Oh my gosh... it's been like two months since an update. I'm sooo sorry everyone. XD School and drawing and midterms and vacation all bundled into one equals very lazy author. hahahaha I'm still here. I'm not dead :P lol Did you guys miss me?

Anyways, Chapter 11 here at last! Everything starts to click and turns all topsy-turvy. The story begins with a small prologue, don't worry we'll get back to Maria and Junior. That's all I'm gonna say.

Also, if you check my Deviantart account, I posted some pictures for Super Maria. Just check out my gallery and click on the folder for some crappy fanart pictures. hahaah

Maria is mine. I totally wished Nintendo would buy her from me, but that's never gonna happen. XD

--

Over a thousand years ago, there once was a prince who did not wish to be king.

Well, with a queen that is.

His name was Beauregard Orion Ortega. Many bachelorettes admired him for his handsome features and great intelligence.

He hated them all.

They were weak and ignorant.

Rumors flew that the prince would inherit the throne without an heir. The ruling king and queen made it their duty to stop such gossip.

They had to find a princess.

--

Beauregard strolled through the Palace garden, a grim look painted upon his face. The garden, however, provided a relax atmosphere for the prince and soon the depressing gleam in his eyes melted away. Walking under a large oak tree for shade, Beauregard leaned against the study base and closed his eyes in frustration.

It was going to be one of those days.

"Perfect," he hissed sarcastically, "Another princess for me to spit at."

Of course, a king should come and visit his kingdom and -of course- he must bring his only daughter. It truly sickened him and he started to think how long it would take him to upset this new girl.

"Only a matter of minutes," he snickered cruelly.

Creak.

The prince's ears perked up by the familiar sound of the gate opening and shutting. Not wanting to be bothered by anyone at the moment. Beauregard hide behind the tree and waited for the unknown visitor to appear.

Usually the prince could recognize the sound people made when their heels clicked the pathway. However, the peculiar noise of sharp clicks intrigued him. Whoever was wearing those shoes made them sound like a knife scraping against stone.

Instead of jumping out and surprising the mysterious shoe-wearer, young man waited for them to enter the rose garden where he could easily spy on them without any notice.

Suddenly, the clicks stop and for a moment, the prince felt a chill run up his spine. He could feel eyes looking into the back of his head almost as if those very eyes were burning through the wood.

The sensation lasted only a minute or so beyond the sharp tapping of knifes returned and the rose garden gate opened and closed with a small click.

Now, he was hooked. Beauregard had never felt anything like that in his entire life.

He loved it.

--

Peeking over the white rose bushes, the prince tried to get a better view of who this stranger was. Finally decided this person was the bachlorette he was going to marry...if he agreed. All he could see was a dark purple dress with golden embroidery embellishing every edge of it. Finally she had pink locks the curled sharply at the end. They were so thin...almost like paper...

Snap.

Beauregard felt a branch from the bushes crack in his fists and, immediately, he ducked down to avoid the girl's hateful gaze. Again, the fearful watching sensation fell upon him, and prince shuddered in excitement. However, he wondered if the princess had seen him or just simply thought it was bird.

"For a so-called 'great prince', you do like to hide a lot. Is how you woo your lady friends?" an icy voice hissed.

That voice... that was fear. The prince could not believe how petrifying this girl sounded. It was a block of ice being hammered into his soul. Each word was a heavy swing at his heart. Such power...such hatred. He then looked up and realized why this cruel voice had sounded so close. The princess was looking at him with the darkest eyes he had ever seen.

Black.

Inhumanly black.

She was beautiful, yet evil. A rose, but surrounded by thorns. Untouchable, but everyone feared to touch her.

This was power.

In one graceful movement, the prince stood upon his feet and calmly looked his equal in the eyes.

"My apologies, Princess....?"

"Shi. Princess Shi," she hissed quietly.

"Again, my apologies, I'm sure you have heard I'm not the one for marriage. I'm so sick of meeting new bachlorettes that I don't even meet them anymore. I just watch them from behind."

"And you can see their personalities from "watching" them?"

"Of course, I can sense how weak they are. I have hated every single girl I have met. They all disgust me."

At that moment Beauregard noticed about Shi's eyes. They glistened maliciously, but it was not exactly a truly evil look. It was...happy, as if she had found something worthy in this world. It dawned on the prince at that moment.

She felt the exact same way.

"So, Prince Stalker," Shi finally said with a sly smile, "What did you think of me?"

The prince's eyes hazed for a second. Thoughts flooded his mind, and only one word could come to his mind. A word he swore he would never use. Never towards a girl. Never towards his future-wife. But a cruel, merciless smile spread far and wide across his demonic countenance, and he hissed his accursed word.

"Perfect."

--

When people speak of the legend of these two beings, they begin to shudder and hush at the sound of that couple. For after the marriage of Beauregard and Shi, a dark time descended upon the kingdom, a period that lasted over four hundred years. However, this era of shadows and death is never spoken of because of frightening thing.

The King and Queen were immortal.

Upon their marriage, they did something terrible. Something that would make their reign everlasting and casting their peasants into darkness.

They sold their souls to the dark arts.

The Queen ruled the shadows and shunned everything bright and cheerful, causing their people to lose their minds and kill themselves by the masses, or she sent her minions to slaughter them. When they died she would take their mindless corpses and create vast and terrible armies.

His majesty controlled death. When people died, they died miserably, their souls filled with angry. The King took over those emotions and kept those wandering souls on earth, forever to do his binding.

The kingdom was trapped. Body and Soul.

Even death was not an escape.

The people needed hope.

But hope was dying...

Then from the darkness, there was light.

A hero.

He wasn't the strongest.

Or the wisest.

No.

He was hope.

That's what the people needed.

Hope, the ever-desiring light.

The hero knew magic that was powerful and benign. With his flaming powers, he sent the king and queen back to their castle, cringing in fear. The people then took it upon themselves to do what had to be done.

They stormed the castle.

To them it did not care what happened next. This was their moment. It was now or never. They would take this incredible risk, just to see their fears disappear for one moment. It was now.

When they reached the throne room, only the king remained, a cruel smile plastered upon his face. He fought till the very end, and the great hero placed a curse upon the king.

Just like his slaves, he would never have an afterlife. A white blob to haunt the earth looking for a purpose. All his minions would suffer the same fate, and also to those who died with angry or a desire laced into their hearts.

However.

The triumphant kingdom could not defeat the other important ruler.

The Queen and her three daughters had disappeared and for the next fifty years they would wait for the right opportunity to arise...

--

As to where King Beauregard and his minions vanished, no one knows. In time however the descents of his minions took upon his initials, remembering the fear he inflicted just by looking at people. They wanted to do the same.

As for the hero of hope, he vanished into history a name never written down or remembered. No one could recall his title, only the physical qualities of a round nose and being incredible short in stature for his incredible power.

--

"Mother?"

"Yes, Beldam?"

"Will we ever be able to remove the curse from Father?"

The Queen of Shadows looked at her daughter sadly. Then, she looked at her three loyal heirs with a twisted cruel pride. Her eldest Beldam, looked strongly like her father. White hair that hung sharply around her head. Narrow red eyes that piereced through anyone's heart. She was the perfect ruler for a kingdom.

Then there was Marilyn, the strongest, but not the brightest. She never said much, but proved to be worthy of acceptance by her own mother.

Finally there was Vivian, the youngest. Barely able to walk and talk, and was full of innocence. It sickened the Queen to look her, but eventually she would come of age and then she could "fix" her daughter to become as cunning and dark as she was.

"...Mother?" Beldam hissed once more.

"Yes, Beldam. We will. We will plunge this world into eternal darkness then I will revive your father, and we shall forever remain in utter despair.

"Guh!" Marilyn giggled maliciously.

As the queen spoke, the sun rose up to begin a new day. The rays began to touch the town the royal family was sailing to. The rich city was filled with vast people. It would all be hers to sink into the shadows.

A new beginning.

A new reign.

A new era.

"My Three Lovely Sirens," the mother cried upon their small boat, "I brought you hear to show you the new chance for us. This is the place where everything shall begin and end."

"I welcome you to Rogueport."

--

"It has been so long my queen. I miss you so," King Boo hissed.

Maria remained unconscious on the damp ground as Junior struggled to inch closer to her.

"Why are you doing this?!" he bellowed, "You can't even summon her! She was destroyed by Maria's father! She's gone. Annihilated."

With the red flash of his eyes, the dead king brought forth chains from the earth and binded the koopa prince, making him unable to fight back.

"That's where you are wrong. Heh heh heh... You see my queen was never stupid. When she realized, she was going to be defeated, she left a shadow of her power insider the one she had possessed. A piece of her heart, for lack of a better word. I thought when Princess Peach had died, the piece had remained imbedded in her body.... however..."

King Boo looked down at the sleeping princess deeply, almost as if he had lost something and suddenly regained it.

"...However that night when I surrounded you in this very forest, I noticed this girl's peculiar traits."

"Like what?" Junior roared at him, "I don't care about any of this! I want you to realize Maria right now-"

"SILENCE!" The royal ghost hissed, "It's rude to interrupt a king, and I'm very busy with your lover at the moment. Shut up or I'll summon a muzzle for your ugly snout."

The boo's statement left the prince speechless and he continued with his story.

"Maria... her eyes are an intense purple and her hair is so.... pure. I have never seen anything like that in my life. Only such dramatic changes could be made...by inheriting my queen's heart. Now I'll let you talk for a second. How do you think such a thing is possible?"

Junior growled ruthlessly, " I don't think it's possible. It takes months to transfer something demonic like that and Maria would have to incredibly close to her mother... unless"

Junior's eyes widened at the thought that crawled into his mind and his cursed himself for thinking so.

"Unless what?" King Boo said, grinning mercilessly.

"Unless Peach was pregnant with her...for nine months."

"Exactly. My queen was no fool. Even a sliver of her heart had the instinct to bury itself inside the essence of a weak and pure being. There was plenty of time and a child is perfect as a host because of its simply ignorance. So as Maria grew, so did the heart, and now it is ripe for the picking."

"How are you positive it's really there?! Just because she has a unique physical appearance doesn't mean she is holding the heart of a demon queen!"

"You're very right Junior. Which is why I left my insignia on your arm."

"..You mean?"

"Precisely. You becoming a dragon was a test for Maria. I wanted to see if she did had the Shadow's queen heart. Unfortunately, it failed. You, being the weakling that you are, felt the love she had for you and it flopped. So I had thought I was incorrect until..."

"Peach's grave," the prince growled, finishing the king's sentence.

"You're doing wonderful Junior. Yes, yes. When I had found Peach's body, I was overjoyed and I had accomplished my goal, but Maria blew it away...literally. Then I realized that she did it with such destructive power. She probably could have killed you if I was lucky. Unfortunately, Maria's health isn't in the best condition, considering she has a demon heart all her life, but beggars can't be choosers. So here I am, ready to conquer the world and no one can stop me. I suppose it's high time I begin my little game."

Before Junior could even open his mouth, the great king released a deadly screech that shaked the surrounding forests. The trees howled their painful laments of doom and thunder crackled in sky as the clouds and the air turned a crimson red. Even the minions of the dead ruler froze and watched the dark ritual being performed.

The once purple flames floated closer to King Boo flickering blacks and reds in the thick air. Rocking his body back and forth, his eyes blazing vivid sapphire, the ghost spoke his demonic chant. Each word cursing the heavens and send shivers up Junior's spine who was paralyzed with fear.

O, Demonic Queen who dwells,

In the Darkest Pits of Hells

I Summon Your Black Soul

To Let Your Reign Unfold

Let Me Say Your Name

To Begin this Slaughtering Game...

Calling upon his dark arts, King Boo let out another deadly scream and two large ghostly claws appeared, each burning an intense blue.

Suddenly when all seemed lost, the most peculiar thing occurred.

Maria woke up.

Her eyes fluttered opened and she tried to make sense of her surroundings. It didn't take her long to realize the ghost floating above was about to do something bad and the moment she saw Junior she bolted to him her arms stretched out.

With all his might, the koopa prince reached out to await his princess's hand which flew closer to him each nanosecond. Everything slowed down in a timeless, haunting motion. Maria inched closer and closer, eyes wide with fear. Her body lunged toward him in final despair attempt.

Only to be swept away by fate's deadly blue hands.

"NO!" the princess cried and her body was dragged back to the great king.

Taking his free hand, King Boo plunged it into the girl's chest to grab what he desired.

"MARIA!" Junior roared, terrified at what he was witnessing.

Maria's body arched back in absolute horror, while eyes rolled back in pain. Her mouth gaped open, yet no sound came out. It was a silent scream that no one could hear, yet her pain was understood.

Her soul was being ripped apart.

Her hair faded into a dead brown and her once happy purple eyes froze into icy blue that showed no emotion.

After what seemed an eternity, the blue claw of death brought forth the object of desire. What the koopa saw, he would never forget.

The heart was a black crystal nearly the size of his fist, but...

It pulsed with an intense purple electric and throbbed.

It was alive.

"HEH HEH HEH HEH HEEEEEEE"

A deadly smiled crossed the King's face. It was not just of pure evil. It was hatred. It was glee. It was the destruction of everything. It was the beginning of death.

It was hell.

"WITH THIS," he cried in a murderous scream, "I WILL DESTROY REALITY!"

Then he took the great heart and plunged it into Maria's motionless body.

--

Immediately Maria's body was reanimated and convulsed as if she was being tear apart. Her hair returned to her brillant snow but it grew and curled into unnaturally thin locks. Her voice, no longer lost, piereced the ears of the forest and shook the very earth, in an unholy cry of protest.

Junior could take it no more.

He could feel his angry taking over him. The pain on his arm growing stronger. Everything was turning red. He wanted to kill everything that was hurting his love.

Even killing her to make the pain stop.

The great koopa morphed into his monstrous dragon form once more and broke his shackles, charging right at King Boo before being blinded by a dark and evil light.

--

Maria stood before him. A smile painted upon her face. Yet Junior continued to growl fiercely at her.

Her eyes burned a hellish red.

"Hello... My King," an inhuman voice hissed from Maria, each syllable stabbing Junior's heart.

"It had been a long time, My Dearest," the ghost replied.

But King Boo was no longer the white blob of fear. He had returned to his human form. A royal blue outfit decorated his body and his long white hair fluttered calmly at his shoulders. At once he reached out for Maria beckoning her to his side.

Without warning, Junior swiped his claw at he couple, furiously at what was happening, but suddenly stopped. He...couldn't move!

"What a wonderful gift!" The Shadow Queen cackled with glee, "A pet dragon! I have missed my other three so dearly."

"Anything for you, of course."

With the snap of her hand, dark purple chains wrapped around the prince's wrists and legs, immobilizing him once more.

"You see, Junior," the Black Ruler hissed, "I control you now. You will never see the light of day again. This world is going to be intoxicated with blood and death, and..."

A dark grin cursed the Queen's mouth.

"Your precious Maria is mine."

--

Yes, cliffhanger. Again, sorry sorry sorry!!!! Ughhhh I don't know when the next chapter is coming up, but I'll get to it. Alright big plot twister is done!!! And the meaning of my title is complete! Not only did the title refer to Junior and Maria, but the Shadow Queen and King Boo! (Who have guessed lol) Also I realize that in Paper Mario:TTYD, the Shadow Sirens were created by the queen. But someone had asked what KB and SQ's child would look like and immediately Beldam came to mind so the Shadow Sirens are the royal couple's daughters :3 Maybe I'll do a short story on how they came to be shadows of themselves. I hope I did ok with the transformation part. I think I failed. Criticism would be great. Reviews are wonderful! Thank you guys for staying with me. Until Chapter 12!