Author's note: In honor of Animaniacs' big 30th anniversary milestone, I decided to write a story paying homage to one of my favorite cartoon shows of all time! I know that this story is being released just late of the anniversary, but I still wanted to pay my tribute anyway and show my love for this series.
I'd like to give a massive thank you to Tom Reugger, Steven Speilberg and everyone else who had played a part in bringing this show to life! Your show has shaped many childhoods through laughter and uncontrollable zaniness. And a huge thanks to the entire Animaniacs fandom for all of your dedication and hard work! We may be small, but we're a devoted bunch!
With that all in mind, sit back and relax, 'cause it's time for my tribute to Animaniacs!
Yakko still remembers the day where he and his siblings were locked away in that damn tower.
The year was 1934. He, Wakko, and Dot had just wrapped up filming another cartoon short in hopes of making it to the silver screen. They strolled out of the set with toothy grins, complimenting each other on their performance. The movie lot was still young back then; several buildings were still under construction, and the lot was in an incomplete state. The higher ups of the studio made it clear that no star or employee besides maintenance were allowed to enter these restricted areas.
But the Warners were children at heart. They were rebellious, and were never ones to follow the rules set by those in charge of them. In fact, they took it as a challenge.
Yakko evoked his sibling's into a good old game of tag. The three siblings ran amuck around the studio; dashing through sound sets, leaping over studio equipment, and even a director or two. To them, the Warner Brothers lot was like a giant playground. There was so much to look at and explore in this massive open space that it sparked a feeling of ambition in Yakko's mind. He was so curious about the world going on around him, and he wanted to explore it all to his heart's content.
The game of tag was in full swing. Wakko was it, and he was doing his best to keep up with his brother and sister. Yakko had picked up his little sister and was carrying her on his back. Dot was smiling brightly, laughing in good spirit as she played along in this light hearted game.
That is, until the Warners were running through a corridor between two enormous set buildings. The alley was tight and narrow, and the walls of the set buildings casted a dark shadow on the ground. The Warner's didn't mind this, though, and carried on running through the corridor. But as the sibling's were reaching the end of the corridor, out popped three men, dressed in navy blue police uniforms. The officers pulled their whistles out of their pockets and blew them in the Warners face.
Yakko came to a screeching stop right in front of the three officers. Wakko, not prepared for his brother's sudden halt, ended up slamming into his big brother, causing Yakko to topple over. Dot yanked on her ears, unable to bear the ear piercing squeal of the whistles. Wakko did the same, he started to howl like a lone wolf in his ear's misery.
The eldest Warner's mouth gaped as he witnessed his own two sibling's laying on the tarmac in agony. He clenched his fists, his face forming a scowl as he marched up to the three officers that stood in their way.
"Quit that racket! You call this music!?" He jeered, shaking his fist at the officers, "You three sound like a tea kettle trying to blow a flute out of its spout! You'd make a maestro mad!"
The officers lowered their whistles, but the satirical jab did nothing to lighten the mood. One of the officers, standing in the middle of the other two, took a step towards Yakko. His brow furrowed as he narrowed his hawk eyes at him and his sibs.
"Shut your mouth, you useless splotch of ink!" The guard growled. He got up right in Yakko's face, gnashing his teeth at the small toon.
"Hey! You're one to talk, mister!" Yakko clapped back at the officer, "Your father would be ashamed of you for talking with that sort of attitude!"
The officer scoffed. "I'll have you know, I was raised by a father who was born out of the police academy. He taught me how to be a real policeman, with clear values to live by."
"Do these values include demeaning others for looking different than you?" Yakko asked, sarcastically.
The officer's face had turned a cherry red. He was puffing his chest in and out to the beat of his short exasperated breaths. Yakko couldn't stop himself from chuckleing. He always found fun in getting on other people's nerves.
"You little freak!" He muttered coldly, "You haven't got a clue of what I am capable of."
"Oh, you mean you're capable of being more than just an a-"
Yakko's retort was cut short when the officer yanked him by the chin and heaved his body off the ground. The toon was squirming in the air, trying to break free of the officer's tight grasp.
"Listen here, you good for nothing freak!" The officer demeaned Yakko, "I've heard about all the trouble that you and your devilish companions had gotten up to! We, and the chairman of the board, have had quite enough of your monkey business!"
Yakko shrunk in the man's grasp. He wasn't laughing anymore. "B-b-but sir, I-I..we were just having fun, sir."
"YOU CALL WREAKING HAVOC IN OUR STUDIO FUN!? You three are nothing but menaces! MENACES I TELL YOU!"
Before Yakko could respond, he heard two defining shrieks that made his blood run cold. He dared to glance behind him, his eyes grew wide in terror. The other two officers had grabbed Wakko and Dot by the hair, pulling on their scalp against their will. Yakko felt his blood boil red hot inside his veins. If he didn't hate these scumbag officers before, he sure as hell did now!
"HEY! GET YOUR GRUBBY HANDS OFF MY SIBLINGS, YA JERKS!" Yakko demanded, "Let them go! NOW!" He started to tear up, he couldn't stand his siblings being treated like this. "Let them go! Let. Them. Go."
The officer's refused, disregarding the devastating cries of the Warner siblings. The men marched across the studio lot, yanking on the poor Warner's fur to keep them from escaping. Yakko continued to scream and rant at the officers, referring to them by crude slurs that would make the censors go nuts. The officer refused to even speak to Yakko at this point, only exchanging a cold glower with the toon.
In the distance, he could see the water tower. The structure towered above the studio lot, isolated in an open area far away from the on-goings of busy actors and executives. In the past, the Warner's would climb up the structure, and swing around on its support beams like monkey bars. Yakko has always viewed the structure as nothing more than a jungle gym.
Little did he know that his view of the water tower was about to change forever.
The officers proceeded to start climbing the skinny ladder bolted onto the structure, all while still pulling the fur of the three silly toons. Once they reached the top base of the tower, one of the guard's opened up the front hatch, shaped in the logo of the very studio they worked for.
Yakko was still berating the guard's that had picked him up by force, pleading to be let go. The vile officer tightened his grasp on Yakko's hair, and then flung him through the hollow doorway of the tower. He crashed face first onto the cold, metallic flooring with a violent thump. Yakko blacked out for a couple moments, astounded by the brutal act of assault made by the officer.
And before he was even given time to process it all, he heard a thunderous SLAM echo through his eardrums.
He groaned as he found the will to pull his body up into a standing position. He rubbed his hand against his temple, where a bruise was starting to form. He looked around, completely dazed. Everything had happened much too fast.
Why is it so dark? Yakko asked himself. All of a sudden, the room grew dark, dreadfully dark. There was not a single glimpse of light in this room. All the light has been swept over by a horrible darkness that suffocated him.
Yakko HATED that darkness.
For a brief moment, Yakko thought that he was dreaming. Perhaps he was just imagining this all, and was merely having a silly nightmare. Soon, he would wake up above the rafters of one of the sound buildings, where he and his sibling's preferred to sleep. He would wake up and hug his sibling's tightly, washing this nightmare away.
This was no dream. He was wide awake.
"I have to get out of here. I have to get out of here!"
Now in a state of panic, Yakko scampered about unruly in the desolate pitch black, desperate to escape his newfound confinement. The unlit atmosphere disoriented the toon, the endless darkness causing his usually sharp mind to go numb. He knew that he had to find a way to escape this horrible twilight, or else he was going to snap.
His scramble came to a violent end when his body slammed against what felt like the steel barrier of the tower. Yakko grunted, rubbing his head where another fresh bruise was coming in strong. As he rubbed the bump with one hand, his other hand brushed against what felt like a door knob.
His eyes widened. Could it be? Yes- yes it was! His heart fluttered in his chest. He had just discovered his way out, despite hurting himself in the means of doing so. Excitement took over his mind, his hand automatically reached for the handle and…
"What the- this thing won't budge," He muttered to himself.
He yanked on the door handle, harder this time, pulling with all his might. He tried pushing, and pulling, and then pushing again. Was this a push door or a pull door? He didn't know. He pulled again, still the door refused to budge. Yakko's heart rate quickened, sweat trickled down his fur. He gripped the door harder, tugging aggressively at the latch, desperate to pull the door open.
He HAS to get this door open.
He HAS to break free.
He would pry this door open if he had to use every ounce of his toon powers that he had in him.
But the door refused to open, stubbornly sealing itself shut.
Yakko gasped for air, his wrists began to swell from the excessive pulling. He pressed his head up against the cold door, listening to what was on the other side. He could hear the faint jingling of keys rustling in somebody's pocket, the sound grew further and further away. It almost sounded like…
Yakko gasped, his stomach dropped.
"Oh my god. N-nno way! He did not! Did he- THAT BASTARD!"
He was thrown into a fit of rage by the sudden horrible realization. He pounded his fists against the enormous door, wincing at his fingertips' agony. He repeatedly punched at the metel wall, persistent that someone on the other side might hear him.
No one did.
Finally, Yakko gave up, and he recoiled onto the bitter cold ground. It only started to dawn on him that he was permanently stuck in this dungeon. There was not a sign of escape in sight; he was powerless against the metal gate of his prison, bolted shut by those three despicable, heartless police officers.
"LET ME OUT!" Yakko cried helplessly, his voice echoing through the vacant structure. "I don't wanna die! I'm too young to die!"
Crying was a rare occurrence for Yakko. He usually found it fairly easy to keep his composure through difficult moments. He had to, in order to keep his sibling's spirits high. But he was so distraught after everything that it was impossible to hold back tears, not after his freedom was ripped from the palm of his hands. He sobbed uncontrollably, tears streaming down his cheek and soaking into his whiskers.
In the midst of his tyranny, he heard a sea of noises bouncing off the wall, noises that did not come from his weeping. His ears stood up, picking up on what sounded like feet puttering against the metallic flooring of the tower. Yakko turned his head and peered into the black void. While it was impossible to see anything right now, he didn't need a visual to deduce the source of the noise.
Yakko has a sixth sense for locating where his precious siblings were.
"Sibs!" He called out to them, extending his arms for his sibling's to run into. The puttering of feet grew louder, Wakko and Dot growing closer.
Yakko felt his sibling's grab onto him, clutching their fingers tightly to his waist. Against his pain, he felt his heart ease. The presence of his sibling's made the pain a little more bearable. He put a firm arm around Wakko and Dot's shoulder, bringing them closer to him. He frowned at his siblings, barely able to make out the silhouette of their precious, innocent faces.
"I'm sorry, sibs," He had the urge to apologize to them, guilt pouring over him. "I didn't want this to happen to us. I should have fought harder."
"No, Yakko. It's not your fault," Dot reassured him, her voice meek. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears. "Those meanies can't ruin our fun! We're gonna get back at them!"
"Yeah! We'll show them!" Wakko said, with slight confidence in his tone. "We're gonna get out of here, right Yakko?"
Yakko cringed. He fought back a second wave of tears. Wakko and Dot, in spite of the terrible thing that had just happened, were still hopeful. They had yet to fully realize just how dire their situation really was. They were too young to comprehend the harsh reality of the cruel world that they were born into.
The thought of telling his sibling's the terrible truth was enough to break Yakko's heart. He didn't want to put that burden on them, at least not right away. He wanted to give them that sense of hope; they had to remain optimistic if they wanted to feel sane.
He swallowed, thinking of the best possible way he could put this into words without frightening his sibs.
Yakko let out a heavy sigh. "I'm afraid those officers fastened that door tight," he told them ominously. "It's gonna take a lot of tinkering before I can crack the code on whatever lock is sealing the door."
Yakko could feel his sibling's frowns beating on him, which made him feel all the more terrible about his part in the matter.
"D-does that mean…we're not getting out of here?" Wakko asked, sniffling out a tear.
The eldest Warner winced. He felt his heart shatter into two. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it right after. For once, he couldn't come up with anything to say.
Instead, he tightened his grasp around Wakko and Dot and proceeded to cry. He cried a heavy stream of tears that flushed out his eye sockets. Dot started to cry too, and Wakko joined in soon after. All three Warners weeped in the presence of each other, weeping in pure darkness, weeping in the horrible outcome of their tragic situation.
Several minutes passed of the Warner's crying in despair. Finally, Wakko decided to break the silence.
"At least we have each other," Wakko said softly.
Yakko looked at his brother, reaching his hand out to wipe away his tears. His brother had always been the most optimistic one of the trio, and, after all that had happened to them in less than one hour, Yakko couldn't help but show a smile.
"That we do, baby bro," replied Yakko.
The more that Yakko rolled his little brother's humble words around in his head, the more his words rang true.
Humans have never treated them too kindly. It seemed like Yakko and his sibling's always found themselves with the short end of the stick between them and the executives. Their director, Weed Memlo, was, to put it lightly, not very considerate towards the Warners. He walked out on them a mere few days ago, all because of a minor error on Wakko's part. Apparently, they weren't "good enough" for his standards.
If humans were going to treat him and his family like garbage, then why should he go out of his way to please them? It's not like he'll ever be rewarded for what he does. Come to think of it, Yakko realized that humans have never given him anything but constant baratement and abuse. Humans have never liked them, ever, but he could never pinpoint why.
Maybe it's better here, Yakko thought, Humans can't harm us if we stay out of their sight.
After their tears have subsided, the Warner's all concurred that it was probably for the best that they stay in the tower for the time being, and not risk more human intervention by attempting to escape. Yakko didn't even know how to unlock the big shield door that barricaded them in, and he wasn't in a hurry to find how.
Instead, Yakko extracted a lamp from his hammerspace, and he quickly turned it on as soon as he had set it down on the floor. When he first saw that bright beam of light shine in the tower, he, Wakko, and Dot couldn't help but stare in awe. It was so simple, but the nuance of having light in a windowless water tower made the Warners feel more at ease in their confinement.
Over the course of a few months, the Warner's quickly got to work on turning the water tower into their permanent home. Yakko used his hammerspace to create furniture: tables, chairs, a couch, a rug, and a bunk bed for him and his sibs to sleep in. Wakko used his trusty old toolbox, which he kept safely in his gag bag, to construct walls and build rooms, giving the tower more depth. He even installed an entire plumbing network connecting to the tower's water tank. Meanwhile, Dot provided the tower with her own cute flair, planting flowers and lighting candles to create a calming atmosphere.
In no time at all, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot transformed the tower from a desolate prison into a functional living environment. Yakko was amazed at how quickly they molded the water tower into a house. He was especially impressed with his sibling's for their effort. He never knew how much his sister loved decor, as well as her passion for prettying things up and making everything look nice. He never knew how strongly talented his brother was at building things. Wakko was such a gearhead, but his expertise cannot be doubted.
The Warners had settled into their new home, their "forever home" as Yakko dubbed it. Life for the Warner's had shifted into an entirely new direction, a direction for the better. Now that they were free from the clutches of their human masters, the Warners were free to do whatever they want, when they want it. Their silly games could no longer be interrupted by stuck ups who despised fun; they could play all day if they wanted to. The humans no longer made the rules; the Warner's did it themselves.
A world without human interference was a good one in Yakko's eyes.
Several years have passed since their captivity. It was now 1993, almost sixty years since they had been locked up on that fateful day back in 1934. Things have gone relatively smoothly for the Warner's since then. Sure, there was the occasional argument or misunderstanding, but the Warner's have been through too much together to ever have their bonds broken. It's just been the three of them for all of these years.
But Yakko's desire to return to the human world someday has never left him.
For years, Yakko has been conducting thorough research on the big shield door of the tower, figuring out how the door operated. He quickly found out that the door was locked from the outside. There was some sort of lock planted on the outside of the door that stopped it from being able to open. If he was going to break this alleged lock, then he would have to do so by force. He tried hitting his mallet against the frame; he tried using a crowbar to force the door open, and a screwdriver, even a rubber chicken.
There were times where Yakko wanted to give up on his dream of breaking out. Sometimes, he wonders if he's wasting his time by trying and failing to open the tower door. But Yakko has never been a quitter, and the idea of finally escaping his lifetime confinement fascinated him to no end. He was going to devote as much time as possible to cracking the code that was buried within the tower's door.
And one day, after years upon years of experiment-induced research, he finally did it.
In the kitchen, Wakko and Dot were sitting at the table eating some mac and cheese that Wakko had prepared for the two of them. Dot was eating from a small bowl that was placed front of her; Wakko preferred to eat his portion straight out of the pot.
"Say Wak?" Dot asked, seemingly out of the blue, "What do you think Yakko's been up to? I haven't seen him since this morning."
"Beats me," Wakko shrugged, before shoving a large spoonful of mac and cheese into his mouth. "He's probably writing up another song number for him to sing in front of us."
"Perhaps," replied Dot. She chuckled. "I hope he's not writing another song like that 'nations of the world' song that he wrote that one time."
"I can never sing that song," added Wakko. "Every time I do, my tongue gets all twisty!" He stuck out his tongue for emphasis, which was coated in melted cheese and partially chewed macaroni.
Dot grimaced. "Eww! Don't do that, Wakko!" She scolded, causing her brother to retract his tongue with a look of shame. "Didn't Yakko say-"
"EUREKA!"
Dot jumped, her scowl morphing into an astounded gaze. Her eldest brother's sudden shout echoed across the tower, his booming voice finding its way into her eardrums.
"-To not eat with my mouth full? Yes, Dot. I know," Wakko finished, letting out a begrudging sigh.
But her brother's lack of manners was no longer on Dot's mind. "Uh, Wakko?" she uttered to him, "I have a feeling we're about to find out what our eldest brother has been up to."
As soon as she had finished speaking, Yakko came bolting into the kitchen, his feet pounding against the metal floor. He skidded his feet, barely coming to a stop in front of the kitchen table, almost tripping over himself by how fast he was running. He leaned his elbow against the wooden table, his breaths coming out in short bursts.
"What's got you in a hurry, Speedy Gonzalez?" Chortled Dot, finding amusement in her elder brother's current state.
Yakko took a moment to catch his breath before answering. "I did it," he told her vaguely, "I finally did it!"
"Did what?" Wakko asked, fiddling with his oversized spoon. "Did you finish writing another song number for us?"
"Nope! Even better than a simple song number can ever be!" Answered Yakko, his voice giddy with excitement.
"We'll stop beating around the bush and just tell us!" Dot told him, her curiosity peaking.
"Okay, okay! You're not gonna believe this, sibs. I have finally figured out how to escape this godforsaken tower!" His words caused Wakko and Dot's eyes to widen in surprise. "Pretty clever of me, huh?"
Dot didn't know quite how to respond to that. She knew by the way that Yakko rushed into the room that his news was bound to be dire. But this wasn't quite the news that the Warner sister had in mind.
"Are you serious?" Dot asked, astounded by what she had heard. "This has gotta be one of your one-liners, isn't it?"
Yakko shook his head. "Nope! Cross my heart, I'm telling the truth." The oldest Warner leaned his body closer, throwing his arms around his younger sibling's. "Sibs," he said, "Today is the day of our great heist! We are going to break free from our confinement at long last!"
Both Wakko and Dot wore confused expressions on their faces, both taken aback by their older brother's sudden confidence. He has never talked about their near sixty year long dilemma in this light before, and, frankly, it was a bit jarring to them.
"Hey, I thought you said you didn't like the human world," Wakko remarked.
"Yeah, you changed your tune awfully quick, maestro," Dot noted with a curved brow.
"Well this maestro has gone mad for freedom," Yakko told his sibs with a smirk on his face. "This is our chance to finally get back at those scoundrels who locked us up! We'll show them who's in charge now!"
The eldest Warner then leapt through the air, landing on all four of his feet like a wild bobcat pouncing on his prey. He extended his gloved hand out to his sibling's, appearing more eager than ever about his grand plan.
"We'll?" Yakko cocked an eyebrow, his smirk widening, "Wattayah say? Ya in or ya out?"
Dot was still unsure. She glanced at her immediate older brother, noticing a toothy grin had taken shape on Wakko's face that rivaled his big brother. The Warner sister, in contrast, kept her weary frown. While her brother's were inclined to the idea of breaking out of the tower, she had adjusted to her life of confinement, and the coziness of the water tower had grown on her overtime. She wasn't willing to give up that feeling of overarching protection to set out on this ploy that Yakko came up with on a whim.
"I'm not too sure about this, Yakko," Dot spoke, a doubtful glare twinkling in her eye. "Remember the way that those humans treated you? They hated us. They treated us like we were some dumb animals." Her lip quivered, as her arm twitched. She swallowed. "What if- what if they hurt us? I don't want you to get hurt again, Yakko."
Yakko curved his eyebrows, noticing his little sister in a state of distress. He approached her slowly and bent down towards her knees.
"Hey, stop that talk. They're not gonna hurt us," Yakko reassured her, gently stroking his hand through her soft hair. "Those nasty guards can't lay a finger on either one of us if we all ban together."
Dot looked up at her brother, her eyes sparkling with tears. "Really?"
"Of course," confirmed Wakko. He had gotten up from his chair and toddled over to his sister. "I know I can be a nuisance at times, but I love you a whole lot, sis. If anyone tries to hurt you, I'll slam 'em with my mallet for ya."
Wakko squeezed his fists together and imitated the motion of swinging a mallet at one of his foes. Seeing her brother acting this out made Dot giggle, and a crooked smile soon followed.
"Oh, Wakko. You are such a character," remarked Dot, still chuckling aloud.
Wakko shrugged. "I mean, we were all drawn to be characters in animated cartoons," he said, feeling puzzled as to what exactly his sister meant.
Once the Warner sister had been cheered up, Yakko decided it was time to get down to business. They were burning daylight, despite the irony that there was not a single sunbeam lurking in the windowless tower.
Yakko sat his siblings in front of the couch, and he rolled out a large chalkboard seemingly from thin air. He pulled a stick of chalk from his hammerspace and proceeded to scribble quickly across the surface of the chalkboard. He explained to his sibs that there were six locks buried within the door frame, all without a key. His plan was for all three of them to swing their mallets as hard as they could at each corner of the shield-shaped door to break the locks and (hopefully) bust the door open afterwards.
When he was finished, his sketch looked like a badly drawn giraffe with stick figures surrounding it. Wakko and Dot exchanged glances with each other, but they continued to give their older brother the benefit of the doubt.
"So, uh," Wakko spoke up, scratching the back of his neck, "What do we do if the locks don't break open?"
"Oh, they will. We just gotta use all the strength that we got," replied Yakko. He leaned toward his younger brother and felt his arm, feeling his muscle underneath. "And I know that you have a strong sense of toony DNA planted in your skin."
"But Yakko, we have fur!" Exclaimed Wakko, cocking his head.
"We do bro, but what I- you know what? Scratch that. I-it's not important. Don't worry about it."
"Wait, Yakko? What part of the door do I hit?" Now it was Dot's turn to be confused. "I mean, my arms are too short to reach the top of the frame."
"Ah, don't discourage yourself, sis," Yakko told her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I'll handle the locks at the top of the door. You get the right side of the door, and Wakko will get the left. Sounds like a plan?"
"Yes sir, Yakko sir!" Wakko responded with a salute, puffing his chest out the way an army guy would.
"Read you loud and clear, sargent," Dot replied jokingly, doing a salute of her own.
"That's the spirit!" Yakko swung his fist in the air, spirited determination coating his body. "We have nothing to lose, sibs! We are gonna break out of this tower or die trying!"
"Or try dying!"
"Or do some tie dyeing!"
"Exactly!"
With all three Warners feeling pumped up about this, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot all pulled their mallets out of their hammerspaces and rushed to the tower door. They got into their respective positions, as per the drawing that Yakko has sketched out.
"Okay! This is it!," Yakko declared, "On the count of three, we're gonna swing our mallets at the door all at the same time. Ready sibs?"
Wakko and Dot nodded in salute. They picked up their comically oversized mallets and held it over their shoulder. Yakko followed suit, gripping his mallet tighter than he ever has before. He glared at the tower door, the enormous shield door that has mocked him for far too long.
He tried not to let it show, But Yakko's entire body was sweating. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, his ears ringing like bells, his inky blood trickling through his veins. He almost couldn't believe that this was actually happening, that he and his siblings were about to do this. Yakko still remembered the day where he was shut up in this damn tower, and now, he was finally going to escape once and for all.
"One!"
"Two!"
Open world, here we come!
"Three!"
On three, the Warners heaved their mallets at the metal door with a mighty force. The tower shuddered, a loud bang rupturing his eardrums. Wakko and Dot toppled over as a shockwave rippled through the structure of the tower. The shaking was like that of an infamous Calafornian earthquake, but Yakko had to remind himself that the shaking had come from him and his mighty mallet.
When the shaking came to a stand still, Yakko's eyes were met with a blinding light. He winced, the blazing white glow was almost too bright to look at. For a brief second, Yakko thought that he had died from the impact of the blast, and he was seeing a glimpse of the afterlife.
But that thought was quickly brushed away when he heard the astounded gasps of his little siblings. Yakko rubbed his eyes, and, when he again peered into the open, his jaw dropped.
He could see everything. He could see the open blue sky in all its glory, he could see the puffy white clouds that loomed over his head, and, better yet, he could see the Warner Brothers studio lot in all its glory. The lot looked exactly how he remembered it to be: the huge sound stages, directors and producers bustling about on the hot tarmac, and the vast mountainscapes that stretched beyond the horizon line.
For the second time in his life, Yakko was at a loss for words. In over fifty nine years of captivity, Yakko could never have dreamed of what the world would look like once he had finally escaped. Now, all he could say was-
"It's beautiful," he whispered to himself, and he could hear Wakko and Dot saying the same.
The trio stood close to each other, staring out into the wonderful, beautiful world for what felt like an eternity. Neither one of them said anything; the scenery spoke for itself.
We're free, Yakko told himself, We're finally free!
Several minutes passed, and the silence was finally broken by what sounded like..people? Actual people! Yakko's heart skipped a beat. He leaned over the railing and saw a crowd of people forming at the base of the tower. Everyone was pointing up at him, and they showed expressions that ranged from shock, terror, and amazement. Yakko was flabbergasted; no one has ever given him attention before. But then again, this was the first time he has seen a human in over half a century.
There was only one possible explanation for this.
"Sibs!" He said, so astounded that he could barely speak. "The humans…they like us. They're staring at us! Look down there!"
Yakko pointed his finger at the crowd. Wakko and Dot peered through the railing, they too looked surprised by just how many people were standing at the bottom, and the crowd was still growing by the second.
The sight of humans, the very same creature that had put them in their confinement, shouldn't have sparked any sort of positive reaction. But Yakko's heart was racing in his chest, his toony blood pumping at full throttle. After so many years of isolation, he was finally getting the attention that he has craved for so long, and he was soaking it up.
Yakko and Wakko leaned over the railing with huge grins smacked on their faces. The boys pressed their hands against their mouth and threw wet smooches down at the appaled crowd. Dot joined in by waving her arm around like a windsock, overjoyed by the attention.
A couple minutes later, the Warners hopped over the railing and fell into the crowd. Their actions sparked the crowd's eyes to bulge out of their eye sockets, and then everyone scattered off like bugs, just in time as the Warner's reached the bottom.
Once his feet made contact with the sweet asphalt ground, Yakko's first instinct was to run. Wakko and Dot came racing after, and soon enough, the Warner's were sprawling all over the place.
After being confined in one place for so long, it made the Warner's feel zany to the max.