Archive of Our Own

Peach was gripping to the side of the ledge, sweat dripping down her temple as her arms became fatigued. Mimi was dangling from her other arm, squirming sporadically.

"I don't want your stupid help!" Mimi exasperated. "Just… just leave me alone." A sigh escaped her mouth.

Peach held on tightly, refusing to let go.

"No, I can't do that. You have been very, very bad but I can't just leave you here to die," she said dryly, her fingertips slipping.

"Peach…"

"Wait! I've got you," she said hurriedly, panicking when Mimi's hand began to slip from her gloved one. "Please, just hold on a little longer!"

The room suddenly rumbled violently, sending them both flying off the edge. As they tumbled downwards, Peach tried to discern her surroundings, but everything was a dreary blur. All she could hear was the deafening screams of Mimi until they slammed onto the ground.

The pain enveloped her like water to a flame. She forced open her eyes, vision hazy. All that was visible was the black painted walls of castle Bleck. She tried to move, pushing past the mind-numbing pain and sitting herself up.

She slid her heels back on and looked around, feeling slightly nauseous. She had landed in one of the many corridors of the castle, only this one had a stretch of railings on one side to look at the view. Not that there was much of one. The only thing visible from the extended balcony was the dark pall of the sky with splatters of purple and black swirling around the ever increasing void.

She looked beside her and felt her face light up when she saw Mimi lying there, her red and white polka dotted dress smothered in dirt. She crawled over to her, immediately spotting the cuts down her left arm. Blood began to emerge from the wounds, trickling down her arm. Peach dug a hand into her pocket and fished out a handkerchief. Carefully, she dabbled it on the blood until the cut stopped bleeding. She didn't have anything to clean the cuts so hopefully they could be out of here fast. But with the world ending, perhaps it could wait.

Peach peeled off her torn gloves and looked at her own arms, worried the numbness was to compensate for a hefty wound she must've acquired from the fall.

There were a few bruises beginning to form on her arms and from the coppery taste in her mouth, she could only guess she had cut her lip too. She pressed a finger to her lip, the scarlet blotches that she saw affirmed that. Even though the fall wasn't as far as she had previously thought, she was still surprised she hadn't broken any bones or sprained anything at least.

She placed a hand on Mimi's shoulder, gently nudging her. Mimi stirred a little, making unintelligible noises before giving a guttural groan and blinking her eyes open. Their eyes met and Mimi bolted upright, shuffling away from her.

"Don't touch me!"

Peach was almost baffled at how fraught she was.

She outstretched an arm towards her, "Mimi, you're hurt." She shouldn't care, she knew she shouldn't. Once she saw she was alive, she should've rushed back to Mario and the others. So why didn't she?

Mimi glanced down at her cuts, "It's no big deal." she paused. "Now why don't you just run along back to your precious hero and leave me alone."

"I can't just leave you here," she said emphatically, aware of the masonry crumbling from the palace walls. "Any moment this castle is going to collapse."

Mimi gave a half hearted laugh, "And why do you care? Like you said, I've done bad things so why can't you just go already?"

"Because I just can't," she answered unsurely. She still wasn't sure why she cared so much. Maybe it was because she felt obligated. As a princess, it has always been her duty to help her citizens even those who don't want to be helped. "Just let me help you."

Mimi got to her feet, legs trembling. "Well I don't want to be helped by a stupid princess," she gave a huff before turning away, beginning to totter down the darkened hallway.

Peach followed behind her, "Where are you going?"

"What do you think I'm doing silly? I'm finding a way out of this place," she said. "Why are you still following me?"

"Well I don't exactly know the way out," she admitted. "And besides, you're badly hurt. Someone has to make sure you get out alright."

"Golly, it looks like someones got a big ol' soft spot for little old me," she giggled.

Was that it? "What? Don't flatter yourself," she laughed.

"Whatever you say princess."

Peach felt queasy strolling down these halls, every one of them looked identical to the one before and the dim lighting made them difficult to navigate. She couldn't understand how Mimi had recovered so easily. Peach found herself still staggering every now and then and her hands refused to stop trembling. Mimi on the other hand was speeding on ahead as if she hadn't sustained a single injury.

"Do you even know where you're going?" said Peach. "And why are you walking so fast?"

"Of course I do. Yaknow, I've been living in this castle for years now," she looked at her and grinned. "Is it too hard for the itty bitty princess to keep up? Maybe if you didn't wear those ridiculous heels, you could keep up."

"I don't think that's the problem here. You're walking perfectly fine even despite having fallen from a high place!"

She shrugged. "I've gotten used to it."

Peach didn't pry.

They found themselves in a room outside of the castle, the purple sky looming over them. Mimi gave a sigh.

"Oopsie."

"What?" Peach looked at her gravely as the ground trembled again.

"I guess I must've taken a wrong turn. We should be in the count's chambers by now."

"I thought you were leaving the castle?"

Mimi looked at her, "You really are a big dummy, princess. I'm loyal to the count till the end."

Peach stumbled backwards. "What were you planning to do? Still help him conquer the world?"

She shrugged, "Pretty much."

"But why?" she prompted. "If he succeeds, the chaos heart will destroy everything!"

"Gee, that's the whole point," Mimi laughed.

She dipped her head, "I don't get it. Why would the count want that?"

"The count lost the one he loved the most, Lady Timpani. It was a dirty trick his father played. He banished Timpani from the count's dimension leaving him totally heartbroken. His life was never the same without her so he vowed to make all the world's go kablooooey!"

Peach was surprised Mimi was offering her that information so willingly. Though maybe it was because the world was ending.

"That's awful…" she said dryly. "I suppose I understand his anger now… even if I don't condone his actions. Destroying the world also means destroying the lives of innocent people."

"Well when you have nothing to live for, can you blame him?"

"And what about you?" Peach said firmly. "Don't you care about the world ending?"

"No."

The ground trembled again, causing them to both fall over.

"It's not safe here, we need to go!" Peach exasperated, getting to her feet.

Mimi got to her feet, patting down her spotted dress. "Eeeeek! My dress is ruined. I spent hours stitching this." Her eyes were fixed on the tear along the hem.

Peach seized her shoulders. "Oh quit worrying about your dress. If the world ends it won't matter!"

"Meanie."

"Can't you teleport us to the count?"

Mimi's eyes fixed to hers, "Don't you think I would've done that if I could?"

"Why can't you?"

"After you spanked me, my abilities have become weak and fatigued. It might be a while till they return."

"Is that why you haven't tried to take me down again?"

"Golly, you think so lowly of me. I wouldn't have tried to attack you even if my powers were intact."

Peach found herself smiling.

"But only because you're not worth wasting my energy on," Mimi added with a grin.

But Peach was still satisfied. Maybe Mimi really could have a change of heart.

.

They had begun walking back through the looming halls of Bleck's castle, the stench of death more potent than before. Mimi insisted she knew the way now, but Peach was sceptical.

"I didn't get to ask this earlier, why don't you care about the world ending?" Peach questioned.

Mimi laughed. "Golly princess, you sure ask a lot of questions."

"It's the one thing I just couldn't work out. I understand why you want to help the count, but surely you can't really want the world to end, can you?"

Mimi stopped. "You don't get it do you? Maybe I'm not the only one who has nothing to live for."

"That can't be true," Peach argued.

"Well it is. The count, Nastasia, Dimentio and O'Chunks are the only people who have ever cared for me. We're like family yaknow," she smiled. "Without them, life is a big ol' pile of shit."

Peach grabbed her hand, "Then why not live for them? Surely as the count's friend…or minion you could've advised him to change his plans. Then you could've carried on as one big family."

"It's not that easy dum dum!" she snatched her hand away. "The count has worked for this for years," she said. "And even if I leave, he will carry on his plans anyways. Then what will be left for me?"

Peach felt this sadness cloak her. "I get it," she croaked. "I don't know what I'd do without Mario."

"Well that's because you're all cosy with him," Mimi snapped. "Isn't he like your boyfriend or something?"

"No."

"Pfft but he's rescued you at least a hundred times from that giant spiky turtle man."

"He's a close friend and that's it," she said softly. "I guess everyone expected us to be courting just because he's saved me countless times, but really I think of him more as a best friend."

Mimi wasn't the only one to assume that. For years in her reign as princess, nearly everyone assumed there must be something going on between them just because of the countless time they've spent together. All because he was her hero.

"Best friend or not, you should understand then," she said. "Without them, I have no one. No one in this stupid world cares about me like they do."

"That's not true," she smiled. "I care about you."

Mimi gave a laugh. "You're funny, princess."

"I'm telling the truth," she affirmed. "At first, I didn't. You hurt me, my friends and I hated the fact that you were willingly helping Count Bleck destroy the world. But even after all you did to us, I knew there must be a reason behind it all."

Mimi dipped her head, clutching the hem of her dress.

"I thought that maybe I could get through to you, change your perspective on the havoc you were causing and find out why you wanted all this. And now I finally get it. You were doing it for the people you cared about," she smiled. "That's why I'm trying to help you—because I care about you."

Mimi looked at her for a while, a tear forming in the corner of her eye, before she suddenly shoved her. "You don't care about me—there's no way you do!"

Peach staggered backwards, feeling a sharp paint stab at her chest. "Mimi… I'm not lying to you I swear it. Why do you think I came after you?"

"You're just following me so you can rejoin your precious heroes!" she spat. "You don't give a shit about me!"

"That's not true!" she retaliated. "Why can't you see that?"

Mimi was crying now, tears pouring down her cheeks. Peach was taken aback. "I've trusted people like you before. People who pretend to care about you…when really they couldn't care less."

Peach tried to grab her hand but Mimi tore it away once more. "I don't know what you've been through but I'm nothing like them I promise."

"Then what do you plan on doing when we find them again?" she spurted angrily. Peach said nothing. "See? You're just a big ol' liar who's using me to get back to her boyfriends."

Mimi started walking away, arms down by her sides. Peach chased after her. "I told you they're not my boyfriends."

"Just leave me alone," she snapped round, shoving her again.

Peach looked at her before Mimi wiped her arm across her eyes and started to run down the spooky halls of the palace.

"Mimi wait," she called after her, slipping off her heels. It was much easier to run without them.

She chased after her down dimly lit corridors scattered with creatures, nearly losing track of her when she sped round a corner. She focused her blurred vision on the red polka dots on her dress, fixing her eyes to them as she darted down the maze-like corridors.

"Mimi!" she called out to her, her breaths becoming shallow and sporadic.

After running for what seemed like forever, her legs gave way and she doubled over, breathing heavily. She glanced up and saw a flicker of red dash away before completely disappearing out of sight.

Peach surveyed the corridor she was in with trepidation, realising she was all alone. The ground continued to rumble, the walls shook causing stone to crumble from them. She needed to find her way out of here and fast.

She tottered down the hallway, pushing through a tall door at the end only to find herself in another long, darkened hallway. She cradled her arms which were still aching, hoping she would bump into the others or miraculously catch up to Mimi.

She really cared about Mimi. She didn't exactly know why considering all of the terrible catastrophes she had contributed to. She'd ambushed them multiple times, making them fight for their lives, set up a sweat shop in the back of Merlee's mansion and aided in the count's malicious plan to eradicate the entire universe.

She laughed dryly to herself. Despite Mimi's awful choices, she still understood why she did it. She could remember clear times in her life when she made decisions based on other people's wishes and more than enough times she had regretted them.

A chill ran up her back when she spotted some of Bleck's minions wandering about the end of the hall. They were making this ear-piercing chattering noise, jabbing their spears back and forth. She walked up to them apprehensively, considering turning back around and going through a different door.

Backtracking however would've only set her back and probably got her more lost than she currently was. So she ambled through the group of skeletons, wincing as she passed them. They looked at her briefly and Peach expected an onslaught to take place but they made little effort to pursue her.

She hurried past into the next room, nearly tripping over when the ground erupted again. Staggering in the open room, her heart dropped when she realised she was outside again faced with a dead end.

She peered over the edge of the ledge, stones crumbled down below, crashing to the ground. The void was growing larger, swirling like a black hole. She started panicking, palms sweaty and head spinning. How had she ended up here? She didn't see another door before this one so she must've gone the wrong way multiple times before this.

"Well hello there," a voice said with a chuckle.

Peach turned around to find Dimentio hovering in front of her with an obscene grin.

"Dimentio!" she spurted, frightened. "What are you doing here?"

He chuckled again, "It's quite a long story. That meddling Luigi managed to get the better of me and then during one of the tremors, we were separated from the chosen one," he said. "Unfortunately, my powers were weakened by his attacks. I was utterly mortified so I teleported away from that goody-goody and well... here we are."

"Is Mario alright?"

"For now," he grinned. "But I wouldn't get your hopes up. That pathetic hero is no match for the chaos heart."

Her heart began to race. "What do you want from me?" she rasped. 

He grinned, "Well we could always have a little battle but I fear I'd be wasting my time since you barely look able to stand as it is," he looked her up and down. "Fighting you would be like fighting a toddler: a disappointment. No, I think I'd be far more delighted to end your misery."

"End my misery?"

"I have plans. Big plans. And quite frankly, I can't have you foiling them any longer by joining that pathetic hero of yours," he retorted. "Besides, you can't offer much to the table with the state you're in so It's best I get rid of you once and for all."

"Plans? But the world is already ending!"

"You stupid princess. I in fact have plans to overthrow the count," he thrashed. "You see, the count is weaker than I am. He's been having second doubts about his plan and I can't follow someone like that anymore. It's utterly embarrassing."

"Overthrow him? But isn't he your… friend?" she uttered.

He gave a chuckle, "Don't make me laugh. The count was never strong enough to be my friend," he said. "No… I've just been going along with his wishes long enough to get close to him so he wouldn't expect my surprise attack."

Peach was in no way defending the count but Dimentio was a much greater threat now. "You're a monster," she spat. "A snake in the grass, that's what you are. How could you do this to him after all he's done for you?"

"Aha, someone needs to learn their place," he came forward, brutally shoving her backwards.

Peach gasped, painfully aware they were inches from the edge of the platform. He stalked towards her before dashing forwards, arms outstretched. She quickly ducked and ran past him, tears flying from her eyes.

Suddenly she felt something tug at her dress, causing her to fall over. She hit the ground hard, scraping her face against it. As she glanced up, Dimentio stood above her, gloating sinisterly.

"Why do you have to make this hard, princess?"

"Because I'm not going to stand around and let you get away with this," she said.

"That's a real shame," he sighed, reaching forward and grabbing the collar of her dress.

Peach shot an arm forward, jabbing Dimentio across the face. He staggered backwards, making a pitiful noise. She pushed herself off the floor, tottering back to the door as fast as possible.

"Aha, you think you can beat me?" he reached an arm forward, grabbing her by the throat.

She squirmed in his grasp, eyes dumbly locked to his. In moments she was thrown violently across the platform, soaring backwards before hitting the ground hard. She tried to move but the pain reverberated like an electric shock. The air grazed against her face, making her realise she was teetering off the edge.

She peeled her eyes open, the ground below miles below her. She quickly shuffled away from the edge, her dress smothered in dirt. She sat up, instantly drawn to Dimentio who was already above her, blood trickling down his philtrum.

He dragged his sleeve across his nose to remove the blood, snickering.

"I must say I hadn't expected that from you," he laughed. "No matter, you'll soon pay for that."

She got to her feet, knees feeling weak under her weight. "Being a princess isn't just gowns and formalities, we're also taught how to fight."

He gave a short laugh, "How quaint," he stalked forward. "Well, I don't think you're in any position to carry on this supposed fight of yours. So let's press on shall we?"

She looked over her shoulder, being inches away from the edge. She tried to rush past him but he grabbed her, pushing her towards the edge. Her heel was slipping from the edge.

"Dimentio, don't do this please," she cried. "This can't be what you really want!"

"Of course it's what I want," he hissed. "I've planned to usurp the count for years now and I won't have some princess ruin that!"

He held the front of her dress, dangling her over the edge. Peach could feel her heart slamming against her ribcage, her lungs practically bursting out of fear. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp.

This was it.

She couldn't get herself out of this one. Dimentio had won and she wouldn't be able to help Mario stop the count.

"Nyaaah Dimentio you big doofus what are you doing?" it was Mimi's voice shouting from across the way.

"Mimi, what a pleasant surprise," he said nonchalantly. "It's our lucky day. I found Princess Peach aimlessly wandering out here."

Her vision hazy, Peach tried to see Mimi but Dimentio was blocking her view.

"I found it in our best interest to eliminate her immediately before she thwarts our plans."

"Mimi go!" Peach shouted desperately. "Don't trust him!"

Mimi came forward, barely visible through Dimentio.

"Let her go!" Mimi demanded.

Dimentio gave a laugh, "You must be joking. This is the perfect opportunity to get rid of her."

"Gosh Dimentio, she couldn't hurt a fly. Now stop being a big dummy and just let her go."

Dimentio's grasp loosened, "Oh I see what this is. You like her don't you?" he said.

"What?"

"It's no point trying to hide it dear Mimi, your face is easier to read than that pathetically horny diary of yours."

Mimi's expression shifted.

"There was even one sentence I remember particularly well. Something like who does the princess think she is? Next time I see her I'll teach her a lesson," he imitated her voice derisively. "But then you also wrote, then why is she so pretty? I'd love to—"

Mimi launched herself forward, knocking him across the face.

Dimentio dropped her to the ground. Peach gasped for air as if she had been starved of oxygen. She looked hopelessly up at Mimi whose cheeks had suffused with colour.

She tried to track what was going on. Mimi liked her?

"Ouchie," Dimentio laughed sarcastically, pressing a hand to his nose which had started dripping with blood once more. He wiped it with his sleeve, coughing subtly. 

"Gosh Dimentio, do you always snick your nose into other people's business?" Mimi spurted angrily.

He laughed. "When it concerns one of my colleagues fraternising with the enemy, yes," he looked down at her. "And since it's clear to me she is a distraction, she has to go."

Peach tried to scramble away but he grabbed her again, throwing her backwards. Peach's eyes widened as she fell backwards, the air grazing against her skin. She closed her eyes, crying uncontrollably.

She expected this to be her end until she felt someone grab her arm. She opened her eyes, terrified beyond a doubt, Mimi was grabbing hold of her.

She felt relieved, elated. Why did Mimi come back for her? She could've gone back to the count all this time but she didn't. Peach felt all giddy inside as Mimi pulled her to safety.

Dimentio growled in annoyance, "Oh you sure are a little traitor Mimi," he barked. "Do you know how long I've been waiting to overthrow the count? And now you've gone and thwarted my plan!"

Mimi gasped, "Overthrow the count? You can't do that idiot!"

"Aha, so delusional it seems. Well there's no point lingering here, Mario is sure to have defeated the count and I need to be there to take the chaos heart when he does. Ciao!" and with a snap of his fingers, he was gone.

Peach fell to her knees, the tears refusing to stop. Mimi glanced at her.

"Hey, there's still time to stop him," Mimi nudged her gently. "So c'mon no more crying, big smile!"

Peach looked at her through watery eyes, "Why did you come back for me? You should be with the count, helping him."

She was debating whether to ask more about the diary but she didn't want to pry.

"Well silly, I couldn't just leave you here now could I?" she giggled. "You couldn't find your way out of here even if your life depended on it."

Peach found solace in Mimi's company and found herself throwing her arms around her, sobbing into her shoulder. It felt right. She felt right.

"Thank you," she cried. "If it weren't for you, I would've been done for."

Mimi's arms draped around her. "There's no need to thank me," she said quietly. "Listen, I'm sorry I left you. I never expected someone like you to care about me."

Peach looked at her and smiled faintly, "Someone like me?"

Mimi heaved a sigh. "When I was a kid, the ancients were looking for someone to try out one of their spells. One that could turn a human into a pixl," she began. "See, there were bad things happening. And pixl's were being created to help combat these bad things. But as machines, they didn't have the capacity for empathy and whatnot. So the ancients decided to find a way to turn humans into them."

"Humans into Pixl's? But that's inhumane!"

"Well I thought it sounded pretty cool at the time so I went to the ancients and they were on board with letting me be their experiment, only they told me I would have to wait until I turned eighteen since they had only experimented on adults, so I had to wait a while."

Peach listened attentively, worried for where this story was going.

"The big dummies told me the spell would be reversible but when they turned me into a pixl, they couldn't turn me back. Not only that, being a pixl made me immortal," she sighed. "I was super duper mad at them, demanded they change me back but they just shut me out and put me under their failed pixl projects."

"Mimi, that's awful…"

"I went to many different sorcerers for help but none of them knew how to reverse it," she said. "And whadya know, life was a big ol' pile of shit because no one wanted to involve themselves with a failed experiment. But then the count found me and took me in. Years of being alone and he was the only one who had shown me a teensy bit of kindness."

Peach grabbed her hand, squeezing it softly. Her suspicions had been right all along. It didn't excuse her actions, but it gave her an understanding of why she did it. Bleck was there for her when no one else was. She looked at her with despondency and rage. How could the ancients abandon her like that?

How could they do that? From what Merlon had told them, the ancients were well-respected and admirable but there was nothing admirable about this.

"He managed to reverse some of the spell. I'm not immortal anymore and not entirely a pixl either. So when he wanted the world to end because of the dummies who had betrayed him, I was more than willing to help," she said. "But now things are complicated because the count's been having second thoughts… and that no good traitor Dimentio is going to take the chaos heart for himself."

"Like you said there's still time to stop him," Peach said determinedly. "We can still save the count."

Mimi looked at her apprehensively, "But then the world will go kabloooey!"

"Perhaps there will be a way to change his mind," said Peach with a smile. "Mimi, I know how much he means to you. So I'm sure there's a way to stop all this before it's too late."

"Tippi."

"Tippi?" Peach echoed.

"She's Lady Timpani."

Peach was taken aback. Tippi and Lady Timpani's resemblance had been discussed prior to this but she never guessed she was Timpani.

"She can change Bleck's mind," figured Peach. 

Mimi shrugged, "So maybe there's a way for the count to be happy again if she does. I'd do anything to see that big smile of his again."

Peach got to her feet, offering a hand to Mimi. She looked at her and then gradually took her hand. Peach pulled her up.

"I'm sorry about how the ancients treated you," she sniffed. "From what Merlon told me, they were inspirational individuals with divine gifts who protected others. But what they did to you was awful…"

Mimi nudged her, "Hey no tears, princess. The old coot probably didn't know everything about them. Golly, even I didn't know."

She wiped her eyes, "Why the change of heart?" The question had been hijacking her mind for a while now.

Mimi had been adamant in aiding the Count's destructive plans for years. And now she was alright with stopping it? Perhaps it was because now Dimentio was threatening to overthrow him or maybe it was because she finally saw the perspective she wanted her to see. Caring about someone isn't just blindly going along with anything they say.

Mimi avoided the question, "C'mon, we have to stop Dimentio. The big bully's probably already made it to the sanctum."

"How will we make it in time?"

"My teleportation has finally rejuvenated," she beamed. "Pretty sick, right?"

Peach was worried. She had fought Dimentio before and knew of the power he possessed. With the chaos heart in his possession he would surely be unstoppable. What if he hurt Mimi? She bit her lip hard till it bled.

It was clear to her now. A lightbulb flickered in her mind.

She loved Mimi.

"Mimi you know the count more than anyone," said Peach. "When we get to the sanctum you have to be the one to go to him. I'll stall Dimentio and hopefully the pure hearts will be enough to take him down."

"You silly princess, you're gonna get yourself killed!" Mimi said firmly.

"I won't be alone," she affirmed. "Mario, Bowser and Luigi will be there with me."

Mimi grabbed her hand, "Don't be a dummy! Dimentio will have the chaos heart—"

"There's no time to argue! Dimentio has probably obtained the chaos heart by now."

"Well maybe the count saw his attack and stopped him," she suggested doubtfully. 

"We can't take that chance," Peach said.

"Just let me help you then," Mimi pleaded, voice hoarse. "Please."

The words were foreign to her. "No way."

Mimi folded her arms in a sulk, "Well then I'm not taking you there then!"

Peach sighed and turned to walk away. She couldn't risk Mimi putting her life on the line. She tottered towards the door, the tremors gradually grew bigger. There was little time.

"Peach, where are you going?" Mimi called behind her.

"To the sanctum, with or without your help."

"Princess don't be stupid," Mimi caught up to her, her breaths heavy.

"Have you seen the sky?" said Peach frustratedly. "In moments the world will be destroyed and I can't let that happen."

"You're going to get yourself killed!" Mimi exasperated emphatically.

She stopped briefly and smiled at her, "I'll be fine. Promise." She carried on walking.

"Why won't you let me help?" her voice was breaking.

"Because I can't risk you getting hurt. You're already injured as it is."

"And what about you? What if you get hurt?" She was ambushing her with questions she couldn't answer. 

The landmine finally went off, "Why do you care? It was only months ago you were willing to kill me yourself!" she spurted. Mimi shrank downwards.

"Peach…"

"And now suddenly you have a change of heart?" Her words were dripping venom. She was over the moon Mimi had had a change of heart, but that didn't stop her from spewing at her like this. "Suddenly you're willing to put yourself in danger for me? Why?"

"Because I love you, okay?"

"Oh, I see what this is. You like her, don't you?"

Peach froze, eyes fixated to Mimi. She hadn't really paid attention to what Dimentio was saying. Quite honestly, she thought he was just winding Mimi up.

"And I'm sorry for every stupid thing I did," she rasped. "I never meant to hurt you."

"You love me?"

Mimi dipped her head, "So quit trying to play the hero, okay?"

Peach didn't know what to say, heart pounding out of her chest.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Mimi said abruptly. "If this were this time a few months ago, I would've wiped that stupid smirk off your face."

Peach closed the gap between them and leaned forward, cupping her cheeks as their lips finally met. And for a moment, everything was perfect.

They broke away after a while. Peach held her fondly, unwilling to let her go.

"I love you too."

Mimi looked at her blankly for a while, her cheeks suffusing with colour.

"You're not fibbing?"

Peach pecked her nose, "No. It took me a while to come to terms with it. You and I were always destined to be enemies and I was always on the top of your hit list. But I just couldn't hate you. Every time I saw you, I felt this... connection. I'm not sure how to explain it really."

Mimi laughed. "You were a pain in my backside at first. Golly, I was so sick of seeing that perfect smile. You grew on me over time and it was no wonder when we kept bumping into each other all the time."

Peach chuckled softly, "I have to ask, what's with the spider form?"

"Oh, well you see the ancients wanted to make me into a pixl that could shapeshift. They got that bit right but screwed up the rest. The spider is what the pixl ended up looking like," she said with a titter. "This form is my real form."

Peach looked at her idly, captivated by her beautiful green locks and that devious smile. 

"I like it better than the spider," said Peach. "I'm terrified of spiders."

"Oh yeah? Well then I know just how to get under your skin then," she teased.

"Do that and I'm taking you down."

"Gee, alright," she laughed, glancing at her. "Can I kiss you again?"

"If you promise you won't go all spider girl on me."

Mimi pulled her in, placing a chaste kiss on her lips.

"C'mon let's go show Dimentio who's boss," said Mimi. "That sucker won't know what hit him."

"You have to promise we do this together though," warned Peach. "I won't let you do this alone."

Mimi sighed, "If I let you tag along will you take me out to dinner?"

Peach laughed softly, "Anything you want."

"Oooh, because I really want a Shroom steak and some sky juice."

.

Peach grabbed her hand, gripping it tightly.

"Now hold on tight, teleporting can feel a little weird if you haven't done it before."

Peach nodded.

She could only hope they weren't too late.