Unknown

*beep… beep… beep…*

Where am I? Rawrgh, everything hurts…

*beep… beep… beep…*

What happened? Fawful? Midbus? Where are they?

*beep… beep… beep*

I can't remember… Grrr-arrgh! What in the Eight Lands happened?! Where the hell am I? I can't feel anything… OWOWOW… NOPE IT HURTS. Can't… move…

*beep… beep… beep…*

Oh. Oh, shit! Larry! Junior! They came to rescue me! Where are they!? Midbus… What the hell did you do to them?! I'll… I'll slaughter you! What the hell happened? I remember… Blood. There was a lot of it. Ugh, it was in my mouth! Is it still there? Damn it. Can't tell. Ow… Why does everything ache? C'mon eyes, open! Something has to work!

*beep… beep… beep…*

Okay, what the hell is that noise?! That's been going on forever! Someone better make it stop, or else I will!

"…ser…"

Was that my name? Who's talking to me? Can't… move…

"…g… be—…"

"…up?"

"c—… s—…"

What the hell are they saying? Wait, where's the beeping? I can't hear it… I can't… Ugh…

…

…

*beep… beep… beep…*

Ow… My head… Flipping hurts… Mrrrgh… A noise touched his ears, a moan. Something brushed his… oh, what the hell was— something. Another sound, the vibrations familiar, drilled his ears. My name…? Ow, not so loud… He tried to open his eyes, his lids weighing a thousand tons.

"Can you hear me?"

His voice hardly worked for more than giving out another groan. He traced the foreign touch to his hand, concentrating to find his fingers. He strained to curl them around whatever it was that was touching him, eliciting a sharp sound from besides him.

"C'mon buddy," a voice murmured, "Wake up."

I'm trying, you idiot! He pushed against his eyelids. GO UP YOU STUPID THINGS! Light flooded his eyes in a narrow line. He whined a little, but forced them to go up-up… slowly, ever so slowly…

The yawning white void dipped back, leaving an onslaught of blurry colours. He blinked a few times, his lids threatening to close. The ceiling crisped up with each blink, but… only the left half of his vision was working. The other half was just… black.

A face moved to hover over him. A face he knew… but he couldn't place… Damn it… who are you? The face bore a large nose, a black mustache, blue eyes, and a hat… a red hat with an… 'm'. M for what? M for… His eyes widened. Mario!

"Hey, Bowser," Mario whispered, a smile on his round face. "It's great to see your eyes."

Bowser narrowed it. He tried to speak, but his tongue was numb. It flopped to the side of his mouth, and he panted a little. His throat was dry… his head pounded… everything ached…

"Are are thirsty?" Mario asked. his face retreated, and Bowser didn't have the strength nor will to raise his head. "There's some water here, if you can sit up."

Bowser groaned. He wasn't going to lift his head, let alone sit up (if he even could, he was very sure he was in the cement thing that let him lay on his back again). He managed to draw his tongue back into his mouth, letting out a ragged sigh.

"Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot. Um… are you feeling alright?"

Bowser snorted. Yeah, and we're best friends. Bowser fought to move his mouth. A groan slipped out, just barely weaving itself into words. "N-no… F-feel…" He sucked in a breath. "Feel like shit."

Mario laughed. "I'm sure you do, but you're a lot better than you used to be." His face leaned over Bowser's, his smile dropping, his features slumping under emotional weight. "You're going to be okay, now."

"Duh," Bowser mumbled, closing his eye. He'd have to ask about the other one. "I don't go down that easily."

Bowser didn't like the pause Mario had before his next response. "Yeah, you don't. And thank God you don't. It's crazy… It's crazy that you even made it. It… it was bad."

"Mario, please." Bowser smirked up at the plumber. "If I let someone as… as stupid as Fawful take me out, then I wouldn't be the—" His lungs hitched. Coughs seized his chest, wracking pain through his body.

"Oh my God! I'll get the doctor!" Mario's footsteps slammed the ground, skittering away.

Don't! Bowser brought a hand up to his mouth, trying to stifle his fit. His attempts proved to work, as his chest didn't take long to settle. He panted a little, hot air blasting the back of his throat as his attention was drawn to the three IVs collectively strapped to his arm. He let out a groan, letting his arm fall. He sucked in a breath, turning his eye down to himself. He was pitifully skinny, and traces of bruises and cuts were littered across his body. His arm was set in a cast, propped across his chest. White dots were stuck to his side, attached to wires that dropped off the cement block. He closed his eyes. Damn it… They only do that stuff if it's serious… shit. No wonder Mario freaked out. He didn't need to, I'm fine. …What the hell is he even doing here?

"Bowser! You're okay!" Mario's voice called, pair of footsteps thumping close.

Bowser sighed. "Yeah… fine…"

"I wouldn't talk much," a female's voice advised. Must've been the doctor. "Your throat is really dry." The sound of her voice shifted. "That's why he started coughing. He's okay."

"Mama Mia… I was worried it was something serious. He's been unstable for a while… I just wanted to play it safe."

"Right here," Bowser growled. Don't talk about me as if I can't hear you.

"Ah, right. Here." The doctor gave a grunt.

"I got it," Mario offered. "Give this to him?"

"Yes," she replied. "It's just some water, my liege. Drink it slowly, your body isn't fully ready for rapid or large substance intake."

Bowser didn't know what the hell that meant, but he'd listen to her. A glass nudged his hand. Bowser lifted his head, wincing at the pressure on his neck. He turned his eyes to the glass, fumbling his hand and other— oh, right. His left arm was in a cast. Midbus had broken it. He'd twisted it back until the bone had splintered and cracked… He pushed that away, closing his eyes and trying to steady his breathing. He let out a shaky sigh, wrapping his fingers around the glass and bringing it up to his mouth. He took a sip, and the warm liquid wet his mouth and the back of his throat, a wonderful feeling that Bowser had nearly forgotten. He kept drinking until he was told to stop, and it took everything he had to stop and not gulp down the rest.

"There you go," the doctor murmured, her tone soft and a bit… He wasn't sure.

Bowser glared at her. "I'm the king, not a hatchling," he growled, earning himself an apology. He took another sip before whipping a glare to Mario. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Mario answered, fidgeting with his hands. "Luigi's back at home, and so is Peach."

Darn it. I hope she's okay… Bowser narrowed his eye. "So, what happened?" He bared his fangs. "You have to tell me. Right now." He had a little more of his water.

"Oh…" Mario's face drooped. "Oh, where do I even start?"

"The beginning. No. Don't. How about you tell me, BOTH of you, what the deal is with my eye." He tried to bring his other hand up to it, but shifting it stabbed a bolt to pain down his entire arm.

"Oh… Your eye was punctured and in very bad shape," the doctor told him. "We patched it up, but we aren't sure how good your vision will be. Usually, with these types of injuries, we're able to make them nearly as good as new, but you had more concerning ailments. We had to use much less magic on it than ideal."

"Because magic has its stupid limits," Bowser growled. His grip on the glass tightened. "Can I take the stupid patch thing off, or what?"

"I'll take it off," she offered, stepping onto his slab (he stiffened). "It'll only be for a few minutes. We soaked it with healing potion to help retain as much as your vision as possible." Her hands started to come towards his face, and he turned his head away. "Please hold still."

Bowser shut his eyes, letting her do her work. His scales prickled at her foreign touch, her fingers rubbing against his face. His teeth itched to snap at her, but he kept his mouth firmly closed. The eyepatch was worked through his hair, and he heard a small tap as she stepped off the slab. He opened his eyes.

His right side was a blurry mess of dull colours. He blinked it, ignoring the burning pain that flashed through it. It didn't clear up. Bowser rubbed his eye. C'mon, you stupid thing… He checked his vision… still blurry.

"How is it?" Mario asked, moving to Bowser's right side. His body was reduced to a swash of red and blue, with a white-tan blob that was probably his face. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Bowser bit his tongue. Damn it… His stupid eye was broken. It was freaking broken. He couldn't decipher anything. They didn't fix it. He sniffed. No way in hell he was going to stand for such shitty vision. "You're nothing but a blur." He smirked. "It's an improvement for you." He chuckled, shifting his attention onto the doctor. "I don't want to see Mario, but I want my eye back. You're going to get it fixed."

"King Bowser…" her eyes shifted away, "if we could have fixed it, we would have. We tried the best we could, but I'm afraid to say that the damage is permanent."

"It's what?!" Mario cried.

"NO!" Bowser jerked his head up, and he fixed her with a glare. "It's NOT! I know you can fix this, I've seen it! You're going to make my seeing normal again, and if you don't, I'll have you all out of jobs!" He bared his fangs, a growl in his throat. Her head was drooping under his glower. She shrunk back a little and closed her eyes.

"We can't." Her voice shook a little, the tone quiet. "We already performed as much surgery as we could, and we had to prioritize your life over perfect vision. Your eye has already done most of its healing, and there wouldn't be anything we could step in and do now."

"What the hell?!" Bowser snarled. I can't believe this! "That's a load of shit, and you know it! I was always going to be fine! You should have fixed my eye, but you didn't, and you won't even try! I'm not going to live like this! I can't! How the hell am I supposed to kill Mario if my damn eye doesn't work right? Huh?!"

"Bowser…" Mario murmured. A hand touched his knee, but Bowser shook it off.

"Don't," he spat.

"King Bowser…" the doctor let out a sigh. "I'll be straight with you, as a patient, you deserve to know."

"That you're all lazy shits?"

She shifted a little. "Your highness… you nearly didn't make it."

Bowser gave a slow blink. "I almost didn't make it?"

She nodded.

Bowser groaned. Great, I almost died. Shit, not again… "How bad was it?" he growled out, almost as a statement rather than a question.

"…You were badly injured and had lost a lot of blood. It wasn't a life-threatening loss, but it did nothing to help. You know about your eye."

"No shit," Bowser mumbled.

"The reason we couldn't restore more of your vision is because a few of your wounds had gotten infected. You were too malnourished to properly fight it off. We had to focus on easing that before anything else, because if it spread… you wouldn't of stood a chance." She let out a long sigh. "Starvation alone nearly did you in. You're very lucky that you just lost your eye."

Bowser puffed out a breath. He closed his eyes. Damn… I'll still try to get them to fix it… but not now. Or ask Kamek… Stars, Fawful nearly got what he wanted. The fucking large-toothed psycho. He'd once again gotten away from death. It wasn't going to catch him until he was old and happily married to Peach. He wasn't going to let it. Peach… Stars, the Koopalings! Larry… Junior… are they all okay? "And… and my kids?"

"They've been patched up and discharged. No injuries were life-threatening." A pause. "Well… except for…"

"Junior?" Bowser guessed.

"Um… yes."

"But he's okay?"

"He is now, yes."

Bowser let out a breath. Damn, kid… At least the little guy was a fighter, just like his dad. Good thing he's mine. Just like me, the little brat. He won't let himself get knocked down by anything. He licked his chops. "But the rest of them? They're all home? D-doing well?" Stars, was he asking too much? He didn't want to come off as a worried parent, because Stars above, he hated when Kamek worried about him.

"They all went home in good shape."

"Good." Bowser opened his eyes, raising his head. "When do I—" His gaze flicked to his hand, which housed the pale-skinned one of Mario. He pulled his hand away with a growl, pointing his claws towards the plumber. Mario shuffled back, holding his hands up. Bowser sniffed, turning his focus (or what was left of it, DAMN IT) back to the doctor. "When do I get out?" He reached back for his water, taking a gulp.

"Not for a few more days. Maybe more." The doctor walked over (Bowser's head turned to keep her in sight) to the collection of IV polls a little ways away from 'his' concrete block. She lightly scratched her nose as she scanned them.

Bowser let out a groan, rolling his head over to where Mario stood; now on the opposite side of the slab. His fire perked a little. "What're you doing, trying to hide in my blind spot?"

Mario shifted, slapping on a grin. A droplet dribbled down the side of his face. "No, of course not."

Bowser narrowed his eyes. "Uh-huh. Why are you still here?"

"Why am I…" Mario's awkward smile slipped away. "Bowser, I told you, I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Yeah, and I'm okay. Better than okay, I'm doing great." He pushed a grin onto his face. His right eye started to burn a little. What the hell? "So guess what? You can beat it, or I'll beat your face in."

Mario gave a half-snort, swiping his forefinger under his nose. "Okay, okay… I'm just glad you're okay." He took a few steps closer, his hand inching towards Bowser's leg. The Koopa King shifted it away. "I was really worried about you."

Bowser raised an eyebrow. Yeah, right. A growl rose in his throat. He saw right through Mario's act. It was part of his 'hero' show. He was pretending to care, while he really wished Bowser had died. The only reason he'd agreed to help was because it made him look good. He'd go home, and the toads would worship him, and his life would be just peachy. Literally. He'd get to spend all the time with Peach, the selfish bastard. "Yeah, okay," Bowser forced out, the words muffled by his teeth. "Great. Now go home."

Mario's mouth started to dip into a frown, and his forefinger brushed his chin. "Are… you sure you don't want to know anything else?"

"I don't huh?" Bowser wrinkled his nose. He took another, longer swing of his water, tracing the conversation ba— Oh, right. Mario had asked him if there was anything he'd wanted to know. "One thing. Where's Fawful?"

Mario shuffled his feet, taking in a shaky breath. "He was killed when we went to rescue you. Um… your son… It started with an I… Iggy! That's his name. Iggy did him in. Kind of… violently, too."

Of course it was Iggy. Shame, I wanted to knock all his stupid teeth out. "Asshole got what he deserved," Bowser murmured. He let his head rest back on the pillow. "And his tail kisser? Midbus? What'd you do to him?"

"You… you don't remember?" Mario's voice was quiet. "Bowser, you killed him. Junior said you jumped on him, and grabbed his neck and wouldn't let go."

Bowser closed his eyes. I killed him. Damn… What the hell, he deserved it. Nobody hurts my children without having a date with my fist in its ugly face. He almost wished he had the memories. All that was there were few rotting cobwebs, which lurked in the far corners of his head. All they told of were the unspecified pain of his children, blood, and his own dull agony. He backed away from it. He definitely didn't want to recall it. "Both of them deserved it," he growled. "Nobody messes with the King of the Koopas without facing the consequences." Or his kids. My kids. "That's it, plumb-scum." He'd hear the full story from his kids. They wouldn't try to paint themselves as more heroic than they actually were. "Get the hell out and go back to the Mushroom Kingdom."

Mario stared down at him, giving a few slow blinks. His mouth wrinkled into a smile, and he gave a hapless shrug. "Okay, buddy."

"Watch it," Bowser snapped, baring his fangs. "I'm sure as hell not your buddy."

"I know." Mario skirted around Bowser's concrete block, shuffling back towards the door. "Get better soon, okay? Take it easy."

"Stars Mario, stop. I'll be good in two days, you just go home. Get outta my kingdom, or I'll have to force my minions to execute you. (Mario snorted a laugh. HOW DARE HE. Bowser was being SERIOUS) Oh, and tell Peach I said hi. And that I'm looking forward to our next kidnapping date."

Mario halted in the threshold, and he fired a deadpan over his shoulder. "Take a break, Bowser." His face grew softer. "You and your kids need it."

"Shut up, I do what I want." And he was going to kidnap Peach in a month, but he'd visit her after he got out. After he caught up with his children, of course. And maybe a nap. He could use one.

Mario rolled his eyes and made his leave. It didn't take long for his footsteps to merge with the din of the hospital.

"Get some rest, okay?" the doctor suggested, gently patting his arm. He shifted it away. Her eyes darted across his body, "You'll be out before you know it." She cast him a smile. "If you need anything, call."

"Yeah, yeah…" Bowser mumbled, shutting his eyes. Her steps pattered out of the room. Might as well get some sleep. When he woke up, he was going to demand that his kids came to see him. A smile brushed his face. He had to see them alive and well. It'd be the confirmation that the hell he'd been locked in was over.

Bowser will not be half-blind in any of my future stories due to this being a stand-alone, and all events are restricted to just this story. I had freedom and I used it.