A/N: OH YEAH! SUMMER IS HERE AT LAST! 8D Now I can focus on this fic instead of stupid projects! Anyways, let's get to the chappie, cause its' looooooooooong...

"Not like I need to depend upon anyone.

Since I can see the lack of need for me to be here at all.

Like I need to defend my own innocence.

So what? I did it, I admit it and I'm pleading the fifth.

One more anthem for the know it all.

I won't be standing here for long, I better learn how to crawl.

In ten minutes I'll be laying out flat on the floor..." -Flat on the Floor, Nickelback (Bowser's Theme)

Brother Squadron: Chapter 12: Bandit-Talk

The afternoon rolled on by like the flock of caravans, moving west into Germany. As promised, Fox drove the lead caravan, keeping his rifle in the passenger seat, just in case. The trailer behind him was relatively quiet. Mario, Luigi, Bowser, and Ganondorf were spread out, left to their individual thoughts. A pile of blankets rested in the hammock, rising and falling gently as Link slumbered among them, his features concealed by the cloth.

Bowser sat beside the hammock, staring at it as of staring at the Squadron Leader himself. If he was the big ol' leader, why the hell was he sleeping on the job? The Koopa looked up to see Mario move to his side of the trailer for a restock of ammo, avoiding eye contact. But despite this obvious sign of unwelcomeness, Bowser spoke to him anyway.

"Yo, Mario."

The man looked up with glowering eyes, brow arched in skepticism. "Whaddya you want?"

Bowser pointed a claw at the hammock. "What's he doing?"

The brow rose higher as Mario silently questioned his intelligence. "Sleeping."

"How come? Why ain't he leading?"

Mario sighed lowly as he switched the ammo inside his rifle. "Give him a break, he doesn't have to lead all the damn time. And he had a nightmare last night that kept him awake, so he's just catching up on some sleep."

"Hehe..."

Mario snapped his eyes up immediately, recognizing that chuckle anywhere. "What the hell's so funny?"

"Nothing! Take it easy, jeez!" Mario hesitated, finally realizing his temper. Maybe he was being a little too hard on... No! He gave himself a mental slap, telling himself, no, don't you dare feel sorry for the pig! He bitterly grimaced and focused his attention fully on his sniper. Almost all of it.

"... Just wondering how Ganondorf managed to nab him so easily..."

"Yeah, well, if Link was fully awake, he would've taken Ganondorf down like that!" Mario snapped his fingers to prove his point. He looked up at Bowser, expecting a not-so-witty retort, but the Koopa only stared at him. "... What?"

"... You've still got it, Mario."

"Got what?"

Bowser chortled. "Even under that rugged exterior, you're as naïve as ever. Same as your chicken-headed brother."

Mario blinked in confusion, though still retaining that hostile regarding.

Bowser grinned, amused by his archrival's confusion. "You think everything is the way you want it. You think everything will just turn out in your favor in the end. You were shocked whenever we defeated you in battle, thinking you were invincible... HA!" Bowser cackled, not at all frightened by the worsening glare on Mario's face as he began to approach. "You were such a foolish little...!"

Then, when he had gotten close enough, Mario swiftly pulled out his pistol, grabbed Bowser's fat neck, and jammed the barrel into the folds. He could hear the Koopa's pulse beat echo inside the barrel of the hand gun, the look on his face instantly shifting to an intimidating look. Seething, Mario pushed the gun in further.

"You listen to me," he snarled lowly so that only Bowser could hear. "I left those days behind a long time ago, and for a reason. If you even mention that again, I will not hold myself accountable for what I'll do to you!"

Bowser gulped, then forced himself to nod shakily. Mario quickly withdrew his gun, knowing he had proved his point, and walked away scornfully with his sniper rifle in tow. Bowser scowled at the back of his head in annoyance, then heard the shuffling of cloth above him.

"So... what'd you do?"

The Koopa looked above him to see Link leaning over the hammock's edge. Obviously he had heard the exchange between the bitter rivals, and had grown interested.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Kinda hard to with your fighting and all," Link replied, shifting into a more comfortable position, with a cheek resting on his knuckles and elbow resting on the makeshift pillow. Blankets covered his form from the arms down. "So, what'd you do to get him so pissed?"

Bowser gave out a guttural sigh as he settled in his seat. "Well... See, I used to rule this great kingdom called Darkland... King of Koopas, they called me... But Mushroom Kingdom was right there..."

"So, you're attracted to power, huh?"

Bowser chuckled. "It's a weakness."

"Sounds unstable."

"I prefer... misunderstood."

"Mmm." Link would've disagreed, but didn't have the energy to start a debate, and the subject was dropped. "So Mario was the defender of Mushroom Kingdom, right?"

"Yeah... But I dunno how he got so pissed off..."

"Well, how frequently did you attack?"

"I..." Bowser hesitated, realizing on his own. "A lot..."

"See? People get mad when they have to fight all the damn time. It's no wonder Mario's so pissed."

"Yeah, and then he gets all mad at me for stating the truth!" Bowser exclaimed, and Link sighed as the Koopa started on the Victim Trip. But he decided to hear him out anyway.

"About what?"

"About how he thought he'd always win and defeat me."

"Have you ever defeated him?"

Bowser opened his mouth to answer, but was suspended in mute befuddlement. He quickly shut it and looked down at his twiddling claws, not seeing the wily grin on Link's face. The Hylian shifted again, falling into the hammock on his back, hands folded behind his head, the smirk still on his face.

"It's always the same with you egotistical bastards," he spoke at last, gaining Bowser's attention, confused and perhaps insulted, but it was difficult to tell. "You get all fired up about the heroes and are totally oblivious to the truth."

Bowser raised a fiery red brow in suspicion. "What truth?"

"Light prevails over darkness," Link stated as if it were a proven fact. "Villains never win."

"Well, what about here, huh?"

"This place is different. I meant back home... Back where we were respected instead of hunted down... I mean, even you villains were feared by civilians, so that's something..."

"Yes..." Bowser chuckled in the low growl he used to do, when he was the Almighty Koopa King. Back then, all feared his spoken name, and he liked it that way. And now... he was just a random bandit, escaped from some small camp in Morocco, being led by a man he barely knew...

He looked up at that same man, who was quietly speaking with Luigi, eyeing Link every so often. And with this glance, Bowser became curious.

"So... how 'bout you and Ganondorf?"

Link turned his head to look at the man. "Same thing, 'cept he didn't attack Hyrule as much." He grinned. "Guess he still hates me for stopping him single-handedly."

"Damn," Bowser commented, impressed.

"Yeah, I used to hate him as much as Mario hates you, but..." Link paused briefly, facing the ceiling. "... I dunno, I guess it sorta waned when the Humans and Wire Frames came..."

"Yeah..." Bowser nodded, knowing what he meant. "I mean, the Humans even hate each other! Can you believe that?"

"I know," Link wholeheartedly agreed. "It's a wonder how they haven't destroyed each other yet." A loud voice from the other end of the trailer escalated, and the two looked over to Luigi, shouting at Ganondorf about something being sick. Obviously the conversation between them had taken a turn for the worst. Angered, the youth turned away and moved towards the front, only to be stopped by his concerned brother, who heard the quarrel more clearly than the other two. "Well, anyways, I'll try to talk Mario into being a little easier on you."

Bowser looked back up at Link as if he hadn't heard the elf right. "And why the hell would you wanna do that?"

"Hey, we don't got the time to be mad at each other. That's why I'm being passive with Ganondorf. Right now, we have to focus on surviving and getting home. Once we're there, we can go right back to hating each other."

Bowser considered this, then nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"Alright, then," Link shuffled about, cocooning himself in the blankets once more, trying to get back to sleep.

Luigi sat in his small corner, right below the Wanted Poster wall. Bored, he glanced over at his brother as he got up to refill his ammo. The youth watched as Bowser struck up a conversation with him, which really wasn't a good idea, as Mario regarded him hatefully. Luigi shook his head in dismay.

"That your brother?" a voice right beside him asked, taking him by surprise. Luigi jumped and swiftly turned to meet the source of the dark voice.

"Hey, cool it, I was just asking a question!" Ganondorf replied irritably to Luigi's reaction. Knowing the man couldn't do anything to him as long as they were moving, Luigi relaxed, and an awkward friendliness began to take root.

Remembering his first question, Luigi nodded. "Yeah, that's my bro."

"Hmmp," Ganondorf scoffed, eyeing Mario. He still sustained that all-out grumpy attitude, even though he was clearly interested. "Figured so. You two look alike."

"Mmm-hmm." The two watched as the discussion escalated until Mario whipped out his pistol and shoved it into Bowser's neck. Luigi jumped in surprise, but seeing the calmness on Ganondorf's face, convinced himself that his brother couldn't possibly kill another Nintendian, and relaxed slightly. He released his tense breath once Mario had pulled the gun away and turned away in bitter scorn.

"Heh." Ganondorf's weak attempt at a chuckle interrupted the thick silence. "He sure hates Bowser with a passion. Though I can't really blame him."

"I-I dunno..." Luigi shook his head, glancing at his agitated brother uncertainly. "I don't remember Mario full of such hate before..."

"Well, think about what the prison did to him."

Luigi thought of this, then sighed in grim realization. He remembered a time when Mario was quite a pleasant being, who'd become squeamish at the thought of even holding a gun. That was before they came to Earth and were forced to pick up the dangerous and destructive weapons in order to survive. Then, as they witnessed more and more death at the hands of the Wire Frames, Luigi watched as his brother took on a metamorphosis, becoming a fierce predator to all except his loved ones. And now that Luigi had found him again, Mario seemed even more unlike his old self than ever, and Luigi knew that his old days of happy-go-lucky optimism were gone forever.

The two looked up as Link, who was supposed to be asleep, leaned over and stroke up a conversation with Bowser. A small, angry scowl came to Ganondorf's face.

"How the hell did he become leader?" he grunted to no one in particular. But thinking he was beginning a conversation, Luigi politely answered.

"He formed the Squadron from the get-go." He looked at the elf carefully, finding more reasons to convince Ganondorf. "Really smart, too. Knows the lay of the land."

"Hmmp," Ganondorf snorted, though he knew it must've been true. Luigi gazed at him cautiously, noticing something else was wrong.

"... What is it?"

Ganondorf turned his fiery gaze towards the youth, raising a brow in confusion. "What is what?"

"Don't think I don't notice. You look at Link as if he shouldn't be there. As if he's a ghost or something..."

The man's brows knotted in mixed expression as he looked back at Link, who looked back briefly, then quickly went back to Bowser. Ganondorf turned back to Luigi, raising a brow. "You really wanna know?"

Honestly curious, Luigi nodded.

Cautiously, Ganondorf dug into the pocket of his trench coat, pulling out a tattered and yellow piece of newspaper, a clipped-out article he had saved for many years. Luigi gently took it into his hand, careful not to wear away the brittle pieces of the ancient paper. He read the headline in large, neat, faded grey letters:

FIRST NINTENDIAN BROUGHT TO JUSTICE: LINK GAIDEN HUNG AT THE GALLOWS

Luigi's face went pale, his heart plummeted in terror. There was no picture, but the image of Link hanging from the noose appeared clearly in his mind... and it was unbelievable. Face twisted in a cringe, he quickly handed the paper back, refusing to believe.

"No..." he belted out in a shaky voice. "No way, it's gotta be a rumor..."

Ganondorf shook his head. "I was there. It happened."

Luigi sat there, aghast, as he glanced over at the Hylian once more. "Then... who's that?"

"Well... Now that I think about it, during the execution, there was this little kid..."

Luigi turned back to him. That one comment changed everything. "One that looked like him?"

"Yeah... See..." He shifted his position, making hand gestures as he continued. "As we entered this world, there was a break in the time-space continuum or something like that..." He grimaced before continuing. "And unfortunately, two Links came out, seven years apart in age."

"Two...?"

"Yeah..." He grumbled under his breath, then pointed a finger at a place in the article. "Says here that Link was seventeen when he was hung. And frankly..." He gestured over to Link. "... he doesn't look that much older than seventeen, and this execution was ten years ago."

"So, he must be the younger one," Luigi deducted, catching on. And, to tell the truth, he was relieved. Why, he wasn't quite sure. "Except all grown up."

"Yeah..." Ganondorf sneered. "And here I thought I was rid of him..."

Luigi stared at him, appalled. "Man, what the hell's your problem? What'd he ever do to you?"

Ganondorf leered threateningly. "More than you'll ever be able to understand."

Luigi opened his mouth to protest, but quickly shut it as he realized that Ganondorf was right. Bashfully, he snapped his eyes away in embarrassment, seeking refuge in the sight of Link, who was now facing the ceiling in his hammock, yet still speaking with Bowser. Luigi looked at him closely and tried to imagine him as a little boy, but found it difficult. Then he remembered the comment from Ganondorf relating to that little boy, and he slowly began to realize...

"Say..." he started. "... He saw his older self get killed, right?"

"Yeah. God, he was an annoying little brat, climbing all over the gallows and crying and causing trouble."

Luigi ignored this and continued. "He was so young... That image of his older self hanging from the noose must be so traumatizing..."

Ganondorf snorted. "Like I give a shit."

"But that's where his nightmares must come from!"

At that key word, Ganondorf snapped into a real, interested face. He looked at Luigi, surprisingly attentive. "... Nightmares? He gets nightmares?"

"Oh, yeah, all the time. Or at least that's what Fox says, but... he ain't the kind to... lie..."

It was then Luigi figured something was amiss. He watched as a sadistic smile slowly crawled onto Ganondorf's dark face in a smirk that fit the face very well, as if he made that smirk a lot. And Luigi knew from experience that whoever made that smirk had very devious thoughts, very unpleasant thoughts that only a lunatic would enjoy. And he had never seen this look on a Nintendian before, making him even more uneasy. Yet he kept calm.

"... What?"

"Oh, nothing," Ganondorf said coolly, turning back to glance at his archrival. "Now that I know he's already suffering, I don't have the burden of giving him nightmares myself. I can just watch as he slowly loses his sanity, with barely any work on my part. It's quite amusing to watch your enemies suffer, isn't it?"

Luigi raised a brow suspiciously, losing his nerve. This guy was starting to creep him out, especially when he turned those vermillion orbs, ablaze with sick joys, and dug into Luigi's crystal blues.

"You know what I mean," he drawled, soaking in the pleasure of Luigi's look of utter terror. "Whenever you fight Bowser... You await the moment he falls to his knees and begs for mercy.. and you savor it, don't you?"

Luigi trembled, shaking his head slowly. He was trying to speak, his lips obviously moving, but nothing came out.

"You know you do. Don't deny it." He leaned closer and closer. "Everybody gets that impulse. You aren't any different from the rest." The words rolled off his tongue like poison.

"N-no..." Luigi whimpered.

"And your brother as well. That hatred is so incredibly strong within him. He'd love to take care of Bowser if only he was given the consent to do so..."

And that was when he had crossed the line. Enraged, Luigi leaped to his feet and bellowed, "NO!"

Instantly, Ganondorf lost his power, surprised by this resistance. The shout had gained the attention of the rest, but Luigi could care less as he continued.

"I don't care how much Mario has changed, I know he wouldn't kill one of his own kind, even if they were enemies! And neither would I! I don't know what the hell's your problem, but wishing pain and suffering on your fellow Nintendian- that's sick! How could you possibly think of such things when we're all on the run for survival? If you're not gonna work with us, then why don't you just leave us the fuck alone?"

Ganondorf sat there and did not respond. Disgruntled, Luigi turned away, and the brief friendliness was shattered. There was a brief hush, then the other two went back to their discussion in faint voices as if trying to preserve the quiet.

Luigi moved towards the front of the van to join Fox at the front, head bent and bangs drooping over his agitated eyes. But then a hand clutched his shoulder, holding him back. Luigi slowly turned to meet face-to-face with his brother. Mario's face was surprisingly soft, warm with concern, and Luigi felt his agitation die away.

"You okay, Luigi?" he asked, genuinely sincere.

No, he wasn't. But that question wasn't as important as the one he was about to ask. "Mario... Do you wish pain on Bowser?"

It was an awkward question, catching Mario off-guard, but even after understanding its meaning, he hesitated to answer. Tears came to Luigi's eyes as he realized what this meant.

"You do, don't you?"

"Well, I..."

Discouraged and heartbroken, dry sobs escaped his throat, and Mario, feeling guilty, pulled him into a warm, comforting embrace. Luigi sobbed into his shoulder, speaking Italian words woefully.

'I thought I knew you... You've changed so much...'

'Luigi, I'm sorry. Really sorry,' Mario comforted as best he could, rubbing his little brother's back and even rocking back and forth slowly.

'Please don't hate, Mario... It's not right... Do it for me, please...'

'I will, promise.'

And Luigi knew he meant it. There was a sincerity and honesty in his voice that he could believe, and he believed that Mario would give his best effort to avoid conflict, all for his little brother's sake.

'Thanks, bro...'

"I read the news today,

And everything they say

Just makes me want to stay inside and wait.

But the better part of me knows

That waiting in the throws

Is on par with reading while my eyes are closed.

"What can I do?" you say,

"It's just another day

In the life of apes with ego trips!"

Please end this, please end this, please end this,

Before it ends us, ends us, ends us..." -Agoraphobia, Incubus

A/N: Ugh! So much typing! I'll have to warn you all that the rest of the chapters will be quite long. Blurgh... Ah well. Review, please!