Chapter 3 Post-Fight Sleep

When Bowser opened the door to his bedroom, he couldn't help but let out a happy breath. Oh, that bed was just begging him to get it in. It was trying to seduce him with the plush pillows and comfy comforters. It was telling him through no spoken words that he would be remiss if he didn't at least try lying down and getting some sleep. And it was right! It was absolutely right on the money, which was why Bowser would take advantage of the opportunity and retire for the night.

Yawning, Bowser made his way over to the bed. The comforters were even warmer than they had been the night before. Did that have anything to do with the fact that the fight had been stressful? Probably not; the fight hadn't been stressful in the least. If anything, it had been a joy to watch, with his seven kids working together to defeat Popple and Rookie He walked away from that fight feeling satisfied and proud.

He really had the best kids, didn't he? They were handfuls, sure, but even with that taken in mind, they were still amazing kids. They had done so much over the span of their considerably short lives. Iggy, for example; he had gone to college as a seven-year-old, graduated with nine degrees under his belt, and had discovered an element when he was four! Yes, FOUR; he had practically been a toddler! Iggy was amazing, as was Ludwig. Ludwig was born with superpowers that gave him abilities that would make any sensible koopa or human tremble in fear. Lemmy had a great sense of humor, one that could make anyone laugh. Larry was fun to play games with; his competitive attitude not only serviced him with video games but also made him want to prove himself when going up against the All Mighty Mario. Wendy had a great fashion sense, Roy could beat anyone in a fight, and Morton was a great listener… seriously, Bowser had great kids! Who wouldn't want to be the parent of such an amazing bunch?

"Dad?"

Bowser smiled and sat up, beaming when he saw Bowser Jr. and Kamek in the doorway. Of course, he would never forget about Bowser Jr. His only biological son, the heir to the Koopa Kingdom throne. Sure, he was a little kid, but that didn't make him any less of a good kid.

"Hey, Junior! What are you doing up so late?"

Junior stepped closer to the bed. "I woke up not too long ago wanting to see you." Bowser's heart melted when he heard that. "I looked everywhere, but couldn't find where you were. I ran into Kamek on the way to the throne room, and he told me you and the Koopalings all went out to fight a thief." He twiddled his thumbs. "When I heard that, I… wanted to see how well that went."

Bowser beamed, his heart melting into an even more pronounced puddle "Well, it went really well, son. Your older siblings kicked some serious booty, and the stupid thief is now unconscious in the medical ward."

Kamek, Bowser's trusted magikoopa advisor, laughed. "See Junior? I told you! I TOLD you that things went smoothly out there and that you had no reason to worry!"

"I wasn't worried!" Junior exclaimed, his face growing pink. "I just wanted information, that's all!"

Bowser chuckled. "Come here, Junior." Reluctantly, Junior came over to the bed. Bowser grabbed the five-year-old and pulled him into a hug. He shrieked but eventually laughed as Bowser continued holding him. Just for fun. Bowser gave him a noogie, an action that got an even more over-the-top laugh.

"Your family is tough, Junior. Don't you ever think we're not!"

"I don't!" Junior said in between laughs. "I really don't, Dad!"

Bowser chuckled some more before setting his son down on the floor. "Well, why don't you head back to the room? I'm sure you'll have an easier time sleeping knowing that there's nothing for you to worry about."

"For the last time, I WASN'T worried!" This got both Bowser and Kamek to laugh, making the Koopa Prince rush out of the room with a cherry-red face.

"Well," Kamek said once he recovered. "I'm glad to hear that things went well." He stepped closer to the bed. "Honestly, I worry a little sometimes. The Koopalings are constantly thrust into battle against a plumber who is somehow more capable than an entire Koopa army. If they ever walk away from a fight with serious injuries…"

Bowser chuckled. "Oh, don't be so pessimistic, you old coot!" He readjusted his position on the bed, pulling his comforters further up so that they could cover more of his body. "My kids are the best fighters in the land! You should know; you've accompanied them on kidnapping missions!" Bowser beamed. "Sure, they've lost a lot of the fights… okay, they've lost all the fights, but they still put their all into it! They still go out of their way to give Mario a challenge!"

Kamek snorted. "Clearly you haven't actually seen all of them in battle."

Bowser blinked. "What are you talking about? I've seen all of them in battle! Hell, I saw them all in battle less than twenty minutes ago! They seemed to do just fine then! More than fine; they completely mopped the floor with that stupid shadow thief and his miserable mushroom!" Bowser smiled again. "If they can handle that without a hitch, I know for a fact that they'll get the best of Mario sooner or later."

Kamek stayed silent for a minute before nodding. "Okay. Okay. You clearly have a lot of faith in them." He smiled. "And honestly, I don't believe the faith is entirely misplaced. I would just… caution you. They are still kids, and they need to be treated as such. Your job is to be their father just as much as you think you need to train them."

"I'm aware of that," Bowser said as he looked Kamek right in the eye. "I treat them like the princes and princess they are."

Kamek chuckled. "Well, good. But I feel I should remind you that you also need to be their king."

"I get that." Honestly, that very topic had drawn a lot of self-reflection out of Bowser. Because Kamek was right; he needed to deal with his kids both from the perspective of a dad as well as the perspective of a wise and mighty ruler. They were supposed to be trained to be rulers themselves. Sure, they didn't have a legitimate claim to the Koopa Kingdom throne because of their nature as adopted children, but that didn't mean Bowser didn't have great plans for them in the future. They could be senators, they could be chancellors. They could even be generals, which was a rule Bowser knew a few of them would like to take on! And if they were going to take on those roles, they needed to be trained to do so. And Bower would do that! He might not have done it yet… and he might not be interested in doing that at the moment… but he was definitely going to do that!

"Good," Kamek said, nodding in a way that Bowser noticed was slower than usual. He cleared his throat and stepped even closer to the bed. "Speaking of battles, I assume that the kidnapping mission will still be happening tomorrow morning?"

Bowser immediately perked up. "You know it! I'm gonna stop at nothing to get my hands on Princess Peach!" He reached into his hammerspace, pulling out a photo of the princess in question. Sure, she just so happened to be glaring at the camera, but that didn't matter as Bowser ran his hand down the picture's length. "Oh, she is just the most gorgeous thing in existence." He kissed the photo, right on Peach's scowling lips. He chuckled some more, thinking about how lucky he was to have discovered her. Seriously, she was everything one could possibly want! She was bright. She was poised. She was brave and kind. But above all else, she was beautiful. Just thinking about her was enough to make butterflies appear in the Koopa King's stomach

"Well… okay." Kamek adjusted his glasses. "Honestly, I think that your love is misplaced, but…"

Bowser immediately glared at Kamek. "What was that? Steam shot out of his nostrils when he said that.

Kamek remained unfazed by this display though. "Look, Bowser, I've told you this time and time again. It's never gonna happen."

"You don't know that!" Bowser exclaimed, feeling a heat building up in the back of his throat. "She could reciprocate! She could wake up one day and realize that she loves me! She could see me for the warm, approachable teddy bear that I am as opposed to the giant scaly dragon she thinks I am!"

Kamek snickered and raised an eyebrow as he examined Bowser up and down. "Yeah, you certainly appear to be the cuddly type…"

"I am! There's no doubt about it; I definitely am! I would treat Princess Peach better than Mario could ever dream of treating her! I could sweep her off her feet. I could GIVE her half the world! I could give it to her as a birthday gift, or maybe even just because I feel like it. Is that so wrong? Who in the world wouldn't want to date and/or marry someone who is willing to do that for them?"

Kamek just shook his head. "Well, considering that the only thing you've done for Princess Peach so far is kidnap her and lock her in a cage…"

"Hey!" Bowser now sat up. "That's barely relevant to this conversation! I do that because it's necessary, not because it shows how I think of her!" He glared at Kamek. "Mark my words, Kamek. One of these days, I will win Princess Peach over. I will make her my queen, and my kids will finally have a mother figure in their lives. Just you wait."

Kamek stayed silent for a little bit before sighing. "Okay. Okay, you seem to be fairly confident." He turned toward the door. "Well, I should retire to my bed chambers. Tomorrow is going to be a big day." He put his hand to the doorknob.

"Wait."

Kamek blinked as he turned back around. He looked like he wanted to groan, but was holding himself back. "What is it, my liege?"

"Could…" All at once a round of embarrassment overcame Bowser. "Could… could you tell me that story you told me when I was younger? You know, the story that involves my birth?"

Kamek actually snickered at that. "I'm sorry, you want me to do what?"

"I know, I know. It's totally lame and unkingly; I get it. I just… I just think that it could boost my confidence. Especially when it comes to how thinking tomorrow is going to go."

Kamek laughed now. "YOU aren't feeling confident? Wow. I must've stumbled into an alternate dimension by accident!"

Bowser's face grew as warm as the lava outside. "Just… do it, please?"

Kamek giggled. "Of course, sire." He stepped away from the door. "The day you were born was a hot one." He came back over to the bed. "Everyone was feeling miserable, as the heat that the Kingdom was experiencing was too much even for a Kingdom full of Dragon Koopas." Kamek's bespectacled eyes glittered. "But even still, your father thought it would be the perfect day to bring his one and only son into the world. It could make a miserable day so much better, so much more significant."

Bowser beamed. "What happened next?"

"King Morton stepped into the chamber, and me and four other magikoopas got right to work. We cast the cloning spell that has been performed on every generation of Koopa Kings since the reign of King Cosmo III. And when the spell was complete, after three hours of work, we had a new member of the family." Kamek paused, an expression on his face that made Bowser feel even warmer on the inside. "The magikoopas were ecstatic. King Morton was pleased."

Bowser scooted closer. "And you?"

Kamek smiled. "I knew the second I laid eyes on you that my life would change forever. You were the handsomest baby I had ever seen." Bowser chuckled; he always did at this part of the story. "And I knew that you were destined for great things. The Koopa Kingdom would never have another king as great as you."

Bowser smiled. "You were able to sense that even when I was a baby."

"That I was." Kamek smiled at Bowser. "And I am very pleased to see that my predictions and hunches weren't wrong."

Bowser's heart fluttered. Oh man, that story made him feel better and better the more times he heard it. Sometimes, when he was having a particularly bad day, he would remember the story, as well as the way Kamek tended to tell it. And it didn't matter how bad the day had been before; the words of Bowser's magikoopa advisor and legal guardian always made him feel better.

"Thank you, Kamek. I needed to hear that." He laid down. "Well… you can go to bed now. You're right; tomorrow is going to be a BIG day, and we all need to be well-rested for it."

"Of course, Your Highness." He turned the bedroom light off and exited the room. As he left, Bowser pictured Princess Peach's face. The mere thought made his heart all the flutterier.

Princess Peach, at the end of the line, I'll make you mine.