PROLOGUE - Quiet Times

Every morning had been the same for the past two years now. Wake up, have a shower, get dressed, walk downstairs and have breakfast. That was the routine that not only Larry, but all of his friends followed when their lives had gone into normalcy. This time however, the house was a lot more quiet and empty. It wasn't that Nick was gone now, it had been a few months ago and Larry was getting used to it. It was the bigger elephant in the room and... well, he didn't want to talk about it.

Not just because it depressed the hell out of him but he'd seen enough death in his life to be fully over it. He gave a rumbling sigh as he leafed through the refrigerator for some eggs and bacon. He was lucky that he could count the amount of times on his hand the same nightmare he'd had again this week. Liza told him it was progress, although he could tell that she wanted him to go back to his therapist to talk about it. But how could you talk about what he had just experienced? Magic was real and it almost killed him.

No one knew of the truth except the gang and, if he had any say in it, it would stay that way. In the end, it was worth a little bit of his sanity.

He cracked the eggs twice on the rim of the frying pan, same as he'd always been taught to, and tried to relax and watch the sun filter through the Venetian blinds. He'd make the most of the warmth on his scales before it would disappear due to the rain forecast for today. He also remembered that he needed to go to the bank to deposit some coins into the savings account and to head over to the grocery store on Main St. because they were almost out of bread, sugar, green tea and whatever else that he and Liza had written on their shopping list.

Larry let a small laugh escape past his lips; quiet times. Just how he liked them.

His eyes wandered over to the clock ticking away gently above the fridge - it was 10:17AM. A little later than what he would usually be up at, but they both had a good excuse.

Just as he added the bacon to the pan, his cell phone buzzed loudly followed by an 8-bit rendition of one of his favourite songs. Who dares call him at this time of day, he thought dryly to himself as he picked it up and checked who was calling. He perked up considerably at who it was, so he answered.

"Hey Firebug, what's up?"

"Heya Larry, not much!" Lemmy greeted him happily. "Just on break at the moment. Did you just wake up?"

Obviously, by the tone of his voice. "Yeah, just making breakfast for me and the wife. So, what's up with you? I take it this isn't a social call?"

"Strictly speaking, yeah. Wendy's been jumping down my throat trying to get the wedding together and she's got me on phone duty making sure you and Liza are still able to come."

"What? Of course we are! We RSVP'd that, like, ages ago!"

Wendy and Kat's wedding was a quickly approaching occasion that, from what he had heard, was an absolutely stressful ordeal. Larry wouldn't know, he wasn't the best man nor had he ever asked to be. He was okay with that in all honesty, weddings were never his thing. Judging from the way that Lemmy was speaking to him, it sounded like he was dealing with the brunt of it.

"Okay, good. You got your stuff and everything?"

"Yes we do, Lem. We haven't thought about it in a while but we've got everything. We've just come back from Liza's parents' funeral."

Lemmy paused. "... Oh. Shit. I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's fine, thank you though. Everything here has been a bit blue lately," He skimmed the eggs around the pan. "I mean, it was pretty heavy."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Both of them within two weeks of each other, Lize loved them a lot. Met the entire extended family at the funeral, I don't think they thought too highly of me even if they didn't say anything. I'm used to it. Gave me a bit of soul searching, you know?"

"Aren't your parents also dead, Larry?"

"No. Just Mom. I don't know anything about Dad, or even if he is still alive."

"You ever thought about finding him?"

"Not really," Larry scooped the eggs and bacon onto one plate and began to repeat the process. "Mom didn't seem all that interested in letting me near him, so I figured he must be an asshole."

"You don't know that."

He had to admit it. "No... no I don't. It's not important anymore. I have my own family with my own wife and son and that just suits me fine."

"Fair enough. Well, tell Liza I send my best to her and dealing with loss sucks, but we deal with it in our own ways."

"I will, thanks Lem. But to answer your question, yes, we're prepared for the wedding."

"Good. Wendy also says you don't have to do any toasts."

"Why?"

Lemmy laughed. "Because you're terrible at weddings."

"First of all, only I can say that about myself and, secondly, the only other wedding I've been to is my own and that was a shotgun wedding in Aquatica City."

"It was pretty romantic though!"

"That's lies and you know it; half of you were shit-faced on those double-whammy tequila cocktail things, the guy who ordained us stole my wallet and Ludwig and Morton gambled away all of their money and then we lost Iggy on the way back to the motel."

"... You have a point there but," Lemmy said. "It was a pretty fun night and we found Iggy!"

"Just barely. I think Liza still regrets ever suggesting going there. If we ever have a new wedding, you can also be our best man."

"Hell no!" He laughed at Lemmy's reaction. "I hate this! If I ever get married, I just want it to be in front of some fireworks with friends, not a big money sink that's only going to last for one day."

"Don't let Wendy or Kat hear you say that."

"Larry, I love them both, but it's been two years and I'm still not used to living a normal life. Is this what people did while we were on the run? Fucking yikes..."

Larry laughed harder. "If you wanna blame someone for this, blame Ludwig. He's the one who got us pardons and a lot of money for our troubles. Wendy and Kat obviously think this is a good use of their money," He moved over to flick on the coffee machine, placing two cups under it as it whirred mechanically to life - another present bought for himself after Nick left. "But who am I to give them shit for it?"

"They think I'm stupid for buying the '87 Charger."

"... Well, they're stupid."

Lemmy replied with a delicate laugh of his own. "I agree, but you didn't hear that from me. Anyway, just checking to make sure you're all good here. How will you be getting over here, anyway?"

"Driving."

"Not taking a flight?"

"It's quieter, we can control the temperature and if we annoy each other we can just pull over and get out."

"Fair enough!"

"We'll be staying at that inn near the church anyway, Forest Hill or whatever it's called."

"Awesome. I'll let them know then. Maybe Wendy will calm down a bit then."

"Bet you regret being given best man, huh?"

Lemmy sighed. "Tell me about it."

"Okay Firebug, I'll let you go. It sounds like you got more to worry about than just whether me and Liza will make it and if we'll have the agreed upon clothing."

"You know it. Thanks Larry, have a good day."

"Yeah, you too. See you later, man." Just as he put his cell down, Liza had walked into the kitchen looked ragged and still half-asleep, but a sight better than how she was for the past few nights. Still, who could blame her? Larry could only look at her with sympathy and immediately hand her a plate. "Morning."

"Mmm, good morning," She greeted him, kissing him on the cheek as she grabbed the plate. "Who was that you were talking to?"

"Lemmy."

"Oh! How is he?"

Larry grinned and also handed her some coffee. "I think he's about to drop dead from stress."

Liza sat down in front of the television. "Bless him. It's hard to deal with those sorts of brides. I can't imagine two."

"Tell me about it. But you were perfect in every way on our wedding."

"Please, Nick was due any day and I wanted to kill you all in the end."

Taking a seat next to her, Larry fluffed a pillow on his lap to make for a makeshift table. "But you pulled through and you still love me as well as everyone else."

"Thinking about it, yeah, I do. It was just a pain in the moment."

Still, if that wasn't a sign that Liza loved him and liked his friends well enough to stick by them in the end of everything, then he wasn't sure what was. The two stopped their conversation to watch the news as they ate their breakfast - nothing too spectacular going on in the news, just the usual dreary things like someone going missing, showers are now destroying brain cells and how to make the most out of an egg beater. Once he had finished, Larry simply got up and took both of the plates over to the dishwasher.

His mind went to thinking about what he had discussed with Lemmy, albeit briefly, as he looked over to Liza sitting there and watching TV. She had all the time in the world to know her parents and tell them how much she loved them.

A part of him was always curious about his father but... he always made excuses for himself, even when he knew what Mom said to him a week before she passed away.

Maybe it was time, before it was too late.

The long walk back upstairs to his bedroom felt like it could drag on forever, but the empty hallways called him relentlessly. An otherworldly spirit of a motherly nature asking him to finally let go of himself and to take the plunge, to satisfy his curiosity. Reaching the entrance to the attic, Larry effortlessly pulled down the hatch and opened it up to the dusty room above him. He hated the attic, but this was important enough for him.

It didn't take long for him to find what he was looking for.

The box that Mom had given to him in her will. He had looked at it once and then shoved it aside because aside from his personal belongings and some money, it also contained a note.

The handwriting was faded and the paper was showing signs of wear and tear, but the scribbling were still discernible.

A name and a phone number.

A piece of the past that he needed to close for himself.

Larry sat down in the attic by himself, letting the sunlight filter through the only window that was up there. He stared at it endlessly and wondered what to say or how he could say it.

He could hear Mom's voice in his mind - he would regret it if he didn't call the number.

He folded the paper and put it into his pocket before leaving the attic behind.


Meanwhile, in Downtown Neo City...

The slender male stood outside the official checkpoint of the Neo City Police Department, his walking cane under his arm as he looked up - he hadn't been here long, but the sight of the neo-classical koopa inspired architecture never ceased to amaze him.

And he worked here.

Iggy hummed to himself and joined his fellow co-workers at the checkpoint, buzzing himself through with his ID card that signified that he was part of the police force that he once opposed two years, and let himself be whisked away up in the elevator to his floor.

Just another day at work, but he felt extra good about this.

It was a gut feeling he had and those rarely went wrong.


A/N: So, a sort of sequel that relates a little bit about the previous work but it's a lot more character-driven and introspective and I wanted to flesh out the AU characters a bit more, plus Iggy needs some love. He's a character I rarely write for and I want to challenge myself with something different but everyone will have their fair due. Take care, folks!