"No."

The word echoes in Yakko's head. He paces back and forth in the side alleyway, his arms behind his back, and stops to look down the alley. He hopes to see the outline of a silhouette. Maybe even hear AG's voice calling back to him. But neither came true. Yakko yanks on his ears in frustration, stomping around childishly. He growls.

"Of all the things he could have said, he says no," Yakko grumbles under his breath, releasing his ears. He walks over to the wall of the building and sits down, bringing his knees to his chest and hugging them. Pressing the bridge of his nose, he replays the conversation in his head.

"No." AG had said after a moment's silence. Yakko's brows had risen in surprise.

"You're kidding me, right?" Yakko stammered.

AG advanced, enough so that when Yakko stepped back, his back pressed into the wall of the alleyway. Their noses touched. AG's eyes flickered with several emotions at once but settled on fury.

"No, Yakko, I'm not," AG admitted, his expression grim.

"But why?" Yakko had asked.

Yakko had watched the boy's eyes, how they remained still as stone, they never wavered nor shifted to reveal anything underneath that might show Yakko that AG would reconsider. AG must have had a moment of conflict because he moved back from Yakko, yet the tension remained the same.

"Zack was right." AG scoffed. "This whole plan was stupid."

Yakko hadn't been sure what the boy meant by that, but AG had moved on to other matters quickly with this next choice of words.

"Go ahead and help the idiot. Go ahead!" AG scowled and turned his back to Yakko. His shoulders had become rigid. Although Yakko couldn't see his face, he could imagine the anger coursing through him. Which made this all the more confusing.

"Why are you so angry?" Yakko dared to ask.

"It doesn't matter." AG's response came rushed as if he didn't care.

Yakko took in the silence, wishing the boy would explain more, but it seemed AG was done talking. Before Yakko could ask him more, AG ran off. Yakko had called for him, but the boy didn't dare look back. Now, Yakko wonders if he should have gone after him. With the burden of responsibility weighing on his shoulders, even if he didn't know AG, he felt the brotherly urge to keep him safe.

"God dammit." Yakko curses, slamming a fist against the wall behind him. "...ow."

Yakko holds his hand and shakes it of the pain.

Note to self: No more hitting walls. Yakko thought.

A door in the alleyway slams open and Yakko snaps his head up. Wakko and Dot come running out with Issac not too far behind.

"Sibs! Issac!" Yakko hollers, lifting himself onto his feet. He rushes over. "Are you alright?"

Dot, though panting slightly, quickly brushes off her exhaustion and waves a dismissive hand. "Gee, Yakko, this ain't our first rodeo!"

"Yeah!" Wakko agrees, his tongue poking out his lips. "We got Issac out fine."

Issac chuckles. "They did."

Yakko breathes a sigh of relief. That was one thing less to worry about.

"Good, good," Yakko says, crossing his arms.

Wakko then scans their surroundings. "Hey, what happened to that AG kid?"

Yakko's frown returned. "He um…he left."

Issac turned to Yakko, and Yakko couldn't help but notice the way he flinched.

"AG left?" Issac asks. "Why?"

"I…" Yakko found himself unsure of how to answer that. He observes Issac. Issac didn't seem like the type to hurt a fly. And right now as Issac stared at him with those baby doe eyes of his, Yakko felt the need to keep him safe. But if Yakko was anything, he wasn't a liar. He places a hand on Issac's shoulder. Issac's eyes dart to his, brows raising in confusion.

"Issac, I need to ask you something." Yakko says. "Is there any reason why AG wouldn't trust you?"

Yakko watches Issac closely for this, but Issac only blinks twice. Then he looks at the ground. "I…I'm not sure."

Issac returns his gaze to Yakko, more puzzlement living on his features. "Did he say something?"

"Yes and no," Yakko explains. "To be honest, he didn't say much, but he doesn't seem to trust you."

Issac frowns. "Oh."

Dot crosses her arms. "You sure there isn't anything you're not telling us?"

"N-No!" Issac shakes his head. "I'm telling the truth! I don't know how why AG wouldn't trust me."

Dot peers at Issac for a moment more and shrugs. "Alright, if you say so."

"Can we go home now?" Wakko whines, before it's interrupted by a yawn. "It's late and I'm tired."

A yawn exits Yakko, reminding him of how late it was. "You're right, Waks. It's late. Let's go home."

Dot suppresses a yawn of her own and takes the lead. "Yeah, I need some beauty rest after today."

"And a midnight snack," Wakko adds on, following his sister.

Yakko follows from behind, sticking close to Issac. He glances at him, realizing Issac is twisting his tail into knots. Noticing Issac's unease, Yakko takes this moment to offer him a smile. "Don't worry about it, Issac. We can figure this out later."

Issac sighs. "I guess…"

Yakko tilts his head, Issac seemed to have a lot on his mind. Much more than he was sharing it looks.

"You know, if you want, I can make some tea and we could talk." Yakko offers.

Issac stares at Yakko, but a small smile lifts the corners of his mouth.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

Yakko nods, leading Issac toward the tower. He continues to watch Issac as they walk. His words had calmed the toon, although Yakko himself his doubts did not settle. There was something wrong here and he can't figure out what. Issac was this whole mystery he had yet to figure out. AG was only adding to the mystery.

Yakko bit back his frown but ultimately came to a decision. It was best to talk with Issac, one-on-one.