Chapter 22 Too Little Too Late

No time was wasted, not one second. As soon as Wendy relayed the news to her brothers that Larry had gone off to Lava Falls, the Koopalings immediately jumped into action. They all ran to the garage, hopped into their Koopa Clown Cars, and set their speed to max setting. There was no doubt in Wendy's mind that her brothers all felt the same sense of urgency, the same rush and desperation that were plaguing her own mind.

They zipped toward Lava Falls. The closer they got to their destination, the more nervous Wendy became. In what state would they find their little brother? Would he be okay? Would he even be awake? Wendy knew he operated on a battery, which meant that he could drop unconscious and unresponsive at pretty much any time. The thought… the mere image of Larry lying on the ground in a state where he was potentially dead made Wendy sick to her stomach. As such, she couldn't help but pray. She prayed her tail off, trying to not worry.

Please oh please, oh please, she uttered on loop in her head. She wasn't even one hundred percent sure who she was praying to. There were a lot of gods in the Mushroom World, so… logically, at least one of them would be interested in the Koopalings's plight, right? Just through statistics alone, there had to be just ONE god who would feel compassion for the Koopalings and help them find comfort. Right?

Well, there was only one way to find out. The Koopalings continued flying until they saw Lava Falls in the distance. The falls that the town was named after were visible from even so far away, and their changing colors managed to catch Wendy's eye even in this time of crisis. But even with that said, Wendy's anxieties still climbed past her reasonable limits. She felt so scared that she could faint. She was so nervous that there wasn't a single sweat gland in her body that wasn't working overtime. Normally, she would despise sweat; it was sticky and stinky and just served to make her look like some kind of pig. But now, she could care less. Now, there was only one priority in her mind.

Please let Larry be okay.

Upon Iggy's suggestion, when the group got to the entrance to the town, they lowered their Koopa Clown Cars to the ground and hopped out. Wendy was the last to do this; she felt like her stomach was screaming at her, and she could barely stand up. The only thing that gave her motivation to move was the sight of her brothers. They still moved forward despite their anxieties. They didn't let the fact that they were close to having panic attacks distract them from their main objective. As such, Wendy couldn't let her fear get the better of her. She had to keep moving forward. Now more than ever she needed to be brave.

So, she followed the ret of the Koopalings into Lava Falls. The second that they entered, it became immediately obvious that something was wrong. Police cars and the officers they carried were situated everywhere. They all had their guns and tasers at the ready, and when they spoke to each other (whether it be in person or through their walkie-talkies), they did so with a sense of urgency. Not a single cop was sitting still, not one of them was relaxing and eating donuts (that's what cops did, right? That was what Wendy had heard). They all had serious faces. And when Wendy said serious, she meant serious; it looked like the cops were dealing with a mini apocalypse.

The Koopalings exchanged looks as they heard one of the cops speaking through their walkie-talkie. "Yes, the border is secure. We aren't going to let this threat exit the town. Over."

Wendy swallowed a lump. Threat? What threat? She, along with the rest of the Koopalings, approached the cop. Lemmy of all people was the first to speak with them.

"Excuse me, officer?"

The dragon koopa in the uniform looked down at Lemmy. Their eyes immediately flashed with recognition. "Oh man. You're the Koopalings." There was no excitement in his voice. In fact, the tone he used sounded even more miserable and dreadful. "I am glad that you guys are here, but… well, this is probably a painful time for you."

Iggy blinked and took a step forward. "It is a painful time, but…" He started to hyperventilate as he asked all the questions Wendy (and no doubt everybody else) had. "What's going on? Why are all the officers stationed around town? What threat level are you guys talking about?"

The officer actually looked saddened by these questions. And that look, that horrible, uncomfortable look… that was all the confirmation Wendy needed. Something was wrong with Larry. Something had happened to her baby brother, something so bad that it couldn't even be spoken about without immense pain from the speaker.

Even with that said, the cop still did his best. "Your younger brother? Larry Koopa? He, uh…" he hesitated. He looked at the Koopaling with such a horrible amount of dread. "Something happened to him."

"What?" Iggy said as Wendy's heart skipped a beat. "What happened? Is he okay?"

The officer looked away from them. "I… I can't say." He looked back at them. "It's something that you guys need to see for yourselves." He reached for his belt, which Wendy saw had both a gun and a taser. "Come with me your highnesses; I'm going to take you to him."

Not knowing what response was appropriate, Wendy nodded. She and Iggy were the first in line to follow the cop. As he took them to the heart of the town, Wendy picked up on some things that only served to make her anxieties climb even higher. People screamed their lungs out, the sound even screechier than the voice of a typical Toad. The scent of smoke filled the air. It wasn't visible in the sky from where the Koopalings were currently standing, but the odor was so strong and toxic regardless. Wendy coughed multiple times. The only thing worse than her physical symptoms was her fear. There was no getting rid of it at this point. Even if she saw Larry, even on the off chance that he was alive and well… even if everything turned out okay, it would still take some time for her heart to recover from all this stress. That was how debilitating and awful her nerves were acting up.

The cop continued to lead them through the town. Every once in a while, he would get out his communicator. When he spoke into it, he always got a response from someone who sounded like they were panicking. Wendy didn't know if it was just her imagination, but she thought she saw the officer shaking too. Since when did cops look that shaken up? Usually, they were fearless and brave. If even they were concerned about this situation in this manner…

"It's okay, Wendy," Wendy whispered to herself. Ignoring the lingering scent of smoke, she took in some deep breaths. "It's going to be okay. Everything will be fine. Everything will be…"

"OH MY GOD!" Roy screamed.

Wendy lifted her head, gasping and freezing in place when she saw what was before her. A humongous anthropomorphic lizard, with thick-rimmed glasses, a yellow shirt, and the greenest scales Wendy had ever seen in her life, stood in the center of Lava Falls. He had this grin on his face that… well, Wendy didn't usually like using the term "cursed," as she always felt that it was a very cringy expression people on the Internet used, but she couldn't really think of any other way to describe this expression. If she were to try, she would say that it looked so wickedly pleased that it easily gave off the impression that this lizard was a threat.

And that fact was only supported by who the lizard was accompanied by.

"LARRY!" Wendy rushed forward. She felt so relieved to see that her brother was awake… but that relief evaporated when she saw his eyes. They were so dead and lifeless that they may as well have belonged to a corpse. In fact, that was a good way to describe Larry's appearance in general. He looked like the walking dead, like he had been killed and resurrected through the foul art of necromancy. The warmth and love for life that was usually visible in the Koopaling's features was gone, and in its place was… nothing. There was no indication that the Larry that the Koopa family knew and loved was standing before them.

Wendy felt like crying when she saw this, and she only grew more despondent when she heard the lizard man laugh. "What did you do? WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BROTHER?"

The lizard sounded like he was going to choke on his own laughter. "Oh man. I am so glad you are here, dear dear Koopalings." He gestured toward Larry. "I've located your brother and discovered that his mind was ripe for the reprogramming." The lizard chortled, the sound so unbelievably sickening. "This little robot right here is my servant now. And together, he and I are going to get rid of EVERY person that I don't like." He looked back at the Koopalings with a truly evil gleam in his eyes. "And that starts with you."

Wendy wanted to cry. She almost collapsed to the ground right then and there, as it felt like her legs were made out of jell-o. She looked at Larry. There didn't seem to be any humanity left in the Koopaling for her to appeal to, but… well, she might as well try.

"Larry!" Wendy called out. "Larry, it's us! It's your family! We're here to rescue you! Please, PLEASE say something to us!"

Larry didn't speak, move, or even blink. In fact, the lizard was the one to respond to that plea, and he did so with the most chilling cackles in history.

"Oh man! Oh wow, that was adorable!" He turned back to Larry. "Larry, my servant! Terminate these koopas NOW!"

Without sparing a second to hesitate. Larry zipped toward the Koopalings with the rockets in his feet. He activated his sonic cannon, immediately aiming the blasts at them. BOOM BOOM BOOM! Wendy and her brothers dodged them by the skin of their teeth. One blast was just seconds away from hitting Morton in the head, and it probably would've if his instincts were just a smidge slower.

"LARRY, STOP!" Iggy screamed. "IT'S US!"

"LARRY, PLEASE TRY TO REMEMBER!" Ludwig said as Larry still attempted to murder them in cold blood. "WE'RE YOUR SIBLINGS!"

"WE LOVE YOU, LARRY!" Roy exclaimed, sounding the most heartbroken out of anyone present. "AND WE KNOW YOU LOVE US, SO PLEASE! PLEASE TURN BACK INTO YOUR OLD… AAH!" Larry aimed one blast square at Roy's chest. It hit its intended target, making the Koopaling scream as he went sailing backward. Some tears escaped from Wendy's eyes when she saw her big brother land, as well as when she heard the crunch that was often associated with a shell being damaged.

"Wow! You guys must be really stupid!" The lizard guffawed. "But I will say, your stupidity does make this much more entertaining for me, so… carry on!"

Larry then turned toward his other siblings. Wendy's heart caught in her throat when his zombie-like eyes connected with her gaze, and she only grew more terrified as her brainwashed brother started flying toward her. She shrieked, covering her face with her arms. She was just minutes away from screaming when…

"NO!"

Ludwig jumped in front of Wendy and hit Larry in the face with a fireball. Wendy uncovered her face to see the youngest Koopaling got pushed back by the impact, leaving a crater in the ground. Now hyperventilating, Wendy looked at her oldest brother. He looked like he was in intense pain. And when Larry got up, setting his sights on him, Ludwig held his hands out.

"Larry, stop! Please try to remember!" Larry activated his sonic cannon. He thankfully avoided hitting both Wendy and Ludwig because Ludwig grabbed Wendy by the arm and zipped into the air, but that meant very little in terms of comfort. Ludwig cringed as he looked down at his brother. "Larry, please! We don't want to hurt you! PLEASE don't make us hurt you!"

Larry didn't respond, didn't even flinch. As the lizard man's laughter rang all around the makeshift arena that was the center of Lava Falls, he aimed more and more sonic blasts at Ludwig. He only barely avoided them due to dumb luck. Unfortunately, that meant his luck was bound to run out at some point, which it did. Ludwig got hit in the chest with a sonic cannon, making both him and his sister plummet to the ground. Wendy screamed, and when she hit the ground, her whole body ached. It was like she had just got back from a workout, except with none of the satisfaction and none of the happiness.

"Ludwig!" Wendy looked toward her older brother. He groaned and hoisted himself to his feet. Wendy had a feeling his pain was leagues worse than hers, so she didn't comment on it. She rose to her feet, and avoiding the barrage of sonic cannon blasts, ran over to Roy. Iggy, Lemmy, and Morton had the same idea, and they all gathered around their possibly severely injured brother.

"Roy, are you okay?" Morton asked.

Roy groaned. When he lifted himself up, he winced and sucked some air through his teeth. On the ground where his back had been, Wendy could see blood.

"I'm alright," Roy said in between grunts.

Wendy looked back at Larry, who was getting his sonic blasts ready again. "What do we do?"

Roy somehow managed to speak through what was no doubt some horrible pain. "Just… keep calling out to him. Larry's in there somewhere. Maybe we can reach him."

Wendy cringed. Somehow, she doubted that. It sounded like the most ludicrous claim of all. And yet, she wanted to believe it. She desperately wanted to believe that. She hoped that calling out to Larry more would stop him.

Hopefully, all that hope wouldn't be for naught.