Sold Out

Wario and Waluigi's 'shop' is a humble shack, sitting among the ruins of an abandoned suburban neighborhood. The bamboo forest has since overtaken the area. It's the perfect hideout for them. Despite the run-down exterior of the place, the two plumbers call it home. They even have a nice vegetable garden in their backyard. Peach walks towards the carefully tilled soil, examining the plants. Its caretaker Wario was currently growing tomatoes. While admiring their ripeness, a white chicken approaches Peach. She rubs against Peach's leg, cooing. The princess bends to gently ruffle her feathers.

"You're a sweetheart!"

Gingerly picking up the chicken, Peach walks over to where her friends are. Bowser and Daisy are sitting at a small garden table, staring intently at a computer screen. The screen is tiny, so Bowser must bend to look while hoping his chair doesn't break under his weight. Having trouble seeing past Bowser, Daisy smooshed the side of her face against his. Peach can't help but snicker at the sight.

"Too many words!" Bowser complains. "I don't feel like reading this!"

"Good grief, Bowser! I'll summarize it. The aliens coat their ships with a special solution to protect themselves from emp blasts." Daisy mumbles. "Wario and Waluigi even got information on the ingredients used."

Bowser grunts in response. "I see. Those plumb skulls are good for something after all."

Peach leans over Bowser's shoulder to look at the screen too. "So, we can use it to coat the submarine as a precaution?"

"Yeah, I also stole some planes from an abandoned airport. I got my best nerds working on them. Once we have that coating made, we can use them to face Tatanga's mother ship." Bowser chuckles.

Daisy looks at him out the side of her eyes. "You're talking about the sky pop planes?"

"Yeah."

Daisy smiles nervously. "We failed in our last air raid against Tatanga. Hopefully, this time it will different."

Peach stands back up. "You think of everything Bowser."

Bowser smugly leans back against his chair. "I didn't become king with just my looks, Peach."

Peach places Hen in Bowser's lap while sighing. "You just can't help but brag…"

The chicken climbs into Bowser's mane and settles down in his hair. She then falls asleep. Peach and Daisy stare at Bowser's head in amusement.

"Is she sleeping!?" Bowser demands.

"You emit a lot of heat. She likes it up there!" Peach giggles. Bowser scowls and looks up, trying to glare at the chicken. "If she makes a nest in my head, she's going in a pan of hot grease!"

On cue, Wario waddles into the yard drinking an energy drink. "Cook my sweet Hen and I'll knock you into orbit, Bowser!"

Bowser rolls his eyes and grabs the chicken off his head. She jumps back into Peach's arms. Behind Wario is Waluigi arriving with a tray of hot beverages. He does a ballerina spin and stops on bended knee before Daisy. He presents the tray to her.

"May I offer you some refreshments, my lady?" He asks while winking. Daisy eyes him with suspicion.

"Are you going to charge me for it!?" She accuses.

Waluigi mockingly grabs his heart. "Why do you always assume the worst of me, Daisy? You're nice to everyone else but me!"

Daisy folds her arms. "Fort Mellow."

"Oh, come on! I came back for you and Wario didn't I?"

"You didn't know the way back home."

"She got you there!" Wario laughs.

Peach carefully observes Wario and Waluigi fist fighting. The two plumbers look different from other humans. Filled with curiosity, Peach had grabbed at their pink noses when she first met them. They made it clear they didn't like that and Peach had to apologize. She couldn't help herself. The variation of humans never ceases to amaze her.

Wario turns toward Bowser while sitting on an angry Waluigi. "I told you Bowser we deliver results! We are the best at whatever we do!"

Bowser continues looking at the screen. "Is that other project finished?"

Wario slaps his noggin. "I almost forgot." He runs back into his shop and returns with a pink parasol.

"Seriously, you wanted this made?"

Bowser rolls his eyes. "It's not for me."

Peach's eyes sparkle and she eagerly reaches for the parasol with one hand. Bowser chuckles. "It will protect you from laser fire."

Peach looks at Bowser lovingly. "Thank you." She suddenly feels a tightness around her heart again. She deep breathes and turns to avoid Bowser spotting her nervousness. Trying to calm down, she hugs Hen closer.

I have an urge to run. Something is telling me there is danger. Why is that?

Ignoring it, she places the parasol against the table and glances at Wario. "And thank you. But Wario how did you get here?"

Standing up Wario hangs his head, his eyes closed. "I don't want to talk about it, toots. It's a sad tale."

Waluigi angrily drinks a cup of black coffee. The shorter plumber grunts knowing Waluigi is about to tell them anyway. "We made good money as plumbers! But we were wrongly accused of cheating customers. Two losers, our own coworkers, ratted on our work and there was a big lawsuit."

"Oh…" Peach side eyes Bowser who is already smiling over their misfortune. Wario points at Waluigi. "It was your fault, beanpole! You kept boasting to that Luigi guy, and he tattled tale to his brother! And our boss fired us."

Daisy smirks, placing her hands on her face. "Knowing what I know of you two, I'm sure the guy had a good reason to be a 'tattle tale.' I wouldn't be surprised you were breaking things on purpose, to get more money."

Waluigi and Wario frown at Daisy. How did she know?

Wario continues. "We were forced to go on the run because I refused to pay for damages."

Peach asks, "How much was it?"

"One hundred dollars and fifty-three cents." Wario says flatly. Bowser lets loose a booming laugh. Peach lightly hits his shoulder at his reaction.

"Wario, you couldn't just pay that!?"

"It was unlawful and unfair, toots! So, I grabbed my sweet little Hen and we left Brookyln. All we had was a bag of garlic, some beef jerky, and $50. But 'flagpole' here accidently took a wrong turn in the forest and drove down a warp pipe."

"You give bad directions, garlic breath!" Waluigi dramatically falls to the ground. "It's been the worst! Living on scrapes! Running from aliens! And Daisy and Bowser kept giving us dangerous jobs!"

Bowser stops laughing and gets up from his chair. "Speaking of jobs, I got a new one for you two."

Bewildered, Waluigi points at Bowser. "A little sympathy here, man! We lost everything!"

Bowser folds his arms now frowning at Waluigi. "You've been making bank. More than when you were plumbers! You'll go back home rich. And you'll make even more today, twinkle toes."

Wario shuffles up to Bowser. "I don't pass up money! What ya got for us?"

Bowser motions to the computer screen. "Get us this stuff. All of it. And we'll find you more gold."

"The labs will have them; it will be a pain to take it by force. But you guys are stealth masters." Daisy adds. Waluigi folds his arms. He is not too thrilled with risking his neck again. Peach leans towards him.

"I'll bake a cake for you. When this is all over that is…."

Waluigi sighs and Wario greedily rubs his hands together. "Deal."

It doesn't take long for Wario and Waluigi to secure the supplies needed to make the coating. They did this by posing as slaves at various alien laboratories. Once they have the ingredients, they hand them over in exchange for gold. Having what they need Bowser, Peach, and Daisy leave for Muda Kingdom. Before leaving his base, Bowser tells Plum she is in charge. The koopa soldiers also stay behind to mass produce the coating for the pop planes.

The trip to Muda is made on foot to avoid trouble with UFOs. It was made with little incident; the trouble came from roaming monsters. While trudging along Bowser notices Peach pausing.

"Peach are you okay?" he asks gently. "Want me to carry you?"

It was the same worried look she had at the rebel base. Daisy backtracks noticing the couple stop. "What's wrong?"

"I feel like I'm suffocating, Bowser."

Bowser reaches for her. "Are you too hot?"

"No, I'm fine. I just been having a bad feeling lately. I'm not sure what to make of it."

The king chuckles and rests a claw on Peach's shoulder. "If you're worried things will go wrong, don't be. You have me, your awesome and hunky fiancée."

Peach looks up to him and shakes her head. "Fiancée? Dear, you haven't officially proposed yet."

Bowser wriggles his eyebrows as he nudges her forward. "You're eager, aren't you?"

Daisy sticks her tongue out. "Don't flirt too much! I'm a third wheel here!" She jokingly complains. Peach walks over to hold her hand.

"Do you have a special one?"

"No time with the invasion. But if I did have someone…." Daisy smiles lightly. "No offense Bowser, I would prefer a humble and cute guy that's hardworking."

Peach giggles while Bowser shrugs. "Well, you're being honest."

Their light conversation come to an end when they hear battle. The trio picked up the pace. Near a dock lays the submarine needed to access the underwater base. Unfortunately, human marauders are attacking the sea horses guarding the vessel. Leading the battle to defend the submarine is their king, Dragonzamasu. Bowser's gaze flicks to Peach as she readies her parasol.

"Please stay within my sights."

"Don't worry too much about me."

Bowser lowers the load he has been carrying, and roars to alert the marauders of their presence. The trio then charge to aid the rebels. Bowser tucks into his shell and spins to clear out the first wave of enemies. With one punch, Daisy sends a man sailing away from King Dragonzamasu. The sea horse looks at her with disdain. "I could have handled this myself."

"I'm not taking any chances! I can't lose any of you!"

"And another thing, I'm not your errand boy, Princess Daisy."

Daisy groans, used to dealing with his haughtiness. "I didn't mean you any harm when I asked you to find the prison. But I have no time for arguing. Is the submarine ready?"

Dragonzamasu snorts and motions in the direction of the ship. "I would let you all just swim down there, but I owe you a debt."

Bowser rushes past the sea horse still fighting. "We'll take care of this! You just sit pretty, horse man."

"Sit pretty!? Horse man!?" An offended Dragonzamasu yells as Daisy holds him back.

"You won't win. Let it go!"

Bowser gleefully smashes through mobs of marauders with his club, snarling at the ones fleeing. Due to how kindly he treats her, Peach had forgotten Bowser still has an evil streak.

"Bowser, don't overdo it!"

She spots an guy on the ground, reaching for his laser to fire at a rebel from behind. Peach jumps and blocks the shots with her parasol. She then leaps to kick the laser gun out of his hand. Using the laser herself, Peach chases off the remaining enemies.

Not waiting for a UFO to show up, Bowser has the submarine covered in a special coating. Immediately, they set off for the waters below. Dragonzamasu and his men go ahead to show the location of the prison. As they go deeper - the light from above fades and only darkness remains. Despite her aversion to dark water, Daisy pilots the submarine. The auburn is cheery but she fidgets every so often. Noticing, Peach keeps talking to Daisy.

"Daisy, you're doing great despite how you feel."

Daisy smiles sheepishly at her friend. "I'll do anything to save my dad."

Dragonzamasu contacts Daisy interrupting the two.

"Approaching enemy divers. I and my men will deal with them."

"Heard you loud and clear. We'll go on ahead."

Unknown to the party, a large creature is hiding in a cave nearby.

Ludwig decided not to make any attempt to escape because of Toad. He was hoping to spot the little guy again so he could tell Bowser his location. So, while in prison, Ludwig had plenty of time to think of his childhood.

It was so strange meeting his uncle. Despite being the younger sibling, Bowser was larger than Ludwig's father The Koopa King stared at them with an empty look; Ludwig was afraid to go with him at first.

Though withdrawn, Bowser took care of the koopalings' needs. He didn't leave them to be solely taken care of by his army of maids. Bowser would even bring the children to his meetings. The boys would play right by his feet, behind the desk as Bowser bounced Wendy on his knee. He did this all while threatening his council. But the older Ludwig grew, Bowser became even more distant from him. One day he walked in on Bowser doing work and he angrily cried out 'Morton!?' Ludwig looked too much like his father, even though he wasn't named after him. He began to feel resentment for being treated differently.

Not seeing him often, Ludwig secretly followed Bowser when he went to his study room. When he wasn't reading, Bowser was writing. Every time he would ball up the paper and angrily throw it in a trash can. At night Ludwig and his siblings would go to see what he tossed. They were love letters to a person named Peach, containing passionate confessions to her. Most would talk about how much Bowser loved her. Others would be him asking her out on a date. But none of the letters were sent. Ludwig wondered if taking care of him and his siblings was why Bowser was not sending his letters. Was Bowser just taking care of them out of obligation? He decided to take the discarded letters and store them in his room.

Later he heard Bowser making music dedicated to the woman. Already having a love for music, Ludwig listened from behind a corner. He vowed to try playing himself. But Bowser caught him sitting at his piano. But instead of yelling at him, Bowser sat down next to Ludwig. The two played together for hours before Bowser had to leave. It was at that moment, Ludwig finally accepted that Bowser genuinely cared about him and his siblings.

He hates the idea of Bowser worrying about him. Ludwig feels he can handle this until he is rescued. Though at the back of his mind, he wondered if Tatanga was going to execute him. Most of the staff left the base and took King Oleander. As he now contemplates his fate, Ludwig's eyes open at the sound of the base's alarm. He smirks under his muzzle; Bowser is here.

Mouser, in the cell across from Ludwig, stands up. They listen to shouting over the intercom. All available staff is being ordered to stop the intruders. Soon the sound of laser fire nears their area. A mecha suit goes flying past the cells. But instead of hearing Bowser's voice, Ludwig hears Peach's. She stops in front of his cell, holding her parasol and a laser.

"Bowser! He's here!"

That was unexpected. Ludwig is certain Peach was not in their ranks when they entered Sarasaland. Bowser must have been angry. But help is help. Peach aims at the control panel and fires. The shield drops and she rushes in. She begins pulling at the muzzle as Bowser enters.

"Stand back, Peach."

Bowser rips the muzzle off and the other restraints. Ludwig stumbles and Bowser captures him in a tight embrace. Peach joins in, wrapping her small arms around Bower and leans against Ludwig's forehead. He hates hugs but Ludwig happily accepts, just this once. Bowser finally releases him and runs his claws through Ludwig's mane.

"Let's get you out of here."

"Don't forget me, Boss!" Mouser complains. Bowser grunts whilst Peach targets the control panel. Once he is free, they run down the hall and meet up with Princess Daisy.

"I don't see my Pa anywhere!"

Ludwig speaks up. "They moved him this morning, Ma'am."

Daisy folds her arms, growling under her breath.

"They probably moved him to the mother ship." Bowser comments. "The good thing is we didn't run into any emp nonsense down here. So, the mother ship is likely the only one with the cannon."

"What are we waiting for? Let's get out of here!" Daisy declares.

Outside, Dragonzamasu and his men wait for Daisy to exit the base. As they wait, a giant blooper comes out of a ravine and wraps around the base! It begins to constrict the structure and the walls crack; water pours into the hallways. The guards are bewildered as they are swept away.

"We're still in here!"

"Why is Tatanga's pet attacking us!?"

"Princess Daisy!" Dragonzamasu cries out and tries to attack the blooper but it quickly repels him, knocking him out. His men don't fare much better against it.

The rescue team makes it to the submarine and exits the base. As they do so, the blooper reaches out and grabs the submarine. Slowly, it begins to pull it down into the ravine.

Back at the shack Wario and Waluigi are taking a nap. Waluigi wakes up to the sound of the chicken clucking.

"Shut up! It's the middle of the night!"

Wario awakens and hurls a pillow at Waluigi. "I'm coming, sweetheart! Hang in there!" Wario jumps up to run to the backyard. Waluigi follows while slipping on his fuzzy slippers. Hen jumps around her cage, clearly distressed. As Wario opens the cage, she jumps into his arms. Waluigi shakes his head. "She can't sleep inside, Wario! I just cleaned up!"

Before Wario could argue the three of them were blown back by the shack exploding. Wario shields Hen and Waluigi with his body. After being hurled several feet, the two plumbers look up and spot a UFO powering up another shot.

"Our home!? How did they find us!? Did Bowser sell us out?" Waluigi cries out.

Wario throws Hen into Waluigi's arms. "He has nothing to gain from it! He hates these people! You two get to safety!"

"Are you crazy!?"

Wario flexes his muscles. "My gold is under the shack! I ain't leaving it!"

Waluigi runs for his life while Wario charges at the UFO.

The giant blooper refuses to let go of the submarine. It drags them further down into the ravine. The lights are flickering on and off from damage to the submarine. This was terrifying to Peach but she soon became distracted, Daisy was having a panic attack at the controls. She froze; her breathing was rapid and her green eyes desperately searched for any exit.

"It's dark! I can't … I can't …see!"

"Daisy!"

"We're gonna die!"

"Daisy!"

Peach grabs ahold of Daisy and pulls her away from the controls. Nervously, Ludwig takes over. Peach sits down, one arm around Daisy while one holds her head in place. "I'm right here with you. Take a deep breath. Breathe in – Breathe out."

Daisy wraps her arms around Peach while deep breathing. Water begins to leak into the submarine. Bowser grunts trying to reseal the breaches by heating up the metal with his fire breath. A few minutes pass and Daisy finally speaks.

"Two years ago, I was trapped deep underwater in a sky pop. I had been shot down trying to rush the mother ship. I-I would have died if Dragonzamasu didn't save me. For a while I couldn't go to sleep without thinking about dark water."

Peach tightens her hold on Daisy. She looks to Bowser, silently begging him to say something.

Bowser bends to look at Daisy. "Everyone has something they're afraid of Daisy. Except me, I'm just different."

"Bowser!"

To Peach's surprise, Daisy rolls her eyes and smiles lightly. "I doubt that."

"The point is you're going to live. You're scared but you're tenacious. You've gotten this far."

Daisy wipes her eyes. "Y-Yeah. Ha ha ha! You're right! You're like an annoying big brother!"

Bowser smiles and stands back up removing his cape. "Abandoning the submarine isn't an option. We're too far down and if we try to swim it'll grab us. I'll have to force it to let go."

Peach grabs Bowser's arm. "You're going out there!?"

"I can hold my breath for a time."

Daisy points at a compartment. "Peach there are swimming suits with oxygen tanks for humans."

Ludwig turns around but Bowser shakes his head. "I just got you back. Stay in here."

Peach looks down at Daisy. She is nervous to go out there but she must. "Daisy, I'm leaving you with Ludwig. We'll be back."

"I'll hang in there."

Bowser and Peach exit the submarine. As they do Bowser observes swirling water below in the ravine. What's down there? The blooper notices the royals and shoots a tentacle at them. Bowser blocks with his shell and Peach stays behind him. Bowser then lurches forward sinking his teeth into one the blooper's arms. Peach follows looking for any weak points. While it is distracted by Bowser, Peach approaches the head and throws her parasol at its right eye. She spots a blinking device at the back of its head. Before she can investigate, the creature releases ink due to the pain. It lets go of the submarine allowing it to ascend.

Angry the blooper turns towards Peach to attack her, but Bowser shields her again. Having come out of unconsciousness, Dragonzamasu shoots an underwater fireball at the other eye of the blooper. While he distracts the beast, Peach gets Bowser's attention and points at the blinking device. He speeds forward and is met by an attacking arm. But Peach swims around Bowser, as he holds the arm in place, and stabs her parasol into the device damaging it. Freed of the mind control device, the blooper swims away. Before he passes out from oxygen deprivation, Bowser grabs Peach and races for the submarine with Dragonzamasu following.

With the mission to save Ludwig complete, the submarine breaches the surface. Daisy happily runs onto the sub's deck, catching her breath. As she celebrates, Dragonzamasu checks on her. Bowser, Ludwig, and Peach meanwhile stare at the starlit horizon.

"We work well together Peach. I hit hard and tank while you hit fast and look for weak points." Bowser compliments. "I'm warming up to this alliance."

Peach gently tucks her arm into his. He lowers his head to nuzzle his face into her hair. Ludwig sighs. He hates to break up their moment. "Now that we are safe, for the time being, I need to inform you that I saw Captain Toad."

Peach froze. "W-What …? He's alive?"

Daisy gets back on her feet to listen.

"Yes. But he operates as a personal servant to Tatanga."

Peach sits down. Tears well up in Peach's eyes. "My poor Toad…"

"We'll save him, Peachy." Daisy promises. "Tell me what he look like, so I can keep an eye out for him."

"H-he's small with a red spotted mushroom cap. He wears a blue vest. A-and he has adorable black eyes."

Daisy takes a mental note of Peach's description. Peach looks at Bowser. He has the biggest smile she has ever seen from him. Peach holds her hands over her heart. "Oh, Bowser your happy Toad is alive too?"

"He sees a chance to further his place in your heart by liberating the mushroom." Ludwig remarks. Bowser tries to hush Ludwig up while Peach frowns at Bowser.

Bowser begins coughing. "Yes, I'm worried about the fungus too! We'll get him back, Peaches!"

Peach folds her arms annoyed but then she becomes fearful.

"Bowser, there is a chance Antasma is alive then. And he's somewhere …"

Peach remembers the discomfort she felt the past few days. How similar it felt to when she embraced Antasma. But that's impossible. She hadn't seen him in person nor saw him in a dream.

Bowser's eyes narrow. "I'm not worried about him. He can't kill me."

"I … Okay …"

Daisy rubs the back of her neck. "I gotta check on my Ma! I'll see you guys later, for the big battle."

The auburn beams while hugging Peach. "Thanks, Peach … for being there for me."

"Anytime, we're cousins remember?"

Daisy laughs. "Yeah, cousins!"

After saying their goodbyes - Bowser, Peach, Ludwig, and Mouser left for the bamboo forest. The plan is to finish preparing the pop planes and meet back up with Daisy. The trip back takes about a day. Unexpectedly, Wario and Waluigi are at the base talking with the rebels.

"A man in shades gave us a ride. We wouldn't have escaped." Waluigi laments.

"Was he with us?" Plum inquires.

"Says he's a King over the Easton region. Looking for a spy …That's why we came to…"

"Plum, what's going on?" Bowser demands. Plum turns around and salutes.

"Mister Bowser! These two say misfortune came their way. And King Hiyoihoi saved them."

Waluigi taps his foot. "We were attacked, right after you left our house! Wario took out the UFO but more swarmed us. We're homeless now."

Peach gasps and Bowser growls.

"So, we're crashing here." Wario adds in.

"How did …"

A koopa races up to Bowser and bows to him. "Your Gruffness!"

"What?"

"It's King Hiyoihoi from Easton! He demands to know where Princess Peach is!"

Bowser snarls and races for the entrance. Peach, Wario, and Waluigi follow. Wario catches up to Peach.

"We were hoping to clear this up before he got here!" Wario complains. "Be honest with us, toots. There's a rumor going around that you're selling out bases."

Peach becomes mortified. "Where did this rumor come from!?"

Before Wario can explain, they hear Bowser spewing fire. Peach makes it to the entrance and stops Bowser and the koopas from fighting the rebels.

"Bowser, they are our allies!"

Turning away from Bowser, Peach spots the king demanding to see her. Hiyoihoi looked grief stricken and Peach feels her throat tighten. He angrily points at the princess and Bowser pulls her behind himself.

"You're the girl Daisy took in."

Peach calmly talks to the stone king. "I am she. What is going on? Please explain to me what is going on?"

Hiyoihoi takes a deep breath. "Don't play oblivious with me. After you left, Tatanga came with the mother ship and bombarded the caverns with bombs."

"W-what?"

"You sold us out! Bowser are you in on it as well?"

Mouser gets in between, hoping to deescalate the situation. He could see his king is a ticking time bomb. "You seem so certain it is her. Do you have evidence?"

Hiyoihoi answers while stomping his foot. "This did not happen until she appeared! Everyone that escaped the base's destruction confirmed they had suspicions about her. She has brought disaster on us!"

"I … what?" Peach stares at the stone king in confusion. "Daisy saved me! And the only time I left the base, without her, was when Bowser kidnapped me! And Daisy caught up and stopped him. She can confirm this."

"Daisy cannot be here."

Bowser roars at his opposing audience but Peach hugs his arm.

"Daisy! Lilac!? Where are they!?" Peach pleads.

"Tatanga captured Queen Lilac and Daisy surrendered to protect her. I couldn't do anything."

Peach nearly collapses to the ground but Bowser catches her. "We just saw her …"

Wario looks skeptical. "I don't know. Peach was indeed at our place before it went sky high. Despite what intel you got, she doesn't look like she can harm a fly."

"Looks can be deceiving."

Ludwig tries to intervene. "Everyone is hurling accusations! Does anyone stop to reason that this is what the enemy wants?"

Bowser roars so hard the ground shakes. "She didn't do it! And I'm not letting you touch her!"

The rebels stepped back.

"Leave." Bowser threatens. "NOW!"

Peach and Mouser jump. The stone king and his rebels fearfully back off and run into the forest. Bowser signals for a group of koopas to follow, to ensure they left. Some of the observing humans working for Bowser are now nervous. But they stay due to feeling indebted to the king.

"What do we do, Mister Bowser?" Plum asks.

"…."

Peach looks at Wario. "Wario, where did he say he got his intel?"

"You won't believe it. I had to convince him to tell me. Says someone talked to him in a dream. His dream was about the rebel base's destruction and it came true."

Color drains from Peach's face. "Antasma."

Bowser's eyes enlarge with rage, and sparks fly out his mouth. Not knowing how to react, Peach runs back into the dome. Plum follows her, calling out to her. Bowser turns to Wario and Waluigi.

"We know what is going on, now. So, I suggest you two get out of here."

Wario shrugs. "I told you already! We're homeless. I'm still skeptical but if Peach did do it, you must take responsibility! We need a roof over our heads."

Mouser stares trying to understand Wario's reasoning. "Shouldn't this be the last place you would want to be!?"

Waluigi hits Wario with his hat. "Forget this, Wario! We need to save Daisy."

"One thing we can agree on! But Daisy's tough, s-she'll be fine." Bowser mumbles.

Bowser turns to his army. "Give me a moment!"

With a huff, Bowser marches to Peach's living quarters. He finds Peach packing things into a bag. Also, she is shoving provisions in Plum's arms. She looks terrified.

"Miss Peach! What do you mean we have to run?"

"I'm being watched. But I don't know exactly how. Antasma must be mad over what happened with Toad and is looking to get even."

"Peach…Antasma has been in your dreams before?"

Peach glances up and hands Bowser the backpack. "Bowser, you need to evacuate. I'll stay here."

Peach feels her subconscious crying out to her again. Warning her this is the wrong course to take.

If you remain alone in Sarasaland, he'll get you!

But Peach needs to run. If Antasma is somehow leading the enemy to her allies, she doesn't want to endanger them anymore.

"No." Bowser says flatly, he reaches out to her. "So, when I wanted to leave you for your safety, I'm a jerk. But if you do it, it's for my own good huh? Hypocrite! We're supposed to stay together!"

Peach cringes remembering what she just said earlier.

"Do you have to say it like that!?"

"Bwa ha ha!" Bowser rubs his thumb over her hands. "Your heart makes you neglect your safety at times." He gently kisses her forehead. "But I'm not leaving you, no matter what."

Peach closes the distance to hug him. As the couple quietly cling to each other, a koopa runs in. "Sire, the mother ship was spotted entering Chai Kingdom! They're heading in this direction!"

They know. Bowser hugs Peach closer. He then looks down at her. It's brief, but she spots worry in his eyes. He is afraid.

"Bowser?"

"I don't understand a thing. But I'm not giving up! And you can't either."

Peach bites her bottom lip and nods resolutely. Bowser tightens his grip, mustering up courage. He takes Peach's hand and escorts her outside. Bowser shouts for his army to come to him. Once they do Bowser addresses them while keeping his arm around Peach.

"We believe a former vassal of mine is behind the information leak. Daisy has been taken prisoner. And Tatanga is on his way. We can't outrun them. But it's not over! Get the planes ready. And prepare yourselves! This is our last stand!"