When Super Saturn woke up, he did not know. He was lying on his back and staring up at two conjoined light roads that shone brightly. There was a sense of relief when he realized he was lying on a very soft bed; it was much nicer than the wooden board the zombies placed him on. He was still in a lot of pain, but some of his injuries, namely his bruises, had fully, or started to, heal.
The tiled ceiling he was staring at looked familiar, as did the white and blue titled floor. His bed was against a wall, as he learned when he looked to his left. To his right was a square hole, blocked off by a set of rails around it. A stairway was at the other end of the room; now Super Saturn knew where he was! Zoomer was in Dr. Andonuts' laboratory, located in Winters. From downstairs, the hero could hear various power tools being used, as well as regular ones. Drills, hammers, saws, you name it, and someone was using it.
After trying to get some more sleep and getting nowhere because of the noise, Super Saturn decided to get up and see what the commotion was about. When he put his feet on the ground, he was relieved to feel that his ankles had also started to recover. He had no idea how long he was out for, he Zoomer knew there was no way such grievous injuries would heal so quickly. Zoomer headed downstairs and into the lab's foyer, where he saw the good doctor at a table with various pieces of equipment laying around. Other than the obvious, there were protractors, levels, bolts, nuts (both the metal and edible kinds), and steel bars, pipes, and rails, as well as flat discs. Andonuts eventually realized that Zoomer was out of bed, and turned around to greet him.
"You're awake! That's great!" Dr. Andonuts exclaimed. His white hair was as distinct as ever, but it was a little stringy and fine. Andonuts was in his sixties now, but he still had the genius spirit and would never let it go. "How do you feel?"
"Kay-o?" Zoomer asked. He did feel a lot better, but he was still in bad shape. "What day is today? Bing!"
"It's Thursday. You've been out for three weeks!"
Zoomer's eyes widened. "Three weeks? Boing!"
Dr. Andonuts nodded. "I found you while attending a convention in Fourside. You were unconscious in the tunnel connecting the city to the desert. It's a good thing I found you, too – you were really dehydrated and injured. What happened?"
Super Saturn explained that he was trying to stop the zombie infestation, and that he met their King and lost the battle.
"Oh, my!" Dr. Andonuts exclaimed. "Well, it's a good thing you've gotten some rest. Your wounds appear to have healed immensely."
"I must go back," Zoomer replied. "I must save my home. Dakota!"
"No, not in the shape you're in. You need to let your wounds fully heal, and you also need to eat. I have lots of peanut cheese bars."
Zoomer sighed. He really, desperately wanted to head back out and save the world. It had been three weeks since his defeat, and who knows how many more people the zombies have converted in that time? Not only that, but the Zombie King might not even be in Eagleland anymore. He could be in a completely different part of the world by now. That was a discouraging thought. Had Super Saturn's journey been a total waste? The hero pondered his next choice of action, but he was in quite the pickle. Assuming he encountered the Zombie King again, how would he defeat him? Zoomer put up a good effort, but it wasn't enough. The defeat was crushing.
Nonetheless, he stood by his decision and explained it to Dr. Andonuts. Zoomer rationalized that it was better to try again before it was too late.
"Zoomer, I understand your point, but please, please listen to me: You won't survive out there. The zombie's have already converted a majority of Eagleland into zombies, your village included. I won't chastise you for your decision, but you are definitely not ready. Here, come take a look."
Dr. Andonuts lead Zoomer over to a table with a TV resting on it, and turned it on. It was on a news station. The story was what our hero expected: Zombies were everywhere and eating people's brains, or turning them into one of their own. Dr. Andonuts flipped to other news stations, and they were all covering the zombie takeover. There was no weather, no sports, and no entertainment: It was just the zombie takeover. One channel showed a female reporter interviewing the Zombie King.
"So, what does the Second Wave of the Zombie Empire, or SWOTZE, want?" asked the news reporter.
The Zombie King replied, "Well, we want to takeover the world and make everyone a zombie. I think that would be obvious!" He was unusually polite, but his response was filled with derision. "And this is to Super Saturn, because I know he's still out there: You're welcome to try and stop me. The key word there is 'try.' If you truly wish to get humiliated again, I will be waiting for you in Threed. Ta-ta!"
Angered, our hero kicked a loose bolt away and it slid over to a wall. He saw his mask and cape hanging on a coat hook by the lab's front door. Zoomer stormed over and jumped up, trying to don his outfit, but it was of no use. He just couldn't reach it, and the way they hung, he would be unable to put them on.
"Zoomer, I've warned you—" Dr. Andonuts began.
"NO!" Zoomer replied. "I must save home! I will save home!"
Dr. Andonuts sighed. He knew there was no convincing Zoomer to hold his horses, but he refused to let the hero venture out empty handed.
"Zoomer, there is something I need to show you," said Dr. Andonuts. Zoomer stopped jumping and looked at the scientist, quizzically. Andonuts motioned for the Mr. Saturn to follow him, and took him over to a table at the corner by the stairs. On the table was a gun of some sort. It looked like a typical hairdryer, but the air blower hole was larger and twisted around the shaft of the gun. There was also a dial on the side facing the duo, and a crosshair on top.
"What's this?" Zoom!" asked Zoomer.
"This is the Anti-Zombiefier. It's a weapon I've been working on since I heard about your heroics in Fourside." He picked up the gun and Zoomer jumped up on the table to get a better look. "This dial determines the gun's settings. See? It's got options to de-zombify, de-zombify and kill, de-zombify and knock out, and do nothing!" he explained as he turned the dial. "I got the idea from my son, Jeff, after hearing about all the gadgets and death rays and slime generators he built while traveling with Ness. Once you've chosen a setting, aim it at the zombie, pull the trigger, and boom! They'll be de-zombified in no time! I was hoping you'd stop by at some point and ask about something to stop the zombies."
"Impressive! Boing!" Zoomer replied. "But I lack arms."
Dr. Andonuts pointed to a small, red button on the back of the Anti-Zombiefier's handle. "That's what this button is for. It gets rid of the hassle for you. Just press it, and a beam will erupt from the barrel and de-zombify whatever it touches!"
Zoomer was thrilled by having such a convenient weapon. It would save him the trouble of having to drop bombs on them again! Dr. Andonuts tucked the weapon into Zoomer's blue cape. It was deposited into hammerspace, a dimension where objects are stored. When someone reaches behind themselves to grab something and pull out an object that would not fit into a pocket, that means they grabbed it from hammerspace. Zoomer had calmed down a bit, which was Dr. Andonuts' opening.
"I know I've asked you this several times, but, would you mind waiting a little bit? You absolutely need to ready yourself for the rest of your quest. Eating is a must. Maybe you should train for a little bit, just to get you back in the game."
Although Mr. Saturns lacked a mouth, Zoomer would have a big smile on his face if he had one. He nodded at Dr. Andonuts' suggestion, and the scientist grabbed a box filled with delicious, peanut cheese bars. Like the name suggests, it's like a granola bar, but coated in cheese and peanuts. Nobody knows why the Mr. Saturns love it so much, but they do. The consensus, among people who have tried it, is a mixed bag. Some love it, some have thrown up the second their tongue touched the bar.
Zoomer asked how he should train, and Dr. Andonuts replied that physically was probably the best way. The scientist opened up a crawlspace upstairs and pulled out some workout equipment, namely, a punching bag and a treadmill. After fumbling with the equipment for a couple hours, it was finally set up downstairs in a corner for the hero to get his strength back.
For the next few days, Zoomer worked relentlessly to strengthen himself. He bicycle kicked and headbutted the punching bag that hung off the ceiling and jogged on the treadmill, increasing the speed day by day. He was relentless; the way he trained made the training montages in the Rocky films look like terrible glam rock music videos. By terrible, I mean absolutely dreadful, music videos that the bands themselves would disown.
Zoomer rarely gave himself a half hour break, and would work out for up to ten hours a day. When he was feeling hungry, he would scarf down a peanut cheese bar or two and head right back to beat up the punching bag or test his limits on the treadmill. He was like a machine, and showed no signs of wear and tear until he stopped, in which case, he went right off to bed. Those few days eventually become weeks, and those weeks became a full month. Zoomer was powered by the determination to save his village and friends, and was fueled by his hatred for the Zombie King and his ilk.
His headbutts and kicks became stronger, to the point that he could keep the punching bag against the wall for twenty minutes. One day, he was feeling particularly brave, and cranked the treadmill's running speed to its highest setting. He started out fine, but after ten seconds, he lost his footing and was thrown to the wall.
"Let's try again. Zoom!" Zoomer said. His will knew no bounds. His spirit was like a phoenix emerging from the ashes, making itself present in a fantastic blaze of glory. His determination was limitless, like that of a dragon. Except instead of wings, it had whiskers. But still, any dragon would be amazed to see Zoomer's training.
Come the end of the month, Zoomer was an unstoppable fighting machine. He stood triumphantly, exhausted, yet proud of himself. Now, he finally had the strength he would need to defeat the Zombie King. Yet, he asked himself, "would it be enough?" There was only one way for him to find out.
Zoomer stood under the hook his mask and cape hung on. With a grand jump, his cape's strap was wrapped under his nose, and his mask was bound around his noggin. When he came back down, he heard Dr. Andonuts clapping.
"Very, very good! Zoomer – I mean, Super Saturn, you've come so far." The scientist was standing by the stairs, but he came over to congratulate the hero properly. "Now, how are you going to proceed?"
"I'll save home first. That's most important. Dakota!" Super Saturn replied. Zoomer's patriotism was a marvel of its own. "Then, I'll face the King," he said, seething.
Dr. Andonuts nodded. "It sounds like you've got it all figured out. Be sure to let me know when you've saved humanity! If you can't reach me on my phone, I'll be in the bomb shelter."
Super Saturn nodded, and Dr. Andonuts opened the door for him. "Thanks for your hospitality. Dakota!"
"It's no problem. Good luck, my friend. May the Force be with you."
Super Saturn corrected him, "Wrong thing."
Dr. Andonuts replied, "I know." Although they couldn't do a handshake, Dr. Andonuts used Mr. Saturn's single hair as a hand, and gently shook it. With that, Super Saturn was on his way back home. He hitched a ride with Tessie to Winter's south shore, and he carried on from there to Saturn Valley Village. The walk was long and arduous, and he encountered many monsters along the way. None of them stood a chance against the hero, who took them all down with ease.
After four grueling days, Super Saturn had arrived in Saturn Valley. Once he exited the cave leading to it, his worst fears had come true.
Everyone, from his neighbors to his friends, were zombies.