No introductions or long talks. Sorry for the wait everyone. Here is chapter 7 of The Prince


"DAMN THEM!" The words blasted from the mouth of the inflamed koopa king and bounced randomly off the walls and into the ears of any guards close by, followed by fast-paced crushing stomps as Bowser made his way to his private quarters, leaving behind a trail of thick footprints into the red carpet that separated his gargantuan feet from the floor beneath him. Upon approaching the double wooden red doors with gold markings, the reptile pulling his arm back in a charging manner and thrusted forward into the door, breaking it open as he barged inside the room.

The room looked a lot more grandiose and extravagant than the bare throne room everyone one else was used to seeing. The pastel red stitched-in carpet felt soft to the touch and stretch across the 21'0x28"9 sq ft large box that closed around Bowser with pristine looking white walls and a khaki colored roof over the top with a gold chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Against the back wall in the middle was a king-sized mattress drowned in red comforters and blankets topped with fancy red pillows that had Bowser's emblem on top of the bed, Brown wood pillars with carved details that scream royalty surrounded the bed. Placed on either side of the room were brown bookshelves and royal red dressers, each filled with items or pictures revolving around the koopa king and/or his son.

Bowser whipped his arms quickly around the space that he could reach as he approached one of the bookshelves, blindly attacking it and the items that sat atop of it. The cases that had photographs of him and his son together flew from the small space, the glass of each one magically cracking around Junior. The boards broke under the force and weight of his arm. He clutched the edges of the shelves and used his ferocious strength to toss it across the other side, destroying the other bookshelf and screaming his curses out repeatedly.

"Calm down, my Lord. Not only can your loud voice penetrate through these thick walls and petrify your troops, but you know what needlessly bad temper tantrums do to your body." Bowser's right-hand magikoopa shouted above the loud sounds that boomed around him. Pulling out a scepter with a blue jewel on the top of it, he gave it a whirl and immediately the room was put back together. Bowser, despite still being mentally unstable, could only stare at the smaller figure he towered over and clutch his fists tightly. After a moment of intimidating silence, he was able to muster up whatever voice he had left in him.

"After what I lost, boiling blood that courses through my veins which spike up the pressure within an absolutely miniscule predicament."

"Bowser, you know as well as I do that you were never intending on harming him in the way most would have expected, despite your numerous threats to do so. Why you make such bluffs is a mystery to me, but you should do well to count your blessings that you stood up against a small, but surprisingly powerful bunch."

Bowser let out a low growl hearing this statement, embarrassed of his loss to the toads, a group that he was able to overcome many times. He gently dropped himself onto his bed sighing from discontentment.

"Hmph, who knew the little shrimps would be able to give a decent fight when they tried. I had a prediction that if I knocked Mario out, the rascals would scram and leave me to tend to my business, but such was not the case and they caught me off guard. I just have to plan better next time. Make a plan that even the princess wouldn't see coming."

The magikoopa shook his head at the defiance his king had been displaying since the moment they arrived home. He wondered if he himself was to blame for the behavior. He knew that Bowser was never a child he had to raise, but did so anyway to make sure the koopa line lived on, which was one of the reasons he thought Bowser had been after the princess to begin with.

"I admire your persistence on the issue, my lord. It is an astounding achievement for them. However, going in with the rage that you displayed hindered the operation. I suggest that you will do well next time to remember not to barge in there the way you did. We are lucky we got a hold of the princess."

"So what if we managed to get her? She wasn't my target…"

Silence washed over the conversation between the two and drowned it out completely. After analyzing what had just come out of his mouth, Bowser was beginning to feel uncomfortable looking at the magikoopa who he also thought of as his mentor. Nevertheless, he dared not break his gaze away from Kamek believing it to be a sign of weakness if he were to turn away from the issue at hand. The silence remained until Kamek decided to break it not wanting to allow it to linger longer than it needed to be.

"Sir, I think a small bath will help you calm your nerves."

While he does find Kamek's antics annoying at times, Bowser can't help but admit to himself that he wouldn't be able to function well without him. He knew there was a good reason that the family chose this particular koopa to be the advisor. He still couldn't help feeling the slightest bit of nervousness when talking so openly about the subject to him, even if the koopa knew already what was going through his king's head. "...You're right Kamek. Tell the guards that I am not be disturbed."

"Yes, My lord," Kamek replied with a small bow before turning towards the doors and making his way out.

Sighing, Bowser gets up from his bed. Any sort of anger that he had felt before had completely dissipated and the koopa felt weak at his knees. He dragged them along the royal carpet toward the bathroom. He found himself out of breath and fell onto the frame of the door, trying to recover from it. The king realized how much energy this more recent tantrum took out of him. He wasn't a fool though since it had to do with something precious to him. Bowser remained unsure of how he will be able to carry on, but he knew he had to, no matter how much it hurt him

Moments later, Bowser turns on the gold plated faucet that allowed the water to run into the black marble tub before him. It was big enough to fit him, Jr., the koopalings, and maybe a couple of his troops that he deemed deserving of such a special treatment. The temperature in his grand bathroom rose higher steam formed in the air above the water. The sound of the rushing water was that of a small waterfall adding to the clear ocean. The king felt the warmth curl around his claws and took his hand out when he saw there was enough water.

Silently moving away from the tub that awaited him, Bowser put himself in front of a mirror where his red fiery eyes stared back at him. He gives a small sigh and strips off his shell before returning his attention to his reflection. Examining his body further, he noticed that he had lost a lot of the weight and fat that made him who he was. He placed a hand on his stomach, where a big belly should be, and only felt a flat surface. There wasn't a bodybuilder six-pack in its position, but neither was the fat that he had come to adore just a bit.

The koopa's bottom lip started to quiver and his vision becomes blurry from more tears that were ready to burst. He knew that the reason for his sudden change in his appearance could only be the loss of his boy. He had been so busy trying to think of ways to succeed in revenge, as well as sitting in his bed to try and cope, that he forgot, and sometimes flat out refused, to indulge in food like he used to. He usually had to be forced into eating, and even then it wouldn't be a lot of food that would get inside his maw before he runs off to resume his work.

His heart ached more and more wishing it was all just some nightmare that he could wish away, but it wasn't a dream, and he understood that no magic of any kind would be able to bring him back. He could only imagine people telling him to move on from thinking about the past so much, especially since he had lost loved ones before, and yet he still had no idea how to do that. Junior had been a big part of his life and he was clueless as to how he could ever move on, even if he manages to take over the Mushroom Kingdom.

He finally turns back to the gigantic bathtub that beckoned him to come closer and grant it the power to relieve his stress away. Wiping his tears from his eyes, he approached it and put one leg inside the water, followed by the other. Bowser allowed himself to dropped down into the mini pool and lay back to let his body soak in the heat. His attention was glued to the ceiling of marble colored in spontaneous red and black marks. In a way, it gave the image of a gruesome battle between two warring states represented by the two colors. An image that followed similarly to his more recent battle.

Shaking his head from the trance, Bowser took his notice away from the ceiling and laid his eyes on another picture of him and his son. He and Junior were donning party hats, confetti shot behind the both of them, and balloons rose above the father and son duo that spelled out: Happy Birthday. Memories instantly came to mind and he could hear the child's innocent laughter. 'I got your nose, papa.' A moment in which Junior had gotten cake on Bowser's nose.

He felt his stomach tie up in knots as he weakly reached over to the picture and clasped it in his hands. He brought it over to his front view and clenched his teeth. He knew the memory to be a moment from Junior's fifth birthday party. He brings the picture closer to his chest and closes his eyes as he submerges himself and the photo deeper in the clear liquid wanting to not think about anything else. Air bubbles lifted to the top of the water from his mouth while he breathes the oxygen through his nose. Pure tranquility washed over him and his mind turned black again, imagining his son sitting next to him


Eyelids open and ocean blue pupils stared at a simple gray ceiling with a surprising amount of depth in the thought of the color choice. The irises scanned around what they could see inside the rest of the room they were in. A white colored toilet, a gray bottom cabinet and marble counter with a sink inside, and a towel rack that stationed twelve pink towels. After a good analysis, these eyes were able to create a full image in mind that resulted in a bathroom and allowed the rest of the body to wake from supposed slumber.

Warmth caressed every area of the body that owned the eyes and a heart was silently heard beating steadily in the flowing clear liquid. A moment later, the form moved up from the position from simply laying down to sitting up and was able to see a reflection. A sigh escaped the open mouth and the eyes continued staring toward the other side, images of fire and helpless victims of its wrath being engulfed into it. It was a disturbing view to keep to oneself, and yet, it was a piece of the reality this individual lived in, a haunting one at that. And the figure wasn't sure what it could do about it.

Suddenly, a hand that was not of the individual's own reached out and submerged itself into the water and took the bathee out of contemplation. Immediately, he could recognize the green skull, small horns, little red eyes, and the auburn hair. The man didn't hesitate to cover the little space his slightly reddened legs and arms could manage.

"J-Junior!? W-what are you doing in here?"

Sure enough, the small child responded to his name being called with his red eyes moving to focus on the human. However, his facial expression was nothing of shock, but rather a look of agitation. The stare pierced through the shield of embarrassment he held up against the boy but tried not to waver.

"What does it look like, Mario? I am testing the water to make sure it isn't too hot." Junior insisted as he yanked his hand out and flicked his wrists to shake off any water on it. The bothered tone in his voice made it sound like he had something else on his mind and only used an excuse as a cover-up. "The doctor said to make sure you weren't sitting in a boiling temperature for a long period of time."

"How did you even get in here?"

"Really, Mario?"

The boy sighed and slips his right arm into his shell, fumbling inside of it. After a second, he pulls the arm back out, with an object in hand. It was a yellow key with a little bow on top of it. Mario immediately recognized the grooves on the item itself.

"That's a skeleton key." The man confirmed to himself

"Yeah. With all the times you barged into my room even when I had my door locked numerous times, you would think I would eventually figure out how you did it."

Mario's face grew redder with embarrassment that he had forgotten how attentive Junior could actually be when he tried. While he knew the boy was smart, the human didn't think he would be able to determine the solution since it didn't seem like a problem to go and parent a child like you are supposed to. Junior shoved the key back inside his shell, giving his father figure eye contact that also expressed the attitude in his voice. Mario turned his gaze to the wall as to not cause further awkwardness.

"J-Junior, I'm naked in here."

"Ngh, I don't care that you are. I would rather see you naked and alive in a bathtub than to see you fully clothed and dead in a casket."

Mario gasped at what came out of Junior's mouth with a pained yell, turning his attention back to the boy. He saw the rage in the little red eyes and the sadness from the tears building up on the rims of the eye sockets.

"How dare you think that you could just lock me up and run off to almost get yourself killed." Junior spat as he splashed the water at Mario. Any embarrassment he felt about Junior seeing him without clothes was completely replaced with guilt. He didn't feel like he had a choice at the time as it was protecting Junior, but looking back on it, he wondered if there was a way he could have handled the situation differently.

"...So you are still upset with me?"

"What do you mean, 'Am I still upset you'? I'm absolutely furious, enraged, pissed off."

"Junior! I did not teach you to use such disrespectful language."

"What the hell would it have mattered if I had lost you?" Junior cried out, finally letting those tears fall into the water as Mario's mouth is left agape from being yelled at. "T-tell me. What w-was I going t-to do? Huh?"

Mario remains silent at the question, knowing that he still hurt Junior despite his best intentions. He thought about what Bowser would have done in this situation and decided that he wanted to show him how much he cared. Weakly, he moved up to a surprised Junior and pulled him into a hug, calming the koopa.

"I'm sorry, Junior. I never meant to put you in such a state of worry. I promise I will never do it again."

Junior pulled back and analyzed Mario's facial expression. He sniffled and wiped his face with his dry arm and reckoned that the promise was genuine.

"...I'm gonna hold you to that."

Mario nodded as he watches Junior jump out of the tub, shake off any excess water and turn back to him.

"Don't try to move anymore for a little bit. Dr. Koopelle says that even though you didn't take any major damages, moving around will keep you from healing like you are supposed to. I'm going to help Princess Peach make some tea for you that he recommended."

Mario nodded as Junior left the room and closed the door behind him. The man finally sits back and relaxes in the bed of warm water, thinking about the recent event and hoping he could keep his promise the koopa boy, especially after seeing what this previous battle has done to the town.