A/N: Hey! I really enjoy this chapter so I hope you guys do, too! Thank you so much for reading!
Peach stood alone in one of the large corridors within the opera house. All lights were off, and any traces of lava had dried up, all except for a few embers dancing on its cracked surface; it was dark, yet the remaining light was just enough for her to make out the shapes of the pillars and architecture around her.
The obsidian red and purple stones reflected the slightly-red hue from the dried lava, and the marble floors further spread the dull light, just enough for Peach to make out the nearby walls and the paintings that covered their surface. She shuddered as she turned her attention away from the realistic paintings, as the eyes of the Koopas seemed to track her every move, almost observing her intentions.
At one point, Peach had swore she had seen one of them blink.
The gothic interior of the opera house was unsettling when dark and empty, but Peach did not feel any fear, nor did she try to run away. Instead, she remained still, gazing down the long corridor, looking; anxiously anticipating something that would take away this feeling of dread.
What she was waiting for, she couldn't grasp an answer. Was she afraid? Excited? Both? Instead of finding out herself, she waited for the answer to show itself. She wanted; yearned for the solution to her anxiousness to come out.
Peach held onto her sides as she tried to conserve heat, the usually-hot Dark Lands becoming colder by the second as the remaining lava hardened. The light slowly began fading with the heat as Peach started to shiver, her breath now white and a thick haze as her lungs froze with the chilly air.
Suddenly, the walls seemed to crack and contort around her. The main cracks broke off into smaller veins before the entire corridor was consumed with the cracks. After a few moments, the surface shattered into small fragments, the shards landing around her feet. Peach gasped in fright, but remained still.
The paintings broke off the walls, suddenly a glass-like material, too, as they hit the floor and shattered. Even when broken and shattered into countless pieces, the eyes of the paintings continued following her as the fragments rested at her feet. Their gazes widened in excitement before Peach stomped on them out of shock, wanting nothing more than their gazes to disappear.
With her breathing fast and her hands clenched, Peach rubbed her shoe into the last of the glass painting shards, crushing the debris, thankful to be rid of the blood-curdling stares. She fixed her footing as the crunching showed that she had effectively freed herself from their gazes.
Looking up from the bits of glass, Peach was met with an empty darkness where the walls used to be. Her eyes widened in shock before looking back towards where the shards were, meeting that familiar darkness instead of the polished floor. She stood in a void of nothing.
Suddenly, those judging paintings didn't seem so awful
Peach gently swung her legs side to side, trying to maneuver herself around the dark area. The sound of her ruffling dress broke the silence, but that's all her movement seemed to do. She couldn't tell if she was moving, but it felt more productive than floating alone.
Alone? Was she truly alone?
Peach felt a rush of paranoia as she froze in place. The earlier stares left her feeling...vulnerable as she realized anything and anyone could be waiting for their time to strike. She gazed from left to right as she met nothing. Yet, the absence of anything was just as fearful.
As if reading her thoughts, a single, dark claw roughly grabbed onto her small wrist, just as black as the space around her. The claw was clearly attached to a body, but the darkness kept that form hidden away within its grasp. The stranger's strength was evident, yet its grasp was oddly-gentle as it held her in place. Was she not going to be harmed?
She attempted to pull away, but the form did not budge with her.
"Stay out," the bitter voice spat. His voice was low and almost a growl, making Peach squeak in surprise. The source of his voice seemed to echo throughout the space; It was as if his words were in her head all together. His grip slightly increased, causing Peach to slightly fumble forward. "You are not to-"
The two froze, the shadow nearly choking on his words. This voice was incredibly familiar to Peach, and not in a positive way; it made fear rush through her as memories threatened to come back to her. Had she heard this monster before? Why was he here? What did he mean?
As soon as she got close to an answer, she would forget what she was trying to remember.
As for the shadowy figure, Peach remained unknowing of why he, too, froze. His face was hidden and unreadable, but she could have sworn his grip had loosened.
Peach slightly parted her lips, curiosity replacing fear as she was trapped by the creature. Though, his grip was loose enough to where she could have pulled away if she wished. Yet, she remained in place, not wanting him to disappear, simply out of curiosity. Peach reached forward with her free hand, trying to feel for any form, but her hand simply swished through the cold darkness.
He was too far away.
Peach cussed under her breath as she pulled her free hand back to her side.
"Who...what are you? Have I seen you before?" Her voice was calm and skeptical as she glared at the hidden stranger. The further she squinted her eyes, she swore she could make out a large frame. Whatever this was, it wasn't a human. "You're strangely familiar."
The voice released a deep, venomous laugh as the form seemed to lean forward in cocky entertainment. His murderous tone from earlier was replaced with pure amusement with her lack of fear.
"Now, why would I tell you that? You aren't exactly in a position to be asking questions."
She sighed as she rolled her eyes in annoyance. Why did the monster that held her captive have to be so snippy and difficult? Why couldn't it be a basic ghost or demon that wanted to talk about their evil plans? That wanted to boast?
"You're frustrating," she muttered. She felt an odd resentment for whoever this was, but the fact that she could tell that he wouldn't harm her left her eager to stick up for herself. "Even for a shadowy figure, you're quite bad company."
"I'm not here to be compliant," he muttered, his entertained tone replaced with bitterness. He continued, clearly aware of his purpose in the first place. "You are not to venture beneath the opera house," he continued in a demanding, bitter tone. He leaned in, attempting to intimidate the girl, but she remained still. He released a small growl as he realized she was anything but intimidated. "If you even consider disobeying-"
The monster was cut off as a loud knocking sound echoed through the void. A grunt, followed by a barely-audible 'damn it,' left the shadow as he released her arm.
Peach parted her lips to question her company, but paused as his invisible glare intensified, signaling her to stop. Peach obeyed, not knowing why.
"Time's up."
Daisy sighed as she stood beside the sleeping girl, analyzing her sleeping expression in hopes of deciphering what was going on inside her head. Every time Bowser demanded Kammy's 'assistance', Daisy was always roped into the process to monitor the tricky hag's true intentions.
Kammy's spells hadn't failed them yet, but she was known for her...questionable intentions.
However, Daisy felt reassured as Peach's eyes started squinting every now and then in her sleep as her breathing increased. Either Peach was having a very unpleasant nightmare, or she was experiencing and talking to just who they wanted.
"Should do the trick," the elderly Koopa stated nonchalantly, noticing the same symptoms. She floated downward and tapped the sleeping girl's shoulder, earning a slight groan. Kammy released a small 'hmm' before continuing. "I'd say he has roughly an hour at best. She's a tough one."
Daisy shrugged before placing her hands on her hips. "Shouldn't be an issue. Your client isn't exactly going to let this go to waste. If he complains, I'll whack some sense into him."
Kammy snickered as she looked towards the woman in a sinister approval.
"Glad to hear it. Make sure to throw in an extra hard swing in my regard."
Daisy smirked with a nod.
"Gotcha, but only if ya-"
Her face paled as a loud knock echoed from the bedroom's door. The two did several doubletakes between each other and the door, Daisy's expression filled with panic and Kammy's amusement. The two finally landed their gazes on Peach as a second knock brought them back into reality.
"Your friend's cut off. Have fun with that," Kammy hissed through clenched teeth as she gestured towards the door with a nod of her head. With one final glare towards her, Kammy lifted her wrinkly hand and snapped, poofing out of the room to safety.
Daisy was alone.
"Oh no, no, no, this is bad, this is super bad," she muttered under her breath with a clear amount of panic. She tried to move, but her legs hesitated as she didn't know where to go or what to do in this situation.
After evaluating several hiding spaces that she couldn't fit into, let alone wanted to, her eyes landed on the large mirror in the corner of the room that reflected her terrified expression. Without thinking, Daisy pushed up her sleeves as she hurried over to her only hope.
Daisy pressed her palms against the slick, cold surface, pushing all of her body weight against it as the mirror slightly creaked and held its ground. After a few moments, a subtle click echoed as the mirror pushed open, revealing a slim corridor.
Daisy hadn't noticed the click as she fell into the hidden hallway behind the mirror, her earlier force easily landing her on her bottom.
Ignoring the pain, Daisy rushed to her feet as she pulled the mirror back into its original position, the same click shutting her off from the bedroom. For the first time in her life, she was thankful to have the outside world replaced with the familiar basement.
She was safe within the labyrinth.
"Looks so easy when the kiddos do it," she muttered as she rubbed her lower back. She stretched her arms as she closed her eyes in content, aching from the fall. "I'll have to ask them to give me a backrub."
A muffled groan of annoyance came from beyond the mirror. But, Daisy remained stretching as she casually glanced over her shoulder through the one-way glass. With a wall separating the human from the room, she didn't feel any bit of fear.
"Toadstool!" The voice cried in frustration as the intruder hovered above the sleeping girl. Daisy groaned as she noticed the company was the last person she wanted to see; Kamek. Walking closer towards the mirror, she leaned in to see if Kammy's usual spell had done its work.
A/N: Oh my! I wonder if the two know each other! Hmm, who knows! (Well, I do, of course!) Thank you for reading! Please review if you can, every single review means the world to me!