Chapter 23 A Taste of Joy

Ludwig tapped his foot as he waited in the dining hall. He, along with the rest of his siblings and Aria, all had their eyes on the kitchen door. The seconds dragged by like hours, and the minutes felt like decades. Frowning, Ludwig got his phone out of his hammerspace in order to see if Lemmy had texted him back. He had already messaged him three times, so… statistically, he should've seen it. He should've seen it and tried to text Ludwig back by now! Unfortunately, his inbox was empty.

Stifling a whimper, Ludwig decided to make it an even four. "Lemmy, are you okay? We saw that Rouge said you dropped out of the contest." Ludwig bit his lip. "Please message me back, I'm legitimately starting to freak out." He sent the message, but even as he did, he knew Lemmy wasn't going to respond. He knew it deep down in his soul. He wasn't one hundred percent sure what, but something had happened to his baby brother. Something awful.

"Oh God," Ludwig whispered to himself. He placed his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes with a desperate intensity. Just the thought, the mere possibility of Lemmy getting hurt was so insidious and worrying. He went to join this contest with the purest of intentions, and yet he had gotten roped into something more detestable than anyone would be able to deal with. It hurt. It hurt Ludwig's heart, especially so because of the chat he had with Lemmy the day they found out about the contest.

"Hey." Ludwig turned to see Aria. She cast him a reassuring smile and patted him on the shoulder. "It's going to be alright."

Ludwig sighed. "I hope so."

"You don't have to hope. I'm not hoping, I'm KNOWING. I KNOW that whatever is going on here, whoever it is that has hurt Lemmy and the other contestants, you guys will figure out who they are and thwart their plans. I know it with every fiber of my being."

Ludwig gave her an impressed look. "You're that confident about this?"

"Yes. I am. I know you and Lemmy; you guys aren't going to throw in the towel and give up. You will figure out what's going on."

A warm, fuzzy, refreshing feeling took over Ludwig's heart. "Thanks, Aria." He took his hand in hers and gave it a light kiss, making her giggle in delight. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome." Aria hugged him. "No matter what's going on, we'll get to the bottom of it and we will overcome it."

"Right." Honestly, hearing these words from his girlfriend really did have an amazing effect on Ludwig's mental state. Because she was right! She was absolutely right! The Koopalings, including Lemmy himself, had overcome more challenges than most people could fathom. To be frank, that was a fact Ludwig should keep locked up right in his mind, just so he could remember it when shit was hitting the fan. It didn't matter if it was big or small; the Koopalings would clear every obstacle and reach the top of every mountain. They did it a million times before, and they would do it again.

As if fate itself wanted to reinforce that notion, Morton stepped into the dining hall. Now, the scent of his cake had been detectable while he was in the kitchen, but now that he was out? Now that he had two cakes in hand and was standing right in front of his siblings? The smell was Amazing with a capital A. It did more than make Ludwig salivate, it did more than make him hungry. It made him feel as though God had given him a box. Unlike when a god gave the infamous Pandora a box, the box in Ludwig's possession was filled to the brim with the greatest concepts, feelings, and experiences. This scent contained love, it contained peace, it contained creativity and amazement and joy. That was incredible because, in all honesty, the cakes Morton was holding didn't look THAT impressive. They just looked like simple yellow cakes, undecorated and looking as plain as a loaf of bread.

"Okay," Morton said as he walked over and put his cakes on the table. "Now, I had more batter than I thought I did, so I was able to make two cakes instead of one. So, I was hoping that we could all try a little bit."

Iggy looked at the cakes. "Hmm." He adjusted his glasses. "I suppose that would not be a problem. In fact, it would be able to help us know for certain that this cake is as powerful as the website led us to believe."

"Exactly what I was thinking." Morton got a cake cutter out of his hammerspace. He cut seven small pieces of one of the cakes, handing them out. Ludwig and Aria, thanks to the distance from Morton, were the last people to get their slices. Ludwig took in another sniff of the cake, trying to imagine what it tasted like. It was probably unbelievably sweet, which could potentially be a problem due to Ludwig's aversion to sweetness. He exchanged a look with Aria, who gave him an approving and excited nod. Ludwig picked up the cake, took a bite…

And was instantly blown away. There were no words that could describe this taste. None. It went beyond sweet, it went beyond delicious. This was the stuff that angels eat. This was the stuff that used pure untainted happiness as its main ingredient. Every good thing in this world was contained within this cake, and inspired amazing feelings in the Koopaling. Happiness, nostalgia, gladness, satisfaction… it was all felt right at this moment. And just like the website promised, it made Ludwig smile.

"Holy. Shit," he said.

"Hey, no swearing," the grinning Aria said as she gave Ludwig a gentle slap on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry Aria, but… I just can't believe this!" He took another bite. "This is amazing!"

"It truly is," Iggy said. "I am just… I'm in awe! I really am!"

Wendy cried tears of joy as she took more bites of her slice. "Guys, I found it. I found my one true love. I'm gonna marry this cake, and you guys's nieces and nephews are going to be cupcakes!"

Roy chuckled. "I don't know Wendy; I don't think you'll be able to get a marriage license for that."

"Well then, I'll have the cupcakes out of wedlock!" Ludwig snorted; that was a sentence he never thought he'd hear someone say. Wendy went right back to eating the cake. "Oh my goodness, this is exquisite!"

Larry, the only Koopaling who didn't have a slice, let out a saddened sigh. "Man." He put his head in his hands. "I really wish I could still taste things. Right now, I feel really left out."

Morton gave Larry a sympathetic look. "Well… don't worry Larry; I'll enjoy this cake enough for the both of us." He took another bite, the smile on his face growing bigger and bigger. Considering that this was Morton, the Koopaling known for being stoic, the fact that HE of all people was smiling that much said SO much.

It almost seemed sad when Ludwig finished his slice. In fact, the feelings he experienced were pretty similar to what one going through the mourning process feels. This cake… it was addictive. It gave someone exactly what they needed, exactly what they wanted. It served all the positive aspects of life to the taster on a silver platter. Sadness and depression were things of the past. There was no room in Ludwig's mind for either now that he had tasted this delectable, scrumptious, positively yummy confection.

"Oh man." Not content with his finished cake, he started picking the crumbs off his cloak and eating those. He also licked his fingers, which was a practice he found gross and unscrupulous for the majority of his life. "This really is amazing."

Morton's face grew pink as he smiled. "Thanks guys. I just hope it'll help the contestants."

Iggy laughed. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that, Morty. There is not a shred of doubt in my mind that this will be EXACTLY what the contestants need!"

"Yeah," Ludwig chimed in. He pulled his phone out of his hammerspace again, just to check and see if Lemmy had responded yet. Unfortunately, the chain of text boxes only appeared blue to Ludwig. Lemmy still hadn't responded, still hadn't given any sign to Ludwig that he was okay.

But that was alright. Now, he had a very strong hope and an unshakable knowledge that Lemmy would be okay. Even if he fell victim to the Grim Laughter, the Koopalings would still be able to get him back to normal.

"Well, guys." Ludwig stood up. "Let's not waste any time. Let's head straight down to Berrybark!"

…

Walking into the Smoothest Suite Hotel felt like walking into enemy territory. Chills spread all over Ludwig's body, and he had this churning feeling in his gut. Whoever was responsible for harming Lemmy and the other contestants was lurking in here. They were preparing to strike, they were waiting in the shadows for the perfect moment to make their next move. Sure, considering that Ludwig had seen the downtrodden people when he walked into the Shellturner Theater, he hadn't felt too terribly comfortable being in this general vicinity to begin with. Now, though, those uncomfortable feelings were so much more pronounced.

"Okay, guys," Ludwig said. "Be on guard."

"Right," Aria responded as everyone else nodded in agreement. They started making their way through the halls, with a chilliness overtaking Ludwig the further in they got. "Do we know where everyone may be?"

Ludwig cringed. "No idea. Lemmy just said that he saw someone walking down the hallway near his hotel room." That fact got Ludwig to think. "So… I think if we should check anywhere, it's the second floor. That's where Lemmy's hotel room is and…"

"Hello there."

Ludwig shrieked and jumped back. He was just about to get ready for a fight when he saw that the person who had just addressed him was Rouge Albertine. Oh thank the Gods; Ludwig had been scared it was the culprit.

"It's nice to see you Koopalings back here." Rouge's eyes twinkled. "Are you here to see your brother?"

"I… yeah. You could say that." Ludwig was just about to say what the group's plan was before stopping. He had this thought; it was potentially silly, but it made him reevaluate things regardless. What if Rouge was responsible for this? Sure, there was no evidence to suggest she was… but at the same time, there was no evidence to suggest that ANYONE was, so they couldn't really trust anyone. And besides… while not exactly "evidence," wasn't it a little suspicious that Rouge was the one who announced that Lemmy, LEMMY of all people had forfeited? "We wanted to take him home after we heard that he quit."

"I see." Rouge smiled. "Well… make sure to wish him well for me, okay?"

"Can do. Come on, guys." Ludwig led the group down the hallway. He looked back the way they came as he did, feeling extra worried about the fact that Rouge didn't stop staring at them.

…

Rouge watched the Koopalings walk away from her. While she wasn't showing it to anyone, internally, she was panicking. The way Ludwig's body language had presented itself suggested that he was suspicious of her, that he somehow knew her secret. She didn't like that! She didn't like that at all! If they discovered her secret, she'd be ruined! She would probably lose all her fans, or even worse, be thrown in prison. She couldn't afford that! She had spent the better part of two decades making a name for herself! If she lost that, it would be over for her. Or even worse, she would be separated from her plant and its sweet, succulent nectar, which would be TERRIBLE. She couldn't live without her Grim Laughter.

"Looks like I need to plan an attack." With that, she started running back to the Shellturner Theater.