For: Guest

Brothers

Starring: Lifty, Shifty, Splendont, and Lammy

Featuring: Lumpy, Mr. Pickels, Handy, and The Mole.

It had become the norm for them — continuously dying in gruesome ways each day and coming back the next, that is. Many had at first attempted to seek out the reason for the endless cycle of misfortune, but most ended up giving up and resigning to their fate.

It wasn't so bad after all.

At least they always came back to life, right?

Although each day seemed to bring something new, nothing in reality really changed at all.

He was admittedly a follower. It wasn't because he couldn't take charge of situations himself, however. It was just easier that way. It was easier to avert his eyes and let someone else deal with the troubles of being a leader. It was easier to remain submissive and silent — it meant less trouble.

Or so he had thought.

Now sitting in the corner of a dreary jail cell, Lifty was beginning to rethink his philosophy.

He had been abandoned by his brother again, after he had followed his orders thoroughly and completely. It was irritating. He did everything for his brother, but his said brother never even batted an eyelash at him.

The sound of two pairs of footsteps suddenly reached Lifty's ears, quickly followed by the clacking of dangling keys. A soft click hit the air, and the door to his jail cell was thrown open. Lifty raised his head and made out two forms — his brother Shifty and police officer Lumpy who held the former by the shoulder — standing by the doorway.

Shifty wore an irritated expression on his face that contorted even further when he was shoved into the cell by the officer. He mumbled some offensive words under his breath as the door swung to a close behind him. Sighing loudly, he walked over to the bed placed on the opposite of the room and plopped himself on it, taking off his hat.

Lifty stared at him coldly all the while.

"What's the matter, Lifty?" Shifty asked in a slightly annoyed voice, noticing the stare. "You look just about ready t'kill someone."

"You left me behind." the younger brother answered. "Again."

Shifty straightened in mild and nervous surprise at this statement and studied his brother's expression. He thought Lifty had been joking, but the younger brother's hard and stern eyes said otherwise.

"That's what's got ya' worked up?" Shifty laughed, gesturing towards Lifty with his fedora; when he saw Lifty's hard look remain, he shrugged goodnaturedly and waved him off. "I was going to come back for you, y'know?"

"'Come back'?" Lifty grimaced, eyebrows furrowing. "You've left me for dead a hundred times over already!" He shot up and gestured towards himself angrily, "And I've actually died numerous times already, 'cause you up and abandoned me!"

"Wha?" Shifty blinked in surprise, before he straightened himself up with a smirk. "Come on, Lifty. Y'know that you can't actually stay dead, right? I mean, why not use us always comin' back to life as an advantage—

"I'd rather stay dead, if I have to die like a dog every single day!" Lifty retorted, his voice growing louder with every syllable. "And it's your fault! If you hadn't forced us t'come t'this stinkin' town a while back, we wouldn't have to deal with this weird paranormal shit!"

"What the hell are y'talkin' about, Lifty?" Shifty growled, becoming angered himself. "Thanks t'me, we're practically immortal now!"

"You've got a jacked up definition of 'immortality' then," the younger returned as he took a step towards his brother, "because last time I checked, immortality meant that you couldn't die! And we've died a bunch a'times!" He paused in his rant, expression growing darker; and he added: "And what if one day we stay dead, huh? What if I died and you stayed alive? What then?"

"That won't happen, y'moron." Shifty shouted back, coming to a stand as well and inching towards his twin. He jabbed a finger at his brother's chest and scoffed: "You're really ungrateful, y'know that?"

"Would you even care?" Lifty questioned, his voice becoming quiet; he lifted his eyes to bore into his brother's own. "Y'woundn't care if I died permanently, would you?"

Shifty gapped at him for a moment in total, completely taken aback. It took him several moments to recollect himself:

"Are you stupid?" he shouted. "Of course I'd care!"

Lifty stared deeply into his eyes then and seemed to probe through his thoughts. He then laughed suddenly and took a step back, saying: "You're such a liar!"

"I'm. Not. A. Liar!" Shifty growled, jabbing a finger at his brother's chest again. "Don't you dare claim that I am!"

"You'd ditch me again in a heartbeat, even if you knew I would die permanently." Lifty continued heatedly, completely ignoring his twin. "You'd leave me…. Just like Ma and Pa did!"

And with that Lifty had said it; he had said the unspeakable. He had just done the taboo.

"Don't you dare compare me to them!" Shifty yelled, an animalistic growl ripping from his throat; he launched himself at his brother and pinned him against the wall. "Don't you dare forget that I was the one who took care of you when they left us! Don't you dare be ungrateful! I could have just left you!"

"Well, then." Lifty huffed loudly, as he shook himself free of his sibling's grasp with a dissonant laugh. "I wish you had just left me! I would have probably been better off!"

Using all of the pent up frustration he had held in over the years, Lifty shoved Shifty across the room towards the bars of the cell. His brother fell backwards onto the cell door and… pushed it right open with the force of his fall. He fell to the ground outside of the cell with the door squeaking back and forth beside him.

All anger the brothers had been feeling was quickly replaced with surprise. They stared at the door together and then exchanged glances, before they burst out into snidey snickers.

"That officer is such a moron!" Shifty chuckled goodnaturedly, tears forming in his eyes. "Left the door right open for us!"

"I guess we won't have t'be worrying about being caught by the cops anymore!" Lifty joked with a smirk, as he walked over to the open doorway and leaned against its frame.

"That's right." Shifty returned the smirk as he picked himself off of the ground and stepped backwards. He looked at his brother and gestured towards his fedora that he had accidently dropped onto the floor in the cell. "Now, you can go pick my hat up as an apology for throwin' a temper tantrum and givin' me a heartache; and then we can skip out of here."

Shifty turned on his heels and began to wander the hall looking for an an easy exit. He was honestly still somewhat emotional over the argument that had just occurred, but he was sure that once Lifty apologized everything would return to normal. His younger brother was just a bit feisty today was all—-

"No."

"What was that?" Shifty frowned as he craned his neck to look back at his brother.

Lifty stood, hands clenched into tight fists, glaring with his chin raised at Shifty. His lips were drawn in a thin line, his eyes pensive and firm.

"I'm not listenin' to you anymore, Shifty; I'm tired of bein' pushed around, and I'm tired of you not even carin'!"

The younger brother's expression did not change.

"This isn't the time to be jokin' around, Lifty." Shifty grimaced.

The older brother's stance then became tentative, worried even. And Lifty brushed right past this stance, heading towards the door labeled 'exit' in the distance without even looking back.

"Have fun tryin' to find someone else to use as your tool and boss around; we're through."

[Two Hours Later]

Shifty grumbled to himself loudly as he grinded the tip of his foot into the ground. The robber was currently leaning against a telephone pole, spinning his hat around with his index finger while glaring at nothing in particular. The sun beat heavily above his head; and it fueled his irritation, yet he was also too depressed to actually place his hat back upon his head.

"Who needs 'im anyways…"

He squinted against the backdrop of the bright sky and winced. The brilliance of the sun was beginning to give him a migraine. Patting himself down, he attempted to find his sunglasses. After several minutes of thorough search, he finally recalled that Lifty had been the one who had always carried around their apparel and accessories.

"Bastard is probably laughing his head off at my misery right now…"

Shifty shifted in place and crossed his arms. He clicked his tongue stubbornly and rolled his eyes.

"... not that I'm actually miserable or anything. I actually better off without him…"

His gaze drifted across the asphalt road before him and towards a long chain of stores that lined the opposite side of driveway. One of these stores in particular sold ice cream. This store had an open parlour in its front with colorful tables scattered all around; and at those tables sat civilians who were happily devouring their sundaes.

It wasn't fair — Shifty suddenly came to the conclusion. They were enjoying icecream, while he was standing and sweltering in the sun. The thought gave Shifty a sudden sense of nostalgia, and he recalled an instance where he and Shifty had been sitting in the swings of a playground, staring enviously at a collection of children who were playing on the slides and eating ice cream. His brother had voiced his envy with teary eyes; and Shifty, in turn, had hatched a plan to get some ice cream for both of them. By the end of the day, the two brothers had been enjoying ice cream while running from the kids from whom they had stolen the treat from. It had actually been their first robbery.

Shifty, suddenly realizing that his thoughts were straying towards his brother, clicked his tongue again angrily. His irritated gaze then fell on a familiar figure sitting in the parlour — Handy. The handicapped construction worker was happily chowing down a chocolate sundae. He looked like an easy target.

Shifty grinned.

"I don't need Lifty or anyone else to help me get what I want." the robber egged on to himself. Feeding his ego allowed him to look at the brighter things in life. And brighter — shinier — things were always good.

With that type of philosophy fluffing him up, Shifty made his way over to the ice cream parlour. Once he reached the place, he quickly took a seat at a table that was in close proximity to his target's table. Placing his hat on the table's surface, he leaned forward and began to calculate when and how he would nip Handy's sundae.

Now, he knew that it appeared ridiculous that he was thinking up an elaborate plan to steal a simple frosty treat; however, he also knew very well that going into a situation without a plan always led to mishap… especially in the town of Happy Tree.

From out of the corner of his eye, Shifty saw Handy turn towards the ice cream shop and motion for the waitress with his arm.

Perfect.

Shifty slid like a snake from his seat and glided his way towards the edge of Handy's table where the sundae sat. Just as he was about to nip the delectable treat from the table, a body of red and blue collided into him; and he was promptly knocked onto the floor.

"Hey, you better watch it, pal!" Shifty growled as he immediately shot up to a stand. His angry words died midway in his throat, however, as he identified who it was that stood before him. "S-Splendid…?"

A gloved fist was suddenly slammed right onto the table at which Handy sat, splitting it right in half. The sundae that once rested on it shattered onto the ground. Handy, who had barely escaped the destruction, now lay flat on his back and let out a long strew of swear words as he attempted to struggle to a stand. The Mole, who had been sitting absently at a separate table, came to his aid but ended up blindly whacking the construction worker in the face with his cane in an attempt to find him.

"Don't you ever mistake me for that idiot again," the table-smasher drew in a deep and monotone voice with a strangely blank expression, "unless you want to end up like this table."

"Wait," Shifty blinked, straightening himself up, "so you're not Splendid?"

Looking closer now, the robber could see that, although he had a practically identical face, the man before him was not Splendid in the least bit. For one, his colorations were inverted with his hair being red and his mask being blue. Additionally, the man had on a rather unenthusiastic, mature, and deadpan expression.

"The name is Splendont." came the cool reply.

"Huh?" Shifty raised an eyebrow. "That's a strange name. Are you the guy's evil counterpart or somethin'?" He gestured towards the intentionally obliterated table, hand on hip.

"He likes to think that." Splendont answered, brushing past Shifty. He paused suddenly, looking back at the robber and gesturing towards the fallen sundae. "You should aim bigger next time. You're doing me a favor — pissing of that blue idiot with those jewlery shop heists of yours."

"You know that I'm a criminal?" Shifty frowned, eyebrow raised with distrust. "And you're okay with that?"

"I don't really care honestly." Splendid replied as he entered the ice cream shop.

Shifty stared after him thinking.

So, this man who looked like Splendid was apparently his evil twin. And — Shifty's gaze drifted towards the mess on the floor, ignoring the still struggling Handy and Mole — he also apparently had all of Splendid's special abilities. And to boot, the guy hated Splendid's guts.

Shifty's stolid stare slowly grew into a smirk.

Splendont could prove to be useful.

The robber watched as the anti-hero exited the ice cream shop with a minty ice cream cone in hand. The red-adorned man noticed that Shifty was still standing in the same spot and staring at him.

"Are you a stalker?" Splendont questioned with a blank face as he walked up to fedora-wearing adolescent. He peered down at him with cold red eyes. "I would like you to know that all of my stalkers end up missing."

"No," Shifty shook his head with a raised eyebrow ('this guy is a total weirdo', he thought), "but I have a proposal for you." He smirked and placed his hat on top of his head slyly.

"A proposal?" Splendont blinked in surprise — his first expression of emotion that day. He stared at Shifty for a moment, before he began to briskly walk away. "Not interested."

Shifty started in complete surprise, before he reached out to grab Splendont's arm—

"H-Hey, wait a minute! You didn't even hear what I was going to say!"

"I don't want to hear you out." Splendont answered without looking back, his voice slowly becoming darker with each uttered word. "Now let go of me."

Shifty hastily released his grip on the man's arm. The red-haired adolescent rolled his arm with an irritated click of his tongue that his betrayed his otherwise emotionless expression.

"Just hear me out, Splendont." Shifty continued. "You really hate Splendid don't you?"

Splendont froze and lowered his arm, causing Shifty to smirk once more.

"You want to cause him trouble, don't you? Piss him off like crazy?" Shifty pressed on, crossing his arms. "What better way to do that than help one of his arch-nemeses rob a jewlery shop from right under his nose in open daylight?"

Splendont turned and looked at Shifty right in the eyes. He then let out a loud laugh, causing Shifty to become flustered.

"You think you're one of his arch-nemeses?" the red-head scoffed. "That's rich." Seeing Shifty's expression become irritable, he nonchalantly added: "Don't get me wrong. I'm not denying your offer. I'm actually somewhat bored right now — a little fun wouldn't hurt."

'See,' Shifty thought with a triumphant grin, 'I don't need you at all, Lifty.'

"You're smile is creeping me out." came Splendont.

While Shifty and Splendont were coming into terms with one another, Lifty was wandering around the town's park looking for something to do. A part of him regretted the decision he had made, seeing how lonely he was feeling all of a sudden; while another part of him was cheering at the fact that he had finally stood up for himself. All he had wanted was Shifty's respect — no, Shifty's affection; all Shifty had done was push him around. And it pissed Lifty off. He didn't like the feeling of needing someone who blatantly appeared to not even need him.

A loud growl tore through Lifty's stomach, causing him to blush and look around. No one was in the premises, save for a pale girl wearing purple and white; and the said girl was standing well off in the distance by a small pond. Looking closer now, Lifty could see that the girl was holding what appeared to be a pickle in one hand a collection of colorful balloons in the other. After staring at the scene for several seconds, Lifty decided that he wanted the balloons to himself.

But how to go about it…? How would Shifty go about it?

Lifty shook his head. He didn't need to follow along the guidelines of his brother anymore! He was his own man now. He didn't need anyone. In fact, he didn't even need a plan! The girl looked delicate and frail, so he could probably just walk right over and take the balloons without a fight.

Yeah, he decided, that's what he would do.

He sprinted over to the girl by the pond with a smirk. He came to a stop several feet away from the girl, noting how she was now crouching and peering into the pond with the balloons held high above her head.

Slinking forwards like a cat, he reached out carefully for the strings of balloon, preparing to yank them right out of her fingers. Just as his fingers brushed up against them, the girl suddenly turned around. Purple eyes met green eyes.

Lifty froze, his face turning a deep shade of red and his heart beginning to hammer loudly in his chest. He had been caught.

"Oh, good!" the girl said suddenly, breaking out into a warm smile. She turned to fully face Lifty and came to a stand, holding out the balloons with an extended arm. "Would you mind holding these for me?"

"H-Huh?" Lifty stuttered in confusion, before he hesitantly reached out to take out the balloons. "S-Sure?"

"Thanks!" the girl pipped as she dug into the purple purse that hung at her side. "Mr. Pickels and I were trying to feed the duckies in the pond, but we also wanted to hold onto the balloons." She pulled out a piece of bread from the purse and tore at its edges, turning to sprinkle them on the surface of the pond.

"Mr. Pickels?" Lifty questioned, staring uncertainly at the balloons in his hand. He was completely overwhelmed at the sudden change of events.

"Yeah!" the girl pipped, turning towards him again and holding out the pickle that she had been holding. "This is Mr. Pickels!"

This girl was weird.

"I-I see…."

Wait a minute. Lifty looked again at the balloons he was holding; and he smirked. He had in his hands what he had been trying to steal; and to boot, the girl had just handed it over to him! He didn't need Shifty after all!

Lifty prepared to turn tail and run, when all of a sudden another loud grumble rumbled from his stomach. The girl jumped at this noise in surprise and peered into the robber's face.

"Was that you just now?" she chuckled.

"W-What if it was?" Lifty said defensively, pulling the balloons closer to him.

"Well," the girl drew, digging into her purse once more and pulling out two sandwiches, "if it was you, then I have someone to give this extra sandwich that I made to!" She pushed the sandwiches closer to his face, causing him to take a step back. "We should eat together!"

Why was this girl offering to share food with him? Lifty couldn't understand it. It couldn't have been from the kindness of her heart. It had to be a trick.

"What's with the sad face for?" the girl questioned with a frown, eyebrows furrowing.

"No one has offered me anything before…" Lifty stammered, still not comprehending his situation.

"Huh?" the girl's frown deepened. "Well, that's sad…" She paused, before she grabbed his hand suddenly and said: "Here, I know the perfect place for us to eat!"

Before Lifty knew it, he was being dragged along by the girl to an unknown destination.

[Half an Hour Later]

"So," the girl — Lammy was her name, Lifty had discovered after a brief and spirited introduction — drew slowly as she nibbled on her sandwich, "you and your brother, Shifty, had a falling out…?"

The two were now sitting on a bench in the park that overlooked the town's beach. Lifty was scarfing down his sandwich hungrily like a wolf. Lammy, with Mr. Pickels in her left hand and her sandwich in the other, was eating slowly and tentatively, listening in to Lifty's tale.

"Yeah," Lifty confirmed in between mouthfuls of bread and salami, "I'm just sick and tired of him pushin' me around and not carin' about me, y'know? He just walks all over me, and I always get the blame for the things that he does!"

"I completely understand where you're coming from!" Lammy suddenly shouted, dropping her sandwhich onto her lap and taking Lifty's hand in hers.

"You do…?" Lifty blinked, looking down at their held hands with a mild blush.

"Yeah," the girl nodded vigorously, holding up , "Mr. Pickels gets me into trouble all of the time!"

Lifty did a double-take.

"But I think he only does stuff like that to protect me," Lammy continued, staring at the pickle as if it was an actual person, "and he's kind of like an overprotective brother, y'know?"

Scratch that. This girl was crazy. Did she actually think that pickle was a person?

"My brother is more underprotective that anything else." Lifty sighed, as he leaned forward and ripped his sandwich in half. "He doesn't care about me or anything like that... He just leaves me behind when things get rough."

"The way you make him sound," Lammy drew slowly, leaning forward, "makes him seem like a selfish prick. Why did you stick around with him for that long?"

"I had no choice really but to stick with him." Lifty sighed nonchalantly. "Our mom and dad just up and left us one day; my brother knew the world more than I did and he took me along with him. It was really all I ever knew."

"He sounds like a nice person," Lammy commented lightly, swinging her feet back and forth beneath her, "for taking you in like that. He sounds like a nice but troubled person."

The conversation lapsed into silence.

"Well," Lammy sighed suddenly as she came to a stand, "I've got a couple of errands to run down at the town jewelry shop." She paused and then asked: "You wanna come with?"

Lifty lifted his head in surprise and found that the girl was smiling at him.

"What?" he frowned.

"I need some company after all." Lammy answered. "And I feel like I can trust you. I mean, Mr. Pickels hasn't moved to kill you yet so—-

"Wait… What?!"

"Oh, nothing!" She pipped nervously. "So, do you want to come?"

A pause of silence.

"Sure, why not? I've got nothing better to do anyways…"

[One Hour Later]

"—- and he has the nerve to call me a liar!" Shifty continued as he trudged behind Splendont. "And then he just walks off! He'd be nothing without me—

Splendont stopped suddenly, causing Shifty to bump into him. The robber grumbled and rubbed his face, saying: "Hey, watch it!"

"I'm sorry." Splendont said suddenly, turning towards Shifty with a kind and empathetic face; in an instant, however, his face lost all its expression, and he became deadpan: "I think you've mistaken me for someone who actually cares."

"W-Wha?" Shifty stammered. "It's not my fault that you didn't say anything!"

"I was hoping that you would shut up if I didn't respond." Splendont replied. "I thought that you could take a hint."

"Whatever!" Shifty hissed, crossing his arms; he paused, before continuing: "Y'know what I don't get? How come we're not flying to the jewlery shop; how come we're walking?"

"Because," Splendont sighed as he turned around and began walking again, "I don't feel like wasting my energy on something as petty as this. If you wanted someone to put their full effort into this robbery, you should have asked your brother instead."

"HA!" Shifty exclaimed victoriously as he came into stride with the anti-hero. "So you were listening!"

"What I'm trying to say is," Splendont frowned, "that if you're only teaming up with me to get back at your brother, I don't want any part of it. I hate drama."

"What makes you think I'm doing this to get back at Lifty for? I could care less about that idiot!"

"You kept asking whether or not I thought he was going to be at the jewlery shop as well," Splendont sighed, "and if our robbery would be broadcasted in the town news."

"I never said that!"

"... You really are a liar. And you also seem to have a brother complex."

"Why you—

"Look." Splendont interrupted suddenly, coming to a stop again. "We're here."

Just across the street stood the town jewelry shop in all its glory.

Lifty felt uncomfortable standing in the jewelry shop. All of the times he had been in the jewelry shop before were the times he had been robbing it. Because of this, he kept his head bowed low. Lammy was filling out some paperwork beside him, still holding the pickle in her hand. Every now and a while, she would look up to smile at him.

His gaze traveled around the room and lingered on a large case that towered at the center of the room. He briefly thought that such a large case could probably crush someone to death. And honestly, he wouldn't have been surprised if he was the one that the case crushed.

He shrugged the morbid thoughts off and focused on the atmosphere of the was a kind of peaceful and content atmosphere that he was unfamiliar with. To be honest, it didn't suit him too well. He kind of hoped something exciting would occur. And it did when the doors to the jewelry shop swung open loudly and two familiar figures entered the room.

"This is a robbery!" shouted an angry and familiar voice. "Everyone get down now!"

Everyone, save for Lifty, within the bank dove for the ground.

"What are you doing, Lifty?" Lammy whispered from the ground, protrasting. "Get down!"

"S-Shifty?"

"Lifty!?"

"What?" Lammy exclaimed, coming up on all fours and peering at the two who stood at the door. "Your brother is the robber?"

At the doorframe of the store stood none other than Lifty and… Splendid(?). The two stood side-by-side, one wearing a bored look and the other wearing one of surprise.

"Shifty," Lifty continued with a gaping expression, "what the hell are you doin' here?"

"I'm robbing this store!" Shifty replied in a high-pitched voice, before he paused and pointed an accusing finger at his brother. "Wait, what the hell are you doin' here?!"

"I-I…" Lifty stammered. He glanced down at Lammy, and then at his brother again. There was no way that he could tell his brother that he was helping some girl buy her jewelry. Shifty would just laugh and mock him! "I was," Lifty continued, thinking quickly as he pulled up Lammy by the arm to a stand beside him, "robbing this place too with my new partner: Lammy!"

"W-What?" Lammy whispered harshly to him, eyebrows furrowed.

"Just go with it!" Lifty whispered back.

A jealous look crossed Shifty's face as his gaze drifted towards Lammy's voracious form. He shook his head, side glanced at his own partner, and forcibly linked his arm with him.

"Well," Shifty shouted back, pointing at the redhead's face, "this guy is my new partner!"

"What?" Lifty gapped with an appalled and disgusted expression. "So you teamed up with Splendid—

Before the younger brother could finish his sentence, he was met in the face with a gloved fist. Lifty found himself flying across the room and collided into the wall. Splendi—dont stood in place, fists extended, with a beyond pissed-off expression firmly stamped onto his face.

"Lifty!" Lammy and Shifty shouted in unison. Lammy quickly rushed over to the younger robber's side.

"What the hell, man?!" Shifty growled, shoving Splendont forcefully. "That was my brother!"

"He mistook me as Splendid again." Splendont replied coolly with crossed arms and an indifferent expression.

"I was the one who mistook you for Splendid, y'prick!" Shifty shouted.

"...Oh." Splendont blinked shockingly surprised. "Is that so?" He shrugged, "Whoops."

Shifty glared at him again and rushed over to his brother's side. Ignoring their confused hostages who were slowly and tentatively raising their heads, Shifty slid down beside Lammy and peered at his brother's form. The damage looked worse up close. The wall behind Lifty had crumbled behind the force of Splendont's throw and a thin layer of plaster-dust had fallen onto the younger brother's form. The now barely conscious Lifty sat with his back lining the wall and his left leg bent beneath him in an awkward angle.

"You all right, Lifty?" Shifty questioned lightly.

"Well…" the younger mumbled, dishing out a pointed glare. "I still want to punch you in the face if that means anything to you…"

Shifty huffed but in a good-natured way.

"Look," the older began, rubbing his hat awkwardly on his head, "I'm sorry for gettin' you worked up, aight?"

There was a pause of silence.

"Y'mean that?"

"Of course I do!" Shifty insisted, roughly brushing several strands of hair out of his brother's face. "Like I said, I'm not a liar."

"I don't believe you." Lifty grimaced as he pushed himself off of the wall and leaned forward. He watched his brother's gaze become irritable, so he sighed saying: "But it's easier to follow you than anything else." He paused, turning his face to hide his blush: "Anyways, it gets boring and lonely."

"... It gets pretty lonely and boring without you too." Shifty agreed, much to Lifty's surprise.

"Hooray!" Lammy cheered from beside them with a bright smile. "Compromise!...I think?"

.

Splendont watched the whole scene unfold from afar.

He was mildly surprised at how easily the brothers had made up, and he noted how much closer they seemed afterwards. His mind then drifted towards his own counterpart: Splendid, and he tried his best to picture the two of them acting out the roles of Lifty and Shifty.

And then he laughed at the imagined scene. There was no way he would ever get along with Splendid.

Staring at the conversing trio and then glancing at the cowering civilians, Splendont took to the skies while sighing: "I hate drama."

But he left with a strange smile on his face.

.

"We better get goin', Lifty." Shifty frowned as the distant wail of police sirens reached his ears. "The cops are comin'."

Lifty grimaced and struggled to his feet with the help of Lammy.

"Y'know," the airy girl pronounced in a soft voice, "you guys don't have to steal all the time; you two could probably find yourselves a good job with all the skills you gained from being robbers."

Shifty blinked at her, squinting.

"Say, Lifty," the older frowned, "is the girl seriously your robbin' partna?"

Lifty laughed sheepishly in turn, causing Lammy and Shifty to laugh as well. Lammy's bout of laughter was, however, cut off short as a cold realization dawned on her. Her head whipped back and forth, and her eyes became frantic and searching.

"Hey," Lifty called, "what's wrong, Lammy?"

"Mr. Pickels!" she cried, as she unwound herself from supporting Lifty's weight. "I dropped Mr. Pickels somewhere!"

"Who the fuck is Mr. Pickels?" came Shifty with a blanch.

"It's her…" Lifty smiled slightly. "...friend." His gaze drifted across the room and towards the large gem case he had spotted earlier. The sought for pickle was leaning against the case, so he motioned towards it. "'Ey, Lammy. Your pickle is right behind that case over there!"

Lammy followed Lifty's gesture, her eyes soon growing wide with shock.

"Mr. Pickels!" she exclaimed as she ran towards the pickle in a flurry. "Don't push that! People will get hurt!" She, however, tripping over her own two feet pushed on the casing herself.

The glass case and stone slab fell forwards, crashing right down onto Lifty while barely missing Shifty. Dust cluttered the air and glass shards littered the ground. When the dust cleared, Shifty found that he was in one piece; his brother, on the other hand, had the lower half of his body entrapped beneath the glass casing. Blood was already pooling beneath Lifty and the case, and it stained the marble floor a deep red color.

"Lifty!" Shifty exclaimed in horror. He began to reach for his brother but stopped himself when the wail of police sirens drew nearer. He quickly drew back, watching as Lifty's expression transform from happy to shocked and then to angered.

"S-Shifty... you!"

"Sorry!" Shifty chirped snidely with a mischievous smirk, as he headed towards the back exit door of the store. "I guess I'm a liar after all!"

"Shifty!" Lifty cried, glaring as his brother as the latter exited the building cautiously. "I am going to fuckin' murder you when I come back to life!"

"I'll be waiting!" his brother called back, right before he was promptly run over by a police car driven by none other than Lumpy himself.

The next day the two brothers were at it again, robbing people and stores from left to right. Although the two had gained new insight and a bit of respect for each other, nothing had really changed at all.

That was just how the cycle went.

-END-

A/N: And another one-shot draws to a close! I honestly feel kind of bad for Lifty for always being ditched by Shifty… XD. Which brother do you like better…? ;o

And what did you think of this chappie?

Many thanks for those who reviewed! I appreciate it very much! /bows.

The next chappie is for you, max! And the others will come soon as well! /winkwink.