Hi guys! Thanks for reading my new chapter! I hope you enjoy it! Things get more exciting now as the mysterious voice tells Peach what it truly is... Thanks again for reading!
_
Peach cowered in fear as the dark spirit cackled, as the worst scenarios ran through her head. She noticed that the spirit was being distracted by the room around her, as it looked around at the room it had longed to be in for so many years. As it looked around, Peach made a run for it, but the spirit noticed her and muttered some words, and before she knew it, a tentacle made out of shadow extended out of the spirit, grabbing Peach and coiling around her like an anaconda, all the way up until it covered her mouth. It tightened, and Peach could no longer escape. The tentacle then started pulsing, and Peach felt more and more exhausted. Her body relaxed, and the spirit snickered.
"Now, now, Peach... You don't want to leave the main event, do you?" it said sarcastically. The tentacle disappeared, but Peach was too exhausted from it consuming her energy to even run. She collapsed to the floor, and the shadow cackled. Peach was suddenly surrounded by a dark aura, and the demon the same. Peach felt her body being dragged towards the spirit, and she tried to resist, but the darkness was too powerful. The spirit suddenly embraced her, but in an aggressive way. Peach felt the spirit force its way into her body, and she thrashed and thrashed, trying to escape. But the voice she knew so well returned, and even though she now knew the truth about it, it still calmed her. "Don't resist... It feels so good... Just let it all fade away..." the voice told her. "Why even try... It feels wonderful... Just let it all go... Let it fade away... The kidnappings, the pain, the world... Let it all go..." Peach finally gave in, and her head started spinning, spinning, spinning...
Peach opened her eyes, and she was in her castle again.
"Ho ho! You're finally awake Peach! Thank goodness!" Toadsworth said, standing over her bed. "We thought we lost you..."
"What happened?" Peach asked sleepily.
"From what we saw, you were on your way to the attic when you suddenly fainted. We brought you to your room, and you've been unconscious for the past 2 days." Toadsworth explained. The door created open, and Mario wandered in; upon seeing Peach he ran and hugged her.
"Peach! You're-a all right! I was so worried!" he cried out.
"Now, now, Master Mario, give the princess her space..." Toadsworth lightly nudged Mario and he let go of Peach, tears in his eye. "Peach, we ought to visit the doctor, just to be safe. Master Mario and I will leave, so you get changed, ok? I will be waiting in the lobby." Toadsworth said, and Mario nodded in agreement.
"Ok. I'll see you soon..." Peach responded, and both Toadsworth and Mario left the room. As they left, Peach got out of bed, slipped into her ruby heels, and opened her wardrobe. She got a clean version of her usual dress out, and as she put it on, her shadow yet again distorted into the darker Peach.
"Hello again, Peach..." Dark Peach said calmly.
"W-what are you doing here?!" Peach shouted. "Wait... If you're here... Then does that mean that all the stuff that happened was real?"
"Indeed it was... After I took over your body, you entered this eternal dream..." she explained.
"Get out of my body! Let me out of here!" Peach screamed, but her darker self stayed perfectly calm.
"Oh, I won't be doing that... And you like it here, really..." Dark Peach told her. It still miraculously calmed Peach, and she started to feel less angry. "Just think about it... You can live here with Mario forever... Just you and him... No Bowser... No kidnappings... Just you and your peaceful kingdom..." Peach was tempted, but she wasn't going to leave the real world behind. The other Peach could sense this, and calmed Peach even more. "Why bother with the real world? It's full of pain... But you've got a chance to leave it... And live peacefully... Just let go... It's so lovely here... Just you and Mario... And Luigi and Daisy... You can enjoy yourself without being taken away..." Peach became more and more tempted, and she started to realise how lovely life would be in this world. "That's right... Just let it all slip away... Just surrender to it... It'll all be fine..." Peach finally surrendered.
"I-I surrender my body to you..." Peach whispered.
"Yesss... Goood... Now, as a reward, you may ask any questions you like..." the darker Peach told her.
"O-ok... Who are you?" Peach asked.
"I... Am the Nightmare Queen..." it told her. "I am an immortal spirit who deserves to rule this pathetic world..."
"Where do you come from?" Peach asked.
"When the world was created, I was as well..." the Nightmare Queen explained. "I'm sure you're aware that for there to be balance, there must be both good and bad..."
"Why did you mention Paper Peach when I first met you?" asked Peach.
"Just as you have a Paper counterpart... I do as well..." the queen told her. "Mine is called the Shadow Queen... And even though we are from different worlds, we were banished to the same depths of darkness 1,000 years ago..." she spoke. "However, when the book containing their world opened, the seal for my crystal prison was weakened, as my counterparts creations, the Crystal Stars, landed near me..." she said. "I knew that this Paper Peach had caused my fellow witch's downfall, so I gave her some nightmares... Before she returned to her world, I manifested myself in your mind..." she finished.
"Wow. Why does the Dark Star listen to you?" Peach questioned.
"Because... I created it... The palace was once my own, before those foolish Star Sprites trapped me there..." the Nightmare Queen explained.
"That's all I've got..." Peach said, finished with her questions.
"Goood... You can stay here now... Goodbye..." the queen explained. She disappeared, and Peach walked through the doors, happy to be stuck in her own world for eternity...
