Author's Notes: Writer's block hit me again but I managed to hit it back harder. The angst gets a little thicker. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter!

Follows Wakko's P.O.V.

xxx

Wakko woke up abruptly. An intense feeling of nausea washed over him.

"Not again!" He whispered. Why did he have to throw up in the middle of the night?

He climbed out of the hollow of the tree, trying to be careful not to make any loud noises that could wake up Rita and Runt. He ran as quietly as possible over to a nearby bush.

Once there, Wakko threw up into the bush and dry heaved for a bit. A feeling of extreme weakness washed over him and he fell to the ground with a soft thump. Wakko sighed as he laid still on the hard ground. As he laid there he started to wish that Yakko was there to pick him up.

Wakko huffs, why did he wish that his two-faced wanker of a brother would pick him up? He quickly discarded the thought and tried to think of something else. Nothing else would come to mind.

His stomach suddenly growled from what he could only assume to be hunger. So Wakko reached out and plucked some nearby grass and ate it. As he laid on the ground he started feeling regret at having left home. At least in the water tower he would've fallen on something soft, like the bathroom rug. The ground beneath him was hard and dry.

Wakko started to think of if he should try to wake up Rita and Runt. It was boring just laying on the ground waiting for the weakness to go away. Plus he could talk to them.

"Rita, Runt. Wake up!" He shouted, hoping that either of them would wake up. Although he was secretly hoping that Rita would wake up.

Runt gave a loud snore in response but Rita woke up immediately. Wakko watched as she slowly got to her paws and stretched. While she stretched she looked around before locking her gaze onto him. A confused expression formed on her face as she walked over to him.

"Didya wake me up?" Rita asked,

"Yes," He said.

"Why?" She asks, "I thought ya said you didn't need any help?"

Wakko sighed, "I know and I'm sorry Rita. I was just really mad earlier…"

Rita stares at him a bit with a knowing look in her eyes. She then sat down in front of him.

"I could kinda tell. You seemed tortured by something."

"Was it really that obvious?"

"For you? Yeah. You wear your emotions on your sleeve, kiddo." She said, "Not that I'm saying that's a bad thing. It can actually be a good thing. Whatever you do, don't bottle up your emotions. It's dangerous, y'know?"

Wakko narrowed his eyes at this. Part of him wanted to believe her but the other part of him was saying no. The part that said no was currently winning.

"I doubt that." He said,

Rita regarded him with a pointed look before then lifting up her paw. She started to lick it.

"Well anyways, why does it smell like vomit over here?"

Wakko huffs, "I threw up…"

"Threw up?" She asked, concerned. "Why are you laying on the ground then?"

"I get really weak after I throw up. I fell and can't get up."

Rita looked down at him with an even more concerned expression on her face, "Well, I can run to the water tower and get Yakko and Dot's help."

"No!"

"But they'll know what to do! I don't know how to deal with...well this." She motioned her paw at him.

Wakko huffed and closed his eyes tightly. He wondered if he should just come clean and tell Rita the truth about why he had left the water tower. He opened up his eyes at the feeling of a soft paw touching his cheek. It was Rita. She had a soft, loving look in her eyes.

"Something's obviously bothering you. You can tell me, I won't judge."

Wakko huffed, "Yakko and Dot said some bad things about me in an interview yesterday and then when they got home I threw up on Yakko. I was so embarrassed and angry that I decided to run away from home...I'm sorry Rita, I didn't mean to lie to you. I was just scared you'd run off and tell them where I am!"

"Well that certainly explained why you had that tortured look in your eyes earlier."

Wakko could feel slight panic rising inside of him, "Please don't tell them where I am!"

"Ugh. Fine. I won't."

"Thank you…"

"I hope I don't regret this."

A few minutes passed as Wakko began to feel sleepy, he was about to fall asleep when suddenly he heard soft footsteps approaching. He no longer felt Rita's warm paw on his cheek so he opened up his eyes. Rita was staring up above the bush with a wary expression on her face.

"Didya hear that?"

"Yes."

Rita unsheathed her claws, "I'll go wake up Runt. I got a feeling it's one of those dangerous people I warned you about."

Wakko watched as she ran over to Runt, who was still sound asleep. Rita pounced onto his shoulder but that didn't wake him. Runt rolled over onto his other side. She shoved him on the shoulder again. He finally woke up, groaning loudly.

"A bad person might be approaching and we gotta protect Wakko!"

He slowly got up, "Where?"

Rita pointed over to where Wakko was still laying. Runt immediately ran over to him and stood over him protectively. Rita followed and jumped onto Runt's back.

"Go away, whoever you are!" Rita shouted while Runt growled and barked.

The person behind the bush walked around to face them. The only thing that Wakko could see from under Runt's belly was the person's shoes and pant legs. Both articles of clothing were bright red. He wondered if the person was Catherine O'Thorn.

"How sweet, it's a cat on a dog." Yep. It was Catherine. And she sounded strangely annoyed.

"Go away! Definitely, definitely go away!" Runt shouted.

"Yeah, leave before I claw your eyes out!" Rita spat, she sounded angry. Wakko wondered why. What had Catherine done to her?

"Now why on Earth would you want to hurt me?"

Rita hissed, "There's word on the streets that you're an Emotional Vampire."

"And who told you that, cat?" Catherine asked, a hard edge to her voice.

"Why's it matter who told us?"

"Oh, I was just curious."

Wakko started to feel the strength in his limbs return so he decided to start crawling out from beneath Runt. He made it about halfway before Catherine spotted him.

She gasped, "You're Wakko Warner!"

He looked up at her. She was staring down at him with a creepy grin on her pale face. He then noticed that Rita was looking down at him too.

"Get back underneath Runt!" Rita hissed, a fearful expression in her green eyes.

"Why?"

"We're tryin' to protect you, kid! That woman is pure evil!"

"Protect me from her?" Wakko asks, "Why? She seems sweet!"

"That's what all vampires do. Lure you with their sweetness" Runt said.

Wakko managed to get out completely from underneath Runt and tried to stand up. He leaned heavily against Runt's side for a bit because his legs were still shaky.

After a few seconds he stepped away and tried to look up at Catherine fully. She was still wearing all red, just like she was in the interview.

Rita quickly turned around to face Wakko while still standing on Runt's back.

"Please, Wakko. Just get back underneath Runt." Rita begged, "We told you that we would protect you. And we mean it."

"I still don't understand…"

Runt turned his head to the side, "Trust Rita! Definitely, definitely trust her!"

Right at that moment Catherine lunged forward and stabbed a syringe into Runt's neck. He screamed in pain before then falling to the ground with a loud thump. Presumably passed out. Rita slid off of him, slightly dazed. She shook her head and turned her attention onto Wakko.

"Run! Go home!" She screamed, desperation in her voice. Wakko suddenly felt as if his feet were cemented to the ground. He felt as if he were paalyzed by fear. He could only watch in horror at the scene before him.

"Please, Wakko. Go home!"

Catherine cackled and pinned Rita to the ground. She took out another syringe and chose to stab it into her back. Rita screamed in pure agony, tears forming in her eyes, before she too passed out.

The paralyzing fear suddenly melted allowing Wakko to turn around and start running. He started making his way back to the hollow of the tree. He was about halfway there when he accidentally tripped over an exposed root.

Wakko hit the ground with a soft thump. Panic started to rise inside of him when he heard Catherine's footsteps approaching him. He had to get to the hollow of the tree and find his mallet. He needed protection.

So Wakko started crawling over to the tree but as he did so he couldn't help but think about Rita and Runt and how they had tried to protect him. Rita was right. Catherine was evil and yet he hadn't believed her. And because of that he had gotten her and Runt hurt. Or worse. Killed.

At this thought, his heart breaks a little more. And as it does he cries out, clutching his chest. He stops crawling.

A shadow looms over him. He knows that Catherine is standing behind him. Probably looking down at him with that big creepy grin on her face. Reveling in his misery and torment.

"You hurt them. Why?" He yells out, agony in his voice.

Catherine giggled, "Wow, your brother wasn't kidding. You really are emotional."

Wakko tried to breathe through the pain of his breaking heart.

"Why did you hurt Rita and Runt?"

He wanted to know. Needed to know. Rita and Runt never deserved what Catherine had given to them.

Catherine huffs, "Because they were in my way, but it's not them that I'm after. It's you."

A shiver ran down Wakko's spine, "Why me?"

"Good question. I'll tell ya the answer to that later. Right now though, I've got business to attend to."

Catherine reached down and yanked Wakko's hat off of his head. He felt weird without his hat on. Curiosity got the better of him and so he rolled over to face her.

Yup. She had that creepy grin on her face once again.

She was holding his hat with her left hand while in her right hand she held a syringe. It was full of red liquid.

"I'm leaving your hat as a clue." Catherine tells him. She then haphazardly tosses his hat to the side.

At this point Wakko's heart no longer hurt as badly as it did earlier. A dull ache currently resided there.

"I don't understand…" Wakko whispered.

"Oh you will. Soon." She said, "Now, sit up like a good puppy and receive your medicine."

Wakko's anger evaporates, being replaced by a feeling of overwhelming hurt and sadness. He started to think that maybe this was his punishment for not listening to Rita and Runt. He had gotten them hurt.

Poor Rita. Poor Runt.

Wakko closed his eyes and gave up. If this was his punishment then he'd accept it. He deserved it, for getting them hurt.

He held his arm out for Catherine.

"Do it." He whispered.

"Stay still." Catherine tells him, sounding absolutely delighted. She then crouched down and rolled up his sleeve. Wakko opened up his eyes as the needle stabbed into his arm. He winced as it entered his arm.

While Catherine was busy pressing the syringe, Wakko looked around at the many bushes and briefly hoped that somebody, anybody would jump out of one of them and rescue him. His hope is quickly squashed when he sees that the bushes are as still as ever.

"Goodnight, Wakko Warner." Catherine whispers.

Wakko feels a brief sense of queasiness before then passing out. Falling face first into an endless void of inky blackness.