The pressure was too much. The heat too intense. The supply of air was running low. Thankfully, time was merciful.

The spike ball emerged from the depths of the lava and floated atop the surface as the stream carried it down a river of fire. It opened up as Bowser uncoiled himself from his tight position; gasping for air. He was alive. He almost couldn't believe it. More importantly though, his son had survived as well. Junior was unconscious, but Bowser could feel him breathing as he rested on his belly.

Feeling stiff, Bowser stretched out his arms, legs, and tail to unwind but winced when the lava immediately nipped at his limbs. Reality smacked Bowser across the face. He and Junior were still very much alive, but just barely. The backside of Bowser's shell was completely submerged in the lava below and was now acting as a flotation device to keep the Koopa's flesh from being burned to a crisp. Bowser struggled a bit as he flailed his arms and legs, but he abandoned his efforts almost immediately. He was stuck in this uncomfortable floating position. Drifting in the middle of the lava river, there was no solid ground he could reach to get his bearings or stop moving altogether. He was completely at the lava's mercy. Bowser couldn't even change his course with nothing nearby to grab onto.

To make matters worse, Bowser could slowly feel a burning sensation in his lower back. Lava must've been slowly leaking into his shell and reaching his back. The pain was bearable for now. But Bowser couldn't stay like this forever. He had to get back to dry land soon or else his shell would fill with the hot liquid, which would cause him to sink. Bowser could feel himself sweating profusely, but he didn't know if it was from the intense heat all around, or from the stress as he realized that time was now counting down to his destruction.

Junior squirmed a little and released a pained groan as he woke up. He sat up on Bowser's chest and rubbed his eye.

"Junior?" Bowser spoke. "Junior! You okay, kiddo?"

"Mmmmm…Dad…?" Junior replied sleepily. His eyes blinked rapidly. "What…happened? Where are we?" Junior attempted to stand up and immediately stumbled backward as his legs weren't prepared for the sudden balancing act. "Wha- woooaaah!" the little Koopa cried out. Bowser caught him just before he fell into the lava.

"Careful!" Bowser warned. Junior's eyes immediately widened with terror as reality sank in. He could feel himself hyperventilating.

"W-WHAT'S GOIN' ON!? WHERE ARE WE!?"

"Easy, easy!" Bowser responded as he held Junior in-between his hands. He stroked his son's orange top-knot to calm him down. Junior was going to be of no use to Bowser in this situation if he was having a nervous breakdown.

"Are we dead!? Are we gonna die!?"

"No, we're alright," Bowser reasoned calmly. His words weren't working. Junior was practically shivering as he breathed a mile a minute and jerked his head this way and that as if he had just gone blind. Frustrated, Bowser grasped Junior's chin with his thumb and index claw, and forced his son to make eye contact. "Junior, focus! I need you to get a grip right now or so help me you're grounded for a month when we get home, got it!?" Junior nodded as his hysteria faded.

"O-okay…," Junior stammered. Bowser sighed in relief as his words finally got through. So his dictator dad parenting style did have some use after all.

"Good. Now listen. We're not in trouble yet, but we will be if we don't get off this river soon," Bowser reasoned. "I can't hold this crazy yoga pose forever, but I also can't move without burning myself. So it's gonna be up to you to do most of the work. I need you to listen and do exactly as I say," he explained. "Can you do that?"

"Y-yeah…," Junior replied as he nodded his head quickly.

"You ever been surfing before?" Bowser asked. Junior was startled by the random nature of this question. He shook his head. "Well, you're gonna learn now," Bowser declared. "Stand up." Junior could feel his stubby legs trembling as he slowly rose to his feet. Bowser gripped Junior's torso when the little Koopa almost fell forward. Immediately, Junior could feel his panic returning through his short breaths. "Easy, easy," Bowser repeated. "Don't worry, you're not gonna fall in. I've got you." Junior didn't respond. "Relax, I've got you. You're not gonna fall," Bowser assured his son. "I promise." Junior steadied his breathing as he tried to stand up once more. This time he was successful as he felt Bowser's massive hand supporting his shell from behind.

"Okay…what now?" Junior inquired.

"Carefully walk up to the edge of my shell near my tail," Bowser directed. "You wanna tip us forward just enough that we can start turning towards the shoreline over there." Junior followed Bowser's pointing claw and sure enough, there was a massive stretch of land nearby. With a little shell-sailing, it was definitely reachable. "Just don't stand too far out or the lava will come creeping up," Bowser warned. Junior carefully followed his father's instructions. He got a feel for the balance with his feet and grew accustomed to his task relatively quickly.

He did pull his toes back when he saw the lava spill up a few times. Junior could feel a knot of regret forming in his stomach as he heard Bowser howl a little in pain each time; his tail getting dipped in the liquid death. Quickly, Junior found the right balance and surfed his way towards the shoreline. The only issue that remained now was how to get the two of them onto it without flipping Bowser over into his doom. They had to stop their movement first somehow.

"Now what do we do?" Junior asked. Bowser rubbed his chin with his free hand for a moment as he pondered. He spotted a dead tree branch dangling just above them. It would surely snap if they tried to use it to hoist themselves up onto the cliff, but grabbing it would at least stop the duo from drifting any further downstream.

"See that tree branch up there? Grab it," Bowser ordered. Junior stood on the tip of his toes and extended his small arm into the air as high as he could, but to no avail.

"I…can't reach it!" Junior panicked. Bowser had to think fast or they would drift too far away and lose their chance.

"Quick! Remember that cowboy cartoon you watch every weekend?"

"Sheriff Koopa?"

"Yeah, yeah! Remember that one episode where he swung his rope around into a lasso and tossed it to grab the bad guy?" Junior nodded.

"Pretend you're Sheriff Koopa!" Junior stared at him, confused.

"How?"

"Take off your bib there and pretend it's a lasso!" Bowser instructed. Junior blushed and gritted his teeth in anger. He hated when people called his bandanna a bib. The little Koopa could vividly recall getting into a fight at school on one occasion with a kid who was teasing him over it and calling him a baby.

"It's not a bib! It's-," Junior started.

"Whatever! Just use it!" Bowser interrupted. Junior undid the knot behind his head and began swinging the cloth in circles above him. Tossing it upward, the bandanna wrapped around the tree branch tightly. Junior pulled back to strengthen the connection, but Bowser tugged with one arm as well to ensure it would hold. The plan was successful as Bowser's shell turned gradually and drifted up to a spot along the shore that was low enough to climb onto from the river.

With no warning, Bowser scooped Junior up in the palm of his hand and tossed him onto land. He then rocked his shell back and forth several times to build up momentum. Finally, Bowser propelled himself forward onto the solid ground. He wasn't quite as successful as he had hoped, however. His ankle didn't quite make it in time and dipped into the lava once more. Roaring in anguish, Bowser pulled his burning foot out and nursed it for a moment until the pain wore off. Taking a heavy sigh of relief at their newfound safety, Bowser laid down on his chest and shut is eyes for a moment.

"You okay, Junior?" Bowser asked. Junior didn't say anything. Now that the two of them were out of immediate danger, he had a chance to catch his breath and think. He may have fallen unconscious for a little while, but he hadn't forgotten what happened earlier so easily. Bowser approached Junior and kneeled down to him. "That was a pretty nasty fall you took earlier," he pointed out. Junior vividly remembered landing on his arm first when he hit the ground after being sent backwards in the explosion. The pain was almost unimaginable to him. But he continued to ignore his father. Bowser noticed his son tenderly rubbing his arm. "Is your arm hurting you?" Bowser asked. He reached out to examine it, but Junior immediately jerked his whole body back when he felt his father's touch.

"Oww! Don't touch me!" Junior yelled.

"It's probably broken…," Bowser observed. He cupped Junior's cheek in the palm of his hand and examined Junior's face. One of his eyes was swollen and slowly turning purple. "Looks like you've got a black-eye too." Junior recalled getting smacked in the face by a piece of debris during the explosion. He refused to make any comments. Junior wasn't willing to admit that he was embarrassed over not anticipating Mario's counterattack in time, and he didn't want to accept any of the blame for his frustration when he knew it was all his dad's fault in the first place. Bowser rambled on about how important it was now to get him back to the castle so he could be treated for his injuries; completely ignoring what was on his child's mind.

"Why did you save me!?" Junior blurted out. Bowser blinked.

"Are you serious? Are you really asking me that?" he rebutted.

"Just tell me why!"

"How about because you're my son, huh? Or because you were in danger? Take your pick!" Junior tried to get angrier, but he was in too much pain; physically and emotionally. This conversation was going nowhere fast.

"I saw you, Dad…," Junior started quietly. Bowser's eyebrows rose.

"Huh?"

"You hesitated…," Junior elaborated. His arm was trembling, and it took everything Junior had to keep himself from crying. But he could still feel his lip quivering and a lump forming in his bruised throat. "I was in trouble…but you had to think about saving me…" Bowser's heart sank.

"Junior...I-,"

"Why did you save me if I don't matter to you!?"

"I…,"

"Why didn't you just let me fall!? I know that's what you really wanted! Then you wouldn't have a lousy son anymore!" Junior exclaimed as tears streamed down his face. He couldn't hold it back anymore. The little Koopa to the ground in a full burst of sobbing. Bowser closed his eyes and clenched his fists.

"You're right…I did hesitate…," Bowser said at last. "But you shouldn't worry about why. The fact that I chose you in the end should be enough." Deep down Bowser knew that was a horrible explanation. But he just couldn't bring himself to be honest. Not here. Not now. As painful as it was for him to sit by as his child suffered and wept, now wasn't the time.

"Well it's not!" Junior argued as he continued to cry. "That doesn't help at all! Why didn't you just-"

"Because I made a promise!" Bowser interrupted. Junior sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Huh?"

"I made a promise to your mother…before she died….," Bowser elaborated. "I promised her that no matter what, I would protect you and keep you safe." Junior could feel the anger rising in his chest again.

"So what!?" he countered. "What does that matter anymore!? Mom's gone! You could break your promise if you wanted to! She's not here to get mad at you!"

"You have no idea what a promise is…," Bowser objected. "You don't need to understand what it means either. Just know that nothing's gonna happen to you. Not on my watch." Bowser walked back over to the lava river and untied Junior's bandanna from the tree branch. He tied it back around Junior's neck. Junior wanted to continue arguing but just couldn't find anything more to say. He simply stood silently and continued to cry. "Come on, we need to get moving," Bowser declared as he motioned for Junior to follow him. "We need to get you home so we can have a doctor look at that arm of your's." Junior said nothing. He wanted to stand by and rebel just to show his dad that he wasn't ready to drop this fight. But he knew deep down that this wouldn't accomplish anything. So he followed Bowser without a word as the two began a long trek through the vast stretch of rock and soot-covered land ahead.