18AN: Well, Ludwig's Clone is almost finished, and since I have started a tradition where I jump into a new story before my current story is finished, I decided to give you guys Power Surge Redux.
Like with Soul Swap Redux, this story is a rewrite. Now, the reason why I decided to wait until now to give you this rewrite in particular is because I want to set the stage for Pain of the Past, which will be Super Koopalings Episode 13. I think it is especially important that this story is fresh in people's minds before they read that.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy :)
Chapter 1 Nightmarish Landscape
The darkness was creeping into Ludwig's mind, more so than the cold. That wasn't to say that the cold didn't bother him at all. As a matter of fact it was biting, aggressive. It was the kind of chilliness that not only made the body shiver, but it also made the soul quake.
But as bad as the cold was, the darkness was what took the cake. There was an evillness to it; a creepiness that filled Ludwig's stomach with anxious dread. Ludwig tried to use his pyrokinesis to light the way, but even with the ember radiating in his right hand, he could not see anything that made up his surroundings.
Ludwig decided to take a step forward, despite the fact that the landscape was more or less invisible to him. He listened for sounds, hoping that they would be able to give him some insight as to where he was. However, it seemed that his ears were messing with him, because he thought he heard some whispers. He squinted into the darkness, looked behind him for signs of movement, but his sight was not capable of showing him the source of the eerie voices.
So, Ludwig reluctantly took a step forward. When he did, and his foot made contact with the ground, a painful crunch could be heard. Ludwig looked down and felt his heart stop, his blood freeze in its tracks. He had stepped on a skull. A skull that was now in splintery pieces.
Ludwig started to back up in fright, away from the sight of the hideous human skeleton. When he did, he felt himself his back run into something. He looked behind him and saw Kamek, the magikoopa advisor to the king. He was glaring at the blue haired special.
"How could you?" he whispered fiercely.
Ludwig broke out into a run, his instincts causing his legs to move. He didn't look back, he couldn't look back. He stumbled over more corpses, not just of people, but of buildings as well. He heard more whispers in the darkness, and this time they were saying words.
"Monster. Murderer."
This phrase was repeated on loop. Ludwig covered his ears in a desperate attempt to block out the sound. However, when he did, he felt the ground give out from under him. He tried to fly, but his powers had been rendered useless. The last thing he heard as he was swallowed by the void was a voice, a female voice. The owner was singing. This song was beautiful, sad. Then she was calling out to him.
"Ludwig! Ludwig!"
...
"Ludwig! Ludwig!"
Ludwig woke up with a start. He saw that he was back in his room. He was wrapped in his royal blue comforter, and moonlight was filtering in through the window. The sight of light was a relief to the special. He looked and saw that Lemmy was standing right next to the bed. This sight was also a relief to Ludwig.
"Lemmy," Ludwig said as he breathed out a relaxed sigh. "I am so glad to see you."
Ludwig was just about to wrap his arms around Lemmy when he saw that his immediate younger brother was staring at him with wide, worried eyes. Ludwig looked at Lemmy in concern.
"Lemmy are you alright?"
"Are...are you alright?" Lemmy asked. His voice was shaking, quivering actually. "You...you were talking in your sleep."
"I...I was?"
Lemmy nodded.
"What was I saying?" Ludwig asked. He felt fear brush up against his heart as he waited for the answer.
"You kept saying, 'monster, murderer.' You kept repeating that over and over again."
Suddenly, Ludwig felt guilt and anxiety take over, crawling out from the back corners of his mind. A million memories came racing out as well, ready to devour him whole. Ludwig shed a tear in the darkness, hoping that Lemmy didn't see it.
"I'm sorry," Ludwig said. "I'm sorry I woke you up again, Lemmy."
"It's alright," Lemmy replied. In the light of the moon, Ludwig could see that Lemmy looked both concerned and frightened. He was clearly worried about his older brother, and rightfully so. Over the last two months, Lemmy had been awaken by Ludwig either screaming himself awake or chanting disturbing mantras in his slumber. While the nightmares had not been kind to Ludwig by any stretch of the imagination, they had also taken a grueling toll on the littlest Koopaling.
Ludwig tried doing a breathing technique to calm himself down. He took a deep breath, and rose about half a foot above his mattress. He continued to take long, deep breaths, hoping that the natural flow of oxygen would scare away his fears and guilt.
"Ludwig, this has been happening for far too long," Lemmy said. He didn't have a lecturing, angry tone though; he had an empathetic, gentle one. "I think we need to get you some help."
Ludwig stopped with his breathing and allowed himself to float back down to the bed.
"Help? From whom?" he asked.
"Well, I think we should go to Iggy," Lemmy said. "He could probably get you a good medicine to help you with your nightmares." Lemmy smiled. "Maybe he could even tell you why you are having them?"
Ludwig didn't dare to meet Lemmy's eyes. He didn't need to have someone tell him why he was having the nightmares. While it hadn't been exactly the same dream that he kept having night after night, they had all been centered around the same theme. Around the same people. The same place.
Nevertheless, Ludwig did agree with Lemmy on the other part. He needed someone to help him with his nightmares. Having someone put a halt to them would be absolutely superb right about now. So, Ludwig smiled gently back at Lems.
"Okay. Let's go to Iggy."
