The Family Tree

Alright, so I'd figured that if I'm going to write a multi-chaptered Mario fic, I would write a oneshot as well. Originally, this was supposed to be about one of the Koopalings in particular. The problem was simply because I could not choose the one Koopaling to write about, since I had multiple ideas for each of them.

So instead, I decided to do one for Bowser. And this time it's going to be based solely on his soft side. (Yes, he actually has one.) Everybody has to open up sometimes about what they truly think in his or her heart. If you don't have a soft side, then you're heart is cold, inside and out.

And as you can see, this is another one of my fics that explains that I'm going into a more, darker direction of writing,, rather than humor. But, that doesn't mean that I will be quitting it altogether!

~KF

Some people say that in a marriage, it's supposed to be the husband that's supposed to pass on before the wife does. The saying very much applied to all husbands that were older than their partners. Despite the fact that they all knew themselves, at the same time, there was no doubt that things happen in life, and unless the incident was caused by man and that it was possible to save them, there was nothing they could do about.

Having a case of cancer was no exception. And unfortunately, when it came to Bowser's wife, it was a big obstacle in her life's course. That being said, the trip to meet the age she desired had to be halted forever.

Not only it was a big moment for Bowser, but he also had eight children. He was still surprised that he actually had to courage to tell the eldest seven the upsetting news, since the youngest was still an egg at the time. In the future, it would had to learn the hard way of how and why his late mother wasn't there.

Thinking of his offspring while watching his wife's grave, he began to recall the events of the two of them with their children.

"Don't play games with me..."

"You're the one whose always playing games with me, honey." She replied to her husband's disbelief. "You've always wanted to have children of your own someday. That's why I'm surprised you're not jumping up and down right now."

"... ... ...I'm having my first child... ...?" Bowser couldn't find other words to be said.

She giggled. "For the third time yes, sweetie. What do I have to do to make you believe me?"

That was what made him stood at the bed for at least half a minute. He couldn't runaway from the fact that one of his many milestones was to have children. But, what he didn't expect was when he heard that he was expecting his first son or daughter at that point. The man just turned twenty-three the previous month. So, he thought that he was simply not ready for kids. Nevertheless, life was like a box of chocolates. One can never know what he or she was gonna get.

After he was given enough time to think everything all the way through, he headed for the door of their bedroom, much to his wife's confusion.

"I'm getting Kamek, he's going shopping."

There was another saying that he heard: Never forget your first child, nor your last. However, since they continued to have kids, they couldn't figure out how many children they wanted. They basically had to remember every last one of them, even though forgetting anyone of them would be the last thing they needed.

Nevertheless, there was one child that would never escape Bowser's mind: His only daughter. He had never known how, but when he already had four boys on his shoulders, at one moment he thought that he and his wife were never going to get a daughter.

Of course, things had to turn out to be the opposite of them.

"...Are my eyes deceiving me...?"

Both parents stared at each other confounded as they sat on the large, king size bed.

"...W-What do you mean...?" The mother of now five asked. "Is... s-something wrong? He's healthy, isn't he?"

"...It's a girl..." Another doctor confirmed.

"... ..." The father was then stunned. "...Did I hear right?"

Said doctor put the newborn in his hands, forcing him to stare at her with astonishment. "You're planning on spoiling your princess?"

"...B-But how can that be...? I don't see any hair to prove it..."

"I know the fact that it can be pretty tough to understand, but this one is indeed a girl." He responded with hands behind his back. "I hope you were prepared for this, King Bowser, because there are many feminine names to choose from."

He was speechless. The one time he presumed that he was never going to get a baby girl, it had to be at that moment he would get his wish. The large, Dragon-Koopa shifted his eyes to his wife's.

She giggled once more as she glazed her eyes upon her then young sons. "Looks like the boys now have a younger sister to look after."

Since that event happened, the Koopa King decided that he needed to buckle down and take more care of his children. Simultaneously, he knew that he was only saying it just because of his only daughter. Still, it taught him a lesson. If Wendy was his only child, there was no reason why a parent shouldn't protect their young with everything they got, in spite of the fact that parents had no possible way of protecting their children from everything.

Bowser's own father, Morton, never had a daughter either. He only had two boys, Bowser being the younger one. His older brother had been missing for almost a decade, around the same time he and his wife were only friends. The reason being was that they had both attended the same middle school.

The King of the Dark Lands figured that his fifth child made up for it. Speaking of which, if he was alive, even when he only had one son, he would have been spoiled as well as his younger sister.

"...Why is his skin like that? It clearly has a more, darker shading than the rest of my kids..."

"His grandfather, perhaps?"

All eyes were on the new baby's mother. "...I mean, we all know that Bowser's father had dark skin, too. I'm thinking that he got it from him."

"It's impossible." One of the few doctors shook his head as he stood beside a somewhat younger Kamek. "If I were to do a couple punnett squares, I would find out that there was no way this child right here would have a completely dark skin tone. Neither of Bowser's parents had only a somewhat dark skin tone. Same can be said for his wife. That being said, how the baby's skin color came to be is beyond me. But, I guess the same thing can be said for his parents."

"...Uh..." It was quite obvious that Bowser had no clue on where he was going, especially the part when he mentioned 'Punnett Squares'. Nevertheless, he shrugged it off and glanced back at his sixth child. "...I am going to call him Morton."

After Morton was born, Bowser really wished that his father was still living so that he could have taken at least one look at him, as well as the rest of his siblings. Unlike him only having two children, Bowser had eight. He knew he wouldn't have cared anyway, at least after his eighth and final child was laid, which later led to the event of his wife's passing.

"...You're pregnant, yet again?" It was the first time King Koopa became surprised at her in a while. After their then youngest child, Lawrence, or Larry for short, she never became pregnant with another child for five years.

Although, he wasn't the only one who was shocked. "I can't believe it, either. After so long, I guess the stars finally chose to let have another one,... even though looking after seven is hard enough..."

He was silent as he blinked.

"...Sweetie, I'm sorry that I've brought so many children into our lives... I was thinking about this ever since our daughter was born..." She closed her eyes and began to mumble. "...Why am I so selfish?"

Next thing she knew, a hang was placed on her shoulder. "...Huh?"

"Listen..." Bowser spoke. "...I know that I'm surprised by the fact that we have so many kids, but it doesn't mean that I don't like having more than four kids. Our parents never had nearly as many, either. We might be different from them, but in some ways, having a big family can actually mean a good thing."

"... ..." For a moment she stared at him in reaction. "...Well,... what I am surprised about is hearing this from you of all people..."

"Which proves to you that I'm not as dumb as you think I am..." He stared at the wall for a second. "So anyways, we can try for ten if you want to."

She smiled. Unbeknownst for him, it would become the last huge smile he would seen on her face.

"BUT, THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY! ...RIGHT!? ...ANSWER ME!"

"Look, it's just like I said in the past, you can't protect your kids from everything. It's not like your wife is any different. Stuff can get in her way, too. Just remember that there's no reason to think that all this was your fault. I don't want you committing suicide because of that. You have eight kids to look after."

"BUT, WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME SHE WAS GETTING READY TO PASS AWAY RIGHT THEN AND THERE!?" He roared, stamping his foot on the ground so hard, Kamek could have sworn he felt the floor shook. "DO THEY KNOW WHO I AM!?"

"They do, your angerness. Your minions felt that it would be best if they didn't tell you that she was getting ready to join your father. What if you get so hyper you actually manage to pass out? You would have ended up with a very painful headache..."

"... ... ..." It might have sounded crazy to him, but it was true. If they did wake him up, he would have passed out on the floor, before thinking of committing suicide, without even remembering the fact that his wife might have been gone, though his kids weren't. He still had to be there for them.

"Now, get ready." Kamek commanded. "We have to tell this to the children."

That last flashback caused a few tears to roll down the king's cheeks. After he and Kamek sent the message to the children, he didn't blame them for reacting the way they did. The unborn child who would like Bowser himself, would have to face the news when he was old enough to understand.

It was a shame that his wife never lived long enough to seen her last child, since they have already planned to have two more. Wendy could have had another sister, there would have possibly been another child with the same skin tone as Morton Jr., and their family tree would have been complete. Nevertheless, Bowser knew one thing...

Life has obstacles. Some of them you can go through, some you can't. It's nobody's fault. Life can't overcome everything, and it's natural.

He took one last look at the grave stone as rain began to pour from the clouds.

Queen Clawdia Koopa- Aged 35- Died of Cancer

If you read, 'No Such Thing', you should realize that some of this is a reference to chapter 1, which I've just uploaded on Tuesday. For those of you who have yet to read it, feel free to go right on ahead!

Also, before you ask how come I didn't include all eight Koopalings, I didn't want this to eventually get boring. So I only picked the ones who were most meaningful to Bowser when it came to their birth or pregnancy announcement.

What do you like/dislike?

Questions:

1. Would you care if you have too many brothers or sisters?

2. What would be the Royal Family's reaction if Bowser and Clawdia had another daughter?

I can encourage all fans of the Royal Family to review.