Lemmy bit his lip, staring at Larry.

"Who are we?"

Larry's words had been so clear and concise that they had startled Lemmy and the others. They all now stared at their younger brother blankly, trying to figure out where to even start. Lemmy had noticed, though, that Ludwig had taken his leave with Mario before the conversation even started. Lemmy counted him lucky.

"I have to know," Larry continued, "There's something you guys aren't telling me."

"Larry," Lemmy said, " You don't have to worry about who we were. There's-"

"Don't talk to me like that."

Lemmy stopped short, inhaling sharply.

"I'm tired of being treated like a kid," Larry stated, "I'm not helpless. I'm not fragile. I can handle whatever you tell me, so just say it already."

Lemmy grit his teeth.

"Roy's our brother, isn't he?"

That was Larry's first question. Lemmy hesitated, then slowly nodded. He mentally cursed the fact that Iggy, Morton, and Wendy were staying quiet. From the looks on their faces, it was clear they didn't want to get involved, but that left Lemmy with the messy job of trying to properly convey what Larry needed to know without revealing too much.

"Why?"

"Wh-why?" Lemmy stuttered, "What do you mean 'why'?"

"Why did he kill us?"

There was a pained look on Larry's face now. Lemmy tensed up.

"H-he was being controlled by Marie," Lemmy explained, "He didn't do any of it because he wanted to. He's been controlled this whole time."

Larry let out a quiet hum, gaze solemnly drifting to the floor.

"Who are Mario and Junior?" Larry then asked.

"We knew them once," Lemmy answered, purposely trying to keep vague, "It's not important who they are."

"You're lying," Larry retorted, "All of you were shocked to see them. They're not unimportant. Tell me who they are."

"You're digging your own grave here, Lemmy," Wendy muttered.

"H-hey!" Lemmy snapped, "Who's side are you on?!"

"Oh, so we're on different sides now?" Larry questioned, growing hostile.

"N-no!" Lemmy stuttered, "We're on the same side! I promise!"

"Then tell me what's going on already," Larry demanded.

"Don't forget who you're talking to, Lemmy Koopa."

Lemmy stiffened up, whirling around to spot Ludwig and Mario, the former leaning against the entryway to the cavern, staring Lemmy down with cold, steel-grey eyes.

"You might think yourself the leader now," Ludwig continued, "but remember that Larry is your superior."

"Lud-!"

"I what?!" Larry exclaimed, cutting Lemmy off.

"Larry Koopa, commander and head tactician of the Koopaling Special Assault Squad, one of the most elite squadrons of King Bowser's army," Ludwig continued, striding into the room, "second in power only to the head council themselves."

"Koopaling...Special Assault Squad…" Larry muttered, "Th-that...That's us, right?"

Lemmy bit his lip.

"Yes," Ludwig answered, "The six of us and Roy. We stood at the top of the chain of military command for an entire kingdom, adopted children of King Bowser himself."

"Huh?!" Larry marvelled, "S-so we're military commanders and royalty?!"

"Correct," Ludwig answered.

"Ludwig, you can't-"

"Quit it, Lemmy," Ludwig interrupted, startling Lemmy into silence, "Just give it up. Your cowardice isn't going to help Larry anymore. He deserves to know who he is-who we were."

"Y-you can't do that!" Lemmy snapped, "We agreed-!"

"You convinced us at the time that he didn't need to know," Ludwig retorted, "That time has passed. Now, circumstances have changed."

"You can't-!"

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do. In case you've forgotten, I'm your superior as well. I suggest you remember that going forward."

Lemmy shrank back, his blood boiling.

"U-um," Mario stuttered, "Question: what are we going to do about this meeting with Roy?"

Ludwig seemed to contemplate this statement for a moment. Lemmy took this as his opportunity to jump back in.

"We're going."

Ludwig scoffed, giving Lemmy a chilling glare.

"I almost want to say otherwise, just to prove to you who's in charge," Ludwig replied, "but whatever. Go if you want to. I don't care."

"Wait, you're not coming with me?"

"No," Ludwig stated, "If you want to go, you're going alone. I'm not having anyone else killed because you wanted to walk straight into an obvious trap."

"What?!" Lemmy exclaimed, "It's not a trap! Don't you want our brother back?!"

"He's not my brother anymore."

Lemmy froze, his eyes wide and already starting to form tears.

"Y-you…"

Finally, Lemmy bit his lip, squinting his eyes shut. He just couldn't contain himself anymore.

"You jerk!" Lemmy shouted, "Roy didn't do anything! I already proved it to you! What more do you even want?!"

"You keep acting like Roy's innocent-like he was possessed the entire time-but you weren't me, looking into his eyes as he had me in his death grip and knowing that all that anger was directed straight toward me. It wasn't some demon or parasite that killed me, Lemmy. It was Roy that killed me. End of story."

Lemmy shuddered, opening his mouth to speak, but finding himself completely unable to think up a comeback.

"Things aren't going to go back to normal, Lemmy," Ludwig continued, "I know that's all you've wanted since we got here, but it's not going to happen. That dream died the second Roy killed Larry.

"That was an accident!" Lemmy screamed, having had more than enough of Ludwig's attitude.

"I don't care," Ludwig snapped, "Whether or not that was an accident, it was what he did afterward that made him irredeemable. Roy is a murderer. That is a fact."

"G-guys!" Lemmy stuttered, whirling around to Iggy, Morton, and Wendy, "Help me out here!"

"I mean," Wendy started hesitantly, "He's...not wrong…"

Lemmy's eyes widened. Iggy and Morton both stayed completely silent, looking uncomfortable.

"Y-you can't mean that...can you?" Lemmy stuttered, feeling betrayed.

"Lemmy," Wendy continued, "It's been too long. We've seen things out of Roy that were...pretty incriminating."

"Roy's always sucked," Iggy finally said, "But now? He major sucks."

"M-Morton?" Lemmy said, fishing for any positive response he could get. Morton had always been the closest to Roy. Surely, if anyone could find something to defend Roy with, it would be Morton.

Morton sighed, closing his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I have to agree with Ludwig."

"What?!" Lemmy cried, "Why?! How?!"

"Because Roy was himself when he killed me too," Morton answered. Lemmy reeled, completely taken aback.

"We've been listening to you this entire time because we were desperate," Ludwig said, "Now, though...things are finally coming to a close. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel...except somehow, you can't. It's time to move on."

"N-no!" Lemmy retorted, "What are you even talking about?!"

"I'm talking about Mario," Ludwig explained, "They know where we are now. It's only a matter of time before they figure out how to get us out of here."

"A-and what about Junior?!"

"He'll be fine," Ludwig answered, "If what you said is true, he's on Roy's side right now. Nothing's going to happen to him."

Lemmy exhaled roughly, tensing up.

"Leave your fantasy world and come back to reality, Lemmy," Ludwig stated, crossing his arms, "Roy's a lost cause. Take the loss and move on."

"No!" Lemmy screamed, "I'm not giving up on him! I'm going to find him and you can't do anything to stop me!"

With that, Lemmy stormed off, ready to make good on his promise immediately. He ignored the shouts of his siblings as he left, tears slipping down his face. At this point, he didn't care if he died trying to get Roy back. At least if he did he'd die knowing he'd stood up for Roy when no one else would.

Mario gawked, staring at the cave entrance Lemmy had stormed out of. Honestly, he wasn't sure whose side he was supposed to be on. Part of him wanted to believe Roy could be saved, but another part knew that Ludwig had made a convincing argument, and Mario couldn't ignore that.

"Idiot," Ludwig muttered, gritting his teeth. Mario could swear, though, that he saw Ludwig shudder.

"We're not just letting him go alone, are we?" Iggy asked shakily. He looked ready to leap up and race after Lemmy himself if no one else was going to.

Ludwig sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose.

"We're going after him!" Ludwig ordered, "Get ready to leave as soon as possible!"

Mario jumped, watching the other Koopalings scramble about the cave, gathering provisions and weapons. Mario couldn't do anything but stand still and watch, gritting his teeth anxiously. Should he even be getting in the middle of this?

"Roy told Lemmy to meet him at the center of the four cities!" Larry relayed as he loaded bullets into his revolver, "That's probably where he's going!"

"He'll be two days ahead of schedule," Ludwig said, "We'll be able to talk him out of this nonsense before he ever sees Roy."

"I thought you didn't care if he went," Mario spoke up hesitantly.

"I was hoping he'd give up the notion if he had to go alone," Ludwig scoffed, "I didn't think he'd actually do it."

"Lemmy's brainless," Wendy said, "He listens more to his heart than his head."

"Hey!" Iggy shouted, "He's not brainless!"

"Mario."

The plumber's gaze immediately snapped to Larry, who was trying to hand him what looked like a hunting knife.

"Take it," Larry said, "If we do end up crossing paths with Roy, you might need it."

Mario hesitated, reaching shakily for the knife. He didn't even know if he had it in him to use it, but he wasn't about to start another argument. Everyone was already shaken enough.

"By the way," Larry said as Mario grabbed the knife, "I just wanted to say...thanks for coming."

"H-huh?"

"I still might not know who you are," Larry continued, "but, because you came here, I know who I am. Thank you."

Mario's eyes widened, his face turning bright red. Boy, was Larry in for a surprise when he learned that Mario was actually his mortal enemy…

"Uh, you're welcome…"

"Hurry up!" Ludwig shouted, already making for the cavern entrance, "Let's get going already!"

"Hold on!" Wendy shouted, "If you want enough stuff to last us however long it's gonna take to get where we're going, then gimme a minute!"

"I'll help you out!" Larry called, rushing to help Wendy out. Mario's gaze then shifted back to the knife.

This...was a lot more than he'd bargained for…

A/N: Sorry for the delay! Came down with the flu last weekend, then got really busy with Christmas. This chapter ended up being pretty short so, in exchange, I'll be posting the next chapter in the middle of this week instead of the end! Hope you're ready!