A/N: Shakespeare periodically has his characters leave and die offscreen. I took a different direction in this scene. I also transferred some of Kamek's lines to Bowser, and a couple other little changes (as always).
Act III Scene i.
"Come on Daisy, let's go back to my place. I hear Junior's prowling around again, and this heat is bound to make him even more cranky than usual – not to mention yourself," said Yoshi, eyeing his friend worriedly.
Daisy snorted. "Psh, I'm the ex-Princess of Sarasaland: do you know how much time I spent in Birabuto? This is nothing, and I'm sure Junior's used to the heat too after living in 'volcano land' for so long. Besides, who are you to talk? You're like one of those guys who walks into a seedy bar and pulls out an Invincibility Star and says 'ohh, I hope I don't have to use this!', and then three seconds later you're lit up like a Christmas Tree and pounding the guy next to you to a pulp!"
"I would do no such thing – Yoshis don't even use Stars."
"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say," said Daisy. "You used to be quite the fighter! Don't tell me you've gone soft! Argh, Fawful's rule wouldn't be so bad if it didn't turn you lot into a bunch of sucks! Come on!"
"I haven't gone soft," said Yoshi defensively. "I took on Junior yesterday, remember?"
"And yet you see fit to lecture me about how I should avoid quarreling? Pah."
Yoshi sighed, but his eyes widened as he caught sight of Bowser Jr. stomping towards him and Daisy, flanked by a gaggle of his father's underlings.
"Great, here come the Koopas," muttered Yoshi.
"Psh, who cares?" said Daisy, feigning aloofness.
"Wait here," growled Junior to his followers before marching up to the twosome. "I'd like to have a word with you guys."
"Only one word? How about a word and a duel!" snarled Daisy, shaking off Yoshi's restraining arm and ignoring the pleading look on his face. It had been a while since she was able to blow off some steam – breaking into the Koopa party was close, but now it just made her want to take the next step.
Junior sneered at the hot-tempered girl. If she wasn't an enemy of his family, she'd be his type, especially since she dropped that dead-weight Luigi, but he wasn't interested in fighting Daisy. "You run with Peach-"
"Well, we're not on the track team, if that's what you mean," said Daisy, imperiously cutting the Koopaling off mid-sentence.
"Daisy, calm down," hissed Yoshi, grabbing her arm again, this time making sure his grip was tight. "Save it for for somewhere private or just chill out before you get us all in trouble – you're making people stare."
"Eyes were meant to stare," retorted Daisy, her own sights locked on Junior's smirking face. He was asking for it now. But suddenly he looked away, and his eyes gleamed even brighter.
"Well well, there's the girl I'm looking for."
"'Girl'? That's 'lady' to you, kid!" spat Daisy. "You're not even an adult yet – you better show her some respect!"
Junior ignored her, instead calling to Peach. "You crashed my father's party! I saw you! You say you're so nice and perfect, but you're as big a rat as your friend here!"
"Junior, please, believe me when I tell you I meant no disrespect," said Peach, rushing forward to try and cool the scene before her. The fact that Junior's bandana was lowered from his snout, exposing his teeth and clearing the way for some fireballs was cause for concern, and combined with Daisy's purple face and Yoshi's palpable anxiety, she knew for sure that something was up. She had known that simply marrying Lemmy wouldn't be enough to make peace between the two factions: she would have to work at making nice with his siblings, servants and his father too, and the last thing she needed were her friends stirring up trouble with Junior. She had been a little worried about making Lemmy go home without her so soon after their wedding, but now she was glad she had finagled the time alone – she was planning to use it to plan her next moves, but taking a proactive step would be even better.
Unfortunately, Junior wasn't as easy to sweet-talk as his older brother. "You call that an excuse? I don't care why you were there: the fact that you trespassed is enough. Come on, you and me, right here, right now. I'll run you through! Maybe that'll get Papa's blood burning again."
Peach smiled to herself – if Bowser was getting sick of the fighting all on his own, it'd make her job a lot easier. She just had to get his son on board too. "Junior, all this fighting between your family and my friends is silly. Maybe your father's onto something: we should spend more time having fun and less time getting ourselves into trouble over ancient feuds. We're all oppressed by Fawful now, why should we make things worse for ourselves?"
"Because getting in trouble and picking fights is fun!" interjected Daisy, using a blast of her flower powers to break free of Yoshi. She made a run at Junior, knowing full well that he wasn't going to listen to Peach, and unwilling to wait for him to make the first move and take her foolish friend out. She couldn't bear watching Luigi slip away, and she wasn't going to stand by and let her best friend join him on death's doorstep. "If you won't fight him, Peachy, I will!" she screeched as she swung her arms and sent a wave of crystals rolling towards the Koopaling. As Peach had noted, he was ready to ruble and countered with a barrage of flames, before rushing to meet Daisy head-on.
"STOP! Cried Peach. "Yoshi! We have to stop them!" She and the green dinosaur ran to try and head off the fighters, but Daisy was fast and had already engaged Junior in a flurry of fists, claws, fire and flowers. Peach dived into the fray, seizing Daisy by the shoulders and pulling her back, but before either ex-princess could react, Junior seized the moment and wracked his claws across the Sarasalander's torso.
Daisy screamed in pain and fell backwards, landing on top of Peach, who struggled to get herself free. Fortunately Yoshi was at their side, with half a mind to eat the Koopaling that had hurt his friend, but realizing the severity of the situation, the Hammer Bros. had also rushed forward, and one was wrapped around each of Junior's arms, dragging him away even as he struggled to get back and finish his fight.
"Stop it, yo!"
"You're gonna get in so much trouble for this, yo!"
Ignoring the Koopas, Yoshi turned to the girls. Peach was now kneeling beside Daisy, her dress stained by the increasingly large puddle of blood. "Someone get a doctor!" cried Yoshi, and Toadette, who happened to be wandering by when the fight broke out, sprinted from the scene. He looked back down at Daisy in horror. She was slashed open diagonally, with three gashes running diagonally down from her right shoulder to her left hip. And there was a green tinge to the ragged flesh, visible even amongst the sea of scarlet. Junior's claws had been poisonous.
Daisy was moaning in pain, but when Peach tried to comfort her, she opened her eyes and glared at her friend, the pain fueling her rage. "You idiot! Look what you've done! Look what you let him do to me!"
"I thought it would be for the best-" said Peach weakly.
"How could getting me killed be for the best?!"
"Don't say that, you're not-"
"Yoshi!" begged Daisy, droplets of blood flying from her lips as she struggled to speak, her eyes wide with fear. "Yoshi, please, it hurts! Help me!"
"I'll get you to the hospital," said Yoshi, pushing Peach out of the way and trying to lift Daisy onto his back, but the girl screamed in renewed agony. Panicking, Yoshi hurried to lay her back down, but it didn't matter what he did as Daisy writhed in pain, her skin turning pale and greenish as her blood drained out and the poison sank in. It was almost a relief when she suddenly went limp, her screams replaced by dying gurgles and then silence, her glazed eyes finally devoid of pain.
Peach stared in shock at her friend, scarcely believing what had happened. Yoshi was frozen too, and even the onlookers, Koopa or otherwise, were motionless. Never had an altercation between the Koopas and Mushroomians turned out so bloody, not even when Bowser's invasions were at their height. Only Junior was unfazed and wrenched free of the Hammer Bros.
Seeing his approach from the corner of her eye, Peach turned. He wasn't remorseful – if anything, he still looked angry. Angry at her. And because of her, Daisy was dead. Because of Junior, Daisy was dead. And he didn't care. Overcome with rage, Peach screamed, jumping to her feet and flying at Junior. The Koopaling didn't stand a chance as the ex-princess magically hurdled towards him, her feet above the ground, her body coated in blood, and a dagger clutched in her hand. With an anguished cry she plunged the knife into the startled Koopa's neck above his loosened scarf, slashing him open with one yank of her arm and coating herself in another wave of blood as Junior sputtered his last.
Peach barely stepped out of the way before Junior fell forward, and he landed at her feet with a dull thud. She stared down at him, and then looked at the dagger in confusion, as if she couldn't remember pulling it out of her hammerspace. She had bought it when Fawful took over for self defense, but she had never planned to use it. Especially not for offensive purposes. But he had killed Daisy – so it wasn't offensive, but retaliatory. And he wanted to kill her, so in a way, it was self-defense. But no one would believe that. She didn't even believe that, and the witnesses knew better too. She was a murderer. She had killed Bowser Jr. She had killed someone. She had killed Lemmy's brother.
A new dread filled Peach. What had she done? How could she expect to forge an alliance with Bowser when she killed his beloved son? How could she expect to organize a revolt? How could she use the Koopas to free the Mushroom Kingdom now? She wasn't going to kill Fawful – he was going to kill her. Or Bowser would. Or Iggy and Wendy. Or maybe they'd all do it. They'd tear her apart and Lemmy would watch. Or maybe he would help too. But he loved her. Not that it mattered anymore – her plan was ruined. And Bowser Junior was dead. And Daisy was dead. And Peach was dead.
"PEACH!" screamed Yoshi, slapping the ex-princess out of her daze. As soon as he realized what she had done he ran to her side, but she was almost catatonic, standing over Junior's corpse. He was surprised that the Koopas were hanging back – he would have expected them to mob the murderer of their ex-prince with as much zeal as Peach had had when she executed her friend's killer. But for some reason, they hung back, watching in stupefaction as he called her name and shook her shoulders, as if it was some sick play.
"Huh?" she finally grunted.
"Peach! You have to get out of here! Fawful's forces are on their way!"
"I am fortune's fool," she whispered.
"What are you waiting for? They'll kill you! GO!" Yoshi practically threw Peach towards the nearest side-street. Fortunately, hitting the pavement seemed to bring the ex-princess to her senses, and suddenly she was wide-awake. She looked around at the bodies and the crowd and down at her own bloody dress, too horrified to scream as she scrambled back to her feet in a panic. The Toads between Peach and the road quickly jumped out of the way, their eyes on the dagger in their former princess's hands as she ran by and disappeared. No one could believe that Peach Toadstool had just killed someone: it was simply unimaginable.
Mere moments after Peach ran away, Wario and Waluigi came bursting onto the scene, the news of the fight having spread like wildfire as Toadette ran screaming through the streets. Catching a glimpse of Daisy, Waluigi nearly exploded with rage. "DAISY! He killed her! Where is that bastard!? Bowser Jr.! You murderer! Where is he?!"
"He's right here," said Yoshi, still standing next to Junior.
"You're under arrest! I'll kill you with my bare hands, I will!" screamed Waluigi, advancing on the dead Koopaling.
"Bit late for that," said Wario, a sour look on his face. He had been hoping they'd get there in time – before the fighting was over.
"Whating is this?" Fawful zoomed over the square, peering down at the two bloody corpses. "FURY! There is blood everywhere, like tomatoes on the day of Spanish tomato fighting! Who had the beginning of this fight! They will be deathly soon."
"I can explain!" said Yoshi. "Junior killed Daisy, and then Peach killed Junior-"
"WHAT!?" Everyone turned and watched as Bowser appeared on the scene with Kamek and Kammy. He had heard that Junior had killed someone, but he didn't expect to find him dead too. Catching sight of his youngest, lying on his belly, his head turned towards him, eyes wide and blank and surrounded by fresh blood, Bowser nearly fell to his knees and cried out. He had seen a lot of horrors and done terrible things himself, but nothing like this. Even when he was sending them to battle Mario, he always told himself that surely the Star Spirits wouldn't be so cruel as to make a father outlive his children. Yet there lay Junior, his own Bowser Jr., and not because of Mario, but because of Peach. "How could this happen?" he gasped, unable to take his eyes off his son as his sorrow became mixed with rage. "How could she do this!? She's gonna pay for this!"
"No! A-leave her alone!" Mario and Luigi had shown up too, although with one look at Daisy, the man in green nearly fainted. Mario held him up, glaring across the clearing at Bowser. "Peach is-a good and Junior was-a evil. He-a deserved it!"
"Quieting! I will have the decision about who will have the payment for the Junior of Bowser," said Fawful, before turning back to Yoshi. "Be telling me: who turned on the frying pan and burned the pancakes of peace with this fight?"
"It was Junior," said Yoshi. "He wanted to fight Peach, but she only wanted to make peace, but he wouldn't listen, and then he and Daisy started fighting. Peach tried to stop them, but when she grabbed at Daisy, Junior slashed her open. When she died and Junior started advancing on Peach, she snapped and killed him, but horrified at what she did, she ran away."
Kamek narrowed his eyes – Yoshi was omitting something from his story, he could feel it. "Why should we believe him? He's a Mushroomian – he's biased. He says Junior started the fight, but then he only said he wanted to fight Junior. Who threw the first punch? Talk to the Koopas who were watching and I'm sure they'd say it was that Daisy! Just as Peach attacked Junior!" Around him, Koopas were nodding, making Kamek smirk. "If he had the first move, they would both be dead, and Yoshi too, and he'd still be alive-"
"Until the execution for the fight-starting is being conducted," reminded Fawful.
"Yes, but he knew better than to start the fight and bring that upon him – Peach is the one who attacked and killed him in cold blood: now she can be the one who's executed!"
"No!" gasped Yoshi and Mario.
"Please, Peach didn't start the fight – she tried to prevent it, she tried to stop it, and then she finished it, but she didn't start it!" beseeched Yoshi, looking up at Fawful.
"She killed a murderer," argued Mario. "She killed the one who-a killed your friend Daisy."
"And for that she is being exiled! From all four kingdoms that are now the Domain of Fawful, she has the banishment! Your fink-rat fighting has taken the Daisy of cooperation from my conquest garden. Now I am without flowers – only weeds of bad smelliness, like a toilet without a plunger. And you plumbers will have the punishment too, for letting this badness clog the streets of cooperation. And you Koopas will have the punishment also: obedience should be flowing, not blood. Have the telling of Peach to leave by the time of sunrise tomorrow. That is being more than enough time, and I shall not have the mind change even if you are crying or begging. Next time, death to all who kill, and then no more death will be happening. From now on, I do not have mercy, I HAVE FURY!"
Fawful flew away without another word, and the others turned to their dead. Bowser himself carried Junior away, heading to his home, while Yoshi bore Daisy straight to Larry's funeral house, and Mario took Luigi home, fearful that this latest shock would prove to be the final straw for his ailing brother. Wario carefully mopped up Junior's blood; he might not have been a full dragon, but Wario figured he could still make some money off a few vials of fresh Dragon-Koopa blood. On the other side of the square, Waluigi cleaned up Daisy's blood: he had always wanted his hands all over her, and now she was all over his hands – not exactly what he had in mind, but he supposed it was better than nothing. Around them, the Toads tried to return to their lives, running their errands, operating their stores, pretending like they hadn't seen the fatal fight, acting like the blood wasn't there, and most of all, wishing they had stayed home that day.