Here it comes. The dense atmosphere gets that much more noticeable.

Chapter 7: The Worth of a Sib

He couldn't believe it. A murder! No, three murders! So close to the studio too! How unprecedented! This couldn't have happened at a worse time.

The studio wasn't exactly in the best shape it's been now that Animaniacs! was over. It would've been smooth sailing onto the next project had this nonsense not happened. The situation with the late payments with the Warners was the least of his worries now. The publicity the lot was getting wasn't the kind they wanted.

As of now, Thaddeus Plotz was pulling at his hair and mulling over how awful this situation was. One look out the window and he could see investigators and police detectives scouting the area. They had nothing to hide so why couldn't those guys just take a hike?!

All the people who were present on the lot were forced to stay. Plotz recounted the people in his confused and jumbled head. Rita and Runt had stayed behind and decided to put their journey to the big leagues of Broadway on the back-burner to help Yakko and Dot find Wakko. To do something so drastic and risky to their careers for the sake of three brats was astounding. He doubted he'd be able to stomach the fear of losing such an opportunity.

Pinky and the Brain lived at the Acme Labs. They weren't going anywhere. Not just that but their show had been a huge success as well. What came next for them wasn't to be acted upon right now though. There was too much of a ruckus to take the new spin-off into account.

The Goodfeathers were still around because they had never gotten their paychecks. He was about ready to fix them for those birds when he screwed up the amount the first three times before this fiasco happened.

Mindy and Buttons came to pick up the girl's mother's miniscule paycheck. That just baffled Plotz. That woman was hardly ever on set. As of now, the two of them were being questioned on the floor below.

Slappy and Skippy… were investigating the Water Tower. It was under his permission too. He had nothing more to say about it.

Dr. Scratchnsniff, Ralph, and Hello Nurse all worked on the lot. They couldn't have gone anywhere either.

"Whether coincidence or by some odd brand of fate… all the main characters from that show are STUCK here…" Plotz tapped his fingers on the desk. What good was it to know that? Maybe he was just looking for more things to freak him out.

After all, all this excitement was making him feel reluctantly younger and more outgoing. It felt kind of good but he still wasn't sure whether that was truly a good thing or not.

The police were starting to annoy Dot. She realized this was standard procedure but how ridiculous was this? Being questioned by them when the murders didn't even happen on the lot was stupid. Granted the park was extremely close to the studio and this was the closest place to find people entering it but…

Dot grumbled. She couldn't really fault their logic. It was just that it was just her and Yakko here and she didn't want to be the one handling this anymore. Yakko had just gotten that much worse.

After being denied forgiveness by Wakko and forced to being saddled with the guilt of knowing it happened because of him, he comes to find out that the three jerks he owed money and probably wanted dead, actually died.

Her poor big brother…

Looking at him now, he seemed like an empty shell. It looked like Yakko for the most part. If you ignore the unkempt fur and the tired eyes he looked like Yakko at least. However, on the inside, so much had changed. He was so different now and it was quite possibly the worst way he could've turned out after the show's end.

"We thank you for your patience Ms. Warner." The officer was being formal with her. It sounded weird to her. She was a little kid being referred to as "Ms. Warner". What's the deal with that?

"Um… y-you're welcome. I just really want to be alone now so I can take care of my brother." She admitted to them. The questioning session consisted of the expected. Where were they when it happened? Who do you think could've done it? Did we know the victims?

The answer to the final question made them stay longer, which bothered Dot immensely. Dot had no choice but to reveal that Yakko had owed them money but she didn't go any deeper than that. She answered for Yakko when his turn for questioning came. Thing was, he hadn't spoken a single word since that news report ended.

The officers were a tad confused and frustrated by Yakko's behavior but Dot assured them that he was going through a bit of a handicapped episode right now. It took a while but they eventually accepted that and finally left the two of them alone.

Dot turned to Yakko. He was still sitting there on the couch in that same scary position he had suddenly curled up into before. He was hugging his knees to his chest and looking out ahead at nothing. That look of fear was etched on his face and it wouldn't come off.

She walked to his side and sat down next to him, putting on her best smile. She grabbed his hand gently, noticing how he jumped when she made contact with him.

"I'm here Yakko. I'll always be on your side. So will Wakko. He may be angry now but he can never stop loving you. I know it." Dot's voice was soft.

Yakko just kept looking out ahead. She figured he must've felt so pathetic. He was the older brother. The oldest of the three Warners was the title he had always held from the very beginning. He was responsible and the one who felt the need to make both her and Wakko feel better when they were down. Now it was reversed in the most devastating way possible.

Yakko just had so many things wrong with him. She knew his mind wasn't well. She knew his sadness had reached a peak. She knew that his fear was almost incomprehensible.

Dot looked at his face as it didn't react to her.

"You know that I would never lie to you about that right?" She spoke, a smile ever present on her face.

Yakko shook a bit. She saw tears spill from his eyes. She was happy she was being given a reaction… but this wasn't the one she wanted. Can't Yakko smile, even a little bit, anymore? Even a fake one would be nice...

She was surprised when she was graced with the gift of speech from the still Warner.

"I don't feel like the same person anymore. You sure you're saying all this to the right guy?" Yakko spoke, his voice cracked and tired.

"I'm positive I am. You're still Yakko, no matter how much you change. Wakko and I are your Warner brother and Warner sister. We'll always love and care for you. "Dot snuggled closer to Yakko with her head next to his. His body felt really cold.

'Always…?'

So that means they'll help me when I kill again.

'Me? Kill? … again?'

Sound like fun?

'No! I… what…? Kill…I... killed them…?'

Wakko knew what this meant. The way they kept questioning him about his brother's behavior and the way everything kept leading back to what he had last seen Yakko doing…

It was clear that they had Yakko in their sights as the prime suspect for the murders he had heard about from the hospital T.V.

It was so surreal. He was tortured. He was strung up on a wall and strapped to a table in a cold, dank cellar because of those three. He was prodded with sticks and stabbed with knives. He was hit was mallets and forced to vomit for their amusement. He was told over and over that they'd keep him forever if they felt like it and he had almost given up hope on ever escaping. He had been thoroughly tortured and been left with wanting to see them…

He hated admitting this… it made him feel sick…

… He wanted them dead. He really did.

And then they died. They were killed. Heads were cut right off and their bodies were hacked through like butter…

This made him feel even worse. He couldn't get over how terrible he felt and how conflicting his emotions regarding this were. They were actually dead. Was he happy about that? Would any decent person be happy that three teenagers were brutally murdered even if they had tortured him so?

These police were just making it even more unbearable now. They were hitting him with these questions that almost, outright accused his older brother of being a murderer. Who did these idiots think they were? Yakko may be the oldest but he's still a kid! He knew Yakko! He may have changed a whole lot but Yakko would never do anything like that.

He was angry at him for getting him into this mess. He was still mad that it was his fault for his coma and hospitalization. However, he couldn't deny it. He still loved his brother, no matter how hard he was trying to convince himself that he couldn't anymore.

"Did he say anything about where he was going when he had heard that you were attacked by them?" This detective spoke. Hello Nurse looked annoyed even. Subtlety was not this guy's strong suit.

"No! He didn't. I told him to leave and he left." Wakko said, turning away from them. He didn't want to answer any more questions. They had obviously gathered enough clues at this point that had pinned the Warners as connected to those guys. They were indeed connected to them. That didn't change the fact that they were just kids and that they didn't typically engage in freaking axe-murder!

"Why did you tell him to leave? Did you tell your sister to go as well?" He asked.

"No. Just him…" Wakko grumbled out.

"Why? Did you two have a fight?" He just kept prodding him.

"Why would you need to know that?! You're just teasing me now! Go away!" Wakko screamed, coughing a bit as his hoarse voice almost gave out. Hello Nurse ran to his side and patted the side of his body.

"I've went with this for as long as I can allow. Please leave. The patient can't be allowed to get too stressed out." Hello Nurse made herself rather clear. The detective didn't look like he wanted to turn away even for a second. However, he felt as though he had no choice but to comply and decided to walk out.

"Stupid police…" Wakko muttered under his breath. "Officer or criminal… I hate them both…"

Ralph stood by the door as the detectives interviewing Mindy and Buttons were given new information from the others who had gone out to visit the people they figured were primarily connected to the situation. Truth be told, after the incident happened, it hadn't taken long at all for their investigation to lead straight toward the Warners. The situation with Wakko's hospitalization was one of the things that helped clinch their obvious involvement among other things.

"… It seems our session will have to be extended." The one detective sitting in front of the child and her dog spoke as he was given the notes the other detectives took. One was from the visit to the Water Tower and the other was from Wakko at the hospital. All the others were interesting but those two stuck out the most just from how well connected they were.

So far, what they had was that these three teenagers were connected to Yakko mainly. Wakko had refused to answer a lot of the questions willingly but they had been able to piece together that those three teens were the ones who had kidnapped him from the combined info the Warners had actually decided to supply them with. They were still kids so it was understandable how they felt the need to stretch the truth a bit. It was their job to see past that though.

Now this guy had been told that Wakko had told Yakko to leave his room but not Dot, which meant that he was mad only at his older brother. All of this was leading more toward Yakko for some reason. They had no idea why or how but they knew he was their best bet to getting anywhere with this investigation. His unfortunate "handicapped mentality" as her little sister put it wasn't going to keep them from figuring this out.

"Now Mindy and Buttons; you two were the ones who discovered Wakko's body in the dumpster that day. Do you have any idea as to who it could've been?" The detective asked them both, as if expecting a coherent answer.

Buttons eyed the man a bit. He didn't like this person. He had decided that from the get go. However, refusing to comply wasn't an option right now. He shook his head as if to answer "No". Mindy did the same.

The interview continued in the form of "Yes and No" possible answers.

They were getting somewhere. That was certain.

Why was it that the world felt so quiet or and scary, all around you, after you've entered a state of prolonged fear and anxiety? When someone goes about their normal, happy-go-lucky day it can sometimes be filled with good times and bad times. Than there were those times where something would scare you or shock you to your very core. The song that was unknowingly playing in your mind would turn off and you senses were suddenly a lot sharper.

It was easier to hear the crickets chirping outside in the dead of night. It was easier to notice how tense the atmosphere usually got at night to the point where dropping a pin seemed to spell doom for fear of the sound it would make when it hit the floor. Everything is on edge and your heart beats faster. It's almost literally the only thing you can pay attention to until an unexpected and much louder sound scares you out of your funk for a few seconds. It takes so much longer just to dive back into that euphoric state of unease you were in too. You suddenly desire that state of unease afterward, as it's much more desirable than a constant state of panic.

As of now, Yakko was shifting constantly between both those stages. There was a lingering feeling of fright and terror about his room, his bed, this tower, his life, and his mind that made him sit up with the covers barely over him, just staring straight out at the wall in front of him.

That feeling wasn't going away. It was only growing and getting worse. He started to wonder if his heart beat would ever stop being so damn noticeable. It was driving him insane…

It was so quiet. He was just sitting there, alone in his room, trapped within the confines of his mind and what had just happened. It was sinking in ever deeper that those three kids he had just spoken to… some short time ago… he couldn't remember when…

Those kids were dead.

Yakko rubbed his palms over his face.

It was making him feel so sick and vulnerable thinking about this.

A bloody axe... Did the news say it was an axe? The news said it was, most likely, but he had told Dot that it definitely was. How'd he know that though?

How could he have…? Why was this bothering him so much…? Sure it was murder, and a rather gruesome, horrible one at that but to fret so much over it not in just fear but with… noticeable excitement…

"Hello Yakko. Drink up. I come baring Hot Chocolate." Dot's sing-song voice came into the room. Yakko flinched rather hard when she entered. It was an incredibly odd and paranoid looking flinch as well. It made Dot instantly feel bad for Yakko and it showed when the sudden frown came to her face.

She set the tray onto the table next to his bed and climbed in to give him a hug.

Yakko was taken aback by the sudden display of affection. He blinked with his mouth still a bit open from his constant mumbling to himself of nonsense words before she entered and managed to summon enough courage to hug her back.

His embrace ended early but hers continued on for a few good minutes before she sighed and let go.

"Yakko. I made this for you. Please drink up." Dot spoke softly. She was trying to sound as comforting as she could. Yakko had to admit that among a sea of surrounding darkness from the night sky outside the window and the absence of any sound outside of his heartbeat… just seeing her sit next to him and trying her best to be that warm radiance in his life was grand.

It only lasted a second though. Yakko didn't even have time to smile or to say something back before he felt himself slump further down. His pupils were shaking. Dot recognized that as a sign that he was about to cry.

"Yakko. Please. Enough crying. We can get through all this. When has a Warner been one to give up huh?" Dot spoke as if choking back tears of her own. She absolutely had to remain the strong one. There was no other choice.

"I… I think…" Yakko finally spoke. Just like a few times earlier today, his voice was cracked and a bit hoarse.

"Y-You think what? Go ahead. Tell me." Dot forced a smile and put her hand on her brother's cheek. She could feel how cold his body was and just how much he was fidgeting and shaking. It was terrible.

Then his next sentence came.

"… I think… that I might've killed them…"

Dot's eyes stayed open. They were glued to Yakko's features now.

"… I really think… I might've killed those three guys. I-I don't remember doing it but I can't get the idea out of my head!" Yakko's speech was growing faster and more crazed. He was terrified of his words and of himself. But what could he do about that? He was himself. He was living with a murderer and it was him. He couldn't get away from himself. He couldn't remember but he felt the emotions after the deed was done. A part of him was scared. The other part was happy.

"I felt happy. I still do. I know I do! I murdered them! Killed them with an axe in cold blood and I'm happy! I'm insane! Help me! No! Stay away! I don't wanna kill you! Go away NOW!" Yakko's was yelling and screaming now, which knocked Dot out of her deep state of frozen shock and awe.

He felt his shoulders get grabbed by her and she looked him dead in the eyes. Yakko didn't last long at all just looking back at her. He was letting the tears roll down his face now.

"… Yakko… Do you…" Dot spoke, her mind feeling oddly blank. "… Do you really think it was you? Are you a hundred percent certain? This isn't just a horrifying mental stress related reaction on your part…?"

Dot's words and her mannerisms… They made it clear to Yakko that she had considered this. Not long after her talk with Yakko earlier, a scary thought struck her head. It was one that she never before would've dreamed could have been true. She had decided to ignore her inquiry for the sake of being in denial. After the news report and after putting two and two together regarding how Yakko's absence mingled with the time of their deaths. That coupled with how they were related to his situation and how they had recently done something unspeakably bad to Wakko…

Thinking about it now... it was probably a given. It was almost glaringly obvious even but… it was still Yakko. That fact alone made her tell herself that it was okay to ignore all the warning signs and treat it like it was just an average, off-the-cuff homicide enacted by some unrelated lunatic.

However, here she was, face to face with an increasingly shaking and crying Yakko. He had just confirmed her ridiculous sudden idea … but… there was hope in how he said he couldn't remember… maybe something odd happened with his mind where he… blacked out that night and thought hard about wanting to kill them and did so in a nightmare he had… a-and then it got to him that much worse when the news came the very next day that they were dead…

It had to be that ridiculously implausible scenario. There's no way Yakko would blank out in pure rage and resort to murder like a legitimate psychopath.

"There's no way you could've-" Dot started but was halted by Yakko.

"I did."

Those last two words. The speech it came with was so sad and so sure of itself. Dot felt her hands clench tightly on her older brother's shoulders. Her head loomed down and she felt her body writhe and twitch with a swell of panicked emotions.

"You couldn't have! There's… There's no way MY older brother would -"

"Let go of me…"

"Huh?"

"I SAID LET GO OF ME!" Yakko's sudden shout was followed by a smack across Dot's face that sent her reeling off the side of the bed and onto the floor. She stared up at her brother with a hurt and terrified expression.

"… Y… Yakko…?" She mouthed as she watched him reel and fidget on the bed in anger. He was clutching his skull as if trying to hang on to his sanity for dear life.

'It's out in the open now! She knows!'

It's your own fault.

'What do I do?'

Kill her.

'Wh-What? N-No… I can't… Dot is my… I love her…'

That reaction of hers was clearly a sign of rejection and disbelief on her part. She's entered a state of unforgiveness, just like Wakko.

'Th-That may be true… b-but…'

It IS true. I said once before that Wakko saying he hated you now doesn't mean he doesn't love you anymore. However, it should've only been something you held on to for the time when he would come around and accept that you are who you are now.

'A-And if they can't accept that… than… they aren't worth…'

Living.

'So my sibs aren't worth...'

They are not.

'So kill her.'

Kill her.

Kill her.

Dot began to back away as Yakko fell over the edge of the bed and hit the floor with a thud that seemed to ignore the fact that he had dropped on his head. He scampered up and stood on his wobbly feet, with vacant and somehow focused eyes.

"… Yakko… you're… you're scaring-"

He lunged at her and wrapped his hands around her neck. Dot gasped and started to panic, prying at his arms in desperation. She choked out words through a hacked cough.

"Y-Yakk-… Yakko… P-Please stop!" Dot started to cry as she was pushed back. Her older brother… what was he doing? Was this an attempt to kill her?

"… D-Dot…" Yakko spoke through gritted teeth.

"… P-please… d-d… don'…. kill me…" She couldn't believe this. She was actually begging Yakko not to kill her of all things? What was going on?

Yakko's face contorted from that of a vacant expression back to one of pain and sorrow. He instantly released Dot from his grasp and watched as her head fell back to the floor. She coughed and gagged as she held her neck, trying to suck back in the air she had lost.

She opened her eyes and spotted Yakko. Instead of worry and fear for his well-being, she was overcome with terror. All the concern she had for him had instantly evaporated into a pure sensual alert that told her that she was in the presence of a murderer and that she needed to get away. However, her more composed side was fighting to come back and reassure her that he was still Yakko and that he just needed to be calmed down. That side was being easily subdued though. The fact of that matter was that he had just tried to choke her to death! She had spoken Yakko's name in a way that had to plead for him not to kill her!

Yakko's face was still wearing that pained expression. It melted into something similar to the terrified expression Dot was currently wearing. He had regained his composure but lost it again in a different way when he panicked.

"DOT! I-I'm so sorry! I'm so SO sorry! A-Are you okay?" Yakko shouted down at her while shaking her shoulder's a bit. Dot tensed up, not sure how to respond. "P-Please… I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

'Yes you did.'

"I-I did?! I really did! I'm crazy! I tried to- N-no…! I can't… n-no, she'll tell a-and then people will find out and then everything will be ruined for us!" Yakko clutched her shoulders a bit tighter while staring straight into her still crying face. Yakko's face was dribbling down tears as well, though his mind was in an intense reel of panic and shock.

"You… You can't tell anybody about this! Not that I killed those guys or tried to kill you! I won't do it again! I promise! S-so promise me!" Yakko shouted. Dot whimpered.

'Kill her.'

"No! I love her!" Yakko screamed, confusing and affectively scaring Dot even more. She had no idea who he was talking to with that statement. He suddenly began speaking back to her. "I love you. I do. You know that right?" Yakko forced a smile on his scary, tear ridden face.

Dot nodded slowly, almost feeling as though she absolutely had to or else…

"G-Good… th-than promise me… This doesn't leave this room! Understand?!" Yakko raised his voice but was still smiling at her. She nodded faster than before. Whatever it took to please him right now was what she wanted to do. She just wanted him to let go.

He finally did and she plopped back onto the floor. Without a word of concern or a question for his actions, she bolted up and made her way to the door. When she reached it she looked at him as he sat on his knees in that same spot.

Before Yakko could turn all the way around to face her, she shut the door and made her way out of the tower…

Dot panted hard as she kept her back to the door of the tower. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to descend the latter and go off in search of help. It had to have been the impression that Yakko had just made into her…

She felt her chest heaves slow a tiny bit but they couldn't stop. She was sweating and panting so hard. It was terrible. This feeling was of terror. Behind this door she had her back to and inside her own home was an insane… murderer.

N-No… it was her older brother…! It was Yakko!

"Wh-Who do I tell…? N-No… I can't tell, h-he's right. If this were found out he'd be arrested or put into a mental home a-and I'd never see him again…" Dot's thoughts were spastic and disgruntled. "B-But he's finally lost his mind now. H-He'll kill me if I stay with him too long. If I don't tell anyone, it'll just get worse… and Wakko will be put into danger when he comes back… b-but Yakko…"Dot started to fidget and cry.

She fell to her knees and started bawling out into the night sky.

Yakko was her brother too. She couldn't help but be worried for his future even if he was dangerous now! What should she do then? She didn't know. She was the youngest and most vulnerable. She had been so scared! She was choked! Yakko had tried to kill her!

Dot curled up into a scared little ball on the ground and cried even harder, not caring about how her loud echoes of fear and sadness boomed across the sky. She had a right to pour all this out of her system after the horror scene she had been at the center of.

She didn't want to die. She wanted it even less to be at the hands of Yakko, the older brother that both she and Wakko looked up to so immensely.

It was impossible. She simply couldn't handle this alone. She ran to the ladder and slid down to the bottom. She needed to talk to someone. Anyone! She'd make them promise not to tell when it got to that but right now, the only thing on her mind was finding someone, anyone she knew and could trust with her feelings and words!

She was running away from the Water Tower currently and leaving it's cold atmosphere behind. It housed an insane person now. It was her older brother, Yakko Warner…

"WHAT HAPPENED!?" Yakko slammed a lamp against the wall, making it smash into several large pieces. The room went dark instantly, but flickers from the broken bulb kept him from being unable to see. "Wh-Why?! Why did I-?"

It's something that needed to be done. Do not fret.

'I TRIED TO KILL MY LITTLE SISTER!'

And wasn't it fun? Have you ever felt a rush like that before?

'Screw this! Stop it! Shut up!'

You're telling yourself to shut up and yet you're still talking.

'Go away! Leave! I don't want this to happen anymore! Three people are dead because of me! I almost added my little sister sib to that list!'

Maybe she doesn't have to die now.

'H-Huh?'

Just keep her alive and around for the sake of seeing if she'll go with the way I am now.

'A murderer…'

Who enjoys ignoring the rules of life and doing what he pleases.

'… I-If me and my sibs … were all with this together… th-than maybe my fear and hate for it will go away… I-I could be happy again…'

You can be happy without them. If they refuse, they die.

'I-I could? Could I really?'

Yakko backed against the wall of the room and slid to the floor. The atmosphere around him was darker than ever and the image of Dot's scared, tear streaming, drooling, and choking body lingered in his head.

A flash of her dead body crossed his mind. It made him laugh.

He slapped himself rather hard, leaving a red mark across his cheek.

"… Which thoughts are mine? Which ones belong to me…?"

The silence that hit him after he asked that question aloud made him whimper and curl up like the kid he was.

"… I can't… I can't figure it out… s-somebody help me… please…"

Silence. No one was there.

Yakko's whimper turned into a sob. He was crying.

"… Please… I... I'm so scared..."

No answer.

"… Don't leave me alone… with my thoughts... I don't wanna…"

It was no use.

As creepy as this black and white news report was to Skippy, he couldn't make heads or tails of what was happening here.

Aunt Slappy had found an old recorded video tape of the fiasco that plagued the studio oh so long ago. There was one back at the house but Plotz had a copy of it too. Since none of them were allowed to leave the lot until the investigation was over they had to make due with sleeping in one of the heavily equipped garages on the lot.

When he had first heard about that incident where all the people in suits went crazy and tried lopping each other's heads off, he'd been rocked to his very core. All the while he had been doing things for Animaniacs, he had never seen this as anything more than a rather dubious fun-time that earned him quite the amount of checks to save up for his plans for the future. It all seemed so innocent.

"… But that Water Tower…" Skippy pressed stop and replayed it over again. "That creepy… thing… Is it really alright to just let them stay inside it… I mean... I guess they've got nowhere else to be but-"

A thunderous banging on the front door made him jolt up and smack against the ceiling. He was a bit on edge. It being night time didn't help.

When he landed back on the couch his eyes were rolling but he managed to stumble up and wobble over toward the door despite the cuckoos. "C-Coming…ugh…" He groaned and managed to open the front door. He'd have asked for Slappy to do it but she was asleep. She said something about being tired after stealing all the appliances she needed from "that cheapskate" to make sure this place looked like her living room…

He supposed it was enough, considering she was sleeping in a comfy looking chair in the corner without a care in the world. Good thing for her, because as soon as Skippy opened the door he knew he'd be anything but comfy by the way the youngest of the Warners flung her arms around him and made him stumble all the way back in, surprised.

She wasn't saying anything. She was just crying hard into him and it made the confused squirrel fall back onto his bottom in a bit of a sudden daze. She was screaming and blubbering and hiccupping and Skippy didn't know what to make of it.

"Y-Yakko! Choking and… scary! I can't… Please… help… somebody… J-just don't… " She was screaming at him and trying to get out her full thoughts and feelings at him. She loved Yakko and didn't want anything bad to happen to him but he was insane now. He was terrifying and she didn't want to be anywhere near him right now. How do you still love someone like that? Why would she not want to see someone take him away? It was because he was still her older brother. However, at the same time, he wasn't. Something had happened inside his head to make him this way. Was it his fault? Does the collapse of one's mind rest blame on the person who it happened to?

Does she blame Yakko for losing himself? Does she blame the mental condition? Does she blame the world? What actions should she take? What happens next? If they take him away will he be gone forever? Would that be for the best? Would it benefit her and Wakko's safety and peace of mind?

"How should I KNOW!" Dot yelled grabbing at her head and curling up on the ground, with tears puddling the floor rather excessively. All those questions; every single one of them, had caused a huge pang of anger, fear, and pain to strike. If there was some sort of clear path ahead that told her what truly was going on and what was the right way to react and treat it, then maybe things would be a bit calmer…

She'd still be saddled with the fact that her brother had lost it but perhaps her mind would've been a bit clear… and could focus on the overwhelming sadness of the situation instead…

Even contemplating herself actually knowing what was happening and what to do didn't lead her into a comfortable direction. How could one exist now that this had happened?

Skippy was shaking and a bit scared himself by now. He had no idea what this was about and her rambling wasn't making his senses any clearer. In the corner Slappy had bumbled awake from her rather deep slumber and was eyeballing the scene in front of her, not sure what to make of it.

"You two got somethin' you wanna tell me?" Slappy grumbled out.

Skippy wasn't too worried about whether or not Dot would repel him, so he decided it'd be comfort enough to hold her close. She seemed to actually want that and had no problems crying into his body.

"She definitely has something to say at least." Skippy faced his aunt. "Although, I don't know if she's ready to do much talking right now…"

Slappy glanced at her just once. The wailing she was doing was hard and there was a tiny bruise forming around her neck area.

"… No, I suppose she wouldn't be …"

"And what're we gonna say when we get there? Sorry we didn't kick your butt outta the tavern when you came in under your own accord?" Pesto snarled as the three Goodfeathers flapped their way toward the Water Tower.

"Hey. Don't worry about it alright. We're stuck here anyway, might as well get everything peaking at out our consciousness outta the way." Bobby remarked with a sneer. It'd be a treat seeing Pesto try and apologize.

"Consciousness? I ain't got nothing on my noggin. I did nothing wrong. You encouraged the kid to have a drink." Pesto responded, almost smacking his cheek against Bobby's as he stared at his companion with maddening intensity.

"Details." Bobby sputtered out before he noticed that Squit had stopped. "Hey, what're you doin'?"

"Yakko's down there." Squit pointed out. The other two zipped right beside Squit and looked below, spotting the oldest Warner trudging across the asphalt and making his way from the tower.

"What's he doing?" Pesto inquired, not sure if he liked seeing this kid out so late at night.

"Only one way to find out." Squit chimed in. They dived back and flew straight down in front of Yakko in a flash. The Warner stopped in his tracks, taking in their familiar figures without shifting his rather stoic and straight-forward gaze.

"What's the hubbub? You on a late night pleasure walk?" Bobby asked.

"The detectives still aren't too keen on letting people wander around. They get rather over the top with their procedures when it comes to murders where toons are suspected to be involved." Squit explained.

Yakko looked them over with his glazed eyes and swatted the one clear in his way to the side before walking on. That happened to be Bobby.

"Whoa! Geez. What's eatin' his cheese?" Bobby grumbled out and noticed Yakko disappear behind a building.

"And you wanted to apologize. Feh." Pesto flew off, not wanting to dwell on this person any longer. The other two birds looked toward Yakko's general direction before deciding to take off as well. Whatever that horrible feeling in the pits of their stomachs were, it wasn't something they wanted to investigate.

Yakko walked on, stopping by the dumpster behind the building he walked around, and dragged out an axe. It was stained red on the blade and just holding it made Yakko shiver with delight.

'It's just one quick check… no need to worry…'

What's one more murder? What's stopping you from taking Plotz' head?

'Just a check up… I'll just observe him…'

With an axe? I know what you really want to do.

'Hehehe. M-Maybe I do. Y-yeah. I can try… it sounds like so much fun…'

"I'm so bored…" Plotz grumbled. Well, maybe 'bored' wasn't the right word since he actually did have plenty he needed to get done but the urge to finish it all just wasn't coming to him.

He knew full well about the secrets and the mystery behind that Water Tower. He didn't know what that thing's deal really was of course. No one did. However, he had extensive knowledge about what had happened all those years ago on the studio lot concerning that thing's terrifying presence. Just being able to see it in the distance from his office filled him with dread.

He loved the view. He loved his office. It'd be so nice not to have to look outside and feel that twinge of uneasiness whenever his gaze shifted toward the tower. It even made the Warners themselves more terrifying in his eyes. They lived in that thing and yet they were always so happy and spastic and in-your-face with how great they treated their lives.

Their lives were like one endless party before and during the show's run. Than when it ended, that's when they changed. That's when this mess started. The process was short but it was building up over time. Those two former employees on the news were murdered by decapitation; they bit it the same way those corrupted by that insanity spell that plagued the lot all those years ago had. A now, three more people; teenagers who were just hanging by the lot had bit it the same exact way.

Whoever was being influenced to kill like this, he knew it was connected to whatever happened all those years ago. But no-one knew just what DID happen or why! 60 years later and not a single answer had come.

"I don't get it. Hypnosis? Swamp gas? What could've possibly happened to make all those people go crazy. And why… WHY is it happening again… ?" Plotz flipped through his notes and old black and white pictures of goings on from over the years. "It's almost as if someone's been toying with me. Willing all this to happen whenever he or she saw fit… If this is happening again now it can't be something spontainous and off the cuff. There's got to be some kind of reason…!"

He stopped at an old picture of the Water Tower, after it's initial creation.

"… I'll get to the bottom of this. I swear by all that is-"

THWACK!

Plotz let out a yelp and fell off his seat. He just as quickly jumped back up and saw something truly horror ridden.

The blade of an axe had just been slammed through the front of his door. It was cutting down the very front and chipping off chunks of wood, sending them spiraling across the floor.

Plotz stayed where he was, frozen behind his desk, and starring at the dry blood on the edge of the weapon as it violently speared through the door some more. He stayed like that for a little too long before the sound of the next chop electrified his insides and sent him into panic mode. The CEO scampered toward his phone and picked it up with his now shaky and sweaty hands.

All that stuff he was thinking before. It was gone. The only thing running through his mind were pleads of mercy and survival instinct. He dialed the number on the phone and watched as the door was burst open with a rather extensive hole leading into his office. He slammed the phone down, knowing that anyone he called wouldn't make it in time. He rushed toward the window with his very own mallet, in an attempt to smash it open and jump. Anything! Anything at all to get away! There was no way he wanted to die here!

Just about when he was ready and willing to smash it open and make the jump, the hacking and slashing had stopped. Plotz' heart leapt to his throat and he immediately took that to mean that whoever was invading was currently inside.

At least he figured that'd be the logical conclusion. But when he turned around, no one was there. He blinked and stared at the room's interior. The front door was demolished and outside the hole was… a black void. He couldn't see outside it.

Plotz shakingly tip-toed toward the door and fiddled with the knob before he gulped and stopped himself. With a small in-take of breath he flung the door open and readied his mallet.

Than he just stood there with his mallet raised and watched as the door bounced harmlessly off the opposite wall. It made a small creaking sound as it shifted to a slow stop.

The hallway was empty.

"… … " Plotz lowered the mallet and collapsed onto the floor. Almost immediately afterward, his cellphone went off which made him jolt. He would've had a heart attack if it wasn't for his unusual knack for quick composure. He answered the phone, noticeably shaky to the point where it was impossible keeping it all the way to his ear without fear of dropping it.

"Daaah, youse called sir?" Ralph was on the other end.

He did complete the phone dial, didn't he?

"Uh… y-yes… I did… um… Ralph…" Plotz began.

"Hmm?" Ralph's simpleton like tone was suddenly a blessing to his ears.

"Send… erm… just get up here. Take as many people we're supposed to consider important up with you." Plotz was having trouble articulating his words. "We have a situation and… I'm not feeling so well…"

"You sick sir?" Ralph asked.

"No… I'm just… not up to being alone right now…"