Bowser's Keep, the Week after Mario Rescues Peach

In just a year, Bowser had been utterly defeated by a threat none could have seen coming: two mustachioed brothers of Peach's species from another dimension. They were plumbers from some world known either as Brooklyn or Earth—Bowser didn't care. They had stumbled into some portal to the Toad Town Sewers about a year ago, not long after Bowser had taken Peach hostage.

They had apparently spent a year learning the Toad language and how to do things in this world while searching for a way to reopen the portal home. Apparently, they had been pressed into service by a member of the Toad Guard named Toad. The Toads would help them go home if they rescued Peach.

The first report of a Toad recaptured Toad Town came three months ago. For novices to this world, the plumbers were more adept at strategically using Fire Flowers and Power Stars than Toads and Darklanders who took the power ups for granted. Their strategy consisted mainly of eating Super Mushrooms for an increase in strength and then jumping on their enemies. Toads only knew of the effect of Super Mushrooms from the non-fungi residents of Mushroom Kingdom. Eating other mushrooms just seemed cannibalistic to them. The plumbers, being "human" like Peach had no such compunction.

If the enemies had spikes or upward facing teeth that prevented them from being jumped on, the Toads would give the human plumbers Fire Flowers instead.

Fire Flowers were really the only way to deal with Piranha Plants, but since they resulted in near instant death for the plants, Toads normally had ethical concerns about using them, but this was war.

The plumbers had deadly instincts. At least the plumber in red did. The green one was a klutz, who inflicted more damage on the Darklands' forces through accident than his brother did through skill.

By the end of the three months, the Darklands' forces had been driven out of the western Mushroom Kingdom.

Bowser slammed his fist into his throne's armrest.

Why did all the airships have to be made of a flammable material like wood?

Between Red 'Stache's strategy and Green 'Stache's blundering, Bowser's entire air force needed repair.

The King had no choice but to recall his forces back to Darklands or risk the Toads slaughtering his whole army.

Bowser still held the only piece of the puzzle needed for victory: Princess Peach herself.

The plumber brothers with their suspenders, mustaches, and initialed caps could drive his forces out of the Mushroom Kingdom. It wouldn't matter when Peach said, "I do," and the Mushroom Kingdom was legally his.

Of course, by then the plumbers had made their way to the heart of Darklands—using the same warp pipe system whose construction had won Bowser the crown.

Somehow, they made it to his Keep, and despite Bowser shooting fiery breaths at Red 'Stache—apparently named Mario—this "Mario" made an epic jump over Bowser's head and activated one of the King's own traps, a retractable bridge over a gap in the floor, causing Bowser to fall several floors.
Thank the Stars he was wearing his hardest shell and landed on his back.

Of course, he was trapped in that position for over an hour trying to raise himself into a sitting position from which he could stand—and take the clown car back to the upper story where he held Peach.

By the time he got there "Mario" and Green 'Stache were long gone—and Peach with them.

They had kidnapped her!

Then she reasserted the Mushroom Kingdom's independence within hours.

Bowser's back still ached, but not as much as his heart.

Peach, whom he still admired...who would still make an excellent mother to Junior...had betrayed him.

Of course, Bowser couldn't blame her. He'd do the same thing had Darklands been invaded.

The only positive thing about his defeat was that he invited Kamek and Kammy back to the Keep to aid him in his recovery, subsequent government, and raising Junior.

Mario had changed everything. Before he showed up, Bowser was unstoppable. Now the opposite was true.

In moments like this there was only one individual who had ever given Bowser good advice. Bowser entered K. Rool's video chat number on his arm rest controls.

K. Rool responded to the call and the HD Widescreen above the throne room's red double flashed to life with the grimacing visage of the Kremling King.

"Sir, as you know—"

K. Rool angrily cut into Bowser's words.

"As I know, the entire Mushroom World has been calling you 'the most evil tyrant' for over a year," K. Rool pointed a claw at Bowser, "When this whole invasion was my idea!" K. Rool screamed while pointing at himself.

Bowser stared confused, before growling angrily, "I invaded the Mushroom Kingdom to punish them for assassinating my family! You just offered to help!"

K. Rool's scowl melted into an amused smirk. "Is that what you think after everything I've done to turn you against them? After everything I did to keep you against them? How could you possibly not understand that you are my pawn?" K. Rool scowled again.

"Bowser, I want you to meet two Kremling intelligence agents of mine," K. Rool snapped two fingers and suddenly...the two Toad intelligence agents who had killed Clawdia materialized on the screen, out of thin air.

Bowser knew these two had killed Clawdia, but from the files K. Rool had given him, he knew they'd been involved in the deaths of his mother and brother as well.

Bowser gasped, the dreadful weight of the truth fully sinking into his heart.

"Kloak, Kackle, show Bowser your true forms," K. Rool commanded.

The Toads vanished again, and in their place stood a floating overcoat with glaring red eyes, and the upper torso of a skeletal Kremling wearing a bandana.

"All this time it was you!" Bowser shouted at K. Rool.

"Mom!" Bowser screamed in anger, "Ludwig!" still angry but choking, "Clawdia!" tears finally flowed.

"I trusted you!" Bowser shouted and sobbed, anger and sadness mixing into each other. "Why?"

"I needed a leader I could manipulate and a target to sic them on. It could have been anyone, but events in your family made you and your nearest neighbor the easiest. You were not that significant to me as an individual until you stole my title!" K. Rool ranted back.

"All you did was kidnap a princess and try to make her marry you." K. Rool's eyes stared into the distance. "Now that you've normalized this behavior, I'm free to do much worse." K. Rool's eyes bore into Bowser, "I have already done much worse! Just ask your family..." K. Rool said slowly.

"How did you do it?" Bowser demanded wanting to know K. Rool's exact influence on the lone Hammer Bro who had killed his mother and the fifteen Bob-ombs who had killed his brother.

K. Rool seemed puzzled for a minute as to what Bowser meant by "It," but soon realized the only thing Bowser could mean.

Smirking again, K. Rool said, "All you need to know is that I did it...intentionally," K. Rool licked his fangs and then stared at Bowser, "But my evilest act wasn't the murders. It was manipulating you."

K. Rool's face froze. "You stole my title, so I want to torture you by giving you no further answers and letting you spend the rest of your life asking yourself 'How? How did he always get the ones I love and leave me?"

Involuntarily, a tear streamed down Bowser's cheek.

"I'll be seeing you, boy," K. Rool said before terminating the link.

Now Bowser had lost another father figure. Worse, he had learned he had never had that one to begin with.

Bowser sobbed, as he realized K. Rool had taken all his family—including K. Rool himself. Bowser had truly seen him as family.

All he had left was Junior—and he'd never let him go.

"Kamek, get in here!" Bowser shouted as he dried his tears.

"Yes, my King?" Kamek asked before noticing Bowser slumped posture and half-dried tears.

Kamek wanted to hug the Koopaling he'd raised but he did not know how the monarch would respond.

"Kammy is with Junior?" Bowser asked, his voice shaking.

"He has not left her sight, Sire."

Kamek looked at Bowser motionless body as he also noticed stress lines forming in his forehead.

"Your Majesty?" Kamek asked.

"That bastard K. Rool played me from the beginning!" Bowser banged his fists against the armrests. "He was behind everything!"

Kamek had always been suspicious of the Kremling Dictator-King, but K. Rool couldn't have been behind Clawdia's death.

"But the two Toads..." Kamek began...

"...were really shapeshifting Boo-Kremling hybrids—working for K. Rool, not Toadley," Bowser finished.

"Then we have to declare peace immediately!" Kamek put his hands to the side of his head.

Bowser jumped out of his throne. "Fool! I'd have to abdicate for leading us into a pointless war!"

Bowser stared at Kamek, "The war continues, and this remains our secret. Yours, mine, and..." Bowser paused Kammy had helped Bowser overthrow Morton due to his incompetence. She could not know. Bowser only had Kamek.

Bowser smiled.

A dim ray of sunshine entered the dark and stormy void of Bowser's heart: he had always had Kamek.

He walked to the Magikoopa who had raised him.

"Morton failed me. K. Rool failed me. But I did have a father."

Bowser gave Kamek the hug that Kamek had wanted to give him.

Kamek returned the gesture.

Bowser sighed and released Kamek, retaking his position on the throne.

"Only you and I know the truth. Peach can know once we're married, and Kammy can also know then...that is the only way to stop the war and remain king."

Kamek remembered when Bowser wanted nothing to do with royalty in his childhood.

"I remember when you never wanted to the throne."

"That was before that fat crocodile killed my brother. Now no one can replace me until Junior is old enough."

Bowser gazed off, wistfully in the direction of Junior's room.

"He needs to be kept safe at all costs."

The very existence of Junior was a state secret, as Bowser's marriage to Clawdia had been before it had to become public with her assassination.

Bowser had made the mistake of telling K. Rool about Clawdia, but no one except castle staff knew about Junior—and Bowser had seven substitute targets to hide Junior behind.

"Summon all seven of my bastards to the castle. I've got jobs for them."

"Yes, Sire," Kamek said, before asking, "May I ask why?"

Bowser smirked.

"To be decoys of course. I need heirs and I'm not ready to go public with Junior just yet."

Kamek felt a chill.

"You're not thinking of using them as targets for K. Rool?"

"Targets for anyone who'd mess with my family: you, me, Junior, and eventually, Peach."

Kamek felt his heart sink into his stomach. Bowser was still crazy—

But Kamek would not abandon him this time. Maybe he could even help him restrain his more destructive impulses.

"Very well, Sire," Kamek nodded and began to walk out of the room when he said, "You may even learn to love them."

"Doubtful," Bowser said letting the air hang still for a minute, "But if they get along with Junior, I suppose it's possible."

Kamek smiled and closed the door behind him.

Bowser allowed himself a smile.

Maybe his illegitimate children would support Junior, just as his brother, the original Ludwig, had supported him.

If he kept the truth about K. Rool a secret for now, Kammy would support the family.

He'd need to keep the public angry at the Mushroom Kingdom to keep the war going, or at least start it back after regrouping. That would call for a fresh line of propaganda. Maybe Kammy could help with that.

What mattered was that he had Junior, Kamek and Peach—and he would. The plumbers had to go home sometime. After all, how many worlds could there be?

This is the end of The Rise of Bowser: Creating a Tyrant, Book 1 of my Nintendo Multiverse saga but the story continues in my Super Smash Bros. comedy fic, K. Rool and Ganon's Evil Alliance, originally written in 2018 but soon to be reposted.