Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.

Hours after Elder Princess Shroob had been killed

"Alright, I don't know about you, but I've got a massive steak callin' my name!" Bowser said.

"Do you mind if we have it medium rare this time?" Roman asked with Neo agreeing.

"Heh, it's on me tonight, so why not?" Bowser let out a chuckle… when suddenly they noticed Atlesian troops surrounding them as Ironwood approached them.

"Bowser. Hand over Roman and Neo. They are wanted criminals."

"Sorry, they're part of my troop. I'm not just gonna hand them over."

"I wasn't asking." Ironwood aimed his gun at Bowser.

"Heh! Did you forget about that thing I told you about?" Bowser smirked. "What good will that little peashooter do?"

"You either hand them over right now or-" Bowser walked over and backhanded the gun off of his hand.

"Or what?" Bowser glared at him.

Ironwood smirked. "Now." He said as Bowser's eyes widened as he turned to see Roman and Neo getting cuffed by the soldiers.

"Hey!" Roman grunted. "This ain't right!"

Bowser let out a growl as he approached the Atlesian soldiers and backhanded them easily. He then ripped the cuffs off of them easily. "Ah, much better." Roman said as Neo smiled. "Sorry, general boy, but it looks like your cuffs aren't quite as effective as they used to."

Ironwood let out a growl. "Bowser, I'm asking you to stand down! These are wanted criminals and if you think you can harbor them in your castle for a second longer, I-"

"You what?" Bowser folded his arms. "My castle is heavily fortified and surrounded by active volcanoes, rivers of lava and not to mention the best army out in the front lines. Tell me, what makes you think you can just waltz on in there easily?"

"If two plumbers and four teenagers can get in there easily, I do not think we will have too much trouble."

"And yet, when we first met, I clobbered you. I can do it again with one arm tied behind my back!"

"I will not ask again. Give them to me or-"

"You'll what, grandpa? As if I'd take you seriously with that baby face of yours." Bowser said, snapping his fingers as he got in his Clown Car as Roman and Neo did the same with theirs. "Love to stay and chat, but we got other things to do!" He said as the trio took off, with General Guy and Kamek right behind them.

"So… now what?" A soldier asked.

Ironwood scowled. "We're doing this the hard way."

Sometime later…

"Mmm, that was delicious… glad they finally got a better cook." Roman said as Neo nodded in agreement.

"The old cook wasn't that bad." Bowser said.

"Yeah, because you love your TNT drumsticks." Roman chuckled. "Glad Kaiju loves it." He said, glancing over at the Tyranitar rubbing his belly as they wandered back to the castle while walking through Neo Bowser City… when suddenly a search light shined directly in their eyes.

"Rrrgh! What the devil?" Bowser winced.

"Bowser! Hand over Torchwick and Neo!"

"You again?!"

"I have to say, he's rather dedicated." Roman said.

"And what if I say no!" Bowser said as the airship aimed its weapons at Bowser.

"Then I will be forced to shoot you down."

"Neo." Bowser cued as Neo let out a nod. "Alright, you can take them from my cold dead hands!"

"That can be arranged." Ironwood said, firing bullets directly at Bowser… but the four of them shattered once the bullets connected.

THUD!

"What?!" Ironwood yelled as Bowser was on top of the airship, pummeling it to pieces as he pulled apart the metal and then hopped inside. "You! You've damaged Atlesian property!"

"This hunk of metal belongs in the scrap heap!" Bowser said as he pulled Ironwood to the side and pummeled the controls to where it started falling from the sky. Ironwood would then see Kaiju on the ground where it unleashed Hyper Beam on it for insult to injury. "That'll take care of him!" He said as he walked out of the wreckage while shaking off the rubble off of him.

"Heh, that was pretty impressive." Roman said.

"Look!" A Koopa onlooker exclaimed as they turned to see Ironwood emerging from the flames, looking rather annoyed as some of his shirt had been burnt off, showing off his iron implants.

"You're gonna pay for that!"

"Huh! I did not see that coming." Roman said as Neo had her mouth open in surprise.

Bowser raised an eyebrow. "Heh, it's no wonder they call you Ironwood." He smirked. "Let me guess, the left sight is made entirely out of wood?"

"Silence! I'll have you know that you are messing with the wrong general."

"Buddy, you're messing with the King of Awesome. And I'll have you know that I'm taking good care of these two."

"Good care? You send your army out to deal with measly plumbers and teenage girls and they will always get destroyed. Tell me, are you going to dispose of them to die like the rest of your army?"

"First of all, you don't know anything about my army. Second of all, they're filled with magic so they can survive even the heaviest of blows of them. Learned that the first time I went toe to toe with Mario." Bowser explained. "They always volunteer to be on the front lines. I'm never worried about them, even if they get kicked into bottomless pits or lava! What's your excuse, tin man?"

Ironwood let out a growl. "I will do whatever it takes to get those two into custody… and you won't stop me."

"Heh, I'd love to see you try." Bowser said as he walked off with the others.

"Sir, are you okay?" A soldier asked from the intercom.

"Yes, I am okay… but someone won't be by the end of this."

The next day…

BGM: Bowser's Castle (Fortune Street)

"Aaaah…" Bowser said, relaxing in a lava hot tub with Roman and Neo, the latter two under a protection spell from Kamek, complete with a blue aura surrounding the two.

"Ya know… it's just like being in a regular hot tub." Roman said as Neo nodded.

"Lord Bowser! Sir!" A Hammer Bro came running in. "There is something at the front gates for you!"

"Oh?" Bowser wondered as he got up and walked to the front gates where he would see a giant wooden statue of Bowser. "Wow! What a thoughtful gift. Too bad there's no room for you, big guy." He said as he turned around and saw a bunch of wooden Bowser statues. "I gotta invest in a bigger courtyard."

"Alright, here goes!" Ironwood climbed out of the mouth as he ran down the arm and hopped through the walls as he landed perfectly, and smirked… only to fall into a trap door where he was shot out of a cannon.

"Just how dumb do you think I am!" Bowser called while letting out a chuckle.

Ironwood would sneak in the castle from behind, as he would quickly hide in the shadows. He would sneak around as he spotted a ? Block nearby as he hit it, as a Tanooki Leaf popped out as he gained Tanooki Ears and a tail. "What… I… this is embarrassing." He said as he heard something as he froze up, quickly changing into a statue. …I'm not sure how I did this, but I hope this works.

"Hey, I found one!" Junior called out.

"Excellent!" Roy picked up the statue and walked off with Ironwood. They would then get into a sports-like arena inside the castle. "Alright, Morton! You ready for the duel!"

"MORTON READY."

"Then let's begin the statue jousting!" Roy said, as both of them were on Chain Chomps as they started charging at each other, both of them swinging their statues as Ironwood would come face to face with a Bowser Statue and get hit head on with it.

"MMMPH!" Ironwood grunted, as he was knocked off and was thrown into a wall.

"MORTON WIN!"

"Point: Morton! Bahahaha!" Iggy chuckled.

"…I thought that statue was lightweight." Roy grumbled as he turned around to see the statue was gone. "Huh? Where'd it go?"

Ironwood was holding on to his head outside, now fighting an extreme migraine. He found another ? Block and out popped a 1-Up Mushroom as he ate it, immediately feeling his headache going away. "Never doing that again." He said, dismissing the Tanooki Leaf and ripping it in half.

Later…

Ironwood snuck around the back again, this time finding a door as he walked through, but he stepped on a P Switch as the lights turned on and saw that he was in a Muncher and Nipper Garden. The Nippers would stare at him before tackling him. "Mmmph! Get off, you parasites…!" He said as he fell over and landed on a Muncher, as it started biting his butt as he let out a loud scream as Wendy would come running in.

"What are you doing in my garden, you oaf!" Wendy yelled as she fired rings on him and then kicked him out of the room where he looked up and saw Bowser standing before him.

"Well what do you know, they're attracted to metal." Bowser said before kicking him out of the castle. "You're not getting them!"

"Dammit… I WILL get them if it's the last thing I do!"

End BGM

"…What in the name of Remnant are you doing?" A voice asked as Ironwood would see Esdeath approach him.

"I'm… doing some recon."

"Oh really? Because it looks like you're doing a poor job of it." She said, walking over and pulling a Muncher off of his shoulder, tossing it into a pool of lava. "What are you really doing?"

"…Trying to get those criminals out of that castle."

"Oh? And how is that coming along?"

"Not… too particularly well."

Esdeath let out a chuckle. "I figured."

Ironwood had an idea. "General Esdeath, perhaps you can help me get those two out of the castle without Bowser knowing."

Esdeath raised an eyebrow. "You want me to help you get them out of there without the big guy knowing?"

"Yes."

Esdeath burst out laughing. "Oh, James, you never change one bit."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You always go in way over your head on some missions and you always get so flustered, which I always found adorable. The no-nonsense Ironwood getting so flustered over nothing."

"Mmmph… so what? Are you going to help me or not?"

"Personally, I don't think it's worth it. Those two seem much happier working with the big guy. If you really want to arrest them, all you have to do is be patient… which unfortunately, is something that you're never good at."

"Hmph! I am too patient."

"Remember the incident in Atlas over a few weeks ago? Winter was livid over something that could have been easily avoided."

"We had to push through."

"And look where that got you. Several Atlesian men succumbed to their injuries from the Grimm."

Ironwood folded his arms. "That was one time."

"Don't make me fish out the other incidents." Esdeath smirked and then let out a chuckle. "As I said, this isn't worth your time. I suggest we just head on back to Toad Town, survey the land, keep an eye out for Dry Bowser and Calasmos, and just not worry about it."

"You go on ahead… I've got more important things to worry about." Ironwood said as he walked toward the castle gates.

Esdeath let out a sigh. "Oh James, when will you realize your stubbornness will cost you your sanity?" She then pulled out her scroll. "Hey, Winter? It's Esdeath… we're going to need you. I'm sending you the coordinates."

Much later…

"AAAAAAAGH!" Ironwood cried as he was blasted by Vanilla and Lumiere.

"Vanill!"

"Laaaamp!"

"Don't you just get tired of it? This is getting pretty sad at this point." Bowser said, leaning on a wall.

"I will not rest until they are behind bars!"

"The only way they are going to be behind bars is if I actually allow it… but guess what, I'm not that kind of guy!" Bowser said with a chuckle.

Ironwood stood up, glaring at Bowser as he approached the Koopa King, but Koopatrols blocked him entry. "One of these days, you will give up."

"Not gonna happen pal… but may I make a suggestion?"

"What's that?"

"Grow a beard! Then maybe I can take you seriously!" Bowser said.

Ironwood growled. "Fine then… then you leave me with no other choice."

"Hmm?"

"As of this moment, the Atlas Military are at war with you."

"Pffft… BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Are you serious? You think you can declare war and expect to win? This war will last for five minutes… and that's just me being generous!"

"I will not stop until-"

"General!" A voice yelled as Ironwood turned to see Winter looking rather annoyed with him, and was accompanied by Esdeath. "What the HELL are you doing?"

"Negotiating with Bowser."

"Oh really? Because I could have sworn I heard you declare war on him." Winter said. "While Bowser can be insufferable, there is no way to handle things. If you go into war, you'll lose horribly to Bowser. I give this war four minutes before you lose."

"Winter, if we can work together, we'll capture Torchwick and Neopolitan from Bowser's clutches."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Yes!" Ironwood pointed at Bowser. "Winter. Charge."

"…No."

BGM: For a New Life (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time)

Ironwood's eyes widened in surprise and turned to her. Even Esdeath looked surprised. "What did you say?"

"I said no." Winter said.

"Are you… are you disobeying a direct order?! I order you to-"

"STAND. DOWN." Winter aimed her weapon at Ironwood. "I swore an oath that I would follow your every command, but in all honesty, I'm beginning to think I'm following a maniac." She said. "Declaring war over something so insignificant? And for what, just to get two people out of someone's clutches? No… I will not allow myself to follow someone completely insane!"

"Winter, you are treading dangerous ground… I will not stand for this insubordination!"

"And I will not stand with some lunatic!" Winter yelled as Ironwood clenched his fists.

"So… it's treason then." He growled as his hand slowly moved to his gun. "The Ace-Ops looked up to you… but now you've-"

"Honestly? I'd be surprised if any of them would blindly follow you after what you had just done." Winter glared. "As of now, I'm no longer by your side. From now on, I will answer only to General Esdeath. She's my new general now…" Winter turned her back to him. "It's been fun, general… but I'm done." She said and walked off.

"Winter! Don't turn your back on me! WINTER!" Ironwood yelled as Winter kept walking. He trembled in rage as he let out a scream, pulling out his gun and shooting at Winter but Esdeath, with her quick thinking, formed an ice shield to protect Winter.

"I think it's best if you took a vacation." Esdeath said with a stone cold glare as she walked off, forming two ice shields to block any bullets that Ironwood would fire at them.

Ironwood would let out a loud yell and throw his pistol on the ground and then glared at Bowser. "Alright, I'm calling off the war… but this is far from over. I will get those two into custody if it's the last thing I do!" He yelled, walking away from them as he called upon an airship.

"…What just happened?" A Koopatrol asked.

"Honestly? I'm not sure myself." Bowser said as he walked away while Roman and Neo looked at each other.

With Winter and Esdeath…

"I have to say, you made the right call. I never thought I'd see the day that James would go insane over something so insignificant. I'd sever ties with him too if I was serving under him."

"Yeah… I once saw a great man, but now… now he just became obsessed over something so pointless." She let out a sigh.

Esdeath put her hand on her shoulder. "Hey, It's going to be alright. Tell you what… if I ever need you for something, I'll let you know. But for now, spend time with your family. I'm sure they need it."

"Yeah… my mother is looking into finding a home in Toad Town. Honestly… I think spending more time with the family will do me some good."

Esdeath sweetly smiled at her. "And I will fully support it." She said and then let out a chuckle. "Well then… I suppose Lubbock, Najenda, Bulat, Kurome, Wave and Bols will be in for a surprise once I tell them."

Winter let out a chuckle. "Ah yes, the Winter-Op." She said. "I'm looking forward to working with them." She let out a chuckle as they walked back to Toad Town together.

When I first came up with this idea, I thought it'd be something fun... like a Tom and Jerry like scenario with these two. Needless to say, I even surprised myself writing the second half of this chapter. I didn't think i'd go this route, but hey... surprises!