Hello, picking back up where we left off! School has started back up for the second semester, which I am very pissed about, but oh well. Anyways, a new chapter that I hope would be an improvement over the last one! Though it will not always happen, I always try to top my previous work.

For the next half of the day, several Koopa-Troopas, Goombas, Boos, Dry-Bones, and Shy-Guys all ran about to gather things needed to give the human Bowser a Mushroom Kingdom-acceptable appearance. He had to remain still while some of his minions carefully trimmed the ends of his hair, bangs and mullet, to be "perfectly aligned with one another", as well as washing and combing it afterwards. They then tried to give his eyebrows an outward taper, which ended up looking surprisingly decent.

It was then that Bowser was given his attire that he would were to the anniversary celebration: a long-sleeve black T-shirt, white slim-fit trousers, black boots with semi-high heels, a pentagram necklace with the circle cut off, and a long white cotton jacket that resembled a labcoat, but had colored cuffs and hem (it's like Soma Cruz's jacket). The Koopa King spent the next ten minutes getting all of the stuff on without messing up his hair before he finally stepped out to show everyone.

"Well, how do I look?" Bowser asked.

Everyone gave an approving nod or hum.

"I think you could pass as a foreign prince." A hover Paratroopa said, "Speaking of that, you got your High Prince Emblem?"

Bowser almost forgot about it. He pulled it out of his pocket and pinned it to the jacket lapel. The Mushroom World exclusively used this particular emblem, regardless of the kingdom or country, for the High Prince.

"Now, obviously," Bowser said, "I need some kind of alias for my alter-ego. Any one, any ideas?"

After spending some time debating, Bowser managed to decide on a good cover name which will be revealed later, and set off to Toad Town through a nearby warp pipe, which proved to be easy, since he was now human.

(XXXX)

Peach was really enjoying the celebration, especially after Kart-racing with Mario and her friends, playing a Party-style board game with minigames, and live performances of Mario going to rescue her in the ever-famous platform/side-scrolling style, Bowser being acted out by two Toads in a costume. This had brought back many good memories of Mario coming to her rescue from him, yet all of the enjoyment was tainted by the thought of how she had hurt Bowser, though she was the real victim. Did she actually go too far by saying she completely despised him?

At the end of the performance, Daisy made her way through the audience to the stage.

"Wow, that was awesome!" the Sarasaland princess complimented, "You were really good up there, Peach!"

"Yeah, thanks…" Peach said, turning away as she began to let her thoughts get to her.

Daisy raised a brow, "What's wrong?"

"Look, Daisy, I just need to—" Peach said before being cut off.

"Oh, come on! It's a party! Have some fun! Don't stress about your duties as a princess!" Daisy said, "There's a dance coming up after dinner, and Luigi wants to go with me! EEEE!" she pressed her fists to her chin while smiling greatly and doing high-knees in place.

Peach uttered a smile, "Well, I guess you're right." She said, "I think maybe Mario would want to go with—" She stopped at something that she had seen coming down the main stretch of road from the Toad Town main entrance.

Slowly striding down the road was a young man who looked slightly older than Peach with hair the color of flames. Both it and his long white jacket were rippling in the breeze as he approached. As he came nearer, Peach could almost swear she saw a glint of light in his eye when he smiled at her. It was very strange; she did not particularly believe in love at first sight, yet she was immediately smitten as the charming man came towards her.

"Ooh," Daisy said when she noticed the strange new human walking into Toad Town, "who's that?"

"I don't know." Peach said, "I've never seen him before. From how he looks, though…" she stared at his clothing and hairstyle, "…I'd say he's from a very faraway civilization."

The red-haired human stopped in front of Peach.

"Greetings, Princess Peach Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom," the human Bowser said, "I am truly honored to be in your presence."

"Thanks," Peach said, reluctantly, "and you are…?"

Bowser cleared his throat, "Ah, yes, I am Richter Valentine, High Prince of the Amanita Empire."

"Oh, well," Peach began, hesitantly, "Hello, Prince, nice to meet you."

Bowser bowed his head once, "It's nice to meet you, too." He said.

"But, um, what are you doing here? Alone, too?" Peach asked.

Bowser smirked, "Well, I just like to travel without the expense of unnecessary security or transportation charters. I can take care of myself just fine." He said.

Peach raised a brow "But, you are a High Prince. Surely you weren't raised in a way that—"

"Well…" Bowser tried to think of what to say to counter her uncertainty, "…I would have one of my most trusted wizards take my form and carry out my duties on some occasions, while I would often set out in the wild with basic supplies. I've learned to adapt and survive."

"Oh," Peach said, "that actually sounds interesting!" she turned her head to the side, still looking at him, while she put a hand on the side of her mouth to aim her whisper at Bowser, "I might try that sometime, but just don't tell my advisor, Toadsworth…"

Toadsworth looked up from a pamphlet he was reading, "Someone say something about me?" he asked.

"Nope!" Peach said, forcing a smile and standing up straight.

Toadsworth simply went back to the pamphlet.

"So, I guess now that you're here…" Peach said to Bowser, "…you need a place to stay for the week?"

Bowser nodded, "Yeah, I do. Could you get me a room at a five-star hotel, by chance? I will pay every Coin it's worth." he asked.

Peach rubbed her chin, "Well, we do have some unoccupied rooms in the castle…would that be alright?"

Bowser nodded eagerly, "Yeah! That would be just fine." He said.

"Alright, Prince," she said, "but don't get too lazy, because the party is still going strong!"

Bowser chuckled, "Will do. And please, call me Richter." He said.

"And also…" Peach began, but hesitated, "…there's gonna be a dance later this evening…over in the ballroom…" the Mushroom Kingdom Princess blushed, "…would you like to go with me."

"Dance? With you? Hot dog!" Bowser said, before stammering to correct what he said so as to avoid coming off as not princely, "Uh—um, I-I mean…yes, it would be an honor."

Peach smiled brightly, "Great! The dance starts at 8:00. See you there, Richter!" she said before heading off.

Bowser waved as she left, "See ya, Princess!" he said.

"Call me Peach!" she yelled back.

Bowser was honestly surprised. His human form had given him the upper hand in gaining some type of opportunity with Peach. Hopefully, nothing would happen that could ruin this or reveal his identity. He decided to head around Toad Town to see what to do, when a familiar red figure stopped in front of him. The one whose sight, whose voice, whose very name, could send Bowser into a rage.

"Mario!" Bowser said, trying to hold in a boiling anger, "Can I help you?"

"Yes!" Mario said, glaring, "You can-a help, by staying away from-a the Princess!"

Bowser smiled, "Look, plumber, 1: you will never address a prince by 'you', you will refer to them as 'your highness'. 2: The Princess will be a lot more likely to befriend me and forget about you than it being the other way around."

Mario folded his shoulders, "Just-a watch your back!" he said before storming off.

Bowser chuckled, "Heh heh heh…who knew he could have such poor anger management?" he said to himself.

I feel this could be better…but, I'm too lazy to revise it. Anyways, that's it for chapter five, and from here on out, the story should start to get better. So, keep checking for updates, and eventually, I will have this story going smoothly. Keep holding on…