A/N: I really enjoyed this chapter! I hope you guys do, too! Thank you for reading and leaving such lovely reviews! :D

As soon as Daisy left the building, she was met with a thick blanket of rain falling on the top of her head. She shivered as she cringed at how quickly her dress was becoming damp, but shook her head as she remembered her priority:

Bowser.

Daisy's heels clicked against the cobble as she ran through the streets, occasionally splashing through a large puddle. She ran close to the side of the road, hovering next to the lit streetlights, fearful of what lingered where she couldn't see.

She knew the Dark Lands like the back of her hand, but it was easy to find yourself in a dangerous situation when it was dark out, even if you were smart. Even with the rain, it would be easy for her to be followed, if not jumped. However, countless koopas with that idea had learned that she was a fighter the hard way. She never hesitated to defend herself when any brutes came at her.

Daisy sighed in relief as the backside of the large opera house quickly came into view through the blinding rain. Even though the restaurant was barely ten minutes away, making it through the rain made it feel like it took hours.

Its silhouette was dark and booming; far more intimidating with the rain and thunder, but, nonetheless, it was a beacon of hope for the woman, as she had finally reached her destination. But, the monster it held surely wouldn't be as welcoming.

After a few moments of steady jogging, she pressed her hand against the stone building and leaned against its surface. She paused as she wiped some of the water away from her face, but she cursed as it was quickly replaced with another thick layer that blurred her vision.

Since when had it ever rained this hard in the Dark Lands? She groaned in defeat. Was this some sort of cruel foreshadowing of how this was going to go?

Daisy shook her head. What was the point in asking questions that didn't have answers? For now, she needed to find that stupid door.

According to Bowser, there were countless entrances to their world, but she was only permitted to know of a few of them. So many, in fact, that apparently it was accessible from all corners of the kingdom. She often wondered if it was possible to access from outside the Dark Lands. Most entrances were cleverly hidden, but the blatantly obvious ones were the most easily accessible, and the ones that she was allowed to know of.

Daisy trailed her hands against the back of the building as she attempted to see the entrance, or at least feel it. Trickling water ran through her fingers as she brushed against the bricks.

"Aha!" Daisy called out in relief as her palm nudged against a familiar handle. With a silent cheer of victory, she pulled her purse out as she rustled through it for the key.

Once she shoved everything out of the way twice, she finally found them, and shakily held them towards the worn-down door.

Daisy roughly shoved the tiny key into the door's lock. She shuffled it for a few moments before the click signaled her to pull it out.

She placed both her hands on the rusty handle, desperately trying to pull the sturdy door out of place. She shook it back and forth, using all of her weight as she tried to keep hold of the wet handle. It would occasionally slip out of her grasp, but she quickly grabbed it once again.

What was it with her and doors recently?

After a few minutes of hopeless pulling, the door finally swung open with a painful creak. Without hesitating, Daisy quickly ran into the room as she locked the door behind her. She pressed her back against the door as she rubbed her eyes. The loud rain was instantly muffled by the stone door as her vision adjusted to the lightless path.

Dust floated throughout the dry room and painted the floor. It hovered in place and floated through several dim beams of light from the outside streetlights. It had been several months since she had used this entrance, and it showed.

The room was empty, besides a small entrance on the other side. Several boards attempted to seal off the set of stairs, but Daisy easily ducked under the poor protection.

She gently squeezed the water out of the rim of her dress as she quickly made her way down the spiral of stone stairs. Her heels clicked and broke the thick silence as she hurriedly made her way towards the depths.

She mumbled a few curses under her breath as the light continually faded with each turn, but knew her eyes would adjust accordingly, eventually. Even though she wasn't an extremely frequent visitor, her many visits had left her used to the darkness.

Once at the bottom, she could make out a large path that headed both left and right. She did a quick double take as she examined the identical pathways and scanned for any differences. Both were eerie and faded into a thicker layer of darkness, causing Daisy to groan as she remembered why she hated coming here at night.

She didn't exactly know where to go or where she was going, but she took a few steps forward, confident in her gut. It's not like she would get lost, right?

However, just as she took a few steps in the direction, she was pulled around by a familiar grip. She yelped from the sudden force, but all fear ran dry as she looked up at the frown she had expected.

"Evening," Bowser hissed. Daisy quickly tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he casually held his ground without budging. With an annoyed glare from Daisy, he let her go. "You're wet," he added blandly while shaking off his now-damp claw.

"I noticed," Daisy grunted as she rubbed her arm in pain. Why did he always have to be so rough?

While Daisy could barely see Bowser's face and his reaction, he could easily see her pain and slightly cringed in regret. He hadn't meant to harm her, but she was the one trespassing. Out of the many things he could have done to her, a light bruise was nothing.

Letting her arm fall to her side, Daisy eyed Bowser curiously. How had he even noticed her in the first place?

"How did you even-"

Bowser scoffed as he cut her off.

"I heard you," he stated casually with a mocking chuckle. Daisy frowned as he had stated the obvious, so he rolled his eyes and continued. "Only one person would be so awful at sneaking around. And, spoiler, it's you. You were really rough with that door, you know."

Daisy groaned in annoyance.

"Not all of us are giant, fire-breathing lizards, okay? Sometimes doors are heavy! Get off my case!" She muttered, pushing Bowser's amusement even further as he gave a small smirk at her description. He eyed her curiously as he silently waited for her to explain her sudden appearance. "Look, I needed to talk to you about Kamek's newest hire, alright?"

Bowser crossed his arms with a subtle 'hmph.'

"If it's about her and Mario, I don't need to talk about it. I know what's going on," he muttered with a small shrug. He tried to speak as nonchalant as possible, but Daisy quickly took notice to his bitter undertone.

Daisy sighed.

"Of course you do, big guy," Daisy replied softly as she tried to maneuver around his temper. "But, I overheard most of their conversation from their date. Thought you needed to know-"

"I don't need to know anything!" He repeated angrily. "I don't want to know about their little getaway." He groaned as he turned away from the small human, eager to walk away from the conversation. "Leave me alone if you're going to annoy me about their stupid little date."

Though usually hard to read, Daisy noticed that he was exceptionally blatant about his emotions whenever this woman came into play. Ever since she had shown up, he had become an open book. Why was he having such difficulty managing his emotions? Normally he was stone cold unless his temper went off.

Daisy squinted as he slowly walked away.

With a hum of realization, she quickly caught up with Bowser and walked beside him, eyeing him thoughtfully.

This was an emotion she had never seen pour from him.

"Are you...jealous?" Daisy questioned softly as she examined his profile. "I never thought I'd see the day where you-"

Bowser froze in place, causing her to cut herself off as she realized she may have upset him. He paused for a loud, booming laugh before turning to face her completely. Daisy cringed, as the laugh seemed bitter and anything but amused.

"JEALOUS?" He questioned with another deep laugh. Daisy quickly knew her answer at his awful cover up as she smirked. Bowser's laugh fell as she realized she was serious. "Of what, exactly? You're making stupid accusations-"

Daisy interrupted him with her own laugh, though it lacked any of the resentment Bowser's had lingered with. His face contorted into a frustrated frown as she eyed him in amusement. It didn't take long for her to put two and two together. Had he finally taken a liking to someone?

A human?

"You are, aren't you? That's adorable!" She teased between a wave of snickers. Bowser quickly fumbled on his words as she continued. "I'm not here to make you jealous. I'm here to tell you what she knows." She sighed as her laughter came to a halt. "And, it's, well… a lot. I know you told me she can't know anything, but Mario kinda changed our plans."

A twinge of annoyance flickered in his eyes.

"How much?" He asked.

She shrugged. "Enough to make me worry if she'll do anything." Bowser frowned as that wasn't enough detail. She nodded and continued. "Well, Mario let her know about when you first came here and how you kill people, for starters," she added bitterly, not exactly happy that Bowser did that, either. "She asked about who you were, you know. She's...very curious."

Bowser groaned, knowing Mario knew countless rumors about who and what he was, one of which was true, but never proven. If she got word of these rumors, he knew she would try to figure it out. After all, he knew she recognized him...and was going so far as to ask Mario questions. Even Daisy!

Well, she never knew who he was in the first place, but they were coming dangerously close with every moment she spent with Mario. With enough thinking, she would be able to figure him out. If she had truly recognized him in her dream, she would undoubtedly do something about it.

They wouldn't be safe if she knew.

Bowser sighed as he winced at his next question.

"...Does she know-"

"No, I cut off Mario before he could give any hints," she reassured, knowing very well what his question was. While his true identity was always a source of anxiety for Bowser, Peach not knowing seemed extremely crucial from the fear in his voice.

Bowser nodded with a loud exhale as he brushed back his mane. While he wasn't going to admit it, he was truly thankful for her interference. If not for her, Peach could potentially come running after him with a mob.

Though, the idea of her running to him alone was a different idea that he couldn't find himself able to dislike, no matter how much he knew he should. Would she do so if she knew who he was? Who he really was? Would she accept him?

He shook his head vigorously as he tried to shake away the idea, resulting in a concerned glare from Daisy as she tried to decipher what he was thinking about.

No, Peach wouldn't. Like any other human or koopa alike, she would attempt to expose him to the queen. Even with their past, it was the smart thing to do. And she, for certain, was clever.

Maybe if he had told her who he was before...things could be different. If only he had told her.

Bowser quickly cut off his thoughts of the woman. He needed to forget her, not crave her. This ridiculous situation was not helping.

His frown deepened as his earlier motives came rushing forward:

Mario. He needed to take care of that damn human in heat before he got too far out of line. He had already planned on dealing with the situation, but now he was counting the seconds until Mario was back.

He sighed. He wasn't going to kill him, of course. Not yet. Sure, Bowser was pissed and paranoid, but this wasn't enough to go that far. He was cruel, but not so much so to kill out of his own fear.

While he constantly tried to convince himself that this anger was due to Mario spilling information that would lead to Peach's realization, he was unable to diminish the flame of jealousy running his actions, let alone fully deny it.

Daisy carefully waved her hand in front of Bowser's face as she tried to get his attention. Well, as close as she could get to his face on her tippy toes, seeing as he was over double her height. He had spaced out for a few minutes, leaving Daisy with nothing but the heavy silence.

It seemed to do the trick as he swiped away her hand.

"I'll handle it," he reassured. "I'll just get Mario to leave her alone. Easy. I doubt anyone else will talk about me so openly."

Speaking about Bowser in general was considered taboo, but he knew that stupid actor would spill any information for some alone time with Peach. As long as he kept them apart, he would likely be secure.

Daisy puffed her cheeks as she crossed her arms. Bowser knew this disappointed look would come, but it still annoyed him beyond all belief. Why couldn't she understand that this was for their safety? Nothing else!

Or, that's what he kept telling himself.

"Oh come on, don't do that! Mario was so happy with her!" Daisy chatized, knowing that this wasn't only for their protection. "Just tell him to stop bringing up-"

"You can trust him all you want, Daisy, but I'm not letting this happen again." He huffed in frustration. "Just - tell Kammy I need her again. Urgently," he ordered with a clear mission in mind. Daisy frowned at the witch's name, knowing this was serious and likely wouldn't end well.

She knew Bowser was going to interfere, and didn't agree with it, but didn't speak up or question his logic any further. The glimmer of hatred in his eye was enough fuel for him to act rashly, and she didn't want to get caught in the crossfire.

Maybe she could talk to Mario in person and get this under control, away from Bowser's radar?

Bowser was satisfied with Daisy's silent compliance as he turned around to head back to bed. A rush of exhaustion ran through him as he realized how draining this wave of information had been.

However, with one final glare, he eyed her over his shoulder. Daisy hadn't moved yet, and simply looked up at her friend.

"And," Bowser added a bit softer. He avoided her gaze as he continued. "Stay here for the night. You'd be an idiot if you ran back out there again." Daisy gave a small smile, only making his annoyance skyrocket as he rolled his eyes. He continued down the path, not wanting to hear a thank you.

Daisy's smile fell flat as the rest of the conversation came crashing down on her.

What exactly was he going to do?

Peach flopped on her bed with a loud 'squish.' Her large dress clinged to her thighs and her shoes were uncomfortably soggy and damp from the thick rain, and her hair was dripping onto the sheets. She shivered a bit, but had too much on her mind to even realize how cold she was.

She was soaked from head to toe from running through the sudden rain with Mario, but her uncomfortable attire was the least of her problems.

Peach pulled the back of her hand up to her forehead as she wiped a few drops of water away from reaching her face. Her hand rested there as she stared up at the ceiling, deep in thought.

So much had happened during dinner. With the vague, short conversation of the phantom, Daisy's odd reactions, and Mario's constant flirting, it was a lot to comprehend. So much so, that she had left with even more questions.

Peach groaned as she pulled her hand over her eyes. A subtle boom of thunder echoed through the room, followed by lightning which lit up the barely-lit room.

Why was all of this so important to her? Why did she care about a murderous monster hiding away in a basement?

She frowned as she remembered what Mario had told her: this creature was a killer. He wouldn't hesitate to kill her, so why did she remain so...drawn towards the depths? Why did she have a death wish?

With another ominous cry of thunder, it hit her: she could die.

This was a ridiculous surge of curiosity that needed to go away. No matter how familiar he was, how much she wanted to know, or how much she felt drawn to him, she wasn't going to abandon her father in hopes of solving this. She couldn't.

Peach made up her mind: She was going to stay in line and obey the phantom. That was it. No more.

Peach pulled herself fully onto the large bed as she adjusted herself with a yawn. She barely even took up a quarter of the bed, seeing as it was fabricated for larger species, which gave her plenty of room to stretch and curl up in the silk blankets.

Even soaking wet, she couldn't deny how luxurious and comfortable the material was. Hell, she was so absorbed by satisfaction that she didn't even realize she probably needed to change into something that wasn't drenched.

Peach sighed into the blanket as her eyes got heavy. It smelt of smoke and fire; as if she were out by a campfire. She gave a small smile as it reminded her of her camping trips with her parents when she was little.

Absorbed by the memory, Peach drifted away.