Cartoons of the West were all gathered in the orchestra room, picking the instrument of their choice. They couldn’t believe that they actually agreed upon Misbun Sidek’s decision to an orchestra duel with the East animes. They were too dumbstruck at that time when Misbun came with the decision that the meeting adjourned without as much as a small protest. Now they were in the orchestra room trying to practice a song that would be good enough o defeat the East and claim a name in their rightful place as the highest rated cartoons of the animated world.
“Alright, alright, places everyone,” Mickey stood at the conductor stand and tapped the board with his conducting stick. “Everyone, find an instrument that you can play and then we’ll all come up with a nice piece of song to beat the animes, although I don’t think this duel is good.”
“This duel is so not the drama,” Kim Possible groaned as she took a flute. “Cheerleading is much easier than this!”
“You said it, KP,” Ron agreed while taking a trombone, followed by Rufus the mole rat from his pocket.
“I cannot believe that some Asian cartoons can just boss us around and ask us to compete in this primitive nature!” Dexter grumbled as he picked the xylophone. “Why couldn’t he say anything about competing in science?”
“That’s a good duel,” Velma (Scooby Doo) agreed while she took a violin.
“I hope these weird instruments don’t do anything to my hair,” Johnny Bravo said as he took the electric guitar in his hands. Dexter gave Johnny a sideways glance. If anyone remembers one of the Cartoon Network’s commercials, Dexter has a heart for Velma, yet Velma was undeniably in love with Johnny.
“Ah-hyuck! I love playing things like these! I don’t mind Mr. Sidek giving us this kind of competition!” Goofy replied as he took out his prized banjo. A family heritage, no doubt.
“Dad, you’re always up and about for anything,” Max replied exasperatedly while he and his best pal PJ took an electric guitar each.
“I don’t know what’s worse,” Max (Mighty Max) said as he took another electric guitar while passing the drumsticks to Norman, “my missions to defeat SkullMaster or this.”
“I’d say that it’s most likely the missions that are kinder,” Virgil commented.
“Alright, everyone,” Mickey’s voice came out in the middle of the hectic orchestra crowd. “Have you guys got the instrument you can play?”
“YES!!!” Everyone hollered, sending Mickey falling over his feet by the impact of their voices.
“Alright, let’s try these few pieces, and then we’ll decide which to play for the orchestra.”
The cartoons started playing. First it was a real wreck that they had to take several breaks just to let Mickey’s stressed-out heart rest. But after a few practices (and less wreckage of tunes), they got the hang of it.
“OK, everyone. It is decided. We’ll play our cartoons’ theme songs and also those major theme songs for our animated movies. I personally think Beauty & the Beast and also Hunchback of Notre Dame’s theme song is cool.”
“No kidding!” Daffy Duck said in the midst of his spraying saliva. “The first few tunes from…whaddaya say? Symphony something! Ugh! That’s terrible!”
“OK then. We’ll take a break then, have a dinner or a snack or somewhat, or does anyone have a show to run later? Alright, after everything said and done, you will all gather here to play.”
Everyone groaned when Mickey mentioned the practice, but they didn’t protest. Could be because of their bet and grudge towards the East animes. One by one, they left the orchestra room. Some stayed behind to play their instruments or experiment some other instruments to see if they were suitable to their capability.
“Hey, Velma, you got any shows today?” Dexter asked, feeling hopeful.
“No, nothing much. Scooby and Shaggy had to go on some tour with Fred and Daphne, and I wasn’t interested, so our show had to be postponed,” Velma replied.
“Then would it be OK if…”
“Hey Velma, Carl was supposed to hang out with me at Pop’s but he ditched me for some ‘pretty’ cousin of hers,” it was Johnny Bravo, wincing as he said the word ‘pretty’. “Come with me?”
“Sure, Johnny,” Velma said dreamily as she followed behind him without waiting for Dexter’s protests. Dexter sighed and walked off to find his co-actor Mandark to pass the time. He found it hard to confess how he felt for Velma, his intellectual equal. He didn’t what to say and he didn’t how anyway.
So far, apart from this poor soul who was unable to confess, there are other people who were already an item out for a dinner or supper or getting ready for a show. For instance Arnold and Helga holding hands as they head for the cafeteria, Kim Possible and Ron practicing their lines for their show together (and sucking up on each other in the process), Belle and the Beast out in the balcony of the orchestra room watching the sunset, Aladdin and Jasmine sharing a milkshake at a coffee shop just outside of the building, Kylie and Eduardo having their little ‘private time’ before their show starts and Archie sharing his extra large sundae at the cafeteria with Betty and Veronica.
Later that evening, as planned, the cartoons of all stations, namely Disney, Dreamworks, Pixar, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and Warner Bros. came to the orchestra room to play their pieces.
“Are you sure that they can make peace through this duel?”
The new Asian executives Mat Gempak, Misbun and Pak Cik Din passed by the orchestra room to check the cartoons out and see their progress. They were playing pretty well for starters, and they never asked for any special effects or special talent to be given to them from the humans. It was all on their own. They’ve never seen them more determined than ever.
“Is the ratings all that matters to them? I think they’re doing pretty fine with the ratings. At least none of their shows are getting ripped off. The kids still like them…” Pak Cik Din’s words were cut short by the raising of Misbun’s hand.
“The ratings are their life and their winning bread. Without it, they will cease to exist, just like when my other comic ‘sibling’—the ‘Smashing Omni’ did,” Misbun replied, a slight bitterness in his words. “It co-existed with me and my brothers in our comic series, and they shared their life with us. But when it started to go solo, no human was interested, and their ratings immediately fell. My brothers and I watched as they disappeared out of sight right in front of our eyes. We couldn’t do anything, because it was the ratings that kept us alive.”
“I’m…so sorry,” Mat Gempak said apologetically. “I’ve never experienced such things before; because all my members are still around…I didn’t know…”
“To them, the ratings mean everything,” Misbun replied. “Without it, it’ll be the death of them.”
“Then…how is this duel going to stop them from fighting for ratings anymore? I mean, if either side wins, one of them has to cease to exist…” Pak Cik Din was beginning to worry.
“Yes, that’s right!” Mat Gempak began to worry too. “We’ve already made our announcement to the reality public about this duel! If the humans start choosing sides, either side would die, and it’ll be our fault and…”
“Let’s go take a look at the animes, shall we?” Misbun only gave his co-workers a mysterious smile before turning towards the other wing of the building.
Mat Gempak and Pak Cik Din had no choice but to follow suite. They simply can’t keep up with Misbun’s mysterious behaviour forever.
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