This Chapter: Scratchansniff's Point of View

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As Yakko regained his breath, Brad dropped the empty dart gun into one of his comrade's hands and began to pace.

"This makes no sense!" He yelled at no one in particular, waving his arms in the air. "They're supposed to react to me in fear, not retaliate!"

"Since when are we supposed to make sense?" Yakko asked feebly from his entrapment in Terry's grip, breathing heavily. Brad walked up to him, making a show of being as menacing as possible. He stared down at Yakko with an almost insane glitter in his eyes. It looked so cheesy that I was sure Yakko would have laughed had it not been for the severity of the situation.

"Ever since I imprisoned you," Brad answered in a deep tone that sounded just as lame and theatrical as his walk had looked. He paused dramatically, waiting for an answer from his captive cartoon.

"Nice try, Shatner, but you still don't own us," Yakko said in a far more convincing manner of menacing speech. This comment caused a couple of Brad's lackeys to snicker, and that seemed to push him to the limit. His face turned a bright red colour, and he reached out his hand to one of his men, who took the hint and gave him his hunting knife.

I felt so helpless. I wanted to do something so badly, but even the most brilliant person in the world could do nothing to change a memory. So I watched. Though reluctantly, I watched; all the while reminding myself that this had already happened, there was nothing I could do.

Brad waved a hand at Terry, and the man switched his grip and snatched Yakko up by the scruff, yanking him from the ground like a rag doll. The eldest Warner made a vain attempt to kick the man, but the effort was fruitless. Brad flashed the knife in front of Yakko's face, earning him no more than a scowl. It was clearly not the kind of reaction he'd hoped for. He set it tauntingly against the loose skin at the back of Yakko's neck that was stretched out under Terry's grip.

"I will break you," I heard Brad whisper in Yakko's ear. Without further ado, he shoved the knife through the black fur and onwards; and though he tried, Yakko couldn't suppress the cry of pain that escaped him. My stomach did a flurry of relentless somersaults, and it took me a full minute for me to realize that Brad hadn't actually stabbed Yakko in the neck, but rather through the sensitive skin at the back of it that made up the scruff.

Dot squeezed my hand tight – eyes still firmly shut – and I could hear Wakko whimpering slightly into my shirt. I patted him on the back as comfortingly as I could under the circumstances.

"Put. Me. Down." Yakko said in the very same tone that had made Plotz rethink his methods. The only difference was the slight faltering that patched his speech, but it still had the same effect.

He was instantly dropped, and sat panting on the ground, holding the back of his neck; Terry had a strange look on his face, but kept an eye on the eldest Warner while Brad handed the knife back to his lackey.

"And that, my dear cartoon, is what happens when you decide to be difficult," he said mockingly, kneeling down to stare at Yakko full in the face. Terry picked up the trembling Warner brother and held him in a chokehold, beginning to drag him towards the road. Dot let go of my hand and Wakko looked up at that point, now suddenly eager for what was to come.

I must say, I was impressed with Yakko regarding what happened next. Even with the drug slowing his movements and his bleeding wound, he still managed to take Terry down. While Brad was off fitting the still sleeping memory Dot and Wakko with those strange silver collars, Yakko elbowed Terry in the gut, then brought his elbow up to meet Terry's chin. He removed the man's arm from his neck and turned it palm-up over his shoulder, snatching the wrist and pulling down hard. The resulting snap was rewarded with a painful yowl from the man. And then, Yakko ran. He ran before the others had a chance to turn around.

What occurred after that, I haven't a clue. Out of nowhere, a blinding flash of lightning obscured my vision, and a thick grey fog rolled sluggishly over the landscape.

"Vhat happened?" I asked, making sure to keep hold of both Dot and Wakko's hands so as not to lose them in the fog.

"Yakko's mood just changed for the worse," Dot answered, looking around.

"Um, Dot?" Wakko asked nervously.

"What is it, Wakko?"

"Remember when you and Yakko were in my memory, and I burned my finger on the stove by accident?"

"Who could forget?" Dot said. But then a look of realization came over her face.

"You don't think...?" She started. Wakko nodded.

"Vhat are you talking about?" I asked, struggling to maintain a hold on the goings-on. The fog rolled away, and a dark night sky appeared overhead. Not a star was to be seen, and I had to squint into the gloom to see anything else.

"When Wakko burnt his finger, Yakko and I were almost hit by lightning in his memory," Dot explained. "I'd say the current weather is nothing, but this is not right," she said as she pointed overhead at the blackness above. I saw the implications.

"Vhat can ve do?"

"Nothing," Wakko said. "We've got to wait until he lets us out."

"Scratchy, you're supposed to be watching," Dot reminded him, and she pointed to the trees. I squinted into the dark, everything coming across as a very murky blue. Then I spotted him. Yakko was sitting heavily against one of the trees, a reddening hand over the bloody patch of mutilated skin at the back of his neck. But what really hit home were the silent tears that etched a miserable pattern down the sides of his cheeks. A rusted blue pickup truck rumbled down the road. Yakko watched it go from his spot amongst the trees, just out of view of wary eyes, and it was then that I realized the tears were not a result of physical pain. The truck was hauling two small cages, and in the cages his siblings were being carried away.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, a deep-set sadness I had never heard from him before dripping from every word. "I'll get you back, I swear," Slowly, the effects of the drug finally overtook him, and he passed out. Wakko, Dot and I were left standing in an eerie, silent darkness.