Daddy Warner
Daddy Warner
Home alone and bored out of her skull, Dot aimlessly explored the tower. She ventured into the attic where she happened upon a safe buried under some boxes and old blankets. Having observed safe crackers on T.V in the past, she decided to try her hand at the trade. After just a few attempts, the safe was opened.
Inside the safe, she discovered two small boxes. The largest of the two being roughly the size of a shoe box. She opened the smallest box and found a beautiful gold locket inside. Inside the locket, she found a picture of herself and Wakko as infants.
Wakko looked to be roughly one year old in the photo. She appeared to be practically a newborn. They were both being held in the arms of an unfamiliar female warner she assumed was likely their mother. It was a fairly touching photograph, though Yakko was strangely absent from the picture. Perhaps he had simply been a bit camera shy that day Dot thought to herself. She closed the locket and put it away, then reached for the second box and opened it, finding even more photos inside.
The first picture from the box was similar to the one inside the locket, but with Yakko holding her and Wakko instead of the warner she had assumed was their mother. The odd thing being that he was clearly at his current hight, though she and Wakko appeared to be the same age they were in the previous photograph.
The next picture featured both Yakko and the mysterious warner Dot had assumed was their mother. She wore a light purple sun dress with frilly white trim along the top and a simple straw hat that was adorned with a single yellow flower. Yakko wore a loose fitting white button up shirt with short sleeves, along with a pair of pants that looked similar to the ones he currently wore. They stood side by side on the beach with their hands and arms linked together.
So she wasn't their mom after all Dot concluded after seeing the photograph.
But just who was she then? And why had Yakko never mentioned her before?
Perhaps there was a messy break up involved, and he simply preferred not discuss it Dot thought as she moved on to the next picture. It too featured Yakko and the mystery warner.
Yakko wore a white tuxedo with a red cummerbund and boutonnière to complete the look. She, was undeniably wearing a wedding dress. The same yellow flower that adorned her hat in the previous picture was worn in her hair along the left side. They were slow dancing, and appeared to be quite enamored with each other.
This was undeniably a wedding photograph, as were many of the others Dot discovered as she continued looking through the pictures. She checked the date written on the back of one and found that it had been taken roughly a year before Wakko was born. The idea that Yakko had been old enough to get married before she or Wakko were even born was frankly mind boggling.
Just how old was he anyway? And why did he pretend to be so much younger Dot wondered. She set aside the stack of photos and turned her attention to the papers lining the bottom of the box in search of more clues. It was then that she made the most bizarre discovery of all.
The first paper she looked at turned out to be her original birth certificate. And written below the words 'name of father', was unmistakably, Yakko Warner. Everything was suddenly starting to make sense, and yet it made no sense at all.
How could Yakko be her father? Was he Wakko's Dad too? Did Wakko know? Was she the only one who didn't? Had he been left in the dark like herself? So many questions filled her head she couldn't think straight. Her disordered thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the tower door opening. She grew completely silent and listened as it closed.
"Hey Dot, we got something for you!" She heard Yakko call. She remained both silent and still. She wasn't ready to face him or anyone else at the moment.
"Maybe she's asleep." She heard Yakko say. He went up stairs to check on her, only to find an empty room.
"She's not in her room!" She heard Yakko say. She listened as he started to search the other rooms and continued calling her name with mounting concern. She felt like a cornered rodent in an alley full of cats, but the guilt of making him worry was beginning to overpower her fear of facing him. She quickly put everything away and came down from the attic. Yakko breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her.
"There you are." Yakko said. "I was starting to get worried. I guess you must not have heard me calling at first." He said. "Anyway, we got you this while we were out. It's that dress I noticed you staring at last weak. At least I think it is." He said as he handed her the bag containing the dress. She looked into the bag, then back to Yakko.
"It's the wrong one, isn't it?" Yakko asked. "Sorry about that. We can take it back and get the right one tomorrow." He said.
"No, it's the right one... It's just... I don't know what to say right now." Dot said. Her less than lively tone did not go unnoticed.
"Well, if you're worried about it being too expensive, don't. We got it with money set aside specifically for just this sorta thing. We're well within our budget for the month." Yakko said. "Besides, any money spent on making my little sibs happy is money well spent in my book." He added.
"Thanks..." Dot said, looking off to the side a bit. She looked back to Yakko and let a single word escape her lips. "Dad..." The room grew completely silent for a moment or so.
"I opened the safe up in the attic." Dot said. Another moment of silence passed between them.
"I'm sorry you had to find out like that." Yakko said with a sigh.
"Does Wakko know?" Dot asked.
"No..." Yakko said. "But maybe it's about time you both knew the whole story." He said. A short time later, all three Warners were gathered in the living room.
"As Dot already knows, I'm not really your brother... Not yours or Dot's." Yakko started.
"You're not?" Wakko asked, confused.
"No..." Yakko said. "I'm your father."
"You are?" Wakko asked, even more confused. "But you're only..."
"I'm over twenty years older than both of you actually." Yakko cut in.
"But..."
"But I look more like a kid than an adult, right?" Yakko asked, anticipating Wakko's next line of thought. Wakko nodded yes. "It only seems like that cause you've never seen any other adult warners. I'm just about as big as they get." Yakko explained. Wakko grew silent.
"Why did you pretend to be our brother?" Dot asked.
"Couldn't deal with the past I suppose." Yakko said. "Your Mother...she died in a car crash shortly after you were born. I couldn't face what had happened, and being called Dad would've been a constant reminder. So, instead of being your Dad, I became just plain old Yakko, your older brother. You were both too young to remember much of anything, so changing roles was easy enough.
At first I felt terrible about keeping the truth from you. But over time, I practically started to believe my own lie. That we were the Warner brothers and the Warner sister Dot. That nothing bad had ever happened to us... But I guess it's about time I got my head outta the clouds and started facing the truth. It happened, no amount of pretending can change it, and I'll just have to make peace with that." He said. Both Dot and Wakko remained silent for a moment.
"So..." Dot started, looking off to the side as she gathered her courage to speak. "Now that we know and everything... Can we...can we call you Dad?" She asked, looking to Yakko. "Might be nice to have someone to call that, even if he is our big brother." She added, her voice growing choked with emotion as tears began to form in her eyes.
"You sure I still deserve the title?" Yakko asked. Dot gave a nod.
"Uh-huh." She said, sniffing and blinking back a few tears.
"Then I'm more than happy to accept it." He said as he placed an arm around Dot, drawing her closer. She clung to his side, letting her tears soak into his fur. Wakko remained silent, as if in thought.
"What was our Mom's name?" Wakko asked after a moment or so. Yakko tilted his head back a bit as if reflecting, then responded.
"Angelina Contessa Luisa Francesca Bananafanna Bo-besca the second. But I always called her Angel." Yakko said. "Her nickname for me was Yak." He added with a slight chuckle.
"What was she like?" Dot asked.
"She was the cleverest, most caring and spirited girl I've ever met." Yakko said. "She loved to sing, dance, laugh... Get into trouble, get out of trouble..." He said, chuckling a bit at some past antic. "I wish you could've met her." He said with a sigh.
"You think she'd be proud if she could see us right now?" Dot asked.
"I know she would." Yakko said. "How could she not be? The two of you are everything a parent could possibly ask for." He said as he drew them both into a group hug.
"You really think so?" Dot asked.
"I know so." Yakko said. "I know so."
The End.
(A.N) This story is a concept that came to me during the production of Little Angelina Warner. I've developed it as far as I feel I can take it. But if anyone feels that they're up to telling the story of Yakko's tragic romance with Angel or taking this story further in any other way, I'd love to see that. All I ask is a small mention in the author's notes if you do. Of course, if no one is interested. Then by all means, disregard my previous statement.
Disclaimer-I don't own Animaniacs. I don't pretend to own Animaniacs. And I'm not making any money off this story.