Downfall of the Mushroom Kingdom

by geddiknight

As it feels like the worst is behind her, Now-Queen Peach resumes rule of the Mushroom Kingdom. Sadly, due to the costs of having upheld the Ultimate DoubleDash Tournament, everything seems to only be getting worse. With Rates of Violence reaching new highs and rates of approval dropping by the day, can Queen Peach handle her self-inflicted destruction? (Now rated M)

14. The Red Light District: Part 1

Downfall of the Mushroom Kingdom

The Red Light District: Part One

A/N: As most of this story is now currently based in Mushroom City, background detail has been applied to the sheer size of the Capital. Mushroom City will now act as its own area with specific districts being referred to for each location the story is currently set in. I've created its own metro system for this purpose to familiarise myself with locations. It should not be too much on the reader's mind though.

Let it also be noted that the default is still the Narrator's perspective, but will not be signified at the start like it used to before.

SPECIAL NOTE – SEPTEMBER/DECEMBER 2023: Uploads were halted due to FFN's bug with traffic stats. While it may not actually be fully fixed by the time of this upload, I had delayed uploads to give myself some backlog with future uploads for when they actually do fix this issue.

March 15, Noon

The Royal Fields, Greater Toad Town, Mushroom City

In the southern outskirts of the capital and outside the hedge fence of the main part of Toad Town lied the Royal Fields, another rural plain that was rich in Toad culture from the past and also full of private gardens. It was here in which the funerals of Toadant, Toadbert, and the other management crew Toads that passed on the night of Rainbow Road were taking place.

Accompanying Peach at this funeral were Mario and Luigi as they pledged earlier in the day, Toadsworth, Toad and Toadette, and many other former Toad Town residents and castle workers. Any friend of family of any of the deceased had shown up to this funeral, not a single Toad missed the invitation. As it was mainly organised by the funeral directors in partnership with other former employees at the management crew, not all faces attending today were happy to see each other, especially the relatives of Toadant and Toadbert when encountering Peach and the Mario Brothers. This was made very clear to the Queen when she had to make a speech for Toadant and Toadbert, seeing all of the faces of disgust she saw in the audience. Even Toad was not impressed with her showing up today. Even though to most she was seen as the Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom, she made it known that she came to visit as someone on the same level as anyone else there, as a friend or relative of those that passed. What she did learn through rumour throughout the time at the funeral was that she was not invited to sort of after-gathering back in Toad Lake. Given that Toadsworth was here only friend who wasn't a human that showed up, she tried to get this information from him, given that he was invited to the event and she was not.

"So..." She began with an opener assuming she didn't hear about this rumour. "Back to the castle after this ends?" The two were standing alone a few metres away from the main crowd in the crematorium fields, looking at all of the graves of late Toads buried here. The lost lives of the management crew and Toadbert were soon to be added to the mass.

"I would love to... but..." He turned and faced her. "Toad and Toadette are having a sort of housewarming party in their new home in Toad Lake, and thought it would be convenient for everyone to go there afterwards because they're all the ones invited. As well as that, I believe they were planning on doing something else in memory of Toadbert." He didn't like the look on Peach's face after receiving this information. "He didn't mention this to you, did he?" She shook her head. Toadsworth sighed and tried to search for Toad within the distant crowd. He was in fact not here after a few seconds spent looking.

"I had a feeling I wouldn't be invited to anything after. Do you wonder if Mario and Luigi got invited as well?" Peach looked around the fields and noticed Toad standing quite a distance away. He was also alone, and looking down at some of the gravestones. She wasn't sure if they were anyone specifically related to him, as Toadbert's and Toadant's were yet to be placed. While this special crematorium did have some similarities to a cemetery, this was not a public crematorium. Only services related to Toad Town citizens or Royal affiliates were held here.

"I'm not too sure. You'll have to either ask them or ask Toad. I just hope the situation between you two isn't as bad as we see it, because it's actually quite worrying to see what this all has become." Toadsworth turned away from Peach and now started to head back towards the crowd of Toads in the centre of the field. It looked like some were starting to get ready to depart from the fields and head towards Toad Lake. Toad in the distance however showed no sign of leaving. Peach felt like this was a subtle indication from Toadsworth to go and see Toad. He was looking away and down on the gravestones, prompting Peach to make a quiet move over. Mario and Luigi were lost in the crowd somewhere so they were of no assistance to her.

"You shouldn't be here." She overheard Toad whisper to her as she approached him from behind, now only a couple of metres away. Toad was dressed all in black and looking at the gravestone of his father that was buried here many years ago. He was also not wearing his mushroom cap, and the few hairs he had on his head were growing very long. It's normally a Toad custom to keep those cut very short, even though they are rarely seen in public.

"I'm sorry." She felt a lot of suffering and sadness on behalf of all of these Toads she saw in the crematorium graveyard. As the Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom, she always felt compelled to watch over them, so any that died to unjust means made her feel like she was part to blame for it. This applied especially to those being cremated today. "I felt that as the Queen it is my duty to pay my respects to all those who served me and stayed loyal to me. I'm sorry for all of them, not just Toadbert and Toadant."

"It's not that." Toad was visibly upset, and she only saw this now after having a closer look at the side of his face. "Forgive me if I sound rude but I mean that if you show up here for Toadant and Toadbert and not for the hundreds of others that were killed that night in the Toad Town Road, it makes you think less of them."

"I didn't come here as Queen to pay my respects to Toadbert and Toadant. I have paid my respects to all of those who lost their lives that night as Queen. I came today to pay my respects to them as Peach Toadstool... as their friend. Yes, I have a reputation with everyone here, but those two are most certainly... I mean... were most certainly my friends." Thinking about it all again only made Peach upset. She tried to cover the emotion, but it didn't really matter to her as nobody was looking her way. Not even Toad had yet turned around to look at her.

"I still can't believe it though." He looked up and straight, but still not towards Peach. "How three Koopas single-handedly made their way into the capital to shut down the controls to Rainbow Road, killing all of those management crew-members along the way. I mean, where's the Rainbow Road control centre, Capkin Street? Who knows that? Nobody outside of the management crew should know about this. Nobody else should be knowing about such confidential things! Yet, here we are. Three hostiles were able to come into the city and commit... terrorism." Before Peach began to reply back to him, Toad kept speaking, interrupting her. "Maybe those humans might have known about it. Their penthouse they used to live in is not too far from Capkin Street. Only a few roads away." That prospect made Peach lose her train of thought. The only thing she could think about now was whether she was invited to the housewarming party or not, and if not, were the Mario brothers invited.

"My place is not here. Soon after this I should be going back to deal more with this matter. Tranko and the Toad Brigade have gone to question those captive Koopas about it. Hopefully they are able to return with more information about the matter. I'm assuming you and Toadette are going back to, is it Toad Lake you moved to?"

"Pendemest to be specific. It's one of the quieter suburbs of Toad Lake and it's got a very nice warm neighbourhood. Very nice commute into the capital as well if I still need to go there."

"I heard you two are throwing a sort of after-celebration for the others too." Toad chuckled.

"Yes." He finally turned his head to face Peach. "We'd moved in yesterday pretty much and thought, since everyone we've invited is pretty much all going to this, we may as well put it on the same day. Toadbert would have been with us in spirit I guess."

"I see..." She realised that it was in both their best benefit that she didn't attend it as well. Her thought of Toad's opinion on her wasn't as bad as she thought now looking at this, but she knew that there was a sort of barrier that came between them now. She knew she wasn't invited, and she knew that she wouldn't get an invite even if she asked. "Are Mario and Luigi going along too?"

"They... can if they want to. I sort of mentioned it to them. I don't know if they will though, there wasn't a big reaction from them when we relayed the message over to them the other day." The two went silent for a few seconds as Peach had asked him everything she needed. She knew her stance on Toad now and that was to temporarily disregard him until there is a resolution with the hostile Koopa inner conflict from the capital. The best thing she thought she could do to Toad was not disturb his new life's peace unless it was to inform him that justice has been served for Toadbert, Toadant and the other management crew members and Brigade soldiers that died that night, as she knew that it mattered just as much to him as it did to her.

"Well... Toad Town's becoming a ghost town now that you and Toadette are out. Others are going by the day. I'm assuming they're all leaving for the settlements near Toad Lake." She stated, mainly to break the silence in the field.

"Toad Lake is becoming the new Toad Town." He chuckled again. "I'm kidding, but yeah, I've heard some are moving to all parts of Toad Lake. I think some are staying in Rivuba now as well. It's not the confinement we want any more. We just want to be away from danger."

"I don't want my citizens to expect more of this though." Peach felt a bit worried. "While we can plan ahead and make up manoeuvres for citizens to vacate out if such a heinous act is going to be committed again, I don't want my people to live in fear and worry that it may happen again. I don't want to show weakness. Mushroom City is meant to be the greatest city in the entire world."

"To be honest..." Toad sighed. "Mushroom City hasn't been the greatest city... at any point in time. Its culture is all gone, especially everywhere but the south central area. Take culture aside and I'd say Elhelm is probably safer to live in. If you're going to go by hot spot logic then hey... even somewhere like Hemelgey would be safer to live in than the capital. Mushroom City's even got some rough places too. Look at Mushroomheath, Torston Heath, Webcapstow and Bogato. It's too big to be perfect... Anyways, enough of me rambling on about your great landscape before your castle, I should get going before everyone shows up to my house before me." He started walking away from her, not even looking back at her before wishing her goodbye. "See you some day, I guess."

"Bye Toad." Peach waved at him away knowing he wasn't going to look back around and appreciate it.

From what she could see from the crowds outside the crematorium, it looked like Mario and Luigi were in fact going to Toad Lake with the others for their housewarming party, leaving Peach alone in the fields next to all of the gravestones. The cremation of the deceased Toads finished a while ago and the event here was over. All that was left for Peach was to return back to the castle, hoping to get an update on the Koopas at Mushroom Yards. A brief turn back to the left and she saw all of the gravestones again. This field had at least a hundred, all either important castle workers or older generations of the elite Toad families that used to live in Toad Town. None of Peach's bloodline was here as they were all buried alongside each other in a different part of the Royal Fields. She was never one to visit her parents in their part of the field, it was a past she did not know much about as she was too young to remember it all. All the years she spent in rule made her forget where she truly came from, though it was not so much different to this. It's all she was used to.

Peach came here on her own in her own car, and it was still parked in the car park outside the crematorium. By the time she got here, it was the only car left that she could see. Before she opened up the door, her phone vibrated briefly, indicating a text from someone. It was Tranko.

'Investigation Complete. Details being uploaded to security database via Toadheim.'

Just seconds later she received another text, this time from Daisy.

'Where is Webcapstow?'

She assumed that both of these messages had some sort of relevance to each other, and that alone worried Peach just a little bit. She couldn't infer much from this and didn't want to either. Assuming things without full knowledge was not something she would like to do much of nowadays. Before starting the car, she texted: 'I'm on my way back' to both of them separately. It was actually Toadheim she wanted to see the most out of those that went to Mushroom Yards today, all of his reports gave him such a great reputation for holding important information and sharing it with her.

...

It was past one o'clock in the afternoon and Peach had arrived back to her castle. There was a low attendance of guards in the castle today but there were enough to greet her and guide her back to the council meeting chambers. Tranko and Toadheim had returned to the room with Daisy, but Toadasha and her associates were nowhere to be found.

"Thank you all for what you did going up there today and doing this for me. Please tell me everything. I'm sick of having to deal with lesser matters." She sat down, feeling tired after the drive back. Toadheim, who had been here for a while, handed over a bunch of papers across the table in the room and then placed a few tapes that recorded the questioning sessions to her next to the papers.

"The most important bit of information we got from those Koopas today was... Webcapstow, and... what was the quote?" Tranko began, but was unsure of the last part.

"Look for he who watches over the Gaishō girls." Toadheim quoted the Koopa for him.

"Ha, funny that." Peach giggled. "Toad mentioned Webcapstow to me today, not on its own, just that it's one of the rough places of the capital. Anyways, what's a Gaishō girl?"

"It's umm..." Toadheim hesitated.

"Street girls, strippers, pimp girls." Tranko gathered up his breath. "Whores."

"I think the otherworld term is a prostitute." Peach grinned. "That explains why it's in Webcapstow then. I'd barely class it as Mushroom City anyway, it's more Mushroomheath."

"Ha, remember when there was actual rural space between the two?" Tranko joked, but quickly changed his mood. "I mean... yes, one of the male Koopas told us that he got his information about assaulting the control room from one of the, let's say, 'pimps'... in Webcapstow."

Peach sunk her face into the table. "Ugh, not a nice place to go if you're working for me is it?"

"We've got to send some people in there. Some people not directly working with us. It seems like a stealth mission if you ask me." Tranko suggested.

"Fine... run the entire district. I'm the fucking Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom. If a stealth mission is what you want to get your answers then you're asking the wrong person." She slammed the table. "I want to know why the Koopas got it from them and who they got it from exactly. I can't have our own boundaries keeping secrets away from us any longer!" Her frustration grew as she got louder in her speech. Daisy looked back at her feeling uneasy.

"We can't just run in there and shut down the place, Peach. I'm sorry, but from what I heard..." She gulped. "...More secrets are being shared with outsiders, perhaps northerners too. If we shut it down, then they'll probably know." Everyone in the room looked at Peach, hiding her face on the table. The stress was still evidently there, but she decided not to speak for a few seconds.

"Queen Peach, is everything ok?" Toadheim asked, trying to get a closer look at her face on the table.

"I... guess it wouldn't be so easy to call in the Brigade on this mission. If it's a whorehouse we're raiding, I wonder how many of these pimps and Gaishō girls will be calling out or own people?" She lifted up her face, revealing a hectic smile.

"My Queen I would never..." Tranko backed away as soon as the two made eye contact with each other.

"Peach, we shouldn't be thinking about these things." Daisy tried to comfort her, but it only made her grow more suspicious.

"Why not?" She snapped back at her. "We have thousands working for us, surely there are some that would be going there, especially those who used to work for us and decided to quit due to fear of being a target. You saw what happened on the streets of Toad Town just days ago. Anything like that could happen again." Daisy kept shaking her head, anxious to talk about such sensitive topics in front of the other Toads in the room.

"I'm sorry members of the council. Could we have this room to ourselves for just a few minutes?" They all looked at Peach, who eventually gave the confirming nod.

"Actually, cancel this meeting. I'll figure this out later." She then said. They were all dismissed. Toadheim, Tranko, and the many other Toads that served with them in the room got up and departed for the outside. Given that the meeting was over, they returned to their workstations. Peach put her feet up and sobbed, looking back at Daisy hoping she could get a path to righteousness from her.

"You think you're the only one unable to sleep at night after what happened then? It frightened me just as much as it did to you. At least seventy Toads, slaughtered by dark magic and sorcery. I couldn't feel my legs afterwards. I don't want to think about it again, but the memory keeps coming back." Daisy began, walking around the room as she talked to Peach. "It was terrible, but I'm fairly confident that it won't happen again. Want to know why?" She received a nod from her. "Because Tom was there. Enrique was there. Rosalina was there. Her brother was there too! Marrec was there! All these evil, full of hatred, dangerous humans were present in Toad Town, all of them trespassers too!" She finished doing another slow lap around the table and held on to Peach's chair, leaning in closer to her. "Dark sorcery resides where the sorcerers reside. As long as Rosalina, Zane, or Marrec are nowhere near us, then I'm sure we've got nothing to fear. I know Rosalina isn't exactly a bad person, but we can't take our chances on her anymore."

"...I guess, but what about that other darkness that has been haunting us? That spectral figure Toadsworth called it. We haven't seen it for a few days, but we don't really know why it's not returned, or whether it can come back... That's why I was gone for a few days. I wanted to get away from the magic, I wanted to be safe. For once this year, I genuinely felt safe on Earth... Earth... The boy and the girl. I have to." She gasped and stood up straight from her chair. "I have to get Ellis here, but how? I need to wait for Rynmar to come back here. It's still too early in the day for that too."

"Don't worry about them for now." Daisy tried to relax her, giving Peach a shoulder massage. "We'll be able to get them in the evening. I'm sure that boy is desperate to come back and when he is, he'll probably help us get that girl you wanted to bring across too."

"It's like I'm going to need somebody monitoring that bedroom all day for when he does. I don't know exactly when he'll show up, my guess is about seven in the evening though."

"Anyways." Daisy tried to bring some life in to Peach while she was looking very down and depressed. "What are we going to do about these Koopas then? Who are we going to send to the houses?" She looked at Peach, who wasn't confident with a firm decision now upon more thinking about it.

"I guess... It wouldn't be so good to just fully infiltrate the places. We won't get what we're coming for if we do that then. Fine, we'll send in someone, but... obviously it's gotta be someone who isn't gonna be recognised by anyone. An outsider, who would work for us."

"An outsider?" Daisy wondered.

"Not a human though. A human is too suspicious. A Toad or a Koopa, who's not really from around town, but who?"

"Yeah, but who?" Both of them were struggling to find someone who would go all the way into the houses of Webcapstow for them.

"I genuinely can't think of anyone. It's actually so sad!" After about ten seconds of silence of Peach and Daisy trying to think of someone, nobody came into their minds for the job.

What followed was more silence. Whether it was them thinking more and more about finding the right person or people for this job, or it was a sense of defeat, knowing that they would have to do something else. Peach really gave a thorough thought in her mind, hoping she could figure out someone in these lands who was a Toad or a Koopa that could go into the roughest areas of the northwest district and speak to a few pimps to see who's leaking secret information out of the capital, all without being found out about by the people that regularly go there.

"I... do have one Koopa name in mind actually." Daisy broke the silence. "Isn't there that Koopa friend of one of Tom's friends?"

"Oh, yes, Luke's friend. Manes Cerces I believe his name is." She shot up from her chair. "He's a good choice, I mean... he's a valid choice, but is he actually good enough for something like this? I mean... he's... a bit shy, right? Wasn't that the impression we got from him?"

"I think he hates us." The two looked at each other and grinned.

"But he's an associate of Luke, and Luke's a bad person, right?" Peach smiled. "He'll have no choice."

"Now we're talking!" Daisy laughed almost mischievously.

"Only one thing though. I'd prefer it if he didn't go alone. I'd rather have two people."

"Well, at least we're halfway there."

...

Unfortunately there was no agreement for who the other Koopa would be for the job within the next two hours. As everyone was dismissed, Peach travelled through the castle to find documents about Manes, finding his town and address in the process. Pleasantly for her, it was a trip back to Elhelm she would have to make today. She had alerted some of the guards in her room to monitor the bedroom that housed Rynmar for one night, getting them to call her whenever he would arrive today, if he did arrive today that is. Daisy remained in the castle as Peach set out on her journey south all the way towards Elhelm. In her car she followed the roads that went alongside the Royal metro line: a service that started all the way down in Elhelm to go straight back to the capital, serving many metro stations and finishing off in the northern end of the town near Mushville. She would often use this service a lot when she was a kid to go and visit her beach for the day. Peach Beach, as seen recreated into a race track also that was used earlier this year. These train services were another thing she was ever so grateful for when growing up, with most of them being quite recent. Where there would be the overground services for transport from the capital to go to other towns in the Mushroom Kingdom and then the other Kingdoms, the underground metro service was created by the Toad government to establish transport within the ever so growing capital city. The most recent metro line to be constructed is called the New Era Line, made within the four years that separated peace in the Mushroom Kingdom and the establishment of the Mushroom Accords. This horseshoe-shaped metro line serviced from Moo Moo Meadows far out in the north, going into the capital and curving around areas such as Mushville, turning back to the northwest to allow transport in from the small towns in the Open Green that didn't have an overground service, including Webcapstow lying on the northwest edge of the capital. While Peach was driving down the quiet roads, she went on to one that was directly opposite the Royal Line, giving her flashbacks of when she was much younger. She smiled and went on, arriving into the town at four in the afternoon.

…

It was the first time this year that this down did not look as bright and as pleasant as she would expect. The early autumn weather brought a surprise chill to her on the south coast and there were more parts the sky occupied by clouds than there were clear parts.

It had been the first time since the race here that Peach had properly visited Elhelm, and the first time this year she has travelled alone. The city was quieter than usual, with free-flowing roads even at this relatively busy hour. Peach had all of the documents relating to this Koopa named Manes in her car. She knew exactly where he lived and hoped he would be at home today. If not, then what she gathered from Luke's knowledge shared previously was that he would be working at the large supermarket near the town centre.

…

When she got to his apartment, she took a few deep breaths before knocking a few times on the door. No answer. She tried again after some time but nothing seemed to be coming from the other side. If he wasn't here than her only solution on her mind was the grand supermarket; she didn't think he would be working on a Sunday.

Even at the market the place looked very quiet. The town square was relatively busy but the streets were quiet. Everywhere she looked she could see people watching what must have been football on the screens inside shops. Once she got inside the supermarket she searched for the workers' office seeing no sign of him in the aisles. Eventually, she reached the manager's office and it was there where Peach revealed herself, taking off her coat and showing her face more openly. She knocked on the manager's door and waited for a response. The door opened and behind it was a face of extreme shock and delight.

"Queen Peach!" The Toad manager smiled. "Am I dreaming?" He opened the door widely and allowed Peach inside.

"You most certainly aren't! This is all real." She stepped in and greeted the manager.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" The manager asked, walking back to his seat beside his desk. "It seems that you have travelled here alone." He said in a very surprising tone.

"Yes you're right. I'm here with a private search for one of your employees. I tried with my permit to check if he was at home and he wasn't and he didn't seem to be outside. The employee in question is Manes Cerces. Do you happen to know where he is?" The manager exhaled with a large grin on his face.

"Well he's definitely not working today, that's for sure." He said. "You're more likely going to find him on television than here. He only works part time here while he spends weekends at the ground. It's match day, Peach. He's on the team… I thought you'd have known that Manes played for Elhelm FC. I'm sure you used to play against him back in the day."

Peach smiled, scratching her scalp. "I've not partaken in any football related agenda for almost a year now, Mr Manager. Unfortunately, my schedules have become too much to manage a team at the same time."

"It was a wonderful run you had though. While you may not own the Royal Squadron any more, and that they may not be able to live up to your short, but profound legacy, they're not doing as bad as you think."

"Well, that's good news at least." She smiled. "Anyways… Is he playing today then? Or could he be on the bench? I've got to head to the stadium then, assuming they're playing at home? What's happening?" She watched the manager check his laptop where he was streaming the football match.

"He hasn't started for them." He replied quickly, still looking at the screen. "It's a home match, quite into the second half… Elhelm are playing at home, yes. They're 3-1 up against Toad Harbour."

"I've got to be quick then." She realised. "I don't want to miss him, at least… so that I don't chase him home!" She got up from her seat in the room, taking a deep breath. "Thank you Mr Toadfoot."

"Anything for you, my Queen!" He got up and saw her out of the office room. "I'm assuming the reason for your need for him is confidential, but I hope you get what you need from him. He's a genuinely good person. I cannot imagine him otherwise."

"You have nothing to worry about. Have a good day now." The two said their goodbyes and Peach rushed back to her car. On her way out of the supermarket car park and towards the stadium on the other side of town, she noticed the place to appear busier. A large flow of traffic filled in every opposite direction. The closer she got towards Elhelm Stadium, the busier things looked everywhere around her.

Through her experience in managing football teams, she knew that there was a special entrance for the teams themselves for matches. The quieter end of Elhelm stadium was the side that faced the cliffs to the southern sea. Using special access, she was able to drive all the way to the small car park outside the stadium on this side and it was here she could the Toad Harbour team bus parked along with a few other cars. There was a lot of noise coming from inside the stadium so it still sounded like the match was going on, but far into the distance across the back end of the stadium, away fans were vacating rather quickly and in large amounts. There were members of staff at the special entrance, and they did recognise Peach when she walked up, but she quietened them and mentioned that she was here on important business. She wanted to reach out to the Koopa quietly and try her best to not let the entire stadium know that she was here.

The tunnel was rather quiet, but she saw one security guard standing at the side looking idle. What she needed was an empty room to talk to Manes in when the match was over. The security guard assisted her in finding a small conference room that wouldn't be used after the match. She also informed him that Manes needed to be brought here after the match for the discussion with her. Now, she was left alone in the room. All it had was a large table, several chairs and a television screen that was also streaming the match. It looked like it would be over within the next five minutes, and the score line was now six to one, with Elhelm completely decimating Toad Harbour FC. The away fans were already leaving as seen before… frustrated at such a disappointment of a match and now those from the harbour had to make the long journey back to the northeast.

The match had now finished, and the cameras were showing all players up close after the match, including those on the bench. Manes had been wearing a coat for the entirety of the match and was never substituted on despite their massive win today. Both the Elhelm players and Toad Harbour players could be seen leaving the pitch a few minutes after the full time whistle had been blown. They were entering the tunnel where Peach was previously. She hoped that Manes would be alerted about her presence here now.

Only a few more minutes passed and eventually the door to the office opened from the outside. It was the security guard allowing Manes to enter the room quietly. He gave Peach a nod of good gesture and closed the door behind him once Manes was inside. He was both shocked and anxious seeing himself alone in the room with her, unsure what to say.

"Peach Toadstool… I… I've done something wrong." He panicked, but slowly walked to the nearest chair and sat down, appearing extremely nervous.

"No no no it's okay." She calmed him.

"Luke is a good man. I'm sorry if I was wrong to see this in him. I couldn't imagine him reckless." He felt that he was in trouble and tried to stay distant from Peach across the table.

"I'm not here for you because of Luke. I don't even want to ask anything from you about him. I don't care about his location at the moment. I'm here because of something else." She tried to comfort him whilst pulling out some sheets of paper from her pockets, trying to smoothen out the creases on the table. "I need your help for a different matter, actually, since you don't really have any affiliation with me or the Toad Brigade." Manes was still appearing very anxious, turning around and looking at the door to see if anyone was waiting for him outside. He wasn't able to see anything anyway since it was closed, but he tried his best to pay attention to the noise going on outside.

"I have no idea where any of them are. I'm sorry." He remained appearing closed.

"Manes, take a deep breath and please listen to me. What I'm going to ask you has nothing to do with any of the humans. I need you and your services tonight and I'm willing to hand you a bountiful reward for your time. This task has nothing to do with the Toad Brigade or searching for others. It's purely for me and I cannot ask anyone but someone like you for it."

"What is it?" He asked, looking a little less shy.

"I cannot tell you that right now, but I need you to come with me out of here. If you help me tonight then I can give you anything you want." He was silent, thinking about it. He couldn't look at Peach directly in the eyes but he knew that refusing something like this would give her a permanent bad look on him.

"Alright…" He shrugged. "But can I ask one thing, why me though?"

"I need someone that I know, but not well enough so that other people know that I know, if you know what I mean." She tried to explain it but he seemed happy enough to buy in to it.

"I'm sorry if I'm acting really nervous by the way." He tried his best not to stutter. "I'm not like this because of my association with Luke, it's just that… I've never been alone with the Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom before." Peach blushed.

"Well, you've got nothing to worry about. I'm gentle, trust me. You should see Daisy." She joked to try and lift his spirits. "Now, I would like to get back to my car without making a big dramatic appearance. How busy does Elhelm usually get after the match? It's been about twenty minutes already. I don't think it should be too busy." She got up from her seat and took the papers, folding them up and putting them back in her pockets.

"I'll check outside for you. I won't wonder off though." Manes reached for the door first and opened it, seeing the security guard waiting outside and a few others walking in the corridors. "I'm just going to grab my things from the locker room."

"Ah. I don't have time for anxiety." Peach whispered to herself and decided to follow him anyway, even if it did catch the attention of others in the building. Many people working with the football club noticed Peach following Manes and gave her a wave, but nothing too dramatic. When she got to the locker room, she noticed a few other Toads and Koopas still there as Manes went to his locker, including a few familiar faces from years gone by.

"Well if it isn't Miss Toadstool making a surprise appearance here! You scouting per chance?" One of The Toads who plays for Elhelm joked with her as they noticed her in the room with Manes. "Ooh is Manes in trouble?"

"No, he's not in trouble." She laughed. "It's good to see you Victor. How was the match today?" She spoke to those remaining in the locker room while Manes retrieved his items.

"Oh, well, you know me." He boasted.

"There's no stopping him."

"Prime form." The others said.

"Trademark Victor Arnie hat-trick."

Peach smiled. "I'm happy for you guys. Only a few more weeks to go."

"Don't be too happy." Victor laughed. "We've got the Royal Squadron away next weekend. I'm sure you won't be so happy when that day comes around. You should pay a visit maybe." She knew Victor and the others from time ago. Elhelm were a formidable side, and Peach's ownership of the Royal Squadron meant that she in earlier years had experience in watching the two sides play each other. Before, Elhelm would fail to ever get a good result against the team she used to own, but it had been almost a year since she parted ways with any proper association with football. She didn't even know how the Royal Squadron was performing in the recent season, so she couldn't tell how good the team were going in to the match next weekend against Elhelm.

"I would if I could, but I don't really have time for any of that at the moment." She responded, seeing Manes ready. "I'm on the go every day now with all that's going on."

"Fair enough." Victor nodded. "I still remember you as the Peach Toadstool from years back. I'm sure everyone sees you differently now. The Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom was also once a great footballer."

"I've had to hang up the boots. Anyways, Manes and I better get going. Good talk and nice meeting you all!" She parted ways with the Elhelm players and took Manes back to her car. She allowed him to put all of his gear in the back of the car and waited for him to get into the passenger seat. A quick stop at his place was in order for him to put everything away. After that, Toad Town and the castle.

…

Through her gardens, she led Manes to one of the back entrances to her castle. Peach wanted to avoid as much interaction with staff as possible and needed Daisy to return to help her with bringing the Koopa in.

"I've never been to the castle before. I'm sure few who don't work for the castle have had the privilege to be inside." Manes looked around the rooms upon entering from the back. Past the rooms were the large halls of the ground floor in all their majesty.

"Don't be fooled to think this is a privilege. The castle has become so commercialised nowadays. Consider it a glorified skyscraper. Twenty floors it has, added and renovated over its many years. It's my home, and my office, and my palace, all in one." She smiled, looking at it all and then realising something. "Oh… the time, what's the time?"

"Almost five, why?" Peach gasped.

"The time zone difference. I completely forgot about it." She said quietly to herself anxiously. "Come with me, quickly!" She beckoned him and started running down the hallway to the elevator on the western wing. She arrived with Manes to it, hoping to head up to the sixteenth floor.

…

The two reached Rynmar's dormitory, seeing two guards standing in the corridor.

"Have you seen him at all?" Peach called from across the hallway. "The boy."

"No sign of him today, my Queen." The guards looked her way and bowed. They both looked at Manes with unusual faces, surprised to see him here.

"Can you stay here? I've got to get back to Daisy and I'm in a bit of a rush. I'll be no more than an hour. I'm sorry." She was running back to the elevator, leaving Manes with the two guards. "I've got to sort something out. I'm really sorry." She ran back into the elevator and quickly pressed the button repeatedly for the top floor, hoping Daisy was there. She took out her phone whilst the lift was going up trying to reach for Daisy to try and call her should she not already be on the top floor. She was nowhere to be seen when the elevator doors opened.

"I've got to do this myself then." After checking her headquarters and both bedrooms, Peach turned back to the elevator and worried to herself, now having to make the next journey back to the portal out in the fields, which ended up taking another half-hour. With Manes left with the two castle guards and Rynmar hopefully arriving soon with his portal device, Ellis was all that was left, and assuming contact was made between the two schoolchildren today, she would be waiting for her at the fence on the edge of the school in that park, just in the same place as before.

She took the portal and appeared back on the other side, opening the slider door to complete darkness in the school. It wasn't to complete silence however, as she was hearing the sound of footsteps coming from the nearby staircase. They were getting louder as she got to the door to the office room that she was in, quietly proceeding forward to try and stay out of the way of where the direction of the footsteps were going. Peach remained hidden behind the door next to the office and waited quietly, trying to hear the footsteps. Eventually, they stopped. Peach was unsure what to do hearing this silence. Somebody else was here, and she wasn't sure who was here. Seeing a member of staff in the school would completely jeopardise the existence of this portal, so whoever it was, it was best to stay hidden. Eventually though, the footsteps could be heard again. This time, they were getting quieter as time went by. Whoever was walking was walking away from her now. When Peach stopped being able to hear the noise of footsteps, she pressed on.

A few more minutes passed as Peach made the routine journey of descending three flights of stairs, sneaking through a deliberately-left-unlocked door and running past the buildings and on to the school field to check for anyone on the other side of the fence. She looked through and could barely see anything as it was so dark outside, but in the distance she could see the same girl sitting on one of the park benches. Peach tried rattling the fence to get her attention, but she didn't seem to react. She tried shouting her name instead. The girl looked up and turned her head.

"Over here!" Peach called out, trying not to shout too loud in case anyone else was here. Ellis got up and rushed over to Peach, holding on to the fence. She looked extremely nervous and scared, surprising Peach. "We'll get you over-."

"I saw him." She panted. "Duncan… I saw him." She also seemed very out of breath. Peach didn't know what to take from this girl as she had barely known her, but assuming from the way she looked, Peach believed her.

"You saw him? What happened?" Her surprise was just as worrying to her. The two were potentially so close to him yet so far.

"I've been here for ages…" She lowered her voice. "But… I thought I saw him at first hiding in the bushes behind me. And… he was running away from me, really, really fast… like… unusually fast. I tried chasing him around the corner over there, but then I heard a loud noise erupt and he sort of vanished. That's when I looked through the fence again and saw him land on the school field closer to the school. It's like he launched himself really high and I don't know how he managed to get over." Peach was stuck in deep thought, whether to assume Duncan had been here or not. She never took him for a magic abuser, especially since she never saw him use it that much, though she had barely seen him in recent days anyway. Peach had only two encounters with Duncan this year. Once in Mushroom City with a brief exchange of eye contact before the first race, and once in Isle Port, where she wounded him and saw him disappear before her very eyes… back to Earth. "This is all real, isn't it?" Ellis spoke again.

Peach nodded. "How long ago did you see him?" She turned around and looked at the size of the school field.

"Maybe… fifteen minutes ago." Peach's eyes widened whilst looking away from her. Her memory of arriving here just moments ago flashed before her eyes. The sound of footsteps weren't coming from somebody who worked at the school after all.

"We've got to hurry." She turned around. "Meet me at the nearest gate. Hurry now!" The two rushed along the fence and separated from each other. Peach, nervous about Duncan's potential whereabouts, waited for Ellis, still sprinting down the street outside the school. She stood atop some bricks next to the gate and reached her hand out and down for Ellis once she arrived, helping her climb over the school gate. The two didn't speak to each other, but ran quickly together all the way back to the classroom with the open window.

"Now I can see why that teacher resigned a few months ago." Ellis noticed the two were running towards the department that Tom used to work at here briefly. "I always wondered why Duncan and Tobias were so close with him even though he was a teacher."

"Don't leave a trace now." Peach opened the office room and snuck through to the wall in the opposite corner. "Promise me you will not tell anyone who doesn't know about this." She subtly held a slider part of the door and opened it, revealing the magical room where the portal lied. After letting Ellis inside, she closed the slider door, looking at the portal… only for it to no longer be activated. Peach gasped and sunk to the floor, feeling defeated. "It's been snatched."

"What's happening now?" Ellis asked. "What am I supposed to be looking at?" She had a little look around the tiny room encased in magical metal walls. "Wait a minute… this room. It doesn't make any sense, aren't we at the staircase now or something?"

"We've got a big problem." Peach rested her head against the back wall and looked over at the teenage girl. "Please, call Rynmar. We've got to find a backup plan."

"What's going on?" She asked, looking confused.

"The portal to the other world… it's been deactivated." She began sulking, covering her face. "Awh, I shouldn't have left it in the socket."

"What do you mean?" Ellis still didn't understand Peach's moaning. "I'm confused."

"Basically this whole room was made by Tom, and it serves as a portal between the two lands. Only, it's powered by something and assuming you saw Duncan earlier, then he's gone back to the Mushroom Kingdom and he's basically powered it off. The problem is… when I arrived here to come and find you, I heard footsteps. I didn't think it was his because I wouldn't have expected him to be here at this time… you know, because to us he's considered missing, off-grid. Maybe he was here all this time and now that he's back in the Mushroom Kingdom… going to who knows where… he's taken the necklace gem out of the socket that powers up Tom's portal and shut the whole thing down." Peach's face looked miserable, and it was only worse for Ellis as she had no idea what to do about it.

"I'm calling Rynmar now. How are we going to get to the other side then? If you're true to your word about being from this other land, how are you going to get back? Are you stranded here until Duncan somehow changes his mind and returns the gem back to the socket? I'm guessing it's what powers this whole thing, right?" Ellis was beginning to understand a few things about the other world and how they work, showing some care and hope for Peach that the two could perhaps be on the same wavelength tonight.

"I need Rynmar. Is he answering?"

"Not at the moment." Ellis put the phone close to her ears. "I'll give it a couple of goes. I would have expected him to answer by now. He's certainly the type who would enjoy some company." He wasn't picking up at first, so she tried again.

"Oh cosmos. What if he's warped with his device back to the Mushroom Kingdom and unable to reach us? That would be so terrible right now." Peach said to herself. "He could be at my castle right now and have no idea where I am because I can't reach out for anyone."

After two more call attempts, Ellis eventually got something.

"Hello?" Peach's eyes widened, faintly hearing the quiet voice on the phone.

"Pass it over to me, quickly!" Without hesitation, Ellis tossed her phone over to Peach. "Hey kid. It's Peach. We've got a problem here. Where are you right now?" The two leaned in next to each other and put the phone close to each other's ears.

"Put it on speaker." Ellis asked. "That button." Now the two could hear Rynmar loud and clear.

"I'm at my home at the moment." He was whispering. "In my bedroom, that's why I'm so quiet right now. Do you want me to port over?"

"Is it safe?" Peach asked.

"Yeah. Should be. My family's asleep, and it should be that way for at least another six hours."

"Alright… You're going to have to listen to me very carefully here, kid." Peach spoke very quickly. "I need you to port over and inform my guards about something very important. I need you to listen well here. You need to tell them to send word to Princess Daisy the following: The portal gem has been stolen. I will repeat this, the portal gem as been stolen. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, got you. I've got to say: the portal gem has been stolen… and I need to get people to tell that to Daisy?" He replied from his bedroom.

"Yes. When you've done that, go back inside that room you came from and warp back. When you do, give us a call. We've got more orders for you."

"We?"

"Get to it now." Peach ordered.

"On it." Rynmar hanged up the call and played around with his portal device, standing just next to his bed in his bedroom. The warp was silent but slightly bright, though his bedroom door was closed. Peach slouched back down in the room and looked back at Ellis.

"We've got to get a move on out of here now." She said with overwhelming frustration. "I'm sorry I'm making you do this. I have to be sure that you're back at home by sunrise here, but we may have to rush a bit for now." She got up and moved towards the slider door, opening and going back into the office room, being met with silence and darkness on the other side.

"I'm sorry I don't know what the fuck is going on right now." Ellis chuckled. "Where are we going now?" She followed Peach out of the office and back down the stairs to the front entrance of the school.

"Where does Rynmar live?" Peach asked Ellis, tracing her steps all the way back to the front school gate.

"Oh, err… It's quite far. It's Crayford I think? It's a lot further from here than my house." Ellis took out her phone and started using it in front of Peach as they were walking in the night to the gate. "Bear with me for a second."

"What are you doing on your phone?"

"Just checking how far away his area is by foot."

"Oh right." She watched Ellis press many buttons on her phone, looking at a map view of the local area. "How long's it going to take?"

"…Hour and a half at least."

"And what's the time right now?"

"Eleven."

"Cosmos…" She looked at Ellis then looked straight to the floor. "…Shit… even." The two then worked together to climb back over the school gate, both disappointed. "Well, when Rynmar calls us back, we've got to get him out of his house. He's got to meet us somewhere, hopefully on the way to here somehow."

"Don't worry about that." Ellis tried to comfort Peach. "I'll be able to relay to him our whereabouts and we'll be able to meet up easily somewhere in between. The good news is that it'll likely be in that town you met me at the other day."

"Oh right… That's good at least." Peach felt very ashamed as they started their long walking journey through the towns. Ellis led her through the park again and they went together in the darkness with nothing but each other. There was complete silence for the first few minutes until Peach looked at Ellis and noticed that she was looking a little drained as well. "I'm really sorry about all of this. It's not gone the way I had hoped at all. I bet you still don't believe me, do you?"

"Hey girl. I wouldn't be here otherwise. Besides… the giant gold coin… the magical room you've showed me… fucking Duncan appearing out of nowhere and launching himself into the sky, I do believe you now. I just have no fucking idea who you are. I guess I'll come to learn about that tonight."

"That's good at least… I feel really bad though because I had to bring in this Koopa from a town quite away from the capital to help the Brigade with an undercover mission we're going to be doing to help deal with this big espionage-like problem we're facing. I told him I wasn't going to be long but now it's going to be hours perhaps because I've got to sort you out as well." Peach stopped walking when she finished talking, realising that everything she just said felt useless to Ellis. "I'm sorry. You probably don't have the slightest clue of what I've just said."

"What's a Koopa?" Ellis looked back at her.

"Nevermind."

"No come on, tell me. You may as well. There's nothing else for us to do here right now besides walk."

"A Koopa's… it's like another species. There are humans… like us, there are Toads and Koopas, but Toads look very different to how they look on Earth. There are a few other major species but not as popular. Koopas and Toads outnumber all other species combined I'd say." She watched Ellis nod, unsure if she was actually listening or not. "I take it you're unfamiliar with the name 'Super Mario'." She shook her head.

"Not really."

"What do you mean not really?"

"I've heard the others say his name before, and that he's some sort of franchise here. That's about it."

"Oh… well… he's real. I'm franchised too."

"Peach Toadstool, right? That's what you said your name was." She nodded, watching Ellis get out her phone again. She could see her screen as she started typing Peach's full name in a search engine, showing what happens if one searched her up on the internet. Ellis then went to images and both of them could now see the many, many cartoonish versions of her.

"Wow…" Peach gasped with pure amazement. "Never in my trips to these lands have I ever searched up my own name in the internet system here. So this is what I'd look like in a game… Interesting."

"You do look very much like it. I wonder how they got you to look this way…" Peach felt a little bit of embarrassment, afraid to speak about it to Ellis, so she remained silent. "And now for your Wikipedia page…"

"Wikipedia page?" Ellis took the phone away from Peach's view and started reading out from the screen.

"Princess Peach Toadstool is a character in Nintendo's Mario franchise, created by Shigeru Miyamoto and introduced in the 1985 original Super Mario Bros instalment. She is the princess regnant and head of state of the Mushroom Kingdom, where she resides in her castle along with Toads." Ellis read out her description on the page. "That's what the world apparently sees you as."

Peach wasn't sure what to think of at first. The shock of being properly exposed to another world full of strangers really bewildered her, questioning her years of intended secrecy. She had to stick to the universal code of people from the other land to maintain a hidden profile, and for non-humans to never be allowed across to the other side. However, the biggest fright to her was how shockingly accurate a lot of the description was about her.

"Well… I'm known as a Queen now, but… damn. That's very accurate. But… created, I hate that word. What's worse is that first instalment. 1985… that's the year I was born. Shigeru has been doing this all my life."

"Do you know about Shigeru Miyamoto?" Ellis looked at her phone again. "He's the guy who invented Mario on here."

"I've met him before when I was a kid, but I've not seen him since the nineties. He's… a very bad person. I… I… I can't interact with him ever again. I don't want to ever see him again either. He can stay with his franchise, but I don't want to know or care about whatever he's up to nowadays. I just know that he's far away from us."

Ellis seemed very intrigued now. "Are you telling me that the creator of the Mario franchise got it all from your world? There are lots and lots of things in this franchise. Games, cartoons, movies… and you're telling me it all came from him which he essentially got from you guys?" Peach became too uncomfortable, raising her voice at Ellis and venting some stress.

"It's too complicated. Well beyond what I'm capable of explaining. That's enough about that for now. Let's keep walking. How far now?"

"Still an hour and a quarter. We've got a long way to go." The two went silent for a few seconds, and in that time, Peach's discomforting stress made her feel apologetic.

"I'm sorry again. I shouldn't be like this to you. It's just that I'm really annoyed about all of this and I didn't expect to be talking about such deep matters with essentially a stranger. I guess I-." Ellis grabbed Peach's cheeks and turned her face back towards her.

"Listen Peach, I'm gonna be real with ya. If I wasn't taking this seriously I would-a headed home and probably forgot you existed by the next day, but I am taking this seriously. I know that there's a reason your true existence is kept hidden to this world and I'm going to do my best to make sure it stays that way. I thought two of my friends were truly gone and thanks to you, they're only missing… and also you're my best bet of finding them. Don't be afraid to talk about a sensitive subject with me. We can be reasonable with each other. Girl to girl." Peach felt warm on the inside, smiling back at Ellis.

"Wow… That was a very mature thing for you to say. You seem very grown up despite being the same age as Duncan and Tobias.

"I'd say I'm very mature for my age. It's… just the way my life has been." She stuttered. "Anyways. From what I'm getting from all this, it looked like he based his franchise on you and Mario and maybe other people I don't know about and it's led to what is around today. I mean, you saw what you looked like as a video game character. You look fine! Nothing to worry about." She looked back at her phone, seeing the pictures of Peach on the search engine. The screen changed however as a number was calling the phone now. "Peach, it's Rynmar calling." Ellis answered the phone and immediately handed it over to Peach.

"Hello?" Peach said.

"Hey… I did it." The two heard Rynmar's voice. "There were a couple of Toads and they've been informed that the gem's stolen and they're going to tell Daisy. The Toads said that they were gonna inform some guy called Toadheim about it as well."

"Alright. That's fine." She replied. "Listen… I'm going to need you to do something else now. I need you to leave your home and head to… your school."

"Let me sort it out from here." Ellis took the phone from Peach and started talking to Rynmar. "Hey, Ryn? It's Ellis."

"Hey. I was wondering how Peach got a hold of your number." He joked. "What does she mean about heading to the school?"

"Well actually start heading in that direction. Peach and I are both out past the park and heading towards yours. We're gonna be meeting kind of half way in between. We'll be going straight to the Broadway. We've just left the park now, so we're at the lights."

"Oh right. Okay." He paused. "Am I going to be a while then?"

"Yes." He overheard Peach. "Wear normal clothes. Bring your phone. You might be tired at sunrise, but we'll get you back to your house in the morning."

"Just update us on where you are via text every so often. Hopefully we could meet somewhere convenient." Ellis and Peach crossed the road outside the park and resumed their walk on a very long straight road that went into the next nearby town. Rynmar held the phone close to him and started changing his clothes in his bedroom.

"I'm going to check the quickest way to get to you guys. It says on Maps that the quickest way is to go through the Golf Course. It's going to be at least half an hour though if you lot are also heading my way." He informed them as he was ready. He crept over to his bedroom door and put his ear close to the wall, hearing mostly silence. All else he heard was snoring from rooms far across the floor. His bedroom wasn't near anyone else's in the house and his window was facing the side of the house just next to his house garage. He opened the window and looked outside, keeping the phone in call in his hand.

"That's okay, Ryn. We've been walking for nearly twenty minutes already." Ellis said back to him. "Just give us a text in another ten-fifteen minutes and let us know where you are. I'm using Google Maps so the route's gonna update to wherever you are."

"Yeah, that's cool. I'm gonna be doing the same thing. Just hold on for about thirty seconds." He put the phone in his pocket whilst the call was still going and squeezed through the window, leaving it slightly open. He dangled his feet just above the garage and held the windowsill with his hands whilst trying to descend. He landed on top of the garage, looking for a way down. In fact, the drop down didn't seem that big to him. He sat down on top of the garage and lifted himself forward, landing on the ground in his driveway and feeling a slight force in his legs. Slowly and carefully, he walked away from the house and onto the pavement just outside. As a mini heat wave arrived to the country during the day, it was a relatively warm spring night and there seemed to be no sign of any rain. He got out his phone to check on Peach and Ellis. The call was still going. "I'm back." He said. "I just had to sneak out the house, but that's all sorted now. Heading your way now."

"Thank you Ryn." Peach replied in awe of his act. "It's very honourable that you're doing this. Both of you."

"I'm going to walk quickly. So I'll get going and I'll text you in fifteen minutes, let's say." Peach smiled looking at the phone as Rynmar ended the call. While she and Ellis were walking down the long street going between the two towns, Rynmar departed from his home's road and onto another long road heading to his town centre. He was walking alone through the dark night, but the street lights kept him feeling safe and secure on his journey.

"That's great. I'll be happy to see that kid again. He's so sweet." Peach said to Ellis.

"Ha." She chuckled, having a different experience with him. "Anyways, we're gonna meet up somewhere in between the school and his house. What exactly are we gonna do together then? That portal thing isn't working so what are we gonna do?"

"So yesterday I gave Rynmar responsibility over this special device that allows anyone to freely travel between this world and mine. He should be wearing it right now actually, and when we meet him, I will need him to go back to the other world using that so I can use him to relay some messages over." Peach explained to Ellis. "Basically, there's a main portal that's kept hidden in this world. That's in Brooklyn which is thousands of miles away. Anyways, there have been two more artificial portals created since, and they all lead to a similar location in the other world. One was made by Tom a few years ago and at the moment its current location is in that room that we were in earlier today. The last portal was made by Duncan a few years before Tom's, but that one's been deactivated for a long time because he's got his own device. I want to-." Ellis interrupted Peach again.

"Wait a minute. Now, you've got to believe me when I told you I saw Duncan, yeah…" She became concerned with a thought that came to her mind. "If he's got his own device, then why would he be at the school?"

"Well that's what's got me confused. It could be a variety of reasons." Peach wondered. "Also, I do believe you that it was him there because in fact, I feel like I heard him when I had arrived. I already said. It has to have been him… I was so stupid to think otherwise."

Peach and Ellis were now arriving to more commercial buildings on their way down the very long road, indicating that they were nearing towards the town centre. Peach started to recognise some of the buildings, and was able to notice the town centre's fountain up ahead. The public library wasn't that far away either. There was no word from Rynmar yet, but they assumed he was still on his way. Peach walking with Ellis at night made each other feel very comfortable not having to do this alone. They got a few stares from people walking down the street but no interactions. Peach was far more conscious about this given she had sworn to keep her identity hidden to anyone not involved with her actions here.

"I sure hope this works. It's all I have left in terms of ideas." She began talking again after a few minutes of silence between the two. "I've never tried it before but it seems to be my only remaining shot at going back home."

"I don't know what we're dealing with." Ellis shared her thoughts. "I can't really tell you what's going to happen."

"If you think about it, it's not that bad. If we just hold on to him… we should go with him, right? If clothes go with him, then surely anything that's holding on to him should go? But then again… by that logic, the ground beneath him would go too…" Ellis' eyes widened, noticing a bit of uncertainty in Peach's potentially dangerous idea.

"Wait, you don't know how the thing works?" She looked at Peach right in the eyes, hoping for a good answer.

"I'll have to remember what I'm dealing with when I see the device. I can't picture it perfectly in my head." While Ellis was both worried and confused, she tried to ignore the idea Peach came up with and kept walking briskly. At the moment, her only aim was to get to Rynmar and then leave it up to them to hopefully do what's safe and right.

More time passed, and Ellis finally got another text from Rynmar. The two had passed the town centre and the public library and were on the other side of the precinct at this time. They had reached the end of the very long straight road and it split up in multiple directions. On Google Maps, Ellis was instructed to head north-eastwards. The time it took for her to get to Rynmar's house was now only forty-five minutes. He shared his location to her with a screenshot. They were now on the same road, only, this road was also very long but with a lot of bends.

"I've got an update on Ryn's location." She informed Peach. "He's about fifteen minutes away. So, if he's heading our way then it should be no more than eight minutes maybe." Ellis looked back to her phone and started texting him back. "Just… passed… police… station." She said what she texted to him out loud. She also sent another text afterwards saying 'don't leave this road' but didn't say it out loud.

"Nearly there then. What's the time now?"

"Eleven forty-three."

Peach sighed. "So it's six forty-three back at the Kingdom. If we're able to get back by… seven which is a bit optimistic of me, we should be able to get things done with a lot of sleeping time to spare."

…

The remainder of the journey was less of talking about the plan and more of small-talk. Ellis and Peach didn't speak much together, but they would often point things out on their journey. Eventually, the two could see Rynmar approaching in the distance, walking on his own. He was wearing a black tracksuit outfit and had his arms tucked into his pockets. When they got close to each other, he put his hood back down.

"…It's a bit cold out, isn't it?" Rynmar was already feeling anxious, standing before two taller women, unsure what to say first.

"Thank you for this… both of you, but especially you, Rynmar. Being able to go outside and meet up with me even though I didn't properly tell you why." Peach praised them and quickly got close to Rynmar. "May I see your portal device?"

"Sure." He replied. "What's going on exactly?"

"Something really bad has happened. You know how I was originally going to assist Ellis in coming across to the Mushroom Kingdom? Well… it was going fine but when we got to the portal, it was shut down."

"Duncan shut the portal down." Ellis spoke over Peach. "99% sure it was him." Rynmar gasped, leaning against the nearby front house fence.

"He's… he's back?" He stuttered, overwhelmed from hearing his old friend's name.

"He was back." Peach corrected. "Now he's on the other side, and I think he knew I was here, which is why he must have shut the portal down. I don't know why he would do that to me as well."

"Are you not on good terms with Duncan?" Ellis asked out of curiosity.

"Duncan… there's so much more to him than what you two already know because I'm guessing you just see him as a school friend." The two teenagers looked at each other and shrugged. "Anyways, we've got to find a quiet place. While we're in this world we should probably head to somewhere that's out of public sight but also not too far away from either of your homes. Ellis, whereabouts in these areas do you live?" She looked at Ellis, who shook her head in response.

"Don't worry about me. Let's just… head that way." She gestured with her arms and pointed in the direction that Rynmar came from.

"Right, well. I need a closer look at this. You haven't used it all since we last saw each other, right?" Peach asked Rynmar anxiously.

"No." He replied almost immediately. "Well, actually the one time when you told me to, but you told me to use it obviously. I was actually considering using it later tonight, but obviously you called me first."

"Alright. Please take it off for just a moment for me. I need to have a closer look at this." Ellis watched Rynmar take off the portal device and passed it over to Peach, looking completely amazed but also stunned at how she was actually seeing something potentially magical in front of her. "Right let's see what I can do here." Both she and Rynmar watched Peach mess around with the device. It was already configured to Rynmar's usage, but upon wearing it herself, the details seemed to disappear, resetting itself in some sort of way. "Ah, that's not good."

"What's wrong?" Rynmar asked, already looking worried.

"Forgive me if you think I'm the expert on these things. We usually have these because we confiscate them from the other humans in these lands. The problem is the device seems to remember its tracking based on the user of the device. So as I haven't configured it for myself… and I suppose my own DNA, it won't work. Ryn, try putting it on again." She took off the watch and passed it over to him. She watched him wear it and slide it up his left arm. Everything seemed to flash the appropriate colours and work normally for him. "Are you able to use it?"

"Yeah, do you want me to?" Peach felt a little bit of relief, but remembered where she was.

"Not yet. Let's go to somewhere quiet and a place we won't be seen in the morning."

"I know a good place." They followed Rynmar back in the direction he came from, leading them all to a woodland area near a golf course. The three travelled to the darkest part of the woods so that they could be as far out of sight as possible. This took another fifteen minutes, and it was now the Monday after. The three made sure that nobody else was nearby. The place was completely lifeless, and all eyes now turned to Rynmar.

"Ok. Here's what we're going to do." Peach instructed. "Listen closely. I want us to all hold each other firmly. Grab each other's skin. No clothes. Make sure that our skin is in contact with each other." She grabbed onto Rynmar's wrist with both of her hands, putting in as much force as possible. Ellis also did the same, grabbing on to his other arm.

"This looks absolutely ridiculous." She said. "This better work."

"Would you like me to try and use it now?" Rynmar looked up once more to Peach. "Finally we'll be able to get back to the castle together… and Ellis, you'll finally get to see this new world that I've been telling you about all these days." Both girls blushed, happy for the boy's excitement.

"Press it." Peach ordered.

"Here goes…" He used his other hand to press the button that would teleport him between the worlds. All three of them closed their eyes.

They heard a high-pitched beep sound coming from the device, and the small light on it flashed red for a few seconds.

"What's happened?" Peach looked at Rynmar, who looked at the device's screen, seeing a few words appear on it.

"Error: Type – Three. Action unsuccessful. See device manual." He looked up to Peach and Ellis. "I don't think I'm allowed to teleport if people are touching me."

"Fuck." Peach sighed once again. "I had a feeling this would happen."

"Then you should use it." Rynmar started taking the device off, offering it back to Peach. She shook her head back at him and refused to take it from him.

"I can't use it because I've not bound my home location to it yet." She changed her mind and decided to take it from him to demonstrate what she meant. "Here, let me show you." She slotted the device up her wrist and activated it, getting a similar sounding beep sound with another message on the small screen. "See, Error: Type – Four."

"You try it then." Rynmar looked to Ellis, unsure about the outcome, even though the most likely option was the same, but he just wanted to give it to Ellis and let her have a little play around with it. Peach took the device off her wrist and handed it over to Ellis, with both of them assisting her on equipping it. They showed her the buttons and told her which one to press. They stood back and watched as Ellis got another beep sound.

"Error: Type Four." She informed them. "I'm gonna be real here. This fucking sucks. Like, I believe everything and all, but I haven't been amazed by anything yet. How inconvenient."

"I know right." Rynmar joked, feeling rather awkward now. The two looked to Peach to see what she wanted to do. She felt very defeated and couldn't think of any other option now. She sat down on the grass below her in the woods, shaking her head and looking very plain.

"Well, it should still work for you, so at least you'll be able to get to warp across." Peach watched Ellis hand the device back over to Rynmar, who started equipping it for his own later use.

"Yeah, I'll sort that out now." Without thinking, once Rynmar had fully equipped it, he pressed the button by accident. He glowed for a few seconds and started to vanish. "Oh, fuck!" Ellis backed away, initially scared but now she knew the device worked. He was gone.

"Alright, now that's magic. That's gotta be magic." Ellis fell to the ground, amazed at what she had seen. "So where's he gone now?"

"My castle." Peach said back with a sob. "He went by accident, so I'm expecting him to immediately return back here in a few minutes." The two awkwardly sat together in the darkness of the woods, sharing their lack of any feeling right now. Both of them were getting tired. With Ellis being awake for over sixteen hours and Peach also being awake for so long yet exhausted after a busy day and still lacking sleep from previous days. Peach did not like the dampness of the British springtime soil at night, making her anxious and hesitant to remain sitting down. Ellis didn't seem to care though, she was used to it.

The silence continued for another ten minutes until eventually Rynmar reappeared again. The warp created a white façade of his body as he reappeared onto the world, eventually appearing in the flesh after a few more seconds.

"Sorry, that was an accident." Rynmar said to the two, looking at them on the floor. "And sorry for the delay. There were Toads inside my chamber. I told them that you need that necklace gem retrieved and they said that they were going to keep the cave under full surveillance now."

"Right." Peach replied, standing up. "Well… we might be in a big state of emergency here, because I can't seem to get back to the Mushroom Kingdom. I can't get back home. What am I supposed to do here? I have nowhere to go…" She started to cover her eyes. Rynmar immediately went over to her to try and comfort her, but he wasn't sure what to do as he couldn't really offer anything. Ellis remained sat down speechless. Her mind was filled with amazement at how she witnessed her school friend vanish on the spot for at least ten minutes.

"Well at least I can go back if you want me to tell anyone anything. Do you want me to try and reach out for Princess Daisy?" He helped Peach over. She subtly pointed into a direction for the three to head away from as she was no longer feeling comfortable in the dark woodlands.

"I know. Yes, but I want you to take a list with you. I need Daisy to be told a lot of things but I don't know if you'll be able to remember them all. Do any of you two have some paper on you?"

"I've got my phone." Rynmar replied. "I won't need internet to get up some notes. We can write them on here for I've got them with me for when I go across."

"Right, let's begin." Peach rushed over to the nearest bench and sat down with Rynmar. Ellis started to feel a little bit useless and began to question whether or not she should still be here. She remained with the two and watched from a few metres away, but she did not open her mouth once.

"I can start typing out now." Rynmar informed Peach when they were both sitting down.

"You need to say everything here on behalf of me, so remember that when addressing everyone everything." She watched his screen as he was typing out the first bullet point. "Then, I need you to do the following: I need you to tell Daisy and only Daisy and tell her that I'm stuck here and can't seem to find a way to get back any time soon. I need it to be clear to her that she does not tell anyone else this for the rest of the night otherwise the castle might go under. I also need you to tell her that she needs to take charge of the Webcapstow operation. She will know what that means when you say it to her so you don't need to do any further explaining. Just tell her that the Koopa I brought to the castle today will begin the operation with anybody else she could find suitable for the job. She'll know so again you won't need to worry." She kept her eyes on the phone, watching Rynmar type out everything.

"Alright. What next?"

"I need her to be informed about the portal being closed. I also need you to get her to speak to Toadheim about surveying the area and making sure that it gets monitored 24/7. I'm going to also have to ask for Daisy to take temporary leadership should I not be back by sunrise." She was happy with the notes that Rynmar had written on his phone. "Now this is something I want you to know about. Ideally I want you to not have the events happening tonight to intervene with your life here, so I want you to start heading back home sooner or later. Don't stay for too long. If you feel like you're needed for longer in the Mushroom Kingdom, please make sure you have charge to teleport back. If you don't, then get a castle guard or Daisy to show you to Toadsworth. He'll be able to charge up your device. I also want you to warp in that chamber you've been given when you're done with everything tonight. If you're unable to do that by say… midnight there or 5AM here, just find a safe and quiet place to warp. Just make sure you're home and back where you were when we first called you, that way you won't have to worry about anybody finding out about what you've done tonight."

"Basically, don't get caught sneaking out of the house, Rynmar." Ellis smiled at him.

"The best thing for me to do would be to probably head back home and warp from my bedroom. This doesn't make any noise, right?" Both Ellis and Peach shook her head back at Rynmar.

"Only a little bit of a glow, but no noise." Ellis believed.

"Well that's me sorted out. I guess I should start heading back home. It's probably the best thing for me to do." Rynmar looked away in the direction towards home, debating to start leaving now. "What are you going to do now that you're trapped here though?"

"I'll figure that out eventually." Peach grinned, looking back at Ellis. "Go along now. Don't let me down, boy!" Rynmar gave one last look at both of them, nodding back at Peach and then looking at Ellis.

"See you later I suppose." He began walking down the path towards the way out of the woods. Peach and Ellis were silent, watching Rynmar travel all the way down until he was eventually out of their sight. Peach then turned her eyes towards Ellis, feeling massively disappointed in herself that she wasn't able to provide and sense of proper enjoyment to her. She witnessed Rynmar take the portal on the device but wasn't able to travel herself. What made Peach feel even worse was that she felt like Ellis was now stuck with her, and it was in the middle of a school night. She wouldn't be surprised if Ellis was super tired right now.

"So… were you trying to hide where you live from Rynmar or do you genuinely not want me to know about where you live?" Ellis didn't seem very responsive. She shrugged and kept looking at the floor, unsure what to do with Peach now.

"Nah, it's… life's just a bit shit for me at the moment. My Dad left us earlier in the year and my Mum's barely at home. So me being outside right now isn't actually that bad of a thing. I'm like another hour away… but it's just that it didn't really matter in the moment." Ellis started to slowly walk back to the roads outside the woods and resumed her journey as if she was heading back to the school. Peach followed, unsure what to do for herself let alone for any ways of assisting Ellis.

"Are you living on your own then?" Peach wondered, trying to find a reason for the drop in Ellis' happiness over the past few minutes.

"It feels that way." She replied. "Mum basically shows up late every day and is out again before I wake up because she's always on the go… always working. I've got to do everything myself as well as go to school, which probably explains you seeing me as mature." The two walked together, with Peach letting Ellis guide the way back into town and for them to eventually lead back to her house. "You see, Rynmar wouldn't really talk about this to anyone because nobody at school would ever listen to him. I was the person who gave him the light of day for him to have someone listen to all the beliefs he's been having about this. Claiming that Duncan and Tobias weren't missing and that they went into their own simulation of an imaginary world sounded completely ridiculous to me as well as everyone else. Now that we've both witnessed what must be magic and seen some truth behind it, I bet Rynmar's not going to say any more of it at school unless it's between him and us… but if it is all sunshine and rainbows on the other side… maybe I should give it a go, if you would allow me the pleasure that is."

"Well, here's the thing." Peach responded, seeing where Ellis got her stress from. "It can be sunshine and rainbows and all that is happiness. You see, I'm not only the Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom but also acting in the government of the Kingdom. At the moment it's really not sunshine and rainbows. If anything, these are probably the worst times we're going into ever since I was young. Also, the seasons are inverted here, so if anything it's only getting colder and darker earlier in the day, but I'm sure you would love it, even if you had no idea about the franchise Shigeru made." They both knew that the journey going back to Ellis' house was going to be at least another hour. Ellis also made it clear to Peach that the journey wasn't going to be the same as going back to the school. After they got back to the main town they would have to divert south and head through two other smaller towns. There was nothing Peach could do right now so there was literally no other choice she had in following Ellis back home.

"You've given me an opportunity to see a new world that nobody in this world bar a couple of people believes it exists. Why shouldn't I take this opportunity? Life away from the boredom that is school would be amazing, but… I guess I'd have to figure out a way I could temporarily balance out the two. Thank goodness for the time zone difference. I can basically spend every afternoon and evening after school going over there if I got one of those devices that you gave to Rynmar." Peach admired her newfound interest in going over to the other world. Even if it wasn't fully set in stone that she would have to spend a lot of it in searching for the two twins, setting her up with the prospect of excitement made her happy as a result.

"Ellis. If we're able to get back to the Mushroom Kingdom, and that we're able to find your lost friends, then I'll be able to give you all the big gold coins you need. You'll be able to help your Mum with all the work she's doing and pay it all off and more. You'll be able to have everything you've ever wanted in this land, and maybe you'll be able to freely access this one too."

"You said one of those coins was like a hundred thousand pounds, didn't you?" Ellis' happiness was reappearing again for Peach, filling her with delight.

"Yes. We've got millions of those coins back in the Kingdom vault."

"That's amazing." Ellis smiled. "What do you mean by maybe though? When you said that maybe I'll be able to freely access the two worlds?" She noticed the slight bit of concern in Ellis' tone at the end, but the question was valid as it reminded her of her true experience with Duncan and Tobias in Muhu Delfethal.

"Well… The thing is, Duncan and Tobias… they've freedom but… with freedom comes recklessness I guess. They don't really conform to the cultures and standards and… what's the other word… basically they don't live there like they're citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom or surrounding areas. They just show up and do whatever they want and it's usually for their own interests. If I gave you such a power and such a privilege to live in these lands… I cannot guarantee that you'd not do the same as what they do."

"What about Rynmar." Ellis stopped and looked straight at Peach. "Could you trust him not to be like them?" Peach looked to the ground and kept walking.

"Rynmar's cute… he's obedient… and she shows loyalty to the process. At the moment I can trust him with everything but I've only had him for use for less than a day, and in that time he's barely done more than you. You two would be able to convince Duncan and Tobias to present themselves to me… seeing you guys would be a huge surprise to them. The problem is, once Rynmar does actually see them, I cannot guarantee that he'd be able to bring your friends home with ease. It's tricky." She shrugged. "At the moment though, the whole Kingdom could fall into disarray if I had no hope of coming back. I cannot act upon any of these plans or decisions if I'm stuck here for the foreseeable future." The two were silent for a few seconds until Ellis came up with an idea.

"Well, you said there was a portal in Brooklyn right? Well… the worst case scenario is you would have to book a flight from London here to Brooklyn and take that portal home. If you're able to get Rynmar to hand you some of those gold coins, you might be able to exchange them at a gold seller or a bank, and then use that money to pay for one way flight from a London airport to an airport near Brooklyn. You might need someone help you with directions from Brooklyn airport to the portal, but… if all that's successful, you could probably do that all within a week? I don't know about the gold exchange part but everything else should be reasonable." The idea Ellis had sparked a massive thought that appeared in Peach's mind. She remained silent, thinking about it and mentally shutting herself away from Ellis just for a few seconds. She halted Ellis whilst walking down the street and looked up in deep thought.

"I know someone who could do the gold exchange for me. Oh my goodness. This could work, and it could probably happen sooner. I need Rynmar back." Peach looked back at Ellis.

"Too late. He's probably in the 'Mushroom Kingdom' by now. You'll have to wait until tomorrow morning when he gets back."

"Great. I'm gonna have to find a place to sleep tonight. I'd appreciate it if you knew a place that wasn't a tree branch or something." She stressed, walking through the town centre with Ellis now.

"Well, I suppose I could find a way to have you stay at my house for the night at least. Just so we can all catch up on sleep. Good thing you're attractive, otherwise I'd have you stay in the shed." She joked with Peach, but also flattering her at the same time.

"That's so kind of you. Are you sure your mum will be fine with me staying over?" Peach wondered.

"My mum probably won't even know or care that you're there." Ellis smiled. "We'll have to plan how to approach tomorrow. I've got school that I have to go to, and Rynmar will have to as well, but maybe in the morning we could speak about things before we start. You'll have to find a way to spend the day but we'll probably meet up before we go." The two continued their long walk journey through the night, thinking about ways to approach tomorrow. Ellis would go on to lead Peach all the way back to her house. It was a large semi-detached house in one of the quieter neighbourhoods and only her mum was inside, fast asleep. She offered Peach the opportunity to stay with her in her bedroom for the rest of the night, seeing that go by and preparing themselves for the chaotic day ahead of them: Monday.

EOC: As well as the special note, this chapter did take a while to finish. This chapter acts as the first of a two-part mini arc that concludes the first quarter of the story. After these two chapters there will be an Interlude, this time it is at the beginning of each new quarter, just like the first chapter of this story. Unlike this story, Fighting in the Streets had the interludes and extracts happen at the end of each quarter, meaning there was an Epilogue. Whether there will be an Epilogue for this story or not is still undecided. It depends how each quarter wraps up.

See you next chapter!