Chapter 11 The Ultimate Nightmare

Smoke. Burning, devouring, angry smoke filled the air. No light of the sun was visible, giving the impression that Ludwig was in a completely alien world. The ground burned up in the hottest blue blaze anyone had ever seen, and it spread as far as the eyes could see from east to west. It tantalized Ludwig, did unspeakable things to his heart, and filled his mind with a new sort of emotion. Trying his best to not devolve into a complete shaky wreck, he looked down at his hands. Blue fire danced around his fingertips, just like how they did for the entire landscape. As if that sight was some sort of wake-up call, Ludwig all at once became aware of the fact that, if he wished to live, needed to run.

So, he ran.

Ludwig's adrenaline took him over, sending icy surges through his burning veins. He ran away from the fire, but that did absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things due to the direction the fire traveled. It chased after the special, crackling in his ears like it was laughing maniacally. Ludwig put his hands to his ears, groaning as the evil crackles grew even louder. Barely even taking the time to think, he rose into the air. It was just in the nick of time too; the fire reached the ground that he had just been walking on. It glowed in an alien way, making the dark landscape glow in ways that were beautiful, yet terrible. Soothing, but overwhelming. Good... yet evil.

Ludwig let out a breath, thankful that he had escaped death. Sure, he had escaped it by the skin of his teeth, but he had still escaped it. His eyes scanned the land, looking for any clue of where he was and what was going on. That turned out to be an impossibility though, as smoke clogged every inch of the air. The dirty, sickly taste of the smoke spread across his tongue, worse than even the most sickening things Ludwig had ever eaten over the course of his entire life. He coughed, feeling his airway close. He coughed and coughed before he decided he needed to rise higher. Maybe, if he were to fly up, he would rise higher than the smoke and maybe (just maybe) see some much-desired daylight.

So, he rose. Higher and higher and higher still. He prayed that he could see, prayed that he could breathe. But no matter how high into the smoky air he got, he never reached the height he needed to. Darkness still enveloped him. Smoke still surrounded him. Fear still filled him.

Ludwig knew that he had no choice but to stop. He came to a halt, still coughing like mad. "This..." What possible way was there to describe this experience? It was painful, depressing; even hopeless. The dark world could make even the strongest of souls quake in their boots. And that's exactly what it did to him.

"What do I do?" He looked around, seeing nothing but the deadly smoke and the occasional flicker of blue flame. "How am I going to get out of here?"

"HELP!"

That sound made Ludwig's blood freeze over. It was faint, distant, almost inaudible, but it was definitely there. And in this dark, smoky, deadly world, Ludwig knew that he couldn't just let it go unnoticed. Whoever was calling out probably had very little hope that anyone would hear them in this place. So... going down to save this was the only logical course of action, the only right course of action.

So, holding onto a flickering strand of his own hope, Ludwig flew back toward the ground. His eyes burned, and it felt as though time right down to the very second was being shaved off his soul. When he got closer to the ground, he took notice of the flames once again. They were changing color, shifting from pleasing blue to rage-filled red. hateful red, evil red. The Koopaling's fear topped charts it had never topped before. Doing his best to not hyperventilate, as that would be disastrous right now, he kept flying. It felt like his skin was melting off in this horrendous heat, but nevertheless, he kept going.

You can do this, Ludwig. A hollow promise if Ludwig had ever heard one, but he still clung to it. He clung to it with all his might, telling himself that he would fulfill it. He needed to fulfill it.

"HELP ME!" The cries now sounded distinctly female as well as fairly young. The way this young female shrieked in this hellscape was bloodcurdling, so much that it prompted Ludwig to speed up. Practically counting the seconds, his scorching eyes scanned every possible direction. Where was this person? How much farther did Ludwig have to fly before he found them in this blaze? His despair accumulated now, threatening to tear through the roof. Even still, he kept going. He wouldn't let despair win the day. He wouldn't let fear win the day. He wouldn't even let guilt win the day. Especially not guilt.

For the first time, Ludwig noticed other details about this place. Ebony black stones, looking like they were covered in soot, littered the area. Some were bigger than Ludwig himself, and most looked like they were once part of some other, bigger structure. A building. A city. This city... this city that was now going up in flames...

Ignoring his panicking inner voice, Ludwig kept searching for the girl. As if fate itself was trying to toy with him, it seemed like the smoke had suddenly gotten thicker. Breathing was nearly impossible, so Ludwig dropped to the ground so that he could potentially have an easier time. His feet burned when he did, even down to the very bone. But that wasn't the worst part of being on the ground. He noticed the fire. He saw the fire. He felt the fire.

"HELP ME!" The person now coughed, their voice sounding hoarse. "Help... me..."

Ludwig's heart rate spiked. They were closer now, somewhere in the general vicinity. He turned toward the coughing, running towards it. Don't worry, he thought, as much to the person as he did to himself. I'm coming to get you. Don't worry.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity in hell, Ludwig found them. Trapped, wedged between two monstrous pieces of stone debris, was... oh my goodness! It... it was her! It... it was actually her!

"Aria.." Ludwig took in her appearance. She was caked with soot, and she had her eyes closed. Her once sky-blue hair was raven black and tangled in the weirdest ways. Ludwig didn't know if this part was just his imagination, but he thought he saw something red traveling down the sides of her face. Feeling sick to his stomach at just the possibility, he walked closer.

"Don't worry." He reached out and patted Aria's head. "Aria, it's okay! I'm here. I'm right here. Everything's going to be okay."

The smallest, most pathetic traces of a smile appeared on Aria's face. "Th... thank..." Before she could even finish her sentence, she blacked out. Ignoring the void in his stomach, Ludwig got right to work. If he could just move these stones, get them off this friend, then she would be free. He could put her on his back and carry her away from this place, probably toward a hospital (if there even was one). A good plan, all things considered, but thinking of it was the easy part. The hard part would be actually putting it into action.

He went toward one of the stones, trying first and foremost to lift them off of her. He immediately realized that was a dumb idea, as they weren't even close to budging. It was like he was trying to move an actual stone wall. So, Ludwig gave up on that almost immediately, pulling back. He realized he needed to use telekinesis if he wanted any hope of this plan actually working. Of course, he would have to do it quickly, as the flames were closing in on the both of them. Turning his head toward them, Ludwig wanted to scream at how close they were getting. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if they got to them.

So, Ludwig extended his hand. The stones glowed with the same blue aura his hands glowed with, prompting him to smile. He tried moving them to the side, noting that he would have to be careful so as to not crush Aria's head. He looked to the side, imagining the stones moving in that direction...

But they didn't budge.

Ludwig's jaw dropped as he blinked. Why... why wasn't this working? It should work like a charm; he was always able to move something telekinetically! Gawking, Ludwig began to sweat as he stared at these apparently immovable stones.

Maybe... maybe I need to concentrate harder?

Biting his lip, Ludwig focused on the stones again. He concentrated with all his might, practically screaming in his head for them to move. Come on, come on! The longer the stones went without moving, the higher Ludwig's anxieties climbed. Tears sprang up in his eyes, which in this smoky mess was the absolute last thing he needed. With his eyes burning, and with every inch of his body and mind straining itself to cause something, ANYTHING about this scenario to change, Ludwig tried once again to push his climbing despair to the side. This had to work. It had to!

But even still, the stones wouldn't budge.

"No." With the flames inching closer, Ludwig felt ready to throw his hands up. "No, no!" He let go of the stones, now crying a river. Why wasn't this working? Why was Ludwig so helpless to help Aria? Why couldn't he change her fate? Could he do anything right?

Could he do anything right...?

Not knowing what else he could possibly do, Ludwig collapsed to the ground. His tears fell in the ashy black dirt, not even leaving noticeable stains. Ludwig might as well not even be here with how little good he was able to accomplish. He reached a shaking hand toward Aria. He touched her head, noticing how cold it was. It was probably the coldest thing in this entire hellscape.

"I...I'm sorry," Ludwig whispered. The tears not even close to disappearing, Ludwig closed his eyes and whimpered. "I'm so sorry..."

The flames closed in on him. Their maniacal crackles echoed in Ludwig's ears, almost like they were taunting him. He knew he should run, fly, move at all. But... he couldn't. He had failed to free this girl, this amazing, sweet girl. And if he couldn't even do that... well, he might as well die right alongside her. He braced himself for the flames to touch him, and when they did...

The pain was immense, terrible. Every nerve and pain receptor screamed with all their might. Ludwig screamed too, but the sound was lost amidst the laughter of the flames.

"AHH!"

…

Ludwig screamed and bolted upright. The... the flames... the burning city... Aria... oh, what was happening? What was going on here?

"Ludwig?" Ludwig barely heard the sound of Lemmy's voice over his own heartbeat. His younger brother jumped out of bed immediately and rushed over. He put his hand on Ludwig's leg, brushing it with the softest touch. This should be comforting, but it didn't have the desired effect on Ludwig. The only emotion he felt aside from his terror was the guilt over realizing just how dark it was, how late it was.

With his entire body shaking, Ludwig reached his hands up to his face. "She's... she's gone..." the same tears he had cried in the dream came back. He closed his eyes, knowing he didn't have the strength or even the will to stop them. "I... I couldn't save her... I couldn't save her, and now, she's gone..."

"Who?" Lemmy moved closer to Ludwig. "You couldn't save who? Ludwig... what is...?"

Ludwig opened his eyes, hoping that he could find some form of comfort or solace by looking into Lemmy's face. Much to his dismay, however, Lemmy gasped when he saw his brother's eyes. He backed up, pulling his hand off of Ludwig's leg and looking at him. The terror in his eyes, the fear in his eyes...

"Lemmy, what's wrong?"

"Ludwig..." Lemmy pointed a shaking finger at his face. Feeling just as frightened as Lemmy felt, Ludwig rushed toward the mirror. He gasped when he saw his reflection, his reflection with glowing white eyes that should never be seen on the face of a koopa.

"Oh my God." Ludwig shook uncontrollably now. He turned back to Lemmy, who still stared at him with the worst, most unbearable emotions leaking from his expression. "Lemmy, I..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Ludwig felt a searing pain shoot through his head. "Gah!" He put his hand to his forehead, feeling as if a bullet had pierced through his skull. He did his best to hold in his scream, to not make such a big deal about this.

"Ludwig!" Lemmy practically screamed. "Ludwig, what's going on?"

Before Ludwig could answer, a burning scent filled Ludwig's nose, and he heard the same crackling as he did in his dream. He opened his eyes...

To see that his whole bedroom was a burning inferno.