Chapter 27 Smile to the End

Lemmy's eyes fluttered open. He knew immediately where he was, as the white ceiling and distinct scent could never be mistaken. He was in the hospital. That made sense, given how severe a beating he had gotten from Rouge and her plant. But even still, it wasn't a particularly reassuring or pleasant fact.

Groaning, Lemmy rose to a sitting position. He looked around the room, battling his severe developing headache as he did. It was so peaceful. There was no commotion, everything was still and silent. Lemmy looked to his left, and he saw Ludwig sleeping in a bed right beside his. He smiled at this sight; at least he had assurance that Ludwig was okay. Lemmy looked straight ahead, seeing a window that showed him a clear, crystal-blue sky. It was almost uncanny how nice the scene was. Considering that Lemmy's last memory was him getting the life knocked out of him, it almost didn't make sense that he would wake up to something this relaxing and calming.

"Ughh…"

Lemme turned toward his brother. "Ludwig?" He hopped out of his bed and went over to him, battling a very severe form of pain as he did. "Ludwig." He lightly jostled him, which seemed to be all that he needed to do. Ludwig started to wake up, blinking as he looked around. He appeared confused and disoriented until he turned to see Lemmy. When he did, his face lit up.

"Lemmy, you're okay." Lemmy internally cringed at how slurred his speech was.

"Yeah, I am. Are you?"

Ludwig groaned and sat up. "I mean, I'm not dead, which might be the greatest miracle of the modern age."

Lemmy chuckled right alongside him. Yeah, Ludwig was okay.

"Crazy what happened." Ludwig put his hand to his temple and lightly massaged it. "I guess we should be thankful we managed to find out what was going on."

"Yeah." Lemmy wiped his brow as his lower lip quivered. "I just hope that Rouge's victims don't have too hard a time recovering."

"They won't, Lemmy. I know they won't."

Lemme whimpered. "I wish I had your confidence right now…"

Before Ludwig could respond, Luanne, Benny, Aria, the other Koopalings, and most importantly Chester and Patty came into the room. It took a minute for Lemmy to comprehend what he was seeing as well as the significance behind it. But when he finally did, relief came down on him in big, strong waves.

"Guys!" Lemmy ran over, determined to give each person present a hug. He did Roy, Wendy, and Larry first, and then he got to Chester and Patty. He cried happy tears upon seeing them, and he held onto them tighter than the others. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!"

"We're glad YOU'RE okay, Lemmy," said Patty. Her upbeat cadence might be considered jarring when one compared it to the miserable tone she and the other victims spoke with in the hotel, but it was jarring in the most amazing way possible.

"Yeah," said Chester. "I mean… Considering that I knew first-hand what the plant made one feel, the thought of you going through the same thing made…" Chester let out a shaky breath. "It hurt. It really hurt."

Lemmy sniffled. "Thanks, Chester, that's very sweet." In a manner not too dissimilar to how he had just done, he heard Iggy sniffling. Lemme blinked and looked at his brother, who cried in one of the most miserable, shaken ways possible. "Iggy, are you okay?"

Iggy let out a sob. "I… I can't… she was… I loved her! And now she's gone!" He dried more tears. "She's gone forever!"

Confusion set in over Lemmy. "Iggy, I don't follow."

"Rouge Albertine lost her life when the police were chasing her," Morton explained. "She and her Grim Laughter fell off a fire escape."

Lemmy gasped. "Oh my God!" One of the most layered types of sadness overcame the Koopaling. "I can't believe it!"

"Me neither," said Aria as she took a step forward. "Some tests were run on her postmortem, and they found that she had an excessive amount of Grim Laughter nectar in her system. The police think she had been consuming it regularly for years before her death."

Lemmy looked down at the ground. "That's awful…"

"It is!" Iggy pulled a tissue out of his hammerspace and dried his eyes with it. "I just…" he blew his nose, taking deep breaths afterwards. "I apologize. I know this might not be appropriate considering what she did…"

"No no, it's okay Iggy." Lemmy frowned. "She was horrible, but that didn't mean she had to die." He sniffled again. "Damn…"

Benny stepped forward. "Well… at least the people that she had hurt are safe now." He smiled at Lemmy. "You Koopalings fought tooth and nail to make sure that she wouldn't harm us, and I couldn't be more grateful."

"Me neither," said Luanne. "Thank you, Lemmy." She looked toward the rest of the group. "Thank you everyone."

"You're welcome," Lemmy said. "Thank YOU guys for sticking by me over the past few weeks."

Chester chuckled. "Hey, what are friends for?"

Lemmy smiled. Honestly, those words were so touching. They left an impact on him deep down in his soul. To think he had been so worried about not leaving an impact on as many people as he wanted. He really had managed to accomplish his goal right from the beginning, but failed to realize it. That was… wow. How did he miss something like that? How?

Without any other words, Lemmy embraced Chester again. He gestured for the others to join in too, and they all experienced a group hug for the ages. As he stood in the middle, all of Lemmy's troubles melted away. This felt so right. This felt so much better than before. Maybe all he needed was to reorient his perspective from the very beginning.

"It is a bit of a shame," Ludwig chimed in from his spot in his bed. Everyone turned to him. "I mean, the winner of the Laugh-Off was supposed to win a cash prize, and now there's no way for them to get it."

"Hey yeah, that's true." Luanna kicked her foot slightly. "Darn it, and I was really hoping I could make good use of the cash prize too."

"Me too," said Patty. "I was hoping I could pay off some of my college debt." She sighed. "Guess that isn't happening now."

Lemme felt a pang for multiple reasons, one that prompted him to think of a solution. He racked his brain for about thirty seconds before, like lightning, an idea struck him. A wonderful idea, an idea that filled him with joy and excitement.

"I think I might have a solution for that."

…

Three days later, Lemmy and the other Koopalings got to enact his desired solution. They had all worked together to hold a big party for the Laugh-Off contestants, and give ALL of them _ not some, not half, ALL _ the cash prize that Rouge had promised them. Was it a crazy idea? Maybe? Was it one that Lemmy was glad he got to put into action? Definitely.

And now, he sat with his siblings and his friends at a table in Bowser's ballroom. All of them chatted away, having the time of their life (except Iggy, as he was still pretty shaken about Rouge's death). As he drank from a glass of champagne, Lemmy gleefully listened to the conversations everyone was having.

"You know, I think I'm gonna set up a charity with my money," said Benny, grinning from ear to ear. "Or I could donate to cancer research! I think that would be great!"

"It would!" Luanne said as she sipped her drink. She turned to Chester. "What about you, Chester? What do you plan to use your money for?"

"Eh. Probably just a nice vacation to Sparkling Waters." He chuckled. "I've been working a full-time job in a factory for the past decade without any breaks. I want to give myself some time to relax."

"That sounds great!" Lemmy exclaimed. "That sounds like the perfect plan!"

Chester chuckled. "Well, I couldn't do it without you, Lemmy. Gotta give you a lot of props."

"Yeah, definitely!" said Patty.

"You really are amazing, Lemmy!" said Benny.

"Thank you for everything! You rock!" said Luanne.

Lemmy felt all warm and fuzzy on the inside. "Thanks, guys." He sipped his champagne again. "All this time, I've been worried about leaving a big impact on a lot of people through my work. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to do anyone any good. But seeing the smiles on your faces… it makes me feel good. Really good."

Ludwig beamed. "As it should, Lemmy. As it should."

Lemmy couldn't help but grin. The journey to get to this point may have been messy, may have been a shit show, but it was worth it. Every second, every challenging second, was worth it just to see his friends and his brother smiling. They were all going to smile to the end, and Lemmy couldn't be happier. Maybe leaving an impact on people could come from the ordinary. Maybe something as simple as saying hi to a person, or being there for them in a tough time, or doing something nice for them. Maybe the smallest details made the biggest difference. Maybe Lemmy didn't have to worry about reaching every single last person in the world. Maybe he could be happy knowing that he made his friends and his family happy.

AN: Well, here we are! At the end of another story! Thanks to everyone who read this; all of you are AWESOME! I hope this one was a good one. I'll see you later!

Stay safe and stay awesome! "D