Bowser vs. Toad

A group of koopas are exploring a strange world suspended in the air. The surrounding clouds formed spiral patterns in a permanent red sky. Eventually, the scouts encounter a blocky-looking local. She agrees to guide them to an abandoned village on a mountaintop. While ascending, the koopas could see neighborhoods below undergoing reconstruction. Hours later, the trip comes to a halt in front of a memorial stone.

"Here we are, gentlemen. This is all that's left of Vaultville." The woman announces. The koopa, with an eye patch, examines the stone. Carved into it is the name of former residents.

"It is a memorial to a tragedy that befell the town. The event happened 40 years ago."

"Were you present for the event?" A koopa inquires.

The local wags her finger at him, annoyed. "Hey, I'm not giving my exact age! But yes, I was there. At night there would be this horrible screeching. Then a neighbor would go mad and attack anyone in sight. Out of fear people barricaded their doors. You never knew who was next. Then one day, the torment stopped but the remaining people abandoned the village. We never knew who was behind the events, until you arrived."

The eye-patch koopa rubs his chin while another koopa takes a picture of the memorial. "And a floating purple castle appeared a week ago?"

The woman closes her eyes. The appearance of that castle had her relieving the past. "It bombarded our town and its occupants raided us. They even carried off our best fighters. After that they vanished."

The koopas share a knowing look with each other. They came across a similar incident in a world they visited. Many from a species of bullies were kidnapped.

With frankness the leader speaks. "We have a clearer picture as to what they're planning. Your missing people will be subjected to brainwashing after they go to sleep. Likely, Antasma is building an empire and he is going to force his captives to fight for him."

The woman's mouth twists with rage. "It hurts! Knowing that culprit is still running around after all these years."

She grabs one of the koopa's hands. "Please, stop him!"

"We will."

"And another thing... can you save our friends?"

The koopas are unwilling to answer that. The safety of the missing do not concern them, to be honest. But they are certain the queen will consider their plight.

"We'll keep them in mind." Is the only answer the local receives.

After obtaining more information, the koopas descend the mountain and return to the world's warp pipe. A glowing light indicates the pipe is active again, and the koopas immediately enter. Traveling through worlds is tricky business. There were times the team didn't know where they were going. Times where they had to stay in a world because the fickle pipes deactivated at random. But for the king's sake the scouts were willing to go through with this journey. And thanks to their efforts the koopas have a better map of the warp zone. Now they must return home to give an update to their King. The Darklands need to prepare for an impeding war, again.

In the forest of Sharewood, Bowser marches into a clearing, his face hardened and stern. He received an update from his scouts and he is not happy. As a former villain (more like one trying to curb his evil urges), he is aware Antasma plans to play dirty. Villains love to hit where it hurts and Antasma will target his family. To lure the king into a trap. Or he will use the kidnapped people as a weapon against Peach. Bowser recalls her fury, during the meeting, when she learned about their misfortune. The king mentally berates himself for having kept the bat around. In his view, this is all his fault. But it can be fixed! He must stay vigilant and train his army.

Abruptly, a large piranha plant ambushes Bowser to bite into him. But the king downs it in one punch. He regards the unconscious creature with a smirk.

"Good old Sharewood Forest. Everything is out to kill you. Perfect for training."

Bowser's ear twitch at the sound of a soft voice. "Are we going on a picnic, Teddy Bear?"

That's new. The king beams over his new nickname. He gives a pleased growl knowing how their picnic excursions usually go. "Peach, I have work! We'll cuddle later."

He turns in her direction, only to see Hooded Robin instead. The albatross smiles mischievously and speaks in Peach's voice. "Hi!"

With the rage of a volcano, Bowser chases a screaming Robin around. Meanwhile, Peach arrives, swinging from tree branches with Junior on her back. She sits in an apple tree as the general perches on a branch nearby.

Spotting them, Bowser releases Robin. They just prevented a murder. "Summon the Dork Troop, bird brain!"

Hooded Robin stands up offended. "We are the Merry Men!"

"Whatever."

Robin then sings, his vibrant voice carrying into the woods. Soon, people of various species run out of the woods. People conquered by Bowser's empire and former rebels. (Bowser didn't bother recruiting old warlord rivals as he didn't trust them.) Also joining the group is Toad and Toadette. Peach nervously waves at them. Without warning Toad screams when he sees one of the participants.

"Toad!?" Peach jumps out of the tree, Junior still on her back. "What's wrong!?"

The little mushroom laughs in delight. "No, I'm fine! It's George Washingtoad!"

Now Toadette squeals and runs up to a toad, wearing a faded blue uniform and has a prominent chin. The old toad puffs his chest out with pride.

"One of the former Mushroom Kingdom princes and known as the only toad willing to stand up to the koopas! He fought Bowser's grandfather!" Toadette declares.

"We learned about him in Toadbert's history class." Peach adds. Toad shakes Washingtoad's hand. "It's an honor to meet you, sir! Wow, living history!"

The toad nods and greets the queen. "You are the new leader of the Mushroom Kingdom? Thank you for taking care of them. Let us continue to fight for the freedom of all toads!"

Snickering Bowser decides to tease. "This poor sucker was holed up in a fort, on the island I was building, thinking he was still at war with my grandpa! What a loser!"

Toad, Toadette, and Washingtoad all glare at Bowser. Laughing at their reactions Bowser lumbers over to Robin.

"…King Penguin. Pokey...Big Bad Wolf…Toad…Toadette…. Everyone is here, King Bowser." Hooded Robin observes.

Scanning the crowd Bowser objects. "No, the two strongest of my recruits are missing."

Bowser impatiently taps his foot waiting. Wario and Waluigi finally join, munching on hot dogs. "Where were you, facet freaks!?"

They ignore Bowser's murderous snarl and take their position at the front of the crowd. Noticing Wario, Toadette begins to jump up and down. "My friend!"

Wario in turn gives her a bear hug. "Toadette!"

Without warning, Koopa General hurls an apple at Wario! But the plumber catches it in his mouth and swallows it.

"General!" Peach scowls as the general avoids eye contact.

Wario solemnly approaches the queen. "This is what I was talking about, toots. My enemies come out of nowhere!"

Furious, Toadette waves her fists at the general. "That wasn't polite! You want to fight!?"

Her response earns a wicked smile from the general. "I would happily join your war games, little Toadette. I'll battle you any day. But I have a duty to the queen and prince."

Bowser nods in agreement. "I'm glad you have your priorities in order, soldier. Love can drive a man wild." He compliments.

Toadette looks confused while the general hides in the tree. Junior starts laughing at him. "It's not like that!"

With introductions out of the way, Bowser looks over his new army. To be honest, he wasn't impressed. The best is Wario and Waluigi. Though those two are unpredictable and can bail at a moment's notice. He'll have to keep paying them high wages. But the king hopes with training, all of them will develop into challenging opponents.

"I'm glad you accepted my deal. You are all part of my army now. A special division: the Nerd Troop."

Waluigi grumbles under his breath. Glaring, Bowser continues. "You wimps will undergo vigorous training before we begin the war games. But before that, I need you all to sign these papers."

Toadette stares at the document. "What's it for?"

"I'm not responsible if you trip and hurt yourself on an obstacle. When it happens Peach will give me grief and I'll flash these documents to win the argument."

Wario shrugs and sign the paper. "Money is money."

But Bowser covers Toad and Toadette in protective gear. "Don't worry Toad and Toadette, I'll ensure that doesn't happen to you."

"I don't need this!" Toad complains.

"You're keeping it on!" Bowser threatens. He then hands a notebook to King Penguin. "And here's your script for what you'll say when you're kidnapped."

The ice king flips through the pages. "But it's a lot of screaming…"

"Exactly."

The crowd mumble among themselves. Bowser shouts to get their attention. "Look, this is going to work!"

A penguin raises his hand. "How do we know this not just some trap!"

Bowser wants to threaten him but shuts his mouth. I can control myself. He turns to give a thumbs up to Peach who returns it. Bowser faces his audience again. "I'm not doing this out the goodness of my heart!"

Peach now looks like she wants to hide but Bowser continues.

"I'm doing this for the sake of my family! And all of you happen to benefit."

Toad frowns. This guy will do anything to get Peach's praises!

"But isn't that a good deed?" The audience side eye the penguin to shut him up. They fear Bowser throwing a tantrum. But Wario and Waluigi have no problem with his reasoning. Business is business to them. Bowser is paying a good bonus just for training.

Pleased with their cooperation, the Koopa King clasps his hands together. "So enough talking. Hooded Robin will direct you to the training fields. Your performance will determine your role. Support or Fighter."

Peach calls out to the toads as they depart. "Toad! Toadette! Don't push yourselves too hard!"

"We have it, Peach!" Toad answers back.

After the group leaves, Bowser approaches Peach. The stern frown he had earlier turned into a smile. "Peach, can you train Junior with the thing you and the toads do?"

Peach tilts her head. "The thing?"

A chuckle escapes Bowser's mouth and he rubs Junior head. "Platforming. Our son is quick but he prefers to use his clown car. I want him to be able to master platforming."

Junior sighs and stomp his feet. "But Papa, that's exercise…"

Bowser folds his arms; his stern look is back. "And you need it, boy."

The little koopa groans in defeat. Looking at Junior, Peach inquires, "Is this over the safe house Vert is building under my castle?"

"Yes."

Peach clenches her fists. "Okay… I'll do it, Bowser."

"Teddy Bear."

The queen stares at the king, confused. "Teddy Bear?"

Bowser places his arms behind his shell and digs his foot into the ground. He is acting bashfully. "I want you to call me that…"

"Bowser! I…"

He makes puppy dog eyes to convince her. Peach shakes her head, giggling.

"Alright. I'll do it …. Grumpy Bear." She teases.

"That's mean, Peach!"

The first training session involves navigating an obstacle course of various moving platforms. While they do that, Peach is at a distance explaining the process to Junior. Toad and Toadette ace the course, finishing before everyone else. Wario and Waluigi come in behind them.

Feeling accomplished, Toad puffs his chest out. "See Peach! Even with this cumbersome gear, I did it! I'm more than ready to join the fighters!"

Bowser mocks, "That's not all we're doing fungus."

True training begins with a perilous jog through the forest. Hooded Robin blows a whistle pushing his Merry Men to move. Some unfortunate souls are snatched up by piranha plants and the albatross must find them. Sweating buckets, a tired Toad is nearly hit by a wrecking ball but Bowser stops it. Toad gulps seeing the path ahead littered with hazards.

"You can't handle this path!" Bowser thunders and points at a safe smooth path. With reluctance Toad takes it.

How am I supposed to get tougher!?

Next is pushups. Bowser joins in to show off and Wario answers his challenge. Others like Toad attempt to keep up with their pace. Eventually, Hooded Robin blows the whistle to proceed to pull ups. But the captain lays flat on his face in pain. "I can't get up!"

Bowser scoops up Toad and sits him on a bench. "Time out for you." Toad folds his arms.

Grouchy, Toad watches everyone else exercise. Toadette struggles to pull herself up on the bars. Wario, nearby, looks over at her. "Toadette, pace yourself."

"You're right! I'll just …GAH!" She slips but Bowser catches her. He sits her gently on the ground.

"Take a break."

Toadette nods and join Toad.

"He's treating us like babies!" Toad complains to his sister as she dusts the spot she will be sitting on. Toadette shrugs in response.

"Maybe he's trying to be a good brother in-law."

Toad folds his arms, mummering under his breath.

Peach jumps onto a moving platform. Nearby, King Penguin is rehearsing his script. She turns to motion for Junior to follow her. He jumps but misses the ledge and Peach catches him.

"Sorry Mama."

"It's okay. Practice makes perfect." She points down below. "When you need to get lower, break your fall with a roll. I'll demonstrate for you!"

An excited Peach is about to leap when King Penguin acts out a loud scream. Caught off guard, she trips on the ledge and tumbles off the platform. She manages to land ungracefully on her backside. The queen covers her face in embarrassment.

"Sorry! I should practice elsewhere." The penguin comments as he runs away from the general. Junior leaps off the platform, performing a perfect roll and bumps into Peach. Once he sees his mama is okay, Junior snickers over her blunder.

"You are definitely Bowser's son." She bemoans. Peach then gently runs her fingers through his ponytail. Her thoughts wander to Toad and Toadette.

Don't worry about them, Peach. They handled themselves well without me earlier.

The intense training continued over the course of the week. And throughout it all Bowser kept stopping Toad, when he looked like he was about to get injured. And it annoyed the mushroom to no end.

Now Toad is participating in weightlifting. But he's given a tiny bar to lift. Even Toadette has a heavier weight than him. Meanwhile, Bowser is lifting barbells weighing over a ton. Every so often he pauses to flex his muscles. Toad frowns.

Show-off!

Suddenly, the captain becomes trapped under the weight of the small bar. He blushes as the others stop to look at his situation. Hooded Robin goes to lift it off him. "You seem more like a technical kind of guy."

Stubborn, Toad rejects his help. "I can keep up!" he declares.

"No, he's right. I've decided. You're going to be in support." Bowser announces while plucking the bar off Toad.

"I want to be on the front lines!" Toad cries out. "You're so mean to me, King Bowser!"

Crying, Toad takes off running into the woods. Toadette is about to follow, but Bowser stops her. "I'll go find him."

An hour later, Bowser finds his koopas practicing with spears. "Any of you seen a crying fungus bypass here?"

They collectively point down the path and keep practicing. He could order them to get him but…Bowser groans and takes the path himself.

The captain had run as far as his little legs could take him. Exhausted, Toad takes a seat in a bush. "I'm not good enough!

"You have a lot of nerve making me look for you!" Bowser roars. Toad jumps out of the bush shaking. He attempts to put on a brave face.

"You're not giving me a chance to prove myself!"

"I'm giving assignments with your actual abilities in mine."

Toad puffs his cheeks until they turn red. Bowser folds his arms.

"Out with it, Toad! I know you hate my guts. Tell me what you're thinking!"

Toad shouts, "You are a bully and a meanie head! I know you look down on me! I'm trying my best but you keep holding me back!" Toad throws a small stone into a tree. The tree shakes.

"Do you think the enemy is going to care if you're trying your best!? Antasma walks all over you every time you run into him! I'm trying to let you help without dying. Until you can prove it, you're on support! End of discussion!" Bowser picks up a boulder and hurls it into the tree for emphasis. The tree collapses and a large, webbed ball falls out. When it hits the ground, it bursts open revealing a horde of spiders! Bowser and Toad release high pitched screams and run down the trail, pursued by the angry horde. Toad slips on a slope and Bowser reaches for him, falling too. The duo roll down the hill as the spiders jump all over them. Bowser screams like a girl again but tucks Toad into his embrace. Once he stops at the bottom, Bowser spews fire to make the spiders leave. Free of the creepy crawlies, they lay there stunned. Bowser finally speaks. "Promise me you will not talk about this to anyone."

"They won't hear a peep out of me."

Done with the day, Bowser and Toad spent the night in the forest. Toad makes a campfire and the two stare at the flames in silence. Throwing a stick in the fire, the captain is the first to speak. "I just want Peach to be safe. I'm older so she's like a little sister to me. But Roy was right, Peach does all the carrying. I want to be the one to protect her for a change. But I can't protect her and the others if I'm weak!"

Bowser grunts and Toad places his face in his hands. "Antasma ran wild on Tatanga's mother ship and I couldn't do a thing. You don't know what it's like to be small and helpless, Bowser. To be at the mercy of others."

"I object to that … Well, I may not know exactly how you feel but I was helpless before." Bowser mutters. Toad lifts his face to gaze at him. Bowser continues. "Toad don't tell anyone we had this conversation, on the pang of execution! But I need all of you, okay? This isn't just keeping my soldiers busy. I'm preparing all of you for war. I'm not gonna sit and just wait for Antasma to show up. The serum he stole, the one Tatanga used to enhance his physique - concerns my general the most. He likely wants to match me in strength."

"…."

"He could never hope to come close to this!" Bowser flexes his arms but then droops them. "But…I can't solve everything with my tenaciousness. If something goes wrong, I have you to back me up. But if you die pushing yourself before then, you won't be of use to me."

"….." Toad wipes his nose. "I'll cooperate…."

"Good. And Captain? Another thing you are to tell no one. I talked to Vert about building a safe house under Peach's Castle."

"Safe house?"

"Yes, the only way it can be accessed is by precise platforming. That's why I asked Peach to train Junior. The koopalings won't leave me behind but Peach will do it to save Junior. If things take a turn for the worst, they can escape." Bowser looks up into the sky. "I've been thinking of everything…anything to heighten our chances. Peach has even been undergoing mental training from Dreambert. He said she already has a strong will but extra protections won't hurt. In the event she encounters Antasma again, she can repel him from her mind."

Toad starts to cry. Bowser groans. "Now what?"

"I thought you only married Peach because she's pretty. That you wanted a trophy wife to show off to and get praises from. But you do love her!" He sobs even more. Bowser grumbles and throw a log into the pile.

The king rolls his eyes. "Of course, I love her…measly mushroom…" Bowser's eyes soften when he thinks of her.

Coming to an understanding, Toad falls asleep and Bowser keeps looking at the fire in deep thought.

The next day, Bowser and Toad come back to the training grounds. Junior has improved and is clearing the obstacle course speedily. As soon as he reaches the goal post, Peach congratulates him with a hug. Spotting his father below, Junior shouts.

"Papa!"

The two leap down to meet them. "Where were you?" Peach inquires.

Toad shifts nervously. He doesn't want to talk about his crying tantrum.

"We had a man to man talk." Bowser boasts. Surprised, Toad puffs his chest out in response. Peach eyes them suspiciously.

"Is that so? As long as you resolved your issues…"

Playfully, Peach pulls on Bowser and Toad's hands. "I made an apple pie. Let's go eat, Toad. You too …. Angry Bear."

"It's Teddy Bear!" Bowser complains while she leads him away.

The group make it to the picnic spot Peach put together. But the baskets are flipped over. "Hey! Where is my pie!?"

Toad bends and examines the baskets. "Looks like someone looted your food!"

"That's strange. We were not gone long."

Bowser stares into the woods. "Probably those plumb skulls…" Still tired from yesterday, he won't question Wario and Waluigi. Bowser offers to take them to a restaurant. As they leave, a green figure watches them from behind a berry bush.

"Yoshi?"