Chapter 4 Magically Terrible
Iggy's hand had to be steady as he dropped the liquid into the solution. One mistake, just one, and the mixture would go boom. The castle would catch fire, the fumes from the flames would get into the Koopas' nostrils. Then, lo and behold, they would all be dead by sunrise. Iggy was not the biggest fan of that prospect, and he had a feeling that none of the other people who frequented the castle were either. So, he held his hand steady.
The ice blue liquid in the pipette swished against the walls made of glass. Iggy bit his tongue as he held it above a beaker full of red liquid. His hand was shaking a little bit, most likely from nervousness and anticipation. Oh, and caffeine. Iggy had drunken about thirteen cups of coffee within the past ten hours to keep him from clunking out. His nerves were vibrating like particles in a gaseous state.
Iggy squinted at the pipette. He slowly started to squeeze it, and a drop the size of dew started to form. It hung out of the pipette, dangling like a piece of glistening blue diamond. Iggy but his tongue even harder. He tasted blood.
Come on, come on. You are a fully capable Koopa. You should be able to do this without screwing up.
Of course, that was the hope. Iggy fully anticipated that he would do a good job. It was just a shame that his hand was so wobbly!
Without wasting another second, Iggy allowed the drop to plummet into the liquid. It fell like a drop in a waterfall. It allowed the weakest of the four fundamental forces, the gravitational force, to bring it into a freefall. It wobbled a little, almost as if it was going to burst like a water balloon. Then, it landed in the liquid. A ripple effect was sent through the solution. Before Iggy knew what was happening, the liquid started to turn purple. It fizzed and shook a little, causing Iggy to put his hands to his head in terror. However, it ultimately turned the color that it was supposed to without any problems. Iggy sighed in relief.
"It appears that I have accomplished my goal." He was just about to reach into a drawer to get some gloves when the door to the lab opened. Iggy glanced up and saw Lemmy. He came down the stairs, carrying himself in a way that was foreign to Iggy.
"Iggy, you wouldn't happen to have any mental hospitals on speed dial, would you?"
Iggy stared at his older brother. The clock in the lab seemed to have gotten a hold of a megaphone, as each tick thundered in Iggy's ears. Iggy cleared his throat.
"Pardon?" he asked.
"I'm just asking," Lemmy said. "We are kind of in a tricky position right about now."
Iggy closed the drawer with a slam. Why in the Mushroom World would Iggy have a mental hospital on speed dial? He was a certified genius, not a certified sociopath! He approached Lemmy slowly.
"What position would that be?" he asked, not able to hide the guttural growl in his voice. He expected Lemmy to start hesitating and become a little unwilling to answer. However, to Iggy's surprise, he jumped right into what he wanted to say.
"Well, I was playing dodgeball with Larry, Roy, and Ludwig outside. We were right in the middle of a game when this really weird looking girl came up to us. She was dressed in her pajamas and said some...really odd stuff."
Iggy blinked his eyes out; then, not able to hold in his relief any longer, he let out a sigh and a laugh.
"Ohhh…" he said as he put on a smile. "I see what has captured your concern." He giggled. "It's not everyday that someone escapes from a mental hospital."
"I was thinking the same thing!" Lemmy said. "I want to be able to get her back to where she escaped from before something bad happens."
"Which is very wise of you," Iggy replied. He went over to his laptop. "I will start contacting different institutions to see if they have any missing patients."
Now it was Lemmy's turn to breathe out a sigh of relief.
"Thanks." He giggled. "I think you would be crazy not to."
Iggy laughed.
"Precisely what I was thinking." He started to type into his computer. He found that there were about three mental hospitals in Neo Bowser City. He smiled. "It looks like I am on the right track. Give me time and I will be able to find out where...uh, what was her name? Did she give you a name?"
Lemmy scratched the back of his head, his expression looking worried.
"I believe she said her name was StarlitDuck."
Iggy stopped typing. He slowly turned to Lemmy as he closed his laptop. That name...no, Lemmy couldn't have said it. After all, he didn't even know what about….
"StarlitDuck?"
"Yup," Lemmy said as he nodded his head. Iggy's mouth hung open, his eyes were wide.
"You can't be serious!"
"I am. That's what she called herself."
Iggy shook his head. A memory, one that he had been doing his best to bury, came springing back up to the surface. As he thought about it, he started to feel a little queasy.
"This girl...did she say anything about being our creator?"
"Yes!" Lemmy exclaimed in surprise. "How did you know?"
The queasy feeling in Iggy's stomach accentuated. This was not possible! The only time he had ever met somebody named StarlitDuck was in his dreams. How could she be real? How?
"Lemmy, do you happen to know where she is?"
"Yeah. Ludwig took her upstairs to the room where the Princess usually stays."
Iggy did not waste any time. He got off his butt and bolted out of the lab.