Bowsette: A New Life

Chapter 23
Unexpected Rescue

"Peach, what are you saying?" Daisy asked concerned. Neither she nor Luigi was in the shape to continue fighting. 'Peach' raised a finger. "The Truth. You'll understand too…" Sparks started to gather around 'Peach's' finger, the false Mario doing the same. "Luigi! Run!" Daisy yelled and turned to help Luigi to the door.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…" Screams could be heard rapidly approaching. 'Peach' and 'Mario' were too distracted preparing their attack to notice when a Koopa Copter flew through the window and stuck the fake Mario, throwing him toward a wall near 'Peach'. The Copter collided with the wall and came to a stop, the occupants spilling onto the floor.

"Mario? Bowsette? Kamek?" Luigi said confused. "That is the last time you EVER drive!" Bowsette growled. Shifting her focus to Kamek, Bowsette scooped him up into her arms. "You're lucky you nutty plumber! If Kamek had died…" Mario barely heard anything, still too loopy to pay attention. Bowsette suddenly looked around and realized where they were.

"Uh… it was his fault!" Bowsette pointed at Mario. "I'm not supposed to be here! Blame him!" Bowsette tried to deflect. "Um…" Luigi couldn't care less about treaty violations right now. "Look out!" The fake Mario jumped up and kicked Bowsette in the stomach. "Ugh!" Bowsette was too rattled from their wild ride to do much to fight back. Mario spotted the changed Peach and shook off his drowsiness. "Wha…? Peach!" He yelled out.

Peach suddenly clutched her head and groaned in pain. "Mario…?" Peach's colors seemed to shift back to normal, then to her alter ego's and back again. A figure slipped up behind her unnoticed and grabbed Peach in its arms. "MARIO!" Peach screamed. The other 'Mario' seemed to decide it was outnumbered and leaped out the window carrying Peach with it.

Mario couldn't get off the floor to go after them, Bowsette, Luigi, and Kamek were all injured, and Daisy was unarmed and couldn't have made the jump herself anyway. 'This is all her fault…' Mario heard a voice in his head say, seemingly his own. Involuntarily he turned his head and looked at Bowsette. 'Attack her. She is bad. She is evil. Destroy her!' Mario shook his head, trying to clear it.

Several Toad guards burst in and rush up to the group. "Princess Daisy! Where is…" They look and notice Bowsette clutching her stomach. "B-B-B-Bowsette!" They wield their spears but as usual are shaking. "Oh… knock it off you… you military academy rejects." Bowsette slowly climbs to her feet. "Peach is gone and no, it's not my fault." Bowsette looks around.

"Get…" Bowsette considers her position for a moment and clears her throat. "Would you please" Bowsette nearly gags on the word. "get everyone to the infirmary?" Bowsette asked. The Toad guards look around at each other, then to Daisy. "You heard her. Then clean this mess up when you're done." The Toad guards call for assistance and carry the group down to the castle infirmary.

***

The healers looked over everyone and placed them in beds for the night. Luigi's arm was broken in several places and so it would take a while to set. Bowsette and Mario were mostly just rattled rather than really injured that much and so would be up in the morning. The Toad guards took no chances and locked Bowsette in the seldom used Peach Castle dungeons after the healers were through with her. "…are you DOING you…" Bowsette, naturally, complaining the entire time but not in the shape to do anything about it.

Kamek was the worst off by far though. From what the healers can tell he'd been beaten up, hit by multiple magic spells, and plus took a further beating from the Copter ride to get to the castle. Kamek had numerous broken bones, lacerations, and cuts throughout his whole body, but those would mend. Kamek was in a deep coma and the healers weren't sure when or even if he would ever wake up.

Mario vouched for Bowsette as soon as he could, so soon Bowsette was allowed to return to the infirmary under heavy guard. Bowsette laid a hand on the Magikoopa's head and sighed. In the bed across Mario watched as Bowsette laid her head against Kamek's unconscious form. He was sure she was crying but she was trying her best to hide it from him.

"Don't die…" Bowsette for her part was a complete mess. She turned to Mario, her makeup long since ran with her tears. "This is all YOUR fault!" Bowsette growled at him. "Yes. It-a is." Mario said simply. He wasn't going to deny the fact that they wouldn't be here if it weren't for him. Bowsette tried to stay angry, but the plumber's confession killed any motivation. 'Fuck pride.' The Koopa Queen thought. "I can't lose him. He's always been there. Always…" Bowsette openly wept on Kamek's bedside.

This was as vulnerable as Mario had ever seen the woman. Mario didn't know what to think or do or say. After a bit though, he got out of his bed and went over to the crying She-Koopa. He simply laid a hand on her shoulder. "He'll come out-a it." Mario said. Bowsette acted like she didn't even hear him. "The old Koopa is-a too stubborn to die. I should know, I've kicked his-a butt more than a few times."

Gradually, Bowsette rose looking away from Mario. She tried to compose herself, but it was a hopeless battle. On impulse Bowsette turned around, held the plumber, and buried her face in Mario's chest. She continued to cry without any filter for the longest time. Mario simply held the woman and let her. They weren't enemies or rivals now, just two people comforting each other.

After a while, Bowsette stopped crying and started breathing slowly. "Zzzzz…" She had fallen asleep in Mario's arms. Mario stayed there for a few minutes and then slowly and carefully set the Koopa Queen onto Kamek's bed as comfortably as he could manage. He asked the healers for a blanket and covered her up.

"Mario?" Luigi called. "Shh…" Mario put up a finger against his own mouth. Mario walked over to Luigi and whispered. "How you-a doing bro?" Mario asked. "Well Mario, I'm a bit loopy." The pain meds probably didn't help. "I'll bet." Mario chuckled. "Can you get the number of the train that hit me?" The two brothers giggle as quietly as they can manage to each other. "What-a happened?" Mario asked.

"These… things attacked." Luigi said. "Purple black-a Toad things." Mario nodded. "They attacked me-a and Bowsette too." Mario admitted. "The Toads-a weren't a problem; it was HIM that did this." Luigi tenderly twitched his arm in a cast. "The shade of me?" Luigi nodded. "Yeah. He was-a tough bro. As tough as you. If you and Bowsette hadn't shown up…" Luigi sighed. "The thing took-a Peach, and before that it… changed her."

Mario looked at Luigi intensely. "Changed? How?" He asked. "It… made her like them somehow, I don't-a know." Luigi looked away. "I have no-a idea what is going on. All I know-a is its bad bro, really bad." Luigi admits. "I hear you. I've never-a seen anything like this. What are those things?" Mario and Luigi sat there considering and coming up with nothing.

Then Luigi looked at Bowsette. "You sure it's safe to-a have her walking around bro?" Luigi asked. Mario followed his gaze to the Koopa Queen sleeping peacefully. "I don't-a think she'll do anything." Mario said. "So… how'd the-a date go?" Luigi smirked as Mario turned beet red. "It wasn't a date." Mario tried to deny. "Yeah… sure it wasn't bro. Sure it wasn't." Luigi laughed. "Ugh… would you two…" Uh oh. "SHUT UP?!" Bowsette roared and then laid back down. Mario sighed. "We better all-a get some sleep. I don't think-a this is over."