To say Dot was feeling wound up would be an understatement. Even if it seemed Yakko was going to be okay, she still couldn't stop worrying about him… that there might be a sudden downturn or some unforeseen complication. And he wasn't the only one she was concerned about.
Since that creepy seer Pip brought them to his place, Wakko had been acting weird too. He was quiet, even more than usual, and though he wouldn't leave his siblings for a minute, he often seemed withdrawn, and more than once Dot saw him staring ahead blankly, a troubled frown on his face. Not only that, but he'd also admitted to her and Yakko that he'd started getting headaches. They would come and go, not migraine level but still painful.
Yakko had said it was probably just a bad reaction to being under a lot of stress, and that made Dot feel better. Her eldest brother sounded sure, and though Dot never cared to admit it, he was probably the smartest of the trio. Unfortunately for him and Wakko, her reaction to stress was getting cranky. Not wanting to snap at her brothers, since they had enough to deal with, she put extra effort into keeping a handle on her temper with them. That left the short, weird seer as the only target, though so far it seemed like nothing could faze him. Dot wasn't sure whether to be impressed or annoyed.
Currently, said seer was looking at them with that listless expression that was just as aggravating as his monotone voice. Seated on the bed with her brothers, Dot watched him with her arms crossed and fingers tapping. She felt a little guilty, knowing she ought to be grateful to the person who helped them, and she was, but that didn't get any response from him either.
"So?" she asked, a slight frown on her face. "You said you were gonna tell us what's going on?"
"Oh, yes," Pip said in his usual droning voice. "Of course, your parents would have otherwise, but the situation is more serious now and naturally we're a little more pressed for time, even if it's not a good idea to burden young ones like you with something quite this extreme…"
Dot let out an irritated sigh and could hear the same exasperation in her brothers' voices.
"This man is scaring me," Wakko muttered, and Yakko let out a small snort of amusement before speaking up himself.
"Okay, mister, this is fascinating… not… but if we're pressed for time shouldn't ya get to actually telling us?"
"Oh, I am," the seer said without missing a beat. "Weren't you listening?"
Dot clenched her jaw, resisting the urge to snap a rude retort. But thankfully, Pip finally got to the main point.
"Anyway, it all started with Salazar's invasion. I assume you heard the stories… well, I'm afraid all of them have some truth. You see, he did in fact use unnatural means… black magic to be exact."
The words sent a chill down Dot's spine. The siblings had heard those stories of Salazar's dark monsters… who hadn't? But deep down, Dot had never let herself completely believe them. Mainly because if she knew they were true, she would be even more scared.
"B-but… how?" Her voice was quivering in a way she rarely let anyone other than her brothers hear, and she felt Yakko put an arm around her.
"I'm afraid no one quite knows," Pip replied, and though his monotone voice didn't change one bit, Dot was sure she saw a glimmer of sympathy in his eyes. She couldn't be sure though… the seer was irritatingly hard to read.
"You see, it was well known that Salazar was wanting to expand," he went on. "Though Ticktockia certainly hasn't been in a state to take us on for some time. Until now, most rulers there were happy with peace policy. Though, of course, that changed with Salazar. Pretty strange… though I was wondering if it was related to a vision I had before he invaded. Being a seer, of course, I see things. But unfortunately, it doesn't always show the exact story. You'd think a seer's ability wouldn't be picky, but…"
Dot clenched her teeth, her fur bristling, as he droned on, but with enormous effort she kept from yelling at him to get to the point. But she was still a few seconds from her self-control breaking when Pip finally did.
"See, four years ago I saw a vision of some wave moving toward Warnerstock. It was dark, really dark, and made me feel more nerves than I ever felt before. Of course, I started to research, but it wasn't long after that the invasion started, and then I knew it was bad. Seers can only, well, see things, you see, so I tried to help all I could but that wasn't much. Then your mother insisted on me going with the general evacuation and asked me to keep trying to find out what happened. It took longer than I would've liked, with the situation as it is and having to do most research in secret, but I finally figured it out."
He hesitated, though it seemed to be for no particular purpose.
"Those stories about Salazar using dark sorcery and that vision of mine are, unfortunately, linked based on what I learned. You see, there's an old historical account… quite old, in fact. No one knows exactly how old, though there are some reasonable estimates. Anyway, this account says that some warriors of the leading tribe of Pomona went to explore the Aurora Desert. Quite a large desert, as you know, took them almost two years. And it seems they found something there. No one knows exact details… they gave few of them, you see, but it was a form of powerful dark magic. And some of the worst, it seems… the warriors even went so far as to claim it was an embodiment of evil itself. An odd concept, I personally think, though not without precedent. There used to be all kinds of magic… still a good deal now, but there were many others that got lost long ago. Or at least that we thought were lost. In any case, they claimed to have sealed it in, then never spoke of it outside their own record and apparently revealed the location to no one, not even others in their own tribe. Said to risk anyone else finding would put the entire world in great danger."
Dot would have lost patience by now, but she was too stunned to feel anything other than shock. A glance at her brothers revealed similar disbelief on their faces. Wakko didn't say a word, but Yakko spoke up with an oddly hushed and subdued tone.
"So… Salazar used that dark magic stuff? To take over Warnerstock and do everything he did?"
The seer nodded, that possible air of sympathy back in his voice.
"Yes. The only one who could have opposed it was a Hero, and that was why he moved right after the King passed. Most unfortunate indeed."
Dot felt a sharp ache inside at those words, which wasn't helped by the surge of anger at the seer's flippant voice. But she forced herself to squash another harsh retort. Infuriating as it was, she had a feeling the guy wasn't doing it on purpose.
"So, what's that leave for us t' do?" she asked, unable to keep her voice from quivering. She felt Yakko's hand rubbing soothing circles on her back, and the familiar, comforting warmth seemed to radiate through her.
"Well, actually, that's quite simple," Pip said, never missing a beat. "A Hero's power, you see, is tied to their personal bloodline."
Dot felt her heart speed up, but before she could say anything Wakko spoke. His voice was soft, and when she looked at him there was a hopeful yet strangely distant look in his eyes.
"You mean… we have it too? We can be Heroes?"
"Well, not all of you, I'm afraid," Pip replied. "Most often the power passes to one, which in this case is you."
On that last word, he pointed at Yakko, his fixed, calm expression never faltering. Dot thought she saw her immediate older brother deflate, but it passed so quickly she wasn't sure. Both looked to their eldest brother, and Dot saw her stunned look mirrored on his face.
"But…" he stammered. "I've never… I've never done anything like Dad did."
"Yeah," Wakko chimed in, then gestured toward Dot. "And she did something in the woods, healed him partway, or something."
Pip directed his gaze toward Dot, still droning with the same calm expression.
"Ah, yes, I saw that. Well, that power, you see, is not Hero related. Just an old magic from the past times. Bit of a genetic fluke, really… just shows up every so often."
Dot couldn't help frowning a little at the wording… she didn't appreciate anything about her being referred to as a mistake.
"Now, then," Pip went on without missing a beat. "You were heading for Burbank, I believe."
"Uhhhh, yeah," Yakko said, apparently thinking the same thing. "Why, we need to go somewhere else?"
"Oh, no… not at all," the seer replied. "In fact, that's exactly where you need to go first."
Wakko finally spoke up, his voice strangely quiet.
"What… what d' you mean, first?"
Pip looked at him with that calm, vacant expression he hadn't lost once in the whole time he'd been talking to them.
"Oh, well, to stop Salazar you'll need to go several places, of course. But Burbank is where you need to go to get started."
He said it with the casual ease of someone explaining that the sky is blue. Dot couldn't help wondering if he even realized that he'd just completely upended their lives in the space of about twenty minutes.
"Most of your supplies are fine, so you shouldn't have any problems getting started once he's well enough. Though I find that more appropriate food for long walking trips is preferably more protein-filled… does wonders for keeping your energy up, you know."
Yeah, he doesn't.