(Mushroom Kingdom- Mae's Castle)

Mae yawned as she circled another location on one of the many maps she had on her desk. She had been working all day to find any possible places Junior could be; she asked the residents of the Mushroom Kingdom and others outside of it if they had seen him. Most of the responses were little, but Mae did her best to put them all to use. Mae's door creaked open and her mother, Peach stepped in the room.

Peach: I talked to Peter earlier about the argument you guys had.

Mae kept her eyes glued on her desk.

Mae: It's nothing serious.

Peach pulled up a chair and sat next to her daughter.

Peach: Then why did you speak to him the way you did?

Mae: I just didn't agree with some of the things he was saying.

Peach: Really? Or, could it be because you're upset about this?

Peach gestured Mae's desk. Mae took a look at it and immediately felt depressed again.

Mae: That too.

Peach: Who are you looking for? Is it somebody we know?

Peach and Mario had no idea that Mae had been in contact with Junior. They'd both have a heart attack if they knew if she was involved with the Dark Lands in general, let alone the King Koopa's son.

Mae: Just a really, really good friend of mine. You don't know him.

Peach: I see. Mae, I can tell he's a good friend, but you can't take out your anger on people who are trying to help you or open your eyes, or even those who had nothing to do with your anger. You tend to go a little nuts when put under pressure. You are the princess; you have to be calm and compassionate, and others will be compassionate back. I'm sure Peter cares about this friend; he's just trying to get you to see the reality of things.

Mae put down her marker and rested her head in her hand.

Mae: It's just that seeing all of those letters was just sudden to me. I hated every moment of it. The last thing you'd ever want to hear is that your best friend had been missing for years. You and dad would be upset if I disappeared, right? When I got kidnapped, you were worried, right?

Peach: Definitely. Losing you was terrifying. We didn't know where you were, and when we did, we didn't know if you were hurt or even alive. Most of all, we just wanted you to come home.

Mae: That's sort of how I'm feeling now.

Mae yawned again. Peach stood up and had her daughter get up as well.

Peach: Why don't you continue your search tomorrow? For now, you need to get some rest. When wake up, you'll be refreshed and ready to work.

Mae climbed into her bed. Peach smiled and kissed her goodnight. Then she turned off the lamp on Mae's desk, and walked out the room, shutting the door behind her.

(Dark Lands- Bowser's Castle)

Larry and Morton sat on the couch across from Iggy, watching him working on some more weapons for Ludwig. It was 4 in the morning and they were all exhausted. Iggy had his brothers test weapons out all night for Ludwig and his troop. Larry yawned and rested his head on the arm rest. He waited to speak to Iggy until he had turned off the drill he was using.

Larry: How many more dumb inventions do we have to test now?

Iggy: Just one more. Promise.

Larry: You said that hours ago! And I'm bored! I don't want to be in here anymore.

Iggy sighed in annoyance. He put down his drill and grabbed another tool.

Iggy: Talk to Morton. Now leave me alone.

Morton: Are you kidding? I'm too tired to talk. My eyes are droopy, my body is aching, I feel really grouchy...how can anybody hold a decent conversation like this? It's impossible, impossible I tell you! I'm going to need to sleep for 1,000 years before I can even talk again!

Larry covered his ears.

Larry: Make it stop!

Just then, Ludwig walked into the room with Lemmy.

Ludwig: Iggy! We have to go soon! Are you finished with everything?

Iggy picked up his invention and turned around. It was a black box with a skull on the front, and a giant hole in the front. Iggy smiled proudly as he handed it to Larry.

Larry: What do you want me to do with it?

Iggy: Duh, test it out. That's what you've been here for.

Ludwig: What is it?

Iggy: I call it a Cannon Box. It shoots cannonballs. It's really easy to use and requires almost no training to use.

Iggy turned around to face Larry and stepped out the way.

Iggy: Go on Iggy, try to use it.

Larry: But I don't know how!

Iggy: Figure it out.

Iggy handed Larry a bag filled with cannonballs. Larry opened the bag and removed on. At first he was lost, staring down the box trying to figure it out. He then noticed a button and a lever. Iggy pressed the button and a lid on top popped open. Larry slipped in the cannonball and closed the lid. He then grabbed the lever and pulled it. The cannonball came out with great force, and slammed into Iggy's desk, breaking it into millions of pieces.

Larry: Oh my gosh, that was rad! Can I do it again?

Ludwig, who was impressed, slowly clapped for his brother's work.

Ludwig: You never fail me Iggy! That's gonna do some major damage.

Iggy: Of course. I've also create bombs like firebombs and ice bombs for situations in where we might need them. However, I don't have just the Cannon Box. I also created these…

Iggy grabbed Ludwig's arm and guided him over a table filled with weapons.

Iggy: We have here, the Propeller Box, the Light Box, Bomb-ombs, the newly designed wands, POW Blocks...you name it. And those are just the weapons I've already had tested.

Iggy guided Ludwig over to another table. Ludwig recognized an odd looking weapon sitting on the far right end of the table.

Ludwig: Dad's Levitation Beam? You got that working again?

Iggy: Yep! Just like new.

Iggy then reached under the table and handed Ludwig a box. When Ludwig opened the box, he saw a bunch of dark red flowers.

Iggy: And you're probably going to need those.

Lemmy walked over to the two and looked into the box. His eyes grew wide and he looked at Iggy in disbelief.

Lemmy: Speed Flowers? Where the hell did you get those?

Iggy: I know a guy. Look, this thing boosts agility pretty well. Since you want all of those Koopas to fight late at night and stuff, they're gonna need it.

Lemmy: But aren't those things dangerous when you eat it?

Iggy: Only if you overdose. I calculated that if you just eat 2 petals, you'll be OK and have all of the energy you need for 3 hours. You'll only have a few minor side effects like, irritability, temporary hyperactivity and aggressiveness; all which will be helpful during battle.

Larry: What happens if you overdose?

Iggy: Um, let's see...I believe anxiety, paranoia, confusion, hallucination, headaches, temporary memory loss, mood swings, bad trips...to name a few. But I'm sure that nobody will overdose as they follow the procedure or inhale too much of the pollen.

Ludwig: Alright then. Come on, let's go deliver this stuff now.

Down in the basement, Ludwig looked at the army that stood in front of him. They were all equipped with Iggy's weapons and, despite being tired, they were prepared to wreak havoc.

Ludwig: Ladies and gentlemen! We are about to conduct the most drastic and impactful mission ever! This is my flawless plan of finally getting my dad what he wants- the Mushroom Kingdom! And with your help, it will sure to succeed with no issues! There are many steps to it now, but let's stick with part one; we have an early morning attack! Just tear down some buildings; no other destruction is required. We save everything else if we don't get any cooperation from Princess Mae. Are we clear?

Koopa Army: Yes sir!

Ludwig: Good! And remember, whenever you feel too tired to battle, just take a dose of the speed flower I gave each of you. You'll feel wide awake within a few minutes for approximately 3 hours. And if there are any issues, you contact me through your walkie talkies. Got it?

Koopa Army: Yes sir!

Ludwig: Then get your asses out there and create a hell storm!

Immediately, a large garage door opened and everyone took off; Koopa Troopas on foot and Paratroopas by their wings. At the entrance of the basement stood Wendy and Roy, who were listening into the speech.

Roy: So that's what he's up to…

Wendy: I told you it was bad!

Roy: So why haven't you stepped in and said something?

Wendy: Because dad said that if either of us stepped in, he'd kill us both. He suspected we might stop it.

Roy: We can't just leave this alone. They're right; Mae's still young. She'll probably go crazy over this.

Wendy and Roy were silent as they watched they remaining Koopas take off. Suddenly, Wendy had an idea.

Wendy: Let's go.

Roy: Let's go…?

Wendy: We should go tell Mae. Warn her of future attacks and stuff like that. She has to know something so she at least take action positively. Otherwise, she'd probably give in within the very hour.

Roy: How do you suggest we get to her? If we just stroll into the kingdom we'll get pelted with rocks or something.

Wendy: Then we'll take the green pipes. It's not rocket science you know.

Wendy grabbed Roy by the arm and guided him upstairs.