Chapter 24 Delivering Happiness

The elevator ride up to the second floor felt like it took forever. As the thing dragged itself upwards, Ludwig really wished that he had made the decision to take the stairs instead. Not only did going up the elevator feel slow, but the sloth-like speed increased Ludwig's worries. Sweat covered his body. His mind filled itself with unpleasant scenarios, all of which revolved around Lemmy or the other contestants getting severely hurt.

Thankfully, they eventually did reach the second floor. Ludwig didn't waste any time; the second the door opened, he flew out. With the cake firmly gripped in his hand, he scanned the hallway. Nothing about it looked out of the ordinary in any way. It was a regular hallway, with no depressed people or any people at all really. As such, Ludwig's breathing started speeding up.

"Oh, where are they?" He asked out loud. He stopped and lowered himself to the ground. He put his hand to his chest, as both his lungs and his heart ached. His mind once again imagined what could be happening to Lemmy at this moment, which in a time of crisis was a thought pattern that spelled imminent disaster.

"It's going to be okay." Ludwig blinked and turned to see Aria, who wore a warm, hopeful face as she reached out and patted him on the back. "We just need to keep our heads. Freaking out isn't going to do any of us any good."

Ludwig let out a breath. "You're right." He did a deep breathing exercise, which was a method he had used since his childhood to calm down. Right as he fully recovered, his siblings caught up with him and Aria. Iggy took a step forward.

"If the fact that no unusualness is visible right now is any indication, I think the wisest thing to do is split up and try to find where the contestants are." He turned to the rest of the Koopalings. "Look through and open as many doors as possible. Okay?"

The others nodded. Not even the ones who liked to disagree with and tease Iggy at every available opportunity objected to his plan, a fact that increased Ludwig's heart rate. The Koopalings officially split up, knocking on the various doors in the hall. Taking more and more deep breaths, Ludwig rose back into the air. Aria trailed behind him.

"Who do you think could be responsible for this?" Aria eventually asked as they passed by a vending machine. "Hurting the contestants, I mean."

Ludwig frowned as he came to a stop. "I don't know, but I have a theory." His mind flashed back to Rouge Albertine. Had he been right to think there was something off about her fright from the start? Had his suspicions been right on the money literally from the very beginning? He didn't know, but if that was the case… well, that gave him a legitimate reason to feel guilty. He allowed Lemmy to compete here despite his worries, worries that were founded and reasonable. If Lemmy got hurt, it would be due to circumstances that could've been avoided if Ludwig had just spoken his peace and voiced his opinions.

Oh God. Ludwig put his hand to his chest as his heartbeat accelerated. He shouldn't focus on that right now. He shouldn't be focusing on things he should've done in the past, he needed to focus on things he could do right here in this hotel. Sure, he could've prevented a potential tragedy before, but if he focused on the present, he could and would do the same thing now.

"Okay." He turned to Aria, putting on a serious face. "You go to the right and I go to the left. Alright?" Aria nodded and went in that direction without any objections. Ludwig went to the left, flying at a speed that some might consider too fast for indoors. He kept his eyes open, scanning the hallway for anything that might be unusual. He didn't find anything at first, which honestly served to make his pesky nerves act up even more. He turned down the hallway, about to stop and take another deep breath to calm himself down again when…

"Ugghh…"

Ludwig came to a screeching halt. That moan had to be one of the most despondent, miserable sounds he had ever heard, which had to mean that he was getting close. He looked from side to side, seeing nothing but closed doors. He decided to stop and press his ear up against the doors in order to get a better idea where the groan came from. For the first three doors, he didn't hear anything. But with the fourth…

"Guys, I think I found something!" Within no time, Aria and the Koopalings rushed over to where Ludwig was. He gestured toward the door. "I think the affected contestants are on the other side."

"Sweet!" said Larry. He chuckled and wore a mischievous grin as he stepped forward. "Luckily, I think I know the perfect way to get in." He activated his Sonic cannon and aimed it at the door, making the others gasp.

"Larry, no!" Wendy yelled. She stopped Larry from firing by placing her hand on his shoulder. He begrudgingly turned to her as she shook her head. "Don't do that! Just get a Bobby pin or something!"

Larry hesitated before sighing and deactivating his cannon. "You're no fun." With a scowl on his face as everyone else wore a look of relief, Larry pulled a Bobby pin out of his hammerspace. He messed with the lock and the pin for about three minutes, and the door swung open. Once he did, he turned toward Wendy with a grumpy face. "Happy?"

"Yes." Wendy smiled at him. "Thank you, Larry." She gave him a hug. At first, Larry grumbled, but eventually, he hugged her back with a genuine smile on his face.

"Alright." Ludwig pulled the door completely open, and what met his eyes made his blood freeze over. There were about seven people in the room, letting out the most heartbreaking groans that anyone had ever heard. Their eyes were so empty, so devoid of life, so full of despair. Looking into their eyes was like staring into the abyss, and hearing their groans could convince anyone that there was no God. It hurt. It really, truly hurt.

"Well…" Ludwig wanted to say something witty, like 'mission accomplished' or something along those lines. However, looking at these people almost extinguished his joy and wit altogether. He looked down at the cake and started praying. This had to be enough. He hoped it was enough. Please, oh please, he would give anything in the world to ensure that this cake would be enough to breathe new life into these people.

He stepped into the dark room, walking up to a Koopa troopa whose lower lip quivered. "Hey, Buddy," he said, his voice soft, gentle, and reassuring. "I know that things aren't looking up right now, but…" he broke off a piece of the cake and handed it to the Koopa troopa. "Try this cake. It'll help you feel better."

The troopa sighed. "Nothing will make me feel better…"

Ludwig felt like crying. "I know it feels that way at the moment, but… just trust me, okay?"

The troopa hesitated before sighing. "Alright." He took a bite of the piece, a tiny nibble that most would deem inconsequential. Ludwig waited as he chewed, praying to every God he knew that this would help. The troopa swallowed, and Ludwig's breath caught in his throat.

The troopa's face lit up. "Oh my gosh!" His smile lit up the room and changed its very vibe. "This is delicious!" He finished his piece, and when he did, he laughed. "You've gotta give me the recipe; this is incredible!"

Ludwig let out a breath of relief. "That can be arranged, but first, I have work to do." He went to the next person, a red-haired woman. "Here. Try this; it's sure to lift your spirits." There was not a single trace of doubt or worry in his tone this time. He even managed to smile, and his smile only grew bigger as the woman ate her piece.

"Woah." She looked down at her piece as her eyes glittered. "Talk about scrumptious!"

Oh, this newfound joy was like music to Ludwig's ears, and a very beautiful piece of music at that. He went to the other people in the room, offering each of them a slice of the cake. Both the contestants as well as the other Koopalings felt an untouchable form of relief and happiness as the joy returned to the room. Ludwig's heart fluttered and surged with warmth, a stark contrast to how he had been feeling no less than a minute prior.

Finally, the last person in the room (who Ludwig recognized as Chester Court from Round Two) ate their piece of cake. As he smiled, he looked up at Ludwig with a surge of gratitude. "Thank you. That cake was amazing."

"You're welcome." Ludwig giggled and gestured to Morton. "You can thank my little brother; he was the one who made it." Each and everyone of the contestants surrounded Morton and thanked him, making him blush. The joy really had been restored in the greatest way possible.

"Well," Iggy said as he put on a serious face. "As delightful as this new development is, I do have some questions for you guys." The contestants all turned to Iggy, who gave them a grim expression. "Can you tell us how you wound up in this state?"

"Yeah," Roy said as he stepped forward. "I know it's because of this plant thingy, but who is the dude who had the plant thingy?"

The contestants exchanged worried looks while Chester let out a breath and stepped forward. "It was Rouge."

Ludwig's heart skipped a beat. "You mean Rouge Albertine?"

"Yes," said the redheaded human. "She attacked me after I won Round One. I was brushing my hair when she knocked on the door, congratulated me for my performance in the round, and showed me this… plant." She shuddered, cringing as she did. "I'm not usually one who is so easily frightened, but… that plant was one of the most terrifying things I had ever seen."

"Yeah," said Chester. "It looked like a piranha plant but… different." He shook, which if Ludwig's knowledge was anything to go by, was pretty unusual for a bob-omb. "She stuck that plant on me when I was minding my own business in my hotel room, and…" he whimpered. "I felt like I would never be cheerful again. Like…" his shaking got even worse. "Like a little part of my soul had been murdered."

The others chimed in with their agreement. In response, Wendy and Aria went to comfort each of them, giving them hugs. "It's alright," Aria said. "It's over. That plant isn't gonna harm you again."

"Yeah," said Wendy. "Everything is okay now." She pulled away from the pianta she was hugging and smiled. "You all can go home, get some rest, have a nice dinner, and you never have to worry about this anything again."

The pianta nodded, smiling as she did. "That sounds good. Yeah, I want to do that. That would be perfect."

Ludwig let out a breath of relief. These people were safe now, and if they weren't fully recovered now, they would be after they took Wendy's advice. Yes, everything was better now.

At least, it was until a horrid realization overcame Ludwig. "Wait. You guys said Rouge Albertine did this, right?" The contestants nodded, and Ludwig's breathing sped up. "Oh God, I had asked Lemmy to get Rouge's help when he found out about you guys! If she is the owner of the Grim Laughter, then…" he started to shake, his legs feeling like they were going to give out. "Oh no…"

Aria went up and patted Ludwig's shoulder. "Don't worry, Ludwig. We still have some cake left. We can find Lemmy, and all will be good as new."

Ludwig bit his lip. "Oh, I hope so…"