AN: Hey guys, guess what! This remake now has more chapters than the original! WAHOO!

Chapter 17 Go to the Snow

Kamella's heart pounded. She was very much aware of the Koopas outside; they stuck in her mind like a splinter. She even began to cry, not so much because she was sad, but more so because her stress levels were at an all-time high. She had only one objective on her mind, one objective that clouded everything else.

She eventually got to Junior's room. With shaking hands, she knocked on the door. "Junior? Can you open the door? I need to talk to you."

The door flew open immediately. Junior stood in the doorway, and when he saw the worry in his new guardian's eyes, his brow furrowed. "Mom? Is everything okay?"

Kamella drew in a shaky breath. "Give me a second." She entered the room, closed the door behind her, and gestured for Junior to come with her into the closet. The former prince blinked upon seeing this but did exactly what he was told. The closet door closed behind both of them, and Kamella used her wand to illuminate the tiny space (it was becoming immediately obvious that this closet wasn't designed for two people to stuff themselves inside it). The way Junior's face looked in the lighting, along with the increasing feeling of claustrophobia, combined to create a cocktail of worry and fear. And even though she didn't want to, Kamella was currently drinking that cocktail. Gulping it down like a fish and leaving not one drop left for someone else to sip, as a matter of fact.

"Mom? What's going on?"

Kamella took in another breath, this one shaky and shallow. "I have some bad news." She looked Junior right in the eye, figuring that the best thing to do would be giving it to him straight and being honest with him. "Your siblings are outside."

Junior gasped. "What? As in… they're standing outside the house right now? They know that I'm in here with you?"

Kamella wiped some sweat off her brow. "No. They don't know what your exact location is. At least, not yet." Junior let out a breath and put his hand to his chest. Kamella didn't share in his relief though; not even a little bit. "But they are outside, calling your name." Junior whimpered when she said that, an action that broke Kamella's heart. "They're clearly trying to locate you, which…" Kamella took in a deep breath. "While this isn't a certainty, there is a good chance that they could find out that you're currently in here with me and come to get you."

Junior frowned, biting his lip. He looked toward the opposite side of the closet, shaking in the wand's light. His shadow was cast against the wall to his right, the same wall that he was currently looking in the direction of. He whimpered some more, which just made Kamella feel even worse.

"Junior…" she struggled with what to say, knowing what words were required in this scenario. She knew she had to say them, but… oh, they hurt so much! Even just thinking about them made her feel sick to her stomach, which was saying something as she had a stronger stomach than most. "We… we have some options in this scenario." She adjusted her glasses, trying to determine if she had the strength to say this. "We…" she swallowed a lump. "We can go outside right now and give you back to them. They're clearly worried sick about you, and won't stop at nothing to discover your current location. So… in that sense, them finding you is kind of inevitable."

Junior bit his lip extra hard and turned back to Kamella. "And what's the other option?"

Kamella cleared her throat. "The other option is delaying the inevitable." She adjusted her glasses again (that was something she did a lot when dealing with nerves). "We can locate to another location, one far away. We can get away from your brothers and try to settle down somewhere else. Again, that would just be delaying the inevitable, but at the very least it would buy us some time."

Junior looked down at the ground, a thoughtful twinkle in his eyes. "And what location could we relocate to exactly?" He looked Kamella in the eye, which just made her squirm. "And how exactly would we get to that location? We can't even leave the house without risking my siblings spotting me."

"True. Except you're forgetting one thing." She held out her wand, practically pressing it against Junior's face. "I'm a magikoopa. And magikoopas…"

"Have teleportation spells!" Junior and Kamella said in unison. All at once, the worry disappeared from Junior's face, at least a little bit. "That's right! We can just teleport somewhere else!" He frowned. "But where would we teleport to?"

A smile, one cheeky and excited, graced Kamella's lips. "Well, I have a cabin in World 3. I was thinking we go there."

"W… World 3?" Junior's frown got deeper. "That's a… chilly place."

"It is. I won't deny it. But my cabin will keep us warm. It's very cozy, and it even has a fireplace that I can light." Kamella's smile transitioned into a warm one. "We can snuggle by that fire. I can tell you stories. I can make you some tea and stuff. I can do all sorts of things in that cabin."

By this point, Junior's eyes were sparkling. "That sounds incredible," he whispered. He grinned, the expression getting bigger and bigger. "I like that idea. I say we should do that!"

Kamella smiled right back at her new son. "I had a feeling you'd say that." She raised her wand before pausing. She told herself in her mind to chant the teleportation incantation, but she couldn't. She tried to force herself to speak, but she couldn't. And that wasn't for lack of effort.

"Mom?" Junior started shaking all over again. "Mom, what's wrong?"

Realizing that she needed to be honest with Junior once again, she grunted and put her wand down. Junior raised an eyebrow at this action, so Kamella took in another deep breath.

"I just… Junior, your family is putting their all into finding you. And… I know you don't want to hear me say this, but the fact is… they probably miss you. They probably want you back more than anything. And keeping you away from them would only cause them more pain."

Junior gawked at Kamella before tilting his head toward the ground. As he gripped his hands into fists, a dark shadow loomed over his eyes. It was admittedly a rather scary sight to see, so much so that Kamella felt even more squirmy than she had earlier during this conversation.

"Junior?"

The prince lifted his head, and Kamella had to do a double take. There was anger in his eyes. Not sadness, not fear, just anger. Legitimate and horrible anger.

"They might be looking for me, but that doesn't mean they miss me." A vein bulged in Junior's head. "They're probably not doing it because they chose to. They're probably just doing it because that's what my Dad told them to do."

Kamella frowned. "That… that may be true. But if your dad ordered them to look for you, then clearly at the very least HE misses you…"

"And why should I care about how he feels!" Junior spat out. Kamella, gasping, took a step backward as Junior looked ready to delve into a screaming fit. "He's stupid! He's the most moronic parent a Koopa could possibly have! And the feelings of an idiot, especially the idiot who chose to carry on the WORST tradition in Koopa Kingdom history, shouldn't be acknowledged."

Kamella's jaw dropped at him. "Junior…"

"And even if that wasn't the case, I wouldn't want to go back to my family anyway!" Tears welled up in Junior's eyes, not going unnoticed by Kamella for even a millisecond. "They HATE me! Ludwig said that loving me is difficult sometimes! And if he feels that way, that means the others probably feel the same way."

Kamella adjusted her glasses with one hand and fidgeted with her wand in another. "Uh… that's not…"

"So NO! I don't care if they're looking for me! I don't care! I'm happy with you, Kamella. YOU'RE my new family. Bowser and the Koopalings?" Junior gritted his teeth. "They're dead to me."

Like it so often did after shocking statements, silence settled in upon the scene. Kamella didn't know what to do nor what to say. She couldn't turn away from the seething Junior even though every last neuron in her brain was telling her to. She tried to digest what he just said, but honestly? She didn't want to. It was just… wow.

"I… I see." Kamella firmly grasped her wand. "If… if you feel that way… I suppose I can't dissuade you." She cleared her throat. "But like I said before, them finding you is probably inevitable."

"I know. I know you said that. And if it is… well, they'd better be weary of when they do find me. Cause I'm not leaving this life behind without a fight."

The dark tone the prince spoke with, the absolute heat in his eyes… for a second, Kamella forgot that Junior was only seven. She felt like she was talking to a world-weary adult, an adult who had been through hell and therefore had a lot of hidden anger and hate brewing within their soul. It… it was terrifying! Kamella wouldn't say otherwise; this was a terrifying scenario. It legitimately sent shivers down her spine.

"Okay," she finally said, her voice weaker than it normally was. "Okay, okay." She raised her wand. "I… If that's the way you feel." She waved her wand. "Teleportus Snowy Cabin."

…

"Junior?" Larry called out for the billionth time. The only sound that he was given in response to that yell were crickets. And… okay, Larry would never admit this to ANYONE if they asked, but… he was starting to cry. He really was. Not because of pure sadness, but more so because of the stress, frustration, and anxiety. This three emotions working together threatened to turn the youngest Koopaling into an absolute wreck. He supposed he should feel thankful that it was getting dark, as that meant that Iggy couldn't see what was happening on Larry's face.

"Junior!" Iggy called out. "Junior, where are you?" The two walked down the road through the quiet neighborhood, and yet, they still were given crickets in response to their cries. Crickets that didn't seem intent on letting up with their chirps anytime soon, crickets that just piled on top of Larry's increasing anxiety and threatened to make him break under the pressure and weight.

Iggy called out Junior's name a few more times (with his increasing emotional turmoil, Larry didn't trust himself to use his voice. It would probably break and alert Iggy to what was going on in his head). The sky got darker and darker, with the blue turning into navy with white sparkles faster than either of the Koopalings were comfortable with. By the time the sun was completely down, and the two Koopalings weren't anywhere close to finding Junior… well, there really was nothing to say. Larry could feel his optimism draining away. He wouldn't even have imagined when the search started that he would become this distraught, but… he missed Junior. He really did.

Eventually, Iggy and Larry came to a stop. Iggy let out a sigh and pinched his brow. "Okay. Okay. This isn't yielding the results that we want." He looked up into the sky, specifically at the golden moon slowly climbing higher and higher. The light illuminated his face, making his frustration obvious to all with eyes "And I think it would be sensible if the two of us make our way to a hotel. Amber is DANGEROUS after nightfall."

Larry nodded. "Sounds…" he cleared his throat upon hearing how his voice cracked. "Sounds like a good idea." He turned away from Iggy, once again hoping that he could be strong. The situation called for it. He couldn't bring anyone down by being a blubbering baby. And he wouldn't! He would be the tough little cookie everyone needed him to be.

Hopefully…