(A/N: So now the Broodals know that Peach's life is in danger. If they continue to help Bowser, then Peach will die, and they'll have planned a wedding for a marriage that wasn't meant to be... and they won't get to try Peach's carrot cake! Time to start this chapter and see what'll happen next.)
The Broodals were making a mad dash back to their airship, but before they could get there, Bowser caught them and said, "There you are! I want you to know that the next item on the list of wedding supplies is Sparkle Water, which I'm going to need for the wedding toast. That's in the Seaside Kingdom, which is our next destination."
"Yes, boss." the Broodals replied, saluting him. But he didn't see that they had their other hand behind their backs, and their fingers were crossed.
"Great! Now get ready to go, because after you steal the water, I'm going to do something really nasty! I'll cork up the fountains that send the seawater into Glass Tower." Bowser said, laughing to himself about his evil plan.
"Come on." Topper whispered to his siblings, and they got to their airship, where they found the mannequin they were telling Peach about. It was about the same size as Peach, but the face needed some work, and it also needed hair. They quickly did some work on the face and put a long, blonde wig on top of the head, attaching it with Gorilla Glue.
"Now to use this to replace the bride." said Spewart.
"But who's going to distract the boss, and how are we going to do it?" Hariet asked.
"I know. I'll distract da boss. I'll do a shooting trick for him with dis old deck of cards." Topper said, producing the cards from a drawer on the ship.
"I can help by tossing the cards in the air for you." offered Rango.
"Great! I'm going to need an assistant, and I sure don't want it to be da boss." said Topper.
"So Hariet and I will take the mannequin to the bride's chamber and get her out while you guys work with the boss." Spewart replied.
"Perfect!" Hariet said.
Topper and Rango boarded Bowser's airship, and Topper asked Bowser if he'd like to see him do a trick.
"A trick I'd like to see you perform is taking down Mario before it's time for the wedding, but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. What kind of trick are you talking about?" Bowser asked, not really up for watching any tricks.
"Well, that's simple. I'm going to toss this deck of cards into the air." Rango began as he produced the deck of cards.
"And I'll plug da Ace of Spades." Topper replied, producing a gun.
(A/N: I got that idea from a "Calvin & Hobbes" comic strip.)
"Really? Oh boy! I love shooting tricks!" Bowser said, suddenly happy.
"Ready?" asked Rango.
"Do it!" said Topper, readying the gun.
"GO!" Rango announced, tossing the deck into the air, scattering the cards.
While Bowser watched Topper shoot at the cards, Hariet and Spewart snuck past on tiptoe, hoping Bowser would not see them. Luckily, Bowser had his back to them, and he was watching Topper's shooting trick with rapt interest, so he didn't even notice.
Meanwhile, Peach had changed back into her normal pink dress, her usual gloves, and her red high heels. Tiara was still on her head, and the Lochlady Dress and its veil were sitting on the chair at the vanity table in the room, with the gloves lying on the table and the shoes were underneath the chair. Peach also let her hair back down. It had been done up when she was clad in the Lochlady Dress.
"How do you feel now, Peach?" Tiara asked her friend as she peered at her reflection.
"Well, Tiara, I feel a little better, now that I'm in my normal attire again and not in a stolen wedding dress. But I still feel somewhat naked..." Peach replied.
"How can you be naked when you're fully clothed, Peach?" Tiara asked.
"Because I don't have my crown. Don't get me wrong; you're lovely, Tiara, but I can't help it. That crown symbolized who I am, my role in the Mushroom Kingdom, and I miss it. I just hope it's not gone forever." Peach sighed.
"I'm sure your subjects might have found it and will be glad to return it to you when you get home." Tiara assured her.
"All I can do is hope..." Peach replied.
At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Peach jumped at the sound.
"Wh-who's there?" Peach asked, a little nervously. She hoped it wasn't Bowser. If he saw that she had changed back into her normal attire...
"It's Hariet and Spewart." Hariet's voice quietly called from the other side of the door.
Peach opened the door a crack and saw the two standing there with the mannequin.
"Does Bowser know you're here?" Peach asked.
"He's presently being distracted by Topper and Rango." Spewart replied, before they heard the sound of a gun firing multiple shots.
"Come in, then." Peach ushered the two into the room and closed the door.
As soon as they were in the room, Hariet and Spewart explained to Peach what Topper and Rango were doing to keep Bowser distracted as they set the mannequin by the vanity table and helped Peach dress it in the Lochlady Dress and veil, the gloves, and the white high heels. They also did up its hair like Peach's when she had been dressed like a bride.
"Oh no! We're forgetting a tiara! She needs one, and I'm not going to let it be Tiara!" Peach exclaimed, holding Tiara close to her head.
"Don't worry, Princess. We'll give her the tiara that came with the princess costume I wore during Halloween when I was little!" said Hariet, pulling from her pocket a silver tiara made of plastic with fake gemstones in it.
"Perfect!" said Peach, setting the tiara neatly on the mannequin's head.
"There! Now we can get you out of here, and then you can make us some cake when you get home!" said Spewart.
The trio shushed each other before sneaking out of the room and past Bowser, who was still distracted and impressed by the shooting tricks Topper was performing. In fact, he was now on the floor, searching for the next card Topper had just finished shooting.
"Oh wow! Look at this! 5 clean holes through the King of Clubs!" Bowser said, clearly amazed as he picked up the card.
Seconds later, Rango heard his orange smartphone play its 'text' chime. He pulled it out, looked at the screen, and saw a message from Spewart. It said, "We saved the Princess. It's time to go."
"Oh, Topper, it's time for us to get going." Rango said to his brother, who was the leader of them.
"Oh, right. We'll see you later, boss." said Topper as he and Rango gathered up the cards and got ready to leave.
"All right. I'll see the four of you in the Seaside Kingdom." Bowser said.
"That's what you think..." Topper and Rango thought, giving each other sneaky smiles as they left the airship.
When Topper and Rango rejoined Hariet, Spewart and the Princess, they set a course for the Mushroom Kingdom, where Peach lived.
"I do wish I could call Mario and let him know what's going on. I need to speak with him so bad." Peach said, still finding it hard to believe that she was escaping Bowser.
"You can use my smartphone." Hariet said, handing her violet smartphone to Peach.
"Oh, thank you so much." Peach said, taking the phone and dialing Mario's cell number.
Meanwhile, Mario was finishing up in the Snow Kingdom when he heard his red smartphone ring. He looked at the Caller ID, but the number didn't look familiar.
"Mario, if the number is unfamiliar, then I suggest you don't answer it. What if it's Bowser, having found out what you did?" Cappy asked nervously.
"It's-a not Bowser. I should know. One time, when I was in his castle, I heard him talking on the phone, and he said that his area code was 666, and the area code in the displayed number is not that." Mario said. Then he answered his phone, saying, "Hello?"
(A/N: I thought the sign of the Devil would be the perfect area code for a nasty villain like Bowser.)
"Mario! Thank goodness you're okay!" Peach replied, relief evident in her voice.
"Peach! Oh, mia dolce principessa, my sweet princess! Are you all right?" Mario asked, happy to hear the sweet sound of Peach's voice.
"Yes. I'm fine." Peach replied, blushing as she realized that Mario had called her a sweet nickname in Italian.
"Grazie a Dio. Thank goodness." Mario said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"I need to ask you something. Did you really tell the Broodals that my cakes are better than the Frost-Frosted Cake?" Peach asked.
"Sì. I did." Mario said.
"Well, they want me to make them a carrot cake, and believe it or not, they're helping me out in order to get it." Peach said.
"Mama-mia! I actually did get through to those rabbits! They're helping Peach!" Mario gasped in a quiet voice. But Cappy overheard him anyway.
"Holy... Mario, you're a freaking genius!" Cappy excitedly exclaimed.
"Mario, who was that?" Peach asked, having heard Cappy over the phone.
"That was Cappy. I'll introduce him to you when I can. Where are you now, Peach?" Mario asked.
"I'm with the Broodals on their airship. We're flying back to the Mushroom Kingdom. Also, I'm using one Broodal's smartphone to talk to you." Peach replied.
"Okie-dokie. That's got to be the reason why I didn't recognize the Caller ID." Mario replied.
Just then, he heard Peach quietly discussing something with someone, and when that was done, she said to him, "Bowser's on his way to the Seaside Kingdom now. He's planning on corking up the fountains that make the Sparkle Water in Glass Tower. You'll want to fix that."
"I'll do that, la mia principessa, my princess." Mario said.
"Wait! How's Tiara doing? Is she okay?" Cappy asked.
"Peach, Cappy wants to know about his sister, Tiara." Mario said.
"Tell him she's fine. She's with me. We're both going to the Mushroom Kingdom." Peach said.
Mario told Cappy what Peach said.
"Thank goodness..." the Bonneter replied with a sigh of relief.
Mario and Peach talked for a few more minutes, and then they ended the call. Then Peach asked if she could call her castle. She needed to speak with the Toads about something.
"Sure. Go ahead." Hariet replied.
So Peach dialed her castle's number, and after two rings, Toad picked up. One can imagine his delight when he heard Peach's voice on the other end.
"Princess Peach! You're okay! Thank Grambi! Toadsworth was out of his mind when he found your crown lying on the balcony!" Toad said.
"My crown! Toadsworth found it?" Peach asked.
"Yes..." Toad replied.
"How wonderful! I was hoping it would be found!" Peach said joyfully, but then she stopped her celebration and said, "But that's not the reason why I called here."
"I'm also wondering how you managed to call." Toad said.
"I'm calling you from a smartphone owned by Bowser's ex-wedding planners, the Broodals. They found out what Bowser was really planning to do with me, and they hated it as much as Mario did, so they helped me escape, and they're bringing me home. I also plan to make them carrot cake, so I need you and the other Toads to check the recipe book that has carrot cake in it (you know which one that is), and make sure that I have all the ingredients for it." Peach explained.
"Okay. I'll go check that book. Everything should be ready by the time you get home, Princess." Toad replied.
"Thank you, Toad. I'll see you soon." Peach promised before ending the call.
After hanging up, Toad rushed to the castle's infirmary, where Toadsworth was lying on a bed, slowly beginning to regain consciousness after blacking out from fear of what could have happened to the Princess. The Royal Physician was right by his bedside, getting ready to take his blood pressure.
"Toadsworth! I just got a call from Peach! She's okay! She's on her way home right now!" Toad exclaimed to the old Mushroom man.
"Oh, praise be to the Star Spirits! I can't wait to see her home again, safe and sound." Toadsworth said, feeling so much better now.
"Yeah! She's doing fine! Now I have to go to the kitchen and check to see that she has the ingredients needed for a certain recipe." said Toad, and he left the infirmary, dashing into the kitchen.
Toadette was already in the kitchen, poring over the recipe book Toad was looking for. She was looking at a recipe she wanted Peach to try making sometime.
When Toadette saw Toad come running in, she was surprised, but he told her what was going on. They looked at the carrot cake recipe in Peach's book and checked to make sure she had everything. She had all but a few ingredients.
Toadette sent Red Toad to the store with a small shopping list to get the ingredients Peach needed, and helped Toad gather up the ingredients Peach already had, as well as the supplies she was going to need to use.
Peach will be back at the castle by the next chapter. Will she be able to make a carrot cake that the Broodals will enjoy? Stay tuned in order to find out!