Chapter 12 Purple Coins

The search was on. It didn't take too long for Peach to pick up her first batch of coins, mostly because she opted to go for the coins closest to the table. This was a good thing to do, but on some level it was an inconvenience. She had to compete with Larry in order to claim her glittering purple prizes. And Larry was known for being a brutal, vicious little scamp. He even looked like he was going to scratch the Princess's eyes out when she picked up the coins that he aimed for.

"No fair!" He growled at Peach, displaying teeth shinier than diamonds. "Those were mine!"

Peach shook her head. "You didn't pick them up. I grabbed them when they were technically unclaimed. So, by all accounts, the coins belong to me."

Larry shook his head, his rotten attitude seeping into every last word he spoke. "You and your self righteous Princess brain. You think just because you're so perfect, with your pink dress and shiny hair, means you can act like the biggest diva this side of Sarasaland. Talk about pretentious."

Peach's jaw dropped. Somehow, those words were more offensive to her than anything else she had heard all day. They grated on her heart, making her mind and body fill to overflowing with rage. Ohhhh…she wanted to slap Larry. Slap him right across his bratty, smug koopa face and show him that this sort of behavior was not cool. Teaching this child a lesson would be the most satisfying feeling in the world right now.

You know, if you did that, you'd just be proving Larry right.

This thought, delivered in a voice that sounded suspiciously like Rosalina's, made Peach seize up. It…that was correct. Larry was accusing her in being self righteous, and taking the time to slap him would only reinforce those words. She wasn't a diva. She was a princess, and a princess was what she would act like.

"Thank you for sharing your thoughts." Peach turned away from the youngest Koopaling. "But people are collecting more coins as we speak, so I suggest we focus on that instead of insulting each other.."

Not even bothering to wait for a response, Peach walked away. She kept her eyes peeled for the shiny purple sheen, the twirling movement that only a coin could make. It didn't take long for her to find something, situated behind a rock. Smiling, she made her way over, thrilled to see that there were five coins tucked in this hiding space. She picked all five of them up, beaming as she did.

I wonder how many coins there are in total, she thought to herself. Mario has told me that there were one hundred coins per area on the rescue mission he went on. Is that the case here? If so, then we will run out of coins super quick. Especially considering that there thirteen of us on the hunt right now.

Oh well. The amount didn't really matter. What mattered was that she needed to collect the most amount of coins out of anyone else, and the more time she spent thinking about questions like that, the less time she had to search. The card said they had a total of ten minutes, and based on Peach's own perception of time, she suspected that almost two minutes had passed. Maybe more, maybe less, but the point still stood. She needed to dedicate all the energy she had at her disposal to hunting.

So that's what she did. She searched everywhere; near a fountain, on a fence. She ran into people every once in a while; mostly the Koopas, to be more specific. Thankfully, they minded their own business. They kept searching, possibly going to the areas that Peach herself already visited. Peach continued on her search, eventually finding herself a hole. Admittedly curious, she slid down it. What she found on the other side was a slide, one that led her to a ground covered in honey.

"Oh…" She made a face as she tried to pull her shoe out of the sticky yellow mess. "That's not good."

She heard laughter. "Yeah, that happened to me too. You would think that the bees would put up signs or something."

Peach looked and saw Daisy. The tomboyish princess had a smirk on her face as she watched her older sister pull her feet out of the honey. When she finally succeeded, it unfortunately felt to Peach like she was going to require a change of shoes. There was honey residue on her soles, which made walking in the grass a horribly messy chore.

"This is less than ideal." She looked at Daisy, curiosity blooming in her. "How many coins do you have?"

"Eh," Daisy shrugged. "I think about twenty at this point. You?"

Peach's jaw dropped. "Twenty? Already?" She shook her head. "That's really impressive; I only have ten."

Daisy laughed. "What can I say? I'm just that good!" She looked across the way, a wicked grin growing on her face. "Say, do you spy what I spy?"

Peach looked where her sister was looking. Across platforms, all of them halfway covered in honey, was a group of four purple coins. They spun smoothly, glittering in a way that Peach could only describe as "seductive."

Daisy gave Peach a competitive look. "Dude. If I pick those up, I'll probably have the most coins out of anyone!" Without another word, she broke out into a run.

"Hey!" Taking off her sticky shoes, she ran after Daisy. They bounced from platform to platform, determined to reach the coins yet still cautious of the golden honey covering most of the area. Thanks to her head start as well as the fact that she had naturally better endurance, Daisy stayed ahead of Peach. This made her spirits fall honestly.

"Oh yeah!" Daisy said once she reached the coins. "This is awesome; I smell victory on the horizon!" Much to Peach's chagrin, Daisy reached out, ready to grab the treasures. Before she could, however, all four of them glowed with a blue aura. In a blink and you'll miss moment, they zipped out of Daisy's reach.

"Hey!" she said. "What gives?"

Laughter rose up around them. Peach and Daisy turned to see Ludwig floating a few inches away from the platforms. He smiled as he grabbed the coins.

"Oh man, I love being a special sometimes." He sent them a smile. "Nice try, girls. Really got a commend you for your efforts."

Daisy sent him a glare. "That's not fair, Kooky! You can't use your fancy shmancy powers like that!"

Ludwig shrugged. "There's nothing in the rules that says I can't." He turned around. "Now, you guys should really step on it; we only have five minutes left!"

Peach and Daisy exchanged a look. "Five minutes…!" That much time had passed already? Without another word, the princesses made their way back to the main part of the planet. From there, they separated themselves, looking in another areas for anything resembling a purple coin. Peach, unfortunately, didn't have a lot of luck. She searched all the areas that she believed she left unturned, but the purple coins were absent. She kept looking, hoping that she could find them.

Unfortunately, when she looked behind a tree, things took a turn for the worst. This was because she bumped into Bowser. Seeing the Koopa King's smile…it created the strangest feeling inside her. Peach didn't know how else to describe it aside from "negative."

"Hey, my beauty." He chuckled to himself. "This sunshine is doing you wonders. You look like you're glowing."

Not knowing how to respond to that, Peach averted her eyes. "Uh…thanks."

"It's true! You are by far the loveliest sight I've seen all week. Most of the time, in the Koopa Kingdom, all I come across is ashy black ground and orange lava. It gets so…boring after a while. Seeing the same sights every day, not having any form of variety…seeing beautiful people like you, dear princess, is a much welcome change of pace. You light up the very room you walk into. You are the most amazing sight for the sorest of eyes."

Okay. As much as Peach hated to admit it…she was blushing. Not only that, she was blushing hard. Her face felt like the surface of the sun. She tried to hide it from Bowser, putting her hands up to her face so that he wouldn't see her…was it an involuntary reaction? She…she actually didn't think so. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Bowser's words were…flattering. Heck, they were more flattering than any words she had received from Mario. With the plumber, he most stuck to stock phrases like "you look beautiful" or "you've got nice eyes." Bowser's words…well, Peach had to give him credit that they were at least more creative.

Bowser chuckled, although whether it was because he had seen her red face or not, she hadn't the slightest clue. "You know…this game is a good way for us to bond. Maybe we ca form a stronger friendship, which could morph into…"

"No."

Bowser blinked. "No?"

Peach uncovered her face, the blushing now gone. She looked into Bowser's shining red eyes, feeling a little bit of bile rising to her throat. "Bowser, I don't want to be friends with you."

Bowser's shoulders slumped. "Aww. Why not?"

"Why not? Bowser, you take time out of your day to ruin my life! You've killed my parents, and you kidnap me, putting Mario in danger and leaving my kingdom without an official ruler!" She crossed her arms. "How can you expect me to want to be friends after that?"

Bowser's shoulders slumped even more. To Peach's surprise, she saw hurt in his eyes. Genuine hurt, deep-cut hurt. The Koopa King even looked like he was going to cry at any moment. An odd sight to be sure, one that drew some sympathy out of the Princess. Sure, all that she said to him was true, and always would be true. But…she didn't know. She always felt bad seeing tears grow in someone else's eyes. Curse you, strong sense of sympathy.

"Thirty seconds left!" someone called out.

Peach's heart skipped a beat. "Thirty seconds!" She began panicking. "But, I only have ten coins! Oh, I'm not going to be able to beat anybody with just ten coins! I'll…."

Without another word, Bowser reached into his hammerspace and pulled out his humongous stack of coins. "Here."

Peach blinked. She looked between Bowser and the coins. "Uh…what?"

"I want you to win." He chuckled a little, the sound twinged with shame. "Consider it the first step of the long apology I owe you."

Peach did a double take. Bowser…he was doing something nice! He was putting the wants of someone else before his own! She never knew he could be so…selfless! Un-Bowser-like! It was a miracle! This was something she never thought would happen.

"Uh….thank you," she said, flustered. She took his enormous stack, looking at the purple coins in awe. There had to be at least forty two in the pile. That brought her total up to fifty two; more than half of what Peach assumed were the hundred coins present in the arena.

"TIME"S UP!"

The scenery faded away, the grass and tree melting into a inky blackness. Bowser and Peach found themselves back in the room, looking at the cosmos below and above them. They made their way back over to the table, where the others were already showcasing their collection of coins.

"I got thirty seven, baby!" Larry said. He puffed out his chest. "All you guys suck; you didn't get anywhere close to that! Looks like I win!'

"I wouldn't be so sure, Larry." Bowser gestured to Peach. "Peach has fifty two."

All eyes in the room grew wide. "Fifty two!?" Aqua asked.

Larry sputtered. "How…why…how?"

"You only had ten when I last spoke to you!" Daisy exclaimed. "How'd you manage to get forty two more?"

Peach looked over at Bowser. The look he gave told her that he wanted the method of retrieving the coins to be kept a secret. She turned back to the table. "Just got lucky, I guess." She looked back at Bowser, who gave her a wink.

Solar smiled while everyone was still looking surprise. "Well, I think we officially have a winner." He looked over at Peach. "Peach, you got the most points out of everyone, bringing your total up to two hundred and fifty two."

Peach beamed. She was winning! Man, this felt so good!