Sunlight streamed through the window as a new day began. Junior sat up in his bed, stretched, and yawned. He was reminded by his surroundings that he wasn't at home, and instantly all the memories of the events that had brought him here came flooding back in. Junior winced when he felt a small jolt of pain in his arm. Feeling restless, the little Koopa pushed back his blanket and climbed out of bed.

"Hey Dad, my arm's hurting again. Do you have any more of that ointment stuff?" he asked. Across the fire pit, Bowser was fast asleep on his chest with his head turned and facing away from Junior. The little Koopa approached him. "…..Dad?" Junior repeated. Bowser didn't move an inch. In fact, he was completely still. Junior shook his father's arm more vigorously. "Dad!" Nothing. Bowser was completely motionless.

Junior observed his father's shell. It looked to be in even worse condition than yesterday. All of the spikes had been completely burned away. What was once a bright, prominent green color was replaced with an ugly, ominous black. Even more of the green surface had been peeled away. The burn marks had been spreading and spilled over onto the pale, crusty rim of the shell. At least the shell itself had finally cooled down and was no longer emanating heat.

But Junior soon realized that the heat had simply migrated to Bowser's body instead. His forearms and head were drenched in sweat as if the Koopa King was melting. The spiked arm bands on his arms were as hot as a pan over an open fire. Yet despite being engulfed in all of this heat, Bowser was completely still. It no longer looked like Bowser was bothered by it or fighting it off, but instead…that he had surrendered to it. Junior panicked and was suddenly desperate for his father to wake up.

"Dad! Come on, Dad! Wake up! Wake up! Please!" Junior pleaded hysterically. Something was definitely wrong. The guilt was practically strangling Junior like a rope. This is my fault…, he thought. Dad was so worried about me that he didn't do anything for himself. If he gets any hotter than this…he might…Junior could feel the tears forming in his eyes as his whole body trembled. The liquid rained down Junior's cheeks, and practically evaporated in seconds when it landed on Bowser's arm.

Junior left Bowser's side and returned seconds later with the same supplies Bowser had used to treat him the night before. They had been sitting on the floor nearby where he'd last left them. The little Koopa's mind raced as he tried to think of what to do. He placed the ice pack on Bowser's forehead. The ice had melted overnight, so it was no longer cold. Now, just a sack of room-temperature water remained. Junior dunked the towel into the bowl of water and scrubbed Bowser's skin frantically. He had to bring his father's temperature down somehow.

Frustrated, Junior ran into the kitchen to find a sink so he could get cold water. Unfortunately, the house itself was much bigger in scale than the little Koopa had anticipated. It had been built by his parents, so he should've expected that everything would be so much larger. The countertops towered over Junior, and the sink faucet was completely out of his reach. He dragged in a chair from the dining room nearby. But even with the boost, Junior still couldn't reach the faucet. Why did his arm have to be broken now!? If it wasn't, Junior was confident he could've climbed up onto the countertop and reached the sink that way, just as he had done so many times in the castle's kitchen at home. But here, he was useless with only one arm!

Junior hopped down from the chair and sprinted out of the kitchen. He had another idea. Returning to Bowser's side, Junior grabbed the ointment his father had used on him, twisted the cap off, and squeezed it as hard as he could with his good arm. He practically covered Bowser's arm with the slimy medicine, and scrubbed it into Bowser's scales with his hand. Junior could feel the burning from his father's hot skin, but he was too stubborn to pull his hand away. Deep down, Junior had no idea if this stuff would help cool Bowser down or not. But what choice did he have?

"Come on, Dad! Come on! You can't die on me!" Junior sobbed. "You made a promise to Mom, remember? You're supposed to protect me and take care of me! I still need you!" He continued to rub his tiny hand along his father's limp arm. His claws were covered in the ointment, but he didn't care in the slightest. "What about our promise, huh!?' Junior exclaimed. "You weren't gonna yell at me anymore! I was gonna do what you said! So tell me what to do, Dad! Please!" Junior begged. "Tell me what to do…"

Help. Junior thought. I need to get help. The little Koopa remembered Bowser mentioning the castle being a day away by foot. There was no way he could get there and back in time to save Bowser. But sitting around here and doing nothing wasn't going to help either. Junior rose to his feet and dashed out the front door.

"I'll be back, Dad!" Junior shouted upon his exit. "I'll come back for you!" Junior ran as fast as he could; covering as much ground in as little time as possible. The heat from the morning sun was intense. It burned the bottoms of Junior's feet, but the pain only motivated him to keep moving. He had to. He couldn't stop no matter what. He had to get help for Bowser, even if it killed him.

Junior stopped abruptly in his tracks when he saw a shadowy silhouette slowly flying in from a distance. Once the object came into view, Junior couldn't believe it.

High up in the sky was a wooden airship; a familiar one at that. In close proximity to it, Kammy Koopa flew about atop her broomstick; frantically surveying the earth below. Larry Koopa was manning a telescope as he did the same.

"Do you see anything yet?" Kammy asked.

"No…Nothing," Larry replied.

"I don't think they would've come this far downstream."

"Maybe, but…," Larry lost his thought when he caught eye of something unexpected. "There! Down there! I see something…or someone!" Hundreds of feet below, Larry spotted Bowser Jr. frantically hopping up and down and waving his arm madly in the air to get their attention.

"Oh my stars! Is that…?," Kammy began. "IT IS!" Junior breathed a heavy sigh of relief when he saw the ship and Kammy coming down for landing nearby. The old witch practically leaped off her broom stick as she landed and embraced the little Koopa. "Prince Junior! I don't believe it! Thank the stars you're alive!" Kammy cheered as she hugged Junior tightly. She released him instantly when he pointed out his injured arm. Larry scooped the little Koopa up in his arms from behind without receiving that message.

"Boy am I glad to see you again, squirt!" Larry exclaimed. He was trying his hardest to fight back his tears, but deep down he didn't actually care who saw him cry. He was too relieved to see Junior again.

"Heh…it's good to see you too, Larry," Junior replied happily.

"Are you alright, dear? What happened? Where's your father!?" Kammy inquired frantically.

"I'm okay," said Junior. He turned back to face the way he came. "But my dad's hurt and needs help! You gotta come with me right away!" To save time, Kammy and the Koopalings gave Junior a ride on the airship as he guided them back to his family's getaway home at the end of Scorched Rock Road. Junior, Kammy, and Larry rushed through the door and into the room where the pair had slept the night before. Bowser was still unconscious right where Junior had left him.

"And you said he won't wake up?" Larry asked.

"No!" Junior answered. "I don't know what's wrong!"

"Oh dear, oh dear!" Kammy panicked. "Bowser!? Bowser! Can you hear me!?" she exclaimed. As Junior expected by now, Bowser issued no response. "This isn't good! We need to get him back to the castle immediately!"

"How are we gonna get him there?" Larry inquired. Kammy whistled with her finger. In a flash, the other 6 Koopalings barged through the door.

"Alright, everyone. We need to get Lord Bowser loaded up into the airship. Morton, Roy, lift his torso. Wendy, hold his head. Iggy and Ludwig, grab his legs; and Larry and Lemmy, his arms," Kammy instructed. "I'll use a levitation spell to provide extra support." Junior hurried over to the group and grabbed Bowser's tail to offer his support. But Kammy tapped on his shoulder.

"Dear, you're hurt. You've been through enough already. We'll take care of your father from here," Kammy declared.

"B-but I wanna help!" Before he could react, Boom Boom picked Junior up from behind and hoisted the little Koopa over his shoulder. Junior kicked his legs and begged to be put down. But his demands were in vain. Boom Boom forcefully escorted Junior out of the home and onto the airship.

Two hours later, Junior sat alone in his bedroom, staring gloomily out the window. A Magikoopa had healed his arm instantly with a basic healing spell, but that hardly made him feel any better. He was too worried about his dad. Kammy and a horde of Magikoopas and doctors had been operating on him since the airship arrived at the castle. Junior tried to stay and watch and begged for updates on his father's condition, but he was shooed away to his room to wait until it was all over.

A Koopa servant had offered him a batch of freshly baked cookies to try and cheer him up, but the little Koopa was too distraught to enjoy them. Junior did everything he could think of to pass the time. He had even taken a bath to keep himself distracted for a little while. Junior finished drying himself off and entered his bedroom. He eyeballed the pieces of his broken Switch console on the floor. Everything was right where he had left it the other day. He was sure playing Mario Kart at that moment would've helped take his mind off things, but Junior wasn't even upset about it being broken anymore. All he wanted now was for Bowser to be okay.

He had to be. This wasn't the first time Bowser had been directly exposed to lava. Kammy's magic always made him better whenever Mario dropped him into a pit of the stuff. But this time was different for some reason. Junior had never seen his father in a coma-like state as he was this morning. The thought of him never waking up again was terrifying. Junior wasn't prepared to handle the idea that last night was the last time he would ever see his dad alive. He needed him in his life. Having lost one parent already was hard enough. What would possibly happen to him if he lost both? The little Koopa's train of thought was disrupted by the sound of his bedroom door creaking open as someone entered.

"I said I don't want any cookies!" Junior shouted angrily.

"...Cookies? Well shoot, I'll take 'em then," a familiar voice replied playfully. Junior shot back around. Standing in his doorway was Bowser.

"DAD!" Junior cheered as he dashed across his bedroom and tackled his father with all his might. Bowser nearly fell backwards from the sudden impact of Junior's hug. "You're okay!" He froze when he witnessed his father's drastically different appearance. Bowser's shell was completely gone and his entire torso was covered with a series of large bandages wrapped around him. He was also slightly hunched over and carrying a cane in one hand. "You…are okay…aren't you?" Junior inquired with worry. Bowser smiled.

"Six cold showers, 20 ice packs, and a few healing spells later, and yeah, I'm fine! Well, I'm a bit lighter now. But other than all that…yes, I'm okay," he confirmed as he rubbed Junior's head. Junior wasted no time in asking the burning question that had been on his mind all day.

"What happened to you, Dad? How come you wouldn't wake up this morning? I got really scared…," the little Koopa explained. "I thought I'd lost you…" Tears began to form in Junior's eyes just thinking about it. Bowser caressed his child's cheek in his hand.

"Aww I'm sorry, kiddo. I didn't mean to scare you like that," said Bowser. "As it turns out, my shell got so banged up when I was coming up through the mountain that when I took my second dip in the lava, there was barely anything left to protect me. My back got burned up pretty badly and what was left of my shell was pretty much ruined from the inside out. The pain got worse and worse over time, so that's why it was getting harder for me to get up. Eventually, I was in so much pain that I just couldn't wake up at all after I went to bed last night."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Junior asked. "I could've helped you somehow…"

"You had enough to worry about yesterday already. Besides, in a way, you actually did."

"Huh?"

"When I woke up here in the castle, Kammy told me that my injuries were dangerously close to being fatal. If you guys had gotten me to the castle even a minute later, I might not be up and about and talking to you right now," Bowser explained. "But she also told me the strangest thing. She said I was covered in this sticky ointment. I was like that when she found me so she knows it wasn't anyone at the castle's doing. If I was unconscious, I wonder who could've rubbed all that ointment on me...," Bowser pondered smugly with a wink.

"You mean…," Junior started.

"That's right. You saved my life, Junior. You helped keep me alive long enough for help to arrive." Bowser hugged his son tightly to his chest. "Now that I think about it, that's gotta be what…the sixth time you saved me?"

"The sixth?"

"Well, yeah. There was your lava surfing, then you fired a cannon ball at that golem, you saved my life with your wish of course, you helped me out by tossing those crystals my way, you pulled me out of the lava again, and then…just today with the ointment," Bowser explained. "Son, I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of you. You came out of all of this like a real trooper." Junior giggled and blushed a little.

"Aww, it wasn't so bad!" Junior replied. "I'm just glad you're okay! But...what're you gonna do without your shell? And how come you have that cane?"

"Don't worry about that stuff, kiddo," Bowser assured him. "We're Koopas after all. My shell will grow back good as new in a few weeks' time. The bandages are just there to help my back heal in the meantime. As for this, well the docs gave me an earful about not walking around at all until I've made a full recovery. But I'm a king, dammit! I can't rule a kingdom just lounging in my bed all day! So this'll help me get around for a little while. Once I have my shell back, I won't need it anymore," he explained.

"That's good!" Junior commented cheerfully. Bowser expressed that he had been more worried about Junior's condition, but the little Koopa explained how a Magikoopa had already tended to his injuries, and that he was doing just fine now. Bowser was incredibly relieved to hear such news.

"Oh, I almost forgot! I've got something for you," said Bowser. He motioned for a Paratroopa to enter the room, carrying a present. The servant handed it to Bowser, who passed it off to Junior. The little Koopa stared at it curiously.

"What is it?" Junior inquired. The Koopa King chuckled.

"Come on, brat! You've had seven birthdays to figure out that we're not supposed to tell you what's inside a present!"

"But…it's not my birthday…"

"I know, but that doesn't mean I can't do nice stuff for you throughout the rest of the year. Open it." Junior ripped open the parcel and his eyes lit up when he found a new Nintendo Switch underneath the wrapping.

"No way!" Junior exclaimed excitedly. Bowser looked over at the old, destroyed console on the floor.

"I felt bad about breaking your old one over my stupid little tantrum so I requested one of the Koopatrols to go out and get you a new one the other day before I left to kidnap the princess," he described. "They're surprisingly hard to find for some reason…" Junior raced over to his television and quickly started to set up his new console. Bowser stood by and watched him with content. He missed seeing his son so happy and was ecstatic to see this side of him back in full force once again.

Junior booted up Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but stopped at the main menu. Bowser turned and prepared to exit the room when Junior called out to him.

"Hey Dad…?" he asked.

"Hmm?"

"Do you….wanna play with me?" Bowser smiled.

"Sure," Bowser accepted and took a seat next to his son. Junior handed him a Joycon controller and the two started playing. "So…which button makes me go forward?" Junior happily walked his father through the controls, and Bowser took immense satisfaction in spending some quality time with his son. Somehow he was positive he wouldn't be dreaming about Celia again tonight. He didn't need to rely on her anymore. Everything was going to be just fine now.