Lemmy stared up at the walls of Solo in front of him. He could barely believe his eyes when he first saw them from afar. His awe only increased the closer they got to the city.

It had taken them four days to walk from Dystopia to Solo. Lemmy completed another cycle about halfway there. This time, the voice tried to convince him to cut his losses, but Lemmy refused. He was determined to save his brothers. That wasn't going to change. He had twenty-three days left to go and he wasn't about to stop here.

On either side of Lemmy were Morton and Wendy. Morton was carrying a sleeping Iggy over his shoulder. They had all decided before leaving that Iggy would need to be restrained for Lemmy's safety, so he was tied and gagged to keep him from causing any trouble. Lemmy had been against the arrangement, but he came around once Morton convinced him of the potential harm Iggy could cause if he wasn't kept in check.

Of course, Iggy hadn't been too happy with his treatment. He did a lot of struggling when he finally came to and, if it wasn't Morton carrying him, he might have been too much to handle. Thankfully, Morton was strong enough to render Iggy's efforts futile. Eventually, though, Iggy must have realized that his struggling wasn't working, because he seemed to calm down by day two. Every so often, though, Lemmy could catch glimpses of Iggy staring him down. It was a bit unnerving.

"Come on," Morton said, snapping Lemmy out of his daze, "We're almost there. We just have to enter through the train tunnel."

"Good," Wendy groaned, "I don't ever want to walk again."

"Well, you'll have to," Morton said, "Remember: even after we find a base, we still need to act like everything's normal."

Wendy let out a huff. Lemmy could sympathize with her, though. So much walking had left him tired and his legs sore. Wendy had the worst end of the deal, though, as her high-heeled shoes had to have made walking that much more difficult and painful.

"We can rest for a while though, can't we?" Lemmy chimed in, "After all, we have been walking for four days straight."

Morton sighed, shifting Iggy farther up on his shoulder.

"All right," Morton replied, "We can rest for a bit."


Finding an abandoned building in the outskirts of Solo had been no problem, as there seemed to be abandoned buildings left and right in this area. Lemmy had to guess that the outskirts of town wasn't exactly the most popular of areas.

Upon finally choosing their base, the group retreated to its basement, deciding to rest together. Morton had made it clear that Lemmy would stay in this basement while Morton and Wendy stayed upstairs to maintain their façade should Roy show up. As for Iggy, no one could agree on what should be done with him. The tentative plan was to leave him tied up in the basement. When Lemmy voiced his concern about the plan, Morton had been stern, saying that they couldn't guarantee Lemmy's safety if Iggy didn't stay tied up.

After having rested for a few hours, Morton prodded Wendy to wake up, saying they needed to run some errands. Morton led Wendy away in protest, leaving Lemmy alone with Iggy. Once again, Iggy was staring at his twin brother. That was when Lemmy decided he couldn't take it anymore. He made his way toward Iggy, slowly untying the gag and pulling it away from Iggy's mouth.

"Lemmy," Iggy began shakily, "You have to untie me."

"I can't do that," Lemmy replied, "Morton told me not to."

"Listen to me," Iggy snapped, "Don't listen to Morton. He's planning something behind your back."

"I just wanted to talk, Iggy," Lemmy said, "If I untie you, you're just going to try to kill me again."

"Morton's planning something!" Iggy repeated sternly, "I've heard him talking when he thought everyone was asleep! He talks to himself about getting a weapon from Armorie and 'finishing the job himself'! You can't trust him!"

"Don't try to make me paranoid, Iggy," Lemmy said, "I'm not falling for it."

"No!" Iggy cried, "You need to let me do this! If I kill you, I can bring you back! If you let anyone else kill you, I won't be able to! Please!"

"I'm not going to die, Iggy!" Lemmy retorted.

"You are if you keep trusting Morton!" Iggy shouted, "Just trust me! I can help you! I can-!"

Lemmy grabbed Iggy and wrapped the gag back around his mouth, reducing his desperate screams to muffled grunts. Lemmy shook as he pulled the knot tight and scrambled away from his twin. Tears streamed down Lemmy's cheeks as he huddled against the wall. He wondered whether he should take Iggy's warnings seriously or not. He'd been right about Roy, after all…


Lemmy's eyes opened and he quickly scanned his surroundings. It seemed like he was back in Armorie, but the purple sky above him immediately clued him in to the fact that this was a dream. He must have fallen asleep at some point, but it seemed strange to him that all of this felt so real.

He got up and began to walk. He didn't realize it until he got there, but he'd unintentionally been walking to the exact spot where Larry had died. What he found there, though, shocked him.

"You killed him. You're the one who killed him."

""No! You're not blaming this on me! You're the one who pulled a gun on him! You're the one who aimed it at him and pulled the trigger!"

Lemmy couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was as if he was watching what happened immediately after Larry's death. Ludwig was cradling Larry's body in his arms while Roy stood over him.

"I tried to prevent it from happening!" Ludwig continued "I-"

Ludwig was suddenly interrupted by Roy grabbing him by the collar and lifting him into the air. Lemmy screamed, but it was like neither of them could hear him.

"I don't need you telling me I'm a monster!" Roy spat, "You're the one who did it! It wasn't me! You did it!"

"Quit kidding yourself and face facts, Roy!" Ludwig shouted, "You're the one who killed him! You did this and you can never take it back!"

"I didn't kill him!" Roy roared, "I didn't kill him! Now, shut up before I make you regret opening your mouth in the first place!"

Ludwig then took a swing at Roy with his claws, raking deep gashes into his face and knocking off his sunglasses. Roy hissed in pain and dropped Ludwig, who immediately ran away. After a moment, Roy dropped to his knees. He seemed to be crying.

Just then, Lemmy noticed someone else. She entered the scene without hesitation. She didn't even seem fazed by Larry's corpse. Instead, she immediately made her way to Roy, placing a hand on his shoulder. Roy jumped once this happened, scrambling to his feet and facing the young woman with a look of shocked confusion.

"It's okay," the woman began in a soft, inviting British accent, "You don't have to be afraid of me. I'm here to help you."

Roy said nothing for a moment, watching the woman play with her short, blonde hair. She was wearing a sort of formal attire, but that wasn't the strangest part. Her face was covered by a smiling Shy Guy's mask and her shoulders, which should have been exposed, were either invisible or nonexistant.

"So," Roy began slowly, "Who are you?"

"My name is Marie," the woman introduced herself, "You seem to have a problem on your hands, don't you?"

Lemmy could barely catch Roy shudder as he glanced back at Larry's body.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Roy said, "It was Ludwig. He did this."

"I know," Marie cooed, "No one else is going to believe you, though. After all, you pulled a gun on your younger brother. They're all going to think you meant to shoot him."

Roy snarled, shutting his eyes tightly.

"How do I fix this?" Roy asked through bared teeth. Marie chuckled.

"How about I propose something to you?" Marie said. She then walked behind Roy, wrapping her arms around him from behind. As she was shorter than him, she had to practically pull herself up onto his back, but she managed to position her mouth directly next to Roy's ear. She then whispered something to him. In all respects, Lemmy shouldn't have been able to hear it, but, somehow, he could.

"The solution to your problem isn't all that hard," Marie began, "If no one knows you pulled a gun on Larry, you're safe."

"But Ludwig and Lemmy both know," Roy replied.

"Well," Marie continued, "You know what they say. Dead men tell no tales, isn't that right?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Roy exclaimed, lunging forward and causing Marie to let go of him, "Are you telling me to kill them?!"

Lemmy's eyes widened.

"Oh, come now," Marie prodded, "We'll take it one step at a time. Start with Ludwig. After all, you hate him, don't you? You hate the way he belittles you and steps all over you, right? It should be easy for you to kill him."

"How do you know all that?" Roy asked shakily, his brow furrowed.

"I know a lot of things, Roy," Marie said, "Just trust me."

Roy bit his lip, his gaze shifting away from Marie.

"You know who you are, Roy," Marie went on, "You know what you are. This will be easy for you. Just let your worries go and everything will be fine."

Roy didn't speak.

"I'll help you," Marie said, "With my help, you'll stand on top of the world."

Suddenly, Lemmy was grabbed from behind, a hand covering his eyes and an arm wrapped around his neck.

"You can't run forever," the same British voice trilled, causing Lemmy's blood to run cold, "Roy's alive and he's on his way to Solo. I promise I won't tell him anything, but he's smarter than you give him credit for. He will find you."

"Wh-who are you?" Lemmy squeaked nervously.

"Someone who found it in their heart to tell you I exist," she replied, "I can also find it in my heart to tell you that your twin brother wasn't lying about what he heard. Question is, what does that mean for you?"

Lemmy felt his heart skip a beat.

"You're more important than you think you are, Lemmy," Marie crooned, "I can't wait to see what happens when you die."

The final word resounded in Lemmy's head, seeming to get louder and louder with each successive echo until it was so painful Lemmy couldn't stand it. He screamed.

"Lemmy!"

Lemmy's eyes shot open and he sat up quickly. His throat hurt like crazy and he couldn't stop himself from trembling. Standing in front of him were Morton and Wendy, who stared at him with concerned looks. He glanced over to Iggy, who was also trembling, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Why the heck were you screaming like that?!" Wendy scolded, "You're going to get us caught!"

"What's wrong?" Morton asked. Lemmy felt a lump forming in his throat.

"M-Morton," Lemmy stuttered, having to force out his words, "I-I want to be completely honest with you, so can you be honest with me?"

Morton's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Sure," Morton replied, "What's up?"

"I was talking to Iggy-"

"You took that creep's gag off?!" Wendy exclaimed, "What were you-?!"

"Wendy!" Morton snapped. Wendy immediately froze. Morton then turned back to Lemmy, who hesitated for a bit before continuing.

"Iggy told me that he heard you saying some things. He heard you say you were going to get a weapon from Armorie and 'finish the job yourself'."

Morton tensed up, eyes widened. He was silent for a moment.

"You don't need to worry about that," Morton replied, closing his eyes, "It has nothing to do with you, I promise."

"Well, I never heard about this," Wendy butted in, "What are you planning?"

"Never mind," Morton emphasized sternly. After that, he got up and walked away, Wendy following closely behind. Soon, Lemmy and Iggy were alone again. Iggy had his head buried in his knees. It didn't look like he was crying anymore though.

"Hey, Iggy?"

Iggy slowly lifted his head, giving Lemmy a solemn look. His face was still wet with tears.

"I'm sorry."

Iggy's head tilted in confusion.

"You know what?" Lemmy said, "It's about time we had a talk."

Lemmy then made his way over to Iggy and took his gag off once again.

"Now do you believe me?" Iggy began.

"I didn't put the gag back on because I didn't believe you," Lemmy replied, "I did that because I didn't want to hear you talking about killing me."

"I told you," Iggy said, "I can bring you back."

"No you can't," Lemmy snapped, "No matter how many times you say you can, I know you can't. I've watched you try."

"I'll find it this time," Iggy continued, "I can-"

"This isn't about whether or not you can bring me back, Iggy," Lemmy interrupted sternly, "This is about you thinking you can kill me and I'll be okay with that."

Iggy froze, struck speechless.

"What am I to you?" Lemmy went on, "I genuinely want to know, because I've been getting mixed signals from what you've been saying and doing as of late."

"You're the most important person in my life, Lemmy," Iggy answered, "You're what I live for every second of every day."

"Is that why you think killing me is completely okay?"

Iggy was silent for a moment, his eyes shut tightly.

"I just don't want you to have to go through this anymore," Iggy finally replied, tears forming in his eyes once again, "I don't want you to get killed by someone who's going to mangle your body and leave it to rot. If I do it, you don't have to worry about that."

"Stop," Lemmy snapped, trembling, "Just stop. You're acting like it's a guaranteed fact I'm going to die here."

"I-I...I..."

"I want to be able to trust you, Iggy," Lemmy continued, "It's been so hard for me having to be afraid of you. I just want my brother back, but you have to trust me first. You have to have faith that I'm going to live through this."

Iggy was silent for a moment, his mouth agape and his lower lip quivering as if he was trying to find the words to say.

"I don't want to worry anymore."

Lemmy exhaled slowly.

"I know that," Lemmy answered, "and I thank you for being honest with me. You have to understand, though, that I don't want to die just as much as you don't want me to die. I'm here for a reason. If I wanted to take the easy way out, I would have done that days ago."

"You should have," Iggy mumbled.

"But I didn't," Lemmy replied, "I didn't because I have a mission. I'm going to bring back Larry and Ludwig. That's what I'm here for."

Iggy sighed, letting tears roll down his cheeks.

"I'll say it one more time," Lemmy continued, "I want to trust you, but you have to trust me back. Is that a deal?"

Iggy began quietly sobbing.

"I'm sorry," he cried, "I'm so sorry. I went overboard."

Lemmy grabbed Iggy, hugging him tightly. Iggy let out a slight gasp before bawling into Lemmy's shoulder, shouting a flood of "I'm sorry"'s.

"It's okay, Iggy," Lemmy said, also starting to cry, "I trust you."


"Hey, guys? Have you see-"

Wendy stopped short, gaping at Lemmy and Iggy, who were sitting together on the floor in the middle of the room. Lemmy froze. He'd forgotten that untying Iggy would probably cause some sort of panic, but Lemmy felt like he had to after the moment the two of them had.

"What in the heck?!" Wendy exclaimed, "Why?!"

"We had a talk!" Lemmy replied, defending Iggy, "He said he was sorry! He really meant it!"

"I didn't do anything," Iggy snapped, "We've just been talking about anime for the past...I don't know, hour and a half?"

Wendy stared at the two of them, stunned silent.

"I'm sorry I didn't ask you and Morton first," Lemmy apologized, "I just-"

"Oh!" Wendy gasped, suddenly remembering something, "Right! Have you two seen Morton?"

"Morton?" Lemmy repeated confusedly, "He went out with you, right? He hasn't come back since then, if that's what you're asking."

"Crap," Wendy spat, "We got separated and I've been trying to find him. I decided to see if he came back here first."

"If he did, he didn't come down here," Lemmy replied, growing worried.

"Welp," Wendy groaned, "Looks like I'm going out again."

Wendy then left, grumbling something about her aching feet.

"It's happening," Iggy growled.

"No it's not!" Lemmy chastised his brother, "Morton already said that had nothing to do with me!"

"What if he was lying?" Iggy said, his voice lowering to an intimidating degree. Lemmy shuddered.

"Just stop," Lemmy snapped, "If he was going to kill me, he would have already done it by now."

Iggy groaned, flopping over onto the floor.

"You think Yuno Gasai could beat Roy?"

Lemmy froze for a second, startled by the conversation's sudden shift in tone. He then burst into a fit of laughter, falling over next to his brother.

"If he had Yuki in a headlock? Of course!"