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BOWSER

Bowser Koopa was King of the Koopas. Those who denied loyalty to the Toadstool Monarch had often sworn loyalty to Bowser. The King Koopa lived in a giant castle deep within the treacherous Bowser Valley. The castle sat on a plateau surrounded by a sea of lava, where spirals of ominous dark cloud always hung above the colossal stone structure.

Bowser Valley was a barren and rocky wasteland in the far northeast where marauders and thieves lived in ramshackle fortresses or hideouts. Bandits and Shy Guys would often plunder villages and then run back to Bowser Valley, where only a fool would dare follow. These utter lowlifes were often referred to as the Deserters by the common folk, and they were loyal to neither Peach nor Bowser. Battles often occurred on the barren plains between rival Deserter gangs, and to the victor would go the spoils. It was not a pleasant area.

But Bowser cared for none of that. The Deserters of Bowser Valley were ants under foot to him. Bowser cared about two things: crushing Mario, and winning Princess Peach. And tonight, Bowser was determined to satisfy both of those desires. He was currently readying his airship armada to fly over to Peach Castle and crash her big party.

In truth, Bowser also cared about a third thing: his son, Junior. Junior was still just a kid, but he loved to cause mayhem with his father and hated Mario just as much as he did. The two of them were standing on the drawbridge outside of Bowser Castle, and three massive airships were currently flying overhead.

"Well Junior, are we all set little buddy?" Bowser inquired, placing a hand on his sons shoulder. "You betcha, pops!" Junior assured, clenching his fist with excited pride. "Kamek's ship is all set and ready to go, and the two of us will be right behind you! Bowser's Battalion is gonna look so cool storming Peach Castle!"

"Bwahaha! Well put, son!" Bowser laughed, nodding in admiration. "The Royal Koopa line has a promising future, thanks to you!"

"Gee pops, you really think so?" Junior acknowledged while rubbing the back of his head shyly. Bowser saw that he was blushing. Anchored chains had lowered down to the two of them from separate airships. They each grabbed a separate chain and proceeded to hold on as they ascended up into the sky. "Of course I do! Now, give it your best tonight, alright?" Bowser called out, getting farther away from his son. "We've got a party to crash!"

"Yahoo! You can count on me!" Junior cheered. Bowser could hear him laugh excitedly afterward, but then he was too far away from him to hear anymore.

He's just like I was at his age. Bowser thought to himself, his red hair blowing in the hot wind as he admired his son from afar. The boy will be a man soon, and he'll do alright. Bowser was reaching the end of his ascent, so he leapt up high and landed onto the deck with a great thump. A Koopatrol approached him, the Koopa fully equipped with heavy steel armour. "Lord Bowser, we leave at your command."

Bowser took a moment to admire his armada. Executive soldiers and lower ranking grunts were randomly mixed among all three ships. Bowser had a very straightforward strategy when it came to battle. He just took himself and his two best guys to each man a ship, then loaded each ship with a little bit of everything: Bob-ombs, Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Koopatrol, Magikoopas, and so on. Then he would just attack at full force. It had always been a sufficient enough strategy. He grinned at the sight of his vast army, the Koopa Troop. "Badass!" He proudly proclaimed.

"Lord Bowser, sir?" Bowser realized the man was still waiting for his orders. After seeing that Kamek and Bowser Jr. were each in position among their own respective ships, he made his way for the helm.

"Roll out boys!" Bowser ordered. And that's all they needed to hear. They unfurled the sails of Bowser's airship, and proceeded to propel forward. The sails were black, with Bowser's daunting symbol blazoned upon it in red. Bowser Jr. and Kamek ordered their men to do the same once they saw Bowser's ship moving. The three of them flew across the skies above Bowser Valley like three deadly dragons. Some Deserters watched the armada flying overhead from their hideouts below, like harmless rabbits peeking out of a burrow. To them it must have been quite a sight.

Bowser proceeded to fantasize about just how he would attack Peach Castle. His favourite method was to simply start firing right away. No words, no declarations, just blast some holes into the castle and smoke the Princess and her men out. Only after that might he take the time to say something cool and menacing to them. He could hardly wait to see her. His heart began racing as he thought about being in her company again. They continued to make their way towards Toad Town, but after about three minutes into their journey, Bowser found his thoughts were interrupted by once of his men.

"Lord Bowser, urgent news." The Koopatrol summoned. "What is it?" Bowser replied, not facing the Koopatrol behind him as he continued to speak. "It appears a lone Parakoopa is approaching our ship from port." Bowser turned to his left. Indeed, a small figure was flapping its white wings towards them. Bowser narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better look. "Is he one of ours?"

"No sir." The Koopatrol assured. "Take him out, then."

"S-Sir, if I may." The Koopatrol objected, his voice shaky. "I do believe that's a postman..."

"A postman?!" Bowser gawked, his jaw dropped wide open as he gave a stupefied look. He never received mail, ever. From anyone. He kept that look as the Paratroopa arrived on board.

"I've got a letter for a "King Bowser Koopa"." Parakarry announced, trying his best to keep his cool amongst the dangerous army around him. Bowser felt a letter slip into his hand, but he did not acknowledge which of his men put it there. Then he heard the postman say something melancholy about another letter being delivered. Once Parakarry flew away, one of his Goomba men with a rather gruff voice spoke with surprise. "Why, Lord Bowser, that letter... it's from the Princess!"

"HUH?!" Bowser gawked, snapping out of it. He examined the letter with great haste. Inscribed on the front of the envelope in flawless calligraphy was his name, Bowser. It was too pretty to not be from the Princess. Bowser's heart suddenly was racing. His ship had been stopped this entire time, which caused Bowser Jr. and Kamek to stop as well.

"Why did pops stop?" Junior asked. "What's the hold up?" The men on their ships were buzzing, trying to understand what all the commotion was about.

A letter for me? From the Princess? Bowser found that he was oddly touched. "Do you want me to open it for you, sire?" The Koopatrol offered, wondering just how long his King was planning to stare at its front. Bowser looked at him angrily. "Y-You know, in case it's a trap..."

"I can open the stupid letter." Bowser grumbled, removing what he did not recognize as a priority seal. He opened the envelope carefully, and removed a letter written on pink parchment. Bowser suddenly could smell Peach's flowery scent. His heart was beating, his mind whirling. He proceeded to read the letter.


Dear Bowser,

Tonight, in honour of the Star Festival, I am having a party at my Castle. I am sending you this letter as a formal invitation. There will be lots of tasty sweets and all kinds of entertainment. I would be honoured if you could attend! You may bring your son also. I hope to see you there!

Yours Truly,

Princess Peach


Bowser's jaw dropped in utter astonishment. "I.. I..."

"INVITED?!" Bowser screamed, loud enough for the entire armada to hear. The men were all startled. They looked as equally concerned as they were confused. Bowser did not speak for a few moments. His mind was whirling with confusion. Kamek had flown up from her airship to assess the situation, her blue robes whipping in the high valley winds. She had an odd and steady voice, like that of a scheming witch. "Lord Bowser? Shall we proceed with the assault on Peach Castle?"

Bowser turned to the Magikoopa with great rage. "I'm THINKING, dammit! Argh!" Bowser proceeded to stomp his foot repeatedly. Kamek raised her hands in alarm, trembling. "L-L-Lord B-B-Bowser, you m-must calm down! Remember your blood pressure..."

Bowser stopped stomping, and proceeded to spew his tirade at no one in particular. "Man, why did Peach have to go and INVITE me? She never invites me for anything! Now she's being NICE? What the heck am I supposed to do with that?"

Bowser did not even acknowledge the buzzing conversations of his army. By now all three ships were talking about it. But he did not care. The entire momentum of his army had just been brought to a sudden halt by a single letter. The pen is mightier than the sword, as the saying goes. Bowser's feelings of destruction and kidnapping had suddenly been squashed in an instant. Now he was debating with himself on how he should present himself at a party. He shook his head almost immediately, feeling foolish.

"No, what am I thinking! I can't hang out with them!" Bowser cursed under his breath. "They hate me, and I hate them!"

But what if Peach really does want to get to know me? He suddenly thought. Beyond his control, he continued to entertain the idea in his thoughts. If that's the case, then I'll blow my chances by striking her castle and crashing a party that I've been invited too...

"Grrrr! Dammit!" Bowser cursed, resuming his enraged stomping. Kamek shook her head and sighed. "Oh dear. Looks like we're gonna be here for awhile..."