Chapter 17 Alert and Terrified

Ludwig rushed down the halls of the hospital. He didn't stop for anyone or anything, even when the nurses told him that running in a place such as this wasn't a good idea. Well, screw them. He wasn't going to listen to what they had to say; his brother was awake! He had finally woken up after a few hours of being completely comatose. He was so excited about seeing Roy awake and alert that he didn't feel tired at all, even though it was currently around three thirty in the morning.

Thanks to his determined desire not to slow down or stop for anything, he reached Roy's room in no time. He saw his brother, sitting up in bed and eating Jello, as a nurse took care of him. Ludwig's heart skipped a beat when he saw Roy shaking. What did that mean? Was that a sign of long-lasting damage from the attack?

"Roy…" Ludwig stepped into the room as both his brother and the nurse looked at him. Roy tried to smile but was clearly having trouble. The nurse was more successful in that endeavor, but that didn't make Ludwig feel better at all. "How… are you…"

"He's doing just fine," the nurse said. She turned to look at Roy, who shakily nodded his head. "He's still recovering, but he'll be up and about in no time." She turned to Ludwig. "His wounds have been treated fairly well. I highly doubt there will be some long-lasting damage."

Ludwig nodded. "That's good." Wow, he had never felt this relieved in his life. He felt as though the weight of the sky had been taken off his shoulders. He felt as though some invisible chains wrapped around his wrists had been removed.

"C…C…" Roy tried to speak but was having trouble because his voice was shaky and hoarse. The nurse immediately went to his side and put his hand on his shoulder, all while he made his best attempt to say a single syllable. "C… Celia. Where's… Celia?"

Ludwig looked at the nurse, all of a sudden wondering about that exact question. The nurse frowned, the expression deep and worried. "Your girlfriend is still unconscious. We're doing everything in our power to treat her."

That last sentence might as well had not been said, as Roy immediately got out of bed and tried to get to the door. "I… I need to see her…" The nurse tried to restrain him, but considering Roy was one of the biggest and strongest Koopas ever, she had more trouble doing that than she bargained for. Even though he still wobbled and still looked like he was about to black out, he still tried everything in his power to walk, and he succeeded. This meant that Roy was able to get to the door, and he would've went through it if Ludwig hadn't been there.

"Roy," he said, his voice soft and soothing. "Roy, you need to rest." He took hold of his arm. "You're still weak, and you need to recover."

Roy shook his head. "No! She… she's hurt…" Both the nurse and Ludwig held onto his arms, which only made him panic. "I NEED TO SEE HER! I NEED TO…" The two of them worked together to drag him back to the bed, all while tears fell out of his eyes. "PLEASE!" As they lay him in the bed, he kicked and struggled. "Please. I… I need… I… I need…"

"Roy," Ludwig said, still talking to his brother with a voice he hoped would pacify him. "Roy, it's okay. I promise you that it'll be okay." He put his hand on Roy's chest. "Just breathe."

Roy still struggled, so Ludwig repeated the last sentence. He took breath after breath, with Ludwig and the nurse helping to calm him down. Eventually, he seemed to be better. At the very least, he wasn't trying to escape. Or worse, attack.

"It's gonna be okay." Ludwig pulled his hands away, as did the nurse. He waited a few seconds, just to make sure Roy wouldn't restart the struggle. When he didn't, Ludwig sighed in relief and put his hands down. "Good."

The nurse dabbed at Roy's sweaty forehead with a damp washcloth before turning to look at Ludwig. "He's obviously not at one hundred percent yet. He might be delirious for a little while."

Roy sharply exhaled. "I'm not fucking delirious." In response to this, the nurse got a cup of water off his bedside table and told him to drink. He did, still shaking and looking ready to pass out all over again.

"Is it…" Ludwig hesitated. "Can I be alone with him for a little bit?"

"Of course." She slowly took the water away from Roy and made her way to the door. "I'll be back in a little bit." With that, she exited. Ludwig waited a few seconds, looking at Roy as he sat in the hospital bed taking deep breaths.

He slowly stepped towards him. "You okay?"

"Just Peachy." Roy reached for the Jello he had been eating before he picked up the spoon and started scooping the food into his mouth. He turned back to Ludwig. "Where are the others?"

"They're coming," Ludwig said. "They all got the same text I did. I just happened to be closest to the hospital."

Roy sighed. "They'd better fucking show up." He took another bite of Jello. "I'm gonna destroy the entire world if they don't show up."

"Don't worry; they will." Ludwig hesitated before going over and sitting at the edge of the bed. "Roy, do you remember the attack?"

Roy paused. He slowly pulled the spoon out of his mouth, and his shuddering returned. The look on his face told of pure, unadulterated terror in his eyes. Ludwig felt like his heart was about to stop beating.

"Do you? Do you remember anything at all?"

Roy's shaking got worse, and tears started to show up. "I… I can't…" Roy whispered. He shakily put the Jello to the side. "I can't." He put his hands to his head. "I can't. I fucking can't."

Ludwig didn't know whether to be concerned for his brother or disappointed that he wouldn't be getting any information. He mostly felt the former, but the latter emotion was definitely there to. Trying his best to put his desire for answers to the side, he went over and wrapped Roy in a hug. While in his arms, Roy's breathed and shook heavily.

"It's okay," he whispered. He squeezed tighter, but not so tight as to hurt him. "It's all going to be okay." He rubbed Roy's shoulder. "You'll be back to your old self in no time."

"It's… it's not me who I'm worried about." Roy paused, looking down at the blankets draped over his legs. "I just… I don't…"

Ludwig pulled away. "You're thinking about Celia. Aren't you?"

Roy sniffled. "I should've protected her. I'm her boyfriend; I should've made sure she didn't get hurt. But I… didn't." He wiped some more tears from his eyes, looking absolutely miserable.

This was what ignited more sympathy in Ludwig's heart. "I know how you feel. Honestly, I think a lot of us feel the same about you." He paused. "And I feel like I could've prevented this if I had just gone with you guys." He paused again. "I should've gone with you guys. If I had known that this would've happened…" He bit his lip. The 'could have been' that was currently running through his mind made him feel small, made him feel irresponsible. He could've prevented this if he only wasn't so…

"Don't say that, Ludwig," Roy said. "It probably would've happened even with you being here." Roy rubbed his hand across his head. "You don't have to blame yourself."

"I know. But I'm your brother; I'm gonna do that anyway."

The two sat in silence, the atmosphere thick as butter. Ludwig's stomach churned and his heart hurt. He couldn't look at Roy, and he couldn't not look at Roy. Anything he had the option of doing right now felt wrong, wrong to a horrible degree. He pinched the folds of his cloak, hoping the feel of something soft in his hands would help ground him.

"Lemmy and I have been trying to solve the mystery of who attacked you," Ludwig said. "He's put on that Shellock Holmes costume he got in the mail by accident and has been going around in that."

"So he's gone right back to larping." For the first time since Ludwig walked in, Roy smiled. "Well, let's hope that this time won't be as bad as the last."

"Well, for what it's worth, it hasn't been so far." Ludwig paused again before sighing. "I know that it's hard for you, but I really do need you to try and remember what happened. If you could give us any info, any at all, then it would be a big help."

Roy hesitated before cringing. "I don't… I'm sorry, Lutz. But… I don't really remember a whole lot. I didn't get a good look at the face of the person who attacked me. They were dressed in all black and wearing some kind of mask."

"Okay…" Ludwig hesitated, trying to think all of this over. "Did they take anything from you? Was there anything they said?"

Roy swallowed a lump and started to sweat. "I… don't know! I'm sorry, but… I don't… I…" He began to cry.

"Sorry! I'm sorry; I shouldn't have tried to pry." Ludwig let out a breath and put his hand on his brother's shoulder yet again. "Just take deep breaths. It's all going to be okay." He watched as Roy took his advice. "Even without your information, we can solve this case. Me and Lemmy have already been working hard. It's only a matter of time."

Roy slowly calmed down and nodded. "Good. That's good." He chuckled. "You and Lemmy are the ultimate dynamic duo."

Ludwig was about to comment on that when the door opened. The four other Koopalings came into the room, with Larry and Iggy being at the front of the pack. Larry gasped and ran toward his older brother, wrapping his arms around him. Iggy rushed over as Ludwig pulled away from him.

"Oh, Roy! We've been so worried!" He began to hyperventilate. "We didn't know how long it would take you to wake up. We didn't… we didn't…"

As Iggy started to hyperventilate, Ludwig chuckled and put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry Iggy; Roy is doing fine. I think his exact words were 'just peachy.'"

Wendy laughed, and she and Morton approached the bed with some gifts in hand. She had a get well soon card that appeared to be homemade. Morton had a tray of cupcakes, a sight that immediately caught Roy's interest. He snatched one from the tray before Morton even finished passing it over, gobbling it like he hadn't eaten food in years. The others each took a cupcake of their own upon Roy offering them, and Ludwig admittedly thought that this treat was more than welcome. Even though he wasn't the biggest fan of sweets, he felt that a cupcake was the perfect way to relieve and forget about all the stressful occurrences that have been going on over the past night.

With that in mind, Ludwig took another cupcake off the tray. "Well everyone, I need to return to Lemmy." He was just about to leave the room before Roy spoke up.

"Thank you for investigating," he said. "It's really appreciated."

Ludwig smiled. "You're welcome, buddy." He made his way out of the room, speed walking down the hall as opposed to running. As he did, he thought about the very little information Roy had managed to relay to him. Dressed in black, wearing a mask… maybe Lemmy needed to know about this. It wasn't much, but it could really help them out.

And hopefully, Lemmy was doing alright on his own at the moment.