Chapter 2 Therapy

Larry's eyes opened and he bolted upright. He shivered and shook, his body as cold as an icicle. Terror leaked from his pupils, which were two sizes too small.

He screamed. The sound scraped against his own eardrums, causing them to ring like alarm bells. His throat hurt. It tightened up, being twisted shut like the cork of a wine bottle. His stomach churned as searing pain shot through his heart and head.

The scream, despite its lasting impact, was brief. Once Larry stopped, his chest rose and fell. His eyes remained open, tears spilling out of them and onto the blanket. He placed his hand to his forehead.

"Oh dear developer," he breathed out.

There was no response. Not that Larry was expecting there to be a response, as he slept alone. However, as Larry looked around, he wished he did have a roommate. The sky blue walls of his room were closing in on him. His basketball in the corner appeared to have sprouted a face and was grinning with maniacal, beady eyes. His reflection in the moonlit TV set looked ghostly.

Larry shook his head. "I need to get out of here." He pulled the cover back and placed his feet on the stone cold floor. He shivered and made his way out into the hallway, the only source of light being the silver-white light of the moon. Larry's heart thumped. The shadow he cast was tall, sinister, and evil. Larry stared at it, feeling a nasty lump grow in his throat.

How thankful was the youngest Koopaling when he got to the door of his brother, Iggy.

Iggy answered Larry's knock almost instantly. His green mohawk, which during the day resembled a strong, healthy plant, now looked like it was wilting. It drooped over his face, casting shade over his eyes. Iggy swept his hair back and squinted at his youngest brother.

"Larry?" Larry nodded, causing Iggy to blink. "Was that your scream that erupted in the silence?"

Larry rapidly nodded his head. Iggy gawked a little as he straightened his hair. He rubbed his eyes, which lacked his usual spectacles, and yawned.

"What has disturbed you enough to cause you distress to that degree?" Iggy questioned.

"I...I had a nightmare," Larry said. He rubbed his right forearm. "Iggy, can I sleep with you tonight?"

Iggy blinked before nodding. "Umm...sure?"

Larry sighed. "Thanks, Iggster. You're a lifesaver." With that, Larry made his way into the room. He stepped on a bunch of pieces of paper, most of which were crumpled into crinkly balls. He passed Iggy's incubator and his personal tanning booth. When he got to Iggy's bed, he collapsed onto it.

Iggy came up and patted him on the shell. "I hope you experience delectable reveries, Larry."

"Sweet dreams to you too, Iggy," Larry said.

…

Larry lifted his head. His eyelids drooped, even with the fact that sunlight was streaming into Iggy's room. His mouth hung open. Saliva dripped from the corners of his lips, accumulating into a pool of drool on the comforter.

"Disgusting," Iggy said. "I will have to utilize an extra effective detergent to remove that stain."

Larry turned his head. Iggy was sitting on a purple velvet couch near the window. His appearance was a stark contrast to the one he had the night before. His mohawk stood stalk straight, his glasses shined on his face. He also had a baby chick in his hands. As it peeped, Iggy patted it on the head. He peered intensely at the youngest Koopaling, who raised an eyebrow.

"What's with the bird?"

"It's been residing in my incubator for two days," Iggy said as he gestured toward the machine. "It is bred to serve therapeutic purposes."

Larry groaned as he noticed for the first time that there was a pad of paper and a pen resting on the couch beside Iggy. "Dude, are you going to go all psychology on me?"

"Do not use the term 'psychology' as an adjective," Iggy scolded. "It is disrespectful, both to the field of study and to the English language."

"Right. Because the English language's feelings are so fragile," Larry sharply exhaled.

"Proceed to seal your orpheus, Lawrence," Iggy said as his eyebrows scrunched up. He extended his arms. "Just take your chicken and tell me what your nightmare was about."

Larry groaned and moved over toward the couch. He took the chick and stroked its fuzzy yellow head as Iggy picked up his pad and pen.

"Well?" Iggy asked. He clicked on the end of the pen, causing the tip to pop out. "What are you waiting for?"

Larry shook his head. "I hate how pushy you are. How do you know that talking about a nightmare will make it better? If anything, I think that would just cause me to relive the trauma."

Iggy wrinkled up his snout. "Considering that the alternative would be you shoving the event deep within your subconscious, I feel that doing so is a necessity. Now, spill the beans."

Larry placed the chick on his lap. "I don't want to, alright?" He rubbed his eyes, an action which Iggy showed his disapproval for by grabbing his hand and moving it away. Larry glared at him. "Why are you so annoying; is it embedded in your DNA code?"

"Lawrence," Iggy said sternly. "I…" suddenly, a smile appeared on his lips. "You know what? You're right. You should not have to worry yourself by talking about it."

Larry sighed in relief. "Thanks, bro."

"You're absolutely welcome," Iggy said. He pulled out his phone from his hammerspace. "I'll just call Kamek and ask him to perform a mind probing spell on you."

Larry seized up. "What? No!"

"Yes. I will obtain the truth from you one way or the other, Lawrence. Now, would you please proceed to tell me, in a kind manner, what the nightmare you experienced last night was centered around?"

Larry groaned. "Fiiiine. You win, Mr. Smartypants." He picked up the peeping chick and pet it again. "Well, for starters, there was a storm."

Iggy nodded. He wrote down something on his notepad, his hand scribbling away at twenty five miles an hour. He turned back to Larry. "Tell me more."

Larry pursed his lips. "I was...at sea." Larry wanted to leave it at that; however, he kept talking. "I was standing on this gray cloud. I was in...so...much….pain. I was scared too. There was green lightning, a lot of thunder, and a lot of rain. It was….it was…"

"Petrifying?" Iggy asked.

Larry cast him a look. "I was going to say 'scary,' but sure, if that makes you feel good." He sighed, hoping that would relieve the burden on his chest. "I...I called out for my dad. But...instead of Bowser….Jasper showed up."

Iggy's eyes grew wide, but he did not say anything. Just as he seemed ready to, he frantically wrote some more onto his trusty notepad.

Larry took in another deep breath. "He...at first...he seemed like he wanted to help me. He hugged me. It seemed like he had changed, but just as I remembered what he did, I saw that he had a knife in his hand. I pushed him away, but he grabbed me by the hand and flung me into the ocean." Larry cringed and gently opened and closed his left hand, still feeling the dagger-like impressions left by Jasper's nails. Not even the softness of the chick could send that away.

Iggy wrote furiously on his notepad, staring at it so intensely it was like a storm cloud was brewing overhead. When he finished, he clicked on the pen, causing the point to retract back into the tube. He turned to Larry. "And how do you feel about all of this?"

"How do you think I feel? I feel scared out of my shell!" He patted the chick on the head.

"Yes, that much is evident. But why are you scared?"

"Because it was a scary dream, Iggy! Are you dense?"

Iggy growled through his teeth before speaking up again. "What I mean by that is your mind clearly was affected deeply from learning the truth about our biological father. True, it was traumatizing to hear what he did. At the same time though, the others do not appear to be losing sleep over this."

Larry snickered. "Well. I guess I'm just special."

"Clearly you are, but that's beside the point. Have you considered the reason you feel this way is because you were setting your hopes too high?"

Larry raised an eyebrow as he turned to face Iggy. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Iggy shook his head. "For the longest time, Larry, I have observed your behavior. You appeared to be dead set on learning who our parents are; so much so that you stole one of my devices in order to achieve your goal. The others accepted the adoption story when it was told to them, but you wanted to know more." Iggy stared at Larry. "Why do you believe that is?"

Larry hesitated before letting out a humongous groan. "I don't know!" He got up and placed the chick back in the incubator. "I can't explain how my brain works, Iggy!"

"He says to someone who has obtained a major in psychology," Iggy stated. He too stood up. "Larry, please do this. I am not out to get you nor am I judging you. My job right now is to try to help you achieve peace of mind."

Silence. Larry stared at Iggy, whose arms were crossed as his mouth was in a firm line. The youngest Koopaling looked back down at the chicks, peeping away in their incubator without a care in the world. Larry shook his head and sighed.

"I just…" Tears began to build. "I just wanted to know. I always wanted to know who our parents are. I always felt like it was unfair. Everyone else has a mother and father. Even Kamek has a mother and father; you've met Kammy. The fact that I didn't made me feel...feel…" Larry curled his fist, the same fist Jasper had dug his nails into in the dream. "Bad."

Iggy pursed his lips. He placed his hand to his chin.

"Hmm," he said as he bit down on his finger. "So, what it sounds like to me, is that you were experiencing some form of jealousy."

"But is that so bad?" Larry asked with a twinge of offense in his voice. "Aren't I allowed to feel jealous if I'm the only person in the world who doesn't have a mother?"

"First of all, hyperbole is not necessary," said Iggy. "Secondly…" To Larry's surprise, Iggy sighed. "Look, Lawrence, I am not trying to say that your feelings are unfounded. They are most definitely founded. I will not be the first to admit that the nature of the crimes Jasper Starfold has committed are cruel and uncalled for." Iggy shook his head. "But we need to move on. We cannot change the past, no matter how unfair we believe it to be."

Larry stared at Iggy, his eyes unblinking and his mouth unmoving. It wasn't until Iggy finished that he finally spoke. "Have you moved on?"

"Pardon?"

"You said we need to move on. Have you?"

Iggy hesitated before nodding. "If I were to approach this with an honest perspective….I would say that I have."

Larry slowly nodded. So he really was alone. He was the only one who thought that Jasper deserved so much worse than what he got. He was the only one of the Koopalings who felt horrible knowing that his father had tried to kill them before they hatched.

"Okay," Larry said. He wiped his eyes as tears built up in them.

"Do not do that, Larry; you have gotten chick germs on your hands."

Larry bit his lip and pulled his hand away from his face. "Fine. Whatever. I'll just wash my hands before I go to breakfast."

With that, Larry left the room.

…

Iggy watched his brother go. When Larry was gone, he peered down into the incubator. The chicks were joyfully walking around, pecking at the food that Iggy had provided for them. He chuckled as he pulled another chick out of the machine.

"Oh, if only life were as simple for Koopas as it is for chickens," he said. He petted the chicken on the head. "I believe I shall call you Nuggets." Iggy laughed at his own joke and looked down at the other three chickens in the incubator. "You shall be called Breakfast, you shall be called Lunch, and you shall be called Dinner. There, I just solved all the world's hunger problems."

Iggy laughed, but there was something about the laugh that upset him. It sounded hollow. It wasn't until he stopped that he realized that he had a very potent aching in his chest as well.

Had he really been speaking truthfully to Larry?

With this thought in mind, Iggy shook his head. He placed the chick back in the incubator, put some hand sanitizer on his hands, opened the door, changed his mind and washed his hands at his personal bathroom sink, then made his way down the hall. He did not stop until he got to a pair of royal red doors in the main area of the castle. He knocked on the doors, and they were opened by his adopted father.

"Bowser," he said. "I need your advice."