Hello all! And now to continue along with Threshold!

Again, I want to thank everyone who helped me with this and who enjoyed reading it! This is seriously one heck of a story and I am glad everyone likes it! Yay! (There's going to be a chapter at the very end to thank you all personally, because without readers and supporters, come on, what's a story?)

Anyways, please continue to enjoy and thank you again! I owns me nothing.

Threshold

Chapter 34: Far too Innocent

Lemmy continued down the hall, past the kitchen, and headed instead to a familiar location- his baby brother's bedroom. He hadn't seen Junior much since two or three days ago, when Lemmy first came out of his room.

It seemed like Junior was fine, but Lemmy now understood how easy it was for one to hold in their emotions, and how horrid the consequences would ultimately be. He should know, after all.

'I don't know how much Junior knows and saw since I did all this. But with everything going on, I know this. He's gotta feel overwhelmed... and he's not gonna say much about it.'

Lemmy soon reached his planned destination and knocked on the door. He couldn't hear a sound coming from the other room, and stood waiting patiently for a few minutes before he knocked again. There was still no reply.

"Junior? It's me, Lemmy. You okay? Can you open the door?"

A few slow movements, and the door finally creaked open- just barely enough for Lemmy to squeeze through without hurting himself. He found that odd, since Junior never knew what it meant to 'keep to himself', and like Lemmy, loved having his brothers and sister come play with him.

"Junior? Hey, are you okay?" Lemmy asked carefully, noticing all of Junior's paints and crayons scattered about the floor. It wasn't like him... or maybe it was given he was only six... or the fact that he hadn't been in the room in some time, his brother might have always been doing this.

Junior himself was staring at a scribble he had apparently done on one of his bedroom walls. It wasn't anything too concerning, but the silence that was filling the room certainly was.

"Junior. Hey, what's going on? Are you alright?" Lemmy tried asking again. This time, he got a small shake of the head.

"No... Lemmy, how come you wanted to go away and leave us? You made everyone really sad... including me..." Junior finally asked. He blinked a few times and then turned to face his brother.

"Did I hurt you, too? Like Luddy... I made you mad like I made Luddy mad, right?"

Lemmy couldn't believe what he heard. His baby brother thought that he could hurt him? That he would end up with a relationship like he had with Ludwig? His words and his actions, yes they hurt, but... could it really have been enough from a child who can barely go outside on his own?

"Junior, I... well..." Lemmy gave up on his previous train of thoughts and ran his hand over his face.

"Honestly its really hard to explain right now..." Lemmy started, sighing and getting comfortable on the carpeted ground. "I don't really know what I was thinking, but... I know I was mad at everyone. I was so mad..."

Junior didn't get it, and it showed clear as day. He reached out and touched his brother's scarred arm. "But then, you shouldn't have to hurt yourself if we made you feel mad. Papa said that we could always come to him if we felt mad."

Lemmy smiled at the innocent little child staring at his scars... at what Lemmy knew he should call battle scars, but he didn't think that name would fit. "That's true, but I... I don't think Dad meant me. He didn't love me like he loved you guys." he tried to explain.

"Yes he did! Papa loves us all because we're his children!"

"Junior, you don't understand what I mean-"

Junior grew angry all of a sudden, and without warning, he hit his brother's arm. "Stop saying that! I'm not a baby!" he cried out. "I can understand things too! But no one tells me anything!"

"Junior, there was no way you can ever understand what its liked feeling hated! You're just a child, and you need to stop trying to be a big person!"

The room fell quiet for a moment. "I'm not trying to be a big kid, Lemmy. I... I get things, too. Remember, Luddy hated me for a long time, and tried to kill me..." Junior said quietly. He pointed to a small scar on his neck.

"Luddy didn't like me because he thought I killed our real Mama. So he tried to kill me when I got bigger. But Papa told him and told me she was sick, and I was... at the wrong place at the wrong time. "

Lemmy couldn't hide his shock when he heard what his brother had said. 'Dad told him? He should have done that ages ago, frankly. I wonder if Junior would trust us now that he sees what's been happening...'

He lowered his hand and stared off into the distance of his large scale room. "I'm not stupid, Lemmy. I'm six now. So why would Papa not tell me about our Mama?"

Lemmy shrugged. "I wish I knew. But Dad barely spoke to me as it was. I was... I was apparently very slow at a lot when I was younger."

"What do you mean?"

Lemmy chuckled before tapping the side of his head. "In here. Something... was wrong with me when I was born. I wasn't like you, Junior. I was very slow, and I learned things slower than you or the rest of our family. That's why... Dad didn't love me like he loves you. I'm his son, but... I'm not the son he wanted."

Junior hummed in thought before suddenly crawling over to Lemmy and nestling himself in his arms. Lemmy was surprised, but wrapped his arms tightly about him and held him close. "I don't think so. You're Mama's boy, like me. She loves you for you, Lemmy."

The older koopaling wanted to believe that. He wanted to believe that his family still needed him for something, and he figured, in Junior's case, it was just a reassuring hug. And for now, he would. He didn't want to feel any more pain.

"No... no, he'll never love me like you, Junior. I hurt our own brother, I've let him down... and he can't trust someone who's so different from everyone else. He'll always protect you, though. And I didn't do that, and... I'm just a terrible big brother..."

Junior nestled closer to Lemmy, if that was possible, and smiled. "No you're not. You didn't hurt our brother. You always make me smile and laugh when I'm sad, and... you always keep me safe. You are a good brother, Lemmy."

"I did, Junior..." he whispered, resting his head on Junior's. "Iggy wouldn't have become who he is if it wasn't for me..."

"NO. You didn't do anything wrong!" he exclaimed, snapping his head up and almost knocking Lemmy out. He look at Lemmy with such a fierce expression Lemmy didn't know the kid had. 'His eyes... he really is a split image of our dad, right down to those eyes... I've never seen him so determined like this before, except in his art.'

"Iggy never blamed you! So you gotta stop blaming yourself! You didn't do anything bad, okay?!"

Lemmy was once again caught off guard by Junior's blunt statement and adamant refusal to back down. "Junior... "

"Its not fair! You didn't do anything to anybody! So why were we so mean to you!" he screamed.

"Its not just me. They were mean to you too, including me. A lot of the time, we just... we wished you were gone, and I guess, Ludwig trying to take your life... he was probably trying to make that happen."

Junior's light suddenly disappared and he rested his head on his brother's chest again. "I-I know. Papa told me a lot of the time, no one wanted me except for him. That he was the only family who loved me..." he said quietly, sadness clearly heard in his voice.

"I'm sorry, Junior." Lemmy apologized. "I hurt you and I got what I deserved. You had a reason to hurt me back."

"But still... it wasn't fair..."

Moving his head to see his brother, the youngest asked, "I'm sorry, Lemmy. For doing what I did. You're not going to go away anymore, right?"

Lemmy shook his head no. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

Junior smiled weakly. That was a huge comfort to him. "Good. I don't ever want to see you like that ever again..."

"Junior, what about you? Dad told you a lot about Mom and you saw me almost die, and Ludwig and you, you've been through so much and yet you're still coming around everyone smiling happy. Are you really okay?"

The younger prince didn't answer right away. He seemed to be musing on something, and upon closer inspection, Lemmy felt his insides drop when he saw his brother was forcing himself not to cry.

"Junior?"

He sniffed and rubbed his eyes hard. "I-I'm okay, Lemmy... really, I am! See, I'm fine!" he tried to convince his brother.

After going through what he did, Lemmy realized that Junior had become skilled at hiding his feelings, at putting on a facade and walking around as if everything was peachy. He wondered what went on in his head when he was alone.

Touching his cheek, Lemmy quietly said, "Junior, listen to me. You can't do what I've done. You're holding in a lot and I can see you're trying to force yourself not to cry. Its going to hurt a lot when you get older."

The littlest one's lip began to quiver, and he looked at Lemmy as if he were asking for permission to sob for all eternity. Lemmy knew the look all too well, but he was surprised.

It wasn't something Junior would have done on a regular day. He would've sneered and laughed at him, calling him a big crybaby and poking fun at his inability to walk by himself. He would have tried to prove he was a big kid and that he wouldn't cry.

A small part of him wanted to push him away and leave him broken as he was for so many years. But the 'big brother' mode was in full, and he didn't- nor couldn't- leave his little brother alone, suffering internally. He'd been through hell at such a young age, and it would have worn any child out like Junior was.

"I'm... I'm fine..." he whimpered, hiding his face in Lemmy's chest. "I'm fine, Lemmy."

"No you're not, Junior." Lemmy whispered back. "Please... just talk to me. I'm here, too."

All the clown koopaling wanted was for his brother to at least be able to trust him and for him to understand that he wasn't going to do anything but help him get better... even though he still struggled with his own healing.

"Talk to me, Junior. I'm here now."

Junior nodded. "It was scary..." he mumbled. "What was?"

"Seeing blood. Seeing my blood when Luddy tried to kill me, seeing needles, seeing you, everything was scary! And it hurts a lot, too! I don't..."

Junior suddenly groaned and his eyes closed. Lemmy grew alarmed. "Junior, you alright?!"

"Y-Yeah, my... my head really hurts..." he answered. "You still wanna talk about it?"

Junior didn't really answer. He just held onto Lemmy as tight as he could manage and tried not to cry. "My head really, really hurts, Lemmy..."

Lemmy didn't want to risk giving Junior any medication since he didn't know what they would do to him. Instead he stood up, carrying his brother with him, and walked towards his bed. Thankfully, because of how short Junior was and how tall the bed was, there was a step stool nearby. He climbed on the stool and onto the bed.

"Junior, its okay to cry sometimes. You're still a big kid, but part of being a big kid... is knowing when to let your guard down and just... cry. Don't be afraid to come to any of us."

Junior's bottom lip quivered and he nodded, large, round tears rolling down his cheeks. He sniffed and wiped his eyes, before he looked at Lemmy once again, his eyes giving away what he found he couldn't speak.

"Its alright, little guy." Lemmy said with a warm smile. "You can cry. I'm right here."

That was it. Junior was soon crying on his brother's lap, with Lemmy calmly and gently soothing him, still stroking his ponytail and his shell. 'Junior, why would you hold in so much just to look like a big kid? Why did you ever get caught up in this family's mess? You're still a child, the only one of us who has a normal childhood to enjoy! You are too innocent to be like this...'

After awhile, Junior curled into a ball and wiped his cheeks. Sighing, he whispered, "Can I go to sleep? I feel tired..."

Junior wanted to ask so many more questions, talk more about what he didn't realize he'd been holding back from his family, but not right now. His head hurt, his throat was starting to hurt, and he felt weak.

"Of course, Junior. Do you want me to come back later?"

Junior shook his head no. "Can you stay here? Please?" he begged quietly. "I really don't..."

"I know. You don't wanna be left alone. I'll stay here. And when you're ready, I'll be here to listen, okay?"

Junior smiled faintly before he finally allowed himself to sleep. Lemmy pulled up one of his blankets and carefully covered him with it before settling in for a while.

A knock sounded a half hour later, which caught Lemmy's attention. He wondered who could have been coming here, maybe besides Iggy. But he would have been in his room by now.

Opening the door, Lemmy blinked in confusion. "Ludwig? Morton? What's wrong?"

The two boys' expression didn't look good at all. And Ludwig's claw being covered in blood really sent red flags off in Lemmy's mind. "Guys? What happened? Who's hurt?!"

Ludwig looked like he wanted to puke, but tried to keep it together. "Where is Junior..." he asked softly. Lemmy jerked a thumb behind him, where Junior lay blissfully asleep, save for dried tears on his cheeks and curled in his blanket.

"Good. Lemmy, you need to come on, and fast!" Morton hissed between clenched teeth. Ludwig pushed past both boys, quietly approaching Junior. He stared at him a long moment before he adjusted his sleeping position, placing his head on his pillow.

"Lemmy... Morton is right... you must follow us." he finally spoke, sounding completely worn out. "Please... you have to save him."

Lemmy looked back at forth at the two siblings, growing frustrated. "Why?! What is going on!"

Morton Jr. answered, looking terrified. "It's Iggy... something's wrong with Iggy..."

At that, Lemmy's faced paled. He looked at the blood covering Ludwig's right claw and his oldest brother shaking as he continued to stroke Junior's face. "Ludwig...? What happened? What's wrong with Iggy?" he choked, finding it hard to speak all of the sudden.

"He was in his room, and I went to see what was going on. It sounded like he was banging something or throwing crap around his room. Dad had to bust down the door- we couldn't get the damn thing to open! But when we finally got in, Iggs was just... laying there. He was hurt. Bad. He's bleeding out in the wing and we can't figure out what the hell happened!"

"I just... spoke to him... not even a few hours ago..." Lemmy said, confused and now fearing for his brother's life. "What... what could've..."

"We don't know either. But we need your help... Iggy's gonna die, Lem... " Morton finally got out, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You might be the only one who can save him. Junior gave blood once, we can't ask him again. You and Iggy should be compatible, but he's been crying out for you. You gotta go to him, Lem." Morton squeezed his shoulder.

"We lost you already. We can't lose anyone else. We won't."

Lemmy was now frozen to the spot. His brother was fine... he had just seen him! Hell, he had JUST spoken to him! Was there something missing? Did he do something different, something he missed? Could he have prevented this whole thing?

"Lemmy... please. We must go. Ignatius is close to death." Ludwig walked out of the room again, with the two boys glancing once more at Junior before they closed the door.

Lemmy didn't feel his legs stumbling behind his brother. He didn't feel much of anything; the shock of it all was already sinking in. 'Tobi, please tell me there was something I missed... was there anything you sensed?! Kenta, his own energy, anything?!'

'No, nothing I could sense! He seemed okay! And I haven't sensed Kenta in a little while... what could have happened?'

"Please hold on, Iggy..." Lemmy began the mantra to himself as he and his brothers ran towards the wing. It seemed like the distance there was far longer than it normally was, and Lemmy grew more and more worried by the second.

When they finally reached their destination, Lemmy couldn't believe what he was seeing. His stomach dropped, his heart could have stopped, and the fears that something would have eventually happened to him finally came to light.

"Oh god... no, NO! Iggy?! IGGY!"

And chapter complete! Yeaaahh, Iggy had to take yet another one for the team... I'm gonna run soon, but first...

I hope you all enjoyed my little attempt of a twist, and of course, please review and leave me any advice, the usual.

Until next chapter... and NOW, I gotta go! :P