Chapter 7 Ring Ring Ring

"Well, you all have your orders," Bowser said to the koopa paratroopa scouts who stood before him in the throne room. Larry couldn't remember the last time he had seen this many paratroopas gathered around in one place before. With the feathers brushing up against one another, the Koopalings may as well have been in a birdhouse. Of course, these troopers were far more intelligent than any stupid birds. "Don't leave any stone unturned; we need you to find the prince. Got that?"

"YES SIR!" The paratroopas said while giving a collective salute.

Bowser sighed. "Very well." There was something about his voice, with how weary and tired it sounded. "Then head out."

With that, the paratroopas filed out. The comparisons to a birdhouse grew more prominent in Larry's mind as he listened to the ruffling and moving of wings. He couldn't help but chuckle at the sound. Of course, there wasn't much humor to be found in the empty room that was left in the paratroopas's wake. With Bowser and the Koopalings being the only ones present, the tension spiked up by a considerable degree. The air could be sliced with a knife as Bowser sat on the throne, rubbing his temples like he so often did when he got a headache.

"Please Grambi," Bowser murmured under his breath. "Please help us. Please protect my son."

Larry felt a pang. Damn. Bowser never spoke with such a lacking level of confidence. Larry exchanged looks with his siblings, and those looks conveyed that they all recognized the severity of the situation. Even Roy was aware of it. Ludwig seemed to be in the most pain in regards to this though, as he had trouble breathing and didn't seem comfortable with making eye contact with anyone else.

That sight was what filled Larry with determination. He was going to put his all into finding Junior. For the Kingdom's sake, for Bowser's sake, even for Ludwig's sake. Larry and Ludwig weren't the closest siblings of all time, but Larry would readily admit that seeing him this stressed out and worried wasn't fun. Sure, admitting that out loud would be proceeded by a bunch of hemming and hawing, but still. Larry didn't like seeing Ludwig in this emotional state. Same as how he didn't like seeing any member of his family in this emotional state.

With this thought in mind, Larry looked over toward Bowser and approached the throne. He put on a smile, one so confident that it could easily cross the line into a smirk. "Hey, it's going to be okay, Bowser."

Bowser took in a shaky breath and looked down at Larry. "Are you sure?"

"Positive! Junior will be found!"

Bowser's brow furrowed and he frowned. "I hope so, but…" he took in several breaths, each one shakier than the last. "He's so young. And he has no idea where he's going. And…" Bowser's eyes grew wide. "He probably has a lot of enemies too! Not every citizen in this kingdom is one hundred percent loyal to the crown…" He began hyperventilating. "Oh God." Tears sprung up from his eyes. "Oh Dear God…"

Larry's heart hurt looking at this display. The sounds of Ludwig sniffling a few feet away didn't help matters. As Lemmy comforted the eldest Koopaling, Wendy and Iggy walked over to give comfort to the Koopa King.

"Bowser, there's no need to worry," Wendy said. She walked up and placed her hand on Bowser's knee, softly patting it while wearing a warm look. "Even if there are people in the Kingdom who want to harm Junior, he's really tough! He goes toe to toe with Mario a lot of the time! If he can handle that, then I think he can handle a few evil strangers."

Bowser sniffled and looked at his daughter. "You think so?"

"Of course!" Wendy exclaimed.

"I cannot help but agree," Iggy said. "Yes, the circumstances aren't in Junior's favor while he's out wandering the Kingdom, but Junior is a tough little cookie. He's an amazing fighter, so I have no doubt that he can defend himself."

"That's true!" Larry said. He looked Bowser right in the eye. "He'll be fine. Don't worry, Dad."

Bowser did a double take along with the other Koopalings. When he recovered, he smiled at Larry. "Thank you, son." He looked at the other Koopalings. "Thank you guys. I…" he sniffled and wiped a tear from his eye. "I really hit the jackpot when it came to the kids I adopted."

Wendy chuckled. "And we hit the jackpot when it comes to the dad who adopted us." She chuckled some more. "And I'm not saying that just because you're the king."

"Although, you being king does come with a lot of perks!" Larry said with a crooked grin.

Bowser laughed, as did the other Koopalings. The sound in the room was almost strong and happy enough to distract everyone from the circumstances. The only one who didn't laugh was Ludwig, as he kept shifting his feet and refused to look anywhere aside from the carpet.

"Well then," Iggy said once he recovered. He looked up at Bowser. "I assume now we should be heading out ourselves, right?"

"Eh… not quite." Larry blinked, and the others looked just as taken aback as they gathered around Bowser. The Koopa King himself had the slightest hints of joy in his eyes. "If you guys are going to be heading out and searching the various regions of the Mushroom World, I want some way to keep in touch with you."

Larry did a double take. "Keep in touch with…" Suddenly, it occurred to him what Bowser was implying. His jaw dropped, and his eyes grew wide. "No!"

Bowser's eyes twinkled. "Yes." He reached into his hammerspace, and Larry felt as though he was going to explode with glee when he saw him pulling out seven color coded smartphones. "I think it's time."

The others all expressed their excitement in their own unique ways. "Finally!" Roy exclaimed.

"I thought you were never going to give us cellphones!" said Lemmy. He laughed. "This is incredible!"

Yeah, Larry couldn't help but agree with Lemmy's sentiment. Throughout most of their childhoods, the Koopalings had begged Bowser for their own cellphones nonstop. And when Larry said "nonstop," he meant that he could recall him asking Bowser about it once a day for an entire YEAR! Yes, an entire year! And every time, Bowser had said no. The excuses he came up with were "it's not the right time," or "I'm planning on giving them out someday." Of course, at the time, Larry had just assumed that Bowser said those things to cover up the fact that he would never give his kids (his TEENAGE kids no less) a way to be more connected with the world they live in. As one can imagine, that thought made the youngest Koopaling more and more frustrated.

Now? Now it was all worth it.

"Treat them with respect," Bowser said. He gave each Koopaling a phone, with Larry ending up with the one with a sky-blue phone case. "These things come with a lot of responsibility, after all."

"Indeed," said Iggy. He smiled and looked at Bowser as he adjusted his thick-rimmed glasses. "I assure you that we will treat these devices with the utmost respect and matur…"

BLART!

That loud fart sound caught Larry off guard in the best way possible. Through his own laughter, he saw that Roy had made the sound by going to an app on his phone. Clearly enjoying his brother's reaction, Roy pressed the button again. The next fart sound was even louder and more disgusting than the last, which in turn made Larry drop to the ground laughing.

"Oh man, that's awesome!" he exclaimed in between breaths.

"Awesome? AWESOME?" Iggy gave his two brothers a glare. "That is not the purpose of a cellular device!"

"Yeah!" said Lemmy. He grinned. "If you're gonna use any apps on your phone to have fun, you should use the face app filters!" He went to the camera and turned to Morton. "Smile, buddy!" Morton blinked as the flash went off, and Lemmy giggled as he went to the filters app. "You can make your face look like anything, including…" Lemmy beamed as he showed Morton's photo. Thanks to the filters, the dark-skinned Koopaling had cat ears, a cat nose, and whiskers. "The cutest animal in the world!" He giggled and went over to Morton. "I just want to pinch his cheeks!"

Morton gave him a sideways glance. "Sorry. There's a law against pinching my cheeks. It's in the Constitution."

Ludwig chuckled before clearing his throat. "Besides, guys, you all are missing the point. Bowser gave us the phones for a specific purpose. If we don't use them for that purpose now…"

Larry groaned. "Oh, you're such a party pooper Ludwig!" Larry grinned as he got out his phone. "You know, I think I should have this be my ringtone for when you call me." He pressed a button, and…

"THERE'S AN ASSHOLE ON THE LINE! PICK UP YOUR PHONE AND TALK TO THE ASSHOLE!"

Ludwig's eyes grew wide, and some of the other Koopalings even gasped. Larry, meanwhile, laughed his tail off at the looks on their faces, knowing that he had really hit a nerve with at least one person in the room. The comedy of the situation only got better as Ludwig gritted his teeth and flames climbed up his arms.

"Oh really? You want to use that ringtone? Well, maybe I'll use the same one for you! Maybe I'll change the 'asshole' line to 'loser! Both would be fitting!"

Larry chuckled. "Go ahead, asshole! Still won't stop me from announcing to people that you're an asshole!" He smirked. "Asshole!"

Ludwig's eyes glowed white as the flames grew higher and hotter. "Why you…"

"Guys!" Wendy interrupted. Everyone turned to face her, and when she gestured toward Bowser, Larry's heart stopped. "Guys, you need to stop!"

Larry was inclined to agree with that statement, as Bowser was crying. Tears flowed from his eyes, and he hid his face behind his meaty paw. Larry stood up, all of a sudden feeling incredibly guilty. Bowser… when was the last time he had seen him cry? He really couldn't remember.

"Bowser…" Larry approached his father, as did everyone else. The Koopa King still cried a lot, prompting Larry to reach out and put his hand on his arm. "Bowser, we're sorry. We were just having fun with each other."

"I know," Bowser said in between his watery cries. "I know you are, I just…" The tears flowed even harder. "I just… what's happening with Junior now? What is he doing? Is he hurt? Is he… if he's… I…" He cried even harder. "I'm sorry guys."

The Koopalings exchanged looks. While Larry couldn't speak for his brothers, he could say he felt immensely ashamed. This wasn't a situation where the Koopalings should be taking digs at each other. This wasn't a situation where they should goof off and not take things seriously. Junior was God Know's Where, and he was potentially in danger. The poor kid had no idea how ugly the world that he decided to run away into was, which made the fact that he was in it that much more problematic.

Larry was the first one the come up and hug Bowser. "No, Bowser. I'm sorry." He held onto his father extra tight. "We'll find Junior." He gave Bowser an extra tight squeeze. "We won't stop until we do. You have my word that I won't."

"Mine too," said Wendy as she went up to hug Bowser.

"Us too," said Lemmy, Roy, and Morton. They too hugged Bowser, and after Iggy and Ludwig exchanged a look, they joined in on the hug. Larry, being close to the center of the hug, could feel most of his family's heartbeats. They all pulsed in rhythm with each other, which in Larry's opinion was the most ideal way for hearts to beat.

"Thank you, kiddos," Bowser eventually said. He squeezed all of his kids back before letting them go. When he looked at them, he smiled through his tears. "You're right. You guys will find Junior. I know you will."

"Indeed." Iggy cleared his throat. "Now, do you mind telling us which regions to search?"

"Yes, yes, of course." Bowser looked at each of his kids. "Roy, you get World 2. Lemmy, World 3, Wendy World 4, Morton, World 5, Ludwig, World 7, and Iggy and Larry will take the Koopa Kingdom." Larry did a double take. He was about to object, but Bowser gave him a smirk. "I want to make sure you don't spend the whole time at an amusement park or an arcade or something."

Larry's jaw dropped. "How dare you! That's…. Actually pretty fair; not gonna lie."

Bowser and the others laughed before Bowser cleared his throat. "So, you guys get right to searching. Leave no stone unturned; I want Junior home as soon as possible."

"You got it, Bowser," said Iggy. He walked up to Larry, took his hand, and looked at the other Koopalings. "Come on, guys. Let's have the search commence."

The others nodded and dispersed. Once they were gone, Iggy sighed and looked at Larry. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be." The last thing Larry saw before leaving the castle was the sight of Bowser waving at them through his tears. Larry sighed when he saw this. Man, I hope we find Junior soon.