-Bowser pov-
I could no longer control myself. Before, i wouldn't be doing something like this...me being too prideful to show my raw emotions in front of others is probably what stopped me. Sure, i would always show that i cared for my kids, especially for junior...it's just...max has such an effect on me...he's of royal lineage because of maximilian and a von ghoul which is an amazing combination!
It's in front of a small crowd that i'm doing this...crying in front of them...it's so unbearably embarrassing, but at least it's not in front of mario!
-Kamek pov-
I cannot help but wonder if this will eventually cause my king to actually open up to the rest of the world....ugh, the thought of that makes me want to cringe! And yet...it seems to me that things are on a path that leads to a change that even i need to prepare for.
-Narration-
Bowser gradually calmed down enough to slowly stop crying while max still looked confused, but not so much so that he's paralyzed with hesitation to react. "As much as i would love to see this bond, i believe we should deal with whoever was at the door." Marx says nonchalantly which catches bowser off guard and surprises mike. "PLEASE don't tell me one of those idiot koopatrol decided to snoop..." Bowser says with an embarrassed growl. "No, but it was junior. It's why i looked at the door moments ago. I uh..i think he heard everything." Max explains. "How did you..-" Mike began to ask, who wasn't even aware of junior's aura.
"Max is the one who noticed first. I'm surprised you didn't notice as well..." Tyson replied to mike with a light chuckle. "Great..just great..." Bowser says with a sigh. For him, he knew that would only be a matter of time before junior ends up saying something to roy.
-Mike pov-
Meh..i clearly need to practice with my ability to sense aura more...i should've known something was up when max looked at the throne room door!
-Bowser pov-
Fuck! I always knew that junior can sometimes be too curious for his own good...i half expected to hear that it was larry! I wasn't sure why max looked at the door at first...i thought he was about to walk out but he surprises me instead.
-Marx pov-
Oh my, this is unexpected. I knew someone was there, but since i can't exactly sense aura, i wasn't aware that it was dear ol' goliath's son.
-Narration-
"Hm..your son is young, but does deserve to know the truth." Tyson commented with a sigh. "And you think i don't know that?" Bowser asked with a growl. For him, this was only becoming harder on the koopa king. Sure, he's in tough situations plenty of times before, but this? This is proving to be the hardest on him. "Perhaps that can wait? I realize that there's no way we can simply brush this aside, but we have another issue to deal with." Kamek quickly says. "Which is?" Mike asked. "Well..giving max his wand and figuring out what to do next." Kamek answered.
-Bowser pov-
Nothing, and i mean NOTHING can top this...lying to junior who his mother is was really just me desperately wanting to give my son a mother a few months after clawdia died...is it coming back to haunt me..?
-Narration-
"Before that happens, i have a..theory about zöhm. One that will lead to a rather troubling question. One that max will eventually answer on his own." Tyson says before looking at max. "Why him?" Kamek asked while bowser raised an eyebrow. "For max to be able to explain what he saw before we all encountered zöhm..should have been impossible. Eldritch beings have forms that mortals cannot possibly fathom and yet max was able to. Not just anyone can describe zöhm as a 'fucked up star'. It leaves me to believe that the von ghouls are not entirely mortal." Tyson explains.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!" Bowser asked in agitation. "Then..what is he?" Kamek asked. "Clearly, he is no eldritch. If he was, then none of this would be happening now. We ultimately know very little about the von ghoul family aside from what we know now. As for this dark bowser...tell me max...now many times have you seen him?" Tyson answered before turning to max. "Twice. Once when i found myself in that nearly pitch black realm even though i was unconscious and marx was there too. The other...was when what i thought was a nightmare. He uh..he saved me from those burning bodies." Max answered.
"Wait, SAVED?! Him? Saving you?!" Bowser asked, caught completely off guard. "That's..strange. For a being that nearly brought the mushroom kingdom into permanent darkness...this is rather bizarre behavior." Kamek commented, who is ultimately confused.
-Mike pov-
Something isn't right...why would dark bowser save max from..burning bodies? That clearly wasn't a 'nightmare'...
-Bowser pov-
That guy? The same one who nearly destroyed the mushroom kingdom? Saved max?! What the fuck...what sick game are they playing at?! "Can you also explained why this zöhm punk said that at least i had the decency to clothe myself?!" I demanded while standing over him in agitation. Since tyson seems to know EVERYTHING, perhaps he knows about this too?
-Narration-
"Yes, i'm wondering as well..." kamek says. "I do.." max answers, hardly hiding that he's as red as a tomato. "Max, why are you so flustered? Meeting dark bowser should've been a harrowing experience! Mike asked, wanting to tease max. Marx however, knew why zöhm said it but had no idea it was causing max to blush. "Eh..uh..it-it's not my fault he was naked both times!" Max retorted almost yelling in the process. "UH.." Mike recoiled immediately while bowser blushed deeply in embarrassment looking away from max. "Oh my..um..not what i wanted to hear." Kamek utters, immediately flustered while tyson grunts in surprise.
-Bowser pov-
NAKED?! Oh, for the love of stars! What nobody knew when i fought him, is that my dark counterpart was actually naked the entire time...sure, he copied my dna, and you would think that they could use their power to summon clothes, but noooo, he decided on exposing EVERYTHING! It didn't help the fact that he kidnapped peach by inhaling her...while he was naked...ok, she also knew about that, but chose to not say a word! I think the mario bros also encountered him too but i think peach made them not bring it up either. Thank the stars, because if she or mario did then the embarrassment would've been devastating even though that wasn't me! Bweh..if only i were able to beat them right after beating my dark counterpart.
This uh..has also made this incredibly awkward for me...
-Mike pov-
Oh..dear arceus, now that is something i didn't need imagery of...
-Marx pov-
"Why are you so flustered? Didn't you say that you thought you knew who bob is?" I asked confused. "Bob..?" Mike asked. "Who the.." Bowser begun to say before max grunted in annoyance. "Why the hell are you calling him 'bob'?" Max asked me before I shrugged. "Well, it's better than calling him xac and cheese." I simply said. "OH COME ON! DID YOU GET MARX TO SAY PUNS NOW?!" I heard mike yell at max. "N-no! He started to say that on his own!" Max retorted. I couldn't help but giggle. Xac and cheese...i quickly came up with that the moment i heard max say that name...it was far too easy!
-Narration-
"As much as i want to laugh right now, i think we all need to know...max, who did you think he was?" Bowser asked, who wanted so badly to laugh out loud, but hearing what marx had to say caught his attention. "I never said i knew who he is. The way dark bowser acted...this..feeling it gave me. It made me think that he's xaczxar." Max answered.
"Wait, what? You THINK it's him?!" Kamek asked him while bowser looked very puzzled. "Interesting...that ultimately leaves me with another theory. Since zöhm's form apparently looks like a star...what if he's the dark star? And if that's the case...then who did bowser fight against?" Tyson said. "That doesn't make any sense..i fought and beat the dark star!" Bowser boasted proudly. "I bet it was an intense battle at the time, but..i just can't shake the feeling that there's more to it." Max says with a sigh. "Same here..." Mike muttered.
-Kamek pov-
This is rather confusing...it hardly make sense to me at all! Yet...tyson does make a point. ...what max described does lead to that possibility...however, we would have known if that were the case at the time!
-Max pov-
These questions leave me to wonder...it's not just confusing, it's also complex to the point that, unless i were to uncover the answers, it would remain as an unanswered question. Agh..why must this be a difficult ordeal?!
-Bowser pov-
Something about this doesn't sit right with me...at the time, I only saw dark bowser as a punk who thought they could outdo me! And yet..had it not been for fawful, i don't think he would have gotten so close to actually succeeding.
-Narration-
"As for now..." Tyson started to say before looking at max and then to mike. "You two clearly need to be trained to use your aura. What max did when he went into that form was a foolish stunt. However, it also made zöhm retreat. Something that no one has ever accomplished." Tyson says while catching mike off guard. "You're willing to help them out and join us? Just like that?" Kamek questions while clearly surprised. "With max, it's imperative. Aside from mike doing his best to help him use it, max needs to train with it further in order to be able to use it properly. And for mike? He and i are from the same family." Tyson explains. "Family..?" Max asked while mike knew exactly what tyson is talking about. "Wait...are you..?" Mike asked.
"A blade? Yes. We were supposed to stick together as one...but we don't know why your father decided to leave. Originally, i was sent to find out why your father left with you and your mother. You were only a month old when your father left and he gave no explanation. A shame we won't be able to find out why...but now? It seems that fate has given you a second chance, and i will not Ron you of that." Tyson answered. "Blade family? We've never once heard of you..." Kamek says who looked confused. "That is because me and mike are from the poké kingdom. A kingdom that is far from the mushroom kingdom to the point that many other kingdoms are unaware that it exists. Pokemon have lived there for so long that our history is considered sacred.
However, things are changing, and with what is happening now, our kingdom will have no choice but to reach out." Tyson explained in a calm yet unsettling tone.
-Bowser pov-
Huh..that's a first..just how far is it? I'm tempted to find it, but it doesn't change what's happening here which is annoyingly persistent.
-Kamek pov-
My goodness, this is quite a revelation! I have never heard of this kingdom before...you would think that it's a secretive kingdom since it's out of our view! However, pokemon started to slowly show up in the kingdoms long before our time and while we wondered where they came from, we never did ask them directly...
-Mike pov-
There's more blades? Mom and dad always talked about them and how they wished we could reunite with them...even during that time, i wanted so badly to have a home and there were a few times where it looked like it would come true but it would be taken away by my dad who looked so frantic each time.
-Max pov-
Huh..never knew such a kingdom existed...it must be amazing!
-Marx pov-
Poké kingdom...huh..i would love to explore it if i were able to find it! Although...I have this feeling that it's not going to be able to help me with what i am searching for..
-Tyson pov-
Our kingdom is vast...filled with powerful legends, and filled with history that we do not take lightly to the point that if there are outsiders, we watch them carefully so that they do not tarnish or steal it for themselves.
-Narration-
"Well..i can say that i took a major risk going into that form and during that moment i did..whatever it was i did, i did lose control of myself but i was fighting desperately to regain control which i was barely able to....and uh..i wasn't expecting to be almost as tall as dad.." Max says before looking uncomfortable before bowser pats him on the shoulder. "The fact that you were able to gain a small amount of control over it is something i am proud of. No one else has been able to do that!" Bowser says to him, proud and relieved to know this. "If you think it will help us out in the long run..then..sure! I'd love for you to help us."
Before anyone could say anything, max turns towards the throne room door once again. This time...he didn't sense anyone eavesdropping. "Y'all hear that..?" Max asked. "Hear what?" Bowser asked, fully expecting to find out someone is being too curious. "Ah, it's the ancestral plane! Its ominous wind is a b-e-a-utiful sign that it's waiting for you." Marx says in a excited tone of voice. "...Are you fucking serious?" Bowser asked angrily. "Hm..i sense that it's coming from the same room we were all in..." Tyson says, having never experienced something like this. "Great..then..it looks like i gotta head over there. This time, nobody else but me goes inside. Don't want there to be a repeat of what happened last time.." Max says with a sigh. "Good call..." Mike says, agreeing with max. "At least allow me to come! Besides, i lived there for a long time." Marx quickly says. "Um..sure." Max says, hesitant to let him come at first.
-Max pov-
Why there of all places..? Eh, i guess i can't question it. Not unless if i want to go insane. And marx coming with me...this is something i can do myself! And yet..marx has apparently seen these visions many times over...perhaps this could ultimately be helpful?
-Bowser pov-
Great..just fucking GREAT! This place acts like a uninvited guest! But since it's not a living person, i can't just throw a whole realm out of here!
-Kamek pov-
Interesting...i wasn't expecting it to come here. I can't help but be curious about what max will see next!
-Marx pov-
How exciting! I can't wait for this! I can tell that he wants to this himself though...his pride is showing, but why would i let him go there alone? It's no fun to be alone...
-Narration-
"Don't do anything stupid..." Mike says to max while crossing his arms. "Hey, don't worry. This won't take long. After this, we can plan on what to do next." Max says with a grin before walking out the throne room door. At this point, whatever vision max will find over there....he knew that it would now be inside the dollhouse! However, he has absolutely no idea what he'll find once he is inside.