Chapter 14 Soul Swapped Stress

Lemmy's teeth chattered. He twiddled his thumbs, squeezing his pointer finger like it was a wet towel. He kept his eyes on the floor at all times, uncertain if lifting his head and looking at other people was a wise choice. How could he face anyone after what he did? How could he face Wendy? How could he face Ludwig?

Oh, sweet Grambi and all of his Nimbis. Ludwig was going to kill him, wasn't he?

Lemmy let out a breath that consisted of more anxiety than carbon dioxide. He thought that this would be fun. He had wanted writing a song to be fun, relaxing, and enjoyable. And…well, it had been those things. The writing the song part of the past half hour was actually really nice, and picking the instrumentation was an exciting treat. It was just that it would have been a lot more exciting if Lemmy hadn't just given Wendy the worst flight of her life less than ten minutes prior.

"Are you okay?"

Lemmy let out a shriek, nearly jumping out of his shell and leaving it empty on the floor. Who spoke to him? Was it Iggy? Oh goodness, if it was Iggy, then he would have to explain why he was out of his room. He would have to explain why he had Ludwig's voice and what exactly he had used it to do.

"Ludwig, relax. It's just me."

Lemmy turned and put his hand to his chest in relief. It was Morton, not Iggy. The gray skinned Koopaling eyed the (second) oldest with incredulity.

"What's up?"

Lemmy removed his hand from his chest, but didn't have enough willpower to let it hang back down at his side. It stayed in the air, the fingers unmoving yet the hand itself quivering in an anxious manner. He looked into Morton's misty gray eyes and swallowed a lump.

"I'm just…a little on edge."

Morton nodded, keeping his eyes on Lemmy's hand. "I haven't seen you since that duplighost fight."

"Yeah," Lemmy said with a nod. "That was pretty crazy, wasn't it?" He finally pulled his hand back, hiding it within Ludwig's cloak.

"Yeah. I went to Iggy and he told me that you and Lemmy are dealing with some after effects from it. He didn't explain what that meant though; I just assumed he meant stress related stuff."

Lemmy nodded. "Yeah. It…it has been stressful over the past two days." He snuck a glance at Morton's face, then kept his eyes on the opposite wall.

"I can imagine. I mean, that whole thing where your powers mixed with the duplighost's…" Morton shuddered. "We were all worried when that happened." He chuckled a little. "Lemmy most of all. I don't know if you saw, but he stepped out onto the battlefield."

Lemmy nodded. Of course I saw; it was me who did it. He recalled the flashing lights, colors mixing with sounds in a way where one couldn't tell the difference anymore. The electric currents whizzing through the air, the fire clogging the atmosphere with smoke. The dark magic dampening Lemmy's soul with a despair no mortal being could mentally or reasonably handle.

Lemmy looked down at the carpet beneath his feet. Had stepping out onto the battlefield really been the right thing to do?

"Yeah, I'm aware," Lemmy finally said. It felt as if his brother's voice was about to break.

Morton nodded. "Well…" he cleared his throat. "Uh…I suppose that I should get going. I…forgot to feed Toasty."

Morton turned around and made his way back to his bedroom. Lemmy watched his retreating back, questioning if his brother really had forgotten to feed his cat. Once Morton was out of the room, Lemmy touched Ludwig's hair. He pinched one of the silky locks between his fingers. He wondered if he was allowed to appreciate it.

…

Ludwig groaned, his frustration so strong that he could taste it. His teeth still grit and snarls still escaping from his mouth, he stomped his way back to the east wing's second floor. He gripped his hands into fists, tempted to mutter under his breath. The only reason why he didn't was because he didn't want to listen to Lemmy's voice right now.

"Lemmy!" Bowser exclaimed. The Koopa King smiled at the Koopa who he thought was his second oldest. "How've you been, Buddy? You want me to take you out to dinner later?"

"No," Ludwig said. He didn't stop stomping, didn't even move his head to get a look at his father's face.

Bowser chuckled. "Oh, buddy." He picked up Ludwig by the rim of his shell, turned him around in midair, and wrapped him in a hug. Ludwig gasped as Bowser's meaty arms suffocated him.

"Bowser, let me go!"

Bowser laughed. "I am not letting you go until you're cheered up." He squeezed tighter. "Who can possibly deny themselves the experience of the Koopa's King's famous bear hugs?"

"LET ME GO!"

Bowser dropped Ludwig. The eldest huffed and adjusted his clown suit. The hug had caused parts of the fabric to stick to his skin, which only made his hatred of the thing grow even stronger.

"Lemmy?" Bowser blinked before smiling again. "You're feeling a bit grumpy today, huh?"

Ludwig scoffed. "I'm not exactly at one hundred percent right now; no."

Bowser chortled. "That's okay, Lemlo." He knelt down and stuck his fingers in the corners of Ludwig's mouth, lifting them up so he could force on a smile. "Turn that frown upside down!"

Ludwig batted Bowser's hands away, his expression falling right back into agitation. "I'm not in the mood right now, Bowser."

Bowser blinked, gawking at his adopted son. The confusion on his face was strong, but it wasn't as strong as the disbelief. "Oh. Okay, Lems; whatever you need."

Ludwig nodded and turned toward the stairwell. He heard Bowser picking himself up and turning around. Just as he took a few steps did Ludwig get an idea.

"Hey, Bowser?" When Bowser turned around, Ludwig smirked. "Can I get my own bedroom?"

Bowser blinked. "You don't want to be roomates with Ludwig anymore?"

Ludwig's smirk grew stronger. "Nah, not really. Ludwig is an independent soul; I don't want to stop him from reaching his full potential with my incessant knack to annoy him."

Bowser made a face. "Uh…that's an…odd concern." He scratched the back of his head. "But you were so excited to room with Ludwig."

"I know," Ludwig replied. "But, hey. Sometimes, you have to recognize that people who you try to live with….you really hate their guts!" Ludwig shrugged. "I think I'm doing my older brother a favor."

Bowser did a double take. "Oh. I didn't realize you felt that way, Lemmy." His shoulders slumped. "I'll talk to Kamek about setting up another room for you."

"Thanks!" Ludwig felt like he was dancing on the inside. He took two more steps up the stairs before he got another idea. "Oh, do you think you could set up my room in the dungeon? I really appreciate the smell of mildew."

Bowser blinked and sent a look toward Lemmy, one that screamed with puzzlement and shock. "Uh…I'll see what we can do."

"Thanks!" With one last beaming smile, Ludwig made his way up the stairs. Once he reached the top, he did a fist pump. Four months. It had taken four months and a body swap to finally get Lemmy out of his room. No more would Ludwig have to wake up to the sound of circus music and uncontrollable laughter. He could sleep in a state where all of his built up in annoyance would be replaced with tranquility.

That is, if he and Lemmy swapped back before the move. Otherwise, he would sleep in a state of paranoia over the rats skittering across the damp and dirty dungeon floor.

Ludwig's face fell when he realized that. There was no guarantee that he and Lemmy would swap back before then. It could take Iggy weeks to find the duplighost. Possibly months.

With that realization came a more concentrated dose of grumpiness. He growled and placed one hand on the wall as he leaned against it. He used the other one to massage his temples. His headache from before was flaring up again.

*Huff, huff.*

Ludwig turned. Wendy was coming up the stairs, hyperventilating so badly that one would think she had just run a marathon. Wendy stopped when she saw him. She smiled, but it wasn't as big or as bright as the smiles she usually wore.

"Hey, Lemmy. I hope you're having a better day than I am."

Ludwig snickered. "I doubt that." He pinched his brow. "I just put on the worst show ever."

Wendy raised an eyebrow. "Really? How so?"

Ludwig shook his head. "My 'light as a feather' circus ball somehow managed to knock a koopa troopa unconscious."

Wendy did a double take. "Wow. I didn't even know that was possible."

"Join the club." He sighed. "Today has just been one big tumble down the side of a mountain."

Wendy nodded. "I hear you." She sucked in a breath. "I kind of wish I spent my day going down a mountain. It would have been much better than Ludwig taking me up in the air like a fucking rocket."

"What?" Ludwig turned to Wendy. He raised his pointed finger, hoping that she hadn't said what he thought she said. "I'm sorry. Ludwig did what?"

Wendy let out the breath she had sucked in. "It's kind of a long story. Ludwig had taken me into the music hall because he had wanted to work on the instrumentation for a song. One thing led to another and, well…" she shook her head. "We ended up zipping around the place like a falcon with brain damage."

Ludwig's jaw dropped. WHAT? That….WHAT? Lemmy flew around with Wendy? In the music hall?! How…why…he was supposed to stay in the room!

"I can't believe this!" Ludwig put his head in his hands. "Why would he do this? That….GRAWWHG!" His throat tightened up, he felt like he was going to pop. "Oh, that koopa is SO gonna get it!"

Wendy sighed. "No, it's okay Lems. You don't have to get involved; this is between me and Ludwig."

"OH HO HO, IT CERTAINLY IS!" A vein in Ludwig's forehead bulged out. "Ludwig is the one who put your life in danger. LUDWIG is the one who's going to be grounded for a month!" Ludwig's breathing sped up as he turned away from her. "If Bowser takes away my instruments because of this…oh, if I I can't leave the castle because of this…"

Wendy's brow furrowed. "Lemmy, why would you lose privileges because of this? It wasn't you."

Ludwig seethed. "Yeah! It wasn't me! IT FUCKING WASN'T!" He shook his head. "You know what, Wendy? I'm going to defend your honor. 'Ludwig' and I are going to have a very long discussion about this!" He began marching off.

"Lemmy!" Wendy called out. "Come on, don't be like this!"

Ludwig didn't answer her. This day was already difficult enough. He didn't need anymore problems cropping up.

Lemmy, when I get my body back, I'm gonna kill you.