A/N: Here's the 'Mario confrontation scene' (yes, that's what I'm calling it). If it seems like Mario doesn't explain his reasons for not coming back to save Luigi very well, don't worry - they'll be explained properly in the next chapter!

Also, it was never my intention for Mario to come off as the bad guy in this story, or to ruin his relationship with Luigi. I think that he's been pretty stressed - torn between two people he loves and being unable to help them both. Things will get better in the end.

Somebody had lit the torches lining the walls of the throne room, making the scene look eerily reminiscent of yesterday's battle against Mario. But this time, the floor was covered in lines of koopatrol soldiers as well – at least three dozen of them, heavily armoured, eyes glowing through dark visors, metal-clad hands curled into fists. None of them moved. They stood silently, all facing the door that Mario was going to burst through at any second. They didn't even appear to be breathing.

Bowser came in through a different door and immediately climbed up to the raised platform where his throne stood, resplendent with its crimson cushion and gold-plated back. Jewels of every colour imaginable glittered in the arms of the throne. If he were to disassemble and sell it, the whole thing would have probably fetched more money than the entire contents of Peach's royal treasury.

He leaned one elbow on the throne and waited. He wasn't nervous – he had never been nervous before fighting Mario – but a strong sense of anticipation coiled in his stomach that almost made him feel as if he was. 'What's taking the guy so long?' he muttered, quietly enough that only Kamek heard. The old magikoopa was crouched behind him, wand at the ready in case he needed to assist his King during the battle to come.

In light of Mario's arrival, Bowser had – mostly – forgotten what Kamek had done to annoy him. In fact, he'd driven all thoughts of Luigi out of his mind. All that mattered was the fight, and he was glad to have the magikoopa at his back when it happened.

'I imagine he's run into some difficulties outside, sire,' said Kamek. 'I did send a battalion of Hammer Bros into the grounds to intercept him. Hopefully, by the time he gets up here, he'll be weakened and a much easier target for your attacks.'

Bowser scowled. 'I don't need you to soften him up, Kamek! I can handle the idiot just fine on my own.'

'Of course, sire.'

Suddenly, the door crashed open. Instantly all the koopatrols dropped into a battle stance, raising spiked fists in front of their metal-plated chests. The red-and-blue figure who'd just burst through the door skidded to a halt, looking around in bewilderment at the lines of waiting troops.

'Wait up!' Bowser ordered, and the koopatrols relaxed their stance. However, he knew they were ready to attack if Mario so much as breathed too forcefully.

'Be careful, sire,' hissed Kamek. Bowser grinned and walked down the steps of the platform, folding his arms arrogantly as he went. The koopatrols, without needing to be told, slid to either side to open a path for him. He had never felt more powerful in his life.

'Well, plumber boy,' he said, stopping about ten feet away from Mario. 'How's it been going?'

Mario said nothing. He stood half-crouched, his body tense, watching Bowser warily.

'I was wondering when you were gonna show your ugly face here again. You sure took your time.'

Mario opened his mouth to retort, but then froze, staring at something behind Bowser's back. And he looked horrified. With a growl, Bowser whirled around to see what had caught the plumber's attention – then stopped dead when his gaze fell upon Luigi standing at the base of the steps.

'Bro!' Mario cried out. He took an involuntary step forwards before being forced back by the battalion of koopatrol soldiers. 'Are you OK?'

Luigi was breathing hard and supporting himself on his new cane, his injured leg held off the floor. Like Mario, he looked stunned, though Bowser suspected it was for entirely different reasons.

Then, all of a sudden, his shoulders slumped and he looked at the floor.

'It's fine, Mario,' he said quietly. 'You don't have to explain anything. I know why you did it.'

'Did what?' Mario said, blinking in surprise.

Before Luigi could answer, Bowser let out an earth-shaking roar that made both brothers jump to attention.

'As cosy as this reunion is, I'm the one talking here!' he said, taking a step closer to Mario. 'And I've got a question for you. Why are you here?'

'Why... am I here?'

Another bellowing roar rang out; behind the throne, Kamek cringed.

'Did your brain fall out through your nose?!' Bowser snarled. 'Why are you here?! Did you finally decide to get off your backside and rescue you spineless little brother?'

Mario's gaze dropped to the floor. He looked uncomfortable. 'I can explain.'

'Really? Go on then. I'm pretty curious to hear it myself. In fact, just lemme take a good seat over here.' In a quick series of leaps, Bowser ascended the platform and settled down on his elaborate throne, looking down at his arch-rival with a grin that had no humour in it. 'Spill the beans, plumber boy.'

Mario drew in a deep breath and began to speak, so rapidly that Bowser had to concentrate to keep up with what he was saying.

'After I left here yesterday, with Peach, we both thought... well, we both assumed you were just going to kill Luigi,' he said, carefully not looking at anyone in the room. 'I didn't think there was any chance we'd be able to get him back in time. I thought: 'this is it, I'm not going to see him again. I made my decision, and my decision was to save Peach.' But then your message came to us, and we realised Luigi and Daisy were both still alive and unharmed. But...' He hesitated.

'Go on,' Bowser growled.

'Something in Peach... changed,' Mario continued, sounding wretched. 'She said that her kingdom and subjects were much more important than two people, no matter how much she cared about them. She refused to give in.'

Bowser folded his arms. He wished he could see Luigi's face, see his reaction to all of this, but the green-capped man was staring fixedly at Mario. 'And I guess you didn't try very hard to change her mind,' he scoffed.

'Of course I tried!' Mario shot back, some of his usual fire returning. 'But she said there was no way she was ever gonna give in to you! And then, just a while ago, she came to me. In secret. She was crying. She said she couldn't bear to lose her best friend because of this. And she asked me to sneak in here and rescue Daisy. So... that's why I'm here. I'm gonna fight you and beat you, and then I'm gonna get Daisy back – and Luigi, too.' He glared hatefully up at Bowser. 'Peach doesn't deserve everything you've put her through.'

Bowser just sat there, so surprised that he couldn't even begin to form any sort of a comeback. At the bottom of the steps, Luigi stood, looking as motionless as the koopatrol soldiers that surrounded him. Complete silence filled the room. Even Kamek, lurking somewhere behind Bowser's throne, didn't have a word to say.

Then Bowser opened his mouth and a great burst of laughter came out. It wasn't even real laughter, sounding more incredulous than amused, and he had no idea why he was doing it. Everyone stared at him as if they were worried he was losing his mind. Finally, doubled over in his throne, he managed to force the strange laughter back down where it had come from and locked eyes with Mario.

'Oh, this is rich!' he exclaimed, thumping a fist on the arm of the throne. 'This is a great story to tell!' Another choking bout of laughter slipped out of his mouth. 'You're willing to come here and rescue Princess Daisy because you're doing it for Peach, but you wouldn't come here just to save your brother! You've got your priorities in a weird place, plumber boy!' Mario hunched his shoulders and said nothing. 'I don't even wanna fight you over something this stupid. In fact... Kamek! Get Daisy out of her cell and bring her up here. NOW!'

'What are you doing?' Mario demanded.

'What do you think I'm doing, plumber boy? I'm giving you what you and your sweetheart want. You can have Daisy. I don't want her here anyway; she annoys me. Take her back.'

Once again, everyone in the room – even a few of the well-disciplined koopatrols – stared at their King in shocked silence. A minute later, three Hammer Bros came hurrying forwards with Daisy, who was fighting tooth and nail to reach Luigi. It took all three of them to restrain her and they still looked like they were having trouble.

'Take her to Mario,' Bowser instructed. He was beginning to enjoy the drama that was playing out in front of him.

Mario's mouth opened as the guards forcibly dragged Daisy towards him. She was still trying desperately to reach her boyfriend, who was standing stock-still at the bottom of the steps.

Bowser stood up and slashed his claws through the air with a metallic whirring noise. 'Take her and get out of my castle.'

'Not until you hand Luigi over.'

The King scoffed. 'No way. You came here for Daisy. You're getting Daisy. Don't push your luck.'

'I came for Luigi too-!'

For the third time, a roar erupted that made everyone in the room resist the urge to cover their ears.

'Don't lie, plumber boy!' he bellowed. 'You didn't come here to rescue your weakling of a brother – if it weren't for Daisy then you wouldn't be here at all! You came for her, and were just hoping you might be able to rescue Luigi on the side! He was never your priority. Get out of my castle!'

Deep down, a part of him wondered why his temper was boiling so high. Why did it matter to him if Mario cared about his brother or not? Their pathetic excuse for a family relationship had nothing to do with him. Maybe it was simply because he'd expected so much more from the man who, in the Mushroom Kingdom, had always been praised as a hero. Now, upon realising that Mario valued Peach a hundred times more than anyone else, including his own little brother, he couldn't help feeling a sense of disgust.

Suddenly, Mario shifted his weight. Then he charged, taking advantage of the gap the koopatrol battalion had created to sprint past them all and fling himself up onto the platform with an impressive jump. His face was contorted in rage and a white-gloved fist was pulling back to strike the Koopa King before his feet had even touched the floor of the platform.

'STOP!' a voice rang out, but nobody paid any attention.

Mario's fist slammed into his jaw, hard enough that even the seven-foot-tall King was knocked down. He collapsed against the side of the throne and grunted with pain as sharp pieces of gemstones dug into his scales. He could taste blood in his mouth and was pretty sure a tooth had been loosened. Blindly, he lashed out with his claws in an attempt to hit Mario and throw him off the edge of the platform, but the plumber dodged his clumsy, disorientated blow with ease and lunged forwards for another.

Then there came a sickening thud of wood against flesh, and Mario staggered backwards, clutching his side. Bowser had no idea what had just happened, but he took full advantage of it. Using the throne as a crutch, he pulled himself halfway to his feet and struck out again, snarling with bloodthirsty satisfaction when his claws caught Mario's arm, opening a trio of thin gashes.

Mario stumbled backwards even further until he was standing precariously on the very edge of the platform. Hunched over, bruised and bleeding slightly, there was nothing in his eyes except disbelief. Bowser shifted his weight, absently reaching up to feel around inside his mouth. Then he caught sight of Luigi standing beside him, gripping the cane he'd used to hit Mario with. His face was set in a determined scowl.

'Get out,' he said, his voice shaking. He looked directly into Mario's eyes while he spoke.

Bowser withdrew his hand, sucking in a breath when his fingers came away bloody. 'You heard him,' he growled, pointing a threatening claw at Mario. 'Get the hell out of my castle before I finish you off right here and now.'

Mario looked like he had no idea what to do or say. His gaze kept flicking back and forth between his brother and Bowser.

'Luigi,' he said pleadingly, 'I swear this wasn't how things were meant to turn out. I messed up, yeah, I've been stupid, but I wanted to save you. You're important to me-'

'Not as important as Princess Peach, though, is he?' Bowser snarled. He swung his claws through the air again, missing Mario's face by mere inches. 'Give it up, plumber boy. You've got Daisy, so now you can run back to your sweetheart and you can both be happy together.'

'Not until-'

'GUARDS!' Bowser roared, and had the satisfaction of seeing his arch-rival flinch as every koopatrol in the room turned towards him. But it wasn't over yet.

'I don't understand!' Mario exclaimed, staring at Luigi and looking lost. 'Why did you stop me attacking him?' He jerked a finger towards Bowser. 'If I beat him then we could have both escaped together! Everything would have been OK!'

Luigi drew in a sharp breath. 'I-I'm not sure,' he admitted. 'It just... felt like the right thing to do. Besides,' he added, a hint of steel entering his voice now, 'you don't care that much about me. It's just like Bowser said – you'll risk your life doing anything for Peach, but you won't do the same for me.' His voice was rising, becoming frantic. 'Maybe it's better for everyone if I just stay here.'

'Don't be stupid, Luigi!' Mario looked stricken. The hand that wasn't holding his side was stretched out towards his brother. 'I'm not leaving until you come with me. I know I've screwed up, I know I've been a terrible excuse for a brother, but I want to make things right!' He sounded like he was about to start crying. 'Please?'

Luigi bit his lip, almost stepped forwards, then stopped and shook his head. 'Sorry, Mario. I can't come back with you, just to be... unwanted. I know now that nobody's really interested in me back home. I'm just your weak little brother. Not important. Not worth risking your life over.'

'So what are you gonna do?' Mario demanded. 'Are you going to stay here with Bowser?'

Luigi blinked. 'I-I don't know,' he said. Before he could go on, Bowser straightened up and slashed his claws through the air again. He was getting bored with this little soap opera now; time to end it.

'Koopatrols!' he roared. 'Get him out of here and escort him back into the borders of the Mushroom Kingdom. And those guys who have Daisy, do the same.' Without hesitation, the guards surrounded Mario and began forcing him away towards the door. He seemed too dazed to put up much of a fight.

Daisy wasn't planning on going so quietly. 'LUIGI!' she screamed, clawing at the arm of the Hammer Bro holding her, 'I swear, as soon as I get back I'm going to find a way to save you too! I'm not leaving you here!'

Luigi gave her a small, sad smile. 'Thanks, Daisy,' he said softly. 'But you don't to go to all the trouble. I-I'll be OK.'

By the time he finished speaking, the guards had taken Daisy too far away for her to hear him. She was forced out of the door, followed closely by Mario. Bowser stayed standing beside his throne. He didn't move, didn't even glance at Luigi, until the metallic sound of the soldiers' footsteps beating at the stone floors had faded into the distance and he was sure they were alone again.

Then he suddenly turned and grabbed Luigi's arm, none too gently. 'Come on, in here,' he muttered and began to lead the young man down the steps. 'We're gonna have a talk.'

He was vaguely aware of Kamek watching them curiously from the shadows, but he completely ignored the magikoopa and strode off into another room, the door thumping shut behind him.