Boovelope dragged himself through the shadows, avoiding as much light as possible, despite the morning creeping onwards as it did. It would be midday soon, when Boos were at their weakest, which was possibly why he had not the usual one, or the overprotective two, but the extremely out of place three escorts, only usually present for very important missions when King Boo had Boos to spare. And that was not now, considering the current invasion. The letter was protected from outside irritants in his satchel, unlike the Boo that carried it, and it found itself lightly brushing along the sand, due to something lowering both its deliverer's hovering height and mood. Whether it was the desert heat or the recent turn of events regarding his brother, something pulled his usual creepy Boo smile into a begrudging grimace. Was it the family drama of his banished older brother? The extra workload? The sudden nature of this letter? He looked around, and settled on an easier to pinpoint answer.

No, it was his escorts.

The Gamer-Boos, consisting of the anxious but eager-to-please Game Boo, his much calmer and cocky twin brother Game Boo Advanced, and their younger sibling, the optimistic but naive Boo DS, amused themselves with discussions of similar interests and the warm climate. Boovelope sighed and swayed lightly in the heat that struck him as he flew ahead of his escorts. He better get paid extra for this. Does King Boo even give out overtime?

Boovelope felt more deadpan than usual. "Can we hurry along, please?"

"Huh?"

"Oh! Of course!"

"Something bothering you, 'Lopey?"

Game Boo Advanced's little nickname made Boovelope want to slap the afterlife out of his escort full-on Lady Bow style, but knowing he'd be ratted out and bring even more disgrace on his family, he kept his spare arm down by his side. His brother was strong; he could be stronger.

"No. I'm quite fine." He looked up, eyeing the sun's position. "Tell the others to hurry - it's nearly midday, and His Highness insisted it be delivered by then."

"Isn't Highness the term used for princes? I thought you have to call a king 'Your Majesty', or it's rude."

These damn escorts! Whatever! Who cares what you call him? He wondered if Bowser might take him on without a reference. Probably, considering his bad reputation, but the same reputation drove him away from the idea.

"Possibly. Can you just tell the others to hurry?"

Game Boo Advanced turned round to face his siblings.

"Hey! Can you two hurry up a little? 'Lopey says we're late."

"Huh?"

"Oh! Sure!"

The smallest of the escorts poked him lightly.

"Can I call you 'Lopey too, Mr. Boovelope?"

Although this was an important message, he knew he was still being watched, and these Boos were stupid, and easily upset.

"Yes. Fine."

If King Boo didn't do overtime, he was sure going to have to start after this.

For once, all three royals were in the same room for more than five minutes, watching repeats of old game shows since the news wasn't on at this hour of midday (They did find out that the safety statement did not fall on deaf ears, but no further updates than that). Well, Daisy was - Peasley simply sat there, not fully absorbed for the sake of thinking about other things, enjoying the background noise, if 'enjoying' was really the word for it. Peach found herself present too, if only filling in some paperwork over trade deals - almost all contact had been cut off between Toad Town and Dry Dry Outpost, so many were running short on more exotic goods that needed to be shipped in from elsewhere. She did find it odd that all trade routes to Bowser's Kingdom remained untouched, but that was probably just a tactic to not alert the Koopa King of the invasion. She tried to drown out the details of the television as she filled in form after form - what sort of game show required the least amount of points to win anyway?

The sun was scorching overhead; it was an unusually hot day for the time of year. People were probably out in the sun relaxing, but none of the royals had the energy to even get up and fetch a cold drink. Life was draining without Mario and Luigi, so that even though whole days would pass where they did nothing but worry about the brothers, and their current predicament, and Boos, days like the current one were far too common: lazy days where nothing happened and hardly anyone talked. Peach felt any optimism she had left drip away like sweat. In reality, the last thing she wanted to think about was a Boo, never mind four of them and some silly letter they had.

But that's what she faced when she finally got up and went to the door after a small swarm of toads insisting that she followed them.

"Do you need me..?"

The Boo looked not much more different from usual, other than having bushy eyebrows rather than a unibrow, although his grin seemed awfully performative, and he carried a small satchel.

"Princess Peach, I presume?"

"Um… Yes?"

"I am Boovelope! I work for King Boo!"

"You work for-"

"KING BOO?"

Daisy appeared next to her friend in a flash, with Peasley's hair glimmering in the light as he ran round a corner. He was somewhat excited to see a Boo up close again, there weren't any residential Boos in his kingdom but he fondly remembered everything Luigi had told him about them. Toadette managed to come out from whatever chore she was doing after someone ran by wailing about the quartet of Boos.

"Is he here? Peasley and I had a plan! We were gonna-" Daisy started.

Peach resisted the urge to rub one of her eyes. "No, it's just... Erm…"

"Boovelope. I believe I have a letter for you."

The Boo opened his satchel and produced a violet envelope with a scarlet wax seal.

"Another letter Booley delivered: a postBoo's job is never done!"

Peasley and Daisy peered over Peach's shoulder, Toadette tried in vain to see from standing on her tippy-toes. "Are you going to open it?"

"I guess."

She tore the seal and removed the cream paper from its containment.

Dearest Princess Peach,

I am writing to inform you that I have decided upon a change in my plan. I would be more than happy to cease the invasion and return peace, land and "superstars", for three somethings in return. Keep hold of this letter. Tonight I shall visit you personally to discuss the terms, at midnight - and not a second later! Be awake, or face the dire consequences on your kingdom.

Sincerely,

King Boo

Peach was a little dumbstruck at the letter.

"Well?" Peasley slightly struggled to contain his composure. Sure, he enjoyed the company of the two Princesses and Toadette, but with nothing to do besides lounging around watching Pointless , he'd frequently rather be at home with some action. But now things were getting good - something was happening, and he might be able to make a difference.

"What is it, what is it, what is it!?" Peasley judged from Daisy's jumping up and down that she felt similar. "Peeeeaaaach, tell me!"

"He wants to stop invading."

"You're kidding." Toadette deadpanned, knowing there had to be more to it than the simple statement Peach had voiced.

Now that caught Boovelope off guard. The escorts were only mildly surprised, but field work had slowed down lately so it wasn't too surprising, they trusted their King's judgment in the end. Boovelope had plenty of silent doubts however.

By this time, Toadsworth had made his way into the room, and like many of the other Toads, he found himself surprised, but also slightly overjoyed.

"Well, Princess, isn't that marvelous! Will he be giving back Masters Mario and Luigi too?"

"I think so." Peach scammed the letter again. "He says that he wants to give back peace, land, and 'superstars' - I presume that he means Mario and Luigi - and that he wants to discuss terms tonight, at midnight."

Boovelope thought this over for a moment.

"He may wish for a reply, Princess." He said. "Would you like for me to wait while you write one?"

"If you don't mind, that would be lovely." One of the toads brought her some paper, an envelope, and a pen. Sitting at a nearby table, she began to write.

Dear King Boo,

I will be able to discuss any terms with you tonight at the time you said in your letter. I look forward to it.

Sincerely,

Princess Peach.

~Princess P. Toadstool ~

She inserted the letter and sealed the envelope, before passing it back to the Boo, who tucked it into his satchel. Peach was surprised to see that the other three Boos with him had not disappeared and hidden in the castle walls.

"Can I trust you to get this to him?"

"Of course, your Highness."

Peach, Daisy, Peasley, Toadette and Toadsworth, with a few toads still lingering, watched all four Boos disappear into nothing, before one of the toads quickly shut the door.

Daisy turned to the others, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Did any of you get 'weird vibes' from that guy?"

Peasley shrugged, Toadette and Peach sighed. Peach was already too tired at only midday - she had another 12 hours to last before she could properly sleep. She yawned, mentally decided that a nap might be a good idea, and began to wander back into the castle towards her room, before stopping a moment and turning towards the others. Peasley, Toadette, and Daisy were still discussing the event.

"Don't you get 'weird vibes' from all Boos?"

Peach entered her room, set her alarm and sighed. Hopefully she'd be able to withstand any "weird vibes" that King Boo might give off, both tonight and any time afterwards.