Bowsette was viewing the Royal Treasury closely, viewing all the armor, all the weapons, all the power-ups she could take with her on this final journey.

She had gone so long without a real weapon that she immediately picked up the first Chomp Shell mace she could find. This baby helped her defeat Smithy. Now, she was going to be fighting alongside a weird robotic version of Smithy and using the same weapon.

Of course, she also had the Axe at her disposal, but she would not be using that until the final assault. Not if she could help it, not if she couldn’t help it.

She took a few of the Power Stars and pocketed them; even if they had to abandon all hope and run away, at least those would give some bursts of invincibility. And then of course she used some magic and imbued her Chomp Shell with the magic from not one of the Stars, but actually from one of the Ztars.

See, in all this time, she had finally figured out what Ztars actually were. While Stars were radiant, glowing sources of energy, almost like a magical battery of sorts, Ztars were like a battery being charged. They sucked in energy and put it into a stored stated that was completely inaccessible She didn’t know enough about magic or science to confirm, but it appeared to her that the life cycle of a Power Star actually began here, with the Ztar. Ztars were the beginning, and once they absorbed enough energy, they were finished charging and turned into Stars.

Imbuing this kind of power into her Chomp Shell would prove very useful for one very obvious reason: it would allow her to literally sap the energy away from her opponents. But if her theory on how Ztars worked was right, then once she defeated enough enemies with ehr weapon, she would actually be able to turn the Chomp Shell into one massive Power Star that could defeat anyone around her.

And that was the kind of power they needed if they really wanted to defeat the Koopa Troop.

She continued looking over the power-ups she could take. Unlike her assault on the Mushroom Kingdom, she wasn’t concerned with being crafty or clever, and she wasn’t limited to whatever knicknacks she had lying around the house. This was a serious arsenal of every possible item, and she had to choose wisely... or else.

Finally, she reached the point of the armory that contained all the leftover Super Crowns. There were about twenty of them, all exactly the same. It was... a bit weird to see them, actually. Her entire life as it currently existed revolved around her ability to wear one of these and to do it permanently. Should she... bring more? It seemed stupid that, were her power-up to be disabled mid-battle, she would simply put another one on and replace it. But she actually had a bit of concern. All the new powers she had unlocked in herself-- generating fire in her body, being able to use wings, shooting tail spikes... could she even DO any of that if she was in her lizard body? She hadn’t even thought to try. Since the night she first made love with Peach, she hadn’t removed the crown, not even for a moment. And she had no plans to do so.

In the end, she decided against taking one. It would only put her under more pressure to be holding an item as valuable as this on her and not put it to use. If any enemy were able to get their hands on it, then... well, it could be bad. Or... not? She had no idea the true power of this thing. After all--

Her vision was suddenly blocked by a couple of hands over her eyes.

“Brooding again?” Peach asked.

“There aren’t many Super Crowns left, are there?” Bowsette asked.

“Just these. I have no idea how they are made; whoever made them must have died or retired or disappeared long ago, because I’ve never seen anything like them before or since. Just these crowns made to make people look like me.”

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“It’s such a powerful magic, and yet...”

“Such a limited purpose, right?” Peach went over to a Super Crown. She picked it up and placed it on her head. Nothing happened. “I was almost hoping for something here.” She laughed.

“I just wish my body was permanent,” Bowsette said. “Relying on a power up is... well, you know how I feel about it.”

“You talk about it endlessly.”

“It IS my entire life, Peach.”

“We’ll figure things out. Somehow. After the war.” Peach put a finger to her mouth in consideration of something. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that, actually,” she said.

“About what?” Bowsette asked.

“I’m pregnant,” said Peach. “It’s yours.”

“WHAT?! Are you serious? How?!”

“No, I’m not serious, silly!” Peach bopped her on the head. “But, if I was, what would you do?”

“Forbid you from fighting and lock you in our bedroom.”

“See, that’s what the test was. And you failed, Bowsette.” Another bop on the head. “That’s how you lose wars. You didn’t do that with Clawdia, did you?”

“Well, no, but... she was...”

“A Koopa with incredible combat abilities, I know. But I’ve been trained and I’m ready. You can’t protect me because I don’t want to be protected. That was the lesson here.”

“I’m not entirely sure what I learned here...”

“Also, it was an excuse for me to ask you how many kids we should have,” Peach added.

“Well, I already have eight...”

“How about two? One from each of us?”

“W-w-w-w-wait, can I even... have babies? Does that even... work?!”

“We’ll have to find out.” Peach winked. “I’m sure it does. You have periods just like the rest of us.”

“Yeah... Well, I’m also not even sure if you and I could... you know... be compatible in that way. Genetics and all.”

“Magic is the answer there,” Peach said. “Magic is always the answer.”

“True... Well then, I agree with you. Two kids each.”

“Each?”

“So then we’ll have a full set of twelve. A dirty dozen. You like that?”

“Yeah. Deal,” Peach said. Her pleasant expression faded somewhat, though. “There is something else though that might impact this plan. After the war, I’m starting to... think of how I’d like my life to go. And, I love you and I love that we’re married, but I feel like--”

“Yuck yuck yuck yuck!”

A being phased through the wall and stuck out a large tongue at the two of them.

Was that... King Boo in a Super Crown?

“Hey you two lovebirds. The Armory ain’t a place for making out, ya know,” the mystery floating woman said.

“And you are...?”

“Call me Booette,” she said. “When I’m wearing the Super Crown, that’s what I’d like to be called. And this thing...” She floated using the Super Crown’s Peach powers, hovering back and forth in a smooth line. “...is marvelous! I understand why you’d want to keep it on you so much.”

“I thought you were going to wait until AFTER the fighting to get the crown,” Bowsette said. “You know, like you promised?”

“Promises are made to be broken!” She made an attempt to lick Bowsette, but she side-stepped away.

“Are you going to.. fight like this?” Peach asked.

Booette shrugged. “We’ll see. I think I’ll switch back and forth.”

Bowsette pulled her close. “If you break the crown I will beat you up until you cry,” she said.

“Yuck yuck yuck yuck... I’ll do my best.”

Booette floated away, phasing through a wall and disappearing again.

“That giant jerk,” Bowsette said.

“Well, let’s let King... Booette... do what she wants,” Peach said. “Who knows? It might help the battle.”

It wouldn’t.

Bowsette looked at Peach again. She realized that this could be the very last moment they spend together, if things went badly. The time they had spent together was not just special, not just magical-- it was everything she had ever known in her life, all wrapped up in this one experience.

Without hesitation, she seized her wife and kissed her on the lips.