In a large hall where there's a table and the only ones having breakfast are Mario, luigi, Daisy and Azalea, knowing how quiet this palace was.
Pushing a trolley full of plates, Daisy has arrived as well as putting the pot on the table as well as using a fire flower to release a fireball under the pot as it starts to bubble.
"Alright! Now that breakfast is ready, you two have something I need."
"Like what?" Luigi asks as he and Mario look at Daisy with curiosity.
"The medallion. The Sunstar. To think an outsider is somehow related to one of them. Luckily for you, you're not the only one." Daisy reveals a medallion of her own as it appears to be a flower that has purple petals and a red centre on it, causing the bros to gasp.
"You mean… You're also involved with the immortal people?" Mario asked.
"Yep." Daisy nods with a positive grin.
"This is the 'Flowershade,' a flower that is shrouded in darkness. Unlike our medallion, yours is a sign of hope, the light that shines through the darkness." Azalea explains the medallion itself as it surprises the twin bros more.
"So, who is involved?" Luigi asked.
"We are." Daisy answered.
"You two!?" The Mario bros exclaimed.
"Yep. It was after I was at my lowest point. Azalea and I are attacked by Bowser's army, and I know we're done for. Until a mysterious man shows up for the first time and beats the koopa army up. I don't know much, but our relationship recently has been pretty awesome."
"Aside from how you're constantly calling him grandpa." Azalea clears her throat while pointing out.
"Oh, come on, sis, he may look like a young adult, but he's around thousands of years old." Daisy nervously chuckles.
"Huh. I guess we learn something new everyday. Right, bro?" Mario turns towards Luigi as he's surprised to see how many secrets this world offers.
"Yeah. It's all surprisingly a mystery to us." Luigi agreed.
"Although, Luigi is the only one involved. I'm just there to keep the medallion safe from anyone." Mario points out.
"Really? Just like me. I always take care of it for personal reasons." Daisy laughs, knowing that Mario is being the big brother to Daisy as a big sister. "Ahem! Today will be a journey to another kingdom, the one my country cultivated a long time ago. Birabuto Kingdom, home to the Gao race." Daisy points at a map she shows on her phone while revealing a kingdom that's a part of Sarasaland.
"Gao race?" Mario and Luigi are curious to know about those kinds of species that are different like koopas, goombas, piranha plants, toads, the Kongs, and shy guys.
"It may come as a shock, but they're sphinx-like creatures that roar like animals." Azalea explains the Gao race.
"In a nutshell, they're Egyptian lions." Daisy answered.
"Excuse me!?" Mario exclaims.
"L- Lions!?" Luigi shrieks.
This causes the bros to cling onto each other as they shiver, despite Mario releasing lions (and other animals) a long time ago, his childhood.
"Relax. They won't bite, nor will attack you. King Totomesu did contact me about the incident at his kingdom." Daisy points out.
"Thanks for giving us the details, princess." Mario mutters.
"Before we go out, maybe Mr. Mario and I will have a tour to Sarasaland." Said Azalea.
"Can you not be formal? Just call me Mario." Mario sighs as he eats his meal, not angry, but confused and uncomfortable.
"Ahem. Sorry, Mario." Azalea apologised.
"Sure. Are you sure you don't wanna take Luigi with you?" Daisy asks.
"No no. Just Mario is enough." Azalea laughs and then pulls Mario away from the dining hall.
"Wait, aww…" Moaning, Mario couldn't finish his breakfast.
Afterwards, both Mario and Azalea are changing their clothes as Mario puts on his red hoodie with his usual blue overalls and puts on a red cap, whereas Azalea puts on an amber princess dress, preparing to go out and gather the truth behind the rumours.
Mario is also worried that Luigi is still unaware of Daisy's unusual behaviour.
Outside, they're back at the India styled city as Mario and Azalea are chatting with other people at Sarasaland.
Their answers are the same; the emperor's is linked to the princess' takeover.
"Tch! Still no answers. Does Goro know anything about this?" Mario asked, disappointed that he has nothing to share.
"Not really. Mr. Goro just believed in Daisy's lie, even framing dad's death as an accident." Azalea answers out of honesty.
"I don't know if Daisy's afraid of being called out, or is she stuck under the delusion that other people will hang her."
"That's what I've been thinking. My sister was sick for a long time and she wouldn't admit it." Azalea grunts.
"Hm. I hope Luigi is keeping her under control. My brother has been stressed out for nearly a week. Heck, even I'm stressed out." Mario finally spits out and admits his feelings.
"I can see that. The days of being chased by Bowser are most of the time stressful." Azalea can tell what Mario's situation was like.
Before Mario and Azalea rest in the alleyway, appearing there is a goomba who was carrying a bag with his mouth, only for Mario to gasp.
"Gomez?" Mario recognised a goomba in a bandanna on his head.
"Hm? Mario? Yo!" Gomez jumps with excitement, seeing as Mario is hanging around the alleyway with the younger princess. "Where's Luigi?"
"He's with the princess. I was thinking if you're the same as other people. You know, like the princess and the emperor linking things." Mario assumes.
"Huh? Oh that! I just got an update from Goro about that. It turns out it was all true that the emperor was murdered. But Goro told me who did that."
"It was Daisy." Mario can tell that Gomez knows about this.
"Yeah. Wait, did Luigi know?" Gomez asked.
"Not really. Azalea told me about that earlier, but she wants to know what caused the emperor to become a tyrant." Mario explained.
"Your majesty, I get that you want to save your sister and the empire, but we can't afford to lose a princess."
"I know how you feel, but I can't bear to watch my sister suffer any longer." Azalea said.
"Yeah. If anything, the culprit is someone related to Daisy and the emperor." Mario had a feeling something was wrong.
"Well, it's not Goro, since he's very loyal to the royal family." Gomez points out.
"True. How did Goro know that it was Daisy?" Mario asked.
"I don't know. He found that out yesterday." Gomez said.
"Ngh!" Azalea grunts as Mario rubs his chin.
"Hm… Interesting. Maybe that's one of the clues." Said Mario.
"I hope he doesn't report that to others." Azalea worries that Daisy is going to end up in a horrible situation once she's caught.
"I didn't." Arriving is a hooded man which has Mario and Azalea jump as they yelp.
"M- Mister Goro!" Azalea squeaks.
"Goro?" Mario stops himself as he sees the same man who helped let him and Luigi in the palace.
"That's right. You two should know that by now. Azalea, why lie to me? You could've told me and the guards the truth." Goro asks with worry as he realised all this time he's been told about the Emperor's death being an accident.
Before Mario raises his fists, Azalea raises her arm by stopping Mario and looking into Goro's eyes.
"Because you never believed us…"
"Excuse me?" Goro halts as Mario and Gomez are silent, seeing Azalea's anger.
"You never believed us! If you see dad, then you'll never trust him! All you think about is work and you never wanted to talk with dad! He's not a terrible person! He's never this abusive!" Azalea snaps as Goro gasps, hearing what Azalea's been saying.
"You're making this sound like he abused you."
"Because he did! He never meant to do that!" Azalea finally runs off as Mario and Gomez gasps and then turn towards Goro as Goro himself remains silent.
Mario approaches Goro as he looks him in the eyes with a cold stare.
"Hey. You're loyal to the emperor, so what is going on with you and your people?" Mario growls while clenching his fists and teeth.
"Goro. Answer him, please." Gomez can tell the situation with the princesses is very dire as Gomez worries for Sarasaland more than anyone.
To Goro, Mario is an interesting character as he confronts those who hurt others, whether it be intentional or unintentional.
Then he sighs.
"Mario."
"Hm?" Mario stops while looking up.
"Why did you interfere with our affairs?" Goro asks calmly while pulling his gloves.
"Because just like Peach and others, I can't stand people hurting others for their own selfish gain, but hearing what happened to the emperor and your people's reaction to this event… It's wrong! You brush off the death of a ruler, but I don't know if he's manipulated or not. That kind of treatment should not have been acceptable!" Mario snaps.
Goro grunts, knowing that Mario is onto him and the people of Sarasaland, seeing as he's not the only one that let's Daisy and Azalea's abuse slide. Goro sighs and then looks into Mario's blue eyes.
"It's difficult to answer, but I wish I could stop all that. However, I'll make sure to own up the mistakes I made. Right now, I need your help. You and Gomez needed to know, yes, Daisy is sick, but so is Azalea. Both of them are not right ever since the emperor's passing and their illness is not only psychological, but emotional. Mario, you and your brother are our only hope and despite being outsiders, can you face the culprit for us?" Goro asks as he bows.
Mario didn't realise Goro is begging for him and Luigi to solve the mystery that's been going on for 7 years.
"Mario, I'll assist you. If anything, I'll search for clues and let you know. Relax, I'm a goomba, so Bowser won't know that I betrayed his army." Gomez hops while offering some assistance.
"Good point. Alright. We'll face the culprit for you. But on one condition." Mario raises his finger with a calm look on his face.
Goro is listening as well as Gomez.
"You must reveal the truth of the Sarasaland after we capture the culprit. If anything happens to Daisy, I can't wait to burn the empire down." Mario said as he turned around.
"I understand. Thank you, Mario. Gomez, good luck." Goro concluded.
"Will do, man. I wish you guys weren't selfish." Gomez is now unsure who to trust anymore as he's no longer with anyone but Mario.
Finally, both Mario and Gomez are leaving the alleyway as Goro is watching both a human and a goomba walk together and discuss the plan to capture this said culprit.
As the duo left, Goro sighs and then sits by the bin, thinking about the past sins he committed that leads to Daisy's current situation.
"Mario… Please, take care of the girls, will you please."
On the other side of the town, Luigi and Daisy are walking together as Luigi blushes.
Luigi looks left and right to see if anyone isn't looking at him funny for being with the princess.
"Relax. They won't lay a finger on you. They're just minding their own business. Oh! This is the place where I hang around." Daisy points at a neon light building from a distance which reads 'Freshly Night Flowers.'
"Freshly Night Flowers?"
"It's a nightclub." Daisy answers.
"Huh!?" Luigi exclaimed.
"Yep. I don't perform a dance, but being performed. The ladies always wanted their princess, but I declined. Not in the mood for girls who're straightforward towards me."
"Oh. So why do you go there?" Luigi asked.
"To satisfy myself. Also, I remember drinking with the boys a while ago. Relax, I'm 21, so it's legal for me to drink and get hammered." Daisy laughs while patting Luigi.
"Really now, huh? Well… I don't drink and neither does Mario." Luigi admitted.
"Huh? For someone older than me, I'm surprised you don't drink and hang out with the ladies." Daisy said.
"Come on, we have restraints. None of us are interested in doing stuff like that." Luigi sighs while looking away.
"Heh. Do you like a girl regardless of her actions? Especially tomboys?" Daisy asks with a smirk.
"Well… If they're not mean or hurting others, then yeah." Luigi answers with a nod.
"Cool! I'm glad to hear that." Daisy sticks out her tongue and then looks at the view along with Luigi.
With Luigi and Daisy watching the view together, the duo halts as they see someone rushing past while panting.
"Huh? Azalea?" Daisy stands straight up after seeing her sister running at a hasty pace.
"What's going on?" Luigi asks.
"I don't know, but something's happened. Let's follow!" Daisy said while running towards her sister.
"Sure!" Luigi follows while trying to do what Mario does most of his life and it's helping those in need.
As Daisy manages to grab her sister by the arm, Azalea turns around, only to see Daisy panting as well as Luigi.
"Sister?"
"Azalea, what's wrong? Tell me." Daisy wants to know why Azalea ended up like this.
Azalea knew Luigi is in need of explanation, but was afraid that it'll ruin his chance to be with Daisy, so she ended up avoiding telling the truth as she said about Goro and Gomez.
After her answer, Daisy's eyes widened with fear struck into her.
"What!? That means… I… Why?" Daisy is starting to hyperventilate, realising she's doomed. "I don't wanna go to prison… I don't know if you'll be fine without me."
Luigi is confused as he hears about Daisy going to jail, which is unusual considering she's a princess and it's impossible for her to go to prison.
"Don't worry! He won't tell anyone about you! Just him and Gomez know about dad's murder." Azalea grabs Daisy by her shoulders, calming her down from fear coming back to her.
"Ahem! Excuse me, but what's going on?" Luigi asked.
The Flora sisters gasp, turning towards a curious Luigi, realising that telling him would warp what Daisy was to him.
"W- Well… Dad was murdered by…"
"A koopa! Those evil koopas that Bowser sent out! They took dad away and executed him in order to take over the Sarasaland Empire! That's why we need you to help us!" Azalea interrupts Daisy's answer while keeping a secret hidden from Luigi.
This has Luigi squinting his eyes out of suspicion.
"Okay. Wow, I didn't know you girls had PTSD. But it's okay! We've all been through some horrible experiences. We just move on and look towards our future." Luigi is doing the best he could to calm the princesses down while laughing.
As Luigi laughs, this led to both princesses to giggle.
Until Mario and Gomez arrive.
"Ah! Bro! How's your tour going?" Luigi cheerfully asks.
"A bit of a pain, but this country is pretty huge and nice at the same time. Gomez is pretty nice for a goomba." Mario chuckles.
"Haha! Yep! So, where are you guys going?" Gomez asks.
"Oh! We're going to the Birabuto Kingdom! King Totomesu needed some help since there's an incident going on in his kingdom." Daisy points out towards the direction that appears to look like Egypt.
"Hm. Maybe my client will give you a lift." Gomez offered.
"No need. We have our own karts." Mario said as he and Luigi nodded.
"For real!? You guys can drive!?" Daisy gasps as Azalea is relieved to hear that.
"Wait, you can't?" Luigi asked.
"I usually get lifts all the time."
"Just like Peach." The Mario bros sigh at the same time.
Finally, Mario and Luigi are approaching the palace to get their karts prepared, leading Azalea to sit behind Mario and Daisy to sit behind Luigi, causing Luigi himself to blush.
"I hope you have a safe journey guys!" Gomez calls as he jumps.
"Yeah. You too, Gomez." Mario nods as he and Luigi start their vehicles and zooms past Gomez.
Gomez sighs, realising that he made friends with a couple of outsiders that Bowser despised to the point his traitor mark is clearer on him.
In Mario's case, how is he going to tell Luigi the truth, even revealing the truth to Daisy without putting her in denial?
All this is more complicated than he anticipated, leading him to shake his head and focus on going to another kingdom and sort out what the king wants.