Dot gasped as her eyes flew open. For a few moments she lay still, her heart pounding over the sound of her brothers' snoring. Finally, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. The past week had been hectic, to say the least, and tomorrow promised to be even more crazy. Of course she was excited, and up until now hadn't thought much about everything that could go wrong. But apparently she had been on some level, because that was all she had dreamed about just now. Letting out a quiet sigh, she lowered her hands into her lap.

It's been so long, and things have changed so much.

It wasn't so much that Dot was worried about performance anxiety… she knew all three of them could still do the job and do it good. But after twenty-two years, would other people think it was good? The world wasn't the same as it was when they started out. Then a rustling sound made her ears twitch, and she couldn't help but smile as she looked at the edge of her bunk… she knew what was coming.

Sure enough, Yakko looked up over it, a sleepy but concerned look on his face.

"Dot, you okay? Bad dream?"

She raised a brow.

"Do you always know?"

Despite the fact that Wakko slept like the dead, they both kept their voices to a whisper. Yakko gave her a teasing grin.

"I'm your big brother, it's my job to know."

Grinning back, Dot scooted over and made room for him.

"So what's up?" he asked as he sat beside her. "Performance anxiety?"

Dot narrowed her eyes at him.

"You know I never get that."

When he raised a brow, she quickly added, "Not anymore, at least."

Yakko raised his hands.

"Okay, okay. So what are you nervous about?"

Dot shifted, swinging her legs in slow motions.

"I guess… that this reboot thing just won't work out."

She gazed down at the floor for a moment, then looked up at Yakko.

"I mean, I know they've done research and stuff, but… what if they're wrong? Haven't…" she hesitated, then went on. "Haven't you ever worried about that?"

Yakko looked at her for a moment before shrugging.

"Sometimes. But I figure as long as we do what we do best, that's good enough for everyone else."

Dot bit her lip.

"Yeah, but… the first time people didn't like us…"

She trailed off and couldn't suppress a shiver. She didn't like to even think about all those years of captivity they had endured, and she knew Yakko and Wakko didn't either. Probably the only thing that kept them from losing their minds was the fact that they at least had each other. Despite the fact that no one had brought up locking them up again, there was always a slight fear that it could happen again… and that fear was now increased significantly.

No reply came from Yakko, though he did put an arm around Dot. She knew the reason for his silence: he wanted to tell her that it wouldn't happen again, but he didn't know it wouldn't, and he had promised he would never lie to her or Wakko. After a few moments of silence, Dot spoke again.

"Weren't you… scared?

There was a moment of silence before he replied.

"Well, yeah… but not because we were locked in here."

Dot blinked and looked at him in confusion. He was gazing ahead, a distant look on his face.

"I was scared that… it was my fault."

That made Dot even more confused.

"Why would you think it was your fault? 'Cause it wasn't."

Yakko let out a quiet sigh.

"I'm the oldest. I'm supposed to protect my sibs, but I couldn't stop those execs from doing that to you. I know you guys don't blame me, but… I'm not so sure."

Dot stared at him, feeling a sense of regret. Had he always felt like this? How could they not have noticed, or even guessed? After a few moments, she nestled against his side.

"You're the best ever, and nothing's gonna make us think you're not. You did everything you could, and it's not your fault those jerks did what they did."

Yakko looked at her, then a smile tugged at his face.

"Thanks, sis."

A rustling sound from above made them both look up to see Wakko's head poke over the side of the top bunk, eyes bleary and only half open.

"Wha's goin' on?" he slurred sleepily. Dot couldn't help but smile; apparently he had a sibling radar too, just a little slower one.

"Bad dream," Yakko said. Immediately the middle sibling's eyes widened, concern clear in them. Moving to the ladder, he climbed down to them.

"What 'bout?"

Dot looked down, swinging her feet again.

"Just that… things went bad and…"

"They locked us in here again?"

Dot looked up at Wakko, startled. Reading her look, he sat on the edge of the bunk with them.

"I had a few dreams like that too."

A frown came to Dot's face, but Yakko asked the question before she did.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

Wakko shrugged, the same distant look on his face that Yakko had.

"Didn't wanna bring back bad memories."

A few moments of silence passed, then the eldest Warner put an arm around him too, pulling both siblings into a hug.

"I can promise ya this much, sibs… anyone wants to try that again, they're gonna have to go through me first."

A smile came to Dot's face again as she nestled close to him. She didn't doubt that for a minute… she knew both her brothers would go to the ends of the earth to protect her, and even though she was the youngest, she would do the same for them. She wasn't sure how much time passed before she let out a soft yawn. She felt Yakko pat her shoulder.

"Well, first thing we can do is get some shut-eye and be in tip top shape tomorrow. You okay now, Dot?"

Dot nodded, but then looked up at him and Wakko. Before she had to ask, both smiled. After some shuffling around, all three were snuggled together on the middle bunk with Dot nestled between her older brothers.

"Night, Yakko. Night, Wakko," she said softly. "I love you."

A sleepy acquiescent mumble came from her immediate older brother before he started snoring, and she felt her oldest brother nuzzle the top of her head.

"Love you too, sis."

Smiling, Dot closed her eyes. Whatever happened, they had each other, and that was all she needed.