Author's Note:
Hello!
I know I've not been posting any update, and I'm sorry for that :/
I'm very busy with school these months, and not only with school. That's why I have never stopped writing, and probably won't stop. All this time I've been writing(even if not as much as before). Now that school is coming to an end, I will have more time to write yay ^-^
Since I've not been there for some months, here I show you Solution Chapter 14: Problems Begin. This is one of the longest I've ever written.
Disclaimer: I just own the plot and OCs
Alright, Let's-a-go! (Couldn't wait to say that again :D)
Solution
Chapter 14: Problems Begin
The sun rose the next morning, gracing the koopalings and the environment with a soft, warm glow. Lemmy stirred as the first rays of light beamed on him.
"Mmpfh.. hmmm..." Lemmy grumbled as he began to wake. He felt pretty good all things considered, but a lot of things still bothered him greatly, all of which considered his younger brother Iggy.
'They're still out... that's good. But Iggy... why would he want to keep secrets from me? I thought we always told each other everything... and yesterday... he was tired. I saw how much he was trying to stay strong, but he was panting and barely standing up...'
Lemmy sighed and sat up, staring at his slumbering brother, who looked like he was in pain even while he slept. 'Iggy... what's going on with you?'
A few moments later, Larry started to awaken, and Iggy stirred before following suit.
"Hey Lemmy..." Larry yawned as he slowly started to sit up. Iggy let out a larger yawn and rubbed his eyes as he felt around for his glasses.
"Hey Larry, Iggy. You guys okay?" Lemmy asked. Larry nodded, letting out a smaller yawn. Iggy didn't respond at first, having found his glasses and placed them on. Lemmy peered closer at Iggy.
"Iggy?"
The tall koopaling snapped out of his daze and looked at Lemmy with a reassuring smile. "I'm ready, Lemmy. Let's go." he said as he gathered his things.
"Iggy, are you sure? I mean, you guys just got up and..." Lemmy didn't really want to rush things with how everything went down yesterday. He was concerned for both of them, but he was highly worried for Iggy. Something wasn't right with him but Lemmy didn't know how to breech the subject.
Iggy collected his wand and bag and stood up. "No, we should get going. We can get this done if we start heading out now." He shook his head when Lemmy went to argue.
"Lem, I'm fine. Really. Don't worry about me, okay?" he said softly, trying to calm him and in a way, himself. Lemmy lowered his head and decided to go along with what he said for the time being. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to keep a close eye on him.
"Okay, then shall we get going?" Larry said, hopping up and walking ahead. Iggy knelt on the floor and waited for Lemmy to get on him, but Lemmy refused.
"Lemmy? Aren't you getting on?" Lemmy bit his lip and shook his head. "Why not?"
"I think I'll be alright. I can't keep having you carrying me everywhere..." Lemmy started to walk, carefully and slowly. Iggy was very confused, but didn't want to push it further. He quietly walked alongside him.
"If you say so…"
The three koopalings started walking towards the hill that would lead them to their next adventure. By the end of the hike, Larry was pretty tired and worn out from how steep the hill was.
"Oh, jeez! FINALLY we got up there! Good job guys!" Larry panted, giving a weak thumbs-up. "Phew! We did pretty good! See, I'm not even tired!"
Lemmy and Iggy looked at each other and laughed. "Sure, bro. Sure." they both said. Iggy looked around.
"So… is this that temple?"
It looked strongly familiar; a large door with two statues at the sides. It looked like...
"Those two statues… Am I wrong or have we seen them somewhere before?" Lemmy had a feeling he knew the answer.
"Those look exactly like Focalora's Fire Plain statues!" Larry said, amused. "But their dresses and the door are brown, not red!"
"I think that's where the earth pi-" Suddenly, all three of them fell silent when something akin to an explosion caught their attention. They looked around, confused and tense, when Larry spotted something.
"It came from over there!" Larry exclaimed, pointing to the area below them. They squinted their eyes to get a better view, and gasped in surprise.
There was a massive grey and black aircraft parked in what appeared to be an industrial area. Surrounding the craft were red circles, each encased in a soft blue flame. None of the boys knew what that meant, but it couldn't be good. A ramp used to get inside the aircraft was facing in their general direction.
Surrounding the aircraft were boxes, but what they were for was unknown. Below, they three koopalings could hear loud noises, and at first, they had no idea what it was or where it was coming from. Then they noticed something bright blue- a laser beam. It was not just one laser beam, but many, forming the shape of a cage. They inched closer and were more surprised to find the loud noise they heard was from that of a few strange people digging into another portion of the hill.
The three looked at the blue cage, and Lemmy thought aloud, "That person in that cage... they looked very familiar..."
"I know. I can't remember from where, though." Iggy replied. Larry didn't say anything but agreed with his older brothers. The trio thought.. and thought... and then...
"It's one of Focalora's sisters!" all of them said in unison, finally reaching the same conclusion.
Peering closer and being careful not to get detected, they noticed a heavily armored guard wearing what appeared to look like a crown approach the cage. They strained their ears to listen, but gave up- they were too far away to hear anything.
"Who on earth IS that guy?" Lemmy asked his brothers. "I mean, he's got a crown, so he's a king, right? But he's not Dad or Princess Peach so..."
"Look at his hands!" Larry hissed, pointing to the guard's hands as he raised them. Something glistened inside of them. Something a lot like...
"The gems! We need those!" Iggy said, before doing a double take. "Wait a second... he doesn't have the Earth Piece..."
After some time doing whatever he had been doing, the king- or guard, they couldn't tell which- headed towards the aircraft and closed the door. The noise continued and it gave the koopalings a chance to see what they would be dealing with.
All of the remaining soldiers that stood guard were heavily armored as well- there was not a spot of skin to be seen anywhere. Which worried the three young koopalings because they literally could not see if their enemy was alive or not. All of them were armed as well- spears were in all but those who were mining. One of the mining guards also had a string that connected to the cage trapping Folalora's sister.
Larry, Iggy and Lemmy were more concerned with figuring out how they were going to get the gems now locked inside the aircraft. They looked at one another.
"We need to figure out a way inside that thing and get those gems! But how to do that..." Lemmy mused before he and Iggy both looked at Larry. Larry blinked in confusion but quickly caught on and shook his head no.
"No way! I'm not going in there!" he exclaimed.
"Larry, you already do spy work for that cinema place you work at, and for crying out loud you're just plain sneaky! It's the same thing, so why can't you act sneaky now?" Lemmy asked, although he had a hunch he knew the answer.
"That was just a game! You know, something I do for FUN?" Larry worriedly answered, glancing at the craft.
"But this is real, and if I mess this up... we don't get another chance. I don't get another chance."
"Yeah, we know. But we wouldn't be asking you to do this if we didn't know you could, Larry." Iggy said softly, placing his hand on Larry's shoulder. "Just try for our sake, please? If it gets too dangerous we will come and get you out."
Larry thought a bit longer then nodded yes, looking and Lemmy and Iggy with a sudden show of confidence. "Alrighty then, don't beg me too much. I'll be in and out with the gems before you know it!" he grinned before taking off rather suddenly, making sure to pick the direction with less guards.
"Be careful in there, Larry!" Iggy called to his brother. He didn't think Larry could hear him.
It was just the two brothers alone, and Iggy had to admit, it felt kind of awkward. Lemmy decided to break the silence.
"Uh, Iggy... I think we need to talk. About everything." Iggy had a feeling it was coming sooner or later, and while he was grateful Larry wasn't here to overhear any of the information about to be spoken, Iggy still wished Lemmy wouldn't bring it up.
"S-Sure... what do you want to know?"
"You know… why are we searching for these gems in the first place? I think I know the answer but... I also think there's more to it than what you said before…"
Iggy felt like revealing everything he discovered since he left the castle on his own. Within a second, that's exactly what he eneded up doing, which wasn't what Lemmy expected at all.
"I've been trying for ages to try and find a way to help you with your... problem..." He gestured, waving his hand towards the ground- towards Lemmy's feet. "And I've always FAILED, Lem! You shouldn't have to suffer because of my mistakes! And I heard about the gems and I thought they would help and... and..." Iggy was starting to feel his emotions take over him and he paused. Lemmy mulled over the info he had just heard.
"Then... that spirit person you said you spoke to... who was that... and why couldn't you..." Lemmy started softly, realizing that the very thought of Iggy not trusting him with something like that stung. A lot.
Iggy sighed and looked off. "Aryal."
"Aryal?"
"Yeah... that was her name- at least, I think it was a her. She... I don't know, she was saying things about finding this gem when I passed out back at the Forest of Mist. That I had to find the gem and protect it. It felt so real, but I think it was a dream... I don't know, honestly."
Lemmy believed him. "So if she's this spirit... then we have to defend this gem... but what about the kingdom? We don't know a thing and-"
Suddenly, an explosion sounded nearby- right near the area Larry was currently in. Iggy and Lemmy looked at each other in horror, then back at the flames from the explosion.
"W-Was that explosion from that big aircraft?" Iggy asked, fearing for Larry's safety. "Larry... Lem, you think he's-"
Iggy paused. He noticed his brother was no longer standing next to him, and looked around the area. He gasped when he saw who had grabbed his tiny brother- ten blue armored creatures. The leader- the man in black- was very familiar to Iggy.
'Lemmy... that man again... seriously, what is his deal with us?! Who cares, they've got Lemmy and I need to save him fast!'
"Let him go!" He grabbed his wand quickly, ready for a fight, but the leader simply shook his head and extended his arm towards the captured Lemmy. Iggy froze, and the leader grinned, enjoying the power he knew he was holding over Iggy and Lemmy.
"Now I wouldn't move if I were you, damn pineapple.. unless you want to see your brother lose his head, hmm?" The leader smirked. Iggy grit his teeth- of course they'd try that move. He glanced over at Lemmy to assess how much trouble he was in.
Lemmy was kneeling on the ground, clearly by force, his arms bound behind his back. One of the armored creatures held Lemmy's head by his Mohawk and had his blade poised near his neck, ready to slice his head clean off if ordered. Iggy realized he had a huge problem- he wasn't exactly sneaky, but if one bad move happened... his brother was as good as dead. "What am I supposed to do?! If I try and fight them they may actually... But then again, I can't take on nine of these guys by myself!"
"Iggy... h-help me..." Lemmy tried to cry out, but was rudely interrupted by his captor, who shook his head rather harshly. Lemmy was seeing stars for a moment and he cried out once more in pain, which irritated the leader to no end for some reason.
"STOP BEING SO ANNOYING!" The leader's sudden yelling caused Lemmy to flinch and the blade cut him a little. Even though the cut was small, it still stung like mad and he tried to keep himself from crying.
"Lemmy!" Iggy was lost. How on earth had any of this happened in the first place? And how was he supposed to save Lemmy in one piece?
"So what do you say, Iggy?" the leader sneered. "Are you gonna listen and kneel down like a good pineapple, or do I have to teach you a lesson as well?"
Iggy rolled his eyes and simply answered, "I'm not kneeling to you. You're not our father."
The leader shrugged- he knew he'd basically won- and turned away. Snapping his fingers as he walked off, he ordered his soldiers to deal with the duo. In an instant, Iggy was overwhelmed by the much larger mass of whatever they were. They took his bag and wand before delivering a swift blow to his head, knocking him out. .
Lemmy started to struggle against his captor, feeling his chest tighten with sadness and anger. Iggy wasn't supposed to be in this! He should've just ran to find Larry and get them out of here... and of course, he somehow managed to get captured...
"Iggy! NO!" But he didn't get too far himself- his captor also hit him in the head with the handle of his sword. Dots started to flash before Lemmy's eyes, and the last thing he remembered was watching his little brother falling to a heap on the ground before his closed his eyes and blacked out.
I'm sorry Iggy/Lemmy! Didn't want to put you in such a trouble! Forgive me D:
Let's just hope for the best!
This would have been a longer chapter. I just split it into Chapter 14 and 15, because I didn't want to let more time pass without any update! So Chapter 15 is work in progress.
About Cracking, next Chapter is work in progress to... and I know that everyone knows who will come next! Stay tuned!
As usual, I would like to thank 'LuigiWife1551' for the beta read! Thank you so much!
And of course, I would like to thank everyone that Favorited/Followed/Reviewed the story! Thank you so much!
See ya~ Ah Ah!