SPOILERS FOR ODYSSEY! - A short oneshot featuring a pairing that I'm starting to become equally enamoured in as with Bowuigi.
Peach.
He just wanted to make sure that Peach was okay.
He'd taken many, many falls in his lifetime. Mario always bounced back even when his body screamed at him to stop for one moment. This was no exception; he had to know that she was okay. For his sake, for Cappy's sake... he had to give them both what they wanted to do all along; were their loved ones safe?
Over the lava moat he saw them - Peach and Tiara... they were okay. Not the most ideal of places to be, but Mario couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief with a hand over his chest. Cappy stirred back on his head, his ethereal voice slurring in his ears initially.
"Owww... Are those two all right?!" He questioned, springing to life almost immediately with concern. Mario nodded and tipped the brim of his cap to reassure him before running down towards the pair. His stomach lurched at the sight of Bowser also there, but thankfully he was unconscious still. Then again, Mario thought to himself, he had been given quite a walloping.
Peach looked over at them, breathing a sigh of relief also; she knew that Mario had taken a few falls in his time and had come out worse for wear but this time it wasn't the case. She gave the faintest of smiles at them before turning back to pacing. "What are we going to do?" She asked him, a hint of panic in her voice.
The rumbling of the magma below them didn't give much time for Mario to really deliberate on their situation. They needed an out and they needed it fast.
Mario didn't get as far as he had by being slow. The solution was in front of them.
Their surroundings made a violent rumble; a calm before the storm. Mario had no time to consider the implications of what he was about to do. He knew it was upsetting for all of them, but like many things he's had to face over the past few weeks, he had no choice in the matter. He gripped Cappy, swinging his body back for the wind-up. His eyes met Peach's.
"Sorry." He simply smiled. It was an apology meant for her, Tiara and Cappy.
Mario was never used to the process of capturing even after all this time, but he adopted a confident posture as he felt his body twist and bend, Cappy pulling him into the depths of Bowser's mind. Was it to reassure Peach? Yeah, he admitted, it was.
His body fell down, down, down. The sucking sensation all over his frame made Mario feel dizzy. Falling into an endless void. He flailed, trying to keep his sense of self within him, but he felt the changes rippling throughout his body and his mind. It was like this all the time but he never was used to it. There was a degree of resistance that Mario unconsciously exerted as he tried, but failed, to not surrender himself to his capture.
Memories came flooding by. Rushing past him. The years of old, counting all the way up to the present.
Mario felt a tinge of nostalgia as he stared at the first memory he remembered; it was his father. They were having dinner at the castle... the old one. There he was, all regal and big and he was so small and naive. His mother was there too... he wished he could have spent more time with them. Everyone came and went too early... he wanted to cry all over again, but he had mourned them a long time ago. He thought he could never love again.
That was before he met Clawdia; beautiful eyes, a sultry voice and a fierce and protective personality. That was when he knew that he would take her to be his Queen. She was a commoner, but he didn't care. He felt his heart swell at the sight of her, knowing that they would be together forever. She was there for everything.
Mario saw the Koopalings sitting in the rain, shivering intensely. They were alone, scared, put in a the world that didn't care about them. But he offered a hand to them and took them in. They weren't his children biologically, but he loved and protected them with his life. They were with him all the way.
Until Clawdia died.
Not before she had given him a son. He was a proud father all over again, cradling his son as his wife lay terminally sick in their bed. Mario wanted to be mad at the kid, but he couldn't bring himself to - he promised himself that he would love his son with all his heart, never to blame him for what had happened and to never be angry. He promised to not do what his father did to him.
He was mad at the world. He was mad, vengeful and angry at himself, at the kingdom, at everything. He had set his sights on one thing and one thing only - domination of every kingdom in the land. Starting with that annoying, insufferable Mushroom Kingdom. That Princess would be his. Not to love or cherish but to show off. He deserved to be happy again.
Two plumbers undid all of that. The red and the green. Two humans intervening when they weren't needed. They were almost superhuman in the way they dashed towards the rescue of the Princess. He faced down the red one finally when he had been cornered at his last castle. His last bastion of defense.
Those blue eyes. That was the first thing that struck out to Bowser. His blue eyes. They were beautiful. They shimmered with courage, the fires of action burning deep within them. He was a hero. He had jumped at the call and wanted nothing more than to be a hero, to seperate himself from the every man of his hometown.
And as he plunged into the lava after he had jumped over him effortlessly and pulled the lever, he knew one thing.
He felt love once again.
Mario always wanted to write letters to him, to tell him how he truly felt and give up hiding it but he knew otherwise. It wouldn't be good... in fact, it was disgusting. He convinced himself that. A male and a human... no, never. It would never happen because the world would not let him. But still, his claws trembled as he tried to pen something. But all he could think about was his son, the Koopalings, his troops and the kingdom.
He would heave a heavy sigh, his heart breaking all over again as he scrapped the writing paper and stood up. No one would understand. Not even his love.
He hated everyone, even the plumber. Their prejudices were stopping him from being truly happy. Their stupid, narrow-minded prejudices!
Somewhere along the way, he understood that Peach was just something that he had stooped to a realistic expectation of. Mario was there but he could never say how he felt. This charade would go on until he dies.
The lingering yearn remained in his body after he went dark again. His body felt heavy. Was it all just a dream? And then he heard a voice call to him.
"Mario?"
He opened his eyes. Peach looked at him in recognition. He was Bowser. With a grin, he picked the Princess up and deposited her on his shoulder.
The residue of Bowser's memories trickled down his mind, his comprehension starting to come into focus. Mario's heart soared with happiness. It wasn't the same as with Peach.
This was different.
It was time to leave this place for good.
For the sake of everyone.
Deep inside the unconscious mind of the Koopa King, Mario felt something in Bowser's chest.
A spark lit up the darkness for the first time in a long time. It burned brighter than ever before.