Chapter 10 Mixed Emotions

Iggy and Sarcasm didn't waste anytime. They got to Sparksville within about an hour of hearing Laziness tell them where Morton's other trait was, a feat that Iggy would've seen as impressive if he wasn't so dedicated to the mission. When they made landfall, with both of them hopping out of the Koopa Clown Cars, Iggy took a few deep breaths. This was partially because he wanted to appreciate how fresh and lovely Sparksville's atmosphere was, but it was mostly to get himself pumped for the mission that he and his siblings were going to partake in.

"Okay," he said out loud to Ludwig's trait. "I suppose now we just wait for the others to show up." Sarcasm nodded, so they just stood still for a little bit. As they waited, Iggy tapped his foot. After a few more minutes passed, he transitioned to making little grunts while he tapped his foot. He didn't really think much of this practice until Sarcasm spoke up.

"Are you excited to find the trait or do you really need to pee?"

Iggy rolled his eyes and glared at his partner. "The former, obviously." He looked around, hopping up and down like he was on a pogo stick. He ultimately groaned when he saw no sign of anybody. "Darn it, why are our siblings taking so long?"

Sarcasm smirked. "Yeah, it's almost like walking to a town that's on the edge of a kingdom takes a while or something."

Iggy held back a groan and shot Sarcasm yet another glare. "You know, you are a type of individual that most common people would label as 'annoying.'"

Sarcasm snickered as a smile grew on his face. "Mind printing that out and putting on a nametag? I'll proudly wear that as a badge of honor."

Iggy shook his head. He shouldn't take the bait. He shouldn't find these cheap jabs insulting, or at least not to the degree that he was. Sarcasm was just being himself. That had nothing to do with Iggy himself. It said absolutely nothing about him and his personality.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP!"

Both Iggy and Sarcasm jumped. Turning around, they spotted Larry and Rage coming up the way. As they walked, Rage glared at Larry like he was some fly that had been buzzing in his ear. "Ooohhh… if I could just get this stupid power suppressor, you would be in for a world… no, a universe of pain, you little scamp!"

Larry just sighed. "Yeah yeah yeah, I'm worse than shit on a shoe, I get it." He looked up, and his facial features lifted when he saw Iggy and Sarcasm. "Oh, finally! People who are actually pleasant!"

Iggy's own face rose when he heard this. He was just about to make a comment, but Sarcasm let out a laugh before he got the chance.

"Why, sure! A personification of a person's sarcastic streak and an egocentric dolt! Those are the people who you'd want in your inner circle!"

Despite Larry laughing and nodding his head, Iggy growled a deep, animalistic growl upon hearing that. Oh, how much he would love to slap Sarcasm across the face. How much he would love to leave this obnoxious trait stranded somewhere in the wilderness. Iggy almost didn't care that this was a fragment of his brother. Almost.

Thankfully, he was given a break within no time at all. Fear and Wendy came down the way, and they actually looked pleased to see everyone despite Fear's trembling. When they got closer, Wendy breathed a very noticeable sigh of relief.

"We made our way here as soon as we got the text," she said. She smiled. "It's nice that we found Morton's Laziness!"

"Why yes!" Iggy said, a smile growing on his own face. "Yes it most certainly is."

Fear whimpered a little bit. "I just hope that Morton's other traits are okay…" he looked ready to sink into a little puddle. "If they're suffering… because of us…"

Iggy's brow furrowed. "Fear, you shouldn't blame yourself for this kerfuffle."

"Yeah," Larry exclaimed. He snickered and looked right at Iggy. "Spoken like a true culprit, huh Iggy?"

Sarcasm burst into laughter when that was said, laughter so strong that he actually had to keep himself from toppling over. "Oh, Larry!" He wiped a tear from his eye. "You and I are just two chips off the same block, aren't we?"

Larry grinned, the expression as cheeky as could be. "Well, I learned from the best."

Iggy sighed, the sound dripping with frustration. "I hate you all." He lifted his head, pushing his annoyance to the side and doing his best to look serious. "Okay, so Morton's trait is somewhere in this town. I suspect that we split up in order to find them. Fear and Wendy, take the south side. Larry and Rage search the north, and Sarcasm and I will check the east." He gestured for Sarcasm to follow him. "Come on, let's get started."

Sarcasm giggled. "Whatever you say, my wise and caring shepherd."

Iggy stopped, gritting his teeth as the desire to punch Sarcasm grew stronger and stronger. "Actually, you know what?" He turned around. "I think I'll go with Rage instead."

Rage's features (surprisingly) actually rose when that was said. "Oh, fucking thank you! I can finally get away from Larry!" He looked back at the youngest. "Good riddance, you blue haired nuisance!"

Larry just shook his head. "That name could also accurately apply to you, just saying…" he muttered under his breath.

With that, they were off. Iggy kept his eyes peeled, all while Rage kept quiet and subserviently followed (odd for the personification of a person's anger). Heck, if it wasn't for the fact that Rage struggled viciously with his power suppressor, grumbling and cursing while doing it, Iggy wouldn't have thought twice about which emotion this trait represented. So, with an inclination to look on the bright side for a change, he kept his eyes peeled. He remembered what Laziness had said, how the trait he had connected to had an eye for a restaurant. He decided that would be the best place to look.

Which he did. He went in and out of different restaurants, showing the hosts a picture of Morton and asking them if they had seen or served someone who looked similar. The first few he visited said they couldn't help him, which while unfortunate, only ignited his determination to keep moving. He walked down the streets of Spraksville, telling himself that this was all going to be fine. They'd find the trait eventually; no use worrying.

Unfortunately, Rage didn't seem to agree, as indicated by his groans and grunts as the two of them walked down the street. "This is taking forever," he said with a shake of the head. "How hard is it to find your own brother?"

Iggy smirked and turned toward him. "I thought you were Ludwig's rage, not his impatience."

Rage flashed him the glare to end all glare. "RAGE HAS MULTIPLE FACETS TO IT! ARE YOU AN IDIOT?"

"No!" Iggy exclaimed, holding up his hands as sweat formed around the rim of his head. "No, I was making a joke, making a joke…"

Rage grit his teeth. "Right." He backed away. "Oh, how I wish you didn't change the password to the power suppressor…" he began fidgeting with it once again. "You getting a beating would be so fun to be a part of."

"Uh huh," Iggy said. He turned around, shaking as he did. Is it too late to pair up with Sarcasm again? At least he doesn't threaten my life.

So, they continued searching. Despite Rage's grunts, the walk was mostly spent in silence (much to Iggy's relief). He went into every restaurant he passed only to be turned away. At first, this wasn't a big deal. However, after the sixth time, Iggy had to admit that he was starting to at least sympathize with Rage's impatience. It was almost analogous to trying to find a needle in a hay stack that was five miles deep.

Just to keep his sanity from escaping him, he texted his siblings to see if they were making any progress. He let out a long sigh when they all responded "no" one after the other. "I fear that this search might take the better part of the day." He shook his head. "Not a very pleasant experience, I must say."

"No," Rage said, actually speaking with a tone that sounded somewhat subdued. "No it is not."

Iggy nodded. They walked for a little bit until they came across a place called Mixie's Kitchen. By this point in the walk, Iggy had to admit that he was growing rather frustrated. When he went into the restaurant, he had been fully expecting to be turned away by the hostess, to be told that he needed to keep looking. He was prepared for this so thoroughly that, when the hostess actually did say that she had seen Morton, it didn't even fully sink in at first. As a matter of fact, he had turned around and was about to walk out of the restaurant.

Thank goodness Rage was there. "Where are you going, you dolt! She said he's in here!"

Iggy paused. He stood still for a little bit, letting the statement sink in, before he gasped. "Oh! You're right, she did!" He turned back toward the hostess. "Then lead the way, Ma'am! Lead the way!"

The hostess did so with a smile, despite the eye rolls Rage was producing. They weaved in and around the tables until the hostess spotted to one in particular. Iggy's spirits rose miles high when he saw a Morton sitting there.

"Thank you so much Ma'am; you have no idea how helpful you've been!" As the hostess walked away, he smiled at Rage. "Two down, three to go!"

"Yeah," Rage said. "At least there's that."

With that, they walked up to the Morton. Iggy noticed that this Morton's starbite and shell were a deep purple color. On top of that, he looked to be chowing down on some kind of burger. This struck Iggy as a little strange; shouldn't this trait be worried about being separated from his whole rather than eating at a place like this?

"Excuse me?" Iggy said as he walked up to the trait. They blinked when they saw Iggy, swallowing their burger bite in a way that almost made them choke. When they got things back under control, they looked at Iggy with surprise.

"Iggy?" He squirmed a little bit, much to Iggy's curiosity. "You… you found me."

"Yes. Yes we did." Iggy walked closer to the trait. "And I must ask, which of Morton's core traits might you be?"

"Oh!" The trait hesitated. "Well, my full name is 'Love for Food.' However, I think that is a bit of a mouthful. You can just call me 'Foodie.'" He squirmed a little bit. "Or Gluttony, whichever you feel more comfortable with…"

Iggy was surprised upon initially hearing this. "Um… alright then. Foodie…" he noticed Foodie looked very surprised and a lot more comfortable when Iggy called him that. "Why might you be here?"

Foodie hesitated again. "Well, I came across this place at random. There were a lot of good smells wafting in from outside on the street. And… well, I couldn't not go in." He smiled. "And I'm so glad I did; this bacon avocado cheeseburger might just be the single greatest thing that I've ever tasted!" He actually looked excited as he looked between the questioning Iggy and the oddly silent Rage. "Do you guys want to try it? I can order it for you; I have plenty of money in my hammerspace!"

Iggy cleared his throat. "Um… I must thank you for the offer and the consideration, Foodie. But, as you've probably guessed, we are in the middle of a mission." He looked Foodie right in the eye. "We're trying to get Morton's traits back together so that we can undo the separation caused by the comet shard."

Foodie thought about this before nodding. "That makes sense." He thought about this some more. "I… I suppose I'd be willing to go back. After all, just being a fragmented personality shard isn't exactly a fun state to be in."

"No, it most certainly isn't," Rage responded. He glared at Iggy when he said that, making the genius squirm.

Eventually, Foodie sighed and nodded his head. "Okay. Okay… I'd be willing to go back with you guys." He stood up. "Just let me pay the bill first."

Iggy beamed. Giving Rage an excited look, he stood up and texted to everyone else that they had found Foodie. Oh, this was going surprisingly well. Iggy could only hope this upward trend would continue.