While walking Luigi to the training room, Bowser had found himself unceremoniously pulled aside by Kamek (who had, just as he expected, been listening at the door) and asked, in no uncertain terms, to explain exactly what was going on. At first he scoffed and told the magikoopa to mind his own business, but in the end his resistance had crumbled away to nothing.

Kamek had suspected – for some time now – that the King was at a loss, not knowing what to do about his 'prisoner'. After forty years of serving Bowser, it wasn't difficult for him to read the temperamental King's moods, and he'd gotten quite good at responding to them. Often, it fell upon Kamek to ease Bowser out of his worst tantrums, to stop him from destroying the entire Mushroom Kingdom out of sheer frustration.

Thus, it didn't surprise Bowser when Kamek informed him that, eavesdropping or not, he already knew what was going on. What did surprise him was that Kamek seemed perfectly OK with it.

'As long as you're certain of his honesty, my lord,' the magikoopa said with a little shrug, 'and you know he's not going to backstab us... Well, any new addition to this army is a good thing in my book.'

He even healed Luigi's leg, mending it completely with a casual flick of his wand, leaving the green-capped man looking dumbstruck. He then set his cane down and tentatively tried to walk, his eyes lighting up when he realised he could.

By that point, Bowser was starting to get impatient. He ushered Luigi inside the training room and called over a young Hammer Bro who wasn't too far from Luigi's height and build. Then he stood back against the wall and observed the pair as they fought, taking note of his former prisoner's skills and weaknesses. Luigi was fast, and a much better jumper than his brother, but he lacked Mario's raw strength and finesse. Well, more training would soon fix those problems.

At first, Luigi was clearly hesitant and unwilling to fight. Bowser had chosen his opponent well, though. The young Hammer Bro was enthusiastic but not at all aggressive, playfully baiting the young man into attacking him until eventually even Luigi's patience had burned out and he fought back. As soon as he realised that no-one was really going to get hurt, he threw himself into the battle with a ferocity that surprised Bowser. It was almost as if he were venting all his accumulated frustrations from over the past couple of days.

When he sensed that Luigi was beginning to get exhausted, Bowser called the fight to a halt and beckoned for him to come outside. As they walked out the door, the young Hammer Bro waved them off cheerfully before going to train with some other minions.

'So, h-how'd I do?' said Luigi, looking up at him curiously. He had removed his cap sometime during the fight when he noticed his hair starting to become damp with sweat underneath it. He was now holding the cap protectively against his chest, his hands no longer encumbered by a cane.

Bowser shrugged. 'OK, I guess.' In reality, he thought that Luigi had done pretty well, but he certainly wasn't going to start lavishing the guy with praise. Stars help him, but he didn't need Luigi developing an ego as big as Mario's. Or his own.

Luigi hummed in acknowledgement; he didn't seem offended. 'So what exactly am I gonna be doing?'

'I'll decide the details later,' Bowser growled. 'You're still pretty weak compared to my troops... but maybe if you work hard, you'll be able to join us the next time we invade Peach's kingdom...'

At that, Luigi paled and fell silent. It was obvious that, even though he'd basically turned his back on the Mushroom Kingdom and his old friends on account of the fact that none of them really wanted him, he still wasn't keen on the idea of causing trouble for them. Bowser just rolled his eyes and said nothing. He was sure that Luigi would settle into his new role soon enough. It wasn't like he had anything else to do around here.

Just then, he stopped, gazing around the corridors with a frown. He'd been mindlessly leading Luigi back towards the dungeon, without realising that there was no need for him to be there anymore. 'Huh...' he muttered, causing the young man to look up at him with a hint of surprise.

'What now?'

'I guess I have to give you an actual room,' Bowser grunted. Without elaborating, he turned and began to lead them along a different corridor, one which ended at the foot of a very long staircase. As they climbed up, he found himself grateful that Kamek had healed Luigi's broken leg; he certainly wouldn't have been willing to carry the guy all the way up the stairs.

'Um... where do the rest of your... minions sleep?'

He probably thinks everyone sleeps in one big room or something, Bowser thought, not sure whether to be more amused or exasperated. 'There's dorms,' he said shortly. 'Like... twenty dorms? I dunno. There's usually ten or so troops sharing one room. But forget about that, you can have your own room.'

To say Luigi looked surprised was an understatement; he tripped on his own feet and almost fell. 'Uhm, why?' he faltered.

Bowser snorted. 'You do realise that you were an enemy until a few hours ago, right? Sure, Kamek might be OK with you, and that guy in the training room... and Kortimer, I guess... but not everyone's gonna welcome you with open arms.'

Luigi made a very small 'oh' noise and kept walking. Bowser didn't miss the quick glance he threw over his shoulder to check that no-one was following them.

The King led him to a plain wooden door, which he unceremoniously kicked open to reveal a small, unadorned bedroom. There was a window that overlooked the rear side of the castle and the fiery mountains on the horizon, a bed with pale-blue covers, and a large cabinet for storing possessions. He glanced down and was gratified to see Luigi nodding and smiling faintly with approval.

'Don't go wandering around in the castle at night,' he said, looking straight into Luigi's eyes to make it clear that he wasn't joking. He didn't know for sure that any of his troops would try to harm Luigi if they encountered him, but considering he'd been a hostage – and enemy – only a few hours ago, it was a possibility. Bowser didn't relish the idea of Luigi getting killed or seriously injured, though he didn't know why. Maybe it was just because he knew the young man could be useful to him – and like Kamek had said, any new addition to the army was a good thing.

The next three days seemed to go by in a strange blur of mixed feelings, tough training and far too many thoughts swirling around Bowser's head.

He found himself beginning to actually enjoy Luigi's company. It happened so slowly that he didn't notice at first, until Kamek innocently mentioned 'how much time you've been spending with him lately'. Bowser had roared in the magikoopa's face, but later realised that Kamek had a point. He'd begun to actively seek out Luigi's presence, making excuses to drag him off for a training match or a quiet meal. He often approached Luigi to mock and insult him, but it was only because he enjoyed talking with him – not that he'd ever admit it.

And Luigi was rapidly changing as well. Gone was the shy, hesitant weakling who'd spent his life in his brother's shadow. He was confident, energetic, even witty. Whenever Bowser came stomping towards him for another round of insults, he just smiled and listened without a single protest. It was almost as if he enjoyed the company as much as Bowser himself did.

'Well, my King,' said Kamek when Bowser mentioned this to him, 'he's likely spent his life being coddled and looked after by other people. I don't imagine he's ever been around someone as... er... temperamental as yourself before. Perhaps that's all he needs for his true personality to emerge; someone to bicker and banter with.'

On the evening of the third day, Bowser was lurching along a corridor (not with any destination in mind – he just felt like walking) and nearly collided with Luigi, who was running too fast in the opposite direction.

'Watch it, Green!' he snarled.

'Eheh, sorry...' said Luigi sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. He didn't look scared, though. He'd stopped looking scared in the King's presence a long time ago, leaving Bowser to wonder just how much he'd lost his touch. 'I-I was actually just looking for you.'

'What?' Bowser blinked stupidly at that. 'Why?'

'Weeeell, I was walking back from the training room earlier, and one of your Koopas came up to me and said something like... 'take this message to Lord Bowser'.' He held out his hand to show a rolled-up sheet of paper clenched in his fist, held together by a simple red ribbon. 'I think it might be from – from the Princess. I remember that she used red ribbons on her letters sometimes...'

Bowser snatched up the letter almost before Luigi had finished speaking. Tearing the ribbon with a claw, he unrolled it and had scanned the contents in a couple of seconds. A sliver of disappointment curled in his gut; not unexpected, but still very much unwanted.

'Well,' he said, shredding the paper carelessly and tossing it aside, 'I guess that's the end of this 'big plan'.'

Luigi tilted his head curiously. 'Did she say...?'

'She refused my demands. Again!' Bowser resisted the urge to stamp a foot on the floor. As satisfying as that would've been, he knew it would have made him look childish. 'I can't believe her!'

'To be fair, Daisy is already rescued,' said Luigi reasonably. 'So you, eh, don't really have anything to bargain with... except me. And I don't count.'

Bowser just snorted. He'd already learned that Peach wouldn't give up her kingdom for Luigi, and her second letter hadn't been news to him. But that knowledge didn't make the bitter taste on his tongue go away. 'Yeah, apparently not.' He looked at the torn-up pieces of the letter on the floor, then turned and began to walk away with an air of finality. Luigi hurried up alongside him. Even though Bowser was massive, he was far from being quick-footed and Luigi had no trouble keeping up with his strides.

'So, how'd the training go?' the King asked as they walked through the castle. Not that he really cared about the answer – he just wanted to take his mind off his most recent failure to take over the Mushroom Kingdom.

Luigi's face lit up. 'Great!' he said happily. 'I finally managed to beat Harry without using any power-ups!' Harry was the name of the young Hammer Bro who had sparred with him on his first day in the training room. 'He said... oh, what did he say? ...He said I have the makings of a true fighter.'

Bowser couldn't stop a pleased smirk from curving up his mouth at how exuberant Luigi sounded. His frustration at Peach's letter was quickly melting away, to be replaced by a quiet – yes, quiet! - sense of pride at seeing his new charge's accomplishments. Maybe these last few days hadn't been a complete failure after all; he had Luigi, who was quickly proving to be a worthy minion. It almost made everything else worthwhile.

However, Bowser was a man of simple words, and so the waterfall of gleeful praise that wanted to leave his throat never came.

'Good,' he said gruffly, and without thinking he clapped Luigi on the shoulder just like he would with any other loyal minion. Luigi – being slighter than most Koopas – stumbled forwards a little, but he caught his balance and craned his head back to look at Bowser directly, a small smile on his face.

'Thanks,' he said. 'Um... hey, Bowser? I'm really happy you let me stay here. It's been great. R-really. I feel like I've... accomplished so much more than I ever did back home.'

'Yeah, yeah, don't get all slushy on me now,' said Bowser, rolling his eyes. 'Just keep up your training so you can actually be useful the next time we invade someplace.'

The old Luigi would have flinched and cowered away at his rough tone, not hearing the faint note of affection buried at the bottom of it. And the old Bowser wouldn't have even had such a note of affection in his voice. But things were different now, and neither of them could deny that the change was for the better. Luigi just looked away, grinning, and Bowser huffed in mock exasperation, knowing – and surprisingly not caring – that nothing he said or did would ever scare him again.