Chapter 7 Mario the Therapist

"Bowser, can we just go home?"

"No! No, we cannot!" Bowser chuckled, looking down at Larry as they sat together in his Koopa Clown Car. "This is important, son!"

Larry sighed and shook his head. "I know you keep saying that, but…" he lifted his head and looked Bowser in the eye. "Can you at least tell me where we're going? I'd probably be a lot more on board with your plan if I knew what it was!"

A mischievous twinkle appeared in Bowser's eye. "It's a surprise." Larry groaned when he heard this, prompting Bowser to chuckle. "Oh, come on! You really need to practice patience, Larry!" He looked forward again. "Just trust me on this. I know what I'm doing."

Larry snorted. Bowser knew what he was doing… when had a statement like that ever rang true? He didn't know what he was doing when it came to kidnapping Peach, and just based on the little knowledge Larry had, he was starting to doubt Bowser knew what he was doing right now.

Although speaking of Peach, Larry finally noticed some aspects of the location they were flying over. They must've crossed over the Koopa Mushroom border, as emerald green grass and a variety of different flowers could be seen down below. Every few minutes or so, Larry even saw a Toad house.

"Bowser, what are we doing in the Mushroom Kingdom?" For a split second, Larry began to worry. Were they going to try and kidnap Peach again?

"You'll see." That was all that Bowser said, and unfortunately, it didn't do Larry's nerves any favors. If anything, it made him more anxious. They were going to kidnap Peach, weren't they? They were going to violate the peace treaty, and they were gonna set their kingdom back by at least five years…

Wait, wait, no, Larry needed to stop. He didn't even know if that was the case; he needed to stop worrying so much. Especially since, if he were to look at things logically, there were a few aspects to this scenario that didn't line up if it WAS a kidnapping mission. For example, why was Larry the only one present for this? Larry was NEVER by himself with Bowser when they went on kidnapping missions! Bowser Jr sometimes was, but when the Koopalings were involved, it was always all seven of them working together. In all the years since Bowser started kidnapping princesses, the Koopalings never worked alone.

Recalling this now, Larry did start to feel a little better. But even still, he couldn't help but wonder. There was a distinct purpose for coming to the Mushroom Kingdom. Larry didn't know what it was though; in fact, he didn't know ANYTHING about Bowser's motives. When Bowser approached him, he simply said "Come with me, Larry." That was it. No further details, no elaborating, nothing. And every time Larry tried to ask his adopted father about what his motives were, he always got the same response. He had got it when he Bowser first approached him, and he got it when he most recently asked five minutes ago. That being "it's a surprise."

So, Larry had no choice but to sit in silence and wonder what was going on. Did… wait. Did this have anything to do with his current mental state? Did this have anything to do with Tec? That would explain why Bowser wanted Larry by himself and none of his siblings to be present. But… ugh. Larry didn't know how to feel about that if it was the case. Should he be happy that Bowser was bringing somewhere that could potentially be of help to him? Or should he roll his eyes and internally berate his father for thinking that he had a chance of making Larry feel better? After all, nothing anyone did over the past few weeks aided in making Larry feel better.

Oh well. He supposed he just had to wait and see.

The Koopa Clown Car continued flying. Larry noticed that it was quite cloudy in the Mushroom Kingdom. It was like the place was expecting a rainstorm. Weird; the Mushroom Kingdom was always bright and sunny whenever Larry came here. Perhaps they just came to it on a bad day. Oh well, that didn't really matter. After a little bit more flying, Larry saw Toad Town down below him. This admittedly made his stomach churn. If they were in Toad Town, then that meant… yep, yep, there was Peach's Castle. When he saw it, Larry began praying in his head that they wouldn't stop there. They couldn't and they shouldn't. They couldn't, couldn't, COULDN'T…

Oh, damn it. Bowser set his Koopa Clown Car right down in the castle's front yard. This made Larry feel so much worse. This really was a kidnapping, wasn't it? Oh goodness gracious, could he even handle the stresses of a kidnapping mission right now? He couldn't even handle doing hero work, an activity he ACTUALLY enjoyed!

"Bowser…" Larry said as Bowser hopped down out of the Clown Car. "If you're doing what I think you're doing…"

"I'm not, Larry," Bowser said. He turned toward him, giving him a reassuring smile. "Just trust me, okay?"

Larry frowned. That was another thing; Bowser had loved to use the phrase "trust me" over the course of the last hour. Could Larry even do that? Well, even if he couldn't, it was kinda his only option right now, wasn't it? So… he had to do it. He had to push his fears and worries to the side in favor of believing Bowser would come through and bring something good to the table. So…

"Alright." Larry hopped down out of the Clown Car, and together the two walked up the path to the front door. When they got there, Bowser knocked on it, standing around in an almost giddy fashion. Meanwhile, Larry kept his eyes on the moat surrounding them. What would happen when that door was answered? Who would even answer it? What was the main reason behind all of this (seriously, Larry couldn't stop asking himself that, and it wasn't for lack of trying).

Eventually, the door was opened. Larry looked up, and he bit his lip when he saw Mario in the doorway. The plumber blinked, looking at Bowser and Larry in a way that was… not "shocked" per se, but it was definitely surprised.

"Bowser? Larry? What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Mario. Is it okay if we come in?"

Larry snorted; that didn't exactly answer Mario's question. Mario must've thought the same thing because the edge of his lips twitched as he looked up at Bowser. "Why? Why do you want to come in?"

Bowser looked down at Larry. "It's complicated." And that was it. That was all the confirmation Larry needed to know Bowser's motives. He was doing this to help Larry with his grief. He was doing this hoping that it could somehow relieve his pain. Larry held back a groan as he thought about this, feeling frustrated and miffed.

At least, to an extent. Half of him felt frustrated and miffed, the other half… actually hoped that this would turn out well. Sure, he didn't have a large supply of optimism right now, but… well, was there anything wrong with hoping for the best?

"Uh…" Mario squirmed a little, looking back into the castle before looking back at Bowser. "S… sure." He backed out of the doorway. "But I'm warning you; if you try anything funny, you're gonna regret it."

"Regret trying something funny? But I thought it was good to have a sense of humor!" Bowser laughed. The laughter died pretty quickly though as both Larry and Mario gave him raised eyebrows. "Okay, okay."

With that, the two Koopas came in. Mario told them to go to the meeting room, with him following BEHIND Bowser and Larry. This made sense, as it would be easier to keep an eye on them if they were in front of him, but… eh. Larry did find some amusement in that fact. Especially since it meant Mario trusted them enough to know where the meeting room was. Which… they did. They probably knew the castle better than those who lived and worked in it; how sad was that?

Anyway, the three of them got to the meeting room within no time. Mario closed the door behind them and went to take a seat at the head of the table. Bowser and Larry followed suit, all while Mario couldn't take his worried eyes off of them.

"So… what's going on here?"

And with that, Bowser began to explain the situation. He talked about what happened to Larry and Tec, as well as what Larry's emotional state had been like over the past two weeks. As he did, Larry noticed the plumber's eyes soften a little bit. He looked over at Larry with… wow, sympathy. Mario almost never gave the Koopalings sympathetic looks. At least, not before the seven of them turned into humans and Mario had to watch over them. But even still, these sympathetic looks… kinda didn't make Larry feel the best. He sunk a little in his chair, not making eye contact with the hero he had fought countless times before.

When Bowser finished, Mario's expression was completely different from when they came in. "Wow. Mama Mia…" his voice trailed off as he looked down at the table. He then looked at Larry. "I'm so sorry, Larry. You must feel horrible."

Larry sighed. "Yeah, I'm not exactly at one hundred percent." He sunk a little into the chair.

"Well, I don't think anyone should expect or demand that you be at one hundred percent…" Mario bit his lip. "But I will say, it's obvious that you need some help."

"Yes. He does." Larry lifted his head when he heard Bowser speak. That tone of voice… Larry couldn't recall ever hearing Bowser speak with it. "I…" Bowser sighed. "I'm gonna be real with you, Mario. Seeing Larry struggle like this is… hard. I don't… I don't like it." He looked back at Larry. "If there's anything that you can do to help him feel better, even just the tiniest bit, then I would owe you everything." He turned back to Mario. "I'll give you half the gold in the treasury. I'll pay for you and Peach to go on a dream vacation to Isle Delfino." Mario opened his mouth, but Bowser spoke up before he could. "WITHOUT me wrecking it."

Mario closed his mouth. He looked over at Larry, who had found the courage to lift himself up and look back. The levels of sympathy were going off charts that Larry would've never expected they'd top. And honestly, he didn't know how to feel about this. He really didn't. There were too many feelings to choose from, too many emotions zipping about in his head.

"Well…" Mario looked back at Bowser. "I may be able to help him. At least, a little bit. Given how he's been feeling, I would say don't expect him to be back to normal right away, if at all. But I can at the very least help him get on the right track to recovery." Mario looked back at Larry. "It might take a while, but I'm sure I can do it."

Bowser grinned. "Good! I'm glad to hear that; if there's one thing I think Larry needs right now, it's a good and helpful therapist." Bowser chuckled. "And considering you're a hero, a plumber, AND a doctor, I think that you would make a great therapist too!"

Mario blushed. "Um… thanks, I suppose?" He stood up from his chair. "I'll have Larry stay with me and Peach for a little bit. We can see where we can go from there."

"Great!" Bowser looked at Larry. "Does that sound like a good plan to you?"

Larry hesitated. "Uh, um…" he debated over what to say before clearing his throat. "At this point, I'll do anything to stop hurting."

"Okay, sounds good." Bowser got up from his chair. "I'll let you guys be." Bowser walked to the door. "Be on your best behavior kiddo. And Mario, as soon as you're done, make sure to call me! You know my number!"

"Yes. Yes, I do."

Bowser gave one last smile before walking out the door.