Chapter 23 Unpleasant Realizations

Iggy couldn't help but blink at Morality's tone. It was probably the most "off" that any of Morton's traits had sounded when they returned to the castle. It made his heart sink; it made him feel as though there was a sort of discomfort in the air. He tried to tell himself that this wasn't the case, that he was making a big deal out of nothing. And yet, looking at Morality, standing there with a furrowed brow, Iggy couldn't help but squirm a little.

"Uh…" Iggy hesitated before extending his hand. Morality took it, shaking it gingerly. "It's really very nice to see you. And let me just say, when I heard that you had your memories, I was beyond relieved." He snickered. "If for no other reason than it would make you more likely to believe us."

Morality chuckled a little. "Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense." He pulled away from Iggy, looking at him like he was a monster that was about to tear his flesh apart. "Um… I, uh…"

Alarm bells went off in Iggy's head. "What is it?" He took a step forward. "Is something wrong? You can tell me if that's the case."

Morality shrunk back, very clearly feeling squirmy. "Um… well, I… do have some things I need to address…" he twiddled his thumbs, looking away from the increasingly concerned Iggy. "But… well, uh…"

Right as Iggy was about to find the suspense unbearable, Determination stepped forward and spoke up for him. "He doesn't appreciate the fact that you split Morton up."

"Oh." Well, that was certainly less of a big deal than Iggy had originally been thinking in his head. And it made sense; while he had formally apologized to Sarcasm, he still hadn't apologized to any of the Mortons. Might as well do that now; it might make Morality feel a little better.

"Well, I will say that I am profoundly sorry for that." He went up and put his hand on Morality's shoulder, almost flinching from how cold it was. "I only did that because I wanted to help you. But at the same time, I know it put a lot of emotional strain on all of you, so I will still offer my most profound apologies." He patted him, smiling as he did. "Do you accept them?"

Morality hesitated for a second. "I… yeah." He briefly put his hand on top of Iggy's, patting it as he did. "I think I do."

Iggy paused. Something about that phrase didn't feel right. Was it Morality's tone? Was it the fact that he used the phrase "I think," ultimately implying that he wasn't so sure? Iggy didn't know, and it bothered him profusely. He was tempted to pull Morality aside and bombard him with questions, questions that would show both Iggy's curiosity as well as his growing frustration.

However, he decided against that and just sighed. "Well. Why don't I take you to see your fellow traits, okay?"

Morality's face lit up a little bit. "I would like that very much, thank you."

Iggy cast him a smile, and together, the four of them made their way up to Morton's room. Iggy thought about everything, how easily and efficiently he and his siblings were finding the different Mortons. They already had four out of the five! When they got Depression back (Iggy would bet a million coins that that was Morton's final trait), then things would really fall into place. Iggy would be able to figure out Morton's problems, and hopefully help sort them out. Oh, the thought of doing that… oh man, Iggy could hardly contain himself! He had been hoping that he would be able to do this! Sure, the fact that doing this required him and his siblings to search the entire Mushroom World was a little irritating, but that hardly mattered. Almost all the Mortons were back in the Castle, and Iggy couldn't be happier.

They reached the bedroom within no time at all. Iggy opened it slowly to not catch the other Mortons off guard and turned on the light with little fanfare. Foodie and Chattiness, who appeared to have been discussing something near the window, immediately smiled when they saw their fellow trait.

"Hey look; it's Morality!" Foodie said. He came over, although Iggy noticed he did so in a way that was slower and stiffer than how the trait usually walked. "Good to have you back, man!"

"Yeah!" Chattiness exclaimed. He walked over, grinning from ear to ear. "I've been really worried about you. Sure, I've been worried about all the traits, especially since I wasn't sure if you guys lost your memories like I did. So, to see you here, present, well, and without external injuries… it's really nice!" He giggled. "Now we're almost complete! Now, we will be able to figure out a way to get back together! Now, we can…"

"Chattiness," Morality interrupted. Chattiness blinked as Morality gave him a stern look. "Please, pipe it down. You could talk someone's ear off, and we certainly don't want that."

As Chattiness' face fell, Iggy actually reeled back a little bit. Wow. He hadn't really been expecting that. While Morality had shut down Chattiness in a gentle way, the fact that he had done that at all was baffling. Was Morality one of the reasons why the regular Morton wasn't so chatty? Was he the reason behind Morton being a shut-in? Well, the same could also be asked of Depression, but the possibility that it could also be Morality's doing was just… shocking.

"Okay," Chattiness said, his face falling. He backed away, and Morality let out a breath as he did.

"Good. Thank you." He then looked in the bed, where Laziness was sleeping the day away (now that Iggy thought about it, he didn't think he's seen Laziness on his feet at any point during this escapade). He let out a frustrated groan. "Laziness!" He walked over and began shaking him. "Come on buddy, you know we can't spend all day in bed! Please, get up; there are things we should be doing?"

Laziness groaned. Morality pulled away as he opened his eyes and gave him the sleepiest glare Iggy had ever seen. "Will you please stop? I just… I just…' He hesitated before letting out a jaw-popping yawn. "Oh man, I'm too tired to even finish that sentence." He sunk back into the bed. "I'll get up in a minute, okay Morality?"

Morality shook his head, looking beyond annoyed. "What am I supposed to do with you?" He turned toward Foodie. "I assume you've at least been on your best behavior, right Foodie?"

Foodie hesitated. "Well… yeah." He directed his gaze down toward the floor. "I haven't been raiding the pantry, if that's what you're wondering…"

For the first time since entering the room, Morality smiled. "Well, that's good. I've got to say, I'm proud of you." Foodie's face brightened up, and Morality put on a smile of his own. "Well! I've got to say, it's nice to be reunited with my fellow traits." He looked between Chattiness and Laziness. "As unruly as some of them happen to be."

Chattiness sunk even deeper into the ground, looking like someone had just taken a knife to his heart. Iggy couldn't help but find this fascinating. Sure, it was concerning and harrowing in a way, but the fact that Iggy was getting this clear of an insight as to what had been going on within his brother's head was… well, it was interesting, to say the least. Iggy never in a million years would've imagined that he would get to witness something like this. He felt like he wanted to write a dozen academic essays discussing and analyzing his.

"Well," he said, speaking up for the first time since coming into the room. "I think this is fantastic!" Morality did a double-take, but Iggy kept speaking regardless. "We are almost done with our quest, so a big burden has been taken off the shoulders and chests of a lot of people who live in this Castle." He chuckled. "And I am glad that Morton will be restored soon too. Hopefully, when he is, we'll all have a stronger understanding of his internal feelings and struggles."

Morality did another double take. "You… you really think that way?"

That question threw Iggy off kilter. "Um… yes. Yes, I do. Would it not be natural for me to have such a perspective?"

"Um… yeah, I guess." Morality shrunk back a little bit. "It's just… it's surprising, that's what it is."

Iggy could hardly wrap his head around this. "Surprising? Would that be surprising, unless…"

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Iggy. A painful thought, one that made him feel lower than low. This thought… or, to be more specific, this question shook him to his core. He didn't want to ask it out loud for fear that it might be true.

Was he the cause of Morton's depression?

If anyone else came to Iggy asking that question, he would've brushed them off and laughed them off. 'People can't cause depression!' He would say. 'At least, not completely. Depression is multifactorial, and it is also caused by a chemical imbalance. The idea that a single person could be the cause of someone's depressive state is a ludicrous proposition!'

If he had been asked the question before the split, that would be the answer he would've provided. He would have stood by that answer, not letting a single person deter him from having that viewpoint. The possibility of it not being the case would've been denied tooth and nail. But now… could he in good conscience keep holding onto it? Thinking about it now, after seeing how the Mortons reacted to being in his presence… he thought about Foodie, how closed off and uncertain he had been when he and Iggy had spoken in the kitchen for the first time. He thought about Morality, who had noticeably looked worried when he had come into the castle and had seen Iggy for the first time. Those… could those encounters support Iggy's theory? Oh goodness, what if it did? What if Iggy really was the cause of Morton's emotional plight? If… if he was…

"Iggy?" Determination asked, looking at him with a furrowed brow. "Is everything okay?"

Iggy's breath came out at a shaky rate. What if I am the cause? He shook a little when considering this, refusing to look anyone in the eye. If I had caused Morton this much grief… if I had been responsible for him feeling like he had to suffer in silence… It couldn't be, could it? Could Iggy really be the bad guy? Was he really so monstrous that he was able to hurt Morton in this manner without even realizing what he was doing?

"Iggy!" Determination said again. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

Deciding that he needed to be attentive to his siblings' needs, Iggy took a deep breath. "I… I'm alright." He spent a little bit of time gathering his bearings. He took deep breath after deep breath, telling himself that he needed to push these thoughts to the side. They couldn't be true. They just… they couldn't be.

"So…" he said, looking right at Morality. "Morality, you are the key to us finding Morton's final trait. Do you think you can tap into him, tell us where he is?"

Morality hesitated before nodding. "Y…yeah. I can do that." He closed his eyes, humming a low note as he did. After a few minutes of that, he let out a breath. "Okay. I… I see this person. He is wearing all these bright colors, and he has this sort of skull face."

"Skull face?" Musical asked. "That's kind of creepy."

"SHH!" Iggy said. He stepped closer to Morality. "What else can you see?"

Morality put his fingers to his temples. "There's… sand. It's… it's actually kind of pretty. It's a burnt orange, and it goes along with the colors of the buildings beautifully." He grinned. "Oh man, the buildings are really pretty. They're unlike anything I've ever seen before. And the people there… they too have skull faces, but they all look really happy." His face fell. "That's a big contrast to how Depression is feeling, let me tell you."

Iggy's heart sank a little, but he still stepped forward. "Can you name the place you're in?"

"Uh…" Morality's face scrunched up. "Tost… Tostarena!" He opened his eyes. "He's in Tostarena!"

"Tostarena?" Determination asked. "Oh man, that's all the way to the east! It'll take us a while to get there!"

"That it will indeed," said Iggy. He cleared his throat and stood up to his full height, hoping that doing so would help him look authoritative. "You guys stay here. I'm going to make my way there right away."

"I'm coming with you!" Determination exclaimed.

Iggy shook his head. "No." He looked at all the traits, who all gave him surprised looks. "This is something I need to do alone."