Chapter 4 Way Back When

"Why did you make us leave?" Roy demanded.

Iggy bit his lip.

"I felt that I did the right thing," he said. "I made the right call."

The others gawked at him. They often turned to Iggy for leadership and guidance, so they greatly trusted his judgement. However, this decision was making them second guess him.

"But Iggy," Wendy said. "Morton is under emotional distress!"

"I know that, Wendy," Iggy said sternly. "I'm not stupid."

"Then why did you make us leave?" Lemmy yelled angrily. "We need to help Morton!"

"I agree with Lemmy," Ludwig said. "Suppressing your emotions to the extreme the Morton does is not healthy."

Iggy let out a sigh. He knew that! Ludwig didn't need to tell him that! He knew all about the danger of suppressing emotions; psychology was one of his majors in college, after all. He knew that they needed to do something, especially seeing how abruptly Morton had cut them off during their last conversation. However…

"Trying to talk to him is not going to get us anywhere," Iggy said. "He clearly doesn't want to talk to us. We all know that he got stressed out when we were arguing about the toppings. Can you imagine how much worse he could get if we try to pick at the wound?"

The others nodded hesitantly. While they could see Iggy's logic, they did not agree with it. However, seeing how Iggy was an expert, they were willing to listen to his advice.

"Okay," said Wendy. "So we just leave him alone?"

"Yes," Iggy said. "That appears to be what he wants."

"But what are we gonna do after he calms down?" asked Larry.

Iggy sighed.

"I don't know."

….

It was the middle of the night and Iggy was pacing across the common room. Back and forth, back and forth. He was like a pendulum, slowly making its way from one side to the opposite side. While he was pacing, he was talking to himself.

"What can I do? I clearly can't go to Morton directly. I can't be passive aggressive either; he hates that."

While he was in the middle of his monologue, Kamek slowly entered the room. He watched Iggy pacing, finding the display interesting and amusing.

"Maybe I can hook him up with some sort of counselor?" Iggy continued. "That seems like a good idea." He sighed. "But finding one that is right for him could take forever!"

"Might I ask who you are talking about?" Kamek asked. Iggy sighed.

"Morton." He turned and started pacing to the other side of the room. "I want to help him but I don't know how."

"Why do you feel like help is necessary for him?" Kamek asked.

"Because he never talks to anybody!" Iggy stopped pacing and faced the magikoopa advisor. "He stores his emotions away like they are jars of jam! Kamek, that is not healthy!"

Kamek thought about this.

"Hmm. You're right. And if the display that Bowser said went down in the throne room is any indication, he is heading down a very dark road."

"Exactly!" Iggy took a seat on the comfy couch. He allowed his body to sink into the pillows, knowing that their soft texture could help to ease his own distress. "I just don't know what to do. I mean…." he sighed… "I guess I'm just baffled that he of all people is acting like this."

"Why do you say that?" Kamek asked as he took a seat beside Iggy. Iggy faced him, his expression displaying a sad and troubled internal conflict.

"Don't you remember what he was like when we were little. He was so chatty and vibrant! He wanted to talk about anything and everything; he was just so...excited about life!"

"Well, people change," Kamek said. "Remember how Roy was the biggest womanizer this side of Yoshi Falls?"

"I do," Iggy said. "That was before he met Celia." Iggy chuckled. "On top of that, Wendy was the vainest girl ever up until the tail beard incident. But with both of those cases, we could all clearly see what caused those two to change. With Morton...he's a closed book."

Kamek nodded.

"That is true," he said. "Perhaps this is just a phase that he is going through?"

"No. This is not a phase. This has been going on for years now, phases don't last that long. Something else is going on." Iggy's face fell deeper into sadness. "I just wish I had a way to find out what."

Iggy sunk deeper into the pillows. He had no idea why this was so difficult. He was great with reading people, including his other siblings. But with Morton...that was just a case that he could not crack.

"Well," Kamek said slyly. "I think I might have the answer you are looking for."

Iggy sat up. His interest was definitely piqued.

"You do?" he asked. Kamek nodded. "What?"

"Somewhere in the Koopa Kingdom treasury," he said, "is a piece of a cosmic comet that fell to the Mushroom World about seventy years ago. Bowser's grandfather had a spell cast on it so that it would not create cosmic clones. However, I believe that the power still rests within it."

Iggy snorted.

"Those comets are pure galaxium! Of course the power is still in it!"

"Exactly," Kamek said. "Now, I'm not a scientist, so I don't know exactly how you can do this, but I have a hunch that power is something you might want to use."

Iggy felt confused.

"Cosmic comets create clones of someone. Why would I want to make a clone of someone?"

Kamek shrugged.

"I don't know. It's just a thought."

Iggy considered this. He did not need clones of Morton running around. What he needed was a way to get into Morton's mind. How could creating clones of Morton help him understand his brother's thought process? Suddenly, it clicked.

"Oh my developer," Iggy said as his eyes grew wide. "Thanks Kamek. I know what I have to do!"