Everything was black. Wakko looked around, unable to make anything out. He lifted a hand and waved it in front of his face but couldn't see a thing. How long had he been in this dark place? He couldn't say. What about his siblings? What about Dot?

I have to know if she's okay.

But he wouldn't be figuring that out anytime soon… he could hear her and Yakko's voices very faintly at first, but now he couldn't hear anything. And he couldn't say if he'd just been dreaming. Without any notion of where he was going, he started walking. Even if there wasn't much point, he didn't want to just stand there anymore.

There was no way to know how long he'd been walking before something happened. Up ahead, he could see a very faint light. As he moved closer, it kept getting brighter. A smile tugged at his face. But then, his ears twitched at a faint sound, almost too quiet to hear. Stopping, he listened. It took a long time, but eventually he heard it again and this time he could make it out… a faint voice calling his name.

At first the voice was unfamiliar to him, but then it came again, louder, and something in his memory stirred. His eyes widened.

Is that... no, it can't be…

Then another voice came, deeper but accented exactly like his own. A lump rose in Wakko's throat, and he whirled around to see two faces that he had only seen in the farthest recesses of his memory.

"M-… Mom?" he croaked. "Dad?"

Both smiled at him. Wakko took a shaky step forward, then he was running. The next thing he knew, he was swept up in his mother's arms. He pressed his face into her shoulder, tears streaming down his face.

"I… I missed you so much…"

A large hand gently ruffled his hair.

"We missed you too," said his father's voice. For a long time, Wakko couldn't speak. Finally, he raised his head and looked at his mother. She was smiling, but also looked sad. He wondered why.

"Why are you here?" he asked. His mother brushed a hand against his cheek.

"For you, sweetheart."

Wakko blinked.

"Me?"

His father gently ruffled his hair.

"Yes. But it's up to you to decide if you want to come."

Wakko blinked again, frowning slightly as he processed the words. He could go with them? He wanted to… he had missed them so much and didn't want to lose them again. And he knew somehow that if he went back, it would hurt. He didn't want to feel that pain again.

But what about Yakko and Dot?

That thought brought him up short. If he didn't come back, he knew, with a certainty he couldn't explain, that they would blame themselves and never recover from it. The thought made Wakko's throat tighten. He didn't want to lose his parents again, but he couldn't leave his siblings. He just couldn't. He looked up at his parents, and when they both smiled sadly he knew they understood. His mother placed a hand on his cheek and kissed his forehead.

"Give them our love."

Wakko nodded and nestled against her.

"I will."

He felt the arms around him grow tighter and tears filled his eyes.

"Will you wait?" he asked softly.

"Of course," his mother replied. He felt his father ruffle his hair again.

"We'll be here."

After a few more moments, his mother set him on his feet and gave him a gentle push in a particular direction.

"Go on. Never forget, we love you."

"We love you, too," Wakko whispered, tears spilling from his eyes. He started walking, then hesitated and looked back. His parents smiled and waved. Wakko waved back before turning and started walking again. Soon he was alone again. He didn't know how long he'd been walking before he heard a faint sound. Hesitating, he strained his ears to listen. It came again, and this time he discerned it as a faint and familiar voice.

Yakko.

A smile tugging at his face, Wakko started to run toward the voice. It became clearer and clearer, until it sounded like it was coming from right in front of him. Stopping, Wakko reached out toward it and felt a hand grip his. He closed his hand around it, letting it pull him forward.

()()()()()()

It felt like hours had passed. Yakko sighed as he kept hold of his brother's hand, wondering if he should keep talking to him. Honestly, he couldn't see the point. Wherever Wakko was, he clearly couldn't hear him. Lost in his depressing thoughts, he almost didn't notice the twitch in his hand.

Wait, what?

Yakko's head snapped up, his eyes going wide. As he watched in disbelief, Wakko's hand tightened around his. He whipped around.

"Dot!"

His sister jerked upright with a sleepy, confused expression. When she looked at him, her eyes went wide and she jumped up, rushed over and scrambled up onto the bed. There was a faint groan, and Yakko felt his heart start to pound. His brother stirred, his brow furrowing. Then finally, slowly, his eyes flickered open. Letting out a quiet sob, Dot flung her arms around his neck. Wakko winced, then lifted an arm and wrapped it around her. Tears filling his eyes, Yakko ran a hand through his brother's hair.

"Hey, sib," he said softly. "How ya feeling?"

Wakko blinked, then spoke in a quiet, croaky voice.

"H-hurts…"

Yakko smiled sadly.

"Yeah, I bet. You got banged up pretty good."

Wakko's eyes flicked to his sister, who was still clinging to him and crying. Yakko saw the question in his eyes.

"It's okay… she's fine."

Relief filled Wakko's face, and he squeezed Yakko's hand.

"You okay?" he asked softly.

Yakko smiled again, leaning forward to press his forehead to his brother's.

"Yeah, buddy. I'm okay."

Wakko smiled, and Yakko returned it before wrapping his arms around both siblings. Finally, his family was together, and safe.