Chapter 12 Zip

The music hall. How could one possibly describe such a magnificent place? How could one encapsulate the rush of emotions that it gave to Lemmy, or the sights of the instruments laying around in a way that implied they had bated breath? The music hall was a place of memory, a place where Lemmy had listened to Ludwig play over and over again. This was Ludwig's haven. Sweet sounds would often fill this place, sounds that would manipulate Lemmy's heartbeat in ways that he wouldn't have thought possible otherwise. This was the place that Ludwig loved, and Lemmy by extension.

Lemmy giggled as he observed the instruments. They were all Ludwig's; his collection had been far too big for his bedroom to contain even before Lemmy had moved into it. He jumped up and down in one place as his eyes rested on the sight of the glistening piano. Ludwig had never allowed his brother to play it. To be fair, he hadn't allowed any of his siblings to play it, but when it came to Lemmy, that one restriction had made the desire to do so that much grander.

"Maybe the piano would be good for the song!" Lemmy squealed in delight. He rushed toward it and lifted the cover. The keys, black and white, shimmered like they had just been cleaned. "Oh ho ho!" He giggled uncontrollably. "I feel like I'm doing something naughty; I love it!"

Wendy chuckled and approached as Lemmy lowered himself onto the bench. He flexed his fingers, stretching them so that the joints cracked. He took a deep breath, mentally and physically preparing himself for the journey that he was about to go on. Much to his surprise, this action caused him to rise into the air. He blinked before gasping out loud. "AHH! I'M IN THE AIR!"

Wendy snorted with laughter. "You say that as if it isn't a regular occurrence for you."

Lemmy just continued to stare down. His butt, or rather Ludwig's butt, was nowhere near the bench. It was such an odd feeling, sitting on nothing, levitating in the air. The experience that came the closest to this was a flying dream. But this was REAL! This was real, this was happening, and Lemmy loved it.

A smile spread across his lips, a smile that caused the dimples so seldom visible on Ludwig's face to appear. He looked down at Wendy, who just stared back at him with confusion. "Hey Wen, do you want to go flying with me?"

Wendy blinked. "Are you serious?" When Lemmy nodded, she looked even more taken aback. "Umm…sure." She gently, reluctantly placed her hand in his. With her fingers curling around Ludwig's, Lemmy studied the room. The ceiling was high, of course, so that meant that he would have a lot of room to have a good time, test out his flying muscles.

"Okay." Lemmy took in another breath, and when he let it out he looked up with a determined smirk. "Let's-a do this."

He zipped up! Like lightning, like a sonic blast, like a rocket. He moved so fast that it took him a minute to realize he had moved at all. The only thing that alerted him to that fact was the sensation of his face pressed straight up against the rock used to construct the ceiling.

"OWW!" He pulled himself away from the stone, reorienting himself and shaking away the dizziness. He looked down at Wendy, who had wide eyes, dilated pupils, and was shaking like a puppy as her nails dug into Ludwig's palm. She looked up at him, her face turning red.

"ARE YOU INSANE!" she yelled.

Lemmy chuckled apprehensively. "Sorry, Wendy." He examined the music hall, his mouth gaping open in awe as he did. "Wow, the room looks so different from up here." He giggled. "Look at the piano! It's tiny!"

Wendy continued staring at him with the same look she would give a madman. "LUDWIG!"

"Sorry," Lemmy said. He scratched the back of his head. "I've just never seen the room from this angle." He beamed. "This is like being on a tightrope, except…better!"

Wendy let out a breath. "Okay, great Ludwig. Now can we get down."

Lemmy's heart stopped. "Get down?" He swallowed a lump. "Uh, sure." He looked down at the floor. Now, the sight of it caused him to sweat, which he didn't even know was physically possible for a reptile. He clenched his jaw, biting down on his lip. His hand shook so much that he he was scared that he would drop his sister.

"Ludwig?" Wendy asked with a note of fear in her voice. "What are you waiting for?"

"Uhh…" Lemmy thoughts raced. How can I get down! Do I have to drop Wendy! Oh boy, how does Ludwig get down? HOW DOES LUDWIG GET DOWN? CRAP CRAP CRAP!

"LUDWIG!" Wendy screeched, grasping his hand with both of hers. "THIS ISN'T FUNNY! GET US DOWN NOW!"

Lemmy shook his head. "I….I want to Wendy." He forced himself to smile. "But don't you think it's so much nicer up here?"

"WE'RE TWENTY FEET IN THE AIR!"

"So?"

"I DON'T WANT TO CRACK MY HEAD OPEN IF I FALL!"

Lemmy let out a breath. "You're right; you're right." He closed his eyes. "I can do this. Mind over matter; it's like driving a go-kart." He opened his eyes and looked toward the leftmost wall. "Okay. I'll aim for that." He leaned forward, and immediately zipped toward that wall at speeds that would make a jet plane look slow. He and Wendy screamed at the top of their lungs.

"PULL UP!"

When those words escaped Lemmy's mouth, he actually managed to pull up. He zipped right toward the ceiling again, the last place he wanted to be.

"DOOOOWWWWWNNN!"

He zipped down, straight toward the floor. Afraid that he was going to crash, he shielded his face with his arm. He pulled up at the last possible moment, go straight toward the opposite wall.

"LUDWIG, THIS ISN'T FUNNY!" Wendy yelped as her face turned green.

"Don't worry!" Lemmy shrieked. "I think I'm getting the hang of…GAAH!" He zipped upwards seconds before face planting into the wall. With that, the cycle repeated itself over and over again. Even Lemmy, who would gladly go to amusement parks and jump out of planes at the next opportunity, was starting to think this was a little much. He closed his eyes for just a split second, but that didn't help. It just made the adrenaline rush more noticeable, the possibility of ramming into the wall so much more prominent. His heartbeat was a blur. He wouldn't be surprised if Ludwig would have cardiovascular issues after this.

"What's going on in here!"

Lemmy looked down at the entrance, which was a big mistake. Ludwig's body took that as an invitation to head in that direction, and it did so at terminal velocity. Lemmy shrieked as he barrelled out of control right towards Kamek.

CRASH!

Lemmy, Wendy, and Kamek groaned, their limbs a spaghetti-like mess as they laid sprawled on the floor. Once they got out of the huddle and were back on their feet, hyperventilating and attempting to get their emotions back under control, Wendy stared at Lemmy with heat in her eyes. She slapped him right across the cheek, the sensation not too dissimilar to a whip laced with glass.

"OWW!"

"ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?" She shrieked. "WERE YOU TRYING TO GET ME KILLED?"

"No!" Lemmy exclaimed. "Wendy, I…" he hesitated, realizing that there was no explanation he could possibly give that would justify his actions. His stupid, reckless actions. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, you'd better be!" Wendy snarled, her face red. "If you ever and I mean EVER do that again…well, let's just say that you will wish that you died today. You'll fucking BEG for death to come." With one last huff, she stomped out of the music hall. Lemmy watched her go, his eyes wide, before slowly turning back to Kamek. The magikoopa advisor gave him a raised eyebrow.

"Master." Ironic he would use a scolding tone while saying that word as opposed to a reverent one. "I know that it is typical for siblings to get along like cats and dogs, but…"

Kamek didn't even get to finish his sentence, due to the fact that Lemmy burst into tears. He bawled his eyes out, clinging onto Ludwig's cloak tightly as liquids poured from his face.

"I…I'm sorry Kamek!" He hugged the magikoopa advisor, trembling as he did so. "I thought flying would be easy! I thought it would be like driving a car! But it wasn't! It…IT WAS TERRIBLE!" He buried his face in Kamek's robe, his tears soaking it through. How could he be so stupid? He had never tried Ludwig's powers before! He wasn't an expert on them, he didn't even know the basics on how they worked!

"Master Ludwig?"

The slow, confused, apprehensive delivery of that line jolted Lemmy right back down to reality. Oh. Dear. God. He was hugging Kamek. He was crying. He was hugging Kamek while he was crying! And he was doing it all in Ludwig's body!

He let go of Kamek with the same speed one would pull their hand away from a hot stove. He smoothed out the cloak he wore, wiped his face until it was as dry as a desert. "Uh…um…uh…" Words failed him. His tongue wouldn't cooperate with him.

Kamek just took off his glasses and wiped them on his robe. "Well. I see that flight clearly did a number on you."

Lemmy nodded, biting the inside of his cheek. He didn't trust himself to speak.

"So, for the sake of both of our egos, I'm going to pretend that the last fifteen seconds played out differently and just let you continue on with playing your instruments."

Lemmy blinked. "My instruments?"

Kamek raised an eyebrow. "Why else would you come into the music hall? You know, aside from trying to traumatize your little sister?"

Lemmy facepalmed. "Right, right." He looked over at the piano. "I was going to work on a song."

"Yes, for Bowser's party." Kamek cleared his throat. "I'll let you get back to that. Something tells me that Iggy and I are going to be providing Wendy with a lot of counseling over the next few weeks."

"Th…thanks Kamek." Lemmy stepped toward the piano. Maybe playing it would help him calm down. It always seemed to help Ludwig when he had just gotten out of stressful situations. Oh, speaking of which…

"Kamek?"

Kamek turned back toward him. "Yes?"

"How's Ludwig…I mean, Lemmy doing?"

Kamek blinked. "Lemmy?" He raised an eyebrow. "Well, last time I checked, he was putting on a performance for the servants."

Lemmy nodded. "Okay. Did he…did the servants like it?'

Kamek's brow scrunched up. "He hasn't started the show yet. Why?"

"Oh, no reason." Lemmy scratched the back of his head. "I just thought…well, I was hoping he would have a good time doing his thing. After all, clowning is his…his passion."

Kamek's eyebrow rose even higher. He took a step forward. "Is there something you wish to tell me?"

Lemmy shook his head. "No! Not at all! I'm just worried about Lemmy; that's all. Aren't I allowed to do that?"

Kamek stared at Lemmy, causing the Koopaling to sweat bullets. Kamek's stares were never fun to be on the receiving end of. It was like he was staring into the soul.

"Yes. I suppose you are." Kamek cleared his throat. "Well, I'd better go attend to Wendy. If I see 'Lemmy,' I'll let him know about your concerns."

With that, Kamek walked out. Lemmy shuddered. Never before had he heard Kamek say someone's name in a way that was so…off.