Chapter 14 Bestest Banquet

Mario really wasn't looking forward to this.

It had all been Peach's idea. Well, she might have gotten a little inspiration from Junior, but she was the one who had presented the idea to Mario and Luigi. Luigi had actually seemed thrilled when he heard about the banquet, like the guests of honor weren't seven people who took part in turning Mario's life into a living hell. He even smiled; a fact that struck Mario as weird. Why would Luigi smile about this? Why didn't he feel the same as Mario; that being, concerned and cautious?

Well, if Luigi was in a good mood over this, Mario really didn't think it was his right to take that away from him. But even with that sentiment, Mario didn't want to do this. Any dinner held with the Koopalings would at best be really awkward and uncomfortable. At worst? Well, Mario wasn't particularly interested in thinking about the worst-case scenario, if for no other reason than to not accidentally jinx himself and this banquet.

Regardless, he didn't openly protest against any of this. Maybe that was him being foolish, but he decided that protesting would create some unnecessary drama. So, he just allowed it to happen. He allowed Peach to join and aid her servants in creating a glorious feast. He allowed her and Junior to set the table with eight extra place settings. He allowed Luigi to smile at the possibilities this event would bring. What he didn't allow was letting himself have the room to vent and rant.

As such, at five o'clock that evening, Mario sat at the dining table. He stared down at his empty dish as the room filled to overflowing with scrumptious smells. There was the rotisserie chicken. There were the cheep cheep filets. There was the big tray of Peach's ziti. Ohh Mama Mia, Peach's Ziti! If one or more of the Koopalings ate too much of that delectable dish, then Mario was definitely going to have a nutty.

"Well," Peach said as she sat herself down. "I think everything looks nice!" She turned toward Junior. "What do you think, sweetie pie?"

"I agree!" Junior exclaimed, all while Mario did a double take over Peach calling him "sweetie pie." "I think this is the bestest banquet ever!" He and Peach laughed. "I know I for one am definitely looking forward to it!" His eyes traveled toward the ziti, with drool coming out of his mouth the second he locked his gaze on it. "That pasta dish is just begging me to put it in my belly!"

Luigi laughed. "I wouldn't recommend that, Junior. Peach usually makes that dish for Mario and Mario alone!"

Mario nodded. "Thanks, bro," he whispered. He took off his hat, pinching the rim just as Peach called one of the servants and asked them to fetch the Koopalings.

Within no time at all, the Koopalings arrived. Mario immediately took note of the fact that there were only six of them. That was one more than the amount he had counted when they came back to the castle… but still wasn't the maximum amount, which filled Mario with even more concern. Even still, he didn't express it. Now that the Koopalings were actually present, he didn't exactly have the opportunity to anymore. And yes, he did think he had the opportunity before; he just didn't take advantage of it.

"Holy crap!" Larry exclaimed as he took his seat. "This looks amazing!"

"Oh yes!" Morton said, his inflection filled with glee. He turned his eyes toward Peach. "What spices did you use for the cheep cheep filets? I usually use season salt and a poison mushroom sauce."

Peach chuckled. "Well, humans can't eat poison mushrooms, so I mostly just used seasoned salt. I wanted to try oregano too, but I thought 'no, no, that would be too weird with fish.' So, I mostly just used that with the ziti."

Morton's mouth watered. "Good choice. Oregano and tomato sauce are usually a match made in Heaven."

"That being said," Mario spoke up, using full volume for the first time that evening. "That ziti is mine! None of you can have it; it's all for me!"

The Koopalings blinked at him before Wendy snickered. "You're going to wolf down that entire tray by yourself?"

"Mmhm. I'm going to do it or die trying!"

Ludwig snorted. "It's like you're saving Peach all over again."

With that, everyone took their seats. The servants brought out some more food, ranging from a Caprese salad, a type of tropical punch typically drunk on Isle Defino, to a sauce made out of Yoshi apples. Once the table was full, Peach clapped her hands together. She stood up, looking at everyone thanks to her position at the head of the table.

"I am so glad you all are here!" she exclaimed. "Help yourselves to whatever you'd like; I don't want anyone walking away from this table feeling hungry!"

With nods of agreement from the Koopalings, everyone got right to work. Mario mostly piled his plate with the ziti, trying his best to not stare at the Koopalings or accidentally brush up against them as he did. The second he sat back down, he went to town on the stuff. He took big, excited, and yet careful bites of the dish, happily noting that Peach had really outdone herself this time. The cheese, tomato sauce, and of course the oregano blended together in the most luxurious way possible. Mario severely wished Peach would make this more often, as he did every time the princess prepared this for him.

"Mmm mmm mmm!" Lemmy exclaimed. Mario lifted his head to see Lemmy beaming with a chicken leg in hand. "This is incredible!" He looked at Peach. "I'm so glad you made this and leg me eat it!"

Peach snickered. She covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled in what was probably the least Princess-like way possible. "Oh Lemmy, that was funny!"

Luigi snickered. "I don't know if I'd call that funny." His eyes shimmered. "I think it would've been better if he said, 'I'm glad you weren't too chicken when making this chicken!"

All three of them laughed. Mario just rolled his eyes, in a similar fashion to how Iggy and Wendy were reacting to these horrible jokes. Mario kind of expected Ludwig, the sardonic and salty guy, to be doing the same thing. But… no. He actually giggled right alongside his brother, Luigi, and the princess. To say Mario wasn't surprised would be like saying Bowser had a strong hatred towards Peach.

"Oh man, that's awesome!" Lemmy said. He dried a tear from his eye as he smiled at Luigi. "I didn't know you liked puns!"

"I didn't know you liked puns either," Luigi said. "It's kind of cool."

Iggy snorted. "Yeah, it's as cool as absolute zero on the Kelvin scale." He shook his head and took a bite of his salad. "Clearly, we need to reassess the definition that a slang term such as cool has."

Larry clearly tried to contain his laughter. "Yeah! If we do that, maybe you'll finally be called cool for the first time in your life!" He burst into laughter, holding onto his sides as he leaned over the table.

"Hey!" Iggy exclaimed. "I can be cool!"

"Cooler than absolute zero on the Kelvin scale?" Ludwig asked right before taking a long sip of his punch.

Iggy cast him a glare. "Oh, I am much cooler than that." He grinned. "I'd be willing to say that I'm the coolest person in this room!" Everyone laughed at full volume, making Iggy's face grow as red as a cardinal. "It's true!"

"Dude," Larry said, clearly trying to keep himself from choking on his chicken. "There's no way that's the case. If anything, I'm the coolest person in the room."

"Uh, no!" Junior exclaimed. He wrapped his arm around Peach's arm. "I think Mama Peach is the coolest person in the room!" Peach's face grew pink as her dress, and she gave Junior the biggest smile ever.

Wendy chuckled. "I would say Roy is the coolest, but he isn't here at the moment. So… I would have to say, Ludwig?"

Ludwig blinked. "Wow. Thanks. But…" he made eye contact with Mario across the table. "I would honestly have to say Mario is the coolest."

Mario almost dropped his fork. "You… really?"

"Well, yeah. You've gone on countless rescue missions for the sake of your princess, risking life and limb. And you never complain about it or let it go to your head from what I've seen." He smiled. "You are actually pretty awesome, Mario. You deserve a much grander title than just 'Super.'"

Mario blinked. On some level, he thought Ludwig was being sarcastic, as he had grown to know that was how the eldest Koopaling operated. However, there was no indication on his face that that was the case. He looked completely sincere as he looked at Mario, more sincere than even Princess Peach.

As such, Mario's face grew warm as he chuckled. "Th… thanks. That's… that's very nice of you."

The other Koopalings nodded, once again throwing Mario for a loop. "I think you might be right, Luddy," said Lemmy.

"Yeah, Mario is something else," Larry said.

Morton chuckled. "It almost goes without saying, really."

"Woah woah wait, hold on!" Iggy exclaimed. He glared at his siblings now. "You seriously think that Mario is cooler than I am? For crying out loud, I discovered an element as a four-year-old! I created a time machine that has messed with the very fabric of our world! I am definitely the coolest person in this room!"

Morton snorted. "And the humblest. You put even Mario to shame."

The others laughed, all while Iggy gawked the most stupefied of gawks. To his absolute shock, Mario found that he chuckled with the Koopalings as well. He didn't exactly know why this was though. Maybe… well, there was just something so familiar about this sibling banter. It was well-trodden ground for him, as well as a path that filled him with a sense of nostalgia. He looked at Luigi, taking note of his expression. He recognized that his little brother felt similarly, if not exactly the same. And, somehow, this made Mario smile a little bit.

"Alright, alright, that's enough," Peach said, holding up her hand to silence the Koopalings. Once everyone settled down, she beamed in a way that was almost motherly. "This dinner wasn't set up for the purpose of making fun of each other. It was set up so that we could all experience a time of relaxation and comfort." She took a sip of her punch too. "After all, I think you guys need it."

The faces of almost all the Koopalings fell. They exchanged looks with one another, now looking… scared. Mario's heart skipped a beat when he saw this, and he only became more shocked as the others spoke up.

"Well… we really appreciate that Your Highness," Lemmy said (Mario almost choked on his food when he heard a Koopaling call Peach that).

"Yeah," said Ludwig. "It... it definitely means a lot."

A silence filled the room. It didn't seem like anybody was moving or breathing. Each and every one of the Koopalings looked like they wanted to cower in the corner, like they wanted to hide somewhere deep underground in order to protect their own lives. Mario exchanged a look with Luigi before clearing his throat.

"You know… you'll probably get turned back to normal soon enough."

Larry sighed. "We might, but…" he shook his head. "That's not a guarantee. And… well, if we don't, and something ends up happening to Bowser…"

Junior let out a little gasp. "You think something's going to happen to Dad?"

"We don't know Junior, and that's kind of the point." Morton wiped his mouth with his napkin. "Anything is possible. That includes the good… and the bad."

Now, Mario could probably be called crazy because of this, but he thought seeing the Koopalings like this was extremely disheartening. Especially after the round of sibling banter that everyone had been taking part in. These people, most of whom were teenagers, now had much more on their plate than they ever bargained for. Mario's mind traveled back to the time when he had been turned into a Koopa, a time where everything in his world seemed to be crumbling. And now, the Koopalings were experiencing that on a much greater scale.

So, despite all of the opinions he had formed of these guys over the course of the years, Mario still spoke up. "It's going to be okay," he said. Everyone turned to him in surprise, but he still spoke. "You guys are some of the toughest cookies I've ever come across. You guys can handle anything that life throws at you. And I don't think that's different now that you guys look any different." He paused for a second, letting out a breath as he did. "And you all got that from your father. So, I think Bowser is going to be just fine. You guys will return to your home and get back your normal lives." He smiled. "I promise."

Everyone at the table, not just the Koopalings, blinked. They all kept their eyes on Mario, staring at him in a way they had never done so before.

"Mario…" Luigi said.

"That was…" Wendy struggled to find the right words, curling her hair over her left ear as she did. "Th… thank you."

"Yeah," said Lemmy. "That was really nice of you to say."

Mario nodded. "Thank you. I… I think it's one hundred percent true."

The Koopalings stared at him again, now looking pleased along with shocked. Right as Mario felt that he couldn't take their stares anymore, the door opened, and in stepped Roy.

"Hey guys," he said. "What'd I miss?"

Everyone turned toward him before all collectively snickering. "You missed Mario pouring his heart out for us," said Ludwig.

"Aww, I did?" Roy scratched the back of his head. "None of you guys happened to record it, did you?"

Everyone shook their head right as Mario stood up from the table. "Well… I think I'd better leave you guys to eat by yourselves." He yawned. "I'm getting kind of tired."

With that, he got up and left the room. Once he was a good distance away from the dining hall, he stopped to take a deep breath. All the thoughts he had regarding the last few minutes tumbled inside him like clothes in a clothes dryer. He was just about to start moving again when…

"Hey, bro."

Mario blinked, looking over at Luigi as he came over. His younger brother scratched his head when he stopped.

"That… that was a very kind thing to say, especially to the Koopalings. I'm… I'm proud of you."

Mario bit his lip. "Well… they're just kids. They look at the world in the same way kids do, despite what the circumstances they grew up in are like. I… I think that they needed someone to comfort them."

Luigi smiled. He put his hand on Mario's shoulder, squeezing it gently. "That's very nice of you, Mario."

"Thanks, Lou." He squeezed Luigi's hand before pulling away. As he walked, he thought about all he had said to the Koopalings. He hoped that the part where he said they'd get their lives back would prove to be true.

Oh, how he wished that it would be true…