Foreword: Sorry I haven't updated lately, especially compariably with the last update. I've been without internet time after time...and discovering new fanfics and fandoms I enjoy. But don't worry, I really like this story, so I'm sticking to it. :)

I like this one pretty much. I had fun writing it and making the characters for this. I hope that shows. :) And I hope you all like it too!

Peach's head was ringing so loudly, so fiercely, she swore the bells of St. Toad's were bursting out of them. She Mumbled and massaged her head as the ringing died down, finally easing her eyes open, the black she had encountered for who knows how long fading away. When her eyes were finally opened she saw, directly on top of her chest, the most unwelcome sight of a small blue spider on her chest, grinning through a few missing or golden teeth.

Shrieking, Peach backed up against the headboard of the bed she was lain on. She waved a flimsy hand at the spider and it looked at her with a look she could have sworn was one of hurt feelings and skittered off her to the bed-stand by her. "Esscuse me, mees," the spider spoke, "boot you're not even s'posed to be awek yet."

Peach looked at the talking spider with confusion. "What…what do you mean?"

"Ah meen, ze folk in charge of tellin' me where to gu said I's put ze film on table and leave an' you bees slepen still. But you're awek!" The spider furrowed his brow. "Well I s'pose I wasn't s'posed to tek en hour lunch break till afta givin' you ze film. An' I s'pose I shoulda left right afta given eet, not stayed 'round te watch'u. Zat might be why's you're awek."

The spider nodded decisively and turned to scurry down the bedside table. Peach stopped him. "Wait! What film?" The spider looked at the princess in surprise.

"Ze one zat says 'When you're awek, watch me', o'course! Zat I put on ze table." The spider glanced around the table, black wood with nothing but himself and the princess's hand on it. He felt his blue face turn pink. "I s'pose I didn't bring it, deed I? I go get eet."

Peach laughed a little as the tiny spider rushed out the room. As her eyes followed him, it hit her- she wasn't anywhere she was supposed to be. "Where…am I?" she said to herself. The bed she was on was covered in red satin sheets, the stone headboard carved with the royal crest of Bowser's face. Peach gasped. No…no, it can't be…She looked around the room more. The room was in shades of black and red, surprisingly more comforting than eerie shades of them. The curtains were drawn, and closed formed the royal symbol yet again. The door the spider had rushed out of also had the symbol and there was no mistaking whose castle would have ceiling lights rimmed with spikes.

She was under the claw of Bowser again.

A great lump formed in her throat and she felt herself growing weak. Oh no, not now, please, great stars, not now! She fell back and grabbed one of the memory-foam pillows scattered on the bed, pressing it into her face. I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming…any minute now I'll wake up and be at the airport for my vacation…Peach knew wishing was pointless. She was captured and at the whim of a great, stupid, koopa and apparently, a talking blue spider.

The door creaked open and Peach looked up from the pillow, her face indent quickly fading. The spider was carrying a movie case slightly bigger than himself with two of his legs. He wobbled several feet to the sides under the weight and missing security of two of his legs. Ignoring the pain her heart felt at being kidnapped, Peach's instincts kicked into gear and she climbed off the bed and lifted the film from the spider. He flashed her his grin, with missing and golden teeth, and said, "Thank ya kindly, mees. A'll show you how te put ze film on." The spider scurried up the bed and pressed a few buttons on the TV and told Peach to place the 'film', as he kept calling it, in the DVD slot. She did and the screen buzzed to life. Staring out at her from the television and confirming her fears was King Bowser.

Bowser's image looked disgruntled until a hushed voice from off-screen was heard to say "Go, go, go!" Bowser glared in the direction the sound had come from in the recording and mumbled, "now?" The off-screen voice seethed a yes and Bowser snapped back to face the camera.

"If you're watching this, you're awake. Right? Yeah. So good morning. You probably noticed you're not at the airport by now. So where are you? I'm going to tell you. Please stay calm, I don't like it when people scream. And it's not my fault. It's really not! So…yeah. Keep calm. Anyway. It will probably surprise you, but you're in my castle. Bowser's castle."

Peach rolled her eyes at the recording. Sarcastically, she seethed, "Thanks for telling me, the narration and room décor gave me no clue at all."

The little blue spider looked up at the Princess. "Who ya talkin' te?" Peach quickly felt foolish and almost disrespectful. Once the king's face had appeared, she had forgotten her fear- it seemed safer with Bowser present, Mario would come, she would leave, life would return to normal. She stared back at the television. Surprisingly, she hadn't missed anything. Apparently Bowser had expected her to have a reaction- just probably not one of sarcasm.

"Yeah, like I said, in my castle. But this time it really is my castle. So no plumber's gonna come blow it up, cause no one's gonna rescue you. You don't need to be rescued, right? Yeah, you're on vacation, no one rescues people from vacations. Yeah…Except Junior, but that was different…" Bowser cleared his throat nervously. Peach blinked. Nervously? What was he nervous for? "Anyway. My kids were the ones that got you without my permission. They thought they were clever, they were clever but I didn't want them to get you, you got that? I didn't want them to kidnap you, because…that would be bad. Yeah. My castles get blown up when you get kidnapped, which is why no plumbers coming, because I don't want my palace blown up and all…"

Peach couldn't keep herself from giggling. He rambled like a toddler making almost no sense, nervous for reasons Peach was yet to figure out. He continued, looking quite annoyed at himself. He, apparently, realized he was rambling as well.

"ANYWAY!" A tiny flame flew out of his mouth and onto the notes Bowser had been holding and crinkling in his strange anxiety, igniting them on the corner. Bowser seemed to just get angrier at this development, attempting to blow the tiny flicker out and only igniting the notes more. In anger, he shook the papers and crunched them into a ball. Peach could hear the cameraman chortling under his breath, and apparently the Koopa King could as well. "What're you laughing at?" Bowser snarled, throwing the charred paper at his head. He stared at the camera and continued, his voice almost seething.

"Here's what it's down to, Princess. You're here. Not my fault. You're staying here. No one's coming to get you. They think you're on vacation, that's where you are. You're gonna be happy, I'm gonna be happy, it'll all be just peachy." Bowser stopped his speech and Peach saw a smile forming on the corner of his lips. Bowser grabbed the seat's back and peered over it to off-screen. "Did you here that, Kammy? Peachy? Funny, huh? Cause her name's peach, and I said Peachy…"

"Yes, your majesty, it was very funny. Keep going with the speech."

Bowser frowned. "You just don't appreciate good humor." He turned back to the camera. "Where was I? Oh yeah…my kids said you're due for return on Saturday or whatever. We'll take you there. I promise. And Kings don't break their promises."

The recording shut off and the spider grinned at Peach. "Now I get ze maid." He skittered off the bed and out the door. Peach watched him leave and frowned, letting everything Bowser said sink in. How stupid she had been to leave! She knew she'd be in trouble, what a lecture she'd be getting from Toadsworth…Toadsworth!

Peach's luggage hadn't arrived yet, but her purse sat nearby. She grabbed it and dug for her cell-phone. A tongue-lashing from Toadsworth and a saving from Mario would be better than anything she expected to get by staying at Bowser's Palace. She grabbed her cell-phone and turned it on, noting a few missed messages. She ignored them and pressed speed-dial for the castle back home and pressed the phone up to her ear.

There wasn't even ringing. A few dissonant notes toned in Peach's ear and an operator came on-line, even that message fuzzy. "The…cay-tion you are….ttemptin…ake a call fro…no reception…cannot be may…please try agai…nother loca-" The message crackled and finally died. Angrily, Peach glared at the phone, flashing messages she didn't care to read. Peach clenched her eyes closed as she filled in the gaps fuzzy reception had covered.

Peach opened her eyes and threw the useless phone to the floor. She rifled through her purse, feeling for her GPS. They would come…they would come. It would be normal, life would be fine again. But her search was to no avail…the GPS was gone. Tears filled Peach's eyes. Oh stars, what have I done? I put myself up to this…

Peach grabbed the phone again and, with a wavering finger, pressed "ok" to clear the message informing her calls could not be made or received. But it wasn't "ok", it wasn't "ok" with her at all…but she desperately needed to see her background. Her background was a familiar image- herself and Mario in front of the castle. How foolish she had been, to want away from that. She had left her home to get some peace and deserved what she got. There was nothing she could do and nothing Mario, or anyone for that matter, would or could do. She wiped tears out of her eyes and thrust the phone to the side again.

Her door cracked open and a koopa, donned in maid attire and rolling in her luggage in shifts, came in the room. Peach watched her wheel it all in and smile. "You can help me put this stuff away in a bit. Don't want you livin' out of a suitcase, now do we?" She brushed a bit of dust off one of the suitcases and smiled again. "I'm supposed to get you whatever you'd like while you settle in, courtesy of His Majesty."

Peach avoided the kind maid's eyes. "Whatever I'd like? I'd like to go home, thank you very much."

The maid walked over and sat on the bed next to the princess. Silently, Peach marveled at the unorthodox action. She might like this maid. "That's not very courteous, you just got here," the maid told her.

"It doesn't matter, I'm already sick of it."

"You haven't even left your room yet!"

Peach inspected her hands, trying to hide the guilt. The maid's next words pinned her home so hard, it made her cringe.

"The only reason you're upset is because you're under Bowser's control. If it was anyone else, even Grodus, you wouldn't be so horrified. You know Bowser does his best to make you happy and it's that very reason you make yourself unhappy whenever he's involved in whatever he may be involved with. Selective hate isn't a very admirable trait in a princess, or anyone for that matter."

Peach wasn't sure she liked the maid so much now.

After a pause, the maid spoke again. "So you're here for vacation?"

"Not here for vacation, no."

"But you left your castle to go on a vacation, right?"

"Yeah."

"Where were you gonna go?"

Peach faced the maid. "Look, if you're trying to do small-talk, I'm not in the mood."

The maid just repeated her question.

"I don't know. Somewhere warm."

"It's warm here."

Peach blinked slowly. "Sure, but being captured by a psychotic lizard wasn't exactly what I was thinking."

The maid stared down the Princess. "He's not psychotic."

"What did you say?"

"I said, King Bowser isn't crazy. He's brilliant. What's wrong with that?"

"What's not wrong with that?"

The maid glared at Peach with a look like an upset mother defending her child from another's mockery. "I don't want to argue with you about how your selective hate clouds your vision, okay? Anyway," the maid said, "what were you looking for in your vacation?"

Peach bit back cruel remarks she assumed the maid wouldn't appreciate. She paused and thought about an answer. "Peace. Everywhere I go I'm flanked by guards and attendants. 'Miss Peach, don't do that!' 'Miss Peach, don't touch that!' 'Miss Peach, you are forbidden to have any fun!' I wanted to go somewhere where nobody cared about me so much I couldn't do anything.

The maid gave a crooked smile. "Then I suppose this place might not be so good for you. We're all crazy about Princess Peach."

Peach pointed a finger at the maid. "You mean Bowser's crazy about Princess Peach."

The maid laughed. "Well, yeah, but we still respect you a whole lot more than we do most world leaders, whether or not you respect us back. And yes, that's partially due to all the things we hear about you from His Majesty. But it's that respect that will keep us from pestering you. Unless, of course, His Majesty wants us to. Then it's a completely different matter."

The maid started to laugh, but ended with a cough when she saw Peach didn't find humor in it. The maid looked at Peach. Softly, she said, "We all want you to enjoy yourself. King Bowser more than anybody. He may not be upset you're here, but it certainly wasn't his fault you're here and he wants you to be happy. So, on his behalf; is there anything you'd like to make yourself feel more comfortable?"

Peach blinked. She sighed. The most she could do is try to be happy- the words the maid said about "selective hate" had stung her- it had always been her goal to be an example of fairness and compassion and strived to make sure no one was treated unfairly because of who they were on the outside or what they'd done in the past. Why had Bowser always been an exception?

"I'd like a glass of plain water, please."

"What kind?"

Peach was used to this question, her castle had more flavors of unflavored water than she could count. "Do you have Himayoshin Stream?"

The maid inhaled between clenched teeth. "Yeah, but it's imported so it's a little stale. May I suggest Black Pool? Very crisp this time of year."

"Sure." The maid nodded and started to leave. "Wait, what's your name?"

The maid smiled. She hadn't been asked that by a visitor for a long, long time. "Valkoopy." She started to leave again, but was stopped.

"Valkoopy?" The maid turned to face the princess. "Thanks. Thanks a lot."

As Valkoopy closed the door behind her, she knew Peach meant that about more than the water.

xxxx0o0o0o0o0o0o0xxxx

Morton Jr. was upset. Since he had left the interview room earlier in the day, he had been complimented twice, he had been offered ice-cream willingly, no one was crying or screaming at him, and he had a delicious sandwich just a while ago with nothing to complain about. It was a horrid day so far.

He grumbled past a hallway, his father's face dozens times over staring at him from the stone walls. He hadn't gotten any homework for the weekend, but that meant he couldn't complain about it either. He stared at an ant scurrying over the stone floor. Morton smiled and looked around the hallway. To his disappointment, he didn't see anyone walking past.

Angry at a missed chance to show his prowess, he picked up a loose rock and chucked in the direction of the tiny ant, the rock shattering and a bit landing on the insect. Morton gasped. After checking to be sure no one could see him, he rushed over and picked the ant up. "Hey, Ant-face," he snarled, poking the ant and trying to make sure it hadn't been crushed. "Bug-eyed buggy butt, move your buggy butt...Please?" He poked the ant again and it started darting around his claw. Morton smiled and lowered his claw closer to the ground.

As he was doing so, a door creaked open and a maid stepped into the hall. She glanced at the koopaling setting the ant free. Morton was petrified. Had she seen him? Quickly, he dumped the ant on the ground, stood up, and ground his footclaw as hard as he could on top of the insect he had tried so hard to keep alive.

The maid paid no regard either way, as if she hadn't even seen the young koopaling. Morton snarled and almost starting shouting insults at her for not seeing him crush the ant when he heard his name being called.

He turned around to see Lemmy running over to him. "Morton, Morton," he called again. Lemmy panted as he approached his brother and showed something to him.

Lemmy was holding a wooden replica of their father. It had a strip of wood on its shell that could be lifted to make its jaw drop to expose metal innards. The wooden replica was taller than but not as wide as their father, yet still unmistakable.

"What is it, Morton?"

Morton peered at the statue. "It's a nutcracker, stupid-head."

Lemmy turned the nutcracker around and looked at it with his good eye. "What does it do?"

"What do you think, clownboy? Cracks nuts."

Lemmy's mouth formed an 'o'. "That makes sense." He fiddled with some spikes on the nutcracker. "But Morton, what does this do?"

"What does what do, stupid?" Morton leaned over to see what Lemmy was pointing at curiously. Lemmy pushed one of the spikes in and the nutcracker being to make clicking and hissing noises. "Lemme see it."

He grabbed the nutcracker out of Lemmy's hands and inspected it from head to toe. As he was peering at the mouth, Lemmy decided to lift the wooden flap on the shell and see what would happen.

As the Bowser Nutcracker opened its mouth, they realized what the clicking was. A flame shot out of Bowser's mouth and scorched Morton's face. Morton roared in pain and swiped the nutcracker out of Lemmy's hand, causing it to fall on his own foot.

Now using some of his elementary insults in pain, Morton kicked the nutcracker off his foot and lunged at Lemmy. He swung his clenched fists and his brother's face, his eyes scrunched close in pain.

He missed horribly the first try, the second swing brushing through Lemmy's Mohawk, and the third landing squarely on his jaw. Aggravated at the attack, Lemmy kicked his brother's shin.

The two scuffled harder, Morton finally grabbing the nutcracker and beating his brother over the head with it. It was then that Kammy walked into the hallway.

"What under Star Haven is going on here?" she bellowed, firing sparks into the air from her wand.

The two brothers quit fighting and Lemmy quickly thrusted a finger in Morton's direction, while Morton pointed the now splintered nutcracker at Lemmy in retaliation.

Kammy's eyes went wide. "Is that your father's nutroaster?" She raced over and yanked the broken nutcracker out of Morton's claw. She ran her hand over it in sadness before glaring at the boys. While shaking the nutcracker at them, she shouted, "You two are going to be in so much trouble!"

Lemmy gasped. "He started it! He kicked me!"

Morton snarled. "Only because Lemmy burnt me!"

Lemmy faced his brother. "You shouldn't have stuck your face in the fire!"

Morton spat in anger, "You think I meant to do that, stupid-face? I bet you burnt me on purpose, stupid-face!"

Kammy fired more sparks. "Boys! Shut up already! If your father was here, he'd-"

"I'd what?" Bowser stepped into the hallway with perfect timing. He glanced casually at his boys, one spitting blood with a blackened eye, the other with scraped knees and a burnt face. "I'd what, Kammy?"

Kammy looked petrified at the king's sudden presence. Quickly she calmed. "Sire, your sons ruined your nutroaster and beat each other up!"

Bowser looked a bit confused. "Why'd they do that?"

Morton snarled, "He burnt me."

"It was an accident!" Lemmy burst into tears. "It was an accident, Daddy!"

Bowser frowned at Lemmy. "Don't cry. It's stupid."

Kammy looked at her king. "Aren't you going to punish them, sire?"

Bowser looked at her. "Looks to me like they already punished each other. And I never liked that nutcracker anyway."

Kammy looked hurt. "Sire…I gave that to you for Christmas one year!"

"So?" Bowser faced his boys again. "Hey Lemmy, did Morton say you burnt him?" Through tears, Lemmy nodded. "With fire?"

Lemmy nodded again. "With the nutcracker-thing.

Bowser frowned. "Not your breath?" Lemmy was slightly behind his siblings in producing a decent flame.

Lemmy shook his head. "That would be mean."

"So?" Bowser growled. "At least you fought like a good koopa the rest of the time. Go to the nurse." Kammy turned to escort them, but Bowser stopped her. "Hey Hag, let them go themselves."

Kammy spun on her heels. Hotly, she said, "Excuse me, your evilness, but how do you know they'll even go to the nurse? They might go hide or have another fight, sire."

Bowser snarled, "Because that would be stupid. They're not that stupid." The king stopped himself. "Actually, you're right. You'd better go with." Bowser watched the three leave, Kammy lecturing the boys and telling them what she would do if punishment was up to her. Bowser shook his head and turned to keep on his path.

As he walked, he noticed a splatter of ant-guts on the ground. He blinked at it and peered down both directions of the deserted hallway. Seeing no-one, the mighty Koopa King bent down and covered the dead bug with some of the dust around. He then continued on his way.

xxxx0o0o0o0o0o0o0xxxx

Daisy was sitting on her fluffy queen-sized bed draped in yellow cloth. She was dressed in nothing but a nightgown and clutching a cream yellow pillow, watching her favorite horror film, Boo. She leaned over the pillow, the laced edges tickling her dropped jaw. To her horror, just as the movie went silent to add dramatic effect, her phone rang.

Daisy screamed and threw her pillow at the television, watching it quiver from the effect. While the pillow flew through the air, a white blur flashed on the screen. Being already startled, the Boo didn't scare her at all. She sighed and rolled her eyes at herself, grabbing the remote and paused the movie. The phone rang for a second time. Why is it that I can go through being captured by maniacs, see my kingdom and my cousin's uprooted and terrorized, and hear about my boyfriend's certain death without flinching, but I my phone can't ring during Boo without me jumping out of my skin?

Daisy composed herself and grabbed the telephone, speaking as regally as she could. "Sarrassa Land Castle, Princess Daisy speaking."

She recognized Toadsworth's panicked and yet stern voice on the other end instantly. "Miss Daisy? Is there something you need to tell me about Princess Peach?"

Daisy wracked her brain. "Umm, not that I can think of, Toadsy. What do you mean?"

"I think you know perfectly well what I mean, wot!"

Daisy sighed. "Ya know, I actually don't. Would you mind telling me what this is about? Channing Toadum's character is about to get eaten by the King Boo, so keep it choppy."

"Don't try and be smart with me, lady! This is serious! And of course you know what I'm talking about, why else would Princess Peach tell me to tell you that she did what I know she's told you before, eh?"

Daisy blinked impatiently. She spoke slowly, as if it would help Toadsworth realize what was going on faster or something. "Look. I don't know what's going on. And you're hurting my head. Can't I just talk to Peach?"

Toadsworth practically exploded. "Talk to her? Talk to her? Are you blinkin' serious, m'lady? Peach is gone, you should blinkin' well know that! And I expect you to tell me where, Daisy!"

Daisy laughed. "Are you for serious? You don't remember? She's at Grand Canal with Mario, do-do."

Toadsworth was silent momentarily. For the few seconds of peace she had, Daisy wondered if her phone had gone dead. Then he spoke, his voice scratchy and quiet. "You…don't know what she did?"

Daisy almost felt nervous. She glanced suspiciously at the television, a soul-snatching Boo staring back at her, frozen in pause. "No, Toadsy, I don't."

"Well she…you see…oh, I'll just play the voice-mail for you."

Daisy listened in surprise at the recording Toadsworth played. Her face grew brighter and brighter as it continued.

"Well?"

Daisy spoke in an awed almost-whisper, not completely realizing she was still on the phone. "She did it…she finally did it."

"I say, did what?"

"Got away…away from everyone else, away from herself, away to herself."

"Now what balderdash are you talking about? Away from herself to herself? What on earth is all that gibberish? Where is Princess Peach, Daisy?"

Daisy laid her back on the bed and grabbed a handful of popcorn, stuffing the salty treat into her mouth before answering. "See, she's always felt contained, like she couldn't be herself for fear of being 'protected'. In reality, all the 'protecting' you and your buddies were doing was just trapping her. She wanted to be free, and she got her chance. Leave her alone, she knows what she's doing."

"So you're not upset? She could be on the brink of death! You're not going to help us find her and bring her home before she's kidnapped or worse? "

Daisy grinned. "Nope!" She promptly hung up the phone and switched the television back on.

Author's note: Have I told you lately how much I love reviews? Each and every review is wonderful, especially since the ones I recieve from you amazing people are just...really good. :)

I -just- finished chapter 9, unfortunately no fluff yet. I swear, its coming soon! By 10, I promise there will be fluffy moments. But there are koopalings next chapter, so...yeah. Review if you want it! By the way, I'm reaching the fun part of the story. Yet, school is approaching fast. So its going to be a nice, delicate balance of me wanting to write and not having time. Just...forwarning you. :)