Chapter 22 The Sun Sets

The pizza was incredible. Sure, it had taken a lot of hassle and a good chunk out of Bob's wallet in order to get it, but it ultimately made Morton happy. He took delicate bites, savoring each one. The tasty of the zesty tomato sauce coupled with the salty assortment of cheeses made his taste buds dance. They made them shout with glee, jump for joy, and feel like they were on top of the world. The butter coated crust caused grease to get all over Morton's fingers, but he didn't mind.

At last, he finished his slice. He licked the tips of his fingers and looked up into the sky. The atmosphere was saturated by a lavender and orange hue. These colors brought peace to Morton's soul as he sat on Bob's back porch.

He took the cornflower out of his hands and pinched the stem between his thumb and forefinger. He twirled the beauty around in his hand, took deep breaths to let the scent fill his lungs. Blessings. That's what this represented; blessings. He stared at it for a while, hyper-focusing on the color as he tried to count his blessings. At the very top of the list were his siblings.

Morton smiled. It wasn't a big smile in the slightest, but it was at least a smile. His heart beat slowed to a steadier pace. His breathing became smooth and steady.

However, his face fell as he remembered the events that brought him here. He scratched the back of his neck, thinking about the time loop. He might as well prepare for another round of the Motley Bossblob attack tomorrow. Either that or he should convince the family to go see Bob again. Morton was more than willing to visit again, and if he convinced them once, he could do it a second time.

The only question was did he have the mental strength to do it a second time?

Just as he was thinking about this, the screen door opened. Morton turned his head and saw Bob. At least, he assumed it was Bob; he wasn't wearing Ludwig's typical cloak.

"Bob?"

"Yep," Bob said with a nod. He sat down right next to Morton on the step, looking up at the sky as he got into position. A silence filled the air, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing as it allowed the two of them to soak up the sunset's beauty. After about four minutes, though, Bob broke the silence. "Did you enjoy the pizza?"

Morton nodded. "Yep. I did."

"Good." Bob chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't realize that it was so expensive."

Morton shrugged. "Well, you still gotta pay even on Koopsmas."

Bob chuckled. "That you do." He pulled his legs up to his chest. "But I'm glad to pay, as long as it makes you happy." He smiled. "Do you think that we can do this again next Koopsmas?"

Morton bit his lip, tossing the suggestion around in his head. "Sure." He snorted. "Next Koopsams might actually come sooner than you expect."

Bob grinned. "Yeah! The years go by a lot quicker when you aren't keeping track of time."

Morton shook his head. "That's….yeah, you're right."

Bob nodded. He grinned a sparkling grin. "Seriously, Morton, your family made my day. I really wasn't planning on doing much today even though it was my day off. Thank you for coming."

Morton smiled. "You should thank Ludwig. It was his idea."

"Oh, I did! I made sure to thank everyone! You all deserve my thanks."

Morton giggled. A fluttery sensation tickled his ribcage. However, it went away when he noticed Bob's face fall.

"Hey, did you see the news report today?"

Morton raised an eyebrow. "What news report?"

"We were just watching it in the living room. Apparently, a giant silver clown monster attacked Stonebrim today."

Morton's heart sank. Even when his events during the day changed, the events in Stonebrim still held up. "Oh."

"Yeah. It destroyed the town; paramedics and firefighters had to come and everything." Bob frowned. "Bowser told me that you guys usually go to Stonebrim on Koopsmas, so you really dodged a bullet this time around."

Morton nodded. "Yeah." He then muttered under his breath. "Although, it wasn't luck that allowed us to avoid Motley Bossblob's attack."

Bob raised an eyebrow. "Motley Bossblob? That's the name of the monster?"

Morton seized up. He looked at Bob, who looked back at him with wide eyes.

"Wait," Bob said. He leaned in close. "Morton did you….did you know the attack was going to occur?"

Morton sunk a little deeper into the ground, allowing his shoulders to go limp. "I guess you could say that."

Bob gasped. "How did you know? Did you get future vision or something?" He raised an eyebrow. "Or did you somehow organize the attack?"

Morton shook his head. "No no no. Nothing like that. I…"

Suddenly, Morton hesitated. He could imagine Bob giving him the biggest of incredulous laughs once he told him about his problem. Really, there was no point in telling him about the time loop. There wasn't much he could do about it anyway.

Morton sighed. "It's nothing."

"No, tell me!" Bob leaned in close. "I want to know. How did you know about the attack?"

Morton gave Bob a sideways glance. When he thought about it, was Bob really the type to laugh off ludicrous statements? Unlike his creator, he did give everyone the benefit of the doubt. So, Morton sighed.

"Fine. The reason I know…" Bob leaned in closer…."is because I'm stuck in a time loop."

Bob blinked. "A time loop?"

"Mmhm. Sounds crazy, right?"

There was a pause. "Crazy? Maybe. Insanely cool?" Bob's eyed lit up. "Definitely."

Morton snickered. "Yeah, it's not cool. Not cool at all. I've already lived through the same day three times. This is going to be the fourth. And unless I found out what caused the loop in the first place, I could repeat the same day for all eternity."

Bob's eyes grew wide. "Woah. So no one else is experiencing this problem?"

Morton shook his head. "Nope. Just me."

Bob sucked some air through his teeth. "Oof. Yeah, I can see why that would stink. Not knowing what started the loop and not knowing how to get out of it. Sounds like a pain."

Morton nodded. "It sure is." He smiled. "Believe it or not, I managed to convince Iggy last time before the loop reset. However, that took a lot, and I do mean a lot of arguing." He chuckled. "Actually having you believe me right off the bat is kind of refreshing actually."

Bob laughed. "Morton, I came back from the dead. If that could happen to me, anything can happen to anybody else."

Morton shrugged. "True. That is true."

Bob chuckled before directing his eyes up toward the sky again, which was turning plum purple. "It's weird that you bring it up at this particular time though." Morton stared at Bob in curiosity. "Believe it or not, I'm actually reading a book about a time loop."

Morton blinked. "Really?"

"Mmhm. It's really good. Granted, the pacing is a little wonky, but I do like the concepts."

Morton snickered. "You sound like a literary critic."

"Maybe. But I do genuinely like the book. It's one of the best that I've read in a long time."

Morton nodded. "That's good." He lowered his head. "Although, don't ever wish that the same thing would happen to you."

"Duly noted," Bob replied.

Morton looked down at the ground, at an army of ants marching through the grass. He could barely see it in the dark though. However, it did provide a good focus point as he allowed his mind to wander.

Although...now that he thought about it, he did have a question he wanted to ask.

"Hey, Bob?"

"Yeah?"

"How exactly do the characters in your book enter their time loop?"

Bob put his hand to his chin. "Oh, it's been so long since I've read the beginning." He stroked his chin. "Ummm, I think one of them unknowingly picked up a magical object."

Morton blinked. "A magical object?"

"Yep."

Morton's mind went into overdrive. Didn't he pick up something in the first iteration of Koopsmas? He reached into his hammerspace, rummaging around for something, anything that wouldn't necessarily be there normally. When he felt something smooth and cold, his heart stopped. He grasped his fingers around the item and pulled the object out. When he saw it, he gasped.

It was the crystal. Still showing a soft glow, it felt cool as Morton gripped it in his palm. He stared down at it, feeling like he couldn't breathe.

Bob gasped. "Is that…?"

Morton stared at the crystal in wide eyed shock. "I picked this up during the first day," he muttered under his breath. "It fell from space. I completely forgot about it until now…" He turned toward Bob, a grin as big as the moon on his face. "Bob! I think this is it! I think this is the catalyst!"

Bob grinned as he stared at the crystal. "That's awesome." He gasped. "Wait. If you found the catalyst…"

"Then I could actually stop the loop!" Morton jumped up as giddiness took over. "I've got to tell Iggy about this." He rushed toward the door. Before he entered the house, however, he cast his brother's clone a smile. "Thank you so much, Bob!"

"Anytime!" Bob said with a happy grin.