Chapter 37 My Brother and Me

As Ludwig walked, tears streamed down his face. He sniffled, not seeing any point in wiping them away. Even if there was, he wouldn't bother. He was deep in despair, completely submerged in it as a matter of fact. Before, Ludwig had only heard people refer to states like this in a "could never really happen to a real person" sort of manner. But then again, as he had said to Morton, he really wasn't a person at this point. He was a zombie. A ghost. A paradox.

His shoulders drooped. He let out a long sigh, long enough to cover the entire Koopa Kingdom. Should someone really exist in a state like this? Wouldn't it be a sin to allow such a horrible abomination as a zombie to roam the Earth, lifeless and disgusting as it was? Ludwig had a hunch that if he were allowed to exist like this for much longer, his flesh would rot off and his mind would cease to exist. Really, the only thing that was preventing him from becoming a full fledged horror was his misplaced mind.

All the more reason why he wanted to die.

Why was he even walking around? Wouldn't that just cause him to grow attached to the scenery; scenery he couldn't even be certain was there in the first place? Realizing this, Ludwig turned around. He might as well go back to his room; let the universe put him out of his misery sooner rather than later.

"Iggy, it's perfect!"

Ludwig blinked. Lemmy? What in the world was he doing? Admittedly curious, Ludwig crept over to the door to Iggy's lab, peering at his brothers through the tiny opening. He saw Lemmy smiling at the scientist.

"I can't believe I didn't think of this before!" he exclaimed. He placed his hands on Iggy's shoulders. "You should be the one to switch us back! You HAVE to do it!"

Iggy hesitated. Ludwig couldn't see his face from his spot. However, if he closed his eyes and allowed himself to see through Lemmy's he could see Iggy biting his lip in consternated sadness.

"Lemmy…I can't."

Lemmy blinked. "What do you mean you can't? Of course you can; you're the most brilliant Koopa in the modern day Mushroom World."

Ludwig snorted. More like the second most brilliant, he thought. Lemmy paused and looked around, clearly having heard Ludwig's thought. Fortunately, he didn't decide to do much investigating, so he continued on with the conversation. "You're amazing, Iggy! If there's anybody who can do it, it's you!

Iggy took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. "Lemmy, it isn't scientifically possible. Transferring consciousness can only be accomplished through powerful magic, as displayed with the duplighost." His eyes were moist as he looked at Lemmy. "I'm afraid I can't help you."

Lemmy whimpered, his own eyes growing watery. "No!" He began to cry. "Iggy, you have to help! Please! I can't look at myself in the mirror while I'm like this!"

Iggy sighed. "Lemmy…"

"PLEASE IGGY!" Lemmy broke down in tears. "PLEASE!" He got down on his knees, holding onto Iggy tightly. "I CAN'T LIVE LIKE THIS!" He let out little whimpery breaths, the tears flowing down his face. "I can't live like this," he whispered.

Iggy looked down at Lemmy with sympathy. He let out a sigh. "Look, Lemmy, I understand that your body is important to you." He scratched his head as Lemmy stood up. "I mean, if it had been me who'd been swapped…"

"I don't care what body I'm in."

Iggy did a double take. "What?"

"I said I don't care what body I'm in." Lemmy turned around. "Honestly, I'm just happy to be alive after that duplighost fight."

Iggy blinked. "Then…why are you upset?"

Lemmy remained silent. His eyes moist and his brow furrowed, he took a seat at one of the lab tables. He let out a breath before speaking.

"Because I knew swapping back was important to Ludwig."

Ludwig's eyes grew wide. He leaned in closer, not wanting to miss a word of what Lemmy said next. The second eldest dried a tear from his eye.

"I'm the reason we got swapped in the first place. If I hadn't stepped out onto the battlefield that day, then none of this would have happened." He took a deep breath. "And I thought…if I could fix this, and have everything go back to normal, then everything would be okay! But that didn't happen." Lemmy sniffled. "I had one chance to fix my mistake, and I blew it." Lemmy sighed. "That's why I can't look in the mirror like this. I can't look Ludwig in the eye after I let him down this much." Lemmy whimpered, drying his eyes as he did. "I never wanted to hurt Ludwig," he whispered. "But now, he's going to suffer for the rest of his life.' He paused, his lower lip quivering. "Because of me." He broke down, crying so hard that Iggy couldn't comfort him.

Ludwig, on the other hand, was in shock. He stared wide eyed at his brother as he tried to comprehend this. Lemmy…he was this shaken up about this? About doing Ludwig harm?

Oh…oh man. Ludwig put his hand to his head and went down to his room. When he got there, he got on his bed and let out a shaky breath. He looked over at Lemmy's bed, the sight of it making him feel even stranger. He shook his head as one of the things he said to Morton popped up in his head.

"I've truly hit rock bottom Morty. I really have lost everything."

"That's not true," he said, his voice calm for the first time that day. "Even if I am trapped in a fantasy, there is one other person who I can say with absolute certainty is trapped here with me. And all I had to do was look in the mirror to know who it is."

He got up from the bed and went over to the mirror, the one thing he had been avoiding for most of this experience. When he saw his brother's face, he felt a pang. Lemmy looked tired, older. Hopeless.

Ludwig sighed. "Lemmy, I'm so sorry," he whispered. He put his hand on the mirror. It wasn't exactly the same as holding his brother's hand, but it did tell him how much he missed the sensation. "I can't believe how selfish I am." He didn't take his eyes off of his brother, his reflection. No matter how much it hurt, he needed to keep looking. "I've only been focusing on how much this has been affecting me. I didn't even think about how much trouble you've been having." He bit his lip as more tears welled in the corners of his eyes. "No one deserves what happened to us. Least of all you Lems." He removed his hand from the mirror, biting his lip extra hard to prevent himself from bursting into tears. "I wish there was something I could do."

He turned away from the mirror, his tears just a push away from falling. What was there that he could do for Lemmy? He was the only person stuck in this situation with him. He had to do something to relieve his pain, something to show that he cared about him. Then, Ludwig got an idea.

"I know." He looked into the mirror again. "Tomorrow is my birthday. I wasn't really planning on doing anything but…" for the first time in days, Ludwig smiled. "I know how much you love to have fun, so guess what? Tomorrow, I'm going to throw you the greatest party of all time." He beamed. "You're gonna love it, Lemmy. I promise."