There's a point where you can't turn back. Discovery changes everything and the perception and reaction to what's been done can sometimes have your future decided for you. For better or for worse…

(And I'd love to extend a very grateful hand out to all those who are reading, reviewing, and/or enjoying this story. Your support and reception makes me extraordinarily happy. Truly it does.)

Chapter 10: Loving Insanity

Each stomp through the puddles seemed to create some sort of active pulse throughout his body. His energy seemed to be welling up along with his determination and drive.

He knew what this was. An urge to kill… He'd felt this urge to murder and maim and rip and tear until there was nothing left! His mind was so clouded, he didn't care who he did it to despite the fact that he had a very clear target.

Those monsters that took Wakko from the hospital; they were the target of his aggression. His thoughts were swirling with how unfair the situation presented before he and his siblings was. They had done so much for this studio lot and Burbank in general. He had started off trying to embrace this downward slope as something that could lead them into a future worth living in rather than going the way of past retired Warner Brothers and Disney characters. While they lived in the gutter, wallowing in pity over their lost fame, Yakko would make a living for himself and would teach his siblings to move forward.

When the limelight drifts away they'll find a new one, for they are the Warner's three!

Yakko slammed the blunt end of his axe against a wooden post as he ran by it, the anger flaring as he gritted his teeth and blazed ahead.

'Then the world threw up its middle finger and took all our money; took all of Wakko's hope and made him act out; took away my little sister's smile…'

Yakko's eyes twitched.

'… Took away my sanity… but that was a mistake. With my mind the way it is, I don't have to worry about sympathy or this world's window-dressed view of morality getting in my way. This is how it's supposed to be.'

Your sibs?

'I love my sibs! No one is to do this to them while I'm still around!'

You tried to kill your little sister.

'So what?'

Your drive for doing this is the fault of your dwindling good side; that part of you that still loves your siblings and wishes to help them through this tough time. However, the insanity inflicted upon you by the curse has taken over even that. Both sides are starting to mix, which is why you're caring side now has the ability to use its pathetic love for your siblings as an excuse to murder.

"Call it whatever you want. This is the right thing to do. My sibs know that. They'll see it my way." Yakko spoke this out loud now. "I tried to kill Dot with my very own hands. I wasn't all there when I acted on impulse like that. But I understand why I could do it now!"

Yakko was running down the asphalt with his crazed face matted with rain water. The hospital at the very edge of the area considered to be an extension of the Warner Brothers property was in clear view. People were following him, but he didn't care. He had arrived at his answer.

"Hahahaha! I get it! I finally get it now! I'm gonna fight for my siblings. I'll fight for the way that they should be! They'll see what I do to those bastards and they'll agree with it! We'll continue down this path together and show the world whose boss! I tried to kill her, not just because I was worried about ruining everything before it could begin, but because I thought that she'd resent me when it had been let loose that I was a murderer. But she still loves me! So does Wakko! There's hope for them yet! There's still hope!"

Yakko trudged across the pathway and panted as he made an abrupt stop to stare straight ahead at the tall, gloomy building ahead. His axe was clutched tightly in his hand with the stained bloody tip not at all being obstructed by the rain. The axe was bleached red.

"There's still hope. I'm doing this for you Wakko. For the you I know you can be. It took me a while but I've realized it finally. I've realized that you were right to act out the way that you did. Being a "Yes man" and allowing the higher ups to trample all over you won't get you anywhere in life. We need to take this further. I will! I have to! Hahahahahaha! YES!"

Yakko's insane laugh echoed throughout the air. The numerous claps of thunder and flashes of lighting emphasized his effectively near complete dip off the deep end rather forcefully.

He made steps toward the building. His eyes dilated and his grin growing wider. He was blaring his teeth at nothing. The beautiful prospect of the massacre at hand was the spark that made his joints work so well now.

"I do this for my sibs. They'll agree with me. We stick together and we all know what's best for ourselves. Our VERY special friends need to be taught a lesson. They'll agree. I have faith in them. I know that they can see the light."

Yakko winced when a memory flashed across his mind. It was the horrified face Dot gave him when Yakko admitted to killing his debt collectors. Instantly his voice died down to that of a barely audible whisper and his over-excited face turned dark and straight.

"I don't ever want to see that disappointing and pathetic look on your face again Dot. No wonder I tried to kill you before. I do this for the both of you and you'll definitely agree that this is the right thing to do. On the off chance that you don't, then it'll mean that we aren't in sync…

Yakko pushed the front door open.

"And the Warners are always in sync. If we're not in sync it can only mean one thing…

The door creaked closed as Yakko had finally made it inside the building.

"… It would mean that you're not really my sibs anymore. And if I can't view you as my brother and sister, I can't see a reason to hold back my urge to kill you for going against me.

The door clicked shut.

"If you don't see it my way after this than you're disowned. I'll kill you. Both of you."

Wakko panted harder and harder. He coughed and hacked even. His departure from the hospital had only been for so long. It couldn't have had this bad an effect on him already.

He was so dizzy and weak. He could barely see past the rain drops as they plummeted from the sky and attacked the soil and asphalt around him. The strength in the downpour had increased since he, Dot, and Skippy had chased after Yakko when they saw him take off. He was convinced that the Heaven's above had this done on purpose just to spite him. The skies were taunting him and making the fact that he was so weak a cliff note to poke and prod for its amusement. He was scarred mentally and physically, for life and the atmosphere around him had absolutely no sympathy for him.

He hated this world. He wished he could make it pay just like all the people who had commissioned for the cancellation of their show. That feeling of hatred welled up within him again. It mixed with his sadness. The sadness took over.

Wakko was hunched over Dot's shoulder as the three kids finally made it to the hospital. Along the way, they had the misfortune of seeing Yakko swinging his newly acquired axe all over and talking to himself about things none of them could comprehend. He was so far gone that all their desperate shouts and pleads had not reached his ears. Was this how all killers were? So intent on focusing on their craft that they blocked out everything that wasn't their direct target?

"He went inside." Wakko murmured, out of breath and then some due to his condition. "We gotta keep going. We gotta stop…" Wakko winced and Dot faced him with obvious concern etched onto her face.

Skippy rushed past the two of them and kicked at the door, making it burst open immediately and swinging them to the sides. "So old fashioned. These doors aren't even automatic." Skippy grumbled in annoyance and turned to the other Warner siblings. "Come on! We've gotta get moving! Who knows what he'll do!?" Skippy's shouts were rather shaky. He hadn't seen Yakko outright act like this before. He had no idea what to initially make of it. A person he had spent so much of his young days around acting like one of those scary criminals with the creepy mugshots he saw on the news all the time. You might as well take a sledgehammer to both his heart and his piece of mind.

Dot hoisted Wakko up to give him better leverage and rushed forward and through the door, panting excessively. This was troubling but she knew that she'd need Wakko's help in trying to get through to Yakko. There was no way she could keep doing this alone. Now that it had come to this, she worried just how far gone her older brother really was. What did he think of them? What did they mean to him now? Was he the same person who cared and provided for them for so long.

When they played around the studio and were encouraged to reek as much havoc as they could for the sake of having fun and being the best at it, did it ever once cross her mind that the person leading them through these adventures on the lot and within the show would one day turn and run down this path?

Why? Why was he like this now? Where did his mind go? The questions were making her run faster. The urge to find Yakko and find out, once and for all, what his deal truly was pushed her along. Wakko's weight was no longer an issue. The middle child was pushing his best foot forward as well. They must've been thinking the same thing.

They knew this wasn't Yakko. It couldn't be. A monster tore away his skin and was now wearing it like a coat. Yakko's mind was chucked down a worm-hole that led to a whirl-pool of darkness and hatred. Something had happened to take their brother away from them!

They wanted Yakko back! They wanted to see their big brother again! This wasn't him! Whatever it was… it was just too scary…

They rushed forward, knowing that Wakko's room would be his first destination. They prayed he hadn't gone too far in already. Considering all the variables made it more than obvious how far ahead Yakko was though. He was older and faster and didn't have the misfortune of supporting someone over their shoulder. But Wakko needed to come along and if Dot had told him to stay he would've forced himself along regardless, further destroying his own body.

He wanted to confront Yakko. He had done so before but the effect it had on the situation must have not changed anything. Either that or it changed too much. Recently, all he felt he'd been doing with regards to Yakko is constantly treating him like crap.

On second thought, saying that he 'felt' it was stupid. He knew full well that he'd been acting out based solely on his rather strong and negative emotions toward the plight he and his siblings had been unfairly dealt. Yakko handled it as best he could and he just begrudged him for it and treated him like dirt. He took the bond they shared and tore it right down the middle. And for what? Because he was feeling a little depressed?

All the stuff he had said…

"If I hadn't been caught, we could've worked a plan out to extract all the money we needed whenever we wanted. It was worth a shot."

" The rate you're going, we'll be starved and homeless in no time. At least I was being creative rather than kissing Plotz' stout behind whenever I could."

"And where are you gonna get the money? Those loans and that cash you have stored up can only carry us so far. I haven't had a decent meal in weeks, BIG brother. "

Wakko felt more and more tears rush down the front of his face as he recounted his own idiocy and cruelty towards Yakko's past efforts. He looked ahead at the situation they were in now. He wanted to find his brother. He wanted to hug him and apologize so badly. He wanted to beg him; plead with him to stop this! This was insane!

The way he was now, he could only hope for his voice to reach him like it did before. This time it was for the better.

"Reconsider!" Rita shouted at the nurse's face. They were coming up on about the 30th time she had demanded that they do it.

"No. I'm telling you that it's out of my hands. I can't re-assign him back into the hospital." The nurse said in a voice that seemed to stammer a bit. She was aware of something that Rita and Runt weren't. However, all she could do was stay in her spot and react to their outbursts and refusal to accept the decision to evict Wakko.

"Hmph. You know, if we sued we'd probably manage to get this place in a heap of trouble. This is just inexcusable. On all accounts it stands as nothing but a haywire attempt to bully an injured kid." Rita's voice was as stern as it always was. There wasn't a hint of playfulness to it at all.

"I understand your concern but-"

"Oh you understand my concern. That's good. Yeah. I wonder just how inhumane that makes you and the rest of the nutjobs here though. Understanding it but going through with it anyway! You're lucky it's me standing here and not Slappy Squirrel. This place would've been blown sky high by now if she were here." Rita was raising her voice, intentionally getting the people in the waiting room riled up.

Some were finding her comments annoying, certainly. However, others were overhearing the details of the situation and finding themselves rather taken aback by what this conversation was suggesting. Had they all decided to put their lives and health in the hands of a hospital that would evict a child from its premises before his recovery with no clear motives behind doing so? The only thing keeping some of them from getting up and going was that, they really didn't know what was going on.

The nurse was sweating a bit. She knew this looked bad but what could she do? She had to play along with it or else-

The door burst open, sending a jolt of shock up everyone's spine. The two figures, Hello Nurse and Dr. Scratchnsniff stood solemnly still in the doorway before entering.

"It's them…" Runt mouthed, somehow a bit surprised that they were here. Rita didn't look surprised though. She could even wager she knew why they had come.

"I wish I was more assertive. Perhaps I'd be able to drop pianos on people's head and shove dynamite down the pants of hooligans too." Dr. Scratchnsniff sighed as he entered.

"It wouldn't make the outcome any better. In fact it'd just make things worse. We need to get Wakko back into this hospital before things go from bad to worse." Hello Nurse chimed in, walking right beside the cat and dog.

"You want to explain what's going on? Far be it from me to expect this tramp to tell me anything." Rita extended her paw at the seemingly ashamed nurse behind the counter.

Scratchnsniff shifted his gaze toward the nurse with his hands still behind his back and his expression in a bit of a dull slump.

"I suppose what is passing for nurses and caretakers in this day in age wouldn't be up for that, no."

The statement surprised all four of the ones in his company. It was a line so harsh and bitter being spoken so calmly and with an aura of obvious sadness that made it sound like a direct truth rather than an unwanted opinion.

Instantly, as if ignoring their reactions, he turned to face Rita and Runt. "I thank you for your asserted effort. However, a situation like this needs to be dealt with at the source. The head of the hospital or the doctor assigned to Wakko's room should be there right now I presume?" He asked this while shifting his gaze slightly at the woman behind the counter.

The nurse sighed and nodded. Wakko hadn't been discharged that long ago so they were certainly still there, discussing the situation they were in among themselves.

"Alright, than I'm off to-" Dr. Scratchnsniff began before the door once again was forced open and slammed harshly against the opposite wall. The crashing sound and the sudden intrusion made everyone jump. Their eyes along with the eyes of the waiting patients among the large room stared ahead at the door as the force with which it was opened caused it to slowly creak towards a close.

Before it could though, another heart-jolting extension of the scene before them had the sharp edge of a crimson tipped axe pounded into the cheap wood of the door. The force of the cudgel against the entry way almost made it pop off its hinges.

The waiting room was intensely quiet at first before the prickling of the wood breaking off sent shivers up everyone's spines and caused them to panic and scream.

Dr. Scratchnsniff, Hello Nurse, Rita, and Runt were all staring in wide-eyed astonishment as the figure that had his gloved hands tightly gripped to the deadly weapon lurked into the room with an unforgiving glare.

"It's… Y-Y-Yakko…" Runt was the first to finally speak something coherent amongst all the screams.

Indeed it was. He was crouched a bit and panting slightly from the long, vengeance fueled rush toward this room but his face sported just as much venom as it did on his way over.

The room was loud and in hysterics but as Yakko eyed the four familiar faces in his way, a euphoria of silence is what was felt between them all. Seeing Yakko all crazed and blood-thirsty was just as scary and unsettling as it was last time to Rita. Her pupils looked like they were twitching as they fell upon him. Runt was finding himself frozen in place, eyeing Yakko's danger ridden face and the axe at the end of his arm. Scratchnsniff and Hello Nurse were fidgeting. They were trying to take up the nerve to speak with him but the implication to do so wasn't resonating quickly enough in there nervous systems.

Yakko acted first, nearly taking out Dr. Scratchnsniff's foot with how devastating and sudden his swing down of the axe was at the ground in front of him! The now scrambled and frightened doctor scampered back and smacked his back against the nurse's desk. The person standing behind it was now out of sight, presumably ducking underneath the desk in the commotion.

Yakko looked right up when the movement the doctor made crossed his field of vision. He spotted their faces. Their faces were filled with fright and intense, striking terror. He could tell that none of them had ever been faced with a situation that had an axe-murderer in the midst of their presence. It at the very least assured that none of them tried being a hero.

Some were closer to him than others. One man was sitting on a couch right next to him even. It was just his dumb luck though. He couldn't move now. No one could. The fear that instilled them told them not to move. They'd have to make due with whatever position they were at.

The screaming had died down amongst the adults, who remained transfixed and scared, but the whimpers and cries of the woman and children still echoed noticeably throughout the open air. Yakko had grown to love the sounds of their fright. He could actually understand what Judge Doom was feeling when he had that piano take it to the brother of that one detective's head. Yakko would've been absolutely giddy had this situation not called for a more serious demeanor.

He wasn't smiling. He was angry and his eyes were cold. This wasn't funny to anyone, not even him.

His slow roaming eyes landed on Hello Nurse, who flinched when she saw him staring at her like that. Another flashback happened. The bright smiling face of the Yakko from Animaniacs jumped into her arms, kissed her cheek, and hollered "Helloooooo Nurse!" right before his eyes turned to hearts and he begged for some sort of treatment or punishment. This person standing in front of her… it was the same child?

The very thought made her tear up. When Dr. Scratchnsniff saw those teary eyes he took the initiative to finally say something.

"Y-Yakko…" His eyes darted to the axe. The marks left on the door of Plotz' office and the allegations that Detective Shorenay had imposed on the young lad had all been confirmed in that very instant. Admitting that such a horrible excuse for a detective had been right in his assumption about Yakko was hard. It was just as hard faced with the reality that his method of drawing it out could do nothing but harm more people. This picture wasn't promising in the least.

Yakko's gaze didn't drift away from the blond nurse, even when he was addressed directly by the P-sychiatrist.

"Hello Nurse. Tell me where the head of this place is." Yakko spoke in his usual voice. It wasn't over the top or in a whisper. It was his straight, regular voice presented calmly despite his fierce expression.

"Yakko..." Dr. Scratchnsniff tried speaking again. His voice was just as calm, if not a tiny bit shaky. "Please, put the axe away. This is a hospital."

As if holding a red tinted axe and breaking into an establishment so roughly wouldn't have mattered if this weren't a hospital…

"So what?" Yakko spoke up.

"I know you're upset-" Scratchnsniff had a lump in his throat. His body felt a tad cold. "-But we need to react to this situation rationally. We need t-"

SPAK!

A loud shriek was heard from the woman across the room. Dr. Scratchnsniff immediately stopped talking after observing Yakko's frighteningly sudden action.

Yakko's gaze didn't shift from Hello Nurse at all. However, his body moved quickly. All it took was him swiftly raising his arm and swinging back. A simple action and it had the room solidified in an air of dark tidings ahead.

The action had thrust the axe directly into the chest of the man unfortunate enough to have been sitting directly next to him.

All of their eyes widened as the man bled out and limped in his sitting position. Without any care at all, he forcefully removed the axe from his body and let the blood splatter a bit across the ground in front of them all. It was dripping with fresh blood now. Yakko's face hadn't shifted one iota.

"Don't be so surprised. People die in hospitals all the time." Yakko retorted to the onlookers without facing away.

Dr. Scratchnsniff had stopped moving. He had stopped talking. The utter shock that overcame seeing Yakko Warner of all people… like this was…

Did the word exist for what this was?

"Tell me where he is." Yakko asked Hello Nurse once again. She was shaking in her place but didn't shy away from considering her resolve concerning the matter. All she needed to do was be blissfully unaware of the corpse beside the young Warner kid.

Kid… he was a kid and he had just…

Thoughts like this floated throughout her and everyone else's minds. This was the longest Runt had probably remained quiet and staying still without him having to be asleep even.

Eventually, Hello Nurse spoke up again. Yakko hadn't moved an inch.

"He's… in Wakko's room…" She said softly.

When the sentence reached his ears Yakko instantly bolted and he did so at a quick sprint. This alarmed the onlookers and had them scrambling for the door. When it registered that he was heading in a direction opposite from their escape route, their mental facilities kicked in and ordered them toward the exit.

"Yakko!" Rita found herself shouting out without thinking. Her heart was pumping faster. Dr. Scratchnsniff felt himself heading after him. His thoughts didn't process anything other than trying to stop Yakko.

The doctor in question was standing alone in Wakko's room, trying to cut his important phone call short due to the commotion he was hearing from the lobby.

"Mr. Detective, I apologize greatly but I can't stall my operations any longer. I don't see what staying in this room has to do with your plan." He sounded rather annoyed.

'Come off it. This is for the greater good. Besides, I'm sure that little Warner child was quite the hassle to manage.'

"Maybe so, but a patient is a patient! Nothing can excuse neglecting service to a young lad in need of medical atten-!"

The door behind him slammed and locked shut.

"Yakko! No! Please stop this now!" Dr. Scratchnsniff cried and pounded on the door outside the room. He hadn't been fast enough and Yakko had managed to make it to the room before him.

The doctor closed up his cell-phone, ignoring the demands from Shorenay on the other end to tell him what was going on, and faced his front. The figure he spotted instantly made him shrink back in fear and drop the phone to the floor.

The featureless, angry expression on Yakko's face was gone. It had been repleaced with a dark grin that showed off his clenched teeth. His eyes were wide open and his hands were shaking and fidgeting in excitement. It was the eldest of the Warner brothers, standing right there in his presence with a clearly activated thirst for the kill surging through him.

"Y-You… look just like-" The doctor began before Yakko stomped forward.

"Don't think about it. Just let what happens happen." Yakko advanced upon the man. "And then you won't have to think about anything ever again."

A stroke of lightning short-circuited the power in the hospital. Dot let out a yelp as it took her by surprise. The atmosphere was already freaky enough. She didn't need this happening now. She hoped this place wasn't so primitive as to not have a back-up generator...

Still, she didn't stop running. Wakko was hoisted over her shoulder and Skippy was rushing slightly ahead of them as they traversed down the long hallway and finally reached the door leading to the waiting room.

The three of them stopped and just stared at the entry way. It was dark in this hospital now. Not only was it night-time but a storm was raging outside, making the lightning flashes the only constant source of dependable light. They could still see but the darkness was simply that of a hazy blue shade.

It was deafly quiet. They all could have sworn that they had heard people rioting or something from this room. Since they hadn't come across any people along the way here, they must have headed toward the exit on the opposite end of the just as long second half of the hallway.

The darkness and the silence alone would've been enough to unsettle them but the door's condition sealed their fear as something definite. It was burst down the center from a chopping mark left by what they knew to be the axe Yakko had carried along with them.

The three of them stared at the door as it jittered on its hinges, creaking slightly as the thunder blared in the background.

Wakko was the first to swallow the lump in his throat and push at the door. The instant it opened, the three of them jumped at spotting three figures in the room.

Hello Nurse was slumped against the couch with her head in her hands. She looked as though she was crying. Nearby the counter sat Rita and Runt. They looked frozen in stunned silence, staring directly at the doorway across from the waiting room that lead toward the rooms where the patients were kept.

Skippy walked forward, instantly feeling a rush of cold air that chilled him to the bone when he headed inside, and headed up to the cat and the dog.

"Wh-What happened? Wh-Where's Yakko?" Skippy asked, his voice shaky and cracked. Dot and Wakko wore stilted expressions of worry as they stepped inside after him.

Rita didn't answer Skippy directed. She just raised a paw and pointed at the door. Skippy blinked as he looked right at her. She was fidgeting and deep in thought. None of what was going through her head was pleasant or welcome. However, all of it was unavoidable. She couldn't help but think what she was thinking now after what she had witnessed.

Skippy felt his eyes tear up. "Sh-She says that… I-I mean she's… implying th-that… Yakko headed in there…" Skippy turned his head to face the door but screamed and fell onto his bottom when he came face to face with the deceased man on the couch.

He scooted back and whimpered, letting his scared tears fall while muttering "No" over and over again. Eventually, he reverted to lightly calling for his Aunt and fidgeted in the fetal position with his tail wrapped around his body. The atmosphere had already done a number on him. However, coming face to face with something like that had broken him. He couldn't continue on into that room with Wakko and Dot.

The two Warners turned and looked at what had frightened Skippy. Their eyes widened drastically and Dot almost dropped Wakko to the floor. Wakko went light-headed simply from the thought that Yakko could've done this…

Bile was building up in his throat. The scene in front of them was too gross and disturbing. They had to look away but couldn't.

The pounding on the door down the hall behind them had them fall out of their funk. Wakko and Dot both turned behind them and faced the doorway that lead to where Rita had directed them. They were both sweating and feeling the effects of this situation weigh them down instantly. Their minds were muddled with thoughts of how nightmarish this all was and what the implications behind this man's death had to have meant. They knew he was on his way here to do something like this but… a thought in your head and the actual event happening in real life called for two very different reactions.

Both of them were starting to fidget rhythmically and their tears resembled mini waterfalls. This was way too much for the both of them. Their bodies suddenly jolted on impulse when the banging got louder. They rushed through the doorway and ran toward Wakko's old room. Wakko didn't even care that he was stumbling from how poor his body's condition was. That wasn't anywhere near the forefront of his mind.

'Yakko! Please stop! Please stop! Please! I'm sorry! I was wrong! I'll do anything! Please stop!' Wakko repeated the same phrases in his head desperately as he scampered down the hall with Dot just a few meters ahead of him. He was out of breath by the time he reached the door but was still straightened up and standing as tall as he could.

At the door, they saw Dr. Scratchnsniff pounding on its front, jimmying the lock, and kicking at it in a feeble attempt to get inside and stop whatever was going on behind it.

"Yakko! Open this door! Now! Open up! We needs to be talking this over ya? Please?" The doctor kept on his assault not noticing the other two Warners beside him.

"Yakko's inside this room?" Dot asked, frantic and jumpy. Dr. Scratchnsniff jumped himself when he heard Dot speak. Unbeknownst to him it was the first time either of the siblings had said a word since entering the hospital.

Wakko stared at the door. He could hear squelching and pounding sounds faintly from behind the door. He looked around, instantly remembering how he didn't have his gag bag on him. He looked for anything. Anything removable that could help with getting inside. His eyes landed on a picture on the wall. He didn't even look at what it was a painting off. He tore it off the wall and smashed the edges of the frame as hard as he could at the side of the door. Dot initially was surprised by Wakko's action but the very next time he made a movement to smash against the door, she held onto the frame and rammed into it as well.

The wood cracked first, broke through second, and burst apart the third try. With a clear enough hole in the room, Wakko reached in and felt for the knob, unlocking it and taking his hand back out. Dot received his confirmation that the door was unlocked with a nod and she pushed it open.

The three of them looked ahead as the door skidded open.

Yakko was standing still facing the window as the rain poured outside. The flashes of lightning and the booming thunder seemed to transfix him incredulously.

They couldn't see his face. However, they spotted the axe. It was coated with blood. The same was to be said for Yakko's brown pants and his previously white gloves.

Wakko stumbled forward into the room. The other two were too stunned to move and try to stop him.

Wakko felt his raging rapid tears continue to fall but paid it no mind. His face was one of devastating confusion and sadness as well as a tremendous amount of fear.

Wakko stood in the center of the room as the lighting flashed once again. Neither of the brothers moved from their spots.

He knew that there was a body on the ground. A headless body that had been hacked through with an axe no less. He didn't pay it any attention. He knew that if he did, he would've vomited or fainted or both.

Staring at his brother offered no comfort to him though. The way he simply stood there and looked out the glass window into the dead of night without reacting to his presence despite it being obvious that someone else was in the room with him was-

"Hello Wakko." Yakko's voice reached Wakko's ears. The middle child flinched and stood in his spot, just staring right at Yakko from behind as he continued to cry.

There was a cold, dead silence.

"… Are you proud of me?" Yakko asked suddenly.

"…F-For what…?" Wakko stammered. His voice was barely above a whisper due to how dry his throat was.

"For this…" Yakko raised the axe a bit. Wakko felt himself drift near the edge of lightheadedness when he saw the axe start to drip. "I did this for you."

"… I… I didn't want…" Wakko choked out before Yakko continued.

"You were right Wakko. I see that now. So we can stop pretending we're under society's influence now. The world is our oyster. We can do whatever we want to ensure that we remain happy. I can finally fulfill my promise to you and Dot." Yakko said, his voice sounding like its usual self. It didn't come out sounding like a monster that had taken his older brother over of something. It sounded like Yakko.

Wakko felt really cold. He was scared out of his mind.

"I… I'm s-sorry… I wasn't… I didn't mean… I…" Wakko tried to articulate his words. He had thought over what he was going to say to Yakko plenty of times. But he couldn't find any sort of coherence now that this had happened.

"You have nothing to feel sorry for. Remember, I did this for you…" Yakko turned around and faced his younger brother.

Wakko's eyes couldn't get any bigger. He was shocked. Stunned. Frozen in place. He couldn't believe the expression Yakko was wearing on his face.

It was just a normal, caring, gentle, loving smile.

"… For you and our future, Wakko."