Chapter 2: Expendability

Mario and Peach had returned to the castle. It was surprisingly intact after a kidnapping attempt. Inside, the two met Toadsworth in the throne room.

"Your highness!" Toadsworth exclaimed. "By Jove, I thought you had been kidnapped!"

"I was... sort of," Peach responded.

"... Sort... of?"

"We hid using a warp-pipe to the sewers and ran into Belome. During that fight, he managed to catch Peach in his mouth and clone her. Both Belome and the clone were defeated, and by being in the wrong place in the wrong time, the clone was captured."

"Caught in his... I say, how utterly disgusting! You need to take a sho-"

"I know."

"Well... at least Bowser didn't get you. How long will it take for him to find out?"

"There's no telling. She could be there for... ever. Or, he could... dispatch her... and come back for me. I know she tried to kill me, but..."

"Should we go save her?" Mario asked.

"Save a murderous clone? Are you mad? Of course not!" Toadsworth snapped. "... My apologies for that outburst, but why? I believe it's quite a fitting punishment, is it not?"

"It's a bit ironic, actually. She seemed to believe that there could be only one Peach Toadstool," Mario said.

"I tried reasoning with her. I had the feeling she was brainwashed into being mindlessly loyal to Belome. I don't think she's completely evil or mindless..." Peach said.

"They can't be completely mindless. Remember what Mallow found out using Psychopath? They are capable of thinking, and apparently it's tough to be pretty," Mario said.

"Hmm... Maybe I'm just biased because I wasn't there to witness, but are you sure about this?" Toadsworth inquired.

"*sigh* Yes," Peach said.

"... Alright. Mario, head for Bowser's castle, and you, princess, should take a-"

"I'm going, too."

"Wait... you can't just-"

"Toadsworth... please, just..."

"... One of these days, I'm going to wind up at your funeral. You're too headstrong for your own good! Did you learn nothing from your kidnapping at Rogueport?"

"*sigh* Yes, it was foolish. No, it does not apply in this case. Besides, Mario will take care of me," Peach said, somewhat annoyed. "Please... just stop it already. I'll take the shower, but I'm not staying here."

"... fine! Go on! Cheerio! Ta ta! See if this old man cares."

So the princess cleaned herself up and put on a new dress. Apparently it was tough to be pretty indeed, as Mario had to wait for a good while before she was ready.

"Are we good to go?" Mario asked as she came out of the bathroom.

"Yes," Peach answered.

"Alright! Let's-a go!"

But while they were yet talking, an unknown enemy was hiding in the midst. A Boo had apparently stayed behind to spy on Mario should he have come to Peach's castle.

"So... Bowser managed to get a clone instead of the real one. I knew staying behind to watch would pay off!"

The Boo took out a Mailbox DS, opened the chat program, and started communicating to Bowser.

"What is it now?"

"Sir, I have some bad news..."

"What is it?"

"Um... you happen to have the wrong Peach."

"WHAT?"

"Going by what I just overheard between Mario, Peach, and Toadsworth, the one you have is actually a clone created during an encounter with Belome."

"AAAAARRRGGHH! They did this on purpose, didn't they?"

"Actually, they did not seem to have such an intent..."

"Agh. Just get back to my castle!"

"But Bowser, Mario is co-"

"[Bowser is currently offline.]"

"And he went offline. Great."

Bowser, now back at his castle, was pacing the floor of his throne room, pondering what he should do in this situation.

"Argh. I hunt for the princess and all I get is this doppelganger!" Bowser said during a face palm.

"What are we going to do with her, your majesty?" Kamek said.

"I'm trying to figure that out at the moment."

"So... what is this 'Belome' creature?"

"A yellow and red dog-faced monster with a long tongue and a hunger for everything. When Mario was part of the Koopa Troop, we encountered that disgusting freak of nature. He can also make clones of people by tasting them. I know from experience... because he cloned me, only to have its stuffing torn out by yours truly. What a fool, thinking he could match the one and true Bowser!"

"Ah. I would have liked to see that."

"And now, I have this copy of Princess Peach. Heck, if she really tried to beat the crap out of them (as I assume she did), they probably won't come to save her.

Wait a minute..."

Bowser stopped to think for a second.

"This is a golden opportunity! I can have the princess and Mario won't come to save her! This is awesome!"

"But your wretchedness, what about the Mushroom Kingdom?"

"Hmm... good point... if I take the clone instead, then the Mushroom Kingdom won't be mine... But, on the other hand..." Bowser turned towards the bound clone. "Mario's not coming to save you."

Whatever caused her to be a merry slave of Belome until that moment was immediately deprogrammed. That single statement seemed to have more weight than a mountain of exit counseling. The memories of Peach's past kidnappings all hit her in an instant. She was fully aware of who she was now.

She was terrified.

"What should I do... Well, I'll settle for her for now."

"Then what should we do with her if we get the real Peach?"

"Get Mario out of the picture first... then dispose of the fake one. Unless she turns out to be absolutely wonderful, of course." Bowser said, turning his head towards the captured clone. "That won't be a problem, will it?"

She was too terrified to respond.

"Will it?" Bowser said in an slow, eerily calm voice.

She hesitatingly shook her head.

"Good. You learn quickly. Guards!"

Two Koopatrols came out of the woodwork, approaching the Koopa King.

"Yes, dude? I mean, sir? I mean, King Bowser, dude? I mean, Ki-" Said the first one.

"Shut up and take her to her room," Bowser commanded.

"Groovy, dude! I mean, si—OW!" The first guard said before being stabbed by the other.

"Can't you act like a normal person?" Asked the other guard, picking her up. "Give me a hand, would you?"

The two guards picked her up and carried her down a corridor to a door on the right.

"So Bowser, how do you think this is going to work out?" Kamek asked.

"I'm going to wait for a while before attacking again. At the moment, everyone's probably expecting me to return, making another advance more difficult. The troops need to be fortified in advance, because the next one is going to be completely thorough. No stone will be left unturned. The Mushroom Kingdom and Peach will be mine!"

"So... if the clone behaves?"

"Well... I'm not against having my own harem..."