Happy new year! We're picking up again. Let's get right into it.

Siph: That means J didn't have an idea for an author's note this time.

Disclaimer: They can't all be winners.

Chapter 45: Are You Stupid?

"Princess Wendy!" Kraig walked quickly over to her side. "Thank the Stars you're awake! How are you feeling?"

Blue Koopa called after him. "You're not supposed to doctor, Kraig, remember?"

Kraig turned, "I'm not, I am simply asking her a question. There is nothing wrong with that." He turned back to face Wendy again.

"Princess Wendy, how are you feeling? How long have you been awake?"

"How much did you hear?" Ludwig asked, looking more fearful than Wendy had ever seen him.

Wendy looked down at her wrapped legs, then looked directly into Ludwig's eyes. "I woke up in time to hear something about jokes, then I heard her make several phone calls, trying to reach Mario and Peach." She pointed at Pauline, then addressed her. "I'm not a fan of either one, so if you're their friend, I don't think I'd be a fan of you." She smiled gently. "But they have Roy, Larry, and Bowser safe with them, so I can't be mad about it. Thank the Stars they ended up there."

Pauline nodded. "Your brother's been giving me the same speech. You don't like Mario, so you have no reason to like me. And I'm guessing you don't like Peach because you want to be the only pink princess to catch your father's attention."

Wendy's jaw dropped and her eyes widened at that, and Ludwig actually started cackling. Her cheeks reddened as she glared at her laughing brother. "Okay, so maybe it can be summed up in a single sentence," she sputtered. "But so can your stupid solution with Bowser." Ludwig choked on his laughter the moment she named their baby brother, falling into a coughing fit. "It's practically Roy's catchphrase: The genius is an idiot!"

Kraig moved from Wendy back to Ludwig, offering a small bottle of water. "Usually we supply these to patients suffering from a cough, but usually not caused by this," he explained.

Ludwig took it as his coughs subsided. "Thank you." He cleared his throat and downed the whole bottle, small as it was compared to his usual serving size. He looked back at Wendy. "Since you've been awake long enough, you've heard my entire explanation for my decision regarding Bowser."

Wendy gritted her teeth. "Yes. And the three people smarter than you almost got through to you. You almost agreed with them. But then… Star Spirits know what happened." She shook her head. "When you said no like that… you didn't sound like yourself, Ludwig. I can't put my finger on it, but it just didn't sound right."

Blue jerked a thumb in his direction. "Well, he's wrong, so there's that."

Wendy shook her head again. "But it sounded so… familiar. I swear I've heard it before. Not from you, but still."

Ludwig furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you talking about, Wendy?"

"Something doesn't add up. But I'm getting a headache trying to think of that." She looked him in the eye. "But I do know that Bowser is a smart Koopa. He already has ideas of his own about why you must hate him."

Ludwig rolled his eyes and groaned, "Yes, I orchestrated the rumor that he 'stole' my birthright from me. This is nothing new."

Wendy glared. "Except he thinks it's because Mom died from laying his egg."

Pauline almost fell back. "She what?!"

"I had a feeling that's what happened to her," Blue lamented softly.

"So that's why Peach is…" Kraig trailed off.

Ludwig sputtered. "B-but… how does he even know about that?! Father took extra care to keep that a secret, even before Cackletta invaded. That's not possible!"

Wendy sighed, "Because unlike you and Daddy, Bowser has an actually good big brother who understands that he needs to know what he's being protected from. He has blue hair, too. Go figure."

Realization crept onto Ludwig's facial features. "…Lawrence?"

Wendy clapped slowly. "Give the genius a prize. He figured it out," she snarled. "Larry knew Bowser deserves to know about the mom he never got to meet. In a way, I guess Morton does too. He doesn't take Bowser down that tunnel with their carving, but he still takes him to the Morton-Mom special spot in the mountains. Every. Year."

"On his birthday," Ludwig finished. "And how do you know of Larry betraying the secret about Mother? Did he tell you?"

"Nah…" Wendy smirked. "The twerp stole my diary the same day he told Bowser about Mom. I was waiting to ambush him and heard the whole thing. I was… proud of him. And I told him myself." She giggled at the memory. "I think he almost wet himself when he saw me, though. He definitely wasn't prepared when I hugged him instead of pounding him." She returned to her glare suddenly. "And I don't appreciate how you worded it. Betraying the secret? No way! Larry's heart told him that keeping Mom a secret was betraying Bowser. And you know what? I agree with him." She pointed at him. "And that's exactly what you're doing to him. What you've been doing to him every day for the last four years."

Blue Koopa clapped. "Yeah! That's exactly it! And the kiddo's only five, so that's most of his life."

"Eighty percent," Kraig supplemented, "give or take the days of difference."

Wendy narrowed her eyes. "Does Daddy even know about the Nomore spell, or did you only explain away your plan to him by saying, 'oh well his name is Bowser and he looks like you, Daddy.' You always did like your logic, even if you're not listening to it now."

Ludwig glared back at Wendy. "Father does not know about the Nomore spell. Kamek never told him, and he would have confronted me if that were the case."

"And that's another thing!" Wendy scoffed, "Kamek doesn't even doubt your abilities to take care of Bowser. In your own story of what happened that day, he said himself that it was one mistake."

Ludwig growled, "Well, he's wrong! You're all wrong!" He swept his hand across the room, indicating everyone present, casting a large shadow.

Kraig looked around, noting that there weren't any lights behind Ludwig that could generate such a shadow. What in the Star Spirits' names…?

"Kamek is wrong and Ludwig is right!" Wendy mocked. "I'll believe that when Iggy matches Roy at the gym." She looked down at her legs again. "If I could move I'd go over there and slap some sense into you. Why can't you just swallow your stupid pride and admit that you're wrong about this?!"

Ludwig stood on his cot, casting a spasming shadow across the whole room. "IT'S NOT MY PRIDE!" he roared.

This time, everyone in the room noticed the shadow and the difference in Ludwig's voice, including the Koopaling himself, who fell back in a sitting position on his pillow. He brought a hand to his neck, where his vocal cords were.

Blue found herself sidling closer to the nearest person for protection of herself and them. That nearest person happened to be Kraig, who was still trying to wrap his head around the misbehaving shadows.

Pauline looked at Ludwig. "Was that a spell?! You don't have your wand, right? So what was that?!"

Ludwig's mouth quivered as he looked at her. "I don't know."

Wendy suddenly gasped, "That's it!"

Before she could elaborate, Pauline's phone rang again, making everyone jump.

Siph: J, are you shipping Kraig and Blue?

Most unashamedly!

Siph: Most what?

Take apart the word, Siph. I'm not going to spoon-feed you everything.

Siph: Un… ashamedly… ly… un… ashame-ed… ashamed? Un… ashamed… ly… ohhhhh!

Educating your child is so rewarding!