(A/N: In the last two chapters, we focused more on Peach, and I'm sorry about that! As I told you at the end of Chapter 4, we're going to go back to Mario and see what's up for him! Let's-a go!)


The Mushroom Kingdom's skies were still dark when Mario sat up in bed, waking up from a dreamless sleep. He realized that he must have fallen asleep if he was waking up.

"Mama-mia. I wondered if I was going to get any sleep at all. What time is it?" Mario said to himself as he turned to look at the digital alarm clock on his bedside table. It was 5:30 a.m.

"Is it really that early? Well, I guess it's-a not too bad. I do want to get an early start on getting to the castle to talk to mia dolce principessa, my sweet princess, and give her an apology for everything. I just hope she's willing to listen to me, 'cause I'll listen to her side, too. I'm more than willing." Mario thought as he turned on the lamp on the nightstand and began to get out of bed.

As he moved, he noticed something at the foot of the bed, and he saw Polterpup lying there, fast asleep. At first, Mario was wondering what the dog was doing in his room, on his bed, because to his knowledge, Polterpup had been sleeping in Luigi's room every night since Luigi adopted him.

"Oh right..." Mario remembered. The dog had come to his room last night and tried lavishing him with doggie kisses, but Mario hadn't been in the mood for it. He still didn't feel up for that, so he kept very quiet as he tiptoed over to the closet and got out a clean shirt and overalls. Then he grabbed some clean unmentionables from his dresser, opened the door to his room, turned out the light, and then left the room, closing the door behind him.


Mario slowly made his way to the bathroom door, which, to his luck, was open. He turned on the bathroom light, closed the door, grabbed a towel and washcloth from the linen closet, and turned on the shower before proceeding to strip off.

Once the water was nice and warm, Mario got in the shower and began to wash himself. After everything he had been through, he felt the need to get himself all cleaned up, something he was unable to do during his time in the Odyssey.

Whenever Mario was in the shower, he often felt like singing. But not this time. For one thing, his heart wasn't in it, and even if it was, he would've been singing something sad. Secondly, he figured Luigi was still asleep at this hour. Mario didn't want to wake his brother. Luigi would either scold him when he got out, or worse; he'd start pounding on the door, telling Mario to cut out that racket and go back to bed. He did that once, back when they still lived in an apartment in Brooklyn.

Mario knew that he needed to see Peach as soon as possible, so he washed himself as quickly as he could, then dried himself off. Then he got dressed, but not completely. His shoes and hat were still in his bedroom.

"Better check something." Mario said as he reached into the pockets of the overalls he wore the other day, making sure they were empty. Not really. He found his key to the mansion in one of the pockets, and another pocket contained his wallet, but that was all he found.

"Oops. I forgot all about having this on me." Mario said to himself as he put the key in the pocket of his clean overalls. Then he put his wallet in another pocket.

After taking yesterday's clothes and his towel downstairs to the laundry room to be washed, Mario went back up to his room to get his shoes and his hat.


By then, Polterpup was awake, and when he saw Mario turn on the lamp, the dog barked excitedly and pounced on Mario, wagging his tail furiously. The pounce ended up sending Mario to the floor on his back, and Polterpup began licking his face again.

"No, Doggy. Per favore! Please. It's-a too early for this..." Mario protested, still trying not to laugh as the dog gave him another tongue-bath. Mario was also trying to push the dog away from his face again.

The ghostly animal, sensing that Mario was still unhappy, stopped licking Mario, looking concerned.

"Bravo ragazzo. Good boy." Mario said as he sat back up, wiped his face, and put on his shoes. He looked at his hat and said, "I'll put on my hat after I brush my hair."


Now that he was pretty much dressed for the day, he went downstairs to fix himself something to eat. He thought about having something light like a cereal bar for breakfast, but then his stomach rumbled loudly, indicating that he was really hungry, and it was a reminder that he hadn't had a bite to eat since he was in the Luncheon Kingdom. A cereal bar was not going to be enough for to fill his empty stomach.

"Fine, then." Mario said. He fixed himself a bowl of Frosted Flakes, and a glass of orange juice for breakfast. He ate slowly, because he was still in emotional pain, and because he wasn't sure what time Peach was going to get up. He knew that she was an early bird, as a rule, but had she even slept last night? What if she was still asleep at this hour?

"For all I know, she probably got the full 40 winks, unlike me. I think I got only 4." Mario muttered to himself after swallowing another spoonful of the cereal.

After finishing his breakfast, he put his dishes in the sink, then went back up to the bathroom to brush his teeth and brush his hair. When that was done, he went back to his room, put on his hat, and made his bed, nice and neat. Then he grabbed his cell phone, which was all charged up after last night.

By that time, the sun was coming up. Mario figured that now was a good time to go the castle. If Peach got plenty of sleep, then perhaps she would be awake and ready to talk. That is, if she didn't mind talking to him. After the way they barely said a word to each other last night on the way home, he'd be surprised if Peach wanted to talk at all.

Then Mario made his way downstairs and was about to leave the mansion when he remembered that Luigi would probably be waking up soon. He figured he might as well let his brother know what he was up to. Since he didn't feel like telling Luigi the long, sad story, he quickly grabbed a piece of paper, wrote a short message on it with his red pen, left it on the table in the kitchen, and made his way out the door.


Seeing him leave, Polterpup made his way up to Luigi's room and decided that it was time to wake him up. He walked over to the head of the bed and started to shower his master in dog drool by licking his face.

"Okay, Doggy! Sono sveglio ora! I'm awake now!" Luigi said, laughing as he sat up in bed and patted the dog's head. The dog just looked at him, panting happily while wagging his tail.

Then Luigi remembered something.

"Wait a second. Doggy, I asked you to stay the night in Mario's room." Luigi said.

The dog barked.

"You did?" Luigi asked.

The dog nodded.

"Did Mario get up already?" Luigi asked.

The puppy replied with another bark.

"Let's-a go see." Luigi said as he got out of bed, slipping his feet into his slippers before making his way down the hall to Mario's bedroom.

Sure enough, when Luigi opened Mario's bedroom door, there was proof that Mario had gotten up. Luigi knew that Mario had been in there last night, and he could tell by how the bed was made. It wasn't made as neatly as Luigi would make it, but it was neat enough.

"Okie-dokie." said Luigi. He didn't need to check the bathroom because the door was open, a sign that no one was in there.

When he went downstairs and checked the kitchen, he saw a bowl, a spoon, and a glass in the sink.

"I guess he already ate. That means I should, too." Luigi said, but right when he was about to start fixing himself something to eat, he spotted something white sitting on the table.

"What's this?" Luigi asked as he went over and picked up the object. He found that it was a piece of paper, and on closer inspection, a note. It read:

Luigi,

I've gone to Peach's Castle. I'll be back later.

Mario

"Okay, bro. Something's eating you, and I'd like to know what." Luigi said to himself, feeling rather annoyed after he read the note. He was slightly irked that Mario decided to leave without telling him about last night's happenings, and that all he left this morning was a note that only said that he was going to Peach's Castle.


Meanwhile...

Mario was making his way to Peach's Castle, quietly singing "Don't Blame Me" by the Everly Brothers. He hoped Peach would let him explain everything. But he'd let her explain her side first, because it was only polite, and he knew about 'ladies first'.

Before long, he saw Peach's Castle in the distance.

"Okay, Mario, deep breaths. Puoi farlo. You can do this." Mario said to himself.

He walked up to the castle and was greeted by one of the Toads. The Toad looked happy enough to see Mario, but the plumber knew that something was wrong. A million thoughts ran through his head. Had Peach told the Toads what happened last night? Did she not want to see him again?

"Is something... wrong?" Mario asked the Toad nervously. He was dreading the response.

"Awful news, Mario! Princess Peach has gone missing AGAIN!" said Toad.

Mario was not expecting that answer.

"AGAIN?!" Mario asked, eyes wide.

"She packed her suitcase, happy as can be, and walked off! We can't find her anywhere. Where IS she?" asked Toad.

"Vuoi dire che è andata da qualche parte?! You mean... she's... she's gone somewhere?!" Mario asked Toad.

"Apparently!" said Toad.

"Are you sure she didn't tell you where she was going?!" Mario asked, getting frantic.

"If she did, then she wouldn't be missing, but she didn't tell anyone! Not even Toadsworth knows where she went!" Toad responded.

Mario was really upset now.

"She didn't tell Toadsworth?! But I thought he was like a father to her!... A-are you sure he doesn't know where she is, or where she's going?" Mario asked, upset.

"The Princess didn't tell him!" Toad said.

That scared Mario. Why would the Princess leave Toadsworth, and all the Toads, in the dark about where she was going? And, more importantly, it seemed Toadsworth wasn't with her this time! That wasn't right! She was never allowed to go anywhere outside of the kingdom unless Toadsworth was with her! Granted, she tended to run off from him during those trips, but still...

At that moment, a very upset Toadsworth came walking over, saying, "Master Mario, do you have any idea of where the Princess might be?!"

Mario was so upset, he couldn't bring himself to verbally answer the question. He slowly shook his head no.

"I was afraid of that." Toadsworth muttered, before saying, "Well, if you do find her, will you please call me and let me know?"

Mario nodded, too upset to speak.

"Very well. Oh, where can she be...?" Mario heard Toadsworth ask as the castle doors closed.

Mario quickly turned away from the Toads to hide the tears that started to stream down his cheeks. He had a good feeling that Peach had left the kingdom to get away from him. For all he knew, she was in another kingdom, visiting with an old suitor that she was friends with, to ask him for his hand in marriage. He started making his way towards the Odyssey, where he could cry in privacy.


Cappy had still been out on Peach's balcony when he saw Mario leaving. He was surprised that he hadn't seen Mario show up in the first place. But at least he was right about Mario showing up at the castle to look for Peach. Cappy realized that Mario looked defeated. Apparently, he was right about what Mario would think if he found out that the princess wasn't around.

"Mario, wait!" Cappy called, flying after the plumber.

Mario stopped and slightly turned his head in the direction of Cappy's voice, tears still falling down his handsome face.

Cappy caught up and noticed just how upset Mario looked. He never expected Mario to feel that upset.

"Oh no! Mario, you're not crying, are you?" Cappy asked, seeing the tears.

Mario, embarrassed, sniffled and nodded his head yes before turning his head away, trying not to cry audibly as the tears fell. He wanted to wait until he was in the Odyssey before letting it all out.

"Oh, Mario, please don't cry. I know what you're thinking, but it's okay! Peach didn't leave because she's mad at you!" Cappy said.

That did it. Mario let out a sob and covered his face with his hands. Great. Now he was crying for real... and in front of Cappy, no less!

"Stupid!" Cappy scolded himself, before saying, "Okay, let me rephrase that. Peach is not mad at you. And the reason she left has nothing to do with you at all."

"It... i-it doesn't?" Mario asked, his tears still falling.

"No. I overheard Peach and Tiara talking last night on the Odyssey while you were out on the deck. Peach suggested going on another world tour with Tiara to make up for the one Bowser took them on. And she wanted to get going A.S.A.P. That meant she wanted to set off today." said Cappy.

"Oh..." said Mario. He wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand, before asking, "Did P-Peach... tell you wh-where she... she was g-going?"

"Yes. Kind of. Well, she said that she was planning to visit Bonneton first so she could drop me off if I wished to go home. But I said I wanted to wait here for you." Cappy said.

"So I'd know what she's up to and why, right?" Mario asked with a sniffle.

"That's part of it. The other part is because... I was hoping that maybe... we could go back to those kingdoms we visited... and have some more fun?" Cappy asked. He was a little nervous about the answer Mario might give him for that suggestion.

"(sigh) I... I-I don't know, Cappy..." Mario said. His heart was sad, and he didn't feel like doing anything fun right now.

"Would you be more willing to go if I told you that I know where they did go first since I decided not to go home?" Cappy asked.

"O-okay... Where did they... g-go?" Mario asked.

"Let's go to the Odyssey, and I'll tell you when we get there." said Cappy.

After Cappy took control of Mario's hat, the pair made their way to the Odyssey.


"So, where are the girls right now?" Mario asked.

"Peach said something about going to a kingdom known as Sarasaland. We didn't go to any kingdoms with that name, did we?" Cappy asked.

"You didn't go there. But I have been there before. I know where that is." Mario said, and he set a course for Sarasaland.

"You've been to Sarasaland?! Good! What were you doing there?" Cappy asked as the Odyssey took flight.

"Peach's cousin, Daisy, lives there. I went there once to save her when her kingdom was under attack and she was kidnapped by a meek-looking purple alien named Tatanga. When I saved Daisy, she asked me to be her boyfriend, but I told her we could only be friends, because during that time... I was already courting Peach." Mario explained, feeling sad as he remembered how close he and Peach were during that time.

"So my guess is that Peach went to see Daisy and talk to her about what happened. Maybe she needed girl-talk with a girl she knows." Cappy said, turning into his Bonneter form.

"That might be it. She and Daisy may be cousins, but the bond between them would make you think they were sisters. That's how close they are." Mario said.

"Maybe Daisy can help you, too?" Cappy said.

"I don't know. Anyway, thank you for staying at the castle to let me know where Peach is, Cappy. I was out of my mind when I learned that she didn't tell the Toads, and that she left without Toadsworth. She didn't even tell him." Mario said.

"You deserved to know, Mario. After seeing you in the state you were in last night, I was afraid that if I went home now and you heard that Peach wasn't here, you might try to do something serious!" Cappy said.

"I... I wouldn't go that far, Cappy. Non mi ucciderei. I wouldn't kill myself because my broken heart would do the job for me." Mario explained.

"I knew it! I knew he was heartbroken!" Cappy thought, so he wasn't surprised. But he said, "Well, at least we know where she is. With luck, she'll still be there, and maybe she'll talk to you."

"Tu la pensi così? You think so?" Mario asked.

"Maybe." said Cappy.

"I suppose I should let Luigi know that I won't be home soon like my note said." Mario mumbled, and he texted his brother.


At Luigi's Mansion, the younger plumber was dusting his room when he heard his 'text' chime go off on his smartphone. It was the sound of him or Mario getting a 1-up.

"A text from Mario!" Luigi thought as he pulled out his smartphone and read the message. It said, "Won't be back soon. Peach is gone. :( Went looking for her. Don't wait up for me."

"Peach is gone? Where could she have gone?" Luigi asked himself before texting back, "Do you know where Peach might be?"

"No. But I'm gonna find her." came Mario's reply.

"Okie-dokie. Good luck, bro." Luigi texted.

"Grazie. Thank you." Mario replied.

"So, now your brother knows what's up?" Cappy asked.

"Oh yeah." said Mario.


The two continued to talk until the Odyssey touched down outside of Daisy's Castle.

"There it is. Daisy's Castle. That's got to be where Peach went." Mario said.

"Okay, let's go." said Cappy, turning into Mario's hat again.

So the pair disembarked, and they walked up to the castle, with Mario hoping against hope that Peach might still be there, or that whatever she told Daisy wouldn't have the latter mad at him.

He knocked on the door, and a few seconds later, the door opened to reveal a rather cute maid standing there. She was a pretty little brunette with big brown eyes.

"Oh! Hello, Mario! What brings you here to Sarasaland?" the maid asked, blushing at the sight of the plumber. All the castle maids had monster crushes on the Mario Bros., so being able to open the door and see one of them standing there was a pretty big deal.

"Is Princess Daisy around?" Mario asked.

"But of course!" said the maid.

"Would she be willing to speak with me?" Mario asked, looking very uncomfortable.

"Oh, I'm sure she will! I'll go find her and tell her that you're here, needing to speak to her." said the maid, and she ran off.

"I thought you were looking for Peach. Why did you ask for Daisy instead?" Cappy asked Mario.

"I was too afraid to ask for Peach. I was scared that if I did, the maid would tell me something negative, and I don't want any more negativity right now." Mario answered.


A minute or so later, Princess Daisy appeared, standing before Mario.

"Hey, Mario! It's so good to see you again!" Daisy greeted, giving the plumber a big hug.

"Likewise, principessa." Mario replied, returning Daisy's hug, only a little tighter.

Daisy was a bit surprised at how tight Mario's hug was, and the fact that he called her 'Princess' in Italian, but she understood the reasons why, thanks to Peach.

"I found out about what happened last night, and over the past few days." Daisy said as she let go of him.

"You did? Peach told you?" Mario asked as he let go and stepped apart to look Daisy in the eyes.

"She told me, and Mom. She told us everything, which was more than we could handle. But we only know about her side of the story." Daisy said.

"What did you tell her after she told you?" Mario asked.

"We told her that she needs to talk to you, of course. To tell you what she's been through, and to let you tell her what you went through." Daisy said.

Mario's heart surged. He was glad Daisy and her mother told Peach that she needed to talk with him. He didn't want the sun to set again on this unsettled argument.

"Is Peach still here?" Mario asked hopefully.

Daisy winced. She was afraid he was going to ask that question. Mario noticed, knowing that he wasn't going to like the answer she was about to give.

"I'm sorry, Mario. Peach left here about an hour ago." Daisy replied.

"Did she tell you where she was going?" Mario asked, still hopeful.

Daisy thought for a moment, and then her eyes lit up!

"As a matter of fact, she did! She told me and Mom that she and her friend were going to a place called... Bonneton, I think." Daisy replied.

"Hey! We know where that is, don't we, Mario?!" Cappy asked excitedly, getting Daisy's attention.

"What the-?! Who said that?" Daisy asked, looking around wildly.

"I did!" said Cappy, and he assumed his true form.

"Oh, this isn't going to end well..." Mario thought as he facepalmed. He didn't know that Daisy had already seen Tiara, so he thought she was going to freak out at the sight of Cappy the Bonneter.

"Oh, look at you! You look kinda like Peach's cute tiara friend!" Daisy pointed out.

"Peach's friend is my little sister, Tiara. My name is Cappy." Cappy introduced.

"Hi, I'm Daisy." Daisy said to Cappy.

"So if we want to find Peach, we have to go to Bonneton, where Tiara and I are from." Cappy said.

"If that's where the two of you are from, then you and her can act as tour guides to Mario and Peach while they're there. That's so awesome!" Daisy said.

"So let's-a go." Mario said, before giving Daisy another hug and saying, "Grazie, Daisy. Thank you for letting me know where Peach has gone."

"That's what friends are for, Mario. Go find her, and see if she'll talk to you. If you and her want to talk in little bits and pieces, that's okay. As long as you work this whole thing out, you'll be in the clear." Daisy said.

"All right." said Mario.

"Good luck!" Daisy called, waving after the pair as they went back to the Odyssey.

Once inside, Mario and Cappy set a course for Bonneton, and were on their way to find Peach and Tiara.


And when we start the next chapter, that's exactly where everyone will be! You wanna see what happens when Mario and Cappy find Peach and Tiara? Well, you'll just have to stay tuned!