Peach was roused from sleep early the next morning by Bowser, who had barged into her room. The pale light of dawn had just begun to stream over the horizon. He was at her bedside almost before she had a chance to sit up.
"Mario is on his way," he announced. "He should arrive within an hour or two. I apologize for waking you, but I imagine you'd like to greet him. His help is going to be crucial for us, and I'd prefer it if he didn't attack my staff. Come on, get up."
Peach looked at Bowser. His hair was wild, and his eyes were rimmed with red, as if he hadn't slept at all.
Peach was surprised to find that she cared more about what Bowser had been doing during the past two or three hours than she cared about what Mario had been doing for the past two or three months. She chided herself before springing out of bed.
An hour later, Peach stood with Bowser on a balcony overlooking the castle's main courtyard. She sipped slowly from a cup of tea as she watched the slow ascent of the late summer sun. Bowser paced, the morning light glinting off his horns.
Suddenly Peach heard screaming below. A small group of Koopas ran through the main gate. They cried out for the drawbridge to be raised. Bowser flew to the railing of the balcony. A party of soldiers ran to the machinery that operated the portcullis, but they were too late.
Mario charged through the stone arch on a Yoshi. When he reached the middle of the courtyard, he leapt off his mount. He was no longer the shy young man who had repaired the pipes in the basement of Peach's castle. His adventuring had turned him every bit into the ideal image of a hero. The red and yellow cape that framed his muscular figure made him appear even more dashing. He was still wearing the floppy red embroidered hat Peach had given him for his birthday, although it was soiled and tattered beyond belief.
One of the soldiers took a step toward Mario, who faced the Koopa and snapped his fingers, engulfing his adversary in a blaze of flames. Other Koopas rallied behind their screaming comrade, but Mario attacked them as well.
Peach was so stunned that she dropped her teacup, which shattered on the stone floor of the balcony. She looked up Bowser, who was staring dumbfounded at Mario's sudden onslaught.
"Bowser," she said, her voice as hard as steel. "Stop this. Now."
Bowser roared. The fighting came to an immediate halt as everyone turned to look at him. He jumped over the balcony railing and crashed down into the courtyard. The ground shook when he landed.
"Mario!" Peach cried from the balcony.
Mario shot a glance at her, but his eyes were hard, and he quickly turned his attention to Bowser.
"So you're the monster that kidnapped the princess," Mario said, his face twisted into a bitter smile. "I've come to rescue her, and I'll kill you if you try to stop me."
"A murderer like you has no right to touch the smallest hair on her head," Bowser responded. "You will stand down!"
Mario brought his hands into a strange position in front of his face and began to whisper the words of a spell. Peach yelled Mario's name again, but the last syllable of her voice was drowned out by the noise of a rapidly approaching engine.
Bowser's hovercraft, piloted by Ludwig, maneuvered its way through the castle gate. Koopa soldiers dove out of the way. Before it came to a halt, Luigi jumped out and ran towards Mario.
"Mario! Stop this right now! We've got to find the princess! She's in terrible danger!"
Daisy alighted from the hovercraft in a flash of petticoats. "The king has been assassinated!" she yelled. "Everyone in the entire kingdom is under some sort of spell! Toadsworth has – "
"Toadsworth has what?"
An eerie voice floated above the courtyard. With a crack of thunder, High Magician Toadsworth appeared, suspended in the air. He laughed. His robes swirled around him.
"It seems you've uncovered my plot," he leered, addressing Daisy. He pointed at her, and lightning flashed from his finger. Luigi sprinted and jumped in front of Daisy, taking the blow. He fell to the cobblestones unconscious, his clothes smoking.
Mario stepped forward, confronting Toadsworth. "You're the reason no one in the kingdom paid any attention to Peach's disappearance!"
Without giving his opponent time to reply, Mario shot a stream of fireballs at Toadsworth, who deflected them with a wave of his hand.
"Indeed," the High Magician laughed. Another gesture of his hand sent a wave of energy across the courtyard, causing Mario and the Koopa soldiers to fall to the ground. "And how strange it is to find myself here in the Koopa Kingdom again, after so many years. I was certain I had blotted this wretched place from memory. It's a pity the king had trouble forgetting."
"If I can kill that king," he continued, his eyes flashing, "then I suppose I should make an even sweep of things and get rid of this king as well."
Peach, who had ducked behind the balcony railing when she heard Toadsworth's voice, felt her heart fill with an overwhelming rage as these words echoed across the courtyard. She clenched her fists and knelt so that she would be able to see over the rim of the balcony. Below her, Mario rose to his feet and glared at Toadsworth.
"You lie!" he screamed.
"Alas, but I do not!" Toadsworth seemed to be enjoying himself. "This kingdom is the only one in the world that could have stopped me, but unfortunately its citizens seem to be strangely incapacitated." He laughed.
Ludwig, who had been biding his time, launched himself from the hovercraft. Toadsworth twisted his chin, and the Koopa was engulfed by a spray of dark light. A moment later his paralyzed body bounced off the hull of the hovercraft and landed on the ground with a heavy thud.
"The Koopa Kingdom slowly stretched its way across the continent, bringing back the resources and knowledge of every civilization it has found," Toadsworth said, addressing Mario. "And why did its former king do this? For the mere satisfaction of enlightenment? I think not. They are a threat to us. Why should the Mushroom Kingdom be secondary to this slag race of cretins? Unfortunately, the former ministers of the kingdom did not approve of a full-scale attack, and neither did the king. I have taken care of them, but I still need Princess Toadstool. How convenient that you have already come to my aid in rescuing her."
Peach, who had been listening to the High Magician in mounting horror, suddenly caught sight of a flash of shining light. Bowser had taken advantage of the showdown between Mario and Toadsworth to sneak around behind the Koopa soldiers, and now he raced toward the floating Toadsworth from behind. Mario caught sight of Bowser, and, seeing the approaching menace reflected in the plumber's wide eyes, Toadsworth spun around just as Bowser leapt into the air to tackle him. In the impossible space of an instant, he raised his hand and sent a black flash of magic towards the Koopa king.
"No!" Peach screamed, and Bowser was instantly shielded by an iridescent barrier. Toadsworth's magic bounced off this wall of light and struck him full in the face. Flashing violent colors of crimson, the High Magician plummeted to the ground as Bowser sailed over him. Toadsworth screamed in terrible agony before bursting into an explosion of sparks and spores.
Everything was silent for a moment, and no one moved. Then, suddenly, an awesome flash of white light burst from the space where Toadsworth had fallen. It radiated outwards, blinding everyone in the courtyard. Peach threw her arm in front of her face to shield her eyes. With the brightness came an immense silence followed by a sound like the pealing of bells.
When Peach felt the sting of the light recede, she lowered her arm and opened her eyes. She couldn't believe what she saw.
Facing Mario in the courtyard below was not an enormous dragon but a young man. Although he retained his horns and his unnaturally red hair, his scales and shell had transformed into a suit of armor that gleamed in the sun. He stood a full head over Mario, whose overalls and cape suddenly seemed puny and insignificant.
Bowser stared at his hands, which he had brought up in front of him, and then looked around in wonder. All of the other Koopa in the courtyard had been similarly transformed. Finally Bowser looked up at Peach. She blinked, unsure of what to do, and then waved.
Bowser burst into a wide smile and saluted her broadly. He then stepped forward. Perhaps because he was not used to his new legs, he overbalanced and tumbled to the ground. Beside the hovercraft, Luigi snorted laughter. Daisy, amused at Luigi's impropriety, began to laugh softly. Mario, overwhelmed at the sudden turn of events, put his hand to his mouth in an effort to suppress his own laughter. Bowser, sitting in full armor on the cobblestones of his courtyard, threw his head back and roared laughter at the sky.
One of the Koopa soldiers let out a cheer, which swelled as others joined in. Peach looked down on the scene and smiled so hard that her cheeks began to hurt. One of her maids, a pretty young girl in a flowing lavender dress, hugged her from behind before grabbing her hand to lead her downstairs.
