".............Hey................. each................ Peach?...................................... Peach?" a distant voice called as if it was shouting from miles away.

Peach shook her head, her vision partially blurred. She was surrounded by bright colors and an overwhelming smell of... flowers? Perfume? What even was that? Usually, Peach was a fan of floral smells, but this was too much. The world felt far too light as well, like a day in the middle of July.

She blinked a few times as a face in front of hers seemed to come into focus. She recognized the intense gray eyes, though they looked softer now.

"Wh..." Peach started, though she didn't have the strength to form whole words yet. It was like her face was numb. She couldn't feel her own tongue.

"Shh... it's okay," Countess Tippi smiled, placing a hand on Peach's shoulder. "Thank Jaydes you're up. We needed some feedback before the wedding."

Wedding?

Peach shook her head, trying to get herself to wake up from whatever strange dream she was trapped in. But it wasn't a dream. The world continued to come into focus, revealing an altar set up behind the countess, as well as a masked man, standing in the center of it.

"Someone's marrying a clown?" Peach asked, her speech still slurred, but more clear than before.

The countess burst into a fit of giggles and quickly shook her head.

"Oh, no, no, no. Of course not! That wouldn't do. That's my assistant, Dimentio. Wave hello, Dimentio!"

The masked man seemed to stand on his tiptoes and give a brief wave. He must have said something, but all Peach could hear were distant muffles.

"Before we start, I just have a few questions," the countess smiled, her voice overwhelmingly sweet.

"Let me go," Peach demanded.

"Soon. First question: which sounds most like true love? A - The prince and the villain, or B - The prince and the heroine. Think carefully."

Peach raised an eyebrow at the oddness of the question.

"Um... the second one, I suppose-"

"Lovely! Dimentio, bring his royal highness out!" Countess Tippi chimed, stepping back and pulling Peach toward the altar. The blonde heroine tried to tear herself out of the countess's grip, but her efforts were all in vain. She was too weak and disoriented to break free.

Dimentio seemed to nod, then snapped his fingers, making the prince appear, standing beneath the alter as well. He seemed even more dazed and confused than Peach.

"Hmm, we need guests," Countess Tippi hummed.

"I agree, my countess," Dimentio chimed. His voice was theatrical and bold. Peach didn't like it.

The masked man clapped his hands, summoning dozens of boos to witness the event, as well as their king.

"What in the—" King Boo muttered, looking around himself. "Who forcefully relocated me and my subjects?! This is an invasion of privacy! I will get my best boo lawyer and SUE—"

"Shhh, hold all objections until the end of the ceremony. Thank you!" Countess Tippi chimed with a quiet giggle. "Now, Dimentio, please begin."

"Yes, my countess," Dimentio said with a slight bow of the head. 

Countess Tippi grasped a large book, one with a white cover, and began reading from it.

"It is prophesied that the union of the truest form of love will bring forth the power of the purity heart, so today we must gather together and celebrate that true love. And, I can think of no better way to do that than to witness the joining together of a heroine and her prince."

"Her.... what?" Mario asked, still so dazed that he could hardly stand up straight. "I don't remember her proposing..."

"Shhh..." Countess Tippi hushed. "Now, are there any objections to this wedding?"

"Um, I'm objecting!" King Boo yelled, raising his arm. "Peach is NOT queen material. It's just like that old tale. It takes place in a now-nonexistent kingdom, actually. A prince fell in love with a peasant girl, and though their love was frowned upon, he was determined to show the world that she was worthy of his love and of the title of queen. So, they were married. Soon after, a disastrous plague hit the kingdom, wiping out all their once loyal subjects, including the new king. With him gone, all who remained turned to their queen, and she couldn't help them, because she knew nothing of ruling. So, she ran, disappearing into the forest. To this day, some say she's still out there, tethered to the mortal realm by her guilt—"

"Silence him," Countess Tippi smiled.

Dimentio nodded, then snapped his fingers. Less than a second later, a large piece of tape covered the ghost king's mouth, preventing him from speaking. Peach and Mario both paled slightly in the face, though it was almost a little amusing to the prince, seeing the ghost king prevented from telling more stupid ghost stories.

"Where's Luigi?" Prince Mario asked. "You aren't forcing him to get married too, are you?!"

"Who?" Countess Tippi hummed.

"Someone irrelevant," Dimentio shrugged. "Now, do we need to silence you as well, your highness?"

Mario narrowed his eyes to a cold glare and closed his mouth.

"Lovely. Now, do you two take each other?" the masked man asked.

"No! Not like this!" Peach spat. "This isn't right!"

"Wrong answer," Countess Tippi hummed. "Try again."

The way she smiled sent chills down Peach's spine, but the heroine was never one to let others force her to do things she wasn't ready to do. She wasn't going to marry Prince Mario. Not like this. This was all wrong.

Peach kept her mouth shut out of spite as the countess raised her eyebrows, then closed the book. The countess slowly walked over to Prince Mario, then grabbed his chin with a grip so strong it made him cry out in pain. Peach could see red marks start to form from her sharp, shiny fingernails digging into the prince's skin.

"Say no again, and I'll be forced to get a tad... violent," Countess Tippi breathed. "And I do hate getting violent."

"Let him go!" Peach demanded.

The countess's grip tightened.

"Peach, help!" Prince Mario begged.

Peach looked around. Usually, fighting villains was like a puzzle. King Boo was always far stronger than her, so she'd have to be smarter in order to beat him. This villain was different, though.

"I'll marry her! I'll marry her! Just please don't hurt me!" Prince Mario begged, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Better... now you?" Countess Tippi asked, shifting her gaze and staring into Peach's soul. "Love is good, yes? Love and light, the most powerful forces of all. I would think you'd be eager to help."

"Let him go," Peach demanded.

"Is that a yes?"

"That's a 'let him go.'" the heroine corrected.

Countess Tippi laughed, then tightened her grip even more. Prince Mario gasped and cried out in pain. 

"Unlike your ghost king, I'm not opposed to ending your prince right here and right now. So, is that a yes?" Countess Tippi asked.

Peach's eyes went wide as she saw the look of terror cross Prince Mario's face.

"Fine! It's a yes! Just please don't hurt him!" Peach cried out.

The countess immediately let go, then brushed her dress off and smiled.

"Perfect," she chimed.

King Boo watched silently, stunned. He never expected to see Peach give in like that. He supposed fear was the best way to manipulate people into doing things they didn't want to do. He'd have to take note of that. He stopped giving up on trying to scare Peach and Daisy long ago because they seemed so fearless, but maybe he was just doing it wrong.

The whole world seemed to shake as a bright light began shining from the center of the altar. Mario covered his ears as Peach stood back to watch as a large, glowing heart appeared before them, shining more brightly than any lantern she had ever seen before.

Countess Tippi grinned and reached up for it. "The Purity heart..." she muttered.

Dimentio watched with wide eyes, though he remained silent and composed.

That was when Daisy finally began to stir. Hidden amongst the crowd of boos, she blinked a few times, her head throbbing as if she had been hit with the worst migraine imaginable.

"Oh... my head..." she whispered, dizzy and ill. "What's happening...?"

She blinked a few times as the world seemed to turn brighter and brighter. That was when she noticed Prince Mario and Peach, standing beneath the brightness.

"Peach," she whispered, shaking away the dizzy, uncomfortable feeling and hopping to her feet. "Hey! What's going on?!"

Countess Tippi ignored the sidekick, her attention kept fully on the large floating heart before her.

"At long last," Tippi whispered, the glowing heart reflecting in her gray eyes. "All is going according to the Light Prognosticus... he can't stop us now."

"But I can," Daisy stated, grabbing everyone's attention. The whole crowd seemed to go silent and turned their eyes to her like she was a maid of honor giving a toast.

Dimentio seemed to tilt his head slightly as Countess Tippi turned to her and placed her hands on her hips, slightly annoyed. She didn't look like the kind of person who tolerated being interrupted.

"Ah, right, the orange one," the countess muttered. "I forgot you were here."

Daisy winced slightly but refused to let the countess's words get to her. She was honestly used to being forgotten. That was the fate of a sidekick.

"And what would your name be?" Dimentio asked.

"Yeah, right. Like I'm stupid enough to give my name to a stranger. Now, what the heck is going on?" Daisy demanded.

"Why, a wedding of course," Countess Tippi breathed. She held her arm out and gestured to Prince Mario and Peach.

"Then why is there a clown here?" Daisy asked with a sassy tone. "And, I hate to break it to you, but if they were getting married, I'm pretty sure the whole kingdom would know about it."

"We weren't given much of a choice!" Prince Mario exclaimed. "Daisy, help!"

Daisy raised an eyebrow, drawing back slightly.

"Weren't given a choice?! Well... this is messed up," she admitted. "But don't worry! Now, stand back while I fix this AND save the day!"

Daisy shifted her weight slightly, clenching her fists.

"I'd like to see you try," Countess Tippi hummed, brushing a few loose strands of hair away from her face.

Daisy narrowed her gaze slightly, then charged forward at the large glowing heart. She launched off the ground as high as she possibly could, then sank her fists into the flying object.

"Take that!" she shouted, proud of herself.

The pride was short-lived, however, interrupted by a large burst of light and energy, knocking the sidekick and everyone else down to the ground.

Daisy rubbed her head as a loud ringing noise bounced between her ears, followed by an echoing laughter.

"Oh, how cute," remarked Countess Tippi with a light and teasing tone as nearly everyone in the crowd fell unconscious, including Prince Mario and King Boo. Peach covered her ears, barely awake. "Dimentio, have the prince, the king, and all the little ghost guys teleported to the castle. Hmm, bring the sidekick too. She's proved herself to be interesting enough. Leave the blonde heroine, though. The last thing we want is her getting in our way. We'll move forward from there."

Dimentio nodded and waved his hand. Before anyone could argue, everyone besides Countess Tippi and Peach had vanished.

"Bring... them... back..." Peach muttered, barely strong enough to even lift her head from the ground.

Countess Tippi giggled, then stepped over the heroine, holding her arms up to the Purity Heart.

"Now... open your arms to the light. Consume all darkness and clean the worlds of all evil, as told in the prophecy! Destroy him and everything he and his influence have ever touched."

"You sound... Insane," Peach whispered. "Where are my friends?! What are you even—"

"Shhh," Countess Tippi hushed, refusing to turn and look the heroine in the eyes. "Your role in this is over. Go home and enjoy the peace. Listen to the birds sing, sip some tea, and watch the sunrise... soon, the sun will never set again."

The corners of Peach's vision began to turn black as Countess Tippi began to laugh. The laughing continued until all was dark and cold, and Peach was alone.

She wasn't used to feeling this small, this powerless. She was the great heroine of the Mushroom Kingdom. It was her job to keep Prince Mario safe. She thought she was good at it, too. 

There was something that set this adventure aside from every other one she had ever been on, though. On those adventures, there was always a clear path laid out for her. Daisy was always by her side. She was always battling King Boo and his predictable patterns. Here? She knew nothing about Countess Tippi. She didn't even know what the countess was doing all of this for! What even was the Light Prognosticus? Could the Purity Heart be stopped, or was it already too late? 

Did Peach already lose?