A/N: I never really got part of this next scene in Richard III, so I changed it around a bit for my version; now it all fits together nicely, if I do say so myself.

Act III. Scene iv.

Larry, Ludwig, Petey Piranha, Wario, Wart and Kamek all waited around in the board room for the final member of their half of the Royal Council – Bowser Junior. Council A was already in session next door, despite the fact that they too were missing one member: Lemmy – although he wasn't expected back any time soon. Kamek had just returned from Dark Land but had yet to inform anyone of the Koopaling's 'suicide', so they all thought he was just incarcerated for the time being, and would eventually return, safe and sound.

"That rat, can't he arrive on time?" grumbled Wario.

"Yeah, I say we start without him," agreed Wart impatiently.

"Fine, but, uh, we'll need to get someone to vote on Junior's behalf – he is, after all, a prince, and therefore his vote is worth two. Like mine," said Larry, who was an expert when it came to politics.

"Zat sounds like a good plan, but you can't speak for him, Larry: as you said, you've already got two votes," said Ludwig.

"We'll need someone who knows Junior well enough to be able to vote as he would himself," stated Kamek.

"How about you?" asked Petey Piranha. "I hear you guys hang out together all the time."

"I stick near the prince because he is often in need of a messenger such as myself. As far as knowing the minds of royalty goes, I am only an expert on Bowser Sr.," explained Kamek.

"What about you Petey? I mean, Junior did get you out of jail, so he must hold you in high regard," suggested Larry.

"He sure does! I guess I willspeak for him," said Petey confidently.

The words were hardly out of his lips when the door opened and Junior entered. "I'm sorry I'm late, I was just attending to some matters with ex-Princess Daisy."

"Oh, no more explanation needed – Tatanga constantly whined about how much of a handful that tomboy was when I had him kidnap her all those years ago," chuckled Wario.

"It's nice to see you in such a good mood," said Junior. "How are the rest of you?"

"I'm feeling rather hungry actually," voiced Larry, before anyone else could respond to the question.

Junior nodded knowingly: that phrase meant that Petey wasn't on their side, and that he had to be removed from the picture. No one else clued into Junior and Larry's encoded exchange, and Junior responded to his brother's statement cheerfully. "Well then, we'll just have to get something to eat."

Junior went over and told the guards to bring up some food before sitting down with the other council members.

"Right, now zat vee are all here, let us discuss Iggy's coronation," said Ludwig.

"So we've already decided he's fit for the job?" asked Junior. "How much of the meeting did I miss?"

"You didn't miss anything," huffed Wart. "Just a lot of sitting around and waiting – until Larry suggested we vote by proxy and Plant Boy volunteered to be your voice."

"Really?" said Junior, turning to Petey. "Well, I wouldn't trust most people with that duty, but I'm glad to see you know that you're an exception to that rule."

"Thanks," grinned Petey. "But I didn't get a chance to say anything anyway, Ludwig here just thinks so highly of your brother that he decided we all feel the same and skipped to the coronation talk as soon as you sat down."

"Since when did you have anything against Iggy?" asked Junior.

"I don't, I just feel we should follow procedure and officially accept him as our next King," explained Petey.

"Brown-noser," muttered Wario.

The greedy human was saved from Petey's anger by the arrival of the food, which instantly drew the Piranha Plant's attention. Larry had a drink of punch, while Petey took a handful of munchies to gobble down. Even Junior reached over and took a small piece of food, he pulled his scarf of his snout and ate the food, but suddenly his lips and cheeks started becoming splotched with red.

Junior then started coughing, doubling over in his chair. Kamek rushed to his side, and waved his wand over the Dragon-Koopa's head. Junior stopped choking and the spots began to fade as a result of Kamek's spell.

"What happened?" gasped Wario, putting his own piece of food back onto the tray, eyeing it suspiciously.

"By the looks of things, poison," said Kamek gravely. Everyone fell silent – even Petey stopped eating.

Larry was the first to snap out of it. "Guards! Where did this food come from?"

"It came from the kitchen, sir," said one of the guards that had brought the tray in. "They're leftovers from last night's buffet."

"Then someone must've added the poison between now and last night," deduced Wario.

"You were down there this morning, Petey," said Larry, eyeing the Piranha Plant questioningly.

"What! Don't look at me, I didn't do it!" stammered Petey.

"I didn't say you did. I was just going to ask if you saw anything suspicious – but you're starting to seem a bit suspicious yourself," said Larry.

"Don't be ridiculous, I don't have anything against Junior or anyone else here. You saw me – I was eating the food too. Why would I do that if I knew it was poisoned? And for that matter, why wasn't I affected? Maybe it was an allergic reaction?" suggested Petey.

"It was an allergic reaction, of sorts," said Kamek, who had been analyzing a piece of food with his wand. "This food is covered in some sort of Zinger Wax."

"Zinger Wax?" said Wart.

"Yes, it is dangerous to Dragon-Koopas and a few other species; it's not a poison per say, since it's the protein in the wax which causes the immune reaction, making it a species-wide allergy. It can be fatal – fortunately, I stopped it in time."

"What is Zinger Wax used for?" asked Wario. "Maybe the chef started using it to clean pots, or in some recipe, and since there weren't a lot of Dragon-Koopas at the party last night, maybe only non-allergic people were exposed, and it was there all along."

"There are two problems with that theory," responded Kamek. "First of all, the wax is sprinkled on top, so it can't be residue from the dishes. Second, Zinger Wax isn't used in foods or items used in the preparation or consumption of it, since Zinger Wax tastes awful. It is used for shining things, like cars or ornamental silverware, or leaves-"

"Leaves?" gasped Larry, turning to Petey Piranha. "If I'm not mistaken, you get that that gold-digger, Candy Kong to wax your leaves all the time – among other things. – and she still has contacts back on DK Isle, which has quite the Zinger population, does it not?"

"So I have access to it? Why would I want to poison Junior?" said Petey, a hint of panic in his voice.

"Who knows!" exclaimed Junior, speaking for the first time since he was poisoned. "Who knows why Roy wanted Morton dead? Who knows why Lemmy's been keeping secrets? There's been a lot of treachery going on recently, and I'm not about to be the victim of yours! Kamek, arrest Petey Piranha! Hold him until I get Wendy and Iggy's permission for his execution! The rest of you, come with me, so we can warn my siblings away from eating the deadly food. We will hold a single council today, and our unity will make us stronger!"

Junior turned on his heel and strode from the room, pulling his scarf back over his snout as he walked through the doorway. After exchanging astonished glances, Larry, Ludwig, Wario and Wart all followed him out, leaving Petey behind with Kamek.

"I can't believe this," gasped Petey.

"That's what you get for crossing His Majesty," scoffed Kamek.

"Peach said this would happen," muttered Petey bitterly. "Who knew she could actually see the future?"

"She can't," hissed Kamek. "Come on, we're going to the dungeons."

Petey sighed and stood up, allowing himself to be escorted to his final resting place.