A/N: Hello again! Just a heads up, things are probably likely to get a lot longer and a lot heavier from here. I also realize I haven't been putting disclaimers on these at all, which may be foolish of me, but I think it's been quite apparent that I do not own anything here. I'm just a small town goof with a computer. Thanks as always, and I hope you enjoy.
Yellow, like the meager handful of coins he had managed to rip from the peculiar stranger he was looming over. Normally, the sight was enough to make breathing a little easier, but this weirdo he decided to follow into the night seemed way more comfortable than he was at the moment. It was enough for a meal, he should have left it at that and left, but as the stranger lounged underneath him, there was a performative aspect to it. Suspicion was a learned behavior that had saved his skin more times than coins he thumbed in his palm.
"Where's the rest?" He was a kid, there was no getting around it. He wasn't scary to anyone upon first glance, but he had hoped the stranger's size would give him an advantage in intimidation at least. He looked young, they were always easier to trick, but were increasingly hard to come by, what with them all dying off in droves…
"There's nothing else but me. I wish you the best, though."
There was nothing youthful about his eyes, and he cursed his luck as the stranger lazily rested on the backs of his hands, laughing at the dangers of the world around him like the meaning of life was nothing more than a rotten punchline to a long-forgotten joke.
Wait…his hands-
He made a grab for his arms, moving off of his legs. There was a metallic ring that dimly echoed through the narrow alley, traced back to the stranger's outstretched open palm and wide grin upon his face.
"Race you for it."
And he was gone, legs freed he barreled over the dumpsters faster than anything that short should logically be able to move. This was a game. A stupid game that he'd been watching others play too often over the years as he grew, and survival wasn't a victory hard fought for them so much as it was a privilege light enough to chuck into a pile of trash.
It was infuriating. His surroundings blurred and for once his shoddy lenses weren't to blame, but he ran anyways; across the snow, over the garbage, through the memory of a fruitless chase, nobody ever looked back when they left, did they?
He really should have been looking forward, and before he even had time to question how in the fresh hell this kid managed to get above him, a ladder collapsed, and he followed suit.
He had never been much scared of the dark as he was deeply annoyed by it, like an old friend who had long overstayed their welcome. He still clung onto it when it was all said and done, because it was better than facing what awaited him. It didn't want him either, and it spat him out back into the alleyway in disgust.
He groaned. His head was pounding but he couldn't see where he was. A figure reached for him and he jolted in an attempt to scramble backwards. His head hit something behind him, but it didn't stop him from trying to desperately phase through it anyways. He knew what was coming, and he wasn't quick enough to escape it, and he was approaching so quickly-
He swung out and made contact with him somewhere, but even as he backed off, he could still feel him standing there.
"Don't-!" Silence was all that ensued. His eyes were squeezed shut in anticipation, but he felt someone tentatively press his missing glasses into his outstretched palm, then nothing else. He shook, breathing heavily, and he waited. When nothing happened, the panic that had seized him receded enough to allow him to put them back on.
The interior of that ill-constructed shack he had grown up in melted away with the blur of his vision, replaced by the narrow bleak walls of the alleyway from before. It was warmer than it had been, and as he looked around, there he was. That stranger from earlier, tending to a fire he had managed to start in a nearby garbage can. He switched from rubbing his hands over it to rubbing at a spot on his arm, and he figured the kid got what he deserved for rushing him like that.
But then their eyes met, and he had smiled. It wasn't smug or patronizing, it was…different. Welcoming, almost. Like he was happy to see him. It wasn't blissful or unaware either. There was a pain in it that spoke volumes, and it was as if they already understood each other despite never meeting before today. It was like finally being seen after years of isolation, and for the first time, what he did mattered. It was the closest to life he'd ever been.
It was weird, but he was cold. He moved towards the fire slowly, hoping it would thaw out his thoughts.
"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to get in your space. I've always just kinda been…I guess I never really learned boundaries. You kinda got clobbered back there, my bad-"
"How did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"The fire escape. How did you jump-?"
"Oh, that?" He laughed fondly. "Ah, well, I guess I picked it up from my uncles. I wasn't supposed to of course, but I always wanted to be one of them…I'm blabbering again. Here."
He tossed a bruised apple in his direction.
"Hope you don't mind, but I ran and got us something to eat." He picked a second one from a bag on the ground, and bit into it. "You should sit down, you don't look so good."
He hadn't even noticed the money was gone. He should have left. He had the food in his hands. His head was throbbing but he had felt worse…but this stranger had done so much more than simply eliminate the extra steps for him.
"I'm Lemmy, by the way-"
"You should have left me behind…"
He blinked in surprise, then stared into the fire wistfully.
"I left enough people behind. And I wanna help people like they helped me. My aunts and uncles always said that the key to strength is a good support system. We gotta hold each other up, or else…y'know, getting stuck underneath a bunch of falling bodies kinda sucks. No one wants that…"
"Well then, where are they?"
"…With any luck, over the border by now."
"So they abandoned you too? Some family…"
"I left on my own, actually…it's kinda funny when you think about it. You always hear about people running away to join the circus, not the other way around, right?"
"What are you even talking about? What's a circus?"
Lemmy stared at him like he was joking, and it made him angry.
"What do you mean? There's old flyers everywhere around here! How have you never-?"
"I've never heard of a lot of stuff, okay? I don't know about your aunts or uncles or whatever, but my mom always said that if I went outside they'd kill me. So I stayed inside. They found us anyways. So…no, I don't know what the hell a circus is- "
"Them…? You mean the soldiers?"
"Yeah. It's a whole…something about my mom's dad. He really pissed off the king somehow, which meant that we're all traitors. But I thought they were only looking for us until it didn't end there. It just kept going, no matter where I went…it never stopped…"
Lemmy sighed, looking up at him with a tired smile. He reached out to him, as if he meant to pull him down, but realized what he was doing and immediately recoiled like he were reaching into the fire that burned before them. He then attempted to play it off with a quiet, awkward laugh, but he had seen the ugly bruise on his arm colored in by the flickering light. He looked at his apple in shame, and ultimately decided to capitulate.
"I didn't catch your name."
He sat, folding his arms in, and though he made himself small he was still larger than Lemmy. If he tried anything funny, he'd…he'd…well, that sort of an argument was hard to make considering the circumstances. This was the one person who had not abandoned him, who seemed pleased with his company, who had fed him despite the despicable way he had acted, treated him like…different. He had only known him for an hour, tops.
Yet another weird thing about the world he had yet to learn, he supposed. This kid must've been a little off to stick around after trying to fight him twice, and even stranger for choosing to provide for him after…it was all upside down. But the way Lemmy hummed in the silence made it feel like he didn't seem to mind existing backwards, because nothing made sense anyways. Sitting there felt less like an interrogation and more like a coalescing of experiences, of information, and a quiet celebration at two wayward souls having found each other in the barren wasteland they had been dumped in.
"…Iggy," he conceded.
"Nice to meet you. That's all that really matters, right? So quit lookin' at my arm, you're gonna make me self-conscious."
"S-sorry…I didn't mean to…well-I guess I did the first time-but I-"
"It's okay! I forgive you. Freedom feels weird when you got nothing to do with it except survive."
"What do you do with it?"
"What I've always done, I guess-wander. Until I gotta stop somewhere."
His stomach grumbled loudly, to his embarrassment, and he took another bite of the apple in an attempt to satiate it with little success.
"Here." Lemmy gingerly handed him his own apple that had a few small nibbles bitten out of it. "I can tell you haven't eaten in a while."
He stared in disbelief, but Lemmy not once made a move to retract his offer.
"You'd…you're giving me…your food?"
He nodded, evidently set on his decision, and he took the apple from him just in case.
"You…you're one stupid kid, you know that?"
To his surprise, Lemmy snorted.
"It's only stupid if you starve to death. Or if you freeze to death. Only then would it have been a waste, but I'm not gonna let that happen."
"What makes you think I'm gonna hang around here?"
"I figured if you wanted to leave, you'd have gone already. Plus, you took my apple. That means we're best friends now, by default. But, if you wanna leave, I won't stop you. I might be sad, but…I promise I won't."
The prospect of meandering endlessly through the dangerous frozen streets alone wasn't enticing. It made more sense to stick with someone who seemed to be well-adjusted, especially if that path included food. That was what he told himself.
Because truthfully, the fact that all he had ever known up until that point could be neatly compacted into a node on one of many branching possibilities in the future of his design was terrifying. He thought he had been doomed to a life of isolation for reasons beyond his understanding, and yet, here he was, faced with a choice that made him wonder why he never bothered to question things in the first place. He had so many questions now that needed answering…he decided to start with the easiest one.
"So…where are we headed then?"
Lemmy's eyes lit up, and it was clear he was happy beyond measure. In that moment he forgot himself, and grabbed one of his free hands, squeezing it lightly as he rocked back and forth on the ground. His joy was infectious, and it was strange how quickly they devolved into hopeless fools there in that dark alleyway.
"Wherever the weather takes us, Iggy. You n' me? We're gonna make a great team, okay? We're gonna get through this together. And if any soldiers try to give us trouble-"
"-they'll never catch us…" They said simultaneously. They then blinked at each other in surprise, and broke down into laughter once more.
The next morning, he buried his pain there in the snow, and he was lighter without it. It still took a considerable amount of energy to keep up with Lemmy, but he had taken his hand already. There was no going back, so two set out into the future together.
Yellow, like the slightly burnt cheese atop the slice of pizza-practically shoved into his hands soon after he had been discovered in a usual hiding spot of his.
"Just…humor him, alright? From what I understand, My Lord is quite proud of it…"
He sighed, figures Kamek would find him here. Though, he never had mastered avoiding him like he had Bowser, and he wasn't exactly making it easy on himself anyways, taking refuge in the guy's own library after all. He just…needed time to think.
The general atmosphere seemed celebratory, and it was almost nice, all things considered, but the pizza pretty much encompassed the entire affair. It was warm, well-meaning in a way, but ultimately overloaded and heavy, and it sank into his stomach like a rock without him ever taking a bite.
"…Gonna have to pass. I'm not really a fan of pizza…"
He pushed the plate back into his hands and turned back to the book he had been absently thumbing through, pretending to read. Kamek was nearly impossible to fool, and even harder to get rid of if there was something he was after. In that regard, he tried make ready use of indifference to deter him from cracking him open like he had been collecting dust atop a desk that appeared older than Kamek himself. He heard him set the plate down, only for another to be firmly set on top of the book of all places, this time with a fairly basic salad upon it.
"Here. I made this for myself, but you can have it. You need to eat something; you've been holed up in here almost all day."
There was something lightly accusatory about it, so he shoved a sizable portion of food in his mouth, removing the book from underneath the plate while taking on an accusatory tone of his own.
"Ruin a perfectly good book to make a point…here I thought you were the thrifty one…"
"I have little concern for it at the moment. I am concerned for your well-being, however, and seeing as how neither of us are interested in taking this one for the team," he gestured with the pizza plate, "I suppose we'll both be hiding from Lord Bowser until we've figured out how to deal with it, hmm?"
He pushed another mouthful of salad in, allowing it to muffle his words.
"…I'm not…hiding from him…"
"Why then, are you not celebrating?"
"…Should I be? I mean, it was kind of an inevitability at this point."
"You didn't answer my question."
He shrugged. "I'm not exactly an academic, Kamek. To me, a piece of paper's a piece of paper."
"You know it's more than that, and I understand that it may frighten you. It's new and strange to most of you, but if I may ask you anything, it is to not be so hard on him. Truthfully, he's just as terrified, but I promise you it was the love he has for each of you that drove him to finally put it in writing…and on top of this convoluted pizza. Just look at it-it's like he was too afraid to ask what you liked, so he just put everything on it instead, my word…"
He trailed off, waiting for a response. He hadn't known Kamek long, but he had a tendency to make himself truly known in these moments of silence, despite his sudden apparent 'interest' in whatever greasy blob Bowser had concocted. He was kinda like Ludwig in that respect, and it irritated him to no end; they always took the long way around like any confrontation could be mitigated with idle chatter.
"Look, points for trying, but…if you ask me, the guy tries a little too hard-I mean, what do I know? Only dad I ever had never tried at all, so I guess I'm not really qualified to weigh in here with everyone else cause my scale is kinda broken...I don't know…what else do you want me to say?"
Kamek eyed him in the sort of way that made him regret opening his mouth at all. Most times he never bothered with what tumbled out of it until it was too late, after which the damage had been done. Sewing his mouth shut rarely helped his cause, and in those times, he would just take what would be dished out in retaliation, but at least it allowed his reservoirs to eventually refill before the emptiness overtook him. He knew he had no logical reason to be apprehensive of what was to come, but he felt a hand on his shoulder and instantly shook it away anyways.
It didn't deter Kamek. He removed his hand only to place himself directly in front of the chair he was sitting in, staring him down no doubt, but in an odd way that reached him without touching him at all.
"You, are not broken. Life may give and take, but only you decide when you have been made whole."
That feeling returned. That annoying persistent feeling that refused to be forgotten. Kamek had only held him once, in a display that read less like a conciliatory gesture and more of an act of desperation. He had wrapped himself around him heavily like he meant to smother a fire that had been burning within him for years. He had learned to live with it, it only ever followed him everywhere, but he couldn't help but wonder if he hadn't wandered in behind the toddlers that day if they would even be having conversations like these.
He wasn't trying to make trouble…it was a hell of a lot easier to skate over it, in that regard. He knew Kamek, Bowser…Lemmy especially…probably usually meant well in their attempts to help him, but if he allowed them to put him out then he would have to acknowledge how badly he had been burned. So he let the smoke signal rise out of his throat instead, with a choked laugh that sprinkled the air with soot.
Then, another nonchalant mouthful of salad to cram it all back down.
"What are you, writing a book…?"
Kamek seemed to sigh in resignation, and stood to pull another chair up to the desk.
"Iggy…"
"C'mon Kamek, I don't see what big deal is. Roy was a no-show too, wasn't he? Go 'heart-to-heart' with him, at least you guys know what his problem is."
"Roy did come, eventually. The only one still missing is you, and I'm curious as to why."
He shifted uncomfortably, running out of salad to distract himself from the direction of this conversation and he felt himself getting warmer. He unconsciously posted a wry smile that was shaky at best, but there was an energy that pulsated behind it.
"Man, you think you know a guy…leaves you in the cold for months because he doesn't wanna play big brother to a bunch of strangers when his sisters are definitely, absolutely out there somewhere…and he sells out for a pizza. Or what, did Bowser swear he'd adopt them too-?"
Kamek's entire demeanor hardened so quickly it caught him off guard. He straddled the line between damage and damage control, erratically hopping from one to the other while he mulled over in his mind if certain bridges were worth burning.
"Tell me, does his grief amuse you?"
"Never said that-"
"Or is it that you don't care how callous you sound? Honestly, I don't understand what compels you to make jokes out of absolutely everything, but your brother's pain is no laughing matter-"
"Oh, we're brothers now, are we?"
"Yes. You are, as of today. And you will always be; another reason why I wish you would take this seriously. I know your life has been difficult, but the world is not always the nightmare you think it is. You have no reason to hide in it anymore."
"I'm not hiding, Kamek. I knew this would happen. You aren't the first to chew me out over this, and if Ludwig has anything to say about it, you definitely won't be the last. I'd just do something wrong, or ruin the mood, or joke about things I shouldn't, and I'd end up in here anyways. I'm really just saving you guys the trouble."
"…Sounds like hiding to me."
"Listen, I hid my whole damn life, I'm done hiding. But Roy isn't. Larry isn't. Lemmy…most of them. They wanna keep lying to themselves, that's their deal, but I'm not gonna start because they'd rather stuff their face and pretend a stupid piece of paper's gonna change anything, okay? Shockingly, I don't have the heart for it. So I figured I'd be better off in here, where I can't spoil it for them. They get to pretend the last two years didn't happen, and I don't have to pretend that there's a chance in hell anyone would ever actually want me."
That look returned, and Kamek's solidified resolve crumbled in front of him. He watched as he opened and closed his mouth several times, unable to muster much more than a muted apology for his grumbling stomach. Finally, Kamek made an attempt to stand like he intended to come closer, but he waved him off with his fork, swallowing another bite of salad before pushing the rest in his direction. He never touched it.
"Oh, Ignatius…"
"Ugh-! Quit calling me that, and quit acting like you got me all figured out. I'm not a puzzle…or whatever the hell's on top of that stupid pizza. Go pick that apart instead and leave me alone. Or are you just gonna sit here and annoy me until I throw something at you, so His Royal 'Dadjesty' can just scratch my name off and be done with it?"
Despite the situation, Kamek snorted. Not the reaction he expected, and soon enough they both found themselves snickering comfortably in each other's company. Kamek's look of hopeless despair dissipated, and the blistering intensity of the confrontation waned into a more gentle sort of homely warmth. Even so, he took this as an invitation to passive-aggressively finish off the plate of salad himself before Kamek could think to push it back his way.
"…You know, My Lord grew up rather lonely himself. He too was hidden away for most of his life as a result of actions and events beyond his comprehension or control. Something I happened to pick up on over the years was the particular way in which he chose to express his fears and his grievances. And I say to you also what I told him then, that the past is just that. Like a book, you may look to it for guidance, but at some point in your life, you must turn the page and continue onward, whatever the next chapter brings. Good or bad, I will never abandon you, regardless of what your thoughts may tell you."
He moved his chair closer, bringing the book he had been skimming to his lap, handling it with a fondness that was sewn into his words.
"Like…this little spot here. You may see a stain on an otherwise relatively clean page. And in another life, perhaps I would have lamented over it…I was a bit of a neat freak, admittedly. But just one of the many things I learned from my son was to see things from a different, albeit messy, perspective. So to me, it is not so much a blemish, so much as it is a sign of a story well-worn and well-loved. A sign that life is not filled with perfection, and though tribulations may mark us in different ways, they are no less worthy of love. You deserve to feel as though you belong somewhere, Iggy. And I promise you that you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who understands your heart better than…'His Dadjesty', as you put it-"
The book fell to the floor, in its place, he found himself suddenly buried in Kamek's side, much to both of their surprise. He was left with little other options, and his suspicions were confirmed when he went to adjust his glasses only to find his fingers slightly damp. Kamek slid off of the chair, and they moved together onto the floor in a motion that had no business being as fluid as it was.
"Please…just…shut up…You're so weird…no wonder Bowser never listens to you…" he mumbled, and thankfully, the tears retreated quickly before they could incriminate him. Kamek only chuckled, bringing a single arm over him like they were old friends. The dust in the library swirled around them, and it was almost mesmerizing in a way-how something so antiquated could mix so freely with an experience not yet familiar.
"He seems to be coming around, and I'm thankful for that. I don't believe I've ever seen him this happy in all of his life. Or this apprehensive, for that matter."
"Still not sure what all the fuss is about. It is what it is. So we all got banged up a bit, at least he's got a crown to show for it-"
"Things are as they are because people made them that way. That crown is a truly cursed thing; his father killed his mother to keep it. My one solace is that he barely knew either of them."
He stiffened, and sat up to look at him, perplexed. His eyes may have been wider than he thought, and Kamek's expression contorted into a grimace. Nevertheless, he still took his hands with a conviction that solidified his words.
"I tell you this because I know you will understand it. You both struggle to forgive yourselves for the mistakes of others. And as I'm sure you've seen, the best way to grow out of something is to grow into something."
Kamek stood carefully and grabbed the pizza from the desk, unable to ignore his stomach any longer. He settled back into the nearby chair and turned the plate about in his hands in dry amusement.
"Not a chef, but…definitely something…"
He stood to match him in the adjacent chair. Kamek offered him the slice for a final time, and he declined, after which he took a tentative bite. He couldn't stifle a laugh as it went as well as they both assumed it would, and he just barely kept the ridiculous amount of toppings from spilling out everywhere.
"I think you hang out in here too much. You talk like you've never left this room, or like, seen another person before."
"You're a person, aren't you?"
"We don't win awards for the bare minimum, Kamek."
"Then what are you still doing in here?"
"I'm…"
Kamek regarded him slyly, and he decided he could not grant him the satisfaction of an honest answer.
"I'm waiting on you to finish that stupid pizza for me so I can pretend I'm a good son, and, y'know…split. Family reunion ain't gonna crash and burn by itself."
"Shouldn't be too much of a problem. Everything on this thing is designed to defy decency, and yet, I can't stop eating it. I'm almost proud."
"Yep, you're definitely buggin' out. I gotta bail before I end up just like you."
"I assure you, no one wants that less than me."
He decided it was probably best to take that at face value. He crouched to retrieve the fallen book, resolved to do more than pretend to read it. Kamek smirked, never looking up from his half-eaten pizza.
"Chemistry, huh?"
"The cover was cool…I thought there was gonna be like…wizard stuff in it…"
"I see. I'm afraid not, but you're welcome to take it if it interests you."
"…Thanks, Kamek."
"Yes, well, there's plenty where that came from, should any of your siblings also happen to be avid readers."
"Siblings…yeah…um, I just-thanks…"
Kamek handed him the now empty plate, idly fidgeting like he had finally run out of things to say before pulling out his wand at last.
"Run along. They're waiting for you."
"Maybe…" He tucked the book under an arm and tugged at Kamek's outstretched sleeve. He pulled him out of the library himself, before he could get the chance to disappear without him.
"But you're not getting out of this that easy. If I have to suffer, so do you."
He hadn't really intended it to be funny, but as Kamek laughed again, there was a genuine joy in it. And strangely, he took a certain satisfaction in keeping someone else warm for once.
Yellow, like the little screwdriver he casually twirled about between his fingers. A motion he had perfected rather by accident, working alongside the rocky wrenches for so long he had practically been indoctrinated into their mechanical cult, mannerisms and all. They kept mostly to themselves, but he could certainly appreciate that in a place like this, and he had always enjoyed their company.
The company he kept today was far more obtrusive, grabbing at the tool from his place atop his shoulders in fascination. This caused the both of them to fall forward, colliding with the heavy door before them, and he just managed to right himself before he could accidently land on top of his little passenger. He sighed in irritation, but it gave way quickly to a weird mix of exasperated amusement, and he took his giggling idiot brother off of his shoulders carefully before they slammed into something else.
"Stupid kid. You're gonna make me break my glasses."
Bowser Junior reached up in protest, but a call from inside caused him to immediately forget about anything else. He set about making a show of attempting to push open the heavy wooden doors himself, because before all else he was indeed his father's child. Things like this usually meant the world to him, because he didn't really know what the world was yet. It was kinda funny all things considered, but he really didn't have time for this today. So he just picked him up again and pulled the doors open himself.
"My answer's the same as the last time you asked Lem, I have no idea where your ball's gone. If there's anything shiny on it, chances are the toddler's taken it."
He couldn't suppress a grin at the mistake, and he paraded into the makeshift hangar with the accused in his arms. He noted it was oddly vacant when he heard no reaction, and was only slightly disappointed at the loss of a good bit.
"I hereby deem him innocent of all charges."
Bowser turned around fully in surprise from a table in the corner, and his face broke out into a warm, yet tired smile. His son seemed to receive a transmission he did not, and he squirmed around, kicking until he finally put him down. To no one's surprise, he ran immediately into his father's arms, and he seemed to find more stability there.
"Also wrong kid, My Lord Amnesiac."
He shrugged, giving him a lopsided grin as he reached for the screwdriver to put away in a nearby box. Various papers and blueprints were strewn about, and he could tell just by the way the dark circles gouged into his eyes that Bowser had been far too engrossed in his work to notice that he had been alone.
"Hey look, not my fault I can't tell you two apart anymore, you went and dyed your hair."
"Except he's like, a foot shorter than me. And I have glasses."
"…Okay listen, I only remember this one's name because it's mine."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Geez, at least when Kamek plays favorites, he's got the courtesy to do it in private…"
"Oh please, 'My Lord Amnesiac'? No way you came up with that one…where is he anyhow? He's supposed to be watching Junior."
"Yeah, then he pawned him off on me. And asked me not to tell you."
Bowser's expression morphed into one of irritation, shifting Junior to one arm while simultaneously shoving anything within his reach to the opposite side of the table with the other.
"I bet he's with Ludwig again...being bombarded with questions, no doubt. But hey, if he thinks he's found someone to pass the torch on to, that's his problem-"
"Got it-I got it..." Junior whined and Bowser winced at having to further divide his remaining energy, absentmindedly bouncing him to keep him satisfied. "Ludwig has been a bit…" he started, then immediately stopped like he remembered who he was talking to.
"Maybe I should go talk to him. I haven't seen him around in a while-"
"That's a blessing, you know. Don't question it."
"Iggy…"
"No, I'm serious. He's been all up in everyone's business lately, didn't you know? It's bad. Even Morton's annoyed. Larry isn't speaking to him anymore. Though let's be honest, I'm not sure how long that'll last, you know how he is-"
"Wait-he's what? I…I guess I've really been out here too long…Is that what you came here for? Because I don't have any projects for you today, I wasn't planning to…Wait, I should go talk to them-"
Bowser looked as cluttered as his desk. It didn't help that his toddler was also vying for his attention, babbling on in a separate conversation with himself.
"Nah, listen. I got it all figured out, okay? I actually kinda have a project for you, if you'll help me out. Foolproof. It's gonna work, for sure. Quiiiick little mission, in and out. No problem-"
"Can't this wait? I'm bushed, and yesterday's expedition…took a lot out of me."
The town had been practically leveled. There was so much wreckage there was barely anything to salvage. Nothing he was unfamiliar with really, but it seemed to hit Bowser really hard, and when he had sighed the entire site flattened. He had tried to put himself back together there, but there was something about the way he sat silently, solemnly, that allowed him to blend in to the carnage in a fashion that was unsettling. This was a lost cause, and they knew it.
Still, he managed well enough to direct them in their efforts to do what they could, and when that proved too much, they wordlessly travelled on. There was always another place in need of repairs, more people in dire need, and he could feel his raw emotion each time he unfurled a map in desperate confusion, or a schematic diagram in frustration before of a vast expanse of nothing.
At the end of the day, they had tried. But they could only do so much. He should have known, in retrospect, that the emptiness would be more than enough to eat away at him. It was a feeling he knew well, after all. He pushed such thoughts to the back of his mind, along with the guilt that would follow.
"So yesterday was a bit of a…wash. I know this won't make up for it, but I'm really trying to do some good here. Plus, I mean…it's Ludwig's place, how trashed could it really be?"
Bowser snapped up in surprise, then narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"His what now?"
He was already scooping wayward instruments into his toolbox.
"I've been talking to Larry, I got him to cough up the location. We going, or what? We can take the scouting ships, had 'em refueled this morning-"
"Iggy-"
He grabbed his unoccupied arm, lightly pulling at him. Junior found it amusing, and followed his lead.
"Just bring the kid with you! C'mon, the sun's gonna set. A lot of planning went into this and I promised the guys I'd deliver, okay?"
"Iggy." Bowser in turn gripped his arm firmly, rooting him. He looked so worn…this was for the greater good. If this issue didn't resolve itself now, he'd surely never want to get out of bed again.
"Please? I can't go alone. It's too heavy…"
"…What in the world are you up to?"
"Listen, I know yesterday really took the wind out of your sails, but what matters is that we tried. We still are. These airships are gonna do a lot of people a lot of good once we finish 'em, so don't give up hope. Lots of people are looking up to you right now…you're always flying supplies out, fixing things…I guess I just wanted to help rebuild something too."
Bowser's posture slackened, and his demeanor softened. One arm on his, he pulled him in suddenly until it was nearly around him. The impromptu embrace was made even more awkward at the insistence of Bowser Junior, who wedged himself between the two so that he could also participate. Bowser chuckled softly, and in a weird way, it glued them all together.
"Alright kid. What kinda trouble are we getting into here?"
"Mild mischief at best, dad. Tell you what; we leave in the next 10 minutes, I'll let you take all the credit."
He broke away, and though Bowser's expression must've been some mix of something to make his kid laugh like that, he never looked back. It was only a word after all, freely given mostly because it usually held far more meaning to Bowser than it ever did him any good. There was never any way to gauge how he felt about it though, but he figured today he needed to hear it. But as soon as he had said it, there was this unexpected weight where there shouldn't have been, and it made him slow, he couldn't run away fast enough-
He couldn't run away fast enough to avoid being lifted off of the ground, shamefully settled across from the toddler who squealed in amusement. He looked up to protest, but ultimately held his tongue when he saw just how reinvigorated he had become.
"You've got yourself a deal."
He shoveled them onto the ship not long after that, and they took off quickly into the horizon, leaving yesterday a memory behind them.
Looking ahead was no less painful.
In hindsight, he probably should have asked Larry more questions about the state of affairs they were barreling into before they landed there, only to discover further destruction and ruin. He hadn't expected anything…ornate given the circumstances, but the house had been razed and burned to the ground. Nearly everything that had once stood to mock him had been obliterated, to the point where he felt stupid about it. Scarier still, the fact that Ludwig had walked out of this place once, pretending he could never collapse with his very foundations blazing behind him, and they had all believed him.
"Damn, that's ugly…"
Bowser had no response, freezing himself in place at the sight, and his tone went equally rigid. He ordered the small crew to stay onboard the vessel for reasons he didn't bother to question. They were accustomed to it by now…most of them. Junior was not used to being ignored, and probably didn't even know what he was supposed to be looking at. In that respect, when his eyes wandered towards the solitary building a short distance away, it wasn't a surprise that he moved there to investigate.
"Papa! Look, here! S'more stuff!" He pointed to the lone vestige of what once was with all the excitement of a treasure hunter, his eyes shining with anticipation for a reward that never came. Bowser's eyes shone with something else, and in one swipe of an arm, it was absent.
"…it's gone…"
The words fell out of him, but he didn't seem to notice.
"Well…yeah. What did you expect?" He didn't mean for it to sound as nonchalant as it probably came off, especially considering neither of them knew the extent of the damage…but it made him uneasy the way he just stood there, like it was a scene he was unfamiliar with. It seemed to shake him out of it though, and he looked around as if it had just occurred to him that his arms were empty.
"Let him go. We're headed there anyways."
"…I need to know what's in there first…"
"Not much anymore, according to Larry. Not sure how good his word is anymore though, that little asshole…But she better still be here, or I'm gonna-hey!"
Bowser was already gone, tearing after Junior faster than he had ever seen him move before. He snagged him just before he moved up the wooden steps and held him aloft like the very ground was haunted. He followed closely behind, huffing in irritation.
"Have you lost it? What was all that about?"
"Have I lost it?! This ain't the time for jokes, Iggy! If there's a body in there-"
"A what? A body-Bowser, a piano. We came here for a piano. Why did you think we were-you know what? Never mind. Just…even if that made any sense at all, sure as hell the kid wouldn't be leading the charge! I'm not as messed up as you think I am, okay?"
"I…I'm…I'm sorry…you just…you said 'she' and I panicked…"
"That's just…when you build…I dunno, I thought it sounded cool…"
Junior whined again, and with Bowser's attention diverted, he took it as his opportunity to step inside to see for himself just where Ludwig and Larry snuck off to all those nights. It was impressive, solely because it looked largely unmarred compared to the adjacent charred remains. Things were missing, of course, but the few belongings that remained were set with such care that it was clear the place had never been pillaged by the outside world as the house had, but rather carefully picked over from the inside.
It was a small structure, though the room was so barren it appeared larger than it seemed on the outside. Nearly vacant shelves lined the walls, a box or two of envelopes and various papers mixed with sheet music for instruments with empty cases were stacked in the corner.
It was intriguing, almost, how empty the place felt. It was all he had really known for most of his life, but Ludwig had been here when it was full. Full of people, full of music, full of love maybe, life, at least. And he had been here the first time to scoop part of it away, and the second time, and the time after that, and the time after that until it was hollow. Maybe Ludwig was out of touch then, he certainly seemed to play the part well. But to get to that point, to that decision between the past and the future, to feed the soul or the body…as he stared at the blank walls he realized he hadn't really ever thought to wonder where those meals were coming from because no one knew. No one asked. Because if they opened that can of worms, they'd have yet another thing to contend with out there when the world was already against them.
He stole, and he was good at it. But it wasn't enough for all of them to survive, especially when they had been on the run for what felt like months. Salvaging was so horrible that they asked no questions that day when Ludwig had returned to them with a bag of stuff. No one wondered where he had been, and they ate so quickly they had no idea what they even ate. All they knew was what rock bottom felt like, and there he was, digging himself straight down so at least they wouldn't go to bed hungry.
He still hated him. But more than that, he was worried about him, and anyone that dedicated to anything deserved a little respect, he figured. So he moved to the piano in the center of the room with what little he had brought, in an attempt to salvage what little Ludwig had left.
"But it's boring here!"
"Then stay outside. But where I can see you through the window, got it?"
The door closed, then it was silent. Bowser plodded over to the corner, slumping against the boxes in exhaustion.
"…Sorry about that. He's just a kid, y'know? He didn't mean…there's so much he doesn't understand about…I can't find it in me to-"
"It's fine. It's over, anyhow."
"But it isn't, is it? I always forget that you were kids too. You've lost everything, and there's nothing I can do to get it back for you-"
"Can't lose everything if nothing was worth keeping to begin with."
Bowser's eyes widened, and for a while, the quiet between them was only periodically broken by distant laughter from beyond the window. But he couldn't maintain it, and he softened.
"Ludwig told me that, you know."
"Doesn't sound like him…"
"Honestly, what does? He lies as easily as the sun sets for the smallest of things if he thinks for a second it'll get him where he needs to be, but I don't think even he knows where he's going. But regardless of how he may present himself, he's a sharp guy. He knows better than to lie to me."
"…Why are we here…?"
"Piano. Try to stay focused-"
"That's the what. I want the why."
"…He's being annoying."
Bowser sighed in exasperation, and either out of interest or out of boredom began rifling through the boxes of music like they would somehow give him the answers they didn't have.
"I'm guessing his parents were always on his ass about something, he's never not stressed out about the dumbest stuff. If he wants to be a mess, then that's his deal, but it's a problem when he's still trying to round us all up like we're stuck back in an alleyway. I don't even think he knows he's doing it but…I think he's still caught up somewhere back there. We don't need him to…I don't know…like, no one's gonna die without him. I thought that if we brought him back a hobby or something he'd realize that we're not those kids anymore and mellow out."
"I…he told me…he said he was…" Bowser never finished the thought, absentmindedly thumbing over a series of torn envelopes. He only shrugged.
"I told you, he's a liar. Who knows? Maybe he picked that up from his parents too."
"Iggy-"
"Hey, I wouldn't be here wasting my time if I didn't care about him. So I'm not gonna sit here and say nothing because nothing is the worst thing you can possibly do! It's…it's when hate isn't enough. It's when your whole existence disappears into a waste of everyone's energy, like you never deserved a chance to begin with. He gave me more than my own parents ever did. And I owe it to him to be there to tell him the truth, whether he wants to hear it or not. I just…I feel like we've been fighting for so long…I don't wanna do it anymore."
Bowser broke his gaze with him, looking outside the window without really looking for anything. The empty room ballooned with tension, and he didn't know how to fix it. Being open was a new anomaly for him, and it was odd how it seemed to make things worse. Bowser couldn't even look at him anymore.
"Ugh, this is your fault."
Bowser whipped around so quickly that he instinctually threw his hands up in defense, the wrench he was holding clinking on the floor. The needle had gone through, and air began rushing out of the room. Now all he had to do was hastily patch things up before they both suffocated to death. Even as he choked, he snorted in amusement, bending over to pick up the tool before he could read too deeply into it.
"You made him my brother, after all. I got no choice but to clean up after him every now and then, I guess. Does this sound good to you?"
Before Bowser could respond, he pounded on a few random discordant keys. The raucous sound echoed throughout the space, and as horrible as it was, the bizarre melody pulled a solemn smile from Bowser like it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.
"Iggy," he laughed as he resettled, "you know I don't think you're messed up, right?"
"…It's fine. I've learned to lean into it."
He snickered, but there was an audible hitch in it. He had unfolded the papers clutched in his hands, and his face gradually melted into something unreadable as he read on.
"These are...letters addressed to his parents," he explained, "Do you think he'll want them too?"
"Maybe. I guess you should bring them just in case. And whatever music's still readable."
"But…it's just a weird place for them, don't you think? In the middle of all these dusty sheets of music?"
"If he wanted them then, he probably would have taken them. Unless he didn't actually know they were in there…but what do I know? It all looks like junk to me. Either way, I'm not bailing you out if Ludwig yells at you for poking your big nose into his business…even if it makes him a hypocrite."
As he packed away what he brought, he regarded the piano with disappointment. It was in okay shape, though he didn't really know how to tune it correctly, and he didn't want to make it worse. He did what he could for it, and even if it wasn't enough, he was satisfied he had pulled his fair share of the weight. Now it was Bowser's turn.
He pushed on another, higher key. It was grating, and he prayed there was enough written music in those boxes to keep Ludwig busy for a lifetime if it meant he would never be left alone to experiment with noises like that. If Junior ever got his hands on this thing, they were finished.
As he thought about his younger brother, he noted his absence with a bit of confusion. He had been initially grateful, but Bowser Junior was far too curious for his own good. A sound like the one he had produced should have been loud enough cause for him to want to investigate the source...that is, if he had actually been playing where he was supposed to. He didn't even need to look up through the window to know Junior was no longer there.
"Uhh, Bowser?"
Bowser never acknowledged him, engrossed in his snooping.
"Yo, Your Royal Nosy-ness! Unsurprisingly, it seems as though your evil spawn has run off, so we should-"
He looked up, only to be met with a haunting expression of unmitigated horror and disgust. Bowser grasped the letter in one hand, destroying the envelope with the other. His breathing became shallow, and his face flushed like he was one syllable away from ripping everything to pieces. It was frightening, and he reflexively backed away. It wasn't supposed to be like this, he had promised-
"Bowser! You're weirding me out! Quit messing around!"
It was unnatural coming out of his mouth this time around, and in another universe it probably would have been funny, in a twisted sense. But he wasn't laughing anymore; he recognized that look on Bowser's face because it was an old friend of his.
"…they knew…"
It was soft. Misleadingly so. The calm before the storm. The hopelessness that hung onto it still drew him near.
"W-what?"
"They tried…we were…they ALL knew we were suffering. They knew…"
He was trembling, furious, jaded tears slipped away and he looked ready to fall apart.
"Who? What are you talking about-? I-I told you you shouldn't have gotten into his family history-!"
"History? This-! This was the future! What could have BEEN-! His family was obliterated here, this whole kingdom is in RUINS, AND THEY DID NOTHING!"
He roared, throwing a box across the room in anger. He couldn't do anything but shrink until the noises stopped. He didn't realize he was underneath the piano until the darkness that shrouded him eventually lifted away, and he was in Bowser's arms again. That was all he was sure of then.
Outside, a ways away up a small hill he was set down. He watched as Bowser numbly dropped the mix of weeds Junior had picked for him to remove something from his hands that just barely caught the light of the setting sun.
"But Papa look! It's pretty!"
"It's not yours."
"Yeah, it is mine, I found it!"
Bowser turned what appeared to be a small, dirty medallion over in his palm, idly running over the partially melted remains of what used to be engraved on it with his thumb.
"I know who it belongs to. We should go return it to him."
It was a tone that brooked no argument, and, though downcast, he ultimately allowed his father to take him by the hand and lead him downhill. Junior reached for his hand too a few times, but he only stared blankly at it, unsure how to make peace with one so unburdened.
The piano had been loaded up with presumably the last of Bowser's energy, along with the surviving boxes. He wouldn't let go of the letters or the medallion. Even as they took off, he was glued to them, and as he approached him to apologize, they stained his outstretched hands.
He found himself there again anyhow. Long after the night sky engulfed them they sat against a wall, him ungracefully slumped in Bowser's lap. Whether or not Junior had taken it upon himself to go annoy the crew members, they looked after him while the two retreated to a more secluded area. Bowser held him as if he had been pulled from the rubble somewhere, softly brushing his forehead, likely wordlessly begging him to slip into oblivion so they wouldn't have to look at each other anymore. But he was harder to bribe than the toddler.
"Promise me you won't tell them. I need time to process…this…"
"Please tell me what's happening."
"…We were alone, when we shouldn't have been."
"I-This…was a mistake, we never should have gone, w-we wouldn't even be in this mess if I had just kept my mouth shut. I'm sorry-"
"Shhh, kid. Don't be. I mean, it's like you said; nothing is the worst thing you can do."
His eyes had been hollow until then, now set alight by something unidentifiable. It unnerved him into silence, and he wondered if maybe, it was for the best that he drifted off for a bit. At least that way he wouldn't have to acknowledge for the first time in a long time how terrified he had been of the one who swore to keep them safe.
Yellow, like the gem that gleamed atop the wand it was fixed to. The whole ordeal had been mildly underwhelming, to say the least. He had been prepared ever since Bowser told him where he was going. Intimidated, perhaps, at the idea of confronting freely roaming giants on their home turf, but Bowser assured him that the residents looked small enough. He then assumed that the "Giant Kingdom" got its name from whatever hulking monolith was in charge of it.
He had jumped out of the ship and onto the roof of the ridiculously tall palace. With it creating a distraction at the front, he shouldn't have had any major issues sneaking into the back chambers of the castle, where the wand was held. He figured it was probably collecting dust anyways, what with the king's alleged enormous size compared to that of the wand itself rendering it basically useless. It made little sense for him to have it on his person, so all he needed to worry about was whoever he had placed in charge of guarding it.
He had carefully inched towards the section of glass panels on the ceiling of what looked like the throne room. It was empty. Thankfully, the ship flying in useless laps around the front of the castle was enough to keep them occupied without having to escalate anything. He had taken a particularly large wrench out of the sack he carried upon his back, and with great care, used the increased lever arm of the tool to meticulously smash the hell out of the glass.
He had then waited for the alarm to be raised, but nothing happened. He pulled a long tether out of the same bag, and tied one end about what looked to have been an abandoned flagpole. He decided against wrapping the rope around himself, in case he managed to get stuck, so he slowly began to slide down into the room.
Of course, as he was in mid-descent, the door on the opposite side flung open, halting him. Two small figures entered in a panic, and their argument carried in from the hallway. He hung nearly above them, but they didn't appear to notice him, nor the broken glass than had settled just inches from them.
"-not an isolated incident! There have been attacks reported in many of the neighboring kingdoms-!"
"Yes, I am aware. I've attempted to reach them, but there is no response. The Pipe Kingdom has already fallen, I have no choice but to assume that they met a similar fate-"
"So we are alone? Your Majesty, what are we to do-?"
"Aww, what?"
He wasn't able to contain himself, and they had spotted him easily after that. In a split-second decision, he allowed himself to fall the rest of the way before they could retreat, and the three collided together into a pile. He had been the first to recover, as was his nature by that point, and he smirked as he heard the dulled clank of metal on the marble floor. He easily retrieved the wand, only a bit disheartened that all his planning had gone to waste.
"Stop!" The toad had stood up, but made no movement towards him. Instead, he helped the tiny king to his feet.
"What is the meaning of this?"
He idly pointed the wand in their direction.
"Uh yeah, I could ask you the same question, 'Your Majesty'. Aren't you supposed to be like, a giant or something? What a rip off…"
"Enough! Is this a joke to you? My kingdom will not stand for this-!"
"Yeah, it won't stand for anything real soon. But hey, it's not like it ever did in the first place, right?"
The toad paled, and the King only grew redder in comparison.
"How dare you-! Who do you think you are? What gives you the right-?"
"Nothing, really. But unfortunately for you guys, I take what I want."
"You-! Guards! Guards! Back here, quickly! Guards!"
"Ugh! Shut up! Your squawking is just sad, cut it out! Just SHUT UP!"
The wand had responded to his anger, and before he could stop it, there was a flash, and the yelling stopped.
"What have you done?" The toad shouted, and he had been too afraid to look up until he heard aimless stomping further away.
His curiosity got the better of him, and his eyes opened to find…a dinosaur. The King had been transformed in to a dinosaur. He couldn't stop laughing he was so relieved, and the toad only looked on in horror.
"I've made him a real giant now, haven't I?"
"What have you done…?"
Having made his point to a broken record, he had nothing left to say, and climbed back up to where he had come from. The ship had picked him up on the roof as planned in what had essentially been their victory lap. He twirled the wand around between his fingers because felt was familiar to him.
"Did you sustain any hits?"
"No sir. They never fired at us."
"Ah, shoot. We could've used the data…I forgot to test this thing before we left. But I guess we got what we came for. If we stay high enough in the air, reinforcing would be kinda pointless…"
"It would be nice not to get hit at all, if I'm honest..."
He heard the crew laughing, but he couldn't bring himself to join them.
What have you done...?
He excused himself to his quarters, slumping against the wall. If he was quiet enough, he could still hear Bowser's pained heavy breathing, and he absentmindedly traced over the shallow scratches that had been left there on the wooden floor. It was easier to escape into that moment, a time at which he could pretend he wasn't responsible for this. But it was harder to escape the moments that haunted him still, the moments he had been made to endure, and for that, someone had to pay the price.
What have you done…?
He should have asked them the same question, but he knew he'd never get a satisfying answer.
What have you done…?
He didn't care.
Age:
1) 7
2) 9
3-4) 11.5