The Show Must Go On! (3)

    Wendy O. Koopa was a sensible young woman. She knew that her father could find Lemmy and get him home just like he said. Still, though, she was worried. She had to wonder, was Lemmy worried too? Was he okay wherever he was? Wendy felt a sick feeling in her stomach the more she thought of what Lemmy must be going through. She thought that, if she got a little something to eat, maybe it would get rid of the uneasiness she was feeling, so she headed toward the kitchen. As soon as she entered the room, though, she found her little brother, Larry, rummaging through the cabinets looking for something.
    “Larry?” Wendy called to her brother, “What are you doing?”
    “Just looking for something for Iggy.” Larry replied, continuing to dig around in the cabinet.
    “It's so sweet that you're looking out for him,” Wendy said, “He really needs it, what with his one and only twin brother missing in action.”
    “Uh-huh,” Larry grunted, not turning from his search.
    “I mean,” Wendy continued, “Who knows what Lemmy could be going through right now? What if he's in real danger? What if he's hurt? It must be really hard on Iggy right now, knowing that his twin brother could be cold, hungry, and alone...or even injured!...or...worse...”
    “Got it!” Larry shouted. He backed out of the cabinet lugging a huge container of vinegar with him.
    “Why does Iggy need that?” Wendy asked.
    “No reason,” Larry replied. He grabbed a nearby bottle of glue and started out of the room. Wendy stood bewildered for a moment before shrugging the whole thing off.
    “Iggy's so weird...”

~~

    “I got it, Iggy!”
    Iggy whirled around to see Larry lugging a large container of vinegar in his right hand and carrying a bottle of glue in his left.
    “Perfect!” Iggy said, running over to Larry and taking the vinegar from him immediately. He opened it up and poured a little of it into the test tube. He then motioned for Larry to hand him the glue.
    “We only have one shot at this,” Iggy muttered, “So let's hope this works...”
    Iggy squeezed a small drop of glue into the solution and immediately placed the glass tube over a small burner.
    “What now?” Larry asked.
    “We wait,” Iggy replied, “If we leave it on the burner all night tonight, it should be ready in the morning.”
    “All right then,” Larry said, beginning to leave the room, “I guess this is good night, then. Night, Iggy.”
    “Wait,” Iggy called to his little brother. Larry stopped short and stared back at Iggy. Iggy choked on his words for a moment before they finally came out.
    “W-would you...stay with me tonight?”
    “Sure, bro,” Larry said with a smile. Iggy smiled back. They'd find Lemmy soon, he knew it.

~~

    “Get up, runt!”
    Lemmy's eyes slowly opened. He had slept on the cold floor and he was feeling extremely stiff as a result. He looked up to see Arrow glaring at him.
    “Get the *** up! We're moving out!”
    “What?” Lemmy said confusedly. Arrow groaned in exasperation.
    “Bruise! Get over here and throw this kid back into the truck!” Arrow called to his cohort. In a minute, Bruise strode across the room, yanked Lemmy up off of the floor, and carried him back out to the truck. Lemmy, afraid of being smacked again, especially by this musclebound lug, simply let himself be carried. Once there, Lemmy was once again tossed into the back of the truck as the doors closed. This time, though, there was light, so Lemmy could see that he was riding with Dagger and Chaos. Just then, the truck lurched forward, throwing Lemmy straight at Dagger and knocking the both of them to the floor.
    “Agh!” Dagger growled, “*** kid! Watch it!” He then kicked Lemmy back across the truck. Lemmy hit the wall hard, then slid to the floor. He tried to sit up, but his pain wouldn't permit him to, so he just slumped to the floor.
    “Little ***,” Dagger continued.
    “It's not his fault,” Chaos said, “Of course, putting him down might not be that bad of an idea...”
    “Shut up, Chaos,” Dagger snapped, “You know that we can't be injecting the kid with anything, even narcotics.”
    “Why not?” Lemmy asked weakly. He was genuinely curious.
    “I'm about to punch that little ***...” Dagger snarled.
    “Kid's got a point, Dagger. Why can't I inject him?”
    “You know this, Chaos!” Dagger retorted, “We're holding the kid captive to get a ransom from King Bowser and we can't do that if he's dead. We can't take a risk and find out he's allergic to the *** narcotic, you idiot.”
    “Ransom?” Lemmy mused. Didn't these people know who his father was? Didn't they know he could have the entire Koopa army on their tails in seconds?
    Just then, the truck stopped. A minute afterward, the doors opened. Even though it was still dark out, he could just make out Arrow, Poison, and Bruise's figures.
    “What's up?” Chaos asked.
    “That *** set up truck inspection stations. You two're gonna hafta take the kid, go through the forest, and meet us on the other side.”
    “Just our *** luck...” Dagger cursed. Chaos pulled Lemmy up off of the floor and they, along with Dagger, exited the truck and made for the thick woods ahead.

~~

    Iggy awoke with a start. He shot up and began breathing heavily. His own soft green curls fell into his face and he could feel the sweat running down his forehead. He glanced over at the clock and saw that it was now three in the morning. In the bunk above him,  Larry was still sleeping soundly. On the other side of the room, there was a soft glow coming from the electric bunsen burner that was heating up the invisibility serum.
    Iggy reached for his glasses and put them on as he left the room. As he strode down the hall, he tried to forget about the nightmare he'd just awoken from. He was worried sick about Lemmy and it was beginning to affect his dreams as well.
    He decided he'd go to the kitchen to get something to eat. He'd skipped dinner and his stomach was giving him heck for it now. As he entered the kitchen, he was surprised to find Roy there as well. He tried to turn back before Roy noticed him, but, just then, Roy turned around.
    “What are you doing here?” Roy asked him, “Can't sleep?”
    “Something like that...” Iggy replied, “What are you doing down here?”
    “I come down here every night,” Roy answered with a grin.
    “That figures...” Iggy thought to himself.
    “We just ran out of peanut butter, by the way,” Roy continued. Iggy sighed. It was as if Roy had known that Iggy just wanted a quick peanut butter sandwich and finished off the peanut butter just to irk him.
    “I guess I'll just have to have something else, then...” Iggy said before heading over to the pantry. He eventually decided to make himself a turkey and cheese sandwich instead, though he would have preferred peanut butter. He finished making the sandwich and was about to leave to go eat it when Roy called out to him.
    “Hold up! Come sit next to me a moment.”
    Iggy, bewildered, took a seat next to Roy on top of the kitchen's center island.
    “Look,” Roy said, staring at Iggy with his intense crimson eyes, “I don't want you to go spreading this around, but...I actually really feel bad for you right now...”
    “R-really?” Iggy marvelled. It was rare for Roy to show compassion toward anyone, including his siblings.
    “Yeah,” Roy continued, “I mean, what with Lemmy being kidnapped, you must feel pretty bad yourself...I just want you to know that, no matter what, I'm here for you."
    Iggy smiled. Roy's face contorted into a disgusted grimace, much to Iggy's confusion.
    "It took me a lot just to work up the courage to trust you like this," Roy scoffed, "so you better not tell anyone...”
    “I won't,” Iggy replied.
        Roy then vaulted himself down off of the counter and retreated down the hall. Iggy soon did the same, having finished his sandwich rather quickly.
    “Lemmy will be okay...Larry and I will find him...I know it.”