Flower Nation
Both karts are parked as the Mario bros went off their vehicles and looked around in this big city, leaving the bros in awe.
"Wow…"
"Hm. Bro, over there." Luigi points as Mario turns, seeing Pauline waving.
Finally, Mario, Luigi and Pauline are back together as Pauline is dressed differently as if she's in a red suit and purple hat.
"Like it? This is what the Mushroom Kingdom is aiming for." Pauline shows the city which has Mario and Luigi remain silent, surprised that Sarasaland has (formerly) cultivated something this advanced.
"Impressive." Words can't express how Mario is feeling.
"Ooh, there's fish down there too." Luigi can see the fishes in the glass floor as he can tell how lively the city was.
"Huh?" Mario stops after seeing a LED billboard that shows a stylised animated girl with a butterfly floating around, giving him the impression that the Flower Nation and the Kongs have some sort of a special connection to each other.
"Welcome to the Flower Nation, the most advanced kingdom of the world." Pauline reveals the nation while walking with her brothers and passing the citizens.
The music, the areas, all of it resembles modern to near future Japan, leading the Mario bros to get intrigued by this country.
"You know, Pauline, if that's what Peach wanted… Then we'll give it to her." Mario is ready to take the risk of saving Peach.
"Heh. Sure looks that way. Mario, Luigi, the palace is that way. Once we free Peach, we'll get Toad and return to the Mushroom Kingdom."
"Yeah. Luckily DK got his own end to cover." Luigi points out.
"You're right. He's reporting the neighbour's prince. It seems our plan's put together." Mario replied.
"Really? I'm surprised DK is using his head for once. Then let's get to work." Said Pauline.
"Okie dokie!" The Mario bros finally walk straight towards the palace through the city as Pauline takes a different direction.
As much as she's worried for her brothers' safety, Pauline can tell that they're already prepared for this moment.
Haru's Palace
This morning is hectic as Mario and Luigi are overwhelmed yet pleased to see something like this in a world like this.
Standing by the gardens are a bunch of maids and toad guards, waiting for Mario and Luigi to approach the building and see the prince.
Those flowers are both familiar and unfamiliar as the Mario bros gulp, knowing they're against another royal family.
"Welcome, outsiders! I'm glad we get to make acquaintances with one another. I'm Prince Haru Spring. It's nice to meet you boys." Bowing as he arrives, Prince Haru approaches the Mario bros and shakes their hands.
Mario and Luigi stayed quiet as Mario nervously raised his finger with a question.
"Um… Aren't you mad?"
"Hm? About what?" Haru asked.
"I mean what I said at the arena about you and your… Ahem! Moment with Peach?" Mario asks as he's wondering if the prince is the same person he heard from the phone.
"Oh, that? Silly, Mario, I wouldn't be offended over trivial things. I'm only there to welcome you boys to the Flower Nation." Haru laughs as the maids courtesies towards the twin brothers.
While Mario and Luigi are introduced by the prince of the Flower Nation, Pauline is hiding behind the bush and crawling before she looks above the window, knowing it's the right room.
Climbing up using the bushes, Pauline is struggling to stand straight before she messes up the well-trimmed bush, causing her to yelp and then grab the window ledge as she jumps up.
In a certain bedroom, Peach is eating some eggs and mushrooms for breakfast while cutting the mushroom with her knife and fork.
A sound stopped Peach as someone entered the room.
"Huh? What?"
"Hey, princess, long time no see." Patting herself and standing with her hands on her hips, Pauline has shown her face towards Peach with a confident grin.
"What the? I- It couldn't be…." Peach's eyes have widened after witnessing someone returning after vanishing for a long time.
After their reunion, Peach hastily dash as she hugs Pauline, realising that she's still alive after what Bowser did to her.
"Pauline! I thought you were gone! But how?"
"Thank Kinosen. He saved my life after what happened to me." Pauline giggles.
"Kinosen… So he knew it all." Peach lowers her head, only for Pauline to tap her forehead. "Huh?"
"Sorry to be disrespectful, but Mario and Luigi are dealing with the prince. I suggest you call him out on what he's been doing to you." Pauline said as her tone became dead serious.
"What? But that means they're putting themselves in danger. I was expecting them to find me, but that's suicidal!" Peach protests as Pauline grabs Peach's arms.
"I know, but you know how they deal with royal families."
"I know… But Haru's right. I'm a horrible liar. I played with other people's hearts and emotions. If only I didn't act selfishly towards everyone, even towards you, Pauline." Peach admitted her actions as Haru hit the nail on Peach's ego.
Before Pauline does anything, she lets Peach go and walk a few steps back with worry.
"Peach, when's the last time you saw Mario before reuniting with us?"
To Peach's surprise, Pauline knows what happened many years ago as elementary school kids.
"That one incident… The last we met was a fallout. Mario set free the animals as a way to not only rescue the Chief, but to get back at everything his father did to his family. Now I understand why Mario became like this, the bullies, horrible people, Bowser, my egotistical self, these are all the reasons why Mario is in a state like this! It's all my fault!" Peach finally breaks down as Pauline actually cracks Peach open as her truth has been revealed.
"Peach…" Pauline whispered as she realised all the things Peach did as a child.
"I'm a horrible friend! Our friendship is all a lie!"
Quickly, Pauline embraces Peach while cooling her down.
"It's never a lie, you don't know what you're doing. Even Mario doesn't know his purpose. Luigi's doing the best he can to keep his brother sane, the same could be said with Toad for your safety. You're never a horrible friend, we're all horrible deep down inside. I know you're a princess, so be the best damned princess you are!" Pauline shouts to wake Peach up from her self deprecation.
"Pauline…" Peach gasped.
"We need you, Peach. Luigi needs you. I need you. Mario especially needed you, so please help us." Pauline concludes as she pleads for Peach to come out and help the MushroomKingdom.
In the end, Peach finally embraces Pauline back, leading her to break down as she sobs.
"Pauline… WAAAAH!" Wailing as Peach finally regrets and is relieved that Pauline never rejects her friendship towards Peach.
"It's okay, princess. Big sister is here." Pauline coos while rubbing Peach's head to soothe her.
A few moments later, Peach hiccups while calming down after letting it all out, leading Pauline to rub Peach's eyes and place her forehead onto Peach's.
"Feeling better now?" Pauline asks calmly.
"Yeah." Peach nods and raises her head up. "Pauline, I know what I must do. I need your help."
"Lay it on me, princess."
"We're going to save Toad, then we'll confront the prince and help Mario and Luigi." Peach explains her plan as she writes down the napkin while Pauline watches.
"Seems simple enough." Said Pauline.
"Hehehe, you're starting to become like your brothers. But it's not that simple, considering the guards in prison are guarding Toad there. We need a distraction." Peach continues.
"Hm. I remember watching movies like that. Leave it to me." Pauline points at herself, confident that she's about to use her outsider knowledge to her advantage.
Peach felt that there's hope rising as she's about to witness what the outsiders are capable of with their experienced knowledge.
Standing by the prison as the citizens March past, both mole police guards that are unusual as they're standing by the door.
Peach and Pauline halt as they're seeing both moles, leading Peach to look at Pauline.
"Monty Moles… looks like it's not going to be easy." Peach grunts while whispering.
In Pauline's case, she took a couple of paints that are red and orange, spilled them on paper and smudged them to make it look messy and then tape the paper on her white shirt.
"And presto! Fake blood is complete! Now for the main event. Here." After Pauline shows off her art, she then places her blazer on Peach's shoulders and her purple hat on Peach's head so she can go unnoticed.
"Pauline?"
"Normally, ketchup is useful to make fake blood, but I ain't staining my shirt" Pauline points out.
"I see. Please be careful." Peach nods while hiding behind the bush.
"Will do." Pauline pulls up her thumb and then runs straight towards the cops while panting.
The Monty Mole cops halt after seeing Pauline approaching the duo out of exhaustion and fear.
"What the!?" The Monty cop A exclaimed.
"Ma'am, what's wrong!?" The Monty cop B asked while catching Pauline from collapsing.
"A… A mugger. He's near." Pauline pants out of fear and exhaustion.
"A mugger!?" The Monty cop B grunts.
"How? What's he doing?" The Monty cop A asked.
"H- He's threatening the prince for ransom and was about to kill the innocent children in front of him." Pauline lied while holding her stomach.
"The prince is in danger!? Quick, take her to the hospital! I'll handle the crook!" The Monty cop A shouts while digging as fast as he could.
"Yeah! Come with me, ma'am!" The Monty cop B then dragged Pauline towards the nearest building while he and his partner split up.
"Ngh… Thank you, officer." Pauline sighed.
As Pauline succeeded in her distraction, she nodded to Peach as Peach did the same and then stood up and ran towards the police station.
Properly wearing the blazer, using a curtain and flowers to wrap around her shoulders and pull the hat down to cover her face, Peach made herself look like an elegant woman as a disguise to sneak in the police station.
Finally, she's inside while walking towards the receptionist that appears to be a toadette in a blue business suit, 2 strands of dark blue hair coming out of her mushroom cap and pulls up her glasses while seeing a wealthy looking lady arriving in front of her.
"Can I help you?" A toadette receptionist asked.
"Indeed, madam. I'm here to visit a certain mushroom named Toad. He's one of your kind and he has some headgear that is something treasure hunters wear." Peach pulls in a tone of a haughty woman that is rich, in order to enter the station to visit a prisoner.
"Hm. Let's see… Ah, B001892: Toad. I'll let him know you have a visitor." The receptionist confirms while leading the woman to the glass as she sits down. "So what's the relationship between you and B001892, ma'am?"
"A loyal servant. He may be a rude little twerp, but he's actually a worthy servant of mine." Said the woman.
"I see. He's coming, so it's not my judgement, but I expect him to have punishment from you."
"I know how you feel, but don't let that judgement be the result of you."
"Ah. You're right. I'll be waiting over there." The toadette receptionist nodded while standing by the door.
As the woman is waiting, Toad arrives in an orange suit while grumbling and sits down in front of the woman behind the glass.
"Ugh. What is it? Can't you see I'm busy arm wrestling a new friend?"
"Hmph. It seems you haven't changed a bit, my faithful servant." The woman reveals herself as Peach by raising her hat and smiling with a finger on her lips at the mushroom.
"Pea- !? Ahem! But why!?" Toad whispers.
"Long story, I'm here to break you out. Pauline and I had a plan to help Mario and Luigi." Peach whispers along with Toad.
"Wait! Pauline's alive!?" Toad gasps as Peach nods with confirmation. "But how? We're done for if they find out what you're doing."
"The outsiders are capable of thinking smarter from their experience. What if we think like the outsiders?"
"Huh?"
"That's right. We're doing what Pauline had seen in the movies. I may not know it, but I can tell the genre is a spy thriller." Peach giggles.
"Man, for an isolated human princess, you sure do love their culture, huh?" Toad asks while sighing.
"Of course I do, so let's give them a surprise." Peach grins while nodding and looking at the bin.
A bin contains a blue flower, making Peach's grin wider.
"Do you want to save them?"
"Yeah! Because we're friends!" Toad shouted.
"Because… I want to as well." Peach tosses her hat and bites the flower.
To the receptionist's shock, she can tell that blonde hair as well as the crown as the pink dress turns blue, leading her to be flabbergasted.
"P- Princess Toadstool!?"
"That's right. Forgive me, but I have to save a friend." Peach apologises while creating a bow out of ice shards and pulls an arrow towards the glass. "Toad! Stand back!"
"Y- Yes, princess!" Toad leaps away from the glass until an arrow pierces through, freezing the glass as Toad is left speechless.
So Mario's a sword, Luigi's a shield and Peach's a bow and arrow, leading him to realise they have a weapon of choice.
After that, a frozen wall of ice smashes as Peach punches through while diving and then rolls before she picks up Toad.
"Stop right there!" A voice shouts as Peach crushes a snowball with her fist and then swings her arm by creating shards of ice, blocking the Monty Mole cops.
"Sorry, but I have to do this." Peach apologises and leaps through while taking Toad with her.
The receptionist shrieks as she rushes from the conference room, giving Peach a chance to make haste with Toad as they nod.
As the duo leave the room, the cop growls and pulls out his walkie talkie.
"This is Monty no.17, prisoner B001892 has escaped and the one responsible for his breakout is Princess Peach Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom!"
[What!? But why!?] A voice of a toad exclaimed.
"I don't know! Stop them! Don't let them escape!" The Monty cop yelled.
At the main hall, the cops are blocking the way out, leading Peach to spin as well as grabbing Toad's hands and then tossing him over the guards until he lands on his head and turns around.
"Ow! Peach!"
"Toad! Get the fire extinguisher!" Peach calls while holding both snowballs while taking steps backwards.
As Toad pulls the extinguisher off the wall, he then toss it, leading Peach to instantly chuck a snowball at the extinguisher, confusing the guards until Peach swings a kick at the frozen extinguisher as the cop swings his baton harder at it, causing the ice to break, leading the extinguisher to explode into a fog.
"Gah! What the!?"
"That woman! How did she do it!?"
While the cops are yelling, Peach jumps as she did the second jump on the wall, leading her to slam the snowball in the middle of a surrounding area, freezing the cops into a large block of ice.
"Hehehe. You did amazing, Toad." Peach giggles while patting Toad's head.
"Hehe. I'm used to playing smart in games." Toad laughs.
"The exit's nearby. We need to hurry." Peach said while rushing forward.
"Okay! Wait up!" Toad calls as he runs a lot faster than Peach, but keeping his pace for her.
Leaving a hall that is covered in ice and fog, Peach and Toad take no time to head straight towards where Peach snuck her way in.
At the entrance, Peach and Toad has found the receptionist and other workers exclaiming that Peach and Toad have bust the place down, the receptionist is the most shocked as she panics by hastily calling for backup.
"This isn't good. Peach, we need to go!" Toad tries to run, but Peach stops him as she hears a loud bang that is approaching the duo.
"Wait. Someone's coming." Peach can tell someone threatening is about to get her and Toad after their breakout.
And Peach is correct, seeing as the employees run off as a large worm with arms and multiple legs, wearing a police hat with a flower poking out, with a few legs in the air as the rest of them on the floor, Peach and Toad are speechless that the Flower Nation's police officer is a giant worm.
"A Wiggler!?" Toad exclaimed, leading to Peach sigh out of frustration.
"Oh dear. Listen, officer, my friend's bail is overdue, so could you please kindly let us go?" Peach persuades the Wiggler cop, who cracks his 'neck' as he glares at Peach.
"Toadstool. It seems we finally crossed paths the last time we met. I demand a rematch." The Wiggler cop growls.
"Rematch? Wait, don't tell me…" Toad has realised what Peach has been doing years ago which involved some illegal violence.
"What? Have we met before?" Peach blinks while tilting her head out of confusion, making the Wiggler's vein pop out of his head.
"Huh!? You don't know!? 5 years ago, you humiliated me in the arena!" The Wiggler cop snapped while leaning closer to Peach.
"Peach, is that true!?" Toad wants an explanation.
"Ah! That underground fight club! I remember now!" Peach remembered the illegal underground arena she went to 5 years ago, leading her to lower her head and mutter to herself out of regret. "Hm… Maybe I shouldn't have made Daisy disguised as me to fight. Ugh… I need to apologise to her when we meet."
"Huh? You had Daisy dressing up as you? You had her putting on a blonde wig!?" Toad whispered while trying not to shout.
"Toad, I'm not comfortable fighting people like that, nor do I fight! And besides, I need coins." Peach hisses, being honest that she can't physically fight hence why she relies on Daisy to masquerade as her.
While Peach and Toad are distracted as they forgot about exiting the police station, the Wiggler cop raises his fist as he stands taller, preparing to knock Peach out.
This alerts Peach to push Toad and pull herself back by doing limbo, grazing Peach's face as she gasps with surprise.
"Tch! It seems you have gotten stronger. I don't like that!" The Wiggler cop is slowly boiling after seeing Peach's reflexes being quicker than before.
"Okay. I get it, you're mad, but can't we talk this through, um… Jack?" Peach asks while defending Toad.
"Are you mocking me!?" The Wiggler cop yells as he's fully prepared to beat Peach black and blue.
"Uh oh! Now you've done it!" Toad panics after witnessing an enraged Wiggler that is not in his raging stage, meaning it'll get worse at that point.
"I know!" Peach squeaks, realising she made a huge mistake.
"First of all, princess, my name is Alberto! And second, I will place you two in jail! No exceptions and no excuses! Prepare for round 2, Toadstool!" Alberto roars while diving.
Peach raises her arms as both snowballs are prepared for Peach to use as self defence.
A Wiggler having a beef with a princess is bad enough, but being a cop is a mark that Peach fears will permanently block her path to succeeding her promise with the kingdom, her friends, especially a date with Mario.
Without Daisy, Peach is prepared for the worst as she created this mess to begin with and will clean it up by actually beating the worm in a police uniform.
This is how it feels to be in Mario and Luigi's position of facing those far more powerful than them combined.
Then round 2 it is then.