AN: Hey everyone! Today just so happens to be my birthday! And because it's my birthday, I hope to update multiple stories today! I don't know how successful I'll be in that endeavor, but… hey, there's no harm in trying, right?

Chapter 21 New Info

Wendy had been doing her best trying not to worry too much. Larry would be fine, she constantly told herself. He was going to be found eventually; Iggy didn't need to worry as much as he was doing! Larry was fine, and he would be returned to the castle in tip-top shape. Any worrying that any of the royal family could do was a zero-sum game.

At least, that's what she told herself near the beginning of the search. Unfortunately, the ability to be positive became harder and harder the more time passed. Every second without Larry being located made Wendy's heart rate speed up. She attempted to keep calm, to not let all of the horrible circumstances get to her. But that was becoming impossible.

She really wished that she had spoken to Larry before he left. Iggy got a chance to, so on the off chance that Larry would be found dead, Iggy could say he got to say goodbye… Oh God, what was this thought process? Why was Wendy worrying about Larry being found dead? He wasn't! Worrying about that could only bring grief… and yet, it was all she could do at this moment. Despite not wanting to, and despite trying to be the anchor that her other brothers could hold on to… she really believed that she might never see Larry again.

As such, despite it being relatively early in the morning, Wendy excused herself and went to her room. She thought about Iggy; considering that his mental state wasn't the most steady or grounded to begin with, putting him neck deep in a scenario that looked close to hopeless was… did Wendy even need to finish that thought? Iggy was freaking out, as was everyone else. The prayers they prayed to the great gods such as Grambi and King Borealis were doing squat. Larry was still missing after all this time.

And there was a good possibility he might remain that way.

Oh God, was Wendy crying? Putting her hand up to her cheek, she cringed when she felt wetness. Yep, she was crying. She had been attempting not to do that throughout most of this, but it seemed like being strong for as long as she had been could only be accomplished for so long. Whimpering, Wendy let the tears flow at a more consistent rate. No point in hiding them; anyone who could see her in this state would understand her problems. She opened the door to her bedroom, and when she closed it, the tears fell even harder. They landed on her carpet, staining it. They no doubt were making her eyes puffy and red. Normally, she would despise that, as she thought red puffy eyes were SUPER ugly. But right now, she couldn't care less about that.

She practically ran over to her bed and buried her face in her pillow. On top of the tears, she now sobbed. She hadn't sobbed in so long; at least since she turned ten. Growing up in a family of boys, she was raised to not really see much value in bawling in this manner. But, again, right at this moment, she didn't care.

She thought back to Larry once again. Larry, her baby brother. They hadn't really been the closest siblings (Larry had been more attached to Roy), but thinking about the fact that he was absent left her feeling empty. It was like someone shot a hole straight through her heart. Now she wished that she had been closer with her little brother. She wished that she had spoken to him more, that she had taken the time to do more fun things with him. If she had known this would happen, she wouldn't have let her brother out of her sight.

But he was gone, and all Wendy was left with were the horrible questions. Where was he? Did he disappear intentionally? What was happening to him right now? Would Wendy ever be able to talk to him again, to hear his voice and appreciate his laughter?

"Wendy?"

Wendy blinked and lifted her head. She saw Roy and Iggy standing in the doorway, which she found funny considering that she had just been thinking about them. She reasoned they must've heard her crying, which made her face grow warm. She slowly lifted herself up and sat up, drying her eyes. After all, her goal throughout most of this was to not let her brothers see any sign of weakness.

"Hey guys. How are you doing?" Wendy adjusted her bow as Roy walked over to her. "I'm personally feeling fine, I just needed some time to my…"

She didn't even get a chance to finish that sentence, as Roy came over and wrapped his arms around her. Wendy gasped, shock and amazement filling her. She tried to speak, but that was impossible. All she could do was just sit there as her older brother squeezed her with all his might.

"It's okay, Wendy," Roy said with a soothing voice. "Everything's going to be okay."

The tears returned. Wendy tried to stop them, and she probably would've succeeded if she hadn't seen Iggy. Her immediate older brother gave her a look of compassion. While not entirely unusual for Iggy, seeing it now had a devastating impact on Wendy's emotions. She cried some more, not knowing what would be considered proper at this point.

"I… I…"

"Wendy, it's okay," Iggy said. He took a seat on the bed just as Roy patted her on the back and let her go. "This is stressful for all of us."

Wendy paused before sighing. "It is." She wiped her eyes. "I want to find Larry. I think we will, but right now, thinking about this is just…"

"Yeah," Roy said. He patted her on the shoulder. "We get it. It's a difficult time for everyone." He smiled. "That's why we need to support each other. Now more than ever."

The tears flowed again but for a completely different reason. "I… I know. I just…" Wendy shook her head. "I'm sorry. After everything that's happened, I just thought…"

"The same thing that everyone else thought; that we need to be strong," said Roy, surprising his sister. "But just because you cry doesn't mean you're not strong. If anything, it means you've been strong for long enough."

Wendy chuckled. The trio sat in silence for a little bit, thinking about everything that was happening. Wendy honestly wondered what Larry would say if he was here. He'd probably make himself look extra strong, even stronger than Wendy had been forcing herself to appear. He'd probably have a cheeky grin and stubbornly refuse to get down in the dumps. Sure, he wasn't as inherently positive as Lemmy, but he could still be that if the situation so called for it.

"You know, I kind of wish I had spoken to Larry before he left," Wendy admitted.

Roy frowned. "Me too." His frown turned into a smile. "Which is why once we find him, I'm not going to let him out of my sight for even a second. We're gonna talk about everything under the sun. His hero missions, the video games he plays, all the creative ways that we can waste the day away together."

Iggy snickered. "That must be a pretty small sun, considering it only seems to shine on the things Larry likes."

Roy stuck his tongue out at him. "Well, if you get captured, I'll talk about everything that you like to talk about." He smirked. "Emphasis on 'if' though. It's a really really REALLY big if."

"Fuck you!" Iggy exclaimed.

Wendy laughed. Honestly, these interactions were helping her feel better. She still worried about Larry's safety, but she wasn't wallowing in her misery anymore. She supposed that's what siblings were designed to do; bring the ones they love up from the brink of despair (when they weren't annoying the hell out of them, that is).

Of course, as mentioned before, she was still worried about Larry. They had been searching for the better part of the last few days and still hadn't found him. She severely hoped that she and her brothers would uncover some new information soon.

Bring bring!

Wendy blinked, as did Iggy and Roy. She pulled her phone out of her hammerspace, blinking when she saw that the call was from Peppy. Not that Peppy calling her was particularly unusual, it was just… unexpected.

Although… maybe this was the light at the end of the tunnel that the Koopalings were looking for. Maybe Peppy had some information about Larry. Not knowing whether she should get her hopes high or not, Wendy answered the phone.

"Hey, Peppy. How are you?"

"Hey, Wendy. I'm doing okay; Lilac and I have been working together as superheroes. That's really fun."

"Well, that's good." Despite her downcast mood, Wendy smiled. "I imagine that you guys don't let any criminals sleep at night."

"That we don't," said Peppy. "We track them down extra fast and whoop their tails. They don't even see us coming, so they don't have any time to run away."

Wendy laughed. "Good. A place like the Koopa Kingdom needs some heroes like you."

"Thanks." Peppy paused. "Now, let's get to the most important part of this call. How are you doing?"

Wendy hesitated, debating over whether or not she should tell Peppy the truth. "Uh, well…" She eventually decided she should; she and Peppy were friends after all. And, again, she might have some information that the Koopalings desperately needed to get their hands on. "I'm not doing too hot. Larry has been missing for the last couple days. The whole kingdom is on alert, so pretty much everyone and their mother is looking for him." Wendy's heart sank. "But we aren't anywhere closer to finding him."

"Yeah. Lilac and I heard about the Kingdom Wide Alert earlier this morning." Peppy chuckled sheepishly. "You would think that we'd be aware of it before that, but… well, hero work really takes up a lot of space in your mind, you know?"

Wendy chuckled. "Yeah, I can understand that." Her face fell again. "Still. This whole thing is frustrating. All of us Koopalings are getting antsy."

"I can imagine." Peppy paused. "Which is why I'm coming to your aid and potentially relieving some stress."

Wendy immediately perked up. "You mean you know where Larry is?"

"Well… no. I don't know his current location. However, I can say that Lilac and I saw him right before he went missing." Wendy could feel the smile on Peppy's face, even though she wasn't standing right in front of her. "He was looking for some online articles to tell him where some crimes were being committed. He found one that would take him to Lava Falls."

The joy Wendy felt getting this information was immeasurable. "Lava Falls! Thank you, Peppy; thank you so much!"

"You're welcome. I hope you find him." She chuckled. "And I hope that I'll be able to hang out with you sometime soon."

"Yes yes, of course." Wendy giggled. "Don't worry Peppy; as soon as Larry is found, you and I are going to paint the town red. I promise."

"Thanks." Peppy cleared her throat. "Anyway, I won't keep you long. Good luck finding your brother."

"Thank you so much, Peppy." With that, Wendy hung up and turned to her brothers with a grin. "I just got a call from Peppy. She said she and Lilac ran into Larry before he went missing, and that he went to Lava Falls!"

Both Roy and Iggy grinned. "Lava Falls?" Roy giggled. "Man, he chose a really nice town to go missing in; the lava waterfalls there are gorgeous."

Iggy gave him a sideways glance. "You are missing the point, Roy. Wildly missing the point." He looked back at Wendy, the smile returning to his face. "But that's great news! The six of us can all head to Lava Falls and start a search for Larry!"

"Yeah!" Oh, it looks like all the prayers were answered after all. Thank you, Grambi! Thank you, King Borealis! Thank you universe for throwing the Koopalings a bone! "Let's get going; Larry isn't going to find himself!"

The others nodded and together they sprinted out of the room. Wendy could barely contain her excitement. It was happening! They were actually one step closer to finding Larry!

Hopefully, he was in good shape right now.