Surprisingly, the drive didn't take very long. In fact, before she knew it, Dot's kidnapper was picking her up and carrying her through the door, past an assorted number of strange rooms, and into a laboratory

"I only got one, sir," The man who had kidnapped Dot, sounding terrified, deposited Dot on the floor next to some other guy who looked like a scientist.

The scientist sighed. "That's alright. You can get the other two later." He looked at Dot. "I'm sorry we had to tie you up, but I was afraid that you might be a bit wild. You may take her to her cell now, Michael."

Michael looked a little confused, but obediently picked up Dot and brought her into one of the other strange rooms and set her down gently in a cell, pulling the duct tape off of her mouth.

"What the heck's going on here?" shrieked Dot instantly. "Why did you kidnap me? Who's the scientist guy? And you'd better let me out of here right now, or I'll… I'll make you pay, you hear?"

Michael untied Dot's feet and hands. "I'm sorry. Honestly, I didn't want to capture you. But when Clarence—that's the scientist's name, Clarence McCall—saw some commercial for your TV show, I guess, it sounded like he was about to explode and he ordered me to get you three right away. Frankly, I'm surprised he didn't rip you to shreds when I brought you to him. He really did sound like you wanted to kill you three."

"But if you didn't want to capture me, then why did you?" asked Dot.

"Because," said Michael, "I'm too afraid of what he might do to me. He's a mad man."

Dot sighed and rolled her eyes. "This is insane. Still, I'd better think fast about some way to get out of here."

"And I'd better go get the other two," said Michael. Dot gave him a confused look, then an angry one in realization.

"You'd better keep your hands off of my brothers! You hear me?"

"I have to get them, sweetheart, Clarence ordered me," said Michael. He closed the cell door, locked it, then left.

Dot slumped against the wall, pouting and furiously trying to think of a way out of there.

…………

"Hey, earth to Wakko. It's 10:30. Don'tcha want to get up?"

Wakko stirred, groaned, and pulled the covers over his head in annoyance. Yakko sighed and shook his head. "Wake up, sleepyhead. It's our opening day, so to speak! Come on and get some breakfast. Dot must've been around the studios ten times by now."

Why does she always leave so early? thought Wakko from underneath his covers. Can't she wait for us?

"Because she hates spending all day in bed, unlike some people I know. You would be sleeping til noon if I didn't wake you up."

That was the plan, muttered Wakko, reluctantly forcing himself out of bed. So what do you want to do today?

Yakko shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I can go see what HN is doing…"

Wakko grinned. I don't know. Why don't you go ask her? While you're at it, you might want to take her into your arms and kiss her, and maybe tell her that you're madly in love with her?

Yakko sighed. "I knew that you were gonna figure it out pretty soon."

Pretty soon? Wakko barked out an audible laugh. Don't I remember you saying that you'd never fall in love?

"I was like nine years old then! I was a little kid!"

But Yakko, I'm nine. Do you think that I'm a little kid?

Yakko sighed. "Let me rephrase that. I was nine, but I wasn't really a little kid. I had been through too much to be called a little kid. And you are very mature for your age."

Yeah, just like you were. Wakko smiled and finished pulling on his clothes. Let's go find Dot and figure out something to do.

"Yeah… like pick lint out of our belly buttons."

…………

Unfortunately, the belly button lint picking would have to wait. Try as they might, Yakko and Wakko couldn't find Dot anywhere.

"We've asked everyone and no one knows where she is!" cried Yakko. "This isn't like her!"

"For once, your paranoia seems to be right," said Wakko, also sounding worried. "Where could she be?"

Yakko didn't answer. Wakko followed his gaze and saw a man neither had seen before. They didn't know it, but it was Michael.

Yakko was about to ask Michael who he was, but Michael seemed to be the only person on earth faster than Yakko's tongue, grabbing them by the wrists before either could utter a syllable.. "Hey, what's the matter with you!" cried Yakko, trying to pry Michael's fingers off of his wrist. "Put us down!"

Wakko had no time for talking. Strategically, he kicked Michael in the gut with gusto. "Oooommmpphhh!" cried Michael, dropping Yakko and Wakko like stones. The brothers frantically scrambled up and ran around a corner.

Michael quickly got to his feet and, seeing their two tails whip around the corner, wildly grabbed for both of them. Only one tail—Wakko's—was snatched, but Michael decided not to risk it by trying to grab the other one, and whisked Wakko into his care before Yakko could grab them.

But Yakko wasn't far behind them.

…………

Wakko didn't struggle against Michael, his incredible ability to read emotions again serving him well. Somehow he knew that Michael was just a pawn in some evil plan.

And there's the evil mastermind himself, thought Wakko. It only took one glance at Clarence to know that this guy was slimier than a politician.

"You fool!" spat Clarence to Michael. "You didn't put duct tape on his mouth or tie him up or anything! Oh well," he said, putting on an incredibly fake smile and looking at Wakko.

Wakko knew that, in reality, this mad scientist wanted to rip him apart right then. He scowled at Clarence angrilly.

"Put him in the cell with the girl," said Clarence, dismissing them with a wave of his hand.

"Then… then do you want me to get the last one?" asked Michael shakily.

"No," said Clarence. "I think that he'll come here anyway."

"…Okay," said Michael, very confused. He led Wakko away.

Michael immediately started apologizing as soon as they were out of the laboratory—and thus out of Clarence's earshot. "I'm real sorry about this, and I don't want to do this, but—"

"I understand," said Wakko instantly.

"What was that he said, about the other just coming here?"

Wakko sighed in sad realization. "Yakko isn't just going to sit and wait for us. He's going to try to rescue us."

"Well, I'll put you in the cell with the little girl… your sister," said Michael.

At that time, Dot was pacing the cell and muttering under her breath how she was going to get out of there. "Hey," said Michael suddenly, "you've got company." He unlocked the cell door and led Wakko in.

"Wakko!" cried Dot. Relieved to see each other, the two siblings embraced tightly.

After a few moments, Wakko let go of Dot and turned to Michael. "Can't you let us out of here?"

"I can't. I'm too scared of what Clarence'll do to me."

"Are you afraid that he'll kill you?" asked Wakko.

"No, I don't think he'd do something that drastic."

"Okay then, he'll fire you."

Michael nodded glumly.

Dot put her hands on her hips. "And then you'll get away from this awful job."

Michael thought about that for awhile. "You have a good point there," he said. He reached for his keys and unlocked the door. "Now let's get you guys out of here."

…………

Meanwhile, Yakko was walking around the lab, looking for his brother and sister. He, of course, was too sneaky to let something like a car get the best of him. He had grabbed onto the back and jumped on. He had meant to follow Wakko and Michael, but they got in the door to the laboratory too fast and the door was self-locking. So he spent the next fifteen minutes looking around for an open window.

His search was successful. He squeezed in the small window and stealthily searched for his siblings. And he found them too, when he was up on some balcony and they were walking below him.

"This place looks like a dump," muttered Wakko.

"Smells like a dump too," mumbled Dot.

"Hey!" hollered Yakko from his lofty perch. "How's the weather down there?"

"Yakko?" Wakko and Dot craned their necks to see their brother.

"'Tis most certainly me!" Yakko cried triumphantly, leaping down nimbly to his siblings' level.

"Shh, Yakko, be quiet!" whispered Dot urgently. "That mad scientist guy could be anywhere, and we're trying to escape!

"Ummm…" Michael suddenly said. The Warners spun around. True to Dot's warning, there was Clarence.

"Children," he said, sounding almost gentle, "I am sorry for locking you up, but I was afraid that you might be crazy. I am so glad that I found you, after all these years!"

"What do you mean?" asked Dot.

"You see, children, I had always wanted children of my own. But I wasn't married, so I felt very lonely. Suddenly I realized that, hey, I had a laboratory, I could create children! So I created you," he said, pointing at Yakko. "I was so happy! After two years, however, I thought that if I was so happy with one, why not two? So I created you," he said, pointing at Wakko. "But I also wanted a little girl. So, two years later, I created you!" he said, this time pointing at Dot. "This was what I had always wanted: a family of my own! But shortly after I created you, a fire destroyed parts of my lab. During the confusion, I lost you. I looked all over for you, but I couldn't find you. I feared you were dead! But just now, I saw the commercial for your new TV show, and I knew that you were indeed alive!"

Michael looked confused, as he was so often throughout this day. Dot looked a bit confused, but mostly happy, thinking, Finally! Finally I found my parent!

Yakko, however, looked a little confused, but mostly mad. And Wakko looked furious.

"He's lying," hissed Wakko. And Yakko and Dot knew that Wakko always knew if someone was lying or if someone was telling the truth.

"He is indeed lying, Wakko," said a new voice. The Warners, Michael, and Clarence turned around to see who said that. It was another man who seemed to have just entered.

Clarence glared at him. "Victor, what the hell are you doing here?"

This Victor fellow gave Clarence, if it was possible, an even darker glare. "What the hell are you still doing on this planet?" Looking towards the Warners, his eyes softened. "Oh Yakko, look how much you've grown. Why, you're practically an adult now. And Wakko, you can talk! And just look at you, Dot. You were just a baby when I last saw you." He paused for a moment, looking unusually grave. "You need to learn the truth."

"Can he be trusted?" asked Yakko, turning to Wakko, even though he had a feeling that he could.

"Yes," said Wakko. "He'll tell the truth."

"Here it is," said the man. And his story began.