"So Yakko is a sleep-talker, Wakko is a sleep-eater, what are you?" I asked while forming Poppy's hair into bunches.

Dot batted her eyes and poked her cheeks to emphasise her dimples, "I'm a beauty-sleeper!"

Stupid question really. I finished with my sister's hair and started rummaging around for my keys. Man we were running so late this morning! If we didn't leave soon then I'd have to sign one of those annoying late-slips at the school and that just would make me late for work and then… It just wasn't worth the hassle. Flynn and Poppy stood by the front door in wait for me while I searched the kitchen and living room, but there was no sign. The Warner's followed my steps with maps in hand, Dot wore a pink bandana and a large gold hoop in one ear, Wakko had a black eye patch and Yakko was clad in a captains hat and a fake hook in hand.

"Onward me harties!" he announced, "That treasure shall be ours!"

"Aye-aye Captain!" Dot agreed.

Wakko pulled out a telescope and scanned the room with it, "Aye, show me the booty!"

"Mwah! Goodnight everybody!" Yakko blew a kiss.

"I found the treasure!" Poppy cried excitably.

Oh thank god for that, any longer and they might have pulled out an actual pirate ship, "Great work, where're the keys?"

She chuckled and pointed at Yakko who had an X stitched into the thigh of his pants, "X marks the spot, right?"

Yakko fixed a grin with sly, half-lidded eyes and repeatedly raised his eyebrows suggestively at me, "Best start digging."

"Dude…" Flynn mumbled, unsure if he was disgusted that it was me, his sister, who was the victim of this joke; or impressed at the way the toon had manipulated the situation.

I scowled, but couldn't help but snigger a little. What exactly was he expecting me to do? I wasn't going to rooting there myself and by the look on his face, he wasn't going to give up the keys without a fight. Wakko had his arms folded in amusement, waiting to see how I was going to go about this. Yakko just remained in composure, silently challenging me. However, it turns out that I didn't need to. Dot jumped out with a tennis racket and smacked her cocky brother upside the head with it. Literal stars blinked before his eyes and he swayed uneasily. He topped forward onto his stomach and the keys skidded across the floor to which I hastily picked up.

Wakko chortled at the situation, "Point to the Warner sister!"

Poppy shrieked in laughter, "That was funny! Do it again!"

"Is he okay?" Flynn asked as the stars around the toon's head started to fade.

"Yeah, we do this all the time." Dot insisted, "Now get moving, soldiers, you're going to be late!"

She had a point. I thanked her and rushed out to the car. I strapped Poppy into her seat and Flynn jumped in next to her. However, the minute I tried to plug the keys into the ignition, they wouldn't fit. I looked down and groaned. Somehow they keys were gone and had been replaced by a red rubbery thing that looked like a bouncy-ball. My siblings exchanged humoured glances while I got out of the car and marched back into the kitchen. Dot tried to hide her laughter by ducking behind a fashion magazine and Wakko beamed at me with his tongue hanging over his lips. Yakko, now fully recovered from his hit, sat on the table batting a paddleball nonchalantly. But at the end of the elastic string was not a ball; that was in my hand, instead was a ching-ching-ching of keys bouncing against the wood. He looked at me triumphantly but took pity, tossing me the keys to which I returned the ball. He attached it and started batting away again. I scowled playfully and he simply waved as if nothing had happened, but not changing his cunning aura.

"Have a nice day, kiddo."

*Flynn's POV*

"Flynn, can I talk to you for a minute please?"

My teacher was calling me. Well, she wasn't my real teacher; she was a substitute that had just started a couple of days ago. I liked her. She was great at keeping our attention. Probably because she was pretty hot, with lots of blond hair and very skinny, like the model women in clothes magazines that girls read. A few of the kids sniggered like I was in trouble, but I didn't care, I knew I hadn't done anything wrong this time. I followed her out into the hallway. She bent down so that I could see her eyes; she looked sad and a little uneasy.

"Flynn honey, we've got to have a talk outside by the gates, okay?"

"Why?" I tensed, remembering the last time something like this had happened, when dad left.

"Because you're sisters are waiting for us, we can't keep them waiting."

I shook my head, "I'm not supposed to leave school with strangers."

"I'm not a stranger, honey."

"But I just met you the other day. And my sister says that people are strangers until you've spoken to them a lot for a long time." I sounded harsh and childish, but something just wasn't right here, "So I can't go with you sorry."

She smiled and took my hand gently, how can she smile but look so sad? Stupid question, Talia had done it enough times. "Your sister is a very smart girl, Talia, right? Well she's outside too, she came to pick you and your sister up early."

That didn't sound like Talia, "Why?"

"Come along and ask her."

Hmm, okay, I would. After all, it was probably just the Warner's playing some joke, trying to get us out of school again. So I nodded and walked with her down the hallway until we were outside and heading towards the gates. There was a smart and sleek car waiting with the back door open. There was a man in a suit standing in wait. I froze and started to back away. But the lady pulled me gently along to keep moving. When we were close enough, I could see Poppy in the back seat, as promised. But something was wrong. She was struggling and sobbing and her hands were tied behind her back. She caught sight of me and kicked harder, shouting behind a sheet tied over her mouth. I wanted to run and fight to fee her, but I was too confused and rooted to the spot.

"Where's Talia? What's going on?" I asked, panic rising inside of me.

"I'm sorry, honey." The lady was crying too, but just one tear and no noise, "It'll be okay."

The man went to grab me, but as I raised my fists in defence which just made him smirk. I kicked his shin and tried to get at his face but he was too quick. All of a sudden, the trunk of the car flew open, taking us by surprise. I gaped as a chubby brown dog tumbled out and started barking at the woman, making her back away in anxiousness. I was shaking, but the dog looked at me dopily and stood in front of me like a guard. A grey and white cat soon followed, looking horrified at the dogs acts, but joined in by hissing and clawing at the man. The cat was tossed aside, smacking against the car and slumping to the ground. The dog yelped in panic and forgot me for a second, rushing to its side. A second too long. The man didn't wait; he grabbed my hair painfully and threw me into the car on top of Poppy who was screaming behind her binds.

"You said you weren't going to hurt them!" the woman cried, getting into the car behind the man and slamming the door as the dog started barking at the window.

Those animals were immense! Had they been trying to help? No that was ridiculous, this wasn't Lassie! They must have just stowed away and gotten freaked out. But, there was something strange about them, their eyes… they seemed too emotional to be normal animal eyes. But it had all been too quick and my head was spinning as the car lurched forward. I cursed myself! How could I have been so stupid? Talia was working; she never picked us up early! I thought it was the Warner's playing some fun prank, but this was beyond a joke. Who were these people? Where were we going? Why was Poppy here too? And what was up with that cat and dog? There were two men now in the car with us, the one in a dark suit who was outside, a bodyguard or something by the look of it; and then the one who was in charge. I hated everything about him. No exceptions.

"And I won't hurt them, if they behave." The boss replied, as his stooge painfully twisted my arms behind my back to tie them in place, "You knew what you signed up for, Miss. Nurse."

"I didn't sign up!" she spat, trying to calm us down, I shuffled away and tried to get to Poppy but couldn't move far, "None of this was meant to happen, you monster!"

He tutted, "So stressed, maybe the psychiatrist should take a look at you."

She glared at him, "You're evil!"

"I'm a businessman." He corrected with a smirk, "Now, I'll say we wait until we get to the studio, her work shift should be over by then and we can give her the new update!" he darkened suddenly as he looked at me and my sister, "We'll show her what happens when she refuses to cooperate…"

*Rita's POV*

"Human's ain't what they seem to be… They don't mean that much to me… No. Not much at all!"

I'll tell you something, that yutz in the tux packed a hard hit. My head's killing me. This had better be worth the trouble. I promised myself I'd never help a human again, what had they ever done for me? But no, those three Warner's had to go flaunting around like they were still in the limelight and taking everyone else down with them. Now some kids were in trouble and everything was going to the dogs, so to speak. Like the gangs plan for example. Why had I been thrown into this? Rita and Runt to the rescue… send in the parade…

"But when it's all dark and quiet, I try had to fight it! But I dream of home, that I won't have to roam…"

Boy it had taken a while to sneak out of that studio, but as soon as we all heard what was going down on the outside, we had to hurry the pace. By pure luck we'd made it into the trunk of that car. Our part of the plan was supposedly simple: Find the Warner's and fill them in on what's been going down. Dang what a flop this was turning out to be… Who knew those schmoozer's had kidnap up their sleeves? Well I could blame the dog for dragging me into that one, but where would that get me? Same place as when I didn't blame him, in the gutter. I sat perched atop his head as we scanned the area from some fancy hotels parking lot. Poor kids…

"But I ain't gonna love 'em, not gonna answer that call..."

We'd heard bits and pieces about this girl who had been hiding the three. All we knew was that she'd turned those three misfits' loose years back and lately they'd been staying with her, setting up some illusion of a home. Course, the big shots didn't like this when they found out and tried to strike a bargain with her; falling on their rears almost as badly as we did. Clearly she wasn't giving them up without a fight, and considering how things were going back on the inside, them Warner's had themselves a good set up hiding behind her skirts. Well I'll let them in on a secret soon enough; that set up doesn't last forever. As soon as she finds out what happened to her charges that score will die faster than Runts brain cells.

"Cuz humans don't mean that much to me… No. Not much at all…"

"Gee, pretty song Rita, yup, definitely pretty song."

Hey get me, I'm turning into an exposition, "Just keep your nose up, Runt, we'll pick up a scent sooner or later."

His eyes suddenly brightened and he started sniffing around again, dogs, I'll never understand them, "Rita! I gots something! There! That's the one, yup, definitely that one!"

I'll take his word for it; humans were all the same to me. We'd been waiting outside this hotel for a while and only now had the mutt picked up something. A young woman with wavy auburn hair and cloudy blue eyes was leaving and heading towards one of the cars in the lot.

"Come on!" Runt cried excitably, "Let's go ask her!"

I was thrown backwards as he charged forward, he was gonna blow it! "Not yet Runt!" He wasn't listening, "I'm getting travel sick!" I lunged forward and grabbed his ears like reigns, pulling them back harshly, "Heel boy!"

He skidded to a halt, jarring my forwards and onto the ground. The air was knocked out of me and I was stuck looking up at that canine's goofy face, tilted in confusion. And this is why I wanted a seatbelt attached to him… and a pair of brakes.

"Why we gotta stop, Rita, huh? Why we stopping?"

"Because, Runt, we don't know for sure if this is the one the Warner's are hiding out with. Not to mention, humans don't take kindly to strays." I peeked out from our hiding place and saw her crouching down next to her car, tying a shoelace. Bingo, she'd left the door open, "Sneak in the back, and don't get us caught!"

We just managed to scramble into the car and duck out of sight as she stood up and got in after us. The floor rumbled beneath my paws as the car started moving. Cheap hunk of junk, this thing looked like it was falling apart. Judging by the booster seat and child-lock, it was more likely that those tykes could fit into a scene like this. Tough break, sister.

"Ah-choo!"

"Quiet, ya buffoon!" I hissed, but it was too late, she nearly jumped out of her skin and the car had stopped. Purrr-fect.

"Guys I've told you about doing that toon stuff when I'm driving." She chuckled, turning to face us, "Oh…"

She took us in with a look of surprise and panic. Out of instinct, my back arched and I prepared a hiss. But Runt jumped up and chose to try a different approach and add a layer of his saliva on her face. Nice one, Runt, way to hold your ground. I smacked my forehead and dragged my paw down my face in exasperation. You laugh but I have to live with it. Well, cover blown, again, may as well bite the bullet. Geez, me and my cliché's…

"Your name Talia Nolan?"

Oh if I had a camera… Her face turned paler than the mice back at the studio, oh that was making me hungry. I chose to ignore the fact that although she was used to toon behaviour - call me Sherlock for noticing she'd mentioned it a second ago – we were animal toons, and humans were not used to animals talking. We were on a time limit, so I arched my brow to prompt her. Finally, she nodded.

"So you know the Warner's? They're staying with you?" I asked, knowing I was being harsh with my tone, but she was human and I didn't want to make chit-chat for longer than needed.

"Y-yes…" she stammered, shrinking back into her seat, "A-are you t-toons too?"

"Yup, toons, definitely toons." Runt nodded, excitement and stupidity taking over, "I'm Runt, but sometimes Rita calls me moron, isn't she a good dog? This is Rita, she's a good dog, uh-huh!"

At knowing that we were toons, she seemed to relax a little. She eyed me and was about to state the obvious when I cut her off, "Don't even go there, girlie."

"You know," she swallowed thickly, "if this had happened over a week ago I would have thought I was going insane."

"Well prepare yourself cuz you just might." I warned, "Are the Warner's still sticking at yours?"

"Yeah, are they friends of yours?"

Runt looked like he was going to start blathering again so I rushed on, "Something like that. Listen, thanks to you being as stubborn as a human can get, the big guns in the joint are getting miffed. Now here's the deal, you take us to the toons and we'll sort out the rest."

By the look on her face, I may as well have been speaking dog, "I don't understand… What's going on?"

Oh brother, give me strength, "The CEO's flipped, that's what! And if we don't do something, us toons are kaput!"

"Cat's foot?" Runt misheard me and sniffed; tracking his own imagination, "You see cat prints around here? Where's the cat? I'll get him good!"

"Kah-put!" I repeated slowly for him, "The big sleep! Down and out! Extinct! Dipped! History! Take your pick!"

"Uh…. I ain't so good with history." He said apologetically.

"Or metaphors either apparently." I muttered before looking back at the girl, "We'll explain later, but right now we gotta get moving!"

"But, I've got to pick up my brother and sister." She looked worried, "They know about toons so you're safe with them."

I'd forgotten about that, they wre her siblings after all and she was going to find out at some point. This wasn't my business, it wasn't what we were here for… Oh wow, this was going to be painful, "Don't bother wasting your time, girlie. The big shot's already got to them."

"What?" she demanded, eyes narrowing in anger.

Runt whimpered, "We heard bad people make a bad plan, d-definitely a bad plan. So me and Rita hid and tried to stop them but…" he rested his head on her lap for comfort, but didn't receive it.

"But what?" she ordered, her voice starting to crack. Boy here come the waterworks; no, wait, she was holding back so far.

I sighed and forced myself to look directly at her, "I'm sorry, girlie, but they wanted to give you a clearer warning for defying them so… they decided to 'pick them up' for you..."

*Talia's POV*

I stormed the front door, Rita and Runt following behind. My hands were trembling and my throat kept making these weird sobbing noises although I couldn't, no, wouldn't cry. When I first saw those two, I was stupid enough to think that two new toons would be pretty cool. Never did I think that they were going to give me the worse news of my life. The dog seemed a little too dim to fully know what was going on, but that cat was totally aware of everything with those sceptical turquoise eyes. As soon as we were inside, the Warner's came rushing down the stairs. They took one look at the two new additions and beamed. Oh god, how do I tell them…?

"Long time no see." Yakko commented as Runt pinned them to the floor and started licking their faces affectionately, "You want ketchup with that? We'll taste better…"

"Diiiiisgusting!" Dot squirmed, but patted his head all the same, "It's about time you guys broke out!"

"How'd you guys get here?" Wakko asked.

"The subway." Rita rolled her eyes, "When have you known us to stay put for long?" But then she turned serious, "You morons have got some major explaining to do!"

At that moment the phone rang, "I'LL GET IT!" They chanted.

"I'll get it!" I yelled, face burning.

At my harsh tone, they all froze. It was then that they actually looked at me, something must have clicked inside them that there was something seriously wrong here. Rita nodded over her shoulder to talk to them so that she could fill them in on what had happened. I heard it once; I didn't want to hear it again. My hands started to tremble as I picked the phone up, already knowing who was on the other end. My skin crawled as whoever was calling me was already laughing before I could even speak.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Miss. Nolan, what an eventful day it's been!"

"Where are they you sicko?" I demanded.

"Tut-tut, Miss. Nolan!" he mocked, "I really didn't want things to come to this, but you left me no choice. You just couldn't cooperate…"

"Let me talk to them! Please!" I begged, ignoring the eyes staring at me, "Then I'll do what you say!"

"Talk to who?" I could almost hear him smirking, "Your siblings? Are you sure you even had siblings, Talia?"

"What?"

"Maybe they were all in your head, just like you thought the toons were? Perhaps the toons are just in your head. Tell me, Talia, is this conversation even happening right now?"

I couldn't take that, he was confusing me more than I already was and my head was starting to spin, "Stop…" I whispered, my throat tightening.

He didn't; the questions came fast and taunting, making me feel sick, "Stop what? Can you tell me what's real Talia, and what's not? Are you sure there was a Flynn? Maybe Poppy was lost along with your mother? Did mother even leave you? Maybe it was daddy who was lost? Are the toons with you now, Talia, are you sure they're really there? It's been a while since you've taken medication, how long exactly? Are you even home right now? Perhaps you've been locked away for so long it just seems like home; maybe you've been alone all this time. How does that feel Talia, to be alone?"

"Please…" I sobbed, tears streaming down my face, I noticed that I'd sunk to my knees but didn't care, "Please don't do this to me…"

"You're doing it to yourself. And it all could have been avoided if you'd just listened to me from the start."

"Go to hell!" I spat.

"There's a simple way to end it all, Miss. Nolan." He resumed his calm demeanour, apparently growing bored of his games, "No doubt you received my little invitation via email; come to the studio, why not bring your friends?"

"Let me speak to Flynn and Poppy, please!"

"Come for a visit and you can speak in person." He chuckled, "It's a fair few hours to the studio, we'll expect you by tomorrow evening. You'd better get a move on. Have a pleasant night, Miss. Nolan."

"No! Wait, please!"

The line went dead. I was frozen in place on the floor, but still shaking like ice was running through my veins. This couldn't be right, surely this wasn't real! They were my little brother and sister. They were mine. No one could take them because they were mine! But this was ripping at my insides too much for it not to be real. Dot came over and prised the phone from my rigid hand and set it down, placing a hand on my shoulder. Wakko waved a hand in front of my face trying to snap me out of my trance and Runt rested his head on my lap. But for all I was aware of, they may as well have been a light breeze; invisible and barely noticeable. Tears streamed down my face and I was sobbing uncontrollably. I couldn't be sure exactly how long I was like that for, what did time matter anymore?

How could I have been so stupid? I let this happen, it was all my fault! I'd ignored and underestimated those psycho's and put everyone in danger. Now I was paying the price. I should have done something. Anything! I found that I'd been mumbling most of this out loud. Openly blaming myself. Confessing to the calls and threats. Cursing the callers for doing this to us. Declaring my hatred for myself. I should have done something…

Yakko dangled a white cloth in front of my face, making me jump, "We can't swim to the studio you know."

Despite the attempt at a joke, his tone was soft and comforting. I was shaking too much to take the hankie from him, so he took it upon himself to dab my tears away. Rita padded over to me with a look as if she knew what she wanted to say, but not sure if she would allow herself to. I swallowed thickly, and tried to speak, suddenly taking in what Yakko had just said; but my voice shook and sounded distorted.

"Th-the studio? W-we're going?"

Wakko pulled out his mallet from the neck of his jumper and narrowed his eyes, "Of course we are!"

"How else are we going to get them back?" Dot rolled her eyes as if it was obvious.

"No, no!" Rita warned, "I didn't drag our sorry behind out here to go one some search and rescue to some human kids! We're here to fill you in, then job done. We don't know you, you don't know us, get the picture?"

"I see no picture." Wakko muttered, not using his normal confused tone, but sounding very determined.

"We're a package deal." Yakko dusted his knuckles on his front challengingly, "Get one set of siblings, you get another free."

"All for one!" Wakko announced, giving his mallet a practice swing.

"And one for all!" Dot nodded.

"Times six." Yakko finished, arching an eyebrow at the feline.

Rita sighed, clearly outnumbered and not liking it at all, she gave me a sideways glance "Listen, kid, there's a lot of stuff going on up there and it ain't pretty. And it's gonna take a while to explain so I'd rather do it on the way so we have time to make a strategy so we don't go in blind."

She made it sound like a heavy military operation, but that meant she was taking it seriously and I appreciated that, "Why are they doing this? Why do they have to hurt them to get to you guys?"

"We're very high in demand; some girls got it, some girls don't." Dot answered, but she softened and tousled my hair, "Get up, soldier, we'll get our cadets back."

I shivered at the realisation of what they were doing, "But, by going back there, you'll be turning yourselves in. Who knows what they'll do to you, I can't let you do that! I can't lose you too!"

Yakko forced a smirk and started throwing punches, "Just when we thought we were out, they pull us back in!"

"I'm serious!" I begged, "I'll go alone, I'll get them out!"

"Sure you are…" Rita scoffed, "And no one is risking their hides for anyone. We've got a plan, right Runt?"

He nodded excitably, "That's right! The others back home -"

"It's not a home, Runt!" the feline snapped.

"Oh, uh, nope, definitely not a home…" he shifted slightly.

"Point being, there're some other toons back at the studio who are cooking up something good. If we get there and meet up with them without getting caught, it's easy pickings." She nodded at the idea.

"Then what're we waiting for?" Wakko asked, rushing towards the door.

I was so confused. What was happening at the studio? How many toons were there? What plan did they have and why did they need a plan in the first place? How could someone be so evil to kidnap two kids just to prove a point? Were my siblings okay? Why were they so willing to risk so much to help them? So many questions spinning around in my skull! I felt like I was going to pass out. I couldn't let them all put themselves at risk like this, but I needed to save Flynn and Poppy. There was too much conflict in my head to think straight. But I had to do what was right.

"Just drive the car and you can stop if you don't like what you hear." Rita offered, narrowing her eyes at me.

I nodded and let my anger fuel me, "Fine, but you had better tell me everything that's been going on."

She agreed with a passive flick of the tail and followed the others outside towards the car. I quickly printed off the email invite and folded it into my pocket. I didn't know what was going to happen from this point on. But at least I would be getting some answers. And I'd be that much closer to getting Flynn and Poppy back to me. But what about the toons? No, don't start that again, Talia, listen to what Rita has to say first, and then you can figure out what to worry about. I flinched as something tapped my arm gently.

"They're going to be fine, kiddo, we all are." Yakko insisted, using his fingers to push the corners of my mouth into a smile.

"I want to believe that." The smile didn't last, "This is all my fault!"

"Why? Did you know all this was going to happen?" He shook his head to answer himself for me, "No, you didn't. So it's not your fault."

"I mean -"

"Listen, I'm going to let you in on a secret; the reason why you can trust me on this."

He beckoned me closer so that I was almost at eye level with him. He winked and flashed one of his signature sly grins with an eyebrow wriggle to match. Finally, he held out his arms like he was about to take a bow. Wow, this must be a big secret if he's using the entire set…

"You can believe me when I say it'll be okay because;" he announced, "Yakko spelt backwards, is Okkay!"

A/N:

I've been waiting for a good place to put that quote XD And the song Rita quoted was from 'When Rita met Runt'.

So, as promised, this is where the stuff starts getting gritty! And I'm still not giving away who the boss is, but you may get some hints in the next chapter. I tried to keep them all in character, it was weird writing for Rita, but I tried to stick to her dry, sarcastic way of talking, I hope I did well and I hope I did okay at the drama.

Again, please try not to give away spoilers in reviews, but I still want to know what you think. Until next time!

"Why? What are you doing until next time?"

The same thing I always do until next time, Pinky… attempt to write the next chapter! XD