EDIT: Fixed a repeated word in one of Mario's lines. Also, to the one reviewer who brought up the theoretical interactions Joker could have with someone who has already essentially jacked another heart...oh man.

Mario let out a long yet good-natured sigh as he wet another towel with the help of FLUDD, the Inkling girl sitting on a bench nearby watching him. Normally, the aftermath of smashes were fairly clean; any injuries out on the battlefield stayed in the battlefield thanks to the Damage Dampener, and barring a few exceptions nobody truly loathed each other, so it was all clean fun.

It seems like Master Hand hadn't calibrated the system to remove ink, however, judging by the the mess the Inkling pair had found themselves in. As they weren't equipped to clean themselves, the pair found themselves calling up the only other fighters they'd met to help sort things out.

"Thank-a you FLUDD, mio vecchio amico," Mario muttered, leaning out the window and squeezing the excess water out of the towel. He looked over to the other side of the room, watching with warm eyes as Peach wiped down the Inkling boy in her lap with no regard for her own cleanliness, occasionally pinching his cheeks in response to his warbling and giggling.

Maybe this isn't too bad...

"I am pleased to assist as always, Mario. My memory banks are recalling Isle Delfino and our adventure fondly."

Mario chuckled, making his way over to the Inkling girl and sitting next to her. Immediately, she clambered over and onto his lap, getting blue ink all over his overalls and a little in his moustache as she got into a comfortable sitting position.

"I'm-a expecting a shadowy doppelganger any second now. How about-a you, are you okie dokie cara bambina?"

"Ei! Sgwee, gwah sgwee!"

Smiling, Mario began wiping the ink off near her eyes, listening to her pleased hums and the sounds of birds outside. This tournament was shaping up to be the most interesting one in all of Smash history. So many fighters coming from across the world...it truly was a monumental step forward from the ragtag fight club that was started so long ago.

Someone stomping towards the room snapped him out of this thoughts, however, and his eyes narrowed at how familiar the heavy footfalls were.

Bowser, King of the Koopas and Mario's lifetime rival trudged into view with a nasty scowl. His eyes scanned the room, settling on a tense yet curious Peach for only a second before turning around and moving his gaze to Mario, who stared back at him with a trained, neutral expression. The Inklings, noting the changed atmosphere, rapidly swapped looks between the group.

"Mawee...?"

Patting the Inkling girl on the head, Mario lifted her up and placed her to the side, walking over to his nemesis with no fear in his heart. He noticed the bandage on Bowser's chin first, idly wondering about who would be dumb enough to pick a fight outside of the smashes.

"Do you-a need anything, Bowser?"

"Yeah, wouldn't be here if I didn't," he gruffly responded, scratching the top of his head before quickly looking around. "Look, I...I need your help with something, alright? Something big came up, with Junior, and..."

Mario's gaze softened as he watched Bowser trail off, his internal struggle clear on his face. While the Koopa king was cruel, violent, and more than willing to have his son inherit his legacy of evil, it was no secret that he simply adored his son. He would still adamantly refuse to admit that he cried when he saw that Junior had made friends with the younger Smashers, and conveniently ignored some of his son's more heroic actions for their favor.

"Ah, just-a walk with me, we'll talk on-a the way there," Mario responded, suppressing a smile at his foe's visible relief. While they weren't exactly 'to the death' with each other anymore, even teaming up to stop a greater evil occasionally, being by Bowser's side without the threat of the princess' safety was always a little jarring outside of their sports events.

Which he still had no idea how Bowser crashed in the first place, but now was not the time for this.

"Uh, right. Hey Peach, you gonna tag along, or...?"

She shook her head, giving him a bright smile as she beckoned the Inkling girl over to sit on her other knee. "There is a certain pair of Inklings that need my attention, but thank you for the vote of confidence Bowser. Whatever is happening, I wish you two good luck."

Bowser smirked, crossing his arms. "Please, it should be us wishin' you good luck. One kid is hard, but two?" He scoffed, following Mario out of the room. "Must be a nightmare."

Peach rolled her eyes as he left. "I am sure this will be fine."

SPLEP

Her gaze immediately turned downwards to see the Inkling girl's tentacle stuck to the boy's face, her snickering only interrupted by a flick of ink in her eye. As the two began a messy slap fight, Peach could only let out a sigh and inwardly give a point to the Koopa king.

"Alright, here we are."

Mario nodded as he stopped in front of the heavily stylized door to Bowser and Junior's room. As a two-tourney veteran, Bowser was afforded the luxury of a custom, castle-themed door and some furnishing, but the spikes were honestly a bit excessive.

"Let-sa have a looksie, then."

Bowser thrust his arm in front of the plumber, a pained look on his face. Whatever he wanted to say, it couldn't wait any longer. "Hold up, there's something I got to tell you. Junior, he...he ain't exactly himself right now. "

Mario raised an eyebrow. "What...do you-a mean?"

"You musta noticed before, but this bandage?" Bowser pointed to his chin. "Covering up a nick Junior gave me."

"What?! Why would he-a hurt his papa?"

"That's what I wanna know!" Bowser growled, brows furrowing. "One minute, I'm sittin' out on the balcony enjoying some Chuckola Cola, then Junior runs out at me crying about how some kid in a striped sweater was telling him about an 'unfinished plan' or whatever, and that he wouldn't 'be himself' in a little while."

Mario nodded, silently urging him to continue. If he noticed his old foe's shaking claws, he didn't comment on it.

"All I knew was that my boy needed me, so I took him into my arms. That's when I heard this whistling, and I pulled back to see that Junior had clawed me. But that wasn't the worst part. His eyes, it...it wasn't my son, Mario. It wasn't Junior. Something evil was looking back at me. And then it smiled."

Stunned, Mario processed this information carefully. It wasn't no Cackletta or Antasma, so his universe's threats were not at play here.

Just who was this mystery demon?

"Everything after that 's just a blur. I yelled, screamed at it, g-give me my boy back, but...it said..."

Bowser's eyes slammed shut. "It said Junior was gone. He...he tried to fight, but he wasn't determined enough. Then it laughed, called me an old idiot and told me...that his final thoughts w-were of me. How he wanted to make me proud..."

Mario was about to cut in before the ground shook, Bowser's fist buried in the wall. "But that's just a load of bull! J-Junior would never leave me, he's still in there...I...I just-!"

He broke down, roaring a stream of fire over Mario's head even as free-flowing tears blurred his vision. It lasted as long as his temper did, and soon he crumpled to the ground, grief laid bare across his face.

"...Koopa, stay here and-a don't move a muscle. I'm-a going to get a team and we're-a going in."

Patting his shoulder, Mario turned to leave before he heard a hoarse whisper amidst shuddering sobs.

"Save him, please...he's the light 'a my life...please..."

The hero clenched his fists, but gave Bowser a thumbs up anyway.

What else could he do?

They didn't know how long it had been since they were stuck here, bound to the bed like some asylum patient. It had been hasty, trying to take out the monster king as early as it did, and now it had been delayed by the folly.

Well, it chuckled, a vile thing that seemingly crawled it's way out of their throat. It's not like I'm strapped for time, here.

That insufferable brat's kicking had finally quieted down, more akin to the weak flailing of a dying beast. He fought, oh did he fight, but if he thought that his worthless 'friends' and idiotic 'papa' were going to trump their DETERMINATION...

Well, perhaps they'd be moving onto the next world very soon.

Fools, the lot of them, they thought, idly poking the brat and delighting in his weak cries. They live for the squealing masses, entertaining the piggies until their next paycheck. But I am not them.

They smiled, stretching their gnarled grin from one side of their face to the other with a sickening crackling sound.

I am the true Judge, and I have deemed humanity guilty. Ugly little things that deserve not even the mercy of a cold grave. They do not belong in MY ideal world.

FOR THEIR TRANSGRESSIONS, ALL SHALL DIE. I WILL IT.

They blinked. No, no, they couldn't fly off the handle now. They had a show to put on for Mr. Video himself. He made the effort of bringing out such a big crowd, after all, so they had to put on their best face!

Good thing little Junior was just so eager to share his.

The door burst open, red cap and blue overalls suddenly in view. They could feel the LOVE seeping out of the tall hair lady, and they could hear the dog growling at them, the duck on it's back quacking in anger.

It was delicious, feeling again, and they had to keep from salivating as a red crosshair centered itself between their (his?) eyes.

"Good evening, sir Mario. I am Chara, the demon who comes when you call their name," They grinned, feeling Junior kick and scream for help again at the sight of Mario. How utterly amusing, like a fly without it's wings or legs attempting to move.

"I do so apologize for my rough entrance, but I have come to reclaim some lost luggage of mine. Do you perhaps happen to know where Frisk is?" They smiled. "She's been awfully chilly lately, so just tell her one thing: "Let me in.""