I'm back! :D And, no, this is not my next multi chapter fic! I'm so sorry! XD This was supposed to be a quick one-shot to get me back into the Animaniacs zone, as, due to writers block, I've spent some time writing in other fandoms. This quickly grew so large that I decided to split it into three parts. Part two comes out Thursday, and part three comes out on Saturday. Yakko's POV, Wakko's Wish universe, and the rating my change depending on reactions.
Disclaimer: I don't own Animaniacs; that goes to its rightful owners and I'm not making a profit off of this. Please don't sue me! I don't have anything worth taking!

Memories

When your seven years old, your life shouldn't be difficult. Your life shouldn't suddenly change in horrific ways. You shouldn't be left orphaned with no one but your five and three year old siblings, in a country recently forced into tyranny.

My life sucked at seven.

It actually started off normally. I had a great life. I acted like any normal seven year old. I played with toys, started really learning about the world around me, and started acting like a better older brother to Wakko and Dot. I started helping Mom and Dad take care of them. Or, I tried to help.

Wakko had been five when he started wearing Dad's old red cap all the time, even though it covered his eyes. Thus, he'd been running into things, but he usually got right back up and kept walking. He'd always been more on the quiet side, though this was the age he started opening up more.

Dot was starting to toddle around in a much steadier manner; she wasn't falling nearly as often. And, in contrast to Wakko at three, she never shut up. She'd babble on and on about whatever was going through her mind at the time. It got annoying on occasion, but it was still pretty cute.

Things didn't stay peaceful for long.

In the months leading up to Salazar's takeover, delegates from Ticktokia would come to the castle to see Dad. Mom and some of the guards would always shoo us away to a different part of the castle. I didn't know much about what was going on, except that Dad didn't like these people, and that we shouldn't bug him after they left.

I asked Mom about it one day. "Who are the strangers that keep visiting Dad? And how come Dad doesn't like them?"

Mom sighed, and thought for a bit before answering. "They're from a nearby kingdom, and they want to make your Dad do something he doesn't want to do."

"What do they want Dad to do?" Hey, I was curious. Most kids at that age are.

Mom had to think again before answering. "I'm not exactly certain, but it's something that would benefit them, but be bad for Warnerstock. However, they're trying to make it look like its good for us, but you Dad's seeing right through it."

"But, why? Why would they do that?"

"I'm not quite sure, Yakko. Money, perhaps, or power. But, whatever it is, you don't need to worry about it. This is grown-up business, and your Dad will work it out peacefully, as he always does."

Oh, how wrong she was. Because a week after that conversation, Dad died. Suddenly, yet peacefully, in his sleep. He never woke up, no matter how much Mom cried. She seemed to never stop crying, and Dot would cry too, even though she wasn't quite sure what was going on, except that Daddy was gone and never coming back.

Poor Wakko was confused as well. He kept touching his hat and saying "Dadoo?" and I'd have to gently explain to him that "Dadoo" was gone. After a couple of days, it finally hit him, and he cried for hours. It was one of the saddest things I'd ever heard.

I cried to, but I did so alone, in my room, late into the night. I needed to stay strong for my siblings and Mom.

A couple of weeks after Dad died, some more representatives from Ticktokia came, sometime after dinner.

"Yakko, put your siblings to bed. I need to talk to these men." Mom told me gently, but firmly. So I did so, then walked back downstairs and sat next to the door to listen in on the conversation. Hey, she never said anything about me going to bed.

"Surly, Queen Angelina, you must see sense!" An unfamiliar male voice pleaded.

"My decision remains the same as King William's, and that's that. I request you leave, before my guards make you." I'd never heard my Mom address someone so sternly before, and I mentally cheered for her.

"You seriously can't think that you're going to run Warnerstock all by yourself?"

"Of course I will. My husband did keep me up with what was going on, and I did help run the kingdom. I'll keep all of his advisors on to help me."

"But, you're a woman!" The man said, chuckling like Mom had told him a funny joke. Mom, however, wasn't joking.

"That might mean something to Ticktokians, but my gender makes no difference here in Warnerstock! Now, I ask you to leave!"

"Of course, Queen Angelina. But, if you ever change your mind, feel free to send delegates over." I ran off to my bedroom so Mom didn't catch me eavesdropping, but I could barely sleep. The conversation kept running through my head, and I was worried.

Don't worry, Yakko. It'll all be fine. Mom'll figure things out. Despite my thoughts, I turned to the window and stared at the moon.

"I wish you were here, Dad."

Things grew from bad to worse. We saw Mom less and less, as she now had an entire country to run. The times we did see her, she was tired, and tense. I would learn soon why.

It was a Thursday, exactly two weeks after Mom's conversation with the delegate from Ticktokia, and Mom told me to wake Dot up from her mid-morning nap for lunch. Wakko ended up tagging along out of boredom. We woke up Dot, and we were halfway to the dining room when, all of a sudden, we heard a large cry and the sound of lots of people running at once. Soon, the guards were running all over the place, shouting orders and grabbing weapons. I grabbed Wakko and Dot and started running.

"Mom!" I yelled, trying to be heard over the sounds of men yelling and swords clanging. "MOM!" The chaos and my screaming caused Dot to start crying. When I stopped to try to calm her down, I saw that Wakko was close to starting as well.

"Shhhh...It'll be okay, guys...We'll find Mom...Its okay" I kept repeating that, but I didn't believe a word. I felt tears of my own start, but I choked them back. My tears wouldn't help stop Wakko's or Dot's.

"Yakko! Wakko! Dot!" I turned toward the familiar voice, and saw Mom running to us. She pulled us into a big hug and in the safety of her arms I started to cry.

"Everything's going to be alright, okay? Mommy has to go away for a while, but everything will be alright." She said calmly, in juxtaposition with the discord around us. She stopped hugging us, grabbed my shoulders, and looked me straight in the eye.

"Yakko, you have to care for your siblings now. You have to keep them safe from harm, no matter what the cost. Watch out for them, and if something should happen to me-" Her voice broke there, but she swallowed and continued. "If something should happen, you have to raise them. I'm sorry to put such a burden on you, especially considering your age, but I know you can do it. Promise?" She asked, sticking out her pinky, a sad smile on her face.

I mimicked her smile and interlocked my pinky with hers. "Promise."

"Good," She muttered, the hugged me, Wakko, and Dot. Seeing Mom and hearing her calm voice had calmed them down. She then grabbed my hand and ran through the castle until she got to an eerily calmer part of the castle. She opened a closet, told us to stay there and stay quiet, that she loved us, gave us all one last hug, then she left.

That was the last time I ever saw my Mom.

Neither Dot nor Wakko cried. They seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation, and remained quiet. I not quite sure how long we were there. The hours blended together, and all of us napped at some point.

Suddenly, we heard a loud knocking on the door. Dot and I turned our attention to the door, quiet but alert. Wakko was sleeping, so he jolted awake, but managed to stay quiet as well.

"Who's in there?" A strange man question. We stayed quiet. "Sir, I don't think anyone's in here."

"Did you open the door?" A nasty voice asked. A soft reply I couldn't make out. "Well, OPEN IT!"

We backed up to the wall as the man jumbled for the door. He opened it quickly and we were face to face with a Ticktokian guard, and King Salazar himself.

"It's the Warner kids," King Salazar sneered.

"What should we do with them?" The guard asked.

"They are heirs to the throne...but the few who knew that fact are no longer an issue," Those words sent shivers down my spine, as well as the devilish grin on his face as he said it. "And they are children, and if word goes out that I'm murdering children, in a country we're I'm not very well liked yet, things could get nasty." He thought for a moment.

He turned to the guard. "Blindfold them, then take them to the nearest town with an orphanage. Disguise yourself, as well as them, and say you happened upon them while traveling. And don't. Screw. This. Up."

"Yes, sir!"

King Salazar walked away, and the hard expression on the guards face softened. "Do you have any other clothes?" He asked. I was confused by that question as a child, but I now realize that we were still wearing royal clothing, and he had orders to make us look like normal children. Nevertheless, I shook my head no for answer, still too scared and confused to talk.

He pulled three strips of cloth from his pocket. The word "blindfold" echoed in my head, and I tensed, pushing my siblings father behind me. The guard sighed. "I hate to do this, kids, but it's my job. I'm not gonna hurt'cha." Realizing my siblings were taking cues from me, I allowed myself to be blindfolded first. From what I could hear, my siblings let themselves be blindfolded too.

We walked awhile, and I wasn't quite sure were in the castle we were. We finally went through a door, and my blindfold was removed. When I adjusted to the light, I saw we were in my bedroom. Remembering his request for different clothes, I ran to my closet and shoved some random things into my pockets. We were re-blindfolded and the process was repeated in Wakko and Dot's rooms.

While in his room, Wakko spoke to the guard, his voice merely a whisper. "Can I keep my hat?" The innocent, child-like question, and the way he grabbed his hat, as though afraid it would be swiped off his head, drew a soft smile from me.

The guard chuckled mildly and nodded. Wakko gave him one of his trademark goofy smiles, with his tongue hanging out. But it was quick, as the severity of the situation reaffirmed itself in all of our heads, and we were back to the tense quietness as before.

After grabbing Dot's clothes, we were told to change. That's when my quick grabbing of random clothes showed itself. Wakko had a long sleeved, sky blue turtleneck, and a scarf. The only remaining part of his original outfit was his hat. Dot had a light pink skirt, a darker pink shawl, and her bejeweled hair scrunchie had been switched for a simple one with a yellow flower. I had a scarf, and a pair of too big brown pants, which I secured with a long piece of rope I happened upon in the pockets. All three of us had white gloves.

The guard must have thought we looked normal enough and again put on our blindfolds. We had them on for a while this time, as we had to exit the castle. On the way out, we ran into King Salazar.

"Good, they look normal enough, even if the clothing's a bit random." I heard him say, and there was a light amount of surprise in his voice. Remembering earlier conversation between him and this guard, as well as his younger-looking appearance, I got the feeling he was new. "There's a horse and wagon just outside the gates waiting for you. There's also an outfit for you to change into as well. The closest town with an orphanage is Acme Falls." He practically spit out the name. "Ugg, these Warnerstock folks have such weird town names." I heard him mutter as he walked off. Luckily, I had enough sense not to talk back, but I was angry at his comment.

Still blindfolded, we were lead outside the gates and helped inside the wagon. Dot grabbed on to me, and I could feel her shaking in fear. Wakko's stomach growled. It had been a while sense we last ate.

"Forgot about food..." The guard muttered. "Go up to the castle and see if you can get something for the kids." I heard a "Yes, sir." and footsteps. I felt our guard's presence.

"Hey, can we take these blindfolds of yet?" I asked. I could tell that Wakko and Dot didn't like having them on, and frankly, neither did I.

"Sorry, I really should wait until we're away from the castle." He said, and I could hear some actual sympathy in his voice. It struck me then that he was just a kid, abet older than us, doing something he wasn't proud of doing. I heard Dad say that men were required to do three years of military service in Ticktokia, something foreign to us.

We waited until we heard our guard climb on to the front of the wagon. He started the horses, and we lurched as the wagon moved forward.

"Bye-bye, castle." Dot muttered, and I felt her hand wave.

"Goodbye, castle," I muttered along with her, smiling sadly.

"Bye," Wakko's whisper of a voice said, and we held on to each other, clinging to our only sense of familiarity in this chaotic world we'd been forced into.