Author's note. Hey guys, I'm back once more with the final chapter of this story. First of all, again I'm sorry this chapter is late and for not updating at all last month it's because I was still busy with my family on a trip overseas and when we came back we've spent most of our time completing the final steps to renovating our house since most of the work was completed. However, during the last week of October, I developed stomach pains which I had to go to the hospital and those stomach pains turned out to be appendicitis which meant I had to undergo an operation which went well and I spent over a week recovering from the procedure.

Again I apologize for the delay and I thank you guys for being patient during this time.

As always I would like to extend a thank you to TGN, SD321, animegamefanatic, Tsukimine 19, Luiasy fan 96, Crazy Mr. Luigi fangirl, Drones of Innocence and s3731997for leaving reviews and feedback on this story. I greatly appreciate any critical feedback I've received on this work. Also, to everyone who left reviews you have my gratitude for showing your support for this story and also for helping it get up to over 2700 views, nineteen favorites and fourteen follows!.

Thank you guys all so much.

Special shoutouts go to animegamefanatic, SD321, TGN, sunstar 989, BOOM fanfic- a -Latta, Wurmple, Keyblade Writer of the Dawn, Tsukimine 19, SkyDragonQueen 17, Raizir, Trimusica Dragon 009, Raizir, SpongeKrabsPlankton The Crazy Mr. L Fangirl, ElectricBlaster, Kitkatetester, MgFan 5 and ThatOneobessedlibnguist for leaving both a favorite and a follow on this story. I genuinely appreciate the support and a big thank you to of you guys sticking with this story right up until the end.

Also, I want to give a special shoutout to EXRB, Cloudyskies 17695 and PKgamer for leaving a follow on this story. Thank you for the support since I genuinely do appreciate it.

Well,with all of this out of the way I hope you guys enjoy the final chapter of the Bond between Brothers which has been a journey and now we've reached the end of it.

Disclaimer: Its the same as the previous chapters. I don't own any of the characters and locations since it's all copyrighted to Nintendo.

The warm evening air greeted Bowser who stomped his way onto the deck noticing Kamek, Larry and Lemmy having arrived from their trek from the Lost Kingdom. Silently surveying his children and former babysitter the King of the Koopas narrowed his eyes upon noticing all three of them bore minor scratches from their scuffle with the Mario Bros.

Bowser stomped across the floorboards taking several deep breaths to calm himself upon noticing Kamek and the three Koopalings surveying the damage on the ship.

"Your lord gruesomeness, what on earth happened here?!" Kamek exclaimed in shock. "It looks like you had your hands full while we were gone."

"The Princess attempted to escape, but we were able to recapture her," Bowser replied. "She and that Bonneton are far more trouble then I expected them to be. The sooner I marry the princess, the sooner I'll have the whole Mushroom Kingdom under my rule, cause I'm awesome like that. On that note, you'd better have good news for me Kamek."

Kamek swallowed nervously his eyes darting about with several small beads of sweat beginning to form on his brow. "Well, you see your gruesomeness, we had the Mario Brothers at our mercy, but uh well, they kind of were able to defeat us."

Bowser groaned placing his head in his hands before sighing in frustration. "Of course they did, sooner or later they're going to crash the awesome wedding on the Moon I've poured my heart and soul into."

"It was all Kamek's fault dad, we had them at our mercy, but Kamek told us to retreat!" Bowser Jr. protested. "You should punish him for it!"

Kamek swallowed nervously upon noticing Bowser glaring at him. The irate Koopa King snorted unleashing a small bout of flames from his nostrils. "No, we've all been through enough chaos today. The Important thing is that Peach is locked away in her room. This wedding will proceed as planned."

Bowser turned around hearing the footsteps echoing off the wooden floorboards as Rango, Spewart, Topper and Hariet walking towards him. Rango removed his hat from his head holding, it between his fingers before clearing his throat.

"Excuse, me your majesty. On behalf of Topper, I reckon I should apologize, we weren't prepared for the princess to put up this much of a fuss," Rango said. "If I'd been in charge, I would've never fallen for such a trick."

Topper shrank back before straightening himself making eye contact with Bowser. "Boss I'm sorry for letting the princess trick me like dat. I promise ya it won't happen again!"

Bowser cast a suspicious look at Topper before heaving a tired sigh. "Well, the damage's been done already, so from now on, you'll have someone be with you when you bring the princess her meals, so this doesn't happen again, do you understand?"

"Crystal clear boss," Topper replied sullenly. "It won't happen again. I won't let ya or any of da other Broodals down."

"Yeah, yeah, so we're nearly at the Metro Kingdom," Bowser replied. "Soon, we'll be able to deploy the Mecha Wiggler onto the city and we'll use it to steal the power from the Metro Kingdom to power this ship to reach its final destination, where Peach and I will say our vows and it will be an awesome wedding!"

Bowser chuckled mirthfully pleased at how for once everything seemed to be going his way for once. He'd seen the look of defeat when he'd held that stupid Bonneton in the palm of his hand the way Peach had given in almost immediately to ensure her companion would be unharmed, it made the King of the Koopas happy with their services.

"So where are ya other kids then?" Spewart asked a hint of curiosity in his tone.

"Ludwig and Iggy are running the final tests on the Mecha Wiggler to ensure it's going to be fully operational," Bowser answered impatiently. "Wendy, Morton and Roy are repairing the damage Peach and her irritating crown did inflict on the ship during their pathetic escape attempt. Speaking of which, Junior, Larry and Lemmy, you three head down below decks to help your siblings clean up the mess Peach made while she attempted to escape."

"Yes, Dad!" Bowser Jr. exclaimed eagerly. "I'll be sure to make to whip everyone else in line to make sure your wedding goes off without a hitch and the next time that pesky Mario and Luigi try to ruin your wedding, I'll be sure to flame them!"

"Atta boy son, you're going to be a great ruler someday," Bowser said. "Now then get to work all of you!"

Bowser silently watched his sons heading down towards the lower levels of his ship before he turned his attention towards Rango.

"I want you to make sure nothing else goes wrong with this wedding," Bowser grumbled. "Can I at least trust you to ensure that everything will be ready when we arrive at the Moon Kingdom?"

"Of course everything will be perfect by the time we get there!" Rango reassured Bowser. "Besides, I'm sure da Mecha Wiggler ya've got yer kids workin' on will crush that interfering plumber for good."

"Oh, I'm sure it will. Ludwig is a genius when it comes to creating these machines," Bowser chuckled. "I'm heading down there now to make sure it's in perfect working condition when we drop it off as a present for those suckers in the Metro Kingdom. I'll leave things to you Rango, don't even think about letting me down."

"Yes sir, ya can count on us boss!"

Bowser briefly nodded acknowledging Rango's words before heading down below deck. The King of the Koopalings felt his claws dig into his scaly palm. This time no matter what it took, he would do everything in his power to make sure he would be able to marry Peach and to do everything he could to make sure Mario wouldn't be able to interfere in his wedding to Peach whether she wanted to or not.

Meanwhile in Peach's room, Tiara hovered next to Peach clad in the Lochlady Dress who was standing in front of the large mirror slowly examining herself from all angles. The small frown never left her face as the dress moved, the hem tracing the ground. Peach felt uneasy at being forced to wear the garment, this wasn't hers to wear. She had heard the Lochlady Dress was a priceless treasure of the Laker Kingdom and she could only imagine how the residents of the Lake Kingdom were mourning the loss of their prized treasure.

"It looks lovely on you, but at the same time it doesn't feel right," Tiara said forlornly glancing at Peach.

"You're right Tiara, it's not right, I shouldn't even be wearing this dress," Peach replied sadly "I wish we'd been able to escape from Bowser's forces. Like I've already said, Tiara, Bowser will never get his grimy claws on the Mushroom Kingdom, since I'll do everything in my power to protect my subjects."

Tiara nodded as though there was something else she wanted to say. The Bonneton had seen the way Peach's eyes lit up whenever Peach mentioned Mario's name with a faint blush on her cheeks. The Bonneton had concluded Peach deeply cared for Mario. Tiara fell silent until she felt the question she longed to ask came to the forefront of her mind.

"Peach, do you love Mario?" Tiara asked.

Peach froze caught off guard by the question her mouth opening in a small 'O'of confusion before she found the strength to speak again.

"I'm not sure myself, Tiara," Peach said uneasily. "I do care a lot for Mario, and he's come to my rescue many times over the course of the years. His kindness and determination in making sure both my subjects and I will be safe is something I'll always appreciate, but to me, he's just a friend, and I'm not sure if I love him. If I had to be honest he's just a dear friend that's all."

Tiara fell silent at Peach's words, feeling the awkward tension in the room as Peach turned to face her quietly.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause you any form of distress Peach," Tiara said faintly looking down at the floor.

"It's alright, Tiara, you didn't know," Peach reassured Tiara. "What Bowser never seems to understand is that you can't force someone to fall in love with you and then force you to marry them. I do cherish Mario as a friend since I know he wouldn't do anything so rash as to force me to fall in love with him. That's why I have faith in him in coming to rescue us."

Tiara nodded feeling at ease. "Yes, I know Cappy will be with him when he does so. Peach, I know I haven't had a chance to say this, but over the time we've been Bowser's prisoners I've come to see you as a friend and I know Mario and Cappy will come to save us."

"I'm glad to have gotten to know you too," Peach replied smiling. "I see you as a friend as well. For now, until Mario comes to our rescue, all we can do is hope for the best. I know you will see your brother again, Tiara."

Feeling reassured Peach walked towards the window silently placing a hand on the glass staring out at the pitch black night skies with millions of stars dotting the skies. Tiara silently hovered next to her as all they could do for now was to wait and hope that someday Mario and Cappy would come to their rescue.

Meanwhile high in the skies in the Odyssey, Luigi leaned back against the plush sofa, a small cup of piping hot tea in his hands. he glanced over at Cappy and Mario who were deep in conversation, a brochure spread out in front of them detailing several kingdoms in front of them.

"Honestly I'm glad we're out of the Lost Kingdom," Mario said thoughtfully. "Truth be told I wasn't expecting you to show up Weegie, when you did. I thought you were busy with setting up Luigi's Balloon world."

"I was," Luigi confirmed with a nod. "But when I saw you lying there on the ground injured, my heart just froze and the only thing that came to mind was making sure you were okay. You know seeing you lying so still on the ground, it scared Mario."

Mario tilted his head noticing Luigi beginning to tremble and picking up on his brother's distress.

"It scared me, it reminded me of the times when I saw you trapped in King Boo's portraits, twice in a row now," Luigi said softly his eyes beginning to well up with tears. "I was scared, I wouldn't either be brave or strong enough to save you. I was afraid I would prove my doubters in the Mushroom Kingdom right that I'm nothing more then a coward."

"Luigi, we both know that's not true," Mario said softly.

In an instant Luigi set down his cup of tea looking up to see a gentle smile appear on Mario's face who paused wondering what else he could say to reassure his younger brother. Looking at Luigi Mario remembered when they were growing up Luigi was often the shyer twin, having found it difficult to make friends.

"I know I've said this before, but after everything you've gone through in the Lost Kingdom, you proved you can be a hero," Mario said. "Besides, you were the one who helped the two Toads get me to the hospital. You also held your own against Kamek and the Koopalings. You're far more courageous then you give yourself credit for. Besides, you've taken on King Boo three times to save me and everyone else.

Luigi listed his head making eye contact with Mario's warm smile on his face as he nodded in Luigi's direction. Mario rose up from his chair as Luigi followed suit before he embraced his brother in a gentle hug feeling the warmth of the gesture as Luigi returned the gesture with no hesitation. The two of them broke apart as Cappy hovered near them a question beginning to form on his lips.

"So, Luigi what's going to happen with Luigi's Balloon world now? Is it going to be picked up at some point I assume?"

"Once Mario and I save Peach, I'll head back to the Lost Kingdom and retrieve it from the clinic where I left it in the hands of those two reliable Toads who I encountered in the Lost Kingdom."

"I'm glad to hear that Weegie," Mario said warmly. "I remember playing that game when we were kids. We did have some good times, especially when our mother and father used to join in."

The two brothers again fell silent as the only sound that could be heard was the gentle hum of the Odyssey's engines as the ship soared through the skies heading on its course towards the Metro Kingdom. Cappy looked down at the floor as though he wanted to say something until he let out a low sigh.

"What's wrong Cappy?" Mario asked concern for his friend evident in his voice.

"It's all my fault that we were trapped for so long within the Lost Kingdom," Cappy said softly. "I know you were hurt because of Bowser's attack, but still if I hadn't been so careless then we would've rescued both Peach and Tiara by now. I can only imagine how scared both of them must be."

Mario reached up to Cappy gently drawing the trembling Bonneton close to him drawing him into a gentle embrace as the Bonneton relaxed slightly from the plumber's gentle touch.

"We'll save both your sister and Peach once we catch up with Bowser," Mario said reassuringly. "Besides Cappy it wasn't your fault that buzzard brain caught you. We both know it caught us of guard and the important thing now is that you're safe."

"There's a reason Mario is the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom for several reasons", Luigi chimed in. "Besides we've teamed up several times to help bring down Bowser together. If anyone can help rescue your sister, it's him."

Cappy felt a small bubble of reassurance building up within his body at Mario's kind words as he felt nothing but gratitude towards the Mario brothers who were willing to help him rescue his sister along with Peach.

"Mario, Luigi, please do allow me to offer my gratitude for your services," Cappy replied happily. "In return Mario and Luigi, I promise to do everything I can to aid both of you in rescuing Princess Peach."

"Grazie, for your help Cappy," Mario said smiling warmly. "Besides, I have faith in Peach that she will be able to keep Tiara safe until we rescue them both."

Cappy couldn't stop the small smile beginning to spread across his face. Even though he'd known both Mario and Luigi for quite some time, their kindness warmed his heart which inspired the Bonneton to do his best to aid his new companions.

"Thank you both so much for everything," Cappy said warmly. "So, then how far away do you think we are from New Donk City?"

"Hmmm, let's see," Mario said thoughtfully. "Well, we should be a couple of days travel from the Metro Kingdom. With any luck we should be able to catch up to Bowser and hopefully rescue both Tiara and Peach."

Mario paused for several moments turning to face both Luigi and Cappy. On Luigi's face Mario saw the small nod his brother gave him.

"I'm glad to have both of you with me," Mario said softly. "I'm glad to know I won't be doing this alone. It'd also do Luigi some good to see the other Kingdoms along the way."

Feeling content with his brother's words Mario turned his attention towards the open window. Watching the grey clouds drifting through the night skies a small longing began to stir within his heart. He would find a way to rescue Princess Peach along with Tiara and bring both of them back safely to their respective kingdoms.

Resting a hand on the window Mario sighed gently. "Hang in there Peach and you too Tiara, you won't be in Bowser's clutches for much longer."

Luigi approached Mario, gently touching him on the shoulder. The gesture was appreciated which he knew in that instant Luigi would stand by his side lending him his aid in rescuing Princess Peach.

"We're in this together Mario," Luigi said. "Nothing on this planet, not even Bowser's forces will ever change that."

"I know that Luigi, you're my brother," Mario replied with a warm smile. "Besides, we both bring out the best qualities in each other."

Luigi smiled back at Mario touched by the warmth of his brother's words which he placed a hand on Mario's shoulder with Mario returning the gesture as the two brothers along with Cappy stared out the window of the Odyssey. If there was one thing Mario knew in that instant Luigi would stay with him through thick and thin no matter what would happen in the future.

Author's note. Well after all this time. The Bond Between Brothers has finally come to an end. I will say this was an interesting project for me to come up because of a little what-if Luigi had arrived at the Lost Kingdom after Mario's failed rescue attempt to save Peach and from there this idea grew to form its own idea serving to expand on the scene where the Klepto kidnaps Cappy in the game which is why I decided to implement the idea during the drafting stage of this story having Luigi come to Mario's aid and the idea grew into a fic with both Mario and Luigi expressing their brotherly love and support for each other.

I know Luigi has mentioned King Boo has trapped Mario in portraits twice even though Luigi's Mansion 3 was recently released. To clear up some confusion, the events of this story taking place before the events of Luigi's Mansion 3.

When it came to writing up this story it was my intention to create a side story focusing on both Peach and Tiara for a couple of reasons. One of the main things I wanted to focus on were the interactions between Peach and Tiara for a couple of reasons. The first reason was to give them a chance to have more interactions while at the same time I wanted them to develop a sisterly bond with each other. The second reason was to give Peach a chance to prove she's more than a damsel in distress hence the chapter where she and Tiara attempted to escape from Bowser and to also provide an explanation as to why she stubbornly kept rejecting the Binding Band when Bowser attempted to force her to put it on.

As for Peach's feelings for Mario, I like to think she views Mario as a close friend since while she does care for him, it's more along the lines of having a platonic friendship with Mario. I know there are some folks out there who do ship them romantically, but I wanted to show Peach does cares for him as a friend in this story and Mario does view Peach as a close friend as well.

Well, on this closing note I want to thank all off you for supporting this story despite all the long delays, it's been a pleasure as always to write up this story and receiving feedback on it. As for future projects, I've got a couple of one-shots in the works. As always constructive criticism/ thoughts/ any accidental errors I need to go back and fix/ reviews are welcomed and appreciated as always. Until then I will see you guys next time.