Hello again! Thanks, James Birdsong, for the review. This chapter is a bit delayed, but it introduces a lot of action which makes it a bit longer, so I hope you enjoy it.

She was in pain. She was being grabbed, tugged at, and pulled sharply into darkness. She tried to scream, but the relief of it wouldn't come. So instead, she struggled with all her might, but the pull was too strong, and she just kept falling, and falling, and falling ...

Rose woke up in a cold sweat. She could feel her heart thudding in her head. Her blood was hot and rushing, and yet she shivered. Her eyes darted around frantically until she realized with great relief that she was in her familiar pink bedroom. She could see one of her favorite childhood dolls looking at her from her desk (she kept it there because it helped lift her mood sometimes), and everything seemed quite the same. Her wall clock was ticking and pointing to 2:34 AM. The moonlight illuminated the room, and she could almost hear the crickets chirping outside through her panic.

It's okay, Rose, everything's fine, she assured herself. It was just a bad dream.

She tried to lie down and pull the covers back over her head, but she couldn't fall asleep. She was weak and exhausted, and yet she was still unable to do as much as simply close her eyes. She hadn't had a nightmare in years ... even when the Kingdom's business got so stressful she almost wanted to cry, she still slept peacefully. So why did she have a nightmare so terrible now, when she had fallen asleep in a luxurious peace? Her logical mind was intent on figuring it out, while her body was begging for rest.

Shaking, Rose got up and out of her canopy bed and staggered over to her desk. On her desk lay something she had feared touching all day - a fresh copy of The Daily Mushroom, the Kingdom's most popular and trustworthy newspaper. Normally, she would have read it with eagerness - for what Princess did not know her Kingdom's news? But today, she had been worried and anxious that she would see something Bowser-related. She knew it was unlikely, and that everyone mostly thought it was just a silly rumor, just like her Aunt had said, and yet she wondered if that had changed. She couldn't decide if she wanted the Kingdom's citizens to know or not. On one hand, she did not want everyone horrified for her and full days full of panic and anxiety, but she also wanted everyone to be prepared. Was it selfish to choose her comfort over the Toads'? She couldn't decide that either.

I shouldn't be thinking about such serious things in the middle of the night, she thought to herself once more. And yet, she sat down at her desk, and, pushing her messy hair out of her way, she turned on the small lamp at her desk and strained her eyes as she read the first few pages of the paper. Everything seemed fairly normal; nothing unusual seemed to be reported. She found herself sighing with relief. There was one political cartoon depicting Bowser's "return," though, but it was clearly meant to be nothing but humorous and was simply making fun of the situation. She relaxed, for the Kingdom's sake. She didn't want everyone in a panic just yet - enough people were worried already.

She sighed, turned off her lamp, and flopped herself back into bed, as much as she wanted to find out more. She looked up at her ceiling - it was clean and flawless, which relaxed her eyes. Then she looked through her window at the stars. They were twinkling and sparkling in great abundance. The moon was nearly full, and it gave the whole scene a very majestic glow. Then, suddenly, she saw something unusual glimmer in the sky, far away. Curious and somewhat afraid, she quickly ran up to her window. She knew it was probably just some kind of private airplane, but who would be out flying at this time?

Then, it disappeared. Rose had almost completely accepted the fact that she had probably missed it, and just as she was about to turn back to her bed, it flashed by the moon. And it was right then that she saw the silhouette and she could feel her blood run cold in her veins.

Perhaps she was mistaken ... she hoped she was ... but the silhouette was unmistakable.

It looked exactly like Bowser's Clown Copter.

Bowser smiled, as he often did when he witnessed his son's success at something. Junior was returning from a ride on the Clown Copter, which was an act of relaxation, observation, and training at the same time. Bowser had grown so trusting of his youngest son, in fact, that he allowed him to drive his favorite vehicle, as well as doing many other advanced things. Bowser had turned sixteen just a few days ago, and the old King was considering his plans. This summer seemed like a good time to execute it; Junior seemed quite ready, and from what he had heard, the Mushroom Kingdom's new Princess Rose, daughter of his archenemy, Mario, was now fourteen years old, which was old enough for her to be instrumental in his plan.

It was then that the Clown Copter landed in its proper "parking spot" near the Castle, and Junior eagerly climbed out of it. It must be said that those who remembered Junior back in his time of being just a baby or a very young toddler, would not have recognized him. Instead, they would probably think that Bowser had somehow found a youth potion, because Junior looked almost identical to Bowser in his youth - a time even before Bowser and Mario's rivalry began, and that was quite a while ago.

Bowser wished he could have started his "career" at an age so young, and he wished he could have received the advanced training he believed he was rightfully delivering to Junior. In fact, Bowser and his son were so alike that he imagined that when he would pass away, a time that would inevitably come, since Junior would become King Bowser II, he would have the same threatening and unspeakably intimidating appearance that Bowser, once again, strongly believed that he had had a few decades ago, before he went into what everyone seemed to assume was permanent seclusion, caused by shame from being defeated by the Mushroom Kingdom one too many times.

Those fools. They had no idea what was coming their way. They had no idea of the revenge plot he had spent years constructing. Bowser grinned at his approaching son.

"Hey, Dad," Junior said. "my test of the 'Copter went with no problems."

"Really?" Bowser asked. "There were no issues with flying in the night?"

"No," Junior responded, with a hint of pride. "We trained for that, didn't we?"

"Heh, I guess you're right," Bowser responded. "I have something important to discuss with you, actually."

"Does this involve your ... plan?" Junior questioned in a slightly hushed voice.

"Yes, but we shouldn't discuss it right here, out in the open. Follow me inside the Castle; we'll talk about it in there."

Once the father and son had entered the castle and begun walking along the long, marbled halls (which were covered in pictures of Bowser and his children, but mostly of Bowser. There were even a few pictures of Bowser at Junior's age, which, not surprisingly, strongly resembled Junior), Bowser immediately started talking.

"I think it's time for my plan to begin," he said, somewhat excitedly.

"You mean I'm ... ready?" Junior responded incredulously.

"Yes," Bowser stated simply. "You're clearly very skilled, you're a fast learner, and you're of just the right age - and so is the Princess."

"The Princess?" Junior asked, confused. "Princess Peach is no longer a Princess, she is a Queen. You know that, right?"

"Yes, of course I know that," Bowser responded quickly. "Oh, how odd, I guess I never told you about the new Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom."

"I'm inclined to agree," Junior said. "There's a new Princess? I didn't know that."

"Yes, well, there's a new Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. She's the daughter of my lovely Peach and that disgusting, low-life plumber, Mario. She's named Princess Rose Maria Toadstool, I believe, and she's recently turned fourteen years old. She is instrumental to my plan," Bowser explained.

"Mario had a daughter?!" Junior exclaimed. "Wait, so does this mean Mario is King of the Mushroom Kingdom now?"

"Unfortunately, that's right," Bowser said with a sigh. "As if he didn't have enough attention already."

"So, what's your plan?" Junior asked. "You never told me the full thing."

"That was because you weren't ready to know," Bowser continued. "In fact, my plan is quite simple. Here's what you're going to do. You're going to kidnap the Princess, but you're going to do it in a different manner than what I used to do before. Instead of causing a huge scene, you are to be stealthy and careful. Not a single resident of the Mushroom Kingdom must know that you were ever present, and no one must be harmed - yet. The Princess should be somehow lured into an empty area, alone - how this will be done is up to you - and then snatched and swiftly brought here. In this Castle, she must be treated like the Princess that she is - she will live in a luxurious room, not a prison cell, and treated with the utmost respect and dignity by servants, no matter how much she resists and protests. All escape possibilities will be strictly cut off, and once she has lived in that room for a few days, she'll probably calm down a little bit - and that's where we step in."

"I'm listening," Junior confirmed attentively. "Go on."

Flattered by the attention he was receiving, Bowser kept talking. "Because her parents have probably coached her many times and prepared her for these situations, she's probably prepared to imagine that she will be forced to marry you. That is not our goal at all, but she doesn't need to know that. And so, she and her little Kingdom will be warned that if they don't surrender, that's exactly what's going to happen. Now, of course, Mario wouldn't want his sweet little girl in that kind of trouble, so it won't be long until he takes measurements to save her. We can expect anything; maybe he'll go alone, maybe he'll go with a bunch of family members; maybe he'll send someone different entirely; it doesn't matter. Our Army has been undergoing heavy training for years, and is almost three times larger, and more vicious, than it was before. I have learned from my past mistakes; and we will hit Mario and his sidekicks with something totally unexpected. Are you following me here?"

"Yes, Dad," Junior nodded. "But if our plan isn't for me to marry her, then what are we going to do with the Princess?"

"Right. I'm getting there," Bowser reassured his son. "Now, I can practically guarantee you that she will not cooperate. She will be screaming that she won't tell us anything, she won't give away any secret information, she won't talk to us, and that we can do whatever we want to her but she will remain silent. Plus, she probably doesn't even know too much valuable information, since she's only fourteen, anyway. Interrogating her is not a priority. What we're going to do, Junior, is brainwash her."

"Brainwash her? How?!" Junior exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Kamek and I have been perfecting a hypnosis spell for years and years now, and we finally have it - Kamek says it's guaranteed to work, and Kamek's usually right in these situations. In the worst case, if it doesn't work, we could always just keep the Princess captive until we come up with something that does. Basically, we'll brainwash the Princess to believe that she was betrayed and abused by her parents, that her rightful place is in the Dark Land, and that the Mushroom Kingdom is her enemy that must be conquered. You see, my son, Princess Rose knows many things and has such a bond with her parents that when she is revealed to them in her 'new form,' it will probably shatter their hopes, and break their hearts, and all that stuff. And then they will do two things - either give up and hand over the Mushroom Kingdom, or fight - and if they choose the second option, they will be easily overpowered. And when that happens, we will have a powerful new ally in the Princess. That's all we have for now," Bowser concluded proudly.

"Wow ... , " Junior muttered, stunned. "That's ... genius!"

"I know," Bowser replied. "and I also know that you are completely ready for this. How have you been able to achieve so much progress and success at such a young age?"

"Well," Junior cracked a smile, nearly recovered from his shock. "I learn from the best, don't I?"

Bowser laughed heartily. "Good answer!" He responded, slapping his son on the back. "Good answer."

It was with a great struggle that Rose fell asleep that night. She dreaded the next morning, when she would have to tell her parents all about what she had seen. It would have been so much easier to pretend that it had never happened, and she hated worrying them, but she knew informing them was the right thing to do.

Rose had no more nightmares that night, but that didn't comfort her much, because somehow she could feel that her own life was about to become a nightmare.