Oddly enough Wario found himself standing on the roof of his castle; as he usually did when he needed to think. He could easily see the lights of Rogueport in the distance. The forests and seas in the horizon that screamed adventure awaited him. Yet he wasn't alone this time. There was another much taller and burlier than he, with a similar face, similar moustache. The only real difference was that his hair was longer and he was adorned by armour pieced together from scraps in the desert. Designed to look more menacing rather than offer protection.

The strange berserker laughed heartily then remarked "Fine kingdom you've got here."

Wario picked his nose "Yeah, this is my pad. But I ain't letting you stay, Darius."

"That's alright, I prefer a battlefield and the dunes of Sarasaland to be honest."

"So… our bloodline is really from there?"

"Yep."

"What kind of perks did you get for being the Bandit Queen's right hand fighter?"

"A harem to bear my children, the best picks of all the treasure, my lovely rose and I wanted for nothing so long as we remained loyal to Queen Belladonna."

"Lovely rose?" Wario recalled the voices in his head as the spirits of their ancestors were ripped from their bodies. He recalled a very concerned Darius yelling to someone nearby. "…wait, you mean Throne?"

Darius answered bluntly "Yes."

Wario blinked "Wait, but… if you're… you know, then how am I?"

"I had a harem of eligible, willing women. It wasn't a big deal in my era."

The air grew tense from the silence as the two continued to blankly stare at one another. Darius finally waved "Well, guess I'll be going now…"

The castle surroundings vanished from his sight to return to comforting darkness.

Wario was jolted awake by the strange dream. Perhaps his ancestor was lingering to impart some kind of wisdom? On the other hand, it got a bit strange, very quickly for Wario so he was relieved it was over. He found himself back in his bedroom, oddly enough, as he sure he was passed out on Star Road last time he was conscious. Then there was some booming voice and a livid Star Spirit then… nothing but that weird dream. Wario stopped thinking about it there. He never really cared for thinking things through. It always brought nothing but trouble. Instead he found himself distracted by the thumping noise pulsing through the walls, so he decided to investigate that instead.

The castle was rocking with loud music and merriment. Wario padded downstairs to the chaotic sight of yet another wild party taking place in his home. It wasn't the first time this had happened. It seemed to occur whenever Toadette watched his home. The garish lights blared while the DJ alternated between all kinds of genres. The sound didn't matter so long as you could dance to it. He figured most of Rogueport had turned out for this one. A large banner displaying 'End of the World Party' was prominently draped across the main courtyard. He heard rattling on the roof then saw shadows of people in shopping trolleys from Coconut Mall fly past the window. He waded through the crowds, noting the Black Sugar Pirates were among the guests. He wondered if Syrup had paid a visit and was proven right as the infamous pirate was sharing a round of drinks with Toadette. He surmised that they had lugged every cask and keg he had stashed in the cellar into the main courtyard.

"Wario!" Toadette cheered, sitting upon a throne of kegs with a small stein in her hand "How do you like the welcome back party?"

Wario pointed behind him and corrected "Your banner says otherwise."

Toadette laughed nervously "Well, we changed after we realised the world wasn't ending. Things got crazy up in the sky for a while there. Everything was shaking from above us and we saw cracks appearing in the sky and then well… we figured we'd all be dead in a few hours so we decided to throw a party… but now everything's fine so… we're still partying."

Syrup teased ever so sweetly "Did you manage to find any treasure on your trip?"

Wario flustered for a moment before admitting "No."

"Again? What's the point of your crazy trips to dangerous places if you don't steal anything valuable?"

He sighed, not really having the energy to rebuke "Look, have either of you seen Waluigi?"

Toadette nodded "He's on the roof, looked a bit spooked so we let him be." She reassured "Look, we haven't touched his greenhouse and I've been taking good care of his Piranha Plant collection so they're all fine. Your workshop is locked up and your treasure hoard has been counted and itemised so I'll know if anything goes missing and between the Pianta Syndicate and the Robbo Gang, I'll get anything back before you can pick your nose." Toadette could see her innocent smile was not making Wario's concern lessen. "Those gangsters owe me, you know. I'm sure I can get them to pay a few debts and help us out if anything goes missing, okay?"

Syrup added "And if anyone kicks up a fuss and tries to ruin the party, I'm sure those plants would welcome an additional protein feed."

"Thanks, I'll go say hi and then come back down to show you how a party is done right." Wario heard the chorus of cheers behind him as he went up a nearby stairwell. Toadette may have been a questionable house sitter, but at least she made sure what mattered was taken care of.

His castle was one filled with plenty of secret tunnels and sneaky passages to appeal to his thieving side. It was easy enough for Wario to move from one side of the castle to the other, given you knew the way. The rooftop in question was a small terrace where Waluigi kept some of his piranha plants. Wario ascended the stairs, passed through a few secret doors, through a hidden passage and ascended another flight of stairs. He emerged on a flattened part of the roof to find Waluigi with his golf club, hitting balls into the rolling hills surrounding Rogueport. Wario simply nodded to his friend, who nodded back, before collapsing on a half destroyed couch.

Silence remained in the air for a while before Wario said "What's with you? You love any excuse to dance so why ain't you down there showing everyone your moves?"

He didn't look back "Just feeling a bit tense…"

"About?"

"Everything that's happened."

"Like?"

"Like with our ancestors… I'm guessing you got to speak to Darius for a bit. I spoke to Thorne."

"Yeah, and?"

Waluigi hit the golf ball with his club, flinging the tiny ivory projectile somewhere into the wilderness that surrounded the castle. He sighed to himself "Do you really not get it?"

"What?" Wario picked his nose, flinging the snot over the edge as he reclined on the old couch he'd dragged onto the roof. "Darius and Throne were Belladonna's right hand guys. Of course they'd hang out a lot."

He teed up another ball and struck it with ease once again "They did more than just hang out."

"Whoa, whoa, think about it, if they were that solely way inclined how would we be direct descendants of them?"

"You do realise in ancient Sarasaland, having harems was normal and they were a lot more open in their relationships… it was a time when everything and anything went… so…"

"So they went both ways? What about it?"

"Yeah… and come on, we heard their thoughts when they possessed us… Thorne was very concerned about Darius' wellbeing when we were fighting."

"And Darius was the same too… I think it was when he thought of Throne as his lovely rose gave it away."

"What!? I… uh… I still don't know how to feel about any of this…"

"What's there to feel?" Wario remarked "You're overthinking it, Waluigi."

"Then how do you see it?"

"Simple, our ancestors were such an awesome team that fate has decided that their descendants are going to be the most awesome and incredible friends ever! The end!"

Waluigi paused in quiet reflection, his expression moved from confusion to a smirk "Yeah, I think that's the best way to see it."

Wario sighed "You going back down to the party?"

"In a bit."

"Alright, I'll see you down there." Wario hefted himself off the couch and wandered back down the stairs. The pulsing music and crowds of cheering hinted that he was in for a good night.

Bowser's minions had filtered out of the throne room by now. He had firstly explained to everyone present what had transpired since leaving the castle. Then he had to quell the fears of the raging skies overhead where he and the others faced off against Lentinellus on the Star Road; even going so far as to transform into his skeletal form to demonstrate his power. It was late in the night but Bowser knew he there was one last discussion to be had. He was seated casually on the floor with all the Koopalings and his son. He was surprised yet relieved to see that Ludwig was back home and had not been warped to Rhapsody. The doors leading out the balcony had been opened to allow a gentle breeze into the room. The flames atop their torches and encircled by statues wavered like a dance. It was freeing to be casual among the severity and station of a throne room. Bowser knew his father would be rolling in his grave to see the king of their realm seated on the floor like a pleb, yet here they were.

"Are you sure you two are alright?" Bowser asked as he saw that Wendy was leaning on Roy and nearly asleep. Ludwig was also swaying where he sat. "We can talk tomorrow."

Ludwig muttered "I'm just tired, that's all."

Wendy remarked while Roy held her stable "No, we gotta know some stuff now."

Bowser remained patient, ready to answer whatever they wanted to know "Like what?"

"Whoa, wait a minute!" Iggy shrieked "Are you seriously not going to explain how you turn into a Dry Bones at will!?"

Bowser sighed "Well… Lucia put a curse on me for fun, but we couldn't get it off… still can't get it off. I don't like showing it off because people get scared of it… and leave."

Bowser Jr remained silent, wondering if that was the reason his birth mother left. Perhaps she had seen his father in his cursed glory and fled in terror? It felt too raw of a wound to open right now.

"How did she do it? Aunty Lucia, how did she cast it?" Iggy then grabbed Ludwig "And can you learn it too!?"

Ludwig rolled his eyes "Why?"

"BECAUSE I WANT TO BE A SPOOKY, SCARY SKELETON TOO!"

"I think we're getting off track right now." Larry asked "Uncle Bowser, do you know where our parents are? What happened to them and why do we live with you?"

Morton piped up "We only know what happened to Ludwig's mum."

"Ah, yes, you want to know about Ziggy and Morty." Bowser sighed "I'll start with Ziggy or Franklyn first, Lemmy, Iggy and Larry's father and my younger brother. He was always a bit of an outcast because he came out all gangly so my Dad put him to work in the laboratory. It went alright for a time, he used to experiment on himself too and ended up permanently replacing his fire breath with belching acid and venom. When I became king, he challenged me for the throne, had an army of robots that almost levelled the castle. But I ended up beating him and as punishment, I chose to exile him instead of executing him, like my Dad did to anyone who challenged his rule." Bowser couldn't even look his nephews in the eyes "But, it turned out for the best. Franklyn changed his name to Ziggy and started working with a travelling circus, helping with the special effects. I think he met a contortionist with dwarfism named Embri, a Dragon Koopa like him. Before I knew it, three eggs were delivered every couple of years with a note from Ziggy saying that he knew I be a better father than him."

Roy nervously probed "And our dad?"

"Morty or Morton Sr, he was my youngest brother." Bowser smiled "We were thick as thieves when we were kids. But when I became king, things went bad. He challenged me for it, a duel to the death. But I never killed him, only forced him to surrender. He left the kingdom after that in shame and I thought maybe he'd get his head in the right place." His smile had faded to concern "He came back three times, each time bringing an egg he had fathered as a bargaining prize. I won each time and won his children. I didn't want to accept them but… Morty was a stickler for tradition like my Dad was and I've never seen him again. I've tried to find out who the mother was, but she's disappeared without a trace. All I know is that at one time, she ran an inn, she was a Dragon Koopa and her name was Ovila. Understandably she disappeared to avoid Morty finding her again."

Morton seemed the least affected by the tragic tale compared to his brother and sister "Are there other Dragon Koopas out there? I always thought we were the only ones."

"There are, we're just tend to be solitary species. We prefer our own company and the company of our clutch and our partner. You won't see too many living in the same area."

"Dad, why did Mum leave before I hatched?" Bowser Jr muttered "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, never." Bowser shook his head "She left because of me, because I refused to follow traditions that would have made us a lot wealthier at the expense of my people's happiness. I wanted to make this kingdom a better place, free of the cruelty and bloodlust of our past… and sadly not everyone agreed with me."

"Is that there are so many ploys of kidnapping Peach that Mario mysteriously passes through? And nobody really gets hurt?"

"Yes, a way of keeping up the tradition without the killings." Bowser sighed, feeling fatigue settle in his mind as the moon crawled through the night sky. "Anyway, we're all tired, perhaps you should all get some rest. I'm sure you'll want to ask more questions as they come to you, but that's the basics of what happened."

The Koopalings and Bowser Junior rose to their feet, slowly meandering their separate ways through the castle. Bowser noticed Ludwig linger behind. Before leaving, Ludwig asked "Can we… can we pay a visit to the Twisted Manors soon?"

Bowser understood what his nephew wanted "You want to ride the Spectral Express and get back to Rhapsody?"

"I just want to know what happened to Diabella. Did you see anything?"

He shook his head "The last time I saw her, we split up so she could fight off a swarm of Lentinellus clones. No idea what happened. It's alright, we can pay King Boo a visit, I wouldn't mind asking him questions of my own."

Ludwig nodded then excused himself from the chamber. Bowser took a deep breath, he knew that conversation had to happen one day. He just thought he would find it easier with time to discuss his siblings.

After seeing the others depart the throne room, Kamek thought this would be an ideal time to ask Bowser what his next plans were. Upon entering the throne room, Kamek found his surly monarch snoring on his back. He used his magic to draw the curtains and close the balcony door then took his leave, after hanging a 'do not disturb' sign on the throne room doors.