The Odyssey soared high above the clouds as it ascended into the great beyond. Mario steered the vessel via the wooden wheel he'd installed at the helm of the inner chamber near the window. With this addition, Mario would be able to fly the Odyssey without the need for Cappy to be present at all times. The top hat spirit was free to live peacefully back in the Cap Kingdom with all his friends and his sister Tiara, and Mario embraced adventure head-on with his ship.

Despite the mild turbulence rattling the aircraft, Mario was alone with his thoughts and an eerie silence. Peach's words echoed through his mind, and the plumber pondered all the ways he could've handled things better the night before.

He cursed his inability to speak.

Maybe the silence had once portrayed him to be a man of great humility, and maybe that had played a critical part in winning Peach's heart. But after the honeymoon ended, the sinister underlying problem had been slowly coming to light. Despite their blooming shared affection, Mario and Peach were still different people. They thought differently and sometimes had conflicting ideals. So what did their happily ever after look like? How were they supposed to actually work through their differences if Peach was the only one in the relationship who could talk? There had to be a way.

Mario docked the Odyssey upon reaching his destination: Star Haven. He had to figure out what this mysterious force was that Peach mentioned. If the Star Spirits had a vision of something terrible on the horizon, this was as good a place to start as any for an investigation.

The plumber strolled up the sparkling road and glanced over at the dazzling water fountain to his right as he passed it. He had forgotten just how tranquil and downright beautiful this place was. It was just as wondrous now as it had been when he was here last; visiting on his honeymoon. Peach seemed to love it especially. Just as Mario approached the entrance to the sanctuary in the stars, he stopped for a moment. He proceeded inside anyway, but somehow Mario couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him.

"Welcome, Mario," Eldstar greeted. "We foresaw your arrival today." Mario waved, then extended his hand out in a gesture as if to say something.

"You have come to learn more about the vision of impending danger, correct?" asked Klevar. Mario nodded. The six other star spirits all turned to their leader.

"It is not a matter I take pleasure in speaking of," Eldstar began. "Not long ago, I was woken abruptly from my slumber late one evening with a vision of something terrible. A dark, sinister force is growing at an incredible rate."

"As you know, Mario, the Star Spirits are tasked with watching over the Mushroom Kingdom, and the other lands as well from above," Mamar described. Mario confirmed this with a nod. "But, Eldstar has sensed that a great change is about to descend upon your world."

"It is a force stronger than anything we have ever sensed before," Skolar added. Mario crossed his arms and pondered this.

"Despite your tremendous feats, Mario, we fear that this new threat may be too much even for you to handle; at least alone anyway," Muskular spoke. Mario shrugged.

"Despite the power growing stronger as we speak, I am unable to identify the source of it for some reason," Eldstar answered. "It is blocked by an overbearing magic; the scale of which has not been seen in millennia. It is fueled and feeding off of a powerful hatred. I sense much hurt and suffering at the source of this power." A shred of concerned sympathy flashed across Mario's face. "But make no mistake, Mario. This suffering is not a source of weakness. It cannot be used to dismantle the danger so easily. In fact, that suffering is what allows it to grow." Mario gestured with his hand as if to propose a question.

"It will be impossible for us to say anything more about this danger until it fully reveals itself," Kalmar spoke. "But when that time comes, it may already be too powerful for anyone to stop it."

"We have already discussed it, and we suggest you visit Rosalina at her observatory," Misstar added. Mario's eyes widened slightly upon hearing this.

"She has experienced similar night terrors of this phenomenon, and we have reason to believe that she has learned things from her experiences which Eldstar has not," Mamar reasoned.

"Go to her, Mario. Make haste! If there is anyone else who may guide you to the truths that you seek, it may very well be the mother of the Lumas herself," Klevar instructed. Mario nodded and turned to depart.

"But before you go, Mario. Heed the last of my wisdom that I offer to you," Eldstar began. The plumber stopped and acknowledged the star. "Do not succumb to deception. The darkness will seek to fool you; to dance around your better judgement. Very soon, all will not be as you see. Should you accept your own perception of the truth, it might very well prove to be your downfall. Your world is on the verge of a great change. You must decide what that will mean for you. Tread lightly, o' noble hero." Mario grew puzzled by Eldstar's cryptic words. He scratched his head, then nodded in acceptance of the advice. Without another word, Mario dashed out of the altar.

The plumber pondered Eldstar's words the entire way back to the Odyssey. Normally, the wisdom of the Star Spirits was borderline obvious. But this time, Mario couldn't make any sort of sense out of anything they had just described to him. A power blocked by magic? Growing through suffering? A great change? 'All will not be as you see?' How was anyone supposed to make any connections or come to any sort of conclusions with any of that? The Star Spirits had never been this vague or downright unhelpful before. Mario powered on the aircraft and prepared for take-off. Hopefully Rosalina's version would offer a little more substance. Thankfully her observatory wasn't far from Star Haven. With the Odyssey, Mario would reach his next stop in only a few minutes.

Over the mechanical hisses and hums of the ship, Mario could faintly hear another sound. It was distant, yet…it seemed to be getting louder. The plumber glanced out the window nearby, but saw nothing other than the starry skies around him. Just as his nerves were about to relax…

WHAM!

Mario tumbled off his steering platform and slid across the floor as the Odyssey trembled violently. Without a captain, the aircraft tipped forward into a nosedive and began to free-fall! Fighting against the forces of gravity, Mario climbed his way back up to the wheel and regained control.

What on earth was that? It felt as though something had just collided with the Odyssey. The plumber looked out the window once more. This time, he spotted the source of the incident. Flying in close proximity to him was an airship; a familiar one at that. Mario must've landed on his head. He mistook the ship for one of Bowser's initially, but knew that was impossible. Bowser hadn't flown a battleship in over a decade. At last it became clear.

"Fancy meetin' you again, plumba boi!" a passenger of the aircraft shouted. It was one of four. Mario's eyes widened in terror when he recognized them.

"He couldn't believe it.

Flying alongside him were…the Broodals! The gang of devious rabbit wedding planners whom Bowser had once enlisted to coordinate his wedding with Peach! Fancily-dressed as ever too!

"Don't tink we forgot about all da trouble you caused us!" Spewart exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's cuz of you dat we can't find work no more!" Hariet added.

"But dat's all about ta change right…now!" Topper declared. "Broodals! Show no moicy!" Mario clenched the steering wheel. He had to keep flying the Odyssey. He was in no position for a fight. His aircraft wasn't built for combat. The plumber gritted his teeth and stared his adversaries down.

Suddenly, Rango tossed his yellow hat like a frisbee directly towards Mario. As it spun rapidly in its flight, spikes protruded out of the rim from all sides. Just as the hat closed in on the Odyssey, Mario sharply turned the wheel. The aircraft turned and maneuvered out of the way just in time. This was all he could do at the moment unfortunately.

Topper pulled a lever behind him. The bottom of the ship opened up. A series of green, hovering top hats emerged and took off towards Mario. The hats circled around the Odyssey and boxed it in. Mario tried to ram one of the hats and break through the barrier, but the hat bounced him right back into another hat nearby. Mario was trapped like a pinball.

"Spewart, gum up his day, would ya?" Topper requested smugly.

"Wid pleasuh!" Spewart replied. The large Broodal in blue took a deep breath and exhaled a large glob of his signature purple acid. The liquid coated the Odyssey's exhaust pipe and golden propellers down below; causing them to malfunction. A warning alarm rang in the ship's interior as a crimson light flashed rapidly.

Mario gripped the steering wheel tighter. There was nothing he could do. Topper's hats had him trapped, and now the Odyssey's mechanisms were failing. He could already begin to feel the ship beginning to lose altitude.

"Hariet, show dis chump what happens when ya mess wid da Broodals!" Topper ordered. Hariet giggled. She spun in place and her ponytails flung a pair of bombs nonchalantly towards their target. Mario shut his eyes and braced for the impact. The Odyssey was engulfed by an explosion. Fire pierced through the glass windows and raced around the room. Thunderous booms roared and swallowed Mario's hearing. He could feel the immense heat crawling all over him like an army of spiders. The plumber saw one final flash of orange before his vision went black.

Smirking proudly from atop their aircraft, the Broodals watched as Mario's burning aircraft hurdled down towards the earth below like a comet.

"Sire, please! Is this really necessary!?" asked Kammy as she frantically followed Bowser back and forth across his bedroom. Bowser shut his suitcase.

"Yes, it is," Bowser replied calmly.

"But with the coronation cancelled, you will be remaining as our king for the time being. We need you. So where exactly are you going?"

"To meet with the Kingdom Council." Bowser spritzed a small sample of mild cologne under his arms and casually threw on a sweater vest. To the uninitiated, it looked as though Bowser was preparing for a formal date that afternoon.

"But your next scheduled meeting isn't until tomorrow," Kammy explained. "Why must you leave so soon?"

"Because what I have can't wait until then," Bowser reasoned. "Five minutes with Peach is all I'm gonna need to get her to drag the others along." Kammy didn't have the slightest clue what Bowser was talking about, but she was determined to remain at her superior's side until she discovered what it was.

"Must you really do this now?" Kammy inquired. "Your castle is not exactly in high spirits after the events of this morning. We need you here. Your son could use you right now most of all…" Bowser glared at Kammy, then walked away from her as he approached his mirror on the wall. The Koopa King picked up a comb from his dresser and began to tidy his messy red hair.

"Junior's not a baby anymore, Kammy," said Bowser. "He needs to reflect on what went wrong and how he can do better next time."

"B-but-"

"Failure's nothing new to us Koopas. Hell, I've been failing my whole life. I was the farthest thing from respectable in my old man's eyes, I got my shell kicked by Celia back during the war between our kingdoms, I always lost to Mario, and I was rejected by Peach more times than I can count. But I never once had a pep-talk from my dad to cheer me up." The Koopa Witch greatly disliked Bowser's blatant disregard for Junior's emotional well-being at the moment; especially after how much Bowser claimed he was striving to be a more attentive and caring father to Junior than Morton Koopa Sr. had been to him.

"But don't you want Junior to succeed?" Kammy asked.

"Of course I do," Bowser answered.

"Then how can you expect him to learn from his mistakes if you're never there to support him and help him see where he went wrong? How is running off with the council going to do any good for Junior? You know how much your involvement with them has upset him over the years." Bowser set his suitcase on the bed and looked at her, sighing.

"Because I'm going there to negotiate."

"Negotiate…?"

"Yes, and when they agree to my terms, I'll quit the Kingdom Council for good and come home so I can be the father that Junior desperately needs." Kammy's jaw dropped. She was utterly speechless at Bowser's 180. He switched from seeming to care so little for Junior's suffering seconds ago, to suddenly making it his first priority. Had he...been working towards this silently all along?

"You mean…"

"You've done great work for me over the years, Kammy. I trust you. I know you guys did everything you could to train Junior and get him ready for the test. I'm not an idiot. But I could see for myself that it wasn't enough. I had a feeling in my gut that it wouldn't be, even though there was nothing I could do about it at the time." Kammy remained quiet as she listened. "But I can't keep making excuses anymore for dumping all the hard work on you and the Koopalings. It's time I took this matter into my own hands like I should've done years ago." Kammy was taken aback by the fire of determination in Bowser's eyes. "That's why I'm quitting the council so I can come home and help Junior bounce back from this."

"Bowser…," Kammy muttered. She was lost for words in the wake of her superior's resolve.

"When this is all over, I'll come back, sit down and have a heart-to-heart chat with my son and see if he even wants to try again right now. If he does, then we'll work out a game plan to get him ready to try the exam again. If we make it that far, I'll think about giving the coronation another shot. But it's time I put in the work to help him get there, instead of dumping the job on you and Ludwig. I can see that now." Kammy could feel her eyes watering behind her glasses. She was touched by the courage, responsibility and optimism radiating in Bowser's words. She took a step towards him and placed a bony, wrinkled hand on his arm.

"So…that's why you were so quiet this morning?"

"Exactly. I was worried Junior wouldn't pass, and I was busy figuring out my game plan in case he didn't. This is it. Now I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that leaving the council is what I have to do. It's what Junior needs, and now I plan to finally help him."

"That sounds like a wonderful plan, sire," she complimented. "But the council has been very thankful for having your help over the years. Are you sure they'll be willing to let you go so easily?" He chuckled.

"I'm sure they won't," Bowser replied. "In fact, I'm counting on that, so I'm coming prepared." The Koopa King picked up his suitcase once more. "But I know how to twist their arms, and I've got something in mind they can't possibly argue with." Kammy kept a persistent smile. She was tempted to ask Bowser what that something was, but didn't bother to say anything as she already had another question in mind.

"What would you like me to do in the meantime?" Bowser turned to face the door but stopped.

"I want you and the others to look after Junior while I'm gone." Kammy's smile drooped ever so slightly.

"But Prince Junior is practically an adult. Somehow I don't think he'll respond kindly to the idea of being babysat. Especially not in his current mood."

"Normally, you'd be right. But after bombing his exam, I think Junior could use some cheering up. Give him some space. Don't mother him. He won't respond to that. But just check up on him every now and then. Make sure he eats and gets plenty of rest. A cold shower or two will do wonders for his mood. If he needs someone to talk to, listen." Bowser approached the door and prepared to exit. "I don't expect him to be ready to talk about what happened yet, but if he is, just…be there for him until I get back, will ya?"

"Consider it done, your Excellency," the Koopa Witch agreed cordially.

"Thanks, Kammy. I really appreciate it."

"Oh sire, think nothing of it. You know I live to serve you," Kammy clarified as she gripped her wand and looked away bashfully. Bowser turned around and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"No, I mean it. I don't say it enough. Thank you…for everything. You always put up with all of my garbage. I yell at you when you don't deserve it. I've treated you like a slave for so long when I should've treated you like a friend. You're always thinking about what's best for me, and I never give you the respect you deserve for that." Kammy opened her mouth to speak, but she stopped herself before any words came out. The look in Bowser's eyes told her that he knew exactly what she was going to say next. "Celia being gone is no excuse for me to be so horrible to you when you're just trying your best to help me."

"Bowser, please. You're selling yourself too short," Kammy argued. "You've changed so much for the better over the years. I've watched. I know it hasn't always been easy. But you're trying to change; to be a better leader and a better father. I've seen it. I believe in you. Everyone in this castle does. So please, have some faith in yourself; just as I do in you." The two embraced for a moment. It was surprisingly hard for Kammy to let Bowser go.

The Koopa Witch watched him descend the staircase into the castle garage for his departure. As much as this conversation with Bowser had warmed her heart, there was still a small part of her that was…sad. Kammy couldn't ignore a strange sensation she had been experiencing over the past few days but refused to speak of. A lump formed in her throat, and the witch held back her tears. During the entirety of her past two heartfelt conversations with Bowser, Kammy could feel a rattling in her bones.

She could not shake the feeling that something terrible was about to transpire.