A/N: This being my first attempt at a slash, I'd really appreciate any feedback, flames and all. Just make sure it's not something like "Eew, that's disgusting!", because what I really want to hear is what you liked or did not like about my fic, so if you can't handle a bit of slashing, then you should probably hit the back button now.

You have been warned, so have a GOOD reason to flame me if you feel you don't like it.

Warnings: Well, it's a slash. Possibly some lime content later on. I don't actually view the characters this way, but I still think they'd look cute together. Hey, they're just fictional characters, right?

***

Taken by Surprise

By Rachelle

Though the sudden blow had not been unanticipated, it still hurt, in more ways than one. Another wallop met its mark before he could recover from the first strike, and yet another after that. Iggy was still reeling in pain as an incredible weight was administered to his tail; it had been jumped on, causing his eyes to burn with tears. Roy grinned devilishly as he delivered each punch, enjoying the moans that emitted from his younger brother each time his fist connected with another, previously unbruised spot. A thin line of blood trickled down Iggy's chin.

Iggy gasped as a well-aimed kick knocked the air out of him. He fell to his knees, gasping for air. It was astonishing that he was still standing, but what little pride he had left would not allow himself to fall. His vision was blurring, making him dizzy, but the already poor light allowed for little visibility as it was.

Roy, on the other hand, was enjoying every moment, barely allowing for any recovery time at all between each strike. A vicious uppercut actually propelled Iggy backwards, allowing for him to regain his footing, but just barely. He stood there shakily for a moment as he turned to face Roy, breathing in short, ragged breaths. Noting Roy's surprised look, he took a deep breath and attempted to defend himself: a pitiful smack that could have been avoided by a Goomba. Roy took the hit, laughing as he easily pushed Iggy over, hard.

"Stop," Iggy whimpered, clutching the ground feebly. He hated feeling so vulnerable. "Just leave me alone. . ."

But Roy wasn't doing anything of the sort, and Iggy knew it. He knew the routine well. Roy would pummel him as far as he could go without fatally wounding him, and then leave him to sort things out on his own. Another kick left Iggy teetering over the rim of unconsciousness. And it wasn't over yet.

Roy paused, savouring the moment. He smirked again. Iggy cringed as he waited for the inevitable. /But why?/ was the only thing his fading mind could grasp.

"Cease!" a new voice broke the silence. "Lay off, Roy."

Roy froze, more from surprise than embarrassment. Even Iggy summoned the will to lift his head upwards, ignoring the throbbing pain in his head. His glasses had cracked in multiple places, but by some miracle they had managed to stay on his face.

"Oh yeah?" Roy snarled, his surprise already having worn off. His voice dripped with arrogance. "I supposed yer gonna try an' make me if I don't, then?"

"Yeah," said the voice, clearly another Koopa Kid. Iggy tried to place his voice, but everything was getting fuzzy. . . "I am."

"Try again, Sherlock. For someone so smart, ya sure act dumb sometimes." Roy pounded his fists together threateningly as he marched up to the second Koopaling.

Iggy had given up trying to watch, it took too much energy. As he rested his head back on the ground, he settled for listening to the conversation, but even that was becoming increasingly difficult. At least he had a good view of the floor. Yeah. that was it. The floor was good. It was even starting to feel comfortable, almost warm. What if. . .

He blacked out completely.

***

Black. Everything was black.

Was he blind? Did he even have his eyes open? Was he paralysed? What was happening? Those and a million other questions raced through Iggy's head. Aside from knowing that he couldn't see anything, he was only dimly aware of what was going on. He could feel. something warm. His arms and legs were dangling at his sides, as if he was being carried. But, being carried by who? And to where?

A funny thumping noise reverberated through Iggy's body. His heartbeat. It annoyed him. He wished it would stop, stop so he could hear what was going on. But he couldn't hear anything else, let alone realize just what would happen if the thumping actually did stop.

Too many questions. It didn't really matter anyways, he reasoned hazily.

He sank back into unconsciousness, what now seemed like merely a welcoming silence to the thumping noise.

***

Iggy awoke to the same feeling of warmth as he had during his last few moments of consciousness. For a moment, he almost thought the whole thing had been just a bad dream. That is, until he tried to stretch his arms.

"Yeaaaah!" he screeched as a jolt of pain sliced through his left arm.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," advised the voice from the previous night, the one he now recognized as Ludwig's. "Your arm is injured, most likely broken."

Iggy opened his eyes very suddenly, to find that he was not in his bed at all, but in some sort of cot that Ludwig had unfolded near his own bed. A sudden vision of his being some sort of scientific experimental guinea pig prompted him to try to scramble from out of the covers, but another stab of pain in his right leg made him stop. He sank back down, suddenly grateful for the blankets' warmth. He noticed for the first time that his arm had on it a sort of cast.

"Ludwig?" he asked, confused. "How did you, you know, make him stop?"

"I merely explained to him the mutual benefits that would transpire should he forget about beating you up entirely," explained Ludwig. "After which he turned tail and ran from my intellect."

"So, he punched you and left laughing?"

"That's about it," laughed Ludwig half-heartedly.

"Oh," Iggy wasn't sure what to think. Ludwig had never been especially nice to him before.

"Your leg is sprained as well, but the rest are all bruises," Ludwig explained. "You'll probably want to rest up for a few days,"

"Yeah, I think I'll do that."

"I could transport you back to your room if you like," his brother suggested. "The cot has wheels."

No, was Iggy's immediate reaction. To be outside of the room meant being in the long castle hallways, where there was a possibility he could run into Roy again. Even in his state, he wasn't entirely sure that Roy would hesitate to pummel him again. The very thought left him shaking violently. He tried to answer, but found he could only manage a sort of broken whisper. Ludwig got the message.

"All right, you don't have to go anywhere just yet," he said quickly. "You don't have to worry about Roy either, at least for a while."

Iggy felt a sudden rush of gratitude towards his brother. His next three words summed up his feelings quite nicely: "Er. . . thanks, Ludwig."

Ludwig merely nodded as he backed himself towards the door. "Just call me if you need anything," he said, smiling apologetically as he left the room.

Iggy sighed, snuggling up against the blankets. Funny, he'd never noticed just how Ludwig's face lit up as he smiled before. . . It struck him as odd to notice something like that, but he quickly dismissed it as an after- effect of being hit over the head a few times to many.

To be continued.

Ooh, am I evil! *Laughs* All right, so it's not exactly enthralling so far. But, if ya wanna see how things turn out, you'll just half to wait until the next update now, won't you? Nya!

~Rachelle