A/N: Man, I'm starting to realize how much of a slow burn this is! Sorry if it's a little too slow-paced, but that's how I like to write! :) I wrote one of the future chapters and I'm so excited to get to that point! Thank you so much for your patience and support. I hope you all are safe and healthy during these times. I'll try to update more but please keep in mind I'm a full-time student! Please review if you've enjoyed!

At first, Peach had hugged the dusty pillow, ignoring how badly she needed to sneeze, and gave into the comfort. The soft mattress of the worn-down bed was more than enough to make her forget about her situation while she had laid in bed.

She had expected to be kept up all night in fear and tormented by nightmares, yet she was left to peacefully sleep without any interruptions.

Though the longer she had laid in bed, the more her mind wandered.

Peach laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. She had abruptly woken up, unable to tell what time it was. With no window, clock, or anyone to talk to, Peach was left wondering if it was the middle of the night or noon. Had she overslept? Underslept? Why did it matter?

It's not like she was going anywhere! At least not with that creep around.

Sleeping was not easy for her anymore, seeing as her first encounter with King Koopa was in these walls while she was asleep. She knew it was only a dream, but it had felt so real. She shivered, remembering how intense his grip was on her wrist.

Peach sat up as she rubbed her arm and felt her heart rate increase. Though it hadn't hurt, such a monster touching her was terrifying.

Yet, why wasn't she afraid?

Peach kept rubbing her arm as she was left with her thoughts.

Her mind kept wandering, going back to when he had grabbed her by the waist and easily thrown her over his shoulder. She stopped rubbing her arm and gripped it, confused as to why she remembered the sensation so accurately.

"Why does this matter?" She whispered with a snarky laugh, though she couldn't deny how anxious she was. "You're questioning the wrong things here!"

"Why are you talking to yourself in the dark?" A voice whispered in Peach's ear.

Peach jolted up and yelped, grabbing her pillow in defense. She whipped her pillow over her shoulder and nailed it into the face of whoever was next to her, but they didn't budge.

"Okay, I'd love to have a pillow fight with ya right now but I'll get yelled at," the voice muttered with a groan. "Can we play later?"

Peach continued frozen in place, the pillow in her arms, and ready to hit him again if necessary.

"Oh! Oh! You can't see!" He cried out in embarrassment. "I'm- um- here!"

A small candle on Peach's nightstand lit up, illuminating the room.

"Junior?" She whispered in a tired tone as she rubbed her eyes. "Sorry for hitting you with the pillow...How'd you know I was here?"

Junior giggled as he hopped up on the side of Peach's bed. He seemed unphased and, if anything, thought it was fun.

"You smell," he whispered with a teasing grin.

Peach's face paled at his curt comment, but she couldn't help but snicker, as Junior was clearly holding back laughter. She rolled her eyes as she leaned against the bed frame.

"Ya smell good, lady! That's what I meant," he added with a wide smile. He crawled closer on all fours to the human as he took a deep breath of her. "We Koopas can smell humans pretty good, you know! Most of you guys are pretty stinky...but you smell okay."

Peach gave an awkward smile, unsure if she should be flattered or not.

"Papa's smell is even better than any other Koopa, though! He could probably smell ya across the kingdom!" Junior laughed. He had hoped to earn the same reaction from Peach but paused as she didn't laugh with him.

This only made her shudder. No wonder he had found her so easily! She wasn't as close to escaping as she had thought, was she?

Peach covered her face under the blankets, leaving only her eyes visible. Was she really that obvious to find? Easy to track? The idea of Bowser hunting her down due to her smell terrified her… She had thought she was so close to freedom, but the idea of Bowser constantly knowing her whereabouts was chilling and proved otherwise.

Any hope of sneaking away died. No matter how far she ran, Bowser would catch up and find her.

Peach's face paled.

Junior tilted his head, wondering if he had offended her.

"Y'know, I always hear him saying that you smell nic-"

"Okay, Junior, tap out!" a deeper voice ordered through clenched teeth from the hallway. Morton peaked his head in the doorway, eyeing his younger brother angrily. Junior crossed his arms, defying his older brother as he sat in place.

Morton growled.

"Get outa here before I slam you into the wall, idiot!" He called out, instantly earning a reaction out of his sibling. Junior jolted up and hopped off of the bed, rushing past his brother and into the hallway. Junior's reaction told Peach that Morton was making a promise, not a threat.

Morton groaned. "Sorry 'bout dat kiddo botherin' you. We wanted to drop off somethin' for ya to eat but he got carried away." He shook his head as he facepalmed. "He's a stupid idiot. Can't even give ya somethin'!"

Wendy peaked her head from the hallway and handed Morton a brown paper bag. He gave her a nod of approval before hopping into the room and climbing on Peach's bed.

"Here ya are! We don't want ya starvin'."

Peach gulped with a small smile, thankful that they didn't want that. She was thankful for the food, especially considering the fact that she hadn't eaten since being locked away.

"Thank you," she whispered as she took the bag. The Koopalings smiled before rushing out of the room one by one without any hesitation. Something told Peach that they hadn't eaten yet, either.

Thanks to Junior's light, Peach was able to see what was on the menu for prisoners: two sliced ham sandwiches, two apples, and two candy bars she didn't recognize. She smiled, feeling like she was back in middle school.

However, she found it a bit odd that Daisy would pack this much food for her. One sandwich would have been enough for her, let alone two of everything!

Upon further inspection, there was a small note folded at the bottom of the bag. She arched a brow as she pulled the note out, barely able to read the rough handwriting. Squinting, she was able to make it out:

Enjoy your breakfast! Hope you like it. Feel free to drop off Bowser's breakfast, too! Oops, looks like I accidentally put his in there, so you might as well. Have fun! Tell him I say hi!

Love, Daisy

Peach groaned at the blatantly obvious note. While she had agreed to this plan, she hated how it meant she had to spend time with him. WIth a sigh, she aggressively bit into her candy bar, admiring Daisy's dedication, but hating the position she was put in.

First thing in the morning, Pauline and Mario had tracked down Leo's location at his other job, seeing as he had been let go from the theater after going to Kamek and admitting what he had done in fear.

It was a local, run-down bar that was covered in countless signs of years of use. The stools had slashes and burn marks, and the tables were filthy even when wiped clean. There were stains that the two didn't want to know where they came from.

Pauline and Mario stared at Leo as he wiped down the small tables scattered around the open space. Last night had clearly been busy, as there was a mess at every single booth and table.

Pauline arched a brow at Leo's story.

"I'm tellin' you the truth! You don't gatta believe me," Lego mumbled under his breath as he wiped down a new table. "Look, I'm not lookin' to mess this up, too. I told you what you wanted to know, so get out unless you're buyin' somethin'."

Both humans were caught off guard by the amount of defeat in the koopa's voice. Leo was known for his aggressive, violent ways, but he hadn't touched alcohol since the incident, according to him. Neither had any pity for the koopa, seeing as he was violent, but they couldn't help but feel concerned.

"We'll take two drinks, then," Mario chimed in.

Leo arched a brow as he shuffled behind the bar.

"Lil early for drinks, don't you think? Even for me."

Pauline sighed.

"Two glasses of water will be fine."

"Figured," Leo mumbled as he ducked under the table. He pulled out two glass cups and shoved them in front of the two humans before pouring half a cup of luke-warm tap water. The glasses were cloudy and the water was anything but fresh.

"I don't even know if it was real," he whispered as he walked back out into the open, continuing to clean what he could. His earlier confidence was suddenly replaced with doubt. "Really, you two shouldn't be this interested in my little fantasy."

"You were attacked! We can see that, so it isn't all fantasy, is it? Can't you let us look into it?"

Leo flinched as he turned away, trying to hide the impressive bruise that wrapped around his neck. He rubbed it painfully before his hand dropped.

"I deserved it. Had it coming. Whoever did it to me wanted to keep her safe. I get that," he muttered with a sigh. He pressed his hand against his temple, trying to numb his hangover. "It's my fault for getting hammered."

"Her?" Mario asked. "Peach?"

Leo shrugged.

"Human with blonde hair. Obnoxious personality. Entitled little brat. How many humans do you know that're like that, huh?" He turned to Pauline. "Doubt it was you, sweetheart. Though you're on thin ice."

Pauline rolled her eyes in disgust as she attempted to keep her focus on the real topic at hand.

"So you saw Peach. It's who protected her that's up for questioning," she clarified.

"Pretty much. I was convinced it was King Koopa in the heat of the moment, you know? Never seen another Koopa as big as his majesty. The stranger was...huge." He shuddered. "Coulda crushed me in his claws if she hadn't made him stop. Nearly double the height of the girl, and she was pretty tall herself." He groaned. "I looked like an idiot when he attacked me."

Mario and Pauline turned to one another as the bar was filled with silence.

Whoever this koopa was, he was protecting Peach and attacking in her name. Was it someone she knew? Why would she run away like this? Why was the koopa...obedient?

Was it truly the phantom? The rumors were starting to spread out of the opera house, no matter how much Kamek tried to hush it. Nearly everyone in production was convinced that the phantom had stolen the newest star of their play. Though, outsiders were sure it was some lunatic with an obsession.

Leo was the joke of the kingdom; his story of crying about King Koopa's ghost was told on every corner of the Dark Lands. While laughable, he was also met with countless offended koopas. To talk of a dead king in such a hysterical matter was beyond disrespectful.

Though, a lot couldn't help wonder...was the king's ghost living dormant beneath the opera house? Was it possible? While most laughed at Leo, they couldn't help but wonder in silence, seeing as this wasn't the first case like this.

However, this was the first one involving a prisoner that the phantom kept alive, if that was even the case.

Pauline stood up with her hands on the bar table. After placing a few golden coins on its surface, she turned to Mario.

"Alright, Leo," Pauline called out, "We'll keep in touch, got it? Stay out of trouble."

Mario was sipping on his water as Pauline yanked his arm towards the door. The cup fell on the floor, spilling water all over the foot of the bar's chairs. The two were gone, leaving Leo alone with the mess.

Leo sighed, turning back towards the messy tables as his company rushed away.

What had he done?