Of course, Dot was not happy about having to tromp through a sewer pipe, even if it'd been out of use for quite a while. It was dry, thankfully, but she was pretty sure she could still detect a bit of the smell and couldn't stop her nose from wrinkling. Neither of her brothers did the same, but boys had almost no sophistication.

Dot could tell they were amused by her discomfort, which she made no effort to hide, but they weren't taking the opportunity to tease her for a change. Even Yakko, which made Dot wonder how he was suppressing what was undoubtably one of his strongest instincts.

Probably cause it's being countered by his protecting instinct, she thought with a smile.

The same was probably true of Wakko, even if he'd already tended to be the quiet one before the trauma in the woods. But the air of brooding hanging over him seemed to have eased a lot, and that was a more than welcome sight to Dot. Glancing at the algae crusted metal surface, she cringed.

"That base better not be as nasty as this," she muttered. "Or we'd be better off sleeping in a field."

Yakko released a snort of amusement.

"I thought ya didn't like sleeping there either."

She shot her eldest brother a dry grin.

"Well, dear brother, I've had to get used to sleeping in lots of places I don't like."

Her grin widened when she heard Wakko let out a soft chuckle, and turned her head to meet his still tired, but much brighter eyes.

"Well, people're living there, so it'll probably be clean at least," he said.

Dot raised a brow, her smile teasing now.

"Yeah, long as you start bathing again. And we know you're not allergic to water, so don't go for that one."

The middle sibling gave a sheepish shrug, but the amusement remained on his face.

"Was worth a try, right?"

Yakko chuckled as well, reaching over to ruffle his brother's hat.

"Definitely creative, for sure," he said, then glanced at Dot.

"Don't worry about sanitation, sis. No one's desperate enough to sleep in… y' know, that."

The Warner sister couldn't suppress a shudder at the thought. She certainly hoped her brother was right about that. Then Wakko spoke again, his voice softer now and more tense.

"You guys hear that?"

Dot immediately stopped and pricked her ears, knowing that Yakko was doing the same. Sure enough, she picked up the faint sounds of voices. Even at this distance, she could tell the speakers were keeping them quiet, and the conversation was limited. Her tension eased a little, and she heard a similar relief in her eldest brother's voice.

"Yep, Wakko… that's probably who we're goin' to see." He glanced between them. "But stay on your toes, okay, sibs? Better safe than sorry."

Both younger Warners nodded.

"We will if you will," Wakko said.

Yakko gave him a cheeky grin, his voice sly.

"Almost sounds like ya don't trust me, brother."

"We trust you with us," Dot replied, narrowing her eyes. "Just not so much with you."

Her eldest brother only directed that smug look at her, along with a wink.

"Have no fear, sister sibling. I love myself enough to not jump into certain death."

Dot rolled her eyes, but the usual irritation mixed with amusement came with a sense of relief that seemed to warm her. Still, she made a point to stick close to her brothers as they moved forward. The voices continued to grow louder as they approached a curve in the pipe, and they hesitated when they reached it. Slowly, all three peeked around.

The youngest Warner's eyes widened, and she felt her jaw drop. Up ahead, there was a wide space with several other wide pipes branching off into other corridors. A wide metal wheel stood in the center that looked like a table and apparently served as one too, as several people were gathered around it. Dot was surprised to see that not all of them looked to be townsfolk… a few were dressed nice enough to make her think they were nobles and others were wearing military uniforms, though they'd clearly seen better days. That wasn't too surprising, though. It was common knowledge that any soldiers not wiped out in the initial attacks by TickTockia had either been arrested or driven into hiding.

A sharp poke from her immediate older brother's elbow broke into Dot's thoughts, and she turned her head to glare at him. Wakko's focus, however, was clearly on the people in the room ahead and his eyes wide in recognition as he pointed.

"Look," he whispered. "It's that other guy who found us in the woods."

Dot looked where he directed, and sure enough, there was the taller, bald man who'd found them with Pip. Otto Scratchansniff, he'd said he was.

"Oh!"

The sudden excitement in Yakko's voice made her look at him in surprise.

"Why didn't ya say he was there?" he asked, grinning.

Wakko spoke then, his voice excited too.

"Oh, yeah! Yeah, I knew he was familiar!"

Dot looked at the man again, and her confusion disappeared as memories began flooding her mind. She'd dimly recognized him in the forest too, but there'd been far bigger things to be concerned about at the time. For the first time that day, her lingering foreboding eased. Maybe their luck really was turning for the better.

"This might be the first time in a year I've felt lucky!" she exclaimed. Another elbow poke was followed by her eldest brother's teasing voice.

"Careful there, sis. Ya might jinx it."

"Yeah," Wakko said. "And I know I wanna avoid all th' bad luck we can get."

His voice was light, but there was something in it that dug at Dot a little. She glanced at her second eldest brother, and though there was a smile on his face she caught a glimpse of all too familiar shadows in his eyes. She hesitated, wondering whether she should give him a few encouraging words. As much as she wanted to, she knew her brother and could tell he was in one of those moods where he didn't want that kind of attention. But thankfully, the decision was made for her when Yakko cleared his throat.

"Alright, then! If we've all been sufficiently reassured, Wak, you wanna give the signal?"

Dot saw Wakko's eyes brighten, and a grin came to her face. As always, her eldest brother knew what to do. The middle sibling nodded with an eager grin, then lifted his fist and knocked a pattern on the side of the pipe, the loud clangs echoing. All the people around the metal table jumped, some even yelping, then whirled around.

All three siblings stepped out from around the corner, grinning. Dot couldn't help chuckling as Yakko waved, his face and voice the epitome of cheerful friendliness.

"Hellooo, resistance people! So now that we're all here, shall we get started?"