"Are you positive you know where we're going? We've been walking for hours…And we haven't seen so much as a doorway–"

"Yes."

Peach rolled her eyes at King Koopa's blunt answer–especially his inability to look towards her when speaking to her–and instead kept her focus on the path in front of them. She had asked for reassurance a few times over the last few hours, and at his best, she got a growl of a 'yes' that didn't bother masking her company's inconvenience. At his worst, she was ignored, though certain he was listening to her.

She knew he was stressed, surely more so than her, so she groaned and smothered her frustration with him. She pressed her chin against the warm metal lid of her lantern as the caverns began to run cold. The two had stumbled upon the abandoned miner equipment a few hours ago and King Koopa's flame still shone brightly, but…it wasn't enough to make her feel at ease. They had hoped it was a sign of civilization near by but...it never seemed that easy.

Her grip around the lantern tightened as she looked up at him with subtle concern and parted her lips. She knew he was exhausted because she was exhausted...but, as always, he pushed forward, with no indication of his struggles, inward or outward. Peach cleared her throat to ask how he was feeling, but her words croaked out of her before falling to weak gasps for air; she was unable to speak.

"No…wait…" Peach's voice came out in strained whimpers, hardly able to rise above a whisper. Her heart sunk as King Koopa continued walking without so much as a glance over his shoulder towards the crumbling girl. She took a step towards his fading figure and reached out to him but, just like her ability to speak, her movement fell to numbness. "Come back…I'm…"

Peach fell to her knees, slamming the lantern on the floor with a loud crash of glass. With that, his figure was consumed by the darkness and he was gone; she was alone, melting with a pain that consumed her every thought. She gripped her temple as she tried to numb the thumps of agony. She groaned and cried in pain, as if something were trying to break out of her skull or perhaps snap it in half, before…

"You're here."

Just as quickly as it had consumed her, the pain subsided with one final breath. It took her a few seconds to realize the pain was gone before her head wobbled against her neck as she slowly looked up towards the pathway.

But, it was gone.

Peach gasped as it was replaced with a thick void of darkness. She cried out in shock, worried she had lost the ability to see, but her panicked hands rushing up to her eyes reassured her that she was still able to see…even if it were only her body.

Thankfully, Peach's figure did not ache from the pain. Instead, her senses ached from the overstimulation of returning so suddenly: her eyes ached as she looked around and her skin trembled from the air brushing against her hair. The process was so quick that a part of her wondered if it had even really happened or if she had exaggerated whatever had happened to her. Though muffled, she swore she heard someone calling out to her...

Peach rubbed her eyes and a figure appeared before her, towering down at her. Peach yelled and fell backwards onto her bottom as she tried to push herself away from the creature, something eerily chilling creeping out of the form above her: Though she could not see most of her, as the tall woman's silhouette was blinded by an aura of light, she was able to tell that her company was a large and looming, a few feet taller than Peach, and her presence itself radiated power...that was all she could see; all she could feel of this woman. The light surrounding the creature blinded Peach's ability to make out her features or anything within her outside of her silhouette; she could not see her face nor the intentions behind her eyes.

The woman reached down and gently placed her cold hand against the underside of Peach's chin, trailing it thoughtfully. Peach, frozen in confusion, did not react to the contact and instead continued looking up at the silhouette. "Forgive me. The initial connection always brings the most strain on the mind. You will learn to overcome it in time."

Peach pulled her face away from her icy fingers and the woman's demeanor shifted in an emotion she could not decipher. In one elegant movement, the woman returned to her towering height and raised her finger, levitating Peach to her feet to stare directly up at the woman.

"My child…can you hear me?" The motherly voice cooed, though Peach still flinched.

Peach furrowed her brow after finally collecting herself. "What did you do to him?" Peach croaked with a worried glance towards the woman.

The human tilted her head. "Him?"

"King Koopa," Peach answered, "what have you done to him? Have you hurt him? He walked towards you and now I'm alone…and he's gone. What have you done? If you're going to rob me, I won't give you anything unless you tell me."

The figure's lips parted for a moment as she contemplated how to react to her concern. A weak laughter radiated out of her as she gently shook her head. "Ah…the koopa," she hummed with a dismissive roll of her hand and another small chuckle. "Yes, you are with him right now. I have not touched him."

Peach's stubborn glare did not flinch at the reassurance, so the figure gently laughed once more and moved her finger in a circular rotation. It was a subtle, barely-noticeable movement, yet the action seemed to drain the woman deeply. A large flash of light beamed between the two humans–or what Peach assumed to be a fellow human–and she gazed up at it in apprehensive curiosity.

She squinted at a large portal-like image that spiraled between the two strangers. Though washed out, the silhouette of two figures slowly came into clarity, and Peach's heart raced at the image:

King Koopa held Peach tightly against her chest as he pushed through a tight section of the caverns, his shell cracking the stone above him as he grinded his fangs together. Even with the discomfort, he used his free hand to cover the tip of Peach's head, shrouding her from the rubble raining down from the markings he left in the ceiling. His face was dark and determined.

The second Peach's strained composure loosened and she stopped refusing the invisible force that held her in place, she was dropped against the void with the tip of her toes. Peach did not run away or scream this time, and instead stood enamored.

Now with the ability to move, Peach took a small step towards the vision. "What have you done to me?" She whispered. "Is this a dream? I was with King Koopa, and…I…" Peach frowned as her memory cut off and she was unable to remember what had happened outside of a small conversation she had had with the king.

With a gust of air, the vision faded. "Your subconscious," the voice echoed as the two locked eyes once again. "Where your mind wanders when you fall asleep. Or, in your case, when you have a visitor powerful enough that wishes to speak to you. It seems like I'm not the only person who has seeked your company here," she added cautiously with a small glance behind Peach. "You mustn't trust everyone who approaches you here. Not all creatures have the best of intentions in a place as vulnerable as this. Especially from someone of which they have much to gain."

Peach's heels gently clicked against the floor as she slowly spun in a circle, silently taking in the darkness that surrounded the two, all while looking for whatever sign of past company that the woman seemed to have noticed. Perhaps, even trying to track down another vision of her together with the king in the present. Instead, she was met with the infinite, chilling void that surrounded the two.

Why did it feel so…familiar?

Peach outstretched her hand towards the cold air but frowned as she was unable to feel anything besides the growing pressure the further she reached outwards. A sense of discomfort crawled over her the further she moved her hand, so she quickly dropped it to her side.

"I did what I could to save you."

Peach looked over her shoulder in gentle confusion towards the stranger. "Save me? Oh, do you mean when I fainted? I very much appreciate it...whatever you did. But I'm afraid that's the least concerning thing for me at the moment..."

The figure did not listen to Peach's ramblings. Instead, the woman slowly lifted her right arm from her side and opened her fist, allowing a familiar, glistening gem to float out of her hand and levitate a few inches above the tips of her fingers, spinning and glowing in the darkness.

The crystal slowly floated over to Peach who's mouth was gaping at the once-broken gem.

"Oh...I see..." Peach whispered.

The woman paused. "Do you?"

Peach nodded. "This is a dream..." She sighed with a shake of her head. "An odd one, at that...but not believable enough. I broke that gem last night. Regrettably." Peach shook her head and remained still, unflinching at the sight of the gem. Though her interest dwindled because nothing was real, a part of her also crept with discomfort at the sight of the gem...or what sat dormant within it.

"You must keep it close to you," the figure whispered through great strain. "Soon, you will understand. Soon, you will remember."

Peach politely smiled, though something uncomfortable ran through her. "...Remember?" She quietly repeated. "What do you mean? What is there to remember?"

"Your purpose."

"Purpose? Must you speak so vaguely?"

"Your destiny; the reason you exist...the reason you are here."

"Destiny? Forgive me, I must sound like an echo…I don't understand what you mean, miss…oh, tell me, what is your name?"

"You will remember."

"Your name? Or my purpose?" Peach sighed. "I think you have the wrong person…I think you're in the wrong girl's dream..." she whispered as she took a small step away from the figure. She stiffened as the stranger's eyes trailed after her and the gem began creeping closer and closer to Peach's body. The further she moved, the more the gem tracked her movements, eager on making contact with her. Peach's voice began to shake. "I think I'd like to wake up now…as pleasant as this has been...I must be going..."

The woman did not flinch. "Promise me that, Peach Toadstool. Promise me you will remember your purpose; you will forget what plagues you from your destiny. What plagued you before can be filtered out if you–"

Peach, instead of reaching out towards the gem, took a step away with her hands clasped over her chest as a sense of dread crept through her. "No…No, I don't understand…" Peach whimpered in confusion as she continued backing away. The jewel crept closer. "Please, you aren't making any sense, I don't understand what you want of me…where I am…who…who I am…this girl you are meant to talk to…it isn't me!"

The stranger's withering demands grew louder and louder as the gem loomed towards Peach, shining deep red hues up and down her silhouette; the same light that protected her against the water and the gang of boos. "You will remember…you will forget…however many times it will take...I will cleanse the plague out of your very soul, leaving behind what was meant to be, and you will fulfill–"

Peach desperately tried to wipe the crystal's pattern off of her skin as she swore it began to burn. She shoved her face into her palms as her mind began to fade. "No…" She whimpered. "Forgotten…remember…what have I…who am…who am I…" Peach whispered in hysterics as she tripped backwards, landing on her bottom, and instantly tried to push herself away from the gem above her.

"Please, you must remember. Remember what you have forgotten."

In complete horror, Peach screamed at the woman. "No! No, stay away! Keep away, keep that damned thing away from me!" Peach cried through the figure's premonitions that pounced on her. But, no matter how much she shouted or pushed herself away, the gem was now only a few inches away from her temple.

"No! Keep it away! I don't want to remember! Please! Please stay away from–"

Peach woke up with a panicked gasp as she sat out of bed. She looked around in hazed worry, realizing she was in her bedroom, and sunk back against her pillow with sweat dripping against her temple. She sat in terror for a moment before realizing she couldn't remember why she was afraid or why she was confused...was it a nightmare? Oh, no...the longer she thought to herself, the more it dwindled away from her memory...

She frowned, annoyed that she forgot such an interesting dream. But, more importantly, she was back in her room? A part of her still wondered if she was sleeping, but her racing heart reminded her of how awake she was.

When had she crawled back into bed? How had she made it back to her room? The last thing she remembered was laughing at one of King Koopa's crude jokes before she...no, it all faded to black quickly after. Had she passed out? Peach gently slapped herself in the forehead as she flushed, realizing she must have fallen asleep on the journey back and King Koopa must have brought her to bed. How long had it taken? Had she gotten the opportunity to thank him? Oh, how exhausted was he?! If not for her own exhaustion, Peach would've jumped out of bed to thank him.

Peach's grip on her blanket grew as she started biting her tongue in anticipation of their next meeting.

After a few minutes of wondering, Peach looked around; she was back in her room, a dimly-lit candle on her nightstand and her door completely shut with no sign of tampering. But, even so, she felt...watched...monitored, even, as if someone were in her room at that very moment, staring at her from arm's length...staring at her with the intention of–"

"Boo!"

Peach shrieked as a shrill voice yelped directly in her ear.

"Are ya lookin' for this thing?" The laughing voice squeaked. "Are ya? C'mon! If you aren't, I'm takin' it!"

Peach yelped again as a figure excitedly popped its head over the side of her bed with a wide, fang-ridden smile. Only when her eyes adjusted to the dim candlelight did she recognize the figure as Junior, which quickly eased her fear as she returned a sleepy smile in his direction.

Junior waved something sitting between his index finger and thumb, reflecting the candle light into her eyes. At first, she stiffened and leaned back into her pillow, something familiar reminding her of her nightmare, before it faded away and replaced with giddy glee at the sight of the once-broken gem sitting in his hand.

"Yes!" She cried in relief. "Where did you find it? How? Oh, I had thought I'd never seen it again!"

Junior happily handed the jewel over with a clear appreciation of being helpful. She quietly squealed and took it out of his hand with a bright smile. She flipped it upside down and analyzed every angle of the gem, making sure it was still in good condition–she half assumed Junior had somehow hunted down the shards and glued them back together, but it was in perfect condition. She sighed in relief as it didn't have so much as a scratch against its surface.

Junior hopped on her bed and crawled towards her as she analyzed the stone.

"Pretty thing, isn't it?!" He snickered. "It was under your pillowcase!"

"You were looking…under my pillowcase?" She asked suspiciously, a bit worried about what other things he shoved his snout into without asking.

Junior shrugged with an unapologetic nod of his head. "You were sleepin'. What else was I 'posed to do. I was bored. Plus, you gotta lotta stuff to snoop through," he innocently replied. "It's not like I ran off with it! I gave it to ya, didn't I?"

Peach laughed at his honesty. He had a point, no matter how blunt it was. "I'm not mad at you, if you think I am. I'm not upset at you, either," she reassured and his posture instantly relaxed. "I suppose...I'm a bit frustrated with myself, if anything."

Her eyes fell to worry as she clenched her fingers around the gem. "I was really upset because I thought I'd broken this...Your father gave it to me as a gift and I should have been more careful with it...It broke after I..."

Peach's rambling fell for a few seconds as she revisited the blurry memories of the night before. She was certain she had broken the gem. She saw it shatter; scatter into hundreds of fragments all over the dark cavern floor...yet...she held the warm gem in her palm again as if it had never left her side. How...how was it possible? Had she imagined the whole thing? What else had she fabricated? What else had she failed to remember?

Remember?

Peach jolted at the word as the air was sucked out of her. Junior tilted his head in confusion and Peach, too, looked at him in confusion at her reaction. Something familiar in her rang out for a few seconds before smothering away. She cleared her throat and shook her head as if nothing happened. "What I mean is...thank you. Really, Junior. I don't know what you did to fix it, but..."

Peach leaned forward and gently rustled his hair. Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice her trembling fingers. Her anxiousness melted at the way his eyes lit up with stars and he beamed.

"Just keep your nose out of things that aren't yours! You'll get in trouble! More than you already do!"

Junior groaned. "Shouldn't you be sayin' that to yourself?" He accused. "You've been snoopin' through dad's stuff and I haven't even said anythin'!"

"That's…that's different! I have my reasons!" She defended. She cleared her throat and continued. "Why are you up so late? Shouldn't you be sleeping with your siblings?"

"I couldn't sleep," he shrugged. "I was worried 'bout you 'n dad bein' gone for so long. We were stuck with Ludwig bein' in charge…and it blowed! Wendy smacked my head so much I think I'll have a dent by tomorrow!"

Peach softly smiled. "Oh, Junior, I'm perfectly fine…you could never get rid of me. Your father's fine, too," she motherly cooed. "He wouldn't let anything bad happen to me. And I made sure to keep him out of trouble! Which is something you should stay out of, too."

Peach felt a deep knot in her stomach as Junior's face still rang with worry as he nervously fiddled with the bedsheets. She bit her lip as she felt something instinctual kick in and beg for her to comfort him further…she wasn't often around children, often times not knowing how to take care of them, and had never felt a strong connection to one before…but, Junior seemed to pull something out of her. Like an itch she just couldn't scratch until he smiled again.

She placed her hand back on his head with a shake of her own. "I feel awfully safe with a strong koopa like you around me! You know, I think I had a nightmare while I was sleeping...and I'm a bit scared...but, nothing bad will happen with you keeping me safe, right?"

Junior puffed his chest in pride at the mention of keeping her safe, instantly abandoning his distraught frown, and vigorously nodded with a fang-filled smile.

Peach giggled. He was just like his father. But, within a few seconds, his brave demeanor fell to skiddish worry as his eyes drooped and his claws began fiddling once again.

"What is it?" Peach whispered.

"Can I stay with you? I don't want you to go away again. Or…or I don't want you to get hurt. Or...be afraid...I get bad dreams too, yanno, and...I dunno, I-I just don't want you to leave again! Or be afraid! Or feel anythin' bad! Is that okay?" He rambled through embarrassed cries.

Peach wanted to laugh at his adorable nature but bit her tongue, knowing it would only make it harder for him to open up to her in the future, and instead nodded with a scoot to the side. She patted the room on the bed next to her and his eyes filled with stars one more time. She failed to smother her laughter as Junior didn't hesitate to eagerly crawl under the blanket and pop up next to her, nuzzling into her shoulder with a deep sigh.

She leaned over to her nightstand, blew out the candle, and laid back in bed next to him, ready to go back to sleep. For whatever reason, the nightmare she swore she just had, she wanted to see what happened next...especially now knowing she had a friend to keep her safe.

"Thanks, Mama Peach…" Junior sleepily whispered under his breath.

Peach's heart hummed.

"Goodnight, Junior."

A/N: Thank you for reading!