Chapter 31 Undead

"I take it back; I definitely should have stayed on the ground!"

These words caused Lemmy to wobble. "Ludwig, we're going as slow as possible."

Ludwig hyperventilated. He gripped Lemmy's neck so tightly that he could choke him. "I know. I just…" he buried his face in the folds of his cloak, shaking. "This is just too terrifying!"

Lemmy let out a breath. "Ludwig come on." He came to a stop. "Look. We're not moving now. You're not in any danger of falling."

Still hyperventilating like a marathon runner and shaking like a puppy, Ludwig looked up. His heart pounded as he observed the Koopa Kingdom, glowing in the silver light of the full moon. The mountains, raven black, proudly guarded the horizon line. His heart slowed down a little, at least enough so that he could keep looking straight ahead. His eyes roamed over the sky; the crystal white star twinkled, clouds raced to the other side of the sky. Ludwig smiled as he felt a wispy, cool breeze kiss his cheek.

"It's…it's beautiful."

"Yeah," Lemmy said. "It is."

Suddenly, a grumbling rumble shook the atmosphere. Ludwig whimpered and clung onto Lemmy even tighter than before. A volcano erupted in the distance, clogging the air with deathly black smog. Lemmy exchanged a look with Ludwig, the carcinogenic smoke and glowing red lava reflected in his eyes.

"What do you say we go somewhere far away?" Ludwig didn't even have to say anything; just nod as sweat beads formed on his cheeks. Lemmy took in a deep breath. "I'm a cardinal." He flew at a decent pace, at least decent enough so that Ludwig didn't have a panic attack.

They flew for the better part of three hours. They passed by a bunch of locations; drab gray Stonebrim, secluded and pretentious Thwompville, bright and colorful Sparksville. However, none of these places really fit either of their definitions of "far away." Lemmy kept flying even after he passed the Mushroom Kingdom border. He felt uneasy gliding over the plains; should they even be here?

"Ooh! Lems, look at that!"

Lemmy saw a lake, smooth and still, just five feet in front of them. The moonlight reflected off of it similar to a solar panel. The banks looked soft, but not so drenched in mud that it would summon regret in those who sat in them. He grinned. "This seems like a good place to stop."

They landed. Lemmy took a deep breath; the air was really clear here. He smiled, scooting close enough to the lake so that he could dip his toes in. The water was cool, relaxing. Lemmy even got on his back, looking up into the starry sky with a grin.

"Man," he said out loud. "I definitely need to come here more often."

"HA!" Ludwig shook his head. "You won't be allowed with fifty miles of this place during the day."

"True." Lemmy shrugged. "But hey, I can still fantasize."

Ludwig smirked and nodded. He looked out across the lake; it was small enough that he could see the other shore, but not too small that it could be considered a pond. It was definitely less than a mile from one shore to the other; Ludwig really admired this scenery.

"Well, I guess there are worse places you could fantasize about." This got a nod from Lemmy.

The two sat in silence. Every once in a while, a frog would croak or a cricket would chirp, but that was the extent of the sound that either of them heard. Lemmy appreciated the silence; it gave him room to imagine sounds that could fill the void. Ludwig, by contrast, disliked the silence immensely. This was nothing like the silence he experiences in his alone time. It was…nerve wracking.

"Hey Lemmy?"

"Yeah."

Ludwig smiled a little. "I probably should have asked you this sooner. In fact, I'm kind of surprised I didn't." His eyes glittered. "How do you like being inside my body?"

Lemmy blinked before snickering. "It's cool!" He sat up. "It's about what I would expect being you to be like."

"Really? How so?"

Lemmy scooted in closer. "There's just so much I can do now! I mean, I'm tall, I'm intimidating, I'm powerful…it's actually really neat!" His smiled. "I feel like I'm invincible!"

Ludwig nodded and looked back out at the lake. "That's good to hear."

"Yeah!" Lemmy beamed and scooted in closer. "How about you? How do you like being inside my body?"

Silence. Ludwig didn't move, didn't flinch; nothing. As still as a statue and just as silent, he kept his glassy, misty eyes on the surface of the lake. Lemmy stomach did a lurch.

"Ludwig?"

Ludwig sighed. "It's…hard to explain." He rubbed his eyes. "I don't really know how to do it without sounding offensive to you."

Lemmy furrowed his brow. Gently placing his hand on Ludwig's knee, he leaned in even closer.

"Close your eyes."

Ludwig blinked. "Why?"

"You said that you don't know how to explain it. But I really want to know how you feel." He looked at his brother seriously. "I think now would be a good time to put this mind reading power to good use."

Ludwig sighed. "Lemmy…"

"Don't worry. It'll be fine."

Ludwig shook his head. "I don't…I don't if…"

"Ludwig." Lemmy placed his hand on top of his brother's. "Please."

Ludwig looked at Lemmy in awe. He hesitated for about a minute, multiple flickers of discomfort and anxiety showing through on his face. Finally, he let out a sigh.

"Very well." He closed his eyes. Lemmy waited about a five seconds before doing the same. And when he did…

He nearly let out a gasp. His soul got drenched with fear, first and foremost. It was the type of fear one feels when they are face to face with the grim reaper. Lemmy's heart pounded, his hands quivered. He was just about to pull away when a collection of images flashed across his mind. An empty concert hall. A flickering spotlight. A jasper cracking into millions and millions of tiny pieces.

Lemmy whimpered. Should he pull away? No, no. There was still more that he needed to see. There were still layers to peel back regarding his brother's struggle. He wanted to know. He wanted to understand.

So he delved deeper. While fear was the strongest emotion present, there were others hidden behind its veil. Sadness. Anger. Desperation. Worry. Questioning.

Lemmy whimpered a second time. He needed to delve deeper. He needed to see. He needed to understand. If he could understand, maybe he could help.

But then, one more image flashed across his mind. It was one of Ludwig standing over a broken mirror, a shattered mirror. Some of the cracks showed him as Lemmy, others showed him as himself. He could barely see his brother's tear stained, red eyed face. He could feel the shivers running up and down his spine, the heavy and labored breathing. Surprisingly though, he couldn't feel his heartbeat. Even though the breathing was ragged, the heartbeat itself was still. Deathly still. His hands were cold, cold like….

A corpse.

Lemmy gasped and opened his eyes. He stared at Ludwig, shaking all the while. His mouth hung open, the idea of forming coherent sentences a distant dream. As Lemmy looked into his brother's face…no, as he looked into his face, he could see details that he had been blind to before. The steep and undismissable frown. The dark circles under the eyes. The misery and anxiety in the eyes themselves.

"Ludwig…"

Ludwig let out a breath. "So I guess you understand." He sniffled and turned away. "That's good."

Lemmy still stared at his brother. How…how was he able to handle…how was he able to…how could he do anything? How could he function with THIS much fear in his heart? How could get up knowing that the breaths he took weren't his?

"I'm so sorry," Lemmy whispered. It was the only thing that he could say.

Ludwig tilted his head. "No. I'm sorry for allowing you to see that." He scooted further away. "You've been having a good time. I shouldn't take that away from you."

Lemmy felt a pang. No. That was incorrect. Ludwig had every right to take Lemmy's happiness away. He deserved it, after Lemmy took his life away from him.

When that thought occurred, Lemmy started to cry. The broken sobs, the heart wrenching whimpers. He buried his face in his lap.

"Lemmy…"

Lemmy still cried; how could he not? "I'm so sorry!" He wailed. Ludwig wrapped his arms around him, prompting him to hug him back. "You shouldn't have to feel this way. No one should feel this way."

Ludwig's eyes grew watery too. "I know." He held on tighter. "It's…been difficult over the past few days." He squeezed even tighter, the tears flowing harder. "It's been near impossible sometimes."

Lemmy nodded. "Yeah. I know."

Ludwig shook his head and let go. "I can't live like this Lemmy!" He wiped the tears from his eyes. "I can't walk this Earth in a body that's not mine." His breathing sped up. "I'm…I'm…" he dried tears from his eyes. "I'm just an echo of what I used to be." He swallowed a lump. "I'm a parasite; taking someone else's life away from them." His breathing sped up. "I'm…I'm no better than a…than a…"

"A zombie?"

Silence, this one painful. Ludwig looked Lemmy straight in the face. "Yeah." He sniffled. "A zombie."

Chills ran up and down Lemmy's spine. He looked down at his…no, Ludwig's hands. They felt different from before; colder. They also looked different. Lemmy could practically see them rotting away.

Lemmy shook his head "We shouldn't have to worry about this." He lowered his hands and looked at his brother, putting on a smile that he hoped looked brave. "Iggy will find the duplighost soon."

Ludwig bit his lip. "And if he doesn't?"

Lemmy sighed. "He will." He sank into the ground. "He has to."

Ludwig looked away from Lemmy. His pain was palpable; it seeped into the atmosphere like a toxic gas. Lemmy bit his lip. He thought back to where this all began; that dreaded first duplighost fight.

Had stepping out onto the battlefield really been the right thing to do?