Hey everyone. Sorry to have kept you waiting so long. I really had to think about what I was going to do for this chapter. And since I'm only one chapter away from finishing the story, I think I'll go ahead and wrap up the story. That's right, no more suspense. It's finally going to happen on the next and final chapter. So please read and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Mario series or any of its characters. Nintendo does.

So Mario and Luigi headed off to the ball. They jumped into a warp pipe that was right in front of the outside of the house, which was also their way of traveling around the Mushroom Kingdom. Just then a vehicle, which appeared to look like a limousine, arrived on the side of the Mario Bros. They entered the vehicle and they were driven away to Princess Peach's Castle, which is where the ball was being held. Peach was still upstairs in her room checking her appearance. She wanted to make sure she looked perfect for Mario so she dressed herself as beautiful and perfectly as possible. She checked herself for wrinkles on her dress, split ends in her hair, or anything that she feared that may turn Mario off. She wanted to look perfect for Mario tonight and wanted it to be very special.

"How do I look Daisy?" Peach asked her friend.

"For the 100th time Peach, you look great," Daisy and Toadette sighed.

"I'm sorry Daisy," Peach apologized, "I just want this night to be very special between Mario and I. I hope I didn't bug you or annoy you."

"No, it's cool Peach," Daisy replied, "if I was going with Luigi I would probably act the same way." Peach was somewhat surprised by what Daisy said. Daisy was never quite the type who cared about her appearance. People would always judge her and write her off because she isn't as "dainty" or "ladylike" as other princesses are. She was completely different. She usually did not care what other people thought or said about her. She was always the kind of princess who would do things the way she wanted to do them, whether people liked it or not. But why was this an exception with Luigi? Could it be because of the feelings Daisy has for him? Peach knew that Daisy was still thinking about Luigi. She then had an idea and decided to tell Daisy, hoping that it will finally bring her and Luigi together.

"Oh I know Daisy," Peach said as she smiled at Daisy, "why don't you try talking to Luigi at the ball? It's not too late to go with him you know." Daisy wasn't sure what to say. She wanted to go along with Peach's plan, but she wasn't quite sure if it would work. Finally, she agreed to go along with the plan.

Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi were headed up to the castle for the royal ball, riding in the limousine they've entered early. Luigi found himself thinking about Daisy every drive of the way. I hope Daisy isn't still mad at me Luigi thought, hoping that he still has a chance with her. He filled himself with determination to ask Daisy out. He kept his ambition high and his spirit flamed. However, he was still feeling nervous deep down inside. He wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do. He wasn't sure if revealing his feelings to Daisy was going to make things better for him. He wanted to believe that it was the right thing to do. He wanted to believe that exposing his feelings to Daisy would make things better for the both of them. He wanted to believe that Daisy felt just as much spark of love as he did.

But no matter how hard he wanted to believe that he was right, he wasn't sure if he really was right about Daisy. He wasn't sure if Daisy really did love him or if she was just being friendly to him. He wasn't sure if he was finally going to get a date with somebody as pretty and beautiful as Daisy or if he was going to suffer the same experiences he's suffered in the past. He wasn't sure if Daisy shared the same feelings he shares for her. But the one thing he was sure of is that he loves Daisy and he was going to do all he could to finally say what he's been wanting to say to her for a very long time now. And he hoped with all of his heart that he has finally found the person who shares the same sparkle of love that he feels.

The Mario Bros. eventually arrive at the castle. They slowly stepped out of the limo and walked down the red carpet as they entered the castle. Upon entering the castle, they are greeted by tons of guests from different locations of the Mushroom Kingdom. These guests include Donkey Kong and his buddy Diddy Kong, who were escorting their dates, Candy and Dixie, to the ball. Donkey Kong and Mario were former rivals way before they entered the Mushroom Kingdom. Before Mario met Peach, he was dating Pauline. The two of them were such a happy couple and they always spent time with one another. However, unknown to Mario, Donkey Kong also had a crush on Pauline. So without warning, Donkey Kong kidnapped Pauline so he could have her all to himself. However, he was eventually defeated by Mario. Overtime, their grudges against one another slowly started to fade away and now Mario and Donkey Kong are now considered to be good friends. And although they're still rivals when it comes to competition events, they simply compete against each other for the fun and they are a lot friendlier with each other. DK looked up at the red plumber and greeted him.

"Hey Mario, what's up?" DK greeted.

"Hey DK," Mario greeted back, "it's been a while hasn't it?"

"Yeah," DK agreed, "it's been a while since I've last seen you. I haven't seen you since our last encounter with each other in the Baseball Kingdom."

"Yeah, I remember," Mario said as his memory in the Baseball Kingdom came to him, "you competed in a Baseball game against my team. You were one of Wario's teammates and you rammed into my brother when you were trying to make the run-winning game."

"Yeah, I remember," DK said feeling guilty about the incident, "I'm sorry, I never meant to tackle your brother the way I did. I was just trying the hardest I could to win. I wanted to win just as badly as you did."

"It's OK DK," Mario said, "I know you didn't mean to. It's was just a competition right? And I'm sure Luigi knows that it was just an accident."

"Thank Mario," DK smiled, "I'm glad that there's no hard feelings between us anymore. By the way, speaking of Luigi, where is he?"

"Oh, he's over there," Mario said as he pointed to Luigi who was sitting nervously in a chair, trying to get the courage to ask Daisy out.

"Oh, he looks a bit nervous," DK said as he noticed Luigi sweating nervously, "does he have a date?" Mario then gave a disappointed expression on his face.

"No, I'm afraid not," Mario said, "he's still too shy to ask her out. He's afraid of asking her out because he's afraid that Daisy will turn him down. Peach and I have been trying to help Daisy give Luigi the courage to do it, but so far we haven't had any success."

"Oh man," DK said with a disappointed tone, "if only Luigi understood how much Daisy liked him." Mario didn't think that DK had found out about Daisy's feelings for Luigi.

"Wait, you know that Daisy loves Luigi too?" Mario asked in surprise.

"Yeah," DK explained, "I've noticed for a long time now that Daisy has always had a thing for Luigi. I've noticed how much she talks about him and thinks about during our sports events. I see how Daisy makes flirty and suggestive looks toward Luigi's direction. So yeah, I've known for the longest time now that Daisy has always loved from the very first day they met. And now everyone seems to know that she likes him," DK finished off strongly.

"Everyone except Luigi himself," Mario said, "he doesn't have a clue of the feelings that Daisy has for him. But maybe now he will know because he promised me that he would talk to Daisy at the ball today." Mario then looked over at Luigi who was still sitting in the chair nervously. Candy Kong, who waited impatiently for DK, called him back over. Meanwhile, Dixie Kong was finding herself on the dance floor with her boyfriend, Diddy Kong. Diddy Kong was DK's best friend and partner on most of his adventures. He idolizes DK more than anybody and he and DK are just as close to one another as Mario and Luigi are.

"What a great ball party huh Dixie?" Diddy stated.

"It's great indeed," Dixie happily agreed, "I'm glad you took me Diddy." Dixie then looked over at a sad Daisy, who wasn't sure if Luigi shared the same feelings she has for him. Dixie Kong, curious at why Daisy is sad, leaves Diddy to go talk to her.

"Hang on a second Diddy" she told her boyfriend, "I'll be right back." Diddy Kong wasn't quite sure why Dixie wanted to stop dancing so soon. But he and Dixie always knew that they could trust one another. So he agreed to wait for her.

"OK," Diddy Kong responded as he watched Dixie Kong approach Daisy. She slowly approached her to find out why Daisy was sad.

"What's the matter Daisy?" she asked, "why are you sad?" Daisy was reluctant to answer the question at first. But she knew how "hung on" Dixie Kong can be and she knew that she wasn't going to leave her alone until she told her. Although she would never admit it, Dixie Kong could be just as stubborn as Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong sometimes. She wanted to keep this characteristic hidden from everyone because she considers herself to be more open-minded than the other two. However, deep down inside, she was just as thick-headed as DK and her boyfriend. After a while, Daisy decided to answer.

"It's Luigi," Daisy answered sadly, "I want him to ask me out to the ball, but he won't do it for some reason. I'm beginning to get the feeling that he doesn't like me." Dixie Kong knew what was going on. She had once been in a similar situation like this with Diddy Kong. She remembered the very first time she met Diddy. He was such a nice and kind-hearted chimp who loved Dixie Kong to the fullest, even if he was stubborn like his friend and idol DK. There was nothing Diddy wouldn't do for Dixie. Buy a fancy dinner; take her to a fancy dance, you name it. But, like Luigi, he was also too shy to talk to her. He really liked her, but he wasn't sure if she felt the same way. She seemed to really like Diddy, but Diddy himself was unaware of Dixie Kong's feelings. Eventually, Diddy knew he Dixie felt about him and they spent the rest of their days happy together. She knew that this was the same situation for Luigi and Daisy.

"That isn't true Daisy," Dixie Kong said in comfort, "Luigi does love you. He's just shy and nervous that's all." Daisy was confused. She never would have guess that Luigi was so nervous about asking her out. I mean sure, Luigi had always had a crush on her, but Daisy didn't know that he loved her that much. Daisy, still confused, asks Dixie Kong a question.

"Are you sure?" she asked, "How can you tell?"

"Because I once been through the same thing with Diddy Kong," she explained, "I know what's it's like to love somebody you really care about, but not know if they love you back. When I first met Diddy, I thought he was the cutest guy I've ever laid eyes on. I mean sure, he can be just as stubborn and troublesome as his big ape friend DK, but he was also one of the nicest, most gentle guys there ever was. But he was so nervous to talk to me. I was afraid that he would never open up to me. I thought that he didn't sure the same feelings I had for him. But I later found out that he did love me and ever since then, we've been so happy together." As Dixie Kong finished her story, Daisy was suddenly filled with hope in her heart again. She finally understood why Luigi was acting so avoidant of her ever since she came down to the Mushroom Kingdom. She finally knew why Luigi was so hesitant to talk to her, let alone ask her out. As she got up from out of her chair, Dixie Kong wanted to know where she was headed.

"Where are you going Daisy," Dixie Kong asked the tomboy princess.

"To find Luigi," Daisy answered, hoping to finally get Luigi to ask her out to the ball. Daisy's eyes sparkled with hope and happiness as she ran towards Luigi's direction.

A few notes to add here:

1. Yes, the Kongs can talk in this story. I know that they don't really talk in the games (with the exception of a few dialogs here and there). But I wanted to keep the story nice and simple and didn't want everybody struggling trying to find out what the they're saying.

2. Part of the reason why this chapter is so late is because I made this chapter ALOT longer than I wanted to make it. I didn't want to seem dull and boring.

3. I see Mario and Donkey Kong as being friendly rivals rather than bitter ones. Why? Well, if you look at the endings in Mario vs. Donkey Kong games you pretty much see why.

Anyway, I'm working on the final chapter right now. And since it's the wrap-up chapter, it shouldn't take too long to finish. Well, enjoy =D!