"Are you sure about this, Luigi?"
"Mario, for the last time, Junior is going back to his family."
The Super Brothers trekked their way down the Cool, Cool Castle and headed towards the building sites. Luigi carried Junior in his arms, wrapping the koopaling in a thick blanket. The day has come for the little one to go back to his father, which saddened him; he didn't want him to go. Hell, he was tempted to offer himself as a caretaker, despite already having his plate full of royal duties and the reconstruction; furthermore, he has to constantly remind himself that Junior had a family that was worried to death about him.
The man in green shouldered the boy, gently patting his shell (wary of his spikes). Mario lifted the blanket to his head. "I'm just sayin', Weege. It's freezing out here!"
He gestured to the icy capital and their snowsuits as if he needed to prove his point. Luigi fought the urge to roll his eyes. He understood where Mario was coming from, but he was considering Junior's feelings more than his own. The Dark Prince has asked him quite a few times when he could go home, and he has already told Bowser he is bringing him back. Furthermore, Junior was being quite a troublemaker. According to Peach, Helvella was still peeved about him stealing an entire tray of cupcakes. It was hilarious to think about how he did so, chased the kitchen staff around the castle, and then proceeded to pass out in the library. And Luigi only left him alone for a day!
"Junior's a tough kid. Plus, he'll probably stay on the ship where it's warm," he argued.
Mario shrugged as a sign that he was giving up his argument. Luigi was grateful for that as he is already emotional enough. The two descended some stone stairs and swiftly found themselves on the outskirts of the restoration site; the flying ships loomed in the distance, joined by the sound of tools clicking and shouting orders. Luigi took a deep breath, swallowing back tears as he softly shook Junior. "Come on, buddy. It's time to wake up," he said.
Mario quirked an eyebrow. "Shouldn't we get closer?"
"I-I don't think it would be a good idea for Bowser to see you close to Junior," replied the green brother.
The little prince grumbled and stirred. Luigi kneeled and lowered him down, holding him up as he slowly woke up. Junior rubbed his eye and yawned. His caretaker pointed behind him, "Look!" With a slight snort, he looked where Luigi was pointing, the drowsiness in his eyes immediately leaving him. His eyes widened and glowed with joy. Luigi managed to give him a small smile, even if doing this caused him heartache. Junior's tail wagged as he took a step forward; however, he turned around and hugged him. The human returned the gesture, patting his head. After a long moment, they broke apart. Luigi adjusted his bandana and secured the blanket around him before he stood to his feet. "I'll see you around, Junior," he whispered.
Junior smiled at him. "Thanks for taking care of me and saving my dad!"
Luigi tipped his hat. Mario put his hands on his hips, "Take care, little one. And keep your pops out of trouble," he said. Junior looked at him with a dead expression...
Before punching him in the leg.
"OW! MY KNEE!"
Before his guardian could even reprimand him, the prince scurried away, laughing maniacally. Luigi (and one groaning Mario) watched from a distance as he ran as fast as his tiny feet could take him. Despite the wind, Junior let out the loudest roars and chirps he could muster, trying to catch his father's attention. Bowser stood with his back turned, instructing a team of Shy Guys; after giving them orders and dismissing them, he snorted and began to walk away before he stopped. He looked over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes as he noticed the tiny, fast-approaching figure in the distance.
Bowser took a step forward. And then he heard it. His son's roaring call. His feet moved on their own accord, heart racing. He roared in response, embers escaping from his maw. Junior's shrilly voice broke through the howling winds. "DAD! DAD!"
"JUNIOR! MY SON! MY BEAUTIFUL SON!"
The Koopa Prince leaped into his father's outstretched arms, chirping with joy, and nuzzling into his father's face; Bowser responded with his own deep vocalizations, shedding a few tears against the biting cold. Father and son hugged each other, tails wagging madly. With his child in hand, Bowser turned around and sprinted back to the campsite, holding Junior up. "HEY, EVERYONE! JUNIOR'S BACK!"
Tools and ice blocks were dropped as the army descended from the scaffolding in one giant wave of cheers and whoops. A blue blur cut through the masses, and the general appeared before him; Kamek appeared in a cloud of smoke next to him. Junior reached out to the general. "TEN-TEN! GRANDPA!"
The blue-shelled koopa flapped their wings and reached for Junior's tiny, outstretched hands, crying and laughing. Kamek playfully head-butted his grandson, wiping underneath his eyes. Bowser put Junior on his shoulders and let out a series of deep barks; Kamek and Blue Shell followed shortly after. And soon, the entire army was doing the same barks as they headed towards the airships.
.
.
.
Back to the Super Brothers, Luigi watched the sight with teary eyes. He was shaking, covering his mouth. Mario slowly got up, "Shit... God damn, I think he dislocated my knee," he whispered. He looked up and noticed Luigi's behavior. Mario rolled his eyes and limped over to him, wrapping his arms around him. His little brother burst into tears. "Th-that was- That was so beautiful..." he sobbed.
Mario patted his back. "Yeah, yeah. Kid's an "adorable" demon and you love him, blah blah blah," he whispered.
Luigi let out a bawling cry and buried his face into his brother's shoulders. Mario sighed and continued to console him. He gently pulled him back, "Come on, let's get you some ice cream, and some ice for me. After that, we gotta fix up the Star sanctuary," he said.
"*sniff* O-okay,"
The brothers made their way back to the castle, leaving the Koopa Family to their reunion.
[XXX]
After the procession, Bowser took Junior into his airship. Everyone boarded the adjacent airships, having been ordered to have the day off; if her Pinkiness or Drama King have anything to complain about, they can stick it. His son is back! And by the looks of it, Luigi took great care of him. Junior looked well-fed and happy. Bowser carried him to his captain's quarters and sat him on the table. "All right, Junior. Hands up, let's take off your shell," he said.
Junior raised his hands."Finally,"
Kamek stepped forward. "You have not removed your shell all this time?" he asked.
"You told me to never take off my shell when I'm not safe!"
Idaten pointed at him with two fingers, then nodded their head. Bowser did not argue further; his son was trapped in the Toadstool Palace. He also doubts Greenie could figure out how to take off the shell; it's a tricky process and Junior's too young to do it himself, let alone explain it to someone else. Once the protective cover was off, Bowser turned Junior in his hands, scanning for wounds or anything out of the ordinary. "Nothing's wrong with him. Kamek?"
"I don't see or sense any runes or enchantments. The prince has not been cursed or hexed," said the royal advisor.
The king sighed. "Thank gods."
The father put his son's shell back on and rested him on his knee. Kamek adjusted his glasses, "Now. Junior, how in stars' names did you end up with the Green Super Brother?!" he screeched.
"You were supposed to stay with Idaten!" snapped Bowser.
Junior looked at them. "What kinda 'welcome home' is this?!"
His father pinched the bridge of his muzzle. "Junior, I told you to stay with them! You were supposed to run while I held off those two plumbers and the princess,"
"Y-yeah, but... Ten-Ten had to go and help everyone keep the ship from falling."
Kamek flailed his arms. "The real question is: why did everyone go to the engine room?! Why not send a small squad to handle that meddlesome toad, then redirect the rest to the throne room?!"
Idaten raised their hands to reply, stopped, then pulled their helmet down in shame. Bowser shook his head and waved his hand around, silently telling everybody to drop it. This time, he's going to chalk it up to panic. For everyone, the plan was airtight. And when things went to shit and he wasn't there to help, they did the worst thing they could think of. And, because of their dumbassery, Junior used his brain and went somewhere safe. Bowser patted his head. "You used your paintbrush, didn't you? To stay out of sight?" he asked.
Junior nodded. Bowser ruffled his hair. "Heh, guess I can't really be mad at ya. The whole point was getting you to safety," he said.
The koopaling stood on his knee. "Dad, can we go home now?" he asked.
"We can't, Junior."
The boy stammered, confused by the reasoning. Bowser felt an uncomfortable twist in his chest, like something had reached his chest and twisted his lungs; breathing hurt. He cleared his throat, trying to soothe that discomfort. Idaten and Kamek shared the same expression. Damn feeling has been bugging him since they started looking at the damages to the gate, and it won't leave him alone.
Seeing those broken pieces of ice and being in the near-constant wind must be messing with his head. Bowser chuffed, "We'll go home as soon as we get these stupid kingdoms fixed," he replied.
Junior's frown deepened. "B-but we have the ships! Why can't we just run?" he asked.
"Even if we run, they'll come to find us and put us in jail. For real, this time," Bowser added.
Idaten waved their hand, pulling their attention. "Plus, we can't use the ships. Enchanted."
Kamek rubbed his beak. "General Idaten is right. The Mushroom Princess and her mages have enchanted our airships with some sort of parental lock; we can only go to designated destinations."
The responses just seemed to upset Junior further. He leaned his head against his father, whimpering with his tail tucked between his legs. Bowser held him closer, the gut-wrenching feeling intensifying. He has severely underestimated the destruction he caused. He said this would only take a month, but they are nowhere near done with the Snow Kingdom.
Those 'Glacial Gates' or whatever the hell they're called have barely been touched, and he's been here a few days. Working with these winds is also not helping. His boastful bet was wrong.
"Don't worry, son. We'll be home soon,"
Junior sighed. "Okay... Luigi did say to give the kingdoms a try," he whispered.
Kamek perked up at that. "He did what?!"
Bowser and Idaten flinched. The blue-shelled koopa flicked their hand across their throat. Stop! Stop! Kamek has been very sensitive when anyone brings up Luigi; Bowser can't really blame him, Green Stache did throw his wand (which took his pop EIGHT years to make!) into a lava pool like it was nothing. The king picked up his son, "Hey! Come on, let's get you all cleaned up and go down mess deck. You hungry?" he asked. Kamek seethed in silence. Junior gasped, excited by the prospect of eating food from home again. Bowser stood up, "All right, let's get outta here and get you some grub!"
"YAY! Wait..." he looked down at his father. "Are you gonna make me eat veggies?"
"Uh, yeah."
This sent the prince into a tirade, which quickly evolved into father and son bickering as they exited the captain's quarters; Kamek followed them. Idaten signed their input every now and then, before shaking their hand and silently zooming out. As they walked through the deck, Bowser paused for a moment (leaving Junior arguing with the back of his head) to look at the Cool, Cool Castle. The corners of his snout drooped slightly...
He should have said thank you to Luigi.