Chapter 15 Anger in my Soul

How is it possible for someone who looks and sounds just like you to be so difficult to find? Veins in Ludwig's forehead felt like they were going to burst as he searched for Lemmy. His mind wasn't a fun place to be on a regular basis, but at this particular moment, it was practically burning with rage. The spite and anger were spilling out into his countenance, causing his muscles to tighten up and his facial features to contort into a state of being supremely pissed off.

How could Lemmy do this? Did he just have no regard for Ludwig? He had worked so hard to keep his self image and reputation in tact, at one point needing to build it up from scratch. His life was never the easiest. This made Lemmy's attempt at ruining it all the more painful.

Ludwig growled, the sound gravelly and scratchy. He had already checked his bedroom, and now he was checking the rest of the east wing. He had searched the common room, the third floor; everything short of his siblings' usual areas of residence. He couldn't call out Lemmy's name for obvious reasons. For a split second, he had considered using his own name, before reeling back at the mere thought and cringing out of his skin. He wasn't going to address Lemmy by his name. That was the last thing that rotten little clown deserved.

"Lemmy, what are you looking for?"

Ludwig didn't bother addressing Roy. He did, however, clench his fists even tighter. Every last part of what had happened in the last three hours was entirely Lemmy's fault. Ludwig didn't want to talk to anyone about the disastrous "show" that he had forced him to put on.

"Lems, you're acting really weird today," said Larry. "It's starting to freak me out."

Ludwig stopped right in the middle of the second floor hallway. He took deep breaths, allowing that sound to be the one to dominate his consciousness. Larry and Roy took a few steps forward. Ludwig could feel their eyes on his back.

"Lemmy, I told you that you SHOULDN'T knock the audience dead!" Larry said.

Ludwig sighed. "It was because I lost my balance on the ball."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you had to murder the thing!" Roy exclaimed. Ludwig slowly turned toward his brothers, who looked shaken up pretty badly. "Lemmy, I thought you loved that ball!"

Steam practically shot out of Ludwig's nostrils. "How can I? It's been nothing but a nuisance! It ruined these past two days, and it ruined any chance I have of actually being on good terms with anybody!"

Larry raised an eyebrow. "Lemmy, are we still talking about your ball?"

Ludwig put his head in his hands. The answer was no. While that ball was a pain in the neck, it was nothing in comparison to its owner.

"Look," he said. "I am really irritated right now." He massaged his temples, humming a low B note as he did. "I am just so sick of this God awful day! Every aspect of it has been nothing short of a disaster!"

Roy and Larry exchanged a look before sending concerned glances in Ludwig's direction. "Ah, Lems." Roy knelt down on one knee and placed his hand on his shoulder. "It's gonna be okay. This day will end eventually."

Ludwig blew a soft stream of air out of his mouth. "You're right." He turned away. "But then I'll have to deal with tomorrow."

Roy stood up as Larry's mouth silently moved, clearly trying to think of the right words to say. "Well…maybe tomorrow will be better? Maybe, tomorrow, you can look back on the clown act and laugh?"

"Laugh?" Ludwig scoffed. "You really think I can develop the ability to laugh at that?"

Roy hesitated. "I…I guess. I mean, it wasn't that bad."

"Really?" Ludwig raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Did you guys enjoy it?"

Silence. Larry and Roy's darted back and forth around the hallway, trying to avoid looking at their brother at all costs.

"Yeah," Ludwig sharply exhaled. "That's what I thought."

Right at that moment, footsteps came running down the hallway. Ludwig turned. It was Lemmy.

"Hey guys!" Lemmy said. "What's going on?"

Ludwig felt his blood boil at Lemmy's tone. He forced on a smile, one that would show the venom coating his teeth.

"Heeeyyyyy, LUDWIG!" He stepped forward, keeping the murderous fake smile in plain view. "I am so…exhilarated to see you!"

Lemmy's face fell, his expression on the border between confused and frightened. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Ludwig exclaimed. He stepped even closer. "When I look into your face right now, I get this warm feeling deep in my heart. It's the kind of feeling where you want to hug someone. Hold them tight. SQUEEZE them until their whole body starts to hurt like hell!" He gripped the sides of his body, rubbing them in an action that made it look like he was hugging himself. He looked back at Lemmy with a toothless version of the murderous smile. "Are you familiar with that feeling?" He intentionally blinked. "Ludwig?"

Sweat beads formed along the rim of Lemmy's head. "V…vaguely?"

"Hmm. I see." He put his arms back down at his sides and got in closer. He took hold of Lemmy's hand. "I heard about your little adventure today."

The skin covering Lemmy's hand grew cold. "You…you did?" he squeaked.

"Oh yeah. I've gotta say, it was very brave of you to do what you did. If I had done even half of the stuff that was described to me, I would be in big trouble." He laughed in the most sarcastic way possible. "And let me tell you, Ludwig. If I get into BIG TROUBLE…" he dropped the smile and replaced it with a glare. "I. Will. Be. PISSED."

When the word "pissed" escaped through gritted teeth, he dug his nails into Lemmy's hand. The second oldest bit his lip and winced, clearly holding back a scream.

"Nails," he whimpered. He closed his eyes to prevent the flow of tears. "Nails!"

Larry and Roy, who had been present during this whole exchange, stared at the soul swapped Koopalings in fright. "Uh…what's going on?" Larry asked.

Ludwig put the smile back on when he turned his head. "Oh nothing Larry; my brother and I just have something we need to take care of." He turned back to Lemmy. "What do you say; shall we take this into our bedroom?"

Lemmy's lower lip quivered as tears slid down his cheeks. "Yes," he squeaked.

"Yes…who?"

Lemmy's voice came out in a strained whisper. "Yes…Lemmy."

"That's what I wanted to hear." He turned back toward Larry and Roy. "We'll be busy for a while; I would recommend going to play video games." He looked back into his brother's pained face. "Come on, Ludwig."

Ludwig dragged Lemmy toward their bedroom, all while keeping his nails inserted in Lemmy's hand. He didn't let go until they got there, and when he did, Lemmy screamed.

"HOLY CHEESE!" He opened and closed his hand as Ludwig walked over to the window on the opposite wall. "I didn't even know my nails could get this sharp!"

Ludwig lowered his head, keeping his fists clenched and his eyes closed. He never imagined that he would yell at Lemmy under these circumstances, but it needed to be done.

"Lemmy. I can't kill you right now because of the swap." He opened his eyes and turned, staring at his brother with lethal hot rage. "Now, explain this to me. What part of "stay in our room" do you NOT UNDERSTAND!?"

Lemmy cringed as he walked over. "Ludwig, I'm sorry; I never meant to scare Wendy!"

"Then why didn't you stay put!" He put his hand to his right temple. "Seriously Lemmy; it's a very simple English phrase! It has four words; just four! And somehow, it seems that every single one of them flew RIGHT OVER YOUR HEAD!"

Lemmy didn't even respond. He just hung his head.

"You know Lemonade…" Ludwig massaged his temples and turned around. "I am fluent in not four, not five, but SIX different languages! I can read Japanese kanji like it's a short story; I can decode ancient Desertlandian hieroglyphics as if they're in a fucking picture book!" He turned back around. "The only language I CAN'T speak though, is Idiot! Which is a real shame, because that seems to be the ONLY LANGUAGE YOU UNDERSTAND!"

A cough could be heard near the entrance. Ludwig and Lemmy turned and saw a koopa troopa staring at them through the door that Lemmy had neglected to close. Straightening up his posture, Ludwig casually strolled over to the door. Not bothering to say a word to a servant, only acknowledging him with a smile, he slowly closed the door shut. Once it was closed, Ludwig let out a frustrated sigh.

"You know, I like to think of my self as a fairly reasonable Koopa." He let go of the doorknob which he had just given a squeezing to. He used a relatively quiet tone when he spoke. "I don't typically like losing my temper, as not only is it bad for my mental health, but could also result in a poor unsuspecting chap spontaneously combusting." His eyes shot daggers at Lemmy. "Well, I don't have my powers at the moment, and my mental health is pretty much down the toilet thanks to our current predicament, so I say screw it!" He took in a deep breath. "WHAT THE FLYING FUCK IS THE MATTER WITH YOU!"

Lemmy covered his face with his hands. "I'm sorry! I'm so so SO sorry!" Tears flowed from his eyes. "I should have stayed in the room; I never wanted to do that to you!" He broke down in a fit of sobs.

Ludwig groaned and held up his hand. "You know what? Stop it! I am not in the mood to watch you cry right now, especially if you do it in my body!" He grabbed hold of the clown suit. "Just get this vile thing off me and give me my voice back!"

Lemmy swallowed. "Okay." He led Ludwig near the closet and helped him remove the clown suit and the makeup. That last one took a while as Lemmy had to scrub it off, but once he was done, he got his wand back out.

"This is probably for the best." He cleared his throat and waved the wand. "Voce transferia."

Just like last time, the scenery around them was filled with wispy white light. When the two of them stopped glowing, Lemmy put the wand on the dresser and approached the eldest. "Ludwig…"

"Don't," Ludwig said as he held up his hand. He was so angry he couldn't even appreciate hearing himself speak with his voice again. "I'm done." He shot Lemmy a glare. "I would prefer not to ruin my voice with more yelling, so here's what we're going to do. We're going to go see Iggy in the lab and have him give us a progress report. Depending on how close he is to done, we're going to get ready to fight the duplighost again. Sound like a deal?"

Lemmy bit his lip, but nodded regardless. "That sounds good."

"Excellent." He got up and made his way toward the door.