Finally done with this chapter!

Enjoy! ;)

Chapter 4: Back to the Future

"Uhhhh…" Mario and Luigi woke up after the impact.

"Are you okay, Luigi?" Mario asked.

"I'm fine…" Luigi replied. But then, he noticed that someone, or rather, some people were missing. "Hold on! Where's Sonic and Tails? And our past selves?"

"Boy… It's just one disaster after another with you and Sonic and Tails, isn't it?" Stuffwell came out of Mario's pocket. "Well, my keen detection skills don't pick up anyone else in the immediate vicinity."

"Oh god… Where are they now?" Luigi asked.

"Perhaps they were all thrown clear by the crash, what with the destruction and exploding." Stuffwell guessed.

"OH NO! This is bad!" both brothers shouted in worry.

"Hold it… According to my ultra-radar… A new time hole has appeared somewhere in this castle."

"Wait, really?!" Mario flinched in surprise.

"I think it may be advisable to find the time hole and return to our own time for a while." Stuffwell stated.

"Yeah, but first, we gotta locate for our friends." Mario said. "Especially our baby selves…"

With that, Stuffwell went back into Mario's pocket and the brothers moved on.

They ended up encountering some Goombas and Boos on their way. Much later, they reached a room where there was a red iron bridge. As soon as the brothers stepped on it, they heard a voice from somewhere:

"Mama mia!" it was from Baby Mario.

"Did you hear that?" Mario asked.

"I did!" Luigi responded. "But where did it come from?"

They looked and looked around, until a green spiked ball fell from the ceiling and it crashed on Luigi's head.

"OWWWW!" he winced in pain.

"Luigi!" Mario cried out.

"Golly, that really hurt!" Luigi groaned as he rubs his head.

"Just where did that spiked ball come from?" Mario questioned.

"Uh, Mario… Look up there…" Luigi pointed at the ceiling, looking quite frightened.

Mario shifted his gaze at the ceiling, and saw something that left him in shock:

"Mama mia! That looks REALLY dangerous!"

What did they just saw at the ceiling? They saw Baby Mario climbing on one of the chains to reach Baby Luigi, who was standing on a girder. Every time Baby Mario ends up sliding, Baby Luigi gets even more concerned that his brother might fall off. After all, there was lava below them.

"I swear to god, PLEASE don't fall off, Mario!" Baby Luigi panicked.

"Unnnngh… Almost…there…" Baby Mario struggles to climb the chain attached to the girder. Soon, he manages to get on the girder. "See? I made it, Luigi!" he exclaimed.

"Yay!" Baby Luigi cheered.

"BABIES!" they heard Mario's voice from below. They looked down and saw their adult selves.

"Hi!" the baby brothers waved happily and giggled.

"It's too dangerous to be up there! Come down! We'll catch you!" Luigi rose his hands to the air.

"Hey! That looks like fun! Woohoo!" Baby Mario jumped off from the girder, much to Baby Luigi's shock.

Instead of being caught, Baby Mario ended up bouncing off of Luigi's head, leaving him dizzy.

"Sheesh… My bro is using his head a lot today…" Mario thought while sweatdropping.

"Thank you very much for being a soft cushion for me!" Baby Mario thanked Luigi.

Luigi shook his head to get rid of his dizziness and replied in embarrassment:

"Uh, y-you're welcome…"

Mario then decides to try to catch Baby Luigi next. However, he was quite frightened that he might not have a soft landing.

"Uh oh…" he murmured.

"You don't have to worry! I'll catch you! I promise!" Mario called out.

"Uh…" Baby Luigi hesitated.

"Mario!" Stuffwell came out of Mario's pocket. "Perhaps you should use me as a sort of cushionation device. I am, of course, well padded. Baby Luigi would likely feel reassured by the sight of my luxurious leather."

"Alright, then." Mario nodded and Stuffwell jumps on his hands. "You can come down now! This suitcase will soften your landing!"

"O-Okey… H-Here I come…" Baby Luigi stuttered as he slowly climbs down the chain.

However, his hands slipped off, and he begins to fall.

"WOWOWOWOWOAAAAAAAAHH!" he screamed while falling.

When he landed on Stuffwell, he felt that it was indeed soft, since he bounced on it.

"Huh, that actually is quite soft than I thought…" Baby Luigi remarked before jumping off.

"We have located and been reunited with the babies. But we still have to find Sonic, Tails and their younger selves." Stuffwell said after jumping off of Mario's hands. "Come on, let's go."

Mario and Luigi followed Stuffwell. But then, as soon as they turned their backs and were about to reach the other side…

"WAAAAAAAAAAAH!" they flinched when they heard Baby Mario and Baby Luigi wailing from behind them.

"Hold up, Stuffwell! We can't forget the babies!" Mario warned. Stuffwell realized that he was right; they just saved the babies from being stuck on the ceiling, and now they're leaving them by themselves?

"Uh, yeah… Allow me a brief apology. I was rushing." Stuffwell apologized. "It seems that the babies are unable to understand my communicating… What a situation…"

"You tell me…" Luigi sweatdropped.

"Well, first of all, we must try to calm them down. Since the younger versions of Sonic and Tails aren't here, I guess we'll have to do it by ourselves." Mario told Luigi. He then walked towards his baby self. "Hmm… When I was younger, what did make me laugh?" he thought for a bit, and finally remembered: "That's it! Funny faces!" he then calls Baby Mario's attention: "Baby!"

Hearing his older self, Baby Mario stopped crying for a bit and looked at him. Mario then did a shocked expression (which counts as a funny face in the game, for some reason), making Baby Mario laugh:

"Hahahahahahaha! Funny face! Funny face!"

Then, Mario had a great idea to amuse his younger self; he grabs him by his waist and lifts him up to his head level.

"Up you go!" Mario exclaimed playfully and tosses Baby Mario into the air.

"Wheeeee!" Baby Mario cheered. "Again! Again!" he begged once Mario caught him back.

"Here you go!" Mario tosses him again.

Luigi, on the other hand, was having a bit of trouble when calming down his younger self. We could say that he was a crybaby ever since his childhood. He tried to make a funny face like his older brother, but it didn't work. Therefore, he tried spinning a little bit, and that actually caught Baby Luigi's attention. But once he stopped, Baby Luigi resumed crying again.

"Oh, really?! Do I have to spin more?!" Luigi rolled his eyes while lamenting.

He then spins more than previously, and Baby Luigi once again stopped crying and watched. However, due to spinning too much, Luigi ended up becoming dizzy.

"Hahahahahaha! Googly eyes! Googly eyes!" Baby Luigi laughed hysterically.

After getting rid of his dizziness, Luigi noticed that getting dizzy…somehow worked, and saw his baby self laughing. He then begins tossing Baby Luigi into the air just like Mario was doing with Baby Mario.

A while later…

After playing with the babies, Mario and Luigi were facing Stuffwell and he spoke:

"Yes, they are not helpless! I suggest the four of you join forces and move on!"

Stuffwell then explained that to move as a group of four, Mario and Luigi had to give their baby selves piggybacks. Once they did it, Stuffwell finished:

"Now then, let's go find our poor missing companions! BACK TO ADVENTURE!" he then jumps back inside Mario's pocket.

The new group of four then moved on. By using their new piggyback abilities, they were able to reach a room where there was a closed gate surrounded by pillars of spikes. But what was surprising was that Sonic, Tails and their younger selves were trapped on the other side!

"Guys! You're here!" Tails called out.

"Sonic! Tails!" Mario exclaimed. "So you have landed there?"

"Yeah, unfortunately." Sonic rolled his eyes. "But at least we've landed alongside our younger selves."

"Could you stop saying that?!" Young Sonic argued. "I still don't believe you all are our future selves."

"What?! Oh, come on!" Sonic growled. "Am I really having a fight against myself?!"

"Uh… Anyways, could you all find a way to get us out?" Young Tails requested.

"Sure thing!" Mario nodded.

The brothers then found an opening at the left side of the room and they tossed Baby Mario and Baby Luigi in there. After crossing a dark area that was filled with spikes, the toddlers made their way out on the other side, and they met up with the four animals.

"Mario! Luigi! I can't believe you made it in here!" Young Sonic exclaimed.

"We made it with the help of our adult selves!" Baby Mario stated.

"Ugh… Even you?" Young Sonic facepalmed, causing Sonic to growl under his breath.

"I knew all of this time-traveling thing is so complicated…" he muttered.

"Eh? What's that thing up there?" Baby Luigi eyed a hovering treasure chest floating above their heads.

"We just found that right here." Young Tails explained. "We tried to open it, but nothing worked. Could you guys try it?"

"Leave it to me!" Baby Mario hit the chest, and out of it came out a pyramid-shaped shining blue shard. This also caused the gate to open, allowing Mario and Luigi to enter through it. They stared at the shard, seeing it slowly fall towards them.

"What do you suppose that is?" Young Tails asked.

"It appears trashable, but… It may ALSO be something of incalculable value." Young Sonic inspected.

"I think it's best that we take it with us and investigate further." Tails suggested as he takes the shard.

"Wait, are you saying that these grown-up guys will come along too? Nuh-uh! No way!" Young Sonic shook his head. "I'm not letting a bunch of weird strangers who keep saying that they're our future selves come with us!"

"Okay, this is getting annoying!" Sonic hissed.

"If you're really our future selves, then I need proof! That's it."

"Alright, we'll soon show you the proof! You'll see it very soon!"

"Hm, good luck with that." Young Sonic finished with a sarcastic tone.

"Geez, what's with my past self? Was I really that harsh when I was younger?" Sonic thought.

"Well… We're all together now, so how about we head into the next room?" Mario suggested as he and Luigi gave piggybacks to their baby selves.

Everyone went inside the double doors in front of them, taking them to Baby Bowser's room, where they found Young Toadsworth, Young Amy and Baby Peach standing next to a time hole.

"Is that…" Tails started.

"Yes! It's a time hole!" Luigi exclaimed.

"Time hole?" Young Sonic questioned.

"Oh! That's right! There is your proof!" Sonic smirked. "We came here into your time through that!"

"Hmm… Still not enough." Young Sonic wasn't convinced.

"Oh, come on!"

"There you all are!" Young Amy exclaimed. "We just saw this strange hole show up in here. What should we do about it?"

"Simple, let's jump into it!" Mario said.

"Pardon me? You say we should leap into that ridiculous hole?! Absolute rubbish!" Young Toadsworth protested. "Do you honestly believe that I would place the princess in such reckless endangerment?"

"*sigh* let's just go back to our own era." Sonic sighed. "This blathering nincompoop is just arresting our progress."

"You… Why, you SCOUNDREL!" Young Toadsworth yelled. "How DARE you refer to me as such?!"

"See? I told you, Tails! Do I act like that? No! It's so clear that they aren't us from the future!" Young Sonic stated.

"Oh yeah? Well, because you've been so annoying to me, I'm taking you with me to the future!" Sonic growled while forcibly grabbing Young Sonic by his arm and leaping into the hole with him.

Once the event with the colorful stars and laser lights happened and both Sonics were pulled inside the hole, both Tailses, Marios and Luigis followed suit. All of this left Young Toadsworth and Young Amy speechless.

"Those colorful stars looked quite pretty, though. I think I'm going in!" Young Amy broke the silence and jumped inside the hole as well, and the same event happened to her too.

"Halt!" Young Toadsworth shouted. "I say! What cheek! You, I dare say, are the true nincompoops! Come back here this instant!" he then also jumped inside the time hole.

With the heroes, after that long travel into the endless vortex, they eventually emerged out of Peach's Castle in the present day. Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Young Sonic and Young Tails looked around amazed.

"Wow… Is this Peach's Castle in the future?" Baby Mario questioned.

"Yep! Very different than the one back in your time, right?" Mario smiled.

"You bet!"

Then, Stuffwell came out and spoke:

"And just like that, here we are, back in our own time."

"Thank god. I thought we would be stuck in the past at the beginning…" Luigi sighed in relief.

"Alright, let's hustlify over and see the good professor at the throne room." He then went back inside Mario's pocket.

Once at the throne room, they found E. Gadd and also the Junior Shrooboid, which was inside a lab tube, looking lifeless for now. They also saw someone that they haven't seen before, standing next to the professor, cloaked in a brown robe with a hood.

"Professor! We're back!" Tails called out.

"Hey now! Back at last!" E. Gadd exclaimed. "Someone informed me that you were bringing little fellers back with you to this time. And just look at this, now… These ones are in red and green, and these others are blue and yellow! I am plumb astounded! But then again, what else would the little fellers wearing and looking like, huh? Still, it sure tickles me to see little bros and little team teamed up with the regular big bros and big team!"

"So you're saying that they are indeed our future selves? How do you know that?" Young Sonic asked in a serious tone.

"Because I was the one who informed him, silly." The cloaked person answered, speaking in a soft, soothing voice of a woman as she turned around.

She then removes her robe, and to the heroes' surprise, she wasn't a normal person; she was actually a fairy! Spreading her glittering transparent wings, this fairy, sharing the same height as Peach, had the appearance of a 20 year old woman with an oval face, pink eyeshadow and eyes, red lips and long black wavy hair that reached below her waist. Her outfit is an ivory strapless dress with a bell-shaped skirt that went past her ankles and didn't allow you to see her feet, in which she's actually barefoot. Donning her beautiful hair was a headband consistent of daisy flowers. On her upper arms, there was a pink strap with pink ribbons flowing from it, and on her wrists, tied transparent ivory scarves that also flowed. She was also wearing a black necklace showing a mysterious glowing blue stone as the pendent.

"Ho ho ho ho! I've met her soon after you left into the time hole!" E. Gadd laughed.

"Indeed. I've been watching you all during your time on the Mushroom Kingdom's past." The fairy said. "It's so nice to meet you all. I am Veronica, the Fairy of Time. I am able to control and manipulate time, travel through time and even receive visions of people and the land's past, present and future. You see, I was one of the fairies who had fled from Hollijolli Village because of the Shroobs' attack."

"So that explains it…" Mario pondered.

"But wait, how were you able to identify the past and future versions of people?" Young Sonic asked.

"In every people's hearts, there's a type of energy flowing inside of them. Those energies are unique to everyone. There's no one in the world with the same type of energy." Veronica explained. "So I was able to identify your and your friends' future selves because they shared the same energy as yours."

"Oh, really? If that's the case…" he turned to his older self with a guilty expression. "I'm… I'm sorry for being so harsh and doubting on you. Sometimes, I can be rather arrogant. I bet you know exactly what I mean, since you're me."

"Yup, I do know what you meant." Sonic grinned. His younger self grinned back.

"Veronica also told me that the Mushroom Kingdom of the past is in gargantulent trouble." E. Gadd continued. "You fellers might of have experienced that already, am I right?" the past and future heroes nodded. "Hmm… So it's true. These Shroob creatures have made off with the princess and miss Rose, eh?"

As E. Gadd was thinking, Baby Luigi glanced at the Junior Shrooboid inside the lab tube. He quietly called Baby Mario so that they could take a closer look, and they snuck past the adult heroes and stared curiously at the Junior Shrooboid.

"Oh, I should have mentioned, Professor and Veronica… We recovered this at Bowser's Castle in the past." Tails interfered and showed the blue shard they had found.

"YOWZER!" E. Gadd exclaimed.

"No way! You boys already found one of the Cobalt Star shards?" Veronica was surprised.

"Cobalt Star?" the adult heroes, Young Sonic, and Young Tails questioned in unison.

"Yep! It's the time machine's fuel source!" E. Gadd replied. "But why was it in Bowser's Castle?! And how did it get broken?! Veronica! You haven't told me yet on that part!"

"Well… I… Uh…" Veronica stuttered, hesitating to talk.

"You alright, Veronica?" Tails asked in concern.

"I'm fine! It's just…"

Suddenly, the Cobalt Shard flew towards the Junior Shrooboid, causing it to roar. This also startled the babies and they started crying.

"WAAAAAAAAH!" Baby Mario and Baby Luigi wailed out loud. Young Tails and Young Sonic flinched and they quickly rushed to the babies, trying to calm them down as usual.

"Good gravy! The Cobalt Star shard is driving that monster crazy!" E. Gadd's eyes widened.

"Shh… Don't cry, Mario and Luigi! That monster is inside that tube; it won't come out." Young Tails gently rubs Baby Luigi's back. Young Sonic does the same, but Baby Mario and Baby Luigi still won't stop crying.

"MAMA!" Baby Luigi screamed as he wails loudly.

Mario and Luigi went to their baby selves and gave them piggybacks, which oddly enough, made them stop crying.

"Wow… Looks like they got used to this piggyback thingy." Young Sonic was surprised.

Veronica moved the Cobalt Shard away from the Junior Shrooboid and it became lifeless again.

"Phew… That was a close one…" she sighed. "Are you babies feeling better?"

"Much better! Much better!" Baby Luigi responded with a smile. Veronica couldn't help but smile too.

"Hmmmmmmmmm…" E. Gadd examined the Cobalt Shard. "Could it be… Yep, it could! I do believe there's a link between the Cobalt Star and the Shroob marauders."

"Maybe we can figure out how to defeat these alien jerks if we find more Cobalt Star shards!" Sonic stated.

"Possibly…"

"I… I can sense some sort of time energy in this shard…" Veronica said. "Let me use my time powers to let it free."

Veronica concentrates and the Cobalt Shard glows in yellow. That glow then flew out of the shard and out of the throne room, making almost everyone flinch by that. The glow continued its way to another part of the castle and plunged into the ground, creating a new time hole.

"That shaking…was not natural. I'd wager a new time hole just opened here in the castle." E. Gadd guessed.

"That's correct." Veronica nodded. "That Cobalt Shard is reacting to the other shards that are scattered in the past."

"Mario! Luigi! Sonic! Tails! You youngsters get going and find those other Cobalt Star shards!" E. Gadd told them. "Let me also send Veronica with you as well. She'll guide you in your journey through the Mushroom Kingdom's past."

"It is my pleasure, Professor." Veronica thanked as she flew towards the heroes. "Ready to go, past and future heroes?"

"Yeah!" they all cheered.

Veronica led them into the room of the castle where the new time hole showed up. They all jumped in, and were pulled inside just like last time.

Meanwhile…

"VILLAIN!" we just heard Young Toadsworth's voice, who just came inside the same room where our heroes leaped into the time hole alongside Young Amy and Baby Peach. Then, the older Toadsworth came in as well!

"I DARESAY THOSE ARE THEM!" Toadsworth shouted. "Those children on your side, sir! They're the princess and Mistress Rose, are they not?"

He tries to approach them, but Young Toadsworth dragged the girls away from him.

"KEEP YOUR DISTANCE!" Young Toadsworth yelled. "You're not cleared to address Her Royal Highness!"

"In the short time they've been gone, they've grown so small!" Toadsworth remarked. "THIS is why I was so opposed to that infernal time device!"

He approaches and approaches his younger self with the girls, but he kept moving them away until he gets cornered to the wall.

"SOMEONE! ANYONE!" Young Toadsworth called out in desperation. "HELP! SOMEBODY! IS THIS CASTLE DESERTED?" he then dragged the girls out of the room.

"PRINCESS! MISTRESS ROSE!" Toadsworth called out and chased after his younger self.

To be continued…

And here we have the introduction of this story's female guide: the fairy of time, Veronica! There's nothing much to say about her, but she's going to be a huge help for our heroes. Especially on much later chapters.

The next chapter will show our amazing total number of 9 heroes venturing in Toadwood Forest! Please review.