Past Lives Could Never Come Between Us

50

" You look amazing. " Luigi hears a paparazzi say to Peasley. " Never would've pegged you as a cheater. ", then hold up a camera.

Lady Lima comes out of nowhere and shoves him out of the way. "A million Beanbean coins or this goes public!" the paparazzi shouts.

"Peasley's being blackmailed by paparazzi." Luigi tells Mario upon joining him in the dreamscape. "He has a picture of him with a woman that isn't Daisy."

"Can you figure out who it is?" Mario asks.

"No." Luigi shakes his head, then tries to follow Lady Lima and Peasley.

At first he can't understand the conversation, but then suddenly, the conversation replays, then he can.

"Are you alright, your majesty?" Lady Lima asks.

"Of course not!" Peasley says, flicking his hair. "How could you let such drivel approach me like that?"

"What the hell? I think I just understood Beanish." Luigi tells Mario.

"Well of course. We're in Peasley's subconscious. You hear Beanish, you're hearing it as he did."

"We need to find Peasley's hotel room." Luigi says, then starts walking away.

"On it." Mario follows, and the dreamscape changes.

" That wouldn't have happened if you'd waited for me to be there! " Lady Lima exclaims.

" Is it such a crime to want some freedom? " Peasley asks, flicking his hair again.

" It is when you're not letting me do my job! " Lady Lima reminds him.
" I could just as easily send you home. Kindly get off my back. " Peasley says.

"I think Peasley snuck out on Lady Lima." Luigi says. "My guess is to meet whoever that woman was in the picture."

Lady Lima and Peasley stare at each other for a long time, before Lady Lima finally says, " If you need me, I'll be in the adjoining room. ", then leaves.

" You're close to the memory of petrification. " Pauline says in their earpieces.

"Ready?" Mario asks.

Luigi takes a deep inhale, then nods. "Okie dokie."

The dreamscape changes to Peasley knocking on Lady Lima's door.

" Milady, I'm sorry. I promise, I'll explain everything. "

"Peasley's trying to tell Lady Lima an apology." Luigi narrates. "But Lady Lima doesn't appear to be receptive."

Luigi watches Peasley open the door, finding Lady Lima unconscious on the floor.

" Milady ?" Peasley exclaims, but just as he tries to rush to her side, he's grabbed from behind.

" Heart rate is elevated. "

"Weeg, talk to me. What're you seeing?" Mario pushes.

"Peasley's being attacked from behind, but I can't see who it is." Luigi says.

" You're getting close to the moment of petrification. " Pauline warns.

Luigi watches as Peasley's head is smashed into a mirror, as he hears in his earpiece, " Blood pressure is taking a nosedive."

"Weegee, you need to wake up." Mario says, then takes off without waiting for a reply.

As Luigi waits, he sees Peasley's vision going blurry.

" Where. Is she? "

"Peasley was attacked by someone Beanish." Luigi tells the team. "Lady Lima was knocked out. Before Peasley was petrified, his attacker tried to get him to tell where some woman was."

"Could it be the older woman in the photo?" Pauline asks.

"Unfortunately that's all in Peasley's head." Luigi says regretfully.

"So you're sure the woman in the photo wasn't Princess Daisy?" Snoozemore asks.

"The paparazzo said Peasley was cheating on her." Luigi confirms. "And Peasley never said no."

"Then the answer is obvious. Peasley's too valuable for the paparazzo to hurt him." Snoozemore says.

"Are we not going to talk about the fact that Luigi understood Beanish without ever studying it?" Pauline asks. "I think we need to see if the Thunderhand is stimulating parts of his brain."

"Maybe Daisy was jealous and sent someone to attack Peasley and his mistress?" Luigi suggests, ignoring Pauline completely.

"That would check out." Mario agrees. "Beanbean and Sarasaland have their pride. Something like this happening would undo their entire marriage, and by extension their alliance."

"Maybe Lady Lima can help us?" Luigi suggests.

"Where is she?" Snoozemore asks.

"PPD is hiding her until the Beanbean authorities arrive to retrieve her and the prince and bring them home." Pauline replies.

"Then I'll get Clark to bring her here." Snoozemore decides. "We'll get a translator. Maybe she knows something."

"I swear I'm not arresting you." Clark tries to tell Lady Lima. "I know you can't understand me, but we just want to ask you some questions about Prince Peasley. Who he was talking to, and why he gave you the slip—which you can't understand." She realizes with a sigh, right as Lady Lima grabs her, slips through the handcuffs, then clamps them down over Clark's wrists before making a run for it.

"Come back here!" Clark shouts after her, not that it does any good.