AN: Happy Halloween everybody! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 13 More Purple Stuff

The duo couldn't get back to the castle fast enough. When they arrived, Lemmy did his best to not let all of these incidents go to his head. He was going to find out who was responsible for this. Sure, whoever it was was pretty sneaky and knew how to create a lot of chaos. But they were no match for the Koopalings. No one was a match for the Koopalings! Well, except for Mario. And Luigi. And those two multicolored Toads…

Lemmy shook his head. Again, he shouldn't let all the stress of these situations go to his head.

Eventually, the two landed on the front stoop of the castle. When they did, Lemmy dug his phone out to get a look at the time. His eyes grew wide when he saw it. "Holy crap, it's 2:00!" He looked at Ludwig with a furrowed brow. "Looks like neither of us are really going to get any sleep tonight."

Ludwig let out the most burdened sigh that Lemmy had ever heard. "Nope." He looked down at his hand, wiggling his fingers for a second. The look that flashed across his face was one of sheer, unadulterated terror. Right before Lemmy could properly ask him about this, he looked back at him with a smile. "But it'll be worth it if we can solve this case."

Lemmy frowned. "I suppose…"

With that, the two went into the castle. Despite how late it was, the lights were all on and there was quite a bit of noise. Hammer bro guards seemed to stand at every junction whispering amongst themselves. Lemmy couldn't help but suspect that they were discussing the most recent events from this night, a theory that was kind of supported by the fact that they stopped talking and stood at attention when Lemmy and Ludwig passed by. Lemmy tried not to let it bother him. After all, they were going to figure out who was behind this; there was no reason why he had to worry.

When they got up to the east wing's second floor hallway, the two of them were immediately greeted by their siblings. They swarmed Lemmy and Ludwig, talking at volumes that were so inappropriate for a time of night like this one. Lemmy felt as they he was being suffocated.

"What happened at Bob's house?" asked Larry. "Did you see any ghosts?"

"Did you manage to find any clues?" asked Wendy.

"You look a little frazzled. Are you okay?" asked Morton.

Lemmy cringed. "Okay guys, okay!" He exclaimed. As everyone backed up, he sighed and took a puff from his bubble pipe. "I get it, tonight has been scary." He stood, frozen, for a minute as he tried to think of the perfect thing to say. "But… but you don't need to be afraid. I'm here." He shook. "Shellock is here too."

The others nodded while exchanging looks between them. Wendy shook so hard, while Morton and Larry looked like they were doing their best to not collapse from stress. The absence of Roy in particular really beat down on Lemmy, like some sort of thick, dark, overwhelming shadow.

"Where…" he inhaled. "Where's Iggy?"

Before any of the other Koopalings could respond, the door to the lab at the end of the hallway opened up. Lemmy actually let out a breath of relief when he saw his bespectacled brother. He almost bolted over to him, only stopping himself at the last minute.

"Lemmy, Ludwig, thank goodness," Iggy said. Lemmy noticed him shaking, which made his heartbeat speed up a little bit. "Come, come, you need to be informed."

Lemmy looked back at his three other siblings, whose eyes all sparkled with fear. He looked up at Ludwig, noting that Ludwig's own facial expression wasn't that much different. Frowning, Lemmy turned back to Iggy with a nod.

"Lead the way."

Iggy gestured for them to follow him. Lemmy and Ludwig were the first people to do so, and the other three followed behind them as well. Lemmy was surprised by this, although further reflection told him that he shouldn't be. But at the same time, the fact that they followed him with such nervous steps really made Lemmy fear what could possibly be found within Iggy's lab.

It was because of this that Lemmy gasped out loud when Iggy opened the door.

"Oh my goodness!" With a dropped jaw, he walked down the steps. He couldn't take his wide eyes off the scene. "P…please tell me that you put the time machine someplace else!"

Iggy sighed. "Alas, I did not. It was stolen by two more phantoms."

Lemmy's heart rate continued to escalate. "Two phantoms?" Now, the empty corner of the lab not only looked completely barren, but it also ignited fear within the littlest Koopaling. What kind of creatures were they dealing with exactly? How in the world could any culprit of any crime so easily steal a flipping time machine?

"Did you see the phantoms?" Ludwig asked in the middle of Lemmy's silence.

Iggy sucked some air through his teeth. "Me? No. I was busy reading a book about the nature of Prankster Comets at the time. However, I was informed of the phantoms' presence by Larry."

Larry nodded. "It was so sick! I saw these black cloaked ghost-like things right down the hallway! They ran into Iggy's lab, and they vanished with the time machine before I even had a chance to get Iggy!" He directed his sight back to the crime scene. "I mean, I know Halloween is supposed to be spooky, but this? This is just too much."

"I cannot help but concur," Iggy said, his face the grimmest it had ever been. "But if I were to be frank, I am extremely grateful that these phantoms have targeted our belongings and not us specifically."

Wendy froze. "Well… there is the issue of Roy and Celia…"

A silence befell the room, an awkward and fearful one. Not even Ludwig, who had superpowers that could easily act as the perfect defense, looked as though he was going to faint. Lemmy, with a shaky hand, put his bubble pipe back between his teeth.

"I suppose I should get to investigating."

So, he descended the rest of the steps, getting out his magnifying glass as he did. A lump formed in his throat as he examined the place. For the most part, he didn't really see any clues. The area where the time machine had been was just as barren as it had been upon a first glance. And the truth was, this made Lemmy's fear increase. He wanted to find a clue. He wanted to find something that would lead to the lot of them cracking this case. However, he found nothing. Nothing to see, nothing to take note of.

So, Lemmy ultimately sighed and pulled his magnifying glass away from his eye. "I don't get it," he said, his voice forlorn. He rose and looked back at his siblings. "I truly don't get it; the phantoms should've left…"

All at once, he stopped. He turned his head to the left. His heart rate picked right back up, but this time for a completely different reason. He made his way over, hoping that his eyes hadn't been playing tricks on him. Fortunately, scrutiny under the magnifying glass proved that he hadn't imagined things. He smiled, feeling the giddiness that was so becoming of him reigniting in his heart.

"Guys, come here!"

The Koopalings practically tripped over each other to get over to Lemmy. They all looked over his shoulder at what it was Lemmy had spotted. Ludwig's eyes grew wide when he saw it. Everyone else simply looked confused.

"Purple glitter?" Morton asked, his eyebrow raising.

"That's… weird," Wendy said. She adjusted her necklace. "I mean, it looks gorgeous, but what exactly could it mean?"

"That, I don't know," Lemmy said. He stood up fully. "However, I still think this is good. Excellent, as a matter of fact." He smiled at everybody. "When we were at Bob's place, the phantom that stole his shoes left glitter just like this in its path." He looked back down at the evidence, his heart fluttering. "I think that, if we want to figure out who has been messing with us tonight, figuring out the nature of this glitter is the first step."

Iggy smiled. "I see what you are getting at, Lemonade." He went over to the other side of the lab. "Thankfully, I am quite skilled when it comes to deciphering the chemical structure of stuff like this."

The others watched. Larry looked ready to groan and make fun of Iggy over resorting to science, but that look quickly went away when he saw what the genius was doing. He got a box of latex gloves, a microscope, and a plastic slide. He worked with speed and efficiency to pick the glitter off floor with a brush and put it within the slide. As he made his way over to the microscope, everyone followed him. As he watched his brother, Lemmy uttered a pray. He knew that this glitter could direct them to the answers. He just knew it.

After a little bit of looking at the specimen, however, Iggy looked more confused than anything else. "This is… odd."

"What? What about it is odd?" Lemmy asked, putting his hand up to the bubble pipe.

Iggy gestured for Lemmy to come over. "I think it would be much more effective if you saw this for yourself."

Lemmy blinked. He made his way over to the microscope, and when he peered inside, his jaw dropped. The colors within this purple substance… it seemed like every single color seeable on this planet was present. On top of that, the dust formed some really interesting crystalline patterns. It was like looking at a snowflake under a microscope, but different in ways that honestly made Lemmy appreciate this sight from an artistic perspective.

"Woah!" He turned toward Iggy with a smile. "It's beautiful!"

"Yes; gorgeous even," Iggy said. He stepped forward. "However, what this sight indicates to me is… confusing to me, to say the least."

"How so?" Ludwig asked.

Iggy hesitated for a second before gesturing toward Morton. "Morty, you've seen a sight like this before, I might recall. Could you look at it and tell the others what we're seeing here?"

Morton blinked. "Uh… sure." He stepped over to the microscope and checked the slide. "Oh!" His face lit up as he pulled away. "It's Galaxium!"

"Correct," Iggy said. He frowned. "Which I find very perplexing. If the glitter that these phantoms have left behind contains traces of Galaxium, then that means they must have access to it. And…" his frown grew deeper, more frustrated. "I cannot recall what sort of creatures would have this sort of access. The only creature I can think of is a special koopa, but we all know that those aren't particularly common."

Lemmy blinked. His eyes traveled over to Ludwig, but the oldest shook his head.

"No no, don't you dare Lems! We went over this; I didn't have anything to do with this crime!"

"Oh don't worry, I believe you." Lemmy bit the bubble pipe, blowing bubbles as he pondered everything. "So… hmm." He turned back to Iggy. "Iggy, are you sure there aren't any other creatures who have access to Galaxium like this?"

"Not to my knowledge," Iggy said, actually sounding a little defeated when he said that. "But that does not necessarily mean there aren't any! I am certain that there is; we just need to find out what it is." He turned toward the door, now wearing a smile. "And I believe that research just might uncover what that is!"

With that, he left the lab. The room stayed silent for a little bit before Larry snickered and shook his head.

"Man," he said while wearing a smile. "I know I shouldn't be surprised at Iggy jumping to read boring textbooks, and I'm really not. But at the same time… damn that koopa just has a one-track mind about everything, doesn't he?"

"Hey!" Wendy said while flashing Larry a glare. "He's doing it for a reason, Larry! In case you haven't noticed, this whole thing is really serious! I don't think he would be reading books for entertainment right now."

"She's right," Ludwig said. He put his hand to his chin. "Although, I don't think reading alone is going to help us." He looked back at Lemmy. "I still think we need to do more investigations."

"I agree," Lemmy said without a moment's hesitation. "And right now, I think that interrogating potential suspects might be our best bet." He looked Ludwig right in the eye. "Lutz, let's go to Stonebrim."