Chapter 26 A Grim Fight

Lemmy stood up as Rouge's angry eyes flared to life. The comedian gritted her teeth and gripped her hand into a fist. As she displayed signs of anger, Lemmy couldn't help but mirror that expression. He had nothing but contempt for Rouge now. There was not a shred of respect that he had left for her. No respect or any sympathy.

"Rouge…" Lemmy stepped forward. He tried to come up with a plan of attack as he smelled Ludwig's pyrokinesis starting to act up. He took another stepped forward, which while slow, carried nothing but intent. He only wished that he could've mentally prepared himself for when Rouge reached into her pocket and pulled out a smoke bomb.

BOOM! The room filled to overflowing with the ghastly stuff. Lemmy collapsed to the floor, hacking up his lungs and feeling like he was suffocating. The smoke cleared eventually, of course, but that offered Lemmy very little comfort due to the fact that Rouge was gone. She was gone, and the closet where she hid her deadly, joy sucking plant was open.

"Dammit." Lemmy, while still dealing with the after effects from the smoke, rose to his feet. "Come on, Ludwig, we need to find her!"

"Right!" Ludwig rose into the air and offered his hand to Lemmy. When he grabbed it, they flew at top speed out of the room. Lemmy looked to the right, but didn't see anything. He looked to the left, seeing Rouge rushing down the hallway with her plant. She was probably trying to exit the theater. Ludwig zipped after her, with Lemmy not taking his eyes off her. Obviously, Ludwig was able to fly much faster than Rouge was able to run. They caught up to her in ten seconds flat. He threw Lemmy on top of her. She gasped as the plant slid across the floor, staining the prestigious theater's carpet in dirt.

"YOU!" Punch. "DON'T!" Punch! "HURT MY FRIENDS!" Punch punch punch. Each hit Lemmy landed on Rouge was angrier than the last. He was like an animal in some ways, as all other emotions and thoughts were being tuned out. All that mattered was Rouge. All that mattered was that he made her pay for the AWFUL things she had done.

"YAH!" Rouge kicked Lemmy off of her, making him land right next to the plant. Lemmy was about to get up, but a vine wrapped around his ankle and started flinging him from side to side. CRASH! He landed on the floor. Another crash, he landed on a different spot on the floor. Lemmy couldn't even gasp, couldn't even think.

"STOP!" Ludwig aimed a fireball at the plant's belly, and it shrieked. It let go of Lemmy, who at this point was struggling to maintain consciousness. He groaned, his head pounding like a kettle drum.

"YOU HURT MY GRIM LAUGHTER!" This baffling exclamation from the angry Rouge rang throughout the hallway. She picked up her injured but still alive plant and threw it at Ludwig. It opened its mouth, its gnarly teeth glistening in the light of the theater. Ludwig got out of the way just in time, only barely avoiding the plant sinking its teeth into his face. The flames flared to life once again, and he shot toward Rouge. Before he could reach her, the plant grabbed his ankle and pulled him toward its mouth. It sank its teeth right into Ludwig's shoulder.

"OWW!" That screech was bloodcurdling. Lemmy, even though he had trouble thinking through the pain, perfectly understood what that sound meant. The plant, with Ludwig's blood staining its teeth, threw him across the hall. He landed right beside Lemmy, and Lemmy felt sick looking at the severity of his wound. Blood pooled into the spot that he lied in. Lemmy even thought he saw one of the plant's smaller teeth still stuck in his shoulder.

"Ludwig…" Lemmy tried picking himself up, tried to comfort his brother, but that was impossible. He didn't have the strength to exert the effort necessary to do that. His head pounded, and the edges of his vision grew fuzzy. The last thing he heard was Ludwig sucking air through his teeth before everything went black.

…

Ludwig winced. The pain, this pain… oh Dear God. Did the Grim Laughter have venom of any sort, because Ludwig felt as though he was dying. Grunting, Ludwig tried to lift himself up. He pulled the tooth stuck in his shoulder out, making blood run down the side of his arm. Sweet Grambi…

"Lemmy…" Ludwig over at his brother, seeing that he was unconscious. That one sight made him so worried and so scared that Rouge didn't even matter anymore. Sure, she took this opportunity for both her and her Grim Laughter to escape, but Ludwig didn't care. He just crawled over to Lemmy and tried jostling him.

"Lemmy…" Unfortunately for Ludwig, he was bleeding an ungodly amount of blood. By this point, his right arm was covered in the stuff; there was not a single patch of golden skin left. As such, Ludwig felt supremely lightheaded. He tried to move, tried to help Lemmy but… he couldn't. If he didn't get medical attention… if they BOTH didn't get medical attention, then…

"Ohhh…" Ludwig laid down and looked up at the ceiling. His heart raced, and he tried his best to get his breathing under control. Was he dying? It felt like he was dying…

"Ludwig! Lemmy!" Ludwig barely heard Aria calling out to him. She gasped when she got close enough to him, looking like she wanted to faint. Benny and Luanne, along with other Koopalings, crowded around, talking over each other as they all looked worried.

"Don't worry, Ludwig," Iggy said. He put his hand beneath Ludwig's head. "We'll call an ambulance, and everything will be okay."

Ludwig could barely think. "Rouge… she escaped… you need to…" he really couldn't do this. It was impossible. He lost more and more blood, feeling more and more like his only choice was to lay down and go to sleep.

"Don't worry," said Iggy, his voice echoey. "We'll also call the police too. I promise you; everything will be alright."

The slightest traces of relief and hope filled Ludwig as he lost consciousness.

…

Refusing to let go of her Grim Laughter for even a second, Rouge rushed down Berrybark's streets. Her heart pounded, and she sweated like a pig. The severity of the situation wasn't lost on her, nor were the possibilities of what would happen to her if she stayed in one place. They were so horrid, and they made her scared. She didn't usually feel scared, but she did now. Her whole body quaked like there was no tomorrow.

Oh God. She… she needed a hit. She needed to take the edge off; she needed to do something to calm her nerves. Looking from side to side, she ducked into an alleyway. Panting, she pressed her back against the building's wall after putting her Grim Laughter down. Her heart still pounded as she reached for her flask, which of course was still at her side. She uncapped it and took a sip, only to find that it was empty.

"God dammit." She looked toward the Grim Laughter. "Honey Bunches, I need some nectar, okay?" The plant nodded and opened its mouth. The nectar dripped off its uvula, and Rouge couldn't help but feel multiple shades of relief when she saw it. She reached out and put the flask under the uvula, and the nectar dripped into it. Once she got a decent amount, Rouge exhaled and took a swig. Oh, Grim Laughter always took the edge off. It had always been there for her, and even now, it helped calm her nerves. She smiled despite the situation, as one often did after consuming such a succulent substance. Her nerves started to loosen up a bit when she heard the worst sound possible.

Police car sirens.

"Shit!" In a rush, she dropped her flask and grabbed her plant. As the wail of the sirens got even louder, the Grim Laughter whimpered. Rouge didn't blame it, but at the same time, the sound didn't inspire any confidence in her. She knew she had to get away in order to protect her plant, but… could she? She knew she needed to run as fast as possible in order to avoid getting caught, but could she? It felt like her world was collapsing in on itself, like everything that she held near and dear to her heart was going to be taken away from her. Snatched away from her, as a matter of fact. What would happen if the police caught her? Jail time? What in the world would jail time do to her image or her reputation? She could imagine how betrayed her fanbase would feel over their favorite comedian being put on the lamb. That would just be horrible.

Of course, being separated from her Grim Laughter would be the worst development of all. What if she ever got to try its nectar again? What would happen to her? She needed that nectar; literally NEEDED it. She couldn't go even a day without it, let alone the five-year minimum sentence that the authorities would no doubt give her.

Her heartbeat now escalating for a completely different reason, Rouge only stuck to the shadows and the alleyways. Discretion was not only advised but required. She tried not to make too much noise, even putting her hand over the mouth of her plant. If it were anyone else or in any other situation, the Grim Laughter would probably bite. But even the plant seemed aware of how serious this was. It stayed as quiet as possible. Despite having no eyes, it managed to give Rouge some extremely worried expressions. Its mama was in trouble, and it knew it. Rouge was just about to reach the end of the alleyway she was currently bolting down when, to her dismay, two police officers stepped into her path.

"FREEZE!"

Rouge's blood ran cold, appropriately enough. She looked behind, hoping she could go back the way she came, when she saw two other police officers. She was trapped! What could she do? Was there anything she could do? Looking around, she tried to formulate a plan. She saw a fire escape ladder hanging right above her, which gave her an idea. Still gripping her plant on one hand, she reached upward with the other and pulled herself upward.

"HEY!"

Rouge paid the police officers no mind. Scrambling, she climbed and climbed. They couldn't reach her if she got higher ground; there was literally no way! She got to the top of the ladder and started scurrying up the levels of steps, all while the cops below her tried to formulate a plan, even talking into their walkie-talkies for backup to come. It didn't matter what they came up with or did though, as they wouldn't be able to reach her. The only people who could reach her were Koopa paratroopas, and there didn't appear to be any on the squad. Hopefully it would stay that way.

Higher and higher Rouge climbed. She panted, but didn't dare stop. She was going to reach the top, and then she was going to figure things out. She wasn't going to prison. She wasn't going to be separated from her precious Grim Laughter. She was going to escape and she was going to survive. Rouge Albertine always came out on top, and she always had the last laugh. This would be no different.

Finally, she got to the top of the fire escape. She allowed herself to stop now and catch her breath. As she breathed in and out, immense waves of relief and joy came over her. She did it! She was safe! She didn't have to worry about the police anymore. Oh, what a wonderful feeling this was…

"FREEZE!"

Rouge gasped and turned around. Three Koopa paratroopas dressed in police uniforms stood behind her. The relief that she had felt vanished instantly. She grabbed her flower and tried running, but… there was nowhere to go. She was cornered.

"We're taking you right to jail, Miss Albertine."

Rouge stopped. She cringed and looked back at the officers, looking serious and determined to ruin her life. She started shaking and sweating. Without even thinking, she started backing up.

"No! No, you won't!" She didn't stop backing up, doing it primarily on instinct. "This isn't over! This isn't the end of anything! I won't go with you! I won't…!"

Before she even realized what was going on, Rouge stepped off the edge of the fire escape. She had previously believed that a guardrail would catch her, but… no. In her panic, she forgot that there was none. She fell off the side, her plant still in her hand.

"AAH!"

Down she plummeted. Her life flashed before her eyes, for this was it. There was no getting out of this. This. Was. The. End.