Iggy struggled to push himself up. He watched as Lemmy's captors got away with his twin brother in tow. Just then, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you okay Iggy? Are you hurt?"
"I'm just fine, Larry," Iggy said, "He just barely missed my foot."
"Where's your wand?" Larry asked.
"Over there, I think," Iggy answered, pointing backwards. Sure enough, a little ways back, Iggy's wand lay on the ground. Just then, a couple of Goomba foot-soldiers burst through the underbrush.
"Princes Iggy and Larry?! What are you doing out here?!"
"Wh-what are you doing out here?!" Larry said, turning their own question back on them.
"We heard a commotion out here along with a couple of gunshots. Now, what are you doing here?"
Just then, more soldiers emerged, including more Goombas and a few Koopa Troopas and Paratroopas. Larry looked truly stumped as to what to say next. One of the Koopa Troopas came forward and grabbed Larry on the arm. Just as he did, though, Iggy bolted forward, running as quickly as possible. He heard the soldiers call out after him, but he just kept running. Nothing was going to keep him from rescuing Lemmy now. Nothing.
Lemmy choked back sobs as he and his captors got steadily farther from his brother. Now that he knew his twin brother had gotten himself involved in this mess, he felt guilty.
"Can it, brat. I didn't kill your brother," Dagger snarled, "He should be fine."
"Y-you mean it?" Lemmy said.
Dagger said nothing. Lemmy was astonished. ~He thought for sure that Dagger would have killed Iggy, given the chance. Did Dagger just miss, or was he really showing mercy?
"There!" Chaos suddenly cried, "There it is! The truck with Arrow and the others!"
"Finally," Dagger said, "I've had enough of this stupid *** forest."
"There you are!" Arrow called out, "We've been waiting for you guys for practically a forever!"
"Get someone else to sit in the back with the brat," Dagger growled at Arrow, "Because I am not putting up with that little *** any longer."
"Fine!" Arrow said defensively, "Jeez! Bruise can take over!"
"How come you never make Princess Perfect do anything?" Chaos said.
"Bruise is just better-equipped for the job," Arrow replied. Dagger rolled his eyes in reply.
"Bruise. Chaos," Arrow ordered, "Take the kid back to the back of the truck."
"Yes, sir," Bruise said before taking Lemmy from Chaos.
"Why did you take him? I had him just fine," Chaos said, pouting. Bruise ignored her and continued on toward the truck. Soon, everyone was situated and the truck set off once more, bound for Sarasaland. Lemmy decided that a nap was long overdue and decided to take a rest. Soon enough, the little Koopaling had drifted off to sleep.
Ludwig stood at the door to his father's war room. Behind him stood Wendy, Morton, and Roy.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Wendy asked, "Won't it just worry King Dad more to know that he's now missing three of his children instead of just one?"
"Well, it's better for him to know now rather than later," Ludwig replied. Just as he was about to knock on the door, though, they heard footsteps coming from down the hall. They turned to see two Koopatrol guards with Larry in tow.
"Larry!" Ludwig called.
"Where were you?!" Wendy cried.
"W-with Iggy," Larry stuttered. He was obviously scared about having to face his father after so blatantly disobeying his orders.
"Wait a minute," Ludwig said suddenly, "Where is Iggy?" Larry was silent for a moment before finally answering.
"He ran away. They tried to stop him, but he was too fast for them. He's still trying to rescue Lemmy."
"He's still out there, then," Ludwig mused, "Which means I'm still going to have to tell King Dad that he's missing."
"I'll tell him," Larry interjected, "After all, if it weren't for me, he wouldn't be out there in the first place. I'm not the one who gave him the idea to go, but I did help him finish the invisibility potion that helped us escape."
"So that's what you were doing last night with the vinegar and the glue!" Wendy exclaimed.
"Well, if you want to try to explain things to King Dad, be my guest."
Larry shrunk back a little, then began toward the door to the war room.
"Come on," Ludwig said to Wendy, Morton, and Roy, "We should go."
"No way!" Roy said, "I wanna hear this!"
"Me too!" Morton chimed in.
"I'm somewhat curious too," Wendy added. Ludwig sighed.
"All right. We'll stay."
Larry stopped at the door. He was scared to death of the scolding his father would give him. Even so, he knew that Iggy was in danger and telling his father what he knew could help get both him and Lemmy back. He extended his hand toward the door, but stopped.
"What's the matter?" Roy teased, "Chickening out?"
Larry didn't reply. He was thinking. Doing this almost didn't seem right.
"C-can I tell you guys what happened first?" Larry said, "Just so I can tell what I should say to King Dad and what I shouldn't mention at all?"
"I guess so," Wendy answered.
"Fire away!" Morton said enthusiastically.
"Well," Larry began, "After we escaped the castle, not a lot happened until we reached the woods along the Supa Koopa Highway. You see, we were just going through when we heard a voice. After that, we heard a scream."
"A scream?!" Wendy exclaimed, "That sounds horrid!"
"Whose scream was it?" Ludwig asked, betraying his true curiosity in the matter.
"Believe it or not," Larry continued, "It was actually Lemmy's."
"You found Lemmy?!" the other Koopalings exclaimed at once.
"We did. Iggy ran out and attacked the bad guys, but one of them got a hold of a gun and almost shot Iggy in the head."
"Oh my gosh!" Wendy cried.
"He's not hurt!" Larry quickly interjected in an effort to quell his siblings' worries, "But the bad guys did get away. Some soldiers came and got me then, but Iggy ran off. Lemmy said that the bad guys were going to take him all the way out to Sarasaland."
"All the way out there?" Ludwig said.
"And Iggy's...following them...alone..." Larry trailed off. Things were silent for a moment. Larry couldn't help but think of how Iggy was doing out there. How was he going to handle himself out there without someone to keep him from doing something stupid? What if he managed to find those criminals again and something even worse that last time ended up happening?
Just as Ludwig was about to speak again, Larry suddenly shot up and ran off.
"Larry! What are you doing?!" Ludwig called out after him.
"I'm going back out there to find him!" Larry called back. It's what he should have done from the start. He was never all for Iggy's harebrained scheme, but he knew that, if he didn't support Iggy now, things would go downhill fast. The young Koopaling dodged by guard after guard with amazing agility before finally getting out of the palace and racing through town.
"Please, Iggy...Don't have gotten to far without me..."
Iggy stumbled out of the forest. He was on the verge of hyperventilating. He'd run just about the whole way just to try to get away from the soldiers pursuing him. Ahead of him lay the Supa Koopa Highway. He decided that, at this point, the fastest way to catch up with Lemmy would be to hitchhike and try to catch up with the truck that was carrying him.
"It's worth a shot."
He stepped toward the edge of the road. He was never going to catch up to Lemmy unless he could do this quickly...which could never be guaranteed in a situation like the one Iggy was in now.
Larry ran until he was in the small town he and Iggy had arrived in earlier that day. The sun was beginning to set and he was worried about leaving Iggy out there at night. He wanted to keep running, but his legs felt like jelly and he felt like he'd pass out at any second. He wasn't worried about stealth anymore, so he decided that just continuing straight through town would be his fastest alternative. Just then, he ran into someone he didn't even notice was there.
"I'm so sorry," Larry said, "I just..." The young Koopaling suddenly trailed off. He had suddenly noticed that the person he'd run into wasn't just some ordinary person.
"Aren't you one of the Koopalings?"
"Y-yes ma'am," Larry said. He almost couldn't believe he was standing right in front of Princess Daisy.
"Yeah, you were at the last set of Grand Prix races, weren't you?" Daisy continued.
"Wh-what are you doing in a place like this?" Larry stuttered.
"I just came out here in hopes of speaking with your father, Bowser," Daisy said, "Believe it or not, even though he kidnaps Princess Peach all the time, the Darklands actually has pretty good trade relationships with the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom, so I came to discuss trade negotiations between the Darklands and Sarasaland."
"Oh yeah!" Larry exclaimed, "You're the princess of Sarasaland, aren't you?"
"Of course!" Daisy replied, "I certainly don't look like the princess of Yoshi's Island, do I?"
"You have to help me!" Larry said hurriedly, "My brother, Lemmy, has been kidnapped and my other brother, Iggy, went out after him! The bad guys are on their way to Sarasaland right now!"
"What?!" Daisy cried, "How did that happen?!"
"It's a really long story," Larry replied, "Iggy sent Larry out on some errand and Lemmy got kidnapped in the process. Then, Iggy got it in his head that he could just go out there on his own and try to rescue him. They're both in danger. Since those criminals are headed to Sarasaland, I thought you might be able to help. Please! I don't have anyone else to turn to!"
"Of course I'll help!" Daisy answered.
"Really?!" Larry marveled. He didn't expect Daisy to actually agree to his request.
"Yeah!" Daisy continued, "If those criminals are from Sarasaland, then they're my problem too! Now come on! Let's go before they get away!"
"O-okay!"
Larry was stunned. He hadn't expected things to go this easily for him, but, now that he had Princess Daisy on his side, nothing could stop him from setting things right once and for all.
Lemmy sat staring at the wall, having woken up about a half hour ago. He wasn't paying attention to anything Chaos and Bruise were doing behind him. All he could think about was how Iggy might be doing. He knew Iggy wouldn't stop his search now, which worried Lemmy.
"Hey, kid," Chaos called to him. Lemmy immediately whirled around and saw that she had a deck of cards in her hand.
"Are you sure about this, Chaos?" Bruise said, worriedly. Chaos scoffed, not even sparing Bruise a look.
"You wanna play cards with us, kid?" Chaos asked, a smirk spreading across her face. Lemmy stared at her in disbelief, stunned by her sudden offer of kindness. After a moment and with a bit of hesitation, he made his way over to where Chaos and Bruise were sitting. Chaos motioned for Bruise to hand her something, which turned out to be a knife. With the knife, Chaos cut away the ropes that bound Lemmy's hands.
"Is this really a good idea?" Bruise questioned one again.
"Relax, you big lug," Chaos said, "It's not like the kid's gonna try to escape. Arrow said he dropped his magic wand back where we captured him and there's not much he can do without it or any other weapons."
Lemmy knew she was right. There wasn't really much he could do. If he even attempted to escape, he'd be punished again, and that was something he didn't want to happen.
"Arrow isn't gonna like it if he sees the kid untied," Bruise pointed out.
"Quit being so negative," Chaos said, dismissing Bruise's concerns. She then quickly dealt out a hand of cards to Lemmy, Bruise, and herself, explaining that they'd be playing Hearts. Lemmy didn't really know how to play a lot of card games, including Hearts, so Chaos ended up having to teach the little Koopaling how to play. There were a lot of really complicated rules, but Lemmy was eventually able to pick it up, and, even though Bruise let loose a stream of profanities every time Chaos beat him, Lemmy was still having a lot of fun.
"Are you good friends with your brother?" Chaos suddenly asked Lemmy in the middle of one of their games. The question stunned Lemmy for a second, but he quickly regained himself and answered.
"Wh-why do you ask?" Lemmy replied, hesitant to answer Chaos' question.
"I'm just curious," Chaos said, "I mean, he did try to rescue you and all."
Lemmy stared at Chaos in bewilderment for a moment, then finally decided to answer her question.
"Yeah. We're together a lot and we're really close."
"Sounds like you have it good," Chaos said with a downcast expression.
"Really?" Lemmy replied, "Why do you say that?"
"You see, My family's all dead except for my brother," Chaos explained, "When they died, he decided to take it upon himself to take care of me. I listened to everything he said like he was really my father. Eventually, the two of us turned to theft to make ends meet. It was getting hard to even find something to eat, so stealing became a necessity for us."
Lemmy listened attentively. He felt truly sorry for Chaos, even though she and the rest of her gang had kidnapped him. She was actually opening up to him and Lemmy almost felt like he could trust her.
"Really, that's how this gang got started," Chaos continued, "We met up with others like us and decided we'd try to make it to a better life together. I chose the name Chaos and my brother became the leader of the group, Arrow."
Lemmy was taken aback. Chaos and Arrow were actually sister and brother?! It definitely explained the motive behind her earlier question about Iggy and Lemmy's relationship.
"At first, it was just me, Arrow, Bruise, and Dagger," Chaos went on, "The four of us were together for years and we practically counted each other as family, but that all changed once Poison entered the picture. None of us really knows what happened after that. One day, out of the blue, Arrow brings home a hooker and everything goes to pot. We started fighting with each other more often, and I haven't gotten along with Arrow at all ever since."
Everything was silent for a moment, save for the ambient noise of the truck making its way down the highway.
"I'm...so sorry," Lemmy finally said, breaking the silence.
"It's fine," Chaos sighed, "It's not like you had any part in this."
There was another long moment of silence.
"So, what's your real name?" Lemmy eventually dared to ask.
"Eloise," Chaos answered, "Eloise Wilson."
"I think that's a really pretty name," Lemmy replied with a smile. Chaos smiled back. It was a very sincere smile, making Lemmy feel warm inside. It was the first little bit of happiness he'd felt since he'd been kidnapped. All of a sudden, the truck jerked to a stop, sending the three in its back tumbling to the floor in a flurry of flying playing cards. The door flew open and Arrow hopped inside.
"Some *** back when we were stopped managed to see us with the kid. They got our license plate number and now the cops are after us."
"What?!" Chaos cried, immediately sitting up straight. Bruise got up quickly and helped Chaos up off of the floor while Lemmy began to get up himself.
"What the *** is the kid doing untied?!" Arrow spat angrily. Lemmy involuntarily jerked backward. He'd completely forgotten that he should have still been restrained.
"That's my fault, Arrow," Chaos said, "We were just playing a game of cards. I knew he wouldn't try to escape, so I-"
"What if he did manage to escape?" Arrow said, steaming, "Think next time, Chaos, before you really *** something up."
"Sorry, Arrow," Chaos said, looking hurt. Lemmy could only wonder what she was thinking.
"We're going to have to continue on foot," Arrow said, "We only have a little ways to go before we cross the border into Sarasaland, but we're going to have to cross a bridge to get there."
"Once we're there and we get to Birabuto, we're home free," Bruise commented.
"Exactly," Arrow replied, "Now, let's move."