"And that's why we need your Toads," I finished. I left out the part about Dimentio talking with me on the swingset, out of respect for him. He didn't want anybody except for us two to know about it.

"Mind controlling people and taking their powers?" The Queen asked. "That's dangerous! And they're doing it to become more powerful than you so they can take control of Vambrace?"

I nodded.

"Well, you don't need to tell me twice!" Daisy said. "The Desert Kingdom will fight with you until the very end!"

"And the Comet Observatory as well," Rosalina said. "I don't trust or like what they are doing. They're hurting a lot of people already, and they'll most likely hurt themself too."

"The Mushroom Kingdom agrees to fight alongside the Desert and Origami Kingdoms," Peach said, bowing to me. "Let's just hope we can convince the others..."

"Others?"

"Yes, there are the Seaside, Lake, Koopa, Jungle, and Moon Kingdoms; along with many more such as New Donk City."

"There are a lot..." I said. "Which ones are closest?"

"The Koopa, Cap, and Lake Kingdoms, in that order. Bowser has a flying castle though, so he could be anywhere at this point."

"We should try to convince King Koopa first," I stated.

"He'd be the hardest to convince since King Olly folded him," Dimentio pointed out. "And I ruined his life as well. Oh, and Fawful too."

"We get it," Daisy said. "I'll go back to the Sand Kingdom to warn everybody there about our new threat. I'll also get the soldiers ready. You can't have too many Pokeys!" Daisy exited.

"I must leave as well," Rosalina exclaimed. "I need to prepare the Lumas. They aren't much in the way of battle, but they can prove helpful." Rosalina gently grabbed the Baby Luma and left as well.

Olivia put a hand on my shoulder. "You've got this, Olly. You're really brave!"

"Fawful knows a Kingdom!"

Everybody looked at him.

"It's Fawful's home place! It's the Kingdom of the Beanbeans!"

"Oh! The Beanbean Kingdom is a great idea, Fawful!" Peach said.

"Really?" Fawful asked.

"Yes! Prince Peasley and Queen Bean are both great fighters, and they have a strong and clever army." She pat Fawful on the head. "Nice job!"

He looked proud of himself.

"So this is what it's like to the good guys to prepare for the final battle, hm?" Dimentio said.

"What about the Metro Kingdom?" Roseanne asked. "That's where I'm from."

Peach considered the idea for a short time. "I don't know...They aren't really a kingdom, to say. Plus, Pauline mentioned wanting to keep her city out of trouble."

"Her city's going to be in trouble if we don't stop this!"

"You have a good point...Maybe we can stop there too," she turned to me. "Olly? Do you have any ideas?"

"Black Rose is far from the Mushroom Kingdom for now," I began. "We should head to the Kingdoms furthest from us first if we wish to get a head start. The thing is, Black Rose was silent before now, and they are silent once more. We don't know which Kingdoms they have in their targets right now. If we can get King Koopa to side with us, he and his flying fortress can help scan the surrounding areas for Black Rose's troops all while we're traveling to the different Kingdoms."

Peach, Mario, Dimentio, and Roseanne looked shocked as I resumed talking.

"The downside to this is, some of the Kingdom's rulers may not believe us, so they could fall victim to Black Rose. Or, they could already beating us to the other Kingdoms which means we need to go as quickly as possible."

"You would make a great ruler," the Queen said. "You thought of all that really quick."

"Oh, I'm just being paranoid." I summoned my sword from the fight with Super DimentOlive. "And we need to have weapons of war if we ever hope to fight against Black Rose. Based on when I was there, they already have a lot of Bowser's troops on their side. They could already be launching an attack on Bowser's Kingdom. If they get Bowser's Kingdom, then that will give Black Rose the advantage."

Peach nodded. "Sounds like you want us to go to Bowser first."

I looked at Vambrace. "The downside is, everytime I'm around Black Rose, Vambrace starts acting up. I nearly drained all of my energy last time keeping my melting arm into the basic shape of a hand...And Black Rose knows about them."

"Vambrace is a they/them?" Dimentio asked.

"They're multiple people," I responded. "Anyways, it sounds like Black Rose wants Vambrace. If we want to fight Black Rose, you'll have to use me as bait."

"What?! Why?!" Roseanne asked. "That's a death wish!"

"I can use my abilities without Vambrace," I told her. "I just have to make sure I don't drain my energy all at once."

"I wonder if they have-a something to do with-a those clouds for the past-a week," Mario said.

"Clouds? Nothing looks off about them to me."

"They showed up just after you passed out in that temple," Dimentio exclaimed. "They hadn't went away since."

"That doesn't sound good..." I shook off the thoughts. "Whatever. We need to head to Bowser ASAP if we want to beat Black Rose."

"Alright, let's go." Peach started out the door.


"No."

"What?! But don't you understand?!" Peach gasped.

"Yeah, I do! But that's still a no!" Bowser stomped his clawed foot on the ground, the sound echoing throughout the entire castle. "I'm not siding with Mario for the fourth time in a row!"

"But Bowser-" I attempted.

"And I'm still mad at you for folding me and my minions!"

"You won't-" I tried again.

He stood. "I know what's going on! Most of my minions are gone already! I'm not joining Mario, and I'm not putting my kids in danger!" He flopped back onto his throne. "And if you REALLY want my troops, you can get some from the Thwomp, Goomba, Boo, and Bob-om Kings!"

"King Goomba's been mind-controlled by Black Rose!" I was tired of being ignored, but yelling in such a quiet place probably was not the best idea. I stomped a foot on the ground. "And they'll most likely come after the others next! And if you don't help us fight, you'll be putting your children in even more danger than if you do! Black Rose will not stop until everybody is powerless and under their control! Please listen to reason and join our party! I promise I will never speak to you or anyone in your Kingdom again if you do, just please help us fight Black Rose! Our world, and probably others, are counting on this battle!"

Bowser considered the statement for a good while. Fawful eventually caught up with us. (We accidentally left him behind while he was getting something.)

"Fine."

"Wait, really?"

"Yes, really! But only because this is the best option right now!" He stood. His shadow towered far over mine. "And if this'll really help keep my kids safe then fine!" He spotted Fawful.

"Aah!"

"I still remembered what I said, Fawful! I said the next time I saw you, I was going to punt you to the next dimension!"

Bowser grabbed Fawful by the cape and dropped him. Bowser kicked Fawful as hard as he could, and the former villain went flying. Dimentio portaled Fawful back over to us, and he fell to the ground, shaking. Bowser faced Dimentio.

"And what are you doing here?! I thought you were dead too!"

Dimentio opened his mouth, shut it again, and rubbed his arm.

"He's joining us too," I answered for him. "He promised he wouldn't back-stab any of us." I looked at the magician. "Right, Dimentio?"

He quietly nodded.

Bowser huffed, smoke piling out his nose. "Fine, but ONLY because I wanna see how strong this Black Rose person is." Bowser turned around, his heavy footfalls echoing all around us. "KEMEK! GET OUT HERE! AND BRING THE KIDS!" He started turning back to us before stopping. "AND THE BROGGY!" He faced back to me. "Listen, if this is any of your 'funny business' then you AND your whole Kingdom are going to face my wrath like never before. Got it?"

I gulped. "O-of course." I attempted to hide my fear. He was far larger than me, and could tear me into confetti if that was his wish.

He looked far less threatening while folded.