(A/N: Holy cow, I actually took this story to 8 chapters! I know what you're looking forward to, so I shall start this chapter for your reading pleasure.)

Bowser Jr. watched quietly as the next movie began. It started with Bowser entering the castle after a busy day of running errands around his kingdom. He seemed pretty tired, but very surprised to find a really excited Clawdia running up to him, telling him that she had some very exciting news for him.

"Really? Aren't you going to tell me what it is?" Bowser asked his wife.

"Why don't I just show you instead? Come on! You are going to be so surprised when you see it!" Clawdia said, barely containing her excitement, and she seized his arm and dragged him up the stairs, to their room, where something was on their bed, and it was covered with a soft blanket.

"What, may I ask, is that?" Bowser asked, pointing to the blanket-covered object on the bed.

"Oh gee, I haven't the foggiest. Why don't you pick up that blanket and tell me what you see underneath it?" Clawdia suggested, doing her best to keep quiet and not give away the surprise.

Bowser shrugged, but he did as his wife asked and picked up the blanket. And what it concealed caused him to gasp and drop the blanket, covering the object again.

"Was that... what I think it was?" Bowser asked, eyes wide as he looked back at his grinning wife.

"What do you think it was?" Clawdia asked, smiling even more.

"If you're going to tell me that it's an egg..." Bowser started.

"That's exactly what it is, Bowser. And more importantly, I laid it this morning while you were out. We've finally done it! That egg is our first biological child!" Clawdia told him as she uncovered the egg again so he could see it.

"It's about time!" Bowser cheered, giving his wife a big hug, which she happily returned.

"Do the Koopalings know about this egg?" Bowser asked after ending the hug.

"Yes, dear. They and Kamek know about it already, but I told them that I needed to tell you first because you probably wouldn't have believed them. They've been trying to avoid seeing you in order to avoid spilling the beans before I could tell you about it." Clawdia explained.

"Oh. Well, the secret's out, so they can come out now." Bowser said.

"Finally!" Kamek's voice was heard saying on the DVD.

"What the-?! Kamek! How long have you been watching us?" Bowser asked in surprise as Clawdia burst out laughing at her husband's reaction to this.

"The moment Clawdia said she saw you coming. Earlier on, I suggested to her that I would record your reaction to this little announcement, and she agreed to it. I can hardly wait for you watch this movie so you can see the look on your face when you saw the egg." Kamek replied.

"Is that me in the egg?" Jr. asked.

"That's you, Jr. You can see that your parents were very excited when they learned that you were coming." Kamek replied.

There were also some clips of the Koopalings admiring the egg that housed Bowser Jr. They were like very young kids as they looked at it. And they were constantly asking Bowser and Clawdia all sorts of questions about the baby in that egg, like when it was going to be born, what was it going to look like, and most importantly, if it was going to be a boy or a girl. Wendy almost hoped it was a girl, so she would have a sister. She felt like a lonely little island in a sea of males.

"Tough luck, Wendy. I was born a boy, and I intend to stay that way." Jr. told her as he listened to her say that she was hoping for a sister.

"That's okay. I wasn't too upset when Daddykins told me that since you were a boy, I'm still his favorite daughter." Wendy told him.

"Yeah, but this means you don't have any sisters to do any of your favorite stupid girly things with." Roy reminded her.

"Go soak your head!" Wendy growled at him.

"Be quiet!" Kamek scolded them, causing the kids to shut up and watch the movie.

And then Jr. was watching the moment where he was hatching from his egg. The whole family had been watching the egg with extreme excitement.

"Oh my goodness! It's time!" Clawdia said with a bright, excited smile.

"Oh yeah! Here it comes!" Bowser exclaimed.

"What is it going to be?" asked Larry.

"Let's see!" said Wendy.

Then the egg finally hatched, and everyone was looking at the baby Koopa that had been in it. That baby was none other than Bowser Jr.

"AWWWWWW!" everyone on the DVD said as they got their first look at Bowser Jr., who was looking at everyone curiously.

"Come here, you sweet thing!" Clawdia cooed happily as she walked over to the newborn Koopa, lifting him into her arms and wrapping him in a soft green blanket.

Jr. was finally seeing what it was like for him to be loved by his real mama. And he watched as his mother showed him to his father.

"Look at him! He looks so much like you!" Clawdia told Bowser, who couldn't help smiling proudly. Then she turned her attention back to the child in her arms. She gave him a loving look and hugged him close to her as she whispered to him, "Welcome to the world, little one. We've been looking forward to meeting you!" She even gave the child a quick kiss on the head.

"So that's my real Mama. She loved me more than Peach does." Jr. thought as he watched his real mother interacting with him as a newborn.

While everyone on the DVD was admiring the sight of the newborn Koopa prince, the actual Bowser walked into the entertainment room, saying, "So this is where you guys went! I wanted to tell you that the meeting is over, so I thought that maybe we could..." But then he trailed off as he saw what Kamek and his children were watching.

"What in the world?! Are you guys watching what I think you're watching?!" Bowser asked in shock, recognizing the movie that was playing.

"If you think it's the movie about Jr.'s birth, then you're correct." said Larry.

"Where in the world did you find that video?!" Bowser asked.

"Oh, I converted all of your old video tapes into DVDs at the beginning of the year that you lied to Jr., and I left them in a box in your closet. I thought you would have noticed them, but it's obvious you didn't." Kamek said.

"And since you weren't going to tell Jr. about Queen Mom anytime soon, we decided that the old saying was correct." said Roy.

"What old saying?" asked Bowser.

"'If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself'. With that in mind, we took the liberty of telling Jr. who his real mother is for you. Now he knows about Queen Mom and how much she loved him." said Morton.

"Yeah, Papa. Now that I've seen your wedding day, and the video of my birth, I think we need to have a very serious talk. And I mean NOW, mister!" Jr. demanded as he got off the couch, looking angry.

"Oh boy, here comes the hurricane..." Bowser thought as Jr. began motioning for him to follow him.

"Good luck, Sire!" Kamek called as Bowser followed his son.

Bowser knew he was in trouble now. He didn't tell Jr. the whole truth, and thanks to his negligence, his son had to find out the truth the hard way. And now Jr. wanted to hear it from him, since the camera never lies.

The father and son duo made their way to Jr.'s room, and once they were inside the room, Bowser sat down on the floor, Jr. closed the door, and said, "All right, Papa, answer me straight about that woman I was seeing in the movies with you. She's my real mama, am I right?"

"You're right, Jr. The movies didn't lie to you. Queen Clawdia of the Koopas... is your mom." Bowser replied, before adding in his mind, "Or, at least she was."

"Where is she now, Papa?! What happened to my real Mama?! Tell me now, and promise me that this time, you'll tell me the TRUTH!" Jr. demanded.

Bowser sighed heavily as he looked at the floor. This was the part he hated to tell his child. He looked sad as he said, "I don't know how to tell you this, Jr., but... your mother is... well, she... she passed on... while you were still an infant."

"Huh? What does that mean?" Jr. asked, unfamiliar with the term 'passed on'.

"It means that she died... of an unknown illness. And you don't remember her, or much of anything about her because you were still a tiny baby when it happened." Bowser explained.

"She died?" Jr. asked.

"Yes, Jr." Bowser replied.

"What does that mean?" Jr. asked.

"It means that your mother went to sleep... and she isn't ever going to wake up. She's gone forever. But I can tell you right now that you can't blame Mario for her death; he never bothered me when your mother and I were married (since I left Peach alone during our marriage). And I'm very sorry to tell you this, but not even Kamek knows any spells that can bring back the dead." Bowser told him.

"So... are you saying that I don't have a mama?" Jr. asked, sounding a little sad at the idea.

Bowser groaned. He was afraid that news would make Jr. sad.

"You had one, as you were seeing in the movie where you were born. And I'm sure you could see that I wasn't lying when I told you that your mom loved you more than you'll ever know." Bowser said.

"I saw. I could tell that she really loved me." Jr. said. He looked at Bowser and asked, "Why didn't you just tell me about her from the start?"

"Because I didn't really know how to tell you that your mother is no longer with us. How does one tell a child your age about death? And I was also afraid to reopen that old, painful wound for me and the Koopalings, and open a new one for you." Bowser replied.

"So you decided to tell me a lie." Jr. said.

"Not at first. At the time you had inquired about your mother, I was busy trying to come up with a new plan to kidnap Princess Peach." Bowser said.

"Ohhh..." Jr. said. Now he could kind of see what brought on the lie.

"But I was having trouble figuring out how to tell you just what happened to your mom in a way you could understand without being hurt, and all of my kidnapping ideas seemed so stupid. In the end, I realized that since you were far too young to remember your mom when she died, and we never spoke about her before, I combined both ideas into one." Bowser said.

"You never should have lied to me about something like that, Papa." Jr. said, turning away from Bowser.

"I know that it was wrong for me to lie to you about who your mother was, and I'm really sorry I did it. But I knew that at your age, you would never be able to handle the truth. I wanted to give you some hope that your mother was out there. I was sure that maybe Peach wouldn't mind being a mommy to you." Bowser said.

"And yet she's not. Because my mama died." Jr. said.

"Your mama really didn't want to leave you, Jr. She hadn't planned on leaving any of us. And believe me when I tell you that we tried everything we could think of to try and help her get better, but it just wasn't enough." Bowser said, feeling pained as he thought about his beloved late wife, and how much he missed having her in his life. He still had the kids, but that didn't really make up for losing Clawdia. She was the reason Jr. was here, and the reason why the Koopalings lived here.

Jr. softened a little at the sight of his father looking so upset, and he asked, "You really do miss Mama, don't you?"

"She was my better half, Jr. I'm still trying to get Peach to have me, but even if I can someday win her love, I know that no one, not even Peach, can ever take your mother's place in my heart. I still love her. I'll always love her." Bowser said.

"I guess you're right about that, even if I can't really remember her." Jr. said as he walked over to his father. Then he crawled into Bowser's lap and added, "But since you know her well, can you please tell me more about her? I only saw her in your wedding video, and in the movie where I was born, and that isn't enough."

"Oh, that'll be easy." Bowser promised, a small smile on his face. Then he added, "But first, I need to ask Kamek for his help with something." He carried Jr. as he ran back to the entertainment room where Kamek and the Koopalings were celebrating their victory by watching the home movies that were made before Jr. was conceived.

The current movie showed Bowser and Clawdia in the drawing room with the Koopalings. The Koopa King and Queen were teaching their children how to play 'charades', and they seemed to be having a fine old time.

"Oh yeah! I remember when King Dad and Queen Mom taught the 7 of us how to play charades! That was a super fun weekend!" Wendy said with a reminiscent smile on her face as she watched Bowser get up and do a charade that had to do with sports.

Bowser was not surprised when he saw that they were watching more home movies, but he figured that he deserved to see the kids enjoying reminders of the woman they all missed. He was standing in the doorway as he said in a loud whisper, "Psst. Hey, Kamek, can I borrow you for a minute?"

Kamek noticed Bowser and said, "Please excuse me for a minute, kids. I need to see a Koopa about honesty." Then he left the room, asking, "What is it, Sire?"

"The photo albums. I need you to put them right so I can show Jr. what the family was really like with Clawdia as his mother, rather than Princess Peach." Bowser replied.

"You finally told him who she really was?" Kamek asked in surprise.

"I had no other choice. You showed him movies with Clawdia in them, so I told him the truth. He isn't happy with me for lying, but he wants to know more about his late mother." Bowser said.

Kamek got the biggest grin ever as he said, "YES, SIRE!" He jumped on his broomstick (which he always had on him) to fly up to Bowser's room. He took out the albums and happily cast the spell that put them right. When he opened one, he was pleased to see the pictures as they were supposed to be, with Clawdia in place of Peach.

"Finally!" Kamek said brightly, smiling with satisfaction at Clawdia's image. Then he went back downstairs and said, "Show the boy his mommy." Then he rejoined the Koopalings, who were enjoying another scene in the movie.

Bowser then took Jr. up to his room and showed him the albums with the pictures the right way, and told him what he needed to know about his mother.

"You might have noticed that your head is a light green color. You got that from her." Bowser pointed out.

"I see." Jr. said as he looked at a photo of his mother holding him close. That was a match.

"And your artistic ability comes from her, too. She was a very good artist, and I'm pleased to see that you inherited her ability to make fine art." Bowser said.

"Cool! So I'm kind of like Mama?" Bowser Jr. asked.

"Oh yes, Jr. Your over-excitement about great things like your birthday, a vacation, a great idea, or something like that also came from her. I can see a lot of her in you." Bowser added.

Jr. had to smile at that news, and Bowser said, "And your happy smile also came from her. Even your eyes sparkle like hers did whenever she was happy. Check it out." He even showed him a picture of Clawdia with a happy smile on her face. Yup, Bowser saw the resemblance.

"Is there anything else, Papa?" Jr. asked.

"Ah, yes. There was her hot temper. You got that from her as well." Bowser said.

"What? I thought I got that from you." Jr. said.

"No, your mother was worse than I was whenever she got angry. Oh boy, she was scary enough to haunt Godzilla in his nightmares when she got mad!" Bowser told him with a slight laugh, before adding, "But no matter how angry she got at me, I knew in my heart that I would never stop loving her. I told her that all the time, even when she was near the end of her life."

"Did she say anything to me before she died?" Jr. asked.

Bowser thought for a moment, and he had difficulty holding back his sadness as he said, "Yes, Jr. I remember that I handed you to her, and as she looked at you, she said, 'My sweet, special little prince. I love you more than you'll ever know. I can only promise you that from now on, I will watch after you as your guardian angel. I'll always be with you.'"

Jr. clung to his father and buried his face in his plastron when he heard that. Bowser didn't know if those words made him choke up, or if the boy was trying to comfort him. He had a feeling it might be the former; he was sure he heard Jr. trying not to cry. He hugged the child close in a bid to try and comfort him.

"After that... she turned to me... placed you back in my arms, and she said, 'Be sure to tell our son... that his mother loves him... without end.' I told her... that I would... and I did... Only I lied about who she was... And that was my worst mistake... I'm so sorry..." Bowser said. And that's when he started to cry.

The two Koopas cried together for a few minutes. Jr. was relieved that his mother really had loved him because Peach didn't, but he was sad that he had been too young to remember her. And Bowser felt like a moron for telling his child a lie about the wrong woman. But he did feel a whole lot better now that he told the truth.

"So... my mama really did love me... I hoped she had..." Jr. replied when his sobs had finally reduced to light sniffles.

"She was one-in-a-million, Jr. I know what you're thinking, but I have to tell you that I never stopped loving her, even though I'm still going to try and pursue a relationship with Princess Peach so you kids will have the most beautiful step-mom." Bowser said after regaining his composure.

"I... I understand." Jr. said, using his bandana to dry his eyes.

"But after what she's been put through back at Isle Delfino, you can't really call her your mother yet. Not until I'm married to her. Do you understand?" Bowser asked in a warning tone.

"Yes, Papa. I won't call her that anymore. At least, I won't do it until the deed is done." Jr. replied.

"Good." Bowser said. Then he looked his son in the eyes and said, "And I want you to know that I really am sorry for not telling you the truth the first time. Kamek knew that I was doing the wrong thing, and he tried to tell me that there was a big difference between lying and keeping the truth hidden, but... I really didn't want to risk hurting you. Can you ever forgive me for lying to you about your mother?"

"Well, Papa, I'm not going to lie. I am hurt that you lied to me, but you looked me in the eyes when you said you were sorry, and that I inherited some things from my mama. That makes me feel a lot better. Plus, you're all I have left. I can give you another chance." Jr. said, and he gave Bowser a hug, which Bowser happily returned.

"I love you as much as your mother did, and I'm really sorry for betraying your trust." Bowser whispered.

"At least you had a valid reason for doing it. But I forgive you. I love you, too, Papa." Jr. replied, feeling better in his father's hug.

*Click*

Bowser and Jr. turned to see Wendy holding a pink digital camera, and she said, "Aww... and that's going to be a nice, new one for the current album."

"Wendy, how long have you been standing there?" Bowser asked his adopted daughter.

"About a minute, Daddykins." Wendy replied.

"Your eyes say longer." Bowser said.

"I'm not the one who was lied to about his mommy." Wendy retorted.

Bowser sighed. He knew she'd play that card. Then he said, "I know. I told your brother that I was sorry, and I just got done letting him know what his real mom was like."

"Kamek already told us that you were going to tell him, and that you asked him to put the photo albums right again. Now maybe we can look at them again sometime? Seeing the home movies made us feel the need to look over the pictures once more, especially now that Kamek was allowed to put them right." Wendy said.

"Tomorrow night, after you and your siblings are ready for bed. I already went over them with Jr.; I need a little break." Bowser promised.

"Fair enough." Wendy said.

At the end of the day, the Koopa family was okay again, except for the fact that the Koopalings still didn't want Peach as their mother. They weren't going to change their minds about that.

"At least I told Jr. the truth, and he forgave me for lying to him." Bowser thought.

The End

Now, there is a sequel to this story, but it takes place further in the timeline, around the time of Mario's Big Decision and during and after the events of Super Mario's Happily Ever After. I hope you enjoyed this story, and please stay tuned for the sequel!