Bowsette: A New Life

Chapter 60
Anger subsided

Mario took his hands off Bowsette's throat and looked around. "L… Luigi…?" The rage on his face turned to frustrated confusion as he looked to where Luigi lay.

Mario's eyes and badge were still glowing pink. After what had just happened Bowsette didn't take any chances. She took the opportunity presented and used what strength she had left to quickly reach up and grab the badge. "A trick!" Mario noticed Bowsette grab the badge and grasped her hand. However, Bowsette pulled with everything she had and tore it off Mario's overalls. Bowsette threw the badge as far away as she could and it landed on the floor across the room from the two.

In an instant, Mario's unthinking rage vanished, and his eyes changed back to normal. Mario's eyes widened in shock, and he stepped off Bowsette. Bowsette for her part was breathing fast and hard, she had never been that scared in her life. "Bowsette I…" Mario began but Bowsette reached up and put her finger over his lips. Groaning, Bowsette sat up despite the many bruises and shook her throbbing head.

Bowsette finally took her finger away. "I'm alright. I think your brother needs you." Bowsette finished and laid back on the floor. This was worse than Bowsette and Mario had ever dreamed it could be when they headed out to find Peach and Luigi.

Reluctantly, Mario stepped away from Bowsette and went over to Luigi. "Bro… you're alive?" Mario asked apprehensively. Luigi was trying his hardest to move but he could barely manage to turn his head. Mario grabbed him and hoisted him up. "Are-a you… you, Luigi?"

"Ugh… yeah, I'm-a me again." Luigi coughed and gagged as he laid in his brother's arms. "Ooo… I can-a barely move Bro. Did someone get-a the plate of that kart that hit me?" Luigi tried to joke. Mario didn't point out that Luigi had made the same sort of joke when he got his arm broke. "What was-a that fight about?" Luigi asked.

Mario looked away, his face low with guilt. 'What-a was that about?' Mario wondered. Mario thought back, mentally retracing his steps as of late. Mario had been irritable ever since they left Toad Town to go look for Peach and his brother. Mario should've realized something was wrong, but all he could really think about was the things Bowsette was doing that were irritating him. Under any other circumstances Bowsette screwing around wouldn't have bothered him… and then…

"I don't know Luigi… What was that? Why did I-a do that?" Mario questioned himself. Bowsette might have caused the Pink Lightning and all that came with it, but Mario believed her when she said she didn't intend to do it. It wasn't really Bowsette's fault that Luigi was hurt so badly, nor if he had died. Why did he think otherwise? Why did he think this was some sort of scheme? It didn't make sense. Nothing he just did made sense, and it was wrong besides.

Mario laid Luigi back down and looked at his own hands that had been clasped around Bowsette's neck just a minute ago. "I-a almost… I…" 'Killed someone who wasn't even a threat.' Mario's mind finished. Mario hadn't even imagined he would ever do that, but here he was. What surprised him almost as much was that Bowsette didn't even try to fight back.

***

As Mario spoke to his brother, Bowsette slowly got to her feet despite the pain. 'Well, I guess I deserved that and then some.' Bowsette noted. 'It's not his fault. Besides, it wasn't that long ago when I wouldn't have hesitated to beat the Underwhere out of him and then choke him to death if I got the chance.' She privately admitted.

Bowsette sighed and walked over to Mario's badge she had thrown across the room. "Hey boys!" Bowsette yelled back. "It was caused by this thing!" Bowsette kneeled down at it but wasn't going to touch the badge again until she figured out what was wrong.

"Um… are you-a sure?" Mario asked. He was looking at Bowsette with the lowest frown either Bowsette or Luigi had ever seen on his face. "You sure there isn't just-a something wrong with me?" Then again, Mario had to admit he had snapped out of it the moment Bowsette got the badge away from him.

Bowsette nodded. "I'm sure. These things are prototypes after all. There must be a flaw in the magical inscriptions…" Bowsette wasn't an expert in magic like Kamek, but she knew her fair share about it herself. After all, the Magikoopa had been the one to raise him as Bowser. Bowsette had to make do without a wand for this, but a basic analysis she could do. She compared Mario's badge to the one she was wearing and… and…

-

Bowsette isolated the badge magic and handed it back to Mario, who only took it with reluctance. "We'll have to head back to Toad Town for your brother and to grab a new one." Bowsette noted. "It's not your fault. Don't you DARE say you're sorry." Bowsette, in her own way, tried to reassure the plumber. "You got any powerups left?" Bowsette asked.

Mario dug around in his pockets and produced a couple of Super Shrooms. "Yeah, take-a this." Mario handed one to Bowsette and helped Luigi have the other. Bowsette's wounds were minor all told and were healed by eating the Super Shroom, but all it could do for Luigi was give him a bit of energy. Luigi would need a few weeks of medical treatment before he'd be back to normal.

"Alright, let's finish clearing this place out and get out of here. There should be a Koopa Copter or two on the roof." Bowsette said. Mario obeyed without comment. In fact, he barely spoke a word as they did just that. With Luigi and the Remnant Kamek out of the picture the few Remnant minions and infected weren't hard to deal with.

-
Mario and Bowsette took out the Remnants and locked the infected in the small castle dungeons for the time being. As Bowsette predicted, there was a functional Koopa Copter on the roof of the auxiliary castle. It took a while to get it refueled while Mario kept his eye on Luigi. "Dammit… I have minions to do this crap…" Bowsette grumbled. At least Bowsette knew what she was doing. All it would take is a bit of time.

As she worked on getting the Koopa Copter ready Bowsette was oddly quiet and hardly spoke. Bowsette had let Mario think that the badge problem was just a flaw. However, Bowsette knew better. 'It was definitely deliberate, and there's only one person who could have done it.' Yet, at the same time she couldn't believe her own conclusions. Kamek had betrayed Bowsette, he had nearly gotten her killed in fact.

The sheer unlikelihood of Kamek of all people betraying her… her brain wanted to completely dismiss the idea. Some bad guys have their underlings constantly plotting to overthrow them but Bowsette? If there was any virtue Bowsette and her alter ego could be said to have always had it's that her minions had good reason to adore her. Kamek was the one who raised him as Bowser and was unfailingly loyal no matter what hairbrained scheme Bowser came up with.

Bowsette pondered what she was going to do. Bowsette couldn't do anything about Kamek right now, he was the only one with any hope of developing the countermeasures for the Remnants. Still, she couldn't let him get away with what he'd done. "Kamek has some explaining to do." Bowsette muttered.

"Um… Bowsette?" Mario jarred Bowsette out of her thoughts. Bowsette turned to look at him, he was holding his hat in his hands and looked forlorn. "I understand if you-a don't want to be near me." Mario began. "Or talk to-a me. I don't-a care what caused it, I still hurt you and you didn't…"

Bowsette sighed and gestured for Mario to follow her. She sat at the edge of the castle roof. "I told you that you hated me." Bowsette cut Mario off. "Why do you think you went so far? If I had been almost anyone else, you would've stopped yourself. But!" Bowsette held up a hand to stop Mario before he could retort. "It wasn't your fault, and I don't blame you." Bowsette said. 'Though I do know who to blame.'

Mario couldn't look Bowsette in the eyes. "How can-a you be so… nonchalant about this?" Mario asked mystified.

"Oh, lots of reasons." Bowsette chuckles. "For one, because I deserve it." Bowsette looks away. "I've done so many things to ruin other lands. I didn't do them because I had to, I loved trying to conquer every kingdom I could. If you and your brother weren't there, I would've taken Peach for my bride against her will if I had to and continued conquering other lands after that." Bowsette spoke plainly. "The carnage, the destruction, the screams of terror, I enjoyed it all."

Bowsette looked across the underground area they were in. The light mostly came from the lava falls and flows in the moat and around the castle. "I love places like this… so dark, dreary, and creepy. It's just like home." Bowsette had spent her time in Toad Town missing her castle and her son in particular. "Don't worry Pasta Freak. When this is all over… you won't have to worry about me anymore. I'll just go home, and you'll never see me again." Bowsette said. 'That's the way it has to be…'