Chapter 16 A Ghostly Battle Part 1
The Koopalings could now see that they were floating above a beautiful city. It was right next to the water, so the air was heavy with the smell of the sea. There was also an island that had an enormous statue of Princess Peach, acting as a beacon for incoming ships. This was Toad Harbor.
Lemmy glanced over the side of the car and saw that Iggy was standing on one of the docks. The others noticed him waving at them as well, so they steered the car in that direction. When the car was parked, Lemmy jumped out ecstatically and gave Iggy a hug.
"Oh Iggy, I missed you."
"Hey Lemmy," Iggy said as he patted him on the back. Lemmy let him go and smiled at him.
"Ludwig and I trained together," he said. He took a deep breath, allowing himself to rise into the air. "Look, Iggy! I can fly!"
"Very impressive!" Iggy exclaimed with a smile. "That is bound to be useful in a fight against the duplighost!"
"Speaking of which," Roy said as he hopped out of the car, "where is he?"
Iggy gestured for everyone to follow him. Wendy, Larry, and Morton hopped out of the car and started to accompany Lemmy and Roy as they followed Iggy. Ludwig, however, stayed back in the car.
"Lemmy, wait," he called out. "I need to talk to you."
Lemmy turned and saw that Ludwig had guilt in his eyes. Lemmy hopped back in the clown car and sat beside his brother.
"What's the matter?" Lemmy asked. Ludwig let out a sigh as the guilt in his countenance increased.
"Lemmy, I am so sorry," he said.
"For what?"
"What I said earlier. About you making me angry." Ludwig shook his head. His expression gave the impression that he was mentally and emotionally struggling. "I shouldn't have said that. I don't even know why I said it; the only good that information would do would be making you feel bad."
"Ludwig, it's okay," Lemmy said reassuringly.
"Except that it isn't!" Ludwig said. He looked so guilty that tears were starting to build in his eyes. "Lemmy, I don't want you to feel bad!"
Lemmy gave Ludwig a smile.
"It's okay; I don't feel bad. In fact, if I am the reason why you are such a great fighter, then I view you thinking of me in a fight as the highest of compliments."
Ludwig stared at Lemmy in surprise. Then he smiled.
"You really are incredible," he said softly. "How you're able to take the negative and turn it on its head like that…" Ludwig chuckled. "I think that you might have to give me some training, because I would love to learn how to do that!"
Lemmy giggled.
"You're gonna have to pay me double; my schedule is booked with all of my clients."
Ludwig playfully elbowed Lemmy in the arm, causing both of them to laugh. Then he put on a determined expression.
"You ready for this nightmare to end?"
"Oh yeah!"
…
The toad who acted as the fruit stall vendor was whistling happily when he felt an icy shadow pass over his back. He turned and dropped the apple he had been polishing in shock.
"Hello," said the duplighost. The toad screamed and bolted away. The duplighost picked up one of the apples and took a bite out of it. Once he swallowed, his face fell.
"Oh that's right, I forgot. I don't have taste buds."
The duplighost threw the apple over his shoulder in a bored fashion. That was when he noticed the Koopalings in the open area of the market. He smirked.
"Oh, look who's back. Did you come to rub salt into a wound?"
"Actually," Ludwig said as he stepped forward, "we have a bone to pick with you."
The duplighost snickered.
"Ah, dang it," he said nonchalantly. "I left all my bones at the grave." Suddenly, he adorned a confused face. "Wait a minute." He looked back and forth between Lemmy and Ludwig. "Did his voice just come out of…"
Suddenly, the duplighost figured out what had happened. He opened his mouth in elation.
"No way; you guys got switched!" He fell into chortling. "Okay, that alone makes up for my loss!"
"Uh huh, I'm sure it does," Ludwig said. "Okay, now listen up, cause I'm gonna make this simple for you. You are going to put Lemmy and me back in our bodies, and if you do it quick enough, we might consider being nice!"
The duplighost pretended to consider the offer.
"Hmm. Tempting, but I kind of like you better this way. I think it would be a much better idea if you stayed like this forever!"
"We had a feeling you'd say that," iggy said. "Alright guys, get ready!"
The Koopalings all got into their fighting stances. Roy sneered at his opponent.
"We're taking you down, duplighost!"
"Duplighost?" The duplighost turned into a purple silhouette of Roy. "Who said anything about me being a duplighost?"
The duplighost threw the ball of light and Roy, causing him to scream in pain. When the light cleared, the purple silhouette of Roy had turned into a transparent version of Roy. The duplighost laughed cruelly as the actual Roy gawked.
"Hey! That's mine!" Roy said in terror.
The duplighost then directed his attention toward Wendy. He threw a punch at her, by Wendy blocked. He threw more and more punches at her until Wendy threw her ring at him. It hit him in the stomach, sending him flying into a fruit stall. The duplighost took the stall and lifted it above his head, aiming it at Morton and Iggy. He threw it, but thankfully the Koopalings were quick enough to dodge. The stall shattered into splintery pieces, and the fruit turned to mush when it hit the pavement. The duplighost directed his attention toward Ludwig.
"You wanna fly again special?" He picked Ludwig up by the mohawk. "Well I'd be happy to oblige!"
The duplighost threw Ludwig up into the air. He then turned to the terrified Larry.
"Oh! And there's an extra seat on the plane!"
He grabbed Larry by his mohawk and threw him in the same direction that he did Ludwig. Both Koopalings screamed as they went up, and their screaming grew louder once they started to plummet back toward the ground. Lemmy, who knew that he was the only one who could help, lifted one of the awning telekinetically. He flew up to his falling brothers and used the awning as a net to catch them. He brought them gently down to the ground.
"Thanks Lems," Larry said.
"No problem," Lemmy said. He then rose about two feet into the air and looked at the duplighost. Concentrating as hard as he could, he telekinetically lifted every fruit in the market. Once they were all in the air, Lemmy threw them at the duplighost. The duplighost tried to block, but it was like trying to avoid raindrops in a thunderstorm. Once he got hit in the face with a melon, the duplighost decided to run. The Koopalings followed him as he ran to the docks. Once on the marina, Roy approached his enemy angrily.
"You'd better give me my body back!"
The duplighost smiled smugly.
"As you wish," he said. He snapped his fingers, and both of them began to glow. Once they light faded, Roy examined himself happily.
"Hey! I'm me again!"
"Yes you are," said the duplighost. "And you're also about to go for a swim."
The duplighost used his magic to fling Roy into the water. He then directed his attention toward the other Koopalings.
"So long, losers." With that he started flying toward the Peach statue. Lemmy and Ludwig ran to the edge of the dock, watching fly away in horror. They saw Roy bobbing up and down in the water.
"Well, what are you guys waiting for?" Roy asked. "Go after him already!"
"Roy's right," said Iggy. "We'll find a way to catch up with you later."
Lemmy and Ludwig exchanged a look. Then Ludwig hopped onto Lemmy's back with a determined nod, and they started to chase after their opponent.