Where… where am I?

Wakko looked around, nothing but darkness meeting his gaze no matter what direction he turned in. He felt scared and confused, struggling to sort the tangled mess of thoughts and realities in his mind. He had thought his siblings were gone, but then seen, heard, and felt them clear as day. Was it true? Was he really not alone?

All of a sudden, he heard two faint voices saying his name. He froze, listening close. He knew those voices… he had heard them in his dreams, in the deepest recesses of his memory.

"… Mum?" he whispered. "Dad?"

Hoping, praying that it was true, he slowly turned around. And there they were, clearer than his blurred memories had ever been. Wakko took a shaking step toward them, and when they smiled and opened their arms, he let out a joyful sob and sprinted to them. For several moments, he simply nestled into their embrace as silent tears ran down his face. Finally, he managed to speak.

"I-I missed you so much…"

He felt his mother's hand stroke his head, her voice soothing and full of love.

"We missed you too, sweetheart. But you've been so brave, and we're so proud of you."

Sniffling, Wakko drew back and looked at them with brimming eyes.

"Why are you… how are you here?"

Both kept smiling, and his father ruffled his hair.

"We've always been here."

Wakko smiled, but then his lingering fears returned.

"But… what about Yakko and Dot?" he asked, his voice quivering. "Are… are they really…"

His parents both nodded as his mother placed a hand on his cheek, wiping away an escaping tear with her thumb.

"Yes, love," she said gently. "They're fine."

Wakko felt his legs go weak with relief, and a watery smile tugged at his face as William and Angelina pulled him into another embrace. But then a troubling thought came to him.

"What about me?" he asked, uneasy. "Am I… okay?"

He could hear sadness in his mother's voice when she replied.

"You've been through something terrible… all of you have. It won't just go away."

"But you've overcome terrible things before," his father said. "And you can again."

That brought a smile back to Wakko's face, and he nestled against them with a sense of reassurance he hadn't felt for a long time.

"We can never say how sorry we are that we never got to tell you about your gift," his mother said. "Believe me, we never meant to keep it from you."

At those words, the guilt came rushing back in a wave and Wakko was struggling not to cry.

"It was my fault," he sniffled. "It was 'cause I…"

William's gentle but firm voice interrupted.

"No, son. What Salazar did was his choice, and you aren't responsible for it."

Yakko's similar words ran through the middle sibling's head. He wasn't sure if the guilt would ever fully be gone but knowing that his family didn't blame him seemed to lift so much of the weight off his shoulders.

Suddenly the darkness started to lighten, and the sound of other, familiar voices reached his ears. When his parents embraced him a little tighter, the realization came to him.

I'm waking up.

Despite himself, Wakko's heart sank and he clung to them.

"I don't wanna go," he whispered. "I don't wanna leave you."

Angelina's voice was sad, but also reassuring.

"You'll never leave us, love. And we'll never leave you."

Wakko sniffled again, a small smile tugging at his face.

"Promise?"

"Promise," his father replied, echoed by his mother. Their voices were growing fainter, and he could feel them fading. A few tears escaped his eyes as he whispered his final words to them.

"I love you."

Their voices were barely audible now, but he heard the emotion in them.

"And we love you," his mother's voice whispered.

"All of you," said his father. Wakko felt them each press a loving kiss to his head, then they were gone. But the smile stayed on the middle sibling's face as the dark continued to lift, dissolving away as his eyelids quivered…

When Wakko finally pushed his eyes open, everything was blurred; he felt dazed and weak as a newborn kitten. Blinking, he looked around as his vision slowly cleared. He was in his bed, propped up on the pillows. Sunlight shone in the wide, high window, illuminating every familiar aspect of the room. Relief filled him… it wasn't just a dream. He was home. He was safe.

His hand quivering as he rubbed his eyes, Wakko's ears twitched at the sound of a familiar voice just outside his door.

"…he may be disoriented and confused. Vat is most important is zat he is not pushed to remember vat happened… let it come back on its own."

An involuntary shudder ran down Wakko's back; he did remember what happened, all too clearly. But those thoughts quickly faded when he heard Yakko's voice.

"Thanks, doc."

The middle sibling's heart gave a joyful leap when the door opened and his siblings stepped in, joy at seeing them truly alive and well. Huge smiles came to their faces when they saw him awake, and Dot raced across the floor. Leaping up on the bed, she threw her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Wakko!" she squealed. "You're okay! You're okay!"

He couldn't help wincing at the shrill sound, happy as he was to hear it.

"D-Dot…" he managed to say. "Can't… b-breathe…"

He heard both amusement and concern in his brother's voice as he walked over, grinning.

"Take it easy, sister sibling."

To Wakko's relief the crushing embrace quickly eased, but Dot continued to cling to his neck as if she was scared to let go.

"You… you big idiot…" she whimpered.

Feeling a pang of remorse at her distress, Wakko wrapped his heavy arms around her and rubbed her back. He looked up as Yakko sat down on the side of the bed and placed a hand on his head, giving him a tired but relieved smile.

"Hiya, kiddo. How ya feeling?"

Wakko gave him a small, weak smile in return.

"Faboo… m' t-tired, though. N' hungry."

His brother gave a short, amused chuckle and ruffled his hair.

"I bet. Don't worry, we'll get some food in ya."

A sudden wave of dizziness came over the middle sibling, making him close his eyes for just a moment before opening them again.

"How long… w-was I out?"

"Most of last night and this morning," Yakko replied. "Your fever broke just an hour ago."

Wakko saw his smile falter for just a moment, and he couldn't keep a slight quiver out of his voice at his next words.

"We were… pretty worried for a while."

A quiet sob escaped Dot as she pressed her face into the middle sibling's shoulder, tears dampening the fabric of his shirt.

"I was so scared."

A lump rose in Wakko's throat and he rubbed her back again.

"I-it's okay, sis," he murmured. "I'm okay."

Dot sniffled before nodding.

"I knew you could do it," she whispered. "I knew it."