A/N: Updates may slow down a bit! (Maybe) But I promise I'll try not to disappear! I adore writing this story and I really want to finish it for you guys!

Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a review if you can!

At the break of dawn, Daisy was on the road.

The air was humid, fresh from a storm, and a subtle fog clouded the streets. Puddles of water sat along the road, which Daisy happily made sure to step in, accidentally splashing the smaller koopas that walked around her.

She carried a large basket at her side. It was filled to the brim and covered with a large cloth, keeping greedy eyes away from what it contained. She protectively held it to her side, her free hand placed on its surface.

Every Sunday, Daisy was instructed with what to pick up for Bowser and the koopalings. Bowser gave her the funds for the purchases, but always more than enough, as she got to keep the rest. It was a silent act of kindness from the koopa, but it never went unappreciated.

Food was usually the focus of the list, as that was the only thing they were unable to get on their own without stealing. Over the years, Daisy had picked up on everyone's favorites, and would always surprise every koopa with their personal treats, even if it wasn't on the list.

Though, she always spent what she could on goodies and toys for the kiddos. And, this time, she made sure to grab a little something for their new...guest. It was the least she could do.

Daisy walked through the Darklands market, humming to herself. Being a human, and a noisy one at that, earned her countless ugly stares from the locals, but Daisy returned each look with a grin.

She was too excited to be bothered by the usual negativity of the Darklands.

After her talk with Luigi, Daisy was left with nothing but determination to fix what she had started. She had been up all night plotting and scheming ideas for Peach's safety, knowing this situation would not be fixed if she simply helped Peach escape.

No, the problem was much more than that; letting her leave so early was risky...even Daisy knew that. Peach knew too much to leave..

At least, for now.

The fix was easy: kindness. All Daisy had to do was find a way for Bowser to care for the girl. Grumpy Bowser was never one for friendship, but Daisy would change that, surely. It wouldn't be too hard, would it?

How hard would it be for a murderous, presumed-dead king to to befriend a human?

She cringed, realizing it would be anything but easy. Bowser had a deep disliking for Peach for some unknown reason, and that would be hard to work around, or even change.

But, that didn't stop her from feeling confident about her plans. Beneath those layers and layers and layers of anger, Bowser truly was a sweet koopa. She just...had to make him show her that!

Bowser's mercy was Peach's key out of the prison, seeing as that's how Daisy had gained her permission to enter.

All she had to do was show the two that they can get along! Easy, right?

Bowser grabbed Peach's arm and dropped her on her feet with a loud thump. Without letting go of her, he slammed the doors behind him, locking the two away in the maze beneath the Darklands.

He pulled her close to face him, eyeing her with pure disapproval and frustration.

"Do you realize what you just did?" He growled, his anger growing as she glared at him with no sign of backing down. "You could have gotten yourself killed!"

Anger pooled from his words as he bit his tongue, using every muscle in his body to keep him from lashing out on the girl. Though Peach stared at the koopa with resentment, her body shook from both the cold and fear.

Peach, disoriented from the darkness, tried her best to meet his glare. She squirmed while his claw held her in place, releasing a frustrated groan as there was no sign of him budging..

"Can you blame me?!" She cried out, "look at what you're doing!"

A loud strike of lightning lit up the room for a moment, revealing Bowser's glare, inches away from Peach's defiant frown. The boom echoed throughout the corridor as the two silently glared at one another.

However, Peach flinched, resulting in a cocky grin from the beast; he had won the standoff.

"Doing exactly what I need to do," he hissed while pulling her arm forward. She turned her head away, her heart dropping.

She really was trapped with him once again.

Bowser pulled away with a scoff, no longer so close to the human. His grip remained around her arm as he took a few steps forward, annoyed to find her continuing to disobey and fight against him.

"Move," he ordered.

She pulled against his grip for a few more moments before following his orders, realizing all she was doing was ticking off the beast even further. Bowser gave a huff of approval, not expecting her to follow so easily.

Peach quietly followed her captor as her arm was pulled forward. She remained obedient as possible, much to her distaste, as every bone in her body called for her to fight. Listening to such a monster left a sour taste in her mouth, and Bowser's silent, cocky demeanor didn't help her mood either.

Even though he wasn't saying a word, Peach could feel his ego growing by the second.

His power-hungry attitude was annoying beyond belief, and Peach was left with no option other than to continue feeding it. It was that, or be harmed, surely.

The labyrinth's ambiance was the only source of sound for the woman, as she was unable to see through the darkness. Footsteps, scuttling creatures, and occasional water drips filled the area. Peach constantly walked with her eyes squinted, half expecting to be lead directly into a wall.

Bowser, however, could see everything clearly.

They walked through one of the many copy-and-pasted corridors, though this one was far more familiar to the koopa, as it was directly towards their destination. Though, due to his wounds, the journey was far more tedious as walking put quite a strain on the koopa.

Peach had noticed Bowser's rough breathing and uneven steps the second he had picked her up, but refused to acknowledge it. She couldn't deny that she felt...somewhat responsible, but knew that it was his fault for kidnapping her in the first place!

It was his fault for choosing to save her.

Peach bit her lip, realizing how awful that sounded.

Breaking the silence, Bowser finally spoke up.

"You still wear that ring?" He whispered with a longing, yet bitter, curiosity. Peach could feel his eyes digging into her with a different emotion that made her feel even more anxious.

Still? Peach wondered, eyeing the beast with suspicion.

"It was a gift," she curtly answered with a turn of her head.

He gave a sour chuckle.

"Whoever gave it to you was an idiot."

Instead of biting her tongue, Peach attempted to pull away just for the sake of spiting him.

"Speak for yourself, lizard breath," she defended. "You don't know anything about him."

Bowser's eyes sparked with amusement as he growled.

"Neither do you."

Peach furrowed her brow as she examined what she could see of the monster, intrigued and confused by his words. Before she could question what he meant, he turned his attention away from the girl, and her opening was gone.

"Stop," he ordered once again, this time with far less authority. The two paused for a moment, and Peach couldn't help but cling to her captor's arm, fearful of what was in the darkness.

Bowser flinched at the contact, but wasn't opposed to it as much as he should have been.

Several heads popped from around a corner, and Peach could feel the eyes digging into her. She pulled away, wanting to run, but Bowser's arm didn't budge as he held his ground.

"What do you think you're doing?" He grumbled. "Do you realize how early it is?"

Ludwig poked his head out a little further than the rest of the koopalings, cringing at his father's state and how the captor was being pulled along. Both looked awful and were soaked in water.

Her escape clearly didn't end well for either of them.

"Yes, it's a bit early, isn't it?" He replied awkwardly. "But, we came to inform you that-"

"Daisy's here!" Junior and Lemmy piped in. Junior continued as Lemmy bounced up and down in excitement. "She's early with our stuff!"

There was a pause.

"Oh, and she needs to see you," Junior added.

Bowser groaned.

"Great, another wench to keep an eye on."

He shoved Peach forward, who stumbled forward in front of the figures. Immediately, her arms were grabbed by two seperate koopas who restrained her. Peach sighed, getting used to the treatment.

"Lead her to the main area." He paused, glaring at his prisoner. "Seeing as locked doors don't keep you in line, maybe they will." He eyed Junior specifically. "Let her get away, and I'll have your horns on my wall."

Junior nodded with an anxious grin as he held onto Peach's left arm. Morton, who held the other, puffed his chest in pride, ready to outshine his siblings.

Peach was turned around and led further into the labyrinth, the 5 other koopalings hopping behind the human. Once again, she struggled for a few moments before realizing it was a wasted effort.

"Daisy, we need to talk," Bowser ordered. Peach gulped as she stared back over her shoulder, knowing this surely had to be about her attempt at escaping. Hopefully she wouldn't get the other human in trouble.

Daisy poked her head out from behind the wall the koopalings had wandered from. Clearly, she had been hiding behind the wave of koopas. She flashed an awkward smile, forgetting just how accurate his sense of smell was.

Bowser turned around, gesturing for Daisy to walk with him, giving one final glare to his children as they turned around a corner.

Roy quickly perked back into the opening, delivering one last message.

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of her, alright!" Roy loudly yelled from the end of the hall.

Peach's face paled, terrified of what awaited her.

Daisy quickly caught up to Bowser.

"I left the supplies in the main area," she reassured. "Didn't forget them this time. Promise."

He frowned.

"I'm not here to talk to you about stupid supplies," he muttered while glancing over his shoulder.

Daisy frowned, realizing that he was soaked with water and seemed way more...furious. Upon closer inspection, blood trickled down his left arm and leg, leaving a steady stream behind him.

Bowser groaned as he followed Daisy's eyes. The last thing he needed was Daisy's usual, explosive concern.

"This is perfect!" Daisy called out in joy, shocking Bowser beyond belief. However, Daisy's smile remained unflinching.

He scoffed as he turned his attention away from the human, continuing to walk away.

"You're weirder than usual."

Daisy quickly covered her mouth, realizing she shouldn't have said that out loud. She cringed, realizing how...insensitive that had sounded, but she couldn't help being excited!

This was exactly the opening she needed to start her plan. All she needed to do was wait until they were together.

"What I meant to say was, do they hurt? The cuts." She corrected. Bowser was used to Daisy's odd behavior, so he ignored her initial reaction, thinking little of it.

Finally getting to the subject he wanted to talk about, Bowser nodded.

"I've felt worse," he shrugged, "but that stupid girl caused more trouble than a few cuts."

Daisy furrowed her brow. What exactly could she had done?

Peach buckled in laughter.

She sat on a large couch in an opening of a cave, decorated to appear like a casual living room. Bookshelves sat at the corners of the round area and several lanterns sat on tables scattered around the room, completely lighting up the living space.

Though the floor and ceiling were made of stone, it radiated with the energy of a home; Peach couldn't help but feel...safe for the first time.

A giant red rug covered in intricate patterns spread out in the center of the area, seven smaller koopas sitting on top of it, all laughing along with the human.

"Do it again!" Peach said between her fits of laughter.

The koopalings all snickered before performing several exaggerated, yet oddly-identical impressions of their father. Nearly all of them made fun of his temper, though some chose to replicate his scowls and roars of anger.

Peach couldn't help but lose it at the kids' impressions. Though she had barely met King Koopa, she found the koopalings to be impressively accurate with what she had seen of him. Her disliking of the monster made the hilarity behind it double.

This laugh was exactly what she needed.

"Woah, did dad do that to you?" Iggy questioned with a point at Peach's burnt hand. The rest of the koopalings' impressions paused as they turned to the human.

She cringed.

"No, actually." She gave an awkward laugh. She gave an embarrassed smile. "I did that to me."

"You can breathe fire, too?!" Lemmy squealed, his eyes filling with awe.

"What? No!" Peach quickly stated with a snort, causing the rest of the kids to break out in laughter. "Well, I wish I could," she added, earning a few more giggles.

"Yeah, if papa did it, she'd be a pile of ashes!" Junior called out, pushing the group to laugh even further, though Peach awkwardly smiled at such a cruel image.

"That's actually a pretty good point," Wendy interrupted, hopping next to Peach on the large couch. She leaned in close as she squinted her eyes at the human. "Why didn't dad blow you away? Woulda been easy, you know."

The kids all nodded their heads in approval. Peach cringed, not knowing the answer herself, and not wantingt to know, especially after seeing what was locked away.

"Yeah! Crispin' you up woulda been easy, especially with how soft you are!" Morton added with a burst of laughter, sitting on Peach's other side and grabbing her arm, eyeing it curiously.

Peach snatched her hand away and wrapped her arms around herself defensively.

Wendy picked at her hair, furrowing her brow.

"'Specially with...y'know, hair, too," she mumbled with clear jealousy. "Or whatever."

"And clothes!" Larry added, pulling on the hem of her dress.

"To sum it up for you," Ludwig chimed in with a grin, "you would not live."

"Okay, we get it, I'm...flammable," Peach interrupted with a forced smile. Murmurs of agreement spread until Peach continued. "I never knew King Koopa had this many kids, though."

Wendy leaned next to Peach, her eyes squinted in annoyance as she observed her brothers.

"Sometimes I wish he didn't," she muttered in Peach's ear. "Too many doofuses to monitor, if you ask me."

Peach looked around the room, watching as each of the kiddos talked among each other. There were so many that it was taking a bit for Peach to remember their names, but she was quickly picking up on it.

Though clearly a bit troublesome, every koopa before her had their own charm. These children were not evil like their father, so why were they locked away with him?

It was common knowledge that King Koopa had children, but this was not what she was expecting; She had expected King Koopa's kids to be literal monsters! Instead, they were just...kids!

"Why are you guys locked down here?" She quietly asked, a bit of sadness coating her words.

The koopalings' faces paled, looking at one another for someone to tell them what to say. Ludwig groaned before instinctually covering both Lemmy and Junior's mouths, shaking his head in disapproval.

Clearly, those two had more to say than Peach was allowed to hear.

"That's not our story to tell," the eldest casually replied, "and it isn't something you should be sticking your nose into."

"You...she...WHAT?" Daisy squealed in disbelief. She bit her fingernails, pacing back and forth in front of the king. "You're joking, right?!"

Daisy couldn't believe what she had just heard. Bowser went out of his way to save her? He risked everything for her! Hell, even his identity was on the line! That was so uncharacteristic of him!

"Does it look like I'm joking?" Bowser dryly questioned. Just as much panic flowed through him, but he easily hid it away. "They ran away because of her. Stupid koopas cut me while they were at it."

He grinded his teeth as his opened wounds pulsed with pain. Even for a koopa, the cuts were deep. Though nothing for the king, it still pained him.

Daisy followed his eyes, silently worried about his state. Bowser had clearly lived through far worse, and a few gashes were nothing for a koopa, but it would still be a hindrance for the king.

Her eyes rose to his eyes as she knew one thing for sure:

Peach would not have lived through such direct slashes.

"She would be dead without you," Daisy mumbled, awe in her eyes. She had not expected this side of Bowser to show so easily, and was honestly impressed at what he had done.

Maybe this would be easier than she had thought!

Bowser turned his head away, hiding a slight flush of color from clear embarrassment. He was not used to such a look, and it was making his skin crawl.

He was being looked at like a hero.

"Maybe it would have been better if I had let her," he grumbled quietly.

Daisy shook her head.

"You know you don't mean that." She sighed. "It's okay that you wanted to protect-"

Bowser scoffed as he cut her off, earning an annoyed hum from his friend.

"I just don't get why she couldn't have just listened to me!" He grunted in frustration. "I knew she'd do this! Why else would I have told her to shut her eyes? I knew she'd mess everything up!"

Daisy eyed him curiously, reading him like an open book.

"So she wouldn't have to see you do it?"

Bowser paused before shaking his claw nonchalantly.

"I don't give a damn if she would've seen me kill them," he retorted bitterly. He turned towards his company with a scowl, clearly annoyed that she would even suggest such a bizarre idea.

Daisy, on the other hand, stood her ground and eyed him curiously with a scrunched up nose, easily reading through his lie.

For some reason, he was already partially soft for Peach; he didn't want her to see bloodshed, especially by his hands.

He had killed in front of Daisy and even the koopalings, for the sake of 'toughing them up,' of course, but this was...different.

What made Peach an exception? What was he shielding her from?

Daisy's quizzical glare made Bowser's nerves double as he quickly broke the silence.

"Thanks to her, they know who I am, and now I have an even bigger mess to clean up rather than a few missing koopas!" He groaned in exhaustion. "Do you know how hard it'll be to fix this?"

Daisy nodded in agreement, knowing the full picture was quite the problem.

"Yeah, some stagehands seeing their King, back from the dead, is a pretty big mess," she mumbled. "But, who would believe them? They were drunk, y'know?"

Bowser pushed back his hair while taking in a deep breath.

"That's not the point," he muttered. "Once the idea of the phantom being their king is planted in their puny little brains, it'll be easier for them to connect the dots. Koopas are stupid, but not that stupid."

Daisy nodded her head in understanding.

"You need to keep me updated on how far this spreads," Bowser ordered, confident in Daisy's abilities. "Even if it's just a rumor, once it reaches her, she won't hesitate to come chasing after me to finish me off."