With Dante on his quest to search for the Crystals Star, one would expect that Princess Peach would take care of her own problems like in the original plot... but that was not the case, the cameraman who focused the lens during her escort to the villainous leader, was not the same in this dimension.

"We bring you the princess, his excellence" Two X-nauts crossed their arms for their official greeting

“I hope you finally reveal where the map is…” Grodus's synthetic voice held a surprising amount of frustration.

"I told you I don't know! How many times do I have to tell you?" Having been kidnapped several times, Peach wasn't as scared as might expect.

"It's no use trying to hide it, I have reliable sources that confirm your possession of that map..."

"You should hand it over for your own good, I don't like to beat around the bush"

“…”

Before the villain could continue with his threats, a holographic screen materialized.

"I bring you a report of the situation, your excellence" It was another X-naut

"What is it about?"

“We just found out that the Crystal Star guarded by… Goombaba has been stolen.” Even with his face covered, he looked nervous.

"What does this mean!? Is anyone else on the trail of the Crystal Star!?” He wasn't very good at hiding his emotions.

(Must be Mario) In these kinds of situations, the mustachioed plumber usually shows up to save the day.

"It is likely... apparently it is a young blond guy who wears a blue suit"

"It's not him!" Peach yelped in surprise.

"It's not who?...Never mind, take her back to her room!" They would continue this at another time.

"At your service!" The princess and her escort left the room

“And as for you, Crump...” The strange guy who had bothered Goomarina in Rogueport had been there all this time.

"If that stranger has the map, then it's quite likely that he's heading to the Boggly Woods, go there and hasten the search."

"At his command, Lord Grodus!" he came out immediately

The villain turned to look at his command post.

“I feel uneasy sending you alone… Hum, Guard!”

"Did you call, His Excellency?" An X-naut, what a surprise, responded to the summons.

“Bring the shadow trio!”

The camera watcher lost interest and changed the image to another room.

"My bad luck... I've been kidnapped again" You know you're not okay when you treat the kidnapping as "it came faster this time" than the occurrence of the situation itself.

(You should learn self-defense at the very least)

"Surely Master Kinopio is worried... and who is that blond man?" Peach had a lot on her mind.

"Besides... where am I supposed to be?... if I could contact someone, like Mario" The princess was checking her surroundings.

"Obviously locked." She had no such luck trying the exit door and went to the other end.

“At least there's a bathroom…let's see if that shower works.” Going against common sense, Peach decided it was a good time to take a shower.

“Lalalala” she quite enjoyed it

(I was always morbidly curious if, being made of paper, those parts would have relief... I still can't imagine the face of the worker who suggested this scene)

When she finished, she toweled herself dry, got dressed again, and tied her hair into a ponytail.

"I feel like new!" She was flushed as  returned to her room from the heat and steam of the bathroom.

(It's my turn) He opened the door that leads to the corridor

"What was that?...the door opened by itself" Fearlessly she ventured outside.

"There is no one here... or so it seems" The corridor was desolate, without any person

She moved smoothly and entered the door at the end of the hall, she had tried the elevator, but it didn't work.

"Welcome, Princess Peach." The room had a lot of machines with bright lights and a multitude of screens.

"Who's talking to me? Where are you?" Her gaze wandered around.

“I am here, in front of you, we could say that I am the main computer of the base, you can call me Dan”

"Why did you lead me here?" It was easy to connect the dots.

"You see princess, I am not only the main computer, I have a life and a body of my own, was during an experiment that I got a "connection" with this machine" When he is not inside, the ordering works on autopilot with a more basic AI, based on the one installed before he entered.

"Life? Own body? Why do you tell me these things?"

"Because I want to help you, they also kidnapped me, but I managed to escape, from time to time I keep secretly monitoring them while I find a way to stop them, so I found out that they took another person"

“So… can you help me escape?” With her confident personality, she bought it at first, she's lucky it's true.

"Not at the moment, they reinforced security with my escape..."

(Except during their off hours and only on their ships)

"... but don't worry, I'll get there sooner or later, meanwhile we could take advantage of your position to get information, there are things that Grodus keeps to himself"

"I understand... I'll support you" she had no better options and was still a little disappointed

"Don't be sad, I wanted you to know that you have an ally, can I do something to cheer you up?"

"Can you send a message?" She wanted to contact the local hero.

"Of course, but due to the distance it will take time, use my keyboard"

(Like a month or so)

"I understand, thank you" The princess approached and began to type, she smiled when the message was sent

“Thanks again” It was good to have an “adventure partner”

"You're welcome, you should come back so as not to raise suspicions and I have to go back to my body, I'll contact you later"

"Well... good night"

“Good evening… and one last thing”

"Yes?" She stopped before crossing the door.

"Thanks for the show in the bathroom." The lights dimmed and the computer went into standby mode.

She just stood there, totally red from the implication.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

At Koopatricia's house, Dante returns to normal and prepares for bed.

"That transformation is always tiresome to use... Princess Peach, I think if it wasn't the paper world, I wouldn't have the motivation to try and conquer her." He always felt this Mario more... professional, as if his actions were more out of duty than personal feelings... or it was just the rationalization of trying to take the girl away from the childhood hero of many, including him.

“If something has been made clear to us by almost all of his incarnations, it is that being subtle is not the best option” he had started the game by trying to win the heart of the princess.

At that moment someone knocked on the door.

“Come in” Dante had to admit that this was the person he least expected.