AN: Hey, everyone. I just wanted to let you guys know that I have started up another YouTube channel. This one is called Kristen Bloom (yes, that is my birth name). I am going to be using it to do a lot of things in the next year or two. You see, I have a specific goal in mind, and that YouTube channel is going to be a big part in helping it come into fruition. So…please everyone. Please check out my YouTube channel. If the next few years go in a way that is even remotely similar to what I imagine…well, let's just say that it will turn everyone's worlds upside down. Including mine.

Anyway….

Chapter 17 Chaos Under Control Part 2

The one who was at the front of the pack was Roy. The lighting in the lab made his shades glow with an interesting palette. He grinned a goofy grin, his attention clearly on Iggy. "Hey, Iggy! What's been happening with you?"

"Yeah," Morton said quietly. "We haven't see you all day."

Iggy looked back down at his computer. "Oh. Well, you know…" he closed it and smiled at everyone else in the room. "Mostly just hanging out and relaxing."

From his spot at the head of the lab table, Ludwig cast Iggy a razor sharp glare. It managed to work for its intended purpose, as Iggy's expression wavered.

"Which," he said, "isn't the greatest idea, all things considered. I do have a big project that demands my utmost attention and I really do need to get back to it."

Larry raised a curious eyebrow. "What project would that be?"

Iggy swallowed a lump, sneaking one more glance at Lemmy and Ludwig as he did. "I'm afraid that's classified at the moment."

"Ah man," Wendy said. "That's a shame."

Larry snorted. "Yeah! We don't get to hear Iggy go off on a time bending rant! Real shame."

Iggy sighed. He opened his laptop back up, but for some odd reason, it wouldn't boot up. Even when he held the power button, the screen still remained black. He got up and took it over to the charging station a foot and a half anyway.

"Anyway," he said as he rummaged around for the right cord amidst the bramble. "What quality would you four assign to the day you had?"

Larry and Roy giggled. "It was awesome!"

"Yeah!" Roy said. "We watched Lemmy put on a show for the servants."

Iggy blinked. "You did?" He stood up, put the laptop to the side, and came over. "How can you; Lemmy was sick?"

Roy laughed. "No he wasn't! He seemed to be just fine when we saw him in the grand hall!"

Iggy did a double take. He looked down at Ludwig, wearing a face that said "How is that possible?" Ludwig responded to this by mouthing the words "Voice transfer spell." He then tilted his head toward Lemmy. It took Iggy a minute to understand, but when he did, he gasped.

"Oh!" He turned toward the others. "Right; Lemmy wasn't sick; I was getting this time confused for a few weeks ago." He did the sign for "magic" in ASL, which Ludwig responded to with a nod.

"Yeah!" said Roy. "He wasn't sick; one of the servants even told him he was 120 degrees Fahrenheit."

Iggy smirked. There seemed to be some symbolism in that number, but he didn't feel like finding it at the moment.

"That's good to hear. Wendy?"

Wendy sighed wearily. "My day was crazy, as I'm sure Ludwig can attest."

Iggy raised an eyebrow. He looked down at the participants in the body swap. He noticed Lemmy wince as Ludwig shot another nuclear expression his way. He directed his attention back towards Wendy. "How so?"

"Well…let's just say that I won't be the boss of Sky Land anytime soon."

Iggy looked down at the two oldest, engaging in a wordless conversation. Lemmy was mouthing the words "I'm sorry" to Ludwig over and over, and Ludwig was pantoming the "I'm going to beat you senseless later" phrase. Despite not being able to talk, these charades still got their message across at full volume.

"Oh." Iggy went back over to his computer near the extension cord. "I apologize for that."

"It's fine," Wendy said. Her inflection didn't really feel appropriate, though.

"Anyway," Roy said. Iggy could feel his smile even when he wasn't facing him. "How are you two doing?"

Iggy looked up, worry ensnaring him. He saw Lemmy give a thumbs up. Ludwig did the capiche sign.

"Good to hear!" Roy exclaimed.

"Did you guys have a good day?" Larry asked. Lemmy shrugged, and Ludwig did the so-so hand gesture. Larry's expression grew more confused.

"You, uh….you guys want to speak?" Both of them shook their heads, every last nuance in their expressions completely in sync.

"Oh, they had a bit of a long day; they're still trying to recover." He finally found the charger for his laptop and went back over to his main desktop.

"Oh." Morton said.

"That's too bad," said Larry.

"Indeed," said Iggy. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I really do need to get back to that project we discussed."

"Sure thing, Iggster!" Roy grinned goofily. "But before we leave, I think Lemmy could use some love." He picked up "Lemmy" and wrapped his arms around him. "Lem-lem is going to feel better tomorrow with my help."

Ludwig's expression was shocked, uncomfortable, frightened. Beads of sweat rolled down his face as he clearly entered panic mode. How long would it take for him to crack under the pressure?

"LET ME GOOO!"

Twelve seconds. It took twelve seconds. While it might not have been midnight, the clock had struck the number twelve. The illusion was officially shattered. With an expression as pale as morning mist, Roy dropped Ludwig, who growled as he wiped some dust off of his front.

"Seriously! What is with everyone giving me hugs today? Do I have a neon sign on my forehead?!"

All eyes in the room were on the oldest, all mouths were gawking due to the shock. Ludwig's expression sank.

"Ahhh, crap."

Roy's fright was so visible his sunglasses did absolutely nothing to hide it. "Uh, guys! I think I broke Lemmy!"

Larry's jaw was touching his knees. "Seriously! That was freaky guys; how'd you do that?"

Lemmy looked at Ludwig in concern. "Ludwig! You told me I couldn't make a sound, but that wasn't even close to silent!"

Ludwig gave his brother a death stare and a pointed finger. "You shut my mouth before I BREAK YOURS!"

"What is this!" Wendy asked, her voice two octaves higher than normal. "What the hell is going on here!" Ludwig sighed as he sat back in his chair and looked back at the scientist.

"Iggy?"

All eyes turned toward Ignatius. While he didn't appreciate Ludwig putting him on the spot, he decided that he was probably the person who could explain this the best.

"Okay," he said quietly. "Okay okay okay okay. I suppose you guys were bound to find out eventually." He took a deep breath. "Lemmy and Ludwig are currently experiencing a phenomenon that can only be described as a transfer in neural data, information, memory, and consciousness."

Morton looked down at the others and blinked. "Wait, you mean like a…body swap?"

Iggy exhaled. "Yeah. Like a body swap."

Wendy gawked at her brothers. "So wait, you're saying you're…?"

"Yeah, I'm Lemmy." He chuckled slightly and did a little wave. "Hi guys."

Wendy looked over at the second Koopa. "And you're…?"

"Yeah, I'm Ludwig. Or at least the interior of me is. The outside could use some serious renovation though."

The Koopalings exchanged looks, looks that wavered on the border between "no comprende," "Am I dreaming?" and "My whole life was a lie."

"I apologize for not informing you earlier," Iggy said. "Our oldest brothers had expressed a desire to keep this a secret."

Wendy,looked back at Iggy. When she spoke, it was as if the engine of her tongue was about to burn out. "When did this happen? HOW did this happen?"

Iggy sighed. "This was a result of our battle with the duplighost."

Roy, Morton, Larry, and Wendy all did a double take. "The duplighost battle?" Roy asked, his voice higher than the heavens.

"But…that fight was two days ago!" Morton said. "You're saying they've been walking around in each other's bodies since then?"

"Yep," said Ludwig.

Larry's brow furrowed. "Wait, that doesn't make any sense." He looked up at Iggy. "Roy and I were talking with Lemmy earlier and he was perfectly normal."

"That wasn't me," Lemmy said as he rose from the chair. "Ludwig and I had used a voice transfer spell to make the swap less obvious."

"Voice transfer…." Larry's eyes grew wide. He held up his pointer finger. "Wait a minute." He smiled; beamed actually. "So you're…telling us. That the koopa who Roy and I saw putting on a show for the servants…that wasn't Lemmy. That was LUDWIG!?"

Everyone looked over at the ever ambivalent Ludwig, who let out a defeated sigh. "Unfortunately, yes."

Larry and Roy burst into laughter. They hugged their sides and used each other as support to keep from dropping dead. Ludwig sunk even lower into the seat.

"Oh, man!" Roy removed his shades. "I can't believe that was Ludwig…he…he was wearing a clown suit!"

"Yeah! A clown suit and make up!" Larry laughed like a seal. "That…that…oh man, that makes the show so much more hilarious!"

Lemmy perked up. "You mean it was good?"

"Oh no! It sucked!" said Larry.

"Yeah! That performance took crashing and burning to a completely different level!" Roy exclaimed.

"It did! I mean, he didn't even look like he was enjoying himself half the time!"

Lemmy's brow furrowed. He turned toward his older brother. "You didn't like putting on the show?"

"Lemmy, this may come as a shock to you, but I generally don't like doing things when I'm being forced into them."

"Ohhh…" Lemmy's face fell. His shoulders slumped in a drooping matter.

"Although…I will admit." Ludwig smirked as he crossed his arms. "I did get some form of enjoyment out of popping your circus ball."

Lemmy did a triple take. "WHAT? YOU POPPED MY CIRCUS BALL!"

"Mmhm."

"L…Ludwig!" The tone Lemmy used was the definition of miserable. "That was a birthday present to me when I was three! I practically learned to walk on that ball; I was going to give it to my kids!" He whimpered. "I can't believe you did that."

Ludwig scoffed. "Oh really? You can't believe I did that? Well, I can't believe you gave Wendy a panic attack in the concert hall!"

"*Gasp* THAT WAS YOU!"

Lemmy seized up. He stared at Ludwig, his face stuck in the "A meteor's about to hit the Earth" position. Ludwig simply shook his head.

"You made your bed. Now you have to lie in it."

Lemmy's expression slowly loosened up. He turned towards the others.

"Okay," he sighed. "Wendy, it wasn't Ludwig who flew with you in the concert hall. It..it was me. I'm sorry."

Wendy directed her gaze down toward the floor, but her head itself did not move. "I…I don't even know how to react."

Lemmy stepped forward and took Wendy's hand. "Wendy, I am so SO sorry! I was just so overjoyed at the fact that I could FLY! I mean…it was so unreal!" He looked at his sister empathetically. "I would never intentionally go out of my way to hurt you. I take full responsibility for my actions."

Wendy's expression kept shifting. The temperature of the hand that Lemmy was holding kept shiting to, shifting from freezing blue to orange warmth in a matter of seconds. Eventually, she smiled.

"It's okay, Lemmy. I suppose I can forgive you." She snickered. "At least now I know it was you and not Ludwig von Dead Inside."

Ludwig's jaw dropped. "I'M SITTING RIGHT HERE!" Lemmy let go of Wendy's hand and sat back down, his expression letting off a soft glow.

"So," Morton asked. "How are we going to fix this?"

Iggy cleared his throat. "By finding and fighting the duplighost. That was the project I kept referring to."

The previously ignorant four did a double take.

"Are you sure that'll work?"

Iggy scratched the back of his head. "No, I'm not. But at the very least it's a plan." He walked back over to his computer. "Now, it's getting late. It's been a long day for all of us, so I suggest you guys go to bed." He rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Get as much sleep as you can; I won't be getting any tonight."

The others nodded. Lemmy, Wendy, and Morton were the first to leave the lab. Ludwig lingered behind a little bit before sighing. He mumbled a prayer to Grambi under his breath making his way to the staircase.

"So…wait,' Larry asked right before he got there. The confused expression he wore was a perfect reflection of Roy's curious one. "When we were in the hallway, and Ludwig came over to check on us…"

"Yeah. The roles were reversed there. I was Lemmy and Lemmy was me."

"Ohhh!" Larry and Ry said in unison. Larry shook his head with a smile."That makes so much more sense now!"

"Why?" Ludwig asked. "Did you really believe the Koopa getting the nails dug into his palm was actually me? Come on guys, do you think I would let myself get pushed around like that by Lemmy of all people?"

There was a pause before Larry smirked.

"Touche."

AN: Seriously guys. If you love Super Koopalings, I would highly recommend checking out my YouTube channel. There is going to be a lot of Super Koopalings content on there. The name of the channel is Kristen Bloom. I plan on renaming it at some point so it says Kristen Bloom (StarlitDuck Studios). Anyway, have a good day guys!