The Third Visit! Along with a guest to tag along! Things go rather well...and then we remember why Rosalina's travels across the cosmos isn't alwways easy...
Junior has definitely noticed a familiar pattern when it came to his father over the course of the month. His father, Bowser, has been rather somber for a long while, not really knowing where the attitude shift was coming from. It was pretty obvious that something was very different about how he was acting. He didn't really boast as much as before, and he seemed to be treating his men with a bit more kindness than usual. Here's to say that he's still quite temperamental when it came to some bouts of foolishness from them, which lead to them making some rather simple mistakes that even Bowser was able to see through at first glance, mistakes that should have been reevaluated before they were even made. Though they were eventually forgiven.
Though a major factor that seemed to mostly drive Bowser's subtle change in direction would be that he was spending much more time with Junior. There's no way that the Koopa Prince was at all displeased with this development, he was actually rather glad for it. Bowser tucked him in at night and told him stories, he sits and talks with him for a much longer period of time during breakfast, personally prepared his lunch and dinner, and even plays with him much more while they were outside. Junior appreciated all of this and more, but he wondered what was with the sudden change. That was when he noticed something rather odd.
He hasn't gone on a siege against the Mushroom Kingdom in a very long time. Nor has he made any kind of attempt to capture the likes Princess Peach. Overall, aside from a nreif and brutal fight ith Mario, he has mostly left alone. Junior was confused as to why, as well as many of his subordinates. Though aside from maybe a deeply worried Kamek, no one pushed on the issue any farther than it needed to be pressed. And as confused and worried as Junior was, he didn't really question it either. The one thing he was able to gather from most of this is that Bowser was much calmer than he used to be. Though there was a hidden sense of frustration behind his eyes, but he didn't know what could be causing that.
All that mattered was that he had a majority of his father's attention now. And he was more than willing to accept it for however long it may or may not last. Though he had a feeling that it may very well last a long while regardless, and he was very much okay with that being the case, and hoped that it would stay around for a long while as well. Though he surely couldn't deny that, as much as he welcomed his father's slight change of pace in certain ways, it was still strange to experience from his certain perspective. He wondered what may have caused it, and why the effects were as heavy as they seemed to be. It was fine, he didn't require answers right from the gate.
Though it seemed that whether he would be seeking the answers sooner or not, it looked like he would be getting some sort of explanation in the form of Bowser's next course of action. And rather unexpectedly, it was for a rathervery simple yet complex reason. Easy for him to understand the basics, yet it would be very complex for him to understand as a whole. It would be revealed to him quite tellingly as he realizes exactly what his father has been doing, even though he doesn't really know the full story. Bowser found it best he doesn't know the full story anyway, as he was still having trouble fully processing the guilt that dug in his heart, and hid it away under grand affections for his son.
Junior was getting up for yet another day of being Kooppa Prince, trying to be rather grand and incredibly awesome like his father. He got out of bed all on his own and exited the room with a rather loud yawn, scratching under his chin while lightly rubbing his cheeks, as he headed towards the kitchen. He entered it as if he owned the place-which he kind of did-and found that there was plenty of breakfast prepared for him again, this time from the kindness that seemed to reside somewhere in Kammy's heart. The sight certainly made him smile a bit while lightly drooling from hunger; blueberry muffins, chocolate milk, even more bacon and eggs, and again, a tall glass of orange juice. A bit repetitive on the latter parts, but that wasn't always a bad thing. He plops down in a nearby chair and wasted no time at all as he began to eat.
Kammy was busy cleaning the dishes that she used to make said breakfast for him. Well, not that busy, as all she did was snap her fingers and said dishes began cleaning themselves while surrounded by glowing colorful shapes. Her broom was also sweeping the floor all on it's own while she was simply cleaning her glasses of a bit of dirt, before she put tem bac on and was now able to see Junior a bit more clearly, and placed her paws on her hips.
She's had a bit of a discussion with Bowser and Kamek beforehand. Apparently it falls to her to break what was going on to Junior, and she was well-aware of why. Whether it'd be easy or difficult to hear, she wasn't very hesitant in telling them straight and speaking hoonestly. She was very adept at being deceitful, but when she needs to speak the truth, she doesn't dawdle; she gets it over with and spares a bit of pain for everyone else in the long run. With this in mind, Kammy moves towards Junior and promptly takes a seat next to him as he was still eating.
"Junior. There is something that I need to tell you. And depending on how you personally feel about the overall picture of this, it may be good or bad news for you." Kammy began, seeing Junior messily and happily devour a few of the blueberry muffins before him. The sight made her inwardly chuckle as well as sigh. He acts much like his father when he was his age...yet Junior is considerably kinder in some aspects. That's understandable, as he's still trying to carve his own identity...
Junior blinked owlishly at Kammy's rather suspicious wording, swallowing his muffins while drinking a bit of orange juice. "What do you mean, Kammy? What has Papa been doing...?"
"You see, your father has been seeing another woman. And that woman is Rosalina." She said rather bluntly while pushing her glasses up.
...Yeah. When it comes to the truth, subtlety isn't exactly Kammy's strongsuit. Quite the opposite.
Junior blinked a little as he tilted his head. "Who's Rosalina? And why has Papa been visiting her so much, if she's the one he's always disappearing to go and see?"
"You see...Rosalina is a pretty important figure in the universe. You can acually call her it's guardian." Kammy says while watching Junior dig into his eggs and bacon. "And as the guardian of the cosmos, she's trying to make sure that Bowser is safe enough to allow to wander around on his own. You and your father have been pretty naughty people, and so have I. So Bowser's ding what he can to make sure that he can reason with her and make sure she doesn't see us as incredibly personal enemies. So that she doesn't have much of a reason to try and wipe him out. Plus.,..he needed a bit f a break from Princess Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom anyway."
"Seriously, Dad's been doing all that? But-"
"He's not taking any chances. His pride is not worth your safety." At the very least, not anymore...
Junior seemed a bit content by this, for the moment anyway, and nodded as he quickly finishes the rest of his breakfast, placing the plates down. "So...why tell me this? Is Dad gonna take me with him this time?"
"That's exactly what he plans to do, actually. He trusts you greatly, young one. He wants to introduce you to her so that he can feel a bit more comofortable letting you in on this secret." Kammy says while snapping her fingers as the remaining dishes were brought to the sink and again begain washing thermselves. "So, are you interested?"
Junior pondered his options for a moment. It would be a very intruiging experience to meet the person who caught his father's attention so firmly. He then slowly but surely nods. "Yeah, sure! I'll definitely go!"
"Good. But first..." Kammy nodded while she grabbed a napkin and began gingerly wiping Junior's cheeks. She was met with immediate annoyance.
"Kammy..."
"It's your own fault fr eating so messily. Someone's gotta clean your mouth because you sometimes forget!" Kammy said without flinching. "Now hold still." She ordered slightly as she covered her paw in a coating of shielding and lightly patted Junior's back.
"What are you do-burp!"
...
"...Are you feeling better?" Junior nodded sheepishly, blushing brightly. Kammy smiled as she sets him down and kissed his cheek. "Good. Now run along and brush your hair. Doesn't matter how small it is, brushing is important.
"Y-Yes ma'am..."
Rosalina has been quite busy lately. Both with making sure that nothing in the cosmos was going awry without her watchful eye, and that she was properly prepared for when Bowser comes on his third visit in a row. She thught back to the last one and the impact that it had; it wasquite clear that Kammy really liked her, and that Kamek was too afraid to like her or hate her. It was rather odd, she didn't really see herself as a scary individual, so she was just a bit confused by how he could act and speak in such a way. her overall great power shouldn't have mattered in the slightest. SHe was a rather polite, kindk, and patient individual. At least she believes so.
She rubbed her chin and tilted her head a bit. Perhaps it's because of those things that Kamek might feel incredibly wary of her. In the Darklands, strong displays of power and dominance are what made a few things stable and recognizable. It wasn't a system she was really in agree with, but she won't deny that it was theirs to uphold, so she wouldn't criticize any of them for it. She just wondered if bowser had better ways to run his Kingdom aside from classes of strongest to weakest. Things could have been much better, she'd like to believe.
Regardless. she's the one who welcomed Bowser into her home and he hasn't done anything to dissuade that trust she placed in him. So she wouldn't really do anything to dissaude his own trust in her, even though he has plenty of methods and openings to precisely exploit that trust for his own selfish gain. But not only was he not that stupid or cruel to betray someone he genuinely trusts, but he was also very honest in saying that he wouldn't ever do such a thing. Plus none of that would benefit him in the slightest. If he ever does evil, it always has a purpose. He's never evil just for the sake of it. At least, that's what he claims. And she's choosing to believe him at her own peirl, as her trusted aide has consistently worried about on many levels. But she felt it. her trust in him was not misplaced in the slightest. Unlike most villains that mario has come up against, Bowser has a sense of honor, even if it does tend to get a bit dodgy at times. He's much more complicated than even he believes.
And his complexity was yet another major reason why Rosalina believes that Bowser isn't nearly as bad as he believes himself to be, even though his actions and words do have high chances of proving otherwise. He was not a mindless beast bent on causing chaos and ruling everything, he has a heart and soul just like everyone else. Sometimes people forget about those details.
After some time has passed, Rosalina could hear the distinct roar of an airship arriving towards the Comet Observatory. She opened her eyes and turned towards the sound with a soft smile on her face. Bowser was here again. Hopefully they could speak a bit more...she then chuckled while slightly covering her mouth. Of course. I promised that I would tell more about myself to him. I usually don't let important details like that slip my mind. She thought patiently while turning towards the food she had prepared for him, a cheek resting in her palm. Hopefully this will be enough; he certainly had the stomach of a monster.
Around the Comet Observatory entrance, Bowser, Junior, Kammy, and Kamek were descending from their airship and landing on the platform below them. Polari was still legitmately scared of Bowser, and was in even more of an uneasy state of mind once he saw that his son was here. Though after two visits and not causing any serious amount of trouble, the Lumas have slightly relaxed around Bowser. Not enough to not keep their distance, but enough to stop hiding and curiously watch him from afar. Bowser huffed at their curious eyes.
Bowser and Junir soon reached the kitchen, seeing all of the food prepared, Bowser didn't waste any time taking some for himself and munching on it, before turning to look at Rosalina with a raised eyebrow. "Well?"
"Straight to business, hm? Very well." Rosalina chuckled as she sits within her own chair and watches both Bowser and Junior. "You've brought your son along this time?"
She already knows who I am...? Junior wondered, very much surprised.
"I figured it'd be best. If you're gonna talk abbout who you are, it's only fair that he's here to hear it as well."
"That's fair, I suppose." Rosalina nodded softly as she gazed towards the warm fire she recently used to help her cook. "Alight. I suppose this time we shall talk more about me." She closed her eyes and sighed. "Kamek fears me because of my overwhelming power. And they can be quite diverse. Those powers include telekinesis, creation of shooting stars, gravity manipulation, teleportation, the creation of Launch Stars, force-field manipulation...hologram projection, size alteration..."
"And telepathy."
"Woah! Woah woah woah!" Bowser suddenly stood up, shaking his head and pointing at her with comical white eyes and grinding teeth. "Okay, here's a ground rule, DON'T do that! I'd rather not have anyone talkin' inside my head! It's REALLY weird! Ya got that?!"
"Crystal." Rosalina said with an amused smile while tilting her head to the side. "I do understand that it is a bit of an invasion of privacy when I don't have someone's consent to do so. Bu I did not expect you to be so jumpy when I demonstrated it."
"Yeah, well maybe a bit of a warning MIGHT allow me to allow you to do that..." Bowser huffed while folding his arms, though on the inside he was reeling a bit. That's crazy. She has all of those powers, yet I haven't seen her use even a fraction of them when she was helping save those Sprixies. She...was holding BACK?! Though she can change her size...at least that's one power we have in common. Wait...why would I want to know if we have anything in common...?
"I try not to exert more power than necessary when it comes to handling certain situations." Rosalina said, which made Bowser jump in shock once again. Rosalina chuckled, covering her mouth. "My apologies. That time it was an accident."
"Darn it, woman! That wasn't funny! STAY OUTTA MY HEAD! Bowser's cranium is off-limits! Understand?!"
"Absolutely." Rosalina nodded with a soft smile, while Bowser snarle d while a vein pulsed from his head. She heard him mentally mumble cheeky space woman for a brief moment before she decided to stop for real. She then cleared her throat as she clasped her hands. "Onto more serious matters about me...I've been the mother of the Lumas for years. Ever since I was a little girl who comforted a Luma who lost their mother. I told the Lumas around me bedtime stories and when it calls for it, they usually battle by my side. Polari is my most trusted advisor, and a Luma named Lubba holds me at high-esteem because of how well and how tenderly I cared for them."
"Hm..so you've been looking after these little guys for a while..." Bowser said while rubbing his chin with one paw and biting into meat with his other paw. Junior was in the corner while eating his own plate of meat while listening intently to their conversation. "So, have you ever had to defend the galaxy against enemies that might have threatened space in some way or another?"
"There have been plenty that I've had to defend myself against when they've come my way. One particularly dangerous threat to the universe-that didn't include you of course-were a menacing alien race known as the Shroobs."
"...Wait a minute...the Shroobs?!" Bowser's eyes widened. "YOU tussled with the Shroobs before?!"
"The one known as Princess Shroob has tried attacking numerous star systems and planets that I happened to be around at the time...I properly showed her and her sister how much I tolerated that. Not at all." Rosalina said softly. "I've been told that the Shroobs have then plagued the Mushroom World. Had I known, I would have broken my tradition sooner so I could help defend against them. But luckily the Mario Bros were there to help. Past and Present. And you and your past self...you weren't that helpful with the situation, were you...?"
"...I'd rather not relive that memory." Bowser looked to the side in embarrassment. "...So all in all...you're pretty tough. Very powerful."
"I suppose that I am..." Rosalina nodded softly with her eyes closed. Though after a few moments, her eyes opened as she stood up and looked outside. "...Something is going to interrupt us in a moment..."
Bowser raised an eyebrow, and he noticed that some of the Lumas began hiding away in fits of fright. He narrowed his eyes as he sets his food down and stands up. "What the heck was that about...?"
CRASH!
"Goodness me, HELP!" Polari shouted outside as a powerful roar could be heard soon after. Bowser and Rosalina immediately went outside to see what was going on. They were met with surprise as powerful flames burst throughout the Comet Observatory, Lumas were flying around in a panic, and burning certain trees down. Bowser could recognize the roaring, flaming beast before him. As did Rosalina.
"...Fiery Dino Pirahna...?" Bowser narrowed his eyes. Junior was being hidden by Kamek and Kammy, while Polari was struggling in the grasp of the beast, until he was tossed up and unceremoniously swallowed.
"Polari...!" Rosalina's eyes widened slightly, her mouth covered. Bowser turned and watched her face turn into grave amounts of concern. The entirety that he's known her, she's always kept her calm, even around him. But now that her Lumas have been endangered, she's genuinely distressed and just slightly panicked, but it's definitely there.
...Bowser didn't like that look on her face. And it built up a stong desire to beat up the being that caused it. He gently stepped forward while pushing Rosalina behind her.
"I know I'm the guest and you're the host...but lemme take care of this one for ya." Rosalina was briefly surprised by this, as he clenched his fists while glaring up at Fiery Dino Pirahna, who roared menacingly towards Bowser, who didn't flinch in the slightest. He then cracked his knuckles. "Alrighty then, Dino Plant. You've got two choices. You either spit out that Luma willingly, or I beat the snot outta ya until you eventually cough him up anyway." It roars once again, it's tail lighting on fire, along with it's head.
Bowser simply grins.
"So we're doin' this the hard way...good. I could use the workout."
Bowser sees something distressing someone he's peacefully interacting with. He doesn't like that. So he's gonna go punch it.
Until next time.
