Chapter Eight: Golf at the Badlands

Daisy never told Waluigi about the whole Toadsworth incident, but she was determined to have a good time anyway.

"Don't worry, no one will look for you here," Waluigi said.

When he said that, she became a little worried, just in case something did happen. She felt a little more secure now that Toadsworth had caught her sneaking out. He'd eventually send some people if she wasn't home around the time she said she'd be. That made her feel a little safer. After all, she was with Waluigi, not Boo or Shadow Mario.

She was trying her luck at the Badlands course, and there were plenty of obstacles to pass through. All she hoped was that she could keep her ball under control. Well, her and Waluigi's ball. They were playing doubles.

"Hey, it's Waluigi!" Shadow Mario exclaimed from behind Boo. The two looked to see their friend and...Daisy?

"Whoa whoa! Waluigi!" Boo exclaimed. "Is that...Daisy?"

"Yes, I am the real Daisy," she said, smirking. "Not a look alike."

"Ooh, Waluigi's a player!" Shadow Mario said.

"Just be nice to the lady and you stay on my good side today," Waluigi said, eyeing Boo.

"What? I can be nice!" Boo exclaimed, though it didn't convince Waluigi. It convinced nobody.

The first few rounds weren't so bad. She was able to keep the ball under control, and she'd made a few decent putts. They were all just warming up though.

"So," Boo said to Daisy as Waluigi was aiming for the shot. "What are you doing out here with him?"

"He asked me to go, I just said yes," Daisy said.

"I find that hard to believe," Boo answered. "You aren't the type to just go along with what Waluigi or Wario have to say...unless of course you've seen the other side of Waluigi."

By then, Waluigi had made the shot, and it was Boo's turn to shoot. Daisy thought about what Boo had said. Had Boo also seen what Waluigi was capable of...when he wasn't with Wario? Maybe he did have a few good friends. Boo wasn't so bad himself. She found him a tolerable...ghost...to talk to.

Daisy was up to putt on the next hole, and Shadow Mario began talking to Waluigi.

"So, how'd you convince her to come with you? Did you blackmail her or somethin'?" he asked Waluigi.

"No..." Waluigi said. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"You like her," he said right out in a whisper.

"Maybe I do," Waluigi replied. "That's why I don't want you and Boo screwing things up."

Boo was watching Daisy line up her shot. This was one curvy hill, and he was curious to see if she'd make it to birdie. When she hit the ball, it curved right into the hole.

"Impressive," Boo commented as he wrote down her score...somewhat honestly. "You're a pretty good golfer."

"You're not so bad yourself," she replied, picking up her ball and getting out of the way so Shadow Mario could make his putt. He too made his shot.

When they came to hole eight, Daisy made her shot over the lava, but then she wondered how they were supposed to get to the other green. It was a pretty far jump.

"How do we get over there?" she asked Waluigi as Boo teed off.

"I'll show you. It's not real lava," he told her. "We all just act like it is to scare people...like Peach and Mario."

Daisy figured out that on this hole, it looked like you had to jump, but really, there was a small cave built into the Bowser statue that acted as a waterfall for the "lava".

"Go ahead, touch it," Waluigi said when they became merely an inch or two away. She reached out her hand and quickly pulled back.

"Ow! It's hot though!" Daisy said.

"It's hot water, but it's nothing like lava. Some Shy Guys dye it yellow and orange. The red comes from the bottom of the course. It's made of something...I forget the name of the stuff, and that reflects off of everything that's shiny. So, it's just hot water," Shadow Mario told her.

"Of course, this is something you can never tell Mario, Peach, and all those other folks," Boo said. "It would totally ruin the image of the Badlands."

Daisy nodded, but was glad to know Bowser wasn't totally heartless towards his own people. It sure was a good replica of lava though. She wondered how the others got across then. She'd never noticed this cave here before. She hadn't golfed on the Badlands though, so perhaps it was made to trick, like Boo was saying.

By the end of the game, it was a tie, and they were content with leaving it at that. It had been a long day, and Daisy was beginning to get a little tired out. Boo and Shadow Mario went their own ways after the game. Waluigi walked Daisy out of the Badlands area.

"I'm not sure how far I can take you," he said when they emerged from the course.

"Well, when someone comes by just go your own way," Daisy said. "I'll be fine." He agreed, and before a Koopa Troppa showed up on the streets in the Mushroom Kingdom, the two had already arranged another plan to see each other.

"You know, sneaking around like this...I don't know how much longer it will last," Daisy said.

"Maybe if I proved that I wasn't such a bad guy to other people, the image of us hanging out wouldn't be so bad," Waluigi said.

"How do you plan to do that? The circumstances would have to be like mine were," Daisy asked. "Near impossible."

"I don't know, maybe you could help me with that," Waluigi said. "Do you know of anything in the castle that needs a little work on? I'm no plumber, but I did do some gardening in my past. Painting is fine with me too."

"I'll look around and see what I can do," Daisy said. "But I suppose you still want to be seen as a villain."

"Eh," Waluigi said. "Sort of. I mean, I like the privacy benefits. I'm not too social with people, as you can see. But, I guess I'm just tired of being looked at all the time as mean and nasty. That's not all I am."

"I know," Daisy said. "I can see Boo is the same way."

"People just don't give Boo and his race the time of day," Waluigi said. "But, yeah. Sort of like Boo. He's not so bad."

When they did go their separate ways, Daisy came through the back door of the castle. She didn't want to face Peach, or Luigi if he were still here.

"How was it?" Toadsworth asked. He'd been sitting in a chair right by the back door, as if he knew she'd be here.

"It went fine," Daisy said. "We tied."

"Well, you were home, so I can't complain," Toadsworth said. "I'm not going to ask who you were with, but do know this...I covered for you. I told Peach, Mario, and Luigi you were out golfing at Cheep Cheep Falls. I felt absolutely horrible for lying to them, but I thought I'd save you some drama. I caught you once, but if I catch you again, don't think I'll cover for you again like that."

"Alright, that's fair," Daisy said. "Thank you, Toadsworth."

"Good night, Daisy," he said.

"Good night, Toadsworth," she replied, heading upstairs to take a shower and get ready for bed. It'd been quite the day.