I read the news about the Koopalings, and to be honest, I will always see them as Bowser's kids, no matter what Miyamoto says. So I had the inspiration to write this. It's been forever since I last even talked about them, so this may be slightly OoC. I apology beforehand, but hope you enjoy it~

I don't plan to write more about this, so let your imagination fly if you wish so~

~Through Thick and Thin?

All the Koopalings stood in front of the King of the Dark Lands, frozen in place. Three of them with passive, unreadable expressions; four with mouth agape; and the last one shifting his eyes among the group in disbelief before turning back to his father.

His, his, and only his.

For some reason it didn't feel as good as he hoped.

Bowser stared back at the seven Koopalings that had served him for so long; the ones that believed him to be their father.

Believe.

A shattered illusion, a false hope. Bitter truth, wasn't it?

Bowser Junior, the only real son of the King, looked at the seven ones he had seen as family for long, just like his Mama... the difference was that he had known about Peach, it was obvious... to be honest, it was also a little obvious how the others looked nothing like him or his father...

Larry, Morton, Wendy, and Iggy had shocked expressions, eyes wide and unblinking. Was it a lie? ...What WAS the lie? They had been there all their lives, their first memories those of the dark, fiery lands that Bowser ruled, as was to be expected, them being Drago-Koopas after all... but also of the walls inside the castle. Not many koopas were allowed inside the castle to begin with.

And Bowser had always been harsh on them, but understanding to some degree. Sometimes treating them as children sometimes, going from scolding to shouting matches to taking into considerations their words, waving them off, giving them rewards.

That meant something, right? ...Right?

Ludwig stared back with steely eyes, trying to keep his posture relaxed. Lemmy had his head lowered, moving as little as possible while maintaining balance on his beach ball. Roy clenched and relaxed his fists again and again, expression hidden behind a poker face. They had known the truth for so long after all.

They had been the ones that had managed to get Bowser to accept them in the castle, in the troops, promising they would do everything to aid him. If he could help them back. Because, what could three young kids do to survive in the dangerous lands with so many enemies to their specie... and with the eggs of unborn siblings?

Maybe he had accepted their offer purely out of greed. Having control over them could aid him so much after all. But maybe it was out of compassion?

He was the King of the Koopas, after all, and they weren't suffering as one would think. They followed him because they believed him, sometimes out of fear, sometimes out of respect.

The heavy, cold silence contrasted horribly with the so usual ruckus that the castle held at all times. The once noisiest of halls now just barely echoing the footsteps of a patrol, the quiet chatter of soldiers, the wondering of why it was so quiet. A question in the air.

What

"Papa..." Junior started, snapping his head away from the group and toward the towering figure of his father, who looked back at him with a grunt of question.

did

"Is this true...?" He hesitated for a moment, not sure if he wanted the answer.

this

Bowser looked to the side, red eyes dulling lightly as they had when he had told Junior the truth about Peach. "Yeah, it is."

mean?

None of the youngest five knew how to react, expressions going from disbelieve to anger to hurt to sadness to denial and shock time and time again, unsure of where to settle. Larry shifted, immediately attracting the attention of the others. He had always been the one given easiest jobs, being the youngest of the group of seven, always protected or teased the most.

He gulped and raised his eyes to meet Bowser's before allowing his eyes wander around the group, throat dry as he spoke. "What does this mean...?"

Silence fell on the group once more, cold and heavy like a blanket of thick snow. And then the second oldest spoke up, squeaky voice breaking the silence around them with an answer; similar to how he endured through the cold to play in it, with a silly smile. "It means nothing. 'Cause family doesn't need to be related by blood to be family, right?"