"I hope you enjoyed your cruise," Hiyohoi said. "Did ya have fun? Good, great. Let me catch you up to speed since a couple things happened while you were out. First thing: Your kingdom exploded. Also, there's a hole in the sky and we're all doomed!"

He pushed open the door to the guest hall and they followed him inside. The handful of surviving servants were laying rows and rows of dreamnapped victims out on whatever cots and blanket could be scrounged.

"Don't think Sarasaland's ever been hit this hard," Hiyohoi muttered. "There's barely anyone left."

Daisy looked over the casualties with a lump in her throat. It was like her palace had been transformed into some sort of morbid sleepover. There were hundreds of victims stretching down the guest wing as far as the eye could see. Even the kings were afflicted: Totomesu and Biokinton were sprawled out unconscious, and Dragonzamasu floated limp in his fishbowl. Daisy held her breath as she scanned the sea of faces, hoping one person was not among them and yet still looking.

"No!"

He was there. She ran to him, frantic. Dad slept on his back; his smart phone still clutched in his hands over his chest. Drool ran down his chin to wet the carpet. Daisy fell to her knees over him.

"I'm so sorry," she said, "this is all my fault. I never should've upgraded you from a flip phone."

Waluigi rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. She tried her best to be strong but was too much to take.

"None of this would've happened under your mom," Hiyohoi said. "She woulda been here."

"Hey!" Waluigi snapped. "Who asked you?!"

"Well, someone's gotta say it," Hiyohoi said.

He was right. The words cut deeper than Daisy liked. It was Daisy's job to protect these people, but she was off having hijinks with her friends. But that did NOT give him the right to tell her off. She got to her feet to meet his glare.

"You got a plan to fix this, princess?" Hiyohoi said. "I've had my hands full, y'know, actually being here and leading while you've been absent. If you're too busy shopping or whatever to step up and do your job, you let me know."

"No, I've got a handle on this, thanks," Daisy said. "Just stay out of our way."

"We kicked them out at least," Waluigi said. "That gives us time to regroup and strike back."

"Strike back?!" Hiyohoi laughed. "Our whole army is zonked out! Just what're you gonna do?"

Daisy sighed. She wanted to go off on his impudent little stone-eye head, but now was not the time. It was time to act like a princess. Like mom.

"I'm going to go to Subcon with Waluigi and we're going to take care of this personally."

Hiyohoi lifted his sunglasses to reveal his beady eyes. "You got a death wish or somethin'?"

"I've got a JOB to do," she snarled. "Now shut up and listen. I need you to hold down the fort while I'm gone, got it?"

"Huh?" he said. "You want me in charge?"

"What I want is for all these people to be safe if anything else happens." She stepped closer to look him dead in the eye. "And if I don't come back, I need you to be a good princess. None of this petty power grab baloney. You take care of Sarasaland or I'll come back to haunt you. You understand me?"

Hiyohoi fumbled with his sunglasses. "Y-yeah. Of course, princess."

"Good." Daisy turned toward Waluigi. "The hangar is this way. Let's go."

Daisy led Waluigi out onto the battlements of the castle. The blistered and infected sky bled a feeble red light over Sarasaland. The city below was in worse shape than New Donk City, and that was saying something.

"What's the score here?" Waluigi said. "We head back to Pi'illo Island and dream our way back into Subcon?"

"No need." Daisy hopped down the rubble of a ruined wall to the Western edge of the castle grounds. "I've got a better idea."

She marched onto the airstrip and punched in the passcode to the hangar. The shutters clattered open and the lights flickered on to reveal a small yellow airplane with the words 'Sky Pop' emblazoned across its side.

"Voila," she said. "No need for us to dream our way in when they left the door open. We just gotta get up to that portal and fly through it."

"Wheheh!" Waluigi said. "I could get used to it here. You have all the best toys."

"Stick around and maybe I'll let you play pilot next time," Daisy said.

They climbed inside mom's private airplane and strapped in. She flipped a few switches, the propeller spun up, and she taxied out onto the runway. The portal stared down at them, writhing.

"The 8-bits are going to pay for this," Daisy said. "You got Sunny and the dream gems in those pants of yours?"

"Check and check," Waluigi said.

"Alright then. Let's go be heroes."

Daisy stepped on the gas and the plane started down the runway, picking up speed until it tottered up off the ground and into the air. It had been a while. She thumbed with the controls, loosening up her muscle memory. She did a barrel roll to scare Waluigi.

"WHAAA!" Waluigi said, hanging onto his hat. "Knock it off!"

"You're fine." Getting a rise out of him was too much fun. "You can walk if you don't like how I fly."

The portal was huge. It swallowed the horizon as they drew close.

"Eyes up!" Waluigi pointed. "Bogeys incoming!"

Daisy squinted. A swarm of spear wielding beezos and pidgits on flying carpets poured out of the portal like a plague of gnats.

"You, uh, you got weapons on this thing?"

Daisy flipped the safety off and primed the missiles. "Who do you think I am?"

She opened fire and the Sky Pop pumped out round after round of cannon-ball shaped artillery with a chirpy BUP BUP BUP sound. Minions exploded into points and coins and she dodged around the ones she missed. She dogfought her way through the sky, doubling back to finish the job only to see even more jerks rushing out of the portal to fight.

"There's too many! We can't fight all of them!" Waluigi said.

"Watch me!" Daisy fired into the next wave, vaporizing a few dozen, only for the stragglers to latch onto her plane to stab it with tridents. "…Uh."

Waluigi leaned out of his seat to kick off the pests with his long ballerina legs. "Quit goofing off and get us through that portal!"

He was right. There was no time for this. "Ugh, fine! You're no fun!"

She accelerated through the oncoming enemies in through the portal, passing into a kaleidoscope of color striped with tendrils of black. The minions gave chase, gaining on them from behind. She lit the afterburners, but it was not enough. A couple managed to latch onto the tail and started tearing it to shreds.

"Get out of my airspace you birdbrains!" she shouted.

The beezos giggled, tore the rudder out, and flew off with it. Daisy wrestled with the controls as the plane started to tilt.

"Was that bit important?!" Waluigi said.

Daisy grit her teeth. "You're gonna want to put your seat belt back on!"

The portal opened onto the blackened skies of Subcon. The concert hall sat in the clouds, lit up like a Christmas tree. Daisy steered toward it, and the Sky Pop leaned more and more sideways.

"Can you land the plane like this?!" Waluigi shouted.

"I haven't got a choice!" Daisy said. "I got this! Just hang on!"

As she strained with the yoke to keep them upright, a black shadow snaked out from the dark under her seat and wrapped around her body.

"What the—?! No! Get off me!"

"What's going on?!" Waluigi said.

Before Daisy could say anything else, the silhouette engulfed her, and she disappeared.