Mario sighed as he leaned back against the back wall of his cell, doing the best to keep his breathing shallow. He still couldn't believe that it had come to this, captured and at Bowser's mercy with no sign of backup or rescue. It was bad enough the few times it had happened before, but at least those times - like when dealing with King Boo - he hadn't been aware of the passage of time, or he'd had something to distract himself or a way to escape...but Bowser had been careful, cautious, and clever this time. While the bars of his cell had no barriers between them, they weren't far enough apart for him to slip through given his girth. The walls were solid without cracks, crumbling, or weak points. The ceiling was too high for him to reach through the various methods he had to increase his height, were enchanted so that he couldn't wall jump off them, and the cell was small enough that he lacked the room to triple jump. Bowser had also confiscated his hammer and all his items, and the slight purple haze to the air was a constant reminder of why he was so weak right now, and why he tried to keep his breath shallow.
He couldn't help but shake his head in reluctant admiration for the cleverness Bowser showed with that last security measure. Aerosolized Poison Mushroom. Not lethal enough to cause a respawn, but debilitating enough to drain strength and vitality with every breath. He didn't know how - or why - the haze didn't extend beyond the bounds of his cell, but it dangled an impossible hope as all he'd half to do is get out of his cell to recover his strength...the strength he'd need to get out.
He didn't know where that new ally of Bowser's had come from, or what his motives were. The odd being that looked like a human with the colors of a photo negative had shown up in the middle of Mario's attempt to rescue Peach yet again, proceeded to thrash him without saying anything...but always making certain never to hit him hard enough to cause a despawn. Bowser had even made sure to heal the broken bones the figure had left him with once he was caged, so he couldn't use that to injure himself enough to cause a despawn. It was...frustratingly clever and clear thinking of the turtle tyrant. He hadn't even stuck around to gloat! Mario'd tried to goad him in that regard, but the figure had suggested saving that until he was certain no one could come busting in and interrupt it...and Bowser had listened.
Sighing, Mario glanced across the hall at the two hanging cages dangling over the lava, their chains connected to his cell such that even if he did manage to break out of the cell, they'd immediately drop in. Princess Peach sat as calmly as she could manage in the one to the right in his vision, her dress unmussed and her hair only having a trace of soot, her crown in its proper position in her hair. In the other cage was Princess Daisy...though she looked a lot worse for wear. Her dress was torn, her hair was partially burnt, there were bruises visible on her arms and legs, her shoes were missing...and her feet and hands were bound together behind her back, a muzzle strapped over her mouth that - somehow - prevented her from speaking in more than a normal speaking volume. She was still struggling against her bindings, contorting as she tried to get her teeth on the metal bindings through the muzzle.
"Almost got it..." Daisy growled out as she bent so oddly. "Once I get free of one of these, I can get this cage open and get us free."
"I appreciate your enthusiasm, Daisy," Peach observed as calmly as she could manage, "but how do you expect to chew through metal?"
"I'll figure that out when I get there!" Daisy snapped out. "I'll pick the lock with my tongue if I have to, I'm skilled enough with it!"
Peach blushed slightly at that assertion, leading Mario to decide firmly that he didn't want to know. "And the cage itself? There isn't a gate to open, they were shaped from solid metal around us."
"There's bound to be a weak point somewhere!" Daisy insisted angrily. "If all else fails, I should be able to squeeze through the gaps if I ditch the dress!"
"And how do you expect to get to safety from over the lava after squeezing through without your dress to float?" Peach asked curiously.
"Climb the chain, then hand over hand along it where it's hooked to the ceiling!" Daisy insisted firmly.
"The chain is inside the ceiling, which has no gaps to grip," Peach pointed out calmly, "and the chain itself is coated to prevent gripping for climbing."
"Well I don't see you trying anything to escape!" Daisy snapped out angrily. "Not that you ever do, always just waiting to be rescued even when it doesn't even make sense to-"
"That's because I've already scryed that it won't work," Peach placidly pointed out.
Mario sat up in response to that. It was the first time he'd ever heard her mention anything like that. Daisy, for her part, also looked startled. "Scryed?" she demanded in shock.
Peach nodded calmly. "It's one of my gifts," she explained softly, "alongside my ability to manipulate my environment via my mood, though I do my best to keep that one in check due to how dangerous it can be."
"Well why haven't you used it to get out of here?" Daisy demanded angrily.
"Because I've already seen it won't work," Peach answered, now somewhat testily. "I don't know exactly how or why, but the only safe path I've scryed is staying calm in my cage, and that path leads to escape and safety somehow. Unfortunately, I can't see clearly enough to have more details...but following these scryed directives have revealed and neutralized many great dangers in the past, so I can only hope it continues to do so now."
"I always wondered why you chose such'a weird vacation destinations, Princess," Mario observed softly. He managed to return the soft smile she sent his way. "So what does'a your srying say we should do?"
"Unfortunately, my scrying only works for what would be my best actions, not that of others," Peach allowed apologetically. "The only thing it's allowed me to do for the sake of others before is in who I bring with me where, and in not bothering to act to prevent any of the times Bowser's kidnapped me. That's the path that led to the least death and destruction for my kingdom."
"So that's why you still look like Miss Perfect Princess," Daisy growled irritably. "You didn't even bother to fight back, did you?"
"All it would have accomplished is draining my strength and limiting my options when the time to act came about, much as you have," Peach pointed out in mild amusement. "Honestly, when we eventually do get out of these cages and bindings, I'm not sure how much fighting you'll be able to do running around in just your undergarments or less."
"What, you think I'll care about hanging out once we're free?" Daisy countered with a derisive laugh. "It'll either act as a good distraction for anyone trying to stop us, or a nice treat for Luigi when he shows!" She began to purr somewhat wickedly. "Kinda looking forward to how he reacts to seeing me so...bedraggled..."
Mario sighed, shaking his head ruefully. Despite the best efforts of himself, Princess Peach, Toadsworth, and even Luigi himself, Daisy was still devoted bordering on obsessed with Luigi and refused to accept he simply didn't see her that way. At the very least she hadn't tried anything truly crazy - like kidnapping him to try and force him to love her - but she had tried just about anything short of the indecent to try and get Luigi to 'see her that way'. From the sound of it, she was getting ready to try the indecent. Mario privately hoped the 'training journey' was Luigi being delicate about eloping with Rosalina - or something like that - just so Daisy would finally let go of this infatuation with his brother. He doubted that was the case - Luigi would never go off and get married without inviting him - but it might solve a few problems.
"I don't suppose you know when he's getting back, Mario?" Peach asked curiously, doing her best to shift the conversation away from where Daisy's mind was going.
"He'a didn't say," Mario allowed with a shrug. "Still, if'n I know my brother, he'll be showin' just'a when things look grimmest ta save the day. Wonder if he gathered an army this time? Or found some new ally-"
A despairing scream - similar but not quite like that of someone who had just been tossed into a bottomless pit - dopplered towards them before a an enlarged Chargin' Chuck burst through the doors to the prison, taking the doors with him as he shot past them, the scream dopplering away until he eventually crashed into the lava and despawned. Heavy footfalls followed before a familiar figure in green - one who looked very different from when he was last seen - walked into the prison. "Mario!" he cried out happily, grinning as he caught sight of his brother.
"Luigi?!" Mario gasped out in shock as he stared up at his brother who now towered over him even more than before. "Just what'a kind of training were you doing?"
"More than I have time ta say now," he said calmly as he reached for the cell bars.
"Wait!" Mario warned. "They're tied to the chains-"
Grabbing the bars, Luigi ripped them from their moorings, dragging the chains with them as the cages shot towards the ceiling before the stone broke under the force. Catching the chains as they started to fall, Luigi pulled both cages to beside them before they could fall far, smashing the aerosol sprayer in the process so Mario was no longer being weakened by Poison Shroom.
Mario blinked in surprise as he saw that, his jaw dropping as Luigi calmly reached into the cages - one hand each - and tearing the cages open, casually shattering Daisy's bindings in the process. "...effective training, I'a suppose?"
"I'd say so!" Daisy purred as she stood upright, licking her lips as she looked Luigi up and down...only to blink in confusion when he seemed to have no reaction whatsoever as he helped her and Peach to their feet before hefting Mario to his own.
"Let'sa get you all outta here so ya can recover," Luigi insisted firmly. "Then we can figure out what ta do about Bowser and his new ally."
"I'm afraid I gotta some bad news, bro," Mario allowed apologetically.
"Oh?"
"...the store was all outta Bright Shell," Mario explained with a teasing smirk. "Had ta get Shroom Clean."
"And that's why yer pants are'a chaffing," Luigi responded with a smirk.
"Is that what it'sa bout? Thought they'd shrunk!"