No Such Thing

Chapter 5- Acceptance

Well, here comes a big moment for the Koopalings and Mario. Will he accept the Koopalings and be interested in helping them out? Or, he would reject them altogether?

Let's find out in this chapter, as all the facts will be included so that it'll be easier to judge.

~KF

"...Luigi..."

It was as if time had frozen for Bowser's kids. Half of them had mouths wide opened while they and the rest almost immediately paused at what they were doing prior to the Mario Bros. stepping into the throne room.

Lemmy gulped without even having the courage to blink. "And so, the curtains open... I was just thinking that things aren't going to be as bad as we all thought, but of course, I had to be the one who jinxes everything... Way to go, me..."

"We were waiting for you." Peach smiled nicely, taking a look back at Bowser's daughter and sons. "Instead of us finding the children, the children found us. I've already talk to them. They want to help their father so badly, and they will not rest until they have a plan."

"And I bet they're over here so we can help them." Mario thought to himself. Though before he could start speaking to them, he couldn't help but notice the reactions of the Koopalings when they had seen him and Luigi walk in the room. They look scared, shocked, and a couple of them looked a bit angry.

Ludwig was the only one out of the bunch to have a blank stare. "Well, here he is... We're already prepared for the worst... But this is not about him, nor the entire Mushroom Kingdom... This is about our father, so Mario better not decline us or else he'll be forced to help us out."

The door was closed after yet another Toad joined the bunch. Only this time, not only he was much older than the rest of the Toads that were in Peach's throne room, but he was also the princesses' attache, as well as the fact that he was like her close relative.

"Sorry, I'm late." Toadsworth apologized clearing his throat. "I had to go to the bathroom."

"Actually, you're right on time." Peach smiled nodding. "Mario and Luigi just came in so you don't have to worry. Anyways,..." Her mood saddened in an instant looking at Bowser's offspring. "I heard what the children had to go through last night and what happened to their father... They don't deserve this..."

He adjusted his eyeglasses. "Ah, yes. I heard it all on the news, children. I am terribly sorry."

"N-No, don't apologize... We came here for answers so we would find a way to save him." Iggy held his hand out. "That being said, Mario better not be selfish and cooperate with us. He's going to be our new pillar for the time being."

"Of course I have to apologize. You now have to save your father's life and I don't even know how much time he has left. Do you at least know where he is, now?"

"Well," Wendy thought. "all we know is that he's probably not at the castle, anymore..."

"He could be anywhere, then..." Toadette imagined the whole universe. "And knowing that Mario is his adversary, the Mushroom Kingdom would probably be either the first or last place he'll look for you all."

"And, she said it..."

"We may have to defend the kingdom, then. He will not attack here..." Mario took a few steps forward.

"... ... ..."

"... ... ...?" The other brother of Toadette was puzzled. Mario wasn't the only one to notice their facial expressions. "Hey,... is something the matter? Why do you all look like that?"

That was what made everyone else in the room face the Koopalings to see for themselves.

"...Are you guys okay?" The Toad servant who allowed everyone in raised an invisible eyebrow.

Peach looked confused and worried. "Are you all lost in your thoughts about everything that happened?"

"...I think I know what's bothering them..." Mario thought out loud. "They think that we're gonna kick them out..."

All eyes were on him. "...?"

"What do you...?" Peach trailed off.

"Look at their eyes..." He stared into the eight pairs of eyes that showed different emotions from the others. "Their eyes are saying that they have no idea to get their father back... Their eyes are saying that they don't know if he's going to make it... But most importantly, their eyes are saying that they should know if they should trust us... trust me..." He mumbled the last word.

"... ... ..." For the most part, the beings that heard Mario's explanation were speechless, especially the Koopalings themselves. Some thought of replying to him, yet the idea was quickly scrapped knowing that it was the truth all along. Like Ludwig said back in his airship the previous night, it was like making a deal with the devil.

Nonetheless, Mario couldn't blame him. If a similar situation was to happen to him and Luigi, they would have to think about trusting Bowser to be their aid. After all, there were enemies for a reason.

Moving closer to the savior of the pink-dressed female, Roy finally had the nerve to talk. "No doubt you're right, plumber. Our family and Peach's family had known each other before we were even thought of, and the Mushroom Kingdom and the Dark Lands would always clash thanks to his plans of kidnapping Peach and wanting domination of this place. How can one not be angry about that, unless you actually want your home to be taken over!? Look at you, you and your brother probably want to fight us right now!"

"Now, wait a minute-"

Morton didn't want his voice to be heard. "Yeah, and don't even think about tricking Peach into thinking that we're gonna use you to save dad just so that we can take over the Mushroom Kingdom! Since you can't trust us, I am surprised we've even made it this far!"

Ludwig was finally enraged. "We should have never came here. We were thinking about whether, or not we should actually trust you. Due to your tone of voice when you said that you have to defend your home, it sounded like you don't want anything to do with us... You are our last option, and you're gonna help whether you like it or not-"

"DANG IT, SHUT UP FOR A SECOND! Can you read my mind!? You don't know what I'm thinking about all of this! It's not like it's your fault that Bowser is not himself! If one of our parents were in the same position as you, we would come to him if it's Luigi and I's only option! What about the times we've actually spent time with each other!? Last time I checked none of you had amnesia! We don't have to have bad blood, now!"

"... ... ..."

Their mouths were wide open, even the ones who are not the Koopalings.

"Well, what do you know?" Ludwig said in his mind. "There's no reason to just turn back, it's like what I said earlier before we came here... He's absolutely right... We are so foolish that I think we're forgetting that Mario might be our last hope. He's already proven to be intelligent and a great hero. Why should we distrust him now, just because we're enemies? ...Or in this case,... frenemies?"

A long silence took place, which was what triggered the eldest son of the King of Dark Lands to speak up. "Y-You're right... After seeing what was happening last night, the Mushroom Kingdom was the first idea to pop in Lemmy's head. We were all disagreeing at first, but I took the time to think about it... You may be our foe, but it does not mean it has to overshadow the times we were acquaintances, or at least tolerable to each other. ...I believe we all owe you a sincere apology..."

Lemmy couldn't agree more. "That's what we should be doing. If a solution is here, we'll find it. We're not going to give up hope until we find an answer. We're all sorry, and we hope you find it in your heart to forgive us..."

"Yeah," Junior had to nod. "if we just blow it off and leave, there would be no way to help dad. We don't have a choice."

"Our land would be going downhill greatly if dad doesn't... if it's too late... Therefore, we are not going to hold a grudge against you, your brother, or Princess Peach." Ignatius was in.

Luigi formed a smile. "I guess we're all in the same boat, then. We can all be on the same side. We're all in this. Together."

Peach nodded with an even brighter smile. "It's lovely to see that everyone is on the same team like Luigi said. Me, the Mario Bros., and everyone in this castle are going to do our best. We'll help you in anyway we can. We're here for you, alright?"

One by one, grins slowly became noticeable on the Koopalings' faces.

"I'll take that as a yes." She held her hand over her mouth, chuckling slightly. "Now with that out of the way, it's time to think about what we can do."

I actually thought this chapter was going to be a bit shorter than the rest. In spite of it being a bit longer that I predicted, it's still short. Apologies to the ones who like long chapters. Next chapter should make up for it.

So, it looks like Mario would be on their side. (As we all expected.) And it looks like it will be for a long time. So stick around to see what happens in the future!

Questions:

1. If you were to go to the last person you want for help, how long will it take you to trust him or her?

2. It's been five chapters. Starting this one, I will ask who is your favorite character thus far. So,... who is it and why?

Like/dislike? Criticism? I encourage all fans of the Koopalings and the Mario Bros. to review!