The machine whirred and spat a tennis ball out across the court. Daisy swung her racket and missed. She wiped the tears from her face to see better and huffed.
"I can do this," she muttered. The machine replied with a THWOK and another ball sailed towards her. She fixed her eyes on the ball, concentrating, and whiffed the shot again.
Daisy howled in frustration. It was never this hard. The tournament was only in a few days and if she failed this time it meant everything was for nothing. That she was nothing.
The next ball shot towards her, but the sharp shriek of a window opening distracted her. The ball bounced right off her head and she threw down her racket in frustration.
Some boy climbed in through the window to her left. Scrawny, pointy nose, and dressed like a purple butler. Daisy stomped over to him, ready to beat him senseless.
"What do you think you're doing?!" she said. "This is a PRIVATE part of the palace and I am daughter to the Princess!"
The boy was breathless and panicked, as he should be. But he did not seem concerned with what Daisy was saying.
"Daisy, I know this won't make any sense to you right now, but we need to get out of here NOW."
She narrowed her eyes. "How do you know my name?"
The boy growled. "We don't have time to explain! We need to find Wanda and get out of here before the dream shifts!"
Daisy scoffed. "I'm not going anywhere! I'm in the middle of training!"
"That doesn't matter! None of this is real! Just trust me! Please!"
"This is absurd. How do you expect me to believe anything you're saying unless you explain yourself?"
The boy sighed. He seemed to want to avoid this. "We're in Subspace right now, the dark side of the Dream World. People aren't supposed to stay here for this long. Wanda is dreaming, so if we can find her before she wakes up then we can use her to get out of here!"
The world blinked. A ripple of black spread across the wall and enveloped the gymnasium. The boy flailed back in fright as the blackness surrounded them.
"Wahh! We took too long!" He turned toward Daisy, grabbing her by the hands. "I need you to listen! This is important!"
Daisy pulled back in shock, blushing at the sensation of his large hands around hers.
"I'm Waluigi. This isn't real. We're going to stop Wart and be heroes together! Remember that and you can break out of the nightmare!"
Daisy woke up in the orphanage.
Her head ached. She sat up, dizzy or feverish. Her heart raced but she did not know why.
The door opened and Chibibo scampered into the room.
"Wake up! The princess is here today! You're gonna miss it!"
Daisy looked at the dumb and familiar face of Chibibo and felt her panic start to subside. She swallowed. It must have all been a bad dream. She was at home and everything was fine. But part of her could not relax. Something about the nightmare felt incredibly important, something she must not forget. She tried to remember why, but the details sloughed off her brain. Something about a boy. He was upset and wanted something.
Chibibo stuck his head into view. "What's wrong? You look upset!"
"Shut up!" Daisy shoved him away. "I need to think!"
"Hey! Don't be mean to me! You made me PROMISE not to let you miss the Princess!"
That's right. The Princess was visiting today. This was Daisy's chance to be adopted and adopted by the coolest mom in the whole of Sarasaland. That was why she was so worked up, right?
The blood rushed to Daisy's head as she stepped out of bed. Her body felt wrong. It was too small, like she needed a Super Mushroom. Maybe she was sick. She staggered across the room to get ready for the princess, but that creepy feeling would not go away.
"Hurry!" Chibibo said. "She could get here at any minute!"
"Nuh-uh!" Daisy said. She had plenty of time. The Princess would not show up until they were all playing in the yard.
She dropped the big bow she was about to put on. How did she know when the princess would arrive? The feeling of dread swelled in the pit of her stomach. She could not tell the future, but she knew, knew for a fact, the princess did not visit until way later. Daisy turned toward the mirror. Something was strange. It was her, but she did not remember all of what she looked like back then. The longer she stared at her reflection, looking for detail, the more the image blurred.
"Don't you want to have breakfast?" Chibibo said.
"Shut up!" Daisy said.
The boy in the dream tried to warn her about something. Was it this? She touched the mirror and her head hurt trying to remember anything more. The harder she grasped for it the faster it drifted away.
"What's going on?!" she said.
"Don't yell!" Chibibo said, his face twisting into a sneer. "You have to be good if you want to be adopted. Do you think the princess will want you if you can't even behave?!"
"She doesn't care about that!" Daisy said. Mom did not care about being good, she cared about being the best. That's why she made all the kids race. She wanted someone who would not give up, no matter how hard it hurt or how hard she pushed. She wanted the kid who cared the most about winning.
Winning. Races. Go-karts. Sports. Tournaments. Rivals. Parties. There was someone else here who cared as much about winning as Daisy did. She beat and lost to that stupid boy so many times already and he was here, now.
"Where's Waluigi?!" Daisy said, startling Chibibo so hard he jumped. "Where are you hiding him?!"
The world blinked and Chibibo sighed. "It looks like someone needs another time out."
His body turned pitch black. He was a shadow, a silhouette. Darkness seeped out from his feet and crept across the floor and walls like rot. Daisy jumped back from it, climbing over the beds, and knocking over lamps to keep from touching it. She made it to the door, but the kitchen was no better. Ms. Peony stood stock still by the stove, a smiling red and white mask on her face, with a pot of porridge bubbling over with shadows that seeped into the backdrop of the world. Daisy glanced out the window and Bryony, Rose, Holly and everyone else were silhouettes standing in a yard already overcome with black. The only color was in the masks they wore. Daisy looked for anywhere else to run but it was too late. She retreated up the stairs as Subspace closed in around her and she was cornered. There was nowhere to run on the upper floor. Just bedrooms.
Daisy looked at the door to Ms. Peony's room. She had never been inside, not even once. Ms. Peony kept it locked and private. The only memory Daisy had was hearing her cry through the door on bad days. If this world was made from her memories, was there even anything on the other side? She tried the handle, it was locked. Daisy banged and kicked at the door, desperate. She pounded harder as veins of dark surrounded her.
The door gave way just as the black touched the hinges and frame and swung open. Daisy stepped through into a blinding white.