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Shards of Love: REDUX!

Shard III: Alliances

With the 'Big Three' alliance within reach, Peach and the Koopas must, at all costs, stop the Mushroom Kingdom and Sarasalandian forces from reaching Jewelry Land and forming an alliance with King Fret.

Chapter XVII

Shelled Secrets

Resurfacing, Peach coughs before she readjusts the waist portion of her dress from her head to its intended location. Not only did she have to get wet after jumping off a sprawling fifty-meter cliff into the ocean, but the resulting contact with the water almost made her lose her dress. She'd be a tad embarrassed if only Daisy witnessed losing her dress – after all, the rambunctious Sarasalandian princess always lives outside the assumed box of attires – but in both Luigi's and Bowser's sight? No way on the far side of the moon will she let such actions occur. They're both men!

She continues panting, both in exhaustion and in fright, as she fixes her dress and paddles towards the island Daisy and Luigi occupy, both characters smirking at her as she faces them.

"Geez, what a landing that was. You should do gymnastics," Bowser grins at Peach as he also swims towards the island. She feels her cheeks warm up before she splashes water at Bowser's face.

"Oh, shut it!"

Daisy and Luigi laugh as Peach and Bowser approach the shore, both exhausted from the swim. As Peach collapses on the sandy shore in exhaustion, Bowser instead elects to sit down and study the surroundings. A reputable grove of trees, although miniscule compared to the floating island's, lie before them. Numerous other islands in the distance, each surrounded by the ocean's dark-blue, near-purple waters, also tease the weary wayfarers. Bowser's more familiar with this region than the float castle; when he and his kids took over Jewelry Land, he held this territory while the enslaved Jewelry Land citizens built his castle, and he gave these islands up to one of his koopa troopa generals afterwards. He also knows the relentless, anti-navigation qualities of the mangroves, and from experience, going around the circumference of the island's the best route, even with the sand and the extra distance.

"Well, good news is we survived the jump," Bowser turns away from the incoming path and focuses his attention on the three humans, "But we have a lot of islands to cross. A lot of walking and swimming to do."

Peach grumbles as she lays in the sand while Daisy and Luigi usher reluctant comments, none of them excited to do more swimming. Disgruntled at their protests, Bowser reprimands the three on their lack of zeal. After all, THREE kingdoms risk destruction if the four don't step up as heroes at this moment. At no time in history did the Mushroom Kingdom and the Mushroom World have more to lose; even Smithy's invasion five years prior proves miniscule compared to these happenings.

"It's tough, but we all have stuff to lose if we don't continue on!"

Although Bowser's urging gives little comfort, his walking away prompted the three humans to get up and follow him. By themselves, the trio lack knowledge of this strange land – or rather, string of islands – like Bowser does, and being without him would only make the entire situation worse. They trust him; during any other event, they'd figure Bowser would lead them astray and into a trap, but the king has as much, if not more, to lose than the humans.

Daisy sighs as the three catch up to Bowser, "So, where we going now? My feet are killing me!"

"We're gonna go to my castle that's built here, after these islands," Bowser replied, although he admits the koopa doesn't know where to sojourn after that point, "Maybe there's a warp pipe or a warp whistle I forgot about. The caves also lead to the Light Realm, so that can always be a backup. And stop complaining! I can't think!"

"Excuse me, Mister Turtle Dude! I never complain!" Daisy fumed as she stops walking and puts both hands on her hips, "I have the right to this one time! My kingdom, your kingdom, Peach's kingdom and Luigi's brother are all at risk here!"

"I know! But we'll do something to save them all! Complaining will do nothing!" Bowser exclaimed before sighing in defeat and kicking up some sand. He continues walking, "Whatever, just don't waste your energy. We'll need it for this trip."

"I just hope you're right," Peach replies with a glimpse of hope as the quartet continues walking on the sandy beach, "The one time I want the Koopa Troop involved in something, they better be!"

"Sheesh, I haven't been on this side of Dark Land in a while," Lemmy commented on the doomship's PA system as he looks down at Kammy and the convoy below him. He gives the tanks and warthog vehicles a solemn expression. He's concerned for them, but he must replace that worry with positivity; everyone depends on his optimism, even if such comfort's little more than a visage.

"Neither have I. Not by foot, anyway," Iggy responded back from his ship.

"Is it usually this dead?" Lemmy asked, "I always thought it was greener."

"It always was dead. You were just too short to see above the trees."

Lemmy grinned. "I did get the short end of the stick there. But that shouldn't dwarf the issue that the Mushroomers are becoming."

"Just try to stay high and keep behind Kammy," Iggy replied, a slight giggle peppering his words.

Lemmy remained silent, and Wendy instead placed her input. "Yes, we totally can't let them see us take over Pipe Land! That's what Kammy said!"

Lemmy nods, although Wendy can't see such actions from her doomship. Lemmy continues looking outside, this time keeping an eye out for any approaching Mushroom Kingdom army fleets. No planes or helicopters mark the sky, but the koopaling spots another developing convoy to the northeast. The convoy, comprising several armored mushroomers, warplanes and combat tanks, march southwest towards Dark Land, their zeal as bright as the current near-setting Sun. In shock and in fear, Lemmy pages his two siblings again.

"An army to the northeast! They're moving southwest towards the Castle! Look out!"

"Oh no!" Wendy cried out after also spotting them, "I'll contact Kammy. This is totally serious!"

Meanwhile, Iggy studies the armies after his brother alerted him about it. Not only can the koopaling spot the convoy Lemmy spoke of, but he also notices tents around the area.

"Guys, my quintessence tells me they're camping there!" Iggy alerted, "They have tents set up."

Lemmy chuckles at Iggy's declaration of his ultimate state of being before replying, "Well, nobody's complaining if they do. That's less risk if they're asleep."

After the small koopaling's statement, they notice Kammy – now out of the woods and in the lavender fields – swerve to the southeast, seeming to have received Wendy's alert. They continue traveling southeast for another kilometer until the purple-robed magikoopa then leads the convoy straight east.

The three koopalings retain bored expressions as they follow Kammy, for once craving some sort of action; perhaps even danger. Despite their newfound courage, Kammy's sudden, unexpected voice on the PA system frightens the trio.

"How's the view from up there?"

Lemmy peers around the landscape before replying, "The one Wendy told you about was the last sign of danger we saw. Nothing's to our straight east or to the southeast."

"Thank you, Your Watchfulness. We shall head more towards the southeast," the magikoopa thanked before signing out. Kammy swerves to the southeast, and once again, the bored expressions on the three koopalings' faces come back.

In his boredom, Lemmy marvels at the lavender fields. He never knew such a thing of beauty survives in a dark, barren wasteland like Dark Land, but perhaps even the worst circumstances can bring out the best in nature. Lemmy feels a similar feeling; growing up under Kammy's wing in Canada due to fleeing Dark Land's civil war as refugees, he hated Dark Land the instant Bowser made them move in. Rather than the chilly, snow-covered boreal forests and the clean, crisp air, Lemmy's stuck with a charred landscape only hosting forests choked eons ago by the Land's sulfuric atmosphere. However, through getting to know how family and exploring what the Land offers, Lemmy would never pick going back to Canada over living here. Everything near and dear to him, namely his family, exists only in Dark Land, and the koopaling's glad he could return there after the civil war ended.

As the convoy travels down the lavender field more, the small koopaling catches the soft flowery scent reminiscent of his bedsheets at home. He misses home; his personal acrobatic gym, his ball collection and most important to him – his family – all lay vulnerable in Mario's destructive path. Realizing what's at stake, the normally-lighthearted koopaling clenches his claws over the doomship's wheel; he will never allow that plumber, or any other force, take away everything dear to him, even if Lemmy must break out of his friendly personality and his comfort zone.

"Mario..." Lemmy hissed, not caring whether his statement broadcasts to Wendy or Iggy, "We're coming for you... And we WILL defeat you this time..."

Nighttime falls upon the islands in Jewelry's Dark Realm. Of course, with the dark realm being cursed with a mysterious mist of darkness high above them, the concept of 'nighttime' remains relative. As part of the tradition they've done every night since leaving the floating castle, Peach, Daisy and Luigi helped build a log-filled fire pit while Bowser set the pit ablaze. The group didn't speak much afterward – they all were too fatigued to have any sort of distractions – and all four passed out within minutes.

-x-

Peach awakes in Dark Land's scorched forests again. Confused, she studies the landscape around her; isn't she supposed to be in a sandy, warm, humid environment? Why is she in this charred, near-apocalyptic part of Dark Land? As she gazes down at the ground to question why she doesn't feel the sand on her feet, Peach realizes she's floating.

"Great, this again."

She attempts to close her eyes, then open them again. Still in Dark Land. In desperation, she rubs her eyes with her hands then once again opens her eyes. Nothing.

"Why does this keep happening?!"

A gradual urge to move forward clouds Peach's mind. She tries her best to ignore the urgings, as such feelings may lead to a trap, especially in this fictitious Dark Land, but the urgings grew too strong to ignore. Sighing, she floats forward, avoiding the dead trees' branches while hovering over large boulders.

"This is too weird."

After dodging obstacles for around a minute, the scenery changes from a charred landscape to one of an empty field with three koopa kids kicking a soccer ball to each other, giggling.

The three kids have a striking familiarity as if she's seen or even knew them before. One kid has a pink face, a rose-colored shell and medium-length hair. From his small stature compared to the other two, Peach concludes that he may be the youngest of the pack, or else a Lemmy-like growth deficiency affects him.

She moves on to the next koopa; this time a girl, similar in stature to the previous koopa, with a sky-blue face, a dark-blue shell and long, dark blue hair waving in the breeze as she dashes after the soccer ball.

Giving a warm smiling at her enthusiasm, Peach then turns towards the third kid before her eyes widen at his grass-green face, dark green shell and reddish hair. There's no way it could be him, as this is only a dream, right?

Still in denial, Peach watches the three laughing kids in shock. The playing continues until the girl kicks the ball too hard, hitting the shell of a fourth kid she didn't notice before.

The kid turns towards the girl, expressing a glare on his violet face. Judging from his large stature and his forming attitude towards the other three, he may be the oldest of the four. He snatches the ball and confronts the three kids, glaring into each of their eyes. The two younger koopas look at the older koopa in horror while the red-haired koopa glares back.

"Look, dweebs," the eldest koopa insulted, popping the soccer ball with one of his claws and pocketing the flat piece of rubber in his violet shell, "Hit me with your stupid, pathetic balls again, and this time YOU will be deflated!"

Both the girl and the pink-faced koopa appear as if they will break down at any second; they each cower from the eldest's fiery glare while uttering slight crying noises. However, the green-faced, red-haired koopa steps up to the older kid.

"Why you gotta be a jerk, Traw? Leave us alone!" the red-haired koopa commanded. Despite his outburst, Peach senses a slight fear in his otherwise-assertive voice.

"Aww, look at the little dork, standing up for his pipsqueak friends!" Traw teased, which infuriates the younger koopa more.

"They're our brother and sister! Just leave us alone!"

"Wrong! They're MY brother and sister," Traw dissed once again, "You're just an outcast! Look at our black hair! Now look at your RED hair! It's so hideous! It doesn't even match your green shell or face! Go back into exile, unfit outcast!"

"I am NOT an outcast!" the koopa fired back, this time anger replaces the fright in his voice.

"Yes you are!" Traw argued back, "I'M the Crown Prince, and I'll rule Dark Land when Dad dies or retires! Once I'm officially the ruler, I'll banish you from this kingdom, and I'll continue his great work! You don't belong here or anywhere near here, 'cause you're a weakling, Bowser!"

-x-

Peach wakes up, astonished by her dream. Were those really Bowser's siblings? Or did she make them up? She remembers seeing his two younger siblings when Bowser showed her the family photos, albeit their much older versions, but she's never seen this Traw before. Maybe she needs to ask him if this Traw even exists.

With thoughts raging too loud for Peach to fall back asleep, she instead browses her surroundings. She spots Daisy sleeping on her back and Luigi lying on his stomach just next to the now-smoldering fire pit, yet no sign of Bowser; only a track of footprints leads to the mangrove in the middle of the island.

Maybe he went on a walk somewhere in there.

Slipping on her shoes, Peach journeys into the mangrove. She doesn't know much about Water Land's saltwater marshes, let alone those of Jewelry Land, and the lack of knowledge begins to intimidate her. She often hears of kremling attacks especially throughout DK Isle and the surrounding Alligator Archipelago, but she never seems to remember if they were freshwater or saltwater-favoring beings, or even which lands they inhabit.

Holding her breath, the princess steps onto one of the many roots of the trees, trying not to lose balance and fall onto the mushy ground. With one hand planted onto a tree trunk, she moves her legs to the succeeding root before grasping her other hand onto an overhead branch. She holds on, but not before uttering out a little gasp and praying that Bowser didn't overhear her. Recovering from her panic attack while trying to calm herself, Peach hunches down before looking ahead and gasping again. Just ahead, the mangrove ends at an inland lake, where she spots Bowser bathing. To her infinite relief, he still bears his shell.

Like a train wreck, Peach wants to turn around and go back to the group, but her eyes fail to peer away from the koopa. She studies his every move and even his every curve. She never noticed how... Obvious and well-defined his muscles were, and how his bulkiness moves in sync as he scrubs his shell. She now understands why Larry does this for a living; she's still creeped out by the youngest koopaling's questionable behaviors, but she finds discovering people's private lives – whether their behaviors or their conversations – to be exhilarating.

As each minute increases, so does Peach's realization of the pathetic act she's committing. She doesn't want to be seen as a total creep. She attempts to go back into the mangrove, but her sudden movement rustles a tree's branch, resulting in Bowser perking up. Embarrassed, she ducks behind a bush, hoping he concludes that only an animal or the wind caused the disturbance.

"I always knew you liked what you saw," Bowser pointed out, seeming to no one in particular, "It's a good thing this is a free show in the middle of the Dark Realm or else I'd have to overcharge you, Peachy. You've been there for at least ten minutes."

Realizing she's caught, Peach froze in terror. How did he know she was there the entire time, and how long did he know for?

"You know, ever since we got here, I've noticed that blue jewel gives off a little shine. Who needs a flashlight when you have that smacked on your dress?" Bowser smirked, "That jewel makes it hard for you to spy on others. Plus, remember that I live with Larry; I'm used to being spied on that I can tell now."

Peach remains silent and gazes at the jewel embroiled on her chest. A glimmer does illuminate from the sapphire, although faint and miniscule. Ever since her mother gave the jewel to her more than a decade ago, her mother always counseled Peach to "only activate the jewel in dire emergencies," yet the princess hasn't the faintest idea of how the jewel functions.

"I guess the best cure to that would be to get in the lake and join me. Water usually conceals light," Bowser replied, smirking.

Peach knows Bowser intends the comment to be a joke, but even with such realizations, the comment fills her with uneasiness. To her, her dress represents a shield: it protects her, it defines her, and she doesn't want to lose either trait, especially in a land she's unfamiliar with, and especially before the person who should be her fiercest archenemy.

"Eww! In your dreams, Bowser!" Peach cried.

"Ahh, we're on a first-name basis now, Peach? I guess that's good enough progress."

"That's the most progress you'll make!" Peach threw out.

"Yeahuh, we'll see," Bowser replied, "But my crude jokes aside, aren't you supposed to be asleep?"

"And aren't you supposed to be watching over us?" Peach fired back.

"I was, then I passed it to Daisy. Is she asleep?"

"Dead as a stone."

The two remain silent, basking in the silence and near-darkness present around them. Peach stares at the sky, still unnerved at the situation, while Bowser continues bathing, this time displaying a grin.

"You're up anyway. Come join me."

Peach must admit, she does want to jump into the lake and wash the grit she picked up over the past few days, but she doesn't want her dress to get soaked again due to this being her only change. Even so, she could take off her dress and get in, but bathing with Bowser in the nude? No way, that'd be a scandal in the Mushroom Kingdom! Not that she rules it right now, though…

"No thanks, I'm fine," Peach rejected, this time in a kinder voice rather than the cynical comments she uttered earlier. Instead, she escapes the lake's fringes, walks towards Bowser and seats herself on the shore of the lake, electing the cool grass to be enough of a refuge, "But speaking of dreams, I need to ask you some stuff."

Bowser shifts in the water; even in the darkness, she makes out a confused expression on his face, resulting in her giving a teasing smile.

"About what? Am I the sudden dream interpreter?"

Peach nods, "You told me about your younger siblings, but what about your older siblings?"

Peach still senses a recoiling action from Bowser. Due to the content of the silly dream, Peach expects the reaction, although at the same time surprised that she uncovered a shard of Bowser's past.

"Do we have to?"

"Yes," Peach's curiosity won over her sympathetic, compassionate nature.

"Fine," Bowser sighed before explaining, "I only had an older brother."

Peach's eyes widen. Perhaps this does connect to her dream, but if it does, how did Peach know who he was? Anxious to find out her awaited answer, the princess questions, "Traw?"

Bowser scowls at Peach before mentioning, "If you know about him, why ask?"

"Sorry, I, uhh," on second thought, Peach didn't want to sound like a sage, or a fool, by saying she dreamt of him, "I think I heard his name somewhere. I don't know him."

"I'm sure you did," Bowser replied before continuing, "Anyway. I wasn't the original crown prince; I'm the second oldest, so it didn't fall on me. Crown Prince belonged to Traw. He was the favorite. 'Dad' only cared for him; he thought only Traw could continue his empire, and both me and my younger siblings were too soft.

"Morton was never there. He doesn't ever deserve to be called my father. He was too busy ruling the kingdom with an iron fist. He tortured prisoners and those who spoke against him. He plundered the kingdom's resources and only enriched himself and his group of elites with them. He terrorized other kingdoms. With all that, he never had time for us, except for showing Traw how to be evil and corrupt like him. Instead, only our mother took care of us from raising us to teaching us to just being around us.

"Your dad's sort of a crazy spacehead, so you can understand; growing up without attention from one of your parents is terrible. Worse turned to worst when Mom died only a few years after my younger twin siblings hatched. She died to "natural causes" although I have no doubt Morton was somehow involved in that. No healthy koooa dies of natural causes when they're younger than my current age. Now we had no attention, no one to care for us, other than select servants, and life turned into a hellhole under Morton and Traw. Me and my younger siblings felt trapped in a prison, with no means of escape. We couldn't even do activities that other kids could, because we were forced into Morton's and Traw's demands.

"That's when Kamek stepped in, shortly after he was promoted to the second-in-charge of the Magikoopas. At our lowest point, he smuggled us out of the castle and raised us on Yoshi's Island. He got away with it because he always pretended we went missing. Only every now and then Kamek would "find" us and bring us back, just so no one, especially the other magikoopas, wouldn't sense anything fishy."

Peach now understands why Bowser always acts tough now; maybe he wasn't allowed to show emotions in front of his father or his older brother, or maybe that's the only emotion he's truly familiar with. She never thought she'd ever feel sympathy for her capturer, but after his rejection of becoming an evil tyrant like his father, the Stockholm Syndrome's legitimate.

"I never knew you grew up like that!"

Bowser nods, "Yoshi's Island is a sanctuary. Ever wonder why Kamek took you and the Mario Brothers there as babies? It was his way of preventing Morton from having you guys and killing you all, but Kamek added his own evil twist to it just to be feared. You know Kamek's obsession with evil, but the truth is, he only likes talking about it as an ego-builder to be feared. He doesn't like actually committing it, which was why Mario and Luigi weren't killed by him. However, being a koopa in Yoshi's Island wasn't all fun and games, either, and let's say that's why I'm not a big fan of yoshis."

Intrigued, Peach shifts her position; she now lies on her back, her gaze facing Bowser as he exits the pond and lays down on the grass about a foot away from Peach, who doesn't object to his proximity. Instead, she turns her body around and continues to face the koopa king.

"How did you become king?"

"Long story short," Bowser replied, laying on his back and gazing at the near-black sky rather than at Peach, "Morton died, Traw disappeared and I was made king. I didn't want to continue down his path, so I had a lot of support in the urban areas who wanted to be part of the global community, but back then, most of Dark Land had a rural population. We lived in peace for maybe two years with me as king; my two younger siblings each married and had kids, while I remained too focused on ruling a broken kingdom to worry about my personal life. But after those two years, Traw somehow returned, blamed me and my younger siblings for his disappearance, riled up the rural supporters, and civil war broke out."

"And what happened to Traw?"

"Traw's assumed to be dead, killed in an airstrike in 1985 shortly before those plumbers of yours came back. According to spies and defectors who were loyal to Traw, he has a son out there... Marcus. Nothing's known of him either or if he's still alive; I never met him, but knowing his father, I don't want to either. I don't want to even meet my own nephew; isn't it pathetic?"

Peach nods at Bowser's explanation, although one key detail still boggles her.

"You want to reform, right? Then why do you still kidnap me?"

"To unite the Land," Bowser dismissed the question.

Peach raises an eyebrow at his tone shift, from informative to secretive, "It seems united now. In fact, even the rural areas seem tired of the takeovers. Why continue? I know that's not the true reason why. What is it?"

Bowser groans, "Do I have to?"

"Yes. Answer it," once again, her curiosity overtakes her compassion.

"Fine. I just wanted the best for me and the Koopalings," Bowser sighed, "They aren't my kids. Not biologically. I told them this, but they still treat me like I'm their dad, and I treat them like my own. Instead, I took in my younger siblings' kids: Ludwig, Lemmy and Roy; I know I made mistakes by sending them to the Real World, and all three have growing pains in some way from their experiences there, but I wanted them to avoid seeing the evil from our family that I myself witnessed.

"I then took in their four younger biological cousins; either their parents died as was the case of Larry and Iggy, or they were put in bad situations like the one I grew up in, as Wendy and Morton dealt with. I didn't want any of the seven to grow up the way I did. I wanted to be a good guardian of them and provide them stability. But there were key traits I lacked: benevolence; compassion; virtue. Clawdia was every one of those, and her death left a huge hole in the family. I couldn't patch it, and I couldn't find anyone to. Then you came into the picture. At first, I kidnapped you just to have approval of the rural population and to unite Dark Land, but ever since Clawdia's death, it was because you were the only person to patch that hole."

"W-" Peach gasped, not expecting Bowser to even have a soft side, let alone showing it to her, "I-I never knew that, Bowser..."

"It's not something I freely share."

With Bowser's tale over and Peach having nothing else to focus on, the princess lies down on the lake's shore and shifts position until she finds one comfortable enough. Although Bowser's memoir left more questions than answers for the princess, she didn't want to bother him with any of her inquiring. Her utterances will be either complete nonsense, or ones deeply personal, and she doesn't want to go either route at this current time.

Hearing his story, Peach does have a newfound appreciation for Bowser. He didn't kidnap her due to evil deeds, but rather for misguided good intent. While an archenemy, Peach never thought Bowser was inherently evil. Bowser may want anything from a stronger family to taking over lands, but even he's against evil forces taking over the world and raining chaos upon it. He helped Mario fight against Smithy's vile plans, not only for him to have glory, but for actual good. An evil person wouldn't ever do that.

With her initial question satisfied, drowsiness once falls upon Peach, and before she can stand up and rush back to Daisy and Luigi, everything went dark.

NOTES: Well, here's a semi-late Merry Christmas present for you all! As always thank you for the support, and I hope you enjoyed this latest installment.

This was one of my favorite chapters writing, in all honesty, because I had to dig deeper into Bowser. I had to make the foundation to BowserxPeach make sense. While Bowser's love for Peach would've fit in almost any circumstance, I cannot see Peach returning the love without a plot about Bowser that formed as the missing puzzle piece. As mentioned in this chapter, while Bowser's typically an enemy, in the larger scope of the Mario universe, Bowser's more of an anti-hero, much like Wario, than an actual evil character (for example, Bowser's help against Smithy, Dimentio, etc. although some games, such as Paper Mario for the 64, this could be an exception). In fact, this realization, and specifically the content in this chapter was the prime reason I first started this story and its plot.

Anyway... I usually don't like giving spoilers, but here's A LITTLE SPOILER: if you like BxP and you liked this chapter, I'm sure you'll like the next several chapters and Shard 3 as a whole. From this chapter, it's starting to bloom!