Chapter 25 Attempting Time Travel
Iggy lifted an eyebrow, putting his hands on his hips as he stared at Morton. "The time machine?"
"Yes!" Morton exclaimed. "It is the perfect solution!"
Iggy looked between his brother and the apparatus that sat in the corner of the lab. His face looked as if it was trying to grasp hold of a solid idea for what to do, as well as reasoning to support that idea. The hesitant look in his eyes made Morton's face fall, as he knew that look all too well. He put his hand on Iggy's arm, drawing the genius's attention toward him.
"Iggy," he said. "We have to do this."
Iggy shook his head. "How do we know that it is the right thing to do? What if we inadvertently create a time paradox?"
"Well, do you have any better ideas?" Morton gestured toward the crystal, still shining on the floor. "We can't destroy it with any of the tools we have in our arsenal. If we want to prevent the day from repeating for all eternity, then we have to do this!"
Iggy stared at the crystal. The gears appeared to be turning in his head. His mouth moved, but no sound escaped from his lips as he considered what Morton said to him.
Finally, he sighed and nodded his head. "You are correct." He cleared his throat. "We must do this."
Morton smiled. "Good." He went over, picked up the crystal, then made his way over to the time machine. He opened the shiny silver door and gestured for Iggy to enter. "After you."
Iggy hesitated. He kept his eyes on the crystal for a few seconds before taking a step forward. He then took another step, then another, moving along at a snail's pace. When he got into the time machine, he looked worried sick. Nevertheless, he still got in. Morton followed and closed the door. Once they were both in, Iggy turned on the lights and strapped himself into the driver's seat.
"Okay," said Iggy. He pressed a button on the control panel. This caused a low, rumbling sound to occur, signifying that the engine had come on. The sound caused the floor beneath Morton's feet to vibrate. He took a seat and strapped himself in, all while keeping a good hold of the crystal.
"Initiating temporal jump," Iggy said. He pressed more buttons on the control panel. He looked over at Morton, who gave him a confident look and a nod. Iggy bit his lip, clearly not being affected by the confidence that Morton was trying to give him. He flipped another switch on the control panel and leaned forward, gripping the steering wheel. Outside, a multitude of colors whirled around the machine.
"Are you all strapped in, Morty," said Iggy.
Morton nodded. "We're going to go to tomorrow, right?"
Iggy sighed. "That is the plan." He swallowed a lump, creating a squelching noise as he did so. He pressed on the last button and gripped the steering wheel. "Hang on!"
A pushing force threw Morton's back against the seat. He gripped the sides of his chair as the time machine was surrounded on all sides by a bright white light. The machine rumbled, and the lights flickered. However, Morton wasn't concerned. If anything, he was excited.
"Do not fear the rumbling," said Iggy. "Think of it as being similar to turbulence on an airplane."
"Right, right." Morton felt as if the machine was moving forward now. Iggy squinted through the windshield and steered it through the fabric of time. The light on the outside seared itself into Morton's eyeballs. It reminded him of solar glare in a sense. However, he didn't mind.
"We are almost there," said Iggy. "Just a few more seconds."
Morton nodded, smiling wider than he had smiled all throughout the loop. This was working! This was actually, legitimately working!
However, right as he was thinking this, something caught his eye. It was a red shine, and it seemed to be escaping in between the cracks of his closed palm. He lifted his hand and looked at the crystal. The color it produced made it look like heated iron.
"Iggy! The crystal's glowing red!"
Iggy turned back around with fear in his eyes. "Red?"
Suddenly, a warning light came on in the machine. A blazing, spring-like sound bounced off the walls. Morton grit his teeth and put his hands to his ears to block out the sound. Iggy's consternation grew stronger.
"I do not recall this ever happening," said Iggy.
Suddenly, a warning appeared on the screen. An electronic, female sounding voice said. "Time travel failed. Restarting the main frame."
"What!" Iggy pounded on the buttons. "No! No! We can't...we have to…"
The siren just grew louder, the crystal's glow grew brighter. The crystal itself vibrated, similar to an egg that was about to hatch. Morton felt as if he was going to throw up just looking at it.
"Ending time travel sequence," said the machine.
"No!" Iggy cried.
Suddenly, the loudest noise Morton had ever heard occurred. It was like a nuclear explosion amped up to a million. He screamed, his teeth hurting and his ears bleeding. Even with his voice raised to the highest possible volume, he could not hear himself. He couldn't even hear his own thoughts. He closed his eyes, waiting for the ringing in his ears to stop.
When it eventually did, he opened his eyes. He looked at Iggy, who gripped the sides of his head in terror. The outside of the machine revealed that they were back in the lab. Morton unbuckled and made his way over.
"Are you alright?" he asked. He was relieved to hear the sound of his own voice, indicating that he hadn't gone deaf.
Iggy let out a breath and slowly turned to Morton with a face as pale as snow. "I...I'm okay."
Morton nodded. He looked down at the crystal, which thankfully had stopped glowing red and had returned to its usual white luster. Together, the two Koopalings made their way out of the time machine. Morton took in deep breaths. Iggy put his hands on his hips.
"Well, that was a bust," said Morton. He didn't even try to hide his horrible disappointment.
"Indeed," said Iggy, still trying to regain his breath. He turned toward his brother. "I hope this will not be the catalyst for any other…"
Suddenly, a rumbling occurred in the room. Morton gripped the side of one of the lab tables to prevent himself from falling over. Iggy kept his hands out to maintain balance.
"...Problems."
Morton looked at Iggy in concern. "What was that?"
"I am not sure. It might have just been an earthquake? Hopefully?"
A loud, thundercrack like sound occurred. However, one look outside proved to Morton that it wasn't caused by rain, as it was still bright outside. Morton and Iggy exchanged a worried look.
"Oh no," said Iggy. He bolted toward the exit. "We need to find the others and make sure they're okay!"
Morton nodded as a horrible sense of guilt overtook him. He looked back down at the crystal before following his brother.