Hello! Dbot here! Thank you for considering my story! This is my first fanfiction story, so here's a quick warning before you dive in: the game 'Super Mario Odyssey' is required to fully understand the story, as spoilers are included.

Disclaimer: All characters, settings, and objects used in this story belongs to Nintendo. I have no rights to any of it except for the plot.

Like Hero, Like Villain

Chapter 1: The Proposal of the Century

Mushroom Plains

Peach glanced around as she and Mario walked through Toad Town, glancing at all the Toads going among their everyday lives, be it running a store or watering a garden. The sun rose in the sky, giving off bright colors of yellows and oranges that made the flowers in the town glow. They walked through Town Square pass the fountain and ended up in the plains, where species like Goombas and Koopa Troopas lived. Lush green grass stretched for miles, covering the vast land with different forms of wildlife and plants. A couple of months have passed since Mario and his new companion, Cappy, stopped a forced marriage between Peach and Bowser, traveling through many kingdoms and even landing on the moon. During that time, a relationship between her and Mario kindled after the incident. She sighed as she looked at the sunrise. "It's always nice to get out of the castle for a change," she said, stretching her arms. She glanced at Mario. "It sure is beautiful, isn't it?"

Mario smiled and nodded. "It sure is. Makes me appreciate the real beauty of this world." He glanced at Peach. "We sure haven't seen Bowser in a while, haven't we?"

Peach nodded. "Yeah, maybe that's a good thing. We could use a break after what happened when he tried to force me to marry him. We even landed on the moon for crying out loud!"

Mario laughed. "Yeah, he sure is persistent, isn't he? Cause I mean, why try using the same strategy thinking that you're going to win, but ending up losing?"

"Because, if I keep trying, then I might one day succeed!" a deep voice growled. Mario and Peach turned around. Bowser glared at them in his Koopa Clown Car.

The plumber rolled his eyes. "When do you ever give up?! We're getting tired of seeing your face around here! Peach and I want some peace and quiet, so leave us alone!"

Bowser scoffed mockingly. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was interrupting a love fest between two love birds. Well, guess what? I'm not going anywhere until I have the princess and make her mine!" He extended a claw to try to grab the princess, but Mario pulled out his hammer he had laying next to him and whacked the claw back. It flew into the clown car. The car jittered, but Bowser kept his balance.

The plumber snorted at the Koopa King's attempt. "You know, you've become very predictable. No wonder you've become so easy to defeat. Not a good thing for a bad adversary." He glanced at Peach. "Get out of here. I'll take care of this little skirmish." The princess nodded and ran back to her castle.

Bowser growled. "I'll make you eat those words!" He launched many fireballs which the plumber easily dodged. He threw his hammer at the koopa car, denting it and causing it to malfunction as it made beeping noises. He jumped up and knocked Bowser out of the car, which sent him flying to the ground. The koopa grunted as he landed and stood up. He charged at Mario, swinging his claw and tail, trying to land a blow on the plumber, but the plumber jumped over him and kicking the koopa in the back, which sent him sprawling. Bowser turned and ran at the plumber, ramming into him as Mario grunted as he rolled along the ground, dropping his hammer as it rolled away from him. Desperate, Mario looked for his hammer before Bowser pinned him. "You say I'm a bad adversary," he scoffed, "And here I am, on top of you. After you're dead, I will kidnap Peach and marry her and you won't be there to save her!" He laughed maniacally. With Bowser distracted, Mario stretched his arm, trying to grab the hammer that was a few feet away from him. He grasped it as Bowser lifted his claws in the air, ready to strike, He swung his hammer and whacked Bowser back in the eye, causing him to clutch it in pain. Mario got on his feet and swept Bowser off his feet with his legs before grabbing his tail and swinging him around, throwing him at his clown car. Bowser crashed straight into it. It broke into pieces upon impact and Bowser rolled along the ground, exhausted from the fight.

Mario stood over him. "Pathetic," he scoffed. "Don't show your face around here ever again." He walked away with Bowser growled to himself on the ground.

Mario and Peach arrived back at the castle. When the doors swung open, Toadsworth rushed out with his arms open. "Thank the heavens!" he cried, hugging Peach. "I thought I was going to lose you forever!" She chuckled in response. He glanced at Mario and ran over to hug him. "Thank you again, Master Mario! You are forever in my debt!"

The plumber chuckled in response. "It's-a my pleasure."

"Now, come," Toadsworth urged, gesturing them to the castle. "Let's get inside and you must tell us how it went over a nice bowl of hot Mushroom Soup!"

Mario nodded as the three went into the castle with the doors closing from behind. "I will gladly do so."

Meanwhile in Dark Land

Dark gray clouds filled the sky as Bowser grumbled and knocked on the huge spiked doors of his giant castle, dragging his broken koopa clown car in hand. Having suffered another defeat at the hands of the plumber, his heart enraged with fire for revenge, like the heat and lava that surrounded his castle. Fumes of lava spewed as Podoboos jumped out of it, glaring at people with its slitted eyes. The doors swung open as Kamek flew to him on his broomstick, glancing at him with a cocked head. "Your Highness! You're back earlier than expected!" He paused. "And you don't have the princess, I take it."

"Took you long enough!" Bowser snapped, entering his castle as two Hammer Bros closed the doors. "Of course I don't have the stupid princess! And it's all because of that stupid Mario!" Kamek rolled his eyes as Bowser went into one of his 'Why I despise Mario' rants. "That stupid plumber beats me everytime and I'm sick of it! Now all I want to do is pound his stupid face in the dirt!" He stomped his foot in frustration, shaking the hallway as the tremors echoed. As the tremors stopped, they continued to walk down the dark, gray hallway that led to the door to his throne room. Along the hallway stood pictures of Bowser grinning nefariously with his arms crossed, looking dignified. Torches aligned the walls lit up the dark hallway, revealing gray and green stone tiles on the floor to match his color scheme. A red rug laid across the floor and went into the throne room. Red flags with his insignia hung on the gray walls. The throne room itself had statues of him near the arched windows.

As the throne room doors opened, his son, Bowser Jr., stood near the doorway, looking at him with a worried look on his face. He always knew when his father was in a bad mood and would always try to find ways to comfort him. "Dad," he said. "Are you OK?"

"Does it look I'm OK?!" Bowser Jr. winced at his father's tone. "Of course I'm not! I just suffered another defeat at the hands of that stupid plumber and I'm sick of losing! I keep trying again and again, sometimes using varied strategies, and I still lose! I even tried to force her to marry me on the moon for crying out loud and Mario still has to come to ruin my plans! Why can't I win a single thing for once in my life?! It's like a curse of eternal loss was bestowed on me by gods or something! I just don't understand why!" He got on his knees and slammed his fist on the stone floor, causing it to crack upon impact. "I just want to be with Peach," he murmured. "That's the only thing I want, but Mario keeps impeding my plans. I don't know if I can continue on." Tears flooded down his cheeks like a river as he wept. Bowser Jr. sighed. His father never really expressed his emotions, especially on a level like this; he usually keeps these kind of things to himself.

He sighed. "Come on, Dad! Don't quit now! You have to keep going! Just because Mario stopped you doesn't mean that you should just quit! You need to keep striving towards your goal! I know that we can make it!"

Bowser glared at him. "It's not easy as it looks. I've been trying to conquer that kingdom ever since I was a baby. I've been doing this all my life, and all I've been getting is nothing but pain and misery! Wait till you grow up and only then will you understand what I'm going through!"

Bowser Jr. growled, anger burning inside him. "You think just because I'm still a child that I don't have the slightest idea of what you've been through?! I'm your son! I very well know what your going through, but that doesn't mean you get to talk down to me like that! I'm only trying to encourage you to keep fighting!"

Bowser sighed, seeing the hurt in his son's eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just that having done this my whole life that the motivation to keep going grows dimmer every time Mario beats me. I just don't know what to do." His sobs filled the room as he continued to cry. Bowser Jr. sighed as he embraced his father with hugs. For someone as big and strong as Bowser, even he has his soft moments.

After watching the whole incident, Kamek flew to him. "Your Highness," he said, "Maybe you should take a few months off from villany and clear your head. Get Mario out of your mind. His constant presence is what's driving you down and you need to do away with him. If you do that, then you will be in much better shape. After that, you need to totally revise your plans because I have noticed something from you over the years. You keep using the same battle strategy, thinking you'll win every time, but in the end, you lose. So, if you want to take over the Mushroom Kingdom, you need to get rid of Mario and his friends. Once you have no resistance against you, only then will you be able to accomplish your goal."

Bowser looked at the magikoopa and smiled, grateful for having such a wonderful and wise advisor at his aid. It all made sense for the Koopa King. All the hurt and sadness was because of Mario's presence. Perhaps a break was truly the thing he needed after all. "Your right." He stood up. "I'm going to take a nap. After I'm rejuvenated, then I'll start planning my next move, but I'm going to need your help, Kamek."

The magikoopa nodded. "You can count on me." The Koopa King smiled and went upstairs to his room.

Bowser Jr. smiled. "Thank you so much for helping my papa."

The magikoopa smiled back. "It's my pleasure."

Peach's Castle

The three walked into Peach's castle with their stomachs growling, hungry for food. Black and white tiles covered the floor alternating between them and a red carpet draped along the floor. Two sets of staircases arched upwards and led to a long hallway where the dining room was. They entered the room to find bowls of cream of mushroom soup laid out by Toad servants. Mario smiled as he chowed on the soup. It filled his mouth with the richness of the mushrooms and the cream, giving off a sweet and salty taste mixed with salt and pepper. As they ate the soup, Toadsworth glanced at Mario. "So," he said, "Now that we're eating, mind telling us how the battle went out?"

Mario nodded. "It-a began earlier this morning when Peach and I walked out to watch the sunrise. That was when Bowser arrived." He told how the events unfolded.

Toadsworth gasped in awe at Mario's story as Toad servants came to collect the food bowls. "Wow! That was quite the story! And Bowser never got the chance to bring the princess to his castle! Amazing!"

Peach nodded. "Mario, you definitely outdid yourself this time." She went over to kiss him, not on the cheek like usual, but on the lips.

After they shared the kiss, the old Toad glanced at them in wonder. "Now this is a first for me," he said, scratching his head. "When did this start happening?"

"A couple months ago," Peach replied, gazing into Mario's blue eyes. "After I was captured by Bowser, Mario and his hat friend saved me from a forced marriage between him and I. There was the moment when Mario confessed his love to me…"

The Moon near Honeylune Ridge

Mario, Peach, and Bowser tumbled as they landed on the moon. They rolled and came to a stop near the edge of a cliff. Mario shook his head as he stood up, looking at the Mushroom World from space. He looked at all the land and water that comprised the world very well since the moon was so close to it; all distinct features stood out from the huge desert from the Sand Kingdom in the east to Peach's Castle in the west. Behind him, Peach mumbled as she stood up and gazed at the world before the plumber stirred beside her. "Mario!" she cried, running to him and embracing him in a huge hug. "You're OK!"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm-a OK. Luckily we escaped in time before the cavern collapsed or else we would've been pancaked by now." On his head, his hat transformed into Cappy again as he rushed to Peach.

"Where's Tiara?" he asked, fidgeting. "Please tell me she's OK!"

"I'm right here, big brother!" she replied, transforming in her normal form before rushing to him. "I'm OK! No bumps or bruises!" She hugged him. "Thank you for saving me!" she cried. "I thought I was a goner back there!"

"Now, now. Everything's OK. I'm just glad to know you're alright." She nodded.

Mario smiled at their reunion. He looked at Peach, who was still admiring the planet with

Bowser was still unconscious beside her. "It's so beautiful," she murmured. "In all my years of kidnapping who would've thought that I would be on the moon, gazing upon the very planet I Iive on. Who knew it is so vast and beautiful."

The plumber walked to her. "It sure is, but not as beautiful as you."

The princess gave him a surprised look. "You really think so?"

Mario nodded. "Yes. I just think its beauty doesn't compare to yours. It's clearly outmatched."

Peach blushed at his compliment and turned away. "Wow. I never knew you thought of me this way. I only thought of you as a friend. When did these feelings start happening?"

"This trip exactly," he admitted, scratching his head. "Throughout this whole experience, all I wanted was to be with you, but when I heard Bowser was going to forcefully marry you, I knew I had to put a stop to his plans. If he did succeed, then I wouldn't know what to do because, to be honest, you're my life, Peach. I realized that the first time I ever rescued you. I remember gazing in those blue eyes of yours for the first time and right then and there I knew that there was more to you than just running a kingdom and I want to explore and do more things with my life than just rescuing you." He got down on his knees and held out a white flower. Peach's eyes began to tear up.

Bowser, who regained consciousness, growled. He shoved him out of the way with a set of a piranha flowers in his hand. The plumber rolled along the ground. "What do you think you are doing?!" He scoffed. "You're trying to propose to her now? You can forget that!" He glanced back at Peach, showing her the piranha flower bouquet. "Forget the stupid plumber," he said, glaring at him. "All he spouts are words of nonsense. He just wants to use you for the throne. Trust me, I won't in any way abuse you or the throne. All you have to do is marry me."

"Not on my watch, you're not!" Mario yelled, shoving him. He grunted as he rolled along the ground. "All you want to do is to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom! You don't even care for her or her safety! You don't-a even know what true love is!"

Bowser snorted. "What, and you do? I've been after her for many years. I have expressed my feelings for her. You say I don't know what true love means, but here you are, finally showing your feelings to her by proposing, which is stupid, I might add. I think it's obvious who's the third wheel of this group, and it's not me, that's for sure!" He turned back to Peach, whose face turned slightly red. "So, will you do the honors in marrying me?"

Before she could reply, Mario rammed into him. He turned to Peach. "Don't listen to him. He's trying to sway you towards his goal of world domination. You deserve to marry me, not the huge maniac."

"I'll show you who's more of a maniac!" Bowser snarled, running and shoving him out the way. Mario retaliated with a shove on his hips, which escalated to a fight between them pushing each other, both shoving their flowers in her face.

Peach could no longer contain her anger. "Enough!" she shouted. The two of them stopped fighting and glanced at her. "Look at both of you, fighting over me like I'm some sort of prize to both of you! You're so stupid!" She glared at Bowser. "I never wanted to be with you in the first place and I'll never marry you no matter how many times you try, so stop it already!" She glared at Mario. "And you! I just don't understand you! Here you are expressing your feelings to me, which I haven't fully comprehended yet, and when Bowser shows on the scene, you fight over me like you owe me when you don't! I don't even share those feelings for you, so stop it!" She stormed off towards the Odyssey when Mario grabbed her arm.

"I'm only trying to protect you," he growled. "I just don't-a want you being married to some jerk like him. I promise if you give me a chance, you will come to terms with your feelings for me."

"I don't need people like you telling me how to feel," she growled back. "I can look after myself just fine. One more thing, I'll decide when and who I'll marry, so that means that neither you nor Bowser have any authority to dictate my life choices." She marched into the Odyssey with the plumber trailed off behind her with a glum look.

One the ride back to the castle, Mario gazed down at the floor while Cappy and Tiara gazed around in awkward silence. Peach snorted. She was still upset with the events that unfolded. He was in love with her? It really surprised her that it came out of nowhere. She didn't know he had those feelings for the longest time. He was always so quiet and focused only on the kingdom. Mario on the other hand never felt so guilty in his life. He sighed, wishing he wasn't so reckless despite his best intentions. "Peach, I'm-a sorry."

"Are you, though?" Peach hissed. "From a guy who just admitted his feelings for me, which I haven't fully comprehended yet, I might add, you sure don't sound sorry for your actions."

The plumber sighed. "I know, but give me a chance to explain. Please, will you let me do that?" The princess sighed and nodded. "I did it because I love you. I know I have been hiding my feelings for all these years, but it's because I want to protect you. I was thinking that if I married you, then maybe Bowser will back off because the only way he wants to get the kingdom is through you."

Peach raised her eyes in disbelief. "Oh, so you think that by marrying me that Bowser will just go away? Don't give me that bull crap. You know very well that he's never going to go away, so why don't you just-"

"I also want to become king," Mario blurted out. Peach gave him a confused look. "I want to do more to serve the kingdom than rescue you. I want to set an example for the other people. You've inspired me, Peach, and I want to be more like you."

The princess smiled. "You really think so?" He nodded. In that moment, she saw the determination in his eyes. He was truly serious about this relationship. Besides, having an extra set of hands wasn't a bad thing. "OK, I'll think about. I am still mad at you, so for right now, it's a maybe. Give about a month of space, unless Bowser kidnaps me again." Mario nodded.

Peach's Castle: Present Day

Toadsworth scratched his head when Peach finished her story. "Wow, that was quite a lot." He shook his head. "I am very disappointed in you, Master Mario, for treating Peach like that. I thought you were taught better."

Mario sighed. "I know. It's just that I wanted to protect her, but when Bowser interfered, I feared the worst, so I started to panic and I knew I had to make my move, even though it was very risky. I'm sorry."

"Well you should be."

"Toadsworth, don't be too hard on him," Peach said. "He knows very well of his wrong doings. And yes, at first I was still angry when Mario first proposed to me, but as the days passed, I thought that I'm going to need help running this kingdom. With each passing day it's getting harder to run this kingdom on my own, so I said yes and gave him a chance to prove his worth and now that we've been together for a couple of months now, I haven't regretted my decision yet."

Mario gulped and nodded. Yeah, and let's-a hope that I don't regret this decision, either." He cleared his throat. "Peach," he said softly, "I know this might seem a little sudden, but I know that I can't hold in my urgency any longer. Peach, if you agree, I want you in my life. I've been dreaming about you every night and the life we could have together." He got down on his knees and pulled out something from his pocket. Peach gasped as she saw what he was doing. He opened up a small pinkcase to reveal a small ring with a blue diamond on it. An engraving of her name could be seen in the middle next to a heart with the words, 'I love you' next to it. "Peach, will you marry me?"

Thank you for reading the first chapter. Here are a couple warnings as the story goes on: For this story, I have decided to diverge from the main canon, and as a result, this story will take on a much darker tone than what you see in the games. Therefore, there will be some dark themes mentioned and some characters will be out-of-character. I will post a chapter on a day I'm off per week, which will be Monday, the 23rd. Most of the chapters of this story have already been written, so editing is just left. I appreciate any constructive criticism in the comments to make future chapters better and I'll see you next week!