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"Mario! We have a problem!"
That voice came from Starlow and he looked to find her and Snoutlet hurriedly flying over to him.
"What happened?" he asked.
"You know those gemstones you guys got on Heatfreeze Island?" Snoutlet asked.
"I do," Mario replied, wondering what the emergency was.
"Well, Luigi tried changing forms to give IDLE a demonstration, and now his whole body's electrified and freezing!" he alerted.
That made Mario panic. He knew Luigi had access to electricity, but ice powers were a different story. Learning that his body wasn't used to it came as a shock.
"We tried getting close to him but got blocked off!" Starlow continued. "It's so freezing, no one can help him! Peach is trying to protect Daisy and the kids right now!"
"I'll handle this!" Mario told them. "Help Daisy get everyone out of the way."
"Okay," Starlow complied.
"Leave it to us!" Snoutlet exclaimed, raising a leg to affirm it.
Mario raced to find his brother with his Carnelian shining in his right glove.
"Come on, guys! Get out of there!"
That came from Princess Daisy, who was trying to get as many Concordians away from the frozen area as possible. Princess Peach was standing protectively in front of the young quartet of IDLE.
"Luigi! Please!" Peach begged. "We want to help you!"
"S-S-Stay away!" Luigi exclaimed out of fear. "Y-Y-You'll just freeze solid!"
"Luigi!"
That yell came from Mario, who was alarmed to see Luigi shivering and huddled in a ball. The area below his feet had frozen over and frost was covering parts of his body. Cyan sparks surrounded his body which only worsened the situation.
"Peach, get the kids and Daisy to safety!" Mario instructed the Princess. "I'll take it from here."
"Okay. Be careful," she replied.
With the group giving him room, Mario took a deep breath, feeling warmth rise in his body. Whether it was from the Carnelian or his inner fire, he could sense an orange aura surrounding his outline.
"Here I go," Mario told himself.
Mario took careful steps toward his brother, hoping not to scare him further. Those sparks reacted to his presence, increasing voltage and sending lightning bolts to Mario. The red-clad man braced for impact but was protected by the aura around him. He could see why no one could get close to him: the temperature around Luigi was in the negative range and those sparks defended his frightened brother.
"Luigi," the older of the two began.
He braved those sparks, even smacking one away from him.
"M-M-Mario..." Luigi began.
"It's okay," Mario assured him. "Nothing can hurt us...as long as we're together. Take...deep breaths. I'm-a right here."
Luigi inhaled and exhaled as best as he could.
"Mamma Mia...your breath," Mario noted out of concern.
He was grateful for the Carnelian's power and the aura around him, but he felt it wouldn't last long. He needed to save Luigi somehow and keep Shipshape Island from freezing over.
"The gemstone! Bring it close to Luigi's own! Put your Bonds to use."
He heard a wise, masculine voice send instructions to him.
"Who?" he asked out of surprise.
The man brushed it off and brought the Carnelian close to the Larimar. Red stardust transferred from one gem to the other, and Luigi felt the sparks fade on his body. He still felt frigid, but warmth was coming in now. The ice on his body and below his feet slowly but surely melted.
"Is...Is it over?" Luigi asked out of distress.
The aura around Mario faded and the former felt his body temperature drop to normal.
"Yes," Mario confirmed.
"Luigi!!"
"Are you guys okay?"
That came from the IDLE team, who rushed to check on him.
"We're fine," Mario assured them. "I'll take Luigi to Heatfreeze Island later. The Hotato Stew may warm him up more."
"Mario...thank you," Luigi replied.