And now, we move on to Chapter 9! This chapter will hopefully portray Morton Jr. and Iggy... two characters I still need to work on, cause they are hard... :P Please let me know if there's anyway to improve on these two.
Anyways, please enjoy! I own nothing.
Threshold
Chapter 9-Mental Breakdown
Morton Jr. puffed heavily as he finally remembered why their father had explicitly said do NOT go through the broken door. No one in the castle knew how it got that way, but it was a pain to get past with his size. Now he had splinters to pull out of his thighs and hand.
"Iggy!" he called, pushing brushes out of his way, pulling random pieces of wood as he went. "Iggs! Come on, say something!"
Morton grumbled in annoyance as he stomped through the dense shrubbery. "How on earth did this kid find a place like this? Even better, how on earth did I wind up finding it?!"
He paused in dramatic thinking, running a large meaty hand through almost nonexistent hair, before he pulled out a random notebook out from the back of his shell. He flipped through it again, stopping on a particular page. Holding it up to compare to his surroundings, Morton closed one eye and looked around.
"Yeeeeeep... this is Iggy's little book of secrets, alright... but isn't this the backyard- whichever yard that is?" Morton suddenly noticed a small red dot nestled in some gray surrounding drawn on the picture. He lowered the book down to take a closer look at it, completely distracted.
"Maybe it's his little hiding spot within a hiding spot...? Or maybe it's where he hides his allowance, and boy if Larry got a peek at this, he's gonna rob him blind! Or maybe-"
Morton Jr. stopped talking when he heard something that sounded a lot like sniffling. He listened as hard as he could, clutching the little notebook to his chest. 'Crap! If Iggs finds out I was in his lab, he's gonna fry me alive! I need to at least have a good lie ready... aw man, why didn't you come after him, Roy?!'
Morton eased forward, one step. Then two. Carefully, he peered through some oddly large leaves, and sighed in both relief and horror when he saw Iggy sitting in the middle of some grass. He looked like he had been in a fight.
Morton frowned at his brother's state, taking a look around. He gasped when he recognized the area- it was usually a spot where he knew Ludwig and Iggy would come to find more specimen for their wild experiments. The area mostly belonged to the middle child, but since their eldest brother was the eldest...
"Uh... I-Iggy? Are you alright?" Morton asked hesitantly, wondering if touching him was a wise idea. It dawned on him he had never, in all his twelve years of living, seen Iggy even shed a tear. And now that he was, he wasn't too sure he should've come outside. With Iggy, no one knew when he would just... explode.
"Iggy?" A gentle touch on his brother's trembling shoulder caused him to freeze. "You okay? Roy sent me to look for you, and you-"
Before he could finish his explanation, Iggy whirled around, his fist flying straight for Morton's face. He barely dodged it before Iggy's manic shrieking assaulted his eardrums. Morton Jr. covered his ears, dropping the notebook he'd been holding. The briefest of moments passed before the overweight koopaling saw Iggy's eyes shrink to nearly dots.
'Aw shoot... I am in so much trouble right now...'
"Iggy! Iggs, calm down! I-I can explain- YIKES!" Morton rolled over to the left after Iggy's fireball nearly took off his head.
"How the hell did you find it?! Why were you in my lab?! I'm gonna KILL YOU!" Iggy raged loudly, his tears falling to the ground. Now that his insane lanky brother was facing him completely, Morton stood horrified at the amount of blood that covered his brother. He wanted to know what happened, since he never got a chance to ask him when he first came inside.
Well, no one got much out of him, with him crying and screaming and all. The Koopa Guard that found him couldn't tell anyone anything, and their father-
'CRAP! Does Dad know what's- CRUD!' Morton dodged once again after Iggy sent a much larger fireball right for his head.
"Dang, man... Roy seriously owes me for this..." he grumbled, getting up. Before he could say anything more, a screaming Iggy had lunged at him, pinning Morton to the ground. His claws aimed for his meaty neck, while Morton simply tried to keep him from getting hurt.
"Iggy, calm down! I gotta ask you something!" Morton tried to say, but Iggy's wild screaming and random fireballs weren't giving him much room to do anything. Not to mention his skinny, underweight, 14 year old brother had him, a guy nearly Roy's large size and muscle mass, pinned down.
Morton sighed heavily; he had no plans to hurting Iggy, but if he didn't calm down soon, he was going to have to think of something else.
"Iggs, please! I need to-"
A connected punch to his jaw quickly shut him up. He spat out a glob of blood, looking up in shock at his immediate older brother. 'Since... when did Iggy get that strong?'
Morton Jr. finally gained his senses back and shoved Iggy off him as hard as he could. Iggy landed with a soft thud in the grass, and Morton Jr. stood up, dusting himself off.
"Iggs, calm down. I just want to talk to you." he tried again, only to have it fall on deaf ears.
"Why are you here, Morton Jr.? Why were you in... my... ROOM!" Iggy screamed, lunging at him again.
Morton finally reached a conclusion as he grabbed Iggy's hands to prevent him from wilding swinging any longer. Talking simply was not going to work. Not with Iggy's stability so unhinged. 'Makes me wonder what he saw out there. Was Lemmy that beat up?'
With no other option, Morton quietly reached behind Iggy and pressed down on his pressure point. It finally shut Iggy up. He went limp in his stronger brother's arms.
"Sorry, Iggy... but I didn't have a choice."
"Leave me alone... please..." Iggy whimpered quietly, coughing. Morton Jr. looked over his shoulder, leaning back to enjoy the changing colors of the sky. It was probably time for dinner, if past that at the best; surely by then his father would notice several of his children missing.
Iggy's groan alerted the koopaling that his brother was finally coming to. He sighed in relief, and carefully crawled over to where he lay. "I-Iggy...?"
"I just want to be alone! Morton, leave me alone!" he cried, curling into fetal position facing him. Shaking his head, Morton rested his hand on his shoulder. Iggy was awake, but his eyes were unfocused and he wasn't moving. Morton realized this was probably his best and only opportunity to ask him what he needed to know.
"Sorry, Iggs. I...I couldn't think of anything else. I need to talk to you. Will you listen to me, just this once?"
Iggy closed his eyes. "I don't want to see him... I can't..." he muttered, curling tighter into himself. Morton arched an eyebrow.
"See who? Lemmy?"
Iggy nodded weakly. "Y-Yeah. So much blood, I... oh god, I feel sick..."
Morton winced inwardly. "Crap... I forgot you can't stand blood... but with you being an inventor, and that stuff you hide in your lab, and all the parts and nasty stuff floating around in your creepy little jars and-"
Iggy looked up at him, one eye closed. It took Morton Jr. a second too late to realize he was talking about things he should not have known about. "Oh... oops. Sorry, Iggy."
"You went in my room... and my lab?" he asked blankly. Morton stiffened, preparing for another random lashing.
'Sometimes I need to learn to keep my trap shut!'
"Y...yeah, but I had to find you and I thought you were in your room and when I couldn't find you there I peeked in your lab, but just for a moment cause I know you don't like people in your secret lab and-"
His fear intensified when Iggy finally began to sit up, legs tucked under him. He leaned forward a little, his head titled to the left.
"So... you went in my lab without my permission, Morton Jr.?" he asked again, his voice dangerously low. Morton nervously shuffled back, hands up as a sign of peace.
"I-I told you I was only in there for a second or three! I didn't mean to go in there, but I had to find you!" he explained again, feeling the urge to get up and hide. Iggy stared at him for a long time, not making a move. Morton's heart rate increased.
"I'm sorry, Iggy, but I-"
And just as he predicted, Iggy reached out for his throat, intent on strangling him to death. Luckily, Morton was able to avoid it at the last second. "Crud! Iggy, wait! I can explain!"
Iggy growled lowly. "You... went... into my room... AND my lab! You little cretin! YOU'RE DEAD!" he screeched. Morton Jr. shook his head before he finally stood up.
"Roy... you so owe me for this."
Morton repeated the same process as he did before, grabbing Iggy's hands so that he couldn't swing at him all willy-nilly. This time, he gripped them so tightly Iggy let out a strangled yelp.
"Iggy. You need to listen to me. Yes, I went into your room. Yes, I went into your lab. But I needed to find YOU. You may be the only one who knows what happened to Lemmy, and Kamek needs to know what."
Iggy started thrashing, so Morton tightened his grip, getting fed up with Iggy's mental instabilities. "Dammit, Iggy, will you SHUT UP and LISTEN for once?!" he screamed.
For whatever reason, it worked. Iggy whimpered, sinking to his knees. Morton Jr. let out a breath he had no clue he was even holding.
"Look. I know you found Lemmy. But do you know what happened to him? Did you see anything out of place where you found him? I need to know." Morton spoke softly, trying to calm his big brother down.
Iggy shook his head no. "I... I don't... know. I just found him here. He was all bloody, and I panicked and I screamed, and... and... that's all I remember..." he said weakly.
Morton felt Iggy weakening, and he let his hands go. They fell into Iggy's lap flatly. Iggy himself seemed to be having a mental breakdown of sorts, for he wouldn't stop shaking.
"Iggs, it's alright. It's gonna be alright." Morton whispered, taking his brother's hands in his own. "You said you found him here? Where, exactly? You think you can show me?"
"N-No... I can't go back there... too much blood..." he choked.
"Can you point out where? I'll go and see for myself."
Iggy lifted his head, his eyes almost completely bloodshot from crying. "I... I think so."
Morton Jr. felt bad he had to force Iggy to drop his guard in such a manner. He wasn't used to it himself. It felt weird, and he wasn't too sure he liked it.
"Sorry I yelled at you like that, Iggy. I needed you to calm down so I can talk to you." Iggy nodded in understanding.
"It's okay."
The talkative koopa thought about something. "You know, forget it. I'll check out the area later. How about this. We go and see Lemmy. I want to know what he must look like to spook you so much, and then, we can tell Kamek or Roy or whoever is there what may of happened. Maybe they might know something we don't, and figuring this out will be way easier."
"Sounds like a plan to you?" "... yeah..."
'Poor Iggy... looks like he's just about had it. He's already a bit off his hinges, and this didn't make matters any better, I bet. I hope he'll be alright soon...'
It wasn't much, but at least now they could actually figure out who tried to hurt their brother. It was a good a start as any.
'And once we do, they better look out! They are SO getting the butt-whooping of a lifetime!'
"... Morton Jr. ..."
"Yeah?"
Iggy had a faint smile on his face. "Sorry about... you know, trying to kill you earlier." he said quietly.
"I don't like people invading my personal space. It's really about all I have left, and I don't want people in there... it's where I feel normal, you know?"
Morton smiled calmly at him. "Yeah. I know. I won't tell anyone about your space. It's yours, and I had no right to invade it."
Iggy felt a little more relieved for a reason he couldn't explain. Maybe it was because he could actually talk to someone in his family and not feel like he would be rejected, or maybe it was something else altogether. Whatever the reason, it felt... good.
'Lemmy... I know I've been distant with you, and I'm not even sure why. But, if you can hear me... I want you to know I still care about you. I owe you a lot, and once this is all over... I want to talk to you again. I want to know more about you. Maybe... maybe that's what we all need to do.'
"Feeling alright, Iggs?" A small nod.
"Come with me to see Roy? He said he was going to find out from Luddy what happened; maybe we can put your pieces together with his pieces and get the entire story."
Iggy stood up, still a little shaken. Morton Jr. helped him upright, and together they headed back to the castle. For the first half of the walk there, each was lost in their own sea of thoughts, emotions and questions.
About halfway through the walk, Iggy stopped. So did Morton Jr. "Huh? Is everything-"
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure. What's up?"
Iggy looked nervous, which meant that something serious or something really disturbing was about to come forth. Morton mentally steeled himself for the question.
"Is Lemmy gonna die?"
Not even Iggy sounded like he knew what he was asking. It sounded so foreign coming from him, and he could feel a pressure he never felt before rising inside him. 'Good to know I wasn't completely off the ball there...'
"Where is this comin' from?"
Iggy shrugged, looking at the trees above them. "I don't... really know. But I think Lemmy's gonna die... if he isn't dead already."
Truth be told, Iggy knew exactly where it was coming from. He logically and, in a sense, emotionally felt that his question was plausible; Morton had not seen any of Lemmy's injuries, so he couldn't possibly understand what he was feeling.
Morton Jr. took his brother's hand and began pulling him back to the castle. He had a stonic look on his face, and after a couple of minutes, he answered Iggy's question.
"Lemmy isn't gonna die. He knows he can't. Not yet. So don't think things like that!"
The rest of the walk was silent and tense. Morton only hoped his words rang true. He needed to find Roy or Ludwig and see for himself what exactly was going on; maybe even Dad knew about this mess.
'Lem, this mess is becoming a problem now. You gotta tell us what happened to you, bro. I know you're still alive, and I know you'll be fine. But whoever did this... they will pay DEARLY. I swear it.'
It was times like these that brought out emotions one never knew they had. For Morton Jr., it was one of pure hatred for the person or persons responsible for hurting his family. Heck, he had actually swore for the very first time, and that was not something he would have ever done. For Iggy, it was confusion at all the foreign emotions he displayed to his younger brother, and sadness for hurting the one person he knew could have helped him untangle all the confusion.
Neither one knew what they were going to see once they stepped back inside the castle. But they weren't planning on running into their father, who smelled like he had just gotten out of the shower. He seemed confused by the lack of screaming and crying and the all-too familiar, "Daaaadddd!" In fact, he could hear his own thoughts... which in his mind, wasn't good.
"Morton, Iggy. What is going on? Castle's a tad bit too quiet for my liking. Where's your brothers and sister? And wha-"
King Bowser Koopa rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn't seeing things, before he took a good look at Iggy's blood-covered torso and hands.
"What the hell happened to you, Iggy?! Who did this?!"
Morton Jr. answered, Iggy stepping back a few inches. "Dad. He's not the one you need to ask that to."
"Really, smart-aleck? Then who should I ask it to, the freaking sky?!" Bowser growled, one hand on his hip.
Not fazed by his father's sarcasm, he responded in that strangely calm way, "Lemmy. He's the one who's hurt. Kamek has him. We're going to find Roy and Ludwig so Iggy can tell them what he knows."
Bowser put a hand up, halting his son's statement. "Wait, wait, wait. Did you say Lemmy? Isn't he still on punishment?" Both boys nodded.
"How the hell did he wind up in the infirmary? Better yet, how did he wind up out of his room? And how come I wasn't told about ANY of it?!" he asked in anger. Morton shrugged nonchalantly, a little shocked his father knew how to rule a kingdom when he could barely keep track of his own kids. 'Idiot...'
"We don't know. That's why we need to see Kamek."
Bowser eyed his inventor of a son, who kept his head down, not saying a word. His grip on Morton's hand was a little tight, but Morton barely noticed.
"Iggy? Is all this true?" He nodded.
The king stood in thought; while he was irritated that things were occurring behind his back, he figured that he may as well go find out what was going on now.
"Well, let's go. I want to know why my castle is so silent I can hear myself think and why that little twerp thinks he has freedom; he still has a week of punishment left!"
Iggy grew annoyed with his father for calling Lemmy that, but decided to keep his mouth shut. With that, Bowser, Morton Jr. and Iggy made their way to the hospital wing, the air around the three more tense than ever.
And that's the end of Chapter 9!
This chapter was another one of those chapters I find it hard to write as a person who has never written about the Koopalings before. I didn't want them to all have the same personalities, so I tried to imagine how these two would react upon seeing a family member so close to death. I figured they'd act totally different than usual, but not too different... these two were just hard to write, though. And also, King Bowser makes his appearance! I'll explain more about that in a future chapter. Hopefully I did a half-decent job!
Until next chapter!
