(Morton)
Damnit. I had a drastic headache.
I really shouldn't be surprised. I cried over him so much.
Sitting in these constrained hospital chairs made my sides hurt. It was worth it though. I took a quick and sharp exhale. So hard so, soft bristles of smoke whizzed softly out of my snout.
My eyes were sore and bloodshot, and my chest flared from having a hazardous scarcity of air for so long. My breath strongly reeked of Altoids. That's because that's all I had eaten for the past 7 hours. Iggy and Roy were keeled over on the hospital recliner, shoved up against each other.
Dad had been in the chair next to me guarding his newly adopted son for hours on end. He was still vigilant, but his fiery red hair was matted against his head from sweating so extensively.
His voice came to be raspy from sitting there all night and repudiating any food or water. We all could've gone to the cafeteria downstairs. But no. We all yearned to stay, in case he emanated from his slumber. The doctors and staff were remarkably committed to achieving their job.
This hurt me so much inside. Why our brother? He's prevailed through so much already. He's had such an arduous life, and now he's in a coma on his birthday. When it struck 12:00, we all said happy birthday to him, and strived but languished not to cry when he couldn't wake up to hear it. It severed our hearts.
Wendy was passed out on the office chair, and Larry was placed on her lap, fast asleep. Lemmy was huddled up next to Taemin, sleeping next to him. Bowser Jr was doing the same on Taemin's other side.
As my eyelids begin to close, and my vision began to fade from extreme drowsiness, I notice my father had begun softly weep. I couldn't do anything about it. I was too clouded with exhaustion to comprehend what was happening. And before I knew it... I was out.
————
Roy (Earlier)
The pink shades I wore didn't just cover my eyes. They covered the density and emotion within them.
What the hell was wrong with me? Why did I let him go out there? Where the hell was that gut feeling to let me know that the plan was fucking dangerous?
I was a nervous wreck, just from the feeling that he may never wake up.
As we piled into the room, I sat on the recliner and Iggy piled on next to me. We crowded in anywhere we could and just watched.
Dad's phone began to ring. He started to answer, then looked at the caller, froze, and looked back up at us. He hastily exited the room, trying to sound as composed as he could.
We sat there for hours on end, hoping, praying to whoever that he would wake up.
—————
Bowser (Earlier)
I was so merciful to the family that hit my boy. They were lucky they were still alive.
Smoke puffed out of my snout as I thought about it.
I kneeled beside the bed, resting my arms on the space beside the body of my adopted son.
My phone began to vibrate and I rolled my eyes until I looked at the caller.
The buyer of my house.
I winced slightly and glanced at my kids before hastily moving out of the room and answering the phone.
You see, none of my kids know I'm selling the house. We've only been in the mansion for about half a year, ever since I knew for a fact that I wished to bear another child. A human child.
We had a 7 bedroom at first, we've stayed in that one for ten years. Ever since before Junior was even born. Back when my wife was still around.
I wasn't always rich. I'm not rich. I'm just lucky.
At least that's how I look at it. About 11 years back, I only had the koopalings, not Junior. But later on, I wanted to see what it was like to raise my own child.
I made ends meet.
Barely. I had 7 kids. We didn't eat everyday, and life was genuinely hard.
Pile that with the booze binges with my friends and you had a stressed dad and wife on the edge. My wife was always very loving. She was so sweet to me and our kids. If only I could've brung her to the top with me. She was human. She was the one who kept me from doing the stupidest shit.
She's in jail. Eternally. For something she didn't even do.
She was arrested for a crime that wasn't hers. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I worked so hard and paid so much for powerball tickets.
Eventually, after about 6 months of severe depression and lost hope, I won. I won the biggest powerball in history. I quickly gained fame, and had to quit paying for such a small house. I moved into the 9 bedroom that I'd lived in for a year. That's when Junior was conceived. In jail. He was born in jail. I went to retrieve him, and bail out my wife.
I wanted her at the top with me. But she was dead. Murdered by some fucking prison gang. I got to see her one last time, though. Besides the gruesome marks on her neck, she was so beautiful.
So, so beautiful. If I'd became king anytime before she was killed, she would've been out first thing. It's so sad to see someone who was so energetic and sweet, laying lifeless on a table, never being able to get up and show you the love she always has.
That's what I saw in my son, right now. He was shy, but so, so, energetic. He was full of life and love, and totally loved hugs. He got along with his siblings so well. I've never seen them act that way to another kid. Especially a human. They obviously had their doubts about him at first, especially Roy and Ludwig.
I let a sigh flow out of my muzzle, smoke billowing through my nostrils. If this boy was dead I simply wouldn't be able to take it. Gosh, I'm 43 and the events that took place when I was 32 are starting to repeat themselves.
Put it simply; if Taemin doesn't recover, none of us will.
——————
Taemin
"Oh my gosh guys! This is the best birthday ever! You did this all for me?!"
——————
I wake up in my room only to be stopped by Roy himself as I walk out the door.
"Guess who's getting their eyes covered?"
"Haha, not me!" I said, slyly trying to duck under his arm.
He wraps his arms around me, not letting me go. I noticed that we weren't in our house... but it felt like home. Whose room did I just come out of? Despite those thoughts, I proceeded along to resist Roy, not letting what probably my imagination ruin this for me. He pulled me up and wouldn't let me down.
"Promise to not resist? I'll let you down," he said in a singsong voice. I rolled my eyes, not really having woken up yet.
He put me down and wrapped himself around me. He put his claws on my face so I couldn't see. Besides the menacingly sharp talons in my face, his palms were soft.
He used his body to push me forward and guide me to the stairs, not having any hands to do so.
"Gosh Roy is this really necessary?" I asked, tired of his chest repeatedly bumping into my back for him to get me to move.
"Yes! Can't spoil the surprise," I rolled my eyes, even though no one or their mother could see it since they were covered.
"Roy, were not even halfway down the hall," whatever hall this was, this wasn't even my fucking house.
He led me down a set of stairs and suddenly we stopped. He began to whisper.
"3, 2, 1, Wake up,"
"Huh?!"
"Happy Birthday!!!"
"Oh my gosh guys! This is the best birthday ever! You did this all for me?!"
I was in some sort of kitchen, but there were presents and decorations everywhere! This was just...magical! I was so lucky to be in this family.
"So, it's about time you celebrated a wake up day, huh son?" Everyone rowdily cheered. Everyone being my family. I walk up to him, hearing something not quite right.
"Excuse me, a what day?"
"A birthday, dummy," he chortled, heaving an arm around my shoulder. Feeling at peace with my father, I leaned against him.
"So, you want some breakfast or what boys, girl?" He roused, most of the family was chilling outside having a drink.
But instead of chatter, I was hearing the word 'wake up' mixed into it. I was so goddamn confused. Was this some type of prank?
I began to calm down as bowser started the stove, and grease began to lightly crackle over the stovetop as he began cooking bacon. Our siblings conversed between each other, eating fruit to hold them over. Lemmy tossed me a banana.
"Ever had that many presents?" He asked. "I've never had any presents, doofus," I chuckled slightly, looking at the presents amassed on the kitchen counter.. that.. wasn't my kitchen.
And as I sat on this dining set with my siblings... I acknowledged that it was no longer mine either. Where the hell was I?
Wait! I got hit by a car yesterday! So why wasn't I in pain? When Roy guided me downstairs, claws on my face, why wasn't I in pain? Why wasn't I in my own home?
I glanced back up at everyone, who was now glaring at me. Even bowser. A small blaze started at the stove, from not touching the bacon. The gorgeous house that wasn't mine began to fade away, and all that was left were my family. Even my family that was already deceased.
The family that made a vow that they couldn't maintain because uncertainty claimed their lives first.
"wake up, wake up, wake up," they all intonated. I was wide awake though, was I?
"WAKE THE FUCK UP!"
—————
I opened my eyes in extreme shock.
What the hell was that?
"Wake the fuck up, please!" Someone wept. "I can't take this anymore,"
"Well, what'd I miss?" I decide to be friendly and wake up joking. Even though I was far from happy. I was dumbfounded. What the hell was going on? I was so fucking scared.
Bowser let out a deep yelp, whisking back with billows of flames shooting out of his mouth. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, doing a double take, shell pressed against the wall.
He must've discovered he wasn't dreaming. He launched up and into my arms. I wondered why he was so emotional. He wouldn't stop crying. How long was I out?
"Y- y- you missed your birthday!"
"How is that possible? How long was I out?"
"This would've been the second day," he said, dabbing his complexion with nearby tissue.
"Look, I have a surprise for you. It just depends if you want to go to school or not,"
"Didn't I miss it?"
"It's 3 AM. You have 3 hours. I can take you home so you can get ready, the others left an hour ago. King Boo came and took them in my truck, saw you, then left in his car," he explained.
He softly tapped the nurse button with his claw, still not letting me go.
I clutched onto him tighter. I was so panicked and confused. I heard the door open, so I let go of him.
I laid back on the bed, a mild headache sprinting through my skull. He sat on the hospital chair. It looked cramped for him.
"Ah, you're awake!" The nurse beamed, going to check my vitals. This one was human, blonde, and petite. She was very attractive.
Too bad I wasn't into girls.
She jotted down something on a clipboard before going to get the doctor.
"Hey, little man! How we doin tonight?"
"It's morning," I snickered, earning a chuckle from the two men in the room.
"I'm Barnaby, doctor Barnaby," he spoke in a James Bond-ish voice before pulling up a chair beside my bed and sitting on it backward.
"Alright, I hear you just woke up from your coma, how are you feeling?"
"C-coma?!"
"Yeah, you'd been out for a few days. That car wiped you out clean," he spoke in a calm and joking voice. Damn, I should've connected the dots when dad said I had missed my birthday.
"I just have a small headache, and I feel just like I woke up from any other nap," I said.
He nodded, alleviated.
"Listen here, King Koopa, um I usually let 'em stay here another day before letting them go, but since Kamek works for the hospital anyway, I'm letting him discharge ASAP since you tell me it's his first day of school, if anything's up, call Kamek right away," he smiled at me. The doctor stood up and bowed before my dad. I was soooo confused. What's with the name?
"Take care little man, you two're free to go, check out at the front desk downstairs," he smiled at us brightly before walking out and shutting the door. My dad's phone vibrated steadily in his pocket, and he answered it.
"Yeah? This is he. Of course,"
He began to pull clothes out of what I noticed to be my bag. He tossed them onto the bed and grabbed his keys and my bag before motioning for me to put them on. These were fresh clothes, a black hoodie, a white shirt, blue jeans and the converse I had on when I was hit. Thank god there was no blood on them.
He turned around, giving me privacy.
"Oh yeah, the property? Yeah. I'll be in today fixing shit and all that, yeah. I'll have help. Well obviously. Yeah, I'll be there today while my kids are at school. See ya there "
As he finished the conversation I finished putting on my clothes.
"I'm done, can we leave now?"
"Yeah man of course, let's get outta here," he said, guiding me out of the cramped room. I fiddled with my wristband as we walked. I didn't feel sleepy because I had just woken up but I bet Bowser was fucking exhausted.
We checked out and hopped into the truck.
He began to start the engine, but he paused and gave me the keys, beaming at me.
"Guess who loves starting the car?" I asked, my face lighting up even more when the SUV roared to life. He laughed heartily, and pulled off as I buckled up.
"We're going to a store the next town over, I realized you didn't have any school shit," he explained. I nodded.
"Hey, um, dad? I have a question,"
"Sure, anything son,"
"Why were the doctors and police officers bowing at you and calling you King Koopa?"
"Except that," he breathed.
"Sorry for being nosy-"
"No, no. It's okay. I was gonna save it for your birthday, but I'm king. Of the North and South Islands.
"Even though I saw we're in the North Islands a lot, it's because I consider the North and South Islands one settlement because Mario Rules one Island and I rule another. Yes, we're on the island I rule. There's a huge bridge connecting the two islands. I got you in the North. We live in the South, the island I govern.
"Wow, that's a lot to take in,"
"I know. I'm sorry for not telling you, it was planned to be told on your birthday,"
"That so cool!" He grinned at my sudden optimism. Having king as dad?!
When the hell did my life take this insane turn?!
"Want something to eat from here?" he asked after about an hour of driving. We were on a bridge, city lights flashing from skyscrapers nearby.
Ironically enough, the song "Flashing Lights" by Kanye were playing out of the speakers lightly.
"Sure," I said. He pulled into an exit and went down a hill as we pulled into a very fancy looking gas station.
Really fuckin fancy.
We parked and got out. As we walked in, I was surprised to Uncle K. Rool behind the counter. I walked up to it and held my hand out for a high five, smiling brightly.
"Put that damn hand down and get over here, " he laughed. I walk behind the counter and laugh as he squeezes me roughly. I pat his back as I squeezed him back. "Happy birthday, kid. Got something for ya later," he smiled. I beamed at him. I wondered what it was.
"Glad you're alright, kid!" He beamed.
"Aren't we all," Bowser chimed, chuckling. He guided me into an aisle with a bunch of school supplies.
"Hey dad, I don't know much about gas stations, but I didn't know they sold school supplies," I quipped. He chuckled a bit before answering.
"He also sells cooked food, smell it?" He asked. I nodded, sniffing a bit. I hadn't had much real food in life, so I couldn't tell what the food was by the smell.
It made me sorta hungry.
"What you wanna eat? I'll order it while you pick your shit," he looked at me, pulling his wallet out, tapping it in his other palm.
"Umm, What do you recommend?" I asked. He licked his lips and just nodded, going up to pay at the counter. I guess he knew what to get.
I didn't know much about school, so I picked up a notebook, and I guess I'd get a pack of pencils too. I didn't wanna spend too much money. I made sure I was well under $10 and I went up to them.
Bowser and K. Rool were conversing, watching some sort of late night TV show.
Bowser turned and looked at the stuff I chose. I was amused and confused as he burst out laughing, loudly too. He pulled me into his side as he began wiping tears from his face from laughing so damn hard.
"What?"
"Holy shit! You think that's gonna get you through sophomore year?!" He laughed, pulling me closer into his side roughly.
"Well I didn't want to spend a lot of money,"
He groaned, a small flame pushing it's way out of his mouth. K. Rool laughed from behind the counter. Bowser turns to him.
"He learns that I'm king and he STILL cares about my money," he laughed, guiding me back to the aisle of supplies. He grabbed like 10 notebooks, and 3 packs of the most expensive pencils, 2 book bags, and like , 7 large erasers. He rushed to the counter and slammed it all on it harshly. Some of it slid off and hit K. Rool behind the counter.
K. Rool rung it up and it all totaled to almost two hundred dollars. He took a couple hundreds out of his extremely thick wallet, and flung them into K. Rool's face.
"Well that's my profit for the week," he says, bending and picking up the bills. Bowser flicked his claw through the bunches of cash in his bulging wallet.
"Me have more money!" He laughed at me, ruffling my hair. K. Rool bagged the items and chuckled, smacking my dad in the face with it.
"Payback bitch,"
My dad rolled his eyes, yanking the bag and going to put the bag at the table. I sat down as he went to get coffee at the machine. K. Rool walked over and sat two plates of chicken and rice down before smiling at me and going back to watching the game.
Bowser sat down, putting the bag on the bench beside him.
"I'm taking you to school early, because you need to meet your teachers," He took a bite of his food.
I nodded. He tossed a book bag over to my side and told me to put the things inside so I could eat. I did as I was told. Once packed, I began to eat hungrily, watching the way I ate as to not be messy.
"I can't imagine having that tubed shit for two days," he shuddered, finishing his food. My eyes widened. God, he finished quick. He laughed before throwing away the tray that once housed the fresh cooked food.
He sat back down as I finished my last bites. He passed me his cup of coffee.
"Drink the rest, you need it for school and I can't finish it," he said, gesturing to the half drunken cup of coffee. I never tasted coffee.
We got up as he threw my tray away before throwing my old bag in the second new bag. He heaved it over his shoulder and began walking to the door. K. Rool watched the game from his rotated office chair behind the elevated counter, beer in hand. He looked incredibly tired.
On the way out, Bowser reached over the counter and claps him on the shoulder.
"I'm coming back for ya, lard ass. We got shit to do. Fuel up on coffee,"
"I know that, jumbo fry. I'll be ready,"
Bowser put a hand on my back as we left, walking out of the automatic doors. The midnight SUV shone in the darkness.
He used his other claw to pull the key out of his pocket. He unlocked the car, the headlights blinking twice, the car giving off two loud but quick beeps in reaction.
"Put your bag in the back, son," he said. I opened the back door and tossed the bag all the way to the back row.
I got in the front with him. "I'm gonna drive a bit quick so I can make my stops. It's usually an hour back, but with the way I drive, I cut that shit back at least 10 minutes,"
I giggle quietly as he looks behind him with the screen on the dash. He pulls out quickly, but skillfully. He accelerates back onto the highway, and as he warned, he careened through the roads at dangerously high momentum.
He flicked through the radio as he cruised through the brightly lit up streets. Tall city buildings surrounded us throughout the straightaway. Bowser rolled down the windows slightly, satisfied with turning off the radio. The wind danced in our hair playfully.
—————
We pulled into the house, and we decided to watch some TV. It was about 5:00 am. I had left my bag in the car
"Well leave at 5:40 since it's about a 20-minute drive," he says, draping an arm over my shoulder. He left the volume of low so the koopalings wouldn't wake up prematurely. After what happen to them, I'm surprised they'd be able to sleep.
Probably because I'm not that important.
But still, watching someone get run over can be pretty traumatic. I hope they're okay.
My face hardened at the thought of not being important. I huddled up against my fathers side unconsciously. He chuckled , patting my shoulder. We watched whatever station was on quietly. The huge screen distracted me from being able to feel the sadness creeping up on me.
I checked my phone periodically. At 5:40, we got out as bowser grabs his keys off the table by the front door.
He prepared to walk out the door. I didn't question the amount of furniture missing.
"Hey dad," his face brightened very slightly at me calling him that. I'm glad I finally could do it outside of my dreams.
Not my wet dreams, you idiot.
"Yeah, son?" He raised one of his bright, bushy brows. I poked his chest.
"I don't know much about school, but is the king gonna really admit me in that?" I asked. He face palms.
"You're right, I forgot my damn shirt. He looks to his right, and there is a coat rack. He grabs a black hoodie with some sort of logo, sliding it on and zipping it up partially. He opens the door and let's me out before locking it. I realized that his two luxury cars that sat outside the garage doors were gone. Who moved them? The driveway going around the side of the house was fenced off, so I assumed the abundance of cars in the back must be gone too.
We hopped in the SUV, and drove off, a big day of school ahead of us.
I was sorta glad I didn't have to take the bus this morning.
My first day of school, after all these years, I finally get to go to school God, I was so excited!
Or was I?