Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, along with dozens other Caelestis Agency personnel, sat in the briefing room of the Caelestis Agency. It was a large, rectangular, spacious room, with a long wooden table in the middle and a dozen chairs seated around it. General White, the commanding officer of the facility, walked into the room from his office. "So?" Baby Mario asked. "What's the word?"
"It took some convincing, but Princess Peach has just approved the ongoing operation of this facility," General White said. "Our standing orders are to explore the galaxy and retrieve any power-ups or technology that may aid us in the recovery of Mario, Luigi, and Professor Karter, as well as to assess the threat that this Old Empire represents and to neutralize it, if need be. To that end, I have created five teams to use the Caelestis on regular missions. The first of these teams, Caelestis Alpha, will be the front-line recon team, led by Baby Mario. The Yoshi Squadron will make up our general team, Caelestis Beta. The other three teams will be Caelestis Gamma, the military team; Caelestis Delta, the scientific team; and Caelestis Epsilon, the diplomatic team. No one will know of the existence of these teams except for the princess and her closest advisors. Let's make sure we succeed in our mission. Dismissed." General White and the Caelestis Agency personnel began leaving the briefing room.
As Baby Mario left the room and went towards his quarters, Kooper quickly caught up with him and said, "Baby Mario! If you don't mind me asking, who's going to be on Caelestis Alpha?"
"Eh," Baby Mario said, "I haven't really decided the roster yet. Right now, I only know Baby Luigi and I will be on the team. Maybe I'll add a couple other people, but I want to keep the team small."
"Let me be on the team too," Kooper said.
"Wouldn't you be more suited for the archaeological wing of Caelestis Delta?" Baby Mario asked.
"Baby Mario, Mario and Luigi weren't the only people lost that day," Kooper said. "Professor Karter was one of my mentors, probably the closest one besides Kolorado. Alpha is the frontline team. If any team's going to find out where Mario, Luigi, and the professor are, it's Alpha. That's why I want to join. Besides, as the frontline team, Alpha will need representatives from all the other Caelestis teams too."
Baby Mario considered it for a little while, and then said, "Okay. We'll rescue Mario, Luigi, and Professor Karter, together."
The next day, Caelestis Alpha, consisting of Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, and Kooper, were in the briefing room, along with General White. "Until we find an alternate source of Caelestis addresses," General White said, "we'll be exploring the planets that Baby Luigi downloaded the codes to. Your first mission is to a planet with the code seven eight four two, six three five nine, eight four two."
"Let's do it," Baby Mario said. They went to the control room, where a technician input the code into the Caelestis remote and activated it, causing a wormhole to form between Plit's Caelestis and another Caelestis tens of lightyears away. The event horizon showed a sparse forest. "Doesn't look like there's anyone in the area," Baby Mario said.
"Report back in twenty-four hours," General White said.
"Got it," Baby Mario said. He grabbed his backpack full of power-ups, food, medicine, and other essential things from a table nearby the control sphere and went down to the Caelestis room. He gazed at the event horizon of the wormhole for a few seconds. It didn't even seem like there was a wormhole. Baby Luigi's analogy was perfect. "Like opening a door and stepping through." Baby Mario braced himself, though he knew he didn't need to, then stepped through the wormhole, crossing hundreds of trillions of kilometers in a single step.
Baby Mario stepped down from the Caelestis, took out his binoculars from his backpack, and surveyed the surrounding area as Baby Luigi and Kooper came through the wormhole. "Alright, let's explore," Baby Luigi said.
The Caelestis shut off. Caelestis Alpha made their way through the forest, towards the direction the sun was in. As they got farther from the Caelestis, the forest got denser. Eventually, the treetops completely blocked any light from entering, and there were tons of bushes and roots in the ground.
"I think we might've gone the wrong way," Kooper said.
"If there's any life here," Baby Luigi said, "it's probably jungle animals who want to eat us."
"Well, this code was in ol' Roiumus's database for some reason," Baby Mario said as he stepped under a thick, low-hanging branch. "There has to be something here."
Kooper got into his shell and zoomed up a nearby tree. At the top, he looked to the horizon. He squinted his eyes a bit to get a better view. There was a large valley at the edge of the forest, with what looked like villages in it. He jumped back down from the tree, and said "I think I saw a village in the distance." He pointed to the northeast. "Over there."
"Let's check it out, then," Baby Mario said. Baby Mario took out a Fire Flower and used it. He then created a fireball in the palm of his hand to illuminate the area, keeping careful to not light the forest on fire. As they made their way to the northeast, the forest got more and more sparse. After about twenty minutes of walking, light was finally able to enter the forest, so Baby Mario extinguished his fireball. After ten more minutes of walking, they made it to a massive cliff, beneath which lay the valley and the village.
"This cliff has to be at least a hundred meters high," Baby Luigi said. "How are we going to get down there…?"
Baby Mario pondered something for a moment, then asked Kooper, "Could you make it down this cliff if you rode inside your shell?"
"Yeah, I think so," Kooper said.
Baby Mario then reached into his backpack. "Good thing I brought along a couple extra shells, then," he said as he pulled out two Blue Shells. He handed one to Baby Luigi, and they put the shells on their back. "Ready?" Baby Mario asked. "Let's go!"
The three team members of Caelestis Alpha kicked off the ground to begin flying down the cliff, and then ducked inside their shells to be protected. The shells tumbled down the cliff, smashing off of the cliff side and jagged rocks on it and flying towards the ground below. After six seconds, they reached the bottom of the cliff. Kooper managed to quickly stop himself and pop out of his shell before sliding too far, but Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, who had much less experience using Koopa shells than Kooper did, slid a good ten or so meters before friction naturally stopped them and they were safe to pop out of the shells.
"Well," Baby Mario said, taking off his shell and putting it back in his backpack, "that was fun."
"Hey guys," Kooper said, "I think I found an easier way down." Sure enough, several meters from where they landed, there was a steep but traversable path heading up and down the cliff.
"…Right," Baby Mario said. "I knew about that, I just…" He sighed and said, "Let's go. The village can't be far."
The valley was so much hotter than the forest that it was almost like a desert, even with the terrain being mostly grass. The team walked slower than before in order to conserve their energy. After about ten minutes of walking, they made it to the village. It looked not unlike the village that Vircule was the leader of; buildings were constructed of gray stone, and several villagers moved about the town performing their tasks. While the village wasn't large, it wasn't small, either; it was about the size of Rose Town or Marrymore. The most striking difference was a large castle at the back of the village. Unlike the rest of the buildings, the castle seemed to be constructed out of steel and brick.
As the team entered the village, several of the villagers stopped what they were doing and stared at the team; apparently, they didn't get many visitors. One woman hesitantly approached the team and asked, "Are…are you here to trade?"
"Trade?" Baby Mario repeated. "Sure. Trading sounds good."
The woman looked visibly relieved. "Follow me, then."
She led them through the village towards the castle. As she did so, Baby Luigi whispered to Baby Mario, "This village looks very similar to the village that Roiumus captured us at."
"You think he also runs this place?" Baby Mario asked.
"Maybe. I'm just saying we should be cautious," Baby Luigi whispered back.
"No argument on that."
They went inside the castle. The floor was covered entirely by red carpet, and several chandeliers hung from the floor, illuminating the vast spaces of each room. The woman led the team up several sets of stairs, until they reached what looked to be like a meeting room with a circular table inside. There was one person seated at the table, doing what appeared to be paperwork, with two guards to the sides of him.
"Second," the woman said. "I am sorry to disturb you, but these people have come to trade."
"Ah, I see," the person said. "You may leave," he said, gesturing to the woman. She left, closing the doors behind her.
"Hi there," Baby Mario said. "My name is Mario. He's Luigi, and this is Kooper."
"Mario, Luigi, Kooper, glad to make your acquaintance," the person said. "I am Second. Please, be seated."
The team took seats around the table. "So, that's your name?" Baby Mario asked. "'Second'"?
"I used to have another name," Second said, "but I took this one when I was promoted to lieutenant ruler of this village. Our ruler is currently away. He will return soon, but I will assist you in the meantime. You say you have come to trade; what have you to offer?"
"Okay," Baby Mario said. "Bob – can I call you Bob? Sorry, it's just that Second is such an…unoriginal name. Anyway, Bob, what niche does this village specialize in?"
Second looked mildly annoyed, but chose to ignore Baby Mario's new name for him. "Niche?"
Kooper said, "Well, every village has something that it specializes in. One might specialize in farming, another might specialize in art…what does yours specialize in?"
"Ah. We are a mining village. We extract precious minerals from the ground and deliver them to the king for usage elsewhere."
"Hang on," Baby Luigi said. "Speaking of kings…do you know anyone named Roiumus?"
"Roiumus," Second repeated. "I can't say I've heard of him."
"Okay, good," Baby Luigi said. He knew there were most definitely other Old Kings besides Roiumus, but regardless of that fact, he let the statement put his mind at ease. "Carry on."
"Second," Kooper continued, "what kind of minerals do you mine?"
"Several things," Second said. "Gold, diamond, elementium…"
"Woah, hang on, sorry to interrupt again," Baby Luigi said, "…but elementium?"
"It is a most durable building material," Second said. "You have never heard of it?"
"Never," Baby Luigi said.
"Allow me to show you, then," Second said, standing up. He led the team out of the room and towards another room of the castle, where a furnace was. Second said to the operator of the furnace, "Show these foreigners the strength of elementium."
The operator nodded, He grabbed a small bar of elementium, no longer than the length of a hand, and showed it to the team. It was a dark orange color, and seemed to have a perfectly smooth surface. "This is elementium," he said. He put it onto a conveyor belt, which took the elementium into the furnace. "I am putting the furnace on full blast," he said. "Temperatures inside will reach over 6000 Kelvin."
"Seems to be some pretty advanced technology for you guys," Baby Mario said.
"We obtained this furnace by trading with a far-away village," Second said. "Continue with the demonstration."
Inside the furnace, fire filled the chamber, pounding the elementium with flames and making it hotter and hotter. After fifteen seconds, the furnace operator turned the heat down, and the conveyor belt brought the elementium back to where it started. The operator picked up the bar of elementium and showed it to the team. "See? It is still solid; not one part of it has been melted. There aren't deformities or anything of the kind. In fact, it's not even hot."
Baby Luigi took the bar of elementium, clearly in awe. "This…" he said, "this is amazing. Our strongest alloys can't take that much heat without being vaporized. What would it take for us to buy one kilogram of this stuff?"
"It is getting late," Second said, "but I'm sure we'll be able to work out a deal in the morning. In the meantime, you may keep this sample to analyze it. However, it cannot leave the castle. Is that understood?"
"Yeah," Baby Luigi said.
"Good. Now, perhaps we should go to the dining hall, and celebrate our peoples' newfound friendship."
"Sorry," Baby Mario said, "but last time I had dinner with aliens, I was captured and kidnapped. I'm not keen on repeating that."
"Very well," Second said. "I shall have guest quarters prepared for you."
"That sounds good," Baby Mario said. "Kooper, head back to the Caelestis. Inform General White we've made contact with these people, and are in negotiations for some elementium. Tell him we'll have something for him by noon tomorrow."
"Oh, and tell him to bring over some lab equipment," Baby Luigi said. "I'll need it to study this elementium in depth."
"Got it," Kooper said. He got into his shell and dashed out of the castle.
"This way," Second said, gesturing towards the guest quarters.
Several minutes later, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi had reached the guest quarters. Three beds had been prepared, as well as a workdesk, closet, bathroom, and couch. "No TV?" Baby Mario asked.
"These are the best accommodations I could prepare on short notice," Second said.
"Don't worry about it, Bob. I was only kidding." Baby Mario sat down on the couch and pulled out a notepad. "Well, seeing as there's nothing else to do, I'll begin writing my mission report."
"I guess I'll just rest until Kooper comes back with that lab equipment," Baby Luigi said. He said to Second, "You see, back in our home, it's only about 4:00 PM, so we're not ready to go to sleep yet."
Second nodded, then closed the door and left. Half an hour later, Baby Mario received a radio transmission from Kooper, informing him that he had reached the Caelestis, told General White of the situation, and that it would take a few hours to get the necessary equipment to them. Six hours after that, Baby Luigi was sound asleep, while Baby Mario had only written down about fifty words on his mission report. "Come on, think…" he muttered to himself. He never really fancied himself much of a writer, and writing the mission reports was what he considered to be the worst part of working at the Caelestis Agency.
Suddenly, he heard something from a decent distance away; it sounded like a "warp" sound. He put down his notepad, moved to the wall closest to the origin of the sound, and pressed his ear up against it. He could faintly hear talking, and then footsteps getting louder and louder.
Baby Mario rushed to Baby Luigi and rolled his younger brother off of his bed. "Baby Luigi, wake up!"
"Ow!" Baby Luigi exclaimed, unexpectedly hitting the hard floor, jolting him awake. "What was that for?!"
"Quickest way to wake you up," Baby Mario explained. "I hear footsteps, and they're getting louder."
Baby Luigi looked at his watch. "It's 2 AM on this planet."
"Exactly. I'm not saying we've got trouble, but grab your super scope just in case."
Baby Luigi nodded, dashed to his backpack, and pulled out his super scope from it, turning the safety off and quickly checking to make sure it was loaded. Now, Baby Luigi could hear the footsteps, even from the center of the room. Suddenly, the door swung open, revealing Second, two guards wielding ray guns, and another person.
"These are the foreigners," Second said to the person.
The person brushed past Second and walked inside the room, observing the two Baby Mario Bros. The person was over two meters tall, and his body was completely gray, as though it was made out of solid rock.
"Who are you?" Baby Mario asked, his finger on the trigger of his super scope.
"I am your king," the person said. "Pehram, ruler of this world and thousands others like it. You're Mario and Luigi, from the world called Plit."
"How do you know that?" Baby Luigi asked.
Pehram smiled. "Roiumus told me."
"Oh, darn…" Baby Mario muttered. He pulled the trigger. A bullet launched forth from the barrel of his super scope at a velocity close to the speed of sound. The bullet smashed into Pehram and burrowed a few inches into his body, but the Old King didn't even flinch. Baby Mario fired two more shots, but they had the same result.
Pehram smiled malevolently, and then cackled. "You cannot hope to harm me!" he said. Baby Luigi shot a worried glance at Baby Mario, who nodded. The two Baby Mario Bros began firing their super scopes as fast as they could at the Old King, who merely continued laughing. After exhausting their ammo, Baby Mario leapt towards his backpack. Pehram extended his arm out towards the backpack, and it telekinetically flew to him before Baby Mario could grab it. "Now, if you are done demonstrating how primitive your weapons are, we have some things to discuss."
Five and a half hours earlier, Kooper had made it to the Caelestis, and dialed it to Plit. He said into his radio, "Caelestis Agency, this is Kooper. Do you read?"
On the other side of the wormhole, General White said into his radio, "This is General White. I read you, Kooper. What's your status?"
"We've made contact with the people of this world," Kooper said.
"Any signs of the Old Kings?" General White asked.
"None yet, sir. The people of this planet have this stuff called elementium. Baby Luigi says that it's more durable than anything we have on Plit, including steel and titanium. We're currently in negotiations for some of it. Baby Mario seems to think we'll have concluded the negotiations by noon tomorrow. In the meantime, Baby Luigi has a small sample, which he needs some lab equipment to analyze."
"I'll prepare some scientists and portable labs to send through the Caelestis," General White said. "They should be ready in under four hours."
"I'll tell Baby Mario," Kooper said. He changed the channel on his radio and said, "Baby Mario, do you read?"
"Yeah, go ahead," came the response.
"I've told General White everything," Kooper said. "He says he'll have some scientists and lab equipment here in about four hours."
"Four hours?" Baby Mario repeated. "Baby Luigi won't like to hear that. Well, it's getting dark and there doesn't seem to be anything happening, so feel free to head back to Plit until that stuff is ready."
"Are you sure?" Kooper asked.
"Yeah, just head back and read a book or something," Baby Mario said. "We'll be fine. Besides, who knows what kind of jungle animals come out at night? Wouldn't want you facing them alone."
"Alright," Kooper said. He switched the channel back and said, "General White, with your permission, I'm going to come back to Plit until that science stuff is ready. Baby Mario has already given the okay."
"Alright," General White said.
Four hours later, Kooper, a small team of five scientists, and a transportation vehicle carrying all the equipment were back on the planet and heading towards the village. Two hours later, they got out of the jungle and made it to the cliff. "Hang on," Kooper said. The scientists stopped the transportation vehicle momentarily, while Kooper took out some binoculars and looked at the village. There were guards on and just outside the walls of the village, carrying what appeared to be ray guns. "Oh, no…"
"What is it?" a scientist asked.
"Look for yourself," Kooper said, handing the binoculars to the scientist. "See those things the guards are carrying? They're ray guns, the same kind that Roiumus's guards used to attack us while we were escaping from his castle."
"And these guards weren't here before?" the scientist asked.
"No," Kooper said. "Now that I think about it, Second said that the ruler of the village was away, and would return soon."
"You think the ruler might be an Old King?" another scientist asked.
"Maybe," Kooper said.
"Didn't you say Baby Mario and Baby Luigi were in that castle?" a scientist asked.
"Yes," Kooper said. "I have to get back to the Caelestis and call for reinforcements. You guys stay here."
"Isn't it a thirty-minute walk even without having to escort the transportation vehicle?" a scientist asked.
"Twenty-five if I move quickly," Kooper said.
"If they find us, we won't be able to hold our position for fifty minutes!" a scientist protested.
"So don't let them find you," Kooper said. "I'll be back." He ducked into his shell and zoomed towards the Caelestis.
The scientists sighed, ducked to the ground, and readied their super scopes. After fifty minutes of agonizingly long waiting, Kooper finally came back. "Did you get help?" a scientist asked.
"No, they've got at least ten guards around the Caelestis," Kooper said. "Who knows how many more are hiding in the trees."
"So what do we do?" a scientist asked.
"You guys have any military training?" Kooper asked.
"Very basic training," one scientist said.
"Okay," Kooper sighed. He took his binoculars back and observed the guards. They had every possible point of entry watched by at least two guards; no blind spots. He sighed again; this didn't look good. It subtly reminded him of the adventure he had with Mario to rescue the Star Spirits; no situation they were in on that adventure looked good. "Darn it, Mario, why'd you have to go and get yourself captured?" Kooper muttered. If Mario was here, they'd undoubtedly have busted the Baby Mario Bros out already and be making their way to the Caelestis. "Okay, you guys. We'll each take up positions on this cliff, fifty meters from each other. Dr. Evans, Dr. Robert, you go northwest. Dr. Lee and I will go southeast. Dr. Tyler, you stay here. Be sure to activate the silencers on your super scopes. Radio me when you get to your positions."
"Okay," the science team nervously said. About two minutes later, the team was in position.
"Here's the plan," Kooper said into his radio. "We'll each fire in sequence and take out one guard. If you miss, don't fire again; wait until it's your turn. Alright…Evans, fire."
A muffled gunshot was heard as a bullet flew from the cliff into the wall one guard was standing on. The guards quickly readied their weapons and looked to Evans' position. "Robert, fire," Kooper ordered. Another bullet shot from the cliff, this time hitting its target as the guard Evans missed took the bullet through the chest and fell to the ground. "Tyler, fire." Another bullet shot towards the village, but unlike Robert's lucky shot, Tyler's bullet flew a meter over the head of the guard he was aiming for. Kooper steadied his super scope on a rock, and then fired at one of the guards, managing to hit him clean through the chest. "Lee, fire." Lee's bullet hit one guard in the arm, causing him to fall to the ground. The guard used his good arm to reach for something in his pocket. "Evans, get that guy." Evans almost missed, but the bullet managed to nick the guard in the leg, causing him to drop what he was reaching for in surprise. Robert knew he was next in the sequence, so he fired without Kooper having to tell him to. The bullet hit the guard in the head, killing him. Tyler missed, Kooper got one, Lee missed, Evans got one in the arm, Robert missed, Tyler missed, Kooper finished off the one that Evans got, Lee missed, Evans got one in the leg, and then a bolt of energy exploded near Evans' position. "Alright, we've been made!" Kooper said. "Retreat back into the forest! Find some place to hide! At noon, make your way to the Caelestis. Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, and I will be waiting for you there." The scientists didn't hesitate to follow Kooper's orders, and ran back into the jungle. Multiple guards began running towards where Evans was firing from. Kooper waited until they made it there and began a pursuit into the forest, then fired at a guard on the ground, taking him out and creating a small blind spot.
Kooper ducked into his shell and flew down the cliff, zooming towards the village wall. When he got close, he jumped up to rotate his shell sideways, and then stuck onto the wall. He used his velocity to just barely make it up the ten meter wall before gravity could pull him down, and then he leapt off the wall inside the village. He got out of his shell and dusted himself off, glad to see that no one inside had seen him, and then made his way to the castle.
Kooper hid inside one of the bushes near the castle entrance. Four guards were protecting the entrance, and it didn't seem like they were going anywhere soon. Kooper sighed. He couldn't shoot them, as even with the silencer on, the gunshot could be easily heard. He would have to use one of his special abilities.
Kooper ducked into his shell and began spinning rapidly. Wind began spinning around in a small tornado around his shell. The guards, hearing the wind, readied their ray guns and looked to where Kooper was, though they couldn't see him. One guard began to approach, but he wasn't be able to get close before Kooper dashed out of the bush and hit him, ricocheting off him towards another guard, bouncing off him to another guard, and then hitting the final guard, causing them all to fall to the ground, so dizzy their heads were literally spinning. Kooper knew they wouldn't stay dazed long, so he rushed inside the castle.
Kooper decided to check the basement first and ran down a flight of stairs. He quickly came to a locked door. He saw through the window of the door a long hallway, and another locked door at the end of that hallway. He could barely make out two red and green caps behind the second locked door. Figuring he had the right address, Kooper ducked into his shell and smashed through the door, then ran down the hallway.
Meanwhile, a guard slept peacefully at his station, until a loud noise woke him up. The guard looked around fearfully for a moment, scared that Pehram or an officer would come and kill him on the spot for sleeping on the job, but when he saw nobody, he sighed in relief to himself and began to doze off again. Before he fell completely asleep again, though, he decided it might be prudent to check the life-signs sensors. A 3D representation of the castle presented itself on the console. The castle was mostly without life, because most of the guards were sleeping; only a twentieth of the full guard protected the castle at night, and even then, nearly all of them were protecting the village walls, not the castle. That's why one life sign moving towards the room Pehram had the prisoners in caught the guard's eye.
Kooper moved as quickly and quietly through the hallway as he could, but before he had covered a tenth of the hallway's total length, a loud alarm blared out throughout the castle. "Shoot," Kooper muttered. He sprinted as fast as he could to the other end of the hallway and looked through the window in the door; he could clearly make out Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, both unconscious and strapped to metallic beds of some sort.
Kooper ducked into his shell and smashed into the door at full speed, but unlike the other door, this door didn't budge. Kooper got out of his shell and saw a keypad next to the door; it must be magnetically locked. Nothing a little Fire Shell attack couldn't fix. Kooper ducked into his shell once more and began whirling around in place. Fire formed around his shell, until he slammed full speed into the door, with the same results. The door didn't budge, and the flames from the Fire Shell didn't even heat it one bit. Kooper realized that this must be an elementium door, as no material besides elementium could take that much heat without being noticeably hotter.
Suddenly, a powerful burst of plasma shot across the hallway and exploded against the door! Kooper barely managed to get into his shell before the plasma bolt exploded in his face. "Surrender or die!" a guard shouted from across the hallway.
Kooper decided to take option three. He began spinning around in place again, causing a whirlwind to form around his shell. He then span down the hallway past the door he broke down, hitting all the guards at the same time and causing them to fall to the floor dazed. Kooper went back up the staircase to the first floor and ran to the entrance, but multiple bolts of plasma shot forth from there, forcing Kooper to duck behind a wall to avoid them. He peered around the corner to see nearly a dozen guards at the entrance to the castle, and six more running towards his position. He was too exhausted to use another Dizzy Shell attack, so he made a run for one of the staircases leading upwards and quickly made it to the second floor. He then jumped out a window, falling into a bush at the base of the castle.
Kooper knew the guards would still be after him, so after jumping out of the bush, he took his shell off and flung it at full speed towards the jungle. The shell zoomed along the ground, up the village walls, past a guardsman on the walls, and then flew off into the forest. Kooper ducked back into the bush and watched silently as multiple guards took off into the forest, fooled by Kooper's ruse. He sighed and walked back into the village, grabbing a cloak along the way to conceal his face. The Old Kings had won the first round, but Kooper planned on finding a safe spot to strategize so he could win round two.
Baby Mario woke up, even though his eyes stayed closed. He couldn't remember much of what happened before he fell asleep, and on top of that, his entire body was numb. He tried getting up, only to find that he was restrained to some sort of metal and extremely uncomfortable bed. He looked to his side and saw Baby Luigi on another bed, knocked out cold. "Baby Luigi!" Baby Mario shouted. "Baby Luigi!"
Baby Luigi began to wake up. "Gah…what time is it?" he asked. He opened his eyes, then asked, "Uh…where are we?"
Baby Mario's memory slowly began to come back. "I don't know…but I remember that Old King guy attacking us. He used that same electricity thing that Roiumus used on us…and then I don't remember anything after that."
"Perfect timing," a voice came. The door's magnetic seal unlocked, and then it swung open, to reveal Pehram and two of his guards. "I have some questions I want you to answer."
"Sorry, but I just finished holding an AMA a couple days ago," Baby Mario said. "You'll have to wait for the next one."
"You may find this situation amusing. I do not," Pehram said. He held up his hand to reveal a silver device on it. He held one of the buttons on the device, and electricity surged through Baby Mario's body, causing him to scream in pain. After five seconds, Pehram released the button, and the electricity stopped. "Now, you will answer my questions."
"What do you want to know?" Baby Luigi asked.
"Second told me that there's another one of you," Pehram said. "Some sort of bipedal turtle. He tried to rescue you, but we detected him and he fled into the forest."
"Must've been one of the villagers," Baby Mario said. "No one else came with us."
"I must know everything about this person," Pehram said. "He was able to daze two groups of guards, and he is also capable of using a flame attack. What other powers does he possess?"
"We don't know anything," Baby Mario said. "Really. Honest."
"Baby Mario, you can answer to me, or you can answer to Roiumus. He already has your adult selves; handing you two over to him would round out his collection nicely."
"Where are Mario and Luigi being held?" Baby Luigi asked.
"You are in no position to make demands," Pehram said.
"Tell us where Mario and Luigi are, and we'll tell you anything you want to know," Baby Mario said. "Honest. Hey, did you know that the Koopa City Dragons are at the top of the World Baseball League? There. Now, you tell us one piece of info, and we're even."
Pehram held the button down, causing more electricity to stream into Baby Mario and make him cry out in agony. After a few seconds, Baby Luigi yelled, "STOP! I'll tell you what you want to know!"
Pehram let the button go. Baby Mario panted in relief, trying to get his breath back. "Okay…" Baby Luigi said. "He'll probably try to get reinforcements from the Caelestis. I would recommend moving most of your palace guard to the Caelestis to prevent him from dialing to Plit."
"Do you take me for a fool?" Pehram snarled.
"No," Baby Luigi said. "Think about it. By himself, there's no way for him to rescue us. He'd have to get to the Caelestis to call for reinforcements." Pehram narrowed his eyes, then nodded in suspicion and left the room.
After leaving, he closed the door and activated the magnetic lock on it. A nearby guard asked, "My liege…?"
Pehram thought for a moment, then said, "Divert most of the Gateway guard to the palace."
"…But, my liege-"
"The Plitians have obviously given us misinformation designed to manipulate our course of action to make it easier for them to be rescued," Pehram said. "Who truthfully tells their plan to the enemy? Move the Gateway guard, and set up an anti-teleportation field within the palace. They have a plan…but we shall thwart it."
Kooper silently walked through the torch-lit village, amongst its small stone homes and mud huts, his cloak concealing his identity from any of the Old King's guards, though he hadn't encountered any yet. The situation went from bad to worse. The Old Kings knew that Kooper was here, and though he had tricked them into chasing his shell into the jungle, he knew that would only buy him a few hours; less if they had a sensor grid in place. He had to get back to Plit to call in reinforcements…but how?
"How much longer are we to be slaves?!" Kooper heard a male voice from within a hut.
"Quiet yourself!" a female voice came. "They will hear you!"
"Let them hear me!" the male voice said. "Let them know that I am not content as a slave!"
Kooper entered the hut the voices were coming from. Both of the people inside quickly became silent when they saw him. "Please!" the girl eventually said. "Do not harm us! He does not know what he's saying!"
"Calm down," Kooper said, removing his hood. "I won't hurt you."
The girl sighed. Kooper recognized her as the one who greeted the team when they first entered the village. "You're one of the foreigners," she breathed in relief.
"Yes," Kooper said. "I couldn't help but overhear what he was saying."
"Abel has long believed that we should overthrow the rulers and free ourselves from their grasp," the girl said.
"Yes!" Abel said. "We've been slaves for a millennium. It's time to break free of our bonds!"
The woman said to him, "Hundreds before you have been killed by the rulers for saying those exact words." She turned to Kooper and introduced herself, saying, "My name is Shauna. I work as a cataloguer in the mines, making sure that adequate supplies of each mineral are being mined."
"Oh, I'm Kooper." Kooper extended his arm to shake her hand, but then retracted it when she just looked at it in confusion. They must have different customs. "I'm an explorer and archeologist from the world of Plit."
"You come from a different planet?" Abel asked.
"Yes." Kooper quickly changed the subject to the rest of his team. "Listen, I had two others with me. Mario and Luigi are their names. Apparently, they've been captured by the Old Kings. I think they're being held in the palace."
Abel nodded. "Pehram would most likely take them to the interrogation room." At Kooper's confused look, Abel clarified, "Pehram is our ruler. One you call an Old King."
"Ah. Look, I already tried to get them out of there, but I couldn't before they sounded the alarm. I need help to rescue my friends."
"I'm sorry, you'll have to look elsewhere," Shauna said, quickly turning around.
"Where else can I look?!" Kooper asked. "I don't have much time. If this Pehram guy learns what he wants to from Mario and Luigi, he could launch an attack on my world. I need to rescue them before it comes to that."
"You want us to start a rebellion?" Abel asked, a glint in his eyes.
"Maybe not something so big," Kooper said, "but I just need enough help to get back to the Caelestis and bring reinforcements from my world."
"We are not interested in defying our masters," Shauna said.
"Why not?" Kooper pressed. "You said you're slaves. Don't you want to be free?"
"That is not the point," Shauna said, turning back to Kooper. "Five hundred years ago, our ancestors attempted what you are trying to get us to do. They rallied an army of thousands, and stormed Pehram's castle while he was away. They overwhelmed the palace guard, captured the castle, and declared all of us free. Less than two days later, Pehram returned. He used his powers to instantly wipe out the army. He then killed over 99% of our population. Days before, we had numbered in the millions. In a few short hours, Pehram culled our numbers to just ten thousand. That was the price of our defiance. I am not eager to repeat that."
"Maybe we can succeed where your ancestors failed," Kooper said.
"How?" Abel asked.
"We've fought the Old Kings and come out on top before," Kooper said. "Well, we fought them once before…and we didn't really win, we just tied…but if we can just capture the Caelestis, we can get my people to supply us with more items and weapons we can use to defeat Pehram."
"Now that Pehram is aware of your presence," Shauna said, "he will have the Gateway…erm, Caelestis, heavily guarded. Getting within a hundred meters will be an impossible task."
"Can you guys use power-ups?" Kooper asked.
"What are power-ups?" Abel asked.
"They're items that, when used, grant you special powers," Kooper said. "For example, a Fire Flower would grant you the ability to shoot fire from your hand. Ordinary Koopas like me can't use them, but any Human can."
"There are legends of trinkets such as these," Shauna said. "There are strange items that pass through this village on the way to Pehram, such as fungus and flowers. They don't seem to serve any practical purpose, yet Pehram refuses to tell even his most trusted advisors what they are. Perhaps they are what you speak of."
Mushrooms and flowers. Sounds about right. "Perhaps," Kooper said. "Do you know where any of these items are?"
Abel nodded. "A small shipment came through this evening, just before Pehram returned. They are currently in a stone house close to the entrance of the village. We gave the house to the four guards escorting the shipment, for them to rest the night. The shipment will be delivered to Pehram in the morning."
"Four guards," Kooper repeated. "…Nothing I can't handle. For now, spread the word. You're going to win your freedom." Kooper dashed out of the hut, while Abel and Shauna shrugged to each other and left as well.
Kooper dashed to the house that he thought was the most likely to have the power-ups inside, and considered his options. Without his shell, he couldn't use the Dizzy Shell or Fire Shell techniques – not that he had enough strength left to use them even if he had his shell. Kooper didn't even consider just shooting the guards; firing a super scope in the middle of Old King-infested territory was a bad idea all around, as even with the silencer on, it would make too much noise. He learned a bit about hand-to-hand combat during his adventure with Mario, but not much. It would have to do.
Kooper peered inside the house and saw two guards standing in front of a steel crate, each carrying ray guns. The other two guards were asleep in makeshift beds. If he could get the drop on them…
Kooper jumped on top of a nearby stack of boxes, then grabbed onto the roof of the house and pulled himself up. The roof was a flat, thin slab of rock. Kooper felt the rock for any weak spots, when eventually, he came upon a small crack. He lifted his foot up, and then threw his entire body weight onto the crack.
A small part of the roof around where the crack was collapsed, causing Kooper to tumble down onto the floor, hitting one of the guards on the way and dragging him down with him. Kooper quickly reoriented himself and smashed his fist into the guard's face multiple times, then grabbed the guard's gun and rolled to the side to avoid a plasma bolt from the other guard's weapon. Kooper fumbled around with the alien weapon for a moment, before finding a button. He aimed the gun at the guard and pressed the button. A bolt of plasma shot out from the tip of the pistol and smashed into the guard, incinerating his armor and throwing him a meter back.
Two more plasma bolts whizzed past Kooper's head, from the previously slumbering guards who had awoken due to the commotion from the fight. Kooper ducked to the ground and fired a plasma bolt at one guard, then rolled to the right to dodge a plasma bolt which nearly hit him and then fired a plasma bolt at the other guard, dispatching the two of them in record time.
Kooper raised to his feet and sighed in relief, glad that these ray guns were relatively quiet compared to his super scope. Having never seen one of these up close before, he examined the ray gun. It was smaller and obviously much more advanced than a super scope. It was like a handgun, but completely sleek and silver. At the back of the gun was a small orb which seemed to contain pulsing energy within. Kooper then overlooked the steel crate. He reached down and grabbed two keys from the corpses of the guards, then inserted the keys into keyholes at either side of the crate, turned the keys, and then opened the crate to reveal several Fire and Ice Flowers. "Oh, yes. These'll do," Kooper said to himself.
Within a short hour, just under half of the population of the village had been told about the upcoming rebellion. Luckily, none of them were very loyal to their enslavers, but most were fearful about the possibility and consequences of failure. "I still believe this is a fool's plan," Shauna said to Abel.
"How much longer do you want to be a slave?" Abel asked. "I am ready to die for my freedom."
"Just as a million died five centuries ago?" Shauna asked.
"Don't you see? Kooper and the Plitians represent the best chance for us to be free. They've battled the rulers before and survived. We outnumber the rulers. Pehram has concluded that after what happened five hundred years ago, we would never dare try to rebel again. He will be unprepared, and with the Plitians on our side, victory is assured."
"Okay. Let us imagine that we somehow take the Caelestis and get Kooper's people to help. Let's further imagine that we liberate the village and storm the palace. What then is preventing Pehram from annihilating us like he did to our ancestors?"
"Kooper knows the capabilities of the Old Kings. He would not engage us in open warfare with them if he didn't think victory was possible."
"You're placing an awful lot of trust in this alien, Abel. I believe our collective desire for freedom is clouding our judgment. What else could cause us to so readily take up arms against the rulers on the word of an alien we know nothing about?"
"For one thousand years we have been enslaved, beaten, and killed by the rulers. No more."
Kooper ran up to the two at the moment, carrying a load of power-ups. "I'm back. How many people have you spread the word to?"
"We each informed twelve people," Shauna said. "Then those people informed others, and those others informed others. I believe we have two hundred ready to rebel."
"Good. Well, I've got eight power-ups, meaning you'll have to find six others to come and attack the Caelestis with us."
"I already have some candidates in mind," Abel said.
Suddenly, a shrill whirring sound was heard overhead. The three looked skyward and saw a sleek, dark orange teardrop-shaped aircraft flying towards the palace. "What are they doing?" Kooper asked.
"They're moving guards from the Caelestis to the palace…" Shauna said in disbelief.
"Are you serious?" Kooper asked. "What could compel them to do that?"
"If Pehram believes you intend to infiltrate the palace a second time," Abel said, "he would move as many guards as possible to try and capture you when you do."
"Well, that'd be the least logical of my options!" Kooper said. "Oh well. Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. How many guards will be left at the Caelestis?"
"Ten, perhaps twelve," Shauna said.
"Then we outnumber them," Kooper said, smiling. "Go grab whoever you want to bring on this mission." He then took out his radio and said into it, "Evans, Tyler, do you read?"
After a short moment, a voice came out from the radio, "This is Evans. I read you, Kooper."
"Where are you?" Kooper asked.
"I'd say about a mile southwest of the Caelestis," Evans said. "We barely lost the guys chasing us, and have been sticking together since. What about you? Have you rescued the Mario Bros?"
"Not quite," Kooper said. "Listen; try to stay where you are. In about 85 minutes, head to the Caelestis. A group of villagers and I are going to attack the guards there, and it'll take us about a hundred minutes to reach it. Don't worry; for some reason, the Old Kings lowered the guard around the Caelestis, so we actually outnumber them."
"Should I remind you that none of us have any sizable military training?" Evans asked.
"Nah," Kooper responded. He turned his radio off just as Abel returned with six other villagers. Kooper handed out the Fire and Ice Flowers to them and said, "Don't use them just yet. I'll tell you when. Alright, let's get out of here."
"The guards on the village walls will notice us leaving," Shauna said.
"Well then, we'll need a distraction," Kooper said.
Shortly after, Kooper and the eight villagers were hiding just outside the entrance to the village, which was guarded by four guards, two on each side. A sizable group of villagers walked past, having a loud conversation within earshot of the guards. One guard walked up to them and stopped them in their paths. "Why are you breaking curfew?" the guard demanded.
"We were not aware a curfew was in place," one of the villagers innocently said.
"I am positive you are telling the truth," the guard said, forcing a smile onto his face. "Regardless, you must all return to your homes immediately."
"We wish to converse amongst ourselves more," another villager said. "Who are we harming?"
The guard's fake smile vanished. "Return home now."
"No!" the villagers said in unison. They scattered and began running around everywhere.
"You two!" the guard barked at two of the other guards protecting the entrance. "Help control these people!" The guards nodded, readied their staff weapons, and chased after the villagers.
"That's our chance!" Kooper said. They emerged from their hiding place and ran to the entrance. Kooper smashed his fist into the one remaining guard, causing the guard to collapse to the ground, unconscious. "Let's go!" Kooper grabbed the guard's ray gun, and then the group made a run for it towards the Caelestis. After well over an hour, they made it to near the Caelestis. They hid in the bushes, while Kooper took out his binoculars and scanned the area. There were two guards standing behind the Caelestis, and four in front of it. "I count six," Kooper said.
"Pehram would not leave so few to guard the Caelestis," Shauna said. "There must be more hiding in the trees."
Kooper looked up towards one of the trees, and saw a guard sitting on a branch dozing off. "Yeah, I see one." Kooper activated his radio and said, "Evans, what's going on?"
"You might want to get a bit further down," Evans said. "I can see you from here."
Kooper heeded Evans' advice and lowered himself into the bush he was hiding in. "Where are you?"
"On the opposite side of the clearing from you," Evans responded.
"Do you have a pair of binoculars?"
"Yeah, I think so. Um…" The sound of a hand ruffling through a bag could be heard through the radio. "…yeah, here they are."
"Can you spot any guards in the trees?"
"…I see one, but he looks more like he's sleeping than guarding anything."
"Well, it's almost 5 AM on this planet. Alright, here's the plan. Each of you, pick a target. On my mark, fire."
"Got it."
"Here," Kooper said, handing Shauna his super scope.
"What do I do with this?" Shauna asked.
"Pick a target, point the gun at him, and then press the trigger to fire," Kooper said. "It's like this ray gun here, only it uses a lead bullet instead of an energy bolt."
"Okay," Shauna said uncertainly.
"Here we go. 3…2…1…mark." Five bullets and a bolt of plasma shot out from the bushes towards the six guards around the Caelestis. One bullet hit the guard closest to the scientists' position. Kooper's plasma bolt hit one of the guards on the backside of the Caelestis. The other four bullets missed. The guards instantly pointed their ray guns towards the bushes. One guard hiding in the trees, who wasn't taking his duty seriously and was sleeping on the job, was so startled by the sudden noise that he comically fell out of the tree and smashed into the hard dirt below, knocking him out cold. Kooper, Shauna, and the four scientists moved into the clearing and scattered. They all fired their weapons once more, with two bullets hitting two guards in the head, two others missing, Kooper's plasma bolt smashing into the chest of another guard, and the enemy guards' plasma bolts barely missing the villagers. Shauna fired another bullet at the last remaining guard on the ground, hitting his leg and forcing him to collapse to the ground.
A guard in a tree fired at Kooper from above, the energy blast smashing and exploding against the ground dangerously close to the Koopa. Dr. Tyler raised his super scope and fired a bullet at the guard. The bullet only barely nicked the guard in the arm, but it delivered enough momentum to knock the guard out of the tree and send him plummeting to the ground. Kooper raised his super scope and fired at the guard in the tree he had spotted before the attack began, hitting the guard square in the chest and making him fall too. The final guard launched a plasma bolt at Dr. Robert, blasting off the scientist's hand. Shauna quickly turned and fired her super scope at this final guard, hitting him in the leg and causing him to join his other fallen brethren.
The group tensed for a few long moments, then Kooper said, "That's it. I think we won. We captured the Caelestis. Didn't even have to use the power-ups!"
"Dial home as quickly as possible!" Dr. Evans said. "Robert needs a medic!"
"Right." Kooper grabbed the remote from the control sphere, glad to see that none of the guards had taken it with them back to the palace, and input the numbers for Plit's Caelestis into it.
As the wormhole formed, Kooper said into his radio, "Caelestis Agency, this is Kooper! We're coming through! Have a medical team ready!"
On the other side of the wormhole, General White said to a technician, "Do it." The technician grabbed a phone and summoned a medical team to the embarkation room.
General White left the control room and came down to the embarkation room as Kooper, the scientists, and the villagers came through. "Kooper, what's the meaning of this?" he asked as the medical team grabbed Dr. Robert and wheeled him off to the infirmary.
"It's the Old Kings, sir," Kooper said. "They've conquered the village we were at, and captured the Baby Mario Bros."
"Who are these people?" General White asked, motioning to the villagers.
"They're from the village," Kooper said. "About a millennium ago, the Old Kings enslaved them. They've agreed to help us mount a rebellion to overthrow the Old Kings and rescue the Baby Mario Bros. There are eight of them here, and hundreds back in the village waiting for our word."
"Kooper, I can't commit enough manpower to win a civil war," General White said, "much less one against the Old Kings."
Abel said, "There is only one ruler in the village, and his guards."
"How many guards does he have?" General White asked.
"Perhaps a hundred," Shauna said.
"That's half of how many people we've got ready to rebel," Kooper said. "We just need guns to supply them with."
"You want me to prep two hundred super scopes on short notice?" General White asked.
"I already tried infiltration," Kooper said. "They found me before I even reached the Mario Bros. An attack is our only choice."
"Didn't the Baby Mario Bros report that Roiumus was capable of super speed, teleportation, and freezing time?" General White asked. "Who is to say that this Old King is any weaker?"
"General, all you have to do is commit a couple hundred super scopes," Kooper said. "You don't even have to commit any troops. If this mission goes bad, all Plit has to lose is…what, five thousand blue coins? That's nothing compared to the total cost of running the Caelestis Agency, and if we don't even try…Baby Mario and Baby Luigi are gone."
General White thought it over for a moment, then said, "You're right. Baby Mario and Baby Luigi are in enemy hands, and possess extremely valuable intel about Plit and its defenses which we cannot allow the Old Kings to get ahold of. We should undertake any means necessary to get them back. The Yoshi Squadron is off-world, but I'll get Caelestis Gamma and a number of soldiers ready to attack within two hours. In the meantime, we'll debrief."
Ninety minutes later, Pehram was sitting in his throne at the center of his palace. The throne room was a dimly-lit rectangular room with red carpet, Pehram's black throne at the end of the room, and large double doors on the opposite side. Suddenly, a guard ran into Pehram's throne room. "My liege!" he shouted. "The troops you left at the Gateway has been destroyed!"
"What?!" Pehram shouted as he stood up. "How?!"
"The guards that were in the jungle say they heard explosions, but before they could reach the Gateway, the attackers were gone and your soldiers had been killed."
Pehram sighed, trying to contain his anger, and said, "Did you get the address that the Gateway was dialed to?"
"Yes, it is still in the remote," the guard said.
"Good," Pehram said, calming himself. "Prepare a 200 gigaton bomb for delivery to their world."
"Yes, my liege," the guard said.
"Oh, and after you do that, move the Gateway to a more secure facility. If it had been guarded from the beginning, this would have never happened." The soldier bowed and left. Pehram left the room as well, traveling down the hallways and staircases to the room he had the Baby Mario Bros imprisoned in. He unlocked the door and stormed in, rudely awakening the brothers from their sleep.
"You deceived me," Pehram said, pulling back a sleeve on his arm and preparing to press the buttons on his silver bracelet.
"What happened?" Baby Luigi asked.
"Your friend got to the Gateway and escaped back to Plit," Pehram said.
"Didn't I tell you to increase the Caelestis guard?" Baby Luigi asked. "But…you assumed I was lying, so I think you moved the Caelestis guard here to the palace. I never deceived you. It was your inclination to believe I was deceiving you that let Kooper escape."
"Oh, don't worry," Pehram said. "My guards are preparing a weapon of mass destruction to send to your world. This 'Kooper' will not survive for much longer. In the meantime, you shall be gravely punished." Pehram pressed one of the buttons with such force that it jammed. Electricity surged into Baby Luigi's body, causing him to scream out in pain.
"STOP!" Baby Mario shouted.
"This special type of electricity will ensure that your brother does not die, but he will be in extreme pain," Pehram said, a malevolent grin spreading across his face, "and you will be forced to watch him suffer, powerless to interfere."
"JUST STOP! I'LL DO ANYTHING!" Baby Mario shouted.
"Once the weapon has been delivered, you will be taken to your world to see what destruction it has wrought. After that, I will personally take you to Saronial, and you will join your older selves in unimaginable pain and torment." Pehram cackled, then left the room.
"COME BACK!" Baby Mario shouted. Baby Mario pushed against his restraints as hard as he could, but they didn't budge. He sighed and looked at his brother, writhing in agony. He had to do something.
Half an hour later, Kooper, the villagers, and Caelestis Gamma were in the Caelestis room. Kooper had gotten a new shell, and they were all holding super scopes and were clad in forest-camo gear. Caelestis Gamma consisted of eight highly-trained special ops soldiers. The commanding officer of the unit, Colonel Redington, was a red-capped elite Toad who once commanded a mission into the Koopa Kingdom to clear the way for the Mario Bros. Colonel Redington's position took a Bullet Bill, and the squadron was forced to retreat without him. He then spent two months in the Koopa Kingdom, evading and sabotaging the enemy until Mario and Luigi rescued him and got him back to Toad Town safely. If anyone thought that all Toads were cowards, the colonel proved them wrong.
"Gamma ready for deployment!" Colonel Redington shouted to General White.
In the control room overlooking the Caelestis room, General White nodded and said to a nearby technician, "Dial the Caelestis." The technician input the numbers in the control remote.
The wormhole formed within the Caelestis, dazzling everyone for a short moment. On the other side, there was a large, missile-shaped bomb, and multiple guards. The guards grabbed their ray guns and ran towards the Caelestis.
Two soldiers from Caelestis Gamma grabbed Bob-ombs and chucked them through the Caelestis. Everyone on the Plit side of the wormhole ducked to the ground and took cover. The Bob-ombs exploded lightyears away, vaporizing the enemy guards.
Large double doors on the opposite of the Caelestis room opened up, revealing a massive runway underneath the control room. Four Supersonic Air Superiority Fighters sat parked in the runway. A Supersonic Air Superiority Fighter, or a SASF for short (pronounced sas-eff), were the standard fighter used on Mushroom Kingdom airships and were equipped with multiple guns and bombs. Like the Old Kings' aircraft, a SASF was teardrop-shaped to maximize aerodynamic efficiency. Unlike the Old Kings' aircraft, a SASF was dark gray in color, constructed out of tough steel (the Old Kings' aircraft were probably constructed from elementium).
"SASFs!" Kooper said. "We're pulling out the heavy weaponry for this operation."
"Everyone into the fighters now!" Colonel Redington shouted. Caelestis Gamma divided into two and jumped inside two SASFs, while Kooper led half the villagers into one SASFs and jumped into another with the rest of the villagers.
"Ready," the SASF pilots said.
"You have a go," General White said.
The SASFs levitated into the air, and then one-by-one zoomed into the Caelestis. Once on the other side, they made a steep ascent into the sky, and then flew over the village. "Sensors show over twenty guards on the village walls," the pilot of Kooper's SASF said.
The SASFs separated, each one flying towards a corner of the village. Multiple bullets shot out from each SASF, each one hitting a guard and killing him. A few seconds later, all the guards were killed. The two SASFs containing the villagers landed in a small clearing inside the village, while the other two began patrolling the skies around the village.
Kooper opened a large case, revealing dozens of Super Scopes inside. "Alright, pass these out to anyone who can fight," Kooper said, handing Super Scopes to each of the villagers. The villagers ran out of the SASF and began distributing the weapons to their fellow rebels.
Meanwhile, Pehram was in his throne room watching the attack from a sensors console. A guard ran up to Pehram in a panic and said, "My liege! The Plitians have attacked! Four aircraft-"
"I know they've attacked!" Pehram angrily shouted, cutting off the soldier.
"Shall we scramble our fighters to destroy them?" the soldier asked.
"No," Pehram said. "I will deal with this myself. Lift the anti-teleportation field around the castle."
"Yes, my liege," the soldier said, bowing.
"Oh, and put the reactor on full strength. I want more power." The soldier bowed again and left.
Electricity was still coursing through Baby Luigi's body, causing the scientist excruciating pain. By now Baby Luigi was unconscious and no longer screaming, though his body was still twitching and writhing in pain. Baby Mario continued fighting against his restraints, but barely making any progress.
Suddenly, he heard something from the surface, like an explosion. "Rescue?" Baby Mario thought. The possibility that rescue may be at hand caused adrenaline to pump through Baby Mario's body, giving him renewed strength. He took a deep breath, and then pushed against the steel restraints as hard as he could. Slowly, they began giving way and buckling, until they snapped and Baby Mario tumbled to the floor, free. "YES!"
Baby Mario quickly got to his feet and grabbed Baby Luigi. The instant he did, though, the electricity shocking his brother coursed over to him as well, causing him to scream in pain and fall backwards. "AUGH! Dang, that hurt…" Baby Mario muttered. He looked to the side and saw a small gray machine, with wires leading into the metallic bed Baby Luigi was trapped on. "Maybe that's what's generating the electricity," Baby Mario thought. He picked up the machine and threw it into the door, causing it to explode in a self-destruction. The sudden surge of electricity caused the magnetic lock on the door to cease, and Baby Luigi's body stopped spasming. "Baby Luigi?"
"Ugh…" Baby Luigi mumbled. "It…it's over."
"Not quite yet," Baby Mario said, dashing to his twin brother. "Come on, I think they might be trying to rescue us. Let's get you out of this thing." With Baby Mario's help, Baby Luigi managed to snap the restraints and free himself too.
"Ow…I never want to have to go through that again…" Baby Luigi said.
"I'll make sure you never do," Baby Mario said. "Let's get out of here."
Baby Mario and Baby Luigi ran to the door. Baby Mario pushed on the door, but it barely budged. He pushed even harder, and the door creaked open. "Come on."
The Baby Mario Bros snuck through the hallway until they got up to a staircase and made it to the first floor. Baby Mario looked out across the room and saw that it was clear. "Okay. Let's try and find our power-ups," Baby Mario whispered to Baby Luigi. Baby Luigi was still a bit rattled from all the torture, so he just nodded.
Ten minutes later, Kooper and Caelestis Gamma were standing near a SASF. "We've got most of the men in the village outfitted with Super Scopes," Kooper said.
"It seems most of the guards are positioned in the castle," one of Caelestis Gamma's members said.
"I'm more concerned about the Old King hiding in there," Colonel Redington said. He said to Kooper, "If he's as powerful as you say he is, why hasn't he massacred us all by now?"
"I don't know," Kooper said. "Maybe he's not as powerful as Roiumus was."
"The villagers said he's powerful enough to wipe out armies instantly," another Caelestis Gamma troop said.
"Primitive armies," Kooper corrected. "We have to attack now. Baby Mario and Baby Luigi are still inside the castle."
"Right," Colonel Redington said. "On my mark, the villagers will charge inside the castle."
"Okay," Kooper said. He went to the front of the castle, where dozens of villagers with guns were lined up. "Ready?"
"Ready as we'll ever be," Shauna said.
A voice came from Kooper's radio. "Attack." The villagers charged into the castle and were met with energy blasts from guards.
Baby Mario and Baby Luigi were on the second floor of the castle, searching for their backpacks. They were currently ransacking a random room, when Baby Mario found his backpack. "Found it!" Baby Mario said. "Thankfully, all our stuff is still here, including my hammer."
"Well, what do we have here?" a voice came. Baby Mario and Baby Luigi looked to the door to see Pehram standing there. "Escaped, did you? Too bad. I guess I'll just have to kill you."
Baby Mario took out a Cape Feather and said, "I wouldn't bet on it."
"Typical Human arrogance," Pehram said. "If you truly wish to test your power against mine, then so be it."
After all the torture he had just gone through, Baby Luigi was in no condition to fight, so Baby Mario said to him, "Get out of here. Meet up with Kooper and get off this planet." Baby Luigi nodded and dashed away.
"Your move," Pehram said.
Baby Mario used the Cape Feather, causing him to gain a cape on his back that granted him the ability to fly, as well as a massive boost in speed. Baby Mario rocketed towards Pehram and slammed his fist into the enemy's face. Pehram caught the attack with his hand and smashed his fist into Baby Mario's stomach, knocking the hero back a few feet. Baby Mario got up, drew his hammer, and flew at Pehram again, smashing the steel hammerhead into Pehram's chest at high velocity. Pehram stumbled back, and Baby Mario took the opportunity to swing his hammer again at Pehram's head. Pehram ducked under the attack and grabbed Baby Mario telekinetically, throwing him into the other end of the room.
Baby Mario got up and took the brute force way again, zooming towards Pehram and smashing his hammer into the Old King overhead. Pehram blocked the blow with his arms. Baby Mario took his hammer and swung it sideways at Pehram, knocking the Old King several feet away. Baby Mario put his hands to his side, and a fireball began forming in between his hands. When it was the size of a beach ball, Baby Mario flung it towards Pehram. The heat of the fireball caused an explosion, causing smoke to fill the room.
Pehram floated upwards, and energy exploded from his body, dissipating the smoke and causing a faint aura to appear around him. Baby Mario readied his hammer, but Pehram teleported behind Baby Mario and punched him, sending him stumbling forward. Baby Mario leapt towards Pehram's position and swung his hammer, but hit only air, as Pehram teleported to the side and kicked Baby Mario's hammer out of his hands. Baby Mario punched Pehram with all the force he could muster, but Pehram caught the attack with one hand and then punched Baby Mario in the head with his other fist. Baby Mario stumbled backwards and then launched multiple fireballs from his hands at the Old King. Pehram swiftly teleported to avoid each fireball, getting closer to Baby Mario with each teleport, and then teleported right in front of Baby Mario and uppercut Baby Mario's jaw, causing Baby Mario to flip backwards from the force. Baby Mario quickly recovered and punched Pehram again, but Pehram telekinetically grabbed Baby Mario's hammer and blocked the blow using the hammerhead, then smashed the hammer into Baby Mario's chest, sending the hero flying.
As Baby Mario tried to get up, Pehram laughed and said, "Even at my weakest, you can't hold a candle to me. As soon as that idiot soldier does what I told him to do, you and your little rebellion are over."
Baby Mario managed to stand up and said, "We'll just see about that."
"Defiant to the end, eh? Well, then…let's end this."
Baby Luigi had managed to hook up his tablet to a computer terminal in the fortress, and found the quickest way out. He ran down a hallway that led to a door, behind which was just one twenty meter long hallway that led to the exit and freedom.
Meanwhile, the soldier that Pehram had ordered to boost the reactor power was walking to the reactor room. As he came down a place where two hallways intersected, he saw Baby Luigi running to the exit. "You!" he shouted, as he pointed his ray gun at Baby Luigi. "Stop there!"
Baby Luigi turned around, then ducked to the side as a plasma bolt zoomed out from the soldier's ray gun and incinerated the ground it hit. Baby Luigi took out his super scope and fired two shots at the guard, both of them hitting and taking out the soldier.
Baby Luigi sighed in relief, when suddenly, the door behind him exploded! Baby Luigi fell to the ground in surprise. Smoke filled the room, and multiple Humans wielding super scope began pouring into the room. "Baby Luigi!" a voice came. Baby Luigi felt hands on him that helped him to get up, and when the smoke cleared, he saw Kooper!
"Kooper!" Baby Luigi exclaimed. "Boy, am I glad to see you."
"Same here," Kooper said. "I managed to start a rebellion to bust you guys out of here. Speaking of which, where's Baby Mario?"
"He's fighting the Old King," Baby Luigi said. "Did you bring any power-ups? We have to help him!"
"Where are they?" Kooper asked.
"At the very back of the castle," Baby Luigi said. "I can show you where. Come on, we have to hurry!"
"Wait!" Kooper said. "I have a better plan."
Baby Mario flew backwards into a wall, the collision causing a small explosion to occur. With the Cape Feather's powers long gone, Baby Mario slumped to the ground and struggled to get up as Pehram slowly approached him.
"Did you honestly believe you could defeat me?" Pehram asked. Baby Mario managed to get to his feet as the Old King closed in. "I have seen people of your kind commit many acts of foolishness…" Baby Mario tried to punch Pehram. Pehram blocked the attack and telekinetically threw Baby Mario to the side. "…but challenging me alone has to be the most foolish thing I've ever seen a Human do."
Baby Mario managed to stand again, ignoring the debilitating pain that was wracking his entire body. Without the powers of the Cape Feather, the battle was over, and he knew it. All he could do now was try and buy enough time for Baby Luigi to escape.
"Although…" Pehram continued, "…the powers of that trinket you used were impressive. If I had gone easy on you, as I originally intended to do, I must admit that we may have tied."
Baby Mario leapt at Pehram in one final attempt to turn the tide. He pulled his fist back and prepared to slam it into the enemy's head, but found that he was unable to move. Pehram used his telekinetic abilities to hold Baby Mario in place in midair.
"For such a worthy opponent, I shall make your death quick."
Baby Mario's body began to heat up. Within seconds, it felt like he had a terrible fever over his entire body. Red began to cloud his vision as he felt his blood begin to boil and his bones begin to deform from the heat.
Suddenly, the wall behind them exploded! Pehram's concentration was averted, causing Baby Mario to drop to the floor and his body to quickly return to its normal temperature. Baby Mario turned to the explosion and saw a SASF piloted by Baby Luigi and Kooper hovering behind the destroyed wall!
"Baby Mario!" Baby Luigi shouted. "Watch out!"
Baby Mario mustered all his strength to leap away as a Bullet Bill was fired from the SASF. The Bullet Bill rocketed into Pehram and detonated, causing a massive explosion to fill the room. Baby Luigi landed the SASF, and he and Kooper dashed inside. As the smoke began to dissipate, they saw a figure slowly getting up.
"Is that you, Baby Mario?" Kooper asked.
The smoke cleared, to reveal Baby Mario, barely standing up, with minor burn marks all over his body. Baby Luigi and Kooper exclaimed, "Baby Mario!" and dashed to their team leader, helping him to stand.
"Oh, thank goodness you guys are here," Baby Mario weakly said. "I honestly thought that I was going to die."
"Not any time soon," Kooper said. "Come on, let's get you into the SASF."
"Wait," Baby Mario said. "Where's Pehram?"
They looked around the room, trying to find any trace of the Old King. Baby Luigi spotted something and walked to it, as Kooper said, "I think we got him."
"Either that, or he teleported away…" Baby Mario said.
Baby Luigi picked up what looked to be like a gray stone fragment and inspected it. "Didn't it look like his body was made out of stone?"
"I think so, yeah," Baby Mario said.
Baby Luigi looked up and saw multiple other stone fragments littered around the room. "I think the Bullet Bill explosion blasted his entire body apart."
"Well…" Baby Mario said, "…he got exactly what he deserved. Come on, let's get out of here."
Later in the day, Caelestis Alpha was standing outside of the castle, along with Shauna, Abel, and several other villagers. "We cannot thank you enough for destroying the Ruler and freeing our people," Abel said.
"Oh, it was our pleasure," Baby Mario said.
"Aren't there others of his kind, though?" Shauna asked. "Will they not come to seek vengeance?"
"Well," Kooper said, "these guys apparently rule the entire galaxy. I'm not sure that losing one planet will make any difference to them."
"If you guys bury the Caelestis," Baby Luigi said, "then they won't be able to come back. Make sure to bury it so that the forward side is facing downwards."
"We will do that," Abel said. A villager walked up to Baby Luigi, bearing a small crate. "This is as much elementium as we were able to procure. It's not very much, but I hope your people will make good use of it. Thank you again."
"Thank you too," Baby Luigi said as he took the crate.
"Alright guys," Baby Mario said, "let's head home." The Plitian forces got into their SASFs, and the aircraft lifted into the sky and flew off towards the Caelestis.