Chapter 5 Metallic Fear

Feeling his fear climbing, as well as uncertainty over whether or not he could trust the words of the strange machine accompanying him, Larry decided to do what Tec asked him to do. He took a seat on the smooth, clean, almost alien floor. He looked up at Tec, hoping that he could receive answers. He didn't know what questions the answers would be joined to, but he wanted them nonetheless.

"You have been chosen by Master Francis," Tec said, his voice so flat that it would've been comical (if it wasn't so dreadfully sad and nerve-wracking). "He saw you on the news. He discovered that you are a robotic superhero, and he decided to take advantage of an opportunity." Larry realized he couldn't look up into the camera, as that made him too squirmy. He instead looked at the computer screen. As he crossed his legs, he thought about the information Tec was revealing to him.

"What do you mean… take advantage of an opportunity?"

"Francis has followed the most logical course of action based on the observations we made together." Tec's screen changed, and Larry's eyes grew wide when he saw an animation playing out on it. The animation style was cute, but that meant very little. If anything, the cutesy art style juxtaposed with the imagery of Francis cracking Larry's head open like a coconut and fidgeting with the wiring inside just made Larry feel uncomfortable. His robotic heartbeat sped up, especially as he pieced together what this imagery meant. What the message Tec was trying to get across was, what it ultimately meant for the youngest Koopaling.

"So he wasn't kidding," Larry said, his voice threatening to trail off. "He wants to reprogram me."

"He does," Tec said, the matter-of-factness of his speech making Larry's heartbeat speed up even more. "Master Francis is very skilled when it comes to machines. And seeing how you yourself are a piece of machinery, he would like to use you. His ultimate goal is to reprogram you in a way where he can use you as a personal soldier. With our might, he feels it is possible to take down the most powerful of people in the Koopa Kingdom. Even your adopted father, King Bowser.'

That statement awoke something in Larry. His eyes grew wide, and chilly shudders overtook his entire body. "No!"

"Yes. Master Francis still needs to figure out how to do it, of course. As we speak, he is tinkering and experimenting with some robotic coding that he modeled after your own brain. Once he figures out how to effectively alter those, he will then move on to you."

Larry couldn't shake any harder if he actually tried. He shook his head as he laid his hand, palm flat, on the ground. This wasn't happening. This had to be a dream, right? This had to be some nightmare that his brain was twisted enough to put him through. That was the only possible explanation; his brain had some fears regarding the wish he made on Fortune's Comet, and now it was exploring those fears while Larry slept.

That would be the perfect explanation except for one tiny, very important detail. Unless his battery was dead, Larry couldn't sleep anymore. And he didn't dream when his battery was dead.

"You… you can't do this!" This time, he looked directly into the camera. He tried to glare at the computer, but the lack of a solid face as well Larry's growing anxiety made that near impossible. "Francis can't do this! He has no right!"

"Right?" Tec asked. "That does not compute."

Larry rose to his feet. So not only had he been kidnapped by a psychotic lizard, but now he was in the same room of a computer who wouldn't and couldn't empathize with his perspective. Wasn't that just swell?

"I won't let you guys do this!" He gripped his hand into a fist. "I'm getting out of here!" He turned to the wall, the eerily smooth and grossly clean wall. He needed to blast it down. Once he blasted a hole the size of the moon, he would hightail it out of there and go back to his siblings. No, wait, actually, he would go to the authorities. The cops needed to know about Francis and his creepy as fuck computer. They needed to put Francis on some sort of watch list, if not throw him in jail. This thought fueling his determination, Larry pointed at the wall and tried to activate his sonic cannon. He bit his lip as he waited for it, but it never came. He tried again, but his arm remained his arm. This sight made him start to sweat.

"What… why…?"

"Did Master Francis not tell you?" Tec asked. "He disabled your superpowers."

A sinking feeling overcame Larry. "No. No! He can't do that; he doesn't know how!"

"He does, as a matter of fact," Tec reinforced. "Once again, Master Francis is very skilled in the field of computer science."

Larry shook his head. He wasn't typically one to panic, but he was starting to do so right now. His heart pounded so hard that he heard it echoing in his ears. He sweated enough to fill a reservoir, and his hyperventilation would kill him if he didn't get it under control.

"NO!" His fear spiking, he ran toward the wall. He banged his fist against it, hoping that Francis would hear. Or, if not Francis, then ANYONE. Anyone who could hear, anyone who wasn't a psychopath, and anyone who would take the time to help. He wished so hard that someone would hear.

"PLEASE!" He banged his fist against the wall, increasing the volume and intensity. "PLEASE! PLEASE LET ME OUT!" He punched the wall so hard he wouldn't be surprised if he had damaged his hand. He continued pounding. "PLEASE!" Tears fell from his eyes, ones that he didn't even bother wiping away.

"Larry, you need to stop," Tec said. "It is a pointless endeavor. Nothing you do or say can get you out."

Even with that said, Larry didn't stop. He rammed his entire body against the wall, but nothing happened. He didn't even make a dent.

"I understand you have some feelings regarding this," Tec said, sounding VERY disinterested. "But you really need to stop. It isn't good if you continue this. The only thing you'll accomplish is tiring yourself out."

Something about that last sentence, despite the fact that Larry logically recognized that it was false (he didn't get physically tired anymore), finally made him pull back. He looked at the wall. He looked at the ceiling. He looked at his hand. Finally, he looked at Tec. Everything crashed down on him. He felt like he was going to collapse. On some level, he desired that.

"I… this is it, isn't it?" Larry said. He slowly pulled away from the wall. Fulfilling his desire, he collapsed to the ground. The tears came in waves as he curled up into a little ball. He hugged his knees close to his chest, whimpering and feeling like he was going to break down.

"You may as well stop," Tec said. "Crying won't solve the problem."

Larry didn't have the strength to offer a retort. Whimpering, he curled himself up into a tighter ball. These were his last days alive, weren't they? When Francis finally found out how to reprogram his brain, that would mean the end of him. He would have no feelings, no personality; he would just be a husk. He would be a non-thinking, non-feeling machine. The Larry that everyone knew would be gone forever. For all intents and purposes, he would be dead.

And with that thought, Larry started to mourn his own, guaranteed loss. He couldn't stop crying. He didn't know exactly how many days he had left, but that hardly mattered. This was hopeless.

This was hopeless.

…

Iggy frowned as he looked outside. The sunset over the western horizon stained the sky with yellows and purples. It was certainly beautiful, and a great example of Rayleigh Scattering. Really, Iggy didn't take as much time as he should to appreciate that everyday phenomenon. He really should; even though it occurred almost every day, it was something that no one should take for granted. On any other day, Iggy would pull a textbook out of the Castle Library and read some more about Rayleigh Scattering.

Of course, that wasn't his main concern right now. He grunted in apprehension and uncertainty as he looked out the window, at the sky. His concern was almost enough to trump his fascination with the sky's beauty. In fact, the sky might as well be covered with thick gray smog; that at least would reflect Iggy's internal feelings a lot more accurately.

"Iggy?" Iggy heard his only sister say. She came into the lab, but Iggy refused to turn away from the window. "I just wanted to let you know that dinner's ready. And it's your favorite!"

Iggy's frown got steeper. "Splendid. I will be down in a little bit." His eyes were practically glued to the window, to the sky. He hoped to see a specific thing, a specific figure on the horizon in front of the Castle. He didn't see them, which… oh man, his heart rate sped up considerably.

"Iggy?" Wendy asked. She approached Iggy and put her hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Uh…" Iggy considered what to say before he decided to settle with the truth. "I… I am unaware why his return is taking so long."

"Whose return?"

"Larry's." Iggy finally turned away from the window to look into his sister's face. "He went out to do hero work earlier today. I even had a chat with him before he went off to perform his self-appointed tasks." He whimpered. "I expected him to be home by now. Hell, I expected him to be home an hour ago!" Iggy paused. "I don't understand why he's taking so long."

"Ohhh…" Wendy laughed. "I wouldn't worry about that, Iggster."

"What? Why not?"

"Because this probably doesn't mean anything. Maybe the reason why Larry is so late is because he's taking the time to engage in a really long battle."

Iggy whimpered a little. "You mean a battle where he could potentially get beat to do death? Yeah, I would not consider that possibility comforting."

Wendy laughed again. "You're such a Negative Nancy! Iggy, Larry's fine! He's a fighter; he knows what he's doing on the battlefield! I bet you that he's putting his all into his fights and that he's making headlines right as we speak!"

"Oh, you think so, huh?" Just for the sake of proving his point, he pulled out his phone, went to the news, and handed the device to Wendy. "Dear sister, observe these headlines. Do tell; how many of them cover the topic of Larry's escapades?"

Wendy scrolled through the news articles. As she got deeper into the search, the enthusiasm went away a little bit. "Well… none of them at the moment." She looked back at Iggy. "But Iggy's, it's been less than a day. People probably haven't given themselves the time to do news reports on him."

"Didn't give themselves the time? But news travels fast!"

"Yeah, but not that fast!" Wendy handed back the phone. "Iggy, it's going to be fine! You're probably worrying about nothing!" She took in a breath. "Tell you what. If Larry hasn't returned by this time tomorrow, we can start a search. We'll get everyone in the castle involved, and we'll make sure the entire kingdom is on alert. Would that be alright?"

Iggy thought about this a little bit. "I… I… yes. That seems reasonable. I just…" He firmly gripped the windowsill. "If Larry is stuck in a terrible situation, he probably wouldn't have that much time."

"Possibly. But we don't have to worry about that right now." She patted Iggy on the back and gestured for him to follow her. "Look, maybe you'll feel better after you eat."

Iggy blinked before a tiny smile appeared on his face. "Perhaps…" His smile grew bigger. "Food does sound good right about now." His giddiness grew. "And I do recall you saying the dish prepared is my favorite, right?"

"Yep! And to make it better, Morton was the one who prepared it!"

"Ooh! Even better; lead the way!"

With a smile on her face, Wendy made her way out of the lab. As he trailed after her, Iggy took some deep breaths. It'll all be okay, he told himself. Against all odds, I know it'll all be okay. He paused. Or at least, I hope…