Peach's Castle
The slimmer Wario brother is stuck in a cell underground. It's not bad looking, having white walls a pink bars. It adds to the aesthetic. He doesn't get much peace though, because he gets a chewing out over what he tried to do.
Daisy didn't appreciate the trafficking attempt, and let's him hear it. "The next time you try that be a little quicker why don't ya!" Waluigi isn't just taking that though, and fires back. "Oh i'll do it again! To you AND your little weapon!" He points a finger right at Luigi. "We'll see how YOU like getting a bullet thrown at you boy!"
He doesn't look impressed. "I have a name you know..."
"Don't care! The Wario Brothers will be back in action soon enough!" he shouts. "Juuust you wait. Wahahaha!"
While he cackles like a supervillain, Daisy rolls her eyes. "Whatever...he's talking crazy." The human missile nods. "Can't argue with an idiot." The two opt to walk away.
During their walk, Luigi's just looking straight ahead, but she's not dumb. After basically using him as a ragdoll earlier, she needs to clear the air. "Sorry for using you like that. That guy's a moron, but he's a moron who can run."
Luigi scratches his neck. "I rolled a one on a map of ghosts, so that was still the best thing that happened to me."
At least he's not taking it personally. But she's got another question. "You alright after...you know, Mario?"
The brother winces. "Mama mia..he took-a big hit. But he's been hurt before and has come back just fine you know? While he's hurt, I'll have to do what I can."
"Taking all this on the chin, huh?"
"I'm-a really good at it." Luigi says with a smile. The princess returns one. "Believe it or not, I've had my bad days too. You can be royalty at the highest of highs, and life will still suck sometimes."
Luigi finally turns to her. "Sarasaland can't be that bad right?"
"The people are great! Some of these rats in Congress suck. I've got plenty of stories."
Luigi gets a hand up. "Hehe, no thanks. Not a politics guy."
She goes back to the drawing board. "I get it. Exhausting to talk about it." It doesn't take long for her to think of something else. "Ever play baseball?"
Despite what happened, they seem to be getting along. It must be lonely at the top for Daisy, but then again she's an extrovert at her core. Getting to the top requires some serious social skills. As for Luigi, he must be glad to talk to someone while his brother's out.
Whatever passes the time, you know.
Speaking of brothers, the one who dawns red is sitting on a bed, in the Medbay.
A doctor who looks just like him is applying the bandages, wrapping one around his arm. Peach is standing by his side. "What's going on with him, Doctor?"
"He needs to rest up for a couple days. Diving at the bomb was noble, but so stupid at the same time." The Doc responds. "He got the brunt of it."
That puts a frown on the princess' face. "That's a shame. He is a true hero at his core. We should be fine for a few days, it's better he heals. I'm sure Luigi is just as capable as he is."
The doc's not so sure. "Even a night without him could go wrong. You going to be ok?"
"My Royal Guard is all over the castle. If anyone breaks in, we will be the first line of defense." she says, looking at the hero's body again. "You'll need to guard the Medbay at all costs. You may be a doctor, but I know you're a fighter too."
He gives a mini-salute. "Won't let you down, princess."
Peach leaves the Medbay, on edge given the circumstances. The Wario's just made a move on them, and now one strong ally is wounded. Any defense is good, but when one part of the machine goes down, the rest may follow.
She doesn't get far from the bay. As she walks up those pearly steps, one MC Ballyhoo floats towards her. He has a paper in hand, causing her to raise a brow. "Greetings, you two..what's the paper about?"
"Hello Princess!" The host shouts, and his hat flashes a grin. "We'll get to the paper in a minute. I just gotta say: injuries can happen at any time. It's bad news that Mario's out not just for our network, but for your kingdom's defense."
"Oh! Have you come to aid us?"
"Nope, here's your bill." He just forces that paper in her hands. "Everything comes with a price at the Star Carnival."
Peach squints at him. "Isn't it fundraised?"
"Not this time! I bought that equipment with my own hands, and so will you! You know what they say, you break it you buy it!" The Party host has a smile on his face.
The princess doesn't return it. "You couldn't have come at a more appropriate time?"
"I'll be out of town for a couple weeks. Toodles!" Ballyhoo just flies away as the princess stares at the bill. She just looks done and pockets the paper. "If one of our strongest going down wasn't bad enough..."
Her disappointment is halted when she spots that green dinosaur from before approaching her. "Yoshi, oh my goodness.." she heads straight for him. "I saw the bellclap he gave you. You aren't concussed are you?"
Yoshi rubs his ear. "No but it..REALLY sucked to take. Wario always wakes up on the wrong side of the bed. It's like there's never even a right one."
Peach sighs in relief. "He's a nuisance. It's been a hectic day, but I'm glad to see you're ok. It's a relief to see he wasn't able to do his worst."
Bowser's Kingdom
The castle's surrounded by lava with molten rock sticking out. Beams of lava shoot upwards causing some to fall on his minions outside.
Junior and Wario are on a trip to the most famous landmark in the kingdom: The castle.
"Wario knows about this big bad turtle from the news. Is he just like they say?" Wario asks.
"If you're on his bad side..say you call him a turtle, or trash his son, he'll hate you forever. If you're on his good side, he's not that bad." Junior admits. "He cooks for me every night."
"What's he make?"
"Lava cakes." He sees Wario's horrified expression. "No, not actual lava. He takes free trips to our convenience store." He points out a wooden store, with a sign that's just ready to fall off. "Doesn't look good from the outside but when you get in it's like heaven."
"Doesn't he have slaves doing the work for him?" Wario asks.
"Slaves? Everyone WANTS to be here."
"They want to be here but you don't even a chef?"
"Well..." Junior pauses. "my dad's got some issues."
A thought of this kingdom hits Wario as they move along. He's learning more by the second.
"..this place actually has an economy?"
"We're trying."
"Hm..." Wario pulls out a pencil and notepad from his overalls, and jots something down. "Rookie mistake, kid..." he mutters.
"Hm? Did you say something?"
"Just talking to myself. We there yet?
They come to the high castle, two red doors blocking the entrance.
Junior turns to him. "Here it is. My dad doesn't have time to play around so be on your best behavior, got it?"
"Oh yeah. Sure."
It's not locked though, as they push in and reach the inside.
"DAD!"
The two visitors enter a dimly lit room, coated in grey, but beneath them is a red carpet leading to a throne.
On the spiked throne, is a yellow monster, with a green shell. There are spikes ontop of that, but the first sight Wario actually sees are those red eyebrows curving down. Everything about this spells "bad" for him..but he's a bad guy too. He's a criminal on the street though. This is a king.
King Bowser himself.
The king gets a good look at Wario, and all that comes with it is judgement. "This is who you brought me? I thought I told you to stop bringing the homeless into my castle. We're a kingdom, not a charity..."
Junior comes to his defense. "But dad, he really really wants to get the princess too!"
"Romantically?"
"FOR MONEY!" Wario shouts. "It's all about money, it's how the Wario Brothers operate...and the other half got caught by the Royal Guard."
Bowser blows smoke from his nose. "I've only heard of your little crew today." Wario grits his teeth as the Koopa continues. "But if we both have the same goal we might as well take that Kingdom by storm! What's your price?"
Wario's expression has a smirk form on it. This is his wheelhouse. "A hundred..."
The Koopa smiles.
"Grand."
His smile drops. "Excuse me?"
"A hundred grand or I'm not in."
"But...your partners stuck?"
"It's what he'd want me to do."
Junior interjects. "We need him! He gave Mario a tough time when he was fresh, imagine what he can do when he's hurt!" That point makes the King ponder. It's a hefty price to pay, but a win over Mario could be worth it.
"...you make a good point, my son." he says, giving Wario his final judgement. "If we are to pay up, you BETTER pick up that deadweight."
"If you're done poking Bowser.."
"LORD Bowser."
"Whatever.." Wow Wario, just brushing off the king like that. "You won't have to worry about it. As long as you deliver the gold, Wario will be your most useful soldier. Besides..MY partner's in there and if you want a couple of free agents you should pay up."
Bowser clenches his fists, but looks into the eyes of his son and unclenches. No. Not here. "We will back up our brinks for you. All you need to know is this: we strike at night."
Wario wipes his hands together. "Oh yeah. Let Wario know when you leave."
"Will do. There is a free bedroom upstairs. I will warn you, Titus will bite if you stare too long."
The thief heads for the door. "Oh the chained chomp? Haha, If he wants some, he can come get some." He slams the door on the two koopas, and Bowser basically jumps out of his chair. "The audacity of this slob, Junior...why couldn't we get the other one instead?!"
"Weeeelll he'd be just as bad.."
The Koopa rubs his brows. "Hmph...No worries. After we capture the princess, we will kick them to the curb." Bowser reveals. "That porkchop thinks he runs the place. This is MY castle!"
"Calm down..."
Bowser let's a sigh out. "We've been stomped on by that kingdom for so long. Then some nobody tries to walk all over us. It's like the Star Spirits are against us."
His son gets closer. "Dad...you're having the crisis again. You should lay down before we ruin their day." The Koopa King crosss his arms. "There's no time to rest. We have to take the princess and stab those criminals in the back, before they can stab us."
Elsewhere in the castle, Wario's walking the steps, muttering to himself. "Homeless...this idiot doesn't know who he's messing with." He continues and walks past a Dry Bones, whose yellow eyes are staring at him. "Bug off will ya?"
He just won't look away.
"Earth to skeleton..."
The dry bones moves on, but even when walking past him he's still looking at him. Once he's out of view, the criminal keeps talking to himself. "What a weirdo..."
Wario is on a "payroll," but his greed has caught him in the crossfire of a bigger war. The Wario's normally stick to small scale crime, but one's about to commit on a grander scale.
Peach's Castle
The sky's a beautiful orange. It's a sight to see in the kingdom. Outside, Toads big and small are sitting on their little rugs and taking it in.
On the balcony, Luigi breaths in and looks at it from a higher point of view. Mario's been alongside him his whole life. It's not like Luigi's washed, but his brother's reassurance personified. They could be in a bad situation, but Mario's always there to cheer him up.
But that reassurance will be reduced to a bed tonight. If something bad is to happen, Mario can't do much about it. It is Luigi time indeed.
His nature view is interrupted when Mario limps over, bandages on his body. "Ey Luigi!"
"M-Mario? How are you even up, you've got to be literally hurting all over!"
The bigger brother leans on the railing in front of them. "Willpower. Before I dozed off I just needed to talk to ya."
"About?.."
Mario just sets a hand on his shoulder. "You know you're tagged in tonight. Just wanted to say: don't overthink it."
"When have I done that?"
"Since you asked...the other day you didn't know whether to get a mushroom or fruit platter." Mario reminds him. "Last thing they need is for you to panic."
"I..won't..."
"..."
"..ok maybe I will."
Mario leans closer. "Just relax and take it all in. It'll kill some of the stress you got in there." He's gazing at the sky too. "It's good to go with the flow. You never know when you're gonna see someting this for the last time."
Their talk's interrupted when a doctor gets to them, and glares at the thick plumber. "Mario...you can't fight it forever." He lets a chuckle out, not taking that warning seriously. "Y0u act like death's about to take me."
"Chronic pain will if you don't get back here."
"I'll come back, just needed to address my bro that's all."
The Doctor shakes his head. "I respect that, but if the going gets tough, he won't be alone. Now come rest up." Leaving it at that, the two head off. Mario waves goodbye to his brother, and gets a wave back.
"Good night Mario..."
He turns back around to get a good view of nature again. A little darkness has seeped into the sky as it only gets later in the evening. He takes another deep breath. "Don't overthink it. The worsts not gonna happen."
In the air, a massive airship makes it's way towards the castle..that Koopa's face is on the front, but they aren't coming from the front.
Onboard, Wario's wearing a blue vest with a yellow helmet. He's got that Wario Bike by his side. He's not the only one though, as Koopa Troopas, Dry Bones, Goombas, and more are onboard.
Not to even mention the cannons. The prescience is so big that it alerts the Toads immediately. Some run in, while others point their spears, swords, and shields at the ship above. If the Party was hectic? This is about to be complete chaos.
Sorry Luigi, but the worst is yet to come.