dogged by the cries and incoherent wails of an endless score of maniacs through the dank, dimly light corridors, reality warping as walls seemed to curl toward him as if to consume him, claiming another soul for it's cells. Alone, barred windows, too clean, no smell, no sense of time, reality as close yet just as unreachable as the light that shone in. Smug robotic doctors, and technicolor pills to make you sleep, make you quiet. Gigantic brutes for when you weren't.
Dee ran a shaking hand through his hair, the sound of his ragged breath abating as reality slowly, as if to prolong his torment, filtered in, the features of his room filling the void. His mind teetered on the knifes edge of consciousness, the only sounds reaching him were the rustle of crisp sheets and soft breath that wasn't his own. He started before memory and reason became his again. The trip, the hotel, the snooty desk clerk, the promise he made to himself and to David that he had no means of keeping, all of it.
'Why did I even bother saying that to him? I should have known she wouldn't stand for it. I should have planned this out better.' Dee sighed rubbing his eyes, willing the images from his mind. 'It's not that easy Dee Dee.' A familiar voice reached his mind penetrating his thoughts. 'You know you won't be rid of me that easy. You can't escape what I made you to be. Your failure to stop it was inevitable child.' Dee clasped his hands to his head his fingers digging into his scalp as pain bit into his temples. The headaches had been getting worse over the past week, but this one hit so suddenly, and with such force, it made his vision spin.
'Dammit go away! I'm nothing like you!' His rational mind screamed as shadow descended on his conscience like coal tar.
'Of course you are little Dee Dee. You are exactly as I made you. Eventually you will come to accept this. Struggle all you like but in the end you are-.'
"Are you ok?" Yakko mumbled softly, stirring in his linen cocoon, sliding a hand up Dee’s back. "I thought I heard you cr-"
"Yeah. Yeah it was just a nightmare." Dee released his grip on his skull.
"Are you sure-"
"I just need some air." As quick as it came, the voice was gone again. For once Dee was grateful for Yakko's constant intrusion on his introspection. The voice slipped back into the recesses of his mind, the sharp pain behind his eyes going with it until the next time he lost control. The prospect of more sleep was beginning to make him ill. He would be damned if he relied on some pill to put him back in that place. At this rate he would wind up an insomniac.
Slipping out of sweat soaked sheets, Dee made his way to the balcony, thankful for this extravagance at least, though the pomp of his surroundings still left him feeling out of place. Silently he slid the glass door aside slipping out into the cool air that prickled against his nude form, bringing with it goose bumps and shudders. He was cold, he was here. It felt nice. It felt real. The skyline was unchanged from when he last saw it not but a handful of hours before. This was real, he reminded himself. Not that other place, not that other person. Here he was just a down on his luck musician. Here he was his own person. He had control over his actions. Here he wasn't a monster.
Dee sighed, folding his arms against the cold metal hand rail resting his chin on them as he looked out at the flickering lights and the seemingly unending flow of traffic. From here everything seemed somehow smaller, less significant. The only thing that existed was the light cool breeze, and the dull white noise of the constant buzz below. Despite its relatively small size compared to LA, Toon Town never seemed to sleep. Idly he wondered where all those toons were in such a hurry to reach at this hour. What was so interesting to do at this time of night? Dee closed his eyes inhaling the night air willing his mind to be still. Things couldn't keep going this way. Never had he so desired to put an end to a thing. Or a person.
"Care to clue me in?" Dee shook his head at the familiar voice behind him, warm arms encircling him, a comfortable familiar weight on his back. He didn't move to dislodge him. At this point Dee would take all the comfort he could get. Anything to feel whole, real, alive.

"Ah. That again eh? Look, I've said this a thousand times already." Yakko’s hands slid up to his chest, mutual nude forms, small and fragile in the night, dragging his attention to the here and now. "You can't keep shutting the world out Dee. Believe it or not I do know where you are coming from. I seem to recall a certain sibling-"
"Look it was just a dream ok? It doesn't mean anything." Dee interrupted growing annoyed.
"-was always interrupting cool stories to, and feeling sorry for himself." Yakko continued, his hands still distractingly sliding along Dee’s exposed torso. "You're soaked by the way. Did you wet the bed?” Getting little more than a grunt in response he continued. “Funny how they work. Emotions I mean. I heard self pity was moist. I wouldn't know mind you-"
"Were you always so annoying?" Dee stood, turning to his cousin, pulling him closer. "Or has it taken this long to master?"
"I like to stay in practice. Much like you and angst. Unusual for a toon, but honestly I think you have it down. Kudos." Yakko tossed his head to the side flippantly. Just as sudden his mood turned sober as he regarded his sullen cousin. Misery wasn't an emotion toons were prone to experience under normal circumstances, let alone dwell on. Though Dee could hardly be called normal, and his circumstances weren't something to his memory any toon had to endure. Sometimes Yakko forgot just how chronologically young he really was. And different. More like a human in some respects than a toon really, though he could see the familiar glimmer in his eyes even now. For a moment he had to wonder just how successful David's experiment had really been. It wasn't fair for any toon Dee's age to be thrust in the position he was in. It was no surprise he was beginning to crack. Still, there was hope. Though he was at a loss of how to show him.
"What am I supposed to do huh? You tell me, you know every damn thing." Dee growled. "My creator is a mad man that wants me to kill people, my sister hates me, my baby brother is a head case I can't take my eyes off of, or he might hurt someone, my community would tar and feather me for what I've done to save the two of them, oh and by the way, we're as good as fucking slaves to a company that wants me to do things I'm not even certain I'm capable of! Am I leaving anything out, or are there some new wrinkles I haven't anticipated? Cause I would really love to fucking know!" Dee's fur stood on end as he stepped back from his cousin leaning against the rail. It seemed like everything was falling in on him at once, and he couldn't keep the words from tumbling out. He knew none of this was Yakko's fault and it wasn't fair to take it out on him, but dammit if he wouldn't stop meddling.
"You have no idea what it's like! How am I supposed to explain it when even I don't even know?" Dee finished, looking back out toward the skyline as he gripped the hand rail so tightly he vaguely feared it might give way.
"Don't I?" Yakko responded lowly, his voice acquiring a tone that gave him pause. He looked back toward his cousin, his dark eyes reflecting something Dee couldn't read, his expression blank.

"Prove me wrong." He responded, his hackles rising. "Ok, you've been through some things, you've lived a long time, but at least you were-"
"What?" Yakko interrupted. "You were going to say 'drawn right'? How do you know, huh? Tell me, do you even know what right is? No, of course you don't, because you refuse to sit down, shut up, and fucking listen for once! I'm not out here for my health Dee! I'm tired, I'm cold, and I'm hungry. I have shit to do, I have my own siblings to worry about, and my own concerns that stretch back nearly a century! The last thing I want is to be out in the cold arguing with a naked man that should be in my bed holding me instead of feeling sorry for his self!" Yakko clinched his fists and looked away breathing deeply before looking back to Dee, once again under control. Toon emotions were much stronger than their human counterparts, but with practice they could be controlled much more finely. Even so, it took him a long time to learn how, and it served him well over the years. He was going to drill it into Dee's head to if it killed him. You can only run on instinct so long before it yields.
Yakko sighed and ran his hand through his hair collecting his thoughts. He couldn't keep holding back his own history and expect to have any real effect on this obstinate jackass. Maybe it was past time he clued him in to his families past, and some of their less than shining moments. Though, if he was being honest with himself he didn't really want to. "Look, just humor an old man will ya? Come inside, and at least listen. You don't have to cry on my shoulder, but you could at least learn from my mistakes, and brother I've made some doozies."
'It's gotta be here somewhere. I hate when things go missing for no reason.' Wakko cringed at the sounds coming from the bathroom and redoubled his efforts. It had seemed like such a simple thing. He could have sworn Psykko would have no trouble with it. It was only a nightstand after all, and he was certain Psykko was an eater like himself. He had seen him bite through things that would give even Wakko trouble, and he seemed to have the appetite for it, so he tried to show him how he managed to swallow the things he did when asked. His attempt seemed successful at first, as the nightstand vanished in a cloud of splinters and horrid shredding sounds. Though an hour later his stomach started cramping and sure enough he wound up in position he was in now. It seemed like such an elementary lesson to.
"Ah! Found it! Acme lil' glutton stomach relief. When your belly is to full of grub, drink this down you greedy shlub." Wakko grinned as he read the bottle. Acme may have made a lot of duds in their time, but their pharmaceutical department wasn't one of them, and made some of the most effective medicines for toons in the world. He always kept a bottle or two of this around just in case he got carried away at some buffet, or swallowed something mildly radioactive. Time would tell if it had the same effect on Psykko. Poor kid. It seemed for the time being that his only talents were music and wanton destruction.
"The next person that tries to make me swallow a table is gonna get it." Psykko croaked as he downed half the bottle of pink chalky fluid Wakko thrust at him. It tasted like crap. Chalky crap. And it looked like Dot's wardrobe had a bowel movement in a bottle. Wakko was right though, as his stomach began to settle almost instantly, though he still felt unsteady from his labors. Dammit why couldn't he do this? What went wrong? He hated his limitations more than he did his situation, and the sense of vulnerability it gave him put him in an ever worsening mood. He wanted to punch something, but he felt like if he stood he would lose what little fluid his body yet retained. Psykko swore to himself he would get this. He would be damned if he let some silly kids prank beat him.
Wakko beamed as his charge began to settle down, happy for once that he managed to actually fix something. He noticed Dee stood in the door watching as Wakko fish out a second and third bottle, going through his entire stash of meds with a strange look on his face. Wakko would need to stock up again before they left Toon Town. He noticed Dee had been acting strangely the whole morning. In fact everyone had been. Yakko wasn't talking his ear off, and just lay on the couch napping, Slappy for once wasn't cussing or grousing about random things, and just sat in the living room sulking about something, he didn't know. He wished he knew what every ones problem was. He hoped they weren't mad at him, he was fixing it. They couldn't still be that pissed off about the whole David thing. Could they?
Though thinking back on it he supposed it was possible. It had been a long time after Lon's death that the pain went away for them. It still hurt to talk about, or even think about really. But it was nothing like it had been in the beginning. He wanted to share what they had been through with his cousins, but Yakko asked he and Dot not to till he breached the subject with them first. At the time he still didn't fully trust them, but that was months ago and Yakko hadn't said anything about it since. It was all so complicated, and he was really bad at talking about all this emotional crap. He would just be happy to have the whole thing over with, and get to know his cousins better.
"What? No. Slappy Squirrel! Yes. Yes already! What do you mean no? You can't deny visitation, it's a families right to- Stop interruptin me ya mug!" Slappy shook her fist at the unseen nurse on the other end of the line. Permission forms, scheduling conflicts, short staff, a million excuses and none of them would hold water if submerged. All this passive resistance felt like a bunch of rabbit nonsense. She thought it might happen though. One new Warner seeing David they could possibly trust, or at least control. All three of them they feared might present a problem. She couldn't say she blamed them, but this subtly crap was getting on her nerves. It certainly wasn't getting her any closer to her own bed or back to Skippy. He had grown into quite a handsome young man, and with all the strange girls that had been hanging around lately she was worried he might get into something she would rather not deal with. Like babies. Shuddering inwardly, she turned her attention back to the phone just in time to hear the line disconnect. Bastard hung up on her! Maybe it was time to force the issue.
With the youngest being ill there might be problems with an impromptu road trip though. Ideally she would rather wait a day till he recovered, but they might not have that much time before they start putting in road blocks or posting agents all over the place, if they hadn't already. Leaving him here wasn't an option ether. Even sick she feared what trouble he might get into. He had already vanished on them a couple times. Mostly innocent things like the aquarium grabbing his attention, or getting a bit to curious about that one guy in the lobby for his comfort, but she wouldn't want to play the odds on how long it would take for someone to get cross with him and wind up on the business end of all those teeth and claws. Kid had all the cuddly personality of the Tasmanian Devil but God only knew how much more intellect. Wakko had long since filled her in on his budding engineering ability. A talent that might someday rival his own. He would be hard to stop when he got older. Speaking of older she was getting too old for this crap. If this pace kept up she was going to have to find a good animator to shave a few years off just so she could bust some heads. She was loathe to toy with her shtick, it made her a lot of money in the nineties, but if that's what it took, then dammit she would.
Pulling herself back to reality, she began to formulate a plan. She tried to put herself in Bugs position. He might have anticipated something sudden and rash from her if he thought she might feel pinned in. Slappy would have to call in some favors. Picking up the phone again she grinned inwardly. He might expect something in return, but she knew a certain toon that was old hat at delicate situations. Though it might take longer than she would like. Patience wasn't her most practiced virtue.
"Bout time you got here." The grey squirrel grinned as the raven folded his long coat and doffed his fedora. He settled into the booth across from her without a word, an amicable grin on his beak. Slappy knew that grin could mean any number of things, and rightly never trusted it. Back in the forties when she first met him, Ray Raven was the dangerous sort. A free agent, thief, and enforcer for various mobs both toon and human since the twenties. He was the kind of toon you never usually associated with. The years hadn't changed him much, except that he had grown a few morals. But only a few.
"Slappy, it's been years!" Ray puffed the short stub of cigar clinched in the side of his beak grinning wider as he looked her over. "You changed lady."
"It's called old, and it happens to the best of us. You mind puttin out that stogie there? I aint here to turn my lungs to leather." Slappy fanned the fowl smelling smoke aside with a scowl. It was a disgusting habit a lot of older toons picked up from the humans of the age. It never made sense to her even back then. Tobacco had no effect on their kind.
Chuckling, he ground the stub into the ashtray shaking his head. "Nice ta know some things haven't changed. Lemme buy ya a drink, looks like you could use one." The hotels bar was perhaps not the most tasteful place to meet. She abhorred alcohol, and everything that it had done to her, but it was dark and private. Patrons minded their own business, and she didn't want a lot of eavesdroppers.
"Nah, gave that up a while back. Some things do change ya know." Slappy waved off his offer shuddering inwardly at the memories it brought forth. She had never been a subtle woman but at least when sober she had some self control. In her youth alcohol had been the cause of a lot of problems, a lot of regrets she still tried to make good on. It never brought the comfort it promised.
"Suit yourself sister." Ray shrugged and snapped his fingers at the waiter till, with a scowl, the young toon took his order. "Bourbon mac, on the rocks. Don't hold out on the bourbon, see?" Nodding stiffly the human toon made his way to the bar and returned shortly with the wide squat glass filled nearly to the rim, turning away without a word.
"Now there's a sight for sore eyes." Ray grinned, unperturbed, taking a long swig before sighing and leaning back against the booth. He leveled his gaze at her, his eyes as dark, smoky, and unreadable they had always been. He was as dangerous, and alluring as she remembered. It was enough to make an old woman swoon.
"Now leave us get ta business. What can I do for you?" His half lidded eyes gazed into her as much as at her. It had always set her nerves on end when she was younger, but with the years it phased her little.
"Right to the point eh? Fine. I filled you in on most of it already." Slappy leveled her own gaze back at him, their mental tennis match begun.
"Yeah yeah, nutty kids, nutty dad, possible...obstacles. Though in the details department I find myself wanting. If ya want our help I need ta know everything. Don't hold back on the gory parts for my sake." He grinned again running a feathered finger round the rim of his glass, the ice clinking against the side as it melted.
The meeting went surprisingly well. He did after all owe her for her refusal to testify. If things went the way she hoped then by tomorrow every agent in the county would be on his ass and not hers. It was a rotten way to call in a favor, but it was the best they could do on such short notice. Besides Ray said he enjoyed keepin 'The coppers on their 'big flat feet'. She really hated to do this to Bugs. She considered him a friend. But he really ought notta get in her way.
"Who was that enigmatic gentleman you were just speaking with?" Slappy's instincts had, predictably, been right. She eyed the rabbit toon, with a sour expression. One of Bugs’s goons. He had all the markings of an agent alright. Snappy black suit, ear phone, dark glasses, bulge under his coat that could only be a side arm, it was all so corny. If he was trying to blend in it wasn't working. He stuck out like a sore thumb, all pretense at stealth forgotten in what would normally be a reckless display of curiosity. Everyone in the lobby seemed to give him a wide birth, staff included.
"Just an old friend mac. I still have those you know, friends. Remember what those were like? Since when is that any of your business there?" Slappy poked the stiff rabbit in the chest with her umbrella eliciting little more than a less than satisfactory wince. "Aint you got somethin better to do then followin me all day? Like your job?"
"Following you around all day, Ms. Squirrel, is my job." The rabbit responded, raising an eyebrow.
"That include harassing an old lady in the middle of a hotel lobby? Heh! You tell that meddling hare to stay out of my business, or I'll blow you both to kingdom come." She glared at the agent getting too close for his comfort, and drawing the attention of passers by. She waved her hands dramatically in his face shooing him away. "Now buzz off! Go stalk something your own age."
'Annoying twit. Still, he won't stop just because I embarrassed him. I'll bet my AARP card he's not the only one ether.' Slappy groused in the elevator. 'Who do these lack wits think I am anyway?' In her day you would never even have spotted them. The Agency was the unseen unheard invisible hand the Toon Town government used to break the organized crime that ran rampant since before prohibition. In her day most Toons or Humans for that matter never even knew of their existence. Where were the disguises, the misdirection, the training? These kids, over confidant and reckless to let themselves be so visible. Just made them easier to step around. If this was the state things had degenerated to then she pitied every other branch of Toon Town government. How far had they fallen? It's no damn wonder some goon like David slipped under their nose. Maybe all this would do them some good then, show these rubes how vulnerable you made yourself when you stood on a pedestal.
Slappy nodded to herself in resolution as she snatched up her umbrella stepping out of the elevator. The die was cast, the path was clear, and now all that was left is to wait. It wouldn't take long, knowing Ray it wouldn't be small ether. He was mum on the details and she was glad of it. She didn't want, or need to know. Plausible deniability was another skill the agency lacked. She hadn't forgotten though.
At least he wasn't hurling anymore. Peg sighed as she gently stroked her baby brothers ears. He was currently asleep in her arms, his face the picture of innocence. She knew that was both true and false. Psykko was a hard one to figure. Violently defensive of himself and his family one moment, sweet and loving the next, and recklessly curious and playful in between. David had always said he had great potential, but she never knew what he meant till now. It can't be true, no one would raise a toon just for that. They would be caught, imprisoned, worse even. It made no sense to her. No one was so cold or heartless to bring a life into this world just to throw it away. Were they? No, there had to be a misunderstanding. This wasn't the David she knew. Was it?
Psykko stirred beside her nuzzling into her side with a soft grunt. She couldn't help but smile as she ran her fingers through his wild hair. Despite what might be wrong with him, he was still a child, still her baby brother. Everything else took a distant second seat to her family, even that proud, clumsy dick head Dee. 'Humans are what they are.' Peg recalled her conversation with Dot the night before, one of the few sincere ones they had since meeting. 'They don't stick around very long, no matter how much we might want them to. Your brothers will be there as long as you are though. Do you really want to spend that much time alienated from them? Pride has a high price sweetie, and the payoff isn't worth it by a long shot.'
Maybe she was right, but this still stuck in her craw. He should have told them, he should have trusted them. It isn't protection when you lie to your family just to save some hurt feelings, or a screaming match. Peg was loud, she would grant her brother that. That was just who she was. She had never had Dee's level of control and never desired it. What was the point? It will just come out eventually. Scream, throw things, feel bad, let the whole world know how much it sucks, and get over it. There is no point in hiding it just to get along. It felt silly and fake. She was a lot of things but never a liar.
Then again, maybe that's why Dee felt he had to be. He had always tried to be the sensible one. 'You can't fight the world Peg, We have to live with these people Peg, Put that man down Peg.' Is there anything she did that he approved of? Maybe if she followed his advice, and stopped letting every little impulse go straight to her fists he wouldn't have so much to bitch about. Dammit, why did she have to pick now to grow a conscience?
"So that's the plan. It'll take a little longer than I wanted, but with so many eyes on us right now it's our only option." Slappy sat back eyeing Dee. He seemed to take most of the information in stride, his expression never betraying more than casual disinterest. There were tells though, however subtle. Finger tip threatening to rub a hole in the table top, twitchy tail, ears drooping just so when he heard something he didn't care for. She would have to show him how to cover those. Yakko by comparison was more animated, firing a barrage of questions whenever she stopped to breath or think, or pelting Dee with pretzels or gold fish from the massive bowel occupying most of the center of the table when he wasn't talking, aggravating the hell out of Dee in the process. Never had she seen such an appropriately named boy.
"Can this guy be trusted- Dammit stop that." Dee finally spoke, batting away yet another barrage of flying food glaring as Yakko snickered. He was having entirely to much fun at Dee's expense. He would pay for this later, Dee swore darkly to himself.
"Of course he can't." Slappy stifled a grin as Dee's eye twitched, nearly staring a hole in the center of the table. Bless him he was trying. "But he'll do what he said he would." She assured him, holding up her hand and cutting off his response. "We need a distraction, something to get some people off our backs. Ray will do that much. Toons aren't policed like humans. We don't have as many agents, since generally laws here are more relaxed about some things, and toons aren't as prone to overstep the boundaries of what we consider fair play. We're using that assumption to our advantage kiddo."
"Who the hell came up with this hare brained scheme again?" Dee's expression soured. This seemed like a lot of trouble to go through just to be able to visit one crazed human, even if it was his father. Why the obstruction? It was stupid, and over complicated, and it was...just like a fuckin toon.
"Sun Tzu." Slappy grinned. "A human. Don't you ever read those books I gave you? Strike where your opponent isn’t."
"It's a tactic some gangs used in the early nineteen hundreds through the twenties, back in our more rowdy days when there were fewer of us in the first place, and no solid code of conduct. Back then humans and toons hadn't sorted out how their laws applied to us, or even what rights we had, if any. Sort of like our wild west." Yakko added, toying with a pretzel, wondering if he could get it to fit around the end of Dee's ear. "I thought all those guys went legit though."
"Nah, some of them just went underground. Ray is one of em. Don't worry about it, like I said the guy owes me a favor. It took me seventy years but I guess this is as good a time as any to collect, heh." Slappy rocked back in her chair eyeing the pair. She couldn't give any details, but she had stressed early on that was part of it. They didn't want to be connected to any other party any more than they already were. Her own sense of frustration had begun to match Dee's. It was an awful lot of trouble. She hoped Peg appreciated the effort they were going through, let alone what all this was doing to her brother. Slappy would make sure Peg understood if she had to beat it into her with her own mallet. This song and dance was getting old.
"You can say one thing for Ray, the man don't waste time." Slappy grinned watching the local news. Every channel had the same thing. Three Banks, several pawn shops, two electronics stores, a toy store, and an adult novelty store, dozens of other businesses small and large all reporting break-ins, or having been completely cleaned out. Security footage was vague and no one could accurately describe the perpetrators except that they were tall, wore long black coats, and no one could make out their faces. Slappy stifled a chuckle as the reporter she was watching flailed his arms wildly, wailing about the bad old days and a loss of morals. Her grin widened as the same reporter interviewed an agent. Another rabbit toon with a thick Brooklyn accent who declared they would spare no expense in finding "doze wise guys" and "trowin da book attem".
"This is sad. Why do they always pick the least articulate people for stuff like this? " Slappy mused as everyone filtered into the living room for once dressed and quiet and ready to move.
"Looks like we got our window." Dee muttered and jerked his head toward the door. "Leave us scram before they figure out what happened."
Despite the situation he couldn't help but feel a little excited. Perhaps finally they could get some closure and put this nightmare behind them. He wanted to get this over with and go...home? Heh, funny how that place had so quickly become home. Enough so that he looked forward to getting back to it and restarting his routine at any rate. Perhaps even normalizing his relationship with his sister, though he didn't know how long it would take. Ether way, with all this behind them they would have time. No more holding back, no more lies. He just wanted his family back.
Slappy turned the television off with a nod, snatching up her umbrella. The valet had been called ahead of time, their route planned out to avoid as much attention as possible. The air crackled with anticipation as they filtered out and with a barely audible click Slappy closed the door behind them.
'Well so far so good.' Slappy mused as they pulled up to the gate to Loopy Acres. The ride there hadn't been to eventful. They only had to duck under the windows once or twice and lose a couple agents, skirting around a nasty traffic jam, and turning an alley way into a disaster area in the process, but they were there. Strange though that the gate was wide open. Shouldn't it be closed? Something was off. They knew better than to compromise their perimeter with so many dangerous toons in their care. As they slowly drove past, one look told her why. The gate hinges were bent, the pleasantly bland white paint over the wrought iron scuffed a black and grey, the bars bent inward, the gates askew. What the Fudd was going on here?
She got her answer soon enough as they followed the winding road up the green wooded hill. The evil lego had company, and lots of it. The front of the facility was packed with black vans, and plain cars, the spaces in between filled with humans in dark suits, the door a veritable wall of humanity, and all of them had plenty of time to see Slappy's rental van coming. 'FBI. Shit.' That damn rabbit anticipated this somehow. The air in the van was thick with dread and unease. No one had any idea what these people would try to do once they arrived. If they tried to grab them there would be a fight. One the humans couldn't win, but would no doubt attempt. To late to turn back now, and if they tried they would no doubt be chased clear around the planet before they stopped. No way they were getting inside with these goons in the way ether. This move made no sense. Toons had never relied on humans before to solve internal matters, and Bugs opinion was no different than hers on the matter. Why now? Thinking quickly, she tried to compose options, think of some way out of this, a bylaw, regulation, jurisdiction issue, anything.

By the time she got to the entrance she was frantic, a strange barely audible keening noise emanating behind her made it hard for her to concentrate. Dee may as well of been a statue, and Yakko had long since forgotten his vocabulary cussing a streak that would make a sailor blush. As she pulled to a stop, a hundred pairs of human eyes fell on them, none friendly in the slightest. On the contrary they looked mad enough to spit. The atmosphere was tense, fists balling, hands slipping into inventories to find any weapons they had on hand, the sound of fabric ripping as Psykko drug claws up the sides of his seat, teeth bared, his face twisted in a rigor of naked rage. Slappy herself was mentally preparing to throw a few bombs having already taken a rough head count, when from out of the sea of hormones and emotion a familiar face stepped out of the crowd, a pair of ears picking its way through, pushing men aside here and there, those arrogant eyes, that smug expression. Slappy's anxiety turned to anger, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the steering wheel so hard it creaked in protest. The van grew quiet once again as a white gloved finger tapped on her window.
"You." Slappy growled through clinched teeth.
"You were expecting maybe David Duchovny?" Bugs responded, glib as ever. "Eh, since you're here and all, what say we head inside and have a talk. This aint exactly the place for it, see?" Bugs cast a side long glance at the humans through narrowed eyes. Looking about Slappy noticed details that at first eluded her. The door was jammed with toon asylum guards menacing the human agents, the facility head doctor, and a few other administrative officials, all appearing flustered and embarrassed. The humans didn't appear much happier ether, with some talking animatedly into their cell phones. Others milling about and generally looming in front of the only door in or out. 'So they didn't expect us. Interesting.'
"As always, your sense of timing is impeccable." Bugs quipped as they made their way to the administrative offices amongst a tight knot of toon agents and doctors fluttering their hands, as they admonished the council to do something. Dee hadn't been to this part of the facility on their last ill fated visit. It still lacked personality but it wasn't as cold or overly sterile as the rest of the place. Still, he suppressed a shudder and resisted the urge to knock a hole in the nearest wall and get the hell out of there. He knew, just a few feet in any direction he would be back in those same hallways that haunted his dreams. And a few feet in a certain direction was him. Thinking about it made his head hurt. He knew this wasn't going to be pleasant even if they allowed them to see him. Considering the current situation he didn't think that would happen now, but Peg was persistent. Things were complicated beyond his imagining at this point. Let alone his ability to control. No that ship had sailed days ago.
'You have gotta be kidding me.' Peg fumed as she glared at the toons milling about, jabbering in near panic. Psykko clung to her side pulling closer to her whenever someone got to close, the movement drawing her attention as he hissed or snapped defensively at them. Looking down at him, her expression softened and she ran her fingers through his hair which comically sprang back into place in their wake. She could tell he was trying to be good and not hiss and growl at the adults around them but it wasn't easy and impulse control was never his strong suit. She was in the edge herself, so she couldn't imagine the effort it took him just to keep from jumping the nearest nurse and clipping his head neatly off his overly muscled shoulders.
That he hadn't was nothing short of a miracle. Wakko had managed to do with him in six months what they had failed to do in the few short years they had been alive. She had to wonder what those two talked about when they weren't around. She had to admit they are all changing a little at a time though. Dee said it wasn't a bad thing. Peg had to wonder if that was true. She chose, for now, to trust her asshole brother. His tactics aside, he really was trying to look out for them. 
He was going to have to learn to return that trust however, and start discussing these things with them. For the tenth time in as many minuets she replayed their argument in her head. It still stung that he hid so much from them. For what? All to save a few hurt feelings, a screaming match? Or maybe he was afraid she would go to David with all this and tip him off? No. He trusted her further than that. He didn't want her to be involved so if their betrayal did come to light he would be the only one held responsible. She understood that much, at least after her last talk with Slappy. None of these toon laws had meant anything to her, nor was she familiar with any of them. But Dee had known. He had tried like an idiot to carry the burden himself. Chivalry wasn't dead, it was stupid. Peg huffed and stroked Psykko's ear, swearing to herself that she would make Dee trust them even if that meant embracing the change she had resisted all this time.
"Wadda ya mean we can't see him!?" Psykko narrowed his eyes at the tall bunny baring his teeth, at the unimpressed authority figure.
"Look kiddo I've already explained it twice. We can't move him out of his cell with half the states FBI agents outside, ready to beat the door in. It's to big a risk, the doc's say too much stimulation could send your David over the edge and besides-"
"Bullshit!" Psykko snarled, his sister not far behind. "They're outside, how the hell will they know? You keep comin up with excuses, but it's all bullshit!" Dee restrained Psykko by his hood as he flailed his arms and kicked at the desk clawing the cheap plastic veneer to pieces in the process.
As Psykko ranted and threw the sum of his frustration against the implacable toon Dee sighed and inwardly agreed with him. Since they had arrived, nether the agents or the doctors had made a move against them all on Bugs orders. He had to give him credit for that. But nether had he budged thus far on allowing them to fulfill their whole reason for being here. This wasn't the Bugs Bunny he was hoping to meet. This bureaucrat was not the irreverent rebellious figure he had come to know. No, this Bugs Bunny was tired, pulled in different directions, and if he was reading him right conflicted about what to do with them. This Bugs could very well do something stupid if he wasn't reminded of who he was and soon.
"Is this what your fathers taught you?" Dee finally uttered, his brother and sister stopping mid sentence looking up at him. "To abandon them when everyone else said so? To ignore your responsibility-"
"Do not pretend to tell me what I'm responsible for!" Bugs hissed as he stood eye to eye with the elder Warner. "I've been doing this job since before your twisted little daddy in there was even born! Every toon in the country is affected by everything I do, so don't you dare lecture me about responsibility! You put him here!" The rabbit roared shoving the desk aside like it was made of paper his eyes red, his teeth bared as months of stress, so uncharacteristic of a toon, was released in a matter of minuets.
"To save my family!" Dee roared back, his own temper breaking as his sister weaved in and snatched up her baby brother before the two started swinging. "Tell me old man, what does all your experience have to say about that? That's right, not a god damn thing! You didn't even know David existed until I told you! You didn't know where he was until I told you! None of you mother fuckers had any idea what the hell he was doing until I! Fucking! told you! I'm supposed to be the bad guy here, but I've done more to keep your precious balance in check than the rest of you blind shit heads put together!"
In the back of Dee's mind he willed himself, begged himself to shut up, but he couldn't. He watched almost detached as his vision narrowed on the enraged face he idolized, his hands about his collar shacking, him like a rag doll on each syllable spoken. 'He's lighter than I thought he would be.' His detached self mused as his vision began to go dark. He didn't know why or how but be half heard half felt the thud as he hit the ground in slow motion.
'I told you little Dee Dee, they don't understand you. They will hate you, oppress you, oppose you simply because they fear you.' The needling voice chimed at his subconscious as his head swam with images, half formed, incoherent, moving too fast to register. He stood before a shadow, enveloping him on all sides, narrow eyes, wide drooling smile, crooked hands about his chest. Strangely enough he felt no fear for this apparition, just...pity. And shame for him, that he had fallen so far. 'And I told you David. You don't own me. You can't sway me. You can't blame me. The sum of your ambition ends here. An impotent voice inside my head, where no one else can hear or see. No fame, no attention, no glory. No not even infamy. Soon David, soon you won't even have that. You can feel it can't you? Despite all your whispering, all your fury, all your petty attempts to sabotage me, I'm winning!'
He felt more than heard the scream of frustration in his mind as the images faded to the recesses, his consciousness slowly returning though his mind was still a haze. Sharp pain behind his eyes. It bite into his skull like a thousand angry insects eliciting a groan, as Dee clamped his hand over his eyes pressing his thumb into his temple. He opened them braving the searing fluorescent light overhead, shapes coming into focus. Faces, some worried some strangely satisfied, some scowling.
"What happened?" Dee pursed his lips, his tongue felt thick and unresponsive. He couldn't form a cogent phrase if his life depended on it. It was Peg who answered first propping him up slowly as she did so.
"You and Mister Bunny over there got in a fight." She smirked as Dee gingerly turned his head and raised an eyebrow. "You know how many times he kicked you in the head while you were shaking him like a noisy infant?" She snickered, or was that Psykko? Ether way, someone found this terribly amusing. He barely registered as she continued. "I'm surprised to stayed upright as long as you did. You even threw him clear across the room before he knocked you out. Heh! Didn't know you had it in ya."
Dee narrowed his barely functioning eyes at his sister for a moment before looking down in his lap, his ears slumping. "What I just did...could get us in a lot of trouble. Don't...don't let me catch ether of you..." He couldn't finish what he was about to say. At this point he felt like the biggest hypocrite on the planet. The look of admiration his little brother gave him stung. Of all the stupid times to lose it, of all the people to lose it on...
"Don't worry about it to much kiddo, that ain't the first time someone's given that hare the business. Hell if you hadn't done it I would of!" Slappy patted him roughly on the back eliciting another groan as the needles in his head returned. She cackled like a mad woman as she addressed an equally deflated looking rabbit. "Hey Bugs, did you see how far you flew? I thought he was gonna fling your sorry ass clean back to Albuquerque! HA! Lookit the hole your noggin left in the wall! They're gonna have to tear the whole damn room down and start from scratch!" Bugs threw her a sour look and waved the cat calls off holding an ice bag to the considerable lump on his head. Slappy laughed even harder at this slapping her knee.
Slappy was having way to much fun with this even she had to admit, but it was worth it. She had seen Dee begin to break, and she could have done something to stop it, but damn it all if that arrogant hare didn't deserve a good pounding! And she had to admit she was impressed with Dee's restraint. Anyone else would have flattened him on sight for what he said, probably pounding him straight into the sub basement in the process. The worst he got out of Dee was whiplash and a concussion. In his place Slappy had to admit she would of blown the whole damn wing up if someone uttered a single word about her animator. Let alone what Bugs said.
"He shoulda known better kiddo. He wouldn't have taken that from anyone else, he shoulda known you wouldn't ether." Slappy did her best to quell her amusement and soothe the boy. He probably thought they would get thrown in the slammer because he beat up another toon. He had the instincts, he just didn't know what to do with them. Poor kid may as well be on another planet, for all he knew about his own kind.
Dee looked around him confused at the levity, and lack of being hauled off somewhere cramped. Half the toons around him were snickering or giggling like crazy people, and the other half were trying and failing to appear disapproving. What was with this joint? "S-so I'm not…"
"In trouble?" Slappy finished for him. "Nah you're fine kiddo. Like I said, this ain't the first time someone has tried to turn our intrepid leaders brain into play dough. Shmuck never did learn to keep his big mouth shut." Slappy grinned elevating her voice for the last part directing it at Bugs who simply flipped her the bird.
"Ah, you wish rabbit. In my day, I woulda broken you. I aint no Fudd." Slappy grinned slapping Dee on the back again. The room erupted in snickers again and Bugs ears flushed dark as he muttered something nasty and x rated under his breath. The rabbit always did have a dirty mouth on him.
"Alright I get the point Doc. I'll see what I can do, but no promises! I don't run this joint, and I aint no shrink, so the docs get final say on what he can handle." Bugs sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. 'I cant believe I'm doing this. Nothin about this situation has been desirable since I heard the name David Borax.' He would never be so happy to relinquish his title to someone else. Even, or especially, Daffy.
"You guys go on ahead, I got business of my own here too." Slappy urged the group as they assembled in the hallway leading to the visitation chamber. She had been asking subtle questions of the staff the whole time they had been there and she finally found him. The doctor that had been in charge of Uncle Screwy's therapy. She hadn't forgotten and intended to make good on her promise even while helping fulfill the Warners.
Dee stifled a gasp as another stab of pain shot through his head, trying not to breath any more of the over sterile air than he had to for fear of...something. Irrational phobias and nightmares came back to him as they padded silently to the room, the key pad functioning with the same ominous clack as before sending a shudder down his spine and making his little brother grind his teeth in irritation. As far as Dee could tell, everything about this place pissed Psykko off. Maybe it was because David was here, maybe he didn't like the color. It was always hard to tell with him what would trigger one mood or another. Dee didn't foresee his mood improving much after this.
The lot of them were shown into the room, unchanged since his and Yakko's last visit. The two shared a glance as Peg tossed herself into the seat in front of the reinforce window her gloved hands curled into fists in her lap, not knowing what to expect. It didn't take them long as another click was heard and two nurses escorted David in. They actually appeared nervous, but why Dee didn't know. There wasn't a human alive that could beat a toon hand to hand, so he had more to fear from them than the other way around.
'His hair grew back in.' He mused as they showed the cuffed and shackled human to a chair. The same gaunt face though. The same cold hollow eyes stared through them as much as at them as he wordlessly leaned back in his chair. The mumbling had stopped, no more ranting, he was just...empty. Dee didn't realize everyone was holding their breaths till Bugs broke the silence.
"Your kids are here doc. They fought, colluded with criminals, nearly incited a riot, and threw me though a wall to get here. You gonna say anything or just sit there like a lump?" Bugs clinched his jaw as Dee watched him. 'He's pissed again. And not at me. I wonder what these two had to say when they met.' He could only imagine. David had always had a knack for getting under someone's skin, even before the breakdown. Even toons had their limits.
"Kids." David muttered. His voice was clearer than before, but still dripping with contempt for everyone and everything around him.
"David its me...Peg" Her voice sounded pleading, fragile. It didn't become her. Too unlike her normal tone and posture. It pained Dee to see her prostrating herself like this but something told him she needed to do this as much if not more than he wanted to deny it to her.
"Kids..." He repeated in the same tone. Bugs fists balled at his sides his lips curling in contempt. He hated this guy. He could spit he was so pissed off at him, and he didn't even know why. Something about this goon just pressed his buttons. Toons weren't supposed to feel like this, not for this long for a single person. What was it about this David person that made everything around him twist into something hateful?
"David please-" Peg began.

"I have no kids." David interrupted. "Why did you bring me here again Dee Dee? You said we were done. Are you a liar to?" He looked through Peg leveling his gaze on Dee who mirrored his hollow stare. "Or perhaps have you come to make good on your promise? As if you could kill me. You can't even keep your noisy little sister in line. You never could. It's funny really, she always was such a loud mouthed bitch. Maybe I should have erased you three after all-"
David was interrupted as Psykko was at the window in a flash, his hair on end, a sound emanating from his throat that even Dee had never heard before, as he drug his claws down the glass partition, cutting deep channels in it with an ear splitting screech. "Oh David you silly stupid little boy..." He ground out between his teeth. "Is it us you have so little faith in? Or is it your own skill as an animator you doubt? Well permit me to relieve you of that fallacy..." Psykko menaced digging his fingers deeper into the glass, forming cracks where he ground weak spots into the surface. "If I were here to kill you, really here to kill you, father, believe me when I say that there is nothing you, nor God in the sky, or a person in this room could do-" Before he finished the sentence he ground the last words out from behind David, his teeth fractions of an inch from his ear clicking as his jaw worked to and fro with the pent up storm of emotion behind his eyes. "- to stop me."
'H-He flashed! That took me years to master!' Bugs stood stunned, the anger gone at the quiet ones sudden burst of speed and talent. There were only a limited number of circumstances where it was even feasible, and none of them were present here. Only when it's funny. You are only supposed to be able to do these things when it's funny. How the hell could an angry toon manage...'Oh God, he's gonna-'
"Psykko." Dee's voice cut through the tension like a knife. "It's enough. Come here."
To everyone's surprise he listened. Over as quick as it had begun, he was back at his brothers side, acting as if it never even happened, the only evidence that he moved at all were the grooves carved into the security screen and the hurt look on Pegs face. David for his part looked as surprised as anyone else, bleeding lightly from three tiny pin pricks on his right shoulder where the youngest Warner held him fast to his immobile chair.
"You once told me David, that there is no bad music, only bad players. You are a bad player David. You are a disharmonious cacophony. A shrill voice in an opra house. A stain on a masterpiece. So we are leaving you here, so your voice can bounce off these four walls and no one else need hear it. If you manage to get out, and you see us again, you won't like it. Peg, have you seen what you needed to see?" Dee asked his sister. Her shoulders slumped and her ears sagged as she nodded, taking Dot's hand, she rose from the blank metal chair and turned to walk out the door without a word.
"I think we're done here." He spoke to Bugs this time, his eyes empty, his posture stiff. Bugs only nodded and exchanged a silent glance with the shocked nurses, who, rapidly composing themselves drug David bodily from the room, his eyes still conveying the shock of his first real reality check. 'Everything has a consequence doc. And I think you just met yours.' Bugs thought as the room emptied behind him.

"What do you want we should do with him?" The burly nurse asked the harried doctor. The whole place was abuzz since the arrival of the humans, come to claim their own. A matter of jurisdiction they said. He didn't know nothin about that, he just kept the crazy people from getting out or hurting anyone. As long as he kept his head low and did his job he was happy.
"I-I don't know, stick him in the craft room for now. Let him make...snow flakes or something I don't care." The doctor fluttered his arms as he rushed down the hall, his instructions echoing off the bare walls. The nurse shrugged and did as he was told escorting the patent to the room indicated, then standing in the doorway to make sure he didn't make any mischief. Not that he could do much with safety scissors and comically thick pencils made for toon hands. He kind of looked silly sitting there doodling on a blank sheet of paper.
"You did what!?" Bugs flew out of his seat rushing to the door the doctor in tow. "You just gave the only human animator within a hundred miles access to art supplies?! Get him out of there! Put him-!" He stopped mid sentence, barely out of the door as he heard the dull thud and felt the building rumble, fire alarms sounding as a sickening feeling settled in his stomach. The doctor behind him fluttered and flailed apologizing for his most grievous oversight. Dead pan, and cold inside, Bugs took out his cell phone and spoke, his tone grim. "I want everyone at Loopy Acres now. Don't ask questions, just move. He's escaped."
The hole they managed to make was quite impressive. How David had managed to survive the blast became apparent as the smoke settled and the last of the new toons he created were wrangled into an isolation room, minus the weapons he had given them. Tables stacked in the far corner lashed together with jewelry wire stuffed with rolls of cloth and stuffing used for dolls, the outer surface covered in doll heads that had been relieved of all their hair and taped into place. The unconscious nurse was the first one recovered and was in the first aid office with a standard mallet induced concussion. He would bounce back within the hour, maybe sooner if he saw it coming.
This was still fixable. The grounds had an outer wall with only one opening and that was choked with agents, both his own and FBI that were hoping to score a coup in their little jurisdiction spat. 'Jurisdiction my fluffy ass, they want to use him.' They would spirit the son of a bitch away somewhere, and try to pick apart what he did, recreate it, perfect it. They had always wanted, to use toons in their little national security games, but couldn't until now. If they thought they could accomplish what David had tried to do...no it couldn't happen. Everything they had worked so hard for would crumble overnight. And the only way to stop him if they failed to capture him was unthinkable for any toon here, save maybe... Ah hell. At least the area they needed to search was small.
'It's your duty, he said. You're the only one that can do it doc, he said. Stupid rabbit, stupid humans, stupid fucking bush!' Dee snarled in distaste as he picked his way through the undergrowth. What he wouldn't give for a machete. Or enough rope to hang all these mother fuckers from a tall tree and play moron piñata.

The grounds were vast. Having only seen it from the front and sides Dee never knew just how much territory Loopy Acres covered. Partly it was in the hope that patients, if escaped, would run themselves ragged before getting remotely close to the enclosure wall. Partly because the facility was once much larger in the past than now. Yet like so much dealing with toon town and government in general things had deteriorated. 

Behind the main facility the grounds was over grown and dotted with long forgotten ramshackle buildings that hadn't seen a soul since the twenties. The manicured gardens and paths long over grown, turning what had been a sprawling detox and anti addiction center into a tight thicket occupied only by the wild life that sought to reclaim their habitat.

 Predictably he came this way. It's one of the few places on the manicured grounds with vegetation thick enough to hid him. The signs were all over the place. Broken branches, foot prints, stray threads or hair and clothing. A blind monkey could find him, provided he wasn't wearing a badge.

Of course he tried to tell the others this, but with them still squabbling over jurisdiction and custody they were crippled to do anything about it.

Idiot politicians and their petty concerns. It's no wonder so many nations rose and fell in humanities history. They seemed perfectly incapable of doing anything for the greater good, and God help them the toons were taking after them. 

Thinking back on it, as he signaled Yakko, silently approaching a grotto formed by gnarled tree roots, he should have known they would be on their own. If it wasn't so predictable it might be funny. The events replayed in his head for the tenth time in as many minuets.

-----

Dee laughed. For the life of him he couldn't think of another way to cope with the sheer stupidity of it. Falling into hysterics as Yakko and Bugs looked on with various degrees of concern and amusement. It was all too fucking much.

Between gasps and tears he berated the lot of them. He couldn't stop himself from verbally flaying every doctor, nurse, politician, the building it's self, the humans who were now inside and scurrying about trying to organize anyone big enough to help.

This was bad comedy. Never in his short life had he seen so few in such high positions screw up so badly and so consistently. There had to be someone here with the slightest shred of competence.

Leaning against the nearest wall, Dee wiped moisture from his eyes. His shoulders heaved, gulping for air, his chest burning with the exertion of emotional release. Many passers by looked on him with pity, distaste, or flat out hate but he didn't care. They didn't even exist to him. And if David truly escaped that might soon be the case.

"Really now you wouldn't think it would be so hard to find a cackling mad man in a building that echoes so much." Yakko smiled laying his hand on the taller Warner's shoulder, nudging him from his revere. "You would be surprised how many times this happens with us. Cleaning up someone else's mess I mean. But are you ok with this?"

Honestly he couldn't blame Dee in the least, and while his reaction left a bad taste in many of the humans mouths, it was a very normal thing for their kind. It gave him hope for his damaged cousins, that someday they might approach something close to normal.

"Do we have a choice?" Dee's demeanor changed as he spoke, hilarity gone, the somber artist returned.

"Not really. If it helps, they are pretty sure he is still on the grounds, but they can't find him. The humans, and staff here are still fighting over who gets to keep him. You know him though. Even if they could stop the infighting it's doubtful they could find him quick enough. You know how he thinks, where he would go. Out of all of us you three have the best chance of finding him before he gets out. I don't need to remind you what'll happen if he does." 

The one saving grace about Dee had always been that he could be reasoned with even in his most manic moments. Yakko hoped it was still true. 

The other two were fuming. Peg was ready to beat the David into a crater, and the more she ruminated over his words the angrier she became. Psykko was bouncing off the walls, the high emotional pitch, and people racing about only serving to agitate the sensitive boy further. They needed their brother to give them a direction to vent toward.

With a sigh Dee heaved himself off the wall. He was really getting tired of being lectured on things he should already know. 

-----

Psykko snarled, untangling yet another thorny vine from his arm. He swore if he found David first he was throwing him head first into this thicket. Initially he had been elated to find out they would finally be able to escape that boring sterile bland place. But the thick undergrowth was ripping his favorite hoodie to shreds and he had things stuck in his fur he was pretty certain would take weeks to get out. When Dee decided it would be faster if they split off into three pairs he hadn't paid much attention to where they were tasked to search. He made a mental note to thank his brother for the special hell he sent him to.

For her part Peg stared blankly at their goal, the doorway to a vine tangled dormitory. The crumbling victorian facade choked with vines, thorns, and other evil looking things that made Psykko yearn for a flame thrower, or at least a machete.  She hadn't said or done anything without swearing or punching someone since their ill fated meeting, giving little more than grunt of acknowledgment when Psykko pointed out the structure. And they called him the violent one.

At least now her anger was properly focused. For as long as Peg had been in denial, Psykko had known Dee was right. It only served to make things worse, so he hadn't wanted to admit it ether. He instead chose to funnel all his hurt and anger at Plotz.  Besides being an easy target, he was completely devoid of any redeemable traits in the first place. 

Had he succeeded no one would have shed a tear for the Napoleonic knob. But he would have also proven that everything David said was right. He wasn't a monster, and he refused to let anyone, father or not, dictate his life.

He would never admit it to Wakko, but he was the reason the Plotz-a-pult never worked, and the Plotz cannon exploded on it's test run. As much as he disliked the man, and as much as he treasured the look of terror in the pudgy pimples eyes, he couldn't, wouldn't do anything to jeopardize their family. Besides, he couldn't protect them if he was in prison.

Heaving a sigh, he followed his sister into the structure picking their way through gaps in the life that threatened to drag the whole place to the ground, both doing their best to stay silent.

-----

The toon squirrel twisted fruitlessly in the grasp of the large nurse's single massive hand, getting little more than an irate snort from the moose. Bugs watched bemused while the squirrel struggled and gnawed on the hand restraining him, the nurse staring stoically into space, his inscrutable facade no doubt concealing a keen desire to fling the jumpy creature into his grasp into low orbit.

"Lemme go ya ignora-moose! I aint done nothin, see! Ya got nothin on me! I'm a citizen! I know my rights! I aught ta-"

"Do ya now?" Bugs interrupted, drawing the squirrels attention. "Know your rights I mean. Considerin how ya just got here an all, I doubt ya know much of anything, doc. Except one thing. Where did he go?"

"Go? Who?" As quick as a breeze his mood shifted, regarding the rabbit curiously, his captor forgotten. 

"The one that drew you. The human? Strange pale guy, talks to himself alot, makes no sense, wearin a fuckin orange jumpsuit!? Who do ya think I'm talkin about!?"

Slipping easily out of the nurses grasp he paced up and down the thick arm muttering to himself, hand upon his chin, deep in thought. 

"Hmm. Hmmmm. Mmm hm! Tallish guy? Black hair? Pale skin? Looked like Dracula? Rants like Manson?"

"Yeah, yeah that's him, now out with it." Bugs fumed.

"Eh, aint seen em-HERK!" The squirrel shrugged before being apprehended once again by the burly nurse and squeezed till his eyes bulged like a stress doll.

'One things for sure, this guy aint abnormal. Guess David didn't have time to fiddle with em much.' Bugs peered at the fluff ball and he was squeezed repeatedly by the annoyed brute, squeaking like a dogs chew toy, his eyes bulging to impossible size. 

If this kid wasn't altered then there was no way any amount of persuasion would get him to sell David out. This was pointless. He was going to have to get personally involved.

-----

"I'm getting tired." Dot whined, fanning herself. 

"You haven't done anything." Wakko retorted, shifting her leg as she rode astride his shoulders. 

He was covered to his knees in thistles mud and God knows what else that the little princess couldn't bare to expose her perfect feet to. 'Tear your dress my ass.'

Wakko scowled finally sitting her down in a clear spot his back creaking under the stress. There was nothing out here. They searched every crumbling building, every ditch, drain pipe, tree top, and crumbling fountain. Not so much as a footprint. This was pointless, and Wakko was beginning to think Yakko intended it that way. Damn it they were just as old as he was, just as capable of taking care of themselves. He was always doing this, trying to keep them away from the good stuff. Wakko wanted to see some action to!

Dot leaned against a nearby tree scanning the horizon with a sigh. It was highly unlikely he had ever been this way, as it was nearly the opposite direction of he means of escape. They were on the far side of the grounds now, and there was little to no cover for him this way. 

There was a time when Yakko would have relied on them, however reluctantly, to be his eyes and hands, but David was different. Yakko was afraid of him, or perhaps what he represented, she was unsure, however he was adamant that she and Wakko stay as far away from him as possible. She figured if they weren't going to see any action, she may as well have some fun at her brothers expense. 

Feigning a dramatic sigh she sat back wiggling her toes at her disheveled brother. "Massage my feet?"

She barely had time to dodge the pie that answered her request.

-----

‘Flee!’ Branches lashed at David’s face and tore at his clothes as he ran as fast as he could down the hill. But even for a human it was a miserable pace. Months of incarceration, and years of self neglect had not left him in ideal condition for athletic pursuit. And even if he had been, he was still sane enough to know he stood no chance at all against a toon. Let alone the two who stoically watched as he bolted from the squat dilapidated maintenance shack he was squatting in. It was all happening too fast. He hadn’t had time to catch his breath just reaching this far, and now he was on his feet again. He felt like he was being toyed with. And by the look on their face,  he was.
Yakko glanced at Dee as they watched him flee. Terribly technique really, arms flailing, back hunched, constantly looking over one shoulder then the other as he moved seemingly in slow motion through the underbrush panting and groaning with the effort. This was the third time they had done this. Letting him escape just far enough to feel it safe to stop, only to make their presence known and elicit another blind flight, slowly herding him towards the facility. He was so blind with fatigue at this point Yakko doubted David realized what direction he was moving in.
“You going to let him go again?” Yakko asked as Dee watched, expressionless. Dee tilted his head slightly watching as David fell, rolled, flailed his limbs as he rose again, and paused to gulp air before plodding forward again. 
“No.” He said simply, and just as abruptly he wasn’t there.
His legs felt like jelly, his lungs burned, his head swam with an exertion and a primal terror he was unaccustomed to. ‘This isn’t how it was supposed to be! He was to cause the terror! To the people that deserved it! To get what they were owed! All he wanted-’ He never saw the forearm that clocked him in the head and spun him head over heels before landing face down in the dirt and leaves. A flash of white, then time and space ceased to exist.
When he came to he was on his back, and surrounded by demigods. Bugs sneered in distaste as no less than four of his agents and two of the asylum’s nurses shackled his arms and legs and bodily carried him back toward the asylum. He dared not move. Few humans understood the danger these beings posed like he did. And the ones who did worked in places that didn’t have names, for people that didn’t have faces. If that happened…
“You can’t let me live.” He told Dee as he followed beside him. “You know what the feds will do with me. It’ll happen again. They’ll-”
A mechanical click and a cold mass pressed against his forehead cut him off, as without looking Dee spoke. “You think I haven’t thought of that? Or that I couldn’t? Because I can David. I really can. And moreover, I want to.” He growled, as agents and nurses alike froze. “After everything you tried to do to us, did you really think I wouldn’t have thought of that?”
“So you kept it after all.” David’s eyes focused on the stainless steel revolver Dee pressed between his eyes. The only human weapon he had given them. Not that they needed them. He had intended to gift it to Psykko, but Dee wouldn’t have it. His unintended over protective streak always had been obstructive. 
“Dee.” Yakko placed a hand gently on his forearm, looking up at him. “I won’t say it’s not worth it. You already know he’s just trying to goad you into proving him right. You’re smarter than he ever gave you credit for. So I don’t need to tell you why you’re going to put that gun down now, and let Bugs take care of this.” As he spoke he gently, but firmly pulled his arm away from David, pointing the gun aside, away from the only person in this small group that it could possibly hurt. Dee’s arm started to shudder under his grip, as his jaw muscles clinched, and his breath shuddered, his composure finally cracking.
“He’s right doc.” Bugs spoke from his other side, slowly prying the weapon out of his hand. “Let me.” He nodded to the asylum nurses prompting them to escort the two back to the facility. He and his agents were more than enough for this. He turned the weapon over in his hands several times as minutes ticked past. “Let me take care of it.” He spoke softly as he looked down at the human where the nurses had deposited him. 
---------
Numb. Everyone in the hotel room felt numb. Slappy watched them silently as the events of the day were digested, and just lay there. Dee and Yakko were in their bedroom. His composure completely fractured he was inconsolable from the moment they arrived back at the asylum. They had been the last ones to regroup, and Yakko had a haunted look on his face while Dee passed out as soon as they had been brought to a waiting room.
Things progressed quickly from there. Bugs arrived, oddly cool, declaring that David was now in the councils custody, and had been removed from the grounds. The feds, none too pleased acquiesced, for the moment, and left the facility in orderly fashion. It all felt a little too easy to Slappy. But she hadn’t been privy to what he said to them. Whatever. Her own business there had been fulfilled and her long held grudge, and an indelible message left in it’s wake. And so long as things were wrapped up she was content to put all this behind her. She never wanted to see the inside of an asylum ever again.
Dot and Wakko and Psykko had all fallen asleep leaning on Peg, who gently stroked their heads as they snoozed. A touching scene, considering everything that she had endured. Slappy knew that on some level she was reevaluation her priorities till this point. Character growth as far as Slappy was concerned. She wondered though how Dee would handle things in time.
----------
Sleep. Finally. Yakko held his head in his lap, stroking his hair. It had grown long since their arrival, even messier than when they first met. He would have to get it trimmed at some point. Yakko was content to leave it be at the moment. He watched in silence as Dee’s face, till now twisted in agony, was finally calm. ‘His shirt is wet. He hates sleeping in his clothes.’ His mind wandered in the dark. The only sounds to pass the time were Dee’s breath, and the faint sound of traffic. Toon Town bustled about. Just another day. People commuted home from work, restaurants geared up for their evening rush, somewhere a bakery began to wind down as closing time approached at a glacial pace it’s employees wished would arrive faster, a nightclub swung into full gear as toons lined up around the block to enter, to drink, to perhaps take someone home that night and do something life affirming.
But here, this was a time for triage. The battle was over. But the wounds it left behind would take untold time to heal. But they would heal. They had time now, and a safe place for it. And Yakko and his sibs would be there. They wouldn’t turn their backs on them after everything that happened. Leaning back against their nest of pillows he drifted slowly to sleep, chasing tomorrow like a beacon of hope.