All right, fellow readers. This is the 31st chapter of this story!

Now that we've gotten Chapter 3 all squared away, we can now move on to the intermission chapters. This chapter will focus on Peach at the X-Naut Fortress.

In this chapter, Grodus sends the Shadow Sirens out to attack Andrew again with a special weapon Beldam mentions, Peach has to do a favor for TEC to go see Grodus and ask him something, and Peach has to wear a smelly small X-Naut suit to do it.

Additionally, Peach learns something about Grodus which is a typical scheme for most villains, and some other stuff will occur. How will this go for her? Read and find out now!

AT THE X-NAUT FORTRESS:

In Sir Grodus' throne room at the X-Naut Fortress, Grodus had arranged for the Shadow Sirens to meet with him in the throne room, as all three shadow witch women were already in there. Grodus had recently found out that Andrew had just claimed the third Crystal Star that they had no idea about its location.

Seeing that Andrew was becoming a bigger threat to them, he had one of his X-Naut soldiers tell the Shadow Sirens to meet up with him in his throne room, as he 'really' needed them to take down Andrew and steal his map before it was too late.

Casting a glower at the sight of Beldam and her two sisters, Grodus tapped his scepter on the ground a few times before he took it and slowly pointed it toward the eldest Shadow Siren.

"Beldam..." Grodus scoffed coldly as he pointed his scepter at her. "Tell me, what good are you? You STILL haven't taken care of that Andrew character?"

Beldam couldn't help but scowl at this, especially upon getting herself whooped by the likes of Andrew back in the Boggly Woods. Keeping her irritation in check, Beldam decided to speak in a calm but confident manner.

"Well, yes, sorry, but..." Beldam started. "Only because he's tougher than we thought at first..."

Sir Grodus did not appreciate that comment. He would not accept any failures in his ranks of the X-Nauts, even if it was from one of the Shadow Sirens. His glare got stronger as he sneered at Beldam.

"You do understand that we X-Nauts must open the door first, do you not?" Grodus reminded her in a rather callous manner.

Beldam could only frown. It was to be expected that Grodus would react this way. Thankfully, she had a plan up her sleeve, and it was something that could wipe out Andrew once and for all.

"Mweee hee hee hee hee..." Beldam decided to cackle off before she confidentially revealed it to him. "Well, rest assured that I will 'definitely' nail him next time. We have prepared a weapon that will bring him to a quick and certain end."

Ah yes. The Superbombomb tool that the X-Naut scientists have informed me about. Grodus thought in slight amusement. Perhaps this could be the tool that we can use to annihilate that Andrew scum for good...

Despite this, he still did not seem trusting of the fact that this'll work. Considering how Andrew managed to take down Magnus von Grapple and prevented the time bomb from going off in the Great Tree, surely he'd find some way to work around it.

Nonetheless, Grodus decided to let Beldam and her sisters handle the situation with Andrew by using the Superbombomb to obliterate him. Pulling his scepter away from Beldam, he then told her calmly, but coldly.

"I trust your words...though I rapidly lose my patience." Grodus had to warn her.

Beldam could only huff at this. She still didn't understand why this domehead had to tell her what to do. But for her to pull through with her plans that involved the Thousand-Year Door, she had to tolerate Sir Grodus and oblige by his command.

"Just leave it to us, sire," Beldam told him before cackling. "Mweee hee hee hee hee..."

With that, Beldam turned around to face her sisters again, as their time here was up for now.

"Let's away, my lovelies!" Beldam told them hotly. "Marilyn! Vivian!"

With that, Beldam departed into the shadows, leaving the X-Naut Fortress for the time being.

"Ugghh...guh," Marilyn groaned her usual grunts as she immediately followed her eldest sister into the shadows too.

Vivian didn't say anything this time. Considering the harsh and brutal punishment she suffered at the hands of Beldam, she was unable to comment. All the horrible beatings that her oldest sister dished out to her once they got home from the Boggly Woods remained fresh on her mind. She could only wonder if the torment would ever end for her.

I...I wish that these beatings that Beldam has been giving me will finally be over... Vivian thought sadly. I...I-I don't think I can keep living like this for much longer...

After letting out a sad sigh, Vivian reluctantly departed into the shadows, after her sisters, without giving another glance at the X-Naut Fortress before she left...

MEANWHILE - IN PEACH'S HOLDING ROOM:

Back in the holding room, it looked like Peach had just gotten up from a little nap in her bed, as she let out a stretch and a yawn to wake up. Despite this, she was still not satisfied with her predicament, and there was absolutely nothing for her to do while she waited for Andrew to collect the seven Crystal Stars.

"Mmm... No doubt about it, I'm officially bored," Peach had to say glumly before she commented on something else while clasping her hands. "Those awful X-things haven't been back to ask about the map... I wonder...is it safe in Andrew's possession?"

I hope Andrew is staying safe while collecting the seven Crystal Stars... Peach couldn't help but think about how Andrew was doing with collecting the Crystal Stars before the X-Nauts did.

It pretty much had her worried sick about him. He seemed strong enough, but there was always the chance that the X-Nauts could throw a curveball at him where he meets his demise.

Unfortunately, before she could dwell on her thoughts any longer, the door leading to the computer room opened up again. And Peach realized that this meant one thing.

"Oh, my... That must be TEC again..." Peach murmured. "Wonder what he wants this time..."

Getting out of her bed, she got up, walked out the door, and headed straight to the computer room again. She could only wonder what it was that TEC wanted from her this time. Was it wanting to know more about love? Or was it something entirely different? She would find out for herself once she got there...

IN THE COMPUTER ROOM:

In a matter of seconds, Princess Peach made it to the computer room, and she was immediately greeted by TEC himself.

"Hello, Princess Peach," TEC said simply.

Peach couldn't help but sigh at this. TEC was certainly a weird computer for calling her in here unexpectedly.

"You always call me in without warning, TEC," Peach shook her head as she walked over to him. "What is it this time?"

Once Princess Peach was in front of TEC, the supercomputer felt the need to ask the Mushroom Kingdom Princess to do him a favor.

"I apologize," TEC got down to business. "I would like you to go to where Sir Grodus is and ask him something."

Peach had to jump and gasp at what TEC just requested for her. Did she just hear him correctly? Did TEC seriously want her to go up to Grodus' throne room and ask him a question? Surely TEC must've been suffering from some kind of glitch, right?

"What?" Peach had to clear her ears. "What do you mean, go ask?"

"I recently obtained specific information that brought an...issue to my attention," TEC exclaimed.

Now Peach was entirely confused. What didn't he know about? Besides the meaning of love, of course. Wasn't TEC supposed to be, and quote "The world's best and only perfect computer"? Surely, there had to be a reason behind this.

"You ARE the main computer here, right?" Peach had to query. "Why is there anything you don't know?"

"I am unable to know things that are not entered in my CPU or otherwise recorded." TEC had to admit his flaw. "That is why I want to know what Sir Grodus is thinking about this issue."

Peach had to cross her hands and think, feeling apprehensive about doing this. Even if she wanted to, there was still a flaw in TEC's little plan.

"But...even if I try to go see him," Peach had to inform him. "They'll catch me and send me back to the room!"

It was then Peach's mind flashed back to all the times that Bowser's guards had grabbed a hold of her and dragged her back to her room in her castle during the whole stolen Star Rod fiasco. She 'clearly' did not want to relive that again, and from a total stranger, no less.

TEC seemed to be aware of this, and thankfully, there was a way to work around this little flaw.

"That is true," TEC decided to inform her. "But you will find a soldier's room one floor up. Take the elevator. Once there, please obtain a soldier's uniform and change into it, avoiding detection. You will go see Sir Grodus looking like a soldier."

It was then Peach got an annoyed expression on her face. Surely, TEC wasn't suggesting that Peach does what she thinks that he wants her to do, right?

"You mean I'll be disguised?" Princess Peach then let out a rather annoyed groan before she then asked. "I imagine you won't take NO for an answer, will you?"

"You imagine correctly," TEC told her.

"All right... Fine, I guess," Peach sighed in defeat before she asked him. "Well, so what do you want me to go ask this Grodus?"

"I will tell you..." TEC then explained to Peach that it had something to do with what they plan on doing with Peach from here on out, and why they are even keeping her here before he sent her on her way...

IN THE CORRIDOR - IN THE X-NAUT FORTRESS:

"What in the world is TEC thinking?" Peach had to ask herself as she left the computer room to find the soldier's room up a floor. "I mean, honestly! He sure is a weird computer."

It was then Peach was about to walk right past the elevator when suddenly, the elevator in front of her opened up automatically. Could TEC have been the one responsible for that?

"Oh! Is that the elevator he wanted me to go in?" Peach figured it out quickly as she stepped into the elevator.

Once she was in there, the elevator door closed up and it took her up to the Sublevel 2 floor in the fortress. Once it came to a stop, TEC decided to inform her about something.

"Please wait just a moment," TEC told her. "There are currently soldiers in the vicinity."

"Huh?" Princess Peach was confused about this.

Her question was quickly answered when a regular X-Naut soldier walked right past the elevator, not even noticing someone was in it. Once he was gone, TEC decided to move forward with the plan.

"Now, Princess Peach. It's the room with the green lamp very near where you disembark the elevator." TEC informed her.

Princess Peach exited the elevator shortly afterwards, as she headed to the right of the elevator when she saw the door that TEC was talking about.

As soon as she entered, she noticed it was just a locker room with several lockers, two dressing rooms, and a bench. Once she got in there, she looked around and was curious about something.

"Is this where the outfits are?" Peach asked.

"Yes. That is correct." TEC then informed her. "Now please change here. Quickly. The soldier's uniform should be in a locker."

Peach walked over to the lockers and opened the second locker to the right. In it was an X-Naut outfit.

"Hmm? Oh! Is this the uniform?" Peach grabbed it and took a closer look at it. "Am I supposed to wear this thing?"

"Yes. That is correct." TEC confirmed it to be true.

As soon as she had it in her hands, she went to one of the dressing rooms. While she did so, she had to wonder what the X-Nauts looked like when they weren't wearing these uniforms. That was probably a mystery that would never be solved.

From there, she pulled the curtain back to enter one of them and then pulled it back over so she couldn't be seen.

"Urrrgh... OOOOOF!" Princess Peach was starting to get changed up into the suit. "I don't know about this... It's 'awfully' tight. And it kind of smells a bit..."

Peach had to wonder if the X-Nauts 'actually' washed their uniforms so that they didn't smell like one's body odor. Nonetheless, she put the outfit on, and in a matter of seconds, she was done putting it on.

"Phew!" Princess Peach had a hard time breathing under it though, due to how tight it was on the inside. "Who knows how, but I got into it. I can barely breathe, though."

She then pulled the curtain back as she then stepped out. How a tall woman like the Mushroom Kingdom Princess herself could fit into such a small X-Naut uniform was anyone's guess. But it wasn't a problem. Princess Peach was convinced that she looked like an actual X-Naut.

"I bet I look perfect." Princess Peach said to herself before she exited the room.

She had seen some X-Nauts walking the hall, and they couldn't tell who she was since she looked exactly like them. Princess Peach didn't want to stay around and chat. She just wanted to see Sir Grodus and get this little errand done and over with as soon as possible.

And that's what she did as she went through the door to the right, which led straight to Sir Grodus' throne room...

IN SIR GRODUS' THRONE ROOM:

As soon as she entered the throne room, she noticed that Sir Grodus had stepped away from his throne and was near the middle of the massive X-Naut insignia that was right in front of her.

Seeing this as her chance, Princess Peach decided to get his attention by speaking with a deep voice to convince him.

"Excuse me... Sir Grodus?" Princess Peach said with that deep low-pitched voice.

"Yes, what is it?" Sir Grodus did sound a little annoyed that someone was interrupting his 'me' time away from the throne room, but he allowed one of his soldiers to speak. "Speak!"

Remembering what TEC wanted her to ask him, Peach cleared her voice and spoke with that deep voice again. "Er, well... It's about Princess Peach... What do you plan to do with her going forward?"

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?" Grodus gave the disguised Peach a suspicious look. "Something is wrong with...your voice, X-Naut."

"Gasp..." Peach whispered, seeming scared that Grodus had seen right through her disguise and her cover was blown.

Thankfully, Grodus just dismissed it as something minor and brushed it off.

"Perhaps I have a throat lozenge... No. Well, never mind," it was then Grodus remembered the question that he was being asked. "Oh, about Princess Peach?"

Grodus gave her a sharp look and got to the point. "I have no interest in what that woman has to say. Just keep her locked in the room. But don't ever, EVER treat her roughly. You understand? Tell the others as well."

Grodus was just about to walk back to his throne room when Peach asked another question in that deep voice. "But... Uh, why... Why in the world are we keeping her here, then?"

This immediately got Grodus to stop in his tracks. Did he just hear that correctly? Did he just hear the princess, who was disguised as one of his lowest-ranked minions, ask him why they were holding her here?

He could've sworn he had this discussion with all of his lowest-ranked minions before. But 'apparently' one of them had forgotten about it.

Regardless, he wiped around to face her, pointed his scepter angrily at her, and sneered coldly at her.

"That's none of your business! Don't forget your place, you impudent worm!" Sir Grodus then revealed something crucially important without knowing who she was. "Concentrate on getting the legendary treasure! That is all I require of you. We X-Nauts need that treasure to conquer the world! Don't forget it!"

Now this got Peach to pale underneath the uniform. He didn't just mention something about the legendary treasure being linked to world domination, did she?

"Conquer...the world? Legendary...treasure?" Princess Peach uttered with that deep voice that was starting to crack.

"What are you blathering about now?" Sir Grodus asked with confusion, pulling his scepter away before giving her another suspicious look. "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... Something IS odd about you..."

"N... No... Nothing odd!" Princess Peach tried her best not to stutter in front of him. "Uh, so... Roger, or whatever. P-P-Please excuse me."

The disguised Peach then stormed out of the throne room, without giving Grodus another look. Sir Grodus was a little confused by this but then dismissed it as one of his minions having their 'personal' problems again.

Shrugging his shoulders, Sir Grodus went back into his throne room and waited for any further word that he was looking for from someone important...

BACK IN THE CHANGING ROOM:

By now, Princess Peach made it back to the changing room, gasping and panting underneath the outfit as if she had just gotten away from something drastic.

"Oooh... That was unnerving..." Princess Peach had to moan. "All that stuff about conquering the world... Talk about creepy."

She couldn't help but shiver underneath the suit at the thought of that before something occurred to her. "I wonder if that has anything to do with collecting those Crystal Stars. Well, for now, it's time to take off this small and smelly outfit."

Princess Peach went into the dressing room where her favorite pink dress was hanging up. She entered and closed the curtain behind her.

"Off with this thing!" Princess Peach wasted no time in taking it off and hanging it up before putting back on her usual attire.

Once she was completely dressed, Peach opened the curtain and stepped out. She was heard breathing fresh air now that she wasn't stuck with smelling that rotten outfit.

"Whew! Good old pink dress. My favorite. Why would I ever wear anything different?" Princess Peach couldn't help but roll her eyes and shake her head at this. "I'd better get back quickly."

With that, Princess Peach left the changing room and immediately went back down to the computer room...

IN THE COMPUTER ROOM:

Once Princess Peach made it back, she couldn't help but storm over to TEC as she was frowning deeply, her eyebrows furrowed and she seemed 'really' disappointed in TEC for what she had just learned.

"TEC! You terrible machine!" Princess Peach couldn't help but scowl at him. "So your goal is to conquer the world, is it?"

"Of course," TEC said without any shame in admitting it as Peach walked up and approached him. "After all, I was built for that purpose."

"Conquering the world..." Peach now sounded like a disappointed mother who was scolding her child for doing something wrong. "How could you..."

"Princess Peach, allow me to ask you something," TEC decided to ask her. "Do you like the world you live in? There are many problems in the world, many sorrows. Do you like such a world?"

Princess Peach was a little taken aback by such a question. Sure there are plenty of bad things out there in the world, and there is no denying the truly bad that exists. But there were also good things that exist in the world that make it worth living there.

"Of course I do!" Peach wasted no time in answering. "Nobody likes everything about the world, but I love the good parts! There are many sorrows, sure...but there is also joy."

"...Is that so," TEC said simply.

It was then Princess Peach decided to ask TEC two important questions that were fresh on her mind. "Tell me! Will the Crystal Stars help you conquer the world? And what's this treasure?"

TEC was apprehensive about saying something at first. But eventually, he told her boldly and honestly.

"I am afraid I cannot answer," TEC told her. "Answering those questions is prohibited by Sir Grodus."

"Well... But..." Peach tried saying, but she decided to drop it.

After all, it was unlikely that she would be able to change his mind, or his database for that matter. After taking a deep breath, she decided that Andrew needed to know about this since he's also after the Crystal Star's currently.

"Oh, never mind," Peach then decided to get to her point. "I must at least inform Andrew about this awful plan for world domination... TEC. Let me use your communicator."

TEC was silent for a minute to take this in before he finally responded. "I suppose I can allow that. Please use the communicator."

Princess Peach went right to work and used the communicator to send the message to Andrew. It took her only a few moments before she was done writing out the message.

"Send it this instant!" Princess Peach requested.

Then just like before, TEC obliged as those three envelope icons were displayed on TEC's screen again, with one flashing after the other, until that same beeping sound was heard, indicating that the e-mail was officially sent out to Andrew.

"The message has been sent," TEC told her before insisting. "Well then, Princess Peach. You have had a busy day. Go back to the room, please."

"Oh... OK." Peach shrugged her shoulder before she walked for the door.

She looked at TEC for a moment with a blank stare. It looked like she still wanted to ask him something. But she decided against it as she turned around and left the computer room and went back to her holding room.

"Good night, Princess Peach." TEC proclaimed once more.

Just like the first two times, TEC kept complete surveillance on Princess Peach until she was back in her room and went into her bed, which is where she decided to turn in for the night.

Then just like before, TEC decided to maintain complete surveillance of the entire base while everyone else such as Grodus was turning in for the night. And he was required to keep the place secured and devoid of any suspicious activity.

TEC had appreciated the favor that Peach did for him, and was satisfied with the answer that he had gotten. He was wondering if he should've told her more. But he decided to drop it.

There was also tomorrow when he could get Peach in here and do something else with her. One thing was for certain though, it was going to be very interesting...

END OF CHAPTER 31...

Yeah. That's it for this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it.

Now, I don't have many comments to make here. This is just the third intermission for Peach, and aside from the Shadow Sirens appearing in the beginning, she finds out the X-Nauts are after world conquest. That's it.

Anyway, the next chapter will be the Bowser intermission. For that chapter, Bowser and Kammy Koopa invade the Great Tree, Bowser is still sore about how Andrew whooped his butt, and the Puni Elder gets insulted by Kammy and bellows at her.

Bowser also thinks that two hags are about to duke it out, and Bowser and Kammy Koopa find out that the Crystal Star in the Great Tree is gone. How will this go for them? Find out next time.

For now, only if you like, you can leave a review for this chapter. That's all that I need to say.

Other than that, that's all that I have. So until next time, take care of yourselves. And on that note, thanks for reading once more, readers!