Peach continued stargazing in amazement. With her castle amid the Mushroom Kingdom's largest, most-bustling city, she'd only see about a dozen bright stars on a typical night, weather permitting. She always heard that whenever the skies cleared up, Dark Land's splendid stargazing rivaled even Desert Land's spectacular shows. Witnessing the heavenly lights at their peak enhanced her appreciation for life.

Oh, how she yearned doing this with Mario! Maybe she'll arrange a night picnic in the rural, unpopulated countryside, where they'd relax, gaze at the skies, and ponder about the great adventures awaiting them in the future. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been away with Mario on any occasion other than official kingdom business, save for their ill-fated trips to Dinosaur Land and Isle Delfino. With her being kidnapped during her supposed honeymoon vacation, another trip's well-deserved.

A shiver overcame Peach. With Dark Land's lava pits, she'd never thought cold temperatures would plague Bowser's Castle with the Sun's absence. Maybe the uncommon clear skies played a role in the dramatic cooldown. She sighed, the day's fatigue now bursting within her. She decided to head back inside and prepare for bed.

The princess stood up and stretched before she walked to the elevator and pushed the elevator's down button. By the time she recognized the elevator's gears' clunking, Peach trembled from how nippy the air became. She may be in Dark Land, but it's also mid-April; she didn't think twice about bringing a blanket or anything insulating. Not like she could, anyway.

What felt like years later, the elevator's door opened. As she entered and pressed the button for the second floor, Peach rubbed her arms to warm herself.

She arrived on the second floor without incident and strolled down the halls. Peach knew her bedroom was on this floor, but she's still unfamiliar with this sector of the second story. Guess the duty's all up to her.

When the hallway reached a fork, Peach took the right path, figuring the right path was... Well, the right path. Although nighttime fell upon the castle, commotion and music bounced throughout the hall, all sourced from behind the first door in the hallway. She peeked into the room and spotted all seven koopalings, each one preoccupied in an activity they enjoy. Ludwig played the piano, Lemmy, Larry, and Iggy battled on a video game, Roy and Morton jeered and mocked the players, and Wendy gossiped on her cellphone.

"Hahahahaha! Gotcha, Larry!" Lemmy cheered.

The youngest koopaling put his controller down, folded his arms and rolled his eyes: "You got lucky, that's all," he claimed.

"Larry lost! Bwahahaha!" Morton pointed a claw at the youngest koopaling and laughed, "Hahahaha!"

"Loser!" Roy added, "Larry da Loser!"

"Hahahahahaaaaaaa!" Iggy cackled, "The L's do fit!"

"Rrrr…" Larry picked up his controller, "Let's do this again. We'll see who the loser is this time!"

"You?" Morton jeered, "You lose more than Jr. Troopa!"

"What? Who's that?" the youngest questioned, "Let's start this game! I'm no loser!"

Peach giggled at the banter as memories of her play-fights with Daisy years ago filled her mind. She snapped from her thoughts as she noticed surprised expressions from the five arguing koopalings.

"Uhh, hi Peach," Lemmy greeted, turning a slight red in embarrassment, "How long were you here?"

"Long enough to hear your banter," Peach smiled.

The five princes scratched their heads. From being around Bowser, Peach suspected the action's the koopas' natural way to show embarrassment rather than confusion. She found the inherited behavior to be adorable, yet silly.

"Don't worry, I liked it. It's a unique way to bond, but if it works, then all power to you!"

Hearing a new voice introduced into the chaos, Ludwig and Wendy diverted their confused attention towards Peach.

"Vhy, greetings, Madame," Ludwig addressed before he got up from his piano bench and approached Peach, "Vhat brings you to zis chaotic lounge vunce again?"

"I got lost finding my room. With the amount of times I get kidnapped, you'd think I know where it'd be, but I still don't," Peach sighed.

Ludwig grinned, "Don't fret, quite the labyrinth makes up zis castle's layout. At times, even I fail to manage ze multiple hallways, and ve all know how I am vith problem-solving. I or vun of ze siblings of mine vill guide you to your room vhenever you vant to leave."

"Thanks!" Peach voiced with gratitude, albeit too nice a tone for her kidnapper.

"Aww, stop with da formalities and give us da grub," Roy broke into the conversation with a forceful, conniving voice, "How's you and Pops?"

Ludwig sighed at the bald koopaling's question. "Younger brother, ve don't address anyvun like zat, especially our superiors, and especially vith questions like zat," Ludwig scolded before he turned to Peach, "A zousand apologies for my brozzer's behaviour. Some of us didn't take etiquette classes, evidently."

'It's not etiquette to mastermind a kidnapping of a newly-wedded bride either, but heck if I know,' Peach thought with contempt. Instead, she replied, "No worries. I'll answer the question anyway. Your father went to do some kingdom business, so he's in his room for the night. He gave me a tour of the castle, and that's all, really."

"Aww man, nuttin close to givin' dat weddin' dress some use?" Roy questioned.

Giggles from the five younger koopalings erupted, while steam built up within Ludwig. Peach remained speechless, and she felt herself blushing.

"ROY!" Ludwig scolded, "Vhat did I say about ze questions?! Now apologize for zat!"

"Sheesh, bro. Lighten up, why don't ya," Roy grumbled before he turned to Peach. "Uhh, sorry?"

Peach giggled at the halfhearted apology and the scene in general. "The question just threw me off, that's all! Don't be too hard on Roy now. And no, I'm still married to Mario, and it's staying that way."

Roy opened his mouth to voice another smart-aleck reply, but closed it when he noticed a glare from Ludwig.

"But actually, since I'm here anyway," Peach added, "And all seven of you are here, I just want to ask… What are your opinions of your father?"

None of the seven responded until a fidgeting Larry piped up, his voice softer than Sky Land's clouds.

"Uhh, he's cool. There are times when he's busy with the kingdom and we never see him other than for dinner, but there's other times when he spends his day doing nothing but hanging around with us," he mustered.

"Yeah," Morton continued, "Something about not wanting to turn out like our Granddaddy Morton. Dad always told us that Grandpa was always busy."

"He used to always take us on trips for fun," Lemmy reminisced with a slight smile, "He still does, though not as often. I have great memories of the Real World."

"Like, he gives me everything! He's the best!" Wendy squealed, earning eye rolls from the six males.

"He encouraged my inventing skills," Iggy commented, "Even when he got irate when they weren't adequate, I still recognized that solidarity for his posterity. Somehow. It's weird, but it's there, I swear!"

"He taught me to be tough and beat da snot outta your hubby! I was his best student!" Roy boasted.

While the five younger koopalings held back giggles, Ludwig rolled his eyes at Roy before he added in his own comment.

"As you know, I am ze Crown Prince of Dark Land; I'll take over ze kingdom vhen Fazzer passes on to ze vorld of spirits, or is othervise unable to do so. I have ze blessing to vork close to him. He really does care about ze kingdom as a whole. Of course he cares about power too; it's in ze Koopa DNA, but he also does vhat's best for ze kingdom rather than just himself. Again, he mentions Morton Sr. as the reason why, as my dear younger brother of his namesake stated."

Peach nodded at each answer the koopalings gave. She always thought the kids were abused by their father, or, at the very least, ignored. Even when kidnapped, Peach never saw Bowser's family side; she never knew how the koopalings felt. Again, koopa stereotypes that Bowser's father solidified; she's glad Bowser debunked those stereotypes.

"I haven't expected those answers. Thanks, you guys."

All seven koopas continued to stare at her, near-mesmerized.

"Well, that's your father. I was wondering if you guys-"

Ludwig, Lemmy, and Roy moved their claws horizontally against their necks, as if telling her to cut off what she's saying. Confused, she acknowledged the gesture and paused her thought.

"Nevermind. I'm gonna head out to my room. I'm too tired to even remember my own questions, hehe."

The four younger koopalings exchanged confused looks at the unfinished question. Peach ignored them, while Ludwig reassured them.

"Lemuel, Roy, and I vill valk Peach to her room. She's had a long day, vhich leads me to conclude zat she's psychologically exhausted. Just go back to vhat you all vere doing before."

"Okay," they replied. At the dismissal, the younger four continued the activities they did before Peach entered, seemingly unfazed from their earlier dialogue.

"What was that back there?" Peach questioned, curious on why the koopalings were eager to cut her off.

"What was your question gonna be next?" Lemmy requested.

"About your mother."

Ludwig, Lemmy and Roy weren't surprised; they instead shook their heads.

"Ve knew it. It's not vise to talk about or even mention our Mozzer to our younger siblings," Ludwig requested, "At least not yet. Ignatius may remember bits and pieces, but he, Vendy, and Morton were too young to experience her full love. Lawrence didn't even hatch vhen she passed on."

Lemmy nodded, "After hearing how she died, we took it hard, especially because of our age and how we weren't blessed to grow with her. Me, Ludwig, and Roy didn't want the rest of our siblings to go through the same pain, so all we told them is she died, or she won't be coming home. We didn't tell them how."

Peach smiled in understanding. Initially she'd been hurt and confused by them cutting her off, but if it's to protect their siblings, then so be it.

"Well, okay," Peach said, "How did she die anyway?"

"Well, it's…" Lemmy attempted to throw out, but his speechlessness prevented him from finishing. Ludwig didn't look overjoyed at the question either. Roy, however, stood strong enough to reply back to the princess.

"It's still a tough topic for us. It happened years ago, but even years and years since den, it's still tough, man. You should hit up Pops for dat info. It involves family drama with our grandpops and uncle. But short story, it was the civil war."

"Civil war? Dark Land?" Peach inquired.

"Yea. Just before them Mario Brothers came to da Mushroom Kingdom," Roy explained, "It affected everyone when we were younger. Pops had magikoopas take us three to da Real World to hide out from our uncle. Kamek took Kooky to Austria, Kammy took Lems to Canada, and Kamella took me in hiding between Brooklyn and a summer house in Massachusetts. We all lived in hidin' 'til a few months after Sis was hatched. Well, me anyway, I was da last to return 'cus Kamella's bad at parenting."

"Or, in other vords, I grew up vith manners, sophistication, hard work and respect. Meanvhile, as you saw in ze gameroom, Roy grew up spoiled, inconsiderate, and stuck-up."

Roy rolled his eyes at the comment, while Lemmy facepalmed. Peach ignored Ludwig's outburst.

"That explains your accents. I always wondered. Mario lost his, but Luigi still has his."

"Indeed, Your Majesty."

"Yup Missy."

"And I'm the normal one!" Lemmy threw in.

Peach giggled before she moved on, "But still… Don't you think your siblings should know the truth?"

All three shook their heads.

"As Luddy said: I'm sure Iggy remembers her a bit, but they're all still young, and all four of them have confidence issues in some sense," Lemmy responded, "So we thought it'd be best to wait to tell them. We told Dad and he agreed."

"Well… Okay," Peach sighed. In her opinion, every child deserves to know the fate of their parents or any family member. Not telling them is hiding the truth, and hiding the truth will lead to a dangerous, disastrous doorway of distrust. "Thanks for walking me to my room anyway. I don't think I'd ever find it by myself."

"My pleasure, Madame."

The princess entered her room and the three koopalings walked away, most likely returning to the lounge. With privacy ensured, Peach flipped on the television, wanting to relax and unwind before bed.

Dark Land contained minimal networks compared to the Mushroom Kingdom—only junk reality TV shows and obvious propaganda flooded the airwaves. She turned the channel to the Dark Land "News" Central, which broadcasted libel against Mario, such as airing a graphic showing how many goombas he killed this week, and the amount of coins that "magically" appeared in his bank.

Peach rolled her eyes and almost changed the channel, but a breaking news update redirected her attention.

"We have breaking news!" the purple-shelled female koopa troopa news anchor reported. Blinking red lights surrounded her and alarms played after the anchor's announcement. Amid the happenings, a picture of Peach's parents appeared throughout the news studio. Peach's eyes widened, "DLNC has received reports that the King and Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom have disappeared! This comes just days after the disappearance of Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom! We have our Mushroom Kingdom analyst, Chalgoom, to explain what may happen with the Kingdom now."

Peach's heart skipped a beat at the news. Where are they? Where could they have gone? Are they safe? Is this why Mario hasn't come yet? How will the Kingdom fare?

"Come to no surprise, expect Dark Land to be blamed for these disappearances. There's no official reports from Kastle Koopa yet," Chalgoom reported to the koopa troopa anchor, "But meanwhile, with the three most prominent power figures of the Kingdom gone now, power may be split in either two ways in this current power vacuum. Either the longest-ruling king of the individual lands, which will be the King of Pipe Land, will take over until one of the three returns, or the rule will go to Mario due to his marriage to Peach. We don't know how it'll go; as written in law, Mario's marriage will need to last at least a year before he can assume royal duties, but despite the custom, he receives definite support from Grass Land, Desert Land and Giant Land. There's been unrest involving Mario in Water Land, Pipe Land and Ice Land due to Mario's dislike of economic programs there, so I see those three supporting the King of Pipe Land's rule. The real interests come from how Sky Land will react, due to their outspoken respect of common law. Their population is small, but that Land will be the make-or-break area to decide who will rule. Either way, if things don't get fixed immediately, unrest, trade wars, or even a civil war could break out in the Kingdom."

The breaking news alerts faded away while the anchor thanked the "expert" and continued spewing propaganda, but Peach shut off the television. She dropped the remote, a thousand thoughts paralyzing her mind. How did she not see this coming? The potential feud between Mario and the Pipe King will risk the safety of the kingdom! She needs to go back there and take over! She'll need to let Bowser know; maybe he could provide some ideas…

Oh boy… She's about to ask BOWSER, of all people… But it's worth the attempt.

She exited her room and sprinted down the hall towards Bowser's chambers. She's close to knocking on his door, but as her gloved knuckle hovered in midair, Peach overheard a conversation involving Bowser.

"Oh, yes, she's at my castle right now. I got her back not long ago."

Peach crinkled her face. Who's at his castle? Other than her, Wendy, Kammy, and some servants, there aren't any women!

"She got back to my castle yesterday."

Now she knew he was talking about her!

"I'll be willing to sell her to you."

Wait, what? Selling her? Was this what everything's about? Was this Mario on the phone?

"She's a fine one; very beautiful and sleek. I'll have to charge you more than the others."

'WHAT?! Is this even legal? In the Mushroom Kingdom, people would be arrested for this!' Peach thought.

"I'll get her ready, first thing in the morning. I'll have one of my sons spruce up her gears then I'll take her to you, and she'll be yours. Which parking lot?"

Peach stared at the door, horrified. She didn't know what to think anymore. She didn't know what Bowser meant by that sentence, but she's not letting any male koopaling near her.

"Yeah, that parking lot's far from the public, so it'd be the best for both of us. She'll be yours forever."

At this point, Peach felt as if she was going to throw up. She didn't bother knocking on Bowser's door. He MUST be in on the plan of her parents' kidnappings; why would Bowser attempt to get rid of her by selling her?

Instead, she dashed down the stairs and into the south wing of the castle. At least Bowser showed her where the door was.

To her infinite relief, no koopatrol guards stood in sight. With no hesitation, she bursted through the doors and sprinted from the castle grounds. If Mario wasn't going to rescue her now, she'll just make her own way home. Too much was happening, and the Kingdom needed her steady hand in this unstable mess.

Meanwhile, with Bowser's phone conversation…

"Yes, she's all cleaned. The servants spent the day doing that yesterday. You can still inspect her once we get there."

"Why yes, that'd be marvelous, sir," the guy on the phone spoke in a posh accent, "9 in the morning tomorrow at the airport's parking lot it is?"

"Yes," Bowser accepted, "I can promise you: she will be the most luxurious, smooth doomship you'll ever pilot."

"It's a deal. I'll pay for it there, partner."

The two disconnected from the call. Bowser got up from his chair and plopped onto his bed. Tomorrow will be a busy day—perhaps in more ways than one, although he's unsure why.

End of Shard I: Foundations