Chapter 11 No, This Isn't a Fight
The Koopalings bolted down various alleyways. The Shroobs followed them. When Morton looked behind him, he grew ever more frightened. The Shroobs looked like wicked monsters. They looked ready to turn the Koopalings into turtle soup.
Morton swallowed a lump forming in his throat and just followed his siblings. They rounded various corners in a desperate attempt to get away from the monstrous aliens. Morton thought they were making good progress. That is, until a Shroob jumped off the roof of one of the buildings and landed right in front of them. The small purple beast had a ray gun gripped in its two-finger hand.
Morton shrieked. The Shroob's eyes were glowing with a deep red light. They reflected the Koopalings perfectly. Morton felt his throat constrict when the Shroob aimed the ray gun at them. None of the Koopalings had time to react as a laser hit Ludwig straight in the forehead. The oldest Koopaling fell to the ground with a thump, unconscious.
"Well," said Roy. "We're doomed."
The Shroob shot more lasers. They hit all of the other Koopalings except for Morton, who bolted down an alleyway that was adjacent to the one that they were standing in. The Shroob followed. Morton could feel himself grow more and more out of breath. When he had to stop to catch his breath, he turned and saw the Shroob approaching with their brandished ray gun. Morton held up his hands and sucked in his breath. The Shroob pulled the trigger….
And the laser phased right through Morton. The Shroob blinked. They looked down at their ray gun in confusion, as if they were asking "is this thing broken?" They shot laser after laser, but they just phased right through Morton.
Morton smiled. "Oh, I forgot," he said out loud. He lowered his hands. "Maybe this curse isn't so bad!"
The shroob continued on with shooting at Morton. He opened his mouth and let out a scream. He threw the gun on the ground and began jumping on it. Its eyes were scrunched up and its mouth was sloped in a frown.
Morton laughed. "Well, I am sorry for distracting you from your plans of world domination, but I have to go."
With that, Morton ran. With a new found confidence, he bolted right back into the town square. There were hundreds of Shroobs, but Morton was not afraid. He outstretched his arms and grinned as each Shroob shot him with their lasers. The Shroobs appeared to grow more and more confused as the lasers phased right through his body. Morton's grin grew bigger.
But then, it fell when he heard one shroob bark out orders. The other Shroobs parted to make way for that Shroob, who carried a square device. The Shroob aimed the device at Morton, who raised an eyebrow.
"Uh, what is that supposed to…"
Before Morton could say anymore, a light shot out of the device. Morton closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he saw that he was surrounded on all sides but dark walls. He tried to phase through them, but for whatever reason, he couldn't. He banged on the walls, panic overtaking him.
"Someone! Anyone! Help me!"
…
Iggy's hair was strong. As it pulled on Iggy, his feet weren't even touching the ground anymore. Iggy just sailed behind his mohawk like a flag, and Larry consequently also sailed behind Iggy. Iggy tried not to scream, but the panic coursing through his mind was too much to handle. He shrieked like a little girl.
"Larry!" He called out to his younger brother. "DO SOMETHING!"
Iggy could just barely hear Larry's response over the wind rushing around his ears.
"LIKE WHAT?"
"I DON'T KNOW; JUST DO IT!"
Larry's mouth hung open a little bit. That is, until he spotted the string that kept him connected to Iggy's wrist. He grinned.
"Don't worry, Iggster, I've got an idea!"
"Well then, enact it! And enact it swiftly!"
Larry nodded. He grabbed hold of the string and used it to bring himself closer to Iggy. He put one hand after the other, climbing the string. If he wasn't being dragged behind a bundle of sentient hair, Iggy would have been impressed.
Finally, Larry got close enough to Iggy's hair. Iggy moved his wrist so that it allowed Larry to get even closer. Larry started slapping the mohawk across the back.
"Hey!" he shouted over the wind. "Why don't you take a chill pill, you crazy doo?"
Iggy's mohawk turned to Larry with an annoyed expression. It sunk its teeth into Larry's finger, causing him to shriek.
"Oww!" He cast the mohawk a glare. "Why you little…!"
He grabbed hold of the base of the hair and squeezed it with all the strength he had his disposal. Iggy knew this because he used that strength to pull on his hair.
"Oww!" Iggy cried. He looked at Larry. "Lawrence, could you perhaps employ a plan that isn't so painful?"
Larry didn't listen. He gave one effort-filled tug on the mohawk. The little monster shrieked in pain and stopped pulling Iggy along. The lanky Koopaling fell out of the air and landed on his back.
"Oww!" Iggy groaned in pain. "Oww…" he directed his eyes up toward Larry. "Thank you, Larry."
"Of course, Iggy," Larry responded. He snickered. "I always wanted an excuse to pull your hair."
Iggy glared at Larry and stood up. He brushed dust off of his front and directed his attention up toward his mohawk.
"What the World Eight is the matter with you!" he asked. "I could have gotten the Shroobs if it wasn't for you!"
The mohawk let out a guttural purr. It dropped a little, its eyes directed toward the ground. Nevertheless, Iggy was not in the mood to feel sympathetic towards it.
"You have been nothing but a nuisance!" Iggy continued. "I'm glad that you'll be gone as soon as this curse is removed!"
The mohawk turned away so that its face was facing Iggy's back. Iggy shook his head and directed his attention up toward Larry.
"So," Larry started. "What do we do now?"
Iggy sighed. "We start making our way back toward Sparksville. Hopefully, our siblings haven't been…"
Before Iggy could say anymore, he felt a tingling sensation run through his body. He noticed that he was being surrounded by a green field. He looked forward and saw a shroob. The alien was approaching Iggy, and it had a taser-like device in its hand. Iggy tried to run, but movement was impossible.
"•°● #%!" the shroob barked.
"What do you think that means, Iggy?" Larry asked.
Iggy swallowed a lump. "Whatever it is, it can't be good."
