Hey y'all, welcome back! Last chapter saw Daisy getting ready for her royal wedding and getting to know Tatanga's attendants. In this chapter we see what's going on with our favourite set of plumbers - you'd be surprised how closeby they are ;) also in this chapter I make up a name for Daisy's parents just because I can't seem to find their names anywhere. I also know canonically that Daisy is the ruler of Sarasaland in its entirety but for the sake of this story I have her parents as the rulers and her as the next in line to the throne. And just for the sake of consistency, I won't be typing out Mario & Luigi's dialogue like-a this lol. Enjoy!
Earlier that day
Luigi woke suddenly to the sound of pounding against the door of his hotel room. "LUIGI! Wake up! We've got a situation!" The unmistakable sound of Mario's voice carried into his room.
Luigi tossed on the monogrammed Chai Inn robe and answered the door to find Mario and Peach outside, white as ghosts. "What's going on?" Luigi asked them, starting to feel nervous himself. "Well, I think we're still in Sarasaland, but uh… also not? It's hard to explain, just follow us."
Luigi followed the couple down the hall to a large bay window and peered out. Now he understood what Mario said - he saw Sarasaland as it had been before he went to bed, but where he should have seen the barren outskirts of the Mushroom Kingdom he instead saw lush greenery and a looming marble palace in the distance. What the hell? Luigi had been to Sarasaland hundreds of times and not seen this castle - what had happened? Were they still in Sarasaland? What was on the outside of this territory? Why were there so many trees? Did they grow overnight? Was Sarasaland displaced maybe? Questions whirled around in his head. Did Daisy know about this?
Oh shit, Daisy! Luigi, Mario, and Peach had been at her palace for dinner the night before and had had a few drinks late into the night, so when they left for home they ended up just checking in at the Chai Inn, intending to travel back home in the morning. But Daisy was still at the palace and he couldn't see the palace from here. Mario stared out the window, confused. Peach turned to Luigi. "I hope Daisy is okay! Maybe we should go check on her."
"I was just thinking the same thing, Peach. Let's go get changed and checked out and reconvene in the foyer in 15 minutes, we'll go together." Mario and Peach scuttled back to their room, and Luigi went back to his room to get changed and pack up his things, his mind clouded with worry for Daisy. He knew she could usually handle herself but he had no idea what was going on, they could be up against anything.
The three met up in the foyer and trekked out together, walking towards the palace. From what Luigi could see, it seemed untouched, but there appeared to be plenty of people flowing in and out of the doors, which seemed odd. "Isn't the palace pretty strict about guests?" Mario asked, also observing the high amount of visitors. "Yeah, Daisy's father is super strict about who comes and who goes, usually Daisy has to run guests by him before they can come over," Luigi replied. As they approached, Luigi noticed the purple complexion of a few of the people going in and out of the palace. He stopped in his tracks, his heart sinking.
Mario sensed his brother's pace slowing and turned to him. Luigi looked like he had just seen a ghost. "What's wrong, Luigi? What's up?" Luigi pointed to the purple visitors. "Look familiar?" While Mario had been the one to save Daisy from Tatanga a few years ago, he made sure to know what he looked like in case he ever came back for round two, and these creatures had to be related somehow - who else would have the complexion of a plum? Mario bristled. "Shit. Don't tell me those are Tatanga's cronies. We should get in there now while those guys leave."
The three ran up to the palace doors once the few men were on their way out. They were carrying boxes of things out into a truck, and they drove off once they filled it. Once they got to the doors they let themselves in. "Alright, I'm going to head to Daisy's room and check on her, you guys see if you can find her parents or any employees," Luigi instructed.
He took off upstairs to her room and opened the door. He was hit by a breeze, and noticed the window open, curtains swaying gently. His heart sank when he saw the empty bed, and when he saw the boot print that had been left in the dirt from the plant Luigi had knocked off her nightstand the night before - she insisted that she'd clean it up, as he was on his way out, but she must have forgotten and just gone to bed beforehand. He scanned the room for anything else amiss - maybe she had gotten up and was still in the palace somewhere, and maybe that bootprint was one of those mover guys. He saw that some of her favourite plants were missing, as well as most of her clothes and some other personal items. He wondered about the other palace they had seen looming in the distance from the inn. He had no doubt now that Daisy had in fact been captured, and he suspected that the palace had something to do with Tatanga.
He rushed back out to find Peach and Mario consoling a miserable looking King Darius, Daisy's father who never really seemed to approve of Luigi, at least not as a romantic partner for his daughter. He seemed to like him just fine as a person but was always in Daisy's ear about new suitors. "I don't know where she is, or when it happened, and now there's all these guys coming in and out with moving boxes and taking her things and we just don't have the security to keep them out!" Darius fretted. Luigi came over and extended his hand to Darius for a quick shake, which he accepted. "Luigi! Good to see you. What did you find? Peach and Mario told me you did some investigating in Daisy's room. I knocked on her door this morning and she didn't respond; she's a light sleeper so she would have woken up plus she's usually up pretty early anyhow but I haven't seen her anywhere!" He wrung his hands with worry.
Luigi shivered, having his suspicions be affirmed. "Well, the window was open wide enough for someone to get in, and the plant I knocked over last night hadn't been cleaned up and there was a boot print in the dirt. It also looks like most of Daisy's personal items are gone, clothes and plants and some other things." Darius lowered his head. "This is all my fault, I should have started posting a guard outside her room after the whole Tatanga thing happened."
"Well sir, this might be another Tatanga thing." Mario described Tatanga from when he had first encountered him, and his resemblance to the movers they had seen. Peach chimed in with a description of the palace they had seen in the distance. Luigi let their accounts wash over him while he puzzled about what could have happened, then it dawned on him. "Guys," he started, "what if we've been… displaced, somehow? What if Sarasaland has been moved to Tatanga's home planet? That would explain why we can't see the Mushroom Kingdom and why there's another palace not far from here that we haven't seen before."
Mario stroked his chin while he considered this possibility. "Well, we better go investigate. That palace looks like it might be a few days' trek from here by foot." Darius shook his head. "I have some modified karts for all terrain that we use for travel sometimes, with storage, multiple seating, and covers. You guys can take some, it should cut the trip in half." Luigi shook his head. "Thank you so much for the offer, but the forest that separates us from the new palace is too thick for karts. I think we'll have to go on foot either way."
Darius frowned, knowing he probably wouldn't see his daughter again in probably about a week, at least. Just then, a Toad came rushing up to them, looking panicked. "Your highness, you must come see! Mario, Luigi, Peach, you as well!"
"What's going on? Darius asked as the 4 followed Toad down the hall into a sitting room. "The news, we're receiving a new local news station!" He turned up the volume on the TV that was there and gestured for them to look. Luigi froze. It was a broadcast of a royal procession that looked like it had just started. He saw an all-too-familiar looking spaceship, and three figures descending from it. The one in front announced "Ladies and gentlemen, may I present your king, Tatanga, and his bride-to-be, Princess Daisy of Sarasaland!" to a crowd of people. The first figure fell behind and revealed Tatanga, the power hungry alien, and Daisy, arm in arm with him. The camera panned to reveal the palace they had seen in the distance, Daisy and Tatanga walking towards it. Had she been hypnotized? Why wasn't she trying to escape from him? Luigi clenched his fists when Tatanga and Daisy shared a passionate embrace before entering the palace. The group just stood in shock, trying to apprehend what they had just seen.
Mario turned to address the group. "Well, at least we know where she is." Darius regained his composure. "I will prepare you three some supplies for your journey. Peach, feel free to borrow some of Daisy's clothing for your trip, she's got some overalls and things she wears when she gardens which might be more comfortable than your gown." He turned to Luigi and clasped his hand in his. "Please, bring back my daughter safely. I know I have been hard on you about your relationship with my daughter - I have just always wanted her to marry someone who can protect her, and many young suitors come from powerful kingdoms with tons of security. But if you can bring her back safely, I will know that you will keep her safe, and I will give you my blessing." Luigi's eyes widened. Now was his chance to prove himself. He bowed to Darius. "I won't let you down, sir." Peach dashed off to Daisy's room to get changed, and Darius scuttled off to gather their supplies and brought them some bags of food, water, power-ups and a tent, should they be unable to find shelter at any point on their trek.
Mario looked at Luigi and Peach. "Well, we better get going! We'll bring her back Luigi, don't worry."
Thank you for tuning in! I think next chapter is going to be another one surrounding this trio. As always, let me know what you think!