Bowser was dragged into the theater by Ludwig, his more formal and "polite" son. Ludwig had been waiting to see a certain play here for years, and Bowser had finally given in a let him go. Kemek and the rest of the Koopalings were to come as well.
They had great seats, and Bowser failed to admit that he actually liked the play. They had "basement passes" which Bowser demanded they use so he wouldn't put his investment to waste. The basement passes meant they could go meet the stars in their changing rooms, and there they could also see how the stages were prepared and such.
"Are you sure you meant to buy the basement passes?" Ludwig asked.
"Ha! Only the best for my son! Now go have fun. I'll stay here and buy some spicy chicken or whatever they sell here."
Ludwig and Wendy rushed into the open door. Junior laughed and he and Lemmy knocked over a jar. Kemek rushed to calm the Koopalings as Bowser wandered aimlessly around the room. He came to an empty wall, one without a door.
And on that wall was a painting.
"Huh. Weird picture. Person really likes purple. Purple's overrated now. Everybody wears purple! Hey Kemek, check out the picture! Mock it with me!"
Kemek came over with a sigh, holding Junior. "What is it, my lord?" He looked up at the painting. "A little strange for a painting like that to be in here. It doesn't fit the feeling of this place; ecpecially since it's the basement...Do you think they could be the creator of this theater?"
"Nah, too purple. The creator will probably be yellow or something, also overrated."
"It seems kind of off, don't you think?"
"I mean, I guess." Bowser grabbed the frame. "I mean, it doesn't really fit. I may be a tyrant, but even I know how to decorate."
He took it off the wall, and the eyes and brooch on the image began to glow. Bowser dropped it, and a swirling vortex opened above it. It pulled Kemek and Junior in. Bowser jumped in to save his son, the vortex closing behind him.
He landed face first on the ground. Kemek and Junior were fine, thankfully. The painting's world was dark, with small lights illuminating the place here and there. Bowser rose to his feet and dusted off his stomach.
"So you were right, that was like the painting's in Peaches' castle. But you know, a lot more painful."
"What is this place?" Kemek asked, who then checked to see if Junior was alright.
Junior smacked Kemek's hands away. "It's so dark in here. ECHO!"
There was a slight echo back, but not much of one.
"Have a light?"
Kemek tapped the top of his wand. "Thankfully, I do. I just need to get it working is all..."
"I bet they're sound activated," Bowser said.
"Why? This is in the theater, where you're supposed to be quiet!"
"That's why. Nobody's supposed to be in here, and if they did then they wouldn't be able to turn on the lights 'cause they'll think to be quiet!"
Bowser let out a long roar, that echoing back much better than Junior's yell. The lights flickered on.
"Ha! See? I told you!"
Kemek stared at him, annoyed, a hand on a light switch.
"You can thank me later! Let's find an exit door or something."
"What's that?" Junior asked.
Bowser looked around to see if he could find what Junior was talking about. There were dozens of shadowy figures with glowing purple eyes, the walls and roof decorated with lights, and the stage was split into two large sections, the one they were currently on being the outer ring. In the center stage was a figure, rather large, but looked like a pile of trash.
Kemek clicked his tounge disapprovingly. "Leaving trash in a theater? The nerve of some people!"
"Yeesh. I wonder if they closed down or something." Bowser walked to the end of the ring.
"I can fly us over. I at least want people to care for the theater, if nothing else!"
"Didn't know you were a theater kid."
Kemek sputtered, but said nothing.
Kemek summoned Bowser's Klown Kart and they hopped on. It flew over to the center stage. Bowser hopped out and stared at the pile.
"This doesn't look like junk."
Kemek came over. "Let me see."
Junior hopped excitedly. "This must be one of those puzzle games where you have to solve stuff to get out! We must have to fix this thing or something!"
Kemek stared at him but said nothing.
Bowser cracked his knuckles. "This'll be a piece of cake. Trust me!"
Kemek sighed and waved his wand. The pieces fit together with almost no effort, causing him to examine his own wand.
"This thing's been acting up lately. Huh. Why did that work so perfectly?"
"Hey, wait a minute. Doesn't this look like the person we saw on the painting?"
Junior screamed, partly from excitement. "No way! We just raised a dead person!"
Kemek poked them. "You're right. But they really don't fit the theme of this theater. Maybe they aren't the founder? Then who are they?"
They twitched slightly. Kemek flinched back, and Bowser stood in front of Junior, who responded by hopping onto Bowser's shoulders. They twitched again, then straightened out. Kemek held up his wand, and Bowser prepared to punch something.
"Grrr-AH!" She flopped forwards, breathing hard.
She staggered a bit, resting her hand on her face. Once she was steady, she removed her hand from her face and summoned a golden scepter with a purple top. She fixed her hat and finally looked from the ground.
Bowser took her second of eye contact as a threat and punched her in the face. She'd bent backwards again from the hit, but didn't seem to be in pain. She straightened out again and shook the hit off like it was nothing.
"Oh? Wait, give me a moment. I remember...Hm..."
Bowser was a bit surprised about her deep voice, as all the other Mushroom Kingdom women had high voices. They also usually wore a similar style of clothing. Bowser came to the conclusion she wasn't from the Mushroom Kingdom. She didn't look human, after all, or like anything Bowser had seen before.
"Yes, I see...So I had fallen in battle." She held her hand slightly out to the side. "And you must have come across me. Say, how did you ever manage to get here? You don't have Darkle and...well you definitely don't look like you have Sparkle. Nothing can come in here unless..." She tapped her hand against the bottom of her mask. "Unless we were fated to meet. Yes, I can see that. You did revive me, after all. I suppose I could return the favor and send you back to the theater..."
Bowser blinked. "Who are you?! I've never seen you before! If you're going to do something, you're going to have to go through me!"
She blinked at him. "Pardon? You have no clue who I am? And I should be asking you who you are. You know, it's very rude to yell, especially in a theater."
"Who I am?! Who I AM?! Are you deaf?! I'm the great and mighty King Bowser! Known for bringing the near destruction of the Mushroom Kingdom, and the world, and the UNIVERSE, multiple times! My name alone strikes fear into the hearts of pathetic weaklings like you!" He crossed his arms, smoke rising from his nose when he huffed. "And I have a whole army and everything! And airships, and Bob-oms! Everybody knows me as the 'great King Bowser!' I even almost married Peach that one time."
Her eyes widened slightly. "Peach?"
"Don't tell me you don't know Peaches! Pink dress, blonde with blue eyes! She always wears strawberry lipstick, and she's very nice!"
"You know Peach."
He nodded. "And Peach is MINE so don't think you can take her from me like Mario does!"
"Now that's a name I'm unfamiliar with. But I do know Peach. Say, perhaps we can come to an agreement?" She slid her hands together, her fingers pointed towards Bowser.
"I don't make deals with people! Not anymore! Ecpecially since last time, the dude kept screeching in my ears every five seconds!"
"You said you attempted to wed Peach? And you seem to know her on a very personal level..."
"Uh, DUH. Peaches and I are like...a thing. But Mario keeps getting in the way. I was actually working on a plan of grabbing her on our way back to the castle."
"Grabbing her? So you plan on capturing her?" She chuckled lightly. "This could work in my favor!"
"What are you on? I told you, Peach is mine!"
"Relax, I don't want her, yet. I do have to tell you something if I ever want my idea to get through your thick skull. You better sit down, because I have quite the tale to tell."