AN: Hey, everyone. I wanted to get back into updating this story. Sorry that this chapter isn't as long as the other ones; I'm more or less just re-dipping my toe in the water. Consider this a transition chapter more than anything else.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy :)

Chapter 21 A Little Bratty

The sound of pages rustling caressed Junior's ears. The smell of the ink lacing the leaflets of paper tickled his nose. The feel of the notebook in hand...it was light like a feather, light like cotton. Despite that, it was heavy with information, rich with history.

Junior never would have imagined he'd enjoy doing this as much as he did.

But he couldn't focus on that now. He had one more sibling left to visit. One sibling, and his journey through the past would be complete. Just two more stories and he would be able to say that he officially finished a project.

This thought made his heart pump. On the one hand, that would be amazing. To get to say that he did something, and did something good...that would be wicked cool.

But at the same time...this project was a big deal. Scratch that, it IS a big deal. Junior didn't want it to end. He had fun finding out about the Koopalings. He really did.

Junior shook his head. Why was he focusing on this? All of these thoughts were sad, really sad! This was supposed to be a happy day! This was supposed to be a happy thing! After all, not everyone he ran across could really say that they had finished a big project, especially in the span of a day. It was definitely a happy thing; Junior should take off the blue tinted glasses that were giving everything a sad vibe.

So, instead of focusing on that, Junior decided to focus on...sigh, Larry.

Oh, there was nothing wrong with Larry! Junior liked Larry! He was smart, he was fast, he was witty. He was the youngest Koopaling, and Junior's immediate older brother. Honestly, that made him a little more likeable to the young Koopa Prince. A little more...relatable.

But that statement had a double meaning. Larry was relatable, in the best possible ways and the worst possible ways. Whenever Junior looked at Larry, he saw…

Well, he saw a brat.

Was Junior a horrible person for thinking that? Maybe, maybe not. Even though he knew it was the truth, and even though he knew some other people shared that perspective on the mohawked Koopaling, he still felt like he shouldn't be thinking that. Like he wasn't one to judge.

Junior felt a pit form in his stomach. Really, he wasn't one to judge. He had done some horrible things in his time. One of the worst, of course, was the time he had run away.

The Koopalings didn't have to come for me, he thought. In fact, they probably didn't want to, considering what I said about them.

Junior felt a pang. The words he had spoken to his adopted siblings still rang loud and clear. "I wish they had never been born."

He shook his head. He was getting sad again. But then again, didn't he deserve to be sad after saying something as horrific as that?

Junior wiped his tears away. He needed to stop. The only reason he said those things was because he didn't understand who the Koopalings were as people. Not like he did now.

So, taking in a deep inhale, Junior continued his search for Larry. He searched high and low, looking all over for the youngest (even though he was technically older than Junior, he still liked to call him the youngest). He checked the kitchen, where wafting smells seeped into his nose. It was a stream of goodness, a river of deliciousness. It made his mouth water. However, he couldn't let it distract him.

He checked the courtyard. This was one of the few places in the Koopa Kingdom that had living flora. Grass as green as an emerald sprouted up. Flowers, clothed in majestic purples and vibrant oranges alike, popped their faces out of the soil, practically crying out "look at me, look at me!" Bushes bigger than the Koopa prince stood proud and tall.

But there was no Larry.

Junior huffed as he walked down the hallway. "Where is he?" He put the notebook in his hammerspace and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Larry! Yoohoo, Larry!"

He stopped when he felt something tugging against his foot. He looked down and saw a string, a particularly thin white string. One end of it was strapped to the wall, and the other was attached to the other that was parallel to it.

Junior blinked. "What's going...?"

Splat!

It happened so fast that Junior couldn't even scream. He was hit square in the face with something foamy, something...sweet. He put his hands to his eyes to wipe away the gooey cream. all while licking his lips.

"What is this? Is this an attack?"

Laughter rang out from the other end of the hallway. Junior followed the sound, and came face to cream-colored face with Larry, who was holding his sides as he laughed.

"You got owned, buddy! You should see the look on your face!" He laughed harder. "Except you can't, because it's covered in cream pie!"

Junior glared at his brother, wiping the cream out of his eyes as he did so. "Oh, wow. A cream pie. How original."

Larry shook his head, drying tears from his eyes. "It might not be the most original prank, but it's definitely an effective one." He giggled like a gremlin. "I got you good!"

Junior nodded. "Yes. You got me good." He grinned. "And I'm going to get you even gooder."

Larry blinked. "How so?"

Junior's grin grew bigger, more wicked. He cupped his hand around his mouth. "DAD! OH, DAD!"

Larry's eyes grew wide. "What? You're gonna tattle on me?"

Junior chuckled. "I need to teach you a lesson." He called out again. "YOOHOO! DAD!"

"NO!" Larry yelled. He got down on his face, practically kneeling before the heir to the Koopa Kingdom throne. "Please, Junior, don't tell Bowser!"

"Sorry," Junior said. "But you can't go flinging perfectly good cream pies at royalty."

"Please, Junior! I'll do anything!"

Junior perked up. "Anything you say?" He held his hands behind his back. "Well, there is one thing you can do?"

Larry lifted himself up. "What? What is it?"

Junior smiled, this time without a hint of malice. "I want you to tell me stories about your past!"