Feeling Better? (Ludwig x Iggy)

Chapter 2: The First Fall

Gosh, waiting is soooo boring. Lemmy Koopa was snacking on some chips and gazing out the window at Acorn Plains. His ship continued circling around his castle steadily. Outside, a vicious piranha plant snapped its jaws at nothing in particular. The verdant grass swayed in the breeze. Lemmy's eyelids began to droop.

No! No sleeping on the job! Stay awake, Lemmy! He blinked open his eyes, then hopped on top of his circus ball and practiced his balance. Lemmy was the most childish Koopaling out of all of his siblings. He was the second youngest, but was very immature for his age. Lemmy's rainbow mohawk swung back and forth as he bounced up and down, waiting for something exciting to happen.

Luigi took off his hat to wipe the sweat off his forehead. The four had made it to Lemmy's castle after adventuring through the many lands in Acorn Plains. "Be careful, guys," warned Toad. "This castle looks awfully dangerous."

"Nothing can stop us from saving the Princess," Mario exclaimed as he entered Lemmy's castle. He was soon followed by Luigi, Toadette, and Toad.

After a treacherous trip through swinging platforms and boiling lava, the four climbed up the steep staircase that reached up to the top of Lemmy's castle, and one by one, clambered into the launch pipe on the roof. The pipe shot off and sent Peach's friends hurtling towards Lemmy's grand airship.

Lemmy's balance broke as four consecutive bursts of loud sound pierced the air. Startled, he toppled backwards on his circus ball. That can't be them...can it?

Lemmy quickly regained his footing, just as Mario, Luigi, Toadette, and Toad crashed through Lemmy's ship and landed on the floor in front of him.

"Huh?" Lemmy was surprised to see all four foes still in one piece, sporting flashy power-ups and standing strong, ready to fight. Lemmy flipped on top of his ball, and readied himself for battle.

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Ludwig hated waiting. Nothing good came out of waiting. He knew from experience.

His whole life, he had been anticipating the throne of the Koopa Kingdom to be handed down to him after Lord Bowser, as Ludwig was the oldest and the wisest of all the Koopalings. That all changed on Ludwig's fifteenth birthday, when his wait was hung up by Bowser telling him that the throne would be handed down to, at the time, a bratty ten-year-old. He recalled how much of a blur that day felt like; devastation, yelling, guilt, and getting grounded for a month by Bowser.

Nothing good.

Then came the familiar waiting he would have to do for battles; as being older meant having to wait longer before Peach's friends would show up in hopes of rescuing her once more. And that was always followed with a humiliating defeat and excruciating pain.

Nothing good.

So now, once again, Ludwig was just waiting. Waiting for his siblings to fall before him. Waiting for the Mario Brothers to arrive, only to pummel him into submission, because no matter how much of a fight Ludwig would put up, the "good guys" ceaselessly seemed to prevail. It was almost routinely now. But this time, something seemed different. Was it the different worlds? Was it the magic airships? Was it the customized castles? Or perhaps, was it the unfamiliar feeling inside of Ludwig that was genuinely concerned for his mentally unstable fifteen-year-old brother? There was suddenly so much care, so much worry, and so much of something, something so strong that Ludwig's mind was having trouble wrapping itself around. Ludwig did not know what it was, it was so inexplicable, yet so powerful and consuming. And all he could do was wait. There was nothing he could do if the Mario Brothers did something to Iggy. There was nothing he could fucking do at all. And he hated that.

Nothing good at all.

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Lemmy used his wand to create a large, purple bomb. He hucked it at the four, who instantly ducked out of the way. Lemmy wobbled across the room on his circus ball. It spun beneath his feet. Toad leapt over the bomb, gaining air and readying himself to strike. Lemmy flipped on his ball again, but just at that moment, Toad dove downwards midair and stomped on Lemmy's head.

Lemmy cried out in pain and immediately retreated into his shell. Bowser had taught the Koopalings that if someone were to land a hit on them, they were to retreat into their shell and spin defensively until they regained their senses so they could attack again. His mind spun along with his shell, which was aimlessly zig-zagging across the corridor. All four foes nimbly leapt over Lemmy's shell, careful not to harm themselves. Lemmy finally came to his senses, and emerged from his shell. However, he was too slow, and Lemmy's skull took another blow, this time from Mario. Lemmy let out another pained shriek, and retracted his body into his shell again.

C'mon Lemmy, you gotta be fast! Don't let them take you down, like Roy said! Lemmy's shell zigzagged across the floor once more. This time, however, Luigi wasn't quick enough to dodge, and he winced as he lost his power-up. Lemmy giggled mischievously, and reappeared out of his shell. He leapt on top of his circus ball before anyone could land another hit, and as he flipped midair, he created another bomb, this one even more massive than the last. He threw it at the four in hopes of destruction, but once again, they dodged his attack, and Toadette bounded off the wall midair, and her feet connected with Lemmy's head.

Lemmy's mind spun. He became dizzy and his vision clouded. He couldn't retreat to his shell; his body would not cooperate. His balance fluctuated, and he let out a final cry of pain as his body gave out and he keeled over in pain, plummeting off his airship to his castle below, barely conscious.

"Wahoo!" cheered Mario, which was followed by excited whoops from Toad, Toadette, and Luigi. The four gained control over the mighty airship, and after altering its path, jumped off the ship and landed behind Lemmy's castle. Lemmy's airship began making wider circles until it flew out of sight and soon crashed to the ground. "Looks like there's another world," declared Toadette. "Let's-a go!" Mario said enthusiastically, and the four set off to Layer Cake Desert.

Ludwig's mind was wandering as he laid on the floor of his airship when his wand started emitting strange blips. He turned over to see what was wrong. For the past hour, it had been a gray screen that meant that everything was functioning normally, but now it was flashing the words "OFF TARGET" repetitively, then suddenly it went black. Ludwig tensed. He could hear his siblings' voices through his wand. "What just happened?" "Why did it say off target?" "I can't see it anymore" "Lems, what's goin on?"

"Everyone shut up," Ludwig snapped. "Wait for him to report back."

"My god, Ludwig, are you gonna jump down everyone's throats today?" asked Wendy, annoyed.

"I'm just being serious. I don't know what's happening over there, and I'm just as concerned as you guys are," Ludwig replied. "Just wait for him to respond, I'm sure he will."

Bowser's deep voice cut through Ludwig's wand. "What're you all blabbering about down there?" 

There were a few seconds of silence. Then, there was a crackle of another voice coming through everyone's wands. The voice was breathless and hoarse.

"This is Lemmy Koopa, reporting from Acorn Plains." He hesitated for a moment, then continued. "I'm down."