Peach scrunched her nose as she clamped her eyes shut. Her head pounded with a massive headache and her burnt hand thumped just as loudly. She opened her mouth for a yawn but paused as the air was anything but refreshing as it sent a shock down her spine.

She launched upwards, choking on her breaths as the sour air stuck to her taste buds.

Peach sleepily gazed around the room in confusion. She squinted her eyes as she attempted to adjust to the dark atmosphere.

Where was she?

After a few minutes, she was able to make out the shapes around her, though just barely.

She sat in the back of a large, cluttered room, the only source of light creeping under the only exit's door. It was barely enough for her to see, but enough for her to realize she had no idea where she was, or how she had gotten here.

Was she dreaming again? Peach frowned as she looked down at her painful burn.

No, this wasn't a dream.

Instinctually, Peach quickly stood up, pushing past the messy, cluttered furniture and items, heading straight for the door. She had to pivot and squeeze between the mess but did so with as much grace as one could have.

Reaching the door, Peach quickly snatched the handle and yanked it. The door hardly moved no matter how hard she tugged, making Peach grunt in frustration and slight panic.

She was trapped.

Peach removed her hand as she took a few steps back. Why was she even-

She paused as she blinked her eyes, now remembering exactly what had happened. It took her a few moments to regain her thoughts, and even as the memories faded back, she didn't know how to process them.

All she remembered was…

Him.

Peach stumbled away from the door, fearful of the idea of him being behind it, which was a likely idea to the woman.

His face was as fierce as koopas came, though far more dark and intimidating. She vaguely remembered the koopa from the few times she had seen him in person, and he had barely changed.

One thing changed, however: his body was covered in what she assumed were scars and rough scratches that traveled up his large form. Though she had barely seen him in the low light, they seemed to even trail up towards his face and neck, growing in intensity.

She had seen him a few times, though from a distance...nothing more than that. How did he...know her? Her heart pounded as she remembered him saying her name in such a vile manner.

"King Koopa…" Peach murmured softly to herself, trying to recall everything that had happened. She stared at the door, realizing he must have brought her here.

"King Koopa?!" She repeated in shock.

He was alive! How was this...possible? The king of the Darklands had been killed years ago! It was global news and many still grieved over it...how was this...even remotely possible?

Even her tiny town was discouraged by the news...Sure, the Mushroom Kingdom and the Darklands weren't on good terms, but surely for resource purposes, King Koopa had invested a lot of funding into their area for their produce, and with his passing, that support faded.

Speaking of impossible things...Daisy! Daisy was here and was talking to King Koopa! Almost trying to reason with him as if they were equals. Clearly...that human had quite the connection.

No wonder she was so persistent about this being a myth! About the phantom, or, King Koopa, being a tourist joke! Was she...protecting him? Why did he need to be protected? Why was he hiding?

Daisy had tried to protect her, even. Peach was alive, so whatever Daisy did had worked...but escaping was the next hurdle for the young woman, and she knew she wouldn't have Daisy's help for that.

She groaned as she looked at the locked door. Step one, getting out of this room, was a bust.

Peach's back leaned against a large shelf as she slowly fell to her knees out of both exhaustion and confusion. With a sigh, she looked up at the ceiling, trying to understand the whole situation that seemed to have no answers.

"Great, at least your kidnapper is royalty," she muttered with bitter amusement. "Maybe he'll-"

Peach paused. A slight glimmer caught her attention, a few shelves above from where she sat. Though the light was dull, it seemed to land exactly on whatever was causing the shine.

Peach quickly hopped off her knees as she turned towards the shelf, trying to find whatever had gleamed so brightly. Peach shook her head in annoyance, realizing she had hoped it was a key, but knowing how that would be far too easy.

Especially knowing the rumours of how smart King Koopa was.

Peach quickly found the object, and not to her surprise, it wasn't a key.

It was a hand mirror.

It was petite in size and a lovely pearl color, opal stones resting around the reflective surface.

Peach hesitated before gently lifting the surprisingly-heavy object. It was covered in a thick layer of dust; it had been here for a very long time.

Lifting it close to her face, Peach flinched and pulled the mirror away, groaning at how...messy she looked.

Her blonde hair was frizzy and knotted, and her makeup was smudged and ruined. Though it was the least of her concerns, she couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed. Using her sleeve, Peach wiped away what she could of the mess, but it didn't help much.

Peach placed the mirror face down, right back where she had found it. Her fingers lingered for a moment, tracing the pattern that rested on its handle.

It was so intricate and so…

Familiar.

Peach's heart dropped as any admiration for the piece quickly disappeared. She snatched the mirror, this time with no caution, as she flipped it over and pulled it to her face, searching the surface for her answer.

The backside of the mirror was even more beautiful than the back. A large opal stone, cut into the shape of a mushroom sat in the middle, a small engraving sitting below.

Toadstool

Peach's hand went limp as the mirror fell to the floor, the glass shattering around her.

Countless murmurs spread among the workers and actors as they formed a wall around Pauline, her nose scrunched up as she read a small scrap of paper. She had read it countless times, but everyone, her included, just couldn't wrap their heads around it.

What did this mean?

"Outa my way! Outa my way, you meatheads!" Kamek screeched as he pushed past the massive crowd, though hardly anyone listened to him. Squeezing through a few goombas, and taking a few elbows to the head, he hovered towards Pauline, eyeing her angrily.

"Don't give me the glare!" She sighed with a defeated shake of her head. "Glare at him."

Pauline handed the note in Kamek's direction, gesturing towards the large, intimidating seal covering the letter. Instantly, Kamek's face paled, realizing this was more than his crew slacking off.

Who had messed up this time?

"Oh, please. I'm sure it's nothing!" Kamek muttered nervously. The entire crowd was silent, watching their boss crumble under the pressure of a little piece of paper. "I'm sure it's just-"

"About our newest actress being whisked away during production? Yep," Pauline muttered with a deep frown. "Bingo."

Kamek's jaw launched open as he snatched the letter, disbelief nearly knocking him out cold. Surely this was some sort of mix up!

Kamek cleared his throat as he read the letter out loud to the crowd, who had heard it countless times now, but listened intently just as they had the first time.

Toadstool is under new employment for the time being. She's in good hands. Continue production with her understudy until further notice.

Kindest regards,

The Phantom.

Slowly, the letter fell to the ground, Kamek's hands frozen in place.

Peach was taken? Why the hell was she taken? Why was she alive? Or, the letter suggested she was alive, hopefully. This was unheard of! Unspoken of! The phantom taking someone hostage? Alive? What did this mean? How would production manage?

Even though she was a human, Kamek had to admit he was taking a liking for the woman, just as he had for Mario and Pauline. He felt a pit of worry in his stomach thinking about how he had tried to warn her. Well, most of the concern was for the sake of his opera house, obviously.

"No idea," Pauline muttered quizzically, reading Kamek's expression. "Peach was here earlier but she hasn't been seen since she-"

"You're offly calm after being told a kidnapping took place right under our noses! A costar, no less!" Kamek squeaked in confusion. "I'd expect you fleshy humans to be bouncing off the walls by now!"

"Some of us have to keep it together!" Pauline retorted with a furrowed brow. By this point, everyone had wandered off after a lack of interest, but some turned their heads towards the two as they bickered. "What do you want me to do, Kamek? Go down there?"

"No, let's...not do that," he muttered absentmindedly.

Kamek bit his tongue at his employee's sass as he thought to himself. She had a point: there wasn't much anyone could do except follow orders with a smile, as usual. Sure, he could send some koopas to hunt for her, but he knew how that would turn out...There wasn't anything he could do besides what the Phantom had ordered.

He was literally shoved in a corner with one option: act like this was fine. Perh

Kamek groaned. He had warned Peach of what was below the opera house, but it was clear she hadn't listened. That foolish girl was too nosy for her own good. Now only god knows what hell she's living through.

Or, if she would even live through it.

How did he have her mirror?

Peach silently thumped herself in the head for not recognizing it right away. It had been years since she had lost it-

"Or, well, had it stolen," Peach corrected herself bitterly.

Realizing what she had done, Peach fell to her knees and picked up the glass, making sure not to cut herself, and put it all on the now-useless mirror, and back on the shelf. Though she was a prisoner, broken glass was an accident waiting to happen.

King Koopa wasn't the only other one here...she would hate to see Daisy or that young Koopa get hurt. King Koopa, though? Maybe she could turn a blind eye to that.

"I knew Koopas were thieves, but this is just ridiculous!" Peach mumbled. "Who steals from humans who can barely afford-"

Peach paused, eyeing the rest of the shelf. The mirror was not the only familiar object that sat covered in dust.

A hairbrush, a few cute bobby pins and hair clips, and countless other items that…

Belonged to her.

All were thrown on the shelf with little caution, almost as if they were not wanted. Most items were worthless, being hair clips or gloves without a pair. There were pencils, pens, and even dresses!

Why would anyone steal this? It grinded Peach's gears to see her stuff all collected here, but why would anyone want it all? It was worthless to anyone else! Most of it had little to no value!

Peach turned around, slowly moving in a circle, her paranoia doubling. She easily recognized countless items littered around the room that belonged to her, shoved in places and thrown away. So many things she had thought she lost...right in front of her.

She even noticed some of her furniture that her father had thrown out and replaced!

Peach suddenly felt a wave of nausea as she clutched her stomach. Clearly, the only thing connecting these objects was its owner:

Her.

She instantly put two and two together:

It wasn't the fact that the thief wanted these objects, but that they had belonged to her.

"Great, not only did you get yourself kidnapped by a fire-breathing maniac, but a creep, too!" She whispered to herself in disgust and fear. Realization followed her uncomfort as she feared this stalker of a koopa would surely come for her.

She shivered, dreading what he would do to her.

Grabbing a few hair pins, Peach rushed to the door, not knowing where she would go, but knowing exactly what she needed to do:

She needed to get away before he could lay a claw on her.

"You did the right thing," Daisy reassured. She frowned before continuing. "Or, the 'rightest' thing you would do, you know. Letting her go was an option, but-"

Daisy was cut off by Bowser's sour glare.

"You know just as much as I do that that is not an option," Bowser growled. "I let her live and that's as much mercy as she deserves."

Daisy rolled her eyes.

"You're so charming."

"Comes with the royalty," Bowser spat in annoyance.

"So is this your plan? Locking her away forever?" Daisy frowned. "Or, let me guess, until everyone notices? Starts looking?"

Bowser groaned, his patience quickly falling.

"You don't need to give me that speech again. I already have it figured out, so quit it."

Daisy opened her mouth to bicker even further, but paused as that was the last thing she had expected. Had she heard him correctly?

"Do you now?" She questioned cautiously. "Bowser, this is a big problem you're making for yourself and your kids-"

"She's the problem!" Bowser nearly shouted. Daisy held her ground and continued glaring at the beast with a disapproving frown.

"Says the kidnapper."

Bowser was beginning to fume. He had done countless awful things, but kidnapping a woman was not something he would even consider. His crimes were for the sake of his kingdom and his people, not for his entertainment.

"I've killed every other threat to us. You're seriously upset with me for letting this one live?"

"You kill threats, Bowser! Does a small human seem like such a threat to you?" She groaned as he gave no reaction. "Oh, then I guess I'm a threat, too, seeing as us humans will be the death of you!" She quickly punched his arm, instantly proving her point, as he didn't move at all.

She crossed her arms and tapped her foot, feeling like she had proved some great point, and waited for Bowser's compliance. Instead, she got a blank stare from him.

"You're leaving," Bowser ordered.

"What-"

Bowser quickly grabbed the back of her dress, lifting her into the air. She squirmed against his grip before falling limp, knowing there was nothing she could do.

She groaned as she was forced to go with Bowser as he headed for the closest exit.

"Okay, okay, big guy! I get it," she muttered, earning an approving huff from the koopa. "Can you at least tell me what your plan is?"

Bowser shook his head, raising Daisy inches away from his face to face him.

"Ludwig has it covered. Let's just see if it works, first."

"Lady Toadstool!" Ludwig called out with as much respect as he could have for a prisoner. "Are you decent? Awake?" Silence followed. "Alive?" He added cautiously, unhappy with the lack of responses.

Ludwig stood awkwardly in his father's office, waiting for approval to enter. He shifted his weight from each foot, patiently wondering what was taking so long for a response.

"Miss Toadstool, I assure you, I have wonderful news," he reassured, unable to hide his excitement. "If only you'll hear me out. I am of no threat to you! I promise! I am here to resolve our...little issue!"

After a few minutes, he realized she must be sleeping at this late hour. He knocked on the door, hoping to wake her. But, once again, it was as if she was never here.

"Was it something I said?" He whispered to himself nervously.

The smaller koopa hummed to himself. She had seemed so chatty and social up above! Why was she suddenly so distant?

Well, perhaps being locked away does that to you. Ludwig cringed, realizing that was the case for more than just Peach.

He held his breath before leaning and pressing his ear against the door, hoping to hear any sign of her. Instead, the second his weight was pressed against it, the door fell open with his weight pressed against it.

He fell flat on his face with a loud yelp, rolling straight into the cluttered room. He rubbed his head before scuttling to his feet, realizing what this meant:

The door was unlocked, and she was gone.