A/N: This episode left crumbs and the fandom ran with it... it's me, I ran with it.

Chapter 1: Meeting the Clown

When someone tells you to stay away from an unsafe area, there's probably a reason behind it. However, when it came to the Warners, the argument was thrown out the window. It was a part of their character, they had said. They did it for the trill.

The thrill came to them as they walked into the abandoned movie set that Plotz specifically told them to avoid. It was on the other end of the lot; Warners Studios often rented it out for other makeshift companies to use.

On the outside, it looked like a regular movie lot. Much like the ones that surrounded their water tower; and the ones they would film in. The vibrant orange coat of paint was now dull, chipping off around the metal double doors, and the windows were dimmed out. The flat roof appeared to be denting inwards, which was a sure safety hazard.

Yakko, the eldest of the trio, pulled the doors open to reveal the interior design. It creaked open. It was dark; all the dust and grime collected on the windows blocked out most of the sunlight from the 2 o'clock shine. The floors were grey concrete, and the metal stairs reflected the dim light that came from cracks within the ceiling. Wires and ropes were hanging from the water tubes and air ducts that decorated the space above them.

"It's dark." Dot ran her fingers over the window frame, cringing at the amount of grime it collected. "Oh, and nasty." She wiped it off on her brother's blue sweatshirt, causing him to snack his teeth in defense. She giggled.

Yakko hushed his younger siblings and led them towards the back. He had spotted a closed-off door with chains hanging from the door handle and the lock.

"Plotz is going to be so mad if he finds out we're in here," Dot said as she followed behind her brother. "It's gonna be great, right Wakko?"

"I can already see the look on his face." The younger of the brothers added in. He smiled as he looked up at Yakko, licking the dust off his gloved fingers.

"Now, sibs, we shouldn't be looking forward to... " Yakko trailed off, thinking about his next choice of words, "What am I saying; you're absolutely right. It'll be worth it."

Yakko reached the door and pulled on the chains. The sound of metal hitting metal echoed through the empty studio. "Hey, Wak?"

Without having to be asked, Wakko reached into his hammerspace, pulling out a comedically giant pair of pliers. He stepped in front of his siblings and cut the metal chains in half with ease.

Yakko caught the falling chains before they hit the ground. He didn't want them making any more noise than they were already causing. He tossed them to the side, with the sound of metal against metal echoing through the room again. He noticed Dot stare at him before shrugging. At least this time, the loud noise was his own doing.

"What's behind the door?" Dot asked as she peeked over Wakko's shoulder.

Wakko shrugged as he tried to turn the door handle. He found that it was still very much locked.

"Geez, you'd think they'd be hiding a curse in there," Yakko said.

Pulling a master key from his gag bag, Wakko inserted it into the keyhole and turned it. The sound of a click could be heard, followed by the loud creak from the door. He gestured for his brother to walk in first.

Yakko walked inside the small room. It smelled of old carpet and melted plastic. The room was darker than the rest of the studio- which made sense given it was in the far end. "What's with the high security? Plotz protecting the air?"

"A prop?" Wakko suggested as he walked into the room, throwing the key into his mouth. He cringed when the smell hit his nose.

Walking in a bit further, Yakko grabbed a small flashlight from his hammerspace. He flicked it on, having to hit it on the palm of his hand for the light to stabilize. When it did, Yakko moved the light around the edges of the room. He followed broken red and blue wires along the ground. He noticed the walls were covered in foam, and it wasn't until his sister pointed it out that he figured out where they were standing.

"A sound room?" she suggested as she picked up an old foam pyramid peak.

Yakko moved the flashlight around the whole room. They were, in fact, standing inside an old sound room. The floors were littered with old cables and broken wires. An old microphone still hung from the ceiling on an old metal hanger. The soundproof foam within the walls was peeled off from the sides. The corners and top of the walls still had some attached. The floor was the same as the outside, brown rusted concrete.

He held the flashlight up to his face and wiggled his fingers in an attempt to scare them. "If things get too scary, you'd be"-

The sound of the door slamming shut made the three of them jump.

"Haha," Dot said as she turned towards Wakko, "That was very funny."

Wakko was staring up towards the hanging mic when he felt his older brother shine the flashlight at him. He raised his arms in defense, "It wasn't me."

"Maybe it was a draft," Yakko suggested. He paid no mind to it until he heard his baby brother call out his name in a slight whimper.

Wakko had taken a step back when he felt himself bump into someone. He had thought it was his sister, but he saw her standing in front of him. And, if she was in front of him...

Turning around to flash the light onto his brother, Yakko almost dropped the flashlight in surprise, "Holy shi-"

"-Tsk Tsk Tsk, Yakko. You know better than to curse in front of children." A pair of white-gloved hands reached down to cover Wakko's ears.

Wakko lifted his gaze and felt relief flow through him. A clown stood directly behind him, with its face painted pure white and a smile that spread to his eyes. His teeth were sharp and pointy, a bit crooked too. The clown had patches of red-orange hair growing from the side of his head, reflecting the light from his brother's flashlight. "Oh, Nickelwise, it's just you."

"I thought we were in actual danger," Dot said. She waved kindly, "How's it going? It's been a while."

Wakko pulled the clowns' hands away from his ears and stepped towards his siblings. "Personal space," he said.

Nickelwise released Wakko from his hold, "What are you three doing here?"

"Oh, you know, a little of this, a little of that," Yakko replied. He paid no mind to the clown, continuing to flash the light around the room.

"So you were just looking to piss someone off?" Nickelwise was softly giggling. He stepped forward towards them and noticed the two younger ones step closer towards their older brother.

"What happened to the whole 'No Cursing' bit?" Yakko called out. He felt Dot step behind him. He looked up to see Nickelwise right in front of him now. Yakko jumped, not expecting the clown to be that close. He could smell his breath. Pushing a protective arm out, he said, "Look, buddy, we've been through this before."

The clown was laughing now, covering his mouth with his hands, "Nopes! I wanna play some games with you!"

Yakko looked behind him and felt a slight panic when he didn't see his baby brother. He could have sworn he was just here. He looked back towards Nickelwise and saw that his brother was being lifted into the air.

"Look at him," Nickelwise cooed as he grabbed him by his arm, "Isn't he cute?"

Wakko struggled to release his grip from the clowns' hands. His dirty fingernails were digging into his fur, and it was causing him some pain. While he wasn't completely terrified, the action caught him off guard. He heard his sister yell something to him, but he wasn't listening. With his free hand, he reached into his hammerspace and pulled out his mallet.

Nickelwise swiftly reached behind the eldest Warner and picked up Dot with his free hand. "Mallet me, and you mallet her too."

Dot scoffed, "Excuse me, but this is not how you treat a lady." She felt Nickelwise start to shake her aggressively, "Ugh, men."

Wakko dropped the mallet. While he hated being in a clown's death grip, he didn't want to see his sister be hurt because of him. The mallet hit the floor with a blunt thud, "There, let her go, please?"

"Well, since you asked so nicely." Instead of putting her down, he simply stopped shaking her. She was now dangling in the air by her arm, just like her brother was.

"Is there anything you want?" Yakko said as he shined the flashlight right in his face. He wished to blind him. "Filing taxes, paying your rent? Or maybe you just need some psychiatric help."

"Oh, you poor broken soul," Dot said as she placed her dangling hand over her heart, "Your mother wasn't kind to you, was she?"

"I didn't think we'd have to spell it out for you: we aren't scared of you." Wakko tugged at his arm in another attempt to free himself.

"Oh, but you see," the clown giggled, "That is where you are wrong." Nickelwise tightened the grip on Wakko, causing him to yelp.

Yakko was getting annoyed. "Don't tempt us, Dime guy. We can make your life a living hell."

"I don't think so," The clown shot back, dropping the two younger Warners onto the floor. He leaned in to face Yakko.

Dot fixed her skirt and helped her brother dust himself off from the worn-down carpet-covered concrete.

Wakko rubbed at his wrist and held back a wince, "Anyone got ice?"

His sister reached into her hammerspace and grabbed a watchcase. She opened it up to reveal a gold Rolex, slapping it on his bruised wrist. "Cold enough?"

Wakko smiled and flexed his arm around, "Good as new!"

Yakko was still faced to face with the clown. He could see his siblings run back over to him through his peripheral, but he didn't take his eyes off the clown. "What do you want?"

The clown could almost taste the lingering fear that steamed off of him. He smiled and asked, "What are you so afraid of, Yakko?"

Dot and Wakko were held back by his protective arm, causing them to take a step back. Yakko didn't like how uncomfortably close he was getting to them. "The shows over."

"Silly little Warner," Nickelwise cooed as he petted the top of the eldests' head. "We aren't filming a scene for your pathetic little reboot that you and your sibs pathetically indulge in after all those years of imprisonment." He noticed the oldest scowling, so he corrected himself, "My bad, I meant to say 'hiatus'" Nickelwise was laughing now.

"It's not going to work." Dot grabbed Yakko's arm and pointed towards the clown, "You can't get to us like that."

"I think I beg to differ." Nickelwise cupped Yakko's face in his hands, "I think you beg to differ too, right?"

Wakko looked towards his brother. He seemed to look unfazed by the statement. He had his eyes locked on the clown, and Wakko didn't know if that was a good sign or not. He slowly backed away and reached for his mallet once more. He sneaked behind the clown, who was still taunting his older brother and jumped into the air, swinging the mallet up over his head.

"FULL STOP!"

Wakko was now frozen. Suspended in the air as the clown lost the unspoken staring contest with his brother. "Don't look down," he heard the clown tell him. But down he went, as he broke the most fundamental cartoon law there was. He cursed at himself as he fell down on his face, breaking the mallet he was holding in half. As he reached over to grab the wooden pieces off the floor, he felt his hands go limp. A pair of hands were picking him up by his scruff.

"Alright, that's enough!" Yakko tried to pull himself off of the clown's grasp, but it was almost as if his chin was glued to his hand. He tried to call out to the clown, trying to divert his attention away from his baby brother, but he was ignored. "I'm talking to you! This isn't-"

"-This isn't what?" The clown finally responded. He was still dangling Wakko up high in the air.

The youngest Warner found herself in a dilemma. She didn't know whether to help Yakko or Wakko. Dot found herself evaluating who needs it more. She mentally slapped herself for thinking that. What kind of sister asks that? She could hear Wakko's growls, but the lack of yakking coming from her older brother was also concerning. Panic wouldn't be a good word to describe her emotions, but she was on the verge.

"This isn't what, Yakko?" Nickelwise repeated. "Go on..."

Yakko tried to pull himself away again. He was getting a bit desperate, seeing his brother dangle eerily lifeless in Nickelwises' grasp. "Let him go, quarter clown."

Nickelwise tightens his grip around his face, "Someones afraid." He switched his attention over to Yakko while lifting Wakko up higher into the air. He savored the panic look in Yakko's eyes as he dropped Wakko.

Dot reacted immediately. She reached into her hammerspace and grabbed an inflatable air mattress. Right as her brother was about to fall on the hard concrete, she slid it under him to provide a softer space for him to land in.

"Nice catch," Wakko complimented as he reached up to grab the hand extended in front of him.

"I learned from the best."

Nickelwise brought Yakko in closer. They were nose to nose at this point. He could feel his struggle to get away from him. "Afraid, are we?"

Looking over at his siblings, he mentally sighed a breath of relief. They were both safely on the ground. "Afraid? No. Uncomfortable? Absolutely." Yakko grabbed the clown's hands and tried to pull them away from his face. He could see his siblings reach out to help him.

Nickelwise pushed the young Warners away and released Yakko from his grasp as if he burned.

Yakko stumbled back before regaining his balance. As instinct allowed, he reached down to grab his siblings and pulled them behind him. He mentally cursed at himself. He was starting to regret instigating their adventure earlier. He stood tall, or as tall as he could, in front of the tall clown in front of him.

Nickelwise was enjoying the fear-filled air that surrounded them. He felt himself become energized by it. The fear was evident with the eldest. Even though he didn't show it, it reeked. Nickelwise was surprised with how in control he was with his own emotions, but of course, he figured that after years of practice, it became an art. He also sensed fear radiating off of the youngest. While it wasn't that strong, it was still very much noticeable. She was standing behind her brother as if he was her lifeline. As for the middle Warner sibling, Nickelwise was surprised to see him so calm. If he were being honest, he figured he would have been the easiest to scare. He is proving him wrong.

Nevertheless, Nickelwise was sure he'd get to all of them eventually.

"Look, if you want us out so badly, you could have just told us to leave." Dot rolled her eyes, "No need to be rude about it."

Yakko added in, "Besides, you're outnumbered; there really wouldn't be an equal playing field here, now would there? I said we could make your life a living hell; it's up to you."

Nickelwise clapped his hands together in joy, "Is this an invitation to a game? Oh, I love games!"

"Wrong franchise, buddy," Yakko stated.

The floor beneath them started to vibrate under their feet. Yakko looked down and saw the slight shaking of the broken wires. The microphone above their head started swinging back and forth.

Dot grabbed on to Wakko, who was closest to her. She looked over to her oldest brother, who was still standing in front of the clown.

"So you really wanna play, huh?" Yakko stared dead at the clown.

"I sure do."

"Well, now really isn't a good time," He reached over to pull on Wakko's arm, who still had the gold Rolex on. He pointed towards the ticking clock, "We really have somewhere to be."

"Oh no!" The clown exaggerated his surprised disappointment, "But I thought you three wanted to come to play with me." He smiled when he commanded the ground to shake some more.

Yakko smiled back at the clown, "You wouldn't want to start a war with the Warners."

The clown looked at the three of them and picked up Dot and Wakko. He placed them on either side of their brother as if they were game pieces on a gameboard. "Right, I wouldn't want that," he giggled, "So I'll get you that equal playing field you so kindly asked for! We wouldn't want to be outnumbered."

Yakko cursed his mouth. He opened his mouth to say something else, but the sound of hard dirt breaking concrete filled the room. Along with the sound of a hysterical clown, Yakko couldn't even hear his own voice. Instead, he tried to grab both of his siblings, but he was glued onto the floor. He could hear the panicked screams coming from both his siblings as the ground rose between them. Yakko tried his hardest to hold on to the rocks as if pushing them down would stop them. All he managed to do was rip his glove.

Wakko had tried to take off his shoes, but his fingers wouldn't move. He lost sight of both his brother and sister. He then tried to extend his legs and arms to follow the wall between them, but everything he learned in his toon theory class was useless. He screamed for his siblings, but everything was too loud around him.

Nickelwise laughed and laughed, watching the three Warner siblings desperately try to get to each other. Some would call this cruel, an act of pure atrociousness, but Nickewise found it exciting. He hasn't had this much fun since the summer of 1958. Tormenting children was his specialty, after all.

"Let the games begin," he said with an ear-piercing laugh. "I can't wait!"

A/N: Well... haha... that's that. The first chapter to the fic and I hope you guys are enjoying it! I am super excited to share this with you all. Please feel free to leave comments or reviews, those are always welcomed! :D

I'll update this weekly and send out updates through Tumblr, so stay tuned for the next chapter! This has also been posted on AO3! Until then, Happy Reads!