Okay, this is my first A! fic. Ever. So please R&R! I want to know if you like it, hate it, want to see more, etc. I would really love feedback on it.

If there is a good response, I will update when I can. I'm currently working between this and an IZ fic. Chapters are probably gonna be a little shorter than what I usually do. That's just the way it's flowing right now.

Disclaimer: I don't own Animaniacs. There, I said it. And that's the only disclaimer for the entire story.

Shadow

Prologue

It was only 10:00 am and already he could feel that all too familiar migraine coming on. When he became this studio's psychiatrist, he never thought he'd be the one with headaches. But just when he believed things couldn't get any more insane, Dr. Scratchansniff found himself on his way to a rushed emergency meeting with the head of the studio. From what he'd been told, something was happening with the Warners, or at least a Warner. He thought having the LAPD on the studio grounds was a bit overkill if it was only the Warners, but once he was in the meeting with the CEO and a few officers, he became even more confused. Now they told him it may not even be a Warner at all.

From what he could gather, a stray toon who greatly resembled the studio's insane trio but hardly acted like them had been taken into custody. Apparently it had been found, or rather captured, somewhere on the streets of San Diego and had been shipped off to Los Angeles, since it was believed to be from the studio.

"We believe this toon may be dangerous," an officer explained to a very non-too-happy Mr. Plotz. Scratchansniff suspected the finding of a fourth Warner had upset his boss greatly, or drove him mad, but the idea of that fourth Warner being dangerous struck him as odd. Perhaps the officer was exaggerating, as many often did with the strange siblings.

"Why do you think it's dangerous?" the doctor couldn't help asking.

The officer turned to him. "It attacked a human and injured two others."

That was odd, not to mention unsettling.

"Dr. Scratchansniff," the officer began, "Our own methods of interrogation failed miserably. It simply won't cooperate with us. We've come to believe it may be psychologically distrubed."

"Oh really?" the doctor said with a little too much sarcasm for the other man's liking. But the officer continued.

"Since you have worked with this toon's kind before, we would like you to come down to the station and have a look at it. We're hoping that you may be able to get through to it."

That didn't make sense. He never had success with the Warners before, what made them think he could cure this one?

Before he knew it, he was riding in a sheriff's cruiser to the station to meet the wayward toon. Scratchansniff was lead to the cell that held the creature. It was heavily guarded, its occupant being toon and all. Escaping probably wouldn't be much of a problem for it.

So the doctor wondered why it hadn't even bothered trying.

When he saw it, Scratchansniff could have easily believed that it was Yakko sitting in that cell. The toon may very well be a Warner. It was of the same 'species,' whatever that may have been. He could see that it was male, and though the boy resembled Yakko the most, the expression that he wore was not something the doctor ever imagined to see on the eldest sibling's face...

Hate. Utter contempt was plastered over the toon's face, but the doctor had no idea what for. The Warner, Scratchansniff decided to call it for now for lack of a better word, was sitting on a wall bench with his knees drawn up to his chest. His clothing consisted of a green-colored vest and matching pants, torn and dirty, but he had no gloves covering his black hands. The doctor also noticed a small streak of grayish fur graced the top of his head.

One of the guards unlocked the cell door and motioned for Scratchansniff to follow him inside, relocking the door behind him. The Warner watched the two men carefully, his expression faltering in just the slightest. Scratchansniff thought he saw a glimmer of something close to fear move across the boy's features. The doctor stepped forward to examine him more closely. As he did so, he noticed the boy press his back straight against the wall, his entire frame stiffening. He gave the doctor a cold, hard gaze, as if warning him to not come any closer.

From his viewpoint, Scratchansniff could see more details of the toon's body. Dear lord, he was skinny. He could see his ribs coming through his black fur, which was nowhere near as shiny and healthy looking as the other Warners'. His tail was twitching sporadically and the hairs on his shoulders bristled, almost standing completely standing on end.

The boy lowered his head and drew his arms close to his chest again. That was when Scratchansniff noticed the guard behind him had moved closer. The toon was now slightly shaking. His gaze was divided between the two humans in the room Scratchansniff suspected he was more wary of the guard than himself. Perhaps he could that fear to an advantage.

"Eh, hello dere," he smiled trying to get the boy's attention away from the guard. "What is your name?"

The other looked at him for a few moments as if studying him. Scratchansniff saw him ease up a bit, but he still remained silent.

The guard huffed. "This is all we get too. He hasn't said a word since we ca-"

"Daz..."

If Scratchansniff hadn't been focused on him, he probably wouldn't have noticed him speak. The boy spoke softly, almost in a whisper, but he kept his glare steady.

The guard shut his gaping mouth and snorted. "So he isn't a mute after all."

Something in the man's tone made the toon shrink back further, if it was at all possible. Scratchansniff didn't want to lose him now that he had come out of his shell. Ignoring the guard, he continued on. "Well, uh, Daz, I am Dr. Scratchansniff, and I have come here to help you. Is zat okay with you?" That last part sounded odd to him but he felt it best to tread lightly on this toon for the time being.

Daz turned back to the doctor. "Will you get me out of this cage?"

Though he knew the boy was trying to keep his voice even, Scratchansniff couldn't help but notice the pleading sound in his question. Was that why Daz seemed so nervous of the guard, because he thought this was a cage?

"I'll do what I can, Daz. But right now, we'll have to stay in zis room, okay?"

Daz stared at him. His once hard glare softened. Then he said quietly, "Okay..."