A gloved finger gently ran over the black and white keys of the grand piano. The smooth texture of the ivory was pleasant to the touch, and somehow it helped soothe his state of mind, if only just a little. He absentmindedly traced the edges of the keys and sighed deeply, his thoughts wandering to the darkest corners of his subconscious.

This was a completely new side of Yakko Warner, one he didn't like one bit. The oldest Warner sibling had always been upbeat and positive, always able to face every challenge thrown at him with a smile on his face and a song in his heart.

So, what had changed? He knew exactly what.

Ever since that fateful incident with Nickelwise, there seemed to be a dark cloud looming over him. The clown had touched a very sore spot for him, and that had led to opening old wounds; wounds which Yakko had buried deep inside of him, in hopes he would never have to deal with them again. But now they were back, and twice as painful.

He detested that feeling. It was like there was a permanent weight pressing down on in chest. Sometimes it got so bad that he had difficulty breathing and had to excuse himself in order to step outside for some fresh air. Those episodes had become more and more frequent over the past couple of days, and Yakko worried that his siblings were starting to catch on.

Oh, his sibs. Yakko's heart tightened with the mere thought of worrying them. He had been able to conceal his troubled emotional state from them, but he wasn't sure how long he could keep that up. He would often catch Wakko and Dot exchange glances whenever they saw him in a less chipper mood, but he would always assure them everything was fine. He had become an expert in keeping his feelings hidden from them. He already felt awful about himself; the last thing he wanted was for his siblings to feel the same way.

These thoughts had become a constant presence in his life, eating away at what was left of his sanity and keeping him awake. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept all through the night. He would often find himself pacing around the water tower at ungodly hours, his mind swimming in all sorts of self-deprecating thoughts. He wanted desperately to get rid of them, but he would always lose that battle. If it were up to him, he would have already cracked open his skull and given himself a lobotomy, just so he could finally feel some sort of inner peace.

It had been during one of those moments when he was so deep in his musings that he found himself sitting in front of the grand piano. He wasn't sure how he had gotten there; all he remembered was venturing around the room, lost in a struggle with his inner demons.

The instrument was covered in a thick layer of dust, a clear sign of all the years it had gone without being played. Yakko thought back to the last time either he or one of his sibs had 'tickled the ivories'. Wakko used to play a lot more than him, but he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy getting lost in the melodies every once in a while. He regretted not doing it more often. More than that, he wondered if he even remembered how.

His fingers tentatively struck a few keys. The instrument needed some tuning, but it didn't sound half bad. He continued to press down on the keyboard as his mind wandered to one of his oldest memories, and to one of the first songs he learned to play.

F major… C major, E major… D minor… F major, C major…

With a sudden wave of determination washing over him, Yakko straightened his back and cracked his knuckles before continuing. His fingers weren't as loose as they used to be, clearly stiff from his metaphorical twenty-two-year-long coma, but he wasn't about to let that stop him.

As the words to that song came back to him, he cleared his throat and took a deep breath, hoping the noise wouldn't wake his siblings.

"When are you gonna come down?
When are you going to land?
I should have stayed on the farm
I should have listened to my old man…"

His voice was weak and every word that escaped his lips felt like it was struggling to come out. A lump began to form in his throat as his emotions took over.

"You know you can't hold me forever
I didn't sign up with you
I'm not a present for your friends to open
This boy's too young to be singing
The bluuuuu-uuuu-uuuues…
Aaaa-aaa-aaa-aaaa-aaaaah…
Aaaa-aaaa-aaaaah…"

That last part came out at full volume as Yakko shouted it at the top of his lungs. He immediately felt all the pressure that had been building up over the last couple of day lift from his shoulders. He shut his eyes as he began to feel tears welling up and continued to play, his fingers slamming hard against the keys with every stroke.

"So goodbye yellow brick road
Where the dogs of society howl
You can't plant me in your penthouse
I'm going back to my plough…"

His voice cracked and his throat burned as he sung, but he didn't want to give up. He needed to finish the song.

"Back to the howling old owl in the woods
Hunting the horny back toad
Oh, I've finally decided my future lies
Beyond the yellow brick rooooo-oooo-ooooad…
Aaaa-aaa-aaa-aaaa-aaaaah…
Aaaa-aaaa-aaaaah…"

As he had done in the previous verse, he belted that last past with all his might. He felt relieved whenever he shouted. He hadn't known how much he needed to scream, to just let it all out. It was somewhat therapeutic.

Yakko was panting heavily as he struck the last keys. He hadn't realized just how intensely he had been playing, but he understood why. He had bottled up a lot of pressure over the last few days, and that had to come out somehow.

His vision was blurred when he opened his eyes. Running his fingers through his cheeks, he felt his fur was wet. He had been so focused on playing, so entranced by his emotional outburst, that he had not even felt the tears rolling down his cheeks. When he glanced down at the piano keys, he saw that some of them were stained with his tears. Some were even smeared from when his fingers would press down on them.

"Yakko?"

A shiver ran up his spine as the sound of that squeaky female voice reached his ears. He quickly rubbed the tears from his eyes and forced a lopsided grin before turning around.

Wakko and Dot were right behind him, eyeing him with perplexed looks on their faces. He only wondered how long they had been standing there.

"Oh hey, sibs!" he greeted them, his voice a bit hoarse due to his previous vocal exertion. "What's shakin'?"

"You, apparently." replied Wakko, pointing a finger towards him.

Looking in the direction where his brother was pointing, Yakko saw that his fingers were trembling. And quite violently, too. He immediately hid his hands behind his back and widened his grin, trying his best to appear normal.

"Are you OK?" asked Dot. "It's not like you to sing Elton John at three in the morning. Not without warning, anyway."

"Are you kidding? I'm fine! Never better!" Yakko chuckled nervously as he waved his sister off. "I just woke up feeling especially whimsical and thought 'Hey, no time like the present!'"

He shrugged coyly, hoping that would be the last of that interrogation. But Dot just cocked a brow and crossed her arms, looking far from convinced.

"Looks like your slacks aren't the only thing here that's full of baloney." she deadpanned, ignoring Wakko's sniggers. "You've been acting really weird lately and it's about time you tell us what's wrong."

Yakko's grin fell as he realized there was no use in hiding his feelings anymore. He couldn't do that to them, it wasn't fair. He couldn't keep lying to his sibs.

And he couldn't keep lying to himself.

His heart was pounding against chest as he tried to figure out what to say. He could feel fresh tears begin to prick the corners of his eyes and that familiar pressure in his throat as he tried to steady his breathing.

"I'm… Uhh, I don't know. Not even I'm sure what's wrong with me." he replied halfheartedly as he diverted his gaze. "I've just been feeling really lousy and anxious lately. Feels like nothing I do is ever good enough, like nothing I do matters… like I don't matter. I just want this feeling to stop, but it seems to be getting worse every day."

He saw Wakko and Dot exchange a look from the corner of his eye. He covered his face with his hands when he couldn't hold back the tears any longer. He wasn't sure what hurt the most: his emotional imbalance or his sibs seeing him in such a state.

Before he knew it, he felt two pairs of arms enveloping him from both sides. As he glanced up from his hands, he saw that his siblings had taken a seat next to him on the piano bench, Wakko on his left and Dot on his right, each hugging him tightly. They were giving him sympathetic yet encouraging smiles, and Yakko could feel his heart melting at the sight.

"Tell ya what, why don't we go see Scratchy in the morning?" Dot suggested, giving him a reassuring squeeze. "If there's anyone who can figure out what's going on with you, it's him."

"You really think so?" asked Yakko, feeling the sides of his mouth tug upwards.

"Hey, if he's been practicing all these years, I'm sure he's gotten really good by now!" said Wakko.

Yakko couldn't help but laugh at his brother's remark. A couple of tears rolled down his cheeks, but this time they were tears of joy. He wrapped an arm around each of his sibs as a way of thanking them, and they tightened their grip around him.

As long as they were there with him, Yakko was sure he did matter.