It was a sunny fall day in the Mushroom Kingdom, and one of the human residents of Toad Town, the capital city of the Mushroom Kingdom was walking through the streets of the city to get home from work. Since his Valentine's Day date with Princess Peach, Patrick Bernstein had found himself work as a waiter at a café in Toad Town, and he had been able to make himself a liveable enough wage doing the job. Besides bashing blocks to get Coins, his new waiter job had earned Patrick quite some money, and since there wasn't a whole lot to spend money on in the Mushroom Kingdom, Patrick put most of his money into savings for if he ever needed it.
Patrick was currently wearing a dark brown jacket underneath a black dress shirt along with buff pants and dark brown boots. He took a Warp Pipe to his house and was about to head inside when Parakarry, a Paratroopa mailman flew up to him.
"Ah, Patrick! Great timing! I got a letter for you!" Parakarry told the human with a smile.
"Oh, hey, Parakarry. I wonder what it could be." Patrick smiled back as he took the letter from Parakarry.
"Well, find out for yourself. Gotta head out now. Later!" Parakarry replied before flying off again.
Patrick then opened the letter and began to read it. "Hm...Oh! It's a letter from Princess Peach!" He remarked. ""Dear Patrick, today is October 31st, which means it's Halloween today. Tonight at 6 PM, I will be holding a Halloween party at my castle to celebrate the occasion. And after the Valentine's Day date we've had back in February, I'd like to invite you to the party as well. Pick a good costume, and I hope to see you at the party tonight. – Yours truly, Princess Peach Toadstool""
"Wow! Princess Peach really wants to see me again after that Valentine's Day date we had back in February? That means she really enjoyed that date! Which is a pretty good thing, since I enjoyed it too." Patrick smiled to himself. "Well, better go shopping for a good Halloween costume. I think there should be a costume shop somewhere in Toad Town..." He murmured to himself before heading inside his house to grab his wallet and then headed to the local costume shop to buy a Halloween costume for the party.
Later that night, the festivities for Princess Peach's Halloween party were beginning. A DJ was laying down the Halloween beats, people were dancing, enjoying a bite to eat and something to drink, just chatting among themselves, and so on. Meanwhile, Princess Peach herself was in her room with Toadsworth, just preparing themselves to meet all the guests.
Peach was currently wearing her Halloween costume: She was dressed as Velma from Scooby-Doo. "Do you think Patrick will show up to the party tonight, Toadsworth? I hope the mailman we gave the invitation to didn't get lost or anything..." Peach asked Toadsworth, sounding a bit worried that Patrick might not show up to the party at all.
"Don't worry yourself about it too much, Princess Peach. I'm sure the mailman we sent to deliver that letter to Mr. Patrick is a competent one. He more than likely made sure that that letter arrived at Mr. Patrick's house safe and sound." Toadsworth told Peach with a reassuring smile.
Peach turned to Toadsworth and smiled. "Thank you, Toadsworth. You're right. I'm sure that Patrick will be here tonight. I can't help but wonder what he picked for his Halloween costume. I also wonder if he'll like mine." She said, looking at her Velma outfit.
"I'm sure he will, Princess Peach. I'm sure Mr. Patrick enjoys a quirky costume such as yours." Toadsworth assured her once more.
Peach nodded at that. "Alright. Well, let's go greet all the guests at the party then." She smiled as Toadsworth nodded back and he made his way out into the main hall to announce Peach.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Princess Peach!" Toadsworth announced as Peach came out of her room and the crowd applauded. Peach scanned her eyeballs across the room and saw Patrick. His costume was the Phantom of the Opera, and he looked rather good in it. Peach couldn't but smile at Patrick's outfit, and Patrick took notice of this and he smiled back at the princess when he saw her outfit.
Peach then turned her attention to the crowd. "Welcome, everyone. I'm so glad you could all make it for tonight's Halloween party. I know it's been a very strange two years with Mario no longer around, nor any attacks from the Koopa Troop, but even though Mario is no longer around the Mushroom Kingdom, we should be grateful that we aren't getting any more attacks from the Koopa Troop. So for tonight, enjoy the festivities, and have yourselves a wonderful Halloween night!" Peach spoke to the crowd as they clapped for her. Peach smiled at the reaction the crowd gave to her speech before she walked over to Patrick with a smile.
"Hello, Patrick. You look nice in that Phantom of the Opera outfit." The blond haired princess told Patrick with a smile.
"Thanks, Princess Peach. You look nice in that Velma Dinkley outfit yourself." The black haired young man replied to the princess with an equal smile.
"Thank you, Patrick. Well, I hope you will have yourself a wonderful time at the party tonight, and hopefully you'll find everything to your liking here." Peach smiled once more before an idea struck her. "Say, Patrick...Would you like to slow dance...with me? Right now?" She asked Patrick as a light blush formed on her cheeks.
Patrick also lightly blushed but smiled. "Of course, Princess Peach. Anything for you." He told the blond haired princess as he took her eyes and then went to dance with her.
The DJ took notice of Patrick and Peach dancing and began to play the theme song to the Phantom of the Opera movie.
Andrew Lloyd Webber – Phantom of the Opera
Peach: In sleep
he sang to me,
in dreams
he came...
That voice
which calls to me
and speaks
my name...
And do
I dream again?
For now
I find
the Phantom of the Opera
is there -
inside my mind...
Patrick: Sing once
again with me
our strange duet...
My power
over you
grows stronger
yet...
And though
you turn from me,
to glance
behind,
the Phantom of the Opera
is there -
inside your mind...
Peach: Those who
have seen your face
draw back
in fear...
I am
the mask you wear...
Patrick: It's me
they hear...
Both: Your/my spirit
and your/my voice,
in one
combined:
the Phantom of the Opera
is there -
inside your/my mind...
Crowd: He's there,
the Phantom of the Opera...
Beware
the Phantom of the Opera...
Patrick: In all
your fantasies,
you always
knew
that man
and mystery...
Peach: ...were both
in you...
Both: And in
this labyrinth,
where night
is blind,
the Phantom of the Opera
is there/here -
inside your/my mind...
Patrick: Sing, my Angel of Music!
Peach: He's there,
the Phantom of the Opera...
Patrick: I have brought you
to the seat of sweet
music's throne...
to this kingdom
where all must pay
homage to music...
music...
You have come here,
for one purpose,
and one alone...
Since the moment
I first heard you sing,
I have needed
you with me,
to serve me, to sing,
for my music...
my music...
Later on, after most of the guests had already gone home, Patrick was standing on the balcony of Peach's room together with her as they were looking at the night sky. "Wow, the night sky is certainly beautiful for Halloween night, wouldn't you say, Patrick?" Peach asked Patrick.
"It certainly is, Princess Peach. But not as...beautiful as you." Patrick replied with a smile and a light blush.
Peach blushed and giggled. "Thank you, Patrick." She replied to the young man before continuing to look at the night sky. "You know, Patrick...I've been meaning to ask you something ever since that Valentine's date we had." She then said.
"And that is?" Patrick asked as he continued to look at the night sky.
"Have you ever been in a situation where you were forced to choose between two girls who were fighting for your love, but the situation overwhelmed you so much that you ended up rejecting both girls?" Peach asked Patrick.
"No, Princess Peach, I have not. Why do you ask?" Patrick asked her curiously.
"Well, because I have been in a situation like this before..." Peach sighed. "It all happened two years ago...My love interest, a human plumber named Mario wanted to ask me to marry him, when Bowser, the Koopa King kidnapped me so that he could marry me instead...After a very big adventure, Mario and Bowser ended up fighting for my hand, and the situation ended up overwhelming me so much that I ended up rejecting both Mario and Bowser...I haven't seen Mario and Bowser ever since...And I've come to deeply regret rejecting the two of them, but I haven't been able to apologize to them, since Mario moved out of Toad Town after the incident and Bowser and his Koopa Troop never invaded the Mushroom Kingdom after the incident...I'm guessing they both moved on from me and have found themselves another woman during that time..."
Patrick frowned as he could see that the princess was truly struggling with the consequences of her actions from two years ago. He then put an arm around the princess. "Hey, you know what really helps in a situation like this?" He asked Peach with a smile.
Peach turned to look at Patrick before nodding. "Mhm..."
"Try your best to focus on the positives. You never lost Mario and Bowser in your life. Especially Mario, he's still your friend. Just because he has a love interest that isn't you, doesn't mean he's gone forever. He doesn't hate you. He never did. Just know that you didn't lose Mario entirely. At the end of the day, be happy a friend like him his still in your life, even though he hasn't been to the Mushroom Kingdom for two years." Patrick told Peach as the princess smiled at him.
"That's very helpful of you, Patrick. Thank you." Peach told Patrick with a warm smile.
"Of course. The few humans in the Mushroom Kingdom gotta stick together, right?" Patrick replied with a smile.
"Yes, they do." Peach smiled before hugging Patrick. "Thank you, Patrick. You really made my Halloween night something special." She told the black haired human.
Patrick chuckled. "Glad I did." He replied as he returned the hug.
Patrick and Peach ended up talking for the rest of the night, their bond growing stronger on this Halloween night. The Mushroom Kingdom was once again in peace, and this is where the second story in this saga ends.
Happy Halloween to the users of Fanfiction! Whatever your plans for Halloween are, I hope you'll have a blast this Halloween despite all the crappy stuff that's been going on this year! – Alexneushoorn