Chapter 11 Pent Up Anger
Dark Iggy. An interesting name really. The first part of it wasn't even a name; it was an adjective. An adjective that, in all honesty, Dark Iggy did not like to be labeled with. He didn't like it because darkness implied the presence of evil, and Dark Iggy did not see himself as evil.
That wasn't to say he did not know why he was labeled that way. In reality, Dark Iggy was the personification of the deepest desires of Iggy's heart. He was Iggy's desire to be in control. He was Iggy's desire to be recognized by the world. He was Iggy's fury. He was his insanity. He was the secret that not even Iggy himself knew about. A secret that Dark Iggy felt needed to be thrust into the light.
As Dark Iggy graced the halls with Dark Wiggles, he heard a pleasant whistling sound. Up ahead he could see Ludwig, his snout buried in the pages of a book. Dark Iggy grinned when he noticed that Ludwig was wearing the power suppressor. This would make his job so much easier.
"Greetings to you, Ludwig," Dark Iggy said pleasantly to his older brother. Ludwig looked up with a smile.
"Oh, hey Iggy! I've gotta say, I am really liking this power suppressor. It really has worked wonders." Ludwig's face fell into worry once he noticed that Iggy's hair was a different shade of green. "Uh, Iggy what happened to your hair?"
Dark Iggy's grin grew bigger.
"Let's just say I got split up."
A drop of confusion was blended into Ludwig's worry.
"Split up?"
"Yep." Dark Iggy held up the personality splitter. "And I'm about to do the exact same thing to you."
Ludwig's eyes grew wide with fear. He backed up and started running in the direction from which he had just come from. Dark Iggy gestured to Dark Wiggles.
"Wiggles, get him!"
Dark Wiggles let out a bark and chased after the oldest Koopaling. Dark Iggy could see his brother struggling with the Power Suppressor, trying to remove it as he ran. It was then that Dark Iggy became thankful that he had forgotten to tell him the password.
Dark Wiggles put on a burst of speed right before Ludwig got to the door. The chomp stood before him, causing Ludwig to back away in fear at the sight of his menacing red eyes. He turned back to Dark Iggy, who could see that the oldest Koopaling looked absolutely terrified.
"Help! Someone help me!" Ludwig yelled.
"Don't worry, Ludwig," Dark Iggy said. "I am doing this for your own good."
He then pressed the button engraved with the number five, and a light shot out of the comet piece. Just like with what happened with Morton, five Ludwigs now stood in the hallway. One had a sky blue cloak, one had a plum colored cloak, two were wearing green and orange cloaks, and the last one was wearing red. They were all wearing a different version of the power suppressor, much to Dark Iggy's relief. He studied each of the five Ludwig's. When his eyes fell upon the one wearing the plum colored cloak, that Ludwig turned toward the orange cloaked Ludwig with fear in his eyes.
"He's looking at me. Why is he looking at me?"
"Because you're so darn beautiful," the orange cloaked Ludwig with a sardonic inflection. Then the red cloaked Ludwig stepped toward Dark Iggy. There was a furious heat burning in his eyes, causing his face to contort into an angry expression.
"You had a lot of nerve doing that to me Ignatius!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Oh! You must be Ludwig's rage!" Dark Iggy said happily. He extended his hand. "Pleasure to meet you."
Rage slapped Dark Iggy across the face.
"Oww!" Dark Iggy said as he put his hand to his cheek. "Hey, settle down!"
Rage was practically fuming when he heard his brother say that. He lunged at Dark Iggy, but failed to tackle him to the ground. Dark Iggy shrieked and ran off. He ran down the various hallways and passed around various corners, not even stopping when he felt his breathing become painful. He looked behind him and saw that Rage was right on his tail. Rage jumped forward and pinned him to the ground. A low growl escaped from the throat of the red cloaked emotion.
"You are so dead," he said darkly. He curled his hand into a fist, but before he could punch him, Dark Iggy spoke up.
"Wait, wait, wait!" he exclaimed. "I have a proposition for you."
Rage's countenance became darker.
"Does it involve putting me back together?" he asked in a way that sounded like a threat.
"Why would you want me to do that?" Dark Iggy asked. "Especially seeing how I have so much more to offer you."
Rage raised an eyebrow in skepticism. Thankfully, he also got off of Dark Iggy's chest, allowing him to stand up. Dark Iggy let out a breath as he looked at Rage.
"Listen to me," he said. "I know that Ludwig has not been allowing you to be fully expressed. If I allow you to be reassembled with Ludwig's other traits, then that is exactly what you are going to go back to. Always being pushed to the side, always being treated like a potential threat."
The fury in Rage's eyes began to soften. Dark Iggy took that as a good sign, a sign that he was allowed to continue.
"If you come with me, if you form an alliance with me, then I can offer you so much more. I can offer you the privilege...no, I can offer you the right to be expressed. Do you really want to turn that down, Rage?"
Rage seemed to consider it. Dark Iggy could practically see the gears turning in his head as he considered the offer.
"Okay," Rage finally said. "I'll do it."
Dark Iggy smiled
"Good. I am glad."