Chapter 16 Ludwig vs Lion

Ludwig didn't take much time at all to think about his next course of action, he just ran. The sounds around him faded away; even the heavy, thundering thump of his heartbeat was ignored as he rushed toward his brother and the lion. Brotherly, protective instinct guided his mind. Adrenaline, cold and sharp, flooded his body. Each step he took made his desperation rise. He put on a burst of speed, his eyes focusing on the hungry beast barreling after Roy.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Roy cried, his heavy, ragged breathing adding an almost hoarse quality to his voice. He very clearly needed to stop. Ludwig put on another burst of speed, gritting his teeth as guttural grunts came out of his mouth.

Don't worry, Roy, he thought. I'm gonna catch this lion. This furry, ugly cat is going DOWN!

All three of them continued running, with both Roy and the beast chasing him completely ignorant of Ludwig's presence. The eldest Koopaling was getting closer. If he opened his mouth, he could almost grab the hair on the animal's tail. He was almost close enough to pounce. He just needed to get closer. He just had half a foot to cover. Now it was five inches. Three….two…one…

POUNCE!

"RAWWR!" Ludwig's claws sunk into the lion's rump. The big cat shrieked. Ludwig jumped toward the head, grabbing hold of it and sinking his bloodied claws into the cheeks. He bit the lion's ears. The big cat fought back by swiping its claw at Ludwig's face. He yelped at the pain. He cringed at the taste of blood.

They tumbled over each other. One swipe at the opponent's face resulted in the opponent swiping back. Sinking his teeth into the lion's chest made the giant cat shriek in fear, but it also made it bite back with such a strong sense of vigor that it was honestly quite impressive. Regardless of the pain, regardless of the fright, Ludwig still fought. He could feel bits of his skin falling away to leave open, oozing wounds, but he wouldn't stop. He would not leave this monster to eat his brother.

Speaking of which, Ludwig saw Roy out of the corner of his eye. All previous fear had been wiped off his face. He just stared at the fight, confusion and bewilderment emanating off of him.

"Uhhh…" He did a double take. "Is this normal?" Roy looked up at the sky. "Hey, British Narrator Guy, do lions do stuff like this often?"

To Ludwig's complete surprise, a voice from the clouds responded. "This is quite peculiar behavior for lions. They tend to fight during mating season, but there are no females present. It's quite peculiar."

Roy snickered. "I know. It's almost like I'm the female." He blinked before lowering his head. "Man, I really hope I'm not the female," he whispered.

Ludwig, through the pain and taste of blood, tried calling out to Roy. "Roy, it's…" The lion bit him in the chest, causing him to shriek and delve right back into fighting. Tears flowed from his eyes, tears meant to balance out the stress and the pain. He realized as his opponent pulled a chunk of his mane out from the roots that this needed to be stopped as soon as possible. Otherwise they both would end up dead.

Roy, his expression of confusion being joined by tinges of wonder and curiosity, sat down in the grass. "You know, British Narrator Guy, I bet I could make a lot of money by creating a professional wrestling show with lions as the wrestlers." There was a moment of silence before he looked back up at the sky. "Don't you think?"

The air was heavy with the anticipation, and so silent that it one could almost pick up the sound of crickets chirping. Just as Ludwig was wondering what the deal was when the narrator let out an audible sigh. "Roy…you're an idiot."

Ludwig rolled his eyes. "Thanks for making fun of my brother, magic voice in the clouds." He kicked the lion off of him. "Why don't you try and make yourself useful by giving me advice on how to win?"

The narrator laughed. "Are you kidding? I'm a nature documentary narrator; not a lion expert!"

Ludwig's jaw dropped. "But in order to narrate a nature documentary you need to be familiar with…" he shook his head. "Man, you are useless. Don't expect to get a good rating for your show from ME any time soon."

"RAWR!"

Ludwig rolled out of the way as his opponent pounced, just barely avoiding the knife-like sensation of claws sinking into skin. He swiped at the lion's muzzle. The lion swiped back. He kicked him in the shins. The lion whimpered and fell back.

The eldest Koopaling stood up. His opponent's breathing was growing ragged. It was also slowing down; the swipes it sent his way had significantly less passion behind them then when the fight had originally broken out. This did bring Ludwig a little comfort; however, he too was starting to feel exhausted. Even standing up like he was doing now made him dizzy and gave him eye floaters. He exhaled, the breath raspy with exhaustion.

I need to keep going, he thought. I…can't…stop…now.

He charged toward the lion. Given how weak and tired the king of the jungle appeared, Ludwig knew that just one more injury would end his game. Summoning all of his strength, he pounced at his opponent. Like a vampire, he sunk his teeth into the lion's neck. The beast shrieked as Ludwig sunk his teeth further and further into the flesh. He tasted blood. He felt muscle tearing up. He didn't care. He was almost victorious, he just needed to…

"Rawww…." The mighty beast wobbled and blacked out. Ludwig removed his teeth from the body, allowing blood to spill out onto the savannah floor. Ludwig stopped to catch his breath, watching the crimson stain the gold with an odd feeling in his gut. He just killed a lion. He didn't use a gun, or a weapon; heck, he didn't even have access to his powers. He had done this with his own bare hands. Or…paws, he supposed.

He stood up and looked over at Roy. The third eldest Koopaling got to his feet, looking like he was ready to run again. Ludwig's legs wobbled.

"Roy…it's me…" he collapsed onto the ground. He might have been victorious, but that didn't mean he wasn't exhausted.

Roy gasped. "Ludwig?!" He ran forward, his eyes as wide as the sun. "Dude! How…why are you…?"

Ludwig could barely even open his eyes. He wanted to just lay here. Take a nap in the savannah sun. Allow his body to relax and reset, regain some of the energy that it had lost during the fight. Bur he knew he couldn't do that. It was too risky; if there was one lion, there were bound to be a few others, and they more than likely would be thrilled to turn Roy into lunch.

"Are you okay?" Roy asked. His brow furrowed, and the concern in his voice was enough to match the concern that Ludwig had felt for him when he was being chased.

Ludwig coughed. "Roy…" He shakily lifted his head. "Put…your hoof…on…my…paw…"

Roy blinked. "Will that make you feel better? I don't want you dying out here…"

Ludwig chuckled. "It'll be fine. Trust me."

Roy hesitated. He only did it for a minute, but to the bloody and beaten Ludwig, it felt like an eternity. He spat out some blood as he reached his paw to the necklace.

"Take me away," he whispered. The portal appeared right in front of them.

When he saw it, Roy's eyes grew wide. "Woah! What is..?"

He didn't even get to finish his sentence. Ludwig, with his brother's arm in his, jumped into the portal.