(A/N: So at the end of that last chapter, Peach decided that her next stop will be the Ruined Kingdom. Oh boy, I don't like the sound of that. Let's start this chapter and see what's going to happen!)
Mario was sitting in his chair on the Odyssey, watching the starry skies through the windows, keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of danger. He hoped there wouldn't be any danger, because he didn't think he could handle anything like that right about now.
Around midnight, Mario let out a yawn, and he was having trouble keeping his eyes open any longer. He knew what he had to do, even though he really didn't want to.
"Cappy... Come on, buddy... Wake up..." Mario said, reaching over to the other chair and gently shaking the sleeping Bonneter awake.
Cappy's eyelids fluttered, and he began to wake up. He looked around and saw Mario looking at him. Since Mario didn't look upset or anything, Cappy figured that they weren't in any danger.
"Hey, Mario. Is it morning already?" Cappy asked.
"No, it's-a midnight. Also, I'm feeling pretty tired. I'm going to get some sleep while you take your turn." Mario said.
"Oh, okay. Good night." said Cappy as he watched the windows.
"Buona notte. Good night, Cappy." Mario replied as he took off his shoes, lay down on the bed, and promptly fell asleep.
Cappy also kept a close eye on Mario. After Mario had a nightmare in the Wooded Kingdom, Cappy had begun to wonder if and when another nightmare would hit him.
He didn't need to worry. Mario slept peacefully for the rest of the night.
Early the next morning, Cappy felt the Odyssey begin to descend in the Ruined Kingdom. When they touched down, Cappy knew that it was time to set out and explore the kingdom, something they hadn't really done the first time they came here.
"Mario, wake up!" Cappy said, flying over to the sleeping plumber.
Mario was lying on his stomach, sleeping like a baby.
"Come on, Mario, it's morning! Time to get up!" Cappy tried again.
Mario just turned and lay on his back, but he wasn't awake yet.
"Fine. I see you leave me no other choice." Cappy said.
Cappy really didn't want to do this, but since he needed to get Mario up, he did what he had to do. He began to treat Mario's stomach like a trampoline. That woke Mario up right away!
"What in the-?!" Mario hollered as he opened his eyes, wide awake.
"Hey, Mario! You're finally awake!" Cappy replied as he continued to treat Mario's stomach like a plaything.
"Cappy, cut that out right now!" Mario scolded.
Cappy stopped jumping up and down on Mario's stomach and floated beside him.
"Are you ready?" Cappy asked.
"Pronto a cosa? Ready for what?" Mario asked, rubbing his eyes.
"We're in the Ruined Kingdom. Peach said she was coming here next, remember?" Cappy reminded him.
"Oh, I didn't forget, Cappy. I know what she said. I just hope she isn't anywhere near that fire-breathing pain-in-the-neck." Mario said as he sat up and stretched.
"Mario, I don't think that dragon was breathing fire. He was called 'The Lord of Lightning', remember?" Cappy asked.
"Okay. I don't want to deal with that lightning-y pain-in-the neck, and I really hope he's not anywhere near Peach." Mario said.
"We'll have to go out there, look for her, and hope for the best. Now, are you going to continue wearing that chef outfit here?" Cappy asked.
"No, I'm going to put on something more suitable for this place." Mario replied. He ran to the wardrobe and pulled out the Knight Helmet and Knight Armor.
"This is the perfect outfit to wear in case we have to deal with un drago, a dragon." Mario told him.
"You're right. It is. And just out of curiosity, are you really a knight?" Cappy asked.
"No, Peach hasn't really knighted me or Luigi yet. I don't know why, but I'm not going to ask her. It's her decision, not mine." Mario replied as he donned the armor.
"I was just wondering. If she knew that you fought a dragon, I bet she would have to knight you. Then Bowser will have to call you 'Sir Mario', and the thought alone would probably be enough to kill him!" Cappy said.
"If Peach found out I didn't use a sword, maybe I won't be a knight. But like I said, it's up to her. She's a princess, and she's the one who makes the decisions like that. Although I do like the idea of Bowser wanting to die because he couldn't stand the idea of calling me 'Sir'." Mario said.
"You're a good man to Peach, Mario. I'm sure that judging by the way she's been kissing you, she still feels a lot of love for you, even though she calls you a friend." Cappy said as he took control of the Knight Helmet.
Mario and Cappy then disembarked the Odyssey and set out into the Ruined Kingdom.
"Mama-mia... this place still gives me the creeps..." Mario said to Cappy in a whisper.
"You're a knight, Mario. Knights are supposed to be brave." Cappy whispered back.
"Hey, my girl and your sister are here, and the dragon is more than likely still here, so don't blame me for feeling afraid." Mario reminded him.
"Oh, right. I hope Tiara's okay." Cappy said.
The two then wondered about the dragon.
"It has been a while since we've been here. You want to check and see if the dragon woke up yet?" Cappy asked.
"Forse è morto. Maybe he's dead." Mario said hopefully. The last thing he wanted was to find out that the dragon was very much alive, and still on the warpath.
So they went to the last place where they saw the dragon.
As they approached the place where they dealt with the beast, a very excited Tiara flew over to them. But she wasn't excited as in happy. She was the other kind of excited, meaning that she was upset. And was she upset about something!
"It's about time you guys got here! Boy, am I glad to see you!" Tiara said, but she didn't sound very glad.
"Tiara, what's going on? What are you so excited about?" Cappy asked, leaving the helmet and turning into his Bonneter form.
"It's Peach!" Tiara exclaimed.
"Peach! Sta bene? Is she okay?!" Mario asked, fearing that the nightmare he had in the Wooded Kingdom was about to come true here, only this time, the beast was a dragon, which was far worse than a T-Rex in every way imaginable!
"I... I honestly don't know..." Tiara said.
"Where is she?" Mario asked.
"I'll take you to her. Follow me, and don't be slow!" Tiara said.
"Tiara, that's easier said than done. I'm wearing armor." Mario said.
"Okay, I'll go slow enough so that you can keep up with me." Tiara said, and she did, but to her surprise, Mario did move pretty quickly for a guy in armor.
Then he saw Peach in the outfit she wore in the Sand Kingdom, Cloud Kingdom, and Metro Kingdom. She was, to his horror, standing near the dragon. But when he got close enough, he saw that she was looking at the beast. The dragon's eyes were still open, and she was giving the monster the thousand-yard stare. She also appeared to be frozen in place. Something was really wrong.
"Cosa c'è che non va? What's wrong, Peach?" Mario asked Peach, lifting the visor of his helmet as he approached her.
The Princess responded to the question by throwing herself into Mario's arms and sobbing. Mario wanted more than ever to find out what had her so upset.
"Maybe we should discuss this in the Odyssey. Sound good?" Mario asked.
Looking up at Mario with her lovely blue eyes full of tears, Peach nodded her head yes.
"Okie-dokie. Let's-a go." said Mario, lifting the sobbing princess effortlessly into his arms and carrying her back to the Odyssey, all the while softly singing a Beatles song in a bid to calm her down.
"Should we follow them?" Tiara asked.
"I don't think so. They might need to be alone, since Peach started bawling her eyes out." Cappy said.
"I never saw her react the way she just did before." Tiara said.
"Probably because of him." Cappy said, motioning towards the dragon.
"You're right. She got one look at that beast, and her eyes got big, and she froze. When I saw the way she froze up, I knew something was wrong. She wouldn't even respond to me when I asked her what was the matter. All I could do then was hope that you and Mario would show up soon. If anyone could snap her out of her frozen state, it's Mario!" Tiara said.
"Did the dragon attack you, or Peach?" Cappy asked.
"No, he didn't. If he's not on the warpath, I think that it might be okay to stay here." Tiara said.
Suddenly, a new voice said, "So...tired..."
That sound frightened Tiara really badly.
"What was that?" Tiara asked in a frightened whisper.
"It was... him..." Cappy said, pointing at the dragon.
"What?" Tiara asked, looking at the dragon with big, frightened eyes.
The beast repeated, "So...tired..."
Seeing that the dragon was talking nearly scared poor Tiara right out of her mind!
"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" Tiara exclaimed in fear, flying in the direction of Peach's transport ship as fast as she could.
"Tiara, wait!" Cappy yelled, grabbing the handle of Peach's suitcase and flying after his little sister.
Meanwhile, Mario and Peach were back at the Odyssey. By then, Peach's sobs were beginning to subside.
"Can you stand, Peach?" Mario asked Peach as he stood on the deck, still holding her.
Peach slightly nodded her head, so Mario set Peach on her feet, and she managed to stand up, a little shakily.
"It's-a gonna be fine, principessa. I promise." Mario said as he opened the door and gestured for Peach to enter first. She did.
"Alright, let's-a sit down right here, and we'll talk." Mario said, leading Peach over to the bed. Peach sat down at the edge, and after Mario grabbed the tissue box, he handed Peach some tissues and asked her in a gentle voice, "Cosa è successo? What happened?"
Peach had to dry her eyes and blow her nose before she said anything. When she spoke, she said, "H-he was... He was... r-right..."
"Who was right, Peach?" Mario asked, concerned, as he removed the Knight Helmet from his head, setting it off to the side.
"Bowser... H-he wasn't lying a-about the... the d-d-dragon..." Peach said, and she started crying all over again.
"Bowser told you about the dragon?" Mario asked, getting angry.
"Y-yes, Mario... H-he did..." Peach replied.
"How did that go? If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I'm not going to force you to tell me anything you don't want to talk about." Mario told her.
"No... I sh-should... tell you... how that... w-went..." Peach replied, sniffling.
"Okie-dokie." Mario said.
Peach took a deep breath and got ready to tell Mario one of the most upsetting parts of the adventure for her.
(Flashback...)
Peach was sitting in the bride's chamber, still upset. Tiara was hovering before Peach in her Bonneter form.
"I know what you're thinking, Peach, but don't you worry. I just have this feeling that Mario and Cappy are still out there! They won't let us suffer like this for much longer!" Tiara assured her friend.
"So you say..." said Bowser's voice as he opened the door and stood in the doorway.
"EEK!" Tiara shrieked, turning back into a tiara and landing on Peach's head.
"What do you want now, Bowser? You've already done more than enough to make my life miserable!" Peach said as she stood up to face him while checking to make sure Tiara was on straight.
"I was just going to say that, annoyingly enough, your little friend was right about Mario." Bowser said.
"She was right? Mario survived being shot down?!" Peach asked, her heart surging with hope.
"Oh yes, he did..." Bowser said, catching the hope in Peach's voice and hating it.
"Thank you, Star Spirits! Thank you so much!" Peach whispered.
"I wouldn't thank them if I were you, Peach." Bowser warned.
"What do you mean?" Peach asked, getting nervous.
"You see, he was lucky to survive that, but..." Bowser started.
"I don't want to hear it! I don't! Want! To hear it!" Peach interrupted.
"I don't care whether or not you want to hear it. You're going to find out sooner or later, and I think it's best you find out now and get it over with!" Bowser told her.
"Whatever." Peach shrugged.
"Your friend was right. The key word here is: was." Bowser said.
"What does that mean?" Peach asked.
"It means, she's not right anymore." Bowser replied, a malevolent grin on his face.
"H-how do you... m-mean...?" Peach asked, feeling nervous. A grin like the one Bowser's face right now spelled bad news for anyone who saw it.
"Mario won't be coming to take you away from me anymore. I finished him off for good this time!" Bowser replied, laughing evilly.
Peach hated when Bowser laughed. She knew that whatever he did to Mario must have been pretty horrible to have him laughing.
"Wh-wha-what did you to Mario?" Peach asked nervously, knowing that she wasn't going to like the answer.
"I'd be glad to tell you, sweetheart!" Bowser said, moving close to Peach and putting an arm around her slender shoulders.
"Don't 'sweetheart' me! Only Mario can call me that!" Peach cried, moving away from him.
"Not anymore, sweetheart! He can't call you anything when he's been turned into dragon chow!" Bowser exclaimed.
Peach's face went pale when he said that.
"Wh-what... did you s-say?!" Peach asked, shocked.
"You heard me; Mario is dragon chow!" Bowser told her.
"H-how?! There are... n-no dragons to be h-had... in this w-world!" Peach exclaimed. She knew that there were dragon-like creatures in Hyrule, but that was another World that they'd only heard about from Link and Princess Zelda during visits to Smash Mansion.
"Not so! I found one known as the Lord of Lightning in this World! He shot down Mario's fruity little airship, and it doesn't matter whether or not he survived this! The dragon will surely finish him off!" Bowser said.
"NO! You didn't! Please tell me you didn't do it!" Peach pleaded. She was trying hard not to believe what Bowser was saying.
"Peach, you can deny it all you want, but that puny little plumber you think you love-" Bowser started, before Peach interrupted, shouting, "I know I love him!"
"Well, you can't say you love him anymore, because he's gone for good! So you might as well get used to the idea of a world without Mario!" Bowser told her.
"That's a world without love..." Peach said to herself.
"When we get to my kingdom, we'll have to make a few more preparations, and then we can finally get married! Ta-ta, my soon-to-be wife!" Bowser said, and he blew Peach a kiss as he left the room.
Peach was trying hard to tell herself that Bowser was making this up. He didn't really use a dragon to kill Mario. He was just trying to make her think that Mario was gone.
Only something wouldn't let her believe that he was lying. She didn't know what it was, but as she thought about his words, telling herself they were untrue, there was a sharp pain in her chest. It was the same one she felt twice before on this adventure, but now it hurt more than ever.
"Peach... he is lying... isn't he?" Tiara nervously asked from her perch on top of Peach's head.
Peach wanted to say, "Yes, Tiara. He is lying, because I know that he's nothing more than a lying liar who lies." But she couldn't. All she could do was cry out, "MARIOOOOOO!" at the top of her lungs before bursting into uncontrollable sobs, her heart broken like never before at the thought of never seeing her beloved Mario ever again.
(End flashback...)
Mario was shocked by this part of the story, and he hugged Peach tightly.
"He told you that the dragon was going to eat me?!" Mario asked.
"I... I-I didn't w-want to... to b-b-believe that he actually... k-killed you with a... a d-dragon! I-I... I tried to t-t-tell myself that... that h-he was... l-lying to me! B-but I... I-I couldn't! S-something wouldn't... l-let me!" Peach wailed, burying her face into Mario's shoulder.
"Oh, mia povera principessa. My poor princess..." Mario said, hugging her even tighter.
"Y-you don't know... how much it h-hurt me... To think y-you were... g-gone forever... Th-the thought almost... k-killed me..." Peach wept.
"I think I do know how hurt you were, Peach... You're more upset than I've ever seen you..." Mario replied, rubbing the Princess' back in a comforting way.
"My heart b-broke... when Bowser told me that..." Peach sobbed.
"Bowser went and broke her heart, too, huh? I knew he was nothing more than a big, overgrown jerk!" Mario thought.
"You... y-you were... heartbroken?!" Mario asked, shocked.
"Y-yes, Mario! I... I-I got my heart broken 3 t-times... a-and they all happened... wh-when Bowser tried to... to k-kill you!" Peach wailed.
"Oh, tesoro... That means 'sweetheart'..." Mario said as he hugged her again. He had experienced that pain before himself. The first two times were when he and Luigi lost their parents. And the third time his heart broke was when Peach turned him down. His heart hurt more than ever that time.
"It's-a going to be okay, Peach. Sono qui per te. I'm here for you, and I'll make sure Bowser doesn't hurt your heart ever again..." Mario promised, and he kissed Peach on her tear-streaked cheek, trying to comfort her.
"Th-thanks, Mario. I-I... I needed that... B-but I f-felt like an... an idiot!" Peach moaned.
"Non sei un idiota! You're not an idiot!" Mario told her.
"B-but I... I wanted to b-believe that he was l-l-lying... but I d-didn't! And th-then... I s-see the dragon... a-and in doing so... I f-find out that he was... t-telling the truth! I-I almost lost you to a d-dragon!" Peach shouted, before burying her face in her hands and bursting into sobs again.
"But you didn't. Cappy and I survived being shot down, and we conquered the dragon!" Mario said.
Peach smiled a little, and said, "You really stopped the d-dragon?"
"Of course we did. He's not going to bother anyone else ever again." Mario promised.
"You're the best. I'm so blessed to know you, Mario." Peach replied, giving Mario a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Mario's face turned as red as a cherry when Peach said that, but he said, "I feel more blessed to know you, Peach. You're the sweetest girl I've ever known, and I can assure you that I would never go and upset you like Bowser did."
"Are you sure about that?" Peach asked.
"Sì." Mario replied.
"Oh, Mario..." Peach replied as she wiped away her tears and blew her nose again.
"Are you feeling well enough to go for a walk around the kingdom, Peach?" Mario asked.
"I suppose we could..." Peach said.
"Don't worry, Peach. Ti terrò al sicuro. I'll keep you safe. The dragon can't hurt you as long as I'm around." Mario promised.
Peach then noticed he was wearing Knight Armor. He was looking the literal example of her knight in shining armor. And the way he had been treating her... perhaps she should knight him someday.
"Okay. I'm up for it." Peach said, smiling now.
"Let's-a go!" Mario said, picking up the Knight Helmet and putting it back on his head before reaching out and taking Peach's small, delicate hand in his own.
"We should check my transport ship first, though. Cappy and Tiara might have gone there not only to avoid the dragon, but to give us some privacy as well." Peach mentioned.
"Oh, right." said Mario.
So Peach led Mario to where her transport ship had landed, and sure enough, Cappy and Tiara were hanging around outside the ship, talking.
"Hey, you two!" Peach called out to the siblings.
The Bonneters stopped talking and turned to see Peach with Mario right by her side.
"Peach! Are you okay?" Tiara asked.
"I am now, and it's thanks to Mario." Peach smiled, putting an arm around Mario's shoulders and drawing him close to her.
"Aww!" Tiara said, sensing closeness between Peach and her beau.
"What did you do for her?" Cappy asked Mario in a whisper as he flew closer to the armor-clad plumber.
"L'ho ascoltata. I listened to her. That was all she was needing." Mario replied.
"Good job. You're exactly what she needs, then." Cappy told him.
"I intend to make up for what I did to her, and I'm sticking right to it." Mario told him.
"As long as you keep that up, she'll be yours again in no time." Cappy said.
Mario smiled.
Then Cappy said to Peach, "Oh yeah! When we came back here to your ship, I brought your suitcase with me, and Tiara and I stowed it away on the transport ship so you don't have to."
"You did? Thanks!" Peach smiled.
"You're welcome." Cappy and Tiara replied, looking happy.
"So, Peach and I were planning on taking a walk around the Ruined Kingdom. Would the two of you care to join us?" Mario asked.
"Okay. As long as we don't have to go near the dragon again." Tiara said.
"Yeah. It's still alive..." Cappy said.
As they walked around, Mario asked Peach, "What's your opinion of the Ruined Kingdom?"
"This kingdom... Well, let's just say it's a fixer-upper." said Peach as she looked around and surveyed the damage done to the buildings around.
"As long as I'm with Peach, I'll be fine, I'm sure." said Tiara.
"What about me?" Cappy asked.
"Of course I feel safe with you, too, Cappy, but it's Peach I'm traveling with." Tiara pointed out.
"Can't argue with that." Cappy shrugged.
"But I did find a Power Moon here! I hope it's useful to you in your travels." Peach said, and she gave Mario the Power Moon.
"Grazie principessa. Thank you, Princess." Mario said, accepting the object from the woman he loved.
"This was once a nice place, wasn't it? It kind of makes me sad..." Peach said.
"I understand, Peach. But it's not your fault that it got this way." Mario replied, patting her on the back.
"I know." Peach said.
It was early evening when Peach decided it was time to go.
"Where are you off to next, Peach? Is the tour just about over?" Mario asked.
"That castle... This could be a good opportunity to finally go there of my own free will!" Peach said.
"Castle? What castle are you talking about?" Mario asked. He couldn't think of any castle she hadn't been to by choice before.
"Bowser's Castle, of course." Peach said.
When those words finally registered in Mario's brain, he opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
"Uh-oh..." Tiara said, noticing the way Mario looked.
"I guess he wasn't expecting me to say that..." Peach said.
"How do we fix this?" Cappy asked.
"I think I know of a way." Peach said. She started to slap him the way Mowgli was slapping Bagheera to snap him out of Kaa's hypnosis in Disney's animated version of "The Jungle Book". She wasn't slapping him hard enough to hurt him, just enough to bring him back to reality.
Mario instantly came to his senses, asking, "Cosa sta succedendo? What's going on?"
"You got shocked when I decided where I'm going next." Peach said.
"Oh, right, If I didn't know any better, I could've sworn you said you were going to Bowser's Castle next." Mario said.
"I did say that." Peach replied.
This time, Mario almost fainted, but Peach, Cappy, and Tiara moved quickly and caught him before he could fall and hurt himself.
"Mario, are you okay?" Peach asked.
"I... I just don't know why you want to go there..." Mario said.
"Maybe so you can mess Bowser up if he's gone back there." Peach said.
Mario thought about her words. That didn't sound too bad.
"But if he's not back yet, I'll leave a little... surprise... for him to come home to!" Mario said, making a Grinch smile, which had Peach giggling.
"Like what?" Tiara asked, also giggling at Mario's face.
"That's for me and Cappy to know, and him to find out." Mario replied, still wearing the Grinch smile.
"So I'll see you there tomorrow?" Peach asked, putting away her digital camera after discreetly snapping a picture of him wearing the Grinch smile.
"Sì. Until then, mia principessa." Mario said, giving Peach a kiss on the cheek.
"Looking forward to it, Mario." Peach replied, kissing him on the cheek.
Then Mario and Cappy went back to the Odyssey while Peach and Tiara returned to the transport ship. After setting a course for Bowser's Kingdom, they began resting up for what would happen next.
Looks like Mario wasn't prepared to hear Peach say that she wanted to go to Bowser's Kingdom after finishing up here in Crumbleden! What'll happen there? Not telling! You have to stay tuned to get the answer you crave!
