Bowsette stood in front of every single soldier, knight, warrior, captain, ghost, and participant ready to help them attack Morton Koopa. There were hundreds, all separated into their individual groups. Toads, Koopas, Boos, Whomps, a few Yoshis, a few Birdos... the Bone Dragon and its three heads poked out of a hole, but it was hardly sentient enough to be paying any attention here. Not a huge force... but one that was going to have to fight regardless of the circumstances.

Behind her stood Peach, but other than her, she was looking at literally every single living combatant they had at their disposal. Dr. Crygor’s robots weren’t here, but those would likely be a minimal presence in the battle at large, as long as Morton’s defenses were adequate. So this was the full scope of their battle. Everything they had.

Bowsette gulped.

And then she spoke.

“Our preparations may not be complete,” she began. “Our training may not be finished. We may be understaffed, underpowered, under... uh, okay, we’re not well-off. Sorry if I’m not ready with some big heroic speech like Peach may have made. I’m not good at this stuff.” There were some murmured chuckles throughout the crowd.

“But yeah, the circumstances are dire, I know. Too bad, huh? We have to go anyway, because Morton Koopa is preparing to bring back a Dread Lord and destroy the Earth as we know it. We’re setting off first thing in the morning. No exceptions. And none of you are allowed to leave. That wasn’t very inspiring, was it...”

Peach pushed Bowsette out of the way and continued the speech. “We know you are all unprepared for what’s to come, but that isn’t to say we don’t believe in you, because we most certainly do. When Bowsette first defeated Morton Koopa, she had five years to prepare, and even then her forces were still not ready for the horrors of war. It doesn’t matter how LONG you train. It matters how WELL you train. And all of us, myself included, have trained very, very well.”

At this, the Toad Knights all bowed in unison, a show of support.

“So whatever you want to take with you, pack your things. We’re headed to Dark Land, and many of us may not come back,” Peach continued. “But I know we’re ready. This is what we have been preparing for all this time, and no matter how we feel, we should not trust our minds. Only our hearts, and the part of our hearts that have given us the determination, the drive to reach this point.

“Are you with me?”

The entire army went up in cheers.

Bowsette felt something come over her. All that time ago, back when she was Bowser trying to plan an invasion of the Mushroom Kingdom, when she felt hapless and alone and betrayed by her own people for trying to deceive her... those cheers were much louder, much more boisterous.

But the cheers here filled a flame within her heart. Not the literal flame that was already in her heart at all times, but a figurative flame that would drive her to succeed in this. The world depended on it.

So.. time to pack their things.