A New Friend

Far from Mushroom Kingdom, in the dark reaches of space exists a barren and creepy world. Its skies are filled with fowl gasses and empty of vegetation due to pollutants expelling out the planet's craters. But even in these horrid conditions there is life. The life forms however, are the creepy shroob race.

With their purple mushroom heads, blood red eyes and sharp claws, the shroobs have long adapted to the world they call home. Lately, they've grown discontent with their world and they sought a new home.

A month ago the shroobs' creepy eyes spotted the faraway Mushroom Kingdom. Its land was green and fertile and the residents lived in peace, with plenty to eat. Envy grew in the heart of the shroobs and they began to covet the beauty of Mushroom Kingdom.

The shroobs launched a vicious attack to seize the kingdom for themselves. But alas, it was not meant to be. With the aid of the Koopa Empire, the Mushroom Kingdom met the shroobs with force. The brief war ended in stalemate. And neither side has made a move since. Another outright war will have negative consequences for the shroobs. King Bowser made his threat clear to them.

But the stalemate has left the invaders agitated. They want that land. Yet the citizens dare not make a move until they receive word from their princesses.

When the shroobs are not gazing at the Mushroom Kingdom, all eyes are on the Shroobet Crater. For the shroob princesses dwell there, deep in a ruined castle, plotting their next move.

At the moment, Princess Shroob is sitting on her levitating throne, tapping her claws together and her gaze fixed ahead. Her blood red eyes follow her older twin sister as she paces back and forth. Both wear magenta dresses but Elder Princess Shroob is larger, broader, and more intimidating.

Angry, Elder Princess Shroob's pace picks up and she begins to growl under her breath. Her younger sister finally speaks, using the shroob's mother tongue.

"At ease my sister. We don't need to honor Peach's treaty for long."

Elder Princess Shroob roars in fury at the sound of that name.

"DESTROY!"

She raises her broad arms up and slams her fists into the ground! Pieces of the flooring go sailing throughout the throne room. Several guards recoil in fear. The outburst does not startle Princess Shroob; she is used to her sister's hot bloodedness.

"I underestimated Queen Peach. That should not have happened," Elder Princess Shroob mutters.

"She hides behind that koopa husband of hers."

"No. We must accept the truth. Underestimating her was our first problem."

Princess Shroob's calm demeanor vanishes for a moment and her mouth twists into a snarl. But she quickly calms down. "Noted …. But it is time we spread our influence."

Elder Princess Shroob grinds a fist into one of her other hand. "We need to hit even harder."

Her idea makes Princess Shroob sigh, "That is not what I meant. I say we wait. After all, you yourself just pointed out I was premature in ordering the invasion."

Missing her sister's cutting remark, Elder Princess Shroob rubs her chin. "Hmmm. Yes. Sometimes it is best to undermine the enemy before destroying them."

"The perfect moment is upon us with that event. I'll handle everything, sister."

"Yes, we will crush them!"

Elder Princess Shroob adjusts her gray crown with the tips of her claws. A fanged smirk finally forms on her frightening face. "Then we can laugh and dance over those silly toads' graves."

She motions towards the guards. They jump in fear.

"Guards!"

"Y-yes Your Majesty!"

"Where is my son?"

"O-oh? The prince? He is in his lab working."

"Have him come here. We are about to depart."

Bowser lifts up an armful of apples, cookie boxes, chips, juice boxes, and band aids to dump on a conveyor belt. He then furrows his bushy red eyebrows and shouts over his shoulder.

"Apricot, I'm at the checkout! Where are you? We gotta go!"

The cashier, a purple spotted toad, begins to scan the items. "Did you find everything you needed, Your Majesty?"

Bowser grunts, "For the most part. Apricot just needs to come up here with her chips….What is taking her so long?"

Bowser looks around and huffs. "Apricot! I'm about to leave!"

At that moment, his daughter ran up towards him - holding a bag of chips half her size. "NO! I have to have my hot fries!"

Her foot catches the edge of the bag and Apricot nearly stumbles but Bowser gently catches her. Initially startled, Apricot smiles in gratitude. Bowser playfully shakes his head as he admires her face with pride.

Apricot is considered human. But now that she is older, more of Bowser's features are showing themselves. Apricot has a cleft chin, small sharp teeth, and green spots run from her neck to her shoulders like him.

Bowser's eyes rest on her unruly red hair. Apricot hugs her bag and begins to jump.

"I'm ready, Papa!"

"One moment. Hold still, Potato," he whispers. He then scoops up her hair to plant into a side ponytail.

"Now put your chips on the counter."

Apricot nods and lifts the bag up. As she does so she spots candy on a nearby display. Her eyes light up and she looks up at Bowser.

"Papa! Can I -"

"No."

"But!"

"No."

Apricot whines and hugs his leg, now pouting. Bowser gently smooths her hair. "You'll thank me later, Darling."

Bowser would never admit it out loud, but he was an absolute brat when a kid. If he saw something he wanted, he wouldn't stop his destructive tantrums until he had it. Looking back, he is a little embarrassed over that. The last thing he wants is Apricot to be like that. But not understanding, Apricot continues to pout. She now looks like Peach at the moment and Bowser mentally restrains himself from changing his mind.

"Hey now, what do you say about the chips I'm buying?"

Apricot wipes her eyes and rubs her hands on her purple dress. "T-thank you."

Bowser bends to kiss her forehead. "You're welcome."

Apricot giggles and rubs her forehead. Once Bowser pays, she pulls the bags off the counter. She struggles to hold them but refuses help from her father.

"Potato, do you need help with that? We can put them in the cart."

"I want to hold the bags! I can do it!"

Bowser chuckles and pulls out his phone. He briefly admires his Peach wallpaper before unlocking the phone. Carefully holding it between his thumb and index finger, Bowser calls Peach.

"We're finally on our way, Peaches."

He hears Peach giggle on the other side.

"Okay, I'm waiting in front of the Azalea Plaza. I finished shopping for Junior's suits."

"Awesome, see you later, Beautiful."

Bowser ends the call and looks down at Apricot. "Whew. What a busy day, huh? But I think we have everything."

Bowser begins to push the shopping cart (which is holding a child seat) and then looks around. "We're missing one. Apricot, where is your brother?"

Apricot stands on her toes to look into the cart. "Which one?"

Bowser's jaw drops as he looks down at the empty child seat in his shopping cart. "What!? I didn't hear….When did he …!?"

Standing in front of an arcade machine, Bowser Junior pushes buttons while moving a joystick. The kong character he is controlling leaps from tree to tree, dodging falling barrels.

"That golden banana is mine! Just a few more and I'll beat the high score!"

As the kong gets to the top, he is confronted by the spider boss. It roars and spits webs at the kong. Junior's tongue sticks out while he maneuvers around the dangerous projectiles. So focused on his task, Junior doesn't notice the tiny, strawberry blond baby crawling up behind him. The human infant pauses and his large red eyes focus on Junior.

"Goo!"

Junior turns, his expression shocked. "Lemon! I thought you were with Papa!"

Junior stops what he is doing and scoops up his brother. Lemon giggles with delight now that he is in Junior's arms.

With his younger brother secured, Junior runs back to the arcade machine. Using his free hand, he tries to complete the level.

"I can still beat this!"

A frantic announcement is made over the intercom asking customers and employees to look for Prince Lemon Bowser Koopa.

"Papa!" Junior yells over his shoulder. "I have him with me!"

Soon Apricot runs up to Junior dragging grocery bags. She gives him a wide gapped-tooth smile. "BJ, look at me, I can hold all this." Apricot notices the game and drops the bags. "Oh, are you playing a game!? Let me help you please!"

Apricot runs to grab the joystick. Following her lead, Lemon attempts to mash the buttons. Both believe they are helping their big brother. But Junior groans as he holds back his siblings from messing up his gameplay. An image of the koopalings mocking Junior pop up in his head. As the former youngest, Junior was always giving his older cousins trouble. Now he understands what they went through. How the tables have turned….

"My family is so chaotic," Junior cries out.

As he cannot reach the joy stick, Junior can only watch in horror as his character is about to die. He could simply put in another quarter to restart. But there is no time; Bowser has finished shopping and will insist on going home. Junior's journey to beating the high score is over.

All of a sudden, a human teen wearing a white and magenta cap rushes to Junior's side. Junior has to look up at her as she is a head taller than him. "Huh?"

The girl takes hold of the joy stick while holding Apricot. Her tone is calm and measured as she speaks. "Tell me where to move. You handle the jump button."

Junior snaps to attention.

"L-left!"

With a quick move the ape narrowly dodges the incoming attack. Junior frantically shouts commands to the human and she follows each one. They successfully maneuver around the boss and secure the last golden banana.

With a new record set, Junior cheers. Tail wagging and grinning from horn to horn, he raises his free hand up to the girl for a high five. Her half-lidded eyes remain unchanged as she hesitantly meets him. In contrast to Junior's bright smile, her reaction is more of a subtle smirk.

"Thanks!"

The teen shrugs and her smirk disappears. She releases Apricot to rejoin Junior. "I was following the baby to turn him in when I saw your predicament."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Junior sputters. He bows and has Apricot do so as well.

"It's no problem, I'm just glad the little guy is okay. You need help with the bags?"

Apricot frowns, "No! I have it!"

"Well, I better go. I got to catch up with my group."

Junior looks at her. "Are you from Sarasaland??"

"No. Just on a field trip for my school." She slowly waves and turns to leave. She then pauses.

"They are your siblings?"

Junior looks at the troublemakers and smiles. He hugs them close. "Yeah."

A small smile appears on the teen's face though her eyes remain unchanged. "Interesting…. They're cute."

Junior laughs, "And a handful."

"And what are you?"

Surprised, Junior hesitantly points at himself. "Me? I'm a koopa. Have you never seen one before?"

"Nope, I'm not from this dimension."

With that the girl ends the conversation and keeps walking. Junior looks at Lemon while still hugging Apricot. "She was cool wasn't she?"

Lemon softly coos. But Apricot pokes her bottom lip out. "I could have helped, you!"

Junior giggles and nuzzles his sister. "Next time, alright?"

"Okay…"

"Good. Now let's go find Papa before he pops a blood vein!"

With a skip in his walk Junior leads his siblings to the front of the store. Waiting for them is Bowser tapping his foot.

"Junior, I swear I never heard Lemon get out."

"He is a sneak at home, Papa. He gives the toad retainers jump scares."

"My little sweet terror!" Bowser lifts Lemon up with one hand and kisses him on the cheek. Lemon snuggles against his father's face. Bowser then looks down at his other kids. "We gotta hurry. Your mom is waiting at the corner."

As he leads them outside, Bowser makes an announcement, "One more week and we'll be leaving for Sarasaland!"

Apricot jumps up and down. "Auntie Daisy!"

"Yep!" Bowser's eyes flick to Junior. "And this will be your official debut, Son. To my allies and to my empire! Everyone will get to see my perfect and awesome successor. It'll be great!"

Junior holds his stomach and gives a watery smile. "Perfect? ... Y-yeah."

In a simple sundress, Peach waits under a palm tree. She twirls her parasol as she examines her surroundings. Behind her are stacks of boxes decorated with ribbons. Her retainers are currently organizing them to ship to the Darklands.

"Peach, did Junior need all this!?" Berry asks as he stops a tower of boxes from falling.

Peach taps her chin. "Sorry, Berry. I just want Junior to look his best! He'll be meeting all sorts of rulers."

"He'll do great. He did sit on Bowser's throne by himself for a time…."

"I know. I can't help but worry though….."

Peach sighs and turns back around to continue observing her surroundings. Up the street, human children line up to board a bus. A tall woman in a red suit organizes the kids. She looks like she could do work as a fashion model.

"Remember, kids. We are in another dimension. So, we need to know where you are at all times!"

Peach stands up and approaches the group, her curiosity taking over. She notices the company emblem for Wario Wares on the bus. Curiosity turns to excitement and Peach catches the attention of the woman. "Excuse me, are Wario and Waluigi nearby? They're old friends of mine."

"Wario and Waluigi? No, they sponsored the trip but they're elsewhere. I'm sorry."

Peach looks down and twirls her parasol. "Oh, I see."

The woman holds her hand out. "Maybe they'll visit later. But you must be the monarch of the Mushroom Kingdom. I'm Pauline."

Forgetting her disappointment, Peach happily accepts Pauline's handshake.

"I heard Vert was arranging trips for foreign tourists. I hope you all are enjoying yourself."

Pauline's red lips form into a smile. "This has been an unforgettable experience, especially for the kids! The toads' houses are adorable! This place looks like a fairy tale!"

Peach points down a particular street. "Oh do stop at one of the bakeries to try out the cakes. And tell the owners the queen will handle the expense."

Pauline's eyes lit up. "Really!?"

"Really!"

Pauline covers her mouth and chuckles. "Well, if you ever visit Earth, stop by Brooklyn! My husband makes excellent pasta dishes."

"That sounds..."

Bowser's voice interrupts the conversation. "Peaches!"

Peach turns in the direction of his voice. "Over here, Teddy Bear."

Bowser gently locks eyes with Peach as he and the kids approach. As they do so, the human teen reappears at Pauline's side.

Pauline notices her presence. "There you are Marilyn!"

The girl is now looking at her phone. "Hey Aunt Pauline…."

Junior recognizes Marilyn and smiles. "Marilyn? That's your name?" He asks.

"Yeah."

Junior puffs his chest out. "Well I'm Bowser Jr.! But you can just call me Junior!"

Peach looks down at Junior and clamps her hands over her heart. "You made a friend, Junior?"

Marilyn lifts her eyes briefly to give her a small smile.

Looking at her watch, Pauline waves at the royal family and escorts Marilyn away. "We're short on time and we have a few more stops! Later!"

After they're out of hearing, Peach puts a hand on her hip. "Junior, you should have gotten your friend's phone number!" she complains.

"But she lives in another world!"

Bowser crosses his arms. "That doesn't matter. You have an interdimensional phone."

Junior scratches the back of his neck. "I don't need any friends my age. They get intimidated with me anyway."

Apricot clings to Junior. "I'm your friend."

"Ha ha ha! You sure are! Best friend!"

Peach squeezes Junior's shoulder comfortingly. She then smiles at Bowser and holds his hand. "Lemon, did you behave for your father?"

The infant squirms in Bowser's arm and reaches for Peach. Bowser looks at Peach with tired eyes as she places Lemon on her hip.

She smiles and stands on the tips of her toes to kiss his cheek. "I guess our dinner date will have to wait."

"Peach, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you later."

"No, we've been busy. You need your rest before the trip." The queen then turns to Junior and Apricot. "We better go home to get some sleep."

"Lead the way," Bowser murmurs. He allows Peach to pull him along.

Junior picks up Apricot and follows his parents. He is dreading the tour. However, despite the apprehension, Junior doesn't want to let his father down. Bowser is excited about the tour. So, Junior tells himself he can handle anything. But the uncomfortable churning in his stomach continues.

Noticing, Apricot leans into Jr.'s neck. "Are you okay, BJ?"

Junior gives her a smug smile. He can't look weak in front of Apricot. She looks up to him! "What do you mean okay? I'm doing excellent, Sis!"

As the bus departs from the mall, Marilyn looks out the window. Pauline is standing in the front, talking to the driver.

A student hangs his head over Marilyn's seat. He opens a pamphlet to show Marilyn a portrait of Peach and Bowser. "You got to meet the royal family!? I'm so jealous!"

Marilyn shrugs and blushes. She was not expecting attention from Lenix today. His friends join in on the conversation.

"The father is bigger than I thought!"

"Did you see the size of those muscles. He must work out everyday!"

"Bet Super Mario can beat his tail! Mario defeated that Smithy guy to save Earth!"

Another boy turns around. "No he can't! Luigi beat Smithy!"

"Don't say that in front of Marilyn you jerk!"

"But it's true!"

"You're being biased!"

As a power scalingargument breaks out, Lenix presses Marilyn for more information. "Did you get to talk to the queen?"

"I ... .talked to the prince. He is a good brother."

Marilyn involuntarily smiles then. This trip has been wonderful. So many strange sights and different species. She even made an acquaintance! And Lenix is actually talking to her. Marilyn briefly wonders how her uncles, Mario and Luigi, felt during their adventures beyond Earth. Before Marilyn can continue the conversation, snickering interrupts her. Across from her are two girls she did not want to see.

The taller one, Alli, flicks her hair. Obviously, she has a problem with everyone focusing on Marilyn. "I'm sure the 'queen' did not notice Marilyn. Her attention was on Mayor Pauline. But I think the piantas are people Marilyn would get along with!"

Alli takes her hand and holds it over her nose. Marilyn covers her large nose, now fuming.

"You guys need a hobby," Lenix frowns. He sits back down and looks out the window.

"We're just stating the truth." The girls giggle and turn to each other.

Alli whispers, "Hey, for our trip presentation, we can highlight the piantas! It'll be so funny!"

Marilyn could tell Pauline what is going on. But that would just put more unwanted attention on herself. So, Marilyn sinks into her chair; her excitement is now gone. She feels miserable and wants the trip to be over with.