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Part II: The Search
Yakko slipped into his own bed, and lay there on
his back, staring out the skylight he had in his ceiling. An LAPD chopper
flew by and Yakko sighed. Nothing ran through his
~It's getting harder.~ was his first thought. ~A new member means more
food, especially if she eats like Wakko, which means money, which means
Plotz, which means...~ Yakko
He sighed and laid against the wall near his bed, pulling his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs and resting his head into the darkness. ~Where did we just start losing it all?~. That night, Yakko didn't sleep. Wakko had slept. For a while. But his mind was racing with thoughts
and wonders. It was ablaze with questions, and so now, the small boy, with
his red cap on backwards, sat at
"Wakko?" Swirls whispered, barely audible. Wakko didn't even turn, but it was easy to feel her gently move across the bed and sit next to him. "What is it?" she asked, feeling the strong vibe of mixed emotions from him. Wakko blinked and gave a tiny sigh. Swirls gently placed a hand on her brother's shoulder. "Tell me. What is it?" "Before this week, all I knew was Yakko and Dot. I knew what was what,"
he turned to look at the female version of himself, "This week I have had
very strong feelings. You and I
"I don't know. I just don't know. It doesn't make any sense to me either. I always knew there was a part missing." "I always knew too." Swirls and Wakko both sighed. Swirls looked at her brother's hat, it would become their signal that one didn't want the other to read the current thoughts. Wakko looked to his twin and thought. He finally asked, "You want to go watch TV? Clear our minds?" Swirls giggled as she nodded and the two made their way to the living room. Even though they had begged for satellite for months, it was eventually
Yakko who had to put his foot down and make his siblings realize they didn't
have enough money for that.
The twins were currently watching one of the first sound comedies from
1929. A little old picture many had forgotten entitled "The Cocanuts".
It happened to star a woman named
Wakko had by now taken off his cap and was snuggling his sister affectionately.
He could tells Swirls was tired anyway as she lay her head on his shoulder.
Wakko on the other
They had been bored with most of the commercials, but as the movie neared
the middle, the commercials began to change. Mainly a commercial suddenly
appeared saying, "Lost a
The movie came back on, with more cute scenes and then another slew
of commercials, mainly a Public Service Announcement they repeated about
the virtues of family values,
~Are they trying to torture us?~ Swirls looked up, without actually saying a word. ~Wakko, what are we going to do? I feel so sad now. Will we ever find out what went wrong?~ ~ Yes. ~ Wakko said to try and reassure his sister, but the strong feeling of doubt only reassured Swirls that they might never truly know. They cuddled together, a little more tightly than before, and started to cry, eventually falling asleep in each other's arms. It was still dark as Yakko looked at the red LED lights that sat on
his desk. It was 4:20am, but he felt as if it were 9:26am. He sighed and
headed out of his room, making his way
He looked towards the couch and noticed Wakko lying face down, his arms underneath him. "Wakko?" Yakko whispered softly. Wakko stirred, only to show that Swirls was next to him, shivering and
huddled close to both her twin and the side of the couch. Yakko blinked,
grabbed the heavy quilt and laid it
Yakko went into the kitchen, pouring himself a small glass of soymilk.
He sighed, wondering if stress caused him to be lactose intolerant or if
it was just some other crazy fact. He
~I hope they aren't dead.~ he morbidly wondered. He rolled his eyes and grinned softly to himself. Yakko walked up to the bundle and gently poked it. Listening carefully,
he heard nothing, but watched as it stirred. He smiled a bit, and poked
it again. It stirred some more. Yakko
Finally, the top half of the blanket flipped over and two heads popped up, one angry, the other curious and Yakko had given up on telling them apart. "What was that for?" they asked in unison. "Go to bed." he commanded gently. "You're up." Wakko asked. Thank god their voices were different. "I was getting a drink. You two were watching TV and violating curfew for all I know." Both of them shook their head, "We were sleeping." Swirls replied. Yakko grinned, "Well, now you can go back to it." "Why? We'll be up in another couple of minutes." Wakko replied. Yakko thought for a moment and said, "I'm letting everyone sleep in today. I didn't get any sleep myself." The twins looked curious, hoping to receive a better explanation, but
as silence passed, they both shrugged, stood and headed for their room.
Yakko watched and then hopped
"Maybe he died from over Soy intake. Ooh! Or maybe he died watching all those phone sex commercials...or better yet--" "Maybe I didn't die at all." Yakko said drowsily as he sat up and peered
directly into the eyes of his youngest sibling. Dot smiled. Yakko raised
a brow and wondered what really
"What time is it?" he asked. Dot blinked and looked at the kitty cat clock on the wall. "9:34." she responded. Yakko blinked. "9:34?!" he chuckled after his quick moment of surprise. "People must think we're dead. We've usually destroyed a small country by now." "Can't we take a day off for once? Just once? Do things for ourselves
and not our reputation." Dot asked as she tried to secretly take the quilt
from her brother one piece at a time.
"Reputation is everything my dearest sibling! If it wasn't for reputation
would Groucho Marx be known as the master of words? Would Harpo be known
as a woman chaser?" and
"You put too much faith in yourself." Dot muttered. "On the contrary, I just have a rather large ego. Faith has nothing
to do with it. And don't start with confidence!" Yakko said, still feeling
rather proud of himself. Dot shrugged and
"I wonder if the twins are up." Dot whispered softly, her face turning into a look of curiosity that matched her age. Yakko looked down the hall as well. "Go wake them up if you want them up." he whispered back. Dot shuddered. "They're weird. They're always trying to be like...physically attached to each other as if it would kill them if they were apart." "Look at it their way Dot. They've been separated for our nearly 70
years of living. They didn't know about each other at all and then suddenly
out of the wild blue their whole lives
"But isn't that only for...well..." Dot trailed off as Yakko shook his head. "It can be for any set of twins Dot." "So then why don't they have their own language?" "They have telepathy. Their separation must have caused them to mentally
need each other as well." Dot shrugged and cuddled up into the quilt she
had easily stolen from her
~Maybe we do need a day off. ~ he thought as he walked down the hall. "And what are we doing today oh great wonderful brother of ours?" Dot asked as she sat at the kitchen table. "Throw out ideas." he said. "We want to find out why we were separated." Swirls said, unsure if this idea would be accepted, but still keeping up a show of bravery. Yakko raised a brow, but said nothing. "We think we were separated for a reason." Wakko added. Yakko couldn't
help but grin at the two. The two looked so eager, desperately hoping they
would be approved to go off
"Why not. I'd actually like to know myself. Did you guys have an idea
of where you want to look first?" The twins looked between each other,
unsure of how to answer. To be
"This only proves I was born first." she mumbled. Yakko shot Dot a "look"
and then looked at the twins who stood there looking as if some God might
smite them at any moment.
"Perhaps we could ask Father Jerome." Swirls suggested. "He survived the fire that the nuns died in." "And where would he be?" Dot asked. Swirls looked embarrassed for a moment and looked at the ground. "I-I don't know." she said softly, hoping she could avoid being looked at somehow. "Well, this is going nowhere fast." Dot mumbled. Swirls shot Dot a look this time. ~Why is she always so critical of everything?~ she thought. Only this time Wakko couldn't answer since their hats were on. Yakko tried to ignore the looks between Swirls and Dot. "Well, do you know his last name? Perhaps where he moved after the fire?" Swirls thought and then grinned. "Miss Lewis would keep it in her office, in the file cabinet. She was close to the people at Church." Yakko thought himself this time. "You and Wakko go find out about this
Jerry guy. Dot and I will go to the news reels here at the studio and see
if we can find anything. We'll meet
The four agreed and split up. Yakko and Dot stood before the large building that proclaimed "Archive" in gold paint across the beige building. "We are entering a dimension of sight and sound." Yakko said in his Twilight Zone impression. "Uh, Yakko, these are news reels from the 30's. The only sound is narration." "Oh, pardon me Miss Politically Correct." Yakko sneered as they entered the building. The building was practically empty in the first half. A large, white,
air-conditioned room with a marble floor and a woman sitting behind a desk.
This woman was Penelope Eclaire, or
Penelope smoothed out her desk, trying to arrange papers into order.
She smoothed out her clothes, hoping to ease out the wrinkles, and then
waited like a polite schoolgirl for this
"Hello Yakko." she said softly, praying that he would just breathe on her. "Why Miss Eclaire, I do declare, Penelope is quite so fair." he said
in a low purring type voice, knowing that a simple line like this could
make Penelope melt into a glass of water.
"What can I do for you Yakko?" she asked, trying so hard to compose herself. "What can't you do?" he asked softly so his sister couldn't hear as
he waggled his eyebrows. The look on Penelope's face, the one that said
touch me and I'll faint into orgasmic
"Anything. Any time. Any day. Anywhere. But I am sure that is not why you have come." Yakko raised a brow, "Oh? And what makes you think that?" he asked. "Well, you did bring your sister." Penelope replied as she looked over Yakko's shoulder. Yakko blinked and looked over his own shoulder to see Dot, arms crossed
in front of her chest, right foot tapping, and anger on her face. Yakko
turned back to Penelope and
"Well, you are quite good at deducing Miss Eclaire. I have come for another reason. Perhaps you can let me have a little peak at the news reels for 1929 and 1930?" he asked. Penelope sighed. "I can't Yakko. Those are serious reels and can only be viewed if you're planning to restore them." Yakko frowned for a moment as his brain quickly worked to figure out
how to get past this small problem. He then resumed his seductive smile
and gently placed that velvet gloved
"Penelope," Yakko purred low, daring, "I need to see those films. Please, let me see them." he tried not to sound like he was begging, and it worked. Penelope looked into his dark round eyes and her own eyes widened. It
was like looking into the Elysian Fields. She closed her eyes as his hand
traced her jaw and shuddered hard,
Yakko smiled, pleased with his results and kissed the corner of Penelope's mouth. "Thanks Nelly." he said as he all of a sudden disappeared from her line of view. She realized that he was all ready walking behind her, giving a quick
wave as he and his sister entered the archive. But this thought was only
for a moment before she realized he
As Wakko and Swirls approached Francine's house, Swirls stopped and quickly grabbed her hat from off her head and tied her ears together with a green ribbon. "What are you doing?" asked Wakko. "Francine will wonder why we look alike. This'll distract her." Wakko blinked, still a bit confused. "How?" he asked. "She always sees me with my hat. She'll wonder where it has gone and won't be looking at us. She thinks if she looks at the air around us, she'll find it." Wakko shrugged. Ever since they had met there was an unspoken agreement
between the two of them. Never question the other's knowledge. They knew
that with time, they would
Swirls slowly opened the door and entered, her mirror following. The coast was clear and slowly, the two quickly walked to the office. "Wakko, take off your hat." Swirls whispered as she headed to the file cabinet. As Wakko did, Swirls added, ~Be my lookout.~ Wakko nodded and stood at the door peering down the hallway, watching
for Miss Lewis. Swirls on the other hand went through the file cabinet,
searching for anything on
Wakko on the other hand began to hear steps, and then humming, and finally a blue dress. ~Swirls! Look--~ "Uh...Hello Little Boy." Francine asked as she stood before Wakko. Wakko smiled and slowly slipped his hat back on. He gave a small wave
and watched as Francine's eyesight looked over Wakko and at Swirls. Wakko
twirled around to see Swirls
"Yes Miss Lewis?" Swirls asked as if nothing was wrong. "I didn't hear you come in. Why are you in my office?" Francine asked. "I needed a pen." Swirls reached over to the desk and grabbed a black ink pen. "Got one." she said simply. Francine shrugged and looked down to Wakko who only stared at Swirls. Francine shrugged and walked off. When Francine had disappeared, Wakko ran up to Swirls, "You didn't find anything?" he asked almost feeling downtrodden at the
thought they had failed. Swirls smiled proudly and slowly brought her foot
forward and up. Stuck between
"I found all we needed." NewsReel of the Stars! Dateline, Hollywood, 1929. Warner Brothers is
still working frantically, trying to come up with a saving grace for their
Buddy cartoons which are quickly
Yakko and Dot sat in the dark viewing room as they watched screen images
of Lon Borax sitting at an Animator's chair drawing various shapes that
looked like nothing. Then they
NewsReel of the Stars! Dateline, Hollywood, March Second 1930. Lon Borax,
Saviour of the Buddy Cartoons has been put into the Los Alamos Asylum.
Warner Brothers disavow
The film dimmed out and Yakko stopped the reel as Dot turned to him, "Yakko...I thought we were born on February 31st." she asked, confused. "There is no February 31st Dot. Lon had no concept of time, either then or now. All records have officially recorded us as being 'born' on March second 1930." Yakko replied. Dot ohed and seeing that his sister was satisfied with his explanation,
he changed reels again. There was still plenty of film left, but he was
tired of hearing stuff he could remember.
Picking up another reel, he once again placed it into the projection machine and turned the machine on. NewsReel of the Stars! Dateline Hollywood 1934. The Warners have been
caught! Details on their arrest are still sketchy, but we can tell you
that they have been locked into the
Yakko paused the reel as the clips of St. Catherine's of the Holy Child appeared on the screen. "What is it Yakko?" Dot asked curiously. "That's the Church Swirls said she had lived at." Yakko said, studying the picture. He could see nothing except an ornate Roman Catholic Church. Dot examined the picture too. "All I see is a church." she said, confused. Yakko slowly advanced the reel and the next shot was of police and detectives
surrounding the burned area and ashes littering the ground. He slowly advanced
the film, but that
Yakko's face was obviously set in deep thought. His brows were furrowed and his nose was crinkled. "Something is rotten in Burbank sister sibling and I think that this time we have to find out." "But why?" Dot asked. "Because if we don't. We might all be in danger." Swirls and Wakko had made their way through the house and were now sitting at the curb of the street, pouring over the information on Father Jerome. Swirls read aloud, "Father Jerome Benson, 92 in the year 2000. Currently residing at the Nazareth House in Los Angeles, California." The paper then proceeded to give an address. Swirls and Wakko looked to each other. "We should go tell the others." they said in unison. They rolled their eyes and Swirls replaced her own green cap on her head as they stood up and made their way home. As Yakko and Dot came out of the screening room, they saw Penelope fanning
herself with a Chinese paper fan. Her glasses were off and the top of her
blouse, the first three
"Nelly?" he asked curiously. Nelly smiled bashfully and replaced her glasses as she set the fan down and buttoned her blouse. "It got hot in here." she explained, her face red. "The air conditioner's on." Yakko said, brow still raised. Nelly blinked, "Is it?" she asked, not even realizing it. "Of course it is! It's freezing in here! It was warmer in the screening room!" Dot complained. Nelly shrugged off Dot, and her eyes turned to Yakko. "Did you get the information you needed?" she asked him. Yakko walked closer to Penelope, but was all business now. "What can you find me on the fire of St. Catherine's in 1934?" he asked her. Nelly blinked and shrugged. Obviously he had had enough of the flirting and she could deal with that...hopefully. "Not much. Why? What's so important about it?" she asked as she returned to the paper work on her desk. "I'm not sure, but as it stands now, a lot. I need all the info you
can give me Nelly." Yakko said as he came around the desk to watch her
write on a piece of binder paper. Dot
Nelly shrugged and continued with her paperwork. She just knew the moment she looked up her mind would fail her. "I could get you info in two days from now." she replied. Normally anything like this would be fine with Yakko, but this situation had become horribly serious the moment he had seen that newsreel. "Nelly, I need the info by tonight." "When I get around to it." she muttered softly. Yakko balled his fists and let the anger rush through him. Why was it
that anytime he wanted something important done he was always denied it.
He sighed the anger out and
He placed his velvet-gloved hand under Penelope's jaw and lifted her
head up, only to see her eyes closed tightly. He grinned warmly at this.
The woman knew he was up to his
"Nelly," he whispered, gently, softly, warmly, "Let me see those pretty
eyes of yours." and not being able to resist his rich warm voice, Penelope's
eyes slowly opened so it seemed
"Nelly, sweetheart, I need that information as soon as possible. It
is very important information and if I don't get it, something very bad
might happen to me. You don't want
Nelly shook her head gently, even though Yakko's hand still cupped the bottom of her face. "Then Nelly, I need that information. Can you get that info for me,
please?" he asked. Nelly nodded gently again. Yakko smiled warmly, as if
talking to a child and then slowly kissed
Nelly's head swam and she felt her whole body melt as his lips pressed
against hers. It was pure Elysian bliss as his lips seem to convey everything
she could ever imagine in
Yakko on the other hand couldn't believe he was kissing a girl without
having to quickly pull away, being forced off, or slapped to death. He
never knew Nelly was actually this
Penelope blushed and looked down at the desk. Yakko sighed and rolled his eyes heavenwards, making a mental note to himself not to bring Dot the next time. Yakko sighed a bit. Dang, he had really liked that kiss, and boy, he meant really liked. He turned to the still blushing Penelope and gave her a boyish grin. "Info tonight," and then his mind quickly switched back and forth. Meet her here, have her come to the tower? But knowing the only right choice he continued with, "Bring it up to the tower as soon as possible." Nelly nodded without looking at him and feeling his heart dying to stay with her Yakko turned around and left with Dot in a disapproving tow. When Dot and Yakko got back to the tower, Swirls and Wakko were all ready at the kitchen table, still pouring over the information on Father Jerome. "I see you guys came up with better than we did." Dot said, traces of anger in her voice as she headed to flop down on the couch. Yakko, the normally quick thinker with a cool head, found his own mind
swimming, hooked on Penelope Eclaire and not at the task at hand, but he
tried to get a sentence out, "You
Swirls just nodded, trying to commit all the information on Jerome to memory while Wakko acted as twin delegate. "Yeah, and Swirls made a quick save when we were spotted by Miss Lewis." he responded. Yakko raised a brow, his head instantly cleared by the thought that they could have been caught, "But everything went well?" he asked. The twins nodded in unison, once again, both trying to commit information to memory. Yakko plopped into his own chair, the La-Z-Boy and watched as Dot sat on the large couch, flipping through a Seventeen Magazine. Yakko looked at Dot and knew her attitude. The flipping of her magazine
was quick and fast. She was only looking through it to blow off steam.
He would wait it out. Maybe the
Swirls and Wakko were as content as could be with the folder they had and Yakko knew all he had to do was worry about Dot. And Dot gave him plenty to worry about. "That's it! I'm going to my room!" Dot shouted as she slid off the couch
and stomped to her room. Swirls and Wakko watched, amazed and stunned at
the outburst. Yakko tried to
The pink door to Dot's room was closed, but there was no outward sign
stating she didn't want to be bothered, which Yakko took as being a good
thing and so he gently rapped at
"Dot?" he asked softly. There was no answer and he slowly opened the door. The room was dark
except for a little night light near the corner that always shined. Truth
be told, there were no windows at all
A tear glistened in the soft light and as Yakko entered, he closed the door behind him. Dot peered at Yakko from the corner of her eyes, anger and hate showing in those eyes. "Go away." she whispered harshly. Yakko stopped in his tracks, but wasn't stung by the comment. He knew that this time, Dot's emotions were real. Seeing that her brother had stopped advancing, she returned to staring straight ahead at the pink wallpaper of her room. Yakko took another step forward. "You wanna talk?" he asked softly, gently, knowing this was thin ice. Dot didn't answer and Yakko took a deep breath and in the most sincere sweetest voice he said, "Dottie, talk to me." Dot lifted her head, her eyes widened in horror and a flood of tears burst from her eyes and down her cheeks and she began to sob uncontrollably. Yakko quickly engulfed Dot into a hug, sitting down on her bed and rocking
her gently. "Shh," he began, "it's all right." he said as he smoothed out
the fur on the back of her head.
Yakko just wrapped her up in the tightest hug he could manage and tried to soothe her until the crying would subside. After a moment she pulled away just enough so if she talked her voice wouldn't be muffled. "What am I Yakko? What am I?" she asked as she returned to burying her head in his chest. Yakko blinked and smiled a bit. "You're cute." but this only seemed to have more tears be brought forth from the little one. Yakko blinked. This took him aback. Something was definitely wrong now and this only proved it. Finally pulling away again Dot whispered, "I'm the Zeppo. I'm the Zeppo and...I'm worthless and going to be kicked out of the family!" she cried out before returning her head once again to her brother's chest. Yakko blinked. "Where did you ever get an idea like that?" he asked, stunned and almost angered. Dot finally sat up, away from her protector and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I hear it around the studio sometimes. I hear people saying that I'm
the Zeppo and that someday they'll get rid of me and replace me. And now...now
Swirls is here and she's going
Yakko now stared hard at the pink wallpaper as he protected his sister from the harsh reality of the world. "You're none of that Dot. Don't listen to them. They don't know you.
We could never get rid of you. Swirls or no Swirls. You are family. You
were with us from day one. Never think
"Always remember Dot, we love you. Even if the studio doesn't, family always will." Dot forced a smile onto her lips and Yakko smiled back which only made Dot smile genuine this time as she hugged Yakko. "Thank you." she whispered. Yakko smiled. "Think you can face the real world again? Or do you need time alone?" Dot pulled back and nodded. "I can face it." she responded confidently. The two re-entered the family room only to see the twins smiling happily as Swirls closed the folder with the info on Jerome. "Find anything interesting?" Yakko asked as he approached them. "How soon can we get to L.A.?" Swirls asked. "L.A. is right next door!" Dot replied. She wondered if Swirls was really smart but just hid the fact. "The Nazareth House is in L.A. and that's where Father Jerome lives nowadays. I'm sure he can help us find out why we were split up." Swirls said excitedly. Yakko nodded. "Sounds like a plan." he said absent-mindly as he grabbed
a piece of paper and a pen, beginning to write something. "What's that
for?" Wakko asked as everyone
"A note. To tape to the door. Penelope is bringing some info for us
and I don't want us to miss it." he said as he dotted an i and finished
the note. The twins just shrugged, never
As they headed out the door, Yakko duct taped the note to the tower
door and paused to look it over quickly. As he looked it over he wondered
if he was getting too sentimental.
The Nazareth House could easily be described as this: when a religious
higher up, such as a priest from a church got too old to take care of themselves,
a parish could send them to
Father Jerome was 92 and could feed himself, but it was hard to get
around these days and harder still to do most things himself. So when he
had broken his hip in 1995, St. Anne's
Now, some would see this as a death sentence, but to Father Jerome it
was just another step in life. He still got to go out and see the beauty
of the earth, he still got fed and he had
But the least he had ever expected was to see the baby girl from St.
Catherine's of the Holy Child again. And when the nurse brought in the
Warner Four, Father Jerome blinked and
Father Jerome quickly put his thick glasses on and peered at Swirls. "Dymphna? Is that you?" he asked in a wheezy voice. Swirls placed her hands over her mouth to silence the giggle that came from her as Yakko, Wakko and Dot looked at her in confusion. "Yes, it's me Father. How are you?" Swirls asked as she approached the old man and hugged him. "I'm doing quite well, but you! You've seem to just grow up! Why, I remember when you were just a bitty thing with no memory." he began. Swirls smiled and motioned for her siblings to come closer, which they did. "It has been nearly 70 years Father." Swirls noted for the old man, "But I have come for a reason. How good is your memory of 70 years ago?" she asked. "Well, I haven't shot my bolt yet, and it's a little rusty, but in tact. Tell me, what do you need help remembering?" he asked as he settled back into his bed. "The fire of 1934. Of St. Catherine's." Swirls said softly, but loud enough so the old priest could hear her. Jerry blinked. "You don't want help remembering that. Let's talk about when you frightened--" "Please, Father this is important. It would mean a lot to me if you could help." Swirls pleaded. Jerome sighed. "You'll only get as much as I can remember." "Anything. Anything at all." Swirls urged him on. Jerome began to weave the semi-historical tale: It was 1934. Summer of that year I think. A beautiful summer too. Of
course, there was the Depression and the rumour that war was brewing in
Europe, but the weather of that day
There was a slight breeze in the air, just enough to move the fluffy
clouds across the light azure sky. The trees were green and the leaves
blew in that wind. People rode their bikes
The tale was over as Father Jerome rubbed his glasses with a handkerchief.
Swirls in the arms of her twin having barely remember the day. Dot and
Yakko looked to the ground as if
"The next day investigators said that they thought the fire had been
started on purpose. But no one wanted to believe some one would want to
burn down a church, so the case
Yakko dared to speak. "What do you believe Father Jerome?" Jerome replaced the glasses on his face and smiled a bit. "I believe if it was done on purpose, then God will judge those who
committed the crime. And if it was an accident, then perhaps God had some
divine mystery behind it. That's
Swirls smiled and once again hugged Father Jerry. "Thank you father, for your help. Is...is Sister Mary still alive?" she dared to ask. Father Jerome smiled. "Still alive? My dear! That woman does triathlons for a living! She
left the sister-hood in the 60's and married, but had a split with her
husband in the 80's. She takes care of her
"Where could we find her?" Yakko asked, curious to meet a nun who had left the sisterhood. "Oh, I've heard she lives in Culver City now, but I'm not too sure. If you ask the nurse at the desk she might know." The group headed for the door, but before they left Father Jerome had one more thing to say. "You know, Dymphna, you and that boy with the red hat look an awful lot alike. You two aren't twins, are ya?" Swirls just smiled, "We aren't sure yet Father Jerome, but we'll let you know." and as they left, the sound of Father Jerome's jolly chuckle reverberated down the walls of the hallway. When they got to the front desk, the nurse happily gave Swirls the phone
number of Mary's apartment and the use of the phone, but upon calling Mary
they received an answering
"Hi! You have reached 545-6391, unfortunately I am in Alaska for the month on a bike ride. Hope to hear from you then!" then there was the beep and Swirls hung up. "Well?" asked Wakko hopefully. "She's in Alaska for the month." she said downtroddenly, her twin taking on the same look. Yakko gave them a smile. "Have no fear mirror sibs, I'm sure the lovely Penelope of the Archives
has surely found something for us." he tried to cheer them up. Wakko and
Swirls did smile and the four left
Upon returning home, the bottom of Yakko's note had been added to in
a script none of them had seen before. 'Yakko, call me. Important info.
555-6213' was the message. Lightly
He closed the door to his room and grabbed the portable phone from his desk, punching in the number as he flopped onto his bed. The phone rang twice before it picked up. "Hello?" asked a woman's voice. It was soft and had the hints of fear in it. "Hi." Yakko replied, trying to sound friendly. "Yakko, is that you?" the woman asked, and placing recognition, he realized he was talking to Penelope. "Yeah, it's me. What did you find Nelly?" he asked gently. She sounded scared and Yakko had watched plenty of movies where fear
voiced phone conversations usually meant trouble. But this wasn't the case
and as soon as Yakko verified
"Mainly a lot of rumors, but some good hard facts on the fire. Do you want me to bring them to you or tell you over the phone?" she asked. Why was this woman always asking him for his ideas? In Yakko's mind,
both choices sounded equally yummy. Hear her confident voice over the phone
and imagine her in a
"Which would you prefer?" he decided to ask as he realized his breathing was dangering near shallow. "How about I come over there so your brother and sister can hear it as well." she asked. Drats! He lived with other people! "Sounds great!" he said, his voice just a note higher than normal. "I'll see you in a few moments then." and without a good-bye, Penelope hung up. Yakko turned the phone off and sat there for a moment, realizing a woman
was voluntarily coming up to the tower so she could talk to him. He closed
his eyes and let the feeling of
opened the door and headed out to the living room. "Wakko, sat an extra place at the table. Penelope is coming over." When the door opened, Penelope found a smiling Yakko in his trademark khaki pants greeting her. "Please Miss Eclaire, won't you come in? Have you eaten? We were just
about to have dinner." he said as she walked in. Penelope placed her purse
near the door and looked
"You can take them off." he commented, and bashfully Nelly slipped them off and placed them near her purse. She noted that the air was rather warm and almost stifling in a way.
If one was claustrophobic, this place would surely cause them to panic,
but for her it only seem to add an air of
She examined the table finding that since she was invited there were
five chairs at the table instead of the three she was expecting to see.
Milk had been poured for the five place
It was as if this place was just full of surprises. Everyone always
thought that the Warners were just a bunch of kids, but from what she had
seen so far, that was just their
"You sit there." said an outside voice, which interrupted her thoughts. Nelly blinked and found Yakko pointing to the side of the table where
one chair had been placed. She blushed and sat down at her assigned seat
as she found Dot coming out of
"Wakko made the Gumbo spicy again just to warn you." Dot said, not even realizing Penelope was sitting at the table. Yakko sighed. "Didn't you try to reason with him?" "How could I? Swirls was agreeing with him!" Yakko stifled a chuckle as he sat down at the head of the table. Dot
placed the bowl of rice in the center of the table and sat at her spot,
which was across from Yakko's. After only a
Three Warners she had always known about, but a fourth one? And no less
a twin? Now it really didn't seem real and she found herself expecting
their parents to come out of
"After arguing with each other, we've decided that the Gumbo is only
mild, and not super Cajun spicy like Wakko wanted. I hope that you all
enjoy." Swirls announced as the two
Dot and Yakko looked relieved as the two began to eat. After reassuring herself all of this really was happening, Nelly began to eat as well. Dinner was silent and Nelly noticed Yakko avoiding all eye contact with
her. Part of her wondered if she had done something wrong. Occasionally
the hatless twins giggled as they
Nelly hadn't felt any tension grow, but suddenly Yakko placed his spoon down and looked to the twins, his stare hard at them. "Would you two like to share? Or will I be forced to staple those hats to your heads?" he asked. Dot blinked and looked up, surprised at hearing such a disciplined tone come from her eldest brother. Swirls and Wakko blinked as they looked at Yakko and then to each other. The twins looked back to Yakko. Finally Wakko spoke, "We were jus' wonderin' if the gumbo was too spicy." "I think it's delicious. Did the both of you make it?" Nelly piped up
quickly, trying to soften the suddenly heated conversation. The twins nodded,
smiling proudly, and Yakko
"We had parts of the recipe memorized, but neither of us knew the full recipe," Swirls began, "But we found that if we took the parts each of us knew, then we had the recipe in whole." Wakko finished. Nelly smiled, "Together you two make very good cooks." The twins smiled once again and in unison replied, "Thank you." The rest of the dinner was silent. When dinner was over, Swirls and Wakko washed the dishes while Dot helped
clear the table. Obviously there would be no desert. Yakko led Nelly to
the family room and sat next
"I'd offer coffee but..." he trailed off and Nelly nodded with a grin. "I understand." Yakko kept a polite sitting distance from Nelly. The recommended six inches everyone always suggested. "So, about the information..." Yakko tried to help begin a conversation and found Nelly scooting closer to him. "1934 was an awful busy and complicated year. There was the Depression, the Dust Bowl, war rumors. Why does the burning of a church interest you?" Nelly asked. Yakko looked down and found only two inches of green upholstery separating
his thigh from hers. He realized she was making most of the moves and found
himself closing the gap
"Well, it's not really for me," he began, finding his breathing shallow.
"It's for the twins. You see, the church that burnt, that was where Swirls
was living." he tried to explain but
His stare was interrupted as her French manicured hand was placed on top of her thigh and he looked up into her ocean blue eyes covered by her glasses. "How awful! She was the only survivor?" Nelly guessed as her own look went between her hand and his eyes. "No." Yakko had to whisper now, his breathing completely shallow now. Nelly leaned in. "Tell me more." she whispered back and the distance was closed as Yakko
once again found his lips covering hers. She wrapped her arms around his
neck and his arms went
This time there was no awkward fear of whether the other would disapprove
and the kiss went deeper, the passion flaring from their lips. Suddenly,
they realized they were laying on
For the two of them it seemed like a glorious moment suspended in time.
Her hands and arms cupping his head, holding him tight. His arms around
her waist, wanting so badly to
"I thought she was bringing information." someone called out and Yakko’s
eyes blinked opened as he broke the kiss to peer over Nelly's shoulder.
This time it wasn't just Dot in her
Nelly slowly sat up and blushed as she adjusted her hair and pushed her fogged glasses back up her nose. "I did. It's in my purse," and standing quickly she softly excused herself by saying, "I'll go get it." As Penelope left the room, Yakko had found himself sitting up and acting as if nothing had happened. "Are you sure this is a good idea, getting her involved?" Wakko asked as the three moved. Dot to sit next to Yakko and the twins to sit in the overly large La-Z-Boy. "Of course it is! You have to be a history buff to work the Archives. I'm sure Nelly knows everything about history." Yakko explained. The three didn't really believe this, but none of them wanted to argue with Yakko. Nelly returned, purse in one hand, a manila envelope in the other. "This is all the information regarding the burning of St. Catherine's
of 1934. Well, all that I could find in the WB news department. For some
reason, many people believed they were
"Why would they think that?" Yakko asked, intrigued. "Because of the note the police department received only moments after
the fire had happened. The note told police to do a background search on
a man called Thomas Henry."
Swirls blinked, confused. "Thomas was the Deacon at St. Catherine's." Nelly shook her head. "The police checked. Turned out he was part of the extension of a Mafia group based in Culver City at the time." "But why would they want to burn a church?" Wakko asked. "Yeah, I thought the Mafia were religious too." Dot added. "Not this group. They were like...mercenaries. They'd do anything for
money. Rumor had it that one of the real Warner Brothers paid Thomas to
burn the church because he had
Swirls became startled. "Somebody must have seen me there and thought that the rest of you were there too!" Nelly nodded. "They traced the note to some woman, but her name's been lost in the records. She kept complaining to the police that St. Catherine's church was being haunted by demons." Nelly continued, "After the church burned, they took in a man named Father Jerome and
Sister Mary for questioning, but they knew nothing of the fire. The reports
are sketchy but it said that Father
"It turned out though that the nuns had a collective will and that in
the event of their death, the bundled blanket would be turned over to Father
Jerome, but Sister Mary was still
"But Swirls, you said you were left to Francine Lewis." he mentioned. "I was. Francine took me in." she confirmed. Yakko absent-mindly placed the reports on the coffee table, his face set deep in thought. "What's your home phone number Swirls?" "545-6333" "And the number the nurse gave you?" "545-6319" "You said you found the info on Father Jerome in Francine's office, right?" Swirls nodded. "How many lines does Francine have in her office?" Yakko asked. "One, her office line." "Call the number again and listen closely to the voice." Swirls furrowed
her brow and heading over to the telephone dialed the number. Once again
she received the answering
With tears in her eyes and confusion on her face Swirls uttered only two words, "Sister Mary." Wakko led Swirls back to the La-Z-Boy and held her as she cried. Dot,
feeling sorry for the poor girl walked over and tried to help soothe the
girl’s tears. Yakko's mind was still in
"This still doesn't explain how or why the twins were split up. I think it’s time to see Lon." Yakko said as he stood. "At this hour?" Nelly asked. "Why not?" Yakko said as he turned to Nelly. Looking at her watch and then up to Yakko, Nelly replied, "It's 8:56pm. Visiting hours are long over by now." "Well when are visiting hours?" Yakko asked, peeved that his authority was being questioned. "At Los Alamos? Two to Four Monday through Friday." she replied back. Yakko sighed and sat at the other end of the couch and looked to his group of siblings. "I suppose you two can wait a little longer, right?" Wakko nodded as he looked to Yakko. Swirls now crying on Dot's shoulder. "Maybe I should go..." Nelly said softly as she stood. "No Penelope. You can stay if you like. I understand it's not very late and that you probably only live next door--" "Actually, I live in Yorba Linda." she replied. Yakko blinked, the tiredness and deep thought leaving him. "Yorba Linda? That's an hour and a half drive from here! By all means,
please stay. You could get carjacked or in an accident while you tried
to make that trip!" Yakko tried to
"Do you have room for me?" Nelly asked unsuredly. "No!" Dot protested, but her protest fell on deaf ears. "If you don't mind, the couch pulls out. You could sleep here." Yakko offered. Nelly nodded slowly. "If you're sure, then I'd be delighted." As the twins and Dot prepared for bed, Yakko helped Nelly get the sheets onto the couch bed. "I do have to thank you for letting me sleep over." Nelly said softly as she pulled on one corner while Yakko brought out a large and heavy quilt. "It is a harsh world out there and villainy likes to parade under the mask of virtue." Yakko said as he unfolded the quilt to lay on top of the bed. Nelly giggled a bit. "That sounds like it's from a movie." "It is. Sleepy Hollow. Dot wanted to see a scary movie one night and so we rented it. Besides, she loves that Johnny Depp guy." he said as he went to go grab a pillow. Nelly smiled. "You seem to be really close to Dot." she called out to him. Yakko returned with two large pillows, "I'm close to Dot and Wakko." he responded simply. "And Swirls?" Nelly asked. There was a long pause as Yakko placed the pillows on the couch. "She...was unexpected." was all he said, his voice soft on the subject. "Jealous she'll take your brother away?" Nelly asked as she followed him to the kitchen. "No!" Yakko immeaditly said as he grabbed two glasses from the cabinet and began to fill one with water. "Then you just have no comment on her?" Nelly continued to prod. Yakko sighed. "It's the fact that Dot's afraid Swirls is her replacement
and I can't show favoritism on any of them. If I did they'd all probably
start to get ideas. I want to keep in them
Nelly leaned against the counter. "If you did have to choose a favorite, who would it be?" she asked softly. Yakko looked at his glass of milk and after a moment replied, "Dot." "Why?" Nelly asked. "Because she's fragile, even if she doesn't like to admit it. But at times she can stick up for herself. And she has an ego." "So you find her like a miniature version of yourself?" Nelly asked. Yakko shrugged as he placed the milk back and handed Nelly the glass of water. "I guess." "Hmm." was all Nelly replied with. As they headed back to the couch, Yakko raised a brow, "What's that suppose to mean?" "It means that from what you've told me, you have the beginning basis of a Groucho complex, only with a different base but perhaps the same apex." Yakko blinked and looked at Nelly with one brow raised high. "Are you in some sort of cohorts with Scratchy?" he asked. Nelly giggled as she sat down on the edge of the bed-couch. "No, but
I study different actors of different periods of time. The Marx Brothers
for the 20's and 30's and Anthony
Yakko frowned as he sipped his milk. "Y-You aren't angry, are you?" Penelope asked, fearful she had insulted him. "No, just annoyed that I'm getting extra psycho-therapy for what I don't understand." he replied as he sat next to her. Nelly smiled. "I'll keep quiet if you prefer." "Women should be seen and not heard." Yakko mumbled which only made
Nelly laugh. "Exactly like Groucho! Oh I'm sure you've had to have met
him sometime before you guys
Yakko grinned a bit. "Wakko got a chance to meet Harpo once, but other
than that we never did. They were at MGM at the time I believe. They never
did Warner movies, and when
Nelly nodded and finished her water but before she could say anything Dot had come from the depths of the great beyond. "Yakko, tuck in time." she said sleepily as she pulled on her brother's
arm. Her hair was in curlers and she wore a pink night gown and pink slippers.
Nelly could understand why
Minutes later Yakko returned and Nelly notice that in place of his khaki
pants, he wore khaki colored flannel pajama bottoms. As he headed towards
her he threw her a white bundle
"Night clothes if you want, bathroom's down the hall and last door to the left." he said with a smile. "Thanks." Nelly replied as she picked up her purse and headed for the bathroom. As Penelope headed back to her bed while brushing out her long brown hair, she found Yakko watching the Channel 4 news. "Waiting for Leno?" she asked and Yakko turned. 5'5" of peaches and
creme skin, waist length brown wavy hair and just a simple long white shirt
that proclaimed Anaheim Angels
He gulped, "Um...just getting the weather report for tomorrow." he stated
as he stared at the flying angel A across her chest. He quickly averted
his gaze back to the television,
"Oh my gosh! That's the freeway I take home some nights." Nelly exclaimed as she looked at the two-car collision crash. Yakko stared intently at the police officers. "Guess I saved you then." he mumbled softly. "You did." she responded softly as she laid her head on his shoulder. Yakko stared hard at the TV. If he even looked at her now, that would be it. Nelly kissed his jaw and Yakko closed his eyes gently as her arms wrapped around his waist. "I have so much to thank you for," she began. ~Don't say it. Don't say it.~ his mind willed her, but it was too late. "How can I ever repay you?" she finished the sentence and as Yakko turned
to face her, she was looking up at him and faster than lightening his lips
found hers and they sat there,
His arms wrapped around her neck and he held her close, running his
gloved fingers through her hair. She kissed him, passionately, deeply.
The others were asleep, perhaps this
Nelly felt one of Yakko hands leave her and begin to search the couch
for something. After a moment he lifted his hand over her head and flipped
the TV off. Penelope blinked. He
She wondered if he actually did want to give up those models and so she proceeded to lay down and he followed, this time, him on top of her. ~Penelope! He's a teenager running on hormones! He doesn't love you!~ and this thought made her break away. "Yakko," she began and he looked to her with those black abyss eyes. "Yes?" he asked. "Do you really love me, or are these just hormones?" Yakko gave a half grin. "Nelly, the moment I peered into those baby blues of yours I knew that not even Scratchy's Nurse was on my list anymore." Nelly blinked. Oh yes, somehow she had scored on Yakko's number one list and so she resumed their heated kiss. But seconds later another thought interrupted her mind, ~Penelope! He's probably only 16! You could get called in! For heaven
sake's he was born in 1930! He's older than me! Good reasoning.~ and that
was the end of her thought
The two spent a night of passion, together, on the couch. The two professed their love for each other, and for once, all seemed right in the world. Nelly woke up to clapping her hands against her ears. It sounded as
if a home fire alarm was going off and as she opened her eyes to look at
Yakko, she found he too had his hands
Yakko, startled out of his wits, cursed under his breath and grabbed
the quilt from the couch, quickly throwing it over the two of them. He
had been caught. He looked around
Dot continued to scream and finally Yakko screamed out himself, "Dottie, Shut UP!" Dot stopped and a deep red fiery anger showed on her face. "Call me Dottie--" "OUT! NOW!" Yakko commanded as he pointed to the hallway. His own anger
looking much more fearsome than Dot's. Even Nelly cowered away from him,
pulling the blanket so it
"All Warners out of here! Now!" and this sounded like a commandment
from God himself. The anger on Yakko's face and in his voice enough to
terrorize a small country. The twins,
"And what about her." Dot hissed back, or so she tried as she pointed to Penelope. "We will deal with my social and sex life at the breakfast table. Now,
GET OUT!" this time, fearing for her life, Dot ran to her room and Yakko
slumped back against the couch
Nelly quickly slid out from under the blanket and stood, grabbing articles of clothing, "Maybe I should--" "No," Yakko said tiredly. "Stay. You have to now. If you go," he stopped, trying to search his mind on how he could explain this to her. "If you go they'll see you as nothing more than a common harlot and
I believe you're more than that. Please. Stay. If not for my sake, then
your own." he explained as best he could.
"Then stay I shall." she said as she handed him his flannel p.j.'s. Yakko sighed as he stood and slipped them on. He rearranged the couch as best he could, but Penelope could see that just this quick episode had exhausted him. They slid the couch back to its original sitting position and rested against it for a moment. "I'm sorry. I knew I should have left last night." "Are you saying you regretted last night?" Yakko asked as he looked at her. "No--" Nelly began but was quickly cut off. "Then don't talk." Nelly quickly closed her mouth and lay against the couch, fearing to
make any move at all. Yakko sighed and rubbed his hand down his face. "I
should be apologizing. I should
"Are you saying you regretted last night?" Nelly retorted. "No but I--" "Then don't talk." Nelly said with a smile. Yakko looked to her with a raised brow, but the smile eased away his look and he smiled too. "So when's breakfast? I don't think your siblings will be able to wait all morning." Nelly said. Yakko looked at the VCR clock and found it to be mid-morning. "I hate it when they leave me up to the cooking." he said as he stood and headed to the kitchen. Nelly continued to smile and followed. Once in the kitchen, Yakko looked around, summing up his options. He began to grab the toaster from underneath the counter, along with a pan and food items from the refrigerator. "Do you know how to cook bacon?" he asked Nelly while setting up. "Yes." she responded. "There's a pack in the freezer and a baking pan on the bottom of the cabinet next to the fridge. Go at it." he said as he began to crack eggs into the frying pan. Nelly began to get the pan out but heard a muttered curse and looked up. Yakko sucked at his finger while trying to crack an egg into the pan. "What some help?" she asked. "No. I got it." he said a little angrily as he took his finger out of
his mouth and continued to crack the eggs. Nelly shrugged but only got
that far before she heard a rather large,
"Go lay out the bacon on the pan and I'll do this." she said smiling.
Yakko sighed and headed over to the pan and began to lay out the bacon.
Just as Nelly cracked the last egg
"Get out and I'll cook breakfast." she said. "But it--" "Go! Before you kill yourself!" she said, interrupting his protesting. Yakko sighed and headed out of the kitchen to go flop down on the couch,
but just before he flopped she heard him call out, "You could set the table."
Yakko rolled his eyes with a
By the time Dot and the twins found it safe to once again come out,
they found Nelly setting a plate of egg sandwiches on the table while Yakko
brought out glasses of milk. Dot
Nelly smiled. "Good morning." she said cheerily, as if the previous episode had never happened. "Are those for us?" the twins asked as they pointed at the food. Nelly nodded and the twins quickly sat down, grabbing their forks, prepared to eat when given permission. "Did you make those?" Dot asked suspiciously. Nelly nodded and Dot added, "I'm not hungry, thanks." as she tried to retreat from the dining room. "Dot Warner. Sit." Yakko commanded and Dot sighed walking over to her seat at the table. Nelly and Yakko took their seats and Yakko grinned, his evil 'i'm-plotting-something'
grin. "Now, before anyone eats, we are going to talk about what happened
this morning. If the
The twins proceeded to moan and Dot's frown grew deeper. "Now, who would like to start?" Yakko asked. Nelly kept quiet. He owned the place, she didn't. Nuff said. "I would like to say that I do not care who you date or when you do. I would just like to eat my breakfast." Swirls stated first. "Nice comment, but not helpful. Wakko, comments?" Yakko asked. "Isn't this cruel and unusual punishment?" Wakko asked. "For our family? No." and then turning to look at Dot. "Would you care to talk about this?" he asked her. Dot frowned. "This woman is using you for your reputation, your stardom and our money." she stated. Yakko sighed and then smiled. "But what you are not aware of sister sibling, as most people aren't
except for me, Scratchy, and our dear friend Plotz is the undeniable fact
of this statement. As far as our finances
Swirls, Wakko and Dot all looked at Yakko in horror. "We're what?!" they asked terrified. "Broke, bankrupt. We have no more money at all anywhere." Yakko put it simply for his siblings. "How do you live then?" Penelope asked softly, worried. "By our havoc my dear. Chaos always has a reason, and ours is for money. To sound cliché, people pay us to go away." Dot grinned evilly and looked to Nelly, "So, I guess that's the end of your relationship, huh?" "No." Nelly said right after Dot finished her sentence. "I do love your
brother and whether he's flat broke or Bill Gates doesn't matter to me.
What does is the fact that he returns my
Dot took a deep breath and let it out. Her face grew worried and she looked to Yakko. Yakko tried to offer her a warm grin it didn’t work. "They're hungry." she whispered as she pointed to the twins. The twins
in turn looked to Yakko whose heart went out to his sister. "Everyone,
eat. Dot, come with me." he said as
It was mid-morning and people were staring as Yakko carried his sister
as they walked throughout the studio in their pajama's. Once, Dot had whispered
against his neck, "Put me
There was a small pond in the middle of the small forest, which was
mostly filled with real plants. Yakko sat down at the base of pond, still
holding Dot. But even when he had sat
"If you don't let me go, you might choke me." he whispered jokingly in her ear. "I don't care." she said, her voice muffled against his shoulder. "Come on. What's wrong?" he asked. "I don't like Nelly." Dot said into his shoulder. "Why not?" "Because when you marry her she'll want to be our mother and she'll change everything." Dot continued into his shoulder. Her voice still muffled. Yakko blinked and tried to look into Dot's face, but couldn't pull her away still. ~Just like my tail around Nelly's ankle.~ he thought. "Who said I was planning to marry her?" he asked. "When people fall in love, they get married." Dot said. "But you love Mel Gibson. Does that mean you're going to marry him?"
Yakko asked. "I'm only ten. You're 17. You could marry Nelly if ya wanted."
Dot said, pulling away just a tad
Yakko chuckled. "And age matters?" he kissed the top of Dot's head.
"My dear sister, I will not marry Penelope, or any other woman for that
matter until I have your blessing, does
"Now, about this envy you have with women touching me," he began. "I don't envy them!" Dot said. "Well you must not like something. You don't like Scratchy's Nurse, you don't like Swirls, you don't like Nelly or Michelle Pfeiffer or--" "All right! I don't like the girls you like! What of it?" "That's just it. I'm a guy and I like all girls, what I don't get is why you can't understand this." Yakko said. Dot looked at his flannel p.j's. "Cause I love you." she said softly. "Dot, I love you too, but you're my sister. Not a girl I can randomly ogle." Yakko responded softly. "I don't want you to leave me." she said as tears slid down her cheek
as she pressed her face against his cheek. He rubbed the back of her head
as he placed his chin on top of her
"And I will never leave you, but Nelly is a very special girl to me
and I'd very much like to get on with my life." Yakko told his sister.
Dot nodded a bit. "Someday when you're older
"No I won't." she said as she pulled away and looked to Yakko. Yakko smiled and poked her nose. "Just you wait sister sibling, all
too soon Wakko and I will have to fight the men off. Dot Warner will be
the next Princess Grace!" Dot giggled
"I'll stop getting jealous." she whispered. "Thank you. That means a lot to me." Yakko replied and together they walked hand in hand back home. Back at the tower Dot went off to her room to get dressed and Yakko found the twins cleaning up the table. Nelly headed over to Yakko with his glass of milk and asked softly, "Is she going to be okkay?" Yakko nodded. "Yeah. She was just worried. Thought we were getting married." Yakko replied as the two walked to the kitchen. "Married? We're not getting married...are we?" Nelly asked, surprised. "Not that I know of, and if you think I'm going to propose to you right
here and now, you've got another thing comin' sister. I may be able to
tell you I love you, but marriage is a
Nelly smiled. "All right." and she kissed his cheek before they entered the next room. "Wakko and I left you and Dot a sandwich. We thought you'd get hungry." Swirls said without looking up from the dishes. "Hey!" Nelly exclaimed angrily. Wakko sighed. "Nelly thought you two would get hungry." he said, giving credit to where it was due. Yakko smiled and picking up two sandwiches, quickly retreated, making sure Nelly was in tow, once out he gave her one sound piece of advice. "If the twins take credit for not eating food, let them have it. It helps teach them discipline." Nelly nodded. Yakko began to head down the hallway when Nelly stopped him. "Let me do it," Penelope said. "So I can have a chance to talk to her." Yakko nodded and handed her the sandwich. "Her room is the one with the pink door. You can't miss it." he said softly. Nelly nodded and made her way into the great beyond. Nelly gently knocked on the door. It was so dark in the hallway that she had hardly been able to see the pink door of the girl's room. "Come in." Dot's voice called out. As Nelly gently opened the door and peered in, she found Dot sitting at her dressing table in her bloomers taking the curlers out of her hair. "I brought you breakfast." Nelly said softly. Dot turned and looked at Penelope and a shiver of fear ran through the
woman. Dot raised a brow, which Nelly noted as being almost like Yakko's
look, but Dot shrugged and
"On that pretty pink comforter?" Nelly asked. "Yeah, why not?" Dot asked as she pulled the last curler from her hair and began to brush out the curls. "Well, the grease would soak through and stain it." Nelly stated matter
of factly. Dot hrmed and looked around the room. She pulled a few Kleenex's
from a box and set them atop
"That shouldn't stain, should it?" she asked. Nelly smiled. "Nope." she said as she placed the sandwich atop the Kleenex. Nelly began to retreat when she suddenly heard, "I'm sorry." from Dot. Nelly turned, "Why's that?" "For screaming you awake this morning." Dot replied softly. Nelly smiled. "I understand. You're very protective of your brother. You must love him very much." "I do." Dot said as she slipped into her skirt. "He's lucky to have a sister to watch over him. I was an only child so I never had the privilege." Nelly commented. "I...guess I can watch over the two of you." Dot said slowly. Nelly smiled. "You really are sweet Dot. Thanks." Nelly said and then quickly left. Eventually all were dressed and knowing of the busy day ahead, they prepared for it as Yakko escorted Nelly to the door. "Thank you for everything." Penelope said softly as she straightened one last wrinkle out of her skirt. "My pleasure. Once again, let me apologize for--" "There's no reason to explain Dot." "I meant your ankle. Next time I'll be more careful." Yakko said with a grin. "You think there might be a next time?" Nelly asked, sounding serious enough that worry washed over Yakko's face. "Well, I was hoping there would be but if--" he tried explaining before Nelly chuckled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. Yakko smiled, relieved. "I'll call you tonight if we find anything. Thanks for your help." he said. Nelly nodded and left. When the Warner Four entered
the Los Alamos Asylum for the Insane, many of the nurses blinked and stared
in shock. Never had they seen the Warners before and they never expected
them to come waltzing into here.
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