Wakko had never felt so empty in his life. It felt like his insides had been scraped out completely, leaving him raw and hurting so much it was like being torn to shreds. He didn't even notice his hunger, his thirst. Through the haze of mind-numbing misery, he heard a voice.

"Where are your siblings?"

The hurt grew even worse, and his voice escaped as a ragged whisper.

"Gone."

He barely heard the satisfaction in the voice as it spoke again.

"You're alone now?"

The middle sibling choked on a sob.

"Yes," he whispered.

"Because you failed them," the voice said. "You didn't make enough money, and then you failed to protect them because of your ignorance. You had the power to save them, but you didn't. You failed them… just like you failed your parents."

Wakko closed his eyes, feeling hot tears streak down his face.

"No…"

"Yes," the voice said, full of cold satisfaction. "And now you have no one. Everyone you had, everyone you loved, they're all gone. You failed them all."

Every word felt like a stab in the chest, and Wakko pressed his forehead to his knees, the chains on his hands rattling.

"No…" he rasped again. But despite his denials, the cruel reality kept slamming into him like a hammer.

They're gone… they're all gone… I'm alone now… I'm alone…

Tears kept streaming down his face, and the pain and despair building inside him escaped in a wail of pure anguish.

"NOOO!"

He slumped, hanging limp as his body shook with deep, racking sobs. Through the fog of grief clouding his mind, he heard the voice again… cruel, mocking.

"So vulnerable… so weak. You couldn't protect them any more than you can protect yourself."

Suddenly, along with Wakko's despair rose a new feeling: fierce, white-hot anger. And there was something else, something strong… something powerful. Without hesitation, Wakko reached out with his mind and a barrier deep inside broke. He felt a rush of energy, of incredible strength, and his head whipped up as his eyes snapped open. Unseen by Wakko, they were glowing white. In front of him, he saw that man standing with a triumphant look.

"Now! Break his focus!"

The five men nearby surged forward, but before anyone could touch him the middle sibling swung his foot and sent a surge of flame shooting at them. Everyone immediately stumbled back, several letting out startled yelps.

Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, Wakko pulled hard on the chains as he let out an angry, hoarse cry…

CLANG!

They snapped. He heard the scrawny man's voice, sounding startled.

"What?! How can this…"

Ignoring him, the middle sibling stood, holding his hands out at his sides as he glared at the startled men. Only one thought drummed through his mind with every pulse of his heart.

Stop them.

He would stop them… he'd stop them all. In the back of his mind, someone's voice whispered a warning, but he pushed it away with a surge of determination.

It doesn't matter now… I've got no one left. I'm gonna finish this, whatever it takes.

Bracing his feet, Wakko reached out and raised his hands up, fingers flexed into claws. With a loud cracking sound, several large rocks broke off the cave walls and were torn out of the ground. He rotated his hands, the rocks moving in tandem with them, then whipped them forward and sent the rocks flying toward his attackers. Yelping, they scattered, but a few of the rocks struck home and dropped two of the burly men.

"Idiots!" the scrawny man yelled. "Get him!"

Wakko narrowed his eyes, and when he spoke his voice sounded strange, as if there were several speaking at once.

"You think you can? Go ahead and try."

The other men looked distinctly unnerved, but still rushed toward him. Wakko swept his hands out and a strong gust of wind whipped out from him and sent them all flying. Their yells were beginning to sound panicked as they scrambled to their feet, and the scrawny man was still screaming orders from his spot against a far wall. Wakko narrowed his still-glowing eyes.

Let them try… they don't know what they're dealing with.

He held out his hands again, palms up, and summoned two large spurts of flame. He rotated his hands and arms in circles, and the flames began spinning until they were a whirlwind of fire. Each man's eyes were now so big they looked ready to pop out of their heads, and they hovered back as if they didn't dare come any closer. A slight, grim smile came to Wakko's face, and he swept his hands out. The fire swept around him, hitting the ground only inches from the men's feet.

By now the men's voices had reached an unnaturally high pitch, and Wakko's smile widened just a little. Good… he wanted them scared.

"Move!" the scrawny man shrieked in fury. "You're going to be taken down by a child?!"

Wakko glared, speaking in that strange voice again.

"Haven't you figured it out? I'm not a regular child anymore."

Looking completely terrified, a few of the remaining three men took a hesitant step closer. Without hesitation, Wakko sent a blast of wind at them. It whipped them off their feet and sent them flying into the rocky wall with a loud whack. Both dropped to the ground, out cold. Wakko's eyes moved to the one left standing, who looked ready to break and run. The middle sibling locked eyes with him, holding his hands out at his sides again. The scrawny man began yelling again.

"Go get more of the others! You try and run, you'll be sorry!"

Oh, no you don't.

Before the man could take a step, Wakko braced his feet and clenched his hands into fists, jerking them up in a quick, hard motion. The ground underneath the man jerked in tandem with his motion, throwing him off his feet. The middle sibling narrowed his eyes; let them call more of their buddies. He was still going to stop them… no matter what it took.

…

It was only a short way to the cave, but Dot felt like it was taking forever. Although part of that might be because they had to get there on foot this time and there were more people this time. The council had been uneasy about her and Yakko going along, but none of them objected, knowing there would be no stopping them. They did insist on them going with several guards, though. Dot knew they meant well, but it still left her thoroughly irritated along her intense worry for her immediate older brother. More people meant slower progress, and if Jayna was right time wasn't on their side. She'd be perfectly fine with fighting whoever got in their way herself, but even royalty couldn't get everything their way.

When their destination finally came in view, Dot could see several people standing in front of the cave, but their backs were turned, apparently distracted by something inside. Sure enough, when they got closer, Dot could hear rocks crashing and wind gusting. Jayna, who had stuck close to her and Yakko, stopped and knelt on one knee, placing her hand on the ground and closing her eyes. Everyone else stopped too, watching her. After a few moments, she spoke.

"There are seventeen of them… ten outside and seven in the cave. The ones inside it are moving…"

Her brow creased before she opened her eyes and stood, an expression of noticeable worry on her face.

"One of them is your brother, and I can tell he's using a large amount of his power. We have to stop him before he uses too much."

Those words made Dot feel even more scared; what did she mean? What would happen if he did? But Jayna went on before she could ask.

"I'll take the ones outside and draw them away. The rest of you will have to take the ones inside but be careful… one of them has crude magic abilities. Don't let it hit you. I'll come as soon as I can."

She looked at Yakko and Dot, and the Warner sister could see the concern in her eyes.

"You two be especially careful."

Dot blinked, and she could see surprise in the guards' looks as well. Jayna hadn't told them to stay out of the fight, just to be careful. Clearly, she understood that there was no stopping them from getting to their brother.

"We will," Yakko said, and Dot nodded in agreement. After a quick, acknowledging nod of her own, Jayna held out her hands and braced her feet. Closing her eyes for a moment, she opened them to reveal they were glowing white again. Flexing her fingers into claws, she thrust them up and forward. To everyone's astonishment, the ground heaved into a wave that rushed toward the distracted men. Dot heard their startled yelps as they were thrown off their feet.

Wasting no time, Jayna snatched her bo staff off her back and ran forward. She began spinning it, two flames appearing at either end. The men started yelling to each other, grabbing bows off their backs. But before they could even nock them, Jayna whipped her bo and sent a burst of the flame shooting at them. As they dove out of the way, the woman spoke in a loud, strange voice that sounded like several speaking at the same time.

"If you surrender now, I won't hurt you. But fight me, and I warn you, I won't hold back."

Some of the man looked like they were seriously considering it, but one of them snapped at them in an angry voice.

"Stand your ground, you cowards! Break her focus!"

Despite clear reluctance on their parts, each of the others obeyed and pulled arrows out of their quivers. Jayna didn't miss a step; as the men took their shots, she deftly blocked each one with her still flaming bo, moving closer and closer to her opponents. Whipping out her hand, a blast of wind swept out. Two of the men hit the rocky wall behind them with a loud whack and flopped on their faces, unmoving. Jayna then jerked up a fist and thrust it out. In tandem with her movement, a big section of rock cracked off and went shooting at her opponents, knocking out two at the same time. Continuing to block the other's shots between shooting bursts of fire and air, Jayna began moving away. Dot tapped her foot with impatience, ready to rush forward as soon as the way was clear. She heard more cracking and crashing noises from inside the cave and bit her lip.

Don't push yourself, Wakko, she pleaded mentally. We're here, and we're coming.

Since these chapters were relatively short, I decided to combine them into one. The next one will be longer than usual… lots of things happen in it. Hope it's worth the extra reading time!