Moving on from Verdant Valley, Shadow and Peach headed down to Soda Lake. There was still plenty of grass here, but there were also large swaths of marshy areas, too. As a matter of fact, the first patch of marshland nearly got them into trouble when a Piranha Plant popped out of a patch of tall grass, and were it not for Shadow's Hedgehog Sense, they would've been its supper. However, as it stood, the Piranha Plant got blown away, and Shadow and Peach were able to move on.

Coming to an area of shorter grass, they not only encountered a group of Goombas, but a Rex as well, the latter becoming Shadow's latest victim. For some reason, he found it oddly satisfying to put a .44 Magnum round between the Rex's eyes. Usually, he considered killing as nothing more than business, so he had to wonder. After dispatching a few more Goombas and a Koopa Troopa, Shadow's Hedgehog Sense alerted him and Peach to an incoming Koopa Paratroopa, which proved to be just as easily dispatched as ordinary Koopa Troopas.

During this killing fest, Shadow wondered how Peach could kill other living beings and not curl up in the fetal position by now. Sure, she'd been plenty shocked when she first witnessed him blow away a Goomba, but other than that, she seemed to be willing to at least go along with the idea of shooting an enemy to death. Nevertheless, he decided that if she ever did get a nasty case of PTSD or anything like that somewhere down the road, he was going to do whatever he could to soothe her shattered nerves. Granted, he still didn't like her 100%, but even so, Maria had made him promise to give all of the people on this planet a chance to be happy, and Peach's happiness mattered, too. That aside, Shadow blasted another Rex and moved on.

Soon enough, Shadow and Peach came to another area of tall grass. Aside from having to deal with Piranha Plants popping out of the grass, there were some Paragoombas swooping in on them.

"Princess, you take those flying pests! I'll deal with the plants!"

Peach obeyed Shadow's command and picked the Paragoombas out of the sky as best as she could. Being unarmored, they had no chance against .40 S&W bullets. Similarly, the Piranha Plants – like all other opponents they'd faced thus far – did poorly against .44 Magnum rounds. Just as they were exiting this patch of tall grass, Shadow's Hedgehog Sense tingled again, and he pushed Peach aside just in time to save her from a Chargin' Chuck that was throwing baseballs at them. However, Shadow struck it out with a .44 Magnum round and moved on.

After capping a couple more Chargin' Chucks, Shadow and Peach saw another castle in the distance, surrounded by a large swath of lake. A large green pipe was on shore as well.

"Do you want to swim across or go down that pipe?" asked Shadow.

"Let's go down the pipe," replied Peach.

Shadow nodded and entered the warp pipe, and Peach followed.

Shadow and Peach found themselves in an underground cave, which was lit up just enough for them to be able to navigate without flashlights or night vision, but not as well as Iggy's castle. After capping a Goomba and moving on, Shadow and Peach encountered a Buzzy Beetle. However, even with all its firepower, the .44 Magnum round couldn't penetrate the Buzzy Beetle's shell; the bullet merely bounced off and caused the creature to retreat inside its shell.

"Damn it!" exclaimed Shadow. "How am I supposed to kill those pests!?"

"Why don't you aim for the head?" said Peach.

"For once, you made a useful suggestion."

Shortly after Shadow and Peach's convo, the Buzzy Beetle re-emerged from its shell and kept walking. However, Shadow blew its head off and moved on with Peach. A few Swoopers attempted to drop in on their fun, but these proved to be easier pickings than the Buzzy Beetles. Shadow enjoyed spelunking more than navigating the surface of Soda Lake because he didn't have to deal with the Piranha Plants popping out of tall grass. Granted, none of those could actually harm him, but he did have Peach to think about, too. Another item of concern for the two heroes were some pools of water that they would come across with Cheep Cheeps that would jump out at them. Fortunately, these too were vulnerable to the heroes' pistols.

Shadow reminded himself to get some fish and chips when he could.

Overall, though a bit tougher than Verdant Valley, Soda Lake was proving to be another easy jaunt for Shadow and Peach. Shadow was even thinking that it was a good idea to give Peach firearms training after all. Even if Rouge was right about the Princess not being "a badass warrior guy" like him, she seemed to be able to handle herself in combat situations, something that he admired about her. Granted, he still wasn't 100% fond of her, but she was growing on him nevertheless.

After their little jaunt through the cave, Shadow and Peach came upon another warp pipe, which they entered. This one took them just outside the castle that they'd seen before entering the pipe.

"Ready, Princess?"

Peach nodded. Without further ado, they entered the castle.

The castle that Peach and Shadow entered proved to be just as well-lit as Iggy's castle…that is, better than the cave they went through, but not totally illuminated. After they'd jumped over another Fire Bar and dispatched another Koopa Troopa, Shadow and Peach were going to proceed, but Shadow's Hedgehog Sense prompted him to stop Peach, and it was just in time: a Thwomp hit the ground in front of them with an aggressive "ergh!" As the Thwomp was retracting itself, Shadow and Peach took the opportunity to run under it before it could pound the ground again. Shortly after this, they came to another Thwomp, which just missed them as well. However, presenting an additional challenge was the fact that they also had to deal with a lava pit after that particular Thwomp, which had a Podoboo jumping out of it. Paying close attention to the timings, Shadow did his best to help Peach get through this. They managed to get over the lava pit without getting squished by the Thwomp or singed by the Podoboo, but another Thwomp came down as soon as they alighted on that platform.

"YIKES!"

As the result of this surprise Thwomp, Peach lost her balance and nearly fell into the lava pit. Luckily, Shadow grabbed her and ran with her, just managing to avoid the Thwomp as it came back down. Dodging a couple more Fire Bars, they came upon a Dry Bones, which Shadow blew apart with his Model 29. However, his Hedgehog Sense told him that it was going to reconstitute itself, so him and Peach ducked into a nearby door.

Almost immediately, they came upon a Thwomp in this hall. However, it wasn't anything they couldn't dodge, though two more Dry Bones were waiting for them on the other side of this one. Rather than waste a bullet on either of them, however, Shadow simply punched them, and Peach followed him.

A few Thwomps and Dry Bones later, they came upon another door and entered. In this hall, things were a bit darker, but they still had enough light to see. Thus far, Shadow sensed no Thwomps, but there was a Dry Bones coming at them, which he roundhouse kicked against a wall before going up some stairs. Him and Peach nearly got clobbered by a Fire Bar from above, but they managed to dodge it and get to the top. And so it went here, having to dodge some Fire Bars, clobber Dry Bones and get well clear of them before they reformed, all while climbing some stairs. Peach wondered why anyone would put themselves through this on a regular basis, but on the other hand, she figured it was worth it if it meant that decent, hard-working, law-abiding citizens could sleep at night. Eventually, after busting up another Dry Bones, Shadow and Peach came upon a large red door, which they entered.

"Hey Princess, what are ya doin' here!?" said another Koopaling. "Shouldn't ya be with Bowser!?"

"The old me would've been helpless towards his advances, but I've changed!" said Peach. "I've got one life, and I'm going to live it up!"

"Now, tell me your name before we send you to your inevitable defeat," said Shadow.

"I'm Morton Koopa Jr., and if you think you're gonna defeat me, ya got another thing comin'!"

Morton charged at Shadow and Peach. However, before he could reach the two, Shadow raised his hand.

"CHAOS SPEAR!"

Shadow shot a Chaos Spear at Morton, which while not powerful enough to kill the Koopaling, was enough to knock him on his back and almost fry his internal organs. Shadow jogged over to him and pointed his Model 29 at Morton's head.

"Unless you want me to put a bullet through that small brain of yours, I suggest you start talking about Bowser's latest plan," said Shadow.

"Look, all I know is that Bowser ain't actin' alone this time!" said Morton. "I don't know anything else! Ya gotta believe me!"

Shadow gave a death glare to Morton.

"Congratulations." Shadow lowered his Model 29. "You get to live."

Shadow turned around and left Morton where he was, and Peach followed.

By the time Shadow and Peach left Morton's castle, the sun had nearly set below the horizon. Peach yawned and stretched.

"Tired, Princess?"

"Quite. Why don't we find somewhere to camp for the night?"

"Do you have a tent with you?"

Peach nodded. "As a matter of fact, I do. It should be large enough for both of us."

"Then why don't we camp out on the shore of the lake?"

Peach smiled. "Good idea!"

And so, Shadow and Peach headed down to the nearest shoreline of Soda Lake. Peach then pulled out a tent from her backpack.

"Could you please help me with the tent?" asked Peach.

Shadow nodded, and the two proceeded to set up the tent. After they'd cleaned their pistols again, Peach took off her socks, shoes, hair tie, earrings and crown. Figuring that she wanted to bathe in the lake, Shadow loosened his Inhibitor Rings and proceeded to take off his socks, shoes and gloves, trying his best not to watch Peach disrobe. He then took a combination shampoo/body wash from his backpack, took a dip in the lake and started washing himself. Though he tried his best, eventually, he ended up sneaking a peek at Peach as she was bathing in the lake. There he stood, unable to turn his eyes away as he saw her silhouette against the sunset-kissed sky. It was in this moment that he thought about how beautiful she was and how lucky a guy like Mario was to have her. Granted, she wasn't as voluptuously built as Rouge, but she still had a nice, womanly figure. How she could form an open relationship and see the good in Shadow was beyond him. Nevertheless, the Ultimate Life Form appreciated the fact that she had enlisted his help for this quest and was willing to step up and be more than a damsel in distress. In fact, her fighting spirit sort of reminded him of Rouge.

After snapping out of his little trance, Shadow proceeded to finish washing himself, though he stayed in the water a little longer because he enjoyed the cooling sensation. Soon, he left the water and dried off. While drying off, Shadow could hear the sound of Peach using her hair dryer, presumably powered by a portable battery pack of some sort. While she was doing this, Shadow brushed his teeth and flossed, after which he looked out at the sunset while waiting for Peach to finish drying off. It hadn't been 24 hours, but the Ultimate Life Form found himself starting to miss Rouge. Sure, he did have times when he just wanted to be away from the whole world, but Rouge was the one woman who believed in him when no one else did, and he hoped that she was OK right now.

"Oh Shadow!"

Shadow blinked before turning to face Peach, who was wearing a sheer pink nightgown.

"Yes?" said Shadow.

"Are you ready for bed?" asked Peach.

"I am."

"Then why don't we go in the tent and snuggle with each other?"

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me…what?"

"Hey, I just want to snuggle with you for the night!"

"Look…Princess…I appreciate the offer, but should we really do that?"

"Shadow, you saved my life today! That was a very sweet thing of you to do, and I'd like to return the favor to you!"

"Really…I'm glad you think so highly of me, but…

Peach knelt down and put her hands on Shadow's shoulders.

"Please?" said Peach.

Shadow looked into Peach's eyes. No matter how hard he tried, he found that the whole "blonde hair + blue eyes" look was too appealing to him, so he sighed.

"All right, Princess, I'll snuggle with you."

"Oh, thank you!"

Without question, Peach took Shadow's hand and led him into the tent. She climbed into a pink sleeping bag, and he slid in with her, after which she wrapped her arms around him.

"Wow, you're really cuddly!" said Peach.

"Thanks, you're really nice to hold, too," said Shadow.

"Awww, you're welcome! Have a good night, Shadow!"

"Hold on, there was one thing I wanted to ask before we went to sleep…"

"Yes?"

"You have such beautiful hair. What's your secret?"

"I use this specially-imported shampoo/conditioner! Usually, Toadette styles my hair, but I can do it myself, too!"

"Interesting. Have a good night, Princess."

"You too, Shadow!"

Thus, Shadow and Peach went to sleep. Actually, Shadow used this time to make an entry in his journal:

"Dear Journal: Today was like almost any other day I have at Rouge's mansion…that is, until she gave me a letter from Princess Peach of all people. In short, the Princess needed my assistance with an urgent matter, namely, an evil plot of Bowser's. I really didn't want to do this, but Princess Peach is a very good person and Maria made me promise to give everybody on this planet a chance to be happy, so I really had no choice. However, I knew that this quest was going to be dangerous, so I taught her how to use firearms. She seemed to be a decent shot in spite of the fact that she hadn't used a gun before.

Going into combat, however, was another matter. The first time she saw me blow away a Goomba with my Smith & Wesson, she was utterly shocked. I understand that ordinary mortals aren't always used to the sight of people getting shot, but still, the Princess was overly sensitive in my opinion. Even so, she went along with me through Verdant Valley and managed to shoot other living beings without crying like a little girl. She did, however, criticize me for the way I interrogated Iggy Koopa. Seriously, if she disagrees with my methods that much, then her and the Mushroom Kingdom can go to Hell for all I care. On the other hand, she called me 'handsome' and gave me a hug, so I guess she's not all bad.

After supper, we cleaned our guns and kicked some major ass at Soda Lake. We confronted another Koopaling named Morton Jr., who told us that Bowser wasn't acting alone, which makes me wonder what he's up to this time. Whatever it is, I'm sure we'll kick his pathetic ass. That aside, after bathing in the lake, the Princess insisted upon snuggling with me for the night. I wasn't too enthused about the idea at first, but the way she said 'please', I couldn't resist. Besides, she's the most beautiful woman on this planet."

Overall, Shadow had an all right time sleeping…that is, until he had an all-too-familiar dream about running through the labyrinthine hallways of the Space Colony ARK. As usual, a gunshot rang out when he got to the escape pod, and he heard a familiar voice…

"Shadow, I beg of you…please, do it for me! For all of the people on that planet…give them a chance to be happy! Let them live for their dreams…for a better future!"

Shadow turned to see who was addressing him, and he wished he hadn't…

"PEACH!"

Shadow sprang awake from this awful nightmare, panting and sweating, only to find that Peach was still in his arms, sleeping peacefully. Once he'd stopped panting, he tightened his grip on her and shed some tears as he tried to go back to sleep.

(Princess…don't leave me.)

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.