A/N: Nine chapters of this are currently written out! I'm still not sure how long it's going to be altogether, but I estimate around 15 chapters, give or take.

Also, thanks to the guest who left a review! I appreciate it!

The next morning, Bowser woke up feeling groggy and momentarily couldn't remember what had happened the day before. Sitting up in his huge four-poster bed, he roared for the servants to bring him some food. It was the magikoopa servant, hurrying in with a platter of eggs and bacon, who finally made him remember.

'Sire,' he said, bowing deeply. 'The prisoners have just been fed. I hope you won't object to that?'

'Prisoners...? Oh, yeah. Those guys.' Bowser took his time gulping down his food, while the magikoopa stood there dutifully waiting for an answer. 'Yeah, keep them fed. I can't use them as blackmail material if they starve to death.'

'Yes, sire.'

A minute later, he finished the eggs and bacon only to realise that the magikoopa was still standing there. 'What do you want?'

'Well, my lord, it may be discourteous of me, but I wanted to ask you a question...'

'Hurry up with it, then!'

'I was wondering... what are you going to do with the prisoners if Princess Peach does not comply with your demands? It seems very possible, given that she hasn't sent any troops to come rescue them, nor has the so-called 'hero' Mario shown up.'

Bowser paused. If he were honest, he was a bit surprised that a lowly castle servant had even been thinking about something so important. And it was a question that he didn't have an easy answer to. Picking up the scraped-clean platter, he handed it back to the servant to give himself time to consider.

'...I have plans,' he said at last, and saw the magikoopa's head tilt curiously.

'May I... enquire as to those plans, my lord...?'

'No. Get out.' When the servant didn't immediately respond, Bowser let out a deafening roar, slashing his claws through the air with a sound like metal blades, and had the satisfaction of seeing the magikoopa flinch violently. 'I said, get out!'

A second later, he was alone again.

I really gotta think about these things more, he grumbled. It frustrated him to realise that not only were his plans full of holes, but that even his servants could see it. The triumph he'd felt when he initially captured Luigi was rapidly draining out of him, leaving a creeping exhaustion and a fiery rage that was the only thing keeping him moving. He wanted to succeed, dammit! He wanted the Mushroom Kingdom and its pathetic pink-clad princess to be his!

It was time to act, and though he wasn't sure if Mario and Peach to give in to his demands, he planned to send them anyway. Lurching out of the door, he went down to the throne room and seized the first minion he spotted.

'Koopster,' he growled, digging his short claws into the young Koopa guard's shoulder in a way that made him wince uncomfortably, 'I want you to send a message to Peach's castle, pronto.'

'Y-yes, sir. What should the message contain?'

Bowser let a slight grin curl up one side of his mouth, causing Koopster to shift nervously below him. 'Tell her that I have her friends, Luigi and Daisy. Tell her to surrender half of the Mushroom Kingdom's lands to me immediately, or I'll hurt her friends. Make sure to mention that I have the power to kill Luigi and Daisy if I so desire. I'll leave the exact wording up to you. You're the one who's good at writing.'

'Yes, my lord. I'll do that straight away!'

'Good.' Bowser squeezed the guard's shoulder in a way that was supposed to be friendly but just made Koopster wince again, then released him and strode away towards the dungeon where his prisoners were being held. It was a new day, and he was in the mood to scare someone.

As he approached the great oaken door, he heard what sounded like muffled voices on the other side. It was impossible to make out what was being said, and they stopped the instant he began to push the door open.

Smiling, he walked slowly up to cells number 13 and 14. 'Well, kids,' he said sarcastically, 'it's a lovely morning. How are you guys feeling?'

Daisy swore loudly, making him grind his teeth with annoyance. 'Where the hell is Mario? What have you done to him?!'

Bowser blinked in surprise, then grinned, quickly recovering his composure. 'Mario? That fat plumber who left his little brother behind to die? I haven't done a thing to him. He just never showed up.'

He could tell how much his words affected them both just by the way Daisy's fell face, her grip on the metal bars going slack, and the way Luigi's shoulders hunched defensively as if he were trying to curl in upon himself. They were subtle changes, but Bowser was watching them like a hawk and so he noticed. He stayed quiet for a while, letting them fully absorb the knowledge that their hero hadn't come to rescue them. Then he stepped up to the front of cell number 14 and began unlocking the door.

'Hey!' Daisy protested. 'What are you doing now?'

As usual, Bowser ignored her, instead focusing on kicking open the cell door and reaching inside to grab Luigi. The young man clearly had no intention of coming quietly and had been cowering against the back wall just as he'd done last night. When the King's fingers curled around his arm, he jerked backwards in an attempt to free himself.

'Quit it, pipsqueak!' Bowser growled and dragged him out of the cell by force. 'Come on, you and I are gonna have another little talk. I still need you around, so I won't do any permanent damage to you.'

'Get your filthy claws off him, you little-'

'Though,' said Bowser loudly, drowning out Daisy's voice, 'I might if your airheaded girlfriend over there doesn't shut up.'

Luigi shot Daisy a pleading look. He was probably less concerned for himself and more afraid that Bowser might hurt Daisy if she kept on provoking him. Nonetheless, the princess immediately fell silent, though that didn't stop her glaring at Bowser furiously as he made his way out of the dungeon once again.

'Can you walk yet?' he asked. He was supporting Luigi, who still didn't seem able to put any weight on his previously-broken leg.

'Uhm... no, not really.'

Bowser snorted. 'So much for Kamek's magic. He could've at least healed you enough that you can walk... And so much for the 'Mario Brothers' and their supposed awesome fighting skills!' he added nastily. 'I could've beaten you with one hand tied behind my shell!'

To his slight surprise, Luigi's response was to glare up at him and bite back, 'I didn't expect you to come after me! I thought you'd only be interested in Mario!'

'Idiot. I've never been able to beat Mario before, so there wasn't any point in trying. It was better to target the weakest link first – that was you, Green.' There was a small period of silence while he helped Luigi climb the stone steps. 'Besides, beating you was all part of my big plan.'

'Wh-what plan?'

'To take over the Mushroom Kingdom, of course!' Bowser grinned down at him, showing his teeth.

'And what does that have to do with me?'

'Well,' said the King thoughtfully, 'things haven't actually gone to plan. You see, I meant to keep you as a hostage to force Princess Peach to surrender her lands to me. But now I'm not so sure that's gonna work. Because I'm not sure anyone cares enough about you.'

Luigi flinched and lowered his head.

'Sore about that, are you?' Bowser taunted. 'You should be. Your own big bro's abandoned you here, and you're relying on Peach to give up her lands for your sake. But... we'll see. I've sent her a message with my demands, so it's only a matter of time. We're playin' the waiting game now, Green.'

Luigi stayed silent as Bowser led him through the castle, not seeming to pay much attention to where they were heading. However, when Bowser kicked open a door to reveal a little garden on the other side, he looked up, blinking with surprise.

The garden wasn't meant to be anything other than a place for the minions to relax while on their break – it had been constructed for that purpose. But more recently Bowser had found himself coming here a lot too.

The garden was small, with a lush green lawn, a cherry tree, a park bench, and a pond filled with frogspawn and goldfish. It was a beautiful morning too, with the sun shining down and making the surface of the pond shimmer like a hoard of treasures. Bowser didn't spare it a second glance as he led Luigi over to the bench and sat both of them down.

He wasn't entirely sure why he'd decided to come here today. It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, purely instinctual, and he was still groping in the back of his mind for something to say when Luigi looked up at him, his blue eyes wide and fearful under the shadow of his cap.

'Peach isn't going to give up the kingdom,' he said. He sounded so certain of it that his voice barely trembled as he spoke. 'I'm not so important that she'd – she'd risk the lives of all her subjects, just for me. Give up, Bowser. It's never gonna happen.'

Startled out of his musings by this unexpected and (if he were honest) rather brave statement, Bowser turned to glare down at Luigi. He wasn't really angry, but acting angry was usually his way of dealing with things; problematic minions, enemies, diplomacy, incompetent servants...

'...Yeah, maybe not,' he growled after a moment of uncomfortable silence. 'But that doesn't mean I'm not gonna try. I'm not wasting any opportunity to get the Mushroom Kingdom in my grasp.'

'I-I bet you're surprised that Mario didn't come back for me.'

Bowser let out a bark of harsh laughter. 'You think?'

'He should have.' Luigi gazed off pensively into the distance, one hand darting up to adjust the brim of his cap. 'At least, that's what Daisy keeps telling me. But I think she's wrong.'

'Yeah? Why's that?'

'Because I'm not important! At least... I'm not important enough to risk the kingdom for. If Mario was captured, then I'm sure Peach would give up everything for him, but... I'm not Mario.' He said the last part in a hushed tone, barely above a whisper.

'You're forgetting something, pipsqueak,' Bowser growled. 'I still have Daisy, and we both know that she and Peach are close friends. If I threaten to hurt the two of you, then sure, maybe no-one will care about you, but they'll definitely care about her.'

'Daisy told me that she doesn't want Peach to give up her kingdom for her, either.'

Bowser scoffed. 'Like Peach is gonna listen to that! If I'm threatening to kill her best friend, she'll give in. Look, I like Peach, I really do. She's pretty, if nothing else. But she's weak. She doesn't have the willpower to say 'no', not when someone's life is on the line.'

Luigi appeared to consider this for a while. To an outsider, he might've just looked catatonic, staring into the middle distance with no expression on his face, but Bowser could see that he was really just lost in thought.

Then he stirred and said quietly, 'Maybe... maybe she will give in for Daisy. But definitely never for me.'

Now it was Bowser's turn to gaze at nothing as he considered Luigi's words, wondering why the young man seemed so calm about this. I guess he's just resigned himself to his fate. I mean, he's been stuck here for nearly twenty-four hours, and his 'hero' brother hasn't made any attempt to save him. If I were in his position, I'd probably have given up too. The realisation left a bitter taste in his mouth, along with a feeling of surprise. Bowser never gave up. He was the great and ruthless King of Koopas! Arch-rival of Mario and enemy of the entire Mushroom World! No matter how many times he was beaten down, he always came back stronger than before. Dammit. I've been spending too much time around this depressing little weirdo.

He heaved himself to his feet, intending to help Luigi up and take him back to the dungeon, but stopped mid-gesture when Luigi jerked back from him.

'Uhm... I...' he began, and Bowser rolled his eyes.

'If you've got something to say then spit it out, pipsqueak. I've got more important things to do right now.' This was a lie; he had nothing else to do (at least not until Peach's reply came back), but he wasn't going to admit that.

Luigi looked down, rubbing his arm nervously. 'I-I was just wondering if maybe I could stay out here a little longer?' he squeaked. 'It's a nice day...'

Bowser nearly burst out laughing, choking it down at the last moment and immediately wondering why he even bothered.

'You think I'm gonna let you take up space in my garden?' he said. 'I told you, I've got better things to do! I'm not staying here to keep an eye on you so you don't run off the moment I'm not looking.'

'Wh-what if I promise not to run off?'

It was obvious that Luigi was pretty desperate not to spend the rest of the day shut in a dank dungeon cell, and Bowser couldn't really blame him, despite being enraged that his prisoner had the nerve to argue with him. 'I'm not leaving you here on your own,' he said with an air of finality. Luigi's shoulders slumped. 'But... maybe if I get someone else...' Abruptly, he turned towards the doors and bellowed, 'KAMEK!'

It was a few seconds before the old magikoopa appeared, panting and wincing with every step. 'Y-yes, my great lord Bowser?'

Bowser pointed at Luigi. 'The pipsqueak's gonna stay in the garden for a while,' he growled. 'You stick around and keep an eye on him. Don't do anything unless you have to, just... make sure he doesn't escape somehow.' He couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth; he should have laughed in Luigi's face and dragged him back to the dungeon without a shred of pity. Why did that idea sound less appealing than it normally would? Was he just losing his touch – going soft like he'd always feared?

Kamek was eyeing him oddly, as if the very same thoughts were running through his mind. However, he bowed in acknowledgement. 'Yes, my lord,' he wheezed, and Bowser walked past him with a curt nod.

Just before he could get inside, Kamek tapped his wand against the King's shell to get his attention. 'Sire,' he whispered, low enough that Luigi wouldn't hear, 'are you sure you know what you're doing?'

'What're you suggesting, Kamek?' he said.

'Well, it just seems... unlike you... to give a prisoner something they want. In fact, you usually treat your prisoners like... well, crap, for lack of a better term.'

Bowser shoved his face closer to Kamek's, but it didn't have the effect he wanted; the old magikoopa and known him for too long and survived too many temper tantrums to let himself be intimidated by such a gesture.

'Listen, Kamek,' he growled under his breath, 'I need this guy alive. And Daisy, too. I can't harm them unless Peach refuses to give in to my demands.'

'Yes, but 'keeping them alive' and 'giving them anything they want' are not quite the same thing, sire. No disrespect meant.'

Bowser had had enough. He straightened up and stomped away, feeling Kamek's gaze boring into his back like a laser, but refusing to turn around. He didn't slow down until he was at the other side of the castle and then stopped abruptly, realising he had nowhere left to walk to.

I hate to admit it, but the old geezer's got a point, he thought, more frustrated than he ever remembered feeling before. I should have grabbed the little twerp by the neck and THROWN him into my dungeon. But... it just didn't sound fun, this time.

Suddenly, he was broken out of his musings by the sound of pattering footsteps behind him. Turning around – with a snarl on his face in case it was Kamek – he saw that the intruder was, in fact, Koopster. The young guard was out of breath and looked both relieved and a bit scared to have found his King.

'My lord!' he said, with a hasty bow. 'A message has come in from Princess Peach's castle. A response, sir, to the message you asked me to send...'

Something stirred in Bowser's gut. What was it, he wondered? Fear? Relief? Anticipation? Worry? He had no idea, so he shoved it aside and ignored it. 'You'd better show me, then,' he said gruffly.