Chapter 22 Boosting Morale

"No way!" Aqua exclaimed. Her eyes grew wide as she stared at the computer. The information was exactly what she was looking for. It was almost laughable how easy it was to find. She turned toward her sister, who was making phone calls. "Peach!"

Peach gestured for Aqua to give her one minute. She held the phone up to her ear and nodded again and again.

"Uh huh. Yes, I am aware that you have never heard of her before. But this mission to rescue her will bring peace to the Mushroom Kingdom. You do want that, don't you?"

The little, chirpy voice on the other end continued to chat away. Peach smiled, apparently hearing what she wanted to hear.

"Awesome! Meet me outside my castle in about an hour and a half." The voice rang out on the other line, and Peach rolled her eyes. "I don't know; take a warp pipe or something!"

With that, the Princess hung up. She went over to her sister with an interested look in her eyes.

"What is it, Aqua?"

"Look!" Aqua said as she pointed to the screen. "It's a digital copy of Celia's birth certificate. And look at the place she was born."

Peach squinted at the screen. She traced her finger underneath the written lines.

"St. Toadstool's Hospital." Peach gasped. "That's in the Mushroom Kingdom!"

"Uh huh!" Aqua said with a nod of the head. "And if what Celia told me was any indication, she grew up in the Mushroom Kingdom. So that means…."

"She's a Mushroom Kingdom citizen!" Peach said. Her eyes grew wide, almost as if she had found a bar of gold. She stared at the birth certificate on the screen like it was a precious treasure. "This means if Bowser executes her, it could be seen as an act of war!"

"Exactly!" Aqua said. She smiled giddily. "I bet that old reptile brain wouldn't like that!"

Peach looked at the screen excitedly.

"Print that out! I think we can use it!" she said. Aqua nodded and proceeded to print out the birth certificate. The sound of the printer spitting out the stained paper, which was normally a sound that Aqua could not stand, now filled her with hope and glee. She excitedly snatched it up once the printer had bestowed it to her as a gift. She examined it with a grin as bright as a neon sign.

"Perfect," she said quietly. She put it in a blue folder, one that was just waiting to handle important documents. Once she had done that, a knock resounded on the door to Peach's room. Peach opened it expectantly.

"Ah! Mario! Have they arrived?"

"Yes siree! Everyone is here!"

"Great!" said Peach. She turned back and forth between her sister and her hero. "Then let's not waste anymore time."

With that, Peach and Aqua exited the room. As they graced the hallways, Aqua felt a surge of confidence. Peach's plan involved storming Bowser's Castle with the help of their friends. Aqua hoped that Mario was correct when he said that everyone showed up. They were going to need all the help they could get.

When they got to the castle entrance, Peach swept the door back. Aqua gasped when she saw that the courtyard in front of the castle was filled to the brim. Toads, humans, and Yoshis populated the grassy meadow, causing quite a stir amongst themselves. Aqua was able to recognize a few people in the front of the crowd. Melon, a Yoshi who she had been friends with for a long time, stood there alongside Yoshi. The Wario brothers were also there. They were as grouchy as always, with their arms crossed and their eyebrows scrunched up.

"What is going on here?" asked Wario.

"Yeah!" said Waluigi. "Can't a guy play Breath of the Wild in peace! What's with all this crazy talk!"

"Don't worry guys, I'll explain in just a minute," said Peach. "We just have to wait for two more people…"

As soon as she said that, a warp pipe popped out of the ground in front of the castle. Aqua watched as her other sister, Daisy of Sarasaland, came spring up. She jovially smiled at everyone.

"Hey, Peach! I'm here!"

Just as she said that, Luigi burst up out of the pipe too. He looked a little woozy from the rush that the trip had given him. His face turned as green as his cap.

"Ugh...I don't feel so good."

"Well, you're going to have to suck it up, Luigi!" said Mario as he patted his brother gently on the back. "This is an important mission."

"Yeah," said Daisy. She turned to Peach. "What's this you were saying about peace for the Mushroom Kingdom?"

Peach grinned.

"Find a spot in the crowd. I was just about to explain."

Daisy nodded and stepped right into the crowd. She took a place right next to Waluigi, who grinned slyly at her.

"Hey, baby. Feeling doubly attracted toward the Wah today, aren't you?"

Daisy cast Waluigi a glare.

"Uh, no." She slowly started to shimmy deeper into the crowd. Waluigi's jaw dropped to the ground.

"Oh, come on! Why doesn't the Wah get any love?" Wario patted him on the shoulder just as Peach held up her hands.

"Everyone! Please, quiet down!"

The crowd fell silent. All eyes were on the Princess as they waited for her to speak.

"First off, I want to thank you for coming here on such short notice. Desperate times so call for desperate measures, and I'm glad that you all are willing to participate."

"Participate in what, Peach?" asked Yoshi.

"Yeah!" said Melon. "What is so important that you had to call every single one of us here?"

Peach took a deep breath.

"Recently, my sister Aqua was kidnapped by Bowser. He wanted to use her in a hostage negotiation in order to secure my place as his queen. Thankfully, a young human Koopa hybrid named Celia Patch bravely stepped in and rescued her. And now, because of those courageous acts, Celia is now threatened by Bowser with execution."

The crowd gasped and started whispering amongst themselves.

"What? That's not fair!" exclaimed Daisy. "First that bozo wants to kill our parents and now he wants to execute someone for helping one of the Toadstool Princesses?"

"Yeah. Not cool," said Wario as he tried to pickpocket a complete stranger. Peach held up her hands to quiet the crowd's buzzing.

"Celia Patch, although she aligns herself with the Koopas, was born and raised in the Mushroom Kingdom. Thus, she is a legal citizen of the realm. If Bowser goes through with this, he will be spitting in the face of the law, the very thing which I know for a fact he wants to uphold. He will be declaring war on the kingdom, a war which we will be forced to fight."

The crowd burst into an uproar. Aqua could hear that everyone was extremely angry.

"Please, please, quiet down!" Peach said as she held up her hands. "We will not stand for this. The King of the Koopas has been doing wrong for far too long! It is time that we stand up for what is right! We need to prove to everyone that the days of Mushroom people living in fear of the Koopas is no more! If he wants a battle, then we will bring one to him! Who's with me?"

The crowd cheered. Not one single person seemed to be silent as they applauded the Princess. Mario stepped forward and pointed to the east.

"Then let's a go, everyone! Let's kick that tyrant's tail!"

With that, the amassed army started to make their way toward the Koopa Kingdom.