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

A Week After the Universe was Restored

The Star grew several sizes before imploding in on itself. Bowser looked up and saw the supermassive black hole that was sucking everything in. "No! My galaxy… my empire… they were right all along!" He said, falling on his knees and pounding the ground. "What have I done…"

"Bowser!"

Bowser turned around and saw Roman trying to hang on to a wall as Neo was holding on to him tightly. "Looks like this is it!" He said as he suddenly started lifting up from the ground. "Wah!"

"I got ya!" Bowser grabbed on to Roman's arm and tried to hold him, but the force was enough to pry him off of Bowser's grip. "NO!" He yelled as he helplessly watched Roman and Neo disappear into the void, as Kamek and General Guy were next as Bowser could only watch as his minions flew past him.

"PAPA!"

Bowser let out a gasp and turned to Junior who was trying desperately to hold on to something. He immediately ran over to Junior as he grabbed a hold of him. "I got you!" He said. "Just hold on to me as tight as you can!" He said as he stood his ground and tried to fight back against the gravitational pull, but as cruel as fate was… Junior slipped off and he fell into the void. "JUNIOR!" He yelled as he tried to chase after him, but Junior disappeared into the void.

He stood there in disbelief, falling on his knees. "This is all your fault!" A voice said as Bowser turned around and saw Cinder approaching him. "If you didn't heed Rosalina's warnings, this wouldn't have had happened. You endangered your child, and you have proved my point. You are nothing but a horrible parent and he deserves better. You aren't even a capable parent if you couldn't even save your own son." She slammed her foot on the ground as the ground underneath Bowser started to crack. "Now you will pay."

The ground started to cave in as Bowser started to fall, but he grabbed on to the ledge as he tried to stay on, but Cinder kicked his fingers off the ledge and watched as Bowser was sucked into the void and let out a helpless roar.

"GAH!" Bowser yelled, sitting up straight from his bed and panting. He looked around and saw that he was back in his room. Sunlight came out of his window as he looked out and saw the sun peeking out of the horizon. He walked out, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he walked toward his balcony and looked over his entire kingdom. It has been exactly a week since Bowser had unwittingly destroyed the universe, but Rosalina had restored it, although some of the flatter plains had a few hills, Beacon Academy in particular had a few hills surrounding the campus. A few more canyons were scattered throughout the kingdom, forests were in different spots, volcanoes were in different areas in Lethal Lava Land, and what have you… and this was just in Remnant and the Mushroom Kingdom in particular. Who knows what changed in places like Skyworld, Hyrule, Onett, Midgar, or even the Pokemon World for that matter.

"Mmm… to think restoring everything made a few changes…" Bowser muttered under his breath as he watched a few Hammer Bros go about their day in the courtyard, doing a few laps around the place. He then spotted Junior walking around the courtyard and minding his own business.

"You are a terrible father. You call yourself a great dad, yet Junior loses all the time. What makes you so sure that you're a capable father? Sounds to me that you don't know how to raise him right. I think Junior would be happier if he was raised by someone who's a more competent parent than you."

Bowser clenched his fists on the balcony. "That wench… who does she think she is…" He growled as he walked away as he made his way down to the courtyard where he would see Neo doing some yoga exercises along with a few Koopas and Shy Guys, even General Guy was with them.

"Oh hi, your nastiness." General Guy greeted. "This is a surprise… normally you're not up this early."

"Eh… couldn't get enough sleep…"

"Ah, one of those restless nights? I get ya." General Guy chuckled.

"Something wrong, your Burliness?" A Koopa wondered. "You look like you have something on your mind."

"Nah, not really… I'm good." Bowser said as he walked off. Neo finished her Tree pose and turned to Bowser who was walking away. She raised her eyebrow and tilted her head. Something seemed… different about him, but she didn't know what it was.

"Oh, this is a surprise!" Roman said, casually leaning on a wall and having himself a doughnut. "Normally you sleep in."

"Yeah well… decided to get up now." He muttered quietly.

"Something wrong? You don't look so hot."

"I'm fine." Bowser said as he spotted Junior running around with a few Goombas chasing him. Cinder's words echoed in his mind again as he let out a growl, something that Roman took notice of.

"You alright, big guy?"

"I said I'm fine!"

"Oh! Your Nastiness!" Kamek approached him. "This is a pleasant surprise to see you out and about early this morning. Usually you're sleeping in!"

"Can't a guy mix things up a bit?"

"I suppose not." Kamek mused. "Now then, since you're up, we oughta come up with another scheme to kidnap Peach… and while we're at it… a massive amount of paperwork if you're interested. Such is the way of being king." He said, noticing Bowser looking away as he was still looking at Junior, and then noticed Cinder walk by. He let out a growl staring at her as Cinder turned her head toward Bowser. "Hello? Your nastiness?"

"…I need some air." Bowser said and walked off.

"Eh? But we're already outside."

"I know that!" Bowser said, hopping on his Koopa Clown Car and flying off.

"Huh… what's with him?" Kamek wondered.

Meanwhile, at Peach's Castle…

BGM: Peach's Castle (Fortune Street)

"Mmm…" Peach stretched as she drank some tea. "Another beautiful morning~!" She smiled as she finished her tea as she happily munched on a muffin when there was a knock on the doors, or in this case, more like a thump. "Hmm? What's with the thumping?" She wondered as she walked over to the doors and opened them up, seeing Bowser at the doors. "Bowser?!"

"Hey…"

"…You're up early." Peach said and looked at the time. "You're usually not up around eight in the morning."

"Plans can change." Bowser said. "Now get in the Koopa Clown Car." He said as he walked toward the Clown Car.

"…Wait, what?" Peach blinked as she approached him and the Clown Car. "Are you okay? This is so half hearted." She pointed out. "Where's the airships? Where are the Toads screaming and running around in circles? Where are the explosions? Where's the whole "grabbing my arm and throwing me into your airship"?"

"Can't a guy mix it up a little!"

Peach folded her arms. "No, something's not right here. Are you okay? You never do a kidnapping this half-hearted before. You always put on a show!"

"Again… I'm mixing it up a little. Now get in the Clown Car!"

"Are you absolutely sure you are okay?"

"Yes! I'm fine! There is nothing absolutely wrong!" He said as Peach gave him a "I'm not buying it" look. "Just get in. Now!"

"Alright, alright… I'm humor you." Peach rolled her eyes as she climbed in as Bowser climbed in as well, then he flew off right as Toadsworth, his Stoutland and a few Toads watched them fly off.

"Well, that was the most half-hearted kidnapping I've seen." Toadsworth said.

"Stout." His Stoutland agreed.

"So uh… do we call Mario and RWBY because uh… that was the quietest kidnapping I've ever seen." A Toad Guard said. "Not to mention Peach willingly got in… I am so confused right now!"

"Call them… I feel as if something might be up with Master Bowser." Toadsworth said.

End BGM

During the whole flight to Bowser's Castle, Peach would be looking directly into Bowser's eyes. She could tell something was wrong. This wasn't how Bowser usually does things. It was as if something was bothering him. Not to mention, he didn't even bother tying her up with rope like he usually does. "What are you looking at? Is there something on my cheek?"

"No." Peach responded. "You didn't even tie me up with rope. What's going on?"

"Nothing is going on aside from our usual gig!" He said as the Koopa Clown Car landed in the courtyard as he hopped out as Peach also climbed out. "Alright, you know where your room is. Go to it." He said and walked off.

"Wait, what?" A Hammer Bro wondered.

"Did I hear that right?" A Goomba wondered.

"No, I heard it too!" A Shy Guy said.

"He never just leaves her there!" A Boomerang Bro said.

Peach stared at Bowser walking into the castle and shut the door behind him. She immediately turned to a dumbfounded Kamek. "Is he okay?"

"He said he was fine, but… considering you're not being thrown into your room right now… something is definitely up." Kamek mused.

"He was rather distracted." Roman spoke up. "It's like something's bothering him but he's not telling us."

"Mmm…" Peach folded her arms. "I'm gonna go talk to him."

"Good luck, he probably won't confide anything to you." General Guy said. "Want me to just escort you to your room?"

"No, I'm okay." Peach said. "There's something I need to do. Besides, I know where it's at."

"Alright, suit yourself." He said as he walked off as Peach started walking.

"Why do you have free reign in this castle?" Cinder spoke up as Peach turned her head, making eye contact with her. "Clearly, someone like you deserve to be behind bars."

Peach scowled. "Bite me." She said and walked off with a "hmph!", her back turned to Cinder.

"Hmph… he's definitely gotten soft." Cinder said and walked off where Peach would walk through the castle until she found the doors to the throne room, guarded by two Koopatrols.

"Oh hello boys. Mind if I go through?"

"Nope, sorry princess, but his majesty needs some privacy."

"Okay, but do you even know what he's going through? Tell me if he didn't look a bit… off."

"Hmm, come to think of it, he did look melancholic." The second Koopatrol mused.

"Yeah, and not to mention you're wandering around the castle." The first spoke. "Something about him seems different."

"Indeed, which is why I wish to speak with him. Monarch to monarch."

"Mmm… okay, if you say so…" The Koopatrols put their spears away as Peach opened up the doors, seeing Bowser resting his head on his arm. He didn't even see her walk in or even acknowledged her. Something was seriously wrong. She cautiously approached the Koopa King.

"Bowser?" She spoke up as she got closer. "Is everything okay?"

"Hmm? …Oh, hey Peach. You got lost?"

"No, I know my way around the castle given the many kidnappings you pull, but… I'm not going to my room until you tell me what's up." Peach said.

"I told you, I'm fine!"

"Your voice says you're fine, but your body language says another. Heck, this entire kidnapping is telling me something that you're not okay. You can tell me. Trust me, you confide a lot of things to me when you kidnap me."

As much as Bowser hated to admit it, she was right. He does tell her what he does or what his scheme was all about. "Heck, before we met RWBY, you would do ridiculous things like stuff me inside a cake or turn my castle into a maze, not to mention my moat was turned into lava. Let's not forget sending Mario and Luigi on a wild goose chase to rescue the other royalty in the Kingdom while you kidnapped me while they were in Pipe Land. You always do these elaborate stunts, so for you to knock on the door and not doing your usual stuff about how you're so better than Mario… I'm sorry, but I can't ignore something like that!"

"What are you talking about! I am better than Mario and you know it!"

"Yeah, but you're not… yourself." Peach said. "Please… put away your pride and just talk to me. I'm worried about you."

Bowser looked at Peach before turning his head away from her. Peach was undeterred and walked up to his throne, putting her hands on the arm of his throne. "Go away." He grumbled.

"I'm not leaving… and you know this." Peach said. "Please… just tell me. This isn't like you."

Bowser took a deep sigh and turned to Peach. "Alright, fine… the truth is-" Suddenly, the doors swung open as they turned to see the Mario Bros, Daisy, RWBY and Azure at the doors with their weapons out, though Weiss was in a wheelchair and had Myrtenaster pointed at them.

"Alright! Hand over the… the… huh?" Mario blinked, seeing Peach.

"Okay, why is Peach free as a bird?" Yang wondered, scratching the back of her head.

"Why is the snow queen here?" Bowser shot back.

"She was insistent." Blake said.

"I know I'm handicapped at the moment, but I wasn't going to miss out on rescuing Peach!" Weiss declared.

"Oh, never mind that! Let's just cut to the part where we kick your butt!" Ruby said.

"Agreed!" Daisy smirked.

"WAIT!" Peach got between them. "Haven't you noticed anything different when you came in here?"

"…Come to think of it, the army was a bit disorganized." Blake said.

"Yeah, none of them looked interested in fighting." Luigi said.

"Now that I think about it…" Daisy rubbed her chin in thought. "How did your kidnapping go?"

"Half-heartedly. He just knocked on the door and escorted me to his Clown Car. No explosions, no evil laughter… just… walked right up and kindly kidnapped me." Peach said.

"He half assed it?" Daisy raised an eyebrow. "…That's not like him."

"That's what I said!" Peach said as everyone looked at each other and put away their weapons as they walked/rolled/flew over to Bowser.

"Alright, big guy. What's going on?" Ruby asked.

"Ugh, can you not crowd me all at once? Look, let's just get to the fight and then you can get Peach out of here."

"Nuh-uh." Mario shook his head. "If you half heartedly kidnapped Peach, then it would be a half hearted fight. We're not fighting you today."

"So tell us… what's bugging ya?" Luigi asked.

"Hmph! As if I'd tell you boneheads!" Bowser folded his arms. "For your information, I don't have to tell you clowns anything! Now get lost, all of ya!"

"Bowser, please… we just want to know." Peach said. "Put away your pride…"

"We're not going anywhere." Weiss said.

Bowser let out a groan. "Fiiiiine, I'll tell you." He grumbled.

BGM: Scent of Silence (Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories)

He let out a sigh. "The truth is… I've just been bothered by a few things lately."

"Oh? Like what?" Daisy wondered.

"Well, you recall what happened last week?"

"Last week? Well, let's see… we were in outer space, the universe fell apar-… ooooh." Ruby grimaced. "That's what's buggin' ya?"

"Well yeah, I was the one who doomed us all!" Bowser muttered. "But that's not the only thing that's buggin' me." He let out a sigh. "The truth is… while we were in space, I'm not going to say any names, but someone suggested that I'm a terrible father."

"What?" Yang raised an eyebrow. "Dude, what gave them the idea?"

"Because of how he keeps losing to you people." He said. "They thought I'm not a competent parent because if I was, Junior would be winning a lot more fights against you."

"So they thought you were a bad parent because Junior loses to us?" Mario raised an eyebrow. "Now that's not true, I let him win a few times in Smash when we're fighting each other."

"Yeah, I think we all do!" Daisy said.

"Yeah, but outside of Smash was different… and even now… there was a nightmare I had earlier this morning where I relived the final moments of the universe… and I tried to hold Junior, but the gravitational pull was too much and yanked him away from me. I was then confronted by them, saying that due to my incompetence… Junior would still be alive if I didn't go through with a galactic conquest."

"But he is alive! All of us are." Weiss said.

"Yeah, you can thank Rosie for that!" Yang agreed. "Sure, dyin' kinda did a number on all of us, but we're still alive and kicking."

"So who was it that told you that? Was it one of the Hammer Bros? I never trusted that one particular Hammer Bro… he was always giving me the stink eye!" Ruby said and turned around. "Why I oughta… how dare he say that you're a bad father!"

"No, it wasn't any of my men." Bowser told her.

"Eggman?" Weiss guessed.

"No."

"It doesn't matter who said it." Peach said as she put her hand on his arm. "Bowser, don't let whoever said this get to you. You are a wonderful father. Junior's a great kid… and you're raising him in the best way you can."

"Yeah! From what I can tell, you're definitely raising him right!" Mario said, giving Bowser his signature thumbs up.

"Next time you find this guy, give 'em a punch for me." Yang grinned. "Specifically in the diaphragm! Make it really hurt!"

"…Really Yang?" Weiss rolled her eyes.

"What? That person caused our big guy over here to be all melancholic. Wouldn't you do the same if someone like, I dunno, Ruby was melancholic?"

"I'd tell her to get over it." Weiss said.

"It's true, she would!" Ruby nodded as Yang sweatdropped.

"Not helping…" Yang quietly said.

"Now now, the firecracker's got a point." A voice said as they turned to see Roman, Neo, General Guy and Kamek approaching them. "It's not like the big guy to get all mopey." He said.

"I say we oughta cheer you up!" Peach said.

"Agreed!" General Guy agreed. "I say it's time for Operation: Make the Big Guy Happy Again!" He said. "Now let's move it, we've got no time to lose!"

"I know something that'll definitely cheer you up!" Peach said and took off running.

"You guys wouldn't happen to have a game room, would ya?" Yang asked.

"Pffft! Of course. Who do you think we are?" Kamek chuckled. "It's right this way." He said as they walked off with Ruby and Mario pulling Bowser out of his throne as they took him into the game room.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Bowser asked.

"Of course!" Ruby smiled. "You're a bad guy, but that doesn't mean you're a… uh… bad… guy…? I'm not sure where I'm going with this." She sweatdropped. "But the point still stands!" She said as they opened up the doors and saw a massive theater screen filled with consoles on the side. They would see Roy and Iggy playing on the big screen.

"Whoa… are we sure this is a game room and not a home movie theater?" Weiss wondered.

"Agh! Blast it!" Roy grumbled.

"Ha ha! Yeah baby!" Iggy fist pumped as they turned their heads and saw the group.

"Well, what do you boneheads want?" Roy asked.

"Making this big guy feel better." Luigi said.

"Eh?" Roy raised an eyebrow. "…Okay, if you say so."

"What game is this?" Blake wondered.

"Nintendo Land!" Iggy smiled.

"Mmm… let's go with something a bit more exciting…" Blake said as they looked through the games.

"Oooh, Mario Party!" Ruby said.

"…Ruby, we're trying to make him feel better, not get him mad at us."

"Oh fine…" Ruby sighed.

"Ohohoho man, I've been meaning to play this!" Yang said as she pulled out a game. "Toon Link has been recommending this to me and I've been dying to play it!"

"What is it?" Luigi asked.

"Castle Crashers!"

"Oh look, Mario Kart: Double Dash!" Ruby grinned.

"Heeeey, Kirby Air Ride!" Daisy exclaimed.

"What do you wanna do, big guy?" Yang asked.

"Hmm… how about…"

End BGM

About thirty minutes later…

"Agh! Red, are you cheating?" Roman asked.

"What? No, of course not!" Ruby defended as they were playing Air Ride.

"Dibs on the loser!" Yang said.

"Ack! Who threw a bomb at me?!" Daisy yelled, unaware of Bowser smirking. Neo let out a giggle. "Neo! Did you… wait, you passed the controller to Ruby…"

It was then that the door opened up as Peach walked in, rolling in a cake on a cart. "It's ready~!"

"Cream cream!"

"Strawberry helped me out with the frosting." Peach smiled, gently pinching Alcreamie's cheeks, causing it to giggle.

"Hmm?" Bowser looked at the cake, seeing it was red velvet cake with "To the best Koopa Dad of all time" with a red heart next to it.

"Here you go!" Peach smiled. "Oh, and Strawberry wasn't the only one who helped out."

"I helped too!" A voice said as they saw Junior walk in with some frosting on his cheek. "…I might have licked some of the frosting…" He said with a blush.

"Aww, Junior…" Bowser smiled and hugged him tightly.

"I love you, papa! You're the best dad I ever had!"

Bowser let out a chuckle. "I love you too, son."

"Aww!" The girls gushed while the Bros smiled at this as they happily helped themselves to cake as Bowser had himself a bigger slice. They continued to play games throughout the day, including Castle Crashers that Yang so wanted to play.

"Aaaah, man, I'm beat." Yang said with a yawn. "I think it's time we head back."

"Yeah…" Ruby nodded as they stood up.

"Hey." Bowser said as they turned to him. "You may be major pains in my tail, especially you, Mario… but darn it… you sure know how to cheer a guy up."

"Ah, don't mention it." Mario chuckled.

"Yeah, you're welcome!" Luigi grinned as they all walked out the castle with Bowser and his army behind them.

"See you boneheads later!" Bowser waved.

"Bye guys!" Junior waved as well as they all waved goodbye and headed back to Toad Town, then Junior let out a yawn. "Man… I'm tired…"

"Heh, I'll get ya tucked in." Bowser said.

A few minutes later…

Bowser shut the door and walked through the hallway. "Hmph… you're still soft." A voice said as Bowser stopped walking and turned to Cinder. "Here you are, playing games with the enemy. Why are you so… soft?"

"Why are you such an arrogant bitch?" Bowser demanded to know. "You don't have to crouch on my personal life! Who cares if I've gotten soft on the enemy. I'm still the King of Awesome and I am their arch nemesis, so you take it or leave it!"

"Hmph! You're nothing but a big teddy bear… oh, and you think you're a great father, but you're nothing more than a-" Bowser slugged her hard in her gut, making her hunch over in pain as he then slugged her in the diaphragm to make her go flying into a wall. She fell on her knees, coughing up a storm as Bowser towered over her.

"You talk big, but you're nothing more than a lightweight! You're in my turf now, Cindy… and it's time you respect the King of Awesome. If I catch you talking bad about my son in front of me, then I'll do more than a slug to your chest." He said as he kicked her to knock her on the ground. "As a matter of fact, you are now my minion! Hope you enjoy the harsh training that General Guy will put you through! And while I'm at it, Kamek will hinder your powers so you don't try anything funny with my men!"

"He… he what…?" Cinder wondered and right on cue, Kamek appeared and fired magic as a choker appeared on her neck.

"You like that? It's from a movie I watched recently." Bowser smirked. "Bloodpool, I think it was called… but whatever! It's what you deserve after what you almost did to my son." He said and walked off chuckling to himself. "Heheheh, I am BACK, baby!" He said as Kamek chuckled.

"Good to have you back, sire." Kamek said and then disappeared as Cinder got up, attempting to conjure up a glass bow and arrow to try and shoot it at Bowser… but nothing happened. She even tried to use her maiden powers on him, but nothing happened either.

"No… no no no no!" Cinder panicked. "I can't do anything! I'm nothing!" She said, her breathing quickening as she quickly scrambled to find Kamek. "KAMEK! KAMEK, PLEASE! TAKE THIS OFF OF ME! I BEG YOU!" She yelled, as a horrified look was plastered on her face.

Bowser chuckled. "What's the matter? It's just a choker that seals your powers. Nothing to be panicked about!" He said and continued to walk away with a proud smirk on his face.

Bowser is back and he's not gonna listen to Cinder's BS for a moment longer!