Shifting his thoughts back to the present, he remembered that he was totally alone in his room. Knowing that Larry was likely out in the lounge playing his favorite game, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, he'll likely be there for a while. No matter, Lemmy knows exactly what he could do in the meantime.

When Lemmy arrived outside a fancy pink door, he raised his hand and gently knocked, "Hello? Are you there?" Lemmy called out to inside. A voice he was all too familiar with called out to him, "Come on in!" Lemmy opened the door into a really nice bedroom. There, he saw Princess Peach sitting on the edge of the bed and smiling. Lemmy was so overjoyed to see her again, "Hi Mama Peach!" Lemmy ran over to her excitedly, "Hello, Lemmy." He reached his arms up toward her, and paused before asking politely, "Uh, may I?" He got his answer when Peach reached down, picked up Lemmy and held him in her arms. Lemmy proceeded to hug her as he felt really cozy.

Sure, Lemmy knew she wasn't actually his mother, but since he never grew up with one, she's close enough. While he really prefers not to only see her whenever she gets kidnapped, it was how he's known her for a long time and bonded with her in some bittersweet twist. Still, he'd rather see her via a different method, something other than literally kidnapping her. Pushing the not so great reality of it aside, he took the time to enjoy her motherly embrace.

Peach finally sat him down on her lap, "How are you?" Lemmy giggled before replying, "I'm doing great! I don't have to get my wounds treated this time!" Peach tilted her head curiously, "Oh? How come?" Lemmy, without skipping a beat, puts on his act. His face fell a little before telling her what happened during his "fight" with Luigi. By the time he finished, Peach looked a little concerned, "Are you hurt or anything?"

Lemmy shook his head, "No, all the bomb did was blow me off my ball and I just hit my head. I didn't get any cuts or scrapes or anything." He then placed a hand on his head and rubbed the area a little, "I did get knocked out when I hit the icy floor though. It had to be my fastest defeat yet." Peach gasped a little, ignoring it, Lemmy continued, "The worst part was probably when I woke up covered in black soot." He crossed his arms, and pouted, "Turns out it's hard to wash off. Took me forever to get all cleaned up." But then Lemmy reassured Peach with a smile, "But hey, at least I didn't get my head stomped on this time, so no hospital wing visit for me!"

Peach blinked before smiling, "Well I'm happy to see you're in high spirits." Lemmy giggled before leaning up against her and curled up a little, "And I get to do this without being careful with my injuries…" He then looked up at her with a cheery smirk, "Because I have none." Peach gently placed one hand on the side of Lemmy's head while placing the other around him, holding him close. Lemmy felt so warm and cozy that he could fall asleep, he closed his eyes and sighed, "I love you, Mama…" Peach gently stroked his hair, "I love you too, Lemmy."

After a few minutes, Lemmy opened his eyes and noticed the clock on her bedside dresser. Lemmy looked at it closely, trying to make sure his eyes were not playing tricks on him, "Oh!" He proceeded to hop off Peach's lap, "What is it?" Lemmy looked up at her, "Iggy should be arriving home right about now!" Peach smiled, "Oh, I guess you want to go see him?" Lemmy nodded, "Mhm! I need him to help me with something."

"Alright, off you go then." Lemmy made his way to the door and looked back at her, "I'll tell him you said hi!" Peach rested her hands together, "Thank you, Lemmy." He opened the door and went out, but not before turning back to her again, "I'll be back in a bit!" Peach gave him her sweet smile, "You know where to find me." Lemmy gently closed the door before sprinting down the hallway.

As he made many twists and turns through the big castle, his mind was racing as fast as he was down each hallway, "I hope Iggy is awake, I need to ask him for a favor!"

When he returned to the landing dock, he found Kamek out there recharging the clown car. "Hey, Kamek?" Kamek noticed the young koopa's presence, "Yes, Lemmy?" Lemmy walked up to him, "Where's Iggy? He should be back right now." Kamek cleared his throat as he unplugged the clown car, "He went off to the hospital wing with Morton." Lemmy placed a thoughtful hand on his chin, "Is he hurt badly?"

"No, just a few cuts and bruises. If you hurry off to the wing, you might find him there." He then knocked on the side of the clown car and a set of stairs folded out, "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to go and get Ludwig now." Lemmy smiled, "Okay, thanks Kamek!" Kamek gave a wise smile, "You run along now little one." Lemmy obliges by joyfully running inside.

Traveling down the many hallways, he finally made it to Kammy's hospital wing. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he calmly walked inside just in time to see Iggy get up to leave. Morton however, had already left. "Hey, Iggy?" Iggy stopped just in time to avoid bumping into him, "Hm? Lemmy? What's up?" Lemmy looked up at him, "Can you do me a favor?" Iggy then smirked, "I don't know. CAN I?" Lemmy sighed, "Very funny Iggy. MAY you do me a favor?" Iggy shrugs, "That depends, what is this favor you ask of me?"

"There's this rare blue flower in the garden, the kind that can speed up healing wounds like cuts and can make a powerful medicine and smells SO good that you can sleep next to one. I want to give one to Mama Peach as a gift!" Lemmy gave a joyful smile as he finished. Iggy adjusted his glasses a little, "Oh, that's awfully kind of you." Lemmy nodded, "Can you get me one in a pot?" Iggy smirked mischievously, "Hmm, CAN-"

"Iggy, once was enough." Lemmy sternly said as he playfully narrowed his eyes at him. Iggy cackled a little in response, "Alright alright, I'll help you get one. Come with me and we can grab the tools." Lemmy nodded, "Okie dokie!"

And so the two of them went off to Iggy's room and laboratory. Lemmy was so excited about this, if he were to sum up Iggy's main passions, three things come to mind. Science, chain chomps, and nature. Lemmy knew he could definitely help him out with this. Once they reached his room, Lemmy braced himself as Iggy placed his hand on the door and opened it.

A chain chomp almost as tall as Lemmy flew out and tackled him, attacking him with kisses and barking excitedly. Lemmy squealed and laughed as he tried his hardest to get it off him, "Ah! Chompy! You little rascal!" Iggy gently pulled his pet chain chomp off him and playfully scolded him, "Chompy, no! Don't do that." But Iggy couldn't stay mad at him as he started petting him and throwing in some baby talk. Lemmy got back up and hugged Chompy, "You're so sweet!" Chompy licked his face in response, making him giggle.

Unlike the chain chomps Lemmy had to feed the other day, this one was smaller and properly tamed. Pet chain chomps were so unusual that it was sometimes like having a pet fox, where they are not entirely domesticated. Chompy was known to make messes and to get into mischief, which is why Iggy keeps him in his room.

Upon walking into said room, it was pretty large, about as big as their dining room. Which I suppose is quite fortunate when you have a pet chain chomp. The room itself had painted walls and colored decor resembling that of Soda Jungle, where his tower was normally stationed at. He could see many trees with vines and wildlife like wigglers painted on the walls.

More than half the room was split off for Chompy, which was a Soda Jungle themed play area that had plenty of room to even play fetch. Not that Iggy needed that half, especially since he technically had two rooms, one of them actually meant for sleeping. While Iggy went off into his closet, Lemmy took the time to take Chompy to his play area.

The play area was closed off by a wooden fence and had an artificial grass floor with some tiny hills. While most of the trees were painted on the walls, there were some model trees dotted around the area too to add to the feel. There was even a fake poison river, which was just water with the river bank painted a bright purple. He could see a machine that automatically cleaned the river every few days as it also functioned as Chompy's bathing area. The grass floor was also littered with toys, some being still in one piece.

There were some hiding areas and wooden themed tubes attached and even part of the trees for Chompy to climb into and run around inside them. There was even a slide to slide down and out onto the grass floor. Since they were around the same height, Lemmy could, if he wanted to for some reason, crawl inside it like a kids play place. While Lemmy would love to have some fun with Chompy inside there, there wasn't really enough time for that, maybe later.

Nearby the entrance was a very nice and cozy bed for Chompy that was constantly kept clean by a machine that washed it every week. Lemmy recognized that particular bed from when he was six. While it was technically his Koopmas present, he gave it to Iggy when he first got Chompy. While Lemmy enjoyed having his Super Bell equipped, he didn't really need that bed. Lemmy stifled a laugh as he remembered that it was really meant to be a prank gift from Roy. Only for his said prank to backfire wholesomely. Lemmy snickered at the memory, "Try as he might back then and even now, he still couldn't win!"

Lemmy's thoughts returned to the present when Chompy barked and went off towards a silver cabinet next to what appeared to be an automatic feeder for him. Lemmy walked over to the cabinet, flipped the latch, unlocked it and grabbed a box of biscuits. Upon seeing it, Chompy started barking happily and was jumping up a little to snatch them. Lemmy held them away from him and held his hand out, laughing at how eager he was being, "Down Chompy, Down!" Chompy obliged and calmed down. Lemmy pulled out a couple biscuits and decided to have a little fun.

Lemmy got Chompy to look up at it, "Stay Chompy… Stay…" He gently placed one on top of him. Chompy stayed still, eyeballing the biscuit as Lemmy gently placed the second one on top of the first. Once he finished, he placed the box back into the cabinet and flipped the latch down. Afterwards, he turned back to Chompy, "Go!" Chompy with lightning speed, tossed the biscuits up about an inch and dropped them right into his mouth. As he joyfully munched on his treats, Lemmy gave him some more pets, "Good boy, Chompy!" Chompy barked happily and licked his face again, Lemmy, while disgusted, found it really adorable, "Aww you're too kind!"

Then the machine buzzed and a can of wet food was dumped out into a bowl and the water bowl was refilled back to the brim. Chompy eagerly went to his food bowl and began to dig in. Lemmy giggled at how quick Chompy was to figure out that buzz meant food. Lemmy stepped out of the play area and closed the gate behind him to let Chompy enjoy his meal in peace.

The other part of Iggy's room also had painted walls resembling that of Soda Jungle with a night time ceiling that had glow in the dark stars stuck to it along with a large fake moon that lights up with the different phases with a click of the remote and it functioned as the main light for this dim room. There were also some windows and a bright lime green bed with a grassy pattern on it. Nearby was a sort of large closet that Iggy has been rummaging through for almost three minutes now. The floor itself had a green carpet that matched the grass color of Soda Jungle and Chompy's play area and a purple wavy part of it that started from the end of Chompy's fake poison river and went to the other side of the room. At the end of the purple trail was another door that led to his lab where he spends most of his time inside of.

Iggy's room was a pretty unique one as he basically went all in with the theme and the bells and whistles. Lemmy wasn't surprised, Soda Jungle has always been one of Iggy's favorite places, hence why he is almost always chosen to be stationed at that tower. Since Iggy has always been a fan of its nature, he learned a bit of gardening on the side to help develop that passion.

Iggy finally emerged with a couple flower pots and some tools like a spade, trowel, and two pairs of gardening gloves, "Alright, ready Lem?" Lemmy nodded with an enthusiastic hum, "Let's go, Iggster!" As the two of them walked to the exit, Lemmy looked back at Chompy and waved, "Bye, Chompy!" Chompy happily barked in response before they left with Iggy closing the door behind them.

Together, they made their way to the garden. Lemmy found the flower type he was looking for, the flower was situated with a bunch of other ones of the same type. All of them had a really beautiful azure blue color with a very relaxing smell and combined, all gave off a warm and relaxing aura. Lemmy sniffed one and felt so relaxed that he could pass out, which he probably would've given how many of them there were. But before he could, he was snapped out of his trance when Iggy cleared his throat. After doing so, Lemmy pointed to one, "That's the one Iggy." Iggy then set down a flower pot next to him, "Alright, let's get digging."

They spent the next little while carefully digging out the flower, all the while Iggy was spitting many facts about it. Lemmy learned that it was called the "Azure Dreambloom", a very fitting name considering Lemmy almost fell asleep next to a patch of them. He also learned how little water and sunlight it needs and how it can withstand a wide range of temperatures, explaining how it can grow in World 8's volcanic environment. Putting all these facts together, it was no wonder this plant was very popular here.

Eventually, the flower was inside of the pot neatly padded with what looked like very enriched soil. Picking up the pot, Lemmy felt an enchanting feeling that soothed him, taking another good sniff, he relaxed his eyes. After a few seconds not responding, Iggy snapped his fingers, causing Lemmy to break out of his trance, "Hm?" Iggy crouched a little and looked down at him, "Be careful not to fall asleep holding it." Lemmy laughed awkwardly, "Sorry, it's just so relaxing."

Iggy then stood up, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more experimenting to do after some well earned R&R." Lemmy then snickered a little, "Try not to blow yourself up again." Iggy smirked, "Hm, no promises, Lemmy." As Lemmy made his way to the garden exit, he looked back at Iggy, "By the way, Mama says hi." Iggy chuckled in response, "Tell her I said hi too." Lemmy nodded as he took off, "Thanks Iggy!"

After running down the many hallways again, being careful not to sniff the flower too much, he returns to Peach's room and knocks on her door before entering, "Hi again, I brought you something!" Lemmy then showed her the flower, "This is for you!" Peach smiled at the sight, "Oh, that's lovely." Lemmy passed it to her with a cheery smile, "It's an Azure Dreambloom! A rare flower that has a very strong and warm aura and has a SUPER relaxing smell." Peach smells the flower and hums in agreement. Lemmy climbed onto the bed next to her, and went on to tell her what he had learned about it from Iggy, like how resilient it is and how little water and sun it needed.

By the time he finished, Peach set it aside and gave Lemmy a hug, "I love it! Thank you, Lemmy." She then gives him a kiss on the forehead, causing Lemmy to blush a little. He gleefully snuggles against her and looks up at her, "I'm glad you love it! Since we're probably not going to be seeing each other again for a little while, I thought I'd give it to you as a parting gift." Peach playfully ruffled his rainbow hair, causing Lemmy to giggle, "Well, I appreciate your kindness. There's a reason your siblings call you the 'Sunshine of the Family'."

Lemmy spent some more time with her before he got up and started heading for the door. He looked back at her, "Oh, if you see Luigi, tell him I said hi." Peach raised an eyebrow, "L… Luigi? Why?" Lemmy casually shrugged, "You don't have to, I just want to mess with him a little after my embarrassing loss, I bet his reaction would be pretty funny. Just some harmless fun." While that was partially true, Lemmy also wanted to say hi as a means of saying thank you to him again. But of course, he didn't want anyone else to know about it. Except for one other person.

Peach just sat there blinking for a moment before slowly shrugging, "Uh, okay?" Lemmy opened the door and was about to leave when his eyes lit up as he remembered, "Oh, by the way, Iggy says hi to you back." Peach smiled with a short hum. Lemmy closed his eyes as he gleefully waved, "Bye Mama!" Peach waved back at him, "Bye sweetie." Lemmy walked out and closed the door behind him before he happily jogged down the hallway, practically skipping.

Lemmy returned to his room and when he opened the door, he found Larry relaxing on his bed with his ice pack "mysteriously" missing. Lemmy playfully rolled his eyes, "Oh Larry..." Larry opened his eyes upon hearing him enter, "Oh, hey Lem."

"Where were you, Larry?" Larry monotonously replied, "I was in the lounge playing Mario Kart. Where were you, Lem?" Lemmy pointed a thumb over his shoulder, "I was visiting with Mama Peach, I went with Iggy to the garden so I can give her a really pretty flower."

Lemmy can tell he fumbled the entrance, now the atmosphere was a bit awkward and both felt it. Despite this, Larry decided to keep the topic going for a little longer, "What kind of flower?" Lemmy tried to brighten up his mood by forcing it, but it was extremely obvious, "It was an Azure Dreambloom flower, it's the very resilient one that makes a powerful medicine and has a super relaxing scent that can put you to sleep." Larry just shrugged a little, "That's cool I guess." While he did muster some enthusiasm, his lack of interest was not surprising since he's not really into gardening.

Lemmy closed the door behind him before he climbed onto his bed, while deep in thought. Lemmy's thoughts drifted back to what happened earlier that day, and after making up his mind about it, he knew what he had to do, "I have to tell him about it."

"Lemmy?"

Lemmy snapped out of his brief trance to see Larry looking at him with a bit of a concerned look, "You okay?" Lemmy, after staring for a moment, shook his head and sighed. This made Larry a bit more concerned as he sat up and hung his feet off the side of his bed to face his brother, "Is something wrong?"

"Larry, I…" Lemmy repeated what Larry did and also hung his feet off the side of his bed to face him. He hung his head a little and sighed, "I… have something to tell you."

Oh, that cliff hanger slipped out of my hands. Whoops.

I've been working on this chapter and the next at the same time because I wasn't sure what order to put them in, they just kept switching over and over again. So, why not make both? It'll force one of them to go first! But since the flashback was a lighthearted chapter, I thought I'd throw in this one first to keep it going for a little longer. It wouldn't make much sense tone wise to abruptly flip it and then back again after one chapter.

Speaking of the flashback chapters, you don't have to read them and it doesn't really matter what order you read them in either. They are totally optional. I'm saying this because I have multiple planned for this story. (Which by the way, a possible future one was hinted at in this chapter.)

Anyway, I thought I'd thrown in a lighthearted chapter to show off Iggy's room and Lemmy's warm relationship with Princess Peach. Who knows? Maybe I can use that flower later on in the story if I wanted to. Or I can just leave it be completely forgotten. That's the beauty of throwing in small niche details that don't seem to matter, you can choose to use them later on to make them matter if you wanted. It wouldn't be the first time I did it.

I also decided to change the genres of this story to "Drama" and "Angst" as they fit better with the main plot of this story.