Bowser enjoyed his dinner that night. Not just because he was glowing with the pride of having outmanoeuvred Mario, but because he now had two people in his grasp who were no doubt important to the so-called hero and his beloved princess.
He fully expected Mario to come back sometime soon. After taking Peach to safety, he would probably want to return to Bowser's castle to rescue his brother and Daisy. So, six hours after the battle, Bowser was startled to realise that nobody had come knocking on his door.
He stared at the cuckoo clock for a moment longer, as if hoping it might change, and then slowly began to walk down the huge stone steps that led into his dungeon, more shocked than he wanted to admit. Mario hadn't come! He'd had more than enough time to deliver Peach back to her castle and return here to save Luigi, yet he wasn't here. He hadn't been injured in the battle, so there was no reason for him not to come charging back the instant Peach was safely tucked away.
Bowser felt like his head was spinning. Had he been thrust into some strange parallel universe where the two brothers didn't give a damn about each other? What other explanation could there be for Mario callously abandoning Luigi to his fate? He didn't understand.
'Guards!' he growled as he reached the tall oaken door to the dungeon, which was flanked by a pair of koopatrols. They saluted and smartly moved aside to let the King through.
Although he'd never admit it, Bowser wasn't fond of the dungeon. It was dark and dank and smelled of grime (and looked like grime), not to mention the almost constant aura of fear and hopelessness that permeated the place. It was where he always kept Peach whenever he kidnapped her, but occasionally he'd also use it for other people he captured. Today, those people were Luigi and Daisy.
'Pipsqueak!' he bellowed, stomping over to a pair of cells sitting side-by-side. Every cell in the dungeon was small and sparsely furnished, with nothing but a primitive toilet, a rickety bed, a rickety desk and chair, and of course the door. Three of the four walls were just iron bars, allowing prisoners to see the rest of the dungeon around them as well as each other.
As he approached cell number 14, a furious yell emanated from the occupant of the one beside it.
'You scaly freak! Let me out of here and I'll fight you myself; I don't need Mario!'
Bowser didn't intend to talk to her, but he paused anyway, letting out a dark chuckle. 'Nice try, princess. Not a word about your stupid little boyfriend? I'm disappointed. I thought you'd be begging me to let him go...'
He could barely see Daisy in the darkness, but he saw her hands wrapped tightly around the bars of her cell. 'What are you talking about?'
Bowser blinked. 'Wait, Luigi's not here yet?'
'Lord Bowser!' said a reedy voice, and he turned to see Kamek – accompanied by four more koopatrols – hurrying into the dungeon. The koopatrols were walking in a square formation with Luigi in the middle. They seemed to be both supporting and restraining him; obviously his injuries weren't healed enough for him to walk unaided, but despite that, he was making an effort to free himself from their hold and get away.
Daisy stared at him through the bars, her mouth wide open. 'Luigi?! What've they done to you?!'
A harsh laugh escaped Bowser's throat at her stunned expression. 'Well, my dear princess... Mario and Luigi both came here earlier today, but when given the choice of either saving his sweetheart or saving his brother, Mario ran off with Peach and left him here. So I've been forced to spend the last six hours patching him up so he won't die, and now he's gonna stay here with you. Isn't that nice?'
A torrent of swear words and insults came pouring out of Daisy's mouth, but then Kamek spoke up and Bowser turned his attention to the old magikoopa, tuning her out. 'I'm very sorry for the delay, sire. His injuries proved to be more serious than I originally thought, and I had three magikoopas as well as a team of non-magical healers working on him for several hours.'
'Why's he still not walking on his own, then?' Bowser demanded.
'Well, sire, we decided it might be better to leave his leg partially unhealed so that he can't run away. He was quite... forceful. Even with an injured leg, it took four soldiers to stop him dragging himself from the room and fighting his way out of the castle.'
Bowser was secretly impressed. 'Well, I guess that's for the best then. Thanks, Kamek. You can go.'
'My lord.' Kamek bowed, then stiffly hurried out of the dungeon.
Bowser turned his attention to the four koopatrols. Quickly, he dismissed them, leaving Luigi standing there without support. He swayed dangerously and began to stagger, forcing the King to throw out an arm to catch him. He was surprised when, almost immediately, Luigi began struggling to get away, despite his injured leg being so clearly unable to support his weight.
Eventually Bowser had enough of wrestling with him. 'Quit it, pipsqueak!' he snarled, and instantly felt Luigi go limp against him, probably out of sheer terror. 'I'm putting you in this cell over here, and you can sit and talk to your annoying girlfriend. I hope you can manage to use the toilet on your own, 'cuz I'm not gonna stay here and be your caretaker.' A visible flush rose into Luigi's face, and he nodded wordlessly. 'Good. Now get in there and don't make a fuss.'
He pushed the young man away and shoved him forcefully into the cell. As expected, he staggered and fell to his hands and knees, gasping with pain. That did not, however, stop him from struggling back onto his feet and making a break for the door. Bowser slammed it shut in his face with a crash that could be heard all the way upstairs.
'I'll bring food later, if I feel like it,' he said offhandedly, though he had no intention of starving his prisoners. 'See you, Green.'
With a pleasant feeling of satisfaction, he turned and strode out of the dungeon, leaving Luigi and Daisy alone together.