Bowser's Castle Meeting Room, 11: 30 A.M.

The alarm sounded just after the first initial explosion; if there was a way to drive home just how surprising an assault on the Koopa Kingdom's base of operations truly was, this was it.

"What?" Bowser exclaimed upon feeling the entire meeting room being jarred. "Dad! What's happening?" Bowser Jr asked in a worried tone; one did not just attack Koopa Castle.

"Apparently, someone doesn't value their army." Bowser said darkly. "Battle Stations!" Bowser called out. The command was reiterated over the loudspeakers as the rest of the castle went into battle mode.

Upon Bowser exiting the meeting room, he was greeted with the 'army' brave enough to invade his home. "I… I see." Bowser said, clearly faltering in the face of the invaders. Nobody, including Bowser and his Koopalings could have prepared themselves for the army in front of them.

Mainly because there were no living soldiers or warriors amongst the enemy ranks. The walls, floor and ceiling were oozing ink and other substances used for non-digital media, and from this ink, paint, oil and other mediums entire constructs spawned and were given life. In fact, when one of these constructs broke or were 'killed', it just led to two and sometimes three more being brought to life in its place.

Bowser strongly suspected that only one person was actually invading his castle; given Kamek's ability to summon an army of Dry Bones, this would not be the first instance of a one-man invasion. However, it was the first time such a tactic had been used against the Koopa King.

And for the first time in a very long time, the Koopa King found his forces on the defensive as the Ink Constructs, which contained male and female members of all shapes, sizes, power levels and 'ranks', laid a blitzkrieg upon the harried Koopa Troop defending their liege's castle with their very lives.

"Kamek!" Bowser called out, as he promptly defended himself from a particularly massive Ink Berserker. He blocked the first two punches before intercepting the third with an uppercut of his own, liberating the Berserker's head as soon as he connected. As if to confirm all theories, the Ink Construct merely slithered away in a puddle and reformed into two more Berserkers some distance away.

"Jr!" Bowser said, jarring his trembling youngest son out of freezing from fear for just a moment. The 12-year-old Koopaling looked up at his father. "Yeah, Dad?" He answered.

"Go find the other Koopalings. Tell them they need to get you as far away from this castle as you can. Rendezvous with General Galahad, and wait for me to meet with you there." Bowser said as quietly as he possibly could. He sensed the telltale signs of Mental Energy from the Ink Constructs, but Jr. getting his retreat orders were more important. Bowser sighed in relief when Jr. only hesitated for just a moment before he jumped over an incoming Ink Construct and then out of reach of the battle.

As if anticipating that the invaders would attack his retreating youngest son, Bowser jumped into the air and pounded the ground with both fists and feet, and the resultant Ring of Hatred forced every construct of every type to be shunted away from his son. This had the added effect of also off-balancing the ground troops guarding the castle, but the Paratroopas and other airborne members of Bowser's Forces covered for them nicely.

"Kamek!" Bowser called out again. This time, his cries were heeded, as he and Kammy teleported to the Koopa King's side. "Oh, good, you're both here." Bowser said, as he knocked away four Ink Pawns with one kick each. "Your highness, we did our best, but we were taken off-guard." Kammy apologized.

"Amongst our enemies, there's only four living Energy Signatures." Kamek informed, as he produced a barrier to fend off the incoming Ink Berserkers. "Do these glorified crayon leaks have a uniform signature?" Bowser asked, as he activated both Dragon and Universal Energy in preparation for Kamek's barrier to eventually break.

"Of the four living Energy Signatures, only two seem to actually be generating these ink monsters." Kamek informed. Bowser shrugged. "Interesting. And only two are actually doing any sort of work to invade. Looks like the Mario Bros. have competition." Bowser said with a chuckle; he couldn't hide his excitement at a strong opponent, but at the same time knew he had to ensure he made it to his children after this battle.

As soon as Kamek's barrier dropped, Bowser retracted into his shell and shot forward. He ripped right through every single Ink Construct in his way, with Kamek and Kammy floating behind him and zapping any and all puddles that looked as though they were trying to regenerate. It was only a matter of moments before Bowser had made it to the main rooms of the castle, and he promptly burst into the throne room.

The cheers that sounded from the rest of the Koopa Troop present was music to the Great Koopa's ears, for that meant a morale boost for his forces. However, upon exiting his shell, Bowser realized just how bad the situation actually was.

What was left of his throne room was just some bits of the walls and the throne itself; it was clear that at least one of the explosions from earlier had happened in this very room. The Koopa Troop that survived and were relatively unscathed were divided between fending off the Ink Constructs in increasingly disfavorable odds and getting the wounded to relative safety.

"Kammy! The troops." Bowser's order need not be finished as Kammy surrounded herself, Kamek and all the Koopas (healthy or otherwise) with protective barriers. Upon doing so, Bowser immediately inhaled and then exhaled, unleashing a massive stream of fire as he did. But it wasn't just any Fire Breath attack; no, this stream of fire was mixed with equal parts Universal and Dragon Energy. As such, the Ink Constructs were all melted and evaporated entirely, never to reform.

At least, not in this battle as all the evaporated ink coalesced into a cloud before descending to the ground as blinding mist. Kamek, Bowser and Kammy all stood with their shells facing one another, not allowing whatever appeared next to seize any of their blind spots.

"Interesting." A smooth, contralto and seductive voice sounded in Bowser's mind. "Looks like the Koopa King isn't all hot air and bluster." She continued. Bowser looked around.

"Who-? Peach?!" Bowser asked incredulously. "No… If she could read minds, she wouldn't get caught by surprise so much." Bowser pondered.

"Can't tell who we are, eh?" An equally smooth, much deeper, yet still seductive male voice sounded in everyone's heads. "Allow us to demonstrate."

With that, the mists coalesced into four figures.

One Month Later

'Dear Luigi,

Please come to the castle. I've baked a cake for you.

See you soon,

Your's truly, Princess Peach Toadstool'

Princess Peach's Castle Courtyard, 8:00 A.M.

The warp pipe raised from the ground a good distance away from the castle. When Luigi and then Mario jumped out of the entrance pipe, the castle in its entirety was visible all at once.