"Atteeeen SHUN!"

As both his siblings stood at attention and saluted, Yakko paced in front of them with an army helmet.

"All right, troops… we've taken on missions like this before, but this is a very exceptional case. Not only are we facing a possible rescue, but we might also be dealing with a homicidal nut job. Therefore, we're going to be following some rules, got it?"

"Sir, yes sir!" both chorused.

"A' right then," Yakko said. "First, we avoid a fight at all costs. We're in this mess deep already."

Wakko and Dot nodded, looking uneasy. Yakko hesitated and smiled at them before continuing his pacing.

"Second and most important, we stick together no matter what. This is the only lead we've got, so let's milk it for all it's worth! We are Warners, and what do we do?"

"Meddle!" Wakko and Dot said, grinning widely. Their brother stopped and grinned back.

"Bingo. Let's do it!"

His siblings saluted and all three headed across the lot, side by side. When they got close to the wall, all three ducked behind a parked car. Since the shooting, there were many more guards there, all considerably smarter than Ralph. Yakko tried not to show his growing nervousness, but he couldn't stop his stomach from turning. He swallowed hard as he tried to control it, but when he glanced at his siblings, they were both looking back at him expectantly. He took a deep breath and reached into his hammerspace, pulling out a toon hole. There was no turning back now.

Being as quiet as he could, Yakko slapped the black circle against the nearby wall. All three winced at the snapping sound it made, but there was no sign of anyone hearing. After a quick look around, Yakko jumped through first and watched for trouble as his siblings followed. Once they were all through they took off, stopping about a block away from the lot. Yakko looked back to make sure no one followed them, then pulled out a map.

"Looks like we're heading… this way."

As they continued on, the residential areas began to thin out, increasing the sense of unease all three felt. Finally, they reached the address Bug Eyes gave them.

"Ew," Dot said.

She had a point, Yakko had to admit. If the building wasn't abandoned, it was certainly a dump. Even more unnerving, it was big… almost a warehouse. Going through this place was definitely going to take a while.

"So what's the plan?" Dot asked. Yakko pushed down his unease and grinned.

"We go in and we snoop till we find something. And if someone jumps us…"

He pulled out his mallet and swung it.

"We give 'im a crack in the melon and run. So there y' go: simple, easy to remember."

As Yakko put his mallet back, he noticed Wakko sway slightly on his feet as he caught his breath.

"Wakko, you okay?"

His brother took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yeah, just kinda tired."

Yakko frowned and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"You sure you can do this? I mean… you haven't gotten much rest."

He braced himself for an angry retort, but to his surprise Wakko just gave him a slight smile.

"Yakko, I'm okay," he said. "I promise."

Yakko couldn't hold back a proud smile.

"Okay, sib," he said. "But tell me right away if you start feeling sick again. It's gonna be kinda hard to pull this off if one of us passes out in the middle of it."

His brother smirked and shrugged off the hand.

"Noted. Can we go now?"

Yakko smirked back and nodded.

"All righty then… let's get in."

Keeping quiet, all three snuck around the building.

"What're we looking for?" Dot whispered. Yakko hesitated by the wall and tapped it.

"Hole in the wall, open window or something."

"Why don't we try the door?" she asked. "If the place is as dumpy as it looks, you can probably bust right in."

Yakko rolled his eyes and snorted.

"Yeah, that's what you do in the spy business… go smashing in the front door. That won't blow your cover."

His sister pouted.

"I was just trying to help," she muttered. "Jerk."

"Priss," he shot back.

Suddenly Wakko spoke up.

"Hey, look at this."

Yakko looked over just in time to see his tail slip through a gap in some boards.

"Wait up!" he called as he and Dot followed. After they slipped through he found his brother grinning goofily on the other side.

"I found it!" he said proudly. Yakko smirked and ruffled his cap, glad to see more of his old spirit.

"Nice going, bud. C'mon, sibs… stick close."

With Wakko and Dot following, he slowly moved further into the room. It was dark, but not so dark that they couldn't see it was empty. The floor creaked slightly with their footsteps, but other than that there was no other sound. After going through a nearby door, they found themselves in another, much larger room. judging from the piles of boxes half covered with dusty old sheets, the building had been a storage area of some kind.

"Ugh… this guys definitely nuts if he lives here," Dot muttered. "It's like a scene from The Human Centipede."

Yakko immediately stopped and stared at her.

"When did you watch that?"

His sister bit her lip uneasily and looked away quickly. Yakko squinted at her as Wakko tried to stifle a laugh.

"Looks like we're gonna have something to talk about later," Yakko said. "Well, we better look around. Keep it quiet and be quick."

With that, all three started poking around the space, making sure to stay only a short distance from each other. After several moments Yakko started to think that maybe they weren't on to something after all. That dumb reporter would probably be suspicious of his own feet. He sighed heavily as he knocked on a crate.

"Well, looks like we might be on a wild goose chase here, sibs."

Dot came plodding over, looking equally crestfallen.

"What're we gonna do now?" she asked in a small voice. Yakko was about to reply when he noticed something.

"Wait, where's Wakko?"

Dot's eyes instantly widened and they immediately started looking around.

"I'm gonna kill him," Yakko growled. "I said not to run off, and he just… I swear, that kid…"

He instantly stopped when they rounded a corner. His brother stood frozen to one spot, staring at an open box. As they got closer, Yakko saw that he was shaking. Frowning, he reached out and lightly touched his shoulder.

"Hey," he said softly. Wakko didn't answer, but kept staring, his eyes stretched wide. He looked completely terrified. Yakko followed his gaze, and his stomach heaved into his throat. Inside the box was a toon gun; one that he would recognize as long as he lived.

"It… he's…" Wakko choked, then started gasping. Tearing his eyes off the box, Yakko quickly knelt down and pulled his brother into a hug, turning his head away from it.

"Shh," he whispered, stroking Wakko's back as he whimpered into his chest. "It's okay, buddy. We'll get back and…"

Wakko immediately pulled away, shaking his head.

"No!" he said shakily. "She… she might be here too!"

Dot clenched her fists, looking both angry and scared.

"Do you wanna get shot again?" she hissed. Wakko shuddered, but she went on. "We gotta get help! That guy almost…"

"Dot!" Yakko snapped. His sister glared at him fiercely before whirling around and kicking the wall. Her brothers gasped as a panel popped open and she stumbled, falling out of sight. They ran over to find some stairs dropping steeply down into a dark space and slid down.

"Dot?" Yakko called softly. "You okay, sis?"

He sighed in relief as her voice came from somewhere ahead.

"I'm okay… and you're welcome for finding the door."

Both guys rolled their eyes.

"Yeah, thanks a lot… now how about finding a light switch?" Yakko muttered. A rustling sound came from beside him and Wakko spoke.

"Hey… I think I found one."

There was a click, then a light flickered on. It was dim, but after being in pitch dark, it was enough to be blinding.

"You're welcome!" Wakko said cheerfully. Yakko rubbed his eyes, but before either him or Dot could reply, another voice came from behind them… one that made all three freeze instantly.

"What are you doing here?"

A/N: Yes, I'm back! Inspiration finally hits and I don't get time to write till now! Schoolwork and junk, finals coming up :P Bet you're wondering just who spoke, hmmm? Well you'll find out…. NEXT CHAPTER! MUAH HAHAHA! 'ahem' Excuse me. See you all soon, and apologies if the chapter was a disappointment. God Bless! :D