AN: Sorry for the slow update! I promise I'm trying my best! But, here we go! The next chapter is when things pick up :) I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! I have a lot of plot twists planned for this story...I hope you look forward to them!
"Oh, drop it, idiot! There's no way that's true," a short, hairless Koopa growled in annoyance at his company. "You're just making up another one of your...your dumb kid stories!"
Junior whined angrily.
"No way, Morton! Wendy saw it, too!" He gestured to his older sister, who just rolled her eyes in response. Junior ignorantly furrowed his brow and poked her several times to get her attention. "Wendy? Hello? Wendy?"
"Shut it, shorty! And get your sticky claws offa me!" She cried, swatting him away. She groaned in defeat before continuing. "Okay, sure, we saw humans in the opera house, but, like, you shouldn't be tellin' everyone! Dad's already peeved off enough 'cause of this!"
Wendy rubbed her aching head as she remembered her father's scolding. His yelling could be heard in the distance as he 'talked' with Daisy. Even though he was on the other side of the tunnels, at his study, his roars were easily echoed through the labyrinth.
"C'mon, you two freaks are overreacting," Morton interrupted with pride. "Dad'll just 'take care of 'em,' like he always does."
His prideful grin grew as he remembered the last koopa that thought he could wander the Darkland's theater. He was not...around anymore.
"Yeah, Wendy! Dad'll just burn 'em up!" Junior added with a wide smile, knowing they weren't the most hospitable of hosts. He snickered. "You saw the two humans! What could they even do to us? Hah! I'd like to see em try to-"
"You doofus! Don't you know what our upcoming show's, like, about?" Wendy interrupted loudly.
Junior and Morton glanced at each other blankly as silence creeped over the two. They shifted on their feet before turning to Wendy, silently conveying their cluelessness. They rarely knew anything about the shows.
Wendy rolled her eyes with an inpatient sigh. "Why am I related to such morons," she muttered just loud enough for the two to barely hear. But, they bit their tongues, curious enough that they could swallow an insult.
Wendy held her breath, knowing very well that the information was about to spill out of her.
She took a large inhale. "That little human and her pops probably aren't going anywhere anytime soon, you know, and dad isn't happy 'bout it."
She gestured with her claws, just in sync with one of Bowser's signature roars of anger.
She was met with two confused stares, so she glanced over her shoulders, as to make sure no one else was listening. Once satisfied with their lack of evesdroppers, Wendy turned back towards the two, her voice hushed.
"Our next play calls for, like, a human lead, and those freaks are probably gonna snatch it. Yeah, that's right! Hired, at the Dark Lands theater!" Her voice sped up, though remaining hushed, as she walked in a circle. "They did this without, like, dad's word! They say it's 'political propaganda for the war,' or whatever. That's what all the stage workers are saying!"
Morton's brow furrowed as he wasn't buying the information.
"What?! Why not get a Koopa to dress like a human? We don't needa human. This is stupid, Wendy! A human hangin' around and getting information isn't somethin' dad woulda let slip by him."
Wendy harshly poked Morton's chest with a growl. "You think I don't know that? They never planned on hirin' a real human! But one shows up and here we are!" She groaned. "They probably want a real human to, like...I dunno! Show how awful humans are, or something? That's all I got from listening to the drunk workers while I got Daisy." She paused. "I dunno how dad didn't know. Or how the heck we didn't know anything!"
"Daisy didn't know? She lives up there with those losers...why didn't she tell us?" Morton questioned accusingly.
"Daisy's here?" Junior's eyes lit up as he ignored the main focus of their conversation. That was clearly the only information he had paid attention to. His eyes lit up with the idea of seeing her on one of her rare visits.
Thankfully, their father thought well of her, too, so her presence was almost always tolerated.
"She's with dad right now, idiot," Morton muttered. "And unless you want a big ol' bruise, I'd stay away from 'em for now." He clenched his fist as he grinned. "Or, yanno what? I can do that for 'em!"
Junior squealed as he hid behind his sister, who clearly wasn't happy to have him clinging to her.
He peaked his head from behind her. "But I don't understand...if they're puttin' the human as a bad role...to show how bad humans are...why is daddy upset? Isn't that the sorta stuff he'd be okay with? Y'know...makin' humans look bad?"
Wendy sighed as she shook her brother off of him. "Guess he just doesn't wanna, like, his authority to go away, yanno? That's just a guess. They didn't even bother tellin' him!"
Junior nodded, but that didn't seem like the right answer to his question.
"Yeah, I guess," he mumbled with a sigh, deciding to look into the situation later. "I bet he's pretty mad, huh?"
"Political propaganda my ass!" Bowser spat. He had been chewing her apart ever since Wendy had fetched her. "You think that's a good enough excuse for the phantom? You think I won't do something about this? How many koopas do I have to kill for this damn opera house to realize I'm in charge here? How many humans?" He added sourly.
Daisy cooly leaned against the wall, her arms crossed and one of her brows arched. She seemed unbothered by the imagery.
"Really, Bowsy?" She paused as he flinched at that nickname, smiling as his 'intimidating' and angry composure was replaced with pure annoyance for a moment. "You're gonna cry about something as little as this, huh? What happened to the Koopa who-"
Her words were cut off as a puff of smoke left Bowser's lips, fogging her vision. Daisy grunted in annoyance as she rolled her eyes and waved the smoke out of her face.
"Chill out! You've been overreacting ever since I got here!" The short human called out with a clear amount of annoyance in her voice. She took a few steps towards the large Koopa before her, neither of them intimidated of each other as they bickered. "Okay, sure, you tell this place what music to play and what actors to cast, but you can't just...just throw a hissy fit when they consider hiring someone you're not happy with!" She crossed her arms with a frustrated sigh. "I swear, you're so childish sometimes."
Bowser leaned in as his eyes flashed with clear distaste of her words.
"Childish?" He hissed through clenched teeth; that was the last thing he wanted to be called by his company. "If being concerned is childish, then I guess I am! Maybe you just don't care, Daisy, seeing as this doesn't even concern you!"
Daisy's cheeks puffed in anger as her eyes widened.
"Oh, really? I don't care? Is that so?" Her voice trembled with anger and she barely managed to hold herself together. Both knew what he said wasn't true, but it continued to piss her off anyways.
Her arms were clenched at her side as her nails dug into her palms. She knew Bowser wouldn't harm her, but she was inching towards punching him right in the nose.
"Might as well be true!" He angrily replied with just as much temper, if not more. "You're a fleshy little human! A stupid, good-for-nothing, wench, if anything! Your damn safety isn't dependant on this building, and you know that!" His voice had reached a roar that seemed to make Daisy's head spin, but she held her ground.
Bowser's voice hushed as he pushed back his hair with an annoyed sigh.
"You aren't locked away."
A rush of goosebumps covered Daisy's arms at his cold words. His tone, though still furious, became questionably layered with several emotions. Was Bowser acting...vulnerable? Afraid? The murderous, tactical phantom of the opera was...showing his fear? She always knew it lingered beneath his anger, but he solem showed it, let alone showed anything other than his clear lack of anger management.
The two stood in silence, left to their own thoughts. Daisy, trying to understand his words, and Bowser, feeling a fool for even speaking, questioned why he needed a fool of a human as a tool.
Daisy's gaze moved to the floor as her posture relaxed in a slight amount of guilt. All around them, signs of inhabitance was shown; he wasn't the only Koopa down here, hiding.
He isn't only protecting himself, Daisy thought with a frustrated sigh, knowing he would never admit it. He never was.
Daisy frowned. She wanted to argue back and tell him how much of a fool he was, but she held her breath instead, releasing her air like a deflated balloon as she closed her eyes.
"Ignoring those insults of yours, I'll admit you're right...kind of." She looked up at him as he avoided her nosey stare.
"Always am," he grunted.
"But I'm saying that for the kiddos' sake. Not for you," she added slyly. Before he could scoff, she continued. "But you needta listen to me, big guy. Trust me, I had no idea those two were going to show up."
Bowser opened his mouth to disagree as to who should be listening to who, but Daisy quickly shook her finger as she continued.
"They aren't hired yet. Maybe they won't bother hiring an actual human. Save that temper of yours for when you need it. Right now, you're just acting like a big ol' idiot, as usual," she lightly teased.
He released a low, yet clearly-angry growl.
"As long as they leave and never show their faces here again, we won't have any issues." Bowser spoke as if he was regretting every word he spat out. He knew he was letting his guard down, but he knew she was right.
The trio seemed to walk around endlessly, checking behind curtains and pillars, looking for someone or something. The female Koopa had asked several drunk workers for a Koopa named Kamek, but that's as far as the information Peach held reached. Every koopa they asked simply shrugged and kept walking, leaving the three wandering to towards the back of the establishment. It had been about an hour of meaningless wandering, but the three were clearly over it.
As they walked, Peach's father was questioned of his history with the violin and his experience with opera. He calmly answered every question truthfully, stating that he had been playing since he was eleven, and that he had played minor parts in the orchestra of local theaters; he was qualified, but not exceptionally so.
The Koopa, though bitter from their search, nodded in approval of his answers, scribbling down his response word-for-word as they walked. Occasionally, her scribbling would pause, and she would look up at the two.
"You, what exactly do you do?" The Koopa asked Peach with a judging undertone. She was clearly hoping the two had viable roles. But, for what reason she was so hopeful, the two humans didn't know.
Peach gave a weak, rehearsed smile, hoping her years of 'lady-like' study was paying off. But, the frown that she was met with showed that the Koopa wasn't buying it for one moment.
"I've been singing for as long as I can remember." She spoke in the tone she had rehearsed for hours, making sure to appear as feminine and docile as possible. She cringed, though, knowing this was painful for the both of them. "The theater has always been a second home to me. I would be happy to help out in any way I can."
Peach's eyes drifted to the impressive, yet dark, architecture around her. The further the trio walked, the darker the pigment on the walls seemed to get. It was as if the three were wandering to the heart of the castle-like building, and further away from any light.
She knew the building was simply that: a building. Yet, the walls felt so alive.
Peach slightly cringed. Perhaps the Darklands opera house didn't look or feel...inviting and home-like, as the Mushroom Kingdom theater had...but...she felt her blood pump with more intense passion the further she wandered into the building. Whatever caused her mind to race, she wanted to pursue. Whether it was a warning to run away, or to never leave, she didn't know.
All she knew was that something was calling her.
The Koopa rolled her eyes as she suddenly stopped leading the two after scribbling. "Yes, you sing, that's wonderful," she mocked, knowing very well that there were countless Koopas in the opera house that could also sing. She gazed up between the two humans. "Is that it? Can you act? Understand stage orders? Or can you only sing?"
Both Peach and her father gazed between each other awkwardly as they stood behind their guide.
Peach had never...sung or acted professionally...but her father had always said she had a beautiful voice anytime he heard her! She had auditioned for minor roles before, and had even been an understudy once or twice, but she had never been on such a large stage...let alone paid to sing and act.
That clearly wasn't enough qualification as their tour guide scowled in disapproval.
The koopa sighed as she rubbed her temple. "Regardless of how I feel about you two, we'll take you," she mumbled as she gestured to Peach's father with her thumb. "We've been down a violinist for a few days...we're desperate enough to take in a human for this season's shows. But as for you…"
Peach shifted on her feet as she was clearly getting the poor end of the deal. But, as long as at least one of them were hired, they could hopefully afford a place to stay.
A light 'poof' interrupted their guide as a Koopa in a blue coat suddenly stood before the three. A small amount of shock hid behind his gaze, but went nearly unnoticed by Peach and her father. He sighed as he stared at their guide in disapproval.
This was clearly the Koopa they were looking for.
"K-Kamek! Sir! I was looking for you!" Her tone was suddenly bright and awake as she gazed at her clearly apparent boss. She laughed awkwardly as she gestured to Peach and her father. "We have some...guests! Yes! I wanted to discuss with you about-"
"Didn't you check my office? I had to come find you after the gossip spread to me! Thankfully some humans aren't too hard to find," he scolded curiously. He shrugged as he continued and turned towards the two guests. "It's odd for humans to show up, especially at a time like this, but I guess this works out, huh?" His laugh was high pitched and...annoying, but the three forced a smile. "Follow me, please!"
AN: It's all kicking off now! I promise there are answers for your questions, so don't worry!