Chapter 17 A Ghostly Battle Part 2
As they flew, their nervousness grew. This could not go wrong. This had to go well. Lemmy saw the duplighost enter the door at the base of the statue, so he aimed himself downwards. When he entered the door, he saw that the statue was filled with a spiral staircase leading up to the statue's head.
"Woah," Lemmy and Ludwig said together. The staircase seemed to stretch on for miles. Up near the top, they heard the sound of a door slamming. Lemmy followed the sound and entered the door that lead to the observation room.
The observation room of the statue was filled with light that was filtering in through the statue's eyes. There was also a doorway on the back wall connecting the observation room to the museum area, and there was a balcony/second floor that one accessed via a ladder.
Lemmy and Ludwig flew right in front of the humongous, glassy windows. When Ludwig dismounted, they both heard an evil cackle come from up above. They turned around in fright, their stomachs filling with dread when they saw the duplighost.
"Well well well. What do we have here? Two little Koopalings completely unaccompanied by their siblings?"
An arcane blast formed in the ghost's hands. His grin grew more menacing as he threw the blast at Lemmy. Lemmy crashed through the window and started plummeting to the ground.
"LEMMY!" Ludwig yelled in shock. He raced to the window, allowing himself to see his brother. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to save him.
"Woah ho!" said the duplighost. "Fifty percent; not too shabby!"
Ludwig turned around in horror and saw another arcane blast in the hands of his opponent.
"Let's see if I can pull that up to a passing grade."
Ludwig, despite the fact that he was beyond afraid, knew that he needed to act. He got into his shell and circled around the duplighost. Once he was satisfied with how dizzy he had made his opponent, Ludwig exited his shell and ran to the museum area.
…
Lemmy screamed as he fell to the ground. He could feel the wind rushing around him, he could feel surges of adrenaline rushing through his veins. Both of these factors were making him feel extremely cold.
What am I gonna do? he thought. I am going to die!
Lemmy didn't see anyway around this. He was already accepting his untimely demise when he remembered that he had the ability to fly. In his terror he had temporarily forgotten.
Okay Lemmy, take a deep breath,
Lemmy did just that. When he let it out, he could feel his descent start to slow down. He let out another breath, and this time he stopped, levitating about a foot off the ground.
"Haha! Yes, I did it!"
Then Lemmy let out a little gasp. He looked up at the windows.
"Ludwig…" With that, he flew upward.
….
Ludwig hid behind one of the pedestals. His heart was beating so loudly in his chest that he was paranoid that the duplighost heard it.
"Come on out, special! You're just prolonging the inevitable."
Ludwig's breathing slowed to a halt as the duplighost walked past his hiding place. He did not move until he felt the icy chill of the ghost's presence pass by. He peeked out and saw that the duplighost's back was turned.
What am I going to do?
Suddenly, Ludwig spotted a coin at his foot. He picked it up and threw it into the second room that made up the museum area. The duplighost smirked evilly as he made his way over there. Ludwig let out a sigh of relief and ran back into the observation room. He decided to hide on the balcony, as that was the least likely place for his opponent to check. He climbed his way up the ladder and crawled his way across the floor.
"Hello there."
Ludwig gasped in fright when the duplighost appeared right in front of him. The duplighost kicked Ludwig over the edge. Ludwig screamed, but right before he hit the floor the duplighost stopped him using magic. The duplighost sneered at him just as Lemmy flew in through the window.
"How does it feel?" the duplighost asked as Ludwig struggled in pain to get free. "Being reduced from one of the most powerful koopas in your kingdom to a rainbow haired midget?"
"That 'rainbow haired midget' is my brother!" Ludwig said. "So you had better shut your mouth!"
Lemmy smiled at this statement. That is until the duplighost tightened his hold. Lemmy gasped in horror as Ludwig struggled and gasped for air.
"Well. I guess even specials need to die eventually," said the duplighost. "And I am beyond honored that I am the one responsible for your death."
Lemmy felt anger boiling up inside him.
"NOOO!" he screamed. Blue fire danced around his hands, which he threw at the duplighost. Ludwig was released as the duplighost was sent flying backwards.
"Leave him alone!" Lemmy yelled. "Or you're going to experience a second death!"
The duplighost chuckled.
"Oh, cool your jets. Look, if your body means that much to you, I'll find a way to get it back to you once I'm done."
"You really think I care about the stupid body?!"
Lemmy flew a barrage of fireballs at his opponent, but the duplighost dodged. Then he flew up into the air and fired a beam of dark energy at Lemmy. Lemmy dodged and threw an electric bolt, which sent the duplighost flying toward the ground. Lemmy slowly floated downwards, and when his feet touched the floor the flames around him vanished. He turned to Ludwig.
"Are you okay?" he asked. Ludwig stared at him in shock.
"Lemmy...you saved me. You just...you just used pyrokinesis!"
"I did?" Lemmy asked. He examined his hands, a smile growing on his face. "You're right! Oh Ludwig, I did it!"
Lemmy wrapped Ludwig in a hug. Ludwig smiled up at him when he was let go.
"Yes, you did it."
Ludwig turned in horror when he heard the duplighost speak up. Their opponent turned into a purple shadow version of Ludwig once again.
"Unfortunatey, you didn't do it well enough."
The duplighost aimed the ball of light at Lemmy. Lemmy squirmed as the duplighost pulled him forward. Ludwig gawked in shock as the duplighost cackled.
"You guys were lucky to escape before," said the duplighost. "But this time, there is absolutely no escape!"
Suddenly, Ludwig didn't care about getting his body back. All that he cared about was saving Lemmy. So, Ludwig jumped into the magical field. The duplighost screamed in pain as a bright light filled the room. When it cleared, the duplighost was gone, and Lemmy and Ludwig laid on the floor. Ludwig lifted his head and gasped when he looked at his brother.
"Lemmy?"
"Ludwig?"
Ludwig began examining himself. He saw that he was wearing his blue cloak.
"I'm me again," he said softly. He felt his face and hair, and a joyous smile spread across his face. "Oh thank Miyamoto, I'm me again!"
Lemmy, who was also back to normal, wrapped his older brother in a hug.
"Thanks for saving me," said Lemmy.
"Right back at you," Ludwig said. "You did a good job."
Lemmy smiled and held on tighter. Ludwig chuckled.
"You know, they say you don't really know a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes. Well Lemmy, you and I have circumnavigated the globe."
Lemmy's smile got brighter. Then they heard their siblings enter the door.
"What happened?" asked Iggy.
Ludwig and Lemmy stood up, reaching wearing a smile. Iggy pointed at Ludwig.
"Who are you?"
"What kind of question is that Iggy?" Ludwig said playfully. "Can't recognize your own brother?"
Iggy smiled. The others did the same.
"You're back to normal!" Larry exclaimed.
"How do you guys feel now?" asked Wendy. Ludwig let out a happy breath.
"I have literally never been so happy."
"Me neither," said Lemmy. "I never realized how much I liked being me until I wasn't."
Ludwig nodded.
"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up." He took a deep breath and rose into the air. He chuckled happily. "Oh yeah, I am back!"
"Okay," said Iggy. "Let's hop in the Clown Car and get home."
"What?" asked Ludwig. "I just spent the better part of two days in Lemmy's body, and now that I'm finally back in my own you want me to take the clown car home? Oh no, I'm actually going to enjoy being a special for a change."
Ludwig flew to the window and grinned at his siblings.
"Well, see you back at the castle!"
AN: This is not the end! There is one more chapter after this, so stay tuned!