Greetings, everybody! As you know, today is the 12th anniversary of the hellish tragedy that was the 9/11 attacks. And since I made some fanfic tributes for the horrid events in the last few years, it's only natural that I would make one this year. Anyway, the franchise I'm using this time is the one and only Tiny Toon Adventures, and interestingly enough, there's actually a picture on that site Deviantart of Babs and Shirley hugging one another in tears while remembering that awful, tragic and horrific day. Seeing said picture was part of what spurred me to use TTA as the basis for a 9/11 tribute this Patriot Day. Since TTA ended in 1995, if you count the specials that came after its end in 1992, I'm having it so that the characters emerge from their world into ours on the night of September 11th, 2001, and specifically into New York City. Never in their lives have any of them seen the likes of this, and it's going to leave quite the mark on them all, though not in a good way, obviously. May all who died on that day rest in peace, and I hope this tribute is as powerful and heartfelt as I'm aiming it to be.

I own none of the characters. They all belong to Tiny Toon Adventures.

TINY TOON AFTERMATH

Night…but not just any night. No. This was the night which had followed a morning in which all hell broke loose in a way less than fathomable. And the most unexpected and, for that matter, most unlikely of individuals were seeing it all. You see, there had been some kind of very unexpected and inexplicable phenomenon which had generated a portal from one universe to the next, and that just happened to be the Tiny Toon Adventures universe to the real, original one. It came as quite the surprise to the numerous characters in the show who were suddenly sucked on into the real world Earth, and specifically out of Acme Acres and into New York City. And I've got to point out here that it wasn't just on any old, regular day, either. No. Far from it. It wasn't even during the day, really. It was at night. At night on a dreadful, dark, deadly and devastating day. The day of September 11th, 2001, in which the outright unthinkable had occurred. Monsters who had the audacity to wear human flesh and appearances had hijacked four airplanes and done all they could to see to the deaths of as many Americans as possible, as well as the destruction of as many important national symbols as possible. For the most part, they had succeeded, as two of the planes had flown into-and destroyed-the twin towers of the World Trade Center, and another of them had slammed into the Pentagon. Though the Americans in the fourth one were able to stop its terrorist pilot from reaching its target, said pilot crashed the plane and took his life along with all of theirs.

The people in the other planes were all killed, too, and so were a lot of people inside of the WTC towers, whether they were those above or in the impact zone, who all died except for eighteen very, very, VERY lucky ones, those who tried to leap out of the building and fell all the way down to the ground, who also all died, and with no exceptions, or those of them who did all they could to get down the stairs and escape, some of whom succeeded, but as for others, alas, they were not as fortunate, and lost their lives. 9/11 heroes who did all they were able to do to save as many as possible either were badly hurt, not unlike many of the survivors, or were killed along with the innocent bystander victims. Some lives even got lost in the gigantic cloud of smoke, ash, debris and toxic fumes that followed the collapse of the towers. When the horrific tragedy had ended, by which time everyone who was still living where the events took place was understandably frightened, justifiably enraged and predictably sad, be they innocent civilian or be they everyday hero, almost 3,000 lives had been lost and there were 6,294 people who'd both gotten badly injured and been taken to a hospital for said injuries to be treated. The attacks cost nearly two trillion dollars in damage and lives lost. And it was a day which would scar America, as well as the rest of the world, for the rest of forever.

That was the morning of that day. This was the night, and a dark night it was, indeed, not just because it would be dark at night, anyway, but because that day had been among the darkest, if not the darkest, in the history of not only the world, but also the universe. And though the trip of the portal from their universe to this one, the toons had been made to know by mystic kinds of effects, which was part of the portal, where they had been taken, what night it was, what had, in the morning, happened and what was going on now. Understandably, they were shocked beyond words while learning it, and didn't want it to be true. They really hoped to God that their ears all deceived them and that it wasn't true, even the most obnoxious and unlikable of them such as the likes of Montana Max, Roderick Rat, Rhubella Rat and the like. Unfortunately, no miracle was to be seen, as before their very eyes, as they had entered the real world on the night of 9/11/01, it would be made clear that what could be considered the most nightmarish of possible things was now an awful, unspeakable and unthinkable reality. Though they were silent for a time after they saw the remains of the WTC, as well as everything left in the aftermath of the attacks, and this of course was understandable and quite unsurprising, all things considered, the first of them to bring himself to say anything was Buster Bunny, who put both of his hands over his mouth with both of his eyes wide open and said: "Dear…God…we are not seeing this…this can't be real…" He'd feel hot tears flow out of his eyes and down his cheeks, knowing what seeing the destruction that was in front of him and the other toons meant.

Babs Bunny was crying as well, and she looked to Buster, going: "I'm sorry, but it is real. I wish I could say otherwise, but…" She broke down in tears and hugged Buster, who hugged her back as she buried her face into his chest. Though the way the portal to this universe from the one they were previously in had, through its magical effects, made it so certain toons were put into different spots of the region of Ground Zero they were currently in, the mood and emotional feelings of every toon, regardless of how different or similar they were or weren't otherwise, was most assuredly the same. The same as what currently was felt by the two bunnies. Just a few feet away from where Buster and Babs were, Furrball and Fifi La Fume were clinging to one another while crying their eyes out, though like everyone else present, they kept their ears open in case a sound was heard to indicate they'd have to put their grief and pain on hold and take action for one reason or another. The two best friends, Hamton and Plucky, were as teary-eyed as they both were shaken with rage, barely keeping it together as they gripped each other's hands. Of course, there wasn't a single toon not shaken with rage along with saddened to tears, but with Plucky and Hamton, it was somehow particularly evident, much like it was with the aforementioned Buster, Babs, Furrball and Fifi. Calamity Coyote and Little Beeper were in a different region of the area, and while they tended to fluctuate between being close brothers/friends and being rivals, though the latter happened somewhat more often, they both knew this was too serious to do anything but embrace and cry over. Calamity's nice personality made it so he was unable not to be sad, and in spite of Beeper usually having a mean, cocky and jerky attitude, it was penetrated fully by these grave events and he was crying just as much as Calamity was as they hugged, though this hardly lessened the pain any.

Even those who were normally enemies and/or villains to the good toons were united and joined with them in grieving, tears and mourning for the dead and innocent or heroic lives lost. It may have seemed unusual, since it was not like Monty, Sweetie, Roderick, Rhubella, Danforth Drake, Margot Mallard, Big Daddy Boo, The Boo Sisters, Arnold Pit Bull and Johnny Pew to cry at all, but they did so here and knew that those all of them typically were foes with shared a common mourning right now, and vice versa. Because some things are more important than feuds. Some things surpass rivalries, enmities and the like. There are certain things that even the bitterest of foes would not let their distaste and dislike for one another overpower or get in the way of. And this was a tragedy which was well beyond that which would be required for something to qualify as such a thing. The ones you just read of all may have been nasty, rotten, obnoxious, arrogant, bad, unlikable and/or greedy, but they were NOT heartless. And especially in the midst of the most despicable act and unforgivable atrocity in all of mankind. So they knew that the ones who were normally adversaries to them were here, and vice versa, but both groups all just accepted that and joined in crying for the death of the least deserving. Even the ever calm and centered Shirley McLoon was not able to stop herself from crying hard for the dead, and the normally excitable Gogo Dodo, Dizzy Devil, Elmyra Duff, Fowlmouth and Julie Bruin were at this time feeling nothing but pain and sadness, as well as fury and lament. The tears went down their faces in multitudes, and for good reason.

Even the young, innocent and naïve L'il Sneezer and the well meaning but dim-witted Concord Condor could both understand enough of what they'd learned to know that a whole lot of lives had been destroyed, and that those people were not coming back. As well as how tragic and unspeakably terrible all of this was, to put it very lightly. They clung to each other in tears, Sneezer's being so little and Concord's being as nice and usually optimistic and oblivious to any danger as he was(though this wasn't the case for him now)making it so they were hit harder than most by this. And that was indeed saying a lot. And when it came to Bimbette Skunk? She might have usually just been a flirt and a ditz who was nice enough but also pretty oversexed, but here, now, she exhibited feelings she almost never did. Agony. Upset. Grief. Moroseness. She looked on down to the street and cried. Her tears hit the concrete of the region of the road she stood on and above enough times to create puddles. Even if she wasn't the sharpest tack in the box, she by all means was smart enough to know how god-awful, horrible, tragic and unthinkable this was, in addition to how monstrous and soulless those who did the deed and were ironically now dead the way their victims were, as well as in hell, of course, had to have been. When it came to the likes of Byron Basset and Bookworm, who were usually, respectively, asleep or dozing off or caught up in one book or another, neither was in their usual state right now.

Good lord, no. On the contrary, they were weeping for the dead. For the unfortunate and undeserving of said death innocents who had done nothing but unknowingly be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Though from the point of view of the fiendish abominations who caused all of this, it was the right place at the right time, but I digress, given that, from the point of view of anyone and everyone with a heart and/or soul, it was all certainly very wrong, indeed, be it the place those innocents were in, the time it was at or the attacks themselves. Of course the terrorist reprobates who engineered them were wrong, and so were Osama Bin Laden and all of the other members of Al Qaeda. Anyway, Byron knew that he wasn't falling asleep anytime soon, in stark contrast to how he usually was. These were by no means normal circumstances, though, and he'd both shed tears and let out a howl of mourning for the ones who lost their lives in this tragedy as a mini-requiem of sorts. And Bookworm, knowing that there would be no escape from this hell-on-earth reality even if he had ten books to read, which, unusually for him, but understandably in this kind of situation, he was NOT in the mood for even one of, accepted what he knew was fully inevitable. His endless reading might have diverted him from the rest of the world a lot of the time but it also made him smart, and he was easily smart enough to know how serious and wrong all of this was. So he let the tears come out. He cried hard until his eyes ached, and he didn't even bother acknowledging it when he could tell he was in a puddle of his own tears. This was a matter far too serious, way too saddening and much too enraging. Soon enough, his glasses were wet from tears enough so he couldn't see through them, but it didn't matter. What he'd seen was more than enough to make him know this wasn't going to get any better.

Then there was Mary Melody, as well as Bertha Bovine, who, though from two different schools and of two different species and personalities, not to mention how one was good and the other bad, plus both had wound up in a different area than the others, whether they were good as well as heroic like Mary or bad as well as villainous like Bertha, could not deny or ignore what at this time they were feeling and doing. And their feelings were the same as everyone else's. That meant they were in tears and feeling sadness, upset, distress, shock, anger, rage and fury on such levels as they never thought possible. In a way they never had before, and didn't think they'd be capable of feeling, especially in Mary's case, seeing as how she was much nicer and sweeter than Bertha. Nevertheless, there was no refuting their current states of emotion, and though both were well aware that their schools were rivals and that they, along with the rest of Acme Looniversity and Perfecto Prep, were ordinarily enemies, both schools were united as one and together in this right now, and Mary and Bertha were certainly no exception. In the end, they were hit so hard by the knowledge and sight of this tragedy that, their usually being bitter rivals along with the rest of their respective schools towards each other notwithstanding, they went to each other and then hugged. They couldn't believe they were doing this while crying together, all things considered, but they knew it was happening and that they were unable to help themselves. Soon enough, they heard noises and sounds which could only be indentified as Danforth and Margot, Sweetie, Lil' Sneezer and Furrball, Plucky, Hamton, Fowlmouth and Shirley, Buster and Roderick, Babs and Rhubella, Fifi, Bimbette and Johnny Pew, Big Daddy Boo and the Boo Sisters, Julie, Byron and Concord, Monty and Elmyra and Arnold, Bookworm, Calamity and Beeper all doing much the same thing they were. The fact there were some rivalries or enmities among some of these lots hugging and crying together notwithstanding, of course. It was quite unusual for anything of this sort to happen, but then again, this was NOT an event to be considered usual or ordinary at all. Not by a long shot or by any stretch of the imagination.

Of course, while the toons grieved and cried for God only knows how long, especially in light of how none of them had ever in their lives seen the likes of this and that this was the first time they ever saw something of this magnitude made it all the more shocking and horrible for all of them to see and know about, they were suddenly made to go from sad to startled when the lot of them heard a cry for help. See, they'd obviously been feeling incalculable levels of anger, upset, sadness, distress, shock, fury, hatred(for the terrorists, obviously), grief(obviously for the dead innocents and heroes), disheartenment, moroseness and anger for some time now, and for good reason. That it was the kind of tragedy that made it so it didn't matter to Buster and Babs that Roderick, Rhubella, Monty and the Boos were part of this, nor vice versa, and it didn't matter to Bookworm that Sweetie was part of it, nor vice versa, and it didn't matter to Sweetie or Sneezer that Furrball was part of it, nor vice versa, should predictably and understandably be a further signifier of how devastating, shocking, appalling and all around serious and significant all of this was. As should how it didn't matter to Mary Melody that Bertha was part of this nor to Fifi or Bimbette that Johnny Pew was part of it nor to Plucky or Shirley that Danforth or Margot were part of it nor to anyone that Arnold and Elmyra were part of it. Especially after such a fact was made evident by the aforementioned hugging and then crying together you just read about. However, hearing the aforementioned cry for help snapped them out of it all, and the lot of them could tell they had work to do and a chance to maybe at least save one innocent life. So they all joined together, disregarding which ones of them were longtime friends and which of them were either rivals or temporary enemies, due to knowing this was much more crucial, to say nothing of considerably more serious and important, and looked about everywhere from where the cry for help had been heard.

Soon enough, due to working together and covering as much ground and as many angles as possible, two of them, Furrball and Fifi, to be exact, were able to find two afraid, injured and trapped children, one boy and one girl, in the rubble. Alive, but hurt bad and in need of medical attention. Though their eyes teared up at the sight of how heartbreaking this was, they ignored the tears and Furrball called out: "Arnold!" He rarely spoke, but this was urgent enough so he'd need to and thus did. Arnold turned to where he heard the call from, and Fifi called out: "Please help us here! Zere are children trapped under here who we need to free!" Arnold ran over and by means of his great strength was just able to lift the part of the wreckage the kids were trapped under for Furrball to snatch the boy and Fifi to grab the girl and for both toons to run far away enough from the rubble and debris so the children were free for sure. Arnold then let go of it and jumped back, landing a couple of feet away. While Fifi and Furrball did all they could to console and comfort the frightened, injured children, Arnold went to call an ambulance when he saw one of the city's payphone booths a few feet away. Luckily, he had a few coins, and used them to get a call for the aforementioned ambulance. While he was making his call, other toons had made a few other finds.

You see, Buster and Roderick, as well as Babs and Rhubella, Plucky and Danforth, Mary and Monty, Shirley and Margot, Calamity and Beeper and Hamton and Elmyra had found some other people in need of help. Men, women and children alike, all of them alive but hurt bad and also trapped and unable to get out in one way or the other. They were also unable to speak due to how much damage and harm had been done to them, which means that, if they hadn't been found now, they would almost surely have died due to not being able to call for help and how they were difficult to find under all the destruction and remains of the WTC, especially at nighttime like it was now. Thankfully, they were found, and while none of the other toons in any other places had managed to find anyone else in need of help, they were able to help when they were called over by the ones who had found these people and the combined efforts of everyone who helped them out after that were just enough to free these innocent, still living but severely injured victims and get them away from the rubble and wreckage. Even so, it was no easy task, and it felt quite weird and strange for toons who typically went for each other's throats to be working at the same task and goal, side by side. None of them ever thought they'd see the day it happened, especially the bad ones, but here it was, and knowing there was no way around it and this was too dire an issue, anyway, they accepted it and did what they needed to do. After they'd rescued the people they'd found and gotten help saving, Beeper and Calamity worked together to call ambulances for them.

As in, Beeper had Calamity ride him as he zoomed over to a different payphone booth that Arnold wasn't using and Calamity hopped off, then used some coins to get it ready to use. And, instead of holding up signs like he usually did, this was one of the incredibly rare times he spoke actual words. Little Beeper would have been surprised if he wasn't aware that how much was at stake made it so Calamity couldn't afford to do his usual sign holding M.O. right now. It happened that Calamity said after calling 911: "Hello, I need some ambulances and paramedics. Right now. There are people who are alive but in serious condition who need to be rushed to the hospital as soon as possible! Here in Ground Zero! Get here quickly, please, if you can!" He got off the phone and then Beeper, in one of his rare moments of actually speaking, said: "Nice job, Cal. Now we just need to wait." Calamity then told Beeper: "True enough, but we've got to help comfort and treat those people any which way we can while waiting." Beeper nodded and both of them made their way back to where the other toons were consoling the injured innocents, as so to lend a helping hand/paw/wing. Additionally, after finishing with helping those children, Fifi and Furrball had joined in lending a helping paw/hand in comforting the new finds once they'd learned of them, and Arnold was doing much the same thing after finishing his call. Though they comforted those men, women and children to the extent it was possible, all of the toons having of course done their part in this perfectly and to the fullest extent they possibly could, it still hurt like hell to see the frightened, injured faces of the innocent people they were taking care of until the ambulances arrived to rush them to the hospital.

Just like it hurt like hell to know such an atrocity as this had taken place in any universe, this original, real world one or otherwise, and while the toons did their best not to cry, given this was no time to do so, since they were in the middle of tending to, helping and caring for those in need of it most, their eyes still looked full of tears, since they were. None were shed, but it was all too evident they were on the verge of crying, and simply refusing to do so because they had a lot to focus on in terms of helping those who would soon be taken to a much-needed hospital at this moment. As soon as the ambulances arrived, everyone took part in getting the people into the ambulance they would need to be put in and as gently and comfortably as possible. There by no means was a single toon present in this region of NYC who didn't lend a helping hand or paw or wing or whatever one way or another, in one form or the other, and it all led to how the people in the ambulances were as comfortable as they could be and in a position which increased how much of a chance to survive they had as much as it could be increased, which admittedly was no more than a little bit, given their serious conditions and how it was simply a position in which of the ambulances they were in, but it was better than nothing. Especially since no increasing in the chance they had to survive was too small for any of them. They would be taken to the hospital as soon as it was all done, and those who could speak, just before the doors were closed, spoke for everyone in an ambulance when they said: "Thank you, Toons…we'll never forget this…" All of the toons simply nodded and Buster spoke for all of them when he said: "Of course…anytime…" And, as soon as the ambulances had driven to the hospitals, the toons got onto their hands and knees and let out the new tears they'd been suppressing all this time.

They even buried their faces in their hands, and although, as it would turn out, the ones all of them had helped would be lucky enough to survive after their treatment and being cared for in the hospital(s)they went to, they didn't know that at the time and seeing how badly hurt they all were on top of seeing the horrendous events caused them to cry even harder this time. Though this was perfectly understandable, knowing what kind of circumstances they were under and that which had been added to them. Their tears kept coming down until something else startled them and got their attention, and it just happened to be the shine of the moon. But it wasn't just plain, old, regular moonbeams. Oh, dear me God, no. And it's funny I should say such a thing as that, because through the full moon could be seen the face that was having those beams shine down upon them. Namely, the face of God. And he said: "Toons, I commend all of you for all of your efforts and how they've paid off. Though it both saddens and enrages even one as forgiving and loving as I to have seen such an unforgivable atrocity as this take place this morning, and one on a level that even I and my son, Jesus H Christ, could not possibly forgive, as it was the worst sort of act of pure evil there ever was, and I've seen plenty of those, given I created the universe all of those eons ago, I can assure you that I've also seen the future, given my omnipotence. Just as I saw all of you put your differences aside and let your friendships come together, it being varied among who's who, of course, and am most proud of all of you for what you've done to help as much as possible. And I can assure you that Osama Bin Laden will pay for his inexcusable and unpardonable crimes, be it the one that happened today or any of the ones in the past or still to happen in the future. And those people you saved will also survive after their treatment in those hospitals." The toons were relieved to hear the last two parts, but were also surprised to be truly being spoken to by the Supreme Being who was the almighty God.

God went on: "On a side note, though you are all here to stay in this time and world, I can assure you that your futures will be favorable ones, as I've used my powers to make it so all of you have a home in a special apartment building and so that everyone knows you are here and to be part of NYC now. You deserve such a good home as that and a good life as I've paved the way for happening, after all you've had to see, be through and get done. That you have very, very many fans in this world only adds to how your futures will not be in doubt, which is what you deserve at the very least after all of this along with the aforementioned home and citizenship of this city." The toons all nodded and accepted what was to come, with Fifi speaking for all of them when she said: "Merci, Dieu…" Then Mary Melody asked: "By the way, God?" Furrball's words spoke for all of them when he said: "Not that it makes any difference one way or the other given that we're grateful for these gifts you bestowed upon us and are relieved and thank you for how you've made it clear those people will not die and Bin Laden will pay for his sins, but we're unable to help but wonder…the portal that brought us here from Acme Acres…was it…yours?" A reply from God came out as: "Yes, for I could see you would be needed here for what was left of the attacks at night in New York City, and for various reasons, saw you lot as the best picks for what needed to happen. You proved what I knew to be right more than ever with how well all of you did your jobs, and seeing all of you as sad as you were made me know more than ever I'd chosen the right ones, as only those who, regardless of exterior traits, truly have a heart and a soul deep down, at their core, could possibly react to this tragedy as you did. You have done that which needed to be done most efficiently, and may neither you nor anyone else ever forget this fateful, horrific and tragic day in which the world cried and America was left a permanent mark upon by the worst of the worst concerning criminals and/or terrorists."

The toons all nodded, fully understanding why they'd had a purpose and why they'd been chosen for this, and they stood up, put their left hands/paws/wings upon their hearts, did a salute a second later with their right hands/paws/wings and looked to each other, giving a firm nod with disregard to whether they were friends or foes or both under normal circumstances and making it so on this night, they were one and the same, a united group who stood tall and would never for a second forget this shocking, horrifying, terrifying and traumatic tragedy of a grave event. Just as the face of God disappeared from the moon, they saw a momentary vision of heaven, and they all saw both the souls of the innocent bystanders and heroes who'd lost their lives in it, as well as all of the angel hosts of heaven and Jesus Christ himself, with God, now in full form, sitting on the throne of heaven. Once the vision disappeared, they knew why it had been seen and exactly what it meant. All of them knew it was now high time to make their way to their apartment building, in light of how there was nothing more they could do here and they all needed a good, long sleep after all of this. Especially since they knew God had to have made it clear which room of which part of the apartment building went to which toon(s)and that rest was what they'd need to be good and ready for adjusting to their new lives tomorrow morning, given it was now pretty much official they were newcomer New Yorkers. A single fact was certain…they'd never forget the day they were introduced to their new lives in this world and city anyway if it had happened in any way, for any reason, but it was most firm and for sure they'd never forget it when it was on the never to be forgotten and hideous hellish hell on earth day and night of September 11th, 2001. And they decided that, once in their new beds, they would say a prayer for both the ones in heaven and the ones in the hospital, even knowing the latter would survive, and for the families of those who were either dead or injured and therefore separated from said families, plus all of the world, given Bin Laden still being alive right now and all of Al Qaeda still existing was sure to present danger and problems in the near future, especially after these saddening, infuriating and scarring events.

THE END

So, how was it for you, everyone? May we never forget the grave, tragic, heartbreaking, enraging and powerful events of that fateful day. May every innocent bystander and hero who died on that day rest in peace, and may Osama Bin Laden and any other dead Al Qaeda members fry, roast, boil, cook, melt, sizzle and bake on the worst layers of hell. My thorough congratulations to our president, Barack Obama, for how he saw to the long overdue demise and ultimate downfall of Bin Laden somewhat more than two years ago, and I am glad if this tribute was as much of a payment of respect to the victims of that day and a sad, heart-wrenching and well-written story as I intended it to be. We must always remember how that day forever changed America, and why those changes will make sure 9/11 does not repeat itself if we can help it. God Bless America, our home sweet home, and all who lost their lives on that day? I salute you. May God and Christ alike watch over you as you are at peace in their kingdom that is the angels' realm called heaven.