Chapter 3 Iggy Needs Answers

Iggy tightened one of the screws on his time machine, biting his lip as he did. He tried to let the serenity of working on an invention calm him, take him to the happy place in his mind where the air smelt of warm root beer and the towels were oh so fluffy. Working on a project always did have that effect on him, like a powerful sedative. But this time, he felt no such serenity. He didn't feel calm, content, or even decently happy. As he worked on his time machine, he just had a very irritating series of thoughts running through his head, making him feel frustrated. These thoughts pointed out problems as opposed to helping Iggy find the answer to said problems, which never was a good thing for him.

Morton. Morton, Morton Morton. That was the crux on which all of his thoughts hung. He was the center of Iggy's attention, the stinger spreading its venom throughout Iggy's soul. Thinking about the earlier interaction with his second youngest brother made him…worry? Yeah, sure, let's go with that. Iggy was worried about Morton, as the young boy had clearly not listened to anyone or anything tell him that Topaz just needed time to adjust. He had jumped right to the worst case scenario, not bothering to stop and see that there was light at the end of the tunnel. Why such negativity? Why did Morton have such a backwards way of jumping to the worst conclusions possible?

That question actually caused Iggy to stop. Was…was that a regular occurrence for Morton? Did he do this often; was it a habit for him? Iggy tried to think back to his other interactions with Morton. The more he considered this however, the more lost and confused he got. He couldn't really think of a time when he did. And no, that wasn't because Morton was usually chipper and looking on the bright side, oh no. It was more so because…Iggy didn't have a lot of memories involving one-on-ones with him.

THIS realization really made him worry. Why didn't he remember having interactions with Morton? Did he just have a bad memory? Well, no; Iggy was famous for having a photographic memory (a point that he took great pride in). The more likely explanation was…Iggy never took the time to talk to Morton. And as a consequence…he didn't really know him.

Iggy bit his lip. He really needed to remedy that. As a brother, it was his duty to be there for all of his siblings. This was especially true for Morton, as Iggy was his older brother. Older brothers were supposed to have their younger siblings at least on their radar, if not always viewing them as someone in need of protection and care. And, above all else, they were supposed to know about their siblings; what made them tick as well as what their day-to-day lives were like. And yet, what did Iggy know about Morton? Practically nothing. All that Iggy could say about his brother was that he was stoic and quiet.

Yeah, that wasn't nearly enough information. Iggy needed to know more. He needed to, and he wasn't going to stop until he retrieved the information he sought.

With this thought in mind, Iggy walked away from his time machine and out of the lab. His stance and stride were stiff and professional, as was his face. This was a job after all. A job that he had neglected in the past, but a job nonetheless.

When Iggy got to Morton's door, he took a deep breath. This would be fine. If Iggy could get some one-on-one time with his brother, then he would obtain the answers he wanted. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. It just required a little bit of time, time that Iggy knew for a fact he had in abundance.

So, he knocked on the door. "Morton? It's Iggy, can you let me in?" There was no answer, prompting Iggy to knock again. "Morton, I implore you to open the door; it could be beneficial for the both of us." He reached for the doorknob, but it refused to turn, signifying that the door was locked. Iggy sharply exhaled and pounded on the door again. "Morton, are you even in there? If you are, I demand that you open the door!"

Just as Iggy was about to give up, Morton opened the door. Iggy's face rose when he saw him, but his face fell back down when he took in Morton's appearance. His three hairs were tied up and messy. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he blinked in the way that only someone who wasn't fully awake yet could.

Iggy blinked. Was Morton just sleeping?

"What do you want?" Morton asked, his voice similar to a croaking frog.

"Uh…" Iggy tried to figure out what to say before making up his mind and looking his clearly tired brother right in the eye. "Why are you sleeping in the middle of the day?"

"Because I'm tired," Morton said matter of factly.

"Of course, but…why? Sleeping at one o'clock in the afternoon is considered very poor sleep hygiene. You pose the risk of disrupting your natural circadian rhythms, thus making it increasingly more difficult for you to get proper sleep during the night hours."

Morton yawned. "Not a problem for me."

Iggy raised an eyebrow. He was just about to tell Morton more about proper sleep and why his previous statement was both incorrect and short sighted when he noticed something. "Morty, what is that on your chest?" Not even bothering to wait for an answer, Iggy swiped his finger across Morton's chest. He sniffed the white substance now on his finger, causing him to blink. "Whipped cream?" Without another word, Iggy pushed Morton out of the way and walked into the room. His jaw dropped when he saw the state of Morton's bed.

"Holy guacamole…Morton!" He turned toward his brother. "Your bed is a mess! You have whipped cream, chocolate pie, pickles, and chips to name a few things!"

Morton sniffed. "I'm aware of that."

"Why?" Iggy asked, his horror going off the charts. "Why in the Mushroom World would you consume such high amounts of empty calories? Why would you go out of your way to do what is objectively bad for your health?" The only response he got wasn't even from Morton; it came from Topaz chirping in her cage near the window. "Morty, this is unacceptable!"

Morton's face didn't change at all. The same stoic mask he wore day in, day out remained, giving Iggy the impression that his younger brother was apathetic to the very real problems that Iggy had pointed out. This angered Iggy. He only grew angrier when Morton spoke up.

"Is that the only reason you came to me? To scold me about my diet and sleep schedule?"

"No!" Iggy exclaimed. "Of course not: I wanted to spend time with you!" Iggy looked back at the bed, cringing as he did. "But with how poorly you seem to be taking care of yourself, I think that a lecture is necessary!"

Morton shook his head. "Well, I'm not in the mood for that right now." Morton gestured toward the door. "Why don't you go work on a science project and let me get back to sleep?"

Iggy glared at him. "But I need to spend time with you! I need to know more about you, get a good idea what is going on in your life. It's…it's only right."

Morton raised an eyebrow before averting his gaze. "Don't waste your time," he muttered.

Steam shot out of Iggy's nose. "Why you…you…." he shook his head. "You are acting like an imbecile!"

"Good. That means you'll leave faster." He gestured toward the door. "Have a good day, Iggy."

Iggy sputtered. "But…but.."

"Have a good day, Iggy," Morton said through gritted teeth.

Iggy stared at his brother. He wanted to say more. He wanted to do something, anything that would show Morton that a one-on-one conversation was necessary. However, Morton didn't want that at the moment, and Iggy reasoned that no amount of probing would change his mind. So, with a sour look on his face, he left. When he was completely out of the room, Morton slammed the door and locked it behind him.

Iggy sniffed. "Well. That could have gone better." He walked to his room, trying to ponder the little information he had gathered through that…awful confrontation. Morton was overeating. He was sleeping at inappropriate times. He displayed a notable lack of enthusiasm, one that in all honesty was a little off putting. Sure, the stoic mask Morton wore was nothing new. But coupled with all the other things Iggy had seen…

He stopped right in front of his bedroom door. Wait. All of this was adding up. Lack of sleep, dangerously low mood, irregular sleep cycle…these were all symptoms. Symptoms of a very common affliction, but one that was dangerous nonetheless.

Depression. These were the signs and symptoms of depression. Iggy's little brother had displayed a lot of the telltale signs in just that one interaction. Heck, he had done so with Topaz as well, as the words that he had said had indicated that Morton had very low self esteem and a very dismal view on self worth. It hadn't clicked with Iggy then, but now…

It all fit. Everything fit together, everything was falling into place. Yes, Morton had depression. This most likely meant that there was a chemical imbalance in his brain, a fact that the science-incline Iggy was all too aware of. However….well, there had to be more than that. Even with the chemical imbalance, there were other things that could play a role in someone feeling this way. Drug use, an underlying medical condition, childhood trauma…heck, it might not just be one; it could be a whole slew of these things.

The question Iggy had though was which one was it. He needed to find out, as figuring out the root cause could help Morton come up with a plan for recovery. He could be set up with a proper therapist. Heck, he could even choose Iggy, as Iggy had a PhD in Psychology (of course, that wouldn't exactly be the most ethical thing in the world, but when did the Koopa family ever care about ethics?). He could potentially get on some medication, some stuff that would help him in the long run.

There was only one problem though: Morton wasn't willing to talk about this stuff. He was closed off from pretty much everyone, hence part of the reason Iggy had so few interactions with him. Plus, whenever he did interact with someone, it was always with the same stoic ambivalence; the same mask that was supposed to cover up what he was feeling. Morton clearly didn't want to talk about things. This was a huge problem, as acknowledging the problem is the very first step in fixing it. How was Morton supposed to get help if he wasn't even going to come right out and say he needed help in the first place?

This frustrated Iggy. He pulled away from his bedroom door and started stomping his way through the castle. No no no, this wouldn't do. Morton needed to open up. He needed to, otherwise the depression would go untreated and more than likely get worse. And if it got worse…well, Iggy wasn't particularly happy about the possibilities that presented. So what could he do?

"You're saying that it's causing a problem?"

Iggy did a double take. For the first time, he realized he was in the throne room. He noticed Bowser sitting on the throne, with Kamek standing by his side and wiping his brow. Not wanting to intrude on their conversation, Iggy backed up toward the door. He was about to leave and go wander off somewhere else, but then Kamek said something that really caught his interest.

"Yeah, the comet chunk has been affecting my magic."

Iggy blinked, now not even caring on intruding on the conversation. He walked up to his adopted father and his advisor.

"Greetings, fraternal figures," Iggy said. "I couldn't help but overhear you two talk about a comet chunk?"

Bowser and Kamek blinked at Iggy before Kamek nodded. "Yes. It's in the treasure room. It broke off a piece of a cosmic comet sailing across the Mushroom World a few decades ago."

"Yeah," Bowser said. "We've kept it in the treasury for a long time, and it's been dormant for a while. However, for whatever reason, it started…glowing a few days ago."

"Glowing?" Iggy thought about this. "Maybe it responded to a spell that Kamek cast sometime ago, or its been exposed to some more Galaxium that is impacting its power?"

"Those are both decent possibilities," Kamek said. "However, the reason as to why is pretty moot at this point. The problem is its doing it, and its been impacting my magic in negative ways." He displayed his wand, with the red star bit in the center glowing brightly. "Spellcasting has become nearly impossible, as any spell I have cast over the past few days has been…stronger than I want it to be."

Iggy blinked. "And that is a problem because…?"

Kamek pursed his lips. "Well, let's just say that the Castle is in danger of crumbling if we don't take care of the problem."

"Yes," said Bowser. "Which is why I want that thing gone! I don't care if its considered a treasure at this point; if it results in my death, I'm not interested."

Iggy nodded, seeing the point Bowser was making clearly and fully."Very sensible, Bowser." He was just about to walk away when he got an idea. "Wait. How large is this comet chunk?"

Kamek raised an eyebrow. "It's about the size of a basketball; why?"

"So about 74.93 cm in circumference…" Iggy smiled. "Bowser, if it is alright with you, instead of disposing of the entire chunk…could you perhaps lend a small sliver of it to me? I have a feeling I can use it in the world of scientific pursuits."

Bowser laughed. "HA! No way, Iggy! Every last inch of that thins is going to go bye bye!"

Iggy's face fell a little. "Oh, but please Bowser? A small sliver of the piece isn't going to be nearly as dangerous as the full one! And even with that in mind, I swear I'll take good care of it! Please, Bowser? Please?"

Bowser gave Iggy a weird look, like he was taken aback by Iggy of all people begging. Finally, he sighed. "Alright. As long as you promise to be very careful."

Iggy grinned. "I promise." To further drive the point home, he did a salute. "You have my word that I'll treat the comet chunk with the utmost care and respect!" He giggled. "I have a great plan for what to do with it."

It was a new plan, one that still needed to have its kinks ironed out and the details worked through. However, if Iggy could pull it off, it might help Morton in more ways than originally thought possible.

Iggy just really hoped it would work.