Story

Prologue

Last child of the Celeste royal family, rulers of the Celestial Kingdom, taking place high in the sky, the princess was supposed to get all the happiness the world had to offer.
However, Crystal, queen of the Celestial Kingdom, fell terribly ill after getting pregnant of her. Becoming weaker and weaker each months passing.
The illness seemed incurable.

The more time passed, the more the entire family grew worried about her. But eventually, the day occurred, and Crystal was able to give birth to a beautiful girl. Exhausted from all the long efforts, the queen could only ask to take the baby, which Monty obeyed on, placing her the child in her arms. Tearing up at the view of her daughter, Crystal shakily opened her mouth.

"Sh-she has... my eyes. How cute... I want to name her Lola. It... It suits her."

She then turned to Monty.

"Promise me to take care of her. Alright?"

And these were her last words.

She fought against her illness for so long, that all her remaining energy was spent on the birth of her child.
The queen was no more.

It was a tragic day for the Kingdom.
The info was spread across the region immediately. Even Sebastian, the King, usually so calm and thoughtful, couldn't handle such situation.
The loss of his wife destroyed him.
All he had left from her was his new born daughter, and she seemed affected by the illness as well.

Put under emergency care, the baby seemed like she wouldn't make it.
The king couldn't bare such thought. If science wasn't able to cure his daughter, he would have to search for something else.

And the solution seemed already found, the moment his eyes met Monty's.
The Snakoopa made a promise to the queen, and they really wanted to keep it. Originally a powerful being, Monty was the man's only hope. And so he begged for them to do something.
anything.

As a solution, the Snakoopa suggested to mix science and magic to save her.
Sebastian would just need to split Monty's soul in two, and gifting one half to his daughter, giving her the health, strength, and life she desperately needed.

The operation was a success. His daughter, his precious daughter, was opening her eyes again.

Childhood

Lola had a really peaceful childhood.
As a curious and adventurous child, she always dreamed about exploring the world.
But her father never let her leave the Kingdom.

Even with Monty, her loyal protector, Lola was doomed to stay in the Celest territory. She was only allowed to leave the area when the King had to go below the clouds, if she obediently followed him around.
She was rather lonely, only being able to play with Monty, Leon considering himself a bit too old for games, only following his dad's path as a scientist.

The only friend she ever had back then was Peach, meeting her during an alliance contract between their parents.

She never knew why her father was always so reluctant on letting her go make friends and play with them like any other kids, but she was sad.
She wanted to be like the other kids.

In reality, Sebastian was too afraid of something ever happening to his daughter, being the last thing left from his deceased wife.
He felt like he had to protect her at all cost, ordering Monty to always keep an eye on her in order to prevent her from doing something that could harm her.

Like a bird in her cage, Lola wasn't able to see the world with her own eyes, only able to see what her father would allow her to see.

She never had the childhood she was supposed to have.

Teenagehood

She eventually reached her pre-teenage years, and the only few things she ever lived had an impact on her mentality.
Innocent, oblivious to everything, she was exactly what her father hoped her to be.

A child forever, who would remain on his side.

While looking all pure in appearance, the King's ideal slowly became more distorted over the years, his years isolating from his royal duties in his laboratory giving a turn to his sanity.

He was more protective than ever, not even letting his daughter going out of her room.

One night, however, the young child heard a knock on her door.
Not wanting to wake up Monty, she slowly got off her bed, and opened the door wide. It was her father, crouching in front of her with a surprisingly bright smile.

"You know what, sweet angel? Daddy wants you to follow him in the lab. Someone said there was a way to keep you safe from any danger forever..."

While not really understanding who he meant, she simply took his hand, and followed him.

In the lab, was something she couldn't describe.
A non organic form, coming out of a sort of a big crystal, was smiling upon her.

Her father, shaking, gave her a little push to put her closer to the being.

"Th-the deal is settled, right...? You'll give her protection right??"

The creature's only reaction was to laugh. She couldn't exactly tell what was it saying, but she was too paralysed by fear to move, or look away as it started grabbing her father, its unsettling laugh never fading.
They had a deal, and the creature was simply taking its part of the exchange.

While her father disappeared in front of her, her shaky legs collapsed, which instantly woke her up from her trance.
A high cry escaped her mouth as the monster looked at her.

She was still too young... to weak to be taken as well... Yet.

Before it could do anything, Lola got protected by her guardian, Monty, who immediately woke up and rushed for her protection once she screamed.
Then, everything went dark...

Adulthood

Entering adulthood, Lola never really changed from the bright innocent child she used to be.

Not remembering anything that happened to her father, she kept a blur image of a caring and protective father.

Now orphans, with Leon, she had to manage the Kingdom on her own.
But now, she was an adult, a bird out of her cage, finally able to spread her wings free.

Nothing was able to stop her from discovering the world she never was able to see with her own eyes, entering a new era of adventures, peace, and joyful events filled with friends and actions.

But the story goes on...

Amnesic from the traumatic experience she went through as a child, no one dared telling her the truth about what occured; especially Leon.
However, despite being deprived from her past memories, her behavior was still deeply impacted by growing up.

Now an adult, it seemed like Lola never really came out of her childish shell, as if she was trying to relive her missing childhood. Thus, she became quite a turbulent woman.
Unaware of her own traumas, she grew up to be rather dependent of other's company, to the point of forgetting their boundaries.
Despite Monty not minding in the slightest, Leon, on the other hand, was a different case.

Dealing with his own traumas and depression in his own way, his wish to be alone was most of the time disturbed by his own sister, despite expressing his need to isolate countless time to her.

They were each other's only family left, but began tearing apart due to their different ways to cope with their past.

Lola's fear of being alone, and rather toxic positivity, forcing herself to remain happy from the lack of knowledge of her own issues, was affecting her family life as well.
A querrel, like any other soon stroke between Leon and Lola, the princess ending up crying and running away, not understanding why was she in the wrong this whole time.
If only someone told her what happened in the past...
perhaps could it have been different?

But it was too late. As soon as Leon came out of his lab, and try to sort things out with his sister, she was gone.
And nowhere to be found in the Celestial Kingdom.

In fact, running away with Monty, Lola ended up at the Mario brothers' house, who became one of her refuges overtime when she wanted to spend time below her Kingdom.
There was only Mario inside at the time, gladly letting her in while she sent Monty away, wanting to make sure Leon knew she was okay.

But the two didn't remain alone for long, an unknown force who finally found the opportunity to kidnap the princess, taking the two away, and trapping them in a painting.

When she woke up, Lola was confused, and mostly; scared.
She was alone, in an unknown place, Mario missing.
But she wasn't alone for long. Soon, a rather massive boo with a crown appeared from the shadows, and starred at her.

She couldn't place it, but the jewel on his crown seemed so familiar...
She was conflicted. This King Boo explained to her how long he had waited to finally capture her, but remained mysterious on the reason why.

But soon, she would be freed and saved by her closest relatives, Luigi saving her thank to Leon, E. Gadd, and Monty's help.

Thankful at first, she soon was confronted by her brother instead, who expressed his worries for the first time.
But Lola didn't mind that. She was glad to be reunited with him again.

Reconciled, Lola tried to work on herself a little. But something soon invaded her mind.
Who was this King boo?
Everytime she would ask Leon and E.Gadd about it, presumably the ones with the most knowledge about ghosts, and how to stop them, they looked... strange? As if they were hiding something.
And the more she thought about it, the more curious she grew.

Soon, she would investigate by herself, not telling anyone about it; not even Monty.
Alone, she once again presented the perfect opportunity to be kidnapped on a silver plate.

Strangely, this time, she wasn't sent in a painting right away, seeing how she wasn't trying to run.
Instead, she was trapped in an illusion, with none other than the ghosts King himself, delighted to have found the princess again.

She used the situation to her advantage to try to ask him questions, but he remained cryptic as always. As if something within him was preventing himself from speaking too much with her...
Yet, he revealed to her something drastically important: his wish to have her and her powers all for himself.

She, herself, didn't even know what was he talking about.
Power? What power? She was just a regular princess.
Shocked, she couldn't replicate. He simply vanished, his sinister laugh resonating in the area.

She never felt this lost before. She had questions that were yet to be answered, and she only got more in mind instead.
Who was he? No...
who was she?
She needed to know.

Luckily, or rather unluckily, she wasn't alone for very long.
Mario, kidnapped a second time again, ended up in the same place as her.
At least happy to have found each others, they used this short moment of peace to make sure the other was okay, Lola sharing her confusion about the situation.

Not having the time to be comforted however, the two quickly ended up separated, both being trapped in a painting once again. Before Lola could even think about the situation, her mind went dark.

It was no surprise that she ended up being saved by Luigi once again.
Sure, she was happier than ever to find her family and friends all safe again, but she was conflicted. And rather than speaking to her about the reasons behind King Boo's actions, her family remained silent instead, frustrating her in the highest.

Arguing with Leon in E.gadd's laboratory, the old man calmed the two down. He knew the siblings since they were both babies, and seeing them like this hurt him quite a lot.
Not wanting to make him sad, the two stopped.
But deep down, Lola felt worse than ever.
Not only wasn't she acting like an adult in the slightest, but she still hasn't gotten any answers.

Desperate, and as if her prayers were answered, Lola heard a strange voice coming from the lower levels of E.Gadd's lab. She then reached the place where the source of the voice came from, and got rather surprised to see that weird and yet familiar gem King Boo wore before being defeated.
She might become insane, she thought. There was no way the voice was real. As if it heard her thoughts, however, the voice reached out to her again, louder than ever. It had to come from that jewel.

"Do you wish to know the truth, young one...? I can tell you. I was here when your father disappeared, I saw him. I saw you as well... I know where he is... He will tell you everything you deserve to know."

Taken aback, the princess approached the glass the purple stone was trapped in.

"You know where my father is? He's still alive??"

The jewel only responded with an echoing laugh, as if it was the most hilarious joke of all. Of course it knew. It just needed her to take the crystal with her, and in exchange, it will guide her.
Slowly approaching her hand toward the glass, Lola stopped herself just in time, regaining her senses. Her father has been missing for so many years, and now, a random voice is more likely to tell her than her own brother?

It couldn't be.

Politely, she declined, and went back home with her family, the strange voice still in mind.
Nevertheless, she wasn't expecting this voice to creep up in her mind everytime she was alone, haunting her for so many months.

Overtime, after a few years, she suddenly turned to be the one out of the two siblings to isolate herself the most. She just kept listening to that strange voice, slowly being persuaded to come back to E.Gadd's lab, and finally free that jewel.
When she eventually went in the said place, a part of her did it only because she was exhausted of that voice.
She couldn't tell anyone about it, scared to create even more issues within her family.
But the other part of her did that to finally discover the truth. It has been so many years...
So many missing informations about her father, about herself. She deserved to know.

While E.Gadd wasn't here at that time, working somewhere else, the door still opened itself to her, welcoming her inside thanks to the door's scanner the scientist invented with Leon.
Shortly after, she was in the deepest sub-level of the place, at the same spot she was in when she first spoke with the jewel.
It spoke again, Lola finally making her mind. Determined to know the truth, she went to the computer to deactivate the protection, taking the jewel in her hands.

Against all odds, nothing happened to her.
But it was only because the powers resonating within her was too strong, resisting the crystal's evil influence.
Unknowingly for Lola, the gem was infuriated, but kept composure by asking her to keep it with her for the time being.

Getting back home and hiding it in her room, Lola spent her time talking with it, and got more answers from it that she ever had with Leon and Monty reunited.
This ghost King... was actually her father. It kept kidnapping her in hopes of seeing her again, and the jewel tried to help him in that regard.

While part of it was truth, she was still manipulated by the crystal, convinced it was on her side and only wanted to help her agaisnt those she thought she could trust: her own family.
She grew so conflicted that she blindly listened to it, becoming the only thing she thought she could trust.

She needed to ease her mind. Deeply.
As if fate knocked at her door, Leon one day came to her with an invitation to spend holidays at The Last Resort Hotel, letter sent by Luigi who apparently won a free stay there for him and his friends.
Happy to get some rest and spend time with her friends again, Lola still brought the crystal with her, not wanting it to be alone unsupervised in her castle.

Once they arrived, all were more than happy to see each others again, spending the time of their life discovering the place. When evening came, Lola was stopped by the owner of the hotel herself, Hellen Gravely, requesting a private conversation with her which she happily accepted.
In her private office, Lola found herself confronted by the most unexpected sight; King boo standing in front of her.
Hellen revealed to her she managed to free the King boo from his prison, and needed the jewel Lola had in her possession to gain his powers back.

Everything encouraged her to give him the crystal.
With it, everything could be back to normal.
With it...

She could finally remember.

And oh, she did.

As soon as she headed him the crystal, Hellen gently grabbing her by the shoulders and encouraging her to step closer, seeing King boo being possessed by the forces within the jewel triggered her amnesia, every memories of her father until the day he disappeared right in front of her eyes because of that same crystal flashing in her mind, making her want scream and back off. But she couldn't even do any of those.
Before the post-traumatical stress could reach to her, Hellen covered her mouth and she instantly passed out, missing an occasion to alert the others.
The King eagerly trapped her in a painting and kept it close to him, ready to seek revenge upon Luigi and his friends.

Of course, story repeated itself when Luigi saved her from her painting.
But this time, King boo was still around, and very much unhappy to know the princess has gotten away.

Though he wasn't the only one who was unhappy.

Distressed, the princess was still in the middle of her crisis once she was released, Monty quickly rushing to her side.
Yet, she had none of it. No one could approach her, refusing any contact with Leon or her guardian.
They lied to her for so many years. Their attempt to protect her by hiding the truth resulted in her making the worst decisions, becoming the worst version of herself, growing unstable and dependent, and she hated them for it.

Her whole life could've been so much better if she knew the truth right away.
Luckily, Luigi managed to calm her, the princess eventually forgiving them.
Leon too had his own demons to face... And his trauma made him refuse to talk about what happened during their childhood ever again.
Both had so much to talk about. Both needed to work on themselves.

But now wasn't the time. They still had their friends to save, the whole Celeste family was all ready to assist Luigi.

Facing King boo, Lola eventually had to face the truth as well. While it was indeed her father, there was nothing left of the loving father she knew.

The King has been corrupted by the crystal he wore for too long, destroying all humanity that was left of him, and turning him into a tragic ghost ruler.
His now inhuman self wanted to capture his daughter and lock her in a painting and keep it with him, a much distorded way to keep her safe forever.
Meanwhile, the jewel was hoping to use her as a future advanced, far more powerful vessel.

The powers she was wielding since birth was everything it could hope for, that Snakoopa part of her being far stronger that the regular human that was her father.
Yet again, it seemed like she too had a too strong magic resistance, cancelling its plan, and ending up defeating both the jewel and King boo.
The ghosts now trapped again, with Leon, the princess came to the King. Despite no longer being under the possession of the gem, the boo still seemed pretty much corrupted by dark magic, much to Lola's sadness.
She turned to Leon when this latter placed a hand on her shoulder, promising her that everything will be alright, as long as the siblings remained together.

During these years of kidnapping, and investigations on King Boo, Lola and Leon finally came to realise that the past shall not be forgotten in order to move on.
Now remembering every single bits of her moments with her father, Lola discovered how dysfunctional the man was, and why Leon never wanted to hear about him.

Together, they worked on themselves to finally heal their wounds, not without the help of their friends, of course. No more secrets were between them.
Furthermore, Lola could finally discover her true self, and embrace it.
She became more mature, and studied for long to know everything about Monty's species, and their History.

They family was now closer than ever, and slowly but surely at peace.