Disclaimer: Mario's Nintendo's property, not mine.

Chapter 19: What's Past is Prologue

Mario glanced at the sea floor below him, his arms and legs chained as he relived what happened moments ago in his mind. He had never seen Peach act so aggressively towards the death of someone so close to her, at least that was how it came across given her reaction. He would admit he didn't see Rosalina's body anywhere in the explosion, so there could be a chance that someone rescued her before the explosion, meaning she was still alive, but even that didn't heal his broken heart. His eyes tingled. Peach. His sweet and beautiful Peach. He screamed. Why?! Why did she do that?! Now she was possibly dead, and he couldn't even save her! He had tried to run after her, but Ludwig had caught him and with the help of Kamek, he was hauled away as everyone started to retreat. He had called out her name amidst the chaos, but there was no response. Nothing. And he was supposed to be a hero, someone who protects and fights for their people. He couldn't even do that to the person he loved the most.

It reminded him of the memories of his failed wedding all those months ago from Peach's kidnapping all the way through to Bowser's death. Everything was his fault, all because of one simple act that turned everything topsy-turvy. He slammed his fist on the ground. If he truly kept his anger in check, then none of this would've happened. The war wouldn't have started. Peach would still be alive. Why?! Why did he have to make everything go to hell?! "I don't see why you're acting so dramatic about the whole thing." Ludwig joined him amidst Mario's weeping. "You should've known this was gonna happen. The Mushroom Kingdom was always gonna fall. No need to be so dramatic about it."

"It should've been just me! I didn't want anyone else to die! Why couldn't it just be me?!"

The Koopa snorted. "You're even stupid than I thought."

"What?"

"Must I have to spill it out for you? Ugh. Of course I do, because you're just that blind. You really thought this was just about you? Do you even realize that there's more involved in this than just yourself?! I mean, how dumb are you to realize when I said, and I quote, 'the Mushroom Kingdom will face its retribution'? How dumb are you?!"

"I know that." Ludwig scoffed. "But it should've been just me! I didn't want anyone else to die!"

"Yeah. Good luck going far with that naïve thinking of yours." The ship landed in the hangar of the castle. He shoved the plumber off the ship. "Get moving." He took him towards the prison cells and opened the door. "Hello, Bowser Jr.! Guess who's home!" There was no response. "Still acting defiantly, I see. Whatever. You don't have to be alone anymore!" Ludwig shoved Mario in his cell before locking it. "Well," he said, "I hope you enjoy your last few days of solace because very soon, I will have the people decide what your fate is gonna be, and I can't imagine it being all sunshine and rainbows at the end for you. Well, I hope you enjoy each other's company!" He laughed and closed the door behind him. Mario stared in silence at Junior as he tossed and turned in his bed, not bothering to say a word. Mario sighed. Was this really the end? Well, there was nothing he could do except pray the Stars would save him. He wanted a chance to redeem himself, but now, that window was getting smaller every second that went by.

Ludwig smirked as he walked back to his airship. Finally, part one was complete. Now, the Mushroom Kingdom's demise was next on his list. "You can drop the facade, you know," Kamek said. "You know very well you aren't happy with the outcome even though we won."

The Koopa growled. "Of course I'm not! That was one of my most powerful spells, and that princess is still alive! I could tell from a mile away!" He took a deep breath. "Well, at least Mario won't escape anytime soon, especially since he's trapped by another Koopa who hates him. Just another way to shatter his already broken will. Either way, I won't stop until all of that resistance is snuffed out." He glanced at the Magikoopa. "Keep the castle secure while I'm gone. I will deal with Mario once when Peach and her dumb friends are dealt with." He boarded his airship and made his way towards Peach's Castle.

A Couple Hours Later

Ludwig smiled as he stood from the balcony of Peach's Castle. He looked below at the progress of the past couple hours since his arrival. Hundreds of Toads were lined up in chains as they marched. "Move it!" Roy yelled as he shoved two Toads forward. "Use your feet, damnit!" The line stretched all throughout the town, something Ludwig wanted to do the second he arrived to avoid any sort of uprising by anyone. There was one teeny tiny problem that could be described by one word: Peach. That dumb princess was still out there, scheming with her friends. He growled. He should've made sure she was dead. Well, even if she was dead, she still had her friends. They would've picked up the slack, which would really prove problematic since Mario's trial would've been after they were dealt with. Since he heard no word of Mario's escape, either he truly gave up hope, which Ludwig hoped for, or he was also scheming to escape, which was why the Koopa didn't want to wait for too long before anyone could try something. Peach and the majority of her friends still survived, and he needed to catch them quickly. To rectify this, he created a bounty of Peach and her friends. If captured or preferably killed, the soldiers who did said task would be rewarded with a 5,000-coin prize. Wario and Waluigi had taught him that money was a good extrinsic motivator; after all they were the very first ones to jump to the task. So maybe that was one way to encourage some results. Well, he had to be patient, or else Mario's trial would have to be pushed forward on his list of agendas if they weren't found soon. That could be one way to draw them out, but better to wipe the problem from the source so it didn't become a further complication.

"Lord Ludwig." He turned to see Captain Goomba and the other captains bowing.

"Speak."

"Well, we have spread the minions near the border of the Beanbean Kingdom like you requested and…" He paused as a worried look emerged on his face.

Ludwig rolled his eyes, already expecting the answer. "Just say it."

"We haven't found them." The Koopa sighed. "I'm sorry, Sire, but we're doing the best with what we have. A lot of our fellow minions died in the war. We're stretched out as is. I'm sorry that it isn't what you want to hear, but we really are doing the best we can."

Ludwig silently cursed to himself. He had forgotten that many of his brethren died in the war. No wonder he wasn't getting any results. Well, he shouldn't be hard on his troops. They were sacrificing their sleep all for the sake of him and his mission. It was no doubt things would be different if Junior was still king, but they were. Ludwig was chosen by his people to be king for a reason. He couldn't betray their trust. "I'm sorry. I'm just angsty. There are too many unknowns about our enemy that I want solved, but I forget we don't have enough resources to do all that I want accomplished. As your king, I ask you to forgive me for my ignorance."

"It's OK. We all share the same feelings and want Mario to pay for his actions."

"This goes beyond Mario." Ludwig gazed at the horizon. "I still remember what happened all those years ago: the day my siblings and I were abandoned."

Many Years Ago

Eight-year-old Ludwig rubbed his eyes as he sat up, a yawn overtaking him. The rest of his siblings were fast asleep, but he could hear yelling from below. The yelling had been very often, and it caused the Koopa to wake up, but he never once heard of their conversations, but Ludwig always had a sense of curiosity, but never once thought of actually listening in on their conversation. That was gonna change today. He opened the door, careful not to disturb his siblings and made his way towards the stairwell, the parents' voices echoing.

"You can't keep doing this, Morton!"

"Well, I'm sorry, Ella, but I'm stressed! I have to take care of the house, work, pay off the debt, and deal with seven freaking kids! I'm sorry, but it's starting to become too freaking much!"

"But that doesn't mean that you get to sneak away and try to drink your problems away! Our kids need us!"

"But I just don't know! I never asked to have these many children! It's always something every single minute! I've put so much of my paycheck that I am done with it all!" Ludwig flinched.

Ella was silent. "What?"

"I am done," Morton hissed. "You know what I did?" He held up a document. "I'm going to put in a divorce. I'm going to get my life back, and if I'm single by the time I die, then so be it because I'm done! It's over!"

"No! You can't leave me!"

"Too bad. I already wrote your name, meaning you agree with my terms. I'm turning this into the court to have it finalized, and once when it's done, I can live my life the way it should've been." He walked away as Ella sobbed, collapsing to the floor as Ludwig's body shook with horror. Father was leaving them?

He was about to walk down the stairs when Ella's cries stopped. She ran to the door. "Fine! Be that way because I'm going to send the kids to an orphanage so they can be raised by parents who can give them the happy lives they deserve! Go to hell!" She slammed the door and ran to the stairs as she spotted Ludwig. "Go wake your siblings. Now. We're leaving." Ludwig faintly nodded and went inside the room, waking them up one-by-one, but his face burned with anger as Ella packed all their supplies into her car and drove them to a nearby orphanage.

"Where are we going, Mama?" four-year-old Lemmy asked.

"Some place where you can grow up and have happy lives." Though none of his siblings were the wiser, Ludwig could easily see the tears from her face. He could see the regret she had when she was practically giving up on him and his siblings, and that showed when she brought them into the orphanage. She cast a fake smile throughout the whole affair, one that only fools couldn't see through. That day was the last that Ludwig would see either of his parents.

Two Years Later...

Ludwig stared at the window of the orphanage as the other children's laughter echoed down the hall. Two years had passed since he last saw either of his parents, and adjusting to the life of the orphanage wasn't easy. In the orphanage, there were many children of many different races, though there weren't many Koopas, making them feel outcast compared to the rest of the orphans. His younger siblings, especially Lemmy, would often be teased or even bullied by other orphans, and Ludwig had to be the big brother and stand up to them, even as far as threatening them if they didn't stop, and more often than not, it worked. But rumors traveled fast, and the aggression of the Koopa caused others to completely alienate them when all his younger siblings wanted to do was to make friends, something Ludwig had little interest in since his goal was to keep his siblings together. That was his mission until the right parents came along for them. But they didn't.

Over the years, he had lost count of how many parents had merrily glossed over them just because of the number of siblings there were. Every one that came to see them gave the same old excuses either "We can't afford to take care of them." or "Seven siblings? Too much." Things never seemed to change, and Ludwig thought he and his siblings were gonna be stuck in this perpetual cycle forever with no means of escape, but things suddenly changed one day, and for the better. On that day, Ludwig and his siblings were by themselves, either playing with one another like Larry and Lemmy, or in their own world like Iggy with his constant experimenting of his toys and Wendy examining her nails. Ludwig was in his own thoughts when the door opened, and the orphanage manager walked in. "Koopalings," he said. "We have another parent for you." Ludwig rolled his eyes, already expecting the worst.

"Let's get this over with." The eight walked towards the entry way where a large, shelled Koopa was standing in front of the door and tapping his foot in impatience. A Magikoopa of some sort stood beside him.

"Here you are, Mr. Bowser. Here are the children you requested."

"That's Lord Bowser to you," he growled. "Get it right."

"There's no need to be so harsh, Your Brashness."

"Shut it, Kamek! I expect people to address me by my proper name!"

"M... My apologies, Lord Bowser. Momentarily forgot you were a king." Ludwig raised his eyebrows. King, huh? He could picture who this Bowser was based on one sentence: some snobbish, old man who thought of himself before anyone else, just like the rest of the other parents before him.

"Hey, you." Ludwig gazed at the old Koopa. "You got a problem with me? It's written all over your face."

"Clearly," Ludwig said sarcastically. "Based on that one interaction alone, that clearly tells not only what your character trait is, but also why you're here to which I say no thank you. I want parents who will actually love us instead of using us to their own means. Forget it. You're not adopting us. Come on, guys." He was about to walk away when an arm grabbed him. He glanced at Wendy. "I said 'no'. He's not becoming our-"

"I don't care anymore!" she yelled. "Look at what's happened to us over the past two years! Lemmy's been bullied for who he is! I've never been able to hang out with any girls and I'm tired of it all! So many parents have looked over us and yet you're not willing to grab the hand of the first person who's literally had interest in us?! Seriously?!"

"Yes! What if he's like the rest?! You've seen his snobbish attitude right in front of you! I won't have a parent who'll just use us to his own ends! End of discussion!" There was a moment of silence.

"Is what you say true?" Bowser asked. "Have your parents truly abandoned you?"

"Why is that any of your business?"

"Because I'm an orphan, too." That statement caught Ludwig and the others by surprise. He, an almighty king, was an orphan? A part of him wanted to believe that was a lie, but the gloomy look on his face said otherwise. He still wasn't convinced either way. "And sure. It might not be convincing, but I've been a loner for all my life. I barely knew my parents. My stepfather, Kamek, told me the story of a huge war that broke out when I was only a couple years old. My father, King Viktor Koopa II, was a power thirsty Koopa who always wanted to expand the territory of the Koopa Kingdom. He felt that the world should feel the might of Dark Land. My mother, Queen Alexia Koopa, denied his wishes, and the two would often squabble." His muscles tensed as his breathing became uneven. There were even tears that he struggled to hold back. Kamek rubbed his shoulder in support. "I'm sorry. This part both angers and hurts me at the same time. The arguments escalated to fights and eventually an all-out war." That sent chills down Ludwig's spine as his siblings murmured to each other. He had vaguely heard of the wars of long ago. When he wasn't fending some bully for the umpteenth time, he would go down to the library to read, not only to clear his mind, but to educate himself. He never went to school, so learning more about the world became imperative to him. He had read about the war that happened a long time ago: The Dark Land Civil War, and all the atrocities that went along with it. He had read the history of the tyrannical king of Dark Land and the reputation that went along with it, and that only deepened his anger towards them and that brought up memories of his parents and how they abandoned them. It was no wonder he was against Bowser being his father in the first place. "Two factions emerged from the arguments for people who were either for or against my father. Then a huge civil war broke out between the two factions. I was forced to flee and hide when the soldiers breached the castle."

"I remember the very last words his mother told me as she was dying," Kamek said. "She said, 'You must hide. Please. Take my son and flee.' And so, I did. I teleported him to the faraway Yoshi Island where he could be safe, but all the trauma caused him to lash out at the residents of the island."

Bowser took over once more. "So, there you go. The story of my childhood. It wasn't easy for me to reclaim the throne. The only thing that reunited the kingdom was the Shroob Invasion, but I get why you would hate me. To be honest, I've been wanting someone just to give me the love I never had. That's why I've been going after Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom."

"So? Just ask her out. Why make things complicated?"

"You really think she's gonna trust someone who's a Koopa? She's heard the stories. She knows just how bad Koopas can be, so that's why. Besides, making sure I have full control of both kingdoms will help in the long run as we establish our relationship. I have a simple request, one that you could say no to, but recently, my schemes haven't been taken off because of the stupid Mario Brothers, who are the Mushroom Kingdom's frontal forces against me. I need help dealing with them. I will promise not to abuse you or anything like that in return. You will be treated like actual sons and daughters. I may not know a lot about what it means to be a parent, but I need help, and maybe Peach can be your mother, too. Do you agree with my terms?"

All eyes turned to Ludwig considering that while everyone else might've been for it, he for one explicitly stated against the notion. He would be lying to say that his opinion of him hadn't changed. He never would've guessed he was the son, but he still had one problem. If he was to truly go with this, that would mean having to be trained for the line of duty, and that meant facing certain death if these Mario Brothers were to be strong as they seem if the Koopa King himself was having trouble. But was facing certain death against fearsome foes really worth some love that a king who had little to no basis of even worth it in the end? Ludwig had plans to live a happy and prosperous life, and a life of the military wasn't what he had in mind. "How can you promise us we won't die if we agree?" he asked. "You're basically asking us to face an enemy that you can't even beat, and the likelihood of us beating him decreases dramatically. How can we fight him given those conditions?"

Bowser didn't respond for a while. He sighed. "You're right. I haven't been able to fight him off. But Kamek is a world class sorcerer who can teach you how to use spells and you'll be prepared that way. Does that give you the reassurance you need?"

Magic. That was an option Ludwig could get behind. Magic had uses of its own that physical strength didn't have. Suddenly the odds seemed more favorable. "Very well then. I accept those terms."

Bowser smiled. "Excellent. You won't go on the battlefield until I deem you ready, but I thank you so much. You will become a great asset for the Koopa Kingdom. Now, come, my newly acquired children. Let's take you to your new home."

Present Day

Ludwig smirked. Those truly were the good-old days. Now, things were worse than ever before, and all thanks to that dumb princess. It was a bit ironic how he and the others could've gotten a mother's love from Peach, but now she was far from one. He couldn't afford to wait any longer. They had to be dealt with now. He turned to the captains. "I'm not waiting anymore. We're having the trial tomorrow."

"But what about Peach and the others?" Captain Goomba asked.

"I want Mario's trial to be spread far and wide. We can easily draw them out if they know Mario's about to die. That way, I can set up the perfect traps for them. I can kill two birds with one stone. That is all. Leave me." They bowed and left. A snarl curled on Ludwig's face. He was gonna make them both pay.

Thanks for reading. Next time, in order to have any fighting chance to win the war, Luigi and the others make a dareing escape, but things turn for the worse when Ludwig gets involved in Chapter 19: The Escape.