Yakko's face was set in the most killer glare he could manage, studying the man in front of him with utter disgust. Man'ari, they'd been told his name was. Who in the world gave their kid a name like that, Yakko had no idea. He knew that Dot's face matched his, and even Jayna, who was standing near the door, had noticeable anger on her face. Wakko wasn't there… he still wasn't able to be out of bed for long, and neither of his siblings wanted him confronting his captor before he was ready.

"I'm gonna give this to ya real straight," Yakko said in a low, ice-filled tone. "I think you're scum, and I wanna know one good reason why we shouldn't put you through even half of what you put our brother through."

He saw a flicker of fear in the man's eyes before his face grew hard again.

"It was nothing personal…"

"Nothing personal?!" Dot sounded completely stunned. "You seriously think you can say that after what you did to him?!"

Yakko's eyes flicked to his sister for a moment as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She relaxed a little, but he could still see the anger on her face.

"Sure, Manny," he said with cold sarcasm. "There was nothing personal about kidnapping and brainwashing an eleven year old kid to think he's lost his whole family."

He narrowed his eyes and slammed a fist on the table as he spat his next words with all the venom he could muster.

"How can you possibly justify doing that to a kid?!"

Man'ari looked back at him with slight unease, but with no trace of remorse.

"I did what was necessary to complete my mission. Your brother may be a skilled bender, but once I got into his mind, once I knew his biggest weakness, he was easy to break." His face twisted into a nasty smile. "Even with all the power he has… he's still nothing but a sentimental weakling."

Incensed, Yakko shot to his feet, but before he could move any further Dot got there first.

Whack!

Her fist connected with the man's face so hard, he fell backwards off the chair and landed flat on his back. Yakko stared, his jaw slack, as his sister stood on the table over Man'ari with clenched fists and eyes burning with rage.

"Don't you call him a weakling!" she snarled. "Don't you dare call him that! He's stronger than you, and Salazar and all those schmucks you had to have help you put together!"

Yakko finally found his voice again, quiet and stunned as it was.

"Dot…"

He reached out and took her arm, easing her back away from Man'ari. She let him, but never took her furious eyes off the man as he slowly climbed to his feet. He looked just as startled as Yakko had been, his hand moving to the shiner already blooming on his eye. After Dot was settled down, the eldest Warner turned back to Man'ari.

"Let's not forget, Manny… that 'weakling' beat you and your goons. That 'weakling' took your magic away. What's that make you?"

The ex-sorcerer's eyes narrowed, and he opened his mouth, clearly wanting to protest that it was only luck. But Yakko didn't give him the opportunity. He reached out and snatched the man's collar, yanking him over the table so they were face to face.

"He might've gone easy on you, but let me tell you something right now," he growled, fangs bared. "You put one foot out of line, make one wrong step, give me any reason to think you're going to hurt my brother again, and I won't hold back. I'll make sure you never touch him or anyone else ever again, and that's a promise."

He shoved the man back, making him barely catch himself in time to avoid another crash to the floor. Yakko's eyes moved to Dot again, and she stood, nodding. With that he turned and they both marched out of the interrogation room without a single glance backward. He heard Jayna's hand hit the table as she hissed something he couldn't make out and found he didn't envy the guy. When that lady was mad, she was not someone you would want to cross.

"I wish I'd knocked out some of his teeth," Dot fumed as they walked back through the dungeon. Yakko couldn't help but grin as he patted her shoulder.

"That was awesome. I'm proud of ya, sister sibling."

The youngest Warner's angry look was replaced by a bright grin in return.

"Thanks!" Her look grew a little concerned. "Do you think Wakko will be upset he missed it?"

"Nah," Yakko said with a shrug. "He'll definitely wanna hear all about it, though."

"Can I tell him now?" Dot asked, looking hopeful. Yakko frowned a little.

"I dunno, sis… it's kinda late, he's probably asleep."

It wasn't all that late, really, but the middle sibling was still sleeping a lot and Jayna said they could expect that for a while yet. His ravenous appetite had returned right away, which was encouraging, but it was clear that he still had a lot more recovering to do… in more ways than one. Yakko's thoughts were interrupted when Dot huffed.

"We could at least check."

Yakko sighed.

"Okay, okay. But if he's sleeping, we should probably leave him alone. He's gotta rest if he's gonna get better."

Dot rolled her eyes.

"Well, duh," she scoffed. The eldest Warner's grin returned as they headed to the eastern wing of the castle. It was a new experience for his sister to be the one hovering over one of her brothers, but she was certainly rising to the occasion well. It reminded Yakko a lot of their mother, in fact.

When they reached their brother's room, he saw Dot's face grow a little more solemn and he knew his face looked the same. He quietly opened the door, his eyes moving to the bed.

It was empty. Yakko blinked, then felt a rush of alarm. But he took a calming breath, reminding himself that Wakko wasn't missing anymore, and looked around the room. Sure enough, he found the middle sibling on the window seat with a blanket around his shoulders, knees drawn up to his chest and his head resting against the window as he gazed out at the darkening sky.

He looked weary and sad, as if he had aged somehow, but clearly had no plans for sleeping. Frowning, Yakko stepped inside with Dot close behind. As they approached the middle sibling's ears twitched, and he turned his head toward them.

"Wak? What're you doing up?" Yakko asked. Wakko shrugged, his tired look remaining even as his eyes brightened on seeing them.

"Couldn't sleep." His eyes moved back to the window. "Too much on my mind, I guess."

A feeling of sadness came over the eldest Warner. Wakko did his best to keep a brave face up, but he was still haunted by the fake reality forced into his head… the recurring nightmares alone were indicative of that, some of them so bad he woke up crying his siblings' names. Not to mention the fact that he had barely smiled at all the past four days. And seeing him like this, Yakko couldn't help but worry he might never fully get over it. Letting out a quiet sigh, he reached out and patted his brother's hatless head.

"It wasn't real, bud," he said in a gentle tone. "We're okay."

Wakko shifted on his seat, still gazing out the window.

"Yeah, I know. It's just…" He looked up at Yakko, his eyes growing over-bright. "I yelled at you. I said something really awful. And if it was real, I…"

His jaw tightened, in a clearly arduous effort not to cry.

"I never would've… been able to say I'm sorry," he sniffled. "You're the best… you are."

Yakko blinked in surprise, then felt his own eyes well.

"Aw, Wakko…" He moved to sit cross-legged on the window seat beside his brother. "C'mere."

After a moment of hesitation, Wakko moved onto his lap and nestled against him as Yakko wrapped his arms around him.

"I'm sorry too," he said softly. "I never should've made you feel like I doubted you. I don't, and I never did."

He looked up as Dot sat on the other end of the seat, looking sad but not saying anything. Yakko gave her a grateful smile before he went on.

"It's just… I've seen how far you're willing to go for us, and I… I was scared."

He had never admitted out loud to his siblings that he was afraid, but he didn't hesitate to say it now. Wakko needed to hear this.

"I was scared you might go too far. And I don't know what we'd do if…"

Unable to finish the sentence, he rested his forehead against his brother's. His voice trembled a little as he went on.

"We'd be lost without you, sib, so don't go thinking we'd ever want you to risk your life like that. 'Cause that night we spent wondering if we were gonna lose you… was one of the worst of our lives."

He heard Wakko sniffle again.

"I'm sorry I scared you."

Yakko smiled a little.

"You don't have to apologize… it wasn't your fault."

Just a few seconds passed before Wakko spoke again, his voice quiet but sincere.

"It wasn't yours either, big brother."

Yakko sat in surprised silence for a moment, then another smile tugged at his face as he nuzzled the top of his brother's head.

"Thanks, kiddo," he whispered. "Love ya."

"Love you too," Wakko whispered back. Dot scooted over and wrapped her arms around him too, and for a long time the siblings sat in silence. Finally, a quiet yawn reached Yakko's ears, and he smiled again.

"You should get some sleep now, bud. How about I help ya out?"

A soft chuckle escaped Wakko.

"What, you gonna sing me a lullaby?"

Yakko chuckled too.

"If ya want me to, sure."

After a moment, Wakko spoke again in a soft voice.

"Okay."

"Okay, then," Yakko said. "What 'cha wanna hear?"

Wakko's tone was almost hesitant.

"Can… can it be that song Mum used to sing?"

Yakko ruffled his hair.

"Sure thing."

He tucked the blanket a little tighter around his brother's shoulders and started to rock back and forth as he sang softly, like he remembered their mother doing.

"Now it's time to say good night… good night, sleep tight. Now the sun turns out his light… good night, sleep tight. Dream sweet dreams for me… dream sweet dreams for you… close your eyes and I'll close mine… good night, sleep tight."

Dot began rocking back and forth too, humming along with a hand on Wakko's arm. As the song continued Yakko felt the middle sibling relax more and more, until finally he drifted off, breaths soft and steady. Yakko smiled and stood, hoisting his sleeping brother in his arms. Dot stood too and followed behind him to the bed, watching with a smile of her own as he laid Wakko down and pulled the covers over him, running a hand through his hair.

"Sleep tight, baby bro," he whispered. Dot moved up beside him, still smiling but with a little concern in it now.

"You think he'll have nightmares again?"

Yakko's smile grew a little sad as he placed an arm around her.

"Well, we'll be here if he does." He studied his brother's peaceful face, and his smile widened. "But tonight… nah, I don't think so."