Chapter 1
Mario was the bane of my existence. Every single time I thought I would get away with it, he had to come and mess it all up.
The moron.
And now, kidnapping the princess was becoming less of a threat and more of a pastime.
But not this time.
Because I was prepared.
“Instead of some flashy and easily spotted kidnapping session, why not be discreet?”, was the advice Kamek gave me. For once, he was right. Why make a scene? The koopalings could pull that off.
At least, that was what I thought until I saw what those idiots were up to.
They all froze as they saw me walk in. That was when I knew they were doing something stupid. As I stepped forward, I saw Junior start to sweat, rapidly flapping his mouth open and closed like a sick Birdo. Knowing this would be the start of some in vain explanation, I quickly stopped him.
“What. Are. You all. Doing?” I asked slowly, as if to make sure they understood every word. Junior looked down like he was considering what to say.
As if he could get away with tricking me.
I started walking over to pick up the large sheet of paper they were haphazardly drawing on. That is, until…
Bowser Junior, without warning, picked up the paper, crumpled it, and stuffed it into his mouth.
Apparently, that was the right play on his part, because he confused me just long enough for him to rapidly chew and swallow the paper.
And now I was angry.
I went over to Junior and dragged him, by the arm, to his room, ignoring his panicked yelps along the way.
He was in trouble. Big trouble.
I tossed him onto his bed, earning a cry from Junior. He quickly sat up and looked down, anticipating punishment.
I was quick to berate him for what he did.
“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?” I yelled, making him cry. “YOU DO NOT HIDE THINGS FROM ME!”
The silence was infuriating. I continued to glare at him, waiting for any response besides tears.
The tense white noise was broken up by sniffly and choppy sentences.
“I-I-well, I was u-um…i-it wasn’t, um…y-you…” he stuttered out.
After a few more seconds, he choked out an apology.
“I’m s-sorry, Papa…”
His words almost completely defused my anger. Seeing how desperate he was to be forgiven, I toned it down, but Junior didn’t stop crying. And I was still mad.
I sighed.
“You’re staying in here until tomorrow. Kamek will bring you dinner.”
I left the room, roughly closing the door.
This was a bit of a setback. But it was okay.
We’d get the princess tomorrow.
When I woke up the next day, I could hear the scampering of little feet in the corridor. I assumed the koopalings were up getting breakfast or something.
Maybe I was a little too hard on Junior yesterday, I thought to myself.
I sat up and rubbed my back. Sleeping on my spikes was painful.
I pulled off my covers and left my room, heading down the hall and to the kitchen, passing Kamek on the way.
I would have told him to make me something to eat, but I looked in the kitchen and saw there were already eggs and pancakes on the counter.
I shrugged.
I picked it up and took it over to the dining room to eat.
Maybe I should apologize to him. I don’t know. He’s young, he didn’t know better. I should’ve just…I don’t know, told him what he did wrong or something.
I sighed again.
As I was walking to the dining hall, I looked up.
I was met with the koopalings all holding a big sign with a bunch of drawings on it. They all spoke in unison:
“We love you, dad!”
I started tearing up.
My eyes widened.
This is what they were doing yesterday.
I cried more.
They just wanted to make me a present.
These kids are great.
I could feel my face going red. My eyes were getting ready for more crying. I wiped my face, feeling the hot liquid run down my chin.
Through the tears, I could see junior walking up to give me a hug.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you what I was doing yesterday, but...Happy Father’s Day, Papa. We love you.”
The tears just wouldn’t stop streaming.
All the koopalings walked up and out their arms around me. I hugged them all back.
…
…
…
“I love you too.”