Chapter 9 Black and Blue Pawprints

Every last inch of Lemmy's body, from the circulatory system to the skin, was quaking. His breathing was way too shallow. Unfortunately, Lemmy didn't know if wading into the deeper regions would be good for him in this moment. For all he knew, if he got out of the shallows, life would pull him under. If he stepped out of the shallows, he would drown.

"Oh my God!" Ludwig's voice was at least an octave higher than his usually gritty tone. "They….the ring…Roy and Cee….BLOOD?"

Iggy nodded, but didn't say a word. With the exception of Ludwig, none of the present Koopalings were saying any words. The image of their brother and his girlfriend laying in those hospital beds was so strong that it was reflected in their eyes and seared into their retinas. They would probably be seeing that picture in their dreams, if they could even manage to get to sleep at all.

Ludwig put his hand to his head. "Oh dear developer of Desolace, this is…" Tears welled in his eyes. "I'm so sorry, guys?"

"For what?" asked Larry. "It wasn't your fault."

"I know." Ludwig sniffled and dried his eyes. "But if I had been there…"

Lemmy felt a pang. Maybe it was because of the bond he and Ludwig formed when they swapped bodies, but seeing his brother in emotional turmoil broke Lemmy's heart just a little too much. He could practically hear the laments and cries of terror ricocheting in Ludwg's head.

"Ludwig, it's okay. You didn't need to be there; you chose to stay at the castle. It's perfectly fine." When Ludwig's breathing finally slowed down enough, Lemmy bit his lip. "Plus, you wouldn't have seen the person who stole my sock monkeys."

This Ludwig's breathing to slow down a little more, but to balance things out, the horror in his expression only grew stronger. Icy blue tears welled in his eyes.

"I still cannot comprehend this," Iggy said. He walked over to the far side of the lab, the place where his desktop computer and time machine rested. "Why would anyone want to do this?"

"Yeah!" Larry said. "It's already weird enough that Roy and Celia got attacked. But for Lemmy's sock monkeys to get stolen? On the exact same night?"

Iggy grunted. "I know. It can't be a coincidence." He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "But I don't even see how these two events can be connected at all!" He pinched his brow and turned around. "I mean, no offense to Lemonade, but why would anyone want his sock monkeys?"

"There's nothing offensive about that Iggy; it's a valid question." Lemmy tapped his foot. "I don't see how anyone could find them important! Especially a ghostly black phantom like Ludwig had described."

This caused Wendy to seize up. "Now that you say that, I am wondering. Ludwig, do you think you were seeing things?"

Ludwig scoffed. "I thought the same thing. It was just too…bizarre of a scenario for it to be real. But…" he shook his head. "The sock monkeys are still gone. I looked everywhere, around the castle, and I couldn't find a single one."

Morton nodded. "So even if you didn't actually see the Ghost of Koopsmas Future, the sock monkeys still got taken by someone."

Ludwig nodded. Morton bit down on his nail, the gears turning in his head. Wendy's eyes darted back and forth between her brothers.

"What's especially weird to me is that this happened on Halloween night."

"I concur," Iggy stated. He put his glasses back on. "And as I said, one discombobulating event is strange enough, but we have three; Roy and Celia getting attacked, the star bit ring being stolen, and Ludwig seeing this phantom." He bit the inside of his cheek. "We have three events, all of them happening within a timeframe of rapid succession. All on Halloween night."

Lemmy felt chills run up and down his spine. Yeah, this was odd. Eerily odd. There was something too…coincidental going on here. Almost as if it was supernatural. Deliberate.

"Well, we need to find out what exactly happened," he stated matter of factly. "We can probably talk to Roy and Celia when they wake up, but until then, we need to place our steps carefully. There are three events we need to keep track of; three events that are all linked together in some way. There might be one culprit, or there could be a million. Either way, I believe that in order to find the answer to one of them, we need to tackle this head on. We need to solve all three mysteries."

Iggy held his hands behind his back. "I infer that you are communicating with us is that we need to look at this from multiple perspectives?"

"Yes." Lemmy nodded. "We need to be smart. We need to talk to as many people as we can. Anyone who might have been there; anyone who might have heard about what was going to happen." He sighed. "We need to be cunning."

"Yes, indubitably," said Iggy.

"And that won't be much of a problem," Larry said. "I mean, we are all pretty cunning already."

"True," said Morton. "But our specialties our more attuned to combat scenarios. Solving mysteries requires a level of critical thinking and attention to detail than any of us possess on our own."

Wendy nodded. "Sounds good. So, I guess we all try to solve the mystery?"

"That is a good option," Lemmy said with a contemplative nod. "However, it isn't practical. We are all exhausted, and forcing yourself past your limit can cause distress. We need someone else to solve this mystery. And I think I know exactly who." he looked up. "Ludwig?"

"Yes Lems?"

Lemmy exhaled. "Get me my Shellock Holmes costume."