Another short chapter. Thanks for reviewing, I can't get enough of those (hint, hint)

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Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Mario or its franchise. It belongs to Nintendo and creators.


Chapter Fifty


This was the most unresponsive I've ever seen the Dark King. He'd just marched down here, slammed open my cell, and started pacing. He didn't say a word or even look my way as he scaled the length of the small room with great agitation. I laid there on the floor, having been caught in the middle of my workout, wondering how to handle the situation. After a few moments of relative silence, I stood and brushed the soot from my back. I folded my arms and appraised that being who so often did the same to many others. I almost laughed at what I saw.

His hair was all thick and tangled as usual, but this time there was a black bandage wrapped diagonally over his temple. Not only that but, because he wore no shirt, I saw the matching black gauzy strip of cloth covering the lower part of his torso. He'd obviously gotten into it with someone and hadn't come out as unscathed as his reputation would like to boast. Suddenly he shoved his hands into the pockets of his burgundy silk pants and leaned on the bars of the cell door.

"So..." I trailed.

He just stared at me pensively, trying to read me or something. Good luck with that, I thought.

Aloud I remarked, "You know, you look like shit."

He still didn't say anything.

"Did you come down here for a reason?" I asked.

No answer.

"So you just wanna' stare at me?"

...

"Okay. I get it. To each his own, I guess."

...

"Well if you don't mind, I'll just get back to what I was doing before you uh, decided to come down here. Your Majesty."

I shrugged when he still didn't respond. But I wasn't kidding, I would rather be doing push-ups than stand there and have a staring match with the Lord of All Assholes. It was a mild shock to hear him speak when I was on my fourth or fifth rep.

"Funny thing happened." He stated softly.

"Oh?" I spoke curiously, but not really.

"Your little girlfriend got away." The king told me.

I froze with my elbows bent parallel to the ground.

"Really now?" I asked slowly, cautious of any games he was trying to run by me.

"You probably already know that." He sneered.

"Actually I didn't." I frowned.

"You probably had a hand in that." He accused.

"From down here? You really think so?" I asked dryly.

I was still stuck in that lowered position and even though it made my muscles burn, I ignored that slight pain in favor of trying to gauge if he was serious or not, because if Ludwig had really come through like he said he would and if Daisy was really gone, then what the hell did I have to lose now?

Not a damn thing.

"No matter, though." Bowser shrugged, "Just because she's gone, doesn't mean I'll be letting you off easy."

"Yeah, I'm not asking you to." I replied.

I stood and clapped my hands over the other to rid my palms of the grainy dirt from the floor, then stood with my feet apart. I curled my hands loosely down at my sides and leveled my shoulders. I was ready to fight right now because something told me that's what would be happening in the very, very near future.

Bowser said in a slighted sort of tone, "You think you can take me?"

"...Yeah, sure. Why not?" I answered.

He scoffed and said, "I underestimated you, boy. It's you, not your brother I should have been keeping an eye on."

I took a swing at him and he moved to the side, dodging it easily. The king smirked and brought his own flaming fists up. I smirked, then, and shook my head.

"So you need an advantage?" I presumed.

That had him extinguishing those flames quick. He narrowed his eyes and came at me swiftly but he wasn't getting a hit in that easily. I knew every inch of this cell, it was my terrain, my domain. He didn't know the things that I did, like how there was a niche in the ground right where he was about to put his boot down. When he lost his footing and consequently stumbled a bit, I hooked him right in the jaw.

"You little shit!" He growled, cupping his chin.

I shrugged and said, "What's the matter? Off your game?"

Bowser scowled at first, then barked out a bitter laugh. He snapped his neck over to the side to pop a few kinks and then dropped into that offensive stance again.

"I'll admit," He stated begrudgingly, "You're far more interesting than your brother is, and you've got a different sort of fight in you."

I didn't let his strange praise disrupt my concentration and kept his fists at bay, even parrying them with a few of my own. I was hitting him more than he liked, so it was no wonder he countered that earlier praise with harsh words.

"You stupid boy," He glowered, "You might be good but you'll never be a match for me!"

"Yeah, that's what you keep saying," I replied, unfazed.

There was nothing he could do at this point, nothing short of burning me alive that is, to get a reaction out of me. Or at least, the sort of reaction he wanted. It was driving him crazy. But for all his ire, he was still precise in each move he made. He was right, I really wasn't a match for him. But I gave it the best I had. My best only got me so far, naturally, so when my strength and stamina started to wane, he went in for the kill: I need only miss one punch for him to grab my arm and force me to my knees. He had his own knee shoved into my back when he yanked a handful of my hair back.

"That was a pretty good attempt, kid," He chuckled, "But like I said. You're not nearly on my level."

"So what now?" I panted.

It was hard to breathe in this awkward position. He paused for a moment but then wrapped his fingers around my neck and started to heat them.

"Daddy!"

Somebody could've slapped him for all the effect that baby's voice had on him. I thought I was hallucinating at first because seriously: Junior? In the dungeons? How did he even get down here? His father wanted to know the same thing, and apparently that took precedence over killing me. So Bowser shoved me forward where I would've face-planted had I not thrown my hands out and caught myself. I coughed and struggled to my feet, then turned to where there was a little prince running down the steps towards my cell.

Bowser was irate.

"What do you think you're doing here?!" He roared.

When his five-year-old got to the bars, he stopped at the tone and straightened his back. His jade eyes were wide and fearful but he stiffened his quivering lip and answered in an unwavering tone, which was something I had to give the little kid credit for. His dad was a fucking monster right about then.

"What are you doing, Daddy?" He wanted to know.

The king narrowed his eyes. "Are you questioning me?"

"Yes, Daddy," Junior replied, "Because you're being so bad and wrong!"

"What?" Bowser frowned as if he couldn't fathom his boy was calling him out.

Junior passionately declared, "You can't keep Lu down here and fight him because that's really bad and not right!"

"What?!" Bowser was only getting more and more enraged.

"And you can't burn him up either," Junior kept on, "because that's not the good thing you should do."

Finally the king just stared down at his son in utter confusion, disappointment, and fury. He shook his head and jerked the bars open that separated them. When he stepped towards him, I did too for fear he'd hurt the kid. But all he did was grab the back of Junior's collar and start hauling him back towards the stairs.

"No, Daddy, no!" He shouted before he slipped from his father's grasp.

The child came bolting back to the cell where he leapt towards me, then clung to my middle. His eyes were so emotional when he looked up at me. Bowser immediately came over and snatched Junior by the arm.

"Get the hell away from him!" He snarled at his heir.

"No, Daddy, I don't want to go-" Junior started to cry out.

"Enough!" Bowser yelled.

"I wanna' stay with Lu!" Junior continued to wail, "Why you hurting him for?"

"I said enough!" The Dark King boomed.

And for the first time since I saw him, Junior shook and started to cry. Like really tremble and sob. It was hard to watch. Bowser just glared at his heir in disgust and turned away from him. He called for his Koopas and instantly they were there, at the top of the stairs. He beckoned them near and Bowser pushed his son at them.

"Take him away," The king ordered.

One of the Koopas asked, "What would you have us do with him?"

"I don't. Fucking. Care." Bowser spat, "Toss him in his room and lock the door, just get him out of my sight!"

The Koopas bowed and did as they were told. One of them had to pick up the crying child and carry him because he'd fallen on the ground and refused to move. It was like seeing those little kids in the supermarket, the ones who threw public tantrums when they didn't get their way. I think Junior was a bit more justified in this case, though. He'd just defied his own father, his idol, his hero; he'd been shouted at and all but disowned for his insubordination. I felt bad for him. I mean, he's only five and he was clearly confused by what was going on. But Bowser's such a bastard, he's probably just sore about being interrupted in...

Damn, I almost died, I suddenly realized.

I would have been dead if that baby hadn't interrupted. That was a startling revelation. But I didn't have long to ponder it, because suddenly the Dark King turned back to me.

"You took my woman," He accused, "You helped my favorite little prisoner escape, and now you've corrupted my heir?"

Those charges he'd laid against me were ridiculous and unfeasible, at best.

"Uh, first of all," I coughed, "I didn't take any woman from you. And as for corrupting your son, well, I think all the credit for that goes to you."

Bowser scoffed. "You think you're so tough, don't you?"

"I try." Was all I said, for lack of a better response.

The king said, "We'll see how tough you are when you're swinging from a tree."


He'd practically raised his brother from the time Luigi was only eight years old, even back when their parents were still around. He was the one who took care of him, made sure he ate everyday and when they got older, he was still the provider. He kept the bills paid and he was the one that got the two of them gigged up with the plumbing business. His brother was all he had, really, and in the face of losing him, Mario wasn't holding up so well. It was a good thing, then, that Ludwig returned about that time.

The ex-enforcer sauntered through their makeshift camp in the Black Forest with a grim expression. Mario feared the worst and left his troops to go and hear whatever news the younger man had for him.

"So?" The plumber-turned-prince prompted.

Ludwig gazed solemnly at him and said, "Your brother's still alive."

"Thank God." Mario breathed. "For how long?"

"Not very." Ludwig told him.

"Well then let's get a move on!" Mario urged, "We gotta' get in there!"

"Listen." Ludwig cut in sharply, "We won't be doing any of that."

"What do you mean?" Mario frowned. "What's going on?"

The Commander Elite folded his arms and settled his emerald eyes over towards the left. His jarringly blue tangled hair curled under his chin, thanks to the light breeze making its way as a wraith through the woods.

"Before I left," He spoke quietly, "I heard him speaking with his son."

"And what did he say?" Mario pressed.

"Yeah, I'mma' need you to stop cutting me off." The young magician told him tersely.

"Right." Mario acceded, and was quiet.

Ludwig sighed and said, "There is to be a public execution for your brother. And in an effort to both instill his own ways within his heir and also cut the boy's ties with that part of him that yet yearns for good, the bastard is having his son do the honors."

"When?" Was Mario's immediate inquiry.

"Tomorrow morning, at dawn." Ludwig answered.

"This is sick," Mario grimaced, "We've got to do something. Dawn is only hours away!"

Ludwig shrugged. "I'm already ahead of you."

"Mind clue-ing me in?" Mario clipped.

"It's better if I don't."


Junior was only a child. His tears were evidence of that fact. But he was a clever child, and that was what set him apart. His heart, so young and fresh and trusting, had been broken the moment his father banished him to his room. His mind, complex but not so much so that he could understand the reason why his father had been provoked to such a nasty wrath, nor was his reasoning yet developed to the point to where he was able to figure out his father's motives in dealing with him so caustically. Consequently, he lay in his bed wept for the better part of the last four hours. The night was as young as he, and he wished direly to speak with someone, anyone. Preferably Luigi, but his father had made sure that wouldn't be happening. His father had come to visit him but two hours earlier, bearing terrible news that only grieved him further. However, it was either a show of his budding ingenuity or a brilliant stroke of luck that he recalled that gift he'd received, the one that would come to his aid this night.

Junior rolled over on his bed so that he was sitting up, off of his stomach. Then he slid his bare feet to the floor and wiped his arm over his tear-streaked face. He'd not been allowed to cry this much ever in his short life and he couldn't say he liked it all that much. But now there was a spark of hope in his chest because he knew who he could talk to.

The boy dropped to his knees and crawled under his bed. All his toys were pushed to the back of the wall, wrapped in articles of his clothing. A silk shirt was what covered that precious mirror he was in want of, so he pulled the thing towards him and then unwrapped the item carefully.

"Peezy?" He called hesitantly, holding the handle with all ten fingers.

"Peezy, you there?" He called once more.

The glass surface of the gilded mirror began to ripple fluidly until it was the visage of that fashionable older prince that was being projected onto it. Junior beamed at this small accomplishment, but the Bean Kingdom royal could not spare him the same show of pleasantry.

"Junior?" He frowned, "What is it, little one? It's late, you know."

"Who is that?" the boy asked.

He was talking about the slim woman who lay in the bed with Peasley. He, himself, donned but a pair of pants, and the woman was in even less. Her arms were draped around the prince's neck and she had one leg hooked around his. Peasley sighed and untangled himself from her wanton embrace and left that bed that he'd come to hate.

"Avert your eyes, Junior," He said gently, because the boy shouldn't have to be exposed to such vulgarity at his ripe age.

Peasley threw the sheets over his fiancee's bare form and left that room. When he was out in the hall, he spoke again. The mirror he had was compact, pocket-sized, much smaller than the hand-held one he'd given the boy.

"Junior?"

"Yes?"

"What's going on?"

And that was clearly the wrong question because, with a hiccup and a choked breath, Junior started to cry.

"Hey, now," Peasley soothed softly, "What happened to that brave little man I used to know?"

"Which one?"

"You."

"Oh," Junior blinked, "Um, I can't be brave right now because...my daddy, he is so very angry with me and-"

"Why is he angry?" Peasley implored.

Time was a luxury he didn't really have at the moment.

Junior replied, "I don't know that much how come he is mad but I saw him hurting Lu and then he started talking to me in a mean voice and-"

"Lu?" Peasley frowned, "Luigi is there?"

"Yes, in the dungeons." Junior answered. "And tomorrow I have to do a very bad thing because my daddy, he said he is dis-pointed in me and I have to do this."

"Do what, Junior?" Peasley asked the child.

Junior said, "I have to um, I have to extra-cute Lu in the courtyard tomorrow in front of all of everybody!"

"Quiet!" He urged, then remarked gravely, "That is bad."

"I know," Junior lamented, "So what to do?"

Peasley paused. He could hear the fear in the child's voice, he clearly didn't want to do this. What child would? But there wasn't much the other prince could do. Hell, he had his hands tied with that demoness in his bed. But he soon came to a conclusion.

"Junior?"

"H-huh?" The boy sniffed.

"I need to speak with Luigi," He said, "Do you think you can get down to him?"

Junior's lip quivered. "I can't! I can't because my daddy locked the door shut!"

"Shh," Peasley coaxed, "It's alright. Just think. Are there guards near your door?"

"Yes, how you knew?" The boy asked.

"Don't worry about that," Peasley stated, "Can you get those guards to open the door for you?"

"I think so." Junior said slowly, "but my daddy told them not to let me go nowhere."

Peasley again thought for a moment. Enlightenment came to him in the form of another one of the child's gifts.

"Junior," He spoke hurriedly, "Where is that magical ring you had?"

"The gold one? The one that make me go 'visible?" Junior asked.

"Exactly," Peasley affirmed, "Where is it?"

"I have it, it's over by the-"

"Put it on," Peasley cut in, "And use it to sneak out, okay?"

"And then what?" Junior wanted to know.

But Peasley said, "I have to go now. When you get to Luigi, call for me again, alright?"

"Um, okay." Junior replied.

And now he had in front of him a most important task. He schooled his features as if preparing for a fight and set out to get down to the dungeons.


A/N: Thanks for reading! I will post again soon! School starts tomorrow and I can't wait :)

So you guys have any remarks about how the story is going thus far? Please leave them in a review, I do love to hear what you have to say. Again, thanks for reading this far and until next time...

~DymondGold~