Hey didja miss me? Haha. I'm starting to sound like the Warners themselves, aren't I? So anyway, welcome back. If you read my prologue to this story, then I could not thank you more for coming back! I hope you'll like this chapter (well duh, it's the first one) and review plz! I don't own Animaniacs, so again, try not to sue me. Enjoy the following and REVIEW! Peace.

Chapter One- Whispers from Within

Yakko Warner sighed and stretched out in his king size bed. He turned to his alarm clock. 8:23 AM. Well, that hadn't been the best sleep he'd ever had, he had to admit. He remembered tossing and turning and thinking about some purple light, glowing, and getting closer, and closer- Then he'd wake up in a cold sweat. It hadn't been fun.

But what did he care? It was early, the sunrise was beautiful, and any minute now, some pretty girl would come running in bringing a tray of pancakes and maple syrup. Yes, royal life was a burden. But Yakko thought he was handling it just fine.

Later when Yakko got showered and dressed in his same old brown slacks, he started to make his way down the humongous golden hallway towards Wakko's room. He always got kind of lonely in the morning and liked talking with his brother before they got on with their day. And no way was he waking up Dot. She always liked to get on with her "cutie" sleep and Yakko didn't really feel like getting maimed by his baby sister this early in the morning. When he reached Wakko's door, he knocked.

"Wakko? Get up already, the maids have been asking for you. Something about snuggling?" Yakko didn't really mean it, but that always got Wakko straight out of bed in about two seconds flat.

Sure enough, the door opened immediately and Wakko Warner stood in the doorway, still in his blue pajamas, and his tongue hanging out from the side, like always.

"Really? They are?" he asked eagerly.

"No, but I bet some girls out on the streets are just dying to see you," Yakko ruffled his brothers hair while Wakko looked slightly miffed. "Hey, I think I'm gonna go out today. Haven't really checked out the town in a while, and I'm starting to go crazy being cooped up in here all the time."

Yakko missed not seeing his friends for a while and he needed some fresh air for a change.

"You wanna come?"

"Nah, not really. I think I'll just stay here and try to top my record of eating a two- pound hamburger in only a minute. Then we can start decorating for my party! But you're waking up Dot," Wakko said while he put on his bright red cap.

"Not it!"

"Not it! Aw, man!" Wakko groaned while Yakko was chuckling. "But I did it last time!" Wakko called out after his brother, who was already walking down the hallway and turning the corner.

"Sorry! Can't hear ya!" came the reply.

"Ugh." Wakko sighed as he started walking to Dot's room. "Oh, well. Maybe she'll actually show me some mercy today," he said to himself. Then he stopped walking and burst out laughing. As if!

….

Yakko strode through the halls of the castle. Man, this place was big. Back when he and his sibs had lived in the old orphanage, everything was in one small place. The old wooden house would creak at night, and it used to scare Yakko when he was very little. Yakko laughed to himself when he remembered the night that he, Wakko and Dot stayed up all night trying to battle a monster in the closet when it turned out to be just an old, overlong coat and a hat. Wakko had tried stabbing it with a broom. Yep, despite the horrible conditions they'd lived in, they'd had some pretty good times in there.

But it was all different now. Yakko shoved his hands into his pockets as he thought about it. He never got to see his friends anymore. Mostly, he got to go into town maybe once or twice every two months. And being co-rulers his brother and sister was getting to be real hard work.

They had to read long, boring letters, listen to reports from messengers who came from different countries, memorize bits of laws and rules for the town. And then there were the school lessons. Yakko shuddered at the thought of them. Every day, week after week, they had to sit down to listen to the worst schoolmistress in all creation: Miss Canter. She was the strictest and most boring teacher ever. All day, nothing but history and literature and math. Yakko thought he might've even liked school if anyone else had been teaching. But no. Miss Canter was quite possibly the cause of all the world's problems. If she was? Yakko wouldn't have been surprised. He was just lucky it was the weekend.

Yeah, royalty had its ups and downs, but all in all, it was just great to be living in a place that Yakko and his sibs could live in peace, without taxes, or evil kings, or poverty, or wishing stars to worry about. Yakko turned a corner, almost to the main doors that would lead him outside.

"Quick! Quick! Get inside!" a voice suddenly hissed from behind a storage closet door. A guard came running and squeezed inside before anyone else saw him.

Yakko almost ran into a suit of armor. He'd been so deep in thought; he'd almost thought the voice was talking to him. But it didn't matter now. He pressed his back to the wall by the door when it closed. He wanted to figure out what was so important that two people had to hide from society to discuss.

"You have news?" The guard's panting voice asked.

"Much. And none of it good." Replied the second. "Many of our allies have been found out and imprisoned, and many more of them killed. Griselda is onto us. I've only just escaped, and I think I won't be able to return. The gates of Ticktockia are now even more heavily guarded. She knows."

Griselda knows what? Who is this chick? And did he just say he came all the way from Ticktockia, the country that sleaze Salazar came from? Yakko was overflowing with questions, but he turned his head to listen more.

"Well, she wouldn't come here, right? She knows whoever has the weapon can stop her. Its powers are matched by no other's," the guard's voice sounded worried.

"I'm not sure. Griselda has waited too long, and she knows it, too. She must know where it is. I just hope who ever has it can use it well. Because if Griselda takes over, we have no other way of stopping her. Before I left, I also heard her saying something about an even bigger plan. One much more dangerous."

"Then we should flee! Run away before she gets here," the guard whimpered and sounded scared out of his wits. "You know what she can do," he whispered.

"No. Not yet. She wouldn't attack now. I mean, it would take her weeks, maybe months to even get here. Ticktockia and Warnerstock are much too far apart. We'd see her coming from a mile away. We'll be ready." The second voice gave a small laugh, but it didn't sound very reassuring.

"Then I must go. Good luck," the guard whispered.

"And to you,"

The door started to open and Yakko scrambled to get as far away from it as possible before anyone stepped out. It was obvious that those two hadn't wanted anyone hearing them, and Yakko wasn't about to get caught, even though he was a king.

Yakko walked through the gate and out into the cobblestone streets of Acme Falls and sat down on a bench. He needed to process what he had just heard.

….

Wakko, now dressed in his blue long-sleeved shirt, didn't bother knocking on Dot's pink door, but rather just let himself into her huge, pink and girly room. Wakko pretended to gag at the cheezy pictures of Dot, herself, making really big eyes or blowing a kiss, plastered all around the room, not to mention the even grosser Mel Gibson ones.

Wakko suddenly realized that Dot wasn't in her bed, snoring like she usually was. But he heard the shower was on. Wakko got an idea. Dot was helpless and defensive. This was Wakko's chance to get her back for all the times she'd nearly killed him when he tried to wake her up. Wakko smiled evilly and tiptoed to the pink shower curtain in her bathroom. He took in a deep breath and yelled, "BOO!", while hitting the shower curtain for dramatic effect.

Wakko heard the satisfying scream of terror, and fell over on the floor, shaking with laughter.

Dot yanked back the curtain, in a towel, soaking wet, and with shampoo still dripping from her hair. She had a murderous look on her face, and stepped out of the shower slowly, as though plotting Wakko's demise already.

"Wakko Warner," Dot's voice was shaking with rage- a very bad sign.

But Wakko simply got up, dusted himself off, and said, "Y'know, you're awfully cute when you're an-"

"Don't you dare try that one on me, Wakko! You nearly gave me a heart attack, and you know it! I'll… I'll…"

"You'll what?" taunted Wakko in an oh- I'd- like-to-see-you-try-it kind of tone.

Dot growled and punched him in the arm, hard.

"Ow!" Wakko rubbed his bicep and glared at Dot.

"Oh, forget it. You're just lucky I'm too tired to get you back right now,"

Dot walked over to the sink and started to rinse out her hair.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Wakko said with an air of sarcasm. "Drama queen" he coughed.

"What was that?" Dot whirled around.

"Nothing." Wakko said a little too quickly.

Dot gave him a warning look and went behind the big white divider to change.

"So anyways, what'cha wanna do today?" Wakko said excitedly while bouncing up and down on Dot's frilly bed while.

"I don't know. Go terrorize the cooking staff?" Dot suggested as she pulled on her cute little pink skirt.

"Yeah!" Wakko jumped off the bed and ran out the door with his sister, laughing and talking about how they were going to pour tomato soup down the cook's pants.

Everything seemed fine. For now.

….

Yakko was thinking so hard that it hurt. There was still so much he didn't understand. Why would this "Griselda" want to take over Acme Falls? And what was the object the guards were talking about- something whose powers were matched by no other's… It made no sense.

But even though he understood little, Yakko tried not to worry about it. Because, seriously, if this evil witch wanted to rule this place and take over the throne, she would have done it long ago, when Salazar had been in charge and Warnerstock so poor and vulnerable, it was ridiculous. And the other guy was right, Acme Falls may not have an army, but they could still see her coming from miles away.

It wasn't really like Yakko to blow off something this serious, but just then, he spotted a majorly attractive woman in a red dress walking down the street.

Yakko's eyes turned into hearts, and he whistled, "Helloooooo, nurse!" and got up to follow her. The lady turned around and gave him a smile and a sly wink, then sashayed around a corner.

Yakko sprinted to catch up, but it was like trying to catch a cockroach on steroids. Weirdly enough, she seemed to float, rather than walk, like an angel.

"Aw, wait up! I was just about to go skinny dipping! Come on!" Yakko said between gasps of breath.

Yakko was about to give up when he saw her flounce up some brick steps in her pointy high heels, and into an old- looking bookstore. He slowed down, walking, trudging, and finally stopped and slumped down on the wall, trying to catch his breath.

"Oy. These girls have been giving me quite the workout lately. I might have to start restraining myself," he said. Then he rolled his eyes. Anyone who knew him well knew that that wasn't going to happen in a million years. Yakko eventually stood up and peeked inside the window.

There were tons and tons of old and majestic-looking books, not just on the dusty shelves, but overflowing from rustic armchairs, piled onto wood tables, and even in some messy stacks on the floor. An old man who looked like the owner was talking to some customers, over by the cash register. He had graying hair and a kind old face overflowing with wrinkles. He was wearing an old tweed jacket and long brown pants that slightly covered his old black boots.

Sheesh. If you're an old person, chances are you're gonna dress like one, I guess.

Where was that blonde lady he was looking for? There were many people shuffling around inside, but none of them were her. One of them caught his eye.

He looked over to one of the tables and saw a girl who looked about his age, who was organizing some historic novels. She had straight caramel-colored hair that went down to her shoulders, and pretty bangs swept over her right eye. There was a small spray of freckles across her fair-skinned face. She was wearing a ratty blue t-shirt and small denim shorts that looked like they'd been through the mill, many, many times. In fact, so did she. She had dark circles under her eyes and her hands looked bony and skeletal, maybe from a lot of hard work or something. But every once in a while, she'd open a book, read a couple of lines, and smile or laugh.

Whoa. I wouldn't mind chasing after her, either. Yakko thought she looked pretty hot. Even though the t shirt looked old, it still fit her reaaaaal good.

Wait a minute, Yakko. Only one small candy at a time. Eat them all at once and you'll get a stomach ache. Yakko grinned, pulled open the door, and stepped inside.

Like the story so far? I'm trying to get the character's personalities down as best as I can. Did you guess who the girl Yakko was staring at in the bookshop was? S'okay if ya didn't cuz she's coming up in the next chapter right away. Stay tooned! (Haha, see what I did there? :P Yes, I know, I'll try to be funnier.) And don't forget to review!

Catch you on the flip side (whatever that means),

Animania123.