Chapter 1: Flung Away
The airplane arrived safely at the airport. The roads were lined with ribbons and decorations, all the way to the hotel.
The sun shines bright on Terrao City.
The gang began to get checked in at the hotel, but Wario and Waluigi got stuck at the front desk.
"Wah! What do you mean there's no room for us?" Waluigi shouted.
"I'm sorry sir, but I can't find any rooms for "Golden King Wario" and "The Prince of Dance Waluigi". I'm afraid you'll be placed in a regular suite, at a cost of 9500 a night" The clerk replied.
Wario walked up to the counter and slammed his fist on it.
"Listen bub, we're a part of Princess Peach's diplomacy mission. So either you get us the Luxury Suite for free, or we put in a word to the Princess and have you executed for espionage!"
Princess Peach, who was nearby, froze in horror. The clerk's eyes bulged open in terror, and she began stuttering.
"I-I-I'm so s-sorry. We will get you t-the room right away!" The clerk managed to blurt out.
"Wait a minute! I'm not gonna-!"
Princess Peach tried to explain that she wouldn't ever do that, but she was too late; the clerk ran off in fear for her life.
"Wahahaha! Now that's more like it!" Waluigi said victoriously.
"Why in the world would you say that?!" Peach demanded an answer.
"Wah, you're telling me you've never used your power to get what you want? See, that's the difference between you and me Peach." Wario commented.
"And that difference being?" Peach asked, crossing her arms.
"You're too soft. You're a doormat! If you ask me, you gotta start becoming intimidating and scary if you want to be taken seriously." Wario responded.
"Tsk. I'll be just fine without needing to stoop down to your level." Peach responded annoyed.
Wario shrugged.
"Wah, suit yourself. Don't come crying to me when trouble arrives though."
Wario smirked at her.
"Wah, c'mon let's go already! I want to get some food!" Waluigi whined.
The two of them then walked away.
No matter how hard Peach tried to ignore it-after all, it was Wario that had said that-she kept on thinking about what he said.
"You're too soft. You're a doormat!"
Peach shook her head and began walking towards her and Daisy's room.
——————————————————————
Daisy was exploring the hallways before separating from Mario and Luigi. She found the door to her and Peach's room, and tried turning the knob.
The door wouldn't budge.
"What the?" She wondered aloud.
She tried ramming the door slightly. Nope
She tried lifting the door while turning the knob in case the door was just stuck. Nope, not that either.
"Daisy?" Peach came up from behind her.
"Hey Peach, I think the door is stuck!" Daisy backed up and rammed the door with her shoulder, but to no avail.
"That's because the keys are digitally locked now." Peach responded. She grabbed a card key from her purse and tapped it on the doorknob. A small light on the side of it turned green and the door audibly clicked.
"Huh. They really changed a lot of stuff did they?" Daisy asked out loud.
Daisy and Peach walked into the 2 bedroom room. It was recently cleaned and the decorations made it look beautiful. There was also an extra provided bed for Toad as well. Daisy however, was more interested in the beds.
"Hyup!" Daisy grunted.
She threw herself onto the bed, sinking into it as if it was a comfortable, relaxing, soft grave.
"Ahhh~ that's the ticket." She said, her exhaustion from the flight disintegrating within a second.
Toad Akio walked in as well. He was carrying 3 suitcases in his hands, which dwarfed his little body.
He placed them down on the floor and jumped on the bed himself.
"Ahhhhh these beds are way more comfortable than the ones at my place. I could get used to the royal lifestyle."
Daisy and Peach looked at each other.
"Akio if you don't mind me asking, is this your first ever mission?"
Toad opened his eyes. "Why yes it is Princess! A true honor I must say. Toad responded cheekily.
"That's strange. If I recall, a soldier needs at least a few years of experience to serve as one of my personal guards." Peach questioned.
Toad Akio froze and his stomach was put into knots.
"W-w-well that's because uhmm…" Toad struggled to come up with an answer.
"It's because I'm that good!" Toad yelped out, gaining some confidence.
"Yes ma'am that's correct! My combat was just so good that Toadsworth decided to send me! Also, the guy who was supposed to guard you got sick too, so…"
Peach nodded.
"That makes much more sense now. Well, thank you for clearing that up Mr. Akio." Peach smiled.
"No worries Princess, it happens to the best of us. Now, excuse me while I head to the bathroom."
Toad Akio locked himself in the bathroom, his head still throbbing from adrenaline. He felt like he couldn't breathe, but he managed to calm himself down. That was a close one!...But what was he doing?
——————————————————————
"Wah, this place is really great! I can get used to this vacation."
"I'll say. This food is a feast fit for Golden Wario!"
Wario and Waluigi went out and sat at a restaurant near one of Terrao's many beaches. Wario had ordered 20 dishes of different meats, seafood, and pork while Waluigi was enjoying a special soup with a Large CoCola Drink.
"Wah, being a diplomat sure has its perks Wario!"
"Sure does pal! Let's get going now, I wanna see the rest of this place."
Wario and Waluigi cleaned up and prepared to leave.
"Excuse me, you two." The koopa who had been their waitress came up with a slip of paper.
"You two still need to pay the bill. A total of 12,000 coins."
"Weh, why of course! Send the bill to Princess Peach; we are diplomats after all. Also, add a nice 1200 tip for yourself." Waluigi replied.
Wario and Waluigi grabbed their leftovers and left the wide-eyed waitress behind as they went on the path towards the city center. As they walked around they noticed something strange.
Colored circles lined the road. They lined the grass into the park nearby. There was even a path of colored circles on the beach they were originally at. All of these paths had one thing in common however; they were all lead towards the town center. As they walked into the town center, Wario noticed all of the construction on the far side, and got interested in what was happening near the fountain. A Scuttle Bug worker was using its web to set up some crystal props on top of the fountain. Other workers were around as well making noise by hammering in nails, and using welding equipment.
"Hey Bug! What's with all the ruckus?" Wario yelled.
The Scuttle Bug looked down at Wario.
"Why sirs th's an exclus'on area. N' one allowed with'ut clear'nce."
"Wehh, of course we have clearance!"
Waluigi yelled back.
"Th't so?"
"Wah, of course! We are uhh…" Wario thought for a minute. "We are representatives of WarioWare INC. Free Press! We wanted to write a news piece about Terrao! Here's our card!"
Wario brought out a business card that just had his company logo on it. It was also slightly crumpled and had a weird stain in the middle.
"Hmm. Well I ca'n argue wi'th a hand'ome looking logo. Wha' are yo'r questions?"
Waluigi stepped up.
"Wehh what's with all the circles? A dance path perhaps? I am a world-renowned dancer after all." Waluigi exclaimed smugly, striking a pose in the process.
"No sirs. Terrao's fest'val is a cele'ration of the sky crystal tha' pow'rs our town. The who'e town partic'pates in a giant bo'rd game acr'ss the town. A selec' amount of people partic'pate in the game while ever'one else watches from the si'lines and cheer them on. We'll have food, dri'ks, and pr'zes for everyone, including some light be'ting on the side as well, all to have gre't fun for d' whole town yes sirs."
"Wehh, that sounds too complicated and boring."
Waluigi whined.
"What about those who try to move up? How do you make sure no one cheats?"
Wario asked.
"The whole town is pre'ty adam'nt about playing fair, but we got refer'es to make sure no on' che'ts. They surv'y the game at all time' yes sirs."
The worker responded.
"Wehhh, well what about a prize? Don't tell me everyone's just doing this for nothing."
Waluigi asked.
"No sirs, there is ind'ed a pr'ze for the one who reach's the end. They get the cerem'nial title KING OF THE ISLAND unt'l the rest of the fest'val, not to me'tion first prior'ty of food, drink, and a cash pr'ze yes sirs."
Wario and Waluigi looked at each other with devious smiles.
"Wehehe. That will be all. Thank you."
Wario started walking away.
"A cash prize eyy? We win the board game, we get the prize, I become King. Let's go, Waluigi."
Wario grinned for a second, but didn't hear Waluigi's response.
"Waluigi?"
"Wahhh so I was thinking we could have a dance-off, bring some actual culture to this dull island!" Waluigi struck a pose.
"S-sir I don't' make the decisions on tha-"
"Or or! We can have a game where we-OWW!" Waluigi groaned in pain as Wario punched his arm.
"Come on already!" Wario shouted.
——————————————————————
Mario stood out looking down at the town from his balcony. Luigi was out cold, the flight having exhausted him. He slept on the bed on the far end of the room, snoring out the letter Z. Yoshi, meanwhile, was sleeping on the far end of the bed, out cold from all the free fruit that was in the lobby, including the plastic grapes. Mario was tired as well, but not enough to sleep. He held that slip of paper from the castle in his hand.
Hey, Chumps! I'm throwing a Big Bowser Bash to apologize for being such a big jerk. So I've got a buffet of free grub laid out for all of you.
Come 'n' get it!
-Bowser
No doubt Bowser was up to something, but…could this be a real peace deal? He didn't want to risk it, but it was too momentous of a possibility. He decided to raise this possibility with Peach later. With the welcoming dinner at exactly 21:00, he needed to catch at least some sleep, so he jumped into the other bed in the room and set an alarm for 5 hours later.
——————————————————————
Hey, Chumps! I'm throwing a Big Bowser Bash to apologize for being suc-
"Ooo!"
The slip of paper had been torn into pieces, but that was the last thing on Donkey Kong's mind. He had made it to the Mushroom Kingdom and searched the whole place, but he didn't find Bowser. Or ANYONE for that matter. Someone gave him some cash though!
"Ahh! Monkey! Please don't hurt me! Here, here is my wallet! TAKE IT! AHHHH"
These Toads sure are weird...and nice!
"Oooook!"
Diddy Kong was exhausted from attempting to catch up. When Donkey Kong is determined, it seems he develops an unnatural, infinite amount of stamina. They had made it to the port where a giant ship was parked, but still nothing. Donkey Kong sat down, saddened that he couldn't find it, and wondered if he had been tricked.
"All aboard the MSS Sea Star! We set sail for Terrao soon! All Aboard for Terrao! That's T-E-R-R-A-O!"
Donkey Kong looked up. A mustached Toad who seemed to be a sailor was leading people onto the boat.
Terrao.
Why did that sound familiar?
Donkey Kong looked at the other side of the paper, the side he only had chosen to look at once. Most of the words were gone; torn or faded from the journey, except for one word that was just recognizable.
Terrao.
Diddy Kong finally arrived at the port when Donkey Kong cheered and began whooping it up. Not wanting to run any more, Diddy Kong jumped onto Donkey Kong before he started galloping towards the sailor.
"Last call for Terrao! That's T-E-SWEET GRAVY!"
The Sailor ducked in terror of being squashed like a grape by the ape that was practically sprinting at him. After a few seconds he looked up and saw the big ape looking down at him, apparently waiting for something.
"Uhm, g-good afternoon s-sir. Do you have a t-ticket to sail with us? I-If not I can l-let you purchase one f-for 65 c-coins.." The sailor squeaked out.
Donkey Kong got excited and banged his chest.
"Ooooo!"
He literally threw the cash he had received at the Sailor, about 200 more than what was required, and jumped onto the ship. The Sailor was almost knocked back into the water, but managed to save all the money he received.
"Uh-uhm, all aboard?"
——————————————————————
The Princesses were invited for dinner with the members of the representatives, an important occasion as Peach can raise the concern and opportunities of more Mushroom Kingdom presence on the island, and after a late arrival from Wario and Waluigi, everyone was getting ready.
"Wehh what about this Wario? Too tacky?"
Waluigi pulled out a purple, shining suit with sparkling diamonds on every single fiber.
"Wah whatever works. I'm just gonna stay here and watch tv." Wario said, tucking himself into the bed.
Waluigi was horrified.
"Wehhh!? Why?"
"It's just gonna be a bunch of politicians in suits talking a whole bunch of nonsense. No thank you." Wario explained.
"But the opportunities are limitless Wario! Think of all the jewelry just littered about! Plus, these politicians are suckers! They will just give us land for anything!" Waluigi rebutted.
Wario's eyes lit up with an idea. "We can buy land for WarioWare!"
Waluigi smiled and nodded. "Weheheh exactly!"
Wario took off the blanket and jumped out of bed. "My friend, you have just persuaded me. I'll go too."
Wario went up to his suitcase and opened it. He pulled out a relatively clean yellow shirt. "I ain't putting on a suit though."
Waluigi nodded and looked back at the closet.
"Ohhh I just can't decide! This red one shouts confidence, but this one just exudes domination! I JUST CAN'T DECIDE!"
"Just wear your purple magenta-striped one. That's the one you wear all the time anyways." Wario responded.
Waluigi grabbed his purple magenta striped one. "Wehehehe You're absolutely right."
—--
"There we go. Just put your foot right there aaannnddd…perfection!" Toad exclaimed. He slipped Peach's foot into the other high heel.
Peach looked in the mirror. She was wearing a stunning pink dress, with long pearl white evening gloves - and the pièce de resistance - her crown, which shone bright on top of her head.
"Well Mr. Akio, how do I look?
Toad smiled and saluted.
"Like a GDP of a trillion coins, your highness! And please, just call me Toad! Mr. Akio was my father."
Peach chuckled. "Very well then. You're excused to get dressed, Toad."
"Yes ma'am!"
Toad ran over to his suitcase and opened it. Peach walked over to the bathroom where Daisy was and knocked on the door.
"Daisy? Are you ready?"
"Yep! Give me one sec!"
Daisy walked out wearing something casual. A little too casual. She did not look dressed up to go to a party in fact. She was wearing her sports jersey, a pair of tennis shorts, and gym shoes. Peach inspected her and crossed her arms.
"What?" Daisy asked.
"Daisy, this is a dinner party with the representative congress of Terrao. I need you to dress properly for this." Peach responded.
"Aw c'mon, I'm not staying for long! I'm eating and then I'm leaving. Plus, I always wear this for other meetings. I've made an image for myself I'll have you know."
Daisy said defending herself.
"I understand Daisy, but I really need you to wear one. The Terraon Representatives are very adamant about formal attire. Just for tonight! I promise I'll make it up to you. Please? Pretty please?"
Peach begged her.
Daisy shut her eyes.
"Nope. Nuh uh. Nice try. You can't make me."
Daisy kept her eyes shut to avoid Peach's gaze, the "argument-killer" you could call it. She slowly couldn't resist and took a quick peek at Peach.
Peach anticipated this so she made her eyes sparkle, puckered her lips, and made the saddest puppy face she could.
Dang it.
"Fine, I will wear a dress. I'm wearing my orange one though, it's the only one I'm comfortable with."
Peach smiled and hugged Daisy oh so sweetly.
"Thanks cuz." Peach said.
"Yeah yeah alright heh."Daisy responded.
Coincidentally, Toad had finished dressing up.
"Well your highness's, I'm ready!"
Toad shouted. He walked to the bathroom as if he had readied a surprise reveal.
"Well? Not too shabby huh?"
Peach and Daisy blankly stared at what they saw. Besides a normal pair of blue pants, Toad was wearing a peculiar dress shirt. It was a plain white color with pictures of Mario and Luigi littered all over it. Different logos and faces all over it. Not to mention the giant satchel he wore on his side, clearly filled with multiple items that were causing the fabric to bulge.
"That's uhm…not what I was expecting." Peach said.
"Hey at least it looks comfy." Daisy said.
—--
Mario looked into the mirror. He loved how his suit came out! It was a black suit with a white undershirt and a red tie to go with his hat, which yes, he was keeping on. Luigi was the same, except his suit came with a green bowtie with his suit and his green hat. Yoshi was sorting through the suitcase. He was worried because he couldn't find what he had brought. He emptied the whole suitcase on the floor.
"Yoshi!" Yoshi cried out.
Mario and Luigi ran over to see what was wrong. Yoshi couldn't seem to find his leather shoes or his favorite red shell. Mario grabbed the suitcase and smacked the bottom of it a few times in case something got stuck. The shoes fell out, but not the shell.
"Hmm." Luigi wondered.
He grabbed the suitcase and put it on his head.
"Hmm…Oh! I got it!"
Luigi exclaimed. He pulled the suitcase off to reveal the shell on his head. He took it off and handed it to Yoshi.
Knock Knock!
Mario answered the door to Peach, Daisy and Toad.
"Hi guys! Are you all ready?" Peach asked.
Mario stepped forward and fixed his cap, smiling a bright smile.
Luigi, being a little shyer, walked around him and nodded.
"R-ready!"
Peach stretched her arm before talking again.
"We have about a half-hour before we need to arrive, so let's quickly move to the lobby so we can get out of the way of traffic-
"Wahahaha! Readyyyy!"
Everyone turned around to see Wario and Waluigi strutting towards them like they owned the place.
Daisy rolled her eyes.
"Well at least you both tried to look tolerable."
Peach seemed unaware that Wario and Waluigi were actually serious about attending, and seemed at a loss for words.
She sighed.
"What are you two planning? I asked you both to stay out of trouble did I not?"
Waluigi gasped and put his hand on his chest.
"Wehhh?! I am SHOCKED and OFFENDED you would think so lowly of us."
"We do." Daisy bluntly responded.
"Wahhh Well exccuuuusssseeee me Princess! You had said you were coming here to Terrao on business. Well so are we! What better representatives for WarioWare than us two." Wario shot back.
"Hehehe that's right!" Waluigi added on.
"It'll be fine Princess! You won't even notice we're there, I guarantee it! Would we lie?"
Wario and Waluigi huddled close together and grinned in unison. Both of them were the nastiest grins Peach could ever imagine. Smiles that basically screamed 'untrustworthy'. Peach couldn't help but sigh again in defeat. She had neither the time, nor the energy to spare on the two of them.
"Very well then. Do you have transportation to get there? I don't think we will all be able to fit inside the car they provided us."
"Wahhh you should know Peach that you never get there early. Shows weakness. You gotta show your strong arm! Me and Waluigi will get there after we go do some more sightseeing." Wario responded.
"Fine by us. You get arrested though, you're on your own." Daisy said.
Everyone started heading towards the entrance while Wario and Waluigi stayed behind.
"Pfft. What a bunch of bupkis. Us get arrested? Who do they think we are?" Wario huffed.
"Wah that's right!" Waluigi responded. "If anything, those filthy elitists should be arrested and have their wallets and bank trust funds unloaded!"
"You said it buddy! Now let's go rob people!" Wario exclaimed.
"WAHAHAHAHA" Wario and Waluigi cheered.
—--—--—--—--
To the horror of everyone on board, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong were helping themselves to the massive portions of food that were available at the buffet table. One of the crew ran to the ship's deck where Admiral Toaddington, Captain of the MSS Sea Star, was.
"Sir, we require assistance down in the restaurant immediately! The Monkeys are tearing the buffet apart!"
The Admiral rolled his eyes.
"Sailor, I understand your dissatisfaction with working in the kitchen, but calling the customers "monkeys" is intolerable and simply immature."
"N-no sir! It's the truth. There are monkeys down there! Have a look!" The Sailor sputtered.
The Admiral looked down at the restaurant and gasped as he saw the situation for himself. DK and Diddy Kong were helping themselves to the fruit section after gorging on all of the meat.
"Good gravy! Those apes are going bananas on the fruit bouquet!" He shouted.
"What are your orders sir?" The Sailor asked.
"Send a squad down there to deal with those apes and avenge the fruit bouquet! Oh and also, get me a bowl of Mushroom Cream Soup with Garlic Breadsticks and a Cherry Cola. Get to it Sailor!" The Admiral barked back.
"Sir yes sir!"
The Sailor ran to the other side of the room where a phone was.
"Attention Squad 3! We have a code 1044.5 on board at the restaurant. Make haste immediately!"
A group of Toads armed with spears entered the Buffet area. Donkey Kong and Diddy were trying to find more food left out, but couldn't find anything. DK looked up and stared at the sailors coming in. One Toad without a weapon leads the group. He held two huge stalks of bananas, and as he walked forward the Toads readied their spears.
"Psst. Heya apes. You want these bananas?"
More food eh?
"Ooo ooo!" Donkey Kong responded.
"Well I got this and plenty more! Follow me!"
Diddy was slightly suspicious, but he figured DK was strong enough to deal with anything, and besides, who can say no to more bananas?
Diddy jumped on DK's back and they both raced after the Toad with the stalks, who was sprinting away from the buffet table towards the side of the ship. The spear-armed Toads followed close by, ready in case the monkeys made a wrong move.
The Toad with the stalks was still in an impressive sprint, and as he reached the side of the ship with a view of the ocean, he threw the stalks in a nearby lifeboat that was also filled with plenty of bananas already. DK and Diddy stopped in their tracks and cheered when they saw it.
"Ooo ooo!"
"Oook oook!"
They both jumped into the piles of bananas on the lifeboat, and as they froliked in that great yellow heaven, an armed-Toad cut the rope holding the lifeboat up. The lifeboat plummeted into the ocean below to the sounds of the cheering sailors.
"Phew, that was a close one!" Remarked one of the sailors.
"Yeah, we did a fine job making sure these apes were steered clear of causing chaos to anyone!"
The sailors cheered and whooped it up, not realizing DK and Diddy were drifting towards Terrao.
—--—--—--—--
A lone Pianta raised his glass and began tapping his fork against it.
"Hear hear everyone!"
The crowd of well-dressed elites quieted their talking and turned to face the Pianta; a member of The Terraon Representative Body.
Not everyone stopped talking however so another representative of the Body, a Shy Guy with a dark blue suit, spoke up.
"Everyone! Leader Prantiss has some words to say."
The entire crowd was finally hushed, and Leader Prantiss gave his thanks with a nod to his colleague - Representative Beau - before continuing.
"Everyone, let me start off by saying it is an honor to have you all here on our island's 50th annual Sky Festival! For the first time since our founding, we here have in attendance our wonderful friends from Isle Delfino, Sarsaland, and of course, her royal highness Princess Peach!"
Prantiss gestured to Princess Peach who was seated at the table closest to the front. She and Daisy gave a smile and a wave which were met with scattered clapping. Toad Akio, who was seated next to Peach, tried clapping as hard as he could to fill what seemed to be an underwhelming response.
Mario and Luigi were busy helping themselves at the Chocolate Fountain, and at first didn't seem to notice the speech. Prantiss however, noticed.
With a huge smile, he gestured to the chocolate fountain.
"Ah and of course we have in attendance our Superstar Heroes, our Men of Odyssey and dare I say our Ultimate Dream Team, Mario and Luigi!"
The crowd noticeably roared to life with cheers and applause. Luigi got caught off guard and almost fell. Mario realized the situation and instinctively stuck up his hand to wave.
"Mmmff!"
His mouth was stuffed with chocolate-coated marshmallows.
Prantiss laughed.
"This festival is no doubt to be our grandest yet! Please everyone, enjoy yourselves and remember to party!"
Prantiss raised his glass.
"To the Sky Festival!"
"TO THE SKY FESTIVAL!" Everyone replied and drank.
"Mmmamamf!" Mario replied.
"Oh yeah!" Luigi replied as well, not wanting to be left behind.
—--—--—--—--
Although it was still a few hours until midnight, most of the guests at the party had already left to tour the town, which had already opened up a partial festival despite the main event still being days away.
Mario had brought Peach some food, but she had too much on her mind to even think about eating. Luckily the food wasn't wasted, as Daisy took her plate when it was clear she wasn't hungry, and scarfed down the whole plate before disappearing somewhere. Yoshi was outside in the garden exploring. Luigi was trying to put more marshmallows in the chocolate fountain, but his finger got caught in one of the gears.
"M-Mario!"
Mario jumped out of his seat and ran over to Luigi to help him.
Peach didn't even notice.
Her thoughts were stuck on the recent policy decisions the Terraon Body tried to pass, including one which would've forced the Toad Guard permanently off the island. She shook her head and got up from her seat. She needed answers to at least calm some of her nerves. She tried to put on a smile and change her body language. She wiped her face with a napkin to clean off some crumbs on her face, and began walking to Leader Prantiss.
"Leader Prantiss?" Peach asked, intentionally trying to get his attention.
Prantiss looked up from his food and wiped his mouth with a napkin before responding.
"Ah Princess Peach, are you enjoying our food and drink selection? We ordered only the finest selection from the Chuckola Cola Reserve."
"It was quite delicious Leader Prantiss, but I actually wished to speak with you about a few things."
Prantiss looked back at his drink and grabbed it, sipping some more before continuing.
"Ah, I knew this conversation was coming."
Prantiss got out of his seat.
"Excuse us everyone, I will return momentarily." He said to the guests at his table.
Peach and Prantiss walked over to the venue's balcony, and watched the citizens below go about their business.
"I'll let you go first." Prantiss said to Peach, allowing her to take the lead.
"This island is a truly beautiful place Leader Prantiss, but I'm in need of your cooperation. I understand your concerns with our soldiers, but a permanent withdrawal can't be accepted. We are looking to return many of our soldiers after the Sky Festival, as we simply cannot allow Bowser a foothold on Terrao."
Prantiss sipped more of his drink, and watched a single firework explode in the distance before speaking.
"I understand your highness. I am no fan of King Bowser myself; I see him as an untrustworthy tyrant. However, I must represent my people and their will, and my people feel that you're men have overstayed their welcome. My apologies in advance but I must be blunt to you, your majesty, in order to get to the point quickly; no one here cares about your politics." Prantiss said.
He put emphasis on his last words to really, really get his point across, which certainly worked because Peach was slightly taken aback, but she quickly composed herself while Prantiss continued.
"What I mean by that is, Terraons don't care about what happens in your kingdoms. Terraons in general are extremely anti-government so to speak. My people are so against any idea of a large government body that until a couple of years ago we didn't have any organized government whatsoever. Simply creating the Representative Body took years of persuasion and regulations as you can imagine, and they care even less about other kingdom's politics. People just don't want the trouble. "
Prantiss sipped more of his drink, and Peach watched a firework ignite in the sky before speaking.
"I understand wanting to get away from all the trouble. I've heard from multiple families on the island that they moved to Terrao to get away from the dangers facing the Mushroom Kingdom. It's extremely expensive to move here, but many people still do it. I believe, however, that Bowser is still a threat on this island. We've been detecting suspicious activity from him for a while now, such as a fleet of his ships that were circling our kingdom and here on this island. I hear that he has his own property here on Terrao as well. An investigation of this building should be conducted immediately."
Toad Akio was listening in from behind the doors. He had followed Peach onto the balcony to watch her, and now he was sipping a bottle of Cola he swiped from the counter. It's not stealing if the drinks are provided for free.
Prantiss shook his head.
"I can't do that Peach. It would help both of us alot but I simply can't."
"Well, why not?" Peach asked.
"Well, here's a big reason." Prantiss reached into his pocket and pulled something out.
It was a Bowser action figure!
Prantiss pressed a small lever on the back, which prompted the toy to lift its big arms in the air.
Peach's mouth dropped. Prantiss saw this and continued.
"Here's a gift a little girl gave me while I was at the park."
Prantiss reached into his other pocket, and pulled out a doll.
A Bowser doll! It was small and made out of crochet, with little button eyes and spikes swirling out of his back.
Prantiss then grabbed the doll with his other hand, holding both the action figure and doll in one hand, and reached into his front pocket with the free hand. He pulled out what looked like a small piece of paper.
"This isn't a napkin." Prantiss remarked.
Holding one end of the paper, he let a fold of the paper go, which unraveled itself. What was once paper revealed itself to be a page of Bowser stickers!
Prantiss left the toys and the sticker page on a nearby chair.
"Not to mention-
Boom!
Before Prantiss could continue, another firework ignited in the sky. Peach and Prantiss turned to face the sky, and watched another firework explode in the sky. The resulting colors appeared. Red, Yellow, and Green.
The fireworks recreated Bowser's face in the sky.
"Bowser has had a different approach to Terrao than your kingdom has. When he bought property here on Terrao, he inserted himself into our traditions and tried to be involved. At first people weren't happy to have him-I've already mentioned how my people feel towards other kingdom's affairs-but he began to finance many projects across the island. Bridges, parks, the pier you arrived on, he's inserted himself into our politics as well. He's also done some PR work around the island and slowly the people have become welcoming toward him. Even though I have tried to warn the Body about the danger he poses, many representatives won't listen; and now the trouble your soldiers have been causing has really exemplified the differences between your kingdom's presence and Bowser's. If his property were to be investigated, it could enrage the people, and both of our work would be for not." Prantiss explained.
Peach was disturbed. It was absolutely bizarre and just straight up weird to see Bowser celebrated somewhere outside of the Lava Lands. Sure people who loved Bowser lived everywhere, but she had never seen such admiration concentrated anywhere like here.
"Goodness…Is that all?" Peach warily asked.
Prantiss looked at her and glanced down at the floor before looking back at her.
"Well….you might not wanna look down." He responded.
Peach looked down.
She was standing on a carpet. It had a cartoony version of Bowser smiling and winking back at her.
This was enough.
Peach stepped off the carpet before continuing.
"Is there any way for us to keep a force here at all? I can promise stricter control and regulation over our soldiers but I have a feeling that won't be enough now would it?" She asked.
Prantiss nodded his head.
"The expectation is that your soldiers will be gone after the Sky Festival. Only a cataclysm of events can turn that ocean tide."
Peach thought for a minute. A cataclysm of events huh? Like for example…a peace settlement? Peach remembered the slip of paper that was airdropped on them back at her castle.
"What if - and keep in mind this is just an idea - a peace was achieved between the Mushroom Kingdom and Bowser? Even a temporary one?" Peach asked.
Prantiss raised an eyebrow and chuckled.
"With Bowser? That turtle wouldn't agree to anything like that in a million years." Prantiss swirled his drink again before continuing. "However, if that could be accomplished or if the people could see his tricks, they may be more convinced to keep a friendly peacekeeping force on our island; so long as they follow our rules of course. Like I said though; it'd take a million years for that to happen."
Peach smiled.
"Well… let's hope a million years comes quickly."
Peach began to walk back inside the manor. Toad saw this and hid underneath a chair.
"I enjoyed this discussion, Leader Prantiss. We'll talk another time." Peach added.
Prantiss sipped the last of his drink, slightly miffed about the last bit of the discussion.
"Very well Princess Peach. Enjoy yourself." Prantiss replied.
Peach walked back towards the entrance and walked over to Mario, who just helped Luigi out of the chocolate fountain.
"Mario? Luigi? May I speak with you two? It's very important." Peach asked.
"Mhm!" Mario replied.
"Ok!" Luigi responded, still covered in chocolate.
"Princess!"
Peach looked back to see Toad Akio running towards her from the hallway.
He ran up to her, and almost keeled over from running out of breath.
"Toad? What is it?"
"As your…huff…personal guard, it's important I stay…Huff…by your side at all times. Phew…I heard your conversation with that Prantiss guy."
Toad responded through his breath.
"I see. Well I'm glad you're here, can you grab my purse for me?" Peach responded.
"Yes ma'am!"
Toad sped off and grabbed Peach's purse from the table, he returned swiftly and handed it to her.
"Thank you Toad."
Peach reached inside her purse and pulled out the invitation from Bowser. She read it a few times over. Mario saw the slip and remembered the one he brought that he was going to bring up to Peach. He brought it out and read it a few times himself.
"Guys, I need to tell you something. Toad, since you're a guard yourself you may already know, but relations between the kingdom and Terrao have been dropping. The Mushroom Kingdom is in bad shape reputation-wise across the world in general and we need to fix it, especially here on Terrao. So…"
Peach put the invitation back into her purse as she finished memorizing the address, before continuing. "So I'm taking up Bowser's offer for his dinner."
Toad's eyes widened. He ran up to her and saluted.
"Permission to speak, Princess?"
Peach raised an eyebrow.
"Permission granted."
"Say WHAT!?"
Toad shouted, attracting attention from the other partygoers for a few seconds.
"Princess, you should know as well as anybody that Bowser can never be trusted! That peace deal is probably just a facade!"
Luigi nodded. Mario was lost in thought.
"Perhaps it is. However, we are in desperate times. If I don't have anything to show, any solid, presentable proof at all that the Toad Guard needs to stay on the island; there will be nothing to stop Bowser from rolling on through the island, or staging another attack on the Mushroom Kingdom."
"Hey guys! what's going on?"
Daisy had appeared behind them, catching everyone off-guard, including Luigi who slightly jumped.
"Daisy? Where have you been?" Peach asked.
"I was downstairs. This place has a pool-table and card games!"
Daisy said with excitement shining through her eyes. It was no surprise; Daisy loved card games.
Toad ran up to Daisy and saluted.
"Your Majesty! Perhaps you can talk some sense into the Princess!" Toad exclaimed.
"You can just call me Daisy, Akio; and talk sense into what?" Daisy asked.
"I will be attending the dinner that Bowser invited us to, Daisy." Peach responded, answering her question.
Daisy lifted an eyebrow, surprised by this strange demeanor that Peach had in her all of a sudden.
"Cuz, you can't be serious. You already know that turtle is just faking it. He's done it plenty of times before. Why would it be any different now?" Daisy asked.
Peach looked at her, and then looked down for a little bit, struggling to find the words. Even she was aware how much of a nothing chance this was. It was dangerous, foolhardy, and just very dumb. The other options however? To withdraw and have another threat to the Kingdom become available? After the last few years have been failure after failure? After so many in her kingdom were hurt from the attacks that were launched against them? There has been setback after setback after setback, and now here she was on the verge of losing ANOTHER form of protection for her people. Action NEEDS to be done now.
"I understand the danger, but we have no choice! The Toad Guard needs to stay on the island, and this is the surest way to get that to happen." Peach explained.
Daisy looked into Peach's eyes. She knew what that look meant. No doubts, no regrets, Peach was ready to race in there and get things done. Not that she didn't agree with the methods, but this kind of thing was unusual for her.
Daisy looked around, and then backed at Peach, and smiled.
"Heh. Alright I'm in."
Peach looked up in surprise. Toad's mouth dropped to the floor.
"Are you sure?" Peach asked.
Daisy nodded in response.
"Well it's more exciting than being stuck here anyway!"
Peach let out a sigh of relief. Toad tried to sputter something out but couldn't find the words.
"Thank you so much Daisy!" Peach responded happily.
Daisy looked at Luigi who stood right next to her.
"You're totally coming with us right?" Daisy asked him.
Luigi looked down for a few moments, a tad shy, and hesistant. He then looked back up and grabbed the brim of his cap and nodded firmly, just like how Mario does it.
"M-Mmhm!" He responded readily, albeit still a bit hesitant.
Daisy smiled and wrapped one of her arms around Luigi's neck, causing him to blush.
"That settles it then!" She exclaimed.
Toad however, was still in shock.
"Ah Mr. Mario! Surely you would say that-" Toad stopped. Mario was nowhere to be found.
Peach saw Toad's confusion and looked around herself.
"Hey, where did Mario go?" Peach wondered.
"Oh Mario? He ran out the door a couple of minutes ago." A waitress chimed in.
—--
Mario was sprinting through town to get to Volcano Drive quickly. Yoshi was quickly following behind him, not entirely knowing why but nevertheless still following. Mario stopped near an intersection. A diverse number of buildings serving different purposes were positioned on all sides of the street. A library, an embassy, and the Terraon Jungle lay to the East. While deciding where to go, Yoshi finally caught up and sat down to catch his breath.
—--
"Get your Candy Bags here! Candy Bags! Only 8 coins!" A shopkeeper shouted out.
The Sky Festival wasn't to start until the end of the month, but a few stands have already opened up shop, creating a smaller festival for people to explore and eat.
Wario smelled the waft coming from many of the stands and felt himself floating.
"Wahhhhh that smells delicious."
Waluigi stood beside him. He didn't care much for the sugar-filled candies, but the hotcakes?
"Wehhhh these losers know how to make good food!" Waluigi responded.
Wario looked around. There was a man on his knees who was helping a child tie his shoes, most likely a father and his kid. Wario went up to his back pocket and stealthily relieved him of his cash before returning the wallet back to him.
"Hey Bomb! Give me two of those bags!" Wario demanded.
The Bomb-Omb manning the stand smiled and launched two bags towards him.
"Thank you for your patronage, big smelly man!"
Wario opened one of the bags and took a bite out of one of the candies, which was a small chocolate candy that was in the shape of a mushroom.
Waluigi walked up to a woman who was in the shape of a bean, and stopped her.
"Madam, I am so pleased to have walked in on you! Today is your luckiest day!" Waluigi exclaimed.
The Bean woman raised an eyebrow at him.
"Excuse me?" She asked.
Waluigi continued.
"I couldn't help but notice your watch on your wrist. Where did you happen to acquire it from?"
The woman looked at the golden colored watch on his wrist.
"Well it isn't actually mine, I'm just carrying it right now. I got it for my husband's birthday at Donsanto's Watches down the street."
Waluigi sighed.
"You must have spent quite a fortune on it, a present to show off your love and capture your man's heart forever. Which makes it all the more shameful that you have been duped!"
The woman's eyes bulged in horror.
"D-duped!?"
Waluigi smirked before continuing.
"Donsanto has been running the gemstone business for decades now, and to make sure profits stay high and costs stay low, they create fake artificial metal and quartz to save money. You, my fair lady, have a fake watch on your hands."
The woman stared at the watch in horror.
"I-It can't be! I spent so much on this!" The woman panicked.
Waluigi grabbed her hands before continuing.
"Madam please, no need to worry. In fact, it just so happens I have just the solution!"
Waluigi let go of her hands and opened up his suit, revealing a silver toy watch from one of the pockets.
"This baby here is the real deal! None of that artificial quartz or spray paint gold like the one on your wrist, this one here is made of real titanium! Here, give it a listen!"
Waluigi took the woman's hand, took her watch off and clinked the watches against each other. The toy watch made a clink sound similar to a coin.
"Watches like this tend to go for 2300 coins yes? Then, I'll sell you this one here for 1200, and you can return that nasty fake one back to Donstinko!" Waluigi exclaimed.
The con worked. The woman eagerly paid the money, grabbed the two watches and fled back to the store to make a return. Unbeknownst to her however, Waluigi had two watches: a toy silver and toy gold one. He laughed at the golden watch he held in his hand, while the woman made off with her new "titanium" watch to go return her "Donsanto" watch.
Waluigi slid the watch in his coat, and met back up with Wario, who was snacking on more candy.
"This is great Wario! These suckers wouldn't know a 7 to a 9. Wehehehe!"
Waluigi laughed.
Wario laughed as he ate another candy from his second bag.
"Wahaha I never want to leave this place! Good food, good parties, good suckers!"
Waluigi looked at his new watch for the time. It was 11:23.
"Wehh Wario, when are we gonna go to that party thing the others are at?" Waluigi asked.
Wario looked up at him.
"Huh? Oh yeah, we should probably get going. We still gotta talk with those uhh…."
Wario trailed off as he watched Luigi, Toad, and the Princesses run past them further into town.
Waluigi saw them as well.
"Wehh? Where are they going?" He asked.
"Wahhh Hey losers! Where's the fire!?" Wario asked, but got no answer.
"Excuse us you two."
Wario and Waluigi turned around to see two men. A Goomba with a Helmet, and a Monty Mole, who were dressed in blue and wore patches that said "Sheriff" on them.
Wario smiled and bowed.
"Wahhh good evening officers! How can us two upstanding citizens help you?"
The Goomba cop stepped forward and replied.
"We've been getting reports of criminal activity happening in this area. The descriptions include one plump man in yellow, and one tall handsome man with good taste in fashion."
Waluigi smiled and fixed his hair.
"Wahh? That can't be us, we've been attending this wonderful festival!" Wario responded.
The Monty Mole cop replied back,
"We've gotten reports of counterfeit watches being sold, wallets being stolen, and a bomb threat at a public restroom."
Waluigi looked at Wario with a raised eyebrow.
"Wahh trust me, it's not the bomb threat you're thinking of." Wario responded.
Both cops pulled out handcuffs.
"You two are coming with us." The Goomba responded
Wario walked up and put his arms up.
"Gentlemen gentlemen you have the wrong idea! We are completely innocent. However, I can't say the same about those two!" Wario pointed accusingly at two trees.
The cops turned their heads to see the trees, one splashed with yellow paint, and the other splashed with purple. When they turned back however, Wario and Waluigi were gone.
"Crumbs!" The goomba cop shouted.
The other cop pulled out a small, mushroom-shaped walkie talkie.
"We have our suspects, code 946. Lock the area down, and make sure the Toad Guard doesn't intervene! We aren't repeating yesterday!"
"Roger!" A voice on the other side of the talkie replied.
—--
It took some time but the rest of the gang caught up to Mario and Yoshi. Mario found a nearby map from a tourist info center and was trying to read it.
"Mario!" Peach shouted.
Mario looked up to everyone approaching them.
Peach was exhausted from the running, Toad and Luigi fell to the ground to catch their breath, and Daisy was trying to get some rocks out of her shoes.
"Please wait for us next time Mario!" Peach pleaded.
She laid down on the nearby wall to support her breathing. Mario walked up to her, and pointed at a spot on the map. Peach looked at it for a few moments, and then grabbed the map to get a better look at it.
"I see. So it's down to the left and to the right up to the hills." Peach said.
Toad stood back up.
"S-so wait, we are really doing this?" Toad asked.
Peach looked down from the map at Toad.
"Yes we are." Peach responded firmly.
Mario nodded, and Toad sighed.
"Okay then. I'll make sure you aren't harmed!" Toad Akio responded, ready to serve his duty.
Peach smiled.
"Thank you Toad."
"Wahhhhhhh!"
The gang all collectively turned to look at the source of the sudden noise. Wario and Waluigi came sprinting in from the right, slowing down at the end of the street where everyone was.
"Where did you two come from?" Peach asked, surprised.
Wario and Waluigi both regained their composure, and stood back up.
"Wahh we were uhhh we were just going for a nice jog!" Wario responded.
Daisy wasn't convinced in the slightest.
"Really? A jog? You?" She asked.
"Wehh of course! The real question is, why are you all here?" Waluigi asked, flipping the question.
"None of your business, troublemakers!" Toad responded.
"Hey watch it bud." Wario responded.
"Enough. Look if you both are so curious, I am going to meet with Bowser." Peach responded.
Waluigi laughed.
"Wehehehe! You? That's pretty funny!"
"Wahhh, I expected this from Goody-Two Shoes Mario and Luigi, but you princess?" Wario said, to the frowns of Mario and Luigi.
Wario then stared at Peach for a few moments. Then a lightbulb went over his head.
"Oh!"
Wario's eyes lit up. "Wahaha I see I see. I get it now pinky!"
Peach gave him a confused look.
"What are you talking about?"
Wario smiled and crossed his arms. "You're finally learning to grow a spine! How wonderful! In that case, I'll come with you."
"Wehh me too me too!" Waluigi chimed in.
"What are you two talking about?"
Daisy asked suspiciously. "What exactly are you aiming for here?"
"Wahhh, no agenda here Daisy. We just want to support our dear Princess Peach." Wario put his arms together and blinked his eyes oh so innocently as if he was a lost puppy.
"Besides, those shreds of toilet paper we got said Bowser was gonna have some free grub! I want in."
Wario gripped onto his shirt and tore it off, revealing the exact same shirt underneath, with a few added stains on it.
"Sometimes you just gotta jump into the action to get stuff done!"
Though he was a pain to deal with, Mario agreed with what he said. He grabbed his own suit and tore it off, revealing his famous red shirt and blue overalls underneath. Luigi followed, tearing his suit off and revealing a green shirt and blue overalls.
Toad sighed and did the same, revealing his vest.
"Aw man. I can't believe I didn't think about that!" Daisy whined.
Wario looked up at Waluigi.
"Ahem."
Waluigi looked back in horror.
"Wehhh! Absolutely not! Not this beauty!" Waluigi responded, clutching his suit like his life depended on it.
Wario rolled his eyes, and in doing so noticed something down the street. Waluigi noticed as well. The two cops that confronted them were now on the same street as them, asking around, most likely for their whereabouts.
"Very well then. Let's continue on."
Peach said, before stopping herself.
"Ah perhaps I should go inform Toadsw-"
"Wahh look at that, time to go!"
"Wehh yep yep don't wanna keep the turtle waiting!"
Wario and Waluigi quickly ushered the rest of the gang down the road, much to their confusion.
—--
"Ooooooook"
Donkey Kong felt his stomach rumble. Not from hunger, but from pain. He was stuffed, TOO stuffed. He laid in anguish as he reckoned with the worst kind of pain a monkey could have: a stomachache.
Diddy was full too, slightly seasick.
"Oooo"
Diddy looked at another banana. No, he couldn't do it, no he couldn't….okay maybe he could.
He grabbed the banana and peeled it. Eating it in small bites.
And their boat floated on.
—--
The gang crossed the path of volcanic rock onto Volcano Drive, a road circling Terrao's volcano, before crossing the path to Bowser's home at last. They arrived at the doors, which were huge, and connected to a door frame that was covered in dark spikes.
"Well…here goes nothing." Peach quietly said. She knocked on the door.
Silence. She knocked again.
There was an answer. The door was swung open.
"Look girls, I enjoyed the mint-chocolate, but a king can only buy so many boxes of cookies."
Bowser said. He was holding a basket of what seemed to be scattered clothes and some shells.
He looked down and his eyes widened.
"Ahem. Bowser." Peach said, clearing her throat.
Bowser stood still for a few seconds. Then he slammed the door shut with his foot.
Scattered noise was heard from behind the door, including the sound of a basket of items being thrown. The door was reopened, and Bowser was wearing a red and black tie and was no longer holding the basket.
"Princess Peach! I am so glad you were able to come."
Bowser looked down at Toad, who was holding out his hands in a t-stance trying to block him off from the princess.
"Good to know you brought one that hasn't run off yet. Bowser continued.
Bowser surveyed and saw the Mario Bros. His gaze hardened, but before he got lost in anger, he calmed down and fixed his tie.
"Ahem. Mario. Green Guy."
Mario stood firm. Luigi gulped.
"And Yoshi. Good to see you here. Remember when I trapped you and your clan into blocks? Heheh, good times! Glad to see it's all in the past now!" Bowser passive aggressively mocked.
Yoshi snarled in response.
"Daisy as well. You know, I totally forgot Sarsaland was still a thing." Bowser said.
"Bite me turtle." Daisy replied.
Bowser chuckled.
"It's good to see you all here and…uhh…what are you two doing here?" He asked Wario and Waluigi.
"Wahh you invited us King!" Wario asserted.
"Wehh that's right! We got your invitation as well! We are honored to be guests here in your…steaming humble abode." Waluigi added.
Bowser smiled.
"Well hey, the more the merrier right? Why don't you all come in and make yourselves at home."
Bowser moved out of the way of the door, allowing the gang to walk into the castle.
Bowser shut the door, and walked up to lead from the front.
"Bowser, is it true you wish for peace?" Peach asked bluntly.
"Well of course! Why else would I invite you all here. I couldn't bear to stand all the wrongdoings I've done over the past years, and I wanted to show apologies." Bowser responded.
Daisy rolled her eyes.
"Apologies huh? Right now? Out of the blue?" She interrogated.
"I too was shocked by it, but the proof is in the kitchen." Bowser responded.
As he did, everyone entered the dining room area.
A powerful, delicious smell wafted through the air. Food served on silver plates were lined at the seats at the table.
"Wahaha! Now this is what I'm talking about!" Wario exclaimed.
Bowser stopped walking and spotted his son, Bowser Jr and Prince of the Koopas, sitting at one of the seats, playing on his game console.
"Everyone, you all know Bowser Jr, my son. Junior, you know Princess Peach. Say hello!" Bowser asked.
Bowser Jr returned a half-hearted "hey" and continued playing.
Toad was still walking in front of Peach, still in a protective stance, but a lightbulb went over Peach's head and she grabbed Toad's shoulder.
"Can you see if you can find any information?" Peach whispered.
Toad looked at her and smiled.
"On it."
Toad looked up, and then groaned.
"Ohhh Oh no. Uh oh." Toad whined.
Bowser looked back at Toad.
"What's the matter with you?" He asked.
"W-where's the bathroom?" Toad groaned.
"Bathroom you say? Down the hall to the left, and please don't make a mess. I already had someone clean it this morning."
Bowser asked. Toad nodded and wobbled down the hall. As soon as he was out of sight, he sprinted into a different room.
It was a small separate bedroom. Toad quickly surveyed for any other person, but the coast was clear. He went to the drawer to search, but couldn't find anything. He went off to another room.
"Wehhh when do we get the food? That soup is calling my name!" Waluigi said.
"We'll be eating soon enough, but first… Peach, I need to ask you something."
Peach raised an eyebrow.
Bowser walked up to her and got on one knee.
Oh no. Oh no.
"Peach…we have known each other for a long time, and we have seen so-"
Peach groaned and interrupted him.
"No Bowser."
Bowser looked up at her.
"What? But I haven't finished yet. I wrote a whole speech down and everything!"
"You're gonna ask for my hand in marriage a million times and a million times I am going to say no". Peach replied.
Daisy groaned.
"I should have known."
Wario laughed.
"Bowser, you still don't know how to serenade the ladies like me! Your skill is rotten!"
"Wehh I'll say. No dance or anything? Are you even trying?" Waluigi mocked.
Mario grabbed onto Peach's shoulder to pull her back, protectively.
"I can't believe this Bowser. All of this for what?" Peach asked.
Bowser glared at her, but then he did something a little unexpected.
He shrugged.
"Well it was worth a shot." He said.
CLANK.
Peach blinked a few times in surprise.
What she saw in front of her were metal bars. She spun around and looked up. She was caged. No, not just her. Everyone was trapped. The bars caused Waluigi to trip, and he dropped a few things on the ground.
"Wahh! What is this?!" Wario shouted.
"Bowser! Let us go!" Daisy demanded.
"All according to plan, your nastiness!" Kamek appeared from above out of nowhere.
Bowser chuckled.
"Bwahaha, exactly as is. Speaking of which, go check on our Toad friend. I get the feeling the "bathroom break" has to be cut short."
Toad didn't know where he was, all he knew was that he was in a bigger bedroom. Toys were littered everywhere, and buckets of paint were stacked on a shelf. He searched for anything, but all he found were multi-colored blocks, a canister of special glow paint, a paintbrush with a small key attached, and…a safe?
Toad pulled out the small safe from the shelf. Seeing a keyhole on it, he grabbed the key off the paintbrush and turned the lock. He opened it, and was met with a yellow glow that blinded him. He looked inside and saw a glowing yellow piece similar to the toy blocks. He pulled it out and placed it in his coat. He then tried to return the safe but accidentally knocked over the glow paint into the toy blocks. He picked them up to try and clean up the mess. He put a few of the blocks in his pocket and tried drying the paint off his hands, but as he moved, he suddenly felt like he stopped. He looked down at his legs and felt like he couldn't move.
"How rude of you to enter the Prince's room without permission."
Kamek launched Toad harshly into the cage, and he landed with a thud.
Toad groaned in pain.
"Toad! Are you okay!?" Peach asked worryingly. Toad groaned as he was picked up by Mario and Peach.
"I-I'm okay." He responded.
Bowser pulled up a chair, and Kamek gave him the yellow piece that was glowing.
"Princess! He-he took a Sky Crystal!" Toad panickedly said.
Princess Peach grabbed the bars, and rattled them.
"Why Bowser? Why the Sky Crystals?!" She demanded to know.
"Peach, let me ask you something. Why don't you like me?" Bowser asked.
"Everyone here likes me, they love having me around. They treat me well and give me free stuff. They even make plushies of me!"
Bowser grabbed a plushie of him that was laying around.
"Everyone loves me! So why not you?" Bowser asked.
Peach looked at him.
"Hmph. How many reasons do you need?" She growled.
"Count me in. I can name like 80 of them right off the bat." Daisy added in.
"Wahhh Look Bowser, you can do whatever you want with them, just let me and Waluigi out. I have important business to get to." Wario said.
"Wehh we do! I have to get a new suit since you ruined this one! "
Waluigi shouted, pointing to the fresh tears in the fabric as Peach rattled the bars again.
"You won't get away with this Bowser! The Toad Guard will come for us! We will get out and then you'll go down down down!" Toad declared.
"Oh you're right! It would be a problem if you got out. You are all big problems."
Bowser looked up at the magikoopa flying near him.
"Kamek. If you please."
"Right away your deviousness!"
Kamek flicked his want and out from thin air, materialized a staff rod. It was colored orange and swirled into a ball at the end. Spikes protruding from it and it was connected to a steel rod with another spike at the tip. Bowser gripped it tightly in his hands.
"It would be a big problem if you got out. All of you are big problems. You see this? This is the Minimizer. Can you guess what it does?"
Everyone stared at the rod.
"It SHRINKS my problems!"
Bowser roared and pointed the end of the staff towards the cage. The end glowed a bright orange and blasted the cage with thousands of volts.
"Ahh!" Peach yelped.
"W-wahhh!"
"W-w-wehhhh!"
Everyone fell to the ground; the sound of electricity filled their earlobes. Toad tried to move. Mario tried to get up, but he couldn't. They could only watch as everything around them became larger and larger!
What ʰᵃᵖᵖᵉⁿᶦⁿᵍ!
The gang all opened their eyes and groaned with pain.
"Wehhh! The cage got bigger! Waluigi shouted.
"No! The cage didn't get bigger!" Peach shouted in horror.
"We shrunk!" Toad shouted.
The gang had shrunken. Each one of them was no taller than a small cup now.
"BAHAHAHA!" Bowser howled with laughter.
"The Sky Crystal is still mine, and now all I need are the other four!" Bowser exclaimed.
Bowser Jr ran up to see the cage and began laughing.
"Haha! They all look so stupid!"
Wario ran up, red with anger. "You no good rotten turtle!"
"What are you gonna do with the Sky Crystals Bowser?! Did you really do all this to interfere in the festival?!" Peach yelled out.
Bowser smirked.
"Oh Princess, what these crystals hold, is far more important than one dumb festival. You REALLY should have accepted my feelings. Too late now though!"
Bowser put down the Minimizer and yellow piece onto the table.
"Kamek! I'm done with these peewees. Give em' the boot!" Bowser ordered.
"Yes sir!"
Kamek flew up to the cage and smiled.
"So long everyone! Enjoy your flight!"
Kamek flicked his wand, and blasted the cage. Everyone and everything inside disappeared in a puff of smoke.
—--
It was still night when DK and Diddy Kong awoke. They passed out from the bananas and awoke to find that they stopped moving. DK got up and looked around the small lifeboat.
All the bananas were gone.
Well no reason to stay here then!
DK got up and began running towards the jungle they were near.
Diddy struggled to get up, but was able to run after him.
They ran into the jungle, not entirely knowing where they were, but still on the hunt for the free food they pursued.
—--
Toadsworth ran into the rooms of the Princess, then into the Mario Bros. Room, but nothing.
A Toad Guard soldier ran through the halls to Toadsworth and saluted.
"Sir! We searched the Garden of Leader Prantiss's party, the Hotel, and every street from here to the airport. Still no sign of them!" He reported.
"Keep looking darn it! We need to find The Princesses and Masters Mario and Luigi, stat!"
The soldier nodded and ran off.
"Still nothing. Where is that blasted Guard we assigned to her?!" Toadsworth wondered.
Three more soldiers came up and saluted.
"Sir, we bring bad news. Toad Vee was found recovering at a hospital in the Mushroom Kingdom from a cold."
Toadsworth blinked.
"A cold…A cold!? When I was their age I took care of the Princess even when I was under surgery!" Toadsworth shook his head.
"No no wait, that's not right. It was confirmed that one of our men was traveling with her. Our soldiers spotted a Toad guarding her. If that Toad wasn't Toad Vee, who was it then?!" Toadsworth shouted.
A 4th soldier carrying two more Toads walked up.
"Sir, these two may have the answer."
He dropped the two Toads on the ground.
"Uhhh we-we"
"We didn't see uh…uh…"
Toadsworth bonked both of them with his cane.
"Good gravy, spit it out you two! You were assigned to help the princess with her bags, and escort Toad Vee to her side. What is the meaning of this?!" Toadsworth angrily demanded.
"Look look we were gonna, but-but Toad Vee was sick before they were supposed to leave so-"
"So we got another guy! We got uh Toad…uh Toad-"
"Toad Akio!"
"That's right, Toad Akio!"
Toadsworth looked at one of the other guards with confusion.
"Who in the world is Akio? Soldier, run to the embassy and get a check through our database for Toad Akio!"
"Yes sir!" The Toad Guard said and sprinted off.
"Sir! How shall we inform the press?" One of the Guards asked.
"Say that everyone is taking a break and that we ask for privacy. Our reputation is already through the floor, and we can't risk any more damage. Search for everyone privately and quietly, and don't let any leaks get out!"Toadsworth ordered.
"Sir yes sir!" The guards responded before sprinting off.
Toadsworth sulked.
"Princess, I should have been here with you…" He quietly lamented.
"Sir, we have Toadette waiting outside. Shall we inform her as well?" A guard asked.
"Yes. As a matter of fact, I'll come with. We need to give Leader Prantiss our assurances that the Festival will continue as planned."
"And you two!"
Toadsworth pointed to the two Toads on the ground.
"If we are unable to locate the Princesses or The Mario Bros, I'll cut your butts off and hang them over the castle fireplace!" Toadsworth threatened.
"Not our butts!" The two Toads despaired as they were dragged away.