Author's Note: Greetings, everyone. This is just something I wrote a long time ago after I finished playing Mario & Luigi Dream Team. It was a magnificent game, and my favorite thing about it was the villain, Antasma. Which is a shame because of how he was handled in the game.

Anyways, just wanted to post this thing here, even if I wasn't planning on uploading it when I first wrote it.

Beware, spoilers ahead. If you haven't finished or don't know anything about M&LDT then you shouldn't be reading this.

The King of Koopas stumbled down his castle's hallways. After the long way home while traveling in a broken clown car that crashed more than once, saying he was exhausted would be an understatement. Every time he entered another hallway after a turn, all the present minions left the hall in fear of the tired king.

Bowser merely growled at this. He didn't care. All he knew is that he was tired and just wanted to go to bed.

After some more turns, he finally made it to his room, signaled by the unique-colored and giant door. With the image of sleeping on his soft bed in mind, Bowser opened the door and gleefully entered the room, loudly closing the door behind him.

Blowing off any candle that dared to be on fire, Bowser soon found himself in pitch black on his bed, falling in deep sleep before he could put the sheets on.

"More tea, dear?"

"Sure thing, Peach."

The royal woman happily poured more tea in Bowser's cup while humming a merry tune. They were sitting next to a picnic basket in a flat meadow, which seemed to extend beyond the horizon. The sound of the Koopalings playing could be heard in the distance. The koopa king gleefully took a sip before putting the cup down and returning to his sandwich.

"How does the sandwich taste, Bowser?" Asked Peach while rummaging in her picnic basket, looking for a lunch of her own.

"It tastes delicious, Peach." Said Bowser with his mouth full, still chewing on the sandwich.

Peach smiled at this, and Bowser smiled back. As he finished chewing, he felt a pulling of his shell. He looked down to find his son staring at him with pleading eyes.

"Dad… Roy stole my bandana again!" Said Bowser Jr., whiningly.

The Koopa sighed before saying "Then go take it back from him."

"But I can't!" Complained Bowser Jr. "He's too strong for me!"

"Don't worry dear." Said Peach as she put her newfound sandwich down and stood up. "I'll go get it."

Bowser grabbed her arm before she could walk away. "Don't worry yourself Peach," he said "I'll take care of it."

Peach smiled again and stared into his eyes. "Alright Bowser. But don't take long." She said before lightly kissing Bowser on the cheek. The latter grinned brightly, feeling his heart flutter inside him, before following Bowser Jr. away from the picnic.

Peach waved her hand after the koopas and took a sip of her cup of tea.

The king kept looking at the princess until she was out of sight. Then he turned to his son and said "So, where's Roy?" He looked around the never ending fields, confused. "Where did all the Koopalings go?"

"Hmm… this dream doesn't resemble the one you had in your Neo Castle."

Bowser looked around, startled at the new voice. "Huh? Who said that?"

He heard a cackle echo through the meadows. In a matter of seconds, the sky went from a bright blue to a dark purple, and the grass withered. Bowser glared at the new background, confused, before looking back at his son, who was scratching his chin.

"Although, vhen I think about it, it vas our Neo Castle, vasn't it?" Said the voice coming, surprisingly, from Bowser Jr.

Bowser stared at his son, confusion evident on his face. "When did your voice…? Hold on." He said before closing his eyes in deep thought. "I recognize that stupid accent."

Bowser Jr. laughed in the sharp, high voice, before his body shifted into purple smoke. Soon, a pair of bright yellow eyes emerged in the cloud, and then the smoke began to take form again. When the smoke dissipated, Bowser found himself face to face with a tall and slender being with a head filled with spikes, a dark red cape and tie, two long arms with clawed hands at their ends, and a wicked, wide smile.

"Antasma?!" Growled Bowser in rage and confusion, clenching his fists. "What are you doing here?!"

"Vut, can't I just visit an old friend? SCREEECH!" Claimed the bat king. "Though, I suppose vee are not friends anymore, are vee?" He looked at the koopa in the eyes, his own turning from yellow to red. "Not after vut you did to me."

"Shut up." Simply said the koopa king, crossing his arms. "How did you get here, anyway?" He asked.

Antasma snickered slightly before staring into the distance with his hands in his non-existent hips. "I can enter into dreams at vill, as you should know."

He was interrupted as Bowser slapped his forehead. "Of course… I knew this was a dream!" He snarled to himself. "Only then Peach would be mine…"

Antasma screeched before glaring at Bowser again, eyes filled with hate. "As I vas saying, I can enter dreams. Today I discovered I could also perform this from the Undervhere."

Bowser stared at him puzzled before realization struck him. "You… You are dead?"

"Yes." Antasma answered flatly, although the anger was evident in his voice. "You left me to die vith those plumbers." He leaned closer to the Koopa King, his slender figure actually outsizing the koopa. "You jerk." He spat out with venom in his voice.

Bowser growled at Antasma, his eyes also filled with hate. "So, I'm the jerk?!" He stabbed Antasma's chest with his right finger. "You think I'm an idiot? You would have betrayed me the first chance you got!"

"Maybe." The bat admitted. "But at least you vouldn't haff died."

Bowser glared warily at Antasma. "What do you mean?"

"In my long life of feeding out of nightmares, I haff become one myself. You know vut I see vhen I enter somebody's dream, Bowser?" He continued before Bowser could answer. "His memories. SCREEEK! Nightmares come from the things that terrify people through their lives. Being a nightmare, I enter their minds and observe their past, vhenever I vant it or not." He grinned knowingly. "And I can see Bowser… that dead is the last of your vorries. SCREAAARK!"

Bowser kept staring at him, suspicious. "So what?"

Antasma took a hand to his head and closed his again-yellow eyes. "You haff been melted to the bone." He stated. "SCREEECH! Consumed by lava, sent plummeting off a cliff, had your vehicle explode vhile you vhere in it, thrown into an airborne bomb, tossed into the center of the sun, and sucked up by a black hole." He opened his eyes again, sporting a satisfied grin. "You haff gone through a lot, haffn't you? SCREEEK!"

Bowser smiled smugly while closing his eyes. "Well, I'm just that great."

"No, you aren't."

Bowser opened his eyes again, snarling at the bat. "What did you say?"

"You're a necromancer by birth, Bowser." Stated Antasma. "SCREAAARK! You haff the inner ability to bring people back from the dead, even yourself. Is in your blood." He laughed softly. "Even your son can do it, and…" He squinted his eyes, bringing his hand to his head again, as if focusing on seeing something. "…It doesn't seem he's that good at magic in the first place."

"And what's the problem with that?" Said Bowser as he crossed his arms again. "Big deal. You know my family's secret ability. I'm a necroguy, so what?"

"Point is, betveen the two of us, I vas the one that would haff died if betrayed." His eyes turned red with rage again as he kept staring at Bowser. "SCREEK! And guess vut happened."

Bowser just snickered. "Well, between the two of us, I was the one that deserved to betray the other." He chuckled proudly. "And that's what I did."

Antasma hissed offended. "How did you know if I vas going to betray you?" He said. "Our alliance is vut gave me the pover to accomplish my goals. Betraying you vould haff been counterproductive. SCREEK!"

Bowser grunted. "I don't care."

"If you had not left me behind, vee could haff won!" He proclaimed, pointing an acussing finger at the koopa. "SCREENK! Vee could haff killed those plumbers. Vee could haff kept the Dream Stone! You could haff stayed vith that princess. SCREEEK!"

Bowser glared in return. "Of course not, you stupid bat. Even with the complete power of that stone, I still lost to Mario." He said grudgingly, reviving the recent but still infuriating memory.

"And vut about the complete pover of the Dream Stone, you, and me? SCREEP!" Antasma spat back, crossed.

Bowser scratched his chin in deep thought. "Hmm… Well, maaaaaaybe that could ha-"

"Vee vould haff von, Bowser!" Screeched the bat king in anger. "SCREAAARK! And to top it all… You vlame me for your failure."

"Look batty; I could see you betraying me from a mile away." Justified Bowser, looking away from Antasma into the withered distance. "Once you didn't need me, you would have left me behind. So at the end, you're just a hypo…" Bowser narrowed his eyes and massaged his right temple, trying to remember the barely used word. "Hypo… Hypor… Hypoc…" He snapped his fingers when realization struck. "Hypocrite! Yeah, that's what you are."

The Bat King didn't answer. Instead he just folded his cape over him and stared at nothing in particular, as if considering the statement.

"Also…" Continued Bowser before Antasma could say anything. "Stop reading my memories. It's getting annoying."

"Vee vere so close." Stated Antasma, seemingly talking to himself. "SCREEECH! The Dream Stone. Pi'illo Island. The Vorld. It vas all just so vloody close…" He turned to Bowser, his eyes bright red again. "But you couldn't vait a little more, could you? SCREAAARK!"

Bowser sighed, exhausted from the conversation. "Look, I don't care-"

"If you just vaited a little more. Just a little more." He expressed the statement with his right index finger and thump, as if squishing a fly with them. "SCREEP! Just a little more, Bowser… And vee vould haff von."

Bowser just scratched his chin, bored. "Yeah, yeah, whatev-"

"YOU VERE MY FRIEND BOWSER!" Yelled the Bat King as he grabbed Bowser by his spiked collar. "SCREEECH! The closest thing I've had to one in eons!"

Bowser shifted annoyed in the bat's grasp before he stared at the latter, dumbfounded. "Wait, a friend? You considered me a friend?!"

Antasma merely nodded, his eyes gone from an enraged red to a sad blue.

Bowser kept glaring at the bat before exploding into laugher. "BWHAHAHAWHA! A friend?! BHAHAHAHA!" He wiped the tears of laugher off his eyes, before looking at Antasma again. Noticing the latter's hurt face, he said "Hold on… you serious?!"

Antasma narrowed his eyes. "You vere someone in vhich I could trust, Bowser." He finally closed his eyes and shrugged. "SCREEYEE! True, I may haff thought about betraying you more than once, but…"

"Ugh, this is so stupid!" Interrupted Bowser as he struggled to free himself from the bat king's clutches. "Let me go, you crybaby!"

Antasma rapidly opened his eyes, now red again. "Crybaby?!" He threw the Koopa into the ground, making the earth crack. "SCREEK! Do you haff any idea of how it feels to be trapped, all alone, for thousands of years?!" He pointed at the king and said "SCREEECH! I open myself to you and you just insult me! Just like you always haff done!"

Bowser stoop up, a flame building up in his throat, and looked upon Antasma in rage. "How dare you attack me in my dream?!" He breathed fire at the bat, although the latter just swiftly moved out of harm's way. "And you know what?! Now that I know this is my dream, I can control it!"

Before Antasma could answer, a legion of Shy Guys with spears ran into view, many carrying great pieces of meat. The Bat frowned worried before turning to the Koopa King, an idea in his mind. "Ah, so the veakling king needs an army to get anything done, doesn't he? SCREEECH!"

Bowser, who was distracted with the incoming lunch, turned to Antasma, indignant. "What?! Of course not! You're not Mario! Or the gree- I mean Luigi!" He crossed his arms smugly. "I can beat you whenever I want!"

Antasma cackled, and invoked a circle of dark spheres to float around him. "SCREEK! Prove it, then."

Bowser just grunted as he instructed the Shy Guys to retreat. Then he turned to a battle stance and began breathing a flame through a toothy grin. "I'm going to enjoy sending you back to the Underwhere."

The Bat King smiled maliciously in return, and grabbed one of his Antasmunchies, gleefully eating it. He gave one final screech before transforming into a swarm of bats and charging at the Koopa King.

Bowser rolled through the withered grass. Before being hit by another of Antasma's energy balls, he entered his shell and spun out of the way.

The bat king simply laughed as he began charging another dark sphere, hiding between his clones. This time, however, the Koopa emerged from his shell and punched the energy ball back to him. The bat king moved out of the way, making the dark sphere strike a fake Antasma, who gave one last screech before disappearing.

The koopa exhaled more fire which burned the remaining clones. Using this opportunity to his advantage, the real bat king sneaked behind Bowser as the latter was distracted with the fake Antasmas, and began invoking more Antasmunchies, chewing on a couple before transforming them into a ring of spiked explosives.

Once Bowser was done with the clones, he looked around between the burned corpses. "Antasma! Come here you stupid bat!"

Once the flaming bodies dissipated, Bowser turned around and saw the incoming bombs threw by Antasma. Unable to move out of harm's way fast enough, the koopa was hit by the explosives. Letting out a roar of pain, Bowser fell to his knees, immobile.

Using the time at his advantage, Antasma created more orbs, however, this time the orbs began to grow appendages and spikes, and soon started to charge at the hurt koopa. While this happened, Antasma hung off the air, folded his cape around him, and began to hibernate in order to regain health and strength, also creating a shield around him.

Bowser noticed the incoming enemies, and got to his feet. Clumsily but successfully he began to punch the Antasmunchies, not without being hurt once or twice, before they all were dead. Exhausted, he took some deep breaths until he noted the sleeping bat. Without hesitation he charged at him, breaking the shield and sending the bat king rolling down the grass.

"Sleeping on the job?" Said Bowser smugly as the approached the hurt Antasma. Before the Koopa could do anything, however, Antasma rose and began creating more clones of himself. The fake Antasmas began circling Bowser, each one cackling maniacally and screeching.

"Oh, weren't you the one blaming me of being weak for using minions?" Bowser spat out in disgust while scanning the clones, looking for the real Antasma. "Well, you proved me right; you are a hypocrite."

"Vell, I admit that I'm not the strongest bat around." Claimed the real Antasma from somewhere between the clones. "SCREEECH! But I needed some friends to make the battle even."

"Well, you know what? I don't care anymore." Bowser stated as he snapped his fingers. The Shy Guy army from before appeared again, this time with assisting airships. "Soldiers!" He shouted at the crown, who nodded in return. "Cha-!"

Before he could finish, however, he was struck from behind with one of Antasma energy balls. But this time, it sent him on a deep slumber. The Shy Guys looked confused between themselves before vanishing without a trace thanks to Bowser's conscience entering another dream.

The bat king's clones disappeared as the real Antasma neared the koopa king and entered his dream.

Bowser rubbed his head as he got to his feet and frowned at the landscape. The sky had darkened to a dark red and the grass had completely vanished, now replaced by cracked, but still solid, ground of plain dirt.

Before the koopa could remark anything, Antasma appeared in front of him. Instantly the Koopa King raged, and growled at his combatant. "Can't you just leave my dream at once?!" He said, irritated, before he snapped his fingers again. When nothing happened, Bowser just stared dumbfounded at his hand, before turning to the Bat King. "What did you-"

"SCREEK! Did you know that people can fall asleep inside a dream?" Antasma mockingly said.

"…So I'm asleep again?" He said while looking around. "You put me to sleep, so what? It's still my dream."

"Not anymore. SCREEECH!" Suddenly, the bat king began to grow even larger and raised his arms. "This is a dream vrought to you by me, hosted in you. SCREAAARK!" Soon, dark holes began to appear through the dead ground, and Antasma throat began to light up with fire. "This is my dream now!"

Before Bowser could respond, Antasma shout a fireball out of his mouth. The flame struck Bowser and sent him rolling into one of the dark holes. The koopa fell down the black pit, and the aperture closed.

Antasma cackled as the battlefield began to be consumed my mist, and when it dispersed Bowser laid on the ground, badly hurt, and Antasma was nowhere to be found.

Bowser coughed, and managed with stand up with some effort. The spikes in the dark hole had caught him completely off guard, and gravely harmed him. He roared in anger, eyes flaming with fury, as he scanned the battlefield.

"ANTASMA!" He screamed in anger and exhaustion. "Enough of this!"

Mist began to cover the battlefield again, depriving Bowser of sight. "Oh, don't complain, Bowser. SCREENK! I'm not having help anymore, am I?" Suddenly Antasma appeared behind him with a snarl, fireball already coming out of his throat. Bowser managed to get out of the way this time, and evaded another fireball shot at him not long after.

He jumped again at a third flame. "Hah, you'll have to come up with a more original attack if- ufff!" Said Bowser as he, in his evading spree, managed to accidentally fall in another hole, and heard Antasma's mocking laugher as he fell into the abyss, descending down to a meeting with the spiked balls.

This time, however, Bowser hid inside his shell and rolled into a ball, charging through the spines and breaking them in the process. When he finally felt himself hit a floor, he unrolled and looked around the foggy battleground.

"You von't be able to escape, you know. SCREEECH!" Said the ominous voice of Antasma emanating from the mist. "Only vhen one of us is defeated you'll vake up! MWAHAHAHEESK!"

While the Bat King said this, Bowser tried to locate the voice's origin. In a leap of faith, he rolled into the mist… which soon dissipated as the Koopa King struck Antasma.

Before the bat could escape, Bowser grabbed his tie and held him in place. He began punching him without hesitation as hard as he could, wreaking his anger in Antasma's face until the latter laid unconscious in the ground.

Giving a final sigh, Bowser let go of the senseless bat, and walked away a few steps before finally collapsing on one knee. He coughed loudly and rubbed his face; he should wake up any second now.

But instead he felt himself being lifted off the ground by two giant claws by the collar, chocking him and depriving him of air. Soon he found himself face to face with two blazing red eyes and rows of angered teeth. Bowser shot back the angriest face he could make while being chocked to death.

"I'm getting really tired of this, Bowser. SCREEECH!" Antasma said with a loud, ominous voice that echoed through the entire landscape.

Bowser grabbed Antasma's claws with his own, trying to loose them up to no avail. "Then just leave me alone!" He finally said.

"I can't."

"WHY?!" Yelled Bowser in annoyance while shifting in the Bat King's grasp.

"Isn't it obvious?" Hissed Antasma as he narrowed his eyes. "SCREEK! I despise you. I loathe you. I HATE you. You arrogant, smug show-off, awful monster of a koopa. SCREAAARK! Our plan vould haff been a TRIUMPH if it vasn't for you!"

From his lifted spot, Bowser could see the cracked earth falling apart on itself, its rests falling into the molten lava that had apparently been under it all this time.

While peeking down Bowser failed to notice the bat's hands shifting from claws to smoke. Soon Bowser felt the lack of a death grip on his neck, as now he was merely hanging from the air surrounded by the purple cloud.

Said purple cloud transformed into an all-too familiar and small bat, grabbing the Koopa King by his neck's collar, using his barely visible but still existing feet. "SCREEECH! You know, I haff alvays vondered vut vould happen if I dropped you vhile on our travels." He cackled darkly as he slightly let go of the collar.

Bowser panicked as he felt the grip on his collar slowly but surely getting loose. "I can't die, you know! You won't accomplish anything dipping me in lava!" He stated proudly.

"Oh, but that just vill make everything much more fun. SCREEP!" He said gleefully, his eyes glowing bright. "You vill just vake up, but you vill haff to go to sleep sooner or later, and then vee vill start this all over again! SCREENK!"

Bowser glared with hate at the enemy holding him airbone. "Next time you won't be so lucky. I'll kill you, bat."

Antasma cackled again, this time mockingly. "I'm already dead, Bowser! I'll just appear back in the undervhere, just as new! SCREAAARK! I'll go into your dreams until the end of time!"

Bowser snarled in return and shook around, trying to get a hold of the bat. "Shut up! Shut up already!"

"In fact, you von't be able to call them dreams anymore!" He laughed maliciously, looking forward into the future. "SCREENK! Bowser, I vill dedicate my life to make sure that in every single night of your life you wake up from your nightmares."

Bowser growled, shifting violently in the air. "NO! YOU WON'T! I'LL GET YOU, ANTASMA! I'LL BE HAPPY EVERY NIGHT BY BEATING YOU TO DEATH UNTIL YOU LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Antasma grinned at the predicable outburst, feeling victorious in a way. "SCREEEK! So you want to be alone?"

"YES!"

"Vell, I think I haff had enough fun for tonight!" He screeched one final time before completely letting go of Bowser's collar. "SCREEECH! Good night, Bowser."

The Koopa King embraced himself for the incoming but all-too familiar feeling of falling in lava. He didn't even try to swim; he just tucked inside his shell and let his burning body sink into the magma as he was consumed by the lava.

Bowser woke up with a shock, and promptly scanned the room he was in. He was on his royal bed, and the room walls were decorated with paintings and statues of himself. A small altar lay in the room's corner, decorated with photos of a familiar princess.

Bowser got up from bed and breathed a small flame, turning on a nearby candle. He examined his body; no cuts or burns were visible. His skin was perfectly healthy, just as it was when he went to sleep. He gave a relieved sigh and walked into his room's bathroom. Turning on the sink, he washed his face with water, fully waking up.

He could still perfectly remember the dream. The pain. The humiliation. That stupid bat.

He shook his head and walked out of his room, opening and closing the door quietly, not wanting to wake up somebody so they could come to bother him. He walked down some hallways heading for the royal kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, Bowser examined every cabinet, looking for something in particular. Once he found it, he grabbed and put it in the kitchen table, sitting down next to it. It was a sack with a label that said 'Coffee Beans'. The koopa opened it without hesitation and held it up in the air, letting every single bean fall down his throat. Once the sack was empty, he threw it to a nearby trash can and let his head fall on the table.

He didn't really want to sleep again for the rest of the night.

It puzzled him, however, whenever his dream was just a regular dream –nightmare, he corrected himself, that was most definitely a nightmare- or if it really happened. If that stupid bat really could just enter his dreams at will like that.

He rubbed his temples in exasperation. No, there was no way for him to enter his dream from the afterlife. If he remembered something from his most recent world-conquering quest is that to enter somebody else's dream you have to be very close to them. At least, that's one of the things that bat had told him back in the neo castle.

He grunted at the memory of the bat. Should he feel guilty for betraying him? Maybe if he had waited a bit longer he could have finally beaten Mario…

…Nah, of course not. It was just a dream. It wasn't real.

Before he could keep arguing with himself he heard footsteps coming down the hall. Turning to the kitchen door, he saw a familiar small koopa enter through the doorframe.

"…Dad?"

Bowser tried not to cringe at the image of his young son, reminding him of the dream. Of that stupid bat. Shaking his head, he turned to his son and said "What are you doing here, Junior?"

Bowser Jr. fiddled with his fingers, not letting a small doll of Princess Peach fall from his grasp. "I couldn't sleep, so I came for a glass of... milk."

Bowser grunted in return and said "Why can't you sleep?"

Junior hugged the Peach doll between his arms and looked guiltily at his father. "…I was having nightmares."

Bowser trembled at this, clenching his fists with fury. If that stupid bat is messing with my son… "What did you dream about?"

Junior grew uneasy at the view of his seemingly upset father and took a step back. "W-With Mario…" He hugged his Peach doll even tighter. "…stealing mama Peach again…"

Bowser calmed down and sat back in the chair, making it crack a bit. Of course he's not, idiot. It was just a dream. Not real. Not real…

"Sorry dad," said Bowser Jr. sheepishly. "I shouldn't be scared; a strong koopa shouldn't be scared by stupid nightmares, right?" He looked away angrily. "Especially not ones about that stupid Mario."

Bowser tried to relate to his son. True, he didn't dream with that damned plumber, but a nightmare was a nightmare nonetheless. Without hesitation, he stood up and walked to the fridge, earning a confused glance from his son.

Seconds later he pulled out a carton of milk, searched for a glass in the nearby cabinets, and poured milk into the glass. He sat down again and put the glass of milk on the table.

"Here, drink this."

Bowser Jr. glared confused at his parent before pointing at himself. "…For me?"

Bowser gave a small annoyed snarl. "Yes."

Junior smiled brightly and sat in a chair next to the glass of milk, saying "Thanks, dad!" before drinking the white liquid.

Bowser just sat in place, trying to think of something else than the nightmare he just had. 'Maybe a conversation would help…' he thought.

"So, Junior." Started Bowser, looking at nothing in particular. "How have you and the others been doing?"

The koopa kid put down the glass and wiped some milk from his snout. "We have been doing great, dad!" He answered happily. "Although Ludwig composed some new songs after watching some movie about a guy called 'Count Drakoola', and he made us listen to them." Junior crossed his arms annoyed. "It was very boring."

Bowser chuckled to himself before giving an aside glance to his son. "Who's Count Drakoola?"

Bowser Jr. scratched his chin in thought. "Ludwig said that it was some dude that dressed with a tie and cape and had fangs." He said, trying to recall correctly the information the Von Koopa said. "He could also transform into a bat."

'Well,' Bowser thought flatly to himself, 'this isn't helping.'

Junior took another sip of his glass before turning to his dad expectantly. "Hey dad, I heard you were working with someone else in that island you visited!"

Bowser rubbed his face in annoyance. 'And this is even worse.'

"What happened to him?" Asked his son, curious.

Bowser stared at Junior. He wanted to tell him. Oh, how he wanted to tell him. To tell him how he had played that bat unwillingly. How he had used him like a pawn. How he just left him behind before he could do the same. How his father was a mastermind that could control anyone. But the more he thought about telling him, the more memories of his dream -of his nightmare- came back to him.

"You left me to die vith those plumbers."

"If you had not left me behind, vee could haff won!"

"You vlame me for your failure."

"But you couldn't vait a little more, could you?"

"YOU VERE MY FRIEND BOWSER!"

"Our plan vould haff been a TRIUMPH if it vasn't for you!"

"He was killed by those Mario Brothers." He finally said.

Junior gave a groan of rage. "I hate those guys!" He simply said before turning to his father again. "How was he?"

"Hm?"

"The guy you worked with." He said flatly, as if stating the obvious. "Was he evil like you?"

Bowser shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Yes. But not as evil as me, of course."

"Did he try to betray you?"

Bowser closed his eyes, trying to fight back a small and sudden thorn of guilt. "No… Mario and Luigi killed him before he could attempt anything."

"Oh." Simply said Junior before drinking the rest of the milk in his glass. "…Who's Luigi?"

"The green 'stache."

"Oh." He answered again, looking at a nearby window. "Where are the brothers now?"

"Still in the island, I think."

'Hm, maybe I could pay them a visit. Hehehe…' The koopa king thought to himself, images of the Mario Brothers caught by surprise already flashing in his head.

Bowser groaned and stood up from his chair, grabbing his son by the shoulder. "I think you should go back to sleep, Junior."

Bowser's son smiled at his father and nodded. "Sure thing, dad." He dropped from the chair and ran out of the kitchen heading for his room. "Thanks for the milk!" He shouted back.

Bowser sighed and for some minutes he just stood alone in the kitchen. He finally decided to go for a walk to the castle's gardens.

On his way there he passed next to the koopalings' rooms. He noticed how all of them were pitch black except for Lemmy's room. Grunting in confusion, he walked to the room and peeked through the slightly open door.

"I'm better at pillow fighting than all of you combined, wimps!" Said a koopa with a purple shell.

"Yeah right." Spat Morton.

"Oh yeah?" Shot back Roy. "Wanna see, Mort'?"

"I would appreciate if you stopped bickering like that." Interrupted Ludwig.

"Hey, I want to see the pillow fight!" Said Lemmy.

Bowser chuckled silently as soon as all the Koopalings ended up in a brawl. A pillow brawl, but still a brawl. Bowser considered what to do, and figured out that if he was not going to sleep for the rest of the night, at least he would have fun. The Koopa King silently and swiftly ran to his room.

Minutes later, Bowser clashed through Lemmy's door with a massive pillow in hands. "I'm best at pillow fighting than all of you! BWHAHAHAWHA!"