Quick little note: Thanks for the positive feedback guys! I really appreciate it, as I've said a million times (I swear, I'm part parrot). Now we move on to chapter two and find out who's behind this magic trick gone wrong.

And they lived Happily Never After

The purple smoke remained in one part of the courtyards, manifesting itself into a human-like figure. Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Daisy stood close to the door. The female cackle sounded again, this time sounding much louder and clear. Mario walked ahead of them, looking entranced by the maniacal laughter. Peach managed to outstretch her arm to him but he kept walking towards it. "Mario, don't…" Peach whispered but it was too late. He was standing centimeters away from the apparition. It turned to him, revealing its evil grinning face.

"Is that the..." Daisy choked on her words.

"It…It is." Luigi stammered.

Peach gasped, "T-The…"

"The Shadow Queen." Mario growled.

The Shadow Queen simply laughed. "Oh you silly little idiots, you didn't have to throw a party for my return! I'm just here to tie up some loose ends." She circled around Mario, speaking slowly and carefully. "I would have come sooner but, somebody locked me up."

"Correction: We killed you." Mario snapped.

"No you did not." Her eyes widened with anger.

She sighed, as if annoyed by his reply. "You simply thought you did. You see, being a master of control, I have the power to 'play dead'. I did take the damage, yes, but I didn't vanish completely. Demons never really die; they just stay away from the idiots who dare oppose them," She laughed again, "It is like a small game of make believe."

Since no body spoke, she continued on. "As I have mentioned before, I am here for some unfinished business." Her eyes were set on Peach. Peach backed up towards the door but it was locked tight. There was no use in running; The Shadow Queen would still catch her anyway. "What have you done with yourself, Princess Toadstool? You still look like the weak vessel you were before!" She laughed at her own joke, but no one followed her. She sneered at them all, "Get a sense of humor."

"Why do you want me? What have I ever done to you?" Peach shouted in terrified shrill.

"You are the only vessel that I have gotten used to. After all, nobody suspects the noble, pure heart, princess."

Daisy ran her tongue across her teeth. "We can still stop you."

"We have the crystal stars." Mario added.

The Shadow Queen nodded with them. "Ah yes, but I have the element of surprise." With that, she sent her smoke-like hand towards Daisy and Luigi. It quickly sent them towards the right side of the courtyards into a brick wall. She summoned hands to come up from the ground and they stretched out to the top part of the wall, locking the two together. The queen rolled her head in a circle, taking a deep breath. Peach ran over to Daisy and Luigi to try to break them out. The Shadow Queen laughed at Peach's failed attempts. Mario ran over to help her, but still the hands wouldn't budge. "This was fun, but I only have so much time." The queen strode over to Peach and pulled her away. Peach tried to fight the queen's grasp, but she was too strong. Mario stood there, motionless and thinking.

The Shadow Queen tossed Peach to the ground and grinned.

"What are you going to do with me?" Peach heard herself say.

"It will be but a simple extraction. I'm going to rip your soul out of your body and your body will be my control. After that, you won't be the noble pure heart you always thought you were." The Shadow Queen replied coldly. "With that being said, relax, princess." She made Peach sit up with her head back forcing her mouth to open. The Shadow Queen's body turned back into smoke, circling around Peach's helpless body. With Luigi and Daisy knocked out by the wall, Mario narrowed his eyes.

"You don't need her!" He shouted, stopping the ritual. They both looked at him and the queen released her grip on Peach. "Look at her! She's a weak, helpless little fool!" He continued without pause to think. "What will she do to help rule the world? Nothing at all!"

The Shadow Queen simply stared at him. "What are you implying?"

"I'm implying that Peach won't help rule the world. She's weak. If you really want a stronger person to take over the world,"

Peach widened her eyes in fear. She knew what he was going to say and tried to stop him. "Mario, don't-"

The queen held her hand in fist which stopped Peach's voice from being heard. "Continue, child."

"Then why don't you use me?" He finished coarsely.

The queen took a moment to think, and then nodded her head. "You are stronger and more experienced with battles, I suppose." She then snickered in an unearthly tone. "You're giving up your life for the life of this…brat?" Mario kept his expression serious which made the queen wipe her smirk. "Very well. I'll let the girl live." She tossed Peach away towards Mario. Peach shot up to him, still shaking with fear.

"Why did you do that? You're going to die! She'll kill you!" Peach kept her voice to a worried whisper.

"I'm doing this for you." He replied quickly.

"But you're going to die! It was better if you just let me die and you can live!"

He looked at her with a bitter sweet glaze. "Since day one, I promised that I would do anything I could to protect you until my days end. I'm not going to break that promise now. Not when I can still do something." She felt a hot tear roll down her cheek as he walked towards the queen. "Good bye, my princess." He whispered to himself.

Peach stood there, watching everything unfold before her very eyes.

The Shadow Queen's body turned back into the purple smoke they had first saw. It circled around Mario several times, shielding his body. He was kneeled down as if bowing to her. The next thing Peach knew, Mario was on the ground, looking as if he was dead. She did it…she actually killed him. Peach covered her mouth. She ran over to him, trying to hold back her tears. As she neared him, his head turned to her. She jumped back. His eyes were a bold black color and his face was completely pale. He stood up and Peach backed away.

"Mario…?" She whimpered. Mario didn't speak, he just held out his hand in front of him. Peach was suddenly lifted two feet off the ground. Mario grinned madly as Peach struggled to speak.

Luigi opened his eyes slowly and shook his head. The hands that held him and Daisy captive had weakened. He tried to find a way out, but the sight in front of him forced him to stay seated.

After a mad fidget, Mario let Peach fall to the floor. She landed with a hard thump, slamming her hands in front of her. Mario towered over her, still grinning.

"I should have really done this earlier." He said.

"What have you done to him?" Peach managed.

"I've done nothing. He's in here…somewhere. Why do you worry? His weakness was too easy." Mario scoffed. "It's always the damsel in distress that weakens the knees of the hero. However, I wonder why he didn't volunteer before. I suppose you'll never know."

Peach tilted her head, "What do you mean I won't know?"

Without another pause, Mario hurled Peach to the other side of the courtyards. She was slammed into the wall and fell to the ground looking lifeless.

The entire world melted away in her mind. It was pitch black darkness. Peach saw herself, walking in the dark, without sense of direction. She saw a door open. The door was from the castle courtyards and the light inside was coming from the spring ball. She walked inside, looking at the crowd of people. She saw everything as it was moments ago; the music playing, the couples dancing, the lights dimming.

Peach froze. The lights were dimmed to the same amber color before the chandelier fell. She ran over to the side where she and Mario were standing before.

"Mario! You need to listen to me!" She grabbed him by the shoulders.

He stood back. "I'm listening."

"In a few minutes, the chandelier will fall down and The Shadow Queen will try to kill me. You're going to stop her and risk your life for me. Then when I think that you're dead, you're going to try to kill me too! The Shadow Queen will have full control of your body and you can't stop her." She spat everything out without stopping to breathe.

Mario looked at her awkwardly. "Okay…"

Peach whined and shook him frantically. The chandelier began to rock back and forth. Peach's vision began to blur up over tears. "You have to believe me! Please!" She cried louder. The chandelier's rope broke and it came crashing to the tile floor. All the lights in the castle immediately turned off, leaving everyone in darkness. Purple smoke emanated from the broken rope as it bolted out the door to the castle courtyards. Peach turned back to where Mario was but no one was there. It was too late to fix this. No, it's just a dream. He's not dead. He's not dead.

As the pitch black darkness returned, Peach heard Mario's voice. It sounded distant, but calming. She could only remember the words faintly:

"When the world flips over…when bad becomes good and good becomes evil…I will be there, waiting for you…Until you fall."

Like the tie-in with the description? No? Okay….*sad violin music plays*

Anyway, that was chapter 2! Ha-ha! Chapter three won't be released until Friday (12/14/12), so do be patient. Thanks to any readers and reviews that I get over the next week and that I HAVE gotten this weekend. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

~Nightcast out~