Whoo, back for more! Speaking of, a certain someone was left out of the story for the past two chapters and hasn't appeared in a chapter since the fourth one. Guess who's back with a vengeance?

...

Dearest Toadsworth,

I sincerely apologize for what I am about to put you through, but I can no longer sit by idly while the kingdom falls into chaos.

While you have made it absolutely clear that the kingdom would remain safe and stable so long as I remained out of harm's way, it seems quite apparent to me that the opposite is true. The castle may stand tall, but the rest of the kingdom is in disarray from Bowser's forces.

No longer. My patience has been tested time and again, but even I have my limits. Mario has already been taken and Bowser has threatened his life. Luigi and many of our strongest Toad soldiers are trying to fight through the Koopa King's minions, with varying degrees of success.

However, I simply cannot wait for Luigi and the Toads to throw their lives away or for Bowser to completely take this kingdom over. Most of all, however, is that I will not let Mario's life dangle in jeopardy, just so I can sit pretty on my throne and wait for everyone else to decide his fate.

Even though I know you will do the opposite, please do not panic. I will take the best possible precautions, ones that no one has ever anticipated from me before. And I will meet up with Luigi before going any further, but I will not rest until I've won back my kingdom.

This is war, and I will not wait to be told the results. I will decide our fate today.

Take care until my return,
Peach
(And that is an order, Toadsworth!)

[Peach]

Perhaps I could have been more delicate, now that I have a chance to think about that letter. And poor Toadsworth will wander into my room and discover it neatly on top of the desk before he sees my blanket-forged escape rope. But I haven't the time to worry about what he'll find or how he'll act. The castle is far behind me now.

"Princess? Are you all right?" the purple Toad asks me. I turn my head to look at him and nod. Looking down, I notice my tight grip around my golden scepter. Relaxing it, I can feel my hand shaking a bit, but it feels lighter now.

The green Toad with us lets out a heavy sigh. "If Toadsworth knew where we were going, he'd…he'd…I don't even want to think about it!"

"Now, now," I begin to reassure them, "Toadsworth will feel much calmer knowing that you two came with me as my guards, rather than going alone." I'm headstrong, but not foolish. As much as I want to lessen the causalities of my people, I do know that I would be in over my head to journey to the Grasslands fortress alone.

Nodding, the purple Toad chimes in, "Yeah, Toadsworth would be happy that we went with Peach."

"No," the green Toad snaps back at him, "he'd be mad that we didn't stop Peach and bring her back."

Laughing, I contribute, "Well, my orders far outrank his, so that's the end of it." Thinking for a second, the green Toad nods, relenting.

We continue walking along the quiet dirt and grassy paths, making any necessary jumps across various cliffs, wary of possible troops that could attack us as we listen to the crunching of the trails below. However, we have faced none thus far, more than likely due to Luigi and the others already clearing the way.

"Gosh," comments the purple Toad, "I really would have thought that more troops would have taken the place of the fallen ones. Other than jumping over occasional ravines, this escort is as easy as a spring breeze."

"It hasn't been all that long since Luigi and the others passed through here," the green Toad points out. "Even Bowser couldn't have learned about it that quickly."

While the two Toads continue to chatter, I look to the late night sky. My thoughts turn to Mario, and I can only hope that he is managing to survive. Bowser's words echo in my mind:

"Princess Peach! I've got your precious little hero right here! By the time you get this message, my forces will have control over your kingdom. Surrender if you want to save Mario! Don't, and he's finished. I'll send you more terms soon."

Shivering off the punch I feel in my stomach, I hold my scepter close to me. The moonlight glimmers across the blue and pink jewels that decorate the heart-shaped head of it. Breathe in, breathe out; come on, Peach.

"Princess? Are you all right?" the purple Toad repeats the question. It's not the first time, nor will it be the last, that he asks me that.

Sucking in air, "I'll be fine." Exhale. Stop worrying about him; he's Mario.

The green Toad excitedly jumps up and down. "I see it! The fortress is up ahead!"

Looking ahead, I see the tall, dark citadel before us. My heartbeat races, and there's a bubbling of excitement pulsing through me. No one has cleared this stronghold yet, which means that we will be facing at least one enemy: Bowser's chosen minion. Whoever he placed to guard the Grasslands will be the one we need to stop.

"Come on," I assert, moving ahead of the Toads. "We have to help the others." They follow with cheerful, though nervous, chirps of enthusiasm.

Stepping inside, the walls are black, and it's difficult to see, even with torchlight. Whispering an incantation to my staff, it begins to glow, emitting a small yellow light that casts a beam ahead of us.

"Wow Princess," gasps the purple Toad. "That's a really handy rod!"

He's right, and it's one that I should carry around more often. However, were it to fall into Bowser's hands, we could be dealing with more trouble than we bargained for. Ordinarily, I borrow its power and leave the scepter locked away.

This time, however, things are different.

Carefully, we navigate the dungeon-like rooms, moving quickly to the back of the building. Aside from chains and stones, I fail to take in the surroundings; it's not my first time in one of these, and I highly doubt it will be my last. This fort in particular is especially not noteworthy, given how the Grasslands have a plain design; while poor for defenses, it has a comforting simplicity to it.

While we move along the linear trail back and upwards, the purple Toad finds an unused block and jumps up, punching it open. A red flower pops up from the top and he grabs it. Glowing briefly, his attire changes from purple and white to red and purple.

"All right, now I'm Fire Toad!" he cheers.

The green Toad laughs, then runs off and jumps up higher. Moving my staff to guide him, I realize that he's making his way to another block, knocking it open to grab a blue flower. With a flash, his attire of green and white becomes blue and green. He makes his way back down from the plateaus above.

"Ice Toad reporting for duty!" comes his joyous cry.

Presently, we reach the studded red door. It's laughable how these essentially say, "This way to the boss of building, step right in!" Nevertheless, we would be lost without it.

"Are you both ready?" I ask. They may be properly equipped now, but one hit from the enemy and they're back to normal Toads.

The duo glances to one another, and then turns to me, both nodding. "Let's go, Princess!" they shout simultaneously. Smiling, I open the door and we walk through. Ominously, it shuts behind us.

My heart feels like it jumps, but I tighten my grip on my scepter. There is no turning back anymore.

We race ahead, rushing down the long hall to the main room. Ahead, we can hear a shout of horror. One of the Toads is in danger. A surge of anger rises within me, and, heels be damned, I double my running speed. My escorts shout, trying their best to keep up with me.

At the end of the hall, we move to the wider room, looking inside. It's a bit brighter than the rest of the fortress, enough to see the large Piranha that slashes his leaf at Luigi, who barely jumps away. The red head turns up, almost as if he can look at us. Its yellow petals are bent, presumably from the fight with Luigi and the Toads with him. His body, much too small to properly carry the head around, looks a little worn, but I can tell from a glimpse that it's still rearing for a fight.

Petey Piranha readies to attack us, flapping his leaf-like arms to fly. His mouth opens, and if the fangs weren't enough to intimidate us, he lets loose a menacing roar.

I can almost hear Luigi's startled cries before he sounds them: "Princess?! W-What are you doing here?!"

He's universally ignored, however, as Petey fires a sludge bomb down at us. The Toads run off to the left, while I break to the right. Looking to the wall, I can see the yellow and blue Toads are injured and I run for them. Casting just a look back, I swerve out of my charge and dive away, dodging another ball of sludge.

"Keep going, Princess!" the Fire Toad shouts and shoots a fireball at Petey, scorching a leaf. "We can handle him!"

Regaining my footing, I run back to the injured Toads. Quickly whispering another incantation, a soft pink light sparkles from the scepter and whirls around the two. Coughing, they push themselves up from the group.

"P…Princess?" the blue Toad asks, his voice with slight disbelieve, but mostly weary.

"What are you doing here?" the yellow Toad questions, a little less worse for wear.

"Ending this," is all I leave them with before turning back to Petey, who slams back into the ground and knocks the purple Toad away, zapping him of his Fire Flower power.

"Hang on," calls the Ice Toad, firing an ice ball at Petey and freezing his legs in place. With another roar, he fires another sludge bomb, dousing the green Toad. When he pops back out, his Ice Flower power is gone.

As Petey rears to attack again, Luigi jumps off the back wall and plummets down on Petey's head, but gets tossed away with ease. Running to him, another drop of sludge cuts me off.

Turning, I look directly at Petey Piranha. Tapping my rod, it flashes and a pink fireball appears in my hand. "Enough," is what I leave him with, as I lob the fireball at his body, scorching him. Petey emits a sharp cry of pain. His body flashes with a red and blue burst, and he coughs, sputtering sludge from his mouth.

Defeated, Petey breaks the ice from his legs and thrashes through the back of the fortress, fumbling away. Panting, I look around. The four Toads have gathered together, helping Luigi up from the ground.

"Peach, what was that?!" exclaims Luigi.

"Petey Piranha," I answer, a bit mockingly. "You have faced him before, right?"

"That's not what I mean and you know it," Luigi retorts, still flustered as he brushes himself off.

"Look, I couldn't wait at the castle forever," I explain. "That's never been me, and you know that. Mario is in peril and we need to rescue him in record time."

"Don't you think that I understand that?" protests Luigi. "What if Bowser hastens that death sentence that he's been threatening if Petey manages to get back to him and reports what just happened?"

His words hit me harder than any of Petey's sludge bursts could have. I was so eager to stop the Grasslands from being kept under enemy control that I didn't look at the bigger picture.

Shaking it off, I respond, "No matter; I'll send some of my forces to cut Petey from making it back to Bowser. We're not going to submit to his demands, Luigi. We're taking back these kingdom lands whether he likes it or not. And we will rescue Mario along with them."

My determination must have rocked him to his core somewhat, because he doesn't say anything after that. The Toads cheer as I hold my scepter up. No more Ms. Nice Princess from here on out. My patience is worn out.

"The Mushroom Kingdom is ours and I will take it back by whatever means necessary!"

They clap for me as we make our way from the fort. I'm proud that we were able to save the Grasslands, but the pang of worry settles deep into my stomach, mixing with the surges of confidence. We're just getting started.

[Bowser]

As we step back into the castle, I reluctantly let Mario slip from my arm and back into his room. "Good luck," he whispers and I wink, giving a small smile as he closes the door. My face falls almost immediately after and my heart sinks. It's been difficult enough as it is to hide Mario from everyone in the castle already, but hiding him from my son will prove damn near impossible.

And suddenly, my heart picks up again. My son! He's home! My smile curls back up and I'm elated to let that fact hit me. Until now, I hadn't realized just how much I missed the boy. Now, I eagerly wait for him to come into the halls.

Once the doors open, I barely see him before I spill out, "Junior! Welcome home, son! I…" My cheer slowly dies as I take a closer look and see seven certain Koopas trail behind him. Junior runs forward and hugs me, but I take a minute to respond in kind. He backs up soon after and I can't help but let out, "And…you've brought the Koopa…lings…?"

"Yeah," Junior answers, still delighted to see me. "Weren't those your orders, Papa? It's what the Magikoopa told me."

"Uh-huh. Right, of course." Someone either messed up my message or very clearly went against my orders. A flick of annoyance in my head signals for the latter.

"What's with the suit?" questions Roy, as the pink-headed Koopa flicks his red sunglasses. I freeze; I took too long with Mario that I didn't remember to change.

"It's, uh, new," I muster up. "I was in the middle of trying it on."

"Well, it certainly looks sharp, your highness," coos Wendy, as she adjusts her golden bracelets and fixes the bow behind her head.

"T-Thanks," I stammer out. Come on and pull it together!

"You seem a bit tense, Lord Bowser," notes Ludwig as he brushes his blue hair back.

"Ah, yes, you're right," I relent. "Honestly, I'd rather not be parading around in suits while the troops are training, but Snifit that brought me this was so insistent, and I'm pretty uncomfortable being caught basically playing dress-up." Good.

"He-he-he," laughs Lemmy, tossing a yellow star-marked ball up and down. "Bowser playing dress-up. Too funny!"

"Shut up, Lemmy," Junior snaps. Looking back to me, he asks, "So, how's the Princess, Papa?"

"Um, that's, uh, another part of my problems," I pretty much choke out. "You see, this time I managed to grab…Mario."

Subtly, I watch as the Koopalings eyes widen, shocked at the news. Junior giggles.

"Way to go, Papa!" He cheers. "Did you fry him yet?"

"Not exactly," I answer, carefully keeping my tone in check. "To keep it short, he'll be playing Peach's role this time. We're going to use him to barter for the rest of the kingdoms."

"Wow, really?" Junior's enthusiasm fails to falter. "Is that really going to work?"

"I suppose we'll find out soon," I chuckle, thankful that my son's attitude is enough to keep me calmed.

"This should be good," Roy chuckles himself, deciding to be amused with the news. The other Koopalings sound agreements and are slowly pacified.

"Where are you keeping him, anyway?" Larry asks.

"Ah…here, actually," I answer shortly.

"Well, duh," Roy retorts. "He means where in the castle."

"Here," I repeat and the Koopalings shock is borderline comical.

"Which room?" Junior asks, pushing open a nearby door.

I twitch as he jumps backward from the room.

...

Hooray, cliffhangers! I'm sorry, I simply cannot resist.

But hurrah, the Koopalings have arrived on page! (And so has the perspective swap writing style, ha-ha!) Morton and Iggy haven't spoken yet though, so my apologies. I find it hilarious that while I was working on this, (SPOILERS) Bowser Jr. and the seven were confirmed in the new Super Smash Bros. game. (End Spoilers) Now I can act out each of my little scenarios that will eventually occur where Peach single-handedly beats down all 7 Koopalings, yay!

...Ok, that's not happening (yet). But yeah, I realized that Peach was missing in action for a bit and was all, "Hey, I made a promise that she wouldn't suck in this story!" Boom, delivered in spades and aces. She literally took control of the chapter and the battles! Go figure!

So, yeah, to explain, Peach is usually capable of some type of magic in the Mario series, the Smash Bros. series, and most especially, the RPG series. But, because Nintendo likes to leave it open to the players to use head-canons, the literal explanation for these abilities literally is, "MAGIC!" You can tell how satisfied I am by that (spoilers: I'm not), and decided to give her a unique power source. Peach's Scepter (temporary name, perhaps) is now a thing! Beware the most magical lady of war you will ever meet! She also has Toads, so watch your back.

Speaking of, I intentionally did not have Peach name the Toads because I wanted to have her treat her subjects differently from Bowser. For example, Bowser's a jerk, but remembers or names each of his subjects. Peach, on the other hand, is a sweetheart, but simply does not recognize Toads by name. How sad. If you've noticed, however, these Toads are similar to the Toad brigade, with Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple all appearing here. To be honest, I don't know if there's a difference between those five Toads, the five that popped up in Sunshine, and the Yellow and Blue Toad that help Mario and Luigi in the New Super Mario Bros. games. Perhaps they'd be easier to distinguish if they had different names of sorts. Oh well!

Also, Red is notably absent because he's even more complex, because along with the other Toad confusion, the games don't make it clear if Red Toad is also Captain Toad, nor do they state if this same (or either Toad) is actually the same Toad that appears in the sports games. Apparently, my head-canon is failing me. OH NO! (Side-note: this is probably the first chapter that I didn't introduce a Paper Mario-esque Bowser grunt! Hooray for not needing my little original characters to carry roles! ...Actually, I kind of miss them.)

Oh, quick shout-outs for Kirby and Pokemon references, which I made intentionally. Sludge Bomb is a Pokemon attack, so I figured that I might as well use it for Petey's sludge spewing. The Kirby one is more subtle: the comment, "easy as a spring breeze," is my little nudge at a mode in a Kirby game, Super Star.

Anyway, that's it really for this chapter. Toadsworth will hunt you down, so look out. And, of course, next chapter will jump back to Bowser's home troubles and secret affair with Mario. (That makes it sound wrong for some reason, hahaha!) Until then, I hope you've enjoyed, and as always, please leave me a review or message to give comments and criticisms, as they are welcome. Thank you again for reading!