Story #1 By: Drago321
MARIO AND LUIGI: PARTNERS IN TIME
Part 1: Invasion
Chapter 4: Back to the Future
Author's Note: Whew! My fourth chapter will now begin…remember, not my game, chapter divisions from IGN, all that jazz…I've played jazz…anywho…enjoy the fourth chapter!
Shroob forces had been gathering at Star Hill, their new base of operations. They knew that godly forces rested inside the Temple atop the Hill, and made to attack it. They gathered a large number of troops and stromed the Hill. Soon after their attack began, meteors from outer space blasted them apart. There would be no challenging the gods...yet. The Koopa Cruiser was being tailed by enemy ships, and peace negotiations were not going well. Soon they were under attack. They combated the enemy, and in the process, fried their engine. They were going to crash...in Hollijolli Village! It was sheer luck that Hollijolli Village was a place where airline pilots could get easy repairs. Not so fortunate was the fact that it had been destroyed in a Shroob attack. As the ship hit the outskirts of the village, the babies were sent out to investigate two 'villagers' lying on the ground. They came into contact with yet more Shroobs, and defeated them with ease. Toadsworth helped them to carry the older brothers back. In the morning, Toadsworth awoke to find that the brothers where all healed! It turned out that the babies had had some One-Up Mushrooms stashed away. And now came the difficult task of repairing the ship. The brothers fixed the leak of gas, and together everyone hauled the old engine out. They searched around for a new one and soon found it. Now they worked hard to put the new engine into the ship and hook it up. The job was done, and the crew took off into the night. They went past the new Shroob Castle, but not without being seen. The Princess ordered them shot down. Meanwhile...Star Hill would not work out. the Commander of the Shroobs wanted Bowser's Castle and his army for his own. And so he took it. He lay siege to Bowser's castle, and he was winning. Bowser's troops were running out of food. They would give up soon. Bowser's ship was hit, and they were going down. Again. Bowser requested that he get inside his own castle, and the pilot obliged. They went down, down, down...crash! Mario and Luigi, once again barely alive, crawled out of the wreckage in a desperate attemot to escape. It didn't work. They passed out.
Now, read on...
The Commander was very happy indeed. He stared out at his army, now advantagiously doubled. He looked around at the various Shroobs and Koopas, those of his original army and those of Bowser's army. He had gained many warriors and he had disabled a major force on this planet. There was only one thing that was strange about Bowser's army. Each and every one of them had an antenna sticking out of its head.
He was standing far to the west of the Mushroom Kingdom. It was a small place. It might have taken two days to cross the entire thing. Star Hill, their old military base, was to the north of the Castle. Toad Town, the source of their arrival, was to the south.
Their motives were being put to work just to the west of Shroob castle, in the big forest they had flown over on their way here. Hollijolli Village had been another source for their experiment, lying just to the east of their headquarters.
Soon enough, this Bowser's Castle would be their new military base of operations.
The antennae were gray things, with a blinking red orb on their top. They were receiving coded instructions from a tower erected similarly to the antennae. Bowser's old troops were currently getting directions from Star Hill.
It was a relatively easy system. The Commander relayed detailed directions to a trusted servant at Star Hill, who was imputing them into the system. This whole plan had been layed down since before the Shroobs arrival.
And now...
The Commander was going to take the castle for his own...with Mario and Luigi inside it.
"Maaaaarioooooo." crooned a soothing voice. "Maaaaarioooooo!"
"LUIGI! GET UP, YOU HUNK OF JUNK!" this voice was much different...
"Maaaaariooooo!"
"LUIGI! YOU HEARD ME! G...E...T...U...P!!"
Mario finally decided to open up his lazy eyes to see what was wrong. As soon as he opened them, he wished he hadn't. The first thing he felt was pain. And it was very hot. The pain was mostly in his head, but it was also aching all around his body.
He looked around to get his bearings and, hopefully, remember where he was. What he saw didn't make the scene any more enjoyable.
He was lying on a red cobblestone floor in a ceilingless room. There was a cavernous space above him, and he couldn't see forward because he was lying in a ditch.
Laying next to him was his brother Luigi, and leaning over Mario was none other than...Stuffwell. He was crooning over him, just like the voice Mario had heard in his waking.
"Maaaariooooo...is awake!! YAY! You're ALIVE! I was SO worried about you! You made it...YAY!!"
Now the crazy suitcase moved over to Luigi on his little legs and yelled, "Get up, MAGGOT! I said GET UP!! Getupgetupgetupgetupgetupgetupgetupgetupgetupgetup!"
Mario took his chances and spoke to the thing.
"Ah...Stuffwell...maybe I should handle this."
His throat burned as he said it. He slowly got up, his whole body aching as he stood. He groaned as he stretched out for the first time in a while. He took this time to look more at his surroundings.
Mario noticed that the walls were made of hastily put together stone, and there were multiple chains dangling around this dungeon-like place. Some of the chains had lights strung on them. He also noticed that it kept getting hotter somehow, and he didn't know why.
It was then that Mario realized what was behind them. First he saw the shadow covering most of the ditch where he was standing. Then he looked behind himself and almost ran into the Cruiser.
It was now that he remembered everything.
Hollijolli Village, fixing the engine, flying to the Castle, and then...here. Bowser's Castle. Of the past. The Shroobs had attacked, and they had crashed. They had seen from afar the Shroobs siege on the Castle and Mario wondered if it was still going on. He couldn't hear any battle noises. Had the aliens lost? It seemed unlikely.
He reached over and touched the battered ship, but almost immediately drew his hand away. The ship was extremely hot. He now knew why the air was so warm. There was no doubt that a fire resided inside. He turned back to Luigi to rouse him but then immediately realized something urgent.
There was no sign of Bowser, seven Koopas, the babies, or Toadsworth. There was a horrifying possibility that they were still in the ship! If so, Mario had to see if there were any survivors, and then try to help them escape from this place.
First things first, in case things got ugly, he had to move Luigi. He quickly grabbed him in a fireman's carry, hauling him over his shoulder. He went up and out of the ditch with him, and gently placed him in a corner of the room.
"Where'ya goin'?" Stuffwell asked, a bit too much of a cheery tone in his voice.
"To find everyone else..." Mario replied.
He knew it was kind of a risky and stupid thing to do, but he wanted to make sure that his friends were safe.
Right before he walked into the ditch again to board the dying ship, he noticed two things. One of them was that there were lots of blast marks on the ground, which he assumed were from the Shroob attack. One blast mark was right in the middle of where Mario and Luigi had passed out.
He breathed a quick sigh of relief. The blast had barely missed Luigi's head.
He also noticed something else. They were in the bottom-left corner of Bowser's Castle. Looking through into rooms ahead he saw a faint and heat-blurred image. He thought it was a broken-down wall.
He thought back to the crash, and remembered that as they were heading toward the castle the ship rattled as it hit something, and Mario had looked back to see what it was. It was that wall, but they had only scraped it and knocked about a third of it off.
Why was it now entirely destroyed?
He decided to not waste any more time...Baby Mario might be dying as he thought. And if his younger self was killed...well, he wouldn't be here to wonder about it.
So he ran over to the ditch and scanned the ship for any sign of the hatch they had used to get in.
He saw the outline of a cut in the metal. The hatch!
He knew that what he had to do next would hurt. A lot. He moved his hand until it was right above the crack. Then he quickly flew his hand down onto the hot metal, attempting to pry open the hatch.
"AAAAAAH! Crud!"
The metal singed a part of his hand. It was hotter now than the first time he had touched it. The hatch, unfortunately, only creaked open a little bit. Mario didn't dare try to open it again. He had to find another way.
The wheels in his brain began to turn, and the clock was ticking. He was thinking, thinking how to open the hatch without killing myself? He wasn't the hero of the Kingdom for just his jumping skills...
Mario hurried over to one of the chains dangling from above. He had a plan. The plumber reached up to grab a chain, and pulled. Hard. It came crashing down next to him.
Mario dragged the chain over to one of the Cruiser's portholes, with Stuffwell staring in wonder.
First Mario set down the huge chain. He took off his precious hat and stuffed his hands in it.
"This thing won't last long...I can get another one, right? They sell these in Toad Town..." when he was nervous, he jabbered to himself.
His goal was the hard metal circles bordering the window. He reached out and, using his hat to protect his hands, began prying off the bar.
He stopped after it was sticking out a little, and quickly dropped the now aflame hat.
"Jeez! Stop burning!"
He stomped the hat to put out the flame, and it was fine...just singed in a few places. The white M was now an N, though...a small hole covered one of the white lines.
"Great, now we're the Super Nario Bros!"
And he plopped it back on his head. He grabbed the chain and looped it through the part of the bar that was loose. Mario gripped both hands on the chain and pulled.
The bar was slowly peeling off the window! He knew he had to hurry, for the chain was getting hot from the bar.
"Al...most...there..."
Next thing he knew, the chain came loose and the bar flew off the window, clanging on the stone floor.
"Niiiice!" that was Stuffwell.
He dropped the chain and grabbed the bar. It was a little warm, not enough to hurt him. It was already cooling down.
He dashed over to the hatch and bent the border until it made a straight line. It would be a crowbar. He shoved one end of the bar into the hatch and pushed it so it rested on the part you walk on. Then Mario shoved inward as hard as he could.
Thankfully, the hatch slowly creaked open, and Mario wasn't getting burned. He used the bar to push it until the hatch was flat on the ground, and quickly threw the bar to the side.
"Here we go!" he said to himself. "Stuffwell!"
"YEEEESS?"
"If I'm not back here in...ten minutes, take Luigi and try to find a way out of here."
"Okaaaayyyy!"
Stuffwell seemed a little weird, like his brain went wacko...oh well, he kind of deserved it, whatever it was. Although it was more annoying than his normal smarty-pants self.
He turned back to face the Cruiser, preparing to go inside. It suddenly got very hot, as if the fire had just moved into a closer room.
"I hope this won't be a suicide mission..."
And he went in.
"Ah, oh, eeh!"
It hurt to walk on the hot metal. The fire hadn't reached this room yet. The cooling fans in the floor of the docking bay were not working. He cursed to himself as he realized that the crash probably took them out of commision.
He carefully walked across the green metal grates, wincing in pain. The speaker system came on, making Mario jump in surprise.
"EME...NCY! E...RGEN...!"
The thing crackled with static...but it wasn't done yet.
"This...is...Bowser...All...person...bridge..."
Mario gasped. They were all stuck in the bridge! They would only be held there if a fire blocked their path...he had to get there quickly!
He looked to the pathway out of the docking bay, but the archway was piled with those stupid boxes that Bowser kept in his ship. They must have rolled together when the crash occurred. But...next to the passage...in the wall was a gaping hole through the ship! He looked through it to see the back part of the bridge, and lots of fire.
Now he looked below him into the belly of the ship and saw the missile that had sunk them. It was stuck right in the new engine. It must have blown right through the bridge, right behind them. Right behind Mario and Luigi. That was it! When the thing crashed, they were sucked through the air hole and jostled out of the Cruiser!
Looking through the hole, he realized that it was pretty much impossible for that to happen...the only way they could have made it out was if they had banged against every part of that narrow gap...no one could survive that.
It was the only way to get to the Babies and Peach, so Mario was going to have to climb through it. The gap wasn't tall enough for him to stand in, and it was jagged and sharp from the missile. It was also likely to be extremely hot...
For the second time that day he had to MacGyver something up. And that's exactly what he did.
First, he did a visual on the piled up boxes. There was no possible way that he could get through those. He did see one that could be taken out of the pile without disturbing the others. He went for it.
"Holy...crud!" Mario said. "That...is...heavy!"
He lifted up the box, but almost immediately had to put it down again. He did get it away from the group, though.
He put the box on it's side and began kicking his foot on the nails. He had to do it hard enough to get rid of the nails, but not break the wood.
It took him about three minutes, but he eventually had a slab of wood...one of the sides of the box. As much as he wanted to see what Bowser kept in there, he couldn't. The packing of the box had melted from the heat and was now so hard that he could not get it off.
He didn't want what was inside, though...he wanted the wood. If he couldn't crawl through the hole, he would slide through.
He grabbed a tighter hold of the wood, stood on the railing of the bay, and threw the wood into the hole. Now he had a surface to jump on without impaling his hands. He jumped the short distance to the hole, and pulled himself up onto the wood.
If he had missed that jump, he would have fallen to his death in the workings of the dying ship. He was now on the wood, in the hole. What he had to do next required very sturdy shoes, which he thankfully had. He had to slowly push himself over the scarred and sharp metal on his piece of wood. It was extremely slow business, but eventually he tumbled onto the floor of the bridge on the other end of the missile's damage area.
"YES!"
He had done it...the hardest part of this mission...this suicide mission. It didn't seem like that anymore. But if Mario had just payed a bit more attention, he would have realized that it very well might be.
The speaker came back on as he was heading into the tunnel. Mario didn't hear it say: the great Prince...Kneel, minions...get up!...personnel...the brid...
He also didn't see the other side of the box, which had heavy black lettering. It said: EXPLOSIVE! USE WITH CAUTION! FLAME IGNITES!! This ominous message was printed on all of the boxes, and the flame had almost reached them.
He looked around and saw that the exit to the grate area was barred with flame. It would have been a dead end anyway...farther down that hallway in the grated area was a smaller wall of boxes.
Fire blocked the front of the bridge as well...now he knew why thy were trapped. The back window was completely blown open. That was where the missile had hit.
"Hello?!" he yelled over the noise of the fire. "Is anyone-"
He was interrupted by the loudest explosion he had ever heard. It was a force so large that it knocked him through the flames and into the front of the bridge.
"Aaaaahooow!" he had gone through the curtain of flames so fast that he was not even burning.
"What the HECK was that?!"
He would find out soon enough. But first...
"Guys?"
Even through the fire and smoke, he could tell that no one was there. He did hear a sort of crackling, static sound. It was near Bowser's chair, and the speaker system. It was completely fried. It was what probably started the fire.
He just then remembered that Bowser's grammar had not seemed right before. He had said 'All person bridge'. That didn't even make SENSE. It was the speaker. They weren't even there at all! He noticed something else and cried in relief. The other windows were smashed open. He was sure that his friends had escaped! The question was, where were they now?
He found the control for the sprinklers, and thankfully it was still working! He pressed the button down and water doused the place. It wasn't nearly enough to end the whole fire, but it did stop the fire in the bridge. Looking past into the hallway, he was disappointed to see that the fire there had not stopped.
But...the boxes were gone, and the fire had already extended around the turn. And then it came to him...that was what had almost blown him to bits! Those four boxes...they were explosives!
How far had the fire spread?
"Oh darn it!"
There were nearly fifty at the docking bay. Looking to the hole he had come through, he saw yet another effect of the explosion...the hole was buried. He stood and stared, not believing his bad luck. A HUGE explosion was about to happen, and he had no way of getting out. Didn't it just figure that Mario and Luigi were the biggest ones on the crew, and therefore couldn't get out of the smashed windows?
Mario headed toward the very front of the bridge, farthest away from the deadly bomb.
A second later, it came. The last thing he thought before it happened was whether it had been ten minutes or not.
BOOM!
He flew out of the bridge's front window, crashing the glass. He was falling, yet something didn't feel right. His head was reeling, but he had stopped falling.
"Uhh..."
That blast was huge...but it didn't feel nearly large enough. And why had he stopped falling? As he realized what had happened, he felt both joyful and yet more aggravated.
The Cruiser was pushed up right against the wall of Bowser's Castle, and Mario was sitting on the ship with his back against the wall. Far below him was the ground, with just a slick ship surface between them.
But that blast...the first blast with four crates was big. With fifty it should have been much bigger then that. It should have blown the wall away...
BOOM!
And so it did. The humongous blast rattled the whole castle and propelled the ship forward, smashing through the wall. If it had been there. The force of the blast had already ripped the rock to pieces. As the ship tipped past the wall, Mario saw that the entire castle was built over a pool of lava.
"Hasn't this been a great day?" he mumbled to himself.
No longer having the wall for support, he was trying to scramble back up onto the ship's glassy surface. A fall would mean a very hot death. Scrabbling on his feet, he finally made it through the front window again.
Where he was going, he had no idea.
That's when the ship began to fall. It tipped downward, beginning it's descent into the lava. Mario lost his balance and fell against the controls. The floor ahead was beginning to get steep. The place where the missile had hit was blasted open. He could see a hanging chain just outside it.
Soon the floor would be too steep to get up there. He had to hurry.
Screeeeeeeee!
Apparantly some rock below had broken away, for the ship went fully vertical. Mario was falling toward the window, and his death. Quickly, without thinking, he stuck his hand out to the nearest thing available...a smashed window.
"Ahhhhhhhck!" he screamed. "Oww!"
The glass pierced his hand sharply, and he felt warm blood trickling down his wrist. It was extremely difficult, but he needed to hold on. With inhumane endurance and perseverance, he pulled himself up to the next window.
He knew what he had to do. He had to get up to the big scar in the ship where the chain hung. He had to get there soon. The ship was falling. As he grabbed the next ruined window, the glass pierced his other hand. The chain was slipping out of sight. He needed to get to it. Only one more window until he was there. He reached up and grabbed it. The pain was tremendous. He pushed himself up one more time, and was now standing on one side of where the missile had hit. The chain was barely within jumping reach. He looked down at his bloody hands, and then at the rusty chain. It was life or death.
He chose life.
"Hraaaaa!"
Mario grabbed hold of the chain.
"The power of adrenaline..."
His grip slipped. The threat of lava was gone, but now he feared he would fall and break every bone in his body. This was it. He sat hanging there, nowhere to go, nothing to do except sit there and let the smoke in his lungs and blood in his hands kill him. He was already feeling the effects of the rust in his bloodstream.
He couldn't do it anymore. Mario let go, and fell. He had changed his mind. He chose death. He faintly felt what seemed like arms around him. Voices swirled and they mixed with colors. He was fed something, and a great amount of it. He was about to complain about it when he realized he could. Complain. Everything. He was back! A warmness flowed through him, and his vision returned from that chaotic blur.
He was looking up at Luigi, wide awake and okay!
"Hey bro! Quite the bang you made, eh?"
He laughed out loud, and slowly stood on his feet.
"What did that take, about 5 Mushrooms?"
"Four, actually."
Mario laughed again. This is why he so loved the Mushroom Kingdom. This is why they were heroes. That glorious produce only found in this place! Mushrooms! He could just stand here and jump for joy!
"How did you get up again?" Mario asked.
"Well, the bang kind of got me up..."
"That's a surprise." Mario replied sarcastically.
"Actually, Stuffwell heard the bang and went 'OHHHHH!' That's what woke me up."
"Where is Stuffwell anyway?"
"He's over there. He told me where you were, and I kinda almost fainted. VERY heroic escape, by the way. I figured something was wrong with him, and I found a spliced wire in his back. So I fixed him, and he got normal again."
"What? How did that happen?"
"Well, apparantly he was hit by a Shroob blaster defending us from the incoming army. He says that they blasted open the wall down there and marched in here. He hid us, but he was hit. He must have a pretty sturdy outer shell if he survived that. Well, he also says that he saw Bowser's army walking out of the castle with the Shroobs surrounding them."
"Welcome back to the land of the living, you two!" it was Stuffwell.
"You sounded pretty brave out there, Stuffwell." Mario said.
"It was all in my programming...it's just one trouble to the next with you two, isn't it?"
"Hey, uh Mario..." Luigi said. "So what's your story? What happened in there?"
For the next few minutes, Mario told Luigi of his most recent adventure.
"Wow...I couldn't have done that!" Luigi exclaimed.
"Stuffwell," Mario asked. "Can you search for any life signs in the area?"
"Yes I can! Let's see if the others are still with us!" he replied. "No Mario, I'm sorry, it's impossible to tell. The troops are outside, and I cannot detect numbers or location, just life itself. There is a lot of it. They might be here, or not."
Mario and Luigi sighed in unison.
"WAIT!" Stuffwell said. "I'm picking up something. How big exactly was that blast?"
"About fifty crates of five-foot by five-foot crates, maybe more...why?"
"Well, I think that blast was a little too big...It ripped open space...and time."
"What?"
"I'm saying that that blast created a time hole in this castle. Far from here, deeper in the dungeons. The main rip that the time machine created is still active, so this new one has linked to our time!"
"We need to get to it, then! These aliens are far worse then we anticipated...we're going to need backup if we have any hope of saving Peach."
"Exactly what I was thinking!"
"Well then, let's go!"
"BACK TO ADVENTURE!"
And Stuffwell returned to Mario's now healed hand.
"Let's go." Luigi said.
And with that, they headed off into the next room. The ship was lost, and maybe their friends were, too. Their mission was to escape, to go back to the future, hopefully with the people from the past. They were going to succeed.
But first, the troops came.
Bowser's troops, now each with an antennae on their heads, waltzed into Bowser's Castle. The Shroobs didn't follow them.The wall that they destroyed was still one room away, but Bowser's army could still see them. Some of his soldiers were coming at them!
"What is with those things in their heads?" Luigi asked.
"I may be watching too many sci-fi movies, but maybe the Shroobs are controlling them."
As the brothers looked again, they saw that Bowser's previous army's movements were mechanical. Like robots.
And they were still coming towards them.
"Are you ready for a battle, bro?"
"Let's go!"
This room consisted of various platforms connected by wooden bridges. The bridges were also suspended over the lava.
"Whoa, wait!" Luigi said.
He pointed and picked up two Mushrooms and eight Green Shells on the ground.
"We may need these."
The brothers crossed the first wooden bridge and came to the second platform...just as a Goomba warrior did as well. Goombas were Bowser's grunt soldiers, and they resembled brown squashed Mushrooms.
This one would be easy enough. Mario got in its face quickly and jumped on it. The pathetic thing squealed in pain. Mario then aimed a kick at the thing as it was still in the air.
His kick knocked it prone, and Luigi went in to do the same.
The other brother gave it a nasty uppercut that sent it off the platform and into the lava.
"One down, who knows how many to go!"
Now there were two bridges to choose from here. One in front of them and one to their right.
"Let's keep moving forward!" Mario said.
They came to the third platform, which had only one bridge heading left. That bridge came to the fourth platform, and four more Green Shells.
"You know, I think we'll only need these if we face the Shroobs themselves."
The next bridge went forward to the fifth platform, where two more Goombas were waiting for them.
"Ah, more excitement!"
Mario and Luigi each took a Goomba and nailed them with perfect jumps. Both Goombas then tried to charge Mario. He deftly jumped over both of them, timing his jump so that he landed on the second one, making another attack.
"Aieee!" they screamed.
But Mario wasn't done yet...as the Goomba retreated, he kicked low and swept it off it's feet.
Luigi jumped for his, and smashed it into the ground, killing it. The first Goomba rushed for Mario. He wasn't prepared, and only barely twisted out of the way. He then kicked the thing sky-high, where he heard it stick to the ceiling.
Laying on the ground where the creatures were was a Mushroom and a Super Mushroom. A Super Mushroom was grown better than a regular Mushroom and recovered more health.
"If only we had had one of those, eh?" Luigi said.
They picked up both. Down to their right was a red metal pathway that led to the room where the Shroobs had invaded.
"Hey, bro," Luigi said. "How about we go back to that place where there was that fork in the road? There might be more items and Goombas to kill!"
"Sure, let's go!"
The brothers went back to the second platform with two bridges. This time they went down the path they hadn't before...and came to another platform with two Goombas on it!
"Yes!" Mario cried.
He ran up to the first Goomba and kicked it into the other Goomba, hurting them both. He then stomped on the first Goomba again as Luigi was doing the same.
The things were dazed, but not done. The second one charged Luigi, who dodged it with amazing endurance! At the same time, the first one had charged Mario and took him by surprise.
The little thing completely bowled him over, making him bang his head on the hard rock. He saw stars, but could still get up and fight.
He got up, and both he and Luigi ran to the things, and kicked them into the lava.
There was one final bridge leading to one final platform, and on it was a One-Up Mushroom.
"Sweet!" the brothers said in unison.
Now they went back to the red metal platform and entered the room where the Shroobs had staged their invasion.
The first thing they knew, they were tackled by two more Goombas! They didn't know Mario's tactics. He kicked one into the other, and they both fell prone. This time, they wanted to mix it up a little.
Mario took out a Green Shell and threw it at the first Goomba. Back and forth, back and forth...the Goomba was reeling from being hit with that heavy shell over and over...
And then he fell over dead.
"That was easy..." Mario said.
Luigi took one out, too, and threw it at the remaining Goomba. He kicked it, and it hit the Goomba right in the head. It was unconcious. Unconcious wasn't good enough. Back and forth, back and forth, until the thing was no more.
They were just Bowser's mindless grunt soldiers, after all. Maybe after this mission he might actually be able to beat Super Mario Bros.
Before they could even get their bearings, they were swarmed by...another Goomba. Right behind them, however, was a Boo. A demonic spirit, also in Bowser's army.
This one tried to sweep through Luigi, but Luigi was too quick. He jumped up, and landed on the Boo as well. Mario nailed the Goomba with a jump, and Luigi used an uppercut on the flying Boo. The Goomba charged Mario, who easily dodged it's attack. The Boo tried to sweep through Luigi, but Luigi barely managed to sidestep it, and punch the Boo.
"Eeeakk!"
Mario killed the Goomba with another jump. Luigi jumped up and punched at the Boo. It squealed in pain, but did not die. It made a move for Mario, who had just killed his friend.
Mario expected the attack, and jumped on the Boo. The Boo immediately went dark and disappeared.
A Mushroom was lying on the floor next to Mario. He quickly grabbed it, but was then approached by two more Goombas. He used his same tactic to kick one into the other, and it worked. They just needed to kill these, hopefully, and they would be done.
Such was the life of a hero.
Mario and Luigi both nailed each Goomba in the mouth. The Goombas then charged Luigi. He dodged their attacks, and struck out wildly, hitting the first Goomba with his fist.
The brothers then slammed the Goombas into each other, killing them.
"It doesn't take much for these guys, does it?" Mario said.
In the corner of the room, Mario saw two Mushrooms and twenty coins. He went to grab them, and when he looked back, he saw Luigi being jumped by two last Goombas.
"Take this!" Mario yelled, and jumped on the first Goomba. Luigi got a hookshot punch on the second Goomba. They were used to these guys now. Both of them once more charged Luigi. He was ready this time. With great dexterity he jumped on both Goombas, leaving them to retreat razzled.
"Oh no, you don't!" Mario said, and pushed the first Goomba into the lava. Luigi tried to punch the last Goomba but tripped on the rock, resulting in a very weak punch. The Goomba shook it off quickly and charged at Mario.
He jumped over the pathetic thing and nailed it with a kick. Surprisingly, it was still alive! He aimed a punch at it and knocked it senseless over the pool of lava.
Now they could finally get their bearings.
This was a large room, with stairs leading up to a thin metal rail. The rail ran along the top of the room, and went into a room beyond. One of the only two ways out.
The other way was through the blasted wall that led outside. Mario looked out there and saw the Shroobs were gathered about a mile away. There would be no going out that way.
"Bro, let's see where this rail goes...maybe it leads to the time hole...eventually." Luigi said.
So they went through the archway at the top of the room. They came into the next room, which dropped down to a red metal bridge at the height of the floor of the previous room. This bridge was suspended directly over the lava.
Meanwhile...
After the crash, the babies were almost laughing. They thought the ride had been fun! But now Toadsworth and the others were talking nervously, and some pretty red lights had appeared. They called it fire. Then Toadsworth started breaking the pretty glass things! Then he was telling everyone to get out, and not worry about them.
But they were right there! He kept telling the others that Mario and Luigi were fine...the babies did not understand why they were worried about what was so plainly in front of their eyes.
The lights were getting bigger, and Toadsworth came back to the ship to carry the babies out. The group slid down chains and got to the ground. They didn't see Luigi lying in the corner of the room, and quickly passed into the next room.
They crossed the bridges that the Goombas hadn't tread on yet, and used the rail to go up to the room with the red metal bridge. It was there that Kamek came.
Kamek was Bowser's mentor and guider. He had raised him. He was a Magikoopa, a Koopa who was born with the power to make magic. They were very rare.
Kamek was the only survivor of the siege. The only person who hadn't been dragged away by the Shroobs and brainwashed. He had taken Bowser away and the seven Koopas had followed him.
Before he left, he used a spell to blow the group apart. Toadsworth and Peach were blown off their feet to the next room, and without the babies, they hoped to catch Bowser and Kamek.
The baby brothers were blown to a high wall of that room. They settled on a ledge that was about twenty feet above the bridge. Toadsworth coudn't see them, and they were too dazed then to think of crying for help.
They decided to just wait for help, and hope it came...
"Mama mia!"
"What was that?" Luigi said.
"I don't know..."
The brothers began searching for the sound of their catch-phrase. They looked up almost simultaneously and saw their baby selves, precariously perched on a high ledge.
Mario and Luigi ran over right below them and gasped in relief. They were alive! At least two of the people on that ship had escaped. Now they needed to find Toadsworth, baby Peach, Bowser and his seven pilots.
How were they separated? Luigi gasped as he saw that Baby Mario was attempting to climb down from the ledge. His baby self was trying to stop him. The baby's grib slipped and he almost fell. Realizing it was hopeless, he pulled himself back up.
"Babies!" Mario called.
"We can catch you!" Luigi added.
Baby Mario immediately jumped down into Luigi's arms. Instead he hit him in the head, almost knocking him unconcious. Thankfully the little Mario landed safely.
"Thank you very much!" Baby Mario said.
Mario held out his arms to catch Baby Luigi. Apparantly he did not want to jump.
"Mario!" Stuffwell called.
"What?" he replied. "I'm kind of babysitting here!"
"Maybe you could use me as a sort of cushionation device...I am well padded. Baby Luigi would likely feel assured by the sight of my luxurious leather."
"All right, then..."
Mario put Stuffwell in his arms, and, slowly, Baby Luigi Lowere himself down and fell. On Stuffwell. He began to laugh. It was very comfortable.
Mario let Baby Luigi down softly and Stuffwell said,
"We have located and been reunited with the babies. BACK TO ADVENTURE!"
He then closed up and went back in Mario's hand.
"You guys stay here, okay?" Luigi said.
"Yeah, you guys have to stay in the past..."
The brothers were about to enter the next room when the babies cried. Loudly.
"Mario!" Stuffwell again.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT?"
"Allow me an apology. I was rushing. I forgot to mention how to move as a group of four."
"We know how to walk..." Luigi grumbled.
"You see, the babies can't understand us...it figures..." Stuffwell continued.
The babies were still crying, and Mario and Luigi each set to work to make them stop. They did little dances and made faces and threw the babies up in the air...catching them, of course...and eventually, both of them stopped crying.
"You see! They are not worthless! I suggest you join forces and move on together!"
The brothers made to move off again, but Stuffwell wasn't finished.
"Oh, wait a moment!" he said. "Moving as a group of four is quite vital! You each can move independantly!"
"That's great Stuffwell, but it's a little thing called free will!"
"Yes, but there is even more informationizing!"
"Oh great..." Mario murmured.
"And this is extremely convenient! You can give the little ones piggyback rides and move together!"
"What does E. Gadd think we are, stupid?" Luigi said.
"Now then, let's go find our missing companions! BACK TO ADVENTURE!"
And he folded up again.
"Good thing that's over...he's really annoying!" Luigi said.
"I heard that!"
They came to the door leading to the next room. It was a big old red metal door. In front of it was a large blue switch. A sign next to it read: 'Open the door by standing on the four-minion switch!'
Mario and Luigi, as well as the babies on their backs made enough weight to press the switch and open the door.
Together, they headed into the next room. A sign directly in front of them read: 'For places too high for adults to reach, the prince will jump off a minion.'
They looked to their side and saw a wall was blocking their path. If the babies could jump off of them, they could get on the wall.
"Useful signs, huh?" Luigi said.
Together, the brothers threw their baby selves up and onto the higher level of rock. The babies saw a block floating in midair up there. It was pulsing blue and had an image of a pipe on it. The babies hit it.
"Do you see-" Mario was interrupted because he wasn't there anymore.
The block had created a pipe, which Mario and Luigi now popped through.
They were on the ledge.
"Wow...I guess you guys are useful!" Luigi exclaimed. Ahead of them was another four-minion switch, and a metal door. The brothers picked up the babies and stpped on the switch.
The door opened ahead of them, and they entered.
There was what looked like a big black cage in front of them, and a sign hung on it. It said: 'Koopa Training Gymnasium For Prince Bowser Only!'
There was a small gap on the bottom of the cage. The babies could probably fit through.
"Let's let them have some fun here." Mario said as he let down Baby Mario.
Luigi let down his younger self, and the babies crawled through into the cage. Inside the cage the babies found a total of sixty coins and one One-Up Mushrooms.
"Yay!" they said.
They climbed out of the cage and shared their spoils with the brothers. All around this room were platforms, big and small. There were various items on the platform. The brothers left nothing behind.
There were twenty-six coins, two Mushrooms, a Mushroom Drop, and a Green Shell. At the top of the room was another blue switch with a metal door.
The four heroes jumped on the switch and watched the metal door creak open. They enetered the new room. The first thing they saw was a large red metal platform with a large rock ledge surrounding it from two sides. This was another wall that the babies could be thrown to. Hopefully there would be another pipe block up there, too. The babies saw that there was another pipe block, and there was another ledge above even this one!
They used the block to bring the brothers up to them, and then the brothers threw them up onto the top ledge. Unfortunately, there was no pipe block up here. There was a purple block, as well as another door with the now classic four-minion switch.
They had only two minions, though. The brothers hit the purple block and part of the top ledge moved down. The brothers could now get up!
"It seems we were wrong about you two!" Luigi said. "You really are something."
"Well, they are us!"
"Yeah, you have a point there."
The elder brothers picked up the babies and stepped on the switch. The door opened, and they went through.
When they went in, they saw that they were on another red metal platform, and they were standing right next to Toadsworth, holding Baby Peach!
They were also looking up at Kamek, who was flying in the air on her broomstick.
"Ah-HAAAAAA!" she said. "You little red and green insects! I thought I threw you in the lava! And now there are bigger ones, too! Well, if you're looking for Bowser, I just sent him to the safety of his room! It is the deepest room in this castle! And I have sent those remaining Koopas to give word to the Mushroom Kingdom of our predicament. And I was just about to do this..."
The evil wizard then drew her hand and sent a spell at Toadsworth, who immediately shrunk into a ball and flew into Kamek's hand.
"Now you're mine! Hehehehe! And I'll see to it that YOU are dealt with as well!"
She then used a spell to conjure up a Boo.
"Mario! Luigi!" Stuffwell called. "Have you ever seen a piggyback move in battle?"
"Yeah, like everyone watches Nanny Gladiators!" Mario said.
"Oh I love that show!"
"Just let us do our work!" Mario said angrily.
"I'll just watch, then."
Mario jumped toward the boo and threw Baby Mario down at him. Baby Mario kicked the Boo down, and Mario followed up by slamming the Boo into the ground with his boots. Luigi did the same, and the Boo darkened and died.
"Much more effective!"
"Heh heh heh..." Kamek muttered.
She conjured a Goomba from out of nowhere.
"Hey, bro...let's try a Green Shell...I have an idea..." Luigi said.
Mario took out a Green Shell and Baby Mario jumped on it. Mario and Luigi still kicked the shell back and forth, but now the little Mario was flinging his arms wildly, catching the Goomba with his tiny fist every time.
The Goomba then fell quicker than they had before.
"AAAACK!" Kamek screeched.
She laughed again as she conjured up yet another Goomba. This time, Luigi took out a Green Shell, and Baby Luigi did the extra damage. Soon enough, this Goomba fell to the four brothers, too.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaack!" Kamek screamed. "How long do I have to do this?! I'm in a hurry!"
She made a Goomba and a Boo, then flew out of the room.
"OK, then..."
"BACK TO ADVENTURE!"
Mario used Baby Mario to propel himself up, then once again smashed the Goomba to the ground.
Luigi used Baby Luigi to uppercut the Boo, then he hammered down with his fist. The Goomba charged at Luigi, and he punched the thing back. Meanwhile, the Boo tried to sweep through him, but Baby Luigi kicked it away.
Mario and Luigi threw their baby selves at the creatures, then jumped in to kick them to oblivion. They were done. It was time to chase after Kamek.
There was a series of rock platforms increasing in height until they cam to a wooden bridge. The brothers croosed it and found a Green Shell on the ground.
They moved higher along a few more platforms, and came to another bridge. Waiting for them there was a Boo, and a Shy Guy. Shy Guys were little dog-like creatures who wore masks on their faces. This one had a cannon strapped to his head.
The Boo approached Luigi, who punched it back about a foot. Mario and Baby Mario attacked the Boo, who was now on his last limbs. The two Luigis attacked the Shy Guy, and his cannon wobbled on his head.
He walked up to Mario, and shot out a Bullet Bill at him. The cannon fire bowled him over, leaving his bruised and knocked prone. The Boo went for Luigi, and Baby Luigi socked it in the mouth, killing it.
The Marios quickly teamed up on the Shy Guy and knocked it's cannon off. It had no way to defend itself. The Luigis came in and threw it into the lava.
"At least we had a bit of variety..." Mario mumbled.
His bruises hurt.
They went over the bridge and came to another platform that was attached to a bridge. They crossed the bridge and found two Boos and a Shy Guy waiting for them.
"Oh great..." Luigi mumbled.
Mario threw Baby Mario into the cannon. A second later he exploded out, hitting both Boos. He was unharmed. Meanwhile, Mario had gone up and kicked over the Shy Guy.
Both Boos went for Luigi. Luigi took one, and Baby Luigi took the other. They went back wailing.
All four brothers went up in hand-to-hand combat with the Boos, and made short work of both of them.
The Shy Guy ran up to Luigi and shot at him. He jumped on the Bullet, knocking it away. Once again., the Marios came in and decked the cannon, then the Luigis finished him off. They had won. They were invincible.
"Those Shy Guys are a pain..." Mario said.
They hopped up a short ledge and crossed another bridge to see another final Boo and Shy Guy.
"Here we go!"
Mario left Baby Mario and went up to knock the Boo into the sky. He did, then it swerved around and went for Luigi. He didn't see it, but his younger self did. The little one jumped on the Boo, sending it back to Mario. He nailed it into the ground, and it disappeared.
Now there was just the Shy Guy.
"Why do the enemies always go for me?" Luigi asked.
Luigi made a great twirling jump and knocked it's cannon off. But it had backup. A team of flying Shy Guys brought in another one, then quickly flew away.
It went for Luigi.
"Big surprise there!" he muttered.
He knocked away the Bullet, and Baby Mario worked with Mario to bring it down. A Mushroom lay at their feet. They got it, then entered the next room.
Inside it was a sign hanging next to a pipe. The pipe had a blue lid on it.
"Maybe it's a four-minion pipe?"
The sign said: 'Use four minions to open the pipe lid. Yes, this is a four-minion pipe.'
"Does that answer your question?"
The four brothers stepped onto the pipe and sunk down deeper into the castle.
Through the blasted wall came the Shroob troops. They were storming the castle, looking for any survivors and taking it for their own. They were coming. One grunt soldier saw the mangled remains of some of Bowser's troops. They had sent a few in here as a precaution. There were intruders. The pilots and maybe this Bowser himself were still alive. They quickened their pace.
Tne pipe spat the out on another platform. This platform had another pipe, presumably to get back up. They headed into the next room.
On the ground in front of them were two Green Shells. They picked them up and continued. Here there was also another high ledge that was only baby accessible.
"Here we go again..." Mario said as he and Luigi heaved their babies onto the metal.
"What's up there?" Luigi asked.
No answer.
"Babies?" Mario called.
Once again, no answer.
The ledge led into another room, and there was no pipe block in sight. This mini room did have a purple block in it. The babies hit it, hoping something cool would happen. And something did.
Out of the metal floor where the older brothers stood came a bridge. It stretched over to another platform of metal. The babies came out of the room with smiles, and jumped into the brother's arms. Together they crossed the bridge and came to another blue switch.
They knew what to do.
They stepped on it, and the red metal door in front of them opened. They stepped through into the room beyond.
In this new room the four brothers found another ledge that obviously led to another block. Out of the rock floor extended one metal plank of a bridge, laying vertically.
The bridge was partially started.
"This is a little too easy." Luigi said.
They threw the little ones up into the room. The little brothers found another room, except this one was larger. There was a purple block, and they hit it. It created another bridge, which the elder brothers crossed.
The older ones were just coming to the bridge's end when they heard a voice.
"Mario! Luigi!" Stuffwell again. "If I may, there appears to be an unfamiliar block up there..."
He was looking at the platform, which had two colorful blocks. One was solid, the other looked transparent.
"Are you aware of how to hit and activate that block?"
"Yes, Stuffwell..." Mario said. "One of us hits the solid one, and then the other one turns solid, and the other one of US hits that one. Then something happens."
"Okay then...BACK TO ADVENTURE!"
The babies had found a One-Up Mushroom on the ground. They had moved on to see some pillars leading up to something, when they were jumped by two Goombas with antennae.
The brothers had learned a fighting lesson from their older selves. They both went to deck the Goombas senseless. The Goombas, however, retaliated, charging both babies. The barely dodged their attacks. Now they leapt at them again, and the Goombas tried to tackle them back.
But the babies were too quick. They knocked them back before they could get close.
Luigi nailed his into the wall, killing it. The first one charged him, and he killed the other one with a kick. Mario bent to pick up twenty coins, but as he was getting up, two more Goombas launched themselves at them.
Mario threw the coins at the Goombas, knocking them over. Then they went in for the attack. Both Goombas ganged up on little Luigi, who threw them both back. They kept kicking and punching to no avail.
Now both Goombas tackled Mario. The second one was thrown against the wall. Dead. Mario slammed the first one into the ground, squashing it.
They were defeated. The little brothers looked to the pillars and saw that they were too high to get up on. Suddenly, right before their eyes, a new, smaller pillar was raised! They could get up!
They jumped across four pillars until they saw two colorful blocks. One looked like it almost wasn't there. Mario grabbed the first block, only to see it disappear! The second block was there, though, so Luigi reached for it. Now they both were gone!
The elder brothers started along the platform when they saw two Shy Guys...and two Boos! Both brothers used the enemies' cannons against them, blasting each one before they were wrestled out of their hands.
The Boos tried to sweep through each brother, but were punched to the side. Mario made to knock the cannon of of the first Shy Guy, but tripped up and only scraped the guy.
Luigi was more successful. He made for a haymaker and swept of the second one's cannon! The first one shot at Luigi, but nothing came out! He shot again, and the Bullet emerged, knocking Luigi prone. There was no backup for the defenseless one.
The Boos then tried to take Luigi down. He was dazed, but still managed to dodge both of them. Meanwhile, Mario knocked the cannon off of the other Shy Guy. Luigi attacked the second Shy Guy as the first one called for a new cannon. He received it with glee, and used it to blast at Mario. He barely missed. Mario heard the wind past his ears as the Bullet flew by.
The other Shy Guy called for help, but still did not receive it. Both Boos each took a brother, and Mario killed the Boo attacking him. He then ran up to the Shy Guy with the cannon and knocked him into lava. Luigi then killed the other Shy Guy.
The last remaining Boo swept through Mario, nearly possessing him with demonic spirits. Mario ran after him and stuffed his fist right through it. A Mushroom dropped at his feet. They were quickly jumped by two last Shy Guys before they could react.
Both brothers went in to fight melee. Both smashed the cannons with their feet, but they did not budge. Both went for Luigi, and blasted their Bullets at him. He could not dodge them both, and was hit by both weapons.
"OOOOOhhhhh..." he groaned in pain.
The weakened brothers knocked their cannons off. The first one had his immeadiately recovered, as did the second. They both went for Luigi again, except now he was ready. He knocked both Bullets away.
Mario killed the first one with a mighty blow, and Luigi made the second one's cannon useless. No backup arrived this time. Mario went in for the kill, and ceased it's life with a throw into the lava.
They found twenty coins on the ground, and took a quick Mushroom break. All of their injuries were instantly healed. They took a minute to get their bearings. There were metal pillars leading up to another platform. The last one was too high to leap on. But then, right before their eyes, that last pillar lowered! They could get up!
They did climb up, and were almost instantly cornered by three Shy Guys.
"Let's mix it up a bit..." Mario said.
He took out a Green Shell. They kicked it back and forth. The thing's cannon wobbled and fell, crushing the shell. It was not dead. Luigi took out another shell and aimed it at the same one. Eventually, the first of three fell.
The two remaining ones both headed for Luigi. He dodged the first Bullet, but was nailed by the second one. They attacked again, and both fired wildly toward Luigi. They both missed by a lot.
Still in close combat, the brothers knocked both of the creatures cannons off. Both cannons were replaced immediately, and they shot toward the brothers. Mario and Luigi each knocked their own missiles back at them, killing both. The creatures dropped a Green Shell.
Next to the brothers was another space for a bridge.
Continuing along the pillars the babies had found a way out. Below them were Mario and Luigi, with a place where a bridge could be lying next to them! There were some platforms hugging the wall that led to more colorful blocks by the babies. They made for them, and the babies pressed these, too.
A bridge was built leading to another platform. The babies joined up with their older selves and crossed the bridge. Another blue switch lay before them.
"These four-minion switches are pretty useful!" Luigi said. In front of them was twenty coins. This new room had a very large cage, and seemingly no way out. Off to the side of the room was another ledge that led to a mini-room. There was also a very big block with a Shine Sprite on it. A Shine Sprite is a source of light in the Mushroom Kingdom.
There was a sign beneath it. It read: 'When all is dark and your path is shrouded in evil shadows...Don't freak out! Hit the floating Shine Block and turn on your own miniature sun!'
The brothers noticed that the mini-room was very dark. They threw the babies up into the room, and the babies saw that there were some glow-in-the-dark panels. There were not enough to walk on, though.
The older brothers hit the Shine Block and the mini-room brightened. There were some unglow-in-the-dark panels to walk on. The floor was made up of spikes. They had to be careful. They came to another glowy platform just as the light went out.
The older brothers noticed the sudden darkness and hit the button again.
This went on for a while until the brothers heard something back by the front of the cage. They ran over to see that the little brothers had just come out of the cage! It was open!
The babies had gone through the other side out into the cage. There was a giant floating chest in the cage, and it held a sparkly little glass shard. Stuffwell had come out and jabbered a bit, and the babies had decided to keep it. The cage door had opened when the chest was opened.
They showed the thing to the older brothers, who put it in Stuffwell.
Inside the cage was another red metal door, and that too had opened when the chest was opened. They went through the door and found that there was another four-minion pipe. Was there another level to the castle? How much farther until they found the time hole, and Kamek?
They sank down deeper into the castle.
The Shroobs had just sunk to the second level of the castle. They had seen many dead troops, and many pushed switches. They broke into a run and were now at the pillar room.
The brothers sank into the last pipe room, and leaned against the pipe that led back up, taking a rest. Little did they know, the Shroobs were coming closer. After about two minutes, Mario heard a noise coming from the upper pipe.
"There's someone coming..."
He looked up the pipe to see a Shroob hurtling toward him!
"Ahhh!" he exclaimed. "The Shroobs! We have to get out of here!"
The four brothers ran out of the pipe room just as the Shroobs were entering.
The next room had large stairs leading up to a last blue switch and a painted door. This was obviously the passageway to Bowser's bedroom. The time hole must be there. They ran up and slammed on the switch. They entered his room and closed the door just as Shroobs began piling on the stairs.
They entered the room to see Kamek and Bowser unconscious on the floor. Toadsworth was holding Peach and staring at the time hole.
"All right, are you? Jolly good!"
"Toadsworth, we don't have time for this-"
The Shroobs were piling against the door and the time hole had begun to disappear!
"We need to go back...back to the future! Where we came from! We need backup."
"I'm not going with you...I wouldn't put her in such danger..."
The door began to crack.
"It's either safety, or Shroobs. Is that such a hard choice?"
The hole was only a few inches wide.
"GO!"
The brothers pushed Toadsworth in, and he was sucked into the time hole. Luigi jumped right in after him. The Shroobs burst through the door. Mario tripped as he ran for the time hole, and just barely stuck his finger in. He was gone. The time hole was gone.
They were back to the future.
Mario blasted out of the time hole. He was in a storage shed. The castle's garden shed! They were back!
They could almost cry. They had made it. Toadsworth was looking around anxiously.
"Are we...in the future?"
"Yeah...we had better go see the Professor. Last time he saw us, Luigi accidently fell in the time hole."
"That seemed like ages ago!"
They walked over to the spacious courtyard, into the castle, and down through the throne room. They found the Professor hard at work with the alien in a tank and an electric monitor.
The Professor noticed them and gasped.
"You're back!" he said. "I can't believe it! And...it seems as if you brought back your past selves! So, did you find Peach?"
The brothers shook their heads no.
"Professor!" it was Stuffwell. "I must inform you...the Mushroom Kingdom of the past is in gargantulic trouble!"
For the next half hour or so, the brothers told the Professor of their story. Toadsworth had followed them silently.
"Hmm...so it's true. These Shroob creatures have made off with the Princess, eh?"
Stuffwell then showed him the shiny thing the babies had found, and he almost died.
"YOWZER!!" he said. "That's a Cobalt star shard! The time machine's fuel source! Why was it in Bowser's Castle?! And how did it get broken?"
The thing floated over to the alien's tank. The sleeping thing began screaming in pain!
"It's driving it crazy!" Mario exclaimed.
Then, the shard fell to the floor. After a moment of thought, the Professor spoke.
"Maybe...we can use this thing to fight the Shroobs!"
At this, the shard flew away down a side hallway.
"After it!" E. Gadd screamed.
The brothers ran after the flying star, and they chased it to the Toads' quarters. There, it began spinning, and dug a hole right in the middle of the room! There was an explosion, and the shard raced back up to the surface. Out of the ground came...a time hole!
The retrieved the now dead shard and went back to the Professor. He was astounded by what they told him.
"Maybe it's telling us something. Maybe if you can get the other shards, we can defeat the Shroobs! Maybe this time hole leads to a shard! We must repair the Cobalt Star! I say that you return to the past and find another shard! But first, some Mushrooms. On the house!"
After they had rested, they decided to go back into the past. They needed to save the Princess. The question was, would they find a way back?
"Oh, Toadsworth!" Mario asked.
The old one was off on business, so he was questioning the younger one. He had taken Toadsworth's room.
"Yes, Mario?"
"I was wondering...how did you manage to escape from Kamek?"
"Well, she let us out when she saw the time hole. She didn't know what it was, and wanted me to test it. I, of course, didn't, and I approached her and Bowser. In other words, I fought them!"
"Well, you weren't appointed Peach's guardian for no reason!"
"I'm going to continue researching this thing for more weaknesses. You two, do what you have to do, okay?" E. Gadd said this after they were rested.
They went to Toadsworth's room, and jumped into the time hole. Into the past. This time, intentionally.
The unlucky Shroob who had to report their loss to the Commander wasn't very happy. He had been angry, yes, that they had lost this pest once more, but was also glad that they had taken the castle. And Bowser with his servant, as well. They were to be used for information.
He had felt something disturbing, though. Even from far away. Like...a weapon. It was gone now.
He was now traveling to the Shroob Princess to tell her of their victory.
"My Princess, we have taken the castle. And the army."
"Good...but something troubles you. What is it?"
"There was something in the castle. It felt...disturbing..."
"What?! What are you talking about?"
"Something...like a weapon...but do not worry. It is gone now."
"You fool! That was the Star! Why did you not recover it? It is priceless!"
"The enemy, the pest, did escape, though, my Princess...I do not feel that they will be back."
"You let them- They took it! They know it's power! You fool! It will destroy us!"
"Wait...I feel it again...It is faint, but...it is heading toward Toadwood Forest! From where I cannot tell..."
"Toadwood Forest?! I feel it too...they cannot learn our secret! You must make sure they do not enter-"
"I will, my Princess. I will stop them. Whatever it takes..."
Author's Note:
This was an extremely long chapter. About double the normal size. Well, now they have a mission, and are heading off into the past. And maybe they'll discover the Shroobs' secret! Find out in Chapter Five: The Quest for Vim. Part one's finale chapter!