Dot tapped her fingers on her arms as she paced the room set aside for her and her brothers. The space was way more limited than she'd like, so it wasn't proving very effective in calming her down. Or Yakko and Wakko, for that matter.

"Ya know we're not about to play Russian Roulette, right, sis?"

That made Dot pause long enough to throw her eldest brother a glare. He was leaning against the wall with that maddingly annoying amused smirk.

"We're about to face a day with Seer Motormouth, which is about the same thing."

Wakko huffed from his seat on the mattress and crossed his arms.

"I'd actually rather face a loaded gun than that weirdo."

Yakko let out an amused snort as he shrugged.

"Alas, baby bro, we might be doing that for real before long. So I'd enjoy the time without it while ya can."

Dot couldn't help but laugh at that, but she could still see the worry in her eldest brother's eyes that he couldn't quite manage to hide. Some guilt came to her at that, knowing that her clear vexation probably wasn't doing much to reassure him… or Wakko for that matter. So she moved to sit by her immediate older brother and gave his head a reassuring pat.

"Besides, we've all faced a loaded gun already and been fine. So the weirdo should be a piece of cake."

She then scratched his chin, her smile widening when he closed his eyes and let out a soft, contented purr as his tail wagged. Both she and Yakko knew their brother was still dealing with bad dreams, but he seemed to be back to his old self. Happy as she was to see it, Dot couldn't help feeling a little worried whether it would last.

"Excuse me, kidses?"

The siblings all turned to see Scratchy in the doorway, and his expression of combined relief and long-suffering exasperation left little doubt that the Seer had arrived. Dot made no effort to hide either of her own as she stood with a sigh.

"Don't tell me, I've got it… Pip's here?"

Scratchy nodded, giving her a rather tired smile. No doubt he'd already been subjected to the Seer's lengthy monotone ramblings. Well, the least they could do was relieve him. Yakko nodded and pushed off the wall.

"Ah, well… come, siblings. No sense delaying the inevitable." He gave a casual wave. "Lead on, Scratchy."

The older man nodded again, and Dot followed alongside her brothers as they left their alcove and headed down the tunnel to the meeting room. They hadn't gotten very close before that all too familiar droning reached their ears, and Dot had to suppress the urge to groan out loud.

"It never is very pleasant to travel off the grid, don't you think? Of course, it does help avoid trouble but having others to carry on casual talk with does help pass the time. I remember once I was traveling up to the mountains… looking for some artifact, I think, but I never can remember which one. Anyway, I ended up in a caravan with some very interesting folks who could tell quite engaging stories, let me tell you…"

When they entered, none of the siblings were surprised to see the room near empty. Only two other resistance members were there, clearly wishing that they weren't. Scratchy cleared his throat before speaking, making obvious effort to keep his tone respectful.

"Excuse me, Seer? Ve are here."

The shorter man turned, acknowledging them without a blink.

"Oh, good. Haven't got a lot of time, you know."

"Great!" Yakko said, making little effort to hide the relief in his voice. "Then we can keep this short and sweet! So, let's get started."

Pip blinked, then glanced at the poor soul he'd been talking to.

"Well, it was nice chatting with you." Then he turned his attention back to the siblings. "Now then, I'm sure you're aware that traveling openly is dangerous now. So, we're going to have use some less, shall we say, standard methods. Hasn't had to be used for quite some time, as it's typically used only for emergencies, but is very useful. Kind of unfortunate it can't be used more, really."

Dot rolled her eyes. Honestly, did this guy think being annoying was a virtue?

"All right," the Seer went on. "Now, before I show you, there's somewhere we need to go. I'll need to take you, but it'll be no problem. Though I'm sure it will be upsetting for you, so I'll have to apologize for that, but I'm afraid it is necessary."

He moved so he was standing right in front of the siblings and rubbed his hands together as if in preparation.

"All right, this may make you a little dizzy, but don't worry, it should only last a few minutes."

Just then a large circle with intricate swirling designs appeared under the small group. Dot stiffened, and Yakko immediately pulled her and Wakko close.

"Seer!" Scratchy called, sounding extremely anxious. "Perhaps you should tell zem vhere you are going?"

Pip blinked again as the circle grew even brighter.

"Oh, didn't I?" He glanced at Dot and her brothers. "Apologies. We're going to visit where your parents are buried."

His words left Dot speechless for a few moments, until they registered. Yakko sounded as stunned and alarmed as her when he spoke.

"What? Wait a minute…!"

But before he could continue, the circle flashed and grew so bright Dot was forced to close her eyes. She felt Yakko's hold on her tighten and wrapped her own arms around her older brother as tight as she could. Just then she felt a lurching, dizzying sensation of being swept up and off across a large distance, and it was with extreme relief that she felt her feet touch solid ground. She had to keep her eyes closed for a moment until the spinning sensation passed before she was able to open them.

It took a few seconds for Dot to take in the surroundings: they were standing in a wide avenue of the palace gardens of Acme Falls. Winter had taken most of its seasonal beauty, but even now it gave the impression of being well cared for. It wasn't hard to imagine the greenery and colorful blooms, which seemed to match a very faint memory in Dot's mind. She was really little the last time they were here, after all.

But even if she'd never been here, she'd know the building in front of them without question. It rose in front of them with simple yet elegant sloping angles, the white stone almost silver in the watery winter light. And in a small plaza in front of the tall doors stood a statue, and the smiling faces of the two figures made Dot's heart clench painfully as a lump rose in her throat. Wakko's soft voice reached her ears.

"Mum, Dad…"

Pip's voice was as droning as ever, but Dot could detect an air of solemn respect.

"It's time to pay our respects to Warnerstock's last Hero."