Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Yakko's day started just like it always does: Wake up, make breakfast, get dressed, then go do to the studio to film some new episodes. Well, he did all that, but today he got a bit of a weird request from Brain. Of course, Brain always has strange requests for his world conquering schemes that totally end in failure, but this was a bit different.Today, he had asked Yakko and Dot to go down to a cavern near Burbank, and collect this weird crystal that had powerful properties to it. He had also stated specific instructions of what to and to not do.

Unfortunately, Yakko didn't really pay attention to the instructions Brain gave them. If Yakko's prediction was correct, he probably wouldn't have to pay attention anyhow because Brain's grand scheme would end in shambles, as always.

Yakko and Dot sneak out of the studio to this mysterious cavern, Yakko with a map of the cavern in his hand. He seemed so invested in the map that he kept bumping into things, and Dot would have to be his guide, keeping him from bumping into rocks and lamp posts. They finally reach the cavern, which turns out to be an abandoned mineshaft. They start walking down into the cavern, Dot especially being cautious "Do you wonder why Brain would send us to an ABANDONED Mineshaft?" The youngest warner questioned, a bit nervous to go down into an Abandoned mineshaft. "Probably easier to get around without the constant worry of someone spotting us. Or they found something that shouldn't be unearthed down here. I think the second option is more likely, Brain doesn't usually care about safety and security. Though, it does make me wonder why he would send us down here instead of getting this crystal by himself. He usually does this stuff himself," Yakko replied, a bit nervous himself.

They continue down the sketchy abandoned mineshaft. As they go further down into the caverns, they start seeing creepier things, like a whole ass skeleton with large, overgrown crystals going through it's ribcage. Dot had to hold her stomach at the sight. They eventually reach a large room with pink and purple crystals growing everywhere. "So, is this the place Brain was talking about?" Yakko looks at his map. "Yup!" Yakko raises his arms in excitement, dropping the map and hitting Dot in the process. Dot lets out a surprised grunt, but shrugs it off. "We should split up and find this crystal that Brain was talking about." Yakko declared. Dot nods and they walk to opposite sides of the room. "Be careful over there! Something tells me we shouldn't just be poking around with every crystal!" Yakko yells out to Dot, who was looking around, about to touch one of the brightly glowing crystals in the corner "Yeah, yeah, relax, I know what I'm—" Before Dot could finish her sentence, she screams. This, of course, catches Yakko's attention. "Dot, you okay? Did hurt yourself?" Yakko knew Dot could be a bit overdramatic when she got even the slightest of paper cuts. But when Dot didn't respond, Yakko got a little worried. She must've not heard me, Yakko thought. "Dot! Are you okay?" He spoke louder, but still no answer. At this point, Yakko's concern had morphed into slight panic. "Dot?!" Yakko called out one last time. No response again. Yakko ran over to where Dot was in a panic. Dot was on her knees, holding her arm in pain. "Dot! Dot, Are you okay?!" Yakko questioned in a panic. Dot held up her hand.

"Look!" There was a deep cut in Dot's hand, blood gushing out of the wound that had ripped through her glove. Yakko winced at the sight, but felt a wave of relief knowing his sister was mostly okay. He kneeled down to her level and sighed. "Jeez, Sis, you scared the life outta me! You made me think you cut your arm off or something!" The way Dot looked at Yakko practically said, "Now is not the time to try and make me feel better about this." And Yakko gets the message almost immediately. "Uhh, you know what? Let's put a pin in this little expedition and go back to the water tower to get that patched up, okay?" Yakko's tone becomes so much more sympathetic when Dot let out a pained "mhm". Yakko helped Dot get back on her feet as they started walking back. "We can come back tomorrow after we get that wound all bandaged up, m'kay?" Dot nods. "Maybe we could bring Wakko tomorrow, too. Don't want you getting hurt again, right?"

"Haha...

Right.."

Chapter Text

It's been a day since Dot got hurt. Yakko patched her hand up when they got back up to the water tower. But what's strange, is that Dot decided to go to bed right after she got bandaged up. Said she "wasn't feeling well" which Yakko assumed was either the amount of blood lost from her injury, or she got a cold, which would make sense because just a few days ago, Wakko had gotten of cold from someone on set. But this morning, Yakko was woken up at 4:30 by groaning and soft whimpers from the bunk above his bed. No doubt was it Dot.

Yakko got out of bed to check up on Dot. "Dot? Are you okay up here?" Dot whimpers, "It hurts! It itches and tingles and my throat hurts and I can't sleep!" Wakko, from the top bunk, groans as well, "Can you please be quiet? Some of us are trying to have a peaceful rest!" Yakko sighs at his younger siblings' complaints. Yakko feels Dot's forehead with his hand and recoils. Her forehead is unusually hot, hotter than what a fever would be usually. How on Earth would Dot get that hot overnight? Was she faking it? They actually had a free day today, so why would she fake it? Yakko is perplexed, but he can't give up now. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do. Wakko's gonna go to the store and get some medicine to help you feel better and I—"

"Why me?" Wakko whines.

"Because I don't trust you to take care of another being."

"But I took care of that rock for 65 years!"

"Wakko, when I said another being, I meant a LIVING being, and you kept losing that thing and ended replacing it hundreds of times, so I don't think so."

Wakko sighs in defeat and gets out of bed to start the day, grumbling in annoyance. Yakko stays by Dot's side most of the time, feeding her some soup and putting an ice pack on her head. Wakko thought it was silly, he didn't get this kind of treatment when he was sick. Although it was concerning to see his baby sister so ill, They had never seen her that sick before. Wakko heads out the door with a prewritten list of things to get when one of the Warners was sick. Yakko wrote the list when he first got sick so they would have something to go by every time one of them got sick. Wakko didn't really wanna go out at the moment, he already had to pick up a refill of his medication later today, so this was just adding on to the things they didn't want to do today.

Once Wakko gets to the store, the time is now 7:35 am and he is tired as hell. They get there when the store had just opened for the day, so they were fully stocked. Wakko walked over to the pharmacy section and got his medication as well as some fever reducer and Ibuprofen. Then, Wakko's phone rings. It's Yakko. Wakko picks up. "What's up? How's Dot?" Wakko asks, grabbing some chips while on the call. "Not good," Yakko answers. "She's actually getting worse. Could you find the really strong flu medicine they usually have? And maybe some cough syrup, too?" Wakko sighs, but is sympathetic about the situation. "Yeah, I can. Need anything else?" "No, that's it. Thanks for going out to get this stuff." Yakko states. "Well, you told me to." Yakko softly chuckles at Wakko's response. "I guess I did, see you later, baby bro." They say their goodbyes and Wakko hangs up. He eventually finishes shopping and pays for everything with his company card.

Once Wakko gets home, They see Yakko sitting on Dot's bed, Dot looks worse than when he left this morning. "Hey, I got the stuff you asked for!" Wakko called Yakko over. Yakko walks over and speaks very quietly while looking through the groceries, "She's getting even worse, she's melting most of the ice packs, and when I changed her bandages, the wound was even darker. I'm starting to think this has something to do with that cavern we went into yesterday..." Wakko was startled and bit confused by Yakko's revelation. "Cavern? You never mentioned a cavern!" Yakko sighs, "I didn't think it was that important until now. Listen, I'm starting to worry she got radiation poisoning from going inside there." Wakko's heart dropped. "But we're Toons! We can't get radiation poisoning! And even if we were exposed to radiation, it wouldn't usually have this effect!" Wakko started to mildly panic. What was wrong with Dot?

"Let's think positively. It might just be a cartoonishly bad flu! She'll get better, Wakko, promise." "Pinkie promise?" Wakko asks, holding out his pinkie. "Yeah, pinkie promise." Yakko wraps his own pinkie around Wakko's. Their heart-warming moment is cut short by one of Dot's violent coughing fits.

Chapter Text

"Come on, Dot, just a little sip, please?" Yakko pleaded while holding a small spoon up to Dot's mouth. Dot, even in this ugly state, was as stubborn as a mule. "I'm not drinking that! It's too bitter!" Yakko grumbled in frustration. "Dot, you're not gonna feel any better if you don't take this medicine." Yakko eventually tries forcing the spoon into Dot's mouth, which results in Dot spitting it out in Yakko's face. Yakko's face turns bright red, "That's it!" Which, this whole ordeal turns into a full blown argument, which isn't far from how they usually are.

At last, after about 30 minutes of argument and pleading, Dot finally took the medicine. Yakko let out a sigh of relief. He walked over to Wakko, who was talking a nap on the couch. They didn't actually get a lot of sleep due to Dot's feverish whines, and neither did Yakko. He taps Wakko on the shoulder to try and wake him. They stir awake, dazed, "Is it my turn already?" Yakko shakes his head. "No, she's just resting for now. Can you scoot over a bit? I think we both need some rest." Wakko moves over and Yakko sits down on the couch, getting comfortable. The younger warner nuzzles up against him. "How long do you think Dot's gonna be like this?" Wakko asks, yawning in the middle of his sentence. Yakko looks over at Dot, who was already asleep in her bed, looking absolutely miserable. "I dunno, bud. Probably could be days considering her current state. Let's not think about that right now. Let's just get some rest, m'kay?" Wakko nods, already dozing off. Yakko smiles, taking Wakko's hat off and giving their forehead a kiss, then falling asleep.

They might've been sleeping for a few hours before Wakko had awakened again. The younger sibling stirred awake and looked around. They yawned, getting off of Yakko, who was still fast asleep. Wakko walked over to the kitchen, but before taking out a bowl from the cabinet, They made a horrifying discovery.

Dot wasn't in her bed.

At first, Wakko made sure to not panic. She was probably feeling a little better, or just decided to use the bathroom. So, he walks over to the bathroom and notices the door is open. They peek inside to find nobody in there. Wakko starts to sweat in a panic as their breathing picks up. He rushes over to Yakko, who is surprisingly, still asleep. They start shaking Yakko violently to wake him up. "Yakko! Yakko! Dot's not in her bed! She's not in bed! What do we do?!" Yakko wakes up in a daze, rubbing his eyes. "Huh? Hold— hold on, slow down. Take a deep breath and tell me what happened." Wakko realizes how panicked he is about the situation and sighs. They let go of Yakko and take a deep breath. "Yakko, Dot's not in the water tower." That surely woke up Yakko. Before Wakko could say anything else, Yakko let out a big, "SHE WHAT?!" Wakko flinched at how loud Yakko yelled. And Yakko thought they were overreacting. Yakko immediately stood up and started pacing around the room. "This is bad, this is REALLY bad! In fact, it's probably my fault for not keeping a closer eye on her!" Wakko watched as Yakko spiralled into a panicked state. They didn't really know what to do in these kind of situations. But with all the empathy in their heart, they ask, "Shouldn't we be looking for her instead of panicking?" Yakko stops in his tracks. He looks Wakko for a minute. Then lets out a big sigh. "You're right. But where would we look first?" Wakko thinks for a moment. "How about Miss CEO! She might know!" Yakko pauses. "Y'know, that's not the worst idea, it's worth a shot. Let's go." Yakko grabs Wakko's hand and starts heading out the door.

They walk out onto the studio lots, Wakko glancing around just in case Dot had snuck onto a movie set or something. Yakko kept a tight grip on their hand, but it wasn't uncomfortably tight, but it was tight enough to keep them by his side. The Warner siblings walk into the elevator of the corporate office. Wakko jumps up to press the top button, which led straight to the CEO's office. The ride up was mostly silent, besides the tapping of feet and the quiet gnawing of clothes. Wakko had a terrible habit of biting their clothes when they were upset, that was always the give away that he was mad about something when they were younger. And it still is. Yakko couldn't help but notice Wakko anxiously biting at his sleeves. His demeanor softens as his hand rests upon his younger sibling's shoulder. They look up at him. God, it was so devastating to see Wakko this upset. The moment was interrupted by the ding! Of the elevator. They had reached the CEO's office. They walk in through the door to see Ms. Norita on a call with someone important. "Yes, yes, I know, but we can't just—" She notices the Warners walk in. "—You know what? I'm gonna call you right back." Nora hang up and stand up to address the Warners. "Whatever you need, make it quick. I'm a very busy woman." Yakko steps forward. "Ms. Norita, we've...lost our sister." Ms. Norita scoffs, "And how is that supposed to be my problem?" The Warner Siblings kind of give each other a tired glance then they look back at Nora. "Well, she's been bedridden all day, and then out of the blue, she just disappears! And she might've gotten hurt and—"

"Wakko, calm down, that's not what she asked, just let me do the talking right now."

Wakko stopped and glanced away, mildly embarrassed. Nora looked at both of them with skepticism "We were wondering if you would have any idea where our sister, Dot would be." Nora raises a brow. She scoffs again, "listen, I've been in this office all day, and I don't care enough about you three to concern myself with these kinds of things. So, I'm gonna send you on your way, and I'm going to get back to my call, okay? Okay." Nora starts pushing the two out the door. "But—" By the time Yakko tried to mutter out a response, they were already out of the office.

Yakko groans, "Man, she was no help to us at all!" Wakko had started biting at their clothes again, very anxious. Yakko noticed Wakko's stress and his big brother instincts came back on real fast. "Hey, hey, hey, it's alright! It's gonna be okay! Ms. Norita just didn't have any good answers. We'll look somewhere else!" Yakko tries his best to reassure Wakko, to no avail. "But what if she got hurt?! What if she laying somewhere, helpless, screaming for us?! And we're! Nowhere! To! Be! Seen!" Wakko starts to hyperventilate, pulling tightly on their hat. Yakko sighs heavily and puts a hand on Wakko's shoulder to make them face him. "Look, I know this situation seems bleak, right now, but I promise you right now that we're going to find her!" Wakko looks up at Yakko, their eyes watery. "But what if—" "Would it make you feel better if I picked you up and you could see if she sneaking behind us?" Wakko paused, still tugging on their sleeves. They nod, and just like that, Yakko picks Wakko up and carries him around while they look for Dot. Just when all hope is lost, Wakko catches a whiff of a familiar smell. Yakko notices almost immediately. "What? Do ya smell something, bud?" Wakko nods, and jumps out of Yakko's arms, following the scent Scooby doo style.

The scent eventually leads them to Acme Labs, home of Pinky and The Brain. Yakko starts putting the pieces together, Brain wanted a specific crystal with dangerous properties in that cavern, what if Dot wasn't paying attention and scratched her hand on THAT one? Worry started to consume Yakko as they continued to walk to the lab. Once they get into the lab, they're met with the sight of Dot next to the cage that Brain usually ricided in. The boys were filled with relief. "Dot!" They sprint over to Dot and hug her tightly. "Jeez, Give a girl some space!" Dot spoke in a bit of a hoarse voice, she still seemed unwell. Wakko was very close to happy tears. "We thought you got hurt!" Yakko snaps out of his happy state and immediately turned to face the cage, where Brain was simply watching the scene. "You. I want answers. Now." Yakko demanded. "Yes, I suppose you're wondering what has happened to your dear sister, which is what I was explaining to her before you two rudely interrupted so ask away." Brain replied. "Well, first, I wanna know— wait, where's Pinky? Isn't he usually in here with you?" Yakko looked around the cage, and Pinky was nowhere to be found. "I had to put him in isolation, he was exposed to the same crystal your sister has been exposed to, he became too dangerous to my research." Brain answers. Yakko's heart dropped. Wakko had heard all of this and took a subtle step back from Dot. "Woah— w-wait, what?! Isolation?! Her— Dangerous?! Exposed?!" Yakko stumbled over his words before forming a coherent thought. "Y'know what? I don't even care about that right now. I want to know one thing right now.

What did you just send us into..?"

Chapter Text

The walk back from the lab was dead silent. Yakko held Dot in his arms after that unfortunate visit to Acme lab. Dot was fast asleep, still very, very ill. Wakko walked beside them, biting at his sleeves.

Once they got back up to the water tower, Yakko places Dot on her bed, looking down at her with a mix of guilt and concern. Wakko was sit at the kitchen table, part of their sleeve still between their teeth, his foot tapping anxiously. Yakko sit beside Wakko, putting a hand on their shoulder.

"Hey. I can tell you're upset. You wanna talk about it?" Yakko tried to be as open as possible, trying to be the good older sibling he usually is.

"What's there to talk about? We already heard what's going to happen to Dot." Wakko speaks in a low voice, almost sounding like they were going to break down right there.

"I know, I know. But, maybe he was just... Pulling our legs. An Early April fools' joke, maybe?" Yakko desperately tries to lighten the mood, but it doesn't seem like Wakko is interested in that.

"One, It's August. Second, I don't think Brain would joke about something like this." Yakko sighed at Wakko's response, knowing it had to be true, everything that Brain said, that is. Yakko noticed the look on Wakko's face. It broke his heart to see his younger sibling so desperate, so vulnerable like this.

Yakko pulls Wakko into a tight embrace. He held them there, not wanting to let go in fear that they would also get hurt. Both of them stayed silent until Yakko heard small sobs from below. Wakko was crying, shaking and all. Yakko's demeanor softened, starting to rub their back as a way to comfort them.

At some point, Yakko also starts to tear up. Not for the same reason Wakko is probably crying for. Yakko somewhat feels guilty for letting all this happen, that it's somehow his fault for not keeping a better eye on his siblings. If he had just watched Dot a little closer, maybe this would have never happened.

Both of the brothers sat there, shaking and sobbing for what felt like hours. It eventually starts to calm down to just sniffles and scattered hiccups every now and then.

Yakko feels Wakko lean a little more onto him than usual. Yakko wipes the last of his tears and pulls away just enough to see Wakko's tear-stained face.

They looked awfully dazed. Not like, "I just finished crying out all my trauma in one go and now I'm tired as hell" dazed, but Yakko knew exactly what this meant. He kneeled down to Wakko's level. "Hey Waks, have you eaten? Like, at all today?" Wakko weakly shook his head. Yakko sighed. Usually Wakko would be feasting right now for his "second lunch" but with all the stress and everything that's happened, he must've forgotten to eat at all.

"I'll go grab your meds, stay here." Yakko went over to the medicine cabinet and grabbed the bottle of glucose tablets and poured one into his hand. Then, he went into fridge and got a little juice box and walked back to Wakko.

Yakko handed the tablet and juice box to Wakko, who immediately took both and swallowed the tablet, grimacing. "Why'd we have to get citrus flavor? This is disgusting!" Yakko chuckled at Wakko's disgust.

"Because you thought the other flavors were, and I quote, 'Not up to the expectations of the Warner taste buds.'" Wakko cringed at remembering when they first bought those glucose tablets. He was right of course, but it was aggravating.

The moment was cut off by a loud groan from the other room. Yakko immediately got up and bolted to the other room, Wakko following behind a little slower.

Dot was holding her hand in her other arm, paler than usual, in immense pain. Yakko ran over to Dot and started to try and grab her arm to see the wound. "Dot, what's wrong? Lemme see your hand!" Dot harshly shoves Yakko away.

"Get off me, you creep! You ever heard of personal space?!" Both Yakko and Wakko were taken back by the harsh comment. Dot could be short-tempered when her brothers touched her, but this was on a different level of cruel.

The Brothers then saw it on Dot's hand. Small, almost unnoticeable pink and purple crystals growing on Dot's wound. Both of them took a step back. "Dot, are you feeling okay? Your hand—"

"Go away! I don't know either of you!" Yakko's heart drops. He stands there for a few beats, his jaw agape. "What— what do you mean?" Wakko stepped forward, tears already threatening to fall from their eyes. "We're—" Wakko choked. "We're your brothers." Dot stood up, surprisingly well for her current state.

"I don't have any brothers."

That one sentence, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. Yakko fell to his knees, shaking. Wakko turned to Yakko, running to his side almost immediately. "Yakko? Yakko!" Yakko heard nothing but the static in his brain as he processed the fact that his own sister doesn't recognize him.

It's all his fault.

That was all he thought at the moment.

If he had been a little more careful, hell, if he had just declined Brain's request, they wouldn't be here right now. They would be on the couch, watching a movie together. Or bothering Ralph. All of this, all of the stress, all of the fear caused, was his fault.

Yakko didn't even notice that his brother was yelling his name, or that his breathing had picked up speed. He only snapped out of his daze when Wakko had slapped him in the face. Hard. Yakko let out a pained yelp. He rubbed his cheek. "What the hell was that for?!" Wakko let out a sigh of relief at Yakko's response. "Welcome back to the real world, Yakko, what was that whole zoning out thing supposed to be?!"

Yakko was about to respond, but was then cut off by Dot, who was standing behind them with a mallet in hand. "Get out of my house." Yakko and Wakko stood back up, Yakko instinctively pulling his younger sibling behind him. "Dot, come to your senses! It's us! Your brothers!" Yakko and Wakko back up as Dot steps closer.

"I already told you! I don't have any brothers!" That statement repeated over again hurt Yakko more than any mallet could. But he needed to focus on not getting physically hurt right now. But he couldn't just leave his home. Before he could even think of a plan, Wakko pulls Yakko out of the way of the mallet that would have come crashing down on both of them. Wakko pulls Yakko to the bathroom and locks the door behind him. Yakko collapses in exhaustion while Wakko barricades the door with stuff in his gag bag, while Dot bangs on the door.

Once the door is barricaded enough, Wakko slides down to sit on the floor next to Yakko. "What now?" Yakko asks warily. Wakko sighs, "Maybe we should think of a plan?" Yakko nods at the idea.

They start trying to draw up ideas of how to get out of the bathroom safely and get Dot to somehow not hurt them. This process takes hours, maybe even a day or so. Then Wakko stands up, presumably with an idea. "I think I have an idea." Wakko then whispers it into Yakko's ear so Dot couldn't overhear. "You know, that might actually work! Let's give it a shot."

The plan was for Yakko to go out first and distract Dot while Wakko would come out a little after and stuff Dot in a bag that they would most likely send to Acme Labs so she could be contained safely. It was upsetting to do this to their sister, but what other choice did they have?

The two got set up and Yakko went out first, acting as bait. "Oh, Dot! it's me! Your second favorite brother! Yakko! come out and give me a hug!" Yakko cringed at the piece of paper of things to say that Wakko had written for him to lure out Dot. But there was no response, nor did Yakko see Dot. "Dot? You here?" He called out once again, except this time, a little softer this time.

Wakko peeked out from the bathroom,"Maybe she got bored and left?" Yakko considered that for a moment. "That isn't out of the realm of possibilities, but that would mean she's out on the lot! It would be a lot-"

Yakko was completely cut off by a scream coming from behind him. He turns to face the noise to see Dot actively trying to attack Wakko. Yakko rushes over to pry Dot off of Wakko before she does permanent damage. He can't lose Wakko, too. As soon as Yakko gets Dot off Wakko, She immediately tries to attack Yakko, but because of how much taller Yakko is, he holds his hand out and stops Dot from getting too close for a while.

Meanwhile, Wakko regains their bearings and looks for a Dot sized bag in his gag bag. After a few minutes of holding Dot in place, she jumps up and tackles Yakko. He yelps and screams as Dot tries to bite his face off. She's more animalistic than when she last tried to attack him. This was no longer Yakko's witty sister, this was a monster that had taken over her body. Yakko suddenly feels a sharp pain in his left hand and shouts in agony. In his moment of vulnerability, Dot pins Yakko to the ground. He sees as Dot raises her crystallized hand and knows exactly what's about to happen and mutters  what might be his last words,

"I'm sorry."

Dot pauses for a second before lowering her hand to his eye. And just before Dot's crystallized hand collides with Yakko's eye, something swoops up Dot into a bag. Wakko. They tie the bag quickly before losing grip of the squirmy bag. The bag bounces off, Wakko chases after it, until it falls off the balcony of the water tower and into the studio. "At least I tied it tight enough so she won't get out too soon and hurt people again. Let's go after her, Yakko!" Wakko pauses, now noticing that Yakko isn't standing next to him. 

"Yakko?" Wakko walks back into the water tower to see Yakko sitting on the ground, staring at his hand, horrified. That was never a good sign. "Yakko, are you okay?" Wakko asked, nervous. Yakko looked up at Wakko and he raised his left hand. "Look," There was a giant wound on Yakko's hand, similar to the one Dot hand when she came back from the caverns. Wakko's heart dropped, he knew exactly what happened.

"She got me."

Chapter Text

Wakko paces around the room, Biting at his sleeve. How on Earth did he get into this situation? Well, Last they checked, Yakko and Dot went out somewhere to look for something Pinky requested? No. It was Brain who requested something. He hadn't really paid attention to what they were saying to him. Then, hours later, Yakko and Dot come back, Yakko rushes to the bathroom and it looks like He's bandaging a wound on Dot's hand. Then, Dot goes to bed early while Yakko would join Wakko on the couch.

They watched a movie that night. Wakko's Wish. He had remembered when they were on the set to film the movie for the first time, Dot arguing with the costume department on the "Perfect outfit", and Yakko attempting to flirt with one of the stunt actresses. Wakko remembered all so clearly.

Dot had been sick that night, and she wouldn't stop whining or crying about how much pain she was in. Wakko couldn't sleep that night because of how loud and dramatic she was at the time. Wakko now regrets all the harsh comments they whispered to her that night to be quiet.

Everything happened so quickly, they couldn't recall anything other than being attacked by Dot that very day. And now, The water tower was the most silent it's been for a long time. The room was tense, Wakko paced back and forth across the room, while Yakko was on the ground, soon to suffer the same fate as his dear sister did that night.

How could Wakko be so blind? Why didn't he do more? It's not like they was obligated to look for that stupid bag IN his gag bag. He could've just used the gag bag and that would've been it. No more suffering. Wakko was tired. He was desperate. Desperate for all this to end, for this to be some nightmare that they could just wake up from.

Unfortunately, Wakko wasn't that lucky.

They paced faster and faster around the room, ripping some fabric off his sweater from how much they had been biting at it for the past couple of days. Wakko was thinking at a thousand miles an hour at this point, his knees threatening to give out any second. 

Yakko watched as his younger sibling spiraled pretty close to having a full blown meltdown. Yakko then remembered what Brain said about the infection. That it was similar to snake venom. As long as it doesn't reach the Immune system, you could treat it without any repercussions. If you cut off the circulation from where you got bitten, it won't spread. 

Cutting off the circulation.

That was it.

Yakko had an idea of how to save himself. Meanwhile, Wakko paced around the room, still. Thinking about how life will be with just him. They couldn't take care of themself! They could even take care of a rock. This was awful. Wakko should've done something, anything to-

"Wakko!"

Wakko stops in his tracks as his older brother's shout grounds him. "H-huh?" Yakko sighs at Wakko's response, "I need you to-" Yakko pauses, his voice cracking slightly. He regains composure and speaks again,

"I need you to do something for me." Wakko immediately responds with, "Do you want me to start digging your grave? Okay!" Wakko grabs a shovel from his gag bag and starts heading out the door. "Wait, No, no, Wakko, stop!" Yakko stands up, planning to go after Wakko. Wakko stops in his tracks and looks back. "Just- Just listen to me for a second, okay? And I don't plan on dying anytime soon." Yakko sits down on the floor again. "Get me the bottle of pills under my pillow, the bottle, not the plastic bag."

Wakko drops the shovel and hesitantly walks over to Yakko's bed, lifting the pillow to find a bottle of pills labeled, "Painkillers" Wakko grabs the bottle and walks over to Yakko, handing him the bottle. "Great, great, now grab the emergency kit from the bathroom." Wakko does exactly that and places it beside Yakko, sitting down in front of him.

"What did you want me to do with this stuff?" Wakko asks, a bit anxious to hear Yakko's answer.

"I won't put this lightly, but..." Yakko started,

"I need you to cut off my arm."

Wakko's jaw drops. "You need me to WHAT?!" Wakko exclaimed, not believing what he just heard out of Yakko's mouth. "Have you lost your mind?! I can't do that to you! I won't!" Yakko sighs. He partly knew Wakko would react like this. He was also a bit skeptical about this idea. But he would have to trust his intuition right now.

"Wakko, just listen to me, we don't have a lot of time to do this, please?" Yakko has this desperate look on his face, a look that Wakko had never seen before on their older brother. And he didn't like seeing his brother like this one bit. "No! Have you gone mad?! I can't! I don't wanna hurt you!" Yakko sighed heavier this time. He stood up and grabs Wakko by the shoulder, "Wakko. l know this seemed far-fetched, but this may be the only way I won't end up like Dot." Wakko's breath hitches.

"I'll explain later, but I don't know how much time we have." Wakko pauses, considering the idea. "Fine."

Wakko grabs their gag bag, pulling a hand saw out of the bag, looking at it for a minute. Stainless steel reflected Wakko's horrified expression, the bags under his eyes, the slight tremble of his bottom lip, and the way the hand saw shook in Wakko's hand, showing how much fear he actually was in.

"Are....Are you sure about this?" Wakko asked, his voice quiet and shaky as they held the hand saw. Yakko sat down, holding out his arm on the dining room table, his hand still bleeding out from the attack. "Wakko...

I've never been more sure in my life."

And with that, Wakko raises the saw to Yakko's arm. He hesitates, then the saw swings down onto Yakko's arm.

Yakko lets out a blood-curdling scream of pain as the saw is lodged in his upper arm, Wakko stumbles back a little from how loud he was. As Wakko continued sawing at Yakko's arm as quickly as possible, blood spewed out with every little movement of the saw. Yakko kicks and yells in pain as the saw unevenly goes through skin and bone, and everything in between. Wakko nearly stopped a few times with how much Yakko was screaming.

After what seemed like forever, Yakko's arm had finally been fully cut off, blood spilling out of both ends. Yakko has probably lost about a liter of blood at this point. Both Warner siblings panted, Wakko immediately grabbed the bandage wrap and tried to wrap it around Yakko's stub of an arm. Yakko weakly looks up at Wakko. Seeing how bloodied they both were, he scoffed and smiled softly. 

"You did good, bud."

Wakko looks up from the now bandaged wound. Wakko's eyes water up as he stares more and more at his weakened brother. "Stop smiling at me that, I just cut your arm off! You shouldn't be happy!"

Despite everything, Yakko weakly chuckles, "You did what you had to. Now, could you help me get to my bed? I think I'm a little too dizzy to get there myself."

Wakko watched as his older brother slowly got up out of his seat, weak, and clearly not in the right mind to be moving around at the moment. They helped Yakko over to his bed, the process painful and slow, but they managed to careful plop Yakko onto his bed. 

Yakko laid down and groaned. He fell asleep shortly after. Wakko looked down at his brother. He just couldn't put his finger on why Yakko would smile at something as bleak as this. Maybe he was just delirious from the blood loss. Or maybe it was his "coping mechanism".

But didn't he seem, relieved? But what was Yakko relieved about? Losing his arm? He did say something about not wanting to end up like Dot, but how did that tie around to Yakko wanting Wakko to cut off his arm? Wakko looked back at the severed arm.

He wish he hadn't. Whatever was left in their stomach surely wasn't happy look at that sight. Wakko rushed into the bathroom, doubling over the cold porcelain of the toilet seat. Wakko hated blood, much less his brother's severed arm on the table. They covered their mouth, trembling. They gagged, wiping the sweat off his forehead. His breathing picked up, he hated this. 

He hated seeing his brother so vulnerable and frail. He hated having to cut his own brother's arm off for some fucking reason. He hated seeing said arm on the table, reminding him of what they did. He hated that his baby sister turned into some monster. He hated not being able to control anything. He hated—

Wakko felt a sour taste creeping up in their throat, and then started to retch out their insides into the toilet bowl, or, at least, that's what it felt like. He wiped his mouth, hands shaking profusely. God, Wakko felt miserable. He notices his hands, covered in his brother's blood. His throat stung, and he hurled once more, his hat fell off this time. At this point, they felt like their body was on fire. 

Wakko continued retching into the toilet for about 10 minutes before flushing the toilet and collapsing on the floor next to the sink. They let out a choked sob. They were shaking like mad. He was tired. He grabbed the top of the sink and stumbled back on their feet. He took one good look at himself in the mirror.

It looked like they had aged 10 years in a few hours, blood splattered all over their face. Wakko wanted to cry. But they were to tired to even try and let anything out. They turned on the sink and started washing their face and hands. Everything hurt. Their knees could give out any second from the pain and the stress.

But no.

He couldn't stop now. Not everything he had just gone through. Besides, he still had to clean up that horror scene in the dining room, or just get that damn arm off the table. 

Wakko washed his face and exited the bathroom, hand still on the wall for support. They walked to the dining room table. Staring at the arm, they choked a bit, but managed to keep it down this time, not like there was much left after that.

Wakko grabbed a trash bag, looking at the severed arm. Crystals were growing everywhere on it now, which did look a bit odd. Still, Wakko managed to maneuver through the crystallized arm and shoved it into the trash bag.

He walked out the door real quick, leaning on the balcony and tossed the trash bag into the open dumpster next to the tower. 

For hours, Wakko sits on the floor next to Yakko's bed. Yakko sleeps deeply, but it's most definitely not peaceful. This is far from over. And Wakko knows that. But yet, They still sit on the floor, unable to think of a plan. Wakko finds himself hopeless. He starts thinking that this might not be their problem anymore.

No, this was still their problem. But what could Wakko do? For all he knew, Yakko was still infected. Wakko thought for a moment. Then he got it.

Brain.

If anyone knew how to end this, it was Brain.

And Wakko knew exactly where to look.

Chapter Text

It was a rough night. Yakko woke up in a cold sweat. He sat up, looking around. "Wakko?" The silence drags on with no response. "No, no, Wakko?!" Yakko's voice is sore as he yells through an empty room.

Panic starts to set in. Yakko starts to get up, but his legs started to give out. A desperate attempt to ground himself, Yakko tries to grab the railing. But unfortunately for Yakko,

He doesn't have an arm on that side anymore.

Yakko falls face first into the floor. He groans, looking at the stub where his arm used to be and realized his request in the previous chapter.

"Damnit..." Yakko's eyes started to water, from fear, and the leftover pain from what is left of his arm. He sits up, leaning on the bed.

Yakko looked up at the ceiling, his vision swimming already from the tears from his eyes. He sniffled, "No, no, no... Wakko. I can't lose him too! I can't lose them both! I can't lose them both!" Yakko's shoulders shook as he repeated the phrase over and over.

He sobbed for hours, scared that Wakko was alone out there, scared, vulnerable. Who knows what Wakko has gotten themself into.

Wakko walked through the empty streets of the studio, brown messenger bag around his shoulder. The sun hadn't even risen yet. Wakko yawned, walking to Acme Labs. 

The walk was silent, which felt weird for the middle Warner sibling. There was usually bickering between Yakko and Dot, whether it was because Yakko was talking about something pointless, or Dot was too focused on putting makeup on to be aware of her surroundings. But Wakko remembered that he couldn't have that anymore. And he was pissed.

It was very rare to see Wakko actually mad about something. He was usually acting or he was just aggravated. Never truly angry. But today, if this went how Wakko planned,

The Brain was about to experience hell and back.

Wakko was a very quiet type of angry, like a predator stalking their prey, any noise would give away everything. He walked with purpose, a blank expression on their face as they walked.

Once they finally get to the Lab, they pounced. Wakko slammed the door open, stomping over to Brain's cage, Brain writing something down on a mini notepad. There was a little container by the cage, the one Pinky used to be in last time they came here. It was just full of small crystals now.

"You."

Wakko slammed his hand on the table, catching Brain's attention. 

"Didn't I already answer all your questions last time you waltzed in here without warning?" Brain asks, unamused. "Oh, I know everything I need to. But you're still the reason my brother doesn't have an arm and my sister is MISSING!" Wakko grabbed Brain out of the cage, a death grip on him. Brain gasped for air. "Well, it's not my fault she was ignorant for sticking her hand in the wrong crystal—"

Before The Brain could say any more, Wakko grips him in his hand tighter, if that's even possible. Wakko growled, "Talk about my sister like that again and I'll squeeze so hard that your organs spill out like an overflowing wine glass, so choose your next words wisely."

It was truly horrifying to see Wakko like this, especially in Brain's point of view. "Well, what do you want me to do?!" Brain wheezed, losing air quickly. "You're going to put an end to this, you're going to help me find my sister, and then you're going to end this." Wakko hissed. He was done being the dependent, idiot younger brother he always was. He couldn't do this anymore. 

"Fine!"

Wakko let go of Brain at that, Brain finally gasping for air he so desperately needed at the moment. Wakko stood there, silent as they walked out of the Lab.

The walk was again, silent. They looked everywhere around the studio, then headed to Ms. Norita's office again, Wakko knew she probably didn't know anything, but it was worth a shot.

Once they got up to the corporate office, the two heard a scream. It was no doubt, Ms. Norita. Brain and Wakko rush into the room. Ms. Norita, was on the ground, holding her hand in despair and the window broken behind her.

"I think we've got our answer to where Dot might be." Brain walks over to Nora, speaking to her quietly enough for Wakko to not hear what they were saying. Ms. Norita soon ran out of the room as Wakko and Brain continued their search around the studio. They now had a bit of a clue to where Dot had been.

As they're looking through a pathway to the older studio lots, Wakko stops in his tracks. Suddenly he leans on the tree next to him. Brain pauses, looking back at Wakko. "Everything alright?" Brain asks calmly.

Wakko nods, sweating. "Might...might just be a little tired, go on without me, I'll catch up with you later..." Brain sighs in annoyance and walks further ahead.

Wakko instantaneously collapses against the tree,  panting. He had noticed earlier that his hands were getting pretty shaky, but he just thought it was just stress. But this was Wakko's worst nightmare right now. They needed to eat something, before his condition got worse.

They knew they were about to have an episode, and they needed to eat something, quick. He grabbed his messenger bag, his legs starting to spasm. He dug through the bag, frantic. Their vision started to blur at the edges, which meant they didn't have much time. It was too late to find something to eat, now.

Wakko finally finds his meds, and stabs the needle in his arm. They hiss in pain as the medicine goes into their system, but this is for their own good. Wakko started to feel a bit better already. He started to get up, leaning on the tree. Usually he would wait fifteen minutes until he would get up.

But they didn't have fifteen minutes.

Not today.

Wakko started to walk around, looking for Brain and possibly find his feral sister. When looking in the old lots, Wakko stumbles across a vile. Literally, he trips over a small vile of glowing yellow liquid. They hold it in their hands. The vile was labeled, "The cure".

Wakko knew exactly what it was.

He stuffed it in his bag, running towards the main lot. He then spotted Brain. "Brain! Brain, I found something that's gonna help my sister!" Wakko held up the vile.

"That's great, Wakko. Could you hand it over so I can give to her?" Brain responded, his tone monotonous. Wakko felt something.. Off. "Does that mean you found my sister? Where is she?" Wakko asks, unsure. "Yes, yes, now hand the vile over."

Wakko nearly gives Brain the vile, but something catches his attention. They step back. Brain grows impatient. "Come now, hand it over," The Brain demands. Wakko shook their head, "Not until you explain that thing behind you." Wakko takes another step back. "You're not... Trying to help my sister, are you?" Wakko questions.

A deep sense of fear travels through Wakko's body as he awaits the answer.

"You're smarter than you look," Brain remarks. "I've really got to hand it to you, you led me straight to the answer. Did you really think I didn't purposely send your siblings down to that cavern? Please. My whole goal here is to take over the world, even if that means making a few sacrifices to finally get that. And think, of how many times I've been underestimated, how long I was told that I'd be nothing but a Side character. Twenty-five years!"

Brain laughs, a laugh that made Wakko's stomach churn, "And now, finally, The World, starting with this studio, is in my control! Though Pinky won't be my side this time, I have finally won! Just hand the vile over, and maybe I'll spare your brother for the new world."

Wakko held the vile closer to his chest, his head shaking no. Brain sighs, "tsk, tsk, and here I thought you were smarter than this. Although, I will say, I don't think I'll regret getting rid of you." 

Just then, something comes out of the shadows. And massive robot with a crystal in the core. It picks Brain up and places him up on the top. Just then, Almost an army of Infected toons and humans walk out, their eyes blank of any soul that might've been there before. Wakko's eyes widen, and he bolts away, holding the vile tightly to his chest.

The army of Infected chases Wakko through the studio, surprisingly quick. Wakko hides in an alleyway, in a dumpster. They search for something to defend themself with. God, was this what he was reduced to? Wakko felt like a scared animal, tears dripping down his face.

Why couldn't their life be simpler again? Why did he have to be so ignorant to Brain's plan? He missed Dot. He missed Yakko. Wakko wanted to go back. 

But he couldn't. That life was good and gone, he had to accept that.

Wakko finds a pistol, most likely used for a movie of some kind. He checks it for ammo. 

Three bullets. That's all they had.

Wakko sighed, climbing out of the dumpster with his pistol. He held it up as he walked out of the alleyway. The street was empty, and the silence was deafening. Wakko started looking around, then heard a familiar voice.

"Wakko..?"

Dot. Wakko turns to around to face Dot. The gun starts to shake in their hands. "What's happening to me? Why are you letting this happen? Why won't you do something?" Wakko holds up the gun, aiming at Dot, tears falling from his face.

"It's not you, it's not you." Wakko repeated to themself. Wakko then saw Brain and his machine, puppeting Dot. She walks closer to Wakko. They step back, trying to think of what to do. Wait, the crystal core in the robot was controlling the infected, that's why they were hostile so quickly.

Then it hit him like a truck.

Wakko runs away from Dot, heading straight for the machine. A couple of toons chase after Wakko, coming out of the alleyways. Wakko runs faster, ducking and jumping out of the way of infected toons and humans. The army of Infected starts to catch up. 

Wakko doesn't have much time.

He started to aim the gun at the core of the robot. 

Then, he fires.

The crystals explodes, an explosion of light blasting Wakko back. Wakko collides with a wall, passing out.

Wakko wakes up with a start shortly after. They slowly get off the ground, dusting themself off. Wakko wipes the blood off his nose and walks over to the scene.

"No, no, no! I was so close! How could I let this happen?!" Brain cries out. Most of the infected come to their senses, groaning in pain. Wakko walks over to Brain.

"It's over."

Wakko looms over Brain, a menacing figure. "Why should I let you live?" Wakko asks, fuming. "Because, without me, you won't know how to cure this disease!"

"If you knew, you would have done it when Dot came to you!" Wakko screamed.

"It was already too late to save her!"

That made Wakko pause. "You're lying." 

"The venom already reached her Temporal lobe, I examined her brain, there was nothing I could do. And besides, I hadn't even developed a cure yet," Brain responds. 

Wakko refrained on absolutely beating the shit out of Brain and listened. "If you can't save her, then save these other people. They don't deserve that fate," Wakko demanded.

Brain saw the spark of desperation in Wakko's eyes and sighed, "Fine, but on one condition."

"And that is?"

"I need to let me isolate Dot in the cavern afterwards."

Wakko stay silent, thinking about the possibility.

"Fine."