Chapter 5 The First Story

Junior could barely contain himself as his father's airship grew closer and closer, almost taking up the entire horizon line. It was now the end of the weekend, and he was prepared and ready to go with Mama Peach's assignment. Clutched in his hot little hand was a pink notebook that the Princess had so graciously given him. Sure, she got a few disgruntled looks and sounds from Mario when she did so. But, in the end, Junior was just happy that he was in possession of it. The way he held onto it would make one think that it is a precious treasure.

The airship continued to get closer. The sounds of the propellers stationed above it whirring around spurred Junior's excitement even further. He bounced up and down as if he was on a sugar rush. When the Princess came out to give him her last goodbyes, she looked at him with a bout of concern. Based on her look, you would think that was worried that Junior was going to explode. Regardless, she still came up and ruffled the Koopa prince's hair.

Junior didn't even hesitate; he wrapped her in a warm embrace. "Thank you for giving me the idea, Mama Peach. This weekend was fun!"

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Peach said. Despite her tone indicating some form of discomfort, she still sounded genuinely sad that Junior was leaving. Perhaps she had warmed up to the little ball of energy in the brief period that they had been together.

Anyway, giving her one last wave goodbye, Junior climbed up the ladder of the airship. When he got to the deck, his father greeted him with a smile that was worthy of a pop sensation.

"Hey, Junior!" Bowser said. "Did you have fun?"

"Mmhm!" Junior said as he nodded happily.

With that, he went into the cabin, allowing his father some time to hoist up both the ladder and the anchor. Junior got in front of the window and looked down at the Princess. He smiled at her just as the airship started moving.

Junior let out a sigh, watching the clouds pass by the window. He stole another glance at the notebook. It really was fancy, very fancy indeed. There was golden lace aligning the edges of the cover, and when he flipped through the pages, he found that they were pink and had flower patterns along the bottom. They also felt silky smooth, almost like they had been made with the fur of some kind of cat.

Junior smiled. Sure, he felt as if this was going to be a little bit hard, as he wasn't very good at interacting with his siblings. Despite his doubts, however, he ultimately felt as if this little challenge the Princess had imposed on him was going to be a lot of fun.

At least, he hoped that was the case.

Brushing that last doubtful thought to the side, Junior continued watching the clouds. He pondered who should be the first person he asked about their past. Wendy? Maybe her, as she was genuinely nice, even if her fashion taste was a little too much for Junior. Now that he thought about it, if he asked her first, he would probably have to endure the suffering brought upon by her rambling on and on about fashion and accessories for five hours. Bluck, probably best to save that for last.

Although, now that he thought about it, the person that he probably should save for last was Ludwig. Ludwig, after all, had pyrokinetic powers that flared up whenever he got angry. Junior didn't want to risk annoying him, as the last thing he wanted was a scorch mark on his skin. But then, who should he ask first?

"Whatcha thinking about?"

Junior nearly jumped out of his shell. He turned and cast his father a well deserved glare.

"You startled me!"

Bowser laughed. "Good. That means I did something right."

Junior let out a huff. "Aren't you supposed to be on the deck?"

"What? Is a father not allowed to visit his little boy?" Bowser asked with a twinkle in his eye.

Junior rolled his eyes. While he loved his father, sometimes he could be a little too much, especially when it came to babying him. He turned back out toward the window, watching the sea of clouds roll past. He had to squint as he did so, as the light bouncing off the fluffy white things was blinding.

"Hey," Bowser said as he tapped on the notebook. "What's that?"

Junior turned back around and held the book to his chest. "Mama Peach gave it to me."

Bowser smiled. "It looks nice. What's it for?"

Junior smiled and flipped through the pages again, allowing the sound to caress his eardrums. "It's for an assignment she gave me. She wants me to find out more about my family's history."

Bowser raised an eyebrow. "You mean like ancestry?"

Junior shook his head. "No. As in what happened to my family members in their past; their life stories and such."

Bowser's face lit up. "Ooh! That sounds fun!"

Junior nodded. "It does." He put his hand to his chin. "I wonder who I should ask first though. I mean, I have a lot of options."

Bowser smiled and nudged Junior in the arm. "Why don't you ask me?"

Junior blinked. He hadn't really considered asking his father. Regardless, it still seemed like a good idea. After all, the two of them had the strongest bond, so he wouldn't have any risk of accidentally upsetting him.

He smiled. "Sure!" He reached into his hammerspace and pulled out a pencil. "What kind of stories would you like to tell me?"

Bowser put his hand to his chin. "Hmm. Have I told you about how I adopted the Koopalings yet?" When Junior shook his head, Bowser beamed. "Well, I'll guess I'll start there!"

With that, Junior leaned down toward the notebook, ready to take notes as his father launched into the story.

…

It was a long time ago. I was a young koopa at the time, and a real handsome looker (not that I'm not a looker nowadays hehe). I could have and enjoy anything I wanted whenever I wanted it. It was a truly amazing life. Granted, it wasn't perfect; my dad would butt his hideous head into every little thing I did. Seriously, dad, I know you're dead and can't hear me telling this story, but I'm the king for goodness sake!

One such example of when he stuck his snotty nose into my business without my permission was the day I decided that I wanted more. Given how I had come of age over a decade ago at that point, I was starting to feel like I was...missing something in my life. I remember thinking about this (and I very rarely if ever thought back then) at the breakfast table. Dad, who sat on the opposite end of the table, must have noticed me looking a little gloomy, so he cleared his throat.

"Son," he had said. "A true prince does not put his elbows on the table."

I let out a frustrated groan. "Dad, I'm an adult! I can do whatever the World Eight I want!"

Dad laughed. "You are still my son, so therefore, you still have to listen to me."

I grumbled and pulled my elbows off the table. Dad looked at me with a curious expression.

"What's troubling you?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure."

Dad just smirked. "So you're unable to dedicate brain cells to figuring out and fixing your problems." He took a sip of his coffee. "How typical."

I felt like exploding right at that moment. Dad was just….gawr! If you had met him, Junior, you would probably find him as annoying as all get out to. There was no pleasing the guy, no escaping from his insufferable attitude and near endless bashing.

I glared at him. "Like you would know how to fix problems!"

Dad glared right back at me. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I sharply exhaled and crossed my arms. "I don't know; does a certain meeting with King George and Queen Rosemary ring any bells?"

Dad's glare got sharper. "For your information, it takes a lot of time to work things out between royals."

I slammed my palms straight down on the table. "That doesn't mean you threaten them!"

Dad sighed and put down his mug of coffee. "Like you know anything. You're just a brainless moron who doesn't even know what sanctions are. If anything, you have absolutely no right to criticize my problem solving skills, given how all you do is mope and yell."

That time, I bolted out of my chair. "I DON'T YELL!" When Dad raised an eyebrow at me, I realized what I had just done. "OKAY, MAYBE I DO!"

"Yes," Dad said as he took another sip of coffee. He chuckled. "I look forward to seeing how you raise your son, as that will be a mess so perfect that no sane person would want to clean it up."

I balled my fists and grit my teeth. Steam shot out of my nostrils as Dad gave me a smug look and continued sipping. I wanted to bash his brains out. Knowing I couldn't do that, as he was stronger and would kick my ass, I decided to just leave. I pushed back my chair and stomped out of the room.

"You need to finish your breakfast."

I fumed, marched back to the table, and shoved my food down my throat before stomping away.

…

"Dad, you're twitching."

Bowser, who just seemed to notice this for the first time, took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Sorry. That old geezer just...pissed me off so much! Why, I could just wring his little neck!"

Junior leaned away from his father as he pantomimed doing just that. "Dad, you don't have to worry. Grandpa's dead; he's gone."

Bowser blinked, as if just realizing that was the case. He took in and let out another breath. "You're right." He turned toward Junior. "Anyway, where was I?"

"You were telling me how you came to adopt the Koopalings."

"Ahh!" Bowser's face lit up again. "Yes. After I had that conversation with my Dad, I went to see Kamek…"

…

"I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!"

"Oh come on," Kamek said as he peeked up from a book. "You don't hate him."

"I do, actually!" I said. "He is just….GRAHHH!" I took in a breath and sent a stream of fire right toward a corner cabinet, a corner cabinet that I knew my Dad loved. I grinned in satisfaction as I watched it burn, only for that satisfaction to disappear when Kamek waved his wand and put out the fire.

"Bowser…."

I sighed and slumped my shoulders. "You're no fun."

Kamek raised an eyebrow. "Maybe it's best if we move onto another topic. Why were you feeling so low in the first place?"

I thought about this, putting my finger to my chin and tapping it as I did so. "I...I don't know. I guess….I just don't feel….complete, I should say."

Kamek nodded thoughtfully. "Why is that?" he asked as he neatly folded his hands together.

"Well," I said, "I mean…." I shook my head and sat down on the couch. "I guess I'm just ready for a change? I don't know."

"Ready for a change," Kamek repeated. "Yes, that does make sense. After all, with your father breathing down your neck, I am sure you want some other people to interact with."

I thought about this before nodding. "Yeah. I guess you're right." I sighed. "I just...wish that I could do something about it."

Kamek grinned. "Actually," he said, "you might be able to."

…

"Hold up, Dad."

Bowser gave Junior a confused look. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just…." He squirmed. "I need to go to the bathroom."

Bowser smiled. "Okay. Well, you know where it is. Go take care of that and we'll continue when you're done."

Junior nodded. He gave his father a grateful look before bolting toward the bathroom.