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Mario and Luigi ran like crazy towards the burning train and the people that were inside. Most of the screams that they heard were those of humans and some Toad people. To the brothers' frustration, the airships were already flying away from the crime scene.

"They must've thought that we were on that train!" Mario said.

"I already guessed." Luigi said. "But how in the world were they able to figure out where we were?"

"It doesn't matter right now!" Mario replied. "Let's go rescue some people!"

The brothers approached the burning wreckage and could not believe how hot it was. To them, it was as if a wave of pure fire had hit them, as if created by some invisible flamethrower. They watched as the flames roared high above the crash site in monstrous towers of orange fury. They could only imagine how it felt inside the wreck. The people inside continued to scream.

"IT'S ALRIGHT! WE'RE HERE TO SAVE YOU!" Mario called to the people inside. "EVERYTHING'S GOING TO BE ALRIGHT!"

"Help us, young strangers!" Someone from inside called. "We need to get to out of here before this fire burns us to death!"

Mario and Luigi looked at each other with panicked looks. Mario tried opening the passenger car door, but it would not budge. The opening mechanism was obviously not operational.

"Luigi, wait here while I find something to bash this door open!" Mario said. "It's important that you keep these people company."

"I can't just stand here!" Luigi said. "I have to help these people too! We need to put out this fire somehow!"

"With what?!" Mario asked. "There's isn't any water near here!"

"What about the water in that oasis back there?" Luigi asked.

"We don't have anything to carry the water with!" Mario shouted. "Besides, we could only carry a little at a time!"

"FOR GOD'S SAKE HELP US!" one of the people inside the train yelled. "THE FLAMES ARE GETTING TOO HOT!"

Wasting no more time, the brothers hurried to the ruined cargo loads to search for anything that might be useful. They went inside the first cargo car and saw tons of toppled boxes with their contents scattered all over. There were many goods from different parts of the world like imported spices and fabrics.

"Look at all of this stuff." Luigi said.

"Shut up and find something we can use to open that door!" Mario yelled. "We need something hard and heavy to bash the glass out."

"Well, so far I don't see anything!" Luigi complained.

"Well, keep looking! There are many lives in danger right now!" Mario yelled back. "We can't waste any more time!"

"I'm trying!" Luigi cried.

Mario ignored him while he continued to search for a heavy object. He already considered using one of the boxes themselves, but they were all far too heavy to lift even with their contents emptied out. Not only that, but the boxes were made of wood and wood only make the flames bigger and brighter.

Luigi was searching through the boxes when he came across a weird package. He opened it and was surprised to see that there were more fire flowers inside. He looked again and saw that there were also similar looking flowers mixed in, however they were blue instead of red.

Did Professor Frankly mention something about ice flowers? Why would these be here? Luigi thought as he examined the blue flower. Now that I think about it, these might be the key to rescuing all of those people! I need to tell Mario!

"Mario! Come over here! Quick!" Luigi shouted.

"What is it, Luigi?!" Mario said. "Did you find something heavy?"

"No, but I found something even better!" Luigi said, holding out the ice flower for his brother to see. Mario could not help but smile at Luigi.

"Wow! What are the odds?" Mario said.

"I have no idea why these would be on train into Sarasaland." Luigi said. "But I think we can use these to put out the flames. It would give us a better chance of saving more people."

"You're absolutely right." Mario said. "Let's hurry back to the people!"

The brothers took as many flowers as they could and headed back to the passenger car, where people were still screaming for their lives. They saw the brothers coming and immediately cried for their help.

"Stand back, everyone!" Mario shouted to the passengers. "We're going to save you!"

Mario turned his head to Luigi, who had already turned toward him.

"Are you ready to experiment with ice?" Mario asked.

"Yes." Luigi said. "Let's do it!"

The brothers rubbed the sapphire-blue flowers into the palm of their hands and instantly felt a cold chill running down each of their spines. The people watched in amazement as the brothers' clothes changed colors. Mario's coveralls were now red and Luigi's were green. Both of their shirts were now blue and their hands felt like cold icicles. Having already gained a hold of the fire flower's powers, the brothers had no trouble learning how to use the ice flowers. One after another, the brothers pummeled the train with snowballs to reduce the flames. The people inside were starting to cheer as they finally started to feel some relief from the nasty heat inside.

"The power is starting to wear off!" Luigi shouted.

"Here!" Mario said. "Take another ice flower!"

When their powers were replenished, the brothers continued putting out the flames with snowballs until the flames were gone. Mario and Luigi were exhausted and the people who were trapped were now happy. Mario discovered that the door was able to be opened by simply pulling it open. The people inside the train started scrambling out to safety.

"Thank you, young strangers!" said another human. "We would've never survived if weren't for you!"

"The pleasure's all ours!" Mario said. "I'm glad that no one was seriously hurt!"

"Wait a second, Mario!" Luigi said, pointing back over to the train. "Someone is bringing out an unconscious victim!"

The brothers turned around and saw a Toad carry out a woman wearing a red dress who also had dark brown hair and light skin. She was also wearing a golden bracelet and golden earrings, along with a pair of black high heels. Mario studied the innocent victim and suddenly had a flashback to his past. He had seen this woman before. In fact, she used to be his girlfriend before he met Peach.

"Pauline?" Mario said out loud.

"Do you know her?" Luigi said, confused. "How come I haven't seen her before?"

Mario ignored Luigi and ran over to the Toad carrying the woman's fragile and limp body. He set her on the ground and began to cry.

It looks like the plot is thickening now. Another part of Mario's past is starting to be revealed, a past that Luigi has been unaware of until this point. Can Mario save Pauline before it's too late, or is it already too late? What exactly happened that caused Mario and Pauline to grow away from each other? How will Luigi react? Find out in the upcoming chapters. Until then, feel free to come up with your own theories;)

saturn95