Peach was sitting on her gold-framed sofa in her room, staring out her large window. The beach looked as familiar and inviting as ever. She waited anxiously for the arrival of her younger cousin, Daisy. When finally, she decided that being four hours late was completely irrational, she noticed a pipe beginning to form on the shores of the beach. She took one last look and rushed out her door.
Once down the stairs, Toad escourted her to the front doors. After a few frantic knocks, she threw the door open. Mario tumbled into the room, wet and muddy.
"Mario?" She asked, "What is wrong?"
"Peach…" He started, "I-It's… Luigi." He said, his voice grave.
"What happened?" She asked
"He was taking Daisy here when…"
Peach propped Mario up into a chair. She quickly looked him over and noticed scorch marks on the back of his arms.
"Bowser." She scowled as the name formed on her lips.
Mario nodded, and as he gave into unconsciousness she knew what she had to do. "Toad, take Mario to the nurses and see if they can help him."
Toad whistled and there were suddenly five more mushroom-like citizens at his side. Toad issued them the order Peach had to him, and they were gone almost as quickly as they had arrived.
Peach rushed back up to her room and rummaged through her closet. She threw the numerous large, pink dresses aside and finally found what she was looking for. Just a regular outfit, but with abnormal properties. She looked hopefully at herself in her mirror, while she pulled her hair up into a flawless ponytail. On her way back down the stairs, she thought about Mario.
"I should go say goodbye," she thought to herself. So she gracefully sprinted to the part of the castle where her best friend would be taken care of for the next little while.
"Princess," Toad began, "Mario continues to mumble unintelligibly, is there anything you would like us to take note of?"
"Um no." Peach said very plainly. She tiptoed to his bedside and grabbed his hand. "Mario, where can I find Bowser?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure." Mario said, his speech slurred. "I was ambushed on my way to the Mansion."
"I'll look around there then." She said with a cheerful smile. "Goodbye Mario."
"Don't sound so grave," Mario said, his eyelids drooping. "We will meet again."
Her hand slipped from his, and she turned to the door. "I should hope so," She whispered. A lone tear traveled down her cheek as she glanced back at Mario. He gave her a smile, and fell back asleep.
Peach exhaled and left the small room. She ran through the castle's foyer, and out the front doors. She stopped short at the end of the bridge, undecided as to which path she was going to follow. She glanced at the sign that Mario and Luigi had built for her so she would know where each way would take her. She chuckled and looked back and forth at the left road, the road just forward and the right road. She turned to the right, and sped off down the dirt road that was marked as the way to the home of Mario's evil doppelganger Wario…