Author's Note: This is my first Mario Bros fanfic, and thus my first time ever writing for any of these characters so please be nice, and forgive any OOCness or whatever. If you want you can give me tips ofn characterization, and even make a few plot suggestions (since I don't have this fic planned out to the finest details), but please keep it to a minimum. I've read a few fics where Daisy and Peach are cousins and some where they are just friends, I'm going to use the cousins idea.

Warning: Lots of plot, Bowser humanization (Not this chapter), eventual BowserxPeach. Depending on how I feel while writing this I may bump up the rating for any or all of the following reasons; Language, graphic violence, sexual content. There definitely will be language.
Disclaimer: If you recognize it: it is not mine, if you don't it is.

Never Look Back

Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom opened her eyes and blinked a few times. With a yawn she rose from her bed, trying to remember what she had been dreaming about before she had awoken. It had been an interesting dream, full of adventure, laughs, and pink. Peach giggled, she was such a girl sometimes. She stretched her arms and yawned a second time before she pushed her blankets off and climbed out of bed. Following her usual morning ritual, she crossed to her bathroom and undressed of a shower.

Feeling the warm water slash down on her, soaking her golden hair and flattening it against her body, Peach started to really wake. Her mind gradually leaving her strange dream world, and finally focusing into reality. The princess finished up her shower, running shampoo and conditioner through her long hair, and rinsing it out and finishing up with a layer of body wash.

Thoroughly clean, Peach turned off the water and stepped out of her shower, grabbing a town and beginning to dry off. As she did, her fogged up mirror began to clear, peach wrapped her towel around her thin frame and took another to wrap around her hair while she applied her make up.

While stunningly beautiful naturally, everyone insisted she wear eyeshadow, lip stick and blush to make her look older, and more mature, as a princess should be. A loving mother to her subjects, and a counselor to the nobles. As peach applied a soft bright pink color to her lips a single thought crossed her mind, almost as clear as if she were actually hearing it.

"I'm going to be kidnapped today." She said to her reflection calmly.

She had a feeling deep down that somehow this was true, and in her mind she felt it as a fact. She was going to get kidnapped. Peach thought for a moment to hide somewhere, tell people she was going off, to try to postpone it, but the princess knew in her heart that no matter what she tried she would still be kidnapped. There was no reason for her to be so sure of this fact, but she was. Bowser never gave up when he wanted to take on a 'romantic escapade' as he thought of it. Peach signed and finished applying her make up. Best not make a fuss or else innocent people could end up getting very badly hurt on her behave..

The princess was right about one thing. She would be kidnapped, but this time Bowser would not be responsible, and she would not be alone.

–

In her own castle many miles away, Princess Daisy of Sarasaland woke with start. Unlike her cousin, she wanted to forget her dream immediately, good thing she was. As she too got up, following her own morning ritual of, breakfast first, then shower and get dress, her mind racket with fear, and she was a bit jumpy. She'd been having a scary dream, she couldn't remember all the details, and she'd rather not if she could help it, all she could remember was that she and her cousin Peach were in danger.

"It was just a dream." she murmured to herself around a breakfast cake that tasted like cinnamon and chocolate, "It was just a dream, it was just a dream." Daisy excused herself early from breakfast, finding she had no appetite. She crossed the castle back to her room and into her shower.

The warm water calmed her, and soon enough the dream was almost completely forgotten as she sang in the shower, cleaning her hair and creamy skin. She stepped out, feeling refreshed, and slightly silly having been so worked up earlier over a dream she couldn't even remember. She dried herself and started to put on make up, a little less enthusiastically as her cousin. Sometimes Daisy really wished she wasn't a princess, she thought she looked plenty grown up with out all the eye shadow and blush.

She shook her head as she took the towel out of her hair and started up her dryer so she could brush her hair. Daisy dressed in her usual yellow dress, and continued to primp up her hair. She stood in front of the mirror inspecting herself for any flaws that would make someone send her back in to put on more make up. Finding nothing, Daisy began to notice her appetite had at last returned and turned to go back and see it the kitchen's had anything else she could eat before she began her duties as princess.

She paused a moment before she left her room. Something flashed in her mind, an freaky image from her dream. She began to worry again, and felt silly. The princess couldn't go out like this. She turned around again, reaching for her phone, maybe she could call Peach, or Luigi and talk. Both of them had such great ways of making her feel better when she was upset about something. But who should she call? Peach would be busy with her own royal duties, and at this time of day, Luigi probably would even be out of bed yet. Daisy sighed and closed her eyes, picking a number from her speed dial at random.

As the she waited for an answer Daisy saw a shadow move across the wall, she turned with a gasp.

"Ello? Daisy, is that-a you?"

–

As one could expect, Luigi was still asleep when his phone went off. He clung to his dream anyway, trying to ignore that infernal ringing. He was in a pipe, trying to stop a leak that just wouldn't stop spraying water all over the place. He looked around for his brother, hoping Mario would have any idea how to stop the flooding, but the other plumber was no where to be seen leaving Luigi all alone in a pipe that was quickly filling with water.

His phone rang again, but he couldn't find it. Who would be calling him in the middle of a flood anyway? Then Luigi realized of course that he was dreaming and opened his eyes groggily. In the bed across the room Mario moaned, "Luigi! Answer your-a stupid phone-a!"

Luigi made a grumbled tempt at a reply that sounded something like "Iwajnubsbleeehh." Before reaching over his nightstand to his phone. He blinked at it a few times, checking the name on the caller ID. Daisy; of course, who else would call him this early in the morning?

"Mmmm..." He hit the accept call button and waited for Daisy to greet him, as she usua;;y was the first and last to say anything when she called. Seriously it was like the girl was physic and knew precisely when he would pick up. He became slightly concerned when she didn't say anything.

"Ello? Daisy, is that-a you?" He asked.

There was silence for a split second before he heard Daisy's shrill scream, and then it suddenly silenced.

"Daisy? Daisy?" he said into his phone, his heart raced, and even Mario sat up in his bed, clearly having heard the scream. "Daisy! What happened? Daisy!" A voice answered him, a woman's voice, but not Daisy's usual cheery morning peep.

"Daisy can't play right now." The woman on the other end of the line whispered. "Maybe perhaps you could ask Bowser if you can come over. I'm sure he could use some company real soon..."

"What?" Luigi asked, "Bowsah? What about Bowsah? Hey!"

There was no response.

Mario hopped over with one leg already in his overalls, while he was attempting to put his hat on at the same time. "What was-a that?" he asked.

"Daisy is in danger-a!" Luigi replied, throwing on his clothes almost inhumanly fast as he told Mario what the woman on the phone had said. "What-a do you think-a she meant by-a that?"

Mario shrugged as the brothers raced out of their room grabbing only a few pieces of bread for breakfast. "We can-a only assume-a that Bowsah is involved-a somehow!"

"Do you think-a maybe that Peach could-a also be in danger-a?" Luigi asked with genuine concern about the other princess well as Daisy.

Mario almost tripped, "We-a must assume so, odds are, if Bowsah really is involved-a, that they-a are already at his-a castle."

"And what-a do we-a do now?"

The Mario brothers were out the door and heading toward a warp pipe, where they stopped and caught their breaths. What exactly was their plan? Barge into the Darklands with no idea who was behind the mysterious attack? It was better than no plan, at least. Luigi grabbed his brother's hand and gave it an uneasy squeeze before they both jumped into the warp pipe that would lead them directly to the Darklands.

–

Bowser was perhaps the only one who wasn't pulled from dreams that morning. As much as he loved sleep, Bowser had been preoccupied the whole night with troubles he wouldn't talk about, and no one dared ask. There were only a handful in the whole kingdom who knew the significance of the date, and had any guess as to why it kept Bowser awake.

Kammey and Kamek glanced out the door of the meeting room they'd been in all night, akwake as well, to make sure his cruelness was not disturbed during his restless pacing across the castle. The day before had been the anniversary of his wedding to his wife Clawdia, and also the anniversary of the day she had walked out on him and their kids, the day Bowser always worried she would try to worm her way back into their lives.

Bowser grumbled to himself unintelligibly, either from his usual dispassion for this topic, or from weariness of his annual all nighter, and glanced up at the clock. His anniversary had been officially over for several hours, but he never dared go to bed until the next day was over, he didn't want anyone besides Kammy and Kamek to know how much he dreaded that day, and so he carried on crankily through the following day without any sleep.

He yawned loudly, but continued to pace, standing up straight an pretending to be well rested while servants began to rouse and dash about preparing for the day. While his back was tuned away from the stairway, his oldest son climbed down, having woken up early to get to the music hall so he could practice with the new instrument he had picked up. Ludwig paused as he watched his father pacing and hear him yawn again.

"Father?" He announced as he knowingly approached his sleep-deprived Dad. "Were you awake all night again?" he asked.

If Bowser was surprised at all that his son was awake and daring to talk to him he made no indication of it, but simply stopped in his pacing and looked back at him. "No, I just-" His lie was cut off by another yawn, "Oh whatever, yes. I was." he admitted as he turned away again, trying to hold back yet another yawn.

Ludwig reached his father's side and stood with him a moment, before turning his head to look his father in the face. "She hasn't come back in all these years. She probably won't ever." He told him.

"Probably." Bowser repeated, but made no further comment.

"Father, why do you continue to abuse yourself like this year after year?" the blue haired Koopaling asked. "Do you want mom to come back?" he dared suggest.

Bowser growled in a fashion which Ludwig knew meant that if it had been anyone besides his own son, Bowser probably would have roasted the messenger who let those words slip passed their lips. The oldest Koopaling took a step away from his father just in case.

"No. I don't want her to come back." He snarled, "And if she does, I want to throw her back out myself." There was no threat in Bowser's voice, just a promise. If Clawdia ever tried to come back Bowser would see to it she regretted it.

Ludwig understood his father's anger completely and had deep respect for him, and at certain times of the day depending on what day of the week it was, he dared to say he even loved his father. He bore no such feelings for his mother though, a sentiment shared by all the older Koopalings, the younger ones didn't quite understand, and as far as Bowser Junior was concerned, if Peach wasn't his mother, then he simply didn't have one. Oh to be young and so naive...

"She won't come back Father." Ludwig tried to assure the King.

"Maybe." Bowser agreed, "But unless someone comes to the castle asking how much they want for her bounty dead or alive, I'd rather just wait her out like I do every year."

It was at this point, Ludwig stopped understanding his father, but instead of pressing the matter, Ludwig choose instead to back away, leaving the King in peace and returning to his original goal of finding the time to master his new instrument.

Alone again Bowser continued his pacing, waiting for the day to come and go so he could finally get some rest. As he passed the window for- who knows, the thousandth time?- he thought he saw a shadow fly passed the wall. Not outside the window, but inside, as if someone or something had just flew by him. Bowser turned, but saw nothing. He stared at nothing but an empty hall for several long minutes before he decided it was have been a trick of his tired mind and shook his head, and continued his pacing.

Behind him, a shadow lurked among the others waiting for him to turn before it continued its way through the castle, following Ludwig to the music room, where it knew no one would be listening for his terrified scream.

Author's end note: I would like to inform you all who just read this that any mistakes in spelling/grammar are probably the direct result of the fact that I, like Bowser up there, have not slept in almost a full twenty-four hours. Please review and tell me what you think of my story. I promise next chapter I will explain more. Now I'm going to bed. -passes out-