Chapter 15 SCIENCE! Part 2

"I hate them," I muttered under my breath. I sat on my bed with my head in my hands, growling and seething and doing whatever it is you can think of. I scratched at my rainbow mohawk vehemently, I bit my lip so hard that it bled. "I hate them so much! I despise them, I abhor them, I just….GAHH!"

They were wrong. They were dead wrong. Aim for something more realistic he said. Pfft. Do they know...ANYTHING? Did they know how the world worked? If I wanted to leave an impact on the very bedrock of our society, like my ultimate goal required me to do, then I absolutely could not settle for "realistic." I need to aim higher.

"Hey, are you alright?"

I sat up and blinked. Ludwig floated right in my doorway, looking at me with...apathy? I assumed it was apathy; he did look a little irritated. In hindsight, he was probably exhausted from dealing with shenanigans as well. Or maybe he was just irritated that someone refused to give him his favorite toy; this was before he destroyed Frostwall if I remember correctly and therefore would mean that Ludwig had a horrible case of spoiled brat-itis. However, at the time, I interpreted this expression as him being angry with me specifically. So, I grit my teeth at him.

"Would it matter to you if I wasn't?"

Ludwig blinked and floated into the room. "Wow. Huffy much?"

I let out a sharp exhale. "For your information, I have just had a very unpleasant conversation with my father and his vizier. I think I can be 'huffy' if I choose to be."

Ludwig smirked. "Yeah, okay; whatever, brat."

I gawked. He...he was calling me a brat? How dare he? That was beyond hypocritical; that was the most extreme show of ego that I have ever seen in my life! The amount of denial he had to be in for him to say something like that unironically was mind breaking.

"Brat? BRAT!" I jumped out of bed. "My behavior and moral code are much more developed than yours are currently!"

Now it was Ludwig's turn to gawk. "Wooooowwwwww. And here I came in because I wanted to help you." His fingers started to smoke. "You're a horrible stupidhead!"

I laughed. "What a juvenile insult…" I blinked as realization hit me. "Wait, you wish to help me?"

Ludwig scoffed. "Well, yeah. I overheard the conversation that you had with Kamek and Bowser in the throne room. I figured that the least you and I could do was put them in their place."

I smiled. My brother, my stuck up ass of a brother, was offering to help me? I must have wandered into an alternate universe or something like that, because...wow, this did not happen everyday.

"Th...thank you! You are unaware of how much value a statement like that holds for me."

Ludwig snorted. "Uh huh. I mean, I WAS going to help you until you talked to me like that." He turned toward the exit. "I have half a mind to just let you stew in your misery."

I let out a breath and directed my head down toward the floor. I wasn't used to saying this; I really wasn't. However, if I wanted to get my brother's help, it would appear that I had to.

"I'm sorry."

Ludwig paused in the doorway. He turned back to me, awe plastered across his face. "What did you say? I didn't catch that."

My face grew warm with embarrassment. "I SAID I'M SORRY OKAY!" I let out a huff. "And you aren't going to hear that from me again."

Ludwig's eyes sparkled. "Well, don't worry; that's all I really wanted to hear." He chuckled. "Man, I really should have brought a recorder into the room so I could catch you saying I'm sorry on tape."

"Ha ha ha, shut up." I pinched by brow and took deep breaths, all while Ludwig stared at me in curiosity.

"So," he said. "You want to get into a science textbook, huh?"

"Mmhm," I said with a nod. "I..I can't just sit back and let my life go to waste. I have to do something big. I have to. They say shoot for the moon and you'll reach the stars, right? But how can I land on the stars, or even the moon, when I don't aim for them at all?" I growled. "That's what makes me so mad; neither Kamek or Bowser want me to aim for the moon or the stars."

Ludwig nodded. "I see what you're saying. They did seem extra jerkish in the throne room."

"Yeah." I cleared my throat. "Okay, so if you are aware of the words that Bowser and Kamek have spoken to me, how do you wish to help?"

Ludwig lowered himself to the ground, a somber mood overtaking his countenance. "Well, I remember you asked if there could be a scientific explanation for magic. And, well...since I have magic flowing through my blood, I was hoping that we could figure out if there was any particular reason for it to be there."

I nodded. "Okay, that makes sense I suppose." I took a step forward, keeping my hands firmly planted on my hips. "You want to find out why exactly you're a special."

"Yes. I do. I've wanted to for a while, but…" Ludwig shook his head. "No one is giving me answers of any kind."

My curiosity was piqued. "No one?"

"No one."

I smirked. "Have you considered throwing a tantrum? That seems to be an effective method for you."

Ludwig narrowed his eyebrows at me. "Do you want me to help or not, egghead?"

"Yes, yes I do." I held up my hands in surrender and sighed. "I..I suppose we can find out why that is. However, I think I'm going to need something from you."

"What's that?'

"I need some of your blood."

Ludwig blinked. Silence filled the room, one as thick as the brine of a stew. He finally cringed at me, cringed with all the disgust he was capable of feeling.

"My blood? Why do you need my blood?"

"So I can study it," I said with a matter of fact tone. "If I study it, I might be able to find out the exact source of the magic."

Ludwig shook his head. "You're a real sicko."

"And you threatened to burn the cook to a crisp if he didn't bake you a black forest cake yesterday. What's your point?"

Ludwig glared at me, the edges of his fingers bursting into flames. However, I wasn't going to let that phase me. I gave him a serious expression, a no-nonsense expression.

"I need your blood, Ludwig. I need it."

After another pause, Ludwig sighed. "Fine." He turned out the door, and I followed suit. He led me down to the kitchen, which due to the strike that the cooks were experiencing at the time was completely unoccupied. Ludwig pulled a knife out of the chopping block and made a little cut in the center of his palm. He cringed as the cut started to bleed.

"I hope you're happy now, cause I hurt."

I smiled. "I am incredibly happy." I fished a bowl out of my hammerspace and held it below his hand. His blood dripped into it, forming a little puddle. When I had enough, I pulled some gauze out of my hammerspace. Ludwig took it telekinetically and wrapped it around his cut, all while I stared into the bowl.

"Thank you, dear older brother. I promise that I will make great use out of this."

…

Junior wrote down these details. He realized that he was on the last few pages left in the notebook. He could probably listen to Iggy tell the rest of his story, as well as one more story immediately after. However, after that, he should probably try to locate a new notebook. He wondered if Wendy had one in her room? She often used them to sketch out ideas for outfits she wanted to wear.

"That sounds...cool," Junior said once he finished writing. He snickered. "What did you do next; did you embrace your inner vampire and drink up Ludwig's blood?"

Iggy made a face. "Of course not! Blood is full of toxins that make it lethal for people to consume!"

Junior laughed. "I know, I know; I'm making a joke." Iggy just scrunched up his brow, prompting Junior to stop and clear his throat. "In all seriousness, what did you do next?"

Iggy sighed and leaned back. "Well, the next few hours were difficult, as I didn't exactly have the tools that I needed. I mean, sure. Nowadays, I know that there was Galaxium in Ludwig's blood. However, I need someway to prove that; someway that would absolutely make it clear that there was a unique element at play."

Junior leaned forward. "What did you do?"

"Well, I had to work fast to make sure that his blood didn't coagulate, first off. I tried looking for anything that could help me." Iggy beamed and reached into his hammerspace. "Eventually, I found help in the form of this little baby."

Junior blinked when Iggy laid what had been in his hammerspace on the table. "A coin?"

"Mmhm. Coins, dear Junior, are made out of pure gold. Which, as you know, is an element on the periodic table. I knew that at the time to, so I wanted to see if there was anyway that having the coin interact with my brother's blood would form a special molecular compound."

Junior nodded. "That makes sense." He gripped his pen. "Did it?"

Iggy grinned. "Well, the coin turned pink when I placed it in the liquid. I knew that it more than likely indicated to me that I was making progress." Junior nodded and wrote that down. "However, I needed someway to prove it, like I said. So, that night, I snuck out. I made my way to a far off scientific institute to have the sample studied. Sure, it was difficult to do. Back then, as previously established, science wasn't exactly looked upon with happy viewpoints. So, it took a while for me to find the institute that I needed to."

Junior jotted that down. "And did you?"

Iggy nodded.

…

I remember standing outside the institute. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. I hoped that they would let me in. They had to let me in. If I had actually created a new elemental compound with the coin, I knew that it could change everything.

The door was eventually opened by a frazzled old koopa. He had an unkept tan beard, unkept tan hair, a messy beige shirt..overall, he was a wreck.

"Who's there?" he called out.

I waved my hand. "Down here, sir."

The koopa stared down at me. He blinked before snickering. "What's this? A four year old? Whatcha doing here, little man?"

I smiled. "My name is Ignatius Magnolia Koopa. I am the fourth born adopted son of King Bowser Hortensia Koopa I. I have come here to request your assistance."

The koopa blinked. "My assistance?"

"Yes." I pulled out my bag containing the pink coin. "I need you to examine this under an atomic force microscope."

The koopa stared at the plastic bag. He took it and stroked the coin. "I've never seen a coin of this color."

"Indeed. I dipped it in the blood of a special koopa. I wish to see if it formed a new molecular compound."

"Ohhh." The koopa laughed. "Young man, the coin is probably just enchanted. There's nothing scientific about this."

I sighed. "I know; I know it is technically enchanted. However, that is the most that i can agree with you on." I faced him straight in the eye. "I believe that there is a scientific explanation behind the magic that special koopas are able to produce. And if I am correct, it might allow the scientific community in this Kingdom to gain more respect."

The Koopa turned away from me. "Kid, the scientific community will never be respected."

I felt anger boil up inside me. How could he say that? He was a scientist; why else would he be at the institute! If he really believed science would never be respected, then why was he wasting his time in such a careless, callous manner?

"Never say never." I looked at him with pleading eyes. "Please, just look at the coin under a microscope. Please? I would immensely appreciate it."

The koopa looked down at me. I could practically see the gears turning in his head. "Well…' he looked down at my coin. "You seem like a very intelligent kid, and you do seem determined, so…" he sighed. "I suppose that I must."

I beamed. "Many thanks to you, kind sir!" I entered the building. "I am eternally grateful for your help."

The Koopa nodded and led me through the institute. One thing I noticed was how few people there were. I looked up at the koopa who was leading me, wondering if he was the only person here. If he was...well, considering the pessimistic viewpoint he expressed earlier, I could not help but feel bad for him on some level.

We finally got to the place where we wanted to go. The scientist groaned as he lowered himself into his seat. I watched, completely fascinated, as he worked his atomic force microscope. He leaned down toward the machine, squinting into it. I remember him doing a double take, which made my heart pump. Surely, that meant that he was seeing something good.

Unfortunately, he was silent for a few seconds. This caused me to grow concerned. "Uhh...sir?"

After a little bit, the scientist pulled away from the microscope. He blinked at me, shock clearly present on all of his features. I smiled. That was surely a good sign.

"What did you say your name was?" he asked.

"Ignatius."

For the first time since I came to the institute, he smiled. "I think you're going to go to some amazing places in your life, Ignatius."

My heart skipped a beat. "Does that mean…"

"Yep. This is indeed a new compound; unlike any I've ever seen." He leaned down toward the microscope again. "It seems that a gold atom is present, but there is another type of atom present. It..it's unlike an atom I have ever seen.'

My eyes grew wide. "So...wait. You...do you think…?"

The koopa turned toward me, his smile growing bigger. "Kid. You just discovered a new element."

…

"And the rest," Iggy said to the excited Junior, "is history. I ended up taking my discovery back to Bowser and Kamek; with the scientist's help, of course. As you can imagine, both of them were taken aback. After all…" Iggy giggled. "They never could have imagined that the all-useful magic and the completely useless science could be intertwined."

Junior laughed as he jotted the last period. "Well, you certainly proved them wrong." He titled his head at his brother. "So, did you end up getting yourself into a textbook?"

Iggy grinned and pulled a science textbook out of his hammerspace. He placed out on the table. "Page 245."

Junior turned toward that page and grinned when he saw a picture of his brother. "Nice!" he looked at the subheading. "The discovery and naming of Galaxium! Extra nice!"

Iggy nodded. "Thank you." He leaned closer to the Koopa Prince. "Always reach for the stars, Junior. Don't listen to anyone who doubts you. Even if you miss, you can still say that you tried to do something great. Always reach for the stars."

Junior nodded, feeling a warmth spread from his heart to the rest of him. "I'll remember that."

Iggy smiled, a loving and proud smile. He sat back. "So. Do you wish to hear another story?"

Junior nodded. "Most definitely."

"Good. Cause i have the perfect story to tell you next."