NOTES: Anyone who read my Four Sages series will notice similar magic concepts I used in this chapter. I actually started that series to focus more on the magic component, and keep this story more on Peach, Bowser, and the history of the Koopas and the Mario Brothers. So, even if they take place in different universes, they both have a similar magic system (Just thought I should mention that).

Anyway, enjoy!

Sunlight leaks into a dingy, rusted-over cell and strikes Peach, waking her up as its warm rays pierce her skin. The princess frowns as she looks around; the situation's worse than any dream she had: this is reality. The betrayal on her did happen, and now she's in a mysterious, run-down prison.

She hears a groan near her. Looking back, she spots Bowser, who also appears to have woken up not long before her. Peach turns her back to Bowser; she just wants to think about everything rather than talk to him.

She ponders about Daisy. Her best friend. The two of them didn't have the same personality, but Peach loved spending her time with Daisy. Now, Daisy just gives her the cold shoulder; she might even be involved in this betray-Peach-to-go-to-war-with-the-koopas plan, although she prays Daisy isn't.

Peach then thinks about Mario; what could've been. Thinking about him, Peach at first gets choked up; she feels the tears running down her face. She and Mario were meant to be; they were supposed to be happy for the rest of their days, ruling the kingdom side by side as the bountiful blessing of time flows through them. They were supposed to attend official business together. They were supposed to flee from the public lights and rekindle their everlasting love. But now that's all gone.

Reality strikes again; this time, anger upwells in Peach. It's all gone because of HIM. Good riddance with those traitors; those tyrants; those tools. They'll see the errors in their ways when time comes. She's over Mario; he didn't show her any love, he only wanted power. He wanted to make his gain of power appear legal for the rest of the country. Even worse, he paints her as being a criminal responsible for kidnapping her own parents. Mario didn't provide; he only used.

Her thoughts break up when she hears Bowser clearing his throat followed by him voicing a concern.

"Geez, you okay over there?"

Peach knows he's being sincere, but she also didn't want to deal with him at the moment. To her, Bowser's only another player in this entire betrayal scene. If it wasn't for him, she would still be in power and her parents would be safe.

"Just leave me alone."

"Well, if you say so," Bowser replied before turning away from her also, "But the Koopa Troop will get us."

Peach sighs, "If the Koopa Troop's our answer, then am I even asking the right question?"

"That's for you to find out."

The two sit in an awkward silence, each thinking about the friends and family back home or, in Peach's case, abroad in who-knows-where. Both prisoners perk up when they hear door hinges squeak; they turn to see Luigi walking down the stairs.

"Luigi!" Peach cried out, "Please, let us out!"

Luigi ignores Peach and instead, seats himself on the guard chair and starts tossing the dungeon keys in the air, catching them about sixty percent of the time.

Peach continues watching Luigi in silence, hoping the green-clad plumber will notice her. After Luigi throws the keys in the air for the five-hundredth time and drops them for the five-dozenth times, Peach stands up and speaks again.

"Luigi! Let us out! Please!"

Luigi stops tossing the keys in the air and gazes at Peach before replying, "No can do. Sorry."

"Why are you keeping me here for, anyway?" Peach questioned, hoping to find a slab of humanity left in her brother-in-law.

Luigi shrugs his shoulders, disinterested, "Because I'm supposed to. Mario asked me to, and he trusts me."

"Why?" Peach questioned.

"Who knows, who cares. It's just dumb stuff with the kingdom. We're invading the Koopa Kingdom, and there's nothing that either of you can do," Luigi shot back.

Peach gasps; her worst fears, now confirmed. Mario did mastermind the entire thing and he took Luigi under his wing. The Mushroom Kingdom can't go to war! Her Royal Guard cannot handle the onslaught the Koopa Troop will unleash on them! Too many of her soldiers will die in this careless invasion!

He must've involved Daisy too, just to get Sarasaland's army on his side. Meanwhile, she looks over at Bowser, who appears to be seething underneath his anguished demeanor.

"Why, Plumber Boy?" Bowser interrogated, "We haven't done anything recently other than kidnap Peach at the reception!"

"Mario says you're all evil fascists who kill people in the blink of an eye," Luigi replied, "And you all need to be under Mushroom Kingdom rule to be purified by fire, or you will kill us."

"Do you honestly believe everything he says?" Peach questioned. She fears over the other lies Mario told his younger brother, although she hides away the emotion and replaces it with assertiveness.

"He's my brother! He wouldn't lie to me!"

"Well, he's lying," Peach replied.

"No he's not!"

"He lied to me, and I'm his WIFE!"

"So?! We have a bond! We had it for years!"

Peach senses an emotion somewhere deep within Luigi, something deep and dark. Perhaps she'll get him thinking if she can strike that perfect note.

"I know about the things Mario said to you, Luigi," Peach mentioned, "About how all you'll ever be is the sidekick. I bet he never lied about that, huh?"

"W-what are you talking about?" Luigi gasped in disbelief.

"You know what I'm talking about. Around him, all you are is the Sidekick. Number Two. Punching Bag. If you follow Mario, you'll be just that."

"That's not true!" Luigi shouted, "Now stop attacking Mario!"

"That's all you'll ever be, if you follow him," Peach repeats, this time in a sad voice, "It's a shame you have to give all your talent up-"

"Stop! Now!"

"He uses that to his advantage, just to get you on his side. No one will know your name, you'll be a useless little barnacle around him. Do you really want that?"

"Stop!"

"Mario doesn't have the right to treat his brother the way he does. The thrashings, the-"

"STOP!" Luigi shouted, picking up the guard table before throwing it at Peach. Seeing the object fly towards her, Peach jumps back, slamming her back against the wall and winces as she sits down and cowers, "Stop with your concerns! Mario cares about me, that's all you need to know! Now sit and act like my prisoner!"

Luigi picks the keys up from the floor and dashes out of the dungeon. Bowser blinks both in confusion and in shock over the situation, while Peach attempts to settle her racing heart. She couldn't believe she said those things to Luigi, and she's disappointed in herself for it, but she also couldn't believe his reaction to the whole thing. While Mario was up and ready to conquer any threatening foe, Luigi's always been meek and gentle, not desiring the extermination of Bowser's minions unlike his older brother. Mario wanted vengeance; Luigi wanted peace. Peach loved that about him, yet she targeted that very trait.

"Wow…" Bowser managed to utter words about his bout of surprise, "I… Err, never seen that coming, especially from you."

"Honestly, I… I didn't either."

Both prisoners silence their speech as another figure walks downstairs, this time sporting an orange dress rather than green-and-blue overalls. With a concerned look, the figure approaches Peach.

"Daisy…"

"Peach?" Daisy acknowledged, "I heard shouts down here. What did you say to Luigi?"

Peach sighs before explaining, "The truth. You know, between him and Mario, and the… Verbal abuse."

Daisy shakes her head as Peach explained, "Not a smart move with him. Luigi cares a lot about his brother. Anything against Mario, he tends to freak out over, even when Mario deserves such criticism. I can't blame him, y'know? That sibling bond's deeper than either of us will know, us being from only-child families. Those two been through everything together, with only each other to survive on."

"So I see," Peach shivers at the encounter just minutes prior before she puts two and two together, "Wait a minute. Daisy, why are you here?"

"Hah! I can't guard my own prisoner without being interrogated?" Daisy questioned rhetorically before explaining, "Do you want the truth?"

"Sort of, yes."

"Well…" Daisy continued, "I'm not a fan of Mario. Not at all. I only followed his plan to 'kidnap' you two and bring you here to get us here. We need to see King Fret before the Big Three gets set up."

"'Big three'?" Peach questioned, "Sarasaland's involved also?"

"Unfortunately, yes, and we're fighting on Mario's side. Although I rule over Sarasaland's domestic policies, in war matters like this, I can only represent Chai, and we vote last. Since Birabuto, Muda and Easton all voted for war against the Koopas, I didn't have to, resulting in Mario still thinking I'm on his side."

"Well…" Peach hesitated, "I wish you told me all about this at the library or some other place."

"I couldn't. I was monitored there," Daisy moaned, "I wish I could, but I was supposed to 'corrupt' you with the Koopa stuff to get you arrested and… Well, I'm sorry for all that."

Peach didn't know what to think now. Just minutes ago, she would've considered Daisy a threat, but now that she told her side of the story, Peach questions her judgment.

"So, I know it's so soon after betrayal and all," Daisy replied, holding her hand out to Peach, "But… Best friends again?"

Peach first looks at Daisy's hand, then at Daisy before replying, "I don't know Daisy, I'm just making everything out of this mess."

"I understand. I've been a bad friend; I should've told you all about this earlier," Daisy apologized.

Peach smiles before reaching out her arm and shaking hands with Daisy. "I don't know if I can trust you in the same way for a while, but I'm willing to try. Friends."

After the shake, Daisy nods and replies, "No worries, I understand."

"Aww, that's so cute and all," Bowser mocked from his side of the cell, "But can we get out?"

"Bowser," Daisy sighed, "Hang tight in there, turtle dude. I'm gonna talk to Luigi about this whole thing once he cools down. Hopefully he'll also join in with us three."

Without another spoken word, Daisy walks up the stairs, and much like Peach's hopes, rises out of the dungeon.

Just miles from Kastle Koopa rests Caldera, the go-to area of civilization in an otherwise tribalistic Dark Land. Although Caldera prefers modernism and the world community over the nationalistic ideas of the Royal Family, the city's also a key area of support for Bowser's regime, both during and after Dark Land's civil war, due to Bowser allowing Caldera more autonomy. Any time Dark Land's vulnerable to foreign powers, the Caldera residents flock in droves to join the Koopa Troop, despite the city's reputation of desiring stronger economic relations with the Mushroom Kingdom and the world.

As such, both Roy and Wendy hope this situation will be no exception as they seek out Koopa Troop draftees in Dark Land's largest city.

The two Koopalings, leading a bus convoy in a gray, drybones-themed bus, drive down Caldera's busy Main Street. Recognizing the convoy's purposes, the residents scamper; some eager to board, while others flee the scene.

With Wendy at the wheel and shifting the gears into park, Roy opens the entrance doors and grabs the communicator for the buses' outside megaphone system.

"Quit yer slackin' and start yer packin'! We need you for da war effort of protecting da Homeland!" Roy called out through the buses' megaphone system. Within minutes, hundreds of able-bodied baddies, mostly males with qualified female draftees speckled here and there, form a line before the bus, draft cards and duffel bags in hand.

Needing the check each citizen's draft cards, Roy exits the bus, Wendy not far behind him.

"I guess people got the memo we sent out earlier," Wendy marveled, "They're totally prepared after only a few hours' notice.

"Yep," Roy stated as he reads over a paratroopa's card and points towards the bus at the end of the convoy line, a bored expression implanted on his face.

Wendy aids Roy in his duty, although signaling her draftees to board her bus at the front of the convoy.

"You don't seem excited."

Roy looks up from his draftee's card before giving his sister a glare.

"'Course I ain't excited, genius. Ya think I really want war?" Roy growled, "Growin' up, I didn't know who I was 'cus of war. I like fighting. I even like battles. But I hate war's effects."

"Huh..." Wendy acknowledged, "Never thought about that."

"Yeah. Hard knock life, ain't it?" Roy grumbled.

"I thought it was about Luigi-" Wendy stated before her brother interrupts.

"You don't EVER mention that name," Roy snarled, "Capiche?"

"So it's so..." Wendy muttered under her breath, her words silent enough for Roy to not notice.

The duo remains silent as they check each underling's draft card and direct them to the appropriate bus. Despite the caravan filling up, the surrounding crowd's size remains relentless, although the draftees appear less enthused than before.

"I can't go! I'll miss Remembrance! It's important in my belief system!" a koopa troopa cried as Roy checks his draft card.

"Yeah yeah, and I'll be missin' Monday's football game. We can't always get what we want. Get on da bus," Roy retorted.

As the koopa troopa grumbles and boards the bus, Wendy glares at her older brother.

"Roy. I know you don't do religion, but you can at least respect our family's Darklandian beliefs, jerk."

"Who said I didn't?" Roy fired back, "Dey can practice whatever belief dey want, but civic duties come first. Besides, I'm sure dey'll be forgiven by whatever thing dey believe in for fightin' for a Land where dey're free to practice dat stuff."

"Whatever, dude."

As the hours dwindled, so did the crowd size, until Wendy directs the last draftee towards the middle bus. With the caravan at capacity, Wendy gives Roy a thumbs up before boarding the first bus. Following his sister's lead, the buff koopaling also boards and grabs the megaphone system's communicator.

"Your units will be da same units youse been trainin' with during your trainin' summers. Get to da barracks and check your stuff. We take off first thing tomorrow," the koopaling announces to the now-initiated soldiers. Putting the gears into drive, Wendy then leads the convoy towards the Castle.

"Wrench."

Ludwig groans as he puts down his hammer and pulls out the wrench toolkit, where numerous wrench sizes greet him.

"Size?"

"38mm," Iggy replied from beneath Wendy's jack-lifted doomship. Ludwig digs for the wrench in question until he spots the mid-sized wrench. He hands it to Iggy, who then tightens a nut on the doomship's engine.

"You know, Ignatius," Ludwig started as he hammers a portion of the doomship's wooden frame onto a thick sheet of metal covering the doomship's skeleton, "I'm not confident in ze ability of zis vanadium steel. I notice more fuel usage in mine, and I have ze vanadium."

"Vanadium steel's all we got because we don't have titanium! Aluminum's too flimsy in situations like war! We gotta make use of what we have!" Iggy exclaimed in a near-annoyed tone before adding, "29mm wrench."

"It's just," Ludwig replied as he hands Iggy the wrench, "Vanadium steel's twice ze density of titanium, vhich means more fuel usage. Ve could use a whole ten times ze amount of fuel."

"It's not ten times!" Iggy exclaimed, "Vanadium steel, laced with chromium which we have, is 7.8 grams per cubic centimeter, while titanium's 4.5 grams per cubic centimeter and aluminum's 2.7 grams per cubic centimeter. Vanadium steel's less than double that of titanium, man! Sure, we'll have more weight, but not as much as you'd think. The average current weight of an empty aluminum-based doomship right now is 39,006 kilograms, and 15,039 kilograms of it comes from the 557 square meters of aluminum used. Replace it with vanadium steel and the total weight of an empty doomship comes out to be 67,413 kilograms. What does that mean? I'll tell you! Usually fuel usage and weight go hand-in-hand, so since we have a 73 percent increase of weight, we'd have a 73 percent extra fuel usage at take-off. That's the MAXIMUM, too! 73 percent is nowhere near ten times as much fuel! Now pass me the welding torch!"

"Ze idea of hyperbole just leaped over your cranium, did it not, Ignatius?" Ludwig stated as he hands Iggy a welding torch and a welding mask. In haste, the inventor slips on the mask and torches two pieces of vanadium steel together.

"Hyperbole's a dangerous concept in science, Luddy bud! Keep that humanities gobbledegook out of here!"

"Vhatever. You need a sense of humor; it lights up everyzing."

"Yeah yeah, whatever Lud," Iggy sighed, "Chainsaw, please."

"Pardon? Vhy do you need vun of zose, Ignatius?"

"Just get me one! I need it to remove these stripped bolts!"

"Okay, okay!"

Ludwig grabs a chainsaw and places it by Iggy. Sighting the chainsaw, the inventor bursts out laughing.

"Vhat?"

"You... Heh heh heh... You SERIOUSLY brought me a chainsaw?! Hahahaha!" Iggy guffawed, "You don't use a chainsaw to remove stripped bolts! You use a rotary tool, silly goose! Now get me one!"

"Tell me zat next time!" Ludwig growled.

"You need a sense of humor; it lights up everything," Iggy does a high-pitched mimicry of Ludwig's voice, "Gotcha!"

"Vell-pulled. I lured myself into zat vun, did I not?" the eldest koopa groaned, "Vhat ships do ve have left?"

"Just mine. We should get the servants to move Lemmy's and Dad's doomships outside so Morton and Lemmy can load 'em up. Speaking of, this one should almost be done."

"I'm glad ve're making progress. Unfortunately, zat means I'm closer to having to deal with two boneheads over ze ocean."

"C'mon Lug, they can't be THAT bad."

"Yes, zey are. Did you see what zey did to us? Zey razzer have us fail zan have me be successful; just look at vhat zey did vith Peach's kidnapping. Roy has confidence issues, and Morton's too much of a follower of him; zey'd mess up anything to coddle zeir insecurities."

"Good point," Iggy nods as he pushes himself from underneath the doom ship and pulls off his dirtied latex gloves, "I'm not too excited dealing with Wendy either. But we need to abandon those feelings and just get this done. This is your future kingdom."

"Zat's true... But I'm still lacking high hopes. Zey both screwed up at least a zousand missions."

"37 missions," Iggy corrected, "But that doesn't count Morton throwing Larry at you instead of at Mario. He just always claimed that was an accident. He would've bragged about it, so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt."

"Again, you don't grasp ze understanding of hyperbole, do you not, Ignatius?"

"Again! Literature skills are useless in the field of discovery, and humanities and 'social sciences' are all fake science! That's all it is! If even I say that, you know that it is! But just let go of Morton and Roy, guy, and just hope for the best!" Iggy advised, "Think that's Wendy's doomship done. We just have Dad's to do."

"Ze other mechanics should've already made basic upgrades on ze follower doomships. Zey're not terribly happy about zeir annual leave cut short, but ve need to do vhat is necessary."

"It happens, sadly. Now, let's get Dad's doomship here!"

"C'mon, pipsqueak! Work those muscles!"

Lemmy sighs as Morton speeds past him, two large pharmaceutical boxes in his arms. Being an organizer and not as capable concerning physical strength, the small koopaling's more comfortable with checking off the supplies rather than loading. He figured he'll do that duty, while Morton does the heavylifting, although his younger brother fails to notice the strategy of splitting work.

"I'm the organizer!"

"That's codeword for being lazy, yeah?" Morton grunted, "Making me do all the work, ay?"

"It's my job to organize! Not carry stuff!" Lemmy argued as he enters Ludwig's doomship, checklist in hand. He hears Morton complaining about how the entire fleet depends solely on his strength and not on the tidiness of little punks, but Lemmy rolls his eyes at such ramblings as he goes through the list, "Morton! Ludwig just need two more carts of food, one of water and a barrel of gunpowder."

The grey-shelled koopaling groans as he stomps towards the kitchen. Snickering, Lemmy leaves Ludwig's doomship, where he spots the convoy of soldiers arriving at the castle's barracks. He spots Wendy heading towards the castle's main doors not long after – he assumes to get more rest – before also sighting Roy walking towards him.

"Circus freak!" the large koopaling confronted, "How's da progress?"

"We still need your ship, your fleet's, Ludwig and his fleet's, Dad's and Wendy's. Help us, please Roy!" Lemmy cried.

"Uhh... I would, but, y'know..." Roy looked at his wrist as if he wore a watch, "Would ya look at da time! Gotta take a raincheck, pal. I gotta... Uhh, wash my hair. Yeah, dat's it!"

"Hair?" Lemmy questioned before he puts two and two together. Knowing well how to deal with one of the many Royisms, Lemmy smirks, "Morton said he's better at hauling boxes than you are!"

"What?! Why dat tub o' lard!" Roy exclaimed as he storms towards the kitchen, "Dat's a buncha hooey! I'll show dat lil punk!"

Lemmy grins before following Roy to the kitchen, also needing to check on the leftover supplies and whether he needs to alert the farmers, pharmacists or the medical staff. As he enters, he spots Morton surveying a case of water, while Roy attempts to hoist four from the ground.

"Geez, takin' it easy, Gramps?" Roy marveled at Morton as he carries his box stack and struts towards his doomship, "Dis is how you do it, bro."

Morton rolls his eyes before picking up a single case of water and heads towards Ludwig's doomship.

"I'll never understand them, but that's just fine!" Lemmy giggles to himself as he observes four towering stacks of food and water bottles before him, "Umm... The water supply should be good. Food's good..."

Needing to check the leftover pharmaceutical supplies, Lemmy journeys towards the clinic on the east wing of the castle. On a keypad by a steel door within the clinic, the small koopaling enters a password and does a retinal scan – the room's secured by Bowser, the four elder Koopalings, Kamek and Kammy to make sure certain minions don't have terrible intentions with the more potent prescriptions. Satisfied with the inputted credentials, the durable door slides open, revealing a slew of shelved and boxed medicines cooled by a frosty mist shooting from the ceiling. A sucker for cold weather, Lemmy grins at the room's frigid temperature before browsing his list.

"Aspirin, nitroglycerin, morphine, acetaminophen, amoxicillin, hydrocodone, ibuprofen," Lemmy read before grabbing each of the drugs and deposits them in several trays, "Aloe vera, diphenhydramine, hydrocortisone, epinephrine, wound dressings... Uhh, should be it."

With each tray containing each vital medicine, Lemmy puts them on a cart shoved in the back corner of the room, then pushes the cart towards the kitchen. Rounding the corner, Lemmy gapes when he spots the formerly-packed kitchen, now empty of supplies. Roy and Morton must've outperformed the other with some ridiculous box-carrying, doomship-loading contest.

"Geez, what are you doing? Taking the whole damn kitchen?" Lemmy hears Morton shout. Intrigued, Lemmy pushes the cart of trays towards the doomships, where he spots Morton and Roy arguing with each other. Lemmy shakes his head at his younger brothers; they always break out in some sort of conflict just to have fun. It may be their strange way of showing affection towards each other, but he's never sure.

"Naw, Morty, ya never know when ya's gonna be hungry, us growin' men gotta eat," Roy rebutted, "Plus, look at my dudes. Dey're like, all buff and stuff. Dey need lotsa food."

"Yeah, because the people on that one totally need over a hundred kilos of rice, an entire freezer of steaks and six months' supply of Kahlua for a mission that takes maybe a week at most," Morton objected, voice dripping with sarcasm. However, Roy appears immune to such backtalk.

"I'm glad you feel me, lil' bro. Come over here Morty!" Roy thanked before wrapping his arm around Morton's neck and tries giving Morton a noogie, in which the younger koopaling avoids. Morton glares at the pink-clad koopaling. Neither pay mind to Lemmy, who stands by the two, snickering.

"To be fair, we COULD be gone for a while," Lemmy stated, resulting in a grin from Roy, "And your ship's good to go, so who's the greedy one, Morton?"

"Stay out of this, Lemmy. You're more of a drag than any of this cargo," Morton seethed.

"Says da one takin' one box out at a time?" Roy defended, "You're a joke, Big Mouth! At least he uses a cart to make less trips!"

'Fewer,' Lemmy corrected Roy in his head – he must hang around Iggy too much – but with Roy supporting him, Lemmy doesn't mention it out loud.

"You don't have to worry about me though, lil bro!"

"You're the last person we need to worry about right now…" Morton sighed

"I'm pretty sure that's why he said that," Lemmy smirked as Roy gives him a highfive.

"See? Lem understands!"

"Fine," Morton conceded, "Keep your stupid food. I don't care anymore."

As Morton stomps towards the castle, Roy turns towards Lemmy and smirks.

"Say, lil' big bro, you're almost as good at sarcasm and smacktalk as me," Roy complimented, "Maybe you do have hope after all."

Before Lemmy can reply, Roy dashes towards the castle, perhaps in a hurry to hunt Morton down. Lemmy looks at the tray of pharmaceuticals and sighs.

It looks like he's alone in depositing those into each ship.

Larry sighs as he stands outside Kamek's laboratory, organizing his spy equipment in his shell. Knowing every hideout and safe zone of the Mushroom Kingdom, Larry's confident in his part of the plan. He'll have no trouble infiltrating the Royal Fleet from the inside.

However, that confidence doesn't extend to his siblings. Even with Kamek and Kammy present, each group has its bad blood.

Lemmy, Wendy and Iggy... None of the three formed and executed plans during wartime; out of the seven, Ludwig's the planner and Roy's the executor. Instead, three inexperienced commanders lead the charge on conquering the Mushroom Kingdom's most populous land. Larry hopes he's wrong, but the fight will get ugly.

Ludwig, Roy and Morton's task, however, will be worse – not because of their inexperience, but due to their disdain for each other. Larry never understood why Ludwig and Roy despise each other or how their rabid anger for the other originated, but the spy likes them both. Ludwig always provides Larry stability and a father-like love whenever Bowser's unavailable, while Roy entertains Larry's mischievous side that the sneak loves expressing. Whenever he sees the two at each other's necks, it hurts the youngest; he doesn't want to pledge loyalty to either at the expense of the other when both sculpted the present-day Larry Koopa.

He hopes Ludwig and Roy will cooperate with each other for the kingdom's safety, but from past experiences, Larry's concerned that such a feat may be unachievable.

Larry doesn't know what Kamek and Kammy were thinking when they made such partnerships, but the youngest has faith in the two elders. They know what they're doing, or so he hoped.

Satisfied with the spy equipment's current state, Larry knocks on the laboratory door, in which Kamek opens just a second later.

"Master Lawrence," the blue-robed magikoopa acknowledged, "We've been expecting you. Come in."

Larry follows Kamek into the magikoopas' laboratory. Unlike last night, Larry focuses on the surroundings; despite the floor's cleanliness, the tables housing the computers have countless documents scattered across them. At one of the computers, Kammy types in information while Kamek seats himself at his own computer.

"I created a simulation of our plan," Kamek continued as he launches a program and clicks on a few buttons, "Here's what Peach's Castle looks like."

The program shows multiple security systems, installed by Mario's goons just yesterday, installed and activated. Every window's now connected to the alarm, while dirt mounds smother the tunnels – Larry's favorite method of sneaking into the castle.

"Okay, so there's security. I can easily bypass it," Larry replied.

"Please don't stow these occurrences as if they're nothing, Master Lawrence," Kamek warned, "This isn't just a regular system."

"Not regular?" Larry inquired, "How?"

"I detect a strong magical signature here. We're not dealing with a regular takeover, Master Lawrence. This is a powerful sorcerer. This isn't just a user of Light magic or Elemental magic; they're using all-unleashed Spirit magic. This is something that Mario cannot do on his own."

"Spirit magic? Isn't that what you and Kammy know?"

"Precisely, Master Lawrence, and that's the problem," Kamek sighed, "Only the most mentally capable can handle Spirit magic; it's extremely corrupting to the mind if you don't have experience with using it. Even Kammy and I rarely use Spirit magic outside of necromancy; I can count on one hand the amount of times I did in my life. It's too corruptive and risky."

"Well... What's the best way to deal with this?"

"The best way to defeat magic is with magic, Master Lawrence."

"... Okay? What do you mean?"

"Let me explain it this way for you," Kamek started, "If you have a force present, another force can either amplify it or cancel it out. In magic, we have the same thing. Magic is a force; that's all it is. Magic doesn't create energy or matter. It manipulates what's already present, even if it's in the seventh dimension. Because magic is quite diverse, we split their spells into four categories: Light magic, Elemental magic, Spirit magic, and Cosmic magic."

"So... What defeats Spirit magic?" Larry asked.

"Light magic," Kamek answered, "It's the magic that comes naturally for Koopas. It's the beams of light you shoot. It's the knowledge and power that comes with Light magic. Unfortunately, Light magic is weak to Elemental magic, which is the main type of magic used in the Mushroom Kingdom. This sorcerer conquering the Mushroom Kingdom wants to make sure that we don't win."

"Okaaay," Larry drawled, "What should I do to get into Peach's castle then? And what's our plan?"

"I was just getting to that," Kamek replied, "Make sure to never use magic there; magic leaves a signature behind, and I'm confident that this sorcerer can sense it, manipulate it, and even pinpoint your exact location with it. Instead, find another way to infiltrate the castle. Think of a Trojan horse strategy."

"Is that it?" Larry inquired.

"That is it. Please be careful, Master Lawrence. See if you can find what this artefact is, or at least manipulate the Kingdom from the inside."

Larry nods as he leaves the room, already brainstorming possible ways to get inside Peach's castle. He's uncertain about the whole deal concerning magic, but if Kamek's correct – the youngest believes him with every ounce of his being – he must be careful.

Luigi wasn't in his chambers, resulting in Daisy pacing around her chambers in the castle, bored out of her mind. She dislikes this fortress with all her being; there's nothing to do. No people to play sports with, no television to watch, nothing to read. Any hint of fun doesn't exist in this dark, dreary castle, and she can't wait to leave it. Of course, she has Peach in the dungeon, but anyone else in the castle will find out about her befriending Peach again if she keeps visiting her.

Daisy lets out a huge sigh. Why couldn't she see this coming sooner? She could've prevented Sarasaland from getting involved, but she didn't. She couldn't. Fate just wants to make everything around her to become her hell, and she didn't enjoy it one bit.

Her thoughts broke up when she hears knocking on her door followed by a familiar voice calling her name. Still depressed by her many thoughts, Daisy opens the door with a grim look before giving the visitor a little smile.

Luigi. Maybe she can persuade him now.

"Hey Weeg," she waves, her smile growing with every passing second, "What brings ya here?"

"Uhh, well, I was wondering if you were hungry. There's some mushroom salad with piranha plant leaves in the kitchen. It's your favorite so I was just wondering."

Daisy shakes her head. The last thing she wants to do is have dinner with several other pro-Mario people. Everything she does will be fishy to them. Plus, she can't stomach food at the moment; this entire ploy's making her sick. All she desires is escape from this citadel; much like Peach, Daisy only feels like a prisoner here.

"No."

"Daisy," Luigi voiced concern, "I'm worried. You haven't been eating much."

"There comes a point where you just can't stomach much food anymore," Daisy sighed before inviting Luigi into her room and continuing on, "Don't you miss our old lives, Luigi? Where me, you, Peach and Mario all got along-"

"Those days are over."

Luigi dismissed the topic as quick as it came, and such actions concern Daisy even more. He wasn't in for it; at least not now. Unless she convinces him in another way.

"I'm just worried…" Daisy sighed, "It's just that, Mario's been acting weird over the past week."

"So what?" Luigi fired back, "He has the thoughts of the Mushroom Kingdom in everything he does."

Ten, five, two years ago she would've agreed. Even two months ago she would've admitted Mario's aegis towards the Mushroom Kingdom. But ever since his marriage to Peach, Daisy only gets odd, terrible vibes from Mario. No matter how hard she tries burying such feelings, they always sprout back up.

"Weeg, look at what he's doing. He's starting up a full-blown war with the Koopa Kingdom! I know they aren't the best people on the other side of the Mushroom Sea, but you gotta understand…" Daisy sighs before continuing on, "The Koopa Kingdom's only there to test a prophecy!"

"Mario prevents them from taking over! The Koopas are still evil!" Luigi protested, although deep down, a former friendship with a koopa from his previous life makes him regret the statement, to some degree.

"He does, but don't you see how far he takes it?" Daisy shouts back, "How many families do you think lost a son, a daughter, a brother or a sister because of this unrest?! And all we do is glorify each other's murders! That's one reason why takeovers keep happening, and it needs to stop!"

Luigi stares at Daisy, a scared expression manifesting itself in his eyes. Daisy knows he's sensitive to such subjects, but at the same time, she knows how immensely loyal he is to his brother. With the sensitivity ripped open, she must now calm down and appeal to the loyalty aspect of him.

"I'm sorry, Weeg," Daisy sighed, "It's just… I don't like violence. Not fatal violence. Sure, Bowser's actions are absolutely despicable and Mario's rescue missions of Peach are great for peace, but Mario takes it wayyyyy too far. I just don't want you to end up the same way. You're Luigi; my Weeg. I don't want Mario's personality nor his traits. I want yours. And I'm afraid you'll turn like him in dealing with issues like this. You also have your sets of valuable skills, but, it's the same thing. I'm scared that those will go to waste also. Be a hero, but be the Luigi everyone will know and love, not the Mario wannabe who stands in the shadow of his big brother."

Luigi remains quiet, pondering over what Daisy mentioned. Was this all true? He always heard Mario's side of things, or in other words, Luigi's the same as him, sans the courage, and he must have vengeance in his mind in order to be successful. He never thought once about how others felt about him, and honestly, that boosts his confidence.

"You're right," Luigi nods, "I care about Mario, but I also care about you. A lot. I wouldn't be able to survive a day in this depressing castle without you here."

Daisy smiles as she puts a hand on Luigi's thigh, causing the plumber to blush.

"Thank you so much, Weeg! You make life bearable here, but we need to move on. From the castle, that is. So please, come with us!"

"'Us'?" Luigi questioned, unaware of anyone else wanting to rebel with them.

"Me, Peach and Bowser, silly! We're gonna right our wrongs!"

Luigi once again hesitates, but just as he promised, he'll stick to Daisy's side, but with one condition.

"I'll join, but please don't talk about Mario like he's evil," Luigi paused in embarrassment, "I still, uhh, love my brother. It's something I can't just break. I want the best for him and, let's be honest, what he's doing right now is, uhh, far from it. I know this isn't something that he signed up for; he loved Peach too much to take this lightly. Or even with only his own thoughts; something's threatening him, or haunting him. I want my normal brother back, and if that requires joining you three, then I'm willing to go."

Daisy smiles as she gives Luigi a little hug, "I'm so proud of you!"

Luigi blushes as Daisy pulls away from the hug before mentioning, "What should we do now?"

"Glad you asked. For this next part, get a large bag and stuff it with food. I'll also need those keys to the prison cells that you've been holding onto."

End of Shard II: Revelations